Chapter 197
"Thank you."
Ryu looked directly at Kiriya and offered the words with complete sincerity.
"Feeling better?" he asked with a smile.
"Much better."
She released a long breath.
"I was so trapped in my own guilt that I lost sight of what mattered most."
Her thoughts returned to the night the Astrea Familia fell.
When she had begged Lady Astrea to leave Orario, the goddess had told her something she had never forgotten.
"Abandon justice, Ryu."
At the time, Ryu had been consumed by despair.
She believed Astrea had learned of her desire for revenge, become disappointed in her, and cast her aside.
But after hearing Kiriya’s words, she could finally imagine another meaning.
Perhaps Astrea had simply seen how badly Ryu was suffering, torn between her devotion to justice and her desire for vengeance.
Perhaps she had wanted Ryu to set that burden down and live a little more freely.
"That does sound possible."
Kiriya rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"You’re stubborn and prone to trapping yourself inside your own thoughts. If she had simply told you that revenge wasn’t justice, you probably would’ve taken it as a complete rejection of everything you were and fallen apart."
"Who are you calling stubborn and—"
Ryu instinctively began to protest, only for Kiriya to place one finger lightly against her lips.
"Shh. Listen."
He leaned closer.
"Don’t you want to understand what your goddess may have been thinking?"
Ryu immediately fell silent, so focused on his words that she did not even notice the finger still resting against her soft lips.
’That’s... very soft.’
The sensation briefly sent Kiriya’s thoughts in a dangerous direction, but he pulled himself back before they could wander too far.
"Maybe Lady Astrea didn’t approve of your revenge," he continued. "But even if that meant abandoning the justice she represented, she still wanted to give you a reason to keep living."
"Because she trusted you."
"She believed that even if you lost your way for a while, you would eventually find the right path again—a form of justice that belonged to you alone."
"That was trust."
"It was hope."
"And more than anything... it was love."
"Is that what you meant, Lady Astrea...?"
Moisture gathered in Ryu’s sapphire eyes.
At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to fly straight to Astrea, throw herself into the goddess’s arms, and finally cry without holding anything back.
She had longed for that reunion for years.
But guilt over betraying her own ideals had convinced her that she no longer deserved to stand before her goddess, so she had forced herself to stay away.
Now, at last, she could let go of that fear.
Ryu turned at once, ready to leave.
A hand suddenly caught her wrist.
"What are you doing?"
She looked back with obvious irritation.
She had a goddess to find. This was not the time for him to interfere.
"Don’t rush."
Kiriya pointed toward the long tunnel ahead.
"Since we’re already down here, don’t you want to get in some training?"
"You’ve waited several years. Another few hours won’t make much difference."
Then his gaze dropped toward her bare legs.
"And were you really planning to return to the surface dressed like that?"
Ryu followed his gaze and immediately tugged the hem of the coat lower.
It did very little.
Her current outfit belonged in a private room, not in the most dangerous region of the Dungeon.
If other adventurers saw her this way, the rumors would become uncontrollable.
"..."
After a brief silence, Ryu turned and headed deeper into the cavern.
The thirty-seventh floor had claimed many adventurers over the years.
With enough searching, they might find clothing or equipment left behind by one of the dead.
Unfortunately, reality was rarely so convenient.
Adventurers who died without anyone to recover their bodies were eventually devoured by newly spawned monsters.
Their clothing and belongings usually vanished with them.
Kiriya and Ryu searched for several hours without finding anything useful.
What they did find were endless waves of monsters, each one demonstrating why the lower floors had such a terrifying reputation.
"ROAAAR!"
A pack of Loup Garous—large, werewolf-like monsters—charged from the darkness.
Some carried crude wooden clubs, while others attacked with their claws.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ryu became a streak of wind.
She moved through the pack like a phantom, her dagger flashing repeatedly as it struck throats, hearts, and other vital points with perfect precision.
Within seconds, the vicious monsters dissolved into clouds of ash.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Kiriya applauded with open admiration.
"As expected of the famous Gale. Beautiful work!"
A beautiful woman was still beautiful even in the middle of battle.
Every movement carried a natural grace that made watching her fight genuinely enjoyable.
Especially those long, powerful legs.
Their smooth lines and athletic strength were almost impossible to look away from.
Ryu noticed exactly where his gaze had settled, and heat rushed back into her cheeks.
She silently cursed herself for losing focus and jumping into battle without remembering what she was wearing.
He had probably seen everything while she moved.
That brief distraction was enough for danger to appear.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A series of black projectiles tore through the air toward her.
Ryu heard them and tried to dodge, but it was already too late.
’Damn it!’
She raised her dagger to defend herself.
Kiriya appeared in front of her, wrapped one arm around her waist, and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
They vanished.
An instant later, they reappeared at Kiriya’s previous position beside a marked kunai.
"Whew. That was close."
Kiriya wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead.
"Almost didn’t make it."
If he had not placed a Flying Thunder God mark on the coat earlier, the situation could have ended badly.
Ryu ignored his comment and stared toward the source of the attack.
A monster had crawled from the shadows in the corner of the cavern.
It was a Peluda, a dangerous species found only on the thirty-seventh floor.
Its body resembled a serpent with four legs, covered in dark green scales. Countless needles protruded from its back like the quills of a porcupine.
Those had been the projectiles that nearly struck her.
Every needle carried a lethal poison.
Even a first-class adventurer could die after being hit without a specialized antidote or powerful detoxification magic.
Ryu had come within seconds of being killed.
"Hisssss!"
Enraged that its ambush had failed, the Peluda bounded forward and launched another volley of venomous needles while still in midair.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall."
A thick wooden barrier rose in front of Kiriya and Ryu, blocking every needle.
When its second attack failed as well, the Peluda hissed furiously and tried to circle around the wall.
Kiriya gave it no opportunity.
"Water Release: Severing Wave."
His hands blurred through a sequence of seals.
A high-pressure blade of water shot forward, pierced straight through the wooden wall, and reached the Peluda before it could react.
The monster was sliced cleanly in half.
Poof!
Its body vanished, leaving behind a magic stone roughly the size of an infant’s fist.