News from the Surface part 2

"A crying Dragon, is it? That certainly is interesting. I'll try to come up in time to see." replied Kisuke while playfully tapping the head of the pinned Juggernaut.

Serafall then gave a summary of what had transpired when he dived into the Dungeon to save Ryuu.

As Serafall and Kisuke had expected, they failed in their first attack despite reaching Thanatos, who led the current Evilus and annihilating the organization for good. Moreover, the entire Dionysus Familia was killed, a total of 80 Adventurers, due to their God's untimely 'death' that caused their Falna to become suddenly inactive, leaving them as vulnerable as those without it.

In addition to that, a ritual was initiated when the God was killed. This ritual used the Demi-Spirits as its core and it was only a few days later that it was discovered that it had a self-destructing effect that could potentially blow away the whole of Orario off the map, essentially destroying the lid that covered the Dungeon.

As the green flesh that absorbed the people of Dionysus Familia as 'nutrients' for the Demi-Spirits and served as the protection to the ritual receded, because the spell was near its completion, The Loki, Hermes, and Freya Familias hurriedly tackled the almost broken man-made Dungeon to stop it from fully activating.

"Little did they know that the ritual was actually a two-part spell and they had to destroy not just the Demi-Spirits, but another monster that served as the core." Serafall sighed since she wanted to warn Sona, but she also wanted her to discover it on her own.

"I see... So that's where the crying Dragon comes in."

"I don't know, but you're most probably right."

"By the way, do you already know the identity of this Enyo?"

Serafall shook her head, "I don't know... I thought it was this Dionysus with how convenient his timings are, but he was already sent back to Heaven. According to Loki-chan and her crew's investigation, it seems to be this Demeter, but I have my doubts. Do you have any clue?"

Serafall only asked in passing and didn't have any expectations since Kisuke was always away. But to her surprise, he suddenly asked, "Is the creature known as Ein still alive?"

Serafall thought about it for a moment before nodding, "Yep. I think that guy is still alive."

"I see... If she's still alive, then chances are Dionysus is still probably alive."

"What!? Are you sure!?"

It was Kisuke's turn to shake his head, "I'm not, but the possibility is always there."

Serafall furrowed her brows and muttered, "How?... I'm pretty sure he died that day."

"You couldn't have seen it with your own eyes. And on top of that, if it's the Deities, it's actually pretty easy for them to deceive the children of this world. So if you've made a census of all the Deities in the city soon after the incident, you could have confirmed things."

"A census you say..." Serafall's mouth twitched, "No way am I going to have that kind of idea if I think the chances of him being dead is high. Is that how you'd have done it if you're here?"

Kisuke smiled and replied, "Yep~ The more obvious and believable the answer is, the more I want to confirm its authenticity. Besides, if you think that Dionysus was suspicious, then Loki-sama and Hermes probably had the same suspicion. And what do you think is the easiest and quickest way to remove that suspicion off of you?"

"...By pretending to entirely leave the whole scene. But how come those kids lost their blessings? As far as I know, there's no way for a Deity to deactivate their own Falna once given to a child."

"I told you, right? It's very easy for a Deity to deceive a child, even if it's a group of them."

A lightbulb went off Serafall's head as she realized what Kisuke meant, "Ah! So you're saying Dionysus managed to find another Deity to substitute him and transfer his own children to that said Deity without them knowing about it?" Serafall then started rubbing her chin in contemplation, "Wait... There's also a wine that could fully intoxicate a God, much less a mortal so it is possible that he could have used that."

Kisuke chuckled, "Well, regardless of the methods he could have used, this turn of events was actually pretty interesting. Too bad for them since Ophis-chan wants to get involved. Of all the species they could have used, they just had to choose a Dragon, and a special type at that, I presume."

"That's true... But I'm curious. From the way you asked about that Ein creature, it sounds like you're interested in it. I'm just guessing though."

Kisuke nodded and confirmed her guess, "Indeed. I'm slightly interested. As for the reason, she can use Magic to divide her own soul. On top of that, she's related to the... well, how can I say this... the parasite within the Dungeon? Let's go with that."

"Parasite?"

"Yes. Those creatures and Demi-Spirits. I could only describe them as parasites of the Dungeon. Parasites that are powerful enough to hijack into the Dungeon's system for their own benefit. As for how Enyo is related to them, I want to know if possible."

"In that case, you really shouldn't miss this event."

"Alright. I'll adjust my schedule and come up a little earlier. Maybe I could also put Loki-sama in my debt."

After a few more minutes of talking, Kisuke and Serafall said goodbye to each other, "Now then... I guess I'll come to Lion-san an hour earlier than we agreed upon."

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More than an hour later, Ryuu was nervously waiting on the 38th floor. Although she was able to heal most of her wounds with her Magic, she's also depleted, "I need to recover my Magic Power now."

Not long after, however, Ryuu suddenly heard tremors and roars, "He's coming!?" She was happy that Kisuke was still alive and kicking, but she also concluded why he's coming earlier than expected, 'He can't take it anymore?'

Solidifying her conclusion, Kisuke appeared beyond the staircase that leads to the 37th floor and saw him bloodied, "A-are you alright!?" Ryuu shouted in worry.

Kisuke arrived and said, "I am. But we don't have much time. It's time for you to face it."

A second later, the pathway burst open and rock debris and dust flew everywhere, slightly covering the Juggernaut's silhouette. When Ryuu witnessed the monster once again, the fear that she'd suppressed immediately rose up again, but this time, she didn't let it take her over and she gritted her teeth as she swallowed a mouthful of saliva and readied herself for the upcoming battle.

Thanks to Kisuke's spell, it was in rage again and forgot its fear of him. Acting like he's doing something complicated, Kisuke sat down and put his hands together as if he's praying. Ryuu wanted to ask what he's doing, but all of a sudden the Juggernaut became sluggish and its movements noticeably became a lot slower than before.

"Hurry up! I can't do this for long!" Kisuke shouted to the gobsmacked Ryuu.

"Y-yes!"

AN (Dec. 13/21): And that's all for now folks~! Have a great day~! And do support me through pat reon if you enjoy the fic and want some advance chapters. Thanks~!