Hestia watched Bell as he laid on his bed, his features peaceful despite the insane ordeal he'd been through. Or more accurately, the insane ordeal he put himself through. When Hestia found out what happened to Bell, she hadn't left his side, her worry for her first child palpable to everyone.
Her worry became frustration the moment Koukin mentioned the minotaur and Bell's refusal for help and downright ordering his familia to stand down. She was going to give him a piece of her mind when he woke up. He went and did it again, he pushed himself too hard and nearly got himself killed. She imagined that the others felt the same but she was surprised to find that, though they were frustrated by Bell's reckless actions, they were also impressed and inspired by his display in the dungeon, greatly so.
When asking about what happened, Chitoge and Elbia were swift into giving their reports. They told her about their initial trip, the gradual decrease in monsters as they went down, encountering the minotaur, Bell holding it off for them to get help, running into Wallen-whats-it, seeing her clash with Freya's strongest child, reuniting with Bell, and finally seeing the battle and the finale of it.
It was all almost too much for Hestia to take in and she had to sit down when all was said and done. What should have been a average trip to the dungeon, ended up as one of the most critical moments her familia had ever faced.
'Stop the world! I wanna get off!' she moaned internally.
What Bell did was reckless enough, that's already established, but what raised Hestia's eyebrows in thought was something else.
Namely, why was Freya's strongest child, Ottar, down in the dungeon that day, what's more, according to both Koukin and Takeru, they saw both Ottar and the minotaur had carried similar weapons.
Did Ottar have something to do with the minotaur? Did Freya have something to do about this whole mess?
Hestia scratched the sides of her head, her pigtails flying around as her head in a jumble ,'Dammit Koukin! Why did you have to go and tell me those scary theories? I'd like to enjoy my day without paranoia, please!'
Indeed, after Chitoge and Elbia's testimony, Koukin put her theories forward with what information they had on hand and it looked like the most likely explanation was this.
Freya had an interest in her Bell.
That thought should have been horrifying enough, but Hestia couldn't find herself to be scared, worried ye, she'd be a fool not to be, but not scared.
For if Freya really wanted Bell, she could take him anytime she wanted to, she has more than enough power to, but the fact that she didn't, raised some potential reasons to mind.
One, Freya didn't want to hurt Hestia to get to Bell, given she actually seemed to enjoy Hestia's company. How or why that is, Hestia couldn't figure out. Something about her being so honest.
Two, she was waiting for Bell to grow to a point that would make taking him worth the effort. Sort of like waiting for fruit to ripen before picking it. This resulted in a mental image of Bell resembling an apple that Freya was about to bite into. It made Hestia shiver at the ridiculous imagery.
Three, and it was the worst scenario according to Koukin, Freya had found out about the summoning magic and was simply waiting to gauge their strength before attacking and the best way to do that is through Bell.
Though that last one was the least likely, given that everyone has kept their apparent origins covert and they hadn't grown too quickly as a familia to warrant any suspicion.
'Grown quickly?' Hestia thought with a wine of displeasure , 'not grown at all more like it.'
They hadn't summoned any new allies since Kallen, Elbia, and Ibuki. Hestia was usually against using the magic, both for the attention it could draw…
And the fact that there would be more women in this home between her and her precious Bell!
Let it not be said the Goddess of the hearth had her priorities straight.
Hestia sighed and leaned back against the chair she was in. She was being immature, she knew that. Like it or not, with the possibility of Freya having an interest in Bell, summoning more allies may just be the best option.
Among other things.
Hestia brought her gaze back to Bell, seeing his exhausted but serene expression. Thinking about how hard he must have pushed himself down there and what impact he had on the familia as a whole.
It actually led to a decision that was unanimously decided amongst the members after what they saw and experienced.
If it meant they could protect Bell better and defend the familia, they were willing to utilize the other skill that they all possessed, albeit some with caveats.
Passion Recipient, the skill that Hestia had kept from Bell for so long due to her own constitution and, admittedly, her selfishness.
She brought her hand to her first child's head, stroking some hair aside his brow. She had put it off for long enough and after everything that happened yesterday, she knew she couldn't for any longer.
Bell was bound to get into these situations, there was no use denying it. He had a stubborn habit of jumping into danger, whether for himself or for others, and that was on top of the dangers that came with being an adventurer.
"You just can't help yourself, can you?" she asked her sleeping child, "you always push yourself so far, despite the risks," she leaned over him and pressed her lips to his forehead, the action seemingly relaxing Bell further into his slumber, "but that's one of the reasons I love you, isn't it?"
Hestia sat back and continued to wait. Watching as her child slept with a serine look on his face.
She hoped he rested up well, he was going to need all his strength to prepare for what she was going to tell him.
Offhandedly, she hoped the others were doing okay as well. After the minotaur incident, they could use a chance to relax.
Kallen didn't think her day would involve her preventing her fellow familia member from trying to kill a shop owner.
Yet here she was.
She held back a very irate Chitoge, who was lunging at a drowsy looking chienthrope woman who was leaned back against the wall and looking at her blonde companion as if she were a monster straight out of the dungeon.
"Watered down potions?!" Chitoge exclaimed, "You gave us watered down potions! For how long?! Since Bell became your regular customer?!"
This whole day started rather tamed in comparison to now. After their last trip into the dungeon, the familia had a new spark within them after seeing their captain fight so hard. They had desires to push themselves hard today, some more than others, but nonetheless they had their own plans for the day to do so.
Takeru had left sometime early in the morning, heading into the dungeon, being accompanied by Ibuki, surprisingly. They both had made mention of going down to the middle floors and test themselves good and proper, despite the apparent risks.
Takeru made sense, she was always looking to improve herself, and after watching Bell fight, she finally found monsters in the dungeon that she could actually test herself properly against, regardless of how deep the floors are. Ibuki was the surprise, given she liked to explore the city, rather than train most of the time.
Bell's actions really had an effect on everyone, even lackadaisical Arue was studying the magic of this world with a bit more fervor and focus, rather than work on her own literature. However, Hana and Elbia retreated into their art studio downstairs, saying something about working on a masterpiece. Neither of them went into details on this work of theirs but they seemed adamant to get it done.
Kallen and Chitoge were both about to go into the dungeon to test themselves similar to Takeru but were surprised when they left their home and found one Liliruca Arde walking up to their doorstep, the pallum greeted the two politely before asking about Bell. She had a visible smile on her face when she was assured he was alright and was recovering nicely.
Then she brought something to their attention that surprised the two members.
She asked them where they received their health and stamina potions, mentioning there might be something wrong with them. Chitoge and Kallen were surprised by this news and asked what made her so sure. Lili then told them of the wound that Elbia received and how their potion did little to help her, until they met Ais who supplied one of her own that worked almost immediately.
That did seem suspicious, especially since Chitoge herself was given the better end of Ais's potion. So they elected to go to where the Hestia familia went to get all their potion and tonic needs.
A store run by Hestia's dear friend, Miach, god of healing and potion crafter, alongside his beloved assistant and captain of his familia Naaza, a chienthrope.
Who was leaning back against the wall and away from the wild swings and grabs by Chitoge.
"Let go of me Kallen!," Chitoge exclaimed in the redhead's arms, "I'm gonna pluck her tail off and choke her with it!"
Lili watched from the side, a neutral expression on her face despite the chaos in front of her. She turned to look at Naaza, "Sucks to be you now huh?"
Flinching at the pallum's words, Naaza couldn't offer a rebuttal to her words. Despite the apparent danger she was in from a barely restrained blonde, Naaza did have a cold pit of guilt stewing in her gut for her actions.
But she had a reason for the deception, a reason she had been tricking Bell and his familia for so long.
"Naaza," a gentle voice amidst the incoherent yelling called to her. She turned to see the sorrowful stare of her God looking at her, "Why?" he asked.
Naaza Couldn't meet her God's gaze but a look of disquiet anger made its way to her features, "It's because of you, lord Miach," she said with a tone of bitterness, "your kind nature, it…it…you kept giving away potions for free. Our resources were plummeting, we weren't making any profit to restock, let alone enough to keep the shop open," she looked to the side, avoiding her God's hurt gaze, "I did what I had to. Selling diluted potions with a price markup wasn't right, I know that, but it was better than our familia collapsing from our charity."
Miach stared at his sole remaining child, conflict and hurt echoing in his ancient soul. He wanted to argue and justify his acts of charity but found he couldn't. It was his nature to help and be giving as it was to heal others, but what did that matter if it hurt his own children in the process.
Kallen and Chitoge looked on from the side, Chitoge's struggling in the other's grip had ceased when noticing the shamed look on Naaza's face, as well as the look of guilt on her God's face as well.
Things were clearly more complicated than just them swindling Bell and Hestia familia. Yes, it still didn't excuse their actions, but it did have an unfortunate light of tragedy shined upon them that made their actions somewhat reasonable.
Before either of them could say anything to the duo, a loud boastful voice rang through the store along with the door opening.
"Fuahahahaha! My my Miach! Still running this shanty shed you call a store, huh? I hope it provided you enough to pay off your debt!"
All eyes in the store turned to the loud voice and saw it was a man with aged features that put him in the cusp of his golden years with energy to spare, behind him was a short young woman with silver hair wearing a uniform that was passingly familiar to Kallen and Chitoge, and was definitely familiar to Lili.
It was the uniform of who were arguably the best healers in the city, Dian Cecht Familia.
Which means the old man who came in so arrogantly was…
"Hmmm," the old man mused, looking at the scene before him, "Having a falling out with your customers, Miach? Not good, not good at all! How can you hope to pay back your massive debt to me if you turn your own customers into enemies? Better to just hand me the pharmacy and leave, save yourself the trouble."
The God Dian Cecht himself in all of his immodest expensive glory.
Miach walked up to the visiting God, a tired but unamused look upon his face, "Nice to see you today, Dian Cecht. I imagine you're here to collect?"
Dian Cecht smiled, it reminded Chitoge of shitty car salesmen, "You guessed right my 'friend'," he said the word 'friend' as if it were poison, "and judging by the look on your face, you don't have this month's payment, do you?"
Miach flinched at the question, "I…" he began but couldn't find the words.
The rival healing God raised his head and let out a loud bark of a laugh, "Fuahaha! I thought as much! Your carelessness with money and generosity are finally putting the nail in your own coffin, aren't they?"
Miach had no response, feeling the barbs of truth sticking in him. He had been too generous, he admits that, but to have it hurt him like this? Guess the saying is true, no good deed goes unpunished.
"I've been very generous," Dian Cecht said, no mockery this time, just a statement of fact, "but my kindness can only go so far. You have until tomorrow to pay up. If not? I'll take this place and sell it! Then kick you out of the city!"
His ultimatum given, Dian Cecht turned to leave, but paused when he saw the others.
He put on his best smile and said, "If you were unsatisfied with the service my friend here couldn't provide," he idly gestured to Miach with a tilt of his head, "then come down to my pharmacy. We have the best doctors, healers, and we sell potions from our best crafters that are guaranteed to-" he was cut off.
"Not interested, go away."
"I've heard better pitches from Potato Puff sellers, you suck bro."
"Lili doesn't trust anyone with a market pitch like that."
The words of Kallen, Chitoge, and Lili seemed to have dealt physical blows to the God, who was reeling back from each of their responses.
He was not a God that handled rejection well.
He gave a huff before turning around with a flutter of his expensive robes and marched to the door, his follower giving a polite bow to them before following along.
When the two left, Chitoge, now free from Kallen's grip, turned to Naaza, a look of pity on her face, her anger gone, "You in debt to that clown?" a miserable nod was the answer, "That sucks."
"Is that why you gave us faulty potions with hiked up prices?" Kallen asked the two, "Your debt that bad?"
Miach gave a tired sight before turning to his only familia member, a question in his gaze. Naaza met his stare and gave an agreeable nod. He turned back to the others and said, "I think it's best you hear the full story,"
With no small amount of difficulty, Miach explained the situation his familia was in, about how Naaza used to explore the dungeon with other members, the horrible accident she suffered down there that cost her her arm and caused her terrible trauma, Miach's pleading to Dian Cecht for a capable prosthetic for her, and the massive debt he accumulated that resulted with almost all of his familia leaving.
All accept Naaza.
Whatever frustrations they may have felt for their actions, were evaporated by the truth, especially when Naaza showed them her prosthetic arm. Kallen had to blink twice when she saw it, she expected something more…primitive, but the arm honestly wouldn't look too out of place in her old world.
Technology was weird here.
"Even though our circumstances were dire," Miach said, "that doesn't mean Naaza should have done what she did. For that, I can only apologize."
Kallen scratched the back of her head awkwardly. After hearing about their circumstances, it left her feeling both pity and understanding of their actions and she honestly couldn't bring herself to be mad about it.
Lili was in a similar, albeit less, feelings on the matter. Yes their situation was dire, desperate even, and she admits that she would have probably done the same in their shoes. But she had reservations about forgiving them in full thanks to the minotaur incident yesterday. Had those potions not been tampered with and been the legitimate stuff, Chitoge and Elbia would've had Bell's back against that monster.
Chitoge was silent, arms crossed and eyes closed in thought, thinking about what she heard. Any previous rage she had held for Naaza had seemingly dissipated, replaced with something else. She opened her eyes a cunning gleam in them, she turned to Miach, "Hey Blue!" she began, "You need to do something to pay back Old-and-Annoying or you're out of town, right?"
Miach blinked at the sudden strange name for him and Dian Cecht but answered, "Y-yes. We need to come up with something or he'll call my debt and I'll be forced to leave the city."
Chitoge smacked a fist into her palm, "Then just make a new potion! One that no one has seen before and sell it to Old-and-Annoying!"
Kallen and Lili both looked at Chitoge, wondering where this scheme came from. Naaza gave a bark of sardonic laughter at the girl's suggestion, "It's not just that simple," she said, "we can't just think up a magic potion out of thin air like that! We need to know the ingredients, experiment, the process alone could take weeks."
"Actually I have been working on something."
"And not to mention-," Naaza paused in her spiel, she looked to her God, "you have, lord Miach?"
The healer God nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face, "For some time now," he said, "it's a potion that should theoretically heal both the body and the mind. A dual potion if you will."
Naaza blinked, stunned by her God's words. If this is true, and she didn't doubt it was, then this potion could be a game changer in the field of potion craft.
"Well since she doesn't seem about to ask it," Kallen said, looking at Naaza, "I will. What are you missing?"
Miach looked up in thought, a hand on his chin, "I've been missing an ingredient, a key one in fact and there are only a few ways to obtain it."
Chitoge nodded along but was getting impatient, "Well, what is it? Where is it? How do we get it?" her red ribbon on her head was twitching with each question somehow, drawing a curious look from Lili at the phenomenon.
She thought Bell was the only one that looked like a rabbit.
"Eggs from a bloodsaurus," Miach said, "a vicious monster that can found on the lower floors of the dungeon."
Chitoge, Kallen, and Lili started at that. A monster from the lower floors? They imagined the ingredient would be rare and difficult, but not 'that' difficult. After the incident with the minotaur, Hestia familia had a newfound sense of caution around the beasts in the dungeon. Though some were definitely more confident than others at handling such monsters. Takeru was absolutely confident in her skills at fighting such beasts and Arue herself commented that she could unleash her magic might against such foes with little difficulty, were she so inclined to.
Kallen was on the fence about such things. She was sure she could hold her own against such a monster like a minotaur but her time in her old world taught her caution was the better form of strength when power wasn't enough.
A lesson she and many others from her old world learned the hard way.
Chitoge knew her limits and after her scuffle against the bovine monster, she would feel more comfortable and confident with fighting such a foe with backup on her side.
Though both could agree with this, fighting a lower level monster was definitely outside the ballpark for them.
Miach saw their expressions at his words and gave them a reassuring smile, "No need to worry," he said, "that is thankfully not the only place they are found. In fact, they are one of the rare monsters that spawn on the surface and lay eggs much more often than their counterparts down below.
Chitoge perked up at this sudden news, "Oh! That's great! Monsters on the surface are typically weaker than those in the dungeon, right?"
Kallen nodded, "Yeah and the power gap between the two is wide and vast. We shouldn't have a problem handling something like that."
Lili made a noise, drawing attention to her, "Lili is glad you're confident but Lili would rather be on the side of caution if we are gonna do what I think we're gonna do."
Chitoge gave the disguised pallum a smile, "If you mean help these two out, get a unique potion developed, and negotiate better deals for us in the future? Then yes!"
Miach was honestly heartfelt by the offer, "You would do that?"
Chitoge passed the God a toothy grin, "Sure, but not for free mind you," she said with emphasis, "In exchange, it's like what I said, we want better deals with your potions and no more diluted crap or price hikes," she paused in thought before continuing, "and we want a few of those new potions for ourselves as well."
"That is-," Nazareth started, before being cut off by Kallen, who stepped forth.
"Or, you could reject our help and try to find a better way yourself," she shrugged nonchalantly, "it's your familia at risk after all, not ours. Besides, we still want to keep coming here. Our captain is fond of this place and our Goddess is good friends with Miach. We don't want that to end on bad terms for them."
Naaza couldn't bring herself to argue against that. What they said was true, Bell came here regularly and bought her potions at her asking price, unaware of her deception. Still smiling and being so polite and kind, she knew Miach was a near and dear friend of Hestia, having been the Goddess's drinking buddy alongside Takemikazuchi.
Could she really jeopardize that over her being stingy about the offered deal? No she could not.
With a sigh, Nazza nodded her head, "Very well, but you'll need a guide," she looked them over, "unless any of you know where to go and what to look for? Then I must come with you."
The offer surprised everyone, especially Miach, "Naaza," he began, "are you sure?"
Naaza looked to her God and gave him a smile, "It isn't the dungeon, that's already better for me. Besides," she looked at the others, her face sober, "I do harbor guilt for what I did to Bell and the others. I can at least help them with this."
Kallen and Chitoge smiled at her offer. They still held some reservations about her, but if she was sincere, they could give her a chance
Bell was really rubbing off on them.
Lili would have said something about this whole situation being a little too dramatic but could not bring herself to word them.
She too was swept up in this moment here.
After retrieving their weapons and gear, Chitoge and Kallen, alongside Lili, followed Naaza as she led them outside the city and into the deep forest that surrounded Orario.
They had told Koukin and Hestia what was going on and despite Hestia's reacting badly to the news about Bell being swindled for so long, they had approved of the plan and wished them the best of luck.
Kallen inquired about the rest of the familia whilthey were there. Koukin told her that Takeru and Ibuki were still in the dungeon, Arue was still out at the library studying magic of the world, Bell was still resting, and Hana and Elbia continued to lock themselves downstairs in their studio.
Chitoge asked if they should be worried about them but Hestia assured her that she was leaving food outside the door for them and that they had been taking it and leaving empty plates outside.
With little else to comment, the party of four went out to take some eggs.
…That did not sound as epic as it should.
They traveled through the forest now, a good distance from the city. They kept their eyes open for any signs of monsters and especially bloodsauruses. Though Naaza assured them that they shouldn't have a problem with finding one, they weren't exactly subtle creatures, though they do try.
Eventually, after moving through the forest for some time, they entered upon a clearing where large trees hung overhead and covered the area in patches of shadow and with grass that grew to reach up to their waists at the lowest and over their heads at the highest.
"This is the spot," Naaza said in a whisper, "this is usually the bloodsaurus preferred nesting grounds."
"How can you tell?" Kallen asked in a whisper.
Naaza pointed at several areas of grass that seemed to be taller than the rest but were awkwardly tilted in different directions and looked quite messy, "the monsters try to move through the grass without disturbing it and they push the taller grass over their nests as a type of protection from birds or other types of egg eaters."
Chitoge looked to the grass again, a question on her tongue, "Why do they not want to disturb the grass though? What's the point of that?"
Naaza was about to move ahead until she heard Chitoge's question. She was about to answer but it was Lili who offered the explanation, "Monsters on the surface are much weaker than the ones in the dungeon," she looked at the grass with great displeasure, given how it all hung over her head, "they had to adapt to a different hunting strategy and an ambush hunter wouldn't like to leave a trail."
Little was said after that explanation, sobering as it was, and the party went into the grass with their heads on a swivel. They could definitely handle a monster, should one appear, but caution was the best approach for this mission, given what was at stake.
Didn't want to smash some eggs in the middle of a fight after all.
They reached their first nest, pushed the tall overhanging grass aside to see the eggs, eight of them all in a clutch.
Naaza gestured for Lili to come over with her bag and began depositing the eggs inside. While Kallen and Chitoge were watching around them for any signs of trouble.
Nazza deposited the last egg and gave the others a silvered thumbs up with her prosthetic, "That's one nest down, a few more to go."
"How many do we need?" Chitoge asked, still watching around them, "Shouldn't that many be enough? They're not exactly small."
Naaza shook her head, "We need at least twenty or more if we want a decent chance of success in making the potion. Having extra would balance any rooms of error that would come in crafting it," she gave them a rueful smile, "one of the first lessons I was taught from others in my familia before they all left."
No one had anything to argue that but Lili groaned about having to walk through a forest in a forest, thanks to the tall grass. Chitoge rubbed the grumbling pallum's head, taking some sympathy at her plight of height. This seemed to make Lili grumble more but she didn't push Chitoge away.
Her softly wagging chienthrope tail was all the answer the blonde needed.
They continued on and again found a nest, bigger this time with ten eggs in it. They gathered them up and made to move to the third and final nest that would be the end of this mission if their luck still holds.
As they followed Naaza, Lili spotted something on the ground just beside them, she gave a cough that stopped their progress and moved to see what it was. She picked it up and examined it.
It was a tooth, a fang at first sight but was thicker and as wide as Lili's hand at the base and was long enough to be considered a dagger in the pallum's hands.
Lili turned to the others and showed them her find, "Lili found this on the ground," she said, "Would this be a tooth from one of those things?"
Naaza nodded and looked around them, "Yes. That's the tooth of a bloodsaurus," she flicked her own chienthrope ears, as if looking for a certain sound with them, "let's move with more caution. We've been lucky not to run into any by now, but that might not be the case for long."
The rest of the party nodded and followed along, with as much caution as they could, as if they were in the dungeon itself.
Kallen had her kodachi drawn and hand crossbow held high, ready for whatever comes. This wasn't her first time in a thick forest waiting for an enemy to show up, if one was to in any case. Granted, this was her first time in such a forest without a machine to cocoon herself in and fight from within that.
Chitoge was walking softly along, her gaze traveling around herself for any signs of trouble, her fists clenched within her gauntlets and ready to strike out. She had a sense of danger, one that was practically raised within her from her family itself in the Queen Hive Gang and was further focused from her time in the dungeon. It was silent for now but Chitoge knew that could change at the drop of a hat.
Who goes into the forest and does not expect life there?
They reached the third and hopefully final nest, this one bigger than the others which was already a good sign. Naaza and Lili pushed the large grass aside to peer into it and Naaza smiled when she saw another healthy batch of eggs, another eight if she counted them right.
Lili was frowning as she looked into the nest, her instincts telling her something was off. Something about all of this was off. They had ventured into what was known monster territory, stolen eggs from a known aggressive species, and not once have they seen any sign that they were there. Not even a footprint.
This wasn't adding up and Lili finally realized something as Naaza was putting the eggs in her bag.
The realization chilled her.
"Everyone," Lili whispered with urgency, drawing everyone's attention, "do you hear that?"
Chitoge and Kallen listened, and Naaza tilted her head to pick up any sounds, "I don't hear anything Miss Arde," she said.
"I've got nothin either," Chitoge answered with a shrug.
"I don't hear anything but the wind Lili," Kallen answered, turning to look at her, "You sure you heard something?"
"No, Lili didn't," Lili answered with a fearful shake of her head, "and that's the problem. Nothings making a sound. No birds or bugs, no animals, nothing," she looked around her urgently, "and we've gone through three nests so far without running into a single one of those monsters.
The three finally caught on to what she was saying and the realization was sobering. Naaza quickly put the last egg in and gestured to the others, "We should go, now."
A deep rumble stopped any motion they were about to take.
It was a deep sound, loud in a way that didn't hurt the ears but could shake your bones.
Chitoge and Kallen stood more on guard and Naaza withdrew a bow on her back and notched an arrow. Lili moved between them and readied her repeating wrist mounted crossbow.
They didn't hear it again but everyone knew it was there, something was there.
They scanned the terrain, the tall grass making it difficult enough, add in the shadows cast by the trees and leaves and that made spotting any creatures extremely difficult.
Regardless, they all put their senses to the test in trying to locate the origin of the sound.
They did not have to look long, given it decided to attack.
The tall grass parted or was stomped down by the onrushing monster. It nearly closed the distance with them but the others caught sight of it as soon as it appeared and made to jump aside of its assault.
They were lucky enough to avoid the sudden leap and snapping jaws as it went past them and destroyed the nest under foot.
They all quickly recovered and looked upon the attacker, who was shaking its head in frustration at missing its kills.
It was a bloodsaurus but it was massively different from how Naaza described one.
For starters, it was huge. Much bigger than a usual bloodsaurus on the surface, maybe twice the size of one if Naaza could guess. Next, its pebbled skin was not only the crimson blood red for which it got its name, but also sporting black stripes up and down its flank like a tiger of some kind. Lastly, it was the eyes. Most monsters, whether they are on the surface or in the dungeon, usually sported glowing red eyes, this one however had glowing purple eyes that looked to be leaking light like some malevolent tears of some kind.
This was an abnormal monster that was plain to see, and they were now being hunted by it.
The abnormal bloodsaurus looked around before spotting Naaza, who froze with weapon in hand at the beast's evil stare. It growled before prowling over to her, its jaws opening to reveal a maw of curved teeth and fangs.
She couldn't move, her fear and trauma preventing her. This was just supposed to be a simple mission in dealing with relatively simple monsters. Not something like this. What could she do? Why was this happening? Was she going to die? What was going to happen to Miach if she did? Who would take care of the store? What-
"Like hell I'm going through this again!"
Naaza felt someone tackle her from the side just as the monster's jaws snapped down where she once was. She looked to see Chitoge who was looking at her with complete anger and annoyance.
"Get it together Naaza," she said, standing up and pulling her up as well, "we need you to focus and help us beat this thing."
Naaza shook in place, now realizing just how close she came to death. This was a mistake. She shouldn't have come here. It was like the dungeon. It was like when she lost her arm-
Two hands slapped both sides of her cheeks and push them together, she was made to look directly into Chitoge's eyes.
"Calm down," she said firmly, "you're not alone. We will beat this thing together. Alright?"
Naaza calmed down somewhat enough to nod, making Chitoge smile slightly, "Good," she said standing up, "let's go help the others, they're distracting it right now."
Naaza stood herself and though fear still stabbed at her heart, she readied her bow and prepared to fight.
Kallen and Lili were both keeping the creature's attention on them and they could see the apparent frustration in the monster's actions.
They'd guess that the charge it did was only for a good ambush.
Though the monster was an abnormal, it didn't seem to have enough speed to close the gap between it and Kallen, who leapt out of the way of any charge that it would use on her. She followed up by shooting the beast with her hand crossbow, trying to aim at the softest parts she could find but to know avail.
Neck, arms, legs, hindquarters, all of it seemed to have increased defenses to attacks, or the weapon she was using couldn't put out the damage she needed.
She put her hand crossbow away and focused her strength into wielding her kodachi. She saw the beast turn back to her and she got ready.
'Any time now, Lili,' she thought with some urgency.
With a roar, the bloodsaurus charged at her, only to flinch when a small bag seemed to fly out from the grass and into the monster's snout, disgorging its contents, the monster suddenly roared, not in display, but rage and panic at what it was smelling.
Lili said it was some kind of monster repellent and she swore up and down about how effective it was.
Given that Kallen could even see actual tears roll down the monster's eyes, she didn't doubt it for a second.
Kallen rushed forward, blade in hand and made to cut at, what she hoped, was a soft underbelly. She swung her sword left and right as she passed the tiny arms and titanic legs, and was happy to see her sword cut through flesh and draw razors of pain from the monster from her actions. She slid past its underbelly and took one swing at the tail, successfully cutting flesh, only to suddenly stop when she felt she hit something hard. Kallen looked to see her blade had cut into the beast's flesh, but stopped somehow when it made contact with those strange stripes the monster had.
Kallen tried to push her blade to keep cutting but to no avail. It was like she was trying to push her blade through rock.
"What the hell are these stripes?!' she thought with some frustration.
She withdrew her blade from the monster's tail when she saw it about to spin around and take a bite at her. Jumping back just in time to avoid snapping teeth.
She slid to a stop some distance away, her gaze never leaving her foe, who returned her stare alongside a deep rumbling growl.
Kallen could see her work underneath the creature, given its massive size, and was proud to see the cuts she made were making it bleed something fierce. She now knew something useful about this beast from her actions.
Those stripes had to be modified scales or something and they were tough enough to stop her sword strike dead on contact. Add in the fact that this thing was clearly stronger than a monster on the surface had a right to be and this presented a clear challenge for the group.
A challenge that Kallen couldn't help but smile at.
It was insane, really. Here she was fighting an abnormal monster almost by herself and she was smiling like a loon. A quick introspection told her why.
After Bell's fight with the minotaur, she was overcome with amazement and excitement at her captain and summoner for beating the odds and defeating that beast. She could remember almost every detail of that battle, every strike Bell threw, every near hit for the minotaur, Bell lifting the giant sword, the minotaur unleashing a final charge, and Bell blasting the monster into ashes.
It was stimulating to see and it sparked something in her. One was admiration for her captain, not something easily done, the other was something else.
Inspiration, Kallen was inspired by Bell's fight and it made her want to push herself to greater heights. Made her want to stand out on her own.
And the funny thing is, she wasn't the only one.
An arrow shot from the tall grass and impaled itself into the bloodsaurus's eye, making the monster roar in agony and turn to the area it was attacked. Only to be struck in the back of the head by a blond blur that dropped an armored heel upon it.
Growling, the monster stumbled a step before lashing behind it with its tail, missing its attacker by a hair. Chitoge backflipped off the monster's back and landed a short distance from Kallen.
They shared eye contact for a moment with each agreeing on one thing.
They were going to beat this monster!
Kallen dashed forward, with Chitoge trailing behind her, "Attack between the stripes!" Kallen shouted, not only to Chitoge, but to Lili and Naaza, "The black stripes are extra armored somehow! Aim between them and at the underside. There's no stripes there!"
She struck again at the beasts underside, drawing a splash of blood and a howl of rage from the monster. Chitoge, lacking any bladed weapons of her own, decided to strike at the beast's feet in an attempt to break a toe, she succeeded in a strike that cracked a massive talon, but no sign she broke bone, the monster clearly felt it, given it gave another grunt of pain.
Bolts suddenly rained down upon the creature from somewhere not far away inside the grass. Many bounced off the monster's hide from where the stripes were at, others hit well and true and stuck themselves in, not deep, but enough to draw the monster's focus.
As it turned to pursue whoever shot at it, another arrow shot from the other side and nail the monster in one of its nostrils.
It felt a blinding flash of pain and reared its head and roared at the sensation and out of pure rage.
Chaotically and wrathfully, it swung its head back and forth, bellowing as it did so, its tail lashing this way and that and smashing against the ground and nearby trees with thunderous percussion.
Kallen could see their attacks were doing damage, yes, but they weren't going to get a kill shot in anytime soon at this rate, and the monster was more guarded around its eye now that it lost one. She knew they were capable of taking this thing down, they just needed to put their focus into an effective strike.
This was getting really frustrating, and Kallen couldn't keep her anger in check for very…long.
'My anger,' she thought , 'my skill!'
'Guren', a skill she possessed since the moment she was summoned. It's effects were simple, it would give her a temporary boost of her status when facing certain odds, greater odds if she remembered right, and the effect was increased depending on her aggression.
She looked again at the monster, seeing its massive size and weight that dwarfed her, its powerful tail, sharp claws, and bone crushing teeth.
If fighting this thing didn't count as 'greater odds', she didn't know what did. She focused now on herself, more accurately, her anger and let it boil to the surface and through her being.
"Chitoge! Everyone!" she shouted, "Try to keep it busy, I'm going to try something that might kill it."
She wasn't responded to but Chitoge quickly ran and the monster and went low, dodging gnashing teeth that nearly took her in half, once she was under the belly, she lept vertically and landed an impressive high kick to where Kallen cut the beast previously, drawing another angry roar from the monster, that was cut off in guttural coughs as a bag of something potent landed in its mouth with a puff of a red cloud.
Lili had to thank Ibuki next time she saw her for sharing her spice recipe for her pepper bombs.
Kallen felt her anger pool from her and bubbling out to the surface, she could feel it was having an affect on her. Her muscles felt hot, she could hear her heartbeat in her ears rapid fire, her vision was getting blurry except where she saw the bloodsaurus, her main focus, her enemy, her target.
She tightened her grip on the kodachi, feeling like the handle would snap in her grip if she squeezed it harder, the worry and frustration of that happening fueled her anger all the more.
She saw Chitoge leap into the tall grass, just as the monster went to follow her. It wade through the grass, its head swinging left and right, trying to find her or the others that it sought to kill. Shaking its colossal head and knocking the arrow out of its nose, it rose its head up to smell the air, to track its targets.
'That's it!' Kallen thought , 'That's the moment!'
Tensing her legs, her anger and frustration fueling her body, she leapt forward through the air with speed she didn't know she had, her skill boosting her status to a degree she never tested herself.
In a single second before she struck, she realized how bad of an idea this was. She never tested or practiced with her skill and using it now was reckless in the extreme.
But it will be so worth it if she succeeds.
As she drew near the monster, she struck out at the monster's neck, slicing into it as deep as she could with as much strength she could muster.
She felt something snap in her grasp just as she finished her leap and delivered a long cut to the beast, landing on the ground in a slide. She looked at her weapon and grimaced as she saw her blade had snapped right above the guard.
But thankfully that sacrifice was worth it.
She looked back to the monster and saw it thrashing its head left in right in clear panic and pain, its blood fountaining from where Kallen's attack struck.
Eventually the monster began to move slower and slower, as its strength ebbed away from the blood loss, it collapsed forward, its one working eye dimming ever more. It seemed to tense up as it layed there, its stripes losing their ebony color and becoming a pale gray. It gave one final hiss through its nostrils and the light died in its eyes as the last drop of blood spilled from its neck. Soon enough, the monster began to dissolve into ash, falling in upon itself.
Kallen rose to her feet, her hand that held the remnants of her sword shaking from her exertion.
"Well," she began, "that's that."
Chitoge came to her side, a wide smile on her face, "That was amazing Kallen!" she exclaimed, "Next time, you should lead with that!" she patted Kallen's back uproariously.
Kallen tensed and gave a brief shout of pain when Chitoge's hand touched her back. Seemed she really needed to train with that skill more.
"Oh crap!" Chitoge said, seeing her reaction, "Are you alright?"
Kallen managed to wave off her worries, though the action caused her to wince again, "Yeah, I'm fine," she groaned as dull pain echoed through her body, at least it was going away somewhat, "never tried to use my skill like that is all."
Chitoge kept her eyes on her in case Kallen needed her help, when it became clear she would be okay, Chitoge gave a sigh of relief, "Well you certainly tested the limits of it, I'm sure," she looked back towards where the monster once was, "That thing was way stronger than we thought," she turned to look at Naaza, who was coming out of the tall grass towards them, her gaze directed at the pile of ash, "They get like this on the surface?"
Naaza shook her head, her grip still tight on her bow. She may have held her fear back in order to help them, but the weight of the experience still has an effect on her, "No," she answered, "or at least not often, if at all. Abnormal monsters like that are obscenely rare on the surface," she gave a shrug, "but not impossible. It would take years for it to happen though, close to a decade if it solely ate monsters on the surface."
Chitoge rubbed her head in frustration while Kallen just gave an exhausted sight, "Guess we know why the nests weren't guarded," she said, "that big bastard must have come in and ate the others," she looked up into the canopy, seeing the sun through the leaves, "monsters really are vicious. Whether here or in the dungeon."
Naaza went over to the now large mound of ash that was the bloodsaurus, she looked over the large pile of ashes before spotting what she was looking for, "Well, at the very least," she reached down and picked up the magic stone of the monster, its size filling her palm, "we get a nice bonus on top of the eggs.
"That's very nice for you," came a familiar voice from the grass, "but Lili thinks that all she wants at the end of the day is a nice long bath."
The pallum disguised as a chienthrope walked out of the grass and Chitoge and Kallen held back their laughter with all the will power they could muster.
Lili had apparently been too close to the beast when Kallen slit its throat and as a result, was liberally splattered with the monster's blood. From her backpack, to her boots, she was completely splattered with gore and she did not look amused at all right now.
Naaza was the only one that wasn't laughing, though she definitely winced at seeing Lili in such a state. It also may be because Naaza could smell the blood's noxious odor with her sensitive nose and she didn't want to imagine how it would feel, given the smell.
Chitoge calmed down enough to finally look at Lili with a straight face, "Sorry Lili," she apologized, "after that crazy fight, seeing you like that…well,"
"Lili is happy she was able to amuse you," the pallum said in a low tone, "now, how about we go home before this blood stains Lili's clothes and gear."
The rest nodded and made to leave the area, with Lili trailing behind. Before she began walking away, Lili looked down at the pile of ash, her curiosity and instincts screaming at her that something was off about this, that they were missing something important. This monster was too strong to be on the surface. Something like this was usually called in to the guild and adventurers were dispatched, quickly at that. How had it gone so long undetected? Someone had to have known, a creature like this doesn't just get this strong and this dangerous without someone knowing about it or stumbling upon it, especially this close to the city.
'This isn't right,' she thought , 'this is all too weird.'
Something in the pile of ash caught her eye, she couldn't get a good look at it but it almost looked like…
"Hey Lili!" Chitoge shouted back at her, "C'mon, aren't you in the rush to shower? We don't want that blood to dry out in your hair, do we?"
Lili started at Chitoge's voice, drawing her attention away from the ash for a moment. When she looked back, she didn't see what caught her eye , 'If it was even there in the first place,' she thought.
The fight was intense, her eyes must be playing tricks on her.
"Lili is coming!" she shouted back before running to her party, leaving the remains of the monster and the scene of battle behind.
Some time had passed since the small party fought the bloodsaurus, the sun was getting lower and approaching twilight.
In the area in which the monster fell, there was still only the pile of ash, unique given at this point, the ash should have already dissolved into nothing or be whisked away by the wind. Yet it still remained, as if in contempt of the elements and reason itself.
A flash of light briefly appeared in the tree line, followed by heavy footsteps through the tall grass. A man broke through the tall grass, wearing a deep hood and cloak that obscured any visual of his face.
He stood in front of the large pile of monster ashes, a contemplative hum leaving his lips briefly. He reached a gloved hand inside his cloak, pulling out a medallion attached to a silver chain. The medallion was an ivory disc with the image of a balancing scale on one side and a stylized bird on the other side.
He held the medallion over the ash pile, seeing it emit a soft halo-like glow of green light. He eventually held the object over a certain spot and the medallion spinned as well as glowed its brightest. He put the medallion away and reached down to where it spinned. Grabbing and pulling up a fist full of ash, he held his hand upright and opened it up, allowing the material to fall around his palm and through his fingers, only to leave behind something when all the ash had fallen from his hand.
It was a small thing, barely the size of a valis coin, it could have been confused for an especially dark rock but the man knew just how important this small bit of material was.
He reached into his cloak again, this time pulling out a small crystal orb. He muttered something and the orb emitted a soft hum before a voice could be heard from it.
"I hope you've come to report good news," a melodious voice said from the orb, in a tone that expected much and more.
"Both good and bad I'm afraid, my lady," the man said, his voice smooth but calculating, "bad news first, the experiment outside the city has been terminated."
He heard the voice sigh but could not sense any anger in it, "That is certainly bad news but not the worst in the least," her tone became professional, analytical, "it was a loose gamble none of us saw going anywhere and it's honestly more of a shock it had lasted this long," he heard the sound of shuffling papers, "tell me, how long has it been since we set up this test in that area?"
The man thought for only a few seconds, the answer coming almost immediately, "three years, seven months, and seventeen days," he said neutrally, "I would need to look at the records for exact hour and minute."
"Don't bother," the voice said from the orb and the sound of paper being moved started again before going silent, "accuracy, though important, is not necessary all the time."
He gave a grunt at that, his disagreement evident. The voice from the orb spoke again, a touch of humor in her tone now, no doubt from his reaction, "Despite this unfortunate happening, are you sure this was the only experiment that was destroyed?"
He didn't need to even think of the answer to know it, "Yes my lady," he said, "this was the only one that our spells indicated was destroyed. All others continue to persist."
"And the material?" she asked, "please tell me you retrieved the material."
Again, the man looked at the small black piece of mineral looking substance, "That would be the good news, my lady," he said, "the scale has been retrieved, no signs of damage."
"And the magic stone?"
At this, the man grimaced, his displeasure in his voice now, "No. which means that leaves the only and obvious conclusion to what happened," he gave a pause as he looked around, noticing a few small bolts sticking or laying in the ground as well as a small gag that reeked something awful, "that and the clear evidence surrounding me."
"Adventurers," the voice said with a touch of venom to her tone. He heard her take a calm breath before continuing, "Well, as unfortunate as that is, I couldn't care less about that stone. Just so long as the scale is back in our hands, all other matters are trivial."
There was a pause before the woman asked on another topic, "Out of curiosity," she began, "based on our last observation, how strong do you think the monster was before it was slain?"
The man thought for a moment, recalling numerous reports about this experiment from previous observations. Its size and overall growth, behavior patterns, confrontations with other monsters, its diet habits, and more.
"I would safely say somewhere at either a high level two or a low level three," he said. He looked around the area, noticing the damage that surrounded him, "Perhaps higher. Impossible to say without more information."
He heard the voice give a click of her tongue, "That's all? I seriously expected more given the close proximity to the dungeon itself."
The man shrugged, "variables to consider next time," he said.
"There is no next time," the voice said, her tone one of finality, "It was risky enough to try it there in the first place. Now, no doubt, whoever killed the monster will report back to the guild and an investigation will be done in the area," he heard her hiss a curse in a language he didn't understand before continuing , "Dispose of the remains properly and purge the area itself. Don't even allow the grass to say anything."
The man nodded before replying, "Of course my lady," he said, "it will be done," he deactivated the orb, knowing the person on the other side would be doing the same right now.
He pocketed the material he was sent to retrieve and began to prepare the surrounding area for further destruction.
He took out some beakers filled with various chemicals from inside his cloak and splashed them about the area, coating the ash on the ground, the surrounding grass, the nests, and even a few trees with their potent mixture.
Once he felt the area was thoroughly prepped, he made his way towards the tree line and took out a single match, lit it, and threw it right at where the monster's ashes lay.
Almost immediately, the ashes were consumed by dark blue and soft green flames, the particles seemingly being burned away into nothing. Soon the flames touched the grass and the fire was spreading rapidly and engulfing everything that he doused with chemicals but leaving areas he didn't douse untouched.
When he saw the inevitable destruction that lay ahead, he turned his back to the controlled inferno and walked back into the forest proper, whispering a string of words in an unknown tongue before vanishing in a flash of light.
Leaving no trace of him ever being there at all.