Chapter 302

Cassandra woke before sunrise with Yumeutsutsu already in her hands.

Her breathing was uneven, and the sheets had twisted around her legs during the night.

The dream itself was already fading, but several images remained clear enough that she did not need to struggle to remember them.

A golden sun cracked down the middle.

A field covered in broken weapons.

Rayleigh standing alone before a fortress while hundreds of people waited behind its walls.

Then red petals had covered everything.

Cassandra sat quietly until her breathing settled.

She had learned not to dismiss her dreams simply because she did not understand them immediately.

The old Cassandra would have spent hours wondering whether anyone would believe her.

The woman holding Yumeutsutsu had finally stopped making that the first question.

Someone knocked on her door.

“Lady Cassandra. Lord Apollo wishes to see you.”

She looked down at the sword across her lap.

The dream had already begun.

…

Apollo was waiting in the main hall with Hyakinthos beside him.

Cassandra noticed immediately that this was not a casual summons.

Several Apollo Familia members stood near the walls, while Apollo himself remained seated with an expression that looked pleasant until someone paid attention to his eyes.

His gaze went directly to Yumeutsutsu.

“Cassandra, come here. We need to settle something that has been allowed to continue for far too long.”

She stopped several meters away.

Apollo had always considered Cassandra beautiful.

Her nervousness, her prophetic dreams, even the way other people dismissed her warnings had once made her easy for him to keep close. Recently, however, something about her had changed.

She still spoke softly.

She still hesitated.

But she no longer looked down every time someone questioned her.

Apollo disliked that change more than he wanted to admit.

“I have been patient with your attachment to that sword because I understood that it gave you confidence,” he said.

“But you are still a child of Apollo Familia, and allowing another Familia to bind you through a private contract was a mistake I should have corrected immediately. Give Yumeutsutsu to Hyakinthos. He will take it to the Guild while I speak with Hephaestus about ending that agreement.”

Cassandra’s hand closed around the sheath.

“No.”

The room became quiet.

Hyakinthos looked at her with surprise, while Apollo’s pleasant expression disappeared almost completely.

Cassandra could feel her pulse hammering against her throat, but she continued before fear could take the words away.

“Yumeutsutsu chose me. The contract says the sword belongs to me, and Lady Hephaestus guaranteed that agreement. I won’t hand her over because you suddenly decided you dislike it.”

Apollo rose slowly.

“You seem to have misunderstood what is happening. I am not asking whether you like my decision. I am your god, and I am telling you that this arrangement ends today.”

That familiar pressure nearly made Cassandra lower her head.

Nearly.

Yumeutsutsu warmed beneath her fingers.

Cassandra remembered the dream.

The broken sun had appeared before the fortress.

That meant this moment was not the end of anything.

She raised her eyes again. “Then you’ll have to settle it with Hephaestus.”

Apollo’s jaw tightened.

He gave Hyakinthos a small gesture.

“Take the sword.”

Hyakinthos moved without hesitation.

He had no desire to hurt Cassandra, but Apollo’s order was clear.

He crossed the distance quickly and reached for the sheath, expecting little resistance from a healer who had never been known for close combat.

Cassandra drew her zanpakuto.

“Open your eyes within the dream, Yumeutsutsu.”

Red petals spilled across the floor.

Hyakinthos stopped.

The petals did not attack him.

They spread between Cassandra and the surrounding Apollo Familia members, forming thin trails across the stone exactly where danger was about to move.

One line passed beneath Hyakinthos’s right foot.

Cassandra stepped left before he lunged.

His hand closed on empty air.

Another red trail appeared behind her just before two adventurers moved to block the doorway, and Cassandra turned in the opposite direction before they had fully committed.

Hyakinthos understood immediately.

“She already saw this.”

Cassandra had not seen every movement clearly in her dream, but Yumeutsutsu did not need perfect images.

The Zanpakutō took the warnings buried inside what she had witnessed and gave them shape.

For once, Cassandra did not need anyone else to believe her.

She only needed to believe herself.

Apollo watched the red petals moving across his hall and felt his anger sharpen.

“Enough. Hyakinthos, disarm her.”

Hyakinthos drew his sword.

That changed the room.

Cassandra’s fear returned immediately, but she did not retreat. She held Yumeutsutsu in both hands while more petals gathered around her feet.

Hyakinthos saw how tightly she was gripping the sword and stopped before attacking.

“Lord Apollo, taking it by force will damage more than the furniture. She isn’t surrendering it.”

Apollo looked at his captain.

Hyakinthos remained respectful, but his meaning was clear. He could defeat Cassandra easily. Nobody in the room doubted that.

Doing it without hurting her was another matter, especially when a prophetic Zanpakutō was warning her before every attempt.

Apollo’s anger cooled into something more deliberate.

Then he smiled.

“Fine.”

Cassandra did not relax.

Apollo returned to his seat and regarded her for several seconds before speaking again.

“If Hephaestus wants to interfere with how I manage my children, perhaps I should finally speak with her directly. Go, Cassandra. Take your precious sword and tell Yōtōsai exactly what happened here.”

Cassandra immediately understood that something was wrong with how easily he let her leave.

Apollo wanted her to go.

She could not see why yet.

That did not change her choice.

Cassandra resealed Yumeutsutsu and walked toward the exit while the Familia members moved aside.

Hyakinthos watched her pass without interfering, although the conflict in his expression made it clear that he understood what Apollo intended better than she did.

Apollo waited until the doors closed.

“Prepare everyone.”

Hyakinthos turned toward him.

Apollo’s smile had returned completely now.

“I have tolerated that blacksmith long enough.”

…

Rayleigh was halfway through repairing a damaged axe when Cassandra entered the Hephaestus Familia workshop district.

She was moving quickly enough that several smiths looked up as she passed.

Yumeutsutsu remained at her waist, and there was enough urgency in her expression that Rayleigh put the axe down before she reached him.

Hephaestus happened to be in the workshop as well, reviewing several orders with Tsubaki.

Cassandra stopped in front of them and explained what had happened without wasting time.

Apollo had ordered her to surrender Yumeutsutsu.

She refused.

Hyakinthos had been ordered to take it.

She released her Shikai.

Apollo then deliberately allowed her to leave.

Rayleigh listened until she finished.

“He wanted you to come here.”

“I think so.”

Hephaestus’s expression had grown steadily colder during the explanation.

She held out one hand.

“Let me see your contract.”

Cassandra removed the folded document she kept secured inside her clothing and handed it over.

Hephaestus read it once.

Nothing had changed.

The sword belonged to Cassandra.

Apollo Familia had no ownership over Yumeutsutsu, and Apollo could not transfer or sell the weapon simply because Cassandra carried his Falna.

Hephaestus returned the contract.

“You did nothing wrong. Stay here until this is settled.”

Relief crossed Cassandra’s face, but Rayleigh was already looking toward the street outside.

Several familiar spiritual pressures were approaching.

A lot of them.

“Tsubaki.”

The half-dwarf had noticed too.

She reached for Tobiume.

“Yeah. I feel them.”

Rayleigh stepped outside.

Apollo Familia was coming straight toward the Hephaestus district.

…

They did not attack.

That was the first thing Rayleigh noticed.

Apollo had brought dozens of adventurers, with Hyakinthos walking near the front, but their weapons remained sheathed.

They filled the street outside the workshops instead, attracting smiths, merchants, adventurers, and enough curious civilians that a crowd began forming almost immediately.

Apollo walked at the center.

Hephaestus came outside beside Rayleigh, followed by Tsubaki and Cassandra.

The moment Apollo saw Cassandra standing behind Hephaestus, his smile widened.

“Hephaestus. Thank you for looking after my child.”

Hephaestus did not bother returning the politeness.

“If you came to reclaim Yumeutsutsu, save your breath. Cassandra’s contract is valid, and you already know it.”

Apollo spread his hands.

“I am aware of the contract. What I object to is another Familia encouraging one of my children to ignore her god while binding her soul to a weapon I have no authority over.”

Rayleigh remained silent.

This was between gods for the moment.

Hephaestus stepped forward slightly, keeping Cassandra behind her. “You don’t have authority over Yumeutsutsu because the sword isn’t yours. Cassandra accepted the contract herself, and the blade accepted her. That was the agreement from the beginning.”

Apollo’s attention moved toward Rayleigh.

“That is exactly the problem. Your child has been inserting himself into my Familia for months. First Hyakinthos was humiliated in his workshop. Then Cassandra returned with a weapon that suddenly made her believe she could ignore me. Now my own child runs to Hephaestus Familia the moment I give her an order.”

Cassandra flinched at the accusation.

Rayleigh finally spoke.

“She came here because you tried to confiscate something that belongs to her.”

Apollo’s eyes hardened.

Rayleigh did not continue.

There was nothing else to explain.

Apollo had spent too long convincing himself that this was complicated.

It wasn’t.

The sword belonged to Cassandra.

Apollo wanted control over it.

She refused.

That was the entire problem.

Apollo looked around at the growing crowd before turning back toward Hephaestus.

“Then there is no reason to keep arguing in the street. We already have a perfectly good tradition for settling disputes between Familias.”

The crowd immediately became quieter.

Hephaestus understood before he said it.

Apollo raised one hand.

“I, Apollo, formally challenge Hephaestus Familia to a War Game.”

The street erupted.

People pushed closer. Adventurers who had been walking past stopped immediately, and several smiths abandoned their work entirely.

Apollo let the reaction build for several seconds.

Hephaestus’s face remained cold.

“What are your terms?”

“If I win, Yōtōsai will stop interfering with my Familia, the contract protecting Cassandra’s Zanpakutō will be dissolved, and he will accept a proper commission for Hyakinthos instead of insulting us again.”

Rayleigh almost laughed at the word proper.

Apollo continued before anyone interrupted.

“If you win, I will unlock Cassandra’s Falna and allow her to leave Apollo Familia. I will also renounce any claim over Yumeutsutsu and never interfere with another contract between your smith and one of my children.”

That silenced Cassandra more effectively than anything else.

Freedom.

Apollo had finally placed it on the table.

Hephaestus turned toward her.

She did not ask Cassandra to decide the entire matter for them, but she needed to see whether the girl understood what was being offered.

Cassandra looked terrified.

Then she placed one hand over Yumeutsutsu.

“I want to leave.”

Her voice shook, but everyone close enough heard it.

That was enough for Hephaestus.

She faced Apollo again.

“We accept.”

The reaction from the crowd became deafening.

Apollo’s smile widened with satisfaction.

He had expected resistance. Hephaestus Familia was wealthy and influential, but it was a production Familia.

Most of its members were smiths rather than front-line adventurers, while Apollo Familia had spent years building a large combat force under Hyakinthos.

Tsubaki was dangerous.

Rayleigh was dangerous.

Neither changed the advantage of numbers.

Apollo looked toward Rayleigh.

“Then we will let the Guild decide the format and location. I suggest you begin preparing your Familia.”

Rayleigh looked past him at the dozens of adventurers filling the street.

Then he looked at Hephaestus.

“Goddess, don’t involve the others.”

Hephaestus frowned.

Rayleigh continued before she could misunderstand.

“Tsubaki doesn’t need to fight. Welf definitely doesn’t need to fight, and there’s no reason to drag the rest of the Familia away from their work.”

Apollo’s smile began to fade.

Tsubaki stared at Rayleigh for a moment before realizing where he was going.

Then she grinned.

Rayleigh turned back toward Apollo.

“I’ll represent Hephaestus Familia alone.”

The street fell silent.

Apollo looked at him as though he had misheard.

Rayleigh had no intention of repeating himself dramatically, so he simply rested one hand against Shinsō’s sheath.

Hephaestus studied him for several seconds.

She knew exactly how strong he was.

More importantly, she knew how much stronger he had become since reaching Level 4.

“All right,” she said. “If the War Game rules allow it, Rayleigh fights alone.”

Apollo’s expression changed completely.

What he had intended as a show of superiority had just become an insult in front of half the district.

One Level 4 blacksmith against his entire Familia.

Hyakinthos was the only Apollo Familia member who did not look offended.

He had seen Rayleigh’s swords before.

He knew better.

Apollo forced his smile back into place.

“Very well. If Yōtōsai wants to humiliate himself publicly, I have no reason to stop him.”

Rayleigh looked at the Apollo Familia members behind their god.

Dozens of fighters.

Mages.

Archers.

Hyakinthos.

And whatever preparations Apollo could arrange before the War Game began.

For the first time since leaving the Deep Floors, Rayleigh felt genuinely interested in the fight ahead.

He had spent weeks dealing with enemies that absorbed Zanpakutō, copied techniques, buried themselves inside the Dungeon, or threatened entire sections of Orario.

Apollo Familia was much simpler.

They were people with weapons standing between him and a goal.

Rayleigh understood exactly how to deal with those.