Lyd and the others made the difficult decision to flee through the underground passages with Fels. Meanwhile, Tsuna and Bell returned to the surface using a different entrance.
To protect Bell from any immediate retaliation, Tsuna used his illusions to disguise them both as completely different people. They moved quietly through the streets, eventually meeting up with Hestia and the rest of the Familia. Tsuna extended the illusion to cover them all, ensuring they could return to Hearth Manor without drawing any unwanted attention.
Four days passed since the incident. The Guild successfully managed the public outcry by pinning all the blame on the Ikelos Familia. By permanently banishing the deity Ikelos from Orario, they managed to deflect the citizens' fury and avoid further condemnation.
. . . . .
Hearth Manor
"I never expected things to escalate to this level," Reborn muttered.
Sitting on the living room sofa, Reborn tossed a stack of information magazines onto the table after quickly scanning through them. The magazines were filled with sensationalized reports. They detailed the atrocities committed by the Ikelos Familia, who had allegedly unleashed monsters upon the surface. There were also wild speculations about a second entrance to the Dungeon. The articles heavily condemned their reckless behavior, accusing them of attacking other adventurers purely for personal profit.
It wasn't an exaggeration—Bell's reputation had completely plummeted. Because of his actions, the people of Orario were deeply disappointed in him, and the voices of condemnation showed no signs of stopping. To make matters worse, Hearth Manor was now surrounded. Countless Familias had set up surveillance around their home, suspecting that Bell knew more about the incident than he was letting on.
"It's a stroke of luck that the true nature of the Xenos—and our connection to them—hasn't been exposed," Reborn noted.
If the public found out they were allied with monsters, the sworn enemies of humanity, they would have faced the same permanent banishment as Ikelos, or perhaps a hell even worse. Even with the harsh criticism they were facing now, simply being allowed to remain in Orario was a blessing.
"But the real problem is the bounty they slapped on those monsters," Reborn added.
"The situation has grown too massive for Orario to ignore," Lili explained with a heavy sigh. "Even the Guild couldn't just sit back and do nothing."
The fact that monsters had breached the surface—and were strong enough to slip right through the Loki Familia's grasp—was already common knowledge across the city. Lili understood that if Ouranos and the Guild failed to respond, they would lose the public's trust entirely.
"However, thanks to that bounty, the chances of different Familias working together have dropped significantly," Hestia pointed out. "It slightly increases the Xenos' chances of survival."
If adventurers formed massive coalitions, the reward money would have to be split, leaving them with practically nothing. Because of this greed, Familias were avoiding excessive contact and information sharing, making it impossible for them to form a unified, airtight perimeter. Furthermore, Lyd and his group were hiding in the underground passages of Daedalus Street. Since it was essentially a labyrinth on the surface, the likelihood of regular adventurers finding them was much lower. Hestia firmly believed the Xenos wouldn't be hunted down so easily.
"How's Bell doing?" Reborn asked.
"He's still locked in his room, just like before..." Mikoto replied softly.
"He seems incredibly depressed..." Haruhime added, her expression mirroring Bell's misery.
Even though Tsuna's illusions had allowed them to return home undetected, Bell had still heard the relentless insults and curses hurled at him by the public. The sheer weight of their hatred had taken a massive toll on his mental state. Welf, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen in the living room; he had locked himself in the smithy and hadn't come out since.
Did my future self feel exactly like Bell does right now...? Tsuna wondered quietly.
"And ten years from now, you hesitated until the very end to involve your innocent friends, but eventually, you accepted that it was necessary for the growth of your past selves."
Tsuna recalled the words the future Shoichi had told him back at the Melone Base. Because his future self had destroyed the Vongola Rings, they lost their only means of countering the Mare Rings—which possessed equal power. Without them, they lost the strength to fight Byakuran and his Millefiore Famiglia. The Vongola Famiglia was decimated, and countless people connected to them were mercilessly slaughtered.
To prevent any more casualties, the Future Tsuna had made a drastic decision. He summoned not only his past self, but also his Guardians like Gokudera, CEDEF's Basil, the children Lambo and I-Pin, and even non-combatants like Kyoko and Haru. Even if it was to defeat Byakuran, Tsuna used to find it impossible to believe that his future self would do something so ruthless. But after seeing Bell's unwavering resolve—willing to make the entire city his enemy just to save Wiene—Tsuna finally felt like he understood his future self's feelings, if only a little.
If I think about it that way, Yuni was the same...
"Even if Yuni-chan, the boss, betrayed me... does she not care what happens to the remaining Black Spell members? Well, those guys seem to be completely infatuated with her, so they'd probably be overjoyed even if they were boiled or burned alive."
"...Everyone will... understand."
Tsuna's thoughts drifted to the conversation between Byakuran and Yuni after their crushing defeat in the Choice game. Originally, the future Yuni had her soul shattered by Byakuran, turning her into a mere puppet so he could claim the Mare Rings. But after regaining her soul, she fiercely rebelled against him. In retaliation, Byakuran took the entire Giglio Nero Famiglia hostage. Despite knowing that her actions might lead to her Familia being massacred, Yuni chose to keep moving forward.
"Their revival is necessary for Sawada-san and the others to return to a peaceful past. And that will lead to saving the lives of countless people... The time is finally ripe for me to use my power correctly... This is the only gamble I can make... and my unavoidable fate."
Then came the final decisive battle against Byakuran. Yuni sacrificed her own life for the sake of the world and their future. She was the Sky Boss of the Arcobaleno and possessed the power of foresight, but aside from that, she was just a young girl—no different from any ordinary human. She always kept a warm smile on her face, but Tsuna now understood the unimaginable agony and conflict she must have been hiding beneath it.
As a heavy, suffocating silence filled the room, the doorbell suddenly rang. Under normal circumstances, no one would dare visit their headquarters in the middle of such a massive scandal. Because of this, no one moved to answer it. However, the visitor showed no signs of leaving, ringing the bell repeatedly. With everyone on high alert, Tsuna cautiously approached the entrance. He secured the chain lock before carefully cracking the door open.
"Lefiya...!?"
Peeking through the narrow gap, Tsuna found Lefiya standing outside, her face twisted in a deep, furious scowl.
"Bring Bell Cranel out here. I know he's inside," she demanded coldly.
"N-Not right now..." Tsuna stammered, slightly intimidated by her blunt, unhidden hostility.
Naturally, Lefiya wasn't going to accept that excuse. If anything, Tsuna's hesitation only fueled her mounting frustration.
"BELL CRANELLLLL!! COME OUUUUUT!!"
"W-Wait a minute!!"
Deciding this was going nowhere, Lefiya completely ignored the chain lock, forcing the door open with terrifying strength as she screamed into the manor. Her reasons were entirely selfish, stemming from her deep jealousy over Ais, but Lefiya genuinely considered Bell her rival. Because of that, she couldn't forgive him for pulling such a reckless, shameful stunt.
As Tsuna and the others panicked at her sudden outburst, two other Loki Familia members rushed in. Cruz, a Chienthrope who had acted as a supporter during their 59th-floor expedition, and Elfy, a Level 3 Human and Lefiya's roommate, desperately tried to restrain her. Lefiya thrashed wildly, throwing a tantrum like a stubborn child refusing to be dragged home. Watching this chaotic scene unfold, Hestia's Familia—and the other Familias spying on them—were left entirely dumbfounded.
So Finn really...
As Tsuna watched Lefiya being wrestled away, a sudden realization hit him. He tightly clenched his fists.
"I'm sorry... I can't let you see Bell," Tsuna said firmly.
The moment the words left his mouth, Lefiya abruptly stopped struggling. Cruz and Elfy froze in place as well.
"Tell Finn something for me. Tell him I absolutely won't lose."
With that declaration, Tsuna firmly shut the door. Overwhelmed by the sheer weight of his resolve, the three Loki Familia members stood frozen outside, completely unable to move.
"Are you out of your mind!? You'll turn all of Orario against us!" Lili exploded, furious that Tsuna would pick a fight with their strongest potential enemy in the middle of this nightmare.
"Finn knows," Tsuna replied calmly. "He knows Lyd and the others possess human intelligence. He knows exactly why Bell did what he did. And he knows that he's going to have to fight me."
Tsuna couldn't fathom the idea that a genius like Finn hadn't figured out the truth about the Xenos. And yet, despite knowing they possessed human-like reasoning, Finn was still mobilizing to hunt them down. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have stationed Lefiya and the others to keep Hearth Manor under strict surveillance.
But Tsuna didn't blame him. As the Captain of the Loki Familia, Finn had a duty to protect the citizens and his subordinates. Furthermore, Finn likely had loved ones who had been killed by monsters in the past. That kind of deep-seated hatred couldn't simply be erased overnight; it was an entirely justified and natural emotion.
"Are you serious!? The whole city will be out for our blood! If that happens, Lili and everyone else will...!!"
"I'll think about that later. If we don't do something right now, this is all going to end," Tsuna cut her off.
Tsuna knew they didn't have the luxury of worrying about the aftermath. If they didn't move immediately, Lyd and the others would be slaughtered.
"I won't let anyone else die. On my pride."
With those parting words, Tsuna walked past them, stopping directly in front of Reborn.
"Reborn. I want to get stronger."
"...Got it," Reborn replied smoothly, accepting the request without hesitation. The two of them headed down toward the underground training room.
"...I'm sorry," Tsuna murmured. He didn't look back as he apologized for neglecting the future of the Familia. Soon, both of them vanished from Hestia and the others' sight.
"..."
Despite the overwhelmingly desperate situation they were in, Tsuna's face had shown absolutely no intention of losing. The sheer confidence radiating from him had miraculously managed to calm the rest of the Familia, leaving them utterly astounded by his presence.
----
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