DANMACHI: The Silence's Heir (OC x Freya)

Chapter 33

AIS WALLENSTEIN

The scenes all around her were one of carnage and destruction, in a way reminiscent of the day she had lost everything. She had lost her mother.

And as she thought of that dark day, she gripped her sword tightly in her hand, her left arm lay there limp beside her, and she stood her ground between the corrupted spirit and her fallen comrades.

They had attacked the spirit together, hoping to bring it down, and yet Spirits were not monsters. They were beings far more attuned with magic, bearing intelligence and prowess no lesser than humans.

And so they had failed, all of them and despite their struggles, they could not stand against its mighty magics, and most of the party lay behind her defeated, and injured as Ais gripped her blade tightly and tore through the hoard of monsters, the spirit had birthed as she tried to protect her friends from their poisonous attacks.

BANG! BANG!

BOOOM!

She fought and fought, and fought with broken armor, and a broken as she refused to let this day be a repeat of what had happened to her mother. She would not let monsters take her friends.

She would not.

"AGHHHH!" and with those thoughts the darkness buried deep inside her resurfaced, as dark wings emerged from her back, manifestations of her own true identity, and power.

"Tempest!" she roared back, her own voice taking on the nasal twang of the corrupted spirit she faced as the winds roared at her command, blessing her as she blurred through the hoard of monsters, her sword cutting through them with a singular purpose.

SLASH! SLASH!

SWISH! SWISH!

And the monsters fell quickly, as she tore through them as a singular thought ran through her head.

Not again! Not again! She would not lose her family again, as she turned her gaze towards the corrupted spirit eyeing her with those massive, monstrous yellow eyes of hers.

"ARIA!" it called out as magic circles appeared above her, as Ais jumped into the air herself.

"Lil Rafg..." but before she could finish her chant, the spirit attacked her first.

"HAIL STORM!" and sent a massive toreent of flames straight towards her, forcing her to face it as she launched her own attack.

"AERIAL!"

BOOOOM!

And yet her attack came too late as she was sent reeling through the air, as she struck the wall, as pain seared through her whole being.

"AGHHH!" she screamed, as the spirit sent another attack straight at her.

She tried to move but could not.

"SHIELD WALL!" she heard a magic chant and saw Raul-san standing infront of her, carrying Gareth-san's shield.

"We need to pull back, Ais-san! We need to retreat..."

"SHUT UP! She roared back, as she pushed herself back up, despite her injuries picking up the blade as blood dripped down her face and arm.

"I will kill that monster. I will kill it," she snarled as the winds roared at her command once more.

"Aerial!" she jumped into the air as she swung her blade at it once more. The corrupted spirit simply turned its head to the side as her attack passed by its side before those eyes landed on her once again.

"ARIAA!" it called out as it began its chant once more, completing it in but an instant as it roared.

"LIGHTNING STORM!" and Ais saw the massive attack rushing towards her, one powerful enough to kill her on the spot, and yet in that moment as she tried to chant for her magic once again her body gave up, as she felt her throat close up.

"AERI...."

And the attack was inches from her, as a part of her resigned herself to her fate, helplessly before suddenly a familiar warmth enveloped her.

"Astaraxis!"

BOOOOM!

The attack hit her, and yet the pain never came as her body fell to the ground as the darkness that threatened to envelop her receded as another figure blurred to her side.

"Good job holding down the fort," his voice came as a relief, as Ais felt relief rush through her entire being as she recognised that voice.

"Inumaki..." and yet, as she turned to face him, the relief that had come vanished just as quickly. Both of them had worked together as a duo for years, and even now, they had led the vanguard for the entirety of the lower floors.

And yet, in all this time, she had never seen him in such a decrepit state. Blood dripped down from his face. His hair was dyed half red, and his armor had visible cracks and was chipped and broken in many places.

He was huffing as he stepped up beside her, and raised a brow.

"It seems we are both beaten up pretty badly," he whispered, and the grey hue around him was dwindling. Suddenly, the whole dungeon floor shook, and the corrupted spirit roared.

"YOU!!" and it was looking at Inumaki-kun as she roared into madness.

"YOU HEATHEN!" it roared, as its face transformed from the face of a beautiful woman to that of a monster, as it began to thrash around wildly before it began a massive chant, and even Ais felt a chill run through her spine as she felt the enormous magical power the spirit was gathering for its attack.

"We need to retreat!" Raul-san's voice came from behind, and yet as she turned towards the entrance, she saw that it was closed off by a hoard of monsters. They could cut through them.

But. The injured. The rest of the people in the campaign.

"We cannot," Inumaki-kun's voice cut through the air as he thrust his spear into the ground.

"The only way we all survive is if we kill that thing," as Raul-san's eyes widened.

"But we cannot! It's too powerful!" he lamented as Ais gripped her blade strongly, as Inumaki-san shrugged.

"It maybe powerful, but the monster that me and Ais cannot handle together has not been born yet," and she saw him take a deep breath, as suddenly she felt him gather a massive amount of magical power, as the ground underneath his feet cracked.

"Leave the defence to me! I will block the spirit's attack!" he said as he looked deep into her eyes, as Ais felt a new wave of strength and power fill her up, this one pushing down the darkness from before as she nodded.

"You use that chance to attack it with everything you have. Give it your all, Ais, hold nothing back," he said. It was their signature combo. She nodded and walked behind him, calming her heart and getting into her stance. The whole dungeon trembled with the magical power that was being gathered here.

"Tempest," she whispered, as the winds surrounded her, easing her pains, giving her strength as her blade gleamed bright green, yet she chanted once more.

"Tempest," she whispered again, power bubbling under her skin as the corrupted spirit finally released her magic.

"HELL'S CALLING!" and her eyes widened as she saw a massive storm of fire heading straight towards her, and the rest of the members of her familia, which were now beginning to wake up as Raul-san gasped behind her, falling to his knees, and yet as the massive firestorm neared them suddenly the air infront of them shifted as a massive amount of magical power rushed out as waves from Inumaki-kun who screamed at her.

"Go!" and with absolute certainty, she pushed herself off the ground as she chanted once more with all her might.

"Tempest!" she jumped into the air as she flew up and above. She pulled back her sword and heard Inumaki-kun scream his spell key.

"RHO AIAS!"

At his command, a massive purplish pink flower emerged infront of him, forming a barrier, and as the firestorm hit the barrier, she heard him scream, as his feet were pushed into the ground, as Ais closed her eyes and knew that this was her opportunity.

That it was upto her now.

And so, with complete trust in him, she focused her gaze on the screaming and raving corrupted spirit as she commanded the winds to push her towards it. She gave it her all in that one final attack and roared forth.

"LIL RAFGAAAA!"

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INUMAKI HERAKLES

The journey back from the 59th floor was not easy as well, given that they had to fight through the monsters of floor 58 till 50, on the way back was not easy, specially with both him and Ais out for the count and half the people in the campaign severely poisoned.

Yet they had managed to scrape through, as the rest of the members of the campaign pushed themself, and they finally managed to claw their way back through the floors. The journey was slow and arduous, but it was filled with a sense of joy and accomplishment as they broke the record for Dungeon exploration.

He himself was completely spent, exhausted to his absolute limit, for he had pushed himself way past his limits, specially with the abuse of 'Limit Breaker'. But that was not all, he now also was far ore intune with his other power, something that had always dwelled inside him, a power unlike any other. One exclusive to the Gods.

Arcanum.

Initially he had thought it to be a quirk of his weapon, of Gae Bolg but now he understood the truth. That the power came from within him, and not from his spear, and that it was a manifestation of something that was deeply entwined with his being.

And the more he used, the more he realized its origin and just how it came to him.

It was what had caused the corrupted Spirit to react so angrily, for the spirits hated the Gods. And it had sensed that power from him, the power of the Gods, and had ignored Ais to attack him giving them the chance to secure their victory.

And now, after a few days of rest, he was recovering bit by it, though he was far from optimal health. However, his condition was much better than Ais, who was barely at half her strength.

"We are about to reach the Riveria on the 18th floor," Finn, the Loki familia captain, whispered, and now the supporting group, one led by Raul and Leyfia, had taken the lead as they fought through the middle floors and gained some experience.

"Once we are at Riveria, we will send one of us ahead to bring back the antidote for the posion," he added, and it was a sound plan.

"I will..." he was about to volunteer, for he was much worried about how the apprehension of Dinoysus was going on, though he doubted it would have caused much trouble given that he had taken care of the powerful pawns of Evilus.

"I will go!" Bete shouted from the side, in an annoyed tone, as he eyed him warningly, making him back off.

The rest that remained were not powerful enough to cause Ryuu and her group any trouble. He thought of the city, and how it would soon be filled with joy, both because of the end of Evilus and the conquering of floor 59.

And yet, despite all of it, a sense of unease continued to bubble up inside him, and Revis's words continued to ring inside his head.

"Nidhogg," he whispered, and Revis's words had made a memory resurface, one from a long long time ago, of a story narrated to him by his mother of a beast thought to be near equal to the monstrous One Eyed Black Dragon in its might.

It was a story from before the age of the Gods, from before Orario existed on a map. A time when humans derived their powers from the blessings of spirits, and yet infront of the might of this dragon, they were all helpless.

Until one day, it was finally brought down and that was the part he could not recall. About how it was defeated?

But a aprt of him was sure that the beast she was talking about was this 'Nidhogg' and there was a connection here. One that was far too important.

"Inumaki-kun, you have already done too much," Finn added from the front.

"You should rest. Bete is just as fast as you and will do just fine," and despite his misgivings, he nodded; he was still tired.

And after a few minutes, they finally reached the resting area—Riveria, the 18th floor.

And it took them all but a second to realize that something was wrong as Fin Dimene's voice rang out.

"Everyone get into formation," and immediately, the elites stepped forward, guarding the injured and the younger members as they scanned the empty fields.

"It's empty," came a voice from behind. Inumaki's eyes shifted, changing from black to scarlet red, and he corrected them with a heavy heart.

"No, you are wrong," Finn and the rest of the elites of Loki familia realized it as well.

Riveria was empty, at least of the usual population. But another group was present here, one stationed right near the entrance that led to Orario through the upper floors.

A group they were all very familiar with.

As they all slowly and cautiously approached the gates, they came face to face with Orario's strongest adventurer—Ottar, the warlord, the captain of Freya familia, all of whom had gathered there, blockading the exit.

"What is the meaning of this Ottar?" Finn questioned sharply as the large boar looked straight at him and raised his finger.

"I am not here looking for a fight. I am here on my Goddess's command," he began as his heart sank.

"And per that command, no adventurer amongst you shall leave this floor...."

"None except him," and everyone gasped as he closed his eyes.

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