Inside Finn's office, a meeting was underway with all of the executives present... save for Judas, who appeared to be missing.
"Now that we've finished dealing with the aftermath, it's about time we review the new information we learned during the attack a few days ago."
Finn opened the meeting with a serious expression.
"As you all know, the fact that Evilus is still active remains a secret from the public."
As he finished, Gareth spoke up.
"Olivas Act and that woman, Revis... they aren't human. There was also the mysterious masked woman I fought... someone who could reattach her limbs as if it were nothing. She didn't feel human either."
Finn nodded before responding.
"Not to mention the fearsome Level 7 knight and the army of monsters under their command. Just the forces they revealed on the surface alone are already enough to rival the top Familias in Orario."
"Revealed on the surface?"
Riveria interjected, a brow raised.
"Finn, are you suggesting they have even more forces hidden away?"
"It's just my intuition," Finn replied.
"There's no concrete basis for it... but remember how those suicidal maniacs appeared at such a critical moment?"
"There was definitely someone orchestrating everything behind the scenes... a competent strategist on their side whom we know nothing about."
He leaned forward in his chair.
"From this incident, we can also confirm that at least one god... Thanatos... and, by extension, the Thanatos Familia, remains actively involved with Evilus."
"Tsk. Doesn't matter how many enemies there are."
Bete growled, revealing his sharp fangs.
"We'll just crush 'em."
"Huh? What's this wolf saying?"
Tiona shot back with a playful smirk.
"If you don't have anything useful to add, you should've just stayed quiet."
A tick mark appeared on Bete's forehead as his face twisted in irritation.
"Huh? You picking a fight, Amazon?"
In response to his angry shout, Tiona merely stuck her tongue out.
Just as the two were about to erupt into an argument, Riveria slammed the end of her staff against the floor, the sharp sound echoing through the room.
"You two. Behave."
Her voice was cold, her glare stern.
At that, both of them immediately fell silent... though Bete still made sure to shoot Tiona a sharp, lingering glare.
Riveria shook her head, then shifted her attention to Ais, who had quietly taken a seat off to the side.
"Ais, can you confirm the words Revis said to you?"
Her tone was calm, but there was an unmistakable sharpness beneath it.
"That's right."
Ais replied after a brief pause, her voice low.
"She told me to go to the 59th floor, saying there was a surprise waiting for me."
A brief silence followed her words.
"What a coincidence."
Gareth muttered under his breath, arms crossed.
"This is obviously a trap."
Tione interjected, her brows knitting together.
"Well, whether it's a trap or not, we still have to go."
Finn said calmly, his voice cutting through the tension.
"It's the only lead we have that points directly to them... and it also happens to be the objective of our next expedition."
No one voiced an objection.
They were already keenly aware of the dangers that awaited them.
Yet as adventurers standing at the forefront of dungeon exploration, backing down simply because the enemy had laid a trap was never an option.
"By the way, Riveria, how's the progress on that thing Judas has been working on?"
Loki chimed in from where she sat atop Finn's desk, swinging her legs idly,
At her words, everyone... including Ais and the others... leaned forward slightly.
Naturally, they had all heard rumors about Judas' ability to grant enchantments to weapons.
The prospect of having magical effects applied directly to their equipment was more than intriguing... especially with the upcoming expedition in mind.
Any increase in combat power, any advantage that could secure not only their own lives but those of their fellow Familia members, was more than welcome.
"It was a success."
Riveria replied, drawing everyone's full attention.
"Although Judas said he isn't confident in applying enchantments to regular equipment."
She continued after a brief pause.
"As long as the weapon is made from a sturdier material, he believes he can apply at least one enchantment. For special weapons forged from even stronger materials... he claims two, possibly three enchantments are feasible."
A wave of excitement rippled through the room.
"Oooh... oooh! This enchantment thingy makes our weapons stronger, right?"
Tiona exclaimed, raising her hand eagerly.
"Then I get first dibs!"
"Speaking of which, where is Judas?"
Gareth said, his gaze sweeping across the room.
Almost as if on cue, the door suddenly swung open.
Judas stepped inside, yawning as he did, his expression looking far too relaxed for the subject at hand.
"Sorry, I'm late."
He said casually, taking an empty seat as if nothing were amiss.
"That's fine. We'll catch you up later."
Finn replied with a light smile.
Judas nodded, then reached toward his waist and pulled something out.
A sheathed dagger made of mithril.
"Riveria, here."
Judas said as he casually tossed it toward her.
The moment the weapon left his hand, Riveria caught it with ease.
As her fingers closed around the hilt, she lifted her gaze toward him, a flicker of curiosity crossing her face.
"Oh? Is this what I think it is?"
Judas answered with a simple nod.
Without hesitation, Riveria unsheathed the dagger.
As the blade slid free, a faint glow shimmered along its surface, light seeping through the fine gaps.
Seeing this, everyone leaned in for a closer look.
Riveria's eyes reflected the two softly glowing symbols embedded along the blade, their light steady and refined rather than flashy.
"It's beautiful."
She murmured, almost to herself.
The others could only stare at the dagger in her hand.
"The symbols on it look pretty. Can I hold it?"
Tiona asked, her voice filled with awe.
After a brief glance, Riveria handed the dagger over.
"Sharpness, Weight Reduction, and Unbreaking."
Judas explained calmly.
"Those are the enchantments I imbued onto that dagger."
"I also tested it... Durandal's attribute stacks with the Unbreaking enchantment, so you don't have to worry about durability."
He took a sip of tea before continuing.
"There's an overall eight percent improvement in the dagger's performance."
A few brows rose at that.
"Although it may not seem like much, that's only because the enchantment tier I applied on it is only at the first level. I still need practice before I can apply more complex or higher-tier enchantments."
"Higher level enchantments? Which means... the effects can become stronger?"
Tiona said, eyes gleaming as she gave the dagger a few experimental swings,
"Well, of course."
Judas replied plainly.
As he finished speaking, his thoughts drifted back to his experience from the night before.
'I never knew enchanting could be this time-consuming.'
'Not only does it require extremely fine magic control, but also a deep understanding of runes and their innate structure.'
'Since Estelon never focused much on rune theory and only possessed a basic foundation, I had to practically reconstruct the enchantment framework from scratch if I wanted to reach higher-level enchantments.'
'Right now, level-one enchantments are no problem for me, but when it comes to level two and above, I still have some ways to go.'
"Either way, as long as the results help increase everyone's combat strength, good work. We're lucky to have you here."
Finn said, meeting Judas' gaze,
"No problem."
Judas answered.
That was when Tiona suddenly stepped in front of him, practically thrusting her massive weapon, Urga, forward.
"Me next, me next! I want that cool symbol thing on my sword now!"
Faced with her uncontainable enthusiasm, Judas could only let out a wry smile.
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