Alise suddenly stood up in the bath, water cascading down her figure as she planted both hands on her hips.
"Everyone! Your honest and beautiful captain has tested the temperature for you." She declared with sparkling eyes. "It's perfectly comfortable."
Her proud shout echoed off the stone walls. The others exchanged amused glances, grinning at Alise's ever-unshakable enthusiasm.
"Wait for me, Captain!"
"Here I come, watch this!"
"Mmm. After today's chaos, this is exactly what I needed."
"No kidding. This water feels amazing."
Laughter and cheerful voices bubbled up as one by one, the rest of the girls followed Alise's lead and slipped into the steaming bath.
Standing just outside, Kaguya loosened her kimono belt, her every motion slow and elegant. She exhaled softly, a gentle sigh slipping from her lips. "Children. All of you, really..."
She muttered with a helpless smile, "I can't do anything with you lot."
"Haha, as long as everyone's having fun." Astraea replied, chuckling as she delicately removed her own robe. Her voice was as warm and kind as ever, her demeanor dignified even in undress.
The two women entered the steaming bath together, their expressions melting into relaxation as they leaned back against the edge, letting the heat seep into their skin.
It was a rare moment of peace.
Meanwhile, Akira was finally released from captivity, Iska put him down near the bath entrance. He barely had time to react before—
"WAAAH!"
Iska, now entirely unclothed and completely unashamed, sprinted forward and cannonballed into the tub with all the explosive force of a depth charge. A massive wave of water rose up and drenched everyone nearby, rippling out with shock and steam.
Akira wiped a few hot droplets from his face, deadpan.
This familia… They're seriously starting to forget I'm a guy.
As if sensing his thoughts, a small hand slapped his back, and a teasing voice echoed by his ear.
"What's wrong? You and the others embarrassed to come in?"
Turning his head, Akira found Alise standing next to him, half-dressed, and completely nonchalant about his presence. She tilted her head, eyes glittering with mischief. She didn't even flinch under his gaze. Clearly, her shame had been incinerated long ago.
And which "others" was she talking about?
Akira followed her gaze and sure enough, two familiar figures peeked nervously around the doorway, cheeks burning bright red.
Ryuu and Celty.
Figures.
Akira let out a long sigh and gave in to his fate.
"I get it. I'm going."
His voice was tinged with reluctant acceptance as he began to undress, movements stiff and mechanical like a condemned prisoner removing his uniform.
As his mind wandered in an attempt to distract himself from the present chaos, a random thought popped in, 'Come to think of it, Lyra's hair is still brown. So she can't dye that kind of place, huh…'
Once he had neatly folded his clothes into the basket and wrapped a towel around himself, Akira turned to head toward the bath only for Lyra to suddenly yank him by the arm and pull him in without warning.
"Wait—!"
Splash!
Water exploded around them as he stumbled into the bath, flailing around. Laughter erupted all around.
Akira quickly recovered, surfacing with an indignant expression but he wasn't going down alone. He dove again, snatching at Lyra's ankles underwater.
"WAAAH!" She shrieked, tumbling in after him.
The two surfaced seconds later, both coughing and sputtering, their hair plastered to their foreheads.
"You little sneak!" Lyra cried out, feigning outrage. "You dare pull me under like that, Akira?"
She retaliated at once, splashing him wildly with both hands like an angry child.
"You started it." Akira laughed, throwing a counter-splash that sent another wave crashing toward her.
"AH! You two!" Iska shouted nearby. "You splashed it on me!"
Iska, now thoroughly energized, waded in like a combatant joining the battlefield. She splashed Akira with both hands, then pivoted mid-charge to soak Lyra from the side.
It became a chaotic three-way battle. Water flew in all directions, ricocheting off the walls and bodies alike. But thankfully, the bath was enormous, large enough to handle several people roughhousing at once. If it had been smaller, they might have emptied it entirely by now.
At the edge of the bath, Kaguya and Astraea leaned back, their eyes soft with amusement as they watched the water war rage on.
"Honestly..." Kaguya sighed, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
"It's good to see them this happy." Astraea added quietly, her gaze gentle as always.
Finally, Ryuu and Celty, who had been lingering awkwardly by the door for far too long, worked up the courage to enter. Slipping into the water on the quieter side of the bath, both let out sighs of relief.
"Mmm… the water's perfect." Celty whispered, eyes closed as she leaned into the warmth.
"Indeed." Ryuu agreed, her expression peaceful for the first time that day.
Steam drifted through the air, the soft glow of the magic lamps casting golden halos on the surface of the bathwater. The air was filled with laughter, gentle conversation, and the occasional splash.
The Astraea Familia basked in the warmth of companionship. But while they enjoyed their reprieve, elsewhere, far away from the light.
A man clad in a black cloak moved through the shadows of a much darker place. Zald, one of the former greats, now made his way toward the man-made labyrinth known as Knossos, a secret base of evilus.
A voice rang out behind him, harsh and impatient. "What are you doing?"
From the shadows emerged a man with ashen-gray hair and a gaze full of cruelty and malice. He didn't need an introduction. The madness in his eyes and the violent air around him said it all. This man cared little for morality, sanity, or order. He was a predator, and the world was his hunting ground.
With a scowl etched into his face, he approached Zald, clearly unhappy.
"Do you have business with me?" Zald asked coolly, his voice devoid of emotion.
The white-haired man snarled in frustration. Olivas Act, known across the underworld as the fanatic, he was one of the cadre-level members of evilus.
His voice rose with fury. "I want to know something. Why didn't you kill those adventurers!?"
Zald remained silent, his footsteps never faltering as he continued forward.
Olivas growled behind him, rage bubbling to the surface. "Those Level 2 adventurers are a threat. With your strength, you could've wiped them all out in seconds."
He had received the mission report. The factory had been attacked. The destruction was absolute, yet the defenders lived. It made no sense. Zald should have eliminated them.
"Why did you let them go?" Olivas hissed, a hint of bloodlust in his tone. "What the hell are you thinking?"
Zald stopped walking. Then, without turning back, he asked a strange question, "Have you ever eaten ants?"
Olivas blinked.
"...What?"
"Spiders? Bees? Scorpions?"
"W-What the hell are you talking about?"
Zald slowly turned his head, eyes gleaming in the dim light.
"Has anyone ever survived by eating a monster? Or gnawing on their remains?"
Nearby, a monster slithered from a wall crevice but the moment it sensed Zald's presence, it fled in terror.
His gaze remained steady. His voice, measured and calm, sliced through the confusion like a blade.
The strange questions, the eerie composure…
It all unsettled Olivas.
He had come to berate Zald, to question his betrayal. Instead, he found himself lost in the storm of something deeper. Something monstrous.
He fell silent. Zald turned back and continued walking.
"I've tried them all." He said softly.
Then, when Zald uttered that grotesque "truth," Olivas suddenly felt his entire body begin to tremble uncontrollably.
The man before him went on in a calm, almost casual tone, "There are many reasons but to put it simply, I've eaten almost everything, except for those I might still call my own kind."
"...!?"
A chill swept down Olivas' spine as cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Was this monster of a man planning to leave him behind here?