"Who would've thought the Tower of Babel itself would become unsafe one day," a God remarked.
Yet, he had a smile on his face, as if he was enjoying the situation.
'What a chill god,' Rayleigh thought.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a male God wearing a hat approached them.
The moment Rayleigh saw him, he felt less of a divine aura and more of a subtle, flirtatious air.
'This guy... Could he be Hermes?'
The male God walked over and said, "My, my, what a disaster. Are you two Goddesses alright?"
His tone was flippant, even though he spoke normally, that was the impression he gave.
Astraea, seeing him approach, returned the perfunctory concern. "It's fortunate that you're unharmed, Hermes."
Rayleigh's eyes twitched.
'So it really is him.'
Hephaestus, who seemed to know Hermes well, cut straight to the point. "What are you doing here?"
Hermes nearly stumbled.
"Don't say things like that, Hephaestus," he said awkwardly. "You'll break my heart."
"Oh? And?"
"..."
Hermes sighed helplessly.
Rayleigh noticed him cast a subtle glance his way. It was discreet, but not enough to fool him.
"My apologies, Kami-sama," a woman interjected. "Please allow me to explain his intentions."
Astraea smiled. "Of course, Lidith."
Hephaestus nodded. "I'm willing to listen to what Lidith has to say."
Hermes exclaimed, "Huh? Wait, am I being disliked?"
Hephaestus looked at him with pity. "Wasn't that already obvious back in Heaven?"
The beautiful woman named Lidith pushed Hermes aside and continued, "The Evilus are hiding in the shadows. The scale of their forces and their attack zones are unknown, putting us on the defensive. The Gods here have essentially become hostages set up by the Evilus, restricting our movements."
Lidith's words laid out the current situation.
It sounded grim, but her next words took an optimistic turn.
"However, looking at it another way, the areas we need to defend have been reduced from many to just one."
Alise understood. "I see. Since all the Gods are gathered here, we just need to make sure this place is well-defended, and we won't have to worry about them being attacked."
Lidith nodded. "Our top priority now is to establish a means of communication to mobilize the remaining forces within the city."
Hearing this, an idea sparked in Rayleigh's mind.
'Communication...'
He might be able to do it. It would be a stretch, but this was a critical moment.
He raised his hand. "I can send out a mass communication, but I'll need help from everyone here."
"What?!"
"Are you serious?"
Rayleigh's expression was grave. "I've never tried it before, so it might fail. But if it succeeds, we can get the message out to everyone."
He looked at Lidith.
To put it simply, she was a stunning beauty.
'The Captain of the Hermes Familia, huh.'
If the original story played out, she would likely die soon in an attack by the Evilus.
Then, Asfi Al Andromeda, the Perseus, would take over as Captain.
Asfi was said to be a female version of Hermes—a fun-seeker herself—but Lidith's current demeanor showed no signs of such a tendency.
"What kind of help do you need?"
"Mind." Rayleigh stated. "I need Mind."
Lidith hesitated.
'Mind?'
"Do you mean Mind Potions?"
"No." Rayleigh explained, "Please gather all the Mages present here."
Lidith nodded and turned to carry out the order without delay.
'Calling her a fun-seeker like Hermes seems a bit much,' Rayleigh thought. 'Her style is just... sharp and decisive.'
Soon, several Mages were assembled.
Rayleigh cut straight to the point. "I need to use a communication Magic I haven't fully mastered yet. To do so, I need to borrow your Mind."
Riveria questioned, "Borrow?"
"Yes." Rayleigh drew Ruri'iro Kujaku and held it horizontally before him. "Ruri'iro Kujaku can absorb Mind from others. I intend to draw enough mind from all of you to sustain the Magic."
"Huh?"
One of the Mages protested, "Are you kidding me?!"
"Mind is a Mage's lifeblood! How can you just take it as you please?!"
"I understand," Riveria said, agreeing instantly.
Her quick acceptance silenced the other Mages.
In comparison, they now seemed not only cowardly but utterly lacking in resolve.
"Thank you," Rayleigh said with a nod of gratitude.
"Me too! I can help! I have quite a bit of Mind, so I should be useful," Ardi said, raising her hand.
Her Magic stat was the highest among all her abilities, so Rayleigh didn't refuse.
Afterward, the male member of the Goddess Demeter's Familia stepped forward, offering to contribute his Mind.
That made a total of five people.
'This should be enough.'
Rayleigh took a deep breath. "Bloom in a frenzy, Ruri'iro Kujaku."
Under the astonished gazes of the onlookers, Rayleigh activated his Shikai.
As the blade split apart, it transformed into lapis-colored vines that wrapped around the wrists of the five volunteers.
He carefully controlled the absorption rate to avoid harming them, but they still felt a flicker of panic as their Mind drained away.
'My Mind is being drained!'
Even Riveria's expression changed.
She had known about the blade's strange ability, but experiencing it firsthand was entirely different.
'This sword... It's terrifying!'
Rayleigh watched as the flower buds on the vines bloomed, forming shimmering petals.
He reached out and plucked one.
Normally, he would hold it between his lips to recover, but this was no time for elegance.
He opened his mouth, tossed the flower inside, chewed a few times, and swallowed it whole.
A massive surge of spiritual pressure erupted within him!
Rayleigh felt his blood churn, and a trickle of blood ran from his nose.
'That's really way too potent...'
Wiping away the blood with the back of his hand, Rayleigh began his chant.
"Net of black and white! Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowns and belts, footprints, distant thunder, sharp peaks, engulfing earth, night ambush, sea of clouds, azure sequence. Form a circle and soar to the heavens!"
As he struggled to complete the incantation, blood trickled from the corners of his eyes, and the veins across his body twisted and bulged.
'Almost there... I have to control my spiritual power. Otherwise, the Kidō won't form.'
He plucked two more spiritual power flowers and swallowed them, then focused all his strength on controlling the rampaging spiritual power within him.
Blood seeped from beneath his fingernails, and his skin turned a flushed pink as capillaries ruptured.
From the moment he discovered Magic, he had known how to use Kidō up to Number 99.
The problem was that he couldn't use them without risk.
For example, attempting a high-level spell like Hadō Number 90: Kurohitsugi would fail due to insufficient spiritual power.
Even if he had enough spiritual power, his low Level meant his control over spiritual pressure was inadequate, causing the Kidō to collapse mid-cast.
He could take his time—perhaps spending two days to complete the spell—but that would be useless in actual combat.
Below Number 40—that was the limit for a Level 2.
Now, attempting a Number 77 Kidō, Rayleigh couldn't afford the slightest lapse in concentration.
Fortunately, he was surrounded by allies protecting him, allowing him to focus solely on controlling his spiritual power.
'Just a little more...'
"Bakudō Number 77..."
"Cough."
At the critical moment, Rayleigh couldn't suppress the boiling blood in his veins and coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood.
Strangely, the release instantly eased the pressure in his chest.
'I can do this!'
"Bakudō Number 77: Tenteikura!"
A network of spiritual power expanded from Rayleigh, its countless spiritual threads plunging into the void like nerves, then spreading throughout the entire Labyrinth City!
In that instant...
The members of every Familia in Orario felt a will descend upon them.
A voice materialized directly in their minds!
....
Magic stats correspondence with how much spiritual power one has.
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