Disclaimer: I do not own Square Enix or Danmachi. Both belong to their respective owners.
Hello my waiting readers, I hope all of you had a wonderful start to 2024.
Sorry I kept you guys waiting for more than 2 months. Last chapter literally burned me out from writing, so I've decided to give myself January off from writing.
Originally, I planned on updating this chapter on February. However, my life took a rather...major hit.
My grandfather passed away. As a result...I no longer have any grandparents, both from my mom and dad's side of the family. All of them passed away from old age. I've been going through some...difficult times, to say the least.
But as the saying goes, time heals all wounds. I started to make peace with everything that's been going on.
So...rest in peace, Grandpa. Thank you for being a part of my life, and I'm going to miss you dearly.
Let's start the chapter.
Chapter 23: Lending a Hand
"Wow...so this is the 18th Floor!" Bell said with awe.
The sight before Bell was absolutely breath-taking. Compared to the previous Dungeon Floors that he traveled through, this floor was a lot more brighter. Not to mention, it was more crystal-like and he could see the entire floor is a forest. However, one large tree stood above the rest in the center of the floor.
Welf gave an impressed whistle at the sight before him. "I said it before, and I'll say it again. Never expected to be on the 18th Floor within just a month. It still feels like yesterday when I struggled to get through the 10th Floor on my own."
"When you're with Sora, things tend to move too fast," Lili said while sighing with a bit of exasperation.
"No kidding. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing..." Welf remarked while scratching the back of his head.
'...They do know I'm right here...right?' Sora thought with a sweatdrop, seeing how they're just talking about him like he was the strange one here.
Then again, they're not exactly wrong.
Before Sora could ponder about this further, he soon heard footsteps. The group heard footsteps being made towards them as well, and they all turned their heads to see a particular blonde person making their way towards them.
Bell's eyes widened in recognition, while Sora blinked at who was approaching them.
"…It's you," Ais said with recognition as she stopped before them.
"…Ais!?" Bell yelped in surprise to see
"Oh hey Ais! What a surprise to run into you here!" Sora cheerfully greeted.
"…The Sword Princess…?" Welf muttered with surprise and recognition, with Lili staring at her in surprise as well.
Ais looked at the group before her, before she soon spotted a particularly large magic stone that was strapped to Lili's backpack.
"…Is that…?" Ais asked.
Sora looked to where Ais was looking at, and realized she was looking at the magic stone drop from the Goliath.
"Yep, it's a magic stone from the Goliath." Sora confirmed for her.
Ais could only stare at the magic stone; beneath her stoic demeanor was surprise to discover this. Hearing this from Sora confirmed her suspicions. Before she made her way to the entrance to the 17th Floor, her ears picked up loud noises coming from the room where the Goliath resides. And soon, her ears picked up bell-like chimes resounding. As such, curiosity got the best of her as she decided to go and investigate what the source of noise was.
Her investigation soon led her to meeting Sora, Bell, and their party.
However, the sight before her was also surprising. Normally, you would need a capable large high-level party in order to take down the Goliath. However, when she looked at the party before her, it was only made up of 4 members.
Then again, Sora is with them…
"…Did you…?" Ais started when she looked at Sora.
When Sora noticed Ais looking at him while hearing this question, he was about to tell her that it wasn't him. However, he soon noticed Bell staring at Ais with a bit of a daze.
Immediately, an idea popped up in Sora's head.
Sora immediately ringed his arm around Bell's shoulders, making the white-haired teenager break out of his stare as he turned to Sora in surprise at the sudden gesture.
"Oh you should've been there to see it Ais!" Sora started while pointing at Bell. "You should've seen how Bell managed to take down the Goliath in one strike!"
This caused the Sword Princess to blink in surprise upon hearing this, as she turned to Bell with a small bewildered expression.
"…You've defeated the Goliath? In one blow?" Ais asked.
"I-I mean, kind of…!?" Bell stuttered nervously while trying to get himself out of Sora's grasp. He began to realize what Sora was doing once more, and he wanted to stop the spiky-haired Keyblade wielder from making such a big deal of what he accomplished in front of Ais.
Even if it is considered a big deal for someone of his Level.
"What do you mean kind of?" Sora said with a raised eyebrow. "C'mon, you shouldn't be waving this off! You managed to bring out an incredible power and cleave the Goliath in half!"
"…An incredible power...cleave in half…" Ais quietly repeated.
"I-I mean….!" Bell's cheeks were practically turning red at this point. He was pleading for anything to get out of this mess that Sora was making!
"…Master Bell. Master Sora," Lili spoke up, which caught the attention of the two. "…You seem to be quite familiar with the Sword Princess."
Both Bell and Sora paused when they heard this. Right, they haven't exactly shared their private meetings with Ais with Hestia or the others for that matter. And they can't exactly tell Lili the whole story, because Lili will definitely tell Hestia about this!
They need to run damage control!
"Oh, well, um…" Bell tried to find the right words on how to explain this.
"W-Well, I ran into them during Monsterphilia," Sora answered, "they were in a bit of a bind, so I've lent them a hand. After some time, we ran into them again and talked."
"Lili sees…" Lili muttered, before she turned to Bell with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, um…well, Ais approached us and thanked Sora for his help and all." Bell followed up as well.
"Hm…" Lili stared at them with suspicion, which caused Bell to sweat a bit with the look Lili is giving him.
Ais was staring at the interaction with a confused look, before she began to remember something important. Her eyes landed on Sora once more.
'...Perhaps he has a solution to what we're dealing with.' Ais thought to herself.
Sora is full of surprises, and she doesn't know what else to expect from him. It certainly didn't hurt to ask at this point.
"...Would you come with me? I believe you may be able to help us with a problem we're dealing with," Ais told them.
This caused everyone to turn to Ais while blinking in confusion.
~ Break ~
Finn gave an exhausted sigh while rubbing his forehead.
"It's just one thing after another..." Finn quietly said to himself, thinking on the past events that have happened.
He managed to lead the Loki Familia beyond the 50th Floor, and managed to reach the 59th Floor of the Dungeon. However, what awaited them was a gruesome and terrifying opponent: a demi-spirit. It took the might of everyone in Loki Familia's upper echelon to even survive the fight. He even considered it a miracle that all of them managed to return alive after everything that has happened.
Unfortunately, it would seem their luck ran out when they were returning from their expedition as a Monster Party of Poison Vermis attacked them. Though they've managed to fend them off, some of their members got poisoned by the Poison Vermis. Even with the Abnormal Resistance Developmental Ability, the venom of the Poison Vermis is lethal to practically any Adventurer.
As a result, they had to make a stop at the 18th Floor in order to take care of their poisoned members. He already sent Bete out to get antidotes for the poison. The werewolf grumbled about it, but he nonetheless carried out the order as he ran off to the surface.
Now is a matter of waiting for Bete to return.
"The Dungeon is a dangerous place, after all," Gareth said while stroking his beard, "though, to be honest, I wish it gave us a little breathing room."
"Unfortunately, wistful thinking won't fix the problem," Riveria said while giving a small sigh, "we're doing all we can to treat the ones who got the worst of it, but we can only do so much."
"...Those antidotes are going to be rather pricey, are they not?" Gareth pointed out as he held up his fingers to count something. "The Durandal weapons, Magic Swords, giving the Hephastois Familia a portion of our drops, and now the medicine made by Dea Saint. We're going to be in the red for quite a while."
Finn lets out a wry grin upon hearing this. Gareth wasn't wrong, as this expedition was going to take a huge hit on their funds. They'll most likely prioritize on gathering valis for a while.
"...We can worry about that once we get back to the surface," Finn said as gave a contemplative frown, "what's bothering me is that monster that we fought on the 59th Floor."
"What about the monster?" Gareth asked with a raised eyebrow.
"During the battle, it used a large mass of tentacles that erupted from the ground. And according to Ais and Lefiya's report, the jewel fetus transforms into a humanoid female after it parasitizes a monster. The monster we fought was just the vanguard...and its real body is most likely located elsewhere." Finn pointed out.
Both Gareth and Riveria frowned when they heard this. It was already an uphill battle with what they fought, and now they're learning that there's already something more dangerous lurking deeper within the Dungeon.
"Though, that isn't my main concern," Finn pointed out, "taking into account of what happened on the 24th Floor, the jewel fetus gains a body in the pantry and becomes a demi spirit after consuming enough magic stones."
"Wait, you don't mean..." Gareth said with a frown, to which Finn nodded to.
"If those jewel fetuses, which are rather easy to carry, have already been taken to the surface, then there's the possibility that they could be deployed simultaneously and wreak havoc." Finn grimly pointed out.
"For crying out loud...who in the world is trying to destroy Orario? We're still trying to move on from the Great Feud..." Gareth sighed with exasperation and frustration, thinking back on Orario's Dark Age. The Great Feud cost a great amount of lives as a result, including their own Familia.
"What about those dark monsters that have been encountered in the past?" Riveria asked. "Were you able to find any connections between them?"
Finn shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I've tried to see any connections or relations between the Demi Spirits and those dark monsters. The only connection I could come up with is that they're able to parasatize Dungeon Monsters, just like what the Jewel Fetus's do. Though, that's a very loose correlation at best."
"I find it odd how we didn't encounter a single one on our way down," Gareth remarked, "you would think that with the past encounters, one of them was bound to show up."
"Indeed...they're elusive, I'll give them that," Finn commented with a frown, "and it seems like the only person who has a connection or knowledge about them is Hestia's Familia member, Sora."
"That young lad...I remember Loki mentioning how Sora seems to know about these dark monsters." Gareth said while stroking his beard. "Honestly, that boy is full of surprises and mystery."
"Perhaps we should approach him in the near future and see if he's willing to share it with us," Finn said before he looked to Riveria, "do you think it's possible?"
"...It's rather hard to say," Riveria said with a frown, "it seems likely that Sora does know about them, but he doesn't seem to announce it to the public or inform the Guild. Also add in with the fact that he's working with Ganesha's Familia, and they're not sharing whatever they know. Whatever he knows is strictly needed to be kept under wraps, so the chances are slim."
"Another mystery to be figure out then..." Finn said while giving a small frown, before he gave a small sigh, "well, that's something that we'll get to later on. Right now, let's just get some rest after everything that has happened. We'll simply wait for Bete to return with the antidote, and-"
The three heard the tent flaps opening, and they turned to see Ais peeking her head into the tent.
"...Am I interrupting something?" Ais asked.
"Ais? Is there something that needs our attention?" Riveria asked with a raised eyebrow.
"...I brought Sora here. He might be able to help us with our poisoned Familia members." Ais told everyone.
The three slowly blinked at what Ais announced and turned to each other with astonished expressions.
"...Speak of the devil, and here he is," Gareth commented.
"Honestly..." Riveria said with exasperation.
"...You said that Sora can help our poisoned Familia members?" Finn asked, wanting to clarify on what Ais said, to which she nodded. "...I see. Bring him in Ais."
Ais nodded, as she turned around and made a gesture to enter the tent. Not soon after, the three were greeted with the sight of Sora walking into the tent.
"Hey there!" Sora greeted with a friendly smile, before he blinked at who he saw before him. "Hey, didn't we meet at...?"
"We've briefly met on the 9th Floor on the Dungeon, but I don't believe we've properly introduced ourselves," Finn said with a small smile. "My name is Finn Deimne, Captain of the Loki Familia. It's nice to meet you."
"Same," Sora returned the sentiment, before he turned his gaze to Riveria and wave her a wave of his hand to greet. The green-haired elf simply gave a small smile and nodded at Sora.
"So you're the boy our Familia kept talking about," Gareth said, gaining Sora's attention. The Dwarf gave a good-hearted chuckle. "Honestly, you're not even a part of our Familia and yet created quite the stir, you know?"
"Um...?" Sora said, unsure of what to make of Gareth's comment.
"Ah right, haven't introduced myself properly. The name is Gareth Landrock." Gareth introduced himself.
"Nice to meet ya!" Sora greeted, before he turned to face Finn. "So...Ais told me something about your Familia members being poisoned. If that's true, then I have the solution to help out your Familia."
Finn blinked when he heard this. Immediately, the boy before him is already offering to help out his Familia without any hesitation, even though he isn't a part of it. The Pallum could only guess that Sora is offering this because he's friends with Ais. Even so...
'...You don't meet types like him very often,' Finn thought to himself with amusement. "Well...it's certainly true that our Familia is in a bind at the moment."
The Captain of the Loki Familia has mixed feelings about this sudden development.
They just sent Bete away to get antidotes for the poisoned Familia members. Now Sora is standing before him, offering a cure for the poisoned Familia members.
A part of him wishes to tell Sora not to worry about it, as they're already taking care of the problem. He doesn't want to bring an outsider into their problems. Yet at the same time, as Captain of his Familia, it's his responsibility to make sure his Familia returns back home alive and in one piece. He doesn't want to risk his Familia members dying from poison if he continues to hold off on it.
Weighing the options before him, Finn made his decision.
"...If you could heal our Familia, then you have our gratitude," Finn said, deciding to prioritize his Familia's safety first.
"Great! Just lead me to where they are, I'll get them healed in no time!" Sora declared with a confident expression.
Finn nodded as he turned to Riveria, "Riveria, do you mind leading Sora to where our poisoned Familia are?"
"Of course," Riveria said while nodding, before she turned to Sora. "Please, follow me."
Finn watched as Riveria lead Sora out of the tent, with Ais following as well. The pallum could only give a wry grin.
"...Seems like asking him about the dark monsters will have to wait, not with the favor that we owe him." Finn remarked.
"Ain't that right?" Gareth chuckled.
~ Break ~
"So how do you intend on healing them?" Riveria curiously asked, as she and Sora are standing in the medical tent where they housed the poisoned Familia members.
"Well, let's see if I still have it..." Sora said to himself as he was digging into his pockets. The Keyblade wielder was really hoping he had a spare in his pocket.
After talking with Finn and gaining his permission to help cure the poisoned Familia members, Sora made his way towards the poisoned Familia members.
However, before he went inside, Lili had to stop him from doing anything drastic. Lili questioned Sora on what planned to do to cure the poisoned Loki Familia members, to which Sora answered that he was going to use his Esuna spell to relieve them of their poison.
Certainly, the Esuna spell is a guaranteed method to lift the poison off them. However, using Esuna means revealing another spell in his arsenal in front of the Loki Familia. It's already bad enough that he revealed his Curaga spell in front of them, which already puts a target on his back.
As such, Sora needed to use another method to cure the poisoned victims.
There is one alternative method that Sora has in mind.
"Let's see...found it!" Sora declared as he brought out the item that he needed.
Riveria could only blink in astonishment, seeing how Sora brought out an object that shouldn't be able to fit in his pocket. The object in question appeared to be an orange jar with two handles on it.
"What is this...?" Riveria asked in confusion.
"This is called Panacea." Sora answered as he brought out a smaller cup as he poured the contents of the jar into it.
While Sora has given Miach a majority of his healing items, that doesn't mean he has completely given up all of it. He only kept a few, just in case of emergencies. And seeing how he can't use his magic in front of people, this is the best solution.
"They just need to drink this, and they'll be as good as new," Sora told the High Elf.
"Is that so? Allow me," Riveria said as she accepted the cup from Sora. She then kneeled down one of the poisoned Loki Familia member. She lifted her fellow Familia member up and began to poured the liquid down his throat.
When the poisoned Familia members drank the liquid, he gave a small groan, before he slowly opened his eyes. He could only blink at what happened to him, and he looked at his body.
"Huh...what...?" the Loki Familia member muttered in surprise and confusion.
"Sit still. I need to examine your body real quickly," Riveria ordered as she began examining him.
After a short moment, Riveria could only blink in astonishment once more.
"...He's completely cured. Not a single trace of the poison is flowing through his body," Riveria muttered in surprise.
"Heh, that's good to hear!" Sora chirped. "Looks like we'll be able to get everyone back into good shape with this!"
"...It would seem so," Riveria quietly said, and then turned to Sora with a serious look. "Quickly, get me another cup. We have people to cure."
"Right!" Sora nodded.
~ Break ~
Welf found himself walking alone as he made his way through the Loki Familia camp.
Bell decided to stay with Sora for the time being. The group came to a decision that he and Lili would find a suitable area to set up camp. However, the Loki Familia took up a majority of the good camping spots, so finding one was difficult. It was decided that he and Lili would cover more ground if they split up to find a decent spot to set up camp on the 18th Floor.
And honestly, Welf needed the time to himself. He needed to think about what transpired recently.
His mind kept flashing back to the fight with the Goliath.
Sora brought out a new weapon out of nowhere when he wasn't looking, and brought out a weird-looking sword that he never saw before. Much to his shock, he witnessed Sora's weapon transform into a shield of all things, and use the shield to full effect to support Bell. Sora even had the shield perform lightning magic of all things!
Welf has hundreds of questions on how such a thing was even possible, and how Sora came into possession of such things. First is with Sora's Kingdom Key, an unbreakable Magic Sword, something that he thought was impossible. Then he witnessed a Magic Sword capable of changing form, another concept that Welf thought was never possible.
And then there's Bell's weapon, the Hestia Knife.
He was surprised to see Bell's knife suddenly transform into a new weapon. The blacksmith thought that Bell's weapon is also a Magic Sword, but he quickly shot down that idea. The Hestia Knife is special, yes, but it's not exactly a Magic Sword. It's something more akin to the weapons that he made for Bell, both Ushiwakamaru and Irrégulier.
"Honestly, those guys always brings something absurd to the table..." Welf quietly said to himself while scratching the back of his head.
"Well if it isn't Welf! I never expected to find you here so soon!" a familiar voice greeted.
Before Welf could even turn around, he felt a hard smack on his back, making him yelp in surprise and pain. He turned around to see his Familia Captain standing before him.
"Tsubaki!?" Welf cried out in surprise.
"That's my name, last time I checked!" Tsubaki cheerfully greeted.
Welf could only blink in surprise upon seeing her, before he remembered that some of his Familia members went with the Loki Familia's expedition. That also included Tsubaki as well.
"...I guess seeing you here, that also means your expedition came to an end," Welf said.
"You got it! We returning, but-" Tsubaki was about to explain
"Some of the Loki Familia members got poisoned, I'm well aware," Welf told her.
This caused his Familia Captain to blink upon hearing this.
"Well aren't you quick on the uptake," Tsubaki remarked.
"I only learned about it because the Sword Princess asked for our help," Welf shrugged.
"Really now? You had the antidotes to cure them?" Tsubaki asked with surprise.
"Not sure. But considering how she's relying on Sora's help, I'm sure he'll get something done," Welf told her.
This caused Tsubaki to freeze.
"...What?" Tsubaki quietly said.
Welf didn't notice her freezing as he turned around.
"In any case, I better get going. I'm trying to find a decent camping spot for my party-" Welf told her, but then felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.
He then yelped in pain when Tsubaki began to grip his shoulder rather tightly.
"Tsubaki, what the hell-!"
Welf couldn't finish his sentence as he was promptly turned around to face his Captain.
And Welf couldn't help but freeze in concern and fear when he saw the expression on his Captain's face.
"...You're with Sora?" Tsubaki blankly asked.
"...You know the guy?" Welf asked with a confused look, before he yelped further in pain when Tsubaki had two of her hands on his shoulders and began to grip tightly.
"Know the guy? I guess you could say that. The better question is...how the hell are you in party with him?" Tsubaki asked while giving a smile.
A smile that wasn't friendly in the least.
'Sora, what the hell did you do to Tsubaki!?' Welf mentally screamed as he was being stared down by his Captain.
~ Break ~
Lefiya gave a light exhale as she finally finished her task of moving around and organizing supplies around in the camp. As she did, she glanced towards the direction that Ais took off. She wanted to know where the Sword Princess has taken off to, but she didn't exactly want to get in trouble for leaving behind her given task.
"I wonder why Ais took off into that direction..." Lefiya muttered to herself.
It was then she began to hear a lot of voices being picked up, as if there was a commotion being made. Curiously, she made her way towards the source of the noise.
She soon noticed that a lot of her fellow Familia members were huddled around while staring at something. And she soon noticed that they looked on with disbelief and jealousy.
"...Those brats!? Who do they think they are, just walking next to Ais and talking to her like that!?" one of the male Loki Familia members muttered with outrage and jealousy.
'...Someone is talking to Ais?' Lefiya thought with a frown as she soon entered the crowd. As she finally pushed through and got a proper look, her eyes widened at who she saw.
The people who were walking next to Ais was someone who possessed brown spiky hair and the other who had white colored hair and red eyes. It was those distinct features that made her recognize who they were.
"...Sora!? Bell!?" Lefiya exclaimed in recognition.
This caught the group's attention, as Bell and Sora turned towards Lefiya. Sora gave a bright grin as he waved an arm at her.
"Oh, Lefiya...!" Bell said in recognition.
"Hey Lefiya, haven't seen you in a while!" Sora greeted with a grin, with Bell nodding in agreement.
"It has been a while..." Lefiya said while nodding, before she began to realize Bell is also standing before her as well, in this particular location. "...Wait, you're on the 18th Floor already!?"
"I-I guess I am..." Bell chuckled while scratching his cheek. "Though I only have Sora to thank that we've managed to get this far."
"Oh c'mon, you talk like I did all of the work! You're no slouch yourself, Mr. Level 2!" Sora teased while playfully elbowing Bell.
"S-Sora..." Bell whispered while looking a bit bashful upon hearing this.
Lefiya's eyes widened upon hearing this. The white hair teenager before her is already a Level 2!? Last time they saw each other, Bell was just a Level 1!
'Wait...he's was pretty skilled for a Level 1, strong enough to put any Level 1s in our Familia to shame. So I guess a Level Up was possible, but so soon...!' Lefiya thought in shock.
It made the girl feel a mixture of emotions about this. A part of her felt happy for Bell, as he was truly making progress in catching up to the person he admired. Yet, there's another part of her that felt like she was falling behind in some sense, even if she is a higher Level than him.
And now Bell, who recently started his Adventurer career, is standing before her on the 18th Floor.
"I-I see you're working hard to get strong..." Lefiya quietly said with astonishment.
"Well, he's certainly working hard," Sora said while nodding and gave Lefiya a curious look, "Speaking of which, you and your Familia made it to the 59th Floor, right? Did you take part in going to the 59th Floor?"
"Hm? O-Oh, yes. I was part of the team that was selected to go beyond the 59th Floor..." Lefiya said, thinking back on her time in the expedition.
"Well, that's great to hear! I bet the training with the Concurrent Chanting helped out a lot, didn't it?" Sora asked with a grin.
Hearing this made Lefiya pause, as it made her remember what she did in the Dungeon. She did manage to pull off Concurrent Chanting when they went beyond the 50th Floor. It was actually thanks to that training that she managed to survive, but also provide great help to her Familia.
"I-I guess you could say that..." Lefiya answered, trying to downplay her achievements in front of Sora.
"Really? Oh, you gotta tell me about it!" Sora told her with an eager and curious look.
For some reason, seeing Sora's eagerness in wanting to learn about her accomplishment made her have a fuzzy feeling within her Heart. Lefiya's cheeks went a bit red.
"W-Well...where to start..." Lefiya tried to find the rights word on where to start.
"Um..." Ais spoke up, unsure where to speak in this conversation.
"O-Oh, right! Hey Lefiya, why not come with us while we talk?" Bell offered to the elf, making the young elf mage blink upon hearing this.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Lefiya asked with a confused expression.
"Well, I have good news for you!" Sora told her. "I've managed to cure your poisoned Familia members. They're as good as new!"
"R-Really!?" Lefiya said in surprise.
"Yeah really!" Sora confirmed for her. "Finn was thankful for what I did, so he offered me and my party a spot in the camp to stay at. Ais is leading us to where the spot is."
"Is that so...?" Lefiya said with a bit of awe and surprise.
"Yeah, we're heading the right now, so you should come with us. I want to learn more about your experiences in the Deeper Floors," Sora told her.
"Oh, um...where to start?" Lefiya began as she began to walk alongside the group.
Unknown to them, the onlookers could only look on with baffled expressions
"...How does Lefiya know them as well!?"
"And why were they so familiar with each other!?"
"Wait...that magic crystal..." one of the Loki Familia members spoke up while noticing the large magic stone on Lili's backpack. "...Isn't that the magic stone from the Goliath!?"
"Now that you mention it...it is!" another Loki Familia member exclaimed in recognition.
"But...who took it down? Could it have been Ais?"
"If she did, she would've been carrying it. Don't tell that group managed to...!?"
"No way, impossible!"
And just like that, the Loki Familia could only talk to each other in disbelief at what they were seeing.
~ Break ~
Nighttime was settling in the Dungeon. It was clearly indicated when the crystals on the roof the 18th floor began to darken, turning the entire floor dark like it was night time. Thus, campfires were lit to brighten the dark setting.
It was dinner time, as the Loki Familia gathered around the campfire while dinner was being served to everyone.
With some addition of new guests.
Bell felt out of place as he and his party were seated at the campfire. And Bell couldn't help but sweatdrop as he looked around him, with the surrounding Loki Familia members giving him and Sora some rather nasty looks.
The reason being?
Ais is currently sitting next to him out of her own interest. Lefiya was also sitting next to Ais.
'Why did Sora have to accept having dinner with the Loki Familia...?' Bell mentally groaned.
Finn invited Sora and the others to join them for dinner as a way of expressing their gratitude for what Sora has done. Naturally, Sora accepted the invitation, as the spiky-haired teenager saw it as an opportunity to make more friends amongst the Loki Familia.
Though...
"Sheesh, wonder what's their problem," Sora muttered while looking around, oblivious as to why the Loki Familia is giving them jealous looks.
'...Sora really doesn't understand the social rules when it comes to interacting with Ais,' Bell thought, a part of him amazed how Sora can just confidently interact with anyone, disregarding their social status.
It was then Finn stood up while holding up a cup.
"Today, this group of Adventurers has provided our Familia aid by curing them of poison! All of us should give our thanks to these altruistic Adventurers, as our fellow Familia members will be able to see another day!" Finn told everyone, and then raised his cup into the air.
"With that being said, cheers!"
Everyone gave their cheers as they raised their cups into the air, and a celebratory dinner was held.
Finn looked around, and gave a small nod to himself.
He knows how his fellow Familia members can get jealous when someone is acting friendly with Ais. However, his opening statement reminded his Familia that Sora cured their poisoned Familia members, so this would prevent anyone from acting with hostility towards the Hestia Familia party.
"Stew, hm?" Sora hummed while looking at the bowl that was given to him. He grabbed a spoon and placed it in his mouth. "Hm...it's certainly not bad."
The Keyblade wielder then gave a small pout as he looked around.
"...I feel kinda bad with them giving us their food. If I had known, I would've prepared more for to share with everyone," Sora said.
"Master Sora, you cured their Familia members of a lethal poison. Sharing their food with you is the least they could do to show their gratitude," Lili told Sora.
"I know, but even so..." Sora trailed off, before he suddenly realized something as he began to dig into his pockets.
As Sora was busy searching his pockets, Bell noticed Ais holding something and offering it to him.
"...Here, try this," Ais offered Bell. In her hand appeared to be yellow cotton-like fruit.
"Oh, um, thanks," Bell accepted the food from her and took a bite out of it.
His eyes soon widened as his face scrunched up in discomfort.
"S-So sweet!?" Bell gagged at the flood of sweetness filling his mouth. And given how he's not much of a sweet's guy, this is just pure torture in Bell's mouth.
"Hey, I want to try!" Sora immediately said as he got distracted from what he was trying to find as he took a piece from Ais and placed it in his mouth.
"Hmm..." Sora hummed in thought as he was tasting it, "...yeah, it's definitely sweet. I wonder if those would be a good addition to Honneybunny ice cream."
"Y-You want to make an ice cream sweeter than it actually is!?" Bell said aloud in shock.
"Why not? Seems like a fun idea!" Sora cheerfully answered, causing Bell to sweatdrop at Sora's ridiculous sweet tooth.
"You know how to make ice cream Sora?" Lefiya asked in surprise.
"You bet I do!" Sora answered. "I'm able to make all sorts of ice cream flavors. If you're not into ice cream, I can make cookies or chocolate."
"You're quite knowledgeable when it comes to sweets," Lefiya remarked, before she looked off to the side, "by chance...did you bring warm banana souffle with you?"
That dessert that Lefiya had was a dessert that she couldn't forget. It makes the rest of the desserts she had in the past pale in comparison to the quality Sora made.
Sora blinked at Lefiya's question, before he gave a sheepish chuckle while scratching his head.
"Sorry, I didn't make that," Sora apologized, which made Lefiya wilt upon hearing this, "if you're looking for a fruity dessert, I did make this."
Sora dug into his pocket for a bit, before he took out what appeared to be a martini glass filled with a jelly-like substance, with various fruits stacked on top of it.
Lefiya could only blink at the dessert that Sora held before her.
"T-This is...?" Lefiya said, a bit in awe at the dessert before her.
"It's called Fruit Gelée," Sora told her with a grin.
"Fruit Gelée..." Lefiya quietly repeated, before she gave Sora a hesitant look.
"M-May I...?"
"Of course! Consider it congratulations for making it to the 59th Floor with your Familia!" Sora offered.
"T-Then I shall accept," Lefiya accepted the Fruit Gelée from Sora. The young elf mage looked at the dessert before her, as she grabbed a spoonful of it and placed it in her mouth. Her eyes widened at the sweet and fruity flavor that flooded her mouth.
'S-So delicious...!' Lefiya thought, loving the fruity dessert that Sora gave her.
"Looks like it's a success," Sora remarked, pleased that Lefiya is enjoying the dessert.
When Lili saw this, she turned to Bell.
"If Master Bell doesn't like it, then Lili doesn't mind taking it off your hands!" Lili offered.
"Oh, sure, here you go," Bell offered the pallum his fruit.
Lili reached out to the fruit, only for Welf to grab it before her and place it in his mouth.
"Ugh, way too sweet for my taste," Welf gave a "bleh" expression, "and here I thought it was a normal fruit going by Sora's reaction. Sheesh, you have a real love for sugar Sora."
Welf remained ignorant of the fact that Lili is kicking his back out of comical annoyance and anger for stealing her fruit.
As Sora went back to finding whatever was in his pocket, Bell simply chuckled at the little dynamic is going on, before a new presence made themselves known.
"Ah, I finally find you Argonaut!" Tiona happily declared as she was standing near Bell, much to the white-haired teenager's surprise.
"H-Huh?" Bell looked caught off guard by the Amazoness next to him, before he caught onto what she said. "A-Argonaut...?"
"Yeah, you're Argonaut!" Tiona declared, before she gave a small "ouch" as she was chopped on the head.
"Please forgive her, she gets too excited about these sorts of things," Tione apologized. "Tiona, you need to explain, otherwise you're going to confuse him even further."
"Ah, right right, my bad~!" Tiona said while giving a knocking gesture to her head, "well, we watched you fight that irregular minotaur! It was so amazing how you fought against it, that it reminded me of my favorite childhood story, which is Argonaut! So I've decided to call you Argonaut!"
Bell blinked when told this. Argonaut is also a favorite story of his, and Tiona was certainly right when Argonaut fought a Minotaur in his story.
"I-I see..." Bell muttered, before he leaned back when Tiona leaned in with an excited look on her face.
"Hey, Argonaut! You're Level 2 from what I've heard, right? How did you managed to Level Up so quickly?" Tiona excitedly asked.
"I'm curious as well," Tione spoke up, "how did you grow so quickly?"
"I want to know as well," Lefiya added in, as she was curious on how Bell grew so quickly.
"U-Uh..." Bell looked unsure on how to answer it, and looked over to Ais for help. However, Ais was giving a curious look as well, like she wanted to learn how he grew so strong.
"S-Sora?" Bell looked to Sora for help, but blinked in surprise at what he saw. "Wha-!?"
Sora was currently holding a large basket filled with nothing but jagamaru in his arms.
"Finally found it!" Sora happily declared.
Everyone looked at Sora with surprised looks on their faces, shocked to see Sora just bring out something so huge out of nowhere.
'How did...?' a majority of them thought, confused on how Sora brought it out of nowhere.
Though, both Sora and Lili knew how Sora did it. However, they were surprised to see the large basket before them.
"Jagamaru...!" Ais whispered in recognition, and her stomach immediately growled when the scent of them entered her nose.
"Sora..." Bell began with a confused expression, "...why do you have so many Jagamaru?"
Sora chuckled while scratching the back of his head.
"Well, when I discovered how versatile jagamaru are, I've decided to experiment with a lot of fillings. It was certainly a lot of fun," Sora recalled. "Over time, I started to realize that I made way too many variations along the way, so I've saved them up. And considering how much I've made, I figured now is a good time to empty the baskets! There's still a lot more jagamarus I want to work on!"
"So all of them are jagamarus with different fillings...!" Ais whispered, her eyes sparkling at the delicious sight before her.
"Well, don't hold back and take as much as you want!" Sora told the Sword Princess, "that goes for everyone else here! Feel free to take a jagamaru!"
The moment Sora said that, Ais immediately grabbed a handful of them and began to dig into the jagamaru. Ais hummed in satisfaction, tasting the croquettes that she missed dearly.
"Well I certainly won't hold back then! It beats having to eat our rations!" Tiona happily declared as she took a few from the basket.
"Having food from the surface is a nice change of pace," Tione remarked.
"...Just like back then," Lefiya muttered, remembering back when the four of them had breakfast together when they trained together. Lefiya gave a small fond smile on the memory.
Once everyone had gotten their fair share, Sora then stood up.
"Well, better go and share this everyone else! Be back real soon," Sora told the others, as he stood up and started going around giving jagamaru to the rest of the Loki Familia.
They all watched as the Loki Familia looked surprised with Sora offering them jagamaru, but soon accepted Sora's offer. It seems that the Loki Familia wanted something new to their dining plans, as they ate nothing but rations during their time in the Dungeon.
"...Wait," Tione said, realizing something, "I just realized he's sharing food with us. Shouldn't that be the other way around?"
This caused others to blink upon realizing this, while Bell gave a sheepish chuckle.
"W-Well, Sora just likes sharing food with everyone. He's just like that," Bell explained.
"He's certainly more generous than your typical Adventurer," Tione remarked.
""You have no idea."" both Welf and Lili said with exasperated expressions.
It was then a new person entered the scene.
"Hey, Welf, seems like you're enjoying yourself!" Tsubaki cheerfully greeted as she ringed an arm around Welf's shoulder.
"G-Geh, Tsubaki!?" Welf yelped.
"Hey!" Tsubaki greeted as she took a look around her surroundings, "so this is your party, huh? Color me surprised to see your party this small. But with Sora, I guess it's a given. Speaking of which...where is he?"
"You just missed him," Welf told her with a twitching eyebrow, all the while trying to get out of her grasp. However, she seems to have a firm grasp on Welf.
"That so? You know, Welf, since we're in the same Familia, you think you could do your Captain a solid and tell me where Sora is?" Tsubaki asked, giving a smile a bit too friendly towards Welf.
'She's still upset with me!' Welf mentally screamed. "H-How should I know!? That guy just took off in another direction!"
The young Crozzo was really hoping that Tsubaki would believe him. He really is telling the truth that Sora just took off into another direction and could no longer be seen. The guy moves fast!
Tsubaki's lone eye stared at him with suspicion, before she clicked her tongue as she released her grip on Welf.
"Honestly, it's like that kid wants to avoid me. I gotta learn more about that blacksmith of his..." Tsubaki muttered as she went off in another direction.
Tsubaki is under the condition that she can't ask anything about Sora's weapons. However, if she can get on Sora's good side, there's a possible chance that Sora could introduce her to this blacksmith of his and learn about the blacksmith's craft and methods.
Welf sighed relief as Tsubaki went off to search for Sora, leaving him alone.
"Uh...you alright Welf?" Bell looked with both a concerned and confused look.
"Ignore her, she's just envious with me," Welf told Bell with an exasperated look.
He can only thank Sora for that.
As Welf discovered, Tsubaki is upset that he's partying with Sora, the guy who is responsible for giving the Hephastois Familia the Synthesis materials. To any ambitious blacksmith, partying with Sora is practically finding a goldmine. And he of all people managed to find it.
Of course, Welf discovered this fact about Sora quietly early on when he partied with the Hestia Familia. Even before Tsubaki told him about it. He saw Sora defeating the Heartless, and the Heartless have a chance of dropping said materials. The Keyblade wielder explained to him that he has a skill that's able to extract these materials from the Heartless.
It was certainly a shocking reveal, that's for sure. And he's in the same party as him; to any blacksmith, Welf won the lottery.
However, Tsubaki is barking up the wrong tree.
Synthesis materials are capable of being catalyst to forging strong Magic Swords. He doesn't intend on making Magic Swords, so the Synthesis materials are practically useless to him. Him partying with Sora was nothing more than a byproduct of what he intended to do: become Bell's personal blacksmith.
However...Welf began to think about a few things.
Sora's Kingdom Key. An unbreakable Magic Sword, a concept he's never heard of. Yet Sora is holding such a possibility exists in his hands. If that was the case...then forging a Magic Sword that won't break down on you is possible and not some ridiculous fantasy. The Synthesis Materials could be the key.
Then there's the Heartless: abnormal monsters that are strong compared to your regular Dungeon Monster. If it weren't for Sora, he and the others would've been overwhelmed a long time ago. Sora used that Magic Sword of his to turn the tides in his favor, and even used a Magic Sword to help Bell defeat the Goliath.
But before he could even begin entertaining that idea, he needs the Blacksmith Developmental Ability. He needs that Developmental Ability in order to set the foundations on what he has in store.
'...Honestly, I never thought I'd think about this sort of stuff,' Welf thought with a wry grin growing on his face.
As everyone began to settle into a comfortable mood of dining and talking, a new presence made themselves known once more.
"My, I never expected to run into all of you so soon!" a new voice said aloud.
Everyone blinked when they heard a new voice, and they all turned their heads to see a group of people approaching them. Their eyes widened in surprise upon who they saw.
"Wait, isn't that...?" Lefiya said with surprise and confusion.
"What a surprise to see you down here, Lord Hermes," Finn greeted with a small frown, the pallum walking up to the God.
The God in question simply smiled as he gave a waving hand gesture to everyone. Behind him was an entourage of his Familia, all of them who looked exasperated, tired, or very unsure of what they are doing. Asfi, meanwhile, remained stoic in her appearance as she stood beside her patron God.
"Wait...why is a God here in the Dungeon!?" Lili quietly whispered in alarm.
It's known to practically everyone that Gods aren't supposed to be in the Dungeon. The Dungeon itself despises Gods, and reacts rather violently towards their presence. As such, it's only common sense for a God to stay out of the Dungeon while their children explore it.
For a God to be here is concerning, to say the least.
"May I hear out why you're in the Dungeon, Lord Hermes?" Finn asked.
"Ah ha ha, guess it couldn't be helped. I have some business to take of down here, after all," Hermes chuckled while tipping up his hat.
It was then the God's eyes finally fell onto Bell Cranel, who was standing up and looking at him with surprise.
"Well well, we finally meet, Bell Cranel," Hermes greeted, to which the white-haired teenager blinked in surprise.
"Y-You know me?" Bell asked in surprise.
"Why of course! You've certainly made a name for yourself, with you reaching Level 2 sooner than anyone else," Hermes told Bell with a smile. "We should have a chat sometime! I promise it'll be worth your while!"
"U-Um..." Bell looked a bit bewildered and concerned with how friendly the God is treating him.
It was then Sora entered the scene, walking back with a basket empty of jagamaru.
"Hey, why did everything go quiet-" Sora asked, before Lili immediately went to him and tugged on his shirt to quiet him down. "Lili?"
"Quiet," Lili hissed while warily looking at the God before her, "a God named Hermes is in the Dungeon, and he knows Bell!"
"He does...?" Sora said with surprise, before he looked at the God standing before him. "...Wait, you said Hermes?"
That name certainly rings a Bell in Sora's head. Sora can remember encountering a God named Hermes back on Olympus. But when the Keyblade wielder got a good look at the God before him...
'...He's less blue than I remember,' Sora thought to himself, thinking of the most contrasting features that set the two apart. Not to mention, he looks slimmer and younger than Olympus's Hermes.
That's another God with the same name at the God he encountered on Olympus, just like Zeus. Something that Sora finds too coincidental.
But seeing the God finally caught Sora up with the rest of everyone else.
Why is a God here in the Dungeon?
~ Break ~
After dinner, the Hestia Familia party decided to retire for the night as they gathered in their own tent. The Hestia Familia party gathered in their own tent. They were all sitting in a circle.
"Don't you find it too strange that Lord Hermes is down here in the Dungeon?" Lili asked everyone.
"Well, yeah," Welf answered while scratching the back of his head, "Gods aren't supposed to be here in the first place. The Dungeon reacts badly to the presence of a God."
"And yet that guy is here," Sora said with a frown, "and for some reason, he's interested in Bell. Something about Bell being the record holder?"
"Ah ha ha..." Bell gave a strained laugh when he heard that. His achievement of reaching Level 2 in a month and a half is something people will take note of.
"Lili finds this all too strange," Lili said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Hestia left it up to her to make sure that Bell and Sora don't do anything too reckless or stupid that would jeopardize Sora's cover. As such, she's keeping a close eye out for anything suspicious. Hermes being here already raised a few flags for the pallum.
"So what is Lord Hermes currently doing?" Lili asked.
"Last time I saw him, he wanted to chat with Finn. Something about a private meeting." Sora informed.
Hearing this gave Lili an idea.
"If that's the case," Lili started, "then we can use this chance to listen in on what Hermes is doing here."
"Wait," Welf spoke up with a concerned and surprised look, "you're not seriously thinking of spying in on the conversation, are you?"
"That is exactly what Lili is thinking of," Lili said with a frown, "we can't afford to be left in the dark if there's the possibility that it affects us. Letting a God scheme is never a good thing, especially when we're the the target involved."
"Um...aren't we intruding on someone else's business Lili," Bell said with a frown.
"Yeah, feels rather wrong to spy on others," Sora said.
"Normally, Lili would agree. But look at the circumstances here: a God is in the Dungeon, and said God is expressed interest in Bell. Don't all of you think this is just too strange?"
The males gave contemplative looks when they heard this from Lili. The pallum wasn't wrong in what she is pointing out.
"...Alright, maybe that does raise a few suspicions," Welf conceded, "but how are we going to spy in on the conversation? We can't exactly be caught, otherwise we'll be in hot water with both Lord Hermes and the Loki Familia."
"There is one method that Sora possesses that will allow him to spy on Hermes," Lili said, which caused the Keyblade wielder in question to blink in surprise upon hearing this.
~ Break ~
Sora quietly approached the tent where Hermes was having a talk with the Loki Familia. However, he did so while he was under the the Vanish spell, erasing his presence and body so nobody so nobody can see him around the tent. The Keyblade wielder approached the entrance of the tent.
'This feels wrong...' Sora thought to himself.
Sora has never purposely spied on other people's business. All of this feels too strange for the Keyblade wielder. And yet, Lili brings up good points that Hermes being here screams suspicion, and it involves Bell. So it's best to make sure that the God doesn't have anything ill-intent in mind.
Sora leaned his ear against the entrance of the tent and carefully listened in on the conversation.
"Oh dear, I know this is a bit late, but congratulations on your expedition!" Hermes congratulated everyone. "I assume it went well for everyone?"
"Thankfully, we had no casualties," Finn answered.
"Well that's great to hear!" Hermes cheerfully said, before a curious look appeared on his face, "though I wonder...what exactly have you encountered on the 59th Floor?"
Sora could practically feel the atmosphere tense at the God's question.
"We are members of the Loki Familia," Riveria spoke up, "we have no duty to disclose what we've encountered to a God with questionable intentions."
Hermes went silent for a bit, before his friendly smile showed up once more.
"Right right, may bad! I was just curious is all! You are, after all, one of the Familias beside Zeus to get to the 59th Floor after so long!" Hermes told everyone, before a sly smile appeared on his face.
"That being said, Loki, Dionysus, and I formed an alliance as a result of being victims from those monsters and remnants of Evilus." Hermes told everyone.
Sora's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this.
'Loki made an alliance with him and some other God named Dionysus. And then there's Evilus...' Sora thought with a frown.
He can remember Shakti's warning about a terrorist organization known as Evilus, made up of Gods and people who want to spread nothing but havoc in the name of evil. Evilus reminded Sora of how Maleficent and her own council intended to spread havoc to countless worlds. Thankfully, he managed to put a stop to it.
And now hearing Evilus remnants are out and about...this is bad news to hear.
"I'm afraid we'll have to confirm that with our Goddess before we believe you, Lord Hermes," Finn answered once more with a professional smile.
"Is that right? Fair enough," Hermes easily relented, "in that case, feel free to disregard on what I'm about to share with you all."
Hermes leaned forward with a sly expression.
"You may have already noticed, but there is another entrance to the Dungeon besides the one in Babel," Hermes revealed, "there's a plan for all of you to investigate this entrance."
Sora's eyes widened in surprise.
'There's another one...!?' Sora thought in shock.
If what Hermes is saying is true, then this just adds another layer of problems. If such an entrance truly exists, then it could explain how Heartless are able to make their way into the city.
How Heartless appeared during Monsterphilia.
How the Behemoth hid in the sewers.
How Zanis managed to get control over the Heartless.
All of this could be traced back to this entrance.
And with Hermes's reveal, it seems the Loki Familia is about to be dragged into this investigation.
If the Loki Familia intended to investigate this second entrance, there's a likely chance that they're going to run into the Heartless. And things will not turn out well for the Loki Familia if they do encounter the Heartless. Not to mention Loki figuring something out with the Heartless.
'C'mon, I just got here to investigate what's going on in the Dungeon...!' Sora mentally groaned.
It's just one problem after another.
~ Break ~
In the dead of night, activity in the 18th Floor began to die down. Residents of Rivira began to turn in for the night or gather at pubs to end the day with a drink. As the darkness of night enveloped the 18th Floor, a figure emerged from the entrance of the 19th Floor of the Dungeon.
The figure made its way through the darkness of the 18th Floor, with the figure's sight set on Rivira.
A frustrated sigh was made.
"...This World...feels like a prison."
And that's a wrap to this chapter.
I know nothing exciting happened in this chapter. However, this was honestly the best I could churn out with what has been going on in my life.
(Fun Fact of the Day)
On October 30, 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm and thus the entire Star Wars franchise. As such, Disney began working on a mobile game called Kingdom Hearts: Fragmented Keys, which would serve as the first crossover between Kingdom Hearts and Star Wars. Unfortunately, the project was canceled and scrapped. It said that there is concept art of Sora visiting Star Wars during the Clone Wars era.