In the blink of an eye, the illusory peace that usually prevailed in Orario was replaced by large-scale chaos.
Countless people rushed out of their homes and taverns just to see what was actually happening.
Astraea and the other girls inside the Empyrean Citadel were no exception.
Stepping out onto the terrace, Astraea and the other girls witnessed firsthand the horrifying sight of people in the streets watching their companions suddenly turn to dust.
At the same time, the agonized screams of gods vomiting fresh blood after suffering spiritual backlash echoed throughout the city.
"What exactly is happening, Charlie?" Astraea asked anxiously, turning to look at the man beside her.
"I just eliminated people with negative karma all over the world." Charlie replied calmly. "In other words, those who evaporated into ash were individuals whose sins were unforgivable. As for the injured gods... that happened because they forced themselves to investigate the origins of this phenomenon. I merely gave them a little warning that excessive curiosity doesn't necessarily lead to anything good."
"A little...?"
Turning her gaze back toward the city streets, where the gods could now be seen sitting weakly and miserably as they wiped the blood from their lips, Astraea was at a loss for words.
Charlie's idea of a little was truly beyond all common sense.
Behind them, Kei and Mahiru exchanged confused glances.
Since they had remained inside the house from the very beginning of The Great Reset, neither girl had witnessed firsthand the horrifying sight of human bodies disappearing into ash.
All they could do was listen to the hysterical screams echoing from outside, which were enough to make their hair stand on end.
Meanwhile, Aishia and Est maintained their usual impassive expressions. Very few things in this world could stir the emotions of the two spirit girls. A prime example was Est, who would refuse to give up her beloved black stockings.
"Next... comes the main event."
After saying that, Charlie immediately mobilized and unleashed the entirety of his unrestricted 4-Digit power.
*RUMBLE!*
Unsurprisingly, an overwhelmingly powerful conceptual pressure suddenly erupted. Every god and goddess in the Lower World immediately sensed the existence of a mighty power unlike anything they had ever encountered throughout their entire existence.
The gods in Orario were particularly affected, all turning their heads toward the source of that pressure at once.
As for the gods who happened to be near the Empyrean Citadel complex, they stared in astonishment and terror at Charlie, who stood on the terrace, manifesting a Transcendent power that far surpassed even the divine might of the gods themselves.
"Eh...? Isn't that the famous Solo Leveling? What's actually going on right now?! Why can I sense that his power is far greater than mine, even when I'm completely unsealed?!"
"Oi, oi, oi...? My eyes aren't playing tricks on me, are they? How can an adventurer possibly be this powerful?! His pressure feels even more terrifying than that of all of us gods combined!"
"Don't tell me... Solo Leveling is actually a god who's been disguising himself to deceive us this whole time? Damn it, but that can't possibly be true!"
"Hey... am I the only one here who thinks that the terrifying phenomenon of people turning to ash earlier was most likely closely connected to this Solo Leveling guy?!"
Despite their bewilderment, the gods still failed to realize that the worst possible catastrophe was about to befall them.
In the minds of these arrogant gods, no matter how severe a crisis might become, a mortal could never harm them.
Consequently, they still had enough composure to casually discuss the earlier phenomenon.
Charlie observed the gods' reactions and idle chatter from the elevated terrace, then let out a quiet sigh.
「Their survival instincts are practically nonexistent.」
「Oh well. This actually works out wonderfully for me. With them being this oblivious, by the time they finally realize what's happening and decide to fight back... it'll already be too late.」
Glancing at Astraea, who was looking at him and giving him a small nod to indicate that she was mentally prepared, Charlie swept his hand through the air.
*SHUA!* *SHUA!* *SHUA!* *SHUA!*
In an instant, with the exception of Astraea and Aphrodite, whom Charlie had deliberately spared, every god and goddess scattered across the world was forcibly subjected to Divine Ascension—a process of forced extraction that returned them to Heaven.
Since Orario had the world's highest concentration of gods, the morning scene there suddenly became both magical and terrifying.
Hundreds of pillars of golden light shot upward through the clouds toward the heavens, each one enclosing a god or goddess.
"W-What the hell is this?! My body is being pulled upward?!" Demeter screamed in panic as a pillar of light enveloped her.
"Damn it! Who dares to forcibly subject me to Divine Ascension?!" Freya roared furiously, her eyes blazing with anger as she tried to unleash her Arcanum, only for the pillar of light to nullify its power.
"Kamii-sama!"
Bell tried to reach for his goddess's hand. However, a field of energy hurled him backward, sending him crashing to the ground. Helplessly, he watched as Hestia slowly rose into the air.
"My Belllll! Nooooo! I don't want to go back to Heaven!" Hestia sobbed, pounding her tiny fists against the walls of the pillar of light. "Let me go! I still want to stay with him and Bell! Bell, please help meeeee!"
The gods' anguished cries and furious shouts echoed throughout every corner of Orario, plunging adventurers from various Familias into overwhelming panic.
"Our god is being pulled into the sky!"
"What's happening?! Who has the power to drive the gods away?!"
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Meanwhile, in the courtyard of Loki Familia's Twilight Manor, a pillar of golden light enveloped Loki.
"You bastard, Solo Leveling! How dare you banish me?!" Loki raged.
Her face was flushed crimson, and she clawed at the air, desperately trying to cancel the deportation process.
"What am I supposed to do...?"
Finn quickly bit his thumb until it bled, his mind racing as he desperately tried to devise a strategy and find a solution to reverse his goddess's Divine Ascension.
However hard the Braver thought, the overwhelming gap in power rendered all his intelligence useless.
Gareth, Riveria, Bete, Tiona, and Tione stood in a tense line, their weapons drawn.
Their faces were filled with deep anxiety. They wanted to break through the pillar of light and save Loki, but the waves of energy surrounding it were far too destructive for them to approach.
Amid the oppressive atmosphere, Ais, however, stood remarkably calm. Her clear eyes rested on Loki without the slightest hint of panic. She took a single step forward.
"Loki..." Ais called softly. "Thank you so much... for all the kindness, protection, and affection you've given me all this time."
Loki abruptly stopped raging. Her eyes widened as she stared at her beloved child.
"Ais-tan...?"
How could a shrewd goddess like Loki fail to understand the meaning behind that calm demeanor and those parting words? Ais had known about this incident from the very beginning.
"Geez... So this is what it feels like to have a daughter who's already married, huh...?" Loki murmured with a bitter laugh as tears trickled down her cheeks. "Turns out they'd rather choose their men over their own family..."
After attempting to reverse the Divine Ascension with the full power of her Arcanum and failing completely, Loki finally gave up resisting. She chose to submit and be transported back to Heaven.
"Forgive my selfishness, Loki..." Ais whispered, bowing her head sincerely.
Loki smiled faintly inside the increasingly dense pillar of light. "There's no need to apologize... Be happy in this new world, Ais-tan. Take good care of yourself."
*FLASH!*
The pillar of light shot high into the sky and vanished into the heavens, carrying Loki back to Heaven.
"..."
An oppressive silence immediately settled over the courtyard of Twilight Manor.
The remaining members of Loki Familia stared at Ais with expressions of utter astonishment and profound disbelief.
Anyone with even a basic level of intelligence could easily guess that Ais had known about the plan to banish the gods and had allowed it to happen.
To them, her actions were no different from betraying her own Familia.
"Ais... what does all this mean?" Finn asked, his voice cold and heavy with disappointment.
"You... You were working with the person who banished Loki?!" Bete shouted in disbelief.
Gareth and Riveria looked at Ais with sorrowful, wounded expressions, while Tiona and Tione bit their lips, unable to say a word.
However, the one most devastated by this bitter truth was Lefiya. The young Elf stared at Ais's back with wide, disbelieving eyes, her breathing ragged and uneven.
"N-No... This can't be..." Lefiya murmured. Her legs trembled violently until her knees gave way, causing her to collapse heavily onto the ground. "Ais-san would never do this... This is just a nightmare, right?! None of this is real! Tell me this isn't real, Ais-san!"
Lefiya clutched her chest and sobbed hysterically, refusing to accept the reality that the person she had always looked up to had taken the side of the very individual who had just brought Orario's established order crashing down.