How to poach members?!
Inside the city, there exist two methods that are the most direct and effective.
The first is to take action directly and snatch them away, or even initiate a War Game, forcing the opposing deity to convert their children to one's own side to avoid their Familia being "destroyed."
Of course, this method is a no-go!
As the Familia of the Goddess of [Justice], how could they possibly do something so atrocious?!
Certainly, the most important reason is that they can't win.
The hierarchy among adventurers is strict. Isagi isn't stupid; he has been lectured by that idiot cat girl so many times and severely beaten by his Familia senior for so long. Over at the Loki Familia, aside from a large group of Lv.3 and Lv.4 Second-Class Adventurers, there are also three Lv.6 First-Class Adventurers. How could they possibly win?
So, this method won't work.
The second is a gentler and more common approach: utilizing one's own beautiful girls or handsome boys to hook up with the target, making the other party willing to convert for the sake of love.
Because theoretically, deities cannot interfere with the independent will of their children, this is also a method that is quite "prevalent" in the city—perhaps even unrivaled.
Thinking of this, Isagi revealed a somewhat worried expression, thinking to himself, In the end, do we really have to rely on looks?
Sigh!
But never in a million years did he expect that the moment this method was proposed, it would meet with unanimous opposition—three votes against it—from the other guys!
Seeing Cecil and Lefiya inexplicably standing directly on the same front as Ryuu-senpai, Isagi had no choice but to submit to the majority and abandon this idea.
"Phew..."
As the two Familia juniors also raised their hands to oppose the boy's "terrible" idea, Ryuu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
She thought that the juniors still harbored [Justice] in their hearts more or less and wouldn't do something so outrageous! Whether it was snatching people directly or going to "hook up" with the other party or whatever—how could that be considered the conduct of Justice?!
It was simply too blasphemous!!
However, watching Isagi's face full of deep contemplation as he muttered to himself alone, "Then I'll have to think of other ways to earn Miss Ais and Miss Tiona up the mountain... ah, no, earn them into the Familia," the Elf girl, as his senior, always had some bad premonitions...
The news of the Astrea Familia returning to the city caused quite a sensation.
This was naturally because the deities of the two previous Dark Familias had both been swallowed by the Dungeon due to [Gale]'s revenge.
Now, many deities in the city were speculating that the Goddess of Justice had also joined the revenge; otherwise, how could they have killed a Dark God inside the Dungeon?
Especially since there was a powerful Dark God like Rudra later on. Everyone thought that although that guy was stupid, surely he wouldn't run to the Deep Floors by himself, right?!
Faced with these numerous discussions, the Goddess didn't take them to heart, and naturally, they had no impact on Isagi and the others.
It was another summer afternoon.
The golden-haired girl was bidding farewell to Isagi with some reluctance.
Ever since they returned from subjugating the special monster that day, Ais had been running over to the [Courtyard of Stars] frequently these days. She said there wasn't really anyone at her own Familia, especially since Tiona was called away to the Port Capital by Loki the day after she returned, causing Ais to feel even more "lonely."
Compared to practicing swordsmanship silently alone at her Familia base, running over to find the boy to "train" together was obviously more interesting!
These days, Ais always ran over before dawn and only went back to sleep very, very late at night.
Isagi certainly welcomed this.
Since they had just moved, free labor was not to be wasted. Moreover, although Miss Ais looked airheaded, she was extremely efficient when doing things, much better than Ryuu-senpai.
The Good-for-nothing Senior was a guy who would trip even when carrying a plate to the table after cooking a meal herself. It was simply unbelievable! Compared to her, the Sword Princess was indeed much more capable; more than half the bricks for Cecil's workshop in the yard had been moved by her.
But on this afternoon, just as the golden-haired girl was discussing "combat techniques" with Isagi in the yard as usual...
Facing the boy holding a large flesh-and-blood cudgel, she watched him first retreat suddenly, then abruptly extend the cudgel to poke at her. Immediately following that, he quickly closed in, holding the long staff with both hands to begin a continuous series of stabs.
Then, he fiercely planted the long staff onto the ground. His entire person actually grasped the cudgel with both hands and spun around in mid-air just like that, while simultaneously kicking toward her.
After retracting the staff, he swung it in a horizontal sweep before planting it again. Like a pole vaulter, he borrowed the momentum to hold the other end of the long staff, positioning himself high above as he roared, "Waya!" and smashed down.
The set of operations flowed like moving clouds and flowing water.
Isagi called this "Eat my Phoenix Pierces Flower plus Stirring Formation plus Wind and Cloud Turn plus River and Sea Overturn plus Pillar Stance Full Focus Heavy Strike!"
It was indeed quite cool.
Ais and the other girls present all applauded. But just as the golden-haired girl intended to fight back, Tiona's silly little head popped out from outside the courtyard wall nearby.
"Ais!"
The Amazon girl, who had run back from the Port Capital early this morning, brought the Goddess's "order"!
"That guy Loki is calling you to go over to Melen."
"Eh?!"
She was obviously reluctant. But thinking that Riveria-mama was also there, and she would definitely be scolded if she didn't go, Ais could only silently say goodbye to Isagi and the others.
Then, Tiona stayed behind in the golden-haired girl's stead.
Yes!
This was the plan devised by the Goddess of "Conspiracy" and "Trickery"!!
Not only calling Ais away, but even the fact that the girl had been running to the Astrea Familia constantly these days was within Loki's grasp. This move, this move is called playing hard to get! First, let her child build a good relationship with the boy, then suddenly call her away; Isagi would definitely become reluctant to part, thinking about when he could see her again~
In contrast, Tiona was responsible for infiltrating the boy's inner circle, tasked with reporting all situations back in real-time.
To allow the Amazon girl to stay at the Astrea Familia to collect intelligence around the clock, Loki even used her ultimate move.
That was writing a letter to the Goddess of Justice.
She stated that she might stay in the Port Capital for a while recently. In that case, it would be troublesome for Tiona to travel back and forth between the city and the town to update her Status and such. So, she wanted to let the girl convert temporarily and live over at the Astrea Familia.
An open plot!
The Goddess of Justice could not refuse this, because not only was their relationship good, but this was also a fairly common occurrence in the city.
As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated! In order to collect all "intelligence" about the boy around the clock, finding a reason to let Tiona stay at the Astrea Familia was absolutely necessary!
Thus, the Amazon girl logically and naturally moved directly into the [Courtyard of Stars].
Isagi was greatly shocked by this!
He thought to himself, I haven't even started my plan yet, how did Lady Goddess already secure one?!
On the other side, Cecil proudly puffed out her soft chest, thinking her idea was indeed correct! It just so happened that there was one bed left in the room for Tiona. Hehehe, this way she could supervise this "dangerous Amazon" at any time!
As for Tiona, she was completely unaware of her own Goddess's thoughts—Loki was worried that the idiot would ruin things if she knew too much, so she only reminded her to be with Isagi as much as possible.
Regarding this, the Amazon girl didn't take it to heart at all!
Instead, she was in a great hurry. After completing the conversion just this evening, she wanted to show Lefiya and Isagi the new "ability" she comprehended while teaching her sister a lesson in the Port Capital these past few days!!!
The night sky was quiet.
Under the large tree in the courtyard, Tiona clenched her hands into fists, her silly little face taut with extreme seriousness.
In front of Isagi and Lefiya, she continuously squeezed her fists tighter, and finally—
"Ohhhhhhh!!!"
Crimson blood qi abruptly burst forth from between the girl's hands.
That mist-like aura exploded out like a volcanic eruption, then instantly transformed into countless deep red blood threads, subsequently winding around Tiona's hands.
Previously, when the Amazon girl used the [Special Technique] 'Mountain Splitting Slash', blood qi would erupt like this and wrap around her weapon, turning it into a blood-red great blade.
But that was only for an instant.
As the attack ended, both her hands and the great blade would return to their original state. But now it was different; now Tiona could maintain control of the blood qi winding between her own hands continuously.
Under the stars and moon, inexplicably, both Isagi and Lefiya could hear the sound of a heart beating "thump-thump-thump." The Amazon girl's eyes were now blood-red; paired with that silly little face, it just made people feel very strange!
"How is it! Isagi! Lefiya!! Look at my He-He-Ha-Huo!!!"
Amidst her punching, the surging blood qi even caused the boy and girl standing quite far away to inexplicably feel some kind of vibration in their bodies. It was like a silent great drum being fiercely beaten right by their ears.
Not heard, but felt.
This was neither magic nor a skill—Tiona's status panel hadn't changed at all, but it was as if she had obtained a new "Enchantment Magic." By continuously burning blood qi to keep herself in an injured state, she triggered her innate skill [Berserk Fury], gaining an increase in attack power.
Tiona called this move "Blood Qi Rampage"!
Isagi could only sigh with emotion at this. The idiot Tiona had gone down the path of the Red Dog (Berserker) past the point of no return.
Come to think of it, she didn't comprehend this [Ability] because he told her the "Story of the Berserker Kazan" before, right?!
Ugh...
It seemed there was no problem; after all, Kazan is also a Soul! It was just that this burning blood qi was indeed constantly suppressing the girl's health status. Keeping it on for too long might even cause her to faint directly due to being unable to withstand it—this was the body's instinctive protection mechanism.
"Then it'll be fine if we have healing magic."
Aside from being able to give Tiona the Healing Gourd to drink or using high-level healing potions himself, Isagi thought of it. To maintain the "Blood Qi Explosion" state for a long time, the team just needed a healer to continuously "add HP" to the girl.
He thought of this because after Ryuu-senpai returned to the Familia, she naturally taught the magic she knew to Lefiya.
Among them, besides the attack magic [Luminous Wind] that could summon light spheres, there was also the healing magic named [Noah Heal].
"Now, the song of the distant forest, the melody of past life. Please grant the mercy of healing to those who beseech thee—"
With the Elf girl's chant, a faint green light fell into Tiona's body.
"Ah~"
She could feel the body's recovery and the burning of blood qi canceling each other out! Tiona blinked, thinking It really works!!
Lefiya was also very happy. Because of Ryuu-senpai's return, she had also learned new magic. The only regrettable thing was that she could use Senior's very special magic named [Astrea Record], but it had no effect.
According to the Goddess, it was not "Summoning Magic," but "Inheritance Magic." It was an exclusive ability that could only be used due to the resonance of the soul with former companions; if one could not hear their voices, then one could not bring out the effect.
Lefiya simply didn't know the Familia seniors who had long passed away, so naturally, she couldn't use it.
"If that's the case, is it possible to..."
Tiona seemed to have thought of something again, dragging Lefiya to start preparing to test her own limits—
Lefiya also wanted to let Tiona conduct combat training with her to test the results of her recent continued practice of [Concurrent Chanting], and at the same time, verify the new "imagined magic."
The two girls were extremely serious and fully focused, lacking their usual rowdiness entirely.
On the other side, in the corner of the yard, the workshop built of red bricks was brightly lit, echoing with the clinking and clanking sounds of iron forging. Everyone was working hard.
Isagi checked the time, thinking it was about time, so he turned and left the Familia base, walking toward the outside.
The boy's retreating figure attracted the attention of the Familia senior who was originally watching everything from before the large floor-to-ceiling window in the living room on the second floor.
Recently, Ryuu had discovered that Isagi always went out alone at night, going who knows where. Sometimes, he even ran out at two or three in the morning. It was simply ridiculous!
Driven by curiosity, the Elf girl followed him and soon discovered that the boy's target was clear: the Dungeon located in the center of the city.
Eh? Isagi is going adventuring alone?
Perplexed, Ryuu silently followed behind the boy. Not long after, they arrived at the familiar 5th Floor.
Deep in that quiet, silent cave, behind the pale stone walls, was the [Circular Colosseum] that was equally incredibly familiar to the Elf girl.
Inside, it was still pitch black. It was just that the bloody slaughter of that day, the severed limbs of the Rudra Familia everywhere, and the corpse of the deity were long gone, their whereabouts unknown.
The equally pale ground was clean.
In the darkness, the Golden Cock Knight still stood proudly within, emitting an incomparably brilliant radiance while waiting for the arrival of a challenger.
And Ryuu saw it.
Isagi walked into it without hesitation. He wore no armor, nor did he carry other equipment; the boy wore only his daily clothes, not even bringing the cloak [Pandora's Shadow] that rarely left his body.
The only weapon was that pitch-black [Blade of Ten Thousand Bones] in his hand.
Just like that, simply and plainly, the boy stepped forward. Then, he issued a challenge to the [Golden Miracle] that stood proudly in this place.
____
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