Chapter 501

Chapter 508: Gods Who Don’t Play Fair (Please Subscribe!)

Inside the maze where light is severed.

The adventurers who had fallen to the ground were adjusting their conditions with some dazed expressions.

“I’m so done… What the heck was that guy!?

After killing the man-eating flower that fell beside him, Izay looked up at the now closed “ceiling,” then supported his forehead, feeling incoherent.

Where the hell did a deity personally intervene to stop an adventurer’s magic?!

The game rules are just ignored like that?!

What about natural law? What about justice?!

It truly feels indescribable.

But Izay’s complaints were just a way to vent. In reality, he knew it all too well.

That deity belonged to the Dark Faction.

To apply Orario’s rules to them was probably unrealistic.

Those whimsical gods are only bound by the “Contract” they made with the other gods when descending: excessive use of divine power would send them back to the heavens.

That’s correct.

Deities using excessive divine power in the lower world will be punished.

But releasing divine might won’t!

Just an “accidental” release of divine might—what punishment could there possibly be for that?

Even Hestia has done such things.

Wasn’t Black Golelia born not long ago because of her antics?

And when Ais was young, wasn’t it also due to that Grim Reaper releasing divine might in the dungeon that led to Ais using Wind Sprint for the first time?

So this level of rule-breaking is still within the allowable range of the “Contract.”

“Damn… I should’ve set the spatial coordinates first…”

“Alright, kid, stop grumbling. This time, we’ve been outsmarted. We didn’t expect that deity to act so…”

Gress wiped off the remains of the man-eating flower left on his body and sighed helplessly.

What could they do against a deity who didn’t follow the rules?

You’d need the opportunity to send them back, but even if you had it, how could you manage it?

A situation like the clever combination of divine might and traps earlier was completely unforeseen.

“Now, can you still use your detection magic? Check how Finn is doing?”

After consoling him, Gress brought up the main issue.

However, Izay shook his head: “Can’t do it here… The space is still resonating with that guy’s divine might. Powers related to blessings can’t function properly. I can’t perceive anything right now.”

An artificial labyrinth isn’t the same as a dungeon; this is probably why they dared to act this way.

If they did this in the dungeon, a black series monster would have appeared instantly.

But since the artificial labyrinth is close to the dungeon, the divine might unleashed by Sanatos earlier might have triggered something.

Looks like a monster rampage inside the dungeon is inevitable.

“… Hmm, I feel it too. The wind is unnatural…”

Ais, who landed nearby, spoke up at this moment.

Around her floated intermittent pale blue and emerald green breezes, making the young girl furrow her brows slightly.

Fortunately, the batch of man-eating flowers that fell with everyone earlier weren’t strong and were easily defeated by the group.

“If that’s the case, let’s leave here first. Once Izay’s detection magic can be used again, we’ll search for Finn’s group. Our priority now is to reunite the team.”

With Finn absent, Gress temporarily took charge as the leader.

Looking at the only remaining door on the right, the old dwarf squinted his eyes.

No one objected to this plan. After organizing the group, Gress walked ahead to lead the way.

“Izay, you stay at the rear. Ais stays in the middle.”

“Understood.”

The originally large group had lost half its members at this point.

The members who fell to the right side happened to be the medical team, along with the little fairy Refia, Elfie, these few rear guards, but Haruhi wasn’t among them, meaning she must have landed with Finn’s group.

There were four, no, including Alisia as a rear guard staying in the group, five Level 6 adventurers over there.

In terms of high-level combatants, Finn’s side definitely wasn’t lacking, so there was no need to overly worry about their safety.

Now what needed consideration was how to regroup.

And—how to deal with attacks from the Dark Faction.

“…… It resembles a cavern…”

Walking through the passage behind the door and seeing the suddenly open view, Refia softly murmured.

The group arrived at a square space resembling a dungeon cavern. The room was spacious enough to easily accommodate over a hundred adventurers, each side likely measuring at least fifty meters.

On both sides were doors made of orichalcum, and ahead of the stairs leading upwards was a tunnel entrance.

“Haven’t we discussed this before? This is an artificial labyrinth modeled after the dungeon environment.” Izay glanced at the little fairy.

“W-weren’t we just speculating before…? There hasn’t been a conclusion yet…” Refia timidly countered under his gaze.

“That was reasoning based on uncertainty, but now it looks like those speculations were correct.” Izay explained to her.

As Izay finished speaking, Ais quietly said, “Rather than whether it’s imitation or not, I think we should focus on the depth… We fell dozens of meters just now…”

Thinking about the eighteenth floor where Izay encountered remnants of the Dark Faction and the food storage incident on the twenty-fourth floor, if it was the worst-case scenario, the labyrinth’s depth had reached at least the “middle layer.”

How much time, manpower, and resources would that require?

Thinking about these related matters, Ais couldn’t help but feel amazed.

“Don’t marvel yet, kids. That door’s about to cause trouble again.”

The next moment, Gress’s deep voice came from the front.

As if responding to his words, the gemstones on the doors on both sides of the hall began to flicker, then the doors violently opened, and a large number of man-eating flowers poured out, quickly surrounding Izay and the others.

“ROOOAAARRRRR!!!!”

With the roar of the man-eating flowers, the battle between adventurers and monsters commenced.

“『Eclectic Mastery』!!”

At the start of the battle, Izay activated his most commonly used magic.

Golden jade-like light rose from the ground, spreading across most of the cavern, encompassing all members of Loki Familia.

“Hmph! To deal with these small fries, this old man doesn’t need a shield!!”

Gress roared, lifting his Battle Axe of Earth and charging into the center of the man-eating flowers like a cannonball.

“—!”

Ais swung her silver blade, and the残影left by the Sword of Despair danced gracefully among the monsters, drawing beautiful lines. With every flip, several man-eating flowers were cut down, turning into magic stones that fell to the ground.

Izay skillfully wielded his extremely sharp Kusaya from the rear, efficiently slaughtering the man-eating flowers in batches. Often, after the spear tip passed through, the colorful monsters would turn to ash half a beat later.

Reaching Lv.6 with exceptional ability values, and with the further growth of his spear Kusaya, Izay’s current combat efficiency was beyond standard.

From stillness to motion, in the blink of an eye, numerous man-eating flowers were reduced to dust.

His ever-improving skills placed him at the peak in all of Orario.

Even Ota from Freya Familia would be no match for him.

No matter how many man-eating flowers came, it would be useless. Against three “Hero Domain” individuals, numbers meant nothing. The ordinary members protected by the Jade Shield were safe.

This was a fight without suspense. It was just a matter of time until it ended.