It was said that when Alaya was forcibly subdued by Riezel, the Demi Spirits who had been chanting the grand magic within the six altars on the 10th Floor of the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos all vanished into thin air at the same time.
Just like the monsters in the Dungeon that had lost their magic stones, their bodies turned into ash and completely dispersed from head to toe, causing the magic circle spread throughout the entire 10th Floor of the Man-Made Dungeon to disappear as well.
Along with them, the colorful monsters also crumbled into ashes, and the sight of all the monsters turning to dust at once was said to have shocked countless people. Even though they did not leave behind any drop items, they did leave behind countless colorful magic stones, as well as the corpses of adventurers that would remain there forever.
As for why the operation had suddenly ended and why the city had suddenly been saved, people had already figured that out as well.
"Was it Liberator?"
"It had to be Liberator!"
"Back then, Liberator was the only one who split off from his party to go after the mastermind."
"He took down the mastermind, so that's why everything ended, right?"
Rumors like those gradually spread throughout the city, and they carried overwhelming credibility.
Neither the Loki Familia nor Riezel himself denied any of it, so the rumors were effectively confirmed as fact.
After learning of that matter, even Finn, Ais, and the others revealed relieved smiles.
Under such circumstances, Riezel also did not expose the fact that he had subdued the Corrupted Spirit. He merely stated that he had eliminated her, while fully explaining everything else without concealment, allowing both the Guild and the members of the Loki Familia to learn the complete truth behind the incident.
Just like that, Orario was saved, and the conspiracy of the underground forces was destroyed by the brave adventurers.
Unfortunately, none of this could be made public.
Just as Finn had said before the battle began, this operation was destined to remain hidden from the public.
The fallen would receive no recognition.
The participants would receive no rewards.
During the period of unrest within the city and after the conclusion of the assault operation, the Guild released the following statement to the public.
"All of this originated from the disturbance that occurred during Monster Feria."
"Many of you likely still remember how the monsters transported from the Dungeon went out of control and caused chaos within East Main Street."
"After that incident, we discovered that even more monsters had gone berserk. They hid within Daedalus Street and even within the sewers, becoming unstable factors that threatened the city."
"To exterminate these monsters, we tasked multiple familias with carrying out a joint operation and launched a subjugation quest after locating the monsters' nests."
"The reason this matter was not publicly announced was to avoid causing unnecessary panic. We sincerely apologize to everyone."
That was the explanation given for the series of disturbances.
At the very least, that was what the Guild publicly announced, and its stance was extremely firm.
After all, not only did the series of incidents need to remain hidden, but the second entrance to the Dungeon, known as the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos, also could not be revealed, or it would undoubtedly become the source of even greater chaos.
Naturally, some people were unwilling to accept that post-incident explanation and pointed out several abnormalities.
For example, why had multiple gods been repeatedly returned to Heaven?
And what exactly was that phenomenon involving the red magical-energy light?
And then there were the mysterious tremors that had repeatedly appeared throughout the city.
In response to those questions, the Guild's explanations were simple and direct.
"The familias investigating the monsters' nests, along with their gods, unfortunately suffered casualties, which is why several gods were returned to Heaven."
"The red magical-energy light was caused by people using magic while exterminating monsters."
"As for the mysterious tremors throughout the city, they were all phenomena caused by the monsters."
Although those explanations failed to completely dispel everyone's doubts, the Guild still made its unilateral announcement.
"In any case, thanks to the relentless efforts of the adventurers, the city has escaped danger."
"From this point onward, Orario's peace shall continue to exist."
"We ask all citizens to rest assured."
And just like that, the entire incident was declared concluded.
Only the familias that had participated in the assault on Knossos truly knew what they had experienced and what kind of disaster this city had faced.
However, just as the Guild had said, the city had escaped danger, and peace had returned. No matter what happened afterward, at the very least, everyone could finally relax for now.
Perhaps only the familias that had suffered casualties would remain immersed in this incident and forever remember everything that had happened during that period.
It couldn't be helped, as the enemy had ultimately been Demi Spirits capable of making even the Loki Familia struggle. Even though Riezel had done everything he could, he still could not prevent casualties from occurring.
Led by the Ganesha Familia and the Hephaestus Familia, many familias losing precious members was an undeniable fact. If the incident had truly ended there, then those who had sacrificed their lives likely would have been quietly buried without achieving any accomplishments worthy of recognition.
Even the Loki Familia had suffered several unfortunate losses, and with the conclusion of the incident, the names of those people would have permanently vanished beneath Orario.
Of course, that was if Riezel had not acted.
True Resurrection was the final magic he used after the assault on Knossos.
In order to apply the magic to all the fallen victims, he naturally combined it with the magic Mass Targeting, ultimately bringing back every casualty who should have died.
Such a matter sent shockwaves not only through the various familias but also through the Guild and the Loki Familia itself.
"You brat... just how many times are you gonna shatter our understanding and imagination?"
Back then, that had been the first thing Loki said to Riezel.
A resurrection magic capable of reviving the dead!
Needless to say, the existence of such magic was practically equivalent to violating the laws of the world itself, enough to drive an existence like the God of Death, Thanatos, into madness.
Fortunately, every participant in this assault operation belonged to familias trusted by the Guild, and every single familia possessed an excellent reputation.
Out of gratitude, everyone unanimously decided to help Riezel conceal the existence of resurrection magic. Otherwise, if news of it spread, the entirety of Orario would once again fall into upheaval, and certain gods would likely lose their minds and recklessly seek trouble with him at all costs.
It could only be said that everyone had still underestimated just what kind of person Riezel Brynhart truly was.
—Constantly breaking through the limits of being mortal.
—Constantly breaking through the limits of the gods' imagination.
—Constantly breaking through the limits of countless adventures.
—He is someone who continuously broke through limits, liberating his race from its limits.
—He is 'Liberator.'
Recalling the words of recognition once given by the various gods, everyone realized once again just how far beyond common sense the so-called Liberator truly was.
Furthermore, the mastermind behind this entire incident had ultimately perished at Riezel's hands, meaning that the conclusion of everything had been brought about by Riezel himself.
As a result, after the end of the assault on Knossos, a new nickname distinct from Liberator gradually spread among the adventurers.
Hero of Hope—the hero whom the people of the Lower World had always prayed for, awaited, and longed for seemed to have finally appeared.
Over the following months, Riezel also proved through his actions that the new nickname truly belonged to him.
"On the 10th day after the conclusion of the assault on the Man-Made Dungeon, King of the Freya Familia, Ottar, challenged Liberator Riezel Brynhart to a duel. The two fought fiercely for an entire hour in the wilderness outside the city, and in the end, the latter claimed victory, successfully ascending to the top of Orario and becoming the new strongest in the city."
"On the 20th day after the conclusion of the assault on the Man-Made Dungeon, the Kali Familia was released by the Loki Familia after paying enormous compensation. Before leaving, however, they made one final request. Argana Kalif and Bache Kalif joined forces to battle Liberator Riezel Brynhart together. Both sides fought intensely for one minute before the latter effortlessly secured victory, forcing the Kali Familia to willingly return to Telskyura and swear never to set foot in Orario again for the rest of their lives."
"On the 33rd day after the conclusion of the assault on the Man-Made Dungeon, the magic country Altena could no longer tolerate the fame of Liberator as the greatest magic swordsman spreading throughout the world. Joining forces with the Kingdom of Rakia, they launched an invasion against Orario and declared that they would only retreat if Liberator was handed over. Yet on the very next day after making that declaration, Altena's elite vanguard unit suffered a devastating defeat after being ambushed single-handedly by Liberator."
"On the 70th day after the conclusion of the assault on the Man-Made Dungeon, the Loki Familia officially submitted Liberator's level-up report to the Guild, and the Loki Familia's monster rookie thus advanced to Level 8, becoming one of only two Level 8 adventurers in the world."
"On the 90th day after the conclusion of the assault on the Man-Made Dungeon, Riezel Brynhart departed from the Labyrinth City of Orario together with Ais Wallenstein and journeyed to the Valley of Dragons, where they found the One-Eyed Black Dragon and successfully slew the greatest calamity that had threatened the world for over a thousand years."
Every one of those achievements and every one of those legendary deeds further solidified Riezel's name as a hero.
Especially the final achievement—the last target among the Three Great Quests had finally been destroyed, causing the entire world to erupt into unimaginable celebration.
Countless people cried tears of joy.
Countless people shouted in celebration.
On that day, everyone in the Lower World developed feelings of reverence toward a single person. Even the various gods endlessly praised and celebrated him, calling him the greatest miracle since the birth of the Lower World and the true hero born in response to the will of the world itself.
A thousand years had already passed since the sacrifice of the last hero, Albert. At long last, the human race had once again produced its own hero, accomplishing the dream that even the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia had failed to achieve.
It was also from that day onward that the Loki Familia became the undisputed strongest familia within Orario, to the point that even the Freya Familia publicly acknowledged that they could no longer compare.
It was said that Loki laughed for three straight days because of that and drank heavily throughout those same three days as well.
It was also said that from that day onward, the golden-haired swordswoman no longer carried her sword with her everywhere she went. Smiles that had never appeared before could often be seen on her face, and she was frequently spotted wandering around with Riezel, even behaving rather intimately with him, causing countless rumors to spread throughout Orario.
However, Riezel was not the only one drawing attention.
Perhaps because of the stimulation he provided, many events that had never occurred in the original story began appearing one after another.
For example, after Ottar and Allen, not only did Hedin and Hogni successfully advance to Level 7, but the Gulliver Brothers did as well.
Not long after the two elves leveled up, the four pallum brothers simultaneously advanced to Level 6, and it was said that the four fighting together could even challenge a Level 7 adventurer, causing the Freya Familia's combat power to soar dramatically.
And then there was Bell Cranel, who was known as the second monster rookie.
Within the short span of only three months, he continuously leveled up, first reaching Level 4 and then quickly advancing to Level 5, becoming a First-Class Adventurer at an astonishing speed.
Such a terrifying growth rate caused Bell, following after Riezel, to receive a new alias as well—Little Hero.
People eagerly anticipated the day he would become the second hero after Riezel and complete his transformation.
Unfortunately, Riezel was destined never to witness that day because his time of dimensional travel within this world was about to come to an end.
Two hundred days was neither especially long nor especially short, but that day had ultimately still arrived.
As a result, Riezel had to bid farewell to everyone within the familia.
"My journey still hasn't ended. I still gotta keep moving forward."
On the day of departure, that was the reason Riezel gave.
"Yeah, yeah, go ahead and keep moving, kiddo."
Loki agreed without hesitation—perhaps because she had already realized something.
Of course, the companions within the familia did not accept this matter so easily.
But...
"Don't worry. I'll be back again real soon."
Riezel made that promise with a smile on his face, causing even Ais, Lefiya, and the others to silently accept it.
"Mm, I'll wait for you."
Ais, who no longer carried a sword, said so quietly.
"I-I'll wait for you to come back too, Mr. Riezel!"
Lefiya was already crying uncontrollably.
...
Riezel Brynhart
Level 8
STR: F335 → C699
END: F311 → C694
DEX: E424 → B762
AGI: E436 → B783
MAG: E447 → A800
Lightweight: A
Swordsman: B
Mage: C
Battle Adept: C
Fast Attack: D
Magic Chant: F → E
Unbound: I
...
That was the final status update Riezel performed within this world.
And so, on the 200th day, when the dimensional travel was about to conclude, Riezel departed from Orario under the watchful gaze of everyone from the Loki Familia.
[Warning, the time limit has reached zero—dimensional travel is about to conclude.]
[Initiating inspection...]
[User is detected possessing unique powers from this world—they will return with the user after dissolving the consciousness body.]
[User is detected carrying unique items from this world—if you wish to bring them, it can be accomplished by consuming dimensional energy.]
[User is detected conducting dimensional travel toward a designated world. Based on the user's privileges, no dimensional energy consumption is required to assimilate unique items.]
[Detected that this dimensional travel allows a portion of lifeforms with special bonds to the user to return together. Maximum carrying capacity: 5. Actual carrying amount: 0. Execution unnecessary.]
[Item selection completed—starting execution...]
[Items assimilated successfully.]
[Dimensional travel concluded—initiating the return procedure.]
As one message after another appeared along the way, the transparent cube within Riezel's mind finally began rotating once more after a long absence.
'Well then, time to head back.'
Having finally fulfilled the longing within his heart, Riezel smiled with complete satisfaction.
As he walked toward the distant horizon, his figure gradually faded from where he stood before completely disappearing, returning to that world—the Akasha Continent.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
[Support me and get early access to the next chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]