A chill hung in the early morning air. The taverns that had stayed open all night were only just closing their doors, and the drunkards spilling out into the streets were met by the smell of fresh breakfast as the first shops opened. The cobblestone streets of Orario were unusually quiet.
Down one such street came a returning party — a massive formation of adventurers emerging from the Dungeon.
Their sheer numbers drew every pair of eyes around them.
"Wait, isn't that the Loki Familia?"
"Yeah. Just looking at the three at the front, there's no mistaking them."
Everyone in Orario knew the three pillars of the Loki Familia — the city's most famous Adventurers.
"Hold on! Are those members of the Astraea Familia?"
Someone in the crowd finally noticed the out-of-place colors mixed into the marching column — the crimson and white of the Astraea Familia.
"Scarlet Harnel... and Yamato Rindou? That's really them! But why are they returning with the Loki Familia?"
"That's weird. The Loki Familia just left on their expedition. There's no way they finished that fast."
"Exactly. It's way too soon."
A Loki Familia expedition was never a short affair. Everyone knew their exploration reached as deep as the 50th floor.
For most Familias, that depth was far beyond their limit. Every additional floor meant exponentially more danger — and far more space to cover.
Even with their established route and markers down to the 50th floor, there was no way they could've gone and returned in under a week.
The people lining the streets couldn't shake the feeling that something about this return was off.
A vague, nagging sense of wrongness — as if something vital was missing.
"Wait a second... where's all their cargo? Didn't the Loki Familia leave with a ton of supplies?"
That realization spread quickly.
Right — that was it.
The missing supplies. The Loki Familia had brought a huge stockpile into the Dungeon, and yet there wasn't a single wagon or crate among them now.
There was no way they could've burned through all that material in just a few days.
So where had it gone?
The onlookers whispered and speculated, eyes tracking the long column as it passed, but even after the last of them disappeared down the street, no one had seen a single supply cart.
Strange. Very strange.
"Ha... just as I thought. The Loki Familia's missing supplies mean they knew something in advance."
Half-lounging against the railing of a second-floor tavern balcony, Hermes watched the tail of the column disappear from sight.
"Lord Hermes," Asfi said beside him, ever the diligent aide, "according to our investigation, Lady Loki went to the Guild last night — and she also summoned Lady Astraea."
"Oh? So that's it." Hermes chuckled. "Loki went to stir up trouble at the Guild. No wonder she left her supplies behind — she's planning to make them take the hit. But Astraea's involvement… that's the strange part. So the Dungeon's 'abnormalities' really were as bad as I suspected."
Just from those few clues, Hermes could already guess the shape of Loki's move.
"Asfi, has Astraea been in contact with Loki recently?"
"No, not even once."
"That makes it even stranger. It's not Astraea going to Loki — it's Loki going to Astraea."
Hermes frowned in amusement. The idea of those two deities working together sounded like a joke.
Astraea stood for justice, fairness, and order. Loki… well, Loki was none of those things.
The two had barely interacted in the past. So why the sudden connection now?
Hermes's curiosity flared.
"What do you think, Asfi?"
Asfi adjusted her glasses and thought for a moment before answering.
"Normally, Lady Astraea wouldn't accept an invitation from Loki. Their relationship has never been close. But last night, she accepted immediately — and she's still at Loki Familia's manor as of this morning."
Hermes's grin widened beneath the brim of his hat.
"So something happened in the Dungeon that left Astraea no choice but to agree, huh?" Asfi continued. "I believe it must have involved her Familia. That's the only reason she would have accepted so suddenly."
Hermes tilted his hat lower, that foxlike smile never leaving his face.
"The key lies in what exactly happened in the Dungeon," he mused.
Asfi didn't respond — she only nodded slightly.
"No," Hermes corrected himself softly, "not just what happened down there — but how Loki found out so fast."
He turned his sharp gaze toward his own captain.
After a long silence, Asfi finally shook her head.
"Lord Hermes, none of the Loki Familia's members have entered the Dungeon in the past few days. No messengers, no scouts."
Hermes hummed thoughtfully, his eyes drifting toward the distant direction of Twilight Manor.
"Then it's even more intriguing. How did Loki get her information? To know what happened in the Dungeon so quickly — and to contact Astraea in time…"
He straightened up.
"Asfi, take a team to Rivira today. Ask around, find out what's been going on down there recently. I want an overview of the situation."
"Understood."
—
At the gates of Twilight Manor, two goddesses stood waiting: Loki and Astraea.
The sound of approaching footsteps reached them long before the returning party appeared.
Astraea's keen eyes swept toward the source — and her heart clenched when she spotted a familiar head of crimson hair among the crowd.
"Alise…"
At that exact moment, Alise Lovell looked up and saw her goddess waiting.
Her steps faltered — and then she broke into a sprint.
"Lady Astraea!"
She threw herself into Astraea's arms like a child, tears spilling uncontrollably down her cheeks.
"It's all my fault… everything was my fault…"
She'd led her Familia straight into the enemy's trap. Nearly everyone had fallen. Their only hope of survival had come at the cost of Astraea's own sacrifice.
The guilt had been eating her alive.
Astraea said nothing — she simply wrapped her arms around Alise and gently stroked her hair, soothing her like a mother would a grieving child.
None of it had been her fault.
The blame lay entirely with the Dark Faction.