161 I Want to Save Lion!

Chapter 161: I Want to Save Lion!

"No, no, no!"

"Don't eat me, no!"

Slaughter, ravage, predation.

The monster began its brutal massacre, starting with those who showed a willingness to fight.

Brave girls who fought back were killed one after another. It was a gruesome sight.

"Iska! Maryuu!"

Alise cried out the names of her fallen comrades, tears streaming continuously from her eyes.

The once brave captain of Astraea Familia could do nothing except cry in despair.

Of all the people present, Alise was the only adventurer who could somewhat contend against this monster.

To say contend, however, meant barely managing to keep herself alive in the face of the monster.

Once the monster changed its target, the red-haired captain of Astraea Familia, unable to match its speed, could only watch helplessly as her team members were killed one by one.

She could only powerlessly watch the miserable deaths of her friends and could do nothing about it.

Ryuu, who was severely injured, sat slumped in the distance.

Next to her was Kaguya, who had just used an elixir to stop the bleeding on her right arm.

As the executives of Astraea Familia, they could only helplessly watch as their teammates were slaughtered one by one.

An amazoness girl fond of dressing up was torn to pieces.

A human girl, skilled in cooking and who usually took care of everyone like a big sister, was bitten to death by the monster.

Ryuu watched as her companions were killed one by one, seeing the moments of their tragic deaths.

At this moment, it was as if she could hear something breaking inside her heart.

The tragic screams of her companions in the moment of death.

Friends who had shared hardships and laughter together turned into cold corpses. And what's worse, their corpses weren't intact.

All of this left Ryuu utterly heartbroken and in despair.

Elves are noble and proud, but they become extremely fragile once their spirit is broken, a tendency that is more pronounced in elves compared to other races.

Ryuu was no exception, and this was also why Kaguya mocked her for being 'weak' mentally.

For Ryuu, the Astraea Familia was her sanctuary; it was her solace.

In her heart, the friends from various races she met in the Astraea Familia—these close familia members with whom she had lived for several years—held an excessively important place.

Facing this sense of powerlessness, feeling an endless sense of loss.

The elf girl's pride and self-esteem were shattered, and she felt nothing but despair from the bottom of her heart.

For the first time in her life, the blond-haired elf experienced what 'fear' truly was.

No matter how powerful the enemy she had faced before, no matter what kind of 'evil' she encountered, she could confidently say that she would never yield.

But now, she was deeply afraid of this monster.

In this moment, a deep 'scar' was etched into her heart.

"Ahhhhh, no, don't come here!"

Finally, victims appeared among the members of Rudra Familia.

The members brought by Jura, just like the girls from Astraea Familia, were turned into chunks of flesh.

Failing to grasp the severity of the situation, they enjoyed the tragic plight of their sworn enemies, only to become prey to the monster before them as well.

After slaughtering almost all members of Astraea Familia, the monster turned its attention to the numerous members of Rudra Familia.

Following 'Dungeon Mother's' instructions, it intended to not let any adventurer leave this floor alive.

"Kaguya...are you alright?"

Taking advantage of the moment when the monster was slaughtering the members of Rudra Familia, Alise ran to Ryuu and Kaguya's side.

With her was Lyra, a pallum whom she had barely managed to save.

"Ha, can you still think that I'm fine in this miserable state? Our captain's eyes must be blind."

"...Sorry."

The four of them were the only remaining members of Astraea Familia.

Honestly, when the monster changed its target to Rudra Familia, Alise's first thought was to flee.

Unfortunately, she realized that even while slaughtering others, its eyes never left the defeated adventurers like them.

Not to mention their current state, even at their prime, Alise had no confidence in escaping from the clutches of this monster.

But if they were to fight back...look at the state of the four of them now.

Kaguya, with a broken arm and weakened from severe blood loss, and Ryuu, severely injured but barely managed to recover somewhat, yet mentally traumatized.

The former was fine, but the latter was obviously unable to continue fighting.

And Alise herself wasn't in great shape either.

She had been fighting desperately to save her team members from the monster's grasp.

Lyra was saved by Alise in a critical moment, but she only barely managed to save her.

Alise, though not severely injured, was in a state of exhaustion from the tremendous rescue effort.

As for Lyra who was rescued...

"Sorry, Alise, I'm afraid I won't be of much help anymore."

"My eyes...they were destroyed..."

"I-I can't see anything now..."

Lyra was only Lv3, lacking the powerful strength of the other members.

In the blast of magic that was reflected back, aside from the two magicians who turned to ash, Lyra was also the first to be injured.

Her bangs covered her tightly closed eyes, the skin around her eyes along with her eyeballs had melted away.

Perhaps because her nerves were charred, intense pain tormented Lyra all the time, causing her to tremble occasionally.

Ryuu sat on the ground, listening to the others' conversation, her physical wounds somewhat healed by the elixir but mentally, she was deeply traumatized.

After coughing a few times and spitting out the remnants of blood from internal injuries, the blond-haired elf shakily lifted her head to look at Alise.

At the same time, Alise looked back at Ryuu.

Their gazes met, and Ryuu could clearly see tenderness, concern, and unwavering determination in Alise's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kaguya, Lyra."

"Please leave your lives in my hands."

As if confirming something, Alise turned her gaze back to the other two and spoke in an apologetic tone.

"I want to save Lion."

Ryuu listened in astonishment to the red-haired captain's words.

In that moment, what flashed through her heart was not gratitude but a kind of indescribable sense of despair.

Because she knew she was about to lose these remaining companions in front of her as well. And, what's worse, she could do nothing about it.

"We had to make a choice about 'who to leave behind.' I'm already like a doll on the verge of breaking; dying here seems fitting."

Kaguya glanced at Ryuu, who was frozen in place, and easily agreed with Alise's decision.

"I don't want to die at all, but I'm the weakest one here, I would probably be the first to die anyway, so count me in as well."

Like Kaguya, Lyra also agreed with Alise's decision.

"But Alise, you should survive. As long as you and Astraea-sama are there, justice will not disappear."

Even knowing her words couldn't change Alise's decision, Kaguya couldn't help but try to persuade her.

"I've said before, there are as many justices as there are people, so justice will never have a correct answer."

Alise smiled at the Far East girl.

"But if it's Lion, she will surely choose the right direction. I place my trust in her."

(PS: I'm crying. This chapter is too sad. 😢😭😭)

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