The entrance to the 18th floor.
Kael watched as Ais returned to Riveria's side. To avoid unnecessary conflict, he draped himself in the Reverse Veil, making his figure vanish from everyone's sight.
Ais was of no use anymore. Going straight back to the surface would waste too much time. Conveniently, a group of fleeing Evilus members passed before his eyes.
Following these black-robed figures into the 18th Floor, they gathered at the southern edge of the level — some standing, some sitting — as if waiting for something.
A moment later, a man approached with slow steps.
He had deep red hair, unremarkable features, squinting eyes, and wore a black double-breasted suit. A sinister smile played on his lips.
He was Vito, the "Faceless"!
The leader of the Erebus Familia and an Evilus executive. It was said that anyone who had seen him was killed by him, so few people remembered his appearance.
Why was he here?
Kael blinked, quietly maintaining his invisibility while blending into the crowd.
"Lord Vito... about this operation."
"Hmph, just a minor setback. Who would have thought the Nine Hell would suddenly enter the Dungeon."
"Then... our plan?"
"Retreat for now. We have plenty of time." Vito waved his hand, and the towering rocks before him dissolved like phantoms, revealing a tunnel so deep its bottom couldn't be seen.
Along both sides of the tunnel were carts loaded with goods. From some of the crates covered with black cloth, Kael heard the low growls of monsters.
Vito led the inspection, lifting the black cloth and asking, "How much Kaenseki did we transport this time?"
"Only half of the usual amount."
"Tch. What about the monsters..."
"Only thirty..."
"Not enough, still not enough! To fulfill my master's ambition, this quantity is far from sufficient!" Vito gritted his teeth, "Tch, Nine Hell… Well, whatever we have is what we have. Let's first arrange for them to enter Knossos, and find another opportunity for the rest."
After the report, the subordinates pushed the transport carts through the lengthy tunnel until they reached a massive metal door.
The door was carved with bizarre patterns and had a crimson gem embedded in its center.
Vito took out a magic item — round with a scarlet pupil embedded in its center — resembling an eyeball. A large D symbol appeared in the center of the red gem, corresponding with the red gem in the center of the door.
With a crack and falling dust, the door slowly rose.
'The hardest metal, tsk tsk, wish I could take it...' Kael remained silent, his gaze fixed on this Orichalcum metal door as he swallowed hard.
By the time he came to his senses, the door was already closing. He quickened his pace and, using the sound of the massive wheels as cover, followed the group into the pitch-black labyrinth.
As Kael followed, he processed the information in his mind:
According to Vito's words, Evilus was attacking Adventurers merely as a diversion, allowing them to transport monsters and Kaenseki through this artificial labyrinth.
During the Seven Days of Death, Adventurers would face not only overwhelming numbers of foot soldiers but countless monsters as well.
If not for the major defeat on the front lines, the story would have taken a completely different turn.
Witnessing monsters being transported from the lower levels — even from the deep floors — with his own eyes, Kael felt an increasing sense of urgency.
'I need to get stronger... or I'll just be fodder for these creatures. I don't want to be their extra meal.'
The labyrinth tunnels twisted and turned. Accompanied by dull footsteps and wheels grinding against the floor, the group climbed stairs to reach other floors until they faced a fork in the path.
Standing at the intersection, Kael glanced at the monster convoy, then at Vito walking toward another passage, and decided to quietly follow the man.
Hearing about Evilus's movements directly from Vito was more important than snatching Kaenseki as spoils.
Especially the location of Erebus…
Kael moved slowly, maintaining sufficient distance while muffling his footsteps.
He was quite experienced at tailing. However, unlike following Syr, now he was shadowing a man and couldn't enjoy watching a girl's embarrassed anger if discovered — which felt oddly strange.
{T/N: Just as a reminder, he is the "brother" of the original Syr, who is now called Horn.}
After fifteen more minutes, Vito stopped in a small chamber.
Fire basins hung at the four corners, casting dim light across the room. In the center stood a temple, its outline barely visible in the shadows.
An effeminate male voice emerged from the temple, "Vito-chan, how's the progress?"
"We're still far from my master's goal. Hmph, if you're too free, why not help out? God Thanatos, you don't exactly lack manpower, do you?" Vito complained, narrowing his eyes.
"Oh my, I'm quite busy, you know. Every day I'm occupied guiding those lost lambs..." Thanatos spread his hands, "Rather, what about your master... have you convinced the two most important protagonists?"
Vito lowered his head in thought, "It should be soon. By my calculation, it's about time to welcome my master's triumphant return... Let others handle the rest."
"It's not good to slack off, little brother Vito~"
"Tch, who's slacking off? Compared to those two elf sisters who only think about men, I've been diligent enough."
{T/N: Dina and Vena Dis, also known as the Dis Sisters, from the Alecto Familia.}
"They have their own tasks, after all... restraining the hero's energy is no easy feat."
Vito pouted in dissatisfaction, "Speaking of which... why did Nine Hell appear in the Dungeon? Do we have a traitor? Hmph, I was almost killed..."
'Hmm? Traitor? Who? Where?' Kael reflexively stretched his neck to look around.
Catching rats — that's my specialty!
"Oh?" Thanatos showed slight surprise. "Isn't that elf supposed to be investigating the matter of the Great Holy Tree's branches?"
"Who knows~!" Vito suddenly turned his gaze toward the entrance...
"What's wrong?"
"Strange, I feel like someone's watching me. Could it be that guy Barca?"
"That fellow has no interest in monitoring you."
"You're right."
No longer in the mood to chat with the deity, Vito mentally calculated the time, turned, and disappeared into another passage.
The two trump cards his master spoke of must be arriving soon.
As expected of the Primordial God of Darkness — to be capable of even this!
Kael quietly followed, thinking to himself, 'It was the right decision to follow. Those two are arriving sooner than I anticipated. I need to hurry...'
After following for another 60 minutes, Vito opened another door and entered a mysterious cave.
Soon, a gleam of light appeared before Kael's eyes. The sound of surging waves reached his ears. Looking around, he was greeted by a sea breeze and a view of azure blue.
"Is this... Melen? I've left Orario? So quickly?"
A journey that would normally take a day to return to the surface had taken only two hours through the artificial labyrinth. This gave Kael the idea of stealing one of the "keys".
Vito had already gone far, and it was too late to return to the labyrinth. With the time saved, Kael planned to take a short rest and convert his spoils into supplies and equipment.
Since he had left Orario, he might as well complete another mission. In the forests not far from the Labyrinth City lay an inconspicuous hidden village.
In that village lay the most easily obtainable treasure in this disjointed world!
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T/N: Favorite, comment and save to your library of best reads in the world, thank you for reading this far!
T/N: Follow me on Pa-treon for advanced chapters: MrBlackWing! ( ◕‿◕ )
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)