C84: Balor, Insufficient and Time (2)
Overall Word count = 1867 on 5/17/2024.
(Warning: if anything here has the parenthesis tag of (ORI). it means that the creature of event is original to me as there are actually very few monsters in the danmachi page now)
(Being Eepy halfway through the chapter so the quality might suffer. Gonna have an epic battle next chapter with music rec and all that. Ill also properly introduce what the mystery frag (level 6 frag) has been. I allude to it a bit here but will explain fully next time. Cheers)
Axel and co rested a bit at the entrance to the 49th floor in preparation for fighting the Balor. Yet what they didn't expect is that there are dark ashen tunnels stretching far into the distance. The group quickly understands that unlike the 39th floor that only holds the boss. The 49th contains parts of a normal floor as well as the boss room at the end.
Axel ponders a bit and then decides to drag each member back to Orario to have their falna updated. The results show that Aisha has leveled up to 5 with high physical stats while Haruhime has reached level 3 with average stat but high magic stats, Bell has reached the peak of 4 and will likely level up after the fight with Balor. Same is true with Welf, Ouka, Chigusa and Mikoto who would reach level 3.
From fighting Udeaus and leveling up, Axel surmises that he has gained around 300-400 stats which is 'very nice'. He hopes that the Balor is as hunky and chunky as udeaus. While teleporting the group around, Axel also goes to retrieve his sword from Udeaus' boss room. It could stay there for up to 3 months so he was not worried but Welf threatened his life and he doesnt feel like getting frostbite right now so he did it and returned the sword to just outside Orario's walls. He then went to collect the two fragments of the black sword since that was a drop but not one they could collect since they were heading in deeper. So he teleported that next to his sword and told Raikou about it.
Axel finally returned to the 49th floor and the group had a chance to rest up as well as Welf to fix their gear a bit. The 49th floor is described as Moytura and is reddish brown with a complete lack of trees and grass, it is to be a single giant room that houses the rex but from the Zeus guild information before they were disbanded, it is well known that floors can change their environment. (ORI) The current situation is that the supposed giant room is missing or further in. The sight before them is an ashen charred pathway with jutting rocks. Their shape is relatively smooth though the rock point is much rougher. It is likely the volcano had erupted at some point which changed the environment. All the stalagmites are likely rocks that were also coated in lava that then settled down in their natural liquid state by rapid cooling.
After an extra hour or two of resting and reforging equipment. Axel himself meditates further on the idea of Reality Marbles. Once everyone is ready, they pack up and make their way in. Soon enough they encounter the first monster on this floor. Standing on two hoof-like feet. With fur covering its muscular humanoid body. It's goat head looks at the group and charges at them barehanded. This is the Fomoire, a goat demon monster that typically appears in groups but this was alone. Aisha quickly tripped it, cut off its hands and feet which immobilized it but let it stay alive as it struggled under her foot as her ring's gluttony went into effect to drain the beast. It soon turns into a husk and dies. During this time, a few more Fomoire have spawned and the rest of the group moves forward to fight them to take their own share of stats.
The group leisurely makes their way forward to accumulate as much as they go to ensure that they level up again. At least those that are already close but there is no harm in Aisha and Haruhime accumulating quickly again so that they can reach level 6 and 4 respectively. The fox girl struggles the most to grow as she has no close combat capabilities except whatever nen abilities she has. Typically Aisha will immobilize an extra monster for the fox girl to siphon from. This has started to help her be more well rounded and not fully mana focused even if she only has spells since the Fomoire are quite physical monsters. Similar to minotaurs but without weapons.
It takes a few hours but the group eventually encounters what is likely the boss room as it is a large open space with the reddish brown floor that is used to describe the Moytura. Just like with Udeaus, Axel steps into the room first while the others hang back just behind him.
After a few minutes the room starts to shake as the far wall which is the single black spot in a field of red brown begins to crack. Similar to the Goliaths crystal wall entrance, the wall shatters and from within is the Balor.
The Balor appears as a giant Fomoire. It has the same goat-like body of a Fomoire but with giant bat-like wings on it's back and a big hairy mane around its neck and Rhino horns on its head.
The Balor wields no weapon but has glowing fire veins around it's hands that emit heat and fire, so with a roar it begins to charge towards Axel. The rest of the group joins the fight and the Balor seems to slow down its charge as it slams its fists into its own chest like an ape while roaring out. Smaller cracks open in the wall as an army of Fomoire make their appearance.
The group enacts the same strategy as they did with the Udeaus and Spartoi. Axel moves to challenge the Monster Rex while the others fight the normal monsters. Granted with the larger number of monsters, Axel has to summon his shades to assist the group even as they receive the boost from Haruhime's unique magic. And with the current form of gluttony, each shade gets their own basic layer so even without the gluttony. Shade stacked onto them, they still have access to its power just like Axel himself does.
With a burst of Ren and summon asura arms, Axel jumps to meet the fist of the once again charging Balor. The flaming fists of the Balor collide with Axel's nen and gluttony darkness coated body. Both sides are blown back but with the Balor being so much larger and heavier but sliding away further than Axel. It becomes obvious who won the test of strength here. Axel initiates his own plans to suppress the Rex but not kill it so that he can drain it like he did Udeaus. Unfortunately the Balor is a 'living' flesh creature and not a giant skeleton like Udeaus. This ensures that Axel can't just worm into its body to endlessly drain it. If he tried then he would easily be coated in the guts of the beast and it could very well die from that which would be counterproductive to his needs.
The fight passes by a few minutes as The Balor gets more injured and weaker. The army of Fomorie are whittled down until none survive. The rest of the ground joins in attacking it's legs or arms to try crippling it like they would any other beast.
ROOOOOAAAAAARRRR
Balor lets out an echoing shout as the fire veins on its hands begin to spread across its entire body. The veins then explode with fire as a flame whip is made in its hands and the rest of its body is also coated in these flames. The whip comes crashing down heavily next to Axel as he dodges out of the way and then rushes towards the Rex. He gets under its legs and begins pummeling them heavily with his full might (no wrath mantra). The force of which snuffs the flames out and causes a resounding snap as the leg bone is fractured into shards from the impact.
From the attack Axel finally feels the seal activate to restrict his current level's power which means he has finally reached 999 in at least one stat. He has no clue which one but since the Balor doesn't seem to be a magically gifted creature, he thinks it would be strength or maybe endurance as he is unsure if the seal would activate when that reaches 999 but then just deactivate since it's endurance or if that stat is ignored overall.
With one leg broken the Balor is forced to kneel down with it's remaining leg, otherwise it will have to bounce around with it's one leg but it is not smart enough to do that and for no reason either. It can only kneel and try to sweep Axel and the others who have joined the assault away. Aisha soon activates her Hell Kaios which severs one of it's hands. The flames on it are extinguished and Haruhime goes toward it to Siphon it.
The other move to break or cripple the other leg while Axel holds down the last arm using his new soul fragment, the Migi fragment soon severs the tendons on the remaining hand that Axel was already holding down. Making the arm useful but Balor could still wave it around like a burning mace but with one version of his new fragment he pins the arm down fully. It thrashes around but to little avail as the group pretty much smothers the Giant Balor. Lily and Chigusa are holding onto the broken unmoving leg, Welf and Ouka are holding down the other leg.
The Balors flames on its body had been snuffed out as it gradually weakened. It's whip was also short lived after it lost the hand that was holding it. The Balor takes one last attempt to fight back which is an attempt to headbutt with the sharp rhino horns on it's head but unfortunately it's target is Axel. As it moves to stab him. Axel simply uses his multiple arms to grab onto the horns and slam the giant's head into the ground causing a resounding crash. The Balor attempts to wrench it's head back but Axel is keeping it pinned down which makes it easier for the rest of th team to cripple the last arm that Axel had initially pinned down and then hug the Balor tight. Like an old friend until it turns into a husk of it's former self after a few minutes.
Balor met its end too quickly and Axel had not reached his limit. He is a bit annoyed and informs the group that he will attempt to do something crazy. They shuffle out of the room after Lily collects the rex core for Axel to transport later.