Chapter 4: Ryuu VS Allen?
A month had passed since Keyaru awakened his past life memories...
His body and mind had endured tremendous challenges...
Syr's "delicacies" always managed to make him vomit thoroughly...
Even though the other party didn't insult him in various ways like Freya did in the anime, merely imprisoning him...
But that feeling of being bullied and teased all day by a charming young girl, being played with in the palm of her hand, losing his freedom—it still made Keyaru feel profoundly humiliated, both physically and mentally exhausted...
He gradually began to understand why the goddess Freya was doing this!
The goddess disliked his soul, yet couldn't deny that his soul possessed a beauty different from purity and brilliance.
Therefore, Freya might be acting out of spiteful anger, or perhaps she was simply indulging her whims—she wanted to see if Keyaru's soul would change after enduring Syr's prolonged torture...
"Hello~"
"Mr. Keyaru, guess what delicious food Syr made today~"
That cheerful voice again...
The utterly weakened Keyaru struggled to rise from the cold floor tiles of the basement, his eyes dim but containing a deep light intense enough to burn everything to ashes.
His legs had long lost their strength from continuously eating Syr's "junk food," the empty feeling in his stomach making Keyaru feel dizzy. No sooner had he supported himself up than he staggered and fell again. In his blurred vision were Syr's polished little boots.
"Mr. Keyaru, are you okay?"
The gray-haired girl's anxious voice didn't sound fake, but it only earned Keyaru's weak sarcasm...
"Stop pretending to care about me. Isn't the reason I'm imprisoned here precisely because of Miss Syr's willfulness?"
The girl's bright eyes watched the increasingly intense soul flames burning within Keyaru—so vivid, like a crimson song inspiring him, making him never yield.
To Syr, Keyaru had never seemed like a strong person... He even shared some fundamental similarities with that lecher Asmodeus...
The gray-haired girl ruffled her own hair and fell silent.
After a moment of internal struggle, Syr slowly rose to her feet.
"Mr. Keyaru... you continue to surprise me!"
"Lion has returned. She'll be the one bringing your meals from now on. However... your Patron God seems rather restless, so Lion might not be very pleasant with you..."
Having said this, Syr slowly walked out of the dim basement.
Not long after the girl left, a cold-faced green-haired elf strode in. Just as she was about to confront Keyaru, the sight of the boy's weakened state and deathly pale complexion made Ryuu's legs go weak.
The elf couldn't understand...
Syr had promised to take good care of the boy...
Syr always appeared so kind-hearted. Back when the tavern had just opened, she had effortlessly secured the position of poster girl.
How could such a flawless girl...
More importantly, Syr was the one who had extended a helping hand when Ryuu had lost her will to live...
Watching the green-haired elf's distraught state, Keyaru sighed inwardly. It seemed he was more interesting to Syr than even Ryuu, so this scheming girl had simply stopped pretending... Or was Ryuu also part of her plan?
With so many deliberate flaws left exposed, even the later, less capable elf Ryuu would likely notice something amiss.
Ryuu wasn't the same Ryuu anymore...
No longer so naive, she realized that Syr's earlier claim about Keyaru having learned "qualities" from God Asmodeus might be false! Why would Syr lie to her...
Shaking her head, the fog cleared from the elf's eyes. Ryuu knew the most important thing now was to quickly take Keyaru to the Dian Cecht Familia for treatment!
Though she didn't know whether Airmid's magic would work on psychological trauma and physical weakness, in Ryuu's eyes, there were very few times when the other's magic didn't work!
She would send him there first—she could worry about apologies later...
Ryuu lowered her head dejectedly. The mistake she made this time was quite serious, causing such great harm to an innocent boy.
This made the green-haired elf once again wish that Alise had been the one to survive. If it were her, she would never make such a mistake, and even if she did, she would find a way to make amends...
With complex thoughts swirling in her mind, the elf lady bent down to remove the chains from Keyaru's other hand, but...
The sharp whistle of a spear cutting through the air suddenly roared...
A chilling, icy current rushed straight toward Ryuu's delicate face!
Just as Ryuu prepared to resist, the silver-glinting tip of the spear was already pressed against her neck...
The green-haired elf stared in horror at the suddenly appearing cat person before her, struggling to speak:
"Vana Freya..."
"Why are you here?"
The famous cat person of Orario merely made a menacing expression without any intention of explanation.
After casting a sharp, disdainful glance at Ryuu and the barely breathing Keyaru on the ground, Allen clicked his tongue lightly. His spear moved away from Ryuu's neck, tracing a clean semicircle in the air.
"Hurry up and leave!"
"This is that lord's decree!"
Struggle flickered repeatedly across the exquisitely beautiful face of the green-haired elf.
Even though she had already left the Astrea Familia, even though she had long resolved to abandon "justice"... when this moment arrived, Ryuu still didn't want to give up!
But having come in too much haste, Ryuu hadn't brought the wooden sword made from the sacred tree branches of the elf race that she normally used. Her only weapons now were the two daggers hidden against her calves!
Her opponent, however, was the renowned level 6 adventurer of Orario—a two-level difference...
Ryuu instantly analyzed the current situation. She stood no chance of winning!
But her goal wasn't to defeat Allen anyway!
A map of Orario surfaced in the elf maiden's mind.
The basement where Keyaru had been imprisoned by Syr was located in the northwest of Orario. Heading east would lead to the tavern "Hostess of Fertility" where Ryuu currently worked.
But these weren't the key points. What mattered was that the northwest area of Orario had previously been a known location for Evilus activities...
The old Evilus stronghold, the Rudra Familia base...
Therefore, the Ganesha Familia maintained sufficient patrol strength in this area!
As long as she could create enough commotion to attract the city guards of the Ganesha Familia, Keyaru could be saved!
Considering everything, Ryuu judged that conflict with Allen was inadvisable at this moment. She could secretly notify the Guild or the Loki Familia, or even return fully prepared with magic swords to cause a major disturbance here...
Having experienced the destruction of the Astrea Familia, Ryuu was no longer as reckless as she used to be...
Burying her intentions deep in her heart, the grim-faced green-haired elf moved to bypass the silent Allen. Just as she was about to leave, a gray figure blocked her path outside...