To Hunt a God!
The elf girl stared blankly at the Familia junior before her, who could speak such words so casually.
She had entertained similar thoughts before.
And for that reason, Ryuu understood even more just how terrifying the weight behind his words was.
[People instinctively revere the gods.]
Before the gods descended to the lower world, people still had faith and worshipped deities, such as the Pallums' Goddess Fianna, who was based on an ancient hero. But gods like that did not exist.
So, after the real gods descended, that ancient faith became a form of "commemoration." Today, there are still Pallums who march forward with the conviction and courage of the Goddess Fianna in their hearts, but they no longer worship and offer sacrifices to her as a deity.
Although the gods sealed their Arcanum and walk the world in forms no different from the children of the lower world, and some gods are indeed willful and reckless, people's perception of them is no longer one of lofty, untouchable beings.
But even so, people understand that [Gods are not mortals!].
It is an almost instinctive perception, what Isagi would call the "source code" imprinted in the hearts of everyone in this world.
Ryuu also harbored an immense hatred for the gods of the dark factions.
Having lived through the era of the [Great Feud], the elf girl had personally witnessed her closest friend, a little girl controlled by a Dark Familia, killed by a suicide bombing.
Whose fault was that?
The young girl's? She probably didn't even know what she was doing, or that she had been turned into a "bomb."
Was it the members and followers of those Dark Familias?
Yes, of course, it was all their plan. They stole and replicated the city's firing devices, which were based on "Magic Stone" technology, and used them to create simple remote detonators.
Then they had people, members of their own Familias, carry large amounts of Flame Rocks to act as suicide bombs, attacking the city's residents, adventurers, and even gods.
But in the end, it was all the fault of those dark gods.
The [Great Feud] ended with the gods of the Dark Familias being judged and sent back to Tenkai—and some dying in the Dungeon.
Harboring such hatred, coupled with the despair of having all her Familia comrades killed later, Ryuu was able to kindle a desire for revenge against the dark gods in her heart.
Over these past few days, the girl gradually came to understand the true meaning of what Isagi had said when they first met: "Punish the accomplice, execute the leader."
It didn't mean that when facing evil, you could let the lesser evils go as long as you killed the one at the top.
Rather, it meant that when confronting evil, even the act of "killing" must follow a certain order, not just wildly swinging a sword and hacking away indiscriminately.
From top to bottom. Evil will never disappear, but the "arch-criminal" who leads the wicked can often cause greater and more terrible destruction.
Therefore, no matter when, once discovered, they must be dealt with first.
[I really am a fool.]
Ryuu lowered her gaze slightly.
She was also beginning to understand why the Goddess had asked Isagi to join her in her revenge. It was just as the letter had literally stated.
A mind clouded by emotion can easily become reckless, ignoring right and wrong, and just charge forward blindly.
And she was one such person. The kind of person who needs someone to pull them back a little, to tug them back, before they can start to think properly.
"A preemptive strike is best. Acting against the Magatsuhi-no-Kami's Familia is the only way to be somewhat efficient and will make it easier for us to continue our investigation."
The young man's words made perfect sense.
But...
"Dealing with gods is not easy."
"Of course."
Isagi had already asked Loki if it was possible.
He had been planning this ever since he arrived in Orario—let's not forget, the catalyst for the Astrea Familia's return to the city was, in fact, Ryuu's revenge.
From the very beginning, the young man had been pondering this problem.
Isagi did not revere the divine.
It didn't matter if gods were different from mortals, what powers they possessed, or how incomprehensible they were. It was purely a matter of not having that concept of "gods being beyond reach."
[A god is just a powerful lifeform.]
Something like that, probably.
So, Isagi felt no burden whatsoever at the thought of killing a god. The only difficulty was "how to actually do it."
"Simply sending them back to Tenkai is not enough."
From the outset, Isagi had set the tone for his and his senior's "god-slaying operation," and in doing so, had also infinitely raised the difficulty of the plan.
Loki had mentioned it before. Killing a god wasn't actually that difficult.
The important thing was to have the idea, and then, you could execute it.
Without the god's knowledge, and without the person carrying it out knowing either.
Digging a pit, poisoning, demolition, arson...
For example, didn't Magatsuhi-no-Kami have a large ship? If one could find a way to punch a few holes in it while it was at sea, there was a high probability of sending him to a watery grave.
In the lower world, the bodies of gods are essentially no different from those of ordinary people.
And if they use their Arcanum, they are immediately sent back to Tenkai due to the [Pact Between the Gods].
Of course, all these methods have loopholes, and if the target is extremely cautious, it would be hard to get an opportunity—but the reality is, almost no god would take such precautions.
Because from ancient times to the present, the number of children from the lower world who have meticulously planned and successfully carried out the "murder of a god" is extremely, extremely, extremely rare.
It's on the level of "can't be one thousand percent certain it has never happened" worldwide. Since that's the case, why bother preventing it?
"And sending them back to the Divine Realm isn't killing them."
Although for the gods themselves, returning to the Divine Realm might be more painful than "death"—gods can be resurrected, so death is not frightening to them—a god sent back to the Divine Realm is still bound by the [Pact Between the Gods] and cannot return to the lower world.
In other words, they've been "banned."
"To be able to only watch the developments of the lower world from the Divine Realm, becoming a mere spectator, is perhaps a form of torture for a god."
"And for the people of the lower world, a god who has returned to the Divine Realm no longer exists in [this world], at least, not in a way that is relevant to the world they live in."
"But even so, it is still not true [DEATH]."
It's like wanting to kill an enemy, but they just "flee to a foreign country, having no further connection with you."
Can that be considered revenge? Can the enemy be considered dead?
"Therefore, to truly kill a god, there is currently only one way: take them into the Dungeon and kill them there, causing them to be devoured by the Dungeon."
A god devoured by the Dungeon will not be resurrected. This is an absolute certainty.
"But that makes it even harder."
At this moment, looking at the still-calm young man, the elf girl who had been consumed by revenge now felt that she was the more level-headed one.
"Isn't my Familia junior being a bit too extreme?"
"Gods won't go into the Dungeon..."
Ryuu spoke the truth.
After all, the gods know that if they die in the Dungeon, they will be completely devoured, so naturally, they wouldn't go to such a dangerous place.
Except for certain ones who have just arrived in the lower world and have no reverence for the Dungeon; or those who are extremely concerned for the safety of their Familia's children and are forced to go to their rescue when they are in danger; or perhaps veteran members of Dark Familias who are very familiar with the Dungeon and can ensure their own absolute safety...
At least, from the current outlook, Magatsuhi-no-Kami doesn't seem like the type to go into the Dungeon.
"Yeah."
Isagi crossed his arms. The objective difficulties did indeed exist.
"But there are always more solutions than problems."
Tapping into their subjective initiative, they needed to think hard about how to achieve their goal.
They discussed for a long, long time...
***
Before they knew it, the early summer sun began to slowly climb past the window, casting its pale gray light inside.
A whole night of discussion yielded no results. That was to be expected.
Ryuu-senpai had to continue investigating the Magatsuhi Familia: the whereabouts of the smuggled grapes grown by the god of agriculture, and the whereabouts of the adventurers smuggled into Orario... there was a mountain of things to do.
Isagi naturally bid the girl farewell.
Then, facing the morning sun, he returned to the inner city. Lost in thought, he began his day's business at the fried-ball stall—since there was nothing else to do anyway.
Until noon, Cecil arrived with the carriage as usual to pick him up.
As for Lefiya, the elf girl seemed to be very busy as well; he heard she had rushed out early in the morning.
"Maybe she went to train with that elf named Filvis?"
"Is that so."
The elf girl is working very hard too.
"By the way, Isagi, have you noticed?"
"Huh?"
"Members of the Dionysus Familia often come around Daedalus Street."
The carriage clip-clopped along.
Because she delivered goods all over the city every day, Cecil was not only privy to a lot of gossip but also had a much better understanding of the situation around their home.
"What about it?"
"Nothing in particular, but it just feels a bit strange."
Daedalus Street was the suburb of suburbs, the slum of Orario. It was chaotic and disorderly, and almost no Familia was willing to live there.
Even some small Familias that had just arrived in the city and were starting to develop, once they earned some money, they would quickly move out.
That's why Astrea chose this place to hide when they returned to the city. As a Familia that had once been active in the city, maintaining peace and justice everywhere, the Goddess naturally knew what kind of place Daedalus Street was.
So, normally, members of the Dionysus Familia shouldn't be appearing in Daedalus Street.
Although their Familia wasn't particularly strong, and had lost several high-level adventurers in the "Nightmare on the 27th Floor" incident two years ago.
But they still had a Level 3 captain like Filvis, and a Level 2 vice-captain named Aura.
Plus, the God of Wine didn't run a purely exploration-focused Familia; it was more inclined towards commerce. So, in Orario, they were by no means a struggling little Familia.
"I remember the Dionysus Familia's headquarters isn't far from Daedalus Street, right?"
It was a rather magnificent hall, with a great number of grape trellises in the courtyard.
Whenever one passed by, the air was filled with the sweet fragrance of grapes—though the grapes planted by the God of Wine were merely for decoration; they were no different from ordinary grapes.
"That's right."
"Besides, how do you know they're adventurers from the Dionysus Familia, Cecil?"
"They were wearing the Familia uniform. Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"Oh~"
Many Familias in the city had uniforms. Cecil had designed one back in Solingen, and Isagi still wore it from time to time (since most of his clothes were made by the Goddess and the girls anyway).
It was a well-tailored, suit-like uniform, predominantly pure white with gold trim, a sky-blue cravat, and a small capelet that fell over one shoulder, also sky-blue, emblazoned with the Familia's crest of Justice and Judgment.
It kind of looked like a noble academy uniform from some chuunibyou anime. That was Isagi's first impression.
Of course, the current uniform no longer had the small capelet with the Familia crest, a measure taken to conceal their identity.
Amidst their idle chatter, they had unknowingly arrived at Central Park.
Cecil told him to go home and rest. Isagi couldn't win against this tsundere fool, so he had no choice but to say goodbye to the girl and walk towards home.
The bright early summer sun was already a bit glaring.
Isagi wasn't sleepy yet, probably because he had slept a bit too much yesterday. But it was good to tough it out; he could wait until night to sleep and get his schedule back on track.
Just as he was thinking this, the young man, having unknowingly returned to Daedalus Street, was once again called over by the Goddess who was, as usual, sitting by the small fountain not far away.
"Young man, young man, come over here."
It was the Goddess Penia, who presided over poverty.
She was as slovenly as ever, dressed in extremely poor attire—a dirty robe that looked dusty at a glance, covered in many patches.
It hung on her exceptionally thin body, making her look like a withered branch.
But yet, there was no sense of lifelessness about her. On the contrary, she gave off an impression of being exceptionally healthy and in great shape.
Like one of those old folks from the countryside who tells you they've lived to be a hundred by smoking, drinking, and playing mahjong.
"Have you got any news about the matter I asked you about before?"
"Mm."
Isagi walked to the Goddess's side and saw that she was still drinking wine.
The Goddess showed an expression of excitement and indignation, like a yawning old tiger.
The young man keenly noticed.
Penia had previously been using a porcelain wine pot that looked exquisite and expensive.
Now, she was using a broken earthenware pot, the kind with a chipped spout.
But the wine inside was the same as before: mellow, sweet, and fragrant. The aroma wasn't obvious from a distance, but up close, it was incredibly enticing.
As if noticing he was staring at her wine, the Goddess stingily hid it behind her back, as if afraid he would ask for a drink.
Heh heh.
"About that previous request, here's the situation..."
Penia is the Goddess of Poverty. She was also the "boss" of Daedalus Street.
Most of the residents here were her followers, and every month they would donate a portion of their family's money to the Goddess to maintain their "poverty."
It sounded quite abstract. For a goddess like her, it was perfectly normal for a follower to suddenly lose faith and stop donating money.
Isagi had previously passed this request to Ryuu-senpai and asked for her help in investigating.
As it turned out, not long ago, a man from Daedalus Street did indeed stop believing in Penia.
He claimed that the Goddess usually taught them to live in poverty to attain a pure heart and find happiness, and so on... but the Goddess herself was drinking expensive wine every day!
The man believed the Goddess had changed. She was no longer one of the poor, but had started to learn how to enjoy life like those high-and-mighty rich folk!!
"Traitor!"
When Isagi received the investigation report tucked inside the letter from Ryuu-senpai, Isagi thought to himself, the man had a point.
You're a goddess telling your followers to eat chaff and vegetables every day and donate their leftover money, but you're drinking such fine wine yourself. If that's not betraying your poor followers, what is?
Although, the other followers didn't agree with the man's view. The Goddess's other followers just thought he was cynical and crazy.
"What's wrong with a goddess enjoying herself a little? Isn't that perfectly normal?"
The gods in the city all enjoyed material comforts—this was true, and Isagi, having attended the Denatus, could confirm it.
The so-called cultivation of purity is for oneself, not for others. The important thing is to maintain a poor lifestyle...
The Goddess's followers had their own logic. Isagi had no interest in it.
He had accepted Penia's request at the time because she mentioned that these followers who left her would become [unfortunate].
This made Isagi think it might be related to the Magatsuhi Familia.
After all, the poor residents who already lived in Daedalus Street were the perfect targets for the gods of the Dark Familias to amuse themselves with. To control their lives and make them unfortunate and plagued by disaster would be easy.
As it turned out, Ryuu's investigation showed that the man had no connection to the Magatsuhi Familia whatsoever.
He met with misfortune simply because he was a gambling addict.
After he stopped believing in and donating to the Goddess, all his money went to the small, underground gambling dens.
What else was there to say? Nine out of ten gamblers lose.
Once you're hooked on that stuff, [misfortune] is inevitable.
It even strangely made one feel that Goddess Penia was right! If the man had continued to donate all his spare money to her, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
That's just insane! Isn't this a bit too surreal?!
After relaying the results of the investigation to the Goddess, sure enough, she began to curse, saying things like, "A fellow who doesn't listen to the Goddess's teachings got what he deserved," and, "See, I told you, you must remain poor for life to be happy"...
He couldn't be bothered to listen to the Goddess's rambling.
Isagi turned to leave. He hadn't expected to get any reward from the poverty goddess for completing the request anyway.
What could she do to him? Curse him to never get rich? He'd have to thank her for that.
But... not long after turning to leave, Isagi suddenly thought of something very, very important.
"Goddess Penia."
The young man suddenly turned around and asked the Goddess, who had started drinking by herself again not far away, "Have you always drunk wine?"
"Mm."
"Ah..."
The old goddess squinted her eyes. Her mouth, which had been chattering incessantly, opened slightly and remained so for a long time, stuttering, as if she were thinking about something.
"I... I guess... I ah... mm... I've been drinking wine for a long time."
"I see, I understand. I have a few jars of good wine on my side. I'll bring some for you to try another day."
"No need!"
The Goddess showed an expression of excitement and indignation, like a yawning old tiger.
"Your wine pot is better than mine. I won't drink your stuff. I only drink my own, and don't even think about getting any from me, you brat!"
"How could I..."
Isagi smiled slightly, then turned and walked away.
But his mind was on the man from Ryuu-senpai's investigation report, the one who no longer believed in the Goddess Penia.
Repeatedly, perhaps there was a hint of "cynical" madness in him, as he constantly stressed to the elf girl:
[The Goddess suddenly started drinking such expensive wine, and she keeps drinking it, every day, without sharing it with anyone! A traitor! She's a traitor!!]
[That is very expensive wine, it's Divine Wine! I know it, you can't fool me!! If such good wine isn't Divine Wine, what is it?!]
[Do you know how expensive a bottle of Divine Wine is? And the Goddess drinks it every day. Isn't that a betrayal of us followers? Tell me, don't you think that makes sense?!]
The man was a lunatic. In Orario, no one would pay attention to a guy who had gambled away his family's fortune.
Especially since he had recently, with the help of the Guild, become an adventurer for some unknown small Familia, and yet he still took all his adventuring earnings to the gambling table every day, and was heavily in debt to many Familias operating in the gray areas.
A person like that would sooner or later die like a stray dog in some alley corner, or be devoured by monsters in the Dungeon. No one would care about his death, and even less about his mad ravings.
Isagi didn't care at first either.
As for the man's claim that Penia was drinking Divine Wine, that was even more absurd.
The Goddess of Poverty might have some wealth, but Divine Wine wasn't something you could buy just because you wanted to. The production was extremely limited, and the market was flooded with fakes, making it difficult to tell the real from the counterfeit.
Without special channels, even a goddess like Loki, who could be said to be one of the most powerful in the city, had trouble obtaining real Divine Wine—though part of the reason was said to be that her Familia's vice-captain, Lady Riveria, simply wouldn't buy it for her.
But that was enough to illustrate its rarity.
Even at the lavish banquet of the gods hosted by Ganesha, only a portion of the wine, personally brewed by the God of Wine himself, was served. And it had been diluted.
Under such circumstances, you're telling me a goddess of poverty, living in Daedalus Street with no one and no power, is drinking Divine Wine every day. Who would believe that?
Goddess Penia was an existence who was rarely even invited to the banquets of the gods.
Not only because she had no Familia children and therefore no power, but she also had few friends in the Divine Realm. She was disliked by everyone.
One of the main reasons there were few god-led Familias in Daedalus Street was because Penia was there. This was something Goddess Astrea had said before, and it was also the reason the Familia was hiding here.
But the problem was... What if?
What if the wine Penia drank every day was really Divine Wine?
The thought had just flashed through Isagi's mind.
Further speculation was pointless. So, Isagi decided to act directly.
Whether it was Divine Wine or not, he would know once he got his hands on it...
***
The night was brilliant with stars. Even without the illumination of the Magic Stone streetlights, the fields outside the city were bathed in a faint, soft light, presenting a tranquil and soul-soothing scene.
Ryuu walked alongside Isagi on a small path through the fields. In her arms, the elf girl held a pot of wine, which she and the young man had just stolen from the Goddess Penia's home.
For a Level 2 and a Level 4 adventurer, entering an old woman's house to take a pot of wine was the simplest thing in the world.
Uh... Ryuu was still a bit dazed, completely unable to understand why Isagi had suddenly sent her a message saying he had a lead and had made progress, only for it to turn out to be stealing from a goddess's house.
"Is this really Divine Wine?"
Ryuu didn't know much about wine. The Goddess Astrea didn't drink such things, so naturally, the children in her Familia didn't either.
But it did smell very, very fragrant, even making the elf, who already loved nature, feel somewhat captivated.
"I don't know."
Isagi's answer was also decisive.
Because there was no way to test it. Although it was said that "one sip is enough to know if it's real," the young man still remembered the gods' repeated warnings.
Divine Wine contains Arcanum and is extremely dangerous for the children of the lower world.
Loki, Demeter, and the Goddess Astrea had all repeatedly warned him never to drink Divine Wine carelessly.
Weren't there rumors in the city? That Soma's Divine Wine could make a person give up everything just for another sip, otherwise it's not just ants crawling all over you, but...
"Holy shit, it's an addiction!"
That was the first thing that popped into Isagi's head at the time.
Orario was also quite careless, letting Soma's Divine Wine go completely unchecked, probably because for other gods, its effect was at most just getting them "very drunk."
This kind of cognitive dissonance was common between gods and the children of the lower world.
Plus, Soma's own Divine Wine mostly circulated among the thugs and ruffians within his Familia, hadn't caused any major incidents, and didn't affect the city's ordinary residents, so they probably just didn't bother to manage it?
But in any case, he and Ryuu definitely couldn't drink this stuff—they didn't even know if this Divine Wine was Soma's.
What if it was from another god of wine? What if the effects were different?
So the best way was to find a god to identify and try it. Isagi prepared to find Demeter.
The reason was simple: Ryuu-senpai wasn't ready to see the Goddess Astrea yet, and as for Loki, whom he knew fairly well, he felt she was too unreliable.
So, their only option was to go find "Mom."
Under the stars and moon, the young man and woman soon arrived in front of a large house in the fields.
Inside the fenced yard, all sorts of strange things were planted, a jumble of vegetables, fruits, and flowerbeds clustered together.
The air was filled with the scent of sweetness and nature.
Even the house itself was draped with large swaths of climbing ivy, a truly spectacular sight.
Isagi led Ryuu inside, and the young man directly took out a key.
The elf girl was shocked by this, thinking, "You're going to a goddess's house in the middle of the night and you're not even knocking?!"
To be honest, Isagi also found it a bit odd, but he couldn't just not use the key he had, right? Wouldn't that be even weirder?
As it happened, when they pushed open the door and entered the house, they saw the Goddess Demeter, fresh from a bath, wrapped in a towel, drying her hair in the living room.
At Isagi's sudden arrival, the Goddess showed not the slightest hint of annoyance, but was instead pleasantly surprised—Demeter had always sought this kind of ordinary family relationship between a mother and her child.
A child coming home in the middle of the night, asking his mom to open the door and make a late-night snack together, isn't that perfectly normal?
Now, her child suddenly comes home and runs into his mom who just finished bathing. That's also very normal, right?
It's just...
"..."
"..."
"~"
For some reason, Isagi felt that the goddess's eyes held a little excitement when she saw him, but then showed a hint of disappointment upon seeing Ryuu...
***
"This is Divine Wine."
In the living room, the mature goddess, still wrapped only in a bath towel, her full, soft skin still glistening with water droplets and revealing a pinkish hue, was enough to make even the elf girl at her side shy away, completely daring not to look.
Wisps of white steam rose.
Isagi, however, was quite composed. He had spent enough time with Goddess Demeter to become accustomed to it.
Besides, that wasn't the focus right now!
"Is it really Divine Wine?"
"Mm, I can confirm it completely."
Even without drinking it, the goddess could feel the Arcanum within the wine.
So now another question arose: Is this Soma's Divine Wine, or...
There are many gods of wine in the city, and the effects of the Divine Wine brewed by different gods are completely different.
Demeter didn't know the answer to the first question, because even among the gods, they didn't know the effects of other wine gods' Divine Wine, especially if the other party intentionally concealed it. It would be impossible to know.
So, who brewed this pot of Divine Wine was currently unknown.
As for the latter question, it was simple: To know the effect, one just had to drink a cup.
"Go ahead and drink, Mom."
Already aware of the reason Isagi and Ryuu had come, the beautiful goddess poured herself a cup of the Divine Wine, watching the rose-red liquid, like a trembling jewel, quiver slightly in the cup.
She had also recently become very interested in the matter of "Divine Wine" and was planning to investigate the discrepancy in her Familia's accounts regarding the grapes used for brewing it.
And so, Demeter drank it all in one go.
Isagi and Ryuu now had no choice but to look at the charming, mature goddess.
There seemed to be no effect at all. At least, none of the expected things like her cheeks turning red, her skin taking on an alluring cherry-pink hue, or her eyes becoming hazy and amorous... Nothing at all.
Isagi even wondered if Goddess Demeter's tolerance for alcohol was too high for a single cup of Divine Wine to affect her.
As it turned out...
"Lady Goddess?"
"Mm."
Demeter responded softly, but then said no more. It was very strange.
Isagi and Ryuu only then noticed that the goddess's beautiful orange eyes seemed to have lost their focus.
"Lady Goddess, are you all right?"
"I'm all right."
"Are you drunk?"
"No."
"Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"No."
"NPC! This conversation is too weird!!"
Isagi, as if he had thought of something, suddenly said.
"Lady Goddess, stand up."
"?!"
Ryuu, at the side, glanced over again in confusion, thinking it was far too rude for the young man to speak to a goddess in such a commanding tone!
As it turned out... "Okay."
Immediately, Goddess Demeter stood up from the table.
"..."
What is going on?! Why is the goddess obeying the young man's every word? Could this be the effect of the Divine Wine...
Isagi understood now. "Holy crap, it's hypnosis?! And it can even hypnotize a goddess?!!!"
"Lady Goddess, please go and rest."
"Okay."
Like a Slowpoke, with the distinct feel of an NPC, she turned and walked to the staircase, then went up barefoot.
Isagi and Ryuu followed her. They followed her to Demeter's bedroom and watched as the goddess very naturally got into bed.
Under the moonlight, the goddess, wearing a pure white lace nightgown, rested quietly against the pillows.
For some unknown reason, even though she looked exactly the same as she had downstairs, the beautiful woman's lying posture was somehow more—
Alluring.
Isagi was being extremely honest and concise in his assessment.
To say nothing else, just the fact that her once-prominent voluptuousness had now flattened out, becoming something fluffy...
"Stop looking!"
The pure elf was the first to break. She directly dragged him out of the goddess's room.
"So fast! Her grip hurts!! Is this the strength and speed of a Level 4 adventurer?!"
Suddenly, Ryuu only then realized that in her panic, she had actually dragged Isagi out!!
She immediately let go of the hand gripping the young man's wrist.
The heart of the girl, who was traditional to the extreme, pounded wildly, because elves are a race that deeply dislikes physical contact with others—in other words, they are mysophobic.
Ryuu certainly had it too. So, apart from the Goddess Astrea, she had only ever held hands with her two best, most trusted friends.
One wasn't Alise, one wasn't Ardi, but rather the other one, the five-year-old girl who was used by the Dark Familias during the [Great Feud] and died in a suicide bombing.
At this moment, what puzzled Ryuu the most was that she didn't feel that subconscious sense of repulsion in her heart. Instead... it felt very natural.
This natural feeling is unnatural! Unknowingly, had she come to trust the young man that much? Especially since he was the first male!!
Ryuu's heart was pounding. She just kept thinking that it was an emergency just now, so it was different from normal, and then she tried her best to restore the expression on her face to normal.
However, the elf girl, who was usually cold and stern, couldn't hide her flushed little face at all.
That forced composure was somewhat similar to Cecil's.
"So cute..."
***
Goddess Demeter recovered about ten minutes later.
A small cup of Divine Wine could only affect a god that much.
Isagi remembered that the poverty goddess Penia was constantly drinking, perhaps to maintain a constant state of "hypnosis"?
After waking up, Demeter hadn't lost her memories of what happened; she remembered everything clearly.
So... Why does the goddess have a somewhat resentful expression! And what's with the slightly reproachful look she's giving Ryuu?!
"This Divine Wine is too dangerous."
Returning to the living room, the beautiful goddess regained some of her serious demeanor.
This potent Divine Wine could even affect a god. Demeter had never heard of such a thing before!
"Now we need to find out who brewed it, and has Penia already been hypnotized? There must be some plan or conspiracy. We need to notify the Guild..."
"No, Goddess Demeter, leave this investigation to us."
Isagi interrupted the goddess's words directly.
Things were bound to be complicated, possibly involving all the remaining Dark Familias in the city. As for the Guild, there was likely a mole there as well, so...
"It's best if you act like you know nothing, Lady Goddess."
"Ah..."
A mother understands what her child means. Demeter lowered her eyes slightly.
Isagi was protecting her. The Demeter Familia was too weak.
Even if the Dark Familias couldn't do anything to her, what about the other children in her Familia?
Once they were targeted, neither the Guild nor the Ganesha Familia could protect every member of her Familia day and night. At that point, things would become very troublesome.
"Mom understands."
Demeter nodded, agreeing to the young man's proposal.
As for Isagi's safety, Ryuu was with him, after all.
And the young man had indicated that if they encountered a danger they couldn't handle, he would notify the Loki and Ganesha Familias.
In that case, the goddess, always worried about her child's safety, felt somewhat relieved.
The remnants of the Dark Familias currently in Orario could not be a match for the Loki Familia, which had three Level 6 and numerous Level 5 adventurers. Moreover, Ganesha's side also had eleven Level 5 adventurers.
Of course, this was all just something Isagi said for Goddess Demeter's benefit. After learning that this was a hypnotic Divine Wine, the plan to hunt a god was already taking shape in the young man's mind...
***
After leaving the Goddess Demeter's Familia home, Isagi quietly told Ryuu his plan.
"Tonight?"
"Hm!"
"Right now?"
"That's right!"
The elf girl thought it was too rushed. After all, it was about killing a god. Shouldn't they go back and plan it out more?
But Isagi simply replied: "Ryuu-senpai, in my hometown, there's an old saying."
"What is it?"
"If I learn the Way in the morning, I can die in the evening content."
"Huh?"
"What old farmer's saying is that from? And what does it mean? I don't get it at all!"
"It means, if I find out the way to your house in the morning, I'll come to kill you at night."
"..."
"A gentleman doesn't let his vengeance simmer overnight. Even waiting one night is too long. We seize this very moment. Let's go, right now, immediately!"
***
At the same time, in the dead of night, Filvis secretly refilled the pot of wine that had been stolen from Penia, to prevent any problems from arising due to the lack of Divine Wine, such as the poverty goddess potentially breaking free from God Dionysus's hypnosis.
The elf girl had seen it not long ago. Isagi and another elf—judging by the hair color, not Lefiya—had stolen Penia's pot of Divine Wine together.
Silently, when Filvis was in the city, she would occasionally come to monitor the poverty goddess's situation, and it just so happened that she witnessed the two of them in action.
But she had no intention of reporting it to her god. God Dionysus was doing something wrong, she knew it.
So, even if she no longer cared about her own life, she couldn't let her innocent fellow elf and such a good adventuring partner get implicated.
"Oh, Lord God, let us walk into hell together."
The elf girl murmured to herself. If she was very confused before, the more she spent time with Lefiya and listened to her stories of adventuring with Isagi, the more resolute Filvis became in her heart and her decision.
She didn't know why the young man stole the Divine Wine. But no matter what, this was the beginning—the beginning of the destruction of her already-tainted self and the equally mad god.
Filvis was not afraid of this. She had been ready for a long time.
Arriving and leaving in secret, no one could sense that the elf girl had ever been there.
Not long after, Filvis, appearing outside Daedalus Street, saw Dionysus walking a little boy home.
The blond god smiled benevolently as he returned the child, who had been playing outside too late, to his mother, and even gave the child several candies.
"How have you been lately?"
"Very good, thank you, Lord God."
"If you have any difficulties, just tell me, or tell Filvis."
Dionysus smiled, beckoning Filvis over while bidding farewell to the woman and the child.
The five or six-year-old boy shouted loudly, "I want to join the Lord God's Familia when I grow up!"
The gleam in his eyes was the unique brilliance and innocent dream of a child.
The blond god was very popular in the neighborhood.
He would provide relief to the poor, arranging easy jobs for them at his family's winery.
He would help the nearby residents drive away thugs and ruffians, maintaining peace on the streets.
He would greet every old person, woman, young man, and child he met with a gentle, sunny smile, listening to their difficulties and offering help.
Until late night fell and he returned to the Familia home.
The effects of the Divine Wine slowly wore off, and the god that Filvis was more familiar with finally returned.
"I have to make a trip downstairs."
Dionysus said, an annoyed expression on his face, but he had to go.
The alliance was too fragile, and his allies were all a bunch of madmen. If not properly maintained, it could explode at any moment.
"Go home, Filvis."
"Go home, Filvis."
"Yes."
The elf girl responded softly and quickly retreated in silence.
Only then did Dionysus return to his room, change into a heavy black robe, and leave through a secret passage deep in the Familia's underground wine cellar.
A long time later, the figure of the black-robed god appeared in a dark, small workshop in the nearby Daedalus Street.
He quickly passed through deserted, narrow alleys, and finally disappeared into an ordinary-looking wooden house.
The house looked like a utility room, filled with all sorts of things.
Dionysus skillfully moved aside the wooden planks on the floor, revealing a downward secret passage.
After walking for a while longer, he finally arrived before a massive door.
A great gate forged from the world's hardest metal, [Orichalcum]. Even high-level adventurers could not break through it by force.
At that moment, Dionysus took out a crimson orb. This was the key to the door within.
Inside was the [Artificial Labyrinth].
Built by the legendary craftsman Daedalus, who had once constructed Babel, and his descendants for generations, it was a vast cluster of buildings that mimicked the Dungeon.
It is worth mentioning, Daedalus Street was also built by Daedalus, so its winding and twisting nature was not due to the illegal constructions of the poor.
Rather, it was a place that had been designed to be extremely complex from the very beginning.
Dionysus soon met the members of the Dark Familia who had come to greet him.
They were followers of the god who presided over [Death], Thanatos.
As the last remnants of the Dark Familias, they hid here, continuing to expand the Artificial Labyrinth while also maintaining contact with "that existence" deep within the Dungeon.
Dionysus himself rarely went into the Dungeon personally. He even hated coming here.
Because the more he did, the easier it was to be exposed, especially during such a sensitive period.
Soon, led by the followers of the God of Death, Dionysus met the red-haired woman in a spacious hall.
Revis. She was a servant of "that existence," and like Filvis, she was a [Cursed Spawn] who had died and was resurrected by a brilliant and strange Magic Stone.
"I saw Aria."
Revis got straight to the point and said a name.
"She is Ais of the Loki Familia. You know of her, right?"
Not long ago, in the Dungeon, on the 18th Floor in Rivira, Revis heard from the Dark Familias about an "abnormal situation" on the upper floors.
She left the deep levels of the Labyrinth where she usually stayed, preparing to see what was going on.
In a noisy tavern in the adventurer town, a dead-drunk guy said he had seen it earlier: a huge city had "grown" out of thin air in the upper levels of the Labyrinth.
"I'm telling you, it's a good thing I ran fast! That place was expanding, you know? It was like, all of a sudden, the Dungeon changed, and everything around it started changing!"
"I ran and ran and ran! When I realized the changes had finally stopped, I looked back and only saw a towering, pale stone wall..."
Most people just dismissed him as talking nonsense. But a small number of adventurers said they had also seen that grayish-white stone wall. The tavern was soon flooded with arguments.
And just as Revis was preparing to go see for herself, suddenly, the Loki Familia's expedition team arrived.
Ais and the others, who had originally been camped on the hillside outside the town of Rivira, came into town to stroll around and were spotted by Revis.
"There's no mistake, that's 'Aria'!"
"You know, the famous genius adventurer of the Loki Familia, Ais. The guys in Rivira all know her, it's impossible for you not to know."
"Why have you never said anything?"
The woman questioned him.
And to this, Dionysus just wanted to laugh.
Why? You have the audacity to ask why? It's because you and 'that existence' of yours have absolutely no "brains" to speak of!
"Bring Aria to the deep levels!"
You see, this is why Dionysus often had headaches. How could he destroy Orario by collaborating with a group like this?
"I understand."
But he could only agree for now.
Because their goals were not the same. If the God of Death's side simply wanted more children of the lower world to die, a purely straightforward desire.
Before him was Revis and "that existence," whose sole purpose was Aria, also known as Ais.
"I will find a way."
"You'd better be quick!"
The woman threatened, she clearly had little patience.
She then turned and left, preparing to return to the deep levels to continue tracking the Loki Familia's expedition team—if she had the chance, she would take Ais directly.
As for the anomaly on the upper floors? Nothing was more important than retrieving "Aria"!
With Revis's departure, Dionysus once again rubbed his forehead with a headache.
Afterwards, he went to find Thanatos and chatted with the God of Death about the recent situation—since it was a rare visit, he wanted to say everything that needed to be said to avoid coming again anytime soon.
A long time later, seeing that the sky was about to brighten, he finally left the Artificial Labyrinth and returned to the surface.
It was the darkest time of the night, around four or five in the morning. The thick darkness was perfect for covering his return to the Familia home.
Just as Dionysus was thinking this, the blond god, riding in a carriage by the window in Daedalus Street, suddenly felt something and looked towards the sky-piercing Babel in the distance.
That was...
[There was an earthquake.]
The Dungeon shuddered violently, but it was so intense that all the gods in the city at that moment, whether they were asleep or doing something else, all rushed to their windows or outdoors at the same time, looking in the direction of Babel.
There, a blinding pillar of light rose into the sky.
[Has a god been sent back?]
No! There was no divine aura in the pillar of light.
Only then did Dionysus and the other gods of the city realize, belatedly, that it was coming from the direction of the Dungeon.
So the dead god did not return to the Divine Realm. But rather...
[Was devoured by the Dungeon.]
___
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