Seeing neither of the two white-haired youths willing to back down, Hermes, who had only been observing until now, finally couldn't bear not to interfere with the situation.
"You two, this isn't the time to keep arguing. If we let Antares launch that arrow in the sky, the entire world is in danger, you know~"
He pointed toward the room's ceiling that opened to the increasingly glowing artificial moon.
"The world is currently in a deadly crisis and our time is almost up. Are you sure you want to continue debating about who has the right to fight Antares? Personally, I think we should let Bell do it."
Hearing that, Hestia couldn't stay silent letting her beloved child face danger.
"You're crazy, Hermes! Bell is only Level 2! That's a monster that even devoured Artemis! It's too reckless to have him fight such a strong monster!" She hugged Bell protectively. "Rather than Bell, that role is more suitable for Charlie who is Level 6. I don't agree with Bell bearing the burden of the world's fate alone!"
However, Artemis, still in a weakened condition while holding her chest, opposed Hestia's suggestion.
"Hestia... That's wrong... Only Bell can defeat Antares... There's no one else but him..."
"Why?! Why does it have to be my Bell!"
The one who answered Hestia's distress was neither Artemis nor Hermes, but Astraea who had been observing carefully.
"Because of Orion's Spear. Hestia, you know that weapon's reputation in Heaven. Your child, Bell, has been chosen by fate. Only he can defeat Antares."
Clearly, even Astraea didn't think Charlie had a chance. Not because she didn't trust him, but because she had only seen him act once. She hadn't fully witnessed how strong the youth truly was.
"RAWRRRRR!!!"
While they were still engaged in intense debate, Antares, feeling ignored, released an anger roar that shook the entire room.
Its terrifying mouth opened wide, and from within, a beam of blackish-purple energy resembling a laser shot out with tremendous speed, heading straight for their group!
*SWISH!*
The first person to react was Charlie. With extraordinary reflexes, he stepped forward and blocked that energy beam directly with the Holy Sword Severian's blade.
*HIIIISSSSS—!*
The collision created a hissing sound and energy sparks. However, the shockwave from that attack passed by Charlie and attempted to strike the people behind him.
*BUZZ!*
Right on time, a bluish-green barrier layer from Aishia appeared, blocking the remaining shockwave. Without that defense, the entire group would surely have been thrown back hard.
"Time's up. The enemy's preparation is complete. What a pity, I still haven't had enough fun. Haaah, I haven't said goodbye to Asfi yet." Hermes smiled wryly, though his eyes showed real anxiety.
Not just him, Astraea, Artemis, and Hestia now also had very uncomfortable expressions. Because, in the sky—clearly visible through the hole in the ceiling—the giant bow and arrow made of countless magic circles began to move. The bow had been drawn to maximum, and now began aiming precisely toward the planet.
As Hermes stated, everything was already too late to prevent the launch.
A planet-scale attack capable of annihilating civilization could be launched at any moment now!
Thinking the end of the world had arrived, Hestia hugged Bell tightly, her body trembling while sobbing.
"Ahhhh...! Bell! I don't want to be separated from you!"
"This is a lie, right? Isn't there a way to prevent that attack?" Welf looked at the gods and goddesses with hope, seeking a glimmer of certainty, but what he got were only grim expressions and helplessness. Even the gods appeared to have no solution.
Meanwhile, Lili, whose mentality was weakest among them, had already collapsed in fear. Her knees trembled, and she could barely stand.
"Impossible... Are we all going to die?"
Her face was deathly pale, her eyes empty full of hopeless despair.
Unlike his companions, Bell still held onto a glimmer of hope. He gripped Orion's Spear, staring at Artemis with burning intensity.
"Artemis-sama! Tell me how to stop it! If I defeat Antares, that arrow will vanish, right?"
"No... Orion... We've already wasted too much time..." Artemis shook her head with sadness and deep regret. Even she, the goddess directly involved, seemed to have resigned.
Except for Aishia who remained calm as an unrippled lake, and Bell who was still stubborn, everyone present seemed to have accepted their fate, waiting for the end of the world with heavy hearts.
*JLEB!*
The sharp metallic sound broke through the despair. Charlie thrust the Holy Sword Severian into the ground before him.
"This world is still too beautiful to let it be destroyed just like that. Plus, I have no intention of letting Goddess Hera and Goddess Astraea return to Heaven this quickly."
"Hm?!"
Charlie's statement made Hermes, Artemis, Hestia, Astraea, and the others shocked, their expressions quickly changing to wonder.
"Do you have a solution to deal with the current situation?" Hermes asked with eyes beginning to sparkle with scrutiny.
"Please witness it yourselves."
Charlie had no intention of wasting time on further explanation. The Senrigan in his eyes activated again, his dark crescent moon pupils appearing.
Through that ability, he projected his consciousness into outer space, seeing the second 'moon'—Artemis's manifested arrow—from very close range.
Then, Charlie glanced briefly at the spirit girl behind him.
"Aishia, I entrust everyone's protection to you."
"Mm. Leave it to me." Aishia's answer was brief and full of confidence. "Charlie, do what you believe in."
"Thank you, and sorry for always making you carry out such duties."
After giving final instructions, Charlie raised his hand. The air around him began to vibrate, centered around his body. Wind Spirit Arts activated.
The air pressure around him suddenly changed, freeing his body from the planet's gravitational shackles.
Then—
*KA-BOOM!*
A sonic explosion that shook the entire room rang out loudly. Charlie vanished from where he stood, leaving a small crater in the stone ground that caved in from the tremendous initial pressure.
He had reached Second Cosmic Velocity—escape velocity from planetary gravity—in just the blink of an eye, directly from a standstill.
That loud sound echoed inside the temple, making everyone stunned, staring at where Charlie had just stood, then upward, toward the hole in the ceiling opening to the sky.
They didn't yet fully understand what Charlie intended to do, but the speed and power he had just displayed had reignited the spark of hope that had nearly been extinguished.
[Support me by reading the paid version.
Benefits: access to more chapters.
Click here: patre*n.com/LoveFanfiction
For donations from generous benefactors who are Crazy rich: paypal.me/andicand]