Others might not know, but could Fron really be unaware?
Revis had absolutely no will of her own, not at all... According to Fron's guess, this woman had probably been dead for hundred's of years already.
Back then, great spirits still walked the land, assisting heroes in fighting the monsters that poured out from the "Great Hole." Maybe Revis had been a human warrior who died in battle during that era.
Precisely because of such a background, she must have an obsession with anything related to the great spirits.
She even called Ais "Aria." Clearly, there must be some unknown and mysterious connection behind that.
Thus, Revis' fighting power was essentially tied to Ais. And since Finn trusted Ais, he naturally would take the initiative to eliminate the chess piece representing Revis.
With all the preparations done beforehand, and with the objective clear, this strategy meeting, representing most of Orario's familias, proceeded smoothly with Finn at the center.
Even though the representatives present were all from different familias, unusually, there was none of the procrastination normally seen when the gods hold their divine meetings.
No one wasted any time. Under Finn's arrangements, each familia swiftly formed their teams and moved to their assigned positions.
After receiving the duties assigned to him and the tasks that would follow, Fron stepped aside and silently watched the proceedings.
Clearly, the efficient coordination and cooperation from all sides surprised him as well, but he quickly came back to his senses...
Under the enormous pressure of Orario, and even the surrounding lands, being on the verge of being blown sky-high, even if someone wanted to take advantage of the chaos, they were probably forced to give their all anyway.
Otherwise, they would all just die together. Obviously, none of them were prepared to accept death. So this level of efficiency was only natural.
Just as Fron's mind wandered through countless worlds, someone nudged his arm, dragging him back from his mental flight.
"Fron, why haven't I seen the Hermes Familia? I heard you have a pretty unusual relationship with that Asfi, right? Come on, tell me..."
"..."
Casting an annoyed glance at the gossip flames burning in Tsubaki, Fron, unable to withstand it, finally explained.
"... Finn said they had another matter to handle. Mm... something that must be resolved. No, it should be something that must be confirmed."
Hearing Fron's reply, Tsubaki seemed thoughtful and didn't continue asking.
Needless to say, even someone as sharp as her, and everyone present as well, all knew there was one "black curtain" whose true identity must be uncovered: the true face of Enyo. Who exactly are you!?
A human, a monster, or... as they suspected, a giant calamity!?
...
With the objective clear, Fron more or less had an idea of what the Hermes Familia was doing.
Based on the information he had, the gods Hermes and Loki were likely running around trying to confirm the identity of the mastermind, Enyo.
By coincidence, they found that batch of goods stored within the Dionysus Familia's base: the "Divine Wine," so potent that even gods could get drunk from it.
With this lead, the next steps were easy. Follow the trail upward, and eventually they'd reach the source, for example, the grapes used to brew the "Divine Wine."
Thus, the task of the Hermes Familia naturally became clear.
Don't forget, these guys were the city's most famous information brokers.
For something like this, professional work should come easily to them. Even the Loki Familia, despite their overwhelming combat strength, was far inferior when it came to highly specialized investigative work.
The meeting had reached its final stage. Speaking now was Fels, representing the Guild Headquarters.
He was explaining the results of their investigation.
"With Fron's cooperation, our investigation team has already analyzed the enemy's magic formation."
"Although the technique has deviated slightly due to the caster's corruption into a monster, after discussion, we believe it poses no major issue. In other words, the result of this formation is not exactly the same as the one from legend... only roughly equivalent."
He attempted a joke to ease the tension, but no one seemed to find this cold humor funny.
"..." Fron's mouth twitched as he sighed.
An 800-year generation gap truly is terrifying.
The chant still echoed underground, unnoticed by most people, and deciphering it revealed the deadline,
"Alright, the final time limit of this ritual, unfortunately, is tonight."
Fron's words were like a death god's verdict, sentencing the entire city to death.
"..."
"..."
The entire hall fell into absolute silence once more. The oppressive atmosphere spread between everyone, tightening like invisible chains.
Some representatives from small familias were already trembling like leaves in the wind, the situation had clearly exceeded their limits.
Even the mid-tier familias wore twisted expressions.
Only representatives like Loki, Ganesha, and Hephaestus managed to stay calm.
Looking around and taking in everyone's expression, Fron gave no time for anyone to digest the information and continued:
"Unfortunately, even if the Guild Headquarters issues a compulsory order for all familias and adventurers to act together, it's impossible to evacuate or relocate all citizens within such a short time."
"Mm... Rather, attempting to lead them out of the city in this situation would cause unnecessary chaos. It'd be like drawing a snake with legs, making the situation worse."
At this, Fron's lips curled upward, as if he were truly delighted.
"Hehe, just look at the two enormous holes created by the gods that returned to Tenkai. Even now, the aftershocks they caused still shake the entire city."
Everyone agreed… Ever since that incident, the city hadn't had a single peaceful day. Even the Guild couldn't suppress the people's panic.
The two towering pillars of light were iron-clad proof.
"Right now there is no spare manpower to maintain order or guide an evacuation. If it only brings chaos, then we may as well pretend 'nothing happened.'"
In the end, the reluctant, almost agonizing, decision was made.
Understand this, none of them had a guaranteed chance of victory. By making this decision, it also meant that... if they failed, then all lives in Orario would be buried with them.
Seeing Finn's calm gaze, Fron couldn't help but secretly suck in a cold breath.