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Chapter 305: Alise's Will
"They won't die that easily."
Riveria's tone was calm but resolute. The Loki Familia had weathered countless desperate situations just like this; it had forged her absolute trust in her comrades.
She withdrew her magic. Ais's complexion had already regained a bit of color.
Turning her head, Riveria looked at Alise seriously with her emerald eyes.
"What about you… Alise? After we're rescued, what do you plan to do? Will you return to the surface?"
"Aw man, I deliberately glossed over that subject! Why did you have to bring it up?" Alise let out an exaggerated groan, resting her hands on her hips and forcing a smile that was almost painfully bright. "I don't know yet! I'm still super lost about the whole thing."
Seeing her put up such a breezy front, a faint, helpless, yet nostalgic smile slowly graced Riveria's lips.
"…Still the same as ever. That endlessly optimistic personality, and that flighty attitude… You're exactly the same as the Alise in my memories. I'm certain now. You really are Alise."
"Hey! You mean you didn't believe me this whole time?! I'm getting mad, you know!" Alise pouted, feigning indignation.
"My apologies," Riveria replied, deadpan and entirely serious.
"Sigh… I was just joking. You really take things too seriously, Riveria."
Faced with Riveria's utter earnestness, Alise's faux-anger vanished, and she sighed helplessly.
She walked over to the cave entrance, double-checking the distance once more before lowering her voice, speaking with absolute certainty. "Let me guess. You guys have reinforcements coming, right? Even though it's been a few years and I don't really know how Orario has changed, the only people capable of saving you in this kind of situation are probably those freaks from the Freya Familia."
"Shakti and her group must have leveled up by now, right? Still, to deal with those two monsters outside, Level 5 is nowhere near enough."
Alise had almost perfectly deduced the Loki Familia's only available option.
Riveria nodded silently, tacitly confirming her guess.
"Our comrades have already returned to the upper floors. I have faith in them. They will definitely find the most reliable reinforcements for us."
Riveria trusted Raul and Lefiya, and she trusted their goddess, Loki, even more. Once Loki learned of the mortal peril they were in, the fiercely protective goddess would do absolutely everything in her power to save them. Even if it meant lowering her proud head to her greatest rival—the Goddess Freya.
For any Familia, forcing their patron deity to bow to another god just to save them was an indescribable humiliation.
But they were family.
And wasn't that exactly what family was for?
"Alise." Riveria's expression suddenly turned grave. "We need to talk."
"Uh… You getting all serious all of a sudden is making me nervous." Alise scratched her cheek guiltily with one finger, her eyes instinctively darting away.
"It's agonizing, isn't it?" Riveria sighed softly, her voice tinged with sorrow. "Constantly suppressing that killing intent, just staying near us… It must be torturing you."
The smile on Alise's face froze instantly.
She slowly lowered her hand, her head drooping, her voice laced with self-deprecation. "…So you noticed. Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's you, after all."
She raised her head again, tossing her hands up as that helpless smile returned to her face.
"You can see it for yourself. My outside looks like me, and my soul is still me, but… in a way, I'm not really me anymore."
"There's a voice in my head that won't stop talking to me. It keeps telling me to kill you. To kill every adventurer in the Dungeon. I… I can't do it, but I don't know how much longer I can hold out."
"If this keeps up, I'm going to go crazy sooner or later."
"When that happens, I'll have to trouble you to… set me free."
Alise's tone was incredibly light, as if they weren't discussing her own death.
But Riveria, along with Ais—who had remained silent but had been listening to every word—simultaneously displayed expressions of deep sorrow.
"I can't do it," Ais murmured under her breath. Asking her to kill someone she used to know… she just couldn't do it.
"Aw, little Ais has grown up, but she's still just as cute." Alise couldn't help but chuckle at Ais's heartbroken expression, reaching out to affectionately ruffle her golden hair.
Then, she pulled her hand back, turned around, and looked Riveria dead in the eye. A resolute light blazed within her green eyes.
"Riveria, you know me. I'm a member of the Goddess of Justice's Familia. If I'm forced to do something that disgraces justice, that would be far more agonizing than death."
"So, if I really do lose control… you can't hesitate, okay?"
Riveria tightened her grip on her staff. She stared deep into Alise's eyes. After a long silence, she gave a solemn nod.
"I promise."
Receiving the vow, Alise let out a breath, looking visibly relieved.
But the atmosphere inside the cavern only grew heavier.
"Alise…" Riveria hesitated for a moment before finally asking the question weighing on her. "Don't you… want to know what happened to the Astrea Familia… after you died?"
From the very beginning, Alise hadn't asked a single question about the Astrea Familia, about Ryuu, or about their patron deity, Goddess Astrea. It was as if she had completely forgotten her past.
"Ah, that…"
Alise's signature, bright smile returned to her face, as if the heavy conversation from a moment ago had never happened.
"I don't even need to ask to know! After all, Ryuu is an absolute idiot. She's probably driving herself into a corner somewhere overthinking things, isn't she?"
"As for Lady Astrea… she doesn't need me worrying about her. Besides, with her around, I don't have to worry about that idiot Ryuu doing something completely stupid."
Alise laughed as she spoke.
Yet, Riveria sharply caught the fleeting, unhideable dimness and profound sadness lurking in the very depths of her eyes.
"Leaving Ryuu all alone was my failure as a Captain. I have no excuses for that."
"But…"
Alise looked up at the crystal canopy stretching like a sky outside the cavern. A smile brighter than the sun broke across her face.
"Even if she complains about me, even if she resents me… as long as she's the only one, someone has to survive."
"Otherwise… Lady Astrea would be so heartbroken."
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