The god's bewildered face fell into long-lost confusion, as if something was stirring the unknown fog within him.
His senses linked to his hearing, some kind of jumbled noise was painfully grating.
As sweat dripped down, Dionysus finally realized that the sound was leaking from his own mouth, the harsh, heavy breaths he was taking far too rapidly.
The vast, deep darkness approached the stunned Dionysus and drew close.
The dark, gloomy, icy man-made labyrinth let out a sound. It twisted its shape, using hands formed from black mist to softly and repeatedly stroke Dionysus's divine body.
"…Wh-what… what is happening…? Wh-what… what is going… on…? Why…?"
Was this an illusion? A waking daydream?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
"I am a god, an existence that transcends all things!"
"With a body of omniscience and zero error, I cannot possibly fall for illusions… nothing should be able to interfere with such divine capability."
"Yes, impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
Because to gods, the very concept of "possible" is itself impossible!
Therefore, impossible! Impossible! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!!
The blond god's eyes were empty, his mind in chaos, and his carefully groomed long golden hair became disheveled as he thrashed about in frantic self-doubt.
He didn't know what was happening to his body. Where he was. Who he was. What time it was.
The world flipped upside down, front and back reversed, order dissolved into chaos, and even his sense of self began to crumble.
The stage that had originally been set for an upcoming comedy, now was about to begin as a tragedy. An opera. A pantomime. A farce. A grotesque performance. A madman's rant.
And the one far, far away yet at the center of it all was, Dionysus.
Twisted and unreal, and laughably, the audience was also Dionysus.
In the end: whether it was the script, the performers, the lighting, the cameraman, or the stage, everything was Dionysus.
Along with thunderous applause came laughter.
Dionysus laughed at himself, the corners of his mouth twisted upward in bitter mockery.
Grotesque and absurd, multicolored yet black and white intertwined, laughable, nothing more than a clumsy, ridiculous one-man stage play.
Cheers. Cheers. Cheers.
Dionysus smiled a distorted smile, a toast to his shattered personality, to the mask crushed into dust!
Drunk. Drunk. Drunk.
Drunk on darkness.
Drunk on darkness.
Drunk on darkness.
Hahahahaha, this was simply…
The true, "Clown."
"....."
Then.
The darkness he had been waiting for finally stirred.
He awoke.
The dagger in his hand emitted a eerie glow, and on its mirror-like surface he saw a face he vaguely recognized.
Looking at him, the god's lips curled, how absurd, forming the shape of a crescent moon.
So that's how it is.
The enemy they had been chasing all this time was-
The conclusion of his long journey of revenge-
The foe he must personally cut down, the true identity of the enemy known as Enyo was-
…
"Dionysus!!"
Loki shouted through the Communication Crystal, but there was no response.
Everything was captured by Fron, who had been watching the whole time.
The clown's stage play had reached its final act, and whether this clown would perform beautifully, honestly, from firsthand experience, Fron was very much looking forward to it.
"A ridiculous comedy, huh…?"
Casually crushing a Violas, Fron caught the falling colorful magic stone.
The corner of his mouth lifted, his expression playful yet expectant.
...
"BOOM BOOM BOOM"
"Eh?"
In Orario, two goddesses chatting in the Hearth's Mansion, Hestia and her close friend Hephaestus, widened their eyes in disbelief as they looked out at a rare sight.
What they couldn't see was that the man-made labyrinth had been pierced, suddenly, without warning, a hole had been opened right at the top.
A pillar of divine light burst forth, breaking through the labyrinth and shooting into the sky.
Brilliant and dazzling, in an instant it pierced the sky, reaching toward the unknown.
"A… a god's return…?"
Hestia felt her mouth go dry, her whole body tense.
...
Daedalus Street.
The Ganesha Familia, responsible for maintaining order, defense, and forming the perimeter, along with their god Ganesha, looked upward at the blinding pillar of light, their expressions heavy.
"Who is it!? Who's the one being sent back!?"
There was no time for him to remain solemn, the light was simply too close!
Fear and panic spread rapidly among the familia.
Even their captain Shakti shouted loudly:
"N-no way… don't tell me, "
…
Hermes' eyes were drawn to the pillar of light as if by gravity.
At a corner of the Daedalus Street, on the rooftop of a building with a few guards, the god stared wide-eyed at the artificial labyrinth.
The beam of light that pierced through ground from below was a sign everyone knew.
From every part of the city, no, not just the city, but the entire surface of the world, that radiant light could be seen.
That towering pillar was pure white, magnificent, beautiful, and to those who understood, unbearably sorrowful.
In that moment, everyone stopped whatever they were doing.
Whether mortal or god, all eyes were stolen by that light.
"!?!"
If the reaction on the surface was already like this…
Then for the adventurers inside Knossos, who were directly inside the source, it was even more overwhelming.
"RUMBLE!"
The ceiling was pierced through, and violent tremors, roars, and shockwaves tore through the entire labyrinth.
Panic spread among everyone as they realized, the origin of this earthquake… was Knossos itself.
The epicenter was right beneath their feet.
Because of that, everyone in the labyrinth, regardless of which area they were in, without exception had to endure the sudden quake.
"Hey! Grab my hand!!"
"I can't even stand straight!!"
"What the hell is going on!?"
"S-something happened, something huge we don't even know about!!"
…
Fron scooped up Asfi and Anakitty, tucking them under his arms, using his extraordinary balance to counter the violent shaking.
Looking at the chaotic group before him, he clicked his tongue.
"Fron, what… what happened?"
Asfi asked, and his response struck her like a hammer.
"Death of a god. Someone's been sent back."
"In this labyrinth."