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Chapter 88: A Sentence
With Bell's victory over Hyakinthos, the Hestia Familia had officially won the War Game.
Almost no one in Orario had believed the Apollo Familia could possibly lose. The massive upset sent the entire city into an uproar of sheer jubilation. Naturally, there were also countless gamblers who had bet heavily on Apollo, currently losing their minds in despair.
Floor 30 of Babel.
"N-No... T-This can't be happening..."
Apollo, who had never entertained even the slightest possibility that Hyakinthos could lose, was completely devoid of life, his soul seemingly having left his body.
"Apollo~."
"Hiii!?"
"You're ready for what comes next, right!?"
Apollo had spent years doing whatever he pleased, ruining lives without a shred of remorse. Hestia had been holding back her fury this entire time, and now, the dam finally broke.
"W-Wait! P-Please, it was just a spur of the moment thing! Your child was just so cute, I couldn't help but play a little prank...!"
"Shut. Up."
Apollo desperately tried to make pathetic excuses, but Hestia's rage remained utterly unquenchable.
"Your home and all your assets are hereby confiscated! Your Familia is completely disbanded! And as the presiding deity, you are permanently exiled! Never set foot in Orario again!"
"Higyaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"
True to Apollo's own arrogant declaration that he would grant any demand if he lost, Hestia ruthlessly delivered her judgment. Apollo's pathetic, wailing scream echoed across the chamber.
Since he had brought this entirely upon himself, not a single deity stepped forward to defend him. In fact, the other Gods were watching the spectacle with wide, highly entertained grins.
"H-Hestia! Please, reconsider! I beg of you, show some mercy!"
"Stop whining. You're annoying."
"Gof!?"
As Apollo groveled and whined, Reborn took a running start and delivered a brutal flying kick straight to his face.
"Y-You bastard! Once was bad enough, but twice—!"
"Shut up."
"Eh—Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Apollo, enraged that a mere mortal child would dare strike him again, was about to shout, but Reborn simply pulled out a massive bazooka and pulled the trigger. The sheer concussive force blasted Apollo into the air like a ragdoll, sending him crashing violently into the stone floor.
"Stop your whining."
"Aaaah...!?"
Apollo looked at the scorch mark on the floor and realized with sheer terror that if Reborn had aimed slightly to the left, it would have been a direct hit. The absolute ruthlessness of the action left not only Apollo but every single deity in the room speechless.
"You picked this fight, and you ran your mouth saying you'd give Hestia whatever she wanted if she won. You fake-god trash, get out of my sight."
Reborn's voice was deathly low, radiating an oppressive, blood-curdling aura. Apollo's legs gave out completely. Trembling uncontrollably, with tears streaming down his face, he scrambled backward.
"You have two choices. Accept Hestia's terms and be permanently exiled from Orario, or I can permanently exile you from the lower world and send you straight back to Heaven. Pick one."
Reborn offered the ultimatum, but Apollo was too paralyzed by fear to even formulate a response.
"I see. So you really hate the idea of being exiled from Orario. Fine. I'll send you back to Heaven myself."
Taking his silence as the latter choice, Reborn produced a submachine gun from seemingly nowhere, leveled the muzzle directly at Apollo, and held down the trigger. A storm of bullets shredded the stone floor, inches from the screaming god.
"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
Staring at the bullet-riddled floor, Apollo realized with absolute certainty that the hitman was genuinely trying to kill him. The overwhelming desire to avoid being sent back to Heaven finally broke through his paralysis. Screaming at the top of his lungs, Apollo scrambled to his feet and bolted out of the room, fleeing Babel as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Well, that guarantees he's never coming near Orario again. Good for you, Hestia."
"How is any of this good!? If you had actually killed him, the entire city would have gone into an uproar over a Deicide!"
"Obviously. I was shooting to kill."
"Don't say that with a perfectly straight face! And who's going to pay for the damages to the room!?"
"Relax, I've got the winnings from my bets."
"You used the money we extorted as your starting capital! And I told you not to participate in the gambling in the first place!"
"So? Who do you want me to kill next?"
"There is no 'next'! Do not ever attempt a Deicide again!"
"I see. So I should just kill humans instead of Gods?"
"How did you even reach that conclusion!? I love all children from the bottom of my heart! I would never wish for something like that!"
The joy and relief of winning the War Game had completely vanished, replaced entirely by Hestia's frantic attempts to rein in Reborn's sheer, unhinged chaos.
H-He actually tried to do that right in front of us...!?Does he not understand the concept of fear...!?What the hell is wrong with this midget!? Witnessing Reborn's utterly reckless and terrifying behavior, Hephaestus, Takemikazuchi, and Loki couldn't help but feel a deep sense of dread.
"L-Lord Hermes... is it possible that child is a member of Evilus...?"
"Even Evilus wouldn't attempt a Deicide in broad daylight... but he is undeniably dangerous..."
Asfi and Hermes exchanged deeply unsettled glances.
Following this incident, rumors quickly spread throughout Orario: the Hestia Familia had acquired a terrifying new dependent, and crossing them meant risking an immediate, violent deportation back to Heaven.
.....
Meanwhile, back at the Ruins of Shreme Castle, the injured anti-Apollo faction members were being treated. The defeated loyalists, likely feeling overwhelmed by shame and fear, had fled the ruins the moment the game concluded.
"You did great, Bell. I'll heal you up now."
"Thank you, Tsuna."
Tsuna placed his right hand on the head of the exhausted boy and shifted his flames from Mist to Sun. Enveloped in the golden light, Bell's wounds began to rapidly close, accelerated by the Activation property of the Sun Flames.
"Y-You... you can heal too...!?"
"I wouldn't call it healing. I'm just using my Flames to hyper-activate his cells and speed up his natural recovery."
Daphne stared in shock. She hadn't expected the illusionist to also possess high-level healing abilities.
"I know we've said this a million times, but... Tsuna really is insane." Welf muttered.
"He can also use Flames with various other properties..." Mikoto added.
"And he can perfectly fill the role of vanguard, middle guard, or rearguard without skipping a beat..." Lili sighed, shaking her head.
Watching him heal Bell, the three of them were once again reminded of just how absurdly versatile Tsuna was.
The mirrors are gone... Noticing that the magical monitors broadcasting the War Game had disappeared from the sky, Tsuna turned to face the battered anti-Apollo members gathered behind them.
"Natsu."
Tsuna called out to his ring. In a flash of light, Natsu materialized out of thin air, causing the surrounding adventurers to gasp in surprise.
"GURURURU... GAOOOOOOO!"
Natsu unleashed a powerful roar, releasing a massive shockwave of Sun Flames that washed over the entire crowd. Taken completely by surprise, the members braced for an impact that never came.
"M-My wounds...!?"
"They're healing...!?"
Instead of burning them, the golden flames rapidly knit their flesh back together. Murmurs of astonishment rippled through the crowd.
Tsuna's unique skill, the Tri-Ni-Sette, directly influenced Natsu as well. Because Tsuna was actively burning Sun Flames, Natsu's attribute naturally shifted to match. By using Natsu's Ruggito di Cieli (Sky Roar) to disperse the flames over a wide area, Tsuna had managed to instantly heal a massive group of people at once.
"T-Tsuna...? What is that cat...?"
"Oh, right, I haven't introduced you guys. This is my partner, Natsu."
"No! Stop acting like this is completely normal!"
"Where the hell did that thing even come from!?"
"Please explain what just happened!"
"We need answers, Sir Sawada!"
Even Bell and the others were utterly baffled by the sudden appearance of the fiery lion cub and immediately began shouting questions.
"It's nothing crazy. Natsu just took the flames I used to heal Bell and scattered them over a wide area."
"That is crazy!"
"Why can a cat use your magic!?"
"Start from the beginning and explain everything!"
"And why didn't you ever mention you had a pet!?"
Despite Tsuna's casual explanation, the sheer absurdity of the situation caused his Familia to erupt in a chorus of exasperated shouts.
"W-What in the world is going on...?" Daphne muttered, completely lost.
"He's so cute..." Cassandra whispered, totally mesmerized by Natsu.
"By the way, I haven't thanked you yet." Tsuna said, turning to Daphne.
"Eh?"
"If you hadn't stood up when you did, we wouldn't have won."
Tsuna had used his speech to corner the anti-Apollo faction, but it was Daphne's courage that provided the spark they needed. If she hadn't openly declared her rebellion, the others might never have found the resolve to fight back, and the battle could have easily been lost.
"Thank you. I'm really glad you were here."
"...!?"
Tsuna offered her a gentle, genuine smile. A faint blush crept across Daphne's cheeks.
"I-It's nothing! I just used you guys because I wanted to be free from Lord Apollo's curse! That's all it is!"
Ah! "Having overcome hardship, the vanguard shall fall into the hands of the Sky"!? Daphne quickly looked away, nervously twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. At that exact moment, Cassandra recalled the final line of her prophetic dream, and the realization hit her like a ton of bricks.
"H-Hey... is she..." Welf whispered.
"Y-Yeah..." Bell nodded awkwardly.
"No doubt about it..." Lili agreed.
"I am absolutely certain... I have experienced those exact same feelings myself..." Mikoto murmured solemnly.
Watching her flustered reaction, Bell and the others instantly realized that Daphne had fallen hard for Tsuna. The anti-Apollo members were equally shocked, completely unable to picture their usually cool-headed commander acting like a maiden in love.
W-Why!? Why does my chest hurt so much!? Watching the exchange, Ryuu unconsciously clutched her chest, feeling an intense, agonizing pang of jealousy she couldn't understand.
And so, despite a few minor dramatic developments at the end, the War Game against the Apollo Familia had officially concluded.
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