"Not pointless!"
Fran knew that Archer would be angry with her. She just wished that he could understand that the risks she took were not pointless.
If you want to become truly strong, strong enough to be deserving of a miracle, then you had to do whatever it took. You had to take any opportunity. You had to push yourself to the limit and then beyond it.
Fran didn't care about risking her life. Not so long as she could fulfill their dream.
Fran had been born the only child of two Black Catkin adventurers, Kinan and Framia, and had been taken with them on adventures from the day she had been born. Her parents had not been strong. They had struggled through each of their battles, fighting tooth and nail. Fran could remember all the times they used to return to her beaten up and barely standing. She would cry and ask them why they did it, why they would keep adventuring when they kept getting hurt so badly.
Her parents taught her to have pride in being a Black Catkin, even when everyone around her called them weak and worthless. They had shared with her their dream, the dream of discovering the secret to the Black Catkin's evolution. She watched them struggle every day, holding their heads up high and fighting with everything they had in order to pursue their dream.
Though they would never achieve it.
They died. They died, leaving Fran alone in the world with nothing. Nothing, save for a dream. It was the only thing she had. It was her only reason for living. To discover evolution for her people. To reclaim the Black Catkins' right to have pride in themselves.
It was this dream that kept her going. It had burned inside of her even throughout those long years of slavery. Even as a slave, she had trained. Every time she could find a straight stick, she would practice swinging it to try to gain the [Sword Art] skill. Every time she had strength left at the end of the day, she would spend it to try to strengthen her body. She had hunted and beaten to death fanged rats every night, managing to gain two whole levels over the course of four years from the meager experience given by the less than G-rank Demonic Beasts. She spent so many nights training that she developed the [Night Vision] skill. She had practiced resisting the slave contract, seeing how far she could stretch it and enduring the pain that came with it, hoping she would one day be able to kill her slavers so that she could pursue the dream unhindered.
She had worked as hard as she could to fulfill her parents' dream. She worked hard, even in the darkest of times. She worked hard, even when her rewards were so little. She worked hard, even when it had seemed pointless. And for her hard work, she had been granted a miracle.
It had been her [Night Vision] that had allowed her to spot Archer's blade in the deep shadows of the forest. It was her practice fighting the slave contract that allowed her to reach him. It had been the little strength she had gained from her constant efforts that had allowed her to pull him from the ground. And because she did, her life had been changed.
She was becoming stronger. Stronger than her parents had ever managed to become in their fifteen years as adventurers. Stronger than most people ever got. She, a 'worthless' Black Catkin, was becoming strong.
She could feel it in her bones as her level grew. In just a few hours, her strength had nearly doubled. It was exhilarating, feeling how easily her body moved when compared to that morning.
Even so, she knew that it wasn't enough, that she wouldn't be able to evolve by simply training and growing levels. If it had been that easy, others would have done it already. Something else was needed.
She had visions every night since she met Archer. Dream of past battles. Of impossible odds and the struggles that he had undertaken with his previous Master. It was thoughts of Archer, of the fires that had forged him into a warrior, that had pushed Fran further and further. It was his life that had made her sure of what she had to do.
If she wanted another miracle, she would have to earn it.
She just wished she could make Archer understand. Her life had no other meaning, save to fulfill that dream.
"Yo, yo! Our first guest! Welcome! You sure took your time with that previous room. I was starting to wonder if you weren't coming at all." The Demon said, his tone of voice so casual and open as to create a weird contrast with his scary appearance.
Fran raised Archer in front of her, ready for battle.
She could feel it. She could feel that this was a monster that was beyond her, that his strength completely dwarfed hers, but she was not afraid. This was her trial, the obstacle that she would need to overcome to become truly strong, to gain what couldn't be gained through mere training or levels.
[He has level 5 [Sword Art] and [Sword Technique], but his weapon's history is short. I suspect that he was created with those attributes and doesn't have custom patterns. Keep in mind the attack patterns of those levels of [Sword Art] and how to guard against them.] Archer said, giving Fran an information dump as the Demon started to stretch.
Upset as he was with her, Archer would support her in battle.
[Don't bother with ranged magic. His [Magic Barrier] and defense are too high for us to deal any real damage to him that way. If he chooses to engage at close range, don't overwhelm him too quickly. Buy your time and look for an opening. Try to get a decisive first hit.] Archer advised her. [If he choices to make this a ranged fight, we will be in trouble.]
(Understood.) Fran replied with a nod.
Archer spent 18 more of his Self-evolution Points in order to upgrade [Support Magic] to its highest level, casting spells to greatly increase Fran's strength and speed.
Even with these buffs, Fran was all too aware that the Demon was over four times stronger than she was. If she made a misstep, she would die.
But she wasn't afraid. She would do this. Just like Archer, she would overcome all odds.
Seeing that Fran wasn't falling to his [Panic] skill, the Demon laughed. "Hah! Quite determined, aint'cha? Good! Even if I'm fightin' a brat I won't show mercy, you know?! You came here to clear the dungeon, after all!"
"...Isn't a goblins' nest?" Fran asked, a little surprised.
Fran honestly didn't know much about dungeons. She knew they were places with a lot of Demonic Beasts and that they could have treasure inside of them, but that was the extent of her knowledge.
"...PUHAAHAA!" After a moment's pause, the demon broke out laughing like a maniac. "Hey, you hear that!? The brat thought your dungeon was nothing more than a stinking goblins' nest! Oh Goddess, how embarrassing."
"Stop laughing!" Shouted a goblin who had been standing in the back of the room.
Fran hadn't actually noticed it before, as the Demon was a much greater priority. If it had kept its mouth shut she probably would have never even seen it.
"What the hell are you doing?! Quickly, dispose of that… That thing!" The goblin shouted in surprisingly good common tongue, pointing at Fran with a trembling finger. It seemed that her [Goblin Slayer] title was causing him quite the scare.
It was strange to see such a small fry trying to order around a Demon.
It seemed the Demon also didn't have such a high opinion of the goblin, as he shouted back at him. "Shut it! I'll get rid of the kid in a minute, so just simmer down!"
"Damn it...! I invested all the GP I had into the Monster Lottery, drawing an extremely rare, supremely ranked Demon and yet…! Why won't it listen to my orders?! Rrrgh… and even in spite of being a skill-user type, its eager to fight head-on!" The goblin shouted in frustration.
...It did realize they could hear it, right? Not that Fran understood what he meant by 'Monster Lottery', but the bit about the Demon preferring to fight up close and personal was simple enough, and something that worked to her advantage.
"How could someone have reached all the way here...! What about my handpicked elites?!" The goblin demanded, pointing his staff at Fran and waving it angrily.
"They were all probably done in? They were only goblins." The Demon said dryly as he cleaned out one of his ears, his face reflecting his utter annoyance.
"There is no way that my army corps of goblins, the supreme creatures, could be defeated by such an inferior being!"
"Supreme creatures my ass…" The demon said, rolling his glowing silver eyes.
"What was that!? ...Gr… Regardless, I order you to crush that guy!"
"Y'know, I'd do that even without your order? Brat seem t' be pretty tough." The Demon said as he looked Fran up and down, then grinned. "Yeah, I thou' I'd sens'd somethin'. You carry the Goddess's blessing, dontcha?" He then laughed aloud again. "Makes sense! How else could a brat end up at the final room of a dungeon without knowin' it!"
Fran honestly had no idea what the Demon was talking about, but he seemed to be getting more and more excited. His wings flapped outwards, creating a wind as he raised his [Magic Barrier] and prepared for battle, swinging a long, black magic sword out to the side.
"Don' think I'm gonna go easy on you, just 'cause you got the Goddess's blessing. After all, our Goddess placed the dungeons here as a trial for your kind to prove your worth and get stronger." The Demon said as he let his battle hunger fill the room. "It is as she teaches us, those who survive will grow strong!" Then, with that one final statement, he attacked.
He was fast. Faster than anything Fran had ever seen in her waking moments, and he covered the massive room in a heartbeat, his [Sonic Thrust] caused the air to howl as it ripped it apart. The only thing that saved Fran was just how easily telegraphed the attack was.
She felt Archer's mana welling up, increasing his attack and durability in preparation for the fight. Fran did the same, pushing her mana into her limbs and activating her [Herculean Strength]. Timing the block was the easy part, but Fran hadn't understood what parrying the strength of a being that was 4 times stronger than you felt like. Even as she managed to move the Demon's trust away from her, she felt the muscles in her arms and legs tearing from the strain of the attack.
Archer had known what was coming, and as Fran readied for her counter, she already felt his [Middle Heal] flushing through her limbs, repairing the damage that had just been done.
Fran's counter swip didn't connect as she Demon managed to twist his own sword around to block. But as he blocked her swip, she used [Flash Step] three times. Pushing her mana into her forward leg, she prepared herself backwards a step, withdrawing enough to disengage her sword from the Demon's, only to immediately shoot off to the side, the moment her back foot touched the floor, using another burst of mana. Then came the charge to the Demon's unprotected side.
With the Demonic Beast putting so much into his original thrust, his body was twisted out of position. Fran was going to get a hit... Only the Demon disappeared, sinking into the ground.
[Behind you!] Archer shouted in Fran's mind as he grabbed her shoulder with his [Telekinesis] and yanked her to the side.
Fran felt the wind from the blade against her back, knowing that she had only just escaped death.
Archer grabbed her rear leg and helped her twist around and regain balance in time to face the Demon's [Double Slash], taking the first hit with a hard block and using its power to help throw her out of the way of the second, the same way that Archer had taught her too.
"Yo kid, you got some good reflexes." The Demon said without missing a beat, raising his sword up high and grabbing it in a two hand grip.
[Star Fall]
The move came down towards Fran with frightening power, but she didn't retreat. She knew that move's vulnerable areas. She took advantage of his planted feet. She pushed in, moving too close for the Demon's swing to be effective and launched a thrust of her own.
The Demon barely managed to avoid, receiving a cut as Archer ran across his side.
However, it was nothing more than a cut.
Even with Archer's edge, sharpened even further with [Vibration Fang], and Archer's [Telekinesis] adding onto Fran's already enhanced strength, it was barely a flesh wound. The monster's defenses were absolutely monstrous. Fran was sure that nothing short of a direct hit with a high level [Sword Technique] would be enough to do serious damage.
Once again, the Demon disappeared. This time, Fran was ready, and sensed it when he reappeared behind her. She managed to block his attack, but her lack of preparations sent her sprawling across the ground, only to be quickly helped back to her feet with Archer's [Telekinesis].
Her body acked, but she was once again let to recover with Archer's healing.
[He's moving around using the shadows created by the torches.] Archer informed Fran.
"Nn." Fran said, nodding her understanding, waving a hand above her head. "~Dance, O flickering lights, [Flaming Sphere]."
Small wisps of fire gathered around her fingertips before corolessing into a large sphere of fire that rose up into the area above her. The three foot wide ball of flames flooded the room in light and dispersed the shadows.
[Flaming Sphere] was a level 6 [Fire Magic] spell and would last for minute, even without Fran observing the spell, and during that time, she could move it about, keeping it above her and making sure that she cast no shadow. Normally, it was an attack spell, but Fran doubted it would be able to do any damage at all to the Demon.
"Oh, that's quite the spell you got there. You must be a Magic Swordsman." The Demon said, not seeming too concerned about the loss of his surprise attack. Though he seemed to be squinting a bit, because of the light. "Gotta say, you figured out my little trick quickly, and you managed to get that hit on me."
He lifted his arm so that Fran could see the spot that she hit, though the cut was already healing. Soon, it would be as if he had never been hit in the first place.
"My first real battle… I wasn't expecting it to be this enjoyable! Come, show me more!" The Demon shouted and returned to the battle.
As the fighting continued, Fran became better and predicting the Demon's moves working around them. His brute strength was still a problem, but so long as she didn't try to work directly against it, she could manage. She received a few glancing hits, and dealt more than her share as well. However, neither combatant cared. Archer's healing magic kept her going, just like the Demon's own natural healing rate kept him on his feet.
Fran stared up at the battle crazed grin on the Demon's face, blissfully unaware of her own exposed teeth, which mirrored his. This was different from when she had been sparring against Archer. This was a battle against overwhelming strength instead of overwhelming technique, in which it was only her skills and her ability to read her opponent that were keeping her alive as she waited for the right moment to turn the tide.
Time was no issue.
While Fran and Archer's Mana was drained by maintaining her [Flame Sphere] and her [Herculean Strength], as well as the healing spells and [Support Magic], there was no risk of her running out. With every clash, Fran and Archer drained a little of the Demon's own Mana supplies, using Archer's [Mana Drain] and [Mana Thief] abilities, and added it to their own. Unfortunately, the Demon's [Automatic MP Recovery] meant that he was recovering his own Mana faster than they could drain it. She doubted the Demon even noticed he was being sapped.
Then, during the middle of their fight, four points on the floor began to glow with magical circles and four large hobgoblins appeared. The goblin must have used his [Summon Kin] skill. Archer had informed her that he had it at level 5. "Go my servants! Kill the...!" The goblin started to shout, but stopped as all four hobgoblins dropped dead with blades embedded in their throats. "HAAA!?"
[Stay forced.] Archer reminded Fran after disposing of the sideshows.
"Oy, that's quite this skill you got there." The Demon said. "Why haven't you used it 'n me yet? Don't tell me, th'se blades you make are too dull t' cut me, right?"
It was as the Demon suspected. The max attack of the weapons Archer could conjure was around 600. However, even Archer's own body, which had been reinforced to have an attack well over 1500 and had Fran's enhanced strength behind it couldn't seriously hurt the Demon.
Even if Archer slammed him with blade after blade, he still wouldn't be able to piece the Demon's defenses. It would just be a pointless waste of Mana.
However, that didn't mean they didn't have any tricks up their sleeve.
Fran finally found what she was waiting for. The Demon's center of balance was forwards and he was using a downward swing that would put his blade parallel to her body. The moment had come and so she gave it everything she had.
Archer knew the moment had come as well, adding the full force of his [Telekinesis] to help with her swing as she ramped up her [Herculean Strength] as high as it would go. Then she activated [Elemental Blade] infusing Archer's edge with her [Lightning Magic] causing it to give off electric sparks as she swung it up towards the Demon's blade.
Right as the two made contact, Archer activated [Vibration Impact] adding a vibrating wave that went of the Demon's sword and into his arm as the electricity did the same. The Demon was shocked, literally, and rendered unable to hold onto his blade, which flew from his fingers, leaving him completely open.
"[Divine Cross Slash]!" Fran shouted, using the first level of her [Divine Sword Techniques]. While the eye could only perceive a single motion, there were indeed two attacks, one up and down while the other was across.
The technique hit the Demon straight in the stomach before he could even move and this time, the cut was deep. Blood sprayed through the air as the Demon, having recovered from his shock tried to move away.
Fran made to pursue, using her [Flash Step] skill.
However, Fran had to cancel her plans as the Demon lifted his left hand out. Dark energy flowed around it as the Demon spat out blood, declaring his spell. "[Darkness Lance]!"
Fran changed directions as fast as she could with her [Flash Step] as Archer grabbed onto her with his [Telekinesis] and cast a [Wind Magic] spell in order to help pull her out of the way of the dark beam that passed straight through the spot where Fran had been just moments ago, before slamming into the ground further back with such force as to crack the dungeon's reinforced stone floors.
Fran was frustrated at having to retreat, but she had scored the first real hit. As she saw the Demon standing there with his right hand covering the massive cross shaped wound, she knew his passive recovery wouldn't be mending that. His health was now slowly ticking down as his lost more and more blood.
"This isn't possible… This isn't possible!" The goblin screamed in fright.
"This is… s' much fun. I never ima'ined it would feel s' damn good… to have a real fight." The Demon said as he removed his right hand from the injury. His sword disappeared from the ground in a puff of shadows before returning to his hand. "Oh man. Times like this... make me wish I had [Recovery Magic]." The Demon looked up at Fran with a beastal smile. "Oi brat, how about givin' me yours?" The Demon lifted his left hand, pointing one of his long black fingers, stained red with his own blood, at the girl.
"[Skill Taker]!"
It should say something that I honestly considered trying to contrive a way from the Demon to become Fran's familiar.
I like the idea of a follower of the Goddess of Chaos being a dungeon monster, as the Goddess of Chaos created the dungeons so that humans could prove themselves worthy and get stronger. So his entire purpose in life is to die in a glorious battle. (and he kind of knows it)
He's basically a Viking.
So the reason he got so angry with her in canon isn't because he (a superior being) was losing. It was because she wasn't fighting him head on and instead targeted the goblin.
However, there would be problems with making him Fran's familiar, starting with how would he walk around town without everyone pissing themselves.