"If I don't obtain the final victory, does that mean I have to join the Freya Familia?"
Elise looked seriously toward Freya. All along, this had been Freya's goal—to recruit Elise into her Familia. But because of Astraea, she had never succeeded.
Now, Freya had abducted some members of the Astraea Familia and was using them to threaten Elise...
It had to be said, the effect was quite good.
"More or less. If you lose, you'll have to let me do as I please, alright?"
Freya waved her hand lightly, as if joking.
"Then let's do it this way..."
"Very well. It's settled."
Freya stood up from her seat and walked toward the exit.
"I'll be watching your duel from nearby. If you try any tricks, don't blame me for what happens!"
That was a threat!
At the same time, it made it clear to Elise that if she wanted to safely take her companions away, she could only follow the rules Freya had set.
Otherwise, Freya would show no mercy.
"Understood."
Elise took a deep breath and turned to face her eight opponents.
The Braver.
Goddess' Chariot.
The Black and White Twin Knights.
The Four Warriors of Burning Gold.
Since Freya wanted to see it, then she would let her see it properly! She would defeat every single member of her Familia!
As Freya left, the atmosphere immediately grew heavy. Both sides continuously raised their aura, but unfortunately, Ottar's side was always slightly inferior to Elise.
It was as if Elise had deliberately controlled her aura to a level just enough to suppress them.
"This woman... is she looking down on us?" Allen clenched his teeth as he stared at Elise. Because of the previous Guild meeting, his reputation in Orario had worsened significantly, making him nothing more than a stepping stone for Elise's rise. Naturally, he held no goodwill toward her.
"She's stronger than you imagine, Allen. We have to give it everything we've got to even have a chance of winning!"
Ottar drew his two greatswords and stared intently at the person who had trained with him for so long.
"You don't need to tell me that!"
While Ottar and the others remained on guard, Elise showed no sign of preparing defensively.
"Finished discussing?"
Elise raised the Sacred Demon Sword high in her hand. Instantly, an intense sense of danger surged into everyone's hearts.
"Then let's begin!"
"Don't die!"
Danger!
Move!
Ottar and the others reacted immediately, leaving their positions in an instant.
Boom—!
The next moment, a massive sword scar extended from beneath Elise's feet to where they had just been standing. Even the walls of the Freya Familia were shattered by the impact.
Fortunately, the surrounding area had already been evacuated. Otherwise, this single strike would have caused countless casualties.
What terrifying power!
And...
Thud!
Four sounds rang out almost simultaneously. The Four Warriors of Burning Gold of the Freya Familia began emitting white smoke from their bodies, like skewered meat tossed onto a grill, before collapsing stiffly to the ground.
"Tch, useless pallums!" Hedin stared at Elise nervously. Though he cursed them, he understood why the four had fallen instantly.
Because they were the weakest among them.
Ottar was Level 7.
Allen, Hedin, and Hogni were all Level 6.
Only the Gulliver brothers were Level 5.
Pallums had no defining traits—no exceptional endurance, no outstanding speed, no overwhelming strength, and no unique magical power.
The reason the four could rival Level 6s was due to their excellent teamwork. But when faced with an attack beyond what they could withstand, their "cooperation" became meaningless.
They were defeated before they could even display their strength.
"In the end, it still falls to us?"
No one had expected Elise to take down four enemies with a single strike. They had thought the Gulliver brothers could at least hold out a little longer—but they couldn't even endure one blow.
"Looks like we need to change the plan..."
As the commander of the Freya Familia, Hedin could barely keep his composure. Before the battle, they had already devised a cooperation strategy.
Yes—a cooperation strategy!
The members of the Freya Familia were notorious for their poor relationships, especially among the upper ranks. Getting them to cooperate was almost impossible.
But Freya had issued a strict order: no matter the cost, no matter the method, they must obtain Elise!
To follow their goddess' will, these long-time rivals who could barely stand each other had ultimately agreed to work together.
Otherwise, there would be no chance of victory at all.
Their detailed plan had already been set, but with the fall of the Gulliver brothers, much of it was now unusable.
"It's fine. I'll fill in the gaps they left. You all look for your own openings to attack." Ottar tightened his grip on his greatswords and charged toward Elise.
On the other side, Elise's reaction was strange.
I was planning to eliminate all of them at once. Why did only four fall? And the weakest four at that?
After all, it was Elise who had helped Ottar level up!
So when it came to evaluating Ottar's strength, she had the most authority!
The attack she had just unleashed had been calculated precisely at the limit Ottar could not withstand!
Ottar, who had only recently reached Level 7, should have been unable to dodge or endure it.
But now, not only had Ottar dodged, even the other three had evaded her attack. How could that not surprise her?
"Why are you—hm?"
Just as Elise was about to speak, she sensed the source of the anomaly.
"So that's it! No wonder you went after Lyra as well. So this was your plan?"
Alise, Ryana, and Ryuu had been together. Capturing them was simple enough for the Freya Familia—but why go out of their way to capture Lyra as well?
Aside from selling items, Lyra didn't seem particularly noteworthy.
But now, Elise understood.
All eight members of the Freya Familia had different weapons and equipment than before. And on each of their chests was a distinct marking.
That was the symbol of Stigmata!
No wonder they had grown so much stronger—they had bought items from Lyra.
"Using something I made to fight me... you've got some nerve!"