DanMachi Light Novel Volume 18/Synopsis (2024)

Volume 18[]

Double Role II[]

The last place she would always end up at was a 'flower field'.

Being a goddess of beauty was something that was special, even amongst the gods. Back when Freya was in Heaven many things were often inconvenient. The Goddesses of Beauty's Charm was absolute. Their ability that could even overthrow even a god's will, was something that the other gods feared. The other gods' only options to deal with them was to either destroy them completely, to pamper them like princesses, or have virgin goddesses keep them in check. In the end the gods decided to use the virgin goddesses as a method to restrict their actions.

Unfortunately for Freya however, her Charm managed to break through to even the virgin goddesses. The only ones that could possibly completely withstand Freya's charm were the three virgin goddesses from Olympus. Whether she wished for it or not Freya's ability was special even amongst the other Goddesses of Beauty. Her life in Heaven was both a paradise where she could have whatever she wanted and a prison in which she was locked within. Because of her ability Odin, the gods who protected the great temple and the spirits, all became "chains" to Freya in the prison that they turned her life into that prevented her from engaging in any of her hobbies or other activities of interest. Freya did her best to stay out of the range in which her Charm may reach them, because she felt like Odin might throw his spear at her and kill her if she didn't.

Freya compared her relationships to the other gods to playing with dolls. No one could disobey her, and she could not disobey them. Even if some had felt 'love' towards her, even if she "loved" them back, that love would feel empty to her. As if no one could understand her and as if she couldn't relate to anyone. The 'love' that Freya desired was a 'rewardless love'. A 'love' felt by someone with no desire of receiving something in return. 'Love', something that had no connection to her Charm, but as long as she was a goddess of beauty that was something she was destined to never have. It was a 'chain' from which she could never escape from. Before Freya knew it she became a slave to her desire for 'love'.

Freya thought to herself that she couldn't remember when the last time she truly smiled from the bottom of her heart was. Such a long time had passed with her desiring love and not being able to obtain it that she eventually started to resent the thought of love and wished that she could forget her desire. She thought if maybe she could forget it, she could escape from the 'constraints of a goddess'. Freya thought that 'love' was beautiful, so she thought if dirtied herself she might be able to escape from the 'constraints of a goddess'. However, no matter how much she dirtied herself, giving in to sexual and physical desires for tens of thousands of years she noticed that the eyes of those around were still filled with a passionate 'love', and that despite her efforts nothing had changed in the end.

When Freya had noticed this she cried and ran past mountains, valleys, seas, and stars. While wearing the face of the girl that was one of her one-hundred faces, she ran endlessly until in a vast field of red flowers at twilight. She fell to her knees as tears silently ran down her face, and she thought to herself that no matter how much she looked she couldn't find anything, but thought to herself that there was definitely 'something' out there that could help her escape from the 'restraints of a goddess'.

Freya spent thousands of nights in that flower field until eventually a goddess named Idun appeared in front of her there. Idun, whose beauty rivaled a goddess of beauty's, had a carefree and good-natured personality. Once they started talking Idun started passionately lecturing Freya with life advice until the point that Freya started to get really angry with her, but then she ended her advice by telling Freya that she was looking for 'Odr', a concubine. Freya froze, suddenly taken aback when she heard that, so Idun continued and told her that an Odr that could fulfill her desires and make her happy was definitely out there somewhere.

Although Idun did not offer any proof of anything she was saying being true, Freya chose to believe her and started searching for her Odr, despite not being able to take her advice seriously.

From that day Freya began her journey around Heaven, while sometimes wearing the face of the 'girl', in the search of her Odr. However, as time passed she noticed that she was not going to be able to find an Odr in Heaven so next she decided to start her search in the lower world. Conveniently right around this time was the beginning of the age of the gods, when many other gods started descending down to the lower world to live amongst those who lived there as well.

Freya started her search for an Odr on the lower world and formed her familia in the process, but as time passed she started to feel like she was never going to be able to find her Odr after being unable to find an Odr even on the lower world. She started to feel like it would be better off if she just died, rather than smiling a queenly smile at the members of her familia as she felt like she was endlessly wasting away in boredom.

One day in front of a site that resembled the view of that red flower field in Heaven, Freya fell to her knees and as she desperately tried to hold back her despair she shed a tear, and thought to herself that it was probably the first and last tear that she would ever shed on the lower world.

Later on, she thought to herself again, said that "Syr cried in front of you", while thinking of someone.

Chapter 6[]

Ryuu noticed that her hair had grown longer, and was growing blonde at the roots. After thinking about it she noticed that it was only natural as Syr was always the one that would dye and cut her hair for her. While she thought about that she remembered a time that Syr told her that her hair was beautiful, and she wondered to herself what Freya was always thinking as she would do those things. Ryuu thought about the last time she had met her, when she told her everything was a lie and it was just a part of her 'roleplay'. As thoughts and memories went through her mind she wasn't sure what to make out of the whole situation any longer. The more that Ryuu thought about how Syr acted that day the more she felt like nothing had actually changed after all. She still had secrets she wasn't telling any of them. She would always smile and laugh things off. Ryuu thought to herself that Syr was like 'wind' she just freely did whatever she pleased, like she did then, saying what she wanted and cutting ties with them without discussion on the matter. Ryuu however still could not completely throw away the thought that everything was a lie to her as she said it was. Ryuu then thought that if she wanted to be done as a city girl and act like a queen then she could do whatever she wanted. Ryuu then thought to herself that she would also stop being a 'gale wind' and become a 'storm'.

In the dark in Orario, at a time that was hard to define whether as night or day, Bors went to Orario to meet Ryuu and gave her the broken pieces from her weapon Alf's Lumina that got destroyed in the fight with the Juggernaut. Asfi was there as well and gave her something from Hermes while informing her that he said that Astraea was in the Sword Smithing City Solingen, which was located far to the east. Ryuu decided then to no longer hide her blonde hair and vowed to help Bell and Syr. As she was leaving Orario to reunite with Astraea, Ryuu told Syr to wait and said that she wouldn't be satisfied until she slapped her cheek.

Sometime after the Freya had declared a war game between her and Hestia’s familia, a Denatus was held in order to decide the rules of the game, and which familias would be joining Hestia’s forces in the war game against Freya’s familia. Hestia was angry when it was announced that Loki’s familia would not participate in the war game. Loki wasn’t completely satisfied with not participating either, because of how angry many of her familia members over Freya charming the city, but told Hestia that if they did join the war game, the war game would more accurately become a war game between her and Freya’s familia rather than Hestia and Freya’s familia, and it couldn’t be really be helped anyway because the decision had already been decided by the guild. Hestia seemed unsatisfied with the fact that Loki was not trying to go against the guild’s decision in order to aid them in the war game, and asked her at the very least to let Ais help them. Loki told her that she couldn’t, and that Ais was bound by an ‘agreement’ more than anyone else.

On a cold Fall morning, Ais stood in front of Ottar at Freya’s familia home. Ottar told her that the time had come to repay for ‘favor’, The favor that Freya told Ottar to command Ais was not to involve herself with Bell in any way until after the war game had ended. Ais hesitated and started to try to say something. Ottar asked her if that was something that Ais could not accept. She was silent in response. Ottar told her that she could go back on their ‘agreement’. Ais hesitated and asked if that would really be ok, to which Ottar responded and told her that a sword that could not without hold an oath would one day be sure to become dull and shatter. Ais looked up at the sky and said Bell’s name while thinking ‘I’m sorry’.

At the cafe named “Wishe”, the same cafe that Finn had previously proposed to Lilly and Hedin had dragged Bell before the start of the Harvest Festival, Finn asked Royman what was the meaning of not allowing his familia to aide Hestia’s familia in the war game. When Finn arrived at the guild in order to question Royman about the his decision, Royman suggested to go somewhere else, fearing what kind of responses some people in the crowded guild may have if they had seen Finn questioning Royman’s decision to not allow Loki’s familia participate in the war game. To which Finn had responded and suggested that they discuss the matter at Wishe.

To Finn’s question, Royman told him that they could not risk Loki and Freya’s familia destroying each-other over the war game. Finn argued and tried to tell Royman that the reason rules exist in the war games was in order to prevent casualties, but Royman responded and said in the history of war games there were more often causes of casualties occurring than not occurring. Royman told Finn that Orario could not risk the high ranking members of either of their familias when they will eventually need them against the One Eyed Black Dragon. Finn told him that if they do not participate that Hestia’s familia will lose against Freya’s familia, to which Royman responded by telling him that even if Hestia’s familia does lose the only thing that would change in Orario is that the familia that Bell belongs to would change, and that there would be no casualties and Orario’s defenses would be as strong as they have always been.

Although Finn understood Royman's reasoning, he was still dissatisfied, and he strongly insisted that his familia be allowed to join the war game. Royman's face looked angry, but then he sighed as if he had given up on his attempt to make Finn agree with him. He put a short sword, frozen over in ice, on the table in front of them, saying that it was brought back from the Glacier Territory. Finn was shocked by Royman's revelation and asked if anyone other than "her" had any success. Royman answered by saying that the sword was just a relic of the past now. Finn asked him where it was found, and Royman told him it was found between the 60th and 61st floors but he wouldn't say any more for now.

Finn then asked Royman about the key, to which Royman replied that it hadn't been found yet, or at least Zeus and Hera's familia were unable to find it. Royman promised Finn that if he promised that his familia would not participate in the war game, he would give his familia all the data that Zeus and Hera's familia had gathered on the Glacier Territory. Finn asked him why he was offering the information now. Royman said that he didn't even want to give it to them now and didn't intend to until they were stronger, like Zeus and Hera's familias. But giving it to them was better than having both Loki and Freya's familias killing each other.

Finn bitterly considered Royman's offer and thought that he couldn't ignore it, especially since Riveria would not stay silent on the matter if he did. He also wondered if he could manage to stop some of his familia members from trying to participate in the war game, especially Bete, who he could imagine Riveria fighting with over that.

Royman told Finn that he and his familia needed to fight against the black dragon, and when that time comes, he would most likely be the commander of the forces against the dragon. He emphasized the importance of living up to that responsibility and once again warned Finn not to participate in the war game. Royman then stood up and left the cafe.

Finn turned to Hedin, who had been sitting at a table far away from them since before he and Royman arrived at the cafe. Hedin warned Finn not to talk to him so casually. Finn explained that he didn't know that Hedin was a regular at the cafe. Hedin seemed skeptical and said that the name of the cafe has a connection to elves, which they favor. He then questioned Finn, asking if he already knew that, and if that was the reason he recommended the cafe to Lefiya.

(Gap between parts)

Chapter 7[]

Bell and Hestia reviewed Bell's updated status after his ordeal with the Freya Familia. Bell's abilities had significantly increased: his strength went from SS 1033 to SSS 1379, his endurance from SSS 1218 to 1501, his dexterity from SS 1041 to SSS 1383, his agility from SS 1089 to SSS 1442, and his magic from S 965 to SSS 1251.

Hestia and Bell both stared at the updated ability values in silence. Hestia spoke thoughtfully and asked Bell how badly he had been beaten at Freya's place. Bell replied that he had been beaten to the point where his body was unrecognizable, and that it was the most brutal experience of his life so far. Hestia embraced Bell as if he were a child returning from war, and patted the back of his head gently. Bell reciprocated the gestures. Despite his face being buried in her ample chest, he maintained a serious expression.

After they let go, Hestia let out a sigh and apologized to Bell, saying that she was sorry for not being able to save him from the terrible situation he was in. But Bell reassured her, saying that the gods did everything they could to remove the "charm" that was inflicted on the city. Hermes and Asfi told him that the gods had done their best to fix the situation. Bell went on to express his happiness at seeing Hestia and the others coming to rescue him when he was in trouble. Hestia's eyes trembled with emotion, and she hugged Bell tightly, causing Bell to blush intensely out of embarrassment.

After a while, Hestia let go of Bell and wiped the corners of her eyes. She then looked at the updated ability values in her hand, and marvelled at Bell's impressive growth, which she attributed to Freya's sad*stic fetish, wanting Bell but also bullying him. Bell laughed at her remark. Hestia suggested that they upgrade Bell's abilities, and Bell agreed. Hestia tapped Bell's back with her index finger, and they proceeded to upgrade his abilities.

Bell was overwhelmed with a sense of otherworldly power surging through his body. It was as if a deep part of his soul had been touched, and his entire being was awash with a gentle ripple of energy. It was a truly fantastical sensation. As the sensation subsided, Bell noticed that the sacred words etched into his skin were burning with a searing heat. It was an unprecedented feeling, and he found himself holding his breath as he waited for his updated status. Meanwhile, Hestia was carefully noting down the new Ability Value that had just finished sublimating on the update paper. She watched Bell with a mixture of pride and concern, her expression betraying her worry for her beloved adventurer.

"Congratulations, Bell... you're now Lv. 5," she said, handing him the update paper.

Bell eagerly took the paper and examined it closely. Despite the exhilaration of his new powers, Bell's attention was drawn to his new status as a "First Class Adventurer." He had made it to the bottom of the list of the strongest adventurers in the Labyrinth City, a fact that both thrilled and intimidated him. He couldn't help but wonder if he would be able to fight evenly with the higher-ups of Freya's Familia, a question he posed to Hestia. Hestia pursed her lips, her concern for Bell evident in her expression. "I'm not a god of war, Bell" she said. "But I don't think you'd be able to fight on the same level as Freya's high-ranking members."

Bell's heart sank at her words, but he knew that Hestia was speaking the truth. He was proud of what he had achieved, but he also knew that there were greater challenges ahead of him. The prospect of facing opponents at Level 6 and 7 filled him with a sense of awe and apprehension.

(Gap between parts)

Lili was feeling overwhelmed and helpless as she analyzed the information she has gathered about Freya Familia. Despite the efforts of her own familia to prepare for the upcoming war game, she realized that the power disparity between the two groups is too great to overcome. Lili became overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and strength of Freya's Familia, which included many high-level adventurers and powerful magic users. Even with the battle power of the Hephaestus Familia on their side, Lili saw no way for them win the war game. Lili felt the weight of her responsibility as a commander of her familia, knowing that she must come up with a plan for the upcoming war game, but she was at a loss as to what to do. Her thoughts kept spinning in the same place, and she felt stuck in her despair.

(Gap between parts)

Monologue VI[]

(Gap between parts)

Chapter 8[]

The Hide and Seek war game between Freya Familia and the allied forces led by Hestia Familia is simply finding the god of your opponents and takes place in Orza City Ruin. It is a vast ruin built on a huge lake in Beol Mountains located northwest of Orario. They are in the western side of the mountains near the sea, opposite of Edas Village. Freya Familia need to locate all the gods of the allied forces while the allied forces only have to locate Freya. Because of this format, Asfi is not allowed to participate due to her flying ability which became well known after she used it to bring Hestia into Freya’s room. The west side of the ruins is where Freya will hide and the east side is where the gods of the allied forces will hide, and between them is a temple in the center of the ruins.

There are over 800 people from 47 familias participating in this war game. Dian Cecht Familia are not participating and their familia members are stationed at the exits of the ruins where they will treat injuries later. Ganesha Familia is in charge of hosting and maintaining things. Each god will wear a flower on them and if their flower is taken by the enemy, the entire familia will drop out. Injuring a god will result in disqualification. Gods can fight to resist (Takemikazuchi notes he can throw down 20 second-tier adventurers or 1 first-tier adventurers, causing everyone to be irritated and say that he should just go fight in the frontlines). Hestia Familia is the leader of the allied forces with Lili taking command of the entire forces. Lili says Hedin is a much better tactician than her, but she is determined to lead everyone to victory. Lili’s speech in front of everyone makes Bell think she looks like Finn.

The war game begins with the allied forces searching for Freya Familia. However, the entire Freya Familia are gathered in one place that has been turned into a fortress with Freya in it protected by her children. The war game is no longer hide-and-seek and has turned into a siege battle. The allied forces have no choice but fight in an all out war. The alliance main forces are divided into three. The center unit led by Tsubaki is primarily for defense and consists of Welf, the dwarves only Magni Familia, and many Hephaistos Familia members. Those with good mobility like elves and beast people are largely in the wing units. The left wing led by Aisha has former Ishtar Familia members, Naaza and Mikoto who is placed here to make up for the less amount of magic swords. The right wing led by Daphne (who is deputy commander of the allied forces) and Bors has Ouka, Chigusa, Cassandra and Rivira residents. Behind them are the mage unit and reserve forces that hide Haruhime.

The first clash is the allied forces using magic swords made by Welf and Hephaistos Familia. Majority of the Freya Familia including second-tier members seemed to have been wiped out. However, Heith uses her wide area healing magic to revive all of the Einherjar that were down. Hedin had planned this in order to reduce the amount of magic swords the allied forces have.

The second clash is the Einherjar charging and destroying the front parts of the allied forces. Lili orders Haruhime to give level boost to Aisha, Daphne, Bors, Welf and Mikoto. She uses Command Call to deliver instructions to everyone else. The guerilla unit that has Mord’s gang and Luvis’ group use Reverse Veil and ambush Heith and others with magic swords. However, their injuries automatically recover which reminds Mord’s gang of the Black Goliath. Heith had already cast “Earth Gullveig” on herself and others which if the magic was cast on them the injuries they sustain later would automatically heal. She then proceeds taking down the enemies in front of her who are defying her great goddess. Airmid is superior in healing effects and output, but Heith is better in terms of durability and combat ability. Heith originally went through the baptism at Folksvangr but she despaired at her limit as a warrior. She then converted into a healer which her hidden talent was discovered. The Lv4 healer was given the alias Vana Mardel (goddess’ gold).

The Freya Familia forces are continuously healed by Heith while the alliance forces fighting them are continuously healed by Cassandra with her healing magic that has improved after ranking up. However, in this healing showdown the alliance forces would have no chance of winning. It has become worse when Hedin fires his magic from a long distance. Riveria has the most powerful magic but Hedin is better when firing at long distance or close combat, and has more Mind reserve. Hogni appears in front of the allied forces’ center unit and uses Dainsleif to cut down those in the formation. Tsubaki is given level boost to match Hogni’s level and fights him. Welf tries to help but is knocked down by Allen who is targeting people with magic swords. The Gulliver Brothers appear and proceed to fight Aisha, Mikoto and others in the left wing unit.

While most of the attention is on the main battlefield, Bell heads towards the enemy’s main camp by himself. While on the way, Van confronts Bell. Even though Bell sometimes loses to the Lv4 Van during the 20 days spent at Folkvangr, Bell who is Lv5 now easily defeats him. Ottar later shows up and gives Bell a chance to use his strongest attack. Ottar gives one of his twin greatsword to Bell which Bell uses it to charge with Argonaut. Ottar uses Hildis Vini, which his other greatsword is covered in golden light. The magic is a super enhancement which greatly amplifies strength and had defeated a Lv7 in the past. After Bell’s charge has reached 5 min, he delivers Argo Vesta towards Ottar who also attacks with his golden sword. The two swords collide and resulted in a draw between them. Ottar thinks if it weren’t for the difference in their levels, Bell’s attack would be superior. Ottar then pulls out his black greatsword and tells Bell that it is a pure fight from now on.

Despite now the same level as Hogni, Tsubaki is is defeated due to Hogni’s Victim Abyss and superior close combat capability. Allen continues taking down anyone who has magic sword. Hogni then targets Daphne and others in the right wing. The left wing unit is able to hold on thanks to Naaza using saber type magic swords as explosive arrows that she fires with her bow. The explosion supports Aisha, Mikoto and the others, and they will pull out the magic swords that pierce the ground to use them against the Gulliver Brothers. However, they will eventually be overwhelmed once all magic swords have been used up. At the same time, Bell is completely beaten up by Ottar with his armor destroyed and his body injured all over.

Chapter 9[]

As the war progresses, Freya orders her familia members to end the war immediately. A group led by Allen head towards where the gods of the allied forces are located. If the gods get their flowers taken, their familia members are automatically eliminated from the war game. Hephaistos and Hestia are the only familias in the allied forces that have Lv5 members, and if both are eliminated they have no chance of winning. Since Tsubaki has already fallen, Hephaistos acts as decoy for Hestia to escape. Takemikazuchi eventually gets his flower taken but not before taking down 21 enemies. Those of the goddess alliance sacrificed themselves to allow their leader Hathor escape. The names of the familias eliminated are being announced fast which include Magni, Modi, Ogma, Serket, Soma, Hephaistos, Takemikazuchi, Dellingr, Ratri and Hephaistos. Of the 46 familias in the alliance, only 4 are remaining.

Despite the current situation, Lili who continues observing the battlefield still remains calm because this is what she expected from the beginning when going up against the powerful Freya Familia. In addition, Bell still hasn’t given up in fighting Ottar. Lili thinks there is still a way to win but in order for it to come true, she needs someone to defeat one of Freya’s first-tier adventurer and change the tide of war. Lili then remembers Finn’s advice from few days earlier. Finn told her that she should focus on the enemy’s commander which is Hedin and leave the remaining enemies to others. Hedin is someone who can beat Finn in strategy 4 out of 10 times. Instead of countering his tactics, Lili should make use of Hedin. Lili is searching for clues that can tell Hedin’s true intentions.

Hogni has already cut down almost everyone in Daphne’s group excluding her and Cassandra. Daphne is seriously injured and Hogni’s sword has a secondary effect of slowing down Cassandra’s healing. Daphne managed to endure Hogni’s slashes due to her rare skill Laurus Wreath mutated her skin to become rough like a bark of tree. Daphne didn’t really want to use this because continuous use would cause her to have wooden-like skin for a while. Daphne and the others allowed themselves to be cut many times as part of the plan for the allied forces to win. Daphne keeps telling Cassandra to heal her but Cassandra can’t take it anymore and tells Hogni that they surrender as Daphne faints. The right wing unit has been annihilated and the only ones remaining are the left wing unit led by Aisha which had joined with the remnants of the center unit. Then, Cassandra notices a wind blowing which represents a ray of hope according to the prophecy she saw earlier.

Ryuu with a green wooden sword appears in front of Hogni and engages him in a sword fight which she can keep up with. The clash caused her hood removed, revealing her as a beautiful masked elf with long tied golden hair to everyone watching which most recognize her as Gale Wind. They also realize that Ryuu is Lv6 now, having ranked up twice which is something never done before. Hermes thinks it’s possible because 5 years ago Ryuu was already close to becoming Lv5 and since then she had achieved many great feats while still Lv4. Ryuu wanted to be stronger so she went to see Astraea and got her status updated and obtained her new weapon, the Stardust Blade Alf’s Justitia, which was made from using a piece of her previous weapon. The weapon can carry Ryuu’s magic, which enables her skill Mind Load to be activated and increase her strength when she attacks, resulting her able to withstand the power of Hogni’s slashes.

Heith then sends over 40 second-tier Einherjar to surround Ryuu which causes her to use her new magic Astraea Record. Once she says the magic’s name, hieroglyphs of light in the shape of Astraea Familia’s emblem shines under her feet. Ryuu starts chanting and at the same time countless crystals of light are floating and surrounding her like stars. The 5m radius area of light shields her from any attack, which Hogni describes it as a “star sanctuary”. Hogni then uses much of strength to break through the wall of light. Before Hogni could reach Ryuu, all of the stars in the area are absorbed by Ryuu when she finishes chanting. Ryuu says “Agaris Alvesynth” and Hogni is blown back by her blade clad in crimson light. Seeing the fire enchantment causes Shakti tearing up and mutter Alise’s name.

Hogni and many others recognize Alise’s magic and seeing Ryuu using it shocks them. Ryuu then attacks the Einherjar in the area which even the Lv4 Tammuz is taken down in one hit. The flame enchanted on her legs act like propellants which cause Ryuu to move faster. The slashes she delivers can also explode and the flame is powerful enough to destroy the enemies along with their equipments. Ryuu’s own swift movements combined with the fire magic cause Hogni to imagine the sight of Alise and Ryuu fighting together again. Astraea Record’s ability is called “justice inheritance”, which Ryuu can use magic belonged to other people who had received falna from Astraea. She was able to obtain this new magic after she found her answer in justice and inherited her past comrades’ wills. Those who were saved by Astraea Familia in the past (including a certain peddler, a couple with their daughter) are shedding tears believing Astraea Familia have returned and let out cheers.

While Alise’s magic is still active, Ryuu begins concurrent chanting her original magic which is much more powerful now due to her ranking up and obtaining Development Ability Mage. Hogni tries to stop her but Alise’s magic has made Ryuu too strong to be stopped in time. She unleashes Luminous Wind, which hits almost all Einherjar in the area. Hogni was able to avoid Ryuu’s attack, but Hedin is nowhere to be seen. Ryuu and Hogni then continue fighting in close combat. Hogni who is now giving everything he has into the fight is winning at first due to his superior combat ability and Ryuu can’t control the firepower of Alise’s magic as well as her. But Hogni becomes weaker after some time due to using his cursed weapon too much already in this war. Daphne earlier ordered everyone in her unit to get themselves cut by Hogni’s sword which was her plan to reduce Hogni’s strength. Ryuu might not win against Hogni in one-on-one fight but she is fighting together with others. Ryuu defeats Hogni by knocking his sword away from his hand and then delivering point blank explosion at him.

After Hogni's defeat, Heith and some Freya Familia members who have recovered plan to heal others and rebuild their frontline unit. However, they are being attacked by Hedin who fires his magic at them. Everyone is surprised of Hedin’s betrayal, but before the war Bell told Lili that Hedin might end up helping them. Bell suspected from how Hedin treated Bell in previous volumes that his actions have always been for the sake of a certain person and so Bell believes Hedin will use the allied forces and lend their help to achieve his own goal. Lili earlier realized Hedin would attack his fellow familia members based on where he positioned himself. Heith can’t believe Hedin, who along with Ottar is considered most loyal to Freya, is betraying them. Hedin replies he’s committing this sin out of loyalty, just like Horn was. The angered Heith says that Freya’s divine will is absolute and a traitor like Hedin has no right to speak of loyalty. Heith who was able to defeat the Crozzo magic swords with her automatic healing believes even a first-tier adventurer like Hedin can’t kill her. However, Hedin has the biggest mind reserve so Heith will run out of magic first. Heith is also told by Hedin that her “gold/prosperity” is a failure to her goddess and she’s even inferior to Horn. Heith who secretly holds jealousy towards Horn screams in frustration before being turned into a golden wreckage.

Hedin tells Ryuu to go where Bell and Ottar are, then continues attacking other Freya Familia members. The best formation he set up in this war was not for Freya Familia to win, but for him to be able to take down as many Freya Familia members as possible. The defeat of a first-tier member and the betrayal of another have greatly reduced Freya Familia’s morale. The allied forces still have around 30 people from Hestia, Miach, Hathor and Plutus Familias. The remaining Einherjar are mostly the ones led by Allen and the ones protecting Freya. Making sure the strongest Ottar and the fastest Allen are far from each other was also Hedin’s plan. Before Hedin’s betrayal is revealed, Lili had already instructed Aisha’s unit to prepare retreating and they safely regroup with the reserve unit. She is frustrated that Hedin used her but Hedin assures her that this is also thanks to her own ability for able to notice the signs of Hedin’s betrayal and praises her.

The Gulliver Brothers are able to dodge Hedin’s attack and head towards where he is. But they are stopped by Anya, Chloe, Lunoire and other Hostess of Fertility employees who are as strong as upper-tier adventurers. Sometime before the war game started, Loki visited Mia and asked her to participate in the war game. Mia refused because she promised not to interfere once Freya found her Odr. When they first met, Freya was crying in a field of flowers and to Mia she had been more like a daughter rather than a goddess. Mia helped Bell a little before because she was mad at Freya for getting Anya and the others hurt. But Mia believed if she really betrayed her daughter, Freya might break. Loki then asked if Mia would help stop Freya if she became self-destructive, which Mia replied she wouldn’t help unless Freya asked for it. Later, Bete broke into Folksvangr while carrying Anya on Loki’s order, and they found Syr (who is actually Horn) in a room. Chloe, Lunoire, Mia and Loki also arrived there soon after. While crying in her sleep, Syr apologized to Anya, Chloe, Lunoire and Mia, and begged them to save her. Seeing this made them decide to go save her because Syr is their family.

Hedin and Horn’s actions, along with the sight of Anya and others who came as reinforcements cause Freya to be angered. She insists that Syr and her feelings are just a dream. Ryuu arrives where Bell and Ottar are, and so does Mia who is wearing her maid uniform and carrying a huge steel shovel. Mia tells Ryuu to take care of Bell while she handles Ottar. Because most of the reinforcements are not from familias participating in this war, Ganesha Familia try to intervene. But before Shakti and others move in, Astraea appears with her new familia members. Asfi was the one who brought Ryuu and Astraea here. Njord and Demeter also appear and say that the other Hostess of Fertility members have converted to their familias. Shakti allows the three gods enter the battlefield so that the reinforcements that came are not violating the rules. Hestia heads towards Bell’s location so that she could update Bell’s status.

As Ottar and Mia’s clash half destroys the place they’re in, Ryuu is healing Bell with Noah Heal which takes time. Ryuu asks what Bell plans to do with Syr, which he replies that he will save her even if it also means hurting her. Once Ryuu finishes healing Bell, she confesses her love to Bell. Hearing this causes Bell to become shocked and making a stupid face while blushing. But Bell regains composure immediately after and join the fight against Ottar together with Ryuu. The remaining allied forces led by Aisha have joined up with the reinforcements. The alliance side together with Hedin’s bombardment have defeated almost all of the enemies in the main battlefield. The Gulliver Brothers are the only enemies left in the area but they keep cutting down those from the alliance side. The unit led by Aisha is down to herself, Mikoto, Naaza and the reserve forces protecting Haruhime.

Aisha, Chloe, Lunoire and Anya are able to fight off the Gulliver Brothers due to being given level boost, but the alliance side must defeat the Gulliver Brothers before the Einherjar led by Allen arrive. Lili who is watching from a high place can’t find any hole in the brothers’ coordination. Hedin fires his magic to the area to create dust from explosion which gives Anya a chance to chant her magic. Lunoire and Chloe warn everyone on the alliance side to put on the earrings that were distributed to them earlier before the sound wave coming from Anya’s mouth is released. Lili, the Gulliver Brothers along with Allen and other Einherjar that have just arrived hear the painful sound and are then bathed in red light. Remiste Felis is a magic with super wide area range that lowers the status of anyone who hears the sound wave, regardless ally or enemy, and she can’t use it again until over half a day has passed. Though it doesn’t lower status as much as one level, it is one of the most powerful debuff magic that also hinders the affected people’s skills and magic. The alliance side in the area except Lili are fine due to wearing the magic items called Silence Lira that were originally developed by Asfi to act as earplugs against the singings of sirens and mermaids. Anya tells Allen that Syr is also her family and she will even fight her brother to get her back.

Anya faces off against the weakened Allen while the remaining people on the alliance side fight against the weakened Gulliver Brothers and the rest of Einherjar. Lili has come up with a plan to defeat the Gulliver Brothers. Alfrigg who realizes the alliance side have a cheating magic orders the other Einherjar to attack the alliance reserve forces. Excluding the ones fighting the Freya Familia executives, the only ones left from the alliance side are the amazons of Hathor Familia in the reserve force. The amazons and Goliath Robe protect Haruhime from the enemy attacks, but she becomes visible now due to Reverse Veil ruined. Haruhime is still going to cast the next set of level boost, but Samira and Lena are against it because once it’s exposed Haruhime could end up in a situation worse than the Killing Stone incident. But Haruhime says she doesn’t want to be just protected anymore and will fight for her familia. Samira who used to hate Haruhime for being weak now acknowledges her and tells her to sing while the amazons protect her. Haruhime’s captivating chanting causes everyone’s attention to turn towards her, and her secret is exposed the moment level boost is delivered.

At the same time Anya, Chloe, Lunoire, Aisha, Mikoto and Naaza receive level boost, Lili throws a smoke ball that hinders the Gulliver Brothers senses. Mikoto also uses her gravity magic to momentarily stop the brothers’ movement. Berling, who has the best search ability among the brothers, shouts the safest direction to escape. When the brothers gather their strength and exit the gravity cage one by one, they are ambushed by Aisha, Lunoire and Chloe. Alfrigg then notices the “Berling” who is with them is unarmed and moving in the wrong direction, and the real Berling is still trapped in the gravity cage. The true purpose of the gravity cage and smoke were to replace one of the brothers with an imposter. Alfrigg attacks the imposter and the damage causes the transformation magic to be undone, revealing Lili. After sacrificing many gods and adventurers, Lili decided to sacrifice herself in order to create an opening in the Gulliver Brothers. Though her body is heavily damaged and in pain, she throws Burst Oil that she received from Asfi towards the brothers. The resulting explosion causes the brothers blown away in different directions, separated from each other.

Lunoire intercepts Grer and defeats him by delivering many hits to his body with her fists. Chloe intercepts Dvalinn and defeats him with her illusion magic and poisonous knife attacks. Anya’s magic also lowered Dvalinn’s Development Ability which caused his body unable to resist the poison and collapsing. Berling who was still in the gravity cage finally breaks free and notices Naaza chanting. He attacks to stop her chant but Naaza blocks the attack with her prosthetic arm which ends up destroyed. Naaza’s magic Darbh Daol releases black particles that cover Berling and weakens his status. Her magic manifested as a symbol of all the decline she suffered since she lost her original arm. Berling tries to attack Naaza again but she is actually a decoy that allows Mikoto using Zekka to deliver a fatal hit to the further weakened Berling. Seeing his brothers defeated, Alfrigg realizes Lili had been observing the brothers the whole time in order to plan their defeat. Alfrigg is then defeated by Aisha who launches Hell Kaios at him.

Ottar and Allen are the only strong enemies left, so Hedin has decided where to go next. Before Hedin is about to leave, the battered Hogni appears. Hogni angrily demands Hedin to explain why he is betraying Freya who saved them in the past. Hedin replies it’s necessary because as things stand, Freya will lose her wish that she will never get again. Because she’s the goddess of love, she would have “a certain feeling” for one person only. Her familia members who worship the goddess or saved by the goddess can never save the woman. Hedin realized Bell is the only one who can save Freya when he saw how truly happy she was with Bell as Syr. Everything Hedin did to Bell was to train his mind and body, and ensure that he would reject the goddess’ love. Hogni just doesn’t want to give his beloved goddess to anyone else and Hedin knows this because he also wanted to be her special person. Hedin asks Hogni to help him set her free from the shackles of a goddess. Hogni agrees because he also saw how happy she was as Syr, and he wants her to continue to smile like that.

All of the remaining amazons of the allied forces and the Einherjar are down, and the only ones still fighting in the main battlefield should be Allen and Anya. But the Gulliver Brothers get back up again and prevent Aisha and the others from helping Anya. Despite being near death, they are determined to continue fighting. They won’t allow Freya become a city girl and want her to always be a goddess because she will never get hurt if she’s a goddess. They blamed themselves for Freya having to sleep with their former lowlife boss and swore that they will never let anyone defile or hurt her again. Anya is having a hard time fighting Allen alone, but Hogni shows up to help her. Hogni explains he wants to save Syr and protect her smile. Hogni says this without activating Dainsleif to show his resolve. Allen refuses to back down because it was a goddess who saved him and his sister when they were little, and he wants Freya to continue being the arrogant, cruel and strong goddess who stole his heart and gives him strength. As for Ottar, fighting is the only thing he can do and this is how he repays Freya for saving him when he was a child. He believes if Bell and the others can’t defeat him then they have no right to save Freya.

(Gap between parts)

While fighting Allen is getting irritated with Anya's determination and also for Hogni helping her. Hogni points out that his attacks against Anya have become weaker, provoking him, but Hogni counters with Burn Dain. Anya tells Allen that when Bete had forcefully taken her out of her room, he had told her that Allen was just like him, and that if Allen truly hated her then he would've killed her a long time ago. Allen rejects her words but Anya asks her why he hasn't killed her even though Allen constantly says "I'll kill you". Hogni answers for him, revealing that since he loved her he couldn't throw her away so he opted to hate her instead. He continues by telling Allen that he'd gotten weaker ever since Anya had left because Allen no longer had someone to protect which was why Hedin regretted giving him the seat of vice captain and complained about him. He finishes by saying that (paraphrasing) "Although I wasn't a great king and didn't have family you guys' current relationship isn't right (referring to Anya)". Allen has a flashback and then refuses to help them as he believes that staying with Freya will make him stronger, and being stronger would help him get revenge on the OEBD, and Anya's happiness wouldn't be safe as long as the OEBD was alive, plus Anya would chase after him if he fights the OEBD (he also talks in a calm and serious voice instead of his usual angry demeanor). Allen activates his magic, Gralineze Fromel, and instantly defeats Hogni and Anya, and proceeds to wipe out the alliance forces (he also wipes out Alfrigg as collateral damage)

(Following is the battle with Ottar)

Ottar beastifies and gets the power of a level 8, the four are overwhelmed. When they get back up, Hedin has a discussion with Ottar about Freya, and Hestia and Haruhime arrive. Haruhime uses Uchide on Hedin, Mia, and Ryuu and they fight Ottar while Hestia updates Bell's status. Hestia finishes, Haruhime also gives him Uchide and he joins the fight.

They fight and later Ottar manages to critically injure Hedin. He tries to follow up and Bell saves him by pushing him away. Ottar's swing hits the ground and creates a dust cloud. Bell looks for Hedin but the latter orders him to look forward and save Freya. He casts his lightning enchant magic on Bell (a magic that he can only cast on those he's acknowledged) and the magic made him so fast that Bell was able to instantly close the gap between him and Ottar.

The finisher on Ottar is Mia's hit with her shovel plus a flurry of punches, Ryuu's Luminous Wind, and Bell's 60 second Grand Bell punch plus Firebolt. It sends him flying but Ottar gets back up and returns to the arena, however, the damage causes him to get down on a knee. Ottar asks Bell if he can free Freya, stating that he'll give him 5 minutes to prove it (he needs 5 minutes to recover) or else he'll come after him.

Allen attempts to stop Bell from reaching Freya and he comes incredibly close to doing so but Bell manages to outspeed him because of the level boost, Hedin's enchantment, and Escape. Allen orders Freya's four guards to stop him but Welf wipes them out with Will o Wisp, then takes out Allen with Kazuki.

Following the path Welf created, Bell runs past the collapsed einherjar and finally reaches Freya, referring to her as Syr. Freya asks why Bell rejects her while saying that she loves him. She asks and pleads her love for him while also admitting that she didn’t want to love him. Bell steps forward and says that he can’t be her Odr, before proceeding to slash her flower, signaling the end of both the war game, and her first love.

Epilogue[]

In the epilogue the Freya Familia gets disbanded, the members initially refused but Freya convinced them to deal with it. Freya is to be expelled from Orario (but not sent back to heaven despite what some wanted). Freya visits Mia one last time for a drink. Mia tells her to pay, Freya says she can't because she has no money except the clothes she's wearing, and Mia offers her a job stating that Hestia mentioned that she would agree to look the other way for Syr but she refuses. She leaves and Bell stops her outside, Bell doesn't really want her to leave but she tells him that she will though she assures him that she won't do anything anymore because Bell saved her

Freya attempts to leave again but the waitresses block her. Freya puts on her hood and attempts to walk by them but Ryuu stops her, and asks her "isn't there something you have to say to us?". Freya apologizes but Ryuu slaps her and tells her to take responsibility for letting her live (back when they first met), that she'll make her pay for it for life, and orders her to stay with them. Chloe and Lunoire agree and Anya begs her to not leave. Bell approaches and tells Freya the same line that she told him earlier when she asked him "what would you do if I became weird?". The waitresses found it cringey so there was a moment of silence and the main waitresses looked at him with cold eyes, with Freya recalling that she had said that. Bell explains that he'd watch over her so that she could be happy with Ryuu and the others, and asks her to tell him the "real her". Freya states that she wants to stop being a Goddess and be with them as Syr. The main waitress have a group hug and the other waitresses cheer

Above the pub, the former members of the Freya Familia watched over the scene, with Allen asking Hedin if he was satisfied. Hedin said that he didn't know if this was the best choice but that "it wasn't bad". Horn expressed her dislike of Bell but thanked him for saving "us" (Syr)