I jiggled the pouch of valis in my hand, the coins clinking together with a satisfying metallic sound. The weight felt good in my palm, tangible proof of my first successful venture into the dungeon. Without much thought, I handed it over to Raza, who received it with open arms and a pleased grin.
"Thanks, little sociopath," she said, tucking the pouch into her gear. "I'll take it as payment for your weapons."
"Didn't Ganesha pay for those?"
"With money from the mutual fund, which I give to, so it's basically mine, so this is payment for that."
"Fine," I replied, not wanting to get in an argument over such a minor thing.
Sophie seemed to want to say something but before that something interrupted her.
A scream.
A fearful scream.
One filled with dread that cut through the ambient noise of the Guild.
The sound would have sent a chill down my spine, if I were normal, instead all it garnered was mild curiosity, if I was being honest.
Raza's head snapped up toward the noise, her entire demeanor shifting in an instant, something which also made me curious. The casual, almost lazy posture she'd maintained during our transaction vanished, replaced by the alertness you'd expect of a level four.
Her red eyes narrowed as she processed what she was hearing.
"Has the sun already set?" she questioned, her voice tight with concern. She looked toward the Guild's entrance, then back at me, her expression growing increasingly grim. "Come on, I'm taking you back to I am Ganesha."
I still couldn't believe that was what our headquarters/mansion was called.
Raza waved at Sophie, who was already moving toward the Guild's emergency protocols station behind the counter.
"Bye, keep yourself safe."
Sophie nodded curtly, Eina herself seemed to grow increasingly nervous.
Just what was going on?
Then we heard it, another scream, followed by a boom that shook the Guild's windows.
May I repeat.
Just what the hell was going on out there?
I didn't have time to ask as I was suddenly swept up in a princess carry, Raza's arms surprisingly burly from what you'd expect of a mage. She dashed through the Guild's doors and it was then that I realized the sun had indeed set.
But despite the darkness of night, light burst forth across sections of the city, light from fires. Big ones.
Orange and red flames licked at the sky in the distance, painting the night in ominous hues. The acrid smell of smoke began to reach my nostrils, carried on the evening breeze. Whatever was happening, it was significant enough to light up multiple sections of Orario.
"Tsk," Raza muttered as she carried me, her pace increasing to a speed that made the buildings blur past us. We sped through the city streets which were weirdly empty, in fact everyone who seemed to be on the streets looked like adventurers.
In what felt like only a few breaths, we were standing in front of our home. The familiar sight of the Ganesha statue the crotch doors opened wide, as outside assembled were a group of Ganesha familia members armed at the teeth.
At the front stood a group that immediately caught my attention. Two women, though calling one of them a woman felt generous given her apparent age, led the formation. The older looked stoic, like one of those lieutenants from military movies.
We came to a stop in front of them, and Raza gently set me down. My feet had barely touched the ground when Great Sage's robotic voice began resounding in my mind.
[Level 5 detected]
[Level 3 detected]
[Level 3 detected]
[Level 2 detected]
[Level 3 detected]
[Level 3 detected]
[Level 4 detected]
[Level 3 detected]
[Level 3 detected]
[Level 2 detected]
The levels kept coming.
Raza's voice cut through my observations as she addressed the leader.
"Shakti, there's a fire coming from the northwest side. It seems like the Evilus are at it again. I'll go with you."
Evilus? Was there something like that in the anime and why so soon, this was still eight years before cannon, was it supposed to pay off in the future or something?
'Great Sage, is there anything about Evilus in my memories?'
[Limited information available. Referenced briefly in anime content.]
'Which scene?' I thought back.
[They were antagonists mentioned in relation to Ryuu Lion's backstory. Responsible for the massacre of the Astraea Familia members, primarily the Jura and Rudra Familias.]
That didn't sound good. Not good at all.
"We'll be meeting up with the Astraea familia to patrol the city," Shakti continued, her voice carrying the crisp authority of someone accustomed to command. "We could use your help."
Fuck. So this Evilus thing was actually important to the current timeline, not just background lore I could ignore.
I looked around at the assembled familia members as they continued their tactical discussion.
"You get going, I'll catch up with you guys soon," Raza said, checking her equipment one final time.
They nodded in unison and began running into the streets, their formation tight and professional as they disappeared into the night. Within seconds, only Raza and I remained at the entrance to our headquarters.
I tugged at Raza's shirt, trying to get her attention before she could follow them.
"Yes, that was our familia captain," she said before I could voice my question, apparently misinterpreting what I wanted to know.
"No, not that," I told her, my voice coming out more monotone than I thought it would be. "What is this whole Evilus thing?"
She looked at me incredulously, her red eyes widening as if I'd just asked her to explain what water was.
"You're kidding, right?"
I shook my head, suddenly feeling very young and very unprepared for whatever was happening around me.
"You came to Orario without knowing about the Evilus?" Her voice pitched higher with disbelief.
I nodded, my silence apparently confirming her worst fears about my ignorance.
She grabbed my shoulders tightly, her fingers digging in with enough force that I could feel them even through my shirt.
"How in Ganesha's name don't you know about the Evilus?"
I shrugged my shoulders, the gesture feeling inadequate given the apparent magnitude of what I didn't know.
Raza took a deep breath, clearly trying to process how someone could arrive in Orario so utterly unprepared. When she spoke again, her voice carried the rapid-fire cadence of someone trying to convey vital information as quickly as possible.
"The Evilus are a radical faction that has been terrorizing Orario since the Zeus and Hera Familias were exiled from the city," she began, her grip on my shoulders never loosening. "They're not just common criminals or troublemakers, they're organized, dangerous, and they have been laying waste to parts of the city, especially at night."
Another distant explosion punctuated her words, the sound rolling across the city like thunder.
"You're incredibly lucky that you didn't get caught up with them before you joined our familia," she continued, her eyes darting toward the direction of the fires. "Most orphan kids who wander into Orario alone either get recruited by them, killed by them, or worse. They had quietened down over the past few months, which is probably the only reason you made it to us safely, but clearly they're starting to fight back now."
"So yeah, don't let the night catch you alone," she said, her tone shifting to something almost parental despite our brief acquaintance. "I'll brief you more on this later when I have time to properly explain the situation. Right now, I need to go help with the response. Even though my patrol shift wasn't supposed to start for a few more days, all hands are needed when the Evilus make moves like this."
She paused, checking her gear one final time before adding, "The Ganesha familia is one of the few that has been fighting the most against these people. We're essentially one of the main thorns in their side, which means being part of this familia automatically makes you a target."
With that cheerful revelation, she began to run away at full speed, her form quickly becoming a blur as she raced toward whatever conflict was unfolding in the distance.
A radical group that wanted to seize power from the established order.
And the Ganesha familia were one of the main thorns in their side.
I hadn't joined the Loki familia specifically to avoid getting entangled in major plot events and dangerous conflicts. The irony wasn't lost on me, by trying to stay out of trouble, I'd apparently walked straight into a different kind of danger entirely.
Wasn't the Ganesha familia supposed to stay out of major conflicts like this? In my limited knowledge of the series, they'd seemed more focused on maintaining public order and managing the city's day-to-day operations, and that was exactly why I was now in this position.
And yet, as I processed all of this information, a new thought popped into my head that surprised me with its intensity.
Doesn't all of this seem kind of... fun?
The thought came unbidden, carrying with it the same rush I'd felt during my fights in the dungeon. The prospect of real danger, was exactly the kind of intense experience I'd been craving.
Of course I was too weak right now to enter this conflict but who knows.
Then another thought popped into my head as I looked in the direction where Raza had run off, and this one was considerably less thrilling.
She took my weapons... and my money.