Chapter 330 - 326: Judas' Declaration, "Evilus... I will end them once and for all."

"Gyahahaha! I can't believe it! My liver hurts from laughing too much! I wish I was there so I could see the look on Ishtar's face!"

Loki laughed out loud, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes as she hugged her stomach after hearing Judas' story.

A second later, a loud, solid thud echoed through the room as Riveria's staff connected squarely with her cranium.

"Awww!"

Loki yelped, nursing a fresh bump forming on her head.

"Loki, this is a serious matter."

Riveria reprimanded, giving her goddess a sharp, pointed glare.

"Riveria… did you really have to hit me that hard?"

Loki whined, casting her a pitiful look.

Then she paused, her expression softening.

'Ah, right… that pretty little guild receptionist…'

She had gotten too focused on the part where Judas stormed inside the Ishtar Familia's base that she momentarily forgot about her.

'She's not just Judas's advisor... she's Riveria's advisor, too.'

Naturally, Riveria was deeply upset by what had happened to Rose and even visited Airmid's clinic earlier in the morning.

Fortunately, according to Judas, Rose was out of immediate danger... his miraculous healing magic had restored her physical body.

However, she remained in a deep coma, and even Airmid couldn't say when she might awaken.

"It's a tragedy what happened to the lass, but thank the gods she's alive."

Gareth rumbled, stroking his thick beard.

"So, about this Killing Stone ritual… are you saying Ishtar has been plotting something on this scale for a while now?"

Finn questioned, his arms folded with a frown as he leaned on his desk.

"That's right… to challenge her rival, Freya, she knew that her Familia's current strength is not enough… if she succeeds in this ritual, she wouldn't hesitate to declare war on Freya right away…"

Judas replied.

"And Lady Ishtar has no idea you know about their secret?"

Riveria asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I have my own way of gathering information."

Judas said smoothly, turning to face her.

"Now, I wouldn't dare claim my old noggin is sharper than a goddess's, but isn't Ishtar being a bit too optimistic?"

Gareth asked, scratching the side of his head in confusion.

"Even with a level-boosted army, I can't see the Freya Familia losing. I don't get why she thinks she actually has a shot at overthrowing Freya and her lot."

Judas looked over at him.

That's right, no matter what angle you looked at it from, the Freya Familia was simply leagues above the Ishtar Familia in terms of overall combat strength.

Even if the Killing Stone ritual succeeded, Ishtar's top brass consisted mostly of Phryne and perhaps their vice-captain, Tammuz.

In their ranks, the Ishtar Familia still fell short when it came to top-level combatants.

'In my previous life as Alden, watching season two of the anime, I thought the same thing... that Ishtar stood zero chance against Freya even with the ritual.'

'But after encountering them in person, my perspective changed.'

Judas thought.

"Gareth, it's a bit more complicated than that."

Loki interjected, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"Judas said it himself... when he stormed their base, he counted over a hundred Level 3s among Ishtar's ranks. That kind of combat force is terrifying."

"Tell me, Gareth, what happens when those level 3s become level 4s through the Killing Stone Ritual… I don't need to say anymore, right?"

Loki added, looking into Gareth's eyes as he stiffened in realization.

Among the Ishtar Familia's forces, they had around 400 members, with their main combatants known as the Berbera, and there were over 100 of them, with most of them being Level 3.

In the entire Loki Familia, there were only around 20 or so Level 3 fighters among them, and the Freya Familia was around the same.

Which meant that in terms of mid-level combatants, the Ishtar Familia far surpassed even the Loki and Freya Familias combined.

This was the reason why the Ishtar Familia was considered an S-rank Familia and could stand toe to toe with Ganesha, who famously has 11 Level 5s.

Furthermore, three or four Level 4s working in tandem could hold off or even defeat a Level 5.

If the Killing Stone ritual succeeded, Ishtar would effectively gain the combat output of more than twenty-five Level 5s overnight.

And that was only counting the Level 3s... not the swarms of Level 1s and 2s who would also jump a rank.

What the Ishtar Familia lacked in terms of top-level combatants, they made up for with overwhelming numbers.

It was this realization that made Gareth let out a deep breath.

"That Ishtar… to think she's been hiding her children's true levels from the Guild this whole time."

"Not to mention securing a Renard with such a broken, cheat-like status-buffing magic."

Loki muttered, clicking her tongue in distaste.

"And to use her as a sacrificial battery… taking the life of her own child… revolting."

Riveria said, shaking her head in disgust.

Gareth turned to Finn.

"If a level-boosted Ishtar Familia actually clashed with the Freya Familia… what would her odds be?"

Finn leaned back, his expression locked in deep thought.

"Well… that is hard to say. There are many variables and factors that you would have to take into account with a war between Familias of that scale."

"There is also the fact that both sides might have hidden trump cards that we don't know about."

"But for simplicity's sake… from what we know so far, I'd say 20 to 30 percent for Ishtar and 70 to 80 percent for Freya."

"Though if Ishtar catches them completely unprepared, those odds could climb higher."

A heavy silence settled over the office.

Although it was only 20 to 30 percent, the fact that Ishtar actually stood a decent chance against Freya was somewhat shocking.

"Judas...."

Riveria said, meeting his gaze directly.

"You have a way to stop this ritual before it happens, correct?"

"Don't worry, I have it handled."

Judas replied smoothly.

As someone who had watched the anime, he knew that Ishtar needed the Killing Stone to complete the ritual.

And the one who would be delivering that was Hermes.

He had already checked the Hermes Familia's home and confirmed Hermes was out of the city.

Deducing that the messenger deity was currently returning to Orario, Judas had already deployed shadow familiars at every gate and entry point to keep watch.

Besides, even though he had never met her personally yet, as one of his favorite characters in the show, there was no way he was going to let Haruhime die.

…

Somewhere outside Orario, Hermes could be seen riding in the back of a carriage alongside Asfi.

"Achoo!"

Hermes rubbed his nose, snickering.

"Heh. Some gorgeous lady must be talking about me right now."

Asfi rolled her eyes, adjusting her glasses without offering a response.

…

Back in Finn's office, after hearing Judas' calm assurance, Loki and the others didn't question him further about it.

Since Judas was the type to fulfill his promises, and since he had spoken so confidently just now, there was no doubt that he would get it done.

Still, there was one more thing that they wanted to address.

"The Wargame. You have a purpose for starting it, right?"

Finn asked with an inquisitive look.

If it were purely about avenging Rose, Judas could have beaten Phryne to a pulp right then and there, and Ishtar would have been helpless to stop him.

Going out of his way to declare a Wargame meant there was a larger strategy at play.

'I have a few guesses in mind, but...'

Finn wanted to hear it from Judas himself.

Hearing this, Judas took a quiet breath and explained himself.

First, thanks to 『Karma's Judgement』, he knew that not every member of the Ishtar Familia was complicit in her underworld dealings or connected to Evilus.

By declaring a War Game, he was giving the innocent members a window of opportunity to abandon the familia before the hammer fell.

But that was only one of the reasons.

His main goal in declaring the Wargame against the Ishtar Familia was to lure out Evilus.

By displaying overwhelming force and forcing Ishtar into a corner, she would eventually be left with no choice but to reach out to her secret allies in Evilus for reinforcement.

From the start, the Wargame was nothing more than a trap that Judas had set for them, and the Ishtar Familia was going to be used as bait.

Judas thought of Alise, Kaguya, Alicia and the others, who had been at death's door in the past.

And then he thought of Rose, who was now in a coma.

When she would wake up, even he didn't know.

Judas' eyes couldn't help but turn cold.

"Evilus... they are a malignant tumor that needs to be removed. In this operation, I am intending to end them once and for all."

He said before telling them the further details of his plan.

A few minutes passed as Loki, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth took in the full scope of what he was proposing.

When he finished, the executives exchanged glances, a collective bead of sweat trickling down their temples.

"This kind of boldness..."

Loki grinned, a wicked, exhilarated gleam sparking in her eyes.

"I like it."

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