Thinking about it carefully, what kind of person was Elise in Sylvia's eyes?
Radiant, holy, occasionally a little mischievous, but overall, a genuinely good person.
Sylvia felt incredibly fortunate to have met a friend like her.
But fate seemed to have played a cruel joke on her, causing the people she cared about most to suffer harm.
First was her teacher, Ursula. They had met when Sylvia was still young, and Ursula had taught her both singing and combat. She was practically both a teacher and a mother to Sylvia, yet because of some mysterious organization, she had been missing for so many years.
Then there was her close friend, Elise...
Originally, she had thought Elise had been controlled by Dirk and his people. As long as she defeated Dirk and those hiding behind him, she would be able to get Elise back.
No one could have imagined that behind something that seemed so simple, there would actually be an existence claiming to be a god involved as well.
This had completely exceeded Sylvia's understanding. If her opponent truly was an omniscient and omnipotent god, then everything she did would be futile.
But there were no ifs in this world!
Although Sylvia respected Elise's religious beliefs, if an existence claiming to be a god actually appeared before her, she would still doubt it.
Especially when that being had supposedly taken over her friend's body. Sylvia believed it even less.
So for the sake of her friend, she was going to launch a powerful attack!
Normally, Sylvia's primary means of attack was her singing, because her ability allowed her to transform her songs into various powers, occasionally supplemented with a little hand-to-hand combat.
After all, she had trained in dancing. From her encounter with Ayato Amagiri in the original story, it was obvious that Sylvia's physical combat skills far surpassed those of ordinary students.
Even if Queenvail Girls' Academy was the weakest academy, someone capable of ranking first there could never be simple.
Naturally, Sylvia also possessed a finishing move of her own, a technique she would never use under ordinary circumstances.
"Come to think of it, this is a technique I developed after discussing it with Elise back then."
And now she was actually going to use that very technique against her friend...
Even so, Sylvia didn't hesitate in the slightest despite facing Elise. After all, she had already said it...
She would save Elise!
Elise didn't move, because in her eyes, Sylvia no longer posed any threat whatsoever.
Just moments ago, she had used Divine Word to freeze the Prana within Sylvia's body.
Even though Sylvia mobilized every bit of strength she possessed and tried to break through the seal, all her efforts ultimately came to nothing.
If she couldn't use her Strega ability, then all she had left was hand-to-hand combat.
But Elise's physical strength had undergone a massive enhancement in the world of DanMachi!
To put it simply, even without using any defensive measures such as Barrier of the Stars, Elise could spend an entire day being bombarded with missiles and still emerge completely unharmed!
Ordinary human fists were even less worth mentioning.
That was why Elise felt completely at ease. Sylvia couldn't possibly cause any trouble. Even if Elise did absolutely nothing, her attack wouldn't accomplish anything.
However, Elise unusually chose to deactivate her Barrier of the Stars.
After all, she had deceived her close friend. Letting Sylvia punch her once after lowering her defenses didn't seem like much... at least, that was what Elise thought.
It wouldn't hurt much anyway. Letting Sylvia vent a little wasn't a big deal.
Of course, she couldn't stop talking either.
"Humans are fragile. Most of your strength has already been sealed by me. What could those feeble fists of yours possibly accomplish?"
"Still, I can allow you to strike me right here. Consider it an act of mercy."
As she spoke, Elise even pointed at her own left cheek.
Her meaning was obvious. If Sylvia wanted to attack, she had better aim there.
"Then I really should thank you!"
Sylvia didn't say anything more, simply treating it as the other party looking down on her.
But...
You will absolutely pay the price for that arrogance!
In the blink of an eye, Sylvia had already clenched her fist and arrived directly in front of Elise, her attack about to land.
That was how things should have developed...
But Elise discovered that Sylvia's fist wasn't flying toward her face at all. Instead, it brushed past her ear, and judging from the motion, Sylvia seemed to be trying to pull her into an embrace...
Could this be some more advanced grappling technique?
"But in the end, all of this is still useless. Nothing more than a final struggle..."
"We'll see about that."
"What?"
Sylvia, who had originally rushed toward Elise as though preparing to attack, suddenly unclenched her fist and spread both arms wide.
"Who said I was going to attack?"
Sylvia's face had been completely expressionless just moments earlier, yet right before she wrapped her arms around Elise, it transformed into a gentle smile. Even the way she looked at Elise became increasingly strange...
"What are you trying to—mmph!"
Before Elise could finish speaking, Sylvia's soft lips pressed firmly against hers, completely sealing her mouth.
Naturally, the method she used was rather special.
As Uncle once said, only magic could defeat magic!
And when it came to sealing someone's mouth, the only thing Sylvia could use was her own...
Her moist tongue slipped between Elise's parted lips, gently brushing against hers before curling around it.
For a moment, Elise's eyes widened. This had completely exceeded her expectations, leaving her frozen in place.
Sylvia simply closed her eyes and focused all her attention on the tip of her tongue... savoring the rare delicacy within her mouth!
Second after second passed, and no one knew exactly how long it lasted. The two of them remained locked in a stalemate within a space smaller than even one cubic decimeter.
Then Elise suddenly took a large step backward, breaking free from Sylvia's embrace.
But as she pulled away, a thin silver strand stretched through the air before finally vanishing...
"So this is what Elise tastes like. It's my first time finding out..."
Sylvia touched her burning-red face, feeling her body temperature rise as her voice gradually became lower.
Elise, however, paid no attention to any of that. She merely stared intently at Sylvia, desperately trying to understand why she had done such a thing.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Elise had suffered this kind of surprise attack once before...
But that time, it had been Freya, the goddess who wanted men, women, young, and old alike!
Sylvia was a perfectly normal girl. Elise had confirmed that countless times. Even if Sylvia felt love toward her, it should only have been the love between friends, unless...
As a certain possibility occurred to her, Elise's eyes widened, and the way she looked at Sylvia became strange.
"Sylvia, don't tell me you...?!"
"That's right. I only confirmed it just now..."
The songstress, who had lowered her head, slowly raised it again. The emotion in her eyes had already become impossible to describe with words.
"I have romantic feelings for Elise!"
The moment she said those words, Sylvia became completely different from before.
In the past, Sylvia had always regarded Elise as her close friend, someone she could discuss any problem with.
But as time passed, those feelings seemed to undergo a slight change.
At first, Sylvia didn't react much. She thought her relationship with Elise would simply continue like this forever, with the two of them always remaining the closest of friends.
But after this vacation ended, when Sylvia saw Elise once again at the Church headquarters, something about her had changed.
Sylvia still remembered that when she saw Elise inside the Church headquarters, even she had experienced quite a strong reaction.
Compared to before, Elise had changed far too much!
The most obvious difference was her aura. It no longer felt human at all... Perhaps that had been the moment?
(Freya: You should thank me.)
Perhaps it was from that moment onward that Elise had ceased to be Elise...
It was only later, during her conversation with Fan Xinglou, that Sylvia learned more definite information about these matters. The emotions in her heart then erupted completely, leading her to do something so unimaginable.
"I'm absolutely, unquestionably, and completely certain now. These really are the feelings I have for Elise!"
Sylvia clenched her hand, and the way she looked at Elise gradually changed as well.
Elise awkwardly took two steps backward, her expression becoming complicated.
Originally, she had lowered her defenses because she intended to let Sylvia punch her once and vent some of her dissatisfaction.
Who could have imagined that Sylvia would simply throw herself into her arms instead?
And under those circumstances, she had even made such a profound confession to Elise.
What exactly are you doing, Sylvia?!
Elise screamed frantically inside her heart. Right now, she was supposed to be playing the role of a god who had stolen her own body. Wasn't Sylvia afraid that doing something like this would anger the god and get her erased on the spot?
Sylvia remained standing where she was without moving, simply staring at Elise. Elise, meanwhile, was momentarily speechless and had no idea what to say. The two remained locked in silence for some time until a string of strange laughter finally shattered the stillness completely.
"Heh... Hahahahaha!"
Sylvia covered her eyes and simply threw back her head in laughter, something that had long been one of her usual habits.
Even Elise couldn't understand why such an expression had appeared on Sylvia's face. It was truly difficult to imagine.
"Haha, sorry. I seem to have gotten a little too happy."
"But I really am very happy. It's been a long time since I've felt this happy!"
Sylvia looked at Elise, who was standing right in front of her. The corners of her lips rose slightly, and her eyes shone brilliantly.
"Elise's consciousness hasn't completely disappeared, has it?"
This was what Sylvia had been trying to do. No matter how things developed afterward, she had intended to carry out this test...
She wanted to determine whether Elise's consciousness was still inside the body standing before her.
"You already said it yourself, didn't you? You're the god of this world."
"And now I've committed something practically equivalent to blasphemy against you. Aren't you going to punish me?"
That had been Sylvia's plan from the beginning. She had never intended to fight Elise to determine a victor. Instead, she had been using small details to judge whether Elise was still inside the body before her.
If someone had been willing to help by providing some external stimulation, that would have been even better. It would have allowed Sylvia to confirm even more clearly just what kind of existence the person before her truly was.
The result was naturally obvious. Through this attempt to provoke Elise, Sylvia had successfully obtained the information she wanted.
"It's not that you don't want to punish me. You simply can't, right?" Sylvia's expression finally began to calm.
In Sylvia's eyes, this so-called god who had taken over Elise's body must have been subject to some sort of restriction...
Otherwise, why hadn't it descended personally instead of choosing possession?
So Sylvia concluded that the being occupying Elise's body wasn't actually a god at all, but rather a member of the Starpulse Generation with some unusual ability.
Elise hadn't truly died either. A certain portion of her consciousness still remained within her body!
"Elise is still alive in this world. Just knowing that is enough to satisfy me."
"..."
Watching Sylvia's reaction, Elise had no idea what she was supposed to say. Sylvia had gone through all that trouble merely to verify something like this. Just what had been going through her head?
But... from another perspective, Sylvia's actions were enough to prove just how deep her feelings for Elise truly were!
Step!
At this tense moment, Sylvia suddenly took a step forward, instantly putting Elise on alert.
"What are you trying to do?"
Nearly every defensive measure around Elise activated in an instant. She cautiously retreated two steps, maintaining a safe distance from Sylvia.
"Are you scared?"
Sylvia didn't answer the question immediately. Instead, she thoughtfully watched Elise retreat on guard, and that reaction only reinforced her theory further.
This might actually be a breakthrough! If I can do it a few more times, maybe I can bring Elise's consciousness back!
Sylvia licked the corner of her lips, savoring the memory of the delicacy she had tasted earlier... As expected of Elise. Even in this regard, she was completely different from everyone else!
"You're supposedly a god, yet you're afraid of someone from the Starpulse Generation whose power has already been sealed..."
It was an extremely simple provocation, and Elise naturally wouldn't fall for it so easily. But the faintly contemptuous look on Sylvia's face still struck Elise like a hammer.
If it had come from a stranger, it wouldn't have mattered much. But when someone as close to Elise as Sylvia reacted like this, it was incredibly difficult to ignore.
"I'm not afraid. I simply don't wish to be tainted by worldly desire."
"Your emotions have been somewhat unstable ever since just now, so to prevent any accidents, I'll have to do this..."
Ever since their physical contact moments earlier, Sylvia's emotions had become extremely abnormal. The most obvious signs were her accelerating heartbeat and heavy breathing.
If this continued, Sylvia was definitely going to get carried away!
Something even more indescribable might happen!
And Elise... even she had no idea what sort of attitude she should take toward a close friend who had confessed her love.
"We need more time."
"Please get some proper rest..."
As soon as those words fell, Sylvia felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier. When even her vision began to blur, she finally couldn't hold on any longer and toppled to the side.
At that critical moment, Elise caught Sylvia before she could fall.
Yet as Elise held the songstress in her arms, her eyes were filled with complicated emotions.
"You're making this difficult for me, Sylvia..."
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