The room fell into dead silence.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the sky.
The corrupted spirit clone that had forced them to fight desperately until now had been effortlessly annihilated in an instant.
From the hole in the ceiling, Eiji's figure emerged, stepping into everyone's view.
One word—dashing!
"What just happened?"
"He killed it... in one move!"
"Seriously, they didn't even need us!"
Waves of shock surged through countless minds.
Some gasped in admiration, some smiled bitterly, while others still couldn't process what they'd witnessed.
The four Flame Metal warriors shot envious glares—they'd have attacked already if they weren't so outmatched.
"This kid... has he really grown this strong already?"
Finn gazed at the emerging youth, his expression distant as if recalling another era.
Just four or five months ago, he'd been an ordinary person without Falna. Yet in mere months—a blink of an eye—he'd surpassed everyone to stand at the pinnacle of the city.
"Uh, got any potions?"
Eiji scratched his cheek, glancing at the stunned crowd.
Damn, this magic drains mana like crazy!
For an adventurer like him who didn't specialize in magic power, going all-out meant very few uses!
But inversely, its power was absurdly immense!
It sliced through ultra-hard metal walls—the kind even Gareth needed sustained bombardment to break—like paper. The destructive force rivaled his full-powered strikes, and this magic was an ultra-convenient short-chant spell, as easy to activate as Ais's Ariel like the wind!
Though mana-intensive, the cost-performance ratio was outstanding!
Supporters looked on with reverence, pulling various potions from their packs. Eiji collected all the mind potions for reserves.
Then he summoned the light sword again and, under everyone's gaze, shattered the room's wall before charging into the distance.
"What should we do?"
Someone asked Finn.
"...Leave the other directions to him."
Finn sighed with complicated emotions.
"We're returning to the 9th floor to capture the mastermind—Evilus!"
"Yes!"
Finn glanced toward where Eiji had disappeared.
Turning the tide single-handedly—this was precisely that.
...
Core Area.
Dionysus's face darkened to the extreme, veins bulging on his cane-gripping hand.
In contrast, Loki's expression relaxed instantly.
"Well, Dionysus?"
Her face brimmed with smug triumph.
"I don't know when you started plotting this, but there's a saying in the lower world—man proposes, god disposes! No matter how long you spent scheming, the mortal realm always produces changes that leave even gods dumbstruck! Such changes can crush any evil god's ambitions!"
Especially someone like Eiji—unprecedented and likely never to be seen again.
His growth rate had numbed even the gods. Who could've imagined he'd leap multiple levels in mere months to become a first-class Level 6 adventurer?
Freya hadn't foreseen it.
Uranus hadn't predicted it.
Not even Loki, his patron deity, had expected it.
Naturally, Dionysus certainly hadn't either!
Years of meticulous planning, ruined by a single unforeseen variable.
On the watery membrane overhead...
Under Dionysus's increasingly ferocious gaze, the second, third, fourth... corrupted spirits fell one after another to that young man's blade.
All were slain in a single strike!
Riveria, Gareth, Ais, Shakti, and the others could only watch in silence as he departed.
The once-renowned first-class adventurers now seemed like weak, low-tier adventurers, helplessly witnessing the shifting tides of battle without even the ability to join in. A sense of bitter irony filled everyone's hearts.
Then, the fifth corrupted spirit clone was slain, accompanied by the excited shrieks of Tiona, Argana, and a host of other Amazons.
Finally, he set his sights on the fifth unit—the location of the last remaining corrupted spirit clone!
Dionysus's face darkened like the bottom of a pot, his eyes burning with fury.
"The outcome is already clear."
Loki lowered her head.
Neither the corrupted spirit clones nor Filvis stood a chance against Eiji in his current state.
All the corrupted spirits would be slain. Once all six clones were destroyed, the Spirit Hexagram would collapse, and Orario's crisis would be completely resolved.
"Let me ask you one last question."
Loki's gaze was calm as she looked at Dionysus.
"Was your claim about wanting to avenge your Familia's children also a lie?"
At first, Loki had found Dionysus too inscrutable, unable to see past the mask he wore, and had no intention of associating with him.
But she had been moved by those words and agreed to form an alliance with him.
"Can't you guess, Loki?"
Dionysus's mocking gaze provoked a flash of anger in Loki.
"Of course it was a lie! How could I possibly care about some lowly humans of the lower world? Those vermin, breeding like maggots—utterly unworthy of being my Familia!"
"Not only that, but I was the one who ordered their deaths!"
That's right.
For Dionysus to convincingly fake his own death, his Familia had to be completely discarded.
If his Familia and "he" didn't perish together, there was no way to deceive Loki.
So, he bribed a god who had no Familia but was obsessed with alcohol, secretly transferring all his Familia members to that god's name.
As the god of wine, it was only natural that he could brew divine wine rivaling—even surpassing—Soma's.
Thus, under the pretense of rewarding his children, he distributed the divine wine, getting them drunk before forcibly transferring their allegiance. Even if they resisted, they were powerless to stop it.
But the process wasn't flawless.
A few strong-willed children woke up during the transfer.
Shocked by the unexpected betrayal of the god they trusted, they fled in panic.
Then, masked figures appeared before them, cutting them down one by one.
Since the masked figures were the ones who acted, the "awakened" Dionysus naturally assumed the Evilus had slaughtered his children. Driven by rage, he subconsciously sought an alliance with Loki.
But in truth, those Familia members had been personally ordered to die by Dionysus himself—Filvis carried out the killings. The Evilus had nothing to do with it!
Thanks to this, his plan succeeded.
By killing the god who had long been imprisoned in the artificial labyrinth, the god "Dionysus" died as planned, and the entire "Dionysus Familia" lost their Falna, becoming nourishment for the green flesh.
He sacrificed his entire Familia!
The gentlemanly appearance was just a facade - everyone had been deceived by him.
His true nature was that of a genuine evil god!
"You scum!"
Loki's eyes burned with rage as she spat out the curse.