42 Chapter 42: Wrath • Ira

"What are our thoughts on Soma Familia?"

"It is the worst."

After "waking" up, Lili realized how messed up of a life she was living. It became more evident when she saw the "normal" life that she neglected before.

Her resentment towards this familia didn't even come close to the adventurers that abandoned her.

"If… If I had the strength, will teacher let me deal with them?"

I felt her anger rising. Briefly, a flash of red occupied her irises.

'It's really in her…'

From those detailed memories, I know something about Lili. I saw her inside Knossos fighting off violas. She is way stronger than she is now.

'Was it level two..?'

It's not clear whether she was level two or three. Though, I sensed something evident from her—wrath. She wordlessly slaughtered those violas, but I saw her anger through her actions.

'A skill, huh?'

My best bet is a berserker skill. It could explain how she leveled up within those three years.

In Orario, going to level two within three years is considered "talented". Wallenstein-san simply set the standards higher before I followed suit.

"There's no need to wait. We will be dealing with them tonight."

"Ah—?!"

I waited until her shock subsided.

"We will raid their familia home tonight. The main goal is to find evidence of their wrongdoings." I added, "I'm not forcing you to join."

Times had changed. I should strike Dionysus while he's disorganized. By the time he regains his composure, most of his plans would be ruined.

As to why Soma Familia... That was one of the confirmed links I have to Evilus as they are mentioned by the god of Ikelos Familia. I could go after the latter, but they are too elusive. I want to search for more links via Soma Familia first. The findings would dictate my next actions.

"Wouldn't I pull you down?" She asked.

"Trust in yourself. Against those guys, you are good enough."

Every day, Lili experienced many simulated battles. From curses to foreign sorcerers, she fought them. There are also close-combat specialists such as Kiyoshiro-san—Kazamitsu-san's acquaintance who trained in swordsmanship. Their Phantom Sword of Kurikara Dharani could cut down humans and astral beings alike.

Her constant battles barely made the gap in her talent. Humans learn when they are endangered, and that is how [Alice's Wonderland] simulates battles.

"Also, we're bringing some things to make infiltration easier."

"Magic swords?"

Lili knew I am a smith with the amount of weapons I brought every day.

"It's not just magic swords."

My stash is going to be put to good use.

*****

Nighttime.

Under the gentle night breeze, one of the adventurers on the watchtower felt sleepiness attacking him.

"Yawn… Can you cover me for an hour? I haven't gotten proper sleep in the past few days."

"Man, are you worried about your quota? Don't worry, I'll find a way to earn more."

Inside Soma Familia, everything wa run by a "quota system", whereas they wouldn't taste Soma's wine if they fail to do so.

"Just sleep. There's nothing who will attack anyways."

Although Soma Familia doesn't belong to the middle-ranked familia, their networks are vast. No ordinary intruder would steal from them.

Chop-!

Bam-!

Suddenly, a black silhouette knocked out the two of them. He hit the nerves on the man's neck while a punch to the other man's solar plexus.

"A sloppy security. I guess I expected a bit too much for them."

[West side secured.]

A girl's voice sounded from his left earring.

"North side secured." He replied. "Start the sweep after your side."

[Understood, teacher.]

The girl is calm. However, a tinge of tension and excitement appeared in her voice.

{Thirty seconds have passed.}

Nobu's virtual assistant—Hatsune Miku—started her periodic alerts. After he made the third earring, he left one to her.

Tap-!

Tap-!

He crouched on the top of the walls as he went to the watchtower. With the same move, he knocked the three adventurers unconscious. They were merely level one. It didn't pose any trouble to him.

Nobu's face is hidden under his hoodie. He cast a spell before he became invisible to the naked eye.

"There's not much to be seen here."

Below, there aren't any adventurers. They have gone to sleep after settling their quotas for the week. After exploring, Nobu knocked out seven adventurers. Three of them were level two while the rest are level one.

All of them have dull irises—a sign of addiction.

Lili gave him their familia home's layout while Nobu is responsible for the rest. He had Miku map the entire place while he cross-checked it.

"Enyo… It'll be good if I caught your tail here." He mumbled.

On the off chance he got something out of this raid, he could begin tracking Enyo's influence which included Evilus. In his memories, he was inside the dungeon and Knossos most of the time. He didn't know much of Enyo's affiliates except Evilus. Hence, he started with Soma Familia first to check the affiliates of Ikelos Familia, and in turn Evilus.

{Three minutes have passed.}

"I'm heading into the rooms."

[Understood. I will follow suit.]

The familia home's design is reminiscent to the middle ages and pre-modern era. It is made of bricks but their precision is high.

They also have a window within each rooms. Meaning—

Crank-!

—they are extremely vulnerable.

"W-who are you?!"

Nobu happened upon a couple in the midst of 'mating'. His sudden appearance made the two jolt. Still, he lunged at the man with a black baton.

Slam-!

A single strike made him unconscious. He fell asleep on top of the naked woman.

Hit-!

When he struck the woman's face, she followed suit.

"The ones below, huh."

Nobu surmised that many adventurers are 'victims' of this familia. Their fascination towards Soma's wine reduced them to scumbags. Unless they are the officials and the ringleader, they do not deserve death.

On the off chance they are born criminals, Nobu is confident to deal with them again. That time, he would no longer be lenient.

[You bastard—!]

"Lili?"

Silence.

A dozen seconds later, Lili responded.

[Everything's fine, teacher.]

"I see. Tell me if you found some evidence. Don't miss out their safes, too."

[Okay.]

*****

Few moments ago.

"You are—?!"

A man with racoon ears stood dumbly at the sight of an intruder. The intruder's face is hidden beneath a black hood, but he saw her eyes—they are full of anger.

"You..!"

Lili recognized the man. While she was "drunk", he often beat her up and stole her earnings. She didn't make it to the quota many times because of him. However, that might also be the reason why the effect of Soma's wine waned.

"Shit!"

The man—Canoe—rushed to the door.

Bam-!

The blunt side of her glaive hit his stomach. He was sent flying across the room.

"Keuk…!"

For a moment, he could not breath. He spat out some saliva before he could do so.

"Cough..! Fuck… Who are you..?!"

Inwardly, he cursed the guards. Their incompetence led to this event.

"Aren't you scared the guild would come?!"

"..."

The girl never cared about his words. She wordlessly came closer to Canoe with a glaive in hand.

"It was painful."

Lili shivered as she recalled her dozens of beatings from this man. Since she was nine years old, she was extorted by this man. All the valis he took and pain he inflicted made her extremely angry.

Smack-!

She stabbed the glaive's pole to his stomach.

"Kuk..!"

His saliva flew. His eyes widened due to the pain. He couldn't believe a little girl is beating him up.

"You bastard..!"

Three years of suffering from his hands. She never doubted he would kill her if it meant making more valis. It was just he didn't choose to do so as it'll be meaningless.

Right when her anger reached unprecedented heights—

"Huh?"

—she blacked out.

"What—?"

Lili found an unconscious Canoe below her. His face had been beaten up badly. Traces of his blood could be seen on her fists.

'What happened..?'

[Lili?]

After blacking out, she "badly" beat him up—enough for him to not be recognized by his grandmother in heaven. His nose is bent in a strange manner. Bruises could be found all over his face.

"Everything's alright, teacher."

[I see. Tell me if you found some evidence. Don't miss out their safes, too.]

"Okay…"

Lili remained silent for a while.

"Fu…"

Soon, she stopped thinking about it. She thought it must've been her anger that caused all of it. At least, she didn't end up killing him.

'No… I must continue..!'

Disregarding the crime scene, she scavenged for documents and ledgers. Everything that she found was stored in a small leather pouch. While she was doing so, she found a 'safe'.

'Teacher said to cut it down…'

Lili searched for its door before she struck the door open.

Slash-!

The safe was easily cut through. The door fell, revealing several leather pouches, a dagger, and some ledgers.

Lili put it all in her first leather pouch. She skimmed some of them and reported back to Nobu.

Once she was done checking most of the rooms, she was finally found out.

Lili stood at the end of a hallway. In the end of it is a man. The gentle ray of moonlight shone on the man's face.

"An intruder?!"

The grey-haired man wore a pair of glasses. His poise showed his confidence in himself.

Shatter-!

He broke the window on his side. With that disturbance, he expected the level two guards outside to notice it.

Unfortunately—

"No one would come, Zanis Lustra."

Lili's glaive glowed with blue light. Meeting the man responsible for making her life like this…

She never hesitated further.

*****

"Hum? Who is it?"

Inside a secluded room, the god of wine, Soma, experimented on making a [Divine Brew] using nothing but a mortal's prowess.

"What do you need?"

"Nothing. Why would I need something from you—" Nobu walked inside the room. "—God Soma."

The god took a look at the new arrival. His blood-red hair and eyes further amplified his aura.

"Why did you break in? Do you—?"

"I don't give a damn with your wine. Nor your circumstances."

"..."

When he was in Tenkai, gods surrounded him for the wine he creates. They became intoxicated with a single sip—they could no longer live without it. Thus, he had some expectations when he descended to Gekai. He had hopes that these mortals with unmatched brilliance could be different.

How wrong he was.

"I mean, how mismatched would it be to expect mere mortals to withstand your wine? Even without your Arcanum, you should've expected this outcome."

Nobu didn't know his story and based his actions from Lili's story. Since Soma didn't actively control his familia and focused on winemaking, he saw this possibility.

Unexpectedly, he hit the nail on the head.

"They were the ones who asked for it."

"And you are the one who indulged them." Nobu immediately retorted.

Soma Familia wasn't like this. Before, they were a proper exploration-type familia. Only, it fell through after his familia members got intoxicated with his wine.

"You know many things about me."

"Huh. Go speak after you've learned everything on your familia. Did you bother looking even once?"

"...I did."

As Nobu had said, Soma saw the current state of his familia. Although, he chose to acquiesce.

"Silence in the face of evil is evil itself." Nobu walked towards one of the wine bottles and took it. "Because of your pride and excessive expectations, you broke every single familia member of yours. Fucking congratulations."

Tap-!

Psssh-!

Nobu angrily opened the wine bottle and chugged it in one go. He was briefly met with a dreamscape the moment he drank it, but a sea of bloodlust came crashing it.

With the world-destroying dragon looming, he is not weak to be fooled by a god's wine. His cheat somehow took effect and prevented its effects, too.

His bloodlust started freezing parts of the room. Even Soma, a god, was shocked at this sight.

Nobu's bloodlust is something that culminated in eight iterations; eight deaths. Facing god-like monsters and failing to save his world, everything manifested as his helplessness—which led to his bloodlust.

Everything he learned about Soma Familia made him sick. It is a hidden tumor inside Orario. Lili's stories made him realize how messed up it was.

For instance, Lili was addicted to Soma's wine by the age of six. Her parents died making money for the wine, neglecting her completely when they lived.

It isn't wrong to say Soma is responsible for ruining their lives.

"Turns out, gods aren't as omniscient as they say…"

Shatter-!

Nobu threw the wine bottle into the wall.

"Do you know of your child called 'Lili'?"

"...I do."

Lili was one of the few whom Soma expected to remain uncorrupted by his wine. Alas, she fell to its delusions. Until now, that is. When he heard her will to leave the familia, he was shocked.

"She is one of the lives you fucked over."

"..."

Soma fell silent.

In the past, he kept running away from his problem. He was tired of what his wine could do. It wasn't much of a problem in Tenkai, but it was different from Gekai. Humans' lives were short and fragile.

The consequences of his wine are the worst.

"Then again, how could I speak to a god like this? I bet everything is entertainment for you."

"That's wrong..!"

"Huh."

Nobu laid his back on the wall whilst crossing his arms.

"I… I never intended for this to happen… at first."

Soma used to be one of the rare 'compassionate' god. He loved his familia dearly, but that came crashing down after they were all addicted by his wine. The expectations he placed upon them faltered. He was overcome with disappointment that he let everything take its course.

Just like that, he faced the exact same situation in Tenkai.

"..."

'No way.'

Nobu realized something. While he had been true about Soma's sins, he never truly knew him. He never met him in his eighth iteration nor talked with him.

'Could it be…'

(Hitori)bocchi.

He was reminded of his friend with social anxiety so strong she might become a special-grade Sorcerer if she channeled it correctly. Everything is from his theories, but he's more than 60% sure of it.

"Gods could become social exiles too..?"

"Social exiles..?"

"...It's nothing."

After having a glimpse to his true persona, Nobu reconsidered things.

"I planned for your familia to be thoroughly ruined publicly but there's another way…" He said. "Hey. Do you want to make up for your sins?'

"...If I could."

Hearing Nobu's talk about his "unreasonableness" to his children woke him up. He is still in shock due to the sudden events. Though, he could directly look at the mess he made now.

In the first place, Soma isn't similar to evil gods. All he wanted is to improve his skills and not be bothered by anyone in the process. When he gave his children wine, he brought the current situation himself.

Everything wouldn't have happened if he didn't do so. He can 'reduce' their addiction and dependence to the wine. There are many ways the direction of his familia could've went.

In the end, he is the root of this problem.

"Well then, listen properly. Do you—?"

Bam-!

A loud noise originated outside Soma's room. It was the sound of wooden planks breaking.

"Lili? Are you alright?"

[...es.]

Soma was shocked upon hearing that name.

"Wait? Did you say..?"

"You heard it right." Nobu replied. "Do you want to see it? What one of your children could've been without your mess?"

He uttered those words before leaving the room.

"..."

Soma's heartstrings was tugged. He is aware the regrets piled upon him would increase by doing so, but he have to see it. When he left the room, he saw the fight.

"What…"