The Goliath gave an earsplitting roar. A roar that never stopped. An enormous bellow.
A bellow in pain.
The creature’s eyes suddenly flipped from purple to red, and it screamed out in anger and pain as if it had suddenly become cognizant of its injuries. It wasn’t the only monster to have that happen to it. All the other beasts attacking Rivira were suddenly grunting in anger and confusion, the spell totally broken. Their assault went from coordinated and effective to awkward and confused, the creatures seemingly disturbed to find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings. Adventurers weren’t the type of people to let an opportunity like that pass them by, and the humans let out battle cries as they seized their chance.
The remained monsters in Rivira were slaughtered or routed, their reinforcements having dried up at the same time their eyes changed. The Goliath had been totally paralyzed by its pain and it collapsed to the ground without contributing anything else to the fight. It would die of its injuries in due time, but one enterprising adventurer went out there and finished it off anyways. Everyone was a little dumbstruck at the anti-climactic end to a battle that they were certain they were about to lose. But eventually, the adventurers let out a cry of victory that echoed across the town, waving blood-soaked weapons in a hoarse celebration of a hard-won fight. But there was still more work to do.
Supporters and healers were buzzing around like bees, trying to save as many lives as possible. Some adventurers were tasked with fighting some of the fires that had broken out due to Hellhound or Wyvern breath. The town’s wood had been treated to make it fire resistant, but that process could only do so much. Ouka emerged from the pile of rubble where he had fallen, bleeding but alive, and he was greeted with a hug by all three of his fellow Familia members. Ouka had amazingly managed to save all the mages from fatal injury, which they thanked him profusely for. He blushed a little at their attentions, seemingly to forget the pain, until Lilli pattered around to force feed him some potions, saying:
“Come on, we need to go! Mr. Tim could still be in trouble!”
That shocked the rest of the team out of their post-battle relief. There was still work to do, and they started preparing to head back towards the surface. It was the silver haired mage, Teasanare, who interrupted their preparations with a concerned question:
“Apologies, but who's in danger?”
…
The party of Take Familia, Lilli, and Emi hustled up through the Middle floors. Monsters were very light on ground, thanks to all the recent carnage, and Emi’s magic was a huge asset. They made great time through the tunnels, and quickly stumbled on the remnants of Adama’s battle. Emi gawked at all the mountains of dust and bodies that Adama had left behind him, but the others kept moving with no real surprise. The party didn’t even stop to harvest the monster cores, focused as they were on finding their friend and mentor. They followed the trail of death and destruction through winding caverns, until they finally reached the fateful room on the 13th floor.
It was a scene straight out of hell itself. Bodies carpeted the floor, blood watered the stones and the entire room stunk of smoke and burning flesh. The hallway and the room were littered with half melted and cracked rocks. It was still warm when they party got there, the memory of the heat of the battle lingering in the air, but what really shocked the group was the lone figure standing in the center of the room. He looked like he had dragged himself there from a hole in the wall, standing upright and defiant in the epicenter of devastation. Even so, this figure was on his last legs, bloody and burnt to the point where he was hard to recognize. The only things that betrayed the identity of the lone warrior were his vacant green eyes and bloodstained sword, which gleamed a bright white where it wasn’t marred with rust red liquid. Adama had passed out on his feet, and he was leaning on Hearthblade, which had been driven vertically into the floor.
All six adventurers let out a loud cry and rushed to help their friend. Mikoto was the fastest, and she appeared by Adama’s side in a flicker of movement, putting her ear up to his mouth:
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Adama-dono is still breathing! But its shallow.”
She called out to her companions, clearly trying to maintain her composure. Emily was the second to reach the swordsman, rifling through her bag for something. But Lilli was the first to call out a response:
“I’m out of Elixirs! We’re running low on potions as well.”
It was Emily who saved them, producing a bottle of the vibrant gold liquid triumphantly:
“I’ve got it!”
They lowered Adama down gently from where he stood and poured the potion into his mouth. Everyone watched with bated breath as the color returned to Adama’s face and he blinked once, before lunging forward. Ouka tried to catch him, but he was pushed away as Adama jumped away from his allies and rounded on them, hands unconsciously grasping for a sword that wasn't there. It took a second more for Adama to recognize his friends and straighten from a battle stance. Lilli approached him tentatively, saying:
“Mr. Tim? It’s us.”
Adama nodded seriously:
“Good to see you all made it. But why aren’t you on the surface?”
They all traded glances, and Lilli gave him an abridged version of their adventure on the 18th floor. Adama blinked once, but didn’t seem overly impressed:
“Well, you handled that rather well. Nicely done, all of you.”
They all beamed at the praise, including Emily, but Adama was only watching Lilli. She looked back quizzically:
“Mr. Tim, do you want something from Lilli?”
“Spare clothes.”
Adama’s clothes had all been torn to pieces, and now that he was healing it was clear that his modesty was badly compromised. All the women flushed a bright red in unison and looked away. It was Ouka who rifled through the pack and handed him a spare robe, which Adama put on, not showing the smallest sign of shame whatsoever. He was confident enough that he could get himself back to the surface half naked if he needed to, but he doubted the Guild would appreciate it. Now that he had his robe on, he started looking around:
“Now, who wants to lend a helping hand with these bodies? If I do it myself, it will take all week.”
…
The team was exhausted from all the fighting, but they were happy to lend a helping hand if it meant that they would actually see some compensation from this whole mess. Adama promised to split the spoils near evenly with them, an agreement generous enough that he needed to talk them out of politely refusing. There was enough to go around, and Tim was only seriously interested in a few specific prizes.
Both the Irregular Wyvern and the Tiger dropped large magic stones and items, both of which Adama scooped up for his Famillia’s treasury. The Wyvern bequeathed him a long, wicked black claw, and the Tiger dropped a brilliant amethyst gem. He also made sure Emi got additional compensation for her contribution of the Elixir. Everything else, he split evenly amongst the seven of them. It took forever for them to actually gather it all, and by the time they had and went back to the surface, the sun had begun to rise on a bright new day. They took the time to exchange most of their spoils for money, with Tim holding onto the gem and the claw. They also took the time to report to the Guild about everything they had seen. That turned out to be something a mistake, as it led to them being interviewed extensively and no small amount of paperwork. By the time they were finally released, it was midday.
Take Familia said their goodbyes, but Emi stayed with Lilli and Tim. They both looked at her questioningly and she blushed a little at their attention. Twirling a lock of hair nervously, her eyes flitted around a little before she eventually focused on Babel then finally spoke:
“I was wondering… if you wouldn’t mind… you see my Familia recently broke up after I hit Level 3 and Charles didn’t. It was never the same after Jake died anyways. I’ve been solo for a bit…but I don’t really like adventuring alone. So…would you be willing to let me join your Familia?”
The woman had gone from a capable and steely eyed mage to a nervous teenager asking her first crush out on a date. Perplexed, Adama could only raise one eyebrow:
“Promise to keep showing the steel you had in Rivira, and I have no objections. Lilli?”
“I don’t have problem with her if you don’t, Mr. Tim! Ms. Teasanare is very strong.”
“You can call me Emi!”
“Ms. Emi!”
With that settled, they all began walking back to the Familia house. Emi offered to get a room elsewhere, but neither Lilli nor Tim would let her. If she was really going to be a part of their Famillia, she should be welcomed into the home. Hestia wouldn’t have it any other way, even if the house would be a little cramped now. Tim could sleep on the sofa while Emi took his room, but they would need to think about upsizing if they got another person or two. He gave a wry chuckle at the thought. More financial hassles were on his horizon.
The moment they walked into the house, Hestia stuck her head out from the kitchen, eyes wide with mild concern:
“Welcome home! You’re home late! What happened?”
Tim gave her a lopsided grin as he strode through the door:
“We’re back! Just had a little trouble with a stray cat. We brought one home, actually.”
Emi laughed at the crack, her mirth a pleasant tinkling sound as she walked through the threshold to introduce herself. Lilli followed, and Tim gently shut the door behind them.