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His respect for Adventurers had gone up considerably in the past thirty minutes.
"Take a left!" Finn, leading the pack, turned back to yell at them.
Godou veered left at the next fork. Their pace did not slow down.
It was dark in the Fifty-first Floor. Gray, stone walls formed a labyrinth, and the many cobwebs that hung from the ceilings and blocked passageways had initially given Godou the impression that it was going to be a slow and tedious endeavor to find their way out.
"How do you guys know where to go?" he asked Riveria, who was running alongside next to him.
"The labyrinth can only morph into so many formations. We've memorized them all."
"Oh."
"That's my Familia for you!" Loki said, patting his back, "always prepared! See, Godou? I told you the Expedition was going to be fun."
He had to remind himself that just last night, Loki had nearly broken down over the dangers her Familia was diving into.
Was she faking all this confidence for them? Or for herself?
"If this is your idea of fun, Kusanagi Godou, then wait till you see the dragons," Riveria said, chuckling.
"Hang on, dragons?"
"There's a giant nest of them on the Fifty-Eighth Floor."
"So we've still got a while to go."
"Not...exactly," Riveria said.
"We're entering the Fifty-Second Floor now!" Finn yelled from ahead, "everyone, keep one eye on the top and another on the floor! Don't get sniped!"
Sniped?
And then the floor in front of him glowed red for the briefest of moments before a pillar of fire erupted through it.
That must be the dragons, he thought.
Riveria grimaced. "Welcome to hell, Kusanagi Godou."
His only thought was that Loki had somehow gotten heavier.
XxXxXxXxX
"Lefiya!"
When the younger Elf fell through the smoldering hole in the floor, it was Loki who screamed first.
The goddess, still slung over his shoulders, struggled like a worm, but before she could wriggle out, he was already moving.
"Hang tight, Loki."
And then he jumped in and followed Lefiya down.
Hurtling through the still-scorching air, he spied the girl free-falling a short distance below him.
"Save her!" Loki pointed.
"Lancelot. Go."
The steel sword in his hand melted into a cool liquid that lunged forth like a serpent, snaking through the air before coiling around Lefiya in a tight grip.
The girl let out an audible scream, but stopped when Lancelot solidified herself into her human form that was carrying Lefiya in her arms.
Loki heaved a sigh, and he felt the goddess' body relax noticeably.
"It's not over yet," he said.
He could see the dragons below him, some circling in the air, others on all fours. But every single one of them had their reptilians maws unhinged at them, and orange spots began to glow between them as they prepared another barrage.
"Is Lancelot fireproof?" Loki asked.
"She's a knight," Godou replied. "And there's no one better to slay a dragon than a knight."
"My Lord!"
Lancelot's cry alerted him to the screaming object she'd hurled at him.
He caught Lefiya expertly, who made a stunned eep upon being pulled towards him.
Lancelot's presence began tugging in his mind, drawing out the power he'd so far been doing his best to suppress.
Sighing, he acceded to her request.
There wasn't any other way to defeat the horde of dragons below him without relying on some Divinity.
The dragons fired, individual streams of fire joining together to form an inferno that shot towards them in a straight, unwavering beam.
"Erm. Godou?" Lefiya stammered, "your friend is melting."
"Oh, that? Don't worry. That's just her changing into her armor."
Lancelot's dark robes had liquefied, and a black ooze that flowed across her skin. When it covered every inch of her below the neck, it hardened into thick obsidian plates that wrapped her body like a second skin. A second later, a bright light burst forth from her body and it coalesced to form a shining kite-shield that she wielded with her left hand. Her right arm reached out and from thin air, a gleaming spear was called into existence.
"I thought knights had shining armor," Loki muttered.
"Only those that haven't had their metal tested," he said with a smile.
He could feel Lancelot's excitement. The goddess had been itching to fight ever since they first stepped foot into the Dungeon, and even though her back was facing him, he could envision the feral smile that radiated her lust for battle on her normally-tranquil face.
Like an oncoming freight train, the inferno slammed into Lancelot.
From above, it looked as if a crimson flower, with Lancelot at its center, had bloomed spectacularly; the flames were redirected in every other direction but up. The shield stopped th
e pillar of fire in its tracks, and not a single wisp of it made it beyond the invisible wall it made.
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Want to read more?
The next 10+ chapters are already available on my Patreon!
By joining, you'll get:
š Early access to future chapters
š³ļø Polls to shape the story
š Exclusive content for Patrons
š„ Bonus scenes & content you won't find anywhere else
š Don't fall behindāothers are already ahead!
š patreon.com/FanfictionTakashi
(If link doesn't show, just search on Google: FanfictionTakashi Patreon)