Courier wasted no time, heading directly towards the workshop and dropping all the duffel bags on the floor, before locking the door behind him. Once he was sure, nobody was watching him, he began fixing the weapons and armour Loki asked of him. It didn't take long and the combined value of the items would definitely help in the future.

Still, now that he had a bit of time left, he decided to take as much as he could of the equipment back to the Familia. Putting as much as he could in the three duffel bags, leaving around half the stuff behind, he set out towards the Twilight Manor. As soon as the guards noticed him, they nodded towards him, before one of them turned around and headed inside. And just like the last time, the familiar faces of the Loki Familia appeared in front of him.

"Hi there, Six," Loki greeted.

"Hello, Loki, everyone," He greeted, while the rest of the groups said their phrases before turning towards the Goddess. "Loki, I have roughly half of the equipment you ordered me to repair," He said, motioning to the bags.

"Oh, nice!" Loki replied with a grin. "Finn, Gareth, Bete, help Six out, would you?"

Bete scowled, but did as told, while the two guys simply nodded and took one bag each. "What about the rest, dipshit?" Werewolf asked.

"Probably stuck somewhere far up your ass," Six replied, the werewolf growled, while others smiled wryly or straight out chuckled as Tiona did. "And to be more serious, I could only put so much inside those bags anyway, plus I want them back."

"So, I guess the rest of the equipment is already fixed, isn't it?" Loki asked while Six nodded.

"Indeed it is, you can come and pick it up if you want or I can come back later with the rest, it's up to you really…" He replied.

"Glad to hear, now everyone, what do you think?" Loki asked her Familia members.

"I believe it would be best if some of us were to go and retrieve the equipment, that reminds me, how much do we owe you for all the repairs, Mister Six?" Riveria asked while the man cupped his chin.

"Quite a lot, we are talking about millions of Valis. Let me add the numbers up," He said as he began calculating all the money they owed and writing them down on a clipboard. "Oh boy, I know that's spread out between multiple Familia members, but in total? Half a billion Valis," He said and handed over all the items, their descriptions and the money owed.

Loki whistled, Ais froze, Tiona and Tione gaped, Riveria eye's spread wide open as well as Finn and Gareth's, while Bete gawked. "Half...a billion Valis?" Tiona asked.

"Yep, quite expensive. The best part is, you have already saved around fifty million Valis," He replied, while the members looked between each other.

"You accept payment in rates, don't you?" Finn asked with a sweat drop, while the man nodded, much to his, and other Familia members, relief.

"Of course, I can understand that this amount of money is not something you can easily get your hands on. Plus, we have already signed an agreement, didn't we?" He asked while the Pallum nodded.

"That we did," Finn replied as he let out a sigh of relief. "Still, just of curiosity, what do you exactly expect from us, when it comes to the guild?"

"Nothing much. I am not expecting you to go to war with the Guild or the rest of the city. All I ask for is that you tell the Guild you are working with me, so they think twice about coming after me," He explained.

"That's reasonable," Riveria said, gaining the attention of everybody involved. "Though, I hope you realize we will not sacrifice members of our Familia to protect you?"

"Never thought otherwise. After all, I amjust an outsider who helps you out," He replied with a shrug.

"If you were to join us..." Loki started.

"Yeah, no thanks, I'll pass," He replied, while Loki sighed. "Plus, I remember asking you to not ask me to join you, didn't I?"

"And I adhered to the rule. I merely suggested that if you were to join my Familia, I might be able to help out more…" She pointed, while the man chuckled.

"Right, of course, well then, what now?" He asked.

"I think it's best we get our equipment retrieved, the sooner, the better," Finn replied.

"I agree – everyone, let's go." Loki ordered, the group following the man towards the workshop.

Once they arrived there, the members of the Familia gathered all the equipment they brought in the first place and began putting them into bags of their own.

"Is that everything?" Riveria asked as she looked all over the workshop.

"I believe so," Finn replied, before turning towards the man. "What do you think, Six?"

"Seems fine to me. So, I hope you don't mind, but I have an appointment and I need to get going," He replied, while the group looked between each other.

"Oh, meeting somebody?" Loki inquired.

"Nothing that involves you, Loki," He replied, while the goddess chuckled in response.

"Of course, you and your secrets. Anyway, a pleasure doing business with you Six." She said and extended her hand.

He returned the handshake and replied, "Likewise, don't keep me hanging for too long, though."

"So a year then?" She asked.

"Half at best," He argued. "You are a high level of Familia, it should be more than enough. If not, we will figure something out."

"Okay, sounds good to me. Everyone, let's go!" She said and the members of the group said their goodbyes, before leaving the Courier alone in the workshop. Shortly after, he put on the duffel bag, locked the building and went towards the Dungeon.


"You're early" Courier pointed as he walked up to the blacksmith.

"Didn't want to keep you waiting." He replied with a smile.

"Works for me. The sooner we start, the better. Now, which floor can you go to?" He asked as the two began walking towards the entrance.

"Tenth floor, at that point, it becomes difficult without a supporter or another member," He replied.

"Agreed, the orcs and imps are not to be underestimated," He nodded.

"So, what's the plan?" Welf asked.

"The plan? The plan is really simple. I go in, taunt the monsters, let them attack me, while you kill them." He said, the man giving him a deadpan.

"Hahaha, very funny, any real plans outside of that?" He asked.

The Courier cocked his head to the side. "That's what I did before and it worked well enough back then, although my previous allies used ranged attacks for the most part."

"...You're serious, aren't you?" Welf sweatdropped, not expecting this kind of response. "Oh boy, how did you survive the Dungeon by yourself? That reminds me, what level are you anyway?"

"You'd be surprised. Regarding the second question, I am above level two, if that's what you are asking for," He settled on.

"Above level two? Three? Four?" Welf asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Won't tell," Courier replied, while the blacksmith smiled wryly.

"Right, shouldn't have asked. Anyway, I don't have a ranged weapon, will that be a problem?" He asked.

"Not in the slightest, just stay behind me and do your best. If it becomes too difficult, I will step in and keep you safe," He replied.

"Oh boy, we are going balls deep, aren't we?" Welf asked.

The Courier chuckled as he shook his head. "Not in the slightest. I have been outnumbered on multiple occasions and always came out on top."

"Really? Mind sharing some of those stories with me?" He asked.

"Maybe later, but you can trust me to keep you safe. I have reached Rivira by myself after all." Courier replied.

"I hope you are not lying, or we might both end up dead," Welf muttered.

"We might die horribly. Well, maybe not me…" Courier countered.

"That's inspiring," Welf said sarcastically, before sighing. "I'm already having second thoughts."

"Good, that means you are not a complete moron with a death wish," Courier said, while Welf gave a deadpan.

After that, the two went inside the Dungeon, a small group of monsters appearing in front of them. A few kobolds and goblins to be exact. The Courier nodded at the blacksmith, took a step forward and flipped off the monsters.

"Come here, you ugly bastards!" He taunted them, as he put his left hand behind him and used his right to gesture them to come closer.

It seemed to have worked as the monsters charged towards him, barely paying attention to his companion, swarming him from every side, as they began scratching, biting and doing everything in their power to deal any kind of damage. Welf in the meantime wasted no time, killing the first three monsters in a few blows, their attention turning towards him.

However, before they could attack him, the Courier grabbed the nearest monster, slammed him into the ground, before beating him with his bare fists until it exploded into a pile of gore, guts and blood. That seemed to have worked as the monsters shrieked with fright, before focusing their attention back on him. Not long after, the monsters were dead, their blood slowly dripping down the man's armour leaving it mostly clean.

"See?" Courier asked as he turned towards the blacksmith.

"I can see, alright. The question is, do you often act like this?" Welf asked as he began picking up the magic stones from the corpses of the monsters, Six making sure Welf wouldn't be able to pick up any of the blood sausages and such which he planned to use later on.

"Only periodically, riling others up makes them lose their focus and ability to fight well." He replied as Six also began harvesting the magic stones.

"Right...remind me not to get on your bad side…" Welf said while the man smiled weakly.

"No promises," He replied. After that, the duo continued their descent down the Dungeon, when suddenly they heard a loud feminine scream. "Trouble," Courier said, Welf nodded and the two began running, quickly finding the source of it.

The sight in front of them made them stop in his tracks. Five adventurers and a single corpse. Four of them were male and judging by their strength around level one. The only thing that stood out was an evil glint and fresh blood on one of the swords of the adventurers, a source – the corpse slumped against the wall.

He recognized the corpse in question, despite it only having its right arm left, the other nowhere lying not far off from it. A mop of pure white hair and red eyes devoid of life greeted him – Bell. Time stopped in its tracks as he entered VATS and took in the scene in front of him. There was a Pallum with an oversized backpack slumped against the wall. She had brown hair and eyes of the same colour, with her height around four feet tall at best.

She was most likely the supporter Eina told him about and perhaps one of the reasons things played out like this. He debated what to do, on one hand, he had a pretty good guess what happened here, on the other hand rushing in and killing them without knowing the full story could lead to some horrible mistakes.

"Holy shit…" Welf muttered as he drew his sword.

So, with that in mind, the Courier drew his sword and said, "You'd better have a damn good explanation or I will kill you all right here and now."

"Woah, chill out buddy, that girl over there is a thief. She stole my sword and many other things from us all," One of them said.

"So your solution was to rob her in the dungeon, kill an innocent person instead of going to the guild and reporting it?" He inquired.

"What does it matter to you anyway? She is not one of your friends, is she?" Another one asked as he drew his own sword and glanced between him and Welf.

"You're right, she isn't. However, that guy over there kind of was. So, here is how it's going to play out. You can either surrender and go with me to the Guild to explain this situation or you can die here as the bandits you are." He said.

The Four looked between each other, before laughing heartily. "Oh please, you're nothing special. You're not even a level two adventurer or we would have at least recognized you. As it is, it's a four against two and letting you live is not something we can afford to do anymore…" Another of the group said.

"...Fine then," He replied and charged forward without holding back.

The first of the adventurers didn't even have time to scream, before a giant sword obliterated his body, sending pieces of blood, guts and gore everywhere. The rest of them paled, two of them tried to attack him, but he simply dodged before killing both of them with a single blow.

"W-wait!" The last one begged, but the Courier had been out of mercy for a long time.

With the last blow, he finished the fight. The adventurers' nothing more than a red smear on the nearby wall. However, this wasn't over yet, he sheathed his sword before rushing to Bell's body and examining it. But...it was too late. The sword pierced the heart and not even a super stimpak would do the trick. If there was one thing he could not do, it was bringing people back from the dead, much to his regret. With a heavy sigh, he closed the eyelids of the boy, before turning towards the supporter.

"You – what's your name?" He asked.

"L-Lilly," She replied, terror evident in her eyes.

"Now, Lilly, I want you to tell me everything that happened and if you do not cooperate I will bring you to the Guild, so one of the gods can have a talk with you," He explained, while the girl nodded.

"Lilly will tell you everything. Just don't... hurt Lilly," She pleaded.

"I won't at least unless you give me a reason to do so. Now then, what happened?" He asked.

Lilly got herself together before she began to recount her tale, starting at the very beginning of her childhood.

She told them how poorly she was treated by her Familia, being forced to fend for herself since she was young, how the three of the adventurers ruined her one chance of living a normal life, how she began to hate adventurers and what she did to finally escape the grasp of her Familia before she finally reached the part with Bell.


"Are you sure, Lilly? I mean floor seven is quite dangerous, isn't it? There are killer ants there, often called Rookie Killers," Bell said as he walked down the Dungeon, Lilly keeping close behind.

"Lilly is sure, Master Bell is very strong," She assured as her eyes went to the sheath on Bell's left arm.

Inside it was her goal, a blade worth millions of Valis that she tried to steal the first time, but failed. Now though, she had a perfect plan, a monster bait and preparation to pull it off. However, that plan quickly shattered when the two were ambushed by the members of her Familia, who she hated with the entirety of her being.

She was knocked back, blood dripping from her mouth as she slid down the wall, leaving only Bell to protect her. "Why are you doing this?!" He demanded as he held the knife ready, standing in front of Lily to protect her.

"Give it up, kid. We don't want to kill you, the only one we are after is her. If you help us out we will let you keep some of her loot, assuming you can keep your mouth shut." One of them said.

"Why? What has she done to you?" He asked, gritting his teeth in the process.

"...You really don't know who she is? Well, Lilly, aren't you going to tell him?" One of the group asked, but Lilly stayed silent. "Fine, I will tell him myself. That girl over there is a known thief and a murderer. She led many adventurers inside the Dungeon, baited the monsters and left them to die as she stole the most valuable of their belongings like a weapon."

"Y-you're lying!" Bell yelled. He refused to believe it. Lilly was lonely, just like him, he refused to simply let her die because of what he said. "I believe in Lilly!"

She blinked not able to believe her own ears. However, that seemed to have been the last straw as the group attacked in unison. Bell did his best to defend himself, but they were too many and one of the adventurers managed to get a lucky hit in, cutting off his arm and making him scream in agony, as he fell on the wall, clutching the stump of his arm.

"I warned you kid…" One of them said as the rest of the group began looting their belongings. "You're not a hero – she is not a princess and this is not a story where good guys win."

"I...," Bell started.

"You know what you are? You're a fool. A stupid kid that thinks that life is a fantasy of some sorts. What else do you believe? That you can become a hero? Rescue a princess in the Dungeon? Get your own harem?" He taunted and burst out laughing. "You know... I feel sorry for you. You got caught in this mess, and now you're going to die because of her."

"W-wait!" Lilly yelled, but the man didn't listen and stabbed the boy right through the heart, killing him on the spot. She watched as Bell's life was extinguished in front of her very eyes, before letting out one desperate scream of despair inside the Dungeon.


"So…let me get this straight. You were used and abused by your Familia your entire life, correct?" He asked while Lilly nodded. "Your life was ruined because of these guys, but instead of going to the Guild and begging for some kind of support or even reporting it, you have resorted to stealing from other adventurers and because of your actions, it resulted in the death of some of them."

"Lilly hasn't killed anyone!" She denied.

"You're right, you haven't killed anyone with your own two hands, others did," He pointed out, silencing the supporter. "The monsters, these three? All of this is the result of your own stupidity and being blinded by your own past."

"..." She wasn't sure what to say, this was not how it was supposed to go.

"Welf, tie her up, I am going to loot the corpses of these four and then we are going back to the surface to turn her in," He said.

"Alright then," Welf replied since he agreed that this was probably the best solution.

"W-what? You promised Lilly! You promised you would not bring Lilly to the guild!" She pleaded.

"I lied." He replied, tears falling down her cheeks as Welf tied her up.

In the meantime, the Courier manually stripped all of their clothes, made sure nothing was left, before hanging the duffel bag over his shoulder. Once that was done, he walked up to Bell's corpse and heaved him over his shoulder, leaving his right hand free to defend himself with.

"Let's go," He ordered, while Welf nodded. Lilly was walking right behind the blacksmith, her backpack hung on his shoulders.

The walk was peaceful, the monsters not standing in their way, as the group made their way back to the surface. Some of the adventurers glanced at them as they left the Dungeon, watching as they walked past them. They knew first hand how dangerous the Dungeon could be, the death of adventurers was something one had to get used to.

A while later, the trio found themselves standing in front of the Dungeon, everyone staring at them as the Courier carried the body to the Guild. He had no idea where to bury it anyway, plus he didn't want to be treated as a grave robber. Back in Mojave, digging up corpses was frowned upon, but it helped him out greatly over the years.

As he went through the door, collective gasps were heard, one set of eyes in particular. Eina dropped whatever she was holding and run up to them.

"No, oh no, no, no, no," She muttered as she stared at the lifeless corpse of a boy, who she was in charge of.

Tears appeared in the corner of her eyes, as the Courier laid the body on the floor, the receptionist shushing other adventurers away.

"I am sorry for your loss, Miss Tule," Courier said, took a step back, as the girl looked straight at him.

"What happened...?" She asked, her eyes glancing between him and the supporter.

"Adventurers happened... I will gladly tell you the entire story with two of my acquaintances. However, I believe it would be for the best if the guild prepared proper burial for Bell," He replied.

"Right, please give me a moment," She said, trying desperately to keep her composure.

After that, the body of the boy was taken to the morgue, while the three of them were escorted to the depths of the Guild. The trio was sitting in a luxurious room with a few leather sofas and chairs. Joining them were Eina Tule, Rehmer, Eina's superior and a male chiantrophe, along with Ganesha and his escort. She was a beautiful azure haired woman and a level five adventurer, called Shakti Varma.

The woman in question glanced in his direction, before focusing on the supporter. The god's presence was requested to verify their stories and as much as he hated the gods, he had to admit, being able to always tell when somebody told a lie was incredibly powerful, if not too powerful. What followed was a rather detailed explanation of how he met Welf, what they did and how they came across Lilly.

However, when Lilly began telling her story, he could see Eina looking at her with murder in her eyes. The same could be said for the rest of the room, even Welf was glaring at her, despite already knowing most of it. When, Lilly finally finished the room fell silent, as everyone inside contemplated what to do.

"So... what is the Guild going to do about her and the Soma Familia?" Courier asked as he made himself comfortable.

"Hard to say. One thing is for certain, Soma Familia will be thoroughly investigated that's for certain," Rehmer replied. "As for her? Lifetime sentence in prison at the bare minimum."

Lilly shuddered as she looked at the Guild members. She looked like she wanted to say something, to plead perhaps. But, the looks they had sent her were enough to simply hang her head down in acceptance.

"Lilly... understands," She replied.

"... If possible, I would like to make a counter suggestion," The Courier said, everyone, turning towards him.

"What do you mean by that, Mister Six?" Eina asked, still glaring at Lilly with all her might.

"Banishment, strip her off her Falna, confiscate her belongings and never let her adventure again," He said, everyone blinking at the suggestion, Lilly staring at him not able to believe her own ears.

While what Lilly did was deplorable, but he could understand her point of view. After all, he wasn't a saint himself, painting the wasteland red with blood. The swat of corpses he left in his wake as he searched for Benny and the reason he had for killing him.

"What? Why would you let her get away with all the murder?" Welf asked, not able to comprehend why would he even consider giving her a chance.

"You're making a mistake here. I am not letting her get away with what she had done, I am merely suggesting that putting her in prison for the rest of her life won't help," He said, as he thought of a way to put it. "Besides, the reasons Lilly turned to the crime were simple, she is stupid and the Guild is useless."

That made everyone pause, as Rehmer frowned. "Useless?"

"Yes, the Guild is useless. If the Guild could do something, had some kind of force of their own, she could have requested help or something. However, because the Guild relies on other Familias' help to execute justice, it makes situations like this possible. In fact, how many wrongdoers are there in Orario? Slaver Scum? Illegal brothers? Con Artists? Familias that scheme for their own personal gain? Can you answer that question, Rehmer?"

"... That's," He started.

"You can't, can you?" Courier butted in and snorted.

Before the male could answer, there was a commotion as a tiny goddess busted through the door, flailing wildly. Courier blinked as he recognized her as Hestia, he talked to before. Tears were in the corner of her eyes, as she looked around the room, roared and jumped on top of Lilly, strangling her.

"You...!" Hestia cried as everyone in the room rushed in to separate them and prevent further bloodshed."You did! You killed my Bell!" She cried, doing her best to break free.

"Enough," Courier growled, his terrifying presence kicking in for a moment, silencing everyone in the room, both Welf and Shakti drawing their weapons in the process. "Goddess, Hestia. I need you to calm down and listen. Lilly didn't kill Bell."

Hestia'sattentionsnapped to him, not able to believe her own ears. "She... did not? Then who did?!" She demanded.

"Other adventurers from Soma Familia. They wanted to rob Lilly and killed Bell when he tried to defend her. Although make no mistake, Lilly intended to steal his weapon and leave him to die in the Dungeon, but she wasn't the one who killed him," Courier explained. "As it is, she will pay for her crime, according to the law. So, please behave yourself."

"I... understand," She responded weakly, as she glared back at Lilly, who seemed to had shrunk even further into the sofa. "... What about the knife, the one I gave to him?"

"Here it is," Courier said as he pulled the knife from his duffel bag and handed it over. The goddess cradled the weapon to her massive chest, like a mother, who was holding her dead child.

"Thank you...," She muttered as the room lapsed into silence.

"Miss Tule, please take goddess Hestia from here and escort her to adventurer's body. It's the least we can do," Rehmer said. Eina looked at him, before nodding and gently nudging the goddess out of the room, leaving the rest of the group behind.

"... What a fucking mess," Courier complained as he put his hand over his forehead. "So, now what?"

"Now, we will take Lilly to prison and gather the court to rule her sentence. Thank you for the help, mister Six, for what's it worth, the Guild is grateful," He said, while Shakti nodded and took Lilly with her, handcuffing her beforehand.

"Good, that means my job here is done. Now then, Welf, do you want to go to the Dungeon today or...?" Courier asked while Welf shook his head.

"After today? I think I will pass. I need a drink or two, maybe more. Give me a day or two," He replied.

"Understandable, I am staying at Hostess of Fertility, if you feel like going to the Dungeon," Courier replied.

"Right, I will keep in mind, take care, Six," Welf said and bid his farewell, before leaving the room.

"I suppose, it's time for me to go too, isn't it?" Courier asked, but Rehmer merely shook his head in response.

"Not yet, I am afraid. Before you leave, there is a question I need you to answer," He replied. "Say, was it really necessary to kill them? Couldn't you have knocked them unconscious instead?"

"What's the point of that?" He countered while the man frowned. "They were bandits, scum, plenty of that in the world. The likes of them don't deserve mercy, trial or anything like this."

"Perhaps... But, do you honestly believe that violence is the best option?" Rehmer asked.

"Depends on the circumstances, more often than not, it's the only option I am afraid. Tell me, Mister Rehmer. If a bandit attacked you, tried to kill you, would you let him?" Courier asked while man shook his head. "That's what I thought. I am not afraid to hurt, I am not afraid to kill, I have done it before and I will do it again if necessary. Now then, have a nice day, everyone," Courier said and left the room, leaving it silent.

"... What the hell is he?" Rehmer asked as slumped in the sofa, already regretting the question.

The man was an enigma, an adventurer without Falna, who killed a group of levels one. And yet, the way he carried himself, he acted. It reminded him of soldiers, season adventurers, mercenaries and such.

"Ganesha doesn't know!" The god suddenly said. "But Ganesha wants him in his Familia!" Rehmer could only groan as the god proclaimed his intentions, too tired to argue.