"Graaaaaaaaahhh!!"
The sound was not merely volume; it was physical force, a shockwave that slammed into the strike team, rattling bone and blurring vision.
The adventurers clutched their heads, instinctively evading the resulting shower of collapsing rock and glittering crystals raining down from the shattered ceiling of the eighteenth floor.
The second behemoth's bellow achieved what no conventional magic could…..it shook every last pebble in the cavernous expanse.
Even Alfia, with her nearly unshakeable composure, allowed a slight grimace to twist her features as the colossal beast hauled itself into the cavernous space.
It rose, eclipsing the ambient Dungeon light, and spread a pair of crooked, membranous wings, shedding a constant snowfall of dark, greasy motes.
"Wh…what is that thing?!" cried Neze, her voice ragged with disbelief.
"Some kind of winged serpent… an incomplete dragon, perhaps?!" yelled Asta, trying to maintain focus despite the monstrous sight.
"How does something that massive manage to sustain flight?!" Clair questioned, her gaze tracking the awful creature's slow, deliberate movements.
"I have no idea, but it is utterly repulsive…" Kaguya muttered, raising her blade, though her body language betrayed her nausea.
"I feel like I'm going to vomit! I've never seen a monster so hideous!"
Its head alone was enormous and obscenely misshapen, dominated by a ragged, skeletal jaw that resembled an undead demon dredged from the primordial abyss.
While the creature itself was immense, its limbs were shockingly thin and spindly, creating a chimerical image…..a sickening amalgamation of a powerful snake fused to a malnourished human frame.
The team, however, didn't have the luxury of extended contemplation.
As the dust settled from the ceiling breach, the form of the first behemoth was partially revealed, and the sight was unsettling.
It looked almost identical to the winged horror rising before them, but was less than half its size…..an imperfect model.
The realization struck every member simultaneously: it was an offshoot, a juvenile.
A child perhaps.
Spotting the first behemoth dangling from the ceiling, the larger creature emitted a bizarre, ear-grating, mechanical hum, a sound that seemed to communicate intent rather than pure rage.
In response, the smaller behemoth let out a high-pitched, acquiescent shriek, its form dropping from the remnants of the ceiling with a heavy, sickening thud.
"Are they going to fight?" Dimitra muttered, adjusting her grip on her weapon.
"I don't think so…." Nikolaos replied, his voice flat with horror.
What happened next was jaw-dropping.
The second behemoth bent its grotesque head, seized the smaller creature, and began to devour it.
There was no struggle.
No resistance.
The first behemoth simply allowed the deed to happen, folding into the maw of its monstrous parent as if the cannibalistic act were a natural, inevitable phenomenon.
Immediately, the second behemoth's incomplete body began to fill out, the thin limbs broadening and the misshapen flesh contorting violently.
The transformation was swift and sickening, coalescing into a silhouette of much greater power and destructive efficiency.
"We have to kill that thing quickly, don't let it finish!"
The panicked voice belonged to Gareth, who rose from a pile of crushed rubble alongside Vasileios.
The two had taken a detour on the sixteenth floor, executing a risky maneuver to lure the initial behemoth down to the eighteenth.
Had they known their action would lead to the birth of a greater disaster, they certainly would have kept the first monster occupied far from this place.
Now, it seemed, they were too late.
Gareth scanned the cavern, his stout frame shivering involuntarily when his gaze landed on Alfia, and then, another shiver of dread, on Erebus.
As if he had been patiently awaiting the arrival of all the adventurers, Erebus began to speak, his voice cutting through the residual dust and the grinding sounds of the transformation.
"These anomalies were born from divine transgression on the thirty-seventh floor. Although I didn't expect such a delicious twist, it is a very welcome one. How about I give this beautiful monstrosity a name?" Erebus mused, raising his hand toward the developing creature.
"Hmm… how about Delphyne? What do you think?"
He posed the question to the behemoth, and as if understanding the dark god's decree, the beast let out a fiery snort from its now-almost-complete snout.
The dark god had named the evolved behemoth, celebrating its ascent, evolution, and rebirth.
"Hahaha, a sassy girl you are. I like that," Erebus remarked, before turning his attention back to the assembled adventurers.
"Can you see that hole, children? It goes all the way down to hell."
He spoke with chilling excitement, radiating a palpable divine might.
"That right there is a gate and a symbol of the underworld, my friends. And we're taking it all the way to the top. Once Babel falls, and the Age of Gods is over, only then can a true legend be born."
"Grh…!"
"Yes… an Age of Chaos."
Erebus flashed a twisted, exhilarating smile that chilled Ryuu to the core.
"Rejoice. And die. Accept the oblivion I offer you. This new world has no need for the light of justice."
As if affirming his declaration, the creature now christened Delphyne released an ear-shattering roar, its form settling permanently into the terrible majesty of a true, fully-recognized dragon.
The god remained eerily calm, but his followers, the evilus, were already gripped by panic.
"L-Lord Erebus!" one lieutenant stammered.
"H-hurry and get to safety!"
"W-we will not be able to keep you safe much longer…"
It took only an instant.
The world flashed black and blue.
The sheer force of the newly born Delphyne's power vaporized the lieutenant.
All that remained was a severed arm tumbling into the ruin and the echo of his truncated warning.
"E-eeeek!"
The surviving evilus members stumbled over one another in terror.
Erebus, however, merely cast a casual glance over his shoulder.
"A little close for comfort, that one," he noted without a flicker of concern.
"I suppose it is me you're after, isn't it?"
Smoke still billowed wetly from its mouth and nostrils.
Delphyne returned the dark god's gaze with pure, reptilian hatred.
It was hardly surprising; the Dungeon was known to do anything to consume the essence, the divinity, of a god….an instinct ingrained deeply into its monsters.
"Very well, then. This is your last job, my followers. Get me safely to Alfia's side, and it's all over."
The remaining cultists exchanged terrified, desperate looks, unable to offer an immediate reply.
"We can't let the leading man make such an undignified exit so ahead of schedule," Erebus chided lightly.
"Else this show would turn into a poor comedy."
Erebus's followers had given their lives to see him this far; they were prepared to sacrifice more still.
They let out a unified, terrified yell, steeling themselves to pay the ultimate price.
Bluish-black flames rained down from the heavens, searing the floor and air, but the cultists spared no opportunity to martyr themselves.
They threw their bodies in front of their god, becoming cinders in his place, buying him precious moments.
"Hmm. I was not expecting to see a beast so vile," Alfia remarked, her eyes fixed on the dragon. "Truth be told, I doubted Erebus's words. But it seems there is no end to the mysteries this Dungeon can bring forth."
Alfia stood and watched the monster, coolly evaluating its power, even as the scorching flames briefly bathed her pale skin.
Meanwhile, the adventurers dripped with sweat as they regrouped.
With the creature's arrival and total transformation, the temperature on the eighteenth floor had spiked violently, but stress was their primary concern.
Having witnessed the undeniable proof of the beast's ability to smash through multiple levels, they realized time had curdled into a finite resource.
"Blast!" Gareth growled, wiping soot from his brow.
"That thing doesn't discriminate….it doesn't care what side anyone is on! And its power is unbelievable… not only did we make it stronger, but all of Under Resort will soon crumble at this rate!"
"We have to fight it!" yelled Riveria.
"But Alfia's still a danger as well…"
It was at that moment, while Finn's two most trusted lieutenants were pondering how to tackle the impossible siege, that the pair suddenly felt a powerful, unnatural wind rush past them.
They spun around to see Ais.
Her sword rattled in her hands, her shoulders rising and falling with every heated, shallow breath.
She looked possessed.
"That thing… That thing… That thing…!!"
She appeared as though she had come face-to-face with an arch-nemesis she had sworn to hunt down and destroy.
There was no light of reason in her luminous golden eyes, only a furious, burning hatred.
The world seemed to blink in and out of focus around her.
Her magical energy spilled forth uncontrollably, a storm of turbulent power, and the beating of her tiny heart became a deafening drum in her ears.
"Aaaaaaaaaaghhh!!"
Her golden hair fluttered out behind her like a shimmering trail as she threw herself at the dragon-like abomination.
"Ais?! Wait, come back!!"
The girl couldn't hear Riveria's desperate plea.
Nor could Riveria stop her in time, forced to remain wary of Alfia's proximity.
Ais was the wind given form.
Words had ceased to hold any meaning for her.
Standing between her and her target were hordes of lesser monsters, driven equally mad by the dragon's roaring flames and overwhelming, primal fear.
The girl slaughtered every one of them.
Her golden eyes glimmered in the dark like the flashing steel of her relentless blade.
"Ruuuuuughhh?!"
A violent tempest of infused magic tore through the cavern.
Severed limbs and showers of blood sprayed across the crystalline floor.
Everyone stood slack-jawed with shock as that magic-infused whirlwind tore through all it touched.
"Out of my way! Out of my WAAAYYY!!"
Nothing could divert the young Ais.
She moved like an arrow in flight, focused on a singular, deadly target.
Swiftly, the wall of monsters blocking her path was gone, and she came upon Erebus, who was still fleeing Delphyne alongside his dwindling, loyalist followers.
"Oh. Didn't expect to see you here," the dark god said, chuckling, momentarily slowing.
"Come to help your old foe, have you? Much appreciat…"
But the young girl ignored even the god's voice.
She sailed right past him, slicing an oncoming fireball…..a direct attack from Delphyne…..cleanly in half.
The sliced projectile scorched the air to the left and right, narrowly missing Erebus, who was startled but unharmed.
"…Are you not even listening to me?" Erebus murmured, watching her trajectory.
"You really are a genuine agent of chaos in a little girl's clothes."
The dark god's surprise, however, lasted only for a moment, before his lips formed a wide, delighted smile once more.
"Excellent timing. Your heroic sacrifice will grant me just enough time to reach safety. Time for me to get moving. Let's see, where around here offers the grandest view?"
Erebus scanned the ruins of the eighteenth floor.
His divine eyes soon picked out a cliff that looked relatively undamaged.
"Ah, my VIP seat," he said.
"Perfect for watching the end run its course."
Alongside what few of his devout followers remained, Erebus headed straight for it.
......
"Ais! Curses, I never expected her to lose her temper like this!"
The roar of the wind joined the bursting fireballs, causing the entire floor to shake even more.
It was like an act from a heroic legend, watching the young girl depart to face the monster alone, and Riveria frowned as she envisioned what tragic fate lay at that tale's end.
"Ais cannot face that thing alone!" shouted Gareth.
"No matter how crazed she is, it's too powerful!"
"Grh…!"
Riveria was torn.
She wanted to go save Ais, but she was the entire team's leader and couldn't turn her back on the Level 7 standing before her.
To even stand a chance against Alfia required the combined strength of their entire party, and if Riveria left, only a crushing defeat awaited those who remained.
But just as she began to struggle under the burden of command…
"Go!!" someone called.
Riveria and Gareth went wide-eyed with shock.
It was Alise's clear voice that cut through the battlefield.
"You, old man Gareth and the Bahamut familia go kill the monster and save the Sword princess!" she said.
"We will handle Alfia somehow!"
Alise's decision was quick, but it was reckless.
Riveria couldn't believe what she was hearing at first.
Not only her, but Gareth, Dimitra, Nikolaos, Clair and Vasileios couldn't either.
"Don't be ridiculous, Alise Lovell! How can a group of Level threes at best hope to take on a Level Seven?!" Riveria voiced their thoughts.
"We'll be okay! I still remember Finn's plan! No matter how many times she knocks us down, we'll stand right back up again!"
The girl's enthusiasm left the high elf speechless.
Alise placed her hands on her hips, exuding her trademark smugness.
"Our justice is as unbreakable as we are pure, pretty, and perfect, don't you know?! A-hem!!" Then she adopted a serious expression.
"So please trust me, okay?"
The rest of the team fell silent in contemplation.
Without affirming or denying her words, Gareth adjusted his helmet.
Then he turned toward the dragon.
"Let's go, Bahamut kids, Riveria. I'd wager you won't be able to focus without Ais at your side, anyway."
"Grr! I'm sorry, Astraea Familia!" Riveria apologized, she had made her decision.
Everyone had seen through her dilemma completely.
All she could do was leave those left behind with one last parting gift.
"Sigh, just wait a minute," Dimitra interrupted just before Riveria could cast her spell.
Honestly, the whole situation was a mess.
Everyone knew that leaving the Astraea familia to stop Alfia was suicide.
Alfia was in a way equally or more threatening than even the evolved beast.
Additionally, with all that had happened till this point, it wouldn't be surprising if some other unplanned circumstance added to the chaos.
In addition, Asta alone couldn't tank Alfia's attacks, so Dimitra came to a decision.
"We will leave Nikolaos and Clair with the Astraea familia. I and Vasileios will assist with the monster," Dimitra declared.
"Wa…" Alise wanted to object, but Dimitra put up a hand silencing her.
"This decision is final. With how reckless you can be and how easily your familia members sometimes blindly follow your decisions, you need more grounded unrelated people to balance things out," was Dimitra's hasty excuse.
In reality, she just had a hunch that the Astraea familia might need the help.
Nikolaos and Clair weren't against the decision.
Riveria and Gareth looked at each other briefly before nodding.
"Very well, here I go....'Gather, breath of the earth….my name is Alf!...Veil Breath!'" Riveria offered her sacred protection spell, which enveloped every member of Astraea familia, Clair and Nikolaos in a verdant glow.
It was armor that would protect them against magical and physical attacks.
"This shall keep you safe so long as the magic lasts! Please, take care!"
"Alfia is in your hands! When this is all over, we'll have a feast, and I'll treat you all to some real dwarven spirit!" Gareth boomed.
"Stay safe and don't be reckless," Dimitra added, her stare intense.
With that, the four departed.
With a staff, great-axe, bow and shield in hand, they vanished toward the sound of the collapsing floor, leaving the small group alone with the Level 7 witch.
"All right, team! Drinks with old man Gareth confirmed! And Nine Hell gave us this nifty buff as well! Can't complain about that, can you?" Alise cheered, punching the air.
"Yes we can, you idiot!!" came Lyra's swift rebuke.
She looked like she wanted to strangle the life out of her bigmouthed captain.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, making promises we can't keep?! We're going to die out here, roping in these poor kids with us too and it's going to be all your fault!!"
Nikolaos and Clair looked at each other before shaking their heads at the comical turn of events.
"Oh, Lyra, you're so pessimistic! We're not going to die yet, don't be silly!"
"You absolute moron…!" cried Lyra, clutching her head in her hands.
It was all the other girls could do to keep the smiles on their faces.
Meanwhile, Kaguya, who had been examining the aura bestowed by Riveria, stepped forward. "Under normal circumstances," she said, her voice surprisingly measured.
"I would agree with the pallum here, but just this once I have to side with the captain."
The smile on her face was sickeningly sweet, promising violence.
"After all, I have a debt to settle with that woman there," Kaguya hissed, glaring at Alfia.
"I will have my revenge, even if my decapitated head must bite out her throat!"
"Sigh, hopefully we don't die in this endeavor. Draco-nii might go on a rampage again if he finds out," Nikolaos playfully remarked, adjusting the grip on his shield.
"Ugh, don't remind me about that, he might even be scarier than the witch, he did nearly kill a level 7," Lyra muttered, shuddering at the memory.
"Please don't joke about it, Draco was really scary that day. Can't believe we safely made it around him then," Neze chimed in, her voice hushed.
"Somebody needs to eliminate that witch, so it might as well be our team," Ryuu said, walking beside Kaguya.
She leveled her own glare at Alfia, her stance immediately changing from teammate to warrior. Wisps of flames danced around the ashen-haired woman.
Everyone raised their weapons, their disparate tools of war aimed at the single point of overwhelming power.
"Are you finished with your little play-pretend?" the witch said, having been patiently waiting for their banter to end, her eyes still closed but lethal.
"Yes, we're finished," replied Alise, the levity gone from her tone.
"And it's not pretend; our determination is very real."
"Then perish. I shall choke the life out of you so you never sully this world with your noise again."
After that final pronouncement, her magic swelled.
The air itself groaned, visibility dropping as the oppressive pressure of her power descended.
But Alise's smile was unfaltering, her pure spirit shining brightly even in the deepening gloom.
"Sorry, but being noisy is the one thing we're good at!"
All thirteen members of the team wore brave smiles, their disparate levels and skills momentarily forgotten in their shared resolve.
"We're going to keep going until you're ready to give up!"