Labyrinth City Orario.
As night came in, Orario, as usual, had an extremely vibrant nightlife.
Under the illumination of various magic stone lamps, the streets were brightly lit, and many businesses that only began operating at night were booming with waves of noisy excitement. Places such as the Entertainment District and pubs across the city were at their liveliest time of the day.
During the daytime, adventurers had to explore the Dungeon, so most of them were not in the city.
However, once night arrived, adventurers would basically return, either going to pubs to drink and have fun or heading to the Entertainment District to relieve their stress. And this naturally enriched Orario’s nightlife, making the bustle and clamor a normal state of the city.
Regardless, tonight’s Orario was destined to be anything but calm, because this time, the unrest was not caused by sensation, but by panic.
"A god has been sent back to Heaven."
When this news appeared, it simply could not be concealed.
Under the night sky, anyone could see that great pillar of light shooting straight into the sky, rising from the ground and shaking the entire surface of the earth.
The sacred, tragic, and transcendent presence of that great pillar of light silently told everyone that it was the supernatural phenomenon that only appeared when a god was sent back to Heaven.
For a time, all the inhabitants of Orario fell into turmoil.
"Who was sent back?"
"Who was killed?"
"What happened? Why would a god be sent back?"
All these were the questions everyone cared about the most.
As a result, the gods of the major familias were all alarmed—some went out personally to gather information, while others sent people to investigate Daedalus Street.
Naturally, the Guild also mobilized, and the Ganesha Familia, which served as Orario’s enforcers, deployed its full force immediately. Aside from leaving one person to guard their headquarters, the remaining ten Level 5 First-Class Adventurers all led groups to Daedalus Street and took control of the situation.
However, the Loki Familia had already begun cooperating with the Guild because of the underground forces, so the Guild and Ganesha Familia, unlike the others, more or less knew what had happened.
Consequently, they sealed off Daedalus Street immediately, evacuated the residents within the area, and turned back the scouts sent by the various familias who came to investigate, completely blocking all information.
Truthfully, this was unavoidable.
Whether it was the Loki Familia, the Guild, or the Ganesha Familia, they had all shared one consensus before carrying out this cooperation: the information about the existence of the underground forces must not be leaked.
Especially matters concerning the Corrupted Spirit and the remnants of Evilus—these were not pieces of information that could be allowed to spread casually.
As the race said to be the children the gods loved the most, and even called part god, spirits had always held an extraordinary status in the Lower World. Since ancient times, they had assisted humanity, protected the Lower World, and listened to the will of the gods.
Yet for one of them to fall and become twisted like this, turning into a monster capable of destroying all of Orario—if such news were to be leaked, it would cause unimaginable turmoil in the Lower World and might even shake the very foundation upon which the races stood.
Of course, the existence of the remnants of Evilus also could not be exposed, as it would have a massive impact on Orario.
Fifteen years ago, after the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia declined, Orario entered a dark period known as the Dark Age. It was dragged into chaos by Evilus and fell into a dark abyss of disorder, becoming a city of crime.
At that time, people in Orario died almost every day, and familias were constantly dragged into the terror attacks carried out by Evilus. Even worse, the number of citizens affected reached into the thousands, and countless familias were destroyed by Evilus’s actions, leaving them in despair about life.
Back then, Orario had even nearly lost its status as the center of the world, as various forces across the continent questioned whether it could still fulfill its role of sealing the Dungeon and protecting humanity.
Compared to that time, the present Orario could almost be called a period of peace. Aside from adventurers who might perish in the Dungeon, the urban districts were no longer as dangerous as they once were.
All of this had been brought about by the destruction of Evilus five years ago.
After that, the Guild publicly declared that Evilus had been completely annihilated, announcing that the city’s Dark Age had come to an end and causing countless people to cry with joy.
Because of that, aside from those who had only arrived in Orario in recent years, the people who had lived through Orario’s dark period had almost all developed a psychological shadow toward the name ’Evilus.’
If they were told now that Evilus had not been completely destroyed, that remnants still remained in the world and were secretly plotting underground to destroy Orario, then not only ordinary citizens but also the small and medium-sized familias, and even the big familias of the city, would fall into panic.
If that happened, chaos would be unavoidable.
It might even allow certain forces that had not been behaving honestly in the shadows to take advantage of the situation, causing serious damage to Orario.
Considering this situation, the Guild and the Loki Familia had already reached a consensus that the existence and true nature of the underground forces must never be leaked.
It was precisely for this reason that when the Loki Familia launched their operation, the Guild did not assign other familias to assist them. Instead, it provided support from the sidelines, leaving the Loki Familia to investigate and conquer the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos on their own.
Now that the situation had clearly changed, the Guild naturally had to cooperate with the Ganesha Familia to seal off information and drive away all scouts and informants.
Of course, this caused the various familias to express strong dissatisfaction and demand that the Guild provide an explanation.
A god being sent back to Heaven could be considered either a major matter or a minor one.
Some gods of small familias might also be sent back due to certain accidents, and if that happened, it would not be considered a major issue.
However, if the god who had been sent back possessed a significant identity, then it would be a different matter.
For that reason, every person and every god cared deeply about this matter, and gathering information was inevitable.
In the end, the explanation given by the Guild was very simple.
"This was simply an accident involving the god of a small familia, who has been sent back to Heaven."
No matter what others said, the Guild and the members of the Ganesha Familia firmly adhered to this statement.
Naturally, no one accepted this explanation at face value, but such matters could be left for the Guild to handle.
At present, the most important issue was still the abnormal situation occurring within the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos—or rather, the situation involving the green flesh.
After the Loki Familia withdrew from Knossos, the green flesh completely surged out from it. According to Riezel, the only person who could freely enter and exit it, the interior had already completely turned into a palace of flesh, as almost every location had been eroded and covered by the green flesh.
Under the invasion of the green flesh, aside from the Loki Familia, who successfully escaped, the Ishtar Familia and the Kali Familia, who had withdrawn earlier, also appeared to be safe and unharmed.
In contrast, the members of the Thanatos Familia—who were the remnants of Evilus—had shown no intention of withdrawing from the place beforehand. After the incident occurred, they also lost their power due to Thanatos being sent back, and as a result, they were devoured indiscriminately by the green flesh along with the colorful monsters within the labyrinth.
In other words, Evilus had truly been destroyed this time, since the only remaining god and nearly all of its remnants had died.
Riezel had also teleported into the Master Hall on the 9th Floor of Knossos, where he found a skeleton.
It was none other than the corpse of Daedalus’s descendant, the man called Barca.
He did not appear to have died from being devoured by the green flesh, but rather from suicide.
After Thanatos was sent back, the structure of the Man-Made Dungeon was shaken, and the green flesh secreted by the Demi Spirits eroded the entire labyrinth. Upon witnessing the several centuries of effort and obsession of his family reduced to ruin, Barca fell into despair and chose to end his own life in grief and fury.
Together with the missing Valletta, Evilus had truly reached its end and no longer had any chance of survival.
Unfortunately, the erosion of the green flesh did not stop there, but instead surged upward through Knossos’s entrances and exits, reaching the surface and the sewers.
Because the pillar of light created by Thanatos’s return not only shook the structure of Knossos but also shattered several floors, opening a path straight to the surface and creating a massive hole in Daedalus Street, the green flesh poured out from that hole and also surged out from the sewer entrance, eroding a large section of the surrounding area and almost swallowing half of Daedalus Street.
Fortunately, the erosion of the green flesh had its limits.
After eroding the area within several dozen meters around the hole and a portion of the sewer beneath Daedalus Street, it finally stopped spreading.
Members of the Ganesha Familia attempted to attack the green flesh, but the flesh retaliated on its own, nearly causing casualties.
In the end, they could only choose to hold their position for the time being and simply seal off Daedalus Street.
Only then did the situation finally become temporarily stable.
However, the Loki Familia, who had withdrawn from Daedalus Street, were not in good condition.
===
Twilight Manor, Captain’s Office.
When the sky had only begun to brighten, the Loki Familia’s executives, who had not slept all night, gathered here.
Finn still sat in his usual seat, with Riveria standing beside him, while Gareth sat in the chair closest to the desk. Around them, the rest of the familia’s executives either sat or stood, including Raul and Anakitty, with all of the First-Class Adventurers present.
Loki, however, was not here because she had gone to the Guild and was discussing the matter of Knossos. Furthermore, she had even brought Ishtar and Kali along with her, clearly unwilling to let those two goddesses, who had collaborated with Evilus and harmed her children, go unpunished.
Inside the office, a heavy and oppressive atmosphere spread through the room.
Feeling this atmosphere, Ais lowered her gaze, Bete wore a visibly irritated expression, Raul took deep breaths from nervousness, while Anakitty’s tail swayed continuously behind her, her mood clearly far from good.
Even Riezel frowned slightly, appearing lost in thought.
Gareth remained silent.
Riveria let out a quiet sigh.
Finn kept his eyes closed for a while as he thought, before opening them and calmly speaking, breaking the silence.
"Have we still not found Tiona and Tione?"
Yes, everyone was present except for Tiona and Tione.
They had disappeared, and even Riezel had been unable to locate them.
Because of that, everyone had been filled with worry, which created an overly oppressive atmosphere in the office.
"I’ve already asked the Guild and members of the Ganesha Familia to help search for them," Riveria said with a sigh. "But there’s still no news..."
Bete could not help clicking his tongue.
"What are those dumb amazoness sisters even doing? Don’t tell me something actually happened to them."
Bete’s attitude was even harsher than usual, which made it clear that the disappearance of Tiona and Tione was not without effect on him.
"It can’t be, right?"
After hearing Bete’s words, Raul could not help but speak up.
"I don’t believe those two would get into trouble."
Anakitty also spoke, unusually emotional.
"Don’t worry, they haven’t run into trouble—at least not for now..." Riveria shook her head slightly. "Loki said she hasn’t felt the disappearance of Tiona and Tione’s Falna, so they must still be alive."
"If those two young’uns are still kicking, then where the hell did they run off to?" Gareth said in a low voice. "They couldn’t still be in the Man-Made Dungeon, right? There’s no way anyone can stay in there anymore."
Indeed, the labyrinth that had turned into a palace of flesh was now like a gigantic monster—anyone who stayed inside would likely face nothing but death. Even the remnants of Evilus had been devoured.
Probably only beings such as Creatures or those with an extraordinary connection to the Corrupted Spirit could still move within it.
If Tiona and Tione were still inside Knossos, they would definitely not still be alive.
Conversely, since they were still alive, it proved that they were not inside Knossos.
Thankfully, that was indeed the case.
"When I tried to locate them using magic, I couldn’t find their position in there."
Riezel finally spoke.
"If they were still inside the Man-Made Dungeon, it would be impossible for me not to detect even the slightest trace."
Back then, after bringing Finn and the others back to the surface, Riezel immediately returned to Knossos. Using Tiona’s large double-bladed sword, Urga, and Tione’s pair of kukri knives, Zolas, as targets, he cast Locate Object to search for them.
However, Riezel received no response from Locate Object at all.
Afterward, Riezel used several kinds of detection magic, including Sense Life, and carefully searched the entirety of Knossos, yet even so, he still could not find Tiona or Tione, completely losing track of them.
"The only explanation is that they left the Man-Made Dungeon," Riezel continued. "But they may not have left on their own—someone might have taken them away."
Needless to say, that ’someone’ had not only taken Tiona and Tione out of Knossos but may even have taken them out of Orario. Only in that case would Riezel’s detection magic fail, because their location would already be beyond the range of his magic spells.
"Are you certain?"
Finn opened his eyes and asked Riezel to confirm.
"Unless something unexpected happened..." Riezel replied earnestly with a nod. "Otherwise, the only possibility would be that someone can completely evade my magic and cause it to fail."
"With your magic ability, there aren’t many beings who could hide from your detection," Riveria chimed in, her beautiful brows slightly furrowed. "But if someone really took them away, then who did it?"
In fact, the answer was actually very simple.
"Kali Familia."
Ais, who had been lowering her gaze the entire time, raised her head.
"It was those two amazonesses from Telskyura."
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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