Chapter 27
Inside the iron sand cocoon, my teeth chattered and my bones felt like they were grinding themselves into dust. Unfortunately, it was better than getting eaten alive by the acids of this thing's stomach.
How did it even come to this in the first place?
Why the hell did I even need to bunker down like this?
I had breezed through the upper floors of the dungeon; the difficulty curve shouldn't have been so damned vertical!
Nowhere in Eina's lessons was I warned that the middle floors would be like this.
Yeah, she told me that the spawn rate of the monsters and the general number of encounters would double as a general rule and even triple in some sections of the middle floors.
I was even told to expect surprise monster parties where an abnormal quantity of monsters were summoned at once.
But those were supposed to be rare. Something that the dungeon unleashed from time to time when it sensed weakness.
Not something that happened back to back to frigging back!
Ugh… And to top it all off, now the sand was getting inside my outfit!
I would try getting it out, but modifying my spell formula as I was now would increase the chance of shocking and getting an acid bath in the process.
I took a shaky deep breath and pressed my hands against each other to try to calm myself.
Come on, Regis, enough whining. You're just inside a worm.
There were numerous ways to get out of here.
It was time to start figuring out what the hell was going on.
Huh, the vibrations cut off, meaning that the worm had stopped moving.
Time for the little bastard to die then.
Sensing the magic stone, I decided to modify my defensive spell. The outer iron sand of my cocoon morphed into a tectonic drill.
A screech rang out throughout the cocoon as I drilled through its flesh. I shivered in disgust at the fleshy sounds until I heard a loud crack! And then I felt myself free-falling as the monster turned into ash.
The solid cocoon unfurled itself like a dancing ribbon swirling around me. Which gave me a view of the hell I was falling into.
The walls were a little darker than the floor I was in just now. Judging by the time and speed the worm had been moving, I was probably on floor 15.
At least something good had come of it since I saved myself a few kilometers of trekking through the dungeon.
Not that I felt it was worth the back-to-back monster parties.
There was a silver lining, though, the room I was falling into was free of monsters. I hoped to get a minute of tranquility to figure out what was wrong.
Which is, of course, when all the walls in the room fragmented and Almiraj's started jumping in my direction like the demented suicidal rabbits they were.
Strengthening my will upon the world, my iron sand ribbon accelerated. Then, as an afterthought, I added an air shield beneath and a water coating over my improvised iron blender.
The rabbits made contact with my outer shield. The first few puffed away instantly, like a freediver slamming against the ocean. But before they died, their horns perforated and destabilised my water shield.
Not that it mattered, as it still slowed them down enough for the iron ribbons to shred them to pieces.
The gore splashing away from me before it disintegrated thanks to the inner air cocoon.
After a couple of tense seconds and a magnetic pulse to repel myself against the bedrock, I finally made contact with the floor.
The room was empty, and only magic stones remained on the ground, which I destroyed with a wide, low-powered lightning spell.
The last thing I needed was juiced-up monsters on top of whatever was already going on.
At least, the room was dimmer than before. It should take a few minutes to recharge. Looking around the room, I noted two entrances. One at each extreme of the cave.
Seeing no more enemies, I relaxed my mind and returned the iron sand to my pouch.
Now, to figure out what was goi– A multitude of familiar roars coming from both entrances of the room made my bones vibrate.
Oh, come on! I knew this was the middle floors, but this was ridiculous. I just needed a minute to figure this out!
Rows of minotaurs charged into the room. Their incandescent red eyes bored me with hostility.
Screw it. I would have to figure it out while I fought.
I wanted to wait until I was much further into the dungeon before I used this, but it was still a good opportunity to try it out.
First, I unleashed a series of detailed sensing formulas. A three dimensional model of the room took form in my inner eye. The monsters' positions and strength were added instants later.
Thirty-two minotaurs were on the way, alongside twelve ligerfang stealthily stalking through their shadows.
I had never sensed them before, but their movements and strength of their magic stone… They were the only monster that fit.
The dungeon tactics seemed obvious with the whole picture. It was just a repeat combo from the misty floors.
Just with more muscle and bigger, faster daggers ready to stab me in the back.
"Alright, Frey. Take a rest. It's my time to play with the thing." I said as I took control over the tiny interconnected crystals that covered and adorned Fray's pendant.
He gave me a halfhearted protest of 'hey, I was using that!' as I pushed his will away. Which I bruished away with a smile as six tiny containers became present in my mind.
My heart accelerated briefly as for a moment I was back at the trials. A ghoul about to scratch my eyes out.
Frey's cold touch on my chest alongside his metaphorical scream of alarm woke me up. The ghoul turned into a minotaur, his meaty fist a foot away from my face ready to knock my lights out.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Frey. I'm fine now." I said trying to assuage my companion and like all times I triggered my arcana and the world suddenly turned icy blue.
An ice crystal covered me from all sides with barely a couple of thin layers of different gas compounds, which kept me from freezing.
Modeling my new project exactly like the skillset I had back in Lanova might have been a mistake…
I felt the impacts of the minotaurs' fists against the ice from the front and the back, but it was far from enough.
Permafrost Bulkwark was a water arcana that granted only a few precious seconds of invulnerability.
The secret was in the energy sapping quality of the ice.
More minotaurs arrived and surrounded me, and I couldn't help the grim smile on my face as they hammered at my defensive spell, not knowing that they were just making things worse for themselves.
Finally, all the energy from the blows was released. The ice exploding outwards like a fragmentation grenade. The only thing keeping me safe was the thin layer of concentrated gas.
The first row of monsters disintegrated in an instant while the second and beyond were blown away.
The ligerfangs, being tiger like monsters, were easily able to maneuver around the flying minotaurs. Their sharp claws were extended and more than ready to shred me into pieces.
But I was ready, utilizing the small window of time my bulkward created, I had triggered two of the spell containers. Homing flares manifested around me, while the smell of ozone spread through the room as tiny arcs of lightning sparked beneath my robes.
The three tiger monsters who had jumped at me were blown away by the deceptively weak looking orbs of fire.
While small, the fire orbs were full to the brim of incendiary gas on the inside. So they packed more than enough of a punch to send the nimble-looking monsters flying.
By the time the veritable horde of monsters recovered from my spells, my signature spell was ready.
Shock Nova.
The entire chamber was illuminated by thick bolts of lightning, killing all the injured monsters and paralyzing those that were now on death's door.
Seeing all the remaining monsters on the ground, I didn't waste the opportunity. Dashing forward towards the densest group of monsters, I cast my last regular arcana.
Water tendrils wrapped around the nearest minotaur on the floor. Which started to lash out at them while spreading like fire to every other monster that was nearby.
With the situation controlled. Meaning with the monsters on the ground, paralysed and being whipped into submission.
I turned inwards towards the greyed-out spell slots in my mind.
Pages and rows of constantly shifting spell formulas appeared in my mind. Which I rapidly speed read over them. The simple act granting them meaning and readying them for use again.
It wasn't totally automatic like when I was in Lanova, but I was proud of how close I had gotten.
It also wasn't as efficient as the card I used to dive through the upper floors, but it was certainly far less mind-consuming than having to freestyle everything on the fly.
Now, before the monsters fully disintegrated, I finally would have a moment to think about what the hell was– The walls of the room started to crack and fragment.
Oh, come on! Just a moment, I just needed a minute!
A cold sweat started to fall down my cheek as a dozen giant mantis made of stone and a macho ghoul burst out of the walls.
The rest of the monsters faded from my awareness as I saw the buffed-up ghoul.
My body trembled as my spirit remembered how many times that thing had crushed me. I felt myself trying to gulp to wet my dry throat and found myself without spit.
At least it still had to go around the mons– The monsters on the floor died and puffed away, clearing a direct path for them.
I unconsciously stepped away from the monsters and looked upwards towards the hole in the ceiling and seriously considered calling it a day.
Lili's worried face appeared in my mind.
But no, not now. All I had done since I got to Orario was running away.
I had to get myself in order first, and as far as I was concerned, I was still far from my limit.
The numerous mantis were more dangerous than the ghoul. I knew that!
So I ran towards them and at the last moment I dashed away. Leaving a copy of ice in my place.
The insectoid monsters mindlessly attacked it and were bowled by the rest when they froze in place.
The ghoul was immune to immobilizing effects, so I did my best to evade it while I dashed around the place trying to group the monsters up.
Soon I found myself surrounded in a place where my precognition confirmed that I wouldn't be able to avoid the next attack from the mantis and minotaurs bearing upon me from all flanks.
Just as I planned.
I cast my Permafrost Bulwark again. Their strikes rebounding fruitlessly against the ice. I heard them click and roar in anger, making them redouble their efforts.
Using the precious few seconds the bulwark provided me, I partitioned my mind and unleashed a barrage of air slashes at the ghoul. Obliterating it completely.
Then the crystal surrounding me exploded making me grunt as I felt a bruise form everywhere on my body as my free style air spells had weakened the defensive barrier that protected me from the recoil of the defensive technique.
I was going to account for that in the future.
The code on my arcana was dependent on having all my magical throughput to use. Messing with my ability mid spell might result in an accident.
Thankfully, the release of my bulwark had provided enough time to cast my Homing Flares which then bought me more time to take a potion and cast my more time consuming but also more powerful Shock Nova.
By the time all the monsters were dead on the ground and I had immobilized the rest with my creeping tendril, I found myself shivering, my sweat having left me drenched beneath my robes.
That had been closer than I would have liked.
Thankfully, by the time I could sense even more monsters incoming, I was almost healed and had recharged most of my arcana.
I was feeling the urge to flee though. After that scare, jumping towards the hole in the ceiling was getting more and more tempting by the moment.
I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood.
It was enough!
I had to stop being a coward!
The dungeon was learning and getting more monsters from the trials, that was inevitable.
So, I could not stop here!
I had to keep advancing and help myself to prepare Orario for the horrors that were to come.
I couldn't do that if I didn't explore the dungeon and got over myself.
I wouldn't waste the opportunity Ryuu and Lili had given me on something as meaningless and insignificant as fear.
They were counting on me and I was counting on myself.
I wouldn't let myself chicken out just because I was getting claustrophobic due to my stupid trauma.
My magic was working better than ever, and my condition was still good.
A single misfire wasn't enough to call it quits.
There wasn't a single reason not to continue forward.
So, facing the monsters that were coming head on, I turned part of my attention towards the real problem at hand.
What the hell was happening with the dungeon? Because this! This wasn't normal.
The dungeon wasn't supposed to go so hard on lone adventurers. At most, it would try to trap them if it noticed them tiring or if they had made a mistake and gotten hurt.
It didn't make sense for it to commit so much energy to someone who was relatively fresh and uninjured like me.
I cast Shock Nova again as the room filled itself full once again.
What reason could it have found for it to hate me so much? Did it even need a reason? Not that I was truly feeling the hate, though. Usually, when I felt the dungeon turn to pounce on an adventurer, I could feel the primitive emotions in its heartbeat.
But what I felt now…, It felt like glee. Like someone playing with its food.
I ducked under a Ligergang that jumped me out of nowhere. A bolt rail stopping its heart. While I frostfeinted backwards and recast my homing flares in a hurry to regain my balance.
But I didn't understand why. It wasn't like at this moment I was truly struggling… If my hands weren't shaking due to my trauma, this wouldn't even be a challenge…
Unless… Yeah that was a possibility.
I cast another Shock Nova which wiped out most of the room.
But why did the dungeon feel like I was on my ropes on the verge of dying? I recognised my mental state wasn't the best, but I was far from the despair needed for the dungeon to feel like I was in a pinch.
Wait a moment, how did the dungeon even sense adventurers in the first place?
Did it see through the eyes of every monster? Maybe it felt my steps as I dashed between monsters so that they hit each other? Or maybe it was simpler…
I felt the waves of magical energy coming from the walls and the monsters pressed against my aura and suddenly I felt like slapping myself.
In my search for efficiency, in minimizing my magical expenditure to stretch my magical tank all I could, I might have missed an obvious fact.
It was just a conjecture without true proof. But my gut told me I was right.
I didn't have the falna, and thus I didn't emanate the aura that it provides.
If I was right, then the sense that the dungeon used to determine the adventurers position and their condition was their aura. Our AIM.
An AIM which I had been doing my best to optimize.
To the dungeon, It must feel like I'm a weak Level one on the middle floors that's burning tons of magical objects just to stay alive or something to that effect.
No wonder it felt like it was playing with me.
A Level one had no business being alone this deep in the dungeon.
Suddenly, as more monsters were entering the room, I froze for a moment as I heard a new roar coming from above. One that was louder and draconic.
With it I felt the heartbeat of the dungeon become stronger and more oppressive as if it was preparing for a final strike.
For a single instant, I was back at the village, the enormous black dragon on the horizon making me feel small, like an ant.
A moment later, I was back at the dungeon where a ligerfang was about to bite my head off.
A Bolt Rail arcana coming from my hand fried its brain first.
I was done with this.
I was tired of freezing in place from time to time, of all the pointless trauma and all my fucking nightmares that didn't let me sleep at night!
I was fucking done with it!
As if my magic agreed with me, I felt the signature spell slot in my mind light up in violet fire. My aura taking on the same color as it spiked to that of a Level 5 adventurer.
The monsters around me took a step back at the outburst. The dungeon monsters suddenly felt like they weren't the one caging me and wearing me down.
Another draconic roar came from the hole the dungeon worm had dug. It seemed to revitalize the monsters as they started advancing toward me once more.
But it was too late.
With all the extra juice that my new project had accumulated from the inefficiencies in my spell formulas.
I had already modified my Shock Nova signature spell not to extend the range and damage as I had initially intended, but to gain one extra dimension, and I directed the extra electromagnetic conduits towards the hole in the ceiling.
As soon as the wivern's open snout became visible, I triggered my arcana. And instead of whatever breath attack it was going to unleash upon me. The only thing that fell from above was a charred husk. Which dispersed and turned into a magic as it made contact with the ground.
In fact, aside from the strong smell of ozone, magic stones were the only thing I was surrounded by.
No more monsters came after the first few seconds after that attack, as I used my anger to fuel my magical aura.
Not unleashing any attack, just manifesting my personal reality to imitate the real world as strongly as a regular Level 3 adventurer would.
I felt the puzzlement of the dungeon at its failure and then how it slowly lost interest in disapointmet as it sensed my power.
"Finally." I sighed at the silence and let myself fall to the ground as I caught my breath.
Dashing around while avoiding monsters that were far faster and stronger than I was, was stupid exhausting. The pressure was intense.
At least if I was right, the dungeon should leave me alone for a little bit, as long as I projected strength.
Still, the current situation wasn't ideal. Looking at the hole on the ceiling, I calculated that if I wanted I had enough stamina to climb it and return to the upper floors.
The urge to get out of here as still there, and it was only getting stronger as my brain rationalised that keeping this level of magical output wasn't sustainable.
I would burn out long before I would reach the eighteenth floor. Returning to the upper floors was probably the correct decision.
I had already proved that my current project, while not perfect, worked well enough. So, it wasn't like this dive was a loss.
But this, this was just my brain trying to make me bail out and making me ignore the correct answer.
So, I wasn't going to do that, because there was something that was bugging me.
And it wasn't just my anger and exhaustion at talking about my current situation influencing my decision-making either.
I had a data point that was nagging me. It was a chance for something greater right at this moment.
A way forward though the dungeon, even without the falna.
I was thinking about the story of how the hunter managed to reach Level 2. How he rescued someone from the middle floors without having to fight a single time.
At the time, I hadn't understood how monumental such a feat was. It was so incredible that I would call it impossible, considering how the dungeon had pounced on me as soon as I reached the middle floors.
As a lone Level one, the dungeon should have reacted similarly to him.
And yet.
That frigging ninja masquerading as a hunter managed to do it.
But, how?
It had to be something to do with his ability. If I could do something similar, I felt like the world would open up to me significantly.
Reaching for my tome, I searched through all the data I had recompiled on him.
At the time, with my primitive sensing formulas, I had confidently determined that his AIM was a wind based with a specialization on manipulating and muting sound waves.
But… Ryuu's magic had been able to destroy the Witch's book where my limited chaos had failed.
What if… what if there was more to his AIM as well? What if his stealth field was somehow able to hide him from the dungeon.
Could… Could I do something similar?
I felt like I could. Inside the chaotic origin of my soul, there had to be the potential of it.
I had no choice but to believe in it.
So, I closed my eyes and reviewed my notes on the hunter's AIM one last time.
I felt the waves of the dungeon's magic power clashing against my own. It wasn't enough to manifest a poltergeist, but the violence between our fields was noticeable once I focused on it.
With all the data in my mind, I formulated a brand new spell formula.
One that looked to imitate the hunter's AIM as much as I could.
The air started to buzz around me as I got the frequencies of the heartbeat wrong.
No, not like that…
I tried different frequencies, but the heartbeat of the dungeon wasn't constant. It was erratic and felt as if it was shifting as if responding to my own.
How could I do this… If it was this erratic, normal mathematical formulas wouldn't work…
Then I remembered my last spar against the hunter. How he evaded my attacks without even looking… Then it hit me.
Precognition!
The Hunter had developed precognition with his ability!
So I studied the heartbeat of the dungeon and did my best to accommodate my precognitive formulas to it.
It wasn't perfect, but after a few minutes of furious coding I reached an abomination of a formula that somehow worked.
Ugh, it was ugly as sin. I was not proud of this thing.
And yet, I used it to synchronize with my AIM with the heartbeat of the dungeon.
The buzzing immediately stopped, but I could still feel the dungeon's metaphorical eyes on me.
This wasn't working, just because my air mana was synchronized, my ability wasn't just aerokinesis. The dungeon's magic power still clashed with the rest.
I centered myself, and I observed how my air behaved under my prototype formula. Then, I started designing the equivalent for the rest of my elements.
Water and Earth were the easiest to implement since, in the end, they were faces of the same coin as Air.
Each being mediums from which my sound based formula I could integrate.
I just had to accommodate my formula for the water vapor and dust in the air and beneath my feet.
Fire and lightning, it was harder. Being the more energy intensive types of mana of my ability made it difficult to keep them synchronized with the heartbeat of the dungeon.
But with some finagling using the magnetic and thermal properties of the different mediums I ended up reaching a certain balance.
What made me smile was how, little by little, every time I refined the spell formula, I could feel as the dungeon clashing against me lessened with each iteration.
Eventually, the weight of the dungeon disappeared almost completely.
As if I stopped trying to fight against the sea and simply relaxed on the waves. Going up and down without feeling any strain on the body.
The result was a chaotic mess of a formula that somehow worked.
For some reason, I found it fitting.
Eventually, a few minutes later, a group of four minotaurs entered the room, and I just had to laugh when they jumped in surprise when they saw me.
After dispatching them and then defeating the mantis that spawned from the walls because I had to disengage with the formula to fight them, I continued refining the formula.
I was trying to reach complete stealth, when suddenly. I was assaulted by malice and betrayal the likes of which I had never felt before.
I immediately puked into the ground, my mind having screeched to a halt as it was trying to process the sheer depth of the emotions.
What was that? Was it the dungeon? Where did all that negative emotions come from? Was it feeling that all the time?
No wonder it attacked and hated everything if that was what it was feeling.
With a deep breath to center myself, and returned to my task.
A sane person would probably ask why I was trying to continue. They would question if I was insane.
I probably was, I didn't deny it.
But I wasn't masochistic. I was looking due to a precise reason.
Because, alongside all that malice and raw emotion, in that instant when I was synced with it, I saw something else.
I sensed the flow of the dungeon energies and with it part of the structures from the fifteenth floor.
Connecting to the dungeon had been utterly agonizing. But… I needed to do this.
For myself and my dream. To build a home that could resist the passage of time.
I had to do this.
What was a little more anger and despair at this point anyway?
I sensed Eina's weakening magical power pulsing on the paper in my pouch. Somehow, the image of her threatening me with a book came to mind.
Yeah, she was probably right. This was stupid. It would be safer to experiment when I reach the eighteenth floor.
So I stood up and stepped deeper into the dungeon.Last edited: Aug 11, 2025 Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Kathador, Granz, Iridesce and 62 othersMystic QuillJul 28, 2025Reader modeAdd bookmark Threadmarks Erebos_03_I trust you know where the happy button is?Jul 28, 2025Add bookmark#186Mystic Quill said:stalking though their shadows.Stalking through (?) Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Mystic QuillMystic QuillGetting sticky.Jul 28, 2025Add bookmark#187Erebos_03_ said:Stalking through (?)Yes, it's fixed now, thanks.
I meant it as they were using the minotaur as cover. No like literally hiding in the shadow. Like Quote ReplyReportauraofcalmneowJul 29, 2025Add bookmark#188This guy is always such a weird mix of overpowered and underpowered. Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Mystic Quill, ARK7860 and palacesoundTisakuExperienced.Jul 29, 2025Add bookmark#189Mystic Quill said:needles made of ice desublimated in front of me and shot forward withcoalesced
Mystic Quill said:shadows and ghouls shaped blobs were being slaughtered by my ice spikes.ghoul
Mystic Quill said:Which I bruised away with a smile as six tiny containers becamebrushed
Mystic Quill said:Permafrost Bulkward was a waterBulwark
Mystic Quill said:Obliterating it from existence.completely
Mystic Quill said:bulkwardBulwark
Mystic Quill said:Ugh, it was ugly as sin. I was not proud of this thing.
And yet, I used to synchronize with my AIM with the heartbeat of the dungeon.it to
Mystic Quill said:mana was syncronized, my abilitysynchronized Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Mystic QuillArgentisLord of Cinders (retired)Jul 29, 2025Add bookmark#190This is amazing and i love it, specially because i believe in Eina supremacy and this is gold Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Mystic QuillMystic QuillGetting sticky.Aug 11, 2025Add bookmark#191Tisaku said:coalesced
ghoul
brushed
Bulwark
completely
Bulwark
it to
synchronizedClick to expand...Fixed, thanks.
Also have new chapter here. Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:TisakuThreadmarks Chapter 28 Threadmarks Mystic QuillGetting sticky.Aug 11, 2025Add bookmark#192AN: Sorry for skipping last week. I had like half chapter done, but I hated it. So I decided to rewrite it entirely. Anyway, have fun.
Chapter 28
Regis Pov
I walked into the final cavern of the seventeenth floor.
The ceiling was sky high, and my steps echoed loudly, which inspired a sensation of awe within me.
It reminded me of the first time I entered Peter's Basilica just after I got kidnapped in my original world.
Walking alongside the smooth white wall, I let my hand brush against the frictionless surface while my mind tried to probe deeper.
"Fascinating."
I could sense an incredible amount of dungeon mana flowing through the walls and floor like water in pipes. Although blood through arteries and veins might be a better comparison, considering the organic rhythm with which the energy flowed.
Narrowing my eyes, I let myself sink deeper into my magic. My hand unconsciously tracing the channels of power alongside the walls.
Moments later, I felt them. Rivers of energy came from the floor beneath. Tiny streams that covered almost every corner slowly converged until they formed arteries. These concentrated the energy into a single crystallized point.
"So that's how the dungeon created the Monster Rex. No wonder the dungeon needed to create a safe floor..." It wasn't because it wanted to grant the adventurers a respite. It simply needed an entire floor's worth of energy to form the boss.
Still, I heard that the eighteenth floor was a natural sanctuary and an all-around beautiful place.
Why would the dungeon create it that way?
As I separated from the wall of sorrows, my hand felt slightly tingly. The tingling was unsettling—like the heartbeat of the dungeon left some of itself behind…
I decided to leave the wall alone. Prodding further would only invite the dungeon to prod back.
Due to the current size of the crystal and its rate of growth, I estimated that the Goliath probably still needed a couple of days to fully form.
But I didn't want to risk the dungeon adapting to my current stealth formulas.
Worst-case scenario, it wouldn't surprise me if it could hasten the formation of the Monster Rex to drop it on my head.
Satisfied with my preliminary inspection of the place, I walked towards the stairs of the eighteenth floor, keeping an eye on my latest invention just in case.
A tiny spell card sewn to the back of my glove. Tiny white squares connected by lines with red dots on the inky black background were on display for everyone to see.
It was a minimap, similar to the one I had in Lanova for the Chaos Trials.
I created it by making a gradient map of the energy densities of the dungeon that I managed to extract by exploiting our connection.
Thanks to it, I hadn't needed to use my ability that much for combat ever since I had discovered how to sync my field to the dungeon.
Even if the middle floors were the equivalent of a hellish anthill. It had been a cake walk compared to the first few minutes of frenzy due to having the possibility to avoid the monsters already there in the first place.
As for how I managed to avoid the mental pollution extracting the data caused, well, simply using a spell card to handle the connection solved that problem easily. Using the artifact and runes added rigidity and limited the data I could extract, but it was more than enough to make the minimap of the current floor.
Descending the stairs, I finally reached the entrance of the eighteenth floor.
The first impression of the floor I got was that it was green and way too colorful.
After all the dark colors from the upper floors, the whites from the misty floors, and the middle floors. The colorful palette of the dense green forests, the crystalline blue waters from the rivers, and the yellow shine from the crystal on the ceiling left me a little disoriented.
For a moment, I thought that I was outside, on the surface. The heartbeat of the dungeon had gone almost quiet compared to just a few steps back, which added to my sense of incongruity.
But no, it was still there, just subtler… Almost as if it didn't want to be noticed and wanted to hide…
I shook my head to clear my paranoid thoughts.
In the end, that didn't matter right now. I needed to reach Rivira as soon as possible. I wanted to look for an Inn.
Even if sleeping was out of question at the moment, I wanted– no, I needed to lie down on a bed!
I didn't care if it was shitty and they made me overpay, I wanted to lie down on something soft for a chance!
I refuse to believe that Apollo could screw this up for me!
Walking through the dense forests on the way to the Rivira, I couldn't help but feel the sense of wonder rising within me.
These trees, the fluffy-looking grass on the floor, this unsettling sensation in my gut… It was like I was in another place entirely…
Not just from the dungeon, but the world itself.
I narrowed my eyes as I plucked a falling leaf from a nearby tree.
The numbers were about what I expected… But still, what was this sensation of deja vu?
As the town of Riviria started registering in my senses, I was faced with a hastily put-together medieval town made of wood and stone.
The place wasn't very well built. I could tell by the lack of general integrity of the buildings. Hell, more than half the buildings had holes in the walls!
This place was a step away from being a ruin!
I understood the hastily erected buildings due to how often the place was overrun by monsters.
But shouldn't there be at least some measure of professionalism in the construction of the town?
Maybe something happened recently?
It didn't help that I sensed adventurers sprawled around all over the place. On the roofs, on the streets. I even sensed them on the walls of the towns, and they were made of giant pointed wooden stakes!
For chaos's sake, there was an encampment from some familia just outside. It was just a few big tents and a couple of outdoor forges. But it was still miles better than the town.
I looked around in search of a flag to know which familia the encampment pertained to.
"Oh, I guessed that could explain the state of the town." I facepalmed as I cursed my bad luck.
Then I remembered Ryuu's words about a certain rumor and started running.
I hastily got a closer look at the town, a bad feeling rising within me. Putting some actual effort into my formulas, I got a clearer picture.
Amazons… Naked amazons napping next to adventurers, males and females alike.
It was obvious what happened, and usually I would just chalk up the picture in front of me as amazons being amazons.
But that didn't make sense either.
These were all adventurers, veteran ones at that, since they were here. They wouldn't let themselves fall to debauchery all at the same time while inside the dungeon.
Safe floor or not, it would be anathema to their finely honed instincts that had let them survive up to this day.
The only thing that made sense would be that they used the drug that Ryuu had been looking into.
Spinning a spell formula to filter anything that wasn't the ideal gas concentration for a human, I entered the town.
Just like my clairvoyance showed me, adventurers of all races, genders, and familia were knocked out all over the place, their armour and clothes in clear disrepair and with a general demeanor of exhaustion.
Except the amazons, of course. They looked fresh, like they've just had the best night ever.
That was reflected on their auras as well. They felt more vibrant and energetic than the other sleeping adventurers.
But, as much as I wanted to pin this on the Amazons, I couldn't do it with certainty.
My scanning of the air wasn't returning anything suspicious. I didn't sense any substance on the floor either.
It seemed like my idea that the rumors weren't the result of a drug wasn't erroneous.
It had to be magic or some kind of Skill.
The problem was that I wasn't finding anything. Magically speaking, the air was clear, the floor was clean, and I didn't sense any impurities nor irregularities on the AIM of the sleeping adventurers other than a faint weakness that could be explained through exhaustion.
Which was strange, I should be finding something with how indiscriminate it had to have been.
Even when most adventurers were paired with amazons, a few of them weren't.
I got closer to a pair of adventurers on the floor, a muscular man with a mustache that looked a step away from having been sucked dry, whose arm was being hugged by a buxom but petite and glowing amazon. I knelt next to the man and touched his arm.
Even with close proximity, I couldn't sense anything out of place. His earthly AIM was regular, and the superficial scans I did of the body returned what I already knew.
Not that they were that reliable in the first place, scanning the human body with my ability was something that I wasn't very good at.
I sighed. It seemed like I would have to simply ask what happened…
I shook his arm, but he mumbled something and swatted me away.
I widened my eyes as I dashed back in a hurry. The wind resulting from the unconscious but sharp movement brushed my face even as I distanced myself.
My heart was beating fast. And I felt cold sweat at how close that had been. I had to be more careful. I would never forgive myself if I got caught because of something like this.
I took a deep breath to recompose myself. This one was a level three adventurer; it was better not to get too close.
Picking a long piece of wood from a nearby broken wall, I continued poking at the man, but it was no use. He was completely out of it.
I tried poking him harder, when suddenly I froze as I heard a yawn coming from his side.
Crap! The amazon must have woken up due to being nudged.
"Ugh, what time is it?" I heard the amazon sleepily mutter as she sat up and wiped her eyes with her hand.
"It's still really early, you should go back to sleep." I said softly, gently trying not to startle her.
Come on, don't make this difficult and go back to sleep…
"Huh?" She uttered confusedly before I saw her dark, long hair bristle, and her muscles tensing. Amber colored eyes zeroed in on me with intensity when she yelled, "Monster!" Then, immediately lost aggression as she saw that I wasn't. "Not?"
Monster? I knew that I was covered by a cloak, but that didn't explain… No, that wasn't important now. I had an amazon not two meters away. I could think about that later.
"I'm human. Could you tell me what happened here?" I asked, hoping to get a clear answer while preparing a spell to contain her and knock her out.
She gave me a puzzled look before she gave me a coy smile. "Isn't it obvious? When a man meets a beautiful girl like me–"
"I-I know the basics of reproduction. Thank you very much." I said, not needing remedial lessons. "I was asking about the state of the town." I signaled our surroundings with my arms.
She took a look around and let out a voice of amazement. "Whoa, we really went all out… Hehehe, San-chan's really the best."
Was that the name of the adventurer who made this possible? It probably was a nickname of an adventurer from the Far East. They were usually the only ones who used Japanese suffixes.
"Who's this San-chan?" I asked.
"No one important." She replied immediately, before she gave me a piercing look, then blinked in bewilderment. "Wait, no falna? This feeling…"
I sighed as I heard her mutter to herself and focused on her AIM, preparing myself for the inevitable confrontation.
I also guessed she wasn't going to talk. Whoever this San-chan was, she was most likely a member of the amazon's familia.
I contemplated interrogating her, but quickly rejected the idea.
Amazons were a lot of things. Lustful, violent, and had an insatiable appetite for sex and an unending urge to find strong males to reproduce.
That's just how their race was wired.
A race that had evolved to use everything at their disposal, charm, strength, and even teamwork, to satisfy their urges.
There was an old theory that I remembered reading about. It explained how the bodies of mammals were just a way for sperm and eggs to find each other. That everything that animal or human accomplished in their lifetime was just a way to make this meeting possible.
I thought that theory fit the amazon race perfectly.
But their nature also made them simpler, easier to understand. You didn't need to look underneath to find their real motivation. They usually didn't need to ponder about their life to know what they wanted; they already knew from birth.
More often than not, they decided what was good or bad on sheer gut instinct.
That simplicity meant that if someone was good to them and their chances of getting laid…
They would be incredibly loyal and protective of that person.
So, I didn't waste my time trying to interrogate her. It would be futile. I had to be happy knowing that the origin of all this debauchery was an adventurer from the Ishtar familia and move on.
"Hey, Mr Adventurer~" The amazon called out to me as I started to step away with a flirtatious tone that sent shivers down my spine. "You just got to the Under Resort, right? You must be tired. Why don't you follow this big sister? I know a place where you can rest and relax."
I gave her my driest look even as I tried to keep my blood from rushing to my face. "Really? You want me to follow you? I don't make a habit of following strangers that look at me like I'm meat."
"Yes! I find you interesting," She said shamelessly with a wide smile, ignoring my second statement.
"I'm Elaine, Level 2 adventurer from the Ishtar familia. There, we're no longer strangers, and you look really tense. So why don't I help you relax? That way, we can get to know each other. It will be fun. This big sister promises." She winked at me as she stood up, her legs flexing as her AIM whispered to me her next moves.
Not fazed in the slightest, I actualized my spell into the world.
Four embracing vines came out of the ground and latched onto her extremities, depriving her of the leverage she would have needed to get her hands on me as she intended.
Huh, the spell manifested with less resistance than I expected… Curious.
"Whoa, so I was right! An ability user!" She said, looking more excited than frightened despite our positions.
I sighed, knowing that, unfortunately, it wasn't that difficult to guess, considering my lack of blessing.
There weren't that many ways for someone without falna to be this deep into the dungeon while alone.
"Yes," I confirmed, knowing that there was no hiding it. "Now, are you going to talk?"
"Hah, of course not. I just have to get rid of these and then we'll have a wonderful time together~." She said as she tried to get a hold of the vines.
"Are? Whoa! So slippery!" She said as she found that I wasn't going to make it that easy for her.
"Not interested. Now, can you tell me what is happening here?" I said as I shifted the vines around her attempts to grab them while making them secrete lubricant on the parts that weren't immobilizing her. I internally marveled slightly at how little mental energy I had to use. Usually, the dungeon fought me when I used Earth Arcana…
"Whoa! You can make lube!" She said with stars in her eyes as she struggled to get her grip on the vines.
She ignored my question and the fact that I had her pinned and fixated on the lubricant. Priorities, I suppose.
"Now you've got to come with me. I'll treat you real well, I promise. VIP service and everything!"
Amazons, I swear.
"I'm not interested." Setting aside that it would probably spell my downfall and consequent enslavement. Having an intimate relationship with how unstable my ability currently was made bile rise in my throat.
"Are you sure? Even when you tied me up so nicely~" She teased as she contorted midair, showing me her privates and posing while giving me bedroom eyes.
"Don't flatter yourself. This is crowd control, nothing more." I kept my eyes elsewhere, not out of shyness, but to avoid getting distracted.
"Oh, are you blushing? So cu–Kyaa! So cold!" She yelled as I interrupted her, trying to cool her down with a jet of water.
"Right, a man wouldn't like to sleep with a prostitute that was filthy from her previous lay. That's understandable. Or maybe you just wanted to get me wet?" She said, giving me another charming smile, eyes shining with desire, while her dark hair clung to her glistening caramel skin.
My body betrayed me as I felt myself heat up and my pants tighten uncomfortably. It wasn't ideal, considering how she was doing it on purpose to distract me.
"No, I just wanted you to cool off. But, it doesn't seem to work." I said, exasperated more with myself than her.
"Hehe, you know how we are. We amazons are always on fire. Now, come here, stop being stubborn, and give me a hug." She said with a sweet and inviting tone.
"I refuse." She put on a confused look and muttered, "Huh, why isn't it working… Usually, you should already be eating me… Wait, could it be?!" She looked towards the wall of the town. "Oh, of course they already left…"
"Who left? Because judging by your glance, they're the ones I should actually be worried about." I asked, pointing my senses towards the tents outside the village Elaine was looking at.
She narrowed her eyes and looked at me before replying. "No one. Now, let me go."
"Alright. I'll let you go if you promise to let me leave and not tell anyone about me."
We looked each other in the eye in a brief battle of wills.
"Muuu. Alright, I promise. That way, I can get you all to myself." She lied, her AIM betraying her true intentions.
"I see." I sighed, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to mitigate the headache I was getting.
"Chance! [Fire Body]" I heard her yell, sensing intense heat coming from her as her AIM lit up and fire poured from her skin for an instant.
The vines that kept her in place incinerated and let her fall to the ground.
"Heh, I told you that we amazons were always on fire!" She yelled excitedly as she immediately dashed at me.
Her right hand stopped centimetres away from my face when a giant stone hand rose from the ground and caught her from behind. A pointy tendril of vibrating iron sand was millimeters away from her neck.
Her eyes dilated further as she sensed death, her smile frozen in place as she realized that she fucked up. "Oh? Hehehe. You're fast! And so strong! Hahaha, you got me good. As expected of San-chan's family." She complimented me nervously, half in wonder and half like her life depended on it.
"Family?" I asked, probing further.
"Ah, forget that." Her eyes widened at her slip.
"No, tell me," I said, making the vibrating iron sand near her neck buzz louder.
"Nope, not telling. Kill me if you want. But, I'm not a traitor." She refused, her eyes looking warily at the sand as she futilely tried to get out of the rocky hand. "Although if you really want to know, sleep with me. Our children would be amazing. What do you say?" She said, trying to charm me again, seeing that she was stuck.
I sighed, deciding that I didn't want to deal with this anymore. Elaine was just too stubborn. She wasn't lying when she said that I could kill her and she wouldn't tell me anything.
So I actualised the last spell formula that I had in mind. "Oh, you're giving a flower? Pretty! Heh, I knew that you would end up falling for me."
Sure, that was exactly what was happening.
"This big sis will give you tons of-f lo-ove, oh no-o." She said as the pollen from the flower finally had an effect, and she fell asleep.
I let go of my formulas, dispelling the hand and laying her on the ground, and took a moment to breathe. To take the interaction in and extract as much knowledge as I could
It seemed that, unfortunately, I wouldn't get the rest, never mind the bed I was looking for.
I just couldn't stay here.
The tents from the Ishtar familia were most likely a fallback point for their expedition. I didn't sense any high-level amazon either. Just a few Level twos like Elaine here, and one Level three. Meaning the most likely the higher-level members of her familia would return eventually.
Even if I could deal with the amazons currently on the floor, I didn't want to be here when the rest returned. They would be able to wear me out eventually.
I was going to have to reach the next safe zone before I could rest and try out my project with Frey.
At least there was the silver lining of knowing that the cause of the rumors was here in the dungeon.
I could rest easier knowing that Ryuu wouldn't fall victim to it.
Although knowing her, she would find trouble anyway.
She had that kind of luck.Last edited: Oct 5, 2025 Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Kathador, Granz, Iridesce and 68 othersMystic QuillAug 11, 2025Reader modeAdd bookmark Threadmarks VolcanoHammerGetting sticky.Aug 11, 2025Add bookmark#193Tftc!
Keep up the good work! Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Mystic QuillMitchHeadKnow what you're doing yet?Aug 12, 2025Add bookmark#194I'm not familiar enough with any of the various sources to tell what's going on but Ishtar can fuck right off Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Heartsblood, ARK7860, hornydaoist and 1 other personTisakuExperienced.Aug 13, 2025Add bookmark#195Mystic Quill said:separated from the wall of sorrows, my hand feltWall of Sorrows Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Mystic QuillThreadmarks Chapter 29 Threadmarks Mystic QuillGetting sticky.Sep 24, 2025Add bookmark#196Chapter 29
Ryuu Lion Pov.
"This isn't working." I couldn't help but mutter as I landed on one of the quieter roofs.
I could still hear the moans and grunts of pleasure from below, but at least it wasn't as overwhelming as some of the bigger brothels.
I took a deep breath, trying to take in the cold night air to cool down my head.
Not that it helped that much. My clothes felt disgusting from how much I had been sweating.
I had long since grown tired of how much I had been blushing and heating up with embarrassment ever since I entered this district.
Unfortunately, my exasperation didn't stop it from happening.
Only the hatred and thirst for vengeance that still festered in my heart, tempered only by the song of my familia that rang in my ears, which had let me keep my focus.
"Oh, yes, more!" My body warmed up at the moaning from below, and my femininity tingled as the image of certain penetrating green eyes appeared in my mind.
Aaaarg, I hated this!
Keep your head cool, Ryuu! You're a proud elf. Act like it!
I was so glad that I had sent Regis away. This would have been so much more mortifying with him here than it already was.
It had just been a few hours, patrolling the Entertainment district, searching for clues. And I was already exhausted from the sheer hormonal rollercoaster.
It didn't help that I hadn't found anything besides noticing that the whole place was a little scuffed. There were indents on the walls, and the ground sported scratches and cracks that looked fresh. I could tell that there had been some battle not that long ago.
A conflict that I hadn't heard about.
But apart from that oddity, nothing.
I hadn't managed to discern anything about the root of the rumours I heard. Nor did I find anything about Evilus.
After all this work, I only had more questions than before.
I tried to ask people on the street and in the shops.
Unfortunately, the only thing I got were invitations to the various establishments that sent chills down my spine and made my tingling worse.
This place was hell for anyone who wanted to do anything productive. Not just for the seductive melodies that promised untold pleasure, or the loud tunes coming from the casinos that urged me to let go and have fun.
The district was just fascinating to tour.
Every street I patrolled was like entering a new country with its very own song. The sheer variety of people from different cultures attracted to Orario had turned this place into a miniature world on its own, where everyone could sample a tiny piece of their home.
I had to forcefully keep myself from getting distracted by the new sensations that came with my new senses.
Thank the gods, Regis reminded me to keep the melody of my familia playing constantly in my aura. It made keeping my focus far easier…
Not that it helped me that much… I was getting frustrated with my lack of progress.
Even with my new senses, I wasn't getting anything useful.
If this last month of experimenting with my senses had taught me anything, it was that they weren't good at finding things I didn't know were there.
They were excellent at reading the next move in combat situations.
Despite not having updated her falna, I knew for a fact that my combat ability had increased considerably.
But for this kind of investigative work… It was like trying to find a specific tree in a forest. With my magical senses, I could either listen to the whole forest at once or try to examine each tree one by one.
Which would take an eternity.
No, what I needed was to find a way to filter everything I didn't need from the whole.
But… How could one even filter music? It was a question that had been in my mind for a while, a question that even Regis didn't have an answer to.
'It's your own ability, you'll figure it out. I'm sure of it.' I remembered him saying, with his annoyingly cute smile and bright eyes, looking at me, brimming with excitement and anticipation.
I shook my head to dispel the image from my mind.
Alright, Ryuu. Focus. Music. How do you filter it?
Nothing came to mind; it wasn't like I knew that much about music in the first place.
I had learned to sing back in the forest with the choir. And while I knew my voice was good, music wasn't something I ever studied seriously.
Maybe I should look into it when Evilus was destroyed.
But, now wasn't the time…
What could I do? I didn't know enough about music to figure this out…
Then again, how was the song of my familia rippling through my body in the first place? It wasn't like I was actively micromanaging each note...
Maybe… I was looking at this the wrong way.
Did I really need to manually filter the music? My gut told me that there was potential there. But, it wasn't like my origin was music itself.
I wasn't singing the song in my mind or anything. I was just infusing memories of my familia into the Fairy Serenade skill that was running through my mind thanks to my falna. The music was just how my ability expressed itself.
Even when I used my Aero Mana and Noah Heal, I wasn't truly doing music myself. It was just how my intent and will transferred into reality through my ability and magic…
Remembering my encounter with the Witch, it wasn't the music of my luminous wind that let me destroy that book, where even Regis' terrifying magic couldn't.
Music was the medium… What made my magic truly work was something else.
Tales. Legends. Stories.
I hadn't yet pinpointed what exactly my origin was, but it didn't really matter.
Because I had an idea.
I didn't know if it would work… But at this point, I was willing to try anything.
So I closed my eyes and focused on my personal reality and the runic music sheet running through my mind.
First, I needed to find the right tale.
Something to infuse into the skills that governed my new senses.
What kind of tale would help me do that?
I didn't know that many tales. But, considering that what I wanted was to be true to myself and my familia's justice, I didn't need them.
My familia's tale was enough.
Countless memories about the grand battles flitted through my mind before I quickly discarded them.
The battles were certainly an important part of our tale, but it wasn't what I was looking for.
Instead, what I needed was…
Countless discussions and debates played through my mind, from the cynical sacrificial realism of Kaguya, to Lyra's ruthless pragmatism, to Alise's more heroic and optimistic approach.
What I needed was the core of our Justice.
To tell the truth, I couldn't say what it was exactly that we fought for. We were all wildly different from one another, and we all fought for different reasons.
The times we fought and beat each other up weren't few…
But for all our differences, in the end, we all agreed on something.
"To help those who are chased by evil." No one deserved to be preyed upon.
It was a simple tenet. One that easily slotted itself into the magical melody echoing in my mind.
The song of my familia felt fuller, more complete with it, and I couldn't help the sad smile on my face.
I felt myself growing closer to them through the music...
Shaking my head to regain my focus, I looked over the entertainment district, and as I kept the newly charged song ripple through my mind, I invited all its songs and melodies inside.
Which immediately, when faced with my own. A huge amount of melodies went out of tune, their discordant harmonies collapsing. For they didn't fit.
Until only a scant few remained, most of them only tangentially fitting with my own, except one.
Before I realized, my feet were already moving.
Silently pressing against the rooftop, bringing me towards where a melody harmonized so perfectly, my bones vibrated, and my heart was filled with certainty.
Someone required help, and as long as I drew breath. The Astraea familia would be there to provide it.
Darting across the Entertainment district towards the core of the song I had locked into didn't take more than a few moments.
As I cleared the last street, I found myself with an unfortunately familiar scene.
A dark cloaked silhouette was carrying two unmoving small bundles in its arms, trying to sneak in an alley between two big buildings. And although muted and distorted, as if shrouded in the shadows, I recognised the ferocious melody characteristic of the Sekhmet familia in its back.
A kidnapping.
I had long debated about where the dark familia found their fanatical members in such large numbers.
My heart boiled at the realization of the obvious solution. They just shaped them when they were young and mouldable.
The very song my soul was singing impelled me forward, my sword in hand as I unleashed a strike to the head of the shadowy figure.
"Nya!?" The top of the hood of the adventurer twitched before she turned towards me and scrambled back in a hurry, avoiding my strike by the barest of margins.
That sound, a Catkin? And that speed? I misjudged her level! She was high-class for sure. But, how? A Skill?
I tried focusing my senses on her aura, but I could feel them slipping. I couldn't get a clear read on her.
Her song was composed of three confusing melodies that seem to twist on themselves. Similar but with different pitches and tempos. It also didn't help that somehow they felt muffled.
Who was she?! Such a complex melody, and she could somehow hide her presence… I should have heard of someone like her.
"Who?? Gale Wind!" She cried, surprised. Her melody cried in panic and alarm as her eyes darted all over the place.
Who was she looking for? Not that it mattered, I had to rescue the children.
"That's right, now leave the children on the ground and surrender. I have some questions for you." I said, pointing the sword at her.
"Wait, this isn't what it looks like, nya." She said, despite securing the little children against her back with a cloth and palming her dagger.
Did she think I was that naive?
"So be it," I dashed towards her, sword ready to knock her out.
"Wait!" She said panickedly. But to my irritation, she parried my blade with her dagger, her arm trembled at the impact, but she held firm.
She was strong. Level 4 strong, at least if the feedback on my blade was any indication.
I lashed out again in a series of thrusts. Being careful with my aim and range to not put the children in danger. It made my attacks a bit slower than normal, but I didn't have a choice.
Her steel screeched as it clashed against my wood in a rapid percussion sequence.
She was fast; her reflective green catlike eyes tracked my attacks with precision and countered them with her dagger without the need to move too much.
I took a step back as I evaluated my opponent, her twisting and echoing melody becoming clearer the longer the fight went on.
"Stop it! I don't want to fight you nya." She pleaded in a whisper, even as she kept her dagger trained on me.
"Then leave the children and leave!" With her strength, I wouldn't be able to go after her even if I wanted to.
"I can't nya! Let me go! I don't have time for this." She finally yelled, with some despair. Her melody was becoming more frantic by the moment.
The sheer emotion in her voice and soul brought me to a stop for an instant.
A mistake that with lightning-like reflexes she punished by throwing a knife at my face.
Only my rapidly improving ability to read her field allowed me to tilt my head so that it barely scratched my cheek. A few drops of blood trailed down my neck.
This cat!!!!
I glared at her and activated my Mind Load Skill. My soul roared with my own melody, increasing my stats by a couple of ranks.
My opponent winced, then shivered as she met my eyes, the genuine fear and despair coming from her melody staying my blade one last time.
"Last chance, leave the children on the ground. I won't allow you to ruin them." I gave her the ultimatum. It was the last courtesy I was going to give her.
"I wouldn't do that nya!" She yelled at me, offended. "I would never let anyone harm the little ones. Please believe me nya!"
The truth rang as loud as a church bell in my head.
She truly believed that.
But then, what was happening here? Why did my ability bring me here? Then I remembered Regis' parting words about the stray cat.
Could it be her? What were the chances… It would explain part of this incongruity. But something was off. As I observed her cloaked figure and replayed our little fight in my mind, I realised why I couldn't let this go.
I could tell that she truly believed what she was doing was best for the little ones. But then… "Where are you taking them?" It was her secrecy that kept me on guard. If she truly meant them no harm, then she wouldn't mind if I accompanied her and made sure of it.
"I… I can't tell you nya. I'm sorry, but I don't have time for this nya. Please, let me go." She said, some hysteria leaking into her voice as if this situation was something that she couldn't believe was happening.
But I couldn't just let her go.
Even if the children weren't in the midst of the situation, she still was a source of information regarding Evilus. Not only that, she seemed surprisingly sane for an adventurer of the Sekhmet Familia.
My hatred and thirst for vengeance, nor the pledge of my familia to protect the weak. Neither of the emotions currently clashing in my soul would allow me to let her remain free.
So I didn't.
With my fastest speed, I dashed towards her, the pavement cracking under my feet.
"Nya!?" Her green eyes widened in surprise. But she managed to block my attack in time, barely. Her body was heavily shaking from the strain. "But… how nya?" She said, confused, before her eyes sharpened and she continued. "Never mind nya. It's time to stop [Playing around]!" Her voice echoed oddly as she pushed me away with a kick and threw a pellet into the ground.
A huge column of smoke enveloped the entire alleyway.
I scoffed, as if some smoke would be able to stop me. I focused on my pendant, the song of the cat ringing loudly in my ears, and froze.
What? How? Her three different tunes had separated!
It had to be some kind of diversion magic. It was the only thing that made sense.
In that case, ignore the adventurer, listen for the children's melody instead.
The children were what was important in the end.
It took me a second to lock their tune in. Their song was incredibly muted; their unconscious state and unblessed status made it incredibly difficult to hear. But the last month of nonstop practice paid off as I caught the extra tune riding on one of the cats' shifty music.
I ignored as the smoke of my left shifted, revealing a green-eyed silhouette attacking me with her dagger.
Some kind of clone magic?
In that case...
I threw one of Kaguya's short swords point-first towards the copy to distract it and dashed full speed towards where I sensed the children.
Huh, the melody of the copy was gone. Were the clones that fragile?
The assassin of the Sekhmet familia, burdened as she was by her fragile companions, hadn't gotten that far away. She was on the roof on the right, about to jump towards another alleyway.
In an instant, just after she jumped, I was on her. Already swinging my sword towards her head.
Except, even as I saw my sword go through her, I didn't feel any feedback through the cut.
How? I knew I didn't miss! Wait, the song pertaining to that copy had disappeared. Which meant… that her clones were likely illusory! And she could jump between them!
That was an amazing ability! How come I had never heard of her?
Wait! If she jumped to another clone to dodge my attack… Then, what about the children!?
Oh, they were falling to the ground from a height of around four meters… and they certainly weren't illusory.
Time slowed down as I realised my actions had put the children in danger and were about to fall to their deaths...
But not yet! I could still fix this!
I sheathed my sword as I made contact with a wall. Then, ricocheted through the dense smoke as fast as I could towards where I heard the children's sleepy melody.
I opened my arms as wide as I could to cover as much area as possible.
A bundle made easy contact with my right arm, which I immediately relaxed and gently trapped against my body. Elated, I reached for the other. But then, on my left hand, I felt the soft texture of cloth on the tips of my fingers and instinctively clenched my hand shut.
Crap! I clenched my hand too forcefully, and the sack that contained the child slipped from my fingers!
Come on! Fall faster, you stupid elf! You need to get him before the child falls to the ground!
But, deep inside, as I saw the wall get closer for me to jump again. My finely honed instinct told me that I wasn't going to make it.
Then I saw the smoke shift rapidly to my side.
"Nya! Mine nya!" Relief crashed down on me like a tsunami as I felt the cat fly by me.
Who would have thought that I would feel relieved to feel a child in the arms of someone from an assassin familia…
The smoke soon cleared up as I cradled the little boy with my left hand while I unsheathed my sword with my right and approached the girl who was checking the state of the child in her arms with tender care.
The sight filled me with certainty. Despite all my doubts, this girl really cared for them.
I could trust that she wouldn't hurt them.
Unfortunately, I couldn't trust her notion of what was a safe place. The memories of adventurers blowing themselves up due to being brainwashed by the dark familia wouldn't leave my mind.
That was why. "Let's stop fighting. I don't want to put the little ones at risk any more than you do. Let me accompany you. I'll help you protect them, I swear it in the name of my goddess." I said sincerely.
"You damn hypocrite nya." She growled, her eyes smoldering in impotent rage. "The only one putting them in danger is you! If it weren't for you, they would already be free and safe nya."
Her words felt like knives in my heart, as I knew them to be true, but I steeled myself.
This wasn't about me.
"I know you care for them. But I don't trust that the place you deem safe will be good for them." I told her plainly. "Besides, I've seen through your magic. You can't get away from me."
Her melody was clear to me now that I had gotten the best of her.
"Fine." She growled at me in frustration, her ears twitching violently under her hood. "Then follow me and try to be quiet nya. Your damn presence is so damn loud. We need to get away from here, now nya!"
Could she hear my song?
Probably not the same way I could. Considering everything that I learned from Regis, she probably just had an origin that made her sensitive to presences.
Still, why was she so impatient? Didn't she know that the Berbera were in the dungeon? There shouldn't be anything that could challenge her in the district. I thought that was why she was escorting the children at this time.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Is there someone targeting them?" I asked as I lowered my sword, and she stood up from her kneeling position.
"Of course there's someone…" She replied petulantly, scanning the roofs.
"Who?" I asked seriously.
"Me." A childlike voice said from behind me, while I saw a glint of steel under my chin.
A sharp pain went through my neck as my sword clattered against the ground, my now free hand struggling against the arm gripping the blade, trying to behead me.
"Oh~ Nice instincts there. As expected from the last remaining adventurer of the Astraea familia." The enemy behind me mockingly praised me as I felt another lance of hot pain in my lower back, as I began gurgling in my own blood.
Where did he come from!? I hadn't sensed him at all!
Thinking fast, I applied my improved Aero Mana skill to the nails of my hand. It bloodily and painfully split them open as they vibrated, but not before they penetrated the arm holding the knife to my throat. "Aaarg, that stings you bitch!" He kicked me away as he let go of the knife, but took the kid from me as he did so.
I rolled on the ground, struggling not to breathe in my own blood and drown. But this wasn't the end, not yet. I just had to take the elixir that was in my pouch, and I should be alright…
Then, like fire ants ran through my veins, came the pain. Every nerve in my body lit up like the night sky, as if a hundred knives cleaved through my nerves simultaneously. My body spasmed once, and everything went numb.
I could barely feel myself anymore, much less move.
That… that blade had to have been coated in poison. A disgustingly potent one to leave an adventurer of my level with the Abnormal Resistance Development Skill in this state.
"Finally, a month late, but the job is finally done. I would say it has been a pleasure, but it really was not. Frigging waste of time and resources." He muttered under his breath. "But hey, at least I finally found my wayward sister. So, silver lining. Anyway, enjoy drowning in your own blood." The cloaked adventurer lazily saluted in my direction before turning towards the cat.
Sister? They were allies?!
No, never mind that. At least he was not paying attention to me anymore.
This was my chance; I had to cast Noah Heal.
But… I couldn't speak, much less chant. Black spots started appearing in the corner of my vision, and I could feel my warmth seeping onto the floor, leaving me cold.
Shit, I really did fuck this up, didn't I?
I slowly started losing my senses. My hearing was the first to go, the pair of assassins were talking, but I couldn't hear what they were saying anymore. My senses of smell, taste, and touch followed swiftly. Only an increasing hot pain in my chest as my lungs filled with blood, and the bone-chilling coldness spreading through my extremities remained as the pair of assassins squared up against each other, ready to battle.
So they weren't allies…
Which answered a doubt that I had been unconsciously puzzling over. I had tracked the cat by using the tale-charged music of my familia. When I found her, with the unconscious children over her shoulder, I had assumed the worst.
I thought that my song had harmonized with the children and that the cat was the evil I had to vanquish.
But… I was wrong.
The reason the song of my familia led me to this place was for another reason.
It let me here, because in this particular situation, she was, without a doubt, the hero. Like one of my sisters who was trying to save the children that were besieged by evil…
I misunderstood and made a mess of everything.
Even with all the training Regis had given me, all the new tools and skills…
Even with all that. I ruined it.
In the end, I was just the foolish little elf who let her familia be slaughtered.
All sensation had already fled from my body. My body didn't hurt anymore, only my spotty sight remained as I looked up to the sky.
A sky full of stars was looking down upon this pathetic and dying elf.
They were beautiful… Such a vibrant tune…
Ah, Alise and the rest were up there, weren't they? I could hear it from here…
Compared to them, to those brilliant stars… I…
I could feel myself about to pass out when I heard it.
A song. A pathetic, poisoned song in its dead throats. A song that jolted me up from how unsightly it was. A song that I recognised immediately.
It was mine, and it was swiftly approaching its final notes.
Ah, it didn't fit.
Comparing it with the song of the stars, this song of mine didn't fit at all.
In the same way, most of the songs of the pleasure district were incompatible.
A certain fact made itself clear. I didn't know how, but I knew this for sure.
If I were to die now, I knew down to my very core that I wouldn't see them again.
I wouldn't go where they were. Not if I spat on their sacrifice by dying like this.
I didn't want that! I couldn't die! Not yet, and not like this!
But my body was unresponsive, as much as I raged, my mind was far too sluggish to improvise a solution.
There wasn't a single thing I could do! Still, I didn't want to end like this!
I messed up! I knew that. I didn't want those children to suffer because of my mistakes.
But what could I do!? What could I do to uphold the ideals of the Astraea familia?
"Those who manage to make their ideals reality are what we call heroes, Ryuu." I heard Alise's voice say from within my memories.
But Alice! I wasn't a hero! I was just a stupid elf who could sing.
"Then sing, Ryuu. I need you to sing." She replied, "You know I love listening to you."
But how!? How could singing help me here? Even if I wanted to, my body won't move.
I didn't even know what I was thinking anymore.
Still, since it's Alise who was asking me to… It was the least I could do.
So, when my song reached its very last note, with the only thing I had left, my soul, I sang.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Chloe Rollo Pov.
Bulshit! This was pure and utter bullshit nya!
I had assassinated dozens of high-class adventurers. Arrogant nobles protected by the fiercest of defenses. Armies of guards, magical items, enchantments, even systems designed by gods of wisdom and war!
I had bested them all in my missions. I had never failed once.