Dionysus's appearance and expression at this moment looked just like a gambler who had made a huge profit at a betting company, twisted, deranged, utterly unrestrained.
"Pff, haha, hahaha! Amazing, too amazing, Loki! As expected of you! You guessed right, completely right!!!"
A month ago, members of the Dionysus Familia were murdered., There was no conspiracy, no trick.
The killing method was extremely simple and direct: approach from the front, then lightly twist the opponent's neck with a single squeeze to snap it.
To me, all the gods in the city are suspects, the enemies who killed my children!
Recalling that time after the 59th Floor's Fallen Spirit incident and the "Monsterpheria Event," when the new species Violas appeared… after she and Bete went to the underground waterway to track the scent of a mysterious person, she encountered Dionysus.
When he revealed his resolve in front of her, remembering that scene, then looking again at the face drawn on the mask in her hand…
"Lies." No… it was all an act. All of it was fake!
From the beginning, this guy had worn a false mask called "justice," with the goal of infiltrating their them and observing their actions.
Just as Loki said, those three sacrificed familia members likely sobered up when Goddess Penia was updating their Status, after the effect of the "divine wine" wore off.
But thinking about how terrifying the divine wine's effects were even toward gods, it can be inferred, perhaps these kids weren't that drunk to begin with. Or rather, they only drank a little.
Once they sobered up and realized the truth, the confused familia members panicked, then ran out of their base in madness, fleeing desperately into the empty streets, such actions naturally led to a predictable end: they were killed by the masked person.
Dionysus ordered the "masked person" to dispose of them without hesitation.
Otherwise, would he let these few who knew the truth go home for the holidays? Wouldn't that ruin all his plans? Obviously Dionysus would never allow that.
As for how he could bring himself to lay hands on his own children? Just look at him now and you'll understand.
This guy… has never treated the people of the lower world as people. In his eyes, every one of them is a toy. The entire lower world itself is his stage, his playground!
This is the true face hidden beneath the gentle mask of this deranged god.
....
That's how everything happened. Afterwards, he did exactly what Loki described.
To avoid suspicion from the Guild, he let them discover the corpses, pretended to be the victim, expressed grief and rage to win sympathy, and infiltrated the opposing faction.
Then he showed Loki the "Green Magic Stone" and fabricated a causal link between it and the Monsterpheria.
Of course, at that time, because Dionysus needed to get close to Loki, he had already made himself "drunk" in advance.
Drunk beyond reason, the conviction in his heart was "I will truly avenge my children!"
Therefore even Loki, who was familiar with illusions and disguises, failed to notice anything.
....
The entire incident, from beginning to end, there was never any "enemy."
Nor was there any righteous, mournful, revenge-fueled battle Dionysus pretended to wage.
Everything, every event, was a theatrical performance, a farce perfectly constructed from the beginning.
None of the parties involved in this incident gained anything. Not even the "puppet" familia members manipulated by Dionysus's words.
"Pah, you shitty god."
Right before Loki's eyes, although this god's outward appearance was that of an elegant man with a gentle attitude, he kept releasing mocking, belittling laughter that clashed with the atmosphere of this place.
Having long changed after coming to the lower world, Loki couldn't help but reveal anger for the children who died.
A truth so real… that even the gods themselves failed to notice it. All because of the divine wine, what was impossible became possible.
It was precisely because Dionysus created a divine wine surpassing even Soma, the god who ruled over wine, that he had the means to orchestrate this "uproarious comedy."
Of course, it was also the greatest "tragedy."
"Penia, she really was a great scapegoat. She so easily diverted your attention away from me. Mm, when the moment came that my plan became concrete in my mind, the first 'sacrificial lamb' I thought of was her."
"As insurance for the search for the god-killer… though, being a god, she has one or two strange quirks..."
Facing the furious, foul-mouthed Loki, the triumphant Dionysus remained unmoved, still immersed in the joy of victory.
His happiness, combined with the thrill of having manipulated everything from behind the scenes, he simply couldn't hold back anymore.
It's well-known that once someone succeeds brilliantly, they can't resist bragging about it. Showing off is a basic need of intelligent beings, gods included.
Dionysus had been holding it in for too long. Now that he had a listener, Loki didn't even need to ask, he volunteered everything on his own.
"You know this, right? Penia presides over 'poverty.' That's why she's a strange goddess with zero familia members."
Even if Dionysus's children secretly converted to her, as long as the main god was too drunk to judge, no one would notice anything unusual. No familia would detect the irregularity.
No one was more suitable to be the scapegoat than her. So when his plan matured, Dionysus immediately locked onto her as his choice.
"That's right, that quirky goddess left behind a very pretty trace of 'hint,' you know."
"What do you mean?"
"Other than your personal wine cellar, we've seen the same wine somewhere else."
"----!"
Seeing Dionysus's expression suddenly freeze, Loki grinned maliciously.
"I'm a drunkard, you know? Once I smell any wine fragrance, I will never forget it. That's right, that was Penia."
"Later I remembered, when I first saw her in Daedalus Street, that old hag was holding the exact same wine bottle. The scent on her was the same as the one in your wine cellar!"
"..."