"What exactly... happened here?"
"..."
The disturbance caused by the chain explosions was simply too massive for Rivira. Even the target had been directly aimed at the area where Hestia Familia was stationed.
Especially after being warned by her sister, Tiona immediately rushed back without hesitation.
Along the way, she saw the aftermath of the incident that had occurred in Rivira. Fortunately, there had not been any especially serious casualties—the dead were all members of Evilus.
However—
That was only what she had heard from the adventurers on the street.
After spending this period exploring the Dungeon together, setting aside the bonds that had gradually formed between herself and Ron, the girl clearly understood that those remnants of Evilus...
Had most likely learned about the special nature he possessed.
The "Dungeon Abnormality Incident."
They wanted to use the talent Ron possessed to stir up something major inside the Dungeon, but judging from the result, their plan had ultimately failed.
Looking at the temporary camp, completely intact and showing no traces of battle whatsoever—
And then at the boy standing there, gazing into the distance with an extremely complicated expression, Tiona found herself unsure how to begin, ultimately choosing to ask out of concern: "Are you alright?"
"Did another adventurer pass by here just now?"
"Yeah..."
Honestly, with Tiona and her sister arriving, at the very least there was no longer any particular need to worry about safety in the current chaos engulfing Rivira.
However—
That was under the premise that "Filvis" held no ill intent toward him.
Otherwise, in her fully released state, with the strength of a Level 7 Creature, she alone could exterminate every adventurer in Rivira!
Ron withdrew his gaze from the direction the black-haired elf girl had left in, his emotions carrying an indescribable complexity. The goodwill she had shown was obvious.
And—
That attitude of hers was likewise proof that she was not the mastermind behind this disturbance.
As for how exactly he should deal with this?
At the moment, he still had no concrete thoughts.
Most likely, because of the special nature of the "Revival" skill, that girl had treated him as a fellow Creature.
In this situation—
There was no need to tell the members of Loki Familia for the time being.
Ron lightly shook his head.
"The situation is complicated."
"Basically... members of Evilus caused a suicide attack incident in Rivira, and an adventurer who happened to pass by just now—"
"Came over to ask about the situation."
"S-So that's what happened!"
Tiona finally let out a complete sigh of relief.
From the opposite end of the street, she had practically rushed over at full speed, ignoring all the chaos along the way. From beginning to end, her only target had been Ron in the distance.
Fortunately, she had arrived at the temporary expedition camp before anything happened to him.
As for...
Whether Ron had some deeper cooperation with Captain Finn and Riveria of her Familia in other areas, the girl did not think too deeply about it.
Tiona felt that her own thoughts were actually very simple.
When facing the Fire Giant Floor Boss, Ron had still stepped forward into the sea of the Fell God's flames, standing in front of her and helping her escape from danger.
Therefore—
Ron was someone she absolutely had to protect, no matter what!
As for whether those feelings also contained some other emotions mixed within them, even Tiona herself could not figure it out. She simply gazed at the boy in the distance, the one carrying that complicated expression on his face.
"Mm..."
"If there's anything you can't handle..."
She actually wanted to say that he could come to her for help.
But after remembering that Ron already possessed strength comparable to a Level 4 adventurer, the girl ultimately gave up on the idea.
She raised her head again.
"If my sister and I can't help you, then we'll go ask Captain Finn and Vice-Captain Riveria. They'd definitely be willing to help."
"..."
Tione: Do I have to go too?
Compared to the Evilus attack that had clearly been planned in advance, the far more composed Tione was more concerned about the implications behind the incident.
So—
How exactly had those cockroaches lurking in Orario's sewers obtained such critical information?
"..."
However—
The moment the girl thought that, she could not help recalling the Dungeon Abnormality Incident and how the monsters and terrain changes it caused had already been discovered by Evilus...
Which honestly did not seem that difficult after all!
"Thanks."
"It should be fine."
Getting accidentally dragged into the "Artificial Labyrinth" incident during a Dungeon expedition, and then somehow being identified as a companion by a beautiful black-haired elf girl—what exactly was going on here?
Feeling Tiona's concern, Ron smiled and nodded without directly refusing.
After organizing the information he currently possessed, the person pulling the strings behind everything was actually not difficult to identify.
Filvis.
After being transformed into a Creature, she had been brainwashed by the god Dionysus and became the key executor behind the "Chaos" plan meant to destroy Orario.
According to the original storyline—
The one who was truly supposed to form a bond with Filvis was Lefiya, the golden-yellow-haired elf who loved going "hnghhhhhh." So this did not really count as stealing her role.
Filvis had remained in a repressed state for a long time and was constantly tormented by her clone magic.
Given that, Ron could understand why the black-haired elf girl's mental state was so unstable.
Still—
In terms of appearance alone, she absolutely qualified as an elf beauty.
"..."
"So it looks like I can't stay uninvolved in this mess after all?"
The gods backing Evilus already knew about the special nature of his "Despicable Outsider" ability, but Dionysus definitely would not expose that information publicly.
Just the increasing difficulty of the Dungeon alone—
Most likely...
Freya, the goddess leading Orario's strongest Familia, would never simply sit back and let him do whatever he wanted.
At this stage, he was still only maintaining a shallow cooperative relationship with Loki Familia.
Ever since arriving in Orario, Ron's goals had actually been very simple:
Steadily grow stronger through the increased difficulty brought by the Soulslike Dungeon and ensure he possessed enough power to face the future Black Dragon crisis.
But reality rarely followed expectations.
The uniqueness he possessed was not something that absolutely could not be exposed.
At the very least, before that happened, he needed enough strength to protect himself within Orario.
And right now, it still was not enough.
Against a Floor Boss, he could kill it through self-destructive tactics.
If he pushed himself to the limit and executed everything perfectly, he could probably defeat a Level 4 adventurer.
But what about a Level 5?
And during the Artificial Labyrinth incident, surviving safely would require the strength of a top-tier Level 6 adventurer, along with cooperation from Loki Familia.
Most importantly...
There was not much he alone could change.
But if he could use his seemingly cursed level of effectiveness against elves to alter Filvis's allegiance and pull her onto his side—
Then...
Many of these problems would resolve themselves.
Sitting on the grass and leaning against the tree trunk behind him, Ron's thoughts drifted far away.
Until his gaze landed on the weapon left behind by the Ash Judge.
The Godslayer's Greatsword.
A weapon meant for slaying gods.
Ron truly had never considered using it that way before.
After all, the gods of Orario would merely be forcibly returned to Heaven if they suffered catastrophic injuries.
Even if they died—
They would eventually revive again someday in the future.
"Hmm..."
"So this anti-god weapon might finally have a chance to serve its real purpose?"
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