The teams entered one after another, and the cargo was only moved in once everyone confirmed there were no issues.
The base's entrance and exit were secured by strict detection barriers, specifically designed to identify Familia Marks. If a mark failed the scan, it meant there was a problem.
Since these barriers tested Falna Marks, almost no adventurer could evade them. Up to now, the detection success rate had stayed at a perfect hundred percent.
The team leader and the guardian watched as each person passed through. Even at the last checkpoint, everything went smoothly. Not a single error appeared.
The guardian glanced at the team leader.
"We can confirm it's all clear now, right?"
Only then did the leader relax.
"All clear. Move in."
After confirming the entry, the transport team finally stepped into the base.
Once the last person entered, the stone gate closed again, leaving no visible trace. Then, from inside, a five-meter-thick circular metal door rotated downward from above.
Clack!
It locked perfectly into the recessed groove at the entrance, sealing the base completely airtight. When the door finally clicked shut, the transporters all exhaled in relief.
"We finally made it."
"Yeah. For a moment, I thought those poisonous mushrooms were going to get us."
These days, nowhere in Orario was safe for Evilus. Every trip outside meant risking exposure, capture, or death.
Though they were little more than hollow shells now, their souls long gone, they still yearned to accomplish something more. According to their Familia God, those who contributed greatly would have a higher chance of reuniting with their families, wives, or children after death.
That promise alone was enough to make every Evilus member believe in one thing. They could die for their god in the attempt to overthrow Orario—but never die without making a contribution. All for the chance to see their loved ones again.
It was both pitiful and tragic.
Yes, for most of the low-ranking cannon fodder in Evilus, their very purpose was sacrifice. They joined Evilus to die—to exchange that death for a reunion in the next life. To them, sacrifice was the price of seeing their loved ones again.
For that, they would give up everything, betting all they had on the hope that, after the final explosion, they might be reborn and reunited.
It sounded absurd.
But in a world where life was as cheap as grass, such madness was the only kind of despair left to the powerless.
Having lost all choice, clinging to survival was one path—but this desperate wish was the other. After all, not everyone became an adventurer for women, fame, or fortune. Some did it for love or family.
When everything they cherished was destroyed, their will to live fell with it. So when the Evilus god offered 'meeting again in the next life' as bait, few adventurers could resist the temptation.
Among the Evilus members, a man in a trench coat kept his head slightly bowed.
'I see.'
The infiltrator was Bell.
'Just as I thought—mice who love to hide. This hidden floor is almost identical to the last one. The difference is that this entrance is on the 35th floor, while the other was on the 23rd.'
This one was clearly harder to locate.
The 'Great Tree Maze' barely reached the Middle Floors, but the 'White Palace' lay in the Lower Floors. Their construction difficulty was on a completely different level.
'This place needs to be checked thoroughly.'
Before the operation began, every rat inside this base had to be sealed in.
However, before that, all the traps on this hidden floor had to be dealt with, or the losses during the operation would be too great and cause major complications.
Naturally, Bell moved through the area with extreme caution. Having already explored once, he understood the trap-placement logic of hidden floors. As long as he could pinpoint each trap's location, disarming them would not be difficult.
The interior layout resembled a normal dungeon, with many interconnected paths. Without prior knowledge, the maze had almost no distinguishing landmarks, and outsiders could hardly find the correct route. That posed little problem for Bell. Creating a map was simple work.
Locking down Evilus's final base was Bell's primary objective for this operation. The second objective was to turn the last base into a cage for rats. For the final battle against Evilus, every member had to be rounded up without exception.
After winding through the passages, Bell soon reached a peculiar chamber. It was filled with numerous Spirit fetuses, each as tall as a person. The green membranes showed embryos nearing maturity. They no longer resembled the monstrous forms he had seen before. They were half-monster, half-human in appearance.
'Spirit soldiers. Looks like they're entering the maturation phase.'
Inspecting the surroundings and the fetuses' internal conditions, Bell detected many magic traps. They were almost the same type as the traps he'd encountered earlier, which confirmed they were all the work of the same person.
'Well protected. Seems someone who knows how to guard themselves. Similar temperament to mine?'
'Then, I'll leave you be for a bit.'
Acting too early often made matters uncontrollable. Evilus had already made their move, but the explosions on the surface prevented a rapid assault... It seemed those people had the same calculation, which is why they played this hand.
They must have a method to finish maturing these Spirit soldiers in a short time.
'Sacrifice control and turn them into berserkers, or sacrifice active time and make them disposable assets?'
'Hmm, the former is more likely.'
After all, berserkers do not reduce efficiency. If Evilus unleashed these frenzied Spirit soldiers in Orario, they would not need to worry about whether they would turn on their own people.
'If that's the case, then I'll make these guys controllable.'
"Perfect timing. I just obtained something useful."