Three days had passed since the explosion, and this morning happened to be the day the gods were to attend the "Denatus."
This resulted in two separate gatherings.
The assault team assembled at the Dungeon entrance, while the gods had gathered much earlier at the top of the Tower of Babel.
"Haaah..."
Dragging themselves out of bed just to watch the spectacle, many gods still wore traces of sleepiness on their faces.
Yet Ganesha, standing on the stage, was uncharacteristically full of energy.
Some gods looked at him with visible annoyance.
"Ganesha, must you be this lively at such an hour?"
"And why is the Denatus scheduled so early this time? And they're making every single one of us show up..."
As they spoke, the gods couldn't stop themselves from yawning. Today truly was too early a start.
Three days ago, Evilus had caused such a massive disturbance that all of Orario had been thrown into unrest. The gods had been tightening their Familia formations to better prepare for any surprise attacks from Evilus.
After three days of constant tension, even gods were beginning to feel mentally strained.
In truth, the gods had been waiting not only for Evilus's next move but also for the Guild's response.
Given how wildly Evilus had acted, it would have been strange if the Guild remained calm.
Yet after waiting for three days, the only thing they received was a summons to attend an early-morning Denatus.
"Everyone knows this Denatus has something to do with the explosion three days ago. Ganesha, just tell us straight—did the Guild call us here to talk about Evilus?"
The gods weren't fools; of course they understood why the Guild had gathered them.
What they didn't understand was why the Guild's first major response was... another meeting. Even if they were planning to make a decision, wasn't this meeting three days overdue?
Ganesha swept his gaze over the assembled gods, then nodded without further concealment.
"That's right. The topic of this Denatus is Evilus."
"But it's not what you think. We're not here to decide how to counter Evilus. This meeting is about something else."
Ganesha adjusted his tone.
"As you all know, three days ago Evilus detonated an explosion in Orario's civilian district. It was meant to divert our attention from the Dungeon, and it resulted in countless deaths among ordinary children."
"Boom!"
Even Ganesha's normally simple and honest face was twisted with fury.
"Those bastards committed the one thing they should never have done!"
But he quickly calmed himself, his voice turning far more solemn than usual.
"The Guild and my Familia saw their methods firsthand three days ago. I was furious—furious enough to want to tear them apart myself."
"But even so, we must approach them with greater caution."
"Evilus intended to distract us. That means the Dungeon contains something far more important to them. And that important thing is likely their greatest trump card for the full-scale attack they'll soon launch on the surface!"
Ganesha's voice carried a powerful weight, darkening the expressions of all the gods present.
Except for Evilus, none of the gods wished to see the surface world fall back into chaos.
So the gods felt nothing but disgust and revulsion toward Evilus's ambitions.
If those lunatics succeeded, wouldn't everything return to that unbearable boredom?
Under no circumstances could those madmen be allowed to succeed!
"But if dealing with Evilus was the goal, couldn't the Denatus have been held three days ago?"
A god raised this question.
"Three days ago, all of Orario was in chaos. My familia and the Guild were fully occupied handling the aftermath in the blast zone. We had neither the spare energy nor the time to convene a Denatus."
"And more importantly, with everyone in complete disarray, it was impossible to discuss any viable plan against Evilus."
Ganesha shook his head in outright refusal.
"Three days ago was spent on post-disaster work—giving proper burial to the children who died."
"Two days ago, we had to repair the ground fissures caused by the explosion. If hordes of monsters flooded out through those cracks into Orario, it would've caused even more devastating harm to innocent children."
Neither of those days was suited for meaningful discussion.
Ganesha himself had no time to waste bickering at a Denatus either, so there was naturally no meeting.
"Only yesterday did my familia finish registering all the children who died in the explosion and treating those severely injured."
"Because there was simply too much to handle, the Guild did not summon everyone for the Denatus earlier."
Everyone accepted Ganesha's explanation.
The explosion had occurred right in the residential district for ordinary children—an area with serious problems in need of urgent response.
The gods present weren't ignorant of the situation either. Many had sent their own children to help with relief efforts.
Considering the scale of the ground repairs as well, managing basic stabilization within three days was already impressive. Everyone present had to admit Ganesha's efficiency was extraordinary.
"But if that's the case, doesn't it mean the Evilus issue was delayed for three days? Didn't the Guild have other gods discuss it in advance?"
"Of course they did."
Ganesha continued.
"While my familia and I were occupied with cleanup, others weren't idle."
"Yesterday, Hermes and I—on behalf of the Guild—met with Freya, Loki, and Hephaestus to discuss the Evilus issue."
"Oh!!"
This immediately sparked interest among the assembled gods.
Freya and Loki were Orario's Twin Kings, and both had Level 7 children in their familias. A discussion involving them likely meant a fully coordinated plan against Evilus.
"Based on intel from within the Dungeon, we confirmed that the Evilus base entrance lies somewhere in the 35th floor's 'White Palace.' And considering they were willing to detonate the children's residential district just to distract us, it's clear Evilus is preparing a deadly trump card."
"That is why, together with Loki, Freya, and Hephaestus, we developed a full offensive strategy against Evilus."
....
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