Charles, too, heard the chant and sensed the massive surge of magic.

In his memories, Dionysus's plan revolved around the artificial dungeon, Chronos. But clearly, after realizing his scheme might be exposed, Dionysus had decisively relocated all the corrupted spirit clones to the surface.

Charles sighed. It seemed he had no choice but to wrap things up quickly here.

With one kick, he sent Filvis flying, exhaling a puff of white breath.

"Four Symbols Fist—Kirin Technique."

The flames around Charles grew more concentrated. To Filvis, her opponent suddenly transformed into a primal beast. A deep, instinctive fear gripped her, causing her muscles to seize.

Charles rarely used the Kirin Technique in battle. Unlike Ikki Kurogane, who required "Blade Steal" just to match his enemies, when Charles activated the Kirin Technique, it rendered the entire fight experience dull—because the disparity became too wide.

As it was now, Filvis completely lost the ability to track his movements. Still, she responded on instinct.

"Raise the chalice as shield, ward off all evil—Divine Salvation Grail!"

Just as the barrier formed, Charles struck it with a punch.

Crack! Crack!

To her horror, the Salvation Grail's barrier shattered like brittle glass, instantly forming massive fractures.

No one knew the power of the Grail better than Filvis herself. It had never once failed before.

But now it had—right before her eyes. It couldn't withstand the Kirin-enhanced Charles.

With force in his arm, Charles broke through the barrier and closed the distance.

Filvis retreated quickly, knowing that if she tried to take a direct hit like before, the consequences would be disastrous.

But before her eyes surged an inferno. She crossed her arms, relying on her monster constitution to endure the searing heat.

After unleashing the Fire Dragon's Blazing Flame, Charles pressed in further. His palm shattered her charred arms and plunged straight through her chest.

Filvis's face twisted in pain for a moment, then relaxed into a peaceful smile.

Charles said nothing. His hand, now reaching out through her back, clenched—and crushed the magic stone within.

Filvis disintegrated into light, her expression still that of relief.

Dionysus, now surrounded by the elites of the Loki Familia, still looked smug.

Charles walked over and nodded at Finn, signaling that his side of the fight was finished.

Dionysus let out a sorrowful sigh. "So it's over… I suppose Filvis finally got what she wanted."

Charles replied coldly, "Spare me the theatrics. I don't see a trace of real emotion in you."

Dionysus's melancholic look vanished, replaced with a sharp, amused grin. "Ah, so you're the most interesting one of all."

Finn cut in, "Enough talk. What exactly have you done?"

Dionysus sighed again. "Originally, I wanted to guide you all to discover it step by step. Too bad the plan went awry from the start. So many little pleasures lost."

As he spoke, he pulled a leather scroll from his robes and unrolled it for all to see.

The illustration showed six humanoid figures arranged in a circle. At the center was a monstrous dragon.

"This was meant to be your reward in the artificial dungeon—a little-known piece of Orario's history."

Charles, impatient with Dionysus's cryptic tone, interrupted. "The Six Celestial Spirit Rings, right?"

Dionysus raised his brows. "You actually know of the Six Celestial Spirit Rings? The gods only care about mankind's defiance of fate—heroic epics. Since this bit of history has no heroes, it was buried in time. Who would've thought someone still knew."

Of course, Dionysus could never imagine Charles's source of information.

Just as he said, surviving histories had mostly been reduced to fairy tales or legends. And those legends always featured heroes. Stories without heroes faded into obscurity.

But there was someone in this era who did know the truth—Bell.

His grandfather was none other than Zeus, the infamous old pervert and a god who had roamed the mortal realm since ancient times.

The storybooks Bell read as a child were drawn by Zeus himself—far from picture books, they were historical records in disguise.

Finn asked, "The Six Celestial Spirit Rings? What are they?"

Charles explained, "Before the age of the gods, a powerful monster emerged from the dungeon—Nidhogg.

It was so strong no human hero could stop it. Just as humanity faced annihilation, six ancient Celestial Spirits joined forces and used a super magic known as the Six Celestial Spirit Rings to slay Nidhogg.

While the clones of corrupted spirits exist now, it's not impossible for them to replicate that magic."

Finn gripped his spear tightly. "Then we must stop them. Orario can't be allowed to fall."

Charles sneered, "But that's not Dionysus's—no, Enyo's real plan."

Dionysus's relaxed expression turned grim.

"Oh? Then what do you think my real plan is?"

Charles continued, "If you're using the name Enyo, there's no way you'd use a magic that once saved Orario to destroy it.

Don't forget, that illustration didn't just show the spirits—it showed the beast at their center. Nidhogg, the very creature that nearly destroyed Orario a thousand years ago."

Charles had tried to understand Dionysus's motives before, but the logic of a madman was hard to grasp.

In the end, he could only conclude: Dionysus was a villain obsessed with ceremony and theatrics.

So rather than use the Six Celestial Spirit Rings to blow up Orario, he had prepared corrupted spirits mutated into the shape of Nidhogg—to recreate the despair brought by that ancient dragon.

Ignoring Dionysus's darkened expression, Charles turned to Finn. "I trust you've made preparations for this?"

Finn nodded. "The Freya Familia and Ganesha Familia should already be in motion. Though I didn't expect Enyo's plan to be this."

Charles said, "I've already guessed where Nidhogg is. Want to finish the great task ancient heroes couldn't?"

Finn replied, "Of course. We can't let this opportunity slip!

As for you, Lord Dionysus… please come with us. And watch with your own eyes as we crush your plan to dust."

------------------

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