"God's Return."
A massive golden pillar of light shot up from deep underground, tearing through layer after layer of the labyrinth ceiling, all the way to the end of the sky.
Collapse, rupture, dazzling radiance.
The overwhelming flood of information caused such immense chaos that it smothered the adventurers' five senses like garbage, turning into a destructive shockwave that crashed down upon the Artificial Labyrinth.
Stone slabs attached to exquisitely crafted super-hard metal violently peeled off, falling from walls and ceilings one after another, shattering.
The force of the chaos made their vision tremble unceasingly, shaking up and down, nothing on the surface could compare to this.
The countless screams of adventurers were swallowed whole by the violent tide of light.
Even Fron had never imagined it, experiencing a God's Return from such close range, erupting not on the surface but inside the underground labyrinth, would create such a terrifying scene. Even with his physical capabilities, he could not escape unscathed.
His five senses were battered by the enormity of the information, and for an instant his brain went blank.
Right now, the only thing he could do was stabilize himself and avoid getting dragged into further trouble by this world-shaking shock.
He hadn't forgotten the immense danger that had been pricking at his sixth sense. Even after the God's Return, that feeling continued to warn him,
This wasn't over.
...
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?"
"Awoooooooooooo!?"
All the monsters on the 12th floor and above that lay in the path of the light pillar were annihilated.
One could only say their luck had run out, they picked the worst possible moment to dance on their own graves.
Everything was as expected, Violas, Poison Worms, all without exception.
Under the might of the God's Return, even the enormous "gate" forged from the Orichalcum, something that had once caused Fron and the others great trouble, was reduced to dust under that force.
From the surface-level observations, this golden, noble torrent of light surely contained a terrifyingly immense power.
It was transcendence itself, beyond the laws of the lower world, beyond the restraints of this realm, an exceptional phenomenon from the heavens.
A "Divine Column," so to speak, as if celebrating the return of a divine being. Everything directly above it was swallowed, shattered, annihilated.
Indiscriminate, vast-range, equal to all,
Whether human, monster, or object.
The wave of light linking heaven and earth spread throughout the entire artificial labyrinth.
The abrupt "abnormal event" made the unprepared tremble. That unstoppable force left minds blank.
Even Finn, still unaware of the full severity of the situation, could no longer maintain his usual composure.
"Fron, do you have any idea what just happened!?"
As Finn shouted, everyone struggling to stay balanced amid the shaking turned toward the man acknowledged as the most knowledgeable among them.
Holding a woman under each arm like sacks of grain, Fron shot a glance toward Loki and Thanatos, then spoke in a tone "tinged with regret."
"Unfortunately… that was the power of a God's Return."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Even with the chaos continuing, monsters roaring, screams echoing, nothing could drown out the impact of that information.
"A… a divine return?"
"Oi, then doesn't that mean…"
"Ahh, if that's true…"
No one here was stupid. With tremors this intense, the source had to be close.
Which meant… the identity of the one who was returned,
As Fron's words sank in, the entire atmosphere froze.
Only after the deafening roar subsided and the tremors faded did everyone begin to regain their senses.
Looking around, the hall of the labyrinth had become a complete wreck.
All the stone surfaces besides the stone flooring had peeled away, and even the floor itself was webbed with cracks and upheavals, exposing the twisted sheen of hyper-hard metal beneath.
The magic-stone lamps embedded in the walls had all fallen, shattering on the ground and spilling pale-blue phosphorescence across the floor.
Snapping out of the shock, everyone began scanning their surroundings again.
"Hey! Is this really the time to space out!? The chaos might've stopped, but the enemy is still here!!"
Fron set Asfi and Anakitty down and shouted a reminder.
Sure enough, following his gaze, monsters were already flooding out of the corridors and surrounding the hall.
A "masked man" leading the Violas stood there like a dark silhouette, quietly facing the adventurers.
Around it, monsters showed no intention of retreating, whether terrified by the God's Return's power or thrilled by the achievement of felling a god, they roared hoarsely, their eyes locked onto the Loki Familia and the other adventurers.
Standing alert at Fron's side, Anakitty drew her short sword while Asfi reached inside her cloak, taking a battle-ready stance.
But at that moment, a silver-haired elf standing a few steps from Fron stared blankly at her own trembling hands, her whole body shaking in fear.
"Ah… ahh… aaah…"
The soft, despairing cry drew Fron's eyes.
Seeing her face… a glimmer flashed in his gaze, though his expression remained unchanged.
Reality overlapped with a memory from long ago.
Aura Moriel, an elegant elven beauty with a mature charm.
Her long white hair was tied into a single bundle, her deep purple pupils giving off an air slightly older than the Ryu Lion he knew, perhaps two or three years.
Her red-and-black battle attire marked her as a mage, her staff shaped like a moonlit flower with the unique aesthetic of the elves.
Like most elves, she was fastidious, despite the battles and the recent chaos, barely a speck of dust clung to her, looking almost unchanged from before the fight.
And, as with many elves, this "fastidiousness," in Fron's eyes, bordered on neurosis.
At first, no one understood why this vice-captain of the Dionysus Familia was acting like this.
But when they noticed that every single member of the Dionysus Familia, anyone who had made a contract with him, was reacting the exact same way, they all froze.
"C-could this be…"
"No way…"
"Could this be… the god that returned was…?"
The adventurers present instantly connected the two things, their eyes widened in shock.
"God Dionysus… no way."
All the adventurers of the Dionysus Familia turned pale, their minds going blank.
At this point, everyone already understood what had happened.
...
"Hehehe, god, you've been exposed."
The hoarse, genderless voice of the "Masked Man" echoed from the tunnel entrance, carrying excitement, mockery, and scorn.
"God's Return", as if some mechanism had been triggered, with the pillar of light, the entire Artificial Labyrinth seemed to undergo some imperceptible change.
"This feeling…"
Asfi's brows tightened. A vague premonition gave her a sense of something both familiar and foreign.
"Fron?"
If she didn't understand something, she should ask someone who could understand it. Asfi very clearly knew the gap in knowledge between them.
Ignoring the crumbling Dionysus Familia who were charging toward the Masked Man and the monster group in madness, Fron closed his eyes, expanding his senses infinitely, feeling that shapeless change.
"Ah..."
"Laaaahhh--"
"?"
He opened his eyes, brows knitted tightly. Seeing the scene of someone gripping an elf by the throat and lifting them up with one hand, he stopped paying attention to the chaos. His focus was entirely on what was beneath his feet.
Lowering his head gravely, he looked at the cracked floor slabs and spoke in a heavy voice.
"Asfi, Anakitty. I think, we're in big trouble."
"B–big trouble? Isn't the enemy right in front of us…?"
"No. They're deliberately stalling us. They want to keep us here and then activate some kind of mechanism."
"Laaaahhhhh--"
The beautiful yet twisted singing echoed through the vast reach of Fron's perception.
Even without seeing it visually, just from that distorted song alone, Fron, with his vast knowledge and powerful memory, could imagine the abnormal form of the thing producing it.
...
Somewhere in the Knossos.
In a pitch-black space where one couldn't see their own hand, as the song rang out, although their bodies were filthy, fallen masses of flesh, the "Fallen Spirits" still trembled with excitement, as though responding to their master, the "Corrupted Spirit."
Then, in different locations, they began chanting in unison, their voices intertwining in resonance.
Guided by some invisible force of synchronization, the "six" songs overlapped.
Then, as the singing grew louder, the nodes connecting them lit up, forming a massive ring of light along the tunnels, linking all the "Fallen Spirits" scattered throughout the labyrinth.
Under the ritual effect of this "altar," mysterious magical power resonated. Their bodies began to expand, grow, and bloat. The suffocating presence was terrifying.
With indescribable forms, they made disgusting gurgling noises as the song continued, like something birthing new life, monsters, from a mother beast.
Sickly plant-like green flesh overflowed from their grotesque bodies, rapidly spreading outward.
Then, in the next instant, the spreading green flesh surged with overwhelming speed, devouring everything in its path throughout the entire Artificial Labyrinth, draining all matter and all life with merciless "absorption."
...
At the same moment this abnormal green flesh activated, Fron's expression changed dramatically.
"Finn! Retreat, retreat now!!!"
"What? Fron, what happened!?" Glancing at the fierce battlefield, Finn asked gravely.
But Fron didn't want to explain.
"Trust me! There's no time! Retreat now!!!!!!"
His voice cracked from urgency and the massive danger rising from beneath their feet.
Those familiar with Fron were stunned. They had never seen him like this.
"Fine, everyone retreat!"
Finn took one deep look at the Masked Man and chose to trust Fron's judgment. He believed Fron must have discovered something critical.
...
The adventurers guarding a certain passage were the first to suffer misfortune.
"H–hey, what is that?"
"What is that thing, a monster? No, no! Run! Run now!!!"
With a rumble that shook the labyrinth, strange masses of flesh surged up from the stairs connecting the 14th to the 13th floor.
"Waaaaaah, save--!!"
Before the terrified adventurer could even scream, he was completely swallowed by the massive wave of green flesh.
Seeing this, the others felt their scalps go numb and fled in panic.
But against this all-encompassing, bizarre thing, whether they drew swords or ran, nothing worked.
In an instant, the floor, walls, and ceiling were all filled with green flesh. The wave devoured the adventurers in moments.
Then, as expected, the devoured adventurers became vital "nutrients" for the ritual, energy for the sacrificial mechanism.
To be precise, it was both "absorption" and "feeding." Either way, it existed to fuel the ritual.
Of course, one could also call it tormenting the enemy.
But for the fleeing adventurers, that thing was simply a grotesque monster that moaned with joy as it devoured humans, a natural enemy.
"Aaaaaaaahhhh!!!"
The wretched screams echoed throughout the entire 13th floor!
Hearing it, Finn, Fron, and the others organizing the retreat instantly darkened in expression.
Exchanging looks, they accelerated their movements.
...
Likewise, the surviving remnants of Evilus were swallowed up without even understanding what was happening.
And similar scenes unfolded everywhere the labyrinth's passages connected.
The green flesh's spread was incredibly fast. Flooding into enclosed spaces, it pushed forward like a torrent, devouring and absorbing everything at unnatural speed.
Whether the last screams of adventurers or the dying cries of monsters, all were equally erased.
In moments, the massive labyrinth became a "Vessel of Green Flesh."
Every branching path, stairway, shaft, mechanism, without exception, any space at all, was filled completely.
"Did everyone hear that? All units!!!"
"Retreat! Full retreat!!! This is an order!!!"
Holding the communication crystal, Fron issued the command in a high-pitched, urgent voice.
It was an order, not a suggestion.