After giving the Loki Familia a small dose of "Sakura shock," Sakura and Seele returned to their usual routine after coming back.
By day, they would enter the Dungeon to "train."
By night, they would use Quantumization to return to the familia's base and rest.
Of course, given Sakura's and Seele's current level of strength, calling it training was a bit of a stretch. It was more like sightseeing through the various floors of the Dungeon—killing monsters was something they did casually along the way.
An Xora didn't think there was anything wrong with that.
This wasn't some neighboring xianxia setting where even the most gifted geniuses had to constantly fight others for resources just to cultivate and grow stronger. With Sakura's magical talent, as long as she consciously developed it and trained step by step, she would eventually reach her canon-level strength anyway—it was just a matter of whether that happened a few years earlier or later. There was no need to force things or deliberately stir up trouble.
And so, a few more days passed.
On this day, Sakura and Seele brought back good news to An Xora after returning from the Dungeon.
"An Xora-gege, today in the Dungeon, a familia tried to provoke us."
It was Seele who spoke.
"Apollo Familia?" An Xora asked immediately.
"Yes, it was the Apollo Familia."
"Not easy," An Xora said with a faint smile.
"We waited so many days, and they finally took the bait."
He wasn't surprised at all that the Apollo Familia had made a move. One could only say that this was how the original plot went.
If there was any difference, it was that the current Hestia Familia had both Seele and Sakura as members—and compared to Bell, who took a month to reach Lv.2 in the original story, Seele and Sakura leveling up in just four days clearly demonstrated even greater talent.
Oh, and there was one more difference.
Seele and Sakura were girls.
So Apollo—that guy—was probably just coveting their talent, unlike in the original story where there were… additional motives involved.
"When the Apollo Familia provoked you in the Dungeon, you didn't show too much strength, right?" An Xora asked.
"No," Seele replied.
"When we noticed their hostile intent, Sakura used the [Wind] Card to blow them all away. The ones who came to provoke us were all just Lv.1s—none of the Apollo Familia's executives or their captain."
"Well done," An Xora nodded.
"If you scared them off completely, we'd have to pay for our new familia residence out of pocket."
Whether the Hestia Familia could finally move out of the abandoned church depended entirely on the Apollo Familia's "contribution."
Sure, An Xora could always have Makima send over some gold from the Jujutsu world, or even make money directly in this world. But ever since raising Talulah in the Arknights world—after slaughtering native dog-brained lords and looting their treasuries one after another—An Xora had come to feel that compared to buying, things taken by force just felt more satisfying to use.
"Since the Apollo Familia has delivered itself to our doorstep," An Xora continued,
"there's no need to wait for them to keep provoking us. Let's go straight to their familia base."
The Apollo Familia's goal in provoking them was to trigger a War Game, then use it to steal members.
And An Xora's reason for having Sakura and Seele wait patiently was exactly the same.
The only difference was that An Xora didn't want to steal people—he wanted to loot the Apollo Familia's entire house.
Since both sides wanted a War Game anyway, it didn't matter who proposed it. In that case, they might as well take the initiative and make things clear through action.
Apollo Familia picking a fight ✗
Apollo Familia getting into trouble ✓
"If we want to start a War Game between two familias, both familia gods need to be present to apply to the Guild," Sakura raised her hand and added from beside Seele.
"That's true," An Xora nodded.
"At this time, Hestia should still be selling fried potato balls. Let's go find her."
The three of them went to the snack street where Hestia worked and told her everything.
"What?! Apollo actually dared to set his sights on Sakura and Seele?!"
Upon hearing that the Apollo Familia had tried to provoke a War Game to steal Sakura and Seele, Hestia exploded on the spot.
"Where does the Apollo Familia get the guts to target Sakura and Seele?!"
"They probably don't know Sakura's and Seele's true strength," An Xora said calmly.
"They likely just think of them as ordinary Lv.2s who leveled up unusually fast. But this is also an opportunity—if we win the War Game and take the Apollo Familia's assets, the Hestia Familia can move out of the abandoned church and into a mansion."
"Hestia, you wouldn't want Sakura and Seele to keep sleeping in an abandoned church like you, would you?"
"The chance to improve the Hestia Familia's financial situation is right in front of us."
To be fair, An Xora's words hit Hestia right in the heart.
Because of her lack of money, she had always felt guilty about forcing such well-behaved, considerate children like Sakura and Seele to live with her in an abandoned church. She desperately wanted to change that situation.
But her daily earnings from selling fried potato balls only barely covered basic living expenses. And the money Sakura and Seele earned from clearing monsters and selling magic stones had all been handed over to An Xora.
Unaware that An Xora could summon gold from other worlds at any time, Hestia had long believed that with An Xora around, improving the familia's living conditions would require saving money for a very long time.
So faced with the Apollo Familia's provocation—and unwilling to let Sakura and Seele continue suffering—Hestia decisively chose to go all in.
"Let's go! We're heading to the Apollo Familia's base!"
A War Game, huh?
Aside from the Freya Familia, she couldn't think of anyone she might not be able to beat. Why would the Hestia Familia be afraid of the Apollo Familia?
Even the Loki Familia's Lv.5 Sword Princess, Ais, had lost to Sakura. Compared to that, the Apollo Familia—whose strongest member was only a Lv.3 captain—was nothing.
...
Half an hour later, at the Apollo Familia's base.
Standing at the gate, Hestia showed no courtesy at all and directly gave Sakura a look.
The next second, a howling gust of wind blasted the Apollo Familia's gate wide open.
"Apollo! Get out here!"
With such a commotion, there was no way the Apollo Familia could remain indifferent. Soon, a group of Apollo Familia members rushed out, followed by their god, Apollo himself.
"Well, well, Hestia," Apollo sneered.
"Did you hit your head or something? You actually dare come to my territory and cause trouble?"
"Heh. Who picked a fight first, you know very well," Hestia shot back.
"I won't waste words with you. Your familia attacked my children in the Dungeon. I'm here today to demand an explanation."
"You can't just say whatever you want," Apollo retorted smoothly.
"What do you mean my familia attacked your children? Do you have proof? I could just as easily say your familia attacked my children because you were stronger."
Even though he had indeed sent people to attack Sakura and Seele, Apollo would never admit it openly. After all, Orario was under the Guild's jurisdiction, and the Guild strictly forbade conflicts between familias—even covert attacks in the Dungeon.
(Though in practice, that rule was often unenforceable.)
"I'm not interested in arguing with you."
Before Apollo could continue, a white glove was flung straight into his face.
"This is what you want, isn't it?" Hestia said coldly.
"A War Game against us?"
"Fine. I accept. My children will make you understand that plotting against the Hestia Familia is the biggest mistake you'll ever make in your divine life."
"Now, I, Hestia, in the name of the Hestia Familia's god, formally challenge the Apollo Familia to a War Game!"
Apollo slowly took the white glove off his face and stared deeply at Hestia.
"It seems that after lucking into two talented children, you've become a bit full of yourself," he said with a smile.
"You actually dare to take the initiative and challenge me to a War Game."
Completely unaware of the Hestia Familia's true strength, Apollo felt a vague sense that something was off—but seeing Hestia walk straight into what looked like a trap, he ultimately smiled and nodded.
"I, Apollo, in the name of the Apollo Familia's god, accept this War Game."
And just like that, with both familia gods in agreement, Hestia and Apollo immediately submitted the application to the Guild and finalized the rules.
Legion Battle.
In simple terms, both familias would engage in a full-scale, head-on confrontation within a Guild-designated battlefield. It was a pure contest of raw strength.
This format clearly favored the Apollo Familia, who had more members and stronger forces on paper. After all, the Hestia Familia only had Sakura and Seele—two newly promoted, seemingly weak Lv.2s—while the Apollo Familia had a Lv.3 captain and several Lv.2 executives.
To be honest, even Apollo himself found it hard to believe that Hestia had agreed to a Legion Battle. For a moment, he genuinely wondered whether she had gone mad.
Little did he know that Hestia simply felt this format would end the fight faster.
With the rules decided, the War Game was scheduled to begin one week later.
During that week, news of the War Game between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia spread throughout Orario thanks to gossip-loving gods.
The gods, perpetually bored, naturally wouldn't miss such rare entertainment—especially when one of the main characters was the recently famous Hestia Familia. The moment the news spread, excitement exploded, and Orario buzzed with discussion.
At the Loki Familia's base, the Twilight Manor—
"Looks like the unlucky ones this time are the Apollo Familia," Loki said gleefully.
While most outsiders favored the Apollo Familia, the Loki Familia's higher-ups held the exact opposite view.
Of course, this opinion was limited to the executive level—because only the Lv.5 executives of the Loki Familia had witnessed Sakura defeating Ais with their own eyes.
"With Miss Sakura's strength," Finn said calmly,
"I really can't see any possibility of the Hestia Familia losing."
"Agreed."
The other executives nodded in unison.
"After this battle, Miss Sakura—and that Miss Seele, whose strength is still unclear—will probably shake all of Orario once again."
But this time, it wouldn't be because of leveling speed.
It would be because of true power.
...
One week passed quickly.
Under the watchful eyes of countless spectators, the War Game between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia finally began.
"Hurry up, hurry up! Is the image adjusted yet? I can't wait anymore!"
"Don't block my view! If I miss something exciting, can you compensate me?!"
"Tsk tsk, the Apollo Familia really sent out everyone, huh? Even though the other side only has two people, they're still taking it this seriously?"
As the War Game drew near, the gods gathered together, using the Divine Mirror to remotely observe the battlefield.
The Divine Mirror was one of the few powers gods were permitted to use in the Lower World—but only in special situations like War Games. Using it privately would result in immediate banishment back to Heaven if discovered.
With a mischievous grin, Loki leaned over toward the goddess beside her.
"So, Freya—who do you think is going to win?"
"I don't know," Freya replied, shaking her head.
"Judging by surface strength, the Apollo Familia should have the higher chance. But the souls of those two children… I can't quite read them."
As a goddess of beauty, Freya's rise to power in Orario wasn't just due to her irresistible charm—even to other gods—but also because of her eyes, which could see through souls.
Normally, whether a mortal's soul was dim or radiant, pure or corrupted, Freya could tell at a glance.
But when she looked at Sakura, that power seemed to fail entirely.
Freya couldn't discern the color of Sakura's soul at all. From her perspective, Sakura's soul was shrouded in mist. Even when Freya focused with all her might, it was like gazing into the night sky—she could only glimpse a tiny fragment, never the full picture.
Seele was slightly better.
Freya could see Seele's soul—but that didn't mean it was normal.
After all, how could a normal person have two souls in one body?
One soul was incredibly pure, overflowing with life, so beautiful that even Freya felt her heart stir when looking at it.
The other soul, however, was saturated with malice and cold deathly aura. Freya felt uncomfortable after just a single glance and instinctively looked away.
"They're both very interesting children," Freya said softly.
"If it's them, perhaps they really can create a miracle and defeat the Apollo Familia."
"And judging by your expression," Loki smirked,
"you seem to be leaning toward the Hestia Familia. Know something we don't?"
"Well," Loki replied leisurely,
"that's a secret. Just watch patiently—I guarantee it'll blow your mind."
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