Chapter 151: The Demonic Qi of Fire, Resurrection!

Apollo was completely dead.

Whether in the Celestial Realm, the Lower World, or the Dungeon, his existence had been thoroughly erased.

Though he possessed an immortality of sorts that closely resembled Roland's, thanks to that omnipotent divine power, he was ultimately not the world's cherished darling like many of the gods in the Celestial Realm. Under the anti-Messiah authority's specialized onslaught, he was completely eliminated from this game known as the Lower World.

"These gods truly are somewhat troublesome."

Sensing his spoils of war, Roland felt a mild sense of admiration.

The shell of the talisman had been completely pulverized, and the twelve divine powers blended together effortlessly. Though they varied in strength and weakness, a certain vulnerability had ultimately been eliminated, sparing him the fear of Qi magic specifically designed to target such ingested external forces.

Yet, compared to this, another matter brought Roland even greater joy.

"Fire demon Qi, revive!"

Using divine power as firewood, the demon Qi experienced a massive surge in recovery. Roland felt as though a mere lift of his hand could flatten the distant Orario. Measured by his former island nation, he could ignite a fire in that region that would burn for months until earthquakes and floods tore it apart.

Naturally, the greatest portion consisted of the remaining divine power. The energy unleashed when Apollo completely sacrificed his mortal life was simply too overwhelming. Even after discounting what had been absorbed, a substantial amount of dormant divine power still resided within Roland's body.

Using them as fuel to drive his status and power, Roland even had the sensation that he could destroy the entire Lower World in one breath, or at the very least, wipe out its surface.

"Right now, setting aside the Beast of the Sixth Tier which forms my second status, am I weaker or stronger than the original Shendu?"

From this perspective, the gods of the Dungeon world possessed a quality far higher than Roland had anticipated—at least they made exceptionally effective firewood.

Roland raised an eyebrow in doubt, but even the Thousand-Faced Wisdom could provide no answer. Shendu had long since forgotten many of his former glories, and his method of resurrection completely surpassed the experiential reference points available to the Thousand-Faced Wisdom.

After a moment of quiet contemplation, he stopped pondering the question and simply drifted in mid-air, enjoying the night sky that had plunged back into silence.

The only pity was that not even a trace of wind or cloud remained in the surroundings; as a landscape, it was somewhat lacking.

While consuming Apollo's divine power, the two had drifted along with the guiding light emanating from the Celestial Realm. In the wake of their battle, the terrifying barrage of energy had stripped this stretch of sky of everything superfluous.

Just then, an invisible shadow clung to him, conveying a message: someone inside Babel had begun moving toward the devastated region below.

Roland raised his head, looking toward the brightly lit Babel in the distance without a trace of surprise. The outburst of divine power during his battle with Apollo had been far too conspicuous.

Even though their battlefield later shifted to the air, the shockwaves left behind when Roland unleashed his true form to counter Apollo's divine power had still utterly leveled and vaporized the center of the forest below, leaving behind a crater roughly five kilometers in diameter at a glance.

He shook his head, and wrapped in the cloak of night, his figure vanished entirely.

When Roland returned to Babel, the place was even livelier than during the day. After all, amidst such a commotion, falling asleep was an arduous task.

Furthermore, in the face of news this explosive, even the gods found it impossible to remain drowsy.

"Roland-kun!"

Awakened from her slumber, Hestia bustled frantically through the grand hall, intercepting Roland as he sipped his tea.

"Something huge has happened!"

Her face bore an undisguised gloating expression.

"Did you see the commotion outside just now? That was the fluctuation of a god utilizing their divine power to return to the Celestial Realm, and it carried a rather furious, cornered feel. Under normal circumstances, the death of a wandering god at the hands of zombies wouldn't provoke a reaction like that."

"The one who died is eighty percent that bastard Apollo!"

The mere thought of such a scenario brought a beaming smile to Hestia's face.

At that, she suddenly gazed at Roland with a puzzled expression.

"Eh, somehow Roland-kun feels a bit different today."

Clearly, his outward appearance remained entirely unchanged, but compared to his previous depth and gentleness that seemed to conceal something, the present Roland emanated an enduring, noble aura. Just looking at him caused the light in Hestia's eyes to grow increasingly intense.

"It's simply because I experienced a few things today."

Roland smiled, offering no further explanation. Previously, despite his seemingly robust physique, the power he wielded was comparable to someone lying in the ICU. Now, at the very least, he had attained a sub-healthy state; a shift in mastered power would naturally alter one's spirit and vitality.

"I see. Viewed from that angle, that bastard Apollo actually did something good for once."

"Not entirely."

Roland shook his head and said no more.

The divine power of the talismans had been liberated, and the fire demon Qi had grown vastly stronger after being supplied with firewood. Yet that massive reservoir of divine power, while a reliable reserve energy source, remained a ticking time bomb that could not be taken lightly.

Moreover, the most critical issue was that Roland, who had been on the verge of finding a balance between Yin and Yang, now faced a significantly harder task in using his mind to govern his power.

The campaign to conquer the spirit on the fifty-ninth floor, as well as the unknown spirit lurking behind the Virus Queen, had to be brought forward onto the agenda as soon as possible.

Observing Roland's composed expression, Hestia chose not to press further.

She knew Roland harbored countless secrets; both his terrifying potential and his bizarre array of powers differed vastly from anything within her understanding.

Yet Hestia, who regarded her Familia as family, never actively pried into Roland's secrets—especially since the current Roland mattered more to her than anything else.

Hestia sat down opposite Roland, resting her upper body on the table to support the heavy burden on her chest, before speaking slowly.

"Still, would it be fine not to get involved in the investigation? If complications arise from this, the Great Expedition might have to be postponed once again."

Yet, faced with this question, Roland offered a resolute reply.

"It won't. On the contrary, the Guild will only prompt me to launch the expedition at an even faster pace."

With the recovery of his condition, Roland's comprehension of the world's broader horizon had also increased dramatically. He could clearly perceive that Babel currently radiated a colossal divine might, resembling a lid that cast its range across the entirety of Orario, suppressing the dungeon's will.

That deity had一直 remained hidden within the Guild, which was why the Guild could manage the operational rights of all Orario, arbitrating conflicts between Familia and contradictions among the gods.

This was the truth behind why the dungeon's monsters ceased charging to the surface after the gods descended: a deity had always been utilizing their divine might to forge a pact with the dungeon—akin to Roland's own promise—preventing the beasts from breaking through to the surface.

Furthermore, the nature of the dungeon was quite peculiar. It was common knowledge that the dungeon was a living entity, a belief Roland had initially shared.

Yet now, it seemed that while this statement wasn't entirely wrong, it harbored a massive discrepancy. The dungeon's life aura was simultaneously intensely strong and exceedingly faint; its will roared, yet remained obstructed by seals, leaving it largely restricted to acting on instinct most of the time.

To use an analogy—it resembled Shendu, sealed into a statue.

Even as a statue, he could still breathe fire, utilize the shadow magic imprisoned within his soul, and retain an intelligence capable of communication.

The dungeon was remarkably similar, albeit with a different manifested form. Indeed, this so-called dungeon was likely the physical manifestation of its sealed state.

Roland even suspected that this seal shared the same nature as the divine edicts that took effect throughout the entire Lower World, differing only in magnitude.

Combined with the ancient monsters it spawned—each stronger than the last, complete with specialized attributes capable of nullifying divine power, coupled with its hatred for the gods—the dungeon was almost certainly inextricably linked to the pantheon.

Even Hestia could discern that the divine power Apollo unleashed before his death carried the implication of venting rage; it wouldn't be difficult for gods privy to the inner workings to deduce the truth.

This was not an energy release achievable merely by returning to the Celestial Realm; it was a dying message left behind by a deity locked in a desperate struggle.

While they could not have imagined that Apollo had been thoroughly erased, the mere fact that a god had fallen in the Lower World and would require tens of thousands of years to recover was enough to terrify them.

This outcome symbolized the dungeon's wrath—something only ancient monsters could accomplish. Upon discovering that not a single monster existed nearby, and that zombies and viruses populated everywhere, the gods would have no alternative aside from eradicating the culprit.

After all, this was not like the War Game, where the worst penalty was character deletion with at least a chance to restart; this was a large-scale account wipe coupled with a permanent ban. For gods who viewed the Lower World as a game, this was no longer nightmare-tier news—it was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

In reality, an operation of this caliber would face massive backlash within minutes, but the game of the Lower World offered the gods no opportunity to lodge complaints. The only thing they could do was hastily delete the bug responsible for all this and restore everything to normal.

Faced with a zombie horde calamity involving the entire Lower World, most gods might have continued playing with a smile, viewing it as a large-scale event. But when the matter concerned their own existence, they could no longer afford to take it lightly.

"Is that so?"

Hestia nodded blankly, pondering seriously for a moment.

At that moment, looking across the hall, Roland's eyes lit up.

"Look, isn't that them arriving now?"

At the entrance of the hall, a solemn-faced Loki hurried over, accompanied by Aiz.

"To think it isn't Finn. Having you run errands in person, Loki, suggests the Guild must be making a major move."

Faced with Roland's smile, Loki offered a casual explanation.

"Finn went to inspect the situation outside the city. Putting that aside, Hero of the Sword, the Guild has entrusted me with a message for you."

Maintaining her calm expression, Loki stated, "Tonight, all surviving citizens and adventurers in Babel will begin organizing logistics and supplies. All adventurers belonging to any remaining Familia will defer to you as the absolute commander of this expedition, placing themselves at your disposal. A roster will be delivered shortly."

"All of them? Including Level 1 adventurers?"

"That's right. Even our own Aiz-carbon, and Ottar from the Freya Familia, will submit to your commands."

Loki spoke in a deep voice, yet her tone seemed capable of igniting the surrounding air.

"Authority surpassing that of the gods shall, from this moment onward, formally belong to you. And the Guild has only one demand of you."

"—You must launch the grand expedition against the dungeon tomorrow without fail."