Chapter 126

It was sheer coincidence that Bell happened to be closest to the door this morning, when the hammering against the wood started. Perhaps it was a fortunate thing, as Solaris let out a growl that no human being should make. Hestia laughed nervously, while trying to speed up the coffee making. Haruhime carefully rubbed her captain's back as they sat at the breakfast table, and Kojiro looked up, in the process of cleaning his blade. He swiftly made his way to the entrance and opened it, leaning back when a fist almost smashed into his face. He blinked, at the sight of who was knocking this early in the morning.

"Lefiya?"

The elf breathed heavily, her hair a mess. Sweat glistened on her fair skin thanks to the morning sun, as she ran a hand over her head, while at the same time pointing at him and his blushing face.

"BELL CRANEL!" He flinched at her volume, but stood straighter in attention. She smirked victoriously before taking another deep breath."I'M COMING!"

Only the morning crows of nearby hen filled the air in the street. Slowly, the inhabitants of the Stardust Garden leaned out, to look at Lefiya from the hallway, tipping chairs, stretching their bodes forward, and the like, eyebrows raised all at the same time. Even the neighbor grandma opened her windows, to stare at whoever said that. The elf seemed completely unaware of what she was saying, her smirk only faltering when Bell's face was bright red, causing her to raise an eyebrow. Solaris cleared her throat before twirling a tired hand at Lefiya, eyes half lidded and filled with 'screw this' energy.

"...You wanna add something to that or just leave it like that?"

Lefiya blinked…before exploding in red color herself, properly processing what she was saying. She stammered, her finger shaking, before she cleared her throat and aimed 'harder' at Bell, poking him against his chest.

"I meant I'm c-coming too-I mean coming with you! To the dungeon! T-Together!" Each time, Bell felt himself choke even more, until Lefiya frantically waved her hands. "FOR A MISSION! DON'T MISUNDERSTAND!"

"Then don't make it so easy, tree hugger."

Hestia let out a gasp while Haruhime frowned deeply. Lefiya gaped at the sheer audacity of Solaris as she stopped tilting her chair, focusing back on the fresh coffee she was presented with.

"Solaris, that isn't very nice."

Sipping from her brew, the captain raised an eyebrow before snorting dismissively.

"It's seven in the morning, nice Solaris comes in two hours later."

"Fair enough…" Haruhime muttered, looking to the side as her animal ears twitched. Bell managed to gather his composure in his mind, ignoring the hollering of his mental grandpa as he stepped to teh side.

"H-How about taking this inside?"

"I-I'll be in your care!"

Lefiya practically disappeared into the house. Bell showed a nervous laugh at the neighbor, who wiggled her eyebrows before closing her own window. He could not have closed the door faster than he did, exhaling slowly to relax himself. Well, that was one way to get the blood flow going in the morning…Taking a seat, Lefiya fidgeted a bit, especially when Hestia glared at her. Haruhime gently pulled their goddess back, as Solaris crossed her arms, taking charge of the impromptu meeting, leaning back as she stretched her neck a bit.

"So, what's this all about?"

Lefiya rested her palm against her chest, centering herself before looking at Solaris with determination.

"I have heard the rumors about Rivira, and so did you. That everyone evacuated from there due to some of attack."

Everyone in the room grimaced at the memory. As if Orario wasn't busy enough as it was, the wave of 'refugees' in form of adventurers was just the icing on the cake. With the earliest safe point of the dungeon fallen, 'traffic' slowed down to a crawl. Only relying on the upper levels for their daily runs was pushing the economy at this point, many unwilling to risk going down a fallen town, especially with the culprits still at large. As for what actually destroyed the place…Well, the rumors were a mess to make sense of, but there was one fact everyone agreed upon.

A mysterious black haired elf, emotionlessly raining down lights of destruction upon them all. Lefiya's body shook as she pressed her lips together.

"I know Filvis is down there, and I know you people are planning an expedition. I'm coming with you, no question." She lowered her head. "I know I am being rude but-"

"Did you read your mail?"

Lefiya paused. She blinked. Raising her hand, she looked at Solaris, casually playing with her spoon in her coffee.

"What?"

Solaris sighed, before pointing the spoon at her.

"Your mail. We sent you an invitation, to prepare and what not. None of us could make it personally as we were planning and recruiting other people and making up for Astraea Familia's absence, blablabla, so we did that instead."

The silence stretched out between them, as the elf slowly but surely increasingly turned red. Bell and Haruhime let out a nervous laughter. Here they were wondering why Lefiya was here in such a panic. She thought they'd go after Filvis without even notifying her. Kojiro sheathed his sword, nodding slowly with an amused glint in his eye, as Hestia and Solaris rolled their eyes together in exasperation.

"I'm going to assume that you did not in fact read your mail," Kojiro said, causing Lefiya to choke.

"T-The Loki Familia is big, okay! And, there was a lot of chaos too with us!" Realizing her words would lead her nowhere at this point, she let out a whine and pressed her forehead against the table. "...My apologies."

"Hey, you screamed 'I'm coming' for everyone to hear, you don't need to be sorry," Solaris said, giving the elf a smirk. She let out another choking noise, clutching the sides of her head.

"Kill me now…" Clapping her cheeks, she straightened up her back. "A-anyway, what information do you have about Rivira and Filvis?"

"Well, first of all, Night Queen sent two of her goons down there for clean up," Solaris stated, raising two of her fingers. "One being Filvis, as you suspected, from the reports we got. Witch like weird crazy elf sounds like it hits the bill."

"She isn't-No, nevermind that, who is the other?"

"Antonio Salieri." They turned their heads towards Kojiro, who let out a weary sigh. "He utilizes sound and music to cause harm, physically and mentally. He was the reason there were so many suicides during the Ishtar Raid."

"Another colleague of yours?" Hestia asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Kojiro let out a chuckle before shrugging.

"Hans will explain when this is over."

Bell gasped at that. Haruhime as well. This was the first time they didn't just brush past this. Did they decide the information they held was becoming increasingly relevant, so it had to be shared? He couldn't help but feel his heart beat faster, at the thought. He was always interested in their pasts, so to finally have time to look forward to…! Solaris rubbed her hands together.

"I hold you to it, this is getting ridiculous." Rolling her shoulders, she turned back to Lefiya. "Anyway, as for why we know, well…" She let out a deep breath, shoulders slumping."The Xenos. They are being hunted down. So far they managed to avoid them, but there's been close calls. We're going down there as reinforcements."

Lefiya covered her mouth, not having anticipated that reason. It was only natural, since Hestia Familia did not exactly advertise their intentions. As far as the Guild and the public knew, they were going down on an expedition, while also taking a look at Rivira while they were at it. Which wasn't even a lie, but it was more accurate to describe their actions as a 'search and destroy and rescue' mission. Rescue the Xenos if possible. Destroy, or rather, stop their hunters. Bell felt worry, even when he heard nothing about casualties. Maybe Fels wouldn't even tell them if there were. He could only hope that Lido and the others were fine, and smart enough to stay away from danger.

"Where have they been moving?" Lefiya asked, causing Solaris to point down.

"Deeper, into the dungeon. Into the lower levels."

The elf raised an eyebrow at that.

"Why? That's a death trap for them."

The Hestia Familia looked at Bell for a moment, who coughed awkwardly when Lefiya tilted her head in confusion. Right, he said the same thing at the time, didn't he? As they didn't bother to elaborate, the elf turned her attention back to Solaris, who subtly glanced out the window, as if trying to sense any eavesdroppers. Once satisfied, she scratched the back of her head.

"From what I heard…they have an escape route to the surface, if they go deep enough, and then back up."

"Where would the exit be? It wouldn't be at Melen, right?"

Solaris in response shrugged.

"That's the thing, Fels didn't tell us. It's definitely not Melen. If there's another entrance out there, we don't know where it is." She snapped her fingers with a small smirk. "But everyone involved have a smart head on their shoulders. We can trust them."

Lefiya processed the information, rubbing her lips together. She nodded slowly before getting up from her chair.

"Very well. I will make my own preparations. Anything specific I need to bring along?"

"Not really. Just check your mail when you go back home. We got the logistics mostly covered." Solaris moved her head at Lefiya."Anyone else going to join from your Familia?"

She bit her lip before shaking her head.

"No, this is me being selfish. The Loki Familia is mostly focusing on Knossos at the moment."

Solaris clicked her tongue in annoyance but didn't say anything more on the topic. Having another level four or above would have been a great help, but Evilus tended to be a multi front issue. Bell was a bit disappointed not even Aiz had any time for this…but he breathed out slowly. It was just a faint hope anyway. They would just have to complete their adventure on their own, with the allies they managed to gather.

"And while we are at it, me being selfish…" Lefiya stopped at the door, before glancing back at them."I want to save Filvis. No matter what. And I'm talking metaphorically or anything silly like that."

"Non lethal take downs increase the difficulty," Solaris said calmly, arms crossed. From what they knew, Filvis was splitting her status up every time she sent out her 'other self'. Now they didn't know if the split was fifty fifty or not…but in the worst case, she might be level seven. The mere thought of facing someone with the raw stats of the King, the Asura, the Legiones or the Radiance was nerve wracking to say the least. And yet, the elf nodded slowly. The elf laughed weakly, realizing what she was asking from them.

"I know."

Smacking her lips, Solaris didn't bother looking at her companions, to see what they were thinking. It was quite obvious in Haruhime's and Bell's case. Kojiro was a bit more tricky, but the way he hummed to himself meant he was welcoming the challenge, the sword nut. With that in mind, it was up to the captain to choose the course. In the end, she raised her palm.

"I won't promise anything."

Lefiya closed her eyes. They would try, but if it came down to their own lives or Filvis', they would choose their own. A part of her seemed to want to scream at them…but she nodded slowly, in understanding.

"That's all I can ask for," she whispered. Bell worried for her, frowning a bit. If the worst would come to pass…he wasn't sure if she could handle it. Just as she opened the door, he walked up behind her, reaching out before stopping himself. The motion was noticed by the elf, causing her to turn around once more.

"Do you need help with your preparations?"

She blinked before smiling a bit. Then she brushed her hair back with a huff.

"Hmph, this isn't my first time having to rush. I don't need you around me. Not to mention some things should be private, you perv." There was no heat in her voice, instead her features softened up just a bit as Bell laughed lightly. "Thank you."

Thus, the Thousand Elf left the Stardust Garden, leaving the Hestia Familia behind to their morning routine. Solaris slumped a bit against her chair, massaging her temples.

"She reaaaaally loves Filvis, huh?"

"They might as well be sisters, from what I've seen of them," Bell muttered, remembering their interactions. It was weird to imagine they didn't grow up together, from what he heard. Some people just hit it off like this.

"And yet…she is a Creature. And part of Evilus too…" Haruhime whispered, sweat running down her forehead before shivering. The idea to face a being that had the intelligence and skill of a mortal, while also having the capacity to absorb monster crystals for power…not to mention that Creatures were exponentially tougher than they looked like, if Finn's story about breaking his finger when punching one was anything to go by. Despite the fear she felt however, she didn't raise any objections of pulling through with this mission. Especially when Kojiro patted her shoulder in reassurance.

"Hans has a good eye for people. If she wasn't worth saving, he'd have said something."

"Guess I gotta work my brain to figure out how to beat her down without killing her." Solaris snorted in dry amusement. "Thank heavens Creatures are stupidly hard to kill anyway."

Bell felt a shiver down his spine. Why did it feel like that Solaris planned to fully burn Filvis into near charcoal and call that 'non lethal'. Well, it wasn't like any of them could afford to hold back anyway, especially Haruhime, with her unarmed style. They could only hope that Filvis was sturdy enough, but not sturdy enough to remain conscious through their efforts.

There was still some time until the expedition would start proper. Until then, they had time to prepare. But just as Solaris was about to hit the papers for some strategizing, Hestia suddenly hugged her captain, rubbing her cheek against hers.

"Come back home, no matter what. Got it?"

"By now we know this by heart," Solaris giggled, leaning into the hug. Yet Bell felt that Hestia was more worried than usual. Divine intuition perhaps? Or just plain worry in general, as their safety net called Ryuu and the others weren't available? Still, they couldn't rely on their seniors all the time. This was their adventurer.

Bell clenched his fists in determination.

They could do this.

/

"About time you came! Lili is freezing!"

Lefiya blinked in surprise, having met up with Hestia Familia first thing in the early morning, the fog not having cleared up yet. The Pallum jumped down from her massive bag, putting her hands on her hips in outrage. That outrage was replaced by a yelp when Hans flicked his finger at her forehead. They weren't the only ones there. Three people from the Takemikazuchi Familia were there too, Mikoto having mediated until Liliruca made that noise, rising to her feet with Ouka and Chigusa. They happily waved at Haruhime, who waved back with some hesitation. Then there was Welf, having checked his tools over, before running over to Bell and Kojiro, hitting their fists with his own, then high fiving his sister. The elven mage covered her mouth in surprise.

"How many did you recruit for this…?"

"No half measures against Evilus. I'd have liked to get more into this, but most elites are booked out," Solaris stated with a smug expression.

"Hermes offered his help but-"

The captain spat to the side before Kojiro would finish his sentence.

"Screw that guy."

It was a shared sentiment. Haruhime actually growled a bit, while Welf grimaced visibly. Mikoto shook her head before putting a hand against her chest, bowing politely at Lefiya.

"We may not offer much, but we will not let you down."

The elf heard of them. Level two across the board, with Mikoto being closer to level three than most. They wouldn't hold them back, ignoring any esoteric skills they possessed. And…she was touched that they were willing to help, even if this didn't concern them beyond Haruhime's presence. The Renard sighed, biting her lip as she fidgeted with her short hair.

"I still don't want you to join." She sighed before smiling at her childhood friends. "But…we made a promise. And we need the help. I'll leave my side to you, Mikoto."

"And I mine to you."

"Leave your weapons all to me!" Welf announced with pride. Kojiro crossed his arms, letting out a hum.

"Are you sure you got this?"

"You are like a fraction of the number the Rakian army fields. I'll be fine." He waved his hand dismisively before giving everyone a lok. "Y'all got your magic swords ready?"

They all patted their belt at the same time, revealing two swords each. Bell handed over two extra he was carrying for Lefiya, who hesitantly accepted the tools. She doubted she'd use them…but one could never know what would happen in an emergency. But if everything went according to plan…

She felt her back burn up. Not as much practice as she liked with that skill…but it could make the difference between victory and loss.

"Alright. I'm not big on speeches, especially not at night. So I'll keep it simple," Solaris announced, stepping on a nearby bench to gain some height. She raised her fist into the air with a wide grin. "May the Sacred Flame be with you all! Hestia-Takemikazuchi-Hephaestus-Loki-Freya Alliance, here we goooooo!"

""""Too long!""""