Looking Forward to Another World Chapter 744: Collapse of Knossos

Inside Knossos, the impact was acutely felt—in fact, they bore the brunt of it. The pillar of light, which compelled gods to return to their divine realms, generated a shockwave of unimaginable power. This force not only breached multiple floors simultaneously but also shattered the surface and surged skyward, unleashing an immense destructive force.

The entire structure of Knossos buckled under the onslaught, convulsing as if struck by an earthquake exceeding magnitude ten. Even the formidable adamantite walls groaned under the strain, beginning to fissure and crumble.

Consequently, every soul within Knossos, regardless of their location, was subjected to the violent tremors and the devastating impact.

"What in the blazes is going on?!" Valletta shrieked, her voice laced with sheer panic. She had been in hot pursuit of Finn and his companions when the cataclysm struck.

Moments earlier, she had felt the Falna etched onto her body inexplicably lose its potency. Her Level 5 status had plummeted into a deathly stillness, stripping her from the esteemed rank of a First-Class Adventurer to that of a mere mortal.

No one grasped the gravity of this situation as acutely as Valletta herself.

Years prior, she had been affiliated with a different familia under the umbrella of Evilus, holding a position as a key executive. However, the god of that familia was vanquished and returned to the heavens by Loki in their final confrontation years ago. This event caused Valletta’s Falna to become dormant.

The recurrence of this exact predicament could only signify one dire conclusion.

"Damn you, Thanatos! You pathetic God of Death! You just had to perish like that?!" Valletta’s composure shattered completely. She unleashed a torrent of curses, utterly disregarding any semblance of dignity.

"Ahhhhh!"

"M-My power!"

"Lord Thanatos! How could this happen—?"

"No! It's impossible!"

All around Valletta, the fanatical fighters who had been relentlessly pursuing Finn and his group let out terrified cries. The powerful tremors and shockwaves violently hurled them to the ground one by one.

Soon, the ceiling fractured, raining down debris of varying sizes. Some fragments struck down colorful monsters, while others landed upon the doomed fighters. This triggered the Kaenseki embedded in their bodies, causing them to detonate instantly, their lives extinguished in futile, meaningless explosions.

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" Stripped of her power, Valletta found herself utterly incapable of resisting the catastrophic event. The earth-shattering impact not only slammed her to the ground but also pinned her beneath a colossal boulder, crushing both her legs. She screamed, her voice a raw tapestry of pain and unadulterated madness.

She knew with chilling certainty that she would perish if this continued.

Valletta, acutely aware of her impending doom, railed against the capricious gods who had orchestrated her fate. Both the deity of her former familia and the god of her current one were nothing but useless trash in her eyes. Otherwise, why must she endure such helpless, powerless despair for a second time?

"No! I refuse to die here!" A smoldering, pitch-black flame ignited within Valletta’s eyes—the burning inferno of hatred, forged for the singular purpose of revenge.

"Who in their right mind would choose to die in a place like this?"

"If I perish here, wouldn't that detestable Braver laugh at me endlessly?"

"Until I have severed his limbs, gouged out his eyes, and pulverized that self-righteous, false facade of his face, I absolutely cannot die like this!"

Fueled by this consuming obsession, Valletta trembled as she retrieved an object from her blood-soaked attire. It was a resplendent, multi-hued magic stone. Revis had entrusted it to her before the ambitious invasion of Knossos by the Loki Familia.

The time to utilize it had arrived.

"The divine might of those idiotic gods is utterly unreliable!"

"In that case, I shall seize a monster's power for myself!"

"Finn, you will never escape my grasp!"

With a guttural growl, Valletta uttered these words and then swallowed the magic stone clutched in her hand.

===

"Captain!"

"Gareth!"

Amidst the deafening sounds of structural collapse and splintering stone within a passageway on Knossos's 2nd Floor—barred by a formidable orichalcum door—Raul and Anakitty’s desperate shouts echoed. Finn and his companions were all clustered within this confined space. Each of them bore grievous wounds; some injuries festered with a dark aura, leaving them teetering on the brink of death. Their familia members either carried the severely wounded or supported them as they struggled onward.

"Gareth! Bete! See to the protection of our injured!" Finn, though himself heavily wounded, still possessed the capacity to fight. He wielded a golden spear in one hand and a silver spear in the other, their movements a blur of fiery arcs as they deflected the massive chunks of adamantite debris plummeting from above.

"I’m already on it!"

"Tch, always making us carry their dead weight!"

Despite their vocal complaints, Gareth and Bete moved with practiced alacrity.

One individual propelled away the descending adamantite fragments with their metallic footwear, while another shattered the obstructive rubble with their colossal battle axe, thereby safeguarding all those in their vicinity.

Raul and Anakitty provided support from the flanks, aiding in the protection of their comrades.

In this manner, the contingent advanced forward through the violently convulsing and disintegrating passage, deflecting incoming debris with the agility of acrobats.

"Finn, what in the blazes occurred?"

Gareth, positioned at the forefront, obliterated the accumulating stone blockages with explosive force, interjecting the query.

"...I have no knowledge."

Having not witnessed the returning pillar of light, Finn was incapable of furnishing a precise explanation and could only allow his gaze to dart about.

He brought his thumb to his mouth, and at that precise instant, his thumb emanated intense waves of agony.

Such severe pain had manifested only once previously—upon his encounter with the plant-type Demi Spirit on the 59th Floor—and had not recurred until this very moment.

It was self-evident that this indicated a significant, unknown event had transpired, or perhaps an exceedingly unforeseen development had taken root.

Forming his hypothesis based on this premise and the intensity of the throbbing ache in his digit, Finn issued a directive.

"We cannot linger here any longer. Our priority is to evacuate this location."

Indeed, the time for contemplating methods to quell the subterranean forces or to conquer this Man-Made Dungeon had elapsed.

Their focus now needed to be solely on ensuring their survival.

At the very least, given the Man-Made Dungeon's ongoing collapse and the unknown extent of the potential devastation, remaining put could result in their interment beneath the earth alongside the entire structure.

To preclude such a dire outcome, a strategic withdrawal was now imperative.

"And what of Mr. Riezel's contingent?"

Procuring speed beside him, Anakitty voiced the concern without delay.

"Precisely! Riezel and Miss Ais remain within!"

Raul proclaimed emphatically.

"Regrettably, this is not the opportune moment to concern ourselves with others," Finn stated with rational composure. "They are undoubtedly capable of navigating their own escape. Our immediate imperative is self-preservation."

Upon hearing this, a somber silence enveloped the group, and with no dissenting voices, they simply lowered their heads and accelerated forward, propelling themselves toward the labyrinth's exit under Finn's expert guidance.

Despite the absence of a map, Finn, possessing an extraordinary memory, had meticulously cataloged every path traversed during their ingress, rendering him thoroughly cognizant of the most direct route to the exit.

However, whilst in motion, Bete—whose unparalleled speed within the familia had propelled him unknowingly ahead of Gareth—suddenly emitted a startled exclamation.

"What in creation is that?!"

Registering Bete's outburst, all eyes immediately shifted forward, and at that precise juncture, a chilling sensation coursed through their very beings.

Before their astonished gazes, a sight utterly defying comprehension had materialized.

===

Concurrently, Ais and Lefiya's party was also engaged in a desperate flight.

Relative to Finn's group, the seismic disturbances encountered on their path were significantly more pronounced.

Not only were the adamantite wall plates fracturing at a rate discernible to the naked eye and rapidly peeling away—descending in a continuous cascade from both walls and ceiling—but even the visual field ahead experienced violent, undulating oscillations.

Furthermore, the very ground beneath their feet would periodically give way, precipitating the fall of several individuals, with some teetering precariously close to plummeting into the level below.

While running to the point of labored respiration, Lefiya unleashed a torrent of magic, conjuring a brilliant luminescence that surged forward, obliterating the obstructions of stone and debris that barred their progress, thus facilitating passage for the entire group.

"Ah!"

Abruptly, however, Lefiya experienced a disorienting sway of her vision and a dizzying sensation in her head, leading her to inadvertently step into an expanse of emptiness, causing her to descend toward a chasm that opened into the subsequent floor.

"Lefiya!"

"Lefiya!"

Exclamations of alarm erupted instinctively from everyone, with some voices even contorting into cries of distress.

"Lefiya!"

Ultimately, Ais moved with the speed of a tempest, extending her reach and securing Lefiya in a single, fluid motion, thereby averting her fall.

"M-Miss Ais..."

Only then did Lefiya appear to fully register the gravity of the situation, gazing at Ais with evident difficulty, her eyes brimming with profound exhaustion.

"Lefiya, you have been exerting yourself far beyond your limits."

Observing Lefiya in this state, Ais could not suppress a surge of profound concern.

Indeed, the root cause of Lefiya's extreme weariness lay in the severe strain placed upon her mind.

From the encounter with the Ishtar Familia's berberas and the Kali Familia's amazonesses onward, Lefiya had been engaged in relentless combat, continuously chanting incantations. During this prolonged engagement, she had also activated her abilities an indeterminate number of times, escalating her mental expenditure to an astonishing degree.

Had it not been for Lefiya's diverse magical support, some member of the group would have undoubtedly succumbed much earlier.

While her presence might not have been as ostentatious as that of Riezel, Ais, Tiona, and Tione, who consistently demonstrated overwhelming martial prowess, her actual contributions and her integral role within the party were arguably more significant than anyone else's—a fact that even the combat-oriented Riezel could not dispute.Subsequent to that, the group needed to confront the vibrant, monstrous creatures, and following that ordeal, they had to press onward with haste, clearing the path for the entire company. Throughout their arduous trek, Lefiya found herself compelled to deploy her magical abilities far more frequently than usual. Had Lefiya not been gifted with an exceptionally remarkable intellect, she would have succumbed to Mind Down long before this moment, rendering her unable to persevere until the present. "I... I am alright... To linger here any longer would undoubtedly be detrimental. Miss Ais, we must prioritize our escape..." Lefiya mustered the strength to stand, offering Ais a smile that was noticeably strained. Witnessing Lefiya's weakened state only amplified Ais's distress, but she recognized the absolute necessity of leading the others away at the swiftest possible pace. However, in the very subsequent instant, an ominous aura stealthily manifested ahead, directly on their route. "What... could that be?" Ais's pupils constricted, her eyes wide with sheer astonishment. ====================