Looking Forward to Another World

Regarding the Demi Spirit, everyone present in Finn’s office naturally harbored many doubts.

They did not know what that thing actually was.

They did not know what kind of connection existed between the vividly colored monsters and that thing.

They knew even less about the skull-masked man they had encountered on their way to the unexplored floor—what his true identity was.

And yet, whether it had been that man or that terrifying Demi Spirit, both had addressed Ais by the same name—Aria.

So who was Aria?

Countless questions had already taken root in everyone’s minds.

And Finn intended to unravel them.

”First of all, this matter has to be explained starting from the disturbance at Monster Feria...”

In a calm and unhurried voice, Finn began to recount everything in sequence—the hybrids, the vividly colored monsters, and the Corrupted Spirit.

Most of this information had come from Riezel.

Back then, Riezel had told Finn and the others part of the truth about the Jewel Fetus after the incident on the 24th Floor concluded.

And then, after the expedition on the 59th Floor had ended, during the period of rest and recovery at the camp on the 50th Floor, Riezel had once again disclosed everything about the Corrupted Spirit to Finn and the others.

Of course, Riezel had certainly refined the information.

He had not claimed that he had known these matters from the very beginning, but instead told Finn and the others that all of it had been intelligence obtained from Olivas.

As a result, whether it was the Corrupted Spirit, the hybrids called Creatures, or even the existence of the city destroyer Enyo and the remnants of Evilus, Finn and the others were now aware of them all.

Needless to say, that was precisely why Finn chose to speak openly now. If targeted action were not taken soon, this situation could definitely spiral into something disastrous.

As Finn explained everything steadily and methodically, everyone gradually came to understand what had truly been happening.

”A Corrupted Spirit that got devoured by monsters, started degenerating, and ended up turning into one herself...”

”Wanting to go back up to the surface and wipe out Orario...”

”To pull that off, she teamed up with the evil god calling himself Enyo, plus whatever was left of Evilus...”

”And she even used her own power to make monsters that collect magical energy, and... human-monster hybrids?”

”This...”

Once they understood the full picture, every single person present was left stunned.

”No way, right?” Tiona stood up, her face filled with shock. ”Creatures... human and monster hybrids? Do they really exist?”

”Corrupted Spirit...” Tione frowned and murmured. ”So that thing we fought was just one of her avatars?”

”Tch...” Bete clicked his tongue in annoyance. ”Heh, this damn city never gets boring, huh... Now and then, some bastards show up looking to stir crap up. It’s so damn annoying.”

”...”

Ais and Raul said nothing—one remained silent, while the other was dumbfounded.

Instead, Anakitty glanced at the calmly seated Riezel, then spoke in a composed tone.

”So what you’re saying is, right now, under Orario, there’s a bunch of criminals just lying in wait, ready to make a move on Orario any second?”

Her words were the most concise summary possible.

”That’s right.”

Finn affirmed it, nodding firmly as he replied with equal composure.

”And their methods are easy to guess. They intend to use Creatures, the remnants of Evilus, or even Enyo himself to transport Jewel Fetuses to the surface, then allow them—after absorbing enough nourishment—to undergo metamorphosis above ground.”

”Needless to say, the enemy’s goal is to summon Demi Spirits on the surface—and not just one.”

”If the Demi Spirit we defeated on the 59th Floor were to reappear within Orario in groups...”

Finn did not finish the sentence, yet everyone present felt a chill run through their hearts, genuine fear welling up within them.

Riveria and Gareth voiced exactly what everyone was thinking.

”A Demi Spirit that we only managed to defeat after combining all our strengths and fighting desperately again and again—if that were summoned inside Orario, it would be an unimaginable catastrophe.”

”A monster that almost wiped us out with just one of its kind. If two or more showed up, Orario would basically be done for.”

Hence, the destruction of Labyrinth City Orario was not an empty threat—it was a conspiracy that truly had the potential to be carried out.

”Everyone...”

Finn spoke in a heavy voice, his expression the most solemn anyone present had ever seen.

”It’s just my hunch, but I feel this crisis will rival Orario’s Dark Age from years ago, and may even surpass it.”

”If the enemy succeeds, not only will Orario be destroyed, but the Dungeon will be unsealed.”

”When that happens, monsters will once again flood the surface, and the Lower World will return to the ancient era before the descent of the various gods—a chaotic and miserable age, where monsters ran rampant.”

”As one of Orario’s strongest familias, as members of humanity, and as adventurers who stand against monsters, we absolutely cannot stand by and allow this to happen.”

As he spoke, Finn rose to his feet.

”I hereby declare once more: from this point on, the Loki Familia will commit all of its strength to opposing this hidden force lurking underground.”

”We will track down the enemy, exterminate Creatures, eliminate the remnants of Evilus, and even defeat the Corrupted Spirit herself, thwarting the scheme of the city destroyer, Enyo.”

”If anyone has objections, now is the time to speak.”

Silence.

Utter silence filled the room.

Everyone present exchanged glances with one another, and aside from Riezel, who remained calmly seated, everyone else looked toward Finn with resolute expressions.

Clearly, they had no objections at all.

”Heh, then let them come!” Bete sneered coldly. ”Spirits, Creatures, whatever—I don’t really care. If they dare show up, I’ll just kick their asses into pieces.”

”Yeah, yeah!” Tiona bounced with excitement as she spoke. ”I’m already Level 6 now, y’know? Kinda perfect timing to find someone and see what I can really do!”

”I—I don’t have any objections either!” Raul said hurriedly. ”Not sure how much help I’ll actually be, but I’ll give it everything I’ve got!”

”As for the others, we’ll explain things to them,” Anakitty said calmly. ”We’ll tell the rest of the members what went down here and have everyone cooperate.”

Riezel and Ais did not speak and merely watched the scene—one with a faint smile on his face, the other quietly steeling herself.

When it came to dealing with those Corrupted Spirit accomplices lurking in the shadows, Ais could not possibly have any objections.

If anything, this was exactly what she wanted.

As for Riezel, he had already known that the Loki Familia would eventually confront those people.

’Now that everyone’s leveled up and the familia’s overall strength’s gone way up, and I’m here too, things probably won’t end in the same tragedy as the original story when we face them again, right?’

Riezel had judged the timing to be right before revealing the information he knew to Finn.

Otherwise, if the Loki Familia had charged in blindly, they would have suffered disastrous consequences.

”I’ve got a question.”

Right then, Tione raised her hand.

”Since we’ve already decided we’re gonna deal with them, where do we even start looking?”

It was clearly a very important question.

However, the one who answered was not Finn, Riveria, or Gareth, but Loki, who had been drinking nonstop the entire time.

”About that—yeah, I actually already started lookin’ into it before you guys went out on the expedition.”

With her usual carefree attitude, Loki told everyone what she had been doing during the expedition.

First, she had gone to the Guild and reached an understanding with them, obtaining part of the information regarding what had happened in the Pantries on the 24th Floor and the 30th Floor.

During that time, she had also received the Guild’s permission to move freely inside and outside the city in order to conduct investigations.

Second, she had gone to the Ganesha Familia and consulted Ganesha himself, confirming that among the monsters they had transported from the Dungeon to the surface on the day of Monster Feria, there had definitely been no Violas—the ones that later ran rampant through the streets.

And the Guild could also testify to this.

As the actual supervisor of Babel and Orario, the Guild could state with certainty that no Violas had been carried to the surface through the Dungeon’s entrance.

Before Monster Feria, all monsters transported to the surface had been verified and registered by the staff of the Guild, leaving behind a clear and traceable trail of records.

In other words—

”Well, the only explanation is they didn’t use the Ganesha Familia to haul those flower monsters up to the surface. They must’ve used some other special route.”

Loki took another swig of wine, sloshed the liquid inside the bottle, and smiled faintly as she narrowed her eyes.

”Sounds kinda crazy, I know, but you kiddos better brace yourselves, okay?”

”There’s a pretty strong chance the Dungeon has a second entrance.”

”And yeah... that’s probably how they got those monsters up to the surface.”

Loki’s words made everyone inhale sharply.

”T-That can’t be possible, right?” Raul said with a trembling voice. ”If the Dungeon had a second entrance, wouldn’t the surface have been overrun by monsters a long time ago?”

Indeed.

If the Dungeon had another opening besides the massive pit suppressed by Babel, monsters would have already poured onto the surface through it.

However, since nothing like that had happened, the existence of a second entrance should have been impossible.

”Well, it’s just my guess,” Loki said, still wearing her carefree expression. ”But isn’t there a saying like this: once you rule out all the impossible stuff, whatever’s left’s gotta be the truth.”

’Which famous detective even said that again?’ Riezel muttered a small complaint in his mind. ’She’s really out here borrowing lines whenever she feels like it.’

”Either way, the most important thing right now is investigation,” Finn chimed in seriously. ”We’re critically short on information. We’ll have to start from scratch and piece things together step by step.”

”Fortunately, we already have the Guild’s permission,” Riveria added. ”We can conduct investigations openly, both inside and outside the city.”

”Let’s wrap up the expedition’s aftermath first,” Gareth said, pulling everyone back to reality. ”Once we deal with the spoils, then we’ll start makin’ our moves.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and with that, the familia’s internal meeting came to an end there.

As Riezel watched the group disperse on the spot, a faint smile appeared on his face.

’Don’t worry...’

Riezel thought quietly.

’I’ll take you guys there.’

’Straight into the enemy’s main stronghold.’

===

[A bonus Chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]

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