From the very beginning, Dionysus knew that if he wanted to drag Loki Familia into this, his suspicious behavior would inevitably be noticed by Loki.
Thus, Dionysus meticulously orchestrated a fake death scenario.
"In truth, you never intended to fake your death, did you? No—before you disappeared in the artificial dungeon, you genuinely believed you were here for revenge!"
"Oh!"
Dionysus let out an admiring sound, as if encouraging her to continue.
Divine wine possesses the power to bewitch minds—even gods cannot resist its influence.
Dionysus exploited this very power.
He had been consuming divine wine to hypnotize himself.
The seemingly gentlemanly Dionysus from before was actually in a drunken, hypnotized state. He had been interacting with Loki while intoxicated the entire time.
It wasn't until he entered the artificial dungeon and, as pre-hypnotized, separated from the main group to slip into an alleyway that he finally sobered up.
Only then did he realize—he was Enyo.
The seemingly clear-headed Dionysus had actually been in a self-hypnotized, drunken state all along, all to get close to Loki and leave the scent of alcohol on her.
After sobering up, he became aware of his earlier plans and executed them flawlessly.
Thus, the "return of Dionysus," the annihilation of Dionysus Familia, the sudden eruption of the green flesh tide—all of it was part of his scheme.
To thoroughly erase suspicion from Loki's eyes, he prepared his fake death and even arranged for Demeter to serve as his decoy.
"I have to admit, you really had me fooled!"
Loki's expression darkened. "After being alerted by Soma, I immediately led my people to raid Demeter Familia's home. When I saw those enormous bloodstained letters in her basement, I was 99% convinced she was Enyo!"
It was a brilliant move.
After all, he had sacrificed over a hundred members of his own Familia. Who would have guessed that beneath his gentlemanly, friendly facade lay such malice?
"But thankfully, my Familia has no shortage of sharp minds!"
Loki declared with confidence. "It was Eiji's later remark that truly opened my eyes—why would Dionysus choose to drink divine wine of all things at such a critical moment as the start of the dungeon expedition?"
Exactly.
Eiji had raised this question at the time.
It was a blind spot no one else had noticed.
While Dionysus was indeed fond of drinking, he was a god who would risk danger to avenge his Familia's children. Why would he drink divine wine at such a pivotal moment?
Didn't he know alcohol could impair judgment? Especially divine wine!
Here lay the contradiction.
To ensure the scent of alcohol lingered on Loki, Dionysus drank divine wine every time they met, entering his seemingly lucid drunken state. Before entering the dungeon, he had indeed consumed divine wine.
Divine wine was an extraordinary indulgence, but abstaining from it wasn't particularly difficult—especially for gods who had lived for hundreds of millions of years.
"...I see. So this is where I slipped up."
After a moment of silence, Dionysus' face twisted into undisguised displeasure.
"Eiji had doubts about this."
Loki continued, "Then he asked me to investigate your past behavior. I didn't know the reason, but I did it anyway. So I approached a few of the Olympian chief gods... and the results truly shocked me! Who would've thought you'd turn out to be an evil god?"
She had never heard of Dionysus's exploits in the heavens, so she had subconsciously assumed he was as gentlemanly as he appeared.
But from a certain diminutive goddess she often clashed with, she learned that Dionysus was actually an extremely mad individual.
When Olympus was deciding its twelve chief gods, Dionysus had once attempted to incite a war among the gods because his name wasn't included.
However, a certain hearth goddess relinquished her chief god position to him, forcing Dionysus to abandon his plans.
This was what that little hearth goddess had personally revealed.
At this point, Loki began to understand.
Demeter was most likely not Enyo.
As expected, around two or three in the afternoon, Eiji returned with the same conclusion.
Demeter truly wasn't Enyo.
Loki believed that when it came to persuading goddesses, Eiji was worth two—no, an entire group of people!
Thus, everything became clear.
The answer was obvious.
"That guy...!"
Dionysus's expression instantly darkened.
"So my flawless plan was seen through by him? Even though he barely participated in any of the events I orchestrated, he still managed to unravel my proudest fake death scheme to this extent? That human boy actually possesses such intelligence?"
It was infuriating.
If a god had seen through it, he might have accepted it. But to have his plan exposed by a mere human—a fifteen or sixteen-year-old brat at that!
"Whatever. In the end, everything will be ruined anyway. There's no point getting angry at the dead."
Dionysus sneered and regained his composure.
"I'll acknowledge your intelligence. But unfortunately, in the face of absolute power, intelligence is utterly useless! Watch—those corrupted spirit clones and my most pitiable Filvis, their strength overwhelmingly surpasses the allied forces!"
Numerous water membranes floated in the air, displaying the chaotic battles in various rooms of the 10th floor.
Under the relentless assaults of the corrupted spirit clones, the spirit defenses could barely hold. Over in Bete's battle, they were completely overpowered, with Filvis pummeling them mercilessly.
A shadow of despair loomed over Orario.
Loki glanced down at the eye crystal in her hand.
Screams echoed from all directions, making her break out in a cold sweat.
Where were the reinforcements?
Why hadn't they arrived yet?
Someone, please save them!
"...Is this how you use it?"
Suddenly.
A fresh voice joined the eye crystal channel, carrying the uncertain tone of a woman.
"Ohhh! Finally, Freya!"
Loki was overjoyed.
"That tone—it's Loki, isn't it?"
Freya immediately understood.
"Seems like the connection worked. You've all worked hard, but now it's my children's turn to shine. Hero, command them as you see fit. My familia, over eighty strong, is now gathered at the dungeon entrance."
"This is the most reassuring reinforcement we could ask for!"
Finn, who had been at his wit's end, felt his spirits soar upon hearing this.
"Goddess Freya, forgive my presumption! The Brave Ottar, the Goddess's Chariot Allen, the Black and White Riders, and the Four Flame-Gold Warriors—these four groups are advancing from the southeast, northeast, due south, and due north respectively!"
"Just them?"
"Yes, just them!"
Finn declared resolutely.
"You all heard that, didn't you?"
The tall boar-man youth Ottar stepped forward, his eyes burning with jealousy.
"That brat has monopolized Lady Freya's favor for too long. Surely you've all been suppressing your resentment? Now is the time to demonstrate our valor to Lady Freya!"