"Who is Enyo? Why don't ye try givin' me an answer?"
"...With information so limited, I don't reckon we're at the stage for answers yet."
In response to Hermes's question, Loki felt that speaking about Enyo was meaningless given their current lack of data.
"Then, who have you been deducing as Enyo until now?"
"..."
"Shall we say it on the count of three?"
At his suggestion, Loki spoke the name of the god she had suspected of being Enyo all along.
""Dionysus.""
What the gods known as Tricksters had anticipated was Dionysus himself—the one who had supposedly been sent back to the heavens.
"Why'd ye think that?"
"The timing was just too perfect. The moment he jumped into the incident, and how much he'd changed compared to when we were in Tenkai..."
Ssh—!
"Did you know? After the incident on the 24th Floor, the first person I contacted was Dionysus."
Hermes said this as he shared his reasoning with Loki.
"...So ye were suspectin' him from the start?"
"I wasn't certain. I was just testing the waters."
That was the exact reason Loki had suspected Dionysus as well.
Until the nightmare of the 27th Floor occurred, he had moved too aggressively and too deeply, even for a Familia that had fallen from its position as a top-tier power in the city.
"Dionysus and I are from the same hometown in Tenkai... allies of Olympus."
"Like how ye both used to have fits and try to kill each other?"
"Well, including that. I know a lot about him."
Because Hermes knew him so well, he suspected Dionysus even more and investigated him.
"The point where he hindered cooperation due to an excessive rebellious spirit toward Ouranos."
"Of course, the Xenos were a ticking bomb, but cooperation was bound to happen in the end anyway, aye?"
Loki pointed out the suspicious parts of his track record, and Hermes nodded in agreement.
"Above all, Dionysus was unstable back in Tenkai. That's why I was keeping an eye on him, but..."
The result was Dionysus's own deportation.
"After that... I couldn't keep suspectin' him."
"...."
"Besides, I'm usually pretty sensitive when it comes to smellin' a lie... but I couldn't catch a whiff of one there."
"You mean he was sincere? His divine intent?"
"The tears he shed were real. His rage was real, too."
If even that was an act and a lie, then their defeat was, in a way, an inevitable outcome.
"I'm sorry for doubting you... Dionysus."
"Guilt?"
"Haha! As if~"
That apology wasn't born of guilt or any such human emotion. Hermes simply adjusted his hat, his face bitter with cold fury.
"It's anger at being completely fooled."
"...I see."
By making them suspect Dionysus, the mastermind had tied down both Loki and Hermes—the Tricksters of Heaven—and leisurely excised the tumor known as Evilus.
"I don't know which god it is, but I'm so pissed I can't stand it~"
Grit—!
"Are you okay, Loki? For me, the feeling of 'I was tricked' is everything, but..."
"Since I'm the official Trickster?"
"Could there be a greater humiliation?"
Indeed, Loki's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, tormented by the fact that she had lost in a battle of schemes.
'What if Akumo had been here?'
'No, what if I'd investigated a bit more in the first place?'
'Just who is it? What kind of bastard could...'
Seeing Loki's face hardened with such thoughts, Hermes quietly took his leave.
**
"...Good grief."
Spin—!
'Was that Dionysus lad really just dancin' in the palm of their hand...?'
Spinning a chess piece in her hand, Loki fell into deep thought about why Enyo had made Dionysus dance so freely.
'The problem isn't "why," it's "how."'
If such a thing was possible, then not even the Gods could be considered safe anymore. With that thought, Loki walked through the city.
"Dammit, I don't get it. It'd make more sense if Dionysus wasn't bein' controlled but was the mastermind himself..."
Step, step—
'Accordin' to the brat, Dionysus definitely had a violent side. Just like I used to.'
The divine malady born from the poison of boredom. Loki, too, had once lived through an era where Gods killed one another.
Step—
'The story about the Olympus bunch's territory in Tenkai where Dionysus was... how it almost turned into a bloodbath over the seats of the Twelve Gods...'
The fact that Dionysus was there gave Loki an ominous thought.
Stop—
'What if...'
'Just what if...'
What if Dionysus had already been under control since that time?
'What if they made him repeat violent words and actions to build an image, and made him a pawn from that stage?'
'An invisibility cloak for Enyo to operate in secret—'
"Loki?"
"Nuooh!?"
Someone spoke to Loki while she was agonizing.
"So... Soma!?"
It was the god Soma—the Patron Deity of the Soma Familia, the one Lili used to belong to.
"It's the first time I've seen ye since ye got properly thrashed by Akumo..."
"I was only focused on my Divine Wine back then. It was my own fault."
Soma's Divine Wine was so delicious that it was distributed to members based on their contribution. This unique system inevitably led to internal corruption, eventually turning them into something close to a Dark Familia.
'I was surprised when he suddenly crushed the Soma Familia...'
But as everyone knew, the system collapsed due to the actions of Akumo and the Hestia Familia. Afterward, Zanis was imprisoned, and Chandra, the former vice-captain, rose to the position of captain to lead the reborn Familia.
"...But what are you doing in a place like this?"
"I don't wanna hear that from ye! Ye shut-in god!!"
"My wine cellar is here."
When Loki immediately told him that this area was off-limits and that he'd face a penalty if Ganesha caught him, Soma looked troubled and didn't know what to do.
"I don't want any more penalties..."
"..."
'...Is there a one in a... billion... trillion... quadrillion chance that this guy is Enyo...?'
"Ah... what should I do...!? I'll get scolded if I get a penalty..."
However, seeing Soma's current state—having changed and focused on wine in a different direction than before—that suspicion didn't hold up at all.
'Just thinkin' it makes me feel like a fool. It'd be more likely for the sun to rise in the west.'
"I won't snitch to anyone, so just hurry up and go."
"Thank you..."
Relieved by Loki's words, Soma was about to head straight for the cellar when—
Sniff—!
"!!"
His nose caught the scent of a certain wine coming from Loki.
"Divine Wine."
"Hah?"
Sniff, sniff—!
"I smell Divine Wine. Did you drink some, Loki?"
"Like hell I did!!? I've never touched that real Divine Wine ye make!"
Loki shouted, but Soma continued to stare at her with wide eyes.
"That's not what I'm talking about."
"...What?"
"This isn't the scent of my Divine Wine."
Ssh—
"It's Divine Wine made by someone other than me."
After that incident, Soma had changed his perspective on Divine Wine, realizing the impact it had and the limits that existed.
'But this scent of Divine Wine I'm feelin' now...'
It was a Divine Wine with a stickier, more viscous feeling than the one he made.
"Loki, do you know of any wine cellars?"
"W-What's gotten into ye all of a sudden!?"
"This is the smell of wine. I mean it's a unique Divine Wine completely different from mine."
"!!"
At the mention of wine, Loki's eyes flew open.
'Grape wine.' That was a drink she had heard about several times from Hestia and Hermes, and it was a liquor deeply related to Dionysus.
"Soma, follow me for a second!"
Dash—!!!
'Could it be...!'
The place Loki led him to was none other than the Dionysus Familia's home.
Normally, the Familia should have been disbanded and its assets seized by the Guild following the Patron Deity's deportation, but the Guild was so short-handed due to various incidents that they hadn't been able to touch it yet.
Sniff, sniff—!
"The scent..."
Ssh—!
"It's here. Probably the brewery."
Soma followed the thick scent of grape wine within the home and immediately went down to the basement, where they found a brewery storing numerous bottles of Divine Wine.
"As I thought..."
"Why? What's wrong...?"
"This is even more potent than my Divine Wine."
"!!"
"It can completely intoxicate even a God."
At those words, the concept of 'intoxication' flashed through Loki's mind repeatedly.
'Was Dionysus intoxicated?'
'What if he was drinkin' this Divine Wine on a daily basis?'
What if he had become a puppet, drinking this every day and being drunk without even realizing it? Thinking that, she recalled all the abnormal behavior Dionysus had shown.
'If he was drawin' our attention without any self-awareness, and actin' hostile toward Ouranos's faction that maintains order in Orario...'
It was possible. It wasn't impossible. And above all, what surprised Loki was—
'Even I know this...!'
"Where on earth have I smelled this before...?"
She had never been to a pub or a fermentation plant that would make such a potent drug. If so, there was only one element she could deduce.
"Soma, ye said the raw materials for yer Divine Wine were handmade."
"Yeah... they're plants I cultivate myself."
Even without their Arcanum, Gods were transcendent beings in the fields they governed.
Goibniu and Hephaestus, the gods of the forge, were unparalleled in smithing. Takemikazuchi, the god of martial arts, possessed overall combat power rivaling a Level 1 adventurer despite having an ordinary human body.
Naturally, Soma and Dionysus, the gods of wine, also possessed transcendent brewing abilities.
'But what about the raw materials?'
'Soma's wine uses ordinary materials. If so, the one who can create top-tier raw materials is...'
The person who came to Loki's mind regarding top-tier raw materials—specifically in the category of crops—was...
'The one who was always with Dionysus, whether at the Denatus or at banquets.'
The Goddess of Harvest, the Goddess of Agriculture, the benevolent deity responsible for nearly 90% of Orario's food supply.
"Demeter...!"
**
"Report the situation."
Finn had summoned Gareth and Riveria to review the state of the alliance, the casualties, and their future strategy.
"There's no direct damage to us, but the Dionysus Familia is effectively dissolved."
"The resulting drop in morale isn't stopping. No matter how voluntary their participation was, the deportation of a god is a massive shock."
The unprecedented situation of Dionysus being sent back and the death of Filvis Challia had dealt a heavy blow to the Dionysus Familia.
"Lefiya's condition is..."
"It's unavoidable, but we'll have to trust in the growth of our members and their faith in each other."
Ssh—!
"What we must do is create a second operation that can steer that returned morale in a positive direction."
"Honestly... ye almost died twice in the same place. Is yer heart made of adamantite or somethin'?"
"There's no way, right?"
'I must have grown too... thanks to those guys.'
Finn thought of the Xenos, Bell, and Akumo, recognizing his own growth and thinking it was a good thing he could maintain his composure.
"""...."""
'Morale and the enemy's hidden schemes aren't the problem anymore...'
A massive problem loomed over them—a critical factor for executing any operation.
"We're lackin' manpower. Terribly so."
"...A power gap we absolutely cannot bridge without sacrifices."
"Akumo, who said he'd be back soon, is missing. On top of that, there's no progress on dealin' with the wall of flesh..."
With several Level 7-class powerhouses and Demi-Spirits on the enemy side, Akumo's disappearance was a catastrophic issue.
"And then there's Thanatos's statement that Gareth heard..."
"The Man-made Dungeon is an altar, he is the sacrifice, and it activates upon the signal of a god's deportation."
"We also need to investigate the existence of the 'King' and 'Chaos' mentioned by that masked monster."
With nothing resolved and only more questions piling up, they hardened their expressions, horrified by the Enyo who had orchestrated all of this.
"If they've hidden not just their identity but even information to trigger the altar..."
"It's a monster beyond shuddering at."
"As Riveria said, it's a monster beyond imagination. They never intended to fight fairly from the start."
There was no one more skilled than Finn when it came to fighting within a set board. However, that only applied to conventional warfare.
The opponent used the rules as a weapon and struck the board itself from the outside.
They were decisively different from Thanatos, who operated on the premise of the Man-made Dungeon as a game board.
"Is this what a God is..."
Ssh—!
"Regardless, let's do what we can now. We'll challenge Enyo once more."
"...Is there really anythin' we can do first on our end?"
Riveria's question was reasonable.
"Even if Enyo couldn't finish us off, we can't handle the Man-made Dungeon on our own anymore."
"And yet there's no sign of an attack. What can we possibly do in this state?"
Gareth added to Riveria's question, agreeing with her point.
"..."
'The enemy is stalling. What's the reason? Are they aiming for something else?'
"Or could it be..."
Were they trying to deal such heavy damage to the Loki Familia that they wouldn't be able to recover their strength even if they waited?
"The remaining variable is whether Akumo is alive or dead."
Grit—!
"Riveria, I don't believe Akumo is dead either."
"...I understand."
It was the worst-case scenario, but with him being so much later than expected, they had no choice but to consider such a possibility.
Flutter—!
"The mural Akumo and Lefiya first discovered in the Man-made Dungeon."
Finn spread a piece of paper on the desk, showing them a copy of a certain mural.
"The mural Enyo brought personally. They say Thanatos called the dragon at the center of this..."
The symbol of darkness and despair, the Evil Dragon Nidhogg.
That was likely the final, most hideous monster Enyo was preparing.
"".....?""
For some reason, the ears of certain people in the Dungeon itched at that story.