After the actions of Evilus gradually subsided, both Orario and the Dungeon fell into a period of calm.
Clearly, Evilus' previous large-scale operations had brought significant consequences.
Their attempt to assassinate a Familia God had directly drawn the ire of the gods, resulting in an intensified crackdown on Evilus within the labyrinth city. Many of their remnants were aggressively pursued and suppressed.
Aside from "Arachnia," who was captured during the attempt on Freya, the rest of the Evilus remnants chose to self-destruct during the raids.
Just like the lunatics who attacked Orario over a decade ago, they used the most brutal methods.
Even if their individual strength was lacking, once they were equipped with specially made "Fire Stones," they could still inflict lethal damage on even Level 1 adventurers.
Those captured were nothing short of reckless madmen.
They behaved like fanatics—completely unafraid of death, even welcoming it, as if they were actively seeking their own end.
Faced with enemies like that, no matter how skilled Orario's adventurers were, it was impossible to bring any of them in alive.
The explosion from a Fire Stone posed a danger even to Level 1 adventurers. Against dozens of maniacs who were willing to blow themselves up to take others with them, even a top-tier adventurer wouldn't be able to spare the effort to capture any alive.
The risk far outweighed the potential gain.
So, after that wave of madness, the Evilus remnants who had been on the verge of resurfacing slipped back into the shadows.
Letting a venomous snake retreat into its hole was never a good sign for Orario.
But right now, there was nothing Orario could do to stop Evilus from vanishing underground again.
Now that they had returned to their old den, they would no doubt go into hiding for a long time. Unless they saw an opening, they wouldn't reveal themselves so easily.
"Bell-kun, when do you think they'll resurface?"
"Haa... I don't think it'll be anytime soon. Even among Evilus, high-level adventurers are few and far between. Losing just one Level 5 hits them hard."
"Yeah, but isn't their tactic basically turning their own members into walking bombs using Fire Stones?"
"That's true, but it depends on the situation. Fire Stones have terrifying destructive power and can seriously wound a Level 5 at close range, but those guys rarely get the chance to close the distance."
"Even a Level 5 mage who isn't focused on speed wouldn't be caught by a bunch of low-level adventurers."
"So turning themselves into suicide bombers with Fire Stones is only effective against Level 5s who can't retreat, or for dealing with weaker adventurers. If they don't have any high-tier fighters left, all those low-level suicide troops can do is take out other low-level adventurers."
"And that could directly impact any future assaults on Orario."
As she listened to Bell's explanation, Hestia gradually came to understand the situation—and why Evilus had chosen to temporarily pull back.
"But if they've retreated, do they really still have a chance to strike back at Orario?"
Hestia was doubtful, but Bell had no hesitation in his answer.
"They definitely do. As long as their objective hasn't changed, they'll find a way to make up for this setback."
Normal people could never truly understand the minds of madmen.
Bell knew there was only a thin line between madness and genius.
Those who can't be understood are called madmen; those who can are called geniuses. Sometimes, that line is incredibly blurry.
"Some of them have already found ways to modify Fire Stones into compact explosives. Naturally, others will be researching how to break through their own limits. And the answer to that is already out there."
"You mean the Spirit?"
Hestia's mind worked fast—she immediately caught on.
"But wouldn't that mean turning themselves into something inhuman?"
"They're not even afraid of death. Do you think they'd care about becoming something inhuman?"
Bell's reply left Hestia speechless.
A group of lunatics using modified Fire Stones to blow themselves up—would they really worry about how they die?
Obviously, that wasn't something those maniacs concerned themselves with.
"So, will the Guild continue targeting the Spirit?"
"Hmm... No, I don't think they'll act against the Spirit right away. Its location is confirmed to be in the deeper levels of the Dungeon, but even the Loki Familia has only reached the 59th floor. The Spirit is farther down than that. Going after it now is meaningless."
"Besides, when the Spirit produces a 'fetus,' it actually severs a part of its own flesh and blood, then imprints a fragment of its soul onto it. But last time, I used the soul imprint on the fetus to guide it into voluntarily separating part of its soul. That cost it a full third of its soul—a significant loss that won't recover anytime soon."
"It won't risk creating more fetuses for now, not unless it wants to chance me catching it again. It can't afford to gamble its soul a second time. So right now, the real concern isn't the Spirit—but whether Evilus still has any of those fetuses left."
The Spirit's reproductive capacity had been nearly destroyed. Unless it could first restore its lost soul, producing more was impossible.
But repairing a soul? That's no easy feat.
So, at least for now, the Spirit had lost the power to stir up trouble from behind the scenes.
The real threat now lay in Evilus, once again hidden in the dark.
"I think the Guild's next move will be to search for Evilus' hidden territory within the Dungeon."
There was no doubt that somewhere down there, Evilus had carved out a secret stronghold.
Bell knew about the existence of the artificial labyrinth, but that was the extent of it—he had no clue where it actually was.
"Hmm... Sounds like it'll be tough."
"It definitely will be."
Clearly, this wasn't going to be easy.
If Evilus had managed to stay hidden all this time, it would be more than strange if they were suddenly found without a fight.
Which meant that hunting down Evilus' hidden base would be the top priority for the foreseeable future.