Shifting Battle, Savage Cat-Person

Liber, turning his head, saw the palm that was close at hand and instinctively wanted to dodge backward.

Before he could bend his back and lower his body, the palm in front of him rapidly approached his face.

Just as he was about to be grabbed by the cat-person, small ripples began to emanate around Liber. He was just preparing to use his weapon to force the person in front of him back.

Suddenly, a whistling sound came from behind him.

Liber, who was vigilantly guarding against a surprise attack from the cat-person in front of him, felt a pain in his waist, and his prepared attack was interrupted.

He was sent flying towards the side of the street.

"Tsk."

Seeing the prey he was about to catch escape his grasp, the cat-person Allen grumbled in dissatisfaction.

Then, he changed his palm into a fist. He had previously restrained his strength to control Liber, but now he unleashed it without reservation, pouring all his power forward.

Bete, who was in a kicking stance, had no time to defend himself and could only watch as Allen's fist, already swinging towards him, accelerated even further.

Bete's right cheek, adorned with lines, took a heavy blow, and his body flew out uncontrollably, landing on the ground.

Liber, who had been kicked away, half-crouched with one hand on the ground to stop his momentum, rubbing his waist where he had been attacked.

As soon as he looked up, he saw Bete flying out again.

Allen, who had thrown a full-power punch, slowly retracted his fist, steadied himself, and turned to look at Liber, who was crouching on the ground, his face filled with fanatical fervor.

Liber saw Bete, who had been kicked away, shakily getting up, and then looked at the cat-person slowly walking towards him.

He looked at Allen sternly and said, "Vana Freya?"

"Brat, don't be rude and call someone by their title."

Hearing Liber's question, Allen responded with an unfriendly expression.

He sized up Liber and said disdainfully, "With your appearance, you probably can't even beat the doorman in a Familia.

Hey, kid. Why do you have that person's scent on you?"

"Scent? That person? What are you talking about?"

Liber looked at the arrogant cat-person in front of him questioning him and said in confusion.

"Still playing dumb! Anyone who has met that person will engrave that beauty deeply in their minds. She is the goddess at the apex of this world—Freya."

Allen, dissatisfied with Liber's words, responded with a hint of obsession.

Liber, who had just stood up, heard his words. What was originally incomprehensible suddenly reminded him of that strange encounter before, and his face showed a look of sudden realization.

Seeing Liber's enlightened expression, a smile appeared on his fanatical face.

"It seems you know where you met that person, so..."

As he spoke, Allen's forward steps halted. His figure flickered, and he accelerated towards Liber.

"I'll beat you down first, then interrogate you about where you met that person!"

Allen, galloping at high speed, ferociously attacked Liber.

As soon as Liber heard Allen's words, he saw him appear in front of him.

He stared at the incoming fist and barely managed to raise his arm to protect his face.

Just then, a curve appeared on Allen's lips. He pushed his arm down and suddenly struck towards Liber's abdomen.

Liber, taking a punch to the stomach, his expression changed drastically, and he was sent flying towards the wall behind him.

His abdomen throbbed with pain, the wind whistled in his ears, and he felt himself getting closer and closer to the wall. He tried to ignore the pain in his body and focused his attention.

Allen, who had sent Liber flying with one punch, stood in place, watching Liber smash into the wall with a cruel expression on his face.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed as he watched the flying figure slow down, eventually arcing through the air and landing on the ground.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Liber stumbled and fell forward, prostrating himself on the ground.

"Ugh~"

He propped himself up with one hand, covered his abdomen with the other, gagged a few times towards the ground, wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, and slowly stood up.

Seeing Liber still capable of fighting, Allen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He glanced at his fist and looked at Liber with great interest.

His expression became even more cruel, and he lowered his body again, preparing to charge once more.

A gust of wind struck. He abruptly stopped his advancing steps and bent down to dodge a kick aimed at his head.

Allen bent down and swept his leg towards Bete behind him.

Before he could sweep Bete down, his expression changed as he saw a long sword suddenly sprout from Bete's ankle.

He immediately stopped his attack. Bete, ignoring the long sword that suddenly appeared from his ankle, looked at the exposed opening of Allen.

His eyes gleamed fiercely, and he seized the opportunity to kick back towards Allen.

The cat-person rolled to the side to avoid the attack, and after a few leaps, he created distance between them.

"Bang!"

Bete's boot heels struck the ground, sinking deep into the earth and shattering the paving stones beneath.

"Tch, what a shame."

Seeing Allen nimbly dodge his attack, Bete remarked with regret.

Pulling his leg from the ground and shaking off the fine debris, Bete looked toward the Cat Person who had darted to the side.

Allen stared at the werewolf's ankle, and Bete followed his gaze.

Under their mutual observation, the long sword that had suddenly sprouted slowly retracted and vanished into the ankle. Aside from a few scratches, the metal boot showed no other signs of damage.

"I didn't expect a stray dog to have a trick like that. It's disgusting."

Allen looked at Bete with disdain and mocked him.

"Huh? I don't have any such trick. Maybe someone couldn't stand watching and decided to intervene, you stinking cat!"

Though Bete didn't understand the long sword that had appeared earlier, he still retorted to Allen's words.

The three people present stood in a triangle, each occupying a position.

At the distant gate of the Loki Familia, several high-level adventurers were still locked in constant combat.

Ottar, who was advancing toward the interior of the Familia, was being held back by Finn and Gareth, while the members behind them provided support and disrupted Ottar's movements in their own ways.

Liber watched the increasingly intense battlefield in the distance, then fixed his eyes on the two men before him and spoke to the Cat Person on the other side.

"If you are here for the goddess Freya, I might have seen her in the shopping district. If you want to find her, go there."

"Spineless coward, what kind of talk is that? Forget about the goddess, let's just beat the opponent down first!"

Hearing Liber's words, Bete whipped his head around to glare at him fiercely.

Ignoring Bete, Liber watched Allen, waiting for his response.

The Cat Person looked at the boy staring him down and laughed, his eyes filled with mockery.

"Might have seen her in the shopping district? Do you think we haven't sent people to look?"

"Other members have already searched everywhere! Besides, you say 'might'?

Once you have seen the goddess's peerless face, you could never forget it! With such vague talk, it seems I'll have to beat the truth out of you before you start talking."

Listening to the taunts, Liber took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

Feeling the dull ache of his injuries, Liber recalled the chaos on the streets when he arrived and looked toward the flashes of light erupting from the compounds of other Familias in the distance.

He locked his eyes on Allen's mocking expression, crouched low, and spoke.

"Today was supposed to be a happy day for me."

"And?"

The Cat Person crossed his arms and looked down at him with arrogance.

Liber stared at him coldly, slowly raised his right hand, and declared.

"Go to hell!"