"Don't worry, leave it to us." Riveria responded firmly, her expression calm but sharp with focus. She took the command with the poise of a seasoned commander.
Finn gave a curt nod of approval before turning on his heel. With Gareth and Bete flanking him, and Shakti leading several elite members of the Ganesha Familia, the group leapt down from the city wall in synchronized movements. Their cloaks fluttered in the wind as they sprinted across the night-cloaked landscape, heading straight toward the origin of the explosion.
Meanwhile, the rest of the adventurers who had gathered atop Orario's walls merely stood as silent observers. This situation, while alarming, was not theirs to investigate—at least, not until Finn's group returned with information.
Until then, they would remain stationed, watching the horizon as the mountain burned in the distance.
At the same time, on Leon's end.
A relentless barrage of rosary orbs continued to fall like divine wrath, bombarding the cratered terrain where Filvis had been struck down. The thick curtain of smoke and rising dust sealed the area in a choking haze, obscuring everything from view. But Leon didn't need his eyes—he had the veins of light.
His magic allowed him to see everything through threads of radiant perception, tracing movements, heat signatures, and the fading vitality of his enemy.
He saw how Filvis, despite her formidable strength, was now in complete disarray. Her once-fluid movements had slowed to clumsy, sluggish dodges.
Each hit from the rosaries left a new burn, a new bruise, or worse—bloody, gaping wounds that tore through her armor and clothing.
Each of Leon's rosaries, infused with compressed Dying Will Flame and tuned to maximum output, packed the destructive might of a high-tier adventurer.
At Lv. 5 to Lv. 6 strength per blast, and unleashed in waves of dozens, they became a storm too dense and overwhelming to break through.
Filvis tried but the rain of light never stopped. Every attempted escape was cut off. Her footing was unsteady. Her limbs were sluggish. And her hope—flickering.
She was trapped like a beast in a cage of fire and light.
Leon, watching from above with expressionless eyes, exhaled quietly through his nose. He felt no pity or remorse.
He had waited too long for this moment.
The one person who had nearly ended his life in the dungeon… the one whose actions had haunted his dreams… would finally pay the price.
Without delay, Leon summoned another wave of magical circles. Arcane glyphs ignited the air, surrounding him like orbiting halos.
Blades of radiant light burst forth and merged with the rosaries. The next wave of bombardment crashed down like a divine judgment, increasing in strength and frequency.
Filvis gritted her teeth. Her elegant mask cracked and fell away.
Even in this dire moment, she made no sound. No scream of pain. No wails of agony. Only silence.
But Leon saw her trembling. He saw the blood dripping from her lips, the way her shoulder hung at an unnatural angle. He saw the fire in her eyes dim.
If it had been anyone else—even a warrior of Ottar's caliber, they would have been overwhelmed long ago.
But Filvis endured.
Perhaps… perhaps the pain of six years ago had already hollowed her out. Perhaps her will had already been broken during that tragedy on the 27th floor, and what remained now was simply a corpse walking under the illusion of purpose. But Leon had no mercy to spare for her.
After five minutes of relentless assault, Filvis finally collapsed.
She fell to her knees first. Then to her side. Her hands tried to push her up, but failed. Her body was a patchwork of burns, bruises, and shattered bones.
The healing ability of creatures, the regeneration Filvis had inherited, could not keep up with the overwhelming destruction inflicted upon her.
Leon landed lightly on the broken earth, his boots crunching over scorched dirt and shattered stones.
He dispersed the lingering smoke with a wave of his hand. The battlefield fell into eerie silence, broken only by the faint crackle of residual flames.
Leon walked slowly to where Filvis lay. Her crimson eyes, dull and lifeless, barely looked up at him.
"Filvis." Leon called, voice low and unreadable. "Let me ask you something."
She didn't answer, but she heard him.
"Did you know?" He asked. "That the nightmare on the 27th floor… was orchestrated by Dionysus?"
Her eyes twitched. Her breath hitched. Slowly, Filvis raised her blood-soaked face. Her body trembled—not from pain, but from the unraveling of everything she believed.
"…What… did you say?"
Leon saw it—the unmistakable look of disbelief, the way her pupils dilated.
She didn't know.
No wonder she had continued to serve Dionysus. No wonder she remained loyal even after everything. She thought she was redeeming herself. But all this time… she was working for the very man who had turned her into a monster.
Leon didn't speak.
"…Answer me!!!" Filvis shouted with sudden desperation.
Blood splattered from her lips, but she didn't care. Her trembling voice pierced the air like a dagger. "Is it true?! Tell me it's not true!!"
Her heart was cracking. Leon could feel it in her aura. The last thread of conviction she held was unraveling before his eyes.
"It's true." He said quietly. "The nightmare. The deaths. The monsters… they were all part of Dionysus' experiment. You were just a pawn."
Filvis froze. Her world shattered. She vomited blood, eyes wide in horror.
"No… no…!"
"All those years." Leon murmured, stepping forward. "You fought for him. You thought you were serving justice. But all along…"
He raised his hand and a sword shimmered into existence.
"…you were serving the man who destroyed everything."
A single flash.
Filvis's head was severed cleanly from her body.
For a brief moment, her mouth still moved. Her soul refused to let go.
"You bastard… Dionysus…"
Her final words were a scream of vengeance.
"Leon… he's in the artificial maze—Knossos… the entrance… Daedalus Street… kill him… kill him for me!!"
Her voice faded into a whisper as her body began to disintegrate, turning into glowing ash like a monster slain in the Dungeon.
A single, multicolored magic stone dropped from the remains.
Leon bent down and picked it up.
"…I already knew." He said quietly. "I just didn't know how to get in. The door to Knossos is indestructible—forged with mountain copper. Without the key, I can't break in."