Freya's goal had been achieved.
She had gone to such lengths to capture the companions of Elise of the Astraea Familia and lure her here—all for this very moment.
All this time, Freya had never been able to bring herself to use her full charm on Elise, because she feared that the unique feeling she sensed from Elise would disappear.
But after being rejected by Elise yet again, Freya could no longer resist the temptation and acted directly.
A terrifying power invaded her mind, causing her will to sink into a deep slumber.
"Even if I can't have your heart, your body is something I absolutely must possess!"
Afterward, Freya turned her gaze toward the four people lying nearby—Alise and the others.
"Now that I've succeeded, you've lost your usefulness..."
"Let's consider this fulfilling the agreement between me and her!"
Freya casually waved her hand at the four of them, not even sparing them a proper glance.
Within the Astraea Familia... no, perhaps within the entire world, there was no one more capable of attracting Freya than Elise.
As long as she obtained Elise, nothing else mattered.
Even her own Familia was no exception.
Whether it was Ottar, Allen, or anyone else—it was all the same.
"Return to your own Familia. After a night's sleep, forget everything and go back to your original lives."
"Yes, Lady Freya."
There was no light in their eyes as they responded flatly.
Then, swaying unsteadily, Alise and the others left the place, heading back to the Astraea Familia as Freya had instructed.
"Now, there's no one left to disturb us."
"I've finally obtained you!"
However, there was one thing that Freya cared about greatly—why did Elise always wear a blindfold? Because of that, Freya had never had the chance to look directly into her eyes.
If they had made eye contact, her charm might have taken effect much earlier.
But now that she had already succeeded, there was no need to dwell on it.
"This thing is really in the way!"
Freya tore off the black cloth covering Elise's eyes. Just as she was about to toss it aside, she seemed to remember something and stared at it intently.
In the next moment, Freya pressed the cloth against her nose.
"Ah! It smells like Elise!"
Unexpectedly, Freya had no intention of letting even a single piece of cloth from Elise go to waste.
"Well, that's not the important matter..."
She carefully folded the cloth and placed it at the edge of the pool, making sure it wouldn't be soaked by the hot spring water.
"The most important thing is only one—turning raw rice into cooked rice!"
"As long as that fact is established, I'll be satisfied!"
With that, Freya moved to Elise's side, exploring her body from bottom to top, before finally stopping at those azure eyes.
Then she froze.
"What is this?"
There had always been many rumors regarding Elise's eyes.
After all, as the captain of one of Orario's top Familias, she naturally drew widespread attention.
The most mysterious aspect of the Saintess of Scales was those eyes that no one had ever seen.
No matter when or where, whenever one saw Elise, her eyes were always covered.
Driven by curiosity, many adventurers had asked her why she wore a blindfold—was she truly unable to see?
The answer they received was, of course, no.
Elise only said it was due to a troublesome ability, and in order not to affect everyone's daily lives, she chose to keep her eyes covered.
Many people were not satisfied with this explanation, but due to Elise's overwhelming strength, they did not dare to press further.
Thus, the matter was left unresolved, becoming casual after-meal gossip—like an urban legend. Over the past nearly two years, dozens of different versions had emerged.
But now, after truly seeing Elise's eyes, Freya finally understood just how foolish those people outside were!
They actually thought they could discuss something like this?!
"This is... this is..."
From the moment she locked eyes with them, Freya found herself completely unable to look away. She took two steps back in fear, trying to break free from the state—but regrettably, she failed.
Even her retreating steps came to a halt.
In some unseen way, Freya seemed to sense that a powerful existence had turned its gaze upon her...
When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you.
At this moment, Freya fully understood what that meant.
But...
Could there really exist a being higher than the gods?
After all, in this world, the gods were, in a sense, truly omnipotent—they could accomplish anything!
That was precisely why they felt bored, sealing their divine power and descending to the lower world.
And yet now, Freya had sensed something even higher? How could that not shock her?
And...
This higher existence seemed to harbor hostility toward her?
In the next instant, within Freya's vision, those azure eyes seemed to sprout a mouth filled with sharp teeth and lunged toward her.
"Not good!"
At that moment, feeling an unprecedented sense of danger, even Freya broke the rules of the lower world and used her divine power!
If that bite lands, I'll truly die!
Terror!
Death!
"Ahhh—!"
The enormous fanged mouth bit directly into Freya, causing the incomparably beautiful goddess to let out a piercing scream.
"Get off me!"
Freya unleashed her divine power, attempting to shatter the teeth clamped onto her and escape.
But unfortunately!
When her hand touched that mouth, it passed straight through it. Even using divine power yielded the same result.
She couldn't hit it at all!
What in the world was this?
Freya could not comprehend it. Even as a goddess, this completely exceeded her understanding.
Despite possessing an age measured in hundreds of millions, this was something she had never encountered before.
"Cough...!"
Blood spilled from Freya's mouth. The teeth biting into her seemed to exert even greater force, and without realizing it, she had already lost all sensation in the left half of her body.
"This is bad... If this continues, I'll really die!"
Not the kind of death where one returns to Heaven after dying in the lower world, but true death in the absolute sense!
In other words, in the future of this world, there would no longer be a goddess known as Freya!
And not just that—Freya could also feel something burrowing into her body...
But she had no idea what it was!
Unknown!
Still unknown!
Ever since encountering Elise, there had been far too many unknowns!
Even Freya couldn't help but grow anxious.
"There must be some way... to break free..."
"Something..."
Right!
Elise!
Freya suddenly realized—this must be Elise's ability. If she awakened Elise, would she be able to escape from this situation?
Freya hesitated for a second before acting, but the pain coming from her very soul was impossible to ignore.
So be it!
If she truly died, wouldn't she never be able to see Elise again?
There was no other choice.
Charm...
Release!
...
"What... happened to me?"
Elise's consciousness gradually cleared, and the previous haze completely vanished.
Even in that blurred state, she still remembered the final scene she had seen before losing consciousness.
There was no mistake—Freya had used charm on her!
I was actually charmed?
With Freya's personality, wouldn't she have done something to me?
"Ugh, ugh! What's this taste in my mouth?"
There didn't seem to be anything unusual about her body, which made Elise breathe a sigh of relief, but the taste in her mouth gave her a bad feeling.
Sweet... what is this?
Just as Elise was about to examine it more carefully, she suddenly realized something.
She could clearly see the blurry scene before her?
That meant her blindfold had been removed?
Elise hurriedly touched her eyes—and it really was gone?
She hadn't used her eyes to see for a very long time, so the sudden brightness felt somewhat uncomfortable.
But...
"Since I'm still here... where did Freya go?"
Hm?
Suddenly, Elise felt some movement beneath her feet.
Could it be...?
Her gaze slowly shifted downward, and what came into view was the silver-haired goddess—but her condition seemed very wrong.
"Fre...ya?"
At this moment, Freya's eyes were vacant, and some indescribable fluid dripped from her mouth. There was nothing covering her body either—it was hard to associate her with a goddess at all.
Right now, she looked more like a deranged woman...
No, wait!
Come to think of it, wasn't she always like that?
Hearing her name, Freya's eyes regained a bit of clarity. She lifted her head and stared blankly at Elise.
At the same time, she once again met Elise's gaze.
"Gah!"
Right before Elise's shocked eyes, Freya suddenly covered her own eyes and began screaming incoherently.
Not only that, but through the gaps between her fingers, Elise saw a crimson liquid...
Blood?
When Freya finally lowered her hands from her face, Elise realized that blood was flowing from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears!
Wasn't that... bleeding from all seven orifices?
Freya's miserable state genuinely frightened Elise, causing her to take several steps back.
"Huh?"
Splash!
What Elise didn't notice was that there was a pool right behind her. Seeing with her eyes and sensing with energy were completely different, and she hadn't fully adjusted yet—she fell straight into the water.
"Cough, cough!"
"What's happening to me?"
Elise sensed something was wrong with her body. Her strength seemed to have increased, yet it had also become harder to control.
Such a sudden development left her utterly baffled—she had inexplicably grown stronger?
What exactly had happened?
Before Elise could process it, Freya in front of her underwent another change. It seemed she had once again met Elise's gaze...
Even though neither of them understood what was happening.
"Elise... I... ahhhh!"
Freya clutched her head, as if enduring something unbearable. Her expression twisted between ferocity and obsession.
"Get out!"
Freya collapsed to her knees without any regard for dignity, even starting to slam her head against the ground...
No, it wasn't just bowing—it was violently smashing her head into the floor, trying to relieve the pain.
Unfortunately, the more she struck her head, the more intense the pain became, until she could no longer endure it.
Freya staggered away, smashing her head against things as she ran out.
Before leaving, she glanced back once—but that expression... it was complicated, something Elise couldn't understand at all.
"Is she... going to be okay?"
Although they had already completely fallen out, seeing Freya in that state still made Elise a little worried...
Freya had been bathing in the hot spring just moments ago, and now she had run out like that... without wearing anything at all!
"Forget it. That's not something I need to worry about. Let Freya deal with it herself."
As for Elise's clothes, they were nowhere to be found. But she still had plenty in her pack, and if necessary, she could even use Prana to create some.
As long as it was enough to get her back to her Familia.
Elise stepped out of the hot spring area, but to her surprise, the moment she took a step, a strong urge to vomit surged up.
Her stomach felt extremely uncomfortable!
I don't remember eating anything bad...
So why this strange... feeling of fullness? And nausea?
There was also an inexplicable drowsiness...
The situation was becoming more and more abnormal. Elise sensed that more and more people were gathering outside—she was no longer suited to remain within Freya Familia's territory.
Taking out another blindfold, Elise put it back on. She used her perception to observe her surroundings. Although her control was unstable due to the surge of power, she could still roughly make out the environment.
"Alise and the others aren't here anymore..."
"I need to return to the Familia as soon as possible."
Enduring the discomfort in her body, Elise gradually disappeared from the bathhouse.
...
Astraea Familia's residence.
Everyone was anxiously waiting. Not much time had passed since Elise left, yet they were already extremely worried.
During this time, loud noises had been echoing from somewhere in Orario.
Although the girls hadn't stepped outside the Familia, just hearing the sounds was enough to tell how intense the battle was.
"I can't take it anymore!" Kaguya was the first to snap. "Rather than waiting here for an uncertain outcome, I'd rather join the fight directly. If anything, that would increase our chances of winning!"
"I agree!"
"But if we do that, the captain's orders..."
"Hah? At a time like this, you still plan to follow her orders?"
Just as the atmosphere within the Familia began to shift, Astraea stepped forward and blocked everyone's path.
"You are not allowed to step out of this door!"