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Zanis Lustra's face twisted into an expression of complete devastation.
She was his main source of inco. Now, not only was she trying to escape, but she had sohow broken free from the Divine Wine's mind control. Everything he had built through blackmail was falling apart.
"If that's how it is, then I'll just have to kill you!"
Zanis drew his sword and lunged straight at Liliruca Arde.
"You lunatic! You dare draw steel in front of Lord Soma??"
Chandra had been watching in drunken, silent awe at Lili's courage, but now he sprang into action. Watching the captain try to kill a Familia mber right in front of their Patron God was too much.
Chandra charged forward, swinging his heavy wine gourd like a club and slamming it into Zanis at point-blank range.
"Until Arde officially leaves, she is still a mber of this Familia! Drawing a sword in front of Lord Soma—you've crossed the damn line!" Chandra roared.
If people found out a captain killed a subordinate in front of their God, the Soma Familia would be seen as the worst in Orario. Even they couldn't risk that kind of sha. Disrespecting a God, or even risking a God's death, was a sin no one could bear.
"Get out of my way!"
Zanis hadn't been in the Dungeon for years. He spent his days running the Familia's shady deals and bullying new mbers. His fighting skills were at the lowest level for a [Level 2].
Blocked by Chandra, his lethal thrust was thrown off balance, giving Lili the split second she needed to dive out of the way.
Hearing Chandra's furious roar, the other Soma Familia mbers rushed up the stairs.
They burst into the brewing room only to see Chandra physically wrestling with their captain.
"What are you idiots staring at?? He's lost his damn mind!" Chandra yelled at the crowd. "He tried to murder Arde right in front of Lord Soma! It's pure blasphemy!"
The mont the accusation dropped, the surrounding Adventurers imdiately drew their weapons.
"Captain Zanis, have you lost your damn mind??"
Even Zanis's most loyal followers knew better. Unless Lord Soma gave a direct order, you never killed your own teammates, especially not in front of a God. That kind of disrespect was almost like betraying a God.
"Drop the weapon!"
A dozen [Level 1] Adventurers leveled their blades and magic staffs at Zanis.
A [Level 2] was strong, but Zanis was out of practice and outnumbered. The group had plenty of mages. If a fight broke out, they could easily defeat him.
"Zanis. Stand down."
Soma finally spoke. His voice was freezing cold as he glared at the captain.
That one sword attack was enough to make Soma furious. Zanis had ignored him completely. More importantly, Lili had just shown the rare spark of free will Soma had been hoping to see. She was remarkable.
Zanis gripped his sword, looking frantic, preparing to resist.
"Restrain him. Seal his Falna. Lock him in the compound," Soma ordered.
Soma realized that the deep corruption in his Familia was partly his fault. The Divine Wine wasn't a sin by itself, but the terrible things it caused were his responsibility.
Hearing the command from their usually silent Patron God, the Familia mbers were montarily stunned. But a divine order was a divine order.
"TAKE HIM DOWN!"
The mob sward the captain.
"Dammit! Let go!" Zanis roared.
But even a [Level 2] couldn't win in a tight space against a group of thugs. The Soma Familia mbers were ruthless and often bullied each other, so they had no problem beating up their own captain.
Zanis was quickly pinned to the floor.
They dragged him by the hair and threw him at Soma's feet. Soma, showing no pity, pricked his finger and let a drop of divine blood fall onto Zanis's back.
In an instant, the [Falna] was locked. Zanis lost all his stats, skills, and magic. With all his power gone, the forr captain was dragged out of the room like a sack of garbage.
The chaotic room suddenly fell dead silent. Only one mortal and one God remained.
Liliruca Arde watched the entire sequence of events without saying a word.
"Thank you, Lord Soma, for everything you have done for ," Lili finally spoke, knowing it was ti to say goodbye.
Despite everything, she felt grateful. Soma had taken care of her when she had nowhere else to go. In a strange way, he was the closest thing she had to a parent. She appreciated the kindness he had shown her.
"Co here."
Soma didn't know how to say goodbye or what to say. All he could do was set her free.
Lili walked up to him and turned around, showing her back and her Status. The crest of the Soma Familia, a crescent moon shaped like a wine glass, was marked on her skin.
Soma stared at the crest, his eyes wavering. He placed his hand on her back and used a drop of his blood to dissolve the contract, leaving only a faint outline behind.
Lili was now free. She could officially accept a new God's blessing.
"Thank you."
Pulling her clothes back on, Lili bowed deeply one last ti.
She turned, pushed open the heavy doors, and walked out. A bright, real smile appeared on her dirt-smudged face as she made her way through the compound. The other Soma mbers ignored her, moving aside to let her leave without saying a word.
Soma watched her go. He knew she was leaving him to find the hope she had always wanted.
He listened as her footsteps faded down the stairs, leaving the God of Wine alone.
"Sigh..."
Soma took a long, deep breath in the empty room. He finally understood how wrong he had been.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
anwhile, back on modern Earth
"THIS IS BAD! THIS IS REALLY BAD! WE HAVE A MASSIVE ERGENCY!"
"..." August was sound asleep in bed when Hestia's loud screaming woke him up.
He sat up, still half-asleep, adjusting his boxers and rubbing his eyes.
He was taking a few days off from the Dungeon, so he had ti to rest. He already had plenty of Magic Stones and monster loot to cover their needs. There was no reason to wear himself out by going into the Labyrinth every day.
"What's wrong?" August yawned.
"Look at this!" Hestia shoved his smartphone directly into his face.
August squinted at the glowing screen.
"?"
He looked confused, like soone's grandparent trying to figure out a strange text ssage.
[SHOCKING: GODS CONFIRD TO EXIST IN THE UNITED STATES!]
[CHINESE PRESIDENT ADDRESSES: "THE UNITED STATES IS SECRETLY TRADING WITH GODS"]
[THE UNITED STATES SECURES NEW MIRACLE ENERGY SOURCE: REMAINS OF MYTHICAL MONSTERS?]
[URGENT: GREEK PRI MINISTER REQUESTS IMDIATE STATE VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES]
August stared at the headlines, unable to process what he was seeing.
'What the hell?'
It had only been a few days. How was Hestia's existence already front-page international news?
"What exactly happened?" August scratched the back of his head. This was slightly out of his depth.
"That human guy, Jas, has been waiting outside for a while," Hestia pointed toward the window.
"Commander Jas?"
August got out of bed and walked to the window. Looking through the blinds, he saw a line of military SUVs parked outside his apartnt. Since they hadn't switched to regular cars, they must have been in a big hurry.
"Let them in," August sighed.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
A few monts later, Commander Jas and a few high-ranking officials—including a middle-aged man wearing the stars of a Major General—hurried into the apartnt.
The very first thing they did upon entering?
"We are deeply sorry..."
The military brass, including the Major General, apologised frantically.
"What's with all the apologies?" August waved his hand, telling them to relax. He wasn't too surprised the secret was out—he just wondered how it happened so quickly. At least they were being honest.
"Logically, exposure was bound to happen. I an, I ordered a ridiculous amount of military hardware," August noted. "But how did Hestia's identity get leaked directly?"
He had been buying fighter jets, naval drones, and guided missiles with private funds. You can't move that much firepower without catching the attention of international spies. But Hestia's direct exposure was still shocking.
"Well..."
"The truth is..."
The commanders exchanged awkward glances before looking at the Major General.
The General let out a heavy sigh.
"August, the leak originated from our end. The Dungeon monster materials you provided had incredible elental and tallurgical properties."
"Our internal OPSEC regarding the research was... flawed. Information leaked to foreign intelligence. Combine the rumors of 'mythical monster parts' with your sudden, massive black-budget arms purchases, and foreign analysts connected the dots right to your doorstep."
August nodded in understanding.
The world's superpowers were smart... If they noticed magical materials and saw the United States sending huge amounts of weapons to one civilian, they would use every spy satellite and intelligence tool they had. They didn't need hard proof—rumors alone could cause global panic.
"If that's the case, it makes sense." August didn't bla the military. When dealing with global intelligence networks, a secret of this magnitude was impossible to bury forever.
"August... you aren't angry?" The Major General blinked in surprise.
He fully expected the interdinsional pioneer to be furious about the privacy breach and the impending dia circus.
"Angry? Why waste energy on that?" August shrugged. He had dealt with enough chaos online and in Orario to let this ruin his day. If he got upset over every problem, he would have burned out long ago.
"..." The military n exchanged relieved looks. A collective weight lifted off their shoulders.
"Oh, right. Since you guys are here, take this."
August opened his [Spatial Backpack] and took out the monster loot and combat data logs from his second Dungeon trip. There weren't many valuable items, but the data was important.
"Also, I need to requisition more combat shotguns and heavy armor-piercing ordnance."
"The monsters this ti were totally different. They had heavy armor, and I finally t Middle Floor monsters that could use magic. So of my rifle shots were actually blocked by magical shockwaves and barriers."
August laid out his tactical concerns. The eleventh floor was a massive wake-up call.
"Also, it seems the Labyrinth itself has flagged as a hostile anomaly."
"I barely stepped onto the eleventh floor, and it spawned a coordinated legion of thousands of monsters just to ambush ."
August complained about how unfair the Dungeon was. He was only on his second trip, but the Labyrinth was already treating him like a final boss.
"What?? Sothing like that happened??"
The Major General and the commanders were utterly horrified. Targeted by the environnt itself? Ambushed by thousands of coordinated monsters?
This was a massive tactical escalation.
"Once we get back to base, we are drafting a new operational plan overnight!" The Major General declared, his military instincts flaring.
"Do not worry about the weaponry, August! We will supply you with specialized, heavy-duty ordnance tailored specifically for magical suppression and armor penetration!"
'Damn right,' the General thought. Their operative was fighting an entire alien ecosystem, and the Labyrinth was trying to kill him. Heavy artillery was hard to use in caves, but they had plenty of special bunker-busting and anti-material weapons. If the Dungeon wanted a long fight, the military was ready to give it one.
"Appreciate it." August was satisfied. Having an entire superpower's R&D departnt acting as his personal quartermaster was a massive advantage.
"By the way, didn't you ntion scheduling patients for healing sessions today?" August asked, noticing that the officers hadn't brought any wounded soldiers with them. He rembered Commander Jas booking an appointnt.
August's regenerative magic was very taxing on a mortal's nervous system. Without intense military discipline or sheer willpower, the pain of rapid cellular regeneration could induce lethal shock.
"Ah! I forgot!" Commander Jas slapped his forehead.
In the panic over the international intelligence leak, he had completely botched the schedule.
"The patients are on standby at the base. Because of the ergency, we rushed over here first," Commander Jas apologized profusely.
"THANK YOU, AUGUST," the Major General suddenly spoke up.
August's willingness to use his miraculous abilities to restore maid and crippled veterans, allowing them to return to society whole again, earned him the unshakable respect of the entire military brass.
"It's fine. No need to make a big deal out of it." August waved them off. The constant praise was a bit much, even if it felt good. He healed them because it was right, and it helped his alliance with the state.
"I'm taking it easy for the next few days, so schedule the dical treatnts for the mornings," August outlined his availability.
"In the afternoons, Hestia and I have business to handle back in Orario. I have a few healing appointnts booked on that side as well."
Upon hearing that August was maintaining a strict schedule and working even on his days off, the officers nodded in deep respect.
"Understood." Commander Jas saluted. "I will manage the schedule personally. There will be no further mistakes."
With the primary issues settled, the tension in the room finally evaporated.
Regarding the big issue—the international dia searching for Hestia—everyone agreed to ignore it. The military wasn't going to ask a Goddess to hold a press conference. Hestia didn't care about foreign diplomats anyway.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
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