Over the course of the next day, the entire Twilight Manor remained in a quiet state.
After the expedition to Man-Made Dungeon Knossos, every member who had participated in the operation was completely exhausted. Once they returned to their rooms, they immediately collapsed onto their beds and slept until nightfall, only gradually waking one after another.
Some members walked toward the large dining hall with sleepy faces, planning to fill their stomachs, while others headed to the great bathhouse to wash up and recover their energy and condition.
Riezel also rested in his room for the entire day, and it was not until the evening that he left the manor and headed for Daedalus Street.
When he arrived at Daedalus Street, the area was still under blockade by the Guild.
Many members from various familias who had come to gather information were mercilessly driven away by the staff of the Guild, while those who refused to leave or tried to cause trouble or force their way in were subdued on the spot by members of the Ganesha Familia acting as enforcers, ending up in a pitiful and miserable state.
’Hmm, the familias all over the city aren’t that easy to brush off...’
Riezel thought about the situation as if it had nothing to do with him.
Along the way, he had heard many people discussing the events on Daedalus Street, and the appearance of the pillar of light, which had sent a god back, seemed to have struck a nerve among many people and gods, causing a wave of unease to spread.
In the end, the Guild attributed everything to a single explanation: an accident.
Even so, people were clearly unwilling to believe it, mainly because the Guild still had not told anyone which unfortunate god had suffered this so-called ’accident.’
Unfortunately, the Guild had little choice.
They could not simply name a random god, since the lie would quickly be exposed, so their official statement was that the matter was still under investigation and that citizens should remain calm.
’Not gonna lie, that explanation sounds like the usual bureaucratic line.’
Riezel had complained about it, though he had no intention of getting involved, since this was something the Guild needed to handle, not him. Since the Guild could not provide the Loki Familia with support in terms of combat power, they at least had to deal with this kind of administrative mess properly.
"Complete Invisibility."
"Fly."
Finding a corner in a small alley, Riezel consecutively activated two magic spells, concealing his presence before flying into the sky.
If he entered Daedalus Street openly, the spies from the various familias who witnessed it would certainly guess that the Loki Familia was connected to the current abnormal events, so he hid his presence and entered Daedalus Street without being noticed by anyone.
Before long, he arrived above a massive hole, which was the very spot where Thanatos’s returning light pillar had burst through the ground and shot toward the sky.
Green flesh poured out from this hole from Knossos below, spreading across the surrounding surface and turning the ground, buildings, streets, and alleys into a sea of green. Like a breeding bed for colorful monsters, the green flesh wriggled constantly as it occupied every place it could reach.
Members of the Ganesha Familia were stationed along the outer edge of the green mass, fighting against the tendrils that kept stretching outward, trying to attack and devour people.
They swung their swords at the green flesh, slashing it repeatedly, while continuously shouting commands, instructing the mages in the rear or the supporters wielding magic swords to release magic and bombard the surging mass, preventing it from spreading further.
Amid the intense battle, some adventurers retreated with injuries to receive healing from healers, while others were scolded for pushing too far forward. A few were accidentally caught by the tendrils of the green flesh and nearly dragged into the mass before finally being rescued by their companions. They now stood there with lingering fear on their faces, breathing heavily.
’Just what you’d expect from the Ganesha Familia. They’ve already stopped that green flesh from eating away at the surface.’
After watching for a while, Riezel voiced his praise.
As a large familia second only to the greatest familias like the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia in Orario, the Ganesha Familia had been permitted by the Guild to serve as enforcers and maintain order in the city, which already proved their considerable strength.
Although they had no members at Level 6 or even Level 7, the Ganesha Familia possessed a total of eleven Level 5 adventurers, making them the familia with the largest number of First-Class Adventurers in Orario. Even if they could not compare to the Loki Familia, they were still far beyond ordinary familias.
Thanks to their relentless efforts, the green flesh had failed to expand its erosion area.
Of course, this was also related to the fact that the green flesh’s activity had decreased after reaching the surface.
Its source lay deep underground at a depth equivalent to the Dungeon’s 10th Floor, so after emerging onto the surface, it was too far from the Demi Spirits, causing its threat level to drop sharply and no longer possessing the overwhelming, unstoppable momentum it had displayed inside the labyrinth.
When facing the highly active green flesh inside Knossos, even the Loki Familia had looked as though they were being chased by an avalanche or a mudslide, forced to turn around and flee, so the Ganesha Familia would definitely have stood no chance in such a situation.
Needless to say, the Ganesha Familia could resist the green flesh here partly because its activity had decreased, and partly because there was only a single hole through which it could pour out. As long as they held the entrance and established a defensive line around it, they could fight it in a controlled manner.
It went without saying that this was unlike the Loki Familia’s earlier situation, where the green flesh had surged through an entire passage with overwhelming force. With almost no choices in terrain or route, they had been forced to fight while retreating, chased by the relentless tide of green flesh.
*Swish!*
Thinking of this, Riezel suddenly descended to the ground and released his invisibility magic, revealing himself in front of the members of the Ganesha Familia.
"Who!?"
Riezel’s sudden appearance startled the members of the Ganesha Familia, who were locked in fierce combat with the green flesh, causing them to react strongly at once, with some even raising their weapons toward him.
"Calm down," Riezel said, shaking his head as he raised his hands. "I’m Riezel Brynhart from the Loki Familia. I’m here to handle some matters."
Hearing Riezel’s voice and recognizing his appearance, the members of the Ganesha Familia first let out a sigh of relief, then immediately became shocked again.
"Riezel Brynhart from the Loki Familia?"
"Liberator?"
"Ah, the rumored monster rookie?"
"It’s him!"
Every member of the Ganesha Familia looked at Riezel with surprise, curiosity, and scrutiny.
Among them, one person stepped forward from the crowd—she was a tall woman with blue hair cut short to the neck, and her features were sharp and well-defined.
Her long limbs were equipped with gauntlets and metal boots suited for close combat, and the armor she wore was light, giving her an overall appearance of a heroic beauty dressed like a man, exuding the air of a strong and capable woman.
As soon as he saw this heroic female adventurer, Riezel immediately recognized her identity.
"You are... Captain Shakti Varma?"
Riezel directed his gaze toward the woman.
Shakti Varma, as the captain of the Ganesha Familia, was a renowned Level 5 First-Class Adventurer in Orario, bearing the alias—Ankusha.
Before Ais had advanced to Level 6, Shakti’s strength had been evaluated as being no weaker than that of the one known as the strongest swordswoman, the ’Sword Princess’ Ais Wallenstein. Like Ais, Shakti was human, and her fame and strength were comparable to Ais’s before she reached Level 6.
Ais had once told Riezel that if she did not use Ariel, she was not confident that she could defeat Shakti.
As Riezel observed her, the captain of the Ganesha Familia walked forward and arrived in front of him.
"Yes, that’s me. I’m Shakti Varma."
After confirming Riezel’s identity and appearance, Shakti extended her hand.
"Liberator Riezel Brynhart. I’ve heard a lot about you."
Hearing this, Riezel also extended his hand and shook hers.
"I’m the one who’s heard a lot about you, Captain Shakti," Riezel replied with a calm smile. "Ais mentioned you to me, said you’re really strong. Now I finally get to meet the person she praised so much."
"Oh? Sword Princess praised me so highly?" Shakti seemed doubtful and shook her head. "Compared to her, I’m ordinary though."
From her serious expression and firm gaze, it was clear that these words were sincere.
It could not be helped.
"Sword Princess’s already reached Level 6, while I’m still stuck at Level 5. Compared to a genius like her, what do I even count as?"
Right after saying this, Shakti shifted the topic.
"How did you end up here? Has something new happened?"
Shakti already knew about Knossos, or rather, about the underground forces.
The Loki Familia cooperating with the Guild to investigate the underground forces that intended to destroy Orario was something that might be hidden from others, but it could not be hidden from the Ganesha Familia.
When the Violas caused chaos during Monster Feria, Loki had already approached Ganesha, the god of the Ganesha Familia, to inquire about information. Moreover, the Ganesha Familia was the official partner designated by the Guild and served as Orario’s enforcer, so they naturally knew many secrets that ordinary people did not.
Because of this, from the very beginning, Loki and the Guild had never intended to conceal the investigation of the underground forces from the Ganesha Familia, allowing them to have a full understanding of the current situation.
Hence, Shakti knew that the Loki Familia was the main force investigating the underground forces and exploring Knossos. Now that one of them had appeared here, she naturally had to treat the situation seriously.
"It’s not like some new situation popped up or anything."
Riezel replied earnestly, though he did not explain the details to Shakti.
"As for the specifics, my familia will probably report it to the Guild. You can just ask them later."
"I came here to deal with something—just to make things harder for the enemy and let them know this Labyrinth City isn’t something they can wreck whenever they feel like it."
Upon hearing the words Riezel spoke so casually, Shakti paused slightly, then nodded, indicating her understanding.
"In that case, do you need any assistance from us?"
Shakti did not immediately question Riezel further and instead asked this.
"You just need to have your people retreat a bit."
Riezel instructed calmly, and Shakti nodded once more.
"Everyone! Fall back twenty meters!"
Shakti turned around and loudly issued the order to all the members.
""YES!""
Every member of the Ganesha Familia immediately responded, retreating while still facing the green flesh.
*Gurgle—Gurgle—*
With the adventurers no longer restraining it, the green flesh immediately became active again, wriggling violently as it surged outward.
"Harbinger of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezing land. Blizzard, the three severe winters - my name is Alf."
Seeing the surging green flesh, Riezel began chanting magic on the spot, causing a magic circle to spread out beneath his feet.
"So fast!"
"What kind of chanting speed is that?"
"Amazing..."
All the members of the Ganesha Familia immediately reacted with shock and amazement—even Shakti’s expression grew more serious.
’So this is Liberator...?’
Feeling the rapidly rising magical energy, Shakti began to understand why this young man was considered someone who had surpassed the limits imagined by various gods.
’His magical energy is already no weaker than Nine Hell... No, is it even stronger than that?’
While Shakti was inwardly alarmed, Riezel’s magic had already activated.
"Wynn Fimbulvetr!"
Three blizzards immediately surged outward, turning everything around them into a frozen wasteland.
*Ka-cha—Ka-cha—Ka-cha—*
Amid the sharp, grating sound of freezing, not only the ground and surrounding buildings were frozen—the writhing green flesh was also caught in the blizzard and gradually turned into a massive glacier.
Everything, including the large hole, was frozen solid, preventing any more green flesh from pouring out.
"..."
Seeing this scene, Shakti and the others were left speechless, as they realized that the thing they had spent so much effort dealing with had simply been frozen and stopped just like this. For a moment, they felt as if their entire day of hard work had suddenly become meaningless.
But at this moment, Riezel’s actions were only just beginning.
"Alter the old truth, forge a new one."
As a transparent magic circle spread beneath his feet, Riezel activated the new magic he had awakened only after returning to this world—using it before others for the first time.
"Lost Truth!"
As the name of the magic was spoken, the transparent magic circle shattered instantly, breaking into fragments like visible shards of glass that floated around Riezel.
In the next instant, Riezel began chanting a magic he had never used before.
"Dance around spirit of the atmosphere, lord of light."
"Contract with the guardian of the forest, and envelop us with the song of the land."
"Surround us, become a great barrier of forest light and protect us - my name is Alf."
What Riezel chanted was the final defensive magic Riveria had once taught him, and also the strongest one.
Unlike the defensive magic Liv Ilusio and Veil Breath, this final defensive magic, personally taught by Riveria, was a barrier magic, a powerful protective barrier capable of completely blocking both physical and magical attacks.
Now, Riezel not only used it but also granted it the Imaginary attribute.
"Via Shilheim!"
Hence, a brand-new miracle was born.
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next Chapters early at: /VALRRR]