The dinner party gradually ended amidst the minor dispute between Hestia and Freya, with Hestia emerging victorious. Triumphant, Hestia walked back with a spring in her step, occasionally chuckling as she glanced at Aston. However, due to drinking too much, Hestia quickly fell asleep upon returning to their residence, even before taking a shower.
Aston escorted Hestia to her room, tucked her in, and then returned to his own bedroom. After a brief shower, he too fell asleep.
Meanwhile, as Aston entered his dreams, the goddess Freya had already left the Hostess of Fertility and returned to her Familia's residence. Despite her loss in the argument with Hestia, Freya showed no signs of frustration. Her seductive face was adorned with a content smile.
"That child's soul is shining ever more brightly, so bright that I want to embrace him tightly and shower him with affection," Freya mused. "But not yet, not now. His soul can still shine brighter. I must resist, continue to resist," she said, performing indescribable actions and emitting sounds of painful restraint. Unfortunately, this beautiful scene was witnessed by no one.
Aston was unaware of Freya's growing fascination with him.
After a night's rest, Aston handed over the safety of Eina and the others to Lyd and his group and then headed towards the Tower of Babel. Before leaving, he gave Eina the Thunder Dragon Magic Lacrima and Airel the Healing Fruit. Eina acquired the Thunder Dragon Magic, and Airel consumed the Healing Fruit. Due to the system's creation, Eina smoothly merged with the Thunder Dragon Magic Lacrima without any trouble.
Excited by gaining such immense power, Eina impulsively kissed Aston, though she later ran back to the villa in embarrassment.
Airel, after seeing Eina's initiative, also considered doing the same but was unable to, as the taste of the Healing Fruit caused her continuous retching, leaving her incapacitated.
When Aston arrived at the meeting point, he found that Ryuu had already reached there before him. Aston suspected that Ryuu might have come two hours early, as he himself had arrived half an hour earlier, yet still found Ryuu waiting for him.
"When I first noticed your uniqueness, Aston, I had this thought, and yesterday's events confirmed my suspicions," Ryuu said with a smile upon seeing Aston.
"Thank you for your kind words," Aston replied with a smile, and then they started conversing.
A few minutes later, Ais and her companions also arrived. Upon seeing Aston, Tiona excitedly leaped onto his back.
"I heard about it, Aston," Tiona said cheerfully, resting her chin on Aston's shoulder. "Your Hestia Familia has recruited dozens of elves, and now people are calling it the Elf Familia."
"Congratulations, Aston, the Hestia Familia is growing stronger," Tione congratulated with a smile.
"Congratulations, Aston," Ais also spoke up to congratulate him.
"Thank you," Aston responded with thanks to each.
After a brief exchange, Aston and the others resumed their journey.
"Let's stick to the 41st and 42nd floors today," they decided.
"We can't venture as deep as last time," Tione suggested as they moved forward.
"That's rich coming from you, Tiona. Last time we went that deep because of you," Tione's sister, Tiona, immediately retorted.
Caught off guard by Tiona's comment, Tione felt a bit embarrassed, but she didn't want to be lectured by her sister and quickly started arguing back.
"What did you say!"
Aston, watching the sisters' routine bickering, shook his head with amusement.
Then, Ryuu joined in the conversation.
"Indeed, it was reckless for us to go so deep with just a few of us. We were lucky not to encounter a Balor last time. If we had, we would have had no choice but to run," Ryuu said softly.
"Speaking of which, I don't really know what a Balor is like. Can you tell me?" Aston asked, curious about the Balor.
"It's a giant Fomorian, with the strength of a Level 7. It also has a beam that can penetrate all defenses, including magical ones," Ryuu explained.
(a/n: I've never seen this creature; let's go by the mythological descriptions.)
"If you're hit by its beam, it's certain death. And that's not even the worst part."
"The real trouble is dealing with the swarm of Fomorian that disturb you while you're trying to fight the Balor."
"These Fomorians are the biggest obstacle in subduing a Balor."
"It's easy to get distracted by the Fomorians' attacks, and if you lose focus, you're likely to be hit by the Balor's lethal beam and vanish," Tione added, pausing her argument with her sister to explain to Aston.
"Is that so?"
"Well, hypothetically speaking, if I can handle the Balor on my own, could you all keep the Fomorian army at bay, so they don't disturb me?" Aston pondered after hearing Tione's response, then looked at the group and asked.
At this statement, Tione and the others were taken aback, exchanging looks of surprise.
Then, with some disbelief, Tione asked Aston for confirmation.
"Are you serious about this, Aston?"
"Yes, I am," Aston replied with a smile.
Aston was confident in his own strength. He believed that with a single shot of his powerful attack, he could take down the Balor. His favorite targets were large creatures like this.
Even if it was fast, he could keep up with it, charging his attack while in pursuit, and then launch a devastating blow.
***
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