Author's note:
A bit shorter, but nice and contained.
Enjoy
Chapter 59: The ones they left behind
Rain:
"Do you think that they're doing it right now…?"
Rain's open-ended question was responded to almost instantly by her eternal partner in these horrific days.
"Well, according to the one clock we have, it should be the fourth day, so… probably?"
"Right, the fourth day," Rain repeated as if they all weren't counting hours. Every single one of them besides the Autumn sisters paced relentlessly, barely able to function.
If only something happened every once in awhile. Instead, all they had to focus on was staying quiet and standing guard. All the while the boy that had stolen her heart ran further away from Rain.
"Пиздец, Kirito."
"Oh, I know that one!" Philia piped up. "Piz…dets… That one is damn it, right?"
Rain sighed, "yes. Although why you can only remember the swears is concerning."
"Maybe because it's all you say."
Giving Philia a broad smile, Rain punched her lightly on the shoulder. She had to correct her previous statement. Kirito had stolen half; it was Philia who had most of the rest.
"Nee, Philia…"
"What is it?"
"Well… it's just…"
"Yes?"
"Your Russian pronunciation sucks."
Philia's jaw dropped. "Rude! I copied you perfectly!"
"Yeah, no." Rain laughed, "language is like fighting. If you aren't confident, it will never work!"
"Huh? Languages are hard! I always struggle to memorize all those English words for class!"
"Exactly, don't memorize, feel! Imagine living in Russia; the temperature is twenty below, there's a meter of snow on the ground. More importantly, your family is starving to death, and you are running out of firewood to keep the house heated!"
"I-I am?"
"You are!" Rain nodded emphatically. "Now, while tromping to the forest to get food and firewood, you trip over something buried in the snow. Lo, it is none other than the frozen remains of your favorite horse! As the stress exceeds your limits, you cry out…!"
"Пиздец!"
"Пиздец!" Rain agreed happily. "Much better!"
"I think Russians would cry if they heard your example though." Philia muttered.
"Nah, they're too drunk on vodka to care!"
"Rain… Are you-?"
Whatever she was getting labelled as was cut off by a monster's cry. Perking up, they both placed hands on weapons, waiting for if they would be found out. It wouldn't be the first time; however Aki had dealt with the previous monsters.
Just as she thought of the catgirl, Aki was there, leaning over Rain and Philia. "Rock Crusher. Tough bastards, but slow."
Rain did not want to give away their position by replying. In moments, the creature crested a small rise and Rain could examine its features. It was a large tortoise almost three meters from head to tail. Its shell's colour was the brown of arid soil with sharp ivory spikes lining the edge.
"Don't let it bite you or your equipment," Aki warned. "It can tear a first-tier adventurer limb from limb with its bite force."
"Got it!" Philia added, assuming an attacking position.
Holding their breaths, the three waited to see if it would approach. Taking one more sniff of the air, it locked directly upon their position.
"How?" Aki grated out. "We eliminated every scent!"
That they had. No fires, no cooked food, no baths. All waste had to be disposed of underground immediately. It had been miserable trying to stretch their scent eraser this long.
"Something else?" Rain asked.
There was no reply before more monsters began crying out. From all over the floor, the usually languid monsters stirred. Energy and anger appearing where there should have been nothing.
Instinctively, Rain and Philia turned to their senior. Anakitty Autumn was an experienced level four adventurer with numerous trips to the deep levels under her belt. One of the few enjoyable things these past few days had been hearing her stories.
Now, the girl's already pale skin had gone ashen. Her cat ears twitched as she surveyed the floor with wary, anxious glances. "Retreat back to the others, start packing."
"And you?" Rain asked.
"…I'll buy time." Drawing her blade, Anakitty stood alone, one girl against a horde.
Without even a goodbye, Rain took off with Philia at a hard run to the camp a little way off.
Silica:
"Huh? Hey, Kin, calm down!" Without having any gear for her beast, Silica struggled to stop the irritated creature. Kin's haunches were raised, sickle claws tapping mercilessly against the ground. For all of the monster's movement, its head and eyes were perfectly still. The gaze of a raptor fixed upon its prey.
"Kin." Silica whispered urgently. "You need to calm down. If you start growling—"
"Pack up!" Rain's voice rang out urgent and clear. It was a noise louder than any Silica had heard since arriving on this floor.
Silica was not the only one who froze. A dozen confused people stared at the flame haired sub-commander of Hestia familia.
"MOVE!" The actual yell sent people scrambling. Bedrolls were rolled, canteens corked, and tents taken down.
All the while, Silica was trapped holding Kin back. "Come on boy, you have to listen. I'll make sure you get some delicious steak later, so can you—"
"Grrr…" Lunging forward a step, the Deathclaw finally began to make a sound. The growl was filled with an animalistic bloodlust so strong that Silica froze in fear of her own tamed monster.
"Silica!" Leafa called out. "Liz needs help!"
"I can't!" She answered, voice pitched high with fear. "Kin is acting up."
"What was that!?" Silica's carrying voice had gotten the attention of Rain who rushed over. "Your monster as well?"
As soon as Rain was within half a dozen steps, Kin suddenly lunged for her. Only Silica's tentative position hugging his neck was able to stop it in time.
"Whoa, Kin is angry… Silica, I'll do your part, you figure out what the hell the monsters are after."
Silica hoped she had heard wrong. "Monsters?"
"Yeah, most of the floor is in a craze."
Silica focused her ears and found the truth of what Rain had said immediately. She had been too distracted by Kin to hear the encroaching disaster. Colouring from her failure, Silica nodded.
"Go! I got this!"
"You better!"
And then she was alone again. Due to the temperament of trained monsters, Silica and Kin had been cooped up together in a little alcove along the wall, a good thirty paces from the main camp. It was only a second of running for a high-level adventurer, but right now, that gap felt like an eternity.
Despite her strong promise, Silica's situation with her tamed monster had not changed. Kin did not directly attack her, but he strained against her, searching for freedom.
"Grrrr…"
Arms beginning to lose feeling from the effort, Silica sighed and gave in. "Well, let's find out what you want."
Releasing the pressure from her legs, Silica was immediately swept along as Kin began to dart in the direction of the camp. Right to the center.
Twisting with incredible agility, Silica settled herself upon Kin's back, arms tight around his powerful throat. Cut loose, the monster was a mass of power that made Silica wonder how it hadn't managed to gut her immediately back in that forest.
Kin's path was a dart for the cart. There was no mistake that it was the target. Propped elegantly on the back corner was the crimson egg of the Tyrant. It made a striking figure in the low light of the floor.
"Gragh!" Howling, Kin spread the claws on his hands and leapt. Despite being more nearly twenty meters from the cart, the monster did not appear to care.
While soaring through the air, Silica's instincts calculated their path in an instant.
"The egg…" Gasping, Silica did not think, only reacted. By the time she had drawn her knife from its sheath, Kin had landed right beside the cart. Jaw spread wide, it sought to tear into the unprotected shell.
With her own growl of determination, Silica whipped her knife around and shoved it horizontally into Kin's mouth and pulled. The sharp edge dug deeply into the fingers of her right hand; the dull side lodged against Kin's gums.
"Grr!" Noises muffled by the blade in its mouth, Kin staggered to the side, reeling against Silica's control.
"Sorry!" Apologizing to her monster, Silica heaved. Straining very muscle in her small frame together, she forced out a feline power. Kin's head rose centimeter by centimeter away from the egg. Kin did not seem to realize that his claws could pierce it just as easily.
"RAA!" With one more heave, Silica twisted, sending them both to the ground. The weight of the monster landing on her trapped leg sent a lance of red hot pain through her. Moaning in agony, Silica refused to relent her pulling.
"Calm… down… Please!"
Her words did nothing. Kin's eyes were still filled with an unquenchable rage and hunger for the egg.
Why?
Silica did not know, but she could not relent here. Tossing the knife aside, Kin instantly started trying to get back up. Silica was faster. Arms wrapped around the long sinuous neck, she squeezed.
For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, Kin's struggles grew frantic. Silica could feel Kin's roaring heartbeat, strong and urgent. To her disgust, she could also feel the pulse of the carotid artery that she was cutting off.
"Gahh!" Kin made a disgusting sound somewhere between a howl and a scream, suffocated by Silica's own hands.
The pain from her lacerated fingers, her crushed leg, they paled beside the pain in her heart. A single tear crept out onto her cheek as Kin's body finally lay silent on the ground.
Releasing him, Silica gritted her teeth and pulled herself free. Only then did she lay another hand on his chest.
Thump!
Still beating. Letting out a sigh of relief, Silica wiped the tear from her cheek. She didn't know what she would have done if she had killed him. So soon after taming him… if that happened…
Shaking her head, Silica tried to focus on what was going on around her. In the short time that she had been struggling for, everything was gone. Or rather, it was bundled in the arms of people staring at her with open mouths.
Silica searched for something to say. Some words would explain it all. Before she could, a sound rang out so quiet that she would have missed it if she was standing more than a few feet away.
Crack!
Silica's eyes widened as she whirled to find the egg. It's hatching? Running a hand along it though, she found nothing amiss, only a warmness from the surface.
Crack!
This close, Silica could now find the source easily. Not the egg, but the bag sitting next to it. A large brown, drawstring bag that they stored all of their magic stones in. With shaking, bloodstained fingers, Silica lightly pried apart the knot and looked inside.
The glittering stones collected during a week's worth of battle were still there, or rather, their dust was. Before Silica's disbelieving eyes, another stone cracked and fell apart.
"W-What is happening?"
There were no answers. Only a bag of dust and the howls of approaching monsters.
Leafa:
Throwing her stuff onto the cart, Leafa instantly began to chant.
"I am the daughter of wind, protector of Sylvain.
"Let my blessed wings bear me to new heights."
Even as her chant was going on, people were panicking. What had once been an orderly clean-up and preparation to leave had descended into chaos. Between Kin's unconscious body, the shattered magic stones and the oncoming monsters, they're limit had finally been broken.
"From all corners, let the purifying winds of the Sylphs hold me aloft.
"From my will, let me raise all Sylphs in a never-ending spiral."
Amidst the cries of confusion, Leafa was able to take solace in her song. She hoped that its soothing melody would help the others calm down a little.
"Through peak and valley, sea and cave, let the eternal breeze touch all and bring life.
"Freeing gust, destroying storm, travelling gale, hear my feeble cry and surround me!"
"Form up for an attack!" Anakitty's sharp, commanding voice cut through the air. "Monsters are here! We have to fight!"
"Come final wind and blow through me forever. My name is Sylph!
"Lady of the Sky!"
Finishing her chant, Leafa spread hr translucent wings and beat down once hard. Her incredibly light body ascended in an instant, the rush of acceleration making it feel like she was falling in reverse. Levelling off five meters in the air, Leafa could view a large section of the floor and was still well clear of the high ceiling. That sight made her gasp, heart fluttering as terror gripped her with its cold claws.
"So… many." Leafa had a rough idea of how large the safety point on the thirty-ninth floor was, but that did nothing to prepare her for the sheer number of monsters that lived here.
Dozens of monsters from both above and below approached. Spartoi, Peluda, Lava Lizardmen. Each one a powerful and deadly monster that Leafa would struggle to even injure in a fair fight.
No longer having the peace of her chant to distract her, Leafa did nothing, only floating in place, watching certain death approach her familia and friends.
I could save one… We could fly away together…
Silica, Leafa's mind automatically went to. Not only was she small, she was fast. They had joined Hestia familia together and struggled up through the ranks at the same time.
Looking down, Leafa found her pretty instantly. Silica was still near Kin and had bandaged her injured hand and applied a potion to her right leg.
She wouldn't come.
Realizing in that moment, Leafa was crushed by her weakness. Her stupid desire to flee and leave loved ones to die. Letting herself fall, Leafa landed hard near where people were forming up.
"I want shields out!" Anakitty was saying, pointing at people to wield them. "I'll kill the monsters, you all stay alive. They'll funnel through the valley on our west flank, we have wall to our north and east. Astrid, you take the southern monsters that try to break in that way."
"Why aren't we fleeing?" Rain demanded. "Wasn't the point of packing up?"
Leafa found herself answering that part. "We can't. The monsters would crush us against the wall if we tried."
"Correct, now form up!"
To their credit, most people moved. Nautilus and Ouka shared a stoic nod before running off the valley that Astrid had pointed at. Strea was right behind them, pausing only long enough to grab herself a shield and a weapon she could use with one hand. Yui following along behind her sister with a concerned frown.
Many remained behind, Leafa herself. Stepping up to address Anakitty first was Yuna. "Umm, commander! I can sing a variety of songs…"
"Songs? We don't need singing—"
"Magic songs!" Yuna interjected, blushing scarlet. "L-Like I can boost strength or…"
"I get it, my bad," Anakitty frowned, then turned and pointed at the hill to the south. "Get up there and get seen. Do whatever you're best at and try to give us some morale."
Continuing without missing a beat, Leafa found herself getting pointed at. "Leafa, you barrage them from above with magic. Use as many mind potions as you want. Rain, you follow in my shadow and use your magic to close any gaps that appear. Lisbeth, you take those magic swords of yours and do the same for my sister. Cassandra you heal when needed and Haruhime, you have something special right? Use it."
Just like that, everyone had a role. Grabbing Silica by the arm as she tried to run past, Leafa smiled at her. It was a weak thing, filled with her doubts and fear.
Silica clearly noticed as she laid a comforting hand on Leafa's shoulder in return. "Stay alive, alright?"
"…You too." Choking out the words, Leafa took to the sky before the tears glistening in her eyes could fall. Losing them in the infinite air, Leafa circled higher against the backdrop of the dark ceiling and looked down at the massing horde.
Anakitty had summarized it well. The majority were funnelling into what would be a narrow valley where only a few could attack at a time. While that was the easiest route, it would not be the only one.
Floating in place, Leafa composed herself and began her cast. "Heed my call, traveller of the world, unchained force.
"Your name is freedom, granter of wishes."
With a terrible clash, a battalion of Lava Lizardmen crashed into the upraised shields of their first line. The level two Ouka and Nautilus were immediately sent flying. Their status too low to even serve as effective bodyguards.
Everything would have been lost in that moment if Strea hadn't held the line. With a powerful cry, she absorbed the attack from the strike from the monster's fist, deflected it to the side, and stabbed back. The wound was not deep enough to kill, but it did cut deep and sent it backwards.
Walking into that gap was Anakitty. Her rapier flashed and the two that had gotten past were beheaded. The blade's speed far beyond what Leafa could track.
"Underneath the endless sky, I search.
"Unbidden to any land, I now seek your power."
On the hill, the line was less well defined. Philia and Silica stood on one side of Astrid with Sachi and Mikoto on the other. The first monsters to reach them were Spartoi, the skeletal monsters wielding the bone weapons they were born with.
"Now at the end of the world, answer this wanderer's prayer.
"Grant but one glimpse of the King of Faeries."
Finishing her chant, Leafa surveyed the battle for the thickest clump of monsters. Doing so saved her life. A cloaked monster was not looking ahead, but up—at her.
Gasping, Leafa stopped hovering and allowed herself to fall. The wave of spikes clinking against the ceiling where she had just been.
"Wind Blade!"
Mid-fall, Leafa released her magic. Blades of hardened air flew towards the skull sheep and its compatriots. Just before she crashed into the ground, Leafa stroked once with her wings, hard, changing her momentum into a sideways glide only a meter off the ground. With one more push, she increased her height just enough to cross over their defensive line and then stumble into camp.
This… is going to be hard.
Leafa's negative thoughts were interrupted by a voice. Not a yell, or an order, but a song. There were no accompanying instruments or excited audience. Instead, Yuna sang to the tune of monster howls, competing magic, and harsh orders.
It was beautiful.
"You offered me your gentle words and embraced me in times of loneliness."
Flexing her back muscles, Leafa stood up determined again. She did not know what would happen, but she could fight on. Spikes being thrown at her or no, they needed her. Leaving behind a cloud of dust, she ascended once more to kill more monsters.
Sachi:
Sachi thought she had died before she got a chance to even swing her spear. The Spartoi's thrown bone hand-axe was a blur that she could not avoid.
"Ah…" As the last desperate syllables of her failed life eked out of her mouth, a flash of light intercepted the weapon.
"Do better!" Astrid growled. "If you can't even block that then cower behind a shield."
Beside her, an ashen faced Mikoto drew a shield and held it in front of her. I'm level three though!
It was a fact that Sachi was still struggling to come to terms with. She had surpassed the woman that had trained her. Not in terms of skills or techniques, but in terms of raw speed and power, Sachi had a devastating advantage. That same advantage that she wielded over Mikoto was reflected in the power that the monsters approaching now displayed over herself.
Conversations with Mikoto and her old god, Take Mikazuchi surfaced in Sachi's mind.
Skills and techniques. These are the tools that high-level adventurers utilize to defeat opponents more powerful than themselves.
What if they don't work? What if your opponent is more powerful than you?
Haha, well in that case… use magic I guess!
Sachi took a settling breath and prepared herself for what she needed to do. Taking a step back, she spoke up. "Please slow them down, Miko!"
"…I will try."
To Sachi, Mikoto's stoic determination in the face of their incredible foes was the mark of a true warrior. Someone willing to die to save the people they love.
Feeling that familiar fear threaten to choke her, Sachi set her spear in the first pose she had learned. A simple kata to execute a thrust that any opponent would be able to see coming from a mile away.
"Break through my fear, my terror…"
The monsters were approaching in a broad line. While the others were distracted, the now weaponless Spartoi had a direct line straight at Mikoto.
"Shatter my delusions and consume me…
"Spear of agony, spear of hate…"
Sachi felt a bead of sweat trickle down her temple. This magic was quite literally a desperation act. If this failed, they were dead. What should have been a final trick was being relegated to an opening act.
"Let this one last wish carry on and connect!"
The Spartoi arrived. Howling like a madman, it charged Mikoto straight on. Its fist crunching against the small shield with a brutal blow.
The vast difference in strength made the result of the conclusion pre-determined. Mikoto went flying, passing just beside Sachi. A fist-sized dent in the shield.
Cold fear wrapped itself around her heart. Each pulsating beat felt like her last as the edges of her vision darkened. This was one monster. One.
They were going to die. All of them were…
"Sachi!"
Mikoto's yell had no fear in it. No pain. Only a deep trust.
Stepping forward once, Sachi executed the simple strike as she screamed with all her might. "Distorted Thrust!"
The Spartoi raised a lazy hand to catch her shaft. Those fingers closed around air. The red lights for eyes glowed briefly in surprise as a soft cracking sound rang out from the monster's chest.
Looking down, it was alive just long enough to see the tip of Sachi's spear buried inside its visible magic stone. Then Sachi's magic ended at the spear tip disappeared. As if that was the sign, the monster collapsed all at once, its bones giving way completely forming a small pile that disintegrated into ash.
"I… did it?" Sachi blinked once, making sure her eyes weren't lying to her.
"Good job girls!" Astrid called out. "Take care of that next one for me as well?"
"A-Another!?"
Sachi's outburst was met by a conciliatory hand on her shoulder. Mikoto.
"As many as come… That's how many we defeat. Alight… Sa-chan?"
In the face of her already beaten friend, Sachi could do nothing but nod. Setting her spear, she started her chant again.
Haruhime:
"Uchide no Kozuchi!"
Reacting to Ouka's damaged state, Haruhime reflexively placed her magic on him as he stood up and rushed forward once again.
"Gah!" His strong yell was terminated swiftly as a Lava Lizardmen's nature weapon crashed into his shield. Unlike before, the simple swatting of a level four monster did not completely obliterate him. Instead, he only slid back a couple paces.
"It's working!" Haruhime breathed a sigh of relief. With this, Ouka would be able to endure multiple attacks. Haruhime had saved him a lot of pain.
"Why him!?" Lili growled, pointing a finger in Haruhime's face. "That magic needs to be on Anakitty until Rain's magic is charged. Then, you put it on her to enhance the magical blast, then it goes immediately back to Anakitty, got it!?"
"H-Hai!" Tensing up, Haruhime instantly began casting her magic again. She had put a lot of effort into Ouka's as well. It was supposed to last a long time…
Unfortunately, as soon as Haruhime casts her magic a second time, the first instance ends. Ishtar had referred to it as 'her stupid balancing mechanism'.
I don't want to be balanced though!
Frustrated with her own inadequacies, Haruhime cast. Fast, faster than ever before the words tumbled from her mouth.
Her magic was hanging by a thread. A thin cord that Haruhime grasped at desperately to prevent Ignis Fatuus. I'm… losing it!
Her chant was too fast. The paragraphs pouring toward the end were building up in her at a rate that she'd never handled before.
Oh No!
"There were sad times,
But we shared the short-lived
Joys of spring between the two of us"
Just as the thread threatened to break, Yuna's hand reached down and grabbed her own. With a second lifeline, Haruhime powered on.
Yuna's sad, slow song buoyed Haruhime's very soul it seemed. Feeling light, mind refreshed, she activated her magic again.
"Uchide no kozuchi!"
Taking the magic off Ouka, the golden hammer descended upon Anakitty. The level four adventurer had been the only thing standing between them and disaster.
The girl paused, looked at her hand, then with a laugh she dove forward. Suddenly, Haruhime wondered if there was anything to worry about. The tide began to turn as the girl left a pile of corpses and mutilated bodies in her wake.
"Haruhime!" Lily reminded her.
"Yes!" Settling herself, Haruhime pushed down the slowly growing headache and began her chant again. Faster.
Lisbeth:
"MOOVE!" Crying out, Lisbeth put her faith in her familia members. Ascending the hill after Silica and Philia, she called out to the struggling knife users. Both of them were already bleeding from the debris sent out from the edges of dangerous attacks barely dodged.
In her hand lay Liz's only way of making an impact in this fight. A glittering red blade that Kirito had bugged her to make.
As she swung it down, a brilliant gout of red fire rushed forward.
"A little more warning!" Philia complained as she darted backwards. Despite her complaints, it was Silica that got the worst of it, a corner of her clothes catching fire from the heat of the blaze.
"Ah, Liz… Thank you."
"N-No problem…" Honestly, Liz was having trouble looking at her friend the same way. It was one thing to hear about the crazy feats that she had done, it was quite another to see it. Watching Silica rise from the ground to stand above her unconscious dinosaur that she had chocked out while bleeding from her self-inflicted wounds was awe inspiring.
Trying to channel just a small portion of that awesomeness into herself, Liz watched amazed at the fruits of her work.
So many failed blades.
So much heartbreak as she poured her soul and emotions into the swords.
It was all for this moment. A first test of her mettle as a blacksmith. If Liz's swords failed here, she would not get a second one.
As the column raged, the monster's anger transformed into cries of fear. Like dried out twigs the monsters from the White Palace burst aflame before succumbing to the heat.
Most of the others however… Well, fire was no obstacle to a monster that spits Lava.
"Impressive!" Astrid called out. "Focus on monsters from above. I'll deal with the others. Silica, Philia, clump them up for Liz."
"On it!" Silica answered immediately, diving forward.
"…Why do I feel like I'm being left behind?" Despite her complaints, Philia was right there as well.
Seeing her like this, Liz called out a question, despite the tense situation. "Oi, Philia! Why aren't you with Rain?"
Philia glanced back once in the moments before more monsters showed up. She shot Liz a sad smile. "Sometimes you have to trust your loved ones to fulfil their role, you know?"
Kirito. Liz's chest ached again. The frustration of the past three days boiling over. Gripping the hilt of her magic sword tighter, Liz smiled.
If the monsters could understand human motion, they would have quaked in fear. Liz was very excited to test out her blades on them.
Lili:
Useless.
Completely, utterly useless.
There was no strategy to call out, no decisions to be made. The front line was battered and broken by attacks while Astrid and Anakitty killed. Magic went off when it was ready, patching up the bulging defense.
Armour, shields, and weapons were being broken at an astounding rate while the most serious of injuries were patched with their scant supply of potions. Supplementing them was Cassandra, her healing magic becoming rapidly more essential to prevent deaths.
One by one Lili could go through the roster and find a use for them. She was the only one left behind. The only person who could not affect anything.
"Ah, Ah…" Haruhime panted beside her. The Renart had just collapsed to the ground after using her magic for a fourth time. "Mind… potion…"
Lili handed her one wordlessly. It was the last.
After drinking it, Haruhime stumbled to her feet and struck her pose for casting magic, hands clasped together as if praying. She did not jump right into her routine however. Instead, she sent a glance at Lili. "Hey… Why are the monsters attacking?"
"Why…?" Lili muttered. "Because they are monsters?"
Haruhime nodded and started her chant.
Why…? Lili felt somehow even worse now. Not only was she a useless observer, she couldn't even solve that basic problem. The last three days proved her answer false.
"Grrr…"
Whirling around, Lili's eyes widened with terror. It was too quiet for the front liners too hear, but useless Lili had. Raising her shaking crossbow, Lili stalked toward the source. A monster in the camp meant complete destruction.
There was no way they missed one, right?
RIGHT!?
Each breath came quicker than the last, her heart a hammer in her chest. Lili paused after every step, unable to simply walk.
"Grrr…"
It really is here! With a weak growl like that though, it has to be severely injured, right? Rounding the cart, Lili wanted to shoot herself. Kin was slowly starting to rise from the floor. Golden eyes unfocused but fixed on one object.
"The… Egg?" Impossible. They brought it with them from the thirty-third floor.
Still, Lili's instincts were screaming at her that it was the object of the monster's desires. If it is…
Lili reached for it. Laying a hand on the egg, she let out a scream of pain. Even from just the brief contact, the blazing hot surface had blistered her skin.
"W-What the hell!?"
CRACK!
In pain, terrified, and utterly confused, Lili watched with an open mouth as the egg split open. Two perfectly even halves falling away from the shadow within.
"Grr…"
This time, the sound that was emitted from Kin's mouth was no growl of anger. It was a whimper of fear.
I need to kill it.
Lili had no idea where that instinct came from. Lifting her arm, Lili shot three bolts from her hand crossbow into that shadow. From two mels away it was impossible to miss.
With a soft thwack, the shadow ungulated and Lili's bolts fell uselessly to the ground. Swallowing, Lili stumbled a few more steps away. Kin likewise was trying to drag his still barely function body away from the newly birthed monster.
But it's just a baby! Lili protested. This wasn't the dungeon that spat out fully-grown monsters. It was just an egg. Barely born.
From the two halves of the shell, the shadow expanded. Two wings like night billowing out. It was a shape that every person in the world knew and feared.
"D-Dragon…"
Impossible.
Impossible.
It was a Bloodsaurus egg.
"KYAAA!" Rising from the egg, the newborn monster unleashed a piercing high-pitched howl from its throat. A serpentine neck covered with scales the colour of dried blood.
Thrum!
With a powerful stroke of its wings, the beast took off. While it was indeed a dragon, Lili thought she could see the Bloodsaurus base that the monster was derived from in the thick rear legs and barrel-like snout.
Falling to her knees, Lili gaped up in awe and fear as the king of monsters soared above the battlefield. Watching it, Lili knew one thing explicitly. So powerfully in her gut that it could have been knowledge she had studied all her life.
This thing needs to die.
Anakitty:
"We need another round of magic! Leafa, Rain!"
Whirling, Anakitty found the girls in question that had been bearing much of the struggle with her. Leafa was laying against a rock, magic gone, passed out. Rain was doing little better. Her fingers were leaving bloody tracks in the ground as she tried to heave herself back to her feet.
No more magic…
Anakitty looked down at her own body and the sparkles of the unbelievably powerful sorcery that was enabling her to keep them alive. As she watched, most of the remnants faded. She had maybe half a minute left.
Her armour was coated in blood and burns from the monsters that she had killed. It wasn't enough. There were still dozens of monsters approaching. They'd gotten through maybe one third, max.
Turning, Anakitty observed what was left of her wall.
"Ouka, get back! You have no weapon!"
"Ahh… But I can block one more attack with my body…"
"Ahh, well said…" Nautilus echoed the sentiment, forcing himself up on shaking legs. "Are you watching me… Yuna?"
Anakitty turned away from the displays. It was brave but foolish. Sacrificing themselves would not solve this situation. The last member, Strea, was likewise almost dead. Unlike the men however, the level three looked stronger than ever despite wielding half a sword and most of her clothes burned off. It was an amazoness look that was only belayed by her strikes that drifted into the realm of level four.
Her mind and magic had long ran out, but there had to be a skill there supporting the girl. It was the only way for her to remain standing like this.
Like Tiona and Tione… Anakitty could not afford to let her thoughts drift.
More monsters were forming up, tossing the corpses of their compatriots aside, stumbling over cut-off limbs, and slipping on the blood-soaked earth. Until the magic stone was removed or destroyed, those corpses and injured monsters would remain.
"Ms…. Autumn… I can help again."
"Yui…" The young girl had been the biggest surprise of the battle so far. Anakitty had almost swallowed her tongue when she watched the girl take a full-powered swing from a Lava Lizardman on the head and barely blink. If not for her, they would have been overrun ages ago.
Smiling, Anakitty placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "You did well. Let me finish up this fight."
"Finish…?" Yui mumbled, Strea looking over at Anakitty as well.
"Uhn, the monsters are close to frenzying, there's only really only one more thing they need to start ripping each other apart."
"What?" Strea growled, pretty much in a frenzy herself.
"Don't!" Yui cried, grabbing onto Anakitty's arm.
Covering it with her own, Anakitty peeled the fingers off and took a step away. "I should be dead already. Let me use my second life for something worthwhile."
No one stopped her as she walked forward. As one, the monsters trying to get in cleared a path and rushed. Raising her rapier, Anakitty yelled her defiance.
"I am a proud member of Loki familia! Come, monsters!" Kicking off the ground, Anakitty brought her rapier straight through the first Sparoi that came.
Parrying the Lava Lizardmen, Anakitty cut off its arm in retaliation. Settling into a defensive stance, Anakitty analyzed the situation calmly, trying to find a way through it.
Just at that moment, her level five power fled. Vision going black momentarily, she stumbled and fell to one knee. Panting heavily, all strength had fled with the magic.
It was… sustaining me!? Unable to believe it, Anakitty looked up at the Peluda before her, poison dripping from its fangs in horror.
The determination she had put into her declaration just moments ago was now a foolish dream. She would die uselessly, screaming in pain like every other adventurer.
"KYAAA!"
The piercing cry split the night and send a chill down Anakitty's spine. An aberration. There was some sort of aberration in the dungeon.
A shadow passed overhead. Two dark wings blocking the light.
A sea of fire.
A column of smoke.
Bulging eyes, Anakitty froze as memories tore through the mind. Sword dropping to the ground she covered her mouth with her hand. Unable to rip her eyes away from the monster that now flew above her, Anakitty's soul quailed.
It's here! It returned!
While Anakitty froze in fear, the monsters howled in response. The fury, the rage, the need for blood left their posture. Wheeling around, they fled from the shadow, searching desperately for a place where the dragon was not.
The Peluda in front of Anakitty jumped over her, running for the corner of the floor that was their base.
She could not move, could not follow the monster as her eyes tracked the monster that killed her friends and tore her familia apart.
"SISTER!"
"Huh…?" Blinking, Anakitty snapped back to the present.
But the present was no different from her memories. In both, the dragon of the apocalypse was there, its fiery jaws waiting to bestow one last burning torture upon all who beheld it.
The pitch-black wings casting a shadow across the land, its crimson scales like… Crimson scales?
Actually, truly staring at the dragon, Anakitty felt her heart restart. The memories splintering into nothingness around her. "Its… not the same."
Oh no. Paling, Anakitty grabbed her rapier and rose to her feet, searching desperately for the Peluda that had run past her.
It was only ten mel away or so, being held back by Yui's skill. Attack after attack crashing against her impenetrable purple shield as the desperate and confused monster tried to batter her out of the way.
When it tried to slink around Yui, the dark-green dragon monster covered with venomous quills got its nose bloodied by Strea's broken blade.
Heaving herself to her feet, Anakitty gasped, sensing her failure. The enraged monster, desperate to escape the shadow tensed and raised its tail. The deadly poisonous spikes glittering in the light.
More than half a dozen injured and beaten people were spread out in a semicircle before it. The spray of spikes would hit at least half of them.
I failed…
Even as Anakitty's stomach sunk, a blur passed by her. Reacting slowly, Anakitty saw nothing, only the aftermath.
"Kyu…" With a pitiful gurgle, the once ferocious beast keeled over, the once dangerous toxins coating its body beginning to fade into ash.
The savior resolved into a form that Anakitty knew, albeit poorly. "Ardee… Varma?"
"Hehehe, that's me!" The girl replied cheerfully. "Seems like everyone's alive and the monsters are leaving, so that's good!"
"Yes… good."
"So, what's that flying thing? Didn't think there were any monsters that that on this floor."
The young prum supporter from Hestia familia limped over, face pale. "You have to kill it! That thing will get stronger. It has to be killed now!"
To her credit, the ever-affable Ardee did not challenge the small girl yelling demands. "And why is that?"
"It… The monsters fear it! It shouldn't exist!"
Ardee pursed her lips and nodded thoughtfully, looking out south to where the shadow was barely visible now. "If it stays on this floor then when Lyu returns, we can hunt it. Assuming it is not enticing the monsters to attack?"
"No," Lili shook her head. "The monsters run from it now that it has hatched."
Astrid gasped in time with Ardee. Interrupting the more senior adventurer, Anakitty grabbed at Lili's collar as everyone still conscious gathered around. "What are you talking about?"
"That thing came from the egg!" Lili yelled, fear colouring every syllable. "It was what the monsters wanted, to destroy it!"
"…Or to consume its power," Ardee murmured. "Maybe the reason monsters don't breed in the dungeon is more complicated than we assumed…"
Anakitty let go of Lili's collar and let out an internal sigh of relief as Astrid threw herself at her. Clutching her sister tightly, Anakitty was glad to let an experienced, first-tier adventurer with a clear head deal with this.
"Anyway, let's eat! I'm starving!"
"D-Did you hear what I said!?" Lili squeaked outraged.
"Yupp! There is one more scary monster wandering the dungeon. Now, everyone looks famished. Let's gather around a warm fire and hope nothing else attacks!"
Anakitty slumped her head and sighed. She did not have the energy to fight more anyway. Stumbling with her equally battered sister, she could only think of one thing. Poor Shakti…
Silica:
"Grr…" Blinking awake, Silica glanced to her side where Kin was curled up next to her, head raised like a dog and growling. In the ever-present gloom of dusk on the thirty-nineth floor, Silica could see fairly well.
"There's nothing out there, Kin," Silica murmured, sleep still coating her voice despite getting to rest for the last three days. "The whole floor is almost vacant after Ardee's efforts."
Her calming words and soothing touch did nothing to sooth her tamed monster. Instead, Kin sniffed again and then stood up fully, looking South.
"What are you…" That's where they will come from! Heart pounding with excitement, Silica threw herself on Kin's back and prodded at his sides.
The Deathclaw was eager to take off, darting around the tents and campfire to avoid the people sleeping within. When they were past the people and the sounds of sleeping, Silica's ears could focus on the mostly quiet floor.
The enhanced sense picking out what her pet had somehow smelled over the smoke, people. At least half a dozen pairs of feet pounding against rock and underbrush.
"Ohh, you noticed, huh?" Ardee said cheerfully, walking up to her. "The other catgirls should right away as well."
"O-Only because I had Kin," Silica blushed. She could not handle the implication that she was better in any way than the beautiful Autumn sisters that had saved their lives.
"Hmm, okay!" Then Ardee took a step forward and broke one of the main rules of the dungeon. Holding a hand to her mouth, she yelled. "Oi, Lyu! I came to talk to you!"
The cadence of the footsteps changed slightly. Then, the sound of the ground breaking under incredible force split the night.
It was only because of that warning that Silica caught a glimpse of the figure cloaked in night before they stopped right in front of Ardee. "You…" The palpable anger in Lyu's voice suddenly faded as the elf sighed. "It is good to see you, Ardee."
"You too, Lyu!"
Then to Silica's disbelief, the friendly blue-haired female launched herself at Lyu and wrapped the elf in a giant hug.
"W-Why do you always do this!"
"Hehe, because I can! And you need more hugs!"
"I-Idiot!"
Despite her embarrassed protests, Lyu did not pull away. The elf they had been warned to never touch the skin of just… let it happen.
"You two are… friends?"
The implication in Silica's voice must have carried through as Lyu did pull away. "No! No we are not!"
"Lyuuu," Ardee drawled, pouting. "She'll get suspicious if you phrase it that way!"
"All suspicions she has are because of your inappropriate behavior!" Lyu retaliated, stomping on the packed earth and splitting it with her excessive force.
Regaining her balance quickly from the small quake, Silica turned away from the awkward pair. The sound of a distinctive running gait caught her attention. One she did not even realize that she had memorized.
"Kirito…"
He smiled and suddenly everything was worth it. Silica's heart melted as tears began to pour down her cheeks.
He looked horrible. His jacket was ripped and torn, his left arm in a makeshift shift and one of his blades was clearly broken. Bags from lack of sleep and exhaustion left his face gaunt.
In spite of that, or maybe because of it, Silica was not sure if he had ever been more attractive. Launching forward, Silica threw her arms around him, burying her head against the cracked protector on his chest.
First for once… Smiling where no one could see her, she tightened her grip, preventing him from leaving. In moments, he was returning the gesture, his larger arms almost completely consuming her within a blissful night.
"And here come the rest," Asuna chuckled. Her gentle voice crushing Silica's bliss. "You'll be busy today I think."
"Ahh, yeah." The words were wishy-washy, but the warmth in his voice soothed Silica again. Closing her eyes, she waited to get pulled off by the next girl coming to greet him.
Kirito did not simply let her be though, his right hand was gently stroking the back of her head. "You worked really hard, didn't you?"
Silica nodded against his chest, unable to find words for the moment.
"Was it bad?"
Another nod.
"…I'm proud of you. Thank you for staying alive."
Pulling her face up to stare at him, Silica smiled back. "No, thank you…"
Kirito did not kiss her; he simply laid his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. It was somehow more intimate, more perfect.
Warmth renewed, Silica backed out of his grasp and searched for Kin as the others arrived, bringing a flood of fanfare and calls of rejoice with them. As Silica expected, her presence was swiftly forgotten as everyone focused solely upon those that had returned from the depths, broken, battered, and starved—but still alive.