DanMachi: Heroic Epic of Emiya the Great Hero

The body slammed heavily onto the ground. Even with the abilities of Lv.3 and the resilient physique of an Amazon, Aisha still spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Haruhime, are you okay… Damn it, the medicine is all with the supporters…"

"Aisha-nee…", Haruhime's eyes immediately welled up with tears.

"Don't cry, little fox, I'm fine… Damn it!", Aisha couldn't help but curse.

Because for the second time, she heard the sound of the floor beneath her cracking.

"I'm alive, thanks to your healing magic, little elf girl, and thanks for your medicine, young man. As a reward, next time you go to the pleasure district, mention my name, and I'll treat you to a free king's suite for the night… Stop, stop, I'm joking, put the sword away, please!"

The beautiful Amazon woman lay on the ground, a katana and a rapier crossed at her neck. The cold expressions of the two elven girls told Aisha that if she dared to spout nonsense again, she could say goodbye to her head.

"By the way, what's a king's suite?", Ryuu quietly asked Alicia beside her. She instinctively sensed that what the Amazon said wasn't anything good, but she didn't have a concrete understanding.

Alicia hesitated for a moment, then leaned close to Ryuu's ear, "…Private room… one versus ten… court dance… no cover…"

After hearing Alicia's description, steam seemed to rise from Ryuu's head, and Alicia's face also turned red.

"Alicia, you… how do you know about this…", Ryuu stammered.

Alicia gritted her teeth, "I overheard some idiot guy in the familia talking about it, don't ask…"

The Loki Familia once had a male adventurer who embezzled a huge sum of money from the familia to spend in the pleasure district. Then, because he was deceived by a bad woman, he squandered it all in a few days.

And that Mr. Raul, who wished to remain anonymous, spent so much in the pleasure district that he still hasn't paid back the familia's money.

Thus, the series of stories about Raul Nord and the pleasure district, Raul Nord and debts, Raul Nord and the king's suite became enduring legends within the Loki Familia.

'What's with these two perverted elves…', Aisha thought to herself, watching the two elven girls' awkward demeanor, but she naturally didn't dare to say it out loud.

"So, you first fell down a vertical pit to the 16th floor, then encountered a cracked floor and fell here. That's really unlucky.", Emiya said, "I'm Emiya Shirou, may I ask your name?"

"This humble one is called Sanjouno Haruhime.", the fox girl said softly.

Haruhime had a pair of melancholic, emerald-like beautiful eyes. She lowered her gaze, her long golden eyelashes still adorned with dewdrop-like tears.

Emiya spoke in the gentlest tone he could muster, "Haruhime, I'll call you that. From now on, you and Lefiya follow behind me. I'll protect you."

"This humble one… obeys.", Haruhime lowered her head even further.

Haruhime secretly raised her head to look at Emiya's profile. Emiya was taking the time to comfort Lefiya, trying to cheer her up.

'Lord Emiya, who said he would protect me, is like a hero. Yet I am… a courtesan destined to bring disaster to heroes.'

She lowered her head again, her golden ears and tail drooping as well.

"I'm certain that not long ago, our familia's expedition team killed the giant Goliath on their way back. It's not time for it to respawn yet.", Aisha stood up again.

The most formidable aspect of the Amazon race is their resilience. A mere fall from a few floors up is nothing; a stamina potion is all it takes to recover.

The Ishtar Familia has over ten adventurers who have reached Lv.3, and the familia's captain is a first-class adventurer at Lv.5. Even if it's just to deal with the guild, an expedition that doesn't involve all members can easily handle the giant Goliath.

That Goliath hasn't respawned is a fact. Aisha couldn't understand why they were preparing to hunt Goliath.

"You don't understand the 'malice of the dungeon.'", Alicia said, "To target adventurers, the dungeon makes all sorts of unreasonable things happen. Having the labyrinth king respawn early isn't impossible."

"Alright, but with you and Gale here, even if we're a bit short on numbers, taking down Goliath shouldn't be too hard, right? I can help too."

Although Goliath is the labyrinth king, it's just an Lv.4 with super durability. On our side, we have two Lv.4 adventurers, and both [Pristine Garden] and [Gale] are no ordinary figures; they're among the strongest at Lv.4.

Aisha's reputation isn't just from her main job as a courtesan. Her ability values and physical strength are above average, and she possesses a quite powerful attack magic. Her adventuring career is also thriving, holding a high position within the Ishtar Familia.

"Frankly, with you here, we're even more worried.", Alicia said, "Don't misunderstand, it's not that we look down on you, but with you added, taking down Goliath seems a bit too easy."

The combat power of an adventurer team increases noticeably with numbers. An Amazon like Aisha is fully qualified to be a vanguard, which would further unleash the attack power of Ryuu and Alicia.

"The dungeon's goal is to kill us adventurers, so I'm worried, is it really that simple…"

Alicia suddenly changed the subject, "Can that Lv.1 fox girl be of any use?"

Aisha immediately replied, "No, she's just a newcomer, without any skills or magic."

"Is that so…", Alicia didn't press further, though she still had doubts.

Would the Ishtar Familia have [Beauty Elite] Aisha specifically protect an Lv.1 with no skills or magic?

Moreover, isn't it a bit strange to come to the dungeon wearing a kimono?

Alicia restrained her curiosity; it's impolite to pry into the secrets of other familias.

Seeing that Alicia wasn't interested, Aisha secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Haruhime does have magic, and she possesses an incredibly powerful, almost unbelievable magic. That's why the Ishtar Familia has so many high-level adventurers who have undergone level elevation constantly protecting and caring for her.

'Honestly, we Amazons aren't even this attentive to our own mothers.

'

Because of that overpowering magic, Haruhime is also the highest-level secret of the Ishtar Familia. If not for an accident, she shouldn't have appeared in the sight of the Loki Familia.

At this moment, Ryuu returned. Since she has the highest agility, the task of scouting was given to her.

"I've confirmed, the path to the upper floors is blocked."

Although it was expected, she still checked just in case there was a miracle.

"Thanks, I understand. It seems we only have one way to go. Let's move before monsters start spawning in this room."

"Okay."

"You call the shots."

The three senior adventurers made the decision.

Meanwhile, among the three newcomers.

Haruhime lowered her head, thinking of the rumors she heard from the sisters in the pleasure district, 'I heard that the dungeon deliberately targets promising newcomers, using 'abnormal events' to eliminate future threats early. So, this disaster must have happened because of me. I brought the disaster.'

Lefiya was also feeling down, 'The 'malice of the dungeon' must be targeting me. I've dragged down Shirou, Ryuu-senpai, and Alicia-nee.'

Emiya… he wasn't thinking about anything, just closing his eyes and taking deep breaths, adjusting his physical and mental state to prepare for the upcoming battle.

———

Leaving the initial room, everyone headed towards the deepest part of the 17th floor.

Alicia and Aisha led the way at the front, Ryuu took up the rear, and the three juniors were protected in the middle.

Passing through corridors, the scale of the caverns they traversed continuously expanded, turning into open structures wide enough for dozens of people to pass through. The number of forks in the road also decreased, gradually narrowing down to just one path, making it feel like they were walking inside the belly of a snake with its mouth wide open.

The ceiling grew higher and higher, the phosphorescent light swaying like torches appeared as small as grains of light.

Following the direction where the passage widened, they would reach the large room at the deepest part of the 17th floor.

"Something's definitely wrong.", Aisha said softly.

The 17th floor was eerily quiet.

This level is where the labyrinth king resides, but that doesn't mean ordinary monsters don't spawn here. That's exactly why Alicia and the others didn't dare to leave the juniors in another room while they went to take down the boss.

Lv.2 monsters on the 17th floor appear in groups, and without high-level adventurers like them around, it would be too dangerous.

However, on their way to the deepest room, they didn't encounter a single monster.

If it weren't for judging by the terrain that this was indeed the 17th floor, they might have suspected they had traveled through a vertical cave to some cavern outside the dungeon.

"Not a single monster.", Aisha said softly.

It gave a bad premonition—

"It's as if the dungeon is gathering its strength."

However, whether it was Ryuu, Alicia, or Aisha, what they felt inside was just vigilance and a bit of unease, without excessive worry.

Because of the advantage of experience and information.

In the dungeon, the most terrifying enemy is the unknown. Those monsters whose information has been thoroughly understood, as long as adequate preparations are made, even a not-so-strong team has a chance to overcome stronger foes.

Conversely, facing a completely unknown enemy, even if the adventurer team has the advantage on paper, they might be instantly wiped out due to lack of information.

Ryuu had a particularly profound understanding of this.

And "Giant Goliath" is one of the monsters with the most comprehensive information.

For this initial labyrinth king, adventurers have long mastered all its information: ability parameters, attack patterns, combat habits… everything is transparent.

The current Goliath is a monster that a team with an Lv.3 at its core, several Lv.2s as the backbone, plus dozens of higher-ability Lv.1s can steadily take down by following a strategy.

In comparison, the combat power of Alicia and the others far exceeds what's needed to deal with such a monster.

Without the monsters' interference, the adventurers quickly reached the deepest part of the labyrinth.

This was a spacious, long, and large room.

Unlike the previous oddly shaped rooms, the structure here was like a rectangular cuboid. From the circular entrance to the deepest part of the room was about two hundred meters. The width was about one hundred meters, and the ground was about twenty meters from the ceiling.

The walls and ceiling of this large room were made of rugged rocks, except for the left wall, which was different.

One might even mistake it for having been polished by someone's hand; the surface of that wall had no bumps. It was as if a large number of stonemasons had smoothed it, without a single crack, stretching from one end of the room to the other. It was quite eye-catching.

This wall was even somewhat beautiful, but also incredibly eerie. Looking up at it, one couldn't help but feel their vision distort.

[The Wall of Grief]

Named by adventurers who reached this large room and returned alive, the final barrier of the 17th floor.

The giant wall that can only give birth to a specific monster, the labyrinth king.

Ahead, the cave in the center of that wall was the passage to the safe area of the 18th floor, unsurprisingly, completely blocked bohuge rocks.

Whether moving forward or backward, all paths were blocked, temporarily trapping the adventurers in the seemingly vast 17th floor.

CRACK—

As if welcoming the arrivals, such a sound rang out.

A huge crack ran down the wall from top to bottom, like a thunderbolt.

The wall continued to make cracking sounds, crack, crack, the noise gradually growing louder. Then, it transformed into a heavy, labored sound, as if grieving in pain, shaking the entire large room.

Listening to this sound, like an avalanche's tsunami, one felt their eardrums emitting mournful cries.

The increasing calls of grief. The growing, deepening cracks. The 17th floor shaken by the lament.

Approaching the limit, a stronger impact struck the wall from the inside—

The adventurers' expressions grew increasingly serious, especially the senior adventurers.

"This isn't right…", Aisha's voice was somewhat grave.

"This isn't Goliath.", Alicia murmured, "Not the Goliath we've seen…"

Flying rock fragments scattered in the air, crashing to the ground with a thunderous roar, the shattered pieces of the giant wall scattering everywhere.

BOOM!!!

As if something enormous had descended upon the earth, an exceptionally piercing landing sound.

An unimaginably large silhouette. Thick neck, thick shoulders, thick arms, thick ankles. Its body resembled a human's, entirely pitch black like the deepest ink.

A normal Goliath's skin is grayish-brown, standing about seven meters tall, but this black Goliath was at least nine meters tall.

Its black skin shimmered with a metallic luster, larger in size, but compared to the stocky ordinary Goliath, its body appeared more agile and nimble.

Unprecedented, with no prior sighting reports—the [Black Goliath].

A chilling aura spread, the difference in power, both in terms of race and size, filled the adventurers with awe and dread.

Not only Haruhime, who was scared to the point of falling, and Lefiya, whose legs went weak, but even the Lv.4 Alicia hesitated for a moment.

"We misjudged—"

Originally thought that with her and Ryuu's strength, dealing with Goliath would be enough, and with Aisha added, the odds were even better.

All along, what Alicia worried about was just that while they were fighting Goliath, the dungeon might spawn other monsters, harming Shirou and the others.

Despite warning Aisha not to underestimate the "malice of the dungeon," she herself had been careless.

"The 17th floor houses the labyrinth king, Giant Goliath.", for adventurers, this is an absolute truth.

This so-called labyrinth king, which respawns every dozen or so days and is immediately killed, is, in the eyes of high-level adventurers, a 「weakling」 far less threatening than a few random monsters in the deep layers.

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