Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

The moment the vision darkened, chilling remnants of the dream reached out and crawled towards me.

He wanted to get away from the nauseating bright red and tried to force his eyelids open.

"You're awake?"

The voice calling his name beside him pulled him from the dream.

Finn slowly opened his eyelids as he fought off extreme fatigue.

"...Riviri, Ya...where is this?"

"The clinic of the [Deankaite Familia]. I borrowed a bed for you after having someone lift the 'curse' on you."

A brief explanation helps a newly awakened mind understand the situation.

Rivera's own Saint Cloth was still dirty, probably because she had only received basic treatment and was staying here.

"Thanks to the therapist (Amid) and the quick-thinking Angela and the others, I heard the situation was quite critical."

Even the clean, white-toned interior space looked like blinding white light to Finn now.

He stared at the ceiling for a long time until his vision was focused... then, as if propelled by something, he threw off the sheet and tried to get up.

"Finn, don't move, just lie down."

"..."

Do you know why I'm here? It's to keep you here.

"..."

"Calm down. Right now, you're not wearing a mask at all."

"……Feel sorry."

Finn was pushed back onto the bed by Riveria pressing her fingers against his forehead and gently pushing him backward.

Facing his old friend, a royal elven who saw through everything and offered kind advice, Finn calmly apologized.

"How is the situation...?"

"Ais and the others have begun preparing to retreat from Daedalus Road. They may have already evacuated by now."

"Where are Grace and the others...?"

"We were rescued safely. After escaping the maze, we confirmed that all the 'doors' in the maze were closed. The enemy did not pursue us further."

"...Was he murdered?"

Finn's voice was dry and hoarse, like that of a child ravaged by illness.

Hearing the sweat on his forehead and his calm tone as if he wanted to get to the bottom of things, Rivera couldn't maintain her composure for the first time.

Her gaze lowered slightly.

"Seven people have died, including those who are missing... Lloyd, Claire, Anju, Lisa, Carlos, Remilia, and Lina."

"Are your injuries all healed, Grace?"

Noticing Grace approaching, Loki gazed at the night view and asked with his back to her.

"Yes, they're all healed."

"Grace is really strong~"

The location is on the rooftop platform of a building that offers a panoramic view of Daedalus Road.

The goddess with crimson hair dangled one leg over the edge of the rooftop platform, swaying back and forth, her gaze fixed on the labyrinthine street that had sunk into the night.

She didn't look back at her family once, and Grace walked over and stood beside her.

"Finn seems to have woken up too."

"Oh, that's great."

"Loki."

"Um! ?"

"Feel sorry."

"..."

"Let them die."

Neither of them looked the other in the eye.

"...In situations like this—even now I hesitate, unsure how to react. Unlike you children (Grace), a part of me, as God, is quite detached, thinking, 'It's not like this is goodbye forever—'"

"That's it."

"But the reactions when breasts are touched, or the angry expression when the butt is touched, are things that only children experience in that moment... How should I put it? Yes, it's like the feeling of losing your first love."

"That's it."

Both of them were looking straight ahead.

"I always regret it. I should have drunk more with those dead people."

"I see...that's true—I really want to have a few more drinks with them—"

They simply surveyed the darkness of the entire field of vision with cold, disdainful eyes.

"We lost. The 'door' made it impossible for us to explore the maze properly. Even if we tried again, the result would be obvious."

"To conquer that place, you really need a 'key,' right?"

The enemy's secret base is actually a large, easily defensible maze.

Currently, they cannot freely explore the man-made maze, and therefore have no way to solve it.

The "egg" that would bring destruction to the city was right in front of them, yet Loki and his companions were forced to halt their attack.

"It will be a while before we need to gather intelligence and find the 'key' to them. We need to find out and thoroughly investigate any organization that might be backing those people."

"Um."

"Alright, the debriefing session is over. Now it's time to prepare for the next battle (revenge)."

She stood up and patted her clothes.

Loki turned to leave with Grace, but before departing, he gazed once more intently at the maze street.

"Just you wait, you scum—war is coming."

She unleashed the divine power of her wrath.

The goddess opened her almond-shaped eyes wide and vowed to return to the man-made labyrinth.

The highly anticipated final chapter of the spin-off, Sword Oratoria 7, is—

The Loki Familia has retreated from Daedalus Road.

The battles that took place in the man-made labyrinth hidden underground were beyond the control of others. Ais and her companions were defeated and fled without anyone knowing, suffering considerable damage and casualties.

The bodies successfully retrieved from the man-made labyrinth have been moved to the "Adventurers' Cemetery," the "First Cemetery" in the southeastern district of the city, and buried. Their names are now listed next to the tombstones of their Loki Familia predecessors who perished in the past. Members of the crew who had close relationships with the deceased, along with Tiona, Tione, and Lefia, all shed tears. The blonde, golden-eyed girl, feeling disgusted that she couldn't cry even at this moment, offered a bouquet of flowers, mourning her companion's death for a long time.

Many members were experiencing the death of a fellow member for the first time, and many were burdened with heartache and grief.

Their anger was even stronger, and they vowed to fight the monsters lurking in the man-made labyrinth once again and avenge their previous defeat.

Although the defeat had far-reaching consequences, causing a "dispute" among the members, the Loki Familia returned to its brief daily routine.

Then, some time passed, and it was the third night since they fled the man-made maze.

"Ugh~, it's so frustrating to know where the enemy's headquarters (secret base) is but not being able to attack it~"

The location is in the central tower of the headquarters, "Twilight Hall".

Loki was in his bedroom on the top floor of the tower, sitting with his feet up on the table in a very unseemly manner.

She spoke casually, but exuded a dangerous aura as she stared into the air.

"However, the clues for finding the 'key' to the man-made labyrinth (Knossos) are limited... It seems we can only investigate through Ishtar, who's in cahoots with those people...?"

As Loki considered the available forces, he slightly opened his eyes, and just then—

She heard an unusual commotion.

"...How is it?"

Loki got up from his chair, and as he glanced out the window, he stood up as if struck by lightning.

She first approached the window, widened her eyes, and then leaped out of the open window with the acrobatic skill of a juggler.

Loki arrived at the roof of the tower in the blink of an eye.

The street she was gazing at was "Fengyue Street" in the southeast of the city.

"Is the red-light district... on fire?"

The darkness was illuminated by the fiery red flames on the ground.

Like Loki, many ordinary citizens noticed the situation and stopped in the middle of the street, pointing in the direction of the red-light district. Some members of the "Twilight Pavilion" were also taken aback and hurriedly peered out of the windows to watch.

God's keen senses detected the scent of war.

Loki realized that this was no simple accident.

"A struggle? Is someone attacking Ishtar, who has made the red-light district her stronghold?"

The Ishtar Familia is one of the most prominent factions in Orario.

The combat strength they retain goes without saying, and the Goddess herself is still the boss of "Night City," so no one dares to cause trouble without considering the consequences.

It can be said that, including their own "families," only a very few people are exceptions.

"What an idiot who would do something so stupid—"

Halfway through his sentence, a person popped into Loki's mind.

There is only that one statue.

"Could it be... Freya?"

Loki was first dumbfounded, then his expression immediately turned to one of utter misery.

It's that goddess of beauty that Ishtar openly opposed, no doubt about it.

Loki smacked his lips as he glared at the bustling, war-torn streets of Fengyue.

"That idiot actually did it..."

"No, no way...1?"

The flames engulfed everything, screams filled the air, and the enemy's shadowy figures launched a massive attack.

Ishtar leaned out from the palace (headquarters) balcony, her mind in turmoil.

The group that stormed into the pleasure quarters was none other than the Freya Familia.

—Before we even start the battle, they take the initiative and launch an attack?

—Without even a notification, they acted unreasonably and with extreme brutality!

Ishtar had made countless preparations to avenge her hateful adversary, but now she heard the sound of all those plans crumbling. (Goddess of War (Kali) and the others who were still in the port city (Melon) to call for reinforcements...! No! The plan was to wait for me to attack, and then launch a pincer attack on the enemy headquarters with them. Sending the signal now would be too late! Escape into "Daedalus Road" and summon "Heavenly Bull"... Ah, ah, ah, ahh ...

All the meticulously planned strategies to defeat Freya were predicated on Ishtar initiating the war. Now that the city is under attack and surrounded, it's too late to seek help from the Kali Familia in the port city or escape into the man-made labyrinth.

It's too late; there's nothing we can do.

From the moment the enemy forces launched their lightning attack, my [Family] had already—

"Freya...!?"

The Queen of the Lustful City gripped the balcony railing tightly with her fingers, her eyes bloodshot, and she couldn't help but let out a hateful sound.

"Any child who obstructs the process should be dispersed."

Then, on the bustling main street of Fengyue Street.

The silver-haired goddess strolled leisurely in the very center of the fierce battlefield, heading straight towards the palace.

"Ishtar may be impulsive, but she's not stupid. She's cunning and cautious; she would never start a war without a chance of victory. Since she's acting suspiciously, she must have some secret weapon, but..."

Amidst the rousing sounds of swords and spears played by her retinue and battle prostitutes around her, Freya adds a monologue, looking up.

Ahead, pierced by silver eyes, lay a beautiful brown goddess leaning out from the balcony.