It took two hours, but the 59th floor was finally fully arranged.
With that, the preliminary setup was more or less complete.
'Now the real battle begins.'
Bell let out a breath and moved toward the center of the floor.
At the center of the 59th floor, a swarm of Virgas and Violas had gathered—troublesome monsters that stretched out as far as the eye could see.
Each of these Virgas and Violas was likely above Lv. 3 in strength. Considering their tough hides and corrosive acid as "collectors," even a Lv. 5 would struggle against them.
Virgas could actively spray highly corrosive acid from their mouths. Unless a weapon had the "indestructible" trait, it would be melted away in an instant. On top of that, Virgas would release acid when wounded and violently rupture upon death, scattering their internal acid everywhere—any adventurer caught off guard would be in serious trouble.
If an adventurer's weapon was corroded and they were forced to fight these Virgas bare-handed, fleeing would be their only option.
Although their outer skin wasn't as hard as the Violas', the Virgas' unique traits made them an absolute menace.
Just imagining what would happen if that acid, which could dissolve even top-grade weapons instantly, landed on someone's body was terrifying. No matter how strong someone was, contact with it meant risking their life.
Because of these traits, even though Virgas weren't aggressive by nature in the Dungeon, they were still an enormous threat to adventurers.
But Bell didn't seem the least bit concerned. Silently, he slipped through the gaps between the Virgas and slowly made his way toward the center.
Surrounded by Virgas, Bell stared at the breathtaking sight before him.
Magic Stones were piled up like a small mountain. Just the ones visible to the naked eye easily numbered over a thousand—possibly even ten thousand.
The sight gave Bell a mild shock.
'Wow, I didn't expect they'd gathered so many Magic Stones.'
'If the fetus could absorb all of these, it might just reach the peak of Lv. 6.'
Bell didn't believe these Magic Stones would let the Spirit fetus jump straight to Lv. 7, but reaching Lv. 6's upper limit seemed plausible.
'Even with the Dungeon on strike, they still managed to collect this many. They must've really swept through the Deep Floors. No, even then… there shouldn't be this many.'
'Did the Evilus contribute to this?'
A sudden realization struck him—Bell recalled the Evilus who had joined forces with the Spirit.
With the Dungeon's current Magic Stone shortage, and monsters unable to rapidly regenerate in the breeding grounds, there was no way this many Magic Stones could have been gathered naturally.
Still, he couldn't use magic to inform the others of his guess—not without risking detection by the Spirit fetus.
But there was no need to rush. Gathering that many Magic Stones wasn't easy. Even a large Familia would need half a month or even a full month to collect so many. If someone were moving that many Magic Stones in Orario, there was no way it would leave no trace.
'They're panicking. Looks like they really are in a hurry.'
'Is it the Black Dragon's influence? Or do they just want anyone trying to interfere with the Black Dragon to die at the hands of the Spirit?'
Bell considered the urgency shown by the Evilus and pondered why they were acting so hastily.
Still, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. If the Evilus hadn't worked so hard, they wouldn't have been able to gather so many Magic Stones in the first place.
Now, Bell needed to consider another question.
Did those Virgas and Violas still serve any purpose?
These Magic Stones were enough to bring the Spirit fetus to the upper limit of Lv. 6—just barely meeting Bell's minimum requirement.
Without meeting that baseline, he would have been forced to consider weakening the fetus's control in exchange for a temporary power boost.
But now, there was no need to worry. The Evilus had essentially filled that gap.
Of course, in doing so, they'd also dug their own grave.
Bell glanced at the Spirit fetus still gnawing on Magic Stones at the center, confirming it was currently between Lv. 5 and Lv. 6. Once he was sure his judgment was correct, he turned and left.
'It'll still take some time for the fetus to fully absorb all those Magic Stones. Let your consciousness linger a while longer.'
He had already put enough time and effort into this floor. Preparations were complete—now all that remained was to wait for the battle to begin.
It was still nighttime. If he headed back now, he could probably sleep until midday tomorrow.
Just thinking about sleep made Bell's eyelids feel a little heavier.
In a few steps, he exited the central area filled with Virgas and Violas. But he didn't speak until he'd left the 59th floor.
"Loki-sama, I think you should have the Guild investigate which Familias are secretly collecting Magic Stones. That pile of nearly ten thousand around the Spirit fetus just now didn't look like it came solely from the Deep Floors. I believe the Evilus had a hand in it."
"...Them again!?"
Loki's face twisted with visible irritation.
Nothing good ever came from being mixed up with those bastards.
Those guys always seemed to stir up trouble when they had nothing better to do. As long as it was something that endangered Orario, those lunatics always tried to get involved.
What really pissed Loki off, though, was that this time they'd set their sights on her.
"Isn't that just what they always do?"
Hestia didn't seem surprised at all. Her delicate nose flared as she exhaled, her face full of displeasure.
"Those maniacs even target children in Genkai who can't defend themselves. What wouldn't they dare to do?"
"Hestia's right. The crap those guys pulled in the past wasn't small either—like the nightmare on the 27th floor and the tragedy on the 18th. Now they're just turning it on you."
Hephaestus agreed as well. When something insane happened, those freaks were always involved.
That comment made Loki's face turn pitch black.
Even if she could understand that lunatics like them would do anything, this time, they had come after her directly.
Struggling to keep her emotions and blood pressure in check, Loki took a few deep breaths, her crimson eyes starting to glow with a blood-red light.
"I'm going to kill every last one of those bastards who got involved! To come after me... those bastards really don't know what the word 'death' means!"
In that moment, Loki's killing intent toward the Evilus gods was real.
Not the kind that sends someone back to Tenkai—but the kind that meant actual death.