"They are strong. There is no room for disagreement on that point."
Unknown powerhouses whose strength made measuring by level meaningless.
Beyond their individual traits, even their basic regenerative abilities transcended human limits.
"And yet, we will win."
They were beings that could be overcome, provided one could somehow find a strategy amidst the narrow margins of survival.
"It is almost... as if they are inviting us to climb...."
"This is disgusting. Are they playing with us or what?"
Hedin and Akumo shared that suspicion, concluding that the enemies they faced were not placed there simply based on the presence or absence of raw power.
One floor tests strength, another speed, another magic.
Thwack—!!!
And just as they grew accustomed to the strategy—
"S-Save me...."
Clang—!!!
"From this armor... set me free..."
Pure violence descended upon them as the final trial.
Pummel—!!!
Boom—!!!
It no longer mattered who the entity before them was.
Slash—!!!
Flash—!!!
Crackle—!!
They simply had to pour every attack they had into it and overcome it by any means necessary.
Crunch—!
"...."
Was this a futile effort? Was it right to simply strike down the beings before them?
Their emotions grew numb as they focused solely on the ascent.
They had no way of knowing the situation outside or the status of the rest of their party.
"The rest of you rest. I will handle as much as I can alone..."
"No."
Grip—
Akumo did not want to shift the burden of this trial onto the others.
Ryu Lion took Akumo's hand.
"I understand the pressure of time and your concern for the others."
Step, step—
"However, we feel the same."
"For the sake of the Sun! We would gladly offer our very lives."
Everyone had their own stories and convictions.
Since he had decided to use everything at his disposal, he couldn't afford to show weakness now.
"Please, use us to your heart's content as well."
Following Mikoto's words, Akumo took a brief moment to rest.
Time here flows differently than outside... It no longer matters how much time has passed.
After clearing his head, Akumo began to discuss the changing appearance of the tower with the group.
"The enemy patterns and the tower's layout have become similar at some point."
"A warrior, a martial artist, a mage..."
"And finally, someone who is just generally powerful, regardless of their circumstances."
Both the forms of the enemies and the methods to defeat them were becoming standardized.
"....What does it mean...."
The reason why another Babel had appeared before their eyes.
They needed to understand the fundamental reason behind it.
"That seems like a pointless thought while climbing a tower."
"!?"
It seemed the administrator of the tower did not look kindly upon such fundamental questioning.
"In any case, we must follow the plan we set earlier. We have to reach the pillar inside the tower."
Bell's group was making steady progress, dealing with the surging Flame Men.
"But, Lord Apollo.... at this rate, we won't know where to go."
Slide—
"No matter which path we take, the same scenery continues.... We lost our sense of direction long ago... and there are no markers...!"
Moving forward without a goal was a dead end.
However, they would surely be able to find the right path.
"There is a marker. Or should I call it a detector?"
"What do you mean by that...."
"If Ariadne's thread is in Hestia's temple, then that thread is her [Ichor]. Specifically, your Falna."
That was the very reason the members of the Hestia Familia had been dispersed.
They would surely guide the lost party through the connection that only they could feel.
"...Try to focus, Bell. I believe you can do it."
"Ilia...."
At Ilia's words, Bell trusted himself, closed his eyes, and focused on the calling deep within his heart.
Whoosh—!
And then, he felt the calling of the flames.
Dash—!!
"...! A staircase leading upward!"
"Until now, there were only infinitely long corridors. It seems we've found the right way...."
As soon as Bell felt that connection, a passage appeared in their path where there had been nothing before, despite having passed through it repeatedly.
"Keep moving forward! Rabbit!"
"Yes!!"
Hyakinthos still didn't particularly like Bell, but he couldn't help but be moved by the courage and miracles shown by Bell and Akumo.
For the sake of the Sun... I will gladly lend my strength.
With that thought, they arrived together at a massive room.
"It's so vast I can't even see the end of the inner walls.."
"But what lies at the edge of our vision is quite clear...."
A massive chamber unfolded before them.
In the center of the room, so wide its ends were invisible, sat a small sun.
"Warning. If you approach any further, you will be excluded."
"!!!"
And standing there as if guarding the pillar was Vesta.
"Goddess...!?"
Startled by Vesta's appearance—or rather, Hestia's appearance—Bell called out to her, but—
"Once again, warning."
"I order your immediate withdrawal. If you do not comply, exclusionary action is inevitable."
However, her reaction was certainly not that of Hestia.
"Is she the sentinel of the pillar created by Vesta..."
"A sentinel...?"
A sentinel that also existed in Vesta's temple in the heavens.
Normally, it would be closer to a spirit guarding a pillar, but....
"With the power of the flames now, she is practically a clone..."
A clone of a god. If so, that sentinel was also a being close to a god.
"Just how absurd is this power...! This [Heaven's Flame]...."
"Did I not tell you, Hyakinthos? That power is no different from [Demi Arcanum]."
Fwoosh—!
"The being that protects the temple and the sacred flame. That must be the true Priestess of Vesta."
The origin of the priestesses that had existed in Olympia.
"Warning. Warning. Warning. Any further waiting will not be overlooked. I repeat. Any further intrusion will not be forgiven."
Then, all the more reason to defeat the priestess before them and silence the pillar.
".....You heard her, Rabbit. Finish her, without hesitation!"
"Hyakinthos... But!"
However, for Bell, the priestess's appearance made his sword waver, and just as he was hesitating to charge—
"She is merely an enemy with the same appearance as your master! She is nothing more than an illusion anyway. Do not mistake your priorities."
"....!!"
Clench—!
"I understand...."
Bell made his decision, clenching his fists tight.
"....Warning ineffective. Releasing functions accordingly."
Vring—!!
".....?"
"[Ela Gabalus]."
The guardian had no intention of allowing them such leisure.
"Obey my command...! Strike down everyone around you indiscriminately!!"
Meanwhile, Hephaestus and Welf, who remained with Aphrodite.
—Uoooooh!!!!!!!
Boom—!!!
—Aaaaaah!!!!!!!
Bang—!!!!
"The Flame Men are attacking each other.... Isn't that goddess actually the strongest...? Shouldn't she have been the one to conquer the tower..."
Watching Aphrodite, Welf expressed his doubt to Hephaestus.
"[Charm] does not work on Flame Beasts that have no ego. It's useless even if they turn into monsters."
Glance—
"More importantly, blocking them here prevents the tower from being interfered with."
Hephaestus saw through the intentions of Aphrodite, who had made a precise judgment despite her eccentric appearance, and prepared to move herself.
"Aphrodite!"
"I know. I'll lend you Boecklin and Sandro."
Grin—
"Go and use your strength for your good men!"
"...!? Don't say things that could be misunderstood!!"
As a friend, Aphrodite willingly lent her followers to Hephaestus.
"Consider it a whim of an ex-girlfriend and hurry along!"
"....Just don't go getting yourself sent back to heaven on a whim, Aphrodite!"
With that, they set off toward the [Hearth].
"Welf, follow me!"
"Yes!"
Dash—!!!!
The path they took was a familiar alley they had visited since their first day here.
"The scenery is different, but.... this road definitely leads to where the forge was...."
"Correct. Although Olympia is currently overwritten by the manifestation of the altar, not every piece of terrain or building is like that."
Clang—!!
"And that... becomes clearer the further you get from Hestia."
Amidst the ashes, a most familiar sound rang out.
Clang—!!
"T-This sound is...?"
Clang—!!
"Could it be.... the sound of a hammer!?"
Just as Sandro and Boecklin said, the sound of hammering continued to ring out, and Hephaestus led Welf straight to the hearth.
Rattle—!!
""!!!""
As soon as they opened the door to the forge, Sandro and Boecklin were struck with horror.
Sizzle—
"The heat is murderous... I feel like my lungs are going to burn....!"
"No, more than that.... Look at that!"
What they saw was the interior of the forge, shimmering with heat haze.
Clang—!!
Clang—!!
"The blacksmiths from back then...!?"
And there were the blacksmiths, continuing to strike iron with expressionless faces.
"Are these guys not Flame Men...?"
"....No, they are clearly far gone."
Sizzle—!
"...!!"
Now that they had fallen as Flame Men, everything that remained of them had been burned away.
"Except for the impulses rooted in their souls... that is."
Just as Shion and the people of the town repeated their lives.
—"I'm buying flowers for Shiate!"
Their love for their families, their obsession with returning to their daily lives.
—Strike... I must strike...
"Their voices...."
—A work that rivals the [Divine Items].... An ultimate weapon that transcends Epimetheus's sword....
Even though their flesh was scorched and their very souls were torn.
"Why would they do something so foolish....!?"
"Human madness.... An obsession with divine works, a monster-like will to transcend them..."
The obsession of the blacksmiths, showing a maddened state under the single-minded desire to surpass the gods.
That sight resembled Daidalos, the creator of Knossos, whom Welf had encountered before.
"Just how many hundreds of years have they been striking iron since that day...?"
However, it was different from Knossos.
Having completely burned themselves out, they unfortunately could not grow any further.
"I'm sorry. You don't have to forgive me."
Therefore, for the sake of the present, they had to be asked to step aside.
"Lend me this [Hearth], and your [Pride]."
As soon as her words ended, the blacksmiths roared and transformed into Flame Men.
".....So you're saying you don't want to hand it over."
Clench—
"Stand back, blacksmith! You can't possibly..."
"No!"
Because he was a blacksmith, he could feel the aspiration, the desire, the stubbornness, and the madness of the beings before him.
"That's why I have to take it from them."
Schwing—
"My stubbornness is no less than yours."
For his friends, for his goals, to achieve everything.
"[Kazuki]."
As one who aimed for the supreme realm, as a being living in the present.
Fwoosh—!!!!
The blacksmith's flame erupted, ready to burn away all lingering regrets of the past.
========================
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