Chapter 71: A Victorious Impasse

Hestia:

"Freya… How is this possible?" Hestia was seated with a select number of deities. The elite group had been chosen from those willing to continue investigating Knossos. Among the group was Freya, Astraea, Hephaestus, and Hermes.

It was not the gods that Hestia was gapping at but the lone mortal that Freya had brought with her. The goddess' assurances to the assembly earlier had been confusing but apparently justified. The man that the raid group had confirmed lost with the key was standing healthy and hale, the key visible in his outstretched hand.

The goddess gave her a predatory smile as she waved the adventurer away. "My child has a wonderful ability to return to me. All in all, this expedition was a clear win. We got a second key, and the stolen blacksmith has returned to us."

"Hrrg," Hephaestus grunted. A series of emotions played across the goddess' face. She had lost some children in Knossos but Welf had been rescued. It was a necessary sacrifice to remove Crosso blades from evilus.

"Now then," Freya rose. "I have demonstrated that my key is still intact. I will be leaving now."

"Seriously, Freya?" Astraea spoke coldly. "Do you honestly believe that this issue does not concern you?"

The silver-haired goddess smiled coldly, the expression fitting for an imperious queen. "It is nothing more than the grinding of rocks as the mortals struggle against their fate. If a diamond does happen to pop-up… well, I'll be the first one interested."

"…You underestimate evilus," Astraea responded softly. "I wonder if you will care when you start losing more of your 'gems'."

Freya froze again, halfway out the door. Hestia could feel the goddess' essence bubble with anger as she glared back at Astraea. "Are you… threatening me?"

"No, Freya. But Evilus is. Consider that."

"…" With a final glare, she whipped around, her perfect hair fanning out behind her as she strode for her room.

"That was tense," Hestia muttered, sending Astraea a glance. "You certainly know how to poke her buttons. She only laughs at me."

The goddess of justice simply smiled sadly. "I worry for Freya. She is changing and I fear not for the better."

"I-Is that so…" Laughing weakly, Hestia shuffled on her chair, waiting for the dismissal.

Unfortunately, it seemed Hephaestus had other issues. "This is unacceptable! We need a way to defeat evilus now! Guns, magic swords, obedient monsters, their exploding devices… We continue to give them time, and they innovate new ways to kill people!"

"Easy there, Phae-phae," Hermes laughed boldly. "We will make good work of the key that your boy brought back."

"Oh, will you?" Astraea asked Hermes, giving the god a pointed stare. "Care to elaborate?"

"I would rather not at this time," Hermes replied, looking unfazed. "Don't want to get your hopes up, you know?"

Sighing, Astraea shook her head as she rose. "I doubt you can get anything up, Hermes. Hestia, will you join me for a moment?"

"Hold on!" Hermes protested the jab, but Astraea was already moving on.

"Umm, well I'll be going then. Later!" Waving at Hermes, Hestia turned to Hephaestus and gave her close friend a quick hug. Whispering in her ear a quick apologetic message, Hestia darted away.

Away from the gods, Hestia released a pent-up breath.

"Nervous?"

"Of course!" Hestia protested to Astraea's teasing. "How can I not be? Any one of the gods there could crush my familia with barely any effort!"

"Hmm, I suppose that is true for Freya and me, but I doubt any of the others could. You underestimate your children, Hestia."

"D-Do I?" Hestia stuttered. "I mean… Only Kirito is level four. I want to believe in them but…" Trialing off, Hestia assumed her point got through.

Astraea giggled at her lack of confidence. "You should know best that level is just a number."

Hestia considered the goddess' words before responding with a whisper. "You know about Haruhime?"

"Hmm, but she isn't the only one in your familia with the ability to overcome a level gap, is she?"

It was an ambiguous statement, but Hestia did reconsider, going over her familia members that had the potential to surprise people. "I guess… But those gods are still scary!"

"Haha, oh Hestia. I sometimes forget that you haven't been doing this for even a year."

"W-What's that supposed to mean? I'm just doing my best to be a good goddess for my familia! …I never realized how stressful it would be."

"Oh?" Astraea raised a questioning eyebrow. "Did you think that you would recruit a few members and lounge around all day while they gave you piles of money?"

"No! Well… not the piles of money at least…"

Astraea laughed as they boarded the lift down out of Babel. "So how is your captain, Kirito, doing? I heard he had quite the sudden departure."

"Unn, I don't really know what it was all about, but something about fulfilling a promise he made. Today he is out on a date with Leafa…"

"Another promise?"

"Yes."

"Hmm…" Astraea did not look happy about something.

"Hey, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Your captain."

"Huh? W-Wait don't tell me you fell in love with him as well!?" Hestia stared up at the taller goddess in shock.

"Not at all," she shook her head. "I just get the feeling from the stories my girls tell me that he will be a large force in the coming years."

"W-Well the other members of my familia are pretty good too!" Hestia complained for some reason. She didn't quite understand why herself.

"Indeed… Your other boy, Bell seems to be something special too."

"Hrg!" Giving up on questioning her intention, Hestia just puffed out her chest as they strode out into the sunny outdoors. The garden and fountains surrounding Babel were as immaculate as always. It seemed like the flowers were blooming no matter what time she came here. "That's right! Both of my boys are amazing!"

"Ahaha, that expression fits you far better than modesty, Hestia. I hope you continue to be honest with me. I get the impression from my girls that our familias will be working together closely for the foreseeable future."

"That… is honestly a relief to hear," Hestia confided. "I felt a lot more confident about that expedition knowing they were travelling with some of the best."

"And yet your familia members were the ones to save us," Astraea responded smoothly as she stopped at one of the flower beds. Reaching down, she stroked a large white petal gently. Hestia did not recognize the flower.

Hestia knew that the words were not spoken idly. She had heard that Bell and Ais had worked together to bring down the floor boss Balor.

Astraea stood up while brushing off her white dress. She turned to face Hestia as the smile faded from her lips. "I want you to lend me Kirito and Bell when my girls return."

"H-HUH!?"

Astraea continued to speak as Hestia gaped. "It would do them well to get more experience with first-tier adventurers if they want to take that next step.

"B-But," Hestia protested unsure of what she was going to say. Flashing through her mind was the image of the remaining girls in the familia surrounding her, eyes accusatory. Wailing with fear, she latched onto Astraea. "The girls will kill me if you do that!"

"Ahaha… but Hestia, it will still be their decision, correct?"

"Y-Yeah, but why not take some of the girls? Rain is really strong too!"

Astraea smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but I only have two tutors that will work. Either of the boys can feel free to decline, but they are the only ones applicable."

"You're a mean goddess of justice," Hestia sighed. Shaking her head, she looked up at the sun and frowned as the bright light hurt her eyes. "I'll tell them today. Let me know when your girls return."

"Will do."

Parting there, Hestia slowly wound her way slowly back to their familia home. "Urgh, I'm going to get blamed for this again!"

Kirito:

Running his thumb across the back of Leafa's hand absently, Kirito stared at nothing in particular. The city passed around them as the sun started to set, marking an end to their whole day date.

Off the main thoroughfare the city was busy, but not packed like the market stalls would be at this time. The winding route they were taking would bring them back to their home in another half an hour or so.

For the time remaining, Kirito could only enjoy Leafa's presence with each precious minute. Just as he was considering starting another conversation, Kirito jerked to a halt as he saw the building they were walking past.

"Ganesha's headquarters…" Leafa murmured. "So, this is why you brought us this way."

"No, I… Maybe it is," Kirito admitted. Inside should be Silica. The girl was… different these days. Kirito did not know the reason, but it was gradually increasing tensions in the familia.

"Take care of her, alright? Also… if you can, remind her that we are still her friends."

"W-What are you talking about?" Kirito turned back to Leafa, but she had already pulled her hand from his.

"I'm going back home and you're going to give Silica a talking to. Later!"

Kirito was still confused as she covered his mouth with a very unchaste kiss. In public!? It was hard to complain when she tasted as good as she did. All too soon she was gone and waving goodbye.

Before she could leave earshot, Kirito yelled after her. "Thank you for today, Leafa! It was amazing!"

"Hehe, I'm glad you had fun, Onii-chan!" With one final wave to him, she was gone.

Kirito was left waving with a stupid smile on his face for a good ten seconds before turning back to the Ganesha familia building.

Thankfully, the guards let him in without issue as Kirito refrained from looking up passing through the legs of the gigantic Ganesha statue. It really was an abomination.

Finding Silica's room was easy through the use of a friendly Ganesha familia member. Bidding them farewell, Kirito knocked on the generic wooden door. It had a dozen identical partners in the one hallway alone. Kirito could only imagine how many members they could fit in this one complex. That did not even count the members that stayed at the four gates that Ganesha familia also maintained.

"Is that you again, Shakti? Look, I told you that I have my own thing today!"

Kirito held a teasing smile as Silica whipped the door open with an angry slam. Her tightknit brows softened instantly as her face lit up with an expression of total happiness.

"Kirito!"

"Silica."

"Ehehe, come in!"

Getting his hand pulled, Kirito staggered into the room and looked around at the bleak interior. Pina was laying curled up on the bed's pillow snoring softly. On the desk were books that appeared to be written about monster taming.

"Studying?"

"Ahaha, a little! There are a few topics I need to touch up on."

"Yeah… I mean we all have some…" Kirito agreed awkwardly. I have no idea how to bring this up…

"Oh? So, what are you studying?"

"Oh, you know… a little bit of everything," Kirito answered evasively, hoping it gave him a bit of a mysterious air. It clearly didn't as Silica rolled her eyes. As she sat back down, legs crossed, Kirito took in her full body and began to notice the differences. Her cheeks were flushed with colour, her blue eyes stood out prominently, two azure orbs glowing with emotion. Her outfit was not her adventuring one either, she was wearing a two piece with a knee-length teal skirt that rode up seductively when she crossed her legs.

"Soo, why did you come visit me here?"

"Uhh…" The longer Kirito stuttered for; the brighter Silica's smile began.

"I actually hoped you would come. I wanted your help with a few things."

"O-Oh, really? What are those things?"

Silica's smile turned predatory. "Kissing for one thing. After that… well, we can see how things go."

S-Silica!? Kirito looked into her eyes and could not find a single shred of the timidness that she had once displayed. With her hair freed from its pigtails it draped straight down her back. Adding in her make-up that accentuated her cheeks and eyes, the youthfulness was stripped from her face, giving her the appearance of a woman.

Unable to find a reply, Kirito's tongue stuck to the roof of his dry mouth. Silica got up from the chair approaching him. Kirito's body reacted on its own, mouth lowering to meet hers as she went up on tiptoes to kiss him.

Concern for the girl vanished as the ecstasy of touching her filled his mind. Each of his girlfriends were unique and special. Silica's touch had always shown off her iron core of determination. A feline power that matched her cat person body.

Lost in a lust-filled haze, the next few minutes passed by with barely a thought beyond seeking more pleasure. When Silica finally pulled away, Kirito found himself seated on her bed with Silica on top of him, his shirt off.

"Hey, Kirito… I'm going to be your second, right?"

"Yeah…" With a brief moment of clarity, Kirito grabbed her shaking hands as she tried to take off her own shirt. "Hold on Silica. I came to talk to you, not… this."

She pouted. "We can talk in the morning, right?"

"Well…" Kirito wanted to stay. Desperately. However… as his lust faded Kirito saw the signs that he had been missing. Silica's eyes were filled with determination but there was fear underneath. Her body wasn't trembling with desire but poorly controlled apprehension. "Why are you forcing yourself?"

"I-I'm not!"

"You very much are. You don't want to do this; you just want to be second."

Silica turned away in frustration, her cat-ears twitching. "Of course I'm scared! But that doesn't mean I don't want to! I just… I want to be special to you."

"You already are!" Kirito yelled at her, tilting her face purposefully so she had to look at him. "Have I really been so distant that you need to do this?"

"…If I'm not first, I'm last. Even… Even if we do have…" Taking a deep breath, Silica stabilized herself before continuing. It didn't stop the blush that suffused her cheeks as she finished the sentence. "Have sex I'll still be second to Asuna! That's not good enough!"

"…You're jealous," Kirito concluded.

"NO! Idiot, Kirito!" Slamming her forehead into his chest, her body shook violently. "I'm not jealous, it's just that Rosalia explained it all to me. You'll only ever love one person, and when we get back home… You can only have one wife."

"So, you'll stab your friends in the back to make that happen?"

Silica shook her head side-to-side. "It isn't my fault… I have to do it."

"Oh Silica," sighing, Kirito wrapped his arms around her. "I've really screwed up if you think that badly about me."

"I love you! That's why I'm trying this hard!"

"But you don't have to," Kirito whispered into her cat-ear. He knew that no matter how quietly he talked, it would resonate loudly for her sensitive ears. "No matter what world we are in, or how long passes, I will love you, Silica. You can either believe me or break up with me."

Silica jerked back hard. Falling from his lap she landed heavily on the floor. A look of terror was painted across her face. "N-No, you can't say that! I'm just… I'm just…"

"Why do you believe this Rosalia instead of me?" Kirito pressed, leaning forward. "Have I not proved that I love you all?"

"I-I thought you did but she had so many examples… She knows so much about love that I…" Silica began to cry. It was the final step that wiped off the last of her womanly aura and turned her back into the child that she truly was.

She was a battle-hardened warrior with experience both killing and being injured. She had watched people die and had suffered through grief. The harsh realities of this world were hardening them all, but they did not change the fact that she was still the youngest of all of them.

Standing up, Kirito threw his shirt back on and took his heavy black coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.

Silica clung to him, sobbing hard. "I'm so scared!"

"I know you are," Kirito whispered. "But you have something to do, don't you?"

"D-Do I?"

"You should apologize to your familia. They're worried about you."

Silica flushed at the gentle rebuttal. "You won't even let me cry for a minute after rejecting me?"

"I didn't reject you. Besides, you can cry while I bring you home." Leaning down, Kirito wrapped his right arm around her shoulder and lifted her up easily. Taking a look back at Pina, Kirito nodded towards the door. The monster understood perfectly his meaning and alighted on his head.

The claws that dug into his skull did feel a little personal.

Silica, to her credit, did not cry any further. She just rested her head against his chest, not complaining about his abduction of her. It still shocked Kirito how light she was.

Kirito walked slowly through the streets as the light faded quickly. He was in no rush to return home and force Silica to talk before she was prepared. If she requested it, he would return her.

Almost halfway home, Silica finally spoke. "Does everyone hate me?"

"Hate you? Rain lectured me about not taking good enough care of you last night."

"R-Rain did? But she was the one I was trying to pass…"

"And I keep trying to get it through your thick skull that there is no passing or order."

"Is… Is that really true?"

"Of course. Think about it. If I only cared for one girl, it would have been a lot easier on me if I had just asked her out."

"B-But Rosalia mentioned…"

Kirito knew by Silica's red cheeks that he probably did not want to know what the woman had been telling her. "I'm sure Rosalia wants the best for you Silica, but hmm… it's hard to explain."

"What is?"

"Well, to copy what a good man once said, that my love for you all is not split between you. It is more like finding a new wellspring each time!"

Silica giggled. "What cheesy manga did you get that from?"

"H-Hey, it's a good story…" Kirito whined, his voice cracking pathetically. "I get that things won't line up perfectly for us always like in a romance story, but I still think we can make this work."

"Ahaha, well you've already tamed me. I'll wait my turn… so just don't forget about me, okay?"

Kirito finally blushed himself as he tried to formulate the proper reply. "I-It isn't that I'm not willing to go further with you… You were the one that wasn't ready."

Silica barely reacted, only her tail that was dangling down twitched. "Does that mean… Rain and Philia aren't ready?"

"They haven't brought it up," Kirito replied steadily. Honestly, he was hesitant to talk about his… intimacy with a different girlfriend, but to not to was basically cheating and would only further divide and stoke jealousy.

"Idiot."

"Hmm? Why am I an idiot this time?"

Silica gave him a hard stare. "Because we all assumed that you chose Asuna. We were waiting to see who the second girl would be to be good enough for you."

Kirito stumbled. Blanching, he stared down at Silica in horror. "T-That's a lie, right?"

"NO! Ugh, you really are an idiot."

Despite her harsh words, there was a hint of relief in her voice.

"I… I have no idea how to convey this to everyone…"

"Don't bother," Silica smiled, her sharp canines flashing. "This will make my apology much easier to execute."

Getting a bad feeling, Kirito reluctantly nodded. "I'll uhh, leave it to you then." Arriving at the front doors, Silica popped out of his arms with renewed energy.

"Kuh!" Pina flew to her master's head and settled down, sending Kirito a glare as if his head hadn't been good enough.

"Talk to you later!"

"Y-Yeah, will do…" Just like that, she was gone inside. Sighing, Kirito lowered his head in exhaustion. "I need to try waaaay harder to keep up with these girls."

Bell:

"I should go home…" Leaning against the trunk of a tree, Bell stared up through the dark sky at the cavalcade of giant roots that looked like dark fingers stretching out to grab him.

His body was battered and injured from a week straight of fighting. Rations had run out three days ago. Every time Bell tried to head home, he remembered the floor giving out underneath him, the wall collapsing as magic failed to create a path out of knossos.

Using a shaking arm, Bell pushed himself up. It was the sixth night where he had lay curled up in an alcove getting spotty sleep for five or six hours. In moments, the crystals imbedded in the roof would begin to lighten. It never got as bright as the eighteenth, but more than enough for his increased senses.

Rolling his shoulders to loosen up, Bell drew the Hestia knife, now dull with use and improper care, dark blood obscuring some of the violet runes that glowed along the edges.

Bell was no cat person, but he could still hear the various groups of monsters that were surrounding him. It was partially because of this hearing that he struggled to sleep at night.

His first prey was a group of Lizardmen. The red creatures were hissing at each other and posturing. Two bigger ones vying for supremacy while three smaller ones looked on.

Wraith-like, Bell stalked up and struck. His knife shattered the magic stone of the rightmost large one before it knew he was there. It took only a moment for the other four to hiss and attack.

Dodging backwards, Bell remembered with faint amusement how he thought these monsters fast not a month ago.

Still not enough!

Failure propelling him, Bell lunged, cutting them down one after another with wild swings. He took another cut on his right leg and the final lizardman's jaw was locked around his left arm when he cut off its head.

Stumbling, Bell collapsed to one knee as a moment of lightheadedness overcame him. Panting, Bell struggled to remove the jaws before remembering to break the magic stone. Ripping out the incisor drop that was left behind, Bell pocketed it in his overflowing pouch.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Whirling in surprise, Bell faced the person he hadn't heard coming. "M-Mikoto!? Why are you here!?"

"Finding you, naturally."

"Why though?" Bell pressed.

"Because it's been a week, and the house has blown up a few times already."

"B-Blown up you say?"

"Yes," Mikoto agreed, not looking at all amused. "Kirito is learning, but you are as bad as Take when it comes to playing with girls' emotions."

"W-What are you talking about?" Bell whimpered. He had tested himself against hundreds of monsters in this training session, but never had his stomach curled in fear like this.

"You still don't understand, do you?" Sighing heavily, Mikoto glared down at him. "You disappear from the familia home in the early hours in the morning the day after suffering heavy injuries. Then you hide in the dungeon for a week, ignoring the people that care about you!"

Bell lowered his head. "But I need to improve… They should understand that I'm too weak to care about still!"

"Emotions don't work that way. Strength, weakness… They rarely factor into how the heart feels."

Bell winced. He knew that of course. "Sorry Mikoto. I left before you woke up. I worried you as well, didn't I?"

Sniffing, Mikoto turned away, a slight tinge of red appearing on her pale cheeks. "Y-You are my familia member!"

Smiling broadly, Bell accepted the words. "Aye, and I'm glad I am!"

"Grr, save your fancy words for Lili! She's the one that you'll hard pressed to get to forgive you!"

"Is Lili… here?" Bell asked with slight hesitation. He knew it was coming, but facing Lili's anger right now may be the death of him.

"Of course she is. We recruited Argo's help, Haruhime and Lili obviously, and then Silica and Yui came too."

"Silica?" Bell asked as he followed Mikoto.

"Yes, she still goes to Ganesha familia often but she's around more and well…"

"Well?"

Mikoto giggled, shooting Bell a sly grin. "I don't know everything, but Silica was a bad girl… and then a good one? Either way, she's definitely trying to prove herself to the familia."

"I don't understand."

"It's better that way."

Lapsing into silence, Bell gave the far eastern girl a side glance. They hadn't had all that much communication. She had joined their familia mostly to support Sachi and aid for the war game. "Do you… wish you could rejoin Take's familia?"

"…Can I be honest?"

"Sure?"

"Not at the moment."

Bell waited anticipatorily for clarification. The answer was strange unless… "You… also like Kirito?"

"No!" Mikoto huffed indignantly, glaring at him again. "You and Sachi both are far too perverse."

"P-Perverse?"

Bell's complaint did not register as Mikoto stormed ahead with her explanation. "Take's familia is very stagnant. Even the members from the other world are growing slowly and struggle to learn weapons. After experiencing it once… I want to go deeper again. I want to explore more with you all."

Bell wasn't sure what to say as he start to appreciate Mikoto's unique situation. Of all the adventures in the familia only she did not have the ability to level up quickly. No matter how hard she tried, she would be left behind. It didn't matter for Lili and Haruhime who were full-time supporters.

"I understand my limitations… and that I'm not really helping all that much even now but…"

"Don't say that!" Bell cut her off. "You'll always be useful to us."

"…You know that isn't true, but thank you, Bell. I'll continue to do my best."

"That's what I'm trying to do…" He wasn't sure if Mikoto heard the quiet, whispered words as he came out into the clearing of the two supporters and Silica. Argo and Yui were absent. The lone adventurer was keeping a watch while sharpening the shortsword in her hand.

Bell's gaze was instantly drawn back to the supporters who had noticed his arrival. Standing up, they simply looked at him.

Stopping himself, Bell stood awkwardly half a dozen mel away as Mikoto surreptitiously shuffled away. "Umm, hey?"

"Hehehe, did you hear that, Lili. I believe master Bell just tried to casually greet us."

"Lili thought that did happen, Miss Haruhime, but Lili thinks that there is no way master Bell could be that stupid."

Ahh, they're really angry… Even Haruhime seemed unwilling to provide him any mercy. Wilting, Bell fell to his knees.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you but, I didn't—" Want you to come. Thankfully, Bell bit down hard on his tongue before the fatal words could emerge from his mouth.

"Hehe," Haruhime giggled again in a voice that froze Bell's blood. "It sounded like Master Bell was going to say more idiotic things."

"It did, didn't it?" Lili agreed. "Well, Master Bell? Do you want to finish your statement."

"…I'm too weak. I know I worried you both, but you both almost died because of me! I can't have you with me until I'm strong enough to protect you both!" Forcing out the words with a harsh yell, Bell felt tears of frustration welling up.

"I think… I feel bad for Master Bell."

"Lili as well."

Their words of sympathy only tightened Bell's stomach with further regret. This was another result of his weakness. I can't even apologize correctly…

"I'm sorry!" Bell choked out.

"Bell…" The girls seemed to be at a loss for words. With his head on the ground, Bell heard as they approached him slowly.

Gasping, Lili suddenly rushed to his side. "Look at your body! How are you still conscious? Come over here, we will treat you."

"Hmm?" Bell looked up in confusion. "I'm not that injured."

"Your armour and clothes are shredded!" Lili protested.

"I-It really isn't—" Lack of nutrition caught up with Bell as his vision went black for a moment, pitching his body forward. When his vision cleared, Bell found himself suspended between the supporters who dragged him easily to their makeshift camp.

Ahh, right. They are level two now.

"I guess… I underestimated you two. Thanks again."

Lili sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes. "Kirito and Hestia report that operations against Knossos have been postponed until further notice. Rest and recover for two days on the eighteenth and we will help you continue to train, alright?"

Bell almost nodded. Shaking his head he drew the Hestia Knife. "I uhh… need to get this repaired."

Haruhime laughed gaily. "We failed to account for weapons, didn't we?"

"Lili did," the prum supporter deflated.

"Hold on…" Bell clued in. "You were looking forward to this!"

The girls sort of shrugged at each other. "We are level two so…"

It was well within the recommended level for this floor. Bell laughed, wiping the tears away that were stuck in his eyes. "Alright. Then we will regroup and train together!"

Sharing a smile, the three linked hands; all the while completely oblivious to the smirks of their onlookers.

Asuna:

"Back again…" Muttering to herself, Asuna looked out over the hole where Balor had once reigned from. Moytura was as bleak and massive as ever. Roaming hordes of formoire still ruled here and the raid was taking a much-needed rest.

Even the first-tier adventurers were looking burned out after dealing with the umpteenth attack.

"Our familia… is not as strong as it was." Ais said to her. The golden-haired adventurer had joined back up with them without a word of acknowledgement. While the others were murmuring about it, Asuna had the feeling that Finn knew the reason behind her disappearance.

Leaning over, Asuna whispered in her ear. "Does it make sense for us to push on further?"

"Ahh, Cadmus' spring is on floor 51. We were flooded with requests for its water…"

Asuna accepted the words grudgingly. Looking around, however, she did not see much left in the group. The adventurers had a haunted look in their eyes that refused to fade, regardless of the speeches that Finn gave.

"GROOOH!" From behind, a loud roar rang out as another horde of formoire locked on them. Standing close to three meters the massive furry monsters galloped toward them, snouts slobbering thick, white spittle everywhere.

"Disgusting." Mouth twisting in a sneer, Asuna loosed her blade from the scabbard. Her head was already pounding from magic use. There was no way that she was as bad as Lefiya who stepped up beside her, bags forming under her eyes.

"Lefiya… You should spend more time by Riveria," Ais chastised her.

"But you aren't by Riveria…" Lefiya complained.

Asuna had experienced it once. Riveria's skill Alf Regina. It truly was an ability worthy of the queen of elves. Asuna, despite being a human in the old world, qualified as an elf here.

"Ais is right, Lefiya. You look on the verge of dropping dead."

"Grr… You two. Fine! Fight by yourselves!"

Asuna felt a little bad for Lefiya, but even this most recent spat spoke volumes about how tired she was.

Raising her sword, Asuna fell in a step behind Ais as some others began to rush over to help. By some, Asuna saw two. Only Anikitty and Astrid continued on to help after seeing Ais was fighting.

Bunch of jerks…

"Watch out Asuna, they're physically stronger than us!"

"Got it!" She replied to Astrid's yelled warning. As the sisters fell into a complementary stance, Asuna was left alone on Ais' right side to try and stem any that got through.

Ais, even without ariel, was a force to be reckoned with. The first two formoire could not hold a candle to her as she cut them to pieces with only a couple of swings each.

Bursting past those were more than she could handle, and so it was Asuna's turn.

Dodging to the right, she was thrown off balance as the reckless swing collided so hard with the ground that the floor rippled with earthquake-like tremors.

Unable to press through the disturbance, Asuna had to take a step back. The formoire now had a path to Ais' flank but did not press toward the blond swordsman and focused on her.

Kirito was killing these! Asuna complained to herself as she gritted her teeth. This was the first full-strength one that she had fought solo.

Retreating a step, Asuna dodged the second and third wild strikes before responding with her own lightning-fast strike. It sunk in through the hard abdominal muscles before she drew back once more.

Roaring in pain, the formoire stepped forward once more with its hard overhead strike.

Slow! Ignoring the strike, Asuna darted forward, jumping as the club hit the ground. The shockwave passed beneath her and she struck high. Catching its left eye, she darted behind it.

As the formoire turned, violently swinging; Asuna backed up. Legs filling with power, she ran at full speed. The headstrong dash activating flashing penetrator. Strike enhanced to legendary performance her blade had pierced the magic stone buried in the monster's chest before she felt the vibrations of resistance.

"Good job, Asuna!" Astrid cheered her on with a thumbs-up. The bodies of three formoire lay around her and her sister.

I'm being protected! It was frustrating, but necessary. So, playing a back-up role, Asuna fought behind the others, playing a supporting role. It was only five minutes or so but at the end, her arms were leaden and legs stiff.

"…Good job." Ais congratulated her, sheathing her blade. "Formoire are tough."

"Tsk," Asuna grunted. "I'm not supposed to be reliant on magic to fight though!"

"Umm, but I?"

The doll-like girl was confused, so Asuna waved away the words. "Never mind. Sorry for yelling."

"You were fine, Asuna," Anikitty assured her. "Your skills are there. Trust yourself and you'll pass me in no time."

"T-Thank you…" Stumbling back to the temporary camp, Asuna collapsed to the ground by the other elves that were huddling around Riveria. She was trying to restore mind without wasting any more of the mind potions that were running low.

Sitting back-to-back with Lefiya, Asuna looked up at Riveria and tried to get a read on the elf. Her long emerald hair flowed down her back. Not even a single strand fluttered with the lack of wind. Even after the hard journey through the dungeon, her eyes looked sharp and her mind full.

But that can't be true, right?

Asuna had seen her magic, Wynn Fimbulvetr five times today to bail the raid out when the formoire were threatened to overwhelm them.

"Do you need something?"

Asuna jumped a few seconds later when she noticed that the words had been directed her way. "No! I mean… I was concerned about you."

"Fret not. I shall not fail. …Not again."

"Umm, Riveria?"

Asuna thought she may have imagined those final two words. Her casual address turned out to be a mistake. Six pairs of hostile turned her way—all but Lefiya from the nearby elves.

"How dare you address Lady Riveria so casually?"

"Ugh, even a newbie should know to respect Lady Riveria."

"Enough," that very lady cut them off. "Save your energy for monsters."

There it is! In that moment when they lowered their eyes in shame… a moment of weakness. It reminded her strongly of Kirito—strong in the face of others, but oh so tired inside.

"There should be a third leader…"

Asuna winced at the poor choice of words. Once more, gazes whipped to stare at her. Not as malevolently as before, but even more frustrated. Riveria stared as well, eyes reflecting the light perfectly, giving no insight into how she felt about the statement.

"A defensive leader will need to be chosen soon," Riveria agreed.

"On your feet! We march for floor 50!"

Finn's roar of an order carried over them and that was that. The scraggily, worn-down group started marching again. The allure and power that had once emanated from the group had been stripped long ago by the perpetual grind of the dungeon itself.

Hours later, just as Asuna thought she may collapse, as many of the other frontliners had, they made it. In a section of the dungeon where time had lost all meaning, she got to witness another new floor.

"This is… a safety point?"

"An overrun one," Lefiya muttered, sounding disgusted by what they found.

The floor was mostly open with no walls or trees. However, the limits of the floor were obstructed by hills and darkness. It was not totally barren like Moytura above as a layer of short grass covered the floor.

"There is a large hill that is flanked by a cliff up ahead," Lefiya explained. "It's where we make camp."

"…How far?" Asuna asked, glancing around. The floor was covered with monsters lounging around. Heads perking up to stare at them as they entered. Only a few were formoire from above. Most were shapes and figures that Asuna had never seen before.

Focusing her eyes upon them as the raid wound closer to conflicted area, the monsters came into clearer contrast. The most prominent monster was an upright rhinoceros with matte black fur and two large horns protruding from their forehead. Despite standing upright, the monster was actually smaller than a normal rhino would be. The other monsters were basically large spiders. Asuna was glad she didn't have arachnophobia.

"Attack!" Finn's voice rang out as he charged forward. Clearly nothing was being held back as Riveria as well started a chant. All of the first-tier adventurers mowing down monsters and shaping them into an area for Riveria to eliminate.

Too tired to do much but watch, Asuna rested heavily on her staff side-by-side with Lefiya. "They're so strong…"

"Un," Lefiya nodded in agreement. "But every time we push ourselves further than we think possible, that distance closes a bit… right?"

Asuna chuckled. "Do you believe that or not?"

"Is it so wrong to search for assurance?" Lefiya mumbled.

"Sorry, sorry," Asuna patted her friend's head in way of apology to ease Lefiya's hurt feelings. "You are right. The first time I saw the first-tier adventurers… they felt like a different world. But when I was level one, so did the level threes and fours…"

"Yeah, I guess I forget that sometimes," Lefiya agreed. "To think that there is a tier even beyond them though is something I still can't comprehend."

"A tier… beyond first?" Asuna spoke disbelievingly.

"You don't remember?" Lefiya gave Asuna confused glance as the world turned to fire—Rea Laevanteinn decimated all the monsters standing in their way. "About my failure at the dragon's valley?"

"Yeah, and Hera and Zeus familia were wiped out there."

"But I'm sure I told you before. The Emperor and Empress… were level nine. The demigod tier."

Demigod… Asuna shivered.

"Can you imagine?" Lefiya whispered, awe filling her voice. "A mage with that power? Ms. Riveria getting to that stage?"

Asuna could not. The hill and everything visible was burning with the strength of a bonfire. The writhing bodies of monsters and once pristine hill were completely annihilated.

"How could they die?"

"Because the dragon was just as strong." Lefiya shrugged. "Their sacrifice brought it down to our level though."

Asuna swallowed. "Do you think the monsters in the dungeon get that strong?"

"They must. Otherwise, Zeus and Hera would have found the bottom."

"So there is still more…" Asuna muttered as they started forward to the camping location. "How far down did they get."

"Classified."

Asuna thought she had misheard for a moment. "Excuse me?"

"That's right. Loki familia has not progressed far enough to learn about the limits of their discovery. I heard from Ms. Riveria that Finn was rejected again, even though Zues and Hera are gone now."

"What is our familia's record?"

"Fifty-seven. The crucible is… intense. Or so I've been told. The dungeon changes again starting on the fifty-first floor."

"How do you mean?" Having arrived at the hill, the girls set about laying out camp. Grabbing one of the tents from the few carts, they worked together to assemble it.

"Above here the dungeon will test you and trap you as you try to advance. The next floors are different. The dungeon actively tries to eliminate you, even if you do nothing."

"Scary…"

"Yeah… and to answer your question, we know a few things about the lower floors. Starting on the fifty-ninth and stretching until the sixty-eighth floor are fields of ice so cold that even level four adventurers will freeze solid."

"Ice huh? Maybe I'll…" Stopping herself from getting too hopeful, Asuna refocused on levelling up. She had to catch a large number of people. First among them was the boy she had given her heart and body to.