A/N: Okay wow, didn't expect such a fantastic response. Makes me kinda sad that my other story didn't do this well HAHA, but thanks for the support for this story guys!

Enjoy the first real chapter!

Chapter 1: Kusanagi Godou

The moment the door knob turned, Godou had already sharpened his senses, knowing that whoever stood on the other side was a threat. By the time the newcomer entered, Godou had already acted. In the blink of an eye, he was out of his bed, pointing a sword at her throat.

The terrified scream the girl made however, caused him to immediately recoil.

"Eek! What the hell is your problem, you bastard?! Do you go around pointing swords at everyone you meet?"

He dropped his arm, but not his guard. The girl before him held unfathomable power, even if she seemed to be suppressing it a great deal. Her short red hair reminded him of an inferno, and her fox-like eyes hid a cunning edge Godou could only recognize because of past unpleasant experiences.

He recognized her for what she was. He'd met enough of them to know her presence here was probably bad news.

"You're a God," he stated with an almost accusatory tone.

If she was surprised, the goddess didn't show it. "Why, yes I am. Sharp senses you have, boy. I am Loki."

Godou narrowed his eyes. "Loki's a man."

The frown she suddenly wore made him feel on edge. There was a sharp pull on his other hand and he suddenly found himself squeezing something soft.

"Does this feel like a man's to you?" she asked.

Godou's mouth dropped. He could feel all the blood rushing to his cheeks and he instantly took a step back before the situation could get any worse. He jabbed the sword angrily in her direction. "You...you...you molested me!"

"Excuse me? You're the one that was touching my breast!" Loki shouted back. Then she smirked. "Did you like it?"

Oh Lord, Godou realized. This girl was even more brazen than Erica. "You forced me. That's...that's still sexual harassment!" Why was he feeling so embarrassed? It wasn't like it was his first time doing this sort of thing. And he had to admit...even if they were small, Loki's breast had felt...nice.

Her smirk grew wider when Godou realized his face had betrayed his uncertainty.

"You're a pervert," he realized.

"Yes, I am," Loki said, completely unashamed.

So Loki was a girl. He shouldn't have been that surprised. Lancelot had been a girl too, and that hadn't turned out so bad. He'd nearly died, but then he hadn't, and he'd still somehow managed to gain her undying loyalty.

Reluctantly, he forced himself to relax. He couldn't imagine a God behaving like this to mean him any harm...for now at least. Sighing, he handed the sword hilt-first back to Aiz, who had remained in her seat in stunned silence the whole time. "Sorry for borrowing your sword," he said.

Both Loki's and Aiz's eyes widened in surprise, and the blonde quickly twisted her body to discover the empty sheath hanging at the side of her waist. With a look of caution, she took the sword back, inspecting it for a moment before sliding it back into its scabbard. Godou noted that even after she kept it, she left one hand on the hilt protectively.

He took a seat back on his bed. He wasn't tired, not after the long nap he'd had, but standing made everything feel more tense than it needed to be.

Loki took a step towards him and Godou gave her a wary look. "I don't bite," she promised. Then she gave him a sly look. "Unless you want me to."

Godou scooted away. "You're really Loki?" he asked.

The goddess rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm Loki. You can ask her," she said, pointing at Aiz. "She's part of my Familia."

Aiz gave a short nod.

If anything, that short statement had raised a lot more questions. "What's a Familia?"

Loki squinted at him and her eyes turned into thin lines. "You're an adventurer and you don't know what a Familia is?"

"Adventurer," Godou repeated. "I... don't know what that is either."

"For Heaven's sake!" Loki threw her hands into the air exasperatedly. "You walked out of the Dungeon covered in monster blood!"

Godou tilted his head at her, feeling more confused than ever.

The goddess sank into an empty chair, brought a hand to her face, and sighed deeply. "You don't know what the Dungeon is either, do you?"

Godou nodded. Nothing Loki had said so far made any sense to him.

Loki started making a bunch of weird hand gestures. "Dark, maze-like place. Lots of monsters? Ring any bells?"

Godou blinked. Then he nodded, wincing at the painful memory. Nonstop fighting for who knew how long—even a Campione couldn't walk out of that without feeling tired. "I remember now. Not a nice place. So many weird creatures that kept wanting to kill me."

Loki leaned towards him, eyeing him like he was a piece of meat. "Yet here you are. How are you so stupid and still alive?"

"Hey!" But Godou stopped when he realized that was a good question. How was he still alive? As far as he remembered, Thanatos' scythe had cut through his neck quite cleanly. Then the next thing he knew, he'd awoken in some dark place surrounded by monsters and he'd had to fight his way out. "I don't know. I'm lucky, I guess."

That's what Erica and the rest always seemed to call him, but he didn't think luck was something he could call his ally after he'd fought with so many deities of fate and fortune. A pang of hurt struck him. And here he'd thought that with his demise he could be reunited with all the girls that left him nearly a century ago. Magic had extended their lives, but there was only so long they could live before a Campione's vitality outpaced theirs. Guess he wasn't so lucky after all.

Loki didn't look even one bit convinced. "But you have a Falna right?"

Godou raised up a hand. "Look, I think you're going to have to get used to the fact that I'm completely clueless and that you need to explain any weird terms you'll be using."

"A Falna is a God's blessing. It grants mortals abilities and strengthens their stats."

"Oh. Then yeah, I have something like that." Like Authorities, then. But he couldn't outright say that he was a Campione now, could he? Loki was a goddess; they were natural enemies, and bad things always happened when people found out he was a Godslayer.

"Oh! So whose Familia are you in?" Loki asked excitedly. At seeing his confused look, she explained, "a Falna is given by a God to an adventurer, and said adventurer normally joins that God's Familia. A Familia is a group of people who follow the same God."

Ah. So it was like the various magical organizations that existed in the world he knew. He frowned. Was this even the same world? He was suddenly having doubts. He looked up at Loki, who was still waiting for a response. "I... don't have a Familia. The God that gave me my Falna..." he paused. Could Gods even get slayed here?

He could see a pained expression cross over Loki's features when he stopped. "I see. I'm sorry. The loss of a Familia is a painful experience to those unfortunate enough to go through it. It's not as rare as you think. Any surviving companions?"

He winced. "Gone," he said. They all were. Erica, Ena, Lili, Yuri, each and every single one of them had passed in his arms.

"That is sad."

Godou turned his head in surprise when the characteristically quiet Aiz chose to speak.

Godou smiled weakly. "It was. But I've gotten over it already."

A predatory gleam shined in Loki's eye. "You have? That's great! Then what say you join my Familia? I promise that I'm a thousand times better than uh... which God gave you their blessing?"

"I don't want to join a Familia," Godou said. If he'd learnt anything from his three hundred years alive, it was that mixing with gods was always a disaster waiting to happen. "And I can't tell you who gave me their power," he added. He had Authorities from a whole bunch of Gods, and the last thing he wanted was to give their names to Loki and have them appear before him seeking revenge or something along that line.

Loki looked more annoyed than disappointed. A sweet smile graced her lips. "You know, as a God, I can compel you to tell me the truth."

Godou didn't know why he expected something else when he had first seen that smile. Still, it seemed like an empty threat to him, and he shrugged listlessly in response.

"Try me," Loki dared. "Tell me any lie."

"I'm actually a pineapple wearing the skin of a human being called Kusanagi Godou," he said flatly. To his surprise, he had felt some resistance when uttering those words, but he'd been able to overcome it with minimal difficulty. So Loki wasn't all talk, after all.

The goddess blinked at him in surprise. Then she started to poke him with a finger. "You're... not really a pineapple... are you?"

"No," he said flatly. He resisted the urge to laugh at the small amount of disbelief Loki had on her face.

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Excuse me," she said. And then Loki left.

Godou turned to Aiz, who was still seated as impassively as ever, but her hand gripped the handle of her blade even tighter when she caught him looking.

"Um... are all Gods like this, or is Loki just particularly weird?"

Aiz shrugged.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Loki returned quickly, but not alone. She'd brought with her three more women, each ridiculously good-looking, and then told him to lie to their faces. Godou knew they were goddesses, and being in the room with so many of them at once made him feel... twitchy.

When he managed to do so, all of them had bewildered looks on their faces, except Loki, who sported a triumphant 'I-told-you-so' expression.

"You're all goddesses, aren't you?" he asked.

They nodded.

"I'm Lady Hestia," the one with pigtails and oversized breasts for her short body said.

"Hephaestus." The one with the eyepatch and short red hair gave a small nod.

Perhaps only the last one, who introduced herself as Freya, actually looked the part of a goddess, with her scandalous outfit and the subtle divine charm rolling off from her body.

"Can I ask why you all descended into the Lower Realm?" he asked. They didn't seem to be like the Heretic Gods he'd met in the past. Those deities only seemed driven by their desire to fight and wreak havoc.

"I wanted to make a Familia!" Hestia supplied excitedly.

"I wanted to forge items that people would actually use," Hephaestus drawled out.

"Heaven's boring. And there's so much less work to do here!" Loki grinned.

"I wanted to see the potential of mortals with my own eyes," Freya said, exuding an aura of serenity.

"So... you're not here to fight?" he asked. Their reasons all seemed pretty tame compared to what he was used to. He had trouble believing a God would actually lower themselves into the mortal world for something as unremarkable as skiving off work.

Loki stifled a laugh. The rest just seemed to be confused.

"We can't fight here!" Loki exclaimed. "We'll destroy half the continent! I mean you do know that we're banned from using our divine powers in the Lower Realm, right?"

Godou blinked. No, he hadn't known that. In fact, it would've been the last thing he'd expected. "But what if you're attacked?"

Freya giggled. "Oh dear. Are you worried about us? There's no for you to be."

"No mortal's dumb enough to attack a God," Hephaestus said.

Hestia nodded her head. "Yeah. If we die here, we just go back to Heaven, and guess where your soul goes to after you die?"

"...Heaven?" Godou guessed.

"Bingo!" Loki said. "So don't get any funny ideas, Godou. We'll be waiting for you in Heaven if you do!"

For the first time in ages, Godou felt relief overwhelm him. The Gods here weren't battle-hungry, reckless, and sadistic harbingers of destruction. They were just plain old weirdos, and Godou would take stupidity over violence any day.

"So Godou," Freya said, her voice smooth and gentle. "If you're done with your questions, we have a few of our own we'd like to ask you."

Godou was far from satisfied with the answers he'd gotten so far, but he found it only fair that they get to ask him questions too.

"Where are you from, Godou? I mean, before you entered the Dungeon."

He let out a sigh. "You guys ever heard of a place called Japan?"

As one, the four goddesses shook their heads. His heart sunk a little bit.

"Yeah, I don't think it's anywhere near here. I was there," 'fighting the embodiment of Death', but he couldn't tell them that, "and the next thing I knew I was in the Dungeon, surrounded by monsters."

"So... you were summoned into the Dungeon? How long were you there?" Loki asked next. "What kind of monsters did you fight?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. I couldn't keep track of time. And uh, there were all kinds. Some of them could fly and spit fire, oh a lot of them were black-colored."

The goddesses shared a look, as if he'd confirmed something that they'd suspected.

"Did you see anyone else there?" Hephaestus asked.

He shook his head. "I didn't see anyone for a long time. I saw a few people as I went up, but I avoided them because I didn't know if they would attack me." Really, just because he was a Godslayer didn't mean he actually liked going around and challenging everybody he saw. He didn't understand why so many magicians and deities thought that way. It had all been a troublesome headache and he was slightly glad that he wouldn't have to deal with it anymore.

Grimly, he accepted this new world to be his fate for now. This wasn't his first time traversing beyond spatio-temporal boundaries. Sooner or later, he'd go back to his old reality, but for now, he'd take the brief respite and enjoy things here. He looked outside. Primitive technology, scenic environments, a slow-pace of life. Perfect for kicking back and relaxing.

A vacation.

A smile graced his lips.

"Oh? What's got you so happy?" Loki asked.

"Oh, you know, just thinking about all the fun I'm going to have here."

XXXXXXXXXXX

The four Goddesses walked into the giant meeting room. Every God, at least the important ones, was present.

"I am Ganesha!" Ganesha said excitedly when they returned. Even the not-so-important ones were here too.

"So?" Hermes asked. "What did you guys find out?"

"It's probably him," Loki said. "He was summoned into the Dungeon. I don't know from where, but it seems to be really far away."

"We suspect that some God used their Arcana to bring him there, and then promptly disappeared once Kusanagi Godou was deposited," Hephaestus said.

"Why?" somebody asked.

Hestia shrugged. "Who knows? That poor thing though. He's separated from all his friends and family."

"More importantly, we've confirmed that the boy really does have the ability to lie to us Gods," Loki said.

"So everything you think you know about him might be a lie," Ishtar snickered.

"It's an interesting ability," Freya said. "But from what I could see, he has a pure soul. I don't think he was lying to us." Then bowing slightly, she apologized. "I'm sorry, but I have to use bathroom. Please excuse me." Then she left the room briskly.

There was a brief discussion among the Gods before a very important question came out. "So he's strong?" Hermes asked.

Loki felt her face twitch. "Yes. He stole Aiz's sword right under her nose."

"I see." Hermes nodded his head thoughtfully. "So we have a strange new adventurer who's powerful, but also unclaimed by any Familia."

"Yes..." Hephaestus said slowly. "Uh oh."

Hestia's eyes widened and, in alarm, she scrambled out. "We have to stop Freya!" she screamed. "I don't have a Familia yet, I should get first priority!"

Too late, everybody realized what was going on. It was a mad dash out of the meeting room, with every God rushing to stop the other from claiming Kusanagi Godou with the hopes of taking him for themself.

By the time they reached, they were met with the comical sight of Hestia trying to force the door open and banging on it with her fist.

"Freya! Open the door! You sneaky bitch! Stop taking all the good ones for yourself! I don't even have a single member yet!"

"We're too late." Loki groaned. "He's definitely at least Level Five in strength if he was killing Black monsters."

The door clicked open. Every God drew their breath in anticipation.

Freya walked out, an obviously forced smile on her face. "Oh dear. What a crowd. It seems my nefarious plot was discovered."

"That was too fast, even for you," Loki said. "You failed to recruit him, didn't you?" She cackled.

Freya's cheek twitched a little. "No. I did not get him to join my Familia," she said, just as Aiz walked out of the room.

Loki flashed her Sword Princess a thumbs up. "Well done, Aiz! I knew I could count on you to keep Godou away from Freya! Now it's my turn!" she said haughtily, marching to the door.

Freya's arm stopped her. "It's nobody's turn."

"He's not here!" Hestia's dismayed cry rang out from the room.

Loki blinked. As did everybody else.

"What d'ya mean, he's not there?!" Loki yelled out. She ran to the door, only to be greeted by an empty bed and an open window. Hestia was bent over, trying to peek underneath the bed.

"Aiz, where did he go?" Loki demanded.

The blonde girl pointed at the window.

Loki gasped. "You didn't stop him?"

Tapping the hilt of her sword, she shook her head. "Too fast. I also didn't want to get my sword stolen again."

She felt her eyelids jumping up and down.

"Aiz."

"Yes, Lady Loki?"

"We're on the fourth floor."

The Sword Princess stared at her. Then she walked to the window and peered her head over the ledge. She turned back and flashed a thumbs up at Loki. "It's alright, Lady Loki. No body or blood."

Loki resisted the urge scream. As adorable and talented Aiz was, she also seemed to lack some key skills everybody else had. Namely, common sense.

"I can't believe we let him escape," someone muttered.

Loki sighed. She felt as though she'd missed an amazing opportunity.

"Did he tell you why he wanted to jump out the window?"

She nodded. "To get away from," she raised her fingers to make air quotes, "'troublesome Gods'."

And he was a smart one, too.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Mama."

Mia Grande looked up from the cup she was washing. Even though the customer was on the bar stool right in front of her, she had trouble hearing him over the cacophony of laughter and chatter the other patrons made . "Oh, Eugene. It's been a while since I last saw you here." She put the mug down. "What can I get for you tonight?"

Her old friend looked around. "I was injured, so I've been resting, but...it's sure gotten a lot livelier here, huh."

Mia let out a deep laugh. "Yeah, business has been good ever since I hired a second chef a week ago."

"Oh? Where's she from?"

"He," she corrected. "Come one Eugene. You know I don't stick my nose into their personal lives. All I know is that he's from a far away place, so his cooking is really exotic. Not to say he's better than May, but it's just different."

"But he's good enough for you to break your 'girls-only' rule?" Eugene asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why don't you try it for yourself?" she asked, then laughed.

"Alright, give me something good, then."

Mia turned around and hollered to the kitchen, "Boy! Give me another one of those Tonkatsu!"

The new boy was worth his weight in gold, even if the Guild was looking for someone that had disturbingly similar features to him. Whatever, he was a good kid. It helped that he was easy on the eyes, too.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Godou let out a deep sigh when the last customer left the Hostess of Fertility.

The waitresses recognized him as an old friend of Mama Mia's, back when she had still been an adventurer, which explained how they could keep talking until three in the morning.

Still, even that wasn't enough time to clean up the mess that had been left behind.

His fellow cook, a Cat-Girl called May, was still cleaning up the kitchen and washing up their pots and pans. Normally he'd help her, but given that the pile of dirty dishes left was just as tall as he was, he chose to help the waitresses with rinsing those instead. It was only Syr and Ryuu; the others were outside, mopping the tables.

"Let me give you a hand," he said as he took a small stack to his own basin.

"Thanks Godou!" Syr said excitedly, while Ryuu made a small grunt in acknowledgement. As he rinsed and soaped the plates, he found himself staring at the Elfish ears of Ryuu. The existence of demihumans in this world was something he'd never experienced in any other. Still though, he'd been in this world for almost two weeks now, and there appeared to be no sign of going back. A knot of worry formed in his gut. This...wasn't going to be a permanent thing now, was it?

The trio washed their dishes in silence for a while, with even the normally chatty human girl Syr overwhelmed by the task in front of her. But with time, the mountain decreased, and Godou found himself caught in the attention of both girls. He tried to ignore it at first, but glances turned into deep stares.

"Um, yes?" he finally addressed the elephant in the room, turning to face them.

"Godou," Syr pressed her fingers together. "A lot of us have been wondering...how come you're not an adventurer?"

The question caught him by surprise. As far as he was concerned, most of the citizens in Orario weren't adventurers, though with the Dungeon right smack in the middle, a lot of their jobs did revolve around them. He shrugged. "The same reason why Ryuu isn't, I guess. Or why Mama Mia isn't despite being one of the strongest people I've seen so far."

He didn't count the Gods, who frequented the establishment, since they couldn't technically use their powers. A popular place among Familias, he kept to the kitchen as long as there were customers, not wanting to be recognized.

He could see Ryuu tense, momentarily stopping her washing. "We all have our reasons, Syr. It's better not to pry. Mama Mia trusts him, and that's all that matters."

"Thank you, Ryuu," he said. Then he turned back to Syr. "Why would you think I want to be an adventurer?"

She blushed. "I mean...you're him right? The guy that stumbled out of the Dungeon covered in blood a week ago? The one that all the Gods are trying to recruit into their Familias?"

He blinked.

"Syr eavesdrops...a lot," Ryuu explained calmly.

The human girl didn't even look ashamed. "I haven't told anyone else yet! I know you want to keep it a secret, but I'm just so curious! They say that you're at least a Level Five."

Hanging around a tavern where adventurers visited and listening to the gossip of the waitresses had given Godou a decent grasp of the how adventurers and their Familias worked. A Level Five was nothing to scoff at, but Godou was quite certain he surpassed that.

"Hmmm, I just don't like all that fighting and magic stuff," he told her. Really, he'd had enough. He was determined to treat his time in Orario as nothing more than a break from all supernatural affairs, and he saw no better way to achieve his goal than to get a mundane job and live a mundane life. "It gets annoying after a while. I just want to have a normal life, do normal things, and die normally."

Syr frowned. "That sounds...boring."

Godou grinned. "Trust me, boring is good. When you've lived a life like mine, you learn to appreciate the little stuff," Godou said. "Being able to wake up and not wonder if today is the day you die. Not having random things attacking you for no reason. It feels good going to sleep, knowing that next day is going to end up exactly the same as the previous."

"I've never thought of it that way, I suppose. What about you, Ryuu? Do you miss being an adventurer?"

The Elf kept quiet for a while, and Godou thought she wouldn't be replying at all until she softly said, "sometimes I miss the people."

Godou sighed. Sometimes he did too.

XXXXXXXXX

Trouble brewed the day the Loki Familia visited the bar. It wasn't Godou's first time cooking for them, and every time he heard Loki's high-pitched voice, he'd take extra precaution to not get seen and stick to the back of the kitchen.

They were a loud bunch, and today, their werewolf member was regaling to the whole bar that they'd unintentionally let Minotaurs escape to the Upper Floors, and how they'd had to save one particular adventurer from it.

"He was so pathetic!" he chortled out.

The other tables laughed, and Godou found himself holding his knife tighter than usual.

"Trash should just stay trash!"

Another round of laughter.

"Don't worry," May said gently next to him. "Mama Mia always stops people from going too far. Plus, she's on good terms with the goddess Loki herself, so there shouldn't be any trouble."

Her words consoled him slightly, but Godou found himself peering through the window that showed the main area when he heard the sound of a chair crashing.

"Oh? Aren't you that Tomato Loser? Trying to run away again?"

There was a white-haired boy lying on the ground before the Loki table. He looked skinny and weak, and Godou recognized him as Bell Cranel, a new adventurer that Syr loved to talk about.

The werewolf was walking up to him, and Bell was struggling to get to his feet. Even from afar, Godou could see the tears streaming down his cheek.

"Are you crying? Get a load of this, Aiz! He's just a big baby!"

Godou felt conflicted. He didn't want to get involved. He'd made a pledge, hadn't he? To not get into any trouble in this world. To stay away from Gods and adventurers and all that nonsense and to live a life as a ordinary human.

With a single hand, the werewolf lifted Bell by his collar. "You didn't thank Aiz just now, brat."

"Bete," Aiz stood up, her voice holding as much steel as her blade. "Stop this at once."

"Tch." Bete let Bell go, and the boy crumpled to the floor. Godou felt relieved, glad that nobody else had to interfere. Aiz walked up to Bell, but suddenly stopped.

Fascinating, Godou never realized that Aiz's eyes were just as gold as her hair.

Uh oh.

"Kusanagi Godou," she said softly, ignoring Bell even as he got up and ran out the door.

This was bad.

"Eh?" Sitting at the bar, Loki turned around to face him. Her eyes widened briefly and she jabbed a finger at him. "You!"

This was very bad.

Untying his apron and throwing it to the side, Godou quickly leaped over the counter and bashed through the window.

"Who ever catches him gets a Grimoire from me!" he heard Loki declare on his way out.

Grimoires were precious in his old world, and Godou suspected that it was the same here when excited roars followed Loki's words.

He considered activating one of his many Authorities to escape, but the last thing he wanted to do was get any more attention. He trusted that his normal Campione speed and endurance would be more than enough, and he sprinted down the street, dodging the traffic of adventurers returning from the Dungeon with skilled ease.

Somehow or the other, he found himself running next to Bell Cranel.

"Yo, Bell."

The white-haired boy jerked in surprise that someone was suddenly running alongside him. "Who are you? Why are you running with me?"

"I'm Godou, the chef from the Hostess. Let's just say we've both got beef with the Loki Familia for now."

"Um..." Bell clearly didn't know how to respond to what he said. "So you saw everything?" He seemed quite embarrassed. The tear stains on his cheek were still in the process of drying.

"Yeah. That Bete guy reminds me of a few people I didn't like very much." Like Count Voban. Like the many Heretic Gods who looked down on humans and saw them only as collateral damage. "I really wanted to punch him in the face."

Bell's eyes widened in alarm. "You can't do that! He's a Level Six!"

"Five, Six, Seven, what's the difference?" Godou said lazily. "It's just a number."

"You're clearly not an adventure, are you." The boy sounded quite defeated.

He shook his head. "I can't really call myself one, so no, I'm not. By the way, where exactly are we running?"

"The Dungeon. I...need to train more. So I can become stronger and be worthy of Aiz."

Godou looked up. The tower that marked the Dungeon's entrance loomed over him in the night sky. Then he looked down at Bell. "Aiz? You mean the sword girl? She's not that strong."

Bell stopped running and looked at him as though he'd said something sacrilegious. "What are you talking about? Aiz Wallenstein is the most talented adventurer in generations! She's got the fastest Level Up record!"

"Again," Godou said, rolling his eyes. "It's just a number."

"Found you."

The lone, raspy voice from above interrupted their conversation.

The werewolf, Bete, dropped down from the roof he was standing on, landing on the floor gracefully. "Oh, and you're here too, Tomato Loser. I suggest you beat it, I only want the chef."

"Go, Bell," Godou said calmly. "I'll handle this."

"But...but, you're not an adventurer, Godou! He'll destroy you! He's an executive of the Loki Familia, one of the strongest!"

"I'll be fine, Bell."

"No." The rookie adventurer stood in front of him protectively, pulling out a knife for defence. "I can't be a hero if I let an innocent civilian be bullied by an adventurer."

A hero, huh.

A fool's wish. But in the end, every great person he'd ever met had been a moron one way or another.

"Oi. You don't really think you can fight me, do you?" Bete asked Bell.

Godou could see the boy's arms quivering. His legs trembling. Sweat rolling down his brow. Yet he stood his ground. Goudou wondered if this was how Erica had seen him when he'd chosen to fight Verethragna all those years ago with nothing but a magical slab of stone.

Godou raised one hand, a habit he'd never actually managed to kick despite not having been a student for centuries. "Um. How bout we just call it a day. I mean, I still need to continue working, Bell here needs to train. And I'm sure a Level Six adventurer like you has got better things to do than to hunt down a simple chef."

"Yeah, right," Bete scoffed. "I was there that day when you stumbled out of the Dungeon. I know you're special somehow. Lady Loki wouldn't ask us to retrieve you if you weren't."

A resigned sigh escaped Godou's lips. What a pain in the ass. It seemed it didn't matter what world he was in, he was fated to get in trouble either way.

"Stand back, Bell." Godou pushed the rookie away as he stepped forward.

"Godou, He's Level Six. You can't-" A finger flick to his forehead sent Bell skidding a few feet back, shutting him up.

Bete immediately tensed up, pulling out a pair of twin daggers.

Godou closed his eyes. He had far more Authorities now than when he started, and while he could use almost all of them at will, he still found it right to recite the incantations whenever he could.

"Those that are evil, and those that are strong, fear me, for i have wings. For my wings will punish you for your curse. and those that are evil will not be able to touch me!"

He felt his body become weightless as the power of the Raptor, one of Verethragna's Ten Avatars, envelope him. Time slowed down as he casually walked towards Bete. He was surprised when he saw Bete's eyes tracking his movements with his hands slowly moving to react already.

Impressive. But still too slow.

He moved behind Bete. His attacks in this state carried little to no power, simply because his body had lost all its weight to deliver a strike. Satisfied, he deactivated the Raptor, and Bete turned with the force of a whirlwind in an attempt land an attack on him when time returned to normal.

Bete was fast. Probably faster than most human magicians and knights, but still nowhere as fast as a God. Godou saw through his attack instantly and reacted accordingly.

He dodged, leaning his body to the right and the blades swung past him harmlessly. Then he grabbed Bete by the shoulders and kneed him in the gut. Hard. A mixture of spit and blood spewed out of the werewolf's mouth as his body went limp, his dual blades clattering uselessly to the floor.

Bell made a terrified sound when Godou gently laid Bete's body on the ground, falling to the ground and landing on his butt. "You...you just beat him like that?" he sputtered out.

"See, what did I tell you? Levels are just a number."