The goddess's exquisitely beautiful face, paired with the slightly upturned corners of her lips and her teasing gaze, made that contradictory feeling surge to the maximum in an instant.
Unfortunately, not a single spectator existed to appreciate this perfect scene.
One could only say that as the Goddess of Beauty, no matter what kind of expression she made, it was always filled with the single word: beauty.
...
"The Banquet of Frenzy, huh, Dionysus. As expected ... even up in the Tenkai, you never gave up on that idea, did you? To think you descended just to personally accomplish something like this..."
With a worn and weary face, but now showing a joyful smile after seeing that pillar of light that pierced the skies, Hermes removed his hat, placed it over his chest, and bowed as if performing a formal greeting.
"Looks like everything has finally ended. Things are back on track."
...
Burning torches illuminated the pitch–black underground hall. The god sat on the "altar" as always, head tilted up toward the ceiling. His pair of pale-blue eyes seemed able to pierce through the stone slabs as he muttered quietly to himself.
"To think... it was you, the one who made a contract with the Corrupted Spirit, Dionysus. So you've become hostile toward me, is that it? I see. Looks like even the Dungeon can't endure anymore, with the corrupted spirit seeking to come to the surface."
"However, the promised day has not yet come. There is still time."
...
The divine light that pierced kies, its brilliance beyond description.
With its appearance, the horde of monsters flooding the surface seemed to be seized by some unknown power... and in an instant, every single monster was reduced to ash.
A city completely drowned in chaos one second, and in the next, utterly silent.
The gods who knew the truth looked at that pillar of golden light and of course they understood exactly what had happened.
The mortals of the Lower World might not know who was inside the light, but the gods "saw" it clearly, the guy inside was laughing wildly.
Some unlucky gods whose weak familias were caught in the aftermath instantly erupted in fury, stomping their feet and shouting curses without restraint!
"Dionysus! You bastard! I knew at a glance you weren't a good god, you lunatic!!!"
Scenes like this were far from rare.
Clearly, all of them had been completely played by Dionysus.
Although he didn't target them directly, any major plan involving the entire city, including actions inside the Dungeon, was more or less directly or indirectly tied to him.
Now it was final: regardless of whose fault anything was, every pot was dumped onto Dionysus's head. Even the "karma" of the Evilus was all conveniently pushed onto him.
Thinking about it... since he fled back to the Tenkai seriously injured, his future days would certainly not be pleasant.
Those gods who went to the Tenkai earlier and liberated their divine power after returning to the heavens... who knew how terrifying they'd be.
...
The surface's chaos dissipated, but the pillar of kight had left behind serious consequences.
And the adventurers fighting inside Orario were far from calm.
The lingering laughter of the vanished god and the rumbling earth echoed around them, while drifting motes of light fell onto Fron and the others who remained at the scene.
"...Even though we obtained the final victory, why do I still feel so unsettled? We should clearly be the winners..."
No one spoke. Only time flowed quietly.
At that moment, Alicia tugged on Fron's sleeve and whispered softly.
Fron took a deep breath, straightened his posture, glanced at his anxious elf whose emotions were written all over her delicate face, and said gently:
"Alicia, don't mind something like this. If you mind it, that guy wins. Hehe... pretty words like 'The gods love all mortals'?"
"Only idiots would believe something so laughable and childish. No... perhaps those blindly fanatical believers might believe it, sure. But people like us cannot be measured by such standards."
"The human heart has always been the most complicated thing. No exceptions. A mere evil god."
Loki originally wanted to say something, but was silenced by Fron's casual "mere god."
But thinking of Fron's personality, Loki burst into laughter again.
Everyone gathered together, facing forward.
In the depths of the large opening, one could glimpse the sky's radiance, the vast sky.
The red glow covering the ground had also vanished. They could vaguely hear the loud cheers rising from the city above.
Clearly, with the monsters gone, everyone knew the side of justice had secured the final victory!.
"Haa ... finally, it's over!"
Fron raised both arms and stretched hard, his expression returning to its usual lazy but sunny smile.
Everything was over. His entire body relaxed as though he had finally shed some heavy shackle, a sensation like his soul had been uplifted.
Several girls stood beside him, looking at the faintly visible sky, eyes narrowing.
Alicia and the other members closed their eyes; some pressed their palms together, others raised their weapons.
...
The next day.
The adventurers who joined the subjugation battle held a grand celebration late at night.
Of course, with one competitor gone, the Soma Familia's God of Wine made a huge profit, and every tavern in the district was packed full.
Everyone tacitly ignored the day's chaos, drinking happily for reasons that could not be spoken aloud, eating meat in huge bites.
These scenes left the clueless onlookers bewildered, they had no idea what had happened.
But the losses from the day were recovered in one night. With their pockets full, what could be happier?
Fron also partook in the celebration. As the major contributor to the operation, he was poured drink after drink until his consciousness completely vanished. He didn't even know how he made it back to his room.
When he woke again, it was already the next evening.
"Tss." Rubbing his throbbing head from the hangover, he couldn't help but suck in a breath.
"Damn, that was too much. How can they all drink like that?" Remembering last night's scenes, he couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
They say once bitten by a snake, one fears even a rope for ten years, from now on, if anyone with ill intentions tried inviting Fron to drink, he would definitely be much more cautious.
After washing up and changing into casual clothes, Fron lazily made his way toward the dining hall.
Along the way, he met many companions, and judging from their spirits, the rewards from the subjugation battle were definitely worth the trip.