Chapter 40 TimoteosJKim has commissoned a chapter

Apollo's head snapped back at my abrupt head butt, and I made sure to actually hit his own forehead and not shatter his nose or anything. Despite how Apollo was scum I didn't want the death of a god hanging on my shoulders.

"Don't fucking touch me, you pathetic worm. Your arrogance has destroyed years of growth for your Familia with so many deaths because your Captain wanted to sit on his ass and not even fight properly. Hell, you fuckwits didn't even ask me. The damned creator and summoner of the Monster Rex's capabilities!" I snarled in disbelief at the idiocy of the god.

Apollo unsteadily got back to his feet while he held onto his head, and he pointed at me in apparently just as much disbelief as I was in at him. "You dare strike me! I will ruin you! I Phoebus Apollo declare a War Game upon the Seshat Familia for your insult!" He screeched and I idly debated the cost of being cursed by the god if I put a sword through his throat.

But in the end, as the other Familia's who came to watch the battle approached obviously paying great attention to this event I spoke dryly. "And what Familia will you challenge me with? A couple of level two's? Why does that seem like such a joke Apollo."

I then turned to all the adventures that surrounded us as Apollo slumped in place as he was well aware that Daphne couldn't beat me nor was Cassandra a threat at all with how timid she was.

"Adventurers of Orario hear me! These Monster Rex's are not a joke. They are not a status symbol or something you can shrug off. These are monsters that are worthy for you to level up with... Thus, such a challenge is more than capable of reaping your lives if you treat this a joke." I spoke loudly with many of the more savvy experienced adventurers nodding their heads in agreement, but such people were already level two or three, not the newbie level ones who treated monster killing as a bit of a side gig or something.

I then stared down Apollo who had stood back up. "This is a dangerous event far more lethal than any Wargame. Should you continue your claim I will finish your Familia in any case." I said before dismissively looking away from him, to the next Familia on the list of people who wanted to test their might.

"Takemikazuchi Familia, are you ready?" I asked looking to their captain Ouka who nodded hefting his large great axe behind himself.

"Yes, we will be fighting the King Slime monster and we have made plans to deal with it safely in a controlled manner. But do you have any advice, Jake?" Ouka proudly spoke and I smiled as Takemikazuchi was a friend of Hestia, so I didn't mind helping them out with some advice.

"Beware once you deal a good bit of harm to him, he will become enraged jumping around much faster than usual, and will shake off its acidic gel to land on you and such a fate of being covered in metal melting acid will not be pretty," I said with utmost seriousness.

Ouka nodded and everyone dispersed with the Takemikazuchi Familia staying to fight the next boss, but the crowd was kind enough to help with dragging the Apollo Familia corpses off the field so no one would trip over them or something.

"This isn't over Jake Bariss. There will be a reckoning for your failure to help or warn us." Apollo snarled and I looked over him one final time before I came to a conclusion.

"Alright Apollo. Fuck you and your Familia. I in the name of my goddess Seshat accept your War Game. I will see you at the Guild to formalize the details later today at sundown." I said strongly as I eyed Apollo. I was literally done with this degenerate red-headed stepchild.

"Dammit Apollo!" Daphne hissed as she stomped over at hearing my declaration and in the middle of all of Orario watching remotely the crimson-haired beauty grabbed Apollo and dragged the god away by his ear.

After getting King Slime summoned, watching the Takemikazuchi Familia take care of it was a completely different experience from how the Apollo Familia dealt with the Desert Scourge. Because the Takemikazuchi Familia was a Familia that lived and breathed in the dungeon whereas despite the Apollo Familia having dozens more members, they were trash who only got the bare minimum letter requirement before leveling up by killing a minotaur or an infant dragon in a party.

First, they corralled the King Slime with Ouka carefully herding it away from Mikoto who at the moment of the Monster Rex coming into being, began chanting while her teammates used longbows to strike the boss with my own arrows, so they didn't just melt in the potent acid within the slime's body.

"I respectfully speak to you, my War God that can break through anything, lead me from the precious heaven. Give my petty body, the divine power of your grand body. Rescue them light of purification, sword of crushing evil. Sweep sword of suppression, sacred sword of conquest. It arrives here now by my order. Descend from heaven, rule the earth - Shinbu Tousei!" She chanted yelling at the end as a pure black magical pillar captured the King Slime and squashed it flat under its crushing gravity magic that filled the pillar.

"Use the explosive bolts!" Ouka yelled as he pulled his own long bow off his back the half dozen supporters and other adventurers switched to alchemical bolts.

Then the King Slime once the height of a semi-truck was compressed to the point of only being as thick as a cinderblock and with each explosive arrow that collided with it its flesh was blasted apart until the King Slime died under Mikoto's powerful gravity spell.

While I stood in the tree line with Bell beside me watching the fight, Finn came over to me. "Well, Jake got any ideas after seeing a weaker Familia properly deal with a Monster Rex?" He asked and I shrugged.

"Yeah, hook up to the roof of the dungeon in Riveria where it cannot jump that high, and then just drop bombs on it, until it dies," I answered cheerfully and the Pallum snorted at my cowardly answer but in the end he shrugged.

"I suppose that's one way to level up. The Falna cares more for the success of a challenge than how difficult you make the challenge in any case. That's how Perseus, or Hermes's Asfi Andromeda reached level four by bombing monster rex's to death after much preparation." Finn spoke candidly.

"So, Finn. Why are you here? Did you come to speak with me about Apollo's little challenge that I answered?"

Finn sighed nodding. "Look Jake, the Loki Familia can't be seeing interfering as that would be considered the highest degree of bullying with them only having some level two's and-"

Before he continued, I cut him off. "Finn, I do not fear Apollo's little collection, whatever challenge the Denatus gives between our Familia's, I will win outrightly, or their Familia will not survive challenging me as I drop another Monster Rex on them," I said bluntly and Finn face palmed shaking his head.

"Well, tamed monsters haven't been outlawed for use in War Games so Monster Rex's... Yeah, I imagine they will allow you to abuse such a thing for the first fool to challenge you so they can have cause to outlaw it due to you not having control over them." Finn said shrugging as that was the politics of Orario.

In the midst of the cheers of the Takemikazuchi as they happily took their goodie bags from killing the bosses Bell finally spoke as she had gone silent after the deaths of the Apollo members. "Jake please don't just kill all the Apollo members. I mean Apollo is obviously a terrible person and should be sent back to Tenkai or something."

Finn just snorted shaking his head. "Well, I said my piece. The guild has your cut of today's earnings also I wanted to warn you about something personally Jake." Finn's face was both a cut of grim and wry as he continued to speak.

"Heith Velvet the Golden Witch, or Vana Mardel, of Freya's Familia who was helping the Dian Chet Familia with healing has been asking a lot of questions about you and your Familia. Where you fight in the dungeon, your interests, how people can get into your tower to access your shop. Just a lot of questions to a number of people... This isn't Freya herself doing something, no this is Heath up to something." He warned me and then he nodded to me and Bell as he walked away.

'It's just never one thing alone now is it.' I thought sighing as I gave Bell a side hug making her squeak in surprise, but I paid her surprised noises no care as I refueled on Bell's cute energy.

"Alright, there four more Familia's needing a boss. So why don't you go back to Orario and get my goddess to the Guild so she can get this War Game going." Before she could say anything, I put a finger to her lips silencing her. "Bell there's nothing for you to do here and I can tell you need to clear your head... This was the first time you saw people die right?" I asked and Bell bit her lips before nodding softly so I just pulled her head against my chest as I patted her head.

"Bell being an adventurer is a path that walks with death. I cannot comfort you and say this is never going to happen again nor are you not going to directly take someone's life, as it's perfectly possible you may have to. Especially if they challenge your Familia to a War Game." I spoke softly as I brushed my hands over Bell's head to comfort her before taking a step back from her as she pouted.

"Now go on. Hestia and Seshat need you to escort them to the Guild to pick up all the money we made." I said trying to cheer her up with the millions of Valis we made today.

"Alright, Jake I will." Bell nodded and then just like the rabbit everyone called her with her looks, she ran off almost literally bouncing as she dashed back to Orario faster than the trots of the horses that brought us here.