— Heavenly Realm, Ares Palace, Goting Room
"Has contact from Ramiel truly remained completely cut off?"
Ares asked Ket once more—his elderly aide who was taking the lead in directing the investigation of Lemuria.
"Yes. A full week has passed since communication went dark. Ramiel has been captured by the enemy. We must operate under that assumption."
Ket replied with a bitter grimace while remaining on bended knee.
Ket was the man who had served as Ares's tutor since childhood, and it handled every aspect of the administrative affairs here in Ares Palace. On this occasion, Ares had ordered Ket, his trusted advisor, to oversee the investigation of that land.
A whole week without a word from the dutiful Ramiel. No matter how optimistically one tried to look at it, this mission had ended in decisive, absolute failure.
Even so...
"Can we truly not establish contact with Ramiel from our side?"
Unable to accept this merciless reality, he clung to hope as he questioned Ket.
If Ramiel returned safely, there should still be plenty of opportunities to turn things around.
"We have already attempted to do so, but..."
Ket hesitated mid-sentence. Gone from its face was that infuriatingly calm composure it usually wore, replaced entirely by anguish. One look at its demeanor made it clear that the conclusion was already foregone. Therefore...
"I... have failed, haven't I?"
Somehow, he managed to squeeze out the confession of defeat.
"Most regrettably, there is no doubt about it. Having captured Ramiel, the bandits will surely have extracted every detail of our information from her. I formally advise the immediate termination of the plan."
Ares was well aware of that without needing it pointed out. Even under normal circumstances, Ares had been utterly powerless against that fly-headed monster. If the enemy had now seized the most crucial factor of all—information—it wouldn't just make victory impossible; it could trigger the worst-case scenario imaginable.
"Do you believe... Ramiel will truly not escape unharmed?"
"Considering what those bandits did to Corinth and the others, she would be vastly more fortunate to be granted a swift death, but I fear there is little hope of that. In all likelihood, she has met a fate too appalling to contemplate."
Ket laid that merciless reality bare before him.
"I see..."
This was entirely Ares's blunder. The one who had brought about this state of affairs was Ares and his thirst for revenge. Driven by the anger smoldering deep within his chest, he had ordered his precious subordinate into danger, only for her to become another casualty.
The opponent was that fly-headed monster whom even Ares, a high god, had been entirely helpless against. He had known full well that he needed to proceed with caution. Yet, he simply could not forgive the fact that his subordinate divine people had been slaughtered like vermin. No, let's stop lying to myself. That wasn't all. Ares had wanted to prove to his grandfather, Deus, that he was capable of cleaning up his own mess. To satisfy that ugly, selfish pride, he had taken a reckless, all-or-nothing gamble. The penalty for losing that gamble was paid not by Ares himself, but with the lives of his subordinates. It was the natural consequence, something painfully obvious from the start.
(I make myself sick with my own cowardice...)
No matter how much he tried to justify his actions, the current situation was his own doing. It was an undeniable truth that this was an incident an immature god such as Ares should never have meddled with. If he merely twiddled his thumbs and let things run their course, the divine people of Ares Palace would end up paying the price. He had to go report the full details to the Heavenly Army and make a direct appeal for a rescue mission to Lemuria.
He had forced an intervention into Lemuria despite it being strictly forbidden. In all likelihood, Ares would face severe punishment. However, what hung in the balance were the lives of Ramiel and his divine people. There was no longer any room to worry about his own skin.
"I am heading to Elysion."
When Ares rose from his seat and declared his intent,
"As you command!"
Ket, still kneeling, bowed its head deeply and barked its acknowledgment.
(Ramiel, please wait for me. I swear I will save you!)
Without Ramiel's knowledge, he had placed an insurance spell upon her before she departed on the mission. Knowing how devoted she was to Ares, she would have flown into a fiery rage and refused it outright had she known what it entailed. But thanks to that technique, as long as she still breathed, he could save her.
If the Heavenly Army he was about to petition refused to mobilize, then at that point—
"I'll do it myself!"
Steeling his resolve, Ares set out for Elysion, where the Heavenly Army Headquarters was located.