When Asfi witnessed the scene of Bete and Kaguya getting defeated, her heart sank.
"No... even those two..."
She shifted her gaze back to her familia, who were fighting the Violas and the Viscum with everything they had.
In that time, two more members had fallen.
The dwarven woman named Elilly, and Jose, a beast human.
There was no time to grieve.
The monsters kept swarming them without pause.
They were barely holding on... and she knew that eventually, they would hit their limits.
Then the word crept into her mind.
Retreat.
That meant leaving both Kaguya and Bete behind to preserve the lives of everyone else.
Asfi's thoughts drifted back to a conversation she'd had with Hermes some time ago.
'Asfi... I can see how exhausted you are, why don't you take a break?'
Hermes spoke with his usual carefree smile.
'Whose fault do you think that is?'
'You always force troublesome tasks on me.'
Asfi replied as an angry tick mark appeared on the side of her forehead.
'You are pretty strict, aren't you?'
Hermes said as he held the tip of his hat.
'If it's troublesome, why don't you get others to do the work for you? You are the captain after all, assigning tasks to your members is one of your roles.'
Asfi held his gaze for a moment before responding.
'I simply lead based on individual strengths and select those best suited for each job.'
'Everyone in the familia has something they excel at. Their value shifts depending on the situation, which is why I treat everyone equally.'
She said as she adjusted her glasses.
'Equal, huh?'
Hermes muttered as he turned his head.
'Hm? What is it?'
Asfi asked with a raised brow.
'Asfi, do you really believe that all lives hold the same value?'
Hermes questioned her with an uncharacteristically serious expression.
She remembered that at the time, she had been unable to answer.
Because her answer had already been clear.
'There is no way their lives hold more value than all of ours.'
Asfi thought as she clenched her fist.
"Everyone, listen to me!"
She called out.
They naturally looked in her direction, awaiting her command.
Even Lefiya and Filvis paused briefly to hear what she had to say.
They had long since acknowledged Asfi as a capable commander.
"We..."
For some reason, her words died in her throat the moment she looked into Lefiya's eager eyes... like a child waiting to be told what to do.
A sudden wave of guilt welled up inside her.
'No matter how many times I face a situation like this... I still can't get used to it, huh?'
But her sense of duty pushed through.
She clenched her hands so tightly that blood began to drip from between her fingers.
She opened her mouth, the word retreat sitting right on the tip of her tongue...
"Arvelia!"
A feminine voice rang out and cut through everything.
A burst of flames erupted and annihilated every monster in its path.
Even the Viscum lurched as a hole was torn clean through its body before it toppled to the ground with a heavy thud.
The area filled with orange light as the flames rose, and through the glow a figure appeared... red hair swaying in the heated air as the last of the explosions faded around her.
"Sorry for being late."
That bright, familiar smile.
The room erupted.
"Scarlet Harnel!"
"She's here!"
"Thank goodness."
As if a beacon of hope had appeared before them.
However, contrary to everyone else, Asfi wore a difficult expression.
'No... it's not enough...'
She acknowledged that Alise was strong, but...
'That woman is a monster... we aren't a match for her even if we all worked together. We will only die if we stay.'
Alise caught her expression and seemed to read it immediately.
She walked over and placed a hand on Asfi's shoulder.
"I know what you are worried about... but don't worry, things are going to be fine."
Alise paused as she shifted her gaze elsewhere.
"Because he is with us now."
Hearing her words, Asfi followed her gaze and found the back of a figure standing ahead... one who radiated a pressure in no way inferior to Revis.
Lefiya's eyes sparkled the moment he entered her line of sight.
"He's here!"
An even greater beacon of hope.
"Is that... Judas Spade?"
The captain of the Hermes Familia widened her eyes.
The very person her god Hermes had labeled as the next hero.
She wasn't personally familiar with him, but she had read Lulune's report from the incident on the 18th floor and gone through every investigation about him that Hermes had quietly tasked her with.
Because of that, she knew what kind of person he was and what he was capable of.
Through her blurring vision, Kaguya could make out the hazy silhouette of Revis approaching, sword raised.
Just as she swung down to finish her off...
A wall of earth erupted between them, forcing Revis to leap back.
'This magic...'
Revis felt a sense of deja vu as Judas stepped into view, placing himself between her and the collapsed bodies of Bete and Kaguya.
"So you are finally here."
She spoke with a malicious grin.
To think the revenge she had been seeking would come this soon.
Judas ignored her, his gaze dropping to the state Bete and Kaguya were in.
Both critical. If he didn't act soon, they would bleed out.
"Where do you think you're looking?"
Revis didn't waste any more time and charged, swinging her sword straight for his neck.
"Die!"
Her voice rang off the dungeon walls like a declaration to everyone present.
『Wrath of the Celestial Titan』
Blue lightning coiled around Judas' fist.
Before Revis could even react, his figure blurred and he surged forward.
The silhouette of a great beast materialized behind him, amplifying his presence and bearing down on everything around him with a pressure that drew sweat from Revis' skin.
The lightning condensed further... compressing, tightening, blazing with blinding intensity.
The sound of thunder rumbled not from above, but from Judas himself.
'Shit!'
Revis understood in an instant that what was behind that fist was beyond anything she could handle.
But there was no time left to dodge.
No time to block.
The impact was devastating.
Thunder rang through the ears of everyone present as Revis was launched off her feet and sent crashing into the dungeon wall on the far end of the pantry.
A shockwave tore outward from the point of impact, shaking the entire room as a human-shaped crater formed in the wall where she crash landed.
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