When Ottar—who had withdrawn from the battlefield on his own initiative—followed the trail of destruction left by the fallen Babel and finally saw Freya again…
BANG!!!
Acting entirely on combat instinct born of long experience, the massive greatsword he raised blocked a merciless thrust from a long spear.
What entered his field of vision next was a face filled with unmIshtarkable fury.
"Allen?"
"You worthless piece of trash—so you really dare to show up this leisurely?!"
The black-haired young man of the cat-people race looked absolutely livid. "You used to be a battle boar with nothing but brute strength, at least! What now—after spending these past few years running errands and delivering messages, you've regressed the more you lived? Is your brain nothing but muscle now, to the point you can't even protect your own master's safety?"
"I told you before, didn't I? If you're no longer worthy of that position, then get the hell down from it."
Looking at the sorry, dust-covered state of his own goddess beside him, Ottar could only remain silent.
He had no way to refute Allen's rebuke, because… protecting Goddess Freya with his life truly was the foremost duty in his heart.
Even if—
"Allen, be quiet."
Freya's voice was cold. "Don't make me repeat myself."
The already bristling catman stiffened as if struck by lightning.
He stopped speaking at once.
And it was at this moment that—
"Ottar, if I recall correctly, the order I gave you earlier was this: eliminate, as quickly as possible, the monster rampaging within my garden."
Freya narrowed her eyes slightly. "So tell me—why are you here now?"
It had been a very long time since the tower-like boaz warrior had heard such a stern interrogation.
At this moment, as a pure warrior, Ottar understood Freya's stance perfectly.
But—
"At present, danger surrounds us on all sides. Please allow me to remain by your side."
Ottar lowered his head and voiced his request.
Unfortunately—
"Do as I say."
Freya allowed no room for argument. "Ottar, all this time, obedience has been your greatest virtue."
"Don't disappoint me again."
The Goddess of Beauty spoke calmly.
Yet the anger contained within her words was impossible to miss.
Daedalus Street… that was where several orphanages were located.
The Goddess of Beauty was greedy.
She would not permit her treasures to be touched or damaged by any outsider.
Even if those treasures were, in her eyes, nothing more than pastimes—little hobbies to pass the time… they were still hers.
Now, having truly understood Freya's unwavering resolve, Ottar no longer insisted.
After bowing respectfully, he turned around and left, heading straight back toward the battlefield.
The very next moment—
"Allen, you go too."
The catman youth looked utterly confused. "Why—"
"I'm already safe here."
Freya turned her head slightly to the side.
There, an incomparably reliable apron-clad "mama" was approaching with several shopgirl attendants.
And the moment he saw those figures—
"Understood."
Yes. Goddess Freya was safe.
After all, when compared to the Loki Familia's highly respected mama-san, their own senior, high-ranking old lady was also a bona fide monster.
With her around—
"I really don't need to worry anymore."
Allen knew this perfectly well.
So then, next—
"Ottar, you idiot. Don't embarrass yourself again."
The catman dashed forward with spear in hand.
The [King], returns to the front lines.
The [Vana Freya], officially enters the battle.
==========
At the same time, on Renjiro (Aether)'s side—
"'Charging' complete."
Deep within the Dungeon's 50th Floor, the blond-haired, golden-eyed youth clenched his fists.
In the next instant, he connected to the surface teleport anchor and appeared directly within the city of Orario.
At this very moment, because Babel had collapsed toward the northwest, the massive upper half of its ruins had landed squarely.
This was also the reason the group from the Hostess of Fertility had been able to rendezvous with Freya so quickly.
The instant Renjiro (Aether) steadied himself—
"Ready?"
His beautiful goddess big sister, the former captain Mia Grand, those who truly became the "waitress F4": Anya, Lunorva, Chloe, and… Syr?
The latter's current identity (or consciousness) was difficult to determine.
However, Freya—who had been guarding the teleport anchor all along—looked at Renjiro (Aether) the moment he appeared, smiled gently, and spoke softly.
"If you're ready, then let's move."
"Go be a hero."
When those encouraging words reached his ears—
"I'm not cut out to be a hero."
Renjiro (Aether) tilted his head to look at the Goddess of Beauty. "But since you're in such high spirits, big sis…"
"Then letting me briefly play the role of a counterfeit and personally open the curtain on the next era doesn't sound bad either."
With that brief exchange concluded, Renjiro (Aether) had already locked his gaze onto the distant Antares.
[Stars—]
The incantation—originally meant to remotely summon a Genshin—was cut off the instant it began.
Because at that very moment—
"The Elsos Ruins…"
Another massive army of Scorpion split-forms had appeared.
The gigantic hole from which the earlier avatar had emerged—the last hole—had never been sealed.
Now, it had become a death sentence, ready to deliver the final blow to the survivors over there.
And just then—
"Bzzzz~"
Within his field of vision, Antares assaulting Orario lit up its single eye with a purple glow.
Such perfect timing?
Planned in advance?
"Is this ever going to end?"
Renjiro (Aether)'s expression turned extremely grim.
If the earlier choice had merely been a matter of trade-offs, then this was absolute abandonment.
But his decision would not change.
Clenching his teeth, he still chose—ruthlessly—to protect the nearer side first…
[Magic spear, penetrate my forehead offering blood
[Hell Finegas]
In the distance, on the battlefield, the pallum who had been fighting on the very front lines abandoned command.
He had made the correct judgment—he knew that, at this moment, command was no longer needed.
What was needed… was for him to go berserk.
Finn Deimne, the Lv.6 renowned for calmness and focus, gained an all-attributes boost to his Basic Abilities upon activating his innate berserk magic.
But in exchange, the higher those attributes rose, the more his rational judgment eroded.
A spell tied to the very concept of a Berserker existed within his seemingly small frame.
Clearly, he possessed ambitions worthy of being called mad, and a soul capable of bearing them.
At this moment, the [Braver] charged forth, giving everything he had.
As the first magic effect completed, immediately after—
"Warrrr~"
A battle cry that sounded more fitting for a dwarf like Gareth than a pallum like Finn burst from the blond adventurer who had truly gone blood-mad.
The next instant—
CLANG~
There was no whistling of air one would expect from a flying projectile.
The Fortia Spear in Finn's hand transformed directly into a streak of golden light, shooting straight toward Antares's single eye.
This was the [Braver]'s strongest attack—usable only once per day, with a full 24-hour cooldown.
A sure-kill throw.
Its name was: Tir na Nog.
It gathered everything Finn currently possessed—his Falna Level, Basic Abilities, latent potential—condensing it all into a single point.
BOOM—