Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

Ryu's mind went blank at that moment.

Why am I thinking about him again...?

She pursed her lips.

Just as he was hesitating, he heard Jāluó's invitation: "Want to come with me to witness my baby's birthday, bro?"

Ryu instinctively replied, "No, no. The Loki Familia seems to have wandered into the labyrinth; I need to go check it out."

Jalal was slightly surprised, but looking at Ciel dressed as the Joker, he understood and said, "Loki Familia... I see, what a pity. If you were here, my chances of taming that kid would be much greater."

Liu didn't linger any longer and walked straight to the right.

"Hey, bro, go to the shaft on the first floor, it doesn't seem to be in that direction." Jaluo's voice sounded strangely.

"I'll go inform Valetta..." Liu suddenly realized, made up an excuse, and vanished from the spot in an instant.

……

Ryu uses 'shifting' to quickly traverse the maze.

With Jaluo's reminder, she quickly found a shallow depression in the maze on the left. She raised her head, rapidly expanded her mental energy, and in a flash, appeared beside a broken suspension bridge.

"It's here."

She glanced at the frozen second-floor passage, gritted her teeth, and disappeared.

In her current state, she's completely untrustworthy. If she casually says that "Gale" is a fake, no one will believe her.

"I need to find Lady Astrea first..." Ryu made up her mind, leaving behind a message in the wind: "Wait, I'll take the information back first. I'll be right back..."

With that in mind, Liu quickly used [Teleportation] to return to the ground along the route she had come from.

……

In front of the gate of the Mansion of Stardust.

Wearing a mask and a cloak, Ryu raised her hand, then lowered it again. Finally, she made up her mind and knocked hard on the door: "Lady Astraea, Alexie, open the door quickly!"

With a creak, strands of walnut-colored hair drooped down from the crack in the door.

When the goddess Astraea saw Ryu, she instinctively looked around, then grabbed Ryu's hand and dragged her into the room.

Astraea looked at 'Ciel' suspiciously and asked in surprise, "Ciel-kun, why are you dressed like this and coming here? What if someone sees you?"

"Lady Astraea, I have crucial information! Where is Alicia now?!" Ryu exclaimed anxiously, then suddenly froze...

"What...did you call me?"

Chapter 430 Who keeps a diary if they're a decent person? (Revised)

"Ciel?" Astraea tilted her head, tapped her chin with her index finger, and let out a loud "Ah~~" before exclaiming in realization, "At a time like this, I should call you Joker?"

As she spoke, her expression changed, and she took a step back in fear: "Joker, what is your purpose in coming here?"

“Astraea…sir?” Ryu’s eyes gradually lost their luster.

The goddess's poor acting left her unsure how to continue.

"What...what's going on? What...what's going on...an illusion?"

Ryu suddenly thought of a boy from the Loki Familia whose face she couldn't remember.

That idiotic boy who, under the watchful eyes of the entire world, exposed his own god's conspiracy...

"Why? Am I still dreaming?" Liu lost her strength, leaned against the door, and slowly slid down.

"Charles? What's wrong?" Astraea's expression changed.

She couldn't imagine what had happened to make Charles look so desperate.

"Charles? Charles? Speak up, Charles! What happened? Tell me quickly! Is the lower realm about to be destroyed? Is it the sacred fire of the Holy Mountain erupting, or has a fallen fairy climbed up? Or has a god been devoured by an ancient monster?"

"Could it be that the 'end' from a parallel world has traveled through time and space to our world?!"

Astraea shook Ryu's shoulders and shouted, "Answer me! Ciel!"

Ryu's unfocused pupils suddenly widened slowly. She raised her eyes in disbelief, stared at Astraea, and exclaimed, "So many world-destroying disasters?!"

“That’s great, Ciel. You’ve finally responded.” Astraea smiled. “With Ciel here, these calamities are nothing to worry about. They can be easily resolved.”

"I am Ryu," Ryu suddenly announced.

"Huh?" Astraea's eyes turned into little beans.

“Ryu Leon, I am Lady Astraea.” Ryu pointed to herself.

"Hahaha, Ciel-kun, you're really joking. Hehe~~" Astraea's expression stiffened, and she guiltily looked away.

“Look me in the eye, Lady Astraea. The gods can discern lies.”

Astraea stood up, turned around to reveal her back, and whistled guiltily:

"Sir Ciel, you're joking. As a 'Godslayer,' a deity can't detect your lies..."

"Please don't change the subject! Lady Astraea!" Ryu suddenly stood up angrily, her voice booming, "Why would you call me Ciel when I'm in this state?! What do you know? What is the truth?! Please answer me honestly!"

"That... Ciel-kun?"

"Please answer me truthfully!!!" Ryu shouted again!

Astraea grabbed her earlobe and knelt down in front of you: "I'm sorry, Ryu. Because Ciel-kun is too much fun, I've been keeping it from you all... Actually... we have an impure deal."

"N-Nani?!" Ryu took a step back in fear and swallowed hard.

She suddenly didn't know if she could handle this "truth." She felt it would be a huge shock.

"Lady Astraea... even you were 'deceived'?"

“No, that’s not it… It’s a long story…” Astraea said, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Then let's get straight to the point!" Ryu crossed his arms, the shadows obscuring his eyes.

"This story needs to be told starting from the period of the 'Great Protests'."

Astraea seemed lost in memories: "The first time we met, it must have been with Jester. At that time, I was very curious about Ciel."

"After all, it's a Jester, a rabbit that traveled through a time tunnel. Isn't that amazing? That a child could catch and control such a being."

"A time-space... tunnel?"

“Yes, it’s the future.” Astraea’s expression turned serious. “This shouldn’t be something that children in the lower realm should know, but if Ryu doesn’t know the truth now, he’ll definitely be even more confused. So, please keep it a secret.”

"The future!" Ryu was even more astonished: "Jester is from the future?!"

"Yes, isn't it amazing? It's incredible that Ciel could be associated with someone like that. Apparently, one of his friends is a child with 'precognition' abilities. The mortal realm is truly wondrous."

“Ciel…” Ryu lowered her head, her expression forlorn: “But, why is Ciel the Joker?”

"It's also about the future," Astraea smiled. "Because Jester brought a lot of information about the future. Six years after Jester's arrival, Orario was destroyed."

"!!" Liu's eyes widened.

Countless adventurers and heroes fell beneath the giant tentacles, followed by the "End of the World," which swept across the land. The "Promised Day" also ended in this calamity, and in that world, only "Jester" could save everything.

"To avoid repeating the mistakes of the 'Jester' world, the 'Joker' was born."

"But unlike the 'Jester,' the 'Joker' has his own ideas and a path to follow. He's creating the ending the 'Jester' wanted in his own way."

Astraea took a deep breath and lowered her voice: "That means launching a great resistance!"

Liu was stunned and speechless. She opened her mouth several times, and finally uttered a name: "Alphia!"

Astraea nodded: "It's not about killing to turn the world back to ancient times, but about speeding up the stopped clock and letting hope outweigh despair! So, we must launch a great resistance."

Ryu couldn't understand: "But, how many people died in the great struggle!"

Astraea replied, "15487 dead, and countless wounded. I remember it very clearly."

"Then why?!"

"Ryu!" Astraea interrupted the boy's question: "Do you know how many people would have died if the great resistance hadn't been launched?"

Before Ryu could answer, Astraea said calmly, "4 people..."

"If the 'Great Conflict' doesn't occur, the final battle between good and evil will be delayed until soon, on the 27th floor. It will be a death match involving the [Divine Beast Tentacle], the [Floor Master], the [Fallen Fairy Avatar], and 15 first-level adventurers from the Dark Faction, a battle where the entire fighting force of the city will be staked!"

"The children of the lower realm only saw Prince Charles's slaughter, but could not glimpse that even more hopeless future."

"Ryu, this is the truth behind the 'Great Struggle.' The truth about Ciel..."

Liu was so surprised she couldn't speak; she couldn't even think about the future.

She can only see what's in front of her...

"So, Lady Astraea, you've been in contact with Charles all along?"

"Yes, because the threat to the city hasn't disappeared. So, Ciel has been active in the underworld as the Joker, passing on intelligence to us."

"Heh? Actually, Ciel is our mole..."

"Hey, what the hell?!" Ryu slammed his fist on the table and stood up. "The enemy's leader being our mole is just too suspicious!"

"Isn't this what Charles thinks is cool?" Astraea coughed and said in a deep voice, "If despair itself is hope, wouldn't it be better if everyone revealed their identities at the most dangerous moment, leading to a happy reunion?"

"That's impossible! Lady Astraea, you weren't deceived by Ciel too, were you?!" Ryu said indignantly, "He's done so much... In short, I can't accept it!"

The Ciel in Astrea's eyes is completely different from the Ciel in her memory!

Seeing Ryu's worldview crumble, Astraea tried to change the subject: "Speaking of which... Ryu, you contacted me because of Ciel?"

"Ah... Ah!!!!!" Ryu suddenly stood up and screamed, "No, something's wrong, Lady Astraea. Quick!"

"Alicie is in danger!"

Chapter 431 Reborn, I will definitely take back everything I've lost (revised)

"Hey! Alexie's in danger!"

Only then did Liu remember her purpose.

"It's terrible, Lady Astraea! Jarrow has laid a trap for us! We must stop Alicia and the others!"

Astraea's expression turned serious: "Go on, Ryu. Alexie and the others have been gone for more than half a day."