Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka Gaiden – Sword Oratoria - Volume 12 - Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 AN EVIL OMEN 

This god had been waiting forever—biding their time until they could fling off the mask and cackle, until the moment they could unleash the wickedness inside them. 
Those in the city are nauseatingly blissful in their ignorance. And I wanted to spit on the mortals and gods around me. 
Everyone seems to agree that peace is the natural way of the world. But all I carry with me is annoyance and a murderous impulse. To keep those little shits from catching on, I wore the mask of a deity of character and engaged with my surroundings with great care. 
Some said I was a righteous deity…What a joke. 
Some entreated me, wanting my love…If you knew the real me, would you say the same? 
Some wanted a vow to be counted as one of my followers…Fine, then I’ll use you until you can give no more. 
All this god saw across their plastered smile was a scene of perpetual gray. Reflecting in their eyes was a sight unbearably repulsive—something unlovable, something unfulfilling, something wrong. That was why the god would open the gates of hell. 
Throw open the doors to the surface and summon the monsters aboveground. 
For the Dungeon desired this, too. 
I will become the labyrinth’s mouthpiece and go in search of what lies beyond this age of chaos. 
That was right. This god had been waiting forever. For the time to be ripe. For the moment when the die would be cast by their own hand. For the instant the bridges would be burned. 
There were finally those in search of their identity, attempting to reach out to touch their shadow, but they were already too late. 
Even though they had gone to the trouble of leaving hints. Even though they had given the seekers a fair chance to stop this plan. Even though I enjoyed the game of finding the culprit. Even though I was always watching, deep within the threshold between intoxication and frenzy, jeering at you. 
Enyo laughed out loud at Orario. 
 
“That’s impossible!” Fels suddenly shouted. 
The four torches were crackling as they burned. The mage’s voice echoed in the dim room lit not by magic-stone lamps but by simple fire. 
Fels was in the altar beneath Guild Headquarters. The Chamber of Prayers where the old god Ouranos sat. 
“To say Demeter Familia is…To say the goddess Demeter is…Enyo!” Fels reflexively rebuked this report. 
Hermes Familia had investigated Demeter Familia ’s home. They had just gotten intel that the goddess and every last one of her followers had disappeared—and that there was an ominous message left behind in the basement. 
“Demeter is one of the gods who supported Orario, like Zeus and Hera! There’s no way she could be Enyo!” 
Which was to say, it would be a big disgrace if that was the case, though the mage in the black robe didn’t say that out loud. 
The primary activity in Demeter’s familia was agriculture. From grains to vegetables to fruits, most produce brought into Orario had been harvested by them. Demeter Familia had been running all major farms outside the city, single-handedly supplying much of Orario with food. They were even more crucial than Nj ? r?r Familia , who contributed large amounts of seafood. 
In fact, her familia was larger than Ganesha Familia if the count included noncombatant workers at the big farm outside the city who had not received a Blessing. 
Because they focused on production and business, the familia lacked combat strength, though it was still a C-rank familia. 
Many said that if Demeter Familia disappeared, people would starve and the city would fall into an eternal winter. 
“Just how much do you think she’s done to maintain peace and order in Orario?!” Fels yelled, arms swinging wildly in frustration. 
“However, there is no changing that Enyo’s tracks were left in her home,” Ouranos responded, sitting on the altar. 
“Gh—” 
“And Demeter is the one goddess who can freely go in and out of the city.” 
Ouranos spoke only of the reality of the situation, leaving Fels at a loss for words. 
Leaving the city required a complicated series of formalities due to the regulations set by the Guild. However, Demeter had been exempted from those restrictions, since she ran farms and a base outside the city. 
The ability to freely move in and out of the city was crucial to this series of events as nothing less would have allowed the exporting of the Xenos to bankroll Knossos and the trading of man-eating flowers to Meren, among other things. The Evils and their underground allies must have entered and exited Orario often. If she could leave the city without arousing suspicion and keep her true intentions hidden, this entire operation would have been a breeze for Demeter. 
The other familias exempted from these formalities were Ganesha Familia , who maintained the de facto police force of Orario, and Hermes Familia , who dabbled in a little bit of everything. It also went without saying that those two gods had already been taken off the suspect list. 
“At the very least, the investigation has raised enough evidence to suspect Demeter.” 
The greatest blow in this case was how her entire familia had disappeared at a time like this. It would be impossible not to be suspicious of her connection to the incident after that. And more than anything, her relationship with Dionysus seemed suspect. 
As the controllers of the food sources for the city, Demeter Familia alone—meaning Demeter—could gather the special grapes used to create divine wine and slip it to Dionysus. Demeter could smile like nothing was wrong as she poured him a glass to get him drunk. She could whisper in his ear and turn him into her puppet. 
“…What do you think, Ouranos?” Fels managed to ask with no other arguments to offer. The mage struggled with sorrow as the flickering torchlight in the dim room projected an imagined scene. 
“……” Ouranos closed his eyes as the mage sought an answer, cloaking himself in silence for a time. The torches crackled, echoing through the room. 
“If…” The old god finally began to speak. “If I am right…then we must find where Demeter is now.” 
“…” 
“As soon as possible. Before it is too late,” he said, laying down his unyielding divine will. Ouranos declared his intent with regards to the goddess from his homeland. 
“…Understood, Ouranos. I will follow your divine will. That is why I am here.” 
Fels didn’t argue against this, promising to carry out the divine will that had been unveiled. To become an attendant to that will, the mage shut off all doubt and agitation—to act as a faithful ghost. 
“Ouranos, I’d like to speak to you about another issue,” Fels said, shifting to a different topic. “With the extraordinary efforts of Ganesha Familia , the general public does not know about the existence of Knossos, but…there is no hiding the pillars reaching for the heavens.” 
Gods had returned back above during the first assault. The pillars of light had shot up toward the sky with force and deafening explosions, piercing through Knossos and the ground before reaching the heavens. 
“Everyone in the city saw the return of Dionysus and Thanatos. Two pillars went up in succession. It’s unreasonable to tell them to believe it was nothing.” 
“Have Royman deal with explaining to the citizens and gods of the city. Fels, continue to assist Ganesha’s children and the Xenos and proceed with the investigation of Knossos. Leave the investigation of Demeter to Hermes Familia ,” Ouranos ordered. 
“Very well. But, Ouranos…” Fels’s black robes trembled, as if announcing the final truth. 
“…The people are not stupid…Even if they can’t grasp the situation, they will realize something is coming all the same.” 
 
Fels was right. News of the omen had spread through the city, slinking around the streets. 
“A god returned to the heavens…And two of them at that.” 
“The Guild said it was just a small dispute, but…they haven’t announced which gods were sent back. I feel like they’re hiding something.” 
“And there was that incident in the Pleasure Quarter where Ishtar was sent back, too. Things have been weird lately. Maybe something’s happening.” 
“Also, when the light went off, it was in the southeast side of the city. That was where the monsters appeared on Daedalus Street, too…” 
On the street corners, the citizens were trying to handle a ripple of unease gripping the city, though it was far from panic. With the two gods’ pillars on their minds, everyone was talking to anyone who would listen. And once people started talking, rumors spread like wildfire. 
The people’s guesses led to more speculation, which had a hint of the truth as unease spread through the city. 
“Apparently, Ganesha Familia has set up base on Daedalus Street.” 
“They’ve only got gatekeepers out, and I’ve seen nothing more than the bare minimum number of guards everywhere else.” 
“I heard Loki Familia ’s been busy, too.” 
“Daedalus Street again? Do you think they were lying when they said they had gotten rid of all the monsters on the surface? Maybe there are some monsters that are still lurking around?” 
In a bar filled with rough people, adventurers were talking about the current situation, since they were particularly sensitive to the city’s undercurrents. The rumors paired well with their beers. A merchant who was socializing got pulled in to the conversation, and the story started to move beyond the city. The more they all talked, the more authentic it began to sound. 
“If it comes to that, we can just leave it to Little Rookie—ah, he’s supposed to be called Rabbit Foot now, huh? He’ll beat that minotaur this time!” 
“Ha-ha-ha, that’d be nice!” 
Even in moments like these, they didn’t forget to throw in the occasional joke, sandwiching the conversation with bouts of laughter. But they undoubtedly possessed the ability to sniff out something fishy. While there were some who went to the Guild the next day, there were others who exchanged information with friendly factions. Most of their patron gods and goddesses smacked their lips, wondering what was coming and what would happen, getting excited by the ache of their divine intuition, waiting for the day that would be arriving soon. 
There were many predictions, but most familias did not skimp on preparing for the worst scenario. 
“Damn…What is this disgusting wall of meat…?” 
Meanwhile, there were some adventurers much closer to the epicenter of events. 
The huge dwarf was swinging a battle hammer to break down the oppressive mass, wiping the sweat from his brow. There was no end to the mysterious fleshy matter, even when they dug deep into the earth. 
“Keep your hands moving and your lips shut, you asinine dwarf. This is a mission,” complained a male elf. 
Since he had only one arm, the elf couldn’t swing a weapon, so he was whispering a spell and casting magic instead. 
“Hmph, quit nagging me, elf! Talk to me again after you’ve worked a bit yourself!” 
“What did you say?!” 
“You heard me!” 
As if symbolizing relations between the two races, the dwarf and elf were predictably quarrelling. The dwarf’s name was Dormul, and the elf was called Luvis. 
Though he was a dwarf, Dormul was an adventurer boasting a height of over 170 celches, and Luvis was a handsome but high-strung embodiment of elf-dom. Both were Level 3, making them upper-tier adventurers, and their familia had been rated by the Guild as a mid-level faction with high battle potential. 
Along with their comrades, they had been called on to help remove the green flesh. The location was a place connected to the side of the ninth floor of the Dungeon. After passing an orichalcum gate, there was an area covered by the bizarre material—the interior of Knossos. 
“Those assholes from the Guild. We just got back from the lower levels of the Dungeon! Working us to the bone…” 
“You got that right. Digging holes should be left to dwarves.” 
Because of a top secret mission handed down by the Guild, there were several other dwarves and elves working around them. The order was to dig a path through the green flesh, so they had carved out a tunnel, with the dwarves taking the lead. 
They were shooting the breeze, but Dormul and Luvis were paying close attention. Like a monster, there was no doubt the green flesh was alive, and if they let their guard down, it would try to ensnare them. 
“It seems a handful of the prominent guilds have been given this sort of mission. They’ve sent out other familias with second-tier adventurers like us,” Luvis quietly mentioned to Dormul. 
Which meant this was a restricted mission given out only to factions that could be trusted. 
“Given the timing…do you think it’s related to the returns of those gods?” 
“You mean what happened while we were in the Dungeon? It would be foolish to tie it all together so simply, but there’s certainly enough to think something is up…” 
The grotesque wall in front of them continued to undulate. Unable to contain their disgust, the two kept talking quietly to themselves. 
“Not just that. We’ve got folks from Ganesha Familia , too…It’s almost like they’re monitoring us. I don’t like it.” 
Dormul was right. There were upper-tier adventurers from Ganesha Familia in their party. With swords at their hips and guards up, the second-tier adventurers were observing Dormul and the others. The atmosphere was tense. 
Based on that stance…rather than watching our every move…it’s more like they’re keeping an eye on this green flesh that couldn’t possibly be from the Dungeon… 
The sharp elf suspected that the members from Ganesha Familia were not there to monitor them at all. They were not observers but protectors who would spring into action in the event of an emergency. 
The green flesh had sprouted on the fringes of the Dungeon, which alone cemented its place as an Irregular. 
“…Either way, we were given a mission. All we can do is complete it.” 
They weren’t really allowed to question the mission. There was no need for them to know what was going on. Or, more bluntly, they weren’t allowed to know. However, these adventurers could see the Guild’s discomposure on full display. 
While Luvis and Dormul kept clearing the green flesh, they thought about this series of events: the appearance of armed monsters on Daedalus Street and the gods’ returns to heaven. 
“Lord Dionysus ain’t coming…?” 
“I’m sure he’s busy. He must be if he can’t even come to drink some of his beloved wine…” 
In a cozy neighborhood of the city, the people’s faces were clouded over. A certain god had stopped coming around, even though he had always made a point of dropping by and chatting with them. 
Was it a curse that the residents had no way of knowing the events that had transpired? Or was it a blessing? Either way, the god’s absence was a noticeable change in their lives and fostered a growing unease. 
“Hey, Mom, when is Lord Dionysus coming?” 
“Next time, we’re gonna get him to let us join his familia.” 
“You know it.” 
The innocent laughter of the children echoed toward the cloudless blue sky that should have been so beautiful. 
“Ah, Lady Hestia!” 
In a different location, the lively voices of more unknowing children called out. 
“Hey there, Fina. And you too, Lai and Ruu. I brought Jyaga Maru Kun snacks today, too.” 
“Thanks, Lady Hestia!” 
“Thank you very much…” 
Hugging back the chienthrope girl, the goddess smiled at the human and half-elf children. 
Because the Labyrinth District was being rebuilt, the residents of the slum had been moved to temporary residences in the northwest. Even though she hadn’t told the captain of her familia about it much, Hestia had developed an attachment to the orphanage there, often giving them donations and visiting to regale them with tales of her followers’ adventures. 
“Has anything strange happened around here lately? Or is anything bothering you?” she asked them nonchalantly. 
“Mmmm, we asked Miss Maria and the other adults what was happening with Daedalus Street.” 
“They told us not to go near there…” 
“When will we be able to go back…?” 
The children made various faces as they responded, when a human boy suddenly raised his voice. 
“Oh yeah! Lady Loki was just here.” 
“Loki…?” 
“Yeah. She was talking with the adults…I think she was looking for someone.” 
The goddess, who had come to observe the city’s situation for herself and to blow off some steam, fell silent at the children’s words. 
“I’ve…got a bad feeling about this.” 
Her soft words disappeared into the unnaturally clear sky. A disturbance was quietly but slowly enveloping the city. 

 
“…Everyone is so agitated. This is different from the usual Orario,” Tione murmured as she pulled aside the curtain and peeked out the window. 
Beneath the blue sky, the hustle and bustle out in the streets was hard to describe as “peaceful.” She turned around and looked back to the room. 
“Well, it was worse back when you guys came out aboveground, I guess,” Tione said. 
“…I am extremely sorry for what happened.” 
She was talking to someone who was using somewhat clumsy Koine. If a normal person had seen the speaker, they would have passed out from shock or drawn their weapon. For instead of two arms, she had two wings. 
“It’s so weird to have a monster apologize to me—enough to make even an Amazon like me feel faint and taken aback…Anyway, I’m half-tempted to pinch my cheek and make sure I’m not dreaming.” 
Rei the siren smiled bitterly as Tione unconsciously made a strange face. 
When they had been carrying out the first assault and a trap turned Knossos into a deadly prison, Rei had separated from the other Xenos to rescue the adventurers. Because of that, Loki Familia had been saved from a terrible fate by a hairbreadth. 
This was why she was alone aboveground in the aftermath. Loki Familia had taken her in and brought her to Twilight Manor—under strictest secrecy of course. The lower-level members knew nothing of it. Only a select handful of people knew that Rei was there. 
“I should have gone to Fels in the first place, but…” 
Rei herself seemed to recognize that her presence in a room of surface dwellers could be compared to a black blotch that had found its way onto a painting. She wrapped her wings around her body and hunched her shoulders, as if apologizing for even being there. 
Her actions and posture in the chair were incredibly un-monster-like, which was a weird phrase to Tione, but she could not think of a better way to describe it. 
“…It is what it is. Guild Headquarters doesn’t have any extra capacity. After all, the flow of people and adventurers going through there is higher than ever, so this is the right place for you to hide.” 
Tione sighed a little at her own logic and changed direction as she continued the discussion—as if her conversational partner was another person. The speed with which she changed her focus—or rather the level of indifference—was worthy of being called an Amazon. 
“And? How long are you planning to keep that up, Alicia?” 
“T-Tione…” 
“As soon as you lift your head, you go back to staring at the ground.” 
In this room at the top floor of the northwest spire of Twilight Manor, which was an aggregation of spires, there was one other person besides Tione and Rei—Alicia the elf. 
“I know you made a point of bringing this food, but isn’t it totally cold by now?” 
Tione was right. There was a meal placed on the table. As one of the seniors in the familia, Alicia was one of the people admonishing Aiz, Lefiya, and the other juniors, but at the moment, Tione had taken on that role. If anyone else had seen it, they would have commented on this odd scene. 
In other words, that was just how much Rei left Alicia at a loss. 
“I tagged along, since you said you were coming. Didn’t you have something you wanted to say?” 
Alicia was among those who had been saved by Rei. During the battle on Daedalus Street when they had faced off with the Xenos, Rei had protected her from the creature Levis’s blade in Knossos. 
“I…” 
She had not yet been able to put what she wanted to say into words, or perhaps she simply had no idea what she should say. It was difficult enough to even look at Rei. The Xenos woman had an awkward smile on her face, but still, she welcomed it. 
Unable to meet her eyes. Unable to exchange words. And yet, Alicia was groping for a way to approach Rei. For a Xenos like Rei, just being allowed to be at Alicia’s side was salvation, a step forward—as opposed to rejection and extermination. 
“In that case, I’ll take care of what I came for first,” Tione blurted out. 
As if demonstrating the difference between the high-strung elf and the uncomplicated Amazon, Tione walked up to Rei. Without any care if the siren was taken aback by the sudden approach, Tione planted her hands on Rei’s shoulders, not shrinking back because they were the shoulders of a monster. 
“—Thank you. Thanks to you, the man I love was saved. You have my gratitude.” 
And she thanked her; as Rei gazed in wonder, Tione looked into the siren’s eyes. 
Loki Familia had taken on the risk of harboring a monster because she had rescued their captain, Finn. If it had not been for her, they would have lost Braver, and Loki Familia would have effectively been unable to stand back up on its two legs. Neither Finn, who owed her his life, nor their patron goddess, Loki, nor the rest would abandon the savior of their familia. 
Lowering her head, Tione said, “Thank you so much,” one more time. 
With visible shock in her eyes, Rei’s lips finally parted into a real smile—as if there was nothing more that could move her other than thanks from a human. 
“—But if you fall for the captain, I’ll crush you.” 
“What?” 
“And if you try to flirt with him, I’ll make you wish you were never born.” 
All of a sudden, there was something pitch-black lurking in Tione’s eyes, darker than the abyss itself—as if she was a berserker for love. Those eyes were more frightening than an adventurer who simply killed monsters. Tione would always be Tione, even when facing an Irregular monster, and this made Alicia drop her tensed shoulders in amicable exasperation. 

 

Despite getting a little flustered, Rei managed to deal with the emotionless eyes focused on her in her own way. 
“Your face is really cute for a monster. And you’ve got a nice rack, too. If you tried to seduce the captain in exchange for saving him…” 
“I-I’d never do that! P-plus, I already have someone in mind…! Someone who is totally kind and brave with a cute smile like B-b-beyll-rghllll…!” Rei stammered in a state of panic as she responded to the ominous warnings, muttering the name of the person who instantly came mind, which had come out as an unintelligible “B-b-beyll.” 
At that, Tione stopped moving and looked puzzled. 
“Ohhh? You’ve got your eye on someone?” 
“I’m not sure I’d put it like that…” Looking extremely embarrassed, she softly murmured, “I cannot embrace anyone with these wings…but if there was someone who would hold me…that would make me very happy…” 
The siren’s fair face reddened, flushing her elven features. She looked like a maiden in love, just like any other girl. 
“I see…Monsters can fall in love, too,” Tione whispered, letting her go. 
“Honestly, I don’t really have much of an opinion on Xenos. If you get in our way, I’ll slap you down, and if you’re willing to help us, I’ll gladly accept. About the same as I feel about other adventurers.” 
“…” 
“But yeah…I want to talk a bit more with you.” Tione flashed a cheerful smile—though it wasn’t because of that. 
It was as though she were Tiona. They hadn’t reached a mutual understanding yet, but they had found a feeling that was unmistakably shared by a person and a monster. It was not great or noble but just some gossip between young girls. 
“In order to do that…we have to crush that stupid labyrinth and clear up the mess in this city.” 
Tione’s expression changed as she looked out the window again. Her eyes locked onto the southeast, to Daedalus Street, where the demonic lair, Knossos, lay in wait. Rei also tensed as she saw the adventurer’s focused gaze. 
“…” 
When Tione glanced at Alicia, she did not look away this time. Her hands clenched in her lap. She had a mountain of things she wanted to say. However, her next words were directed just at Rei. 
“…Could you help us?” 
The siren smiled in response. “Of course.” 
As if her response had long been decided. 
“To be able to fly in the sky, to be allowed in the light aboveground—and to be able to join hands with you, that is what we dream of.” 
 
The howls merged together in layers. It wasn’t in any human language. 
The monsters’ roars overlapped as they worked at destroying the wall blocking their way. 
“Ooooh! Ooooooh!” 
“Graaaar!” 
They were digging a hole—cutting, smashing, carving, breaking, removing the green flesh blocking their way. 
An unruly troll swung a giant club. A unicorn struck with its horn like an enraged bull. A giant deadly hornet held lances in both hands. There were other monsters of all shapes and sizes. 
Their commonality was that they were all fashioned with equipment, armor, and weapons. They were armed monsters, a pack of Xenos. 
“Nooooooooooo! Lido, it’s bulging again!” shrieked a lamia, her words tinged with a heavy accent, the cry echoing in the passage encased in the eerie green coating. On the wall, it swelled like a malignant tumor, approaching the Xenos as if trying to swallow them whole. A single lizardman whipped around. He wielded a longsword and scimitar in either hand, but instead of using them, he opened his mouth wide. 
“Move!” 
After the lamia and everyone else in front scampered out of the way, he unleashed a breath of fire. In an instant, the passage became an inferno. The swelling mass of flesh writhed as if crying out. After bathing in the flames, it turned to ash, and silence returned. 
“Whew…Man, to think the Dungeon itself would attack…This place is really something else.” 
While Lido swung his scimitar and grumbled, the Xenos who couldn’t speak human language cried out “Bweh-bweh!” in thanks. 
Lido the lizardman was one of the leaders of the Xenos. His strength was comparable to that of a Level-5 adventurer. His scratched-up breastplate and the rest of his armor that covered his red-scaled body were pieces of gear that had originally belonged to adventurers. The lizardman was brawny, which was unusual for his species. 
He looked around again, reflexively feeling disgusted by the labyrinth of flesh despite being a monster himself. There was no source of natural light. Were it not for the magic-stone torches in their inventory, the Xenos would have been shrouded in darkness. There was a bulky mass still blocking the way to the front. His orpiment-colored pupils distorted as he looked at the transfigured labyrinth of Knossos. 
“Going to the deep levels to help Bellucchi’s gang, then immediately coming back to Knossos and digging a hole…Fels is running us ragged.” 
Facing off against a labyrinth itself was a first, even for Lido. 
Once, a segment of the green flesh—too thick to call a tendril, as wide as a giant tree’s roots—reached out and grabbed the hand of one of the Xenos and almost sucked them in. If Lido’s blade had not been drawn, it would have succeeded. The green flesh was out for prey—whether it was human or monster. 
To deal with this strange foe, they bathed it in fire, reducing it to ashes and injuring the parts that recoiled. Rinse and repeat. Despite knowing that fire was its weak point, and despite being stronger than the average upper-tier adventurers, it had been rough going for the Xenos to reach this point. 
“Are you okay, Lido?” 
“Oh, Wiene. I’m fine. It’s dangerous here, so make sure you hang back.” 
Wiene the vouivre had called out to him from behind. Lido tapped his breastplate to reassure his friend who was totally covered in a black robe, but she did not leave. 
“…Do you think Rei is all right?” 
The name of the siren who had been separated from them crossed her lips. She was still worried about Rei. Her amber eyes were quivering like ripples running across the surface of water. The lizardman warrior stopped moving for a second and smiled a toothy grin. 
“She’s fine, Wiene. According to Fels, Rei is under Loki Familia ’s protection.” 
“Pro-tec-tion?” 
“Yeah, like how Bellucchi’s crew took care of you. I’m willing to guess she’s getting along with those scary adventurers.” 
At the reference to a certain group of adventurers, Wiene broke into a smile and seemed to finally be at ease. 
Lido himself was curious how Rei was doing, but he had heard from Fels that she was safe through the oculus, a magic item in his possession. The captain of Loki Familia had reported as much. 
People protecting a monster. That concept would have felt unbelievable just a few days ago. Something was changing—ever since that battle in the Labyrinth District. Or, put another way, a certain boy had thrust Lido, Rei, and the adventurers into motion. 
 If that’s true, then there’s nothing more gratifying. 
At the end of that fight, Rei’s sacrifice might have touched the hearts of the adventurers. Lido wanted to believe that, prayed it was the case. 
“Let’s cut the chatter there. There’s no end to this repulsive flesh. We don’t have time to waste our breath,” a gargoyle cut in. 
“I got it, Gros.” Lido shrugged like a human at his old friend, who did not allow him to indulge in sentimentality, as he returned to the hole digging. 
“Telling us to make a route to the enemy’s boss…That’s really gonna take a lot of work,” Lido complained as he alternated breathing fire and slashing his sword. 
“It’s not like this is the first time Fels has come to us with an absurd request,” Gros responded as his claws flashed. 
The Xenos were currently at a depth equivalent to the Dungeon’s ninth floor. Unlike Ganesha Familia , who were excavating from the surface, they were clearing the green flesh from inside the Dungeon. 
For the Xenos, any activity above the tenth floor was risky. Generally, they did not venture onto the upper floors where there were many lower-tier adventurers. Unlike the middle floors and below, the highest floors were smaller, so there was the concern of accidentally running into an adventurer. This time, they had Ouranos’s help, though, so they had been able to get to the ninth floor without anyone noticing. 
That said, it would take time to reach their target, the enemy’s inner citadel. 
“But still…it feels like this thing’s resistance is weaker than when we started.” 
“Yes, there’s no mistaking it. It was more intense the first time. We almost lost some people then.” 
When they had been investigating at first, the green flesh was incredibly active, attacking from all directions—floor, walls, and ceiling. It was almost like the labyrinth itself was a living organism lashing out. 
Compared to that, its movements now were much more localized, attacking just as though it remembered that was what it was supposed to do. Clearing away what remained was hard work, but it wasn’t dangerous, per se. 
That was how it felt to Lido. 
“!” 
As they were carving through the green flesh, they heard a soggy plop , followed by several corpses falling out of the flesh in front of them. The bodies were covered in armor that just barely maintained its original shape. 
Adventurers. 
The members of Dionysus Familia who had been swallowed up by the green flesh on that nightmarish day. 
“…They were pushed all the way to here, huh?” 
The corpses were hideous. Some were desiccated; others were decomposing, barely recognizable. Their common denominator was the pulpy faces and skin. There was no identifying them from their facial features or even from analyzing the Blessings engraved on their backs. To borrow a phrase of the surface dwellers’, the flesh seemed to consume everything in its path without any table manners, leaving only a ruin in its wake. 
Lido and Gros immediately tried to cover the sight with their backs, but Wiene managed to catch a glimpse, reflexively covering her mouth as she gagged. 
“Fels was right. The flesh seems to be using the adventurers for sustenance,” Gros speculated as he leaned in, inspecting the remnants. 
Animosity seeped onto Lido’s face, but there was a sense of doubt swirling in his chest. 
The problem is…what is this thing trying to achieve after getting these nutrients? 
Fels had a theory that the green flesh covering the labyrinth was the work of the corrupted spirit. However, the enemy’s objective was not immediately clear. Was it to wipe out the adventurers who had been drawn in to Knossos? Or something else altogether? 
Is the weakening resistance from the flesh related to how it is using the nutrients…? 
Lido had a hunch—based on his intuition as a monster, born of the Dungeon. One that he could not put into human words. As if reverting to his wild instincts, he bellowed and shook his head intensely. 
“? ” Lido stopped moving. 
“Lido…?” 
The dragon girl behind him tilted her head, her bluish-silver hair swaying. The lizardman did not respond as he reached out to the scorched, slashed, mercilessly silenced green flesh and put his hand flat against it. 
“Lido! What are you doing?!” Gros shouted wildly. 
Lido responded quietly. 
“It’s vibrating.” Ignoring his frozen comrades, he murmured, “Something is…echoing.”