Disclaimer:
DanMachi was created by Fujino Omori. Shin Megami Tensei was created by Atlus. This story uses reference material from them.
Demons of the Dungeon
By: RB3
Friendships 2: The Rotting Earth
The Survivors and the Loki and Hestia Familia gathered at the square in front of Babel Tower, the entrance to the Dungeon. The flags of each group flapped in the wind, identifying them to the crowd which started to gather around them. This was a big event, to have so many elite adventurers and even Babelites present in a single location. Many were strangers who idolized these Familia, while others knew them personally as friends and acquaintances.
Finn ran up to the front to address the groups in attendance. "Welcome everyone! Today is the big day. We head to F68 to show those bottom floor monsters who's boss," said Finn.
"Yeah!" cheered the gathered expedition members.
"To avoid overcrowding the portal station, we'll head to F68 in three waves. Abel will lead the first group with the Hestia Familia, I will lead the second, and Gareth will lead the last. Once we convene in Order City, the Babelites will transport our higher levelled members to Claymore City. Our goals are simple. Explore the Dungeon, collect as much loot as we can, and rebuild our devastated Familia."
The assembled expedition cheered raucously. As they filed out, the crowd parted to open them a path. As the Hestia Familia walked with the expedition, Bell smiled and nodded to Rye, Maria, and other orphans in the crowd. "Go get 'em Bell!" cried Rye. Bell nodded and smiled.
Haruhime saw the Take Mikazuchi Familia and waved to Ouka, Mikoto, and the rest. Welf saw Hephaestus as well as Tsubaki. The latter was a brown-skinned, half-dwarf who wore an eye patch. She was the captain of the smithing Familia. He gave them a thumbs up and a smile to acknowledge them. Bell saw Mord Latro and his sidekicks and waved at them. Lili saw Soma and his entourage, who were gracious enough to see her off, despite their past differences. Ryu saw the staff of the Hostess of Fertility wave to her as she passed by.
The Loki Familia had friends of their own in the crowd. Lefiya saw a black-haired elven woman wave at her from the crowd. She was Filvis, a friend from the Dionysus Familia. Lefiya waved back to her. Ais saw Lulune, Asfi, and the rest of the Hermes Familia. Having worked the Dungeon with both the Hestia and Loki Familia, everyone were friends and acquaintances. Abel led the first team to the portal station and through the portals, and they appeared in a sheltered lot beside a merchant's home.
There was a Babelite occupation force already present in the city, with demons and human soldiers patrolling the streets. Abel met the captain of the force and explained the situation to him. The captain pointed to the inn and the nearby houses to the southwest. "Ah yes. If they need shelter, they can use the houses and inn over there," reported the unit captain. "We left the shops alone, so the guests can have the merchandise."
"Thank you," said Abel.
Finn's group entered the city and claimed the southwest houses as a set of sleeping quarters. They also claimed the inn as a meeting area and mess hall. They also prepared the town's hospital as an infirmary. Gareth's group finally entered the city through the portal. The Loki supporters fanned out to each of the shops and started claiming various valuables. They carried them to their armory, the basement of merchant's home marked by a crude, wooden sign painted with a white sword and shield.
Once the Loki Familia had set up in Order City, the Babelites airlifted the higher levelled members and the Hestia Familia to Claymore City in the west. Unlike the pristine Order City, Claymore City was true to its name. Much of the ground was barren clay which smelled of death. The city appeared to be in ruins, with many walls smashed to rubble. A river separated the northern buildings, which included an armour shop, from the rest of town. There were graveyards in the west, southwest, and northeast part of the city.
Abel found the local Babelite captain. "Greetings, Ichihara," said the captain. "It seems this is the natural state of the town. When we repaired the buildings, the Dungeon broke them back the way they were."
"Okay, we'll have to make do with what we have," said Abel.
The Loki Familia found the inn and began preparing rooms. The Hestia Familia found a nearby pair of houses which were still intact and used them as temporary abodes, one for the women and the neighbouring one for the men. The Loki supporters, Raul, Lefiya, and Anakity, raided the shops and cleaned out anything that might be of use and stashed their loot in the cellar of the inn. Soon, Babelite Rocs brought in the first wave of the midlevel Loki members.
Once they had set up in Claymore, the first party to depart was the Survivors, to go on patrol for stray Lv7 monsters. The next was a midlevel party from the Loki Familia, to hunt and train in the outer world. The last was the main group, a union of the Hestia Familia and Loki Familia officers. They made their way to the west and south to the Earth Cave. Along the way, they crossed kilometres of clay ground where nothing grew except for small oases filled with plants.
The land smelled foul, like a rotting corpse and it was fairly hot and humid. "Ew!" said Lefiya pinching her nose shut, while trying to loosen her shirt. She felt cool air radiating from Kaz, and moved closer to him. "Kaz, please stay close to me."
Tione could feel the same coolness radiating from him. "Yeah, it's much cooler here," said Tione, moving closer to him, so that he was sandwiched between the two girls.
"Could you not crowd me so much?" asked Kaz. "Here, I'll extend the cool air. Is that better?"
The entire party felt the temperature lower, just enough to be comfortable. "Ah, that's much better!" said Tiona. "Hey Argonaut, now that I think of it, this is the first time we've ever been on an expedition on the same team."
"Yeah, actually... yeah," said Bell. "Ever since I met you guys, I've always wanted to work the Dungeon with you."
"Here's your chance!" said Tiona.
"Most of all, I want to be by her side and for her to acknowledge me," said Bell, glancing at Ais, not realizing that the Hiryute sisters had heard him.
"Hey Ais! Looks like you have a secret admirer!" said Tione.
"Huh? Who?" asked Ais.
"Hey wait!" said Bell, turning beet red from the Hiryute Sisters' teasing.
Bete only got annoyed by this display. "Bah, how can you let wimps like him hang around with us?" asked Bete.
"Don't underestimate them, Bete. They've done a lot to fight the demons and angels," said Finn.
In the back lines, Lefiya and Anakity played with Morgana. "I never knew you had such a cute mascot!" said Anakity, patting Morgana's head.
"Yeah, he's so adorable!" said Lefiya, petting Morgana, who purred softly.
"Say, where did you come from, Morgana?" asked Finn. "I've never seen anyone like you."
"I'm from the Metaverse. You know about the Babelites and how they came from another world?" asked Morgana.
"Yeah," replied Finn.
"The Metaverse is a different world, different than theirs," said Morgana.
"So you're not a demon?" asked Riveria.
"No," replied Morgana.
"Morgana is different, but his abilities do have some similarity to demonic power," said Kaz.
"I'm a bit of a scholar myself. Please tell me more. Your ability is called 'Persona,' right?" asked Riveria.
"Yep," replied Morgana.
"Who else back home had this ability?" asked Riveria.
"My friends, of course," replied Morgana. "I haven't met anyone else, but Lord Abel has, and he told me stories about them. Back home, there's a famous celebrity named Rise Kujikawa. I was surprised to find that she was also a Persona user, with abilities similar to Oracle's and mine."
"So it's a rare ability back home... How do you get a Persona?" asked Riveria.
"I'm not sure, but I think it has to do with being in the Metaverse," replied Morgana.
"Is yours the only kind of Persona there are?" asked Riveria.
"No, there are others," replied Morgana. "Like I said, Oracle and Rise have scanning abilities like I do, but my other friends all have combat Personas."
The group had crossed an isthmus which separated the mainland of Claymore City from the triangular island which housed the Earth Cave. They travelled around a mountain and found the Earth Cave entrance. The interior was a series of wide, rocky tunnels with earthen ground. On the first floor, they found themselves in a square chamber with the entry ramp. Before they moved, the group's mages prepared spells to protect the party.
Riveria cast the Veil Breath spell. It weaved a green cocoon around the group, protecting them from all forms of attack. Haruhime cast Kokonoe, forming nine golden tails, each of which got loaded with a charge of Uchide no Kozuchi. She unleashed the charges on the Lv6 Loki junior officers and her Familia, save for herself and Lili. "That fox girl's spell is great! I feel lighter and stronger!" remarked Bete.
"Yeah, I feel like I can take on the whole Dungeon by myself! What is it?" asked Tione.
"It boosts our power. With this spell, we're strong enough to take on the Lv7 monsters despite our lower levels," replied Kaz.
"Ah, an enhancement spell," said Riveria. "I see."
Kaz nodded. He then held out the palm of his hand to the other mages. A wisps of blue energy streamed out to them, restoring Riveria and Haruhime's mind. Haruhime then cast Kokonoe, loading it with the Yata no Kagami spell. She released Kokonoe's charges, which formed a layer of glittering, diamond-like light around the team. "A protective spell," said Gareth, looking at the aura.
"Another rare spell! She's a renard, so it's not unexpected," said Riveria.
"So, we drew the oddballs. Can't say I mind having this strange magic on our side," said Bete.
The group decided to go to the west and approached a bend to the south. "That hallway is a colosseum of Lv7 Goliath Centurions, according to information from Lord Abel," said Lili, unfurling a map.
"I'm up for a scrap. Bring 'em on!" said Bete.
"Form a line here, and lure them over, Bell," said Finn pointing at Lili's annotated map.
"Okay, here I go!" said Bell.
Bell ran into the hallway and as soon as he did, the hallway started to shake. The walls started to crumble as a group of Goliaths smashed their way out. Unlike normal Goliaths, who were naked giants, these ones wore Bronze Age armour and looked like centurions. They also carried gigantic weapons ranging from swords and maces. Bell sent a Firebolt at the head of the nearest Goliath. Its head got blown off, felling it and leaving behind a magic stone.
When Bell fled and rejoined the group in the northern tunnel, Kaz put an ice patch all the way across the width of the hall. When the first three Goliaths rounded the corner, they blundered onto the ice, slipping and having their momentum carry them feet first towards the group. Bete leapt onto the first Goliath and landed with a fatal stomp the chest. The Hiryute Sisters met the other two and hacked them to death with a pair of kukris, and Urga, the double-bladed sword.
The next trio rounded the corner and crossed the ice more carefully, bracing the wall for stability. Bell baited one into trying to stab him, dodged the attack, and got its sword lodged into the ground. Bell scaled the weapon, then the giant's arm, and made a pair of slashes on the shoulder. After leaping into a trio of slashes to the face, the Goliath collapsed. He fired three Firebolts on the way down, killing that Goliath.
A second trio came around the corner and reared back for a deep breath. "They're going to shoot!" cried Lili, firing arrows at the first of the new trio.
Despite getting impaled by arrows, the giants ignored Lili's attack. Welf sent a Will O' Wisp at one, exploding its magic, along with its head. The explosion also caused the Goliath to stumble about and bump the second, causing it to misfire into the roof. The last successfully released its scream, but Welf held up his sword. The sonic wave funnelled into the blade and dissipated harmlessly. Wiene put the remaining Goliaths in a Garnet Trance. The giants stumbled about in a daze, left vulnerable for a few precious seconds.
Wiene then pelted them with Garnet Bolts, blowing them up. "Look alive, more are coming!" cried Gareth.
Six Goliath Centurions rounded the corner. Kaz unleashed violet tendrils of energy upon them. They ripped the very life and mind from the giants, restoring Kaz's reserves. The giants crumbled into dust soon after. Another six tried to rush the team, but Kaz set a hail storm upon them. The countless bullet-like ice pellets pelted the giants and forced them to cower in the face of the storm. They slipped on the ones lying on the ground, landing with a thud. The sheer cold soon brought them to a hypothermic death.
Another two dozen crowded their way towards the expedition, but the expedition's fighters met them and kept them pinned around the corner. Haruhime cast a Kusanagi upon the entire area. The swords pelted and ignited not only the Goliaths, but her own team. "Watch your fire!" cried Finn.
"Don't worry!" said Haruhime. "This only hurts them. We can get it on us and spread it to them."
"She's right. I'm not getting burned at all," said Ais.
In fact, her Ariel barrier had collected the Foxfire and spun it in a circle. She darted to three Goliaths and sliced each as she passed by. Her wind added to the damage with several blows which ignited new Foxfires on the Goliaths' bodies. The first two fell instantly, but the last still stood. A Foxfire got ignited on its body, spreading rapidly and consuming it entirely. Gareth dipped his axe into Foxfire, then met an incoming trio. He slashed each of them, spreading the Foxfire which spread from the cuts and burnt the giants.
The expedition cut down giant after giant with their weapons. With a Fusillade Fallarica, Lefiya downed another two dozen in a mass of exploding streams of fire. Riveria followed with a massive Rea Laevateinn, filling the hallway with columns of flame. Another two dozen fell to it, leaving magic stones. After mowing down a few dozen additional giants, the hallway became littered with hundreds of magic stones. Kaz washed them into a pile with water so the supporters could gather them easily.
As Kaz replenished the mind of the expedition's mages, the others started a conversation. "Wow! How many giants did we down?" asked Tione. "I lost count after fifty."
"A hundred," replied Morgana.
"I counted more than a hundred magic stones on the ground," said Raul.
"That must be my skill. It must have created those extra little ones," said Lili.
"So it's a hundred meow," said Anakity.
"That was just our first battle, and we've already taken in more than two days worth of income in the Dungeon!" said Finn.
"We still haven't found the good stuff yet," said Morgana. "I detect rooms with treasure to the north and south of the entry stairs. Let's go there and nab 'em."
After exploring both directions recommended by Morgana, the Loki Familia emptied three treasure rooms in total. They took the east tunnel to reach Earth Cave B2. Unlike Earth Cave B1, this floor was a series of rooms which partially overlapped the neighbouring ones. They passed through this floor without incident, finding rooms with treasure chests in the south and northeast. They got to B3 by a staircase in the southeast.
B3 also had overlapping rooms, but was a roughly spiral path with detours for looting treasure rooms. They reached the centre of the floor, which had the largest chamber. As soon as the entire group entered the room, the walls and even the ground started to crack. A group of creatures started to crawl out of the openings resembling. They were torsos made of soil and rock, with thick arms almost like tree trunks. They were earth elementals.
Finn leapt away, narrowly avoiding being clubbed an earth elemental's fist. He charged in and unleashed a series of rapid thrusts with his spears. Holes started to form in the earth elemental, but it would not fall just yet. It swung at Finn, making a wide miss as he jumped out of the way. "They may be tough, but aren't too quick," remarked Finn.
Ryu zipped to a quintet of elementals, delivering a cut to one as she sailed by. They tried to swing at her with their arms, but she moved far too fast for the slow elementals to hit. As she bounced around, she chanted the words to Luminous Wind. Once they were herded together, she released the Luminous Wind. It cast numerous blasts of green-tinted air which pulverized the earth elementals into dust.
Haruhime summoned a pair of illusory Deformis Spiders. They ran along the wall and intercepted a pair of earth elementals spawning from the back wall. They spewed webbing upon the elementals, getting them stuck. The elementals started pulling on the webbing to free themselves, but only spread the sticky coating further. Kaz's Asura pummelled them with dozens of punches until they were pulverized.
The expedition found a hatch covering the staircase down at the far end of the room. Tiona stomped the slab-like covering, shattering it to pieces. "Now we can go down," said Tiona.
B4 of the Earth Cave was darker than the previous floors, but still had the same layout of overlapping rooms. They found a treasure room to the south and a second one to the east of their starting point. They eventually found the staircase down to B5, the deepest level and heart of the Earth Cave. After entering a square room to the north, a dozen trolls barred their path. Tiona and Tione charged into the group and cut them down. Kaz felled another with an ice beam through the head.
They reached the door to the final room of the Earth Cave. "The Bone King is right through this door. We're going to defeat him," said Finn. "Take this time to refresh our protections."
Riveria and Haruhime refreshed their protective spells ranging from Veil Breath to Yata no Kagami. Kaz sent energy into the two as wispy blue trails to replenish their exhausted mind. The group stepped into the massive room and found a single brown orb on an altar at the far wall. A second, much larger orb stood in front of the altar as though to guard it. It started to crack and released putrid smoke into the environment.
A dark, menacing figure emerged. It was a tall, skeletal creature dressed in black robes who wore a crown of gold on its central head. It had three heads and the same number in pairs of arms. This creature, the Bone King, was the monster responsible for the decay of the earth around Claymore City. The Bone King hurled bolts of darkness at the expedition, who scattered to evade harm. It raised a hand into the air, causing the ground to crack and fissure.
A group of animated skeletons dressed in black armour started to crawl out of the holes. "He can summon Spartoi?" asked Lefiya.
"Morgana, Kaz, Bell, Welf, Ais, and Gareth, let's go. We've got the Floor Boss," said Finn. "Everyone else, keep the Spartoi off of us."
"On it," replied Bell.
"Right!" replied the Hiryute Sisters in unison.
Kaz sent an ice beam at the Bone Lord, who blocked it with a violet barrier. Kaz put both hands into it for the most powerful, concentrated beam he could emit. The Bone Lord hurled more dark bolts at his attackers, forcing him to evade. Kaz sicced a succubus silhouette at the Bone Lord. When she kissed it, a dark aura washed over and eroded the Bone Lord's strength. Ais closed and swung, managing only a nick on the arm as the Bone Lord tried to evade. Her Ariel pummelled it, but mostly knocked him back rather than cause meaningful harm.
A distance away the Spartoi Warriors advanced on the others. Bete landed a flying kick on one. The raw power hurled the Spartoi into its comrades behind, knocking all five into a pile. Tiona hacked off the head of another Spartoi, then spun around and decapitated another. Tione kicked away a Spartoi, then evaded the thrust of a second. She plunged the kukris into its skull, then tore off the head.
"There's so many of them," remarked Tione.
"Back up! Lefiya's spell is coming!" cried Bete.
Lefiya released her Fusillade Fallarica. Streams of fire erupted from magic sigils and bombarded the Spartoi Warriors. Skeletons everywhere burst into flame, blasted to pieces by the sheer force of the spell. Despite this massacre of the enemy, more respawned to replace them. Wiene pelted them with Garnet Bolts from above. The ground filled with explosions, felling Spartoi after Spartoi. One reached Welf and took a felling swing to the head from him.
Morgana trapped the Bone Lord in a tornado, stalling its attack. It dispersed the wind, then hurled numerous dark bolts in retaliation. Morgana evaded the one meant for him, while the others did the same for theirs. One of the secondary heads started to chant a spell. Welf noticed and quickly sent out Will O' Wisp. The sparks touched the forming ball of electricity, triggering a massive explosion. The Bone Lord got taken aback. Its central head chanted an ice spell, which Kaz absorbed upon its release.
Its other secondary head chanted a spell and released it as a torrent of fire. Welf held out his sword to draw the flames towards it and dissipate them harmlessly. Gareth descended upon the Bone Lord and landed a deep cut into its shoulder. It swung at him, but Gareth raised his weapon in time to parry. Another swing came at him, getting past his guard and knocking him into the ground. Finn tried to come in, but a quick punch forced him to parry. He evaded a second blow and retreated.
"Phew, that was a close one," said Welf. "That thing casts magic like there's no tomorrow!"
Haruhime conjured Kusanagi to bombard the Spartoi. The translucent blue flame seared a dozen Spartoi and spread rapidly over the ground. Another three Spartoi were set on fire, gradually burning into ash. The Foxfire got onto allies, giving each a boost in offensive power. Haruhime's Deformis Spider illusions spewed webbing upon another group, trapping them, and providing a path for the flames to reach them.
Lili fired arrows into the group, scoring a pair of head shots. She then unleashed a Firebolt arrow, blowing up another two. "Move! The spell's coming!" cried Gareth.
Lili and Finn's vanguard retreated allowing Riveria's Rea Laevateinn to consummate. Fiery pillars filled the room with heat and blazing light. The Spartoi were incinerated instantly and even the Bone Lord got battered by its fury. When the flames died down, the Spartoi were destroyed, but the Bone Lord still stood, doubled over and charred black. It was chanting a spell from each of its heads. "Crap!" cursed Welf, who quickly raised his sword to hold back a massive lightning spell.
Kaz saw an ice spell coming and moved in front to absorb it for his team. The Bone Lord then released the fire spell from its central head, filling the entire room with a massive blast of flame. The entire expedition got hurled to the ground, covered in burns and ash. Gareth got up, propped up by his axe, barely able to stand and wincing in pain. Bell started to rise and he too had suffered several burns and had been hurt quite badly.
"Look! Even the Floor Boss is on the ropes. Just a little more and we can win!" said Bell, hand sparkling with the power of Argonaut.
"Yeah! Just a little more!" said Tiona, using Urga to rise to her feet.
The Spartoi started to crawl out of their holes, desperate to get into place to defend their vulnerable master. "I'm behind you, Bell," said Ais, rising to her feet. "Let's do it!"
She and Bell charged at the Bone Lord. The Spartoi tried to close ranks to block them, but Gareth and Finn intercepted and fended them off with their trusty weapons. Another group tried to intervene, but the Hiryute Sisters and Bete intercepted them. As the two approached, the Bone Lord fired dark bolts at them. Ais and Bell veered away. A forked icicle slipped through its rib cage, knocking it to the far wall and pinning the Floor Boss's spine cord to it.
Ice started to expand from the icicle, increasing its hold on the Bone Lord. It tried to break the ice, but the icicle was too firm and deeply dug in. Its grip only strengthened as the ice spread. "You're all clear! Now, finish it!" cried Kaz.
Ais and Bell renewed their charge. Ais went down, plunging her sword through the rib cage, shattering ribs and its spine while igniting it with Foxfire. Bell leapt up and drove the Argonaut-charged Hestia Knife right through the central skull's forehead, blowing it to pieces. The Bone Lord crumbled into ash and left behind a gigantic, intact magic stone. "High five," said Ais, holding up her hand.
"Sure!" said Bell, granting the Sword Princess her request.
"Yeah! We got him down!" said Welf. "Woohoo!"
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Before returning to the surface, the expedition visited the Chaos Temple and the central chamber containing the statues of the elements. Finn placed the Orb of Earth in the holder of the statue of a chunk of rock. The ground shook and the statue of earth lit up, feeding power into the orb on the central altar. "Three more to go," remarked Ais.
"Yeah, we've done our part. We can save that for another day," said Lili.
The Loki and Hestia Familia returned to the Babelite base after weeks of adventuring in F68. Their goddesses were glad to be able to see their Familia come home alive and mostly unharmed. Hestia latched onto Bell tightly. Loki tried to pounce on Ais, only for Ais to sidestep her and let her fall flat on her face. The Loki supporters started to arrange their loot on a table for a commemorative photograph. The amount of loot earned was so large, that Atsuro and Yuzu had to fetch another two tables to hold it all.
The central table carried a secondary skull from the Bone Lord, which sat prominently in the centre as a trophy of their victory over the Floor Boss. Flanking it were a pair of heart containers with a box of stat seeds before each. On the right table was a blue grimoire, a yellow skill manual, and a red handbook. The red one was a development ability handbook, which could teach the reader a new development ability, just as grimoires taught magic. In front of them were potions, including three elixirs.
To the left of the skull was a diamond sword and a diamond axe, strong, durable weapons of the earth element. Behind them was a diamond shield, highly durable with a trait which protected against earth-based magic. In front of them was a silver ring set with a sapphire, which provided defence despite its unusual form factor. The rest of the gathered equipment were fairly common things, only useful as extra materials as they were fairly standard.
Yuzu snapped a group photo of the Loki officers, the Hestia Familia, and Survivors gathered around the loot. "This was an enjoyable run," said Finn. "On behalf of the Loki Familia, I wish to express our appreciation for this opportunity."
"We're glad you enjoyed it," said Abel, shaking Finn's hand. "Use your hard won prizes well."
END OF CHAPTER