The spring breeze blew gently at the bottom of Floor 60, sweeping away the remnants of ash dust from the deadly battle that had just concluded. Amidst the crater of destruction, Aria tightened her embrace on Ais's tiny body. The little girl hid her face in the crook of her mother's neck, seeking refuge from the aura of death that still lingered faintly in the air, still shivering occasionally despite the warmth wrapping her body.
Alfia stood a few steps ahead of them. Her different-colored eyes stared straight up, piercing through the giant hole in the ice ceiling.
"Now, it's time to go home."
Aria nodded slowly. She looked down, kissing the crown of her daughter's golden-haired head affectionately. "Let's go see the sun, Ais."
Ais only replied with a small nod, her fingers tightly clutching her mother's clothes. She didn't dare to look at the horrifying craters around her, but as long as she could feel her mother's heartbeat against her chest, she could endure the remaining fear.
With a single elegant swing of her free hand, Aria summoned a boosting wind vortex that wrapped around her and Ais, preparing to defy the absolute gravity inside the Dungeon. Beside her, Alfia focused mind into the soles of her feet, creating a high-pressure magical repulsion.
BAM!
The two shot into the air simultaneously. Alfia moved at her own pace, her body darting like an arrow piercing through gravity, matching Aria's flight speed without falling behind in the slightest. In a matter of seconds, they both burst through the giant hole in the roof of Floor 60, leaving that eternal glacier hell forever, treading the vertical path toward the upper floors.
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The journey ascending back to the surface offered a sight no less horrifying than their previous battlefield. According to Alfia's analytical calculation, the domino effect from the destruction of Floor 60's sturdy foundation had created a massive-scale structural disaster on the floors above it.
When they arrived at Floors 59 and 58—the territory that had previously been a nest for thousands of parasitic anomalies—the scene presented was nothing but absolute destruction that made the hairs on their necks stand on end.
There were no longer giant crystal stone pillars supporting the labyrinth ceiling. The ground surface had completely caved in, forming steep fault valleys and bottomless chasms. Giant boulders from the ceiling had collapsed, creating a thick curtain of dust that obscured vision. The labyrinth ecosystem in that deepest zone was utterly pulverized, functionally paralyzed.
"As I suspected," muttered Alfia as she landed briefly on a floating fractured crystal pillar, preparing for the next thrust. Her sharp eyes observed the labyrinth's phosphor glow, which flickered dimly and unstably. "The impact of that monster's explosion, compressing its spirit core, collapsed more than half the structure of this region. Its seismic pressure was truly terrifying."
Ais, who peeked hesitantly over her mother's shoulder as they hovered near Alfia, widened her golden eyes seeing the sea of destruction. "Mother... this place is so badly broken... did that black dragon do this?"
"No, darling. Not that dragon," Aria rubbed her daughter's back gently to calm her, while continuing to manipulate the wind to lift them past the boulders that still fell occasionally from the cracked roof. "This labyrinth is just bearing the consequences of its own anger. The bad guys who ruined it have already been defeated by Big Sister Alfia and Mother."
As they continued to shoot upward through floor after floor at a speed that violated human limits—leaving the boundary of the Deep Floors and entering the Lower Floors territory—the atmosphere of the labyrinth felt extremely bizarre.
Quiet. An unnatural and gripping silence ruled every corner.
Usually, these middle to lower floors were always filled with a sea of bloodthirsty ferocious monsters, ready to pounce on any unwary adventurer. But now, the labyrinth walls only emitted a very weak energy, nearly dead. There were no monster roars echoing in the corridors. There were no signs of new monster spawns. There were no active traps. The entire labyrinth corridor was as mute as a giant abandoned tomb.
Aria slowed her flight speed upon entering Floor 37, which was dominated by white walls, scanning her surroundings with her keen perception. "Strange. Where are all the monsters? The higher we go, the more I don't sense monsters spawning from the labyrinth walls. It's as if the blood flow of this place has stopped."
Alfia, who had just landed smoothly beside Aria, snorted softly. A nostalgic smile filled with past arrogance was etched on her lips. For a former Hera familia member, the sight of a 'suddenly dead' labyrinth was not a mystery.
"This is like a major expedition back when I was in the Hera familia," said Alfia casually, taking a stance to jump again, stepping elegantly through the completely empty corridor as if it were her private playground.
Aria turned with a questioning look, slightly increasing her wind speed to keep up with Alfia's jumps.
"This Dungeon is alive, Sylphie. It breathes, gets angry, and consumes energy like a giant creature," explained Alfia, briefly touching the labyrinth wall that felt warm yet deathly pale. "Repairing the completely destroyed foundation of the bottom three floors, plus supplying forced energy to spawn two Juggernauts simultaneously to kill us, was a desperate act that drained its energy radically."
Alfia looked at Aria with her signature smirk, radiating absolute dominance. "The Dungeon focused all its energy down there to eliminate its worst 'viruses', namely us. As a result, it was forced to shut down the monster spawning system on the upper floors to divert its energy supply to survive the massive structural damage. It will take quite a long time, maybe days, weeks, for this stupid labyrinth to restore its monster spawning schedule back to normal."
Hearing that rational, veteran-experience-based explanation, Aria could only shake her head in amazement.
The journey traversing floor after floor continued in a comfortable silence. Without a single monster interruption blocking the way, without the need to cast path-clearing magic, their speed returning to the surface became many times faster. They moved like untouchable shadows in the heart of the earth, which was sleeping soundly due to severe exhaustion.
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They arrived at the surface right as the eastern horizon began to emit a bluish-purple tinge, piercing the darkness of the night. Dawn had just broken over the Labyrinth City of Orario, bringing a biting morning chill.
From behind the exit doors of the Tower of Babel that soared high into the clouds, three figures stepped out silently. Alfia walked with her usual confident stride, while Aria walked beside her. Ais, walking in the middle, tightly gripped her mother's hand.
The moment she stepped out from the shadow of Babel's marble pillars, Ais stopped in her tracks suddenly.
The little girl tilted her face upward. She stared at the expanse of the morning sky slowly turning bright, sweeping across the soft white clouds illuminated by the first rays of sunlight. The fresh air carrying the scent of wet earth, morning dew, and the aroma of bread from afar filled her lungs, an incredibly sharp contrast, almost painful, compared to the poisonous and deadly air in the depths of the glacier.
This was the first time she had seen the transition from night to morning, felt the freedom of the upper world, after sleeping in absolute silence at the bottom of an ice hell.
Ais's golden eyes welled with tears, reflecting the dawn light. She tightened her grip on her mother's palm, absorbing this reality. "Mother... the sky... is so vast... and warm."
Aria's heart warmed seeing the spark of awe and innocence in her daughter's eyes. She crouched down, gently tidying Ais's clothes, ensuring the girl felt comfortable. "Yes, darling. From now on, you can see this sky every day. You can run beneath it. Your dark dream is truly over."
Alfia, standing guard by their side with full vigilance, shifted her gaze toward the city's main street cutting through the square. Her instincts immediately caught an anomaly in Orario's atmosphere this morning.
Usually, as dawn broke, the central square around Babel would already be filled with the hustle and bustle of activity. Low-level adventurers preparing to descend into the labyrinth, supporters busy checking gear, merchants setting up morning breakfast stalls, and the bustle of Guild members standing guard and recording entries and exits.
But this morning, the city streets looked incredibly deserted like a ghost town abandoned by its inhabitants. The shops were tightly closed with wooden boards. The windows of the houses around the square were locked tight. There were only a few Guild guards standing with their postures slumped in exhaustion at their posts, watching the Dungeon entrance which had been fitted with thick red and yellow barricades.
"How strange. Where is everyone? They say this city is never supposed to sleep," muttered Aria, noticing this completely unnatural silence. She tightened her hold on Ais.
"Look at the large notice board at that guard post," Alfia pointed with her chin, her voice quiet but full of certainty.
There, a large parchment with the official Guild seal and bold red lettering was clearly affixed: TEMPORARY DUNGEON ENTRY BAN. EVACUATION OF BABEL RADIUS IN EFFECT UNTIL EARTHQUAKE INVESTIGATION IS COMPLETE. ANYONE APPROACHING THE ENTRANCE WILL FACE SEVERE PENALTIES.
Alfia signaled to immediately move into the small alleys to avoid patrols. As they walked down a cobblestone alley flanked by tall buildings, they paused for a moment in the shadows when they crossed paths with two night guards from the Ganesha familia. Both were sitting exhausted on the side of the road, leaning against a cold stone wall while drinking hot coffee from wooden cups.
"I swear, my head feels like it's going to split. I need to sleep for at least two full days," grumbled one of the heavily built guards, his eyes red from lack of sleep and mental exhaustion. "Who could close their eyes after that crazy earthquake last night? The vibrations felt like the dungeon was going to collapse underground!"
"You're right. I saw half the residents of the western district run out of their houses in their sleepwear screaming hysterically thinking Babel was going to fall," replied his thin companion, massaging his temples hard. "That mass panic lasted until just before dawn. The entire security familia was deployed to calm the masses. No wonder the streets are as quiet as a graveyard now, people are just now able to close their eyes after making sure the sky didn't actually fall on their heads."
Hearing that conversation, Alfia and Aria looked at each other in silence. An amusing yet very logical realization crossed their minds.
The suicidal explosion of the anomalous monster on Floor 60 last night apparently had the strength for its seismic waves to propagate all the way to the surface. That massive-scale artificial earthquake had triggered mass panic throughout Orario. As a result, millions of city residents and adventurers were kept awake all night in fear of the labyrinth's collapse. And now, as dawn arrived, the immense exhaustion from the night-long panic had finally taken them down, making the entire city sleep soundly right when the main culprits casually strolled out of the labyrinth.
"It turns out we ourselves are the reason why our return went so smoothly," whispered Alfia, a faint, amused smile etched on her lips. "How ironic. We made a ruckus in hell to get peace in heaven."
Aria chuckled softly, a sweet suppressed laugh, tightening her grip on Ais's hand. "This morning's silence is very helpful. Come on, let's head straight to headquarters before a patrol passes by."
They quickened their pace, walking down the deserted cobblestone streets of Orario. The sunlight slowly illuminated the corners of the city, sweeping away shadows, guiding them past commercial district after closed commercial district, until they finally arrived in a neglected suburban area rarely traversed by people.
At the end of a dusty, quiet cobblestone road, surrounded by a rusty iron fence, an old, long-abandoned church building stood peacefully.
Alfia stepped forward, gently pushing open the heavy wooden door of the church. Its hinges creaked softly, a loud sound that broke the silence inside the large, dusty room.
In the middle of the room, sitting on one of the long wooden pews, a young man dressed all in green turned toward the door.
His dark hair, styled in twin braids at the front, swayed softly in a breeze that came from nowhere in particular. His clear, deep teal eyes shone brightly upon seeing the silhouettes of three figures standing in the doorway, illuminated by the morning light. A wooden lyre with intricate carvings rested on his lap.
Venti stopped strumming his strings with a single gentle movement. A wide smile filled with warmth and absolute relief bloomed on the Wind God's face.
"Welcome back to the surface," Venti greeted with a cheerful tone that instantly loosened all the tension in their chests. His eyes swept over Alfia's figure, then shifted to Aria, before finally fixing on the small figure hiding nervously behind the Great Spirit's legs.
Venti put down his lyre carefully, stood up, and stepped closer with steps as light as a feather, as if his feet didn't touch the floor.
Little Ais flinched. The girl tightly clutched her mother's clothes, peeking hesitantly at the approaching strange young man. However, there was something very odd. Ais's instinct—which inherited an extremely high spirit sensitivity from her mother—did not sense the slightest threat from this young man. On the contrary, the air around the young man felt very familiar, yet possessed a different nuance.
Her mother's wind felt like a warm and firm embrace protecting from all danger. Meanwhile, the wind enveloping this dark-haired young man felt incredibly free, cheerful, and whispered a melody that soothed the heart, like the strains of a lullaby from a very distant and peaceful place. The scent of flowers he carried reminded Ais of a green meadow she had never seen in person.
Venti crouched down until his eyes were level with Ais's. He tilted his head slightly, looking into the little girl's golden eyes with a genuine and unfeigned mischievous twinkle.
"Well, well. It seems the morning breeze has brought home the most precious treasure," said Venti, his voice flowing softly like a soothing song. He didn't reach out his hand for a handshake, but instead raised one hand and gently patted the crown of Ais's golden-haired head. His movements were so smooth, like the sweep of a spring breeze. "Hello, little Ais. My name is Venti. I am a friend of your mother's, and also a bard who knows a lot of great songs to sing. It's a pleasure to finally meet our little hero."
Ais flinched slightly feeling the touch on her head, but the warmth and gentleness from that pat instantly melted her tension. She looked up at Aria for a moment, seeking approval. Her mother nodded slowly with a reassuring smile.
Slowly, a faint blush spread across Ais's pale cheeks. She let Venti stroke her head, then mumbled shyly. "H... Hello, Mister Venti..."
Venti laughed crisply, a laugh that made the air inside the old church feel much fresher and lighter. He pulled his hand back, stood up again, then looked at Alfia and Aria with a smile that contained a slightly teasing tone.
"You guys really know how to make a spectacular ruckus to celebrate a homecoming, huh?" Venti crossed his arms, shaking his head in feigned astonishment and awe. "Because of the underground explosion you made last night, all of Orario woke up in a state of mass panic. The vibrations even made my wine glass spill, you know? The gods even ran out into the square, thinking the Dungeon was going to collapse."
Alfia clicked her tongue softly. She combed her slightly messy silver hair using her fingers, returning the god's gaze with a sharp and unyielding smirk.
"Just a small tremor from a cracked monster that happened to blow itself up," Alfia replied casually, stepping elegantly past Venti toward the inner part of the church. "And don't blame us if the gods and the residents of this city are too cowardly. We were just cleaning up a little annoying dirt in the basement. Nothing more."
"Dirt that panicked Orario all night long," Venti chuckled freely, following their steps. His eyes softened seeing Alfia looking tired.
Aria, walking behind with Ais, also smiled. Venti's warm greeting and light banter truly felt like a perfect welcome home.
"Where is she?" Alfia asked suddenly, her steps halting near the middle row of wooden pews, right in front of the altar. Her tone of voice, which had previously been haughty and cynical, now turned incredibly soft, harboring a deep and sincere longing.
"She's inside. Last night's earthquake did wake her up and she was very anxious because she was worried about you, but I calmed her down by singing some songs," Venti answered softly, his smile now implying deep empathy and respect. "She just fell asleep. But I'm very sure, she will be very happy to be woken up by you right now."
Alfia took a deep breath. Her heart beat very fast, exceeding the tension when she faced the two incarnations of death at the bottom of the labyrinth. Her right hand trembled slightly as she stepped forward toward the wooden door.
All battles were over. The Calamitous Talent slowly pushed the door open, welcoming the morning light that was slowly beginning to descend.
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