Astrea Record: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Tales of Heroes - Volume 3 - Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

A Hero’s Trail

She was a hero.

Even now, crippled by disease, standing at death’s door, with the very last of her life melting away like a snowflake, Alfia was a hero.

“Haaaaaaargh!!”

“Luminous Wind!!”

She danced between the blades of justice, nullified the flames that bore down on her like a hammer, and with a sweep of her arm unleashed the gospel that swept everything away.

She was a hero. In power, in strength, in appearance. Though she walked the path of evil, she was a hero nonetheless—perhaps the worthiest of the title by far.

“Mages!” screamed Lyra. “Keep peltin’ her with spells! Don’t let up!”

“Keep fighting!” shouted Kaguya. “Don’t give up, and don’t run!”

Their faces were stained in blood, but none of them took their eyes off the witch for a moment.

“Answer that monster with everything we have!!”

The disciples of justice raised a rallying cry in response to Kaguya’s words.

“I can’t show my back! Not to her!”

Clad in a verdant light and gripping her two swords, one elf ran forward, her mind attuned to nothing but the blood-spluttering hero before her.

“We have to surpass her! It’s the only way!”

Everything accelerated. Swords, shields, staffs. Flashes, slashes, bursts, and roars. Even their minds. The disciples of justice devoted everything they had to the pursuit of more and more power.

“Alga! Alga! Alga!!”

Each time she spoke the word of power, more and more of Alize’s energy was drawn from her body and into her magic. The fires around her grew and roared, and at last, they collided with the sound of the witch.

“Alvarna!”

“Gospel!”

Their blazing movements were like a shower of meteors. The shooting stars of justice left glowing paths in their wake, combining their radiant light to extinguish evil.

“Alize… Girls…”

The gods watched from atop their cliff. Beside Astrea, the primordial darkness donned a smile.

“A battle of good and evil—their last battle, at that. Yes, this is what I wanted to see!”

Erebus shivered and spread his arms.

“This is your story, connecting the past to the present, and stretching on into the future!!”

Beneath his and Astrea’s watchful gazes, the black star of evil faced off against the myriad comets of justice.

Until…

“O cursed root of my blessing, O maledict birth. O sin of mine, my twinn’d half’s demise…”

The witch began a third incantation.

“That’s not her usual spell! It’s a new one!”

“Wait, this is…”

“It’s an ultra-long chant!”

It was not her wave of sound, focused on speed. Nor was it her magic-nullifying enchantment. Lyana, Maryu, and Celty, being the mages of the group, were the first to realize that fact. The witch had been concealing a third ability this entire time and was just now invoking it.

“Grh! Stop her! Don’t let her finish!!” yelled Kaguya. She could feel in her bones that whatever Alfia was planning, it would surely end the battle in one fell instant.

Lyu and the rest of her familia charged the witch, like bees swarming a scent they can’t ignore.

Many times their blades rang out; a vortex of strikes that birthed gouts of flames and gusts of wind, creating an inescapable realm of justice. However, the song of evil went on unhindered.

“There is no ablution, purification, or solace. Heaven’s bell begets my sin.”

Alfia’s sonorous voice continued its ode to demise.

She’s dodging all our blows! She’s even fighting back!

Concurrent Casting! We can’t stop her!

It was a peculiar stance. With both arms hanging limply by her waist, she weaved to and fro like a weeping willow, evading every last swing the girls took at her. Alize and Lyu were shocked to see that none of their attacks were connecting at all; the witch paid no heed to their consternation and struck the two girls in their plate armor with a sweep of her chopping hand.

Even Riveria and Gareth were distracted, their eyes drawn away from Delphyne and toward the melody of battle unfolding at the other end of the floor.

“This incantation… This flood of magic! There’s no mistake; it’s Alfia’s final spell!!”

“You mean the one she used to finish off the Leviathan?! Is she crazy? She’ll destroy us—and the whole floor, too!”

They were the only two beings present who had witnessed that spell before, at the conclusion of one of the Three Great Quests. More than anyone else, they feared what was about to be unleashed.

“Why, Alfia? Why do you seek destruction? If you have so much power, then can’t you find another way?”

But Alfia ignored the high elf’s pleas.

“O bugle of the gods. O harp of spirits passed, O melody of light; all traces of my unpardonable act.”

Discarding her silence, the witch drew deeply and allowed everything within her to become her strength.

“O wretched life of mine; the god’s most blessed craft, hearken now my hate!”

She laid her heart bare, using the key of hate to unlock the belfry of her sin.

“Here is my confession! The price of my sin, I pay in full!”

Her chant reached a crescendo as it approached its conclusion. The eyes of every girl in Astrea Familia beheld the same blinding light. A powerful, all-consuming…gray. Not the white that she could never attain, but a cruel reminder of the sin that tainted her very soul.

Then Alfia raised one arm and pointed up, and a magic circle appeared above her head, above which spawned a large gray object in the rough shape of a church bell.

“Hear the howl of the holy belfry!”

Everything shook. It sounded nothing like it should. It was a noise with no future—an awesome, magnificent sound that heralded the end of days.

Lyu felt trapped in time.

Alize felt frozen in ice.

Kaguya was awestruck.

Riveria and Gareth looked on in horror. The black winds calmed, and even Delphyne was hesitant.

There was no stopping her now. The ash-gray bell that hung above her shone with searing light, then cracked, and burst open, releasing a howl of destruction that swept the land.

“Genos Angelus.”

It was the epitome of ruin. It snuffed out all the flames, quenching light from the floor in an instant. It shattered the land, extinguished fires, and broke the trees.

Pure destruction. That’s what was coming for them. The waves it left in its wake were enough to strip the adventurers of their gear and cause blood to seep from their eardrums. Moments later, the true blast bore down on them like a god-slaying hammer.

It was the cry of a Level 7 who wanted everything to perish.

The effect range was over one hundred meders. It couldn’t be dodged. It couldn’t be blocked. This would spell the end of Astrea Familia.

But just then…

“Finally, my time to shine!”

One of the girls started running straight at her.

“Raaaaaaaaaaahhh!”

Before anybody could stop her, Lyra pulled the shield off her back and threw herself at the oncoming sound, curling herself up to fit fully behind it. Immediately upon impact, the shield shattered into a million pieces, but not without first neutralizing the effect of Alfia’s spell.

“Wha—?!”

Kaguya, Riveria, and even Alfia couldn’t believe their eyes. It was the witch herself who first realized what had just happened.

“That was my Silentium Eden! But how?!”

Only one among them possessed the knowledge to answer her. After flying halfway across the battlefield and rolling painfully across the ground, Lyra shot her a smile.

“What’re you complainin’ about?” she sneered. “You’re the one who gave it to me.”

It had happened just a few short hours prior, after Kaguya had split off to fight Vito. In order to make up for the girl’s absence, Lyra had moved up to the front lines…or so she had made it seem. In truth, she had been aiming for a specific moment.

“Raaaahhh!!”

“A shield bash? Are you playing dwarf, prum?”

At that time, it was this very same shield that Lyra had used to attack Alfia. And so the shield had come into contact with the witch’s magical barrier!

“You mean, back then…?!”

“Perseus worked together with that Cyclops to make it happen. This shield can steal any magic spell… Well, it could until it broke.”

Finn had already informed Lyra about Alfia’s spell far in advance. As the witch seethed, the prum calmly explained how she had performed her trick.

“Hermes gave us the design. It’s based on one of Zeus’s old shields. What did he call it again…?”

Lyra paused for a moment, then grinned.

“Oh yeah. Aegis—that was it.”

“Hrh…?!”

That was the name of a legendary artifact passed down by Zeus Familia. A shield that could ward off any calamity and could even reflect a petrifying gaze back at its wielder. There wasn’t a single member of Hera Familia who didn’t fear its awesome might.

“Alize! Leon! Now’s your chance,” she cried. “Beat her to a sorry pulp!”

Right after Alfia’s ultimate spell was blocked and the magical aura around her died down, the witch began spluttering blood. It was then, in her moment of weakness, that the two girls rushed in to finish her off.

Two swords of justice, and one of order, each draped in their own bearer’s magical enchantments.

The light of stardust and petals of crimson. Lyu and Alize ran like the wind, like the roaring flames, into the opening that Alfia had finally conceded.

Ultra-close range…

Alfia already knew.

There’s no avoiding it!

She already knew where those blades of justice would fall.

“Luminous Wind!”

“Arveria!”

A blazing gale swept the land. The pair’s combined attack was accompanied by a barrage of magic that seared the Level 7’s flesh.

The attack resulted in a flash of fire and starlight, compounding its devastation. Sparks flew from the point of impact, showering the floor in shooting stars, and everything disappeared in a huge cloud of dust.

The floor of the Dungeon shook, and the girls of Astrea Familia had to hit the deck to avoid being blown away. The rumbling continued for some time, even after the wind had completely died down. The sheer force dislodged several crystals from the ceiling, which fell and shattered nearby.

Soon the earthquake stopped, time began flowing again, and the cloud of dust began to settle, revealing Lyu, bent down on one knee, and Alize, using her sword as a crutch.

“Did we…get her?” asked Neze, still uncertain whether to be hopeful.

“If not, then we’re really screwed…” muttered Lyra, watching the dust cloud closely for any signs of movement.

It was Kaguya who spoke next.

“There’s no need to worry,” she said, glaring across the battlefield. Where her gaze fell, the witch slowly fell to the ground.

“Ghah…! Hrg…”

Alfia was sliced, burned, beaten, and spluttering blood. Death was coming, and it was only a matter of time before it arrived. She kneeled, both hands on the ground, her dress tattered and torn, defeated just short of attaining her goal.

“Haah… haah…!” Lyu panted, slowly staggering to her feet. “Alfia…!”

“We’ve won,” said Alize, drenched in sweat from head to toe.

“Cough! Cough! …Hrgh…hgh…hgh…”

Alfia’s blood spilled from her lips, onto a floor almost as torn as she was. After a short moment, a smile, fleeting and almost imperceptible, appeared on her lips.

“…Yes,” she said. “You’ve won.”

She rose to her feet, as though her body weighed nothing at all. Almost like the soul had already left her.

“What truly…noisy brats,” she said. “You did………you did well, to defeat evil…”

As the dancing sparks illuminated her fragile form, the ashen witch bestowed her blessing upon the travelers who had bested her.

“Alfia…”

Lyu didn’t dare move a muscle. What she and her friends had achieved was nothing less than impossible. Alfia was an unbeatable foe, and yet with enough determination and tenacity, they had beaten her. It had taken all their wisdom and knowledge. Their pride and bravery. Strong will and determination. But it was done.

Though the Great Conflict had left them mired in despair, they had risen above it.

That was the only reason they were still alive now. That simple, stubborn purity of will had allowed justice to go on.

“I have…one last thing to say…” said the witch, like a blasted tree about to crumble in the wind. “…Do not…forget this. Do not…forget my fate. This…is what awaits you all in the end…when the Black Dragon comes.”

“Rgh…”

“That is how fragile…and fickle a thing…justice truly is.”

The former hero left her final warning.

Here was a woman who had fought to save the world, who had gazed upon despair and been forever changed by it. The polite trappings of justice were not enough to sway her mind.

“However…”

As the girls all stood there in shock, Alfia mustered a smile.

“Even if all returns to ash, the path you girls have walked will not be in vain.”

““““!!””””

“If justice can indeed be passed on, then find hope…”

“Alfia…” muttered Lyu.

“Gather it all together…and raise the final hero…”

She was still smiling. Her bicolored eyes were distant, as though she could see where she was headed next.

She imparted her wishes to the elven girl’s heart. Engraved them on the inside of a shell of despair that would surely one day be opened.

“…Got it,” said Alize. “We’ll remember you…and what you just told us.”

Alfia gave a gentle smile and closed her eyes.

Then she turned her back on the girls and started walking, leaving a trail of bloody footprints across the shattered earth.

“Alfia! Where are you going?!” Lyu called out after her, but the woman didn’t respond. Not before she reached the edge of a deep, dark pit—the tunnel to the lower depths that Delphyne had wrought with fire. The molten rock walls were fluid and smooth, and even now gouts of flames spewed forth from it, as though it were an abyss terminating in the very pits of hell itself.

“I always wished to be consigned to ash,” the witch explained, “just as she was.”

She peered over the edge, toward the pit’s invisible bottom.

“Farewell, followers of justice. Farewell, Orario.”

Lyu finally snapped out of her stupor as she realized what the witch was planning. She began sprinting, but it was clear she would not make it in time.

Alfia turned back and offered the girls a smile.

“The future…is in your hands now.”

With that, she tipped herself from the precipice. In a matter of moments, she was swallowed by the flames, incinerating her hair, her clothes, and even her flesh.

And then she was gone, removed from this world by the judgmental fires of hell. Lyu kneeled at the edge of the pit, the sight of Alfia’s death forever burned into her eyes.

And in her memory still rang the words she swore she heard, right at the very end.

“Ah, Metelia, my beloved sister…”

“At last, at last, I can be with you once more…”

“Alfia’s gone…”

From a distant point, evil watched over the witch’s demise.

“…Thank you,” said Erebus, his voice swallowed by the raging fires. “I owe you a great debt.”

“Erebus,” said Astrea. “Your mightiest followers are no more. Your plan is finished.”

The dark god regained his smile.

“Really, Astrea? I think you’re forgetting someone, don’t you?”

As if on cue, a ferocious roar shook the cavern. Astrea’s adventurer escort paled as they turned to look at Delphyne, still going strong.

“Yours and Loki’s children are growing weak. Even if they find the will to go on, there is nothing more that they can do.”

“………”

“And don’t expect any reinforcements from above,” Erebus went on. “Even if Zald is dead, he won’t have gone down without a fight.”

Erebus swept his arms like an opera dancer, indicating first the fallen girls of Astrea Familia, and then the distant forms of Riveria and Gareth, still locked in battle with the monster. In fact, it was a wonder the latter two were still standing.

The only one still burning with hatred and determination was Aiz, but even her wind was beginning to die down. It was only a matter of time before the battle swung in Delphyne’s favor.

“The one in check here is you, my dear Astrea. The mortal world is on the brink of destruction.”

The dark god grinned and gave the goddess a sideways glance, but she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes were fixed on her children, who carried the light of justice with them.

“You’re wrong, Erebus. I came down here precisely to prevent that.”

Her indigo eyes twinkled like shooting stars, and Astrea immediately turned to leave. Her escort hurried to catch up with her, leaving Erebus to stare after her blankly.

“Oh, Astrea.” He shrugged. “You never do give up, do you? Not until the very end…”

He gave a genuine smile.

“You’re a fine woman, you know that?”

“Is everyone still good to go? The fight’s not over yet!”

Alize’s voice sounded downright unsympathetic after all the girls had just been through, like the crack of a whip spurring them all on to face their next battle.

“Lady Riveria has been fighting that monster with only Gareth and Aiz to help,” agreed Lyu. “We must join her!”

Lyu was raring to go once more, emboldened by her victory, and ready to fulfill Alfia’s dying wish.

“I get it, I really do, but…” whined Lyra. “We’re on death’s doorstep here! That beastie’s as powerful as a floor boss! How’re we meant to go up against it like this?!”

Lyra looked down at her hands. They wouldn’t stop shaking. It was obvious Alize and Lyu were only putting on brave faces.

None of the others were faring any better, either. Up front, Asta and Noin, in the center, Neze and Iska, and bringing up the rear, Lyana and Celty. These vibrant young girls were in a pitiful state, and their stamina and Mind had both reached rock bottom. There were eleven of them and not a single one had energy to spare.

“I’m at my limit, too!” Maryu lamented. “Alize, as a healer, I can’t allow us to fight any longer!”

As a result of her role, Maryu was always the one who kept tabs on the party’s health levels, and she never allowed her Mind to run dry. Yet right now, even she couldn’t muster much more than a feeble green glow.

Alfia had been so overwhelmingly powerful in spite of her handicap that Astrea Familia was forced to give everything they had to fight her. Now that it was over, there was nothing left. Alize and Lyu both made grim faces.

“We brought so many items with us, and we’ve used them all up…” muttered Kaguya. “Besides, even if we were at full strength, would we even be able to defeat that thing…?”

At that moment, the whole troop heard a familiar voice.

“Lift your heads, my children. You must not turn to fear and despair.”

“Lady Astrea?!” exclaimed Alize with surprise.

“Why are you here…and how?!” asked Lyu. “I thought deities were forbidden from entering the Dungeon!”

Her long walnut locks bunched on her shoulder as the goddess tipped her head and gave a coquettish smile.

“They are,” she said. “So don’t tell anybody, or else I’ll be in big trouble!”

“T-trouble’s not the word for it…!”

Lyu wasn’t sure where to begin, but before she could speak, Astrea shifted to a more serious expression.

“I brought enough elixirs for each of you,” she said. “Please use them.”

She presented a bag filled with eleven small bottles. The girls took one look and went wide-eyed.

“L-Lady Astrea, I love you!!”

“I love you too, Neze, as I do all of you girls.”

Astrea looked to each of them in turn.

“So please, win this fight, and come back to me alive.”

Astrea had braved the dangers of the Dungeon to see her children and share her blessing. It was enough to inspire all of them to live up to their goddess’s words. However, Lyra couldn’t find it in her to be convinced.

“…Lady Astrea, I’m really happy you came down here to see us. Really, I am. It’s just…we can’t. Kaguya’s right. That monster’s way too strong!”

“………”

“If only we had somethin’ to give us the edge…”

Lyra watched Delphyne raging in the distance as sweat dribbled down her brow. The god-slayer was a complete enigma. It was as mighty as some of the strongest floor bosses ever encountered, and in terms of level it was at least 6 or 7.

Alfia had been handicapped by her illness. It was a miracle that Astrea Familia had been able to beat her, but they had done so by seizing that slim chance of victory. However, Delphyne was completely different. With its constant regenerative capabilities, it was not unreasonable to say it outclassed the witch herself. To go in without a plan was tantamount to suicide. That was what Lyra was saying.

Lyu and the other girls looked to her in reluctant sympathy. None of them could think of a word to say in response, until…

“What are you talking about, Lyra? We do have something!”

“““What?”””

That cheerful, tone-deaf voice could only belong to one person. Lyu, Lyra, and Kaguya all looked to their fiery-haired leader in shock.

“Our goddess is here!” she said with a smile. “Doesn’t that tell you something?”

A deity could offer more than just potions. As Alize’s face lit up, Astrea gave her a soft smile.

At last, a groan came forth from the center of the black wind.

“Haah…haah…! Hrh…hrh…!!”

Aiz panted heavily, taking no notice of the sweat pouring off her. The wind had only just begun to groan, but the girl’s muscles and bones had been complaining for a long time already. She was incapable of withstanding the unrestrained might of Airiel for prolonged amounts of time, and her arms and legs were feeling the burn.

Her body was covered in open gashes, her muscles were torn, and her bones felt like they had been ground to dust. Her little finger was bent at an impossible angle from swinging her blade. She wrenched the finger back into place and gripped her sword once more.

“Nizelle!”

At Aiz’s word, her festering hatred poured forth. It gorged itself on her magical energy, turning her groans into screams and restoring the black wind that shrouded her. She couldn’t feel a thing anymore, but that was just how she liked it. Her hate was never-ending; as long as she used it as fuel, the flames of battle would never die out.

Aiz launched herself once more at Delphyne, without realizing or caring how closely death crept.

“Riveria!” yelled Gareth. “Use your magic and take care of its wings! Burn them, freeze them, whatever works! Once it stops moving, I’ll attack!”

The old dwarf’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his ax. But Riveria’s face went pale.

“Gareth?! What do you mean?!”

“I’ll hack my way to its magic stone, even if it kills me! I don’t know where it is, but if I keep slicing, I’ll have to get there eventually!”

“Are you drunk, fool?! Even Aiz can’t overcome that creature’s regeneration! All you’ll do is get yourself killed!”

“Then what do you suggest?! The girl is in danger! If we waste any more time, we’ll all be doomed!”

“Grh…!”

Their argument tipped the scales this way and that, but Delphyne was ready to sweep them aside without waiting for them to come to a decision. There wasn’t enough time to come up with an optimal plan, and so Riveria was forced to make a difficult decision.

“Aiz…Gareth… I…!”

But at that moment, a chain of magical blasts, stardust, flames, and lightning struck the beast head-on.

“Graaaaaaaahhh?!”

“Magical bombardment?!”

“It can’t be! It’s…!”

Gareth and Riveria were stunned. Then the dwarf recognized several figures, running like the wind to assist in Aiz’s fight.

“Astrea Familia!” he yelled.

“Hrh…what…?”

Aiz paused and looked up in confusion, seeing the multicolored missiles striking her foe out of nowhere.

“You must have taken leave of your senses,” someone said, “to take on a beast this size by yourself.”

“…!”

“Let’s join forces. Will you help?”

When Aiz saw who it was, her eyes widened. Standing there before her, her cloak and golden hair fluttering in the wind, was Lyu, a wooden sword in her hand.

“Join forces…? Never! That monster’s mine! Stay out of my way!”

Once she understood what the elf was saying, Aiz screamed. Lyu silently approached the girl and…

“Ow!”

…conked her on the head.

“Listen to me,” she said sternly.

“That hurt…”

“You need to calm down. Do you have any idea how difficult you’re making life for Lady Riveria?”

Lyu looked down at the girl, a full head shorter than her, and sighed. But it was a sigh that was aimed, at least in part, toward herself.

“I wonder if that’s what I looked like, back when we fought. It’s embarrassing.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“…Nothing,” she said, abandoning that line of thought and peering into Aiz’s golden eyes. “Just listen to me. We can only beat this monster by working together.”

“No! Let me do it! I want to do it!”

At that moment, a second voice came to Lyu’s rescue.

“You can’t just say gimme, gimme, Sword Princess! Or maybe I should just call you ‘Shorty’ from now on!”

“Shorty?!”

Alize leveled a finger at Aiz’s shocked expression.

“You might end up hurting yourself so bad, you’ll never be able to eat a Jyaga Maru Kun ever again!” she declared.

“B-but I like Jyaga Maru Kun!”

“And besides,” Alize went on, in a less frivolous tone that sounded more like the voice of a gentle big sister, “you’ll make everyone who cares about you sad. Only monsters make people cry! You don’t want to be a monster, do you?”

“…!”

As the girl’s exhaustion set in, the hate and anger swirling around inside her finally began to fade. At the mention of her fellow familia members, the light returned to her eyes, and she turned to look down toward the Dungeon floor.

There, she saw Riveria and Gareth, fighting to protect her.

Alize’s words struck a chord somewhere deep within her heart, and Aiz found herself slowly coming to her senses.

“It’s okay,” Alize said. “We’re all at our strongest when we fight together! If we join forces, that big, bad monster’s going down! Wink!  ”

Alize beamed like the sun.

“So put away that nasty wind, okay? You don’t need it with all of us here.”

“…Okay.”

At last, her words seemed to get through to the girl. The black wind faded away and reason returned to her eyes.

“That’s our leader for you,” said Lyu to herself. “Nobody can compete with her when it comes to dealing with children.”

Then her expression turned grave as Delphyne’s furious roar shook the Dungeon.

“Looks like it’s finished regenerating…” said Alize. “Here it comes, everybody! We three need to keep it busy while our allies set up!”

“Got it!” replied Lyu.

Alize looked between them, frowning. “But what are we meant to do?” she asked. “I slashed and slashed, but nothing seemed to work…”

Nobody knew more about the creature’s terrifying capabilities than the one who had been fighting it head-on. She glanced down at her sword, Desperate, and at the cracks running along its length. But just then, Alize puffed out her chest so hard it looked like she was about to topple over backward.

“Don’t you worry about that!” She grinned. “As of a few moments ago, we pure, pretty, and perfect girls are now pure, pretty, and perfect Level 4 girls! Heh-hem!”

“What’s that?! Every member of the familia ranked up at once?!”

Riveria struggled to process what she was seeing, when all of a sudden came the voice of none other than Astrea herself.

“That’s right,” she said. “I updated their Status a moment ago. Their earlier victory earned them plenty of excelia.”

“Wait,” said Gareth. “One shocking turn of events is quite enough for one day, I fear. I was just coming to terms with Alfia’s defeat, and now this?! Perhaps I’m getting too old…”

“You’re not alone,” Kaguya said. “I’m having trouble processing it myself…”

The reckless behavior of their patron goddess was enough to put exasperated smiles on all the girls of Astrea Familia. Among them, Lyra alone wore a fearless grin that much resembled that of Braver.

“But just think how much stronger we are now,” she said. “That’s eleven levels worth of improvement—we gotta be able to do somethin’ with that, right?”

Unless we concentrate our attacks, we’ll never cut a path to its magic stone!

That was what Gareth had said when first confronted with the beast’s regeneration. The creature’s unique skill was healing, not defense or evasion, and so with enough firepower, it was possible to overcome the rate of regeneration and expose the core. With that, it wouldn’t matter what level the monster was—one attack would end it.

For the new-and-improved Astrea Familia, such a feat should be possible.

“To think there was enough excelia to rank up all eleven of them!” exclaimed Riveria. “Alfia really was something else!”

“Indeed,” said Gareth, “but this does give us a chance…!”

Excelia from a target was divided among its recipients according to their contribution. The received value could therefore fall below the amount required for a great feat. The fact that this didn’t happen, despite the eleven-way split, only went to show how formidable a figure Alfia really was.

Lyra felt the new weight of her weapons in her hands. Overflowing with an innate sense of power, she turned to Gareth and Riveria and explained her plan.

“Might take us a while to get used to our new strength,” she said, “but now that the gang’s all here again, how’s about we have a real raid battle, like we were always meant to? Give us a buff, Nine Hell.”

“Shields in the front, mages in the back,” said Kaguya. “And my sword will be wherever it can do the most damage. After this, it’ll finally be over.”

Riveria and Gareth both nodded. In bitter spite of their wounds, they summoned the last of their strength.

“Alize! Riveria’s magic is here! And all the others, too!”

The jade light of Veil Breath enveloped the trio as Lyu deftly evaded a fireball and turned to look behind her. There, Gareth, Riveria, Lyra, Kaguya, and the rest of Astrea Familia clanged their swords, raised their shields, and readied their staffs.

“Right!” Alize chirped back. “Then let’s finish what we came here to do! It’s been a long time coming!”

Alize leaped toward the dragon, and the other adventurers followed. Only one figure stood back, watching over the fight.

“Erebus…” Astrea muttered. “These girls are about to draw the curtain on the battle you started.”

The searing air, filled with sparks, carried her words to the top of the bluff where Erebus stood, but the dark god did not answer. He simply narrowed his gaze, watching events play out with neither fury nor spite. In the void of his silence, one sound triumphed.

“I will not lose here,” Lyu yelled. “I must carry her justice into the future!”

And so the fate of this battle was already set in stone.

With her detection magic, Lyana swiftly deduced the location of Delphyne’s magic stone. Then eight fighters in all—Lyu, Alize, Kaguya, and Lyra among them—got up close and personal in an attempt to overwhelm the beast.

The two greatshields of Gareth and Asta protected the back ranks, where Maryu treated the party’s wounds before they grew too serious. At the very rear stood Riveria, the main target of the party’s defense and support.

Free of distractions or interruptions at last, she recited the words of her ultra-long incantation: a spell powerful enough to hit across floors, and the reason for her inclusion on the monster-slaying unit. At last, she unleashed it, and it joined Celty’s and the other mages’ spells, dealing a fearsome barrage of blows to the dragon that destroyed its wings, its armor-like scales, and tore a path to the core.

Then the wind sang once more. Aiz, her silver sword wrapped in a tornado, combined all her magic and skills into one devastating swing that shattered the purple orb into a million pieces.