Journey to Planar World

At that same moment, on the thirtieth floor of the Babel Tower, the atmosphere was far more analytical than the excitement spilling through the streets below.

"Too fast."

Hermes murmured, his sharp eyes narrowing.

"What is, Hermes-sama?"

"Apollo Familia's movements. They're reacting to every threat far too quickly."

His gaze jumped from one fragment to the next, each image reflecting off the surface of the Divine Mirror as he answered Asfi's question.

"The way they responded to the Crozzo Magic Sword as a unit, the way they all converged to stop Mikoto's silent assault... don't you find that a little strange? It's almost as though they're being guided by an invisible hand."

Asfi's eyes widened. She immediately grasped where this was heading. Information was a lethal weapon in any war.

"The better the quality of information, and the faster it spreads, the more it becomes the greatest trump card of all." Hermes continued, his tone turning philosophical. "But if even a drop of poison is mixed into that information, it will travel far faster than the truth ever could. And whoever controls the flow of information, controls the war."

Asfi exchanged a brief glance with her god before turning her attention back to the Divine Mirror. The focus had shifted, and only one figure was reflected in its surface now: a Pallum, sprinting through the deserted interior corridors of the castle.

"Shouldn't he have already been taken down by Shirogane Kei?" Asfi asked, puzzled, recalling the first wave of attacks that had incapacitated twenty archers.

Luan Espele, the Pallum who should have been curled on the ground from one of Kei's cursed bullets, was moving with remarkable agility.

He passed not a single guard on his way toward the intact western gate. His face showed no trace of pain. If anything, there was an unsettling calm about him, as though he were walking toward a destination he had always known.

"A single drop of poison can bring about a tragedy beyond all imagining." Hermes whispered, the corner of his mouth curving into a smile that gave nothing away.

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On the Divine Mirror's surface, Luan reached the large gate mechanism on the western side. With strength unexpected for someone of a Pallum's stature, he hauled the heavy iron lever with his own hands.

Gears groaned. Slowly but surely, the sturdy western gate swung open wide, clearing a direct path for Bell and Welf, who had been waiting outside with bated breath.

"A traitor?!"

Citizens across all of Orario shot to their feet at once. Hands flew to their faces, and jaws went slack with sheer disbelief.

Along the main streets, in front of the Guild headquarters, all the way to the heart of Central Park, the crowds could no longer contain themselves. They screamed at the top of their lungs, shattering the brief, suffocating silence into a roar that shook the air.

"That man... he just betrayed Apollo Familia?!"

"Unbelievable! That's Luan from Apollo Familia, isn't it? Why did he open the gate?!"

The wave of shock rolled between the city's buildings like a rising tide.

The Divine Mirror, drifting in the air above, now captured something no one had thought possible: Bell and Welf running side by side with Luan, the very man who had supposedly fallen in Kei's first wave of attacks. They entered without resistance, as naturally as lords returning to their own estate.

A betrayal that defied all reason.

Twenty of Apollo's adventurers were still locked in their duel against Ryuu on the eastern side. Nearly thirty others had been permanently incapacitated by Kei's cursed bullets from a distance. And the rest? Almost half of the castle's remaining garrison was helpless, pinned beneath the crushing gravity of Mikoto's Futsunomitama magic in the central courtyard.

The corridors along the castle's western wing had gone deathly quiet, still as a graveyard. The guards who should have been posted there had been stripped away entirely, pulled north and east to patch the walls that had already crumbled, leaving a perfect blind spot for the infiltrators.

Then, without warning, an unfortunate Apollo Familia adventurer rounded the corner of a corridor. He froze for just a moment, staring at Bell, Welf, and Luan with wide eyes before the reality hit him and he opened his mouth to shout with everything he had.

"Enemy ins—!"

*THWACK.*

Before the warning could leave his lips, Bell moved like a flash. A single, precise strike with the pommel of his knife, and the adventurer crumpled unconscious before his body even touched the floor.

Completely overwhelmed by a turn of events that defied all logic, a powerful wave of excitement mixed with anxiety rippled through the watching crowds of Orario.

They all understood the same thing in that moment: the fortress of Apollo, which had seemed utterly impenetrable, was now being hollowed out from within. Hestia Familia's strategy was no longer simply about survival. It was a systematic, almost terrifying execution.

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Up in the Empyrean Citadel, the mood was considerably more relaxed.

Charlie sank deeper into the plush sofa, his posture loose and easy, as though he were watching an ordinary piece of theatre. His eyes gleamed as he activated Senrigan, his heavenly sight that allowed him to pierce the veil of time and glimpse the hidden past.

"The traitor, Luan, is actually Lili in disguise, using her transformation magic." He said, then calmly laid out the details for Aishia and Est, who sat on either side of him, his voice steady and certain.

"The real Luan was captured nearly four days ago, on the very night Apollo Familia departed for the castle ruins. Right now, he's tied up in some random warehouse outside the city walls, under Miach Familia's watch so that no one gets suspicious."

Charlie reached for another handful of popcorn and chewed it without a care.

"Lili has been impersonating him ever since, mimicking his voice and mannerisms so flawlessly that not a single member of Apollo Familia noticed the difference. She's been gathering intelligence from inside the castle this whole time. Patrol routes, personnel numbers, defensive blind spots... all of it was in her hands before the war even began."

Aishia gave a slow nod, offering a rare expression of genuine appreciation as her eyes settled on the mirror with new respect.

"I see. A remarkably clever strategy. In any war throughout history, the easiest way to bring down a fortress has never been to storm it from outside, but to rot it from within. The betrayal at the Great Wall of China is the most famous example of exactly that."

"Onii-chan looks like he's really enjoying this." Est said suddenly, her soft voice breaking through the strategic discussion. Her clear eyes had caught the thin grin that had settled on Charlie's face.

"You noticed, Est." Charlie laughed quietly and reached over to pat her head gently, making the spirit girl close her eyes and let out a soft, contented sound, much like a cat being stroked.

Aishia glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "That's because you don't actually know how the original plot is going to go from here, is it?"

Charlie turned to look at her, eyes bright with undisguised admiration. "You understand me far too well, Aishia."

"For someone who's been reincarnated, knowing the plot is the most basic skill there is. But honestly, I only watched DanMachi through the first season. Back then, it felt a little dull, because I could feel the story's fate sitting in the palm of my hand. Everything unfolded according to the script."

Her gaze drifted back to the Divine Mirror, where Bell was beginning to push deeper into the heart of the castle, his steps carrying a kind of resolve that Charlie no longer recognized from memory.

"But those days are behind us now. I'm certain we've already crossed into the timeline of a second season I know nothing about. Our presence, and Kei's, the new weapons, all of it has redirected the river of fate. And honestly, that uncertainty is what makes life feel worth living. It's full of surprises."

Charlie let out a long, slow breath, a philosophical smile settling over his features.

"I think I understand, just a little, how those all-knowing, all-powerful gods must feel. Knowing everything is a curse of its own kind of boredom. That's why they sealed away their divine power, to feel the thrill of a life they couldn't predict. And seeing this world move without a script in my head... I have to say, it's far more satisfying."

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