Walking closer and stopping in place, Thanatos addressed the figure's back. Wrapped in a deep-purple coat, the "masked person" stopped gazing up at the crest and banner belonging to the Thanatos Familia and slowly turned around.
"Defeated by the Adventurers led by the Loki Familia, my children have been completely wiped out. They've already gone ahead to wait for me to fulfill my contract. At this point, I have no moves left that can turn the situation around. Even little Barca, my last piece, died at their hands."
Thanatos, narrated the current situation in a flat tone, so indifferent that it sounded as if none of it had anything to do with him.
"...…."
The masked person said nothing, merely staring quietly through the mask at the dejected, purple-haired god.
"So," Thanatos shrugged and spread out his hands, "isn't it about time we put those fallen spirits to use?"
He made the proposal to the strange being who could be likened to a "fallen spirit".
At this point, cornered with nowhere left to go, he had no means to stop the adventurers. He had been checkmated.
The only possible trump card left to overturn everything was the multiple Spirit Clones or Fallen Spirits hidden within the man-made dungeon.
Originally, if everything had gone according to plan, the Spirit Clones were meant to be summoned to the surface via the Knossos, serving as the "keys" to destroy the Dungeon City of Orario, the "lid" of the Dungeon itself.
But things had reached this point; he couldn't care about the plan anymore. As long as he escaped with his life and avoided being caught by the adventurers, he still had hope.
Facing Thanatos's proposal, the masked person gave a crisp, unexpected reply.
"I refuse."
"..." Thanatos, who had believed everything was under his control, froze. He hadn't expected that answer.
"Refuse…?" The masked person remained silent for a moment.
"The spirits have their roles. They cannot be arbitrarily reassigned."
Thanatos stared at them, stunned.
"Are you serious? Look at the current situation! This mess is not something you can just sit back and sing songs about! If you don't summon the spirits and wipe out those intruders, how are you going to carry out the rest of the plan?"
"This would violate the will of my master, Enyo."
Listening to the masked person answer in a voice impossible to distinguish as male or female,
Thanatos stared at them for a long moment, realizing there was no room for negotiation. He sighed.
As a god skilled in deception and scheming, he didn't lose his composure.
But in the face of this "ally's" stubbornness, he could only show an expression of speechlessness.
At a time like this, still being this rigid, was he not afraid of the entire plan collapsing?
"I'm telling you, even if you're Enyo's puppet, there should be a limit. If a secret weapon is hidden forever and never revealed to the world, that's not comedy anymore…"
'It might not end in joy but in tragedy instead.'
He didn't say that part aloud, only added it quietly in his heart.
"...…" To Thanatos's suggestion, the masked person calmly replied:
"Do you want my master to end up with nothing left?"
Thanatos was just about to let a mocking smile tug at his lips when,
"Heh… You're the real clown here." The masked person interrupted him and spoke their true intention.
And they said it in the most insulting possible way, without emotion, without change, cold and mechanical.
Before Thanatos, momentarily frozen, could react, the masked person dealt another blow:
"These are the master's own words: 'My dear ally, our cooperation ends here. Thank you again for your assistance, which allowed my plan to proceed smoothly.'"
"W-Wha… what?"
This time, Thanatos finally reacted. If he didn't, he wouldn't be the god of schemes anymore.
"As mentioned, the plan to collapse Orario is something I will now handle alone. Your wish, I will fulfill it for you. For example, opening the path leading to the Underworld. To achieve that-"
Sensing something ominous, Thanatos's previously calm face twisted into a terrible expression.
The masked person coldly declared: "For the greater good, become the sacrifice, ."
In the hidden hall swallowed by darkness, the masked person's cold voice echoed.
The god stood frozen in place, his limbs cold and unmoving.
Thanatos didn't argue. He didn't waver, nor panic, this was the composure a god ought to have.
As a god, overwhelmed by the situation, he couldn't even spare effort to feel humiliated by the disrespect of someone who wasn't even a god.
Because he was a god, Thanatos instantly grasped the meaning behind the masked person's words.
In a flash, he understood the truth hidden behind everything, the shadow behind the shadow.
With things said so plainly, there was no more room for doubt. Piecing everything together, he understood… he had been played.
"All of this is the divine will of Master Enyo."
Leaving behind those final words that echoed across the empty hall, the masked person slowly retreated until darkness swallowed them.
Only Thanatos remained.
Click,
Like the hand of a clock being moved forward, a sound echoed.
"Pfft… ha, "
Thanatos bent over, holding his stomach, as if he had endured something to the limit.
Then, in the deep loneliness and darkness that wrapped around him, the suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Hahahaha… ahahahaha, "
The god laughed as if something inside him had snapped, holding his stomach, doubling over.
Like a broken piano producing endless distorted notes, his twisted laughter poured out all the emotions in his gut.
"Hahahahaha! I thought I had everything under control, only to end up as someone else's pawn! Too, too funny! Hahahahaha!"
Thanatos understood perfectly now,
He hadn't merely been abandoned. He had been completely, thoroughly used by Enyo.
"What a complete joke." One so absurd that Thanatos couldn't stop laughing, laughing to the point where he couldn't even breathe.