chapter 216 Uncertain Ground
After making sure there would be no fight, at least for today, Ganesha and his Familia started to leave.
Hephaestus gave a short instruction to her members, and they followed without complaint. Freya's forces stepped back last, orderly as ever, leaving behind only the faint pressure of what had nearly happened.
Loki stretched her arms over her head as she turned.
"So when am I going to get my reward?" she called lazily toward Hephaestus. "I don't show up for free!"
Several of her members looked away in embarrassment.
Hephaestus frowned faintly as she walked beside her. "Reward?"
"For helping you surround a god's manor," Loki said with a grin, swaying slightly. "I have been very supportive."
"I didn't ask you to come," Hephaestus replied flatly. "You just tagged along without asking."
Loki blinked once, then waved a dismissive hand. "Those small details don't matter."
Hephaestus slowed, brows knitting as she genuinely tried to recall whether she had promised something.
There had been no such offer.
"…Dubious friend," Lily muttered as she stepped past them.
Hephaestus glanced sideways. "What?"
"One should choose friends more carefully," Lily said calmly. "Otherwise you spend your life confused and doubting yourself."
Hephaestus stopped at the tone.
Without warning, she reached out and pinched Lily's cheek between two fingers.
"At least I have friends," she replied evenly. "Not someone whose only companion stares at machines and forgets people exist."
Lily's expression tightened slightly.
There was truth in that.
The only person she could consider a friend was Luthar—and he would rather spend his time in a lab than with the girl who might need his company.
Seeing the faint displeasure settle on Lily's face, Hephaestus released her cheek, oddly satisfied.
Loki had been watching the exchange with lazy amusement.
The humor on her face slowly thinned as her gaze shifted from Hephaestus… to Lily… then briefly to Freya walking ahead.
Freya's power.
Hephaestus's industry.
And the thread binding them—Luthar.
Individually, they were manageable.
Together?
Troublesome.
If this connection deepened, it would become something she could no longer ignore. Their combined strength would suppress any other voice in the city.
That would be too dangerous for her own Familia, who did not have a strong ally.
Now she had to decide—join the thread… or loosen it before it tightened too far.
She exhaled softly.
"Why can't I have an easy life?"
---
By the time everyone fully dispersed, Apollo had already returned to Ishtar's residence.
The composure and good mood he had worn were gone.
He entered without ceremony.
"They surrounded my manor," he snapped. "Freya. Hephaestus. Loki. All of them."
Ishtar did not rise from her seat.
"And?" she asked calmly.
"And?" Apollo repeated sharply. "You sent someone to shoot Freya. Now I am the one being hunted."
Ishtar's eyes narrowed slightly.
"If this were about the attempt on Freya, they would have come here," she said evenly. "Not to your doorstep."
Apollo faltered.
"Maybe someone talked too much," she added. "Or someone connected the theft to you."
Apollo's jaw tightened.
"You are suggesting this is my fault?"
"I am suggesting," Ishtar replied coolly, "that your people might have already betrayed you."
He looked away, unwilling to admit the possibility.
Ishtar leaned back.
"Do not try to shift the blame," she said. "If this were a mistake from my side, I would be the one surrounded."
Apollo exhaled sharply.
"Then what do we do?"
"You disappear," she said without hesitation. "Lay low. Let the attention cool."
"And the weapons?"
"You take them outside the city and test them quietly."
Her gaze hardened slightly.
"As for the thieves, they do not need to exist," she said. "If there is no proof of theft, this becomes an accusation. And accusations can be handled through the Guild."
Apollo understood immediately.
If the weapons proved powerful, they advanced.
If not—
They erased the evidence and turned this into politics.
He gave a slow nod.
"I will handle it."
He requested new clothes to conceal his identity and changed quickly, shedding the appearance of a god returning from pleasure. When he finished, he looked more like a cautious conspirator than a god.
Without another word, he left.
As the door closed behind him, Ishtar's expression changed immediately. The composed calm drained away.
"Idiot," she murmured softly.
Apollo was useful.
But he was reactive. Emotional. Short-sighted.
For the first time since this plan began, a thin thread of doubt slipped into her thoughts.
Perhaps she had boarded the wrong ship.
Her gaze drifted toward the window, unfocused. If Apollo collapsed before they had a winning chance, she would simply switch sides—or at least make sure she did not sink with him.
---
Far below the city, on the twenty-sixth floor of the Dungeon, Luthar and his group had already made camp near the riverbank. Blue crystals embedded in the ceiling cast a steady glow over the cavern, making the place feel far more peaceful than it had any right to be.
After confirming that Luthar would ensure no monsters approached the camp, the Black Widows and Cassandra quickly threw themselves into the tent, finally allowing themselves proper sleep.
To make sure everyone could rest properly, Luthar deployed servo-skulls and scarabs around the camp, setting patrol routes and proximity triggers to eliminate any monster that came too close.
Besides him, the only other person still awake was Daphne. She knelt beside a small, controlled flame near the riverbank, a simple pot resting over it as she stirred slowly, watching the broth darken.
Since everyone was sick of nutrition packs, instead of sleeping she had decided to cook something proper for once.
But she was starting to regret that decision. The liquid in the pot had taken on a suspicious shade—somewhere between brown and blue. It did not smell terrible, but it did not smell reassuring either.
She frowned slightly.
"Are you sure those were the right ingredients?" she muttered while watching a thick bubble rise and burst.
"Do not worry," Luthar replied calmly. "What I gave you is among the best available."
Even after the reply, Daphne did not feel any better. She looked at him with open suspicion.
Luthar felt the weight of her stare and finally lifted his gaze from the projection.
"This thing," he said evenly, "has been highly praised by anyone who has tasted it."
He did not elaborate on the fact that the people who had eaten it had never tasted real food in their lives.
Daphne narrowed her eyes slightly, feeling there was something off about his statement.
Not caring about her suspicion, Luthar returned his attention to the projection as one of the outer surveillance feeds shifted.
A heat signature appeared on the far side of the river. The drone refined its focus, revealing a small humanoid outline. The temperature reading was unusual—lower than a typical hostile creature, yet clearly active.
Luthar filtered out ambient interference until the image stabilized. A small figure stood near the river's edge.
She was looking upward.
A servo-skull hovered at a cautious distance above her, scanning. The figure tilted her head slightly, white scales catching the cavern's blue glow as she tracked its movement.
The drone adjusted its angle while maintaining its distance.
Luthar's gaze sharpened. He issued a silent command, and two additional drones repositioned farther out, instructed to observe .
While his hand had already settled on the grip of his weapon before he consciously registered it.
Unknown variant.
Humanoid mutation.
Eliminate.
The response was automatic.
But soon he realized—
That posture. The oversized eyes. The awkward stillness.
It looked less like a predator
and more like something from an illustration.
…A cute dragon girl.
The thought surfaced just as he finally remembered who she was.
"That's weird," he muttered, loosening his grip.
**Author's Note:** big shout-out to Ghost00
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