"That truly is astonishing..."
"Who would have thought it could possess such overwhelming power?"
Alfia stared at the sky in disbelief. She had scarcely witnessed anything like this in her entire life.
Rather, it was simply inconceivable that such power could appear in the human world. Even the Level 9 Empress of the Hera Familia could never have accomplished something like this!
Alfia now seriously suspected that Astraea might have cheated to grant Elise such tremendous power.
The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed!
Had those once-renowned gods not become layabouts in the Pleasure Quarter after descending to the lower world?
It did not seem entirely unreasonable for Astraea, the Goddess of Justice, to do something not quite so just.
However, there was no easy way to confirm it. Most likely, only another god would be able to tell.
More importantly, was there truly any point in continuing this battle?
Elise's strength had now completely surpassed their imaginations. That power was simply too terrifying!
"Can we really become part of her Great Feats?"
Zald, standing beside her, looked over as well. His eyes were similarly filled with shock.
"We can!" Alfia gritted her teeth. "Unless the gap in strength is unimaginably vast, experience and Great Feats will still accumulate no matter what..."
"There just won't be very much, right?"
"Right."
"Then doesn't that make everything we're doing seem rather unnecessary?"
"I remember... Erebus investigated Elise, didn't he?"
The two fell silent for a moment before almost simultaneously looking into the distance, toward the place where a certain male god was hiding.
"That bastard Erebus! Did he only want to crush our confidence?"
"I admit that I really have taken a blow. Being surpassed by a little girl like that is definitely irritating!"
"We'll have to give that bastard a proper beating later!"
Alfia looked displeased, but after living together for so long, Zald could still see the slight curve at the corner of her lips.
Rather than displeasure, the emotion she felt most strongly was probably relief.
Orario's younger generation had already grown stronger than them. In the future, they would surely accomplish what their predecessors could not!
Meanwhile, on Elise's side, Est did not seem to be doing quite so well.
"How are you feeling, Est?"
Even Elise was somewhat exhausted after unleashing such a powerful strike.
Without drawing upon the power of faith, that was the strongest technique she could currently use. Nearly all of her abilities had activated at once, so how could the expenditure possibly have been small?
Of course, since Est had taken the lead in unleashing the attack, her expenditure was undoubtedly even greater than Elise's.
'I'm fine... Huff!'
'It just consumed a lot of power...'
Est's slightly breathless voice entered Elise's mind. Even the Sacred Demon Sword in her hand was flickering faintly with white light.
This was a sign that Est was about to lose the ability to maintain her weapon form.
'You should rest for a while if you can't keep going.'
'No!' Est's voice was resolute. 'The battle isn't over yet. I can still hold on!'
'No, the battle is already over. The moment we unleashed our strongest strike, we had already won.'
'Really?'
Only after hearing that they had won did Est's voice gradually relax.
'Rest for now. Leave everything else to me.'
'Mm.'
After that, Est's voice vanished, and the Sacred Demon Sword transformed into a streak of light before returning to the mark on Elise's chest.
"Now, then. It's time to go have a talk."
"They must be getting impatient too, right?"
With that, Elise began walking toward Alfia and the others.
Although there was no one on this plain, such an enormous disturbance would undoubtedly draw investigators from nearby kingdoms or cities.
Elise's reputation was far greater than she realized, so someone would undoubtedly recognize her. It would be troublesome if any unsavory rumors spread, and they might even affect her familia.
With Elise about to depart, the fewer complications she left behind, the better.
...
Rustle!
A golden figure suddenly appeared beside Alfia and Zald, smiling as she looked at them.
"Well, you two? Were you satisfied with that last strike?"
As mentioned before, Alfia and the others had wanted to witness Elise's true strength, which was why they had directed such a powerful attack at her.
The result was naturally satisfying. In fact, it had far exceeded their expectations.
Although Elise was only Level 5, she was already stronger than the two of them combined, even after they had both been enhanced to Level 7!
It had only been a little over two years since Elise arrived in Orario, hadn't it?
At this rate, reaching Level 9 or even Level 10 was merely a matter of time.
How powerful would Elise become by then?
No one knew, but Alfia was certain that once Elise fully matured, defeating the Black Dragon should not be a problem...
"It was an impressive attack, but don't let it make you arrogant or complacent. There are still many powerful people in this world."
"You may be strong, but you haven't fully matured yet, so... you still need time!"
Part of this was an attempt to preserve a little of her dignity as a senior, but Alfia also wanted to warn Elise against becoming arrogant or complacent.
"Thank you, both of you. I'll remember that."
Elise bowed deeply to them. In the original story, these two had been willing to turn themselves into stepping stones for the sake of the future.
Even if it meant death, even if it meant losing every shred of their reputation, they had not hesitated.
They were both worthy of respect.
"There's no time to waste. That man is here too, so let's leave this place quickly."
Seeing Erebus descend from the sky on a wyvern, Elise and the others departed.
"Next, we need to deal with the problems affecting your bodies. Let's find somewhere quiet!"
...
It was still that same little rural village.
There was none of the clamor of the city here. There were only simple fields and a small house...
No, the house looked rather dilapidated...
"It looks like it needs to be torn down and rebuilt."
Elise leaped from the wyvern's back and landed firmly on the soil.
Hm?
At that moment, Elise noticed that the soil here was exceptionally soft. Combined with the beautiful flowers in the distance, it was clear that the owner of this place had truly poured a great deal of effort into it.
"Mm. Zald really did do a good job."
Alfia nodded repeatedly, while Zald stood speechlessly beside her.
Honestly, the fact that this place looked so beautiful was entirely thanks to Zald!
What had Alfia ever contributed?
Just then, a sound came from inside the house.
"Mom Alfia, welcome home!"
A white-haired, red-eyed boy who resembled a rabbit ran out of the house with a radiant smile.
Elise carefully studied the boy as well.
There could be no mistake. He was the protagonist of this world...
Bell Cranel!