"Tiona, Tionne. Gather all the elite fighters who can still fight. We'll take the initiative in the offensive from here!"
In the end, Finn still gave such an order. As a precaution, he gathered all the adventurers to avoid large-scale casualties. This was clearly the best method under the circumstances.
'No matter what, making it this far was not easy. Retreating is absolutely impossible.' Finn's eyes carried an incomparable severity and determination.
Fron also understood Finn's resolve. He silently suppressed the frantic warnings screaming in his heart, then did everything he could to protect the companions of his familia and their steadfast allies.
As for those he wasn't familiar with, sorry… Fron knew he would likely be powerless. The best option now was to maintain his own complete state to respond to what was coming.
He was confident: as long as he made it out alive, that "Enyo" would suffer his relentless revenge, until death.
While Fron was busy preparing for the next stage of battle, not far away, protected in the center by Finn, Gareth, Tiona, Tionne and the others, Loki had her hands in her pockets.
Tilting her head, she opened those usually half-closed eyes and stared straight at the androgynous, purple-haired god who exuded an air of decay from head to toe.
Thanatos, the lone god without a familia, seemed to find this situation ironic, and suddenly laughed during the standoff.
"We've known each other for a long time, but this is the first time we're actually meeting like this."
"Ahhh, that's right. We never had much connection in the Tenkai. After all, to manage the 'souls' reincarnating into the heavens, I was always hiding in the shadows. I was far too busy to enjoy leisure."
"Well then, although saying this at our first meeting may sound unfriendly, this ends here. The fun is over."
"Ahhh, I know, I know, I know. The game is over."
The god of death, Thanatos, looked full of sighs, but in the next instant, he accepted Loki's verdict with a frivolous smile and stared back at her razor-sharp gaze.
Beside Loki, Finn, Gareth, and the other members of the Loki Familia silently watched the gods converse.
In their minds, they recalled the countless troubles the "Evilus" led by this god had caused them over the years, days and nights… countless familiar people had lost their lives under their scythes.
Now, this situation was finally coming to an end.
Unlike the children, Loki's feelings were completely different.
'Too plain, too boring. Not a single ripple. Is he really the mastermind of the Evilus? With how troublesome that group is, in a situation this desperate, a fight to the death should be the most natural reaction. How can the contrast be this big?'
As someone who enjoyed chaos herself, Loki knew exactly how these types acted; after all, in Tenkai, she was the infamous troublemaking god, the biggest of them all.
Everyone knew: under her chaotic antics, gods died like wheat being harvested, patch after patch.
She was even jokingly called "Ragnarök" by the gods.
With that experience, it was only natural she felt a sense of discrepancy from an overly rational Thanatos.
Because they had pressed him into a corner so smoothly, she was wary of some hidden trump card. But the words he spoke next, completely shattered the tense atmosphere.
Though hard to describe, it was… yes, the feeling and texture of victory.
Utterly dull. Unable to find an answer despite thinking it over, Loki stared directly at him.
"The one calling himself Enyo, was that you? Or is it as I suspect?"
When Loki mentioned this, Thanatos' lips curled in a smile. He shrugged lightly.
"Didn't you get any information from your children? I swear on my own divinity, I am not the Enyo. Although our goals are both to destroy the big lid above and return the world to chaos, that much is true."
"..."
Hearing him openly admit his goal left everyone shocked and furious. But after confirming he truly wasn't Enyo, their hearts still sank.
"The battle isn't over yet."
Anakitty murmured softly with an ugly expression.
"No sightings, no rumors, no signs of existence, not even sure if they're a god. That's not my style at all."
After saying that, Thanatos, suddenly changed his tone, laughing at himself.
"...But the one who got casually toyed with and used by such a mysterious figure, was me."
"What did you say…?" Loki's crimson eyes snapped wide open. Her mind froze for an instant.
Seeing the self-mockery, on Thanatos' face, Loki's heart jolted hard.
Then she heard his next complaint.
"Ahhh, even if it means letting you, the trickster god, laugh at me, yeah, I was played. Completely played."
"I originally thought that not appearing before me was just some kind of 'game.' You know… gods love that kind of thing. But I didn't expect their method was simply meant to keep me unaware. And I suppose that makes sense~."
"There's no way to scheme against an opponent who never appears. Even divine plots and betrayals can't take shape like that. You understand what I mean, right, Loki?"
Not even allowed the chance to scheme or plot?
No, worse: being tricked so thoroughly he didn't even know he was being tricked.
Before Loki could process it, Thanatos continued.
"At this point, I don't mind telling you. Enyo never considered the 'Knossos' as his base of operations at all, not a fortress. To him, this place should be called an 'altar.' As for the offerings…"
He didn't continue, only looked at everyone with those purple eyes, full of hidden meaning.
"----!"
He had said enough. Everyone present immediately understood what he implied.
Loki and the others felt their body temperature drop sharply, their entire beings trembling.
Whether it was Finn or Loki, their necks felt frozen, unable to move.
'An altar? Living sacrifices? Where? Who? Here in the Artificial Dungeon? Us???'
A flood of questions flashed across Loki's mind. Cold sweat streamed down her back.
Fron's expression darkened, gripping his spear tightly. The overwhelming sense of danger made every hair on his body stand up, yet before he could warn anyone,
"Uh--"
Crack crack crack crack,
The sound of the "discrepancy" being stripped away echoed in everyone's ears.
"[Fire Bolt!]"
BOOM BOOM BOOM.