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/Later in the Dungeon…/
/Step step.../
/Crunch.../
/Stop…/
'Ottar and the others stopped in front of the entrance leading to the 52nd floor.'
'No one said anything, the atmosphere was tense, bellow their feet laid blood and gore, fragments of magic stones and black dust...'
'A great massacre had just happened, but they all seemed rather okay.'
"From here on out it's the Dragon's vase, I don't need to explain anything else do I?" Hedin voiced out calmly as he stared at the dark stairs
'The others did not reply, they've all been here already.'
'Apart from...'
"What is the Dragon's vase?" One of the Gulliver brothers, Alfrigg, the oldest, asked as he rested his weapon on the ground
'Hedin did not scold them, instead, he quickly offered a reply:'
"It's a vast Labyrinth, that in itself isn't unusual. The problem comes from the 58th floor."
'Once he finished talking, the dark elf next to him decided to say something.'
'Raising his right hand and grasping at the air, he said:'
"Bellow… The beasts of despair… Unleash their doom…"
"Shut up Hogni, let me explain."
"..."
'Hogni stopped talking.'
"As I was saying... As we experienced on this floor, it'll be a long and complex labyrinth that extends all the way to the 57th floor."
"However, starting from now, we'll be under constant bombardment from the monsters down on the 58th floor."
'His eyes sharpened.'
"Valgang Dragons."
"Don't underestimate them, their breath attack is strong enough to cross floors and it can instantly kill Level 5 adventurers if it hits them badly."
"They'll prove to be a challenge to you four, so be on the lookout if you don't want to go back as triplets or twins."
"You four shouldn't have a problem evading their attacks, even if they do, you're not going to fall, it would be disappointing if you did."
"Can't say the same for adventurers that are half dead." Hedin spoke with some spite as he looked at Allen
"?!"
"You… Fucking Elf… Just you… Wait…" Allen spoke as he breathed heavily
Shit! My rib's broken.
That cursed lizard!
/Inhale... Exhale.../
'The white elf rolled his eyes as the Cat tried to act tough.'
'The reason why he was like this was due to his previous stunt.'
'When they were on the 51st floor, the damn cat insisted on fighting Cadmus, the strongest monster on the floor, alone.'
'No matter what everyone wanted, the bastard wouldn't budge, so under the assumption he wouldn't cause any more trouble, they allowed him to confront it.'
'They came here to face a challenge and grow, and considering they're all on the same Level, it would be a waste to let their competitors get all of the Exilia, that was one of the reasons why they were always bickering with each other.'
'Even if Cadmus isn't a Monster Rex, it's still a danger... A massive one.'
'Cadmus is a strong Dragon monster that watches over a small lake, it's stationary and similar to the Green Dragon on the Lower floors.'
'In terms of strength, it's stronger than Udaeus, a Level 6 monster.'
'And with its extreme defenses, it could pose a threat to Allen, a High Level 6, especially after the boy tired himself fighting every monster on his way down, Balor, and more.'
'Because of a momentary lack of attention, he let Cadmus' tale hit his chest, and his armor could only prevent his ribs from shattering into pieces.'
'Even with a potion, he could only manage to heal himself to this state, stronger potions were left for emergencies... If they had any.'
'They were rather unprepared for this journey as they were few in numbers and no one wanted to be the Supporter, their pride didn't allow for that.'
'For food, they hunted whatever they found, and at the start, they ate nothing until they arrived in Rivira where they bought some food and continued on their way until the next safe point.'
'As for their potions and money... Aside from Hedin and Ottar, they aren't aware of how much they brought, if you ask them, they'll just look at each other and wait for someone else to reply.'
'That's how they are.'
/Step…/
'While everyone talked, Ottar took a step forward.'
'This was how the Freya Familia raided, they may seem to be working together, but it was more of using each other.'
'Even if Ottar once wanted to try and have them work together, he long gave up on it.'
'Now, he just moves first, trying to have them follow him.'
'And they would, because as proven long ago, despite the way everyone treats each other, they still respect him for his power and his position, they just usually don't show it.'
'In a situation of life and death where measly confrontation has no space, they will get serious and work together to a certain degree.'
'Like that, the Freya Familia entered the Dragon's vase, their destination was the 58th floor.'
…
/Somewhere above… On the safe room on the 39th floor.../
'A small group of people camped within a secluded cavern, far from both the entrances and the exits of the floor.'
'Inside it, in the middle of the cavern, two men sat together close to one another.'
"The Freya Familia should have entered the Dragon's vase by now." One of them said in a raspy tone as he took out an hourglass, checking the time
'He tapped the table as he thought.'
We've set scouts on every single floor from this one until the 48th floor before Balor's room.
We lost a few agents in the process, but that was expected.
Even then, they moved faster than we could relay information... Their hunting speed is incomprehensible...
Hopefully, the last scout managed to contact the Attack team before they arrived at the Vase, or worse, found out by them.
"I can't wait for them to see our surprise!" Someone else spoke with a large smile, a beast man with only one ear
'But the cloaked man didn't share his feelings, quickly getting up from his seat and clapping his hand.'
"There is no time to rejoice, we need to move." He said as he turned around
"Contact the Scouts, we're retreating."
Now we go back, the rest is up to the Attack team.
"I wanted to see it though…" The other man replied with a disappointed expression
"Leave it to the others as planned, unless you want to be there when they go berserk, if so, be my guest Jura."
I have no plans to experience firsthand what it is to be in a conflict with the strongest of the Freya Familia as they fight for their lives.
"Dix, you're such a bother… Hey, don't leave me!" Jura exclaimed as he followed him
"..."
Insane bastard.
It took us an unbelievable amount of resources to set up this operation.
From the moment we learned that the Freya Familia was diving, I knew this was a chance to take them down, but our time was limited and our personnel were scattered with few being able to partake in the operation.
Convincing Jura wasn't a problem, changing the plan slightly to fit the environment of the Dragon's vase was a simple thing as well, the hard part was preparing.
It's impossible to enter the Dragon's vase without enough preparations, or you'll be killed, just getting there was hard.
Special tools to hide from the monsters and items to lure them away...
We barely had enough time to set it up, even then, I would've preferred if we were given enough time to maximize effectiveness and reduce our losses to a minimum.
'Dix' eyes sharpened behind his glasses.'
We had to sacrifice tens of personnel for this, but it's worth it.
The Freya Familia will disappear today.
Their arrogance will be their downfall.
After descending with little supplies, fighting everything on their path, and tiring themselves out, they now enter Hell without fear…
Once the Valgang Dragons start to breathe their flames and destroy the floors, they'll do the rest and collapse the Labyrinth.
They'll have no choice but to dive deeper to escape, but then…
"Death awaits them on the 59th floor."
'Dix and Jura covered their body with the cloaks, and they vanished amidst the dark caverns, followed by many others.'
'The camp was soon deserted as if it was never there from the start.'
…
/Step step.../
/Sniff.../
'In the 52nd floor...'
"Can you stop sniffing the air like a damn dog?" One of the Pallum brothers exclaimed mockingly as they walked
"If you don't want to die... Then shut THE FUCK UP!"
'Allen's expression was one of pure bloodlust.'
"... There's something strange in the air, it's different from the last time I was here." He said with a shape gaze as he turned to Ottar
"It makes me remember molten rocks..."
/Sniff.../
""!""
/CRACK!/
'The ground started to tremble as faint pressure came from bellow...'
'Everyone jumped to the sides, as far away as they could...'
/BOOOOOOOOOOM!/
'A massive pillar of fire rose from the ground, being dozen of meters wide as it blasted a massive hole on the ground and ceiling, scorching the stones, melting the floors as it passed through them.'
"..."
'Looking at this sight, the brothers stared down at the hole, only to see many floors that eventually led to a red wasteland, and in there, they saw the gaping maw of a dragon pointing at them, preparing to fire again!'
"I fucking hate this place!" Allen screamed as he jumped at the hole, followed by Hogni and Ottar
"If you don't want to be left behind, follow us." Hedin said calmly as he turned to look at the brothers, taking a step forward and diving into the hole with elegance as his hair rose up in the air
/Gulp.../
'One of the brothers gulped down, only to receive a slight punch from another one.'
'There was no space for hesitation!'
/Jump!/
'They all went after them.'
...
/Tremble!/
/Tremble!/
'Within the Dragon's vase, a group of hooded individuals hid within a dark corner.'
"I-It has started!" One of them said fearfully as their body trembled
"We can't delay it any longer, albeit we didn't receive the orders from the superiors, the plan doesn't change." Someone replied as they took a step out of the dark
The Scouts must've perished on the way... But it doesn't seem like the plan has been seen through.
They were unlucky.
"Activate all bombs and remove your repelling capes, run as much as you can, as further as you can, cause and spread as much destruction as possible!"
"Follow the routes we discussed, they'll hold the least amount of monsters while also causing the most destruction."
"Once you run through your route... Put up your cape again and run as fast as you can to the exit!"
We'll see each other on the other side...
'Of course, those routes weren't exactly perfect.'
'These were the Deep floors, it was impossible to have a proper map of the area, especially of the area surrounding the Dragon's vase that was constantly being blasted open by the Dragons.'
'So their mission was pretty simple, run, attract the Valgang Dragon's breaths, and cause as much destruction as possible.'
'While they do that, the chain bombs will set off, destroying the supporting pillars between the floors.'
'Because of the way these floors were made, they are like a pyramid where the ceiling of one floor is the base of another, hence, by breaking the supports in between, they can cause the entire place to collapse at once.'
'Even then, the Valgang dragons will cause most of the damage, they only need to damage the Dungeon enough for it to scream...'
'And once it does...'
"..."
'The man took a strange object from his backpack.'
"Ha... Hahaha... Freya Familia... Today is the day you die."
For failing to protect us during those dark times...
/BOOOOOOOOOOOM!/
'Large explosions rang in the floors, startling Ottar and the others as they fell.'
"What was that?!" Allen questioned as he tried to listen
"We don't have time to worry about that, look beneath you." Hedin replied as he pointed below with his weapon
"Motherfucking..."
/FIREEEE!/
'A powerful beam of fire came from bellow.'
...
/some time ago on the surface/
'Inside one of the many rooms of the Hearth Manor...'
/Tap tap.../
"Are you sure this was the emblem you saw?" Daphne asked with a frown as she grabbed her nose bridge, frustration all across her face
This is a mess...
"Yes, it's exactly this one." Igva replied as she pointed at the emblem on the table
It seems she knows. Don't tell me this is something beyond us?
Just when we were staying to recover, trouble comes to us again...
Is this how the Captain felt?
'It was a pretty simple emblem, a cup inside a crescent moon, signifying that this Familia might have a connection to wine or such drinks.'
(Image?)
'Daphne didn't need to research whose Familia this belonged to, it was a rather famous emblem…'
'It was reflected on many top-notch wines all across Orario.'
"The Soma Familia?..."
'Confused, Daphne started to wonder just why would a wine selling Familia cause trouble by robbing others.'
Something's missing from this story…
But thankfully, it doesn't seem like it'll be impossible for us to resolve.
The Soma Familia is mainly a business-type Familia despite also being classified as an Exploration Familia, their strongest official members shouldn't be that strong.
If we go and demand an answer and apology, I'm sure they wouldn't cause trouble.
Even then, it's not bad to be prepared.
'She got up from her seat.'
"Daphne?"
"Go call the others, we'll be going to the Soma Familia home."
"On the way, call the other Group Captains, we'll go together."
"Right now?!"
People might realize something's wrong if we go so suddenly...
"The longer we take, the bigger the chances of something happening, such as our things vanishing or that guy returning." She replied with a helpless expression
I want this to be resolved by ourselves, it would be quite an embarrassment if we were caught mid-act or failed...
"I… Alright."
Guess there's no helping it.
I was too weak to do it on my own, if I could've faced one alone, then with the others...
'Igva also got up from her seat, making her way to call the others, her expression was fierce, she seemed ready to wage war.'
…
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Notes
Despite what everyone is thinking, there is a pretty significant chance the Freya Familia could die on these floors if they play around too much.
Some of the monsters here as you all saw can definitely give them a fight if they're one-on-one of course.
Though in the first place, unless something strange like 4-5 Balor's appear at the same time, they wouldn't be defeated.
Their abilities are simply too strong for that, specially Heidin's magic... I'll leave it at that.
Still, do you think there was any monster shown in the Novel that could take any of their Level 6s alone?
Leave your opinions in the comments, peace.