"Ahhh! Kill them!"
"Don't let them escape!"
The masked group clashed with the Amazons at the transaction site, and a fierce battle erupted.
Sword light and blood sprayed across the room as both sides fought with no intention of backing down.
As for Elise herself, she had been tossed into a corner at the back by the masked men, her body untouched by the splattering blood.
Behind this stands the Ishtar Familia... and the Evilus factions as well?
Then let them tear each other apart!
Astraea had already explained what would happen to those who stared directly into Elise's eyes.
The masked leader had already become Elise's puppet. He continuously directed the members of Evilus to launch ruthless attacks against the Ishtar Familia.
And how could the Ishtar Familia simply wait to be slaughtered?
They drew their weapons and fought back.
The two sides descended into chaos, while Elise quietly wrapped a thin, translucent film of Prana around her body, achieving a semi-invisible effect.
Even so, Elise had no intention of slaughtering blindly. Didn't she have a skill called Scales of Judgment?
She would let that skill determine their life or death.
Judgment!
A faint smile appeared on Elise's lips.
All evil.
Of course.
If they had been sent to do something like this, how could there possibly be anyone innocent among them?
Not a single person present was blameless.
In that case, no more words were needed...
Kill.
But the Saintess would not dirty her own hands. From time to time, she merely glanced into the crowd, turning several more people into her puppets, sending them into frenzied slaughter without regard for their own injuries.
Oh, and Elise did not forget to bestow the attribute of "good" upon them, temporarily boosting all of their abilities.
"Since this is about eradicating evil, then at this very moment, you are good people!"
"Even as puppets, consider it a small atonement for your past sins."
Thus, a battlefield that had already been brutal turned into a river of blood under Elise's deliberate manipulation.
But Elise had her own plans as well.
Among those Amazons, there seemed to be a rather young one.
You'll do.
Even if you're already steeped in evil at such a young age, I've decided to spare you for now. Be grateful for Lady Saintess' magnanimity.
If everyone here died, wouldn't no news reach the Pleasure Quarter at all?
Elise needed someone to deliver the message back to Ishtar.
That way, the Ishtar Familia would grow wary of Evilus... no, given Ishtar's personality, perhaps it would turn into hatred.
We were conducting a perfectly normal transaction, and you dared to kill our people?
That should be enough to make Evilus suffer as well.
Before long, only a few people were left standing on the battlefield.
And the vast majority of them were Elise's "puppets."
On the Amazons' side, only the young girl Elise had chosen remained alive. Even so, she had lost an arm and fled the scene with great difficulty.
"Should we pursue her?" one masked man asked as he approached the leader.
"No need. There's no point in chasing her. And you..."
"Me...?"
In the next second, that masked man's head was severed from his body.
Yet none of the surrounding masked men showed the slightest surprise. Perhaps they had all long since become Elise's puppets.
"Well done."
Elise stepped out from behind a stone pillar and praised them.
"It is our honor!"
Everyone present dropped to one knee in unison, a gesture completely at odds with their former selves.
"There is one more thing I would like you to do for me."
"No matter what it is, we will accomplish it with all our strength!"
So it really is like this...
"In that case..."
"Please find a place where no one will ever discover you..."
"And take your own lives."
At that moment, the command was given.
"We shall fulfill it!"
In a dark alley, a figure sprinted desperately.
"Huff... huff..."
"Why would those bastards do something like that?!"
"I'm the only one who survived..."
An Amazon dragged her wounded body through a secret passage, returning to the Ishtar Familia.
"I have to report this to Lady Ishtar!"
"We never should have trusted those Evilus scum!"
...
"So... our people were wiped out by those bastards?"
The goddess reclined upon her bed as she spoke, several men dressed in white attending to her side.
"Why would they do something like that?"
Though her outward appearance was incomparably beautiful, her inner self was utterly rotten. She was the patron deity of the Pleasure Quarter in Orario—Ishtar.
Even so, the goddess did not completely believe the Amazon's words. She pondered the reason behind these events.
Something felt missing...
"Right. I recall you saying..."
"They only made their move after the inspection was finished and you were about to take the goods. Is that correct?"
"Yes..."
"And it happened without any warning?"
"Yes."
"Then where did the merchandise go?" the goddess asked with interest.
"Th-That... I don't know."
"Once the fighting started, there was no time to pay attention to her. The Evilus side also suffered heavy injuries. If I had to guess, she probably escaped during the chaos."
Escaped?
That caught her attention.
As for coincidence...
While it was not impossible, how could there be so many coincidences in this world?
Compared to coincidence, she preferred to believe that everything had been meticulously planned. After all, she herself was exactly that kind of goddess.
For example, perhaps there was a mastermind behind this operation of the Ishtar Familia.
For instance... that little girl from Astraea's Familia?
She had been praised so extravagantly in the rumors, yet she was captured so easily by Evilus?
That alone already explained quite a bit.
"If she appears in public tomorrow as if nothing happened, then my guess will be confirmed."
"Lady Ishtar, should we continue targeting Elise?" one Amazon asked.
"No. Not for the time being." Ishtar lit a cigarette and continued, "Our Familia's strength is still insufficient. Until we understand the other party's trump card, we shouldn't act rashly..."
"Take Gal away and treat her injuries. After that, assign her other work. Some customers might even prefer that kind of incomplete beauty."
Gal was the name of the one-armed Amazon. Unfortunately, she had only just been given her name back—only to lose it again.
In the next second—
"Cough—!"
Gal spat out two mouthfuls of blood and collapsed to the floor.
"Lady Ishtar... save me..."
"I can't feel the wound anymore..."
Ishtar frowned and signaled an Amazon beside her to check.
The conclusion was simple.
The wound was poisoned.
There was no saving her.
"Tch."
"So she doesn't even have any value left?"
Ishtar stepped down from the bed and, surrounded by the men at her side, walked to the window.
Her divine gaze stared into the distance, as though trying to pierce through everything.
"I won't forget this grudge."
"Astraea..."