"Zzzzzzzz, " Asterios raised high the axe-like magic sword in his hand.
Lightning burst forth from it, stabbing the skin with pain. At that moment, even if Fron wanted to rush over and intervene, it was already too late.
"Roaaar!!!!!!!!"
Rumble,
An infinite storm of thunder erupted with Asterios at the center, engulfing the entire square in an instant, turning it into an ocean of lightning.
The massive shockwave destroyed every building within sight, floor tiles shattered, houses collapsed, everything reduced to ruin.
When Fron came back to his senses, all that remained before his eyes was rubble wrapped in a shroud of dust and smoke.
The once headache-inducing labyrinth-like streets had already become a wasteland.
"Bzzzt, "
Just as he was about to head to the battlefield to check on the Amazoness sisters and Bete's injuries, he realized that he too had been briefly paralyzed.
"Wawawawawa, "
Fron felt as if his tongue was no longer under his control. His brain could react, but his body only spat out a confused "?"
Fortunately, with his fully developed abilities and high level, the paralysis effect of the lightning quickly wore off.
"That Tsubaki actually forged something like this, practically a bug weapon... truly, one can't underestimate people in this world."
Fron wore a wary expression. He thought that the next time he went to the Hephaistos Familia to discuss cooperation, maybe he should lower his voice a little?
While mulling over this thought, as the smoke cleared, he leapt lightly a few times over the ruined buildings and stood on the broken square,
Only to find Tiona, Tione, and Bete in rather sorry states.
"F-F-F-Fron, help!"
"..." Facing the Amazoness sister's plea, Fron only shrugged helplessly.
"Sorry, Tiona, just endure for a few more minutes. Anyway, that monster's gone now, isn't it?"
"..."
"..."
Step, step, step,
Just as Fron was teasing Bete with playful words while facing the group's irritation, a few footsteps slowly approached from behind them.
Neither Bete and the others, who were facing the newcomers, nor Fron, who had his back to them, showed any signs of vigilance.
"Well, although we didn't manage to capture those strange monsters, it's good enough that everyone returned alive."
"Since the target has been confirmed as the Daedalus District, then Finn, how should we proceed next?" Finn didn't respond to Riveria's words. Instead, he smiled at Fron.
"I think Fron will surprise me, like why he entered the dungeon but came out from here?"
"Of course, dear Captain, "
Boom!
"?"
An old man suddenly descended from the sky, landing as if he were casually carrying a sack over his shoulder, and that "sack" turned out to be a certain god. Fron was left dumbfounded.
"Well, kid, since you just popped out, you don't know yet. This god has been watching the show the whole time, enjoying himself. If I'm not mistaken, those adventurers who ran out earlier were all his children."
"Then, Lord Ikeros... my apologies."
"I have to admit, this play was entertaining to watch. But for us spectators, could you please not let the 'actors' drop into the audience? I've always hated the feeling of something falling directly on me."
"For that, I truly regret it."
The battlefield was tidied up, and Ikeros and his followers, who were implicated in the incident, were captured and escorted to the Guild headquarters.
Afterward, the Loki Familia members who had been dispatched to investigate and gather intelligence regrouped once more at the scene.
Unconsciously, everyone's gazes turned toward Fron.
At that moment, silence spoke louder than words. Fron met Finn's eyes, shrugged, and spread his hands.
"All right then, I'll give the explanation."
"The gist of it is this: the culprit this time was the Ikeros Familia. Under the twisted indulgence of their god Ikeros, with Dix Perdix at the lead, the group of Familia members used the hidden passage of the man made dungeon, Knossos, to capture rare 'monsters' in the dungeon for their clients.
These monsters were then smuggled and sold at exorbitant prices. Their clients included royalty, nobles, merchants, essentially anyone connected to the black market. Through this channel, they reaped massive profits, laundering the money through various means."
During this, Fron also explained Dix Perdix's special case, driven mad by the torment of his cursed bloodline. He described the situation in detail, showing everyone the full picture.
The Ikeros Familia, much like the Ishtar Familia, had acted as financiers behind the scenes.
However, unlike Ishtar Familia, who reigned over the gray market of the Pleasure District, the Ikeros Familia, being weaker and more sensitive in status, could only rely on smuggling for enormous profit.
In the end though, both shared the same fate.
The entire matter was not complicated. Fron laid everything out clearly, explaining the causes, the chain of events, and the Ikeros Familia's role within the Evilus.
[T/N: No one even had a sliver of about or were curious about his source of information?]
The others finally understood this terrifying opponent with clarity.
Finn, Riveria, Gareth, and the rest now saw why, after the events seven years ago, this enemy still managed to grow in such an unreasonable way.
"I knew it, the Evilus had to be rich. Just look at the man made dungeon, every door made of the Orichalcum, even the inner layers built with adamantite! So, it turns out they had a major backer."
Tione clicked her tongue and spat.
Bete shoved his hands into his pockets, leaning against a broken stone pillar with a sour expression.
"Tch, that's it? What about those bastards who were toying with us in the labyrinth earlier?"
Fron shook his head, then laughed darkly.
"My guess is, those who barely clung to life after the incident seven years ago never expected both of their patrons to self-destruct and explode one after another, haha."
When the others thought about it, they had to agree!
Ishtar brought ruin upon herself by provoking the Loki Familia, and worse, by touching Bell Cranel. Naturally, she crashed and burned.
Ikeros's Dix grew obsessed with a Xenos, which dragged in Bell Cranel and drove the Xenos into despair, also ending in disaster.
"That boy was involved in both incidents..."
"He truly is a promising junior. But still..."
Riveria, Finn, and the others exchanged glances, all recalling the scene they had witnessed earlier.
"Wait, where is that white-haired boy? Didn't he chase after that Vouivre?"
"Could something have happened to him?"
"Hey, hey, look over there! What's that!?"
A few streets away from where the Loki Familia had gathered, a massive pillar of light shot up to the sky, piercing the heavens and earth.
"Could that be a god's Arcanum, a god died?"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
But the magicians among them shook their heads.
"No, that's not the power of a god. That is... magic."
At this, Riveria gripped her staff, lifted her head toward the sky, her expression grave.
"It's... magic, definitely magic. It doesn't have the divine aura of Arcanum."