Thus, after spending some time.
The three-person party returned to Orario, and parted ways at Central Park.
Filvis first rejected the Magic Stones and drop items Isagi handed over; these things were completely useless to her. Moreover, being able to adventure with the two of them was, instead, a certain kind of "reward" for herself.
Such a pleasant journey was something she had never imagined before, nor dared to hope for again.
Afterwards.
She wanted to say something more, like asking them not to invite her along next time, or claiming she had business and couldn't adventure with them again in the future.
But Isagi, as if he knew in advance, said nothing, only smiling and waving goodbye.
Late at night.
The stars and moon were shrouded by thick layers of clouds, and the somewhat damp ground indicated that a heavy rain had fallen not long ago.
Lefiya had already fallen asleep on the boy's back.
Clearly feeling Isagi's gentleness, Filvis stood silently in place, watching the receding backs of the two.
Maybe that is exactly why his compatriots trust and look up to him so much.
Filvis stood there for a long time.
Her mind was still recalling the subjugation operation she had just experienced—far superior to an "Enhanced Species", and even comparable to a "Monster Rex".
Of course.
The [Veteran General Gmorrs] just now, in terms of vitality, was not as exaggerated as a Monster Rex, which has hundreds of times that of an ordinary Monster.
But aside from that, in other aspects, it was only stronger, not weaker!
And in terms of destructiveness and attack power, it might have been even greater.
If the subjugation of a Monster Rex usually requires the coordination and division of labor of a large team for most adventurers—as far as Filvis knows, when Rivira on the 18th Floor performs its daily "cleaning" of Goliath to clear the trade route with the city...
...they would use tools like large ballistae and assemble troops of Mages, appearing like the start of a small-scale war.
Then, what she just experienced.
Was a battle that only elite adventurers are qualified to participate in.
Ordinary adventurers, no matter their numbers, would likely struggle to form effective combat power, much like the crushing dominance displayed when high-level adventurers face low-level ones.
Joining hands with trusted companions, each performing their duties, going through a bitter and long battle, and finally conquering and subjugating it.
It felt truly good... especially with companions like Isagi and Lefiya.
Filvis remained fixated on this.
It was because the adventure with the boy and girl allowed her to once again feel the essence of being an "adventurer," as well as the memories brought by it—memories originally quite distant, yet sufficiently warm and pure.
Like a carefree midsummer afternoon in her childhood.
It really felt like a dream; so, was she still an adventurer after all?
Carrying such doubts.
Unknowingly, under the stars and moon that had become bright and dazzling as the rain clouds gradually dissipated.
Filvis seemed to come to a decision. She traveled through the city under the night sky, quickly arriving at a certain alley next to Central Park.
Subsequently, she knocked open a hidden door located deep within.
Inside, the smell of alcohol reached the heavens.
Most of these foreign bandits had drunk themselves into unconsciousness, while a small number still looked at her with frivolous gazes.
Filvis's face returned to its usual icy coldness. She simply said "Follow up" to their leader, then led the remaining members of this gang—originally intended to be sent to the Dark Familia—further into the Dungeon.
But the girl did not send these drunken scumbags to the 18th Floor.
Instead, she intentionally led them to a corner on the edge of the Upper Floors that deviated from the standard zones, then drew her short sword and killed them all.
This group of bandits, who looted and killed outside the city, would only continue to commit atrocities if they went to the Dark Familia.
Their corpses would soon be devoured by Monsters, so there was no need to dispose of them.
Filvis didn't think doing this would change anything, but at least, after her self-destruction, it might alleviate her sins a tiny bit—the girl, still harboring a death wish, thought so.
A long time later.
The Elf girl returned to the Dionysus Familia headquarters, located in the slums of the third district, not far from Daedalus Street.
By this time, the morning sun had slowly risen.
The blond deity had also just woken up and was standing on the balcony, gazing at something in the distance.
"You're back. How did it go, Filvis?"
"All dead."
A deity can tell if a child of the lower world is lying, but that is all. So Filvis did not speak a lie; she only stated the result. As for the process, the girl mentioned not a word, and had made up her mind never to speak of it.
Perhaps out of trust, or perhaps because he simply didn't care, God Dionysus did not continue to question her.
"That's fine, too. We can use this excuse not to send anyone over recently. Let that bunch continue to expand; who knows, they might stir up something again..."
"This year's Monster Philia is starting soon. It's better to lay low for a while. You should keep a low profile recently too, Filvis."
For the sake of that moment when he can finally take off the mask and laugh aloud, and to appreciate the ultimate [Despair] of the children of the lower world.
Mellow "fine wine" always requires time to wait.
As the God of Wine, Dionysus understands this very well, so he has plenty of patience and time.
"The current Orario is too terrible."
The God murmured softly.
The azure-grey sun had pierced the night curtain, rising slowly, preparing to embrace the entire city in its warmth.
"Look over there, Filvis."
Following the deity's guidance, the Elf girl saw a destitute man curled up in a corner in a distant alley.
"He just lost his critically ill wife not long ago. His daughter was sold to the Pleasure Quarter due to debt. As a result, people from the Ishtar Familia told him that for only 500,000 Valis, he could redeem his daughter—that kind of young prostitute who still needs grooming."
"And the Guild even offers aid to bankrupt poor people like him. He can go to work at the Magic Stone factory, or they can help him find an ordinary Familia to join and become an adventurer."
"Even having reached this point, as long as he earns enough money, he can still retrieve his daughter to his side."
"Isn't that laughable?"
Dionysus was very dissatisfied with this.
Because all of this is true. Ishtar is a Goddess of Beauty and the patron goddess of prostitutes. In the Pleasure Quarter she operates, prostitutes are beings under the protection of her Familia, and few in the city dare to transgress the rules she sets.
As one of Orario's powerful Familias.
The Ishtar Familia publicly possesses multiple Level 3 adventurers and one Level 5 First-Class Adventurer.
Compared to the city's strongest Familias like Loki or Freya, they naturally don't measure up, but they are enough to be counted as an extremely powerful Familia in the city.
Under the Goddess's governance, even the Pleasure Quarter, which would naturally breed chaos and violence, appears orderly—of course, Ishtar's protection is limited to prostitutes. Occasionally, men always go missing in the Pleasure Quarter; when found, they are either missing limbs or mentally collapsed.
Although the Ishtar Familia always pays compensation afterwards, the instigators never come forward, nor have they ever been punished.
Additionally, the Ishtar Familia can actually be considered "allies" on his side; the Goddess is not righteous, but a deity walking in the gray areas.
Although their goals are completely different, everyone is temporarily in a cooperative state.
But even so, it is unbearable!
"The order of the city has given him a chance to turn things around!"
The blond deity loathed rules and hated systems.
He even felt strong dissatisfaction with the Dungeon, which was now orderly, with Monsters staying on their respective floors, seeming to proceed step-by-step, waiting for adventurers to go from top to bottom to subjugate them!
The man's daughter should have been treated as an object and raped to death during a frenzied orgy the very night she was sold to the Pleasure Quarter. And the man himself should have died in despair amidst cold and hunger with no one caring, then been devoured by stray dogs.
Adventurers entering the Dungeon for the first time should encounter invincible, powerful Monsters and be eaten alive in despair.
When Dionysus saw the children of his own Familia about to be killed by Monsters, he would even involuntarily laugh out loud. That was a sublime experience that no fine wine could compare to.
At the celebratory banquet.
People drinking to their hearts' content should not be bound by anything—rules, morality, order, human relations...
People should greedily devour the flesh and blood of those beside them, laugh as loud as they can, vent all primal instincts, and never wake up from the madness and intoxication!
For this.
Orario must be destroyed!!
Dionysus's heart was incomparably firm. He stood up and poured himself a glass of wine.
As fellow Gods of Wine.
The Divine Wine brewed by Soma personally could make people obsessed, willing to give up everything—wealth, dignity, even life—just for another chance to drink it.
But Dionysus's Divine Wine is even more extreme; it can intoxicate even deities, and unknowingly turn the drinker into a puppet who obeys his every word.
Therefore, He drank the Divine Wine brewed by Himself.
The tiny golden sun crawled out from between the city's towering walls, scattering its light upon the current Dionysus.
"Ah... Filvis."
The blond deity revealed a gentle smile. On that handsome face, his eyes were full of fatherly love for the children of his own Familia.
"Since you just returned, go rest. I have to go out and be busy for a while today."
"The gods are holding a banquet, probably about the Monster Philia. I have to go."
He showed a somewhat troubled expression.
At this moment, He was a deity on the side of the city's justice. A God of Wine who has deceived even Himself naturally cannot be exposed by any existence.
Regarding this.
Filvis was long accustomed to it; the deity, like herself, had two completely different faces.
The Elf girl silently withdrew and returned to her own room.
Walking into the bathroom.
Before the full-length mirror, Filvis slowly took off the [Robe of Concealment] that had absolutely no defensive power to speak of and existed only to cover up her secret.
This was a "Mage Dress" spearheaded by God Dionysus, using numerous Monster materials and undergoing complex magical processing, thus preventing even gods from prying into or sensing the anomaly beneath it.
Under the dress interwoven with sky blue and pure white, under the faint morning glow falling into the room from the window.
Within the girl's bright white, slender body, deep within the hollow in the center of her chest, a blue-purple, bewitching Magic Stone was shining, silently narrating the fact that she was long since "non-human"...
___
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