Rayleigh watched as his old enemy, lying on the ground and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Blood gushed from his mouth like a river, and within moments, he stopped breathing.
From the way his eyes remained open in death, it was clear he died with regret.
Rayleigh checked the man's spiritual network again and confirmed it had dissipated.
He flicked the blood from his hand.
'Kaidō, activate.'
The wound on his palm, sliced open by the shortsword, began to heal.
While waiting for his injury to recover, Rayleigh found a chair and leaned back.
He was exhausted.
As he rested, he surveyed his surroundings. The others had begun cleaning up the battlefield.
The clash had ended in a decisive victory for Orario's forces!
Finn alone had taken down over a third of the enemy.
Looking back at the corpse, Rayleigh knew he could have finished the man easily with Senbonzakura.
But that would have been too easy.
It wouldn't have been enough to settle the score for the threats he'd endured back then.
'A pity.'
Even though Rayleigh declared he wouldn't use Senbonzakura, his opponent remained wary of it from start to finish. This divided attention led to a fatal misjudgment.
Just now, Rayleigh repeated the same move to parry his opponent's sword strikes.
It was a feint to lure him into attacking an apparent opening, allowing Rayleigh to counterattack at that precise point.
After all, in a direct sword fight, he was outmatched.
Even if he used Shunpo, the opponent could still react due to the gap in their stats.
'So, I had to resort to tactics.'
In the end, it went as planned.
The Zanpakuto's sharpness could slice through Goliath's hide.
Based on his experience fighting the Floor Boss, Rayleigh was confident he could kill the man in a single strike.
As it turned out, even a peak Level 3 Adventurer's durability was paper-thin compared to Goliath.
"This was an uneven fight from the start, but since you dared to raid your enemy territory, you should have been prepared for the consequences... right?"
Rayleigh's eyes widened.
'No.'
'Wait a minute.'
'Are the Evilus idiots?'
'Probably not.'
Otherwise, they wouldn't have spent a decade lying low and building up their strength.
During the Dark Age, the Evilus didn't bother hiding, always clashing with Orario head-on.
Not to mention, Erebus had joined their ranks. That God possessed great wisdom; not just anyone could devise a plan like the "Necessary Evil."
This attack was strange.
Although they had numbers, the strongest among them was the old enemy Rayleigh had just killed.
And that guy was only Level 3, with no decent equipment at that.
"Incredible! A child of Hephaestus has defeated a Level 3!"
"Damn it! Why isn't there such a talented child in my Familia?!"
"Is this what they call 'the neighbor's kid'?"
Seeing the battle won, the Gods relaxed and resumed their idle chatter.
The Guild staff, however, were still busy.
"No, this was a feint," Rayleigh said, standing up.
He found Finn and Shakti and explained his theory.
The Evilus' attack here was a diversion.... these grunts were sent to die.
Their real target must be the Magic Stone Factory.
The two's expressions changed, and they reported to their patron Gods.
After Loki and Ganesha gave their approval, Riveria frowned and proposed a new perspective.
"This might also be part of their plan—to split our forces."
Rayleigh froze.
'She's right. This isn't a game or a world made of mere text.'
In reality, anything could happen.
Even the plot points he remembered were just a drop in the ocean of this world's long history, and there was no guarantee they'd occur.
He had to judge based on the current situation.
If the enemy launched more than one attack, could they defend against a second wave if their forces were divided?
The Gods would be in danger!
If a God were sent back to Heaven, all the Adventurers in that Familia would lose their Falna, becoming ordinary people at the mercy of the Evilus!
The risks on both sides were high, making a decision was difficult.
...
Meanwhile.
City Industrial District.
The Evilus were attacking the Magic Stone Factory.
The Astraea Familia, who happened to be patrolling the area, joined the battle and were helping with the defense.
"Lyra, watch your flank!"
BOOM!
An explosion ripped through the factory wall, blasting a massive hole.
The number of points to defend increased. The Adventurers had to split their forces and send some to cover the new breach.
"This is strange. Why hasn't the city responded yet?!"
"Is it because of the meeting?"
"Don't worry about that! Just hold the line for now!"
"Darn it! With an attack this fierce, why are they so obsessed with this factory?!"
...
Third Warehouse.
Kaguya had released her Shikai.
Facing the Evilus members, she used her swordsmanship to engage multiple opponents at once, overwhelming them.
When they tried to swarm her, she used Katen Kyōkotsu's ability to slip into the shadows.
This infuriating tactic drove the Evilus members into a rage!
And when they lost their composure and revealed openings, Kaguya would emerge from the shadows and finish them with a single strike using Kageoni.
"Kageoni."
'The one whose shadow is stepped on loses!'
Kaguya plunged Katen Kyōkotsu into a shadow.
The Evilus member, defenseless against an attack on his own shadow, felt a chill in his upper body as the blade pierced his vitals.
Using the surrounding structures, Kaguya leaped into the air, her twin blades descending.
"Takaoni."
'The one standing higher wins!'
BOOM!
A strike powerful enough to shatter stone descended from above, sending the clustered enemies flying.
"Wow, Kaguya is so strong!"
"So this is how a Zanpakuto wielder fights... It really is beyond common sense."
Even her own comrades, the girls from the Astraea Familia were stunned.
Because they knew how Kaguya used to fight, they were shocked.
"Lyra, you idiot! Don't let your guard down!"
"Ah, sorry!"
"Kaguya is amazing, but Ryuu is incredible too."
The girls watched a figure darting through the enemy ranks, moving so fast their eyes couldn't track her.
Ryuu had activated her Skill and commanded Haineko to envelop her body.
This made her impervious to ranged attacks.
Her target: the enemy Mages.
"Haineko, Cat Wheel Dance!"
Wind, dust, and smoke coalesced into a whirlwind, trapping the enemy Mage squad as Ryuu swung the hilt of her blade.
Inside the whirlwind, a Mage was struck from behind and collapsed, unable to rise.
"A slash?"
"Damn it, what's happening?!"
"Is this Magic too? Where's the enemy?"
"Fucking hell! How are these little girls so strong?! Request backup from Valetta-sama, now!"