Chapter 303

The Guild settled the War Game terms the following morning.

Apollo and Hephaestus sat across from each other in one of the Guild's larger meeting rooms while Rayleigh, Cassandra, Tsubaki, and Hyakinthos remained behind their respective gods.

There was little reason to turn the meeting into another argument, so the Guild representative moved directly through the conditions both sides had already submitted.

The game would be a castle siege.

Apollo Familia would occupy an abandoned fortress outside Orario and receive three days to prepare its defenses.

Every combat-capable member of the Familia could participate, while Hephaestus Familia would attack with whatever force Hephaestus chose to field.

Victory required the attacking side to capture the flag at the top of the central keep. If they failed before sunset, Apollo Familia would win.

The stakes were written into the agreement exactly as promised.

If Apollo won, Cassandra's contract over Yumeutsutsu would be terminated, Rayleigh would cease involving himself in Apollo Familia affairs, and he would accept a Zanpakutō commission for Hyakinthos.

If Hephaestus won, Apollo would release Cassandra from his Familia immediately, surrender all claim over Yumeutsutsu, and never interfere with another contract between Rayleigh and one of his children.

The Guild representative reached the final section and looked toward Hephaestus.

"You have listed only one participant."

Hephaestus did not hesitate. "Rayleigh will represent my Familia alone. Tsubaki and the others will not participate."

Apollo had clearly expected Rayleigh's declaration from yesterday to disappear once the situation became official.

Instead, seeing the single name written on the document only made his expression tighten.

"You still intend to go through with this?" he asked. "I thought yesterday's little performance was meant for the crowd. Once the gate closes, there will be no audience standing beside you to make this look impressive."

Rayleigh had no interest in defending his pride. "You challenged my Familia because of me and Cassandra. There's no reason to put a hundred blacksmiths in danger when I can handle it myself."

That answer irritated Apollo more than open mockery would have.

Hyakinthos remained quiet beside his god. Unlike Apollo, he had stood in Rayleigh's workshop before and watched a Zanpakutō reject him outright.

He had also heard enough about Yōtōsai's later battles to understand that the Level written beside Rayleigh's name did not properly describe what they would be facing.

The Guild representative waited until Apollo confirmed that he accepted the roster, then stamped the agreement.

"The War Game begins three days from now at sunrise."

That settled it.

...

Tsubaki waited until they returned to Hephaestus Familia headquarters before expressing what she had clearly been holding back throughout the meeting.

"You know I would've gone with you."

She stood in Rayleigh's workshop with Tobiume resting against one shoulder, and although she was smiling, there was nothing playful about the way she looked at him.

Rayleigh understood.

Tsubaki was the Captain of Hephaestus Familia. Being told to remain outside while one of her people fought an entire Familia naturally sat badly with her.

"I know. That's why I'm not taking you."

He stopped checking Benihime's edge and looked toward her properly.

"If this were an enemy stronghold where civilians needed rescuing or people might die because we were too slow, I'd take every useful fighter we had. This isn't that. Apollo wants a spectacle, and the Guild has given us a battlefield where nobody else needs to get hurt. Let me use it."

Tsubaki considered that for a few seconds before looking at the swords arranged across his workbench.

"You're really planning to fight the whole Familia without Bankai."

"That depends on them, but I'd rather not use one. Apollo has spent three days preparing for a Level Four blacksmith. I don't intend to show half the city everything I can actually do just because he asked nicely."

That finally drew a grin from her.

Hephaestus stood near the doorway and folded her arms. "Then don't get careless just because they're weaker than the things you've been fighting lately. Apollo may be an idiot when his pride gets involved, but Hyakinthos isn't, and they have three days to turn that fortress into something designed specifically to stop you."

Rayleigh agreed.

That was the only part of the War Game that interested him strategically.

Apollo Familia could not match his individual strength, but numbers allowed them to create problems that a stronger fighter still had to respect.

Dozens of archers firing together could control movement.

Mages could overlap spells.

Traps could force him into specific routes, while Hyakinthos only needed one good opportunity if Rayleigh became distracted.

The difference was that Apollo had prepared against the abilities he knew about.

Shinsō had barely been seen by anyone.

Benihime's full capabilities remained mostly private.

More importantly, Apollo had misunderstood one of Rayleigh's older swords badly enough that going alone was actually useful.

Rayleigh's eyes moved toward Sakanade.

...

Cassandra had remained quiet while the others spoke.

She stood near the workbench with Yumeutsutsu held against her side, studying the four swords Rayleigh had selected for the War Game.

Senbonzakura.

Sakanade.

Benihime.

Shinsō.

Hyōrinmaru and Ruri'iro Kujaku would remain at home.

Rayleigh noticed Cassandra staring at Sakanade.

"You saw something."

She nodded.

"The fortress from my dream is the same one the Guild selected. I didn't recognize it yesterday, but they showed us the map during the meeting."

Her hand tightened slightly around Yumeutsutsu as she recalled the rest.

"The courtyard burned. The fire came from beneath the stones after someone crossed the gate, and I saw people standing along the walls waiting for it to happen. But there were also cherry blossoms moving above the ground. They crossed without touching anything."

Rayleigh glanced toward Senbonzakura.

That was useful.

Apollo was preparing the courtyard as a kill zone.

Cassandra continued, more confident once she realized he was listening rather than questioning whether the dream made sense.

"I also saw the golden sun break after the blossoms reached the center of the fortress. I don't know exactly what that means, but I think you shouldn't enter through the gate normally."

"I wasn't planning to."

Cassandra breathed out slowly.

Rayleigh could still see the fear in her face, but it was different from the Cassandra he remembered from years ago.

She was afraid because the outcome mattered, not because she expected everyone to dismiss her before she finished speaking.

He rested a hand briefly against Yumeutsutsu's sheath.

"You've done your part. Let me handle the rest."

Cassandra nodded.

...

Apollo Familia spent the next three days turning the abandoned fortress into exactly what Rayleigh expected.

The outer walls were repaired and reinforced. Archers were positioned along the battlements with overlapping fields of fire, while mages occupied towers where they could bombard anyone approaching the gates.

The road leading to the fortress was covered with concealed pits, wire traps, caltrops, and several buried Magic Items designed to explode under pressure.

Inside the walls, Apollo ordered the main courtyard converted into a second trap.

The visible stones were left untouched, but beneath them the Familia installed fire-producing Magic Items and containers of alchemical oil.

Anyone breaking through the main entrance would be surrounded by flames while archers and mages attacked from the walls.

Hyakinthos approved most of the preparations, although he rejected several plans that depended too heavily on Rayleigh behaving like an ordinary swordsman.

"He can move too quickly for a single trap to matter," Hyakinthos warned during the final inspection.

"Do not build everything around stopping him once. Every position needs another line behind it, and nobody should fight alone. If he reaches you, withdraw toward the keep instead of trying to be a hero."

Apollo watched his children working throughout the fortress.

"You sound as though you expect him to reach the keep."

"I expect him to be dangerous. Pretending otherwise because he is Level Four would be stupid."

Apollo did not argue.

That was why Hyakinthos was his captain.

The fortress eventually became a layered defense rather than one large ambush. Losing the walls would not end the battle.

Losing the courtyard would not end it either. Every corridor inside the keep had barricades, shield teams, archers, and mages prepared to retreat toward the next position.

At the center of everything, the Apollo Familia flag flew above the highest tower.

Rayleigh had to reach it.

Apollo familia only needed to stop him until sunset.