The Artificial Labyrinth Knossos is a colossal structure built beneath Orario, closely adjacent to the Great Hole (the Dungeon).
In fact, it could even be considered a spectacle.
Its construction has spanned over a thousand years and is far from complete.
"Generations of the Daedalus family have continuously expanded it, passing it down to this day. Currently, its deepest depths have been expanded to the 18th Floor of the Dungeon."
Twilight Manor.
Led by the Loki Familia, the gathering included the Astrea Familia, the Ganesha Familia, and the Freya Familia—though only Miss Heith came as a representative.
Apart from them, Miss Amid of the Dian Cecht Familia was also present. Through the Guild's mediation, the [Battlefield Saint] would also be joining this general offensive on the Artificial Labyrinth.
Isagi was naturally there too.
There weren't actually many people in the small room. Aside from the two Goddesses, Loki and Astrea, there were Finn, Riveria, Gareth, as well as himself and Ryuu-senpai, plus the Captain of the Ganesha Familia, Miss Shakti.
This was effectively the pre-offensive strategy meeting.
The golden-haired Prum [Braver] placed the map drawn over the past few days onto the table and spoke.
"What can be confirmed at present is that, including Daedalus Street and the sewers, the Artificial Labyrinth has multiple entry points within the city. Furthermore, from the 1st to the 18th Floors of the Dungeon, there are connecting doors."
This was the first problem that needed solving.
Originally, Finn intended to have the Ganesha Familia go into the Dungeon to "block the doors." Otherwise, while they attacked from the surface, the members of the Dark Familia could retreat into the Dungeon at any time, especially to Rivira on the 18th Floor.
When that happened, those guys would hide within, and once the heat died down, they could disguise themselves as ordinary adventurers and blend back out from the Dungeon. If so, this operation would be in vain.
The Prum Braver's idea was simple: seize this opportunity to catch the Dark Familia in one fell swoop!
However, the Guild seemed to have made a brand-new decision now.
That was to seal off the Dungeon in advance, and even have all adventurers in Rivira retreat to the surface. Then, they would be responsible for "blocking the doors" inside the Dungeon, without needing the Ganesha Familia's assistance.
This was what Fels had said.
Finn and the others all believed that the Guild, or rather the Great God Ouranos, intended to mobilize his "private army."
As the first Deity to descend to the Lower World and the founder of the Guild, the other Gods—including Loki, Freya, Ganesha, and so on—did not believe that Ouranos only had Fels as an "assistant," or that everyone else in the Guild was just a normal person without a single adventurer.
He definitely possessed some kind of "force."
This was also quite normal; just as most Familias would hide information about their own children, everyone had a tacit understanding of this.
Thus, the combat power of the Ganesha Familia could be spared, and the battle on the surface would become much easier.
However, saying it was one thing.
The specific general offensive operation still harbored many dangers.
"The internal situation is extremely complex. Most importantly, within the [Divine Room] located at the core of the Artificial Labyrinth, there exists a mechanism capable of manipulating the entire labyrinth."
"Through that thing, they can change the terrain inside the Artificial Labyrinth, cut off paths, make floors disappear to cause people to fall, or suddenly raise walls to separate originally connected corridors—"
"The location of the Main Control Room is here. We need to head there immediately to destroy or secure it."
This was Finn's plan.
First, enter the periphery of the Artificial Labyrinth. There, fight against a large number of Dark Familia members, monsters, and assassins to draw the attention of the opponent's main force.
Subsequently, a squad composed of elite adventurers would break into its core hinterland and take down the control room capable of manipulating the labyrinth.
Ideally, they would also find the enemy Deity and send them back to heaven.
At the same time, according to Revis, there were "Breeding Rooms" inside the Artificial Labyrinth. Aside from the Man-eating Flower monsters seen before, they were also cultivating "Jewel Fetuses."
Those were grotesque existences that could greatly enhance a monster's strength upon possession. Isagi had seen one before; that thing had instantly possessed the [Queen of Iron] in the Dungeon. It appeared to be a genuinely dangerous object.
Based on the intelligence currently in hand, the plan was tentatively set as such.
For the adventurers' side, the most important thing was to find the Deity of the Dark Familia remnants and send them back.
Of course, that was easier said than done. The opponent had been operating in the Artificial Labyrinth for so many years, preparing all along, just waiting for the adventurers to come.
That place was a meticulously planned trap.
But even so, they had to go. That was what it meant to be an adventurer.
Isagi could feel Ryuu-senpai nervously grabbing his hand. The situation at this moment likely reminded her of that bad past.
Once, the companions of the Astrea Familia also knew it was a trap, yet they went to the appointment all the same, with the goal of thwarting the Dark Familia's conspiracy.
"It's okay."
He whispered comfort to the Elf girl beside him.
The current combat plan was just this. As for how it would specifically play out when the time came, they would really have to improvise.
On the way back.
Goddess Astrea actually asked a very important question.
"Isagi, will your Skill cause the Artificial Labyrinth to undergo special changes as well?"
"Probably not..."
Theoretically speaking, the Artificial Labyrinth was built closely hugging the Dungeon, not within its scope.
Of course, because the Dungeon grew larger the deeper it went, the Artificial Labyrinth was nested ring by ring, skirting the edge of the Dungeon and continuously expanding outward.
Theoretically, if its deepest point was now the 18th Floor, then directly below it should be the 19th Floor of the Dungeon?
Isagi remembered Revis saying that the Artificial Labyrinth was still under construction, building downwards, though he didn't know the specific situation.
But thinking about it, there shouldn't be a problem.
As long as he wasn't staying inside the Dungeon, his ability shouldn't cause any influence—unless its 18th Floor collapsed directly, causing it to connect with the lower floors of the Dungeon or something.
Isagi felt that was unlikely.
Wasn't it said that this Artificial Labyrinth was extremely sturdy, to the point of being called the number one impregnable fortress in the world?
Even the doors were cast from the hardest metal, [Orichalcum]. The internal walls and ceilings were also crafted using super high-strength metals, exhausting the painstaking efforts of generations of the Daedalus family.
How could it collapse all of a sudden?
Impossible. This was obviously an absolutely impossible thing...
Meanwhile.
Under the night sky.
Still deep within an alley on the side of the old district, a group of adventurers who looked like they had just returned from the Dungeon pushed open the door of a longhouse that appeared abandoned for a long time.
This was the station of the Ikelos Familia.
Even within the city, they were quite obscure. It reached the point where, unless one deliberately went to the Guild to look up records, one wouldn't even recall that such a Familia existed.
Its primary Deity, Ikelos, was the God presiding over nightmares. He was also quite inconspicuous in the city; most Deities even assumed he wasn't in Orario at all, but had gone outside the city.
However, his Familia was a powerful one possessing Level 1 Adventurers. The reason they were completely unknown, aside from concealing their information from the Guild entirely, was due to another reason.
The Ikelos Familia conducted its activities almost exclusively within the Dungeon, capturing all sorts of rare monsters, smuggling them out of the city, and selling them to all parts of the world.
That's right. The largest monster smuggling ring in Orario was them.
The reason was also simple.
Besides their Captain being the Lv.5 [Savage], Dix Perdix, their Vice-Captain was also a Lv.4 fellow. They could be described as quite elite, a powerful Familia capable of holding their own in the city.
Furthermore.
Dix's older brother, Barca Perdix, was the current heir of the Daedalus family, as well as the owner and builder of the Artificial Labyrinth.
Thus, leveraging the convenience of the Artificial Labyrinth, they could easily take monsters out of the city. At the same time, the money earned from selling and smuggling monsters all went to support the other party in continuing to fulfill their ancestor's long-cherished wish.
But this was merely a drop in the bucket.
As a colossal structure that could be called a "spectacle," it wasn't something that could be filled merely by money obtained from smuggling.
And wanting to complete it was even more of a fantasy.
Yet for a thousand years, be it the city's Guild or the righteous Familias, none had any interest in it whatsoever. So, naturally, Barca eventually connected with the Dark Familia, using their financial and material support to continue the construction of the Artificial Labyrinth.
Now, his foolish brother was likely still staying inside the Artificial Labyrinth, waiting for the city's adventurers to launch their general offensive, right?
Casually finding a place to sit within the old longhouse.
Dix did not intend to be like his brother, guarding the so-called spectacle built by generations of the family.
The Ikelos Familia was not the Dark Familia. He was completely different from those lunatics; how could he go and throw his life away for nothing?
On the contrary.
What he wanted more was actually the destruction of the Artificial Labyrinth.
The curse of the ancestor Daedalus had lasted for a thousand years. Generations of family members had carried out endless construction in that dim underground.
Not allowed to leave;
Not allowed to give up;
And, for the continuation of the family and the Artificial Labyrinth, they had to capture female adventurers from the Dungeon and force them to bear offspring.
Everything was for the sake of completing the [Artificial Labyrinth Knossos].
For this, even sacrificing one's entire self was not enough; the painstaking blood and sweat of countless people from generations of the family had to be poured into it.
If this wasn't a curse, what was it?
So, die.
Dix smirked mockingly to himself.
In a place no one knew about, deep within where even his brother was unaware, he had prepared a "big gift" there.
Go die.
All of you guys, along with that so-called Artificial Labyrinth, go die.
Everything will be destroyed.
The ambition and madness of the ancestor will be severed by his own hands!
____
The Goddess is Also a Woman (Daily Side Story)
Late at night.
Isagi noticed that Astrea was somewhat absent-minded.
In the room, the heat from the charcoal fire was a bit scorching, making the air appear increasingly sticky, and even causing beads of sweat to seep out from the Goddess's forehead and chest.
It was indeed too hot.
This was something he had noticed himself, so he had thought about opening the window to let in some fresh air, but he was stopped by her.
"Forget it."
Astrea said. That appearance, full of sneakiness—no matter how one looked at it, it didn't resemble the expression a Goddess of Justice should have.
Hmm.
The night was deep, and silence reigned all around.
Ryuu-senpai and the others had already gone to sleep. It was precisely because of this that the Goddess had beckoned him to her bedroom, looking as if she were afraid of waking the girls from beginning to end.
Isagi didn't understand what Astrea was afraid of; this was clearly a very serious matter!
At this moment, he was teaching the Goddess arithmetic.
Originally, the shop's accounting was mainly handled by Demeter—this world had no "Mathematics," but they naturally had their own methods for calculating accounts.
However, spring arrives after winter passes.
The Goddess in charge of agriculture naturally had to go back to farming. When that time came, the burger shop would naturally be handed over entirely to Astrea.
As for why she insisted on learning arithmetic from him, Isagi could understand. The Goddess was thinking that not only could she learn how to keep accounts, but she could also...
The scorching, stifling heat continued to permeate the air.
It even gave one the illusion that their breathing was becoming heavier. In the Goddess's bedroom, on the long sofa beside the coffee table, there was clearly plenty of empty space, yet Astrea beside him insisted on sitting right up against him.
This made it even hotter.
The Goddess bent her waist slightly, just like an elementary school student, seemingly about to sprawl over the low coffee table. She kept using a quill pen, making "scratching" sounds on the paper pages.
Pausing every now and then.
As if she were really thinking, she would then lightly bite her lip and look at him with a pitiful gaze.
"Twenty-seven portions of fries, nineteen potato burgers, fifty-six fried potato balls... calculating this, multiplying them separately by..."
The Goddess naturally knew ordinary addition and subtraction; if worst came to worst, she could count on her fingers. Even without the concept of "Mathematics," it wasn't as if she couldn't even calculate this clearly.
Isagi was mainly teaching her multiplication and slightly more complex addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of three and four-digit numbers.
Basically, it was elementary school-level arithmetic.
Enough to use was fine.
He directly took the quill from the Goddess's hand, then wrote down the formulas one by one on the paper. Breaking down every step, he first asked the Goddess how it should be calculated, and then calculated it once himself to let her know the correct answer.
It really was just like teaching a child!
Seeming to realize this as well, Astrea's pretty face was constantly flushing slightly.
Amidst the warm orange glow of the Magic Stone lamp, she presented a rather enchanting flushed color, looking as if she had drunk too much, and secretly snuggled a bit closer to his side again.
A few strands of hair stuck to her tender cheeks, making one want to reach out and brush them away for her.
And accompanied by that pleasant feminine fragrance—a mix of blooming flowers, milk, and honey—as well as the warm sensation coming from her side, it just made one feel that the room was even hotter.
The atmosphere ended here.
It completely gave the impression that she didn't want to study at all, but rather wanted to... It wasn't an illusion, but a fact.
It wasn't the first time, either. Isagi felt that he understood the Goddess of Justice quite well. It was just that she was still posturing there, staring at the formulas on the paper, purely because—
Here in the [Court of Stars], there were always some inconveniences.
Studying or whatever posed no difficulty for a Goddess; naturally, her mind would drift to other places.
However.
Because she hadn't thought about doing such things originally, it wasn't just a soundproofing issue, but also that the room was too close to the children. Unlike Demeter's place, where the house was large and the distance between rooms was far; once the heavy, thick wooden door was closed, it was as if one were cut off from the world.
But now it was different!
This was the point Astrea was conflicted about. Yet, running to Demeter's place outside the city right now would also be somewhat inappropriate.
Not only was it too late, but if they went there, they definitely wouldn't be able to return by tomorrow morning. Wouldn't they be discovered then?!
Although their relationship was already public, having the children think about the two of them doing that kind of thing... it always made the Goddess feel very embarrassed!!
She was thinking about such tangled, trivial matters simply like a young girl.
Isagi understood, too.
He even intentionally, and quite naturally, placed his free hand over, and subsequently saw the Goddess's pitiful, pleading (encouraging) gaze again, as well as the trembling sensation of the very familiar sheer nightgown transmitted through his fingertips.
Astrea still didn't dare to move, but in his opinion, she simply didn't want to move.
This guy was enjoying it, too.
But just this much certainly wasn't enough; instead, it would make things increasingly unbearable, not only the stifling heat in the room, but also...
So.
Taking advantage of the fact that the night was still long and there was still a "sufficient" amount of time until tomorrow morning.
Isagi thought of a way.
"Goddess, let's go out."
"?"
Breathing out hot, pure white mist, the woman who was gradually becoming exhausted and clingy had become soft and weak, seemingly lacking strength even in her speech.
She was truly enjoying it.
Especially in this tug-of-war between "we shouldn't" and "we can," enjoying such ambiguous feelings.
In a trance.
She always felt light and airy.
Goddesses were different from one another, too.
Isagi was well aware of this point. If it were Goddess Demeter, she wouldn't care about so much and might just directly go to sleep!
But Astrea wouldn't do that. The Goddess of Justice would maintain her reason until the end, letting him return to his room after the study session concluded.
However, his small proposal instantly made her heart race uncontrollably.
[Go out]?
Go out where?!
Astrea blinked, and then, as if she instantly thought of something, she immediately understood!
Of course, not to Demeter's place, but...
A hotel.
In the city, there were naturally all kinds of hotels everywhere. There were even clubhouses hidden deep in the alleys specifically for receiving honored guests, and including the upper floors of Babel, there were also "hotels" open exclusively for deities.
There were simply too many places they could go; why hadn't she thought of it before?
—
"Mm, okay."
Rising urgently and then running to change her clothes—these small actions exposed this fellow's true thoughts.
Isagi even felt it.
Was Goddess Astrea a bit repressed?
However, what the Goddess was thinking was still too ordinary. Going out to book a room at a hotel or something... although he had indeed thought about that before, right now, he had a better idea...
The late winter night was quite tranquil.
Especially since Isagi and the Goddess didn't walk along the main street, but instead threaded through the alleys between the rising and falling buildings.
Unknown if she was learning from Demeter, the Goddess skillfully grabbed his hand, held it tight, and stuffed it together with hers into the pocket of his padded coat.
Her happiness was visible to the naked eye.
Even her walking became much lighter and brisker.
Compared to a mature "Mother," the Goddess of Justice sometimes really seemed like a little girl, a considerable contrast to her usual gentle, big-sisterly appearance.
This was probably a process that all women entering a romance for the first time would go through.
It was already past midnight.
However, the First District where the two were located was also known as the "bustling district." Many high-rise buildings and shops were still lit with rustling lights.
Many were coffee shops, along with some twenty-four-hour restaurants, and bars that looked quite high-end.
In the small squares that appeared occasionally between the buildings.
Under the streetlights, there were quite a few young couples sitting together, whispering trivial sweet nothings, though the cold wind always blew past with a whimper, making it impossible to hear clearly what they were saying.
In the distance, the towering Babel was also lit with dots of lamplight, continuously extending upward until it entered the end of the pitch-black firmament.
Further away.
Was the direction of the increasingly noisy South Main Street and the Pleasure Quarter. It was always brightly lit all night there, and always appeared somewhat dazzling to the eyes.
Isagi actually hadn't been there much, and neither had Astrea.
Their destination now wasn't there either. Instead, after crossing Central Park and following the Southwest Main Street—which was also quite prosperous—they finally arrived beside the long river that flowed through the city.
On the chilly water surface, cruise ship restaurants with lit lamps were still quietly floating in the distance, continuously sending over the sounds of dance and music.
The unknown trees planted along the riverbank appeared quite desolate at this moment.
Amidst the mud and vegetation on the side of the walkway, there even remained some traces of silvery-white fallen snow.
Astrea had originally thought Isagi intended to go to a luxury hotel on South Main Street. Although it was crowded and noisy there, the facilities were indeed nice (all heard from other Goddesses). But soon, after turning to come here, the Goddess thought again.
Could it be that Isagi wants to go to those quiet small inns by the river?
That wasn't bad, either.
Although the level of luxury might be lower, there were fewer people and it was secluded. Moreover, it appeared more like daily life, because many adventurers were—
This was also heard from other Goddesses.
Along the way, Astrea was recalling the days in the bathhouse of the gods, listening to the "private whispers" of other Goddesses that were bold to some extreme point. She probably never thought that one day she would actually become a practitioner!
Her heart was beating a bit fiercely.
After all, for the Goddess, the thing they were doing now was also a first.
In a trance, the Goddess of Justice didn't know when she had followed Isagi to the riverside. It was completely the boy leading the way; she was dizzy, her thoughts having long drifted to the "room" of the future.
So.
When the boy pulled her onto a small pleasure boat, Astrea didn't react at all.
What is the situation?!
The boat beneath her feet was swaying slightly.
Such small pleasure boats—roughly enough for only three or four people, with a small cabin in the middle containing a table, a charcoal stove, blankets, and so on for people to rest, drink tea, and eat—were quite numerous in Orario.
In itself, this long river located on the southwest side of the city, passing through the city along with the Bridge of Heroes, was a famous tourist attraction in Orario.
If it were daytime.
One feared they would have to queue for a long time and would still find it difficult to find a boat to sit in.
However, it was different at night now. Isagi directly activated the drive mechanism, which was also made of Magic Stone. The small pleasure boat quickly emitted a slight humming sound, and then advanced along the side of the long river.
The speed wasn't slow.
Under Isagi's deliberate operation, they even quickly left the city, departing from the waterway specifically chiseled out beneath the city wall, and arrived outside the city.
Only then did the Goddess manage to pull her thoughts out of her "hotel room."
Originally, she had even thought about after the bath... no, during the bath, if the bathroom was big enough... No! It didn't matter if it was small; actually, maybe small was better? That way they could squeeze together... After the bath, they could return to the bed, then to the bath again, and... Anyway, as long as they could rush back before morning.
Right?
But the current situation was completely different!
The cold wind of winter, which was always quiet and leisurely, appeared much, much more direct here.
Unlike in the city.
It constantly blew up her hair, which was already a bit sticky, and also blew the small boat so that it swayed slightly. And just like that, unknowingly, the towering city wall in the distance gradually became shorter, leaving only a blurred silhouette under the night curtain.
The Goddess of Justice didn't know where this was, either.
Surrounding them were reeds presenting a withered yellow color, layer upon layer, very thick and heavy, just like a distant forest land, almost covering everything.
The sky was pitch black.
No stars could be seen, and there wasn't even a moon—perhaps it was too small, or hidden behind some wisps of clouds.
Thus, all of a sudden.
Except for a small lamp hanging on the pleasure boat, it was terribly dark all around. And after Isagi extinguished that lamp too, it became even darker.
Astrea understood almost instantly.
Very cooperatively, she ducked into the cabin.
The inside was much warmer than imagined. In the small fireplace to the side, crimson firelight accompanied by a faint indigo glow illuminated this space, which wasn't very large.
He stowed away the long table, pushing it aside as much as possible to save space for lying down.
The thick wool blankets were also very warm.
They even emitted a certain very dry, pleasant scent—probably incense from some distant country outside the city?
The Goddess of Justice thought so.
Very quickly.
Sensing the movement of the boy entering the cabin as well, Astrea waited no longer. Instead, seizing the time, she pulled the boy over all at once.
However, even though she did this, she didn't learn from Demeter to flip over and switch their positions so she could better take the initiative to do something next.
The Goddess of Justice was still accustomed to being like this, closing her eyes slightly, her heart beating fast.
Just continuing to wait.
Waiting for the boy's warm breath to get closer and closer, waiting for the weight bearing down on her body to become increasingly pressing, waiting—
The night curtain stammered and gradually became oppressive as well.
A small crescent moon revealed a little of itself from who knows where. It wasn't bright, just lightly falling on the river surface. However, compared to the usual calmness, the water surface here was constantly rippling from time to time, stirring up wave after wave, crushing the reflection so it could never return to its complete shape.
_____
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