"Choosing a legion battle format for a War Game against us… the Hestia Familia really has some nerve."
On the War Game battlefield, the Apollo Familia members formed into various formations under the command of Daphne Lauros. Standing some distance behind them, the familia captain Hyakinthos Clio, gazed toward the opposite side—where only two people stood for the Hestia Familia—and spoke calmly.
To be honest, Hyakinthos couldn't imagine any possible way his side might lose this War Game. One could even say that the Apollo Familia mobilizing their entire roster and treating this with such seriousness felt completely unnecessary to him.
They were just two Lv.2s.
Let alone himself as a Lv.3 captain—even if he excluded himself and simply picked a few executives from among the remaining members, the odds were that the other side still wouldn't stand a chance.
"Well, better safe than sorry," Hyakinthos added after a moment.
"After all, they are two geniuses who broke Orario's fastest leveling record. There's no guarantee they don't have some powerful skills or magic."
On the other side, with the Hestia Familia—
"Sakura, are you ready?" Seele asked softly.
"Yes, Seele-neechan. I've already prepared everything in advance."
In terms of raw strength, whether it was Seele or the current Sakura, either of them could easily wipe out the entire Apollo Familia on their own. But that didn't mean they were treating this War Game carelessly.
On the contrary, to make the Hestia Familia's first appearance before the gods as spectacular as possible, Seele had deliberately taken Sakura on another trip into the Dungeon before the War Game—to prepare a few "surprises" for the Apollo Familia.
The main reason for this was Sakura's sense of guilt.
After all, she had tampered with Hestia's divine blessing, which not only prevented Hestia from meeting Bell as in the original story, but also—because of the rewritten blessing—meant that Sakura and Seele, though technically members of the Hestia Familia, were not truly connected to Hestia in essence. In a way, that made Hestia's situation even more miserable than in the original timeline.
That left Sakura feeling somewhat apologetic.
So she decided to use this War Game to let Hestia truly hold her head high before the other gods.
Time passed slowly, and soon it was finally time for the War Game to begin.
High above, within the shimmering divine realm spread out by the gods, the voice of the War Game's host rang out.
"Now, let me officially announce—
The War Game… BEGINS!!!"
With that shout echoing across the battlefield, the War Game between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia officially commenced.
"All units, prepare!"
On the Apollo Familia's side, the familia members—who had long been on standby—immediately sprang into action.
Some adventurers charged forward, spreading out in a semicircle to encircle the Hestia Familia, while the rear-guard mages in the back began rapidly chanting spells.
Naturally, the fastest to act were those stationed in the middle ranks—members armed with bows.
"Archers, prepare to fire!"
They drew their bows in unison. One arrow after another, infused with the full strength of their wielders, was loosed in a single volley, forming the first wave of attacks as they flew toward Sakura and Seele.
In response, Sakura calmly raised the staff in her hand.
"Shield."
An invisible barrier, like a transparent dome, instantly enveloped Sakura and Seele. The incoming arrows didn't even get close before being stopped cold by the shield's power.
"Some kind of defensive magic?" Hyakinthos murmured, watching the scene unfold.
Though surprised, he wasn't particularly shaken.
After all, as prodigies whose names had echoed throughout Orario in recent days, it would be stranger if Sakura and Seele fought like ordinary Lv.2s. Possessing a defensive spell was unexpected—but still within reason.
Just then, the rear-guard mages finished their chants.
In an instant, a barrage of spells streaked toward Sakura and Seele.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
Magic released simultaneously by multiple rear-guard mages—an attack that would instantly kill even a Lv.3 like Hyakinthos if hit head-on—came crashing down on the two Lv.2s.
To be honest, at that moment Hyakinthos almost hoped their defensive magic would hold.
If they died outright, then even if the Apollo Familia won, it would be a hollow victory with nothing to gain.
Yet when the smoke and dust from the explosions finally cleared—
The shield still stood firm.
The barrier formed by the Shield Card remained perfectly intact, enveloping Sakura and Seele. The combined full-power assault of the Apollo Familia's rear-guard mages hadn't even caused the defense to tremble in the slightest.
"How is that possible?!"
Hyakinthos' eyes widened in shock.
That had been the Apollo Familia's mages attacking at full power—yet two Lv.2s had blocked it so effortlessly?
Not only blocked it, but without any visible damage at all.
Just what kind of defensive magic was this? How could its defensive power be so absurdly strong?!
"Riveria, compared to your magic, which do you think is stronger—Miss Sakura's defense or yours?"
Within the divine realm, watching the War Game through the gods' projection, Finn, of the Loki Familia, turned to ask Riveria beside him.
As Orario's strongest mage, the Nine Hell Riveria possessed three exceptionally powerful spells: offense, defense, and recovery. Through segmented chanting, she could cast each spell in three stages—weak to strong—resulting in a total of nine different effects. This was the origin of her title.
Among these, her defensive spell "Dimension—Severance" was recognized as the strongest defensive magic in all of Orario—perhaps even the world—capable of completely cutting off all physical and magical attacks. To this day, no enemy had ever broken through it.
And yet, even with such a spell at her disposal, Riveria merely shook her head at Finn's question.
"If you're asking purely in terms of defensive effect, I can't say which is stronger—Miss Sakura's defense or my 'Dimension—Severance,'" Riveria replied honestly.
"Even during her fight against Ais that day, Miss Sakura's defensive magic never wavered in the slightest. I couldn't see where its limit lay."
"But if what you're really asking is whether my 'Dimension—Severance' is stronger than the defensive card created by Miss Sakura's 'Magic Card Creation'…"
Riveria paused, then continued calmly,
"…then you already know the answer, don't you?"
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