I do not own Familia Myth or any of the characters.
Rescue Party
Ethan grimaced, sitting down heavily. He'd pushed himself too far. Eight days in the dungeon. The church was empty right now, since it was the middle of the day, so Ethan had dropped his money off in Hestia's room, as usual, then headed to his own room to get cleaned up and change into something not ripped or blood-stained. He curled up on his bed to sleep, only to be woken up what felt like seconds later by the church's front door slamming. He felt like shit, but he pushed himself to his feet, taking a moment to steady himself before slinging his sword across his back, noticing it was daylight outside still, or maybe again. He walked out into the main room of the church and stopped, finding a red-haired woman with a black metal plate over her right eye that he recognized as Hephaestus, a blue-haired god with a black robe and a brown poncho that he recognized as Miach, a brown-haired dog-girl beside him that was probably a part of his Familia, a brown-haired god with the back of his hair pinned up, the sides long and tied into loops, and a simple white shirt and pants, the shoulders of the shirt open along the sleeves' seams, who he recognized as Takemikazuchi, and a group of adventurers standing in a line, all looking ashamed and all belonging to Take, which Ethan knew because he recognized two of them. One was a girl dressed as a samurai who was named Yamato Mikoto, and who had recently become a Level Two, and the other was named Kashima Ouka.
"So, you're saying they dumped their monsters on Bell's party?" Miach was asking Take.
"They were desperate, but...I'm sorry," Take said.
"If Bell doesn't come back, I'll blame you until the day I die," Hestia said from the front of the room, turning toward them. "But I won't hate you. I promise." She held out her hand. "So...please. Will you help me?"
All six of Take's Familia members knelt. "As you say!"
"Even if you say you want to put together such a search party, most of our high-level members are out on the Loki Familia's expedition," Hephaestus said.
"The only ones I can send down to the middle floors are Ouka and Mikoto," Take said. "And Chigusa to act as a supporter. The others, unfortunately, would only slow you down." He paused as he spotted Ethan, who was leaning heavily on the wall. "Will your other Familia member be going?"
"That's his choice," Hestia said.
"I'll go," Ethan said. "What kind of man would I be if I didn't help my own Familia when they're in danger?"
"You can barely stand," Hephaestus said. "Plus, you're still only a low-status Level One. You never even bought new armor after yours was destroyed the day you were banished. You'd just be a liability."
"I can help with the fatigue," Miach said. "And I'm sure you can either lend or sell him some armor."
"I'll help too," a new voice said as a blond man in a green shirt, a tall brown hat with a feather in it, and tan pants walked in alongside a woman with short blue hair, glasses, and a white robe.
"Hermes!" Hestia gasped.
"What are you doing here?" Take asked. "When did you get back?"
"Oh, I heard one of my dear friends was in trouble, so I hurried over," Hermes said, he held up a piece of paper detailing a quest to find Bell. "I'll help, too, with your quest to find Bell Cranel and his friends."
Miach walked over to Ethan as Hephaestus began to challenge Hermes's claim about being friends with Hestia. He handed Ethan a potion and Ethan thanked him, drinking it and feeling his strength return before pushing off the wall and sighing.
"What will you do, Hestia?" Take asked.
"Finding Bell's party is my top priority now," Hestia said. "I want as many people as I can get. I'm counting on you, Hermes."
"Yeah," Hermes smiled. "I'll handle this."
Ethan's gaze fell to the floor as he frowned slightly. Somehow, he doubted she'd be putting in such an effort to find him if he disappeared into the dungeon and didn't come back when he said he would. Not that that would be strange, the way he'd been living there so far. Still though. Even if she knew he was in trouble, he somehow doubted she'd submit a quest with such a hefty reward to find him as the paper Hermes had was listing. He looked up again in time to see Hephaestus watching him, but she looked away without a word. Hermes took his Familia member, Asfi, toward the back of the room to talk, and Hestia walked over to Ethan.
"Are you sure you want to go?" Hestia asked. "It'll be dangerous, especially as low as your status is."
"I'm sure," Ethan said. "He's important to you, so I'm going to help bring him back to you."
"Okay," Hestia nodded, then looked back toward Hermes and walked away.
Ethan sighed, turning and leaning against the wall as the others all decided to prepare and then head out that night.
"What type of armor will you want?" Hephaestus asked, stepping up behind him.
"Something with high defense but without restricting my movement any more than necessary," Ethan said. "I'm usually having to take several injuries and heal later, so I want to be able to move well enough to take as few as possible."
Hephaestus nodded and opened her mouth to speak.
"Calm down Hestia!" Hermes was saying. "It's against the rules for a god to enter the dungeons, so-"
"It'll be fine as long as nobody finds out, right?" Hestia asked, now sitting on a pew in front of Hermes, tilting her head back to look up at him, Hermes staring at her, unsure what to say. "I'm going to help save Bell too. I can't leave his fate to someone else. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him, so I'm going too. Got it?"
Ethan turned away, leaning on a pew and resisting the urge to squeeze, instead taking a slow, deep breath.
"She's important to you," Hephaestus more stated then asked.
"She gave me a second chance," Ethan said. "If I can repay that by bringing the man she loves back to her, I will." He dropped his head and lowered his voice. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for her."
Hephaestus nodded.
"This is our fault," Take said. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Hestia said, holding a hand over her heart. "I can feel it. It's okay. Bell is alive. The blessing I gave him hasn't disappeared."
"Hestia," Hephaestus said. "When you find Welf, there's something I want you to give him, along with a message from me."
Hestia turned to her as Ethan walked to the door, Hermes catching his arm.
"Where are you going?" Hermes asked.
"To say goodbye to my sister," Ethan said. "Just in case. Can you bring whatever armor Hephaestus lends me to the dungeon? Or if she wants me to pay for it, have her meet us there."
Hermes nodded and Ethan left, heading to Apollo's mansion. As expected, the Familia members guarding the gate refused to let him in, but within minutes of word spreading through the Familia members outside that he was there, his sister came running out to see him.
"Ethan!" Anya cheered, hugging him. "It's been so long! How've you been?"
"Alright," Ethan said. "I'm slowly getting back to where I was. Maybe in another year I'll be strong enough to hire you as a supporter again."
"I'll go with you anytime," Anya smiled. "All you have to do is ask. We can go to whatever floor you need to."
Ethan smiled and nodded, but it fell away instantly. "I'm heading into the Middle Levels to look for my missing Familia member and his party."
Anya's eyes widened instantly as she understood what that meant. "Wait here! I have something for you!" She sprinted away instantly, and a few minutes later, she returned with a book and a black cuirass. "It's nothing fancy, but I figured it might be helpful for you. And if you're going into the middle levels, I'm sure the book will be helpful too."
"Anya...this book is a Grimoire," Ethan said. "What...How much did you spend on this?"
"Not as much as you've given me," Anya said. "You supported and protected me for years, no matter what Apollo says. I only got out of the dungeon with just a bump on the head because you nearly died protecting me from everything. This is nothing compared to that."
Ethan felt his eyes watering and smiled, hugging her. "I don't suppose the armor is somehow magic."
"A little," Anya said. "It increases your mind regeneration by five percent. It's not much, but it's the best I could find."
"It's perfect," Ethan smiled, pulling it on. "Thank you."
Anya smiled and hugged him again before he said goodbye and headed to the dungeon, sitting against the wall and opening the Grimoire. Within seconds, he drifted into a trance, voices asking him about his views on magic, and why he needed it.
"I need the strength to defend the people I care about," Ethan said. "Magic is a way to protect those close to me."
He opened his eyes, seeing it was getting late and the Grimoire was blank suddenly. He closed it and set it aside before standing. He had completely forgotten, but he needed Hestia to upgrade his status before they went into the dungeon. After about twenty minutes, the others all arrived, Hephaestus giving Ethan a small kite shield that was designed to sit along his forearm without restricting his hand's use, though she kept the breastplate she'd brought, and Hestia taking a moment to upgrade his status.
"Where did you learn another magic?" Hestia asked.
"My sister bought me a Grimoire," Ethan said. "What is it?"
"Chain Lightning," Hestia said.
"Can't wait to test it," Ethan said, pulling his shirt down and his breastplate back on.
They all headed into the dungeon, heading down to the thirteenth floor before leaving the stairs to search for Bell's party. Asfi and the surprise extra companion, Ryuu, covered the front, which was good because when a handful of Almiraj rabbits, each wielding an axe, and a Hellhound appeared in front of them, they dealt with them in an instant. However, as they were focused on the front, a half-dozen Almiraj leapt out of an opening off to the left, directly beside Hestia. However, before they could reach her, Ethan's eyes flashed red and he spun around her, drawing his sword and killing them all in a pair of slashes.
"Amazing!" Mikoto breathed, looking between him and the two in the front.
"The monsters were killed in an instant," Ouka said.
"We need to keep moving," Ethan said. "We'll get swarmed if we stand still."
Everyone nodded in agreement and they kept moving at a fast walk, Ethan keeping his sword out this time and remaining outside of the group from Hestia where he could protect her. However, after a few more minutes, they stopped as they reached a massive pile of debris where the roof of the dungeon had collapsed. Ryuu began to climb the debris instantly, while Hestia ran forward, pulling Bell's spare dagger from the rubble.
"Th...This is Bell's!" Hestia gasped.
"They're not here anymore," Ryuu said.
"They lost most of their equipment here, and suffered casualties, too," Asfi said after a moment of silence. "I doubt they're wandering around the dungeon anymore."
"They're probably heading deeper," Ethan said. "Bell's not an idiot, and being a supporter, Lili would have found out as much as she could about the dungeon. She probably suggested floor eighteen."
"I agree," Asfi nodded. "In the middle levels, it's easier to go down than up. We should head for the safe zone on the Eighteenth Floor."
"We'll probably get there after them," Ethan said. "Assuming they've been heading there since the cave in, which was probably during the big earthquake yesterday."
"Agreed," Asfi nodded. "So we should hurry."
"There's another problem," Ethan said. "The Loki Familia's expedition started two weeks ago today."
"All the more reason to hurry," Ryuu said.
"Why?" Mikoto asked.
"It takes the Goliath, the Floor Boss on the Seventeenth Floor, two weeks to respawn," Ethan said.
"Oh shit!" Ouka said. "Can we make it through before it comes back?"
"If we hurry, maybe," Asfi said.
"I doubt it," Ethan said. "We'll have to have someone distract it so everyone else can slip past it."
"That's suicide!" Mikoto said.
"We'll worry about that when we get there," Asfi said. "Come on."
As they headed back to the stairs, Ethan looked around nervously.
"What?" Hestia asked.
"We'll have to pass through floor Seventeen before reaching the Goliath's room," Ethan said. "We'll probably meet Minotaurs, right?"
"Probably," Hestia said. "It'll be fine, though. They won't swarm us like they did your family."
"I hope not," Ethan said.
"Swarm you?" Ouka asked.
"On three separate occasions, members of my family have been caught in a trap laid by minotaurs in which they killed one, then a dozen or more appeared and surrounded them," Ethan said. "My sister and I are the only ones to have survived."
"Jeez, is your family cursed or something?" Hermes asked.
"Possibly," Ethan said. "I don't know any other explanation."
"If it happens this time, I'll check," Hestia said.
Ethan nodded just as Almiraj, Hellhounds, and a Wyvern appeared around them, swarming them. Ethan's eyes again shone red and he tore into the Almiraj while Mikoto and Ouka turned on the Hell Hounds, and Ryuu and Asfi turned to the Wyvern. Just as Ethan finished the last of the Almiraj, the Wyvern shot past the two women attacking it, heading for the main group.
"Light Blade!" Ethan shouted, the magic shroud flashing into existence before he shot past the Wyvern, splitting it in half with his now much longer blade, destroying it.
He looked around, seeing the others had finished the Hellhounds and sighed, his eyes fading back to brown as he straightened up, looking down at his side, where the Wyvern had torn several gashes into him. He grimaced, healing himself, then looked back at the others.
"Everyone okay?" Ethan asked.
"That was awesome!" Ouka said.
"You're so strong!" Chigusa said.
"Are you really only a Level One?" Mikoto asked.
"I have a very useful skill," Ethan said. "Come on. If you're really curious, I'll tell you about it once we reach the safe zone."
They all nodded and continued, having to fight several more groups of monsters, though thankfully no more Wyverns, before reaching the stairs and starting downward. They all remained silent as they walked, and as they stepped out on the Seventeenth Floor, a minotaur's roar greeted them, all eyes glancing at Ethan, who gripped his sword tightly and swallowed.
"We'll be fine," Ryuu said. "Come on. It's this way."
They walked in silence, all of them extremely tense, before reaching a small chamber where the path split into several. They stopped as a minotaur lumbered into the chamber. Ethan swallowed hard, looking around, the others doing the same.
"It's just this one," Ryuu said. "There's no reason to think this is a trap."
"I beg to differ on that," Ethan said.
She glanced at him before streaking forward, drawing her tanto on the way before quickly tearing into the minotaur, killing it in seconds.
"So fast!" Ouka breathed, only to go pale as another stepped into view.
Then another. And another. The group retreated to the center of the chamber as more and more minotaurs began to close in, more than the last trap Ethan had been caught in.
"I really am cursed," Ethan breathed.
"We're dead," Ouka breathed.
"Not yet," Ryuu said.
"Goddess, stay behind me, no matter what," Ethan said, eyes all but shining red as electricity crackled from his left hand.
"Right," Hestia nodded.
"You don't really think you can-" Asfi was cut off by Ethan firing his newest spell.
The initial bolt of lightning exploded into one of the Minotaurs' chest, then multiple slightly smaller bolts flashed from its body into nearby minotaurs, then each of them fired off more. Each successive bolt was weaker, but the first Minotaur and all of those it blasted died immediately. Then, Ethan was off, his Light Blade flashing into existence as he tore into the weakened minotaurs. A roar from one of the massive beasts shook everyone else from their shocked daze, and everyone who could fight charged in to help. Ethan quickly lost track of how the others were doing. He ducked under an axe, splitting the Minotaur across the chest. Another punched him and he sailed through the air, only to flip and split a pair as he neared them, allowing him to land on his feet and spin, slashing in a circle and taking out several of them. An axe split his chest the moment he stopped and he fired another blast of his Chain Lightning, taking out another group and weakening more for the others.
He spun, streaking past Hestia and tearing into more minotaurs there. An axe split his side and he cast Fast Heal on himself, both gashes shrinking into scratches. He flipped over an axe and slashed the minotaur down the front, then flipped just before landing, slashing another up the front as it moved to kill him. He turned, seeing Ouka and Mikoto retreat from several and shot past splitting an entire line of them in half for the pair, then turned toward the front, the path leading to the Goliath, and sent out a Chain Lightning, clearing the way.
"Run!" he shouted, just before a pair of axes split his back open, his breastplate falling away in several pieces. "Fast Heal!"
He felt the wounds in his back shrink, but his Light Blade winked out. He dove forward as Asfi hurled several needles over him, everyone retreating. As he followed, he snatched up half a dozen of the crystals from the ground, storing them carefully, then followed the others.
"That was insane!" Ouka said. "What the hell!? There's no way you're a Level One!"
"It was thanks to my skill," Ethan said. "It's called Guardian Heart."
"Ah, that explains a lot," Hermes said.
"What's Guardian Heart?" Mikoto asked.
"It increases my Stats when I fight to defend someone, the amount dependent on how important to me the person I'm defending is," Ethan said. "The minimum increase is doubled."
Ouka, Mikoto, and Asfi all stared at him in shock, however, before anyone could say anything, they all slowed to a stop as they reached the Goliath's room, seeing it towering over them, standing between them and the hole leading to Floor Eighteen.
"We're too late," Ryuu said.
"Not yet," Ethan said, eyes once again turning red, though he could feel exhaustion quickly beginning to fill him. "I'll distract it. All of you need to get past."
"Even with your stats doubled, you can't handle it alone!" Ouka said.
"His stats are more than doubled right now," Hestia said. "And he doesn't need to kill it, only keep it busy. Come on. This is our best option."
Everyone hesitated before nodding. Ethan shot forward instantly, loving his multiplied Agility. As he neared the Goliath, it roared, punching downward at him and he leapt into the air, flipping over its punch, which shattered the ground, then landed on its arm, sword tearing up its arm as he ran before he slashed it across the face, then leapt off of it. He glanced at the others, seeing they were a little over halfway. He turned back to the Goliath and dove to the side as its fist once again shattered the ground, this time hurling a massive boulder into his chest, launching him backward. He felt his ribs crack as it hit, but he managed to flip backward so that it sailed away and didn't land on him. He pushed himself up unsteadily. Once again glancing at the others before charging the Goliath again. He just needed a few more seconds. He dropped into a side under the Goliath's hand as it tried to sweep him aside, then stood and shot forward, slashing the giant's shins, then slipped under it just before it crashed down on its knees. As soon as he was behind it, he jumped, stepping off the small of its back and slashed it in an upward arc, splitting its back wide open. Then, he flipped, landing on his feet and glancing to the side just as the last of the others dropped into the hole. He sighed in relief, only for agony to suddenly flash through his entire body as the Goliath's hand collided with him, all sense fleeing instantly.
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