Revis's defeat wasn't in Dionysus's plan.
However, since the era of the Zeus and Hera Familias, Dionysus had been plotting how to blow up Orario.
Over such a long time, he had considered all sorts of possibilities, including Revis's defeat.
This was also why he kept Filvis by his side.
Filvis possessed the highest level of potential among Monsters and had extremely high compatibility with the Corrupted Spirit.
If something went wrong with the other Monsters, even if Filvis was unwilling, the Corrupted Spirit would find her.
Understanding the situation through Filvis and making new plans based on emergencies wasn't hard for Dionysus.
And now, after learning Lynn's true strength, he also thought of a countermeasure.
A blitz on the Hestia Familia.
No matter how strong an adventurer was, as long as you captured their deity, you held their weakness.
Control Hestia, then use her as a threat to deal with Lynn or pull him into his camp.
This was Dionysus's plan.
Of course, this plan still had many issues.
Not long ago, Ishtar was mysteriously sent back to the heavens, which had already rattled the nerves of many gods.
If something similar happened again, all of Orario would move to find the culprit.
But things had come to this, and it wasn't the time to worry about consequences.
If what the Corrupted Spirit said was true, the threat of the Hestia Familia was even greater than that of the Freya Familia.
He had to capture Hestia before Lynn and the others returned to the surface to prevent the Artificial Labyrinth from falling.
"To see Goddess Hestia?"
At the entrance of the Hestia Familia, the two Amazons on guard exchanged looks and asked.
"Lord God, could you give us your name?"
"Of course. My name is Dionysus. I was an old friend of Hestia's in the heavens."
A smile appeared on Dionysus's face.
His usual disguise worked at this moment, and a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere emanated from him.
The two Amazons didn't suspect anything; one led him and Filvis to the drawing room, while the other went deeper into the Familia to report to Hestia.
An hour later, Hestia walked into the drawing room: "Sorry, Dionysus. I kept you waiting."
Having not seen Hestia for a while and thinking something might have gone wrong, Dionysus relaxed: "It's nothing. After all, I came to see you so suddenly."
Hestia sat on the sofa: "Coming so suddenly, I assume it's not just to catch up."
Dionysus nodded: "I have a private matter I'd like to ask you about."
Hestia asked: "What is it?"
Dionysus: "I heard Lynn's strength rivals a Level 7 adventurer. Is that true?"
Hestia: "It's true~"
Dionysus was stunned: "..."
She actually answered truthfully.
Based on his understanding of Hestia, shouldn't she be asking with a look of surprise where he heard such news?
"Where did you hear that news... Dionysus, you aren't expecting me to say that, are you?"
"...Even though you've only been in the lower world for half a year, your change seems greater than hundreds of millions of years in the heavens, Hestia."
"Well~ if you had a childlike Lynn, you'd be influenced no matter how much you tried to convince yourself otherwise."
Hestia glanced at Filvis: "So, are you here to capture me? To use me to threaten Lynn?"
Dionysus frowned: "It seems you know more than I imagined. In that case, why do you still dare to appear before me? Do you think a few words can scare me off?"
As he spoke, Filvis stepped forward, intending to strike first and control Hestia.
But at that moment, a dangerous aura enveloped her.
Subconsciously, Filvis raised her staff in front of her.
Bang—!
A dull collision sounded, and a massive force far beyond imagination struck her.
Filvis wasn't prepared and was directly blown away by this sneak attack, smashing through the wall behind her and disappearing from the drawing room.
"There's someone else here?!"
Dionysus's pupils contracted as he realized the truth.
"Of course, I came prepared too."
A smile appeared on Hestia's face: "Take, I'll leave the rest to you."
"Don't worry! I'm ready!"
The ceiling suddenly collapsed, and Take-Mikazuchi and Mikoto dropped from directly above, landing precisely next to Dionysus.
Dionysus was about to flee the drawing room, but as soon as he stood up, he was pinned to the spot by Take-Mikazuchi's backhand.
Without being able to use divine power, the God of War, like the Goddess of Beauty, was an absolutely overpowered existence; handling a God of Wine was as easy for him as eating or drinking.
"Let go of God Dionysus!"
Filvis's scream rang out, and at the same time, a magic storm surged from outside the drawing room.
As a Level 2, Mikoto was completely unable to withstand this aura.
But at the critical moment of life and death, she still acted subconsciously, standing in front of Take-Mikazuchi and Hestia.
The dust slowly cleared, and the source of the magic leapt up—it was Filvis, who had just been blown away by the invisible attack.
Compared to a few seconds ago, her appearance had changed drastically. Her black hair had grown longer and trailed on the ground, a root-like organ grew from her chest, and things like leaf veins or blood vessels spread across the girl's skin.
"Let go of God Dionysus."
Filvis slowly walked into the drawing room, her beautiful crimson eyes having turned deep blue at some point.
"Otherwise, all of you will die."
"You intend to slay a god?"
The expression on Take-Mikazuchi's face became serious.
That fleeting killing intent was no joke.
To save Dionysus, she truly had the thought of attacking him and Hestia.
"Filvis, don't do it."
At this point, it was Dionysus who calmed down.
Compared to Filvis, as a god, he understood better what it meant for a mortal to slay a god.
Telling Filvis to stay where she was, he turned to look at Hestia.
"I was really careless. I didn't expect you to be so well-prepared. Did you anticipate I would come?"
"I wasn't the one who anticipated this."
Hestia took a letter from her bosom.
This was a letter Lynn had given her before going to the Dungeon.
The content was simple; the sender stated they would be returning to Orario, and the timing was exactly yesterday.
Because he had to go to the deep floors to deal with the anomaly, Lynn left the matter of receiving the person to Hestia.
"Ryuu, come out."
"Yes."
A response rang out from thin air.
The next second, a slender Elf Maiden with short green hair appeared beside Hestia.
She held a helmet that helped with invisibility in her left hand and a dark green wooden sword in her right, her gaze meeting Filvis's.
That's right, she was the one who wrote the letter.
After killing Karyo half a month ago and resolving her inner turmoil under Lynn's guidance, she decided to move forward again.
Ryuu left Orario, found Astraea whom she hadn't seen in a long time, and asked her to update her blessing.
The judgment of a deed is very complex, coming from many aspects.
Fighting the Remnants of the Dark Faction for the past few years, walking on the edge of life and death countless times, and standing up again and again.
Ending the Remnants of the Dark Faction, and still fighting for justice after moving into The Hostess of Fertility, performing heroic deeds everywhere.
Plus killing Karyo with her own hands and overcoming her past inner demons, Ryuu had accumulated an extremely rich number of deeds.
Just like in the original story, after updating her blessing, Ryuu achieved the feat of consecutive level-ups, breaking through from Level 4 to Level 6.
Her powerful strength gave her confidence, and with the exclusive weapon Astraea prepared for her, Ryuu wrote a letter to inform Lynn of everything before returning to Orario.
But just yesterday, when she rushed back to Orario and came to the Hestia Familia, she didn't see Lynn.
According to Hestia, Lynn and the members of the Loki Familia had gone to the deep floors of the Dungeon to resolve an anomaly.
However, before leaving, he left a message for her.
[Hestia might be in danger while I'm away. Protect her for a couple of days for me, and I'll treat you to a meal when I get back. ]
"I didn't expect him to actually predict it."
Ryuu stepped in front of Mikoto, taking the place of the Level 2 girl to confront Filvis.
Despite having broken through to Level 6, Ryuu still felt a massive pressure when facing Filvis.
"I've heard of your name, compatriot. What made you abandon your noble body to fall to this state?"
"Abandon?"
Filvis's aura fluctuated again.
She also recognized Ryuu.
But it was precisely because of this that she felt fate had played a joke on her.
Both had lost their companions in an accident.
Ryuu, who followed her companions' last wishes and fled the battlefield, survived and even completed her revenge and reached Level 6.
She, who stayed behind to fight with her companions, lost her life and was transformed into a Monster by the Corrupted Spirit, unable even to seek death.
Being told by such a person that she had abandoned her noble body made her want to blast her to death with magic.
But considering that Dionysus was still in the enemy's hands, she forcibly suppressed the killing intent in her heart and replied.
"I have nothing to say to you."
"Release God Dionysus. I can swear to leave this place with him and abandon the plot against Orario."
"... I cannot decide this matter."
Ryuu could sense that this matter was extremely complex behind the scenes.
Not daring to make a decision on her own, she looked towards Hestia.
At the same time, Filvis and Dionysus also turned their gazes, everyone waiting for her reply.
"Filvis, lower your hostility."
Under the gaze of everyone, Hestia slowly spoke.
"I know your strength is great, even comparable to an LV7 adventurer, but Lynn anticipated this situation long ago."
"What you see now is only what I allow you to see. In reality, there are other hidden cards in the dark."
"If you force a fight, you have no chance of winning."
After her words fell, Hestia's gaze shifted to the side.
"Dionysus, your plan has already failed. If you don't want to be sent back to the heavens, cooperate a little."
"... Perhaps I should join the Loki Familia."
Dionysus fell silent for a moment, letting out a self-deprecating laugh.
Having schemed in secret for over a decade, only to be captured alive before even making a splash, it was truly clownish.
"Filvis, withdraw your power."
...