At the same time, on the rooftop of Guild HQ, Hermes surveyed the city. A voice from behind him caused him to turn.
“Hermes.”
“What’s up, Astrea? The war’s about to begin; you should get to safety.”
“I called you here because I have something important to tell you, Hermes. I believe Erebus has descended into the Dungeon.”
The moment she said that, Hermes abandoned any notion of persuading the goddess to go into hiding. For a few moments, he considered how to respond.
“…On the day of the Great Conflict,” he said at last, “Erebus appeared before us. That was part of a performance to draw our attention away from what was happening in the Dungeon.”
Erebus’s true goal that night was well-known by now. By preaching absolute evil and massacring multiple deities at once, the dark god ensured that all eyes and ears were on him instead of the Dungeon. As a result, nobody realized that a god had unsealed their Arcanum down below and summoned a nightmarish fiend.
“Unless Erebus can be in two places at once, then the god who unleashed their Arcanum has to be someone else,” Hermes went on. “In other words, he couldn’t have been in the Dungeon. He has an alibi, so to speak.”
There was no other way to summon a monster of this caliber besides breaking the divine taboo within the Dungeon. If the summoning really did occur during Erebus’s speech, it was physically impossible for him to have done it. In essence, the dark god had demonstrated his innocence to the entire city of Orario.
There was another reason Hermes found it hard to believe.
“There’s only one way down there, and that’s through Babel,” he reminded her. “Precisely where Loki Familia has been positioned all this time. If Erebus came within spitting distance of the entrance, there’s no way they wouldn’t know about it.”
Finn had quickly decided to make Central Park the base of allied operations, and right now the foot of Babel was the most fortified location in the city. The Evils’s probing attacks hadn’t managed to come close to scratching the tower. Even disguised as Eren, Erebus would have an impossible time making it past the eyes of countless sentries.
“But you already know all this, don’t you, Astrea?”
Nothing Hermes said should have come as a surprise to the goddess. However…
“I do,” she confirmed, staring unflinchingly into his eyes. “But even so, I am certain he’s down there, leading the enemy as the incarnation of absolute evil.”
“………”
“Hermes. You used to be his friend, did you not? Surely you’ve sensed something?”
Hermes was a god who armed himself with reason and logic. That was precisely why Astrea was sure he found his own words unconvincing. No matter how many times he reminded himself of the facts, he still harbored doubts. Astrea knew that. Her indigo eyes, as deep as the starry skies, saw everything.
A cold wind caressed Hermes’s cheeks. After a moment, he let out a deep sigh.
“…What does it change?” he asked. “Even if our hunch turns out to be right, and Erebus is there, why does that matter? Why come to me now?”
Hermes leveled his keen gaze at her once more.
“What do you want from me, Astrea?”
The goddess said nothing and simply stared back at him.
✦ ✦ ✦
When the Age of Gods began, and divine beings first walked the earth, mortals learned what really happened after death. The legends, myths, and fanciful stories of old were replaced with hard truths. After coming face-to-face with deities and their undeniable miracles, there was no choice but to accept this new reality.
Many were afraid. Many sleepless nights visited mortals who worried whether eternal paradise or torment awaited them. Many debates centered around the precise nature of the suffering that took place in the netherworld’s deepest abyss.
But all those people would surely agree that if hell were to suddenly appear in front of them, it would look just like this.
It was the seventh of the Seven Days of Death, and evil’s work was nearing completion.
“The quakes are still coming from the Dungeon…” noted Kaguya.
“…But apart from that, everything’s so quiet,” replied Alize, taking a look around. “It really doesn’t feel like the final showdown is about to begin.”
It was just before dawn, and Central Park was as still as a grave. Nobody spoke a word. They all listened to the rumbling ground, like the roars of a great dragon that slept beneath the earth. Grim expressions marked each of their faces. They all knew something big was coming.
However, some in the crowd tried their best to not let their nerves get to them.
“What’s with that shield strapped to your back?” asked Neze. “It makes you look like a turtle.”
“Who you callin’ a turtle?” snapped Lyra. “This here’s my secret weapon!”
Nevertheless, the animal girl’s description was perfectly apt. The circular shield was almost as large as Lyra, and it would have covered her head as well if it extended just a little farther above her shoulders. It seemed more suited to a dwarf—not to mention the shield was an unusual amount of defensive gear for Lyra, who usually fought from the back ranks instead of up close and personal.
“I was gonna leave it behind, but then Finn told me to take it with me. I ain’t got a clue how it’s supposed to help, but who knows. It is what it is, eh?”
“…Is it?”
“…Whatever, forget it,” said Lyra with a wry smile and a shake of the head. “The point is, this ain’t just any shield. The great and almighty Perseus made it for me.”
Lyra grinned and glanced over to elsewhere in the crowd, where a soot-stained head of sky-blue hair was visible.
“Andromeda…are you okay?” Lyu asked Asfi, who was visibly disheveled. “You don’t look well at all…”
“It’s your familia’s fault,” the girl replied. “There’s so much work, I haven’t slept a wink. I haven’t even had a break for seventy-seven hours!”
“I-I’m sorry,” said Lyu. “I mean, I don’t think it’s my fault, but still…”
“I can’t take it anymore! If I die out there, make sure everyone knows it’s Slyle’s fault, okay?!”
The overworked captain of Hermes Familia had deep bags under her eyes and looked like she had aged years in the course of a few days because of all the last-minute commissions. She had turned into a walking corpse, and Lyu had nothing to offer her beyond her deepest apologies.
Asfi let out a deep sigh. “But, Leon,” she said. “I can’t help but notice that sword you’re carrying. Not your wooden sword, the other one…”
Her eyes were fixed on Lyu’s hip. There, the elven girl carried two swords: the newly completed Alvs Lumina, as well as a weapon that Asfi swore she recognized.
“Yes,” replied Lyu. “It’s Adi’s.”
Its name was Sacred Oath, and besides the girl’s undying justice, it was the last thing of Adi’s that Lyu possessed. Lyu had already received Shakti’s permission to carry it. She stroked the pommel and looked back at Asfi.
“Today, she fights alongside us,” she said.
“I see…”
Asfi smiled, finding comfort in Lyu’s proud determination.
“In that case,” she said. “Make sure you come back alive. For once, I’d like for us to bond over something besides suffering.”
“That’s what I intend to do. You stay safe out there, too, Andromeda.”
This was the kind of camaraderie that could only be found on the battlefield. With that thought, Lyu offered the other girl a smile.
Then Gareth approached Riveria. It was time.
“Everything’s ready,” he told her. “We move on your mark.”
Aiz stood beside her mother figure and looked up at her. The high elf’s eyes were closed in contemplation. At last, she opened them, and…
“…Very well.”
Dawn broke, signaling the beginning of the battle to end it all.
All across the city, adventurers took up arms as they prepared to protect their world.
And all around the borders of that city, evil grinned as they prepared to manufacture hell on earth.
“It’s time.”
Atop the city walls, Valletta licked her lips and leveled the point of her sword at the white-walled tower at Orario’s core.
“Today’s the day, kids! The day Orario falls!!”
“““Roaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!”””
The evil army’s shouts seemed to shake the clouds in the sky. Meanwhile, atop Guild HQ, Finn raised his golden spear.
“Let me hear your voices! Today we fight for our city!!”
“““Hooraaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!”””
Orario became a war zone as armies filled the streets. Meanwhile, Riveria and Gareth stood at the foot of Babel.
“Move out. We have a monster to slay.”
“Follow me, younglings!”
The two of them disappeared into the tower, followed by Aiz, and the members of Astrea Familia brought up the rear. They sprinted down the stairs, into the tower’s basement, and through the entrance to the Dungeon.
Standing on the brink of the abyss, Lyu unsheathed her two swords.
“Let’s go, Adi!”
Then she jumped in.