Under the bright morning sun, a group of people was gathering on the beach. However, the group separated into two teams, one with few members and one with many members.
"Vann, please convey my words to Gio." Elysia crouched down and stroked the white cat's head and the brown tortoise.
"Yes, master." Vanessa nodded and closed her eyes. She almost purred when her chin was stroked by her master.
"Gio, we're going to go away for a while to check out the mysterious island over there. As the strongest, please protect our group from any harm, okay? Also, please don't let anyone off this island until we get back. Can you do that?" Elysia made her request while looking into the little tortoise's brown eyes.
"Mew, meoaw, rawr, rarr--" Vanessa translated her master's command into rawr language.
"Rawr!" Gio nodded repeatedly. He felt proud to be called the strongest servant.
"Well then, see you later." Elysia stood up while waving her hand. She then went to her friends. "Please wait for us until we get back, okay?"
"Mm, we'll wait here."
"You don't have to worry, Ely. Also, please be careful and be extra vigilant because no one knows what kind of monster might be buried beneath that mysterious island."
"Yes, please be careful."
"Mkay~"
While the other three girls answered with some concern, it was Sylvia who responded casually.
"Hmm?" Elysia felt something was wrong, but she didn't know what it was. She glanced at the devil girl subconsciously.
"Ah, yes. You don't have to worry about me, Ely. On the other hand, you need to be super duper careful because the unexpected in a gruesome dungeon is the worst." Sylvia raised her index finger and reminded Elysia as if it was extra meaningful.
"Mm, thanks for the advice. I'll be very careful." Elysia nodded, then went to Elena's side.
"Very well, please be good kids and wait for us here without causing any trouble. That includes you, little blue." Nell pointed at Oceanid's avatar. The little blue one also wanted to join the investigation team.
"Eh? Why?" Oceanid's avatar was a bit surprised that he couldn't come.
"That's because you refused to reunify with me. Since you're too weak, just wait here like a good boy. Your job is to look after this group while we're gone." Oceanid shooed his avatar to return.
"Too weak? Even though I'm small and not as strong as you, I'm still one third of a thousand of the power of a God!" Oceanid's avatar emphasized his declaration.
"Alright, alright, you stay here and take responsibility for them. Got it?" Oceanid rolled his eyes, but the decision that had been made was irrevocable.
Oceanid's avatar just turned around to go to the little beasts while grumbling under his breath.
After that, Elysia, Elena, and the divine beings flew away to the mysterious island. Nell's magic carpet waved its tassel to send its master away.
"Mhm... This is a bit unfair. I also want to go to unravel the mystery beneath that mysterious island." Sylvia pouted and complained.
"There, there, Ely will share the story with us later." Ella patted Sylvia's back gently.
"Please don't be like a spoiled girl. We can spend our time with many things while waiting for the investigation team to return. It will probably only take until noon.
Oh no, I need some sun cream, or I'll get sunburnt. Eve, please help me." Yuuki took Evelyn's hand, and they went to her wooden house.
"Err... Would you like some anti-UV cream, Sylvia?" Ella looked into Sylvia's face and asked softly.
"No, I'll go to the sandcastle and play in the water a bit. You can go with Yuuki and Evelyn for some sun cream." Sylvia shook her head and walked away.
"Then, I'll be right back." Ella nodded and went after Yuuki and Evelyn. The scorching sun would probably torment her later, and she didn't want that.
"Ahem, Miss Sylvia, you better not go too far. Stay where I can see you, okay?" Theo waved his little paw high.
"Hum." Sylvia replied with a hum and entered the giant sandcastle. But, she smirked a moment after and used the exit on the other side. She headed out to sea sneakily and dived silently.
"Hehe, they won't know if I sneak away to that mysterious island." Sylvia grinned widely and moved away from the island.
She then took a detour and swam as fast as she could to the mysterious island. The willful devil girl used the seabed escape route without anyone knowing it.
Not long after, two human girls and a fox girl in summer dresses came out of the wooden house.
"Hm? Where did that red-eyed girl go? Usually, she is the noisiest and easiest to spot." Yuuki looked left and right in confusion.
"I have no idea either. Ella, Sylvia was with you just now. What did she say before you entered the hut?" Evelyn shrugged.
"Uhm, Sylvia said that she wanted to go to the sandcastle and play in the water a bit." Ella spread her arms because she didn't know either.
"Okay, I want to check that unruly girl. I'm afraid she slipped away and didn't heed Elysia's orders." Yuuki walked briskly towards the sandcastle as if she was in a hurry.
Meanwhile, Ella and Evelyn just exchanged glances and decided to go closer to the little beasts.
"Nee, what are you guys doing? Is Gio building a, umm... fort?" Evelyn smiled in amusement to see the little tortoise forming a sand wall.
"No. Gio is building a watchtower. He's currently making underground foundations with magic before making a tall one." Vanessa helped to answer.
"Oh~ So it's like that. That way, everyone will get an early notification if danger approaches. That's a brilliant idea." Evelyn dropped her fist onto her open palm.
At that moment, Yuuki suddenly ran to and fro with a worried expression. She entered the wooden house only to came out shortly after. "Hey, everyone, I can't find Sylvia anywhere! I've looked for her all over the island, but she's nowhere to be seen."
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
Everyone became shocked to hear the news. It had only been a few minutes, and Sylvia had disappeared without anyone knowing about it?
"Raw?" Gio felt that there was something odd about everyone's expressions. He asked his senior sister to find out.
Of course, Vanessa immediately told what had just happened. Hearing that, Gio pursed his lips and frowned. He stopped his work and transformed into the dragon-armored man.
"..." Gio crouched down and put his hand on the sand. He closed his eyes and scanned thoroughly through the soil medium.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find the whereabouts of the girl in question. That girl most likely left quietly without anyone knowing when no one was paying attention to her. Whatever it was, that girl had disobeyed her master's orders, but that was also part of his responsibility. And the problem was there!
"Rarrr..." Gio shook his head and reported the scan results to his senior sister.
"Oh this is bad. Gio has scanned through the ground for five kilometers, but he can't find Sylvia anywhere, not even in the seas around this island. How, what should we do?" Vanessa put her little paw on her forehead as if she had just received sudden dizziness.
"Grrr... That disobedient girl. Goddess Elysia needs to punish her later so she doesn't do what she wants without rules." Yuuki clenched his fists in annoyance. But, she clasped the sides of her head with a bit of uneasiness. "Everyone will probably get punished just for what she did uuu..."
"..." Evelyn and Ella didn't understand why Yuuki referred to Elysia as the Goddess. They could only put that aside, but they also couldn't do anything about their current problem either.
"Did that naughty girl slip away by the sea? In that case, I'm very reliable for this matter. Maybe she went to that mysterious island because her curiosity controlled her mind? Hopefully she hasn't swam far. But..." Oceanid's avatar looked at the direction of the mysterious island a few tens of kilometers to the north with a bit of trepidation.
"But? But what?" Yuuki immediately approached the little Sea God to find out more.
"I think she has gone too far from the island and is probably almost there. What should we do? Do you want me to tell the other me about this?" Oceanid's avatar scratched his head awkwardly.
"Hmph! If she has arrived at that mysterious island, then let her get the punishment from the Goddess directly. It doesn't mean I care about her or anything, okay?" Yuuki snorted and folded her arms.
"Come on Eve, Ella. Let's play something. I heard that Gio was building a watchtower, so let's build a fort as well." Yuuki walked away toward Gio's small mound.
"Rawr?" Gio asked in surprise.
"It's okay, let's build a fort at once and we can play to pass the time." Yuuki responded as if she knew what was being asked, even though she didn't understand the rawr language.
Meanwhile, Elysia's group had just arrived at a spot right in the middle of the mysterious island. Oceanid became more and more curious because the strange foreboding that came was getting stronger and peaked at that spot.
"Are you sure this is the right location? You feel the horror of this place is the scariest, Elysia?" Oceanid checked his surroundings and narrowed his eyes.
"En, I'm sure of it. I can't explain it, but something might be buried within this island. It's like an aura of hatred, anger, evil, or vengeful desire. Also, blood..." Elysia hugged herself as if she had got a sudden goosebump.
"A scary monster beneath a mysterious island. Is it possible-" Oceanid mumbled while stroking his chin, but he didn't finish his sentence and just stared at Rhea and Nell.