Chapter 38

"Three prominent Gods walk into a pub in the early morning… the chances of that happening are so slim it isn't even funny." Mia Grande stated, eye twitching as she stared at the three Gods sitting around a table.

"I don't think I am that prominent." Soma was the first to speak.

"Look at you being humble." The Dwarf smirked; either the God had no idea of the work his Familia was putting on the lower parts of the city, or he was just being nice about it.

"I apologize for coming in this early; these two said this place would be open at this hour," Ganesha stated calmly as he looked around; contrary to other establishments or structures in the city, this was probably the one that looked like it took less damage.

"No problem…" Mia stated warily, seeing Ganesha not being… well, himself, was really off putting for her. "Although, you are gonna have to forgive me; most of my girls for today had to head out for something personal, and the guy that does most things in the early morning is also indisposed, so we are a little short-handed."

"It is understandable," Soma commented, being in the loop of what was happening with Drake. "We will take whatever services you can offer; starting with…" he looked at the God of the Forge, blinking lazily with a single eye before her head slammed on the table; dozing off in the process. "A cup of coffee would be fine."

"Clearly." Mia snorted.

"… Ah" The Goddess Hephaestus relaxed, enjoying a sip of a loaded cup of coffee as her senses started to turn on one by one. "I am gonna sleep like a log after we are done here."

"It is quite hilarious seeing this side of you."

Her eye twitched at Ganesha, seeing the corner of his lip twitching upward. "And I appreciate you being rather calm at this hour of the morning; seeing as you usually have a massive lack of your surroundings and empathy with how people perceive you."

"That's where you are mistaken, I am very aware I can be annoying;" he smirked. "I just don't care. Now," his smile faded as he reached for something in his pocket. "There's something I want to confirm."

Both Soma and Hephaestus looked confused, only to deliver a small wince as Ganesha placed 'Drake's' wanted poster on the table.

"This image in particular evokes something out of both of you, doesn't it?"

Indeed, seeing as Hephaestus instinctively went to cover her eyepatch. "Where are you going with this?" she asked, almost in a snarl; a sentiment that disappeared soon after Ganesha took off his mask, revealing a pair of black sharp eyes looking at both Deities.

"I have had a feeling ever since I first laid eyes on this image: the bizarre feeling of having my throat crushed with ease before being separated from my head in the most painful way possible." That got their attention. "So I ask the both of you… has a familiar sensation invaded the both of you when looking at this?"

For Hephaestus, it was quite clear that the scars under her eyepatch burned as if it were a freshly done wound.

As for Soma. "… I felt as if the upper part of my body had been wiped in a single flash when looking at this," he pushed the poster away. "It was a good thing I was sitting when I saw this, because I could not move my lips for a while… Ganesha, who else have you confirmed this with?"

It was then that Hephaestus recalled how every Deity had been tense before the impromptu Raid into the Dungeon started… this, this had been the reason.

"Apollo stated he felt as if his very eyes had been burned before his skull was crushed, Loki had thrown a comment about a cold blade piercing her heart from behind, the testimonies of brutality just went on and on among all the others…" he pushed the poster forward once more. "This is not a coincidence."

His eyes rested on Hephaestus. "I know you have been covering for him for three months, Hephaestus." And then to Soma. "And I know for a fact that he has been supporting your Familia for almost the same amount of time."

Both stared at the elephant with narrowed eyes; Soma was even flexing his own fingers before subtly making a fist.

"Now, I have a confession of my own to make."

Ganesha shouldn't even be considering this, seeing as it would go against everything he and Ouranos had been working on for a while, but the current situation was way too bizarre for his liking.

"Listen," he looked around, making sure there was no one close by to listen. "For almost two years now, I have been-"

"Working with Ouranos and a Foreign Deity to have better control of the Dungeon?" Hephaestus said with a deadpan.

"Said Deity being Drake's enemy back in their Original World, who now claims wants to help this one and even offers an olive branch of sorts?" And Soma simply had his usual expression as he finished her sentences.

"… How…" Ganesha muttered dumbfounded. "… Did I somehow make a leak of information or-?"

Hephaestus sighed. "Drake and Tsubaki had theorized after it was confirmed Shakti knew Adam; Tsubaki then just shared it with me." She recalled, getting a headache the moment Tsubaki just dumped the information on her while doing paperwork.

'Tsubaki, seriously, what the fuck?' The Goddess thought blandly before looking at Soma. "But how do you know about it?"

"One of Drake's brothers' complains a lot about all the 'bullshit' they have to deal with here; I just listen to it while he helps me with the paperwork."

Hephaestus blinked, trying to figure out which brother would that be as she had yet to meet any one of them. By description alone, she would have to say it is one of the redheads… she became a little self-conscious about that.

"… I have been keeping this to myself for SO long it now feels like nothing when you two state the facts as if it was nothing." The God's shoulders dropped, making Soma of all people pat her shoulder while Hephaestus forced herself to look at the poster before taking over.

"… This is not him," she stated with certainty, going more for her gut rather than what Tsubaki had said about his eyes… having some reason on that matter. "I have seen him, spoken with him even; he may be rude and even make me feel threatened, but not only has he ever made me feel like this since I met him."

"I concur with her on this."

Ganesha stared at both Deities before tapping his finger on the poster. "If you both state that the person in this poster is not Drake…Then, who is it?"

Hephaestus pondered. "All Drake has mentioned about his family that has reached my ears was that his mother is a 'Divine Mess' and that his uncle is a Hero. Nothing more besides that."

"I am afraid I have not heard anything related to his Family ties…" Soma looked at Ganesha. "What about you? Has Ratatosk mentioned something about that?"

Ganesha tried to recall for a moment; turning pale as he recalled the list of things he had done against Drake in the past, controlling his father and forcing him to break his son's ribcage being one of them.

"Nothing nice," he murmured, clearing his throat for a moment. "Leaving that aside, this also raises a more daring question for all of us Deities."

"Right," Hephaestus said warily.

Why was a mare portrait causing so much… phantom pains to the Deities alone?

"Breakfast is here!" the Deities almost jumped off their seats, seeing Syr Flova suddenly sneaking on them before placing plates containing a traditional breakfast on their table. "Oh, sorry if I startled you."

Ganesha sighed, taking his mask to cover the upper part of his face. "No worries young lady! I, Ganesha! Was not scared at all!"

Soma and Hephaestus groaned, seeing Ganesha put on his act once more.

"Ah! You are covering your face now, Lord Ganesha," Syr pouted. "You certainly look more handsome without it."

Ganesha laughed, loudly. "I am afraid my face is too handsome for some; I might be confused with Freya if I reveal my face for too long."

Hephaestus could have sworn she heard a snort coming all the way from the counter, not noticing Syr's smile twitching as she retreated.

"Now that we are sharing information," Soma took his utensils. "Mind explaining why Ouranos is doing nothing regarding this?"

Ganesha groaned, focusing intensively on his food. "He locked himself in his office after the information about Drake was leaked."

"That's worrying," The Goddess of the Forge stated as she satisfied her appetite; she also didn't eat dinner last night before passing out. "Not a single word?"

"None, all I can assume is he's still in there seeing there hasn't been a pillar of light going into the sky."

She snorted. "As if things couldn't get any worse."

"I also have no way to contact Ratatosk either seeing I don't have one of those weird technology devices." He sighed. "What about you two? Hephaestus, I was able to spot your Captain going along with the Adventurers into the Dungeon."

The two Gods related to Drake looked at each other for a moment, but it wasn't either of them who replied.

"Both Familia are in a joint operation to help the brat," both blinked, looking at the opposite side of Ganesha to see Mia sitting there, with a cup of hot coffee with her. "My girls are also helping with it, so I think I deserve to be sitting on the big kids' table." she glared straight at Ganesha. "What say you? Where does the God of the Masses stand on this?"

Ganesha stood still for a moment. "I am afraid it will depend on the situation."

In the best-case scenario, his Familia will be able to aid Drake somehow by smuggling him out of the Dungeon without anyone noticing. If that doesn't happen, it would still be best to ally himself with him for the consequences that follow come if they didn't.

"Figured as much," Mia sighed. Relenting to just wait and hope for things to solve themselves.

"Despite being in a very dire situation, it looks like you have a lot of free time, your Highness." Tsubaki Collbrande stated, eyeing the High-Elf walking next to her at the very back of the group of Adventurers that had entered the Dungeon.

"You are as important as every person in this expedition group," Riveria reasoned, staring straight as they walked. "Seeing as there are many Familias here, Finn thought it would be wise to divide the executives of our Familia to ensure there isn't any infighting."

Tsubaki internally sighed, seeing some reason in her line of thought. "I must be very unlucky to have you been assigned to this section." The Blacksmith thought out loud.

"The feeling is more than mutual." Funnily enough, her tone had no negative emotion; that's the Elven stoicism for you.

"But if you are here, then who's looking after Miss Murder Doll?"

Tsubaki heard a slight whine behind her, but she ignored her.

"Can you please be the bigger woman and get over your issues with her?" Riveria stated with a tired sigh, making the Blacksmith twitch her eye.

"I am sorry, did the Princess of a race that has held a grudge against a single bloodline just tell me to get over my issues? That's pretty rich."

The grudge in question was about someone from the Crozzo Bloodline using his Skill to create an incredible Magic Sword to destroy a sacred forest of the Elves. A grudge that has come down with every generation since ancient times.

Surprisingly, the High Elf smiled. "And who says I am holding a grudge? The incident in question has nothing to do with me. Besides, you don't see me ordering a persecution of the one owner of that bloodline in the city."

Sadly, the smug Elf had a point in that regard; Welf would have been executed years ago in some Elvish plot if Riveria had so ordered, even if he was a member of Hephaestus Familia.

"Good for you," Tsubaki clapped sarcastically. "But don't expect me just to get over something that happened a few weeks ago."

Never mind the fact that it was the Blacksmith that brought on the subject.

Besides, her grudge was more on Drake's well-being rather than her Forge. The latter had already been fixed thanks to the help of the blonde and his brother…. But there was still the fact that Ais had the unhealthy desire to kill him due to her own issues; daddy issues included.

Did she really fear Ais could actually kill him? No, but you all know how the saying goes; be wary of crazy…

'Wait… I think it was 'never stick it into crazy'…' she shrugged, thinking both served the purpose.

"Now that we are on the subject of what happened with your Forge," Tsubaki blinked, looking at the Royal Princess in confusion. "I apologize for being direct but… have you improved recently?"

Translation; have you leveled up?

That was what Riveria wanted to ask.

Tsubaki could understand her curiosity; she and Ais were both meant to be Level Five, with Ais having more combat prowess than her… and yet the Sword Princess was sent flying into heaven with a simple uppercut.

"You are right, it is a very direct question," The Blacksmith stated nonchalantly.

"Ais had stated you managed to beat her during the situation at the forge; she even claimed your strength was significantly larger than hers." Riveria noticed Tsubaki's deadpan stare at her. "I am not saying you should have been weak; rather, you were just too strong for her all of a sudden."

"It's called updating your Falna, your Highness; anyone with a Falna and a God can do it."

Riveria mentally rolled her eyes at how 'cooperative' the Half-Dwarf was being; the tone of 'it's so obvious' really put things into perspective. "Even so, you must have gone through a lot of serious Dungeon diving to raise your Stats that much."

"… nah, not really." To her surprise, the Elf looked over the Blacksmith; adorning a smug smile as she just walked forward. "Push-ups, sit-ups, and plenty of juice."

The Elf stared critically, taking a deep breath before sighing. "No… this is what I get from expecting something from a Dwarf." Her experiences with Gareth really spoke volumes of that statement.

"Look at you being a memer; I am almost proud."

Tsubaki smiled slightly, listening to Rita's voice in her ear thanks to that earphone device.

"I get it, you can't talk at the moment."

The Blacksmith simply hummed.

Tsubaki wasn't obvious, knowing the only reason one of Loki's top Executives was there was just to keep an eye on her.

'I suppose not being affected by Freya's Charm really does put a bitch on everyone's radar…'

"Have you been working on anything new recently?"

Tsubaki blinked, looking left and right before pointing at herself. "Is Her Royal Highness trying to hold a conversation with me?"

Yes, she was being an ass, and yes; Riveria knew it.

"Take it as you wish," Riveria cursed Finn for this task; The Pallum was too occupied with leading the front line, and Gareth was easily distracted if it was someone he knew personally. "Consider it an examination of your most recent works if you will. Even if you are not directly contracted by our Familia, you are still the best Blacksmith in the city; it is only natural to be curious about your work."

"Compliments will take you nowhere." Tsubaki rolled her eye, opting to play along so as not to look suspicious.

"I seem to recall Gareth mentioning you were researching something for your forging, any new groundbreaking discoveries?"

The Blacksmith recalled that conversation, having mentioned something like that to Gareth months ago; the day she almost tore off his beard by 'accident'.

"Only a couple of ideas… haven't really managed to achieve what I want in that revolutionary area," she said with a hint of sarcasm.

"It's a good thing you are into forging because acting is not your thing."

Her eye almost twitched at Rita's criticism.

"I didn't take you for someone modest," The High-Elf eyed the Blacksmith. "I recall Ais being incredibly interested in the blade you were working on the day of the Forge; that's no easy feat."

'Apparently, neither is raising a child,' Tsubaki held back her words.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you come up with the creation of that blade? What makes it different from the rest?"

Tsubaki realized the insistence in her words, focusing on that topic rather than anything else. 'Ah…' she finally figured out her objective.

It was not only because of today's events; Tsubaki had been placed on a non-existent 'interest' list since the Forge incident. Leaving aside the fact that she beat Ais and was seemingly stronger than she should have been, there was also the blade that had gotten Ais' interest… and that according to Gareth held a resemblance to the one Drake held.

'The Virgin Princess of Elves is trying to find a connection between Drake and me' She almost gritted her teeth in realization.

The Blacksmith could just stay quiet and reply to the Elf to mind her own business… but that would only raise the Elf's suspicions.

"It's nothing great, to be honest," Tsubaki forced a sigh. "I met some asshole by sheer coincidence a couple of months back in Rivira," now she noticed the Elf's grip on her staff tightened. "Real piece of work, that guy."

The Royal Elf didn't say anything as Tsubaki continued.

"Not gonna lie, he got my interest with what he carried; so I tried to replicate that since then."

The funny part of this whole deal… was that Tsubaki wasn't lying; recalling this being more or less how she had met Drake in the first place.

"… Something wrong? You became quiet all of a sudden." Tsubaki asked, noticing the Elf had been pondering for a minute now.

"By any chance, this individual," Riveria fully focused on the Half-Dwarf. "Did he have golden hair, green abnormal eyes and wore mostly black?"

Tsubaki snapped at her, faking surprise. "Easy your Highness; if I didn't know any better, I would say you are interested in him." Now she took advantage of the situation.

Riveria was not amused; the Elf following on their trail was a completely different story, however.

"How dare you!?" An Elf screamed from the back. "Do you have any idea at all the harm this man has caused our Familia?"

The Elf in question just saw the iceberg from afar; not knowing all the 'transgressions' Drake had done against Loki Familia.

'Is every single underage girl under Loki this entitled?' Tsubaki wondered, taking advantage of her mistake. "Wait, does that mean Loki Familia already knew of him?" she glared at Riveria.

The younger Elf became a stuttered mess in embarrassment and fear. "I-"

"Not another word, Lefiya," Riveria pinched the bridge between her eyes before looking at Tsubaki again. "This is a serious matter, what did he look like?"

Tsubaki sighed. "I couldn't see his face; it was covered by a hood and a white scarf… he did wear mostly black, though."

'That makes sense,' Riveria thought, seeing as Tsubaki would have mentioned he looked like the person on the wanted posters. 'But it still looks like Drake was the person she met.'

"Anything else you might want to know? What I ate yesterday? The first time I kissed some-?"

"That's enough, thank you very much." Riveria focused forward, making Tsubaki sigh internally as the line of questioning finally ended.

It was still annoying not being able to use her Scroll to contact Lili, or talk with Rita with the hands-free device in her ear seeing she was still on Elven watch.

"By the way,"

Tsubaki internally groaned as the Elf decided to address her once more.

'Not once has this prude Elf been interested in holding a conversation with me, and now all of a sudden I am the only ear available! Hephaestus, seriously, what the fuck?' she called her Goddess' name in vain.

"Have you noticed… we are already past the tenth Floor."

The seriousness of the tone made the Blacksmith a little more aware, realizing where Riveria was going with this.

"… Well shit."

Lefiya Viridis blinked, looking between the two figures ahead of her. "I am sorry… but is there something wrong? I think we are going at a good pace."

She almost froze, seeing her liege look over her shoulder with her usual neutral expression. "Haven't you noticed anything else?"

Lefiya wondered for a moment, stressing herself for not coming with an answer; knowing there had to be a correct one seeing her Master was pressing on it.

"Not a single Monster has crossed our path," Tsubaki beat her to it, not really having a care in stealing the High Elf's moment. "No, it would be more accurate to say we haven't spotted a single Monster."

"Ah-" Lefiya panicked, hearing Riveria look upfront and sigh at her Disciple's lack of insight. "Could it be that perhaps the front line has taken care of them… it- it is a big group after all."

"Monsters can spawn from the walls, ground, and even the ceiling; not a single one of those scenarios has happened either so far." Riveria countered, not even looking back as she corrected Lefiya; leaving the Elf dejected as she decided to stay quiet.

Tsubaki for her part realized things were far more serious than she anticipated.

She was familiar with this, recalling the incident with the Abnormal Goliath the first time she met Drake.

According to him, the Dungeon had saved its energy by cutting down its spawn rate to make a Goliath spawn before its usual time.

That meant that either the Dungeon was exhausted for some reason or waiting for the right time to spawn something deathly.

'God fucking damn it, Ryuu,' she blamed the Elf, recalling her tale of her Familia's demise; succeeding in reminding her how irrational the Dungeon could be.

She prayed this was not the case.

"Look who it is!" Bors commented with clearly fake enthusiasm as he stared at the large group led by Finn as they entered Rivira; turning a little pale as he noticed Ottarl of all people following close behind. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, laughing awkwardly at the presence of the strongest Adventurer in Orario.

"Bors," the Pallum stated with a forced smile, recalling Bete had done a number on the place while under the influence of the Centurion of Ice. "How have things been?"

Not the wisest choice of words.

"We have been fine, no thanks to you," the Adventurer glared at the Pallum before focusing on the group. "So, what's this? A joined incursion?"

"Not exactly… can we have a moment of your time…" the Pallum noticed Rivira's residents scowling at them, or more specifically, at Bete. "In private, if possible."

"…" Bors narrowed his eye at the poster given to him before staring back at Finn. "Don't know him."

Finn fought the urge to sigh as he retrieved the wanted poster. "What about anything out of the ordinary?"

Bors took a thinking pose, letting out a low hum before snapping his fingers. "Ah, right; just now a group of Adventurers showed up in Rivira out of nowhere." The man stated blandly.

"This is no laughing matter, you pig," Finn pinched the bridge between his eyes after the Apollo Familia Captain took hold of Bors' neck with his left hand. "This is a matter of great importance for the whole city."

The Adventurer snorted. "Pretty sure your God is the only one that classifies as a pig, also," Bors took hold of Hyakinthos wrist before tightening his grip, more than matching Hyakinthos's power. "Let me remind you, I am also a Level Three."

Hyakinthos growled, his free hand going for one of his blades, only to be stopped by a cold hand that took hold of his left one; letting go of Bors in an instant as Hyakinthos felt frostbite on his skin.

"Vanargand!" The Apollo Captain growled as Bete stared coldly into his eyes, letting him go before Hyakinthos jumped back; checking his arm to see his sleeve had frozen cold. "You mongrel bas-"

"Enough," the Adventurer's eyes widened, meeting the tip of a spear near his neck. "We will have to force you if you continue with such behavior, it will only be detrimental for everyone in the long run."

Hedin adjusted his glasses. "Quite; the fact I already have to babysit many of the members of my own Familia is already a task; I don't want to look after deadweights, as well."

Hyakinthos didn't dare to say anything to a Level Six Adventurer of all people; limiting himself to grit his teeth as a female voice sighed in exasperation.

"We are just wasting our time here, Braver." Shakti Varma groaned, resting her face on her hand before walking out of the tent.

"Sorry about this, Bors. We will take our leave soon,"

The Rivira leader sighed in relief. "Good, because you are making everyone here nervous with such a massive group… the fuck's with you?" Bors asked puzzled as some of the Adventurers left the tent, seeing Bete Loga looking at him with a neutral face before sighing.

"I am sorry for all the damage I caused last time." Bete Loga stated, turning around before walking out calmly, ignoring all the glares of those who remained in the tent.

Bors just stared neutrally, clapping his tongue in frustration; the apology felt legit, but a simple sorry just wouldn't fix all the damage Beta had done during his latest rampage.

'You better appreciate what I am doing for you, brat.' He sighed.

About twenty minutes ago

"A combined incursion of how many Familias!?" Bors shouted from an alley in Rivira, making Lili sigh as she explained in summary the current situation.

"Boss got set up, Tornado almost wiped the city, Gods are angry, Braver formed an incursion of Familia," Lili stated, clapping her hand with each fact to the older Adventurer's annoyance.

"And what? Exactly what do you expect me to do, you little brat? Arm a revolution of rag-tag individuals and stand against them!?" Bors exclaimed panicked, making Lunor snort at a plan that would be set to fail, without doubt.

"Don't laugh at this, Black Fist; I am tripping right now!"

Lili sighed, patting the shoulder of the crouched Adventurer holding both sides of his head in stress. "Lili doesn't expect Mister Bors to do anything; just pretend you haven't seen the Boss and that you don't know him, that is all."

"Now that we are on that, have you actually seen him?" Ryuu asked, seeing as the man started to regain his composure a little.

Bors remained still for a moment, recalling about two days ago how Drake had suddenly dropped by Rivira with a warning.

Flashback

"… I haven't even said anything, and you already look constipated," Drake commented with a bland expression, seeing Bors covering his face in exasperation.

"When have you ever come here to make something close to a 'social call'?"

Drake blinked, seeing no fault in that logic. "Fair enough," he prepared to state the reason for his visit, only to stop as Bors noticed a bag he had been dragging… and that was now moving. "Could you please stop your bitching for five damn minutes?"

Bors blinked. "Whatever it is that's happening right now, I don't want to be part of a kidnapping."

Drake sighed. "That's just one of my brothers, gonna use him as bait to deal with a threat." His eyes turned serious. "Which brings me to the following; do not let anyone go deeper into the Dungeon."

"Because of that threat you mentioned?" Drake nodded. "What are we dealing with exactly? Something similar to the Water City incident?"

"Worse, Orario might be wiped off the map by a tornado if we let this go any longer." The blonde commented before walking away, dragging the bag that clearly held a living person inside; leaving Bors blinking at what he heard.

"The hell does that even mean!?"

"The city was nearly wiped out by a tornado."

Bors blinked at the statement made by every member of Lili's group, having more questions than a few seconds ago; knowing he would only get more confused if he asked more.

"Screw this, I would rather be dealing with a bunch of assholes rather than being scared of finding out what's going on." The Rivira Adventurer stated before waving back, leaving them alone.

"Bors seems rather amicable due to this whole thing with Drake."

"Nor surprising nya~" Chloe looked at Lunor. "Remember Drake had sent the good Doctor and Yuri to help Rivira after Bete went on a rampage nya~."

"There's that," Lili interjected. "And then there's also the time Boss ordered Lili to bribe Rivira by throwing money into the city to buy their silence."

Both waitresses blinked, only for Lunor's eye to twitch. "Why not toss some of that money my way, If he has so much spare money!?"

"Because you are so lazy nya~"

Ryuu sighed, focusing on Lili rather than her friends' bickering. "Nothing on Tsubaki?"

The plan had been to meet up in Rivira, as they didn't want to get the attention of Loki Familia seeing they had knowledge of Drake and Soma Familia being on good terms; they didn't want to raise any suspicions on Tsubaki.

"Her latest message says and Lili quotes 'The Elven watch is on my ass.' That was hours ago."

"What do you know, Elves are also stalkers; not surprised."

Ryuu internally sighed, not humoring Lunor's jab as their plan seemed to have fallen apart rather easily.

"What about Zelos' girlfriend…" her words died in her mouth, not recalling her name.

"Miss Rita? Don't know," Lili blinked. "As a matter of fact, she hasn't contacted Lili once; so far she has been using Lady Tsubaki as an intermediary."

None of them had actually seen her, the only few times her name was brought up was when Zelos would simp over his girlfriend.

*RING*

Their eyes widened, jumping into a stance as a weird sound was heard around them.

*RING*

"Would you please chill, it's just Lili's scroll," she pointed at the device in her hand to see the screen saying 'Unknown number'. "Someone's calling."

The Pallum answered the call. "Hello?"

A long sigh was heard. "I am not even gonna bother with introductions, so listen well. The plan is already a bust seeing as Tsubaki can't seem to shake off the Elf watching over her."

Ryuu narrowed her eyes, ignoring the clear rudeness from the person at the end of the call. "Shall we proceed on our own then?"

"Looks like it, I will tell you what I have managed to find overnight," Rita stated. "I still wasn't able to contact Drake or Adam, I did try to check the floors below for when and where their Scroll was last online."

She continued, explaining that it looked as if the place had been wasted by a damn tornado. She then tried to go deeper, but she seemed to have some interference the lower she went, to the point it was impossible to go deeper. However, she was able to pinpoint that the source of the interference came from the thirty-eight Floor.

Everyone tensed, knowing that was Udaeus' floor.

"So, it is safe to assume Drake and the rest are there?"

"Most likely… however, there's something else that's been worrying me; the energy which is causing the interference is expanding."

"That… doesn't sound good?" Lunor asked, seeing she was having problems following the conversation.

"It isn't, usually it means that whatever is causing it is getting more powerful."

The waitress gulped for a moment.

"I will try to contact you if I find something else."

The line suddenly felt dead.

"… What a bitch nya~ " Chloe thought out loud, trying not to sound intimidated by what she heard.

"To the hornet's nest it is then." Ryuu looked at the rest. "Is everyone ready?"

Lunor and Chloe nodded; one more reluctantly than the other. "What about you, Lili?"

Ryuu let out a tone of genuine concern.

Yes, the Pallum had managed to beat her former captain, but she was sure that was thanks to some weird buff Drake had applied on her. Not to mention Zanis can't compare to the next floors and beyond; she was still a Level One, after all.

"Even with the items Tsubaki gave us, things are not going to be easy."

"Lili is grateful that Miss Ryuu is worried for her, but no need to worry; Lili is Determined." She started to walk ahead. "Besides, Lili is packing heat; there's nothing to worry about."

The waitresses blinked between each other, shrugging before following the Pallum.

"Ok, that sounded badass and everything, but what does it even mean?"

Lili simply smiled, not saying a single word.

Lefiya Viridis only stared, leaning against a wooden wall on the streets as her eyes went from left to right; keeping an eye on Tsubaki Collbrande as she went from one extreme of the street to the next with crossed arms.

The Elf was not the best with social cues, but even she could tell the Blacksmith was annoyed.

Her Princess had instructed her to keep an eye on the Hephaestus Familia Captain the moment Riveria went to check on the other parties.

Tsubaki on the other hand was on the verge of tearing her eyepatch, seeing as she could not tail away the Elf in question. She was like a lost puppy, following wherever she went.

She was sure Lefiya would follow her even if she went to the Floors below.

She couldn't bash out at the Elf either, knowing that would be suspicious… Then again, Tsubaki had exclaimed before she was looking for a friend… she could use that excuse to behave like a Karen…

'Yeah, not happening.'

This was the very reason why she was going from left to right, losing every bit of her patience thanks to the stubbornness of the Elves.

She suddenly stopped, startling Lefiya as Tsubaki crossed her arms, closed her eye, and sighed; the Blacksmith gave out, hoping Lili and the rest could be able to handle whatever was down there after Rita had relayed the information to her through the hands-free device.

"I… I am sorry." Lefiya muttered, being aware she was the reason the Blacksmith was in such a state.

"… If anything… I blame your Princess for this bullshit," the older Adventurer replied, standing next to Lefiya before leaning against the wall with a closed eye. "The only positive thing is that it seems you lack the stuck-up attitude your damn race has."

To Lefiya, that was an offense; an insult to her Elven pride… but the Half-Dwarf was right in that regard.

"I am aware," she sighed. "I am my lady's apprentice and yet I seem to be failing in pretty much everything." The Elf laughed awkwardly. "Honestly, the only reason I am worth anything is because of my Skill."

'Right…' Tsubaki eyed her with a narrowed gaze. "Lefiya Viridis, Thousand-Elf… the skill to copy any magic as long as it is performed by an Elf."

It was a stupidly broken ability, making the user's potential near unlimited… sadly, her overall attitude was dragging her down, as Lefiya herself had mentioned.

"I am afraid that's a 'you' problem," Tsubaki stated bluntly. She wasn't even being a bitch because Lefiya was a member of the Loki Familia, she was just saying the facts as they were.

"No need to remind me," she stated weakly, feeling a metaphorical arrow piercing her very soul after Tsubaki's whole statement.

"But I do need to," she went full Adventurer mode on this one. "I hate to break it to you, but you chose one of the lines of jobs with the biggest mortality rate in existence. Personally, I wouldn't care in the long run if it were only your life on the line." She fully stared at the Elf. "You are a fucking Mage, the literal last line in the party along the healers; everyone in front of you will die because you couldn't cast your spell properly." She blinked for a moment. "Or because the healers fucked up first, take your choice."

Lefiya paled, being reminded of how her role in the party didn't help her at all.

The Blacksmith sighed. "Seriously, what is it with every gifted person in this damn city having issues?" To be honest, between Lefiya and Welf; the Blacksmith was more annoyed at the latter seeing his deficiencies came from a family drama and stupid reasoning rather than the fear of dying.

"It is not so easy," Lefiya raised her voice a little; still not daring to look at Tsubaki. "I know many will be covering for me amid battle, but I still can't shake off the fear of an unseen outcome. Not to mention chanting is not so easy; they are long, I need to check my magic level to not blow up, and even mispronouncing a single word could be catastrophic."

The Elf made a good point, there were a lot of factors to have in mind when it came to magic… but the same could be said about any other role in a party regarding what they had to look out for.

However, she wasn't gonna say that to the Elf. This was supposed to be Riveria's… Loki Familia's job, after all.

'They can't be this bad at raising the new blood, right?' she pondered, leaving Ais' case aside seeing she was special.

"Bah," Tsubaki could ponder all she wanted, but it really didn't matter since the Elf wasn't part of her Familia. "Magic is easy." So she opted to be a bitch about it.

"… ah!?" for the first time, she could see the Elf showing something more than nervousness as her eye twitched and a tick mark appeared on her forehead. "Easy!?" she double-checked, wondering if the Half-Dwarf had listened to anything she had previously said.

"All you said sounds like a skill issue to me," Tsubaki shrugged. "I mean, I have never had an issue when using my magic."

Lefiya adopted a face that Tsubaki could not describe in words… as if her Elven brain was trying to compute what it had heard.

The Elf was sure that Tsubaki Collbrande didn't have a single ounce of magic to her name. Even if she was a First-Class Adventurer, there were cases in which some Adventurers didn't have a single Spell or stat related to it; such was Tsubaki's case, she was sure of it.

"You don't believe me," the Hephaestus Captain grinned. "Want proof of it?"

Lefiya didn't say anything, seeing as Tsubaki stood up properly before moving her cloak a little to reveal her waist… with a wand holster attached to it.

"That's… a metal wand?" she asked in a whisper; because it seemed as if the Blacksmith was mocking her.

Magic wands and rods needed a few things to make them such items; a magic core that catalyzed to strengthen the caster's spells and a material that could conduct said magic; metal was not one of those materials.

"What? Still don't believe me? Want me to demonstrate the spell I can do?" her smug smile never disappeared. "I warn you, it's a very deadly and silent spell~"

Lefiya could feel a drop of sweat running down the side of her face. "… I-" she felt stupid, even considering the idea that someone untrained in magic could pull a stunt such as this. But just as she was about to give her answer-

"Tsubaki Collbrande!"

Someone else arrived, someone far more predominant than her.

"Shaktiiii, how's my favorite bitch do- hey!" Tsubaki greeted the fellow Adventurer, only to be dragged by the neck by said person while several members of Ganesha Familia stood between them.

"Ah, Miss Collbrande!" Lefiya tried to follow them, but a red-haired Amazon stood in front of her along with the rest of her Familia.

"Sorry, but I am afraid this is a personal conversation between those two."

Lefiya's eyes widened, glancing past the Ganesha Adventurers to see Tsubaki and Shakti walking away.

Her Princess was not going to be happy.

"I appreciate the save and everything… but did you really have to drag me like that?"

"As if that did any damage to you." Shakti Varma deadpanned. "Tell me, what exactly are you, Soma's Captain, and those waitresses planning?"

Tsubaki played the fool. "Plan? What plan? I have no idea what-"

"Tsubaki," Shakti almost snarled. "I know enough of what has been happening in the city to know who's acting with who; don't play the fucking fool now."

Tsubaki turned serious, noticing the bags under her eyes. "Bitch, you are almost as stressed as I am."

"You have no idea," Shakti rested her face on her hand, letting out a sigh before staring back at Tsubaki.

"Before I tell you anything, I need to know whose side you are on." Tsubaki leveled her glare,

"Ganesha Familia has sworn to protect this city; it is only natural that our aid goes to the side that ensures that very goal." Despite being tired, Shakti managed to sound really regal with that statement.

"So, ours; cool."

Shakti's eye twitched at the Blacksmith's bluntness before Tsubaki and she came up to date with what was happening.

"You can't go with them," Shakti stated, referring to Lili's group.

"Oh, come on!" Tsubaki had been trying to get rid of the damn Elves for hours now. Seeing as Shakti had handed her a solid escape by playing the role of authority to Lefiya, she thought she was finally freeing them.

"You are clearly on their watchlist for a lot of reasons; even if they don't spot you through this whole thing, you will be even more suspicious in their eyes if you disappear…" Shakti stared, seeing the Blacksmith with crossed arms, tapping her feet over and over in exasperation. "I know you are worried. But think of this in the long term and how it might affect Drake after this matter has been solved."

"… tch."

Shakti held back popping a vein, seeing how the Adventurer in front of her clicked her tongue; agreeing with her reasoning, but not liking it one bit.

"… Fine, but I am partying with you then," Shakti internally sighed, somehow expecting this outcome. "There's only so much Elven antics I can tolerate for a day."

"I am pretty sure that that's just your Dwarven side speaking," Shakti prepared to leave only to be stopped by Tsubaki placing her hand on Shakti's shoulder.

"There's something else," the Blacksmith spoke seriously. "Just to warn you, Freya already knows my relationship with Drake."

Shakti tensed. "Are you absolutely sure of that?"

The Blacksmith recalled the time Drake and Tsubaki had come into the Dungeon to test her explosive sword and her thunder hammer, only for Hedin and Hogni to try and steal her first High-Frequency Blade. In the end, Guy -one of Drake's brothers- easily made fools of them both.

"I used Hedin as a fucking bench while someone made a work of Hogni; yes, I am sure of that."

Shakti groaned as she face palmed, only for her eyes to widen. "Wait, Freya knows about this, and yet-"

"None of the members of Freya Familia have spoken about the issue…"

"I know what you are asking yourself right now," Tsubaki cleared her throat. "Why would the most unstable woman in Orario keep shut about it?" she simply shrugged, having no idea what Freya's game in all of this was.

The bluenette groaned, rubbing the side of her head slightly as things just kept getting more complicated.

And she was sure things would only get worse the deeper they went into this; figuratively and literally.

"There's still no sign of Monsters."

"So we have noticed, Braver."

Hedin Selland commented, standing next to Finn Deinme, along with some other executives of both Familias.

They had left a large part of the group in Rivira, opting it would be safe to scout the state of the lower floors; no Monsters in sight as they reached the last floor of the Water City.

"No sign of our target either…" Hedin thought out loud, sending a subtle glare at the Braver, who stopped in his tracks in front of the massive waterfall to think; Lili and her party had been another group he hadn't seen, either.

"That just means he must be on the Lower Floors," he mildly scowled. "He's strong enough to reach that far." The Pallum thought out loud, almost in a whisper that only Hedin managed to hear.

"Of that, we are well aware."

Finn's mind snapped, slowly looking at Hedin; recalling the aftermath of the incident with the Hostess, when Liliruca Arde had boldly exclaimed Allen Fromel had lost to Drake in less than a minute.

"Hedin… now that there are so few of us; why don't we exchange information regarding the target?"

The Pallum could feel the air around him shift, seeing the High-Elf adjusting his glasses with a glare as Hogni bit his nails while Allen pretty much growled. Even Ottarl showed some reaction to the statement, flexing his fingers unconsciously at such a suggestion.

"Finn," the blonde raised his hand, indicating Riveria to stop. "We still lack information despite probably having the most reliable source on the subject," Bete rolled his eyes, knowing his Captain meant him. "It would be best to try and find out as much as possible about him and his brothers."

"Information is a two-way street, Braver." Hedin made his point. "And I honestly doubt you would know more than us."

The Elf's eye twitched as the Pallum smiled confidently.

'If you only knew…' Finn thought, not intending to reveal what they knew about the Centurions, or that Drake might have killed a God.

"Allen, I seem to recall someone mentioning how you fought against him; anything you might have noticed?"

The CatPerson simply turned around; Finn swore he could see Allen's face turn red with anger as he turned around.

"You are barking at the wrong tree, Braver. But I will be blunt with you," Hedin sighed, steeling his eyes as he stated the hard truth. "Except for Ottarl, every single one of us Executives of the Freya Familia have lost to either Drake or his group."

Riveria was taken aback by the statement while Finn simply remained neutral; already considering this outcome.

"The worst of all, the way in which each defeat was delivered was nothing but humiliating." Everyone could hear the grudge in Hedin's voice.

"You mentioned his brothers…Have you also engaged against them?"

Hedin literally gritted his teeth, recalling the event as if it were yesterday, giving Hogni the chance to answer instead.

"Our battle was a heated one; a blind Phoenix waved his heated winds with ease, not even acknowledging our presence."

Everyone raised an eyebrow.

"Be quiet, Hogni," The blonde Elf sighed. "The one brother we fought engaged us with his eyes closed, Braver." His distaste for the memory was very noticeable; recalling how the blonde named Guy had beaten him first before proceeding to Hogni.

"Surely, you are exaggerating." Riveria needed to double check.

"We wish." Both Elves belonging to the Freya Familia replied in sync.

"Besides that, Drake alone managed to beat the Gulliver brothers while being drunk of all things," he started to raise his voice while being grateful said Pallums stayed in Rivira. "Beat Allen in less than a minute!" Everyone ignored the growl coming from the person in question while Riveria and Finn found the sight of a proud Elf losing his composure.

"But that is nothing, compared to that thing!"And now it wasn't funny anymore.

"Thing?" Riveria asked, noticing how Hedin was holding his own throat… as if checking if he was wounded.

"After Allen's battle with Bete, we had no way of healing him from his frostbite wounds; leaving us no choice but to ask for Drake's help on the matter."

Riveria pondered, recalling how she and others had suffered from such wounds when fighting the Amphisbaena; possessed by a Centurion no less. And if her memory served her right, she recalled the one that had helped them with the issue had been-

"Yuri Lowell…" Hedin commented, making Riveria recall the so-called Third Guardian of Drake; the very same one that knocked out Ais when she tried to strike Drake. "To anyone else, it would look like he was your regular lazy bum… but I found myself on edge more than one time without noticing."

Allen gritted his teeth. "It was as if there was a fucking Monster in human clothes in the damn room."

"None of these things sound comforting," Finn stated seriously. "As a matter of fact, it doesn't look like Freya Familia is fit for the mission at hand." The Pallum started to play a dangerous game.

"Why you little shi-"

Hedin raised his hand, prompting Allen to stop. "And your Familia is in a better position?" Hedin narrowed his eyes, remaining surprisingly calm. "Your Familia has taken more losses than ours. And I can confidently say that even with Loga's new… Skill, you are still far from the group of people crazy enough to kill a Deity."

It didn't go unnoticed how Bete's sudden ice ability seemed too familiar to Ottarl, reminding him a little of the short confrontation he had with Drake during his first week in Orario.

"We are here on behalf of our Goddess, Deinme." Finn returned the stare Hedin was giving him. "But what about you? After all, it is well known that the Captain of Loki Familia is its very image. What other reason was there to raise this call of arms other than to save face?" Hedin lowered his head to Finn's level. "Or is it perhaps to only get rid of an active threat?"

Hedin stood properly, showing his back to Finn as he and the rest of his Familia left the Loki Executives behind.

Finn let the words fly over his head, re-evaluating the situation and the fact that they might not even stand a chance against Drake if it came to it; even with the aid of Freya Familia.

Even if Ottarl was with them, he wasn't sure how much things would be in their favor if more than one of his brothers was with Drake.

Things only looked somber the more time went by.

"Anything worth out of all that jabbering?"

Hedin didn't answer Allen right away, stopping for a second as he continued pondering the situation.

"If I had to take any guess, his whole reason for believing Drake is in the Dungeon relies solemnly on the Soma Captain and the waitresses of the Hostess coming down here to look for Drake."

On the other hand, they already knew for a fact he was indeed in the Dungeon because of reliable sources in the pub.

"He knows this could easily become a suicide mission, but he's still desperate to solve it; either to save face or because that blonde has become too much of an undefined variable to control; not to mention the effect he's having on one key member of Loki Familia."

The image of the Sword Princess came to mind for a brief moment.

"You didn't ask him about his Goddess," Ottarl commented for the first time.

"There was no need," Hedin countered, recalling overhearing a group of Deities talking when they had gathered at the Dungeon's entrance earlier that day; speaking of pains they had experienced the moment they saw the wanted poster. "I can already confirm every Deity had a similar experience… just like our Goddess."

They all scowled, recalling her Goddess expression when she had seen the damn sheet of paper. Her skin had turned pale, but her glare was completely different; as if that alone could freeze boiling water, with a predatory glare that could make any living individual kickstart their sense of danger… and that was putting mildly.

I feel as if someone had made a hole through my chest, and mercilessly crushed my very heart.

That had been the description their Goddess had given them.

"At this rate, we might as well follow the Pallum's fucking example and continue diving ourselves," Allen commented, talking about Liliruca Arde.

He hated to have to admit it, but his suggestion seemed to be the best course of action; not only to not be a part of Braver's chessboard, but to get a head start in finding their target first.

"Hmm…"

Hedin blinked, looking to the side to see Ottarl suddenly looking down at the Great Fall.

"Is something the matter?"

The Elf didn't get an answer right away, wondering if the Boars had gone into 'Meathead' mode, but it wasn't that.

Without realizing it, a gust of wind had come from below; strong enough to send a normal person off their feet, but also enough to force Hedin to get a hold of his glasses as he stared down.

"That's just great," The Elf commented sarcastically as the wind died down, he could already hear Braver far away giving orders.

"That was no normal gust of wind."

"I am aware, Ottarl." Hedin replied with a scowl, not in the mood to state the obvious; the wind carried the same feeling as the tornado that almost wiped out the city… and that was all the incentive Finn needed to continue going down.

"Did anyone take notes of what hit us?" Lunor commented, looking at the ceiling of the Dungeon as she lay on the ground; her hair was now a complete mess.

"Not really nya~" Chloe commented, sitting on the ground after being in the same position as her co-worker; her appearance was no better, and she was not happy about it.

They looked forward, noticing only Ryuu had managed to remain on her feet; her weapon stabbed in the ground for support with one hand, and one Liliruca Arde tucked under her other arm.

"Lili appreciates the help, Miss Ryu," she deadpanned. "But Lili would have somehow preferred being pushed back by the wind rather than being carried like a grocery bag."

"Deal with it," Lunor replied for the Elf, brushing her head to get the dust off her. "I am going to take it that wasn't just a coincidental gust of wind, right?."

Ryuu narrowed her eyes. "Not on these Floors," she put Lili down, walking forward as she compared the current gust to the ones assaulting the city.

The more they walked, the more they started to notice signs of a battle, a big struggle in fact; one that seemed to escalate the more they moved down in the Dungeon.

"What could have done this nya~?" The Black Cat pondered out loud, seeing marks of laceration… claws, in fact, all around the ground, walls, and ceilings of the Dungeon; none of them healing, and with a weird sort of trace of dark greenish energy on them.

"Ryuu… you are the one with a law enforcement background," Lunor eyed the Elf. "Any idea what might have happened here?"

Ryuu almost deadpanned. "And the former bounty hunter and assassin can't do that why exactly?"

Both waitresses shrugged, making Ryuu fight the urge to sigh as she looked around.

Back when Astrea Familia was still around, it was people like Kaguya or Lyra who did this kind of work; something they themselves had drilled into her just so they didn't have to in the future.

"… there were two people," she looked down, noticing the Dungeon also hadn't erased the footprints on the ground. "One seems to be a man, and the other one a Pallum… but the rest just doesn't add up."

The rest raised an eyebrow as Ryuu pondered further.

Both foot prints were heading in the same direction, there were no signs of engagement between the two. Rather, it looked more like both were running away… but there were no other signs of a third individual.

'The more the footprints go on, the more the damage on the Floor seems to expand…' she sighed. "Whoever these two are, they seem to be trying to escape from whatever did all of this damage; something that left no trace of ever being here."

That let Lunor scowl a little. "Spooky… just what kind of person or Monster would do this?"

"A harpy nya~"

Chloe earned some glares; yes, a harpy could fly, but there was no way it could do this kind of damage.

"Ryuu…" Lunor raised her voice, trembling a little. "Could it be the-"

"No, it was not the Juggernaut," Ryuu replied with a sense of tension as she recalled the damn Monster. "Its claws are bigger than the marks left here, not to mention it can't fly."

Lunor sighed, mentally blaming the Elf. Ryuu of all people had managed to fill her mind with the events that occurred when Astrea Familia fell; a Monster that could wipe out a Familia of Level Foursin an instant was something to be wary of.

"Something wrong nya~?" Ryuu blinked, noticing Chloe getting closer to Lili, who had been on a single knee as she looked at the bigger footprint.

"Lili recognizes this footprint," her eyes remained on them, examining the pattern left on the ground by the soles. "It is similar to one Boss and the others uses… but I can't exactly point out whose it is; other than I know it is not Boss's, Lord Flynn or Lord Guy."

Ryuu crouched next to her, noticing it was indeed like Lili said; like one of the 'Sneakers' Drake and the others used. "Yes… those three have a heavier and larger feet size than the rest… same can be said about Lloyd."

"That only leaves Zelos, Yuri, Luke, and Jude nya~."

"Discard Zelos," everyone looked at Lunor. "His footwear is a little more slim than the rest."

How did she of all people know this? Because she had shown interest in his shoes… only for Zelos to then laugh and say 'This cost more than a full year of salary in the Hostess, Sister'. She scowled at the memory, the fact that the redhead had clapped his fingers repeatedly didn't help her mood.

"… I think we should also discard Yuri nya~" the former Assassin thought out loud, recalling it seemed as if the guy didn't leave a single footprint where he walked. "Also, I can't imagine that guy not getting out of this with ease."

All of the waitresses deadpanned for a second, recalling how the long-haired man had covered for the whole kitchen staff with his mind-blowing speed.

"… it isn't Doctor Jude either, his are also not that big."

They could see that seeing he was the youngest… which only left-

"Luke," everyone groaned, despite the little interactions the waitress had with him, they could tell he was the most obnoxious one, even more than Zelos.

As for Lili… she still held a grudge for the Lion King/Simba incident.

Ryuu sighed in annoyance, standing out as she instructed them to continue.

"Worried?"

"You could say that," the Elf replied to Lili. "There's still no trace of Drake, so there's a chance he's deeper in the Dungeon, alone."

"Boss can take care of himself… We all know it… so Lili feels there's something else in Miss Ryuu's mind."

Ryuu curtly nodded after a moment. "For some time now, I have avoided asking about his brothers during multiple occasions out of respect… but I find it ridiculous even now only one of them has the audacity to help, or rather not being around when Drake needs them the most… I just find them unreliable."

This was not the first time they were supposed to be helping, only to not be around when they were needed the most.

Like when they invaded the Soma Familia HQ; Zelos wasn't with Drake when they reached Soma's office. Thankfully, nothing bad had happened… other than Drake getting drunk.

'Nope, not thinking about that now.' She mentally pushed the memory away, not wanting to be a blushing mess as she recalled that.

There was also the time with Bete, and then the one immediately after, with Adam. Flynn had appeared to help, in a great manner may she add. Only to then disappear with the excuse of going to help Drake, but he was then nowhere to be when the green-eyed blonde had reappeared.

"Now that you mention it… I just kind of stopped asking myself that kind of question." The former mercenary pondered out loud. "One moment you have Yuri with the table, and then all of a sudden Flynn's being denied access to the kitchen to cook."

"I know right nya~!" The Black Cat nodded in agreement. "It's super weird nya~"

Lili just listened, thinking about all the times such things had happened; one moment she was training with Doctor Jude before he had to leave, only for Lord Luke to arrive to complain about something. But… in all honesty… she really didn't care.

"Meh," everyone focused on her. "Nothing regarding Boss or the others exactly screams normal. Lili is sure there has to be a reason for such a behavior."

"I know that," Ryuu unconsciously put more pressure on her tone. "But despite whatever Noble rule is binding them, none of that should matter if their brother is in dire need of their help and support…" Despite how much of an asshole Drake was, it had taken her quite a while to recognize he always spoke of his brothers fondly despite how annoyed he claimed to be of them. "… I find them unreliable."

Lili mentally groaned, recognizing anger on behalf of another in the Elf's words. But despite everything, it didn't change the fact that no one -with the probable exception of Tsubaki Collbrande- knew all of Drake's circumstances.

"… one of the trails stops here. " The topic was abruptly brought back to their rescue mission, seeing the trails of who they thought was Luke ending abruptly… in front of a massive hole that led to the next Floor below.

Everyone stared with a deadpan, easily imagining the redhead falling into it abruptly.

"The other trail still continues on… although a little more erratically."

The trail before could be considered a straight-line mess; running ahead while avoiding wind attacks, but after that it was the complete opposite.

The Elf could easily notice how the Pallum that was accompanying Luke messily started to run in a Zig Zag pattern; it was clear he was in panic during those moments… until they found another hole.

There was a silent exchange, accompanied by a sigh of resignation from Lunor as she took hold of Lili; getting another deadpan from the Pallum as they jumped down onto the next Floor… even Ryuu's eyes widened as they saw the state of the Floor they landed on.

"Ryuu… mind explaining this… because I certainly can't." Chloe Rollo stated, dropping her cat antics out of the sheer shock at the destruction she was witnessing.

They were pretty much reaching the Floor of the White Palace now.

Every Floor before that consisted of close space trails that diverged through the whole length of the Floor Yet what they were witnessing was the complete opposite.

A wide open area consisting of destroyed walls riled with holes; some of them barely standing as most of their support structure was gone.

"… I can't," she replied, taking notice of the same dark windy energy lingering on destroyed parts of the area… also, there seemed to be Lightning all around the area.

For a moment, she thought it could be Drake, recalling his green Lightning… but these were not only green; it was a mixture of all colors, so she wasn't really sure.

"Ah!" Lunor suddenly jumped back, not realizing she was walking close to one of said charged areas before the Electricity tried to reach her. "Watch where you walk into, this damn Lightning almost seems alive and ready to strike."

The Pallum just stared, seeing the sparks dance around the area, erasing the wind energy on mere contact.

"There was a direct confrontation… that much is obvious. But besides that," Ryuu's eyes narrowed dangerously, looking at the ground as if trying to find something. "I can't find a single trace of whoever clashed here."

'… it's true,' Lili thought. Despite how much destruction was around them… for some reason, the floor was pristinely clean… leaving no trace of tracks. To make things even more confusing, there was more than one way around them, seeing there were multiple holes around the area, probably made during the fight.

"So, what now? Ini mini moe?" Lunor asked in exasperation, pinching the bridge between her eyes before noticing Chloe just standing still with her closed eyes; her ears twitched a bit by the second. "Hearing something?"

Chloe gave a puzzled look for a moment, pointing to a hole in the wall that seemed to go diagonally down. "I am not exactly sure what I am hearing, but it sounds familiar nya~" They all looked down, just as Ryuu closed her eyes to focus on her hearing alone; it was faint seeing how far it sounded, but after thinking on what Chloe said… it did sound familiar….

"… A tornado." Ryuu Lion pondered out loud, recalling the events of the previous days in which the city was almost wiped out by one such natural disaster. Despite the chaos and the screams of people in the pub, the recognizable sound of the disaster managed to unconsciously burn itself deep in her mind. "I am going first."

"Hold it," Lunor didn't waste a second in getting a firm hold on Ryuu's shoulder without looking at her; her voice sounded bland despite how much strength she was using to stop her. "I know you are not the most awkward person in this group alone, but a normal person would think things through for a moment at the thought of going down to meet a fricking tornado!" Lunor exclaimed, her voice gaining a higher tone as she spoke; giving Ryuu the impression that Lunor was addressing an idiot.

"Lili is determined" This time, it was Chloe who had to rush towards the Pallum; embracing her and lifting her off the ground before she could go down the hole.

"… She was about to do it, as well," Ryuu replied nonchalantly.

"Lili is younger, therefore stupid by fault-"

"Hey!"

"Besides, there's that whole damn skill that makes her say and do stupid shit," Lunor focused on Ryuu. "Last I heard, being an Elf was not a mental disability despite how much shit Drake talks about it.". Funny how she was claiming such things, and yet there was something cathartic about sermonizing Ryuu Lion of all people.

"There's no wind."

The former Bounty Hunter raised her eyebrow.

"Even if it is true that we hear something akin to a tornado down there, there is not a single ounce of wind coming out of this hole… if anything, by hearing along it feels more like a big empty space on the other side." Ryuu focused on the hole again.

Lunor sighed in exasperation. "That doesn't make me feel any safer."

Now it was Ryuu who deadpanned. "We are in the Dungeon; we are not meant to be safe."

"… Ok, fair." Lunor stared, just as Chloe finally let go of Lili before Ryuu prepared to jump down. "I just feel we are overlooking something important here."

"… So do I." The Brawler snapped at the Elf, just as she had jumped down the hole. "Wait! What!?" she shouted, just as she and Lili and Chloe jumped down.

Lunor gritted her teeth, cursing out loud as she jumped down as well; the back of her head itching as it tried to recall what was so important.

"This is fun nya~!" Chloe didn't help one bit on the matter as they continued to slide down, what a surprise.

Ryuu for her part couldn't help but narrow her eyes as she tried to remember what every single one of them seemed to overlook… but could come up with nothing in the end. But she did notice something else as they were going down. There were small traces of that multi-colored Lightning on the path, but not enough to hurt them… and there was one other thing.

"Is it just me, or is this taking too long nya~?" Chloe asked, not that she was complaining about it.

She was right though; Ryuu was sure they were now covering two Floors worth of travel down. The hole had been located on one of the outlines of the Floor they had previously been on, which meant this was probably leading to a territory outside of the Dungeon…

'That doesn't make sense…' she thought, recalling the intel Tsubaki had given them specified Drake's last location was in the Dungeon and that-

'… Ah…' Ryuu started to remember the meeting with Tsubaki at the Hostess… about how the Floor Drake and the rest had been blown up… along with the Floors above and below it.

'if anything, by hearing along it feels more like a big empty space on the other side." She recalled her previous words, almost as if mocking herself before they reached a long fall. And if their current expedition had proved something, it was that the Dungeon wasn't healing as it usually does; it was very improbable those Floors would be the exception.

"Curve!"

Lil's shout made her focus, indeed noticing a full one-eighty turn that would lead them back into Dungeon territory… and a probable long fall.

"Chloe!" Ryuu shouted, having taken the turn with ease as her mind tried to come up with a less-than-acceptable solution.

"Yes nya~!?"

"I will grab Lili as soon as I reach the end of this tunnel! You use your knives to stick to the wall and grab Lunor!"

Chloe's eyes widened, not fully understanding what was going on but did as told.

"What did the Elf say!?" Lunor shouted, not being able to hear her due to being the very last on the slide.

"To grab you when we reach the end nya~!"

Lunor's eyes widened, not understanding why Ryuu would ask for such a thing.

Lili on the other hand didn't seem worried by anything; it was either her skill kicking in…or she probably figured out they would soon reach a great fall and choose to stay quiet… Ryuu really couldn't tell.

Her eyes narrowed, seeing a dark pitch void by the end of the slide that made her legs tense as she took hold of her Alf Lumina as she reached the end. She moved to the side, quickly forcing her body to make a turn to stab her blade on the wall, and quickly extended her hand to take hold of Lili.

"Whoa!" Lili exclaimed, looking down at the big darkness below; no floor or solid ground to be seen.

Her attention was instantly taken by Chloe swiftly performing the same move as Ryuu before getting a hold of the opposite side of the exit with her daggers. Sadly, getting a hold of Lunor was not as easy as it was catching Lili.

"Oh shit!" Lunor exclaimed, sensing the lack of contact with her feet. Time seemed to have slowed down for her as she felt her body slowly moving down… "Ack!" Only to be brought back to normal falling speed as Chloe took hold of the back of Lunor's cloak, pulling her back and choking her in the process.

"Bi-*Couch*-tch"

Lunor cursed, trying to get a hold of the wall with her hands, leaving Ryuu to wonder if Lunor was cursing her or Chloe; the glare directed towards the Elf was all the answer Ryuu needed.

"In my defense, all of us had forgotten the state of these Floors."

Lunor had no care in growling at the Elf. "You are taking my shifts for next week!" the Brawler managed to state, soothing her throat with her free hand before looking down; regretting it in an instant seeing no ground whatsoever.

"Don't look at my ass nya~" Chloe shouted, fighting the urge of kicking Lunor in her face out of instinct.

"I am not looking down! Also, it is not like you have anything to stare at!"

Chloe actually looked down at Lunor with a murderous glare, willingly contemplating kicking her face; she was sure her friend wouldn't die from a three Floor drop.

"Miss Chloe is plain, fucking deal with it."

Chloe's pride took a critical hit, looking over at Lili; the Pallum starting to climb down without paying any mind to the former Assassin.

"You know… Lili might be right… that skill might actually kill her one-day nya~" Chloe said, in an almost dead tone, genuinely worried about the Pallum… at least a little.

"We are almost here," Ryuu thought out loud, soon following Lili as they carefully climbed down.

They continued going down, to the point even Lili and Lunor could now hear the sound like a tornado the others had heard before… and it was becoming loud… and yet there were no violent gusts of wind to be felt at all .

"The wall seems to be burnt more as we continue to head down,"

"We have probably reached the Floor where the explosion took place; it's natural it would be in a worse state," Ryuu commented to Lunor, noticing it was in no state for claiming whatsoever. "Everyone, be careful with your grip…"

Lunor looked to the side, noticing Ryuu had suddenly stopped… along with Chloe.

"… Do you hear something?" The Brawler asked, noticing the cat's ears were twitching ever so slightly.

"Voices nya~" the cat stated, fighting the urge not to look down out of instinct as Ryuu's ears caught another distinguishable sound… flapping winds.

"Something's coming." The Elf tensed, looking down as she soon spotted a medium-sized figure flying out of the darkness, a gray reptile-like creature with stone-like skin; a Gargoyle.

"Careful!" she narrowed her eyes, seeing the Monster flying in stand-by observing them. "It's gonna charge, so be ready to jump to the side when it does, Lili!"

The Pallum's eyes widened. "Why is Miss Ryuu assuming it's gonna charge Lili!?"

Surprisingly, the Gargoyle had yet to charge… Instead, what Ryuu's and Chloe's ears caught was nothing but a mocking laugh.

"… Did it just snort nya~?"

No one answered her back, seeing as the Gargoyle beat them all up by releasing a roar… followed by three circular red Glyphs that formed in the air.

"Hey…" Lunor unconsciously said as the Glyphs started to glow. "Is that Monster casting fucking magic?"

Three [Fireballs] were shot at them.

"Duck!"

Lunor and Chloe didn't waste a second in acting, making a side jump before getting a grip on the wall.

Ryuu in the meantime had been forced to take hold of Lili once more before doing the same, barely making it on time as the spot they had clung to was destroyed half a moment later.

"We are in no condition to fight!"

That was an understatement.

They had no solid ground, no long-distance attacks, and therefore no way to reach the flying gargoyle, and to make things worse the walls they were clinging to were in no state to withstand a fight.

"Damn it!" Lunor shouted, quickly noticing how the side she and Chloe were getting a hold of started to crumble. "Move! Move!"

"I am moving damn it!" Chloe commented with some panic in her tone, moving like a spider as the walls crumbled.

"It's locking on us!"

Lili and Ryuu were not faring any better, seeing the Monster continued to stare at them from a safe distance; firing [Fireballs] at them, too.

The Pallum knew she was the very reason they were being targeted, as because of her lack of strength Miss Ryuu was being forced to keep her safe… and Lili was conscious of this.

"Miss Ryuu…" Lili started, staring at the Gargoyle… or more accurately the distance between them. "Throw me at it."

"… Huh!?" Ryuu looked perplexed at the Pallum under her arm, losing her sense of danger for a mere second before she was forced to move due to another magic attack. "Are you mental!?"

"We don't have many options at the moment!" Lili shouted back, just as the Elf continued avoiding attack after attack while also keeping her attention on the Pallum. "Miss Ryuu should be able to throw me at it with her strength; reaching it is possible!"

The Elf's train of thought races, letting her body instinctively move to avoid the attacks; barely able to get a proper hold on the damaged walls the more she moved.

"Don't haunt me for this if you fail." Ryuu thought out loud, eyeing the Gargoyle and waiting for it to cast another [Fireball]. "Get ready."

Lili nodded, seeing the Monster cast another [Fireball] at them.

Ryuu Lion jumped to the side, using her momentum to spin around and gain enough strength to throw Lili at the Monster.

The Pallum flew forward, taking a couple of knives out of her cloak to stab the Monster and hopefully force it to fly for her. Her eyes narrowed, raising her weapons as it finally was at arm's length… only for the Gargoyle to stop flapping its wings, dropping on the last moment as Lili flew over it.

"Not happening runt."

Lili's eyes widened, managing to turn her body around as she fell. "Did the Gargoyle just taaaaaaaaaaaa-!"

Her voice echoed as she fell into the void, not hearing the screams of the others calling her name… surprisingly enough, she wasn't afraid. But this was only because she had set her Determination to be calm as she fell… sadly, that wasn't gonna stop the impact with the ground.

If anything, she considered the whole feeling to be weird; alas, none of the things that had been going on made sense to her anyway, so she decided to just roll with it… funny where that brought her.

In the end, the only thing Liliruca Arde could do was the most logical thing of all… blaming the Elf for throwing her too high. "Miss Ryuu! You suck!" she screamed from the top of her lungs, finally seeing the Floor that would be her end. She stared, not blinking at all as her eyes stared at what would bring her death… only to abruptly stop at the very end; her nose barely making contact with the ground.

"What the shit!?" A voice she didn't recognize spoke in clear annoyance. "Why wasn't she splat on the ground!?"

Her eye twitched, thinking that the owner of the voice was beyond rude.

"Huh… shouldn't you be keeping an eye on that thing… no insult intended." the voice asked, just the Pallum was gently put on the ground as the calm and gentle wind holding her disappeared.

"Even now, I am making sure it doesn't expand more than it has."

Her eyes widened, recognizing the new voice as she stood up; instantly running without looking to embrace him. "Doctor Jude!"

"Hey Lili…" she looked at him, noticing the tiredness in his voice; he was wearing a black cloak, one long enough which covering all of his body. But despite the lack of visibility, she could tell his pale complexion apart. "As much as I would like to say it is good to see you… your presence here means something happened on the surface."

The Pallum simply nodded, making the young Doctor sigh as he pinched the bridge between his eyes. "Lett."

"Sup?"

Lili looked to the side, seeing a person about her same height; completely covered in a cloak from top to bottom.

"Tell Gross to stop; they are on our side."

Lett groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "Do we have to? That damn Gargoyle has been eager for something to do for months."

Jude only looked in his direction, giving a blind stare that made the disguised Goblin feel uncomfortable.

Lett looked up, making Lili notice there had been explosions happening above.

He released a loud whistle, making the noise up there subsequently stop.

"Done… now what?" Lett asked, just as the Pallum saw the Gargoyle flying at them, swiftly landing next to Lett while Jude simply raised his hand.

"Doctor Jude?"

"Give him time," Lett said to Lili, seeing how the Doctor just stood there with his hand raised, noticing now that his Tattoo of the number seven had been shining brightly for a while now.

"Kyyyyya!"

Lili snapped, looking up in the direction of the clear shout which escaped Lunor's lips.

"It's got me! I don't know what but it got me! Help!"

And she wasn't the only one.

"We are falling Nyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaa~"

Lili could soon see how all three of her companions came to view; two of them shouting with closed eyes while the Elf of the group just threw a bland glare as it seemed all of them had been grabbed by their leg… making them descend as if they were hanging upside down.

"I think that's far enough, Doctor Jude," Lili said blandly. "I am pretty sure they are not gonna die from a fall of that height."

"We heard that!/ We heard that nya~!"

Sadly, Jude didn't have it in him to pull such a move.

"Oh thank the Gods." Lunor praised, kissing the ground along with Chloe, only to instantly be on guard as they noticed the Gargoyle staring at them… unimpressed.

"Gargoyle!"

Both Lunor and Chloe readied their weapons, only for Jude to step between them. "They are not the enemy here… for now."

Ryuu Lion just stared, mainly at Lett, who waved at her. "Elf." She narrowed her eyes at his greetings, focusing on Jude for an explanation… or rather, for the reason they were all here in the first place.

"Where's Drake?"

Jude gave a tired sigh, making Ryuu take notice of his pale complexion. "Occupied, and not taking any visits at the moment." He replied, unconsciously looking at a large entrance close by as he said that. "Now…" he looked at the group, placing a serious glare on all of them. "I am sure all of you have your inquiries, as do I. And as much as I would love to ask what the situation is on the surface… I am afraid there's another situation of far greater importance," he looked up and narrowed his covered eyes. "I take it the large group of Adventurers coming this way aren't with you, correct?"

"What exactly are we facing, Braver?" a silver-haired maiden asked, noticing the damage left behind from a fight that took place on a floor she -Dia Saint- had never reached in her lifetime. Even if she was surrounded by many Adventurers, First Class among them, she couldn't help but feel the whole situation was ominous; somehow ironic seeing they had yet to face a single Monster since they entered the Dungeon. "Are we to assume this is also related to the supposed culprit?"

"I wouldn't like to assume, seeing it is hard to read what exactly happened here," Finn stated, giving instructions to those on the back to be careful of the hole on the ground and to not touch the green energy visible on some of the damaged parts of the floor. "But it does seem like he might not be alone." He said, recalling the tracks they had found earlier.

"Are you nervous, Miss Teasanare?" he asked, smiling at her as they continued.

It wasn't wise for the support, especially the most important one of them all to have second doubts in battle, so Finn had to make sure she and everyone weren't feeling down in any way.

"Just doubtful." She stated plainly. "I am a Healer, not a tracker. I can't even start to imagine what could have caused this level of damage, or if it is even related to who we are looking for or what is going on in the city; so I don't think I have the right to think about it."

Finn simply continued walking forward, completely ignoring the fact that he was being called out for his decisions once more… even though it was in a subtle way.

The group had been reduced greatly, having considered that the outburst of wind might have been some kind of fluke.

Around three-fourths of the whole party had stayed in Rivira, leaving only those who could be considered vital for the overall effectiveness of the incursion to come down.

This of course didn't include Ais, leaving her under the watch of such like the Amazon sisters.

"I wouldn't say this is nothing, Miss Teasanare," Hedin Selland stated as he eyed the green energy warily. "That is without a doubt something one doesn't see in these parts of the Dungeon, or anywhere even we have been for that matter," The Freya Executive recalled going deeper than this in the Dungeon in previous expeditions. "Its violent wind-like nature may indicate it is indeed related with what's going on in the city."

"I am afraid that doesn't make me feel any better," Airmid stated stoically.

"It wasn't meant to."

Finn mentally sighed, feeling the tension between all the Executives of various Familias; some didn't get along with one another, and others couldn't help but be intimidated by the bigger one… then again, Ottarl's presence didn't help much in this case.

But there was another worrying matter in his mind now… he was not sure if it was Drake they were chasing anymore. The Pallum recalled the incident with Bete, seeing the blonde fight with the blade and his martial prowess… none of the damage here pointed at anything of what he had seen that day.

"I can't help but wonder though… how long before this peaceful venture ends? We might even break a few records if this keeps going."

Surprisingly, Hedin's words got some snort out of everyone… but those who thought ahead rather than dive into action knew this was a warning. Not a single Monster has spawned to fight them as the Dungeon would normally do, which went against everything this hellish place stood for. Those who were more experienced in the matter couldn't help but start feeling a little paranoid about the moment the Dungeon would return to its usual behavior.

"Let's hope we don't find any surprises then," The Pallum couldn't help but think out loud as he moved down the stairs to the next Floor… only to notice the path abruptly ended.

"… You had to say that."

Gareth wasn't being of any help, seeing as everyone in the front looked over the edge.

"The Floor…it's gone."

Hedin adjusted his glasses. "Great observation skills, Ottarl," the sarcasm was lost to none. "… More than one Floor by the looks of it."

Riveria narrowed her eyes, having reached the same assessment. "And once again, the Dungeon isn't even healing this kind of damage."

"… Someone's down there," everyone looked at Allen, making more than one person look over at the seemingly bottomless pit. "You are not gonna be able to see shit in this darkness, idiots!"

"He didn't see…" Riveria closed her eyes, her High-Elven ears twitching ever so slightly. "I hear them… it is faint, but there's definitely more than one person down there."

"… so, who's jumping first, then?"

Everyone looked at who could be considered the most unhinged person in Orario.

"Not everyone shares your thrill for the extreme, lass," Gareth commented, looking over at Tsubaki while Shakti Varma face palmed.

"I will go first."

The Dwarf snorted, seeing there was indeed someone mad enough actually to do it.

"Stand back, Ottarl," Hedin was really trying his best to hide the annoyance in his voice. "Even if you are indeed the strongest, I am sure there's a limit to falling damage that even you won't be able to handle without injury."

"We are just wasting time, then," and there was the guy whose opinions were anything but helpful.

"I don't see you giving any ideas, brat." Tsubaki didn't bother to hide her dislike for the Apollo Captain.

"Why should I?" Hyakinthos snorted. "I am but one of many in this Expedition, which neither my Familia nor I let. Therefore, if any obstacles or problems can't be solved, the fault would rest solely on the expedition's leader."

Finn didn't even humor the Level Three Adventurer, focusing on how to keep going… others however just wanted to keep throwing more wood into the fire.

"I hope you realize you just verbally threw every single bit of worth to your name away." Gareth deadpanned.

"I mean, has he ever done anything worth his name other than being Apollo's favorite?" Tsubaki was of course among the previously mentioned list. "Other than being on the receiving end of Apollo's backshot, what is this guy good for?"

Even Finn had to break out of his concentration for that one, wincing a little at the obvious call-out.

"How dare you mock the love that my God bestowed upon me!"

Hyakinthos really wasn't helping his case here.

"If you are so desperate for ideas, why not throw something worthless into the void, see how deep the hole goes?" the Adventurer replied with a snarl, being ignored by everyone as if he was throwing a tantrum… all, but one.

"… I actually like the sound of that," Tsubaki thought out loud, going straight towards Hyakinthos, making the Adventurer instinctively give a backward step before his eyes widened; he was standing on the edge of the hole.

"Careful!" Airmid exclaimed, seeing how the brunette started to fall backward, only to be instantly dragged back and tossed against a nearby wall by Tsubaki.

"Are you trying to kill me, Cyclops!?" The Adventurer coughed, seeing the Adventurer no longer paying attention to him, instead now focusing on a weapon in her hand… his weapon. "That's mine!" he looked down at his waist, noticing one of his blades had been pulled out of his scabbard. "What are you doing!?"

"Following your advice, throwing something worthless into the void… " she eyed the weapon for a moment before looking back at its owner. "This is cheap, by the way." A moment later she threw the weapon down uncaringly. "Ok, long and furry ears, ear up."

"Fuck you," Allen growled lowly but still closed his eyes to focus on his hearing, as did all of those with enhanced hearing.

"… Three floors," Hedin concluded, to which Riveria and others agreed with the conclusion. "Ottarl will indeed be able to take the fall, as will some others…" he looked at the others, Dia Saint among them. "Others might need to climb down or to be carried."

"I will be heading down, then," The King stated bluntly, stepping through all the rest before stopping at the edge…not moving an inch.

"… having second thoughts, your highness?" Tsubaki's tease went to all ears but his, raising the tension as the strongest Adventurer went for the handle of one his blades.

"Something's co-"

He never finished the sentence, seeing as a massive gust of wind invaded the small path they stood.

"Everyone, get a hold of something!"

Someone shouted, but nobody knew who exactly seeing the current was so strong, almost everyone was forced to close their eyes, not realizing they were no longer standing on solid ground… however, they were not exactly falling.

"… Have the Gods granted us mercy with winds?"

Hedin scowled. "Be quiet, Hogni." His eyes looked below, they were not falling, they were levitating down by the grace of the very wind that had pushed him into the hole.

"Can anybody move?" Finn asked, tension noticeable in his voice as he could only move his head around and nothing more.

"Nope," The Captain of the Hephaestus Familia declared nonchalantly with crossed arms as everyone else struggled, only to give up as they finally spotted the floor below… along with someone else.

"You," Bete whispered unconsciously, seeing a person he was somewhat familiar with standing below.

"Me," Jude Lowell snapped his fingers, dissipating the air as everyone landed on their feet. "My apologies, but I was getting tired of waiting down here while you were discussing."

Braver looked at him for a second before looking at the others, before seeming to be okay.

"Careful where you step in."

Jude's voice made the Pallum focus on his words.

Riveria raised an eyebrow before looking down. "You can't be serious." Nine-Hells couldn't help but mutter, seeing a visible line traced on the ground.

"You can try to walk past if you want, I am sure more than one of my brothers would love it; however I personally would like to avoid any kind of unnecessary conflict."

Finn looked forward, focusing on the Guardian at the other side of the line. "Jude, was it?"

"Deinme," Jude gave a curt nod. "Our search party wasn't really able to completely fill me in, but I get the gist of why all of you are here."

The Pallum narrowed his eyes, looking past Jude to see Lili and her group at the far back… along with who Finn guessed was the hooded Lett and… a Gargoyle?

"Then you know your brother is in a dire-"

"You can skip the sermon, I am really not in the mood for this." Jude interrupted, delivering a heavy tired sigh. "So, I am gonna save all of us the time and just say this in the nicest way possible; turn around, because only death awaits you past this point."

The most ominous thing about all of it was that Jude sounded completely sincere on his last statement, with no sarcasm or trace of arrogance in his tone.

"Is that a fucking-" Allen tried to walk forward.

"Wait," Bete of all people shouted, seeing Allen stepping past the line, only to be instantly pushed far back as if a fist made of wind had sucker punched him.

"Does anyone else want to give it a try?" The blind Guardian asked, a hint of annoyance hidden deeply in his voice.

Hedin eyes darted to the person leading this little group, seeing a tense expression on the person who would fake-smile his way through anything. However, this was not the case this time around; Freya Familia as a whole already knew the bad blood there between these two groups.

Anyone else would be waiting in anticipation for him to give the order to attack with the mentality their obstacle was only one person. But Finn was being cautious… just like Hedin himself was in this very moment.

The High-Elf mentally sighed, seeing it was up to him to lead this whole mess somewhere.

"If I may, Doctor," Jude's ears perked a little, turning his head towards Hedin. "This party was formed with the intention of stopping the one responsible for a Tornado that almost wiped out the city. We have reasons to believe that one of your brothers might be responsible for it. However, if you have any proof on the matter we will listen to the statement regarding the situation at hand."

Despite the disdain he harbored for most of Drake's group and the fear he might have towards Yuri; Hedin knew all of them were reasonable individuals if his judgment of character was anything to go by.

Jude didn't say anything for a moment, it almost looked like he was deep in thought seeing the lower part of his face twitch from time to time… as if he was talking to someone else.

"… A few days ago, we received a tip of a very dangerous individual being present in the Dungeon; this person had acquired a very dangerous ability to affect the flow of wind in the Mortal World."

"Are we really listening to this blind mutt!?" Hedin and Finn mentally groaned, looking at Hyakinthos making a scene. "This person is claiming someone from the mortal plane had managed to attain something akin to a Divine Artifact! Do you even know how bizarre that sounds!?"

Finn, nor anyone present from the Loki Familia said anything… because that had already happened before.

This confirmed it, someone had managed to obtain one of those Centurions.

"Hey," Hyakinthos turned to Bete, freezing on the spot as he met a pair of icy-blue glowing eyes at him. "Open your fucking mouth one more time and I will make sure your God is gonna need to use another different hole in your body."

The Adventurer was taken back, instantly freezing on the spot as he felt a cold air invading his throat.

"If what you say is true," Finn took the stage. "Then allow us to aid."

Jude's ears twitched again, showing a less passive expression to take shape after staring for a bit. "My apologies, but I can tell by personal experience that people who say that are the ones who make the situation worse in the end." He started to tap his feet on the ground, any kind of animosity he had shown disappeared in an instant. "But if you are so insistent on this then I will remain here as your personal gatekeeper as long as it takes."

Everyone, even Ottarl, seemed to feel a slight pressure on their shoulder.

But stubbornness was a trait every Mortal being had by default, especially when it was accompanied by ignorance.

"Are you sure you can keep up with that statement?" Hedin cursed, seeing the last person he wanted to step up just did that; his Princess. "Whatever it is you are doing with the wind that barrier that is keeping us from walking past you would need a considerable amount of Mind; it would be a matter of time before you-"

"Pass out?" The Faunus interrupted Riveria. "Despite the situation, I am fairly confident in my reserves to hold almost every single one of you here," he stared at Ottarl's direction for a moment. "And even if such a thing did come to pass, I have more than enough Determination to neutralize you."

Riveria scowled while Finn just continued where she left off "We had the idea that you were a pacifist; looks to me like it is easier to preach something rather than practice it."

"Well shit; she pressed the trigger button." Tsubaki almost yelped in surprise, having forgotten she had the small communication device in her ear.

"How the fuck are you talking to me right now? Didn't you say there was something blocking the signal around these floors or something." The Blacksmith whispered as low as possible, stepping into the very back of the area they were in, walking past a knocked-out Allen in the process.

"Didn't Drake mention your Scroll was military issued? The reinforcement is so big it was able to resist the jamming." Rita commented as Tsubaki tried to act as natural as possible.

"Ah… he did mention something like that, but I thought he meant it as in 'It is so sturdy you are not gonna break it by accident, you bitch.' Or something like that."

She heard Rita snort. "With your oaf hands, I can see that happening."

The Blacksmith's eye twitched. "Bitch, my hands are pristine," her gaze narrowed. "Also, what did you mean by trigger button?"

Everyone had a breaking point, or something they didn't tolerate for some reason or another.

Drake and the others were no exception; even the most chilled ones like Guy or Flynn had something that would anger them in such matters.

And in this situation, being ignorant was something Jude didn't tolerate when it came to this.

"It seems you are greatly confused about something," the voice of the youngest carried a certain tone of patience in it as if he was addressing a small child of all things. "Tell me, High-Elf. What exactly is pacifism in your book?"

Riveria wasn't sure what to say; by definition, the image of a pacifist was an individual who avoided conflict at all risk. But she was addressing the person who had knocked out Bete with a single kick; is that what a pacifist person would do?

"To preach for peace," her eyes widened, looking to the side at the person a few feet away; Dia Saint, Airmid Teasanare. "A neutral individual that under no circumstances would consider any type of conflict to reach a solution."

She eyed Hedin for a moment. "Mister Selland had called you a Doctor, is that correct?"

Jude nodded, honestly curious as to where this was heading.

She was a Healer, the best of the city according to the words of some; she used Magic to heal as many people as she could.

But even so, in her desire to improve herself, she had tried to research on her own since she was little. Sadly, the knowledge in the study of diseases, the mortal body, and such things were incredibly limited in this world.

As a matter of fact, the number of professions in this world that focused on those areas were either a Healer or an Apothecary.

But once upon a time, she had asked her God if he could share some of his wisdom. He didn't outright push her away, saying that the study of medicine was something not many could apply themselves to, saying only a few were only able to become true Doctors. He claimed she had a gift in healing magic, and that she should focus solemnly on that seeing it was better and had fewer risks for aiding someone.

But even so, deep down she could never shake away the idea of such a profession; whether it was out of pride, the desire to help, or something else, Airmid could never get over the idea.

"From what little I know; Doctors are meant to take an oath to respect every and all life. How can then someone who has achieved the epitome of medicine disregard it so easily?"

Surprisingly, Jude sighed. "I am honestly surprised and happy those concepts seem to exist here; even though the knowledge in the area is close to inexistent." He pointed at his bandaged eyes. "My license… my permit to operate as a Doctor was lost along with my eyes; nobody in their right mind would let someone without sight operate on a living being." He smiled. "But you are right, Miss Healer; we do take an oath in that regard. However, there's a weird paradox when it comes to respecting life."

Not all lives are equal, that was a cruel reality… just like being a pacifist doesn't mean being on stand-by regardless of what was around then.

"Pacifism is not the act of averting violence to enable more of it. It is to act to prevent more lives from being lost; even if it means taking drastic actions… just like right now."

His voice carried an edge once more.

"You really believe we won't be capable of facing what is ahead, do you?"

"I know so," he replied to Hedin, unconsciously touching the piece of clothing covering his eyes. "So I will repeat this for the third and last time; turn around and leave, otherwise you will face a fate worse than death."

Finn clenched his fists, the idea of an inevitable defeat taking the lead in his head.

To make things worse he could feel many of the Adventurers of minor Familias around him having second thoughts. Freya Familia, who seemed to be his only hope, seemed to be in consideration as well, expecting someone like Ottarl would step up…. But he didn't… they clearly had their own agenda on this matter.

"This is completely and utterly ridiculous!"

His head snapped to the side, cursing luck as he watched Hyakinthos walking to the front line, completely ignoring Bete's warning.

"I am not going to take orders from a damn cripple!" he pointed at Jude. "Even if that barrier is strong enough to hold us back, it is just like Nine-Hells mentioned; it is only a matter of time before you are out of Mind, it is only a matter of patience!"

Jude sighed, tiredly. "If you want to die so much…" he stared straight at the Adventurer. "Why don't you just kill yourself, then?"

'... that was definitely a Drake move.' Tsubaki thought as everyone was taken aback by the sudden change of demeanor.

"Seeing you are so adamant about this, want to give it a try?"

Jude hated this, he truly did.

But he had no other choice in this matter, neither he nor the rest had the luxury of wasting energy at the moment.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the Adventurer asked, instinctively going for the handle of his sword after retrieving it.

"You insist on taking me on," he snapped his fingers, erasing the line that had been separating him. "I am giving you the chance to do so…"

The Adventurer tensed, looking back at everyone to see hesitation and anticipation on their faces. His eyes landed on Braver and to his surprise, he of all people shook his head slightly.

The simple action made Hyakinthos snort, thinking that the Pallum had fallen for the cripple's lies.

He would do it, he would face the deceiver and claim the glory for his God in the process… but that didn't mean he was an idiot.

A mastery of the winds such as this was no joke. If it wasn't because Braver was sure the culprit of what happened in the city was another person, he would have thought the blind mutt was the real mastermind behind all of this.

"Do you think me a fool!? If this is a duel then that would entail there's no Magic allowed in it, do you accept such terms!?"

Unironically, Jude simply rubbed the side of his head. "I thought that much was obvious."

Hyakinthos eye twitched as he unsheathed both of his weapons; not wasting a single second in using the area to his advantage.

"Are we really gonna let this happen?" Riveria asked in a low voice, seeing the Apollo Captain moving all the way around Jude at the maximum speed a Level Three could attain.

Finn didn't say anything, forcing himself to just observe. Despite how prideful he acted Hyakinthos was a Captain for a reason, having at least enough intelligence to consider all possibilities.

Just like Finn, he most likely concluded Jude had some kind of skill that allowed him to see despite his blindness; most probably one that depended on sound.

So he ran in circles around Jude, changing the interval of his steps, doing leaps, all in order to disorient him before landing a decisive strike.

Finn eyed Bete, looking at the scene almost in a trance; the knowledge he had most likely told him just how this fight would end.

"He's done for," Bete muttered just as the Adventurer leaped high in the air from Jude's side, expecting the blind Werewolf wasn't able to keep track of him.

"!" Finn along with everyone else watched with widened eyes as Jude turned to stare straight at him, with more than enough time to avoid the hit… but still decided to just remain in place as the blade approached.

Hyakinthos grinned, thinking his plan had worked and Jude looking at him was just a coincidence that his adversary had looked in his direction.

"I hope you had a pleasant life," His eyes widened as Jude spoke directly at him, just as the blade was about to pierce him while the Guardian did a last-second backstep.

He couldn't avoid the attack, not with how little space there was between his blade and his target… then why? Why was it that he was no longer in front of him?!

It had been in a fraction of a second that it took Jude to disappear and appear in front of the Adventurer.

His eyes widened, landing on the ground before quickly turning around out of instinct… the last thing Hyakinthos saw was his vision snapping up as he became airborne, barely noticing a red droplet or black blur descending on his head as an indescribable sound rang in his ears before his world turned black.

It had been a clean execution.

From Hyakinthos' point of view, Jude had disappeared at the very last second… but for everyone else with enough stats it had been completely different.

Jude had backstepped at the last moment, most likely to take advantage of his opponent's vision being centered on a single spot up close before appearing behind the Adventurer, then flipping himself upwards; executing a precise kick that tore Hyakinthos' jaw as it was surrounded by green energy, only to then perform an ax kick that smashed his skull, the sound of its shattering echoing through the whole area.

"Let me through!" Dia Saint shouted, rushing towards the fallen Adventurer along with members of each Familia.

Her eyes widened, and her hand covered her mouth as she flinched; the lower part of his face was completely gone, while his skull seemed to be completely crushed.

"He's still breathing!"

The shout of an Adventurer brought her back to reality, quickly fell on her knees to work her magic; even if he could not save his jaw, the rest could still be healed.

"You are wasting your time," Jude said, standing a few feet away from the group. "I hit him soft enough to not kill him, but hard enough to cause permanent trauma in his brain."

"Even so, my magic-"

"Can heal him? Physically, yes. Mentally, no." her eyes never let the wounded Adventurer, but she still focused on his words. "Along with the heart, the brain is the other most important organ in the body; charged with every movement and activity the body performs. If the brain were to suffer any sort of trauma, all body functions would be compromised to the point he would not even be able to twitch a finger… Medics call this state vegetative state, more rudely known as being brain dead."

"… A fate worse than death," Airmid concluded, pale as she continued on healing Hyakinthos. "Was all of this really necessary?"

The Faunus frowned, hearing a hint of criticism in her tone. "I don't know…" he went for the bandana covering his eyes, revealing his scarred eyes. "You tell me."

She was rendered speechless, along with every single person in the area. "That's… a divine wound."

This was nothing new, for Finn or any of the present members of his Familia. But to actually see it… and feel it, it was completely different.

The corners around his eyes were completely burned… almost crisped. He also seemed to have small cracks that leaked a sort of white Divine energy… and in the center… there was nothing more than a white void that seemed to stare at everyone present, giving a feeling of unease unlike any other sensation imaginable.

"What lies beyond this point is something that is capable of inflicting those kinds of injuries," he gently brushed his fingers close to his eyes, flinching a little at the mere contact of it. "It scares not only the body, but also the soul; I remained dead for five solid minutes before I was brought back thanks to some divine intervention on my side… and even so, not everything could be saved."

He looked down at Hyakinthos. "I won't throw any excuses… but in the most twisted sense, this is the kindest death that could befall him… having said that." He started walking forward, standing in front of a single Pallum.

"Are you satisfied with my reasoning, Dim?"

Finn looked down, not in anger at the call of his real name nor in humiliation, but because he truly could not look Jude straight in the eyes, not with that Divine wound present. It was as if an invisible pressure was forcing him… forcing everyone present to look down.

*SNAP*

His eyes widened as he heard the snap of his fingers, only to then hear a sudden burst of wind behind them.

"That will propel you back to the floor you were at, it will fade after a while, make haste," Jude commented, seeing a circle of wind at the very back of the zone.

Nobody said anything as every minor Familia followed suit with hesitating looks; all desire to continue with this seemed to fade after revealing his eyes… had Jude known that earlier he would have done so from the beginning.

"… Loga," Bete stood frozen for a moment, as almost the whole group had completely retreated. Jude didn't say anything, seeing the Werewolf turn around to look him straight in the eyes… somehow being the only one capable of doing it. "… Don't force it, you will die from the inside otherwise."

Bete just stared for a moment as he looked at Jude's retreating form.

"Can we assume you and your own will get this under control?"

Jude stopped, looking at his bandana before covering his eyes with it as he addressed Hedin. "I am afraid the person who has the answer to that is occupied at the moment."

Hedin fought the urge to sigh. "That doesn't sound so reassuring."

"Such is life."

"Indeed… " Hedin turned around along with Hogni, heading toward the still-unconscious Allen.

"Anything else I can do for you, Ottarl?" Jude asked, seeing the only member of Freya Familia that remained.

"I am curious, are you completely certain not even I will be able to deal with what's ahead?"

Jude sighed.

There was no arrogance or pride in his voice, it almost sounded as if he wanted to proceed just to challenge himself.

"Are you willing to face me, as well?"

It was the certainty in Jude's statement that made Ottarl believe in his words.

Tsubaki Collbrande scowled with crossed arms, seeing Adventurer after Adventurer enter the circle of wind before being sent up.

She wanted to approach Jude and ask him what the situation was.

But she still needed to keep appearances, something Shakti was adamant about making sure she followed said plan.

"Is something the matter?" Riveria asked being among the last Adventurers that remained.

Tsubaki really didn't care in answering, not even looking at Finn's pensive expression; clearly hating the development he had forced himself into.

"She's still worried over her friend," Shakti came to her defense, keeping up with the excuse Tsubaki had given everyone.

"Seeing the recent development it is impossible for your friend to have walked past this point." Riveria's logic was solid. "He probably managed to return to Rivira during this whole mess."

Tsubaki still seemed unfazed, looking straight at Jude standing on the other side of the area. The Faunus in question noticed her stare, making him sigh a little before mouthing something to her, something only she could intercept.

'Have… Hope.'

She gritted her teeth, thinking it was something easier said than done.

"There's no point in being stubborn now, Cyclops."

This time, it was Hedin who brought her back to reality, already knowing of her real situation. "Only time will tell how this develops."

Translation: Be patient, bitch.

"Call me that one more time and I will make sure you get a new prescription for those glasses." She replied, not caring about the glares she was getting as she headed back.

"You do know he has gone through worse, right?"

She didn't reply to Rita, knowing full well that fact was true… but she couldn't help but worry; especially with everything they had worked for on the brink of collapsing.

*Cough Cough*

"Doctor Jude!"

Lili rushed to his side, finally falling on one knee as he started to cough uncontrollably.

"Didn't you say you had to save energy!?" Lett asked in an alarming tone.

"Not now, Lett," Jude commented, putting his right hand over his knee to stand up, only to fail miserably.

"I will help." Gross, the Gargoyle rushed to his side, putting the good Doctor over his shoulder as Jude used a single hand to get a hold of him.

"It's a good thing you managed to convince them to leave; a little more and you would have most likely passed out."

Jude shook his head. "I would have to deal with them if I could not keep up that barrier, plain and simple."

Lunor didn't snort, having felt the Divinity off his wound all the way in the back; by her and everyone's else standards the good Doctor should have been long dead.

"Where's Drake?" Jude mentally sighed, looking over at Ryuu Lion; not caring to hide her glare from him.

"Right ahead, but as I mentioned before, we can't let you pass… otherwise you will- hey!" Jude's warning went to deaf ears seeing as Ryuu decided to dash towards the place he had clearly warned everyone else about.

"Wait a damn minute you stupid Elf!"

Jude sighed, seeing the rest of the waitresses rushing ahead while completely overlooking Jude's warning.

"… Women." Jude thought out loud, earning a look from Lili.

"Lili would appreciate it if you didn't put Lili in that group."

"Noted," the Faunus sighed, looking at Lett. "Let's go after them before their life force fades."

The Goblin in disguise sighed, nodding as he rushed forward; leaving Lili alone with Jude and Gross.

"Doctor Jude, what exactly happened with Boss?"

The Faunus didn't reply for a long moment. "Let's wait until the others return… we have a lot to talk about."

Jude wasn't exaggerating, there was something ominous up ahead… she could feel it… as did the rest.

With every step she took, she could feel a strong and dreadful wind assaulting her very being.

"Ryuu… we need to stop nyaa~!"

She ignored her friends, forcing herself to advance as she soon started to feel fatigued, getting a sense of déjà vu as they advanced.

"… wait… isn't this where-" Lunor's eyes widened; recalling how little she knew of the Dungeon, recalling only the most important facts; knowing now on what Floor they were on the thirty-seventh floor… Udaeus' floor. "Ryuu! We-"

"I know!" the Elf shouted back, reaching the same conclusion as they finally reached the area where the Monster Rex was supposed to spawn.

Their eyes widened, not seeing Udaeus in the area… but something else entirely was present.

"Wh… what the fuck is… that?" Lunor asked, rather tiredly as she fell on her knees.

"I don't know…" Ryuu commented, breathing erratically as their eyes stared at what was in the center of the room… a dome made out of greenish energy, the source of all the violent winds they had been feeling until now… it almost felt as if they were in the center of a storm.

"Ryuu… we need to…" Chloe fell upfront, barely keeping herself together as Ryuu soon followed on her friend's example.

"We need t…" her eyes fought to remain awake, but soon realized she had made a mistake in not listening to Jude.

"Oh, look who it is!? The consequences of not fucking listening." She didn't register what happened, having lost consciousness for a moment before realizing she was being carried by Goblins made of energy.

'Ah…' she fully regained consciousness, recalling this was some sort of skill Lett had used against her in the past.

"Did it become bigger again?"

She heard Jude's voice after no longer being dragged, instead feeling herself being placed down on the floor.

"Afraid so, about two more meters I would say," Lett replied, in a rather somber tone as she heard the Gargoyle groan. "I really hope those two can solve this problem quickly."

Jude sighed. "Are you girls conscious?"

"… Five more minutes nya~"

"Just barely," Lunor replied, trying her best to sit, only to fall back again. "… why the fuck I am so tired? I don't think I have ever been so tired in my life…"

"Lett, can you help them sit against the wall, I really wouldn't recommend lying down with the equivalent of a soul anemia."

"The fucks that… supposed to…?" Lunor just groaned, giving up in her attempts to make sense of all.

None of the waitresses could mutter a single word as Lili explained in detail everything that had happened in the time Drake and the rest were in the Dungeon.

"The wanted poster… do you have it with you?"

Lili nodded, noticing a certain tremble in his voice, his demeanor had kind of changed to a more cautious one the moment Lili mentioned how the person in the poster wasn't Drake just from the way his eyes were portrayed according to Tsubaki.

"Lili understands that Doctor Jude can somehow see his surroundings… but how can the Doctor see images, exactly?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he remained staring at the image in front of him; clenching his hands little by little.

"Doctor?"

Jude breathed in and out, the image had bothered him in some way, that much was evident.

"Where's Drake?"

Jude put the paper down, looking at the Elf with a neutral expression; he looked rather pale now.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good enough to hold a conversation," she scowled, looking down the path where that dome of energy was before looking back at Jude. "Is he-"

"In there?" Jude nodded, confirming Drake's whereabouts. "Along with Adam of all people."

Jude made clear he didn't like the idea, something Lett and Gross seemed to agree as they snorted.

"Sadly, he's the best person I can think of to get through this at the moment."

The Elf's glare deepened. "And what about you?" her anger was quite evident. "Why aren't you with him right now? Why are you the only one here? Where are the rest?"

To her surprise that seemed to hit a mark as Jude looked down at that moment.

In return, Ryuu earned a glare from Lili, and for some reason even Lett and Gross despite not exactly being on the same side.

"That wasn't very nice nya~" Chloe groaned, pinching the bridge between her eyes as she still felt dizzy.

"Yeah, we don't even know what exactly happe-"

"Oh eat shit and shut it, you fucking Elf."

Everyone stopped for a second, making a double take back as they looked at Jude's direction after hearing a voice that didn't belong to him.

"…Was that Luke?" Lunor asked, confused seeing the redhead was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you think we like how this fucking situation turned out!? I was used as fucking bait and you don't see me bitching about it."

Again, they heard his voice but he was nowhere to be seen.

"You are talking about not bitching now, but that was a completely different story a day ago."

Now they were hearing Guy.

"Can we not talk about it? He's gonna start bitching again at this rate. Also, what the fuck happened to not talking when it was someone else's turn?"

Now it was Yuri.

"Do you expect me to just remain on standby while the useless Elf just talks shit!?"

The waitresses and Lili just kept staring, all the while Jude just kept brushing the side of his head. "You guys are giving me a headache."

"Sorry X3"

"… what the fuck?"

"Miss Lion," Flynn's voice was now heard, in a rather calm manner as Lunor's question flew over everyone's head. "I hope you can understand that our situation is incredibly limited given how only one of us can be present at the moment; all of us would really love to help Drake in this very moment. But there's a role only Jude can perform at this very moment and place."

Ryuu seemed taken back, never mind the calm and non-aggressive tone one of the nicest of Drake's brothers had used on her despite her rudeness… because she still couldn't understand what was going on.

"What?... How?... What?"

"You said 'what' twice."

"Enough!" The Elf shouted after hearing Zelos now of all people. "Explain. Now."

"I will take care of this… the truth is all seven of us-"

Jude made a double take back after hearing Zelos of all people, AKA the worst person to rely on information.

"… We have been dead from the beginning."

Of course, Lili would break down and cling to Jude as if he would vanish any second after Zelos' crude joke.

However, the explanation of how they came to be would result in something complicated.

"… So… Drake created you all out of memory, thought, and soul?"

Or maybe not.

"Correct."

"And you have been using his shadow to take over and physically appear in this plane of existence?"

Jude nodded, making all four women recall every single time how one moment one brother was there, only for another one to replace him all of a sudden.

They could tell something weird was going on if they had noted that Drake didn't have his shadow every time one of them appeared.

"We really are fucking blind… sorry." Lunor commented, only to earn a 'don't worry' wave from Jude.

"In your defense, nobody looks up or down most of the time," Lloyd commented. "Also, you are taking this surprisingly well."

"Nothing regarding Drake has ever made sense," Lunor opted to be the sense of reason here. "I honestly believe I can't get surprised by anything anymore."

'If you only knew.' All Guardians thought in irony as Ryuu took over the conversation.

"I apologize for my earlier outburst. I finally understand why there can only be one of you present… but that still doesn't explain your role in all of this, Jude."

Jude sighed, clenching his left shoulder before answering. "Because I am the one most suited in dealing with this kind of Divinity," he pointed in the direction of the Dome of Energy.

"So this is indeed related to one of those Divine Artifacts, the same as Bete's?"

Jude nodded.

"Just so you can have an idea, Bete would have caused something similar if he hadn't been stopped."

"So what… we would have an Ice Age in that case nya~?" Chloe commented, not being a fan of cold in the slightest.

"Pretty much. Up until now, I have been trying to restrain it with my own Divinity…" he sighed. "Sadly, seeing as I am not the original Jude Maxwell Lowell, replicating Divinity is tearing me apart from the inside."

"Wait… tearing you up how exactly?" Lili asked in a worried tone, noticing the good Doctor clenching his left shoulder tighter before removing part of his cloak.

"… Holy shit," Lunor commented, seeing how most of Jude's left arm had faded, and it seemed to continue little by little.

"I am doing the best I can… but my 'best' so far has only been able to stop that dome from growing faster by the second."

Ryuu adopted a complicated expression. "Lett said it had grown two more meters… what was its original size?"

"Five meters."

Their eyes widened.

"I may not be the best in number nya~. But those were not five meters!"

It had grown so much in only a day; Ryuu was sure that dome would have covered most of the Dungeon and next to the city if it wasn't for Jude.

"Still guilt tripping?"

Lunor really wasn't gonna let one go any time soon.

"Still, what exactly happened to us? Is that why you didn't want the other Adventurer to get close?"

"That's pretty much the gist of it," everyone looked at Lett. "Think of it as a siphon of life force; anything that doesn't have the right protection will get part of their soul sucked little by little."

That made sense, seeing as they felt their very lives being dried out of them.

Lunor couldn't help but run her hand through her face in exasperation. "Even Ottarl would have fallen to that thing… that does not make me feel any better." Not to mention she still felt tired from just being close to that thing for a mere minute.

Hell, the fact that Jude had the Resolve to stand up against all the Adventurers despite already carrying the whole problem on his shoulders spoke volumes of him… but there was only so much he could do.

"So… to summarize; Drake is with his best former enemy, the Dungeon and the City are on a divine time bomb, you guys are technically not real-"

"Thanks for reminding us, bitch."

She ignored Luke. "And there isn't shit we can actually do…"

"Welcome to living, today we have Tuesday's special; a dose of reality."

"You are not helping, Yuri." Jude sighed. "The best we can do now is wait and Hope Drake and Adan can find the source of the problem in there."

Chloe blinked for a moment. "I know that thing is big nya~. But it isn't that big…"

"Everything is different when it comes to Divinity: on the outside, it may look small, but that is not the same case on the inside; as far as we know, the area inside the dome can be as big as the city. Even time could run under different rules in there"

There was a massive collective sigh, one that even the Gargoyle seemed to share.

Many questions still lingered in Ryuu's mind, like how a Gargoyle of all things could talk and cast magic like that.

She knew Drake and the others had a past conflict with the God that Adam served; it was most likely there that they learned to face and deal with Divinity of this kind in the Mortal World. But there were still so many mysteries around the whole subject that she didn't know where to begin… or if she would get an answer at all.

The Elf couldn't help but think of Tsubaki, who probably knew about everything that was going on far more in-depth; she gritted her teeth without realizing it, opting to just sigh in defeat as she asked the one question she knew she would get an answer to.

"What exactly happened here?"

AN: Somehow I tell myself every time I write a bad chapter 'There's no way I can't write a worse chapter than this', and I am proven wrong from time to time.

I felt the chapter started well, but then I realized I was facing two big problems when it came to writing.

Beta Reader: Your wonky English?

Writing scenes of exposition and scenes with a large number of characters.

BR: Aha. You forgot your wonky-

Anyway, I can confirm it will be a while before the MC has an actual chapter dedicated to himself, seeing as I am going to focus on Tsubaki, Lili and the Hostess waitresses a little bit more.

BR: You just want to bash Ryuu, don't lie dawg.