It was a figure standing on a protruding rock on the distant mountain wall.
He had white hair that fluttered slightly in the heat waves, and a pair of blue eyes as clear as glaciers yet carrying a certain detached apathy.
He was handsome and stood tall.
Crimson flames coiled around his body, and in his hand, he gripped a longsword emitting terrifying heat, looking as if it were constructed purely of light and fire.
That face, that posture, even that highly recognizable magic.
Lefiya Viridis tightly covered her mouth, her blue eyes filled with incomprehensible horror.
She almost couldn't believe her eyes.
The figure standing on the rock, who had just unleashed that fatal strike upon them, was none other than the Captain of the Focalors Familia they knew so well—Aiden, the boy who always wore a gentle smile.
"That bastard, what the hell is he doing!?"
Bete Loga let out a furious roar, the veins on his face bulging one by one, his silver wolf ears standing on end due to extreme rage.
"Has he lost his mind? To actually dare attack us!"
Even Ais Wallenstein, who was always expressionless like a doll, slightly widened her golden eyes at this moment.
On her face, an obvious emotional fluctuation rarely revealed itself.
Why? Why was that white-haired boy, who had left a deep impression on her, standing here facing them with such a hostile stance?
"Aiden-boy... why?"
Tiona Hiryute gripped her massive double blades, her entire being plunging into massive shock, her innocent and naive face written full of confusion.
The entire Loki Familia fell into massive chaos and bewilderment in this moment.
However, while everyone was shocked by this unbelievable scene.
Only Finn.
Only this Prum hero, Orario's premier tactician, relied on absolute rationality to make the most accurate judgment in a split second.
"Don't be distracted! That's not him, that's not Flamescion!"
Finn abruptly raised his head, his voice booming like a bell, his full-force explosive shout pulling everyone back from the chaos to reality.
"Open your eyes and look carefully!"
He stared dead at that 'Aiden' standing on the rock.
From any logic, any angle of analysis, Aiden had no motive to attack them.
Not only were there no conflicts of interest or contradictions between the Loki Familia and the Focalors Familia, but on the contrary, because of their previous interactions, the relationship between the two Familias could even be considered quite good.
Combined with the long-dead 'Alise Lovell' they encountered in the lower floors earlier, and the Childe currently suspended in the air claiming to be a "pawn dragged here by the unknown will of this place."
In Finn's mind, these fragmented clues rapidly pieced together.
This was the Dungeon's handiwork again.
This was absolutely not a conspiracy of any human or deity, but the will of the labyrinth itself, existing for countless ages, filled with malice towards all outsiders.
Hearing Finn's loud shout, Lefiya, Bete, Ais, and the others finally snapped out of it.
Yes.
Whether looking from the friendship between the Familias or the relationship between their patron deities, it was impossible for Aiden to assassinate them in a place like this for no reason.
The one standing there was definitely a fake.
"Hahahahaha!"
A burst of wild, unbridled laughter suddenly echoed from the sky.
Childe covered his dark red mask with one hand, his body trembling slightly from laughing so hard.
Violent lightning raged around him, but his tone sounded like a bystander watching a good show.
"She really... doesn't plan on letting you return alive, huh."
Childe stopped laughing, that cold eye sweeping over the members of the Loki Familia below.
"To actually prepare such a 'grand gift' for you besides me. Isn't this clearly driving you to extinction? Hey, bravers, just how exactly did you offend her? This level of malice really isn't your average amount."
Finn's expression darkened instantly.
Of course he knew who the "she" Childe spoke of referred to.
Other than the will of the Dungeon, there was no other possibility.
As pioneers exploring the deep floors, the Loki Familia knew better than anyone just how undisguised the Dungeon's malice towards adventurers was.
For them, currently exploring the deepest floors of anyone at this stage, Finn didn't actually feel too surprised that they would be targeted and exterminated to this extent.
This was the risk they had to bear for stepping into this forbidden land.
But.
The only thing that made him feel he had miscalculated was the timing and method of this malice's arrival.
It didn't erupt when they went deeper to face unknown terrors.
Nor did it descend during a head-on clash with a powerful foe.
Instead, it launched this near-perfect absolute kill precisely at the moment they had endured a long and exhausting expedition, consumed massive amounts of supplies and energy, and had already embarked on their return journey—the exact moment their vigilance unavoidably began to wane.
A 'Childe' with unfathomable strength and a form like a demon king had already made Finn mentally prepare for the sacrifice of numerous members, or even his own death in battle here.
And now, another 'Aiden' had arrived.
Even though in his memory, the real Aiden was currently just a Level 3 adventurer.
Even though this fake, replicated by the Dungeon through unknown means, should logically be limited by the original body's strength and shouldn't be much stronger.
But reality had viciously slapped him in the face.
That slash used to "say hello" just now had completely shattered all of Finn's lucky illusions.
That wasn't magic, nor was it some tricky sword skill.
It was a sword technique that condensed the power of a slash to the extreme, throwing it out to erase distance, possessing a might comparable to magical bombardment—Lumina Slash.
In this era, following Leon Vadenburg, Ottar, and the mysterious 'Childe' just now, the fourth entity capable of using Lumina Slash had appeared before him without any warning.
Even if it was very likely just a fake created by the Dungeon.
But how could someone capable of using Lumina Slash be weak?
Finn didn't know how Aiden had become so powerful in this extremely short period, even mastering this heroic-level sword technique.
Or had the replica somehow surpassed the common sense limits of the original body?
But Finn knew there was absolutely no point in thinking about these reasons now.
A violent sense of crisis twitched madly in every inch of his nerves.
In front was the glaring Childe who had activated Foul Legacy: The Devouring Deep, and behind was Aiden wielding Lumina Slash, sealing off their retreat.
The palm Finn used to grip his spear was already slick with cold sweat.
His brain was operating at a speed surpassing its limits.
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