The collapse began from the bottom up.
Located at the bottom of the Artificial Labyrinth Knossos, in the unfinished area connecting the 18th Floor to the 19th Floor, countless bricks and mud were piled up, resembling the boundary of an abandoned factory.
The red Lizardman leading the group wore the light armor commonly used by adventurers, holding a curved scimitar and a shield, his body covered in the sticky, foul-smelling blood of monsters.
"Sweeping of the 18th Floor complete. It's really too big here, Ray. Tell Fels we are ready to continue upwards."
"Mm, the upper levels are also going smoothly. This operation seems quite easy."
"Is that so..."
The Lizardman Lyd and the Siren Ray were among the leaders of this group of Xenos. They were monsters born from the Dungeon possessing intelligence and humanoid appearances. Long ago, they established contact with Fels of the Guild and reached a certain sense of 'alliance' with the other party.
The Xenos were also 'children' of the Dungeon Mother, so, like the Dungeon itself, they all wanted to see the sky—
This was the 'Mother's' initial wish, and also a long-cherished desire imprinted deep within their souls.
For this reason.
To cooperate with humans, and perhaps even coexist harmoniously with the people on the surface in the distant future—most of the Xenos thought this way.
But regardless, they still possessed the appearance of monsters. Rashly appearing on the surface would inevitably trigger panic. Just like most adventurers.
To the people on the surface, monsters were equivalent to 'natural disasters.' Therefore, Fels and Ouranos had long secretly blocked all information related to them, only making preparations silently in the dark.
Among these efforts, the annual Monster Philia was an endeavor to let the people on the surface get used to the existence of 'monsters,' to no longer view them as terrifying calamities but as ordinary 'creatures.'
"Where is Gros?"
"He has already headed towards the 17th Floor."
"Then let's hurry over too."
Unlike the adventurers above, what Lyd and the others encountered were mostly monsters locked in the Artificial Labyrinth by the Dark Familia. Because they lacked Tamers, most monsters could not fight alongside the members of the Dark Familia.
But even so, it still puzzled the Xenos.
Reasonably speaking, shouldn't they let the monsters go to the frontmost battle lines to wear down the city's adventurers first? What was the use of locking them in a place like this? Could it be they knew from the start that the operation would be divided into two offenses from the 1st Floor and the 18th Floor?
Lyd shook his head.
As a leader of the Xenos, he was naturally a quite intelligent fellow, but he was still quite unskilled when it came to 'conspiracies and plots.'
In short, the current progress was smooth.
The Xenos were numerous, and their strength was basically all above Level 3. Aside from the offensive troops here, they had also sealed off all entrances and exits connecting the Artificial Labyrinth and the Dungeon. Right now, they just needed to continue upwards.
Thinking this, just as Lyd was about to leave, a slight shaking sound suddenly came from the darkness, attracting the attention of all the Xenos.
First, the giant support pillars that always appeared in the various empty halls began to shatter. Immediately afterward, the ground centered around them began to collapse downward, like a gradually expanding vortex, cracking and squeezing downward continuously like a funnel.
And it was at this moment.
Lyd and many Xenos felt something. That was the 'call' from the Dark Mother.
At first, it was very distant, but it got closer and closer, until in the sky above a certain corner of the [Great Tree Labyrinth] on the 19th Floor of the Dungeon, small gaps leaked out from between the wooden ceiling.
Subsequently, inexplicable dark matter appeared out of thin air, like countless pairs of pitch-black hands, stuffing into the interior, expanding it continuously, expanding, expanding—
[Darkness] was spreading.
In the Xenos team led by Lyd and Ray, several guys first felt the abnormality and changes in their bodies. Just like when they were called by the 'Dark Mother' in their dreams.
A trance-like feeling came over them.
Subsequently, they discovered that they seemed to have undergone some kind of change. First was the Bearman vanguard wearing incomparably heavy armor, the Boarman two-handed warrior, and then the Lizardman ranger wielding dual swords, the Dragonfly shooter, and the Dragonman Mage—
Some Xenos had already become 'Monster Adventurers.' That inexplicable, massive memory swept over them instantly, dreamlike and illusory, making them unable to distinguish reality.
And simultaneously, Lyd saw pair after pair of arms growing out of the darkness in the distance.
As the Xenos who first dreamt of the Dark Mother, he could feel the Dungeon's incomparably intense thirst at this moment.
"Quick, tell Fels, Ray!"
Lyd gasped for breath. He didn't know what the situation was right now, but almost instinctively, he realized that something very terrible was about to happen.
"Tell Fels to let the adventurers retreat! Retreat from this Artificial Labyrinth immediately!! Mother is coming... and... Mother is looking for... no, She has already found him. There is already an unerasable connection between Mother and him..."
The Dark Mother was thirsting for him.
From bottom to top, at this moment, the Artificial Labyrinth was undergoing some kind of change...
The instant contact with the Xenos was lost, Fels attempted to inform Loki and the others of the accident. However, the transmission of information was not smooth because some force was interfering.
It was the Dungeon!
The [Oculus] was not omnipotent. For example, if carried to the Deep Floors, it could at most only receive 'images' and 'sounds' transmitted back from there, while real-time communication functions could not be used. This was also why the Guild did not equip Familias like Loki and Freya, who would go on expeditions to the Deep Floors, with them; simply knowing what happened there was meaningless in itself.
And very quickly.
First, Miss Asfi sent bad news through the Oculus.
"What happened... Wait! What did that guy do?! How could... Barca, he merged with the Jewel Fetus! Prepare for battle, be careful, that thing..."
Intermittent voices came through. The Hermes Familia side, which had originally already caught the 'Lord of the Labyrinth' Barca, encountered an accident.
Inside an empty hall emitting a faint fluorescence.
A gaunt man with messy long hair and a malnourished appearance had the blood-red letter 'D' constantly enlarging within his eyes full of filthy grime.
Veins bulged!
Within his visibly bony chest, an extremely bewitching 'Fetus' was breathing slowly, as if devouring the man's flesh and blood, constantly growing stronger.
"Ooooooooooh!!"
Pain, intense pain!
[Try this at the final moment.]
The masked God had said so. Barca roared; to fulfill his ancestor's long-cherished wish, he sacrificed everything he had, just like countless ancestors of his family.
There was no other way.
Deprived of 'self' from birth and selected as the heir, in a sense, he couldn't even be considered living; he was merely a puppet of an ancestor who had fallen into madness a thousand years ago.
Therefore, he could understand almost nothing.
To continue building Knossos, he cooperated with the remnants of the Dark Familia; to continue building Knossos, he had just thought about defecting to the Guild and those Justice Familias, exchanging intelligence for his own survival;
Or to continue building Knossos, knowing that the Guild and the Justice Familias would not allow the expansion of the Artificial Labyrinth, he could only come out to fight, hoping to repel the enemy;
At this point. Using anything would do.
Thus, Barca was devoured by the [Jewel Fetus] in an instant. This disgusting creation, birthed through the power of the Dungeon and in a sense capable of being called a 'miracle' of the Spirits, twisted him into an incomparably massive giant monster in a flash.
"ROAR!!"
A twisted existence like countless flesh-colored tentacles entangled together. Aside from the exposed giant eyeball carved with 'D' that could barely be called a head, the man's entire body had turned into a gigantic, swollen, ugly flesh body like a worm.
His right arm extended like a whip; his legs rotted into slug-like gastropods; accompanied by miserable howling sounds, flesh and bone were crushed and stirred. The black veins pulsed constantly, flowing with thick pitch-black liquid.
"Die... here, adventurers, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH—"
Aberration, Monster.
The guy appearing before Asfi, Bete, and the others presented an indescribably bizarre posture.
"Prepare for battle."
Taking out several clay figurines from her small backpack, Asfi frowned slightly. For some reason, she felt that the guy in front of her was not the true threat. Conversely, in the boundless darkness in the distance, it seemed there was something even more terrifying approaching slowly—
[Enyo].
She is the Goddess of Blood presiding over 'War' and 'Cruelty.' Legend has it that she often wears deep crimson armor poured from fresh blood, holds weapons, drinks the death covering the fields, dances in destroyed towns, takes pleasure in slaughter, and expects endless death and chaos.
This was the 'codename' Dionysus had originally planned to give himself.
To disguise as another God. After finally succeeding, quietly 'disappear' from this world, and then, drink fine wine while watching that world full of madness. How wonderful!
But unexpected accidents just had to happen to the plan!!
When Magatsuhi-no-Kami was taken out at the very beginning, Dionysus didn't think much of it; later, when Garuda was also taken out, although somewhat unexpected, it was barely still within His plan; but the discovery of the Viola monsters in the port city ahead of time, the exposure of the Artificial Labyrinth's location, and finally, the capture of Revis became the last straw that broke the camel's back!!
However.
It didn't matter that the plan was forced to advance by several years. Even if the stage hadn't been set up well, the 'audience' had already swarmed up, seeing through all the schemes He hadn't yet unfolded. None of this mattered.
Dionysus lowered his golden eyes slightly; he still had a new plan.
Originally, the current self should have completely abandoned the God of Death and His dependents. The so-called remnants of the Dark Familia were not 'companions' at all. They were nutrients, sacrifices, and bait for fishing.
According to Dionysus's plan, He should have activated the altar in the Artificial Labyrinth at this moment, awakening those 'Corrupted Spirit Avatars' he had cultivated in this labyrinth.
That was using the Jewel Fetus to parasitize powerful monsters, and subsequently, absorb all adventurers in the Artificial Labyrinth—whether from the city or the Dark Familia, as well as those imprisoned monsters—using them as the final flesh and blood sacrifices to make them grow completely.
Immediately after. With a 'boom', detonate!
Yes, Dionysus's original plan was to turn the entire Artificial Labyrinth into a giant bomb, blowing it away along with the city on the surface, completely destroying all adventurers and Babel, which acted as the 'Lid'!
But now, because the originally prepared 'Corrupted Spirit Avatars' were not mature, the effect would definitely be greatly discounted. But it didn't matter, let's just do it once, and He also had a brand new plan, which was—
"Dionysus! Quickly make those monsters you brought from the depths of the Dungeon attack! The front can't hold on anymore!!"
In the darkness, the voice of the God of Death came from afar.
The thin, hunched young man with messy gray-white hair wore a loose black robe, his spirit listless, always giving people a decadent feeling. And beside the God, the short-haired woman was heavily injured, barely supporting her body.
She was the Dark Familia's only Level 5 adventurer, and one of the few executives who survived the [Great Feud] era. [King of Slaughter] Valetta Grede.
Having just escorted the God of Death Thanatos to escape from the attacks of Finn and Gareth, the Pallum [Braver] who was once her 'nemesis' was no longer what he used to be, inflicting heavy damage on her with the power of Level 6.
Now, the strength gap between the Dark Familia and the city's adventurers was simply too large. Even Cursed Weapons and self-destruction couldn't narrow it much.
So where was the support?!
Aren't those 'Corrupted Spirits' hiding in the depths of the Dungeon companions?! The Spirit Avatars raised in the Artificial Labyrinth, and those Viola monsters, send them all out quickly!! Only then will more adventurers die.
The God of Death who managed reincarnation in the Divine Realm was as pure as ever. His reason for being a God of the Dark Familia was simple: after the Gods came to the Lower World and with the establishment of Orario, there were more and more adventurers. Compared to the ancient times a thousand years ago, fewer and fewer people died.
The God of Death just wanted to see more death. That was all.
Therefore, He completely couldn't understand why Dionysus took out a Jewel Fetus, and subsequently, abruptly cut open his own chest with a short knife and stuffed it directly in.
"What are you doing?! Dionysus!!"
"Didn't you need support? Go yourself. Although not a War God, as a God, you possess some special power more or less, right?"
"Ah... ah..."
Thanatos could no longer speak. On the other side, as a mortal, Valetta watched the God's actions, completely unable to intervene. She could only fall to the side in a daze, seemingly sensing that something extremely terrifying was about to descend.
In this instant, the God of Death should have released His Arcanum. In that case, because He triggered the rules between Gods, He would be sent directly back to the Heaven.
However—
Sweet, mellow wine was poured into His mouth. Subsequently, Thanatos widened his eyes, but the inside was full of colors of emptiness and confusion.
"Can it be done?"
Dionysus dropped the wine cup in his hand.
He was only making an attempt, and completely didn't know if this power from the Corrupted Spirit could parasitize and assimilate even a God's body. This was a very bold conjecture. What kind of monster would appear?
Once. During the Great Feud era, in the depths of the Dungeon, the 'power' of several Gods was sent back and detonated simultaneously, thus birthing the monster named [Absolute Evil].
But that was merely at the level of a Deep Floor Monster Rex. It was defeated by Riveria, Gareth, Ais, and others of the Loki Familia at that time. Although He didn't watch that entire battle.
But He heard. The Princess of the Elf race used a 'giant emerald shockwave' to blast it to pieces in just one hit.
"The Dungeon has indeed become too weak—"
The Great Hole that could once birth the Three Great Quests and even more ancient, powerful monsters, swallowed so many Gods only to produce a guy of that level; it simply disappointed Him too much. Now as well.
"Sure enough, it won't work."
The God of Death parasitized by the Jewel Fetus did not produce the imagined mutation. Conversely, He just knelt down silently like withered wood. Disappointment.
Dionysus shook his head, subsequently intending to start his original plan, which was to activate the altar, awaken those six immature Corrupted Spirit Avatars, and then treat every guy currently in the Dungeon as nutrients to be 'eaten.'
Even a bomb that hasn't been fully charged is still a bomb. Detonate it first and talk later!
"Filvis!"
The Wine God called for his only attendant. After awakening the Corrupted Spirit Avatars, He still needed to rely on the Level 7 Elf girl to escort Him away. But. For a long time, there was no response. That dependent who was usually inseparable and always followed by His side had disappeared at this moment.
Where did she go?
Soon, Dionysus knew the answer. He saw the Elf girl clad in black robes bring a group of people before his eyes. The emblem of the scales and sword embroidered with wings fluttered under the fluorescence—
It was the Astrea Familia!
There wasn't even any clumsy acting. Filvis just turned her head very bluntly and said to Isagi and Lefiya.
"Kill me."
Creatures were like monsters; only by destroying the Magic Stone acting as the 'heart' in their chest would they die. Filvis couldn't do this herself. The connection with the Corrupted Spirit made it impossible for her to commit suicide no matter what, and now, with the Elf girl's appearance of complete non-resistance, there was no need to say anything more.
"Filvis!!"
Dionysus became angry, a rare sight. He never thought He would be betrayed by a child of his Familia. However. Just as the Wine God, He was completely powerless against the situation before him.
Adventurers indeed could not harm Gods, but relying only on a 'normal person's' body, He also couldn't escape Isagi and the others' sight. So, the boys and girls just had to keep following Him, then wait for the Goddesses to arrive.
"!!!"
Then continue to awaken the Corrupted Spirit Avatars and perish together! This was Dionysus's final madness.
However. What He absolutely didn't expect was that with Isagi's arrival, the originally calm hall began to become somewhat different—
In the darkness, something was surging frantically. Seeming to sense something instantly, Dionysus widened his eyes. Amongst the green flesh that began to gradually spread out representing the awakening of the Corrupted Spirit Avatars, something even more terrifying had possessed it in the blink of an eye.
Subsequently, it began to pulse, pulse, pulse—
Exploded abruptly!
The creation from the 'Darkness' pillowing within was finally born.
"Isagi! Find the nearest... exit, quickly... retreat!! Hearing... quickly..."
From the Oculus in Ryu's hand came the intermittent voice of the Goddess of Justice. Apart from this, there were also screams from Miss Asfi and Ais's side.
The Labyrinth Lord Barca, originally devoured by the Jewel Fetus, underwent a brand new change; not only that. Ais and Riveria, who were originally in the incubation room fighting the [White-Haired Ghost] Olivas who turned into a Creature, and a certain Deep Floor monster parasitized by a Jewel Fetus, also experienced indescribable mutations at this moment;
"Dead monsters... and the Dark Familia guys... and adventurers have revived!!"
"What is tha... So... beautiful colors... thing..."
"Mosquitoes... so many blood-sucking... they are growing out of the eggs... everywhere... as long as there is blood..."
The intelligence coming from the Oculus was a mess. And simultaneously. Below the floor, the faint vibration sound became increasingly intense. The collapse from bottom to top finally slowly affected the vicinity of the 10th Floor where everyone was currently located.
Densely packed, countless dark hands stretched out from the cracked ground.
"Everyone, retreat!"
The last thing that came from the Oculus was Fels's roar, but at this moment, Isagi and the girls beside him could no longer leave. Because familiar gray haze appeared, completely shrouding the surroundings of the hall.
The shattered ground froze just like that, becoming bricks of various sizes seemingly floating in mid-air, barely allowing people to stand. And beneath it was the darkness of the abyss that could not be looked at directly—
["God of Death"].
Laughter resembling mockery rang out. Flesh-colored tentacles extended from the man's thin body, connecting to six huge 'columns' that appeared around them at some point.
Those were also meat columns resembling wriggling roots, possessing multiple ugly faces, extending from the upper part like slender female bodies—Avatars of the Corrupted Spirit. They had no faces. Yet they could open their mouths and begin to 'sing.'
Just like Spirits surrounding a God, acting as divine messengers. Now, the filthy God and the filthy Spirits seemed to be fighting side by side here.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Dionysus, lying on a large piece of rubble, laughed wildly, naturally assuming He had created all this. But, obviously, that was not the case.
A flesh-colored tentacle suddenly extended, inserting into the Wine God's body, rapidly, as if to turn Him into a part of 'itself.' In the hearts of Isagi and the girls, the name that emerged underwent a new change.
["God of Death and Wine"]
Laughter came from the darkness again, just like the audience outside the stage laughing uproariously at that comical performance...
At this moment.
People in the city all ran out; they clearly felt the vibration coming from underground. And Goddess Freya, standing atop Babel, could clearly see a huge pit collapsing downward appearing not far away with Daedalus Street as its center.
Occasionally, adventurers escaped from it. And on the other side. Located underground in the Guild Headquarters, Pantheon, the Great God Ouranos, who had been 'praying' here day and night for a thousand years to maintain the Dungeon's stability, also slowly opened his eyes.
[The Dungeon's power is being consumed.]
Different from what the golden-haired Wine God guessed, the fact that the Dungeon, which could once birth powerful monsters like the Black Dragon, hadn't produced monsters of that level for a thousand years was not because it had become weak. Rather. It was accumulating power.
That Dark Mother located at the unreachable end was constantly, constantly accumulating power to break the agreement with the Gods. So, when Ouranos previously discovered that the Dungeon's power began to be slowly consumed after 'that boy (Isagi)' entered it.
He was happy to see all this.
Even if the consumption speed was very, very slow, at least the Dungeon's power was no longer continuing to grow. Change is a good thing. Especially since this change was beneficial to the city and the adventurers, beneficial to this world. If the Dungeon's power continued to weaken, He would not be able to break the agreement and would maintain the status quo forever.
However. At this moment, Ouranos didn't think so. Because the Dungeon's power was weakening rapidly, which meant that the Dark Mother was using it to do something—
With a boom, in the direction of Daedalus Street, two thick pillars of light shot into the sky one after another. That was Gods being sent back—no, being swallowed by the Dungeon!
The vibration coming from beneath the feet became more intense, as if the Dungeon was laughing heartily. Finally.
[Found you].
The power surging frantically from the Dungeon turned into countless arms, finally touching the fingers of the boy wearing the Dark Covenant Ring, then grabbing tightly, never letting go, dragging him suddenly into that incomparably pitch-black, deep pit interior...
"Isagi—"
The call from the Goddess of Justice echoed in the darkness. The Artificial Labyrinth operation was forced to abort due to unforeseen accidents. The two Goddesses returned to the city from the ruins under the protection of [Braver] and [Elgarm]. Each received bad news.
"Isagi and Ryu-senpai fell in!"
Lefiya, Heith, and Tiona, who had returned to the city, said so. Just a short while ago, just as they were preparing to fight the 'God' turned into a monster. An incomparably huge black hand dragged everything down.
By the time the girls came back to their senses, the Artificial Labyrinth had returned to its original state. Except for the bottomless huge pit before them, it was as if everything just now was an illusionary dream.
And on the other side. Loki heard news from Ais that Riveria was also missing.
____
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