Nope, I Didn’t See Anything

Not far from the Hostess of Fertility, on one of the many roofs close to the western main street, stood a male Cat Person with his arms crossed. He was slightly shorter than Ais, so even in this world, he would have been considered below average in height. He was entirely clad in black and had hair of almost the same colour. It was short enough for his cat ears to still be barely visible, but not long enough to reach his shoulders. His blue-green eyes were full of animosity while they were silently following a peculiar man's silhouette.

"Count yourself lucky today. If my goddess hadn't ordered me to return… Tsk."

Unhappily, he clicked his tongue and tightened the grip on his spear, then he turned his head to look towards the roof of a building nearby, on the other side of the street.

'To be fair, with them around, I probably wouldn't have been able to harm him anyway… Argh, it's too annoying!'

Before he actually blew up at the sight of these acquaintances of his, he decided to leave without making a fuss. It wasn't like he was afraid of them, no. Rather, his goddess had told him to behave and go back home now that his services hadn't ended up being necessary. Causing unneeded trouble wouldn't earn him any praise.

-----

"Finally, that arrogant shithead has left."

Although his cheeks were still slightly flushed from the alcohol, Bete's gaze wasn't clouded whatsoever. He had been on high alert this entire time, only relaxing once he finally saw the other party retreat.

His words caused Tiona, who was sitting next to him, to smirk to herself and break out into a giggle.

"You calling him that is so ironic."

A vein almost popped on the Werewolf's forehead, but instead of what would usually follow - him turning very aggressive - he simply snorted and shot her an annoyed glare.

"... shut it."

After shrugging nonchalantly, the Amazoness stood up and stretched.

"Alright, alright. Anyway, I'm surprised to see you watching over Isaac like that."

Instantly, a slight amount of killing intent could be felt from Bete's aura, and his gaze markedly sharpened.

"No matter who they're picking on, I won't let anyone bully our familia's weaklings. Especially not that bastard."

Earlier, when they had left the tavern, almost all of the stronger adventurer's amongst their midst had realized that one of the Freya Familia's members, Allen Fromel, was paying close attention to the establishment that they had come from. Initially, most of them had planned to stay there just in case, to keep Isaac safe, but it was determined that this would have been absolutely overkill. After all, Allen was 'just' a Level 6, which they now had plenty of. As their rival had been at this Level for years, though, they needed at least two of their own newer Level 6's to keep an eye on him. Both Bete and Tiona had volunteered for this.

What the Werewolf had just claimed wasn't wrong. He truly hated it when those weaker than him were picked on, especially if they were a part of the group that he belonged to. That 'privilege' was reserved to him, and him only. In any case, he didn't do it because he derived enjoyment from it, it was for their own good, to motivate them. And even more importantly than all of that, he couldn't stand Allen.

To anyone looking at it from an outside perspective, their personalities seemed quite similar. They looked down on others, they generally behaved like jerks and they had a violent streak. Still, people most often hated those that closely resembled themselves, especially when they weren't happy with their current selves to begin with. And Bete fell into that category.

With a grin on her face, Tiona just nodded and didn't comment any further on what her companion had said. After shooting a last look in the direction of the Hostess of Fertility, especially at a certain grey-haired waitress that seemed to be staring straight at her, she turned towards the north-east.

"Guess it's time to go back home…"

Her mutterings were interrupted by a barely audible, distant and self-satisfied voice.

"Way ahead of you."

Tiona's eyes widened in surprise, then she got slightly angry and stormed off - after Bete, who had already left her behind.

"Hey! Wait for me!!"

-----

On this morning, Orario welcomed a never-before-seen spectacle. Although not everyone happened to be awake at this relatively early hour, those that were hastily woke up their friends and relatives just so they could witness it as well. Starting from shortly before 6 a.m., incredibly bright and seemingly endlessly long beams of light shot down from the heavens and unto the very top of Babel. Citizens of the Labyrinth City weren't strangers to this phenomenon - every time a deity descended to the Lower World, such a sight would accompany them. This time, however, it didn't just stop after one or two beams of light. Instead, tens of them, hell, more than fifty of them, all lit up the still slightly dark sky one after another!

As one of the first few that had descended, Aparctias was observing his surroundings with interest. His brown-blonde, short and curly hair and the slight beard stubble gave him a mature but playful air, and his dark brown eyes always seemed to look far into the distance. Like many of the gods originating from his pantheon, he chose to wear sandals and a green tunic-style garment accented by white stripes. He carried himself regally and paid close attention to his image, so even though he was excited to step foot into this mostly unfamiliar world, he hastily changed his expression to an aloof one once more of his brethren arrived.

He was one of the more fortunate ones amongst them, as he didn't really have any enmity with, well, anyone here. This was partially because he was one of the weaker ones present, but mainly, it was because he had become a part of the Anemoi, a group of wind-related deities, shortly after his ascension. This backing had allowed him to escape most of the bullying and the repeated deaths that many other gods had had to endure back when they had been newcomers.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were coming as well, brother? With both of us here, this will be a lot more fun!"

A god that was clad in the exact same attire, with the only difference being that there were light blue stripes on his tunic, quickly made his way towards Aparctias once he noticed him in the crowd. His name was Kaikias, and he also was a member of the Anemoi. He had been the one to introduce this brother of his to their group right after the latter had become one of their kind. Needless to say, they had been very close even before then, even Aparctias' ascension had only been possible because of his friend's support.

Kaikias had light brown eyes and shoulder-length black hair which he wore in a ponytail. He gave off a less Grecian air in that aspect, but he honestly didn't care about that too much.

Seeing that his close friend had also come down here to hunt… or rather, to play, a delighted smile stole itself on Aparctias' face. At the same time, he turned a little embarrassed.

"I was distracted and only made my mind up about the news very late, so I sent a last-minute application yesterday. I didn't even know who else was coming. I'm glad to find out that I won't be alone down here!"

As the two of them were catching up with each other and leisurely chit-chatting, some of the gods and goddesses around them did the same. Another portion had already begun to furiously shout at each other, some others even got into brawls. There was no doubt that if they had been armed, a few would have already been sent back up to Heaven.

Before the situation could grow even further out of control, many Guild employees stepped in and hurriedly broke up the fights, then they waited until everyone quietened down to make an announcement.

"In order to let you acclimate to the Lower World as quickly as possible, Lord Ouranos has asked us to give you a short run-down of the current political situation. We will also introduce all of the things that you should pay attention to when interacting with mortals. I know that for most of you, this is your first time here, so I would highly recommend bearing with us for a few moments."

The Elven Guild employee's professional tone and attitude immediately won over a huge portion of the crowd, but some of the gods didn't show too much of an interest in listening to them. They felt like they already had a good enough idea of what not to do, so without heeding the employees' numerous calls and pleas, they simply swaggered off on their own and took the elevator down to the first floor of the tower. Both Aparctias and Kaikias were a part of this splinter group.

Some of the veterans who saw this simply shook their heads and called them ignorant fools under their breath, but they didn't bother to chase after or warn them. Nothing was more effective than tasting that uncomfortable bitterness firsthand. They wouldn't stop them from embarrassing themselves. A rude awakening was better than no awakening at all.

When the elevator arrived at the first floor and the staggering numbers of adventurers walking to and fro came into view, almost all of the gods' eyes lit up in excitement. Moments later, they stormed off towards a few particular mortals that had caught their interest.

"We should also get going, before they'll get snatched away!"

With hurried steps, Aparctias and Kaikias made their way into the crowd and soon noticed a few people that stood out to them. The first one was a very buff and dark-skinned Cow Person who had a massive claymore strapped to his back.

"Hey there, big fellow. Yeah, you. I'm talking to you. What do you say, do you want to make something better out of your pitiful life and become my servant?"

Even though the words that he spoke were dripping with arrogance, Aparctias didn't feel like he was misleading anyone. To serve someone like him, a great and mighty god, was the honour of all mortals! Or… well… he thought it was.

"... you're lucky that I don't want to get arrested, so I'll let you keep your life for today. Scram!"

Contrary to the naive god's expectations, the buff man simply shoved him aside before leading a party of seven into the dungeon. All of them made sure to send the tunic-clad deity disdainful looks.

His friend, Kaikias, had behaved a little more restrainedly, but he hadn't had any luck either. The incredibly cute Elf that he had chatted up was already a part of a familia, and she wouldn't jump ships for any price.

In the following hours, the large group of mainly gods and rather few goddesses that had ignored the Guild's - or rather, Ouranos' - goodwill, was constantly met with rejection. Some earned a couple of beatings, some others got shouted at with enough intensity to almost make them piss themselves.

After being rejected for the nth time today, Aparctias sat down on the stairs leading up to the second floor and leaned against the wall exhaustedly. His brother, Kaikias, also didn't have any luck yet.

"These blind ants don't know what's good for them! I could squish them with just a thought if I had access to my real power…"

Hatefully, Aparctias mumbled to himself. He wasn't lying, if he hadn't been forced into this mortal form, he could have reacted to the non-reverential attitude that he had been showered with with a mass slaughter. Admittedly, he wouldn't have actually done that, he just wanted to audibly vent his frustrations, which is why his thoughts veered into such a dark direction for a moment.

Kaikias, on the other hand, wasn't feeling so resentful. Instead, he was overcome with remorse.

"Maybe we shouldn't have skipped the tutorial…"

A reluctant sigh escaped Aparctias' mouth, and he nodded.

"I hate to admit it, but you're correct. How are we going to find any servants like this? We need a place to stay, and some money…"

Little did they know that many people would have indeed accepted their arrogant invitations… but they had started their recruitment in the worst possible place. Here in Babel, almost all people passing by were already a part of a familia, or some other battle-hardened veterans. The only responses that they could get in such a place were rejection and humiliation.

Not just the two of them and their fellow tutorial-skippers, even the gods who had stayed with the Guild employees to listen to their explanations - they all had a much more difficult road ahead of them than most of them realized. Did they think that they could just waltz down here, instantly command respect and hunt down the person that they were looking for without first accumulating sufficient manpower and resources? If they did, then they were living a pipe dream!

-----

Although there were now two beds in Ais' room, they had pushed them so close to each other that they could basically use them as a double bed. Sleeping next to each other was just a vastly more comforting feeling than simply staying in the same room, so of course the two wouldn't abstain from it. This was far from the first time that they had spent the night together, so both Ais and Isaac slowly grew used to these happiness- and safety-inducing circumstances.

If there was one problem to point out, then it was the bathrooms. Parts of the Twilight Manor were classified as the male and female dormitories, and they all had their own respective bathrooms. While Isaac could have just made a long detour to the old male bathrooms that he had been using before, he honestly didn't feel it to be necessary. After all, there were still single-person bathrooms, even in the women's area. The rooms could be locked, so once he was actually in there, what would it matter?

He soon realized his folly, after he finished showering and dressing himself in his adventuring gear. When he opened the door and left, ready to return to his and Ais' room, he was greeted by the sight of Elfy, who was only clad in a simple white towel. Her hair was still slightly wet.

"Huh? Why did this door suddenly open?"

As her ears had picked up a noise, Elfy had instinctively turned her head, only to be greeted by an empty bathroom and a wide-open door. She had only just heard it move, so she had expected to run into someone. But… there was no one there?

Slightly creeped out, a shiver involuntarily ran down her spine and she silently muttered to herself, before hurrying off.

"Must have been the wind…"

By this time, Isaac had already returned to Ais' room. The moment he had seen that he had bumped into someone who happened to be wearing… well, basically almost nothing, he had immediately blurred his existence and been on his way. He really didn't want to get involved in any annoying misunderstandings.

So, as extremely wise as he was, instead of choosing to go to the male bathrooms from now on to avoid a repeat of what had just happened entirely, he chose to blur his existence on the way to and from the female bathrooms in the future. The sight that he had been confronted with moments prior, one that would have sent quite a few men into a lust-driven frenzy, didn't even faze him, neither was it what motivated him to continue using the female bathrooms. He simply didn't want to bother walking a further distance when he could clean himself closer to his room without much of an issue. Because blurring his existence was even easier for him than breathing, it really was no trouble.

As quite so often, the ones that were blessed with something extraordinary usually wouldn't know how to appreciate it. Had some other men been in Isaac's position, with all of his abilities, then the Loki Familia would have most likely had to welcome a baby boom in a couple of months.

About ten minutes after his shower, Isaac set off from the Twilight Manor, with Ais and Tiona in tow. He had already talked to Loki, Riveria, his subordinates and his students about it, but he planned to focus more on the dungeon again for the time being. He had laid out his imminent plans related to each of these groups of people, which had ultimately led to both Ais and Tiona being made to accompany and protect him.

Tione had felt slightly sad about being left behind, but once she had heard that her Captain would most likely be issuing her missions and asking for her help… she had been more than happy to stay back!

Just about a month ago, Riveria would have never allowed Ais to venture into the dungeon for too long and often, but now that she had observed her little girl's change and knew about her ability to teleport there anytime she wished to, she didn't bother restricting her any longer. She was the one who had recommended for Ais to accompany Isaac to keep Tiona in check as well.

Both Loki and the motherly Elf had denied Isaac's request of adventuring alone, as they still worried about his life and death. Even someone like him could potentially encounter danger that he couldn't deal with, after all! So with that in mind, having bodyguards was the most sensible decision. The man in question didn't really mind, especially because Ais would be coming along, so he had ultimately agreed without putting up much of a resistance.

Only on this first day would he waste time walking to the dungeon with the two girls following him, then after that, he would just teleport their group to the exact point that they had explored to the previous day. To the outside world, it would simply look like the three were going on a longer venture into some of the deeper floors. As long as they didn't take too long of a time - for example, multiple months - nobody would bat an eye at this.

With huge backpacks to fool the onlookers strapped over their shoulders, the three, as always, attracted most of the attention of the crowd. It was a day like any other.

Or, at least it should have been, but when the group entered Babel, an unknown, self-important blue haired god approached them and openly sized up Ais with a lecherous gaze, completely ignoring Tiona and Isaac in the process. Wait, he didn't actually ignore the Amazoness, he sent a condescending look her way after glancing at her chest…

"What a divine appearance for a lowly mortal! You are qualified to warm my bed. What do you say, do you accept such an honourable position?"

As soon as the god's words had left his mouth, Isaac was already finding it hard to keep his anger under control. But before he even had a chance to react in any meaningful way, Ais' gaze had already turned especially frosty. Faster than anyone but Ais and Tiona could perceive, she raised her hand and slapped the arrogant prick's cheek, sending him flying a couple tens of meters away, golden Ichor splattering all over the place.She had made sure to aim for a direction and place where nobody was currently standing and perfectly controlled her strength, so no innocent bystanders got hurt.

"Whoa, quite impressive!"

Realizing how well she had taken her surroundings into account, Isaac gave her a thumbs up, before his face turned grim again.

"Mind if I get a turn as well?"

Seeing her beloved showing a legitimately quite terrifying expression, Ais felt a warmth in her chest and nodded with a bright smile while blushing a little. Having gotten her permission, Isaac stopped holding back and quickly made his way to the shell-shocked and dazed god. He didn't pay much attention to the curiously observing crowd.

"Wait, what do you think you're doing!?"

Once he saw that the one approaching him was the handsome man that had stood next to the beauty that he had just tried to claim, the god started to pale and tried to get up and flee, but his legs betrayed him. The hit to his head had been quite severe, so his sense of balance was currently completely messed up.

With a scarily benevolent smile, Isaac towered over him and stepped down on his upper body with his left foot, pressing him to the ground. No matter how desperately the god tried to escape this situation, whether it was by grabbing Isaac's leg and struggling to lift it, or by futilely attempting to scratch and bite him, he couldn't even tickle Isaac due to his high Endurance.

"No need to be scared, oh respected deity! I simply noticed that you happen to not be in need of one of your body parts anymore, so I decided to be truly selfless. I will relieve you of its burden."

His words only served to further increase the panic and terror that the god was already subjected to. No matter his behaviour, he wasn't that much of an idiot - he clearly got the hint. Even a few of the surrounding crowd began to shiver slightly and subconsciously shield their private parts.

"Do you know who you're dealing with, brat? I'm--- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

A guttural scream exploded out of the god's mouth before he could even announce his glorious name. Isaac had stomped his other foot down right on his reproductive organ, with all of the strength that he currently possessed. In the process, he didn't only completely obliterate these oh-so-precious parts, but he even heavily injured the god's waist, shattering the bone in the process. Some of the internal organs were also heavily damaged.

It was like a flood gate had been opened, and a huge amount of Ichor spread out on the floor, soaking the wailing god's clothes in mere moments. Only his upper body was still capable of movement, however, so his legs lay limply in the pool of blood. Shocked gasps rang out in the crowd while Isaac casually strolled back to the two ladies, before disappearing into the dungeon.

Yes, what he had done was against Orario's laws, as this injury could very well lead to the death of a deity, ridding them of their mortal body and sending them back up to Heaven. But as most people were simply stunned and afraid because of Isaac's over-the-top actions, and some others had already felt annoyed by the way that this unknown god had treated their idol - the Sword Princess - nobody stopped his advance. Some even went so far as to go in for a few more kicks while the miserable god was still incapacitated. They felt more secure in numbers and soon, a few tens of people surrounded him and hit him from all sides. By the time that some Guild employees came to break up the group and hastily carry the barely living god towards the healing center, there were already more people involved than the Guild would feel comfortable punishing.

In the distance, a certain pair of gods was trying to hide as best as possible, they were both pale as a sheet of paper.

"This Lower World is a lot scarier than I ever imagined…"

Hearing his brother's terror-laden words, Kaikias nodded, he himself still shivering because of the fear.

"Whatever happens, we can't afford to offend that madman."

Ironically enough, they weren't yet aware that should they try to achieve their trip's main objective, they would end up doing exactly that.

-----

In a room enveloped entirely in darkness, Fels dutifully stared at multiple devices that were used for surveillance, all of which fed audio-visual signals back to them. In particular, they were paying attention to the first floor of the tower of Babel, where an unspeakable crime had just been committed.

For a few minutes, the cloaked figure seemed to be deliberating something - or maybe, they were simply stunned. Then, they focused on another location's signal and completely ignored what had just happened.