Having lost its defenses, the Juggernaut appeared utterly insignificant before this sword of lightning and flame.
This combined magic technique, created by Ryana, Celty, and Ryuu, was indeed overwhelmingly powerful.
Elise estimated that this strike probably reached the peak power of Level 6, right?
Two Level 3s and one Level 2 producing such power—it was truly unbelievable.
The gap in strength between adventurers of different Levels was enormous. It wasn't as simple as 3+3+2. Without Elise, far fewer people in this world would be capable of fighting beyond their Level.
It was precisely because of Elise's existence that many powerful individuals had emerged in this world. While they hadn't reached the level of transcending worlds, for ordinary people, their numbers had increased several times over.
Whether the birth of so many strong individuals was a good thing for this world... was hard to say.
But Elise wasn't going to worry about what came after.
Anyway, I'll be leaving this place eventually, so whatever happens later has nothing to do with me. Hehe!
Even though the battle against the Juggernaut had ended in victory, there was still plenty left to deal with afterward.
Elise looked down at little Ais sleeping in her arms and finally let out a long sigh. Ais was still too young—she needed proper guidance.
In the earlier battles, whether against Amphisbaena or the Juggernaut, Ais' performance had been far from satisfactory.
But that couldn't be helped. After all, Ais was still just a small child with plenty of room to grow.
Hmm...
Whether it was strength or her figure, Ais had plenty of room to develop.
Elise was confident that with her cooking skills, she could raise Ais even better than in the original story—perhaps even surpass herself. After all, Elise's own body would no longer grow...
After defeating Amphisbaena and the Juggernaut, the Astraea Familia's expedition had essentially come to an end.
Although Elise alone could continue deeper into the dungeon, there was no need. No matter how strong the monsters she fought, the experience she gained wouldn't increase much.
Alise and the others, however, still wanted to push a few more floors downward. While they might not be able to defeat Udaeus, dealing with the blood dragons in the thirties shouldn't be a problem.
These monsters weren't as overwhelmingly powerful as floor bosses, and they would also help deepen their exploration. A win-win situation—why not?
"Then let's continue exploring a bit further down!"
...
Meanwhile, on the 19th floor of the dungeon.
"Should we keep going down?"
"Probably not. This is the closest to a safe floor. Even if we run into strong monsters, we can retreat immediately."
A fairly capable adventurer party had already reached the 19th floor. Given their strength, as long as they avoided casualties, they were sure to become excellent adventurers in the future.
"Alright, we've pretty much finished our tasks. Let's head back... hm?"
Just as they were about to return to the safe floor, something unexpected happened.
The path leading to the 18th floor had become crowded with a massive number of monsters, including quite a few elite ones.
"How are we supposed to fight that?"
Instead of attacking the 18th floor, these monsters continued pushing downward, causing more and more commotion throughout the dungeon.
"Is this... a monster uprising? Or a Monster Feria?"
"Who cares?! Are you seriously thinking of going up and fighting them now?!"
From the 18th floor downward, more and more adventurers were affected by the monster tide. No one wanted to face such numbers, and they all fled deeper into the dungeon.
Unbeknownst to them, they were falling perfectly into someone's trap.
"Run! The monsters are catching up!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Isn't there anyone who can deal with those monsters?!"
The adventurers' expressions grew increasingly panicked. As they descended, the number of monsters multiplied. Even a difference of one or two floors meant a dramatic increase—far beyond what they could handle.
No—perhaps even now, they had no chance. If they encountered that swarm, they would simply be swallowed whole.
This situation continued for several floors. More and more adventurers were terrified by the overwhelming horde and followed the crowd deeper.
But was that really the right choice?
"Heh heh! Keep running!"
Among the fleeing crowd were several figures cloaked in black. From afar, their faces and affiliations were impossible to discern.
But at a time when lives were on the line, no one paid attention to such details.
"No matter how many of you there are, you won't escape!"
"We've prepared thoroughly this time. Even with the support of those major familias, you'll all die here!"
"Then Evilus will rise again! The age of darkness will return! Just wash your necks and wait!"
"Hahahaha!"
The cloaked figures remained hidden within the crowd, waiting for the perfect moment.
"Hey, have you noticed something?"
"While we've been running down, aren't there fewer and fewer monsters?"
"What's going on? Are all the monsters chasing us from behind?"
As time passed, some adventurers began noticing their surroundings.
Normally, monsters spawned randomly. As long as the dungeon detected enemies, monsters would appear nearby.
But now...
Something felt off.
Only when they reached the 24th floor did they finally get a moment to breathe.
This was the Water City Labyrinth—yet not a single monster appeared. Such a situation was beyond abnormal.
"Could it be...?!"
At this point, it was no longer something that could be explained as an accident. Someone had clearly arranged all of this!
"Hahaha! Exactly what you're thinking!"
A figure stood up on a distant platform, grinning maliciously as he looked down at the adventurers below.
"All of this was orchestrated by us!"
"From the monster uprising below the 18th floor to luring you here—it's all part of the plan to wipe you out completely, adventurers of Orario!"
The moment they saw him, everyone understood.
"It's Evilus!"
"Weren't those disgusting bastards already wiped out? Why are they showing up again now?"
"Idiot, it was their main force that got destroyed. Evilus still has remnants!"
The adventurers began screaming, continuing to flee deeper down the floors. Aside from that, they had no other choice.
Break through to the rear?
Are you kidding?
How can you be sure you won't be the next one to die?
"Hahaha, it's already too late."
"We've spent a long time preparing just to lure you here!"
"The monsters from the 18th to the 24th floor, the ones in the Water City Labyrinth, and even a moving floor boss—Amphisbaena!"
The man in the black cloak gradually burst into unrestrained laughter.
"None of you are leaving here alive today!"
Hearing this, countless adventurers showed expressions of despair.
If it were only ordinary monsters, they might still have a chance to fight.
But with a floor boss added in?
How could they possibly win?
The Levels of these adventurers weren't high to begin with!
As for the truly powerful adventurers, they had likely already gone to explore deeper floors.
"Does that mean... we're all going to die here today?"
...
Loki Familia residence, Twilight Manor.
"You called us all here—did something happen, Finn?"
The three executives of the Loki Familia had gathered together.
"It's indeed something very serious, Gareth."
Finn sat in the captain's chair, his expression extremely grave, causing both Gareth and Riveria to grow serious as well.
"Inside the dungeon, for some unknown reason, a monster uprising seems to have occurred... or perhaps it's more like a Monster Feria?"
There was uncertainty in Finn's tone. Clearly, he hadn't fully grasped the situation yet.
"However, according to our contact, all monsters below the safe floor on the 18th level have started moving downward. This situation is extremely abnormal."
Finn bit his finger, and in his mind appeared the figure of the Evilus member who had opposed him for years.
Valletta the Executioner.
"It's almost as if someone is deliberately manipulating it."
But that should be impossible. Valletta had already been captured. There couldn't be a second Valletta in this world!
Unless... Evilus had gained some new talent?
Just thinking about such an unknown variable gave Finn a headache.
"Then should we send reinforcements down? Though I have a feeling it's already too late. Even if we dispatch a team, it would take at least a day to get there. How could the people below possibly hold out that long?"
"There's no helping it, Gareth. We are a familia that upholds order. Only a group like ours has the strength to handle something like this."
"What about the other familias?"
Riveria, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke. Since the Loki Familia had received this information, it was impossible that the others hadn't.
"Ah!"
Finn held his head in frustration.
"The Astraea Familia is on an expedition in the dungeon. Judging by the timing, they should be somewhere in the thirties right now."
"Unfortunately, they probably won't be able to obtain detailed information about what's happening in the twenties. Even if they're relatively close, who knows how deep they've gone?"
"The Freya Familia is the same as always—no reaction. That's to be expected, I suppose."
"As for the Ganesha Familia, they've already dispatched reinforcements. If we're going to send people too, we should hurry."
After hearing Finn's explanation, Riveria fell silent for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"Fine. I'll take responsibility for this rescue mission, Finn."
After speaking, Riveria prepared to return to her room to gather her things. Monsters on the twentieth floors were nothing to her.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you this time, Riveria."
Regardless of success or failure, any familia that participated in this rescue operation would gain a great reputation.
Of course, success would be best—who wouldn't want both fame and profit?
...
"None of you are getting away today!"
"We've already released the bait. It won't be long before the floor boss is drawn here. Soon, all of you will die here!"
As the Evilus leader at the highest point shouted, the black-cloaked figures hidden among the adventurers began to act.
Just as the adventurers prepared to fight the monsters, sudden attacks interrupted them.
"Ah!"
One adventurer was struck violently from behind by a long blade, blood spraying into the air.
He was killed instantly by the sneak attack.
This situation repeated itself throughout the crowd. Countless adventurers engaged in combat with monsters were suddenly attacked from behind, plunging them into chaos and internal strife.
"It's those guys in black cloaks! Take them out quickly!"
"Otherwise we'll all die here!"
But what use was that?
Like Ma Chao chasing Cao Cao—whatever you said, the other side could immediately change.
In the blink of an eye, those cloaked adventurers shed their conspicuous black robes and completely blended into the crowd.
Finding them again would not be easy.
"Damn it!"
Morale among the adventurers had dropped to rock bottom, but the situation wasn't much better on the Evilus side either.
Several cloaked figures gathered together, their expressions extremely grim.
The most important issue was...
Where was the floor boss?
Where did their massive floor boss go?
Had it failed to catch the scent?
For this operation, Evilus had spent a great deal of money to purchase a batch of powder capable of attracting monsters.
And now you're telling me the floor boss is gone?
What kind of ridiculous joke is this?
There hadn't been any news of a familia expedition recently... wait!
There had been one familia that suddenly decided to go on an expedition—they hadn't had time to act...
"Damn that Astraea Familia! They must have already taken down the floor boss!"
"Those damn women!"
Realizing the flaw in their plan, anger appeared on everyone's faces.
But there seemed to be nothing they could do now. After all, Amphisbaena was truly gone.
"No... the floor boss isn't our only trump card!"
Finally, in order to boost morale, the one who appeared to be their leader stepped forward.
He took out something wrapped in multiple layers of cloth from his pocket.
"This is a special item provided by our backers. As long as it's attached to a monster, it can turn it into something incredibly powerful!"
"Oh! Such a treasure actually exists?!"
"If we use it, we'll definitely be able to kill even more people!"
"Then there's no time to waste—let's act!"
As the wrapping was opened, what appeared before them looked like a magic stone.
However, its color was completely different from ordinary magic stones, and inside it... there was something that looked like a baby...
What was this?