One corner of the otherwise unremarkable passage.
This was the gathering point of the "altars" where the flowing magic-circle lines on the floor and the intricate branching paths all converged.
Fron, wrapped in a black cloak, stood here alone, lowering his head as he gazed at the magical radiance on the ground.
In his ears were constant tremors of bombardment, roars, and shouts.
The entire 14th floor of the man-made labyrinth had already turned into a battlefield for the adventurers.
Even though the place he stood in was extremely remote now, the position he could see was still perfectly clear.
"Several magic-power circulation points on the fourteenth floor. This is the last one."
A total of eight.
After comparing the Daedalus Notes, which recorded the design blueprint of the labyrinth, with the structure of the "ring spell" he had gotten from Loki, Fron left the great chamber and, relying on his superhuman senses, quickly located the "target" within the man-made labyrinth.
That was the "heart" that made the "magic power" circulate within the "altar."
"Since the six starting points for the chanting 'Fallen Spirits' are all present, in order to destroy the grand magic that will obliterate the city, we must annihilate six of the Fallen Spirits.
"Even if we keep one pillar continuously damaged to delay the advance of the remaining five, the time is still far from enough. So... if I can just secretly take care of these key nodes inside the labyrinth, that'll do."
Fron looked at the final magic-power node before him, a vicious grin curling upward.
He raised his staff-spear, aiming it at the node.
Without hesitation, he released a fast-cast spell, Fire Bolt.
"Boom, "
...
"----!?"
Except for the pillar that was defeated by the Fifth Unit, the other five Fallen Spirits that were chanting all reacted at once.
They sensed the "abnormality" happening inside the altar and all raised their heads.
Finn, who was currently attacking, keenly noticed the slight irregularity in their behavior.
Connecting it with Fron's task, a full smile spread across his face.
"With this, we have enough time now!"
"Finn, next time you want to pull off this kind of sneaky trick, get someone specialized to do it. Honestly, I still prefer persuading people with logic."
Fron's cheerful voice came through the Communication Crystal, and Finn answered with a light "hehe."
Saying one thing but feeling another, huh? You clearly enjoyed doing it.
"Full assault!!!"
...
As the battle grew ever more intense, and as time approached the moment for the completion of the "ring spell," the enormous ritual finally revealed its true form.
On the ground.
The "ring spell" appeared on the surface as clusters of red light particles, while an ominous sound echoed from underground.
With a "crack," stone slabs shattered, and emerging from the sewers was a chilling horde of Violas.
They opened their slime-dripping, hideous mouths and petals, writhing with countless tentacles.
"Hey, wait!? That's the new type of monster! Isn't that the one we saw during the Monsterpheria!?"
"Are you kidding me, that's the monster with the potential ability reaching Lv.5, with a shell even Tiona's fists can't break! Why is it appearing here!? Are the gods playing a joke on us!?"
What these confused adventurers and civilians did not know was that the nearly-completed ritual had begun to overflow with magic.
Accepting the explosively rising magic of the Fallen Spirits, the Violas had awakened.
Hmm...
As everyone knows, the climax of a stage play must have an audience. Otherwise, how would the clown's performance receive flowers and applause?
This was the prank of the mastermind Enyo, as if declaring that this was merely the prelude to The Feast of Frenzy and Madness.
"Have you noticed it? Since just now... what is going on!?"
"Y-yeah, I noticed! The ground keeps shaking intermittently, at first I thought it was an earthquake, but according to the usual guild records, nothing like this should be happening..."
"Don't forget, beneath our feet... is the Dungeon! Earthquakes in Orario are always related to abnormalities in the Dungeon!"
"What on earth is happening? Normally in these situations, the Guild Headquarters should be the first to step out and explain!"
...
As the streets cracked one after another, the Violas appearing all over the city became the final straw that broke the residents' composure.
Ordinary people were terrified by this obvious abnormality. Even as residents of Orario, they finally realized the situation had gone beyond control, pushing them into panic.
If one looked down from the sky, they would see that the chaos and slaughter at this moment were now the melody of the city Orario. The sight unfolding was nothing less than a stellar banquet of madness.
Powerless residents and merchants screamed, panicking, fleeing in all directions.
Hearing the cries of children echoing everywhere, the adventurers within the crowd clicked their tongues and stepped forward to fight these obviously overtuned monsters.
"Raaaargh!"
"Splurt, "
"S-so strong!"
The blades in their hands could only leave a faint white scratch on the shells, the recoil numbing their grip.
The Violas' potential ability surpassed most adventurers.
Tiona couldn't break their defense bare-handed, but that was simply because she lacked the proper tools.
But that didn't mean that mere Lv.1 adventurers were the ones meant to fight them.
Physical attacks were ineffective, and they also reacted to "magic," overwhelming mages. The "first-sight" and "unknown" nature of these monsters, unseen in the Dungeon, forced even high-level adventurers into a passive stance.
The strongest adventurers responsible for protecting the city's core had already left for the man-made labyrinth to assist.
Now, the remaining forces had to suppress the situation on their own.
Centered around the reserve forces of the Ganesha Familia, adventurers began rescuing the city's residents, but even so, desperate screams rose in every direction.
Just as the chaos seemed ready to accelerate,
"Hey! You lot, look over here!"
Several "fishermen" appeared in the city.
"Oi, Rod, don't push yourself! You're only Lv.2!"
"Relax, Nito! Our family's resilience isn't just for show!"
They were none other than the Njord Familia rooted in the harbor town of Melen.
With something this big happening in Orario, of course they had to come help.
Hearing their god Njord's words, the captain Rod grinned.
"These are the leftover 'magic powders' from old man Borug the mayor! We'll use them all here! Speaking of which, we really have to thank those remnants of the Evilus for making these, haha!"