As the monster's roar shook the entire city,
Whether they were gods or adventurers; citizens or merchants; the elderly, middle-aged, young, or teenage, even the children held tightly in the arms of frightened adults, no matter what they had been doing, at that very moment, they all looked up.
Their eyes fixed on that powerful, imposing figure soaring through the air toward some unknown destination.
"Is that… a monster?"
"Why, why is there a monster inside the city!?"
"What the hell is going on!?"
"Run for your lives!!"
The moment the Xenos appeared before everyone's eyes, chaos erupted!
The situation, already difficult to control due to all sides interfering, became an utter nightmare.
The city guards, members of the Ganesha Familia, were already at their wits' end.
Now, with this sudden event, it was easy to imagine just how furious their captain, Shakti, must have been.
"Seal off every district! If there are any panicked citizens, calm them down and explain properly, don't lose your temper! Move, move, move!"
"Notify all major Familias! Tell them to send reinforcements to Babel Plaza and help us seal off the dungeon entrances!"
"You, go inform the Guild! Whether by bulletin or broadcast, they need to speak up as the city's administrators! If that fat pig keeps pretending to be dead, I'll go to the Guild headquarters myself and drag him out!"
Seeing their captain's terrifying expression, the subordinates froze in place and immediately saluted.
....
"Hissss, "
"ROOOAAAR!!"
"Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, "
"Splurt"
"Boom!!"
As the monster's dying roars faded away, the ruins, baptized by fire and ice, were once again shrouded in falling ash.
At that moment, a flash of light streaked by.
A spear shot forth like a thunderbolt, piercing the wall near the entrance to the underground waterways with a shrill whistle.
It was a masterpiece, Fron's finest craftsmanship, a perfect fusion of mystical enchantment and supreme materials.
The top-grade alloy and stone wall, thought to be indestructible, was pierced as easily as tofu.
Fron pulled down his hood, letting the rain fall freely upon his handsome face.
His piercing blue eyes locked onto the figure below, shimmering in the dim light.
"Asterius, is it? That obsession through countless reincarnations… another miracle born of the Dungeon?"
He couldn't make sense of it. Nor did he intend to. In the end, it had nothing to do with him.
Glancing back at the now-sealed gate, Fron recalled Finn's plan and regretfully shook his head.
"The fishing plan failed. Almost got turned around and blamed instead. Well… whatever."
Finn was fishing. The Evilus was fishing. Two forces locked in a battle of wits and patience.
But in truth, the plan had backfired.
They had hoped to use the Xenos to wear down the Loki Familia, letting the remnants of the enemy do the work.
Yet the opposite happened.
The Loki Familia suffered no losses at all, effortlessly annihilating the enemy forces that had taken so long to prepare.
The damage dealt to the Evilus was enormous.
To mount another assault of that scale would take time, and even then, cannon fodder wouldn't be enough.
They'd need to fight on their own turf, within an Knossos, and deploy powerful combatants to stand a chance at victory.
Clearly, such a large-scale mobilization wasn't something a mere "person" could pull off alone.
"I'll leave this area to you, Cruz. Stay alert, no matter what happens."
"Yes, sir."
With that, Fron charged toward the location where his target had fallen.
Put on a show before all of Orario? Impossible.
Did they think they could ignore Fron Algon?
Everyone knew, influence was a kind of power.
And right now, Bell Cranel needed that power badly.
He needed a battle to prove himself, to clear away the misunderstandings humans held against him.
The trickster god Hermes had already built the stage for him, and the "goddess behind the curtain" had even found him a suitable opponent.
Though the turn of events had been unexpected, everything still proceeded just as they wished.
But, this incident had harmed the interests of the Loki Familia.
In the unseen darkness, Fron and his companions were fighting desperately against the Evilus remnants to protect the city, even as they were being slandered for supposedly siding with the "Xenos."
Three fronts, surrounded by enemies.
Had Fron not disrupted the enemy's plan for a war of attrition, the outcome might have been far worse.
The Familia that shed blood for the city received no applause, no glory.
Instead, all eyes turned to the "hero" the gods had pushed into the spotlight.
Fron couldn't accept that.
Even if the Loki Familia didn't care, he couldn't stand it.
Why should it be that way?
[T/N: Sorry you lost me here, the Xenos being blamed on the Loki Familia, in which scenario did that even happen? Wasn't Bell the one being blamed a few chaps back?
Everyone give a standing applause to this person.]
...
"BOOM!"
Asterius now wielded a massive great sword, dragging it heavily across the ground.
For a moment, Babel Plaza fell utterly silent.
"You're…" Bell Cranel's eyes widened as he saw the dark minotaur, a memory flashing in his mind, an image of that same figure before.
They stood a hundred meters apart, surrounded by silent onlookers, citizens, adventurers, guild staff, and gods, none dared to speak.
It was as if the world itself had stilled, leaving only the sound of the falling rain.
Then, footsteps broke through that silence.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
For some reason, that calm, composed figure drew every gaze.
Golden hair glimmering faintly; blue eyes shining with light; a black cloak draped over tailored robes of the same color.
The young man stopped, smiling gently as he stood tall.
Under his overwhelming presence, the world itself seemed to fade in color.
Among the crowd were many gods who enjoyed a bit of spectacle.
They looked at Fron's back with open envy, whispering among themselves.
"Loki's so lucky, seriously. First the Braver, then Elgarm, and the Nine Hell, and as if that wasn't enough, they picked up the Sword Princess too! Plus the Two Amazoness sisters, the Werewolf, it's insane."
"That's bad enough, but now they have the Night Weaver too. From Level 1 to Level 6 in the blink of an eye, no wonder the Reaper's jealous."
"Shh! Keep it down! You know what Loki's temper's like, unless you want to be poisoned mid-drink."
"Eek, "
As Fron arrived, Asterius felt a faint but terrifying pressure from behind.
A primal instinct screamed danger, sending a shock through his massive body and stoking his fury to the limit.
He turned abruptly, his blood-red eyes locking onto that lone figure.
"ROOOOOAAAAR!!"
"BOOM!!"
Fron moved before Asterius could react, lunging forward with his spear!
----------------------
[T/N: Nailed it, he intervened in the fight against Asterius without a second thought.]