I do not own Familia Myth or any of the characters.
Beginning
Ethan glanced off to the side as Welf and Mikoto headed toward them. Ethan and Ryu hurried over and grabbed Welf by the hand, making him jump slightly, but letting him know they were there.
"The waterway entrance to your right," Ethan hissed. "Take the second left."
Welf nodded subtly and he and Mikoto walked away, Ethan and Ryu returning to their spot, Ryu tapping a crystal sphere against Ethan's free hand to let him know she had one. He squeezed her hand as an acknowledgement, and Ryu raised the sphere to her lips.
"Lady Hestia, Ethan and I have our sphere," Ryu whispered. "When you talk to us, try to remain quiet."
"Understood," Hestia responded in a low voice. "Ais has been assigned to watch Bell personally. We may need you to run interference."
"Understood," Ryu whispered. "We're ready to go when needed. Warn Fels that we might get pulled away to deal with her."
"Already done," Haruhime's voice responded. "Oh, and Cassandra wants me to tell you two that a spear with the Daedalus Crest was blocking a doorway in her dream last night."
"Understood," Ethan whispered. "We'll deal with it. Let Fels know there's a strong chance they'll run into Dix Perdix near whatever door we take."
"Okay," Haruhime said.
Just then, Lyd landed beside them on the top of the well. "Time to signal the others."
"Then it's also time to prepare for a fight," Ethan said.
Lyd nodded, then leaned back and roared, his voice echoing all across Daedalus Street. Then, the separated Xenos began to call back. The various shrieks, howls, and roars lasted for minutes, even after Lyd returned to the others. Ethan glanced at Ryu, wishing he could see her face to gage how worried she was. As if sensing his thoughts, Ryu gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Ethan smiled, returning it and drawing his sword, Ryu drawing Alf's Lumina as well in her free hand.
"We need you to get Ais off of Bell," Hestia said.
"Understood," Ethan said. "Lead us to you first. We're going to need Haruhime to Level Boost one of us."
"Head directly West from where you are," Hestia said.
Ethan tapped on the inside of the well twice before they took off, keeping their hands linked as they traveled. Within three minutes, they found Hestia, Haruhime, Cassandra, and Daphne all kneeling around a map, each holding a crystal sphere and directing the rest of the Familia. Both pulled their hoods off and it was quickly decided that Ethan would be the one Level Boosted. So, a few seconds later, the two of them took off, remaining visible this time, and landed in front of Ais on a rooftop overlooking a section of Daedalus Street filled with shining gold gas and with several adventurers shouting about Bell and monsters, they they all looked dazed and confused.
"Sword Princess," Ryu said as they landed, Ais instantly drawing her sword. "We can't allow you to interfere."
"I've got orders to stop the two of you," Ais said.
"Then there's no point continuing to talk," Ethan said.
He launched himself from the roof he and Ryu were on to Ais, slashing hard as his eyes flashed crimson. Ais deflected the slash and spun, slashing at him, but Ethan spun, head filling with images of Wiene shrieking in pain as Dix ripped her Vouivre Tear out, of her impaled on Finn's spear and staked to the wall, of her crumbling. His sword exploded into Ais's sword, hurling her away. His irises shone, obscuring the top of his head. If he and Ryu couldn't hold Ais here, the Xenos, Wiene, would never be able to escape alive. If he and Ryu weren't finished with this fight before the Xenos met Dix, a lot of Xenos would be seriously hurt.
Ryu reached Ais and began to clash with her, both of them darting around and around, their sword arms a blur. Ethan shot forward, gripping his sword with two hands before stopping beside Ais and slashing. She spun, deflecting the blade before completing her spin and deflecting Alf's Lumina at Ethan. Ethan's left hand yanked his xiphos up and blocked Ryu's sword before Ethan lunged, slashing with the xiphos as he spun. Ais deflected it, then ducked under his sword. Ryu slashed upward at Ais, who blocked it before flipping into the air over Ethan's kick. She pushed her sword off of Ryu's to flip over her and Ethan spun on his support leg, his other whipping around and slamming into Ais's side, hurling her away. She flipped, green-tinted air suddenly raging around her for a moment before she landed on her feet.
"I'm not going to hold back any longer," Ais said. "If you die, I apologize."
"Light Blade," Ethan growled, a silhouette appearing around both of his blades along with Ryu's.
Ais narrowed her eyes and nodded, exploding forward, Ethan moving to meet her. She shot across the roof in a blur, slashing at him as she passed, only for his blades to deflect her blows. Her wind aura tore gashes into his arms and his Berserk activated, darkening his sclerae. Then, she had passed him and shot toward Ryu. Ryu deflected a half down blows before leaping backward as a gash opened in her stomach.
"Blade Rain!" Ethan snarled, blade silhouettes raining at Ais from all sides. "Restoration!"
Ryu shone green and healed as Ais moved in a blur, blocking the blade silhouettes, some of them managing to slip past her guard and carve a scratch into her before her wind destroyed it. Finally, the blades ended just in time for Ethan and Ryu to reach Ais, slashing again and again, rapidly pressing Ais back, Ethan repeatedly healing Ryu whenever Ais's wind managed to cut her especially bad. Finally, Ais spun under their blades and slammed a kick into Ryu, launching her before rounding on Ethan, only to see massive trails of black fluid rolling down his blackened skin.
"Bad move!" Ethan snarled, dropping his Xiphos and slashing his sword with both hands.
Ais focused her wind around her sword and blocked the slash, but the force of it shattered his Light Blade and sent Ais shooting backward, several pieces of her armor breaking free. She flipped, landing on her hands and feet in the street and skidded to a stop just as Ryu leapt into the air.
"Luminous Wind!" Ryu shouted, the spell's blasts streaking down at Ais.
She reformed her wind, dodging the first few before one slammed into her chest, the rest hitting their mark as well. Finally, the dust settled and Ais stood, blood running down the side of her face and from a gash in her side, all of her armor plates besides her chest plate gone, her white dress torn across the middle and left as a skirt, her boots both missing to her ankles, and both gloves and her headband completely gone. However, as Ryu stepped up beside Ethan again and Ethan healed her, the golden light of Haruhime's spell faded.
"This fight is over," Ethan said. "Stay out of our way."
"This fight's not over yet," Ais said, reactivating Ariel again. "The light faded, which I'm guessing means you're weaker now. Which means I can win."
She knelt, picking up her scabbard in her free hand and focused the wind around it. Then, she charged, Ethan and Ryu both ding the same, Ethan's xiphos back in its own scabbard. As they landed in the street, both of them exploded forward, slashing at Ais as they passed. Their blades clashed with Ais's weapons before all three spun just barely past their opponents, slashing again. Ais, however, deflected both of their weapons with Desperate before slamming the scabbard into Ryu's head, hurling her sideways into the wall of a building. Ethan's face darkened still further and he began to slash at Ais rapidly, struggling to keep up with her for a moment before drawing his xiphos again. For a moment, he could hold his own, but after a moment, Desperate blocked his sword at the perfect angle to knock it away before Ais slashed his xiphos out of his hand, then drilled the end of the scabbard into his chest, the wind exploded and tearing a dozen gashes into his body anywhere there wasn't armor. He shot backward, crashing into a wall before dropping to his hands and knees, healing a gash in the side of his neck that was bleeding heavily. He stood, Ryu tossing his xiphos to him, and he readied himself to go again.
Ais readied herself again, then frowned, seeing both of her opponents chanting. She narrowed her eyes and shot forward, heading for Ryu. Ethan moved to intercept her, but she spun, knocking his blades aside with Desperate before slamming the scabbard into him, hurling him. Then, she reached Ryu, her weapons clashing with Ryu's wooden sword rapidly, over and over. Ethan shot forward and slashed at Ais, but she ducked under it before knocking Alf's Lumina aside with her scabbard, then stabbed at Ryu. However, at the last second, Ethan shoved Ryu backward, Ais's sword crashing directly into his armor and sending him skidding backward, but she grimaced. In that instant, Ryu shot forward, slashing hard, and knocked Desperate out of her hand, then began to press her backward, away from the sword.
"Luminous Wind!" Ryu shouted suddenly, Ais using her wind to launch herself aside, avoiding the spell, only for Ethan to raise his hand.
"Lightning Spree," Ethan said.
Ais crossed her arms in front of herself, focusing her wind in front of her body, but the lightning bolt flashed past her head and into the sky. Ais landed on her feet, blinking, then stared at Ethan.
"That spell would have killed you," Ethan said. "This fight is over."
Ais looked down at her scabbard, then over at Desperate. "I have orders."
"Ethan, the Xenos are on the move, but Wiene got separated!" Haruhime's voice said suddenly from his crystal sphere.
"Time's up, Ais," Ethan said, sheathing his xiphos before he and Ryu pulled their hoods up and fled.
Ais followed, however, apparently able to sense their presence.
"Blade Rain!" Ethan said, forcing her to stop to block the blades, allowing Ethan and Ryu to escape.
Haruhime quickly guided Ethan to a waterway where Wiene had been separated, then told him which direction she had gone before telling Ryu which way to go to catch up with the Xenos and Fels. They separated and Ethan dropped into the waterway, sprinting after Wiene.
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