Dungeon Oratoria Online

by asdf1asdf1

DOO is the first game to be created in a long awaited category, a VRMMORPG. Follow Kirito and co as they seek to clear out the depths of the dungeon located beneath the city Orario. However, this game is no mere entertainment, it's a real world, where death in the dungeon means death for your body. The only way they can escape the game is to clear the bottom floor of the dungeon.

22. Chapter 20

Author's note:

Once again, this chapter took longer than I thought it would to write.

It also ended up far longer than I thought it would. Brevity is a skill I've yet to acquire in my writing it would seem.

Anyway, this is the first part of it. I imagine the second part will be equally as long but hopefully it actually moves things forward a little more than these past chapters have.

Lastly, I hope you are all doing well in the changing conditions of the world these days. Stay safe and hopefully this chapter brightens your days inside a little!

---

Chapter 20: A Group Decision Pt. 1

North Orario:

"Stupid Miach," cursing the blue-haired deity, Hestia kicked at the ground under her feet. After being denied by the God on her thoughts, Hestia left the store soon after.

That left her strolling the streets of northern Orario without an objective. The early afternoon sun still hung high above the buildings. Her children had been in the dungeon for quite a while already. Five, maybe six hours. Yet, Hestia instinctively knew that they hadn't returned yet.

Feet stalling briefly with indecision, she began to head towards their home. After all, she wanted to be there when they returned.

"Oh, Hestia!"

"Huh?" Hearing her name getting called, Hestia quickly found its source. The old animal woman that manages her potato stand.

"Thank goodness you're here, I need you for a couple hours!"

"…Yes," Hestia sighed in response, following the woman back to the stand. Head hung low; she gave up on waiting back at home. However, Hestia realized that this shift did give her an excuse for skirting the work that she should be doing. All that money just sitting there…

Even the brief thought of it had her salivating. But, her familia, and particularly Leafa, made sure that Hestia was unable to go on ravish spending sprees. Even now walking along, different goods caught her eye.

That perfume is only 50,000 valis!

Prices far too high for her previous living arrangements, but now!

No! Kirito needs the funds to continue moving forwards!

Using her first precious child to reaffirm her dedication to savings, Hestia crushed her purchasing urge yet again. Nonetheless, she wished that her familia would allow them to spend a little more. What's wrong with a feast every other night? Or every night? They had enough that it would hardly make a dent!

"Hestia? Are you going to start working?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, yes!" Shocked back to the present, Hestia ties the apron on and took up the now familiar role at packaging and distributing potato snacks. In general, Hestia only cooked as an absolutely last resort.

Mind now focused on receiving orders and handing them out, Hestia made sure to greet each customer with a smile. Almost without fail, each customer patted her on the head. Taking the actions stoically, Hestia had gotten used to being a mascot for the children a long time ago. Eventually, the pre-supper rush started to die down. The stand was most popular between meal times. A good snack to tide one over. As the time approached when one would usually look for a proper meal, the people on the streets drifted off to the restaurants.

"Thank you for that Hestia," the animal woman thanked her with a deeper bow than usual. "I'll pay you double for that. You've gotten quite good at the job."

"I-I have?" Hestia replied, somewhat stunned by the praise. "I… I guess I have. Thank you!"

Bowing deeply back to the animal person, Hestia turned to remove her apron. The previous turmoil washed away by a compliment from a child of this world.

"Umm…"

Looking back in the midst of taking her apron off, Hestia laid eyes on a customer that snuck up while they'd been talking. Leaving the apron on for now, Hestia turned to help them. The customer was shorter even than Hestia. With the same midnight black hair, the girl's fell straight down her back, contrary to Hestia's twin tails.

"Can I… Get some food?"

"Of course you can!" Hestia comforted her. "What kind do you want?"

"K-kind?" Stuttering over the word, the girl's face twisted up in consternation. "I-I don't know…"

"Woah! Calm down there!" Hestia tried to soothe the girl on the edge of a breakdown. Circling around the stand, Hestia knelt somewhat so that they shared an eyelevel. "People really like the Azuki Cream one, would you like to try that one?"

"Yes?"

"Alright, that will be 30 valis then."

"V-valis!?"

This time there was no stopping the girl's panic as yet another unfamiliar question assaulted her. Frustrated tears welling up in her eyes, she couldn't believe that her careful planning had failed. As she watched people repeat the same routine time and time again, the girl hadn't realized how much information she'd missed.

"Uh, you know what, I'll pay for it and walk you back to your parents." Returning 30 of the 120 valis Hestia had received for her two hours of work, she grabbed a freshly made potato snack and gave it to the small girl.

"What are parents?" The girl asks, receiving the snack without so much as a thank you.

"Uh…" Getting seriously worried, Hestia wasn't sure what to do. She may be immortal, but in all of her years, she'd never heard of something like this happening. "They're the people that gave birth to you, and then raised you… You know, they give you food and stuff…"

"I guess then… you're my parents!"

Jaw dropping, Hestia simply stared in confusion. She couldn't believe this. But, as she stared into the girl's wide, earnest eyes, a new feeling began to flutter in her heart. Those black eyes were the exact same shade as Kirito's. If Hestia and he were to have one… would it look like this girl? Unfortunately, Hestia could never have children.

Is this girl a gift from the gods then?

Eyes brightening up, Hestia smiled in reply. "That's right, I'm your mama! Now eat up and I'll show you our home!"

"Okay, Mama!"

---

Kirito:

"Hmm…"

The only sounds were those of comfortable breathing. Within the inky darkness of the cavern, we had nowhere to go and nothing to do. So, we waited. Both of the girls rested their heads on my shoulder. They claimed it was an emergency and therefore alright. I'm still not so sure about the argument but… who was I to complain?

Letting me own head loll back, it was hard to tell sometimes when my eyes were open and when they were closed. The darkness in this chamber was complete. If the girls weren't here, I'd be terrified. I'd never quite fully appreciated the physiological impact of being trapped in a small, enclosed space with absolutely zero light. Even my enhanced level two vision can't make anything out, even outlines.

"Do… Do you think, we'll be rescued soon?"

Silica's voice, even whispered, sounds loud in the small, isolated chamber.

"Of course," I answer strongly, pushing through the doubt in my own mind. "We'll wait a while longer, and then… Leafa, do you think your magic would do any good here?"

"Honestly? No. I'd be more worried about hurting us than actually achieving anything. I thought maybe yours…"

"That won't work either." I sigh, my shoulders flexing in momentary discomfort. "I don't have my blade to cast it, and even if I did, all it would leave in the rock is a fist sized hole."

"But that would let people locate us," Silica mumbles in support.

"I suppose," I mutter, not really liking the direction of the conversation. "I still don't have a weapon to cast it on."

"Why not use my katana?"

"I…" What can I say? That I don't want to use my magic on anything but my blade? "I don't think it'll work…"

Both girls' sigh in unison. "I'm certainly not going to object to this situation…"

"But?" I fill in for my sister.

"What about the others, Onii-chan? Rain? Philia? Even that Lisbeth?"

With only those few words, my blood runs cold. How had I not thought about them? I want to punch myself repeatedly. One thing the darkness is good for is that hides my face from the girls. I can hardly breath. They could be injured. They could already be…

Cursing, I pull myself free of the girls and stand up. There's just enough room for me. As if the cubby was designed with my height in mind. "Katana please."

"…Yes."

After an awkward transition of the blade, and a lot of bumping of hands, I find my next task, where to fire the spell. Straight up seems like a decent choice. Setting the tip of the blade against the stone, I close my eyes and begin chanting.

---

Sixteenth floor:

"She… she saved me…" Sachi's voice was small and dim, yet everyone heard it clearly. As the rubble stopped moving, only a stunned silence hung over the cavern. The entirety of Take-Mikazuchi familia stood in a half circle around Sachi. However, all of their eyes were focused past her, where six men dug frantically in the rubble.

Eventually though, they gave up, falling to their knees in despair. "I can't believe it… Shakmi… I failed you…"

There were no tears, merely a shared shock disbelief. It was as if one of the pillars of their world had been removed. As if when they woke up the sky was green instead of blue. An unexplainable impossibility. Facing one, they couldn't get over their shock.

"We… need to leave."

"Ouka!" Chigusa repudiates the familia leader.

"No, he's right…" One of the Ganesha familia members moans. "There are people on this floor that need aid. There's also an entire column of monsters that needs to be dealt with."

"Can we?" Mikoto asks softly. "Without her…"

Following Mikoto's question, only a sorrowful silence was left. For the truth facing them was felt keenly by everyone present. No one else was strong enough to face a column of creatures head-on and live to tell the tale.

Crack.

"Huh?"

Speaking softly, Sachi turned back to the rock pile. Twisting her head in confusion, Sachi could have sworn she'd heard something from the rock pile beside her. From where she…

Sachi couldn't get the image out of her mind, the indigo-haired leader dashing back into the collapsing area to reach her. Throwing her out at the last possible moment. Tons of rock falling where she'd been a second ago.

Crack!

This time Sachi was sure. If she'd survived, then… She'd be coming out, right…

CRACK!

This time, everyone left turned to face the noise. Hopeful gasps filling the cavern, everyone watched awestruck as the noises continued to get progressively louder.

Eventually, "Boom!" with a thunderous roar, a gauntleted hand struck through the last of the rock. Fingers grasping, they settled on the ground and pulled. With an inevitable surety, more and more of the adventurer began to be revealed.

"It is…"

"I can't believe it…"

"…the new cane."

Pulling herself free from the last of the rock, her body was a disaster. Dried blood and torn garments coated her body. Sachi didn't see how it was possible for her to still move.

"Thanks for waiting." Coughing the words out, a small amount of blood came with them.

"How are you alive?" Ouka's words were probably rude, but he couldn't contain them. The feat she'd just performed was beyond remarkable, it was heroic.

"Elixirs," Shakmi answered roughly. Groaning in evident pain, she collapsed against the wall of rock. Eyes closing in relief, she relayed her story. "Pretty sure the weight of the rock broke my back. Thankfully though, the pouch I keep my elixirs in is back there. They kept me alive, and eventually won the battle. When I was able to feel my legs again, I started to move. After all, I can't die yet. Not until I've saved my sister from whatever hell she's trapped in."

Almost as one, the people from the other world gasped. This was the first time they'd heard the possibility that those taken in the Great Reckoning were still alive.

"I'll just be a minute, then we need to move. People are still in danger." Leaving the words there, Shakmi closed her eyes and took a few minutes to rest. At the same time, she prayed to the intuition that told her to keep her level up a secret. After all, this was a trap designed to kill a level three.

---

Hestia's Church:

"Here's your new home!" Hestia announced happily. Putting her hands on her hips, she thrusts her chest out proudly. It may not be much, but Hestia was happy with the life she'd made in the place.

"Why is it ruined?" The young girl asked in confusion.

"Well… uh, I got it second-hand."

"Why don't you fix it?"

"That's pretty expensive," Hestia replies awkwardly.

"Hmm? Can't you just press a few buttons, and have it fix itself?"

"HUH!?" Grunting in confusion, Hestia stared stunned small at the small child that stared back earnestly. Was she describing… arcanum? Using her powers, Hestia could indeed do exactly what the girl was describing. She could create a personalized display that allowed her to play with colours and styles before applying it to the church itself. "I-I can't do stuff like that here."

"Why?"

"I'll get kicked out. They consider it cheating."

"Oh. So how do we fix it then?"

Hestia couldn't help but chuckle at the little girl's optimism. Although, as they shared a smile, Hestia realized something, "What's your name? Mine's Hestia!"

"Name? Oh, is that like a codename?"

"Uh… Yes?"

"Then… Yui?"

"Yui-chan? That's a good name." Ruffling the short girl's hair, Hestia once again lapsed into her vision of the future, going on dates with Kirito with this little girl suspended between them… "So, what do you want to do, my darling daughter."

"I want to fix the church Mama!"

"Ha… Well, I'd like that too. However, that's a little outside our skillset."

"Oh…" Yui pouted, clearly unhappy about not being able to fix the church. Covering her stomach with her two hands, Yui turned her gaze to Hestia. "Can I get more food then?"

"Of course, you can." Leading Yui inside the ruined church and down the stairs, Hestia put all of her newfound cooking skills on display to give her adopted daughter the meal she deserved.

While Hestia prepared the food, which wasn't much, just sandwiches with some ingredients that she picked up yesterday with the girls. "So, do you remember where you came from?"

"Uh, well, it was a dark room!"

"A dark room?"

"Uh huh! Then I found an opening and followed it! Then I found a thing with buttons!"

"A thing with buttons?" Hestia echoed again, still unable to believe her ears.

"That's right! I followed these people around as they fought these scary monsters! But then, this mean person showed up and collapsed the roof on them!"

"Collapsed the… What on earth are you talking about?"

"I-I'm just telling you what happened…" Yui sulked, unhappy that her Mama doubted her words.

"Y-yes, finish please." Hestia encouraged uncertainly. Hands shaking slightly from the strange story and girl that she'd bound herself too, Hestia finished putting the food together.

"Well anyway, the rocks were falling, and this one guy jumped on top of these two girls, but I could tell it wouldn't be enough, so, I put them in this little cubby so that they'd be safe!"

"A… I… Huh?"

"But then… Uh oh."

Hestia felt a wave of dread come over her as she watched Yui's happy, proud face fall into terror.

"I got sent here… I couldn't free them when it was safe…"

"Can… Can you describe these people?" Hestia asks nervously. "Maybe we can find their familia and tell them where they are."

"They… One was a boy with black hair and black eyes…"

Oh no.

"There was a girl that looked like him, with the same hair and eyes, both humans."

It can't be.

"The third had brown hair and was a cat girl."

No, my children…

"The two girls weren't initially with the boy; he was fending off monsters with a different group when he encountered these other people that saved him and his group!"

Falling to the ground, Hestia wanted to deny the little girl's words. To insist that she was talking about someone else. Anyone else. Not her children. Her beloved Kirito. Feeling the tears rush to her eyes, Hestia had no response to Yui's queries as she noticed Hestia's abnormal state.

---

Philia:

"Is everyone alright?" As the dust began to fade, I hesitantly spoke in the now near silent room. The screams, smoke, and explosions from before seems like a different world.

"Y-yes," Nautilus's shaky voice replies. The boy has his sword out from some reason. Like it's going to protect him from falling rocks.

"I also seem to have survived," Yuna adds on, rising from the floor a short distance away. While Nautilus appears to have gone stiff from fright, Yuna's body is visibly shaken.

"Where's Rain?" I ask, looking around the chamber. It's still hard to see with all the dust floating through the air. "And Kirito? RAIN!"

"Here," a voice coughed from my immediate right. "No need to blow my ear off."

"Rain!" Screaming her name again, I dive on the girl, just inches from the edge of the cave-in. "Wait, where's Kirito?"

"He went with his familia." Walking around a corner, Asuna leads her entire familia. The seven of them are beat up, some fresh scrapes from the recent explosion, but nothing that looks too severe. "As far as I can tell, we're it on this side of the collapse. We'll need to go around to hopefully meet up with the others."

"Don't forget about me…" Emerging like a corpse from a side tunnel that had been almost completely blocked with stone, Kirito's blacksmith, Lisbeth, emerged. "Guess, I fell in with the girlfriend squad, huh?"

"W-what does that mean?" Asuna replies roughly, put off from her commander mode by the girl's words.

"Well, you three compose the girlfriend squad," Lisbeth begins to explain, clearly still rattled from the near-death experience. "The two in Kirito's familia make up the little sister squad, and then that other one, the Ganesha familia captain, seems to be in her own squad, the mentor squad. Do you know if he has an older sister squad? I think I'd like that one more…"

"…" Only a stunned silence followed Lisbeth's perhaps too frank explanation. I wish I could shoot it down, but… She pretty much nailed us. Something told me Kirito confided a little too much with his blacksmith.

"I see…" Deciding to ignore Lisbeth and her eccentricities for now, I focus upon Asuna. Pulling myself upright, I find myself glad that Asuna's here. She has a force around her, like Kirito, that convinces you that she'll win no matter what. "How are you doing Rain?" Turning to my red-haired companion, I can't help but worry for her. That thing she did right before that person showed up…

"I'm fine, Philia," Rain grumbles quietly to me. "I was just… Really angry before…"

"Why?" I ask her, while we still have a couple seconds of quiet time.

"I… I don't know. It was just the rage in the monsters, with every swing of sword, every one that fell before me… It seemed to infect me more."

"Scary…" I murmur instantly, clearly not helping the situation. "Hey, we will figure this out. For now, can you stand."

"If you get off me," she grumbles, flashing me a small smile.

Doing, just that, I take a few steps back so that my legs aren't tangled with hers and I pull her to her feet as the others close in around us. Glancing around at our ragtag group, I realize we aren't out of danger just yet. We're stuck on the sixteenth floor with the main route currently blocked off.

"Alright," Asuna announces, stepping forward so that we have to look at her. "We are here." Unfurling a map of the sixteenth floor, she puts it on the ground and places a finger on the cavern whose edge we stand upon. "Rain blocked the passage, back over here."

Trailing her finger along the main route, Asuna gestures to a small corridor about 200 metres to the south. "Thankfully, there is this side passage here. While not ideal, we can use it to get back to the cavern from the eastern edge. Hopefully, it's clear there and we can retreat back to the fifteenth."

"We blocked it pretty well," I assure Asuna. "We'll have lots of time to get out."

"Good." Asuna asserts, clearly in leader mode, "Unfortunately, the others may be injured and in need of healing, therefore, we run."

"Can…" Trailing off, my eyes flick first to Rain, then to the Loki familia members that had been injured.

"They'll be alright." Asuna assumes, or maybe commands, is a better way of putting it. "You three are still level one, correct?" Standing up, Asuna addresses Yuna and Nautilus for the first time as well as Lisbeth.

"Y-yes," Nautilus stutters in answer, clearly overwhelmed by the force of her voice.

"We'll keep up," Yuna answers in a straighter voice, poking Nautilus in the side.

Lisbeth stays silent for once, simply nodding to confirm her conviction. Her cheeks, however, are beacons speaking to her self-inflicted embarrassment from her past speech.

"Good, then it's time to run."

With that Asuna, stands up, furls the map and gestures for us to follow. Sending a questioning glance at Rain, she nods in confirmation. Trusting her judgement that she's alright, I trail a step behind her as she begins running. The pace is quite a bit slower than we maintained while trying to flee before. Burdened with injuries and now a pair of level ones, it's still grueling. The repetitive thumps of my heels on stone send shocks all the way to my skull. A dull pounding that will result in a nasty headache a couple hours from now.

"So… Fast…" Groaning in pain, Nautilus' words were strained.

"Just… Hang in there…" Yuna tried to encourage him. While her breathing was a little better on account of her lighter gear, she was also suffering.

"Don't worry," I assure them, "we won't leave you behind."

Just nodding their understanding, they keep running, there's little else to do at this point. Slowing up slightly, I position myself at the back of the group. That way, if a monster shows up, I'll be able to intercept it first.

Feet plodding inexorably along the path, I send one prayer out to Kirito to be safe, another, I keep for us. Something tells me that the trials of today aren't over. There's something else awaiting us at the end of our long, dark road.

---

?:

"Oh! So, that's what that girl did! Hmm, status adjustment? Let's see here…"

Figuring out the screen, the larger girl happily tinkered with the numbers upon them. Eventually, when she was satisfied, she twirled around examining herself. Her physical appearance had been left unchanged, but beyond that, her outfit was entirely new. No longer did she wear that white smock identical to the one the small girl had worn. A giant two-handed sword was slung over shoulder, suspended in a sheath. Her body as well, was covered with a shimmering purple fabric that she'd personally deigned to compliment her eyes.

Even though she was sure to make sure it was battle-ready, she noticed a gap between her chin that stretched down to her chest. Pushing the armour there up for a moment, she let it fall down and bounce a couple times. Tilting her head in confusion, the girl was confused as to why exactly it was designed like this, it didn't seem particularly safe, nor functional in combat. Shrugging, the girl trusted in the system and turned back to the monitor. With a few more deft motions, she found the option she was searching for.

*WORLD TRANSFER SELECTED*

*CONFIRM?*

"Yes!" The girl squeaked happily slamming upon the button that corresponded with that option. Eyes wide with excitement, she waited as she got transported to the world, her new adjustments in place.

---

Guild Headquarters:

"What!?" Eyes flaring in confusion, Ouranos cast his will deep into the dungeon, seeking out the source of its anger. It was near the surface, the sixteenth floor.

The first time, Ouranos had felt a mild spike of anger, a surge of arcanum had infiltrated the dungeon and had been summarily dispersed with no noticeable source. This time, however, the source lasted for a while longer.

Only one thought came to the wizened god's mind. A deity entered the dungeon. But who, and why? Was it related to the one from before?

This time, the dungeon's anger didn't abate. That uncontrollable hate for deities. For the beings that dare to keep it leashed. The ones arrogant enough to now try and tread within it's sacred halls. Ouranos felt as if he had a first-class view into the workings of its mind. They were practically bonded after his millennia of repressing its interference.

Into his mind, flashed an image, a head like an elongated skill, blood dripping from its razor-sharp fangs. Within its twin sunken holes glow two crimson orbs full of hate.

The apostle of the dungeon…

But… as if discarding that option, the dungeon shifted its attention. Ouranos saw the dual cave-ins on the sixteenth floor. Where the hordes of monsters were trapped, swirling around in a confused mix.

Slaughter them…

As if bidden by a single purpose, the monsters howled together and turned towards the barricade, like they were moving on silent orders only they could hear. Shortly after, the rocks began to move. The very ground and walls themselves moved to clear space for the monsters to get through.

With a way forward, the monster horde advanced as one. No longer did they search for food, but flesh. Closing his eyes in mourning, Ouranos leaned back on his throne and tried to keep the dungeon under control. All things considered; this was a mild response from the dungeon.

It could have been worse, far worse.

---

Welf:

"Holy shit." Speaking slowly, I can't quite believe my eyes. "Seriously, what the fuck was that!?"

"Inferno stones…" Welf mumbles for not the first time. In light of recent events, it was starting to piss me off.

"If you know something, will you just spit it out?" I growl at my contracted blacksmith.

I guess my words finally get his attention as his eyes focus in on me. "About this… No. But what she threw at us, those were inferno stones."

"So you've said. Should that mean something to me?"

"Well… yes. They used to power everything, back before the fall. They're drop items from floor 44. I used to use them for smithing, they heated my forge. They were also used to heat buildings among other things."

"I can't believe a 44th floor drop item was used for something as mundane as that…" Dale chirped in. The disbelief in his voice matches my feelings.

"Must have dropped like candy," I chirp in in agreement. Welf merely shrugs, unknowingly. "Well… Since the blast wasn't aimed at us, we seem to be in one piece, however…"

"We can't get anywhere!"

"Yes, that does seem to be the issue." I agree, trying to maintain a positive outlook for my party. We've never come down this far before. Now that we're by ourselves, things could get dicey. "Do we got a map of this place?"

Looking around at my comrades, each one shakes their head sadly. It's infuriating, and frightening, but instead I show them a big goofy smile. As I do, I get a couple of answering ones, but even those are muted. Something seems off here… Right!

"Hey, where's that gray-haired dude? Heath someone?"

One by one, my familia shakes their heads in denial. They never interacted with him. It's the leader's job to watch out for the people following them after all. Only Welf seems a little confused.

"Welf?" I ask probing.

"I'm not sure…" The blacksmith reluctantly speaks. "But when the cavern was coming down, I thought I saw a streak of gray rushing towards the western side…"

Walking over there, I check it out. Glancing around quickly, I see nothing out of the ordinary. It is possible to get over to that exit still, but why would anyone want to? Shrugging I turn my back on it and push the man from my mind. I'm sure he's with one of the other groups.

"Well then, Harry, it's time to put those cartography lessons to use!" Clapping the member on the back, his face goes pale with fright. Thankfully, for fear of getting laughed at, he doesn't say anything contrary. As a Hume bunny, his race is built primarily for speed and scouting. He even has a skill that muffles his footfalls allowing to sneak around easier. To compliment this, some of the more senior members were teaching him to map. Most of us had initially scoffed at such a practice, after all, why would we need to make maps when ones were already available for purchase at the guild? Thankfully, the seniors didn't listen to us.

"I-I'll do my best!"

"Good man!" Clapping him on the back, I take a stroll around the northern edge of the cavern and the area still available to us. The western tunnel, where that masked figure had emerged from, is still mostly intact. Be a bit of a climb to get in there, but oh well. However, there seems to be no point in chasing them, they're probably long gone.

Besides us, everyone else seems to have fled. They were gone practically before we managed to empty the room of monsters. Maybe we should just head to the fifteenth?

"Alright, I think I'm ready…"

"Then let's do this!" Trying to pump my party up, I flash them another grin. Combined with my wicked good looks, it's sure to cheer them up. Strangely though, I don't get much enthusiasm back. Is something on my face? Contemplating the issue, I lead them North. Harry walks beside me at a slow pace, his gaze constantly flitting up and down while the quill in his hand continues to make strokes.

Taking a quick glance at his paper, I'm fairly impressed. While clearly not a masterpiece, is easy to see the outline of the chamber, the western tunnel, the rocks blocking the path and the Northern passage we're taking. Step by step, accompanied with the murmuring under his breath, it gets steadily longer.

Turning my attention away from him, it ends back on Welf, the question that's been inside of me since the twelfth-floor refuses to be contained any longer. "So, are you and that other blacksmith a package?"

Welf coughs, his face going red.

"You are!" I accuse him. "First Kirito scoops up half the eligible maidens in the city, now just when I find one, you've already gotten her!"

"No!" Welf denies, "if anything she likes that Kirito boy as well."

Staring at the blacksmith dumbfounded, I lift my gaze up to the sky, as tears start to pour my cheeks. "Curse you Kirito, you womanizer!" Shaking my fists at the ceiling, I berate the boy for stealing another opportunity from me. Why must the popular one's always do this? How dare they steal my chances at love from me? So what that I'm a little bit older? Nothing can stop true love!

Except Kirito…

Cursing his name, I'm unable to stop the flood of tears as they fall from my cheeks. Each one representing another woman he's stolen that could have been mine. I only want one, is that too much to ask?

"Uhh, I realize that this is obviously a rough time for you," Welf begins uncertainly, "but we have monsters approaching."

Determination reawakening, I'm glad that we're getting attacked. I need an avenue through which to release my pent-up fury. "Damn you, Kirito!" Roaring my new war-cry, I charge into the midst of the approaching swarm.

---

Silica:

"Gigas Cedar!"

Speaking the name of his spell, I can only assume that it goes off. Without any light to see by, it's impossible for me to tell if it did.

After a couple seconds though, a faint beam streams in. There's only enough that I can see the hole left behind by the magic. It's too faint to illuminate the chamber in which we found ourselves trapped.

"Amazing Onii-chan!"

It's hard not to get frustrated with Leafa. Her words are spoken with such familiarity. I've only began to appreciate recently how late I've entered this race for Kirito's heart. With so many contenders, I'm at the back. But…

I refuse to give up!

Using the light as a reference, I reach out and find Kirito's hand. "That's quite an amazing spell you have!"

"Haha, you two are too kind…"

Once again, Kirito's words contain an unbelievable amount of restraint in them. Like he isn't letting himself act natural around us. He only let Leafa and I sleep on him because we convinced him it was the only way.

"Can you cast the spell again?" Leafa asks, surely clinging on to him as I am. "Maybe angle it a little to try and create a hole?"

"It may cause a small cave-in," Kirito warns, "but I think I have to. We seem to be suspended between the sixteenth and seventeenth floors currently. About halfway between each."

"Maybe we should just focus on going down then," I offer. "That way we'll fall with the rock, rather than fight against it." A brief silence follows my suggestion. During it, I feel myself clam up, a residual fear that they'll deny me.

"That may be an idea worth pursuing," Kirito relents eventually, "however…"

"We'd be completely lost…" Leafa points out, her voice shaking a little.

"If we're even over a passageway," Kirito follows up. "There could be nothing but rock beneath us all the way to the eighteenth or even lower."

Lowering my head, I rest it against Kirito's arm. Another failure for me. Yet, the idea of all that stone above us coming crashing down on our heads is frightening.

"We have to risk going up," Kirito asserts. "The two of you, huddle up against the wall and you should be alright."

"What about you!?" Leafa asks instantly, stealing the words from me. How is she so caring? I know I told her that I'd be fighting her for Kirito, but it certainly doesn't seem a fair fight right about now.

"I'll be fine," Kirito soothes us. Gently, he pushes us towards the wall behind him. Finding myself beside another person, I grab at Leafa, and she returns the gesture. Hands locked, there's little we can do but wait as Kirito forces his magic out once again.

"You can do this… Onii-chan."

Her words a murmured prayer, I squeeze her hands once in solidarity. Anything to provide just a bit of comfort, to Leafa as well as my myself. The slight bit of light shining through is perhaps even worse than the absolute darkness that had been here before. Now, I catch glimpses of silhouettes, shadowy figures that haunt my eyes which strain for details. Imperceptible movements, caused by a faint source, who knows how many feet above us. Panic rising, I grip onto Leafa all the tighter and feel her respond in kind.

"Gigas Cedar!"

Spear of darkness forming once again, the light source gets briefly blocked out, as Kirito's magic consumes it. I feel a small burst of sadness that I've never actually seen his magic. Only twice now have I gotten to witness the chant without the result.

"Crack!"

"Here it comes," warning us, Kirito's back presses against us, protecting us from any harm. Left in darkness, I lean my head against his back and grab unto him with one hand, my other still holding Leafa. Instinctively, I can tell Leafa as taken up a similar position, making sure that she's holding onto the person she loves should the worst come to pass.

With my eyes closed, all I have to tell me what's happening is the continuing rumbles and cracks or stone grinding against stone.

"Urgh!"

Eyes snapping open at the sound of Kirito's grunt, I look up past his shoulder and am surprised by how light it is. I'd never be able to fight with this little light, but compared to the previous total blackness, it's almost like daytime.

Rock is continuing to crash into our small chamber, shards of it pelting Kirito's exposed body. Arms sprawled wide; he does his best to protect us from injury.

"We need to go, climb!"

"Huh?" Both Leafa and I mutter in confusion at Kirito's final yelled word. The volume of his voice echoing loudly through the small chamber,

"It won't stay open for long, now climb!"

Practically forcing us ahead of him, I find myself to be the first person in line to reach the hole. Clambering over the fallen rock, I look up and see dungeon. Just about ten feet above me, the passage opens up into the sixteenth floor. However… "It's so narrow…" Kirito's twin spell uses had indeed made a passage up. Unfortunately, due to the differing angles of casting, it was wide in some spots, and narrow in others.

"You and Leafa are slender, you can fit," Kirito assures us. Before the dungeon begins to heal."

"Wait what about you?"

"You should go first Onii-chan!"

My words are drowned out beneath Leafa's yell, but I don't care. I'm with her, Kirito should go first. He's the important one, we can't survive this floor without him.

"GO!" Kirito roars, grabbing my waist.

"Eep!" Protesting the forced contact, my vision blurs as he hoists me up the hole in the ceiling. Feeling my upper body jammed inside; I have nothing else to do but climb. The quicker I get out; the faster Kirito can come.

Hands getting cut on the sharp stone protrusions, I force myself up. Where my clothes get snagged, I put more force into my limbs and rip it. Foot by foot, I force myself upwards. It's hard going. My small feet struggle to find purchase against the walls. Even with my slender build, it's a struggle to move. Getting my arms above my head, I move blindly, using touch as my only sense.

"Gah!"

Yelling, I get stuck. My hands can feel freedom. A small breeze indicating the sixteenth floor is right there. The narrowest part of the escape vent.

"If it's too small for me, the others have no chance…."

Paling with fear, I begin struggling, my movements becoming erratic. A cold terror grips my heart as I feel the wall close in around me.

I can't move.

The walls are going to crush me to death.

"NOO!"

Crying out in absolute terror, I feel tears streak my face. They don't help though. Nothing and no one can help. I'm stuck, suspended between the sixteenth and seventeenth floor in an area that shouldn't exist.

"My my, what do we have here?"

The voice is so surprising, that for a brief second, I'm shocked out of my terror. Unable to look up, I don't know who they are, only that the voice was extremely feminine. They sound about my age.

"HELP!"

Terror gripping me once more, I shout at them again. From below, I can hear Kirito and Leafa's concerned voices. Telling me not to panic and other garbage like that. All of my attention is on this new person, hopefully they can pull me free. Tear-stained eyes focused upwards, I wait in darkness for their answer, my face against a stone wall.

"Let's see… I'll do this!" Accompanying her words is the sound of metal on rock. An ear-piercing screech as rock is split asunder. "And this!" Once again it rings out, as this person breaks the rock around me.

Closing my eyes, I feel the weight of rock pressing in on me. Shards broken by them now resting on me.

"That should be good!"

"Huh?" Muttering in confusion, I feel a warm sensation wrap around my hand. Immediately after, my whole body feels a little lighter. I'm getting pulled up. Squirming in my hold, I try and help them by freeing myself from my rocky confines. Inch by blissful inch, I rise. The encumbrance that once halted me is nowhere to be found.

Light.

Getting lifted up, the rock pieces fall from my shoulders and I'm greeted once again by light. The caverns of the sixteenth floor that I'd once described as dark, and hard to see in, now look like their illuminated by the noonday sun. Falling to the ground, my chest heaves pathetically as fresh tears work their way onto my cheeks.

"It's alright," the girl soothes, her hand on my head. "You're safe now."

"My familia," I plead with her. "Save them too."

"Will do!" She assures me. Moving from my side, I want to grab her, to hang onto anyone living, but I can't. Merely the light bathing my face is enough for now. "'Ello? Can I get the next person please?"

"Who's…? Never mind, go Leafa."

"Wait, but Onii… AHH!"

Smiling slightly at the exchange, Leafa must have experienced the same thing I did. As the sounds of squirming and grunts of frustration reach my ears, my heart starts to slow. The adrenaline and terror begin to subside. The traumatic memories of being trapped in stone, alone, with no exit will surely haunt me for a long time, but for now… they are just memories.

Picking myself up of the ground, I blink the last of the tears from my eyes and go to help pulling Leafa from the hole. "Thank you for your… Huh?"

Jaw dropping, this girl, no woman, can't be further from my image of her in my head. I expected someone like me. A fairly new adventurer around my age. This one though… her breasts are huge! Covering my chest with my arms, I feel extremely self-conscious. Kirito is going to do nothing but stare! Growling quietly to myself, I can't help but stare at her. She seems made to seduce men. A beautiful smile on a gorgeous face, a young, innocent voice, all combined with armour that seemed designed for the sole purpose of sharing off her gigantic melons! Coming around to the front of her as she starts to pull Leafa from the hole, my anger only rises further. She's practically falling out of her clothes! On top of that, she has a pair of moles that look intentionally placed to give the male viewer an excuse to stare at her cleavage.

It's… It's… So unfair!

Cursing the gods that I haven't yet been blessed with my own assets to woe Kirito with, I set to freeing Leafa from her rocky stronghold. After a bit of struggling, the rocky tunnel relinquishes its grasp. It's somewhat soothing to see the fear in her eyes. The same one that overcame me when I got trapped.

"Your turn Kirito!" I call down to the boy, the last one left behind.

"I… I'm so sorry you got stuck Silica, that was awful…"

"Yep!" The new girl agrees with a hearty smile. "Lucky for you I happened to be strolling past!"

"Don't worry about it," I try and comfort Leafa, giving her my best fake smile, "we're getting through this."

"Yes… I suppose so…"

"Coming!" Kirito's voice calls up, followed closely by the banging of metal on rocks. Curses and grunts accompany his passage up the cliff. It's hard to see how well he's doing on the climb. His status should aid him, but he's also bigger than Leafa and I.

"Should probably cut more rock away…" This new girl muses to herself. "Sounds like he's struggling to get up." Without consulting either of us, she draws that gigantic sword of hers from across her back. "Yah!"

With a gigantic overhand slice, she tears through the ground at an angle. Placing her blade to the side, she crouches downward grabs unto the rock section that she sliced. Muscles flexing, a large slab lifts away from the hole.

"Amazing…"

"What strength…"

Appearing not to hear our cries of astonishment, she continues working. "Once more I think, yes?" Repeating the action from a different angle, the woman has effectively widened out the top foot or so of the hole.

"Ergh!" Following the small cry, the tip of Leafa's katana emerges from the hole.

"Oh right!" Leafa cries, obviously forgetting that she hadn't taken the sword back from Kirito, forcing him to climb one handed. No wonder he was making so much more noise than the rest of us.

"Hold on!" The woman shouts down at him before wrapping her hands around the top of the blade.

Ignoring mine and Leafa's cries, she tugs on the sword. Grunting with effort, the blade slowly rises out of the hole, the woman still uncaringly grabbing the sharp metal. After what feels like an eternity of waiting, Kirito emerges, his hands wrapped around the handle as he struggled to free the rest of himself form the rocky tomb.

"Woah!"

Crying out in surprise, Kirito begins to fall down as the woman releases the blade, unable to reach high enough anymore. Thankfully, his fall is broken by…

Cheeks flaming, I feel my body freeze up and I'm unable to do anything. Kirito's face is… It's!

I'm…

So jealous!

It's only a second, but it feels like a lifetime that I'm forced to watch that scene before my body unfreezes. Beside me, I can sense Leafa rushing forward in tandem. The shock must have paralyzed her as well.

Reaching out, I grab Kirito's right arm and Leafa takes his left. Pulling in tandem, we jerk Kirito back and out of the temptress' seduction.

"Oh my, is something wrong?"

How dare she act so innocent!?

One glance at Kirito's face only fans the flames of anger within me. There isn't a single drop of fear in his eyes! The only thing on his face is happiness. A total euphoria from having a vacation in that woman's bosom!

"Grrr…."

The growl comes not from me, but Leafa. Whatever my anger is, hers is at least tenfold more. A righteous anger burning in her eyes.

"L-Leafa?" Kirito stutters, backing up quickly along the rock ground. "A-are you alright?"

"Am I alright? Me!? Are you alright!? What are you thinking!? Are the ones around you not enough!? Now you're throwing yourself at a random woman who saved our lives!? ARE YOU INSANE!?"

"That's… I didn't… I mean…"

"Hehe, you should lighten up," the woman interrupts. Turning my gaze to her, she has that same happy smile as always. She doesn't look angry at all. If anything, she looks even happier than before. "I don't mind if he touches them."

With that, the woman grabs her voluptuous mounds and pushes them up a couple of times. Mind going blank, the strength in my legs departs me as I slide to the ground.

She's insane.

---

Hestia:

"Ah, slow down, would you?" After assuring Yui that I was alright, I watched as she devoured lunch. All the while, the gears inside my head continued to spin without answer. Kirito needs help, but I don't know what to do.

"Brugh isst ish soo gut!"

Yui's words are an incomprehensible mess. Her cheeks are puffed out like a squirrel's as she shovels sandwich after sandwich into her mouth. Thinking back on it, I hadn't even noticed when she'd eaten the potato snack…

"That was supposed to be enough food to feed the entire familia for a day…" I chuckle lightly, still in disbelief at this child. Everything that came out of her mouth was strange. "Hey, Yui… Do you have a status?"

"Staitoos?" The girl questions, tilting her head with her puffed cheeks. Putting the remnants of the sandwich down, she swallows. "Status…? I… think so?"

"Eh!?" I ask questioningly, "can I see it?"

This time, the girl's eyebrows narrow, her usually innocent face tight with concentration. "Are you… going to add me?"

"Add you?" I question.

"To your familia."

Blinking, I've been stunned yet again by this young girl. If see has a status, then she should belong to another god. But that doesn't line up with the story she told me! I want to groan in frustration.

"You… Don't want me in your familia?" The girl asked, her face pouting.

"Wait, you want to join my familia?"

"Yep!" The girl nods happily. "Yui wants to be in Mama's familia!"

"A-alright then… Whenever you're finished eat…"

"Done!" Yui chirps happily before I can even finish talking.

"Okay…" The preparations are finished in a blink of an eye. Gulping at what I'll find, I role the back of the girl's shirt up. "What the hell…?"

YUI-MHCP001

Level One

Strength: E 444 Defense: E 444 Utility: E 444 Agility: E 444 Magic: E 444

Magic:

Area of Peace – Creates a zone around the caster where occupants feel happier, their sorrow and anger repressed.

Skills:

Missionary of Peace – The user is able to block attacks from any creature that they have not attacked. Drains mind.

The status was madness. More than that, where the God's name should be listed was instead only a short code, N/A. Fingers shaking slightly, I pricked my pointer finger, causing a drop of ichor to well up from within me. Letting it fall unto the girl's back, I encounter none of the resistance a locked status should have. This girl truly was free for the taking.

Erasing the missing god, I insert my own name upon her back, granting her my falna. Of all the strange things I've encountered in this world, this surpasses them all. My previous misgivings about the otherworldly skills seem mild in comparison.

"So, I'm a part of Mama's family now?"

"That you are Yui."

"Yeah!" Cheering the girl jumps of off the bed, allowing her white smock to fall back down around her. I'll have to get her leggings, can't have Kirito's eyes wandering on his own daughter…

"Hehehe," that word, daughter, sends me into happy convulsions every time I think it. Helping to chase off the shadow of fear that floats above my head. For this girl will shoot me straight up to number one! None of the others will be able to hold a candle to us when they witness the three of us having fun!

"Scary…"

"Huh?" Focusing back on Yui, she's currently backing away from me. "What's wrong?"

"Mama made a scary face just now…"

"I-I did?" I mutter questioningly. "Ha…"

Nodding her head rapidly up and down, Yui seemed genuinely frightened of me. Mood souring, I stretch my hand out towards her to show that there's nothing to be scared of. After awhile, the girl, much like a wild animal, grew to trust me again.

"We do need to figure out sleeping arrangements…" Pursing my lips, I look at the tiny space provided to us. We already struggled to avoid fights in such a small area. Merely keeping enough food was turning into an issue as we had limited cooler and pantry space. "First though, we need to find help for Kirito. Especially if what you said is true…"

Did I believe her story!?

The thought rips through my mind as I turn back to Yui and stare at her intently. She hadn't been lying, of that I'm sure. But, just because she wasn't lying doesn't mean her story was true.

Discarding that path of thought, my mind turns back to sleeping arrangements. Lately, Silica has claimed sole possession of the futon, leaving Leafa to sleep with me. I don't know how that arrangement was decided, but they used to switch back and worth. That left Kirito by himself on the couch. BUT! Getting a strike of inspiration, I turn away from Yui so that my expression doesn't scare her again. If Leafa takes the couch, then Kirito, Yui, and I can all share the bed! Cuddled together like a proper family upon it!

"After are we going to get people who can fix our home?"

…Or we could do that. "Come on Yui," I sigh, "we have people to visit." Leaving the money in the closet for now, I don't trust myself to be able to carry such a vast sum through Orario. Heading for the guild first, I'll need to see what I can do to help Kirito out if he is indeed in trouble. After that, we'll head to Goibniu familia and then Miach to beg a favour.

---

Sachi:

"Keep moving!"

"Hang in there, Sachi!"

"Thanks Keita," I pant as we continue to run. However, it isn't his words that keep my feet moving, it's this woman leading us. Even covered with torn, bloody garments her strides are long and unerring. I can't believe that she's still moving. Even a fraction of those injuries would leave me helpless on the ground.

If she can do that, then I can continue to run.

"Halt!"

Barking a command, our column comes to a stumbling halt. Most of my friends that joined Take-Mikazuchi with me collapse to all fours. The day has pushed us all to our limits and then past them.

"Something's happening…" The rest of Ganesha familia merely stands around confused as their leader glances down a hallway. "…I think… The dungeon shifted."

"Shifted?" I murmur softly to myself. The word doesn't make sense to me. How does a giant underground labyrinth shift? Like an earthquake?

"Back to the main chamber!"

"But it's caved in!" One of the members shout back at her. "What are you doing!"

Despite the words, no one tries to physically stop her as she turns around and runs back past me. As she does, I catch a glimpse of her eyes, the hard, indigo orbs are alight with determination. Instinctively I move to follow. Whatever she felt, I trust her. If she says the chamber is the correct place to be, then I believe her.

"What are you fighting for girl? What makes you dog my steps so relentlessly?"

Looking up, I'm shocked to see her looking at me. Even as she sprints ahead, she stares at me like we're standing still. Unable to hold it for more than a moment, I look back at the slowly unwinding path ahead of me. The same path travelled on a desperate attempt to get out, we now travel back again. Winding our way closer and closer toward where everything went wrong.

"I… I don't want to be afraid anymore."

I'm not sure where the words come from; what hidden part of me the truth welled up from. The only thing I know, is that it is true. I'm sick and tired of being terrified all the time. I train and train, and people praise my skills… It never helps. Every fight, I feel it there beside me. A whispering voice, telling me of my imminent doom.

"And you think that I'm not afraid?" The woman answers with a small chuckle. "That I go into battle without fear?"

"Of course. Even now your eyes remain sealed upon our target. A place where you almost died and now sprint towards it."

"Ha, no child, I feel fear too. When I saw you standing in the way of the collapse, I felt fear. Fear that an innocent would die because of my arrogance. Every day, I awaken scared that I'll fail. That I'll be unable to bring my sister back from where she was sent. Fear that our society is on the verge of collapse without a powerful enough stabilizing force at the top."

Gasping, I stumble slightly, the words searing themselves into my brain. Concepts that I hadn't even considered. "So… I… Will never to be fight properly? I'll always have this fear, tugging me down?"

"What exactly are you afraid of when you fight?" She asks in reply, avoiding my question.

Dreadful certainty rising within me, I spit the words back at her. "That I'll die. That I'll fail my familia, leaving them to die…"

"So, you fear for your familia?" The woman answers instantly, my words barely finished.

"Y-yes?"

"Then why would you want it gone? If you no longer felt that fear, then you'd no longer desire to protect them either. You'd charge into combat unconcerned about your safety, confident in the fact that if you stay alive, they will."

"That's not…"

"But that's not always true. I'll tell you a secret everyone knows, but few people actually appreciate until it's too late. Dying is easy, watching the people you love die in front of you and surviving alone, that's a hell of a lot harder.

"Protect your familia, Sachi, was it? To do that, embrace that fear, cling to it. For while you still feel it, that's when you still care for them."

As her words fade away, all that's left behind is a stunned silence. Internally, I can feel the turmoil her words have created. A churning sea of discomfort that's a long way from settled. But… perhaps there's a silver lining. For there is an end to the storm. A path out. Even if it isn't what I expected.

---

Klein's Group:

"Uhh… What was that?"

"Rocks… Moved?" Came Welf's best guess.

"Should we be worried that it came from that chamber with the cave-in?" Klein asks, a small shudder in his voice.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Harry insists, "Let's just keep moving on with the mapping so we can escape this damned floor."

"I don't know…" Klein murmurs, glancing back and forth between the two options. "Maybe I should just go check it out pretty quick… We aren't too far from there after all."

"May as well all go then," Welf adds in his gruff voice. "Haven't seen a lot of monsters around here. Can't see us having a problem."

With a couple groans and mutterings, Modi familia and their resident smith change directions. Maintaining an easy jog, distance disappears under their thumping feet. Before long, the corridor winds back to the site of their troubles.

"I don't believe it…"

"How?"

Standing there flabbergasted, no one could believe their eyes. The cave-in… had shifted. The evidence of the ceiling collapsing was still evident. Now though, instead of an impassable barrier, the rocks were thrown in a corner of the room. Like the whole thing had tilted, allowing the rubble to roll there.

No one offered a word of explanation or comfort. Only tendrils of fear that begin to manifest. If you encounter something unexpected in the dungeon, run. The age-old adage echoing through all their heads.

"Magic… Maybe?"

"Some spell," Welf barks haughtily, "What'd it do, change the direction of gravity?"

"Hey guys," Issin calls out from where he went to check on the rock pile, "The wall is like, absorbing the rocks."

"That's just the dungeon repairing itself…"

"Oh, right. Still, it's happening so fast I can see it!"

Issin's reply leaves an ominous silence behind. In general, the rate that the dungeon repairs is inversely proportional to how hard a substance is. Crystals grow the fastest, their growth visible to the eye of higher-level adventurers. Rocks, however, took longer. A massive cave-in would take two to three days to repair normally.

"You've been an adventurer longer than us, Welf, you ever see something like this?" Klein asks slowly, trying to restore some normalcy to the situation. Gathering around Issin, everyone confirms for themselves the absorption of the stone back into its mother.

"Hell no!" The blacksmith shouts back. "I've never even heard rumours of something like this happening."

"So… what now?" Harry asked, vocalizing the thought on everyone's mind.

Standing up, Klein gave the cavern one more glance. "I don't see any bodies, that means they all survived at least… However, where did they all go?"

As one, the rest of them discarded their observations and joined Klein in his survey of the cavern. It was as he said, the whole place was wiped clean. Not even specks of blood could be seen anymore.

"Well, couldn't they have been, uh…" Dale didn't dare finish the words. The scenario to horrible to imagine.

"They're getting out through different paths," Klein assures them. "I'm sure of it. We just have to do the same…"

Trailing off, an ominous rumbling was building from the south passage. Second by second, it got louder. Like an avalanche preparing to crash down upon them.

"Uh, running time?" Harry asks insistently.

"I agree," Welf grumbles, "I'm not even level two yet…"

"But what if the others are in danger!" Klein argues, "We need to help them?" Forced into a shout by the end, the noise was growing to near unbearable levels. Now, howls could be picked out from among the column of noise. It all but confirmed what they already suspected: that this was a column of monsters. As it rounded the corner, the adventurers got their first look at what true terror looks like. Hundreds of beasts, howling and roaring in unison as they barreled through the halls of the sixteenth floor. The groups had all converged, forsaking their now unlivable corner of the floor. An unstoppable horde.

"Run."

Breathing the word, Klein shepherds his mostly frozen familia back into the passage from whence they came. While the party is slow to get started, the threat of slobbering monsters has them sprinting away in no time.

"Where the hell did this come from!?" Klein complains bitterly. "In my dreams it's always hordes of beautiful maidens chasing me!"

"SHUT UP!" Klein's familia roars in reply, no time for their leader's antics.

With that, the only sounds they made were pants and muffled curses as they struggled to sprint across the scattered stones. Despite their efforts, the sounds of the monsters got closer and closer.

"I'm… too slow…" Welf panted as he struggled to keep up. "Go on… without me… Maybe they'll… Follow me…"

With no further words, Welf changed direction, charging into a corridor. Oblivious to the actions of Modi familia Welf simply closed his eyes to contain the tears of regret that threatened to spill forth. He'd never get a chance to catch up to Hephaistos. He'd never surpass the blood running in his veins. A power… that could have saved him.

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

"What?" Shocked out of his silent mourning, Welf could only stare flabbergasted at Klein's smiling face.

"I happen to be partial to the weapons you've been making me. Need to protect my investments."

"You're an idiot," Welf scorns him, "but I must say, I don't appreciate the help."

Sharing one last goofy smile, the pair continue pounding along the path, separated from the rest of their party. Stalked only by howls and screams of approaching monsters, the duo prepares to make their final stand.

---

Kirito:

So… Big….

I thought that Hestia had desensitized me to the bewitching sights a woman could produce. Only now did I appreciate exactly how different it could be. I was used to Hestia's antics, not women in general. This girl was teaching me that remarkably quick.

"Anyway, my name is Strea! It's great to meet you!"

Introduction complete, I found my arm encircled by her, yet again. Apparently, something about my reaction kept her doing it time after time. For not the first time, I felt my face heat up in response to the soft, squishing sensation surrounding my arm.

"Hehe, so cute!" Strea screeched, pressing my arm in tighter.

Lowering my head, I braced myself for what would come next. On cue, the glares started. I could practically feel the temperature rise as Silica and Leafa just glared silently at the two of us. I don't know why they included me in it, it wasn't like I was enjoying this… A lot anyway.

"So, umm, what familia do you belong to Strea?"

"Hmm… I guess… Whichever one you belong to?"

"WHAT!?" Silica and Leafa scream in unison, piercing my ears.

"C-changing familia's is pretty complicated Strea…" I laugh quietly, trying to let her down easily. While I wouldn't be opposed to her joining the familia, she hasn't gotten off to a good start with the other two. Which I find strange since she saved us all…

"That's not a problem! I did that before coming here!"

"Huh?" There's nothing else I can say to that. Saving my arm from the pit of comfort it was trapped in, I join the rest of my familia in staring at this girl. This strange anomaly that not only rescued us, but now claimed to be our familia member.

"You… you can't just say that you are part of a familia," Leafa sniffed at her, "you have to impress the deity of the familia, gain their approval. Then and only then do you get the falna!"

"That's right!" Silica echoes unconvincingly.

"Really?" Strea questions curiously. Tilting her head, she rests a finger against her cheek. The cute action is reminiscent of a girl far younger than she. "But that thingy let me pick! It was umm…. Hestia, right?"

As one, our jaws drop. None of us had mentioned Hestia's name in front of Strea. As an obscure familia in Orario, she would have no reason to know we're members of it. My popularity as the fastest person to hit level two only stretches so far after all.

"I'm so con…" The words are blocked out as a massive screech disrupts the words. We're only a short way past the hole where we fell in. Following the south path, we should be between the place where Rain trapped the monsters and the cavern of the cave-in.

Dropping the issue of Strea's deity for now, we sprint back to the cavern. Eyes bulging, I'm sent reeling from another impossibility. The room appears to be righting itself, the floor becoming horizontal again. The giant pile of stones that prevented people from crossing through it in different directions had slid to a far corner of the cavern.

"Well… that was convenient," I chirp happily, trying to bring some life back into the party.

"So… I guess we're free then?" Silica mutters.

"I guess…" I reply, staring up the Northern passage and the way to freedom. Slowly though, my gaze gets drawn down the eastern one. "I want to go east. There were a lot of people that were probably trapped on that side of the cave-in."

"Where were you when I needed computer science help?" Leafa sighs.

"H-hey…" I protest weakly, but the words still dig in deep. I know she's teasing, well at least think she is, however, being reminded once again of my past failures is never enjoyable. "Are we in agreement then?"

Looking around at the three girls, I get two sharp nods from Silica and Leafa. "Of course!" Strea adds on, happy as ever, "after all, we're a familia now."

"I guess so…" smiling slightly at them, I lead us out of the chamber, footfalls fading just as a different set reached the entrance.

---

Hestia:

What… On earth?

Staggering slightly, it takes me awhile to appreciate what just happened. I just… gave my falna to another child? It doesn't seem possible. There was a small moment where I could have resisted, pulled it back and prevented them from accessing my power. However… Something told me not to. During my brief contact with the child, their soul seemed to be pure. Besides, it's not like they'd be a big-breasted woman who is going to seduce Kirito with her happy attitude and constant touching. That would be absolutely, and totally inconceivable.

Calming down a little, I turn and flash a smile at a concerned looking Yui. "It's alright, let's keep going."

"Who are we visiting?"

The girl asks back in that cute tone of hers. "The guild… While I know it's unlikely, Ouranos may be the only who can help at this time…Trailing off, I spied a girl running towards us. "…Argo?"

"Goddess Hestia!"

"Y-yes?" I stutter at the distraught adventurer.

"Kirito, tell me, he's returned from the dungeon, yes?"

Heart dropping, I shake my head in silent refute. "None of them have."

"Argh! Why are you always getting yourself into trouble Kirito!?"

"Is something wrong?" Yui's innocent question makes me wish I could say no, promise her that everything's fine, but is it?

"What have you heard Argo?"

"Outbreaks in the middle floors. Large monster movements. I'm worried that Kirito is busy trying to play the hero…"

"Probably," I agree with pursed lips. Noticing Yui's fear, I place a comforting hand on her shoulder. If only I had someone who could ease my worries… "Hey, Argo, can you maybe…"

"I'm on my way there right now, Hestia," Argo assures me. "I'll knock some sense into that bonehead of his. Also… who is this?"

"I'm Yui!"

Promptly informing Argo, the interaction brings a slight smile to my face. A small ray of light in an otherwise bleak conversation.

"She's the newest member of my familia!" I inform Argo, the slight lie tugging at the back of my mind. But how can I explain that someone magically inscribed my falna upon them?

"Oh," Argo blinks, "well, that's good… So… Yui, what's your role in the familia?"

"Role…? I guess…. Is daughter a role?"

"D-daughter!?" Argo stutters, "whose?"

Panicking, I look and back forth between them, but my tongue is tied. I don't know what to say.

"Umm, well Hestia is Mama, and… that Kirito person you were talking about is Daddy!"

"Haha…" Laughing drily, I take a step back as Argo locks her eyes upon me. "Y-you shouldn't frighten a deity Argo… It isn't proper…"

"Grr…" Gnashing her teeth, Argo takes one menacing step towards me, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up as she does. However, she freezes in place. "I need to go to the dungeon now… but don't expect this to go over well with your familia either!"

"Wait!" I call out to Argo as she begins to run away. "You need to hear something from Yui."

Gesturing at my daughter, I motion for her to tell Argo what she told me about Kirito.

"Be-beneath the floor!?" Argo asked faintly. "I… I don't know how I would even… I mean…"

Pursing my lips, I understand her disbelief and frustration. It's such an improbable situation that we can't do anything about. "If only someone had a skill that could locate people…" I mutter, displeased with everything.

Argo's eyes open wide. "I have an idea for that! Rain and Philia weren't taken in, so if I find them, I find Kirito, all I need then is method to dig through solid rock… Say, Yui, can you describe some of the other people you, uh, saw in this vision?"

"It wasn't a vision," Yui pouts. "I saw it. Umm, there was this girl with blue hair and a guy with blue hair… I think the girl was an elf…"

"Asuna!" Argo cries out in relief. "With her magic… Thank you! Later."

"No problem…" Sighing, I watch Argo disappear as she takes off towards the dungeon. Moving at almost a full sprint, I wish her the best of luck despite our previous scuffle. Thinking on it, that's not the first time the two of us have butted heads… Smirking slightly at her back, I realize I came out on top there as well. Afterall, Kirito and her never talk anymore.

Feeling slightly better about the day, I turn Yui around. "Come on, we've solved Kirito's problem. Now we have other issues to take care of. After all, we'll need the house ready when the rest of your family returns!"

"Of course, Mama!"

---

Asuna:

"That's a lot of monsters…" Breathing the words to Rain as she lay beside me, we watched the column tromp past us. While our position was susceptible to detection, we had to risk it. Not knowing where the monsters were going could be far more deadly.

"Do you think Kirito is going to be caught up in that?" Rain mumbles back, the sounds almost imperceptible even to my enhanced elven hearing.

"I hope not."

The conversation fades off as we wait in tense silence. None of the monsters even so much as glance towards us. This is more than us hiding well. It's like a force is driving them somewhere. Whatever it is, I'm grateful for it. We retreated down a dead-end path to escape the route of their charge. It had been a risky call, so I'm glad it turned out to the correct one.

Now, instead of our safety, I'm more worried about another question: where did these monsters come from? Tracing this section of floor in my head, only two options come to mind. First, is out of that western passage where the figure brought the ceiling down on us. That's clearly impossible as that cave-in won't clear up for at least another day. The other then, is further south where we rescued Kirito and Philia from. But that path should have been blocked too! It's a circular argument with no real solution in sight. For now, we can only wait.

Minutes later, the rest of the creatures eventually stumble past. These are all the slow ones, the monsters that don't have the speed or endurance to keep up with the primarily quadruped beasts that lead the charge.

"We should be good now," I inform Rain.

"Yeah…" She agrees, her voice more monotone than usual.

"Is something wrong?" I ask before we're reunited with the others.

"No, it's nothing… I just… I thought I'd sealed that passage…"

Ah. Pieces of information clicking into place, I'm not surprised that she arrived at the same conclusion as me. "We don't know if they came through there," I assure Rain.

"Yes Asuna, we do." Rain pushes. "Do you really think there are other columns of monsters wandering this floor? I failed, plain and simple."

"I-I'm sure there's an explanation. If you say you sealed the corridor, then I believe you. Besides, if you hadn't, the monsters would have been on us ages ago."

"That's why I'm so confused!" Rain rages, my words doing nothing to soothe her worries. "It appeared to work. It held them off for a time at least. But… did they dig through it? Did it clear on its own already? I just have so many question…"

"I'm sorry I don't have the answers," I murmur in reply. Laying a gloved hand on her arm, I try to convey some strength through the contact, even if I barely have any myself. "But we will get out of this. No matter what the dungeon throws at us, we'll survive today. You did everything you could."

"Hehe, thanks. It's at times like this I understand why Kirito's so obsessed with you."

"O-obsessed! With… I… I mean… That's!"

"Calm down before you blush yourself to death." Rain continues to tease, some life starting to return to her voice. "You obviously feel the same way about him."

"I… It's complicated." I relent, sighing in the process.

"What isn't nowadays," Rain chuckles. "Who would have thought that one guy could somehow cause all this mayhem, huh?"

"It is pretty hard to believe," I agree with a small smile. "Those days we used to spend in the dungeon seem almost like a dream now. A time when I was a different person…"

"A different person, or just a different side?" Rain questions.

"I… I'm not sure." I admit hesitantly, bowing my head. "How did we even get to talking about this anyway?"

"Well… It started with my failures, then uh… You know, I'm so sure either," Rain laughs lightly. Sharing one more secret smile with her, we head back up the passage to where the rest of the party waits. Philia sits in the corner, still prodding an upset Lisbeth who seems to know far more than she should about our current romantic predicaments.

"They've past. I think we should just follow the monster party until they get to a place that leads back to the main path."

"Umm…" Philia interjects, breaking out of her interrogation. Raising her hand like a schoolgirl, she asks her question. "Shouldn't we maybe head back to the main path? If Rain's blockade was cleared, maybe the other one was as well."

I want to fire back instantly how that would be a waste of time, but I bite down on it. To be fair to Philia, her proposal isn't theoretically impossible, just severely unlikely. It's all based on the premise that Rain's blockade was as absolute as the one in the chamber.

"I know it's a long shot, but my abili… er, I mean, my instincts tell me it's the way to go."

Casting a dubious look over the girl, I'm not quite sure what word she mutated to get to instincts. It's not much to go on…

"I think you should listen to Philia," Rain recommends, supporting her friend's proposal.

"Is that so… What do you think Lind? And you Lisbeth, as the only level one."

"We've come a long way," Lind agrees, spreading his hands as if that one argument explained everything. "However… These girls seem clear minded and have saved our lives before. A run like this is nothing to do a couple more times to ease their conscious."

Nodding, I file Lind's opinion away for future consultation. Essentially, he had no belief that the way forward was cleared, but also had no objections to going back to check on it.

"I got to say, I'm pretty done with running." Lisbeth adds on in clear agreement, "but, I also believe in the power of instinct. Sometimes that's all we have to go on."

"Philia, can I talk to you for a moment?" Pulling the girl away to the entrance to the dead-end, I stare into her eyes, and force her to do the same. "What were you going to say." It's not a question, it's a demand. I can't risk this party for no reason. I make sure Philia understands this.

"It's…" Trailing off, Philia bites her lip, indecision warring in her eyes. Steadily, they iron themselves out. Pushing any hesitation form her gaze, she continues. "It's my advanced ability. I had a couple of choices when I levelled up. The one I chose; it's called Treasure hunter."

"Treasure… Hunter…? What does that even do?"

"My god wasn't sure," Philia admits, "it seems to be a unique ability. His guess was that it makes me more in tune with inanimate objects."

"In tune with inanimate objects?" I ask back disbelievingly. "Are you serious?"

Philia blushes but she holds my gaze. "Something happened back there. That's where we need to go."

Holding her gaze for a while longer, I nod once in confirmation as she passes muster. I'm not willing to risk everyone on 'instinct', but the confidence of a friend that knows what's at stake… I'll take that any day.

"Get ready for a run everyone, we're heading back." Suiting up myself, I keep my focus on the now, and away from the headache caused by lack of mental energy. Fearing I'll need to use it again before too long, I lead us back the way we came.

---

Leafa:

"Was that…?"

"A giant column of monsters?" Kirito finishes drily. "Seems that way."

"Uhh… So, better continue looking for the others!" Silica chirps, masking her terror. "Let's keep moving."

I'm ready to agree with her. I know she's mostly kidding, and saying it out of fear, but still. We can't help against whatever could have made that torrent of noise.

"Eh?" Strea pouts, "we aren't fighting? I haven't gotten to test my skills yet."

"How about we save testing for a little longer," Kirito adds on.

"Hmm, only if you pat me on the head!" Strea decides, making a proposal.

Growling silently under my breath, my hands squirm in discomfort. I feel so useless now! Locking eyes with Silica, I can tell that she's in the same place. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just Strea doing these things, it's that Kirito responds! It's clear that he enjoys having a well-endowed girl that's eager for his touch and approval.

No shit, he's a boy.

At least part of the anger is for myself as well. How much easier would things have been if I was willing to do things like this? If I was comfortable sidling up to him?

My anger only burns a little brighter as Kirito obliges the request and pats Strea on the head. "Yeah!" The girl cheers as she receives it. Her expression is so happy that it's hard to be mad at her.

Which makes it worse!

It's like competing against a little girl. One that's not old enough yet to be involved in romantic matters. About that…

"How old are you Strea?" Silica questions, clearly thinking along similar lines to me.

"Hmm… Uh… I don't know? How old are you?"

"I'm… almost thirteen," Silica mutters.

"Then that's how old I am! Almost thirteen!"

"T-that's not how it works…" Kirito mentions, shaking his head at the girl.

"Oh? It's not?" Strea queries. "Then… I'll be your age Kirito!"

Groaning, it's a struggle not to smack the girl. The worst part is that she doesn't seem to be joking either. It's like she actually believes she can choose her age at random.

"Someone's coming." Kirito's voice changes instantly. Drawing that short dagger that he borrowed, he looks strangely fragile. That normal invulnerable aura that I've come to associate with him seems to have disappeared. Is it the stance? Or is it just that he no longer thinks he can fight without his blade?

Drawing my katana, I step up next to him. Silica mirrors me on his other side. Kirito's eyes flash between us but he doesn't say anything.

"Oh? Someone to fight?" Taking that gigantic blade of hers off her back, Strea walks to my side, the sword resting easily against her shoulder as she waits. Suddenly, I'm glad she's on our side. There's a glint in her eyes that tells me I don't want to get on her bad side.

Waiting tersely, it's only another second or so until I pick up on the noises Kirito must have heard. It's a great clattering of steel boots pounding against the loose rocks that coats this floor. Based on the sound, they're moving fast and there's a lot of them. Anticipation building, the four of us wait silently for the group to round the corner. After ten more seconds, the group emerges. Gaping at them, I can't believe they found us.

"You!?" Sputtering, Kirito abandons his defensive posture as the group slows to a halt.

"It's good to see you again," The Take-mikazuchi members mutter politely. Kirito doesn't even look at them as his gaze is locked upon the woman in front of him. Elbowing him, I try and make him remember his manners, as I bow back.

"What happened to you?" Kirito asks curiously as he bows slightly after my reminder. Following his gaze, I see what he means. While she manages to keep her regal appearance, her garments are torn and coated with blood.

"Rocks fell on me," she replies with a slight smile. "Anyway, it's good to see you. Did something happen back in that chamber?"

"Sure did!" Strea butts in. Probably upset that no one has talked to her in the last few minutes. "All the rocks moved out of the way, then a… a swarm of monsters went by! Now you're here!"

It's good to know that the lady isn't impervious to the Strea effect. She appeared just as stunned as I was. One good thing about Strea is that she lightened an otherwise dark mood. Silica and I share a small giggle behind Kirito's back.

"Wait, back up, the rocks actually hit you!?" Kirito sputtered in disbelief. Apparently, he was already able to ignore Strea's antics. That didn't sit well with the girl who was now pouting at being ignored.

"…Sorry."

I almost miss the faint word. A shy looking Sachi is hiding almost perfectly behind the woman's back. Scooting around to where she stands, I whisper back at her. "What do you mean?"

"Eep!" The shy girl squeaks, obviously surprised to find me beside her. "It… It was my fault the rocks hit her. I was too slow to get out. I made a mess of things again…"

"It's alright," I answer back, squeezing her elbow. "You both got out, that's what matters."

"I guess…" Sachi replies, uncertainty still heavy in her words. "I just wish I could be a little braver sometimes. Like Mikoto, or Kirito, or Her. Even you're a lot braver than me despite arriving later."

"What are you talking about?" I shoot back at her. "I saw you in the battle with Soma familia. It was only because of you that Lili was able to get into the building and change her God's mind."

"Thanks," she replies, cheeks blushing a little. "Hey, your umm, Kirito's younger sister, yes?"

"Yes…" I reply hesitantly. If she's about to confess, I will scream.

"Could you umm, thank him for me? He helped me out once, and I umm, wasn't very appreciative…"

"He's kind of… right there," I mutter back in confusion.

"But… he's a little scary," Sachi answers with a small blush.

Gaping at her, I can't believe my ears. It slowly builds up within my until I can no longer contain it. Bending over, I break into peals of laughter. All other conversations, more serious than ours are interrupted by my unladylike howls.

"Why are you laughing at me!?" Sachi complains, pushing me away.

"Sorry!" I get out, my breathless word only a brief interruption from my laughter.

"It would appear you broke my sister…" Kirito chuckles, shaking his head at us.

"N-no! I-it wasn't me," Sachi pleads, her face an inferno.

"I-it ab… absolutely was…" I wheeze, still struggling to regain my breath.

"As riveting as this conversation is," Shakmi breaks in, "we have a very real job to do with monster that have been released unto this floor. People will be coming back from the seventeenth and lower soon. We can't let them fall prey to massive monster parties while they're exhausted and unprepared."

"Can we really fix this?" Silica asks fearfully. "We're struggling just to survive…"

"Leave it to me," Shakmi commands. "All whom want to come, do so."

Saying nothing else, she steps past the group and picks up speed until she's running at that same pace away from us.

"Let's go," Kirito commands. "We can't let her fight alone."

Like that's your motivation.

I rage internally. But I don't call him out on it. Afterall, I'm worried about her as well. She must be near her limit, despite the tough words.

"Yeah! Fighting!" Strea exalts, picking up the pace so that she's beside Kirito.

Holding in my complaint, I run behind the two of them, falling in line with Silica. On my other side, Sachi decides to stay with me, putting a distance between her and the rest of her familia. Unfortunately, between the laughter and now the running, I have no breath to spare to ask her how she's doing.

After barely a minute, we exit back into that main chamber and take the northern path out. The trail of monsters is clear, even over the stone floor. The sheer bulk and sharp claws of monsters like minotaurs and Liger fangs leave a trail of destruction in their wake.

"Halt!" Shakmi demands a little way past, "the way splits here…" Analyzing the ground carefully, she quickly rises back to her feet. "Let's deal with the offshoot first. It seems the group split fairly equally. That's strange though, if I recall correctly, this way is only a dead-end…"

Speaking those ominous words, we followed this strange woman down a path that was almost guaranteed to end with at least one hundred monsters. Not only did we follow her, we sprinted after her.

---

Klein:

"Oh no…"

"I'm sorry," Welf apologizes a half step behind me, his face a tight grimace. "I've really done it now."

"Nah," I smirk, trying to remain upbeat despite our imminent deaths. "This tight corridor? The monsters will have problems fleeing when I unleash my full might upon them!"

"Ha! I guess they will at that…"

Despite our efforts, a solemn atmosphere falls over us. We both know how this is going to end. Neither of us really have anything to say. We weren't best friends. We were adventurer and contracted smith. Sure, we were getting along well, but it'd only been a month or so.

"I'm surprised you aren't making comments about how you wish I was a cute girl," Welf quips, trying once again to make small talk.

"That's right!" I realize. "A cute maiden, cowering in fear against a dead-end passage? Her I'd be able to protect from a thousand monsters!"

"Ha! And here I thought it was the monsters that were in trouble?"

"Just you wait Welfy-boy! I'll show you my true power!"

True power…

"Hey, do you think you can take the front line for a little bit. Just want to get a spell off here."

"You have magic?" Welf asks. "Go for it. I'll buy you as much as I can."

As his words finish, the monsters arrive. A giant pack of hell hounds leading the charge. Following them are more liger fangs than I've seen in one place before. Just these alone will be too much for us.

"Burn, blade of the Salamander!

"Herald of the sun, and wielder of flames, I seek your might."

As one, the monster's come to a halt about 15 metres away. The hell hounds, Salive dripping from their maws, open their mouths as one. As hate burns in their eyes, an inferno began to take form in the heart of their gullet.

"Guess I got to use this then," Welf mutters. "Blasphemous Burn! Will-o-wisp!"

As one, the hellhounds pause, their bodies bloating as their own magical energy runs haywire within them. A second later, they explode, their own personal infernos consuming much of the hallway. I want to celebrate Welf's victory, but I know this isn't over. I need to finish my magic to have a chance of stalling.

"Strongest of the nine, I summon now here your urge. I bear within me the oath of fire.

"Depraved of wealth, Pilfered of praise. Take now what I offer and reward this humble wanderer. He whom would brave the desert's depths in search of your bounty."

"GRAOOH!" Tearing through the flames, an injured minotaur stumbles toward us. Despite the force of the explosions, it still isn't down. Parts of its hide are falling off in places. Its entire right leg seems barely functional due to burns that run the length of the entire thing.

"Here goes nothing…" Muttering under his breath, the level one smith stepped up into combat with a level two monster. Heart in throat, I could only watch on in horror at the battle that could only end one way.

Welf neatly sidesteps the first errant blow. The minotaur's injuries slowing it to manageable levels. "Raaa!" Roaring, Welf brings his great sword up in a mighty blow. The blade digs deep into the creature's chest, but it's not enough. Answering with its own warcry, the minotaur releases it's own swing.

To my enhanced senses, the blow is dodgeable. The level one Welf, however, moves slowly in comparison. Barely getting his blade up, the collision of weapons sends Welf to the ground, his sword thrown to the wall. Lifting its weapon again, the injured and bleeding beast looks down with sadistic pleasure at the downed blacksmith.

"Ruler of the volcano and master of fire,

"Igneel's Wrath!"

Finishing my chant, I feel the combatant's eyes shift to me. Stepping forward, I walk between Welf and the beast. I look forward haughtily, my blade resting in a high stance. Through it all, I struggle not to let out excited giggles about how cool I look.

All over my body, gentle flames coat me like a suit of armour. On my head, their form is more solid, forming a mask resembling a dragon's head, or a salamander's more accurately. Those same flames coat my blade in a thin spinning layer.

"You will not take him beast!" Speaking in my best warrior voice, I point one hand menacingly at the minotaur while talking.

I'm so fucking cool!

Rather than the fainting screams of the maiden I've just rescued, my dramatic entrance is met only with silence. Deflating slightly, the minotaur snorts in confusion and puts strength into its arms, bringing its pre-lifted weapon down upon me.

"Hah!" Releasing a short cry of energy, I intercept the landform weapon with my own. My blazing blade sears straight through the pitiful landform axe.

So cool.

Roaring even louder, I spin around in a circle and lay into the minotaur. The graceful stroke destroys the beast in one hit, my blazing katana taking off its head in one swipe.

Resting the blade on my shoulder, I pose for awhile, letting my adoring fans take me in in my full glory.

"Wow, that's some magic," Welf compliments me. "But, uh… What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Oh right, no maidens… Sighing, I exit my awesome victory stance and prepare for the rest of the monsters that are now approaching, their eyes full of bloodlust. "Don't worry about it. Just, uh… Rest up I guess."

"Hell no." Welf growls, grabbing his sword and standing back up again. "I'll deal with anything that gets past you."

"Fair enough," I sigh, the last of my delusions fading. "Let's deal with these assholes."

"I hear you loud and clear!" Welf confirms, stepping up behind him. "Let's do this!"

Adding my own shout onto his, I step forward into a gigantic horizontal slash. The awesome blazing swing shredding everything it touches. A perfect swing. Transitioning back out of it, I target a liger fang that managed to live. Thrusting forward, I use the enhanced capabilities granted by my magic to surpass the monsters capabilities.

After that's done, a lunging hell hound finds itself on the end of my sword. This is a piece of cake! Smirking at my foes, I lay into them one after another. The flames surrounding my sword burning all resistance out of my path. A couple swings later, a lull in the combat develops. Using the time, I pull back slightly.

"Hehe, that really showed them!" I tell Welf proudly. Preening, I wait for his cries of gratitude and amazement.

"Dude, I… I think this is it…"

"Huh?" Muttering in surprise once again, I shake off my growing exhaustion, and truly look at the monsters in front of me. The pile of ash and left-over corpses is depressingly small compared to the number blotting out the light at the end of the passage. "Oh shit…"

Once again, the enormity of the situation crashes down upon me. The euphoria from using my magic fades. Blade still alight, my armour is also intact. However, none of it seems to matter anymore. We aren't getting out of this.

"Hey," Welf says, his tone upbeat, "we aren't done yet. What's that thing your party always says? That we'll get Deus ex Machina'd out of this?"

"I… I don't think so…" I reply sadly.

"Come on Klein," Welf speaks seriously as the monster's approach. "One last stand. An… Epic one? Right?"

"That's right," I agree, a small smile finally forming again. "The Last Samurai's epic final stand. Let's do this."

"That's the adventurer I signed a contract with!" Welf crows happily.

"Now die!" Roaring at the monsters, I rush forward to meet the first wave, my sword burning all the brighter with my incensed passion.

---

Kirito:

Following the destruction, the monsters were easy enough to find. Like the creatures were of a single mind, they faced further in, their pace now almost down to a standstill. As I watched Shakmi ahead of me, I began seeing the cracks in her armour begin to develop. Despite her steady pace, it was easy to see her exhaustion begin to seep through.

It unnerved me more than I'd like to admit. I'd come to associate her with invincibility. A pinnacle of power that I could only dream about reaching one day. Taking one step closer each day. Seeing a limit to it… is terrifying.

"Focus," her voice interrupts. "We're about to hit them."

Leaving it at that, Shakmi and Ganehsa familia rush into the backs of the monsters. Like tearing through tissue paper, the first line of surprised monsters is instantly vaporized. Moving on, they begin decimating the rest of them. Each strike, another blow opening up more space for them to proceed through.

Eventually, as the monsters discover new adventurers to chase, the pace slows down. Inch by inch, the forward march grinds to a halt. Strangely, the pace of killing almost increases as the monsters throw themselves at the front line. Even as an injured Shakmi stands strong against the monstrous wave encroaching, her familia begins to buckle around her. The six men spend more and more time blocking and less attacking. With each strike cancelled, another monster approaches, intent on bringing them down. So, inch by dreadful inch, they begin retreating.

"Switch out!" Shakmi calls.

"Yes!" All six answer instantly.

"Oh shit." Realizing too late what she intends, I'm forced to run forward waving at whoever is behind me to follow. Bringing my short dagger to bear, it feels so pitiful against what I'm facing.

"Finally, I get to use this!" Strea exalts catching up beside me.

"Be careful…" I warn Strea. We've never fought together side-by-side before. Apparently, that only worries me. I want to say more, but at that moment, all hell breaks loose. The Ganesha familia members do less of a retreat and more of a collapsing of the line. As their bodies rush past us, the monsters are there immediately.

"Gruh!" Grunting with effort, I catch the claws of a Liger fang on the knife blade. Pushing it aside, I'm barely in time to duck its following bite.

"Here I go!" Happy as ever, Strea enters combat.

Whirling her sword above her head she takes out the liger fang I'm engaged with as well as a pair of Al-miraj in front of her. Left speechless by her ferocity, I'm suddenly the one on the backfoot.

Despite my worries, Strea's massive blade somehow never gets close to me. As the black blood splatters across the chamber, her smile never falters.

She really is… a monster.

It's the only word to describe her efforts as I play a supporting role for her. Taking out small mobs and injured creatures that get past her, we find ourselves falling into a rhythm of slaughter. Step by step, we fight ourselves back to Shakmi's left side. On the right, all three of Take-mikazuchi's elites are struggling to duplicate Strea and I's performance. Mainly Strea's. That gigantic blade makes her a nightmare for the monsters. Their momentum becomes their downfall as they push each other into certain doom; no room to navigate or dodge.

"The tide is turning," Shakmi says randomly. It's probably meant to mean something, but with my head focused entirely on preventing the monsters from mauling us, I have no idea what it is.

Suddenly, between one strike and the next, the monsters are gone, only ash coating the rest of this corridor. Standing up straight, I try and conceal my embarrassment by being the only one still in a battle stance.

"Take a couple minutes breather. We'll pursue the rest of them shortly."

Orders given; I force myself to remain standing. I would never forgive myself if I showed even the slightest weakness in front of her. Likewise, I see that Ouka keeps a stiff back even as Chigusa collapses against the wall, with Mikoto checking up on them.

He catches my glance and grunts at my knife questioningly. "My sword broke earlier."

"I see."

Our interaction dies there, the only words spoken in the chamber. Until Strea comes back of course.

"Good job Kirito! That was fun!"

"Aack!" Releasing a pathetic scream, I feel my head completely wrapped in softness. Staggering slightly under Strea's weight, I finally regain my footing. I can hear the snickering from around me, primarily from the Take guys. A little from the girls. From my familia… More glares.

"Get off him!"

Twins roars from Silica and Leafa are followed by a screech from Strea as I'm freed from my silky death. Staggering again as the weight is removed, I allow myself to fall over. Cradling my head in my hands, thoughts of staying strong are gone. So… Magical. Swallowing, I ensure I didn't start drooling. I know nothing will save me from their wrath if I do.

"Rude!" Strea pouts. "Kirito and I fought and won. So, we celebrated!"

"But you don't have to… Argh!"

"Silence!" The one sharp word cuts through the air with an undeniable force. Shivering slightly, I'm glad I'm not the primary recipient of the command. "There was an explosion ahead. Adventurers are fighting for their lives. Come when you're ready."

Gaping at a running Shakmi, I have no idea how she heard it. A faint noise farther in compared to the yelling right behind her. Ganesha familia takes off seconds later right behind her. I don't know they managed to recover enough. Forcing myself up, I take off lockstep beside the Take-mikazuchi elites. Despite the earlier fight, the three of them look fairly fresh. They probably spent the day training the newer members. Glancing back at them, I confirm my suspicions. Their feet drag as they struggle to keep up.

"You liked the celebration, right Kirito?"

Whirling back around, Strea snuck up to me while I was distracted. Her large violet eyes are staring intently into mine. Mind going blank, I'm not sure what to say. "It… uh, yeah, I mean, I…"

"Yippee!" Strea cheers, taking it as a yes. "We'll do it after every victory, okay?"

"Umm…" Muttering, any rebuttal I could form falls off my tongue as Strea skips ahead of us, blissfully aware of the turmoil inside me.

"She's quite, uh, lively?" Mikoto consoles me.

"You seem to pick up a new one everyday," Ouka comments.

Is that… admiration in his voice?

Clearly Chigusa thinks so as she elbows Ouka in the side. The running man is forced to bend over and wheeze from the ruthless attack.

All hilarity and comedy fades as we turn the corner. Shakmi and Ganesha familia are nowhere in sight but the path of their destruction is evident by the ash flitting through the air. Despite that, there are still monsters galore. Pressing in with single-minded aggression towards one narrow channel.

"Leafa, magic please." I think my voice shakes as I talk. There are too many of them.

"On it, Onii-san…"

I barely have the mental capacity to even register the more polite honorific. Now's not the time to question it. Drawing my dagger, I let my arm fall to my side. It would be like stabbing someone's toe with a needle. It may cause some pain, but no lasting injury.

"Hehe, round two!"

Oblivious to my dread, Strea charges ahead, her sword primed for destruction. Likewise, Take-Mikazuchi's members follow behind her forming a four-man unit with which to stop the creatures.

"No…"

Breathing out the world, I feel everything constrict around me. The walls press in, my vision fades until I can see only one thing clearly. The sharp claws, the dreadful teeth, the blades of the landform weapons. All carried by beasts whose eyes demand murder and blood. It's too much. I can't fight without my sword.

"You're not going?"

Looking to my side, I'm surprised to see it was neither Leafa nor even Silica that addressed me. It was one of the junior Take members, Sachi. The spear-wielding girl that I helped out once. She has a lot of potential. Staring mutely at her, she continues talking.

"I just wanted to say, uh, thank you for your efforts that day. You helped me find my courage." Bowing deeply, the girl takes off. Not out, but towards the monsters. Towards the foes that were already starting to overwhelm the adventurers. Without Shakmi bearing the brunt of their charge, the four of them were slipping.

"Umm, thank you for protecting Leafa during her chant… I'll uh, help hold off the monsters…" With just those words, Silica also darts past me. Running headlong into a battle she can't win. Against monsters she's nowhere near strong enough to fight.

"Can we call ourselves men if we let the women fight for us!? Let's go!" Charging forward, the rest of Take-mikazuchi familia leaves me in the dust.

Now, there's only the two of us left. My sister. Turning around, she's right behind me, her katana held horizontal on her palms like it's a substitute for a staff. Despite the ongoing spell her eyes are clear and focused on me. They seem to be questioning me, those black pools that are mirrors of mine.

"This is the real me," I tell her softly. "I'm a coward. I've always… Always had my sword here. Without it… I'm nothing."

Her eyes blaze with a righteous anger as the spell hits his crescendo. The screams from behind pierce through me. Each one a dagger to my heart. I want to ask her why she still fights. Because I told her to start the cast? What was I thinking? I should have gotten us to run away.

"Dance, Lord of the sky!"

With the chant finishing, Leafa growls at me. "You aren't a coward. You're selfless, and kind. Neither of those traits come from your sword. The hard work you put in to improve yourself, that wasn't your sword. It doesn't define you. You do.

"Everyone run!"

As Leafa calls out to them, I stumble past her as the people begin retreating. The bodies being drug, are they still alive? Oh god, is that Sachi? The poor girl. Closing my eyes, I listen as Leafa's destruction follows.

"Wind Blade!"

Monster's cry out in pain, their lives rent asunder by spinning blades of air. As the magic fades, I expect all the sound to fade with it. However, the roars continue. Eyes snapping open, I remember with horror that Leafa's still level one. Her spell wasn't designed to end fights.

"I… Did my best, Onii-chan. Will you save me?"

Staring into her pleading upturned eyes, I feel the fire within me reignite. How could I have lost track of something so obvious? That it was never myself I was fighting for. "It would be my honor… Sugu." Breathing out her personal name, I seal my promise with a kiss on her forehead. "Strea, can I borrow that sword of yours?"

"S-sure…" For the first time since I've met her, Strea's voice has lost its vibrancy. Her body is covered with shallow cuts. The previously immaculate gear torn and shredded. As she hands it over, a look of accusation burns in her eyes. That she thought I'd be there for her. I promised her I would be.

"I'm sorry, Strea. I abandoned you."

"Hehe, just make up for it, with lots of hugs… alright?"

"Will do," I assure the girl before spotting the last person in my familia. Silica is kneeling, Sachi's head in her lap. As she turns her head to me, I see the tears forming in her eyes. Behind it all, confusion. Where was I when she needed me? Whispering another apology to her, I know now, only action will redeem me.

As Take-mikazuchi familia tries to reform their battle lines, I step forward alone. As the only one who didn't fight the first time, it seems proper. Sword levelled at the enemies; I charge.

I want… I want to be the person my familia thinks I am.

Skill activated; I tear into the hellish beings with a blade that echoes my rage.

---

The Blue Pharmacy:

"Ah!" Hestia murmurs, her hand over her heart.

"Mama?"

"Is something wrong Hestia?" Miach follows up concerned. "Well, besides the trouble your child is in of course…"

Hestia wasn't sure how to put it into words. A strong feeling hit her that something had gone very, very, wrong. Worse now than she'd felt all day. Closing her eyes though, Hestia was sure of one thing, all her children still lived.

"Is he…" Miach asks fearfully, picking up on the distinctive signals of Hestia's actions.

"No," she denies, her eyes misty, "but something's wrong."

Yui looked on in confusion, while Miach simply looked troubled. He knew that Hestia's reaction should be nothing more than instinct. After all, with arcanum, the only thing a god could tell about their children is when one of them died. Even then all they felt was the loss of a connection, not which child in particular it was.

"Do you want to lay down?" Miach offers, "I have a bed in the back."

"No," Hestia answers, far stronger than before. Before Miach's eyes, the goddess changed. Standing up straight, a whole new aura surrounded her. "About that though, do you have room in your familia house for my familia to stay a couple days? I'd like to get my home renovated.

"Yes, I do… but is now really the time? I mean, I'm more concerned for our children right now…" Miach pled with Hestia.

However, Hestia's face only had a faraway smile on it as she held Yui's hand. "They'll be alright. I can feel his passion burning from here. They may not be the same when they return… but they'll return."

"That's right, Mama!" Yui agrees with a beaming smile. "We need to be waiting to tell them the good news when they get home."

"Yupp!" Hestia replies, "so let's keep going, we have one more stop to make after all!"

"You really have that much faith in your child? What about that bad feeling?" Miach asks surprised as the two girls turn to leave his shop.

"It went away," Hestia answers breezily, "and of course, I do." Hestia answers from the doorway. "Don't you?"

"I suppose you're right," Miach mumbles to no one as the girls leave his shop. "I know you'll return. All of you." Returning to his tasks around the store, Miach works with renewed vigor. If Hestia's willing to go this far for her children, why shouldn't he?

---

Rain:

"It's… not possible…"

Words escaping my lips in a small huff, the cavern is an impossibility. I'd assume we entered the wrong place if it wasn't for the evidence piled against the far wall.

"The dungeon cleared out the cave-ins?" Philia asks, "that's wack."

"The wackiest," I agree breathlessly. Despite the strange scenario, I feel the guilt from earlier finally abate. It wasn't that I failed, I never had a chance.

"So, where to?" Yuna asks from the back. Beside her, Nautilus is a sulky mess. The boy must feel woefully unprepared to try and protect Yuna from the monsters on this floor.

"Forward," Lisbeth says, "you wanted to follow the monsters after all."

"I agree," Asuna speaks up. "North is the quickest way back to the fifteenth floor. We need to track where this column went and potentially destroy it."

"Uh, how?" Lisbeth asks, her voice thick with incredulity.

"My magic," Asuna speaks firmly. "If I get a clear corridor, I think I could handle most of this."

Whistling, Lind seems impressed by her claim. "That will require a lot of setup. May serve us better to just head to the stairs up and hole up there while we wait for people."

I hold my tongue for now, but I agree with Lind. Asuna's exhausted. I can see it in every motion that she makes. No doubt she thinks she has enough strength to accomplish the task. But can she do it and get out after?

"A barrage!" Philia chimes in suddenly. "Why hadn't we thought of this before?"

"Uh, what?"

"You know," Philia lectures me. "When a bunch of mages fire their magic at the same time."

"When you find more mages let me know," I scoff at her. Rolling my eyes, I find an object occupying the center of my vision when they face center again. As it resolves into Philia's finger, I take half a step back. "Uh, I don't know…"

"I agree," Lind chimes in. "Your magic is also quite powerful. Layering them could deal a devastating blow."

"That would be best," Asuna decides finally. With that, my fate is sealed. "As unworthy as I may be, I'll lead the timing."

"As you say…"

Bowing my head, I fall to the back of the formation as we take off North again. Our pace isn't very fast. Barely a jog.

"Why don't you want to use your magic?" Yuna asks me from the side.

Flinching slightly, I keep my gaze ahead and purse my lips. There's an easy answer, I just don't want to say it. In fact, I'd held off using my magic until commanded today…

Just as Yuna begins to go away, I speak. "It's the spell. It's just… I can't help but feel, next to Asuna, anyway, that…"

"That it's just a knockoff of hers?" Yuna finishes with a slight smile.

"Something like that. To fire them at the same time, it will just show how much stronger than me she is."

"Ah," Yuna smiles. "Well, in order to keep your ego intact, maybe you should just return to the surface."

Blushing, I cast an abashed look at her face. For once I'm reminded of the fact, she's older than me, even if it doesn't seem that way most times. "Sorry," I apologize instinctively.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Yuna smiles at me. "One thing I've learned from my time performing is that if you don't give it all, you'll only end up with regrets."

"You know…" I speak hesitantly, "you're pretty good at this leading thing…"

This time, it's Yuna's turn to blush. Her face hitting a level of scarlet I would struggle to reach. "N-no, I'm not. I guess I just… ask myself what I would feel like if I was in their shoes. Then I say what I'd want to hear."

Smirking at her, I shake my head idly. I can't help but feel that it won't be too long until she's leading a party of her own. Probably happen as soon as she let's loose a little more. Like telling me off. Still smiling, I almost run into the backs of Loki familia whom have come to a stop.

"Well, which path?" Asuna asks curtly, clearly looking for input on something. Standing on my tip toes, I see what see's referring to. The monsters have clearly split. Some continuing straight, the others going down the right passage.

"What's down there?" I inquire.

"Good question…" Asuna murmurs, snapping her fingers for a map. There's quite a contrast between her leadership and Yuna's. Where Yuna is all about sympathy and what each person needs, Asuna's rigorous framework is one where each member is too scared to disobey. And no one wants to. I tack on mentally as I watch her work. Her full elven beauty is enough to transfix most men while her strength and determination will inspire any woman to try and match her.

"It's a dead end…" Lind speaks reverently. "The monsters must have…"

Trailing off, he leaves the words hanging, but the meaning is clear. With the mood in the corridor darkening, we look around at each other. Silence reigns supreme for a good ten seconds before, of all people, Yuna speaks up.

"Shouldn't we then, uh go down it?"

"For what reason?" Asuna asks carefully, trying to put no bias in her words.

"Well… Won't our plan work even better with the column divided?"

The words hang in the air as we each individually analyze them. Asuna, however, turns directly to me. Eyes penetrating me, she wants an answer. I want to gape in awe at her. She's already decided she wants to go. Now all she needs is the second mage to back her up.

"Fine," I relent. "Let's go deal with…"

"Argh!" Instantly, a scream from further north changes everything. Discussions discarded we charge towards the voice. Sprinting, the ground blurs beneath me as the party splits in two. Philia, Asuna, and I break away from the slower level ones and the more heavily burdened Loki familia members.

Skidding around a corner, our eyes widen as they fall upon five beaten and bloodied men. They… seem familiar. Maybe I saw them shopping in the market? But no, it seems more recent than that.

Our entrance draws their attention. Locking eyes with us, rather than relief, fear floods his face. "Run! Get out of here!"

As if his words were the trigger, a horde of monsters turn the corner behind him.

"I think we found the other half…" Philia comments.

"So it would seem…" Asuna breaths. "I… don't know what to do."

Hearing Asuna's words are like the portent of death. Asuna wouldn't tap out unless it was impossible. No, even if it was impossible, she would keep fighting. That's part of what makes her such a great leader. She'd never ask something from her followers that she wouldn't gladly do.

Anger burning inside me, I grab her shoulders and shake her. "Same plan, alright? We'll lead them into a long corridor and slaughter them all!"

Her eyes harden as everyone else catches up, their breath coming hard. "Everyone get back down that corridor and pick a defensible location! We'll take them and lead the monsters there!"

"Yes!" Lind answers instantly. Everyone else is caught watching the seemingly endless hoard. Shooing them back away, they eventually get moving.

Before they do, Yuna spoke two words before beginning to sing. "Solo Sonata!" With her magic activated, Yuna sang while running, her voice a haunting melody propelling them away from us and down the corridor.

"Yuna, wait!" Calling her back to me, I gesture at the others to keep going. "Can your song put some energy back into these adventurers?"

"A little… If you combine it with your skill…"

"Fine." Practically spitting the word, I'm not sure how Yuna had picked up my reluctance to use it in such a short time. I doubt Kirito, or even Philia noticed. That… rage that I entered. All I know is that it's linked to my advanced ability. "Get them."

With that Yuna breaks out into another song. It's one I recognize. One of the idol's I follow released it only last year. It seems the boys recognize it as well as some more energy enters their pace.

"Let's go!" I cheer them on, trying to be upbeat. Yuna's look tells me what a bad job I did. Philia and Asuna rush towards them, trying to hurry them toward us. Some of the more injured members lean on them, helping to increase the pace.

Biting my lip, I feel useless. Deep within, I can feel that power I don't want swirling within me. The day I levelled up is strongly imprinted within my mind. Miach's voice ringing in my head as he lists the possibilities. The word 'idol' enthralled me so much I barely heard the rest of the words. Finally, after all this time, I was going to be idol. What a joke that turned out to be.

"Rain!" Yuna screams at me, abandoning the start of the chorus. "I need you!"

Swallowing roughly, I simply stare back at her. Yuna doesn't understand. How could she? Her songs only grant power or speed or energy, mundane things. What does she know about reaching inside someone's mind and influencing their thoughts?

"Anyone can change a person's thoughts!" She screams at me. Slapping me roughly across the cheek, she pulls me close to her. "Anyone can find themselves drawn into a train of thought not their own. The decision is still theirs on whether to trust your words, to trust the path you've provided. Now, will you save them?"

Nodding firmly, I push her off me. I don't know if I fully believe her words. They seem a little shallow to fully describe what's going on… but for now, they're enough. "Everyone, let's get down the tunnel!" Winking at them, I lead the charge backwards as Yuna takes the song back up again. Not sure if it will help, I join in when she reaches the chorus. Providing harmony to her words, our duet courses through the tunnel like a wave.

If I close my eyes, I can almost imagine the eddies and swirls of power that rise and fall in accordance to our tune.

"This is amazing!" I hear one of the men behind me yell. "I can't even feel the pain anymore!"

A part of me wants to yell at him, to tell him that it's because our twinned power is suppressing his ability to feel. Replacing it instead with energy and excitement. Instead, all I can do is let out another inspirational cheer. "Keep going! We're almost there."

"You're doing great!" Asuna adds on, no longer supporting any of the members.

"Yupp!" Philia agrees.

Joining back in with Yuna, I feel the strain of trying to run while singing strike. Dancing is hard enough. Glancing over, I can tell Yuna is on the verge of collapsing. The magical energy expenditure mixed with the singing and physical exhaustion are hitting her hard. Reaching out, I squeeze her hand to let her now I'll take over for the refrain. Nodding gratefully, Yuna breaks song, heavy pants coming from her instead as she stumbles along beside me.

Now left alone singing, it's only my voice carrying the tune. It sounds strange, a mild distortion introduced by the walls. Was that off key? Fretting internally, I hope it sounds good enough to keep them going. Hopefully it's enough without Yuna's actual spell.

"There they are!" Asuna points out. "Why did they run so far?"

Murmuring to herself, I have a bad feeling about this as I cut off the song. Without it, silence rushes back in and consumes the area. Even the howls and stomping feet of the approaching horde seem quiet after the song we unleashed.

"You were fantastic," Yuna murmurs, her breath still short.

"No, you were," I assure her. "I'm not so sure how to go back to being your sub-commander after this…"

"What about, friends?" Yuna offers instead.

"We already were, silly," I smile jokingly. Poking her softly in the arm, I feel the friendship between us grow. I can't believe we'd never talked about singing or music before. Something to look forward to I suppose.

"What the hell did you go this far for, Lind?" Asuna rages as we collide with the group.

"That," he states grimly, pointing further down the tunnel. "We had initially picked another place, but then I thought I heard something so we kept going."

"You made the right call," Asuna agrees, her voice filling with despair.

Pushing forward, I see what they're talking about. More monsters have spawned and are coming this direction. We'll be caught on both sides. More than that though, I see something mulling behind them. Another column. Face blanching, my brain finally lcues me into something I should have already known: the column didn't split into halves, it split into thirds. This group is the one that passed us earlier, they circled back around to cut off retreat.

"Come on everyone!" Asuna roars, "into the tunnel!"

Tunnel? Looking to the side, I see we are at the intersection we had stopped at earlier. Face still white with fright, I understand the decision. "There are more monsters down there." I remind her quietly.

"I know," she answers guiltily, sorrow in her eyes. "It's still out best bet, however. We can only deal with one direction at a time." Closing my eyes in despair, I feel the emotion carry across our group. Nonetheless, we silently follow her into the tunnel and the death that awaits.

---

Heathcliff:

Well, well, well…

Smiling, I can't believe my luck. Freya had addressed the familia earlier this week to tell us about possible resurgent elements in Orario. How they'll seek the city's destruction. She had given no formal orders; however, I had picked up on the subtext within.

Find information on them.

While it would be interesting to simply observe as events unfolded, I now had a more vested interest in events than I would have liked. Annoyingly, all of the powers remaining to me were engraved in my status. Therefore, if Freya was sent back to Heaven, then I would be vulnerable to death.

As soon as I saw the figure that brought the cavern down, I knew they were part of this organization. The Ganesha familia's leader's response also made that abundantly clear. Sneaking through the western passage after them, I was sure I'd done it. No doubt they have a secret layer in this corner of the sixteenth floor.

Turning the corner, my expectations are crushed. It's an empty hallway. Simply a dead end. Pursing my lips, I hate being wrong. It feels like ever since this 'game' started, that's all I've been. Constantly underestimating it time after time.

Running my hand along the rock, I feel nothing out of place, but that's impossible! They went this way! I'm sure of it!

Pounding my fist against the rock, I hear a small crack ring out. Did the wall reverberate? Confusion mounting, I wonder if my original suspicions are correct. Could they have a hideout behind this wall? But this is real rock?

With only questions available, I seek to change that. Drawing my longsword, I bring it back for a slash.

"Groah!"

Hairs tingling, I slowly turn around. There it is. One of the kings of the sixteenth floor. I hadn't had the pleasure to fight one yet. Assuming my stance, I know going in this fight will only end one way. That's alright, I never expected to walk back up to the surface anyway.

With my currently subpar skills combined with level one stats, I can't win. My skills won't help my here either. Smiling bitterly that I didn't get more time to study the wall, I engage the beast.