Astrea Record: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Tales of Heroes - Volume 2 - Chapter Ep

EPILOGUE

All You Need Is Justice

With night’s arrival, lights and sounds were extinguished all across the city. Magic-stone torches and lamps were switched off to conserve precious resources, and people huddled together in silence. Not out of fear of the night, but of what they all knew was approaching.

Eventually, the only light remaining was that coming from Central Park. Familia members from all across the city had gathered there. Astrea Familia was no exception.

“All of Orario’s forces in one place,” mused Lyra as she looked around. “Wonder what all the fuss is about.”

“Don’t play dumb,” chided Kaguya. “You know very well.”

As did they all. Alize was grim-faced as she cast her eyes around at the other girls, then spoke what was on everyone’s mind.

“Yes,” she said. “The final showdown is almost upon us.”

Shakti of Ganesha Familia. Asfi and Falgar of Hermes Familia. Ottar and the Einherjar of Freya Familia. Riveria and Gareth, along with Aiz, Raul, and all the others of Loki Familia. Some silently felt the heft of their weapons, others fidgeted from side to side, while still others closed their eyes and waited.

Fear and nerves. Will and spirit. All these and more consumed the minds of those in Central Park, while Lyu quietly muttered beneath her mask.

“It’s midnight.”

All across the city, those clocks that still worked let out a chime. Their hands overlapped, signaling the end of one long day and the beginning of another.

All eyes were focused on the south gate of Babel, where a single prum stood.

“Listen up,” he said, and with that, the commotion died down in an instant. All present eagerly awaited—demanded—his next word, and Finn was unhesitant in giving it to them.

“The enemy’s true goal has been revealed. Everything until now, including the Great Conflict—it was all in preparation for this.”

“…What?”

Lyra, dumbfounded, spoke for all her incredulous peers, who couldn’t find the words to respond. The Braver’s words had stunned them all.

“Their true aim,” he said, “is to summon a monster of the Dungeon.”

This was the conclusion he and Loki had reached in the war room.

“The Evils have committed the sin of sending a god into the Dungeon,” he explained. “By using the god as bait, they plan to lure this monster to the surface.”

“Wha—?!”

Asfi was dumbstruck. And it wasn’t just her. All the adventurers were in an uproar over this new and unexpected piece of information. It was Kaguya who cried out before the flood of revelations overwhelmed her.

“W-wait,” she cried. “What’s this monster they plan to unleash? Surely you don’t mean some insignificant mook?”

“The details don’t matter, but suffice to say we believe our scouting parties have identified the target.”

As if already running short on time, Finn conveyed only the facts to all present. After the girls of Astrea Familia had repelled Olivas’s assault, Finn realized something strange about the exodus of gods that had occurred on the night of the Great Conflict. So two days earlier, he had a scouting team conduct reconnaissance in the Dungeon. The information those scouts brought back was revelatory.

“The target was sighted at noon on the twenty-fourth floor, travelling upward toward the surface and destroying everything in its path.”

“““…?!”””

Kaguya and countless other adventurers were lost for words.

“According to the scouts’ reports, the target is extremely large. Given the speed of its ascent and the scale of the destruction, the Guild believes that its combat ability is at least on par with a Monster Rex of the deep, perhaps greater.”

Soon a great panic swept over the crowd.

“…You can’t be serious,” said Falgar in disbelief.

“You’re telling me,” cried Asfi, her voice a shriek, “that the Evils sent their own god into the Dungeon to lure a force of nature up to the surface?!”

“Which means,” cried Alize, connecting the dots in her mind, “the enemy’s goal is…!”

“Yes,” said Finn. “To destroy Babel from beneath.”

At the very apex of Babel, Freya’s mirthless eyes gazed down on the adventurers gathered below.

“So they unleashed the might of a god within the Dungeon, calling forth that jet-black monster…”

“Yeah, and in the deep levels, too,” added Loki, seated on the arm of an armchair. “Those pitch-black critters are basically bred for killin’ gods. Dangle a divinity in front of ’em and they’ll go crazy tryin’ to get it… Even Ouranos’s prayers won’t be enough to keep ’em sealed down below.”

Loki Familia had encountered something similar once before, two years ago, when an evil god lured Aiz, then Level 1, down to the twelfth floor. There, the god unsealed his arcanum and summoned the Black Wyvern, an anomalous being whose power far outclassed the level where it appeared.

Loki could only assume that this monster would be similar.

“And to think this all managed to escape our notice, or even Ouranos’s,” remarked Freya, arching a well-trimmed eyebrow. “Or perhaps it’s fairer to say…they concealed it from us.”

“Yeah, I hate to admit it, but the Evils really pulled one over on us this time. That damn Erebus and his schemes.”

Meanwhile, away from Babel, on the edge of Central Park, Hermes muttered his thoughts aloud, gazing over at the adventurers gathered in the square.

“So this monster,” he mused. “I suppose there’s no question when it was summoned—on the night of the Great Conflict, right in the middle of the mass exodus.”

Astrea, standing nearby, nodded.

“Yes. It’s the only moment a god could have activated their arcanum without our knowledge.”

All the gods were slowly realizing the full extent of Erebus’s plan.

“The pillar of light that appears when a god is sent back is a manifestation of arcanum energy,” Astrea went on. “Take into account nine of them and…”

“Yeah, there’s no way we could detect what was going on underground with that kind of energy up here on the surface.”

There was simply too much interference. Erebus’s massacre on the surface completely masked the arcanum used in the monster-summoning down below.

Hermes narrowed his eyes. “It was a sacrifice, a diversion, and a smokescreen all at once,” he growled.

The nine pillars of light. They weren’t just meant to strike terror into the hearts of Orario’s citizens. There was a more sinister purpose behind them.

“And to think they didn’t just send back our gods,” continued Hermes, “but some of their own, as well. They sacrificed their allies just to make sure we didn’t catch on to what they were up to. That’s ruthless. And I’d put money on it being part of the plan all along.”

Astrea cast her eyes downward. “I just can’t believe it,” she said. “It’s all so terrible.”

Her eyes were tinged with sorrow as she spoke those terrified words.

“It can only be Erebus who planned this. We’re all dancing in the palm of his hand…”

“That’s why he calls himself absolute evil,” said Hermes. “There’s no god crueler on this earth right now.”

The messenger god followed up his casual remark with a fiery glare into the darkness.

“This explains why the Evils haven’t been putting their back into it lately. They’ve been letting us grow weak while their real force comes up from below. All these skirmishes and guerilla warfare…it was just to buy time.”

And now, the enemy’s greatest weapon was on its way. Once it arrived, it would be all-out war.

Meanwhile, Lyra seemed to be having trouble accepting Finn’s words.

“What the hell?!” she cried. “I thought Zald and Alfia were bad enough, but now we’ve gotta fight off a Dungeon boss as well?! We’re doomed! Tell us you got somethin’ up your sleeve, hero!”

Her panic spread throughout the crowd, and soon all of Central Park was in an uproar. Lyu was aghast at the prum girl’s uncharacteristic dismay.

“L-Lyra! I know things look bad, but you mustn’t demoralize us further!”

“Nah, it’s fine. Just watch.”

“Huh?”

Lyra gave a sly grin. “Who do ya think is standin’ up there? He’s our race’s shining beacon of hope!”

It was all an act. The next moment, that beacon spoke.

“We fight.”

“““!!!”””

Lyu, Alize, Kaguya, and all the adventurers gazed in shock. All except Lyra, whose faith in her hero had never been in question.

“We must split our forces in two,” Finn explained. “One group to stay up here and protect the tower from the Evils, and one to intercept and slay the monster before it reaches the surface.”

Finn looked around at the adventurers’ stunned faces as he told them of his plan.

“The bulk of our forces will make up the former group,” he went on, “while the latter will comprise only our strongest warriors. Our enemy’s goal, whether above or below, is the destruction of Babel with this pincer attack. We must not let them succeed.”

His calm and level words nonetheless worked the adventurers into a frenzy. Each of them noisily offered their own opinions of the enemy’s strategy.

“You call it a pincer attack, but that doesn’t do justice to what we’re dealing with here!” cried Asfi.

“True,” Falgar agreed. “The enemy is encircling us vertically instead of horizontally.”

“We won’t be able to directly support a team that’s multiple floors deep,” mused Shakti. “Or vice versa, for that matter. If either team falls, it’s over for Orario.”

It was Kaguya who finally said what everyone was thinking.

“Easy to say, but can it be done?”

But Finn was unperturbed.

“I assure you, it can.”

“!”

Kaguya was taken aback by the prum’s strong-willed words.

“But only we can do it,” he went on. “What is about to commence may well be the largest conflict since the age of the gods began and ‘quality over quantity’ became the law of the land.”

His azure eyes were as pure and still as the surface of a moonlit lake.

“If we do not fight here,” he demanded, “then who will? If Orario cannot succeed, then who can?”

His calm voice trembled with latent determination.

“Only we possess even the slightest chance of victory. But we will not stand idle while that chance slips through our fingers!”

Before long, the crowd stood silent. All of them hung on Finn’s every word. His speech imparted purpose; his words inspired courage. There was no tremor in his voice that could spoil the flag of battle he raised. Faced with his rousing leadership, every last adventurer found the heart to fight.

“There is one more thing I must ask of you,” he said. “Are you content to remain defeated?”

The whole crowd flinched, their eyes flayed wide. Lyu, Alize, Kaguya, Aiz, Riveria, Gareth, Raul, Asfi, Falgar, Shakti, Ottar, Allen, Hegni, Hedin, and the Gullivers. Each of them felt a flood of emotion as they recalled the events of that traumatic day.

“Do not lie to yourselves!” Finn yelled, his face a scowl. “We are defeated! The enemy has humiliated each and every one of us! So I ask you, my fellow lost souls: Look to your side! Where are your friends?”

Lyu’s fists shook.

Ardee was gone. All that remained was a burning anger and a grief no words could soothe.

“Look behind you!” Finn cried out. “Where are your loved ones?”

A solid chunk of the adventurers grimaced in pain, remembering the ones they’d failed to protect. That night of destruction and hellfire had stolen them all away.

Finn’s words ignited their emotions, propelling their spirits far beyond what all the fear, anxiety, and despair could suppress.

“If they are gone, who is left to avenge them? Who will carry on their wishes? To whom falls the task of vindicating our anger and grief?! It falls to us!! So do not let the despair hold you back! Break free from those chains! Do not let sorrow consume you! Let it be your courage and take back our future with your own two hands! Let nobody else experience the pain we have suffered!!”

All fists were clenched. A dwarven warrior raised his stout arms. An animal person archer roared. Even an elven mage forgot their modesty and bellowed at the top of their lungs. Meanwhile, an Amazon and a human pumped their swords in the air, and the prums placed their tiny hands to their chests.

“We already know the taste of defeat!” Finn yelled. “We drink the muddy waters we find there and nourish ourselves on it! In defeat, we grow strong! And we will not lose again!”

His moonlit eyes quivered with the irrepressible force of his spirit.

“Show me your pride, adventurers! You are the most tenacious, defiant, and hardheaded curs this world has ever known! We may have lost the battle, but show me who will win the war!!”

“This land is where legends are born! This is our city!!”

Central Park erupted into howls. Human and demi-human alike heard Finn’s passionate words and replied with unrestrained vigor.

Kaguya was shocked. “Our morale…it’s unheard of.”

Astrea Familia stood in shock as the fiery emotions of the crowd swirled around them. Their hearts raced, and their skin tingled.

“See? I told you he could handle it.”

The prum girl enjoyed a little chuckle at the whole thing playing out like she thought it would.

“Lyra…” muttered Lyu.

Lyra looked back up at Finn. “He’s a swindler and a cheat. The worst kind. He shouts his lies loud and proud and keeps repeating ’em until everyone’s on board. Then it becomes the truth.”

Her words were the words of his greatest critic, but her eyes were those of a girl in love. A girl who had found her light in the deepest depths of despair and had never let it go.

She smiled like a flower in bloom. “His words are our courage. That’s why he’s our race’s greatest hope.”

At her words, all the girls of Astrea Familia suddenly smiled. They knew what the fire in their hearts was; it was the courage that Finn had given them.

“The hero’s a swindler, huh? Yep, that sounds like something Lyra would say!” Alize laughed.

“In that case, let us all help make his lies the truth,” said Lyu.

“This is nothing,” yelled Finn, “but a trial for every one of us would-be heroes! A far greater threat awaits the world even after we succeed here!”

The Black Dragon. Apocalypse Incarnate. It was waiting at the end of the world, and this battle just a stepping-stone on the way.

“We must finish what Zeus and Hera began, and prove ourselves the next generation of heroes, in name and in deed!”

Finn’s words pierced the darkness and carried on the wind to evil’s ears.

“Look at you go, Finn. Can’t wait to kick the shit outta ya!”

Atop the colossal city walls stood Valletta, eyes trained on the soft light emanating from Central Park.

Vito turned Finn’s words over in his mind. “The land where legends are born. Ahhh, what a beautiful idea. I shall take great pleasure in destroying it.”

Meanwhile, Olivas simmered in a mixture of humiliation and rage. “Curse you, Orario… This time… This time…I will annihilate you…”

Somewhere in southern Orario, the two Dis sisters danced in the moonlight amid the ruins of the city, locked in a mutual embrace.

“Not long now, Hegni!” said Dina.

“See you soon, Hedin!” said Vena.

““Let’s have some fun together!!””

Meanwhile, beneath the city, Basram arranged his spirit warriors for combat, dominating their minds with a single wave of his staff.

“Oh my, how scary,” he said in response to the rumbling roars echoing down from the surface. “The city of heroes is exceedingly tumultuous today. We must ensure our evil is up to the task of subduing it.”

And finally, to the city’s northwest, Zald stood in an abandoned church, bathed in moonlight, and wearing a smile upon his lips.

“The roar of a beast unwilling to be devoured… Good, very good.”

“He’s the same noisy prum he’s always been,” replied the second conqueror, turning her closed, expressionless eyes to the sky outside.

Evil had completed its rise to power.

Justice had finished its fall from grace.

All that remained was as the dark god said: a battle between good and evil, between the ideologies of right and wrong.

“We fight against absolute evil!” Finn declared. “So let us all fight in Lady Astrea’s name!”

He held his spear aloft and cried:

“Let us fight for what is right!!”

The city shook as its inhabitants’ cries pierced the heavens, where their lost ones dwelled, and the people constructed a bridge of oaths to reach the stars. Like a meteor, their light ascended, blazing a trail across the crystal-studded sky.

A conflict between order and chaos.

A battle like no other.

The memory of forgotten heroes.

It would come to be known as “The War of Good and Evil.”

Mortals and gods would sing of it.

The stars themselves would write of it.

And so the greatest battle in Orario’s millennium-long history began on that fateful day.