"That damned brat!" Apollo slammed his fist down on a nearby table and said, "He's cheating! He has to be cheating somehow!" He spun on his heel to look at Ouranos, glaring at the supervisor of the War Game. "This CAN'T be allowed!"
A makeshift parlor in the distance, along with a holographic display showing the entire battlefield. One set up by Fels, a secretive individual working for Ouranos.
There, a few of the other gods who had come to supervise the War Game as well as spectate had gathered.
Of those...
Ishtar, wearing a mask over half her face, let out a mocking laugh and said, "Look who's suffering now, Apollo? I guess karma came back to bite you for laughing at my plight."
Apollo glared daggers at the goddess of beauty and said, "You shut your mouth! You got what was coming for you with running that degenerate business you harlot!"
"HARLOT!?"
Miach cleared his throat. "Now, now. It's no good to argue-"
"You shut up too!" Apollo glared at Miach. "You're on Hestia's side! You WANT me to lose!"
Miach shook his head. "Even though I am Hestia's friend, I am not one to wish any god to lose his familia. However, I am one who insists on fairness. And that." He nodded to the holographic display of the battlefield. "...Is nothing but fairplay, despite how it looks."
Apollo gnashed his teeth and said, "You're saying that a newly turned Level 2 is able to defeat an army of a thousand by himself?! And even convert one of MY OWN CHILDREN to his goddess's familia?!"
Ouranos finally spoke. The wizened old man floating on a throne tapped his finger and said, "Fels has confirmed it. All that Bell Kranel has used is either cogenital magic, a magic item, or a pre-existing magical contract. Lady Hestia has not used her arcanum in any way, nor has there been any divine interference."
"HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?"
Takemikazuchi, also known as Take to his friends, sipped on a cup of sake nearby and said, "Bell is the son of Alfia, Orario's monstrous talent. Moreover, I heard it from my child, Mikoto, and reviewed his records himself. Unlike his mother, he does not 'copy' techniques. He assimilates them. In a way, he may be worse." He shifted his eyes to the display.
Apollo pursed his lips and looked as well.
Daphne, HIS Daphne... she had changed sides and was standing guard at the temple.
Meanwhile, his precious Hyakintos had been beaten black and blue and was being treated at the infirmary by a few Andhrímnir sent by Freya, as well as Naaza, who was administrating potions.
But that accursed Bell...
Like a butcher slaughtering livestock.
That was the only way Apollo could describe it.
Even though Apollo had sold countless treasures and burned countless more resources to pull in hardened adventurers and even made a deal with Ares for soldiers...
'This is impossible!'
The battlefield should be equalized. Although Apollo didn't know how it was done, the blessings from Falna had been completely eliminated from the battlefield.
That meant that it should be an obvious conclusion.
One man versus a thousand?
Only a fool would think the battle could turn in any way than to the army of a thousand.
And yet...
And yet...!
Hephaestus, quietly sitting in the back, finally spoke up and said, "You should be grateful, Apollo."
Apollo spun around to glare at Hephaestus. "And how so, oh goddess of the forge? That he's not completely slaughtering my children?"
"Yes."
Apollo froze.
Hephaestus nodded to the display and said, "I don't know if that blade is one that We- that the Crozzo forged for him or if it's a cursed blade he found in the dungeon. But it's something that only allows a single scratch on his opponents. If not for that, the entire battlefield would be riddled with limbs, blood, and viscera."
Apollo paled and watched again.
He had just thought Bell was holding back by tossing his children aside, but...
'Oh.'
Apollo could see it now that Hephaestus pointed it out.
That golden blade flashed, stained with fresh blood. But despite cleaving through his children, they were unharmed... at least until he sent them flying with a kick or a toss.
Even so...
'...Curses...!'
Hephaestus was right.
...This was that brat holding back. No, this was a lesson.
Like Hestia said, by the time the War Game was over, Orario would only remember Apollo and his familia as a lesson of what happened when they crossed her familia.
Not only that...
'I thought the numbers would be enough, but...!'
The highest level in his familia was Hyakinthos. A level 3.
Apollo thought numbers were enough to surmount the level gap. But...
'If that elf had been there as well... No, if Alfia had joined this battle...'
Apollo could see it.
A minute. No more, no less.
Within that time, all his children would be slaughtered and he would have lost.
But instead...
Hephaestus spoke up. "Not even an hour has passed since dawn, Apollo. Do you have enough children in stock to outlast him?"
Apollo gnashed her teeth, fuming while making a silent prayer.
'You idiots...! Just rush him! It's one man! Just one!'
===
'So this is how it feels to be the main character in a Dynasty Warriors game.'
With Excalipur retrieved after sending Hyakinthos off the bridge and automatically warped to the treatment area, I headed off to handle the rest.
The numbers were definitely not in my favor.
I was one man against what looked to still be around 700 or more.
But...
"Slow!"
I ducked under a fusillade of arrows piercing where I was standing and then slid towards a bulky warrior in full platemail. Rakian, judging from the emblem.
Huh.
Apollo was ballsy recruiting from the enemy nation, but I guess he was desperate.
The warrior roared. "I WILL NOT LOSE TO A MERE-! KUH!?" His words cut off in a panic as Excalipur pierced his neck.
The shock at realizing he had been stabbed in what SHOULD be a lethal wound but very much WASN'T lethal made him stunned for a brief moment.
Brief enough for me to wrench Excalipur out and ram an elbow into his chest, caving in his armor and sending him flying into the air and out of the battlefield.
After flicking the single droplet of blood off Excalipur, I turned to the rest of the Apollo familia and smiled. "Well now. Isn't this fun?"
I was surrounded. After running across the bridge, I'd jumped into the depths of their forces.
Technically, Daphne was left open for people to attack her as well.
But I'd successfully drawn aggro to me.
The reason was simple.
I was the real threat here.
The moment I fell, they would be able to rush Daphne no problem.
Even so...
"What's the matter?" I rested my blade over my right shoulder. "I have no armor, I'm shirtless, and I'm facing all of you. One man against hundreds. And you still fear attacking?"
...Their morale had completely shattered.
If they rushed me, I probably couldn't handle it. If they grit their teeth, used a human wave tactic and just threw literal bodies at me, it would be over.
But they had all seen it.
The only reason that the ground wasn't a slaughterfest. The only reason that I wasn't standing upon a mountain of corpses.
It was the blade in my hand. The strange and magical sword that allowed me to attack with lethal blows that left only a scratch.
...But they didn't know if that was me holding back, or the blade itself.
It made sense.
To their eyes, I clearly had the skill to kill them all. Every single one of my sword slashes had the intent to kill. But Excalipur had denied that intention, leaving only laughable paperthin scratches that barely broke the skin.
...But they didn't know if it was the blade or me holding back.
Think of it like this.
You stand with an army against a single man. With just a blade in hand and no armor, he defeats the second in command and recruits them, talking about some prearranged contract. Then, he deliberately disarms himself to defeat the captain who should be a whole magnitude of power greater.
And now he was whittling down the forces one by one, attacking your comrades with lethal blows that somehow weren't lethal before incapacitating them instead.
If I was them, I would be worried about the other shoe dropping. About the man deciding that it was more efficient to just slaughter them all. About if the only reason they were alive was because he was putting on a show by letting them live.
Which I technically was.
I mean, if I just wanted to end this, I could do like Cassandra had predicted and just spam swords from the sky.
I still had access to my inventory, after all. And, although Materia had taken a lot of resources when she was born, I had enough crafting materials in my inventory and around me to summon a deluge of steel.
In short...
This was already a finished battle.
Still, there was one more thing I could do. An early win condition...
I smiled and said, "There are still countless hours until dawn. If you lose this battle, the Apollo familia is gone forever. However... you know, right? When a god returns to heaven, his dependents have their Falna automatically set to conversion mode. You don't suffer any losses for just surrendering here and now. But you will if you continue." I cracked my neck and smiled. "I've had fun honing my skill on you all by holding back. But my dear children are waiting for their papa to head back. If it gets close to lunch time, I might have to stop fighting and start killing, you know?"
My voice was calm. Light. Nonchalant, even.
But as it echoed across the battlefield, I was sure.
To the ears of the hundreds of adventurers gathered against me, it must have sounded like death whispering into their ears. At the same time, it gave an easy out.
After all, most of these adventurers were mercenaries. People who were paid probably ahead of time to join the battle. Win or lose, they benefitted.
There wasn't a need to risk their life on something like this.
And sure enough...
"Fuck this!"
"Apollo ain't pay enough for this shit!"
"B-But Lord Apollo-!"
"Fuck him! I hated that guy anyway!"
"Yeah! Apollo forced me to join!"
Whispers of discord turned into talks of rebellion. And those talks turned into actions of revolt.
"W-Wait! You can't just-"
"Lord Ouranos! I surrender!"
"Me too!"
"I quit!"
One by one, magic circles flared as more and more of the adventurers voluntarily left the battlefield.
I was sure that Apollo was gnashing his teeth watching all of this.
So, for good measure, I guessed roughly where the viewing perspective of the gods was. Then I turned to look at it and laughed. "Looks like you weren't so tough after all, little sun."
A taunt. A reminder of the gap between us. And a cool conclusion.
Yeah. With that-
"BELL!"
Tia's voice cutting across the battlefield.
A surge of divine power activating, along with a rush of a flaming chariot headed right towards me.
"YOU MONGREL!"
Apollo, using his Arcanum since he had nothing left to lose. "IF I AM TO LOSE EVERYTHING, I AM SENDING YOU TO HELL!"
Tia screamed and crimson flames started to surge in the distance.
"Mommy, no!"
"Mother!"
"Mama Tia! No!"
Fina, Materia, and Bella's voices stopping Tia.
Surges of mana as Ryuu and Alfia poured everything to reach me in time.
It wasn't enough.
I could tell immediately that Apollo would get to me before anyone else did. That the only one who could get me out of this mess was me.
So...
A step back. Excalipur in my right hand.
Did Apollo think it was a desperation move? He laughed and rushed towards me fearlessly.
He probably thought that Excalipur wouldn't hurt him since he believed it was cursed. That a blade like that was enchanted to only deal superficial wounds.
But.
"Let's see how you handle the might me! And by handle, I mean DIE!"
I tossed- No. I THREW the sword.
Flaming golden light clashed against the thrown counterfeit golden sword.
And-