Artemis frowned: "To deliberately suppress his own strength to challenge Antares just to obtain a 'Feat'... isn't that a bit too reckless?"
Hestia, however, wasn't worried in the slightest: "My child isn't a fool. If he truly finds that he can't beat the opponent, he will naturally reveal the trump cards that need to be used."
"But it's still too dangerous."
According to the records of The Guild, Scorpio Antares was a Lv.7 monster. If placed within the Dungeon, it would correspond to the Dungeon Floor Boss of the 49th Floor, 'Balor'.
Against an existence of that level, aside from the top adventurers of the former Zeus Familia and Hera Familia, even if 'The Fierce' Ottar were to encounter it, he wouldn't necessarily be able to kill it single-handedly.
Moreover, based on the intelligence Hestia revealed yesterday, since Antares had already broken free from the Spirit's seal, its strength might have increased somewhat.
It might have now reached the level of a high-tier Lv.7 or a peak Lv.7, or perhaps even evolved into a Lv.8!
For a Lv.6 to challenge a Lv.8... in Artemis's view, this was no different from seeking death.
"No, I can't watch your child act so recklessly."
The blue-haired goddess stood up as she spoke. Originally, she had intended to follow Hestia's suggestion: to lead her Familia directly back to Orario and report the news of Antares's unsealing to The Guild.
But now, Artemis had made a new decision.
"I will enter the ruins with your child tomorrow."
As she said this, she had already made preparations in her heart. If she discovered that the situation was going awry the next day, she would immediately release her Divine Power and hit the Scorpion with a ruthless strike.
In a certain respect, most of the gods who could get along with Hestia were deities who held goodwill toward the Lower World.
However, just as the blue-haired goddess's voice fell, Hestia cast a gaze at her that seemed somewhat peculiar to Artemis.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Seeing her friend looking confused, completely unaware of the crux of the issue, the Blue Ribbon shook her head and then inexplicably said a single sentence: "I just suddenly confirmed a trivial matter."
...
"...That is roughly how things unfolded. Tomorrow, Artemis will enter the Elsoth Labyrinth with you all. Her children, worried about their patron deity, also intend to go along."
At nightfall, during the Hestia Familia's pre-battle meeting.
The twin-tailed goddess voiced her friend's decision.
After speaking, she looked apologetically at the pale-gold-haired young man beside her.
"I tried to persuade Artemis, but she wouldn't listen."
"Normal." regarding the Moon Goddess's impulsive decision, Levi, to be honest, didn't feel even a shred of surprise in his heart.
On the contrary, he gained a clearer understanding of the arrogance of the gods.
Seeing his patron goddess revealing a worried expression, he couldn't help but smile and stroke the head of the person opposite him: "Rest assured, I made proper preparations during the day. Even if the worst-case scenario occurs, I can guarantee that I will bring everyone from the Hestia Familia out of the ruins."
When Levi had discovered the Artemis Familia via the Byakugan yesterday, he had actually already anticipated a similar future unfolding.
Furthermore, the fact that Cassandra hadn't had any nightmares in the past two days also proved from a side angle that this act of challenging Scorpio Antares hadn't yet risen to the level of a life-or-death crisis.
As for Artemis and her Familia...
One could only say that if the other party wanted to die, they couldn't blame anyone else.
Hestia knew her lover's personality well.
Upon hearing the young man's words, how could she not react? She immediately sighed helplessly: "My relationship with Artemis back in Tenkai was very good, so, consider it for my sake—give them a hand tomorrow, okay?"
Since his wife had spoken, what else could Levi say?
"I can, but on the condition that it does not affect the Hestia Familia."
"Hehe~ I knew my Levi was the best~"
At this moment, a light cough sounded from the side.
Liliruca lowered her right hand, which had been loosely clenched into a fist, and spoke in a flat tone: "Lady Hestia, Lord Levi, although you are lovers, please consider the surrounding environment as well. Thank you."
"Ah, sorry." Hestia lowered her head awkwardly, or perhaps shyly.
Levi, on the other hand, took a step forward and took out a 'Favonius Sword' that had been retired for a long time, using it to carve into the ground.
"When we challenge the Scorpion tomorrow, Liliruca, Cassandra, and Daphne, the three of you will need to temporarily serve as the rear guard. Use the Rune Stones I gave you to harass Antares from a distance."
"In addition, before going to sleep later, it would be best to improve your speed in using the 'Teleport' Rune Stones again. Don't be afraid of wasting them; strive to reach a level where you can activate the stone the instant you realize you've been locked onto by the Scorpion's attack."
The three girls he named nodded heavily upon hearing this.
Because they were only Lv.2 and Lv.3—having already leveled up once in the previous half-month by killing Lv.2 and Lv.3 monsters in the Great Tree Sea—even if they just observed from the sidelines (OB) for a while during the battle against Antares, it would be completely sufficient to gather the 'Feat' to rise another level.
In comparison, Alise, whose level had reached Lv.4 and whose actual combat power was not much inferior to an ordinary Lv.5, and Gojouno Kaguya, who was considered a skilled hand even among Lv.4s, would have to participate in the battle as the main combat force if they wanted to share more experience.
There was even less need to mention Levi. He even felt that a single Antares, even if killed, might not be enough to gather the full 'Feat' for his promotion to Lv.5.
As for why he didn't choose to fight solo... the reason was actually very simple.
Group combat was safer than individual combat.
Moreover, it wasn't as if there weren't Lv.7 monsters in the Dungeon of Orario.
If it really came down to it, Levi could still forcefully spawn a Black Amphisbaena and a Black Udaeus on the 27th and 37th floors of the Dungeon by releasing the Divine Might within Hestia's divine blood.
After that, leading the newly leveled-up Alise and Gojouno Kaguya to gang up on the Floor Bosses twice... no matter how one calculated it, the 'Feat' to rise to Lv.5 should be gathered.
Thinking this in his heart, he turned his head to look at the Captain and Vice-Captain of the former Astrea Familia.
"Alise, Gojouno Kaguya, your combat experience is rich, so I won't say much more. Like Liliruca and the others, remember to practice the use of the Rune Stones later."
"Understood."
"Roger."
Alise raised her hand at this moment: "Levi, should we give some Rune Stones to the Artemis Familia?"
In her view, as long as one had a 'Teleport' Rune Stone for protection, then even a Lv.1 adventurer would become very difficult to kill.
Naturally, this could fulfill Goddess Hestia's request for Levi to lend the Artemis Familia a hand.
However, under the moonlight, the young man with short pale-gold hair calmly shook his head upon hearing this.
Then he opened his mouth, speaking a sentence that only the twin-tailed goddess present could understand.
"Even if they are lucky enough to escape this time, an accident will happen the next time."
____
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