Information Synopsis

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Volume 14 Edit

Intermission Edit

In the Room of Prayer at the Guild, Ouranos sensed and mentioned that "it" had begun to act, looking down at the floor below him, prompting Fels to ask through an occulus if it was the Juggernaut. The God confirmed it, stating that it was heading lower and lower at incredible speed, and added that the Monster Rex had appeared in the City of Water. When asked what he was going to do, Ouranos stated that he'd send reinforcements, vowing to try every possible means even if it ended up being wasted effort.

At the Hostess of Fertility, Ryuu's cup dropped to the floor, a piece cutting Syr's finger in the process. Seeing this, Syr left the pub through the back door, and Anya, Chloe Rollo, and Lunoire Faust complained that the gloomy mood was Ryuu's fault. Moments later, Hestia arrived, asking if they were best friends with the Elf, then asking if they were strong. Wondering what she was talking about, they asked her to explain herself, causing the Goddess to hand them the letter she'd received from Lili.

At the Hestia Familia home forge, Tsubaki noticed that a crack had appeared in the hammer she was using, wondering if she'd heated it up too much and whether she'd take the blame for it. Nevertheless, after muttering about it for a short while, she wondered if it was a sign of something bad happening. At that moment, Miach and Naaza arrived, asking her if she'd listen to their request.

Chapter 7 Edit

At the 25th Floor, Cassandra reflected on her prophesying power, noting that no one had believed her until now, and even though she tried to fight against it, the world seemed to laugh at her by creating even more despair.

Upon seeing the adventurers, the Amphisbaena roared, its left head breathing blue flames at them which created steam as it passed over the water. Aisha quickly order everyone to scatter; Welf grabbed Lili by her backpack, Aisha grabbed Haruhime, and Mikoto and Chigusa moved away as fast as they could. However, Cassandra failed to dodge in time, and was too far away for Daphne to save her in time, though fortunately Ouka protected her with his shield. As he pushed Cassandra away from him, he deflected the flames elsewhere, but the flames began to melt it, forcing him to abandon it. The group was surprised to see that the blue flames were still burning on the water, as it was water resistant and would completely incinerate whatever it hit until nothing was left.

While she contemplated on what to do, Aisha noticed that the other adventurers had run to the 24th Floor, cursing them but not blaming them, and wondered why the Amphisbaena had appeared so early. She thought about having everyone retreat into the 26th Floor's labyrinth area, but there was also the danger of the Monster Rex using the waterways to appear there, and they wouldn't survive if they were ambushed in a corridor. As she thought about it, she noticed something rain down on them, and the group realized that shards of crystal were raining down from the ceiling. The dungeon seemed to respond to the Amphisbaena's roaring, the rain becoming harsher, and finally the giant root at the ceiling came falling down, causing Cassandra mention that it was the "cage of despair" part of her prophecy. The root came crashing down on them, creating a dome like area where they were forced to face the Monster Rex in addition to blocking off all exits.

Having no other choice, Aisha told the others to fight, though she knew it was impossible due to the others despairing over their situation. She almost mentioned that she wished Bell was there, becoming angry and embarrassed at herself for entertaining the thought, but noted that they no longer had a "pillar" like Bell to support them. Nonetheless, despite lacking a "pillar", they had a "flame", and at that moment Welf composed himself and rallied the others. The others responded to his words and regained their will to fight, prompting Daphne to mention that they were too simple minded, nevertheless she also resolved herself to fight.

To begin, Haruhime began chanting Kokonoe, with Welf using his ice magic sword to freeze the water around the Amphisbaena. Surprised at first, the Monster Rex responded by using its blue flame to melt the ice, creating smaller islands which Aisha used in conjunction with her Hell Kaios to distract it while Haruhime finished her chant. To protect itself, the right head breathed crimson mist around itself which diffused the magic as it passed through, lowering Hell Kaios' power to the point where it dealt no damage when it finally reached the Monster Rex. Fortunately, Haruhime had finished chanting, applying Uchide no Kozuchi's effects to Welf, Ouka, Mikoto, and Daphne. She kept her last tail by her in case of emergency, as using all 5 at once would cause a mind down, and drank a magic potion to recover. To finish with the buffs, Daphne used Raumure on herself to slightly raise her endurance and largely raise her agility.

Welf, Mikoto, and Ouka attempted to attack, though they were quickly repelled by the Monster Rex swinging both of its heads. The right head tried to take out Mikoto, causing Daphne to save her, and upon attacking again, Ouka managed to get a hit in but the Amphisbaena's scales blocked his attack. In addition to diffusing magic, the mist acted as a curtain to make it harder to get the timing right, not to mention the water currents made it even harder. To top it off, the Amphisbaena dived and tried to attack them from below, and that combined with its blue flames raising the temperature made it an extremely dangerous opponent.

At the shore, Lili was confused about what she should do, overwhelmed by all of the information she had to take into account. Seeing this, Daphne told her that it was about "how you move the situation" rather than thinking "what you needed to do" before heading to help the others. Making up her mind, Lili ordered Mikoto to fall back to replace Daphne's position and use Futsunomitama. The Amphisbaena tried to stop the concurrent chanting Mikoto, though the others prevented it from doing so, causing it to dive. Lili ordered Mikoto to use her skill to locate it, pointing to where it was, and Lili relayed the information while the latter finished her chant. As per Lili's orders, Mikoto used Futsunomitama over a wide area, succeeding in dropping the roof of the root dome on top of the Monster Rex. The blunt force stunned the Amphisbaena, allowing the others to attack it, dealing considerable damage to it, and upon recovering it summoned Aqua Serpents and Harpies to assist it. Lili ordered Aisha and Daphne to distract it while the others dealt with the monsters, with Haruhime using her remaining tail on Chigusa and starting another Kokonoe chant.

As she watched the others fight, Cassandra compared them to herself, noting that they were strong being able to stand up to despair while she couldn't. She was lost in thought until Daphne punched her head, telling her to get back to her job of healing them, to which Cassandra asked how they were able to fight against despair. Daphne pointed out that they were all scared but still chose to fight anyway, rallying Cassandra's spirits in the process. Coming back to her senses, she cast Soullight on everyone, healing them of their wounds, and vowed to fight with them.

On the 18th Floor, a runner that had the information relayed to him informed Dormul, Luvis, and the others of the situation down on the 25th Floor, including the fact that the Amphisbaena had appeared despite its interval and the labyrinth area of the Great Fall collapsing. While Dormul and Luvis argued about who should stay behind, Tsubaki interrupted them, having heard them mention the Hestia Familia, with Anya, Chloe, and Lunoire standing behind her. The two quickly explained what they knew, telling them that they knew nothing about where Ryuu was when asked. Satisfied, Tsubaki informed them that her party would go, leaving the confused Magni and Modi Familia adventurers behind. While running, the four discussed the information, and while it was different than what they previously heard, they still agreed to head down to investigate.

Back on the 25th Floor, Welf used his ice magic sword again to refreeze the water, though as expected that attack didn't do any damage to the Monster Rex itself, nevertheless he succeeded in freezing a portion of the monster due to it having to focus the mist in front of itself to stand up to the Crozzo magic sword's power. The Hestia Familia continued to manage against the Amphisbaena, nonetheless they got a little ahead of themselves, allowing the monster to climb up the waterfall and jump back down at them. The Amphisbaena landed in the middle of the water, creating large waves that swept the vanguard into the water and slammed Lili, Haruhime, and Cassandra against the wall. Due to having been targeted, Mikoto sustained a bleeding head injury, her consciousness beginning to dim, and there was nothing she could do as a group of three Raider Fish bit her left arm, right foot, and shoulder.

Nearby, Welf, Aisha, Daphne, Ouka, and Chigusa managed to get above water, and at the shore, Cassandra was down due to protecting Lili and Haruhime from a chunk of ice with her body. As soon as the Amphisbaena resurfaced, it began spamming its blue fire at its surroundings, setting the root dome on fire and forcing the adventurers to dodge its attacks. One blast almost hit Lili and Cassandra but Haruhime pushed them away, getting caught by the blast in the process. Seeing their precious companions taken down, Ouka and Aisha felt anger toward the Monster Rex, refusing to stop fighting, which allowed them to hear the two chanting. At that moment, Ouka began running, shouting to Welf at the same time to use his magic sword. The Amphisbaena immediately turned its attention to the magic sword attack, using its mist as a shield to weaken its effects again, allowing Mikoto to take advantage of the lack of mist to use Futsunomitama on it. As the Amphisbaena was right above her, the Futsunomitama also affected her, breaking her bones and twisting her organs. Despite this, she continued to sustain her magic, which Ouka took advantage of to increase the effectiveness of his attack and decapitate the Monster Rex's right head just as the magic ended. At the same time, Haruhime, who was protecting herself from the fire with her Goliath Robe, finished chanting Kokonoe and used it on Aisha, who rushed to at the Amphisbaena. She cut open its neck, making the blue fire leak onto itself and set it on fire, finishing it off with Hell Kaios at point blank range.

Once the battle was finished, the group recovered Haruhime and Mikoto and began to heal wounds with their available resources. Before they could celebrate, the floor began to collapse due to the amount of damage it took during the battle. Hearing a sound above them, they saw Tark and three others trapped above, the latter cursing Jura that this wasn't what they expected. Tark and his companions began trying to escape by jumping down onto the remaining part of the root dome and climbing up the west cliff, showing the Hestia Familia alliance a way out, though the latter got into an argument over whether they should look for Bell or escape. Daphne noticed that Cassandra was thinking out loud about her prophecy, staring at the girl who was talking to herself. Realizing what her prophecy meant, Cassandra told the others to head east instead down to the 26th Floor, only to be rebuked by Daphne who'd had enough of her prophecies. To Daphne's surprise, Cassandra refused to back down, successfully managing to convince her, though Daphne stated that she believed in Cassandra rather than the girl's dreams. The group chose correctly as Tark and his companions were caught up in the collapse and were crushed. After realizing how close they were to dying, the group made their way to the 26th Floor while fending off the monsters that tried to attack them.

Chapter 8 Edit

Sometime later, Tsubaki's party arrived at the 25th Floor, shocked at the ruined area down below. After discussing what could've possibly happened, the party began making their way down the cliff. On the 26th Floor, the Hestia Familia alliance was busy fighting off the large number of monsters attacking them. Unbeknownst to them, the monsters had feasted on the remains of the adventurers on the 27th Floor and were hungering for more, setting their sights on the only living people left in the area. Welf struggled against a Kelpie, his Level 2 stats not enough to fight it head on, and its attack sent him flying into a wall. As he was about to get up, he noticed some ore fall out of the wall, realizing it was adamantite, and took it with them as the group moved on it.

The group then encountered Bors, who told them what had happened on the floor below, however as he didn't know that Bell and Ryuu had survived, he told them that he believed them to be dead. The group was affected by the news, nevertheless they were forced to run to avoid more monsters, and they soon ended up in an intersection with monsters coming in from four directions. Fortunately, they managed to escape by distracting the monsters with the smell and smoke of their Morbul, but once again they were put in a difficult situation, this time ending up in a dead end room. Aisha ordered Bors to tell them everything that happened, prompting Bors to repeat what he said earlier, but added that he saw Ryuu using healing magic on Bell, raising the group's spirits. As the group decided on what to do, Welf recalled what Hephaestus had said to him about smithing, and decided to smith a new magic sword right then and there in the room. The others were surprised at his decision, with Lili protesting it, nonetheless he pointed out that their only way out was a magic sword, adding that he had everything he needed.

The others agreed and he began smithing while they protected him. Unfortunately, his lack of experience dealing with adamantite proved to make it hard for him, in addition to unnecessary thoughts filling his mind. Thankfully, he remembered that he'd been taught as a child to "listen to the hammer's voice", and told it that he wanted to help his friends. He began being able to smith it properly, and decided he'd surpass ordinary magic swords, vowing that he'd surpass both Hephaestus and Bell. A short while later, the monsters succeeded in making their way into the room from the hallway, forcing the group to form a circle. Ouka ended up getting hit and was about to be attacked by several Mermen when Welf saved him with the newly finished magic sword. Requesting that Cassandra hold the hilt with him, he stabbed the sword into the ground, its flames moving through the ground and erupting as soon as it reached the monsters, essentially bypassing his companions. Cassandra realized that the 16th line of the prophecy referred to Welf creating the magic sword. At the same time, she figured out that the reason Welf didn't have a specific death in the prophecy was because he'd still be alive and she'd help him, though due to her changing the future he still had all of his limbs.

On the same floor, Tsubaki sensed Welf's achievement, but decided to focus on fighting the monsters attacking them instead of trying to explain it. As Chloe and Lunoire weren't adventurers, they asked the other two if this was what the dungeon was usually like, prompting the latter to tell the former that this was an irregular. On top of that, Anya stated that there was something dangerous on the same floor, above, or below them, mentioning that her tail was reacting. Unbeknownst to them, their presence had split the monster horde in two, lessening the load the Hestia Familia group had to deal with, and unbeknownst to them said group had gone down to the 27th Floor. Soon after, the four of them heard people screaming.

On the floor below, the Hestia Familia group dealt with the monsters that targeted them as they moved along, eventually reaching where the remains of the adventurers that had been massacred by the Juggernaut began. Bors stated that he couldn't hear the sounds of battle, causing Aisha to order him to take them to the room the battle took place. As they moved along, they heard a crying voice telling them not to go in the direction they were heading, nevertheless they ignored it since they needed to find Bell. When they reached the room, they noticed that aftermath of the battle, wondering what the monster was to cause that much damage. They then found a deep hole leading downward, causing Lili to think of the Lambton, with Bors also pointed out that the bodies of his companions were missing, and at the moment they were attacked by a group of more than 30 rare fish monsters made of stone known as Voltimeria. The fish like monsters were able to float up to three meters in the air and move at high speed, being referred to as "living fossils" or "flying fossils".

The Voltimeria surrounded the group, overpowering them with their superior numbers and speed, and the group thought they were done for when a horde of monsters led by a Lamia arrived at the room. To their surprise, the Lamia's group began assisting the adventurers, and Lili realized they were Xenos when the Lamia winked at her. Fear explained to them that although Ray's group was busy with a mission, Lyd's group was able to come help them on Fels' orders. Fels had split the Xenos force in Knossos, leaving half of it behind while the other half did whatever it took to reach the Hestia Familia group as fast as they could. When asked how they were able to find them, Arles looked up at Cassandra, causing her to realize that it was because of her rabbit charm, recalling the "black wave" and "rabbit charm" from the prophecy she had before the Daedalus Street battle.

Nearby, Lyd, Gros, and some other Xenos were fighting off the Voltimeria trying to attack Welf, Ouka, Chigusa, and Bors. Lyd directed Welf's gaze over to the side to Wiene in a black robe running through the battle and over to Haruhime, holding the latter in her arms, informing her that they'd come to save them. Soon after, Tsubaki's group arrived, and the three waitress were surprised to see monsters fighting each other. Tsubaki made her way over to Welf and noticed his new magic sword, understanding what it was just by looking at it, causing her to laugh, congratulating and informing him that he'd finally "come over to their side". Off to the side, Marie called out to Lyd and told him that Bell had been taken below, confirming what he'd heard from Fels. Hearing this, Lyd took most of the Xenos with him except for the ones disguised as adventurers, and one of them told Lili that Bell and an Elf adventurer had been taken below, possibly to the Deep Floors. The Xenos then added that Lyd offered to take them if they wanted to go, to which the others agreed aside from Bors who was forced by Aisha, and the group began their trip down to the deep floors.

Chapter 9 Edit

Down below on the 37th Floor, Bell recalled what Ais had said about the deep floors when he asked her. She had said that she first thought of the dungeon and monsters as scary when she went there, adding that he'd know what she meant when he got there. He was overwhelmed by the fact that they were down in a place he wasn't ready for, coupled with the fact that both he and Ryuu were injured; she was covered in burns, her clothes were melted in certain places, and her right leg was bent in an unnatural direction. His body was similarly burned, his right eyelid also melted, thus making him unable to open his right eye. Panicking because of the situation, there was nothing he could think of except trying to get her to wake up. He felt pieces of rock fall out from the tunnel they came from, reminding him of the Juggernaut and making him realize that it was coming after them.

The thought whipped his mind and body back into motion, causing him to support the unconscious Ryuu and try to get out of there as fast as possible, though his body felt like it was burning. Just as they were about to reach the hallway, the Juggernaut came falling down into the room, its sights set on the two of them. He quickly began trying to get away as fast as he could, unconsciously charging Argonaut in his left hand, but despite his efforts, he couldn't shake the monster, forcing him to cast a 20 second charge Firebolt at it. Although it dodged by moving into a different hallway, the blast destroyed the ceiling above them, blocking off the path they came through along with the hallway the Juggernaut moved into. As he struggled to get back up due to pain, fatigue, and loss of mind, Ryuu woke up, asking him where they were, prompting him to explain everything that'd happened. He then told her to heal herself, but despite his protests, she used her remaining mind to heal him instead, stating that he'd be of more use than she was.

While she was telling him to leave her, they were attacked by a Skull Sheep, forcing him to defend her. Although the monster overwhelmed him for the majority of the battle, he was able to use his Goliath Muffler to stop it from damaging him any more and destroy its magic stone. He took Ryuu with him before any more monsters showed up. However, she asked again for him to leave her behind, though he refused, telling her that he wouldn't survive on his own. Putting the two choices on a scale, she agreed to support him, advising him to look for a room to rest in.

After moving around for a while, they noticed a blinking light in a hallway to their left, which they recognized as a magic stone lantern, hoping that there'd be someone to help them. Unfortunately, all they found were the skeletons of dead adventurers in a room further in, and the lantern itself soon went dark as if it had completed its job. To make matters worse, three Skull Sheep appeared from the hallway they came from, though fortunately he managed to drive them away with five Firebolt at the cost of a mind down. He began panicking again, making Ryuu slap him to regain his senses, telling him to sleep for five minutes to recover as much stamina as possible while she kept guard.

As soon as she saw Bell close his eyes, Ryuu turned her attention to the hallway, set on protecting him no matter what it took, even if that meant sacrificing herself. A short while later, three new Skull Sheep appeared, two of which were killed by Ryuu throwing her Kodachi Futaba at them, and a now awake Bell finished off the last one by throwing Hakugen at it. He informed her that it'd been five minutes and she realized that his body had been unconsciously keeping track of time and being cautious even while sleeping. She then took her turn to sleep, dreaming about her deceased Astraea Familia companions.

Her dream was a scene from five years ago when they discussed news of the Rudra Familia doing something in the lower floors, a day before their encounter with the Juggernaut. The dreaming Ryuu desperately tried to stop them from leaving, but since it was a dream, she was unable to do anything.

Once Ryuu woke up, he convinced her to heal herself, and she used Noah Heal on her leg with Bell's knife scabbard as a splint. They had debated whether to heal her leg or his arm, nevertheless he still told her to heal her leg since his left arm still moved even if it was a mess from the elbow down. Before they left, the two of them went over their situation, noting that they didn't know where they were on the 37th Floor, they didn't have many items, and they barely had any equipment, consisting of his Hestia Knife, Hakugen, and Goliath Muffler along with her Kodachi Futaba. Their plan was to head for the 36th Floor, as unlike the middle floors, it took more effort to go down than up. To restock, she hesitated for a moment, then told him to loot the dead adventurers. He protested her decision, nonetheless she told him that doing so was their only chance to survive, causing him to obey her, though he felt sick while he was looting. Taking their weapons, gear, items, and partly finished map, they put the three skeletons in the center and held a moment of silence before leaving.

Chapter 10 Edit

After leaving the room with the skeletons, the two were only lucky for a short while before having to alternate between fighting and running from the monsters on the 37th Floor. Bell had to get used to fighting monsters he'd never fought before such as Lizardman Elite and Loup Garou. When they were close to being overwhelmed, Ryuu had him light one of the six Kaenseki she took from one of the Evilus members she interrogated and threw it at the monsters, killing them in an explosion. She took a moment to add to the map while he stood guard, as well as give him advice, stating that he was unlike an adventurer because he was too hard on himself, adding that he'd become stronger if he gained more confidence.

While they made their way through the 37th Floor, Bell asked Ryuu about the monsters on the 37th Floor, wanting to know as much as possible. Soon after, they reached one of the five circular walls surrounding the center of floor, deeming it to be the 3rd wall based on its color, and figured out that they were between the 2nd and 3rd walls based on how the wall curved outward. This news brought hope to Bell as it meant there were only two more walls left until they could reach the entrance to the 36th Floor at the southernmost part of the floor. However, unbeknownst to him, Ryuu was still considering on sacrificing herself if necessary, wanting to teach him how to survive before it became necessary for her to act. As she thought about Bell, she recalled memories of her former companion Gojouno Kaguya.

Intermission Edit

Sometime in the past, Ryuu had argued with Kaguya over whether or not it was just to sacrifice a few people to save many more. Kaguya easily countered her claim, telling her that it wasn't possible to save everyone with their strength, and pointed out that Orario still wasn't at peace despite the sacrifices they'd made. She finished by suggesting for Ryuu to know more about the world and turned her back to her.

Soon after, Alise appeared, having heard their argument from the hallway. Ryuu discussed the argument with her, refusing to accept Kaguya's point of view, and Alise gave her an answer from an overall point of view rather than a personal view, stating that there wasn't a correct answer; instead, it depended on what and how much you did to achieve your goal and what you were able to leave behind when faced with the ideals you couldn't achieve. However, she mentioned that it was also important to chase after one's ideals, or else everyone would be weaklings that accepted any outcome, adding that people who achieved their ideals were called heroes.

Chapter 11 Edit

Sometime later, Bell was fighting monsters at the top of a set of stairs, the monsters attacking from below. Taking Ryuu's advice to heart, he was easily able to deal with the monsters by guiding their movements in addition to using the small space to limit the amount of monsters that could attack him. Whenever he couldn't deal with an attack, Ryuu would assist him from behind. Ryuu herself was impressed by his growth, describing it as rapid progress. A short while later, a group of Lizardman Elite appeared from behind, forcing her to fight them herself. In order to fight them with her injured leg, she put one knee on the ground, the katana she took from the dead adventurers in her hands. The Lizardmen were puzzled by her actions, nevertheless they still attacked, though as soon as they came within range, she cut them down by copying the iai Kaguya used to use. Right after, a Barbarian spawned from the dungeon and would've grabbed her if she hadn't moved back the moment she heard the cracking sound. Due to the Barbarian forcing her to move, she wasn't in a position where she could fight back, causing her to drop her katana, though fortunately Bell came to her rescue and kicked the Barbarian, making it fall back down onto the Lizardmen behind it. Ryuu took the opportunity to pick up her katana and the two of them finished off the fallen monsters.

After the battle, the two took a moment to rest in a small room. Ryuu revealed that sometime after Syr found her, a black robed mage had threatened her to keep quiet about the Juggernaut, promising to turn a blind eye to her crimes if she did. Recalling what Jura had said about the Astraea Familia's fate, he tried to ask her about it, but she kept silent and didn't answer, however he noticed that she was silently clenching her hand hard enough for it to tremble. She then pointed out that monsters were near and the two left the room.

Elsewhere, the Juggernaut looked over its body, analyzing the damage done to it. It knew it would break apart soon as Juggernauts were only able to act for a certain time before turning into ash, nonetheless it didn't think of itself as a fleeting existence or pity itself due to not having such emotions. It then thought about its white prey, how it had come back and began breaking its body, refusing to forgive him because doing so would deny the reason it was created. Because of the collar Jura had placed on it, the Juggernaut prioritized its own desire, ignoring the dungeon's voice. All the Juggernaut wanted to do was kill Bell, but to do so, it needed a new right arm. It attacked some nearby monsters, eating them to gain the power of their magic stones, something a normal Juggernaut never would've done.

Intermission Edit

Several days after her argument with Kaguya, Ryuu had visited Lyra to ask her opinion about ideals and reality. Lyra simply told her to pretend like she understood and she'd forget about her worries if she went to bed that way, prompting Ryuu to tell her that she wanted a serious answer. Complaining about Elves' personalities in general, she continued by saying that Ryuu should half believe what both Kaguya and Alise said, as the truth would change depending on the person, and what was decided to be true would depend on the person themselves.

Moving on, Lyra told her the importance of knowledge, stating that it was a weapon. By changing that knowledge into wisdom, Ryuu would be able to help others and become a strong Elf that would be admired by others. When asked if that was how she got stronger, Lyra confirmed it, adding that she would've died if she didn't use her head as she was a Pallum, and revealed that she levelled up by smooth tonguing suckers like Ryuu and by using dishonest methods. Ryuu thought she heard something inexcusable, nevertheless Lyra changed the subject, claiming Finn would soon ask to be engaged with her, prompting Ryuu to recall that Finn seemed to be avoiding Lyra.

Chapter 12 Edit

Sometime later, Bell and Ryuu were ambushed by a group of Spartoi that had spawned from the ground, quickly surrounding the two of them, the noise of the battle drawing in other monsters as well. He struggled against them due to not being able to guide their actions, in addition to them being stronger than other monsters and just as fast as a Barbarian. He tried to break their way out using Firebolt, though unfortunately an Obsidian Soldier appeared from his blind spot, lessening the power of the magic. To make matters worse, three Peluda joined the battle, a monster known for having a deadly poison. As the Peludas fired their poisonous needles, Bell and Ryuu took cover behind a nearby Spartoi's shield, ignoring the damage they received while doing so. The Peluda continued to rain poisonous needles down on them, forcing the two to steal the Spartoi's shield.

Once the Peluda were finished with the needle rain, they decided to switch to their breath attack, which Ryuu took advantage of to throw a kaenseki, succeeding in killing all of the monsters in the vicinity with an explosion. However, the two realized too late that there was a fourth Peluda on the wall, and it hit Bell's left shoulder with a needle. As Ryuu killed the monster by throwing her katana, Bell removed the needle, then stabbed the wound with Hakugen, using the knife's detoxification properties to remove the poison. He thanked Welf for the knife and Ryuu used their last potion on his shoulder. They decided to take the path shown on the map, with Ryuu wondering why the adventurers who made the map had turned back there. She soon realized what they were heading towards, and the two ended up in a huge room with a circular structure at the center, which Ryuu explained was a Colosseum that continuously spawned monsters until a certain amount was reached. They turned back a little, however they returned to room as the only way they'd survive was to go through the Colosseum to the main path on the other side.

Since fighting the monsters wasn't an option, Ryuu pulled out a camouflage she had made from two Skull Sheep Robes, then used a Barbarian's drop items to erase their smell. Before they entered the Colosseum, she passed on Lyra's advice to him, as well as checking whether he remembered where the main path was and whether he remembered the mapping skills she taught him, and handed him one of the three remaining kaenseki along with the map. He felt that something was off but wasn't able to put it into words. When they reached the Colosseum, he was surprised to see monsters killing each other, another one spawning every time one died, to which Ryuu explained that the monsters here continuously killed each other unless adventurers intruded. As they moved clockwise along the outermost level from north to east, Bell wondered why the dungeon created the Colosseum, recalling that it had first appeared around 30 years ago.

The two forced their way through the monsters attacking them from all sides, eventually reaching the bridge to the southern exit, however a group of monsters appeared from said exit, trapping the adventurers between two groups of monsters. Ryuu ordered him to press on while she stopped to chant Luminous Wind as fast as she could. Once he got halfway across the bridge, he turned around to get her, only to be surprised that she was facing his direction, aiming her magic at the bridge in front of her. One of the blasts hit him, sending him flying over to the exit, while the others destroyed the bridge. Realizing that Ryuu was going to sacrifice herself to let him survive, he refused to accept it, nevertheless he wailed and ran from the room once she disappeared into the smoke.

Hearing Bell's wailing fade away, Ryuu turned back to the monsters that were approaching, intending to fight until she died. She moved around to dodge attacks, though she was hit by a Lizardman Elite's tackle on the fourth level, sending her flying to a Barbarian waiting for her on the third level, which kicked her down to the arena at the bottom. As the monsters surrounded her, she knew she didn't have any chance of surviving, and began thinking of the Hostess of Fertility, Astraea, and Alise. Fortunately for her, she had misjudged the type of person Bell was, the white haired boy coming back to save her.

At first she couldn't understand how he'd managed to reach the Colosseum from the exit without a bridge, then realized that he'd circled around through the dungeon to the west exit, causing her to become angry that he'd refused to leave her behind. Bell ignored the monsters' attacks while he forced himself through them to her, prompting her to attempt to insult him for betraying her and his complacency, but stopped when she saw particles of light gathering around the kaenseki in his right hand. Once he reached her, he held out his left hand to her, causing her to remember what she'd discussed with Kaguya and Alise. He held Ryuu close to himself, threw the kaenseki up, then shot a Firebolt at it, creating a bright and massive explosion that destroyed the floor of the Colosseum, sending them tumbling below.

Chapter 13 Edit

Losing consciousness from the explosion, Ryuu recalled the bombing attempt five years ago when Jura and the Rudra Familia had attempted to kill them in the dungeon, which they survived with some injuries. Just as they were about to attack the Rudra Familia, the dungeon began to wail, creating the Juggernaut to get rid of the adventurers there. The Juggernaut immediately killed Noin, splitting her body into three parts, then Neze, and finally Asta, all in a few moments. Angered by the death of her companions, Ryuu attempted to attack the Juggernaut, thought it jumped up to the ceiling in an instant, then dropped back down to attack her from behind. She narrowly dodged the attack but was then hit by its tail, sending her flying, and the Juggernaut tried to finish her off. Fortunately, Kaguya saved her at the cost of her right arm, nonetheless Ryana and Celty died soon after when their magic was reflected back at them. It then proceeded to kill Iska and eat Maryuu; upon seeing this, Ryuu felt something break inside of her, feeling fear for the first time.

As the Juggernaut began massacring the Rudra Familia, Alise checked on the remaining members, one of which, Lyra, had her eyes and eyelids melted by the reflected magic. Alise met eyes for a moment with Ryuu, then asked both Kaguya and Lyra to give their lives, wanting to save Ryuu even if it cost them their lives. She asked Ryuu to stay put and chant while they would remove the Juggernaut's shell. Turning its attention back to the Astraea Familia, it first killed the blind Lyra, though the latter activated her bomb in her last moments, taking the Juggernaut's right arm with her. Kaguya took advantage of the opportunity Lyra created to attack its legs, destroying one of its joints, enraging it and causing it to kill her with its left arm. Alise used her enchant magic and rushed at it, allowing it to stab through her with its left arm to hold it in place, and stabbed her mithril rapier into its body, sending her flames into its body. She then ordered Ryuu to use Luminous Wind, the attack hitting her along with the Juggernaut. The Juggernaut decided to retreat, running out of the room as the magic continuously hit it.

Later on, instead of heading back to Astraea, she tended to her wounds on the surface, then returned to the dungeon to get revenge on the Juggernaut, however she only found its remains. Following this, she gathered her companions' weapons, created the grave on the 18th Floor, and asked herself in front of their grave what she wanted to do with her life, ultimately deciding to get revenge on Jura, the Rudra Familia, and Evilus. She returned to the Astraea Familia home, pleading to Astraea to leave. She agreed, though as she left, she sorrowfully told Ryuu to throw away her justice.

Ryuu first began her revenge against people, then buildings, and finally their base, doing whatever it took to get rid of them. To finish up, she attacked the Rudra Familia at their home, massacring the members, then destroyed the building with her magic. As she stood there in the burning building, Rudra appeared in front of her, but she couldn't bring herself to kill a God. He laughed loudly and told her that he would've liked to have the current Ryuu in his familia. After she left, Rudra was captured by the Guild and sent back to heaven. Her actions led to the destruction of 27 organizations, caused 4 Gods to be sent back to heaven, and brought about the end of the dark age of Orario. She was later found by Syr, ending up where she was now.

Regaining consciousness, she saw bloodshot eyes looking down at her, realizing as she came back to her senses that she was looking at Bell's rubellite colored eyes as he tried to dig her out. Once he dug her out, he carried her on his back. Surveying her surroundings, she figured out that they had fallen from the Colosseum to the hallway below it, due to the 37th Floor being multi leveled like the 25-27th Floors. She then noticed that Bell was dying, the result of the recoil of a full charge Argonaut and the fact that he protected her with his body as they fell. Seeing the state of his body, she demanded to know why he saved her, to which he answered that she would've done the same. She tried to force herself off his back, nevertheless she stopped when she realized who he was fighting to save. She began to plead for him to stop, revealing that she let her companions die, adding that she had killed Alise herself just like Jura had said, and stated that she didn't deserve to be saved.

Bell was agitated for a moment by her confession, but despite this he refused, stating that she had done so much for him and that she'd always been right like hero and champion of justice. She tried to protest, which he rejected, saying that he wouldn't allow anyone to say that Ryuu was wrong, even if that was Ryuu herself. Ryuu realized that the three people who'd been able to hold her hand were all righteous people; Alise had guided her, Syr had healed her, and Bell had returned her justice. He finished by saying that his justice was to return to the surface alive with her and thus he wouldn't let go of her no matter what happened. Their conversation was then interrupted by a Barbarian, which had survived the explosion just like them, that immediately attacked them. Although Ryuu was able to dodge the attack because he threw her to the side, Bell himself was blown away by the force of the attack hitting the ground. He flew through the air, bounced on the ground, rolled, and stopped, his body not moving at all.

As the Barbarian began walking over to him, Ryuu continuously shouted at him to wake up, changing what she called him from Cranel-san to Bell. However, none of her shouts reached him, and the Barbarian lifted Bell's head to eat him, prompting Ryuu to plead for it to stop. Fortunately, just as it was about to eat him, he opened his eyes and stabbed the monster's chest, destroying its magic stone. He apologized to her, revealing that he had intentionally let it lift him so he could attack it, causing her to ask him to never do something like that again. A short while later, he lifted her back onto his back and they pressed on. They eventually reached a river, but at that point his legs finally gave out, sending both of them into the river. Seeing that he was unconscious, she quickly held his body and used Noah Heal, using as much mind as she could muster, and successfully healed all of his wounds. In order to wake him up, she brought the water to his lips, and eventually he opened his eyes.

Around an hour later, Bell had fully recovered from nearly suffering from mild dehydration, having rested and drunk water. Silenced filled the area as their conversations didn't last long due to the fact that both of them were nearly naked, their wet clothes stripped off to avoid lowering their body temperature. Ryuu was only wearing her cape and panties while Bell was topless with his black pants rolled up to his knees. Initially, an extremely embarrassed Ryuu had tried to give him her cape while covering her breasts, though he had convinced her to keep it for herself. Both were embarrassed by their situation, unable to look at each other or their clothes, causing her to wonder why she was so conscious about him, noting that she didn't feel this way when he'd seen her bathing on the 18th Floor, nevertheless recalling the incident made her even more embarrassed.

She asked him why he'd come back to save her, prompting him to mention that he didn't want to let any more people die. She then answered his question from earlier, telling him everything that had happened, and when she finished, she looked down at the ground, afraid of what he would say. He answered that she needed to live, as that was what Alise and the others had fought for, mentioning that they'd probably be mad at Ryuu if she died. His answer made her feel like her heart throbbed, though she told herself it was just a hunch, and tried to convince herself that her current desire to want to touch Bell was just her imagining things, nonetheless she suggested to him to put their bodies together. Immediately, both of them became embarrassed, causing her to point out that they'd be able to warm up faster if they did so, adding that it was no time to be embarrassed. Bell was concerned for her due to being an Elf, though she still decided to do it, informing him while being embarrassed that she would punish him if he had impure thoughts, but mentioned that he probably wouldn't feel anything for a body like hers. This caused Bell to laugh, stating that he felt relieved because Ryuu was still Ryuu, however he pointed out that it might be bad for them to hug each other as they were nearly naked.

Hearing this, Ryuu was silent for a moment, then walked over to him, turned around and sat down, and removed her cape, exposing her back to him. Bell was embarrassed but resolved himself, moving behind her and putting his arms around her. At first, the two were extremely embarrassed, however they soon calmed down, their bodies relaxing and their heartbeats merging into one. Worrying that he was cold due to being on the outside, she told him to get her cape, and he draped it over his back, surrounding both of them with it.

He remarked that she was small, prompting her to point out they were around the same height, and he tried to clarify himself but stopped, making her demand he tell her. He gave in, saying that her body was thin and soft, reaffirming to him that she was a woman, and added that he felt like he understood why a man wanted to protect a woman. In response, she mentioned he wasn't fair, and tried not to remember Syr. Her heart wanted her to turn around and gaze at each other, but she held herself back, fearing that something would decisively change within the two of them, and that they wouldn't be able to return. They began talking about what they'd do when they got back, with Ryuu stating that she wanted to eat Mia's hot food, which he agreed to, and he stated that he wanted to say "I'm home" to Hestia, to which Ryuu told him to cherish his familia. Closing their eyes, the two of them fell asleep while in their current position.

Several hours later, after waking up, they let go of each other and created a fire using a Barbarian's drop item and Bell's Firebolt. Once she healed his wounds and her leg, they put on their clothes, then left to continue with their attempt to leave the floor. They followed the river to a dead end, went up through a hidden tunnel behind some quartz like crystals, ending up in a room with only one path, and upon taking that path, they ended up in a large hallway where they could see the 4th wall from. Overjoyed by the fact they were close to the exit and that there didn't seem to be any monsters around, they quickly made their way down the main path, though they made sure to not make more noise than needed. Unfortunately, their joy stopped them from thinking about why they weren't encountering any monsters, or why the monsters whose presences they felt weren't trying to come near them.

As soon as they went through the 4th wall, the Juggernaut came falling down onto them, though fortunately Bell had felt rocks raining down and its gaze prior to it, grabbing Ryuu's hand and dodging its attack. They managed to dodge the attack but were sent rolling across the ground by the force of the impact. He was surprised to see that it had regained both its right arm and tail, wondering if it had a regeneration ability like the Black Goliath, but also noticed a weird sound coming from it. As the Juggernaut moved closer, they realized that it had repaired its body with parts of various monsters, having devoured and absorbed the monsters themselves into its body, and it had reinforced its broken magic reflection armor with Obsidian Soldier Body Stones, making it to grow in size. However, the parts were slowly falling off of it, its body rejecting something that never normally have never happened.

As if to begin the battle, the Juggernaut roared, then charged at them. While he fought it, he realized that the damage it had previously taken had weakened its mobility, nevertheless it made up for it by being able to use the attacks of monsters it absorbed, such as the piles of the Skull Sheep. This, combined with its left arm and jumping, made it an extremely dangerous opponent. Ryuu tried to overcome her trauma to help Bell, telling her fearful body to move, nonetheless the Juggernaut took advantage of the opening to catch them off guard with its tail, then sent its piles through the ground to attack them from below. Since they were used to the Juggernaut shooting piles from above, they couldn't react to the continuous stream of piles from below, and eventually the final pile managed to hit Bell in the stomach. The pile fell out, causing him to cough up blood and blood to pour out of his stomach, however before it got worse he cauterized his stomach with Firebolt, surprising both Ryuu and the Juggernaut.

He then wildly began casting Firebolt, the first two at the ground to create smoke, and the rest at the Juggernaut, which was unable to reflect it due to not being able to see where its prey was. Instead of bracing himself from the recoil of using Firebolt, he grabbed Ryuu's outstretched hand instead, sending both of them flying back, all the while firing even more Firebolts. They hit the ground, rolled, and Ryuu immediately got up, though Bell's body was convulsing from the intense pain, making him lose and then regain consciousness over and over again. Seeing this, she quickly took him with her to a side hallway a short ways away, the Juggernaut chasing after them. The hallway was small enough that the Juggernaut couldn't fit into it, nevertheless it forced half its body in to try and reach them, but it was just barely unable to reach them. Whipping her body into motion, she supported Bell's body down the other side of the hallway while fighting off the monsters they encountered. Not having any success with its left arm, the Juggernaut hit its right arm against the wall of the hallway, sending piles through the wall all the way down to where Bell and Ryuu were, hitting her along with the monsters.

Fortunately, the attack pushed them out of the pile's range, and the Juggernaut eventually stopped firing them when it realized it wasn't reaching them. It observed them for a while, and seeing that they didn't move, it disappeared into the dungeon. After it had gone, Ryuu called out to Bell, telling him that the Juggernaut was gone. They both knew the Juggernaut was still there as it wouldn't stop until it killed both of them personally, nevertheless they pretended to not notice and lied that they'd be able to return to the surface, with Ryuu allowing herself to be deceived by it, asking Bell to embrace her. Following their embrace, she told him she'd sleep, and Bell promised to wake her up. Unbeknownst to her, he had intentionally lied, planning to end everything while she was still asleep. He forced his body up, all the while ignoring his body's protests, recalling the tale of the Guardian Belias as he did so. Once he got up, he gently combed Ryuu's hair with his hand and smiled.

Elsewhere, the Juggernaut had moved to the hallway's exit, which was a large room on the main path, planning on attacking them as they came out. Just as it was about to look into the hallway, Bell shot a Firebolt at it, forcing it to retreat to avoid the attack. He showed himself, stopping at a point where the Juggernaut could kill him in an instant, then attempted to attack but stopped, lifting his head at the monster who saw that the boy was smiling. It knew that the boy would die even if it didn't kill him, nevertheless it decided to kill him personally anyway, and Bell himself declared that he'd defeat, causing the monster to tremble with delight.

When she came to, Ryuu found herself in a dark place, realizing it was the boundary between life and death that'd kept her back these five years. She was disappointed that there wasn't anyone next to her, though she couldn't remember why she felt that way, but felt saddened that her hand was cold. Suddenly light appeared, and when she turned around to look at it, she saw Alise and her former companions standing there with their backs to her. Unlike usual, she found out that she could move, filling her with joy. Normally, she couldn't move, and Alise and the others wouldn't react to anything she said, but now that she could move, she could finally join them. To her surprise, just as she was about to reach the other side, Alise turned around, telling her that she wouldn't forgive Ryuu if she joined them, adding that she shouldn't try to run away. She heard the roar of the Juggernaut, along with a shout that was like the flames, and Alise told her that she'd regret it if she came over. Inside of her, her longing for her companions fought against the maddening urge that desired the flaming shout, causing her to state that she couldn't fight against her past.

However, Alise stated that it was a lie, pointing out that Ryuu's justice, or hope, hadn't died yet. When Ryuu realized what her justice truly was, the other Astraea Familia girls also turned around, cheering her on. Unable to stand their kind gazes, she told them that she'd always wanted to apologize for letting them die, wanting for them to punish her, but they continued with their kind gazes, making her realize that they never blamed her. She had refused to forgive herself and accept her past, causing her to punish herself to try and feel better. Alise then asked what her current justice was, to which Ryuu tearfully answered that she wanted to save Bell, and return to the Hostess of Fertility with him. Smiling at her answer, Alise told her not to run away, and to also not let him escape. Ryuu smiled and returned to the darkness, sent off by her former companions.

Upon waking up, Ryuu was hit with burning pain and fatigue that broke her spirits. Regardless, she forced herself up just like Bell had done, and walked toward the raging battle in the room ahead of her. When she arrive, she saw that Bell was fighting the Juggernaut head on, swapping between his two knives depending on which attack the monster used. Both of them noticed her at the same time, and she joined the battle, stating that she didn't want to become someone that could only be protected by someone important to her, refusing to let him go to the jaws of death by himself. The Juggernaut was displeased with her intervention, angry that his fight with Bell had been interrupted, causing it to target her. To its surprise, Ryuu dodged its attack and fought back, having overcome her trauma. Seeing this, the Juggernaut acknowledged her, labelling her a worthy prey like Bell. Eventually, Ryuu starting concurrent chanting Luminous Wind, causing it to decide to kill her first. However, Bell then began charging Argo Vesta, forcing it to pay attention to him as well, and to deal with both of them it sent piles through the ground in all directions in a 10 meter radius.

Despite being hit by the attack, both refused to give up, with Bell aiming his 7 second Argo Vesta at the ground, destroying the piles the Juggernaut was creating, in addition to destroying its new right arm. He tried to take advantage of the opening it created but was too slow due to losing too much stamina and mind from using Argo Vesta. Enraged, the Juggernaut directed its attention to Bell, ready to attack the slowly approaching boy, though before it could finish its attack, Ryuu destroyed its left arm with Kodachi Futaba. Caught off guard by the attack, the Juggernaut couldn't stop Bell from getting close to it, and he cast a point blank Firebolt into its left side, destroying it from the inside. The Firebolt also destroyed the Juggernaut's remaining magic reflection armor and added Obsidian Soldier Body Stones, leaving it wide open to Ryuu's Luminous Wind. The Juggernaut dodged the attack at the cost of its tail and everything below its right shin, nevertheless Ryuu revealed that she had left some of the magic by her, knowing that the monster would be able to dodge her attack. She had kept 10 of the 47 blasts, the same number as the deceased Astraea Familia members.

Ryuu used two of them, representing Noin and Neze, to boost her speed. Although it was surprised, the Juggernaut aimed what was left of its right arm at her, firing piles at her. She used two more, representing Asta and Ryana, to dodge the attack and again boost her speed. The Juggernaut began to run but was agitated that it couldn't shake her. Even though the magic hurt Ryuu herself as well, she refused to break. Knowing that it couldn't escape, the Juggernaut fired all of its piles at her instead, and Ryuu used the three representing Celty, Iska, and Maryuu to dodge the attack and destroy the piles. She then used the blast representing Kaguya to completely destroy its right arm while both were in the air, the blast representing Lyra to boost her down, using the last one representing Alise to hit the Juggernaut's chest. The attack shattered the Juggernaut, breaking it apart into many pieces which turned into ash. Having used all their strength, the two collapsed, not being able to do anything about the approaching monsters they could hear. Fortunately, said monsters happened to be the Xenos, who notified the others that they found Bell and Ryuu. Ryuu gained Bell's attention and told him that they'd be able to go home.

Epilogue Edit

Three days later, Ryuu awoke in Babel's treatment facility, causing Syr, Anya, Chloe, and Lunoire to celebrate that she had finally woken up, as she hadn't woken up on their way back no matter how many items or magic they'd used. When asked how much she remembered, she recalled that she'd told Bell that they'd be able to go home, causing her to demand to know his condition. Anya let it slip that he was in a room in the back and Ryuu rushed over to his room to check how he was. Bell was having his left arm checked by Airmid, with Hestia, Lili, Miach, and Naaza by him. Bell was happy to see she was okay, nevertheless he immediately became red faced, due to the fact that she was wearing a thin and revealing outfit. To make matters worse, her running made the string on her top unravel, making it fall off. Seeing this, Ryuu covered herself and screamed, with Hestia and Lili punishing Bell for looking, Naaza doing the same to Miach. However, this caused Airmid to become angry, shouting at them for hitting a seriously injured patient.

After the incident, Ryuu was taken back to her room by an angry Airmid. Mikoto and Haruhime were glad she was safe and thanked her for saving Bell respectively, while Welf told her the Xenos were surprised the two survived four days without that much equipment. He told her that the Xenos had been ordered to go to the 37th Floor via Lyd's occulus, and fortunately they were able to find them because of the sounds of their battle against the Juggernaut, adding that she should also thank Marie, as she had donated even more of her blood to the point that she had almost lost consciousness. When he thanked her for saving Bell, she told him that she was the one that was saved, nonetheless he still thanked her for everything she'd done for them.

Later, Aisha visited her to inform her of the aftermath, telling her that the blame for the entire incident had been placed on the late Jura Halmer, and that Ryuu, or rather the Gale, was officially considered to be dead. After they had returned, Bors had told the Guild that it was all Jura's fault, lying that Ryuu had died protecting them, showing a piece of her destroyed wooden sword as "proof". In Rivira, it was now known that she'd participated in the Black Goliath battle. She was now considered to be a messenger of justice that tried to stop the plans of evil, though there were still people that didn't believe it, in addition to people that were thankful. Regardless, Bors had tried to obtain part of her bounty along with Jura's, but the Guild refused to give it to him. The Guild's upper management also accepted Ryuu's "death" because of Ouranos' influence and planned to have an official announcement sometime in the near future, in addition to placing a gag order on the Amphisbaena's early appearance and the Juggernaut's existence.

On another day, Syr visited her to inform her about the Hostess of Fertility, revealing that Mia had been angry because Anya, Chloe, and Lunoire had left to save her, forcing them to work without rest. She passed on Mia's message to her, telling her that she'd made too much risotto so she should hurry up and return to eat it.

Sometime later, Bell and Ryuu were allowed to leave Babel, and they took a walk together. He asked her about her clothes, prompting her to tell him that they were Syr's, wondering if they didn't look good on her, but he told her they looked good, though she stated it was expected as it was Syr's. She then asked about his left arm, to which he revealed that they had practically rebuilt his arm since it was apparently impossible to return it to how it was before, though fortunately he still had everything that composed his arm, allowing him to avoid needing a prosthetic, but it had cost him a large amount of money, stating that the bill had around eight zeros on it. Fortunately, the Guild had paid for it, which he suspected to be Ouranos' order, and Hermes and the others had gathered the items needed for the supporter he was wearing while it healed.

They reached a place Ryuu had once visited with Alise, causing her to reveal that she'd been told by Astraea to "throw away her past". She stated that she originally thought the latter had disowned her, but now realized that Astraea had said it for her own good, going against the justice she presided over, as otherwise Ryuu probably would've committed suicide. She added that she was able to realize it thanks to him, as he had told her that she still had justice, in addition to pointing out her bond with Astraea and what Alise and the others had left behind. Facing him under the blue sky, she thanked him, stating that he was a Human worth respecting, and smiled. Seeing this, Bell embarrassingly told her that her smile was really beautiful, more so than the time they talked at the Astraea Familia grave, and was happy she was able to smile like that again.

Due to this, Ryuu felt her heart jump and her cheeks redden, causing her to look down. Worried about her, he approached her and asked if she was okay, causing her heart to jump again. She told him that she couldn't look at his face, stating that she didn't know why when asked, and ran off in embarrassment. Despite running from Bell, her feelings didn't change at all, though Ryuu herself was oblivious to it, wondering what was wrong with herself. She asked Alise what she should do and thought she heard her voice say to not let him escape.