A day had passed since the meeting with the Kali Familia.
Strolling through the town of Melen, Lefiya and a group of lower-ranking female Familia members could be seen walking through the streets.
'As far as I can tell… it looks like a peaceful fishing town…'
'But if the local Guild branch and the Njord Familia are involved in this whole affair with the Violas, things could get incredibly troublesome.'
Lefiya thought to herself, keeping a sharp eye on the surrounding area.
'My vision and perception has improved quite a bit now that I've ranked up to Level 4.'
She looked down at her palm, slowly clenching it into a fist.
Like the other Level ups she had experienced in the past, the changes she felt within her body were dramatic... almost like an evolution.
Her senses had sharpened, her speed had increased, and her attacks had become overwhelmingly more destructive.
After the Loki Familia's expedition to the 59th Floor, quite a few members had ranked up upon returning home.
Aside from Lefiya herself, there were also the Hiryute Sisters, Tiona and Tione, who had officially joined the ranks of Level 6 adventurers.
'I must put this strength to good use. Now that I am one step closer to reaching them, I'll start by doing well in this investigation.'
Right now, their goal is to travel all around Melen to investigate and search for any clues or leads related to Evilus's activities after a Violas appeared in town.
'Traces of Evilus activity had already been found in Melen.'
Because of the seriousness of the matter, the Guild had granted the Loki Familia permission to leave the city whenever necessary.
Normally, the Guild would be much stricter about such matters, especially when it involved a powerful Familia like theirs.
That was why they had been able to come to Melen without much trouble.
Their encounter with the Kali Familia had simply been a coincidence.
"Lefiya… let's start our survey over in this direction."
Elfy Colette, Lefiya's roommate, suggested from her side.
"Sounds good."
Lefiya nodded, offering no objections.
"Hey, Miss Adventurer."
Just as Lefiya was about to begin, a little girl's voice sounded beside her, prompting her to turn her head.
'Cocoa skin? An Amazon?'
Lefiya noted inwardly, looking down at the child, who tilted her head cutely.
"Yes, what is it, little girl? Do you need any help?"
Lefiya asked, crouching down slightly to match her height.
"Are you an adventurer from Orario?"
The little girl asked, placing a finger against her chin.
"Eh? Ah, yes, that's right!"
Lefiya replied.
"Can you help me? I've been hearing scary screams from the place where I like to play. I'm too scared to go near it."
Hearing this, Lefiya frowned and her expression turned serious.
"Where did you hear these screams?"
She asked.
The little girl pointed toward an alleyway.
"Down this way."
Lefiya stared into the darkness of the alley for a second before turning to consult the rest of her group.
"You really think she heard a monster?"
"It doesn't seem like she's lying."
"We don't have any other leads right now anyway. Let's go check it out and see what we can find."
After a brief discussion, Lefiya turned back and met the little girl's gaze.
"Could you show us the way?"
The girl nodded enthusiastically and began skipping ahead, humming a happy, upbeat tune.
As they walked, a sudden chill ran down Lefiya's spine.
'There's something wrong here…'
She realized, a knot forming in her stomach.
'For someone who claims to have just heard a terrifying monster… she doesn't seem scared at all.'
She didn't want to doubt such a young girl, but her newly heightened instincts were telling her otherwise.
"By the way, what's your name? I'm Lefiya."
She called out, trying to keep her voice casual.
"Chandie."
The little girl replied without missing a beat.
'Hostility?'
Suddenly, Lefiya sensed a malicious presence lurking nearby.
"Someone is watching us?"
Lefiya muttered as she looked around.
Right then, the little girl stopped dead in her tracks.
"Looks like the gig is up."
She murmured mysteriously.
Simultaneously, a shadow dropped straight from the roof above, a devastating kick aimed directly at Lefiya's back.
'Danger!'
Lefiya's instincts screamed.
She flipped forward and rolled across the ground, barely avoiding the attack.
As she scrambled to her feet, Lefiya's eyes flashed in immediate recognition.
'Isn't that… Bache Kalif? Tiona told me she used to be her mentor.'
Standing where she had been a second ago was an Amazon with sand-colored hair and a well-endowed figure, wearing a mask that concealed the lower half of her face.
"To be able to dodge my attack even though I wasn't serious… impressive."
Bache said calmly as she turned toward Lefiya.
'That's because I've been receiving plenty of training from Judas and the others…'
Lefiya thought fiercely, raising her staff and immediately beginning to channel her magic.
"I like that spirit in your eyes, but unfortunately…"
Bache's form abruptly vanished from sight.
"You're punching far above your weight class, little elf."
A heavy, precise chop struck the back of Lefiya's neck.
Even with her Level 4 perception, Lefiya couldn't even register when Bache had moved behind her.
"Argh!"
Pain shot through her body before she collapsed to the ground.
"Lefiya!"
Elfy's panicked scream echoed from somewhere behind her.
"There are certain gods capable of suppressing their divine presence, such as Zeus, Odin, and the other great godkings among the gods."
"They can disguise themselves as ordinary mortals, blending into the populace unnoticed."
Lefiya lifted her head with difficulty.
The little girl, Chandie, turned around and calmly slipped a familiar skull mask over her face.
An invisible divine aura immediately spread from her.
'The aura of a god… I was fooled.'
Lefiya thought as her vision slowly began to fade.
"You learn something new every day, child of Loki… now go to sleep."
That was the last thing she heard before darkness swallowed her vision.
...
Meanwhile, in another part of town, Argana landed in front of Tione and her group.
"Argana, haven't you had enough already?"
Tione growled, her face contorting with an intense, violent anger.
"Tione, step back and calm down."
Riveria commanded smoothly, stepping forward and shifting her stern gaze to the Amazon blocking their path
"If there's something you want to say, then say it. Otherwise, step aside."
She spoke with a serious expression.
But Argana wasn't looking at her.
Instead, her gaze remained fixed on Tione as she spoke a few words in the language of the Amazons before leaping onto a rooftop and disappearing.
...
Several minutes later, Loki finally arrived at the scene of the ambush.
A grim expression settled over her face as her eyes swept across the area.
Members of her Familia lay scattered on the ground, some unconscious and others bleeding from their wounds as healers rushed between them.
"Sorry, Loki..."
Rakta Haze spoke weakly.
The Level 3 Hume Bunny was one of the few who had remained conscious.
"They were too much for us. They came out of nowhere, attacked us, and took Lefiya."
"How are your injuries?"
Loki immediately crouched beside her.
"Honestly, it hurts like hell, but I don't think I'm going to die."
"But those guys took the Familia emblem with them for some reason."
A brief silence followed.
Loki lowered her gaze, seemingly organizing her thoughts.
Nearby, Tione watched everything with clenched fists.
'Kali...'
Her nails dug into her palms.
'I'll never forgive you.'
Blood slowly trickled between her fingers.
"Gotcha."
Loki stood and gave Rakta a light pat on the shoulder as the healers moved in.
"Leave the rest to us. Your job now is to rest."
Rakta nodded and allowed the healers to continue their work.
Loki slipped both hands into her pockets.
Her expression became unreadable.
'So they beat up my children...'
Her gaze drifted across the injured members of her Familia.
'And they took Lefiya hostage.'
The air around her seemed to grow heavier.
As Ais walked past, she instinctively glanced toward her goddess.
The moment she saw Loki's expression...
Ais froze.
A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek.
'That damn shrimp...'
A dark shadow covered Loki's face.
For a brief moment, Ais was reminded that beneath the jokes, pranks, and lazy behavior...
Loki was still a goddess.
And right now...
She was furious.
'If it's a fight you want...'
The trickster goddess wore an expression more terrifying than anything Ais had ever witnessed in her life.
'Then it's a fight you'll get.'
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