Chapter 471 - 471: That Young Man

At the Guild headquarters, in the underground sanctuary.

The torches beside the altar burned soundlessly, casting an ominous red glow.

"Ouranos…"

Fels stared at the image in the [Eye Crystal] and called the Great God's name.

"Mm… I see it. The enemy has likely learned how to summon the [Calamity]."

Ouranos narrowed his eyes and looked ahead.

In the image shown by the crystal magic tool, the terrain of the twenty-fifth floor had been blown apart by Kaenseki, leaving utter devastation behind.

Brilliant blue crystals lay shattered across the ground, stained with the blood of Evilus remnants.

Members of Loki Familia moved through the wreckage, driving away the ordinary monsters the Dungeon had just spawned.

The images came from the magic tool Ais was carrying. Just before Loki Familia set out, Fels had asked Lulune of Hermes Familia to deliver the [Eye Crystal] to Ais. Perhaps Ais treated it as a farewell gift, or perhaps she trusted the black-robed figure. After hearing from Asfi that it was not a magic tool and posed no danger, she hung it from her belt without concern.

Thanks to that, Fels and the Great God Ouranos were able to witness Loki Familia's expedition.

What they were seeing now was the ravaged twenty-fifth floor.

"Judging by how calm Sword Princess and the others are, the Calamity hasn't been born? What exactly is the enemy thinking?"

Fels asked in confusion.

Fels had learned the Calamity's true nature from the Great God. When the Dungeon's terrain was damaged, the labyrinth would actively regenerate and fully repair itself. However, if the destruction exceeded a certain threshold, the labyrinth would stop regenerating and prioritize eliminating the foreign object.

That was why Juggernaut was born.

The Great God had only observed it once. At that time, every member of Astraea Familia except Gale had died in the jaws of the Calamity.

"The enemy cannot summon the Calamity in the Water Labyrinth. Even if Gale had not forced her way in and bought Loki Familia time to react, we still have our [comrades] there."

Ouranos calmly analyzed the situation.

After observing Juggernaut, the Great God had requested assistance from the [comrades] to prevent the Calamity's birth. That safeguard had likely sensed Gale's intrusion, which was why it had not responded to Evilus's atrocities.

"Ouranos, are you saying the enemy knew about Lyd and the others and predicted ahead of time that the Calamity would not be born in the Water Labyrinth?"

Fels recalled the details of the [Jewel Fetus] incident and immediately felt a bad premonition.

"Mm…"

Ouranos's voice was extremely low.

The tragic scene reflected in the crystal was nothing more than a pawn the enemy had discarded. The true battlefield was likely still far below, in the depths of the Dungeon.

Had the pawn used by the enemy told them the full method for summoning the Calamity?

Even Loki Familia, currently inside the Dungeon, did not know that.

"That is the Dungeon's wailing. My prayers can only stop the Calamity's birth in the Upper Floors."

Ouranos narrowed his blue eyes and looked at the image in the crystal.

When Gale and a white-haired boy appeared in the image, Sword Princess seemed to quicken her pace, closing the distance between them.

Ouranos paused for a moment, then abruptly changed the subject.

"My prayers can suppress the Dungeon's screams, but there was one exception."

"…The Goblin incident on the Upper Floors?"

Fels understood what the Great God meant.

On the Upper Floors, as long as Ouranos's voice was present, monsters could not run out through the labyrinth entrance, and the Calamity could not be born.

The same applied to Enhanced Species.

If Goblins from the earliest floors could gain greater power by consuming Magic Stones, then such beings should have appeared by now. Yet they never had, all thanks to Ouranos's prayers.

Because no Enhanced Species had ever appeared on the first few floors, Bell became known as the [Weakest Adventurer] after collapsing on the first underground floor.

"That boy entered the Dungeon alone without receiving Falna. At that time, the labyrinth was trembling…"

Ouranos's voice echoed above the altar for a long while.

The Dungeon's fear and screams had broken through the Great God's [Divinity], giving birth to an unprecedented army of Goblins.

As an opening greeting, it was far beyond what a rookie Adventurer could possibly handle.

"Little Rookie entered the Dungeon without receiving Falna? No wonder I always felt something was off…"

Fels thought for a moment, then hurriedly asked, "Ouranos, who exactly is that boy?"

Judging from the Great God's tone, he had personally granted the boy's request and allowed him to enter the Dungeon alone. For the usually composed Ouranos, that was unquestionably abnormal.

Fels knew the boy was extraordinary. During the Moon Goddess incident, Fels had already realized that the boy was also pursuing a forbidden path. Fels had failed, but the boy had surpassed divine will and saved Artemis, who should never have survived.

Fels was deeply curious about what kind of secret Bell Cranel carried, one that could make Ouranos create an exception for him.

"Only a very small number of people know this. That boy… is the gift left behind by the Great God, Zeus."

The torch crackled, and Ouranos's words struck Fels's heart like fireworks.

"…"

Even as a mere husk, Fels could feel a heart pounding.

The factions of the male god (Zeus) and the goddess (Hera) had once shouldered a heavy burden and fought for everyone in the world.

Before the terrifying End, they had failed.

But that was not the end.

That boy was the fire of vengeance, and the light of hope.

He was the sword forged by the defeated in endless rage as they mourned the tragedy.

"The Last Hero…"

Fels spoke the title with a shudder.

As someone who had witnessed that tragedy and lived through countless changes, Fels sensed in the boy a destiny that crossed eras.

No wonder Ouranos had made an exception for him. No wonder the Dungeon had undergone an abnormal change on the Upper Floors.

As the shock and astonishment gradually faded, the womanly side of Fels could not help feeling sympathy for the boy.

"Ouranos, isn't this too cruel for that boy?"

Fels asked softly.

As the weapon meant to pierce the End, the boy had surely endured countless grueling training sessions. But had he truly wanted this from the very beginning?

If everyone had forced their wishes onto him, then what about Bell Cranel's own feelings?

"…"

Ouranos fell silent for a time.

Only the boy himself likely knew the answer.

In the silence, the image in the crystal changed.

The boy glanced at the crystal magic tool, looking thoughtful.

He stepped in front of the image and said, "Ais-san, I'd like to talk with you alone somewhere no one else is around. Is that okay?"

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