(Third POV)
Orario had a chilling night. Every resident of Orario is aware of the chaos that happened last night. After the explosion that happens in the Hostess of Fertility, the residents lock their doors and windows out of fear of getting caught in the crossfire of the fight between adventurers.
The Familia that were aware of what happened exactly that night were Loki, Ishtar, Iduun, Artemis, and Freya Familia because of their involvement. When night turned into day, Oberon was still unconscious on his bed under the watch of his servant Orstrid, always by his side. Sometimes he is visited by his close friends who are worried that he still has not woken up, but Orstrid reassures them that Oberon will wake when his mental state is fully recovered.
"Then we will head to the meeting place. Riveria, you could stay with Orstrid to watch Oberon."
"Thank you, Loki-sama. I pray for your success in Denatus."
"Leave it to me; I will make sure to find all the gods behind all of this, but I still can't find a suitable alias for Oberon."
It was a tradition for any adventurer that leveled up in their stat to have a new second name that would be associated with the adventurer. The new aliases normally reflect the adventurer from their character and their achievement, so their gods and goddesses need to give a fitting second name to their children because they will stick with the adventure until he or she levels up again.
"As long as it's not an embarrassing name, he probably doesn't mind it, Loki-sama."
"I will do my best to give him a good name that fits for Oberon... When he wakes up, I will scold him hard."
Loki knew that Riveria was down a bit because of what happened to Oberon; she always tried to comfort her, but she would go back to her normal mods when Oberon was awake.
"Loki-sama, everyone is ready."
"Take you long enough. Now see you later, Riveria."
"Please take care, Loki-sama."
She just smiled and waved her hand and went to the horse carriage that waited for Loki and Finn outside of the manor, where Finn followed close behind her.
"Loki-sama, are you sure to let Riveria alone?"
"No, of course not, Finn. It's just that what happened to Oberon will change many things, including her and me. Now what's your new finding, Finn?"
"First, from my investigation, what kind of poison was used to put Sera and others unconscious was still unknown because they removed all the evidence, but I did know that the same kind of poison was sold in the black market."
"*sigh* That means it is impossible to track who exactly made the poison."
"Sadly, yes, Loki-sama and the explosion that happened in Hostess of Fertility were caused by some kind of item that can cause an explosion. It was probably from the item called 'Kaenseki' The item itself was harmless, but if there was any flicker of fire,
"It will explode."
It was indeed not deadly for the high-level adventurer, but for the low-level adventurer, it could kill them instantly.
"Most likely that is only retaliation for Freya Familia's attack on their hideout in the dungeon, but thankfully there are no casualties or injuries thanks to Oberon and Mia."
"Shared the information with other Familia and asked them to limit the sale of Kaenseki in the market."
It does not stop attacks like that from happening again, but at least it has decreased the number of future incidents.
"Does it include the Familia that we suspect affiliate with Evilus Loki-sama?"
"Yes, we don't want them to know, yet we suspect them."
"I understand Loki-sama."
----
The main road heading toward the Babel Tower was heavily guarded, not only by the main security Familia of Oario but also by the other Familia members who tried to protect their gods and goddesses. Loki, this time not alone, was planning to head together with two goddesses, Iduun and Artemis.
"Oy! Iduun, Artemis I am sorry to make you wait."
Artemis looks so uncomfortable being looked at by Orario citizens who try to glimpse two goddesses known for their beauty. Just as Loki's carriage arrived, Artemis and Iduun quickly went into the carriage.
"Loki, what takes you so long?"
"I am sorry, I was just looking for any record or doctor that could help with Oberon's condition."
"So, is Oberon still not awaking?"
"I already brought one of the nurses from Miach Familia; they just think that Oberon suffered a similar symptom of Mind Zero. He should awaken shortly, but Orstrid said she was not sure her master would wake today at least."
The atmosphere around Loki was changing, and he spoke in a cold tone.
"I will make sure to destroy them all. Every single one of them."
Artemis and Iduun understand Loki was so furious about what just happened last night because of the many molds and rats inside the guild, Familia in Orario, which caused one of her children to almost be sold in a slave market, and Oberon, who dropped unconscious because he had to force himself to save everyone.
After half a minute in the carriage, Loki, Artemis, and Loki finally arrive at the Babel Tower. They are already waiting for Hephaestus beside her Tsubaki. The road heading to the Babel Tower was crowded, but it became less crowded at the center of Orario. It was only filled with the respective captains of Familia, who came with their gods to attend Denatus.
"Loki."
"Yo, Hephaestus."
This time, Hephaestus was still wearing her usual clothing and her right-eyed patch, as Loki asked.
"Is it true that Oberon still has not woken up?"
"Indeed, he was still in his bed."
Hephaestus already learned about that night's incident from Loki when she went to the manor directly when he heard that one of Artemis, Loki, and Iduun's children was kidnapped, but when she arrived, she could only find Oberon's unconscious body on Riveria's arm.
"Come on, don't look so depressed; he is just tired, and he will wake up soon. Anyway, how did you research the material Oberon gave you?"
"It takes time, but when I fully understand how to use materials correctly, I will create a weapon for him, and for that armor, I need more time to learn the schematic he gives me."
"Kukuku I can't wait for that. Put all your mind into this time meeting because if we fail, Oberon may have to be banished from Orario."
"I know. I already made a vow to help him with whatever he needs from me, because thanks to him, my eyes are finally healed."
"I think everyone here has their debt to him, Hephaestus."
Hephaestus then looked at not only her but a more beautiful goddess who had their attention on Oberon, and there was a high chance it would be increased again soon. Hephaestus can't help but release a heavy sigh.
"You are right, Artemis... When he woke up, I thought I needed to smack his head."
Loki can't help but laugh at Hephaestus's expression because she is well aware of why she wants to smack Oberon's head.
The Denatus was held on one of the highest levels of the Babel Tower. In total, the Babel Tower had a 50th floor from the bottom—4–8 floors appointed for a shopping center, above that for the resident area where Freya lived, and the highest level was where most of the gods gathered every three months.
Just when Loki and others went to the elevator, they were all welcomed by one of the guild staff, Rose.
"Good morning, Loki-sama and goddesses."
"Oh, Rose, good morning."
She bowed toward the group of goddesses and then pointed her arm toward the elevator that headed to the gathering place for the gods and goddesses.
"Rose, did you have something you want to ask?"
"I- I want to know if Oberon-san was alright."
(Thud!)
The elevator starts to move upward.
"He is okay, Rose; that's all I could say and of course the same with others."
"I am glad to hear that."
It had been an hour since they were still inside the elevator, and because of the height of the tower, it took time to reach the highest level. When they reach the floor, Rose guides them toward the room and walks on a circular hall on the right side of the wall with strong transparent glass that you can see, oh, small Orario was from above.
It was the first time for Artmeis and Iduun to look at Orario or Gekai from such a height; they couldn't help but stop for a moment to admire the beautiful scenery.
"I can even see the sea from here and that mountain."
"It was the Beol Mountain, Artemis-sama, and there is a city called Melen; it is a good place for vacation and their seafood."
"I see. Thank you, Rose. Beol Mountain, I heard that place was invested with strong monsters."
"Yes, Artemis-sama, it was a dangerous mountain that only experienced adventurers could explore and survive because of how dangerous it is."
After stopping for a moment, everyone starts to walk forward again just as they arrive at a large door.
"I had to mention this Loki-sama, that there are many delegations of gods and goddesses from outside Orario that came because of the incident that happened to god Apophis, so the guild master wants the discussion of The Evilus not mentioned in front of them."
"Sure, sure, you headmaster can skip that conversation, but can you send him my message?"
"What is Loki-sama?"
"If I find the mole myself that caused my child to almost get sold into slavery, I will make sure that Fatman suffers my wrath. Can you send that message, Rose?"
"I- I understand Loki-sama."
Loki smiled while telling her message, but Rose was not stupid; she well understood why Loki was angry, and indeed, the rumor that the guild had a mole of Evilus inside had started to spread because of last night's incident. Rose excuses herself and goes back to the lower level to guide other gods and goddesses.
"Remember this, Artemis. Iduun, keep your head up and never let them bother you. Just keep remembering the reason we are here."
Just as they step forward, the door starts to open. The room where the gods and goddesses met had the same design as a fan shape, with the tile and wall made of marble, and behind the audience seats, there is a window made only of a white pillar and a blue sky behind; it almost looks like the pillar itself carried the heaven.
When Loki looked around, not yet half of the seats were occupied, and most of the seats were filled with unfamiliar gods and goddesses that were probably the gods from other kingdoms that Rose told her about. Then Loki's gaze met with Freya's, who sat gracefully and waved her hand. Loki and others take a seat close to Freya. Normally, Loki avoids taking a seat close to her, but because of circumstances, she must take a seat beside her.
"How is he, Loki?"
"He still slept; I'm not sure when he woke up."
"*sigh* He must be tired of doing everything on his own."
Loki couldn't understand if she was being sarcastic or not, but she knew that Freya wasn't happy.
"I will not make an excuse."
"Fufufufu, good. If you did, I would make sure to take him from you, Loki. There is no excuse to let him go alone on the frontlines."
Loki wants to tell Freya that she did the same practice or even worse than her about managing their children, but in this case, Loki can't make an excuse to let Oberon on the frontline alone. The gods and goddesses that are present in the room could feel cold tension from the direction where Loki and Freya are.
"I am, Ganesha!"
((*ugh*))
Everyone covered their ears because of how loudly one of the gods shouted his name, but thanks to that, the room atmosphere returned to normal. Just as he walked down the stairs, the man slipped in his step.
"Aa… *Ack*, *Uck*, *Um*… *Thud! *"
Everyone went silent for a second, watching one of the bodies of the gods twitching because of the pain.
(Thud!)
"I am, Ganesha!!"
To the audience's surprise, Ganesha just stood and pretended like nothing was happening. For the first time, the gods saw Ganesha's behavior and were completely confused about what just happened, and the gods and goddesses just giggled at Ganesha's behavior. Thanks to Ganesha's behavior, the heavy atmosphere has returned to normal again.
Ganesha was the head of the Ganesha Familia, the main Familia that had authority over the main security forces in Orario. Ganesha was a muscular god who wore a mask, covering his eyes with an elephant-like mask.
"Ehem, Helo Loki, Freya, and Hephaestus. I bid you a warm welcome to Orario Artemis and Iduun."
"Ah, um."
Iduun and Artemis are dumbfounded because they still don't understand what just happened. Loki could only giggle at her friend's reaction.
"Haa, that's refreshing... What do you want, Ganesha?"
"I want to thank you, Loki. I did hear one of your children safe one of mine days ago."
"Hmm, I did hear the report from Alicia. You need to discipline your recruits more, Ganesha."
"Hahaha, I think Shakti already did that for me. I did hear about your new children already. Is it true he slew two-floor bosses?"
Loki just smiled and proudly said,
"Of course, he did! He was probably the most talented mortal that walked on earth. Maybe you are not hearing this; my child Oberon is already level two."
((!!))
"Haha, good joke you make, Loki... You are not joking."
"I understand why you think I was joking. His achievement can be categorized as impossible, but if you are close to him, you could understand why."
The room starts to fill with the murmuring sound of the gods and goddesses talking about the mortal with the name of Oberon, the high elf, who had just risen to fame in a matter of days.
"That's hard to believe. How did he do that?"
Loki just shook her head because, in truth, she didn't know how Oberon managed to achieve such a feat.
"Loki, are you sure to share this information with them?"
"It's okay, Iduun; today he will receive his alias, of course, and I want the gods that are present here to know what they are up against if they try to lay their hand on Oberon, and there is a reason why Freya and I sit close to each other."
"I see."
"So, Ganesha, who will be the main moderator today, Denatus?"
"Ahem, it should be me."
When Loki looked at the source of the sound, she knew at once who it was. He was one of the gods that had been sniffing any information about Oberon; even with the warnings from both Freya and Loki, he always found a way.
"Hermes."
Hermes was a god with blonde hair and orange eyes. He is slender and of medium height, with skinny arms and legs sticking out of his clothes and wearing his recognizable brick-style hat, which he always wears wherever he goes.
"Haha, please don't stare with that cold gaze, as I promise I won't interact with your new child at all."
"Good if you did that; I would make sure you felt my wrath."
Then Hermes looked at Artemis, who did not even try to look at him.
"And Artemis, as always, you look so beautiful, even though we are not in heaven. You look gorgeous as ever."
After all the flattery, one thing that everyone noticed was that Artemis never tried to lay her eyes on him, nor did she want to look at him.
"Hermes, take a step back. I think Artemis was not so happy when you were around."
"*ugh* even Hephaestus... I understand. I will go back to my seat."
It did not take long before the gods and goddesses started to enter the room; most of them were familiar. Then all the male gods had their attention on one goddess who had long gold hair with blue ribbons that bound her beautiful gold hair, and she was wearing a long blue dress; her beauty was almost at the same level as Freya's.
"Yo, Una, thank you for your help."
The seat was already prepared for her, just beside Artemis. They both just exchanged smiles because Artemis was not so close to Una when they were still in heaven, but Iduun was already well acquainted with Una.
"I don't think you need to thank me. Loki, I did know that Oberon taught some magic to my child, and thanks to him, we managed to gather high-grade material. I am so grateful for that."
"Kukuku, then it's win-win, right?"
"Yes, it is. Loki, Artemis, and Iduun, I am sorry about what happened to your children. I am glad everything was okay in the end."
"Yes, thanks to him, my child, Sera, and others all went back safe and sound."
Then the group of goddesses had a bit of a chat with each other without the care of one God with an elephant mask standing there, trying to find a way to get into the conversation, but there was no chance, so depressed Ganesha went back to his seat.
After waiting for half an hour, most of the empty seats were occupied, and the representative of the guild started to walk to the podium. It starts with just formal things that are not so interesting for the gods and goddesses, and then.
"In this time, Denatus, we will judge a mortal who a month ago broke a secret rule that binds gods and mortals. Next, the discussion will be continued by the god Hermes."
(Clap!)
(Clap!)
Only Hermes clapped his hand; the other gods just watched him go to the platform.
"Ah, so cold. *Ehem* welcomes everyone and other gods that came from a far land to hear and understand what just happened exactly a month ago. I will lay the groundwork for the information that I find in my investigation."
Then one of the guild representatives went to Hermes and handed him some papers and a green board in front of the gods and goddesses to see.
"I know you all had that question of mind: what magic did you see flying through the night sky? Sadly, we still had a lack of information about what magic causes a golden light beam that shine through the night sky. Maybe the one who only knew what magic one goddess was, but she made a vow not to reveal that information."
Then Hermes laid his eyes toward Iduun, as with other gods and goddesses.
"From the report, Iduun did say the mortal that killed Apophis had a justified reason to do so. According to the goddess Iduun, Apophis summoned a monster that was the size of Babel Tower itself—well, not at the same height, of course. If my guess was right, the snake monster probably had the equivalent of six or maybe seven in the level of threat."
((!!))
Then Hermes put one of the descriptions of the monster on board for other gods to see. It was snake-like, like the monster that had it, and a snake had a dark scale and a purple crystal on the monster's head.
"According to Iduun, that monster was summoned by Apophis and had a great regeneration ability for any kind of wound, so any physical attack or powerful magic was useless against that monster. To be honest, if that monster roamed around the surface, it would bring great chaos, but thankfully the mortal managed to defeat it."
The expression of the audience was completely changed from their stoic expression. The only ones who don't want to be surprised are Freya and Loki because Iduun already shared what she knows about the monster that Oberon fights.
"The land where they are fighting was completely flattened, with only a large crater on the ground. It was probably because of the explosion that happened after a storm out of nowhere, followed by the loudest lightning strike sound they had ever heard. It may be unbelievable to you all, but I did go there and see for myself."
Some of the gods from outside Orario asked for the credibility of the information that Hermes shared, but among the audience of the gods living in Orario, they understood that Hermes rarely told a lie during this kind of big event.
"Now that I have provided you with this information, you will understand that making an enemy with such a powerful mortal was not a desirable choice. So why did we let this incident slide away? He may be the hero for whom we have been waiting for thousands of years and who will put an end to One Eye Black Dragon terror in the lower world."
"That's not possible; you know that right, Hermes?"
The first audience to hear her disagreement was one of the goddesses that led the Rakia Kingdom, where she had become one delegation to be sent by Ares.
"Oya, goddess Phobos I never expected the enemy of the Orario would be the first one to disagree with my advice."
Rakia and Orario indeed never had a good relationship with each other because, almost at every available chance, the Rakia kingdom always tried to invade Orario.
"Whatever reason it may be, a mortal should not kill a god."
The audience starts to shout, ["That right!"] and ["We must punish the mortal."] Then Iduun stood out, and when she did, the audience started to be silent.
"The decision to kill Apophis was not by the mortal but by my order. As Hermes said, if we let the monster that Apophis summoned run rampant, there would be chaos. To defeat the monster, we had to kill the main source of the power, and it was Apophis himself crystalizing on the forehead of the snake."
"Even so, there is one truth: he killed a god. He or she broke the secret rule that no mortal nor God should be kept whatever happened. If that mortal easily thinks he was able to kill a god willingly, how can we rest assured that we are not targeted?"
"But…"
They both start arguing with each other and then.
"Oh dear~ so fired up already."
Without even needing to stand and be seen by others, her voice was already recognized.
"Freya."
"My dear Phobos, from your tone alone, you want my friend Iduun to fight that monster? Or my apologies for having this thinking that you consider that monster Apophis summoned to let it rampage to other kingdoms?"
Phobos went silent and started sweating, knowing that Freya's words implied that she wanted Iduun to let that monster rampage to other kingdoms to weaken them, so it was easy for Rakia Kingdon to conquer them. Thanks to Freya's opinion, the other gods start to look at the goddess Phobos unfavorably and make her sit back in her seat in silence.
"Thank you, Freya, for helping Phobos understand. We all need to know that indeed the rule had been broken, but it was with a good reason behind it because this kind of incident is happening for the first time and there is no clear punishment for the mortal that broke because they are all well aware of what will happen, so can we agree to let the gods in question do the punishing, not us?"
Indeed, the punishment of the soul of a mortal getting tortured for eternity alone was already a great punishment for a rulebreaker, and it looks like most of the audience agreed with Hermes's opinion.
Then Hermes read the last paper that was brought by the guild, and there was a name written on it, making his eyes widen.
"Because of the pressure of the outside Orario as gods that oversee the Gekai since the beginning, god Oranous decided to put in polling to reveal the name of the mortal that killed Apophis."
Loki's eyes were open, and she stared coldly at Hermes.
"So, you want to play that game, Hermes?"
"Loki, what should I do? I can't let that happen."
"I am sorry, Iduun; it was Ouranos. We can't just say no or deny his direct order without good reason, but I reassure you that he will be saved no matter what happens. Not only me, Freya, and Hephaestus will do everything we can."
"In favor of revealing the mortal identity, they can lift their hand... hmm, from the look of it, we all mostly agree."
Then Hermes laid his eye toward one guild representative, and she nodded to show agreement. Then Hermes went silent and put on her hat to cover his eyes. Then a gold string was attached to the top of Hermes's head.
"What is he doing?"
"He tried to receive a message from Heaven, Iduun. Hermes was the god of messaging, travelers, speed, and thieves, so he had a significant role as the main bridge of communication between Heaven and Gekai. Of course, to gain the connection with Heaven, he needed Ouranos permission to use his Arcanum to do that."
"Did he question Apophis for the identity of the mortal Hephaestus?"
"It should be the case, but I do not understand Hermes' ability completely. The ones other than him that knew his ability to the fullest extent were Zeus and Ouranous."
The audience was nervous about the true identity of the mortal that was capable of creating such destruction, and some of them thought to approach whoever he or she was because, with such a child at their disposal, it would bring great fortune and fame to whoever gods and goddesses to have the mortal power all for themselves.
"Hmm, why is he taking it so long?"
"Did you see him doing this before Loki?"
"Kukukuku, nope."
"*sigh*…. To be honest with you, Loki, I am still worried."
"You and I know that there is no one, at least as far as I know, that could defeat him, right?"
"He was not worried about himself, Loki, but he did tell me that he was worried about unwanted attention from his family."
"Ah, indeed, that will be a problem, but I believe he already has precision about it... I hope he did that."
Loki just laughs nervously because she doesn't know exactly how to solve that problem other than to depend on him.
After an hour, the string on the top of Hermes's head was shattered and gone into thin air.
"Um, everyone, for whom I am sorry, looks like it was impossible."
((!!))
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know what exactly happened, but Apophis just lifted the curse he put on that mortal soul. Haha… ha."
Hermes tried to break the silence from the audience, but it looked like everyone was stupefied by the revelation. Everyone who tried to keep their stoic expression couldn't contain their shock.
"How?"
The first one to ask the question was Freya.
"I only know that there are two goddesses who went to meet Apophis and somehow made him change his mind. So how about we go to the next topic, shall we?"
(("THERE IS NO WAY THAT POSSIBLE!!))
----
It took almost an hour for Hermes to explain exactly what he meant. It was a god that was forced to be sent back to heaven because it took more than a thousand years, or possibly more than that, for the gods to walk on Gekai again. Loki and other goddesses' minds are compensated with the reason two goddesses that Hermes mentions force Apophis to bind Oberon's soul.
"Artemis, can I ask you something?"
"What is it, Loki?"
"You did mention that the light was similar to the arrow you shot while in heaven, right?"
"Yes, it was similar in power and precision to what I saw from my observation, but it was not fully the same. I am sorry it was hard for me to describe it so others could understand."
"I am not sure it was the same strength because Hermes didn't mention that Apophis is truly dead."
"What do you mean by that, Hephaestus?"
"In another time Loki."
"Loki, I think it was not the magic that sent back Apophis that caused him to release the bind. I think there is a god or goddess who lends him a hand… though I don't know for what reason or connection he had with him."
Freya was still thinking of a god; there was a god who went to such lengths to help Oberon. It is because of his talent, strength, knowledge, or something that God or goddess knows that she didn't know about Oberon. Freya then bites her nails in frustration, knowing there are goddesses who know more about Oberon than she does.
"There is more that we don't know than I thought."
Freya's words resonate with other goddesses who know his identity as the one who killed Apophis. It is almost like he wants people who are close to him to find out.
"He had good reason to hide something from us, Loki, Freya; it's not like he doesn't trust us."
"I know that Iduun... I already know that it's just I-…. Never mind."
After trying to calm the gods for more than an hour, they finally started to calm down after giving the gods a piece of advice to wait for other gods or goddesses to come to Gekai and share their knowledge of what happened exactly in heaven. Then, out of nowhere, one of the gods in the audience stood up.
"Greetings everyone My name is Dionysus. I am sorry, but can we all agree that if this information is spread about how a mortal can get away from killing a god, it will bring unrest to the other gods and goddesses that live in Gekai?"
His calming voice matched his beautiful looks with medium-length blonde hair, and his emerald eyes enhanced his charisma and look compared to other gods.
"Hmm, I see what your point is. If we let the information that a mortal gets away from killing a god, it will leave a bad impression, but we forget that the mortal that killed Apophis had a good reason to force Apophis back to heaven, and there is an eyewitness here with us."
With Iduun's testimony, it should be clear what the guild had to do to share the testimony of Iduun, and they had to share Apophi's wrongdoing to support the argument.
"Pardon me, Iduun. I want to ask your opinion about that mortal. With that, it should calm the uneasiness among the gods."
The audience was the point at goddess Iduun, but it did not make her feel nervous at all, thanks to her friend beside her.
"Hero, that's what I thought of the mortal. With such immense power and strength, the mortal still had the wisdom to not look down on others and have the heart to help others who had little power to protect themselves. Thanks to those deeds, my people and my child could be safer than ever, knowing that the monster that had been terrorizing the Abandoned World for so long had perished. I stand here to repay the hero's kindness to the people of the Abandon Land and am selflessly willing to defeat the Evil god Apophis, knowing the internal tournament awaits in the end. If that's not what the true definition of heroes is, I don't know which one is."
Iduun's short speech changed the audience's reaction, and from the look of it, their worries and fears were gone from all the gods in the audience.
"Nice speech, Iduun; hmm, it looks like I finally found a suitable name for him."
"Hm, what alias do you want to give to him, Loki?"
She then looked at the bright daylight that made the white tile and the marble wall of the room shine brightly, and Loki continued.
"The Radiant, Oberon the Radiant."
"Fufufu, The Radiant, is the most fitting name for my dear Oberon. I will support that name."
Freya's opinion of the name was shared with other goddesses.
"He will be the Radiant light that will banish the darkness. I will protect that light and make it brighter and brighter until it becomes the sun that never fades."
Iduun understood why Loki had such high hopes for Oberon, but...
"He needs guidance, and you should be well aware of what will happen if he falls on the wrong side."
"I understand your worry, Iduun, but I believe as long as he has the people he wants to protect, he will never change."