The puppet had already entered the resting space. Tsuna had it stop outside the barrier and stand by.
What came next depended entirely on Loki's attitude.
"They're here."
A television appeared in front of Tsuna, and on the screen came the image of Loki—with another goddess standing behind her.
"Tsuna, let me introduce you," Loki said cheerfully. "This is the goddess Astraea, head of the Astraea Familia."
Tsuna blinked, a little surprised by the unexpected setup. His gaze drifted over Astraea, taking in her slightly disheveled look, red-rimmed eyes, and the faint aura of exhaustion that clung to her.
Did Loki just finish bullying her or something? he wondered, though he kept that thought to himself. Out loud, he simply smiled and said,
"Good evening, Lady Astraea."
Astraea didn't reply immediately. Instead, she bowed deeply, her voice trembling with sincerity.
"Thank you. Thank you for hearing my prayer… and for saving my children."
Tsuna gave a small nod, accepting the gratitude without ceremony. He could easily understand what she must be feeling right now.
"Your children just arrived a short while ago," he said gently. "Would you like to see them?"
"Of course!"
Her voice rose in an instant, the desperation and relief clear in her tone. Tsuna wasn't surprised—but he still needed to warn her.
"Just… prepare yourself. Their condition isn't good."
Astraea's expression fell, but she nodded. Loki had already told her that Tsuna could heal crippling injuries, so she managed to steady her emotions.
Once she gave her confirmation, Tsuna had the puppet return to his room. He reached into the Alternate Dimension where the Astraea Familia girls were resting—and pulled them into the room.
"!?"
The moment the girls appeared, they froze, staring in shock at the television screen—at the image of their goddess watching them from the other side.
Their strength crumbled instantly. The stoic expressions they had maintained through all their suffering dissolved into tears.
They hadn't cried when facing death in the Dungeon. But now, seeing their goddess—their family—the dam broke.
None of them spoke. They didn't have to. The tears streaming down their faces said it all.
Astraea's heart ached as she looked at them through the screen.
She saw Alise and Kaguya's missing right arms, Lyra's lost legs, Ryuu's missing right hand, and Celty's missing left arm. The others appeared intact, but the torn state of their clothes told her all she needed to know about how brutal the fight had been.
Tsuna quietly rose from his chair.
"I'll go get Finn and the others," he said simply, and left the room.
The treehouse's rooms were well soundproofed, so once Tsuna closed the door, silence swallowed the cries within.
He knew exactly where to find Finn, Gareth, and Riveria.
First stop—Riveria.
Knock knock knock.
A minute later, the door opened. Riveria stood there in loose sleepwear, her long green hair slightly tousled.
"Tsuna? It's late. What's going on?"
Tsuna nodded.
"I just brought the Astraea Familia back from the thirtieth floor. They were caught up in the anomaly down there. Many of them lost limbs, and most of their clothes are ruined. I need your help."
"What!?"
Riveria's green eyes widened in shock.
"You went to the thirtieth floor—alone?"
"This isn't the time for that," Tsuna said, shaking his head.
Riveria snapped out of her daze, turned, and disappeared into her room.
"Wait here."
A moment later, she reemerged, her arms full of clothing. There were eleven members in the Astraea Familia, and she'd grabbed enough for all of them.
"They're in my room," Tsuna said. "You can go straight in."
"Understood."
After seeing Riveria off, Tsuna headed for Gareth's quarters.
Knock knock.
The door swung open in less than ten seconds.
"Oh, Tsuna! Up late, eh? You come to chat with the old man?"
"Something like that," Tsuna replied. "But it's serious. I already spoke with Riveria—she's tending to the Astraea Familia in my room."
Gareth's easygoing grin vanished. His expression hardened.
"So it's bad."
"Yeah. And it's connected to the anomalies we've been running into lately. But let's get Finn before I explain everything twice."
The two walked together to Finn's room. The moment Finn opened the door, they walked right in, leaving him blinking in confusion.
He stared at them, completely lost.
"What's going on?"
Tsuna didn't waste time.
"I sent a puppet to the thirtieth floor earlier. Found out the Dark Faction's been tampering with the Dungeon's mechanisms to attack the Astraea Familia."
The abrupt declaration stunned Finn for a moment. He processed the words, then frowned deeply.
"So the Dungeon's 'abnormalities'—that's their doing?"
"Exactly. For the past week, the Dungeon's been acting unstable—sporadic surges of monsters, mutated floor bosses, erratic spawns. My guess is, they discovered one of the Dungeon's control systems and have been running tests on it. That's what's causing all these reactions."
Finn's face darkened.
Those bastards…
He hadn't imagined the Dark Faction's remnants could still cause such chaos. They'd found a way to manipulate the Dungeon itself, throwing the entire structure into crisis just to test their discovery.
And yet, a grim sort of admiration slipped into his tone.
"That's exactly the kind of madness I'd expect from the Dark Faction."
"So the Astraea Familia was their target?"
"Yeah," Tsuna confirmed. "Five of them lost limbs. The rest are severely injured."
"Damn…"
Finn and Gareth exchanged grim looks. The brutality of it left no doubt—this had been a full-scale extermination mission.
The Dark Faction had gone after Astraea's children for one reason: justice.
To crush that banner completely—to destroy Orario's symbol of righteousness.
That, more than anything, was the kind of message the Dark Faction wanted to send.