In a dimly lit room, a man with dark circles under his eyes—as if he hadn't slept in decades—stood beside a wooden control panel overgrown with vines, his cold gaze fixed on the numerous water membranes above.
One after another, those membranes shattered—not just those in the passageways, but also those in the rooms, even the ones in the makeshift nursery where crystal spiders were cultivated.
They were mercilessly destroyed.
This signified that the enemy's footsteps had already swept through those areas, obliterating numerous facilities within the labyrinth.
Yet the man watched the ruptured membranes with utter indifference, not even attempting any remedial measures.
"Barca-chan, aren't you going to do something?"
A languid voice sounded from behind.
A god with strikingly beautiful black hair—more exquisite than many goddesses—walked in, his face filled with frustration as he addressed Barca.
"And what exactly do you expect me to do?"
Barca turned his head and scoffed. "Commanding is Valletta's job. Do you want me to charge into battle? Me, a fragile curse caster?"
He was a curse caster.
He could craft cursed weapons and distribute cursed tools, but beyond that, he knew nothing else.
He had devoted his entire life to the labyrinth, spending every spare moment outside of eating and sleeping on its construction, picking up hammer and chisel to carve walls whenever he had the chance.
Though he had leveled up to Level 4 to better construct the labyrinth, having never engaged in a single battle, he was utterly ignorant of the art of combat—he might not even be able to defeat an average Level 3.
"Even so, this isn't sustainable at all!"
Thanatos wore a troubled expression.
"If we don't stop them soon, they'll punch holes all over the labyrinth."
Their movement speed was too fast.
Too fast to track, never lingering in one place for long.
Because of this, Valletta couldn't mobilize troops effectively—without forming an encirclement, there was no way to stop them now that they already possessed keys.
This blitzkrieg was executed brilliantly!
"Isn't there some special mechanism to close all the doors at once?"
"No."
Barca's answer was blunt.
Every key had equal control over the doors, and there were no hidden mechanisms. The labyrinth had been designed this way since its inception a thousand years ago.
Back then, the Daedalus craftsmen had built this artificial labyrinth to help people evade the threats of the Dungeon—of course, it wasn't equipped with functions to block all paths and plunge people into despair.
A thousand years later, the entire labyrinth system had become bloated beyond measure. Later generations simply couldn't add such a seemingly simple yet labyrinth-spanning mechanism.
"If we want to capture them, we need to set up bait compelling enough to lure them in."
Barca glanced at Thanatos.
"Their goal is undoubtedly more keys. If we use a large number of keys as bait, we might be able to draw them into a trap and wipe them out in one fell swoop..."
Thanatos pondered for a long while.
"Fine, let's do as you say. After all, if things keep going like this, the outcome won't be any better anyway!"
He threw up his hands in resignation, approving Barca's strategy.
That special operations team continued their rampage, and sooner or later they would gather enough keys to return to the surface.
In that case, why not seize this opportunity to finish everything in one fell swoop!
"Oh right, let's include that newcomer too!"
Thanatos, seemingly struck by an idea, cheerfully snapped his fingers.
"After all, that wolf is quite familiar with Loki Familia, and we only have a handful of top-tier fighters on our side. It's unthinkable not to use him!"
"Suit yourself."
Barca responded indifferently.
"Oh, Barca-chan."
Thanatos suddenly leaned in without warning.
A bright smile spread across his face, but the atmosphere around him grew increasingly dangerous. His narrow eyes narrowed further, devoid of any trace of warmth.
"You wouldn't betray us, would you?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere instantly froze.
Barca's heart skipped a beat.
He steadied himself, then gave Thanatos a look as if he were an idiot before turning away without another word.
"Ah, you're so cold again!"
Thanatos pouted in dissatisfaction, the dangerous aura around him vanishing completely.
Seeing that Barca wouldn't engage no matter what, he realized he'd made a fool of himself and left in a huff.
Only after he was gone did Barca quietly let out a sigh of relief.
It was impossible to lie in front of a god, so he simply ignored Thanatos as he always had.
Close call.
"At least I didn't give anything away..."
...
"There's a room up ahead!"
Ais suddenly spoke up as they advanced.
"Let's check it out!"
Eiji was about to ask why, but seeing her unusually serious expression and remembering her connection to the corrupted spirits, he immediately rushed into the room.
Fortunately, there were no signs of danger inside.
"This room... kind of looks like a lab?"
Alicia followed them in, her face filled with astonishment the moment she stepped inside.
The dim room was littered with shattered reagent bottles, and tangled IV tubes covered the floor. Judging by the thick layer of dust, no one had been here for a long time.
No matter how you looked at it, it resembled a mage's laboratory—the kind used to create all sorts of strange items—but now abandoned.
"Ais, is there something unusual here?"
Eiji turned to Ais.
At that moment, Ais was standing motionless in front of a wall.
Eiji walked over and saw seven enormous test tubes embedded in the wall, all shattered long ago, with only a layer of murky, sickly green liquid remaining at the bottom.
"...Spirit clones!"
Ais's face turned pale.
Eiji was momentarily stunned.
"Orb fetuses! These seven tubes once held orb fetuses!"
Ais whispered in terror, her petite body trembling uncontrollably.
Her bloodline resonated with them, warning her!
"What?"
"Seven?!"
Not just Alicia and the others, even Eiji gasped in shock.
Seven orb fetuses had once existed here!
That meant seven clones of the corrupted spirits!
Each one capable of rivaling a Level 7, each requiring Eiji to use his ultimate to defeat—there had been seven of them in this labyrinth?!
"This is truly...!"
Finn's voice came through the Eye Crystal, trembling with fear.
"We've stumbled upon some incredibly alarming information!"
Fortunately, they didn't immediately send a large force in.
Otherwise, they might have already been wiped out by now, and Loki Familia could have been reduced to dust in the annals of history!
Everyone couldn't help but feel their scalps tingle.
Seven fallen spirit clones!
If each one possessed strength comparable to that of the Demi Spirit or the Savage Bull... Not even Loki Familia, but the combined forces of all Orario wouldn't stand a chance against them!
The fall of Orario was imminent!