Tonight, the sky was not covered by heavy, oppressive storm clouds as though a tempest were about to descend. Instead, it possessed a clarity so pure that not a single cloud could be seen, making the jewel-like stars and the bright, immaculate moon stand out all the more vividly. It even drew the attention of several bards, who stopped to admire the view, their poetic impulses stirred as they found themselves appreciating the moonlit night.
Only those who knew that this city stood on the brink of destruction understood that this clear night sky might, in fact, be the most dangerous thing of all.
Gate of Heaven—the light of Heaven that had once descended in ancient times and struck down Nidhogg.
Such radiance would perhaps be most fitting descending upon a sky as clear and unobstructed as this, would it not?
With such thoughts in mind, the adventurers preparing to invade Knossos set out for their respective battlefields, each carrying a mixture of tension, unease, fear, and concern.
And the Loki Familia, for instance, split into four groups midway through their advance, each heading toward their designated positions.
Among them, the first, second, and third parties, led by Finn, Riveria, and Gareth, would head toward Daedalus Street, while the sixth party, led by Riezel, would proceed to the Dungeon's 9th Floor.
"Be careful."
"Stay safe."
"Don't die out there, kiddos."
Finn, Riveria, and Gareth no longer had much to say.
As they watched Riezel, Lefiya, and the others split off from the main group, they simply offered brief words of encouragement.
"...Do your best."
After silently watching Riezel and Lefiya for a long while, Ais, who stood beside Riveria, finally spoke those few quiet words.
"You've got this, Riezel!"
"Don't push yourself too hard, Lefiya!"
Raul and Anakitty both showed obvious concern, unable to stop themselves from adding a few reminders as Riezel and Lefiya prepared to depart.
"Tch, instead of worrying about them, you guys should be worrying about us."
"Yeah, with Riezel around, they're definitely gonna be fine."
"Lefiya's already Level 4 anyway. She'll be okay."
In contrast, Bete, fully armed and equipped, appeared completely indifferent, though the constant swaying of his tail still exposed his true feelings.
Tiona and Tione also remained exactly as they always were—one carefree and seemingly unconcerned, the other briefly hugging Lefiya to encourage her.
As for the other members of the familia, they did much the same, offering parting words to the companions who would soon be heading into battle alongside Riezel and Lefiya.
"I'll be careful. You all be careful too!"
After quietly whispering a few private words with Tione, Anakitty, Alicia, and the others, Lefiya finally spoke up, her eyes slightly red.
"Let's all claim victory together."
Only Riezel spoke as though he were not about to head into battle at all—his tone and expression remained as calm and composed as ever.
However, a few people still noticed that the weapon hanging at Riezel's waist was no longer the familiar thin crystal sword, but instead a black sword that faintly emitted a scorching aura.
Fool, the sword Riezel had always used, now hung at Ais's waist, replacing the sword she rarely ever parted with—Desperate.
If not for the current situation, such a change would have undoubtedly sparked widespread curiosity and countless questions.
But now, no one had the time or the state of mind to care about such things.
""Claim victory.""
Both sides echoed Riezel's words, nodding heavily toward one another before separating without hesitation, each heading toward their respective battlefields.
Riezel and Ais were the last to turn away, their gazes remaining locked onto each other until the very end. Only after everyone else had already departed did they finally look away and follow their respective groups.
And so, under Riezel's leadership, a party of around twenty members—complete with supporters, healers, and mages—entered the Dungeon. Moving at high speed, they passed through the first eight floors and arrived directly at the 9th Floor.
The entrance to Knossos was located at the edge of this floor, much like the Pantry on the 24th Floor, positioned far away from the main route leading to the 10th Floor.
Moreover, since it was nighttime, adventurers rarely explored the Dungeon at such an hour. As a result, Riezel's party encountered neither incidents nor witnesses as they arrived at the entrance within the outer area.
There, the fourth and fifth parties—primarily composed of members from the Hephaestus Familia and the Ganesha Familia—had already gathered in full force, densely filling the surrounding area.
"The Loki Familia's here!"
"The sixth party's arrived!"
"Liberator's here!"
Noticing Riezel's party, they immediately called out warnings while instinctively parting their formation, allowing Riezel and his party to pass through.
"You finally made it."
"We've been waiting."
Shakti, Tsubaki, Asfi, and Aisha quickly stepped forward to greet them, all of them fully armed.
Not only was their equipment complete, but several pouches also hung from their waists and legs, seemingly packed with various supplies.
Even Tsubaki, who normally never hesitated to reveal her skin, was wearing a finely crafted suit of armor today, while the equipment box on her back had also been replaced with a backpack containing not only weapons but also numerous items.
Riezel could sense a considerable amount of magical energy emanating from that backpack.
Presumably, it was filled with a significant number of magic swords.
'Looks like Tsubaki really went all out this time.'
With that thought in mind, Riezel asked a direct question.
"What's the status of the entrance?"
Hearing this, the others did not waste any time and immediately addressed the matter.
"No abnormalities so far. A few Violas showed up, but the green flesh has already been completely cleared away. It won't interfere with our invasion."
As she spoke, Shakti led Riezel to the entrance.
It was a hollow opening in the wall located at the deepest part of the area.
Surrounding it was a wall made of adamantite, while the ground nearby was scattered with numerous fragments of adamantite.
Every entrance to Knossos discovered within the Dungeon had, without exception, originally been sealed by doors made from the same material—just like the one hidden in the sewers beneath Daedalus Street.
After locating them, Finn had assigned Riezel a mission: to destroy every one of these doors, and this entrance was naturally no exception. When it had first been discovered, Riezel had personally shattered it without the slightest hesitation.
As a result, the incredibly sturdy orichalcum metal door was completely gone.
What remained was a wall reinforced with adamantite metal mixed together with magic stone—preventing the Dungeon's walls from regenerating—and a hollow passage leading directly into the Man-Made Dungeon, where remnants of green flesh could still be seen scattered all throughout the area.
"Honestly, just leaving precious orichalcum lying around like this... what a total waste."
As a blacksmith, Tsubaki voiced her dissatisfaction at the sight of the scattered fragments of orichalcum.
Unfortunately, no one paid her any attention at all.
"Since the green flesh around the entrance has already been cleared out, get yourselves ready," Riezel said after a brief moment of observation. "By now, the Daedalus Street side should already be in position, so the operation could start at any moment."
"Got it."
At his words, the women immediately nodded and moved to prepare themselves without any complaints.
Subtly, there was already a tendency for them to follow his lead, so none of them objected to his almost commanding tone.
It was honestly only natural.
Riezel was the strongest person present—and also the only Level 7 among the fourth, fifth, and sixth parties.
Moreover, there was not even a single Level 6 among these three units, so aside from him, the highest level present was merely Level 5. Under such circumstances, it was only natural for everyone to follow the commands of the sole Level 7.
"…Will it really be okay, Mr. Riezel?"
Lefiya came to Riezel's side and asked in a low and uneasy voice while looking toward the entrance to Knossos, which resembled the gaping maw of a giant beast waiting for them to throw themselves inside.
"Of course..." Riezel reached out and gently patted the uneasy elf's head. "No worries. We will win this time."
"…Mm."
Lefiya nodded, the unease on her face gradually transforming into resolve.
Time passed, second by second, as everyone waited in silence.
Ten minutes later, a voice finally came from the blue, jewel-like crystal devices held by Riezel, Shakti, Tsubaki, and the others.
All of these crystals were magic items known as Eye Crystals, created by Fels, who had mastered the development abilities of Mystery and Mage to an exceptional degree. They were communication devices that allowed those holding them to exchange messages across great distances, and the only communication tools of their kind in the modern age.
Without the proper materials, even Fels found them extremely difficult to produce.
Meanwhile, Asfi, who was also active as a master of magic items, was completely incapable of creating such devices, leaving her sulking in a corner with a visibly frustrated expression.
Unfortunately, what was about to happen would not be delayed by anyone's personal feelings.
[Attention, all parties.]
The voice transmitted through the Eye Crystal belonged to the pallum captain of the Loki Familia and the overall commander of this operation—Finn Deimne.
[First, I must make one thing clear—this will be a battle that no one will ever know about.]
Finn's voice rang clearly in the ears of everyone present as he delivered this declaration in a calm, composed, and rational tone.
[We will head to the battlefield without anyone's knowledge and throw ourselves into a deadly struggle that will bring us no rewards.]
[This will be an extremely difficult fight.]
[This will be an exceptionally dangerous operation.]
[There will, without a doubt, be casualties. Some of us will fall along the way.]
[And no one will even know why they died. Unlike those adventurers who once perished in the Dungeon, their valor and sacrifice will never become known to the world.]
Finn's blunt and unflinching words caused many people to quietly clench their fists and grit their teeth.
Needless to say, there was no greater psychological blow than this.
However...
[Even so, we must still take up our weapons and fight to the very end!]
[Because if we do not, it will not only be us—everyone will face an even harsher reality!]
[We must fight! We have no choice but to fight! Even if the people beside us fall, we cannot stop!]
[So, everyone—prepare yourselves. Even if we must step over the corpses of our comrades, we will claim victory in this battle!]
Finn's voice grew increasingly impassioned, igniting a blaze in every heart.
[The fallen, though forgotten by the world, will forever be remembered by those who survive!]
[The great deed of saving the city may not be passed down through history—but it will live on through the survivors!]
[Even if this war is never recorded in history! Even if no wealth or fame is awaiting us! We will still become heroes without names!]
[Let us save the world!]
As his final words echoed through the air, a surge of burning heat rose within everyone who had clenched their fists.
It was the emotion of exhilaration.
It was the resolve born from a death-bound struggle.
Yes, the reason they stood here was not for fame, nor for wealth, but to save their city.
They could not stand by and watch Orario fall into destruction, nor could they bear to see the Lower World return once more to that era of suffering and darkness. That was precisely why they stood here.
And by standing here, they had already accepted just how difficult this battle would be, as well as how dangerous the battlefield awaiting them truly was.
Even so, they had come.
In other words, they had already prepared themselves for sacrifice.
Even if it meant death, they would still stop the enemy—that was the conviction that had brought them here.
Watching this, Riezel activated the magic he had prepared long in advance without the slightest hesitation.
At this moment, both before the great hole on Daedalus Street and at the entrance to Knossos on the 9th Floor of the Dungeon, enormous magic circles appeared simultaneously.
Among Riezel's magic spells, there existed one known as 'Position Mark.'
Unlike the Mass Targeting magic Riezel had used in the past—which allowed his magic spells to affect marked individuals—Position Mark enabled his subsequent magic to manifest directly at designated locations.
He had already placed these Position Marks at the great hole on Daedalus Street and at the entrance to Knossos on the 9th Floor of the Dungeon, so the moment he activated his magic, identical magic circles appeared at both locations simultaneously.
Riezel then began chanting the magic that would play a critical role in this battle.
"Summon Monster 10th!"
"Summon Undead 10th!"
"Summon Angel 10th!"
"Summon Demon 10th!"
As each of the highest-tier summoning magic spells was cast, one summon after another emerged from within the magic circles, materializing before everyone present, every single one of them radiating an overwhelming aura.
*ROAAAR!*
*GRRR!*
Terrifying roars echoed continuously, and from some of the sinister, grotesque summons, a dreadful miasma began to spread.
"Wha—!"
"Ugh!"
Some of the adventurers could not help but cry out in shock, but Finn's voice did not falter in the slightest as he issued his command without hesitation the next moment.
[Move out!]
And just like that, the operation to conquer Man-Made Dungeon Knossos officially began.
All six parties charged into Knossos, marking the opening of a great battle.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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