[Orario, Top of Babel]
A silver-haired goddess arrived at her own supre sanctuary, only to find that a man had already arrived and was sitting on her throne.
Seeing that figure, for so reason, Freya’s heart trembled.
Inside the sanctuary, there were five people: a man in a black cloak, a masked blonde female swordsman, the black and white elf sisters, and—
"Astrea, what are you doing?", Freya looked at the only familiar goddess.
Goddess Astrea smiled innocently, "I’m a captive."
While all mbers of the Astrea Familia were lying in the hospital, [Achilles] had not been idle.
First, she went to chop up the [Slave Cat], then under the guidance of the Dis sisters, she captured Dionysus, and finally, she ’invited’ Goddess Astrea as well.
"So it seems, you intend to take captive too," Freya’s purple eyes flashed.
However, the next mont, the goddess let out a muffled grunt and took two steps back.
"’Charm’ doesn’t work on . Be good, it’s better for both of us," The red-haired man of unknown identity stood up, walked beside her, and rubbed Freya’s head.
And surprisingly, the goddess’s body quivered slightly at this action.
"...So you’re the one who bullied my children, [Heracles]?", Freya asked, suppressing her emotions.
"That’s right," Heracles replied calmly, "I’ve invited you and Goddess Astrea here to participate in a ga."
He snapped his fingers lightly.
In the middle floor of Babel, a black curtain slowly fell, revealing a giant clock hidden behind it.
It was a specially modified tipiece. Its hands moved counterclockwise and ran at only one-third the speed of a normal clock.
At the sa ti, crystal screens placed throughout the city began to broadcast images.
["I’ll give this city seventy-two hours,"] Heracles spoke calmly. His voice and image spread across Orario, ["If you fail to reach the top of the Inverted Tower before the countdown ends, then..."]
As he spoke, he glanced at the Dis sisters.
"Yes, Master~", White elf Dina responded softly. After a respectful bow, she tossed a heavy sack out the window.
Monts later, a pillar of light symbolizing the return of a god to the heavens shot skyward, the god Dionysus inside the sack had been banished to the divine realm.
Emiya... Heracles said, ["The countdown begins. Every twelve hours, we will return one god. Please make haste."]
The last image on the crystal screens was of him walking toward the two goddesses.
———
A few minutes later, Ottar and Anya, who had rushed from the hospital, endured their pain and charged up the tower first.
However, when they opened the top floor door, the throne area was already empty.
———
"You’re still as twisted as ever," Alfia said.
Capturing the goddesses had been the idea of the [Celestial Fox].
"This is to motivate the younger generation," The fox woman licked her lips, "Having their beloved goddess defeated and captured by a fearso man, the boys from Freya Familia surely can’t bear such humiliation~"
Goddess Astrea smiled awkwardly, "All of my Familia mbers are girls."
"Well, since you’re here, join in," The fox woman smiled and clapped her hands, "Alright, goddesses, please don’t leave this base for the next three days."
At these words, Goddess Freya glared coldly at her, snorted, and turned to leave.
Goddess Astrea also sighed softly, "Got it."
"Hoo~ feels good to let off so steam," The fox woman chuckled, "Though the new generation is weak in power, their spirit isn’t bad. At least, compared to us old tirs who crumbled after one defeat, they’re much more resilient."
Alfia replied coldly, "Maybe it’s just because they haven’t faced true despair yet."
"Well then, they’re in luck," The fox woman said, then paused and added seriously, "Alfia, this ti, don’t fight anymore."
"If you keep pushing yourself, you’ll die."
Alfia: "Since I ca here, I had no intention of leaving alive."
"If you die, the goddess and I will be sad."
"I don’t care."
"How heartless."
"You won’t be that sad anyway, right?"
"Mm, true. Losing companions... to be honest, I should be used to it by now."
"..."
Back when they were in the Hera Familia, Alfia had a closer relationship with the [Sword Saint], and often quarreled with the mischievous fox woman.
The headstrong witch and the sly foxkin, the image of these two Lv.7 beauties bickering was a morable sight in the Hera Familia.
Back then, Alfia had been enraged countless tis by the fox woman. If not for the fox’s quick retreats every ti, their verbal battles might have turned physical.
But now, those red-faced quarrels seed to have beco fond mories.
Alfia saying the other wouldn’t be sad was clearly just angry talk, and the fox woman’s coback was gentle yet piercing.
"You’re one of the few companions I have left, do you think I wouldn’t be sad?", Her eyes clearly said that.
Alfia’s eyes lowered slightly. She realized she’d spoken out of line. But with her prideful nature, she couldn’t bring herself to apologize.
A short silence flowed between them. The Celestial Fox spoke softly, "teria would be sad too."
Alfia’s expression shifted slightly, "teria is already gone. I should’ve joined her long ago."
"But her wish still hasn’t been fulfilled."
Hearing the fox woman’s words, Alfia fell silent.
The fox changed the topic, "By the way, Alfia, you seem to be in a good mood today?"
"...Why do you think that?"
"Hmm... just a feeling. Your face looks like it’s glowing," The Celestial Fox said, "Isn’t that nice? Don’t always frown like that. Such a cute face would be wasted."
"It’s not," Alfia denied.
As for the fox’s teasing, perhaps out of a "give leeway to the disabled" attitude, or maybe because she was reminiscing, Alfia accepted it calmly.
Watching Alfia silently walk away, the fox smiled gently, and a sudden idea flashed in her mind.
"There are still many popular goddesses in this labyrinth city, Ishtar, Deter, Brigid, Veritas, Hebe... Why not just capture them all?"
As transcendent beings, gods all possessed extraordinary beauty. But even among them, so goddesses were particularly beloved.
"If we round up all the popular goddesses, the city’s adventurers should be even more motivated~"
[Stella Bow] reminded her, "Sister, the twelve-hour mark is almost here."
"Mm~ pick one of those evil gods at random and send him off," The Celestial Fox said, "Oh right, don’t forget to get verbal authorization from Lady Hera. No need to get cursed for killing a god."
"Understood," The elf girl nodded.
"Also, please summon Miss ’Achilles’ and Lord ’Heracles’, I have a plan that requires their cooperation."
———
That night, after a full day of capturing goddesses, Emiya and Ryuu returned to the base in the artificial dungeon.
Emiya sought out Hera to discuss the next phase of the plan.
"This artificial dungeon, the forr base of the Evilus, makes a fitting battlefield," Hera said, "We’ll divide it into twelve areas. The first three floors will be filled with leftover Evilus monsters; the next three will be occupied by elven soldiers; the seventh floor, the elf sisters; the eighth, let ’Gluttony’ go."
Morgan (Riveria) and Tamamo-no-Mae (Haruhi) would handle support roles.
"The final floor is for Heracles. For the remaining three, one goes to Achilles. As for the rest...", Hera paused briefly, then continued, "Can you handle it?"
The [Sword Saint] responded timidly, "Mm... I’ve already made up my mind."
The Celestial Fox chuckled, "No problem."
[Stella Bow] gathered her courage, "I’ll do my best to support the sisters!"
As for the [The Empress], she had another mission and had already set off two days ago.
Hera looked to Emiya, "What do you think of this arrangent?"
"Please proceed as you see fit," Emiya replied.
"You brat, this was your idea, yet you’re making it sound like I’m the one doing the work," Hera grumbled softly, but her pen drawing the map didn’t pause, clearly, she was enjoying herself.
After all, this queen of the gods had a competitive and controlling nature. After her Familia’s destruction, the idle days spent hunting Zeus had long repressed her.
Now, this feeling of commanding everything was just what she loved.
Hera looked at the girls in her Familia, the [The Empress], not present, had her life extended by thirty years thanks to Emiya’s treatnt; the [Sword Saint]’s artificial magic eyes were being trained; the [Celestial Fox] was collaborating with Emiya, two possessors of Mystery, to create an alchemical prosthetic body.
And once these seniors recovered, [Stella Bow], who had a fragile mind, would have soone to rely on and likely wouldn’t self-harm anymore.
Hera knew well that such small changes were still far from enough to overco the [Dark End].
But even so, the once-dead heart of the goddess was beginning to beat again.
At this mont, watching these girls be reborn, Hera felt both comforted and, in the deepest part of her divinity, the seeds of ambition quietly sprouted.
’And [Silenc]’... if her body can be healed...’, Hera pondered silently.
The goddess thought of Alfia’s younger twin sister, teria, and the words she had left behind at the end of her life.
Her blood-related twin was that girl’s only weakness.
Hera let out a soft sigh. She truly could not resist the temptation of reigning once more.
’In that case, I’ll bear all the consequences myself.’
She waved to the boy and tilted her chin slightly, "Boy, co here. I’ll bestow a blessing upon you."
Emiya: "Huh? Uh, thank you... What kind of blessing?"
"It’s a good thing, anyway," Hera grabbed Emiya’s wrist. The queen’s noble face was slightly flushed, and her moist breath landed on his earlobe, "Co to my room." [T/N: 😏]
Above the night sky, the brilliant Milky Way sprinkled its radiance.
———
The next day arrived.
The adventurers of the labyrinth city did not disappoint.
Finn and the others quickly figured it out, the [Inverted Tower] wasn’t in the dungeon, but in an artificial dungeon hidden on one side of the dungeon.
After a full night of travel and intelligence gathering, they finally found the entrance by noon on the second day.
So far, two pillars of light had risen. The first was the god Dionysus, his Familia’s stats had been completely nullified. The second was still unclear.
This put imnse psychological pressure on the adventurers, fearing that the next ascending light would be their beloved goddess.
Especially Ottar and the others, they were nearly going mad.
However, after brief confusion, retreat, and despair, the adventurers of this city had once again rallied themselves.
Of course, the capture of many goddesses was also a major source of motivation.
Right now, images were forming in the adventurers’ minds, many beautiful goddesses in disheveled clothing bound in chains, hanging in a row before stone walls...
"AHHHH, FOR LADY FREYA!"
"RESCUE LADY ISHTAR!"
"GIVE OUR GODDESSES BACK!"
"DAMN VILLAIN, I’LL KILL YOU!"
"Goddess Astrea is our mother! DAMN IT, WE’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"
Countless male gods and adventurers shouted with bloodshot eyes, forcibly pushing morale to its peak.
Of course, there were also so goddesses who were even angrier for not being captured, like Loki.
This ti, it was no longer the lone fight of any one Familia, it was the entire city, humans, elves, demi-humans, new and veteran adventurers alike, all united in one massive army, marching toward the entrance of the [Inverter Tower].
Under the bright daylight, swords glead sharply, and the sound of horns echoed throughout the city.
"Little pallum, let’s make it clear, we don’t intend to follow your command, nor do we plan to cooperate with you," Ottar said coldly.
Finn: "I understand. There’s no plan this ti. All we can do is push forward with everything we have."
Thus, the leaders of the Freya and Loki Familia reached a consensus.
At that mont, exactly one-third of the countdown had passed. The third pillar of light rose on schedule.
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