Alicia was feeling the strain as well. Explosions had gone off in more than just this one location. If the other points were breached, then all the work they had put in over this stretch of time could be undone in an instant.
Just then, the ground shook. Grays swung his giant axe with overwhelming force and split a high-tier monster clean in two.
"Girl, let me take point and punch straight through. If we keep dragging this out, the situation's only going to get worse. If the line breaks, all our preparations will mean nothing."
"You're right. This isn't the time to worry about the other fronts. Let's deal with what's in front of us first. Mr. Grays, let's move!"
"Good! Follow me! We're charging through!"
Following the main force, Ryuu became a streak of emerald light, cutting down monsters as she went—yet her heart couldn't stop worrying about Xien.
I hope things are going well over there, Xien… Please be safe…
Pushing all the way along the path the monsters had come from, they reached a different route from the normal Dungeon entrance. It was obvious now that even more Dark Faction members were stationed here.
Of course, these trash mobs were nothing to Xien and the others, and they continued to advance without pause. But as the surroundings gradually began to resemble the Dungeon proper, they ran into a problem.
The tunnel forked.
And monsters were still pouring out from both passageways. Which meant there wasn't just one entrance. In that case, the best option was obvious—
Xien thought for a moment, then made his decision without hesitation.
"Lady Riveria…"
"Yes!"
The Elven Queen, suddenly called by name, answered immediately—though gone was her usual regal composure. Instead, she looked like a student abruptly called on by a teacher.
And then there was the rather suspicious flush on her face…
"…"
For a second, Xien felt his mind go blank.
Come on, not now. What kind of expression is that? Everyone's looking at us. You're making this very hard for me.
Even as he complained inwardly, he acted as though nothing unusual had happened. This was no time to get bogged down in awkwardness.
"Please take your people down that route. We'll handle this one. How about it?"
"…All right. Be careful."
She seemed to realize her lapse as well, and took the opening he gave her with visible gratitude. Without delay, she gathered the Loki Familia members and headed down the other tunnel.
The moment they were out of sight, Neize came up behind Xien and pinched both his cheeks without mercy.
"Xien, you haven't been honest with us. Since when did you start cozying up to the Nine Hells? Spill it already."
"Give me a break. You saw me just now—I was baffled too. I only treated her once. How am I supposed to know why she's reacting like that?"
"Really?"
Neize still looked unconvinced. Their little piglet and their precious cabbage were right in the sweetest stage of things now; they absolutely could not allow a third party to butt in. Not even a hint of one. The captain had made that order in private.
"I swear it. Now stop worrying about that and let's focus on breaking through."
"All right. I'll let you off for now. But once this is over, we're having a proper hearing."
Knowing the circumstances were urgent, the werewolf girl didn't keep pressing the matter. Even so, she had already decided Xien would be getting the full family interrogation later.
Just as everyone thought they were about to head out, Xien spoke again.
"One more thing. Lady Artemis, what's your decision? First, thank you for helping us all this way. But beyond this point, we'll likely be entering the actual Dungeon. Are you certain you want to keep going with us?"
It wasn't a frivolous question. Gods were not allowed to enter the Dungeon. Once detected, they would draw the attention of the so-called Divine Assassins—anti-god monsters the Dungeon specifically created to retaliate against deities. These creatures could suppress divine power, and they weren't opponents ordinary adventurers could handle at all.
Whether it was Antares, the scorpion that later annihilated Artemis Familia, or the Black Goliath that appeared on Floor 18 in the main story, all were such monsters: beings even gods could not defeat, threats that required enormous sacrifice or the intervention of a true hero to bring down.
Xien's words made everyone turn toward the blue-haired figure behind them in shock.
They hadn't expected there to be an actual goddess in their team. What exactly was going on here?
Artemis froze for a moment, then immediately understood his meaning.
"So what you mean is—if I insist, you won't try to stop me?"
"That's right. You are a goddess, after all. I have no right to forbid you. But I hope you understand that if you continue with us, you'll introduce an unpredictable danger to this temporary team. If you insist on coming, then as acting field leader, I may have to reconsider your position within the formation."
Xien didn't try to persuade her emotionally. He simply laid out the facts. Given how deeply Artemis loved the children of the lower world, he knew that would be enough to make her stop.
"All right. You've convinced me. I'll return the way I came and send my children to support you."
"Thank you very much. Then this is where we part, Lady Artemis."
With that, Xien wasted no more words and moved out again, signaling everyone else to follow.
Watching the team's backs recede into the distance, Artemis couldn't help but smile as she recalled what he had just said.
That boy is good. Very good.
A few simple lines, and he had sealed off every possible route by which she could insist on staying. He hadn't forced her, not once—but under those circumstances, continuing to follow them would have been irresponsibly selfish.
Sophisticated. Very sophisticated.
With Justice suddenly gaining such a sly little brat, who knew what would happen next?
The thought left her oddly expectant.
And so, the group split into two and pushed deeper into the tunnels.
"My lord, this is bad! The assaults at both sites have been contained. They're pressing deeper into the tunnels now—at this rate, it won't take long before they reach the entrance!"
"What? What the hell are you useless fools doing? Weren't you the ones who said this was foolproof?"
The man seized his subordinate by the collar, furious beyond measure.
"S-sorry, my lord! We underestimated them! It isn't just those women anymore—upper-class adventurers from both the Freya Familia and the Loki Familia have joined the battle! The number of monsters we gathered just isn't enough!"
That answer made the man grit his teeth. Why? Why had such a perfect operation run into such overwhelming resistance?
"Impossible. Why would those two Familia get involved? Aren't they supposed to still be recovering and fighting over the spoils?"
"No choice. Initiate Plan B. Shift the focus to the North District and the Pleasure Quarter. While they're tied down there, gather the 'materials' as fast as possible."
"Yes, my lord!"
In another unseen darkness, a shadowy figure steeped in邪恶 stepped into a bizarre chamber.
It was a grotesque place—walls and floor covered in fleshy tissue, purple-red organic growth crawling over everything, countless blood-vessel-like tendrils stretching outward, and one glowing, pulsating sac after another like giant insect eggs. The entropy in the air felt so thick it was suffocating.
The figure approached a huge egg-like structure at the center and laid a hand on it.
"As expected, mortals are worthless. They can't even handle something this small. In the end, I have to rely on you. Fine. Since the opportunity is right, let them witness your power. It's time for a glorious entrance. Hahahaha—!"
As that manic laughter rang out, the giant egg began to convulse violently, as though something inside were on the verge of hatching.
On Xien's side, supported by Xien's impossibly effective battle-healer presence, the group pushed forward at an astonishing pace and finally reached the deepest part of the tunnel.
"This is… Floor 26? That deep? How is that even possible?"
Elise stared in disbelief. Along the way, they had seen entire sections lined with orderly brick tunnels, without the slightest trace of hurried excavation. An undertaking of this scale couldn't possibly have been completed in a day or two.
"This isn't the time to be worrying about that. Sealing this place off is what matters now. Hold the monsters back for me. I'm sealing the opening."
"All right."
At Xien's order, everyone immediately surged forward to intercept the monsters still pouring in.
Looking around at the structure of the tunnel, Xien had already formed a rough plan.
This was probably part of the artificial labyrinth from one of the side-story arcs. If he remembered right, it traced back to the obsession of a descendant of one of the gods who had once helped design Babel Tower—a lineage that could not bear the curse placed on them. So at this point, that bloodline had already allied itself with the Dark Faction.
That fit. It also explained why Lyd and the others had been so cautious during first contact—they'd likely already suffered at the hands of those hunters.
Which meant this was no small matter. It had to be taken seriously.
Even as he sorted through future implications in his head, Xien was already pouring Abundance power into the ground, summoning enormous vines to drag over the nearby rubble. He intended to block the breach completely.
Thanks to his perfect control and the near-instinctive responsiveness of his summoned plants, the process went quickly. In no time, the opening was almost entirely sealed. When only a final gap remained, he shouted out:
"All right, fall back! Everyone through that gap! I'm sealing it shut!"
The others turned at his call, and—still astonished at how quickly he'd managed all this—passed one after another through the person-high gap.
Xien directed the plants to attack the monsters trying to follow, while his own blade never stopped moving for an instant.
At last, everyone except him had made it through.
Xien wasted no time. Under cover of the plants, he darted through in a blur.
Then, with a wave of his hand, the last massive stone was hurled into place by the vines, crushing a monster that had just been trying to squeeze through the gap into a bloody pulp.
But he still wasn't done.
Xien didn't dare waste a second. He pressed one hand to the rock wall while the other dipped into his pocket, pulling out several seeds and pressing them into the stone. Abundance power surged into them. Before the others' eyes, the seeds sprouted, grew, blossomed—
In the end, under Xien's will, the plants bound the previously disconnected stones into one seamless mass, filling every gap and turning the loose pile into a single solid barrier.
Only then did Xien finally let out a breath.
What he had used just now was not active animation, but simple growth. The plants covering the stone now were ordinary plants—just tougher and more resilient thanks to the strengthening effect of Abundance.
"All right. This should hold for a while. Let's hurry back and support the others. The Adventurers Guild can send people later to reinforce it properly."
"Damn, that was smooth. Seriously, as long as Xien's around, it feels like nothing can't be solved."
Iska gave him a thumbs-up. At this point, everyone was used to it. Whenever Xien was around, things had a way of turning out better.
"Please spare me. Don't start giving me weird nicknames too…"
Now that the immediate crisis was over, Xien relaxed a little, and he met their relieved banter with a bit of snark of his own.
Then the whole group began hurrying back.
There weren't many reinforcements on the way, which eased everyone's nerves a little.
But just as they were finally starting to relax, a roar unlike anything before thundered out from the other tunnel—the route Riveria and the others had taken.
They'd run into trouble.
That was everyone's immediate conclusion.
No one dared linger even a second longer. They rushed toward the sound as fast as they could.
And when Xien and the others arrived, the sight before them left them stunned.
The gray-brown brickwork that had surrounded the area before was gone.
In its place stretched an enormous wasteland-like cavern.
A vast, barren expanse, crawling with innumerable larva-type monsters and carnivorous plant monsters.
And at the center of that disgusting horde stood a female-shaped monster fused to an enormous plant-like lower body.
The larvae extended tongue-like feeding organs from their mouths, offering the magic stones at their tips to the female form rooted in the monstrous plant mass.
The carnivorous flowers opened their huge maws as well, revealing the magic stones inside.
The female form greedily swallowed the "offerings."
Numerous tendril-like appendages on the upper half of her body devoured the brilliantly colored stones one after another. As the magic stones were absorbed, the larva and plant monsters crumbled into rotten dust.
Watching this horrifying scene, the adventurers felt their stomachs turn.
This was a self-sacrificial offering.
What kind of absurdity was this?!
"A… 강화종? A strengthened species…?!"
The grotesque tableau made even these battle-hardened adventurers feel physically ill. They could hear their own heartbeats pounding in their ears, drums on the verge of bursting. The blood in their veins stirred violently at the presence ahead of them.
It was an absolute enemy.
Then, just as they were about to react—
the thing in the middle of that grotesque ritual began to change.
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it