"What do we do next, Finn, should we split into two teams?", Gareth offered a suggestion.
Finn didn't answer immediately, instead casting his gaze toward Emiya, who happened to look back at him.
Their eyes met, and both nodded slightly, as if reaching a silent understanding.
This display of tacit agreement made Riveria slightly raise her eyebrows.
Emiya was just about to voice his opinion, but Finn spoke ahead of him, "We can't let ourselves fall into the enemy's rhythm... My decision is to use that 'magic sword.'"
Afterward, Finn looked toward the supporters and gave some orders, and then an adventurer of Lv.3 took two magic swords from a pack and handed them to Finn.
One was a black magic sword shaped like a long spear, and the other was a silver-colored magic sword.
Emiya looked at the two swords as if he had something to say, but Finn lightly waved his hand to interrupt him: "This is my decision."
"I understand... Right side."
Emiya said quietly.
Finn nodded slightly, walking to the fork on the right. At this time, the [Braver] held the black spear-shaped magic sword in his right hand and the silver wind-attribute Crozzo magic sword in his left.
The Pallum adventurer took a deep breath, then swung the magic sword.
The black magic sword activated, and heavy, scorching black smoke surged forth like a flood.
The smoke was so intense it could burn the air, tightly sealing off one side of the corridor.
At the same time, Finn swung the silver magic sword, unleashing a violent gust of wind. The storm was like a raging wave, sweeping up the black smoke and forcefully pushing it forward.
Emiya stood behind Finn, his right hand slightly raised, ready at any moment to project a defensive Noble Phantasm in case the black smoke flowed back.
However, this didn't happen.
The scorching black smoke and silver storm intertwined, forming an unstoppable tide of destruction, surging into the depths of the corridor.
About ten seconds later, from within the corridor came countless wretched wails.
Hearing such obviously human cries, Lefiya and the other young adventurers couldn't help but shiver.
"This is war," Finn said softly, gripping the magic swords with steady hands and unwavering gaze.
"FINN, YOU BASTARD AAAAAAH!"
A shrill female voice could vaguely be heard from the depths of the corridor.
———
The enemy's secret base was likely located in a hidden area of the dungeon, this was the conclusion Emiya and Finn had come to during their early investigations.
They speculated that the enemy base was probably even deeper than the entrances within the labyrinth city's waterways, at a lower elevation.
Now, it appeared their guess had still been too conservative, because the enemy had built an entirely new artificial labyrinth.
However, the deeper into the dungeon, the lower the terrain, this characteristic did match their expectations.
To counter this type of terrain, Emiya had long been prepared. For this, he had specially designed a magic sword.
This sword's power was so great that even the experienced Finn felt a bit uneasy. At the moment he realized its potential, all the hairs on the [Braver]'s body stood on end.
"Structures like this dungeon are mostly easy to defend and hard to attack. A forced assault would come at a very high cost," At the time, Emiya had said this.
"However, there are weapons that specialize in targeting underground facilities."
In the world centered around the labyrinth city Orario, the main conflicts adventurers faced were always between humans and monsters.
In comparison, wars and killings between humans were far less common due to the overarching human-monster conflict.
When facing an "underground fortress," the first method that came to Finn's mind was a frontal assault, leading the strongest adventurers to push forward step by step.
This wasn't because he lacked intelligence, but because he had never seen the kind of weapons and tactics that Emiya had learned about in books and on the battlefields of his previous life.
Magic Sword — [Blaze Devourer]
This was a sword capable of releasing a large amount of heavy, scorching smoke, hot as molten lava. A short moment of contact could cause severe burns.
For adventurers below Lv.3, once entangled by the hot smoke released by [Blaze Devourer], they were nearly doomed to death.
That thick and burning smoke not only seared the skin but also invaded the respiratory tract.
Even a first-tier adventurer recklessly entering the smoke's coverage would face severe burns both inside and out.
To spread this terrifying heat smoke more efficiently, Finn chose to pair it with the wind-attribute Crozzo magic sword [Wind Howl].
Driven by wind, the smoke quickly permeated every corner of the underground fortress, turning the enemy's refuge into a nightmare.
Why use scorching smoke rather than direct flames? Emiya had many considerations.
First, flames burn oxygen quickly in enclosed spaces, which could cause friendly adventurers to suffer from oxygen deprivation.
Second, smoke retained heat far better than visible flames, and its dense quality made it more suitable for filling underground structures and tormenting enemies continuously.
But the cost of this approach was extremely cruel. Those covered and entangled by the smoke would suffer a far more prolonged agony than those burned by fire. This scorching smoke seared skin, invaded lungs, rendering people unable to live or die.
Even so, Finn did not abandon the use of such a magic sword due to its cruelty. He calmly evaluated the pros and cons and ultimately chose it.
As he said, this was a war.
"So many of my children died all at once."
A seductive male god leaned against a high wall of a hidden part of the dungeon, a mocking smile on his face.
This god was Thanatos, the god of death and tranquility.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he murmured, "So ruthless, Finn-kun."
As a god, Thanatos could sense his blessed familia members dying all at once within a very short time.
Dozens of lives were taken by that scorching smoke in an instant.
The sudden vanishing of those life auras brought Thanatos a hollow tranquility.
Yet, even so, there was no real sorrow or anger in his tone. Instead, the god's gentle voice was more like someone watching an unremarkable play.
Those Lv.1 members of the Thanatos Familia were always meant to be expendable. Their only value was to carry flame stones, explosives, magic swords, and conduct suicide attacks.
To the Loki Familia, a powerful faction representing justice in the labyrinth city, these fanatics who looked like ordinary humans might cause them to lower their guard.
If these Lv.1 suicide attacks could take out a Loki Familia adventurer, or even just injure one, it was already a huge gain for Thanatos's side.
These people existed for sacrifice. Thanatos didn't care about the loss of life. To him, people like that were countless in the world.
"Wonder if Valetta-chan died... Hmm... Guess I can offer her a little blessing. But I'm the god of death, who knows if my blessing is good for anything?", Thanatos muttered to himself.
"To be saying such dumb nonsense at a time like this, you idiot god," A cold voice rang out.
It was a red-haired woman, Revis, who stared coldly at Thanatos.
"I can't help it, Revis-chan. The Loki Familia... Or rather, the alliance of Loki Familia and Hephaestus Familia is just too strong," Thanatos sighed softly.
Though the Hephaestus Familia only sent two people into the battle, Tsubaki didn't even enter the artificial labyrinth and just guarded the perimeter, their strength as the strongest production-type faction in the city was undeniable.
They not only built drills capable of penetrating the hardest metal [Adamantite], but also provided every Loki Familia member with at least five magic swords. Emiya's fire-smoke magic sword alone turned Valetta's carefully planned ambush into ashes.
Furthermore, because of Emiya, the [Saber] of Hephaestus Familia, Finn's group quickly discovered the labyrinth's surveillance systems, greatly hampering Thanatos's monitoring ability.
The overwhelming power of the Loki Familia combined with the advanced technology of the Hephaestus Familia resulted not in addition, but multiplication of strength.
"The opponent's trump card, that Lv.7 Elf Princess, hasn't even acted yet. Looks like things are turning very bad for us... To avoid being sent back to Heaven by Loki in the end, maybe I should consider fleeing outright?", Thanatos spoke pessimistically in a calm tone.
"In that case," Revis said coldly, "It's time we played our trump card too."
Thanatos withdrew his gaze from the distance and turned to Revis, eyeing her, "Hmm, you're right... We've got more Lv.7s than them."
———
After Finn used the magic swords [Blaze Devourer] and [Wind Howl] to clear the path ahead, he thought for a moment and decided to split the team into two groups.
Their team was too large, and in the narrow and complex terrain of the labyrinth, fighting would instead be hindered, and their maneuverability would also be limited.
The adventurers began to split into two groups: the right route was taken by Finn, Gareth, Ais, Bete, and Tiona; the left route was led by Riveria, Emiya, Alicia, and Tione.
Each team was evenly distributed in terms of combat power, including healers, to ensure that both sides had enough strength to deal with potential danger.
Emiya was regarded as having at least Lv.5, or even Lv.6 combat power, so in their group, it was equivalent to having nine first-tier adventurers.
Finn's side had more first-tier adventurers, so most of the lower-level adventurers were assigned there, while Riveria's side consisted more of elven swordsmen and mages to better coordinate with her.
The two groups of adventurers each chose the left and right routes and began their deep exploration of the artificial labyrinth.
Descending the stairs, the structure of the lower level of the labyrinth was almost identical to before. As Aki and the others had scouted earlier, there were no ambushes here.
However, Lefiya, Filvis, and the others who accompanied Emiya still observed their surroundings cautiously and carefully.
Riveria carefully examined the height, width, and various forks of the passageways, gradually constructing a simple map in her mind.
"These passageways are clearly designed with intention. They are likely meant to connect with nearby areas of the dungeon."
"And the depth of this artificial labyrinth… is still far from being understood."
After walking for a while, Lefiya saw an open view and softly murmured.
"It feels like this is a chamber."
The group arrived at a spacious square chamber. The space was large enough to accommodate dozens of adventurers, with each side at least fifty meters long, like a giant underground plaza.
Suddenly, Aki's ears stood up.
"You've finally arrived."
A distorted and blurry voice came through. It sounded like the noise from a broken television or radio, fuzzy and chaotic, making one feel uncomfortable hearing it.
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows. It was a mysterious person wearing a blue robe, with a mask on their face.
And standing in front of her was a man with white hair.
"Olivas, so it really is you," Riveria spoke coldly.
[White-Haired Demon (Vendetta)]
Olivas Act, one of the members of the Evilus, an Lv.3 adventurer.
At the same time, he was also the mastermind behind the "Nightmare of the 27th Floor" incident.
Previously, when they received intelligence from the god Njord, Finn and the others had suspected that the "white-haired tamer" mentioned by the god was most likely Olivas.
And now, the appearance of the [White-Haired Demon] himself confirmed this speculation.
In the past, Finn had always believed that the "Nightmare of the 27th Floor" incident might have been a plan for the Evilus members to fake their deaths and escape.
In that nightmarish tragedy, Olivas had used beast-taming techniques to guide a large number of monsters to attack the unprepared Guild adventurers, even drawing in the Dungeon's Lone King.
This extreme "offering of monsters" directly turned that floor into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, with mixed remains of both enemies and allies scattered everywhere.
Olivas and other executives of the Evilus faked their deaths during that incident. They mixed forged bodies among the dead and successfully deceived the Guild's eyes.
And now, among the people present, besides Olivas, the mastermind, there was also the only survivor of the "Nightmare of the 27th Floor" incident.
That tragic event, with heavy casualties caused by the Evilus, was the direct reason why Filvis lost her companions and her pride as an elf.
Seeing her enemy right in front of her, Filvis could no longer suppress the anger in her heart. Her reason was instantly swallowed by hatred, and in her eyes burned only the flames of revenge.
"OLIVAS!"
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