Chapter 176: The Falling Sun, and the Prophetic Girl's Prophecy!
"The sun's radiance will be devoured by 'evil'!"
"The nightmare of the dark night will descend, and everything will head toward its end—"
"Dust to dust, earth to earth. All will return to silence!"
Those words, like a curse, came from the mouth of a young girl.
It was as if nothing had changed. Everything would still move forward like the gears of fate, step by step, until it reached the ending already set in stone.
Tap.
"Syr," whose head was covered, was led around several turns before finally stopping.
"Captain, we brought her back!"
"You brought her back? Wonderful. Tonight will be Ethan's end."
A venomous voice rang out beneath the moonlight.
There stood a one-armed shrimp who had lost an arm. His face was filled with resentment and hatred toward Ethan.
As for the others around him, every one of them acted extremely cautious before this "captain."
In just a few months, their captain had changed completely. The former "shining favorite of the sun" had long since become a spiteful man drowned in gloom.
At that banquet, Ethan had cut off one of his arms. In the end, even Apollo had not dared to flare up over it.
That night had become Hyakinthos's nightmare.
When extreme hatred took root in the heart, it was easy for it to twist a person. That was even more true for someone as obsessive as Hyakinthos.
After that night, he had almost lost everything. Apollo's favor, his own prestige, and even the respect of those around him, who mocked him behind his back.
All of it had been brought to him by Ethan Starfall. It was all because of that guy that he had fallen to this state.
"Was the 'letter' delivered to Ethan?"
"Captain, it was delivered."
"Good. Then if nothing goes wrong, this place will be Ethan's grave. Everyone, prepare properly. Kaenseki traps and magic swords, get them all ready."
"Yes!"
Everyone around him answered. Although many of them already had complaints about their captain in private, Hyakinthos still had real strength.
As a Lv.3, he was far stronger than them.
In a corner of the forest, a young girl sat collapsed on the ground.
Her friend held her beside her, her face full of worry.
"Hey, Cassandra, are you okay?"
Daphne looked at Cassandra, whose eyes were blank and body was trembling slightly. Her face was full of concern.
Although Cassandra was often strange and spoke like a madwoman because of her Skill, she was not a bad person. More importantly, she was Daphne's only friend.
Daphne did not want to lose her.
"The gears of fate have already turned. The sun high above will eventually fall!"
A "prophecy" came from Cassandra's mouth.
However, Daphne did not believe her words.
Having prophetic dreams was Cassandra's ability, but she could not control it. On top of that, her prophecies would never be believed by others.
"Are you already talking nonsense? Pull yourself together, Cassandra."
Tonight, the Familia had a major operation. If the two of them were absent, they would be in serious trouble.
"Daphne, we must leave this place. The falling sun will set the earth ablaze. The people blessed by the sun will all be burned by the sun itself."
"Huh? What nonsense are you saying this time?"
"Daphne, do you believe me?"
It was that sentence again.
Last time, because of those same words, Daphne had believed her and left the Apollo Familia with her.
But in the end, the Apollo Familia had not disappeared, and they had no choice but to return.
Because of that, Apollo had harshly scolded them. In the end, they had been punished and forced to pay a large fine.
Now Cassandra was saying it again. Was she asking Daphne to do it one more time?
Looking at Daphne's hesitation, Cassandra's expression dimmed slightly.
She also knew that Daphne had not believed her last "prophecy," but had still been willing to follow her in that reckless act.
As it turned out, she had overthought it. They still had not escaped the cage.
"Daphne!"
"All right. I believe you, just like always."
"Daphne!"
Cassandra threw herself into Daphne's arms.
The two of them were like the closest partners. Even if one knew the other was acting recklessly, she would still choose to believe her.
"What an enviable bond. However, ladies, could you tell me where the 'traps' are?"
"Hm?!"
The sudden voice instantly startled Daphne awake.
She raised her head and saw a figure standing on a tree branch. Under the moonlight, his already handsome face seemed to carry a faint trace of holiness.
"Ethan Starfall?!"
"Looks like you know me. Then could you tell me where the traps you prepared are?"
"You… you… you…"
Looking at Ethan, Daphne could not speak for a long while.
Tonight's entire arrangement had been made to make Ethan sleep here forever. Yet who could have imagined that he would appear in this manner?
"Don't be nervous, lovely girl."
A soft voice rang beside her ear.
Daphne suddenly realized in horror that Ethan, who had been on the tree branch, had disappeared.
Now, he was standing right beside her, extremely close.
It was not just Daphne. Cassandra was also looking at Ethan with terror all over her face.
In her dream, the man before her was the one who caused the Apollo Familia's downfall.
Everyone had fallen in pools of blood. That scene of corpses and slaughter was deeply carved into her memory.
"Hm? So it's you two."
At this moment, under the moonlight, Ethan also recognized them.
In DanMachi, there were not many people with bug-level abilities, and the young girl before him happened to be one of them.
Prophetic dreams were truly a very mysterious thing.
"Ethan Starfall!"
Forcing herself to calm down, Daphne stared at Ethan and spoke.
However, Ethan directly ignored Daphne. His burning gaze remained fixed on Cassandra.
"Can you tell me what you saw?"
"The falling sun. The defeated descendants of the sun. Blood dyed the earth red, and corpses filled the trenches. Only one person stood above all that cruelty."
"Mm. The falling sun, and the defeated descendants of the sun…"
Hearing Cassandra's words, Ethan nodded.
In other words, the disappearance of the Apollo Familia was already a fixed future.
That gave Ethan a clear idea of what was coming.
Then he looked at the trembling Cassandra. As for this talent, Ethan felt she was worth taking in.
"Stay here quietly, and you will be safe."
Hearing Ethan's words, Cassandra did not dare to breathe loudly. She could only keep nodding.
As for Daphne, she had already been ignored.
…
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