"Uh... Loki, are you really certain Goddess Demeter is the City Destroyer Enyo?"
Eiji looked utterly terrified.
How did this suddenly involve Demeter?
"About 90% sure, though I can't say with absolute certainty."
Loki stepped out of Soma Familia's gates, her expression turning serious.
"Truthfully, when I first learned about Enyo's existence, my primary suspect wasn't anyone else—it was Dionysus!"
Indeed, Dionysus had been Loki's initial suspect.
That's why during the artificial dungeon assault, Loki had refused to let Dionysus Familia join—not because they were weak, but because Dionysus himself was utterly unreliable.
Reviewing events up to now, Loki could confirm one thing.
"Dionysus has been subtly manipulating events from the shadows. You remember, right? Like when we needed to find the second entrance to the Dungeon, he volunteered to investigate the city while directing us to search Lake Lolog outside!"
Through such methods, Dionysus had covertly guided Loki Familia's actions.
Moreover, that god himself carried an air of inscrutability—his gentlemanly demeanor was clearly a facade, something Loki had seen through long ago.
Yet when Dionysus came to her, Loki changed her mind.
If she let him enter the artificial dungeon, he might slip up. So Loki pretended to be persuaded, having Finn include Dionysus Familia in the assault.
But who could have predicted Dionysus would fall into a trap?
The alcohol-loving god had been secretly fed divine wine beforehand—a terrifying brew capable of robbing even a deity of coherent thought.
No one realized he was already intoxicated.
By the time they noticed, it was too late. Dionysus got separated and was killed, his entire Familia wiped out.
The complete annihilation of his Familia confirmed it was undoubtedly Dionysus who got sent back, clearing him of all suspicion and leaving Loki utterly baffled.
The question of Enyo's true identity became an unsolvable mystery once more.
Yet unexpectedly, clues emerged from Soma!
The god who brewed this divine wine was likely the real Enyo!
And that god had used grapes cultivated by Demeter Familia!
"Send troops, raid their base!"
Loki shouted.
The two quickly returned to their Familia, where Finn provided them with a squad.
The group then stormed toward the southwestern district of the city, barging through the gates of a building like wolves.
Eiji followed nervously.
He'd managed to shift blame to Loki regarding his relationship with Freya, but if his ties with Demeter were exposed, he'd have no excuses left. He had to stop this inhumane operation!
"Not a soul here."
Loki entered Demeter Familia's headquarters.
The building stood empty, devoid of any presence. It appeared abandoned long ago, with a thin layer of dust covering tables and chairs.
An air of suspicion permeated the space.
"There's the smell of blood!"
A beastman sniffed the air and gestured toward the basement.
Loki jerked her chin at Eiji, signaling him to take point.
Steeling himself, Eiji approached the basement.
Not Demeter, not Demeter, not Demeter!
As if answering his prayers, when the basement door opened, an overwhelming metallic stench assaulted their senses.
"Die, Orario! I shall open the gates to the underworld!"
Eiji read aloud.
The bloody words were smeared across the wall in glaring crimson.
"You can read divine script?"
Loki gave him a surprised look.
"Uh, just a little," Eiji replied vaguely, snapping out of his daze.
One of his transmigration perks was instantly comprehending and mastering any language—divine script included.
At least Demeter wasn't here.
Eiji exhaled in relief.
But another worry immediately took its place.
"So Demeter really is Enyo after all?"
Loki didn't press further, focusing instead on the bloody message.
That meant the goddess who'd shared his bed on his first night in Orario was actually the mastermind trying to overthrow the city?
Unbelievable!
I literally slept with the final boss, had sex with her, and walked out alive!
The realization sent chills down Eiji's spine.
Had he made one wrong move back then, would he be dead now?
"But what does 'gates to the underworld' refer to?"
Loki frowned in thought.
How did this connect to the evil dragon murals and the singing from the Green Flesh?
"Something feels off..."
Eiji studied the blood-written walls, unable to shake a growing sense of dissonance.
As a web novelist, he was adept at observing situations from an omniscient perspective.
While the gods in this world didn't perfectly match Earth's mythologies, their domains and authorities aligned closely—Demeter as agriculture goddess, Thanatos as death god, Loki as trickster god, and Hephaestus as smithing god.
If he recalled correctly, Dionysus was also a wine god in Greek myths?
A wine god getting drunk on divine wine... he'd save that irony for later.
He remembered that in Greek mythology, Demeter once caused famine after Hades took her beloved daughter Persephone, but otherwise had a clean record—comparatively benevolent next to Dionysus' violent tendencies, whose drunken followers famously tore a musician limb from limb.
"Loki, could you look into something..."
Eiji pulled Loki aside and whispered in her ear.
"Hmm? I suppose we could," Loki mused, giving him a thoughtful look.
"You think Demeter isn't Enyo?"
"Can't say for sure."
Eiji shook his head.
With such glaring evidence before them, he couldn't outright deny it.
They'd need to investigate further before drawing conclusions.
Later, Loki reported their findings from Demeter's Familia to the Guild, who immediately dispatched search parties for the missing goddess.
That evening.
The group reconvened at Twilight Manor.
Tiona and Tione's eyes spun dizzily, while Bete and Gareth kept shaking out their hands.
"Well?"
Finn looked expectantly at Eiji and Loki.
It seemed Tiona and the others hadn't made any significant discoveries.
"Just as expected."
Loki spread her hands, "Nothing useful, as predicted."
No one knew anything about the evil dragon mural.
Or to be precise, no one knew what exactly was recorded on it—even the gods were completely clueless when questioned.
Finn let out a sigh.
"By the way, how's Lefiya doing?"
Eiji asked.