It was as if something had drained its very life force, the entire forest looked withered and twisted, sending chills down their spines.
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"I also didn't expect Ouranos would actually trust you, letting your familia serve as reinforcements."
The goddess's sense of distance made Hermes press down on his feathered ranger hat with a bitter smile.
"Well, it couldn't be helped. Artemis, you rarely stay in Orario, so you don't know much about the situation there. Besides the matter of the Elsos Ruins, Orario itself has also been dragged into trouble."
Turning her head slightly, Artemis glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, waiting for his explanation.
"The [Evilus] lot are starting to stir again. Somehow, they've managed to transport monsters from the Dungeon to the surface. I'd like to say that not only the Guild is investigating it, but also Loki Familia and ours, since we're directly involved, have been secretly pursuing leads. Unfortunately… we still don't have any solid clues."
"But knowing Loki's personality, she won't let this go easily, right? After all, with her nature, she's always the one to toy with others, not the one to suffer a heavy loss."
Seeing his bitter expression, Artemis's lips curved into a faintly amused smile.
"You're comparing Loki to a tiger? Aren't you afraid I'll tattle when I return? I heard that back then she made quite a mess of you."
"… No no no, you win! There's a saying from the Far East: a hero doesn't speak of past glories. Let's not dig up my black history, okay? Let's talk about the present instead. About this Elsos Ruins, the ones who sealed it back then were high spirits related to you, right? You should be able to sense something from inside the ruins, so… what exactly happened?"
"..." The goddess gazed at the crescent moon, half-hidden behind drifting clouds, and fell into silence for a while.
"That being, 'Antares'… has awakened. No, I should say, it had long since awakened. For a thousand years it has been silently amassing strength, and now… it has broken free of its seal."
The god's face twisted, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"You mean it had already been awake!? Not that it just woke up!?"
"Exactly. And that's not even the worst part. Do you see that ashen-gray forest up ahead? If it's given enough time to regain the strength it once had in the ancient era…"
She didn't finish, but Hermes already understood in his heart.
It would be a disaster not inferior to the One-Eyed Black Dragon, perhaps even worse.
...
While the two gods exchanged information, elsewhere,
Sitting cross-legged by the campfire, Fron was analyzing with his mind, about this forest and the ancient monster.
'Antares, is an ancient and powerful monster. According to secret records in the archives, Arcanum is ineffective against such ancient monsters. That's why, even when the Moon Goddess broke her own seal and tried to use her Arcanum, or even return to heaven, it had no effect.'
'This trait isn't unique to Antares. All powerful ancient monsters share it. For example, the three great commission targets: the Leviathan, the Behemoth, and the One-Eyed Black Dragon, each is the same kind of existence.'
'Gods, adventurers, and ancient monsters, their powers restrain one another. To put it simply, think of it like rock-paper-scissors.'
Thinking this, he sketched a rock, scissors, and paper in a notebook.
Then he drew a triangle, marking each corner.
'God restrains man. Man restrains ancient monsters. Ancient monsters restrain gods.' Staring at the triangular relationship, Fron fell into deep thought.
[T/N: Note: As far as I know this is not canon; purely made up by the author.]
Setting humans aside, ancient monsters had the power to counter Arcanum. Then… what exactly is the Dungeon, the so-called mother of monsters?
His brain spun rapidly, and without realizing it, his [Reader] ability activated.
In his golden eyes, streams of blue light shimmered, illuminating countless fragments of hidden knowledge.
Within moments, countless fragments of information were processed and organized in his mind:
'The Dungeon despises the gods who imprisoned it here.'
'When gods enter the Dungeon and are discovered, abominations such as the Black Goliath and Black Wyvern are born. (Seven years ago, when Thanatos failed to tempt Ais, he displayed his Arcanum and summoned a Lv.2 monster.)'
'For a thousand years, Ouranos has unceasingly offered prayers to the Dungeon, suppressing its monsters with Arcanum so they can't escape through the Great Hole to the surface.'
All these strange pieces of information, combined… Led Fron to equate gods and the Dungeon.
'So, the conclusion is… the Dungeon's status is equal to that of the gods?'
At this thought, Fron dared not continue.
'Hah… this world really is terrifyingly deep.'
'But now that I've sorted out their relationships, if we're going to subjugate Antares, then we're not completely helpless.'
'According to the memories, once Antares gained Arcanum, it had the ability to destroy the surface in a single strike. But… that was due to Arcanum.'
'Its true strength, from what's been shown, isn't greater than that of a Fallen Spirit, after all, they wield magic.'
'Estimated at around lower Lv.7.' Thinking this, Fron's eyes flashed sharply.
A monster of this strength was still within his capacity to handle. With full effort, plus the traits of [Surtr] that were starting to reveal themselves, he was confident he could defeat it.
After careful calculations, the roles of hunter and prey had reversed.
With newfound confidence, the tense expression on his face softened into a smile again.
"Ryu, what do you think?" Asfi and Ryu sat side by side, watching the man by the fire grin like a schemer. The captain of the Hermes Familia couldn't help but shiver.
The elf merely stared quietly at Fron, her expression unchanged.
"I don't know. For me, it doesn't matter. As long as I can see him, that's enough."
"..." Was this what it meant to be an elf? Stubborn to an unimaginable degree!
Normally, breaking into an elf's heart and gaining recognition was extremely difficult. But once they acknowledged and accepted someone, their heart would be entirely bound to that person, unwavering and unyielding, that was the truly frightening part.
So what if she knew about Fron and Ais' relationship? From Alicia and Ryu's current attitudes, it was obvious. As long as they could be with the man they cared for, then whatever else… didn't matter!
Thinking of her rivals' nature, Asfi felt as though a mountain was pressing down on her back. The weight made her scalp tingle, suffocating her.
"Sigh, you elves really are something… and of all people, his other woman just had to be that emotionless Sword Princess."
"This guy… damn it, he's enviable to a sickening degree. And me, seriously, what the hell am I lacking???"
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T/N: Just wanted to let you know, a lot of the things mentioned in this chapter is not Danmachi Canon.
Also, first bonus chapter for crossing 350 power stones; will post another chapter in sometime~