The unknown crisis washed over his entire body, and Fron could no longer care about anything else.
He raised his hand and fired a "Quick Cast" spell, this one infused with far more mana than usual, straight toward the source of the sound.
As Fron took the initiative, the other adventurers snapped back to their senses as well. One after another, they shifted into combat stances.
Centered around the gods, they rapidly formed a defensive perimeter.
The mages also took their positions, uniformly beginning their chants, trying to push their magic into standby mode to prepare for the situation that was clearly slipping out of control.
Compared to the adventurers who had sprung into action, the two gods present looked completely out of place.
They still stood exactly where they were. Even surrounded by monsters, not the slightest hint of tension could be seen on their faces.
Loki's calm was understandable. After all, what kind of familia was the Loki Familia? It was precisely because she trusted her children, because she was confident they would protect her, that she could remain so composed.
Compared to Loki, the fact that Thanatos could maintain the same attitude was because… the moment he realized he had been used, he had already given up.
At worst, he'd just get sent back to the Tenkai early. What was there to fear?
At most, he could leak a bit of information to Loki, and get revenge on that bastard who treated him like a clown.
"Loki, it seems we've both been played." Thanatos spoke with a relaxed, smiling gaze, causing Loki's eyes to widen.
"Hey, Bete! What's going on!?"
At that moment, Finn, standing beside Loki, grabbed the communication crystal, his voice trembling with barely contained anger.
"That bastard! That damned piece of trash! It's the 'Masked Man'! He's appeared! And he's controlling a massive number of monsters! We can't hold them off, we're already being pushed back!"
The cries of adventurers, mixed with the roars of countless monsters, echoed from the other side of the crystal.
Loki listened, her mind racing at full speed, but her gaze never left Thanatos.
'Who?'
'Who was the one overlooking the board, watching the pieces tear each other apart?'
With terrifying mental speed, Loki ran the possibilities through her mind thousands, tens of thousands, of times in a single instant.
She thought she had played her final trump card. But in the end, who was it that had been lured out?
In a final battle, where victory should have been all but assured… who was the one shamelessly interfering from outside the board?
As if sensing her thoughts, Thanatos' face curled into that unique, divine smile, one filled with cruel mercy.
"Loki, when you came to this Knossos, among your group… wasn't there someone missing? A certain ally? A certain companion? Fufufu, have you forgotten someone~?"
"Huh?"
The sudden question struck Loki like lightning. Her mind flashed, only then did she realize,
One of her allies, Dionysus… was nowhere to be seen.
Loki's expression changed sharply. She pulled out her crystal again, eyes locked tightly on the smiling Thanatos.
"Hey, Dionysus!"
"Are you there? If you're there, answer me! Hurry!"
"Dionysus!!"
...
Hearing his ally's voice, the god in a certain secret region lifted the crystal to his lips.
"I'm in one of the branch paths. Sorry, Loki, this was my own decision. I don't ask for your forgiveness… but this one thing, I must do myself. I will avenge the children of my familia. I, their god, will personally take the head of their enemy."
"What the hell are you talking about!?"
"Stop wasting time! Come back! Something's wrong, something big is about to happen!! You can't do this alone!!"
Bzzzz,
On the other side of the crystal, Dionysus ignored Loki completely. He had arrived at a vast, open chamber.
Ahead, darkness filled everything. A murky blackness that no light could pierce. Immersed within it, boundless fear closed in on him.
But a god could still see it, the factory that existed deep within that darkness.
Dionysus gripped his short sword tightly and stepped forward, forcing the darkness to retreat.
...
"Raaahhhh!!!!"
"Uwaaaahhhh!!!"
Suddenly, hoarse roars and furious screams intertwined in the chaos.
Fron's figure darted through the mass of monsters, his staff unleashing the overwhelming killing power worthy of a top-tier Level 7 weapon.
Whether it was the hide of a Violas or anything else, no monster's defense could withstand Fron's attacks under his outrageous stats.
His rich combat experience allowed him to kill with minimal expenditure and maximum efficiency.
In no time, a zone of death formed around him.
Some adventurers seeing him fight for the first time couldn't help their stunned reactions.
"T-that's the famed, peerless-at-his-level, able-to-fight-above-his-rank… Loki Familia's Fourth Pillar, the Nightweaver, Fron Argo, ?"
"W-why do I feel like he's even scarier than the Braver, or the Nine Hells?"
"Hiss… he's kind of like the Sword Princess in her prime… but even more refined. His technique and experience feel even broader, more polished…"
The adventurers here were no rookies, Level 4s and 5s. All were veterans.
Watching Fron's smooth, flawless movements and precise, lethal efficiency, they couldn't help but voice their admiration.
"Don't forget, he reached Level 6 in under three years. You think someone like that wouldn't be a monster?"
"Hiss, true…"
"A terrifying guy… probably only Freya Familia's King could overpower him."
"Heh, maybe. Maybe not."
Despite the monster waves crashing against them, the adventurers' teamwork held firm, giving them enough room to chat while fighting.
Fron, accustomed to being the center of attention, didn't mind. Strength at this level, no matter how low-key he acted, inevitably drew eyes.
"Loki, something's off!"
Crushing a Violas's core with one thrust, Fron called out.
At the center of the defensive formation, Loki had already noticed the strangeness in the battle.
"They're slowing us down… blocking our advance… What is that bastard outside the board trying to do?"
...
Listening to the fierce battle through the crystal, the god wrapped in darkness stood still.
Then, cracks appeared across his face. Chaos, unlike anything he had ever felt, warped his divine expression.
'ha… ha… ha… ha… ha…'
A soundless, nauseating laugh, escaped him.
"...What is this… what happened… why…?"