"What do we do?"
After thinking for a moment, Lili looked at Cao Ye and asked.
To her, the Soma Familia was no different from a living hell.
The people there were no longer human in her eyes.
They were monsters.
And Lili had wished for their deaths countless times.
Both of Lili's parents had been members of the Soma Familia.
Which meant Lili herself had been born into the same familia.
Many years ago, her parents entered the Dungeon in desperate need of money.
They died in battle.
Inside the familia, Lili was constantly bullied.
Outside, adventurers also exploited her endlessly.
Eventually, she tried to escape the familia for a short time.
But when a kind couple running a flower shop took her in—
Members of the Soma Familia destroyed the shop.
The couple was blamed for the incident.
From that moment on, Lili became hated by others.
That experience caused her to deeply resent adventurers.
Because she had always been the one oppressed in the Soma Familia, when she first met the original protagonist in the story, she was already in a state close to self-abandonment.
So if she could take revenge on those scum in the Soma Familia—
Lili wouldn't hesitate even for a second.
"You can do it… right now."
Cao Ye looked at Lili and smiled.
For him—
Hatred wasn't a problem.
In fact, it was useful.
What he feared most wasn't hatred.
It was the absence of it.
For the first time, Lili raised her head and met Cao Ye's gaze.
It was hard to believe.
The girl who looked like a child was actually already far past the stage of childhood.
But because she was a Pallum, her small body made her appear like a young girl.
"Take me to the Soma Familia's headquarters."
"You don't need to worry about anything else."
"I'll handle the rest."
"Okay."
There was no doubt.
No questioning.
Just obedience.
Whatever Cao Ye planned—
As long as it meant punishing the Soma Familia, Lili would follow him.
Even if it meant sacrificing herself.
Soon, the two of them left the Dungeon together.
The place where Cao Ye had fought Sukuna was on one of the upper floors, so returning didn't take long.
And now—
Cao Ye was curious to see how the Soma Familia would react.
The Soma Familia was a well-known large familia in Orario.
It had many members.
But every single one of them was addicted to divine wine.
To call them followers of Soma would be inaccurate.
They were followers of the wine itself.
In their hearts, divine wine came first.
Everything else came later.
Soma, the god of wine, was famous even in Heaven.
He was obsessed with brewing the perfect divine wine.
Even after descending to the Lower World, he managed to create divine wine using nothing but materials, techniques, and mixing methods—without relying on the "Mystery" ability of any smith.
Many adventurers joined his familia because they admired the wine.
But once they tasted it—
They became completely controlled by the pleasure it produced.
To drink it again, they had to pay money to Soma.
Only then could they taste the wine once more.
But the cruel truth was—
Most of them spent their entire lives chasing a half-finished product.
Because in the Lower World, Soma simply lacked the materials needed to brew the true divine wine.
As time passed, Soma became more and more obsessed with perfecting his wine.
He expanded the familia constantly in order to collect more money.
After all, brewing divine wine required enormous amounts of valis.
Eventually, however, Soma grew deeply disappointed.
Because once his followers tasted the wine, they could never escape its control.
Disgusted by their weakness, Soma withdrew from managing the familia entirely.
He devoted himself only to brewing.
To him—
Those children had already lost their value.
But Soma had forgotten something important.
Even gods in Heaven could be affected by divine wine.
Expecting children of the Lower World to resist it was simply impossible.
Yes, a few rare individuals could resist.
But expecting everyone to do so was absurd.
"Arde, you're finally back."
Just as Lili and Cao Ye were about to leave the Dungeon, several people stepped out from a nearby corner.
Cao Ye glanced at them.
Most were beastmen.
And through his perception, he could see that each of them was surrounded by dense black evil.
Lili's body trembled slightly.
Fear filled her eyes.
These men were the lowest scum of Orario.
They lacked the strength to survive honestly.
So they preyed on people weaker than themselves.
The elderly.
The sick.
Or the helpless.
And Lili—
A girl with no parents, no strength, and only capable of working as a supporter—
Was the perfect target.
Although her heart had already grown numb, she still earned more money than many supporters.
Which made her a frequent victim of their extortion.
Most of the valis she earned was taken away.
Even then, she survived only because she managed to hide small portions of it.
"Hmm?"
"And who's this guy?"
"Your new sugar daddy?"
Because Cao Ye looked extremely refined and handsome, the men didn't take him seriously at all.
In Orario, there were many noble-looking young men like that.
But most of them had little real strength.
"C-Cao Ye… sir…"
Years of fear made Lili extremely weak in their presence.
To her, these men were like nightmares.
"Sir?"
"Hahaha!"
"This pretty boy?"
"You're calling him 'sir' now, Arde?"
"You've really fallen low."
The men laughed mockingly.
The others also sneered.
Orario was a cruel and realistic city.
Respect was given only to strength.
Not to appearance.
Because here—
People died every day.
Hearing their mockery, Cao Ye smiled.
Since these men were nothing but trash—
He had no reason to hold back.
"Hand over your evil… to me."
As he spoke, a pure black Manjusaka flower bloomed behind him.
It swayed gently in the air, eerily beautiful.
Under the influence of the Flower of Evil, the darkness within those men began to manifest.
"What did you do?!"
Suddenly they realized something terrifying.
Their bodies could no longer move.
At the same time, they felt something draining from inside them.
Whatever it was—
It was leaving faster and faster.
They didn't know what it was.
But their instincts told them one thing.
They were in terrible danger.