The streets of the Labyrinth City.
The warm-colored lights should have gradually dimmed as time passed.
Usually, the bustling streets fell quiet in the transition between late night and dawn.
But tonight, the lights throughout the streets suddenly blazed to life, and the racket grew louder.
From atop Babel, the lights seemed to spread throughout the entire city like flowing water.
The light and noise roused everyone from their sleep. People pushed open their windows and watched as fully armed members of the Ganesha Familia split off toward various intersections and took up positions along the streets.
Seeing the city on high alert, people fearfully shut their doors and windows.
In front of the Twilight Manor.
"Bang."
The silver-haired young man slammed into the wall outside the manor, leaving a human-shaped crater and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Before the smoke had even settled, a figure shot out through it. The movement sent chunks of brick flying behind him, scattering across the ground.
The young man sprinted forward, lowering his body as he moved, then launched a flying knee at the small figure in front of him.
A metal boot clashed against a spear, sparks flashing for an instant.
The beast ears atop the silver-haired young man's head twitched, shaking off the small stones caught in them. He glared viciously at the cat person standing before him with a spear raised.
"Stinking cat!"
The cat person looked contemptuously at the werewolf facing him. "You're nothing but a yapping mutt."
"What did you say, you bastard?!"
The young werewolf's veins bulged. He ground his teeth as he spoke.
"Get lost!"
The cat person braced his spear against the incoming knee strike, then suddenly thrust with all his might and sent the werewolf flying.
Watching the werewolf get sent flying once again, Loki called out loudly from the manor's entrance, where her familia members were shielding her.
"Bete! Don't let him outdo you!"
"Shut up! I'm not losing to him!"
Bete, who had been knocked away, quickly steadied himself with several steps across the ground and answered Loki with an irritated look.
Bete straightened up and stared warily at the young cat person before him, who had a spear slung over his shoulder.
The cat person leaned on his spear with his right hand and rested his left on his hip. He wore a tight-fitting athletic outfit, with a half-pauldron on his left shoulder and a cape hanging down to his ankles.
The wide cape fell from his left shoulder. The wind lifted it, then it slowly settled back into place, covering half his body.
"Allen, you bastard! One of these days, I'll grind that ugly face of yours into the dirt!"
Seeing the cat person ignore him and turn to watch the fighting elsewhere, Bete's anger burned even hotter.
Allen the cat person shot him a sidelong glance without even turning his head. "The last words of the weak."
Allen Fromel, a Level 6 adventurer, held the title [Vana Freya].
Though he was small for a cat person, his strength was extraordinary. Even in the Freya Familia, a group packed with powerful adventurers, he was among the strongest and served as its vice-captain.
He looked down on any adventurer weaker than himself and was always arrogant. Anyone who had spent time with him or spoken to him found his sarcastic remarks unbearable.
In Orario, anyone familiar with the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia knew that each had a First-Class Adventurer with a vicious tongue and a foul temper.
The Loki Familia's Level 5 adventurer [Vana Gandr]—Bete Loga.
The Freya Familia's vice-captain, Level 6 adventurer [Vana Freya]—Allen Fromel.
The two had remarkably similar fighting styles, and both were famous for their speed.
Their familias were also rivals, so adventurers who liked to gossip often discussed the two behind their backs.
Bete of the werewolf clan and Allen of the cat people already had foul tempers. Hearing rumors around the city only made them resent how much the other resembled them.
Some gods privately called the sight of them fighting whenever they met the "Cat-Dog Strife."
But as a Level 6, Allen was a level above Bete in strength and had earned the title {Fastest in the City}.
Bete, who couldn't match his speed, resented him even more. Their relationship was infamous for how terrible it was.
Seeing Allen ignore him, Bete charged at him again and launched another assault.
After trading blows with Bete for a few rounds, Allen grew impatient. When Bete dodged an attack, Allen whipped up a kick and sent him flying into another battle.
Elsewhere,
A burly boarman stood his ground, swinging his greatsword to fend off the constant attacks of two small figures before him.
Sensing something coming at him from behind, he blocked the attacks in front with his greatsword,
then shifted to the right. As Bete flew past him, he followed up with an elbow strike.
The blow hit Bete as he was adjusting his position in midair. His body suddenly went limp, and he flew between the dwarf and the prum before crashing to the ground.
After rolling several times, he clutched his stomach with both arms, curled up, and convulsed a few times.
Finn and Gareth, who were fighting the boarman, were startled as Bete flew past them. Their attacks faltered for a moment.
Feeling the pressure against him ease, the boarman seized the opening and sent them both flying.
Gareth planted his greatshield on the ground and quickly came to a stop, while Finn took several steps backward before stopping behind Gareth.
Keeping Bete, who lay on the ground, in the corner of his eye, Finn calmly addressed the boarman in front of him.
"We already told you we haven't seen your goddess. Why won't you stop hounding us, Ottarl the Strongest?"
The boarman planted his greatsword in the ground and looked at the wary Loki Familia. "Then let us search inside."
"How could we let you run wild on our turf?!"
Loki snarled from behind the other members of her familia, baring her teeth and claws.
"Then there's nothing left to discuss. We've already searched most places. The only places we haven't searched are the insides of the various familias. Move aside."
Ottarl coldly answered Loki.
[The Strongest] Ottarl, captain of the Freya Familia and the Labyrinth City's strongest adventurer, Level 7.
He had Freya's deep trust and would stop at nothing to carry out her orders.
"What kind of nonsense are you babbling?"
Bete, helped to his feet by a companion, shook off the arm supporting him. Clutching his stomach and bracing one hand on his knee, he taunted Ottarl.
"Hey, Bete. If you can't manage, take a break."
Loki looked at the unsteady Bete with concern.
"Shut up. This little injury will heal in no time."
He swallowed the blood rising in his throat, wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, then slowly stood up and answered Loki coldly.
Watching Bete stand straight, Loki grumbled in annoyance.
"Such a show-off."
Finn and Gareth, facing off against Ottarl, breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Bete straighten up.
After hearing Ottarl's reply, Finn's expression gradually turned serious. Following up on Bete's words, he challenged him.
"Are you trying to plunge Orario into chaos all over again?"
"It doesn't matter, as long as our goddess is safe."
Ottarl answered calmly.
"So it comes down to a fight after all."
As he spoke, Bete slowly moved to Finn's side and took up a fighting stance.
Lowering his voice, he asked Finn beside him,
"Finn, why are there so few members of our familia on guard?"
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