Danmachi: The Sign In System!

The golden torrent swept past.

The Juggernaut that wiped out the Astraea Familia and nearly killed Bell was killed instantly.

"Ryuu, protect me!"

Orsted whispered to Ryuu after glancing at the now empty passage. Then, he sat down.

Ryuu didn't immediately process what the word protect implied, but she realized it a second later. Orsted already knew how to save the Astraea Familia.

Sure enough, the next moment, Orsted, whose eyes were closed, began to emit a faint light.

The lights multiplied, eventually gathering to form a flame that swayed even though there was no wind.

Then, a figure composed of light was born from the flame and floated in front of Orsted.

The moment this figure was born, the whole world shook.

On the surface, within the altar beneath the Guild, Ouranos who had just sat down, stood up instantly. Ignoring the trembling altar, he wore a look of shock.

"What is happening?!"

"Is the Dungeon shaking?"

"No... is it the world itself that is shaking?"

"Some special existence has been born!!!"

It was not only the god Ouranos; the gods in the Lower World and the gods remaining in Tenkai all felt a silent chill at that moment. It was as if something that could threaten their very existence had been born.

One by one, they looked up at the sky, expressions of surprise on their faces.

The gods were beings born naturally from the world, living for hundreds of millions of years. They had never felt this specific sense of crisis.

Yes, although it was only a flash, they truly felt that something capable of threatening them had appeared between heaven and earth. The emergence of that existence brought a silent, permeating dread.

The gods in Tenkai used their powers to try and locate the source of this feeling, but no matter how they searched, they found no clues. They could only frown and fall into deep thought.

In the Lower World, the gods began to seek out those closest to them to discuss what had just happened.

In the Hearth Mansion, Hestia, Hephaestus, Miach, Takemikazuchi, and Loki were gathered.

"You all felt what happened just now? That was really exciting."

"That is the first time in all these years I've felt a sense of genuine crisis."

Sitting on the sofa, Loki crossed her legs and spoke with a grin.

In Tenkai, no matter how much she acted out, sowed discord, or even fought to the death with gods she had angered, she had never felt a sense of crisis, even when she was cornered.

But this time, she suddenly felt it.

Although the sensation was fleeting, it was incredibly clear. It permeated the entire world, as if existence itself was in danger.

In this situation, she knew she couldn't be the only one who felt it, so she had thought of coming to find Hestia. She intended to discuss the situation with the Brat.

Unexpectedly, upon arriving, she found that she wasn't the only one there. Hephaestus and the others were present as well.

She didn't mind. After all, the Brat was good friends with these guys, so it was normal for them to be there.

On the contrary, it was abnormal for her to be there, as she and Hestia were rivals.

However, who asked her to descend without any close divine friends to talk to? Hestia could barely count as one, so she had come here.

There was no helping it. When she was in Tenkai, she was too detached, and many gods disliked her. There was really no one she could confide in. Hestia was... well, a special case.

"Tsk, why are you here?" Hestia said unhappily to Loki, before her expression turned serious. "Indeed, it was like a sense of crisis originating from the depths of the soul."

Hestia frowned beautifully as she spoke.

"My feeling was clearer," Hephaestus said, pinching her chin in thought. "It felt as if the origin of our birth was in jeopardy."

"I just feel as if something is targeting the source of our Arcanum," Miach said with a smile, his face as calm as usual, as if he hadn't felt the dread just moments ago.

"I think that sense of crisis was very superficial, almost as if it didn't exist," Takemikazuchi added, expressing his own thoughts.

Just as the gods had gathered at Hestia's, similar scenes were playing out across all of Orario. Gods who were on good terms gathered in twos and threes to discuss the anomaly they had just sensed.

Some gods, however, did not make such a move and remained quietly in their own familia residences.

...

"It's really interesting. It actually made me feel a sense of crisis."

"However, this feeling is somewhat illusory. It doesn't seem to threaten me directly... as if I was born simply for the sake of being born."

Demeter, wearing a sun hat and wandering among her crops, spoke with a smile.

On the other side of the city, atop Babel, Freya stood before the floor to ceiling window, gazing at the scenery outside.

"Ottar? Did you feel anything just now?"

"No, Lady Freya!!!"

"Is that so?"

Far away, outside of Orario, a gentle looking goddess stared quietly in the direction of the city, muttering in a low voice.

"Ryuu, please!!!"

But those are stories for another time.

Back in the Dungeon, Ryuu's expression was extremely excited as she looked at the figure floating in front of Orsted.

It was this figure that had saved the Astraea Familia.

It was this figure that had appeared before them back then, changing their fate.

This figure was an avatar condensed by Orsted's magic. After condensing this form, most of Orsted's consciousness had transferred into it, leaving only a small fragment in his physical body.

Buzz!!!

Accompanied by a slight humming sound, the floating luminous body in front of Orsted emitted a faint fluorescence.

The light gathered and transformed into a small sapling, which grew rapidly, eventually becoming a small tree with many branches.

Orsted's avatar stood lightly upon one of the branches, his high ponytail swaying though there was no wind.

"Ryuu, success or failure depends on this one move. Don't let anyone get close to me!!!"

A voice suddenly came from the shining figure.

"Yes, Orsted!!!" Ryuu nodded solemnly.

As soon as the words fell, a massive amount of light quickly condensed in front of Orsted's avatar. The light formed a circular aperture the size of a human body. Orsted's avatar turned into a streak of light and plunged into it.

The moment the light was completely immersed, Orsted's physical body suddenly burst with golden light. Runes floated out from him, forming a barrier to protect his body.

The Ever-Distant Utopia: Avalon!

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