I do not own Familia Myth or any of the characters.
Reinforcements
Ethan bounced off his upper shoulders, grunting, then flipped, landing on his feet and looking back at the disgusting toad as Ryu flipped over her axe, slashing at her, only for the toad's other axe to block her strike. Then, the toad slammed the back of her fist into Ryu's side, sending her bouncing away. Ethan charged, his sclerae darkening further, as Phryne lifted the axe she'd dropped to punch Ryu.
Phryne grinned wickedly, shouting in effort and smashing an axe into the ground, only for Ethan to leap over the shockwave of shattered ground the impact sent out. He flipped, deflecting her other axe with his xiphos as he did, then finished his flip by slashing at Phryne, who leapt backward, the tip of the blade just barely nicking the end of her nose. She shrieked in rage instantly, moving to step forward, only for explosions of green-tinted light and wind to begin going off all around her, making her shriek in pain as gashes and burns began to form all over her body. Finally, it stopped and Phryne shrieked in rage, smashing both axes into the ground, the floor of the pantry all but exploding all at once. Ethan grunted in pain as he crashed into a pillar of quarts, then dove to the side as Phryne's axe crashed into it, shattering the pillar. He shouted in pain as a massive chunk crashed down on his left leg, crushing it, and Phryne began to cackle even more obnoxiously than before as she charged. Ryu moved to stop her, only for Phryne's axe to block Ryu's wooden sword, then her hand to catch Ryu by the leg and hurl her into the wall cracking it.
"Ryu!" Ethan shouted, trying desperately to push the quarts off his leg, to no avail.
Phryne stepped up over him, sword raised, only for Aisha's sword to crash into the axe, knocking it away before Aisha kicked Phryne, sending her bouncing away. A moment later, Welf, Anya, and Haruhime were trying to lift the chunk of quarts.
"Roll it!" Ethan shouted.
"But-" Anya began.
"Roll the fucking rock!" Ethan snapped as Phryne began to easily fend off Ryu again.
The three complied, rolling the rock down his leg, crushing the entire length of it from mid-thigh down before finally getting it free just as Phryne drilled a fist into Ryu's gut, hurling her backward into Aisha, both bouncing past Ethan and the others.
"Restoration!" Ethan said through gritted teeth, sweat pouring down his face from his pain.
His body shone green, the light from his leg blinding, then the light faded, leaving him fully healed and he scrambled to his feet, grabbing both of his blades just in time for his eyes to shine with crimson light, Ethan making himself furious by yanking every memory of living with the Apollo Familia and every time Hyakinthos threatened Anya to the forefront of his mind. Then, he crossed his blades just in time for Phryne's axe to explode into them and halt, the ground below Ethan exploding, hurling everyone else away. Ethan shoved the axe to the side, then launched himself forward, slashing at Phryne several times, the bloated toad somehow managing to deflect two of the three, and actually dodge the third. Phryne turned, swinging her axe down at his back and Aisha's sword deflected it up over him. Ethan spun, slamming a kick into Phryne and sent her staggering backward before he and Aisha both lunged, slashing. She blocked it with her axe, only to be sent flying by the combined force.
"Luminous Wind!" Ryu shouted, the explosions beginning to go off around Phryne again.
"Hell Kaios!" Aisha shouted, slashing and sending a shockwave of red energy flying at Phryne, the blast hitting her and exploding just as Ryu's spell ended, bringing down the wall on Phryne.
Phryne shrieked in rage, standing just as Ethan's Chain Lightning exploded into her chest, blasting her through the corner of the wall and bringing down a section of the ceiling before bouncing down one of the tunnels.
"Hell yeah!" Welf grinned.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm not looking to have this bloated toad ruin my day again," Ethan said, walking after her. "I'm finishing this."
"Right behind you," Aisha said, she and Ryu joining him, the others following after.
"Are you both okay?" Anya asked, looking around at the corpses, most partially buried in the repeatedly shattered floor.
"We'll be fine," Ryu said. "But first, we have to deal with the toad."
They followed a trial of blood, only to stop at a crossroad as they found a minotaur ahead of them.
"No," Ethan growled. "I don't fucking believe it."
"Isn't this floor thirteen?" Welf asked.
"Ethan!" Anya squeaked from behind him, Ethan turning and seeing more minotaurs behind them suddenly, more and more appearing around them.
"Fighters to the outside!" Ethan snapped, Anya and Haruhime stepping into the center the others standing around them. "I'm so sick and tired of this family curse!"
"We'll deal with it," Ryu promised.
"With all of us here, we can deal with them," Aisha said.
"Haruhime, boost Ryu's level," Welf said.
"No, boost Welf's," Ethan said. "He'll need it most."
Haruhime began to chant instantly as the four fighters charged. Ethan sent a Chain Lightning into the side of the circle Welf was moving to fight, then formed a Light Blade around his sword as he tore into the minotaurs on his side. He ducked under an axe and spun, slashing a wide arc through several minotaurs before standing and deflecting an axe with his xiphos before jumping and slashing one up the face with it. A minotaur snorted and charged at him, only for him to slashing it down the front with his Blade-Rain-enhanced sword on the way down, splitting it in half. He took a moment to glance around, seeing Aisha struggling slightly to hold off her side, Ryu flashing around and around her side, her stick and a tanto slaughtering anything she passed, and Welf only barely fending off his, even with his level increased. Ethan spun, slashing a pair of minotaurs before the blade's silhouette faded and he spun.
"Everyone down!" Ethan shouted, the others all complying. "Blade Rain!"
Blade silhouettes formed around him in a ring and fired outward, then another ring, then another, and another. Any swords that hit the walls of the dungeon shattered, the others impaled the minotaurs on all sides, slaughtering them rapidly. As the spell ended, Ethan began to breathe hard, his head spinning from over-using his spells. He looked around as more minotaurs began to appear, only for Ryu to finish her own spell's incantation, explosions of green light and wind slaughtering the minotaurs around them. Finally, the spell ended and they all looked around, waiting for more minotaurs to arrive, only for none to show. Ethan sighed.
"Let's grab the crystals and get out of here before anything else decides to show up," Ethan said.
The others agreed and quickly gathered the minotaurs' magic crystals before all heading to the stairs, leaving the dungeon. They headed to the guild first, then all headed back to the mansion, finding Hestia sitting in the common room with the other members of the Familia.
"You're back!" Hestia said, jumping up. "Is everyone alright?"
"Everyone from our Familia is, thanks to Welf and the others showing up," Cassius said.
"Did they ambush you again?" Cassandra asked.
"Yeah," Ethan said. "Fucking Apollo Familia."
"Not them," Cassandra said. "I had a dream that...well...a lot happened in it, but I meant minotaurs."
"Also yes," Ethan said.
"Wait, what?" Hestia asked. "You got ambushed by minotaurs again!?"
"Yes," Ethan said. "On floor thirteen."
Hestia's jaw dropped before she closed her mouth, a troubled expression filling her face. "I'm going to call an emergency Denatus. Curse or no curse, minotaurs shouldn't be on the thirteenth floor, especially not in enough numbers for an ambush. And that's ignoring the fact that they ambush you and your family at all. How many were there?"
"Four or five dozen," Ethan said. "By the way, that reminds me. We cashed in the magic stones this time."
They all set bags of money on the table, and Ethan set the three gold eggs they'd gotten on the way in on top of the bags, everyone staring at him.
"How the..." Welf trailed off and shook his head.
"Your curse gets you ambushed by minotaurs on floor thirteen, but you're lucky enough to find three of those fucking birds?" Aisha asked.
"Apparently so," Ethan nodded.
Hestia shook her head. "We'll worry about money later. For now, I'm going to go and talk to the other gods about your curse and see if there's a way to break it."
Ethan nodded and Hestia left. Ethan looked around at the others before turning to Anya. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Anya nodded before gaining a shit-eating grin. "And speaking of doing fine..."
Ethan groaned as all of the others in the Familia gained similar grins, besides Bell, Haruhime, and Cassandra, who all blushed. Ethan dropped onto the couch, resigning himself to the teasing and questioning, and Ryu sat beside him, curling up against his side, resting her head on his shoulder. Then, the others girls who were planning to question him found a place to get comfortable before the good-natured humiliating began.
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