No one's POV
Dormul: What do ye mean?! I demand an explanation!
Dormul Bolster raised his voice. The dwarf, a member of Magni Familia, was in the eighteenth floor Under Resort, where he and his familia members were waiting. He leaned in closer to the adventurer who had collapsed before his eyes.
Adventurer 1: I-I already told you, an Amphisbaena spawned in the Water Capital!
Dormul: But there should still be half a month left before the next interval! Why would a floor boss appear now?!
Adventurer 1: No idea! We just heard about it from some guys who escaped the lower levels and came running back here like mad!
The adventurers who had fled to the safety point of Rivira, the Dungeon's post town, were members of the hunting party pursuing Gale Wind. These particular underlings had been tasked with guarding the connecting passageways between floors to prevent the fugitive from escaping, on the orders of their leader Boris. After learning what was happening on the twenty- fifth floor, they had run a relay of sorts to get the information back to Rivira as quickly as possible.
Adventurer 1: The guys who escaped from the twenty-fifth floor were half-crazy...! They said the Dungeon was 'crying' and the Great Falls were stained red... the only thing we know for sure is that there were a bunch of huge explosions and the labyrinth on that floor collapsed.
Dormul: Collapsed?! That stupidly gigantic maze?!
Dormul stared in shock at the pale adventurer whose words had trailed off at the end. The dwarves had suspected something strange was going on. Several hours earlier, they'd felt the ground shake. It hadn't been an earthquake, but more of an up-and-down motion that seemed to originate from the floors below.
Luvis: If the explosions caused the floor boss to ignore the interval...then what caused the explosions? Did Gale Wind and the main hunting party get into a flashy magic shoot-out or something?
Next to the dumbfounded Dormul, the Modi Familia elf Luvis grimaced sternly as he swung his empty right sleeve. There was no way Boris's underlings—who hadn't gone with the main party into the Water Capital and didn't know what Jura and Turk had done— could have a proper grasp of the whole situation. Of course, the same was true of Luvis, Dormul, and Dormul's familia. They had all stayed on the eighteenth floor.
They didn't even have any way of knowing that a calamity had caused a massacre.
Adventurer 1: According to the guys who escaped, Hestia Familia was left behind in the cavern, with the floor boss...
Dormul: What...?! Ye mean to say you lot abandoned them?!
Adventurer 1: Couldn't be helped! Who wouldn't run from a floor-boss fight when equipment and manpower are lacking?
Adventurer 2: And the monsters were acting weird! We heard them screaming all over, and just before we left, a pack of all sorts mixed together barreled right through the connecting passageway on the nineteenth floor that we were guarding!
It seemed those monsters were headed for the Water Capital. Dormul and Luvis fell silent as they listened to the adventurers relate this information. But everyone present had the same word at the back of their minds:
Dormul and Luvis: Irregular.
Something so extraordinary it made the affair with Gale Wind seem like a mere trifle was occurring in the Dungeon. Each of the experienced upper- class adventurers shared the same strong hunch.
Dormul: What do we do...? Send in support? Or return to the surface first and inform the Guild?
Luvis:...Both. We can't do much if we don't know what's happening down there, and we can't find that out here in Rivira.
In contrast to the agitated Dormul, Luvis's response was wise as he assessed the situation. Thanks to the hunting expedition, much of Rivira's population was away. Of the remaining upper-class adventurers, the members of Magni and Modi familias ranked highest. Bors's underlings waited for those familias to decide since their own minds had gone blank in the face of such an unprecedented situation.
Luvis: Above all, we must not abandon Hestia Familia! Shario, Alec, get your weapons!
Dormul: Wait now, Luvis! What can yer bunch do in yer current state? We dwarves will go to Bell's party. Ye elves wait here!
Luvis: Do you think a band of elves would desert those we are indebted to? Or are you saying we'd hold you back? You slow-footed dwarves are the real dead weight, I'd say!
Dormul: Rubbish! Count on an elf to take my kindly words and twist them!
The onlookers scrambled to end the budding argument between dwarves and elves that had broken out at exactly the wrong moment. But just then, another voice interrupted.
Lemia: What did you say about Hestia Familia?
Everyone present froze at the sound of the strong voice that cut through their bickering like a sword.
Luvis: Mage of Falling Leaves?! And New Astrea Familia?!
Dormul: And Cyclops?! What's the captain of Hephaestus Familia doing here?!
Tsubaki: What, a smith can't enter the Dungeon? Forget about that—just tell us what's going on!
Lemia and her Familia along with Tsubaki had apparently arrived at that very moment in Rivira. Behind them, were what looked like nine female and two male adventurers—two cat people. Three human. Two Amzons. 1 half dwarf. And 3 pallum.
Raquelta(Archer), Mejila(Mage), and Balda(Swordsman). (Human, Pallum, Half-Dwarf) Level 3
Bella Lafuma(Human-Healer) Level 5
Sumela(Amazon-Tw0-handed Sword) Level 5
Susora(Amazon-Axe-wielder) Level 5
Milo and Melo (Pallum-spearman) Level 4
Luvis and his companions were curious about the newcomers, but as the first-tier, Level 6 Mage had instructed, they shared what they knew of the situation.
Lemia: A floor boss, you say? And the twenty-fifth floor exploded? And on top of it all, monsters are acting strangely? Orario has truly changed into hell the moment I left.
Luvis: Look at us however you like, that's all we know!
Luvis snapped at Lemia, who was questioning him with a suspicious look on her face.
Lunoire: What's going on?
Chloe: Sounds like a real dumpster fire down there~nya.
Anya: What happened to Gale Wind~nya?
One of the cat people had jumped into the conversation with no concern for propriety.
Luvis: Hey, who are you?
Lemia: Just a curious cat this retired adventurer brought along. Now, answer our question. Where is my Familia member?
The bewildered Luvis and Dormul examined what appeared to be Lemia's party once again. They were outfitted with lightweight equipment such as hooded robes and knuckledusters. They were in the Dungeon, after all, so their gear wasn't a particularly odd sight, but still, they seemed oddly unlike adventurers. Especially the human and the catgirl with the black fur. At the very least, they were unfamiliar faces in the middle-level base camp of Rivira.
It was ridiculous to use the phrase to describe adventurers in general, but these people didn't quite seem respectable.
Luvis(mind): I feel like I've seen this catgirl who just interrupted us somewhere before...
Luvis glanced at the one properly outfitted catgirl, who was wearing red- and-white battle clothes and carried a spear embossed in gold. She seemed familiar. But his train of thought was cut off by her impatient demand of "Tell us, meow!"
Luvis: Gale Wind hasn't yet been captured. We hear she's likely to be on the twenty-seventh floor, and that's where the elite hunters have headed...but to be honest, that's the least of their worries at this point.
Bella: You're talking about what they call Irregular?
Sumela: This place is a real monster's nest like the rumors said.
Chloe: Ah, I wish we could hurry up and get out into the sun again, meow!
The human, the amazon and the other catgirl reacted to Luvis's explanation as if it wasn't their concern. Just as Luvis and the others were wondering who the hell this motley crew was, Lemia and Tsubaki interrupted.
Tsubaki: Right then, leave the twenty-fifth floor to us.
Lemia: We'll go take a look.
Dormul: Huh?! What's the meaning of this?!
Lemia: Is there a problem? We're faster than you, so we're better suited to the job. All the more so because time is short.
Tsubaki: Plus...a former coworker I used to keep as a pet is with Hestia Familia now.
Luvis: W-wait! Hey!
By the time Luvis and Dormul tried to stop them, Lemia and her Familia along with Tsubaki and her party were already becoming distant specks. The adventurers watched in a daze as the thirteenth figures disappeared, leaving Rivira behind.
Lunoire: Now we've done it. We're not in disguise like Ryuu. Think they guessed we're bar waitresses?
Chloe: In that sort of situation you ought to melt into the shadows, meow. If they don't remember your eyes and voice, you'll be okay, meow.
Lunoire: I can't pull off assassin stuff like you can.
The party had crossed the marshlands on the eighteenth floor and emerged into a broad meadow. The catgirl Chloe, dressed in a hooded robe, and the human Lunoire, wearing knuckledusters, chatted as the group advanced in a tight formation. Their casual voices were completely at odds with their superhuman speed.
They cut across the central zone of the eighteenth floor so fast the monsters lurking in the meadow didn't even notice them, and if they had, they wouldn't have been able to even come close to them.
Tsubaki: Man, are you still telling me you all are just a bunch of regular tavern waitresses or something? Alehouses sure must be mighty dangerous these days!
Chloe: Well, it's not like we make a habit of partying with characters we don't know~nya...
Still maintaining her speed, Tsubaki gave a childlike laugh. Chloe shot an indignant glance as she ran alongside her.
Lunoire: You guys have never heard of The Benevolent Mistress? It's pretty famous.
Tsubaki: That's the place Mia runs, right? I'm always holed up in the workshop so I don't know about all that worldly stuff. I had no idea girls like you even existed! Forgive me, ha-ha-ha!
Anya: This lady sure is hard to work with~nya... And to think we get a chance to party up with Ryuu's new Familia~nya!
Lemia: Like you all promised. You mustn't tell Gale Wind about her patron goddess currently in Orario. Do I make myself clear?
Anya, Chloe, Lunoire: C-Clear!
These were the support troops Hestia had sent in. The party had been quickly thrown together in order to rescue Gale Wind and assist Hestia Familia. It was made up of the three bar waitresses Anya, Chloe, and Lunoire, 9 members of new Astrea Familia, Lemia, Bella, Sumela, Susora, Milo, Melo, Raquelta, Mejila, Balda, plus Tsubaki. If someone in the know had seen them, however, their eyes would have bugged out at the first-tier party.
Bella: And what do you think about what that elf said, Lemia?
Bella glanced questioningly at Lemia.
Lemia: All I can say is, it's totally different from the story we heard before we left. I thought our job was to help Gale Wind escape if she'd been captured for something she didn't do.
The 13 of them had rushed into the Dungeon before they even finished introducing themselves. Chloe, Ahnya, and Lunoire were there to rescue Ryuu, whose life was at risk, Lemia and the others were searching for Sora since they knew about Sora's injuries and he's in no condition to fight, while Tsubaki was there to lend a hand to Welf and his companions as they treaded a dangerous path. But now things were heading in an unexpected direction. Lemia knit her brows, sniffing something fishy.
Anya: That's beside the point~nya! So what if we encounter monsters or adventurers get in our way? We'll blow them away and save Ryuu~nya! Along with the gray-haired Hero and his party, too!
Anya, who was running as fast as she could at the front of the pack, shouted back to Lemia. Her coworkers gazed at her as she twirled her long lance in one hand and ran like crazy, her battle clothes fluttering in the wind.
Lunoire: Idiots sure have it easy, huh?
Chloe: But we're the ones who have to clean up her messes when she dives in without thinking~nya.
Tsubaki: Ha-ha-ha-ha! I agree with that girl! The simpler the better!
Anya: Cyclops catches on quick~nya!
Raquelta: Aha-ha. Sora sure has many interesting friends.
Mejila: First those people during the assault at that man-made Dungeon. Now these bar-tender.
Balda: Its alright! That just mean we get to meet very peculiar people outside of Azbaya.
Bella: We're supposed to be on a mission. So stop bantering.
Sumela: You're to stiff Bella!
Susora: Agree!
Milo and Melo: That's why you'll turned into an old woman if you keep acting like that!
Bella: You little pallums!
Lemia: Look, stop ganging on Bella. You'll make her cry!
Bella: Not you too Lady Lemia!
Lunoire, Chloe, Tsubaki, Anya, Lemia, Bella, Sumela, Susora, Milo, Melo, Raquelta, Mejila, and Balda kept up the lively banter. Despite their relaxed, jovial tone, their speed hadn't reduced in the slightest. Every adventurer turned in surprise to stare as this strange group passed them by on the way to the Central Tree leading to the nineteenth floor.
(Timeskip)
The battle with the floor boss was a test of endurance.
The monster's massive, seemingly tireless body didn't even flinch in response to minor attacks. Even a concentrated barrage of magic—one of the keenest weapons available to adventurers—could not take the beast down in a single shot. As long as the levels of the adventurers involved were not overwhelmingly superior, fighting Amphisbaena tended to be a waiting game. Lili's alliance party, made up of fewer than ten members, should have been at an insurmountable disadvantage.
But they were determined to overcome adversity. They were making an all-out effort to tip the scales and achieve victory.
Welf: Hiyo!
The magic blade shrieked. Welf—greatsword in his left hand and magic blade in his right—launched his attack. The supply of stable islands on the lake was dwindling, but now the bluish ice blade that had once made a certain first-tier dwarf moan transformed the lake into a field of ice for the second time. The floor boss was in the line of fire, and it turned its head at the flapping ice wings.
Amphisbaena: HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
Naturally, the Amphisbaena offset the attack with its crimson mist. But Welf's attack was so powerful the dragon was forced to use the mist as a shield rather than a suit of armor encasing its entire body. The dragon's irritation was evident as its right head roared at the young smith and breathed out more mist. The floor boss's white body was marred by frostbite.
Lili: Mr. Welf! The Amphisbaena is a water dragon, so ice magic blades won't affect it much! Please hold off on more of those attacks!
Welf: I know!...This blade is at its limit, too.
Welf glanced down at the weapon in his right hand. With a popping sound, a web of fissures sped through his magic blade Hiyo. As she watched, Lili realized time was running out; they had to up the intensity of the fight.
Lili: Ms. Haruhime, support please! Ms. Cassandra, heal Ms. Aisha, Ms. Muller, and Ms. Rin first and then focus on Ms. Mikoto and the others on the front line!
Haruhime: Grow. That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes.
Cassandra: Rescue my miserable companions in place of my words that cannot reach them.
Two chants seemed to melt together behind Lili.
Haruhime and Cassandra had been supporting the front line by constantly casting spells. Without a magic user to provide artillery fire in their current party, these two unquestionably held the fate of the battle in their hands.
Haruhime in particular played a key role. She was already entering her third round of level boosts. Normally during battles she was mostly a tagalong, but now she was truly proving her worth. The adventurers were rapidly draining their magic potions, too—and that worried Lili.
Lili(mind): If this thing does what that Black Goliath does...I'll be mad enough to cry!
She couldn't help comparing the Irregular they'd fought in the past with their current foe.
When a Monster Rex was able to regenerate, it was a nightmare terrible enough to crush anyone's willpower. As a commander who incessantly yelled out orders to limit the damage they suffered, Lili knew that better than anyone. The fight on the eighteenth floor had been truly hopeless.
But the water dragon she was looking at now didn't have that secret weapon. Or at least she didn't think it did. That would be unthinkable. Lili offered a silent prayer as she continued to issue orders.
Aisha: The Amphisbaena doesn't have a secret weapon. What's scary is the blue napalm.
Muller: If it catches us with that, the situation will immediately take a turn for the worse.
This two-headed dragon's most terrifying weapon was its hellish flames that couldn't be stamped out, which made its attacks fatal. Allow a hand to catch fire and the only result would be tragedy. Welf and the others were taking extreme care to avoid the blue napalm, but the loss of even one fighter would undermine the entire front line.
Rin: Now how many vials of that fire-quenching potion did we pilfer from Asfi just in case...?
Several methods did exist for extinguishing the blue napalm flames.
The most well-known was the anti-napalm healing solution produced by Amid Teasanare, the Dea Saint of Dian Cecht Familia and the greatest healer in Orario. It was much sought-after for expeditions in the lower levels because it not only snuffed out flames, it also healed the skin they had burned. The item had contributed enormously to the efforts of upper-tier adventurers because it had opened the door for them to conquer the Amphisbaena.
What was less well-known was that Perseus had developed a similar magic item.
Asfi belonged to Hermes Familia, which lied about both its official level and the floors it had reached. The first time the captain of Hermes Familia laid eyes on Amphisbaena, she set about developing an antidote with the greatest trepidation.
Only members of Hermes Familia were permitted to use the secret item. It didn't help with recovery, but it was universally acknowledged to put out flames. Plus, unlike the anti-napalm heal, it could be used to extinguish all sorts of other flames.
Aisha: Yah!
Muller: Hah!
Rin: Now take this!
Amphisbaena: UUU...!
The cavern had turned into an oven fueled by the wavering blue flames, but Muller, Rin and Aisha ignored the sweat dripping off them as they lunged at the Amphisbaena with their weapons. Unable to hide its flagging strength, the dragon swung its neck away to avoid taking serious damage but writhed at the assault on its scales.
One more push and the balance would crumble. Aisha was sure of it.
Muller: How long does Haruhime's Level Boos last?
Aisha: The effects of Haruhime's Uchide no Kozuchi last fifteen minutes at most. The interval before she can activate her magic again is a little over ten minutes...
Rin: So if we can just get through the next ten minutes, we can count on another level boost!
Aisha had looked after Haruhime when they were both prostitutes, and they'd worked as a pair on the battlefield, too. She knew all there was to know about the renard's magic. By cleverly manipulating the length of the magic's effectiveness and the waiting interval, it was possible to have an extra person fighting with a level boost for about five minutes. The burden on Haruhime would increase, but this time she'd simply have to push through.
Aisha glanced back at the shore. Despite the distance between them, Haruhime sensed Aisha's gaze and nodded as if she understood her intention.
Aisha: I like the look on her face these days.
Rin: Well thank, Sora and Bell for that.
Aisha smiled briefly at Haruhime's determined expression. The girl who had once lamented the real world was nowhere to be found.
Aisha(mind): Most of all, for me—
Then Ouka yelled.
Ouka: It dove in!
The dragon had disappeared underwater again, sending up a wave in its wake. The threat of attacks coming from underwater would have sent a chill down the backs of most adventurers. But this party was different.
Ouka: Mikoto!
Mikoto: It's moving west! South...no, east! Lady Lili, get out of the way!
Thanks to Mikoto's Yatano Black Crow skill, they had the upper hand. By moving quickly, Lili was able to narrowly avoid a strike from the Amphisbaena, which had emerged exactly where Mikoto said it would. Several smaller monsters suffered the impact of the attack instead.
A figure sped across the landscape, timing its approach to the instant when the floor boss showed its face.
It was Mikoto, whose detection skill verged on premonition.
She drew her longsword, Shunsan.
Although it was hard to maneuver due to its great length, there was no better weapon for fighting a large-category enemy. The sword was also ideal for performing her special move. Golden glimmers of light from the level boost swirled around the god of martial arts' disciple. She leaped forward, twisting her hips as she drew the sword.
Mikoto: Zekka!
Spirit and technique melded perfectly in the attack that burst from her scabbard. The blade sliced a dragon scale in half and tore deep into the neck of the floor boss's right head.
Amphisbaena: 0000000000000000000000000000000000000!
The Amphisbaena screamed as fresh blood rained down from the center of its neck. The blow was unquestionably fierce, and Welf cheered at the sight of it.
Aisha: Yup, with Eternal † Shadow here, we can even head off those damn underwater attacks!
Mikoto was an all-rounder who fought in the vanguard and could detect as well as track enemies. She was bringing her full potential to bear in this battle. The party had insanely powerful magic blades capable of not only devastating attacks, but even of creating terrain to stand on. On top of that, they had Mikoto's detection skill.
Combined in the right way, those two assets gave a party of fewer than ten adventurers the upper hand in a water fight with an Amphisbaena.
Mikoto was as crucial to winning this battle as Haruhime.
Rin: The party's working together so well we're actually giving Amphisbaena a run for its money...
Muller: We're so good we can even knock out the other monsters in our spare time!
Because the massive explosions had caused parts of the Dungeon to collapse, the monsters inside hadn't been able to reach the cavern. That, too, was a great advantage in this battle. Normally, part of the party would be occupied taking care of monsters other than the Monster Rex, but that wasn't the case now.
Muller's sword sliced through an aqua serpent, bringing the number of visible monsters below five.
Daphne: Hey...do you think this might actually work?
Daphne asked, fighting back-to-back with Rin. The Blue Mage nodded.
Rin: Yeah. With Welf's magic blades, it seems we can even win a fight in the cavern.
The wounded Amphisbaena was clearly drained. The proof lay in the fact that the blue napalm the dragon had been breathing out so fiercely in the early stages of the battle was now coming in ragged puffs.
At this point, a water dragon would normally have stopped fighting and hidden at the bottom of the lake until it recovered. From the adventurers' perspective, that would have been the worst possible outcome.
But from the dragon's perspective, the prey might escape in the meantime. In a real emergency, they could scale the cliffs leading to the twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth floors.
Muller: This floor boss had ignored the basic interval for its emergence, and it was also ignoring its ordinary behavioral patterns to prioritize slaughtering the intruders.
Aisha: As long as it was worrying about the possibility of our escape, it most likely wouldn't rest for long.
Lili and the rest of the rear guard were moving constantly along the shore to avoid coming under attack as they supported Welf and the others who were maneuvering around on the icebergs. In an emergency, Lili could use her own dagger-type magic blade to fend off the enemy. Meanwhile, Welf's group was intermittently launching assaults on the floor boss.
Everything was coming together in perfect harmony.
The wind was blowing in their favor.
This party, even with its scant number of fighters, could take down an Amphisbaena.
Aisha: We can win.
Muller: Yeah
Aisha was sure of it. Muller was too sure of it.This was the Dungeon. The endless labyrinth. And they had forgotten that the Dungeon was anything but predictable.
Amphisbaena:...
Four bloodshot dragon eyes glared at the scene.
The accumulated damage...the lost blood...and worst of all, these inferior adventurers who had the nerve to oppose a dragon despite their puny stature. Everything about the situation fueled the Amphisbaena's anger, until its huge body burned with rage.
Right head: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
Left head: UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Both heads roared at once. Then the dragon dove underwater. Welf and Ouka shivered as its massive fin split the water, sending up a storm of droplets.
Welf: Again?
Ouka: Mikoto, we're counting on you!
Mikoto: Got it!
She activated Yatano Black Crow. There was no way the massive underwater motion beneath her feet could escape her notice. She tracked the monster's direction and was about to relay the information to her companions —when suddenly she froze.
Mikoto:.....
Aisha, Muller, Rin: !!
Time stood still for Rin, Muller, and Aisha at the same moment. The adventurer's instincts she had honed so well rang in alarm. In the past, Aisha had always lured the Amphisbaena into more favorable terrain before fighting it, so she hadn't realized.
Indeed, none of the battle-hardened adventurers who had taken down the Amphisbaena in the past knew. No one had seen what an Amphisbaena would do if they fought it in the cavern of the Great Falls and drove it into a corner.
They didn't know what irregular behavior it would use to annihilate its enemies.
Mikoto: It's heading for the waterfall—
Muller: What?!
The water dragon's track cut across Mikoto's detection net. Without a backward glance toward the adventurers, it charged straight at the waterfall on the cavern's north side. It was moving with the same terrific force it had when it ascended from the twenty-seventh floor to the twenty- fifth.
An instant later, it shattered the ice and collided with the Great Falls, raising a massive spray of water.
Welf, Lilly, Haruhime, Ouka, Chigusa, Daphne, and Cassandra watched as the white form ascended the huge waterfall. Only Mikoto, Rin, Muller and Aisha had managed to guess their enemy's intentions. Even they were too late. Having reached the top of the waterfall, the Amphisbaena leaped into the air.
Everyone:.........
The cavern went silent. Even the roar of the waterfall ceased. In this hushed world frozen in time, the adventurers saw the dragon dancing far overhead. The wingless monster was floating in midair. And then the terrifying roar of the falls broke through the frozen flow of time. The Amphisbaena began to descend.
Welf: UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The moment Welf's scream ended, the floor boss plunged into the center of the lake. The root dome exploded with an impact that seemed to shatter the earth itself.
Not only the twenty-fifth floor but the entire Water Capital shook as a mass of debris—incomparably more than what had fallen from the colossal tree earlier—hurtled to the ground.
The impact sent up a tsunami that overturned everything resembling an island of ice. Muller, Aisha and everyone else who had narrowly escaped the dragon's body slam were thrown into the water.
As the tsunami reached the shore, it swept the rear guard up and threw them against the wall.
Even the blue flames that had been flickering on the shore and water were swallowed by the violent waves and drowned in the frothing water.
Like wine overflowing from a glass, emerald blue water poured into the twenty-sixth floor without slowing down. The tremors opened an alarming lattice of cracks across the entire cavern.
Rin: Ahhh—
Rin was closest to the center of the floor boss's dive-bomb attack. It had clearly targeted her. Buffeted by aftershocks and chunks of ice, she fell through the water's surface and downward into a cerulean world. Blood streamed from a head wound, tinting the water a hazy red. Rin grew groggy. As if to deal her a parting blow, her eyes delivered bad news. A school of huge fish was rapidly approaching.
Rin(mind): Raider fish!
Unlike the aqua serpents, they could not emerge onto land. They jetted toward Rin as if they had been waiting for prey to fall into the water. One bared its long, sharp fangs and sank them into her right shoulder.
Rin(mind): Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!
Another latched onto her left arm, and a third bit at her right foot. As the hideous monsters swarmed in an attempt to make a meal out of her, she felt as if they were violating her. Her tender body spurted blood, and even the undine cloth she wore seemed to cry out as it was shredded.
Her silent screams only came out as countless bubbles while her body sank with the throng of monsters to the bottom of the lake. The last thing she saw was the massive stomach of the dragon rising toward the water's surface directly above her before slowly losing consciousness.
Welf: Cough, cough! ...Shit!
Welf grabbed onto one of the few remaining islands and burst through the water with great force. He took a deep gulp of air, then spit out a stream of water and curses.
The cavern was a terrible sight.
The water was still as rough as a stormy sea, and its level had definitely fallen. The ice platforms had been broken into thousands of pieces that made it hard to tell that they were once used as bases for launching attacks on the floor boss. The root dome directly overhead was a wreck, a yawning skylight in its center. Even the four walls of the cavern were laced with cracks, as if they had been smashed by a meteorite.
The Dungeon had already been battered, but this was unprecedented damage. Ripples overlapped across the water's surface as countless crystal fragments continued to tumble down from the ceiling.
Chigusa: Huff, huff...!
Ouka: This is insane...!
Daphne, Chigusa, and Ouka grabbed onto floating ice chunks and root fragments and popped their heads out of the water. Every member of the party was torn up with bruises and cuts. Some has even lost their weapons.
Lili: Ms. Cassandra...!
Cassandra: Uugh...!
Those on the shore had suffered just as much. Cassandra lay sprawled on the ground. A chunk of ice had collided with her back when she shielded Lili and Haruhime. Lili's backpack was hanging from a dripping wet crystal cluster. The formation that the adventurers had so painstakingly built in pursuit of victory was utterly demolished.
Muller: Rin...? Where's Rin?!
Muller was the first to notice that her best friend was missing. As Welf and the rest of the vanguard clambered onto one of the few remaining ice platforms—a large island that had been flipped upside down— Muller, peered back and forth.
Muller: No way...Riiiiiiiiiiiiin?!
No sound came in response to her shriek. But Mikoto saw a geyser of red bubbles stain the water's surface. She stood stock-still, her face twisting as she realized the fate Rin had met.
Mikoto: Lady Rin!
She tried to use her Yatano White Crow to detect Rin's presence, but—
Amphisbaena: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Aisha: This bastard...!
At the same moment, the two-headed dragon burst through the water's surface, its eyes crazed. From her perch on an ice chunk, Aisha hurled a stream of abuse at the beast. The two heads mercilessly pursued the adventurers, their offensive line now broken. The left head breathed out blue napalm.
Muller: Ah?!
Aisha: GET OUTTA THE WAY!!!
As the adventurers leaped out of the way, the left head followed them, and soon the water was scored with blue flame. Their enemy wasn't really aiming. Aisha jumped from island to island, Muller climb onto one of the roots, while Daphne dove headlong into the water.
In a berserking rage, the water dragon continued to shoot flames in every direction, as if it was intent on burning down everything in sight. Crystals melted as the searing waves swelled, and what little remaining air in the cavern thinned.
The moans of winged monsters filled the air. Though they tried to escape the swirling blue sparks by fleeing deeper into the labyrinth, chunks of crystal falling from the ceiling knocked them into the sea of blue flames.
The adventurers gripped their throats and shuddered.
Fire had spread to the wreckage of the root dome, creating a cage of flames.
The top floor of the Water Capital glowed blue.
And then the dragon shot a stream of blue flames at the northeastern shore where Lili, Cassandra, and Haruhime stood.
Lili:...
Lili had only just pulled Cassandra to her feet. She watched the flames race toward them. As the hot light illuminated their faces, they froze.
There was nowhere to run.
It was over.
Lili and Cassandra were on the verge of succumbing to the azure death, when—
Haruhime: Oh!
A shock reverberated through their backs.
Lili: Wha—?
Cassandra: Ms. Haruhi—?!
Lilly's eyes met a pair of green eyes gazing back at her. Cassandra shouted as the slender hands pushed her out of the way with the power of the powerless. Not a second later, the renard disappeared behind a veil of flames.
Lili: Ms. Haruhimeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?!
A sea of flames covered the shore. The hellfire swallowed Lili's scream.
Aisha: Haruhime.
From a distance, Aisha was witnessing a scene she had hoped never to see. She ran to the northeastern shore as if drawn by an invisible force and then stood rooted to the ground before the fiery expanse. She did not see Lili sink to the ground from her knees, or Cassandra curl into a ball.
For the first time, the second-tier adventurer left herself exposed to attack.
But it didn't even matter. The two-headed dragon had already resolved to extinguish all life in the cavern.
Amphisbaena: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
The wild stream of flames did not subside. They seethed like an act of the gods. The remaining adventurers looked up at the dragon as its dual roar pealed.
Welf: So this is the end...!
Standing in the shallows where he had fled the flames, Muller gripped her Mithril Sword, charging her flaming sword in one hand. Welf glared at the dragon as blue flames raged behind it, distress coloring his sweaty face. Behind her bangs, tears streamed from Mikoto eyes as she thought of her two friends now absent from the battlefield.
Mikoto:...Lady Riiiiiiiiiin! Haruhimeeeee!
Muller poured the emotions ravaging her chest into her cry, burning with anger. Anger at the floor boss for committing such an atrocity. Angry with herself for not being able to protect them. Within the mists of despair, this elven warrior who had lost her best friend burned with anger.
Muller: You shouldn't count on any mournful roars... ONCE I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!!!!
Aisha: I'm gonna rip the head OFF YOUR FUCKING NECK!!!!!
So did Aisha. With Lili and Cassandra still sprawled on the ground beside her, she clenched her teeth and turned back toward the dragon. As an ordinary woman, her clenched fists were trembling. But as an Amazon, her instincts refused to let her succumb to sorrow. She wouldn't allow herself to reveal any weakness by sobbing. In a sense, it was a type of desperation.
Plastering over the loss that gripped their chests with the anger they felt, the adventurers glared up at the floor boss. Muller and Aisha. As they turned their eyes away from despair and threw themselves into a battle without hope of victory, each in their own way was thinking of the two lost girls. These thoughts coalesced into the will to die as heroes in battle—to take down the dragon even if they paid for it with their own lives. A hellfire as fierce as the blue flames consumed the two of them. The fire of their tenacity.
And then...
Shiing!!
Haruhime: Grow.
A pure white light and...a song... Only they heard and saw it.
Muller and Aisha: !!
Only the elf and amazon who had not lost their will to fight saw the light and heard the songs of the two girls echoing from the depths of the hellfire.
(Elsewhere)
The wavy underwater world reflected the scene that had taken place several minutes earlier, like the fragment of an illusion.
Rin(mind): Sora...
The shoulder that monster fangs had sunk into was screaming. The left arm missing a large chunk of flesh was shrieking. The right leg that, even now, was on the verge of being pulled off was howling. The wounds were deep. The bleeding wouldn't stop. Her consciousness kept flickering in and out. Sinking to the bottom of the lake as monsters tore at her flesh, Rin could no longer fight. All she could do was think of the boy she love.
Sora: I know how much you hate that Spirit Blood flowing through you. But... Don't hate it. Listen to the voice and knowledge of your past users of this power. Why you were given such ability in the first place? When you do, you will gain a power like no other.
She remembered the words of the Hero before he left in his quest to aid Bell.
Rin(mind): Listen. My Blood of a Spirit. Why I was born with chant-less magic.
With that in mind, Rin slowly close her eyes.
??: I see. So you're this current wielder of my power in this generation.
A voice she didn't recognize rang through her head. She slowly open her eyes to see that she was in some sort of void. She looked down only to see her body was that of mist and unable to move. She look upfront to see people in phantom form.
Rin(mind): Is this... My past users...
Suddenly an unknown beautiful woman appeared right in front of her. She has amber-colored eyes, long light green hair that reaches her waist, a relatively big bust, and a beautiful face. She wears a white dress with jade-colored patterns. On her back, there are six floating crystal-like structures. She slowly walked in front of Rin and cupped her face.
???: Now is... not the time. I'm going to teach you how to use your your Spirit Magic... Remember this feeling.
Rin(mind): Spirit Magic...?!
???: Sharpen your mind. There should be light... flowing from your body. Use that light to enhance your body... your mind... and its physical abilities. Picture it in your head. Don't worry. You can do it... Rin Azumi. Just like your ancestors, Kanade Azumi.
It wasn't a very detailed explanation... But in the next moment, Rin's entire body felt like it was being wrapped in a layer of warmth.
???: Now you can move... past the physical limitations of your body. Have you remembered... the feeling? You have to maintai... sorry, I can't —
The girl's voice cut off completely. But Rin was busy being taken aback by the change to her body; just when she thought the light flowing from her had increased, her body suddenly felt lighter. Her senses were sharpened — not only had her vision and hearing improved, but a sixth sense she normally couldn't feel had awakened too. It was exactly as the girl had described: the light flowing from her had been used to strengthen her physical abilities and her body.
She had been half- doubtful and couldn't understand the logic behind it at all, but she knew it was possible, thanks to the girl's support. Because of that, she now knew the basics. It wouldn't be too hard to maintain this state now, and she could probably do it by herself next time, too. With all that thought in mind Rin finally open her eyes who is now glowing white along with parts of her body.
Rin:...