[Finn Deimne - Captain of the Loki Familia]
They had only gotten through half of the recorded battle footage by the time Tanya had fallen unconscious; Mind Down had a tendency of sneaking up on mages who weren't experienced with its symptoms. The slow responsiveness to questions, the lethargy, the stilted movements, all of them were hallmarks, but while one was losing control of their cognitive functions it was difficult to understand what exactly was happening.
The young woman had expended and replenished her total Mind capacity several times over, and while Finn wasn't a mage, even he knew that Stamina Potions were no substitute for actual rest. The theory should be the same for one's Mind, just as well as their body; potions supplement, not take the place of.
Riveria walked over and picked Tanya up before gently handing her over to Aiz. "Please, make sure she is cleaned in the spring and then put to bed, Aiz-chan."
Their first prodigious charge looked at Tanya for a moment before nodding her head. "Yes."
When Riveria returned to her cushion she leaned back and closed her eyes. "We knew that it was a possibility..."
"Yea, Evilus ain't tha' type'ta not take advantage ov'a situation." Gareth rumbled as he poured himself a single pint of beer from his personal cask before downing it all in one long pull. "We jus didn't know tha' they had tha' capability ta' perform an attack o' this scale."
The Pallum man looked down at his right thumb and noticed that it wasn't trembling anymore. It was superstitious, his right thumb, but after 40 years of living he had learned never to doubt it; was there some sort of red thread that linked his digit to the Fates up in Tenkai? Was his thumb really so special?
Why did it only act as an omen for ill?
Those were just a few of the many questions Finn Deimne had asked himself over the course of his life, but in the end, none of them really mattered because when his thumb began to tremble, it was time to be wary.
It served him well in the past, and it arguably served him well today as well. It never failed to notify him of the dangers up ahead, but like many times in the past, it just didn't have a way to tell him of the severity. It could be something as simple as dodging a childish prank on behalf of the more troublesome children- Aiz did have a childish prankster phase before she devoted her entire existence to the Dungeon- to dodging the splash of passing merchant cart on the street after a heavy rain... or dodging death in the Dungeon.
His thumb trembled regardless of the danger, and while most of the time it merely helped him avoid some uncomfortable situations, other times it let him know that things were likely to get bad; this went double for when he had thoughts about the Dungeon.
"It was why I placed Tanya in the Rear Guard, having her take your place, Gareth-dono." Finn mused as he stroked his chin and turned his eyes towards the roof of his tent. "It was highly likely, almost a certainty in my eyes, but there was no way for me to have predicted the sheer numbers that Evilus' Tamers were capable of bringing to bear."
Riveria shook her head. "I don't think that there has ever been a battle like that since the Dungeon was capped, Finn-dono. If Zeus-sama or Hera-sama ever had experienced such a thing, the whole world would have known about it; the number of bards songs and theater plays would still be drowning us to this very day."
Finn hummed in response. Yes, this battle will more than likely go down as one of the most Heroic Last Stands of an era- ten thousand or more monsters at an average Level of 3 versus less than 200 defenders? That was if it got out, and at the moment Finn wasn't sure if it would, at least not until Evilus was dismantled for good.
In the end, the story of a small team of Executives heroically fighting a Level 7 Monster Rex in the form of a Spirit corrupted by the Dungeon would fall by the wayside when compared to a single Level 2 leading a desperate defense in a battle that lasted half a day from start to completion.
They took pretty serious casualties, but the sheer scope of the battle along with the immense amount of excelia gained would mean that their numbers should skyrocket after this expedition, even if none of the Executives Ranked Up- it would almost put them within spitting distance of the Freya familia if even a quarter of their Level 2s, Level 3s, and Level 4s Ranked Up; Anakitty, Alicia, Raul, Narvi, and Bussel were borderline, but it was likely that only Bussel would Rank Up- Finn had already seen the casualty report from Tanya, and unfortunately their two newest Level 4s- Harold Tomans and Clarence Field- were among the dead.
33 Killed in exchange for 10,000 or more monsters was... incredibly good. No, astoundingly good for an engagement that had a scale that Finn had a hard time wrapping his head around. Battles such as this were mainly the forte of that warmonger Ares; the God frequently pitting his Army of 10,000 Level 1s against his neighbors on almost a cycle.
Even then, those were Level 1 Adventurers, and these were Level 3 monsters, bare minimum.
In all likelihood, the Loki familia would come out of the Dungeon considerably stronger than when they went in, but the fallout and loss of morale was something that was going to have to be managed- the majority of this victory was situated on Tanya.
It was annoying how everything as of late seemed to circle back to that young woman, but then again, when was the last time his name had been on everyone's lips?
Since he smashed the remnants of Evilus?
Even Aiz had been incredibly popular, but then again, beautiful women always were more popular than men, especially with how the male Gods drove the markets.
Regardless, they'd only seen the battle just as it was starting to take a turn for the worse, they needed more information.
Finn turned to Riveria. "Riveria-dono, if you would please, gather the Action Group Commanders who are able to come and speak with us. We need to know more while Degurechaff-dono rests; I cannot lay my head down until I know what happened."
Finn found his stomach turning as he listened to the tales of horror, and the tales of heroism from the AG commanders that survived.
"The last thing I really remember was leaping over the wall with the captive, and a stream of acid following me." Calliope was a woman known to Finn; while he had an excellent memory, remembering the names and faces of all 300+ members of the Loki familia was a difficult task, but he at least made it a point to know those who were Level 3 and above.
The woman's smile was brittle, even if she tried to keep a straight back, her face was obscured by the bandages, but her eyes were most assuredly sightless; he doubted that even a Level 5's Endurance could have held off the acid if it had splashed on their face- Tione looked like she had 3rd-degree burns when she decided that bursting one of the Virga with her bare hands was the solution since they had melted her clothes and her weapons. "I only remember the pain, but the others told me that Tanya-sama saved my life; had to cut away a portion of my face and eyes to do it, but my friends still say that I'm far too pretty."
There was a wet chuckle as the woman's head tilted down towards her lap, her whole arm reaching up and gripping her stump. "Hard to believe her Mage Blade was so sharp, I barely even felt it. Only... relief."
The tent was quiet as Finn chewed her words over.
"Finn-sama..." Her voice was small, which was just so jarring because the Calliope he knew was so confident in her abilities; even if she wasn't the best, she knew full where she stood within the familia. "Did we do good? Was it all worth it?"
"Indeed, Calliope. I think it was." He murmured as he adjusted himself in his chair. "What we uncovered down here is something that has been hidden from the surface for a long, long time. Spirits and the bodies of heroes long past being corrupted by the Dungeon, and the frightening capabilities of this returning Evilus. No doubt had this not happened, we would be finding out years or even months from now as they swarmed over the city."
The woman turned her head to the side. "If we didn't stop them here, then we would have been facing them up there, huh? I guess it isn't wrong; they'd already smuggled those Viola up to the surface, right? Just how much death and destruction could they have waged on us up there?"
The werewolf took a deep breath in before letting it out. "I... I think I can accept that. I will have to retire as an Adventurer, but... at least I can still be a mother. I'm alive. I'm alive."
The Executives thanked the woman for leaving her rest to come and brief them, and the woman was helped out of the tent by Bete. Despite her condition, her tail still managed to wag as she commented about finally being carried by the Bete Loga; it was good to see that even in her condition she still had her dry sense of humor.
That was the last of them; they'd already gathered the reports from the surviving AG commanders, the blacksmiths, the logisticians, and the Freya Archers.
It painted a very ugly picture of the battle after the Tamer started organizing the monsters to break through the defensive lines that Tanya had prodded him to set up.
"I miscalculated." Finn finally spoke out to Riveria and Gareth.
"S'a first time for everythin', Finn-dono. We'd been ridin' a bit too high up on tha' hog for almost 30 years now... life was bound to catch up ta' us eventually." The dwarf sighed as he finished off the last of his cask, his mood was rather telling as he didn't reach for another. "Everythin' tha' we're experiencin' now is stuff tha' every other familia has gone through, no doubt in ma' mind."
"Yes. No one could have predicted what exactly we would be facing, the blame does not rest upon you." Riveria hummed in reply, the woman carding her fingers through her hair as she tried to meaningfully contribute when it was obvious her mind was somewhere else; she got the exact same way when Aiz was young and had done something foolish.
"No, I cannot be blamed for the forces that Evilus brought to bear against us... not on the 59th Floor, and not up here." He took a deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing it. "However, I am culpable for the deaths we experienced this day."
Riveria's hands stopped as the woman's piercing green eyes lanced into him. "How so?"
The Elf Princess was always a keen one.
"I refused aid, foolishly." He bit his lip and crossed his arms, "I treated this as just another expedition when I should have known that they would try something. However, I just didn't expect that they would have such assets at their disposal for such a strike. The scale of it was far, far outside my wildest expectations."
He snorted. "If anything, it's kind of funny. I gave a big speech about having an Adventure when we fought that corrupted Spirit, and yet I forgot one of the most fundamental rules of Adventuring: Being Prepared for Anything."
The dwarf rumbled a dry laugh. "Thought tha' was 'Assume tha' worst, hope for tha' best'?"
Even Riveria cracked a small smile. "No, you cave-dwelling cretin, that's Rule Number 2."
They chuckled, but it was mostly hollow; like they were going through the motions of their usual private banter instead of actually enjoying it. The foolish shorty with dreams too large for his tiny body, the uppity Elf princess who was too afraid of sitting in the elvish courts, and the clumsy Dwarf that could only use a hammer if he was trying to kill something with it.
Their banter never changed for all of the 28 years they'd been together, but after this? It felt like the prologue of the story that was their lives was just now ending, and the real story was about to begin.
The Return of Evilus.
It was a story that he almost wish they had never uncovered, but the fact of the matter was if they hadn't, then it was likely that the ending to such a story would have been far, far worse.
This? Right now? He could fix this. His reputation could be salvaged, even spun into a triumphant defeat of a foe once long thought defeated. The other story, however, would have spelled the end of his 28-year journey, and that was something he could not allow to happen.
It was quite likely that Tanya von Degurechaff would one day eclipse him in fame, just like Aiz Wallenstein, but that was... something he was fine with. As long as they helped him build the story he needed to uplift his people, then he could settle for that.
"What are we going to do with the prisoner?" Riveria murmured.
Finn swallowed thickly. "We give him to Freya. One way or another, she'll make him talk."
It was the least he could do to salvage his initial mistake; getting them involved with something as important as this would be the first step towards making amends and repairing the bridges that Tanya laid the foundation for.
Besides, if there was one thing a Goddess of Love and Beauty could do, it was make men talk.
[Tanya von Degurechaff]
When Tanya awoke two days later after her Mind Down, she was pleased to see that all of the wounded had recovered.
They couldn't wait, however, as their food supplies were already running low- the additional 30% that the former Colonel really was pulling its weight here- and they also needed to get their deceased up to the surface.
Tanya spoke with the others, and they decided that monster cores and drop items that she collected would be put into a pool to be distributed to the families of the deceased; honestly, it sort of shocked her to find out how many of the young men and woman that perished had husbands and wives- the majority of them were Level 2s and fairly young-looking, but Tanya had to chalk that up to the reduced aging that the falna provided.
The fact was that there would be 33 families without their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters.
It would be a pittance as consolation for their loved ones' departures, but it would be something. Considering the fact that Tanya had filled twelve of the wagons on her own, it would be a rather substantial something, even divided among 33 families.
During that trip, outside of continuing to teach Aiz and Riveria, Tanya spent the most time with the seven individuals who were crippled; those who lost only their arms would be able to return to the Dungeon, and while it would be harder, as long as they kept themselves to monsters below their Level they would still be able to lead fruitful and successful lives. Those who lost their legs however? That was a lot more difficult to come back from; to date, there has never been a successful return of an Adventurer who lost a single leg, let alone both.
They tried to keep good cheer around her, joking about what little silly gizmos and gadgets they'd try to have incorporated into their prosthetic limbs; the dwarf party member of the Wild Roses, Durbina, joked about having an egg beater installed on her new arm, if she ever got one.
Prosthetics made for Adventurers were incredibly expensive, as they had to be built to stand up to the strength of the user, which meant they required lots of valuable materials and knowledge on how to shape them as well as interact with the body. There were only three manufacturers capable of making such prosthetics, and they were all exorbitantly expensive.
It ate away at her.
She'd had wounded before, but those men were always back on the battlefield after a few hours in the Mage Medical tents. She had plenty of KIA before as well, such a thing was inevitable when you told men to fly through an aerial minefield of 75 and 85-millimeter flak shells.
What she had never had before, was wounded that would live, but never again enjoy the same quality of life that they had before.
The dead were dead. You couldn't do anything for them. It was a fact of life.
However, the wounded that she sat beside and spoke with were not dead, but could they really ever be counted among the living again?
Calliope was the worst off; she was blind, even after the potion regenerated her bones and skin, it did nothing for her eyes. She was also missing an arm and a leg. The best she could hope for was to find a man who thought her attractive enough to marry her even in her crippled state.
It galled Tanya that these brave men and women would be forced to live out their lives as shells of their former selves, especially when they paid the price for Tanya's tactical decisions.
Having gone through the battle so many, many times since it ended, Tanya concluded that she had objectively done the very best she possibly could under the circumstances with the... resources available to her. Other than adjusting a few of the explosive formulas to take out a few more of the monsters before they fell onto the lines, there wasn't much else Tanya could have done to come out of that situation any better.
It was unprecedented just what Evilus was willing to throw at them in order to murder them. Tanya had half an inkling that her presence might have been one of the main reasons why the fighting was so fierce to begin with, but she disabused herself of that notion; if that was the case then they would have also piled on because Bete Loga and Aiz Wallenstein had an equal hand in foiling two of their plans.
Still, hindsight was 20/20, and it didn't change the fact that the consequences of her actions, whether for good or for ill, were staring at her right in the face... and the worst part about it was they didn't blame her at all for their misfortune.
Was this what psychologists talked about when they meant that the harshest critic one could ever meet would be oneself?
It was harsh, and it made her uneasy, the way she tore into herself and her own inadequacies; it wasn't like the Salaryman to do such a thing because he handled everything logically and rationally. Tanya herself was not so different, but where the Salaryman looked through the cold lens of apathy, Colonel Tanya von Degurechaff viewed the world through the lens of a soldier.
This self-doubt in her own capabilities was wholly unlike her, especially since she knew her own limitations quite well, even with the falna bolstering them considerably. She did the best she could give the situation, and while that was what should have mattered, she still couldn't shake the feeling that she didn't do enough.
It rankled her, mainly that she was chastising herself for not bringing everyone home, even when faced with a battle that had unwinnable odds for a ragtag collection of Level 3s with a trio of Level 4s and some Level 2s that could have only survived by running away.
She shouldn't have won that battle with as few casualties as she did, the fact that they suffered less than 16% fatalities for such a monstrous battle should be having her smiling with pride.
Yet, she wasn't smiling.
"I don't know if there is a way to restore you, but if there is a way, mark my words, I will find it."
Those were the words she said to the crippled before they packed up their camp at the Safe Point under the Colosseum. Whether they believed her or not, she didn't know, but she knew who to ask upon their return.
The issue was that their return had been hindered by a Monster Party of Poison Vermis; while Tanya was able to move through their ranks and slay them all with impunity, their poison breath attacks unable to penetrate her Passive Shell, there were almost three dozen of their number that succumbed and they were forced to find shelter at the Under Resort on the 18th Floor.
Thankfully, thanks to Tanya's Mage Blade, she was able to harvest almost one hundred and twenty Poison Vermis sacks which would be delivered to the Dian Chet and Miach familias as payment for purchasing, but they would be delivered after the expedition returned as they needed to wait for the cores and drop items to stabilize before handing them over.
"Oi, chibi," Bete grunted as they tore through the 7th floor on their way to the surface. "You head over to the Dian Chet familia's apothecary while I hand this letter over to Loki-sama. You do know where they are, right?"
Tanya was having a far easier time keeping up with the werewolf's speed since the last time she had followed him through the Dungeon. Oh, what a difference a single Level could make; she was able to take turns at almost three times the speed she had been able previously. It meant that they could go even faster than before; Tanya was projecting a sub-30 minute return to the surface at the rate they were going.
"Yes, I am familiar with the location of the Dian Chet familia."
Parties yelped and leapt out of the way while they were coming through, Tanya only slowing down to pop off a few Refracted Beams to slay the goblins that were going to kill a Level 1 Adventurer that Bete had startled in his haste.
"Uh-! Th-thank you!" The young teen's voice faded off into the background as Tanya stepped up the pace of her flight formula to regain eyes on the werewolf's back.
When they reached the 1st Floor, Tanya grabbed Bete's outstretched hand and shot them up to the surface level, the aerial mage carrying him above the thick crowds that were common this time of day, and she released him once they'd cleared the entrances to the Tower of Babel. Bete took off towards the Twilight Manor while Tanya oriented herself towards 8th Avenue and 39th street. The Dian Chet familia pharmacy had a prime piece of real estate right on the avenue, so it would be hard to miss.
If anything, it was impossible to miss.
The Dian Chet familia pharmacy was the same size as the Hostess of Fertility and had a similar layout from what Tanya knew; the first floor was the pharmacy with a few inpatient rooms for those too old or crippled to make it to the second and third floors where the majority of the patient rooms and surgical suites were.
Tanya touched down in front of the large white-washed building, and spared a glance at the large glass windows that had the familia crest on their face as she walked inside.
Various tonics, oils, salves, tinctures, and beauty products lined the walls on a dozen shelves. The floor was devoid of product, but it wasn't like this was a 24-hour convenience store where it had everything under the sun within its confines. A large wooden counter separated the room in half, and behind the counter were a half dozen large wooden shelves that sported just as many smaller shelves, all packed to the brim with various herbs and other drop items. The only other thing of note was a sturdy-looking coin register that was bolted onto the surface of the table.
"Welcome to the Dian Chet pharmacy," A soft voice called out from the back, "How may I assist you today?"
Spoiler: Airmid Teasanare
The woman was young, but obviously not that young. She had silver hair and strikingly purple eyes, and she was quite beautiful in Tanya's opinion; if not for the ridiculous pseudo-nurse uniform she was wearing. The woman had a somewhat sleepy countenance that sort of reminded her of Naaza, except she spoke as though she were speaking to someone in a dream.
"Ah, you must be Tanya von Degurechaff, greetings. I am Airmid Teasanare, a doctor, pharmacist, and healer of the Dian Chet familia," The woman closed her eyes before giving Tanya a slight curtsey, "It is nice to meet someone as highly talked about as yourself."
Tanya nodded politely. "It is nice to meet you as well, unfortunately, I wish this could be under better circumstances. I need 32 antidotes for Poison Vermis, and I would need them as soon as possible."
The woman blinked before nodding her head. "Of course, although we only keep ten such antidotes at this shop, as Poison Vermis encounters are quite rare. I will have to dispatch one of my co-workers to go to our warehouse and procure the remainder. However, I do not know the exact numbers we have in stock, so it is quite likely that I will need to brew more of them."
Tanya nodded, "That is acceptable. Their conditions are poor, but I believe that a small delay will not be critical. What is the pricing?"
The woman hummed and moved behind the counter and began flipping through a leather-bound book on the counter. "150,000 valis per, but since you are purchasing more than ten units... 140,000 valis per."
4.48 Million valis, not incredibly expensive given the amount of valis the expedition would be bringing back, but some of this cost would be deducted from the overall pay of the Adventurers who attended. "How much are you paying for Poison Vermis sacks?"
Airmid clicked her tongue a few times as she grabbed another leather-bound book and began flipping through the pages. "We are willing to pay you 40,000 valis per, provided they are in good condition; the sacks are indeed important to manufacturing the antidotes, and since the Poison Vermis is not encountered that often it makes obtaining their sacks difficult."
That almost cut the cost of the antidotes by a third, but that sounded really low for a drop encountered on the 32nd Floor. "That sounds a little low considering a Minotaur Horn is worth roughly 190,000 on the market at the Guild's prices, and they purchase them from Adventurers for roughly 63,000. These Poison Vermis were found on the 32nd Floor."
The silver-haired young woman's head bobbed from side to side. "You would indeed be correct, but the sack of a Poison Vermis is a consumable item while the Horn of a Minotaur is used to make durable items like knives, swords, spearheads, and even armor. Also, due to the nature of antidotes, we pay less so that we can charge less; this isn't a luxury cosmetic product, so we try not to charge any more than needed to maintain a profit and prevent others from scalping."
The woman placed a finger against her lower lip. "Although, if you wish to sell these through some brokers, you might be able to managed 70,000 valis per unit; there are plenty of Adventurers who're trying to Rank Up their Abnormal Resist using diluted poisons found in monsters such as Poison Vermis."
"That does make sense, thank you for clarifying." Tanya nodded her head.
The young woman shook her head. "It is no problem, truly. Now, if you'll just wait here a moment I will have a runner dispatched to our warehouse. I will be back with you shortly; while you wait, why not peruse our hair and skincare products? You have beautiful skin and such lovely blonde hair, I'm certain you would like to keep it that way, yes?"
The woman bowed shallowly, which Tanya returned. She could appreciate a good sales pitch and decided that since she didn't have anything better to do, she might as well.
On the shelves, she recognized the luxury brand that Riveria used for her hair, as well as a few of the lotions and creams she used for her skin. The prices made her jaw drop. 50,000 valis for shampoo and conditioner!? 20,000 valis each for the creams and lotions!? She looked at the instructions that had been carved onto a wooden plaque in front of them and balked; if you applied this lotion to one's entire body every day as the directions insisted, you'd run out within a week!
Tanya bet that one didn't need to use a tenth of the product to achieve the same results, especially when this world used a blend of magical and mundane ingredients. How predatory.
Although, considering the shelf was half full, it was probably a huge hit with the High-Class female Adventurers that could afford it. Riveria's hair did look incredibly lustrous, and her skin always looked as healthy as can be, but Tanya wasn't sure if it was the falna or because of the products she used.
When Airmid Teasanare returned, the woman bowed at the waist. "Apologies, it appears that we have only 7 more in inventory at the warehouse. It will take at least a day, maybe two, to brew the remainder. However, our stock of Poison Vermis sacks is low, so if you would be able to deliver them to us that would be most appreciated."
Okay, that gave them enough to at least get the Level 2s that were affected out of the 'Danger Zone', the Level 3s had higher Endurance stats, thus sturdier constitutions, and could hold out for a few days longer. "Okay, I will take ownership of the 17 Antidotes you already have, and I will return with 40 Poison Vermis sacks. Does that sound acceptable?"
The woman blinked. "You have that many?"
When Tanya nodded the woman hummed. "Well, that would help us out greatly, as while the number of Vermis poisonings are rather low each year, but the number of sacks we are able to obtain are even lower; not many Adventurers have a high enough Abnormal Resist stat to fight them effectively."
"Excellent, well, the Loki familia is always happy to assist our partners." Tanya bowed slightly as the young woman placed the vials of antidote into a crate and slid them to the other side of the counter with a receipt poking out the top.
Instead of grabbing the crate, Tanya grasped the young woman's hands as she looked her in the eye. "Teasanare-san?"
Pink speckled the girl's cheeks, but she didn't look away. "Yes?"
Tanya swallowed. "Are there any potions that can regrow lost limbs, eyes, and the like?"
The young woman blinked in confusion before she coughed into her shoulder. "Y-yes. While I'm sure you know that there are low-grade Healing potions that can manage small cuts and bruises, mid-grade Healing potions that can handle moderate lacerations, punctures, and contusions, and High-Grade healing potions that can reform broken bones and severe injuries... there are stronger potions above that."
Tanya released the girl's hands and she immediately used them to smooth out her uniform shirt. "There are Elixers which can do everything that the High-Grade potions can do, even reattaching severed limbs and restoring missing flesh; it works incredibly quickly, almost one-quarter of the time of a High-Grade potion. It is incredibly expensive, however, valued at 500,000 valis per unit versus the High-Grade's 10,000 valis. While expensive, it is the go-to potion for solo Adventurers capable of taking on the deeper floors."
At Tanya's insistent stare the young woman continued. "Most believe that the Elixer is the best potion one can buy out on the market, but that is not the case. The highest performing potion one can purchase is called 'Panacea', and that is because it is made from a donated drop of Divine Ichor; a single drop of blood from three different Divines is needed to produce such a potion."
Airmid swallowed. "The last price I heard we had sold Panacea for was just under 500 Million valis, but it can heal all wounds, regrow lost limbs, and even remove scarring."
Tanya felt her heart leap into her throat as her eyes tracked down to crate of glass bottles that her hands gripped forcefully; the wood groaning under her strength.
500 Million valis per dose!? 3.5 Billion valis.
"A-ah." Airmid's voice was soft. "You must have had a very hard battle in the Dungeon if you are thinking of purchasing Panacea, Degurechaff-san."
Tanya swallowed thickly. "Yes."
The young woman worried her lower lip as the young teen brought her eyes back up to the clerk. "I... might be able to talk Dian Chet-sama down on the price a little bit if I know how many you are looking to purchase?"
The former Colonel felt her throat tighten up, but she managed to get the words out. "Seven. I'll need seven doses."
Airmid Teasanare was silent for a few moments before she closed her eyes. "Purchase... ten units, and I think I can get Dian Chet-sama to lower the price by 100 Million."
4 Billion valis. It was a tall order, but she knew for a fact that there were some crippled Adventurers working the support sections at the Twilight Manor; the Loki familia didn't just abandon their people once they were no longer able to dive- an extra hand is always needed to ensure that the familia functions.
"I will seriously consider this, Teasanare-san." Tanya bowed her head as low as she could manage with the crate on the table, "Thank you for telling me; I thought that their conditions would be permanent, but the possibility that they can be made whole again is..."
The young woman smiled softly and raised Tanya's head, her soft thumbs reaching out to brush away a few tears that the blonde teen hadn't even known had fallen. "I am not certain how lucrative your explorations are, Tanya-chan, but Dian Chet-sama will require at least half of the money upfront before he is even going to consider going through the trouble of making them- possibly even three-quarters... but if you can make it happen, then I will be more than happy to aid you as much as I can."
Tanya set the crate down and cupped the woman's hands through her Infant Dragon-hide gloves. "Thank you, Teasanare-san. However, it appears that I have dallied long enough; I will take my leave now and return within a few hours' time."
With that, the young aerial mage grasped the crate and walked out of the store before taking off into the sky towards Babel.
"Lenoa-san, this is Tanya von Degurechaff, I am coming in," Tanya spoke just as she finished performing the "secret knock" on the door to The Witch's Secret Shop.
She had flown down to the 18th Floor and turned over the antidotes, grabbed the Poison Vermis sacks, and turned them over to Airmid at the Dian Chet pharmacy. The young woman assured her that they would get started right away.
She met with Bete on her way up, and the werewolf informed her that she should stay on the surface until the antidotes were ready; he would inform the Captain.
So Tanya enjoyed a quick meal at the Hostess of Fertility and made her way towards Lenoa.
The Witch would likely know of a Healing Spell that just might help; the Panacea was incredibly expensive, so it would be her fall-back option.
"Oh? I hadn't heard that the Loki familia expedition had returned yet, Tanya-chan; what brings you to my humble shop?" The old crone chuckled as she rubbed her hands together, "Looking give me more of your hard-earned money? Ehehehehehe."
Tanya's lip curled as she entered the shop and closed the door behind her. "Possibly, yes. I wanted to know if there was a spell that functioned similarly to Panacea."
The atmosphere changed entirely and the old woman's smile slipped right off of her face. Lenoa placed her hands onto the counter and she sighed. "That bad, huh?"
"Yes." Silence reigned.
The old woman worked her jaw for a moment before she licked her teeth behind her lips. "There are indeed healing spells that are on par with the Panacea elixer... but those are incredibly prized and exorbitantly expensive."
She leaned back in her chair and stroked her chin. "Airmid Teasanare is known as the 'Strongest Mage in the World' by the fools here in Orario; sure, her healing is on par with an Elixer in its strength and effectiveness, and yes, it can remove poisons and curses and the like... but there are plenty of things that girl's Unique Magic cannot heal. Disease, malnutrition, blood-disorders, and restoring limbs lost in the Dungeon."
"There are much more powerful healers who've created spells that can perform such miracles, but they've all sequestered themselves in Magic Town and can hardly be peeled away from their research long enough to utilize the very magics they created." She huffed and crossed her arms, "It doesn't make any sense to me, if I'm being honest, the best way to research their new spells is to actually heal people, but those fools don't like being hounded by the Divines- not that I can blame them."
"The absolute best you'll be able to get for such a tome is 25 Billion valis, and that is on the low-end." Lenoa frowned, "They might not pick up a quill and put it to paper for even that I'm afraid."
Tanya sighed and rested her back against the door. She didn't speak for a few moments before perking up. "What about detoxification spells?"
Lenoa chuckled. "Now that is something I can help you with. Healing section, third shelf down- yes, in the middle. 'Purifying Touch' is the spell, it can cleanse wounds of disease and rot, and it can remove poisons and negative status effects such as burns and paralysis caused by monsters as low as the 40th Floor. For a more powerful spell, I'll have to ask around, but I do know they exist- 'Crystal Constitution' is one, and 'Holy Body' is another, but I don't have those spellbooks on hand."
Tanya nodded as she found the book and cracked it open.
The spell weaves for this one was... intense, to say the least. Almost as complex as Fang Laden Tempest, but with a far lower cost to her mana.
"Ah, ah, ah! You know the deal, dearie, no reading ahead! Pay first!" The Witch held out her hand, "5 Million, or put it back on the shelf."
Tanya couldn't help but feel a chuckle escape her lips as she floated over to Lenoa and deposited five gold coins into her palm. "Thank you, Lenoa-san."
The old witch grinned and patted Tanya's cheek. "Now, if you really think you can somehow manage to scrounge together 25 Billion valis, then come on back; I'll be more than happy to write off some letters and then retire to Melen, maybe some sun, surf, and handsome young men will do these old bones some good. Heeheeheehee!"
Tanya spent the next day practicing the Purifying Touch spell externally, running through the matrices while speaking the chant. It was... difficult, easily a B-Class mana control exercise she had no doubt, but with Bluteid in her hand and the spell circle from the Mage Developmental Ability the difficulty would drop a fair amount; not enough to drop it back into the C-Class, but enough to make it work without needing to utilize a Spell Slot on her falna to cast it.
It would probably take her a month to learn how to use it at the rate she was going, which was saying quite a bit because most Adventurer mages would be hard-pressed to learn this spell in three months, if Riveria's estimation of her skills was anything to go by. The only one who learned spells more quickly was Lefyia, but she had the requirement of it being an Elvish spell, which cut down on her options significantly.
She stopped by the pharmacy twice per day and used the free time to gather materials from the upper floors to pay for the majority of the antidotes that the Dian Chet familia were making, and it was the evening of the second day that Airmid Teasanare presented Tanya with the antidotes.
As Tanya was dropping off her haul with Hephaestus' smiths for Welf to process, she encountered the Goddess of the Forge herself.
"Welf-kun went with Bell Cranel's party into the Dungeon a few days ago and they haven't come back." The woman crossed her arms under her belly, "Another party was formed and just dispatched a few hours ago... would you meet up with them and help them look? Please, Tanya-chan?"
Oh gosh, Hephaestus-sama, stop. You're looking so vulnerable that even the Salaryman's harsh exterior would have crumbled in front of such an onslaught!
What else could Tanya do but accept?
So here she was, blowing through the Dungeon, slaughtering every monster she came across with the crate of antidotes secured in her Supporter pack and Bluteid in hand.
The 1st Floor was cleared, then the 2nd, and the 3rd. The fastest routes through the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Floors were also scoured as she raced through. Most monsters didn't even have a chance to see her before she cut them to pieces, and since this was important, she didn't even bother to stop and pick up the magic stones being left in her wake.
It wasn't until the 12th Floor that Tanya realized that she'd become one of the things that she had most feared while she had been stuck down here the first time! To think she thought the trail of monster cores and corpses without any scenes of fighting had been a trick of the Dungeon! It made her laugh heartily.
She must have been incredibly delirious and paranoid to think such a thing, but that was in the past; Tanya knew now.
It wasn't until she made it through the 14th Floor that she finally caught up to a fairly large group of Adventurers that she believed to be what Hephaestus was looking for.
A Dungeon worm erupted out of a wall behind a woman and Tanya sped up and sliced it in two, saving the woman whose hands were busy digging into the pouches on her hips.
That woman was Asfi al Andromeda.
Tanya's boots gripped the Dungeon floor as she allowed herself to skid a few meters to bleed off her momentum. The young teen felt her lips curl, "Still depending on consumable items for monsters even on this Floor, Andromeda? I would have thought them beneath a Level 4 such as yourself, but it appears that your experience on the 24th Floor has taught you nothing."
The woman flinched away but quickly recovered and adjusted her glasses. "Degurechaff-san... not that I don't appreciate you saving me some valis with the Dungeon Worm... why are you here?"
Tanya didn't reply, instead, sweeping her eyes over the others in the party.
There were seven in total- three members wearing Far Eastern clothing, a tall male a lavender, red, and brown kamishimo top with brown pants and black boots, a woman wearing purple kimono top and the most ridiculous thigh-high boots, and a young teen that had hair covering their face. Tanya couldn't tell whether they were male or female, so she didn't bother.
There was Asfi al Andromeda with her still ridiculous get-up; it somewhat galled Tanya that the woman hadn't bothered to upgrade her equipment since their last encounter, but she could chastise her properly when no one else was around.
There were two figures, male and female, that were cloaked from head-to-toe in dark brown wool, and the two of them were both doing their level best to not be looked at; she could investigate them later seeing as they didn't appear to be a threat.
The last one was an elf in a forest green cloak that had a flower-shaped hood, with a skin-tight off-white sleeveless shirt, brown gloves that terminated at her elbows, and she couldn't even look at the rest of her ensemble because she was wearing what were essentially verdant green booty-shorts.
Hello? Loki-sama wants her pants back, thank you.
The elf appeared to be quite tense, and while she had a mask covering her lower face the short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes made Tanya superimpose a maid's headdress on her and she knew the woman's identity. How could she not? She saw her just earlier today when she took a lunch break while waiting for the antidotes to be finished!
"Ryuu Lyon, what an unexpected surprise," Tanya spoke as she blasted a trio of rushing Hellhounds with Refracted Beams.
The woman's eyes narrowed and she gripped her Hopewood blade hard enough the wood creaked. "Tanya-san."
The blonde teen arched an eyebrow as she caught an Almiraj's spinning ax by the handle before hurling it back down the tunnel to scythe through the thrower and three more of his kin. A few more Refracted Beams slew the remaining half dozen monsters and the rest of the group seemed to relax. "Why are you so tense? It is not like we are on bad terms, yes?"
Ryuu blinked and her posture relaxed slightly. "I am... on the Guild blacklist, I am not supposed to be down here in the Dungeon."
Tanya tilted her head as she brought Bluteid's haft against her shoulder. "I highly doubt that Mia Grand-san would allow a ruthless criminal within her establishment, so whatever it is that you did couldn't possibly be that bad."
The Hostess Maid looked down at the ground while the three Far Eastern teens eyed her warily.
Tanya shook her head, "Regardless, I'm heading back to the 18th Floor to deliver some antidotes for my familia, and since Hephaestus-sama asked it of me, I'll escort you on down."
As they walked the man in the cloak pulled his hood down far enough that only his smiling lips were visible. "That's quite the boast for a fresh Level 2 to make, isn't it? Tanya von Degurechaff, alias The Radiance."
"Oh? So my alias was decided on then?" The teen shook her head from side to side as Refracted Beams lanced out every so often to keep the curious monster's heads down- er, well, she just removed them entirely. "It's not the worst moniker I've ever had, so I guess there is nothing for me to do other than accept it."
"Wait," the large Far Eastern man spoke, "You're the Record Holder for Level 2?"
"Yes, I am. One moment." She shot forward and carved a bloody swath through the monsters, and when the last monster fell Tanya turned an eye to the obvious Supporter. "Well? Supporter-san, hop to it. You can keep the stones and drop items, it appears that you're too poor to afford the recommended equipment, so I'll help you out by allowing you to take my drops."
The androgynous youth startled before she squeaked out a girlish affirmation and began digging through the corpses to remove the stones. Huh, so she was a girl. The tall male grit his teeth but didn't say anything. When the two dozen stones had been collected, they returned to their travel.
"So, can I have some names? I know Asfi, and Ryuu," The elf twitched at the familiar use of her given name, but Tanya ignored it, "And it is obvious that the two cloaked figures wish to remain... anonymous, so who are you and why are you here in this most unlikely party to rescue Welf and Bell Cranel?"
The smaller cloaked figure trembled and the taller one had to calm her down, but that was none of her concern.
The woman was quite a beauty, if Tanya had to say, she fit the archetype for a Yamato Nadeshiko quite nicely, if only her sense in what was appropriate Dungeon apparel matched her beauty. "We... are in Bell Cranel, Welf Crozzo, and their Supporter's debt. We were on the 13th Floor when we encountered a Monster Party and... one of our party members was injured far more than the potions we had could heal."
The young woman's lip trembled as her grip on her katana tightened. "We were forced to Pass Parade onto them in order to lose our pursuers and make it back up to the surface in order get her seen to."
Tanya felt her lip curl. "How disgusting."
The three shrank down as Tanya spoke. "I don't know what you and your party were doing down here, while I won't claim to know your statuses- you would have had to be at the very least the recommended Stat Rank, or else your Advisor would have thrown a fit at the thought of you coming down here; I know for certain mine would have if I hadn't proven myself capable."
They only got lower as Tanya spoke. "However, it is very apparent to me that your equipment is subpar for the 10th Floor, let alone the Middle Floors. You should all at least have the basic DI armors and weapons, I know for a fact that Hephaestus-sama's smiths are churning them out at an incredible rate, and they should be well within your price ranges if you made it down this far. A War Shadow katana shouldn't cost more than 30,000 valis, and yet you continue to use a Low-Steel blade, why?"
The Far Eastern youth didn't have a chance to reply as Tanya bulldozed ahead.
"Better yet, you all appear to be wearing absolutely no armor, and for heaven's sake, can you not afford some basic pants for your Supporter!" Tanya continued to lay into them until they made it to the 17th Floor.
"Things will get more dangerous from here on out," Asfi intoned dramatically, "Stay close to us lest the Minotaur get you."
Tanya rolled her eyes as she the Level 4 of the Hermes familia a golf clap. "Excellent performance, Asfi, bravo. Maybe you should quit being an Adventurer and take up life on stage? I'm certain that the masses would find your performance riveting."
The man in the cloak must have had some sort of relationship with Asfi, because when he doubled over laughing the woman took to beating ineffectually at his back instead of applying her strength to make him regret his impertinence. "Ah- ah! Asfi-chan, please, don't beat me so hard! I'm very delicate you know?"
The floor seemed to be devoid of all life, which was sort of a shock until they walked by a dead end and found seven Minotaurs looking ready to fight.
Tanya grinned. "Hello boys, I just so happen to have three young fools in need of funding and equipment, be good and donate your lives for the cause."
The front Minotaur sprinted at Tanya with a roar, but it didn't run straight towards her, no, it took the gap and ran right past her down the passage they were traveling on. "WHY ARE YOU RUNNING!?"
Spoiler: WHY!?
Twin Refracted beams sheered its legs off at the knees and Tanya turned her attention towards the remaining six minotaurs that were trembling in impotent rage. The Mithril blade on Bluteid thrummed and she launched herself forward with a shout on her lips.
Within a minute the shocked members of the Takemikazuchi familia were frozen in place as Tanya stuffed twelve Minotaur horns as well as their monster cores into the Supporter's backpack.
She fixed them with a look. "So, names please?"
[Yamato Mikoto - Level 2, Takemikazuchi familia]
Strong.
Impossibly strong.
This young girl was a Level 2, like herself?
Wherever her spear-stave went the monsters parted around her like wheat before the sickle. There was a small smile on her lips as the most fearsome monsters the Dungeon had to offer prior to the Under Resort fell before her in droves. Some were killed with a simple flick of her wrist as a dozen spells of chantless magic appeared and ran them through like spears of Holy Light, while others were cleft in twain, like a leaf floating before a master swordsman.
Poor Chigusa's pack was laden with more valis than any of them had ever beheld in their lives, and yet the girl was now stripping the pack off the young teen's shoulders while giving her a lecture on how to properly organize a Supporter pack efficiently and effectively; something about cloth bags with the Floors numbered to help the Guild staff sort their magic stones more quickly.
"-you understand, Chigusa?"
The Supporter blushed at the familiarity but nodded back. The Radiance could speak Far Easter fluently, which was one of Chigusa's weaknesses; the girl hardly spoke because her grasp on Koine was middling at best. Tanya von Degurechaff knew about the nuances and formalities of Far Eastern culture better than Mikoto would have thought, but she dispensed with them in the Dungeon.
"There is no place for a surname, -san, -chan, or -sama on the battlefield. Dispense with your customs and pride in exchange for clear communication and expediency."
Her words were cold, but despite the reaming that the young teen had given them on the way down, the fact that she was willing to so easily part with hundreds of thousands of valis to get her familia properly equipped (and clothed), and took every available opportunity to lecture them about the finer points of handling Minotaurs as a Low-Class Adventurer belied a different side of her.
"You are very free with your information Tanya-sa... Tanya." Ouka spoke as he spun his spear in his hands; the young man not having had a reason to use it since The Radiance had joined their party.
The woman shrugged her shoulders. "Before I came to Orario and became an Adventurer, I was an officer in a large army; I trained mages if you must know. After I joined the Loki familia I seemed to have slipped back into my old ways and started training their own Adventurers as well; I've trained Welf Crozzo and Bell Cranel, as well as a party only a little bit larger than what you said your familia had- the Royal Rats."
Mikoto blinked. "Ah, I've met with them on a few occasions. A few months ago they were stuck on the 4th Floor, but lately, we've been seeing them more often on the 12th Floor. They improved rather dramatically, and are superbly equipped."
"Yes, that was me, however, while the equipment was a gift for... surviving my training, they put in all of the effort and hard work," The young teen shook her head, "I merely provided the instruction and the motivation."
How humble.
The party slowed down and the elf that Tanya had named "Ryuu Lyon", stopped by a large passageway. "I can hear it, the Goliath. We will need to be careful; Asfi and I will draw its attention while you proceed to the 18th Floor. We will rejoin you once we are past the beast."
There was a small giggle, and everyone's heads snapped over to Tanya. "Are you done?"
The elf woman's frown was clearly visible even through her mask. "The Goliath is a Level 4 Monster Rex, Tanya-san. Even with two Level 4s here, we would need to have at least three Level 5s to combat it."
The blonde teen's chuckling became almost full-blown laughter. "No, no, I'm sorry; it is a good plan, but we really don't need it. I've solo killed the Goliath before, and I just so happen to be in need of a great amount of valis. Just stand by and watch; I'll take care of it."
"Hello, Goliath my old friend~"
The Level 2 Record Holder dropped her pack off by the entrance and gripped her spear-stave in hand; it had a Mithril blade, and a dark wood haft- she had hundreds of Millions of valis in her hand, of that Mikoto was sure.
"I've come to kill you again~"
She was... singing?
"Because I need a lot of money~"
Mikoto and the rest of her party scrambled to make it to the doorway to watch as the young teen strode confidently inside.
"So I'll need you to go back to sleeping~"
The Goliath slowly turned to face the intruder, his hulking muscular form heaving with breath as she began to float into the air!
"Something, something, something, I'll blow up your brain, oooh-ooh wae oooh~"
Massive muscles clenched under thick grey skin, and the beast crouched until its knuckles were scraping the ground.
"I'll take your remains~"
The beast roared, and Mikoto had to cover up her ears, but yet, somehow... the young girl's voice came through so clearly despite the monster's vocal assault.
"Duh, duh, duh,The sound of silence~"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!
The monster's head exploded, showering the surrounding area with blood, bone, and gore. Mikoto had to cover her face with her arms as the concussive winds tore at her clothing, and she spared a glance behind her to see everyone else doing much the same; only Hermes was different, the man scrambling after his feathered cowboy hat.
The Monster Rex of the 18th Floor collapsed headless onto the ground.
"A-amazing..." The words escaped her lips as she waited for the dust to clear.
Was this what a Level 2 could truly accomplish? Ryuu said that it required a team of three Level 5s to kill the beast, and yet the young blonde teen had just taken it out in a single strike!?
Her companions were just as shocked as she was, the elf even more so, but surprisingly Asfi al Andromeda didn't seem to be shocked so much as she was annoyed.
The dust had just begun to settle when it was revealed that the monster was still alive, the bottom of its mouth visibly regenerating; bone, muscle, sinew, and teeth sprouting up from its neck in a haze of heat.
"Nope, I'm not going to sit here and kill you slowly, I have people I'm responsible for. Please die more quickly, okay?"
A second explosion rocked the beast, and when the blast wave subsided the floating teen rocketed towards the prone beast and extended that shimmering blue blade of hers from the blade on the spear. The speed of the girl's passing blew the smoke away, and as the girl approached the length of the blade extended to four meters and she sheared off the Monster Rex's arm with a roar.
The best flinched and began to writhe around, but a few Holy Spears along the monster's spine seemed to still it immediately, and the girl dropped down and grasped the finger of the arm she had severed- and she pulled.
The small teen, barely a centimeter taller than herself, huffed as blue Mind coalesced around her form and she dragged the severed arm away from the Goliath almost fifty meters before she stopped. She then leaped back up into the air and flew back towards their group before another massive explosion rocked the monster's form, and she charged in yet again, this time taking its other arm off.
The flesh of the monster bubbled and hissed, but the healing was noticeably far, far slower.
This happened twice more within a ten-minute period and finally, the Goliath was... dead?
Four of the Goliath's arms were lined up neatly in a row before the teen, and the monster's head stopped regenerating. A few experimental cuts were made and the teen lifted off into the air and waved them over. "Alright, the coast is clear, the Goliath won't trouble us again, at least not for two more weeks."
Asfi and the cloaked figures stared at the beast while Tanya placed her hands on her hips. "Well? I thought you were wanting to search the Under Resort, yes? Go on, the beast is dead."
"A-ah, aren't you going to deliver the antidotes to your familia?" Chigusa stammered as the blonde girl began rifling through her pack and pulled out a crate.
"I don't need to, as you can tell." She pointed over to the tunnel on the far end and Mikoto saw four figures running towards them.
At the front was Tiona Hiryute, the girl skipping along with her hands interlaced behind her back, with her older sister and twin Tione Hiryute following close behind her. Next came Aiz Wallenstein and Lefiya Viridis.
Even though they were not of her familia, how could Yamato Mikoto not know of some of the most famous female Adventurers in Orario?
"Huu huu huu! Nice job, Tanya-chii! Another Goliath claimed for the Loki familia!" The Amazon stopped a few steps away and placed her hands on her hips as she examined the four severed arms in front of her, "And it looks like we'll be getting even more Goliath Hide than last time!"
The younger of the famous Hiryute twins flinched away as her elder sister elbowed her in her ribs. "Tiona, please, have a little more decorum. Are those the antidotes, Tanya-sama?"
Mikoto watched as the young blonde handed the crate over to the busty amazon and nodded. "Indeed, Tione. See to it that these are distributed accordingly. The sooner we can return to the surface the better; I have... a plan in place to see to our injured members."
The tanned woman blinked but she nodded. "Of course. I will inform Finn-sama of your killing of the Goliath, and I think that he'll approve sending half of our wagons with an Advanced party now that our poisoned members are no longer in danger."
"Excellent, thank you, Tione."
The woman bowed shallowly at the waist before she took off with great speed- her previous run over had been a leisurely stroll compared to her current gait; Mikoto had a difficult time tracking the woman's blurring form with her eyes until she ran out of sight.
"Hey, Tanya-chii, thanks for letting me sleep in your bed while you were away! It was super comfortable!"
"I do hope that you remembered to wipe your feet down thoroughly before putting them on my sheets," The girl grumbled, "I don't understand what it is with you and your sister, but every other Amazon I've seen in the city has the decency to wear shoes!"
Who was Tanya von Degurechaff to make Jormugand bow and chide the Amazon? They were two of Orario's strongest female Adventurers, right behind Aiz Wallenstein and Riveria the Nine Hells herself!
There were some more pleasantries exchanged as the young teen began to carved away strips of the Goliath's hide while the Sword Princess and the Amazon pulled the flesh away before rolling it up like it was some sort of carpet.
"Seems like we've been witness to something rather outrageous," Hermes chuckled as he kept his hood pulled low, "I mean, I saw how powerful she was when I did your update, Asfi-chan, but to see it in person is another thing entirely."
"To think that there was someone just as interesting as Bell Cranel," A low chuckle escaped his throat that Mikoto was only able to hear thank to her proximity, "Amazing. This is why I roam the Lower World!"
"S-shut up, you free-range chicken! I don't care one whit about Degu-gu-gu, all I care about is my Bell-kun!" Hestia lashed out and kicked her fellow Divine's shin.
The man began laughing as he hopped away, his leg in hand. "O-oh, come on now, Hearthfire-chan, don't get so upset because she called you out on your lack of shoes! I mean, I'm pretty poor too, but even I wear shoes like a civilized person, yanno?"
Mikoto felt her spine straighten up as a wave of cold washed over her, and it took all of her willpower to crane her neck towards the source of this disturbance.
Tanya von Degurechaff stood on top of the Goliath's severed arm and stared at them. "Would someone please explain to me why the mysterious persons we were escorting deep into the Dungeon are Divines?"
Her head tilted to the side hard enough for a crack to reverberate throughout the room from her neck. "The last time I checked, that was illegal, punishable by being returned to Tenkai, was this not the case? Or did my teacher, Riveria Ljos Alf, misinform me?"
"Now, now, there is no need to be like that, Tanya-chan." Hermes laughed weakly as he pulled his hood back and revealed his face, "We didn't come down here without a good reason."
The girl lifted off the severed arm and floated towards them before touching down, a severe frown on her face. "I don't think a reason truly matters, the Guild's law is there in black and white, Hermes-sama. However, I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from a tax-dodging criminal such as yourself."
"W-we're here to find my Bell-kun!" Hestia shouted as she threw back her hood, "A-and also to find Crozinario and that thieving cat of a Supporter too!"
The young teen's expression softened somewhat. "While I can admire your desire to find your Child, Hestia-sama, the rules are there for a reason; just one slip of your Divinity could cause the entire Dungeon to rouse... and I've already had one intense battle for my life not a few days ago... I am not certain if I could handle it again."
Hermes' posture shifted, the man having heard something interesting. Takemikazuchi-sama warned her about him for this very reason.
Tanya sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before she turned to look at her companions. "Aiz, are Bell Cranel, Welf Crozzo, and their Supporter with you?"
The blonde blinked, pausing in her folding of a Goliath Hide roll, but nodded. "Yes. They are safe."
Tanya exhaled monumentally. "Excellent. Please, go back and gear up, I'm going to need you to escort these two back up to the surface, please... and do it quietly."
"My, my, my. It sounds as if you're willing to become an accomplice to our crimes, Tanya von Degurech-ooof!" Hermes began to poke, but Asfi quickly silenced him with an elbow to the gut.
"I'm not, just merely returning two Divines to the surface who went out for a late-night stroll and mistakenly stumbled their way into the Dungeon in a drunken haze." The girl bit out. "Wait... where did-?"
"Hold on, Bell-kun! Your Goddess is coming!" The diminutive Goddess cried out as her bare feet pitter-pattered along the stone floor towards the entrance to the 18th Floor.
"Mother fucker." The blonde groaned.
[Tanya von Degurechaff]
"So, with that in mind," Tanya spoke out, "I'd like to gather up the Rear Guard and get our poisoned and wounded to the surface as quickly as possible. They should be stable now that the antidote is in their system, and quite frankly I don't trust Hermes-sama as far as I can throw him... we don't need our Rear Guard anywhere near here when he inevitably spawns some sort of Enhanced species."
Riveria's lips quirked. "While I do believe that your fears are warranted, Tanya-chan, I don't think that Hermes-sama would intentionally do such a thing."
"Maybe not intentionally, but I still don't trust him." She grumbled.
"We will try to keep a close eye on both of them, Degurechaff-dono," Finn murmured, "But I do agree with you that it would be best if we practiced some caution and moved our Rear Guard out at least; with the Goliath Hides you've acquired the wagons are more than full. We'll trade some to Rivira for some valis- while we won't get anywhere near what we would for it on the surface, the men down here could put it to good use. It is not like we have any room to carry it all back with us to begin with."
"Aye, tha' would be a'h good way ta' get the Rivira folks on our side." Gareth laughed gutturally, "Tha' poor bastards gotta live next door to tha' beast and yet they ain't never could afford any of his drops!"
Finn was being oddly agreeable, if anything, he'd listened to Tanya's advice more often than not on the return trip back up to Orario. The battle on the 50th Floor had likely given him a wake-up call.
Good.
"I'll spread the word, and we'll have everyone packed up and ready to go within the hour." The Pallum man hummed as he looked down at his trembling right thumb, "I'm getting an uneasy feeling, and with the Goliath slain there really isn't any reason for me to feel this way."
"Yer thumb twitchin' again, Finn-dono?" Gareth tossed the last of the ale in his mug back, the dwarf muttering about needing to get back to the surface soon because he was almost running out.
"Yes. Which is half of the reason why I'd like to have Degurechaff-dono return," He leaned back on his cushion and interlaced his fingers behind his head.
"The other half must be that you want Tanya-chan to start on the paperwork and getting all of our drops organized for the Guild, right?" Riveria tittered behind her hand and the Pallum flinched as if she just goosed him.
"Thank you, please spread the word and prepare for departure. I don't foresee any issues with you returning early." Finn covered his face with one hand while he waved Tanya away with the other.
Tanya nodded and stood up to leave the tent.
The moment she was outside she activated her flight formula and hovered above the camp. "Attention, Rear Guard. We are leaving ahead of the Vanguard. Finish your meals and begin packing up, we leave in an hour."
There was no chorus of groans as everyone began shoveling their food into their bellies and heading over to wash their dishes. "We have to return our family to the surface."
Why would they complain? They had friends to bury after all.