Archon of Danmachi

The two elves were the only remaining ones and they were feeling rather complicated, each with their own reasons, and remained split on the matter internally, but like the others, they too had to come to a conclusion and give their answers.

Ryuu was split because while one hand, she saw Nox's choices as wrong and evil in some way, she was not an angel either and thought of herself as a dirty and violent barbaric elf for her bloodthirst methods when she had pursued revenge for her fallen Familia.

Her story was a simple yet tragic one. Ryuu once belonged to the Astrea Familia. They were an exploration type Familia that also acted as Orario's police force, dealing with people who were causing trouble.

Well liked by the people, no small part due to their gentle and kind goddess who was widely popular amongst both gods and mortals for her beauty and motherly aura combined with her previously mentioned qualities.

As their goddess Astrea was the goddess of justice, that was why they took to acting as a sort of police force, even without sworn duty or recompense.

Despite being unable to recover their bodies, Ryuu created a grave on the 18th floor, a place where her fellow members had joked that they wanted to be buried.

The Astraea Familia was considered to be a strong Familia but still far from the top with all eleven members being second class adventurers, comprised of two Level 3s and nine Level 4s, rather high level but they were harmed by the fact that they had no Level 5s to speak of though their captain was said to have prowess superseding her level.

All members other than Ryuu however were killed in a trap set by Evilus. More specifically, the Rudra Familia of Evilus set a trap for them, bearing a grudge for the justice and fair mindedness of the Astrea Familia which caused several clashes between the two.

The trap itself was not what caused the deaths of the members however. When the Rudra Familia struck, they inadvertently caused too much damage to the Dungeon, resulting in the summoning of a Juggernaut that massacred every adventurer present, leaving only two lucky survivors.

One such survivor was Ryuu while the other was a member of the Rudra Familia. Maddened by grief and rage at the deaths of all her companions, Ryuu set out to hunt the remaining members of the Rudra Familia as they are a large force with great reserve strength despite their great losses in the ambush.

It was this quest, which led to Astrea leaving Orario, mostly out of Ryuu's desire not to be seen by her beloved goddess committing such despicable acts. The elfess thought of it as such due to using every dirty trick in the book to hunt down and kill every surviving member of the enemy Familia.

She had shared this story with Nox, even took him to the graves of her fallen companions on the 18th floor, a place where her fellow members had joked that they wanted to be buried.

Nox had not only accepted her deed but affirmed his belief in what she did, loving her for who she was.

And so, despite not fully agreeing with his choices, Ryuu too decided to accept him for who he was and if he deemed such things as the enslavement of their more despicable enemies as acceptable, so would she.

With Ryuu firming her resolve and the other more or less intent on following despite their misgivings, there was only Riveria left to make her decision.

Despite not being one of the early members, Riveria had proven herself with skill and wisdom, being Nox's most trusted in group advisor and unofficial second in command. If she went along with Nox's plans, the girls who were more doubtful would become firmer in their beliefs.

If however, she disagreed, a split in the group could be formed. It was a danger but Nox wanted to tone down the secrecy, even if it risked him losing some of his girls' extreme loyalty. After all, he wanted them to love him, not their image of him.

Unlike Ryuu whose dilemma and resolution both came about as a result of her feelings, Riveria was trying to approach the problem in a more rational way.

Although she had her problems with her people, their severity was notorious so harsh sentences were something she was unfortunately used to from her youth.

As such, rather than let feelings get in the way, the high elfess was trying to evaluate the pros and cons of Nox's plans. It was difficult because he never really shared everything. She knew he had some less savoury dealings going on and disposable goons would be useful but there were other considerations to be had.

On the remote chance an association with such folk were to be discovered, regardless of its nature, a lot of problems would immediately manifest. Evilus had a terrible reputation and many still remembered their despicable actions to this very day.

As such, while useful and probably competent, it posed a very real danger from a societal standpoint to let their enemies live as their slaves. Keeping such individuals around would invite all manner of suspicions and ill will from others.

If Nox's more questionable endeavours were expansive enough however, having such disposable goons would be beneficial enough to justify the risk, It all depended on how much dirty work Nox needed done and how exactly was he planning on using his newly acquired slaves.

Now, Riveria could simply ask Nox to solve her doubts by sharing more of his less upright plans but she didn't not want to call him out like that, specially when the rest of the girls, at least some of them, were already feeling some pressure due to the latest reveal.

Pulling him aside to discuss would also cause waves in the group she didn't really want to make so only one choice was left. It might harm her image in the group due to an apparent lack of decisiveness but that was price Riveria was willing to pay.

"Let us all take a break, I need some more time to come to a conclusion."

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P.a.t.r.e.o.n is officially up!

The link is: https://www.p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/lusoba  without the extra dots of course.

You'll get to read up to FOUR weeks ahead, a full month, but I'll still post here.

There's also my other novels Kage of Kages and FATE of DxD, do check them out!

I would greatly appreciate any support since this is going to be my breadwinner.