I Must Catch Up to Him!

Chapter 158: I Must Catch Up to Him!

"Lion!"

"Hey, Lion! Are you listening to me?"

The sudden increase in volume gave Ryuu a big scare.

She lifted her head and looked towards Alise, who was calling her.

"Even though I'm talking as the captain, you are spacing out over there!"

"Humph, Lion, you've grown bolder, haven't you!"

Alise raised her eyebrows and stared at the blond elf.

She stretched out her index finger and poked the elf girl's forehead forcefully, then said in a very dissatisfied tone:

"You should always stay alert on the lower floors, I shouldn't need to emphasize this point again."

"Really, what have you been learning while following Luke all this time?"

Rubbing the spot on her forehead that had been poked, Ryuu, who didn't know why she had suddenly spaced out, apologized to Alise.

"Sorry, Alise, I got distracted."

"Hmm~! Good, as long as you understand."

Seeing Ryuu admitting her mistake honestly, the red-haired captain smiled at her.

She wasn't really angry; it was just a slight reminder since she saw Ryuu letting down her guard for a moment.

Although there weren't many monsters in their current location, they were still on the lower floors, and vigilance was necessary.

"When did our noble elf-sama become a lazy pig, even falling asleep while standing... This kind of dexterity is something I definitely can't do."

Naturally, Ryuu's slip-up led to Kaguya teasing her.

"!!!...Kaguya, I wasn't dozing off!"

"And, I've told you not to talk to me in that pretentious tone; it makes me inexplicably angry."

Kaguya always managed to ignite Ryuu's temper perfectly.

Seeing Kaguya and Ryuu about to start quarreling again, Lyra quickly interrupted them.

"Okay, Kaguya, stop teasing her."

"No matter how strong an adventurer is, there is nothing they can do when they encounter 'Those Days.' After all, she's a woman, so we should be considerate of her."

"Lyra! You're so annoying!"

Lyra's blunt words agitated the pure elf girl.

Ryuu suddenly became agitated.

"I'm not...not...not on 'that' day!"

Her face turned red as she glared at Kaguya and Lyra.

And the surrounding team members were also amused by the blond elf girl's embarrassed behavior.

The tense atmosphere that had started to rise in the team due to entering the lower floors had also eased somewhat.

This greatly relieved Lyra, who was responsible for adjusting the team's atmosphere.

Perhaps because this mission was particularly important, it had caused Alise and the other senior members to feel too much pressure.

A sense of foreboding always lingered in their hearts, and their nervousness also led to a not-so-good atmosphere in the entire team.

Now, after this disturbance, the team's atmosphere had started to return to normal.

At this point, Alise came over again.

"Ah, so Lion, it's 'that' day for you, I'm sorry! I didn't notice!"

She first apologized to Ryuu somewhat embarrassedly, then blinked and gave the elf girl a brilliant smile.

"But there's nothing we can do about it here, grumbling won't help in the dungeon, just bear with it for now!"

"Aaaah——!"

Watching her own captain's encouraging look, Ryuu couldn't help but let out a wail.

"Don't take Lyra's words seriously, Alise!"

The elf girl, with her ears red, brought joy to the entire team.

While laughing, they did not stop their advance and continued moving towards the lower floors.

...

Swoosh——!

Swoosh——!

Bang, bang, bang, bang——!

Luke and Ais became two streaks of light, one blue and one green, directly passing through the monsters' encirclement.

Without any intention of killing the monsters, facing these creatures that could hardly harm them, Luke and Ais chose to directly knock them away.

Wrapped in Prana and emerald wind, monsters from the upper and middle floors that couldn't even get close were directly blown away.

Because they hadn't returned to their Familia's base and had directly entered the dungeon, Luke and Ais only carried the most basic equipment.

The absence of proper equipment and items meant their safety in the dungeon drastically decreased.

Besides the weapons they carried and the armor they wore, the only items they had were a few bottles of potion and elixir in their pouches.

However, not carrying large backpacks, auxiliary equipment, or various items also meant that Luke and Ais were much lighter.

The lightly equipped duo broke through the dungeon with unprecedented speed.

Floor after floor, their pace was much faster than the pace of Astraea Familia led by Alise.

However, even though Luke and Ais were fast, it didn't change the fact that the Astraea Familia had already entered the lower floors.

"Ais, move aside!"

Luke looked at the elite monsters blocking their way, without any hesitation, he charged forward.

Normally, Luke would share the fighting opportunities evenly, leaving some monsters for Ais to fight together.

But now was a moment of urgency, so Luke had no intention of wasting time.

Whoosh——!

In the moment of unsheathing, Ser-Veresta transformed into the form of a great sword.

Black flames danced, and the fleeting sword light made it difficult for Ais to catch.

Whoosh——!

Ser-Veresta was unsheathed and then sheathed, and several elite monsters were instantly reduced to ashes.

"Let's go!"

Without any superfluous words, Luke, who had annihilated the monsters in the blink of an eye, didn't slow down at all.

Because it was a rescue mission, Luke did not hide his strength this time.

Fully exerting himself, he brought a huge shock to Ais beside him.

Lv5...

No, more than that!

Luke's upgrade to Lv5 definitely wasn't recent.

Ais stared at his back ahead, biting her lips unwillingly.

'Sure enough, he hid his strength.'

At this moment, Ais confirmed the question she had been pondering over the years.

Ais was not an idiot; on the contrary, she was very smart.

Having spent many years together with the boy, how could she not realize that Luke actually possessed far greater strength than herself?

Luke and Finn decided to hide this from Ais because they were afraid of stimulating her and causing some adverse effects.

But they were wrong; Ais was not as fragile as they imagined.

'Sure enough, he has always been ahead of me.'

'Sure enough, he is much stronger than he appears outside.'

Various thoughts echoed in the blond-haired girl's heart.

Finally, they formed a thought that rooted deeply in her heart.

'I must catch up to him!'

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