CHAPTER 854: CHAPTER 664: SPREADING BLACK MIST (PART 2)

"Once we destroy that hateful tower, destroy this detestable city, let ’Her’ return to the surface, bathed in sunlight, then you will all know the nobility and greatness of ’Her’."

What is the tower he spoke of?

Undoubtedly, it is the Babel Tower.

What is the city he spoke of?

Undoubtedly, it is Orario.

In other words...

"The opponent’s goal is to destroy the Babel Tower, destroy Orario, can I understand it this way?"

Asafi found her voice somewhat dry.

As for the rest of the Hermes Clan, they had already erupted into chaos.

"Destroy the Babel Tower?"

"Destroy Orario?"

"Lies! It must be lies!"

"What benefit would they gain from doing this?"

This chaotic conversation was less a discussion and more a venting.

Under normal circumstances, everyone would scoff at this.

What is the Babel Tower?

It is the lid that seals the entrance to the underground city.

What is Orario?

It is the fortress built atop the underground city, fighting monsters on the front lines, defending the world from monster invasions to the surface.

Here resides the most gods in the world, the most adventurers, and the strongest group of heroes. Along with the guild, who dare say they can destroy the Babel Tower, destroy Orario?

There should be a limit to boasting!

However, a series of inconceivable situations and developments have left the members of the Hermes Clan unable to laugh.

They only felt a black mist spreading, soon to engulf the surface, engulf the Babel Tower, engulf Orario, swallowing all order and light.

What they saw was just the tip of the iceberg, just as Reiger said, there are many secrets yet to be uncovered.

But even this iceberg tip of darkness had already made the Hermes Clan shiver.

Bathing in the fearful gazes of everyone, Reiger remained very calm.

"This is what the opponent said. Whether it’s true or not, it depends on whether someone can uncover the secrets behind it."

This sentence plunged Asafi into silence.

"We best not conceal this matter; report it to the main god." Reiger said to Asafi, "A person’s knowledge is ultimately limited, go ask the gods, maybe they know something."

Though he said so, Reiger himself was undoubtedly clear about what mischief might be behind this series of events.

It’s just...

"The primary goal of this trip wasn’t achieved."

Reiger thought silently to himself.

The reason he came here, participated in this event, was not because of those two hybrid creatures and those robed men, but the source that stirred the blood within Ais — the "Jewel Embryo."

Ais would have to face that thing sooner or later, for that thing had already set its sights on her and was soon going to bring a potentially destructive impact on Maze City Orario, sooner or later, it would appear before Ais.

The Loki Familia would also have to face that thing sooner or later, which is why Reiger aimed for it.

Those two strange men escaped, that’s fine; Reiger’s focus was never on them anyway.

Unfortunately, Reiger couldn’t intercept that "Jewel Embryo," letting "Her" sense Ais’s presence, awakened by Ais’s "Wind."

Mainly, he really didn’t expect Ais to react that way, suddenly attacking in the direction of the "Jewel Embryo," even using the "Wind" without hesitation.

The girl had no idea how much temptation her "Wind" held for the "Jewel Embryo."

The opponent always wanted to find the owner of this gust of "Wind," and Ais’s action just met their need.

Otherwise, the "Jewel Embryo" wouldn’t have reacted so strongly, wouldn’t disregard nutrient absorption, self-detaching from the quartz pillar, lunging at Ais.

One could only say everything was divinely preordained.

"However, it can’t be said it’s entirely without gains."

Reiger whispered inwardly.

This time, the manifestation of the "Jewel Embryo" allowed much darkness to begin surfacing.

Once the information of their experiences on the 24th floor is obtained, whether it be Loki Familia, Hermes Clan, or the guild, they will begin to take it seriously and start investigating and handling it.

If everything goes smoothly, there will still be opportunities to ferret out the opponent later.

"There’s plenty of time, it can be dealt with slowly."

Thinking so, Reiger shifted his attention away from the matter.

Rather than focus on this established fact, he should pay more attention to the girl beside him.

Reiger glanced at Ais who was by his side.

"..."

Ais remained silent throughout, a suppressive low pressure emanating from her entire being, her head never lifted, her gaze continuously lowered, embodying lifelessness.

Sighing inwardly, Reiger sighed.

"We need to head back first."

Turning to Asafi, Reiger said a sentence like that.

"After returning, we need to inform the upper echelons of what happened here and see what the gods plan to do."

Hearing this, Asafi nodded in agreement.

Thus, the group retreated from the 24th floor and began their journey towards the surface.

Ais remained silent, yet followed Reiger’s footsteps, leaving together.

During the return journey, Reiger couldn’t help but recall the experience in the granary.

When Ais uncontrollably dashed toward the "Jewel Embryo" and was subsequently assaulted by the giant, embryo, strange men, and female-type monsters, actually, Reiger had the opportunity to help her.

Even though at that time the giant struck by [Simultaneous Fire Spear] was still making its final struggles before death, Reiger could completely ignore it.

Since Ais was the only ally among those present, even if the giant made a crazy counterattack before dying, as long as Reiger ignored it, it could only chase him with powerless rage.

Under such circumstances, with Reiger’s reaction and speed, going to help Ais was certainly achievable.

However, just as Reiger was about to leave the giant and go help Ais, he clearly sensed it.

Sensed a malicious gaze falling upon him.

That gaze was fierce.

That gaze was dark.

Also, that gaze gave Reiger a faint sense of threat, informing him that with his current state, he might accidentally be ambushed by the opponent.

In short, there was actually a third person hidden in the granary at that moment.

Or to be precise, it was a mixture of a third person and a monster — a strange man.

Simultaneously, a faint will seemed to be spying on the granary at that moment.

No matter how well the opponent hid, how covertly they acted, Reiger still detected their presence.

Then, Reiger also knew the true identity of that will.

"Is it a god?"

That’s right.

At that time, there was even a god hiding in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment.

The appearance of a god and a strange man, such a combination, spying on him, spying on the entire granary, thus Reiger couldn’t immediately rush to aid Ais, could only use a [Thunder Strike] for remote support.

By the time the "Jewel Embryo" parasitized on the giant, Reveis and the white-robed man also retreated under the cover of monsters, the fierce gaze monitoring Reiger retreated, the divine will spying on the granary also slowly left, only then did Reiger use teleportation magic to instantly appear before Ais and used [Current Cut] to resolve the female-type monster.

"Could it be those two guys?"

Reiger had guesses about the identity of this combination.

If it really were them, that would prove this event attracted the real mastermind.

Reiger squinted.

At this moment, he had only one thought.

"With me here, this time, you won’t be able to toy with the Loki Familia like you did in the original."

Carrying this thought, Reiger embarked on the homeward journey.