Inside one of the rooms in Twilight Manor, Alise lay with tear-streaked cheeks, sobbing into Astraea's arms like a child confessing after doing something wrong.
Astraea, gentle as ever, stroked the girl's back — patient, motherly — her touch a quiet promise of forgiveness.
"Alise, this expedition wasn't your fault."
Her voice was calm, but there was steel beneath it.
"The ambush by the Dark Faction wasn't something any of us could've predicted. Those rats and vipers that crawl through the shadows... they'll always be waiting for a chance to bite. That's what they are — vile, filthy creatures."
Alise froze mid-breath, her tears halting as she lifted her head in shock.
In Astraea's eyes, she saw something she'd never seen before — coldness. Murderous intent.
The goddess who had always embodied kindness and justice now radiated malice without hesitation, speaking of others as "rats" and "vipers."
The Astraea of old would never have done that.
Not even when referring to the Dark Faction.
"Lady Astraea…"
Alise wasn't the only one who noticed. The other members of the Astraea Familia had realized it too — their goddess, the one who had always placed justice above all else, had changed.
Astraea could feel their gazes and their unease, and she didn't deny it.
She had changed — twisted by the despicable deeds of the Dark Faction.
"Alise… Kaguya… Lyra…" she said softly. "None of you were at fault for what happened on that expedition."
"It was the Dark Faction's doing. Their arrogance, their desire for revenge, their hatred for us — that's what drove them to this. I should never have looked at them with hope. What they deserved wasn't mercy — it was annihilation."
Three years ago, Silence and Gluttony had joined forces with Erebus, and even then, the truth had been painfully clear.
A foolish kind of love — that was all it had ever been.
So Astraea had tried to extend that same compassion to the rest of the Dark Faction, giving them a chance to choose justice, to find redemption.
But this latest tragedy had stripped her of those illusions.
The ones who had been merely "twisted for the sake of good" had died three years ago.
What remained was pure evil.
They weren't tainted by their actions — they were the taint.
"Lady Astraea, you once said…" Alise whispered, her voice trembling. "'Not everyone in the Dark Faction is evil.'"
Astraea nodded faintly. "And I was wrong. This expedition proved that Silence, Gluttony, and Erebus were the only ones among them who ever gave Orario even a flicker of hope. The rest are nothing but animals driven by rage — destroying everything in their path without a thought for the consequences."
She exhaled slowly. "I misjudged them. The only ones in that faction who could be called heroes are already gone. The rest... are insects."
"But what about the low-ranked Adventurers in the Dark Faction?" Alise asked hesitantly. "You said before that they were just ordinary people led astray—"
"They were ordinary people who lost hope," Astraea said coldly. "And when they chose to turn their weapons on the innocent, they ceased to be victims. From the moment they sided with the Dark Faction, they shared in its sins."
She looked around the room, meeting the eyes of each of her children.
"We have no right to forgive them on behalf of the people they've hurt. The moment they made their choice, their fate was sealed — whether they die in battle or destroy themselves in a final act of madness, it's all the same. They chose this road, and there's only one way it ends."
The inner conflict that had plagued Astraea for so long finally unraveled.
Her children had already died once. If she still refused to see clearly — if she dared to give those monsters another chance — she would be betraying them all over again.
Astraea had finally, truly made up her mind.
The Dark Faction deserved no mercy. No pity. No excuses. They had chosen evil — and so they would be erased, completely and without hesitation.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be the goddess of justice. She'd just be another naïve saint pretending to be one.
After venting her fury, Astraea held Alise tighter. The image of what she'd seen through that black box — the blood, the suffering, the screams — still clawed at her heart.
"This is my command," she said, voice trembling but resolute. "Next time you face those lunatics, don't hold back. Show them no mercy. They don't deserve sympathy."
"If you sympathize with them… who will sympathize with you?"
Her words fell heavy, crushing.
Every girl in the room went silent.
They all knew what their goddess had done to pull them back from the brink of death — and now, they finally understood why she spoke with such bitter conviction.
It wasn't about whether some of the Dark Faction were "pitiful."
It was about who had pitied them when they were trapped, broken, dying.
No one.
"And one more thing," Astraea continued. "I've already spoken with Loki. She's not going to let those bastards get away this time. She's going to hunt them down with everything she's got. And I share that goal — so I made her an offer."
Her lips curved faintly.
"She'll bear the political pressure. We'll take the fight to them. In exchange, I'll become her subordinate goddess — and you'll all be partially integrated into the Loki Familia."
Alise blinked in shock, guilt flashing across her face. "But becoming a subordinate goddess… Lady Astraea, won't that mean losing your freedom?"
"It's fine." Astraea chuckled softly, already guessing what Alise was about to say.
"Loki's terms were... surprisingly simple."
She smiled — a wry, almost amused smile.
"She said she just wanted me to give her a lap pillow."
"...Huh?"
"Lap pillow?"
Every member of the Astraea Familia froze.
That's what all of this was for?
They looked at Astraea again — her stunning figure, her long legs, her graceful curves, her serene beauty that even many gods had once courted.
Then they remembered Loki's well-known fondness for beautiful women.
Suddenly... it didn't seem that hard to believe.