"I originally thought that after you returned to Tenkai as a pillar of light and after Thanatos left right in front of me."
"Besides that, during the later investigation, my child Fron Argon noticed something. It was from his mouth that I learned another god had disappeared."
Saying this, Loki stared at the other party with gloomy eyes.
"I mean, aside from Demeter, who's hiding…"
The implication being: besides the gods involved in this incident, the ones both sides clearly know about, there was yet another god who had never appeared, had absolutely nothing to do with these events, and was silently subjected to return to Tenkai.
Obviously, Dionysus understood. He spread his hands, tilted his head, and with his habitual narrow-eyed smile said:
"At this point, things have already progressed this far. Well… although it no longer matters to us… a rare chance like this should still have an answer. Especially on such a grand stage, having no answer would make the finale… a bit imperfect, don't you think, Loki?"
"Let's finish this play properly."
His tone was as if he was enjoying divine entertainment, a game. As though to him, this entire sequence of actions, gestures, expressions, was all a celebration for his final victory.
Certain of triumph, completely dismissing Loki.
Perhaps he had forgotten Loki's reputation in Tenkai, hadn't even dared imagine what would happen if the tables turned on him. Being beaten half to death would probably be the mildest outcome.
Once it reached that point, immortality would no longer be a blessing, it would be a curse.
The gods he had harmed would surely let him experience what torture truly meant, what it meant to wish for death.
...
The male god smiled, squinting, and urged Loki to speak the "answer" without the slightest concern.
"Penia, the Lord of Daedalus Street."
After the two pillar of lights ended, she vanished.
During the earlier investigation, Loki, Hermes, and even the children had all checked countless times.
As everyone knows, due to its geography, Daedalus Street is the labyrinth area of Orario.
Whether it's the church and monastery that Syr often visited, or Soma's warehouse, both are in this district.
With such a population base, spreading divine ideas there was easy. A goddess working there, no one found it strange.
But precisely because it was normal, the fact that she stopped giving public speeches afterward became abnormal.
No preaching, no gathering crowds, what was she doing?
That… was the flaw.
After all, the huge pillar of light cannot be faked!
"Before coming here, I went to the temporary shelter in Daedalus Street where the residents evacuated. After asking around, the children of the slums told me this: 'At some point, Lady Penia just disappeared.'"
Loki thought to herself: 'Fron, that kid… how meticulous. He even dug up this kind of detail.'
"Heh heh…"
"With that, the clues connect. Aside from leaving yourself a path of self-suggestion, you also got Penia drunk. Then turned her into a puppet that followed your orders."
Maybe he contacted her for some reason. Or perhaps the greedy and impoverished goddess was simply too easily swayed by offerings of food and "drinks".
As for how exactly he made Penia drink the Divine Wine, and what methods were used, since the case is already clear and she has been sent back to Tenkai, Loki had no interest.
But one thing was certain: after investigation, the evidence was solid, a goddess had suddenly disappeared from Orario.
Thus, after connecting each part of the scheme, the true scapegoat was neither Demeter nor anyone else.
"I'm guessing you had another reason for getting Penia drunk. You wanted to 'convert' all your children to Penia's Familia."
Because of that, during the staged disaster, when the pillar of light showed 'you' going to Tenkai, the blessing of the Dionysus Familia could be lost.
Otherwise wouldn't that have exposed you? As a god skilled in schemes, Dionysus naturally wouldn't leave such an obvious flaw.
"You also got your former Familia children drunk."
Including the vice-captain, Aura Moriel, and all the members who were taken in the Dionysus Familia.
Thinking about it that way, it all makes sense!
They were not the Dionysus Familia.
They were the Penia Familia.
Dionysus likely even had Aura and the others, former members, drink the Divine Wine as well.
He didn't need to keep them confused constantly or use hints or hypnosis. All he had to do was pretend to reward them before updating their status, saying "This is treasured wine," then pouring that wine into their cups.
Once they drank the Divine Wine, the children would become drunk and follow his words blindly, wholeheartedly believing that the god he had exchanged in place of himself, the goddess Penia, was "Dionysus".
After that, the manipulated Penia simply had to update their Falna.
Using the effects of Divine Wine, he kept both sides in the dark and let himself control the entire ridiculous performance in the shadows.
What a laughable puppet show.
Such a method was chilling, he treated everyone as toys, dolls, tools. Dionysus had no heart. Inside and out, he was just a lunatic.
Whenever the god pulled the strings of his puppets, whether god or mortal, under the influence of Divine Wine they danced according to his will.
Just imagining the scene made it seem too foolish, too tragic.
The saddest part was this: Aura Moriel and the others, who adored Dionysus and swore loyalty to him, were not actually his Familia.
They were merely bodies and minds to be toyed with by the man before her.
Thinking of the girl Fron had rescued, still mentally shattered and barely functioning, Loki grew even angrier.
Fortunately, she did not participate in this battle. Otherwise, if she learned the truth, the child might have done something terrifying…
"Heh, thinking about it now, it was full of holes from the start. At first, you spouted nonsense about your 'children being killed by an enemy'."
"I'm guessing, that was after the Divine Wine's effects faded, when they realized they weren't members of the Dionysus Familia… so you took care of them in secret. Isn't that right?"
Upon hearing this accusation, the male god's twisted expression finally cracked, unable to hide his disgust any longer.