A/N: I'm uploading this through the mobile app since the website's down for me, so let's see how this goes.
You guys have a flight delay to thank for this chapter; I started writing this while waiting on the tarmac and just about finished it when I landed. It might be weird for some of y'all but I really like how it turned out.
Chapter 14: The Expedition (Part Two)
It was a dark and quiet night.
But according to Finn, in the Safe Zone that was the Fiftieth Floor, it was always dark and quiet.
Godou didn't even know if it was night time outside the Dungeon.
Tents had been set up. He would be sharing with Finn. The Pallum stuck his head through the flap that served as the entrance.
"Godou, could you come out for a bit? I'm going to brief the Expedition Team for tomorrow."
He followed Finn out. The rest of the expedition had already gathered around the central campfire, their eyes all trained on Finn and him as they joined them.
Finn took his place at the center of the semicircle that had been formed. The conversations began to die.
Godou stood at the very back, leaning against a tree trunk. He saw Loki, her bright red hair giving away her position at the very front, right across Finn.
There was a small lake behind him. The women had bathed and washed their clothes already. After this briefing, it would be the men's turn.
Finn cleared his throat, and the remaining idle chatter ceased immediately.
"Everyone, good job on making it this far."
There were a few cheers and claps.
He thought they deserved more. He hadn't needed to use his powers at all. When they had faced the Balor earlier, Godou had thought his assistance was necessary. Even if the Monster Rex wasn't as powerful as a Divine Beast, it was something he knew no mortal mage in his old world would have been able to defeat. But Finn and the others had defeated through their own strength and teamwork. He still felt a little bad for underestimating them.
"But the real Expedition is only beginning now."
The clearing quieted down.
"For some of you," Finn's eyes met his, "you have never entered deeper than the Fiftieth Floor."
The nodding of heads scattered through the crowd told Godou he was not alone.
The Pallum pointed to a cave at the edge of the Floor. "Beyond that cave lies a part of the Dungeon that is completely different to everything we've experienced on the way here.
"For those of you who have gone in before and managed to return alive, you know that stopping is not an option."
A muttering of agreement spread through the crowd.
"Let me make this very clear," Finn said, and paused, "The Fifty-First Floor and beyond is incredibly dangerous. People have died there in the past and they will continue to do so in the future.
"I cannot guarantee your lives once we enter that cave. Neither can Gareth. Nor can Riveria. We will do our utmost best to protect you, but we have lost people before."
For a moment, the Pallum's face darkened, and his eyes dropped.
Godou found his gaze drifting to Loki, and even though he could only see her back, the way her shoulders tensed up did not escape his notice.
"For that reason, not all of you will be continuing on. I am going to read a list of names. If you are called, you will follow us. The rest of you will wait here. If we do not return in a week, return to Orario on your own."
Loki was the first to be called.
Godou was the second.
Finn kept reading out the names, and Godou was secretly pleased when he found that he recognized everyone on the list. He'd been making the effort to know the people on the expedition, even those from the Hephaestus Familia, though Tsubaki, Hephauestus' Captain, was the sole member from her Familia to be called.
When Finn finally dispersed the expedition, he met Godou's eyes and beckoned him over.
"I hope you were paying attention, Godou," Finn said, once Godou stopped in front of the Pallum.
"I was. I'll be fine."
"That's not what I'm worried about."
"Then—"
"He's worried about me," came a familiar voice from behind Godou.
Loki strolled up beside him. She wore a confident smile as she crossed her arms in front of her.
Judging from Finn's face, he did not want the goddess present.
But reluctantly, the Pallum sighed.
"If I die. If Garetha and Riveria dies. If every single adventurer that enters the cave doesn't return, it's not the end. We can be replaced. If she dies," the Pallum raised a hand and pointed at Loki, who didn't even react, "then it's all over. The Loki Familia is gone. Even if every adventurer makes it, it means nothing if our God dies."
"I'll protect her," he said.
For a while, Finn said nothing, only staring at him with cold, judging eyes.
Godou stared straight back.
Even Loki remained uncharacteristically silent.
Finally, the Captain of the Loki Familia relented, exhaling deeply. "I'm trusting her to you, Godou. Protect her. No matter what."
"I will."
"I'll see you later, then."
With that, Finn left, leaving Godou and Loki alone. The crackling campfire burned in front of them, and it was only now that he felt just how warm the flames were.
"Are you scared?" she asked.
"No."
"Good, because I'm terrified."
He looked at the goddess in surprise.
"I've forgotten what monsters are like. It's been so long since we drove them back into the Dungeon that I've forgotten just how terrifying they can be."
"Your Familia have been handling themselves just fine so far."
Loki shook her head. "Everything we've seen so far is nothing. You saw the Balor, didn't you? In the past, they used to roam the lands in packs. And there were even more hideous creatures that could have squashed them underfoot."
"They won't be in the Fifty-ninth floor," he said reassuringly, "I think."
"That's the problem, isn't it? Nobody knows what we'll find there."
"I'll protect you."
Loki looked up to him. Her mouth quivered slightly.
"It's not me I'm worried about."
"But Finn said—"
"FINN'S WRONG!"
He kept quiet as she slammed a fist against his chest.
"Finn's wrong," she repeated, softer, but somehow more forcefully than the first time. "He's not replaceable. None of them are. Why would he say that?"
"Because he cares for you and the Familia."
"But that's not how it works! I'm immortal. I can't die. And I can be replaced. The only thing I do is give Falnas and update Statuses. Any God can do that. If I die, just give my Familia to Hestia or Hephaestus. They'll do just fine in my place."
"It'll be different—"
She glared at him and his mouth snapped shut.
"Are you saying things will be the same even if Finn dies?"
"No," he said softly.
"Listen to me, Godou. I want you to forget everything Finn told you. If there ever comes a point where you have to pick between me and my adventurers, pick them."
"But—"
She clasped his hands into hers.
"Promise me, Godou."
He gulped. "I promise."
"Thank you."
And then she smiled again. She tugged on his hand, still linked to hers.
"Let's just walk around like this for a while."
XxXxXxXxX
Loki's 'a while' lasted for a whole hour.
Refusing to let go of his hand, she physically dragged him across the entire campsite, bouncing from one tent to another, talking to every single member of her Familia she could find.
For those that would not be following tomorrow, she promised to tell them the stories, and to bring "lots of goodies" when she returned.
When Anakitty began to cry and begged Loki to come back safely with the rest, Loki sat there and held her for five minutes in silence.
It had been a very awkward five minutes for him.
And to those following, Loki left them mostly alone. The Amazoness twins, Tione and Tiona, were sparring with each other in the nearby forest. Aiz was already asleep. Bete stood broodingly in front of the cave. Finn and the two Vice-Captains were holed up in the command tent, going through maps while discussing strategy.
The only person Loki sought out was the other Elf, Lefiya.
Godou had honestly been surprised when Finn said her name. For most of the trip, she had kept mostly to herself, never drifting far from Riveria and Aiz, whom she seemed most familiar with. But from what little he had seen, the young Elf did not appear mentally prepared for the daunting task ahead.
When Loki had stepped into her tent, Lefiya had launched herself into a hug, and because Godou was still latched onto Loki, he had been unwittingly tackled too. She had just begun her panicked outburst about her worries when her eyes met his and she had screamed and turned as red as a tomato.
On the bright side, her lack of comfort in his presence finally caused Loki to shoo him away.
By the time he reached the pool of water, there was nobody left.
Or so he thought.
"Finn!" he screamed, when a mop of wet blond hair broke through the surface next to him.
"Hello, Godou."
"You scared me. I didn't see you at all."
The Pallum frowned. "Are you making fun of me for being short?"
"What? No! I really—"
"I was kidding. I ducked under the water when I saw you coming."
"Oh."
"I heard about it, by the way. You and Loki's romantic stroll."
"Romantic?" he gasped out, "nothing about it was romantic!"
"You were holding hands."
"That-that..." he trailed off. They had been holding hands.
"You know, I've never really seen Loki treat someone the way she treats you before. Not Aiz. Not even other Gods."
"There aren't many Campione around."
"You know that's not the only reason, Godou."
It was just him and Finn in the pool. Godou sunk lower into the water, until his chin was submerged.
"I know."
"I never thought the day would come where I'd see Loki would fall in love."
He pursed his lips. "Calling it love is a little...it's a crush. Nothing more."
"You sound very sure of that."
"It's a Campione thing. Gods and Campiones are attracted to each other. It's instinct."
"So you do like her."
"Not by choice," Godou grumbled.
"Still a good choice, I think."
"No. Gods and Campione aren't supposed to get along very well."
"You and Lancelot seemed to get along very well, if I remember correctly."
Godou felt his cheeks grow warm. "She's...different."
"Loki's pretty different too."
"Yes, I suppose she is."
"So? What are you going to do about her?"
"Nothing."
He kept his eyes forward, but he could imagine Finn starting to look upset next to him.
"She's trying really hard. I can see that. The whole Familia can see that. You can see that."
"I know."
"And you're just going to pretend nothing's happening?"
"Yeap."
"I misjudged you, Kusanagi Godou."
The words stung like a slap.
"So did Loki," Godou added softly. "I'd rather she hate me."
"Yet you never truly push her away when she tries to get closer to you."
"I can't do that."
"And why not?"
"Because she is a good God. I don't want her to ever lose that."
He could feel the Pallum's stare drilling into him.
"You're a hypocrite, Kusanagi Godou."
"I'm only human," he mumbled.
XxXxXxXxX
"I feel this is a rather demeaning position for someone of my station to be in," Loki commented.
"Well, since you can't run very fast, we don't have a choice, do we?" Godou shot back. "Unless you want to be burnt to bits, or strung up by a giant spider."
"Oh I have nothing against you carrying me," Loki said. "I was actually looking forward to it."
"Then shut up and enjoy the ride."
"My issue is how you're carrying me. I'm supposed to be draped in your arms, like a princess! Or at least piggybacked!" Loki said indignantly, from where she was slung across his shoulders, "not carried like a sack of potatoes!"
Godou would have shrugged his shoulders, but the additional weight on them made it difficult. "This is the only way I can keep my hands free to fight."
As if on cue, an unseen spider hidden in the darkness above spat out a thread of web at him, and he swung Lancelot, in her sword form, to deflect it away.
Finn hadn't been joking. The Fifty-First Floor was a hellhole.
They had been running at an all-out sprinting pace for the past thirty minutes. The entire journey was expected to take several hours. And that was if they didn't get lost which, given that the labyrinth-like landscape here constantly changed, was certainly a possibility.
His respect for Adventurers had gone up considerably in the past thirty minutes.
"Take a left!" Finn, leading the pack, turned back to yell at them.
Godou veered left at the next fork. Their pace did not slow down.
It was dark in the Fifty-first Floor. Gray, stone walls formed a labyrinth, and the many cobwebs that hung from the ceilings and blocked passageways had initially given Godou the impression that it was going to be a slow and tedious endeavor to find their way out.
"How do you guys know where to go?" he asked Riveria, who was running alongside next to him.
"The labyrinth can only morph into so many formations. We've memorized them all."
"Oh."
"That's my Familia for you!" Loki said, patting his back, "always prepared! See, Godou? I told you the Expedition was going to be fun."
He had to remind himself that just last night, Loki had nearly broken down over the dangers her Familia was diving into.
Was she faking all this confidence for them? Or for herself?
"If this is your idea of fun, Kusanagi Godou, then wait till you see the dragons," Riveria said, chuckling.
"Hang on, dragons?"
"There's a giant nest of them on the Fifty-Eighth Floor."
"So we've still got a while to go."
"Not...exactly," Riveria said.
"We're entering the Fifty-Second Floor now!" Finn yelled from ahead, "everyone, keep one eye on the top and another on the floor! Don't get sniped!"
Sniped?
And then the floor in front of him glowed red for the briefest of moments before a pillar of fire erupted through it.
That must be the dragons, he thought.
Riveria grimaced. "Welcome to hell, Kusanagi Godou."
His only thought was that Loki had somehow gotten heavier.
XxXxXxXxX
"Lefiya!"
When the younger Elf fell through the smoldering hole in the floor, it was Loki who screamed first.
The goddess, still slung over his shoulders, struggled like a worm, but before she could wriggle out, he was already moving.
"Hang tight, Loki."
And then he jumped in and followed Lefiya down.
Hurtling through the still-scorching air, he spied the girl free-falling a short distance below him.
"Save her!" Loki pointed.
"Lancelot. Go."
The steel sword in his hand melted into a cool liquid that lunged forth like a serpent, snaking through the air before coiling around Lefiya in a tight grip.
The girl let out an audible scream, but stopped when Lancelot solidified herself into her human form that was carrying Lefiya in her arms.
Loki heaved a sigh, and he felt the goddess' body relax noticeably.
"It's not over yet," he said.
He could see the dragons below him, some circling in the air, others on all fours. But every single one of them had their reptilians maws unhinged at them, and orange spots began to glow between them as they prepared another barrage.
"Is Lancelot fireproof?" Loki asked.
"She's a knight," Godou replied. "And there's no one better to slay a dragon than a knight."
"My Lord!"
Lancelot's cry alerted him to the screaming object she'd hurled at him.
He caught Lefiya expertly, who made a stunned eep upon being pulled towards him.
Lancelot's presence began tugging in his mind, drawing out the power he'd so far been doing his best to suppress.
Sighing, he acceded to her request.
There wasn't any other way to defeat the horde of dragons below him without relying on some Divinity.
The dragons fired, individual streams of fire joining together to form an inferno that shot towards them in a straight, unwavering beam.
"Erm. Godou?" Lefiya stammered, "your friend is melting."
"Oh, that? Don't worry. That's just her changing into her armor."
Lancelot's dark robes had liquefied, and a black ooze that flowed across her skin. When it covered every inch of her below the neck, it hardened into thick obsidian plates that wrapped her body like a second skin. A second later, a bright light burst forth from her body and it coalesced to form a shining kite-shield that she wielded with her left hand. Her right arm reached out and from thin air, a gleaming spear was called into existence.
"I thought knights had shining armor," Loki muttered.
"Only those that haven't had their metal tested," he said with a smile.
He could feel Lancelot's excitement. The goddess had been itching to fight ever since they first stepped foot into the Dungeon, and even though her back was facing him, he could envision the feral smile that radiated her lust for battle on her normally-tranquil face.
Like an oncoming freight train, the inferno slammed into Lancelot.
From above, it looked as if a crimson flower, with Lancelot at its center, had bloomed spectacularly; the flames were redirected in every other direction but up. The shield stopped the pillar of fire in its tracks, and not a single wisp of it made it beyond the invisible wall it made.
"Come, foul beasts! Is this all you have to offer?" the war maiden cried, once the flames had sputtered out of existence.
A large dragon standing on its hind legs had its jaw open, and a bright orange orb in its throat foretold another attack. With a single swift action, Lancelot hurled the spear in her hand and it raced towards the earth with the force of a meteor.
It sailed right into the dragon's agape mouth and slammed into the ground with a thunderous boom, echoing even through the hole they were still falling through.
The dragon exploded, disappearing into a ball of fire.
From her hip, Lancelot unsheathed a sword as she burst through the exit, immediately landing on a dragon flying below. She decapitated it in a single motion, and then used its falling corpse as a stepping stone to leap with inhuman strength onto her next victim. Headless reptilian carcasses rained down alongside them as Godou crash-landed onto the ground. He'd activated Verethragna's Camel Avatar, so his reinforced legs had absorbed most of the impact, but his teeth had still ended up smashing into each other painfully.
Lancelot landed next to them.
"There are a lot more dragons here than I anticipated," she said.
Godou looked around. They were in a giant cavern that stretched as far as the eye could see and tall enough that it could fit an entire city skyline. Dragons roamed the air in swarms, and whole armies of them littered the ground in numbers that could have razed entire nations. Most worryingly, however, were the large, caterpillar-like monsters Lefiya immediately identified as a new species of monsters that was the result of the strange happenings occurring within the Dungeon. They swarmed over the dead dragons in disturbing feeding frenzies.
"You can handle it, can't you?" Godou asked.
"Of course," Lancelot replied confidently. "Though in truth, I confess I am a little disappointed. These are not the dragons I am used to fighting against."
"You're used to fighting dragons?" Lefiya asked, mildly horrified.
"Yes. The dragons I fought had impenetrable hides, cunning minds, and fire that could have melted Divine Steel. They were a challenge." She kicked a decapitated dragon's head with her armored boot, causing it to disintegrate into dust. "But these are nothing more than fodder. Their numbers, however, make total extermination tediously difficult. I will have to use my more...creative abilities if I am to wipe them all out."
Lancelot looked at Godou hopefully.
"Fine. But don't go overboard," he said.
"Lefiya!" Loki suddenly said, finally climbing off his shoulders and patting the Elf on the back. "Don't just stand there and give Lancelot all the glory! You've been training really hard on your magic, haven't you? Show me what you've got!"
The Elf, from a nervous wreck, suddenly preened and looked proud. "Yes, Loki!"
The girl raised her staff and began chanting. Even Lancelot restrained herself and paused to watch.
"Fusillade Fallarica!"
The tip of her staff grew red hot. When she swung it down, dozens of red streaks exploded from it, shooting into the sky before hailing down on the closest dragons like homing missiles. The entire cavern rocked violently as an uncountable number of detonations occurred one after the other. When the smoke cleared, they were surrounded by craters, and every dragon within a thirty meter radius had been completely consigned into oblivion as the survivors warily took several steps back.
"Impressive," Lancelot said.
"Thank you," Lefiya said, averting her eyes away from the God's approving gaze.
Loki looked smug. "Try topping that, Lancelot."
The knight dipped her head slightly. "If you insist, Loki."
Godou sighed.
Lancelot flipped her spear and jammed its tip into the ground. Kneeling and clasping her hands as if she were praying, the sheer force of power behind the words that reverberated through the cavern did not match the small and slight movements of her mouth.
Heed My Call, O' Noble Warriors.
The dragons stilled, craning their long serpentine necks up at the omnipresent voice. At the same time, Lancelot's armor began to drip—small, black, ink-like droplets that formed dark splotches on the dirt.
Take Up Your Swords and Don Your Armor Once More.
All of a sudden, Lancelot's armor cascaded off her, leaving behind only the plain dark robes she normally wore. The black, murky liquid seeped onto the ground, spreading across the dirt to form a shadowy pool that grew wider with every passing instance. Soon it was an entire lake that encompassed the area of a football field. Lefiya and Loki lifted their feet, glancing at their soles and heaved a sigh of relief when none of the unknown liquid clung onto them.
The dragons roared, clawing at the obsidian lake that had engulfed their shadows.
We Are Enforcers. We Are Protectors. We Are Weapons Given Life And Purpose.
Countless ripples raced across the surface. Like an unseen rain was pelting onto it, the dark lake trembled with Divine power.
Rise, My Brethren. Our Lord Has Demanded Our Service. Let Us Show Him Our Loyalty. Prove Our Resolve. Demonstrate Our Might.
Amidst the chaos, they rose. Thin, worm-like strands that wriggled out of the surface until they were the height of a man. Then they grew arms, and their bases split to form legs. The blank and smooth surface of the liquid hardened and sharpened to form segmented plates of armor, black as night.
We Stand Before Monsters. But We Have Faced Worse. Their Flames Cannot Melt Our Iron Will, Cannot Outshine Our Noble Souls, Cannot Stand Before Our Invincible Strikes.
Gauntleted hands unsheathed midnight blades. Armored digits drummed along the shafts of obsidian spears. Shadowy arrows were notched onto the drawstrings of black, wispy bows.
We Are Knights. We Stand Our Ground. We Are The Will Of Our Lord, And He Has Willed The Destruction Of These Foul Beasts That Have Dared To Infringe Upon His Territory.
Slitted visors slapped down. A pair of crimson, angry orbs flared to life behind each and every one of them, glaring at their prey.
Still on her knees, Lancelot rose. Not on air, but on what little of the black liquid that remained, spurting from the ground like a fountain, lifting her up.
We Shall Carve Our Names Into The Flesh Of Our Foes. We Shall Trample Them Beneath Our Feet. We Shall Make Them Rue The Day They Decided To Stand Against Our Lord.
The stallion that was born was as pitch-black as the liquid that had been used to cast it. Lancelot sat on its back, her arm reaching out and yanking the spear back out from the ground.
She raised it up and then lowered it against the nearest dragon.
The dragon roared.
The legion of Dark Knights roared back. It was a guttural, metallic, grating cry that felt plain wrong.
Charge.
XxXxXxXxX
A knight was swatted away like a bug. Its armor disintegrated into the individual plates and pieces that it was made of, and they scattered across the ground like shards of a broken vase.
The dragon focused on the next knight, but hesitated when the fallen pieces began rattling in their spots. Like a puppet on strings, the fallen knight was reborn, its components flying and stitching back together by themselves.
The dragon grunted in disbelief, and the resurrected knight rewarded its hesitation with a spear that sunk straight between its eyes.
It disintegrated into a glittery shower of dust, but unlike the knight, it did not come back.
Dragons fell in the dozens. Heads were lopped off. Hearts were pierced. Dragons with wings tattered by storms of arrows fell to the ground like flies, crashing into the ground with earthshaking force, and did not rise again.
The knights were not invincible. They were shattered by a single swipe. Crushed under taloned claws. Slapped away by long, muscular tails.
But they were unkillable, for what had no life could not be killed. Midnight figures walked through blazing tornadoes unscathed and unburnt. They rose from the dead, their limbs twisted at unnatural angles, but still able to grasp and swing their weapons with enough force to separate a draconian head cleanly from its neck.
A pair of red, lifeless eyes were the dying sight for many dragons.
For many others, it was the face of a beautiful warmaiden.
Lancelot charged straight into the center of the dragon's nest. Her steed galloped so fast that they combined to form a black blur that streaked through reptilian hordes, leaving behind showers of blood and piles of limbs in their wake.
A spear in one hand and a shield in the other, Lancelot carved a gory path through the host of dragons, and her Dark Knights followed her with blood-frenzied vigor, finishing off whatever survivors she missed.
"Show off," Loki said. "Why, if I had access to my Arcana, I'd show her!"
Godou ignored her. Instead, he directed his attention to Lefiya, whose trembling staff and agape jaw showed just how awed she was at the carnage around her.
"Your can use your magic if you like," he said kindly to the Elf, "I'm sure Lancelot would appreciate the help."
The girl looked up at him as if she'd just been woken up from a dream.
"Right!" she said, nodding her head enthusiastically. "I'll try my best too!"
While Lefiya wandered off to begin chanting and performing spells of her own, Loki gave him an appraising look.
"Thanks. She needed that. Lefiya's been working really hard and all she wants is the chance to prove herself."
She's trying really hard.
He winced as he recalled Finn's words.
"Godou, are you alright?" Loki rushed up to him, grabbing his arm with both hands. "It can't be easy on the mind, can it? Having a God inside you and channeling their power?"
He couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes and so he looked down, where her slender fingers were wrapped around his arm, and...
He blinked. How was he only noticing this now?
"Loki, did you paint your nails?"
"Huh?" the Goddess said, becoming flustered. "Ah, you finally noticed!"
She peeled her hands off him and displayed the back of her hand. "Not bad, isn't it? Fits my hair!"
It was badly done, if he were to be perfectly honest. The red paint was unevenly thick, and the inconsistent gradient showed that she had not applied it in the same direction. Not to mention she'd missed several spots, and that flakes of the glossy paint were already starting to chip off.
He swallowed. "Why?"
"Well, Riveria said it was about time I did, and so I tried doing it but I'm not sure if it turned out okay because I've never done it before so I'm not very good at this kind of stuff..." she trailed off, embarrassed. "What do you think, Godou?"
It took him a very long time for him to come up with a response, all through which Loki was looking up at him expectantly. He couldn't bring himself to lie to her, but the hopeful expression on her face also meant that he couldn't tell her his first thoughts.
"I like it," he finally said, "it really makes you look more...human."
"Really?" she said, her features lighting up. She started looking down at her nails with a silly grin on her face, "I'm glad."
He really wished she wasn't.
XxXxXxXxX
Him and his big mouth.
When the last dragon fell, he had let out a happy sigh.
"Well, that's finally over."
The strong tremoring quickly proved him wrong.
The shaking got worse, and Loki and Lefiya had to lower themselves to keep their balances. Lancelot, who strode up to them on her mount, set her lips in a grim line.
"Something's coming," she said.
"Gee, you think?" Loki bit back, steadying herself.
Godou readied himself. The last time, a Black Goliath had been dropped on him overhead. He was still casting a nervous glance upwards when the entire floor they were standing on shifted, accompanied by the thunderous sound of cracking earth.
Even he lost his balance momentarily, while Loki and Lefiya fell onto their butts.
"There," Lancelot, still sitting steadily on her horse, pointed.
A giant crevice in the ground had been formed. Like a wound leaking blood, molten magma spilled out in frothy streams, and the nearest Knights lost their footing and tried to crawl away.
A giant black mass emerged from within the crack, and then slammed down, pulverizing a group of knights that had not managed to escape in time.
"Is that a...hand?" Godou asked.
"It's a claw," Lancelot replied evenly.
Talons, each the length of a school bus, dug deep into the earth, gouging out trenches as it tightened its grip. Scaly digits, coated in glimmering black scales, curled, and a muscular forearm wrapped in reptilian hide rippled with immeasurable strength as a second limb broke through the surface.
"I just remembered," Lefiya said weakly, "that there's a Monster Rex on this Floor."
The earth groaned, and Godou could swear the floor was tilting as both arms pressed down on the ledge they were gripping.
It was climbing up.
"Godou?"
A massive, black draconian head, with spiralling golden horns protruding through a bony crest, emerged from the crevice. Crimson eyes, with slit-like pupils, blinked menacingly at them.
"Yeah, Loki?" Godou said back, eyes not leaving the dragon's even once.
It unhinged its jaw, revealing a set of sharp teeth, each as tall as a tree. A tongue as wide as a highway snaked outwards.
"Do you remember what I said yesterday? About monsters that could easily crush a Balor?"
And then two more identical heads rose from each side.
"Yes. I don't suppose this is one of them?"
The dragon continued to rise, its arms straightening to the length of low skyscrapers as it pushed itself to the surface. When at last the three serpentine necks converged onto its main body, great leathery wings unfurled from its back, its total wingspan wide enough, Godou was sure, to cover a small town completely.
"No," Loki said, "I'm afraid not."
With a single flap, Godou had to shield his face from the tempest it created. Lefiya was blown off her feet and Loki latched onto his arm to avoid the same fate.
It beat its wings some more until the giant black dragon, its main body as large as an ocean liner, was in the air. When it landed, Godou had felt earthquakes that were weaker. Fissures and web-like cracked raced across the earth from where the ground struggled to support its weight, its hind legs creating craters from sheer force of weight.
Standing up right, the dragon was taller than the cavern itself, and when its horns brushed against the stalactite-covered roof, it lowered its three serpentine necks to leer at them while its body towered over them.
It exhaled sharply in a grunt, and Godou felt the hot air wash over his body.
"This monster can eat those monsters for breakfast," Loki said, gulping.
It roared—with all three heads. Heaven-piercing and ground-shaking cries that caused Godou to immediately cover his ears. Stalactites fell like giant icicles, threatening to impale them and one landed mere meters away, showering them with debris and chunks of rock.
His entire body was still rattling, his ears ringing, when the nearest knight hurled a spear at the oversized beast.
It bounced off harmlessly against the monster's midnight hide.
The head nearest to the knight swivelled slowly to meet its assailant, opened its mouth, and a stream of blue fire immediately reduced the dark knight to a puddle of black ooze that bubbled and boiled.
Godou swallowed from nervousness. Without a doubt, this monster was definitely on the same level as a Divine Beast.
Even Verethragna's Boar could not trample it. It already lost in size, and he was certain that the blue fire was also hotter than the fire the Boar shrouded itself in.
"This is why," Godou said to Loki, "this is exactly why Gods and Campione shouldn't enter the Dungeon."
"For the first time, I think I agree with you, Godou."
The dark knights sunk into the ground. Black, armored plates began to regenerate themselves on Lancelot and her mount.
"Finally," the warmaiden said with a feral grin, "a challenge."
XxXxXxXxX
Finn had figured that things were going to be okay when the dragons stopped trying to snipe them.
It meant that they were too busy focusing on Godou, or if he was lucky enough, that Godou had already managed to defeat them all.
His decision to not send anyone down after Godou and Loki to help Lefiya had been met with strong protest by the Familia; a quick reminder to Riveria and Gareth that Godou still had Lancelot with him silenced them and in turn, the whole party.
But he knew that his luck couldn't last that long when the entire Dungeon rattled and vibrated, and right before their eyes the monsters that had been assaulting them began to whimper and slinked back into the shadows.
The incident with the Black Goliath in Rivira came to mind, and he immediately suppressed the uneasiness rising in him.
Their previous expeditions had always been thwarted by the spawning of the Monster Rex on the Fifty-eighth Floor, and try as hard as they did, they had never managed to get past it. Aiz's recent Level Up had given him reason to be hopeful, but that optimism was going to be for naught if a Black Monster Rex was spawning in place of a regular one.
According to his calculations, it would take someone over Level Ten to single-handedly defeat it.
With the monsters scared off, the rest of their descent was unimpeded and smooth. It was an unsettlingly peaceful experience, navigating the mazes without needing fight their way through them.
On hindsight, he didn't know why they'd come down so fast. He'd kept his party from jumping after Lefiya because he hadn't wanted to hold Godou back.
The black, giant, three-headed dragon that popped into view once they emerged out of the cavern entrance had literally caused everyone to halt in their tracks and collide into each other.
It was twice as big as a regular one.
One head hung limply at its side, its tongue hanging out uselessly.
Another had a spear sticking out of an eye, and was swaying about, as if in a daze.
But the middle head was completely untouched, and it glared at them murderously.
"Finn! Get out of there!"
Loki's panicked cry echoed through the cavern.
"Go!" Finn ordered, turning around, "GO! GO!"
The rest of the Expedition scuttled to their feet, but a blue stream of fire smashed into the rocky wall above the entrance of the cave, and the whole structure melted into a molten heap of slag that blocked of the mouth.
Finn turned around. A mouth lined with serrated teeth taller than he was grinned.
Then it opened up and his world was engulfed in blue.
XxXxXxXxX
The battle between Man and Beast was always meant to be one of indomitable will against unstoppable might.
Despite being a God, Lancelot's myth was human in origin, and that limitation meant that she had to rely on the human way to slay the dragon.
Basically, the slow way.
Her weapons, despite extreme durability and sharpness, were ordinary weapons that could only stab and slash. Her armor, despite being resistant to fire, was still starting to melt and sag at the edges under the unrelenting flames of the dragon. Her battle prowess, which was the epitome of technique and speed, mattered little to an opponent that relied purely on brute strength.
She could not finish this dragon in a single blow. But strike by strike, she drew blood, crippled it, and weakened it.
Her horse was fast, evading swiping claws and jets of fire with dexterous ease. It allowed her to get in close to deal attacks without getting hit. Slowly but steadily, she chipped away at the dragon while using her body as bait to draw its attention away from Godou and the others.
What she lacked in firepower, she made up with unrelenting tenacity.
She had been well on her way to finishing the second head when Finn and the others showed up.
He heard the cry of anguish Loki released when it launched a fiery onslaught against her Familia.
In his soul, something clicked, and a sense of weightlessness overcame him.
Without his order, Lancelot rushed to their defense. The raised shield in her hand protected the Expedition, diverting and absorbing the azure inferno the dragon was spewing at them in the nick of time.
But even Lancelot could not last forever. He could feel her strain, see the kite-shield begin to deform under the heat, and met the looks of awe Finn and the others directed towards Lancelot's stalwart back.
But still he hesitated. He had shown them Lancelot. Given them a glimpse of Verethragna's power. Honored them with the voice of Ame no Murakamo no Tsurugi.
But this Authority...this Authority superseded all of that in terms of pure, destructive power. This Authority was nothing short of a miracle, and so fate-defying was its strength that even Godou had not yet managed to find a way to get around its strict activation requirements.
Like the Golden Sword, this Authority had an intrinsic power to severe Divinity.
But it could also do much more than that.
Showing it to Loki, he knew, would sear the image into her mind forever, for a single glance at it would be enough for anyone with a trace of Divinity in their blood to freeze up in fear.
Finn was right. He was such a fucking hypocrite.
He didn't want Loki to fear him.
He didn't want Loki to hate him.
But then Loki started tapping into her Divine Power. He felt her magical aura strengthen immeasurably, and he realized in horror her intention.
She was going to activate her Arcana to save them.
She was going to end her mortal life to protect her Familia.
He had told Finn he would protect Loki at all costs.
He had promised Loki that he'd protect her Familia's lives over her own.
He gripped his hand tightly.
To hell with it. It didn't matter if everyone hated him after this. All that mattered was that they were around to do so.
He put his hand on Loki's shoulder and shook his head when she looked up at him in surprise.
Her eyes widened and her face froze in horror when she saw the spear, with its crimson-red tip, in his hand.
It was an abomination. It radiated wrongness. Its mere existence was a burden on space and time itself, and every little movement it made in Godou's hand caused the area around it to distort a little.
It was an Anomaly. A weapon that defied the natural order of things.
In the distance, Lancelot continued to struggle. Her boots, despite being dug into the ground, drew lines in the dirt as the force behind the fire continued to push her closer and closer to the Expedition.
Lefiya fired spell after spell at the dragon in vain, the magic bouncing off its scales like they were nothing but weak, sparkling cinders.
Godou hefted the spear up and threw it.
It did not fly towards the dragon as much as it tore its way to it. The universe screamed as the very fabric that made up reality was ripped at the seams by the anomalous existence hurtling through it.
The moment the spear touched the dragon, its entire mass began to deform. Flesh folded in on itself. Bones crunched as they were snapped like twigs. Ichor spurted out of its body through every orifice like juice from a squeezed orange as the dragon's body continued to contort.
The point of contact between the spear and the dragon became a singularity; the eye of a whirlpool that absorbed everything around it.
The dragon stopped its fiery breath and looked down on its disfiguring body. Upon seeing its torso swirling into the tip of the spear, it made a strange sound.
It sounded like a whimper.
But there was no way to tell, because a second later the entire dragon disappeared, sucked into the spear, and the only sign of its existence was trillions of suspended droplets of blood that quickly rained onto the ground and painted it red.
The spear clattered onto the ground with a metallic clang.
Apart from that, the entire cavern was silent and still.
In a way, Godou had killed the dragon. Slayed the unslayable. In a way, he hadn't. There was a certain image to those words. What he had done instead didn't bear any resemblance to that image, but there was no way to describe accurately with words what he had done. Words were real. They could not be used to describe a concept that bordered on defying existence itself.
If Godou had to describe the deed he'd committed, the most fitting way of doing so was this:
He had removed the dragon from the plane of existence.
Realizing he was the only one that wasn't frozen in place from shock, he steadily walked towards the fallen spear and bent down to pick it up.
It didn't feel any heavier in the slightest, and he banished it from reality and it disappeared from sight.
The eyes of everyone present followed him. He knew most of them were still trying to figure out what he'd done. Their minds would never be able to comprehend it. They could try to come up with theories and explanations in their brains, but concepts that broke the rules of reality could never truly be anchored down by trivial things like logic and reason.
Most of them were confused.
Only one person was truly terrified.
Loki had gone as white as a sheet. He wondered what must have been going on in her mind right now.
It was one thing to kill a God.
What he'd done transcended that by several magnitudes—he'd blatantly overwritten the rules of reality, imposed his will on the universe, and basically turned existence itself into his own personal plaything.
Such was the power of Ascalon, the Dragon-Slaying Spear of St. George. It did more than just kill dragons. It severed the threads of Fate, ignored the rules that governed the universe, and granted its wielder dominion over anything that did and did not exist.
In the hands of a wielder that understood it enough, was powerful enough, and had an imagination creative enough, it could theoretically wipe everything out from existence.
Or cut the universe clean into two.
Loki had every reason to be mortified.
So when she ran towards him and tackled him in a hug with tears streaming down her face, Godou was understandably confused.
"Thank you," she sobbed into his chest, "thank you so, so much, Godou."
A/N: What do y'all think? Let me know in the reviews!!
Also I've done so much build-up for the Expedition, but I haven't planned the 59th floor in the slightest and I don't really know what to do, so the next chapter might take a really long time. Or it could come out next week, you never know.
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