Chapter 77: Betrayal
Liz:
"Urgh," after smelling herself, Liz recoiled. "It's only day three…"
Even as she complained, Liz began putting her armour on. Around her, Silica and Leafa were already fully dressed and just started strapping on weapons.
"It is easy to forget," Leafa agreed with a sigh. "You get so excited and nervous about the expedition that you completely forget about the downsides like being smelly."
"Forget?" Silica grumbled. "You should try having my nose."
"Wear noseplugs then." Liz chided.
Silica stuck out her tongue and stomped out of the tent. "Have fun packing up."
"Hey! You'll help me, right, Leafa?"
"Hmm, well it is supposed to be a punishment for being tardy."
"But we're basically there," Liz continued to complain as she finished dressing. "This is the twenty-seventh. We'll be on the thirtieth by midday."
"Well…" Leafa scratched her cheek. It was the small gestures that reminded Liz that Leafa had been raised as siblings with Kirito.
With a few deft motions, Liz rolled up her bedroll and packed her bag. Standing up, she strapped on her blades. Looking at Leafa, Liz waved at the entrance. "Come on, hurry it up."
"Why you…" Rolling her eyes, Leafa stalked out.
Liz expected to have to pack the tent herself. To her surprise, Leafa had not left completely, and even Silica was still there. Working as a trio, they managed to finish before breakfast was finished being put away.
From the corner of her eye as she worked, Liz watched Rosalia. She was leaning on a silver spear and staring at the river outside the safe room. Even from here they could hear the perpetual thudding from the nearby waterfall.
"Hey, has anyone seen Kirito?"
Liz perked up at Rain's question. The assistant captain had a pinched look as she stood stiffly by the wagon.
"Yeah, he went to the washroom," Silica called out. Privilege bestowed to her by the virtue of her cat ears that flicked on top of her head.
"Did he though…?" The pensive voice was from no one in the familia. Rosalia who was standing at the edge of the safe room glanced back at them. "He looked rather grim and battle-prepared for a potty break."
"Well, he wouldn't run off and–"
"KYAAAA!" The Amphisbaena's cry was loud enough to pierce the words.
"What!?" Multiple people exploded in anger at the same time.
"That foolish idiot can't be thinking about…" Liz whispered to herself as discussions and movement erupted around her. It was a sign of how insane they recognized Kirito to be that everyone's initial suspicion was that he was trying to solo a floor boss.
"Are we bringing the wagon and everything?"
"Can I go scout?"
"Should I start unpacking the magic swords?"
There was a deluge of requests that made their assistant captain freeze up even more. The multiple requests were quickly becoming her focus instead of the need to help Kirito.
Putting her pinkies in her mouth, Liz whistled. The sound was loud and sharp, cutting through the din. Poor Silica slammed hands down over her ears.
As everyone shut up, Liz stared at Rain. "Well, are we saving our boyfriend, Captain?"
Rain gave her a grateful smile. "Leave the wagon and everything you don't need to fight. Follow me."
Dropping her bedroll, Liz took off after them. It was a strong group that they had built.
"Rain, my magic, should I?" Haruhime huffed out as she ran. The supporter may have hit level two, but that didn't make her a natural athlete. Her running form was atrocious. She looked like some damsel in distress from an ecchi anime the way her breasts swayed in her kimono.
"No, just wait until we confirm!"
So, with instructions received, they ran in silence. The rumblings had increased in volume and intensity. Roars of slightly lower volume echoed frequently.
Liz couldn't help but worry as first one minute, then a second passed by. It was quickly after that that they emerged into the main cavern. As they had feared, Amphisbaena was flailing around in the plunge pool angrily.
It was clear to see why as its left head was missing a portion including one of its eyes. The lone blue eye that was left was tracking Kirito as its deadly flames burned in its maw.
"Kirito!"
"Urgh," was his response, shooting them a quick look. "Stay away from the dragon,we don't need to kill it."
It was a confusing if relieving answer. Liz came to a halt and watched nervously with everyone else.
The left head vomited forth its deadly napalm fire across the pool of water in front of it.
At the same time, Kirito jumped into action. There was an odd glove on his hand holding a glass vial. Liz couldn't keep track of what happened as Kirito appeared to run across the water through the falling fire.
When Kirito solidified in her vision back on the shore, he was wearing a grumpy expression. The vial was maybe ten percent full as fire slowly dripped from his mitt.
"I-Is that idiot harvesting Bile!?" Lili screeched. "T-That's idiotic…"
"It is Kirito," Rain reminded her. "Everyone, hold positions!"
Despite saying that, Rain herself ran forward, trying to get Kirito's attention.
Feeling frustrated as she stood by herself, Liz stamped her couldn't even hear Kirito and Rain's conversation as Kirito waved her back emphatically.
The Amphisbaena seemed unwilling to leave the water and was waiting as its fire breath replenished. As it waited for that, it refreshed its coat of magic repelling mist with a breath from its right head.
Rain came back, a massive scowl on her face. "Idiot man! Apparently you have to catch the bile before it touches solid ground!"
"Yes," Lili confirmed. "It is the only way to keep it as bile and not a fire. Still, why is Kirito doing this?"
"The guild asked him." Rain growled. "Anyway, Haruhime, this is on you."
"S-Sure!"
With that started, there really was nothing for them to do. At least, Liz thought so for around five seconds. That was when she heard the wingbeats. Emerging from the waterfall were a swarm of Iguacu.
"Get them away from Kirito!" Rain ordered.
"Uh, how?" Philia asked.
"I'll do my best," Mikoto mumbled, notching an arrow in her bow.
"Do we have any shields?" Lili squeaked, backing away.
Another torrent of flame consumed the sky, blinding them to the dangerous flying missiles.
"I didn't want to have to use this here…" Growling, Liz withdrew one of the multiple swords on her person and stalked forward a dozen steps. Even as large as the cavern was, the temperature of the air had elevated from its normal eighteen or so to near thirty. A giant pillar of steam was rising from the plunge pool as well.
With the plume of fire finished, the Iguacu were circling and began target selection. "Eat lightning! Raikou!"
Swinging the longsword, its wrappings fell off revealing a bright yellow blade. Its surface pulsed with energy and flashed white as a bolt of lightning rose from the tip and struck one of the Iguacu.
Now!
Liz prayed. Her wishes were fulfilled as from the central bird she struck, smaller arcs split off, chaining from bird to bird. In moments, dozens of charred poultry corpses collapsed to the ground.
Placing a hand to her chest, Liz sighed with relief. Scooping the wrapping off the ground, she began walking back to the group as she rewrapped the sword.
"Get down idiot!"
"Huh?" Liz looked up from her hands just in time to see a horizontal Silica tackle her. "Ow!"
Grabbing her head that had been slammed against the rocky ground, Liz glared at Silica. That was until she noticed the impact holes in the ground where she had been walking.
"You missed a few," SIlica grumbled.
"Ahh, I uhh… didn't notice." Withering under the glare, Liz craned her head to look at the sky again.
"I think they are all dead. Thank you for your work. That sword is amazing."
"Ahaha, you're too kind." Getting back up and retreating, Haruhime's magic finished at the same time. The golden hammer descended upon Kirito's head, elevating his level.
Moments after, another deluge of fire was thrown even further from the pool by Amphisbaena. The dragon monster was frustrated that nothing was trying to kill it.
Kirito, now with truly untraceable speed, reappeared near Liz and Silica. "Hey, thanks for taking down the birds. I've got the bile now."
In his left hand, Liz saw that the glass vial was filled with a green liquid. Kirito had corked it before the fire had even finished dripping off his glove.
"Are we leaving?"
"Yeah. No sense trying to…"
Kirito trailed off as Bell darted forward. Liz hadn't remembered the boy speaking yet. Now, with his red eyes filled with determination, his right arm was surrounded by a bright white light that chimed.
"Umm…"
"I guess we are fighting," Kirito sighed.
"FIREBOLT!" From Bell's right arm, a large pillar of white light emerged. Its blinding radiance shot towards the Amphisbaena faster than Liz's lightning had.
Being a floor boss, it reacted in time. Right head darting forward to spew the magic-eating red fog directly upon the light.
At the resulting intersection, white and red connected in a brilliant display. Liz held her breath as she watched. It took Bell's incredible magic only a few more moments before it crashed through. The final remnants of light hit the waterfall at the back, sending up a spray of water and rock.
"GYAAAAA!" The left head screamed in pain. The only head.
Where once before the red-head head had spewed magic canceling fog now only remained the trunk of the neck. A fountain of blood poured into the plunge pool.
"A-Amazing…" It made Liz wonder why she had tried so hard on her magic swords. The power Bell had summoned in a handful of minutes far surpassed anything her swords could do.
"I guess we are fighting," Kirito sighed. "Not that leaving it like this would be very polite."
"T-True… Umm, aren't you impressed?"
"Impressed?"
"By Bell's magic!" Liz insisted, confused by Kirito's nonchalance.
He just looked at her askew. "Not particularly. It isn't his true power."
"N-Not!?" But Liz knew what Kirito was referring to. The grand church bell that he occasionally called upon."Right… Scary."
"It takes a lot out of him," Kirito remarked. "The power comes with a dependence upon others to keep him alive afterwards. A lot like my own skill in fact."
"Right…"
Rolling his shoulder, Kirito beckoned at everyone. "Leafa, to the sky. Give it death from above. Rain, you as well, hit it with magic. Everyone else, kill the encroaching monsters and keep an eye on Amphisbaena. It will need to charge us on land eventually with no magical protection."
With that, Kirito darted back with first-tier speed, dashing between the plumes of napalm to dance across the water. Even with his speed and power, Amphisbaena was able to track and fend him off.
Its missing head stump slowly scabbed over. Even the gaping wound was not enough to significantly slow the monster rex.
As Liz watched the monster heal, Leafa took off into the sky. With everyone forming up in the main cavern, howls of encroaching monsters increased in volume.
"Distorted thrust!" Sachi suddenly cried out from nearby, lunging with perfect form. As she extended her spear–that Liz had forged–the last foot or so disappeared and struck at Amphisbaena more than fifty meters away.
"I missed…" Sachi frowned despondently.
"Do not fear," Mikoto tried to assuage her. Unstrapping her recurve bow, she aimed an arrow at the floor boss. "We just need to keep it distracted.
A sharp thwang accompanied Mikoto's arrow which darted forward at blinding speed. It was not enough to hurt the floor boss whose scales deflected it.
"Thousand Sword Rain!" It was Rain's turn to step up and fire off her magic at the beast. The first wave of magical swords was only as effective as Mikoto's arrow or Sachi's spear.
Their red-haired co-captain was far from through though. With a determined glare, she swung her right sword down, forcing all the remaining magic into appearing and firing them down at a single point.
The now confident dragon had returned all of its focus to Kirito who was pestering it. Rain's magical blades crashed down hard on the center of its chest.
"GYAAA!" Howling with pain, the great dragon collapsed back into the water, letting its body fully submerge in the deep water.
"Leafa!" Kirito called out. "Is it fleeing?"
"I don't see it!" She responded, voice nervous.
"GRAAAH!"
The monstrous howl was from a large group of mermen rushing them. They were wielding nature weapons–tridents made of crystal.
"Form up," Philia commanded. "We protect our magic users."
"Got it…" Liz muttered. From her belt she pulled out a metal mace and shield. She had infused both with crystalline tortoise shell fragments. It had made the mace and shield much heavier and more solid. The alloy would make a horrible sword, but the large lump of it would easily crush skulls.
Tensing up, Liz took position beside Silica and Sachi. Right before they fought the merpeople blade-to-blade, Kirito screamed.
"Watch out!"
"In the waterfall!" Leafa gasped a half moment after.
Liz couldn't help but direct her gaze to the massive waterfall that constantly tried to deafen them. From the upper third of the hundred meter plunge, a shadow erupted forth.
Accompanied with a great wave of water, the Amphisbaena crashed down to the plunge pool. This was no elegant dive, it was a technique of dares and red stomachs. Talked about eagerly by children egging on their friends.
The great Amphisbaena's belly flop sent up an enormous wave. Its landing force had been calculated to send the force forward into the water. Now, burning flames rode atop water as it surged across the dry land toward them. All of the bile that it had been spitting out was carried at them
Liz saw as Kirito kneeled, allowing the wave to wash over his head. It would be different for them. The burning bile would be challenging to go over or under.
"RUN!" Rain's scream finally kicked them into motion. Liz didn't have time to confirm that everyone was moving. All she could do was turn and dash for the tunnel that had led them in.
Oh god, oh god, oh god! Liz's heart had jumped into her mouth. She was used to fear, but this was a unique terror. Dying was obviously a constant in the dungeon, but the effects of Amphisbaena fire…
Darting around a corner, Liz still didn't look back as the sounds of water crashing against rock filled her ears.
"Ahh, we're good!" Silica yelled.
That was what Liz needed to lay off the gas. Turning and slowing, she confirmed what Silica had said. The sound had died down and there was only a thin stream of water visible that was starting to flow back out of the hallway.
"Is everyone…" As nervousness faded, guilt began to surface. Many people in their group were slower than her and may have needed help. Praying for their safety, Liz darted back.
The main chamber was now a literal field of flames. "Where… Where are Lili, Haruhime, and Bell?" Liz's words were gargled with fear.
"I-I…" Sharing a look, everyone else was accounted for. With horror settling in, they realized they abandoned their most vulnerable members. All but Yui who Strea had picked up.
Stumbling into the hallway was the merman leader. His body was coated with Amphisbaena fire. Its mouth was open but no voice came out of its ruined throat. Liz could see through the esophagus that had holes in it.
"No…"
"Miss Haruhime," Mikoto moaned, taking a step forward.
Liz took a step to come with, but hands on their shoulders stopped them."We can't until the flames go out." Rain said.
"But!"
"Hold your nerve!" Rain yelled, her voice breaking. "Just… wait."
Stuffing a hand in her mouth, Liz bit down hard. The sharp pain of her canines threatening to break skin. It was also the only thing stopping her from breaking down. The rest of her familia had retreated into their own coping mechanisms at the same time.
God, we're all broken, aren't we?
Liz had known deep inside that their situation in this world wasn't normal. The constant fear of death. Fighting against terrifying monsters in deadly duels. For Liz, there was one reason that she managed to continue smiling and laughing in this world. A boy with black eyes and a kind smile.
With the bile spread thin across the rocky ground, the fire started to quickly die out. Even before it was all out, they were all darting back into the main cavern.
Head swerving left and right, Liz desperately searched for their missing members. Hanging on a nearby wall was Bell. His knives planted four meters up the wall, with Lili and Haruhime holding desperately unto him. With the fires going out, the three were slowly untangling themselves.
"Oh, thank god," Liz sighed.
"Sorry to ditch you," Strea apologized awkwardly.
"Yes," Yui frowned. "I wasn't sure if my skill would work and then Strea scooped me up…"
"Everyone is fine," Bell spoke loudly. With a grunt he pulled his knife out and fell to the ground. "Let's finish this before it can spread its fire everywhere again."
Bell's words brought everyone's attention back to the dragon. In the sky, Leafa was firing off another round of magic which was beginning to carve through Amphisbaena's scales. Meanwhile, Kirito danced around the burning water, fending off the dragon's attacks as their speed was matched–a pair of level five combatants that were battling at an incredible pace.
"How long on your magic, Haruhime?" Rain asked tersely. "Prepare to recast it on Kirito."
"And everyone else prepare to fight," Lili growled, pointing to the far side. "We got a fresh horde of monsters coming."
Throwing one last glance at Kirito and the field of dying flames, Liz charged. She doubted that her presence would really make a difference, but it was better than standing around, waiting for other people to clean up the mess they had on their hands.
"Hey, Liz!"
"Yeah?"
"Where is Rosalia?"
"Umm, back with the cart… maybe?"
"Ugh, I can't believe we forgot a civilian!" Silica whined, placing her hand to her forehead.
"You mean you forgot your friend," Liz teased her.
It was a one sided barb as they clashed with the next horde of enemies–preventing a response. Here on solid land, they didn't have to deal with any trap monsters or water dwelling horrors.
Distracted by Silica, Liz barely got her shield up in time to absorb the ray of energy that the light quartz spat out at her. Out here in the open, there was no way to follow the conventional wisdom of hiding behind rocks until its energy was exhausted.
Banging her mace against her shield, the loud echoing noise infuriated the monsters.
A large crystalline tortoise smashed a merman out of its way to bite at her. Absorbing the hit, Liz ducked her head to avoid another ray.
That was the end of her immediate danger as the rest of the familia descended upon the horde. The newly minted level four Strea arced high through the air, her massive sword splitting the crystalline shell.
Sachi meanwhile used her magic to spear the light quartz from distance.
There were no battle lines and things happened quickly. As always, large scale battles against monster parties were chaotic and confusing. Positioning could change in an eyeblink. With her high level familia members, Liz had to strain her brain to keep up. Every second took extraordinary thinking to not get left behind, or worse, let one of them down.
Strea was the worst offender of making Liz's head hurt. Their busty berserker ignored everything, swiping at whatever enemy caught her eye.
"Ahhh, I hate floor bosses!" Whining out loud to no one in particular, Liz jumped forward to block the path of merman trying to flank Strea. While she deflected their tridents, Silica cut them down from behind.
In a flash, Philia darted past, her swordbreaker in her right hand carving brutal gashes into the monsters. Spurting monster blood shining crimson in the soft light of the dungeon's crystals.
Liz quickly lost track of time and perspective. Shifting shadows around her were all she could track. Desperately jumping in front of monsters or cracking skulls to help familia members. No overall orders were issued, or if they were, Liz didn't comprehend any of them. Yet, at the same time, Liz knew that her life was in constant, unending danger that she couldn't avoid.
If the Amphisbaena ever gave up on killing Kirito, its fire rain would catch Liz completely defenseless. Trusting Kirito to protect her from that, Liz fought with her stomach in knots.
"Liz!" Feeling a hand grab her shoulder, she whirled to find Lili. The small prum supporter was pointing back at the plunge pool. It was now a burning lake, the blue flames lapping across nearly every inch. "Help them finish it! The dragon is only surfacing to breathe fire."
"How?"
"Your lightning blade!" Lili yelled, exasperated.
"Ahh, got it." Nodding, Liz took off. Putting her mace back in its loop along her belt, Liz grabbed at the magic sword. Through the handle, Liz was jolted by the magical energy.
Here goes nothing…
As she darted around the puddles of fire that were increasing in volume and heat, the outstretched sword tip got too close. The wrappings began to burn with a normal flame.
Tsking, Liz's eyes flashed with anger as she leapt into the air. The remains of the wrappings had burned away revealing the shimmering golden length of metal. "Damn you!"
Falling down at the edge of the plunge pool, Liz's knees jammed painfully on the rock. She couldn't focus on that though as she brought the blade down even harder, while crying out. "RAIKOU!"
Bolts of lightning erupted. The scent of ozone was thick around Liz as her hair stood on end. Through the water, thick bolts shot into the depths.
"RAAAAA!" With a loud scream, Amphisbaena erupted straight up. Sparks of lightning were arcing along its skin, fresh black burns accompanying countless injuries.
"Gigas cedar!"
Kirito's magic sliced out. It had been prepared perfectly just for this. It caught the fleshy belly of the dragon, easily piercing into the body. Amphisbaena was suspended midair by Kirito's spear for only a moment before the immense weight cracked the black wood.
The floor boss looked lifeless as it fell back first into the pool. Another large splash of water and flames was pushed outwards. As Liz watched it warily, a loud crack resounded from her hand.
Stomach sinking, she glanced down to see her precious sword crumbling. In monetary terms, the materials were nearly a quarter of a million valis. More important to Liz were the three hard hours of labour she had put into forging it. Doing her best to perfect the blade to extract every ounce of power possible.
Sighing, she pocketed the hilt. They were expensive enough to bring home. Standing, she began to navigate the corridor of flames back to where her familia was finishing off the monster horde.
"Thanks Liz, that was fantastic," Kirito said, catching up to her. "I needed it dead before it climbed the waterfall again."
"It's okay," Liz sighed, "we shouldn't need it on the thirtieth."
"Liz…" Kirito mumbled, approaching closer and grabbing her hand. "I am sorry about this."
"Hmm?" It was only then that Liz remembered that they weren't even supposed to be fighting the Amphisbaena. That Kirito had left on a washroom break to collect its bile. "That's right! We need to discuss your stupidity! When we get back to the wagon you're in soooo much trouble mister!"
Kirito smiled guiltily. Then, he slunk forward quickly, closing the gap between them to nothing and kissed her. "Try not to hate me, okay?"
"Why you…"
Liz knew her cheeks were flaming hot. It was because of her anger though! She was not embarrassed or excited by a little kiss.
What happened next was a long conversation and determination of plans. Splitting the group, half went back to retrieve the wagon and rest of the supplies while the others began the arduous process of harvesting the monster rex.
Liz, thankfully, was part of wagon retrieval. They found Rosalia there, lounging on some rocks reading a novel she had brought with her. The sight irked, but Liz supposed it was better than bringing someone weak to the fight.
After collecting their goods and making their way back, Liz got a firsthand look at the gory finish. Thankfully, the body and blood began to turn into ash as the magic stone was extracted.
It was a pure red crystal the size of her hand. Liz whistled at the sight. It was a magic stone worth millions of Valis. That alone would make their expedition profitable.
Having been delayed numerous hours, they were slow to depart to the deep floors. Water and blue crystals faded and were replaced by soil. The labyrinth had become a massive cavern with only a few stabilizing pillars that were hidden behind the jungle of trees.
Of all the floors on the dungeon Liz had visited, this section was by far the loudest. The everpresent rumble of the waterfall in the New World was close, but it couldn't match the immediacy of the Forgotten Floors. Constant roars and cries inundated the air that was filled with the vibrancy of life.
That vibrancy set Silica's teeth on edge. In echoing hallways, it was easier to tell when something was approaching. You could always plan escape routes, and you proceeded through areas with a clear knowledge of the dangers.
In the vast forest, however, everything was the same. Attacks occurred randomly from any angle. Just as galling was the prevalency of trap monsters. Thankfully, staying on the main path would avoid nearly all of them.
Just one more reason to spend as little time as possible on these floors.
Bell:
Exhaustion weighed down Bell with each step. He struggled to keep his head up as they continued to navigate the forest trail of the twenty-eighth floor. Even the small pack that he wore felt like a bag of heavy rocks, digging into his shoulders and pulling him down.
"Bell… Are you okay?"
Jerking in surprise, Bell looked down at the girl that had called out to him. In response to Lili's big, worried eyes, Bell smiled widely. "Of course. You don't need to worry about me."
"Well Lili is worried about you." She sniffed. "You overexerted yourself."
"Ahaha," Bell scratched his head. "I…"
Why did I do that? Bell had known that Kirito was planning on disengaging from the monster rex. Instead of silently going along, Bell had engaged and enraged the floor boss with his magic.
"Lili did think you were amazing. Your magic is powerful enough to kill floor bosses."
"But I didn't…" Bell retorted. Blushing, he struggled to accept the compliment. However, the kind words from Lili had sent a surge of energy though his body.
"Oh hush. And here, drink this."
Bell reluctantly took the potion from her hand. It was a deep red liquid but while the colour matched, it had not blood's viscosity. "These are for actual wounds. It won't help my fatigue."
Lili gave him a hard look, brooking no arguments.
Bell repressed a sigh before downing the potion in one gulp. Despite his earlier complaints, he did feel a rush of energy through his body. Now at level four, Bell recovered quickly, however, argonaut was different. The skill drained a vitality that could not be recovered by health or mind potions.
"Good boy," Lili smirked, taking the empty vial back.
"I'm not a child Lili." Bell muttered. Not anymore at least. Thinking back, Bell was embarrassed by how he had been living. Wasting his life, directing his anger at gods. It had been a miserable existence of asceticism separated from people and purpose. A childish anger at being unable to move past his family's death. He doubted there was a single person in Orario with their whole family still living.
Whether his emotions showed on his face or not, Bell didn't know. Either way, Lili grabbed his hand, trying to comfort him. "Bell. You don't–"
"Monsters incoming!"
Silica's shout interrupted Lili's words. Whirling, Bell found where Silica was pointing and faced that direction. It was coming from their back-right flank. Bell still hadn't heard them, but he trusted the catgirl's senses to be far sharper than his own.
Rushing forward, Bell stuck his arm out, waiting for targets to fire at. In just a few more seconds, Bell could hear the sound of feet running across the ground.
It was a horde of Deathtails. The others always called them ankylosauruses. It was kind of a cool name, Bell thought, but the word got all tangled in his mouth.
Aiming carefully, Bell began to fire, "firebolt! Firebolt!"
Electric fire coursed towards the monster. Each strike was the thickness of Bell's fist and radiated enough heat that Bell could feel it on his face. The air began to crackle as the electric bursts arced through the nearby air.
Even these defensive juggernauts could not completely ignore his magic. The scales on their heads crackled and burned beneath the onslaught.
The monsters continued at full-speed and crashed through the final trees onto the road. A large beast on the right with gray scales and a thick shell snapped at Bell.
Forced to jump away from the fearsome jaw, Bell had barely landed when the beast jerked sideways. For a tenth of a second, Bell was baffled at the motion. The tail! Information from his reading and discussions came back to him. The most dangerous part of the monsters was the massive ball of bone and adamantium that it swung at blinding speeds. It had the power to shatter weapons and shields, killing even level four adventurers in one clean hit.
Falling straight down, Bell felt the massive appendage whoosh over his head, air buffeting him. Pushing hard on the ground with his arms, Bell propelled himself into the air. Rotating in midair he got his feet under him.
Dashing forward, Bell rammed his knife at the creature's side. Avoiding the spikes lining the shell, Bell tested its hardness. Grunting from the impact, his arm jolted. The Hestia knife could barely scratch it.
The monster whirled at Bell, trying to bite him.
Bell retreated with a smile. This was perfect. A great chance to employ what he had learned from Lyu.
Driving his knife towards the Deathtail's eye, Bell forced it away. As the tail came again, Bell jumped forward and landed on its back. Already, Bell's knife was starting to chime.
"Firebolt!" Driving the magic into his skill, the knife elongated into a short sword as brilliant red flames lapped along its length.
Using two hands, Bell yelled as he drove the Hestia knife down through the crown of the shell. Magic clashed against armour that was touted as the hardest through the entire section of floors.
Cracks spread out from the point of impact. With one more determined shove, it shattered. The magic emitted a final beam of power that sheared through the body and into the ground below.
The Deathtail swayed for a second and then collapsed straight down, its legs giving out. Standing up, Bell briefly glanced at his hand that was scarred black from the recoil. This hadn't been an elegant solution.
Lyu would scold me…
Not having time to consider it further, Bell watched as his familia took down the last of the other three monsters. As he watched, Silica's magic cut through the plating on one of the back legs, collapsing it. As it roared with pain, Sachi's spear tip erupted in its throat.
The Deathtail stumbled a step as it gurgled blood. With a thud, it collapsed dead, leaving comparative silence behind. All of them were dead.
It had been quick and dirty. Jumping off, Bell sheathed his knife and moved out of the way for their three supporters.
Lili approached with a sour expression. "Now how am I supposed to…? Argh, curse these large monsters."
"Should we just break the stone?" Bell asked her.
"Absolutely not!" Lili was appalled by the idea. One would have thought Bell had insulted her. "These magic stones are worth dozens from the middle floors!"
"R-Right," Bell agreed, giving her a loopy smile.
For some reason, Lili's cheeks turned red as she barged past him. "Go… stand watch or something."
"Lili?" Bell questioned but not no response. He turned around as tinkling laughter sounded behind him.
Haruhime walked up and leaned in close. Bell caught a whiff of her scent as she did. Yes, there was the sweat of hard work, but she had a sunny flower scent, like a field in the early spring. "She's just embarrassed. Be sure to pat her on the head after and thank her for her hard work."
Blushing himself from the close proximity to a beautiful woman, Bell averted his eyes. "Lili will get mad if you don't help."
"As you command, master."
There was a not so subtle hint in those words that darkened Bell's blush. He couldn't possibly accept though. It wasn't right, it wasn't heroic.
So Kirito isn't heroic?
Bell shook his head to dispel that line of thinking. This was not the time or place to reconsider it all. Foolish dreams of a child shouldn't reawaken during an expedition.
As always, Lili had a supernatural sense that allowed her to sense when Haruhime did something like this and she shot Bell a harsh glare when she had finished extracting the stone. From the monster's ashen corpse a full Deathtail scale remained. That alone was likely 50,000 valis.
It was strange how what had once seemed large sums became commonplace. Each section of floors descended, wealth exponentially increased.
Bell had already seen those effects just preparing for this expedition. Food prices were spiraling upwards, as were magic lanterns that were hung from the cart to provide additional light.
With the monsters harvested they were back on the road. The energy from the potion that Lili had given him had drained away. Even a five-second charge of argonaut took a lot of effort.
Feeling sluggish, Bell rolled his shoulder, trying to work out the kinks. He may have killed the beast, but he did it in maybe the stupidest way possible.
"Lili hadn't noticed… Do you want another potion?"
Being addressed, Bell flashed her a smile. She had removed the supporter gloves and hung them on a strap on her oversized pack. Even with a cart for supplies, she insisted on carrying that thing.
"No, I'm fine. It was my mistake."
Lili predictably frowned. "We really need to steal Asuna from Loki familia. It would be nice to have proper healing magic."
Bell surveyed the entire expedition composed of only Hestia familia. Kirito, Rain, Philia, Strea, Lisbeth, Leafa, Silica, Sachi, Mikoto, Haruhime, Lili, Yui, and himself. Not a single piece of healing magic between them.
The sole outsider was walking nearby, "Rosalia," Bell called out to her. "Do you have healing magic?"
Walking with a silver spear, the tall woman shot him a lazy smile. Her long bangs swishing around covering her right eye. "I'm surprised you're that desperate to have a woman touch you. From what I've seen you have plenty of willing partners already."
"I-I that isn't…" Bell flushed and for some reason Lili was glaring at him! Feeling unfairly victimized, Bell sulked by himself.
With the conversation dead, Bell walked alone with his pain. Surrounded by the roars of monsters, Bell kept a single eye on the forest. He was positioned on the left flank opposite of Strea. With the two of them being level four, they were responsible for fighting off any powerful ambushes.
With his eyes to the side, Bell walked for hours. Passing through the twenty-eighth, then twenty-ninth, they arrived on floor thirty with no more fights. By the time they reached the thirtieth, everyone's nerves were frayed.
It was unnatural. This was the dungeon. They may as well have been walking through the central courtyard for all the resistance they found. It was almost as loud here as the adventurers were by babel in the evening too.
"Can we camp?" Strea called, her voice whiny. "I'm not built for this."
Kirito did not immediately respond, but he did stop, bringing their column to a swift halt. "Yes, that would be wise. There is a rise around a kilometer, err kilomel, from here if I remember correctly. We rest for six hours and then execute the plan."
The plan. Bell wasn't sure if what they were going to do qualified as a plan. They certainly had come up with a list of things they were going to do. In Bell's mind though, a plan had a defined list of steps to elicit a result. Their list however…
Reaching the rise, they quickly set up camp. It was mostly on the path and a little bit into the forest. Their circle of living spaces was as close together as possible. Privacy was not a privilege provided in the dungeon.
As expected, they held a strategy meeting before sleeping. It was an odd mix with Roslia laying on the cart, perusing a small book that she had brought with her. At the same time, Strea, Liz, and Leafa were on lookout duty and facing outwards. That left the rest of them to sit in a tight circle and listen to Kirito go over 'the plan' again.
"First, due to the nature of these floors, there is no known habitat for the Rose Turtle. It is, notably, a turtle. That means we are looking for pools of water."
"That's our wise leader," Rain sighed to a series of chuckles.
Kirito, the wise leader in question, stuck his tongue out. "As I was saying, we don't know where the water is on this floor. Only that the monster has been reported here before."
"Why don't they know where water is?" Philia asked. "I never did get an explanation to that part."
"If Lili may. The floors here sometimes experience thunderstorms. Apparently the water can pool in different areas as the geography and plant life change when that occurs. Not only that, the main path is diverted through a different route."
"H-Hold on!" Sachi yelped. "The main path!? What if one happens while we're down here!?"
"That… would be bad." Lili agreed.
"There hasn't been a thunderstorm since just before the day of rebirth," Kirito assured them. "It's a yearly thing I heard. However, it is one more reason that no one bothers with these floors."
Bell sighed to himself. It was the same miserable spiel that had been delivered in the mission briefing.
"There is one thing we know though," Kirito continued. "The eastern side of the floor is lower than the rest. Regardless of the path changes, there is more water on that side."
"It will be hard to find through the forests," Mikoto said thoughtfully. "Are we following the game trails or?"
"Yes," Kirito nodded. "Monsters drink water. As such, the trails they follow should bring us to pools of water without requiring us to slog through the underbrush."
And that was, 'the plan'. Walk around the east side of floor thirty with no real guide or sense of direction until they found water. The problem with the plan was obvious and two-fold.
"Oi, Kiri-boy!" Strea chirped happily, turning around from her watchout post. "What if the turtle isn't there?"
Problem one.
"We keep searching other pools then."
"Umm Kirito. If the monsters need water… doesn't that mean we are heading to what is basically the pantry."
Sachi's hesitant words outlined the second problem. Bell cast an appraising look at Kirito, wondering if their magnificent leader had come up with any further plans.
"I clarified with Kaguya before coming. These floors have proper pantries. That means the pools shouldn't be too bad."
"And the cart?" Haruhime asked, looking back at their belongings and earnings. "I'd rather not have a repeat of the egg fiasco."
Bell had not been present for that. The Bloodsaures egg that they found during their last expedition had ended up hatching after absorbing power from the magic stones in the cart with it. Or so the conclusion had been.
"Yeah, if we lose the cart we lose any chance at profit."
It was a reasonable concern. Bell waited silently for an explanation. Kirito sighed heavily. "I can't come up with a great plan for this but… I am considering staying behind by myself to guard it while everyone else searches for the turtle."
An eerie silence descended over the group. It was like some magic spell had been cast, preventing them from speaking. Bell stole glances at Rain and Philia.
The two were often Kirito's harshest critics. Now, they sat and stared at each other dumbly. A horde of bloodsauruses could rampage through their camp right now and Bell doubted they would notice.
"I think that sounds great," Rosalia spoke from the cart. Her sultry voice calm in the storm that Kirito had created. "There is no one more trustworthy to work alone. It's almost an even splitting of our power."
Hearing that, Bell knew Kirito had the right idea, but the wrong person. Standing up, Bell drew attention to himself. "Let me do it."
"Bell, you–"
"Lyu and I trained for this," Bell cut him off. "Agility is my highest stat by a large margin. I'm good at running away if it comes to that."
"You know, that's–"
Whatever Kirito had been about to say was cut off by a loud giggle. Rosalia, who was lounging on the cart popped a dry food pill in her mouth. They were a bundle of nutrients and energy made by apothecaries for adventurers.
"You should leave the boasting on the surface boy. There's no need to try and show off."
Bell was stunned by the harsh criticism. Blinking in confusion, he wasn't embarrassed or angry.
"That's enough, Rosalia." Kirito spoke, his voice commanding. He still talked calmly but Bell swore there was an undercurrent of anger. "You are here solely as a patron. Please refrain from offering tactical advice."
"How mean," Rosalia whined. Even her sulk was done in a sensual way to attract men. "I wouldn't mind if you reprimand me in private some time…"
Kirito held up a hand to forestall the glares and attempted replies. It was an impressive display of leadership. "Bell, I find myself agreeing. Your talent set is actually perfect for this. With firebolt you can infuriate and distract monsters. What is your plan if you need to flee and abandon the cart?"
"I…" Bell blinked. Kirito… agrees? That was strange. "I'll flee to the stairs back up to the twenty-ninth."
"Good. Everyone get some sleep, we will do roll call in five hours."
"Five?" Rain whined. "You said six."
"We already wasted an hour," Kirito replied, rubbing his girlfriend's head. "Supporters, rest the whole time. Everyone else, standard rotation. Dismissed."
Bell spared a quick glance for Rosalia as he laid down on a bedroll, no tent. The woman however had already laid down and was in the process of falling asleep.
Trying not to think about the role Bell had agreed to play, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Kirito:
Something felt wrong. Kirito's instincts were screaming at him that he was walking into danger. Unfortunately, that was also incredibly obvious. He had with him a lot of good people, strong adventurers… just not individually powerful enough to fight some of these monsters. If they got surrounded things would go south extremely quickly.
Is it just the possibility of monster hordes?
The nervous energy wracking his body had his senses on high alert. He felt like he could differentiate between each sound and tell where each monster was.
The trap monsters like the man-eating plants he cut down at first sight. One of the floor's scariest monsters was actually a tree. It stuck dead branches into a path and waited for something to cut themselves on it. That injected spores which took over the target's body. The person would die screaming before their body became the nutrients that gave birth to another one of the trees.
Spying another one, Kirito's blade cut away the obstruction, the force of his attack sending shards flying. It was evidence that this path hadn't been walked which comforted Kirito.
Then why are there no monsters?
Kirito's eyes flicked through the surroundings quickly. Logically, Silica would detect any monsters before him, but Kirito couldn't be too careful.
Around him, the forest changed. The trees were a darker green and grew closer together. Vines hung down like cracks on a window pane, obscuring everything.
With the more rainforesty vibe going on, Kirito was not at all surprised when he heard the sound of lapping water. Holding up a hand, he stopped them.
"Leafa, magic please. I want eyes in the sky."
"Eyes in the sky?" Liz mocked. "This isn't an FPS."
Kirito shot her an exasperated look. "My nerves are frayed already. Please don't push me further right now."
Without meaning to, Kirito killed any levity that remained. Even Strea was silent, constantly staring between them with nervous glances.
Strangely, it was Rosalia who seemed the most calm. She calmly tapped her spear against her shoulder to a rhythm only she could hear.
Once Leafa's magic was finished and she took to the skies, Kirito broke through the underbrush on a beeline to the water. A slow slope down across mossy rocks led to a small lake less than thirty meters across.
"Do we think this is large enough?" Kirito asked.
"Lili does not know, sorry."
Kirito shook his head, unable to calm down, his instincts still screamed that something was wrong. Taking a surreptitious glance at Rosalia, Kirito detected no change in the woman. Even Argo hadn't been able to find information on her.
Turning back to the water and having no other ideas, Kirito walked in. The sensation was not as unpleasant as it should have been. He had undine cloth sewed into his clothes that bolstered him.
After a few meters through the muddy bottom, it was still only up to Kiritoo's knees. Freeing his sword from its sheath, he strode further in. The goopy bottom clung to him with incredible force. A normal person would have struggled to move but Kirito managed to stalk forward at a normal gait.
Reaching the middle of the lake, it was only up to his waist, no sign of any life within. Doublechecking, Kirito ducked his head underwater, searching. Broken trees and debris lined the muddy lake floor. Besides his own muddy disturbances, nothing moved.
Standing up, Kirito pushed his soggy bangs away and shook his head to those fanning out on shore. Pulling himself from the pool, Kirito went in search of more water.
Leaving on the east side, Kirito groaned at the sight of the bog they had entered. Yes, they had found water. They had also found a miserable hunt.
As the rest of the group circumnavigated the pool, Kirito began the slog. Hopping over some smaller mud puddles, he started in on another pool. This one was smaller and even shallower.
A small ripple on the surface made Kirito's instincts flare. Sword lashing out, Kirito cut a tongue out of the air. The destroyed appendage disappeared below the cloudy surface.
"This is dangerous…" Muttering, Kirito jumped from the water, landing on a tree root. He didn't remember any mention of strange water trap monsters on these floors.
"KYAAA!" From a nearby tree, a pterosaur monster cawed at him.
Kirito thought it was maybe called a screamwing or something like that. Its strong wings and beak allowed it to make sweeping passes at adventurers. Up in the canopy it was out of range of melee attacks.
Ignoring it, Kirito moved on. Passing under the branch with the monster, a soft sound from above caught his attention. Whirling to track it, Kirito watched as it made a pass at Rain.
Beak and blade clashed in a shower of sparks. In an eyeblink, the combatants separated. The monster flying back into cover.
Kirito tsked at his powerlessness. He couldn't force monsters to attack him. He couldn't block ranged attacks. He couldn't do a lot of things he was coming to realize.
He felt well prepared to survive. Surviving did not save his loved ones. Stamping down the emotions, Kirito kept an ear out for them but otherwise continued advancing.
Just in the nearby grove Kirito saw three different monstrous plants. Bringing his sword to bear, he cut them down and moved on. Beyond was a far more promising water source. A small shallow river emptied into a proper lake nearly a hundred meters across.
Four pools of ripples appeared on the surface near shore. As Kirito waited, sail-like fins rose from the water. As the monsters rose further, they revealed squat four-limbed bodies not unlike a komodo dragon, with limbs spread wide. This time, Kirito's studying paid off. These were the rare monsters known as Crimodiles. That meant…
Hastily studied paragraphs of abilities flooded back through his mind just in time. Jumping to the side, they shot forth spikes from their sails that soared past him.
Sword raised to his upper right, Kirito slashed down at an angle as he jumped forward. The speed of his passing created a gust of wind that rocketed outwards.
It was a slash that Kaguya would have mocked him for. There was none of her careful calculation in it. Instead, he unleashed a brutal blow, overkill acceptable.
His blade crashed through the monster causing a wave of blood to erupt. It didn't fall into two halves so much that the magic stone was turned to dust resulting in a cloud of ash spraying outwards.
With the large attack leaving him open, the second monster turned and leapt at him. It bore long fangs, dirty with venom. Sticking up his arm, Kirito allowed it to chomp against the leather and light metal armour.
As his defenses barely rebuffed the level four monster, Kirito stabbed it through the chest, killing a second.
By now, the other two's sails were glowing with red light. Ignoring the magical effect, Kirito assumed a low stance.
Copying his teacher, Kirito muttered the name of the technique, "Issen." Slashing from lower left to upper right, Kirio's sword was a mere flash of light as he took his third clean kill. It wasn't the most efficient fight so far, but Kirito didn't mind doing some limit testing.
The final Crimodile had finally charged up its special ability. It first fired another arc of spikes from its sail that Kirito just deflected. Then a mist of red spores were spat into the air. They spread out slowly in the dead air, floating towards him and completely enveloping the monster.
Toxic, corrosive, burns. Not resisted by immunity.
Some of the particles stuck to the creature's scales, creating a monster that you couldn't touch without injuring yourself. Kirito did the only thing he knew how to do and swung his sword.
It created a wave of air that crashed over the monster. Kirito thought it was cute that the monster looked surprised to see its protection float away on the wind. It was still gaping stupidly when Kirito rammed his sword down its throat.
Extracting it, Kirito wiped off the blood on the corpse and looked to examine the battlefield. The flying monster had been taken down as well as a couple others. They had a comprehensive search line set-up and the supporters were well protected.
Kirito nodded when someone yelled.
"Look over there! That's it, right?"
Following Mikoto's pointer finger, Kirito saw a shadow slipping deeper into the water.
Diving into the water, Kirito swam gracefully despite the clothes that heavily wore him down. Propelled by superhuman abilities and buoyed by magical cloth, Kirito crossed the intervening distance to the monster.
Mikoto's sharp eyes had seen true. There was a turtle-shaped monster settling down near the lake floor. Its shell gleamed a crystalline green and red. Growing from its back was a mass of thorns made of the same material that covered the meter wide monster. Where the central rubillite rose should be was a void.
What? Pushing through his confusion, Kirito approached and attacked. The sword strike was laughably slow and weak. His blade clinked off the armoured head.
The water-borne monster whirled and attacked, lunging at him. Getting pushed back and down, Kirito was shoved against the lake floor near the shore.
Gritting his teeth, Kirito put his feet against the turtle's stomach and pushed. It felt like shoving against a boulder. Putting all of his stats to bear, Kirito heaved once more, and felt the weight begin to give.
The turtle moved one handbreadth, then a second. With a little more effort, the shell broke the surface and a moment later the turtle was thrown out of the lake.
Watching it go, Kirito sighed, inhaling a mouthful of water. Struggling against the muddy restraints, Kirito pulled himself out, coughing. Sloshing onto the shore, Kirito wiped his face and looked for the monster. The turtle had landed on its back in a muddy section. Its fins were flapping uselessly in the air.
"We did it!" Philia cheered, running up to him. "Thank god for that. I don't want to spend another second longer here."
"We aren't done," Kirito said. Walking around the beached turtle he noticed an oddity. One of the fins had a hole punched through it. Leaning down, Kirito's eyes widened as he recognized it. "That… can't be…"
Kirito went through the various monsters on this floor, trying to think of one that could have done this. He came up with none. The brutal puncture of a spear entering flesh, twisting and being removed was unique.
Head snapping up, Kirito scanned the nearby area. There was no way to see anything. Only the lake area was open. Everything beyond that was blocked by trees and overgrown with vines.
"Silica, have you heard any odd sounds?"
"Odd sounds?" She shouted back, jogging over as the group began to collapse around him.
"Yes, talking or metal collisions. Monster dying screams."
SIlica's face fell. "S-Sorry. I'm pretty useless. There are too many sounds in the air. It's overwhelming me."
Kirito nodded sharply. "Someone beat us here." Walking to the far side of the Rose turtle, Kirito flipped it back upright with his foot. Restored, the turtle threw itself into the nearby water.
It was long enough that everyone got a long look into the gouged out hole on top of its shell. "Someone pinned it to the ground with a spear, took the rose and left."
"Shouldn't we have killed it?" Strea asked.
"That's impolite!" Lili scolded her. "Just like a Voiurve without its gem, it's impolite to kill a monster like this."
"Eh? Why?"
"You don't know if the kill will break the item. If it's still linked, it will become ash."
"L-Linked?"
Kirito held up a hand to forestall the conversion. "Were we expecting anyone to be down here?"
"No." Lili answered instead. "But there are a lot of people now who are strong enough to explore this area."
Kirito slowly nodded as he accepted the new information. "I suppose we should just… look for…" As his eyes caught sight of something, Kirito trailed off. Walking to a nearby stand of trees, Kirito reached out and touched the bark. His hand came away with a layer of dried blood.
"What is it?"
"Feels like a trail," Kirito mumbled. "But it leads further east."
From this vantage point, Kirito was certain of it. The blood was black and splashed around, vines cut down to open up a hole where someone had passed.
Feeling drawn forward, Kirito advanced without a word. The destruction was too obvious, too large. A wide swath cut with exaggerated footsteps in the mud and a thick trail of monster blood. Far more than the rose would have dripped.
Was the forest quieter here? Suddenly the hanging vines looked like dark tendrils, ready to wrap him up. There were so many hiding places and shadowed recesses in roots of the trees. The canopy above was not just a ceiling, but a place that ambushes could come from.
With the echoing of monster cries and scents from the numerous flowering plants, a person could disappear here, scent and sight obscured.
The trail led up and away from the water basins, the ground beginning to solidify again. Ahead, the land got brighter. Under the thick canopy, the crystal light from the ceiling had been faint.
Approaching, Kirito looked around the open meadow, no canopy overhead. Placed right in the middle was the crystalline rose. It was a gorgeous mixture of organic and inorganic. The rose was wider than Kirito's forearm was long.
So, Kirito ignored it and walked past it, blade held out to his side.
"H-Hey! There it is!"
"Finally!"
"Hold on, isn't this…?"
A figure appeared from behind a tree on the far side of the meadow. He was holding a spear in his right hand and wearing goggles. Kirito had never seen the adventurer before. His lips split into a nasty smile as he stuck out his left hand.
"Get lost in an endless nightmare!"
Kirito took off at max speed before the first syllable had been finished.
"Phobeter Daed–Shit!"
Kirito's uninhibited slash had been aimed at the adventurer's neck without mercy. With a sharp clang, his sword ticked off the tip of the spear. As he flew past the spear wielder, the adventurer twisted and slashed him across the side.
Landing, Kirito flung himself back into combat. A sharp line of pain from his side told him that his armour hadn't resisted the slash. Hitting once, twice, Kirito suddenly lost track of the spear as it was whirled in blurring figure eight.
A sharp crack sounded as the haft hit his elbow. Growling, Kirito stepped back out of the next attack. The goggle wearing man predicted this and lined up a blinding thrust. It bypassed Kirito's guard, cutting him along the ribs.
Jumping back, Kirito swore. "Level five."
"Ahh, that's right. Still not sure how you got to me so fast."
"I had a good teacher." Kirito replied sincerely. The short chant that the man had said was still echoing in his mind. It made something in him tremble in terror.
"So I see. It would have been painless for you all if you hadn't stopped me. But now… You'll die knowing what is happening."
"You say with a shit-eating grin," Kirito growled back, buying time. Even a level five would be overwhelmed by their familia's might. Haruhime should already be…
Twang!
A wave of arrows and spears from the canopy. "NO!"
Kirito screamed and lurched to return. A thrusted spear stopped him. Barely deflecting it, he took another shallow cut. Helpless to help his besieged familia, he dueled.
Bell:
"This sucks…" Walking around the cart, Bell felt like a fool. Had Kirito tricked him? Everyone else was off hunting a rare monster and he stood around twiddling his thumbs? Why? Why had he volunteered for this?
It was somehow both boring and stressful all at the same time. Any of the nearby roars could be a monster coming to attack. So far however, none of them had done so.
The sound of footsteps brought Bell's head up. Drawing the Hestia knife, he rounded the side of the cart prepared to fight.
He slowly lowered his outstretched left arm as he beheld a pair of adventurers sauntering along the road. Bell didn't recognize either of them.
They looked strong and rugged with armour bent and dirtied from long use. The pair of men gave a genuinely surprised expression to see Bell.
"So one stayed behind?"
"Looks that way… Heh, too bad it wasn't one of the women."
"Too true. I hear this group has some real pretty ones in it."
Bell broke in, his voice cracking. "W-What are you talking about? Aren't you just here to…" The words sounded so stupid he had to stop talking.
They both laughed riotously and leveled their weapons at him. A burly half-dwarf taller than Bell was wielding a long polearm with a blade on the end. The other was a stout human with a bit of a paunch who pulled out twin daggers. The one in his left hand was serrated.
Sword breaker.
Bell shifted uncomfortably as they each took one step to the side. Then, without a word, both of them took off at a run, flanking Bell.
Jumping backwards, Bell's heart began to pound. Terror coursed through his veins. Why? Why were men here attacking him!?
Even as his mind froze, Bell's body moved. Parrying the slash from the glaive, Bell jumped away from the human's knife thrust.
The two were proficient at working together.
"Why!?" Bell yelled, putting his thoughts into words.
"Just shut up and die like a good soldier."
"Haha, I hope one of the ladies at least gave you a pat on the head before they left you alone like a guard dog."
"Guard dog…?" Bell repeated stupidly.
"Oh right, you guys don't have those here."
"Stop saying stupid things and kill him, Tanaka."
The far eastern name, the paunchy body… "You're from the other world," Bell gasped. Dancing around their attacks, his fear began to die down. They were strong…ish. Bell estimated lower level three.
A few more passes and the reality of the situation began to dawn on them as well. Dancing around the open space just behind the cart, they were nowhere close to strong enough to kill Bell.
"Ahh shit! I thought this familia was weak!"
Wasn't my level up posted? "Uhh, were you two actually told anything?" Bell asked. He kind of felt bad for them.
"Shit, run for it! We need Dix for this!"
Bell lowered his knife as he watched them run back the way they had come. The slight rustle in the trees warned Bell a moment before it happened. A Deathclaw jumped out of the trees, killing claw raised.
The glaive wielding half dwarf didn't even have time to scream before his vocal cords were slashed open.
A normal person would die instantly from that kind of wound. At level three, the adventurer refused to go down, halting on his knees. With rage in his eyes he stabbed at the monster.
The deathclaw reeled back a step, a deep gouge in its side. Despite the monster being exposed to a killing thrust, the adventurer dropped his weapon. Fear clouding his eyes, he covered his throat with both hands as he keeled over for a prolonged death.
"Bastard!" The otherworlder called Tanaka yelled as he plunged towards the injured monster. It was a brief and bloody entanglement. When Tanaka emerged his left arm was a ragged stump at the elbow. He slumped to his knees between the two dead bodies.
Bell walked over, half in a daze. I have to do it… I have to!
Swallowing, Bell pointed his knife at the injured man. "How did you know we would be here?"
"Ahh, ahh…" The man stuttered looking up at him.
Bell saw the man's eyes were beginning to cloud over as battle shock started to overcome him. Gritting his teeth, Bell yanked on the man's hair to reveal his throat that he pressed his dagger to.
"Tell me what's happening!"
"Y-Your familia was said to be dangerous. You level up too quickly!"
"You're trying to kill us all!?" Bell gasped, not believing his ears.
"It isn't my fault!" Tanaka pled, eyes watery.
Bell couldn't listen anymore. Tossing him to the ground he took off east after his family.
Leafa:
"Oh no." Holding a hand to her mouth, a wave of guilt washed through her. She couldn't believe that she had missed them. Flying above the canopy, her gaze had been focused on her brother who strode purposefully to a destination she hadn't understood. His progress had been hard to follow from above and below it was hard to fly.
Her lack of ability had caused the ambush to go off. Her familia was now injured and crouched in a tight circle, waiting for death.
"I… refuse!" Rage building inside of her, Leafa keyed in on one of the assailants who was climbing down a vine from the canopy. With their bow held in one hand and the vine in the other, they couldn't defend themselves.
Screaming, Leafa attacked. Instincts trained from slaughtering countless monsters took over. The gap in the armour between breastplate and helmet. The tip of her sword dug in and out in one motion, cutting cartilage and more.
"Ahh, no, wait…" Staring at the bright red human blood dripping off her sword tip, Leafa's stomach lurched.
I killed someone.
She knew it was true without a doubt. The adventurer she slashed at had dropped limply from the vine to the ground below where a terrifyingly large puddle of blood was amassing.
Her careless flight crashed her right into a tree trunk. Stunned from the impact, Leafa then smacked into the ground. Landing shoulder first in the cleft between two roots, half of her head was buried in mud.
Struggling to reorient, Leafa spent a long five seconds not moving. The adrenaline in her body eventually caused her to flail, ripping herself free as her monstrous strength tore through the nearby roots.
As she stumbled to her feet covered in mud, she found a pair of adventurers rushing her. Putting away the short bow and crossbow, one withdrew a spear and the other a buckler and short sword.
"Huh, thought the fly-girl was a myth."
"She's a good looking one at that. Look at the blond sheen. If ya squint she could be the sword princess."
"Nah, not even close," the buckler-wielder spat on the ground. "The sword princess would never dunk her head in a mud puddle."
Leafa growled but otherwise didn't move. She could only see part of the clearing where her familia was getting surrounded by a much larger force.
She only wished she knew what had happened to Kirito. The fight with their leader appeared to be going–.
A loud clang of metal on metal from nearby distracted her. Following the sight, she watched awestruck as a pair of blurs fought with incredible speed. The forest around them was getting destroyed. A massive crash sounded as a cut tree collapsed to the ground.
"Shit. Dix is going to be pissed!"
"Oh yeah. We got to be finished up before he is!"
Leafa was ready as the two men charged. Jumping up, she twisted in midair, hovered a moment, and kicked off the tree behind her.
Passing over the buckler user's head, Leafa slashed down at the man. He reacted perfectly, tracking her path and blocking her cut.
The spear user was there, waiting to hit her when she landed. So, Leafa didn't land. Flapping hard with her opalescent wings she gained two, three, then four meters before she started chanting.
"Heed my call, traveller of the world, unchained force.
"Your name is freedom, granter of wishes."
It was harder to cast while flying but not impossible. Comparing it to true concurrent casting that a handful of adventurers were capable of would be stupid. Leafa was a crawling toddler watching professional dancers.
"Underneath the endless sky, I search.
"Unbidden to any land, I now seek your power."
"Shit! Get the bows out!"
The spear wielder took one preparatory toss before lobbing it at her. It whistled between her legs as she floated up past it.
He turned to his partner searching for help. As the buckler hit the ground, Leafa dove. Her chant ended and she screamed instead. Her vision was tinted red as adrenaline coursed through her.
Her opponents were no fools, realizing their errors in a moment, they dove to the ground, rolling out of her attack.
Adjusting her momentum, Leafa caught up to the man and slashed down without mercy. Catching the unprotected back of his knees, Leafa flew away knowing he wouldn't stand again.
Turning, she tracked down the other man who had brought his bow out and notched an arrow. Dodging, Leafa was too slow as it took it in her left thigh. The arrow's speed was dulled by her leather armour but it pierced deep.
Gritting her teeth against the sharp pain, Leafa charged him, body horizontal in the air. He ducked under the slash, lashing out with the bow stave. Taking a hit on her side, Leafa tumbled through the air.
The adventurer was running for the fallen shield.
Touching a tree with her right leg, Leafa pushed off hard. Beating her wings in tandem, she caught the man in an instant.
As he whirled, shield coming up, she slightly adjusted the course of her sword thrust. The blade skirted off the metal rim, a shower of sparks spraying them both. Her deflected thrust pierced into the man's shoulder. The bloodied tip came out the far side, severing the point.
As he howled, Leafa pulled back. I'm done here. Glancing back at where Kirito had gone, Leafa could only follow him by the loud sounds from that direction.
A solid force hit her from behind, sending her to the ground. Groaning, Leafa pulled herself up on all fours, coughing up blood. Looking back, she found the injured adventurer, crossbow out from a prone position.
He gave her a mocking grin. Dropping the spent crossbow, he got out a potion, trying to heal his legs. With no warning, a massive dinosaur head descended and ate him. A bloodsaurus chomped twice before swallowing the two halves whole.
With a third force entering the melee things were only getting more out of control.
Moaning from pain, Leafa flew for the clearing and her familia.
Sachi:
Sachi knew she was only alive because of Yui. They were all still alive because of the small girl. Her skill that blocked attacks had activated for all bolts, arrows, and spears that had come close to her.
The result was over a third of the missiles being blocked. But not all… Sachi tenderly prodded her side and the arrow sticking out of it.
From the corner of her eye, Sachi saw a glint of metal and her instincts took over. The arrowhead clashed against the shaft of her spear and spun away into the underbrush.
They were open and exposed without any of their level fours. Kirito was fighting the goggled guy, Bell was by the cart, and Strea had been drawn into a one-on-one fight. In the center of the clearing, Strea bashed her blade against a burly man wielding a similar weapon to her.
It was an evenly matched brawl where neither combatant gave an inch and no one interfered. So, as a small circle, they inched towards cover, fending off the adventurers on one side while simultaneously blocking the ranged attacks from the other.
Again, Yui was the only one who made this possible. Standing at the forefront of their trailing edge, she walked backwards with arms spread wide. Even as Sachi glanced briefly at her, another two arrows clanged off of those translucent purple hexagons.
As someone rushed her, Sachi poked out her spear, driving them back. It was a warding thrust, not meant to injure. The adventurer knew this and laughed, twirling a saber.
Aren't we…? Sachi had been near the back of the group and was closest to the place they had entered the meadow. Head on a swivel, Sachi counted again and again, looking for the missing member. By the entrance, the only person walking slower than Sachi appeared. Sachi watched with horror as Rosalia was tossed to the ground by a spindly adventurer with a sallow face.
She couldn't hear the words through the din, but she could read their emotions well enough. The terror in the woman's eyes was one that Sachi knew personally.
She's Silica's friend!
Mustering her courage, Sachi called out. "I'll be back!"
"Wait!"
Ignoring the call after her, Sachi knocked away the person ahead of her and dashed as fast as her injured body could go. The man had drawn an arrow. With a cry, Sachi thrust.
With maximum extension, her spear tip just managed to block the bow release. Staggering to a stop, Sachi put herself between the two of them.
"I… I won't let you touch her!"
The skinny man gave her a baffled look before bursting out into laughter. "You're saving her? Oh, you stupid child. This is rich! Rose, kill her."
Sachi's stomach lurched, but she wasn't all that surprised. It made sense that Rosalia was the one who betrayed her. They had stumbled into this trap blindly.
"Don't listen to him!" Sachi yelled out, not turning around. "We can save you from them."
"Idiot," Rosalia whispered. "You're all… so stupid…"
"DO IT!" The man roared, notching another arrow.
"I'm going to protect you," Sachi whispered. Then, with a dull thud, a crossbow bolt struck her in the side.
Gasping, Sachi fell to one knee, coughing up blood. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the man that had shot her.
After dashing across the meadow, she had opened herself up to attacks from angles she hadn't expected.
"Ahaha! Protect her? Can't even protect yourself!"
Of course… Sachi's grip on her spear began to loosen as tears welled in her eyes. "H-Help me, Kirito…"
Even as she mumbled the words, she knew it wouldn't happen. Kirito was the one who needed help. Rosalia needed saving. They all did.
Who was I to think I could help?
Sachi had never been good at determining what she needed to do. Social settings with girls her age confused her. She had struggled to make friends with them. Eventually that led her to the computer club where the boys were cheerful and talkative, expecting nothing in return.
Now I am going to die without doing anything? Getting trapped in the dungeon and doing nothing to save the people I love?
Part of Sachi accepted her fate. The deserving outcome for a coward. No doubt the others would pull through and comfort Kirito. In a few weeks, she would be forgotten.
That's…
"Unacceptable." Rising to her feet, Sachi lowered her spear in the first stance that she had been taught. Her injuries were severe but slow to kill. More than enough time.
"I won't leave them to suffer!" Screaming at herself, Sachi spun her spear in a tight figure eight deflecting the arrow. Behind her she could sense Rosalia crawling away on all fours.
Ahead, the adventurer tossed down the shortbow and took out a longsword. He was joined by two of his friends, each with a short spear and shield.
Three-on-one.
Sachi smiled, closing her eyes as memories of her first few days in the world came back to her. She had fought with Chigusa and Keita against their god, Take-Mikazuchi. The legendary warrior had fended them off with ease, even without a status.
Sachi could see his movements in her mind's eye. The beautiful flowing forms that had been drilled into her. Kata after kata learning how to center her body and then with a spear.
With as much grace as she could muster, Sachi flowed into the first stance. A sword passed a mere hairsbreadth from her head. That was expected though. It was no more dangerous than the winds of a blustery spring day.
Twirling the spear, the butt came up on one of the spear-wielder's chin. As he slumped back stunned, she transitioned back into a defensive stance, spear raised to catch the next attack.
Turning with the impact, she slammed her spear haft against the man's back, making him fall.
Dancing like this, Sachi finally understood. She loved Kirito. She adored her family and her friends. But this wasn't about them; it never had been.
Sachi was here because she wanted to be. After searching for so long for a place to belong, for something she was truly skilled at… Sachi had found it.
Smiling forming on her bloody lips, Sachi's eyes sparkled as she stared at her enemies. "I am Sachi Hayami, The Lady of the Spear: Great twister of Dimensions. Member of Hestia familia and trained by the god of combat Take-Mikazuchi! Come!"
The three of them stumbled to their feet and got back in formation, eyes wary. They shifted in place, none brave enough to match her declaration. Just as Sachi was about to charge them, a nearby tree cracked and collapsed towards them.
A Deathtail screaming with a murderous rage barged in.
The monsters had arrived.