Freya genuinely wanted to curse someone out right now. Taking a deep breath, she said in a low, heavy voice, "Spit it out. What price do I have to pay?"
What else could she do? She could only swallow her tears and take the blame. If she dared to say anything else, there was no doubt the people in front of her would attack. She would end up just like Apollo!
Unseal her divine power and run away? She couldn't do that. So, she had to pay the price. As for what exactly that price would be, it depended on their upcoming negotiations.
Hearing this, Natsuki Minamiya shot her a faint glance. "You all can discuss that among yourselves. I need to head back and make preparations, and check if my students are alright. The local gods here are far too rude, actually pulling a stunt like this."
After delivering that sharp critique, Natsuki Minamiya turned to Hestia. "Hestia, I'll send you back to your Familia first. Bell and Haruhime are still there. I'll see if I can send them over later, or do you want to come with me right now?"
Hearing Natsuki Minamiya's offer, Hestia made her decision without a second thought. "I'm going with you!!"
She didn't hesitate at all. Compared to this world, she much preferred Ren Isana's world. Not to mention, she had already returned here once. Since there was a Dungeon over there too, it would be better to just let Ren Isana and the others adventure on that side.
Coming to this world only meant being targeted by a bunch of filthy scumbags, which she really disliked. Furthermore, in Ren Isana's world, she could actually use her divine power. If Ren Isana and the others ran into trouble, she could actually help them!
Natsuki Minamiya naturally had no objections to Hestia's decision. She nodded and said, "Then we'll depart in a few days. I expect a satisfactory answer from you within three days!"
Natsuki Minamiya's last sentence was directed at Freya. After speaking, she manifested a Magic Circle, preparing to take Hestia and Yor Forger away.
Seeing this, Loki immediately spoke up. "Take me with you. Even though I don't like the Shorty, after something like this, I'm worried this idiot might do something stupid. I need to comfort her."
Loki narrowed her eyes; no one knew what she was thinking. Natsuki Minamiya gave her a deep look but didn't say much, expanding the magic to envelop them all and prepare for departure.
Just as the Magic Circle activated, Loki suddenly remembered something. She pushed Riveria out of the formation and said, "Riveria, you stay here. When Finn and the others arrive, bring them directly to the Hestia Familia."
She hadn't forgotten that Riveria had previously cast a spell to summon the members of the Loki Familia. If they arrived and found them missing, they would inevitably think something terrible had happened. It was best to leave Riveria behind to take charge of the situation.
Riveria understood this as well and nodded in agreement. The next moment, Natsuki Minamiya teleported Loki and the others directly back to the Hestia Familia headquarters.
At that moment, Shizuka Hiratsuka was explaining the situation to Bell and Haruhime. Upon learning that their captain and the others had been teleported out of this world, the two were completely dumbfounded.
*Wait, what? The Hestia Familia is disbanding? We're the only ones left in the Hestia Familia now? Could this get any more absurd?* After listening to Shizuka Hiratsuka's explanation, Bell was completely stunned!
It felt like the sky was falling. Captain Ren Isana hadn't even taken him into the Dungeon yet, and he had already left this world? What was he supposed to do now? Both Bell and Haruhime were at a complete loss.
Meanwhile, the Ren Isana that Bell was worrying about had just gone through a long teleportation process. The group had returned to their own world, appearing inside the Dimensional Rift that connected to the Danmachi world.
Everyone looked a bit pale, though this time no one threw up. They were all in a state of confusion. *Werent we supposed to be doing a drill? Why were we suddenly teleported?*
"Ren Isana!" Asuna, having suddenly returned to this side, immediately spotted him. She also noticed the Tang Dao in his hand. The blade seemed to have undergone some sort of change—it looked even sharper.
Furthermore... there was still some golden blood lingering on it, which was actively being absorbed by the blade. Seeing that blood, Asuna's pupils shrank. She definitely wouldn't mistake it. That was divine blood!!
When Asuna saw the divine blood staining Ren Isana's blade, her mind buzzed. *Just what exactly did Ren Isana do? Is that why we were all immediately sent back?*
*Was tonight's drill just an excuse? Was the real goal to get everyone back at a moment's notice? Are we basically fleeing the scene of a crime?* In that moment, Asuna completely understood!!
When Asuna called out Ren Isana's name, the rest of the class noticed as well. Everyone's gaze shifted over, and seeing Ren Isana holding his weapon, they looked a bit bewildered.
"Class Rep... what's going on? Why were we teleported back?" Sora couldn't help but ask the question on everyone's mind.
Hearing Sora's words, Ren Isana lifted his weapon, inspected it for a moment, and then slowly said, "There was a little accident at the Denatus, so we're making a run for it."
Looking at his fully upgraded Tang Dao, Ren Isana felt incredibly satisfied. This time, he had truly accomplished a massive feat. Later, he would update his own status board to see if he had enough Excelia to level up.
After all, wasn't Apollo just another type of monster? After completing the god-slaying, Ren Isana felt that he had gained a massive amount of Excelia. He had already reached the critical threshold; breaking through would be a breeze now.
Especially now that he was back in this world, the rules restricting him were gone. With just a little push, he could break through that barrier and become a Tier 5 existence.
"Did you attack a god?" Hearing Ren Isana's words and recalling what she had just seen, Asuna couldn't help but gulp. *Did Ren Isana really slash a god with that weapon?*
*So that's why we were all teleported back to this world together—to lay low?* That was the only explanation Asuna could think of. *Could it really be true?*
The others were dumbfounded when they heard Asuna's words, staring at Ren Isana in shock. *He's that fierce? He actually attacked a god? Good lord, as expected of the Class Rep!!*
*Tap, tap, tap.* At that moment, the sound of footsteps rang out. Hearing the noise, everyone turned their heads and saw their homeroom teacher, Rina-sensei, whom they hadn't seen in a long time.
Seeing that her students were all safe and sound, a heavy stone finally lifted from Rina-sensei's heart. She had suddenly received a message this afternoon saying that Ren Isana and the others might return tonight—or they might not—and she was told to come over and make arrangements just in case.
Although she didn't know what had happened, Rina-sensei had arranged for vehicles to be brought here early and had been waiting ever since. If Ren Isana and the group didn't return by morning, she would have just gone back. She hadn't expected them to actually show up now.
"Rina-sensei!" Seeing her arrive, everyone quickly greeted her. They all realized that this had been planned in advance; otherwise, Rina-sensei wouldn't be here.
"Let's go. I've already arranged the buses. Everyone, head home first. Tomorrow is Saturday anyway, so you can rest for two days," Rina-sensei instructed. Director Ken had already given his orders.
They wouldn't have to return to school until Monday. Rina-sensei briefly sensed their strength and was pleasantly surprised. *They're all uniformly Tier 4. Was the harvest from going to another world really that massive?*
Hearing this, everyone hurriedly nodded. *Going home?* They had unknowingly been gone for quite a long time. If they could go home, they were naturally more than happy to do so.
After speaking, Rina-sensei turned and walked outside, with the others following closely behind. Although everyone had a lot of questions they wanted to ask Ren Isana—since he hadn't finished his sentence earlier—now wasn't the time.
It was just too intriguing. However, they followed Rina-sensei outside, where two buses were already waiting for them.
Furthermore, everyone noticed that the area around the Dimensional Rift seemed to have been fully constructed. Did this mean that their world's Dungeon was about to open to the public? If so, they could just go down there to grind monsters.
*Coming back here isn't so bad after all,* many thought to themselves. They boarded the buses, and the vehicles slowly started up, transporting the group back toward the school.
After spending so much time in another world, returning to a modern city felt incredibly comforting. After all, that other world was basically the countryside to them.
No one spoke on the bus; they just quietly watched the scenery outside the windows. Rina-sensei didn't ask the students anything either. They had been in that other world for nearly a month, so it was best to let them get some proper rest.
Sitting on the bus, Ren Isana looked at a series of messages he had received on his phone. As soon as he returned, he had gotten an SMS from the bank. During the time he was away, his first dividend payment from Baoshutang had come through.
In addition, Rina-sensei had sent him some documents detailing Baoshutang's potion sales. It was clear that even though Ren Isana had been absent, the school was still keeping a close eye on the matter.
Looking at the long string of numbers, Ren Isana nodded in satisfaction. With this, he wouldn't be short on money in the future and wouldn't have to worry about finances anymore. After glancing at his bank account balance, he began reading the documents Rina-sensei had sent.
He skimmed through them quickly and confirmed the accounts were in order. Satisfied, he didn't bother with them any further and turned his gaze out the window.
There were fewer cars on the road at night, so the trip back to the school was fairly quick. After everyone got off the bus, Rina-sensei said, "Alright, head home now. Stay safe on the way."
Hearing Rina-sensei's words, everyone nodded and began saying their goodbyes. Those heading in the same direction grouped up and started walking home. Ren Isana, Asuna, and a few other classmates happened to share the same route.
They walked together for a while before splitting off. Once it was just the two of them, Asuna finally couldn't hold back anymore. "What exactly happened? Did you really slash a god?"
She had been curious the entire way and couldn't suppress the urge to ask. The teleportation had been too sudden; the Magic Circle had triggered without any warning.
"I killed him!" Facing Asuna's curiosity, Ren Isana didn't hide anything this time and told her the truth.
At those words, Asuna's pupils shrank. *Ren Isana killed a god?* In that moment, she was stunned. She never could have imagined he would do something like that.
"He was a pervert who swung both ways. He targeted me and Hestia, so I just killed him while I was at it," Ren Isana explained the reason casually.
Hearing this, Asuna swallowed hard and couldn't help but ask, "So, that's why we were teleported back? To lay low?"
Everything finally clicked for Asuna. No wonder everyone had been sent back so abruptly. So that was it!
Slaying a god in a place like Orario was practically a declaration of war against all the gods there. Ren Isana must have known he was being targeted early on, which was why he explained the situation to Natsuki Minamiya.
In the end, after the teachers found out, Yor Forger taught Ren Isana a few things, and he attended the banquet with Hestia, then... found an opportunity to take the guy out.
Thinking of this, Asuna's scalp went numb. This was way too absurd. *And Ren Isana actually succeeded? Natsuki Minamiya and the others didn't come back—are they staying behind to clean up the mess?*
"That's right, we're definitely laying low. Plus... I brought that god's corpse back with me. When I get home, I'm going to drain his blood and collect it to upgrade my weapons," Ren Isana nodded, admitting it openly.
His words made Asuna freeze. She looked at him with a bizarre expression. "I noticed your weapon was absorbing divine blood. So, has your weapon gotten stronger now?"
She remembered the scene she saw right after they returned—the golden blood being absorbed by Ren Isana's weapon. At the same time, she grew curious about which god Ren Isana had actually killed.
"Yeah, pretty much. This weapon was forged by Hephaestus, the Goddess of Forging, so it was already a top-tier weapon, but it wasn't a divine artifact. All it lacked was the blood of a god." Having said that much, there was no need to explain the rest.
Ren Isana's weapon had already completed its metamorphosis, becoming an artifact-level existence. Moreover, it was a god-slaying weapon, and one that came with its own innate attributes.
The Tang Dao had been bathed in Apollo's blood, which resulted in it directly gaining several enchanted statuses. It had even transformed into a Magic Sword, as it could now unleash flames.
Indestructible, Sharpness, Armor Piercing, [Magic Break], Evil Banishing, Fire Attribute, and God-Slaying—these were the new enchanted attributes Ren Isana's Tang Dao had acquired, all brought about by Apollo's blood.
"You're really bold..." Hearing Ren Isana's explanation, Asuna was utterly in awe of his actions. *He really had the guts to actually slay a god?*
"The main reason it worked was because Yor Forger gave me a specific weapon. Otherwise, I probably would have just been forcibly deported back here." Speaking of this, a flash of lingering fear crossed Ren Isana's eyes.
If it hadn't been for the dagger Yor Forger gave him, he really might not have been able to finish off Apollo. After all, a god's vitality was incredibly strong. Once they unsealed and regained their divine power, a minor injury like that would mean nothing.
Thanks to Yor Forger's dagger interfering with his divine power, it worked. Otherwise, Ren Isana would have been facing a controlled nuclear fusion reactor. He probably would have been vaporized instantly. Even if he managed to return in time, he would have been severely injured.
"Don't do such dangerous things in the future. With a stunt like that, the slightest mistake and you could have died on the spot!" Asuna exhaled a heavy breath, staring intently at Ren Isana as she scolded him.
This time was clearly a lucky success. If he had failed, she didn't even dare to imagine the consequences. Just thinking about it sent shivers down her spine.
"It was a one-time opportunity. I figure from now on... if any other gods run into me, they'll be on high alert, right?" Ren Isana shook his head. After this incident, there probably wouldn't be another chance like it, unless he used absolute strength to eliminate those gods.
The two chatted as they walked back to their apartment building. While riding the elevator, Ren Isana suddenly remembered something and asked, "Did you bring all your things back? You didn't leave anything behind, did you? If you did, things could get troublesome."
He didn't know how Natsuki Minamiya was handling the aftermath over there. He had killed a god and bolted. Even if he was blacklisted and banned from ever returning to that world, he wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.
If Asuna and the others had left their belongings behind, it would probably be very difficult to get them back. He wondered if they had listened to Natsuki Minamiya's prior instructions to pack everything up.
"I brought everything with me. I didn't leave a single thing behind." Asuna smiled, gesturing for Ren Isana to look at her Spatial Backpack. Having sensed that something was off, she had naturally followed Natsuki Minamiya's instructions to the letter, packing up everything—even the bedsheets—and taking it all with her.
"Yeah, then there's no problem. This is my floor. Get a good night's rest, goodnight~!" Ren Isana nodded, saying no more. Seeing that the elevator had stopped, he bid Asuna farewell and stepped out.
"Goodnight!" Asuna waved. The elevator doors slowly closed, taking her up one more floor before she, too, returned to her own room.
Ren Isana unlocked his door with his key. A stale smell immediately wafted out from inside, caused by the apartment being unoccupied for so long. After closing the door behind him, he went over to open the windows to let the room air out, and only then did he start taking out some of his belongings.
Knowing that he might return directly, Ren Isana had packed absolutely everything, including the materials he had collected from the Loki Familia. All of these items were stored inside his Spatial Ring and special storage space.
After taking out some daily necessities, Ren Isana didn't touch the crafting materials. Instead, he planned to discuss what to do with them with his classmates later—whether to split them equally or save them for future equipment upgrades.