Chapter 49: A New Dawn
"This is the Dungeon, huh…?"
Karen's words paved the way forward for Hestia Familia to make their trek into the Dungeon for the first time in a long while.
"…It is a bit claustrophobic, is it not?" Karen noted, adjusting. "I can sympathize with the sentiment of wishing to escape to the surface."
"And there are people who live down here all the time on the Eighteenth Floor?" Primo asked.
"Yep," Gina replied. "The Town of Rivira! Currently at its three hundred and forty-fifth iteration! Or was it forty-sixth?"
"Iteration?"
"As in the town was destroyed and rebuilt some three hundred forty times."
As Primo's eyes boggled at Gina, Assassin leaned toward Fia.
"Hey Fia," she began. "The Dungeon gave birth to you, right?"
"…Yes?" Fia replied, looking rather confused at the question.
"Does that make it your mommy?"
"I guess? Lido and a few of the others think of it like that."
"So you're going back inside your mommy, right?"
"…Right?"
"…That must be nice…"
Fia blinked a few times at Assassin's envious gaze before turning toward Bell, a question in her eyes but Bell could only offer a shrug in response.
"In any case…" Lily began before they could drift further off topic. "The first objective of this Expedition is to head down to the Eighteenth Floor as soon as possible."
"Right, we're making a break for the Eighteenth Floor!" Bell said. "Ignore everything and just keep running!"
"""Oh!"""
With a group cheer, they quickly sprinted down at full speed.
X-x-X-x-X
Even if the Party was powerful, they still had to travel several miles below the surface while carrying a large amount of supplies and protecting the weaker members. It would be several hours before they reached the Eighteenth Floor.
"M-maybe I should have stayed behind," Primo groaned as she huffed and puffed down the stairs from the Seventeenth Floor to the Eighteenth Floor. "I feel like I'm holding everyone back."
"Well, think of it as endurance training," Welf said as he turned to look back up the stairs. "Still, I was really worried that Goliath would pop up. Guess they already took care of it recently."
"Goliath is the Monster Rex, correct?" Karen asked. "I heard that you took it down with only seven members or so?"
"Well, technically three other people got caught up in it," Bell replied with a laugh, recalling Mord and his friends who had been leaving Rivira to head back up to the surface. "I wonder if they're in Rivira or not…"
"Leave visiting the Rogue Town after we finish our other duty," Lily reminded him as they exited the cave and entered the dazzling crystal forest of the Eighteenth Floor.
Although it was still currently "nighttime" on the floor which meant that the massive crystal ceiling above them had dimmed its lights, the view was no less impressive.
"Is this…real? Karen couldn't help but ask.
"As real as it can be," Gina replied.
"But I heard that monsters do not spawn on this floor and the ones that are here come up from the Nineteenth, correct? Why would the Dungeon create an actual rest area for Adventurers?"
"…Perhaps it was not meant for Adventurers?" Lancer offered, glancing at Fia.
"You don't think that the Xenos were just freak accidents then?" Welf asked before wincing as his brain caught up to his words. "Ah…I mean that in the best possible way."
"No no, it's fine," Fia said quickly. "Even I can tell that we're extremely unnatural…Uwaah!"
"It's not wrong to be born!" Assassin suddenly said, wrapping her arms around Fia's stomach, causing the harpy to cry out in surprise. "Mommy said so!"
Fia turned toward Bell who simply smiled and nodded this time.
"I believe that with all of my heart," Bell said. "I…don't know how likely or possible it will be…but I want to help you…all of you. If I was strong enough, I would get all of you out immediately but…"
But he was neither strong enough to actually do that nor was he strong enough to go against the rules of Orario and those that opposed letting monsters roam on the surface.
And despite winning so much at the Casino, he didn't have that much money to buy all the Xenos their freedom.
"One step at a time, Bell," Rider said, walking up from behind him and placing her hands on his shoulders. "Do what you can, when you can. If you rush ahead before you're ready you'll only trip up when it counts."
"Yes…you're right."
It still didn't sit well with Bell. He didn't want to save "most" of the Xenos. He wanted to save "all" of them.
They didn't deserve to die in the Dungeon, either to monsters or other Adventurers, just because they looked different. Like Assassin said, it wasn't wrong for them to be born.
"Are we stopping here for now or…?" Emma asked, her question off but Bell shook his head.
"No, we'll keep moving," Bell said as he withdrew a rice ball. "Eat and drink as we walk to the exit. Lancer and Rider, can you keep an eye out for monsters?"
"Of course," Rider replied while Lancer simply nodded. "Just as a quick recap, you remember what monsters appear on the Nineteenth Floor and beyond, correct?"
"Yes. There are battle boars, lizardmen, bugbears…"
"As Primo certainly remembers," Gina quickly added with a giggle before dodging the embarrassed elf's staff swipe.
"Girls, please," Rider chastised them with a wry smile as she placed her hands on their shoulders.
"Theoretically, our Party should be able to handle everything moving forward," Lily said. "However, unexpected things happen all the time down here so we can't fool around."
""Kaaaay.""
The exit that led to the nineteenth floor of the Dungeon sat under the massive tree in the middle of the eighteenth floor, the safe point. Once there, they quickly finished off any food that they were eating and descended the stairs down to a completely new world.
The area extending from there to the twenty-fourth floor was known as the Colossal Tree Labyrinth.
The walls and ceiling of the floors were covered in a thick layer of tree bark, and the pattern on the floor made it appear as though they were traveling through a hollowed-out tree trunk. Instead of the phosphorescent light sources that occupied the floors above, the Colossal Tree Labyrinth was lit by soft blue illumination from random patches of wall moss. The long and windy pathways stretched up and across the floor, occasionally leading in and out of caves and cliff sides.
Strange types of leaves, large mushrooms, and flowers with silver sap lined the hallways and rooms that adventurers needed to pass through. Most plants here didn't exist on the surface but are often used in various crafting methods like potions and thus Quests would pop up requesting samples from time to time. Even the luminescent moss growing on the walls could be sold for a decent price aboveground.
What's more, the monsters appearing on this floor were much more aggressive than those above, some equivalent to or stronger than Level Two adventurers. More than ever, precise teamwork and cooperation were required to safely pass to the twenty-fourth floor.
Hestia Familia would brute force their way through this thanks to the help of Bell and the three Servants but it would still be rather dangerous.
"It feels like we're walking on the roots of the tree above us," Primo muttered as she looked up before walking toward the edge of the path and peered over the edge. "Uuu…it's so high…"
"Don't be dumb!" Gina said as she quickly grabbed her and pulled her back. "There are a lot of flying bug-type monsters here so while land monsters won't be able to ambush us normally, the flying ones still will."
"Let's redo the formation then," Lily suggested and Bell agreed.
"Then…I'll move to the front with Karen while Gina and Welf take the rear guard," Bell decided. "Rider and Emma will be behind the vanguard while Lancer and Jack will be in front of the rear. That'll leave Primo and Lily in the center. As for Fia…"
"Can I fly around here?" Fia asked before Bell could say anything. "I don't think I can stand being cooped up in this cloak any longer."
In order to hide her presence from any unwanted eyes, Fia had been forced to cover herself up with a Salamander Wool cloak.
Bell wanted to say "yes" right away but held off and glanced over at Lancer first.
"I will keep an eye on her," Lancer replied with a smile and a nod.
"Then yeah…" Bell said to Fia. "If you can, keep an eye out for anything that might be climbing up the sides of the paths and any flying monsters that are headed our way."
As they entered the dungeon at a rather early time, there was unlikely to be any other Adventurers on these Floors. Which mean that their inexperienced Party will be up against monsters that will all rush and target them without rest.
"Roger that!" The harpy replied as she hopped over toward Lancer to get the cloak removed.
After watching her take off, Bell's eyes then fell back on the path ahead of them.
High Class Familias like Loki Familia cross through these paths like they were nothing but for Bell, these cliffs were treacherous and could quickly spell doom if they took a wrong step.
It just drove in how amazing people like Ais Wallenstein and Lefiya Viridis were.
"…I wonder what Lefiya is doing right now…" Bell wondered to himself.
He hadn't seen her since their meeting at Primo's old village and he told her a little about the Servants. Was she looking for more information about that or…
"Bell, we're all set," Welf suddenly said from behind him, pushing the thoughts of the elf girl out of his mind.
"Then…forward…" Bell said as he took point down the path with Karen a step behind him.
X-x-X-x-X
Back on the surface, a black clad Adventurer stepped into a bar.
It might have been the start of a joke of some kind but Saber had no such thoughts in his head.
"Welcome!" Came the gray-haired waitress's greeting. "Oh, you're from Bell's Familia aren't you? We're not quite open yet so do you mind waiting for a few minutes?"
"My apologies but I did not come to dine," Saber replied. "If you have a few minutes to spare, I would like pass along a message to you."
"Is it about Bell not coming by to pick up lunch again?" Syr asked, her cheeks puffing up in a pout. The sight simply caused Saber to chuckle beneath his mask.
"Unfortunately, our Captain has decided on an Expedition immediately after returning to Orario," Saber explained, causing Syr's cheek to twitch slightly. "Therefore, my Master and most of the Familia will be gone for the next few days."
When Syr didn't respond to that Saber continued with, "My apologies for not letting you recharge your energy for the day ahead by seeing Bell."
Hearing it said so bluntly from the stoic Saber caused Syr's cheeks to redden slightly.
"Muu…such jokes are not becoming of you, Sir Knight," Syr said with a pout. "But…are you not the same? Your wife doesn't seem to be around either right? Or else you would probably be spending time with her right now."
"…As you say."
Indeed, as Lancer had been chosen to watch over the children in the Dungeon, Saber was left without much to do and had found himself sitting in the living room of the manor just staring at the wall, much to Caster's annoyance.
Ever since he was summoned to Orario, his days have been spent training Bell or diving into the Dungeon with him. And once Lancer had been summoned, his free time was spent with her. Soon after that, his free mornings where he did not train Bell were spent training Ais Wallenstein within the depths of the Dungeon. However, now that he was deprived of both Bell and Lancer and Ais had not come to schedule another lesson, he found himself with far too much free time on his hands.
His lost expression must have reached his eyes as Syr took one look at him before giggling into her hand.
"You have the look of someone who always has it together but you can be a little silly, can't you?"
"As the one I profess my love to with all of my heart is not present, I can afford to be 'a little silly,' can't I?"
"Hee hee, I suppose that's true."
…
This was nice…talking to other people with the sole purpose of simply making conversation to pass the time.
But Syr did not have that much time to chat before being called back in to work.
"Speaking of those that one wishes to profess their love to…" Saber said, changing the topic. "I have a proposition to you. Would you wish to hear it?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
"As you are no doubt aware, our Familia is in the business heavily involving food," Saber said. "From our inn and our work with Demeter, Ninsun and Njord Familias in the cooking show."
"Yes, May, one of our cooks, is quite a fan of the show and attended all of them so far."
"Due to this, the opportunities for our Familia to visit the Hostess of Fertility will lower tremendously."
Syr blinked once. Then twice.
Saber's words seemed to have properly registered with her after the fifth blink as the horror of realization reached her.
As their Familia was growing more and more with the various business Hestia decided to take on would mean less free time for the Familia. Not to mention the high quality food and ingredients being transported to the Hearth's Chime and the Hearthstone Manor cooked by two rather skilled chefs would mean that there wasn't any reason to go to an outside business to eat.
From what Saber had seen of Syr's lunches for Bell, their quality…varied. Greatly.
"Therefore, I come with a…cautious proposal," Saber said after a pause.
"Why cautious?" Syr asked, recovering her composure.
"Because of the person who suggested it," Saber replied to which Syr tilted her head. "In any case, Lady Hestia has decided to further increase our business opportunities by setting up classes to teach cooking."
"Cooking lessons?" Syr repeated, looking interested. "From Archer and Rider?"
"Yes. The two will take turns or work together depending on the mood to instruct a group of interested students. The price is set to be paid per lesson rather than a single tuition fee so that those who are only interested in one or two recipes can come and go as they wish."
"I see…and that lets the price be affordable for anyone who's interested," Syr muttered, a flame of interest burning in her eyes.
If she could cook the same thing Archer and Rider do, then Bell would be less hesitant to eat her lunch.
While Saber would like to support Syr's efforts in wooing Bell, he would not admit out loud that his main intentions would be to spare his Master's stomach further torture.
"But…what do you mean about before? Was your Goddess not the one who came up with this?"
"…No…" Saber replied slowly, feeling that he could not lie to her. "While Lady Hestia is the one who proposed the lessons, the one who suggested that I invite you was Caster."
"And that bothers you?"
"That man acts for two reasons alone. To further his machinations or for his own amusement…"
"And you think he's doing this for the latter?" Syr asked but if she was worried, it did not show on his face.
"Yes. He was…overt in his suggestion to me to refer you to the cooking lessons. That man's eyes see as far as those of the gods above and I suspect that he believes that you will fail in the end…and he looks forward to it."
"…Do you agree with that?"
"I…shall admit that there are several obstacles that you would have to overcome," Saber replied, lowering his head in apology. "First of which is that you are an outsider to the Familia with your allegiances lying elsewhere. Second is that although I hold my Master in the highest regard, I am not blind to his insecurities. It is highly likely that any words of love from you to him will be taken as teasing or a jest and he will not seriously consider it."
Syr bit her lower lip, unable to say anything to that as she no doubt was aware of the possibility herself due to her constant actions to Bell.
"Third…"
"There's more?" Syr couldn't help but blurt out.
"There are those in the Familia who wish to share their affections to my Master as well and it is my duty to assist in their endeavors as much as I can assist in yours."
"…That's fair…"
"My apologies."
No matter how much he felt that the one in front of him would be a possible good match for Bell, he could not prioritize her too much over that of the Familia.
"Above all else, I will prioritize my Master's own feelings," Saber finished. "When he makes his decision, I will honor and uphold it and turn my blade against any who opposes such."
Even if they had the backing of the "strongest."
"…You've really put in a lot of thought into this," Syr said, sounding genuinely surprised. "Is Bell's love life so interesting to you?"
"A warrior can only truly strive towards the peak if he fights for the sake of love," Saber replied without an ounce of shame or falsehood. A single truth he believed with all of his being. "My Master is still young and inexperienced but he does dream of finding such a love…although its form is still yet to be decided."
The last part he added with a mumble as he glanced to the side as Syr let out another soft giggle.
"I understand," Syr replied before putting on a mischievous smile. "Then…does that mean I can have your help include sneaking me onto the lesson list before anyone else?"
"Of course," Saber said, once more without any shame. "It is natural to use your connections to get ahead after all."
Saber then named the price for the first lesson and Syr ran off to get her purse. As she did, another waitress came up to him. The elf Ryuu Lyon.
"Thank you for your assistance in this regard," she said with a slight bow of her head.
"In regards to her cooking, or in regards to Bell Cranel?" Saber asked with a slight smile underneath his mask.
"Both," Ryuu replied without any cracks in her stoic expression. "Although she pours her heart into making her meals…she also pours a little too much extra as well."
"I understand. More than you might realize."
His beloved was the same after all. She had once attempted to join Archer and Rider in cooking but somehow the dish she made for him had attacked him from the inside after her had sampled it. His beloved had somehow cursed the food in an attempt to show her his love without either of the two cooks realizing.
He really thought he might have actually died had he not managed to get his heart to start again.
Since then, she has been unanimously banned from cooking by the three authorities of the Familia Caster, Hestia and Bell.
A shame. Barring the curse, his wife's cooking was heavenly.
"While I am on the topic, would you like to join as well, Miss Lyon? I believe having a friend along will make it easier for her to learn."
And having someone else keep an eye on her to keep her from adding strange things to the food is only a plus.
"I'm sorry but I don't think there will be any point in my attending," Ryuu replied. "My cooking talents can be measured as infinitely small."
"All the more reason to come and practice, is it not?" Saber asked but Ryuu simply gave him a soft smile and shook her head.
She then quickly returned to her work as Syr came down with her wallet in hand.
"Here you go," Syr said, handing him the payment. "I look forward to being taught by Orario's current top 'Celebrity Chef.'"
"Hmm…"
With the payment and agreement taken care of, Saber's business was finished here. However, he did not take a step to leave as Syr carefully stowed away her wallet.
"Hmm? Is there something else?" Syr asked.
"…Is this really all right?" Saber found himself asking.
Syr showed no sign that she was confused at to what he was asking about.
"You live in an entire different world from him and put on a mask in order to ease your interactions with the people that live down here. Is it really all right to pursue a relationship built on something as fragile as that."
"…"
Syr remained silent for a while but after a few minutes she spoke up again.
"That is true…this first started as a game after all," she admitted with a sad smile. "But as it went on, all sorts of things made me realize more about what kind of person I am."
She then turned her eyes back up at Saber.
"These feelings of mine are not a lie. They have to be true!"
Those were the words of a girl helplessly in love. No more, no less.
Saber could see and understand that much.
"I see. I overstepped my bounds. Please forgive me."
"No, you are just concerned about me and Bell. I understand."
As Saber lowered his head, Syr simply held up her hands to stop him with a smile.
With his business finally done, Saber left the pub with Syr shouting after him to try and get Bell to come eat at least one more time.
As he walked down the busy streets of Orario, Saber glanced up at the heavens and offered a small prayer of hope that things will end well between Syr and Bell.
"…May the Allfather watch over you, My Master."
X-x-X-x-X
"Karen! The one on the left!"
"I got it!"
The two Adventurers leading the vanguard of the Hestia Familia Expedition cut through the monsters in front of them without fail. Despite being only Level 1, Karen had little problem dealing with the majority of the monsters on the Nineteenth and Twentieth floors as long as she was fighting them one-on-one, allowing her Skill to activate and give her a substantial boost. It was Bell's job to make sure it stayed that way.
"Libellulas, incoming!" Fia called out from above.
Gun libellulas, or simply libellulas, were dragonfly-like monsters with several spikes on their lower abdomens that could be shot out like arrows, hence their names. They were deadly enough that they could puncture stone…let alone an unarmored person's flesh.
"Karen, fall back a bit! Fia, let's go!" Bell ordered.
"Understood!"
"Right behind you!"
The two girls replied in unison as Karen fell back to help the center that had also been engaged by monsters climbing up from the sides of the paths. Without a way to attack form range, Karen would have a hard time fighting flying enemies that could attack from range as well.
As a harpy, not only could Fia fly, but she had a form of range attack as well…even if she never had an opportunity to use it much.
With a flap of her wings, her feathers hardened and shot out from her wings and joined Bell's crimson magic in blasting the insect monsters out of the air. With a quick look behind him, Bell could see more swarming the rest of the Party but the Level 1s were being protected by Lancer and Rider's quick reflexes.
"When we get back, you're getting armor!" Welf shouted as he stood between Gina and another libellula, using his large greatsword as a shield to cover himself and the rather underdressed amazon.
"Aww but…"
"No buts! Deal with it!"
"Fine! At least just make it a cloak!" Gina gave in as she flung her dagger past Welf, striking the insect right between the eyes before pulling on a wire attached to the blade, allowing it to fly back into her hand. "Heck yeah! It worked!"
"Great, now stop poking your head out!"
A bit behind them, Rider was standing over Emma, primo and Lily. Emma had forgone her usual twin swords to hold a large shield, made by Welf, up to protect Primo, who was chanting between her and Lily while the pallum took aim with her crossbow.
"One after another after another!" Lily shouted. "Lily knew it was going to be like this since we're the only ones on this Floor, but this is ridiculous!"
Emma opened her mouth to respond, only to quickly close it as several stingers impacted against her silver shield, shaking her entire body with each strike. However, Rider would step in whenever it looked like Emma might falter and cover her with her Magic Sword
But it was enough time for Primo to finish her chant.
"Lumine Pledias!"
Beams of light ripped through the battlefield, cutting through the mass of grounded monsters in front the party.
On the other end…
"Damn it! Kazuki!"
"Allow me to assist!"
Welf's magic sword glowed in a roaring light before releasing its flames down the path they came from. With Lancer keeping the flames from spreading too far outward and igniting the flora around them, the Crozzo Magic sword was successful in annihilating the remaining grounded monsters coming from behind.
As for the gun libellulas, their insect-like, multifaceted eyes were clearly focused on the harpy flying through the air.
"Jack!" Bell called out.
"Leave Fia alone you meanies!"
The shadow of Assassin appeared in the air above them and in a storm of steel, carved the insect monsters to pieces.
"Ahhhhh…"
Assassin then started falling down with a rather calm "scream" as she was no longer in spirit form but was easily caught by Fia as the harpy came by for another pass.
"Is everyone all right?" Bell shouted.
"S-somehow…" Emma called back as she let the shield fall to the ground so she could rub her fingers.
"No time to rest," Lily said. "Miss Emma, Miss Primo, please help collect any Drop Items and Magic Stones that you can. Prioritize the Magic Stones since it will be bad if a monster eats one down here."
A monster eating another monster's Magic Stone would turn it into an Irregular, making it several times more powerful than normal. While it wouldn't make too much of a difference in the Upper Levels due to the small sizes of the Magic Stones there, down on the Twentieth Floor was another matter and could spell disaster for any Party down here.
As the three girls went to collect the Drop Items with Lancer and Assassin moving to help them soon after, the rest of them took their positions to stand guard.
This left Bell standing next to both Fia and Karen while Rider, Welf and Gina took the other end.
"…Are you scared?"
"Eh?"
Fia was the first to start talking and chose to suddenly address Karen who wheeled around in surprise.
"Are you scared?" Fia repeated. "Of me?"
"…Yes," Karen replied honestly after a short pause. "But not of you specifically. But what you are…and what you mean for the rest of the world."
Bell couldn't help but be impressed. He had been so lost and confused after first meeting Fia, having been forced to rely on his Servants to keep him together but Karen seemed to have been slowly processing everything even as she fought against the other monsters in the Dungeon.
That was a Noble for you. Quick on the uptake.
"Does that mean you don't want us on the surface?" Fia asked.
"…As a member of Hestia Familia, I will follow the orders of my Goddess and my Vice-Captain."
"But what do you feel?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes."
Bell was the one who answered, causing both of them to turn to him.
"If you are bothered by any of this then I'd want to know so that either me or the Goddess can help make things easier on you," Bell said.
Karen's lips thinned at Bell's words. She glanced back toward the others, no doubt in some hope that they had finished so the Party could continue without her answering but it looked as though they weren't even halfway done with the bodies.
"I…I can't help but wonder…if I killed one of you before," Karen admitted, glancing over at Fia. "It's one thing to cut down someone knowing that they are a person but you can't cut them down while dismissing them as some beast."
"…You think I'm a person?" Fia asked, her voice so quiet that Bell nearly missed it.
Karen didn't miss it either as her noble façade started cracking, with her mouth opening and closing without any sound.
"I…I um…is that the wrong thing to say?" Karen asked, the last dithers of her noble mask crumbling away as she nervously glanced at Fia.
"No, not at all…thank you."
Karen's brow was furrowed a bit as she glanced away, unsure of how to respond to that.
Bell could only think of the circumstances in how he found Fia, trapped in a cramped metal box with broken wings and wallowing in filth, and the circumstances Hermes had said his Adventurers found other Xenos in.
"The monsters kept at Ganesha Familia weren't treated nearly as awfully…" Bell muttered to himself.
Although he had never gone there himself, both Hestia and Lancer had and from their explanations of the place it seemed that even though the Tamed Monsters were still dangerous, they all had large cages with plenty of space to move and were kept clean by their Tamers.
Cruelty for the sake of cruelty. If Bell couldn't get all the Xenos up to the surface in a decent timeframe then destroying the people hunting them within Orario would give them plenty of space to breathe.
But can you do it? Can you take another 'person's' life?
That person's voice rang in his head as Bell felt himself balling his hands into fists.
The answer was obvious: He couldn't.
He was not someone who could weigh people's lives on a scale and decide which deserved to live and which had to die for the other to live.
Did that mean he would fail? Fail to strike down "Evil" to save lives because he was afraid of taking another person's life?
A part of him whispered into his ear that he could just leave the "dirty" stuff to the Servants like what had happened in Melen during Fia's rescue but that felt like a slope he didn't want to fall down.
"Bell?"
"Vice Captain?"
Bell blinked and turned to see Fia and Karen looking at him with worry.
"Ah…sorry, I'm just thinking about stuff," Bell said before smacking his cheeks with his hands. "All right…everyone, are we done?"
"Pretty much!" Emma called back as she stood up and dusted her hands. "We got all the Magic Stones and Drop Items that could fit."
"…All those Drops…" Welf muttered sadly as he watched Lily toss the larger Drop Items. like the libellulas' stingers, off the cliff toward the larger grassy pits to hide the evidence that their Party came through.
"Carrying something like that in a bag is asking to get stabbed if you fall badly," Gina pointed out as she patted him on the arm.
"Well…yeah but…"
"We'll worry about that more on the way back."
"…We should hurry," Rider suddenly said as she glanced up at the ceiling. "We've been holding the same position for a while now due to all the monsters but I don't want to be here in case the Dungeon spawns more monsters on top of us again."
"Right," Bell replied with a nod as they continued down the path.
The Twentieth Floor was much like the floor above with the same monster spawns and design.
"Fia? Does any of this look familiar?"
"We're almost there," Fia replied. "Just a bit more and we-"
"SHAAAA!"
A hissing noise caught their attention and both Karen and Bell wheeled around just in time to see a pair of red-scaled lizardmen carrying weapons rushing toward them.
The two vanguard rushed forward to meet them with Bell smashing into his target as hard as he could to knock it away from its partner to allow Karen to "duel" her target and activate her Skills.
Once they were far enough away, Bell took a chance to quickly appraise his new opponent, another monster he had never fought against before.
The monster stood upright with weapons in both of its hands. Like minotaurs and orcs and other humanoid monsters in the upper floors, these weapons were known as "landforms." They grew within the Dungeon itself as trees or other plants and monsters would break them off the walls to use as weapons.
While he was used to branches and stalagmites being used as clubs and axes, it was the first time Bell had seen flowers being used as both a weapon and a shield. Granted, considering the flowers here seem to be metallic, it probably was only natural they could be used in such a way. Right now, it certainly felt more like he was fighting another Adventurer than a monster.
Bell felt he should ask Rider to spar to gain more experience against fighting people with shields once this was over.
"Kuh…Fia! These aren't one of your comrades, right?" Karen was shouting behind Bell and Bell understood what she meant right away.
Although it was rather crude and relied on the monster's innate strength, Bell could see some form of crude swordsmanship techniques in its movements. Powerful side sweeps, quick slashes and thrusts and even feints. They used them like any Adventurer would.
"Nope! Cut them up!" Fia said as she quickly took to the skies as several more libellulas came to reinforce the two lizardmen.
Judging from the shouts coming at the rear, another group of monsters came up from behind as well. There was no time to waste. Bell had to take care of the monsters then move to support Karen and then the rear.
If Bell had his greatsword or mythril axe on him, he might have been able to simply brute force through the monster's shield with pure strength but he had left those with Lily and he only had his shorter weapons.
As he waited for an opening, the lizardman suddenly screeched in pain, its hand trying to reach around its back where feathers were jutting out from. Taking the chance, Bell kicked off the ground and carved through the creature's midsection with his black and silver blades. He spun on his heel the moment he touched down and took aim at the creature Karen was fighting.
"Firebolt!"
The red bolt zipped through the air before the dead lizardman could hit the ground and struck its partner. The creature roared in pain, allowing Karen to drive her rapier straight into its chest, piercing the Magic Stone within, causing its body to dissolve into ash.
The two acknowledged each other with a nod before jumping back into the fray that was happening in the rear…although that ended before Bell could even get close due to the three Servants guarding it.
"Well that was unexpected," Welf said as he picked up what looked to be two halves of a flower shield of a lizardman. It seemed that with the help of Lancer's boosting skill, he managed to cut straight through it. "The adamantite in this thing must be pretty high quality compared to the stuff on the other floors."
"Adamantite?" Primo asked, stopping halfway through removing a Magic Stone.
"You know, Dungeon metal. Everything that comes from the Dungeon has a bit of it. Even the monsters. That's why we hunt for their Drop Items to make weapons and armor."
"Eh? Really?" Fia asked as she started patting herself down, causing Gina, Assassin and Primo to giggle. "But everything feels pretty soft."
Bell and Welf quickly averted their gazes while Emma and Karen quickly grabbed onto her wings to stop her going too far in patting herself down.
"Is that why swords and stuff made on the surface don't work too well on monsters deeper in the Dungeon?" Primo asked as she patted her own cloak as if only just realizing that it was filled with metal as well.
"More or less. That's why you see so many Quests from Smiths for Drop Items and adamantite ore from the Deep Floors. The more pure stuff grows down there after all."
"Ore and rocks 'growing' as if they were plants…" Rider muttered with a sigh as she rubbed her forehead. "The Dungeon is truly a strange place."
"Were it not filled with so much danger, it would no doubt be exploited mercilessly," Lancer added her own thoughts in. "Well…more so than it is now."
"If it didn't want us to exploit it, it should stop trying to freaking kill us!" Gina chimed in as Rider let out a laugh before patting her head while Lancer simply gave a small smile in agreement.
With that done, Bell led the Party further down the path. Following the map that was given to them along with Fia's instructions, they made the way through the long windy paths, cutting down every monster that got in their way.
Climbing over a series of thick, matted tree roots, traversing up a hill, and making their way through a thicket of lush plant life…it felt as though they were going hiking rather than moving through the Dungeon.
Until finally, they reached the room that was indicated on the map.
The room was a long rectangle about ten meters wide and just as tall. Tree bark covered the walls and canopy, just like every room they had passed by on the way, and it was all carpeted with Lamp Moss.
But the most eye-catching thing of the room was…
"H-hey Bell? What is that?" Emma asked, pointing to the powdery green rock that was forming all around the room. Clear white sap was dripping from the quartz, forming small puddles around the room over the moss.
"That?" Fia spoke up before Bell could. "That's food."
"Huh?"
Emma, Primo and Karen's eyes boggled at the revelation.
The monsters in the Dungeon were alive after all. While they can feed on Adventurers or other monsters, most of their food came from their "mother," the Dungeon itself.
There were places in the Dungeon known by the Guild as a "Pantry" where the quartz grew in larger numbers to become as large as trees, allowing the sap to form more often. Bell and Lily went to one several weeks earlier on the Quest for Miach Familia. Monsters would go to these quartz trees to feed on the sap and were the main source of food for them.
"The Pantry on this floor is rather close after all," Lily noted, checking the map. "Lily supposes that's the reason these quartz are growing so much."
She then quickly shot her hand out to keep Assassin from putting her finger into a puddle, no doubt curious about its taste.
"Great, so we're here," Welf said as he looked around. "Now what?"
"Listen," Fia replied as she closed her eyes. "Can't you hear her voice?"
Bell and the others looked at Fia in confusion before he closed his own eyes.
It was a wordless song. One that Bell had never heard before. A tone that was pure and steady, conjuring up an image of a night sky.
"How beautiful…" Emma muttered with a sigh. "Is that one of your friends, Fia?"
"That's right!"
"…It is as if it is the song of a siren…" Lancer muttered as her eyes traced the room before falling down on a large cluster of quartz crystals before walking toward them.
With everyone following after her, Lancer reached the cluster and Bell could see the crystals shaking ever so slightly under the increasing volume of the song.
Then, with a mighty thrust of her spear, Lancer shattered the crystals, revealing a small opening behind them.
"…How ingenious…" Rider muttered with approval.
The Dungeon healed all damage done to it. No matter how many battles were fought within its depths, the floors would always regenerate itself back to its pristine condition. Even the quartz was already trying to regenerate and seal the alcove back up. Like this, the Xenos would be able to use these hidden passages to move unseen by monsters and Adventurers alike.
With the song gone, having seemingly served its purpose, Fia led the way into the alcove with Rider and Lancer taking up the rear.
The path was narrow with the only source of light being the quartz on the walls, but there didn't seem to be a danger of monsters bursting from the walls.
"Oh…right…this place…"
Fia let out a rather irritated voice as they came across a body of cool, clear blue water. Resting on the otherwise undisturbed surface, was a single golden feather.
"Why did you choose this place Rei!?" Fia shouted at the spring only to, of course, get no response in return.
"Uhh…we're not going to have to swim…are we?" Primo asked, looking rather nervous.
"Yes…" Fia replied, looking just as unhappy as Primo. "There's a small tunnel in the pond that leads to one of our 'Hidden Villages.'"
"Villages?" Karen repeated. "Your people built houses here?"
"Ah, no, nothing like that. We call places that you surface dwellers haven't found yet our Hidden Villages."
"…And they do not have monsters spawn in them either?" Lancer asked and Fia shook her head in response. "…More evidence to that theory…"
Rider glanced over at Lancer for a moment before looking at the rest of the Familia.
"If we're going to have to move through the water, it will be best to leave anything we don't need behind for now," she said.
"…Um…just right here, without anyone keeping watch?" Primo asked.
"It would probably not be safe to leave anyone behind, so yes. Take only what is necessary. We'll come back for everything later."
"…Good thing I used the leftover Undine Cloth to make bags…" Welf muttered as everyone started setting their larger packs down and filling up smaller packs with the essentials.
"I will scout ahead," Lancer replied before her form dematerialized into particles of light, causing Karen's eyes to boggle at the sight.
"Oh right, that's the first time you've seen that," Emma said with a giggle as Karen simply gave her a slight glare while rubbing her forehead.
"What have I gotten myself into?"
"We can do it too!" Assassin said, raising a hand up…and was then gone in a blink of an eye without the same wisps of light that Lancer left behind.
A quick shout from Welf signaled where Assassin had gone, and Bell turned to see her hanging off his friend's back with a big smile.
"…Isn't it hard to keep track of her?" Karen asked Bell seriously. "It feels as though if she wanted, she could disappear and no one could ever find her."
"…Yeah," Bell admitted as Primo and Gina ran over to pull Assassin off of a exasperated Welf. "That's something that worries me every so often. But, as long as she has a warm home to come back to, I don't think she'll ever just disappear on us."
"…You really have a good handle on things, don't you Vice Captain?"
"…Ahaha…thanks."
Lancer returned a moment later, confirming that there was a path in the pond that led to another room.
And so, after casting several runes on the Familia to help them move through the water, aside from Emma and Gina who she had cast their own runes, Lancer led the way through the pond.
Out of the entire Familia, it looked as though Primo was the only one having trouble swimming, and clung closely to Rider in the back. Welf was also rather weighed down by both his Magic Sword and his greatsword that he refused to leave behind.
The water was dark and blurry with their Falna allowing them to hold their breath far longer than unblessed humans and the light from the quartz growing on the bottom allowing them to see through the darkness. The water was also freezing with the biting cold stinging Bell's skin even with his Level 3 Status and Lancer's magic protecting him.
Their heads popped out of the water one by one only to find what resembled a limestone grotto instead of the wooden alcove from whence they came. With black stone walls extending in every direction, only the dim quartz light remained consistent.
This was no doubt a "Frontier," a region unexplored and unmarked by the Guild.
"Uuu…talk about being thrown in the deep end…" Emma said as they all climbed out of the pond with Bell and Welf doing their best to avoid looking at their female members with their wet clothes clinging onto their bodies.
To think that once upon a time, the Familia had more men than women.
"Eek! Fia!" Gina let out a shriek as Fia shook her body like a dog, scattering water everywhere before suddenly puffing out like a bloated feathery balloon.
"…I hate water…" came the harpy's rather distressed voice causing Bell to quickly let out a cough to keep himself from laughing.
Meanwhile, Lancer was praising Emma and Gina, who looked like they were about to die from the cold.
"Splendid work, Miss Flores. Miss Gwen."
"I…I…can't wait for the magic to show up on my Status…" Gina said, her blue lips contrasting rather heavily on her tanned skin. She and Emma looked as if they had been doused with cold water and then left outside in a storm.
"A-agreed…" Emma added with a nod of her own.
Although magic could be learned without the blessing of a god, they were usually much weaker than a magic brought forth by the Falna. Bell didn't know the details, but apparently studying magic could also bring forth a new magic, which was what Lancer was hoping to do for Emma and Gina and by extension, any future member of the Familia in order to take in all the Xenos under the disguise of Tamed Monsters and to further the cooperation with Ganesha Familia.
"I know it wasn't going to be easy but it's a lot harder than I thought," Gina said as Lancer went around drawing runes on everyone to help warm them up and dry them faster.
"These runes are something created by the…one of the greatest of gods," Lancer said after a momentary pause. "As such, even if you learn the basics, true mastery is impossible if you do not have his support or favor."
"…Will that be possible in our case?" Emma asked. "Putting Gina aside, I'm still Level 1, aren't I?"
"I would not have offered to teach you if I believed it was impossible for you," Lancer said with a smile before turning toward Lily and Welf. "The offer still stands for the two of you as well."
"I'll think about it," Welf said offhandedly while Lily remained steadfast in her refusal to be put anywhere near a combat role if she could help it.
"And you, Miss Morris?"
"I wish to perfect my swordsmanship first," Karen replied. "If I split my attention between two things on the opposite end of the spectrum, I am afraid I might slow my progress with both."
Lancer accepted it with an understanding smile and a nod.
Once everyone was sufficiently warmed up, and Fia's feathers were groomed back into place by Rider, Fia continued leading the way down the unexplored territory.
As they walked, Bell found his thoughts wandering slightly to the topic of the other Xenos.
From the talks with Fia, he knew that the Xenos were all sorts of different monsters…or rather species. There was a lizardman, which Bell and the others have gotten to know very well on the last two floors; a siren, which was similar to a harpy except they could use long ranged magical attacks like hellhounds; and a gargoyle, a creature made of stone with wings that somehow could also fly.
Those three were the amongst the oldest and strongest of the Xenos and thus were their leaders. There had been more but Fia always fell silent when the conversation led to them, making it clear what had happened.
Not all of them could speak in the same language as mortals but the ones that could only growl and grunt like normal animals could be understood by their fellow Xenos so that didn't prove to be too much of a problem within their small society.
Then a sharp tingling sensation ran up Bell's back, causing him to snap back to reality and glance around.
"Bell?" Emma asked in surprise. "Is something wrong."
"…We're being watched."
Ever since coming to Orario, Bell had felt a pair of eyes boring into him from somewhere almost everyday. It didn't feel as though they were looking at him with malicious intent, but it was nevertheless uncomfortable. As such, he became able to tell whenever they were being watched.
"Oh my, you noticed as well?" Rider asked with a smile but her eyes told Bell that she was completely on guard.
"It's probably the others," Fia said as she took a few steps away from Bell and took a deep breath.
A soft and melodious note soared from her lips and echoed through the dark halls of the room they were in. A moment later, a second, different note was sent back, one that was even more beautiful than the one Fia sang.
Then…
A series of footsteps came from the darkness as a tall red-scaled lizardman strode toward them, armed with a scimitar in one hand and a longsword in the other. Unlike the ones they had fought until now, these were not landform weapons but ones clearly made from a mortal's forge. Right behind him was a gargoyle, it stood on two legs and looked like a humanoid dragon made of stones with massive wings easily carrying its weight and were large enough that they could easily shield itself and the lizardman in the event of an attack. And lastly…
A single golden feather fluttered to the ground from overhead before a winged-creature with breathtaking beauty landed in front of the lizardman and gargoyle. A siren.
Like Fia, she had wings instead of arms and her legs were the shape of bird-like talons. She also wore amazon-style clothing over her chest. Unlike Fia however, her feathers were a golden color that ended in blue hues at the tips.
And above all else, Bell could honestly say that she was breathtakingly beautiful. If he had to place Rider, Lancer and the siren on a ranking system, he would probably chew his lower lip off in agony and die before properly ranking any of them.
"Rei!"
Fia, completely unaware of Bell's admittedly silly thoughts, ran forward toward the siren and the two embraced each other like sisters.
"Oh Fia!" The siren, Rei, said as she brought the harpy close. "We thought we lost you too…"
"I'm okay! Bell and the others were taking good care of me on the surface!"
While Bell and his Familia stared at the sight in complete shock, the lizardman elbowed the gargoyle rather unsubtly.
"There, satisfied?" It…or rather…he asked with an amused voice.
The gargoyle simply scoffed and turned his head to the side without saying anything.
Seeing that they weren't about to fight, Bell and the others relaxed a bit.
"…This is actually happening…" Bell heard a rather exhausted sounding Lily mutter from behind him.
However, Bell kept his eyes on the reunion in front of him.
Then the lizardman let out a laugh as he walked passed the harpy and siren and stood right in front of Bell.
"So…you're Bell, huh?" The lizardman asked.
"…Yes," Bell said, stealing the nerves he built up from interacting with Berserker and Fia. "And you are…Lido? I heard about you from Fia."
"Yep! And we heard about you from Fels," Lido explained. "Strange question but, mind if I call you 'Bellucchi?'"
"Huh!? Uh…sure?"
The question came out of nowhere that Bell just agreed without thinking.
It was strange.
Even though Berserker was much larger and monstrous compared than Lido, who stood at just above eye level to Bell, he felt much more on guard to the lizardman in front of him.
It must have been because he knew the minotaur Servant better and that being Bell's Servant meant that he would not hurt Bell unintentionally. The lizardman Lido however was not connected to Bell at all so Bell didn't know how to act in front of him.
Bell and Lido's eyes locked with each other before he extended his clawed red hand, protected by a metal glove, toward Bell.
"Thank you, for saving my comrade," Lido said as Bell looked down at the hand.
"…I only wish I could have done more," Bell replied as he acted without hesitation.
What need was there? He knew about the Xenos and their sufferings. Following the direction of his goddess and his own wishes, he took Lido's hand in his own.
A handshake. A sign of friendship. A bridge between man and monster. Unprecedented. "Unknown."
The instinct to reject this unknown back when he first saw the broken Fia's form had long since died away.
All that was left was Bell's wish for the future.
A future where Hestia Familia and the Xenos walked in the sun, side by side.
X-x-X-x-X
