"Noin, Asta, with me!"
Alise called out their names and charged toward Elise first.
Even though Elise had given them three choices, in Alise's judgment, two of them were meaningless.
Defeat Elise? Sorry, even if she wasn't using her full strength, that wasn't something they could accomplish.
As for enduring for a set amount of time... wasn't that just getting beaten up continuously?
So from the very beginning, Alise had concluded that they only had one real option—escape the barrier Elise created.
They might not be able to defeat Elise, but if it was just a matter of stalling her, that should be possible, right?
That was why Alise had chosen the three members with the highest Endurance in the Familia.
Asta, the dwarf girl who possessed a natural advantage in durability.
Noin, whose ability values were well balanced and who carried a shield.
And herself, who had joined earlier and been beaten the most times by their captain.
All three of them had Endurance at S.
If the three of them took the front and tanked, could they really not withstand Elise's attacks?
Iska, Neze, Lyra, and Maryuu were responsible for supporting the frontline and filling any gaps left by Alise and the others.
Meanwhile, Celty, Ryana, and Kaguya were tasked with breaking Elise's barrier. Within the Familia, there were only a few members with sufficient destructive power.
However... Elise had no intention of foolishly entangling herself with these self-proclaimed meat shields.
She wasn't stupid. It was obvious they were offering themselves up purely to buy time so the three in the back could shatter the barrier and escape.
It was a good plan. Elise even approved of it.
With Ryana and Celty's magic combined with Kaguya's single-target burst, it was indeed possible to break this half-finished barrier.
Even if she ignored the three at the front, the four maneuvering in the middle could quickly react and continue delaying her.
As an escape formation, it was quite solid. It might even succeed in slipping away from her grasp.
But all of that had one premise.
Elise wasn't serious.
The Elise in a playful mood and the Elise who was serious were two completely different states. Even if she used the same amount of power, the difference would be enormous.
Looking at the three surrounding her and the others moving nearby, Elise felt it was time to get a little serious.
Not for any grand reason. She simply found the smug expression on Alise's face extremely irritating... If that girl actually won, who knew what she'd do.
So—
"Sorry, everyone!"
Just as they were bracing themselves for her next move, the sudden smile on Elise's face caught them off guard.
"It's coming! Get ready!"
Everyone adopted defensive stances, wary of a sudden assault. Lyra tightened her grip on the bomb in her hand.
Yes, it was indeed a bomb. Over the past year, she had found her own combat style.
Blow things up.
To outsiders, using bombs against their own captain might seem inappropriate.
Lyra, however, thought it was perfectly fitting.
The bombs were powerful, but still not quite enough to break through the captain's defenses.
The moment she makes a move, I'll throw it. That was Lyra's plan.
Elise raised her hands and placed them beside her temples.
And then...
Lyra could see nothing.
"Solar Flare!"
The colorful world in their eyes was instantly swallowed by white. Everyone who had been staring at Elise was struck at that moment.
This is bad. I can't throw the bomb now!
With her vision stolen, attacking blindly without knowing her allies' positions would only backfire.
If she made even the slightest mistake—
"Ah!"
"When did she—ugh!"
Even without sight, the cries coming from around her were enough to reveal the situation. Teammates were already being taken down.
"Looks like we're done for again..."
Lyra let out a sigh. In the final moment before losing consciousness, she felt something heavy smash against her head.
Without us restraining her, Ryana and the others in the back are basically finished too...
What a monster of a captain.
In the end, only Ryana, Celty, and Kaguya remained trembling in the rear.
In less than ten minutes, everyone present had lost consciousness.
But Elise's special training would not end so easily.
Since they had failed to win by her conditions, they would continue getting beaten.
Whether awake or unconscious, even if they were being pummeled, they had to endure until the very last moment.
...
Night.
"Ahhh—"
Lyra suddenly screamed and thrashed her limbs.
When she opened her eyes, however, she found she was no longer in the training room but soaking in a hot spring.
This was the grand bathhouse of Astraea Familia. The hot spring had been built by Elise herself.
"You're awake, Lyra. You were the last one."
Only then did Lyra realize that every member of the Familia was here.
However... including Lyra, nearly all of them were sitting naked and limp in the hot spring, as if they didn't even have the strength to move.
Even raising an arm sent an indescribable soreness flooding through her body.
"Captain, couldn't you go a little easier on us? You leave us like this every time... it's exhausting!"
"It's already only once a month. If I go any lighter at this frequency, can it even be called training?" Elise naturally refused.
"Sigh..."
Everyone let out a collective sigh. Their captain was perfect in every way—except for this one point that made them suffer.
"But soon, my research on Stigmata will reach a breakthrough. It shouldn't be long before I can create a personalized Stigmata set for each of you."
Elise understood the principle of sugar and the whip.
This time, she had thoroughly enjoyed herself. Besides, she had long had this idea. It was just that the Stigmata technology hadn't been complete before.
"Really? Personalized Stigmata?"
"That's right. Stigmata designed specifically according to your individual needs. They can compensate for your weaknesses."
"There's technology like that?"
"Yes." Elise nodded. "For example, the personalized Stigmata I designed for Kaguya specializes in slashing. Aside from increasing base ability values, it also grants special effects."
"When you release sword techniques, it increases the blade's power and range, things like that..."
"Huh?" Even the usually composed Kaguya was stunned. "You can even do something like that?"
"Of course. If you have any particular needs, just come to me. I'll adjust it according to your requests and push your strength even further."
Stigmata weren't a bad thing.
The only side effect was that after using them, a red imprint would appear on the chest.
Elise said that before long, she would open a shop in Orario to sell them.
When that happened, it would surely shake the entire world.
Perhaps this world would even enter the era of Stigmata.