The plan had been set.
All that remained now was to put it into action.
"Finn and Gareth will lead the front line, rear line, and healing unit in the assault. Riveria will stay here on standby in case anything happens..."
Finn pointed at each member in turn and divided the teams appropriately.
The Loki Familia had been split broadly into two groups: the assault unit led by the executives of the First Party, including Finn, and the standby unit with Riveria.
They had already finished all their preliminary preparations before even entering the underground area, so there was nothing major left to do.
After all, an adventurer's first rule was to be thoroughly prepared for danger at any time, anywhere.
"All right, then. We move in. Riveria, I'm counting on you to handle things here."
"Leave it to me. But Finn, is it all right not to call him?"
"Him? Ah, the Magus."
Finn had been momentarily puzzled by Riveria's question, but he quickly understood what she meant and gave a slight shake of his head.
It was a gesture that said there was no need.
"I see. Of course, I also think it wouldn't be good to drag in a member of another Familia into our affairs without reason."
"Still, if he were with us like he was on the previous expedition, the safety of this assault would go up a lot."
"Then..."
"I think you've misunderstood something, Riveria."
I'm not exactly opposing his participation.
As Finn turned his head and said that, the one who answered his gaze was one of the twin sisters.
"An is resting right now~! She says she can't even take one step outside for the time being!"
"Setting aside the fatigue and injuries piled onto her body, she was unlucky enough to get caught in that ragged state by Amid when she came back. Right now she's been trapped by the Dian Cecht Familia and tied to a bed, under constant live monitoring."
"Or so they say."
"Haa, serves her right."
After hearing the full story, Riveria could only let out a shallow sigh of disbelief.
At any rate, now that they knew the Magus's help was absolutely impossible, all that remained was for them to somehow complete this assault safely on their own.
"Well, nothing to worry about. We're the mighty Loki Familia, after all."
"Raul, never let your guard down, no matter the situation. Keep that in mind."
"Ah, s-sorry..."
Raul shrank back at the light rebuke after sticking his nose in where it didn't belong.
But his carefree confidence freshened the air around them a little, easing some of the unnecessary tension everyone had been carrying.
And it was Finn's duty as commander to tighten that loosened thread of tension again at the proper time.
"Slowly. Move in while keeping an eye on your surroundings. If you spot anything suspicious or strange, report it immediately."
"""Yes, sir!"""
The Loki Familia answered in booming voices.
And so, the first step of their exploration of the artificial labyrinth was taken.
In the suffocatingly quiet and eerie atmosphere, all they could see as they went on and on was the faint glow of the magic stone lantern and the passageway.
The walls of the corridor were made of adamantite, one of the highest-grade minerals used in Tiona's Urega, blocking off most underhanded tricks in advance.
Only the proper routes the enemy allowed, twisted like a maze, were permitted.
Among them, several grotesque demon statues glared at the Loki Familia.
And the first one to greet them after entering this labyrinth was...
"Piiiiiiiiiiiin~!"
"I wanted to meet you, you prim and proper hero!"
She was a woman who looked more hideous and vile than any witch in any story, yet more cruel than anyone else.
"I'll tear out your guts! Slice your face to pieces! Stab your whole body over and over!"
I'll carve my existence into your soul so you'll never dare speak so arrogantly again!
The woman bared a cruelty so vicious it was enough to raise goosebumps, her ugly sincerity spilling out in full.
Slayer, Barreta Grede.
One of the remnants of Evils, thought to have already been buried in the nightmares and dark history of the past.
"Huh?! Who the hell is that woman?!"
"Hey, Finn. Do you have some weird disease that makes strange women fall in love with you?"
"Bete, that's incredibly rude to say in front of the person himself. Though I suppose that one's an exception."
"Ah, do you know her?"
"Yes. I had a feeling, but I see she really was alive after all."
Frowning, Finn recalled the past already passed.
The dark age of Orario, when vile evil ran rampant.
The deathly seven days of the "Great Rampage" that still could not be forgotten.
The unexpected annihilation of the Astrea Familia.
The rampage of the sole survivor, the "Tempest."
And the nightmare of the 27th Floor.
"So that was all just a deception to fake your deaths, was it, Barreta?"
"Kek! That's disgustingly right, you little hero! Ever since that day six years ago, the Guild and you bastards beat us down so hard that all of Evils' power got chipped away!"
That was how the false deaths of the Evils executives had been barely fabricated.
However, it had not taken long for those deaths, which should have been false, to become reality.
"You devilish piece of shit! That day, you lot didn't go to support the 27th Floor!"
Why?
Because the moment they heard the information, they immediately attacked Evils' poorly defended base together with the other allied Familias.
As a result, most of Evils' gods were sent back to the Heavens.
Thanks to that, the remnants of Evils, including Barreta, had truly been on the verge of dying miserably on the 27th Floor as monster food that day.
"Do you even know the terror of having your god sent back and your [Falna] sealed inside the Dungeon?! How many times, how many dozens of times we nearly got killed by those damn monster bastards...!"
"Serves you right. The person I owe an apology to for that day's nightmare isn't you."
With those words, Finn turned his gaze slightly backward.
There stood Lefiya, who looked somewhat dazed after being shocked by the content of the two people's conversation.
And...
"...I already heard about it from Dionysus."
Phyrbis, who had joined this assault alone in order to help Lefiya personally, was there as well.
She was clearly one of the victims in Finn's eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"No. As a Familia's commander, you, the "Hero," simply made a rational judgment. And the one you truly owe an apology to is not me, who cowardly survived alone that day, but my comrades who died in my place."
"I see."
That gave him one more reason to make this assault a success.
With that, Finn steeled himself once more and glared fiercely at Barreta before him.
Under that unwavering gaze, Barreta clicked her tongue briefly in irritation.
Of course, she had not expected that kind of petty wordplay to work on the "Hero" anyway, but she had at least hoped to shake the others around him a little.
"Ah, forget it. I'm done. The job was decided from the start anyway."
Then she smiled with a hint of anticipation.
"That prim little face of yours ends here today."
"I... no, 'we' have been waiting."
For you bastards to come here.
"To enter our fortress, Knossos, and be eaten alive!"
This is your grave.
As she said that, a strange orb was clenched in her raised hand.
And at that very moment...
Boom!
"W-we're trapped!"
"Something's vibrating from the door on the closed side...!"
The door to the passage they had entered slammed shut in an instant, cutting off their retreat.
Then, from the direction of the door that had been closed until now and had therefore caused most of them to let their guard down a little, numerous presences began to be felt.
This was clearly a trap.
"Everyone! Get away from the door!"
Boom!
"-KuoOOOOOOOOOOO!"
And then the closed door opened, and countless new monsters swarmed toward the Loki Familia in a mass.
From the victims' point of view, it was a chilling sight.
But...
"You punks, we're going in hard!"
"Stay calm! We've fought these guys to death a thousand times already!"
"Everyone, straight ahead! Target Barreta Grede!"
No matter what anyone said, these were the Loki Familia.
Veteran adventurers from one of the two strongest forces in the city, representing modern Orario.
For them, a trap like this was nothing more than a welcome greeting.
"Tch! At least get a little shaken up, you damn bastards!"
Barreta frowned deeply at the Loki Familia's calm demeanor.
But soon a vicious smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
"Well, it doesn't matter either way."
With a smile full of anticipation, she immediately turned and ran back down the passage.
No, that was clearly an invitation.
"A lure, huh. What are they aiming for?"
The magic tool Barreta had just used a moment ago.
It was definitely the key that moved the Orichalcum door.
To show something like that on purpose.
It was such an obvious move that even a fool would understand it.
"They're probably throwing out bait to lure us into the real trap."
"Well, it's annoying, but we'll just have to bite down and take it."
"Ha! Whatever it is, all we have to do is smash straight through it!"
"Wow, Bete. That's so brutish."
"Mm, but he's not exactly wrong, is he?"
The members who had caught on to the enemy's intent also showed a sliver of ease amid the tension.
They were not completely careless, just in the perfect state with their shoulders tense enough and no more.
"But why is it..."
Throb!
Finn found himself bothered by the reaction of his thumb, whose dull ache was growing steadily worse.
It seemed the Evils bastards had prepared quite thoroughly.
But even so, their own confidence was overflowing.
"Commander! Leave the rear guard to Lefiya and me!"
"Lefiya...! Yes, I'm counting on you."
"Yes! Come on, Phyrbis!"
"Understood. Leave it to me."
[Be my shield! Holy Grail of the West!]
Dio Grail!
Thud!
"-Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
A shield of protection, imbued with the wish to protect her comrades, blocked the path of the hideous swarm of monsters filling the corridor.
[...Pierce them, arrow of certainty!]
Arcs Ray!
Then Lefiya's voice, brimming with confidence, became a song and sublimated into power, turning into a single beam of light that pierced the enemy.
KWAANG!
"Amazing, Lefiya!"
"Heh, you're finally a little useful."
"You idiot, Bete, at least be honest when you're praising someone."
"Shut up. None of your business."
As the monster horde was blown away by the powerful heat ray, leaving a hole in an instant, the companions around them all let out short exclamations at their performance.
But only for a moment.
"Ah, that!"
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
"Maneaters?!"
"Another new species!?"
From another passage, a new swarm of spider-shaped monsters appeared together with Maneaters, filling the corridor and obstructing their advance.
Just as the ordinary members were about to tense up at the unknown sight before them...
"Who cares! These things...!"
As long as they crushed them all before they got close, that was enough!
Kwagagagagaga!
There was no way to stop the [Fierce Wolf] as he charged ahead with his temper flaring to the max.
And that wasn't all.
"Watch out! Monsters are coming out of the floor traps...!"
Thud! Crunch!
Pupupupupupuk!
"Hm? What did you say, Raul?"
"Ah, damn it. For a new species I've never seen before, these things are way too flimsy. Unlike the Maneaters, it's like smashing snacks."
"Uh, th-that's... Ah, it's nothing."
"Haa, that idiot."
At his embarrassing display of foolishness, the cat beastman Aki's sighs did not stop even today.
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