I do not own Familia Myth or any of the characters.
Xenos
"Is it bad for me to be with you?" Wiene asked Ethan and Ryu sometime after sunrise.
"No," Ethan said. "Never."
"It will never be bad for you to be with us," Ryu said. "You are our family, Wiene. You will always belong with us."
Wiene smiled and hugged them tightly. Just then, the door opened and Ethan stood, drawing his sword. However, it was only Bell. Ethan sighed, lowering his sword.
"Any news?" Ethan asked.
"The Guild has given us a mission," Bell said, staring at the floor.
He walked over and handed Ethan an envelope. Ethan pulled out the paper inside and read it. They were to take Wiene to the twentieth floor. That was it. On the back of the paper was a map of the Twentieth Floor with a specific place marked. He frowned, lowering the paper, and glanced back at Ryu and Wiene.
"What is it?" Ryu asked.
"It says we have to take her to the Twentieth Floor," Ethan said. "It doesn't say why."
Wiene's eyes widened, but Ethan smiled and shook his head.
"It's alright," he said calmingly, sitting beside her and running a hand over her hair. "Me and Ryu won't let anything hurt you."
Wiene smiled and nodded. "Okay."
"How are we going to get her into the dungeon without attracting attention to ourselves?" Ethan asked. "Ryu and I made a pretty big scene."
"We're going to give you a spare sword, because yours are pretty easily recognizable, and a cloak to hide under," Bell said. "Coincidentally, Hermes dropped off the Durandal you asked for with Welf not long after the incident yesterday, so Welf's already started on it. And I told him you wanted a chestplate from it too."
"How long will it take?" Ethan asked.
"He said the armor will take a bit, but the sword should be done soon," Bell said. "He'll bring it to you before we try to go. Oh, and Ryu, Syr came by to give you a message. Mama Mia gave you a leave of absence to deal with whatever's going on."
Ryu nodded, smiling. "I'm surprised she didn't fire me."
"According to Syr, Mama Mia said that if you, of all people, were defending a monster, you had to have a good reason for it," Bell said.
"When do we leave?" Ethan asked.
"As soon as Welf finishes with your sword," Bell said. "He said it should be early morning."
Ethan nodded. "We'll be here."
Bell nodded and left again. Ethan sat beside Ryu and Wiene again, wrapping his arms around them.
"We're bait," Ethan said.
"I know," Ryu said. "Are you going to leave your swords behind?"
"Never," Ethan said. "I'll hide them under my coat. Can Welf really forge a Durandal sword in a day?"
Ryu shrugged. "I've never forged a sword before."
Ethan sighed, nodding. The three of them fell silent, continuing to do nothing but hold each other for the rest of the day, except to eat. Finally, Bell returned, along with Anya this time. Bell handed both Ethan and Ryu a black cloak and they both pulled it on. Ethan took his sword and xiphos off his belt and Anya handed him a torso harness, allowing him to hang them across his back where he could grab them from the collar of his cloak but where they'd be hidden. Then, Bell handed him his new sword. He hung the scabbard from his belt, then drew the sword to inspect it. It had a black grip, a bird's head pommel, a basket hilt with the wing being a gold, feathered wing wrapping around the grip and attached at the section between the grip and the blade. The section was gold and shaped like a diamond with a blue gemstone set into it on the sides, then a long, surprisingly broad but thin rapier blade extending from it. The blade was nearly snow white, but with dark blue on the first half of the sides nearest the hilt, the blue decorated with a three-inch curving white line like an "S" at the base, with Welf's crest below it.
"I like it," Ethan said. "But it's still weak compared to my swords."
"Less recognizable as it being you, though," Welf Bell. "This is only for if we meet anyone. Otherwise, you're welcome to use your own."
Ethan nodded and slid the sword back into its scabbard. "Let's make this quick."
The others nodded and they all left the church, heading to the dungeon quickly but carefully, then from there down into it. This time, they had the entirety of the Familia with them, minus Hestia. Cassandra, Wiene, and Haruhime were in the middle with Lili, Bell, Welf, Mikoto, and Daphne were in the back, and Ethan, Ryu, Aisha, and Anya were all up front. Once they were safely in the dungeon, Ethan handed Anya the new sword and drew his own.
"Be careful if we meet anyone," Welf said.
"If we meet anyone, and they don't immediately attack us, I'll worry about it then," Ethan said.
Welf nodded and they all continued. They progressed through the floors quickly. Any monsters they met in front died as soon as they appeared, and anything behind them died almost as fast. They didn't meet anyone on the way down, and before long, they had reached the Eighteenth Floor. Ethan put his hieroglyph sword away again and took the spare back from Anya. They stopped at the entrance to the Nineteenth Floor to finalize the plan. Welf had brought three magic swords for emergencies, Ethan was ready to heal anyone who needed it, as well as to use Lightning Spree if they met any monster parties, Haruhime would be using her level-increasing spell on Welf once they reached the Nineteenth Floor, and Mikoto would be using a skill of hers to search for monsters.
"Everyone ready?" Ethan asked.
Everyone nodded, and Ethan looked to Wiene, who nodded, smiling confidently. He smiled and ruffled her hair before turning back to the front. Then, they all headed into the passage. Floor Nineteen wasn't bad. Between all of them, they were able to fifteen minutes of having arrived, they were swarmed by a wave of Lizardmen. Within seconds, it became clear that the Lizardmen were targeting Wiene. Ryu and Ethan remained with her as they rapidly carved their way through, the other non-combatants remaining with her as well, Anya once again with the Durandal sword. One leapt at her from behind, but Bell stepped into the way, slashing it and killing it. Another leapt at Wiene from the side, but Anya stepped into its path, slashing its head off and catching its crystal with such ease Ethan might have thought she'd been fighting all her life. Three more charged at the group but Welf and Mikoto shot forward, Welf killing two of them and Mikoto killing the third.
"A fresh wave is approaching!" Mikoto warned just as dozens of massive dragonflies, Gun Libellula, swarmed out of the trees all the way around them.
"I'll use a Magic Sword!" Lili said.
"Save it!" Ryu shouted, fending off several Lizardmen with Ethan, who was chanting quickly.
"Lightning Spree!" Ethan finally said, holding his hand into the air.
The spell exploded from his palm, spreading outward over them al before blasting the monsters, slaughtering them all and setting off an enormous explosion, blasting a massive ring around them into a charred scar. Everyone looked around at Mikoto, who nodded, then sighed in relief.
"So this is the Twentieth Floor," Welf sighed as they all sat on a root in the center of the clearing they were in to rest. "That spell of yours is amazing."
"You should see what it does when it's focused into a single blast," Ethan said, looking around. "I think I might have overdone it a little."
"Better safe than sorry," Ryu said.
"True," Ethan said. "Is everyone holding up alright?"
"Barely," Welf said. "We're exhausted."
"Speak for yourself," Aisha said. "The vanguard is doing fine."
"That's why you're the vanguard," Lili said. "The rest of us are exhausted. We don't have levels as high as yours, or skulls like Ethan's."
"Just wait until we get back," Ethan said. "Bell's probably going to hit Level Four."
"Jealous?" Anya grinned.
"Extremely," Ethan said. "How do you level up so fast?"
"I don't know," Bell shrugged. "I don't do anything special."
Wiene hugged Ethan, and Ethan smiled, wrapping his arms around her as well.
"Are you okay?" Wiene asked.
Ethan smiled. "I'm fine, Wiene. Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."
Wiene smiled and nodded, tucking her face into his chest. Ethan smiled, running his hand over her hair. He looked over at Ryu, nodding as he could see in her eyes that she had also noticed the monsters were only targeting Wiene. After a few more minutes of rest, they continued, reforming the same formation as before. However, as they finally reached the location marked on the map, all they found was an empty cavern.
"Are you sure this is it?" Welf asked.
"There's no mistake," Lili said. "This is the location."
"There's...nothing here," Welf said. "Dammit."
"We were set up," Ethan said. "We're bait."
"Bait?" Bell asked. "For what?"
Ethan sighed. "Monster smugglers."
Wiene suddenly closed her eyes, walking toward the opposite tunnel.
"Wiene?" Ethan asked. "What is it?"
"I hear them," Wiene said, stopping and pulling her hood down, her ears twitching as she listened. "A song."
Everyone besides Ethan and Ryu began to try to listen. Ethan and Ryu both instantly moved forward, stepping between Wiene and the tunnel.
"It's a trap," Ethan said.
"She's right," Bell said. "I can hear it."
"It's a siren," Ryu said.
"Where's it coming from?" Mikoto asked.
Wiene walked over to a large blue crystal beside her, resting a hand on it. "Is it calling to someone?"
"Lookout, Wiene," Ethan said, drawing his sword.
Wiene stepped back and Ethan drove his sword into the crystal, then grunted, forcing himself angry before slashing out to the side, flinging the crystal down one of the tunnels. Behind where it was, there was another tunnel.
"So, it's telling us to keep going, then," Welf said.
"Not necessarily," Ethan said. "It might be a warning. Or, it might still be a trap. We could still be bait."
They walked into the tunnel, Ethan holding a light. However, after a few minutes, he stopped, looking around.
"This isn't on the map, right?" Ethan asked.
"No, it's not," Lili said.
"Are there any monsters around us?" Ethan asked.
"I haven't detected any," Mikoto said.
Ethan set the light down so it was shining into the air and drew his xiphos as Ryu drew her wooden sword.
"We're being watched," Bell said, knives already in-hand.
Everyone else formed a circle around Wiene instantly, weapons drawn, and all looking around. Ethan narrowed his eyes, then used his foot to tip the light over, trapping it on the ground so that the light was illuminating a Lizardman wearing vambraces, pauldrons, an armored plate strapped over the left side of his chest, and a grieve on his right leg. In its right hand was a greatsword, and its left held a scimitar. Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly before lowering his weapons to his sides, though he kept himself ready.
"We mean you no harm," Ethan said evenly.
The Lizardman roared, leaping forward and slashing at Ethan, only for Ethan to deflect its greatsword with his xiphos, then block its scimitar with his sword. Ethan stepped back and the Lizardman's eyes moved to the light, which it crushed instantly. Then, it roared, more and more roars answering it. Ethan narrowed his eyes, retreating another step closer to Wiene.
"How many are there?" Welf asked.
"I'll use some lamp moss!" Lili said.
"No!" Ryu said, but it was too late.
Lili hurled a handful of lamp moss into the air. It scattered through the enormous cavern they were in, illuminating dozens of monsters of all kinds. Even some that should have been on the upper floors. And out of all of them, most of them had weapons. Everyone tensed instantly.
"Calm down," Ethan said. "Don't start a fight we can't win."
"What is all this?" Bell asked.
"Either an ambush, or it's all of the intelligent monsters working under the assumption that we're trying to kidnap Wiene," Ethan said.
"They're armed," Bell noted.
"Which is why I suspect they're like Wiene," Ethan said.
The Lizardman pointed his greatsword at Wiene, who was hiding behind Haruhime, but Mikoto and Daphne both stepped into his path.
"Will these monsters also target Wiene?" Mikoto asked.
The Lizardman roared and the monsters all charged. Ethan narrowed his eyes. He didn't have a choice. He'd do what he had to do. He moved to Wiene's side with Ryu, and when the Lizardman reached them, Ethan attacked. Except, it was strong. It was able to block and deflect everything he threw at it, and anything it couldn't, it avoided. Ethan was able to fend off the Lizardman's attacks as well, but it was definitely nothing like the ones they fought before. He leapt backward from it, glancing around. The others were struggling as well. There were too many, and they all seemed to be stronger than they should be. Suddenly, Haruhime shouted Wiene's name and Ethan fired a Blade Rain into the ground in front of the Lizardman to make it leap backward before looking over, seeing Wiene using her wing to protect Haruhime and Lili from a swarm of Gun Libellula.
Ethan grit his teeth and spun back to the Lizardman just in time to duck under the Lizardman's tail, then slashed at it. The Lizardman blocked it, but Ethan's anger has been mounting as a result of not being able to defeat it fast enough to protect Wiene had pushed his Berserk further and further. When Ethan's sword crashed into the Lizardman's scimitar, the amount of force behind his swing slammed the back of the scimitar into the Lizardman's chest, launching it away, though he still didn't manage to land a solid strike. Ethan ignored that and spun back toward Wiene just as a Harpy fired a barrage of feathers into Wiene's wing, which knocked it aside and tore several large gashes into it. However, when a Hard Armored and an Orc moved to attack the small group, Ethan and Ryu both stepped into their way, slashing the monsters. Neither died, but they were sent sailing away from them, together clearing half the group of Gun Libellula. The Lizard roared, charging from the side, but Ethan had had more than enough. His irises shone crimson as his sclerae darkened impossibly further. He drove his sword into the ground and shot forward, deflecting the Lizardman's greatsword out to the side with his xiphos, then drilled a punch into the Lizardman's chest armor, shattering it and sending him exploding across the cavern into the wall, which crumbled around him.
Ethan ripped his sword free of the ground and put his xiphos away, then held his hand out toward Wiene. "Restoration."
Wiene shone green, her wing healing in seconds.
"Are you okay?" Ethan asked.
Wiene nodded. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"Good," Ethan said before holding his hand out in front of himself. "That's enough. If any of you attack again, I'm going to fry you all with my most powerful spell."
Suddenly, the Lizardman began to laugh. Ethan narrowed his eyes before looking around at the other monsters, all of whom were standing at a distance, watching them. Ethan sighed, letting his hand fall before sheathing his sword. Behind him, Ryu also sheathed her wooden sword, though the others kept their weapons out, looking around in a wary confusion.
The Lizardman sat up, dusting off his leg. "This is fun, I've never met adventurers like you."
Ethan noticed his mouth didn't move as he spoke, he simply held it open.
"I did tell you, didn't I Lyd?" the same Siren they'd met before asked as she landed beside the Lizardman. "They are different."
She had wings instead of arms with pale yellow feathers with blue on the ends of her wings, a plume of feathers shaped like shoulder-length hair swept backward, all of the feathers pale yellow with blue tips, similar but shorter feathers forming bangs across her forehead and a pair of long feathers framing her face, her ears sticking out of the sides of her head six inches with brown feathers along their edges, pale violet eyes with slit pupils, blue feathers wrapping around her slender waist like a skirt, long, slender legs covered with pale yellow feathers, bird feet armed with large talons, and her sizeable breasts were covered by a strip of white cloth diagonally over her chest to cover her nipples with the point where it intersected bearing a pink, heart-shaped clasp.
"It's good to see you again," Ethan said. "And without a cloak this time. You're lucky he decided to stop fighting when he did."
"Yes, that lightning spell of yours is rather dangerous," the Siren said. "I was going to stop him if he wanted to keep fighting, but it seems he's had enough. I owe you an apology. I didn't think you were that powerful."
"Normally I'm not," Ethan said. "But no one hurts my family."
Ray nodded. "My name is Ray. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Ethan," Ethan introduced himself.
"My name's Ryu," Ryu introduced herself.
"It's just like you said, Ray," Lyd said, standing. "These adventurers are different." He turned back to Ethan and the others, holding his right hand across his abdomen in a slight bow. "Sorry about that. We were testing you."
"Why?" Ethan asked.
"We wanted to know," Lyd said. "The group that took in our kin, what kind of people are they? When things got rough, would they just abandon her?"
"Never," Ethan said. "She's our family."
Wiene smiled happily and hugged him, Ethan smiling and wrapping an arm around her.
"So I see," Lyd nodded, then lifted his his right hand, scratching the side of his snout. "We scared you, and we ended up hurting you, too." He patted himself on the top of the head. "Sorry about that."
"It's alright," Ethan said.
"Do it again and we kill you all," Ryu said flatly.
Lyd's face contorted into something between a smile and a grimace. "Let me say this properly." He bowed. "Thank you for protecting our kin for all this time."
"As I said, she's our family," Ethan said. "We'll never let her be hurt."
Lyd nodded. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the others."
Ethan nodded and everyone else sheathed their weapons. As they followed Lyd, Ethan healed the two intelligent monsters he and Ryu had hurt earlier. As they walked, Wiene stepped up between Ethan and Ryu, slipping her hands into each of theirs, both of them smiling down at her, Wiene beaming up at them in response. After a few minutes, Lyd stopped, calling out for lights to be lit. As torches blazed to life through the cavern, the light revealed close to a hundred monsters.
"Th-There is this many?" Mikoto stammered.
"I'm Lyd," Lyd introduced himself properly. "As you can see, I'm a Lizardman. Pleased to meet you, Ethan, Ryu Lion, Bell Cranel."
"I...um..." Bell said uncomfortably.
"Hey, you mind if I call you Bell-cchi?" Lyd asked, walking over to Bell.
"Huh?" Bell asked. "I...um...P-Please, feel free."
"Bell-cchi!" Lyd smiled, stepping forward, stopping in front of him.
"Y-Yes!?" Bell squeaked.
"Let's shake hands!" Lyd smiled, offering his hand.
Bell's eyes widened in fear, his eyes flicking to Lyd's sharp claws and teeth. He turned to look back at the others.
"Master Bell," Lili hissed, then shook her head.
Bell's eyes flicked to Wiene, who looked worried, and he swallowed, turning back around and holding out a shaking hand, a shaking smile being forced onto his face for a moment before disappearing as Bell braced for pain. "P-Pleased to meet you!" He moved his hand to Lyd's much larger one, squeezing his eyes closed, only for Lyd's fingers to close around his.
"Yeah, good to meet you," Lyd smiled.
Instantly, there was a roar of cheers and laughs as the monsters around them rushed to greet Bell as well. Lyd turned and walked over to Ethan.
"It's good to meet you as well," Lyd said. "You throw quite a punch."
"Thank you," Ethan said, shaking his hand. "You're very powerful as well. More so than any other Lizardman I've ever met. How'd you get so strong?"
"Our kind gets stronger when we eat the magic crystals normal monsters drop," Lyd explained.
"That explains why she ate ours when we first met her," Ethan nodded.
Just then, an Almiraj wearing a blue battle jacket and a a pocket watch around its neck let out a high, excited squeal as it leapt over the other monsters and hugged itself to Bell's face.
"She doesn't speak, but it seems she likes you, person from the surface," the Harpy from earlier said, using her wings to hover off the ground a few inches.
She had dark red hair hanging down her back and with two locks framing her face and falling to her breasts, and she was wearing a gold, metal bra with the middle of the front disconnected between the triangular cups, then a transparent red cloth hanging from it and reaching to just above her navel. Her lower body was that of a massive, brown feathered bird, matching her wings, and she had a gold crescent moon necklace.
"She!?" Bell asked shrilly, already panicking. "You mean she's female!?"
The monsters around Bell laughed, and Ethan chuckled, Aisha laughed loudly, and Ryu smiled. Ethan looked over at Ray as she walked over and smiled down at Wiene kindly.
"May I ask your name?" Ray asked, all of the other monsters, and even Bell, looking over at them interestedly.
Wiene blushed and hid behind Ethan shyly. "Wiene," she said in a soft, unsure voice.
"Wiene," Ray mused. "That's a lovely name."
Wiene's eyes widened and she stared up at Ray in surprise.
"Nice to meet you, our new kin," Ray said, holding out her right wing to shake Wiene's hand.
"Kin?" Wiene asked.
"It's like family," Ethan explained.
"That's right," Ray nodded, smiling. "Here, there are none who would oppress or persecute you. We gladly welcome you."
Wiene smiled happily and the monsters around them all smiled, a few laughing happily.
"Please, tell me," Bell said, "all of you...and Wiene...what are you?"
"We are labelled as those which counter what is known," Ray said, flying over to hover above the other monsters.
"We are called Xenos," Lyd said.
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