Sigh... Going to have to do a 'split view' again... The price of trying to be clever I guess.

Chapter 37

There was a moment of weightlessness as what ever it was that had swallowed me started to slide backwards into the ground.

Then, pain. But not just for me. What ever it was roared in agony as its throat writhed around me to push it down into its stomach. My body, and armour, was made and enchanted to handle fire. My armour would be no use to me if it couldn't survive what I could without it on, there would be no point to wearing it then.

So, while my body was twisted and squeezed, the monster was suffering from what amounted to a very spicy meatball. Even through the mask, the smell of burning meat and boiling fluids filled my senses as I pushed and struggled against the backward pull of being swallowed.

Then, with a short fall and a splash, a new pain was shared between us. For me (and my poor tails) it was stomach acid. For it? My still cooling armour was still hot enough to flash boil that same acid. Caustic vapour filled the limited space instantly, seeping through the gaps in my armour and scalding my skin.

And all the while, the monster was digging down.

I emerged from the beast... later. A minute? Two? Five? All I knew, was by the time my brain had caught up to things, and I'd gotten both hands on the same patch of cooking monster stomach to pull it apart, I was still able to hold my breath. From there, I had to fight the stretchy skin, then finally rip and tear my way out of its body. I think, as I pulled myself out of the dying monster, ripped off my mask and vomited over the dungeon floor, was the first time I really wished I could use 'sharp' things.

Also, that was the worst smell... like ever. And with seven children, I was very familiar with bad smells. The next mask I made would have some kind of underwater function... If I could have taken a single breath without risking a mouthful of stomach acid, I would have been able to rip that thing apart before I had fallen so far...

I had to recover quickly... The noise of me and what ever it was that tried to eat me landing here was sure to attract monsters. But, I had a problem. Well... A lot of problems. No food, no water, I was lost, had no item pouches, and hurt.

Hurt? I did a quick check of myself, rolling my shoulders a little, bending my knees and ankles, a little side to side with my head... Okay, bruises mostly. Tails? Yes, all nine, yes, you're all good tails... is that... a bald spot? Here too? If Ryuu didn't kill that Jura, I was going to... No no, survive first.

Unable to even rinse the taste out of my mouth, I turned to look at what had tried to eat me. A... giant worm? Well, it wasn't the longest thing I'd fought, or the tallest, but it was yet another example of a super specialized monster. Ten meters long or so, and about half that tall, it looked like an organic version of a mining drill. Sharp pointed nose, long body... yup. It was basically the dungeon's version of a Shai-hulud. Too bad it didn't smell like cinnamon. Also, it was still alive, quietly wheezing as the gaping hole in its side oozed various fluids. It was too weak to even twitch.

I put my hand on its side, pushing my magical senses under its skin much like I did when Sir Skitters ate that magic stone. "I guess we're both unlucky." I mumbled, resisting the urge to cough. If I had tried to punch my way out just a little to the left, I'd have hit its magic stone. So, I stuck my arm back into it (that made it twitch weakly) found its magic stone, and just pulled it free. "You're lucky I kill monsters." I looked at the sharp crystal that was about as long as my forearm and as thick as my leg, then just tossed it aside, making it turn to dust when it hit the floor. There would be no point in carrying it, when I didn't even know where I was.

(Bell and company)

Ryuu could feel it. The sheer presence of IT. The thing that had killed her Familia, that had left her as the only survivor, that had made her an orphan. And it was coming closer, very quickly.

"Now that they're gone..." Jura cackled, "I just need you all to distract it long enough for me to get to it."

"We'll never help you!" Bell yelled back, forcing down his anger at seeing Kodori just... vanish underground.

"You've just signed your own death warrant pal!" Welf said, not even trying to hide his anger, though, behind his back he was warming up his anti-magic spell, Will-o-wisp. He'd never tried it on a dragon before, but it did amazing work on hellhounds, another fire breathing monster.

"Well, true, you don't have to help me, but, if you don't fight, you'll die." He took out a different whistle, and blew on it.

From the pools around the room, monsters started to emerge. Some mermen, a lamia, a three metre long serpent, and lastly, a kelpie.

"You see, I've saved the best for last! If you focus on me though, they'll certainly kill you." He laughed some more, making sure to hide himself behind the moss monster and dragon as Ryuu and Aisha took a single step towards him.

And the rumbling was getting closer...

Bell took a good look around the room. At first, the monsters seemed to be overwhelming. These were some of the strongest monsters he'd ever seen. The Moss Huge was a Xenos and very tough. He'd never actually fought the Green dragon, but it was something Eina had told him was for a party of level four adventurers. The water serpent was a terror in the basin, with a constrictive power that could crush someone in seconds. The Lamia had a poison bite that could bypass most Abnormal Resistance abilities. And the last Kelpie they'd faced...

But something was different about these monsters. They looked... sickly. Not weak! But... Less energetic. Worn down... broken in. Bell understood then, what Ryuu had meant by calling this cat-person 'Slaver-cat'. This is what he did to monsters to bend them to his will. He understood a second thing in the next moment, as the quiet white glow of Argonaut started to surround his fists. Kodori's saying. 'I hunt animals, but I kill monsters'.

Jura, was a monster.

Everyone in the party could feel that conclusion as it settled around Bell like a cloak. "Aisha left! Ryuu Right! Fear, Ray, snake! Welf dragon! FIIIIIIIIIIREBOLT!"

(Above ground)

"My lady." Ottar greeted Freya as he entered her little 'observation room'.

"Thank you, my treasure." She purred as he carefully put a nice warm blanket over her lounging form, "It seems we'll be seeing a bit of a storm soon."

"Rare. But it is that time of year." He replied, stepping back, then turning towards the small tea cart.

"I find storms make me feel... nostalgic. They remind me of before I came to sit here, where Zeus and Hera once did." She accepted the steaming teacup, "Be sure to close all the windows."

"Yes, my Lady."

They both blinked as a subtle tremor rocked through the tower. Unlike the recent siege, this was shorter, but intense enough to rattle the pots and pans of the kitchen in the other room. But then, it was over.

"Ottar?"

"Likely someone being careless in the dungeon." He replied after a moment of thought, "Shall I send someone?"

"Send Allen. Poor dear needs a little something else to do."

"Very well." And Ottar stepped out of the room.

(Bell and company)

As before, the first thing Bell tried to do was kill the merman in front. Unlike before, there was no effort to deflect the blast, and with a short gasp of pain the lead merman vanished in a puff of electrified ash.

Aisha as directed, went after the Kelpie. She'd killed the last one with her usual flair, so she was entrusted to do it again.

The two Avian Xenos jumped into the air. Bell, an avid reader and reasonably book smart, knew that most hunting birds hunted snakes. He was right that these two (no matter how cheerful they were) were quite capable of doing the same here.

Ryuu, assisted by Bell's opening shot, was charging straight into the group of mermen. Distracted by the sudden disintegration of their leader, it looked like she would have no trouble with the 10-1 odds.

Bell himself, after his opening shot, charged the Lamia. A three metre long lady with a snake tail and razor sharp claws and teeth... Well, she wasn't as nice as the ones who lived in Ganesha's Zoo. All that time sparring with Kodori though meant he knew exactly how to deal with something that would certainly try and grapple him.

And Welf... He faced down the dragon. Much like Kodori, he screamed bloody murder as he charged forward, one hand holding out his new sword like a spear, the other behind him, trailing a gentle purple glow.

What Bell didn't do however, was call out to Lilly and Mikoto. Lilly took cover as best she could behind a rock that was jutting out from the floor, while Mikoto ran around the edge of the room, her feet silent as she used every bit of cover to obscure her line of sight between her and Jura. She was not a ninja, and would quite thoroughly (and occasionally roughly) deny it. But her stealth skills were top tier in the Manor, even considering that Maki could actually vanish from sight.

And the rumblings got closer, louder.

The dragon, recovered from its failed attempt to kill Kodori, spotted a second person trying to run towards it. It was still a monster, no doubt. But, it had been under the control of Jura long enough that it's mind was no longer consumed by the simple thoughts of 'eat' 'hungry' and 'sleep'. It would eat when allowed to. It would fight when told to. And generally, it would eat what was left after it had fought, then sleep, so long as its master was happy. So, in an effort to avoid a beating, it took initiative on its own, taking in a great breath of air, squeezing and contracting a few muscles in its throat, then opening its mouth towards the crunchy snack that was making all the noise as it all but offered itself to it.

Just as it started to exhale, as the mix of fluids and magic it used to create its flaming breath started to leave its body, something tickled its long neck, like it had just swallowed a harpy without chewing properly.

Then it exploded.

Welf's aim had been perfect.

Flaming bits of dragon scattered themselves all over the room. Welf, not nearly as anvil headed as Lilly might tell you, was already in the air and about to dive into one of the pools of water. He was going to need some (a lot to be honest) burn cream when they could stop for a moment, but his salamander wool cloak had saved him from the worst of it.

Aisha was having a bit of trouble with this kelpie. As much as it -looked- worn down and broken, it still fought with the same power that made it one of the top five monsters of the Basin. She'd been battered a little, and her right cheek had a thin slash mark from a narrowly dodged hoof, but the Kelpie was much worse off, her deceptively sharp wooden sword had left long slashes on the Kelpie's flanks, but there was still a lot of fight in the both of them.

That was, until a chunk of flaming dragon slapped against the rear of the Kelpie. The fight was nearly lost for Aisha right then, as it abandoned its 'trained' instincts and attempted to just charge over Aisha, but in that same move she'd done before, the Amazon did a neat one-eighty spin, and brought her weapon down over the Kelpie's neck. It had cost her a nasty kick to the ribs that would need tending for sure, but with the snap of spine and crack of crystal, the Kelpie vanished into ash.

Ryuu, unlike her usual tactic of 'throw magic to single out an opponent then engage in a duel', rushed the confused group of mermen. Even for her, they were tough enough to potentially survive one of her 'Emerald Wind' lashes. A survivor of her long range attack would refocus them, and they would become single minded in their efforts to kill her. So instead, she ran straight towards them, the only warning a quick 'taptaptap' of her Hostess uniform boots on the stone and the flutter of her spider silk cloak. From there, she used the second mode of her magic, focusing that razor sharp wind around the blade made from the first tree from another world.

Bell didn't know it, but he was a walking example of one of Sun Tzu's most famous teachings. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. Kodori might be stronger than him now, but he was the one to teach her the basics of monster hunting. To watch, even at rest, the motions of something you might fight one day. He knew about Lamia, and had even read stories to the ones in Ganesha's Zoo. As he predicted, she came in low, body almost crawling along the floor. As expected, she rose up suddenly to try and confuse and intimidate him as her sharp claws tried to slash at his chest and face. Bell countered with a quick step forward to make her rise up early, a bouncing step back to dodge the claws, then a short hop to avoid the inevitable lash of her tail as it lashed forward to try and wrap around him. As soon as his feet touched the stone again, he lunged forward, planting the Hestia Knife under its ribs, letting his momentum carry his body around her back, before doing the same on the other side with the longer Unicorn dagger.

Mikoto, highly aware of the rumbles through the floor that were almost upon them now, moved at full speed while using as much of the combat in the room to obscure her actions. Like Bell, she was also a good example of one of Sun Tzu's teachings, 'Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt'. Much of her technique was based on allowing her opponent the first move, to expose themselves to an attack, to use their own inattention to her advantage. It was not, as some accused, the way of ninjitsu. It was merely using the enemy's own negligence against them. Even now, as she skirted the outer edge of the room, she was observing Jura and the Moss monster. Jura seemed the cowardly type, confident only when things were going his way. The removal of Kodori from the battlefield had boosted his confidence, but when none of them panicked, he seemed to be less sure of how it was going. Soon though, she would be upon him, and he would be the one removed from the field...

Fear and Ray weren't the best choice to fight the long sinuous water serpent. But it was only because the ceiling was a little low for their tastes. When they had first come to know themselves as Xenos, monsters free from the mindless violence Mother, the dungeon, commanded of them, they realized they needed to work together to survive. When the other had joined the Xenos colony, they became fast friends, and while the areas they could hunt freely were limited, they always did so together. When one needed an extra hand (or foot, since they both used their clawed feet as hands) the other would offer it. When one needed their back guarded, the other would be there. All of the Xenos of Lido's colony worked together like this. But as the only two humanoid (one of their number was a griffon, and Gros had gone to live above) flying Xenos, these two had made sure to become the perfect team in the sky. Ray led the charge, swooping towards the serpent, then swerving away as it made to strike at her. Directly behind her however was Fear, talons extended to claw at the distracted enemy. Just like that, they continued with a rapid 'feint strike feint strike' until the serpent panicked, unable to move without causing itself extreme pain, and then, they both landed on it, pulling it apart with their strong legs and razor sharp talons.

Lilly went in the opposite direction of Mikoto, her huge backpack bobbing up and down as her little legs and feet quickly found a better place to be than in the open by the entrance of the room. As fast as she could, while still keeping alert for anything that might attack her, she hid behind one of the crater-like pools of water in the room. Make no mistake, she was not cowering. Lilly did not cower. While she was not Finn, who had earned the title of Braver from the city and the Palum race as a whole, she was still as fearless as one could get when things went sideways. However, unlike Finn, the forward fighting captain of Loki Familia, Lilly was an opportunistic hunter. She was also the party's supporter, the best supporter. And that meant being ready for what ever might happen. Including a second encounter with a monster that seemed far tougher than it should be, fireproof on the outside, yet still made of squishy moss. Carefully, very very carefully, she took out a special bolt for her little crossbow. With an adamant tip that was long and narrow like a stiletto it was meant to pierce armour. Behind the bolt was a straight bamboo shaft, hollow and strong. Behind that were stiff feathers, curved ever so slightly to give the bolt the proper spin while it flew through the air.

But inside the bamboo was the real surprise. Behind the adamant head, contained inside the bamboo, was one of the explosive vials Kodori had taken from the ones who tried to steal her children. Without knowing it, she had made this world's very first HEAP round. High Explosive Armour Piercing. Yes, a primitive anti-tank round. And its first test subject, provided she didn't miss, was going to be that thing next to the slowly panicking cat person...

Twenty seconds. Then entire thing took twenty seconds.

The Green dragon exploded into huge fleshy chunks before its magic stone cracked and it turned to ash and Welf hit the water of a small pool. The Kelpie was executed by Aisha. The Avian Xenos ripped apart the Water Serpent. Ryuu danced through the still rallying mermen. Bell's slightly longer Unicorn knife cracked the magic stone of the Lamia...

"No! NO! Protect me!" Jura yelled at the Moss monster who HAD been protecting him, even from the dragon who had suffered a lethal case of Ignis Fatalis.

It managed one step before a thick crossbow bolt buried itself into the glue that was still stuck to its right shoulder, the different colour making it easy to spot and target for the Best Supporter. The shapless lump it had for a head turned to look at the annoying little spike that had jammed itself into its shoulder.

Then exploded. Jura, who was standing behind and to the left, was suddenly covered in moss as the monster was slammed onto its back by the violent explosion. Its stone, a near perfect six sided black quartz, was exposed, but it was still trying to move, even as Jura screamed in pain from suddenly being buried under a mossy collection of stone wood and broken weapons.

Then Mikoto finished her trip around the room, changing her target at the last moment to the misguided Xenos, striking the stone with the back of her blade, shattering it, and leaving Jura under a bunch of black ash, stone, wood and broken weapons.

"Give up." She said, putting the point of her blade to Jura's chest.

"Im...impossible. They... useless..." He started to cry, and laugh at the same time, "We're all going to die in here!"

The steady rumbling finally reached a crescendo, and the wall facing the basin where they had all entered, erupted inwards. Shattered stone and crystal forced everyone behind cover or to the floor, and through the dust cloud emerged the Juggernaut. Obsidian scales glittering in the sudden 'light' from the destroyed basin outside, deadly mantis limbs, arrow shaped head and coldly gleaming red orbs for eyes.

It observed them. A deliberate act unlike most other monsters. It knew that Mother's most recent pain started in this room. It focused on the origin point, and the first person it saw there.

Ryuu was the first to recover, but also the first to break. Upon seeing the thing... that nightmare that killed her Familia... In front of her again... Her resolve was tested.

Hatred!

"NO!" She screamed, the loudest sound she'd made since the day everyone had died.

Emerald fire ignited around her, and as the Juggernaut started to slither forward she started to lash out with it. Over and over again, blades of wind shimmered against the Juggernaut's body... But nothing happened. Its glass smooth black scales seemed to brush off the magic like water, and the only thing it managed to do...

Was get its attention.

Bell managed to push off a flat bit of stone off himself just in time to hear Ryuu's shout of repressed anger and torment. As quickly as he could, he got back to his feet, only to witness her most powerful attacks simply... slide off the serpentine nightmare. Then, before he could even take a single step forward, ignoring the sudden panic of how much bloodlust this monster was exuding.

Ryuu was thrown backwards. Her rage had dulled her response, and she had only just barely managed to get her blade between herself and the wickedly curved mantis claw, before the impact flicked her off her feet like she weighed nothing, and sent her flying across the room. Her landing was bad, and it was obvious her shoulder was dislocated from simply blocking the attack, and after bouncing off a jagged chunk of stone she rolled to a halt coughing once, a bit of blood spattering her lips.

Again, the creature paused, the exchange taking only a few seconds. But it moved like smoke, struck like an avalanche, and brushed off her most powerful magic like nothing.

Bell took the same couple of seconds the monster did, to see who was able to fight. Lilly's pack was just peeking out from behind one of the room's water craters. Welf was dripping wet, mildly burnt looking, but slowly raising his sword. Aisha looked a little battered, but was standing up while pushing a wagon sized slab of stone off herself. The two Xenos looked... petrified with fear, huddled together and trying not to make any movements. And Mikoto seemed frozen in place, though, her sword was perfectly steady as well, the point hovering over Jura's throat.

And Kodori was gone. He had no doubt she was alive, but she wasn't here. "run..." He heard Ryuu whisper.

The noise seemed to draw its attention again, its body actually showing a microsecond of shock that there was still life in her. But that instant of split attention made Bell's choice easy. He would never leave someone behind, not again, not ever, even if they hated him later. With a quick motion, he flipped his Unicorn knife into the air, pointed his open palm at the Juggernaut, and said a single word.

"FIREBOLT!"

As the electrified fire splashed harmlessly off the nose of the oily coloured horror, he caught the pure white dagger and charged forward, "Look for an opportunity!" He shouted, his eyes trying to follow the movements of the unknown titan.

Mikoto took a single look down at Jura. Her choice was simple, guard him and watch her friends fight and possibly die. Or guard this sniveling, honourless coward, as he lay bleeding under a pile of metal wood and stone. Not really a choice at all, not for her.

She was the furthest from the Juggernaut, and as Bell charged it, she took that time to observe it.

And she couldn't. One instant it was in front of Bell, the next, Bell was off his feet and flying through the air, his face contorted in shock as he just missed the same rock Ryuu had ricocheted off of, managed a mid air recovery, and skidded to a halt, his daggers and boots smoking. Aisha was next, the more experienced, yet slower Amazon managing to actually take a swing at it, before being sent in the direction of the basin, her padao once again ruined, along with her armour.

She simply couldn't wrap her mind around it. It shrugged off magic, it moved faster than she could comprehend, and hit hard enough to throw both level fives and a level four off their feet like grains of rice. She knew, deep down, that to face this thing like those three had would kill her, yet, she would not run away. But, that way of thinking was inflexible. They were in a party, and all victories were a group effort. She just hoped the others could recover in time, and buy enough time, for her to help.

"I respectfully speak to you, my War God that can break through anything," She started, getting a single glance from Bell and Welf who were still on their feet, "lead me from the precious heaven." She continued, framing her target with her fingers, the otherworldly being twitching its head towards her like some kind of insect.

"bell." Ryuu coughed, struggling to her feet as she put the now empty potion bottle back in its loop, "Bell. There wasn't time, but you have to learn this, right now." Her sword arm dangled from its socket still, but she steadied herself and kicked her sword into the air with a little motion from her foot, catching it handily with her off hand, "You can't look at it."

A single purple ring formed itself around the creature, the glow making its obsidian scales glitter wildly. Bell knew the moment he entered that circle, he would be under the effect of the gravity magic, but even now, the monster seemed to be ignoring it, "Tell me." He said, not bothering to waste breath with the obvious question 'then how will I see it'.

"Don't look at any one thing. Look at everything." She said, "Over there, there were people who could move faster than the eye. So do not move your eyes, just your body."

"Is that going to work?" Welf asked, stepping up beside them, his usual enthusiasm for combat simply... gone. He'd also noticed how easily this thing ripped through the party.

Above, a purple sword of light started to descend. If it was going to work at all, they would only have an instant to get any use out of it. "I will learn, Miss Ryuu."

And the three of them charged.

While that had been going on, Lilly, best supporter, had not been idle either. She'd seen Aisha get thrown back, and was already on the move, her best potion in hand. The Amazon was a tough woman, and was already sitting up grimacing as she brought a potion of her own to her mouth, even though the wound she had taken went from shoulder to hip, leaving her armour basically useless even as clothing.

"No fair that the Elf got an unbreakable wooden sword." She grimaced, "Thank you." She downed the second potion while Lilly helped her stand up again, "Will that even work?"

"Lilly doesn't know." She replied, "I don't carry a second weapon for you though."

"That's fine." She said, watching the sword form over the monster, "Gimme your robe."

"But..." She started taking it off, understanding that her personal comfort was second to a possible plan to survive, "Please don't lose it? Lilly will be cold."

"If you have another one of those killer arrows, get it ready... If this works..." Aisha accepted the robe and started to move towards the monster, "Let's hope I'm not too distracting for the boys." Because no, she wasn't using it to cover herself.

Mikoto's spell, out of everyone's magic in the Hearthstone manor, was the most powerful. Because of its long chant, it built up a lot of power before actually activating. But, even she was unsure if it would even make the Juggernaut flinch. But it wasn't 'can' it was 'must'. As her chant reached that breaking point, where the sword of the heavens would touch the first of the three rings surrounding the monster, she threw her power into the spell. Even as she saw the beast take 'notice' of her friends as they charged, she pushed her mana into the spell as if it were her last act. Muscles twitched, her blood felt like it was made of fire, her consciousness started to dim with mind down. But she held it together.

The sword passed the first ring, and the Juggernaut flinched as if something had poked it. It seemed to know instantly what was going on, and started forward to meet the charge of the Bell Ryuu and Welf. The second ring was passed, and the beast was visibly slowed, but it was nearly at the edge of Mikoto's area of effect.

"NOW!" Bell shouted, his legs straining to propel him. He had to move fast, faster! His strike would be the most vital to the plan.

The third ring was pierced by the sword, and the Juggernaut reacted like a massive hand had tried to squish it. Its serpentine body was forced to move as a true serpent, belly to the ground as it moved to meet Bell's charge.

But then it touched the outer edge of Mikoto's area of effect, and with an electric 'snap', the spell vanished. Now free, its upper body lifted up again, the two mantis claws lashing forward to meet Bell's charge. The scything hook-like blades clashed with Bell's Hestia Knife and Unicorn dagger, but faster than he could react, the arrow shaped head speared forward. His adamant chest plate saved his life, stopping the diamond hard nose from ripping him in half, but he was sent backwards, his back slamming into the floor hard enough to crack the floor, make him bounce, then slide to a halt some distance away.

Ryuu was next, the branch of Yggdrasil ringing off one of the claws like they were both made of fine steel. This time however, she was clear headed enough to see the strike coming, but still not strong enough to truly parry it. The Juggernaut's tail whipped forward, snapping hard against Ryuu's interposed blade. Held in her off hand, and braced against her dangling arm, she too was thrown away by the power of the strike, but she, too, was sent flying.

Welf was last. He ignored the other two, and clamped down hard on the fear he was feeling. But he planned on using the distraction the other two had made to strike with his new blade.

But then something caught his eye, and instead of pouring his mana into his new blade... He threw it.

The beast was just starting to recover from using all its limbs to attack, and it took no notice of the blade as it flipped past. Instead, it started to swing at the incoming flame haired man, its razor sharp scythe/claw descending on him like a guillotine.

But suddenly, there was a sheet of black cloth between it, and its target.

Welf caught the Black Goliath robe over his armoured forearms an instant before the Juggernaut's attack slammed into them. As before, he was sent backwards by the insane power and speed of the strike, both his forearms breaking, even through the insane defensive power of both his heavy bracers and the ultimate defence of the Goliath Robe. Without it, he'd have no doubt been cut to pieces.

And behind the Juggernaut, Aisha had jumped into the air, catching the long adamant blade, spinning in the air once, her mana flooding into the blade even as she shouted her special skill, "HELL KAIOS!" and brought it down onto the extended 'arm' of the nightmare monster!

Her spell was absorbed by the blade, and pushed out again not as a 'wave' of energy as it usually was, but instead as a fiery second 'edge' on the blade itself. On contact, there was a huge 'SNAP' as the limb was broken off at the elbow, falling to the floor and breaking apart like glass.

The Juggernaut made its first real sound then, a screech of agony, high pitched and furious. An instant later, Aisha was also sent flying, the heavy adamant blade going one way, the Amazon the other. The plan had worked, mostly, but they were once again down.

"Ha."

All motion in the room stopped. Bell and Ryuu stopped trying to stand straight, Aisha stopped trying to sit up, Welf managed to turn his head to look, and Mikoto dropped the now empty mind potion vial. Even the Juggernaut had stopped screaming and flailing its tail about.

Jura, unseen by everyone else, had gotten up, and used their multi-person plan, to achieve his goal. For there, on the end of the bladed arm that still remained on the Juggernaut, was a sinister looking black leather collar.

"These can control any monster, so long as I can hook it to them." He said with confidence, looking up at the arrow shaped head, "You are mine now, you understand? You belong to me!"

Ryuu and Bell shared the exact same look of horror.

"I've waited so long for this! I've studied, and trained, and refined my techniques. Broken in hundreds of monsters, trained them to follow my commands... And now, I have the most powerful monster the dungeon has ever made!"

The Juggernaut lifted its bladed arm slightly, just enough so that it could touch the cheek of the excited cat-person.

"You're insane!" Ryuu said.

"No." Jura said, raising his good hand to touch the scythe shaped claw, "I am victori-"

There was no warning, no sound. But with a simple twitch of its arm, the Juggernaut pushed his claw clean through Jura's body. Split in half like Mikoto's knife through an onion, he was bisected from right shoulder to left hip. With a wet splat, Jura's upper and lower body fell apart, and the light vanished from his eyes.

"It has no magic stone." Ryuu said, her voice a whisper, "Those collars... he said they work on anything with a magic stone, but it didn't work."

Bell nodded, unable to argue with the logic, even though he only sort of understood, "How... are we going to kill it as well?

"It won't just let us leave." Ryuu said, "Mr. Cranel? Hold my hand."

Bell blushed, even though he was still looking at the Juggernaut as it very calmly poked Jura's head with its claw tip, splitting the skull in half. But he also complied, taking hold of the hand of her dislocated arm since the other was still holding her sword.

With a sudden lurch and a wet pop, Ryuu put her shoulder back into alignment, unable to stifle a grunt of pain.

As if it understood their intentions to keep resisting, the Juggernaut twisted its body towards them.

"I will distract it. It is weak to physical attacks, and nearly immune to magic, but Welf's sword does both. Use the time I buy to charge Argonaut, and remember what both Kodori and I showed you.

Bell had to trust Ryuu could survive long enough for him to achieve anything with Argonaut. Trail and error, long practice, theory sessions with those in the Hearthstone Manor... All at Kodori's insistence that he figure out what it can do, and how to do it. Welf's sword was too far away, but he did have another option.

He'd only tried it once before, and it had nearly backfired when he had done it. But the Hestia Knife could do something very similar to what Welf's sword could do. Hestia had told him, that this knife would grow with him, and reflect his own status. It was as close to a 'living' blade as one could get, without moving around like Hagane did.

He hoped this would work, since he was about to try not one, not two, but THREE things that were 'unpractised', in a live combat situation.

The glow started around him, not just his hand, but all of him. He was the all seeing. He looked at nothing, yet saw everything. He commanded fire, he read the wind.

Ryuu had adjusted her tactics. No longer consumed with rage, she was able to focus on survival. The past was buried, and her only task now was to return home and guide her newest Familia member towards the same glory of her former ones. Her shoulder throbbed with pain, but the arm was functional enough to allow her to brace her sword and deflect the lightning fast scythe arm of the Juggernaut. Her legs propelled her around it, hopping or sliding over and under the lashing tail of the beast. She had discovered instantly that while her sword was certainly strong, and even now completely unharmed from the abuse it was taking, it was an ineffective weapon against the dungeon's ultimate 'antibody'. Her magic, Luminous Wind, simply bounced off it, or slid over the ebony scales, even when she had covered her blade in it. As a magic 'focus' the branch of Yggdrasil was useless.

It did however distract the Juggernaut. Just as she did while training with Rias and her peerage, every time the Juggernaut started to get distracted by the slowly growing glow around Bell, she would give it a ringing 'thwack!' on the side. This seemed to offend the monster greatly, and it would renew its efforts to kill her.

But, even while she taught, she also learned. And Kiba was a fascinating person to spar with, even if he was a cheatyface sword maker. And now that she was calm, focused, this beast was just... 'fast'. "Can you see me now, sisters?" She smiled as the deadly blade skittered off her own, and she replied with a sharp smack against its nose to redirect its razor sharp tip, a brilliant white glow lighting up the glass smooth black scales.

Bell saw his opportunity coming. Long hours of sparring with Ryuu had taught him this combination. Of course, he was on the receiving end of it, a LOT, but it was very familiar to him. As his eyes took in the sight of the long deadly scythe claw sliding down and off the length of her blade, he pushed his body forward with all his might. Divine strength and speed, backed by grueling practice and fueled by the need to save his friends, pushed him forward. Almost instantly, he felt his body want to slow down, pushed back by the air in front of him feeling like it was getting thicker.

His next step sent a sharp pain through his knee, but it was even more forceful than the first, slamming him into that resistance as hard as he possibly could, as if he were literally about to run through a wall.

Both his ears popped as he took his third step, a similar pain going through his knee and ankle this time. Ryuu then finished her combination, slapping her sword against the monster's head, redirecting the deadly point and opening up its guard. Normally, this would be followed up with a kick from her, putting him flat on his butt.

But this time, as his boot dug into the stone of the floor for the forth step, he gripped the Hestia Knife as hard as he could, screaming the single word of his spell, the blade glowing a furious crimson as he pushed, forced, DEMANDED his upper body pitch forward while his arm, elbow and wrist added their own strength to the speed that already making his legs go numb with pain and exertion.

Mikoto watched as Bell did yet another impossible thing. His form was horrible, his attack was reckless, his stance was atrocious, but his speed... For a single instant, the white glow of his special skill Argonaut, seemed to 'slip' across her vision, like the reflection of the sun on a mirror as someone turned it. Then with a sharp 'pop' followed by a sound that was every bit as loud as the first explosions that had summoned this monster in the first place...

Most of the 'torso' of the Juggernaut simply vanished. It's good arm, the broken one, and a massive segment where one would usually have things like the lungs and heart, was ripped out of the beast in a spray of what looked like liquefied obsidian. There was no blood, no guts, no lungs or entrails. It was simply... made of stone.

The Juggernaut let out a screech that hit the ears like an ice pick and pushed against the skin like a wave of water. Its tail thrashed, its body writhed, but after a moment, it simply collapsed, its head slamming into the floor hard enough to feel from her boots right to her hair, and... it turned to black ash, like any other monster would.

NOTES!

Okay... Still hate combat. Seriously...

Also, for those wondering, the monster that 'ate' poor Kodori was not a Juggernaut. It was something else from the books that Jura had 'captured' called a... Aha, 'Worm Well', or 'Lambton'. They have heat sensing organs on the top of their 'forehead' and well, Kodori was REALLY hot at the time of getting devoured.

Anyhow... Now that things have gone properly sideways... Next update will be less... combative. More or less... Gonna have a nap now. x.x

Daeore on Ko-Fi, if you wanna toss a coin to your writer.

Daeore on Inkitt, if you wanna read my actual book, 'Were Too?'