Charlie: "š"
He had been forced to witness the entire sequence of suffering that befell Ayase Miharu.
It began with the wretched moment the girl was purchased as a slave by a disgusting, bloated noble, followed by the inevitable loss of her purity, and finally ended with her pregnancy and a life spent as a mere concubine whose only purpose was to service her master's depraved lust.
To be honest, Charlie felt absolutely nothing.
Unlike the two previous nightmares or the pleasant dream he had just experiencedāwhere he had resonated with Rio's emotionsāthis time there wasn't even the slightest vibration of resonance. He remained calm, even tending toward apathy, as he watched the destruction of Ayase Miharu's life in that parallel timeline.
The situation was akin to a man watching an adult video; would he feel a sense of betrayal while watching the female lead?
Of course not.
There was no emotional attachment, no sense of belonging.
"Phew... that actually gave me a scare for a second. Ayase Miharu's life is certainly miserable, but I can't change what has already happened. Besides, we aren't even in the same world."
In his incorporeal form, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief as he realized this fundamental difference.
He was not Rio; he held no sentimental ties to Ayase Miharu whatsoever. Thus, no matter how sadistic or tragic the scenes presented before his eyes were, they were incapable of leaving any mark on his psyche.
"Oh, now it's Latifa's turn. Tsk, I'm not a lolicon. I have zero interest in watching a loli."
Since there was nothing he could do to intervene, Charlie repositioned himself as a passive spectator once more, observing the timeline from a third-person perspective.
āāā°āæā§āæā±āā
While Charlie was enjoying his "immersive VR" in the dream world, two more days passed in the waking world.
The absence of the "Solo Leveling" figure for over two weeks had begun to erode his prestige in the eyes of the public.
In Orario, people forget easily. After all, Orario is the city that never sleeps; there is always new, sensational news ready to divert the attention of the masses.
On that day, the big news finally broke: the God Ares was leading thirty thousand soldiers of the Kingdom of Rakia to invade Orario.
Normally, news of a large-scale invasion would trigger mass panic. However, Orario was the exception. Despite being just a single city facing the might of an entire kingdom, its residents showed not a shred of fear. After all, this was not the first time the Kingdom of Rakia had pulled such a ridiculous stunt.
The Loki Familia took immediate action, deploying their First-Class Adventurers like Gareth, Tiona, and Tione to the front lines.
Interestingly, Ais firmly refused to participate. To her, the obligation of caring for Charlie alongside Aishia and Est was far more important than merely shooing away "flies."
For the Loki Familia, an attack by thirty thousand soldiers was not considered a war that threatened their sovereignty, but rather just a light "morning exercise." The gap in power levels between Orario's adventurers and Rakia's soldiers was too vast to be called a fair fight.
On the other hand, the Freya Familiaāas one of the pillars of Orario's strength alongside the Loki Familiaāchose to remain silent within the city. They typically only moved if there was a truly serious threat or if the personal interests of the Goddess of Beauty were compromised. Deeming Ares' forces unworthy of their time, Freya chose to simply watch the situation from a distance, primarily while continuing to monitor Bell Cranel's movements.
In short, the supposedly terrifying invasion became nothing more than a stage for the Loki Familia, while the Freya Familia and the other First-Class Adventurers regarded the Kingdom of Rakia as nothing more than a minor nuisance not worth worrying about.
The ones most amused by this invasion were none other than the gods and goddesses within Orario. Rather than feeling threatened, they treated the military movement as a laughingstock to mock Ares. Naturally, they understood the hidden motive behind the War God's reckless actions.
Ares' primary goal in attacking Orario was actually driven by desperation to restore the fading military glory of the Kingdom of Rakia. Behind the pretext of a massive invasion, Ares had a very specific target: Welf Crozzo.
Long ago, the Kingdom of Rakia was a military superpower feared for its possession of the legendary Crozzo Magic Swords. However, after the Crozzo family lost the ability to forge Magic Swords, the military strength of the Kingdom of Rakia plummeted. Ares harbored the ambition to capture Welf so that he could be forced to once again create Magic Swords capable of making his army invincible on the battlefield.
As a God of War, Ares naturally possessed a bloodthirsty nature. He wanted to prove an obsession: that human military strength in vast numbers could defeat the Blessing (Falna) of the Gods in Orarioāeven though, in the end, he would have to accept the reality that quality (adventurer level) was far more important than quantity (number of soldiers).
Ares fully realized that his army could never pierce the ironclad defenses of Orario's First-Class Adventurers in open combat. Therefore, he devised a cunning plan to kidnap one of the gods from Orario to use as a bargaining chip. He hoped to trade that god's freedom for territorial concessions or resources favorable to his kingdom.
Amidst the chaos of the invasion, Ares slipped into the outskirts of Orario. By chance, he encountered Hestia, who was outside the city walls helping out in a potato field. Without wasting a moment, Ares immediately ambushed the petite Goddess and fled with her toward his army's camp.
The news of Hestia's kidnapping spread instantly. Knowing his Goddess was in danger, Bell did not stay idle. Together with Ryuu and Asfi, Bell immediately moved to give rapid chase to Ares.
Under the tensed skies of Orario, they raced against time to rescue Hestia before she could be taken deeper into the heart of the Kingdom of Rakia's army.
āāā°āæā§āæā±āā
In the depths of the damp and secret artificial labyrinth, Knossos, a shadow smiled thinly as they watched the chaos occurring on the surface.
"Ah, Ares... you've arrived at the perfect time. Your stupidity has unintentionally aided me." Murmured Enyo, the mastermind hiding behind the darkness. His voice sounded like the hiss of a satisfied snake, as if the entire movement of the Rakia army was merely a pawn moving across his chessboard.
To him, Ares' invasion was the perfect distraction. With most of Orario's attention centered on the border and the First-Class Adventurers busy holding back the advance of tens of thousands of soldiers, the city's internal defenses were at their most vulnerable point.
"With the Loki Familia executives tied up facing the Kingdom of Rakia, this is the perfect moment to strike that 'sleeping prince' before he wakes." He continued with a tone of euphoria. "Preparations are complete. Banshee, Ein. Start moving. Lead all the gathered members of Evilus and launch the attack before anyone notices."
Enyo gave the order to the two women standing not far before him, waiting for instructions to spill blood.
"Understood, Enyo-sama." Banshee replied in a calm and controlled tone, as if this assassination mission were merely a boring, routine task.
Unlike her comrade, Ein seemed unable to hide her dark passion. A bloodthirsty smirk was etched onto her fierce face.
"This is what I've been waiting for! I can't wait to tear that famous Solo Leveling to shreds until there's nothing left!"
Banshee glanced at Ein with a look of displeasure. She shifted her position slightly, keeping her distance from her as if she felt 'soiled.'
Without wasting any more time, the two immediately turned and left the darkened room.
They stepped out from the shadows of Knossos to mobilize the remnants of the Evilus forces they had gathered in secret.
A purging operation had begun; their primary target was to eliminate the helpless Charlie before he had the chance to open his eyes again.
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