Thanatos, a divine being, used only his eyes that can see through the human heart, and with just a few swords, he managed to sway Barca.
Of course, judging from the actual situation and the events that would inevitably happen, calculated from the predicted future, nothing he said was wrong. In fact, it was the truth.
For Barca, this result struck right at his weak point. Even in the best outcome he could imagine, preserving the man-made dungeon in this battle, he would be unable to build upon it in the negotiations afterward.
In other words… it cut off the Daedalus' long standing wish.
Barca cast an expressionless glance at the god. A neutral air, even more lifeless than his own, surrounded the god, yet the god was smiling.
A mocking smile? A sneer? No.
Perhaps… the gentle smile of an elder toward a child? Barca had no idea.
The two focused their attention on the various images within the water film. The invaders were moving faster, with better coordination.
"You understand, don't you, little Barca? They can't give you hope. The only one who can help you fulfill your wish… is me."
Sensing the wavering in the other's heart, the god pressed on relentlessly.
"Don't forget: You are human. You are not a long-lived race like the spirits. If you cannot achieve a miracle with your own hands, then for your descendants, shouldn't you do something? No matter what you do with the obstacles before you, it will help the current situation, won't it?"
"…Yeah, yeah, I know!" In the end, Barca was persuaded.
In the pupils of the Thanatos, the disheveled man silently nodded.
Watching his back as he left, the god chuckled.
"Well then, little Barca. Is there anything I can assist you with? If you ask, I'd be quite willing to lend a hand."
"No. The power of these adventurers can't be stopped by a few 'gates' and disposable pawns."
With that, he moved like a ghost, and the panicked members quickly stepped aside in fear. Clearly… even within the Evilus, Barca was a exceptional one.
Walking down the corridor toward some unknown place, no one knew what he was thinking. But one thing was certain: through the conversation, he had understood what he himself needed to do.
As a creator of the man-made dungeon, away from controlling the Gates and the Eyes, there was something important he must accomplish. Other than completely annihilating and burying the invaders… what else could it be?
As a master of the labyrinth, as one of its builders, he and the Evilus were only allies bound by common interest. They were not truly his people. So… keeping a few trump cards was only natural.
No one entrusts all of their hopes to others, especially not these madmen from the Evilus. When the critical moment arrives, relying on others is worth less than relying on oneself.
Clearly, even though he was not good at plots or socializing, and barely resembled a human with emotions, being alone had preserved at least a little of his human instinct.
Cold eyes stared into the darkness. Barca finally made up his mind to face true shadow.
The entire secret passage echoed only with his footsteps.
The other Evilus members glanced at each other, not knowing what Thanatos had said to produce this situation, but it wasn't something they needed to think about.
Only one thing filled their minds now, how to stop the invaders' advance? How to eliminate them!?
That was their most urgent concern.
The passage between the 12th and 13th floors.
Through the Crystal, Fron continuously monitored the situation of the other units.
A period of rest had restored him to good condition. After briefly checking the current status, he put away the Eye Crystal and took out another specially made bidirectional communication crystal.
"Hey, hey, Asfi, can you hear me?" Fron lowered his voice.
"This is Asfi."
"How's your progress?"
"Very smooth. Judging from the feel and the markings on the blueprint, we should be in the parallel dungeon's 14th floor."
"The 14th floor, huh? So you've reached the abandoned zone."
"Yes. Not far from us, through a hidden passage, is the so-called Hide out of the Evilus. It's quite lively right now."
"I see. Keep monitoring. If they show signs of a do-or-die move, even if you're exposed, you must not let them succeed!"
"I'm on the 13th floor right now. Once I clear the passage, I'll support you immediately!"
"Understood. Wait… someone's coming." Fron put away the crystal, his eyes deep.
From the conversation just now, it was clear that the Evilus' current unit wasn't their only force.
In the shadows, there was still a special unit acting as a safety lock deeper inside.
To operate like this, the information gathered during the 'Xenos' incident, through the smuggling route explored by Fron, Asfi, Ryu, and Aisha, had been instrumental.
"As expected… just like I thought. If they can't withstand the pressure from us, they'll activate an emergency measure to bury us all here."
As a human, Fron had learned from society in his previous life, who isn't a schemer?
Sneaking around, plotting, keeping trump cards, those were everyday things. Who doesn't have a backup plan?
And Fron had always believed the enemy held methods that would hurt them even at great cost, such as destroying parts of the labyrinth, a last-resort trump card that buries everyone.
From Asfi's intelligence, it seemed he had guessed correctly.
Taking a deep breath, Fron's eyes grew razor-sharp. He raised his staff toward the ruins and fallen rocks blocking his way and began chanting.
...
"What is that…? A magic circle?"
Anakitty and the vanguard quickly cleared the blocked passage. But when the light of the magic circle shone through the rubble, they froze in shock.
"Back up! Fron is about to fire!"
...
This hall was smaller, but still large enough to be impressive.
Looking up, even in this dark cavern, the ceiling was clearly visible, very high, very wide. Almost like a cathedral.
Four entrances connected to the hall. And at the center stood a pedestal.
On the pedestal lay the same thing, a colourful magic stone, which only members of the Daedalus bloodline, the direct descendants, could control.
"Heh… Dix… I didn't expect that in the end I'd still rely on this… Absolutely unbelievable."