Robin activated her [Family of Harmony] mental network, granting Aiden a god's-eye view that brought every movement across the battlefield under his absolute control. Meanwhile, Jeanne d'Arc stood firmly in front of Hyacine and Robin, wielding a spear Aiden had prepared for her. As a handful of Apollo Familia members turned and charged at them, she simply gave her spear a casual sweep. The weapon blurred into a series of afterimages, instantly sweeping the attackers off their feet and neutralizing them. A few Level 1 adventurers posed no real threat to a Heroic Spirit like Jeanne.
"Extended Chant?! Interrupt him! Quickly, interrupt him!" Hyakinthos finally snapped out of his shock. Feeling the increasingly terrifying, all-consuming magical fluctuations radiating from Aiden, the captain's face twisted into a snarl as he roared commands. He drew his crimson wave-sword, fully intending to dive into the fray himself and stop that damned spell.
But his realization came far too late. As Aiden's incantation drew to a close, a massively complex magic circle materialized out of thin air, blanketing the sky above the entire ruined courtyard. Bong— A primordial toll echoed across the heavens, and an enormous, ethereal bell of light and sound slowly took shape in the center of the magic circle.
Witnessing this, Daphne, who was currently caught in Cassandra's terrified embrace, felt every hair on her body stand on end. Without a second of hesitation, she scooped up the trembling prophetess and bolted toward the city outskirts as fast as her legs could carry her.
"Damn it!" Hyakinthos spat a vile curse and immediately turned to run, fleeing faster than a startled rabbit. The Apollo Familia members who had been charging forward with hot-blooded fervor just moments ago felt as if they'd been doused in ice water. Breaking out in cold sweats, they abandoned the siege and scattered like headless chickens, fleeing blindly in every direction.
In the next heartbeat, Aiden completed the final syllable of his chant.
"—Wail, Holy Belfry!"
The world lost its sound. A world-ending sonic boom swept out in all directions, radiating from the Ethereal Bell of Sound. Wherever the invisible shockwave passed, the air was violently compressed before exploding, violently shaving away layer after layer of the earth itself.
Viewed through the Divine Mirror above Orario, the ancient fortress structures within a several-hundred-meter radius of the spell's epicenter—along with any adventurers who hadn't managed to escape in time—were entirely consumed by the invisible force of destruction. When the dust settled, all that remained was a terrifyingly smooth, perfectly circular crater of absolute nothingness.
Hyacine, Robin, and Tifa huddled behind Jeanne d'Arc, safely enveloped in a brilliant golden glow. The defensive barrier Jeanne had deployed, Luminosité Eternelle, shuddered violently against the lingering tremors of the invisible sonic boom. However, because Aiden had deliberately shifted the spell's epicenter away from their position, the barrier held firm. With just a single strike, the Apollo Familia had been virtually wiped out.
Across Orario, from the gods watching in Babel Tower to the thousands of spectators packed into the city squares, a deathly silence reigned. Everyone stared slack-jawed at the Divine Mirror, their minds entirely blank as they processed the chunk of the ancient castle that had been completely erased from existence.
After a long, breathless pause, a trembling divine voice finally broke the silence in Babel Tower.
"You've... you've gotta be kidding me, right? Is that really a magic spell cast by a Level 2? That destructive power is nearly on par with a Level 5 mage!"
"Focalors, what in the world is wrong with that kid of yours? Why can he use a monster's magic? Are you cheating somehow?"
Loki was laughing so hard she was bent double, slapping her thigh in sheer amusement. Meanwhile, Apollo sat frozen, staring blankly at the vacant crater of rubble. The twisted rage on his face had completely evaporated, replaced by an ashen, deathly pallor.
Within the dead silence of the ruined fortress, a figure struggled to crawl out from beneath a massive pile of rubble. It was Hyakinthos. His once-opulent cape was torn to shreds, and he was covered in dirt and ash, looking utterly pathetic.
"Lykos!? Laon!? Cassius!?" Driven by a chaotic mix of fury and panic, he hoarsely screamed his subordinates' names. The only response he received was a suffocating silence and the faint whistling of the wind blowing across the wasteland. When the dust settled a bit more, the sight of a familiar, half-buried arm and torso caught his eye, causing Hyakinthos to freeze completely.
Annihilated.
He was the only one left standing. This cruel reality struck him like a merciless sledgehammer, thoroughly shattering his psychological footing. When the elevated corridor extending from the fortress walls finally gave way and collapsed with a deafening crash due to the spell's aftershocks, Hyakinthos reached his breaking point.
"Where are you!?" He gripped his crimson wave-sword and roared at the top of his lungs, pouring every ounce of his remaining strength into the cry.
That man was still alive. Even through the thick, suffocating smoke, Hyakinthos could clearly perceive that bone-chilling, piercing killing intent. He was certain of it. His heart pounded wildly against his ribs, and cold sweat poured from every pore on his body. He spun around wildly, his rationale already fractured, frantically scanning the collapsing piles of rubble.
"Looking for me?" A flat, emotionless voice drifted over from the front.
Through the lingering dust, a figure strode forward at a measured pace. The air around him distorted from the sheer heat radiating off his body. It was Aiden, having reactivated [Everlasting Flames].
Hyakinthos let out an inhuman, guttural roar. Blurring into a swift afterimage, he instantly closed the distance to Aiden. His wave-sword sliced through the air with a piercing shriek, bringing down a heavy, momentous slash aimed straight for his opponent's head.
Clang!
In a crisp collision of metal, the blazing longsword and the crimson wave-sword violently clashed together, sending a shower of blinding sparks into the air.
"Uwoooaaahhh!?"
At that exact moment, the entirety of Orario erupted into an uproar! The adventurers, the live announcer, the gods in Babel Tower—everyone was absolutely floored. No one had expected that, immediately following an unprecedented, cataclysmic magical bombardment, the two generals would dive straight into a head-on duel. Fists clenched and palms sweating, the audience was entirely captivated by the grand spectacle of this final showdown.
"They're fighting! They're actually crossing blades! The final clash of the trump cards! This is a hundred times more thrilling than anyone predicted!" Ibri roared into his amplification device, his voice cracking with sheer hysteria.
"I AM GANESHA!"
Caught in a massive wave of fanaticism, the spectators unleashed incoherent, deafening cheers at the bloody drama unfolding before their eyes.
On the battlefield, the sound of clashing blades rang out in an endless, rhythmic staccato. Both men moved their weapons so fast they became mere afterimages. The fierce gusts of wind generated by their every collision violently scattered the surrounding smoke and dust.
The devastating impact echoing up from his weapon shattered the bones in Hyakinthos's arms, leaving them completely numb. Even worse, the scorching heat radiating from Aiden turned Hyakinthos's face a deep, flushed red, while sweat poured down his forehead in buckets. He could physically feel the moisture in his body rapidly evaporating, his lips already cracked and bleeding.
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