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Chapter 85: Turn the Tables
Through the combined efforts of Tsuna and Daphne, the anti-Apollo faction had officially mutinied, joining the Hestia Familia's side.
"We have them completely outnumbered!! Isolate them and take them down one by one!!"
Daphne raised her slender shortsword, Fencer Laureate, expertly directing the flow of the battle.
"Y-You traitors!! How could you turn your backs on Lord Apollo's love!?"
"You ungrateful wretches!!"
"Shut the hell up!!"
"We've been waiting to beat the crap out of you for years!!"
The loyalists hurled insults, but their words were quickly drowned out by the clash of steel as they were completely overwhelmed. The anti-Apollo members, finally unleashing years of pent-up rage and resentment, tore through their ranks with terrifying ferocity. The loyalists fell one after another.
"D-Damn it!"
"Burn out, wicked technique—"
A loyalist desperately began chanting a spell to thin out the mutineers, but Welf was already moving.
"[Will-o-Wisp]!"
"Gah!?"
The loyalist's magic immediately destabilized and exploded in his face. Welf's Anti-Magic Fire spell was designed specifically to induce an Ignis Fatuus when an opponent attempted to cast. Because it was a super-short chant, Welf could cast it faster than almost any mage. To spellcasters and Elves, Welf was an absolute nightmare.
Realizing their magic was sealed, the remaining loyalists tried to force the fight into close-quarters combat. But they were vastly outnumbered, lacked a healer, and had lost their commander. The battle was a complete, one-sided slaughter.
.....
Floor 30 of Babel.
"T-That's impossibleeeeee!!"
Apollo clutched his head, screaming in utter despair. He never in his wildest dreams imagined his own children would mutiny against him.
Kidnapping a deity just to win a War Game was, of course, an impossible feat. Tsuna had known this from the start. His actual plan was to simply make them believe Apollo had been kidnapped. While the Apollo Familia was marching to the ruins, Tsuna had flown over their headquarters as a bird and perfectly memorized Apollo's appearance.
By deliberately revealing his illusion magic, pointing out the lack of guards at their home base, and showing them an incredibly realistic projection, Tsuna had executed the perfect bluff.
"A betrayal arc! This is incredible!!"
"That human is hilarious!!"
"This is getting way too good!!"
The Gods watching from Babel were in an absolute uproar. In the history of Orario, no one had ever intentionally incited a mutiny during a War Game. For the Gods, who lived for entertainment and the unknown, this was the greatest show they had seen in decades.
"Why... why is this happening to me...?"
"Because you forced your twisted version of love onto those kids. Isn't it obvious?"
"You reap what you sow."
"I don't feel a shred of pity for you."
"You're an idiot."
While Apollo wept, Hestia, Takemikazuchi, Hephaestus, and Reborn looked down at him with expressions of absolute disgust.
"Hyakinthos!! Do something!!"
Apollo's only remaining sliver of hope rested entirely on the shoulders of his Level 3 Captain.
.....
Twilight Manor.
"He kinda reminds me of Finn..." Tiona muttered.
"Yeah... I was thinking the exact same thing." Ais agreed softly.
Watching Tsuna's masterful, manipulative speech that flipped an entire army, both girls saw distinct traces of their own Captain's strategic brilliance.
"Finn. You had a hand in this, didn't you?" Gareth asked gruffly.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. That boy isn't the type to say things like that on his own." Riveria added, seeing right through him. Finn tried to play innocent, but he couldn't fool the veterans he'd known for years.
"The plan itself, and the methods they used to execute it, were entirely their own," Finn admitted with a faint smile. "I merely... suggested a few words that might help properly motivate their audience. Besides, if they win, it means the Pallums that Apollo forcibly took will be freed as well."
"Good grief... You never miss an opportunity, do you?"
Finn's ultimate goal was to become a beacon of hope for all Pallums. However, as the Captain of the Loki Familia, he couldn't openly interfere in other factions' business. So, he had subtly guided Tsuna, using the Hestia Familia to indirectly save his people. Though, admittedly, he also genuinely wanted to see Hestia's group win.
"Still, to actually attempt such a reckless gamble... It's insane." Tione muttered.
"Tch, what a load of crap. They should've just crushed them all to death and been done with it." Bete scoffed, irritated that Tsuna had chosen a convoluted psychological tactic when he clearly had the power to crush them by force.
.....
Back at the Ruins of Shreme Castle.
"Phew..."
"An illusion..."
Confident that the plan had succeeded, Tsuna snapped his fingers, and the bound and gagged "Apollo" vanished into thin air. Daphne, fighting nearby, stared in sheer disbelief. He really had bluffed an entire army with an illusion.
"Cut her loose too."
"Yes, sir."
At Tsuna's request, Mikoto sliced the ropes binding Cassandra. The timid healer stood up, looking around in utter confusion.
"Still... I can't believe you actually tried a stunt like this..." Daphne sighed, walking over to them.
"It wasn't really my idea... Tsuna was the one who pitched it." Welf admitted, scratching the back of his head.
"I certainly never would have thought of convincing the enemy to betray their own God..." Mikoto added.
"But we had to try something drastic if we wanted to win." Ryuu noted logically.
"You guys actually went along with it... You're terrifyingly brilliant, you know that?" Daphne looked at Tsuna like he was an alien.
"A long time ago, someone betrayed their organization to join my side, and that betrayal dealt a massive, crippling blow to the enemy. I based this strategy on that experience."
Tsuna was thinking of Spanner, the mechanic from the Millefiore Familia in the future. Spanner had been so fascinated by the X-Burner that he abandoned his Mafia family just to help Tsuna perfect it. Thanks to his defection and the creation of the target-syncing contact lenses and headphones, Tsuna had been able to fire the X-Burner at full power. That single defection had allowed them to defeat the Deathstalk Squad, Genknight, the Six Funeral Wreaths, and eventually Byakuran himself, ultimately saving trillions of parallel worlds.
"Of course, none of this would have worked if I didn't know that half your Familia hated Apollo, or if Apollo hadn't been arrogant enough to promise us anything we wanted if we won. And we owe a lot to our helper here. Thanks to her, we were able to thin out the hardcore loyalists while leaving the dissatisfied members largely unharmed."
By having Ryuu—a terrifyingly skilled Elf—wage a guerrilla war against them, the loyalists had naturally rushed to the front lines to fight, while those who lacked devotion hung back. Ryuu had specifically targeted the zealots, deliberately insulting Apollo during the fight to see who reacted with rage and who didn't.
"And you even gave that speech..." Daphne mumbled.
"It's not like I wanted to give a speech like that... Finn just tipped me off that using those specific words would drastically increase our odds of success, so I rolled with it."
"Wait, Finn? As in the Braver!? You know the Braver!?" Daphne's jaw dropped.
"Yeah."
"Well, that explains it... If the Braver helped design the psychological warfare, it's no wonder we got played..."
As a fellow commander, Daphne knew firsthand how terrifyingly sharp Finn's tactical mind was. Realizing they had been outmaneuvered by the greatest commander in Orario made their defeat much easier to swallow.
"No, Finn only gave me advice on the speech. He didn't have any hand in the actual operation. The reason we're standing here victorious right now is entirely because of Lili."
"Her...?"
Tsuna turned his gaze toward the small Pallum girl. Daphne looked at her in surprise, having no idea the supporter was such a brilliant tactician.
"I just came up with the idea. Lili was the one who figured out the exact logistics, timings, and methods to actually make it work. She worked herself to the bone planning this out. We won because her commanding ability was simply better than yours."
Without Lili, Tsuna's grand plan would have been nothing more than a pipe dream.
"I think we just proved it, Lili."
"Huh?"
"You told me before that you didn't think you could be of any use to us. But because you were here, we managed to completely overturn this war. You are absolutely vital to the Hestia Familia."
"Lord Tsunayoshi..."
Hearing Tsuna's earnest words, tears welled up in Lili's eyes. For the first time in her life, she truly felt like she belonged. Like she was needed.
"However, we cannot let our guard down yet," Ryuu cautioned, breaking the emotional moment. "Unless Mr. Cranel defeats their Captain, this battle will not end."
"You're right."
Tsuna turned his gaze toward the towering structure of the throne room.
We've paved the way. The rest is all up to you, Bell.
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