Chapter 10:
XxXxX
FIUH FIUH
Walking through the street of Orario, everyone gave Ais a wide berth. She was used to it. People were either intimidated by her status or Familia, so this wasn't a novelty for her.
"..." an adventurer from Ganesha Familia was left speechless at the sight of her.
Wherever she went, Ais Wallenstein attracted the looks of both men and women in equal measures. She was always a sight to see, but there was something different this time around.
Ais had a proud smile on her face, showing-off her recently given lion-onesie.
She was walking with a never before seen confidence in her every step. She always walked with grace, but it always looked a bit unnatural. Now she was walking with the confidence of an apex predator. The 'tail' of her onesie was wagging from left to right with every step she made.
She didn't take too long in returning to the Loki Familia mansion, where the guards at the gate, while shocked at the sight of her, let her pass without any issue. She knew where to find the person she was looking for, years of knowing her hat allowed Ais to know their daily routine.
The mess hall for the Loki Familia was a big one, consisting of an extremely long table at the very center with some smaller ones at the side in case people wanted to be left alone.
There she saw the green hair she was looking for, sitting at the left side of her own goddess, Loki. Ais' arrival at the mess hall didn't go unnoticed, the eyes of everyone in her group of closest friends immediately landed on her.
"Ais-san, good morni-" Lefiya's energetic greeting died in her throat the moment she processed the clothing Ais was wearing.
"..."
It was like a curse of muteness had fallen into the hall, no one said anything for a moment, trying to process the sight before them, of the woman they knew wearing such clothes.
Luckily, the ice was broken soon enough.
"GAGHH!" Loki had nasal bleeding, and she tried to use a handkerchief to stop the bleeding while also never once turning away from Ais.
Ais wasn't really caring too much for an interaction, she needed to do a lot of preparations for tonight, and the sooner she was done with this, the sooner she could begin.
Ais walked all the way to Riveria's spot, the older woman having to lift her chin to look at the blonde. Then Ais took hold of Riveria's arms.
Riveria gulped.
Ais' expression was deadly serious, and Riveria felt a bit intimidated in the way the blonde was holding her. "Riveria, I am ready," never in in the long time the two had known each other did Riveria heard Ais spoke in that tone. "We are doing it tonight."
The expression on Ais' face, her tone of voice, the way she was holding her. It was too much for the inner maiden buried deep in Riveria.
"EEEP!"
XXX
"So, have you finished reading the guide I gave you?" Rigo was sharpening his sword at the moment, a practice that Arturia had insisted on him taking when he had free time. It helped pass the time, and focused his mind when he was rambling on his own thoughts.
Ais was very different as to how he remembered her being, no doubt caused by apprenticeship under Arturia, it only helped Rigo accept that his presence in this world was already starting to cause ripples.
There are a couple of events he could kickstart himself, like the recruitment of Haruhime, or perhaps deal with the Xenos' situation…
"I have completed my task, I am waiting for my next mission, my Lord."
…but that wasn't here or there. He wasn't going to go out of his way looking for trouble, with the kind of individuals now part of his retinue, troubles were bound to find him instead.
Rigo will admit that he wasn't a good person, he was selfish. But he also wasn't a bad person, he could offer a helping hand from time to time even if it didn't provide him anything.
Examining his sword for a moment, Rigo nodded satisfied and sheathed it while at the same time addressing his new acquisition. "And are you sure you don't have any trouble with your job as a support, Tsukino?" Rigo had to lower his head a bit to address the catwoman.
Tsukino was petite, her body molded to better accommodate her occupation as some sort of cat lady ninja. She was just a couple of centimeters taller than a pallum, and her face wasn't as youthful as the species. Good enough in Rigo's opinion, there were only a handful of 'lolis' he was into.
"If that is the job my Lord requires of me, then I will excel at being a Support," the cat lady ninja had this sort of disposition on her, Rigo wasn't sure if that was an adjustment made by The Company or if she acted this way naturally.
He just looked for options that could work as a Support on the Catalog, and Tsukino was at the very top. He had never consumed anything of the Monster Hunter franchise in his life before being a Contractor, he just knew it existed thanks to some fellows of his and the videogame Marvel vs Capcom: Infinity.
The Credits he got thanks to Europa were a godsend. He was finally able to buy Warranty Plan, plus Life is a Beach, although the last one was more of a guilty pleasure instead of anything useful, to be honest. And of course, Tsukino and a Paper Trail for her.
Having over four hundred Credits left at his disposal made him extremely giddy, it was thanks to years of having a student loan sponging a big part of his income that he didn't spend everything on random junk. He will buy what he needs, only when he needs it.
Putting his sword back at the Grand Mansion, Rigo took a hunting knife instead, and sheathed it on the back of his waist, its weight having turned into a constant in Rigo's life in the short time he had been an adventurer. He was starting to feel odd whenever he went out without it.
"Here," Rigo tossed a moderately filled pouch of valis to Tsukino, who catched it without any issue. "We are going out, to buy you the equipment you need to act as a support," he knew that they could simply store the magic stones back into the Grand Mansion once Tsukino was done carving them out of whatever remained of the monsters, as well as any drop item that they get, but he was trying to upheld an image here.
"Of course, my Lord," Tsukino bowed in submission.
Rigo scratched his head a bit, a bit uncomfortable and, oddly enough, turned on because of the tone of the ninja cat lady.
XXX
"*YAWN*" the morning was going slowly in Welf's opinion.
He had already made his rounds to the retail shops where he sold off his excess, only a few sales. He had opened his own forge in hopes of attracting some customers, nothing too significant at the moment, just a couple of daggers and a whetstone he had laying around.
On days like these Welf had an itch to go into the dungeon, to at least kill some time, and maybe produce some money for himself, but he didn't have a party. One had to be either a rookie or a highly experienced adventurer to attempt going alone into the dungeon.
Welf was slightly more than average with a blade, but he really wasn't made to go exploring just like that.
"Maybe next week I could seek to join someone on their way down, I am running low on some materials," he thought aloud, before something else caught his ear.
"-ight armor for yourself," a male voice commented a bit beyond his line of sight, but thanks to the sound of their steps, Welf determined that the owner of the voice would pass right by his forge.
He grinned slightly.
"If my Lord considers it necessary, it should be done," a serious, female voice responded in kind, more closer than before.
Welf took that as his cue.
"Good morning dear customers!" with an over the top voice, Welf almost kicked down the doors of his forge while presenting himself. "Please, please, you are welcome to pass and see. I am open for commissions of new sets of armor or slight adjustment to already existing equipment."
Welf finally got a look at his would-be-customers. The male was kind of around his own age, slightly tanned skin and black hair, his build suggested that he prefered endurance over speed or brute strength, and the way he carried a knife on his hip said that he was left-handed. He didn't have any armor at the moment, just a plain white shirt, blue pants, and black boots.
The woman on the other hand was on the short end of the stature, her hair, or at least what little of it he could see under her black hood, was pink. Her green eyes catched a lot of attention. She also had a cat tail and ears. A Cat Person. And if he heard them right, the armor would be for her. A welcomed challenge, Animal People needed specially designed armor if they wanted a full set, to accomodate for the extra appendages.
The man, oddly enough, gave Welf a blank stare for a moment, as in trying to process something. It only clicked until now in Welf's mind that he may have come out as if eavesdropping on them.
Fortunately, the man adopted a carefree expression once again. "Sure, why not," he accepted, before signaling to his companion.
Welf let them inside, kind of proud of having cleaned his forge a little before his two new customers arrived. His samples were hanging on the walls, looking both deadly and elegant if he said so himself. He hoped that it looked professional.
"So, what exactly are you looking for, dear customers?" Welf made a show of taking out a small notebook he kept close in case he needed to make some notes. Hephaestus had drilled into his head that the way a smith carried themselves to their customers could either foment or sour the transaction. He just wanted to sell something.
"I am good for the moment, it is my companion that needs some armor," the man made gestures to his diminutive companion.
"What would you be looking for, miss?" Welf asked in what he hoped was a courteous tone.
"Light armor, nothing that covers all my body, just that it can protect the vital areas," the way she spoke, it is as if she already had some experience with this. Good enough for Welf.
Making sure to point some important information down on his notebook, Welf took a measuring tape from the nearest desk and signaled to a stool he had on hand.
"Alright miss, if you could step over the stool and take off your cloak I will take your measurements in no time at all," Welf instructed, keeping his hands to himself at all times. Even without Hephaestus telling him, Welf knew that some women were kind of sensitive.
The woman didn't move for a moment, as if considering something, then she spoke, "I lack clothing underneath my cloak," she revealed.
"..."
"..."
Welf and the man exchanged looks, they were both disturbed at the news. Then the woman spoke.
"Kya…?"
XXX
"Idiot idiot idiot," Rigo felt like banging his head against a wall, at least half-a-dozen times. He only saw Tsukino wearing her cloak, but never looked underneath that, a bad choice on his part considering that Tsukino's bio mentioned that her original form was actually a cat that dressed like a ninja.
Luckily there was a seamstress conveniently close to Welf's forge that Rigo and Tsukino were able to buy a spandex-like catsuit for her, with the underwear, of course, then they returned to Welf's to take Tsukino's measurements. Now they were waiting for Welf to finish his first draft of what he imagined Tsukino's armor would look like.
"And…done!" the redhead smith declared, before passing the duo a sketch.
If Rigo was being honest, it was a great coincidence that they happened to come into Welf's. He never planned to meet him like this, and was a bit worried that he somehow affected Bell's future even more by kind of finding his smith first. But in the end, little things like this shouldn't affect the future of the rabbit too much.
The big things like Ais developing a girl crush on Arturia on the other hand…
"Maybe if I set him up with Hestia," Rigo was mumbling so low that Welf wasn't able to hear him. He feigned looking at the sketch, in the end, it wouldn't be his decision.
"It is acceptable," Tsukino declared for her part, giving the sketch back to Welf.
Welf nodded with a satisfied smile, glad that someone was directly commissioning for him regular armor instead of magic items just for his ancestry.
It was a nice change of pace for the smith.
"If nothing comes up, it should be finished in four days," Welf told them, before passing them some notes. "A deposit needs to be made for me to buy any material I may need, and when you come to pick it up, your bill will be ready. Any questions?" he asked them, working already on his calculations for the armor.
"Everything was pretty clear," Rigo said, before looking at Tsukino who simply nodded at the question. "Then we are good," Rigo passed Welf the accorded amount for the deposit, and after confirming the waiting period, the two were off.
"[Master.]"
Rigo's step faltered a bit at Arturia's impromptu mental message. It was a bit odd for her to communicate with him like this, usually only Artoria or Stia used the mental bond. It must be important.
"What is it, Arturia?" Rigo asked her back in his mind, while his body went through the notions of helping Tsukino look for some throwing daggers for herself.
"[Ais is planning on fighting the Goliath on her own tonight, and she had asked for my presence there]" Arturia was quick to explain the situation.
"And?" Rigo simply asked.
"[I have accepted]" Arturia revealed, before quickly adding. "[The invitation extends to the rest of the Familia, though.]"
Rigo considered his options. He really didn't lose anything not going to witness Ais soloing the Goliath, on the other hand, it sounded like something interesting to do. He really had nothing important to do tonight.
"We are going."
XXX
The time has come.
Ais made sure that her breathing was steady, her hold on her rapier was firm, her stance was set to conserve her energy as much as possible.
"Once it spawns, we have to make sure it stays dead," Riveria repeated what she had told Ais many months ago when the blonde suggested this challenge for herself. "Are you sure you want to continue?" there was pleading in her tone, not wanting the girl to take such a risk by herself.
Ais looked at her Lady, clad in full battle armor in case something unexpected happened, and her own resolve grew twice in her chest. "I am," Ais declared with a tone of finality, before advancing into the chamber.
The chamber that hosted the Golaith was immense, taller than two of the top floors put together, necessary considering the creature that lived here. The crystal wall from which the monster spawned over and over again had a dark figure inside. Ais couldn't see the creature's eyes, but she knew that her every step was being observed by the monster.
"(No seas mamon…)" Rigo, the least experienced of the group, cursed in his native language once he saw the silhouette of the Goliath, a perfectly normal reaction for first-timers.
Once Ais was well on her way to the middle of the chamber, the first cracks on the crystal wall presented themselves.
CRACK
"[Tempest…Aerial," Ais prepared herself in turn, green wind exuding from her body.
CRACK!
"!"
That size, that singular gray skin, that bloodlust that saturated the air itself.
This was the Goliath.
"!"
The creature swung its enormous fist at Ais, the adventurer braced herself, letting the fist come to her, and just when it was about to reach her, she jumped over it and used the monster's own arm to run towards its face.
The Goliath recoiled in fury and surprise, and tried to wiggle her out of its person, but Ais stabbed half of her rapier into the creature's flesh, eliciting a pained cry from the monster and allowing her a better hold.
The creature stood still for a second, time that Ais took advantage of and dashed towards its face.
FIUUU!
SMACK!
"-!"
Ais rolled into the ground, but she stood up almost immediately and looked at her handiwork with a touch of pride.
""
The monster was covering its left eye, a black ooze emanating from the wound.
Ais hissed once she touched her right side, she could feel one of her own ribs almost cracking.
Rather uncharacteristically, Ais smiled at the challenge.
"It is on."
XXX
Watching Ais take on the Goliath solo was akin to witnessing an artist finishing their masterpiece. Rigo was completely transfixed by the blonde swordswoman fighting the colossal monster.
She moved with grace and power, every thrust of her sword and every step she took was calculated. Ais' wind aura helped her slice into the monster's flesh, but the resistance of the Goliath itself made him endure through the pain, and from time to time, being able to backhand Ais against either the walls or the floor of the cavern.
Because of his tendency of transfixing on seemingly insignificant matters from time to time, Rigo was the first to notice that something was wrong when he started to see 'stumps' emerging from the ceiling.
Rigo tapped Riveria on her left shoulder, making the elf woman look at him in curiosity. "Is that supposed to be normal?" he asked, pointing to the ceiling.
Riveria's gaze was like a hawk, she scanned what catched Rigo's attention during the combat, and after analyzing it in detail, widened her eyes in surprise and dread. "No, it is not normal," she declared, preparing her staff. "Ais, something is going on! Monsters are spawning into the chamber!"
Ais didn't answer vocally, the task before her requiring a great amount of her attention, but she gave the barest of nods to seemingly no one.
"We need to prepare ourselves," Arturia ordered to the group as a whole, Excalibur held tightly in her grip.
As one, the entirety of Europa Familia readied themselves for combat. Sita tensed the string of her bow, Artoria's staff started glowing, Irisviel summoned sword Familiars which started floating around them, even the recently added Tsukino had her daggers at the ready.
Rigo's hands were trembling slightly, his sword showing only a sliver of its metal while being kept sheathed. He went through the breathing exercises that Arturia had been teaching him since coming to this world. He was still rather inexperienced for this level of combat, so he wouldn't concentrate on what he couldn't do, just on what he was capable of.
In a moment, the dungeon spilled its monster into the adventurers.
XXX
"DIE!" Bete kicked the head off of a Hellhound, and the moment that both his feet were touching the ground, he ran. "The hell is going on with the Dungeon?!" he asked no one in particular, going through the 16th Floor with his main group killing the unusual number of monsters that were spawning.
"No idea," Finn, the little bastard looking serious for a change. "There is too many of them, as such, we must hurry with Ais and Riveria."
That was the reason as to why they were here. Loki, ever the curious goddess, somehow managed to find out about Ais' idea of challenging the Goliath on her own, with only Riveria accompanying her as a real back up.
It was too late once Loki noticed that both of her children were missing, and in turn, sent his highest ranking members to retrieve them so she can properly give them an earful about it.
At first, the crawl downwards went normal, just a couple of weaklings that they disposed of rather easily. But it wasn't until 10 minutes ago that shit hit the fan in Bete's opinion.
Monsters of all kinds started spawning at a ridiculous pace. Not only that, they seemed to start working together, bent on overwhelming them with sheer numbers. As such, they took to a sprint once they reached the 15th floor. If such high activity was going-on on these floors, the chamber for the Goliath must be all kinds of crazy.
"Here on the left!" Gareth exclaimed at the front of their group. His shield was proving itself the most useful in opening a path for the group.
Bete, Finn, and Tiona were dealing with protecting both their flank and rear guard, while Lefiya was being carried on Tione's back so that they could all go at full speed.
The group turned where the dwarf indicated them, the narrow corridor proving a slight respite for them. Bete swore he saw-
"Get down!" a voice on the other end of the corridor warned them, an object sailing above their lowered heads.
Bete turned slightly, and snickered to himself when he saw that whoever warned them nailed a Ligerfang into its opened maw. The object released some sort of gas, choking the monsters and enveloping the rest of its kin behind it.
Once the group of the Loki Familia finally managed to enter into the chamber that housed the Goliath, Bete saw that they were not the only ones busy.
The chamber was a disaster in itself, the walls and floor cracked in spider web patterns, black ooze from monsters were practically making ponds here and there.
He saw the Goliath, now missing its left arm, trying to stomp over a yellow silhouette, only to let out a frustrated roar when its objective managed to dodge it with surprising speed.
"There is Ais," Bete remarked.
"And there is Riveria," Finn said, signaling with his spear to a cluster of monsters being freezed by their elf ally. "She seems to have company," his tone came out with a bit of relief, glad that his two friends weren't totally alone, then his expression changed to one of mortification. "It is the Europa Familia, they are all Level 1!"
Bete cursed himself, brandishing his knives and going to rescue the weaklings.
"HAAAGHH!"
FUIIIIH!
…ok, not so weaklings, the blonde chick just shredded a Silverback with an airwave from her sword.
Bete stopped on his tracks for a moment, considering them under a better light. If they were so low here in the dungeon, despite being Level 1, they must be pretty though. Plus, they have Riveria right by their side.
"I don't think we need to provide them any back-up," Bete had a shit-eating grin on his face when he talked to Finn.
The diminutive Captain looked conflicted for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders. "They seem to handle it for the moment," he spoke to the rest of the party, before looking with a serious expression at Ais still fighting the Monster Rex. Then he saw that some minor monsters were trying to go after Ais, only to be pelted by an onslaught of magic arrows.
There were still some survivors though…
"This is Ais' battle," the Captain of Loki Familia said in a firm tone of voice. "We will let her deal with the Goliath while we make sure no other monster intervenes."
"YES!" and with that impromptu battle cry, the Loki Familia set to work.
XXX
Ais felt her heart swell when she noticed the rest of her party arrive, and instead of joining to finish off the Goliath quickly, they opted to take care of any stragglers that Europa Familia couldn't.
These were her camarades, they understood her pride as an adventurer, and watched her back just so she could focus on her real objective.
The battle has been arduous, both had managed to get a few good hits into the other, Ais having severed its left arm, while the Goliath managed to nail one of her eyes with the debris of one of its mighty attacks.
Both were half-blind at this point, and despite feeling her own blood into her lungs, never once had Ais considered retreating. She couldn't do it, she wouldn't do it. This was a battle that Ais needed to prove to herself that she could still get stronger.
Being stuck for almost three years at Level 4 had been something that haunted Ais for a while now. If she is able to defeat the Goliath in solo combat, then she would prove to herself that her sacrifices haven't been for nothing.
CUHH
The Goliath's left knee bent ever so slightly, and Ais knew she had an opening.
Funneling her winds to her legs, Ais seemed to blink out of reality as she launched herself forward.
Everything seemed to flow in slow motion for Ais.
Her rapier was pointed forward, its blade aimed directly at the beast's 'heart', where the magic stone resided.
The Monster Rex was backed into the wall, no chance of escaping.
It was almost torture for her to watch her rapier coming closer and closer to the monster.
FUI
The tip of her blade made contact with the monster's chest, black ooze starting to flow out of the wound.
PAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAIN
"AIS!" someone screamed her name, making Ais snap out of it.
Somehow, someway, the Goliath managed to catch her right arm with its remaining good one, stopping her sword dead in its place.
Blood, her blood, was spilling from between the monster's fingers. He had her on a deadly grip.
There was no other choice.
"[Avenger]."
CLANK
SLASH - SPIT
"-!"
PLAGHHHH
splat
The world was confusing spots for Ais at this point.
"Her-!"
"-ble!"
"Hang in there, Ais!
"Iri!"
XxXxX
AN: And, we're finished. Couldn't contain myself there.