"I will deal with the monsters, Lady Astraea."
When Elise gave her answer, Astraea's joy was unmistakable.
"Then I wish you victory and glory in battle, Elise!"
The pure white goddess waved at her, offering her blessing.
This is the right choice, Elise.
Astraea thought so silently.
Although you still do not believe that you represent justice...
This is enough. You continue to walk your own path without hesitation.
A person's thoughts and actions are two different things.
If someone constantly thinks about helping others but never takes action, are they truly good?
If another person does not even wish to help others, yet always extends a hand when someone is in trouble, are they good?
Compared to empty thoughts, I admire those who are willing to act.
That is who you are, Elise.
Astraea recalled the skill that had appeared on Elise's status when she became an adventurer... It was astonishing. Elise actually possessed such a special talent.
Because the situation had been urgent at the time, she had not yet had the chance to properly explain it to her.
But that was fine.
Astraea lifted her head and watched the departing starlight until it completely vanished from sight. Only then did she turn back to lead the villagers away from the area.
"As long as you continue forward without wavering, no matter what hardships you face, you will surely overcome them!"
...
On the walls above the gates of a certain kingdom.
"Ah—"
A soldier on guard duty yawned and rubbed his eyes.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" another soldier asked helplessly. "Did you sneak off again to do... things with those Amazons?"
"Get it straight. We're responsible for guarding the gate at night."
But the man clearly did not care.
"Oh, come on. There hasn't been anyone around lately. Even if I take a nap, nothing will happen."
"I really miss those Amazon women!"
There existed in this world a race known as the Amazons. Nearly all of its members were female, with no males among them.
Thus, the Amazons had to venture outside to seize men in order to maintain the continuation of their race.
Across the world, Amazons could be found in many places, and the work they engaged in was generally related to "pleasure." As for the specifics, there was no need to elaborate.
"I think it's your lower half that misses them," the other soldier snorted.
"If you keep this up, I wouldn't be surprised if one day you hallucinate yourself to death."
The first soldier suddenly turned serious. He rubbed his eyes again and stared into the distance.
"Am I hallucinating? Or am I really about to drop dead?" He pointed ahead, looking at his companion in confusion.
"What do you see?"
"A group of minotaurs."
"Hahaha! That's a good one. How could there be minotaurs out at this hour? Weren't those ancient monsters all suppressed underground long ago?"
"I see... So the tremors I'm feeling are hallucinations too, then?"
"Tremors?"
The second soldier paused and carefully sensed beneath his feet. There really did seem to be a noticeable vibration...
At that moment, he finally looked into the distance in earnest.
Then he collapsed onto the ground.
"It really is... minotaurs?"
"Ancient monsters are attacking!"
The soldier hurriedly struck the alarm bell, throwing the entire kingdom into a state of alert.
The battle between the people of the lower world and the monsters was about to begin.
And as for Elise...
At this moment, she floated above the entrance of the ancient ruin, observing the movements of the monsters below.
"At regular intervals, a group of monsters emerges from the cavern... It really is like a spawning mechanism."
"The time intervals are roughly the same, and the number of monsters each time is also similar..."
Isn't this basically a monster spawner?
"Without using the power of faith, relying solely on Prana and Est's power, I should be able to pierce straight through the underground ruin..."
"And end this once and for all!"
'Est, are you ready?'
'Mm, Sister.'
The elemental Sacred Demon Sword pointed toward the sky. Prana swirled around her, and from afar it resembled a painting of the galaxy itself.
Polar Star—Radiant Stream!
This was Elise's single-target piercing attack. Without the blessing of faith, its power certainly could not reach the level it once had when she slew the Elemental Lord in the world of Elementalists.
But to deal with a ruin—and the minor monsters it spawned—it was more than enough.
Another batch of monsters rushed up from underground. But the moment they emerged, they noticed the anomaly in the sky.
An extraordinarily brilliant star was shining above them.
The immense energy it contained was impossible to ignore.
The monsters all lifted their heads, roaring in intimidation at that star.
"Take this!"
Boom—
The Sacred Demon Sword's strike targeted the ruin and was unleashed in the blink of an eye. The instant the radiant torrent burst forth, every monster vanished.
The massive hole in the ground did not disappear. But looking down from above, one would see that it had grown far deeper than before.
From the moment the ruin mutated to its destruction, less than two hours had passed. Elise had resolved the incident with astonishing speed.
However, she still had another task to attend to.
"Tch... Next, I still have to go save the ones who caused all this trouble..."
Though she sounded extremely unwilling, she had given her word to Lady Astraea. She would certainly fulfill it.
Moreover, saving others would bring her a very favorable reputation. That was extremely important for her future plans.
So she would save them.
But...
Just because I will save them doesn't mean I'll go immediately.
Although the ruin had already been completely pierced by her attack...
Would an ancient ruin really be so easily resolved?
Elise did not know. For matters unknown, she chose to act cautiously. She would not repeat what had happened with the Sacred Queen in the world of Elementalists.
She would wait here a while longer—or even descend into the depths of the hole to investigate. Only after confirming that no more monsters would emerge would she leave.
"Wait!"
As if something had just occurred to her, Elise's expression suddenly turned troubled.
"Why did I directly blast through the ruin?"
"Since this is basically a monster spawner, shouldn't I have stayed here and farmed my ability values for a while?"
"I'm an adventurer now. I can grow stronger through the divine blessing!"
"How could I forget something like that?"
Previously, without a divine blessing, no matter how many monsters she defeated, she would gain nothing.
But now...
"I'm still not cautious enough!"
Elise still had much to improve.