"Finn, I smell people!"
Bete's sudden warning immediately put everyone on edge.
"After coming this deep, we've finally found someone?" Gareth stroked his beard. Though he spoke lightly, his expression was anything but relaxed.
"That means the enemy is prepared... or rather, we're walking straight into their trap," Riveria said, her voice low and serious.
"But we don't have any other choice." Finn remained perfectly calm, not a trace of panic visible on his face. "Our goal from the start was to eliminate the remnants of Evilus. Since we've come this far, meeting them was inevitable. All we can do now is handle whatever comes our way."
Seeing their captain remain so composed, the rest of the group gradually calmed down as well. As long as Finn was here, Loki Familia would not lose. He was the pillar of the Familia, and everyone believed in him.
"Bete, lead the way."
At Finn's signal, Bete silently nodded and took the lead. After passing through several more corridors and walking for a few minutes, they finally arrived at a massive chamber.
At a glance, everything around them was metal. The walls were made of silver-colored Ultra-Hard Metal, while the ceiling and floor reflected the dim glow of the magic stone lamps. The room was enormous, well over a hundred meters in length, width, and height. It could easily hold more than a thousand people. Because of its sheer size, the magic stone lamps couldn't fully illuminate it; the entire metal hall remained cloaked in shadows, making visibility extremely poor.
"Finn, it'd be better not to go in."
Just as they were about to step inside, Ryoji suddenly spoke up.
"What makes you say that?" Finn stopped and looked at him.
"Ever since entering this artificial labyrinth, I've had a bad feeling." Ryoji stared into the giant chamber ahead, his eyes full of vigilance as though he were tracking an invisible enemy. "Nothing dangerous has happened so far, but... if we enter this room, there won't be any turning back. My instincts are telling me that."
His Intuition was vague. It could warn him that danger was approaching, but it couldn't tell him exactly what form it would take. Since entering this place, he had felt that the entire labyrinth was a death trap, and this giant metal chamber was the center of it all.
The moment they stepped inside, they were finished, that was how strong the warning felt.
Finn fell silent. It wasn't as if he couldn't sense the danger himself. In fact, his thumb had been throbbing nonstop. But after preparing for so long and coming all this way without even seeing the enemy's face, he couldn't accept turning back empty-handed.
"Yo, Finn, you bastard! What are you hesitating for over there? Don't tell me you're scared!"
At that moment, a voice filled with madness echoed from a corridor on the far side of the room. Under the dim light of the magic stone lamps, a woman's figure emerged. She was tall and lean, dressed in a coat made from monster hides and leather trousers. Her face wasn't particularly beautiful, but it was twisted with hatred and rage, her eyes overflowing with venom. The target of that murderous gaze was Finn, standing over a hundred meters away.
"...Arachnia. You're still alive?" Finn narrowed his eyes, his expression gradually turning cold.
"That's right! I'm still alive!" The woman known as Arachnia laughed loudly as she walked into the chamber, though her face contorted violently. "I crawled back out of the depths of hell just to take revenge on you, you sanctimonious hypocrite!"
"Is that so? Unfortunately, I'm not planning on dying." Finn stepped forward and leveled both spears at her. "If you've really come back from the dead, then all I need to do is send you right back down."
That action served as the signal. The members of Loki Familia stepped into the metal chamber.
'Sigh.'
There was no helping it now. Ryoji rubbed his aching temples, suppressing the unease in his heart as he entered a state of calm clarity, preparing himself for the battle about to unfold.
"Who is Arachnia?" Tiona asked quietly.
"Arachnia... Her real name is Valletta," Riveria answered, addressing the younger executives' confusion. "She was one of Evilus's executives and an outstanding commander. She fought against Finn several times in the past. She was supposed to have died during the Nightmare of the 27th Floor, but somehow she's crawled back alive."
An outstanding commander? No wonder Finn had chosen to enter. He clearly understood Valletta's capabilities; if they didn't take this chance to eliminate one of the enemy's leaders, she would undoubtedly cause enormous trouble later.
"How strong is she?" Ryoji asked.
"She was Level 5 six years ago," Riveria's eyes sharpened. "Be careful. There's definitely an ambush waiting for us."
A Level 5, at most a Level 6 now, had willingly appeared before the main force of Loki Familia, which included multiple Level 6 adventurers. Anyone could tell something was terribly wrong.
"We came here because you led us here, didn't you?" Finn casually spun his spears as he approached her, speaking as if they were just making small talk.
"Hmph. More or less." Valletta lifted her chin, a mocking smile appearing on her face. "Trying to bait information out of me, huh? You've always liked pulling those roundabout tricks. But that's fine. I want you to understand exactly why you're dying. That'll make it much more satisfying for me."
The hatred she felt toward Finn was palpable. What would be the point if he died without knowing why?
"Well, then I should thank you for your kindness," Finn's smile remained flawless.
"Stop smiling like that. It makes me sick! You bastard... you're no different from a devil! Six years ago, while our people on the 27th Floor were dying, you stood there smiling and abandoned them just so you could attack our chief god instead! That's how you won your filthy victory, wasn't it?!"
Valletta looked utterly disgusted. The members of Loki Familia fell silent; for most of them, this was the first time hearing about these hidden events. They hadn't expected their captain to have such a ruthless past.
Judging from the conversation, Finn had apparently concluded that the Familia members lured to the 27th Floor were beyond saving. Instead of attempting a futile rescue, he chose to launch a surprise attack on Evilus's chief god. It was precisely because several Evil Gods were sent back to Heaven during that battle that the forces of justice secured their decisive victory.
"Do you have any idea what happened to us in the Dungeon after our chief god was sent back and our Falna was sealed?! I got eaten alive by monsters over and over again!"
"Not that I find that even slightly deserving of sympathy, considering the crimes you've committed," Finn countered coldly.
"You bastard! After crawling back from hell, I swore I'd kill you and take my revenge! I don't care what happens to Evilus, but you absolutely must die! This place will be your grave. I'll bury you and your entire Familia inside this artificial labyrinth, Knossos!"
(End of Chapter)
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