An hour had passed since a god was devoured by the Dungeon.
Daylight had not yet broken.
Under the dim, gray light, the captain of the Ganesha Familia, [Staff of the Elephant God] Shakti Varma, summoned the Familia members who had been on guard duty at the Dungeon tonight to question them about the situation.
In any case, for a god to enter the Dungeon, unless there was another passage, they had to go through the entrance under Babel.
The mature woman with short, deep blue hair maintained a perpetually calm expression, even giving off a slight impression of being an airhead, but her gaze was exceptionally sharp.
The two guards who had been summoned were extremely nervous.
Theoretically, the Ganesha Familia guards could inspect anyone entering or exiting the Dungeon.
But that was only in theory.
The guards usually stationed at the Babel entrance were merely symbolic. Much of the time, they had to act as "tour guides," giving directions to some novice adventurers or explaining the basics of the Dungeon.
They also had to ensure that no gods exuding divine aura would stroll right in, or that mischievous children from the city, or some confused residents, wouldn't try to run into the Dungeon to "take a look" or something.
That was all.
"There was indeed a suspicious person!"
"Um... first, it was a cat person girl, I think. She kept saying 'nya' this and 'nya' that when she spoke."
"She was dragging a cart covered with a thick cloth, saying that a monster to be used in the upcoming Monster Festival had a problem and couldn't be tamed, so it needed to be taken into the Dungeon to be disposed of. She even said it was your order, Captain..."
Hearing this, Shakti found it incredible.
"Me?"
"That's right, she said it was the captain's orders."
With no documents and nothing to signify her identity, the two guards didn't even check if there was a monster in the cart and just let her pass.
"There must have been a god in there, right?"
Some gods could conceal their divine aura, making it incredibly easy for them to sneak into the Dungeon.
But being transported in an iron cage was clearly not of the "god's own volition"; rather, they had been knocked out or incapacitated, rendering them unable to move.
Forget it.
After all, no one would have expected such a thing to happen before this. The guards' negligence was understandable, and even if they had tried to force an inspection, it probably would have been useless. The other party would most likely have just knocked them out.
What they did was just a "slightly more civilized" approach, nothing more.
"And after that?"
"After that, a few more people entered the Dungeon, and some came out. Among them was an elf girl... She was masked, had blonde hair, and a terrifying look in her eyes."
"After the god was sent back, she was the first to walk out of the Dungeon."
It was just as she thought. Not only Shakti, but likely most of the gods in the city had probably guessed the identity of the perpetrator.
[Gale].
Her revenge had finally involved a god from the dark side, and she had truly begun to "slay gods."
The smiling face of her younger sister, Okiku, appeared in Shakti's mind. Did Ryuu Lion's hatred, which extended to killing even gods, contain a sense of nostalgia for her, for her old friend?
It was as if the softest part of her heart had been touched.
The woman, who was usually incomparably strong and decisive, showed a rare hint of sadness in her eyes.
Not long after.
The identity of the sent-back god was also discovered: [Magatsuhi-no-Kami]. The large ship of his Familia was still burning in the sea off the coast of the port city Melen.
The Njord Familia, which had rushed there, rescued a member of the Magatsuhi Familia from the wreckage.
He was deliberately left behind, as everyone else had been killed. The one left alive confirmed that the Magatsuhi Familia indeed had connections with the Dark Familias, mainly helping with the transport of supplies and personnel.
But this person didn't know the specific details. He didn't even know what supplies were being sent, or where the adventurers who arrived in the city went, making it impossible for the Ganesha Familia to find any "evidence" to pursue the investigation.
Shakti quickly realized that this person had been carefully selected before being left behind.
"How strange."
This wasn't [Gale]'s rough style; it was too meticulous. The whole affair seemed to have been perfectly packaged, turned into something completely flawless—[The revenge of justice against darkness]...
Amidst the golden morning sun of early summer, Ryuu couldn't sleep at all.
The elf girl sat at the long table inside the farmhouse, looking at the boy who was already sound asleep on the bed.
She couldn't help but feel that Isagi was really a bit...
Should she call him thick-skinned, or just big-hearted?
Just a short while ago, he had just sent a god into the Dungeon to be killed, and now he was back and had fallen right asleep.
Honestly!
Ryuu couldn't help but recall everything that had happened since last night. The boy's plan to kill a god was incredibly simple.
Isagi called it a "three-step" plan.
"First step, make Magatsuhi drink the Divine Wine to be hypnotized."
"Second step, send him into the Dungeon."
"Third step, let the Dungeon kill the god."
"..."
When Ryuu first heard Isagi's plan, she was dumbfounded, thinking, what kind of plan is this?!
"It sounded simple, but in actual practice...
It was also very simple!"
The specific process was like this: after leaving Goddess Demeter's place, the two of them went directly to the port city of Melen.
It was a small port town not far from the city.
Normally, taking a carriage and ambling over would take about two or three hours.
But with adventurers moving at full speed, after at most ten or twenty minutes, Isagi and Ryuu could already see the equally bustling port city under the night sky in the distance.
The [School District] was long gone.
The small town, built around the massive Lake Rognar, was still noisy and bustling.
The brackish lake connected to the sea was a natural harbor. Day and night, countless ships from foreign lands unloaded their cargo here, or loaded up for long voyages.
The "headquarters" of the Magatsuhi Familia was a huge merchant ship, moored right here.
Although his Familia was active in Orario, they would basically return to the port city at night, including God Magatsuhi himself.
His Familia members were about the same, either on the ship or wandering around town.
And so.
Isagi found an opportunity, feigning a chance encounter in town. He approached a member of the Magatsuhi Familia and offered to sell him "Soma's Divine Wine that I stole from the city."
"It's absolutely the real deal!"
The boy had found a robe to cover his entire body, leaving only his eyes exposed. He played the part of a shifty-eyed smuggler perfectly.
"Don't believe me? Have a taste."
The Magatsuhi Familia member, who had already been drinking, didn't think much of it and took the cup from the boy's hand.
After being hypnotized, he brought the Divine Wine back to the Familia's ship and offered it to his own god.
Ryuu never expected it to be so simple.
But that wasn't enough. The hypnotized Familia member also relayed a fake order from the god, making the large ship set sail, heading for the dark, deep sea outside the port city.
Afterward, he was killed by Isagi and Ryuu, who had also snuck aboard, his throat slit and his body thrown into the sea to feed the fish.
Watching the boy's skilled "disposing of a pawn once its usefulness is over."
Ryuu, who had originally intended to tell Isagi not to act and to let her do it, found her mind thrown into chaos again.
"Isn't my Familia junior a little too efficient?"
"This is something you seniors don't understand. These guys aren't good people. Killing them earns you merit, you know? What's there to feel burdened about?"
Under the quiet night sky.
No one would notice a large ship leaving the harbor and heading towards the distant sea. The stars and moon were still brilliant, reflected in the dark surface of the water, and with the occasional small splash.
[Silence.]
It had already begun...
God Magatsuhi sat upright, picking up a freshly sliced piece of fatty sashimi, dipping it in wasabi and soy sauce, and bringing it to his mouth with chopsticks.
The Soma Divine Wine just presented by his Familia member was placed to the side.
The traditional old god, wearing a gorgeous haori embroidered with the Familia crest, wasn't accustomed to drinking wine. He preferred tea and the sake from his homeland, but since it was said to be Divine Wine, there was no harm in tasting it.
What's more.
Tonight's side dish to go with the drink was not only delicious fish belly, but also—
In the Far East-style room, one could faintly hear the sound of the sea breeze outside, as well as the faint screams of those being killed.
The door was suddenly thrown open. The screen serving as a partition was knocked down, and a man in a colorful, flamboyant kimono appeared before God Magatsuhi, covered in blood.
This was his Familia captain. However, the man who was usually arrogant and violent, and enjoyed abusing women, had now been easily killed by a young girl.
"How pitiful, Ah Mo."
God Magatsuhi picked up a piece of sashimi with his hand, dipped it in soy sauce and wasabi, and put it in his mouth again.
"The weak are always killed by the strong. I've tasted such misfortune too many times. Just get used to it."
The old god's gaze quickly passed over his Familia captain, completely ignoring the wail the other man managed to squeeze from his throat before dying.
Instead, he looked at the girl and boy who had just walked into the room.
God Magatsuhi didn't recognize Isagi, but it didn't matter, because he was irrelevant. Ryuu's arrival, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise.
The god was very calm.
Because the children of the lower world would not kill a god, and he didn't care about the lives of his Familia members. At most, at the very most, he would eventually be sent to the Guild, his cooperation with the Dark Familias would be exposed, and he would be sent back to Tenkai.
So when the large ship suddenly set sail and left the harbor, the old god had actually already sensed the approach of "calamity."
But he said nothing, because God Magatsuhi also wanted to see what kind of "calamity" and "misfortune" was about to befall the children of his Familia.
"Too crude. I thought I would see something more interesting, like..."
The old god's gaze slowly fell to the side of Ryuu's waist, to the small kodachi, a memento from her elf friend.
"Ah... that child, Kaguya, was your companion, wasn't she? To have given her sword to you, you must have been very close. By the way, has she ever told you about her past?"
Hearing Magatsuhi suddenly mention his old friend's name.
Ryuu couldn't help but be taken aback.
Then she remembered that he was a god from the Far East, so it was normal for him to know about Kaguya's past.
[Kaguya never spoke of her past. Perhaps she told the Goddess. It was said that when she first came to the city, the girl was a ' shrew' who had given up on herself to the extreme, even speaking ill of the Goddess.]
Kaguya Gojouno came from the Far East, a rather closed-off and distant country.
It was located on an island off the continent, ruled by the [Imperial Court]. The main race of the country was Amaterasu, forming a national-level Familia. Below it were nine families, from the First to the Ninth, each with its own god, and each with its own duties, maintaining the country's operation.
Kaguya came from the Gojou family, once a prestigious clan.
"To be born into the Gojou family is the greatest misfortune. You didn't know, did you? It's a family that appears glamorous on the surface, led by Konohanasakuya-hime (a goddess of beauty)."
"The children of the Gojou family are all beautiful and handsome. They wear elegant fox masks, possess outstanding strength, maintain the order of the [Imperial Court], and act as guardians of justice everywhere. But in reality, it's a place twisted to the extreme. The girls of the family must drink the [Poison of Konohana] from birth, year after year, cultivating themselves into poisonous bait."
"Why?"
The old god smiled slightly, pouring himself a cup of Divine Wine.
"To kill people, of course."
"To use their chastity to silently assassinate those dissenters. The Gojou family actually does all the dirty work for the [Imperial Court] that cannot see the light of day."
"Of course, it's also to maintain the purity of the bloodline, so that the women of the Gojou can only bear the offspring of Gojou men, because the boys also take an antidote called [Wine of Mokuren] from birth."
"This is the reason why the Gojou family is so powerful. The gods discovered that children inherit special skills and abilities from their ancestors, and by maintaining the purity of the bloodline in this way, they can mass-produce powerful [Samurai]."
"It's tragic, isn't it? From the moment that child was born, she was nothing more than a tool of the [Imperial Court], just like that sword in your hand."
Speaking of which.
God Magatsuhi's face even showed a certain blissful expression, as if savoring some incredible delicacy.
"Ah... a place like the Gojou family is simply a natural crucible for tragedy. And among so many different kinds of misfortune, that child Kaguya is truly unforgettable to me."
"That child made a friend outside the family."
"Was it love?"
"Perhaps. That child from the Rokujou family, righteous and noble, wise and ambitious, became the head of the family at a young age. Not only did he learn the secret past of the Gojou family, but he also said he wanted to save her, to pull her out of this filthy mire. So it's normal for her to fall in love with him, right?"
But of course, such a thing was not allowed. The order and majesty of the [Imperial Court] could not be challenged by anything.
And so.
The Rokujou family was eliminated, and the executioner was the Gojou family. Overnight, everyone in the Rokujou family was slaughtered, and everything related to the Rokujou was erased.
"This was a major event in the Far East, but almost no one in Orario has heard of it."
"Did you know, the one who personally killed the young head of the Rokujou family was Kaguya. At that time, what was that boy thinking? It's a pity I wasn't there to see it."
The old god finally drank the first cup of Divine Wine.
He was in an extremely good mood, especially when he saw Ryuu's disbelieving expression, his smile became even more wanton.
"Konohanasakuya-hime bewitched her, making Kaguya carry out the court's mission. How interesting. If you ask me, the Goddess of Beauty doesn't understand beauty at all. She should have let Kaguya and the Rokujou child die together as lovers."
"Chastity, the most precious thing to a young girl, yet it killed the one she loved. Such misfortune is truly delicious! Watching her beloved die beneath her, would that child Kaguya have gone mad? Or would she have followed her lover in death—ah, I forgot, with the Goddess of Beauty's hypnosis, she could never end her own life."
"Hahahahahaha, that's why I say, when I was in the Far East, my favorite was the Gojou family!"
"A pity, truly a great pity."
"That fellow Konohanasakuya-hime understands nothing at all, to actually let her leave the family and the Far East, giving her a chance to heal herself."
"Later, I heard that Kaguya had come to Orario, and I was planning to come see her, but it turned out she was already dead. Perhaps that's for the best. After being healed by a new life, to suddenly encounter disaster again, and be killed along with her companions she spent her days with."
"Can you tell me, what kind of expression did that child have before she died? I really want to know..."
The old god's words came to an abrupt halt. He froze in place, having been hypnotized by the Divine Wine.
The rest was simple.
Isagi glanced at his Familia senior beside him, wondering what she was feeling now that she had learned of her friend's tragic past.
The boy just got to work, first making Magatsuhi drink the Divine Wine himself at regular intervals to prevent him from waking up midway.
Afterwards.
He took him, along with himself and Ryuu, on a small boat back to the port city.
Before leaving, Isagi specially selected a survivor, knocked him out, and left him on the ship. Then he set a fire. When they returned to the port city, he immediately pretended to be a passerby and notified the town's residents to go rescue people.
Only then did he get the old god onto a carriage and, under the cover of night, bring him back to Orario.
The first step was complete; next was the second step.
To bring a hypnotized god into the Dungeon, they needed someone completely unaware to carry it out—Isagi and Ryuu couldn't do it, and even a hypnotized god couldn't be made to go to the Dungeon himself.
At this moment, the elf girl, having recovered from the recent "sting," her eyes cold, had finally thought of a "candidate."
And so, not long after.
A tall, slender, black-haired cat person girl came before the boy and girl.
"Didn't think you'd have a day where you'd hire meow for a job, hey? Who are we killing? Don't worry, meow is a professional, hey, just that the fee is very expensive..."
Isagi suddenly noticed the cat person girl's eyes darting all over him.
"We're not killing anyone."
Ryuu suddenly stepped forward, standing in front of him and blocking the other's line of sight.
"Take the carriage into the Dungeon, to the designated location on the upper floors, right here..."
The map was provided by Isagi.
Ryuu wasn't sure if just taking him to the upper floors would be enough to kill the god. What if he ran out?
But the boy just told her not to worry.
"Eh? Just this?! Meow's an assassin, meow!! How..."
"Are you doing it or not?"
"Hmph, hmph, for the sake of the boy's handsome face, meow will help you this once. What's inside?"
But of course, Isagi and Ryuu just told her not to ask. So the cat person girl, chattering about "I know, meow knows, hey, meow is the most professional, hey," drove the carriage covered with a thick cloth into the Dungeon.
Isagi followed in not long after, and then Ryuu.
The second step was complete; next was the simplest third step...
When Magatsuhi groggily woke up, the first thing the old god realized was that something was wrong.
Where is this?
In a hall full of filthy blood and Goblin fragments, with only a faint green light for illumination. The towering stone pillars, the pale flagstones, and the rough walls...
Magatsuhi remembered being hypnotized, and, being brought into the Dungeon.
!!!
The Dungeon?!
Was this all the doing of that [Gale], and that boy?!
The old god, who had just been calmly eating and drinking in front of the two, using the tragic past of the elf girl's friend to provoke her, and still wanting to see the expression of the unfortunate girl before her death, at this moment, he was in no mood for any of that.
Because...
A pitch-black arrow pierced through the wall, suddenly, and pierced his right arm.
"Ah!!!"
A scream instantly rang out.
Almost without a second thought, upon seeing a black shadow in armor walk out from the depths of the corridor ahead, Magatsuhi scrambled up in pain and began to flee frantically.
I must leave the Dungeon, as long as I can leave here, as long as...
However.
Sharp, black arrows always shot out from the walls in all directions, sinking deep into his body.
In the blink of an eye, the old god's body had become a pincushion full of "black thorns."
And not even ten seconds had passed since he awoke from his hypnosis. For a god with only the body of an ordinary person, it was clearly too difficult to survive here.
The loss of blood brought an intense chill.
Magatsuhi lay prone on the ground. He saw something massive emerge from the floor before him, first a large mass of darkness, then a faceless human head, and on it, a pure white ring of light.
[The Lightless King Who Was Conquered by the Pale · Apheisisamna].
The opponent's name appeared.
But the old god couldn't understand, what on earth was this thing?
Was it a hallucination?
Since when did such a damn thing exist in the Dungeon?
However.
The Lightless King had already emerged from the ground and stood up.
[Swing the scythe, do not wait for the stray lamb, feast with great relish!]
A slender, pitch-black arm swung a greatsword, severing both of the old god's legs, then instantly chopping them to pieces.
Now.
Magatsuhi knew where the Goblin fragments in the hall had come from.
[Offer a sacrifice, soothe the pain of my clan, it is your honor.]
The cutting continued.
The surrounding dark shadows suddenly swarmed towards him, leaving Magatsuhi unable to see anything else.[G...]
___
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