Accompanied by Fron's cold sneer and mockery, the holy radiance instantly turned violent and ferocious as he poured in even more magic power!
"Dae--da, -lus--!"
"--!!!"
As if trying to return the obsession that had lasted for a thousand years, the Barca Monster's left eye with the "D" was instantly filled with red blood vessels. It turned the final scraps of its remaining consciousness into sound and shouted with the very last strength of its life.
Hearing this, Fron and Amid exchanged a glance. In perfect sync, they maximized their output. Intense light burst from their eyes and ignited in an instant.
Next came the victorious roar.
"-Hahaaaaaaaa!!"
A pillar of white light that seemed to pierce the entire floor swallowed the monster in an instant, blowing away the miasma and black blood rain. The magic radiance that rose from the ground continued to shine brilliantly.
As Fron and Amid severed their magic flow, the white particles filling the entire underground hall scattered like dancing sprites, revealing the body of the monster, now free of any black filth.
It stood motionless, like a statue.
This sudden, dramatic shift left everyone unable to let out their victory shouts in time. The sound stuck in their throats.
"It actually…!"
Everyone was stunned by the creature's tenacity and willpower. That kind of immense magic, had struck it head-on, and yet it was still alive.
"Pfft-"
Finn slowly stepped forward. Without a ripple of emotion, he thrust his golden spear, straight into the creature's body. Under the group's solemn gaze, he let out a small sigh.
"Captain?" Tiona voiced her confusion.
"No need. It's dead."
"Huh?"
"It's dead. Already."
Hearing Finn's firm conclusion as he lowered his spear, both the members of the Loki Familia and the adventurers stopped what they were doing.
They looked at one another, and then their cheers of joy ignited all at once.
"Wooooooooooooooo!!"
"We won!!!"
...…
"Haa"
Fron let out a heavy breath, his mind and body finally relaxing.
He looked calm on the surface, but in truth he had been extremely tense.
As the one present with the most knowledge, and means, the pressure on his shoulders was no joke. Especially using healing magic on a monster, something so absurd, if he misjudged anything, the one who'd end up taking the blame was obvious.
Fortunately the plan succeeded. Otherwise…
Casting a glance at Amid, whose body wobbled and nearly collapsed, Fron hurried forward to support her, thinking to himself: "I'd have dragged her down with me too."
…
After some time venting and washing away all the stress with the joy of victory, Finn reined in his smile and once again put on the mask of commander.
"All members, prepare for the next operation. Injured comrades, use potions to recover quickly, this is not the time to save supplies, don't be stingy."
"Supporters, prioritize giving dual-attribute recovery potions to Amid and Fron. After that, reorganize the members who still have combat capability and resume formation!"
With Finn's calm instructions, everyone quickly moved into action.
His steady voice did not allow them to linger in the afterglow of victory; it urged them to move at once.
The potions Fron carried had already been used up during the ambush at the floor-13 entrance, so he accepted the supporters' dual-attribute potion without hesitation and gulped it down in big swallows.
Everyone knew time was tight, and within a short period they finished reorganizing completely.
"Good. Next, we'll split the forces and rendezvous with the units waiting at the other passages. Remember! We must capture the god Thanatos, and also the god 'Enyo.' Do not let any suspicious individuals escape!"
"Victory is right before us, and this is exactly when people tend to relax. Maintain maximum vigilance!"
"Yes!"
"Move out!"
Fron's group quickly headed toward the secret passage. Thanks to the map Lulune obtained, they now understood the layout of the Knossos clearly. Passing through this passage would take them straight to the Evilus' final stronghold.
As the torchlight and footsteps faded away, the massive stone hall returned to silence once more.
Only the twisted, kneeling, body of the monster remained standing quietly in the shadows.
Magic slowly dissipated. With the breeze, its body turned to ash from top to bottom, leaving behind only the faintly glowing character "D."
…
Elsewhere on the 13th floor, some distance away from Fron and the others.
One of the Loki Familia's big three, Gareth, stood at the head of the group with his giant axe planted into the stone floor. He surveyed the joint forces of the Loki Familia and the Dionysus Familia, issuing rapid orders.
"This is the place! Next, we surround the hall ahead."
"Don't panic. Based on our analysis, this is the Evilus's base. If the god is here, then unlike the other areas we cleared, there shouldn't be that many monsters!"
"That god wouldn't want to get himself killed. Even if there are monsters, they'd probably only be those Violas!"
Saying that, Gareth glanced at the Dionysus Familia, whose strength was mid-tier among all of Orario's forces. After a moment of thought, he said, "Even just the Dionysus Familia alone should be able to handle it easily as long as you work together."
"Next, we'll split up the forces as much as possible! From here on, it's a game of catching them as soon as possible!"
If viewed from a eagle-eye perspective, the adventurer who had attacked the 13th floor had at this moment fully completed their encirclement. The final corner that sealed the net was none other than Fron's unit.
From this moment on, the Evilus had no escape.
"That should do it, Loki." Gareth turned and looked toward his goddess.
"Perfect!"
The red-haired goddess lifted the corners of her mouth, forming a circle with her thumb and forefinger. Her narrow eyes opened slightly.