Aurelius stood firmly after stepping out of the rubble, his massive frame steady as he faced the four top members of the Plutus Familia. Dust still lingered in the air behind him, drifting slowly down from the shattered remains of the ruined building. His gaze locked onto his opponents without wavering.
A crazed smile stretched across his face as he stared them down, clearly waiting for them to make the next move. The adrenaline surging through his body fuelled his spirit for battle, sharpening his focus and heightening his senses.
Across from him, the four members of the Plutus Familia did not rush forward.
Instead, they carefully observed the Hestian captain with precise analysis. Their eyes tracked every detail of his posture and movement. Even the slightest twitch of his muscles did not escape their attention. Each of them remained alert, making sure the titan-like man would not be given the chance to make a perfect first move against them.
The tension between the two sides grew thicker with every passing second.
Then—
The muscles of the Hestian captain twitched.
That single movement was enough to alert the four Plutus members immediately. Their bodies reacted without hesitation as they shifted into full combat readiness. Each of them tightened their grip around their weapons, adjusting their stances and bracing themselves for what was about to happen.
Without warning, Aurelius suddenly lunged forward.
His target was Marcus.
The burst of speed he generated was insane. His massive body shot forward with explosive acceleration, crossing the distance in an instant.
Many of the surrounding adventurers from the Apollo and Plutus Familias were unable to even perceive the movement. To them, Aurelius seemed to vanish and reappear in the blink of an eye. Only a handful of them barely managed to catch a glimpse of the speed he had unleashed.
However, the four top members of the Plutus Familia were different.
They were able to see it.
Their eyes followed the motion of the Hestian captain as he charged forward with overwhelming force.
Yet even with that perception—
It would not matter much.
For unbeknownst to the four, the Hestian captain they had fought just moments ago was no longer quite the same as before.
Marcus became alerted the moment he noticed the Hestian captain charging directly toward him. The sudden burst of speed from Aurelius caught him slightly by surprise, though he did not allow that surprise to linger for long. Instead, he quickly focused himself, preparing to receive whatever attack was about to come his way.
Marcus raised his hammer high above him. The massive weapon was still adorned in its orange-gold aura, the energy around it glowing intensely as it radiated power. He tightened his grip on the handle, steadying his stance as he prepared to bring the hammer down upon Aurelius the moment the timing felt right.
As Aurelius rushed toward him, the Hestian captain showed no hesitation whatsoever. Even though that same hammer had struck him earlier with tremendous force, he charged forward without the slightest hint of fear.
When Aurelius finally entered striking range,
Marcus brought the hammer down.
The massive weapon descended like a judgment meant to punish the weak, carrying the full weight of Marcus' strength behind it. The swing was powerful, decisive, and aimed to crush the titan-like man beneath its force.
However, the result did not unfold as Marcus had expected.
The hammer never reached its intended target.
Instead, the moment the weapon met resistance,
CLANG! BOOM!
Aurelius' shield intercepted the strike.
With a powerful motion, the Hestian captain deflected the hammer upward, forcing the weapon back through sheer strength. The clash between shield and hammer produced a thunderous sound that echoed across the battlefield as Marcus' attack was thrown off its course.
"?!" Marcus stared in disbelief.
The Plutus captain was utterly bewildered by the result of their clash. His powerful strike, which he had expected to land decisively, had instead been pushed aside with overwhelming force.
Realizing the danger he was now in, Marcus immediately tried to recover his balance and reset his stance.
But it was already too late.
Aurelius had already prepared his counterattack.
The Hestian captain raised his left fist, drawing it back as he prepared to deliver a devastating strike. A manic smile spread across his face as he stepped forward, his massive arm driving forward with terrifying force.
His fist shot straight toward Marcus' stomach.
BOOM!
The punch landed.
The impact produced a thunderous sound that reverberated through the air, displaying the overwhelming power behind the blow. Marcus' body was launched backward instantly, sent flying across the battlefield at incredible speed.
To ordinary citizens of Orario, the movement would have appeared as nothing more than a blur.
Marcus crashed violently into a large ruined pillar nearby. The force of the collision caused the entire structure to shudder. Cracks spread rapidly across the pillar's surface, forming a sizable crater where Marcus had slammed into it.
Moments later, the damage became too great for the structure to hold.
The cracks that had spread across the pillar widened, forming a long fracture that ran along its length. The upper portion of the pillar began to separate as the stone groaned under its own weight.
Then,
It collapsed.
The top portion of the pillar fell heavily to the ground. The once-standing structure shattered upon impact, breaking apart into massive stone chunks. The rubble scattered across the area, the fallen pieces effectively burying the Plutus captain beneath them.
The other three top members of the Plutus Familia looked on in horror as the pillar collapsed.
"Captain!" Leona and the prum shouted simultaneously, fear rising in their voices as they watched the destruction unfold.
The sight of their captain potentially being crushed beneath the fallen stone filled them with dread.
____
Leona, seeing her captain crushed beneath the broken pillar, shifted her focus toward the Hestian captain. A faint trace of anger appeared across her face as she stared at Aurelius. The sight of Marcus being buried beneath the rubble clearly stirred something within her.
Without hesitation, she steadied herself and prepared to move. Her legs tensed as she gathered strength, charging them with the intention of launching herself forward. In the next instant, she lunged toward the Hestian captain, her body surging forward with the clear intent to deliver a decisive strike.
"Leona, wait!" Orihime shouted toward her comrade, her voice filled with panic as she saw the Plutus vice-captain rushing forward. However, her warning failed to reach Leona's ears. The swordswoman ignored the samurai's words entirely.
Leona continued her charge, her sprint quickly picking up speed as she closed the distance between herself and Aurelius. Her movements were sharp and determined, every step carrying the intention of ending the battle with a single, decisive blow.
As she ran, she reared her rapier back behind her, drawing it into position while maintaining her momentum. The blade began to shine once again with a yellow aura, glowing intensely as the same power she had used before gathered around the weapon.
The attack she had previously unleashed against the Hestian captain was about to be used once more.
Aurelius looked directly at Leona as she approached. His expression remained serious, yet calm.
'That won't work again,' he thought to himself as he adjusted his stance, preparing to defend against the same technique he had already experienced before.
However,
This was not the same attack.
Even though Leona had not yet reached him, she suddenly thrust her rapier forward.
The moment her blade moved, a beam of yellow light shot out from it, racing toward Aurelius' face with blinding speed.
The sudden attack caught Aurelius off guard.
There was no time to dodge.
Acting purely on instinct, he raised his shield in front of him. The beam struck the shield directly, and Aurelius managed to block it successfully, though only by the smallest margin.
Unfortunately for him, that brief moment of defence caused him to fall directly into a trap.
Once the beam dissipated, Aurelius lowered his shield.
Leona was nowhere in sight.
Then,
He heard faint murmurs coming from his left side, the quiet sound of words being spoken as if someone was chanting.
Aurelius immediately turned his head toward the source of the voice.
There, standing at his left side, was Leona.
Her rapier was drawn back with full leverage, her posture perfectly aligned for a powerful strike. Her face was serious and focused as she released the attack she had been preparing.
"[FULGENS ICTUS]!"
Leona shouted as she unleashed the strike.
Her rapier slammed into the left side of the Hestian captain's abdomen. The moment the attack connected, an intense burst of light erupted from the point of impact.
The brightness was overwhelming, even in the middle of the day.
The attack released such tremendous power that the light itself seemed chaotic. Within that blinding brilliance, a violent shockwave spread outward across the battlefield, blasting through the surrounding area. The force of the explosion sent many members of the Apollo and Plutus Familias flying backward.
Several adventurers were thrown off their feet as the shockwave expanded through the ruined district.
The light itself was so intense that many people had to close their eyes to shield their vision. Among those affected were Orihime and the prum, both forced to shut their eyes as the brilliance flooded the battlefield.
Eventually, the chaos of the attack settled.
The blinding light faded, and the battlefield slowly revealed itself once more.
The surrounding area had clearly suffered damage. Several abandoned buildings showed signs of impact, their surfaces scarred by the force of the shockwave. Even the stone pavement and nearby walls bore silhouettes carved into them from the sheer pressure of the blast.
Despite the incredible power released by Leona's attack,
She did not look triumphant.
Instead, she stared forward in disbelief.
The reason was simple.
Aurelius was still standing.
The Hestian captain remained completely unscathed. The attack that should have inflicted devastating damage had failed to leave even a visible wound.
The only noticeable effect was that he had been pushed sideways to the right for several meters, moving in the direction of Leona's strike. The ground beneath him bore clear dragging marks, showing where his foot had scraped across the stone as he resisted the force of the attack.
____
Leona, despite the shock that currently filled her expression, quickly readied her stance once more. Her body adjusted instinctively, feet shifting into position as she lifted her rapier again. Fear did not take hold of her. Instead, determination filled her being as she continued to face the Hestian captain. Even if the chances of defeating him were near zero, she clearly had no intention of backing down.
Seeing this, the prum suddenly shouted toward the Plutus vice-captain.
"Leona!" he called out, his commanding yet childish voice ringing clearly across the battlefield. "That's enough! You'll only hurt yourself more if you keep doing this."
"Shut it, Cael!" Leona roared back in response. Her face was filled with anger as she turned her gaze toward her prum comrade, now known as Cael. The frustration within her voice was unmistakable.
However, their argument was abruptly cut short.
The sound of rubble shifting echoed nearby.
Both of them, along with Orihime, quickly turned their attention toward the source of the noise. Their eyes widened slightly as they watched the pile of boulders created from the collapsed pillar begin to move.
The massive stones were slowly being lifted.
From beneath the rubble, Marcus emerged. With apparent ease, he lifted one of the large boulders aside as though it were nothing more than a lightweight object.
The Plutus captain tossed the stone away and stepped forward, straightening himself. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, loosening his muscles as if he were simply adjusting himself after a brief inconvenience.
Marcus then looked around the battlefield, briefly observing the situation before his eyes settled on Leona.
"Leona," Marcus called out.
His voice was stern, his expression calm, almost as if nothing that had happened moments ago had truly affected him.
"Did I not say that when you are in battle, under any circumstances you cannot let your anger get the best of you?"
Hearing her captain's words, Leona slowly lowered her sword. The anger that had filled her expression faded, replaced by visible guilt. Her posture softened slightly as she responded.
"I'm sorry, Captain. Seeing you being crushed like that had us worried."
Marcus suddenly burst into laughter.
"HAHAHA!" he laughed loudly. "Don't worry about me, you brat. It'll take more than that to take me down."
His tone carried a playful and prideful edge, clearly brushing off the earlier event as something trivial.
However, his laughter was abruptly interrupted.
A horn sounded in the distance.
The loud call echoed through the area, coming from somewhere unknown.
Every member of the Plutus Familia immediately turned their attention toward the sound, including the top members standing near Marcus. Their focus shifted instantly, their expressions becoming more serious as if the signal carried an important meaning.
After a short moment, the horn stopped.
Marcus raised his voice toward the surrounding members of his Familia.
"Plutus Familia!" he shouted, his voice booming across the battlefield like the roar of a lion. "Our job here is done. It's time to go back."
The members of the Plutus Familia acknowledged the command. One by one, they began retreating from the area.
This sudden withdrawal confused many of the Apollo Familia members who had been present, but the Plutus adventurers did not hesitate. They followed their captain's order without question.
Only the top four members remained momentarily behind.
Surprisingly, Aurelius made no attempt to stop them.
If he truly wished to do so, he could have easily used his [RULER'S AUTHORITY] magic to immobilize them and eliminate them one by one.
But he did not.
Instead, his attention remained fixed on the captain of the Plutus Familia.
As Marcus began to turn away along with the other three elites, Aurelius called out to him.
"Marcus."
The Plutus captain stopped, turning slightly as Aurelius' voice caught his attention. The other three also paused, glancing back toward the Hestian captain.
"When we're on that battlefield in the War Game," Aurelius continued, his voice firm and unwavering, "don't dare to hold back. Don't you dare hold back against me."
His gaze then shifted briefly toward the others.
"That includes the three of you as well."
The words were clearly directed toward Leona, Cael, and Orihime.
Marcus stared at Aurelius for a moment, his face blank and unreadable.
Then,
He laughed loudly once again.
"HAHAHAHA!" Marcus roared with amusement. "Sure. I promise no disappointment coming towards you."
With that, the four members of the Plutus Familia finally departed from the battlefield.
The remaining Apollo Familia members, now left without the support of the Plutus members, quickly retreated as well. Fear had taken hold of them. After witnessing the Hestian captain's overwhelming power, attacking him now felt like nothing short of a death sentence.
Before long, the area fell silent.
Everyone had left.
Aurelius remained standing alone.
He slowly turned his gaze back toward the abandoned church that had once stood nearby. What remained now was nothing more than a pile of rubble where the building had collapsed.
Aurelius stared quietly at the destroyed structure, observing the wreckage.
After a moment, he let out a sigh.
"Well," he muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "this is convenient."
Aurelius stared at what was now ruined. As his gaze lingered on the destruction before him, he remembered the words he had told his familia when the ambush had first started.
'We'll think about this later.' Aurelius thought to himself, his eyes no longer resting on his destroyed home. 'I guess I should go to the guild now. I did promise them that I would head towards that place.'
Aurelius then started to walk towards the guild, his steps steady as he made his way through the area. He hoped that he would see his comrades and Hestia there, safe and sound.
'I hope they're fine.' he thought. However, he decided to push such thoughts away soon after. 'They'll be fine. They're strong enough to fend for themselves.'
<->
After walking for a while towards the guild, Aurelius eventually arrived at his designated destination. Without hesitation, he stepped inside the building, immediately greeted by the familiar sight of the bustling crowd that filled the place on a daily basis.
Adventurers and staff moved about as usual, their presence creating the same lively atmosphere the guild always had. Aurelius briefly took in the scene before looking around the area, searching for his comrades among the many people present.
After a short moment of scanning the surroundings, his vision eventually landed on the counter area where their advisor was usually stationed.
There, he saw his two comrades and Hestia. However, the elf advisor was nowhere to be seen. She was probably stationed somewhere else for today.
Without delaying any further, Aurelius began walking towards the three of them with a calm and relieved stride. Knowing that nothing bad had happened to them made him feel glad. Although, to some extent, he had already expected that they would be fine.
As he approached them, Aurelius called out to his comrades and Hestia.
"You guys!" he shouted.
Hestia, Bell, and Lili, along with several people who had heard the loud voice, turned towards the direction of the call.
The three of them, upon turning their eyes towards the source, immediately saw Aurelius leisurely walking towards them. Their expressions, which previously held a hint of worry, quickly changed into ones of happiness and relief. The worries they had been carrying were now gone after seeing their captain in good shape.
"Aurelius!" Hestia called back, gladness and happiness clearly present in her voice. "We're glad that you're safe."
Bell, sharing the same sentiment as Hestia, spoke up as well.
"Yeah!" he said. "We were close to actually going back, mister. But it seems like our captain got it under control, as you always have."
Lili nodded in agreement with the two of them, silently sharing their thoughts.
Aurelius, hearing Bell say those words, simply gave a smug smile.
"Well, not really," he said, shrugging slightly as if to half deny the white-haired rabbit's statement. "Our home was destroyed though. That's not something you could say was 'under control.'"
Hestia quickly interrupted their conversation, clearly intending to stop the topic from continuing.
"That doesn't matter," she said. "As long as you're alright, that's all that matters."
Aurelius nodded towards the goddess of the hearth. The gesture itself was meant as a silent word of appreciation, acknowledging that she cared more about her familia children than about material things.
Lili, whose thoughts were now focused on their current situation, decided to speak up.
"So," she said, "what are we going to do now? We don't have a place to stay now, do we?"
After hearing the prum's words, all four of them fell into thought as they considered their predicament. Each of them thought deeply about what they should do next. At the moment, all of them were quite unsure.
However, the moment of tense silence did not last long, as Hestia was the one who eventually broke it.
"Then," Hestia said, "how about you three go ahead and train for the war game? The duration before the game started is one week after all."
Aurelius, Bell, and Lili all looked towards their goddess. After taking a moment to absorb what she had said, they nodded in unison.
"In that case," Aurelius said as he turned his attention towards the white-haired rabbit, "Bell, you go ahead and ask for help from the Sword Princess. You trained with her before, right? So make sure to get the necessary training with her."
He then shifted his gaze towards Lili.
"Lili," he called, "you follow Bell and try to join in with his training. Learn everything, alongside Bell, that you can."
Both Bell and Lili nodded in unison. Although they understood that getting trained by some members of the Loki Familia had a high chance of rejection due to their current situation, they were determined to try nonetheless.
Hestia then looked towards Aurelius and decided to ask the towering man.
"How about you, Aurelius?" she asked, curiosity filling her mind. "What are you going to do?"
Aurelius turned his attention towards Hestia.
"I'll be going to the dungeon," he replied. "The only thing that would help me with my fighting style is to just get stronger. I could go with them, but I don't think that it would be sufficient for me."
"Besides, I'm confident that I can beat them right now if I were able to do so. Just give me a bit of time in the dungeon and I would win without any repercussions." Aurelius said confidently.
After hearing their captain's reasoning, the three of them nodded in understanding. Such words would brought doubts to any other people, but, Bell, Lili and Hestia trusted the judgement of their captain.
"Alright," Hestia said, accepting Aurelius' suggestion. "Just make sure to be careful."
Aurelius nodded in response.
"Yeah. Don't worry about me. When we're all done, we'll make sure to win this and show the entirety of Orario not to mess with us ever again."
The three of them acknowledged their captain's words. Not long after, they left the guild, each one heading in their own separate direction.
Hestia went to see her friend Hephaestus, seeking a temporary shelter.
____
Question.
Do you guys want the following chapters to be about MC having to beat up some monsters in the lower floors or made it a timeskip straight towards the war game?
Dungeon chapters?
Timeskip?