"The Rudra Familia, Jura Halmer…?"
Fron hadn't spoken yet, but beside him, Anakitty instinctively let out a gasp the moment she heard the Familia name!
Realizing her reaction was a bit excessive, even the catgirl felt embarrassed. After cutely covering her mouth, the surprise in her eyes quickly turned into unease.
"Anakitty, you know the Rudra Familia?"
At that moment, from the Eye Crystal, Asfi let out a sigh and warned Fron.
"You can ask Anakitty later about this. I have to begin my operation here. I'll keep watching the situation."
"Alright."
Fron silently set down the Eye Crystal, his gaze flickering.
The other adventurers around them also heard the news. Some of the younger ones might not know the name of this familia, but among the veterans who had been crawling through the Dungeon for years, the fame of the Rudra Familia was practically in the negative.
"Ryu Lion. the Rudra Familia."
Fron spoke quietly, then looked toward the uneasy, evasive-eyed Anakitty.
"The Wings of Justice, the Astraea Familia, "
"..." As Fron said the name, it instantly awakened the dim, long-slumbering memories in everyone's minds.
The group of older adventurers couldn't help letting out sighs.
"We'll talk about this later. Right now, our top priority is to support the Hermes Familia. Once they intercept the enemy, their position will put them directly in the encirclement of the Evilus. We must reinforce them before that happens!"
When he finished speaking, Fron swung the staff in his hand, and as he turned, his cloak billowed behind him like a cape.
"Everyone, follow me!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOHH––!"
Fron's presence and call to arms instantly raised the army's morale to its peak!
Now, his role was not merely raw combat strength or path-clearing vanguard, he had become a banner, a symbol!
Because as long as he was there, everyone felt safe, felt they could rely on him, felt that nothing could stand in their way!
Gradually, Fron's position shifted from officer to a leader.
...
A room on the 13th floor.
Barca stood before the control console, dazed for a moment.
His heart twisted in intense struggle, but under overwhelming pressure, he finally made his choice.
He reached out, turned the red orb half a rotation to the left, then two full turns to the right. Finally, he pressed it down. As he gently pushed the red-glowing sphere, it lit up.
Barca hesitated briefly.
According to Dix's notes, after completing the operation, all he had to do was speak the command, "Collapse", and choose the specific floor to be destroyed. Then the entire device would activate.
In that instant, his mind filled with conflict.
The Knossos he had built…
As long as he spoke the command, even if it destroyed only one floor, its collapse would harm the Knossos's foundation. The resulting chain reaction would push Barca even farther away from achieving Daedalus' "final wish". It would make witnessing that wish fulfilled impossible.
It was both attachment, and entanglement.
He had no choice. Forcing open his tightly shut lips, he drew breath,
"???"
Swish!
A sharp blade tore through the air, ringing in the dim chamber.
Barca's instincts screamed in alarm. Obeying the intuition of an adventurer, he twisted his body aside at the last possible moment.
But perhaps because years of constructing the Knossos had stiffened his body, he couldn't move as smoothly in combat.
Thus, though he reacted in time, he didn't evade fully.
A line of blood was sliced open across his shoulder, spraying violently.
"Ugh!?"
Barely dodging, Barca endured the pain wracking his body, staggering as blood splattered everywhere, dirtying his already filthy clothes and the floor. His hearing picked up a disappointed voice nearby.
"Too bad… such a perfect chance, and I still missed."
Barca's sunken face widened its red eyes in shock and disbelief.
Following the voice, he saw the air distort slightly. A figure holding a pitch-black dagger gradually appeared, becoming fully visible in his sight.
"?!"
The instant he saw the figure, Barca's mind froze, then quickly recalled her identity.
"The Hermes Familia, Perseus…?"
A long white cloak wrapped tightly around her elegant figure. Short, slightly wavy water-blue hair. Silver-rimmed glasses. Her entire appearance radiated an intense personal style.
Yes, this person now standing before Barca was none other than Asfi Al Andromeda.
"Why are you here? Your Hermes Familia and the alliance forces should still be-"
Barca suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Seeing his bewildered expression, Asfi spoke calmly.
"Looks like you figured it out. Yes, the magic item that makes one 'transparent'. We all used it to slip away from the main forces and sneak in here."
"That's… right."
Under Barca's gaze, Asfi pulled out a sketch portrait and compared it with his face under the dim light.
"Barca Perdix, that should be you. We got intel from the god Ikeros. You're Dix's half-brother, a descendant of Daedalus. Naturally, you're also one of the creators of the Knossos."
She flicked the blood from her short sword. Then, under Barca's stunned eyes, one figure after another appeared from the void.
"The Hermes Familia…" More than a dozen elite adventurers materialized, quickly surrounding him.
Even if he now understood how they got here… without a map, how did they know to come straight to this room and ambush him?
Asfi's sharp, intelligent eyes easily read the thoughts on his poorly hidden face.
She pulled out a small booklet made of monster hide and shook it at him.
"Look, your good brother, Dix left behind this personal notebook. The maps inside aren't detailed, just rough outlines… but it also contains plenty of interesting stuff. For example: the function, design, and location of this 'Collapse' device."
"..."