CH. 281: Corrupted Spirit?

During breakfast, Astraea refused to look at Asahi. She wasn't a Goddess of Purity for nothing.

"Junior, did Valletta say something?"

Asahi turned toward Aimi, who was quietly nibbling on the sandwich. She put it down and wiped her lips. "Her patron deity is Thanatos. He is one of the Evilus leaders alongside Ikelos…"

"Three judgments pending," Asahi said. "Did she know their current location?"

Aimi shook her head. "Dix Perdix carried out the base reposition without her consent. Also… she said something about Spirits. It would be better to hear from Valletta herself."

"Spirits?" Astraea asked, wondering why the children of gods came up from an Evilus' member. "I'll get this talk over with before meeting Ouranos."

Astraea and Aimi were only raising Asahi's curiosity. He asked Saeko to check up on Valletta's injuries. Saeko could heal with her water element. Letting Astraea see a half-dead woman wasn't on his to-do list anytime soon.

Saeko grinned on the other side of the table. "I healed her last night. It was easier to break her like this…"

A sadist and yandere teamed up on one person. Asahi shuddered, imagining the torture Valletta went through. He quickly finished breakfast and dragged Astraea. Aimi tagged along for easy interrogation. Alise also followed them for more answers.

When Asahi walked in, Valletta was shaking in the corner of the room, her arms hugging her knees to her chest. He might have pitied her if he didn't know the kind of woman she was. During the Great War half a year ago, she spared no chance to slaughter innocent and brew chaos.

"Oi, wake up."

Valletta shakily raised her head and her wide eyes froze on Aimi. The yandere walked toward Valletta and yanked her to her feet.

"Sit there."

Valletta obediently sat down.

"Now, answer Asahi-sama's questions."

Astraea was amazed by the sheer dominance Aimi asserted on Valletta. She had only seen the quiet and stoic side of Aimi so far.

'I should learn more about them… I'll be a part of their family soon.'

First, she had to confront Alise. The redhead also had genuine feelings for Asahi. She wasn't going to let her beloved captain bury those feelings away in fear. Not after what she had seen Alise go through in her past.

"First of all, what was Evilus' plan for hiding in the dungeon?"

Valletta looked up and her trembling lips parted. "Securing a route for the corrupted spirit. They were slated to destroy Orario."

"Corrupted spirit?"

Asahi barely knew a thing about spirits, so he turned to Astraea. She told him whatever she knew, still a lot more than the current libraries of Orario.

Spirits were the weapons prepared by the gods to help humanity before they descended and bestowed the blessing of Falna. Spirits bestowed divine protection upon the humans, giving them a chance against the monsters.

"Why corrupted?" Astraea questioned. "What corrupted them?"

The ancient spirits had guided heroes in the dungeon over a thousand years ago. Could Valletta be talking about them?

"I don't know about that. She is a beautiful woman stuck in a giant plant body. Stronger than any monster I ever met… he said a monster consumed a spirit's blood and flesh, and she came out as the result."

"That… wouldn't it mean they are over a thousand years old?"

The shocking discovery left Astraea questioning how many secrets the dungeon hid in its lairs.

Asahi focused on a different part of Velleta's words. "He? Who is he now?"

"The white-masked man."

Asahi tried his best to not curse at this reality. Just when he thought he figured everything out, a new masked villain appeared out of nowhere.

"And you don't know his identity?"

Valletta shook her head. "His mask is the head of a skull sheep."

Alise began writing the details on Astraea's instructions. For someone with a crude sense of humor, Alise had a delicate and elegant handwriting style.

"How many people do you have in your cult?" Asahi questioned.

Her answer baffled him. Not only did they have this freakish strong spirit, but they also had two humans who grew stronger from eating magic stones. Their level was beyond level 5.

Asahi realized something he should have a lot sooner. 'We're dealing with a major plot, probably going to happen five years later.'

Even Ishtar wasn't supposed to get on the soon-to-kicked list until she messed with Bell. Freya slapped her off her tower, crushing her divine bones with the fall.

'Ah, whatever. I'm gonna kill them whenever they show up.'

The only problem was his Familia. If Evilus targeted any of the weaker adventurers, he would be mad. Even if they weren't his women, they were still the women Astraea adored as her children.

'Time for them to train with Aimi-sensei.'

He could spare an hour or two for them if it boosted their survival chances. Solidifying his plans, he nodded his head and made Valletta spit out every piece of information.

Dix Perdix had an older, Barca Perdix. Unlike Dix, who was a strong adventurer, his brother was a level 4 capable of creating magic items.

"This is a lot…" Astraea muttered with a sigh. "I thought Evilus was going to be finished."

"It's not like they can do anything outside the dungeon as they are now."

"True… I'm going to the meeting."

"Want me to drop you off?"

"No! I'll escort Astraea-sama."

Alise took Astraea's hand and pulled her away from him. Astraea gave a soft smile before leaving.

"What will happen to me…?"

Valletta asked in a squirrel-like voice. Aimi's torture had thoroughly tamed her wild nature. All she could think of was leaving this hell and throwing herself in some wild forest where the bells of civilization won't disturb her ever again.

"I don't know. I'll leave you to Kaguya."

Valletta's face paled. Even as ladies of justice, the Astraea Familia wasn't so naive that they spared criminals. They held the core values of an adventurer. Individuals who wandered the line between life and death every day in the dungeon. The only exception being Ryuu, who was a bit naive. Kaguya was the most down-to-earth among them. Never afraid to say and do what was on her mind.

'Time to take Rini and Ray out, then some dungeon time.'

He met Rini and Ray in the room. Instead of the usual teleportation route, he chose to spend his ever-growing KP to buy one of the cheapest stealth artifacts for a better experience for the Siren.

Invisibility Helm of Hades (Rank EX): The mythical cap embodying the concept of 'Stealth', created and used by Hades to kidnap his wife Persephone. Any God without omniscience won't be able to detect you.

(Price – 150000KP)

'How much do I have now?'

(Almost three million. The members of Evilus gave lots of karma!)

'Goddamn.'

He pulled out the black helmet from his ring and fitted it on Ray's head. She vanished from his view. Even his instincts couldn't find her anywhere. It was a total cheat artifact capable of deceiving even his senses. It appeared to work without mana or charge of any kind.

"W-Where is she?" Rini panicked a little. "O-Onii-san?"

"Ray, take off the helmet."

Ray appeared again with the helmet in her hands. "What is this?"

"Just a simple tool."

(My love, t-there is an option you can use to see her. It's a bit lewd…)

'Say it.'

(You need to hold her hands.)

'...'

He held Ray's hand and put the helmet on with his telekinesis.

"I can see you."

"I can't see her." Rini poked randomly, hitting Ray's cheeks by chance. "I can feel her."

Ray, who was the center of this attention, was grateful to have the helmet to cover her ears dancing in joy.

Asahi taught Rini how to 'see' Ray, and together they walked out of the mansion.