After entrusting Demeter to Astraea, Genichi returned to Orario.
This time, he did not alert anyone.
He did not go to the Demeter Familia's home, did not meet a single familiar face, and did not even leave any record at the Guild.
He had come back for revenge, so the more quietly he moved, the better.
Standing outside the gates of Orario, Genichi gazed at the familiar labyrinth city.
The towering walls, the busy streets, the countless adventurers coming and going - everything looked much the same as when he had left.
But Genichi knew that beneath this city, inside that artificial labyrinth, the filthiest darkness was hiding.
The DanMachi Genichi's memories surfaced in his mind once again.
On the day he was tricked by Evilus into the artificial labyrinth, he had thought he had finally found a Familia willing to take him in.
But what awaited him was not a warm bed and good food. It was endless beatings and abuse.
Day after day, he was used as a punching bag, bullied at will by adventurers stronger than him.
They beat him, kicked him, and carved countless wounds into his body with their weapons, yet they refused to let him die, because only the living could continue serving as a sparring dummy.
In the end, in that dark corner, Valletta snapped his neck with a single kick.
That pain, that despair, even felt through stolen memories, was still vivid enough for Genichi to experience clearly.
"Wait for me."
He muttered the words under his breath, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.
He found a concealed corner, made sure no one was around, and opened a portal.
The light of the portal flared in the darkness. Genichi first poked his head through carefully, observing the situation inside the artificial labyrinth.
It was a narrow corridor. Dim magic-stone lamps were embedded in the walls, their wavering light casting mottled shadows across the floor.
Several iron doors lined both sides of the passage, shut tight and stained with rust, as though they had been there for years.
The air was thick with damp rot, mixed with the sharp stink of blood and sweat.
Genichi held his breath and listened closely.
Faint footsteps echoed from the distance, along with snatches of conversation.
It sounded like there were not many people, perhaps three or four, and they were moving in the opposite direction.
Only after confirming that the area was temporarily safe did Genichi step out of the portal.
His feet landed on the cold, damp stone without making a sound.
"King of Shadows."
He murmured the incantation, and the black shadows at his feet began to writhe, twisting and splitting like something alive.
One by one, pitch-black shadows peeled away from the darkness. They had no fixed form, only vague human outlines, yet each of them radiated an eerie and dangerous presence.
These shadow monsters had been created by his King of Shadows magic. They could take physical form, move freely through darkness, and silently hunt their targets.
"Kill every adventurer inside this artificial labyrinth."
Genichi's voice was low and icy, devoid of all emotion.
The shadows received the command and slipped soundlessly into the darkness, vanishing from sight.
They would roam through the labyrinth, seeking out every living thing, then kill them in the cruelest way possible.
Genichi did not care whether there were innocents among the adventurers of Evilus.
Anyone who could enter this artificial labyrinth was a member of Evilus, a devil with blood on their hands.
The DanMachi Genichi was not the first to die here, and he would not have been the last.
If these people delighted in torturing others to death, then they could have a taste of that fear themselves.
"Disillusionment Charm."
Genichi cast the invisibility spell on himself, and his body instantly turned transparent, blending into the surroundings.
This was magic from the Harry Potter world. Though it was not a combat spell, it was extremely useful for infiltration and assassination.
Once that was done, Genichi began to move slowly through the artificial labyrinth.
His target was clear: Valletta.
The woman who had killed the DanMachi Genichi.
As for the other Evilus adventurers, Genichi did not care whether they lived or died.
The shadows created by King of Shadows were enough to deal with most of them. Even if a few slipped through the net, they would not amount to anything.
But Valletta had to die.
And she had to die by his own hand.
Genichi moved down the corridor without making a sound, one silent step after another.
The artificial labyrinth was even larger than he had imagined.
From behind the iron doors on either side of the passage came constant screams and pleading voices.
They were prisoners, unfortunate people who had fallen into the hands of Evilus.
Genichi did not stop.
It was not because he was cold-blooded. It was because now was not the time to save anyone. If he alerted the enemy and made Valletta aware of danger, she would very likely flee.
He had to eliminate his target first. The rest could be dealt with afterward.
Continuing deeper in, Genichi arrived at a more open area.
It looked like a training ground. Various training tools were set around the edges, and dark red bloodstains still marked the floor.
Several adventurers were sparring in the middle of the space, the clash of blades echoing through the empty hall.
Standing in the shadows, Genichi watched them coldly.
Five in total. All of them looked to be around Level 2.
Judging by the way they fought, they had all been trained for killing. Every strike aimed for a vital point, with no trace of restraint.
These were probably the instructors responsible for training assassins.
Genichi did not act.
They were not his target.
The shadows created by King of Shadows would be enough for them.
Sure enough, just as Genichi was preparing to circle around the training ground and continue deeper inside, the shadows along the wall suddenly twisted.
Several pitch-black figures surged soundlessly out of the darkness, pouncing on the adventurers like phantoms.
"What the-"
The first adventurer did not even have time to react before a shadow pierced straight through his chest.
He looked down at the black hole torn through him, disbelief filling his eyes, and then collapsed limply to the ground.
The other four cried out in terror and immediately slashed at the shadows.
But ordinary weapons were useless against shadow monsters. Their blades passed straight through them as though cutting empty air.
The shadows' counterattacks, however, were lethally real.
In a matter of seconds, all five adventurers lay dead on the ground, their blood spreading across the training floor.
Genichi watched without expression and kept moving.
Beyond the training ground was a still deeper corridor.
There were fewer magic-stone lamps here, and the light was dimmer still, so dark it was nearly impossible to see a hand in front of your face.
But for Genichi, darkness was the perfect cover.
He continued forward, sensing everything around him.
Then suddenly, faint footsteps sounded from ahead.
(End of Chapter)
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