"Gah...!!"
"I poured so many potions on it...!!"
Retreating to the lower levels, Raul's group applied potions to treat the massive gash on Finn's body, only to realize the wound was inflicted by a Cursed Weapon—it would never close unless the hex was specifically broken.
"That black blade that woman used... it was imbued with a curse!"
"But... how could they have such an incredibly rare item...?!"
"Is there a hex-caster among them?!"
Separated from Akumo and with Finn now incapacitated, the group's morale spiraled toward paralysis as despair set in.
"FINN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T YOU DARE KICK THE BUCKET UNTIL I GET THERE!!!!!!!!!!!"
"D-Damn it!! Everyone, move!"
Valetta's scream echoing from behind was proof enough that she wouldn't give them a moment's respite. Raul shouldered Finn and immediately began moving his team elsewhere.
"Hmph!!!"
CRUNCH—!
"So Narvi, Nick, and Stark were the ones who fell here..."
'We've dropped roughly eight floors deep. I've been separated from the main force...'
Gareth's team was also in dire straits. They had been forcibly divided by floor traps activated by Barca, the Evil Spirit's mason responsible for constructing this artificial dungeon.
Step, step—
"That is...!!"
'Self-destructors!'
"Everyone, run!"
"There are Fire Stones embedded in the floor too!!!"
A series of explosions prepared to consume them.
"What do we do, Tione?! This isn't like the Dungeon; I don't know where to go...!!"
"Calm down! If you panic, you're just playing right into the enemy's hands!"
'I have a bad feeling about this...!'
Clack—!
"What?!"
"TIONE!!!!!!!!"
Separated from Gareth, Tione and Tiona were further isolated as the labyrinth—manipulated in real-time by an unseen architect—shuffled its walls to tear them apart once more.
"Ora!!!"
"[Wander, Endless Nightmare]"
"Magic?!"
'Who the hell is this spearman?!'
"[Phobetor Daedalus]"
Whoosh—!
Another man appeared before Bete's group, who had also been cut off from Akumo.
One of his eyes was a magic tool capable of controlling Knossos, much like Barca's. Sensing the lethal intent behind the incantation, Bete immediately evacuated his subordinates into a side corridor, successfully evading the initial strike.
"Tsk! You dodged it?"
"Who the hell are you...!!"
"Can't you tell? I'm Evilus~"
"You bastard...!!"
"But can you really afford to focus on me?"
Snap! Crack!
Before the man could even finish his sentence, the two members who had failed to evade the magic lost the light in their eyes. They fell into a state of berserk frenzy and began lunging at their own comrades.
"Well now, will you fight them or try to save them?!"
Tap-tap-tap—!!!
"I'll take the vanguard. Lefiya, hold the center. Filvis, cover the rear!"
"Understood!" "Yes!"
Akumo navigated the dungeon corridors with Filvis and Lefiya in tow.
'The situation is grim... I need to rescue the kids and find an exit strategy..!'
"Lefiya, Filvis. From this point on, focus entirely on locating an escape route."
"What?!"
"Once you find the exit, leave a marker. I'll head back in and rescue the others somehow. You two must go and request reinforcements from Riveria."
"But..."
'I...'
Lefiya understood Akumo's pragmatic logic, but the agony of her current helplessness was suffocating. Just as that thought crossed her mind while running down the corridor—
Snap—!
"W-What happened—"
"Shh!"
"..."
Akumo and Filvis pulled Lefiya into an ambush position against the wall.
A mysterious, hooded and masked figure stood further down the hallway.
"....."
Creeeak—!
"....."
Step, step—
The entity seemed to sense something and stared toward their hiding spot, but after a door was heard opening, the figure moved away from the position.
"That's our lead."
Tap-tap-tap—!
As the sound of the opening door signaled the figure's departure, they immediately began their tail.
Shifting—!
'Who are those people...?'
"This feeling..."
"Yeah, it's Divine Will...!"
'Is that an Evilus Patron Deity who wasn't sent back that day...?!'
Concealed, they watched as the mysterious black-clad figure moved toward a destination alongside others wearing white robes.
Shockingly, it appeared one among them was likely a God. Then—
"Where did they go?"
"I'm not sure, but..."
Swoooosh—!
"It's an exit leading to the waterways."
They had successfully located an exit, eventually emerging near the water channels.
"[I beg in the name of Wisshe. Ancestors of the forest. Proud brethren. Answer my call and come to the meadows. Connected bonds, promise of paradise, dance in a circle. Bind together, Elf Ring—— Please, lend me your strength]"
Whirrrrr—!!
"[Winn Fimbulvetr]!!!!"
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—!!!!!!!!
Following Akumo's instructions, Lefiya used [Winn Fimbulvetr] to freeze the gate, creating a permanent ice-marker.
Akumo breathed a sigh of relief at the sight and immediately prepared to head back inside.
"A-Akumo-san!!"
"Lefiya?!"
".....Don't tell me."
From the tone of Lefiya's cry, Akumo knew exactly what she was about to say.
"Do you truly intend to go back in?"
"...Yes! Akumo-san!"
"You're going back?! Don't be ridiculous! Even with Akumo-san there..."
"Filvis-san is right. However, even so!"
'I...'
"I cannot abandon my comrades."
Akumo had asked calmly, and while Filvis tried to dissuade her in shock, Lefiya's unwavering and firm resolve delivered the same answer.
"...In that case, I will follow you as well."
"Huh?! Filvis-san, you should go get help—"
"How am I supposed to go while leaving you here alone!!!!!"
Filvis shouted, her voice laced with an almost desperate plea as she let her anxiety pour out.
"Why must you be so selfish, so stubborn.... Why must you always put yourself in such peril...."
"I don't want to see you die either...."
Sensing Filvis's genuine heart, Lefiya pulled her into a tight embrace, wishing to ease even a fraction of her worry.
CRUNCH—!
"I've shattered a Magic Stone. They'll be able to find us by tracing the miasma."
"Yes! Akumo-san."
"Let's go!"
With that, Akumo, Lefiya, and Filvis re-entered the depths of Knossos, stepping forward with purpose to rescue their allies.
BOOM—!!!!!!!!
"The timing they used to split us up was too perfect. There are definitely eyes monitoring us!"
"Yes! We're destroying every surveillance structure we see!"
Tap-tap-tap-tap—!!!!
Akumo's group moved with lethal velocity, systematically demolishing any structure that looked like a monitoring device to prevent another forced separation.
"Judging by the traps used to isolate everyone, most of the Familia members are likely stranded near the middle levels at minimum."
"....!"
"Filvis?" "Filvis-san?"
As they ran, Filvis suddenly reacted to a specific room and turned inside.
Step, step—
"This is.... a mural?"
"A dragon.... and a woman being sacrificed.... no. A Saint?"
Upon entering, a massive mural carved into the far wall dominated their vision. At the center was a colossal dragon, surrounded by images of a Saint.
"They say that's Nidhogg."
'...Divine Will!'
"Who goes there!!"
"Fufu, I am called Thanatos. Akumo-kun, I presume?"
"If it's Thanatos...!"
"Correct. I am the last remaining deity among those once called the Gods of Death. Currently, I am the Patron Deity leading the remnants of Evilus."
"In that case....."
Akumo's eyes widened. The reason the remnants of Evilus had persisted this entire time was—
"Yes, it was I who took in Valetta's group after they lost their God. It was I who rebuilt Evilus over the last five years. It was I who accepted Levis-chan's proposal to destroy Orario...."
A grin split the deity's face.
"It was a-l-l me."
At those words, Akumo moved to unsheathe Lævateinn from his back. He intended to send her back to the Tenkai, just as he had with Erebus.
"Are you [Enyo]...?"
"Me? Hahaha! No, no. I'm not some creepy thing whose face has never been seen or voice ever heard, where no one even knows if it's a God or not."
"Y-You don't know?! Anything?!"
"Well, from what I've heard, Enyo has had a hand in almost every major incident thus far? Even that mural was brought from the outside by Enyo."
Lefiya tried to extract information about Enyo, but Thanatos simply offered everything she knew with a sickeningly helpful air, as if it were of no consequence.
"Oh? Is that you, [Maenad] Filvis-chan?"
'That aura...'
"Aha! The Nightmare of the 27th Floor must have been quite the ordeal, hm?"
"Enough. What is your ultimate goal in all of this?!"
"...A reason?"
Thanatos shot a cryptic smile toward Filvis. Ignoring the provocation, Akumo pressed to uncover the underlying motivation behind this orchestration.
".....I am the God of [Death] and [Reincarnation]."
"I love the work of bleaching the souls of children returning to the heavens and guiding them to rebirth. That task of turning weary souls as pure as a newborn baby..."
"But now, because of the monsters pinned under Babel, life is overflowing far too much..."
Crack—
"I want to return to the era when I was actually busy."
A sharp glare—!
"So..."
Thanatos recounted the tale with nostalgic detachment. Akumo's guard spiked as the deity's presence shifted, revealing hollow, dark eyes.
"It's fine if humans die a little bit more, isn't it?"
"So you held people under your thumb using stories of reincarnation and rebirth as bait!!!?"
"Yes, because I have the power to back it up. Of course, I made it very clear that their memories would vanish."
"...!!"
'What this woman wanted wasn't the birth of heroes or divine entertainment...'
"Even so, seeing the eyes of children who said they didn't care, or that they wouldn't forget even if they were reborn..."
"I couldn't help but want to witness a miracle~ A beautiful story... I quite like those too."
Finally, Akumo, Lefiya, and Filvis all realized the horrific truth: this deity simply wanted to see more people die and circulate through the cycle of samsara—just to satisfy her own curiosity.
Gritting teeth—!
"You...."
"HOW DARE YOU...."
""WHAT DO YOU THINK A HUMAN LIFE IS!!!!!""
Intense fury consumed both Akumo and Lefiya simultaneously—
WHIZZZZ—!
"!?"
'Fast...!!'
That surge of emotion dulled their reaction time just enough for a mysterious black presence to strike from their blind spot.