A week after they settled into normalcy, it was finally time for Raul and Aki to go inside the Dungeon. Before this, Aki and Raul were under Noir's guidance. He taught them about what it meant to be an Adventurer. Looking at the giddy Aki, Raul couldn't help but remark.

"We're just going to be the Supporter for Ais. Why are you so excited?"

"Come on, Raul. It's Queen Ariadne we're talking about!" Aki huffed.

"How many times have you gushed about her since you found out again? Oh, right, countless. And besides, we're just gonna be a Supporter for her party," Raul pointed out. He was a former knight, so he wanted his first experience setting foot inside the infamous Dungeon to be worthy. Instead, he had to accompany Aki because she wanted to be in the same party as Ais Wallenstein.

The former Ruler of Lakrios gave Aki a pained smile at Aki's question. She remarked that were it any other time, her party would let them join as an Adventurer. Raul and Aki didn't know what she meant, but Aki insisted on joining anyway.

And thus, here they were, meeting with Ais Wallenstein at the front gate for their party members.

"Miss Ais, I didn't ask this before, but how many will join us?" Aki politely asked her idol.

Raul clicked his tongue in annoyance. When she was in front of Ais, Aki wore a polite, friendly mask as a fellow former noble. But when Ais didn't look, Aki was all over her. Typical Aki.

Ais looked at them, smiling a little. "Just one."

"Eeeh? You were accompanied by just one person inside the Dungeon?"

"Both of us are enough. We still only get to the tenth floor so far," Ais shrugged. "Sorry. If we were not in a hurry, I would like to party with you as a fellow Adventurer."

That again? "Do you mind explaining why you're in a hurry?" Raul decided to ask her.

"It's not my place to tell," Ais replied shortly.

"But still, the tenth floor, huh? Isn't it amazing? You're seven years old, but you've got enough experience to delve that deep. Well, reincarnation notwithstanding." Again, Aki was gushing over her idol in a more polite speech.

"I'm not amazing compared to my friend," Ais shook her head and replied with a smile.

Her friend again? When will they arrive? Raul really wanted to know who managed to get the attention of such a wise ruler.

Five minutes later, he got his answer.

"Sorry, I'm late, Ais. Hmm, are we accompanying someone else?" An approaching figure greeted Ais and remarked as she looked at the ensemble. "Oh, Lazar and Felice?"

"Sorry, Lili. Captain Finn told me to not say anything."

"Tch, he's his usual annoying self. Should've moved the meeting like he did mine."

Ais laughed. "Feeling annoyed you're getting preferential treatment? Mine was like Raul and Aki here."

Raul couldn't say anything as Ais conversed with a really unexpected figure. It was a figure that they looked up to in the past. Fianna, the tragic heroine who he failed. The start of Dim's descent into revenge. There were a lot of things that Raul really wanted to say, but he was beaten to it by Aki.

"F-Fianna?"

"Nice to meet you again, Felice, Lazar," Fianna's reincarnation greeted them with a smile. "I'm Liliruca Arde this time."

Propelled by her emotion, Aki went and hugged the Pallum, tears falling down. Raul's reaction was more subdued. Despite all the things he wanted to say, he held them back inside his heart and only smiled at the Pallum girl, "Nice to see you again."

As they traversed the first floor of the Dungeon, Lili explained her situation to the two newcomers. She was stuck in a shit Familia and imposed a six months time limit before she asked for help. Right now, it was two weeks before the time limit was up. Lili had two weeks to attempt a Level Up and solve the problem independently; thus, she was in a hurry.

After being explained by Lili herself, Raul understood and conceded. As for Aki, well, she was the one who insisted on joining, so she'd accepted them long before she heard the explanation.

"Still, why do you insist on solving it yourself, Lili?" Raul asked the question.

Lili was silent. The only voice she made was the steps of her legs.

Raul felt that Lili was considering saying something but ultimately stayed silent. He'd respect her decision.

"Please forgive me. I'm prying into your personal life."

"...No, it's fine. You're Finn's friend, right? I think telling you won't hurt. And Aki, too, I guess," Lili replied with a sigh.

"Do you want us to keep this a secret?" Aki asked her.

"It's not a big deal, but I'd like to tell Finn and the others on my own terms," Lili shrugged. "I guess even after all these months, I'm still not ready."

Her shoulder was grasped by Ais. "I understand. There's a certain someone that I'd like to meet again. However, I'm sure I will also act like you if I ever meet him again."

With this, Raul was sure that the former queen and the former knight were good friends. Wait, 'former queen and former knight,' that could also be used to describe him and Aki! Huh, wasn't it somewhat funny in retrospect? One pair continued their relationship to a happy ending. At the same time, another was separated by time and place in the previous life.

"To keep things back on track, the reason for my selfish wish is simple. I was the strongest. While the others were no slouches, I was responsible for all of them. Relying on them at my weakest felt like throwing away my pride. That's why I set a limit of six months. At least I've tried doing it myself before I inevitably asked them for help."

Aki frowned, but Raul surprisingly understood her. Maybe it was because they were both knights, but he understood Lili's feelings on the matter. A knight had their pride. Whether it was to do something on her own in Lili's case or wanting to kill monsters on Raul's first dive, both of them were driven by their pride in their own strength.

"I get you," Raul nodded, giving his support. "I'll fully support you, Lili."

Aki rolled her eyes, "Knights."

That got a small laugh from Ais. "Knights, indeed."

Their interaction was interrupted by newly-born monsters. Raul anticipated a close fight but was flabbergasted by how fast Ais and Lili got rid of them. He was reminded by a pinch from Aki that they had to collect the stones left by the two storms.

"R-Right."

When they finished collecting the stones, they were already on the stairs down to the second floor. Raul looked back at the corridors. They didn't just dispatch the monsters quickly, but also efficiently with how they did it while moving towards the second floor.

"Come on, Raul." Ais called him, breaking him out of his awe.

"Okay," he replied. Falna was amazing if it could make seven years old to be this strong. Once more, he lamented the fact that it didn't exist three thousand years ago.

From floor two to seven, the same sight of two little girls turned into monster murder machines became slightly more familiar to Raul and Aki. This was what constant Dungeon delving turned someone to be. He shared a look with Aki before nodding to each other.

One week clearly did not make them ready to face the Dungeon. They were both very sure after setting foot inside. They were too conceited, underestimating the Dungeon because they thought they had a slight advantage in their memories. After today's excursion, Raul promised to throw himself more seriously into Noir's training!

His instinct was the first thing that warned Raul that something terrible would happen. When he set foot inside the eleventh floor for the first time, Raul's instinct told him to go back.

"Raul?" Aki asked, always knowing him.

It was an instinct born from years of the battlefield. Even in this life, it hadn't dulled at all. And the most important thing... Raul wouldn't survive to this day if he didn't listen to it every time.

"The air's different from before," he remarked. Even if the eleventh floor was similarly full of thick mist, just like the tenth, the vibe Raul got was completely different. Something terrible was lurking beneath the fog. He wasted no time voicing his awful feeling toward everyone. "Everyone... I have a bad feeling about this floor..."

"Raul..." Aki immediately moved to support him. "Raul's sense of danger from the battlefield is sharp. I think it's better if we heed him."

Ais and Lili blinked.

"Are you sure?" Ais asked him, to which Raul nodded.

"Good. I'm itching to challenge myself," was Lili's remark. On her face was an uncharacteristic grin.

"Eh?"

"It's probably the Infant Dragon," Ais elaborated. "It is one of the stronger monsters on the Upper Floor. Some consider it a mini Monster Rex. Now, Lili here wanted to challenge herself. You get the picture."

...

Words failed Raul because he couldn't find any words to describe his mixed feelings. Aki, however, was more eloquent, considering her past as a reigning Queen.

"Are you insane?!"

...or not. It seemed that Aki had the same thought as him.

Instead of being offended, both Ais and Lili only smiled.

"You can't grow when you don't challenge yourself. That's the foremost rule in the Dungeon."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, guys. But please follow me," Lili bowed. "I can't in my conscience send you back alone without our supervision. But neither do I want to miss this opportunity. Ais, can you watch over them?"

Ais shook her head. "No. I'll go with you."

"...Thanks," Lili smiled, but then her smile turned into a frown. "But Raul and Aki..."

Raul sighed. "I'll protect Aki as much as I can. We'll stay somewhere the dragon attack won't reach us."

In the end, knowing that they wouldn't be able to stop the two younger girls, Raul and Aki compromised.

"Don't forget that I'll watch your back too, Raul!" Aki pouted.

"That too, yeah. Go fight to your heart's content," Raul gave Ais and Lili a smile.

"Thank you, Raul. I'm glad you're as reliable as Finn said," Ais nodded.

Lili and Ais then went and looked for the Infant Dragon.

As the two girls' silhouettes disappeared in the fog, Aki glanced at Raul. "Hey, Raul, did we make the correct decision?"

"I don't know, Aki... but one thing I know is that we can't stop them. Rather than causing friction, I'd rather give in."

"That's unlike the stubborn man I know," Aki nudged him playfully.

"Even I recognize them as being our seniors, reincarnation notwithstanding." Raul flicked Aki's forehead. "I believe in them."

"Raul... then I'll put my faith in them too!"

"Don't let down your guard, though. This is still the Dungeon."

"Yes!"

Not long after scouring the foggy floor, Ais and Lili found a trace of the Infant Dragon.

"This is..."

"So Raul's intuition was spot on," Ais remarked. "But it's strange. The footprints were larger than the usual Infant Dragon."

Ais and Lili looked at each other. "Enhanced Species?"

"Possible," Ais nodded, not dismissing the possibility of their soon-to-be enemy being stronger than usual.

The lack of monsters on this floor could be attributed to the Enhanced Species eating some of them and making others afraid. They were probably hiding somewhere out of its reach. If so, then maybe Raul and Aki would be safer than it was usually on the eleventh floor.

"Let's go," Ais motioned, and Lili nodded before following her.

They arrived at a clearing. It was still foggy, but they couldn't find the walls around them, so they assumed it was a clearing. Faintly, they heard the sound of the Infant Dragon's breathing. To hear such growls sent a shiver down their spine.

No sane Adventurers wouldn't feel scared. Maybe other, higher-leveled Adventurers wouldn't, but that was because they faced greater threats below. But this was an Infant Dragon, the pinnacle of monsters on the Upper Floor.

Subconsciously, Ais gripped her sword tighter than before.

"Shall we?" She asked her dear companion.

"Preparation first," Lili reminded.

Nodding, Ais called upon her magic. "Awaken."

Bursts of wind appeared around her, blasting the fog away and giving them a clear view of the Enhanced Infant Dragon. The bright red, scaly body of the usual Infant Dragon was gone; in its place were bloody crimson scales with spiked backs, as if all the blood of the monsters it killed dyed them in blood. It roared, further blasting the fog around them.

The message was received.

"Proud warrior, I offer you everything! Heed the call and rise! Maegden Gair!Spear Maiden"

Lili also finished the chant of her magic, Maegden Gair. It was a spell that amplified her strength and endurance and gave her the Spearman Development Ability proportional to her anger. The angrier she got, the stronger the boost and Spearman ability she would receive. It appeared one day when she updated her Falna and surprised her and Soma.

It was a shortcut to becoming her former self by just using magic and chants. However, it wasn't just a 'use and see the effect' magic. Maegden Gair was a spell that needed Mind for each second of being active. With Lili's current status in magic, she could keep Maegden Gair up to five minutes.

That meant they would be dead if they couldn't finish the fight in five minutes.

Glancing at Ais, they nodded before going in two different directions.

Lili focused on the lower part of the Infant Dragon. She was going to chop the four legs it had. With a swing of her spear, Lili stabbed one of the legs and pushed with all her might. Roaring in pain, the Dragon had its attention occupied by Lili. It was a chance that Ais used to jump high, riding her wind and attack from above.

"Haaaaaaa!"

Being enchanted by her wind made her stronger than usual, and so she swung her sword at the Dragon's neck, intending to cut it. However...

She gasped when one of the spikes on its back grew longer and almost stabbed her in the gut. If it weren't for her dexterity and being enchanted, she would surely die on the spot.

"Ais!"

"I'm fine," she quickly replied and controlled her wind again.

The spikes were a problem. This was the first time Ais and Lili faced an Infant Dragon, but she had read from the Familia's library. A normal Infant Dragon did not have spikes on its back, nor could it retract and extend them. This was outside of their calculation.

Glancing back at Lili, Ais found her struggling to face the tail swipe from the Infant Dragon.

"Tch, swinging here and there like that makes me angry!" With newfound strength, Lili stabbed the tail on the ground with her spear. The Infant Dragon roared in pain, but most importantly, its mobility was rendered moot by the tail being stabbed on the floor.

"Thank you, Lili," Ais remarked. She learned her lesson this time and did not rush from behind again. Riding her wind, Ais swung her sword at the Dragon's neck.

Clang!

Her sword did not cut the neck as she intended. The Dragon twisted its neck so that the spike could parry her sword. On top of the body enhancement, it was also smart enough to assess the situation and make a counterplay?

Lili gritted her teeth. Sure, the situation made her angrier, but time was ticking down. Soon, she would dispel her magic because she didn't want to have Mind Down in the middle of fighting what amounted to a floor boss.

No. This was her clear-cut chance to Level Up, and she would finish this abomination in under three minutes!

"Raaaaaghhhh" She pushed her spear deeper into the ground, cutting the Dragon's tail apart from its body. The Dragon, finally free, roared fires, intending to make a roasted Pallum. But Lili ignored that. She was looking at the motionless tail on the ground, and her brain started working.

The fire was about to reach her, but Ais used her wind to divert the fire and keep her safe.

Lili wasted no time. She took the tail on the ground, whose tip was full of barbed spikes, and swung it to the Infant Dragon in the head.

Grauuuuwwww

Ais followed up with more strikes from her sword, injuring it. Lili took her spear from the ground and readied herself to finish the Dragon, but the roar of pain turned into a fury. From the back of the Dragon, a pair of wings grew and spanned it proudly.

Its wingspan was longer than the length of its body. Without waiting for anything, the Dragon took off and roared fire from above.

"Oh... the Infant Dragon is infant no more, huh?"

"The worst situation indeed," Ais replied. "To be honest, Lili. I think we're over in our heads this time. Don't get me wrong, I fully believe we can defeat a normal Infant Dragon. But..."

"The abomination above us is anything but normal," Lili finished with a sigh. "And I can only hold Maegden Gair for another sixty seconds."

The situation was hopeless.

They held no baseless hope of being rescued. This wasn't a fairy tale, after all. However...

However...

Lili felt something was wrong.

Quietly accepting death like this was really unlike her! Even in her previous life, she died fighting! She was angry at herself for ever thinking of giving up!

Lili gripped her spear tighter. It caught Ais' attention as she looked at her and gritted her teeth in determination.

Ais might have died of old age after bringing prosperity to Lakrios. Still, after looking at the determined Lili, she felt that accepting the incoming death was wrong. She should fight to the bitter end!

After all, wasn't that what that man did and showed her?

And so she raised her sword.

"Awaken!"

Once more, bursts of wind covered her entire body. But this time, it wasn't just hers. The wind also covered Lili's whole body.

"This is..." Lili muttered. "So this is how you feel every time you use Ariel, huh?"

Ais smiled. "Ready to go out with a big bang?"

"Don't go reading my mind like that, my friend."

The two rode the wind together. Despite it being an enchantment coming from Ais, surprisingly, it was easy to control the wind around her. Lili maneuvered around the Dragon, taking a different direction from Ais. In the slight seconds when it decided who to pursue, Ais and Lili launched a coordinated attack on each wing.

"Haaaaaaaaa!"

"Raaaaaaaaaaggghhhhh!"

The Dragon did not just let them fly around it. It opened its jaw and let out fire breath aimed at Ais. Unfortunately for the flying monster, Ais could direct the wind and swat the fire aside.

Ais' eyes widened when the wall of fire in front of her receded. The Dragon's attention wasn't on her!

"Lili!"

Indeed, the Dragon was now ramming its body into Lili, knocking her off Ais' Ariel.

Lili was falling to the ground. But she wouldn't be Lili if she gave up there. Twisting her body, Lili let out a shout. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Freely in the air, Lili used all her power, backed by Maegden Gair's anger boost, and threw her spear.

The Dragon had no time to do anything. In an instant, it was stabbed in the neck.

"Heh," Lili smirked. "No way I'll let you take me down."

A few seconds before she reached the ground, Lili felt Ais' wind reach her once more, safely stopping her downfall and bringing her to Ais' side.

"We need to cut its wing. The stabbed neck won't stop it," Lili declared. "It has no tail and can't use its foreleg to swipe since the body shape doesn't support it. Its only way to attack is tackles and fire breath."

Tackle might be dangerous with the spiky body, but fire breath was easy to handle. The problem was they needed to use Ais ' wind to reach it.

The Dragon roared in pain and flew straight to the duo. Wasting no time, Ais threw her sword to Lili. "Use it! I'll use my wind!"

Catching the sword, Lili wasted no time flying further, avoiding the Dragon's tackle. Ais did the same and completely dodged the attack.

"Let's go!"

The two maneuvered above the Dragon to attack from there, targetting the wings. Using a sword felt unfamiliar, but she knew enough to keep her balance in the air. She slashed the wings using the borrowed sword. On the opposite side, Ais was literally wielding her wind, forming a blade of wind, efficiently cutting the Dragon's other wing.

The Dragon roared in pain as it lost its method of flying. It couldn't even breathe fire now that Lili's spear was stuck in the neck.

Lili dived down, chasing the falling Dragon while thrusting her sword. When the Dragon hit the ground, so did Lili's weapons hit the Dragon's torso, stabbing it until it went through the other side. She then flew away, making way for Ais' wind blades. The Dragon roared in pain for the last time before it perished.

As the Dragon did not move anymore, both Lili and Ais went to the ground.

"Did we do it?" Lili asked, panting from exhaustion. This was one of the toughest fights in her life, including her previous one.

"Yes," Ais said in affirmation. Looking at the dead corpse of the Enhanced Infant Dragon, Ais let out a small laugh. "I don't think we'll be able to carve the magic stone out."

"I'll look for Raul and Aki," Lili nodded, agreeing with Ais' assessment. Aside from the gigantic corpse compared to their tiny body, they were also exhausted from the fight. "Here's your sword."

"I'll guard over the corpse." Lili nodded at Ais' exclamation. They needed to guard it because other Adventurers were opportunists. Countless times, their struggle against the monster in the Dungeon was followed by some opportunists looking to grab faraway corpses they missed.

Three minutes later, Lili found Aki and Raul, who immediately fussed over her.

"Lili!"

"Are you okay?"

Lili smiled.

"I'm fine. More importantly, help us carve the magic stone out of the Infant Dragon. I had Ais watch over the corpse to guard against other Adventurers stealing our hard-earned glory."

"Right!"

The three of them quickly reached Ais. Thankfully, she was alone and still with the corpse. The four of them promptly got the magic stone out, and the corpse turned into dust. Something caught Raul's attention after the dust settled.

"Is that Drop Items?"

Raul pointed at two detached spikes on the ground. The bloody crimson spikes looked menacing.

"Indeed," Ais nodded and picked them up. "I reckon this is a good material for a weapon. It withstands an enchanted slash from my sword. Want me to make an order for us, Lili?"

"Please," Lili bowed. "I need a better weapon to face Zanis."

"You're sure you'll Level Up, then?" Aki asked Lili. "What if you don't?"

Lili shrugged. "I still need a better weapon, even if the others will help me."

Soon, they reached the surface. After exchanging the magic stones they gathered, the time for parting for the day arrived.

"Thank you, Raul, Aki, for going along with my selfishness," Lili bowed toward the two new members of Loki Familia.

"It's okay, we understand," Aki hugged the short Pallum. "See you tomorrow, Lili!"

"See you tonight," Lili then went towards her home.

Raul blinked. "Tonight?"

Ais let out a small chuckle. "It seemed that we forgot to brief you. Tonight is the monthly gathering of all the reincarnates."

"Ah! There was something along those lines, yes. I forgot!" Aki shouted.

"Nonetheless, let's go. You can badger Finn for not reminding you."

And so the three Loki Familia members left for Twilight Mansion.

A/N: The long awaited big fight. I hope I do their struggle justice. And it revealed a new magic from Lili, Maegden Gair (random old english and irish (iirc) words meaning Maiden and Spear. ...and I'm still shit on making chants. The idea was for Lili to encourage herself with the chant, but I can't into making chants so... Anyway, the magic is Spearman and stat increase proportional to her anger. I want a non-broken spell that references her old self, and I remember Fianna in her fight was always angry, and I did make Lili inherit the anger if you look through her early awakening. In time, Lili mellowed out, especially with her friendship with Ais. It would be fitting if it is something that scales with her anger, I thought. Since I want a non-broken spell, I ended up giving temporary Spearman (like canon Finn) and giving stat increase.

Anyway, that's about it. Enjoy.