"Leon, your magic is still absurdly strong…" Tiona laughed, shaking her head.
"But speaking of strong… we heard from Fels about the corrupted spirit's rampage. A horde of demi spirits came charging up from the deep, right? You went to handle it…"
She trailed off, concern creeping into her voice. She and the others had been worried from the moment they heard the report but knowing Leon had been fighting such a threat alone, they chose not to contact him, not wanting to distract him mid-battle. They had waited until now, when they were face-to-face.
"Yeah, Leon. Are you really alright?" Tione asked again, withdrawing from his embrace to inspect him from head to toe, her brows furrowed in concern.
"I'm fine." Leon replied with a small smile, letting her examine him without protest.
"That's good to hear..."
"But still... what exactly happened down there?" Tione pressed. "Fels said the corrupted spirit sent ten demi spirits to the surface. That's an insane number. Even for her, it must've cost a huge amount of power."
Tiona nodded seriously. "Yeah, I want to know too."
Before she could finish, a new voice cut in from one of the passages nearby.
"I'd like to know that myself."
Finn's calm, authoritative voice echoed through the stone corridor.
In the next moment, the rest of the expeditionary forces began to pour into the meeting area. Finn's group had arrived, accompanied by Riveria, Gareth, Bete, Alicia, and others.
They weren't alone. From every direction, adventurers emerged, converging in unison. Everyone had made it here safely.
"Hey, Leon! We're here." Bete called out, raising a hand.
"Leon, are you hurt?" Riveria asked, her gaze scanning him quickly for injuries.
They'd all been aware of the demi spirits' rampage through the dungeon. They had their hands full fighting on their own battlefronts, but the thought of Leon facing the corrupted spirit's might alone had weighed heavily on their minds.
Even seeing him standing there unharmed didn't quell their concern.
"I'm fine. We'll talk about it later." Leon reassured them with a shake of his head.
"For now, let's shift focus. The demi spirits are dealt with. The corrupted spirit's rampage has ended. That means the Evilus remnants must know they've lost their last advantage. They'll be trying to escape."
"If we let them scatter, tracking them down later will be a nightmare. We need to catch as many of them as possible before they vanish into the shadows."
His tone was serious. The next stage of this operation was already clear in his mind.
With the corrupted spirit's forces gone, they couldn't afford to let Evilus cause more chaos on the surface.
Hearing Leon's words, everyone's expressions grew solemn.
"You're right…" Shakti spoke first, stepping forward with a frown.
She had been leading the counter-offensive against Evilus while Finn's team focused on the demi spirits. But things hadn't gone smoothly.
"The artificial labyrinth is too vast. Even with your map, they're constantly slipping through our fingers. They know this place too well."
"I understand." Leon nodded. "I'll take command of the search operation."
"I'll use magic to scan the entire artificial labyrinth. Then I'll relay real-time coordinates to your teams through the communication orb. You focus on chasing and cornering the stragglers."
The room went still for a moment. Many adventurers who were unfamiliar with Leon's magic gasped softly. Not because they doubted him but because they knew he wasn't the type to boast.
If Leon said he could scan the entire artificial labyrinth, then he could and that reality was staggering.
The labyrinth was enormous, and even their short time here had made them painfully aware of its scale. Navigating it with a map was already challenging.
To explore and monitor the entire structure with magic?
Unbelievable. Yet no one doubted him.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Leon."
Finn stepped forward and gave a nod of approval, calm and firm as ever.
"You give us the targets, we'll take them down."
"No time to waste. Let's reorganize the squads and deploy immediately!"
With Finn's command, the group sprang into action.
Everyone had no objection to what he said.
The adventurers present were convinced by Finn. After all, Finn's reputation is among the best in the whole of Orario.
As for Leon, no one doubted him.
The adventurers trusted him, and the primary reason was simple: the Loki Familia trusted Leon completely. That alone was enough to earn their confidence.
If Leon truly had any intentions of betrayal, the first ones to suffer would have been the Loki Familia themselves. And that was a scenario no one could imagine. They were not fools who would shoot themselves in the foot.
Soon enough, under Finn's swift coordination, a new team formation was completed. And with Finn's command ringing out across the chamber, the adventurers surged back into action.
Only three people remained at the original point—Leon, Tione, and Riveria.
Leon had to focus on activating his powerful detection magic, while Tione and Riveria stayed behind to guard him. Their sole responsibility was to ensure Leon could perform his role without interruption.
With Leon's magic now in play, the battle against the remnants of Evilus advanced rapidly.
His detection magic pierced through the intricate maze of the artificial labyrinth, pinpointing the hidden locations of the fleeing evilus members with precision. No one who remained in the depths managed to escape its gaze.
And under Leon's real-time updates, the adventurers struck with precision and force.
With all forces working in tandem, the Evilus members still hiding in the artificial labyrinth were gradually cornered, captured, or slain.
Two hours passed.
And with a sharp blow delivered by Finn, the final evilus member marked in Leon's detection magic was vanquished. The echoes of battle slowly faded. The operation had concluded.
As for whether anyone had escaped beyond the artificial labyrinth and into the wider world, Leon couldn't say.
"Is it over?" Riveria asked softly, turning toward Leon the moment he opened his eyes.
Leon nodded with a smile. "Yeah, it's done. I can't say for sure if any escaped outside, but at least within the labyrinth, they're all taken care of."
"You really are my Leon." Tione exclaimed with gleaming eyes, throwing herself into his arms in pure joy. Her voice rang with pride and affection.
"Looks like the artificial labyrinth issue has finally been settled." Riveria said with a gentle smile as she watched the two interact.
"Yes. We can begin preparing for the next expedition." Leon said, stroking Tione's hair softly while smiling in return.
But just as the words left his mouth—
RUMBLE!
The artificial labyrinth began to tremble violently beneath their feet.
The trio immediately tensed.
Tione clung tightly to Leon and frowned. "What now?!"
Leon's eyes narrowed as he extended his senses through his detection magic.
"...God's return. Thanatos, the evilus' main god, has chosen to ascend to heaven voluntarily." He said grimly.
As Leon's words sank in, a new scene played out on the surface. A second pillar of divine light rose into the sky, startling Orario's citizens and adventurers alike.
Two ascensions in one day. It had been seven years since the last time anyone witnessed such a phenomenon.
The curtain had officially closed on the matter of Knossos.
With evilus completely routed, even the final mastermind—Barca, descendant of Daedalus and architect of Knossos, was caught in the final sweep. The Ganesha Familia brought him down before he could escape or expand the labyrinth further.
Knossos had finally been purged of its darkness. But Leon didn't linger on that fact for long.