Countless sparks danced across Folkvangr, replacing the Magic Stone lamps that were gradually going dark.
Under the flickering firelight, the figures of the intruders slowly came into view.
"Tch. They moved the schedule forward?"
Hedin clicked his tongue when he saw the creature at the head of the invading force.
Dozens of people restrained it with heavy iron chains. Its lower body resembled an enormous bull, while a female torso grew from its upper half.
More disturbing than its appearance was the aura of corruption and madness pouring from its body.
To elves, a race with an almost pathological aversion to spiritual impurity, the sensation was more revolting than frog urine.
"Unforgivable."
Hedin's expression turned cold.
"To allow something so filthy to set foot upon Goddess Freya's territory..."
At some point, the specially crafted weapon known as White Elf's Staff had appeared in his hands.
One end was a staff.
The other was a longsword.
Then came an extremely short chant.
"Eternal struggle, undying soldiers of lightning."
A massive magic circle unfolded beneath Hedin's feet.
Crackle!
Lightning began snapping around his body.
The next instant, densely packed spheres of white lightning rose from the magic circle.
At a rough glance, there were well over a hundred.
And that was not all.
Every lightning sphere was filled so densely with Magic that arcs constantly burst from their surfaces, distorting even the surrounding air.
If even one of them struck cleanly, a Level 2 adventurer would probably lose the ability to fight on the spot.
Wide-area annihilation magic of this caliber was extremely rare in Orario.
Even on an actual battlefield, it would be worthy of being treated as a secret weapon.
Yet Hedin merely adjusted his aim, preparing to pour the entire rain of deadly lightning onto the monster that offended his eyes.
"Caelus Hildr."
The instant the words left his mouth, countless streaks of white lightning tore through the air and raced toward the creature.
Then—
"Your opponent is me!"
A massive woman suddenly leapt between Hedin and the monster.
Facing the incoming lightning spheres, she swung the enormous battle-axe in her hands with all her strength.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The gale produced by the axe smashed into the lightning, producing a series of piercing explosions.
A wide-area annihilation spell cast by a Level 6 adventurer had actually been stopped outside the formation through sheer brute force.
"Phryne..."
Hedin's brows twitched violently.
Standing before him was Phryne Jamil.
She stood over two meters tall, with short limbs, an enormous body, and facial features resembling a toad.
Phryne was publicly known as the captain of Ishtar Familia.
Rumor held that she was absurdly narcissistic. Any man who caught her interest would be abducted regardless of his wishes, and those unfortunate enough to reappear afterward were often reduced to mentally broken wrecks.
She was also the only Level 5 in Ishtar Familia.
In other words, she was one of the main forces behind this invasion.
"Geh-heh-heh-heh-heh!"
Phryne broke into laughter.
"What's wrong? Has my beauty left you unable to look away?"
She placed a hand on her cheek.
"Being too beautiful really is a sin. To think even a servant of a Goddess of Beauty would fall beneath my charms."
"Stop spouting idiotic nonsense!"
Hedin, normally composed, visibly lost his temper.
Comparing the goddess he worshipped to this hideous Amazon who looked like an oversized toad was nothing less than an insult to Freya herself.
His disgust was completely undisguised.
"Even rats crawling through gutters at least possess some self-awareness."
"Someone incapable of seeing themselves clearly is beneath even those rats."
"Geh-heh-heh!"
Phryne only laughed harder.
"Ah, the jealousy of men... But it's still not too late."
She spread her arms.
"Come over here now, and if I'm in a good mood, maybe I'll let you have some fun with me."
Her grin widened.
"A clean-freak elf, huh? I haven't had many of those before. Geh-heh-heh-heh!"
"You revolting toad..."
Hedin practically ground the words out between his teeth.
Merely imagining the scene she described sent a chill through his entire body.
Realizing that verbal communication with the woman was clearly pointless, Hedin turned toward the Freya Familia members still lying around after Ottar's beating.
His face darkened.
"The enemy has invaded our headquarters, and you useless trash are still lying there?!"
Unfortunately, their responses made veins immediately bulge across his forehead.
"We'll deal with the intruders ourselves! Hedin, you can go enjoy a sweet little vacation with that Amazon!"
"Don't worry. Since we're fellow Familia members, we'll wait one night for you."
"Tomorrow, we'll execute that toad for insulting the goddess."
"Seriously, Freya Familia doesn't need an elf like you anyway."
Freya Familia had never been harmonious.
Calling its members enemies who happened to belong to the same Familia would barely be an exaggeration.
People like Hedin and Hogni, who could at least loosely be described as friends, were exceedingly rare.
If Hedin were abducted, that would simply mean one fewer rival competing for Freya's attention.
Naturally, the others were more than happy to let it happen.
Fortunately, dealing with people like them was extremely simple.
"This is an order from Freya-sama."
Hedin's face was completely black as he threw out those words.
Every adventurer immediately climbed to their feet.
They cracked their knuckles and reached for their weapons, looking nothing like the people who had been enthusiastically trying to sell out one of their own moments earlier.
'These people really are hopeless.'
Hedin thought silently.
"First, the outline of the plan."
Despite his irritation, he maintained his usual image as the Familia's strategist and calmly began issuing orders.
"The seven of us will eliminate the enemy leadership."
"The rest of you will clean up the battlefield and remove the garbage from our territory."
"That is all."
For one brief instant, Phryne's breathing stopped.
Then humiliation flooded through her.
Hedin's meaning could not have been simpler.
No elaborate strategy was needed.
No clever calculations were required.
Pure violence alone would be enough to crush every invader.
For an Amazon who worshipped strength, being looked down upon so completely was an enormous insult.
Hedin, however, could not even be bothered to spare Phryne's increasingly ugly expression another glance.
He turned toward the black elf who had remained silent until now.
"Hogni. I'll leave that side to you."
"Proceed as we discussed."
"H-Hmph... At last, the hour has come for one such as I, who has transcended the crude courage of common warriors, to demonstrate my loyalty."
Hogni's eyes gleamed strangely.
"What awaits them shall be an endless hell woven from infinite flames—"
"I know you're excited because you finally get to play assassin for once, but don't overdo it."
"Understood."
For just a moment, Hedin felt as though Hogni had suddenly returned to speaking like a normal person.
Before he could comment, however, the socially awkward black elf pulled his scarf higher over his face, clearly signaling that he no longer wished to communicate.
Hedin sighed.
He pushed up his round glasses and pointed White Elf's Staff toward the scowling Phryne.
"Since they've chosen war, there's no need for further words."
His eyes sharpened.
"I have only one requirement."
"Before the enemy can deploy additional reinforcements, capture every invader."
"Not a single one escapes."
…