Night descended over Orario, swallowing Tower of Babel as it pierced toward the heavens from the center of the Labyrinth City.
The streets gradually emptied, while taverns across Orario filled with noise instead. Light from countless Magic Stone lamps rode the wind like spreading flames, reaching toward the stars scattered across the night sky.
Adventurers returning from a hard day in the Dungeon gathered in taverns to drink with the gods they had not seen all day, chatting about the latest news around the city.
Others threw their arms around their companions and headed toward the Pleasure Quarter beneath the cover of night, losing themselves in desire.
From atop Orario's walls, the entire city seemed to radiate thriving vitality.
Yet just as countless stories had always said, wherever there was light, darkness would inevitably exist.
Even a city inhabited by countless gods could not escape that law.
"Ouranos. We have a problem."
A voice echoed through the darkness.
This was the Prayer Room at the very bottom of Tower of Babel.
Huge marble slabs covered the floor, while stone walls enclosed the room on every side, making it resemble a prison cell.
Four torches scattered around the corners crackled softly, providing the only faint source of light in the otherwise pitch-black chamber.
A figure completely wrapped in black stood within that glow.
Not a single patch of skin was exposed. Both hands were covered by gloves engraved with complex patterns.
The figure raised their head toward the ancient god seated upon his throne.
"What happened, Fels?"
"One of the intelligent monsters was taken."
Fels answered quietly.
"Again?"
Ouranos released a heavy sigh, as though trying to exhale all the frustration that had been accumulating within him.
"Those people again."
"No. This time, I don't think it was those poachers."
Fels reached beneath the black robe and produced a transparent crystal with a glass-like sheen, placing it atop a pedestal.
The instant the crystal touched the surface, it suddenly lit up as though receiving a signal.
An image appeared within it.
The scene came from the Dungeon far beneath the Prayer Room.
The first thing displayed was a strange humanoid monster.
Judging by the red crystal embedded in its forehead, it could barely be identified as an extremely rare monster appearing between the nineteenth and twenty-fourth floors.
A Vouivre.
Yet this Vouivre looked completely different from others of its species.
Normally, Vouivres belonged to the dragon family, but their bodies consisted of a nearly human upper half and a serpentine lower half.
This one, however, possessed two legs.
And on its face was something no ordinary monster should ever display.
Tears.
Yes.
A monster supposedly devoid of emotion, a creature that knew only slaughter, was shedding tears, the very thing humans often regarded as the purest expression of emotion.
If this image ever spread through Orario, countless adventurers would be left speechless.
Some might even risk their lives merely for the chance to see a monster capable of crying.
Yet neither person in the Prayer Room showed much surprise.
They appeared to have seen such things many times before.
Their eyes remained fixed on the crystal.
The Vouivre had wrapped herself in a ragged piece of cloth obtained from somewhere. Tears still clung to the corners of her eyes as she limped desperately through the Dungeon on her unusual legs.
"Was she only born recently and hasn't learned how to walk properly yet?"
Ouranos murmured.
A moment later, he rejected his own conclusion.
"No. That gait... she's injured."
"She was probably discovered by those people and managed to escape when an opportunity appeared."
Fels gave a short answer without taking their attention from the image.
Because of the wound around her knee joint, the Vouivre did not make it far.
One of her feet caught on a root protruding from the surrounding trees.
She tumbled twice before collapsing face-first onto the ground.
Watching her struggle to rise, Ouranos frowned as though unable to bear the sight.
Then—
"Here. Watch closely!"
Fels suddenly shouted.
"It's about to happen!"
Ouranos immediately focused every bit of his attention on the crystal, waiting for whatever Fels had mentioned.
It did not help.
Even though he was a god.
Even though his divine power had never been sealed.
The sudden appearance of the gray figure still caught him completely off guard.
Not even a full second passed.
There was not enough time to blink.
In a single instant, the gray silhouette appeared and vanished from the image.
It moved so quickly that the magic item recording the scene could not capture its form at all.
And the gray figure was not the only thing that disappeared.
The fallen Vouivre vanished with it.
"Did you see it, Ouranos?"
Fels asked.
Ouranos shook his head.
Even divine eyesight could not overcome the limitations of the device displaying the image.
His full power would not have made any difference.
"Not even you could see it?"
Fels fell silent for a moment.
"Then what do we do?"
"To move at that speed, an adventurer would need to be at least Level 5."
"So the suspect probably belongs to one of those four Familias."
Fels sounded troubled.
"And none of those gods are going to cooperate obediently."
Level 5 adventurers were rare even in Orario, a city overflowing with adventurers.
According to current Guild records, only four active Familias possessed Level 5 adventurers.
Ishtar Familia.
Freya Familia.
Hephaestus Familia.
And Loki Familia.
Aside from Hephaestus, the other three gods could all be considered first-rate troublemakers even among the divine.
Loki hardly needed an introduction.
Legends of Ragnarok involving her were still told throughout Orario.
Ishtar was willing to do almost anything simply to spite Freya.
And although Freya Familia appeared relatively well behaved from the outside, its internal conflicts were the most severe of the four.
Even if the culprit truly belonged to one of those Familias, there was no guarantee their gods would obediently surrender them.
Still...
'Loki Familia...'
Ouranos fell into thought.
After a moment, he spoke.
"Fels, contact Lyd first."
"Their hideout may have been exposed. Tell them to be ready to relocate at any moment."
"Huh?"
Fels stared at him.
"Then what about investigating the suspects?"
"You prepare the intelligent monsters for evacuation."
Ouranos's voice remained calm.
"I'll visit the gods myself."
"You're leaving the Prayer Room?!"
The instant Fels heard that, all thoughts of suspects disappeared.
"You've gone insane, Ouranos!"
Fels's reaction was understandable.
Ouranos had been able to descend into the Lower World without sealing his divine power for one crucial reason.
Orario needed him to suppress the Dungeon.
His Divine Aura kept the monsters below from continuously surging toward the surface as they had in ancient times, preventing disasters and countless deaths.
If Ouranos left the Prayer Room, the Divine Aura suppressing the Dungeon would disappear with him.
At that point, the monsters would not politely remain on the floors where they spawned like enemies in some game.
Countless ordinary people lived on the surface without ever receiving Falna.
Even monsters from only the first twenty floors rushing upward together could catch Orario's adventurers completely unprepared.
And if things became worse...
If the Monster Rexes began climbing toward the surface as well, Orario could easily return to the chaotic age of the distant past.
"Don't worry, Fels."
"Wait...!"
Fels tried to stop him.
Too late.
Under Fels's horrified gaze, Ouranos maintained the same statue-like expression he had worn for countless years.
Then, for the first time in several years, the ancient god slowly rose from his throne.
And then...
...
Silence.
There was no furious response from the Dungeon.
No monsters began rampaging.
Not even the roars of creatures from the floors below reached the Prayer Room.
Everything remained exactly as quiet as it had been when Fels first entered.
"Those monsters will no longer climb to the surface."
Ouranos narrowed his eyes.
"And the Dungeon will no longer rampage."
His pale blue gaze seemed to pass through the stone walls and look toward something impossibly distant.
"Probably... never again."
Fels stood frozen in place.
Looking at the expression on the old god's face, Fels suddenly understood.
Ouranos was seeing something that an adventurer like Fels could never perceive.
A realm that belonged only to the gods.
…