Tap! Tap! Tap...
The sound of footsteps echoed through the deep cave. Despite signs of human presence, the Dungeon had not spawned a single monster, a situation that was inherently abnormal.
"What's wrong? Didn't you just head out recently? Why have you returned so suddenly?"
As if seeing a familiar silhouette, a voice drifted from the darkness, and a white-haired man in a black robe stepped out.
"The situation has changed. I've come to notify you."
Once the two finally met, the owner of the footsteps revealed her true appearance.
A woman.
A very beautiful red-haired woman with a well-proportioned figure. Her face betrayed a coldness that did not seem human, yet a fierce fire burned in her eyes, suggesting an abnormal obsession with something.
The woman's name was Revis, a villain from the Danmachi side-story novel Sword Oratoria. She was a hybrid of monster and human, referred to simply as a Creature...
A red-haired Creature!
"Something big seems to have happened in Orario. The whole City is talking about some 'Messiah.' Apparently, it was designated by the Founding God himself..."
"Messiah? Not a 'Hero'?"
The white-haired man seemed unfamiliar with the term. In the Orario of the past, there was no such title as Messiah; there were only 'Heroes' whom no one had yet become.
"I don't know. Who knows what goes on inside the heads of those Deities?"
Unlike typical humans, Revis, being a Creature, held no respect for Deities, maintaining an attitude of disdain instead.
These Deities were, in the end, just people who came to the Lower World to find fun and had never taken a serious stance. Otherwise, how could the monsters of the Lower World have survived until today?
"So, someone has been chosen as the Messiah?"
The man clearly detected something in Revis's tone, and the corners of his mouth split into a grin.
"Two women. I already encountered them in the Dungeon. They seem to possess decent strength; they didn't die even when besieged by hundreds of monsters."
"Then why didn't you kill them?"
The man extended his palm, his expression gradually twisting as tentacles emerged from beneath him.
"If we could kill those two Messiahs, that herd of swine in Orario would surely fall into total despair, wouldn't they? No! The whole world might fall into despair. After all, they are the 'Messiahs,' hahaha!"
"Regrettably, when I encountered them, a Level 6 Adventurer had already arrived, along with several Level 5 Adventurers. They seemed to be the high-ranking members of their Familia."
Revis expressed her regret. Had there been no outside interference at that time, she certainly would have struck to kill those two and dismantle the City of Orario.
However, just as she arrived, she spotted Riveria, Ais, Bete, and the others in the distance. Against so many Adventurers, even Revis would find it difficult to fight; one mistake and her Magic Stone would be shattered, leading to her death.
"Haha, not surprising." The man let out a weird laugh. "They are the Messiahs, after all. They must be protected by a powerful Familia. If they died that easily, I would have to doubt the value of the 'Messiah' title instead, haha!"
Soon, however, the smile vanished from the man's face, and he asked seriously, "So, is there an opportunity?"
The title of Messiah was, in a sense, even more exaggerated than that of Hero.
The world craved Heroes, but it craved a Messiah even more.
But while a Hero had yet to be born, candidates for the Messiah had already appeared—and two at once. This made these Creatures restless.
The man's name was Olivas. He was once an Adventurer of Evilus, but after Evilus was wiped out, he nearly died at the hands of monsters. At the critical moment, it was a Corrupted Spirit that saved him.
Thus, Olivas naturally became a Creature, continuing to accumulate Strength in the deep floors and plotting the Destruction of Orario.
This time, the appearance of the Messiah made him realize that this was an unprecedented opportunity!
As long as the Messiah could be killed, all of Orario would inevitably fall into chaos, just like seven years ago.
"I don't know. But that Level 6 Adventurer was a green-haired Elf..."
Revis was truly unfamiliar with the Adventurers and could only describe the individual's characteristics, letting Olivas judge which house they belonged to.
A green-haired Elf?
And Level 6?
The person's identity was practically shouting itself out. In the current Orario, only one person fit that description—one of the Two Walls of Orario...
"The Loki Familia!"
"Finn and the others are old rivals of mine!"
Upon realizing it was a job by old acquaintances, Olivas's expression immediately became excited.
"It makes sense. For Messiahs with such unprecedented potential, of course Loki or the Freya Familia would have to protect them. After all, no one else is qualified!"
"Loki, Gareth, Riveria... I didn't expect to be rivals with you again. I'm just too happy, hahahaha!"
Having turned into a fusion of human and monster, Olivas's mental state seemed to have undergone an extreme change, becoming even more terrifying.
In contrast, Revis maintained her cold expression. She walked quietly toward the depths of the cave, sat down beside a certain green object, and began to devour monster Magic Stones.
As Creatures, Revis and Olivas possessed the ability to devour Magic Stones to increase their Strength. This was why they currently possessed strength at the Level 5 grade, and could even face off against some Level 6 opponents.
But it wasn't enough!
Although Revis didn't pay much attention to human intelligence, she knew that the current strongest in Orario was Level 7, which was not something she could deal with. With the appearance of the Messiah, the enemies of the future would only be stronger.
Thus, Revis had to devour more Magic Stones to make herself stronger!
"Not just those two Messiahs, but Aria as well!"
When she saw the Messiah and her Familia friends, Revis detected a throb in her chest, as if she had encountered an old acquaintance.
Looking in the direction of that heart-fluttering sensation, a golden figure surfaced before Revis's eyes.
There was no mistake; that was "Aria"!
The Spirit Aria!
In order to eliminate those two Messiahs and to seize Aria, Revis abandoned any immediate plans to act and began to accumulate Strength instead.
She knew that with her current Level 5 strength, she simply couldn't achieve her goals.
"Therefore, I must become stronger!"
"Strong enough... to crush all of Orario!"