"The Evilus... those guys never get together for anything good."
Gareth genuinely wished the Evilus would vanish for good. A deranged group like that continuing to exist was nothing but trouble.
"I feel the sa."
Riveria shared Gareth’s sentint completely.
She had no tolerance for the Evilus. With the chaos they stirred both above and below ground, the ordinary people of Orario could only feel one thing toward them—disgust.
"But they’re like loaches—slimy, slippery, and impossible to catch with one hand."
Gareth’s expression twisted as if he’d just recalled sothing revolting, like spoiled cheese.
Ray felt the sa.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t deal with them. The problem was that one particular bastard always managed to escape—faster than anyone else.
"Yeah, every ti we’re about to catch him, he slips away. And that’s definitely not normal."
"It’s not normal at all," Finn agreed, rubbing his chin as he thought.
There was no way these special types hadn’t gone all-out every ti they tried to trap the Evilus. It wasn’t possible for soone to repeatedly slip past them so easily.
That was the real reason behind Evilus’s confidence.
"It’s no coincidence they keep getting away. It’s likely the Dungeon has secret spaces only they know about."
"Maybe you’re not failing to catch them—they’re just disappearing into places you can’t find."
From what Ray said, it wasn’t hard for Finn to infer that the Evilus had built hidden routes.
If that were true, it would explain how they always managed to escape encirclent.
"The nightmare on the 27th floor? That was their doing too. So was the destruction of the Astrea Familia."
Evilus’s cris were soaked in blood.
Every single act of theirs demanded a record written in blood—that’s how insane their actions were, in Finn’s eyes.
Unlike proper Familia, Evilus didn’t follow any code. They were lawless, brutal, and utterly shaless. A banquet of madness.
Honestly, what happened with the Ishtar Familia said everything.
There were nurous passages in the Dungeon that connected to Orario’s underground—and those even extended outside the city, linking up with Ishtar herself. That was how the trafficking operations started.
Those trafficking rings were built on the blood and tears of countless mbers of the human races.
After that incident, Finn had personally seen the horrific scene beneath the Ishtar Familia. Which made him certain—the parts they hadn’t seen were even worse.
And with that, Finn had made his decision.
"I understand. After we finish this expedition, we’ll join you in the search for Evilus in the Dungeon."
To Ray, that promise felt bittersweet. They had received almost no help from any of the Familia or gods—this might be the first ti.
"Thank you very much."
Her voice trembled slightly.
Her shoulders quivered. As a Xenos chosen to negotiate, she was supposed to remain calm, but the years of hardship and injustice made it hard to hold back her emotions.
...They really are human.
Finn started to understand why Ouranos-sama wanted to include these unique beings among the demi-humans. They weren’t just typical monsters who attacked adventurers—they were humans with the instincts of monsters.
That thought only strengthened Finn’s resolve.
"Don’t ntion it. Help should always go both ways."
"We may be here because of the failures of our Familia gods, but I don’t see you as monsters. You should be human... it’s just that fate played a cruel trick on you."
Ray didn’t fall into self-pity. She quickly got her emotions under control, a faint smile appearing on her face.
"I used to resent what I was. It’s because of that identity that we’re called ’heretics’—neither fully human nor monster, unable to belong anywhere."
"But I don’t feel that way anymore."
Fate is rarely fair—perhaps fairness doesn’t even exist.
Every Xenos had once cursed their fate.
But no matter how much they complained, reality didn’t change.
Ray was no longer the little girl who once resented the world’s unfairness. Now, she chose to face her fate and try to change it, even if just a little, with her own strength.
’That must be tough.’
Watching from the side, Bell muttered silently to himself.
Fate is hard to change. For the Xenos, hardship seed inevitable. Unless they endured, they would never see hope—never see the rainbow after the storm.
Maybe it wasn’t even about fate. Maybe this was just reality.
And in that reality, the Xenos weren’t players in so high-level ga.
All they could do was survive. Find a patron, carve out a path, and maybe, just maybe, secure a small victory in this stacked world.
’If you think about it, the Xenos are like the moon. Without light shining on them, they can’t shine on their own.’
That strange thought made Bell chuckle quietly to himself.
...
Looking over at the mbers of the Loki Familia, it was clear—they had accepted the Xenos.
Bell knew it wasn’t out of sympathy.
It was because they saw the light of humanity in them.
"Bell Cranel."
Ais, who had been listening quietly nearby, walked up to him.
"Sword Princess. What is it?"
"...Thank you."
"For your parents? That was just on a whim."
Bell knew what she was referring to, but he admitted—it really had been a mont of curiosity.
"When I returned from the Dungeon with you and Vice Captain Riveria, I happened to glimpse the soul hidden inside you. I got curious, and it just... happened."
"Kind of presumptuous of . You’re allowed to be mad."
But Ais’s doll-like face showed no trace of anger. That, more than anything, made Bell pause with emotion.
"I’m not angry."
There was no trace of resentnt in her voice. She ant exactly what she said—she was simply grateful to Bell Cranel for what he had done.
With that, Ais bowed slightly.
"Thank you."
Bell could see it—her gratitude was pure, just as she said. No other emotion mixed in.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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