The next day, precisely at four in the morning.
"Time to pull!"
——————
[Fischl (Electro) | ☆☆☆☆]
[Magic Guide | ☆☆☆]
[Halberd | ☆☆☆]
[Viridescent Hunt | ☆☆☆☆]
——————
Renjiro had planned to wake early, so just after four, he rolled his "four daily pulls" while getting out of bed.
At this moment, he examined his new acquisitions…
"Hmm~ not bad. Little Amy is alive."
The first constellation of Fischl, called Gaze of the Deep, allowed Oz to watch over Fischl even off the battlefield, providing coordinated attacks.
In reality, this worked even better than "enemy awareness" as anti-ambush support—a perfect fit for emergency situations.
As for the Viridescent Hunt…
"The design matches Venti pretty well, but he already has the Sacrificial Bow. Better to equip Tartaglia with this one for now. Its secondary stat boosts critical rate, after all."
With that in mind, Renjiro changed clothes and stepped out of his room.
Over the past few days, he had drawn three purple rewards: two characters and one weapon.
Both four-star characters were Xinyan, bringing the Liyue rock star to her second constellation.
No complaints here; with his abundant magic stones, even a four-star weapon could be fully leveled.
Even three-star weapons like Thrilling Tales of Dragon Slayers or Recurve Bow were refined and upgraded as much as possible.
=======
"Today's work is going to be… no, it will be bloody beyond measure."
"Not yet time to involve Bell and the others."
"When the sun rises… Hayu, just tell them I'm running errands in the 'Old District' so Bell and the others can handle the dungeon themselves."
"Oh~"
Hearing this through their mental link, Hayu, perched on a roof beam, replied with a simple thought. Renjiro, already briefed with the operation's general flow by Seel, left the abandoned church alone.
Hands in his pockets, he walked slowly down the narrow Daedalus Street.
"Perfect. Once this 'cleanup' is done, I can focus on the 'move.'"
A few minutes later, he stopped by a dry well.
"I'm in position."
"Understood."
Lumine's voice came through the mental link.
"Then… the operation begins!"
========
Since Cassandra had foreseen the imminent Primordial Flame of Heaven disaster, Renjiro decided from the start to resolve all internal issues in Orario as quickly as possible.
After all, he liked stealing, but hated being stolen from.
No one sleeps soundly beneath my bed.
At 3:56 a.m., just before Renjiro departed…
"The Thanatos Familia: Chief god—Thanatos, Arachnia Valletta Grede, sorcerer Barca Perdix, and numerous fanatics."
"The Ikelos Familia: Chief god—Ikelos, Dix Perdix… plus various smugglers."
"The Dionysus Familia: Chief god—Dionysus, Filvis Challia, Enol and Aura Moriel, along with many monsters cultivated by the drunken god."
At the Freya Familia headquarters, Lumine and the other members had gathered.
Not only that…
Xiao, Fischl, Xingqiu, Barbara, Amber, and over ten other Genshin heroes manifested here.
The previous night, Paimon had already infiltrated the labyrinth once. Next, Mona would use the coordinates she set earlier to teleport their forces directly into enemy territory.
The goal: seize Knossos within hours.
"From now on, anyone, any god… or any freak on the list must not be spared,"
Lumine said seriously.
"If the world believes the Evilus fell apart years ago, let's make it a fact today."
"Move out!"
She raised her sword.
"By the will of the goddess, today… I shall once again 'slay a god.'"
======
Time returned after 4 a.m.
BOOM~
The Freya Familia's full-scale assault began.
This time, even Renjiro—the hidden core of Freya's forces—participated. His presence alone meant none of the outsiders would live to see tomorrow's sun.
Now…
Anya, Allen, the White and Black Knights, and the Gulliver Brothers stormed toward their designated targets.
It was their first time in such foreign territory. But the environment rivaled any dungeon.
No, because Knossos was artificial, it wasn't just the Dionysus-cultivated monsters—they also had myriad deadly traps.
=======
Artificial Labyrinth—Knossos
This place was conceived by the master craftsman Daedalus, loyal to Ouranos, after finishing the Tower of Babel. Witnessing the grandeur of a dungeon drove him mad.
And stubbornly so.
He believed his Babel was inferior to a dungeon. He vowed to create a structure surpassing all dungeons—a "supreme masterpiece."
This gave birth to Knossos.
Sadly… humans have limited lifespans.
Beyond the immense cost in resources, the time left in one's life was finite—a nonrenewable resource.
Daedalus despaired… then obsession took root, turning into a terrifying, hereditary compulsion.
Since then, his descendants were "cursed" to complete the labyrinth. Every action in life served this goal.
Over a millennium, the Daedalus family changed names, but the strange, compulsive urge persisted in their blood.
The labyrinth had barely reached the dungeon's mid-level. Even after a thousand years, the lower levels remained unfinished. To complete the "supreme masterpiece" would take yet more millennia.
The present Daedalus heirs: two.
Barca followed the ancestor's will, devoting his life to Knossos.
Dix, however, refused to be bound by ancestral legacy.
Prove you're alive by inflicting pain and torment on others?
As Renjiro infiltrated Knossos, he lucked upon a hallway intersection and encountered this idiot:
A man in leather, wearing goggles, wielding a cursed halberd.
At first sight…
"I usually respect those who defy fate. Their deeds give hope to the lost. But if they take revenge on society, whining about their suffering… that's another matter."
Renjiro's magic circle, shaped like a Celtic Trinity Knot, appeared beneath his feet.
"You live in pain… so why not… just die already?"
…..
Completed version available on [P]atreon.[c]om/Veltoria [remove brackets]