Chương 328: The Difference Between ‘God’ and ‘Man’

In this fantastical world currently in the Age of Gods, a scholar once said: never judge a god by human concepts of good and evil.

Unfortunately, no one listened. People dismissed him as a madman with strange tastes, and went ahead to arbitrarily distinguish between "good gods" and "evil gods."

But the truth is…

Even today, the gods who have existed for millions of years no longer operate under traditional notions of good and evil.

Or rather: they simply no longer care.

They pursue only the things they most desire in their hearts.

For example:

Artemis seeks her Orion.

Freya her Odr.

Hephaestus the ultimate forge.

Demeter the harvest.

Soma the wine.

Aphrodite and Ishtar the most beautiful.

Thanatos the return of souls.

Ikelos the Dream of Beasts.

And… Dionysus the Feast of Madness.

These pursuits, these desires, only occasionally express goodwill toward humans.

Of course, there are a rare few gods who, upon entering the Lower World, were suddenly changed by children.

The most obvious example: Loki.

Once infamous for triggering the Ragnarok incident and killing gods for fun, Loki disguised herself as a clever prankster upon arriving in the Lower World, hiding the deadly instincts that even the gods of Heaven once feared.

Renjiro felt that, in a world this unique, there was no need to care about the distinctions between "good" and "evil."

Instead…

He could simply replace moral judgment with a "difference in worldview" stance toward enemies.

From there, he could measure everything around him purely according to his own principles.

Honestly, just in this way, Renjiro's thinking was closer to that of a god than that of ordinary mortals.

Because of this…

"I don't mind breaking the taboo of 'slaying gods' a few more times."

Today, when Renjiro said this, the artificial labyrinth had already been completely captured by his familia.

The Ikelos familia had been annihilated.

The Thanatos familia as well.

Yes—even the fanatical believers had been slaughtered by Allen, Hedin, Hogni, and others.

What? You think they were pitiful? Victims of Thanatos's deception?

Sorry, but in Renjiro's eyes, these people would be called terrorists back on Earth.

So what's the point of pity?

Just because you suffered, just because you lost someone dear, doesn't give you the right to harm others.

Bullshit!

For such groups, Renjiro felt zero sympathy.

And Allen's team was even less merciful.

Remember—they had once, to follow Freya's divine will, wiped out an entire enemy army without hesitation.

Killing a single familia's fanatic was no trouble at all.

Unfortunately, even now, Renjiro's familia hadn't found Dionysus.

Not only that…

They also hadn't located the Filvis Challia.

According to Mona's information…

"That 'god'—the monster—doesn't seem to be inside Orario."

This was the result of her divination using water augury.

At the same time…

"The Dionysus familia's headquarters has long been abandoned."

Amber, acting as a scout knight, had participated in the battle but had been sent by Renjiro mid-mission to track their movements.

The result was exactly this information.

"What a shame."

Renjiro sighed.

"The one I most wanted to deal with… happens to be the least idiotic of the bunch."

"Mona, can you confirm—Dionysus is no longer in Orario?"

Through the mental link, Renjiro asked again.

"Of course."

Mona answered earnestly: "This time, it's not that I couldn't detect him—I simply didn't find him within the designated area."

"So…"

"So, Dionysus may have left Orario in advance."

Renjiro continued: "But he couldn't have walked out of the city gates in broad daylight."

"Other entrances to the labyrinth… also impossible. We didn't relax our surveillance."

"Then there's only one possibility."

Renjiro concluded: "Dionysus is simply not on the 'surface' of Orario."

"He must have entered the 'Dungeon.'"

This was exactly the kind of thing the mad God of Wine would do.

First, he had Filvis body constantly guarding him—a true Lv.7 combat force.

And with room for further growth.

Such high-end power was unmatched by the Soma or Ikelos familias.

Even Otta found it easy; exploring the "deep layers" was like strolling through a backyard garden.

Secondly…

"Dionysus entering the Dungeon is like strapping a 'time bomb' that threatens everyone."

If he unleashed his divinity in the Dungeon, a deep enough floor could trigger the labyrinth itself to go berserk, and spawn super-enhanced species.

And Filvis's immense strength could escort him safely to the deeper regions.

There, the spawned super-species would be an even greater threat.

"Prepare for an expedition."

Renjiro's tone was firm.

"Before we head outside Orario to handle the 'Primordial Flame' incident, Dionysus must die."

"If he dares release his divinity in the Dungeon… well, just perfect. I've been hoping for a 'super-enhanced species' to fight anyway."

"But before that…"

He quickly issued orders through the mental link:

"We've fully captured the artificial labyrinth. Bring 'Thanatos' and 'Ikelos' here first."

"Reconstruct a new body, and while we're at it, acquire more 'worldly pawns.'"

"As for the execution site of the plan…"

Renjiro's eyes narrowed: "It will be within Ei's 'Plane of Euthymia.'"

Time has reached noon.

Freya's familia had invaded the artificial labyrinth Knossos. Thanks to sufficient pre-attack intelligence and overwhelming power, the battle concluded in just two or three hours.

Now, Renjiro had already entered Ei's Plane of Euthymia, while Lumine had rendezvoused with Ottar, Allen, Hedin, and even her goddess sister in a large underground chamber within the labyrinth.

At this moment, Thanatos and Ikelos had been brought here under custody.

Seeing Lumine approach…

"I want to observe the rest of this, too. Is that okay?"

Freya asked with a smile.

The silly little sister nodded.

Then…

She noticed that when Ei and Freya first met, as their eyes locked, there seemed to be… a hint of tension in the air.

"Probably just my imagination…"