The blue-and-white crystals scattered across the town were crushed underfoot, and the walls meant to hold back the monsters might as well not have existed.
Tents, huts, crystal pillars... Everything in Rivira Town was swallowed by the yellow-green monstrosities.
Finn drove his spear forward, sweeping the battlefield with his peripheral vision. Even in the thick of combat, the Pallum Captain's mind stayed sharp. The situation looked dire, but it was still within his control.
With Bete and Gareth there, he didn't need to worry about the boy and Lefiya caught in the crowd. Riveria worked seamlessly with the Amazoness sisters, cutting down wave after wave of monsters. As for what the red-haired woman was after, that burden fell on Ais and her sharp instincts.
Freed from his earlier restraints, Finn focused all his attention on the enemies before him.
"Looks like you really did underestimate me."
His gentle expression vanished, replaced by the fierce resolve of a warrior. Amid the monsters' roars, the red-haired woman drew the longsword at her waist. Steel clashed against steel as blade met spear tip with a piercing screech.
She frowned, staggering back a step.
"...First Tier... Lv5? No—Lv6?"
While she muttered to herself, the golden spearhead closed in again. Thrusts, sweeps—every attack Finn unleashed carried the precision and experience of the Pallum Captain.
As he pressed forward, a Viola beside him suddenly lashed out with its tendrils. But Finn seemed to have expected it. He dropped low, slipping past the whip-like strike with ease.
There were too many monsters. For every one cut down, more appeared.
Avoiding the Viola's attack, Finn leveled his spear at the red-haired woman. She possessed frightening, unnatural strength. Finn had sensed it the moment she launched her first counter.
He shifted his approach, relentlessly forcing her into blind spots. That brute strength, enough to snap an adventurer's neck effortlessly, had no chance to come into play.
"...Quit joking around!"
She was being pushed back step by step. Without the aid of several Violas, she would've fallen already. Rage twisted her face.
She lifted her left foot and stomped down hard.
A thunderous crack split the air. The ground beneath shattered, and raw brute force alone sent a shockwave ripping out that rivaled Magic.
"—What?!"
In her astonished gaze, Finn drove his spear into a Viola's tendrils and used the monster's massive body to block the blast with ease.
Just as the Pallum Captain prepared to strike back, something shifted.
"Roar!!!"
A deafening roar swept across the battlefield. Behind the crowd, a bizarre humanoid female form clung to the giant Viola. Like a newborn, it let out a horrifying wail toward the crystal sky.
...
A few minutes earlier, Ais had descended at high speed from above. In a corner of the square, in front of a small stall, a Chienthrope girl slowly lifted her trembling head. She wore no armor, her wheat-colored body curled tightly as she clutched the bundle in her arms.
"Can... we talk?" Ais asked.
"No... don't come closer!" The Chienthrope girl's expression was frozen in terror.
"I'm not a bad person..."
Ais set her slender sword aside to show she meant no harm.
"Could you tell me your name and background?"
"Lulune... Lulune Louie, Lv2, Hermes Familia."
"Alone?" Ais asked again. Everyone from Rivira had gathered in the square. If the girl was this scared, yet no one came to comfort her, she really was by herself.
"...Yes."
"Coming to the 18th floor alone as an Lv2... isn't that dangerous?" Ais noticed the inconsistency. According to the Guild, the Middle Floors should be tackled in groups.
"...The Familia God ordered me to hide my level up. I'm sorry, but I'm actually already Lv3..." Lulune added shakily. "I accepted a request from a man in black to bring the town's luggage to the surface... It sounded suspicious, but the reward was really good, so I took it. But then... this happened..."
Ais made the connection immediately. Hashana's luggage hadn't been stolen—it had been delivered before he was killed. Who would hire someone from another familia to run a solo job? Someone that cautious must have known the valuable item would attract attention from criminals.
Ais couldn't make sense of the deeper motive. She could only trust her instincts and speak softly:
"Can you give me the item?"
"..."
Lulune hesitated. Even a Level 4 had been massacred. Whatever she was holding could very well get her killed too. Money versus her life—the answer was obvious.
Looking at the Sword Princess's calm face, Lulune saw a steadfast resolve in her golden eyes, a decisiveness that didn't match her expression at all.
"The man in black said not to open it, and not to hand it to anyone... but if it's for Loki Familia..."
Still trembling, Lulune began to unwrap the bundle.
Layer after layer peeled away like an onion until a sphere appeared in her hands.
"..."
It was a green orb, filled with an unknown liquid and... a strange fetus. It was alive.
Feeling it tremble against her palm, Lulune fearfully handed it to the Sword Princess.
Ais accepted it wordlessly, like a doll.
The fetus inside had long hair and disturbingly large eyes that stared directly at the blonde girl.
What is this...
In sync with the pulse in her hands, Ais's heartbeat quickened uncontrollably. Staring into those unnatural eyes, her blood felt like it was boiling and screaming.
Why...
She didn't know what this thing was. She didn't know why she was reacting like this.
Her body shook. Her mind screamed. Everything around her felt distant.
A sharp ringing pierced her ears as Ais dropped to her knees. The jewel rolled from her hands and hit the ground.
Lulune froze, tears welling in her eyes at the unexpected sight.
Behind them, a Viola emerged. Perhaps drawn by the jewel, or maybe just a stray that hadn't been cleared.
Its gaping maw opened, hunger and killing intent fixed on the blonde girl.
Ais remained on her knees. Everything was drifting away.
The monster's roar, the adventurers' shouts, the blast of Magic, the shattering of ice... Ais could hear none of it.
She felt as though she had fallen into a murky, terrifying swamp, unable to hear or see anything. The only thing left in her mind was the frantic pounding of her own heartbeat.
Why was this happening?
Where was she sinking to?
In that clouded world, a ray of light broke through.
"Ais-san!"
It was the white-haired boy calling out.
"Ais Wallenstein!"
I'm right here... What could be so urgent?
"Ais!"
At the sound of that soul-shaking cry, the Sword Princess suddenly snapped back. She had to climb upward. She had to keep moving forward, just like him.
Forward... Until the day her sorrowful vow was fulfilled, she had to keep climbing without stopping.
"Ais!"
Amid the boy's desperate shouts, the Sword Princess's world regained its color.