Chapter 19: Sol Who Took Advantage Of The Fire!

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The chaos stirred up by the dark faction only began to quiet down by noon. Shortly after, there was a knock at Sol's family estate—Raul from the Loki Familia had arrived with a message. Though he would one day become a remarkable warrior, today he was still an eager LV1 recruit. Barely pausing for a greeting, he delivered Finn's invitation letter before hurrying off to the next house.

"Sol-sama, Loki-sama has summoned us to the Twilight Pavilion," an elf reported after reading the letter.

"Alright," Sol replied. "Call Riveria and let her bring the prisoners along. I plan to squeeze a good bit of intel from Loki on this."

Still on guard against any further ambush from the dark faction, Sol chose to take only Riveria with him, leaving the others behind to secure the residence. The family's estate held treasures accumulated by "The Hoarding Dragon" Sol himself, and losing them to looters would be a considerable blow. Until his return, the estate would remain under strict lockdown.

Arriving at the Loki Familia's Twilight Pavilion, Sol found their defenses relatively intact, save for a few scorched walls—evidence of a magical assault. It seemed the dark faction had been careful not to press the Loki Familia too hard, likely aware of their strength.

Inside, they were the first arrivals, with Loki lounging on the sofa, her eyes narrowed and nearly shut in her usual lazy way.

"Hey, Loki!" Sol greeted her with a hearty slap to the head.

"Ow! Sol, still alive, are you?" Loki grumbled, rubbing the back of her head with a wince.

"Please! You think those underlings could do me in?"

"Then tell me," Loki leaned in, smirking, "who was it that was 'sent back' from your estate in that big, showy beam of light?"

"Oh, that was Apate. He broke into my estate with a full squad of elven soldiers. Can you believe it? I took a big hit this time." Sol plopped down across from her, his tone shifting from lighthearted to annoyed.

"Elven soldiers? Sol-sama, did you mean you already handled them?" Finn, who'd been frowning as he listened, interrupted with a look of surprise and relief. The Apate Familia's 12 elite LV5 elven soldiers were a formidable force that had kept even Finn and Loki strategizing late into the morning.

"Left two at the gate as a gift for your guards when I arrived," Sol said with a grin.

Even Loki's perpetually squinted eyes widened slightly at that. 'Could Sol have done all this himself?'

Finn and Loki exchanged glances. How could Riveria—however skilled—deal with 12 LV5s on her own? This went beyond her known abilities.

Some observers from the night before had glimpsed towering flames from Sol's residence. It hadn't looked like any magic an LV5 could wield. Could it be that Riveria's strength went beyond what they thought, perhaps even close to that of Alfia, the legendary elf?

"No matter what, I've suffered heavy losses this time, Loki. You owe me compensation!" Sol demanded with a sly grin.

"Why should I?!" Loki snapped, looking at Sol in disbelief. "It's not like 'we're' the ones who trashed your place!" She could hardly believe his nerve. 'Deal with Apate's elf soldiers and then come here to squeeze me for it?' Loki thought, still wrestling with her own troubles from the dark faction's attacks.

"If you hadn't convinced me to join the campaign against Erebus, my familia wouldn't have been targeted. You think that doesn't call for some restitution?" Sol pressed.

"You've got some nerve, Sol! We 'all' agreed to join the action—this was no surprise!" Loki retorted, her voice growing impatient.

"Now, now, don't get riled up just yet." Sol's tone took on a measured calm, as though the discussion were already in his favor. "We agreed to face the Erebus Familia together, right? The fallout from that choice just happened to land on me. Ever wonder why you got through last night relatively unscathed?"

"'Relatively' unscathed? Look outside—there are craters all around the Twilight Pavilion!" Loki shot back, exasperated.

"Oh, really? Imagine if I hadn't sent Apate back last night. Think about it." Sol glanced at her with a look that left Loki uncharacteristically silent. She'd heard rumors about the heavy losses across Orario—so many gods forcibly returned to the heavens, their familias left in ruins.

"So, you see, I bore the brunt of it on your behalf. And if there's no compensation, there's no guarantee I'll keep engaging in the next moves." Seeing Loki hesitate, Sol pushed further, sensing her reluctance to contest his point. His role in dealing Apate and his twelve LV5 elf soldiers would be recognized, whether or not he continued actively in the fight.

Just then, Finn intervened to ease the tension. "Sol-sama, your efforts last night made a significant difference. How about this: once the situation is resolved, we'll arrange an additional 10% from the guild's reparations for you." Finn's diplomatic tone suggested he knew Sol was serious about leaving.

Sol chuckled. "See, Loki? Your child is a lot more generous than you." He hadn't expected Finn to agree so readily; it made him wonder if he'd aimed too low. 'Is the guild's compensation that miserly?' But he shrugged—he'd take what he could get.

At that moment, the doors to the Twilight Pavilion opened again as a group of gods entered, each flanked by members of their familias for extra protection. The ambush from the previous night still weighed heavily on their minds.

"Damn Erebus! That scoundrel deserves everything coming to him!"

"We can't let this slide. He's crossed too many lines this time!"

"The losses keep piling up. They have no intention of stopping!"

"Time to hit back! We can't delay any longer!"

The room filled with outraged voices, each god eager to condemn Erebus for his actions. Sensing the crowd's fervor, Loki stepped forward, ready to take charge of the discussion.