Before I begin.

This is it. Before the last maaaaaybe two chapters of 'resolution' and maybe a side story, this is 'it'. Season finale time.

So, get some popcorn, and maybe look up 'Rosier' by Lunar Sea. The first link will do if you look on youtube. You'll know when to play it too, I think, if you've read this far, you probably have a good grasp on how I work. :)

Chapter 63

I ran as quickly as I could without hurting myself on the still slightly rain slick cobblestones. About three streets over, a good distance away from what might be our 'end goal', I pushed the cork down on the second signal flair, and whipped it into the air as hard as I could. Since the 'distraction' team didn't have an occulus, Ryuu, Aisha and Haruhime needed to be signalled on when to cover Bell.

I had to count on two things here. First, that Ais wouldn't ignore them. With her speed, and skill, she probably could. But I knew she had at least a little pride, behind that marble smooth beauty of hers, and if she were challenged, she would accept.

Second, was that she while she was in the top 1% of adventurers, she wasn't a murderer. At least, I was hoping not. Ryuu and Aisha were basically volunteering, and while I knew Ais would beat them, I didn't want them to get hurt.

I shook my head and spoke into the occulus on my wrist. "Last location of Bell?"

"A little east of the tower, starting to clear a path for Lido's group." Takemikazuchi replied.

"I'm sending some eyes there." I thought about the map layout, and what entrances were there. "Any word on Ouka's group."

"Entrance by wall is guarded..." A pause, and I could make out a mumble as the war God spoke to another occulus, "Lilly's hunch was right. There is another entrance on the edge of the artisan quarter."

"Lilly's status?"

Hestia answered this time, "Deception complete. Loki will push west, to cover the Daedalus maze, and the entrances around it, leaving less or no cover..."

I didn't like the sudden silence, and an instant later, I felt a gust of freezing air followed by the crackle of what was probably a lake's worth of ice forming in an instant. "Report!" I said into the stone.

"Welf's team has engaged. They are covering Lido's group from Loki Familia." Takemikazuchi replied, "A dwarf and a mage."

I ran the faces through my head. Tiona and Tione would hopefully still be stuck in the tower. Finn was likely still at the Loki base camp near the Daedalus maze crater, Gareth and Riviera were now fighting Welf, Mikoto and Marius, while Ais was, hopefully, still fighting Aisha. Was that everyone?

"Understood. Tell Bell to guide them towards the red light district. Any word from the other group?"

Just as I said this, I felt a pair of eyes on me. Turning a corner quickly, and willing one of my little foxes into existence, I sent it on its way at a run, closing one of my eyes to help keep the vertigo of seeing from two perspectives at bay. With a quick flick of my arms, I hid under the invisibility cloth and went still.

"Was that her?" I heard. "They said over the occulus she was near here, yes?"

"Yes! The smoke came from near here too." Two different voices, both women, and very clear, almost like music. My ears picked up a quiet 'tick tick' noise as footsteps approached the place I had hidden myself.

"I think she is close? She has an interesting smell. Fur and iron."

"I'm here." I said quietly, knowing who they were now. Then into the occulus, I said, "Met the Harpy and Siren."

"Understood."

In the distance, the sound of shattering ice and a whirlwind filled with debris echoed along the walls of the alleyway. The two monster girls quickened their pace, and I pulled the cloth off. "What happened?" I asked, "Where are the rest of your group?"

In the half moon light, the two of them were very pretty. Still without a great many feathers, they had cleaned up a little at least, and while unflattering, had wrapped a couple of bits of cloth around themselves for the barest of modesty, and were smiling as I revealed myself. "We nearly crossed paths with a strong adventurer... Silver grey, smelled angry..."

Silver grey... My golden tail swatted me before I could swear, but I did it anyway, "Fuck, Bete! I knew I was forgetting someone. This tall, walks with his hands in his pockets, short tail?" I made the appropriate hand motions for sizes, and they both nodded. "Damn, yes, that's him."

"We had crossed a street, but before the others could, he arrived. We know where they might be..." The green one said, ruffling.

"Sort of." The gold feathered girl grumbled, "They are the youngest, and unable to talk."

"Okay, we'll get them too." I promised, "Base." I said into the occulus, "Any sightings of the smaller ones?"

A moment passed, then, "No, no team has seen any of the missing Xenos." Takemikazuchi said.

"I am going to help find them. Keep me informed."

"Understood."

Kneeling down, I handed the cloth to the gold feathered one, "My name is Kodori." I introduced myself, "Get on my back, the both of you, and hold that over us."

"Fear." The green feathered Harpy said.

"Ray." The golden Siren replied.

"I owe you for healing me, when I got lost. But, later." It was a little awkward, but with my five tails being long enough to curl around them as they clung to my back and shoulders, I managed to get them balanced on my back. They both held the invisibility cloth, and once it had settled, I said, "Just whisper into my ears."

"Left." They both said at once, close enough to my ears I could feel their breath on them.

Obediently turning, I realized we were close to the Hestia Familia's first home. "If we go much further we risk getting found." I whispered back, my tails tightening around them just a little more to keep my centre of balance steady.

"It shouldn't be much further... I can smell one of them." Fear said, "And your tails are getting a little too friendly."

"I don't mind." Ray said, "You just got used to wearing those pants."

"Focus ladies." I said stopping to look around a corner. "Oh... Is that..."

"Humans?" they asked, looking around the corner with me, "Oh! See see?" Ray pointed, almost letting go of the cloth, "That little hell hound."

It looked like a run down house. Two floors, adobe style, with one boarded up window and three empty ones. In the small courtyard, were two children, a boy and girl, who were very carefully approaching a small hell hound. The monster was looking at the two, its thin tail whipping back and forth happily.

"Careful! It's still a monster." I heard a familiar voice, and stepped out from around the corner, my two travellers squawking as my tails slipped around them and deposited them on the ground gently.

"Daphne?" I called out, a third figure stepping out of the gloom of the doorway and into the moonlight, "It is you."

"Kodori? And... You know, I'm just going to go back inside and lay down until things make sense." Usually calm and collected, she probably wasn't taking the 'some monsters aren't monsters' thing too well. "Cassandra? You go talk to her. I'll keep watch over the rest of the kids."

There was a pause, the hell hound and kids looking up at me. "Ohhh it's the Fox lady." One of them said as the little hound hopped over to me, nosed my hand, then went to the two bird ladies and circled them excitedly. "We found those two adults, with some little monsters..."

"Kodori?" It wasn't Cassandra, though she stepped out of the house too, but Syr. "What are you doing here? Oh! More of them." She looked to the two girls behind me and the still quietly frolicking hound. "It seems..." She looked to the two kids, "You owe someone an apology."

The two kids looked suitably shamed, though I had no idea why, "I'm trying to get them back into the dungeon. And those two..."

"Fear."

"Ray."

"Guided me here to pick them up." I looked to Cassandra, "And I owe you something, for helping me."

Still very shy, the slender girl tried to hide behind Syr, "It was just another dream I had... Like picking up these ones." She looked to the hell hound, who was sitting next to me now, though it was eyeing my tails with that 'look' most young hunting animals have. "I think... no... he is supposed to stay..."

"Oh?" I looked to Syr, then to the kids, then to the hound, "I'm sure I could make it happen, if I talked to Ganesha."

Syr's eyes went wide, "Just like that? But..." She stopped, "No, if they are like Bell says, then I'm sure it would be fine."

Something clicked in my head. That must have been part of why Bell was so down. The kids must have given him a hard time when they found out what he did. "What do you think?" I asked the hound, who pulled his attention away from my tails to nod at me. "Girls?" I looked to the harpy and siren.

"I'm sure your mother would understand." Ray said, kneeling and ruffling the hound's ears, "Maybe it's part of the bridge we need?"

"What sort of bridge needs a doggy?" One of the kids asked, kneeling down as well and joining the siren in scruffling the hound's ears.

"Any others?" I asked, "We have to get moving, or things are going to get more difficult."

"There's a needle rabbit and a hard armoured." Cassandra said, "I don't know about them... I don't think it's time for them yet?"

"The children like them though... Maybe some day?" Syr said, "I'll go get them."

While Syr went back inside, I held the occulus to my mouth, "Reporting. Found the strays."

"Good. Ouka's team is closing in on you, and will take them to an open entrance." Takemikazuchi said.

"Anything to report?"

A pause, then Hestia replied, "Yes." She sounded a little panicked, "Welf's team has delayed the two from Loki, though are mostly unable to do more. Lido's group is getting closer to the sewer exit, but Bell has spotted Ais again."

I paused a moment before replying, "I'm heading that way now." I looked at Cassandra, Syr and the two feathered girls, "Ouka is coming to guide the ones going back to the dungeon. He'll have Asuka and Chigusa with him." I closed my eyes and focused on the little fox I had sent in the direction of Welf's team. I'd only been sort of paying attention to it, and it had gotten a little off target. "Syr, know a place with a bakery... old wood sign, brass around the edges?"

"Oh, yes, that's a little north of the Hostess." She replied, "Um... why?"

"Show you later. I have to catch up to Bell." I told my little messenger to start running southeast, towards the red light district. It wasn't too far off, but it would still be a little trip. I myself opened an eye, and gave everyone a wave, "Keep the cloth. Keep hidden and just follow my friends when they get here."

"Okay. Come visit some time?" Ray said, "Fear will miss you."

"Will not!"

"Sure sure."

"Soon, I hope." I replied, smiling, then looking up and jumping to the rooftops.

As I ran along the rooftops, I tried to keep the peaks of houses between me and any sign of combat, like say, that twenty meter tall iceberg that had sprouted up near one corner of the Daedalus maze. It wasn't long before my little fox had met up with Lido's group. They were keeping to the shadows as best they could, but when you have a huge lizard man, a truck sized gargoyle, and a car sized hell hound in the group...

"Yip." My fox said, before I could take proper control of it, "Lido, down here."

Not pausing in their quick trot, the lizard man scooped a hand down towards the little fox, "Oh, Miss Hestia said you'd be here... Thought you'd be bigger."

"Well, you can make jokes like anyone under the sun." I said dryly, "You're almost there. Bell is trying to keep the Loki Ace away but..."

"Bell is in danger?" I heard Wiene ask. She was running next to the gargoyle, so I hadn't spotted her right away.

"Yes. But if he can get Ais away from the entrance, you'll all be fine. We can deal with it from there."

My real body paused on a low rooftop, and I brought the occulus to my mouth, "Tell Bell... They are close. It's time."

Hestia was about to say something, but there was a ruffling noise then Takemikazuchi said, "Understood."

"He's really going to fight her alone?" Lido asked.

"My real body is going to meet you in a moment, then once you are underground, I'll join him. He doesn't have to win, just buy time."

The little fox rode on Lido's shoulder until I cut its magic off, and jumped off the roof they were passing under. "Base, how much further."

"Two streets east, then it's almost straight south." Takemikazuchi said.

"Understood."

As a group, we headed in that direction, trying to keep our steps light. I kind of wished I'd kept the invisibility cloth, but there was no point in worrying about that now. Within moments, we were within sight of the street leading to the sewer entrance. We had come at it from a different direction than I did at first, but I spotted the mouth of the alleyway the black minotaur had talked to me.

I looked back over the group, and instantly noticed something.

"Where did Wiene go?" I asked, quickly looking around, the others doing the same.

"I dunno?" Lido said, while the gargoyle, for all it's mean and menacing look, was comically looking under its wings for her. "You don't think..."

"She went after Bell... Damnit..." I sighed, bringing the Occulus to my mouth.

"His occulus has stopped working!" Hestia said in a panic before I could speak. "I can't contact him!"

"Is his mark still on the map?" I asked quickly.

"Yes. It's moving quickly..." A pause, as I heard more fabric rustling through the stone.

"A fighting retreat." Takemikazuchi said. "Quickly, the way is clear, is it not?"

"Understood." I looked to the rest of them. "Go, now, run!"

"We'll pay you back some day." Lido said, the huge hell hound grunting in what sounded like agreement.

"Just don't die first." Gros, the gargoyle said, picking up speed as he started running.

"Oh? Where do you think you're going?"

The three of them started to slow down, while I looked down the street towards the new voice. "Keep going." I said without looking towards the Xenos, knowing that if I did, it would be over. "Don't look back."

"Really? Think you can even slow me down?" It was Bete. Silver hair almost glowing in the moonlight, arrogant face grinning ear to ear, "Once a serving wench, always a serving wench, I think."

Hands still in his pockets, his shin and forearm guards gleaming dully in the light, he took a step forward. Without answering, I reached into my kimono top once more, pulling out a third signal vial. "I've crossed a two level gap before, and if I have to, I'll do it again." I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.

"Pfft, I'm not so sure you even did that. Even if that thing was an ugly, arrogant, failure of a whore, Phryne was pretty strong." Bete said, his eyes never leaving mine. "But if you think you can entertain me, sure, I'll play. But once I'm done with you, I'm going to hunt those freaks down."

Taking a deep breath, mostly to centre myself and push away the chill I was feeling from Bete's bloodthirsty eyes, I pushed the cork in the bottle down, then tossed it straight up. As it reached its apex and exploded in a burst of golden smoke, I fell into a fighting stance and let out my breath, "Bring it."

Taking a page out of Bell's book, I launched myself forward, making ready to punch that stupid grin of Bete's face. With ease, and a chuckle, he faded to the side, then again as I stopped on a dime and tried to kick him. Each attack I threw out was dodged with ease, the arrogant wolf boy not even taking his hands out of his pockets.

"Really? Is this it?" He mocked, dodging again as I tried to punch him in the ribs, "You really do have a plain fighting style." He hopped over a sweeping kick, then threw his first attack, bringing his back leg up and over in a massive axe kick.

As fast as it was, I was just able to dodge, the ground I was just on turning into a crater as his heel smashed into the cobblestones. Even though I could feel the shock of the attack through my feet, I kept attacking, drawing in more air, not wasting my breath on useless banter. I was almost as far as my magic could take me without using my spells, or letting my rage take over.

"Close." He moved his chin away at the last instant, "Not bad." He dodged a second punch. "Are you getting faster? Is that what your magic does?" He chuckled, "Still not seeing how you could have won." He kicked at me again.

This time however, I couldn't dodge. As I was sent sideways into the alley wall, I felt my ribs groan, but it was nothing I couldn't keep under control. With a grin, I pulled myself out of the wall, the masonry showering dust around me, and held up my fist. "I will not bend." I started, opening my fist and letting a scrap of cloth fall to the ground. "I will not break."

Bete looked down at his pant leg, where a literal hand shaped patch was missing from the calf of his pants. "Seriously?" He growled.

"I will become a wall, for the home my Goddess has granted me." Those words, I said with my new knowledge of divine script. Speaking as a Goddess would.

Still growling, he went on the offensive, trying for a long roundhouse towards my face. Ducking left, then right as he tried another kick, I slapped a hand across his shin guard, my unbreakable grip and his insane strength too much for the two straps holding the armour in place. His next kick caught me in the middle again, but as I pulled myself out of the wall again, I held his other shin guard up for him to see, letting out a long breath, "You want to know how I beat Phryne?" I tossed the guard to the ground, the heavy metal dinging off the cobblestones and turning to dust, "A piece at a time."

"Forget about them..." Bete growled, his back and shoulders seeming to grow slightly, his eyes meeting mine and widening, "No fox will ever beat a wolf!"

"Her voice through the halls." I said, feeling my back warm up, while I switched my stance to that of 'sticky palm', evading Bete's first flurry of punches, "Her command soft." I could feel the fur on my tails prickle as I demanded more magic from my core, "Yet absolute!"

"Shut... UP!" He shouted, grabbing my wrist and punching me in the gut once, twice, then a third time.

It felt like I'd just broken my hand. But I'd stopped his third strike, and through bloody lips I finished my newest spell, "And I obey with unfailing swiftness."

I let his hand go, and started my own assault. Feeling like I'd set myself on fire, my arms started to move with almost invisible swiftness. Blocking and attacking in the same motion, I actually started to push him back, each punch sounding like a gunshot as it slammed into him.

I couldn't keep it up long however, and at that speed, my own mind wasn't fast enough to keep my form proper. And with a bloody scream, Bete yelled "ENOUGH!" and caught my wrist again, picking me up by my arm and throwing me through the corner of the house at the end of the alleyway towards the sewer entrance. "Forget playing nice! I'm going to rip your arms off!"

It was a struggle to get my feet under me. And before I could get a hand to my healing potions, he had kicked me again in the side, sending me sprawling. I laughed though, through bloody lips of my own, "Heh... haha..."

"What's so funny?" He asked, his shadow falling over me, his body glowing with its own almost moonlight colour.

As I felt the warm energy creep in from outside my body, I asked, "Have you met my girlfriend?"

Strength flooding into me as my own magic embraced Haruhime's. I exploded to my feet, hitting Bete under the chin with a doubled fist. Knocked backward, he swore and charged again, our hands and feet striking and blocking rapidly. I could feel the ghostly tails as they grew from my rear, Haruhime supplying me with a sixth, then a seventh, and then almost reluctantly, an eighth.

Muscles burning with exertion, I was able to finally put a hand over Bete's right bracer, and with my own right arm, planted the point of my elbow into his solar plexus.

Coughing, he stumbled backwards, his eyes, full of anger, meeting mine as I tossed his armour aside and took a step forward. He too, went through a further change, his entire body seeming to thicken, short silver hair growing over all of the bare skin I could see. Not willing to lose the momentum I had gathered, I took a second step and started my assault anew. For all the world he looked like he was turning into an actual wolf man, but even with his increased strength, I was just able to keep up.

Until I started to feel my own magic reserves start to fade.

"Got... You... Now..." He growled as I started to slow down. "Won't let... you... rest..."

"I don't need to." I replied my arms meeting his, both my hands needed to block his punch, my feet sunk into the cobblestone. But with one of my tails, I flicked it under my kimono, latched into a potion, and flicked it behind me. "You fight alone, because you see others weaker than you, a waste of effort."

Behind me, I heard Haruhime open the potion I'd thrown at her.

"What?!" Bete exclaimed as I started to push him back, my body flooding with fresh magic as my love drank the mind potion, "There is no way you can be stronger!"

"Alone? No." I growled, taking one deep breath and pulling as much magic as I could into my core, an electric tingle flicking through my tails and up my spine. I gave one last little push, then backed up quickly, the move throwing Bete off balance. Before he could recover, I started attacking again, right fist to chin, left palm to chest, right front knuckle to solar plexus, left hand grabbing his belt, right hand grabbing the bristly hair of his chest. "Now if you would please keep your hands OFF THE WAITRESSES!"

And that was how I beat Chloe's record for the Chloe Javelin, as I turned and tossed Bete in the opposite direction of the sewer entrance, easily clearing a small row of three story houses.

Falling to my knees as I watched him fly out of sight, I reached with suddenly numb hands towards the potions inside my kimono. "Ha-chan?"

Her arms were around me in an instant, and her hand helped mine find the potion I was looking for. "You did it!"

"We did it." I corrected, leaning my cheek against hers, our hands, together, opening the healing potion and getting it into my mouth. "We did it. Lido's group is safe." I felt the potion work its magic, my ribs and most of my pain fading, though my muscles felt like jello. "Help me up... Need to get my legs back..."

"Here..." She helped me to my feet, and I leaned on her while we got back into the shadows, "And..." She pulled something from under her goliath hide robe and covered the two of us, the weight of the magical cloth feeling like a lead sheet. I offered her my wrist, then saw that the occulus was gone. "Oh dear..."

"Have to get home then." I gave her a hug, then blinked, "hold on..."

As usual, my tails joined in when I leaned on her for a hug, but something felt a little off.

"One two three four five... six?" I counted, "Huh." I blinked at the newest black appendage as it detached from Haruhime and swayed lightly against my face.

"Well, you have had a busy day." Haruhime giggled, helping me stand again, "Should I carry you? Or are you able to run?"

"My hero." I said with a smile. "Just a moment..." Taking a deep breath, and trying to fan a little more magic out of the little ember I had left, I did a couple of deep knee bends and stood tall again. "Lets hurry."

I nearly had a heart attack when I saw Ais walking away from the Hearthstone manor. Skidding to a halt, and nearly falling on my rear, and dragging Haruhime down with me, the sword princess looked at us both, stopped, then walked towards us again.

"I'm going home." She said flatly, her eyes troubled.

She walked past us, the scent of her shampoo, of all things, reminding me of summer, and snapping me out of my shock. Haruhime and I looked at her back, then to each other, and continued our run towards home, stopping at the ruin of the front gate, and Bell, who was holding Wiene in his arms, an ornate bottle in one hand.

"Bell? What happened?" I asked, skidding to a halt and kneeling opposite him, "Is she..." I looked just past the twisted pile of metal bars and broken marble, and spotted a single large dragon wing, and four long, sharp glittering red fingernails.

"She saved me." He offered the potion to me, and I popped the little glass stopper off, "Just like we trained, I did a fighting retreat, keeping Wiene behind me, all the way home." He looked it too, his armour deeply scratched, his body covered in blood, though his wounds were healed from what I saw, "I pushed her past the gate. But Ais... She was going to break through anyhow."

I saw that Wiene was bleeding badly, a small puddle of pink blood was forming under her. Without delay, I pried open her mouth and poured the potion down her throat. The effect was nearly instant, and with a pulsing glow, her body, cut, battered, with one arm partially mangled as if broken, fingers broken as if bent backwards... All healed in an instant, though she remained asleep, the blood loss the only thing a potion couldn't fix.

"But then... Wiene changed, she grew a wing, and claws, and broke through the gate, stopping Ais..." Bell hugged the dragon girl, "She still didn't fight... But ripped off her own wing, and broke her own claws, throwing them at Ais's feet..." He hugged her a little tighter.

Reaching out, I put a hand on his shoulder, "We didn't have to win, just change her mind. That's how the Xenos will become accepted up here in the sunlight." Bell didn't look up, but he nodded, "Let's get her inside." I stood up and picked up part of the ruined gate, clearing the path a bit, "So much for property damage..."

"Bell! Kodori! Haruhime!" Hestia called from the main door, a glowing occulus stone in her hand, "We have a problem!"

I sighed, straightening up and quick stepping myself towards Hestia, "Problem? But everyone is accounted for, right?" I looked to Bell, then Haruhime, who both nodded.

"Welf's team. They are by the fountain fighting Gros!" Hestia said, "Welf said he just landed in the square and started to attack. Ganesha has him contained, but..."

I wanted to swear, but my own tails might have knocked me out. Instead, I replied, "Okay... Let's find out why. But first, I'm going to the workshop for what ever potions we have left."

"Let me update your status." Hestia said, "Hurry back Kodori."

I could feel the potions I'd drank threaten to turn my stomach sour, but thankfully, I had a potion for that too. Grabbing what little remained of our potion supply, I picked up one last thing, wishing I didn't have to resort to it. Running back, and putting a couple of the potions inside my kimono I saw Bell just starting to stand up, Hestia looking at a bit of paper in shock.

"Another crazy update?" I asked, peeking at the paper. Now able to sort of read the Divine Script, my jaw dropped, "Okay, yes, you've had a busy night..." Strength 1001, endurance 1100, dexterity 989, agility 1291...

Bell looked at the paper, his own jaw dropping. I took that instant to toss in an 'instant coffee' pill. Reflexively, he swallowed it, but then made the most revolted face ever, his entire body shivering. "Urg, that is the most terrible thing ever..."

I put one into my own mouth and tried my best to swallow it without it hitting my tongue at all, making the same face and shaking all over as the pill took effect, waking me up in an instant. "I wish I could add something sweet to it, but it stops working if I do."

"Here, kneel down." Hestia said, "No peeking Bell!"

Obediently, I knelt and shifted the kimono top so it fell off my shoulders. I reached back and pulled up the sports bra. "Oh, Ha-chan? Distract Bell with these." I offered her the other two potions I had left, feeling the tingle of Hestia's blood on my back. "Brr..."

"You did it too..." Hestia said, "What did you even do?"

"Ha-chan and I beat Bete." I said with a grin, "I also beat Chloe's record for the Chloe Javelin."

There was a ruffle of paper and I accepted the sheet, looking at the stats, then folding it up and putting it in a pocket. "I'll update you too, Haruhime."

"Follow when you can, love." I said, quickly kissing her forehead and looking to Bell, making sure my top was back in place. "Ready?"

"Yes."

Bell and I played rooftop parkour as fast as we could on the way to the fountain on the main street. Half way there, we could hear the roars of Gros, and the shouts and screams of people and adventurers alike. When we touched down near the edge of the wide open area around the fountain, people weren't exactly happy to see us.

Catcalls of 'It's the greedy rookie', or 'It's the monster fox'. Bell and I didn't care though. We were already assessing the situation.

To put it simply, Gros was wrecking the place like he had become a normal monster. Just like it was down on the eighteenth when the sleepy little town was destroyed, his eyes were red, his motions were simple and violent. No real thought. He just looked at someone getting too close, and swatted them away with a massive clawed hand or his lashing tail.

"This is terrible..." Bell said, "How do we deal with this?"

"Let's go ask." I said, thumping my fist into my palm, "Calm him down first, but don't hold back."

And it was on. The two of us charged, with me yelling at people to get out of the way. Both of us jumping over the ring of Ganesha Familia guards, we dashed towards Gros fists raised and daggers drawn.

Then another bellow rattled the air. I almost stumbled as I got within Gros's range, his tail winding up to lash out towards me. People really started panicking then.

"Black minotaur!" Some one screamed.

"KODORIIIIIIIII!" From the edge of the circle, a black armoured comet jumped the twenty meters from the edge of the circle, to land between me and the tail I wouldn't have been able to dodge.

With a great metallic 'WHANG' the tail bounced off a tower shield, the big shoulders of Marius facing me as I recovered my posture, crossing my arms and blocking Gros as he swept a claw at me. "Bell! Minotaur is yours! It's hurt bad! Get it away from here! Away from these people!"

Bell, both hands holding open Gros's mouth to keep it from biting his face off, pushed back with all his might and broke away, "Okay!" He shouted back.

"I have your back! There is something in his shoulder!" Marius said to me, swinging his shield around and smashing away another claw.

"Don't die!" I yelled back, quickly looking over Gros as I ducked under a nasty bite that seemed to displace the air around his mouth.

Each time Gros attacked, I ducked under, or evaded, letting Marius swat away the strikes, banging his fist against his tower shield to get Gros's attention. Slowly, I was dodging less, as the veteran soldier drew aggro. What ever it was that was stuck in the gargoyle's shoulder must have been painful, because every time I got close to seeing exactly what it was, he would try and turn his body away. But with a well timed two handed bash with the drake scale shield, Gros finally stopped paying attention to me.

A red thorn? There, high up on his front shoulder, was a spike of red. Covered in black lines, it glowed with an almost fire like aura. Ducking under a wing, then a return tail sweep that Marius had deflected, I put a hand on Gros's supporting arm, so I could brace and leap up to try and grab that weird thorn.

Only to get Gros's full attention again. The gargoyle backed up a step, wings opening, but before he could sweep them at me, Marius once again got in the way.

Hiding in his shadow, the big man grunting as he ducked behind the shield himself, both wings managed to slam him on either side, making him go down to one knee. "This isn't working." He groaned, struggling to stand.

I reached into my kimono top and popped the cork on one of the healing potions. "Drink." I almost fed him the bottle in my haste, letting go just in time to stop Gros from biting the shield and possibly his arm. "Plan B. Beat him up until he slows down." Unbreakable grip and a lot of effort was keeping the gargoyle's mouth open, but I heard the groaning of Marius's armour as he stood up again and drew his sword.

And behind us and all around, the crowd started to cheer for us.

I knew it was simply the population watching the two of us 'do something' about the problem. But still, the support felt pretty good.

Together, Marius and I alternated between defence and attack. He would brace his shield and deflect Gros's lashing tail, and I would pop up and slam a fist into the gargoyle's chin. I stepped forward, grabbing hold of his claw before he could get any real momentum behind it, then Marius tried to cut into the literal rock hard skin.

And it was working. Slowly, we were pushing Gros back towards the wrecked fountain, the water still sputtering from the pipes.

"Idea!" Marius shouted, slamming his sword back into its sheath and bracing for another claw swipe.

"Okay!" I replied, chipping a bit of stone off Gros's ankle, feeling my own fist twinge in pain at just how hard I had to hit him to even accomplish that.

"Water pipe! Eyes!" Marius shouted back as I blocked Gros's tail with my two forearms, feeling my shoulders threatening to pop out of their sockets.

"Boost!" I called back, Marius taking the time to throw a broken brick at the gargoyle's face, making it flinch just long enough for him to lift his shield over his head, and give me a level platform to jump over the berserk monster. Landing solidly on the shield, I sprung off just as I saw Gros try and bite me out of the air. Losing a bit of fabric from the dressy battle kimono's skirt, I still managed to splash down right in the middle of the fountain. Blinking my eyes clear and using my tails to latch onto things so the slick stone under my feet wouldn't trip me, I took one look at the pipe and went to work. "This way!" I called over to Marius.

Banging his shield and throwing more bits of broken masonry, the big soldier egged Gros into turning towards me. While he was doing so, I used my strength to bend and squeeze the pipe, increasing the modest water pressure, like squeezing the end of a garden hose.

It only needed to work for a moment, and it did, spraying right into the rampaging monster's eyes and mouth, making him raise a claw reflexively to block the torrent.

At the same time I jumped again, aiming to land on Gros's back, Marius took his shield in both hands, and slammed it down on the gargoyle's face.

I landed just as the overhanded shield bash slammed Gros's chin to the ground. Quickly, I sat astride the long neck, gripping tightly with my legs while I reached over for the red spike still jutting out from the monster's shoulder.

However, me mounting the beast made him redouble his efforts. Roaring, trying to reach awkwardly up to grab me, lashing his tail madly and swinging his wings wildly.

"Back!" I shouted, using a combination of my tails, one hand, and my legs to flop and roll over Gros's back so I didn't get thrown off, slammed with a tail, or slashed with the sharp wing claws of his bat like wings. Finally, I got a hand around the little spike, the object itself seeming to claw at my own mind madly. "Now let's calm you down..." I grunted, holding on with my legs around his upper arm as I brought the other hand around and pulled back with all my strength.

Gros roared like a wounded animal, the metal spike coming out a centimetre at a time. But even as the drake scales of my arm got clawed by Gros's hind foot, and his long neck tried to bite my other arm off, I yanked the spike out of his shoulder, dodged a second bite, then with my tails, all six of them, I latched onto his face, detached from his arm, and sat myself firmly on his beak.

And started punching his forehead, really hard.

I didn't know anything about gargoyle anatomy, but as my tails kept his mouth closed, and my own shifting weight kept him from clawing me off his face, I hoped I could rattle what ever he had in his head hard enough to stagger him. About the time I broke my pinky finger from a bad punch, I saw his glowing red eyes flicker back to something that looked like obsidian, before he groaned and crashed over onto his side.

Barely able to scramble off his face before getting crushed under him, I got to my feet, raised my guard, and did a slow count to five. Nothing.

So I looked over my shoulder slightly, and called out. "Ganesha! Rope!" Hoping they were as well disciplined as they acted, despite Ganesha himself...

A moment later, to the cheers of the people, a half dozen Ganesha soldiers ran up to me. I even noticed that same guy who helped me with the hard armoured, so long ago. He started barking orders, and after a moment, rope, then more rope, was brought, and soon, just as Gros was starting to stir again, the gargoyle was tied up tightly. Marius and I had helped, as well as Mikoto and Welf who had joined in a moment after I'd called for the Ganesha Familia.

All of us, in on the 'secret', were pointedly ignoring the citizens of the city, who were starting to chant 'kill kill'.

"You've come so far since the monster festival." The guard said, grinning as we shook hands. "Just as rough on your clothing however."

My poor 'dress armour' was tattered, my body under it feeling much the same. Marius's armour was going to need replacing too. Many of the rivets had popped, leaving bits of his chest plate and pauldrons threatening to come off. The poor shield too, was a wreck. Dented and with most of the drake scale coming off, it was pretty much a lost cause.

I looked the man in the eye, and asked, "What's a small version of those cages cost?"

Welf and Mikoto looked at me as if I'd grown a second head, while Marius laughed. Then they looked at HIM like he'd grown a second head.

"What?" I asked with a grin, catching something out of the corner of my eye, making me look towards a nearby rooftop. "After a certain..." I paused, looked for, and found the still glowing red spike of metal, "Person let a few ruffians into our home..." Gros was blinking groggily, but we made eye contact, "Shakti always said I had a knack for taming."

"We can... ask. I suppose?" The Ganesha man said, rubbing the back of his head, "But you might want to address the crowd..."

Just as I was about to hop up onto Gros, and declare victory, something exploded. Feeling the rumble through my feet, I looked towards the Tower of Babel.

"Shit! Bell!" I started running, "Welf, call home! Marius stay here, Mikoto with me!"

In the distance, I could see a massive dust cloud billowing out through the wrecked front doors of the tower entrance. Along the path was even worse. Wrecked cobblestone, smashed buildings, the remains of Bell's red minotaur horn dagger, and most of a very large sword blade. To my sensitive eyes, I could see blood too. Black and red alike.

"Kodori..." Mikoto started, "What did you see on that rooftop?"

"Hermes and Asfi." I said with a grimace. "I will talk with them later. Bell first."

"Agreed."

The dust had settled by the time we finished our dash down the wrecked street. Even as we got to the tower, I could see people, actual citizens, peeking out from windows, concern on their faces. Not panic. But actual concern. My ears could pick up the odd voice too.

"Is he okay?"

"Did he kill it?"

"Maybe it ran back into the dungeon?"

Mikoto and I cleared the main doors, and nearly fell into what looked like a giant pit. What ever had happened, it looked like nearly the entire floor, from the entrance to just before the elevators in the back, had been smashed down by some giant sledge hammer. A small part of me cringed, considering the floor had what looked like a life time's work engraved into it.

"Kodori?! Down here!"

"Eina?" I called back, looking for a good place to land, seeing part of the first floor of the dungeon slowly absorbing what looked like the job notice board. "What are you doing here?"

"There." Mikoto pointed, then jumped, landing on a broken bit of pillar, then hopping again towards the centre of the pit, where I could see Eina, her guild uniform tattered, and Bell, head resting in her lap.

Following, I landed next to the three of them, Mikoto already reaching for her potion belt. Bell was awake, his body covered in dirt, blood, bits of metal and a few shreds of cloth and armour. "He let me live." He mumbled, slowly bringing up a bloody and battered arm up to his face. "He..." Bell started to sob, "Best two out of three, he said."

And that was how our night to save the Xenos ended. Bitter victory, won through blood, ended with tears.

The light was just breaking over the wall when I was finally able to get home. I managed, if only just, to remember to take my shoes off at the door. But I had so many little questions going through my head that it was a near thing.

"Where was Fels?" I asked no one in particular.

"Actually." I found myself looking down at Hestia, as I clung to the ceiling, "Wow..." She said, looking back up at me, holding an occulus in one hand, and what looked like a wet towel in the other. "Those hand prints are going to be hard to clean... And he wants to talk to you."

Touching down again, I accepted the towel first, scrubbing it over my face and hands. Folding the now dirty towel up so Hestia wouldn't get her hands dirty, I traded for the occulus. "Fels?"

"Yes, finally, we can talk." He sounded the same, save that the sand over tile voice managed to convey 'irritated'. "I've only managed to get some reports from Lido and Lady Hestia, but..."

"Where the hell were you?" I asked bluntly, "Lido didn't mention you vanishing, the second group didn't mention you. And while my Familia, and Takemikazuchi Familia, were trying not to, well, die, we couldn't get a hold of you." I realized I was venting my frayed nerves at the man, so I took a deep breath, "Sorry."

"No, you've every right to be angry." He replied, "I was waylaid by Hermes and his aide Asfi. They've only just recently let me go. They are also responsible for.."

"Gros, I know." I grumbled, wishing my tails were clean enough to hug Hestia, as it was, She had taken hold of one of them, and was keeping me from pacing too far, as usual. "I saw them up on a rooftop after Ganesha Familia helped me tie him up."

"You really plan on keep him up here then?" He asked.

"It was that, or let the crowd take him apart with pick axes." I replied, "And I'm sure you've seen what's left of the first floor of Babel?"

"Lord Ouranos will close the dungeon until repairs are done. A couple of weeks I think." Fels replied, "Is everyone else okay?"

"Bumps and scrapes, a few bruised egos. A lot of repairs and potion making to do."

"If you need money, the magic items you used are yours to do with as you will." Fels replied, "The least I can do for your help in getting them back into the dungeon."

"Oh, I'm sure we can talk more about what you can do." I sighed, "But, later. I need a bath, and a month of sleep. Though I suspect I'm only going to get a couple of hours."

"I will keep my occulus handy." He replied, "Give my regards to everyone who isn't there to hear them now."

"Sure." I replied, putting the little glowing sphere on the nearest flat surface. "Lady Hestia?"

"Yes?" She asked as I knelt in front of Her.

"Can I have a hug?"

"After you have a bath." She replied, then squeaked as I stood, picking her up at the same time. "Put me down!"

"If I take you to the bath, I get my hug sooner." I replied.

Notes!

THERE! Main story, done.

At least, that's book 11. I'm not done, but the books (north american released as of August 2018) are.

Look forward to a little cleaning up. A conclusion to a side quest that has been going on for many chapters. A pool episode, a fishing episode, and maybe a trip out of town (or two).

I think, maybe, if I am planning this all right. I'll be done almost at the same time I started. One full year of this fanfic.

Crazy, isn't it?

See you all soon.