DanMachi: Why Am I Being Crowned the Lord of Cinder!

Chapter 194: Dionysus’s Plan — A Fire Giant?

"How is it?"

"Did you find any trace of Ron?"

Safe Floor, Rivira Town.

Filvis gazed at the broad, secure expanse before her. Unlike other floors used for exploration, the tranquil atmosphere here felt strangely out of place.

Despite being deep within the Dungeon, sunlight still shone down upon this place, giving the entire ecosystem an unusually peaceful appearance.

Lush green grasslands, a spacious forest, and ahead, a street within the Dungeon formed from makeshift shacks and temporary structures.

This hidden-world-like scenery—did nothing to ease the tight furrow in the black-haired elf's brows. The members of Evilus she had dispatched had brought back no good news.

In fact—they hadn't found any trace of Ron anywhere in the Dungeon.

At that moment, a young Pallum boy with a demonic tattoo on his cheek stepped forward and explained to Filvis: "Lady Filvis,"

"I didn't see Ron."

"But…"

"I did find other members of his Familia on the seventeenth floor. In that case… could it be that they got separated inside the Dungeon?"

"..."

This was a Familia expedition.

Getting separated during a coordinated dungeon exploration—was that even possible?

Under normal circumstances, Filvis wouldn't have cared. But after that encounter in the Dungeon, after witnessing the abnormal changes Ron had brought about—something like this… she couldn't judge so easily anymore. At the very least, none of the stairways leading to the Safe Floor had shown any trace of Ron arriving here.

There was no way he could have simply vanished inside the Dungeon.

Ron had to still be somewhere above.

The black-haired elf slightly furrowed her brows, her crimson eyes sweeping over the crowd as she spoke calmly: "Continue monitoring Ron's movements."

"Do not overlook any detail."

"..."

Why go to such lengths to track Ron?

The sense of being ordered around left the Evilus members present with varying degrees of dissatisfaction. But faced with Filvis's overwhelming strength as a Creature—even if they had complaints, they could only swallow them.

"No problem."

"If you do encounter Ron, find a way to regroup with him. Take the initiative to create conflict—ideally, drive him toward this Safe Floor."

This plan—was not devised by Filvis. More precisely, it was led by the god behind the scenes—Dionysus. She merely acted as a supervisor.

Drive Ron to Rivira Town.

And here—use the Evilus attack incident of "slaughtering adventurers" as a point of contact. Offer him help in a moment of danger, and quickly establish trust.

She looked at the adventurers before her, each wearing a different expression.

Even though her soul had long since ascended, her keen elven instincts still allowed Filvis to sense the dissatisfaction hidden in their eyes.

She spoke calmly: "For the 'Madness' plan to proceed smoothly, Ron is an indispensable piece. The future you all wish to see… will soon be realized."

Her tone carried no fluctuation.

Because—they were all nothing more than expendable materials for this plan.

In other words, these Evilus members were already as good as dead. As for the innocent adventurers who would be caught up in the chaos to come—Dionysus had promised: Once the 'Madness' plan was fully completed, those who had been sacrificed would be revived in the form of "Creatures," restored to life by the corrupted spirits, and continue to exist.

"Your efforts will all be worth it."

"Fine then."

"Lady Filvis, what you said… about slaughtering the adventurers on Rivira Town—that still stands, right? I've long been sick of those people."

"Of course."

"..."

Watching the backs of those adventurers as they left, Filvis's figure vanished once more into the forest. Yet at that very moment, a sudden thunderous noise from above drew her attention again.

She halted her steps toward Rivira Town.

And looked up.

The keen instincts she had possessed in her former life as an adventurer had not faded. On the contrary, with the growth of her strength, they had become even sharper—sharp enough to pinpoint the exact source.

The seventeenth floor.

"Could it be…"

"Ron and the others have already reached the Floor Boss—Goliath's chamber?"

At the thought of that possibility, a rare trace of curiosity surfaced in Filvis's otherwise unfathomable eyes. Even if she had merely inherited all the memories from before this body's death, some habits could not be changed.

Including one's nature.

When she first regained awareness, she had constantly denied her own existence. It was only after Dionysus's explanation that she finally came to accept it.

And now—the mere fact that an adventurer could trigger an "abnormal event" within the Dungeon was already novel enough. More importantly, Ron himself was a key piece in realizing that dream.

"It seems…"

"I should go take a look as well."

If the secrets Ron carried were to trigger some uncontrollable abnormality, then there would be no need to rely on the turmoil at Rivira Town to gain his trust.

Extending a hand in a moment of crisis—would be far more efficient.

That… was a lie.

After six years of living in Orario, even Filvis herself didn't know whether the outcome promised by Dionysus's "Madness" plan was truly what she desired.

As the plan neared completion, the black-haired elf girl instead found herself feeling an unfamiliar sense of confusion.

If this so-called plan had merely been her reason to continue living as a Creature—then now, with everything having come this far, perhaps the answer she sought was already within reach.

And yet, she couldn't quite put that indescribable feeling into words.

...

The fog gate that had appeared before him was not the condition for leaving the current floor. It wasn't until he saw the vast Floor Boss chamber ahead that Ron finally felt a sense of clarity.

"The Dungeon… really has no good intentions at all!"

When ordinary mutated monsters couldn't deal with him, it always tried to set up something big behind the scenes!

He hadn't forgotten that before this Familia expedition, Cassandra had a prophetic dream.

What he was about to face next—was exactly this thing.

The Floor Boss Goliath, originally located on the seventeenth floor, after undergoing soul corruption due to his 'Despicable Outsider' skill—had turned into the Fire Giant from Elden Ring.

Was this kind of development even reasonable?

"..."

Ron felt the malice continuously radiating from the chamber ahead, and for once, he paused in his steps.

After all, this concerned safety.

Could he win?

Thinking back to the Floor Boss Ancient Dragon Lansseax he had encountered in the mid-level floors—its strength had already surpassed most Level 4 adventurers.

The Fire Giant he was about to face next, even conservatively speaking, would be around Level 5.

On his own, Ron wasn't entirely confident.

But when his gaze shifted to Lefiya and Tiona beside him—in terms of team composition, they were undoubtedly stronger than before. There was no real reason to hesitate.

Then, looking toward the distant, faintly firelit Boss chamber ahead, Ron spoke in a bright tone: "Lefiya…"

"Get ready for the next battle!"

---

I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar

---