Chapter 25:

The party took its nap, then resumed its march into the bowels of the Dungeon. They chose to forget about their expedition's original goals and instead moved as fast as they could. In the end, no amount of valis compared to the life of a friend.

Ais destroyed every monster in her path. She became the Sword Princess in truth, and her face lost all its emotion. The rest of the expedition stood back in awe, but they were not afraid. They understood the necessity behind her destruction. The only thing that made Lili nervous was the possibility that Ais would over-extend herself. Thankfully, Bell was there to back her up. Their teamwork was flawless like they had been fighting together their whole lives. He covered for her blind spots, and she watched his back.

Ryuu took the rearguard, Mikoto at her side. The one upside to the ambushes was that Black Crow had contact with almost every monster type in the Desert. So, while the rest of the party focused on the front, they trusted her to guard everywhere else. Her brain was starting to hurt from how much she had to focus, but she persevered.

"Let me know when you need a potion," said Ryuu. She held the last of their mind potions, keeping them for her apprentice.

With Mikoto calling the shots, the Faerie Princess could destroy the monsters around her with ease. All Mikoto had to say was the direction and number, and it was like they were never there.

Responding to Ryuu, all Mikoto did was nod. There were too many things hiding in the sand for her to fight. Instead, she called them out as best she could. A scorpion man here, a couple wadjets there, even a baby desert worm. On and on they came, as the adventurers followed their Xenos allies deeper into the Dungeon. Finally, they came to the top of the stairwell. The thirty-first floor beckoned. The monsters backed off, and the two women caught their breath.

"Oi, you two, need a switch?" asked Aisha.

Ryuu shook her head. "I am still full of energy. My elf-sister needs me, and I will not fail her."

Mikoto nodded, "If Lady Ryuu stays, then so do I."

Deep in her heart, Ryuu felt a burst of joy. She had joined Hestia Familia for Bell, but now she had made new friends. She had an apprentice that she cared about deeply. Mikoto was the next generation, and it was Ryuu's duty to guide her. In many ways, Ryuu looked at the stern samurai and saw herself. She smiled at the Black Crow and nodded.

"I am honoured by your words, Mikoto." She placed a hand on the level four's shoulder. "We shall protect those we hold dear, yes?"

"Yes!"

Aisha rolled her eyes. These people were almost too idealistic for her, believing in dreams and honour. Almost. The amazon lifted her padao to her shoulder and sauntered back to the middle of the party. They made their way to the next floor, and she kept her eyes trained on either side of her. They were down a powerhouse mage, and the March Hare and the Sword Princess had ranged ahead as the vanguard. With the Faerie Princess in the back, Aisha had to become the core of the party now. Which also meant making sure that their other mage didn't run on ahead. Elwin was a level three, and he was doing fine in the Dungeon. But being over emotive could lead to lots of stupid decisions. Aisha knew plenty about that. Thankfully, she was not alone in her endeavour.

"Mister Elwin, I'm sure she'll be ok. You trust her to be tough, don't you?" asked Haruhime.

"Yes…well…I know she's strong, way stronger than me, but it doesn't mean I'm not worried," Elwin frowned, "The strong have been brought low before."

"Maybe so," conceded the renard, "But those people were most likely trying to be strong on their own. We will be strong together, and that is why we will win."

Enchantenko's serene manner helped put everyone at ease. Aisha couldn't be prouder of her little sister. Honestly, Haruhime was much of an older sister figure herself now. She had grown all up.

Elwin raised an eyebrow, "You're awfully calm about all this."

Haruhime blushed, "As unfortunate as it is to say, moments like these have become so ordinary in my life, it is hard to feel anxious."

"By the Gods, that is depressing."

Lili snorted, "Reality often is."

The prum had spent much of the journey in quiet contemplation. She was running through possible scenarios in her head, each one more preposterous than the last. She had been made a fool of, but she kept her emotions in check. Lady Athena had drilled that particular lesson into her head. Bringing emotions to the battlefield was the same as bringing defeat. Love your soldiers, care for them, and do everything you could to bring them home, but never let them cloud your judgement. Never let the enemy get under your skin. Obviously, this was not put into practice so easily. Life was messy enough; battles were exponentially more so.

Near the front of the party, Otohime sighed. From his position next to her, Urashima glanced over. She seemed lost, and her face was frowning. Her nostrils flared, and stray locks of hair fell around her. Even if she still looked cute like this, Urashima wanted to help alleviate her stress.

"Otohime, Miss Lefiya will be ok. We will save her, just as you promised."

Otohime was caught off guard but then looked to the ground.

"As despicable as it might be for me to say, I wasn't thinking about Lefiya."

Now Urashima was confused. Who else was there to think about?

She looked over at him. "You stay close, ok? No matter what happens, I want to be able to see you."

"Always."

Even if his hands were cold and metal, they always felt warmer when she grabbed them.

Way out in the front of the party, the boy did his best to keep up. This was hard because the Sword Princess had activated her magic. With Airiel now in play, Bell saw how much harder he still had to train. She had become like the wind. Still, though, he did his best to persevere. It wasn't until Lili called for them to slow down and Ais kept plowing ahead that Bell had to get her attention.

"Ais!"

She killed another monster.

"AIS!"

The desperation in his voice carried over, and Ais spun around. She looked ready, her blade drawn and poised to kill more monsters. When she saw it was just Bell, though, she lowered it. Her lips twitched down.

"Why are we slowing down?"

Bell looked back. Everyone was still moving, but Haruhime, Cassandra, and Chigusa moved between the groups. They passed out what little water and food they had. Bell returned his gaze to the Sword Princess.

"Everyone needs to catch their breath, Ais," said Bell.

"But Lefiya's in danger."

Bell nodded, "And we'll find her. But we can't be half-dead when we do. These Sun Seekers are strong, and this is the Dungeon."

Ais's frown deepened. She knew all of this…but Lefiya was in danger! Lefiya was her friend and needed to be saved. To Ais, it was as simple as that. Which meant flying headfirst into battle. Besides, she knew she would be ok. They were only on the thirty-first floor.

"Ais, we have to get down there together," said Bell. Then, he really looked at her. "Are you afraid?"

Ais didn't respond.

"Ais, Lefiya won't be like your mother. We'll save her."

Slowly, he reached out to take her hand. When he made contact, her eyes widened. She stopped to stare at their touching palms. Gently, she laced her fingers with his. The storm that raged in her chest began to quiet down.

"We'll find Lefiya, and then we'll all head home. But we have to do it together, no running off, ok?"

Ais nodded.

"Can you take a deep breath with me?"

She nodded again. Matching Bell's tempo, she opened her mouth. Her lungs filled with the hot air of the Dungeon, and then she let it out.

"Now, let's fight together."

In an Undisclosed Location:

Far beyond the walls of Orario, a different adventure was taking place. In a small village not notable for anything, in particular, a weretiger dug away with a shovel. A mischievous and deceptively carefree, God watched on. He wore a broad-brimmed hat and sat on a stone wall. He kicked his feet like a little boy and watched his child go to work.

"Remember Falgar, be careful as you dig. We don't want to break what's inside," said Hermes.

Falgar grunted in response. Why did he get stuck with ditch digging duty? Why did Asfi get the cushy travelling part of the job?

"Because Asfi knows how to get to where we need to go," replied Hermes.

Falgar stopped digging. Had he said that out loud?

"No, I'm just really good at reading people."

Falgar shook his head and kept digging. It was ten minutes later when his shovel made a dull thunking sound. Hermes smiled.

With the Party:

Back in the Dungeon, they had recovered from their small break and were now on their way to floor thirty-two. Bell and Ais stood at the front, but Wiene had moved up to join them. The little vouivre walked between the two and was asking a lot of questions.

"So, you're the one who helped train Bell?"

Ais nodded, smiling at the memories. "Yes, but it took a while for him to agree with meeting me." She smirked, "First, I had to make sure he didn't run away again."

Bell sighed, "This again?"

Wiene looked over to Bell, "You ran away the first time?"

"The first two times. And he tried the third one too," replied Ais, "But I didn't let him."

Wiene frowned, "Why did you try to run away? Were you scared of her?"

Bell, in the middle of the Desert, felt a cold chill.

"Well, Bell? Were you scared of me?"

"Of course not!" screamed Bell. "I was just…ok! I was a little tiny bit scared! But also because I felt bad!"

"Why did you feel bad?" asked Wiene.

Bell looked away while rubbing the back of his head. "Both times, she had to save me. How pathetic was that?"

Wiene pouted, and her eyebrows scrunched together.

"You had to save me when we first met and a bunch of other times. Does that make me pathetic?"

A panicked shine came into Bell's eyes. He threw his hands up and began shaking them with his head.

"Of course not! It's different for you!"

"Why's it different?"

Ais was enjoying this. It was fun teasing people, and Wiene's natural curiosity made it easy. Was this what ordinary people got to do? If that was the case, Ais could get used to this one day. After she saved her mother.

For now, though, she got to focus on Bell and his answer.

"Well… you're a girl."

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Wiene. Now she was definitely getting annoyed. "Lyd and Fels have been teaching me lots of things. And they told me that thinking like that is bad!"

Ais nodded along. Then, she came to her own startling realization.

"It's like thinking that the Xenos shouldn't be allowed to the top because they're monsters…."

Ais trailed off, her own words causing an epiphany. While that happened, Wiene gave a big toothy grin and clapped like Ais had won a contest.

"Right! Just because I'm a girl or a Xenos doesn't mean that you have to treat me like I'm weak or different! I'm strong!"

The panic faded, and Bell nodded. He gave her a soft smile. "You're right, Wiene. I'm sorry."

"It's not just me! She was right too!" Wiene pointed at Ais. "Apologize to her!"

Now Bell was confused. Why did he owe Ais an apology? However, Ais was smiling, and Bell wanted to keep that going for as long as possible.

So, the boy bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Ais, I shouldn't have run away from you."

Then, he felt a hand on his head. Ais patted him three times.

"It's ok; I've forgiven you."

Bell felt his cheeks warm.

"But."

And there was the dread again.

"I still have to decide your punishment for kissing Ryuu."

Bell looked up with a face of true horror. That began to dissipate when he saw that she was smiling. He still wasn't used to that kind of look from Ais. She grinned with her whole mouth, and her eyes were filled with joy. It was enough to make his heart skip a beat. Then she giggled, and Bell felt his back start to warm up.

With the Sun Seekers:

Down on floor thirty-four, Scipio shifted his body again. Lefiya had grown used to his changing motions in the small campsite she had been taken to. There were no other Sun Seekers, but there was a constant stream of glowing purple monsters. A veritable army of them had started to make their way up from below the safe zone.

"Where are they coming from?" asked Lefiya one day.

Nysa smiled at her. "From the deep floors, silly! Scipio's been gathering them for days for your friends!"

Lefiya frowned, "And what's supposed to happen to them?"

"The beginning of the war!"

Again, Nysa seemed much too happy about that. The banshee's smile threw Lefiya's brain into freefall. With the knowledge that Nysa used to be Filvis, Lefiya kept getting thrown off. She had to actively remind herself that Nysa was not the same person, even if her heart was telling her otherwise.

In the Close Past:

Just after the battle inside Knossos, Lefiya hadn't left her room for three days. The pain she felt was still fresh, and her heart was still broken. Everywhere she went, people celebrated their victory over Enyo and Ein and all the rest. Their constant reminders drove Lefiya to near insanity, and there was nothing she could do about it. How was she supposed to explain that she had fallen in love with the ultimate evil called Ein? How could she still them not to be happy that they had killed Miss Filvis? None of them would even come close to understanding.

So, she let the people of Orario celebrate. Thankfully, her Familia caught on. The lower members didn't get what was going on, but the executives did. So, they told the rest of the Familia not to mention anything about Ein. They could celebrate their victory, the defeat of Enyo, and even their vengeance for their lost members, but Ein was not to be mentioned.

It was five days later that Lefiya finally left her room. Elfy was next to her the whole time, providing encouragement and support. Her roommate brought Lefiya all her favourite foods, sat in the garden with her, and made sure to stay by her side for as long as possible. The others stopped by to chat, but it was mostly white noise. Only after Filvis's death did Lefiya's emotions finally start to make sense. She only just started to understand that her affection for the Sword Princess was platonic. Ais was, at most, an older sister. Lefiya cared about her deeply and wanted nothing but the best for the Sword Princess, but she didn't like her that way. The truth was, Lefiya was in love with Filvis. It was only after she had admitted it that things had become manageable. That she started to grieve. Nothing was good, but she could keep on living.

Then, after Bell Cranel got chased out of town, Lefiya began to take an interest in the outside world again. While she had been complacent and mourning her departed beloved, Hestia Familia had been attacked. They had been chased out of the city, and Loki Familia had stood by and done nothing. Most of the Familia put the blame on Ais, but Lefiya felt just as guilty. Lefiya saw that she shared more with Bell than she thought with the rose-tinted glasses of her crush gone. She didn't like him, but she knew he was just trying to do what he believed was right. If he got it wrong sometimes, well, who was she to judge? She had, in fact, fallen in love with a mass-murdering sociopath.

(Ahhh, the strangeness of youth.)

So, she trained harder than ever before. When the time came, she represented her Familia at the first level-up tournament. Everyone scoffed at her because she was just a mage. She had no primary weapon to fight with on her own. But she didn't listen to them. Instead, she trained with Tiona, Tione, and Ais and begged the Nine Hells for advice. She thought of what Miss Filvis would want her to do and what that boy would have accomplished. She endured the battles and came out the other side.

The months passed, and the little elf grew. She never forgot about her first true love, but she learned to keep moving. Every day, she woke up to another dawn. Every morning, she would speak to the weapons she stole in Knossos. The talking helped.

Lefiya would continue to train with Riveria. While Lefiya's total firepower was starting to match her mentor's, the older elf still had much more experience in every facet of life. Even in the realm of love, Riveria held wisdom that Lefiya harvested. The Thousand Elf began to move on, but she never forgot.

Life went on, and the seasons changed, but the little elf never forgot about her first love. She adventured, went on expeditions, and fought dangerous monsters. The Thousand Elf became a hero for herself and promised a grave that she wouldn't lose anyone else. Lefiya became a first-class adventurer, all for Miss Filvis.

Many people came and went. Some of them tried to fill the hole in her heart. They all failed. These outsiders just didn't understand. None of it mattered, though. A large part of Lefiya's heart still belonged to Filvis Challia.

Then she met Elwin and started to feel her heart grow. Nothing would ever replace Filvis, but this new half-elf was building his own space. It was annoying and endearing at the same time. The hole was not filled, it never would be, but he helped to clean the edges. But now there was Nysa, who kept asking questions Lefiya barely had the answers to.

"So, why do I know you?"

"We were…friends." Technically, they'd had only ever been friends (and also destined enemies on the field of battle, but Lefiya ignored that part).

"How did I die?"

"…in battle?"

'The big battle where I helped kill you' thought Lefiya.

"What was I fighting for? Were we on the same side?"

"…."

There was no reasonable answer to that question. Lefiya ignored it, and not-Filvis let her. The banshee had her own dilemma. On the one hand, her desire was right in front of her. She was standing there, just waiting in anticipation to become like Nysa. Then they could be together! But on the other hand, if it failed, Nysa would lose Lefiya forever.

They were currently spending the night in a small clearing below a large tree. It reminded the Thousand Elf of home. Lefiya almost laughed at the irony. Scipio insisted that they keep the powerful tied up, gagged, and under watch. Nysa volunteered to stare at Lefiya while she slept, but both the marsh monster and the elf had disagreed, vehemently so. Instead, the banshee pouted while she walked the perimeter. She never slept much, and whenever she did, the nightmares followed her. Visions of wolves and a cage made from blades. Explosions of wind, fire, and ice. Then, pain and separation. The only good thing was the little elf's face looking down at her.

So, Nysa didn't sleep. Instead, she argued with herself about what to do next. Obviously, Lefiya couldn't want to stay down here. She was a human, and the Dungeon didn't like them. But she might die becoming a creature. Nysa almost pulled her spectral hair out. Why was everything so complicated? Why couldn't things go her way? It was only then that Nysa thought to ask Lefiya what she wanted. She ran over, eager to ask the elf more questions, but found her still asleep. The banshee would wake her up, but then she saw how cute Lefiya looked while she slept.

Oh well, another time then.

With the Party:

Back on floor thirty-two, the rest of the expedition was also getting to sleep. They wouldn't be down for long, but just enough to keep themselves fresh. The team would've kept moving, but sleep was the best option to recover stamina with their lack of food and water. Elwin didn't like it, but he also knew that the others wouldn't listen to him. Instead, he took the first watch and looked out over the Desert. With him was Ais, who was also feeling restless.

"Have you ever had to worry like this before?" asked Elwin.

He wasn't expecting an answer. Ais Wallenstein seemed like a nice person, but he knew that she was quiet and private. Two things that he respected. Still, though, anything to try and pass the time.

"I worry like this every day," replied Ais.

Now that was a surprise.

"What do you worry about?"

"My mother."

Elwin blinked. He mulled over the answer in silence. Before he could respond, the Sword Princess spoke again.

"What's your mother like?" asked Ais.

And again, Elwin was caught off guard.

"My mother?" Elwin shrugged. "Pretty stereotypical, really. A kind woman who was just trying to do her best for her son." The half-elf frowned. "However, there was a lot she had to put up with because of the asshole."

"The asshole?"

Ais's head tilted to the side. Her face was filled with question marks.

Elwin snorted. "My father, High King Supreme Dickhead, leader of the elves."

"Ohhhh… Riveria's father."

There was a deep sigh from Elwin. "Yeah, Riveria's father, my father…that guy."

Ais nodded. After a moment, she frowned. Elwin felt like he was being interrogated.

"Do you feel that way about Riveria?"

"No…or at least…not anymore," replied Elwin, "I used to, though. Growing up in a Familia based on its magical prowess, you always know who the top dog is. Now, my old captain was powerful, don't get me wrong, but even she knew better than to tangle with Riveria. She was everything we all wanted to be. She's wise, powerful, and known the whole world over. So yeah, I heard a lot about her." He smiled. "For a while, I wanted to be her. I wanted to be as strong, as renowned, and all that other stuff. She was the reason I trained so hard." His cheeks gained a dusty red shade. "Every day, I told mama that I would become as strong as my big sister so that I could meet her."

"And what happened next?"

Elwin frowned, and his eyes travelled to some long-gone memory.

"Other elves happened. Assholes who had heard about the 'high half-breed.' They came to jeer, and they threatened mama and me." His hands, resting on his legs, tightened. "The elves in Hecate Familia all knew better. They never said anything, no matter what they thought. But those other elves kept saying horrible things." Elwin looked over to where the girls were sleeping. "Honestly, when I first met Ryuu, I thought she would be like the other ones."

"Was she?"

Elwin began to shake his head, but then he stopped. Then he smiled.

"Nah, it caught her off guard for sure, but she never mistreated me. It's only ever been a little awkward." The half-elf chuckled. "But that's mostly because I'm a blasphemer."

"Blasphemer?"

The stargazer nodded, "Yeah, I don't like performing all those stupid rituals and all that other stuff." Again, he shrugged, "If they don't accept me, I won't take part in their stupidity. It's as simple as that."

"What do Lefiya and Riveria think?"

Again, Elwin blushed, "Well…I haven't exactly told them that part of my life. I'll get there when I get there, you know?"

Ais smiled, "Then you have faith."

Elwin frowned, "Faith in what?"

"That we'll find her."

"Oh…yeah…I guess so…."

The two sat in comfortable silence. It was a couple hours later that everyone started to wake up. The first one up was Wiene. She had slept in the same tent as Haruhime, insisted on it actually, and cuddled in close to the renard. Mikoto would never admit it, but she felt jealousy that night. Especially when she saw how Wiene's head was nestled in Haruhime's bosom. Chigusa smiled, happy to see her friend finally start to understand her feelings.

Still, the vouivre was the first one up, bouncing around like a bundle of energy. She said good morning to Ais and Elwin, and before anyone could stop her, she jumped into the guy's sleeping area.

"Bell! It's time to wake up!"

"Huh? Aaaggghhhh!"

"What the hell?"

"What in the world?"

"Oh, come on!"

The boys let out various sounds of discomfort. Elwin watched on, a giant smirk on his face.

"Thank the Goddess I was out here."

Meanwhile, Ais frowned. If Wiene woke Bell up, then that meant she was probably touching him. And Otohime had said that Bell didn't like to sleep with a shirt on. This meant that Wiene's skin (since the Xenos didn't wear clothes) rubbed against Bell's. She knew they didn't have that kind of relationship (they were more like father and daughter), but still…Ais felt an uncomfortable emotion bubble in her chest. So, she stood up and made her way towards the tent.

"Now, wait a minute!"

"Hold on, Sword Princess!"

"Wait…Ais is here? Aaaauuuggghhhh!"

The girls scrambled outside to find Elwin laughing his head off.

After a pathetically small breakfast, the party was off again. They quickly marched through floor thirty-two, finally making their way to the dreaded floor thirty-three. They had filled up their canteens as much as they dared at the end of the river of the thirty-second floor. Now, they had to make their way along an old path that they couldn't fully see. There would be no way to restock their supplies until they made it to floor thirty-four. They had walked for a couple hours on the new floor in total peace. Naturally, this was when things started to go wrong.

The first thing they noticed was how the sand shifted. It began moving in little waves. They heard the sound of the wind, down in the Dungeon. Then, they saw clouds on the horizon. There was a moment of dumbstruck silence when this happened. Finally, it was Aisha who sprang into action.

"Sandstorm!"

The party ran for cover. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to hide. Lili looked on, blinded by the monster bearing down on them. It was sentient wind, hot and burning. It moved so fast that it could tear the skin of a level two and rend the flesh of a level one. Combined with the terrible environment and lack of supplies, running into this monster was as bad as it got. If they weren't careful, they would most likely be picked up and scattered throughout the Desert. The level fours and fives could survive without food and water, maybe, but it would be a death sentence for the level threes, and Haruhime especially. Thankfully, it was still a monster. Which meant that it could be distracted and fought against.

"Wind blade!"

Ryuu's magic lashed out. She was challenging the monster, hoping to turn it away from her friends. While most of the party ran off in one direction, Ryuu left from the back. She ran the opposite way, leading the Sandstorm from her friends. She was so fast that by the time Mikoto noticed, it was too late.

"Lady Ryuu!"

Her shout was barely heard over the whipping winds. The rest of the party turned to watch in horror. Now that the monster was this close, it was all many of them could do to stand their ground. The storm was too strong to approach.

That didn't stop two of them, though. Bell and Ais both began sprinting towards the Sandstorm. They watched Ryuu make contact, and then she was in the air. With nothing to hold on to, her lithe elf body got carried away. The March Hare ran forward.

"Firebolt!"

The little flame did nothing. Before they got any closer to their new foe, Bell looked back. Ais stood next to him. He looked at the Sword Princess.

"Tell Lili that I'll meet everyone on thirty-four." He grabbed both her hands. "Ais, keep my family safe, ok?"

Ais looked at him. She met his gaze and nodded.

"I swear, but only if you come back."

Bell smiled, then he ran off into the storm.

As he got closer, he heard chanting over the dull roar.

"Cross the sky and run through the wilderness, run faster than anything else. Imbue the light of stardust and destroy the enemy."

As he got closer, Bell smiled. Of course, she was still fighting. When he saw the characteristic green glow of Ryuu's magic, he tried turning himself in that direction. Using what little control he had, Bell charged argonaut for five seconds. Then, he kicked off the ground. The action propelled him forward at a breakneck speed. He tried to manipulate himself closer to Ryuu's distinctive green shape in mid-air. Eventually, he got close enough to grab her wrist. She saw him and smiled. Then she turned back to the eye of the storm.

"Luminous Wind!"

There was an explosion as her green wind met the acrid dust colour of the Sandstorm. The resounding boom sent them flying off, but Bell held on tight. Wherever they landed, they would do so together.

The expedition party watched them fly. The Sandstorm raged while it died and left a large cloud of debris, but they were still able to spot their Familia members sailing off into the distance. Mikoto felt them leave the radius of her White Crow skill.

Lili was forced to watch them go. She looked between the direction they had left and where the trail to the thirty-fourth led on. She hadn't moved for a minute before Ais spoke up.

"Bell said he would meet us there. For now, we have to keep moving. We need to save Lefiya," said Ais.

"Now hold on just a second," began Welf, "Yeah, Bell and Ryuu are tough, but they're out there without any food or water. And they have no way of finding their way back. They could be wandering for days."

"Maybe we should split up?" said Otohime.

Daphne shook her head. "From the looks of things, we're going to need all the manpower we have to fight those Xenos creatures."

"We can't leave Bell and Ryuu alone!" cried Wiene. She turned back to Ais, "You said you were going to protect him!"

"I did, but Bell asked me to protect all of you," replied Ais. She faced the group. For a moment, she was unsure. But then she shook her head. Her blonde hair bounced back and forth. Finally, she looked up.

"I don't know any of you very well, but I knew Bell. If he said he'd meet us on the thirty-fourth floor, he'll meet us there. Has Bell ever willingly broken a promise?"

"No, he hasn't," responded Haruhime.

"Then we keep going. And if anything happens." Ais drew a final breath. "I'll be there to save you."

Aisha nodded, "Well then, you heard the lady. First, we go down and get the little elf girl, and then we come back for the prude and the virgin." She licked her lips. "I'm drowning in anticipation."

Welf chuckled, "Yeah, ok then. Besides, wouldn't it be nice if we rescued Lefiya before we met with Bell?"

"I will make Lady Ryuu proud!" declared Mikoto.

Ouka nodded, a large grin tugging at his lips.

"Well, Chigusa, ready to get going?"

The ordinarily quiet girl nodded.

Elwin had already started marching down the trail.

With the General:

Scipio saw this conversation. He saw through the eyes of a flying roc in the sky. He had been spying on the part while they moved and had used his army to manipulate the Sandstorm into attacking. He looked down at a collection of stones. Each one had a number on them. He grabbed the rocks with '2' and '3' on them and moved them to a separate area.

Oh yes, everything was coming up golden for the marsh monster.

Thats a wrap folks! Another fun one has come and gone and now we're moving into the endgame for this arc! All the pieces are set, and the players have found their places! A couple more battles, a heart-breaking moment or two, and lots of sexual tension! YAY! Thanks to everyone who favourites, follows, and (especially) leaves reviews. They mean a lot!

Review Responses:

Lordlexx: Quite possibly, but in Finn's perspective, it's die now or die later with Freya. And there probably are lots of better ways to deal with the issue, but hey, nobody's perfect. And the Braver trusts the Dauntless. Thanks for the review!

MangaZed: Same. I really want to keep bringing the godly parts of her that we saw glimpses of in the Light Novel. This is a Hestia that grown up and matured quite a bit after all! Thanks!

Guest:Thank you! The kind words always make it easier to write!

pix25: I also agree with Zed! Thanks!