One day later.
When Lynn returned to the surface, Ryuu was standing in the courtyard, gazing up at the sky, her eyes distant as if lost in thought.
Sensing a familiar presence, she composed her expression, concealing the emotions in her eyes, a faint smile appearing on her face.
"Long time no see, Lynn."
"It has been a while. It seems you've improved quite a bit from this outing."
"It was just good luck, and besides..."
Ryuu stared at Lynn for a moment: "Compared to me, your improvement is even greater."
Originally, when she learned from Astraea that she could level up consecutively, Ryuu was quite excited.
After all, this was an unprecedented feat.
Breaking through to LV6 in one go, she could not only step into Orario's first tier but even regain some face in front of Lynn.
But now it seemed she was still too naive.
Returning to Orario, whether it was Filvis whom she encountered yesterday or Lynn today, both brought her an intense sense of pressure.
LV6 was still not enough.
After reaching this laughable conclusion, Ryuu's recently soaring confidence crashed back to the ground.
Painstakingly piecing together her shattered self-esteem, Ryuu spoke.
"Some things happened while you were away."
Lynn took out an eye crystal from his chest:
"I've already learned about the course of events from Hestia. Thanks for this. I'll treat you to a meal later."
Ryuu shook her head: "The meal isn't urgent. I wanted to ask how you plan to deal with Filvis."
After the battle ended yesterday, realizing there were hidden circumstances behind Filvis, Ryuu sought out Hestia.
After a conversation, she learned from Hestia about Filvis's experiences and realized how much harm her own words had caused Filvis.
Ryuu took a deep breath:
"I want to use the favor from this help on Filvis. I hope you won't make things too difficult for her and give her as clean an end as possible."
Lynn pondered briefly:
"That's not a difficult matter. Since there were no casualties in the Hestia Familia, I can give her one more chance."
Ryuu was puzzled: "One more chance? Aren't you planning to kill her?"
Lynn responded: "That depends on what she herself thinks. Give me a hand."
Ryuu hesitated to speak: "...?"
When would he ever change this cryptic way of talking?
...
Filvis was imprisoned in a warehouse, less than twenty meters from where Ryuu was contemplating life.
Asking Ryuu to wait outside for a moment, Lynn pushed open the warehouse door and entered, seeing Filvis lost in thought.
Perhaps because, after reclaiming her doppelganger, the immense magic power made it impossible for her to suppress the magic stone within her body.
She was still maintaining her Monster form.
Hearing the door open, she frowned first, then saw Lynn walk in from outside.
"Good afternoon, Filvis."
A smile appeared on Lynn's face: "Although this is our first meeting, you must have investigated information about me, right?"
Filvis's expression was calm: "Don't waste time. Get straight to the point."
As her words fell, a surge of immense magic power manifested on Filvis's body: "Just as you said earlier, I investigated your information privately. From the results, you have an extremely strong pursuit of power and developing your Familia."
Filvis paused here, then continued: "My strength is comparable to an LV7 adventurer. If you are willing to release God Dionysus, I can work for you for free."
Locked in a dark room for a day, Filvis had calmed down and seriously considered the current situation.
To save Dionysus from Lynn's hands, she needed to demonstrate her own value and cooperate with the other party.
And what she could use to bargain with Lynn was only this strength comparable to an LV7 adventurer.
Filvis added finally: "If you need it, I can offer this life to become your deed, helping you break through to a higher level."
Lynn sighed with some emotion: "You are quite loyal. If I told you that Dionysus deceived you, just using you as a tool, would you still insist on this condition?"
Filvis frowned: "Deceived me? What do you mean?"
Lynn: "It's better for you to see for yourself."
Lynn didn't explain too much, turning and calling out towards the warehouse door not far away.
The next second, the warehouse door opened again, and Ryuu brought a figure in from outside.
"Come, let me introduce you."
"This is the Monster I encountered on the 37th Floor, the White-Haired Ghost, Olivas Act."
"You shouldn't be unfamiliar with him, right?"
"..."
Filvis fell silent.
Staring at the motionless Olivas before her, as if someone had cast a paralysis spell on him.
Her eyes were first filled with shock and disbelief. Then, as if she thought of something, she became dejected, a miserable, despair-filled smile appearing on her face.
Some things didn't need too much explanation.
Just knowing the fact that Olivas was still alive and had become a Monster.
She understood what Lynn meant earlier about Dionysus deceiving her.
After a long while, her voice sounded again: "Release God Dionysus. The previous conditions remain unchanged."
Lynn: "Even after knowing the truth, you still choose to serve him?"
Filvis hung her head low: "I have no other choice. It was God Dionysus who reached out and accepted me when I was at a dead end. Since that's the case, I'll give this life to him."
In fact, she no longer wanted to live. Death was more like a release for her.
But she couldn't commit suicide.
That wasn't something the Corrupted Spirit would allow.
If she had a choice, she hoped Lynn would accept the cooperation, release Dionysus, and then kill her afterwards.
That way, she could fall into eternal slumber.
"Haven't thought about killing Olivas?"
However, at that moment, Lynn's voice rang out.
Filvis's body stiffened, a faint glimmer appearing in her deep blue pupils: "You don't mind?"
Lynn shrugged: "Of course I don't mind. In fact, the reason I brought him here is for you to kill him, so you'll owe me a favor."
Filvis was silent: "..."
She slowly raised her head and looked at Olivas.
She would never forget this face.
Six years ago, it was Olivas who led the 27th Floor nightmare, causing the deaths of her and her companions.
After six years, Filvis never imagined she would meet Olivas again in this way.
At this moment, Olivas's body was trembling incessantly, a terrified expression on his face as if he wanted to say something.
But he couldn't say anything, nor could he even run away.
As if nailed to the spot, he could only watch step by step as Filvis walked towards him.
*Shick—! *
A crisp tearing sound rang out as Filvis's hand instantly pierced Olivas's chest.
"N-no... don't!"
Olivas could finally make a sound.
He arduously raised his arm, grabbing Filvis's arm.
"Spare me! I can apologize to y..."
"Shut up!"
Filvis yanked forcefully, pulling a colorful magic stone from within Olivas's body.
After losing the magic stone, Olivas suddenly lost strength, his arm slipping as he knelt on the ground.
He stared at Filvis with resentment, but ultimately said nothing, slowly turning to ash and dispersing.
"Failed, huh."
Lynn thoughtfully stroked his chin.
Olivas standing in place without resistance was naturally due to his restrictions.
Like Revis, he had injected the Blood of Evolution into the other's body for modification.
But even with the immortality brought by the Blood of Evolution, after losing the magic stone, the other's body still crumbled.
However, through observation, he found that the immortality from the Blood of Evolution did take effect.
The reason it couldn't save Olivas was because the regeneration speed couldn't keep up with the disintegration speed.
If it were him, even if he lost his magic stone, he could still maintain his form through regeneration ability.
Of course, he wouldn't use such a body structure.
For a Monster physique like Olivas's, the magic stone inside would connect to the soul to a certain extent.
This was another reason why, after the magic stone was destroyed, the body would die from the inside out.
The destruction of the magic stone would cause soul damage and disintegration, affecting the body along with it.
Committing the data left by Olivas to memory, he looked at Filvis again:
"How does it feel to take revenge with your own hands?"
"... Terrible."
Perhaps because Lynn gave her the chance for revenge, Filvis's impression of him improved considerably, and she responded proactively.
However, after responding, her gaze returned to the multicolored magic stone in her hand, her eyes gradually becoming hollow.
"I can understand how you feel."
Noticing the change in Filvis's expression, Ryuu, who had been silent on the side, stepped forward.
"Half a month ago, I was as lost as you are."
"But revenge doesn't mean life is over. If you don't know what to do next, I can help you find a way."
"You want to help me?" Filvis looked at Ryuu. "Then release God Dionysus, and then kill me."
Ryuu fell silent: "..."
She really is unwavering in her original intention; even at this point, she's still thinking about Dionysus.
And this mental state is even worse than hers was half a month ago; she's already wandering on the edge of self-destruction.
Of course, Ryuu could also understand why the other party was like this.
After she killed Jura and completed her revenge, she at least had Lynn and new acquaintances like Syr.
But Filvis truly had nothing left.
Betrayed by Dionysus and having personally killed Olivas to complete her revenge, she now only had the will to die.
Unable to think of a solution, Ryuu turned her gaze toward Lynn for help.
Help me, Lynn-amon!
Receiving Ryuu's signal for help, Lynn-amon cooperatively stepped forward.
"Filvis, you're satisfied too easily. Have you never thought about getting revenge on the Corrupted Spirit?"
"I of course have thought about it, but..."
"I can help you sever the connection with the Corrupted Spirit."
"!!!"
...