Chapter 9: Curses and Companionship

"Good afternoon," a sleepy-looking brunette woman with dog ears said in greeting. She'd perked up a bit when the door had opened, but slumped a bit when she saw it was just Taylor.

"Your customers will cry if you treat them like that," the Mistress of the Swarm said, and the Captain of the Miach Familia snorted.

"Customer? More like our supplier. You sell more ingredients for potions then you actually buy."

"Can't help it that I'm so good at my job," Taylor joked, and Naaza Erisuis laughed at that.

"Well, I can't really complain when I'm getting so many quality ingredients for cheap," the Chienthrope replied. "What did you bring me this time?"

"A dozen Purple Moth wings, along with twenty-five bottles of Purple Moth powder," Taylor informed her, taking out the items from a silk bag and placing them on the counter.

Naaza carefully inspected each and every one, even going so far as to taste some of the purplish powder. When she was done, she nodded.

"These will make excellent antidotes," she declared. Naaza then got out some valis and handed it over. "Are you sure this is fine?"

"It is," Taylor assured her as she took the money. It was significantly less than market price for the monster parts, but money wasn't exactly something she or her Familia lacked at the moment.

"You know, you don't owe us anything," Naaza muttered, looking at the floor, a bit embarrassed. She would normally never say anything about getting a discount on potion supplies, but there was something earnest about Taylor, along with a desire to actually help, that made the sleepy woman resist her usual urge to swindle the other person. It was like Bell, in a way, just in a different manner.

"Miach is good friends with Hestia, and I owe him for teaching her a way to heal my mind," Taylor replied. "If not for his kindness… well, I don't really know what I'd be like right now. So, giving you a discount is the least I can do."

Naaza sighed but nodded. The alchemist and Taylor had met after the Monsterphilia. Taylor had given the smaller Familia her thanks for the kindness that had been shown, and had struck up… well, the Swarmbringer wasn't sure she'd call the two of them 'friends,' but there was a nice sense of comradery between them. That the tall adventurer had absolutely no interest in her god made Naaza a lot more inclined to like Taylor as well.

After confirming her power really could control monstrous insects, and that there were plenty of those on the Seventh Floor, Taylor had made it her mission to acquire ingredients for Naaza and Miach.

"By the way, Naaza, I was hoping you had an update for me on the stuff I asked you about last time," Taylor said, and the brunette grimaced.

"I do. Still think it's a bad idea to get involved with the Soma Familia, but I got what you wanted," Naaza said.

"Lay it on me," Taylor requested.

"Fine," Naaza grumbled, before drumming her fingers on the table. "So, first off, that guy your supporter ran afoul of, Canoe Belway? A leg-breaker for Zanis, the Soma Familia's Captain. He's a thug and doesn't have a good reputation at all. But he is strong. He's not the most powerful Level 1 adventurer, but he's a veteran with over a decade's worth of experience."

"Anything unusual about him? Skills, magic, or what?" Taylor inquired.

"Nope. Regular adventurer. Rumors have his Power and Endurance stat in the B-rank range, but nobody is sure about that for sure. I also heard a rumor he has a Magic Sword, which is the real threat."

"A Magic Sword, huh?" Taylor muttered. The infamous weapons were powerful, and could easily bump an adventurer up to a higher threat level, but they were fragile and broke after a handful of uses. Beyond that, Taylor knew they were incredibly expensive. Not as expensive as a Grimoire, but even the cheapest and weakest ones were around a million valis.

"Uh-huh. No clue where he got that kinda money, but if he's going around extorting money from his own Familia members, then it makes sense," Naaza replied, grimacing as she recalled what Taylor had told her about what she'd seen Canoe doing to Lili. It hadn't happened again, but it was clear it wasn't the first time he'd done so, either.

"What about Soma Familia as a whole?" Taylor asked. Something about that name was giving her warning bells in her head, but she couldn't figure out why.

"Well, besides their sales of wine, they're… well, they're trash," Naaza said. "An F-rank Familia, if barely. They have a few dozen members, but only a pair of Level 2s. The rest are all Level 1. They're also greedy money-grubbers that make me look generous. Worse, however, is their addiction to Soma's wine."

"I noticed that," Taylor nodded. During her investigations, there had been very little kind to say about the Soma Familia. And the few members of the Familia Taylor had been able to spy on had not impressed her. They reminded her of the Merchants in some ways.

"Now, here's some info you might like," Naaza continued. "Apparently, Zanis, the Captain, is responsible for the current situation plaguing the Familia."

"How so?" Taylor asked.

"Everyone in the Familia is addicted to Soma's wine. And they have to pay an outrageous sum to get even a single sip. It's why they're all so desperate for money. And thanks to Soma's 'hand's off' approach to leading the Familia, Zanis basically runs the place however he wants."

'Odd. Lili didn't strike me as an addict,' Taylor thought to herself with a frown. She was desperate for money, sure, but not in the way the other addicts of her Familia acted.

"Furthermore, and don't take this as gospel or anything, but I've heard that if somebody wants to actually leave the Soma Familia, they have to pay an even larger amount of valis," Naaza revealed, and it all clicked into place for Taylor.

"I see," Taylor muttered. "Thank you for the information."

"No problem. Just be careful, okay? Canoe and his Familia as a whole are known to be very vindictive and have ruined several smaller Familias for petty reasons," Naaza warned.

"I'd like to see them try," Taylor scoffed, and Naaza smirked.

"Hmm. Now that you mention it, so would I," she chuckled darkly.

After a bit more chatting, Taylor bid Naaza farewell, and she returned to the church, Chris falling in behind her.

Upon getting back, she found Bell pacing back and forth, and Taylor's gut was telling her that something had happened. This sensation only grew when he turned around to face her and she caught sight of something in his hand.

"Bell… what is that?" Taylor asked, feeling a headache coming on. But she powered through it and leveled a deadpan stare at Bell, watching as her fellow Familia member shifted nervously from foot to foot under her gaze.

It had been five days since the incident with Lili in the alleyway, and despite that, the young supporter had continued to show up to delve into the Dungeon. She was extremely useful, and Taylor was glad she was still coming with them. Bell had even offered to sign an actual contract with Lili, and she had tentatively agreed.

And things had been going well for them. Every day, they descended into the Dungeon, made their way to the Seventh Floor, and spent the morning and part of the afternoon down there, killing monsters.

Well, really, it was mostly Taylor doing it. Then, once their bags were bulging with loot, they would venture up to the Sixth and Fifth Floors where Bell and Lili would train against the monsters there.

Bell had gotten very good at accurately stabbing War Shadows in their eye, killing them without relying on magic to disrupt their intangible forms. He had also become insanely fast, blazingly so. He could move like a Level 2, according to an awed Lili. His Agility stat had to be off the charts!

Lili wasn't showing nearly as much improvement, but her advice was exceptional, giving pointers that helped Bell and Taylor figure out where they needed improvement. Her mini-crossbow also added much needed range to their heavily melee focused combat styles. One of her suggestions, that Bell invest in throwing knives, had been eagerly accepted by the white-haired boy.

As for money? The three of them (plus one monster) earned nearly five hundred thousand valis a day doing this routine, as well as the hate and envy of nearly every other Level 1 in Orario. Who wouldn't be jealous of a team who could haul in that much wealth with only three people?

Still, things had mostly been fine. No thieves had gone after them yet. None that couldn't be chased away by Anne and the swarm, at least. And today, they had finished up in the Dungeon later than usual, and gotten quite a bit dirtier as well. Taylor and Bell decided to head back to the church to clean off and then have a late lunch, with Bell going out to get food for them.

Yet now, here was Bell, holding a book with a red and gold cover that practically screamed to her swarm's senses while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, uh, I was just grabbing our lunch from the Hostess of Fertility, and Syr said that somebody had left this behind. Since nobody claimed it after a week, I could have it."

Taylor immediately knew that was a lie, just not from Bell's side. People didn't just 'lose' a Grimoire at a pub! And somebody would have come looking for it, or lied about being the owner! It would not have just sat there for several days gathering dust! Hell, Mama Mia or one of the girls could have used it themselves!

Grimoires were insanely expensive. At a minimum, a single Grimoire was a hundred million valis. And for the chance to instantly learn a single magical spell that could potentially save your life in a fight and get you to a high Level? That was well worth the astronomical cost.

'What the hell is Syr up to?' Taylor wondered, running a hand over her face.

"At least you didn't show this to anyone else," she grumbled. "And you came home straight away."

She then gave Bell a curious look. "So, when are you going to use it?"

"Oh! Um, I wasn't actually going do that," Bell admitted. "I remember you and Lady Hestia talking about how you were better suited to being a mage, so I thought I'd get this for you, Miss Taylor!"

"M-me?" Taylor asked, taken aback by the show of generosity.

"Yup! My Magic stat isn't very high anyways, so you'd be the best person to use it!" Bell replied. He held out the book with a wide smile, completely genuine and innocent in his words and actions.

"Well… thank you, Bell," Taylor whispered, taking the book from him. "How does this work? Do I just read it?"

"Maybe?" Bell shrugged.

Taylor sat down at the table and flipped it open. The pages were covered in strange letters, ones she didn't recognize. It wasn't the local language, that was for sure. For some reason, the whole tome felt like Hestia and the rest of the so-called gods, but more pure and refined, in a sense.

It was power, pure and unadulterated. There was nothing else but raw 'magic' here, bound within the parchment and ink and shaped into runes and sigils.

Taylor felt her mind drift even as she mechanically flipped the pages. She could also feel Queen Administrator looking through her eyes, and her power was focusing keenly on the artifact in front of her.

And then, she saw it. A crystalline obelisk of iridescent rainbows, sat in the center of a golden spider web.

"Queen Administrator?" Taylor asked, confused, as she stared up at the object. The obelisk flashed in response, and Taylor could feel the intent behind it.

YES replied her shard.

"You're beautiful," Taylor murmured, admiring the representation of her power in front of her.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Queen Administrator said, but Taylor could feel embarrassment coming from the obelisk. Was her shard shy?

DENIAL the shard retorted, causing her host to snort.

"The queen doth protest too much," Taylor claimed.

Queen Administrator wasn't nearly as amused, and the obelisk flashed incredibly brightly, blinding her. A moment later Taylor found herself waking up, blinking away spots of light from her eyes.

"You're awake!" Bell shouted, and she winced at the volume.

"How long was I out?" she asked, sensing the overeager boy nearby.

"A few hours," he replied. "It's almost time for Lady Hestia to come home."

"Huh, didn't expect that," Taylor muttered. "What an odd experience."

"So, did it work?" Bell wondered.

"Don't know. Nothing feels different," she mused, looking down at the now blank pages of the Grimoire she'd been using as a pillow. Thankfully, she hadn't drooled on it, so her dignity was still intact.

"Perhaps it won't appear until Lady Hestia updates your stats?" Bell suggested, and Taylor nodded at that. It made sense.

"Beeell! Taaaylor!" Hestia called out in a sing-song tone as she burst into the living room. "I'm hooome!"

"You sound like you're in a good mood," Taylor chuckled. "Thing go well at work?"

"They did!" the little 'goddess' cheered. "I took your advice, and spoke to the old lady who owns the Jagamarukun stall, and she agreed! She'll sell the whole business to me for only fifty thousand valis!"

That was quite cheap, but Taylor wasn't surprised. The woman who'd been running the snack cart was old, and had no living family left. Her husband, sons, daughters, and grandchildren had all tried to make a living as adventurers, yet none had ever succeeded going beyond Level 1. Furthermore, each and every one had perished within the Dungeon over the years, leaving the granny alone.

She'd gotten too old to run things anymore, and Taylor had spoken to Hestia about buying the business from her.

Their Familia needed something else as a moneymaker, and while Taylor's silk production was ramping up, it wasn't quite there yet. And Hestia had wanted to do something for the kindly old woman who'd helped her when she had had nothing after being kicked out by Hephestus.

And so, the plan to buy the cart was concocted. Hestia would still run it, selling the potato puffs as she always did – a cute girl serving customers was always a draw, just look at the Hostess of Fertility! – while the old woman would be hired as a mentor to teach Hestia her 'secret' recipes for making them while also introducing the Familia to her suppliers.

All in all, a very good deal, especially for only the equivalent of five hundred bucks!

"Taylor, what is that?" Hestia asked, eyes locking onto the empty Grimoire. And one of her eyes began twitching as she somehow recognized what it was Taylor had been using as a pillow.

"Bell did it," Taylor replied, throwing the albino under the bus without hesitation. He wilted as Hestia began to shout at him for accepting a sketchy, unknown item and then letting somebody else use it.

"Come on, leave the poor boy alone," Taylor said after a few minutes, rescuing Bell from the ranting shortstack.

"Grr! Fine! Let's go and find out what exactly Bell gave you," Hestia grumbled, walking into the bedroom.

A minute later, Hestia was handing Taylor her updated stat sheet.

TAYLOR HEBERT

LEVEL 1

POWER – H 189 → G 226

ENDURANCE – H 121 → H 175

DEXTERITY – H 190 → G 208

AGILITY – H 133 → H 180

MAGIC – E 434 → D 572

SPELLS

Geas Immulatio: By sacrificing a part of yourself, seal away the corresponding aspect of another being.

Incantation: I love you. I hate you. I will kill for you. I will die for you. Let my madness bind the world. Curse of Sacrifice!

Her stats had gone up quite a bit in these last few days. Gaining Excelia through her swarm was a very easy way to 'farm EXP,' as a gamer might say. She could grab dozens of Killer Ants then have them slaughter their way through the monsters of the Dungeon without lifting a finger. It was almost unfair, but as Lisa or Alex would say, 'if you aren't cheating, you aren't trying!'

What was really interesting, however, was the 'spell' that had taken up the first of her Spell Slots. Geas Immulatio. Or Curse of Sacrifice, as her mind translated it.

Taylor could tell, instantly, what this 'curse' would do. By giving up her eyesight, she could blind another person. Remove her own ability to speak, and somebody else would never utter a word again. Take away her ability to walk, and one unlucky soul would also be unable to move.

These 'sacrifices' were not permanent, not unless Taylor wished it. She could undo it at any time she wanted. Furthermore, if the target of her curse perished, then she'd regain what she had offered up.

The spell wasn't perfect. The longer she kept a target trapped by the effects, the more Mind it cost. And a target with a higher level or Magic stat would be able to resist and break free, and some opponents would be able to fight even with certain senses sealed, so it would require careful thought on when to use since it also affected Taylor herself.

Yet in the end, it was magic that, as much as Taylor wanted to deny it, truly meshed with her on a deeply fundamental level.

She had given up everything for the sake of humanity's survival. She had received no reward for the burdens she had taken onto her shoulders. And yet she had done so knowing full well that there would be no parades for her, nor praise and thanks. 'Sacrifice' was what Taylor and Khepri had embodied in the end.

'Though does the chant have to be so… cringy?' Taylor wondered to herself with a wince. It was so childish, like something from one of those Japanese cartoons Greg Vader had loved. She'd die of embarrassment if she had to shout that every time she needed to cast the spell!

"Magic always reflects the soul of the user," Hestia said softly as she gave Taylor a hug.

"Yeah. I figured as much," the former warlord chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"We'll always be there for you," Hestia vowed. Taylor said nothing, and simply hugged her back. They stayed like that for a few moments, Taylor basking in the feeling of 'home' that Hestia seemed to radiate.

"Now, come on! I still have to scold Bell some more for accepting such an obviously suspicious gift!" Hestia declared after they broke apart. Taylor smirked at that.

"Don't bully him too hard. I still need him to help me make dinner."

The two laughed together, and back in the living room, Bell shivered a bit, unsure as to why he'd suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

111 ^^^ &&& ^^^ 111

"Any plans for today?" Bell asked as they walked towards the Tower of Babel.

"We're going to focus on doing training first and foremost," Taylor replied as she walked with Chris at her side towards the Dungeon. "Specifically, you and Lili will be fighting on the Seventh Floor today. Without me."

Bell blinked in surprise at that, but nodded. "Alright, Miss Taylor. Is there any reason why?"

"I realized I've been monopolizing the gains in the Dungeon so far, and haven't been letting you two help enough. So today, you're both going to the Seventh Floor and will try to make it to the Tenth Floor without my help. I will go ahead first, and wait for you on the Tenth Floor. Make it down there, and then we can see what to do next."

Taylor could easily dominate the parts of the Dungeon where the Killer Ants spawned, and could camp there for however long she wished, but doing so wasn't fair to Bell or Lili. It also wasn't fair for the other adventurers who needed to make a living as well. The Hestia Familia had made a lot of valis in the past week thanks to Taylor's control over the insectoid monsters, so they didn't have to worry too much about that. Hence why the next couple of days were going to revolve around delving deeper.

'Not to mention the economic aspects,' Taylor mused. Most veteran adventurers avoided the Seventh through Ninth Floors, preferring to move down to the lower ones as quickly as possible due to the presence of the Killer Ants and the Purple Moths. That didn't mean nobody hunted there. Dwarves and Pallum, the short, hobbit-like folk, were well suited to hunting Killer Ants due to their size, and parties of these people would rove around hunting the enormous insects.

Plus, Taylor didn't want to accidentally crash the Magic Stone-based economy. Flooding the market with thousands of Killer Ant Magic Stones and Drop Items would only lower their price in the future. Not good for anybody.

There was also the fact Taylor was curious about the lower parts of the Dungeon. The Tenth Floor was, according to Eina, the start of what was generally known as the Middle Floors, where the terrain vastly shifted from the cramped tunnels she was used to, and the monsters became significantly stronger.

'At least Bell seems excited,' Taylor noted. The albino was eager to prove himself, and it was honestly adorable. The comparison to a Needle Rabbit Lili had made a couple days ago arose in her mind, and she stifled a snort.

However, her mirth died as her swarm detected Lili near the tower. The supporter was being cornered off to the side away from view by a tall male adventurer with a ponytail. Taylor also noticed Canoe Belway and his goons standing off to the side watching the scene.

Underneath her mask, Taylor's scowl grew larger, and she dispatched a tendril of her swarm to help her, but Lili managed to escape on her own. To her surprise, none of Lili's harassers followed, which only made Taylor's suspicions grow.

'I'm going to have to keep an eye on them, won't I?' she mused while discreetly planting a few bugs onto the adventurer's bodies to watch over any moves they might make. If they approached them while in the Dungeon, she would know about it.

"Lili!" Bell said happily upon spotting the younger (?) girl approach. Lili's face twisted a bit into a scowl for a brief moment before she plastered on a fake smile.

"Hello, Mister Bell," she greeted with a bob of her head, adjusting the straps of her enormous backpack. "Ready to go?"

"Yes," he said. "Today's gonna be a good day, too! Miss Taylor is going to let us do our own thing today!"

"S-she is?" Lili stammered, blinking in surprise. She shot a confused look the parahuman's way, before turning back to Bell. "What's the plan?"

"Miss Taylor is going in ahead to the Tenth Floor. We're going to follow her and try and make it to the Tenth Floor without her help," Bell informed Lili.

"L-Lili is also excited," the supporter lied. Bell seemed to buy it, but then again, the poor boy was hopelessly naïve in Taylor's opinion, so as he ran ahead, eager to get started, Taylor decided to find out what was wrong.

"Is everything alright, Lili?" Taylor asked softly, coming up behind the dog-eared girl.

"Yes," Lili replied shortly, not looking at the taller teen.

"Are you sure? What about what happened with that ponytailed man earlier?"

At that, Lili gained a surprised expression on her face before she recalled Taylor had a legion of insects at her disposal.

"Oh. Right. Lili should have known you'd see that," Lili muttered, mostly to herself.

"Who was he?" Taylor asked.

"Ged was the adventurer Lili was formerly contracted with," Lili admitted. "But Lili didn't want to keep working with him, so Lili left. But Ged didn't like that. Bell and the elf from the Hostess of Fertility found me before he could hurt Lili."

"Why was he here today?" Taylor wondered.

"He wanted Lili to work for him again," Lili sighed. "Lili said 'no.'"

Taylor nodded slowly while wearing a frown. "I see. And Canoe?"

At that, Lili started, and she looked up at Taylor with wide, fearful eyes.

"W-what?"

"Canoe Belway was there, too, watching," Taylor informed her. "Didn't you notice?"

"No! No, Lili didn't notice!" Lili replied with a frightened shake of her head.

"That could be a problem," Taylor muttered to herself, before glancing at Lili. "Alright. Come on, then. Best not to lose track of Bell."

"Th-that's it?" Lili stammered incredulously.

"If they try anything, they will regret it," Taylor vowed. "For now, though, it doesn't change our plans. We're going into the Dungeon. You and Bell will be on your own for the most part. And if Ged or Canoe try anything? Come find me, and I will help you."

Lili bit her lip and looked away before hurrying after Bell. Taylor picked up the pace as well, following behind the duo.

Upon entering the Dungeon, Taylor mounted Chris, and rode the Crystal Mantis into the tunnels, overtaking Bell and Lili shortly afterwards. She gave them a wave as she passed, leaving a couple bugs on their person for safety, and to keep track of them. It wasn't long before she found an entrance to the next floor and she lost connection with the two, but Taylor wasn't worried.

With Chris bulldozing his way through any of the lesser monsters that appeared, they made it to the Seventh Floor in record time. Then, it was only a matter of minutes to reach the Ninth, and from there, Taylor was staring down at the staircase leading to the next floor.

With a mental command a trio of Purple Moths fluttered down the stairs, followed by half a dozen Killer Ants. Letting them pave the way forward and check for any traps or monsters, Taylor descended the stairs once she'd confirmed it was safe, another half-dozen Killer Ants following behind her.

These stairs were the longest she had ever encountered in the Dungeon, which raised interesting questions. Then, a moment later, Taylor found herself standing on a ledge overlooking the next layer of the underground realm.

'Not what I expected,' Taylor admitted to herself as she looked around the Tenth Floor. A vast grassland spread out as far as the eye could see before her. The grass was an odd grey color, and Taylor wasn't entirely sure it was actually plant life at all. Here and there, enormous spires of blackened rock jutted from the ground. Some resembled petrified trees, others just littered the ground like misplaced boulders.

The air was misty, with a thick fog clinging low to the ground. Through the Purple Moths flying around in the sky, Taylor could see quite far, though the fogginess obscured most of it. Not to mention, for the first time since entering the Dungeon Taylor's power was free to expand, no longer constrained by narrow walls and corridors. It still couldn't penetrate the ground, but it stretched quite far, all the way up to the artificial sky, which was just the roof of a vast cavern.

"Strange," the parahuman murmured. The air was oddly still, and the area silent. There were no bugs which would normally be thriving in a grassy wilderness like this, and the few noises which made it through the fog were muffled and distorted.

Luckily, her monsters were not bothered by the mist, the Killer Ants and Purple Moths' senses vastly different from those of a human. Through them, Taylor was able to spot a hulking, grey-skinned behemoth with a vaguely porcine face, its body covered in thick rolls of fat and muscle.

"So, that's an Orc, huh?" Taylor mused to herself. One of the biggest threats of the Tenths through Twelfth Floor, an Orc possessed enough physical strength to hurt even Level 2 adventurers, and were durable enough to tank quite a bit of damage before being slain.

'Let me think, what else did Eina tell me about them?' Taylor wondered, thinking back to what the half-elf had spoken about the other day. 'Orcs drop a thick, leathery hide as their Drop Item, and their stones are the size of a fist and located within their chest, next to their hearts. They hunt in small groups, rarely more than a dozen unless stirred into action by other monsters, though Imps and Bad Bats are known to work alongside Orcs. Orcs also use landform weapons which increases the danger they pose.'

Curious, Taylor ordered one of her Purple Moths to sprinkle some of its poisonous dust onto the Orc to see how well the monster resisted it. Quite well, as it turned out. The Orc's fatty hide was quite thick, so it took some time for the poison to affect it, and only then, because it inhaled some.

"Very resistant," Taylor noted. It took twenty minutes for the Orc to succumb to the monster's poison, and a Killer Ant retrieved the Magic Stone it dropped. Taylor fed it to Chris, who enjoyed the snack.

"Now let's see how well an Orc handles magic," Taylor mused aloud to herself. She would admit, she was excited to try it, and soon found one of the pig-like brutes after descending from the overhang. This one had a stone club it dragged around.

"I love you. I hate you. I will kill for you. I will die for you. Let my madness bind the world. Curse of Sacrifice!" Taylor intoned, cringing internally as she did so. Her voice alerted the Orc, who looked in her direction, only for it to suddenly grunt and squeal in shock as it could no longer see.

Taylor was also blinded by her spell, but wasn't worried. She could still 'see' through her swarm, diminished though it was due to how few insects she had at her disposal.

'It seems I have to designate the target of my curse, as well as what I am sacrificing before I start the incantation,' Taylor noted. A few tiny beetles got out a notebook and scribbled these notes down. In English, because it added a degree of protection against anyone from reading what she was doing.

Taylor canceled the curse, her eyesight returning to her instantly. She had to blink rapidly to clear out the spots that appeared. Even in the grey, dimly lit cavern the sudden brightness was still a shock to her system. The Orc had it even worse, and it whined pitifully.

"I love you. I hate you. I will kill for you. I will die for you. Let my madness bind the world. Curse of Sacrifice!" Taylor repeated, and she felt herself go limp as she 'sacrificed' her ability to move, and the Orc collapsed to the ground like a puppet without strings.

Thanks to riding on Chris' back she was fine and could still move around, but the Orc? Not so much. She sent a Killer Ant over and had it bite the Orc's head off. The skin and muscles were surprisingly tough, but the Killer Ant was able to gnaw the monster's head off after a few tries.

As soon as the Orc's head separated from its neck, Taylor felt her muscles return to life. She hadn't been expecting them to suddenly spasm and twitch a bit though, and she winced as she felt a few cramps in her arms and legs due to the way she'd been slumped against her mount's back.

'That wasn't very pleasant, but it works like a charm,' Taylor thought. 'Should probably find a way to make a saddle or something for Chris if I'm going to be riding him around like this.'

'Now for a new experiment.' This time Taylor wanted to see if she could feel the amount of Mind she had left. She hadn't felt anything the first two times she'd cast a curse, but there had to be a way to tell without just casting spells over and over to find an adventurer's limit.

For the next hour, Taylor hung close to the stairs to Floor Nine, experimenting on the monsters with her curse. She learned that Orcs had a far superior sense of smell to humans and an inferior eyesight. They hunted via smell, which was how they could navigate through the fog. Without a functioning nose, they were significantly hindered.

An Orc was also ridiculously strong. It was one thing to hear it, but another to see it. An Orc could crush a Killer Ant's head with a fist or foot, cracking the chitin with contemptuous ease. Taking an Orc down with Killer Ants wasn't easy, either. A Killer Ant could bite a foot off, and once an Orc was downed, it could be swarmed and ripped apart, but it cost Taylor to do so. A dozen Killer Ants were able to take down three Orcs, but she lost at least one Killer Ant per Orc each time. At a rate of one to four, it wasn't an even trade.

Imps were the next monster Taylor had learned about. They were fast, nimble, and utterly vicious. Smaller and smarter than Goblins or Kobolds, Imp packs would work with Orcs to hamstring adventurers, sneaking up on them through the fog while other monsters drew their attention. Their talons were extremely sharp, but not enough to pierce metal or leather. They aimed for the gaps between armor. Luckily, they were not nearly as resistant to the Purple Moth's poison, and entire hunting groups of them could be slain by sprinkling toxic powder onto their heads. Their Drop Item was their devil-like spade tail.

As for the final new monster Taylor encountered, the Bad Bats were a pain to handle. They were fast, aerial hunters, easily maneuvering around her Purple Moths. Their disabling sonic screams were painful, and deafening oneself didn't actually prevent their attacks from hurting. Taylor could sacrifice her voice to curse them into silence though, which did work to remove their main threat, through their teeth and claws were still quite sharp.

Worse, because they could fly, they were able to stay out of range. They ended up killing all of her Purple Moths, forcing Taylor to order Chris to kill them, the Crystal Mantis using his wings to leap up to reach the Bad Bats. Sure, she could have used her curse to immobilize them, but it only worked against one target at a time and Bad Bats often hunted in groups.

After some more time had passed, Taylor found herself wondering where exactly Bell and Lili were.

'It's been a while,' Taylor mused. 'Where are they?'

It shouldn't have taken the two of them this long to reach the Tenth Floor, could it? But speak of the devil, though, and he will appear. Shortly after thinking about that, somebody was soon rushing down the stairs from the Ninth Floor. They had white hair and shorter than the average human in Orario. Not quite small enough to be a dwarf or pallum, either.

"Is that Bell?' Taylor wondered. Turned out it was, the albino boy rushing out of the passage way down onto the Tenth Floor, panting heavily. He was spattered with blood and grime – not unusual for a trip through the Dungeon – but he was missing his knife.

"Miss Taylor!" he started shouting. "Miss Taylor, are you there?!"

Sensing something was wrong, Taylor directed her swarm to take her back to the ledge, and the smile of relief that broke out over Bell's face when he saw her riding on Chris' back worried her as much as his condition did.

"Bell, what happened?" she demanded.

"W-we were making our way through Dungeon, got to the Eighth Floor," Bell panted out. "B-but then, something happened. A weird guy with a ponytail appeared in front of us! We tried to go around, but then three more people cut us off. A-and one of them started threatening us. Said they'd kill us if Lili didn't surrender."

"And then?" Taylor asked urgently.

"Lili stole my knife, and then took off running," Bell revealed, and it was like icy water had been dumped down Taylor's back.

"The four of them chased after Lili afterwards," Bell said, continuing, ignorant of Taylor's reaction to the news. "I-I realized after a moment that she was leading them away from me. And because she stole my knife, they assumed I wasn't a threat and left me alone."

"And probably guessed that it was worth something if she went out of her way to steal in right in front of them," Taylor mused. Shit. This was bad. She'd been worried Lili might try and do something like ever since she'd saw Canoe trying to threaten her.

The fact that Lili had tried to save Bell was a mark in her favor, but it still wasn't a good situation, either.

"Get on," Taylor ordered, and Bell quickly joined her on Chris' back. The Crystal Mantis and the remaining Killer Ant took off at a blazing pace, rushing back up through the Dungeon.

They rushed through the Ninth Floor and made it to the Eighth in minutes. Extending her power, Taylor began to gather Killer Ants and tried to find Lili.

'Assuming she's still on the Eighth Floor,' Taylor grimaced as she thought that to herself.

There were twenty-five different adventurers on the Eighth Floor, but none were ones she recognized. She was worried, and not entirely certain what was going to happen when she did find Lili. Would she leave the girl alone? Save her?

Taylor had mixed feelings towards the chienthrope. She had strong opinions about betrayal, even if there was a 'good excuse' for it. And from what Taylor had learned, the Soma Familia were simply the Merchants in a different world. Was Lili an addict? Or was she trying to leave, like Naaza had suggested? Whatever the case was, memories of Emma burned in the back of her mind, and she ruthlessly shoved them down into her swarm.

'I suppose I'll find out soon,' Taylor mused as she moved up to the Seventh Floor after finding no trace of the supporter on the current one.

Very shortly after reaching the Seventh Floor, Taylor noticed something was wrong. The Killer Ants were going through a frenzy. Either somebody had gone and failed to kill a couple of the ant-like monsters and thus stirred up a minor swarm of them, or this was deliberate somehow.

'Of course, they're no threat to us,' Taylor mused to herself as she took control of them. She then had Chris follow the trail of enraged monsters, when her powers noticed something odd.

'That's a severed head,' Taylor realized. Somebody had gone and cut off the head of a Killer Ant and was carrying it around like some sort of macabre trophy to lure in more of its kin!

And it was just her luck that the person who'd done this was none other than Canoe, and he and his minions had cornered Lili in a dead end.

"Huh, unfortunate," Taylor muttered aloud before one of the Killer Ants drawn in by the severed head picked up some of what the thug from the Soma Familia was saying.

"…you live if you just give us what we want," the raccoon beastman said, his voice as slimy as always.

"Lies!" Lili snapped, keeping her wrist-mounted crossbow aimed squarely at Canoe's face. "Lili knows you never keep your word! You killed Ged instead of paying him, and you'll kill Lili no matter what I do!"

Canoe snorted, not at all threatened by the weapon pointing at his head. "Well, Lili, if that's your choice. Such a shame. Such a waste."

Instead of drawing a weapon, he just tossed the severed head at her feet. Lili squeaked in terror and shot it, turning the head to ash and cutting off the pheromones it'd been producing, but it was too late, a veritable legion of Killer Ants had already gathered. Canoe and his minions were able to cut their way through without much issue and flee, but Lili was pinned in place by the sheer number of monsters approaching.

Lili's shoulder's slumped. She then took out Bell's knife, looking at it with a frown. She then raised it to her neck and closed her eyes, preparing to end her life before the Killer Ants could rip her apart.

Yet before she could, a strong hand lashed out and gripped her wrist, preventing her from using the dagger on herself.

Startled, Lili's eyes opened, and she gasped when she saw Taylor standing in front of her, Bell beside the taller adventurer wearing a worried look.

"M-Mr. Bell? M-miss Taylor?" Lili uttered in disbelief.

"Lili!" Bell called out, rushing over to her. The dog-eared girl flinched and looked away, clearly expecting to be hit, but she went still as Lili was grabbed up into a bone-crushing hug.

"You're okay!" Bell shouted tearfully. "I was so worried!"

"W-what?" she stammered out.

"Bell ran all the way to the Tenth Floor in order to get me in order to mount a rescue operation," Taylor said simply. "He was crying and begging for help."

"Miss Taylor!" Bell spluttered. "Don't tell her that!"

"Oh? But it's the truth!" Taylor chuckled. The white-haired boy sighed before realizing he was still hugging Lili. He laughed weakly and released the supporter, who still looked confused.

"Why?" Lili asked. "Why did you come back for me? I stole your knife! I lied to you!"

"Technically you never lied," Taylor pointed out. "We just never asked you about why you needed so much money."

"And you stole my knife because it was the only way those men would leave me alone," Bell added. "You were trying to save me by leading them away!"

"Th-that's not-!" Lili exclaimed.

"Lili, why were you so desperate for money?" Taylor asked softly, cutting off the supporter's protests. "Are you… do you having a drinking problem?"

"Wha- no! Lili doesn't even like alcohol!" the girl retorted. "Lili was trying to leave the Soma Familia!"

"You were?" Bell asked, tilting his head to the side. "Why?"

"Lili's parents were in the Soma Familia. But they were like everyone else: addicted to Soma's wines," Lili revealed, looking down at her feet. "I was forced to take on their debt when they died in the Dungeon."

"Let me guess, the only way you can leave the Familia is by paying off their debts?" Taylor guessed, recognizing the scummy tactic for what it really was. "But the 'interest' just kept piling up faster than you could repay?"

"Yes! Lili tried so hard, but it was never enough!" Lili cried.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Bell asked, a note of hurt in his voice.

"You adventurers are all just the same!" Lili shouted tearfully. "You'll use Lili and then throw her away when you don't need her anymore! I don't need your pity! I don't need your 'charity!' Lili can do it all on her own!"

Taylor winced at that, feeling a pang of sympathy for the child. Trapped in a situation that wasn't her fault, forced to do things she normally wouldn't even consider just to survive… it was far too much like her own experience back in Brockton Bay.

Leaning down, Taylor didn't say anything, instead reaching out with her one good arm and bringing Lili in for a hug, who let out a surprised squeak. Bell immediately joined in as well, causing Lili's face to grow to grow red as she spluttered and tried to escape the embrace, before eventually giving in and accepting it, tears rolling down her face.

"Come on, let's go," Taylor suggested.

"I-I can't," Lili whimpered. "Canoe will kill Lili if I leave the Dungeon!"

"Don't worry about him," Taylor replied. Lili winced, no doubt imagining some of the terrible things a swarm of angry insects could do to a person. However, there was also a small, vindictive grin on her face.

"Before we go, though…" Taylor didn't even turn around as the Killer Ants turned on each other, slaughtering themselves. When that was done, the Magic Stones and Drop Items were collected out of the piles of black ash, and though Lili had ditched her luggage elsewhere in order to run away faster, Taylor had managed to grab most of it.

"Not nearly as much as we normally would get," Taylor mused. "But it should work."

The parahuman hadn't taken any Magic Stones from the Tenth Floor and instead fed them to Chris to save space, only bothering to grab the occasional Orc Hide that dropped. She wanted to make Bell some better armor with it. Her spider silk was decent, but the leathery hide was tougher and would take more damage. It was heavier, but that was no issue for an adventurer, even one at Level 1. She'd also grabbed some of the gray grass analog, but that was mostly to experiment with it.

"Come on!" Bell said, excited to leave, only for Lili to grab onto his sleeve and stop him from moving.

"H-here," Lili said, handing the Hestia Knife back to its owner. He gave a boyish grin as he accepted the weapon, and returned it to its sheath.

The adventuring party departed, leaving the Seventh Floor behind. They then managed to leave the Dungeon without any incidents. Nobody tried to murder them on the way out, and there was no trace of Canoe.

'Which is a shame,' Taylor mused. 'I wouldn't mind giving him the Lung treatment.'

Elsewhere, a certain raccoon-man suddenly shivered, and he couldn't help but look left and right, wondering why he was suddenly feeling a sense of dread.

'Maybe a drink will help,' he thought to himself, walking off to celebrate getting rid of the whiny little rat.