Looking Forward to Another World Chapter 740: Gotta Say, You’re Rather Pitiful, Thanatos

Amidst a deafening roar of shattering devastation, Riezel, his whole being consumed by ferocious flames, plummeted from the fractured ceiling. He fell along with countless fragments of stone and debris into a stone-fashioned passage on an even deeper level.

Compared to the maze-like hallways of the preceding floors, this area presented no distinctive variations. Only the atmosphere grew noticeably denser, signaling his continuous descent further into this Artificial Dungeon.

"Hm?"

Just as Riezel prepared to carve his way through the floor to the subsequent level, he perceived a shift in his surroundings.

On the earlier floors, his progress was invariably halted by descending orichalcum doors, after which the adjacent walls, floor, and ceiling would rupture, spewing forth legions of monsters much like the Dungeon itself. However, this time, monsters ceased their emergence, the orichalcum doors stopped falling, and the path ahead lay completely clear. An ethereal divine aura even wafted towards him, causing his body to instinctively stiffen as if drawn towards noble presences concealed somewhere further within the corridor.

Perceiving this, Riezel halted his actions and narrowed his gaze.

"...Are you beckoning me forward?"

Riezel discerned the underlying nature of this event, forming a strong suspicion about who awaited him.

"Intriguing."

Consequently, Riezel abandoned his descent, sheathed his sword, returned Hermit to the storage realm of the Dimensional Magic Cube, and with Fool still secured at his waist, proceeded in the direction from which the divine aura radiated.

As he advanced, at some indiscernible juncture, the passage's architecture transformed. The monotonous stone corridor gave way to a vast hall, unlike any structure found within an subterranean labyrinth. Yet, sunlight and moonlight remained absent. Only the soft luminescence of pale-blue magic-stone lamps illuminated the expanse, cultivating a serene and tranquil ambiance.

Continuing through this peaceful and spacious hall, Riezel soon entered an even grander chamber. This hall featured numerous tall pillars arranged in neat rows, providing support for the entire structure.

Upon first sight, this hall would likely evoke two distinct concepts.

One was a temple, the other, a ruin.

Despite the absence of divine effigies, the surroundings were adorned with numerous murals. Some were rendered on crimson stone slabs, others etched into fragmented and faded rock walls. Their appearance suggested they were not original to the site but had been salvaged and relocated from elsewhere.

Riezel's eyes scanned the depicted scenes.

Some revealed colossal dragons, others monstrous avians, furious bulls, savage beasts, reptilian creatures, giants, or beings whose true forms defied easy identification. It was immediately apparent that these represented countless denizens of the Dungeon.

All these monstrosities were shown roaring, bellowing, rampaging, and wreaking havoc, relentlessly pursuing writhing, terrified humans. It was, without question, a catastrophic tableau humanity had faced repeatedly through ages, mirroring the past, present, and potentially future plight of humankind, long subjugated by the monsters emerging from the Dungeon.

Nearly all the murals displayed such scenes, with a single exception.

Riezel's attention was immediately captivated by this unique depiction.

At its center stood a dragon of incomprehensibly vast size. Six maidens, clad in sacred garments, formed a hexagram around it. All the maidens had their eyes closed, hands clasped as if in prayer, or perhaps in song.

Clearly, this represented...

"..."

The instant these words escaped Riezel's lips, a voice laced with astonishment resonated.

"You truly comprehend?"

Hearing this, Riezel withdrew his gaze from the mural and turned towards the source of the sound.

There, three figures had materialized at some unknown moment, standing abreast at the deepest point of this ruined temple. A subtle divine aura emanated from them, confirming for Riezel that his summoners—or rather, the deities—were precisely these three individuals.

Riezel also recognized the identities of these three gods—or rather, he had surmised them long ago.

Positioned on the left was the goddess of war from Telskyura, Kali.

On the right stood the proprietor of the Entertainment District, also a goddess akin to Freya, Ishtar, the Goddess of Beauty.

And in the center, a deity from Evilus, Thanatos.

Putting the first two aside for the present, the identity of the latter was precisely one of the main targets for the Loki Familia’s expedition.

He was the sole remaining god from Evilus’s pantheon, the one the world referred to as .

With the remaining soldiers of Evilus under his command, he had sheltered former Evilus members, Valletta included, and over the last five years, had enlisted countless individuals ready to serve as expendable pawns, thereby enabling Evilus, which had been on the brink of collapse five years prior, to tenuously persist.

It was also he who orchestrated the Evilus remnants’ alliance with the Corrupted Spirit, accepted Enyo’s proposition, and entered into a pact with them, aiming to leverage the Corrupted Spirit’s power to obliterate Orario.

Among the triumvirate of clandestine organizations forming the underworld’s power structure, one leader was the god who preceded Riezel, an entity akin to a solid mass of pure darkness.

Consequently, if the Loki Familia intended to safeguard Orario and dismantle the underground factions, the god standing before them was an adversary they absolutely had to face.

Confronting this malevolent deity—who had almost certainly colluded with the Ishtar Familia and the Kali Familia, and was employing Knossos to counter the Loki Familia, alongside Riezel and his companions—Riezel merely narrowed his gaze slightly, his demeanor remaining remarkably composed.

"It certainly appears to be the ."

Riezel, almost as if engaging in casual conversation, turned his head towards the mural, or more accurately, the colossal dragon depicted upon it.

"Then this dragon must be the legendary Nidhogg, correct?"

Upon hearing this, Thanatos experienced a momentary pause before letting out a soft chuckle.

"You truly possess an extensive knowledge, the pride of Loki."

Thanatos proceeded to elaborate for Riezel in a calm, measured tone.

"The world acknowledges the existence of the Three Great Quests and the dominance of the land king Behemoth, the oceanic sovereign Leviathan, and the Black Dragon, now known as the One-Eyed Black Dragon—these three paramount monster kings."

"However, prior to the emergence of the targets for the Three Great Quests—that is, preceding these three monster kings—there existed another entity truly worthy of being called a king, one that inflicted unimaginable devastation upon the Lower World, plunging its inhabitants into prolonged and dreadful despair."

"And that king was Nidhogg."

Thanatos offered a slight shrug.

"Alas, it was vanquished by the six great spirits. Had that not been the case, the One-Eyed Black Dragon might have found itself vying for the title of king of dragonkind, wouldn't you agree?"

This was a tale from a bygone era—the period of Nidhogg’s reign predated even the ancient times of a millennium ago, far surpassing the histories of the current three monster kings.

Consequently, very few individuals in the present day retained knowledge of Nidhogg’s existence, and scarcely any related historical accounts had survived.

Naturally, the various gods were well aware, given that their lifespans could be measured in the hundreds of millions of years. From a divine perspective, the Nidhogg era might have felt like a recent event.

"I find myself quite intrigued that you are aware of this matter," Thanatos remarked, directing a rather significant gaze at Riezel. "You must understand that even for us, if no one makes a deliberate effort to recall it, we might have already forgotten that epoch. You see, the murals here were all brought by young Ein at Enyo’s behest. For reasons unknown, that particular entity seems to hold a peculiar attachment to this ancient subject."

This was clearly a veiled inquiry.

As a deity, Thanatos understood implicitly that a genuine probe was not achieved by withholding all information and hoping for greater insights—that was merely a fanciful notion. Only by initially divulging a fragment of one's own knowledge and subtly guiding the other party within defined parameters could one acquire progressively detailed intelligence—that constituted a true probe.

Therefore, Thanatos opted to disclose information pertaining to Enyo, the individual most likely to capture the Loki Familia’s attention, thereby ensuring his own non-disclosure of sensitive data while still achieving his objective of interrogation.

This method of probing proved exceptionally effective, particularly when the subject was a mortal. Since mortals were incapable of deception in the presence of gods, this presented a considerable advantage for the divine beings.

Indeed, within the subterranean organizations, details concerning Enyo held paramount importance, as that entity was the very instigator of all unfolding events.

It was Enyo who discovered the Corrupted Spirit and offered their own subordinate as a sacrifice, transforming that subordinate into a Creature and thereby establishing a connection with the Corrupted Spirit, securing their aid.

Furthermore, it was Enyo who located Thanatos, made contact with the remnants of Evilus, and formulated the scheme for Orario’s annihilation.

The alliance of the three underground organizations could be attributed entirely to this city destroyer.

Thanatos was certain that by mentioning the mastermind, the Loki Familia would definitely fall into the trap.

While this line of reasoning wasn't incorrect, the individual he was facing was, unfortunately, Riezel.

"There's no need to test me like this, God Thanatos," Riezel stated with a composed demeanor and an unperturbed expression. "My understanding of Enyo surpasses yours by a significant margin, making it pointless to use Enyo to gauge my knowledge."

Upon hearing this, Thanatos's expression faltered slightly.

Riezel followed up with a subtle, knowing smile.

"You don't actually know Enyo that well, do you? I'm not mistaken, am I?"

Indeed, Thanatos was lacking in his comprehension of Enyo.

He had never encountered Enyo in person, nor did he know if Enyo was a deity or a mortal. The sole individual he had met was Ein, Enyo's masked subordinate. All of Enyo's directives and intents were communicated to Thanatos solely through this subordinate.

"I must say, you're rather pathetic, Thanatos."

Riezel declared this bluntly, shaking his head with an air of pity.

"Within your entire faction, you are the only god of Evilus who operates openly, while the other two have yet to reveal themselves."

"The true form of the Corrupted Spirit remains elusive, concealed somewhere within the Dungeon's floors, with only her avatars and lackeys appearing externally."

"Enyo, too, has never manifested in person; only their spokesperson has."

"You alone have been personally handling all affairs, undertaking all the arduous tasks yourself."

"Doesn't it feel like you're merely a tool being utilized by them?"