A titanic clash of blades ensued, sending sound waves rippling throughout Orario that people mistook for the explosive belches of flames spat forth by a fire-breathing wyrm. The cacophony was so overwhelming that the rumbles of the Dungeon monster seemed to pale in comparison.
“It’s started!” cried Asfi, shuddering as she stood in the casino area of the pleasure district. “The battle between Orario’s champions of yesterday and today!”
“Each blow feels like an earthquake!” said Shakti, from the home of Ganesha Familia. “It’s unbelievable!”
“If you lose out there, I’ll kill you!!” spat Allen, in a brief moment of pause during his rampage around the Amphitheatrum.
While adventurers around the city were shocked by what they heard and felt, they were not disheartened by it. The thrum of Warlord’s blades instilled in them a sense of courage, and they turned their own claws upon the Evils with renewed vigor.
The forces of Orario and their foes were roughly equal, and with their enemy’s strongest piece locked inside Central Park, the adventurers held the upper hand on the outside.
“Grr, the fight’s still goin’. This ain’t a complete wash like on the night of the Great Conflict. Looks like that pig bastard’s been trainin’…”
Valletta’s lips curled into a nasty snarl. But she only allowed herself to succumb to anger for a moment before readopting the cruel coolheaded persona that earned her the alias of Arachnia. With a calm mind, she reevaluated the impact of Finn’s plan, and of Ottar’s duel.
None of it matters so long as Zald wins—which he will. There’s something more important I’ve been thinking about…
She turned back and addressed her subordinates.
“Look lively, numbnuts! I wanna know the name of every last first-tier adventurer who’s fightin’ out there in the streets!”
“Y-y-yes, ma’am! I-it will only take a moment…”
The flustered subordinate was about to hurry off to gather the information his mistress requested, when a man with bloodred hair appeared and answered her query.
“Besides Braver and Warlord, I have also spotted Vana Freya, Bringar, plus Dáinsleif and Hildsleif,” he said.
“You picked a damn fine time to show your face, Faceless. Where have you been all this time?”
“I was curious as to how Glutton fared and went to see for myself. I apologize for my tardiness, my lady.”
Valletta was a little taken aback by the uncharacteristic honesty of the man’s apology. She knit her brows and waited to hear the rest of Vito’s report.
“Vana Freya is defending the stronghold, while Dáinsleif, Hildsleif, and Bringar are engaged with the Apate Familia and Alecto Familia,” he went on.
Freya Familia had devoted themselves to the defense of the Amphitheatrum, in the eastern quarter of the city. The most heated battle in Orario’s history was taking place there, second only to the one in which Ottar was engaged at the foot of Babel.
“As for Nine Hell and Elgarm…I couldn’t say. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of either of them—nor, for that matter, the girls of Astrea Familia.”
Vito surveyed the view from the trading house rooftop once more. While Astrea’s followers were not exactly linchpins of the enemy force by most standards—the highest among them were Level 3—they had quickly become beacons of hope in the city’s eyes. Vito was keen to emphasize that they were not a force to be taken lightly.
There’s no way Finn’s still keeping cards close to his chest at this point. Which can only mean…
Her eyes narrowed like daggers. The theory she was currently entertaining was outlandish, but if Finn was behind it, anything was possible.
“Listen to me, Vito. I want you to head through Knossos and enter the Dungeon.”
The look on her face was graver than any Vito had seen before. At the mention of Knossos, their subordinates standing nearby shuddered.
“Hmm? And why is that?” Vito replied.
“Because everyone up here is focused on Zald,” said Valletta. “I ain’t seen anyone gearin’ up for the monster that’s about to come outta Babel.”
She gnashed her teeth in vexation.
“That can only mean one thing: Finn’s sent a team down there to deal with it. That’s gotta be where Astrea Familia is at, plus that damned high elf and dwarf of his.”
“A little overkill, no? Especially when his forces are so valuable here on the surface.” Vito opened his eye a crack. “You don’t suppose he knows about our little shortcut, do you?”
“Suspects, maybe. No way he knows for sure. If he did, he’d have done somethin’ about it by now.”
But the fact this was only a hunch made Finn’s actions all the more incredible.
“I don’t believe ya, Finn! Actin’ so decisively when you ain’t got a shred of proof! It’s insane, I tell ya! I’ve never met anyone who’s got half the nerve you do!”
Of course, she didn’t know that Finn had changed the plan to be this way at the last minute due to the tingling of his thumb. Vito was silent for a while, but he soon realized, as Valletta did, that Finn’s plans endangered their own.
“…Very well, I shall take a contingent and head down there at once. That is where the key to our victory lies, after all. But are you sure you don’t need me up here?”
“You’re the only one I can trust with this, Faceless,” Valletta shot back. “Olivas is a useless piece of shit. Besides, I still got one more trick up my sleeve.”
Valletta’s mind went to her secret weapon, and she relished a chance to unleash it.
“I’m sure you ain’t forgotten,” she said to Vito, “but the upper gates are all closed off after what we did to our allies.”
The mass exodus that took place on the night of the Great Conflict was made up in part by the Evils’ own gods. Erebus had fully intended all along to use them as sacrifices.
Of course, the followers of those sacrificed gods had not taken the decision lightly, and the Evils secret base had suffered heavy damage in the ensuing unrest. As one final act of resistance, the cornered gods had destroyed the gates leading to the upper floors of the Dungeon.
“Which means…?” asked Vito.
“You’ll be headin’ to the middle floors—the eighteenth floor, to be exact.”
The corners of her mouth curled upward. The prelude had almost reached its finale.
“If there’s gonna be a war, it’ll be there.”
✦ ✦ ✦
An enormous tremor rattled every bone in the adventurers’ bodies. It felt as if they were standing over a dragon’s open jaw, readying to jump in.
The brow of every member of Astrea Familia was slick with sweat. Lyu’s fingers tightened around her swords.
“It’s getting closer!”
They were currently on the seventeenth floor, and the tremors from below were growing stronger by the second.
Lyu sliced a minotaur in two, carving a path for her allies. She was desperately trying to turn her mounting tension into strength rather than fear.
“We’re almost at the eighteenth floor,” noted Aiz, clearing the hordes with her sword.
“And these rumbles are no joke!” added Gareth, swinging his ax. “No doubt the monster will meet us there as planned!”
The strike team had been able to maintain a good pace and were quickly approaching the deepest part of the seventeenth floor—the Great Wall of Sorrows.
“I suppose that means we needn’t worry about being late to the party,” said Kaguya, narrowing her eyes and licking her lips in anticipation.
“Yeah, in fact, the timing’s so perfect it’s scary!” cried Lyra. “The heck is wrong with you, Finn?!”
This location was meant to be home to the Goliath, a Monster Rex, but right now it was startlingly empty. It was as though all the powerful monsters of the Dungeon had gone into hiding.
“We’ll take up our positions before the enemy arrives,” said Riveria. “As soon as we reach floor eighteen, take the high ground. We’ll start the battle with a fusillade of spells!”
“Got it!” came Alize’s spirited reply. “Leave it to us!”
She sprinted off ahead, and the rest of Astrea Familia followed. But just then, Lyu spotted something strange. A scarlet ember was dancing in the air.
“…Sparks? Where are they coming from…?”
But Alize didn’t notice the girl’s confusion. “I see the way to floor eighteen right ahead! I’m going in!”
She leaped through the hole at the end of the room, into a dark tunnel that slanted downward. Soon, the light of the exit came into view, and Alize jumped out into the world beyond.
Instantly, she felt a blistering heat.
Her ears were deafened by a thundering roar.
And hellfire stretched as far as the eye could see.
“Wha—?!”
Lyu was at a loss for words.
Kaguya, Lyra, and Aiz couldn’t speak, either.
The girls of Astrea Familia froze.
Riveria and Gareth paused, their eyes wide.
“…What…happened…?” muttered Alize, stupefied.
The Dungeon paradise was on fire, and it now looked like a gateway to hell.