MHGA Chapter 149. Laios's Plan
"Lai! os!—!"
The Winged Lion hovered in the air and, like an actual lion, roared at Laios standing amid the crowd: "Come to the Dungeon! Come find me inside the Dungeon!"
"Your younger sister is still deep within the Dungeon, isn't she! And those residents of the Golden Country as well!"
"If you don't come! From this moment on, I'll devour the desires of the people inside the barrier!" the Winged Lion bellowed in fury.
In the next instant, a giant hand of earth and stone formed by magic reached into the crowd and grabbed Kabru, Marcille, and the others in one sweep. "Your companions! If you don't want them eaten right now, then get to the Dungeon!"
"I'll make you all pay!"
"…?"
Even in his terror, Kabru was a bit confused.
If it was going to seize Laios's companions, why grab him?
Why grab him!!!!!!!
"I'll give you only… ten minutes!!!!!!"
Leaving those words behind, the Winged Lion carried off Marcille and the others.
The adventurers' excitement at just having defeated Dalamadur instantly turned into overwhelming dread.
Meanwhile, as Laios frowned, thinking about how to rescue his companions, he also confirmed one thing.
The Winged Lion… is still thinking about how to escape the arena.
Otherwise, it wouldn't try to seize Marcille and the others to threaten me.
"Hey!!!"
Just as Laios was thinking this, Flaméla rushed over and grabbed the collar of Laios's current Nergigante armor. "When did you get here?"
The Stealth Charm Laios wore together with the Ghillie Mantle greatly reduced his presence, so this elf hadn't noticed him until now.
"Your companions have all been captured by the demon," Flaméla said. "Much as I hate to admit it, the demon is calling you out."
"All of our lives are riding on you!"
Flaméla snapped in frustration: "Why does it have to be someone like you!!"
"Hey! Don't even think about running away now!" Flaméla grabbed Laios's collar with both hands. "Even if you try to run, I'll throw you into the Dungeon myself!"
"I… wasn't planning to run."
Laios was remarkably calm. "Although Marcille and the others being captured wasn't in our plan, what concerns the demon is still within expectations."
"The demon still wants to keep eating."
Laios said, "The demon hasn't given up its appetite. That's the best news."
"You're with the Canaries, right!" Laios reversed his grip and seized Flaméla's shoulders. "Where's Thistle! He should be in your custody, right! I need his help!"
"Are you insane!" Flaméla flung off Laios's hand. "That's the previous Dungeon Master! He's long since gone mad! How could he possibly help you!"
"If common sense could defeat the Winged Lion, the demon would have been taken care of already!" Laios said. "Right now we must defeat the demon."
"The good news is, it's becoming more like a human."
"As it is now, the Winged Lion gets angry, makes threats, takes other actions for the sake of appetite, finds things hard to endure. It still cannot restrain its hunger… it has even compromised because of that appetite."
"From the moment it left the Dungeon, the demon had the power to devour everyone present…"
"We have managed to get this far only because the demon cannot control its desire—it always wants to eat more!"
"Only that desire is the key to resolving the demon."
Laios said this evenly.
"With no desire at all, it's like a god, magic itself in this world."
"With only appetite, sunk in hunger, it became the demon that created the Dungeon, a constant threat to the world."
"And as it grows more and more complex for the sake of appetite… it becomes something new."
As Laios spoke, he also opened the Gathering Hub voice chat. "Guildmaster, everyone…"
"For the final phase of the plan, we need… a slight revision."
After giving Laios a glance or two, Flaméla went to arrange bringing Thistle over.
On the voice channel, the hunters kept exchanging information.
Tanjiro Kamado, anxious, tried to help explain over the comms: "Mr. Guildmaster! Mr. Laios's companions have all been taken! The Winged Lion even said it'll use Mr. Laios's little sister to threaten him!"
With a younger sister of his own, Tanjiro was especially distressed.
"This is getting troublesome…" Naofumi Iwatani raked his hair in frustration. "No matter how you look at it, a monster born from magic itself gaining consciousness is far too tricky."
"That previous sort of fight… is it basically unwinnable?" Naofumi muttered.
"The good news is, the other side still wants to keep eating," Laios said. "I feel the plan's progress is actually going more smoothly than expected."
"As long as the demon wants to eat, as long as the demon must eat, as long as the demon will take further actions for that appetite, then…"
"It's not a demon—just a living creature."
"For the final phase of the plan, I'm going… into the Dungeon to meet the Winged Lion."
Laios stated his intentions over the voice chat.
"Then it has to include us!"
Kairo Retsu answered without hesitation: "Laios! Are you confident?"
"…Not very." Laios admitted, uneasy. "I didn't expect the Winged Lion to directly capture Marcille and the others…"
"To tell the truth, it's not just Marcille and Senshi who were taken," Laios said. "Kabru, Namari, Kikurage as well…"
"Kabru just keeps getting more and more miserable," Kazuma sympathized a little with Kabru.
When dealing with teammates like Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness, he was just as miserable as Kabru is now…
"Then, Laios, how do you want to do this?"
Kairo Retsu asked the key question. "You're the one among us best suited to deal with the Winged Lion. From the start, every part of our plan has been set according to your suggestions."
"Now—how do you want to proceed?"
"I…"
Laios paused. "I'm sticking with the original idea."
"Our initial objective."
"[Capture] the Winged Lion."
Laios's voice carried firmer resolve. "Now I'm even more certain we can do it… [Capture] the Winged Lion!"
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