Chapter 155: Prelude to Disaster!
Within the Astraea Familia, apart from their goddess, the only one who could gather everyone together and was deeply trusted by them was Alise alone.
"Today, everyone has knelt to my righteousness! Hmph, truly befitting of me!"
However, speaking superfluously was also one of her characteristics.
After a proud laugh, Alise opened the next topic under the cold gazes of her team members.
"The main purpose of today's meeting is as follows."
"I received a piece of intelligence from the guild, saying that some activities of Evilus have been spotted in the lower floors of the dungeon."
Alise put away her playful expression, and her serious demeanor made her seem much more trustworthy.
"Evilus... the 'Rudra Familia'?"
Understanding the current situation of Evilus, Ryuu directly mentioned the name of a familia.
At the same time, Alise nodded to her.
"That's right, a year ago, although we factions of 'Order' suffered heavy losses in the 'Nightmare on the 27th Floor,' the damage to Evilus was even more severe."
"Now, the only ones who can still operate normally within Evilus should only be the 'Rudra Familia'."
"We really have to thank Finn for this."
Lyra, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
"Although his approach at the time was quite ruthless, it was thanks to his leadership in the counterattack that Evilus was severely damaged to this state."
"Are you sure it's the 'Rudra Familia'? Is it possible that it's the remnants of other familias?"
Facing Lyra's question, Alise shook her head.
"There's no way to confirm, and that's our mission this time."
"Commissioned by the guild, we 'Astraea Familia' are to conduct an investigation in the lower floors."
"The mission is divided into three phases; just finding some clues would be considered mission completion, and it would be even better if we could stop the enemy's plans."
"The best outcome would be capturing some members of the 'Rudra Familia'."
"It's not another trap, right? Just like the nightmare incident on the lower floor before…"
Lyra was still a bit apprehensive, but she didn't finish her sentence.
"Even if it's a trap, we must go, even if it's just to prevent that kind of tragedy that happened before from happening again," Alise replied to Lyra, with a gleam of justice in her eyes that left everyone present unable to retort.
"After today's meeting, everyone should prepare quickly. Without further ado, we will set off tomorrow."
...
The meeting concluded.
Members of Astraea Familia left the meeting room and began to make their own preparations.
At this time, Ryuu followed Alise back to her room.
"Lion, do you need something from me?"
Alise, looking at the blond-haired elf who had been following behind her, asked with some confusion.
"That, that…"
Ryuu was a bit embarrassed, but to clear the doubts in her heart, she still spoke up:
"What does Alise think about 'Justice' based on sacrifice?"
"I... I just can't agree with it, even if I am wrong, and Kaguya is somewhat right, but even so, I can't agree with her point of view."
"Starting with the premise of sacrifice, isn't that the same as succumbing to 'evil'?"
"That sort of thing, it's definitely better if we can save everyone, so, Lion, I prefer your point of view!"
Alise, with her hands on her hips, answered Ryuu without hesitation.
Her posture, with her chest puffed out and head held high, combined with the girl's somewhat 'thin' figure, unexpectedly looked a bit pitiful.
"Eh?!"
Ryuu was stunned.
She never expected her point of view to be so easily affirmed amidst her confusion and hesitation.
Alise looked at the elf girl standing dazedly in place and reached out to hold her hands.
"But, I don't know if that's 'right' or not."
"After all, I also feel that it's impossible for everything to go smoothly on the path to 'ideals'."
"I think there's probably no real answer to this."
"Even the pure, righteous, wise, and perfect me cannot come up with a correct answer."
It was unclear whether her last sentence was a joke or her actual thoughts.
But at that moment, the smile that Alise revealed was indeed as soft and beautiful as a flower in Ryuu's eyes.
"Kaguya seems to have gone through a lot in the Far East, probably seeing parts of the world we can't even imagine."
"Perhaps it's because she knows some things we don't know that Kaguya would say such harsh words... no, it's probably because she wants to protect what she truly cherishes."
"And Lion, your specialty is 'being good at having her weaknesses pointed out,' after all."
The girl, as the captain, laid out Kaguya's thoughts while teasing the blond-haired elf girl.
"However, 'ideals' are also very important."
"I don't know if it is correct, but 'giving up' is definitely wrong."
"Even if mocked, even if insulted, even if it's just nice words, one should still aim to achieve their ideals."
"Otherwise, wouldn't we become 'weaklings' who will accept the outcome no matter what?"
"So, pursuing 'ideals' is definitely meaningful!"
Every word of Alise struck deeply into Ryuu's heart.
Large ripples stirred in her heart, which was earnestly seeking 'justice.'
"What if... there's someone who can realize my 'ideals'?"
Feeling the turmoil inside, Ryuu asked Alise again.
And hearing this question, Alise laughed.
"Don't you know, Lion? We usually call such a person."
"Hero!"
...
On the other side,
Luke effortlessly blocked Tione's resistance by bringing up Finn.
Tiona, left without her sister's support and protesting alone, was eventually ruthlessly suppressed.
After successfully negating the proposal of the amazoness sisters to enter the dungeon, Luke was ready to take the three girls back to their familia residence.
However, just as he turned around, an unusual sensation flashed through his heart.
He abruptly stopped, turning back towards the direction of the dungeon.
He felt an ominous premonition, a warning from 'intuition.'
"This feeling... not now, but is something going to happen soon?"
Luke stood there, pondering.
As his strength increased, the accuracy of his premonitions also significantly improved.
Finn, for instance, even possessed a nearly 'abnormal' predictive ability with a hundred percent accuracy.
Luke would definitely not ignore this feeling, but strangely, it wasn't intense.
"It seems I need to be more vigilant these next few days."
Shaking his head, Luke kept this matter in mind.
Without further thought, he turned and left the central plaza near the Tower of Babel.
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