"I need your help."
Genichi turned around to look at Demeter.
Demeter blinked.
In all the time she'd known him, this was the first time-
He'd asked her for help.
In the past, no matter what happened, he carried it alone.
If he got hurt, he treated himself.
If he ran into danger, he escaped on his own.
If he needed to get stronger, he forced his way forward by himself.
But now, he'd said it out loud.
Instead of mocking him, Demeter smiled.
Not with ridicule. Not with sarcasm, but-
Relief.
This boy who always sealed himself inside a hard shell was finally willing to open up to her.
"Okay."
Her voice was gentle, and there was happiness in it she couldn't quite hide.
"But why? What are you actually trying to do?"
Genichi looked at her smile, a complicated emotion stirring in his chest.
He knew what she was thinking.
But he didn't call it out.
He simply continued.
"I need you to help me enter the Dungeon."
He paused.
"And release your divine aura."
Demeter's smile froze.
Her amber eyes widened instantly, staring at Genichi in disbelief.
"What did you just say?"
"Release your divine aura."
Genichi repeated it, calm and firm.
"Inside the Dungeon. Release your divine aura."
Demeter opened her mouth to speak, then realized her voice had caught in her throat.
Divine aura.
Inside the Dungeon.
Put those two together, and the meaning was obvious.
If a god released divine aura in the Dungeon, it would provoke the Dungeon's wrath.
That living labyrinth would sense a god's presence, sense that power from the Upper World.
And then it would get angry.
An enraged Dungeon would actively spawn monsters meant specifically to hunt gods.
Demeter's voice trembled.
"Y-you… you're trying to…"
"Yes."
Genichi nodded, meeting her gaze head-on.
"I want the Dungeon to spawn a mutated Goliath on its own."
He paused again.
"A black Floor Boss."
Demeter fell silent.
A long, long silence.
She just stared at Genichi, emotions churning in those amber eyes- shock, worry, fear, and something else she couldn't put into words.
She understood exactly how insane this plan was.
A god releasing divine aura in the Dungeon, deliberately triggering the Dungeon's wrath to force a mutated monster into existence-
No one in Orario's history had ever done it.
Because it meant placing a god in extreme danger.
Once the Dungeon was enraged, it wouldn't be just three goblins crawling out.
The monsters created to kill gods would come for her relentlessly, without stopping.
Even if she fled back to the surface, they might chase her up.
Just like that scorpion the Dungeon had spawned in the past, a monster made specifically to target gods.
This was gambling with her life.
"Don't worry."
Genichi's voice pulled her back from her spiraling thoughts.
"I'll use Apparition immediately and send you back."
He sounded calm, but there was a certainty to it that made it hard not to believe him.
"The moment you release your divine aura, I'll cast it. You won't be in any danger."
"And after that…"
He paused.
"I'll deal with the mutated Goliath."
Demeter looked at him, the worry in her eyes still not fading.
"Are you sure this will work?"
Her voice was quiet, trembling slightly.
Genichi met her gaze and was silent for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Relax."
"If things go bad, I'll summon Alfia to help me handle it."
He paused, the corner of his mouth lifting into a faint smile.
"With Alfia's strength, dealing with something like that…"
"Wouldn't it be easy?"
Demeter froze.
Alfia.
The strongest mage in Orario's history, the monster who had nearly destroyed the entire city.
If Genichi really could summon her-
Then a mutated Goliath truly wasn't something to fear.
Even if it was only for three minutes.
Even if it was only three minutes, Alfia would have more than enough time to blast that thing into dust.
Genichi, however, had another layer to his thinking.
Alfia's power was so outrageous that four full-powered casts would be enough to turn the Dungeon into ruins in three minutes.
He'd done the math before.
Even if the summon only lasted three minutes, even if it consumed a terrifying amount of mana, with Alfia's strength, even against Filvis Challia with Level 7 combat power-
She would probably still pull it off.
Maybe even crush her outright.
That pitiful woman, remade into a "monster" and stripped of herself, likely wouldn't last more than a few seconds in front of Alfia.
The only thing Genichi truly worried about was something else.
The Spirits' Six Rings.
Dionysus was plotting to use the Spirits' Six Rings to blow all of Orario into the sky.
Genichi didn't know how far that plan had progressed, but at the very least, he didn't want things to reach the worst possible outcome yet.
Would the Spirits' Six Rings really blast Orario into the sky?
He didn't know.
But he did know that unless he was forced into it, he wouldn't move against Dionysus before confirming what cards the other side still had hidden.
"Genichi?"
Demeter's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
He looked up and met those amber eyes filled with worry.
"That Alfia you mentioned… can she really be trusted?"
Genichi was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"She can."
"I have her weakness in my hands."
"As long as she still cares about that child, she can't be used against me."
Demeter looked at him, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
Using that child to threaten Alfia-
It was ugly.
But she didn't have the standing to condemn Genichi.
Demeter took a deep breath, forcing down the complicated feelings in her chest.
Then she lifted her head and looked straight at Genichi.
All the worry in her amber eyes was gone.
In its place was something firm. Something resolute- a resolve that said she'd do anything for him.
"Okay."
Her voice was steady, absolute.
"I'll help you."
Genichi looked at her and gave a small nod.
"Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me."
Demeter smiled, stepped forward, and hugged him lightly.
"But you have to promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Don't get hurt. Stay alive. I don't want anything to happen to you."
Genichi was silent for a moment.
"…Yeah."
He could feel Demeter's feelings clearly.
But he had no intention of giving her any kind of answer.
He wasn't at a point where he could relax and enjoy anything yet.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]