"What? Finn and Grace followed that mutt into the Dungeon—and they even went without weapons?"
Valetta, who had been holed up at base running self-checks, froze when the main god's message reached her. A nameless, scorching rage surged from her chest.
"Those two bastards are doing it on purpose!"
Thanatos, the one who brought the news, only shook his head. "That much is obvious. Showing up this blatantly is their way of mocking how you got duped last time. Going in unarmed is bait—to see if you'll fall for it again."
He glanced at Valetta with a trace of pity. At this point he was certain: last time, Valetta walked straight into a trap Finn had laid well in advance.
"Valetta, your luck is truly rotten. You let Finn lock onto you."
"My guess? After what we did to Astraea, Finn inferred our stronghold is in the Dungeon. So he sent those two kids down there to give you a chance to poke your head out."
"This time they're going themselves because they've confirmed we've got a secret passage at the Great Azure Falls," Thanatos added. "Their aim is obvious—narrow the search range and pinpoint the Gate."
Valetta forced the words out through a black look, each syllable bitter: "Narrow… the range… and fix the Gate's position." Saying it only made her face darker. She knew Finn had pegged her for a fool. She'd thought she saw an opening to get back at him; turns out she was the donkey being led by a carrot.
She pictured herself being swept by Amphisbaena's flood into the deeper food stores, surviving by a hair. Just thinking of that operation made her want to grab a blade and go for Finn's throat.
"Calm down, Valetta," Thanatos said softly. "Don't actually believe they went down unarmed. Don't forget the one fact you learned from your last failure."
"Puppet control—and a new Loki Familia kid with spatial abilities."
She had been outplayed by Finn, yes, but the other half of her failure was never expecting someone with space to exist.
"If they've walked in empty-handed today, odds are this is another round of 'fishing.'"
Thanatos' casual remark made Valetta's cheek twitch. It wasn't that she thought it impossible—she thought it was very likely.
"Remember how Finn cracked your setup last time? The moment a spatial kid steps in, conventional ambushes become worthless. No matter how strong the other side is, they can't cross space and follow you into your own field—like our ambush of Astraea Familia. In the end, all of Astraea's brats survived, and of our ambushers, aside from the one who escaped using Lambton, everyone died."
Thanatos sighed. "Spatial power showing up in a child of the Lower World is disgustingly unfair. You can hardly catch someone like that—and down here we have very few ways to restrict space."
"We'll need Baka to research how to limit that ability," he decided. "Until we have a concrete method, all ambush plans against Loki and Astraea are suspended. As long as that kid could be lurking in the back, nothing ends well."
He fixed Valetta with one last look. "Not that I need to say it—but don't let Finn's taunts get to you."
"…I know." Valetta ground her teeth so hard the friction squealed, making it sound like her molars might crack. She said nothing more. She'd already fallen for Finn's trap once; any words now would be hollow. But inside, she swore an oath: Don't let me find a chance for payback. If I do, Finn—you'll regret today.
At the Great Azure Falls, Finn waited a while and, upon confirming no one interfered, let out a small, disappointed breath. "Looks like Valetta isn't as stupid as we imagined."
"She's probably in her little room right now, cursing my name nonstop," he added, lips quirking.
"Hey now, Finn, that's harsh," Grace chuckled. "She's in there swearing, all right—going, 'Don't let me find a chance, Finn,' over and over."
The two men glanced at each other and broke into laughter. It wasn't that they were cruel by nature; it was just that picturing Valetta locked in a dark little room, muttering to herself, was unbearably funny—especially when they knew the inside story. They knew her current situation was orchestrated by Tsunayoshi, and now she believed the memories he'd planted. With their follow-up jabs, Valetta had likely swallowed her rewritten past whole. Perhaps even Evilus's main god believed she had no problem at all.
Knowing too much made it hard not to laugh.
Bert glanced back at them and shook his head inwardly. Those two geezers are vicious. He didn't sympathize with Valetta one bit, though. In fact, he thought Tsunayoshi's handling had been perfect. If you bully the weak and get reverse-killed, stop playing. If your skills aren't enough, then own the result.
He pricked up his ears, listening. Today, the Great Azure Falls was quieter than expected, and beneath that quiet lay a massive danger. From his waist he drew a prepared firestone, yanked the fuse, and tossed it into a hollow on the left-hand cliff.
The firestone plummeted. After a short fall—boom!—a thunderous blast roared up from below. The shock shook the entire Great Azure Falls—and pried open a pair of eyes in the dark.
"Rrrroar!"
A feral bellow tore into the sky, venting its rage.
Amphisbaena had appeared.
"There you are—my prey." Bert's mouth curled. He sprang from the cliff's lip and dove.
The hunt was his.
(End of Chapter)
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