"Humm~"
When Renjiro (Aether) instinctively teleported to the relatively safe top of Babel Tower, he barely had time to stabilize himself in the small chamber used for storing Teleport Anchors.
Not long after, noticing that Lumine's magic consumption was nearing critical levels, he was ready to immediately move to Dungeon Level 50 and use the Starry Abyss skill's ultra-efficient mana regeneration buff to replenish his allies' depleted reserves.
However…
"Wait!"
Just before he activated his Spatial Teleport, a serious voice stopped him.
Looking up, he saw Freya, who had been waiting patiently inside the chamber.
"Renjiro, what's happening over in the Large Tree Labyrinth?"
Freya's expression was unusually serious.
She rarely addressed Renjiro by name. Normally, she used nicknames, teasing him casually or just out of habit. But now, the goddess's face was unusually grave.
As everyone knew, gods in the Lower World are generally prohibited from using divine power.
Instead, they have a limited self-protective ability, divine presence.
This overwhelming aura, entirely derived from a higher-level lifeform, often serves as a symbol of divinity.
"Ah… that figure seems like a normal human, yet the feeling… it's on a completely different plane of existence, divine."
In short, the presence of divine aura allows mortals to instantly recognize a god if they do not restrain themselves.
And there is one situation where the aura becomes infinitely amplified: when using divine power.
Legend says gods who break this rule and are forced back to the Heavens are detected because divine power amplifies the divine aura beyond limits.
It is not merely using divine power that triggers detection, it's that using divine power makes divine aura impossible to conceal.
At this moment, thanks to Renjiro acting as a "messenger," Freya understood everything about Artemis's current predicament.
When the Secret Realm Scorpion forcibly used the Moon Goddess's divine power, her aura was magnified to extreme levels.
Every god in the Lower World, Loki, Ganesha, Hephaestus, Hestia, Aphrodite, Prometheus, Zeus, Hera… even Uranus, who tried to calm the dungeon through prayer, sensed it.
This was absolutely a "rule-breaking" act.
"And what's Artemis trying to do?"
"Why hasn't she been forcibly returned to the Heavens despite going this far?"
Many gods wondered this, but only the informed, Hermes, Ganesha, Uranus, and Freya, fully understood how dire the situation was.
Renjiro didn't know exactly how the Heavens' law of forced divine recall worked.
But clearly, Artemis, devoured by Antares, could not be recalled.
This was why, in the original timeline, Artemis could only be killed, forced to wait tens of thousands of years for resurrection.
"Time is critical. No time for explanations, elder sister."
Renjiro (Aether) spoke briefly, knowing the urgency.
"The Scorpion's true form has appeared at the Large Tree Labyrinth border. I must go to Level 50 to restore magic."
"That's it then…"
"Humm~"
After finishing his words, he activated Spatial Teleport and vanished.
"You're too impatient."
Freya sighed at the chamber door, staring at the empty space.
Those who always insist on being fully prepared before acting often lack experience and patience when emergencies arise.
Indeed, Renjiro shouldn't have acted so hastily.
Because if he had stayed just half a minute longer on the surface…
Freya, just stepping away from the chamber door, looked through the floor-to-ceiling window and saw outside.
"That is…"
Her face changed dramatically. Her crystal-clear purple eyes widened.
Next moment…
The entire Orario shook violently.
Night had already fallen.
With Renjiro arriving at Dungeon Level 50, the Starry Abyss skill's mana regeneration buff stacked to a terrifying ×44.
At Renjiro's current Blessing Level, maintaining even a ×9 regen efficiency allows a single Archon to remain permanently present in the Lower World.
A ×44 efficiency meant he could barely sustain five Archons simultaneously for long-term combat.
"Phew~"
At the Large Tree Labyrinth border, Lumine, deep underground, rapidly recovered her exhausted magic.
Riveria, meanwhile, suffered from magical backlash due to Freya's truncated spell earlier. Even with high-level healing magic, she was caught in a painfully ironic healer-can't-heal-herself situation.
Luckily, a nearby elf healer had applied emergency treatment following Lumine's warning.
But to fully restore her injuries…
[Stars, gather here]
Lumine, having recovered some magic, summoned Barbara to heal Riveria.
"Including you, there are eighteen here."
Hedin's calm voice came from nearby.
Lumine glanced sideways and confirmed that both the Black-White Twin Swords and the Gulliver Brothers were present.
The remaining eleven were all Loki's familia members.
"Where did that brat Aether go?"
Gareth asked suddenly.
Lumine replied calmly,
"At the moment the light rain fell, Aether teleported back to Orario via transfer magic. He's reporting the events here to Goddess Freya and the Guild."
Upon hearing this, many around them looked uneasy.
Even the Gulliver Brothers…
From their perspective, Renjiro's action looked like a sudden retreat from the battlefield.
"This is a strategy Aether and I planned long ago," Lumine explained.
"In extremely dangerous situations, one person must leave the battlefield. That way, both sides' lives are guaranteed."
Seeing suspicion on everyone's faces, she continued seriously:
"If a rear-guard must be left in future scenarios, I will take responsibility. Only I, with Aether's remote support, can handle it best."
Everyone understood.
This was the special trait of the Twin Stars.
Since Lumine spoke so clearly, lingering doubts naturally dissipated.
With suspicion suppressed at its root…
"What's our next move?"
Hedin and Riveria, always meticulous, noticed that the team's core was no longer the veteran adventurers.
Everyone instinctively followed Lumine's lead.
"We and Aether will first assess the surface situation," Lumine said succinctly.
"Afterward, whether we strike the Secret Realm Scorpion or retreat, it depends on the state of the camp."
"I hope… some of us can survive this."