"...."
Barca stared blankly at the notebook in Asfi's hands.
At this moment, he felt the pain of being stabbed in the back. The contingency his blood brother left behind had instead turned into a massive hidden danger, and it had even fallen into the hands of the enemy!?
He felt his mind go hazy, as if his brain was about to crash.
"... I see. To catch Thanatos and the me."
Asfi's expression was only natural.
"There's a saying in the Far East: to catch the kingdom, first capture the king. Capturing the core members of your organization and taking control of the labyrinth's mechanisms would allow us to fulfill the necessary conditions to finish the campaign in a short time."
"This time, the mission entrusted to us, the Hermes Familia, was set from the very beginning. First, to search for clues related to the true mastermind, Enyo. Second, to use the design diagrams provided in this notebook to capture you."
As Asfi slowly explained, a flash of lightning shot through Barca's mind, and his eyes, engraved with a 'D', gradually widened.
A terrifying hypothesis spread through him like a virus, making him tremble and almost suffocate from fear.
It was the fear of being crushed by strategy.
"Don't tell me… Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
He shook his head wildly, denying that terrifying possibility like a man questioning reality.
Asfi saw right through him. She smiled and spoke the cruel truth.
"That's right. All of this was already set up before the campaign even began. You don't want to admit it, but unfortunately, I must tell you, you guessed correctly."
"Up to this point, everything done by all the forces, including the vanguard, was ultimately to conceal our team's movements and draw your attention to the front lines, allowing us to slip into the rear smoothly."
Boom,
Asfi's devilish whisper exploded in Barca's ears like thunder. The shock made his thoughts spiral out of control and crash again. He struggled to understand the situation.
Finn had used all forces, including his own, as decoys.
Among them, the vanguard led by Fron had the strongest assault and combat capability. Their terrifying breakthrough speed and overwhelming firepower gave the Evilus unbearable pressure, forcing them to focus entirely on dealing with Fron's ferocious attacks.
And thus, their gaze was firmly drawn away.
Perhaps Finn still felt this wasn't enough, so the other forces became even more crucial.
A premeditated campaign, Evilus had taken one wrong move and lost the whole game.
In the end, the Hermes Familia had stolen their home.
"The large-scale operation itself was a decoy…? How could that be, something like-"
Asfi cut him off.
"Nothing is impossible. And with this… checkmate!"
At this moment, Lulune let out a somewhat regretful sigh.
"Our reliable helper ran off again, and finding an officer who knew the route took a lot of effort and so much time too."
"Shut up, Lulune!"
Everyone went silent at that.
Clearly, something unexpected had happened during their deep infiltration: Gale, Ryu Lion, had suddenly changed expression after seeing someone's face and left without a word, leaving everyone confused.
Only sometime later after receiving an explanation about the reason did everyone understand.
Barca, dizzy from the explosive shock, still had one last question he needed to ask, otherwise… he wouldn't be able to accept losing.
"You guys… We clearly didn't lose that many keys. Just how did you-"
"Oh, that? We made them. No, using Fron's words, obviously they were knock-offs!"
"Kn-knock-offs!??"
Seeing Asfi act so righteous about it, Barca felt his worldview take a critical hit.
"Even the Daedalus Eye, that can be counterfeited!??"
[T/N: Here correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the dead eyes of the Daedalus members used to create that artifact? Was a duplicate created in the manga or novel also?]
"Of course. There's one piece of intel you probably don't know. Fron Argon, is another holder of Mystery besides me. And his Mystery level is very high. Combined with his abyss-like wealth of knowledge, making a little gadget that can send magical signals to the mechanism shouldn't be difficult, right?"
"..."
Barca was truly speechless this time, his mind filled with disbelief.
How could such an absurd adventurer even exist?
Compared to real monsters, the terror the Nightweaver gave him felt even more like a genuine monster!
Boundless knowledge, unheard-of craftsmanship, overwhelming strength, and personal charisma, why would such a creature even exist in this world!?
....
"Nightweaver..."
The deep, hoarse voice spoke Fron's title, and of course, everyone in the Hermes Familia understood his current complicated feelings.
They looked at this descendant of the "Daedalus" with a hint of pity.
Of all people to oppose… he had picked Fron. He had kicked an iron wall.
"The enemy base is on the 13th Floor!"
"The location of the 'Fallen Spirit' is on the 14th Floor. There are several huge chambers big enough for a floor boss to dance inside. Braver, please give the command!"
While Asfi communicated with Barca, the rogue in the team took out an Communication crystal and quickly sent over the confirmed intel.
...
"Good work!"
Finn clenched his fist hard, then signaled the team to speed up as he quickly issued instructions through the Communication crystal.
"Fron, are you done solving your problem yet?"
"Zzzzz, "
A burst of static sounded, followed by a mix of fighting, screams, and chanting.
"Hey, hey? Can you hear me? It's already handled. We've broken through the 13th Floor's, but the number of enemies here is weird. Their attacks come wave after wave, suicide assaults, almost like they've gone mad."
"Got it. Keep up the pressure. We'll be there soon. The 'Fallen Spirit' is on the 14th Floor. Ignore it for now, our first target is the enemy base!"
"Understood. Flame Lightning!"
"BOOM BOOM BOOM, "
Finn awkwardly cut the connection with Fron; clearly, that side of the battle had entered a white-hot stage.
...
"Report all features of your current floor and everything visible from your position! I'll determine your precise location, then guide you!"
"Whew, finally!"
The Amazoness sisters, Bete's squad, and Gareth's team all let out long breaths. They had been waiting for this moment!
Besides the main Loki Familia, the allied forces had also re-established contact.
"Miss!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know!"
The elven mage straightened her expression and quickly issued a series of commands.