Chapter 346

Chapter 346: Chapter 346

Kiriya had been living in Orario long enough to have explored nearly every corner of the city, and over time he had discreetly engraved Flying Thunder God formulas at a number of important locations.

Several of those markers happened to be near the Loki Familia’s headquarters, so after leaving Hearthstone Manor, it took him little more than the blink of an eye to arrive.

The Loki Familia treated his visit with considerable seriousness.

Loki herself was present, along with the three senior leaders—Finn, Riveria, and Gareth—while first-class adventurers such as Bete, Tiona, Tione, and Ais had all gathered to listen as Kiriya explained what had happened.

"...That’s the situation. Orario is in immediate danger now, so we need to reach the 60th Floor as quickly as possible and wipe out every Corrupted Spirit down there before they can complete the ritual."

Finn, Riveria, and Gareth showed little surprise.

Kiriya had already warned them about this threat well in advance, and much of the Loki Familia’s recent preparation had been centered around this exact possibility.

If anything, hearing that the enemy had finally made its move brought a certain sense of relief.

They had been waiting long enough.

Now they could finally fight.

At Finn’s command, the entire Loki Familia sprang into motion.

Equipment was checked, supplies gathered, and within a remarkably short time, a force of several dozen second-class and first-class adventurers stood fully prepared for departure.

Rather than fear, most of them radiated fierce excitement and anticipation.

"Boy, there’s something I’ve been wondering for a while."

Loki opened her perpetually narrowed eyes and studied Kiriya closely.

"Where exactly are you getting all this information? Some of the things you’ve told us aren’t even known to gods."

"Well... I have a special source."

Kiriya shrugged and casually brushed the question aside.

Gods could discern lies, so Loki already knew the information itself was genuine.

As far as he was concerned, that was all she needed to know.

Loki ground her teeth slightly but could not really argue.

Kiriya had gone out of his way to warn them about a catastrophe threatening the entire city; interrogating him about how he knew everything would only make the Loki Familia look unreasonable.

She grumbled at him for a few more sentences before giving up and turning her attention toward Ais.

"Ais, you only just reached Level 6, so you’re still getting used to your new strength. Don’t charge in too aggressively once the fighting starts. Take it steadily, understand?"

"Mm."

Ais gave a small nod, though the excitement shining in her golden eyes made it obvious how eager she was.

"You leveled up?"

Kiriya had overheard the exchange and smiled.

"Congratulations."

At the same time, something clicked into place.

No wonder the Loki Familia’s morale was so unusually high.

Ais’s advancement had clearly lit a fire under everyone else.

"You deserve some of the credit for that," Riveria explained. "After learning Afterglow, Ais challenged Udaeus alone. Defeating a Level 6 Monster Rex by herself provided the feat she needed to reach Level 6."

"Nice."

Kiriya nodded approvingly.

"With how specialized her abilities are against monsters, she should be able to do some serious damage this time."

The current Ais had been strengthened across the board.

Afterglow, Avenger, and Ariel complemented one another extremely well, and against Dungeon monsters in particular, the combination was devastating.

Fighting enemies two levels above her was entirely realistic, and under the right circumstances even a three-level gap was not impossible.

"That’s precisely what worries me."

Riveria sighed.

"I’m afraid she’ll become overconfident and lose her sense of proportion."

Young adventurers were naturally hot-blooded, and once battle fever took hold, all it would take was the right provocation for Ais to rush somewhere she shouldn’t.

"Riveria!"

Ais puffed out her cheeks.

She wasn’t a child anymore. She had grown.

"It’s fine. I’m very experienced at treating people who get carried away."

Kiriya casually raised a fist.

Riveria stared at him, speechless.

"You..."

Before she could decide whether to scold him, Finn’s voice came from across the gathering.

"Move out!"

Kiriya immediately seized the opportunity to escape Riveria’s lecture.

"I still have something to handle. I’ll meet you at Babel Plaza."

With that, he disappeared.

...

When Kiriya reappeared, he was standing inside a secluded alley.

A figure completely concealed beneath a black cloak was already waiting there.

Fels.

After their previous battle against the Corrupted Spirits, Kiriya had contacted the Sage and warned him that the enemy would eventually move again.

Fels’s reply had included a method of direct communication, so arranging this meeting had taken very little time.

"They’ve started."

Kiriya skipped the pleasantries.

"We need to accelerate our side as well. What’s the situation with the magic nodes?"

"No change."

Fels’s slightly mechanical voice came from beneath the hood.

"They remain inside Knossos, the man-made labyrinth. Destroying those nodes should significantly delay the enemy’s ability to complete the Sixfold Spirit Ring."

There was a brief pause before Fels continued.

"However, they are almost certainly among the enemy’s most heavily defended positions. Breaking through all of their defenses at once will not be easy."

As he finished speaking, his concealed gaze settled meaningfully on Kiriya.

"All right, all right. I understand."

Kiriya sighed and formed a Wood Clone beside himself.

"This guy will go with you."

"A clone?"

There was clear hesitation in Fels’s voice.

"The fighting may become extremely intense."

He obviously did not trust a mere clone to handle the assignment.

"Relax."

Kiriya rolled his eyes.

"This clone is already stronger than ninety-nine percent of Orario’s adventurers."

It possessed thirty percent of Kiriya’s chakra and could use Sage techniques, Wood Release, and the ocular abilities of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

Unless the main body of the Corrupted Spirit itself appeared, that was more than enough for what Fels needed.

"In that case, follow me."

Fels turned and headed toward a concealed underground passage.

The Wood Clone exchanged a glance with Kiriya, nodded once, and followed him inside.

Kiriya watched until the two disappeared before activating Flying Thunder God again, this time appearing near the Hostess of Fertility.

He quickly found Ryuu and explained the situation.

The elf did not hesitate for even a second.

She retrieved her Stardust Sword and came with him immediately.

A few days earlier, Ryuu had traveled to Solingen to visit Astraea and spend some time with her goddess.

While she was there, she had also updated her Status.

Ryuu Lion was now officially a Level 6 adventurer!

Kiriya brought her back to Hearthstone Manor, where they regrouped with Jeanne and Esdeath, and the four immediately headed for Babel Plaza.

The Loki Familia arrived shortly afterward, and the combined expedition entered the Dungeon together.

...

Once underground, the joint force moved at extraordinary speed.

The monsters of the Upper and Middle Floors posed virtually no obstruction at all.

Calling them speed bumps would have been generous.

The first-class adventurers did not even need to draw their weapons; the Loki Familia’s second-class fighters swept aside everything in their path while the expedition maintained its pace.

Only after reaching the Lower Floors did the resistance begin to become somewhat troublesome.

Skull Sheep, enormous serpentine monsters, Spartoi, Peluda, and other creatures with combat strength around Level 4 began appearing in large packs, forcing the expedition to slow down.

At that point, the second-class adventurers were no longer enough to maintain their previous momentum, and first-class fighters such as Ais, Bete, Tiona, and Tione began joining the front line, tearing through the monsters with overwhelming force.

Even then, nobody allowed themselves to become absorbed in unnecessary battles.

Their objective was not to hunt monsters or gather materials.

It was the 60th Floor.

Every minute wasted on the way there gave the Corrupted Spirits more time to complete the Sixfold Spirit Ring.

Among everyone in the expedition, however, the most eye-catching fighter was unquestionably Esdeath.

With a casual sweep of her hand, entire groups of monsters froze solid before they could even get close.

She performed feats that would have required powerful Magic from most adventurers with the same relaxed ease as breathing, leaving many members of the Loki Familia staring at her in disbelief.

Naturally, not every monster could simply be frozen and forgotten.

The farther they descended, the stronger and more resistant the Dungeon’s creatures became, and many had to be finished in close combat.

That was when Esdeath became even more terrifying.

The moment she was forced into melee, her battle-crazed aura erupted with such intensity that she looked less like an adventurer and more like an Asura let loose among a herd of prey.

Blood, ice, shattered bodies, and severed limbs followed wherever she went, and some of the lower-ranked Loki Familia adventurers—including Raul—found themselves unconsciously keeping their distance.

They were beginning to worry that if Esdeath got too excited, she might forget who was on her side and start cutting through them as well.

"Is she really all right fighting like that?"

Finn glanced toward Kiriya as they continued advancing.

"We still have a considerable distance to cover before reaching the 60th Floor. Everyone needs to manage their stamina."

"She’s fine."

Kiriya shrugged, completely unconcerned as another group of monsters froze and shattered ahead of them.

"For Esdeath, this barely counts as a warm-up. Let her vent a little and she’ll settle down."

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