Freya’s Desperate Actions

Kisuke recalled the brief conversation he had with the mystery voice inside the Dungeon while looking at the current state of Orario.

'A Deity used a power that was barely within the scope of the rules.'

'If it's within the rules, why contact me and risk being discovered?'

'A Deity is only a Deity because of their Divinity. That same Divinity, however, gives them a stubborn but volatile mindset. As long as it is in line with their desire, they could risk almost everything and if not addressed correctly, it may devolve into a situation where they unleash their Arcanum in this plane.'

'I see. I get your point. So where is it? I'll deal with it.'

'Orario.'

'...'

Kisuke stood on top of one of the barriers he placed on Orario and activated it. The barrier discreetly gathered the information for him and the moment he got his answers, he muttered, "This isn't my fault, is it?"

He sighed and deactivated the barrier as he'd already gotten everything that he needed to know, 'So a Deity could use Magic to emulate their own Divinity to this degree and it still isn't against the rules. Or is it just Freya? This needs some confirmation. Although I doubt it's as strong as their original ability, it's useful when their Divinity is sealed since, in a sense, Magic is way harder to seal due to how complicated it can become.'

Kisuke then watched the gate for a few minutes and saw that the flow of goods and people were still normal. Although the effects of the charm disappeared the moment they left Orario, no one noticed the changes. At this moment, he felt a familiar presence overlooking the city in the distance.

'That's... Andromeda-san and Lion-san. So they've managed to escape the city before being put under its influence. They shouldn't have any ability to anticipate the sudden assault of Charm Magic, so someone probably warned them.'

In any case, it doesn't hurt to hear their side of things so he quietly approached them from behind, only revealing his faint presence when he was a few meters away from them.

Asfi and Ryuu were overlooking the city from an elevated plain and were discussing how they would infiltrate the city to pull out Hermes, "It's no use. The entire Freya Familia were mobilized to watch the gates and the walls. If we want to enter, we'd need to go in the darkness of the night.", Asfi muttered.

Ryuu stared at the area where the Hostess of Fertility is located before replying, "Even if we enter, how are we going to evade their members? They've already been alerted of our escape and each and every one of them is capable of sniffing us out."

"It's hard, I know. But we have to do it. Only with Hermes-sama's wisdom could we have a chance to deal with this situation."

"...But all of this just for a single young boy? I really can't understand the Deities' strange obsessions."

Asfi was about to give a comment of her own when Ryuu suddenly turned around while shouting, "Who's there!?"

Asfi also hurriedly turned around and readied her weapon since the only people that would be after them now is the Freya Familia. However, she froze on the spot when she saw the familiar tall man wearing a Far Eastern outfit with a matching bucket hat and the usual grin plastered on his face.

Asfi peeked at Ryuu and saw that she was also frozen, 'Hmmm...?' However, she had a feeling that she's not having the same reaction despite having the same expression as her.

But before she could think any further about it, Kisuke greeted them jovially, "Good afternoon~, Andromeda-san, Lion-san. It has been a while. Although as much as I want to catch up, do you mind filling me in on what's going on?"

Recalling this man's ability, Asfi's eyes lit up in hope, 'He might be the one who'll be able to make way through this chaos!'

.

.

.

Hearing the situation from Asfi and Ryuu, Kisuke said while rubbing his chin, "In summary, Freya-sama enveloped the entirety of Orario with her 'Charm' and hypnotized everyone in it to acknowledge Bell Cranel as her child. You two were only able to escape because Hermes warned you, who was by his side during the onset of this great Magic."

"...Yes. We couldn't bring him out with us because he knew that we wouldn't make it if we were to carry him out.", Asfi answered with a guilty expression.

"Don't blame yourself for it. It's not your fault but that heavy-handed Goddess'. It's already fortunate that you two were able to escape."

Kisuke then stood up and said, "Well then. Now that everything is clear, I'll be going inside Orario and deal with this."

Startled, Asfi and Ryuu could only watch Kisuke silently leave but before he could disappear from their sights, Ryuu called out to him while reaching out her hand, "W-wait!"

Kisuke stopped walking and turned his head, "Hmm?"

"Are you really going just by yourself!?"

"Yep."

"It's a Goddess you're up against! If you're not careful, you'll fall to the same spell as everyone!"

"I can't explain it, but something like that won't be effective on me."

Ryuu gritted her teeth. She didn't want him to dive into the danger alone so she added, "Take m... us with you! I'm sure we'll be of assistance! Even becoming a decoy in case you need to escape is fine!"

But Kisuke just resumed his steps and waved his hand at them, "No need. I'll be fine on my own, even if the dialogue breaks down."

Ryuu wanted to say more but Asfi grabbed her arm to stop her. The former looked at the latter shaking her head and said, "You know it, Lion. We would just be an unnecessary burden for him."

Ryuu looked down and bit her lips but didn't say anything any further.

'It's a wonder why you're so adamant about this, but that isn't important right now. If Urahara is going in, it's unavoidable that there would be some commotion. We could use this chance to slip through.', thought Asfi while sighing.

Kisuke, on the other hand, didn't stop walking and aimed for the gates of Orario. Truthfully, even though he could have brought Asfi and Ryuu along with him as they could be some extra cards, he didn't want to be near them right now, especially Ryuu, 'She's making the same expression as Sona from before... Only trouble would come if I bring them.' Kisuke thought while wiping the cold sweat that was about to drop from his forehead.