Puck! Puck! Thud! Crack!
Fists like hammers and claws like blades traded blows.
Red blood splattered across the beach, and violence and savagery swallowed the surroundings.
"[UOOOOOOOOOO!]"
"Aaaaaaaaaagh!"
Bang! Crunch!
The warrior's fists shattered the monster's spikes and tore away its shell.
Thud! Sshhk!
The monster's claws and spikes carved into her skin and ravaged her flesh.
Neither side gave an inch. Neither side backed down. It was the final slugfest.
Both of them should have been in agony.
It would not have been strange if they had screamed in pain or let it show on their faces.
And yet, in the midst of that, the two of them were clearly...
""[Hahahahahaha!]""
"They're... laughing?"
"What is that?"
"Ti, Tiona?"
Laughing.
Both the warrior and the monster were laughing happily.
Amid a brawl that was turning their bodies into rags, the two of them were clearly bursting into laughter.
They were rejoicing.
They were enjoying it.
The sight was, in every sense, as if...
"Je wego."
You are the true warrior.
The words of Terscura, a foreign land across the sea.
Once, both Tiona and Tione had sincerely cursed, despised, and rejected them as a remnant of the past.
But why was it?
"Je wego."
"Je wego."
"Je wego."
Before they knew it, the voices of the Amazons had begun to rise one by one from around them.
Tione could not stop them.
She could not make them stop.
She could not...
"Tiona..."
Her little sister, who always seemed like nothing but a fool.
And yet she had been protected by her.
She had been able to come this far with her, without breaking down like the other Amazons who could not adapt to the land of war.
She had gained a future, learned love, and been able to feel at ease.
And yet.
"Just what are you..."
For a moment, Tione sank into self-loathing and regret.
She had never once thought such a thing before.
But perhaps...
If it had not been for her, Tione might have been there with them...
"That's enough, Tione."
"Dan, jang?"
"I don't really know what you're thinking right now."
"But I don't think you need to worry."
At those strangely reassuring words, Tione suddenly looked at her little sister.
Tiona was laughing in the middle of the blood-soaked battle.
But within that laughter, clearly...
"Ah."
"Right?"
She was smiling.
Not just for the sake of fighting.
As always, the smile of a person was there too.
Tiona's own pure, childlike smile was surely there within it.
As if no matter what happened, that essence would never change.
"You know as well as I do that that girl's smile is stronger than anyone else's."
"...Yes, that's right."
With that exchange, Tione was no longer anxious.
Without looking away or covering her ears, she watched the two of them battle head-on.
"""Je wego. Je wego. Je..."""
The irritating words from around them, too, before long stopped mattering.
There had never been any need to care about them in the first place.
Because there was no way a single old-fashioned word like that could do anything against...
"Do your best, Tiona."
Her little sister had already been the strongest warrior of all for a very long time.
*
Bang!
"Ngh!"
In the middle of the brawl, the magus's fist, its surface spikes broken and now even more jagged and vicious, slammed into her face.
Tiona staggered for a moment.
"N-not yet...!"
Not yet!
Boom!
Despite the wounds that had been shredded and torn open, despite the pain, she hurled herself at him again.
She threw punches, kicked with her legs, and drove up with elbows and knees.
Bang! Boom!
"[Ghk!]"
Even the magus staggered from those strikes, each one as solid and heavy as a hammer.
He had accumulated quite a bit of damage himself.
No, from the start, the magus had not been in better condition than her.
On top of that, his full-body armor was already cracked all over, and several vital areas had been torn apart and broken open, exposing what lay beneath.
As for his main weapon, the spikes on the armor were already more than half destroyed.
"[UOOOOOOOOOO!]"
And yet, he did not stop.
He had long since thrown away anything resembling his usual magus-like composure, and, howling like a beast, he charged at Tiona blindly and without hesitation.
Smack!
"Nnngh!"
"[Cough!]"
The two crossed paths.
With the fierce blows and accumulated damage, both of them staggered in a similar way for a moment.
Then they collided again.
Boom!
Her leg came down on his neck like an axe.
In response, the magus swung the armor's tail, like a steel whip, and lashed at her waist as if to split her in two.
The shock sent the two of them apart for a moment.
"Haa, haa..."
"[Hoo, hoo...]"
They tried to satisfy their ragged breathing with harsh, rough breaths.
The cells in their bodies wanted more oxygen.
Both of them were drenched in blood. Both were in tatters.
Every muscle, every bone, even their hearts were screaming that this was the limit.
Tiona's vision was starting to blur.
The magus looked ready to cough up blood and collapse at any moment.
But it was far too late to simply stop now.
In the end, they had no choice but to go all the way.
There was no path that could satisfy the two of them except that.
"Haa, haa... An."
"[Hoo, hoo... What?]"
"Thank you."
And I like you.
She laughed as she bled like a bucket tipped over.
At that, the magus also let a smile touch the corner of his mouth beneath his shattered helmet.
"[I should be the one... thanking you, Tiona.]"
And then the two of them looked at each other and understood.
Ah, they were almost there.
This was the end.
Maybe, perhaps, with the next blow.
"So then."
"[Even so.]"
Boom!
""[I'm going to win!]""
With a thunderous impact, sand from the beach flew in all directions.
A cloud of dust rose there and blocked the view.
Their final strike.
Realizing this, the gazes of the surrounding onlookers naturally focused on one place.
Within the still uncleared sand.
The one who remained standing there until the very end was...
"Tiona!"
As the dust cleared, the first person to appear was Tiona.
She stood there with her fist extended, not moving an inch.
And just as Tione was about to rush toward her...
"Ah."
That's frustrating.
Thud.
Unable to hold on any longer, Tiona collapsed forward limply.
And when the rest of the dust finally cleared, what remained was the magus, still standing unlike her, though most of his bone armor had been shattered and he was swaying heavily from exhaustion.
So the winner was...
"I won."
"..."
"Are you upset?"
"..."
"Tch."
The magus picked up the fallen Tiona.
His body had also reached its limit long ago, just like hers, but he did not care.
Rather, that was precisely why he could not leave her there.
He, too, was a gentleman. A man.
"If you're this upset you're crying, then get stronger."
"...!"
"I'll be here for as long as it takes."
Grip...!
"That's what an adventurer is."
There was no answer.
But that had never been necessary in the first place.
So he decided that the dampness and faint trembling in his arms were from the fatigue of battle and the blood that had spilled.
In truth, more than half of it was exactly that.
"Here, take her."
Whether she knew it or not, Tione silently accepted Tiona from the magus and held her carefully.
"Then I'll leave the cleanup to you."
"And you?"
"I'm tired. I'm going to sleep."
After saying that, the magus took a few plodding steps forward.
Then...
Thud.
"Magus!"
"An!"
Just like Tiona, he collapsed limply.
The surrounding onlookers, who had hurried to take care of the two of them in surprise and confusion, were left speechless as well.
Though the reason was completely different from that of the children of the lower world.
"Scary. Is this what's normal in Orario these days?"
"You damn fool. Ma! No way in hell!"
At Njord's easygoing comment, Loki snapped back with her usual retort.
Then she turned her gaze to the side and announced the decision she had finally reached.
After all, no matter how she looked at it, "that" was dangerous.
"You've seen this much too, so now I've got nothing to say."
"Umm...!"
"Ma, don't start worrying before anything's happened. I'll do what I can to make things end nicely for our Tiona too. So for now, once we get back, let's hold a gods' meeting and sort out all the problems that've piled up in the meantime. After that, we can figure out what to do about that brat from your side in a bigger, more..."
"Right! If it comes to it, we can settle the troublemakers the same way we did with that Apollo bastard, with a War Game...!"
"You idiot! The very first thing that came out of your mouth was a damn dangerous idea, you little brat!"
Just as Hestia's thoughts were starting to drift in a dangerous direction, Loki preemptively stopped her with a fierce chop to the top of her head.
The Hestia Loki remembered should not have been a goddess with this kind of divine bearing.
It seemed that, without realizing it, she had also been influenced quite a bit by the magus's considerable madness... no, his screwball energy.
And in a very bad direction, too.
"Ma, we'll talk in detail later when we're back in Orario, so..."
Loki now turned her attention to another headache.
"..."
"Hey, Number Two Shorty."
"..."
No answer came back.
At that, Loki's razor-sharp eyes furrowed again in irritation.
The goddess in front of her had been keeping her head bowed since earlier, muttering something ominously under her breath.
It had probably been since the moment the magus pulled out that bizarrely unpleasant armor.
Just as Loki was about to say something to Kali's strange reaction...
"Hey, if someone's talking to you, at least answer..."
"...I do."
"Huh?"
"T-this marriage...!"
I am in favor, with all my heart, soul, and everything else, aaaaaaaah!
After a string of defeats, the goddess of war had finally gone insane.
That thought naturally sprang to Loki's mind for a moment.
Was this, too, because of the unknown strangeness of the lower world, fascinating and frightening all at once?
Brushing off that pointless thought, Loki asked the goddess in front of her for the reason.
No, what the hell are you trying to pull all of a sudden?
"What is this, then? You did something, and now you're saying you were drunk when you did it. That you're innocent and trying to cut your sentence down however you can by pleading temporary insanity or a bad family environment or whatever, shoving a remorse letter at the judge to beg for leniency? Is that the kind of show you're putting on right now? Hm?"
"Hah? What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Did the late summer heat fry your brain, Goddess Loki?"
"That's what I should be asking you, you brat!"
Loki's reaction was only natural.
Anyone would react the same way if someone had been quiet and then suddenly started shouting like a maniac.
At least, that was how it looked to Njord, who had been watching from the side.
Perhaps because she was aware of the looks around her, Kali let out a deep sigh and explained herself.
As if annoyed that she had to put something so obvious into words.
"Listen well, Goddess Loki. I am the chief god of Terscura, the land of war, and a war god who governs blood and slaughter."
"Aye."
"And as you know, I love battle. The reason I descended to this lower world, my entire purpose, is the strongest warrior who will be born at the end of that struggle."
"And?"
"Tch, and you still don't get it even after I've explained this much."
So the trickster of the heavens has lost his touch, huh.
With those taunting words, Loki seriously considered sending the little goddess back right then and there.
If Njord, sensing danger from the side, had not reflexively grabbed her arm, she might really have done it.
Whether she knew that or not, Kali continued speaking with an ecstatic expression and an excited voice.
"Just now, in the battle between Tiona and that man. I saw light within it."
At first, it had been nothing special.
Tiona charged in, and the magus simply fired off Magecraft like an ordinary sorcerer. A string of boring, dull scenes.
But that changed the moment the magus pulled out that monstrous armor.
The stale air of battle became thick, sharp, rough, and savage before anyone noticed.
In every blow, she could see a truth as heavy as killing intent, with not the slightest hesitation or retreat.
Across the beautiful sandy beach, the spray of blood from the brawl scattered barbarically in an endless display.
She could feel the exchange of savagery and violence as they threw themselves at each other with full force, truly trying to bring the other down, yet without a shred of malice or resentment, only with joy.
And the instinctive affection that bloomed strongly within it, too.
"As one of the war gods in name and rank! As the chief god of the land of war! As one who loves battle! How could I not get excited after seeing that!"
So I sincerely support those two's romance.
No, more than support it, let's just join them together right now.
Let them have a child, and take the three of them... no, all the children yet to be born, to the land of war and create a ritual of endless struggle in the truest sense.
And at the end of it, the true strongest warrior I desire will surely be born.
"Therefore, I shall take both of them! No, let me take them!"
"Haa, this crazy little brat...!"
"Letmeletmeletmeletmetakethemtothelandofwarcomewithmepleasethankyou!"
Having finished her long-winded speech, Kali, without dampening her excited tone in the slightest, displayed behavior that suited her size and youthful appearance.
In short, she threw a tantrum.
As for the effect...
"Nonsense."
Thunk.
"Do, huh?"
"Useless!"
Smack!
"Kheh!"
Not only was it useless, it was actually counterproductive.
"Ahh, that hurts...!"
"Wow, Number One Shorty, you're more violent than I expected."
"Who are you calling Number One? More importantly, let's hurry back to Orario. Once we're back in the city, even Kali won't be able to act so recklessly."
"Aye. This is getting more troublesome than I'd like, too. Ma, from here on, Njord, you handle the cleanup. Just sort things out roughly on your side. We're heading home."
"It's a shame we caused so much trouble and couldn't properly host you, but... well, the situation is what it is. Let's leave it for next time."
"Okay. Then we're off. You lot, pack up~ Time to head home~"
"Then we'll excuse ourselves as well. I'll leave the rest to you, Njord."
"Ah, of course. Be careful on your way back."
And so, with the gods' farewells, the sea story came to an end.
The fishermen returned to the sea.
The adventurers returned to the Dungeon.
The warriors returned to their homeland.
But everyone with a name knew it.
Not a single thing had truly been resolved.
The "Ishtar" Familia that had dragged in the Kali Familia.
The "new type" monsters rampaging in the port city.
And even the mysterious "magical" life-form that had enveloped them all.
"And so everyone finished their business, went home safely, and lived happily ever after. The end~ The end~"
[What is that ridiculous ending supposed to be?]
"A kind of report, I guess?"
[...I would have preferred it in writing.]
"Come on, don't be so cold between us."
[Haah, my head is pounding.]
"Ah, that joke! Pretty good. Wow, Sans!"
[Please... can we speak a language we both actually understand, please!]
"Sure, sure."
A few days later.
Things in the port city ended in such a half-baked way.
Even the purpose behind the Ishtar Familia's involvement, as conveyed by Loki Familia, had still not been clearly revealed.
As for their connection to the "new type" monster faction, and even the remnants of the Evils, there was no clear answer there either. It was a half-finished result.
[But this one thing will be different.]
The identity of the mysterious "magical" life-form everyone had witnessed at sea.
Fels also knew that there was only one person in this world connected to it, so she questioned the magus as if pressing him for an answer.
His answer was...
"For now, it wasn't me."
[And the reason?]
"Because what happened then was crude, I think."
If it were him, he could have made it far more exciting, far more refined, and played with it properly.
At the magus's excuse, Fels unconsciously nodded in agreement.
Either way, she knew well that the magus before her was a "madman" who knew no lies or compromise when it came to romance and Magecraft.
Also...
"Lili wasn't it either. The scale was too big for her power."
[Then?]
"But I do have one theory."
Still, no matter how he thought about it, it didn't make sense.
To Fels, who looked puzzled at that, the magus answered flatly.
"That guy, I definitely split his head and body apart back then."
So how is he still alive?
*
Here, in the darkness.
A perfect sealed room.
There is a man and an existence there.
"Yo, teacher."
[Ah, you have arrived, Mr. Dix.]
"Hup. Here, this month's goods."
[I'm sorry to trouble you every time.]
"Hey, hey, don't be so stiff and polite with me. It's all part of the business anyway. Business."
[Haha, my apologies. Still, this boring way of speaking is also one of the things that proves my Ego.]
"Your self, huh. Yeah, that's important. It sure is. I know that feeling real well because of this filthy blood of mine. Anyway, this time..."
Handing over the item he had been carrying, the man called Dix sat down on a nearby chair and continued chatting cheerfully.
He talked about how he had gone to the merchant city of the commercial nation of Israfan on a business trip, and how he had stopped by the maritime nation of Dizara on the way to set up a harem of beauties and enjoy a party for days and nights.
All the while, Dix smiled broadly and looked in a very good mood.
The other side responded in kind, matching his mood without overdoing it.
"In the end, just as you said, three months was the limit. Still, it wasn't bad. Yes, it feels like I went on a vacation."
[Modern humans, with a few exceptions, all live harsh lives. They need a way to refresh themselves from everyday life, just like you do, Mr. Dix.]
"Yeah, exactly. Oh, right, and also..."
Still grinning as he rambled on, Dix suddenly remembered something and said the following.
"Apparently, some new Familia just smashed Apollo Familia to pieces. And they did it in a full-power War Game, too."
And the one who pulled that off was some guy called a "magus."
"Do you happen to know him?"
The moment he said that...
[Mr. Dix.]
Giiing...
A strange violet light rose from the darkness.
[Could you tell me more about that?]
With a voice that carried a joy impossible to hide, the story began to turn a new corner.
========================
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