Loki Familia Premise Chapter 6 (Patreon)

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! Bell and Lili continue to head into the Dungeon, progressing deeper as they work together more. On the surface, Monsterphilia will soon begin! Such a massive, yearly festival sounds like a great time! Bell may find himself the center of a group of lovely women again! Kek! But will something happen at Monsterphilia?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 6 – Dungeon Crawling and Monsterphilia

Bell and Lili were heading for the Dungeon early in the morning, just after breakfast was finished at the Twilight Manor.

“Lili thinks we can push through most of the Ninth Floor today, if you’re up to it, Bell.” Lili offered to drop another Floor to accommodate Bell’s rapidly growing strength.

“Hm?” Bell shook himself from his thoughts. “Oh, yeah, that sounds good, Lili.” Seeing Lili look at him curiously, Bell chuckled and waved off his brief lack of focus. ‘No way can I tell Lili that I was thinking of waking up in Loki’s bed again this morning.’ Sure, nothing sexual had happened between Bell and Loki, but it was only Bell’s natural habit of waking up at around five in the morning that allowed him to leave Loki’s bedroom without anyone else in the Familia noticing him. ‘I think I need to talk with all of the girls soon. I don’t like sneaking around, and I certainly don’t want to feel like I’m lying to everyone.’

As the two-man Party reached the Dungeon, they followed along with the majority of the other Adventurers, heading through the main routes of the Upper Floors until they got to the Ninth Floor where they took a side corridor near the stairs and began their own dungeon crawling for the day. On the Eighth and Ninth Floors the number and size of the caverns increased and the length of the corridors between them became shorter. The ceiling also changed height from the three to four meters of the First through Seventh Floors, to nearly ten meters high. Moss covered the brown colored walls and the ground below was no longer stone, but a short grass plain. The strong light from the phosphorescent stones in the ceiling was similar to light from the sun, though not quite as bright.

Coming upon the first cavern, Bell and Lili noticed that it had multiple Monsters within. A few Frog Shooters, a War Shadow near the wall that was partially blending in with the shadows, and a handful of Kobolds milling about near the exit on the opposite side of the cavern.

“Looks fairly simple.” Bell said quietly to Lili.

Lili nodded in agreement after scanning the cavern a second time with her eyes. “I’ll take out the War Shadow first. You can focus on the Frog Shooters, and then we’ll deal with the Kobolds as they come at us.”

Bell agreed to Lili’s plan with a nod. “Got it.”

Wsh

A bolt shattered the circular ‘face’ of the partially hidden War Shadow before any of the Monsters realized that the two Adventurers were there. As the War Shadow fell dead, Bell rushed into the cavern with his sword at the ready. “Frost!” He cast his spell and his body was partially covered in ice over his armor, forming another layer of protection, while a cold mist rose from the blade of his sword like steam.

“Gero!”

“Croak!”

The Frog Shooters spotted Bell rushing them and locked onto him, their long tongues shot forward all at once, looking to capture Bell.

“Hup!” Bell leapt over the three tongues and swiped his sword once. A wave of ice froze the tongues to the ground, leaving them fully extended and trapping the Frog Shooters in a completely vulnerable position. Landing on the ground, Bell focused and vanished, a burst of snow filling the area where he’d been.

“Gero!” The first Frog Shooter croaked out as it was nearly split in half by Bell’s sword and it partially froze over along the wound as it died.

Two more quick slashes easily felled the other two trapped Frog Shooters. The half-frozen corpses hit the floor as Bell briefly analyzed his use of his new Snjógöngur Skill.

‘I was right in front of them before they could notice me. I covered at least five meters or so in less than a blink of the eye.’ Bell considered the speed and how he hadn’t even needed to really try to achieve the desired result. “As long as I focus and activate the Skill, it’s not difficult to use…and it’ll only get faster and the distance that I can cover will be greater as my Magic and Agility stats increase.” He nearly marveled at his new Skill, but quickly refocused as the Kobolds were approaching rapidly.

Wsh

Wsh

Two bolts pierced the head of the lead Kobold, killing it instantly.

Bell vanished in a burst of snow and reappeared in front of the other Kobolds, startling the Monsters and stopping their charge. “Hah!” He swung his sword through the first Kobold’s neck, sending the head flying off to the side. He made a lunge to bury the tip of his sword into the next Kobold, killing it and freezing part of its body over. Bell backstepped to avoid the swiping claws of the third Kobold, froze the grassy ground beneath his feet, and pivoted around the Kobold as it slipped on the thick ice.

A bolt from Lili killed the fallen Kobold and let Bell move onto the next one.

“Graaarrr!” The Kobold lunged at Bell, jaws wide and claws lashing out.

Bell swung his sword, easily taking off the Kobold’s right hand, and moved to the side. As the Kobold recoiled from the loss of its hand, Bell cut it down, leaving a deep and frozen cut through its torso.

Crack

Crack

Crack

Crack

Crack

Crack

Crack

The ceiling nearly exploded as a dozen or more Dungeon Lizards were spawned all at once, dropping down on Bell and Lili from above. At the same time, from the walls of the cavern, dozens of Needle Rabbits practically charged out of the stone the instant they were born, aiming to overwhelm the two Adventurers.

“Shit!” Lili cursed as she started firing at the approaching Needle Rabbits. One rabbit Monster after another died, but there were too many all at once for Lili to deal with.

“Hyah!” Bell focused, pouring plenty of Mind into his enchantment, and swung his sword upwards. A wave of ice and snow erupted from the arc of the swing and engulfed the falling Dungeon Lizards.

The frozen corpses of the reptile Monsters hit the ground with audible thuds and the cracking of ice. The ceiling itself was coated in a rather thick layer of ice as well, meaning the Dungeon couldn’t spawn more Dungeon Lizards until the ice melted. Bell didn’t have the time to consider that though as he vanished into a burst of snow, leaving four Needle Rabbits to punch holes through the cloud as they launched themselves at where Bell had just been.

Lili was on the move as she dodged around the Needle Rabbits lunging at her. Each time she saw one in the air, she put a bolt through it. But the opportunistic Monsters kept trying to surround her, so Lili couldn’t stop at all, having to fight on the run. “Damn you!” She bought herself a second by nailing one midair Needle Rabbit with a bolt that knocked its corpse into a second lunging rabbit Monster. With the brief window of opportunity, Lili pulled out a small pouch and threw it at the majority of the Needle Rabbits around her.

Bomf

A thick cloud of purple dust covered the Needle Rabbits for a moment. The, now purple-tinged, rabbit Monsters came rushing out of the cloud, but were noticeably slower than before.

Lili smirked at she took aim with her bowgun. “Purple Moth Poison Grenade! How do you like that?” She fired bolts into one Needle Rabbit after another, killing them much faster as they suffered under the refined poison that Lili had made herself.

“Take this!” Bell swung his blade, unleashing a wave of frost across the ground, managing to kill a small number of the Needle Rabbits attacking him. But that was only a bonus, as Bell’s intention had been to alter the terrain and make it harder for the Needle Rabbits to run around.

“Pyik!”

“Pik!”

“Pyikk!”

Bell’s plan worked quite well as the rushing Needle Rabbits slipped and slid across the thick ice now covering the area around him. Bell easily stepped onto the ice and practically skated across it with deft steps, cutting down every struggling and off-balance Needle Rabbit one by one.

A while later and all of the Needle Rabbits were dead.

“Hah… Lili hopes that’s not a sign that the Dungeon is going to be like this all day.” Lili breathed out once she and Bell regrouped.

“It was pretty intense for the very first encounter of the day.” Bell agreed that the sudden mass spawning of Monsters had been unexpected.

Lili placed her large green backpack on the grassy ground and opened it up. “Lili will get to work.” She pulled out her knife and began to quickly gather all of the Monster corpses into a large pile while Bell kept watch for her.

-Later-

Clouds of snow rapidly burst into being all across a large cavern on the Ninth Floor.

“Grrr-ack!” A Kobold’s growl turned into a hacking yelp as a slash nearly cut it in two, before the fatal wound froze over, ice spreading throughout the Kobold’s body from the intense chill.

“Gugu-” A War Shadow’s odd, artificial sounds were cut off suddenly, its head separated from its body, both the head and the stump of the neck frozen over a second later.

“Skree!” A Killer Ant swiped its claw through one of the clouds of snow, only to not hit the unseen attacker.

It was suddenly bisected, both the upper and lower half of the insect Monster freezing over.

The same happened to the next half a dozen Killer Ants as more snow clouds rapidly burst into being around them.

Bell reappeared behind the slain Killer Ants and let out a large cloud of frosted breath as he exhaled. “So, that’s the limit, right now.” He was glad to know just how fast and far he could move with Snjógöngur. It had been more than enough to overwhelm all of the Monsters in the cavern.

“That was impressive, Bell.” Lili called out to him from where she was gathering up the corpses of the Monsters. “It’ll take Lili a little bit to harvest all of these, some of them are half frozen right where their Magic Stones are.”

“Take your time, Lili. I need a second myself.” Bell said with a grin. Moving like that with his Skill still took some stamina, so Bell was glad for the breather.

-Eleventh Floor-

In the thick fog that the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Floors were known for, something large moved. It stayed hidden, displaying a modicum of predatory intelligence, as it moved side-to-side through the dense fog. Red eyes peered through the heavy mist as it spotted prey.

“Buhi?” An Orc uttered out as it briefly noticed the large thing in the fog.

Crunch

The Orc was silenced as jaws crushed its head, killing it instantly and rather quietly. The large predator’s claws tore open the chest of the dead Orc and revealed its Magic Stone. The fangs of the predatory Monster easily tore the Magic Stone out of the Orc and shattered it, swallowing the shards down its gullet as the Orc’s corpse broke down into white ash.

The feeling of hunger continued for the predator as it disappeared into the thick fog again. Making use of the terrain to hide its large body as it avoided discovery by Adventurers. It had no real cognitive thoughts to make that decision, the Monster simply saw Adventurers as an instinctive threat and avoided them…for now.

Its hunger would only be sated by flesh and blood, it knew that much. But it couldn’t guarantee a successful hunt yet, so it continued to stalk and devour the Magic Stones of other Monsters to grow and increase its strength.

This modicum of higher intelligence, as compared to its kin, was what let this…irregular…continue to evade the notice and knowledge of the many Adventurers that passed through the Twelfth Floor on their way to the Middle Levels.

-Guild ~ Late Afternoon-

Sophie pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a long and slow exhale. “You did what today?”

Bell, sensing that his Elven Advisor was annoyed with his report, leaned back against the couch he was sitting on to make more distance between them. “I…well, Lili and I…we went through the majority of the Ninth Floor today.”

Whap

Bell flinched just slightly as Sophie swatted him atop the head with his own file folder.

“Why would you try and take on the majority of ANY Floor in a single day?” Sophie questioned with a sharp tone. “Are you two trying to put yourselves in a bad situation?!”

“We’re not, really!” Bell held his hands up, waving them in front of himself as if to ward off Sophie’s annoyance. “But Lili’s a great Supporter and we’re both doing our best, so we just sort of ended up making a good amount of progress today.”

Sophie let out a smaller sigh this time. “Progress is all well and good, Bell.” She eyed the obvious new marks on his armor from Monster attacks. “But there’s no need to rush. I know you’re a part of Loki Familia, but that’s no reason to potentially put yourself into a situation that you can’t get out of.”

“Yes, Miss Sophie.” Bell could tell that his Advisor was simply worried about him. “But we did avoid the Pantry entirely.”

“If you had tried to conquer a Pantry with only two Level 1’s, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation, Bell.” Sophie deadpanned at him. “Trying to conquer a Pantry is something that only a full Party should attempt, and only if they’re all Level 2! And that’s only for the Upper Floor Pantries!” She stared at Bell intensely. “Don’t even THINK of taking on a Middle Floor Pantry!”

Bell was pressed as far back into the couch as he could be now. “Y-Yes, Miss S-Sophie…”

His Advisor could be scary when she was annoyed with him.

-Twilight Manor ~ Evening-

“Oh? What’s this? Lili is the second to come see me tonight?” Loki smiled at the Prum brightly.

“Yes, Goddess.” Lili replied with a small smile. “Bell and Lili worked hard in the Dungeon today, so Lili is hopeful that she’s made some progress.”

Loki patted the stool in front of her. “Well sit down and let’s see, Lili!”

Lili pulled off her shirt and held it over her chest as she sat down with her back to Loki. She felt the single drop of blood touch her back as the familiar blue-white light appeared in her peripheral vision.

“Hmm…” Loki hummed as she watched Lili’s Excelia for the day. It was fairly simple at first, aside from the sudden mass Monster spawning, but the day continued and Loki actually blinked at seeing how much ground that Lili and Bell had covered…not to mention the amount of Monsters they’d managed to slay. “I knew pairing you two up would work out great!” Loki beamed, praising herself in the process.

“Lili enjoys working with Bell and being his Supporter.” Lili said with a small giggle at Loki’s self-praise. “Another member or two and we’ll have a good Party to dungeon crawl with.”

Loki nodded to Lili’s words as she moved the Excelia into the Basic Abilities and watched the numbers increase. “Well, we can always look at adding others to your Party. Or perhaps you mean that you want to find members from outside of the Familia?” She placed a blank paper against Lili’s back and copied the new update over.

Lili tilted her head as she thought about where new Party members might come from. “Within the Familia might be easier. Merging two Parties together would be easy enough, since we all know each other already. But if we found a good Party member from outside the Familia…that wouldn’t be bad or anything.”

“We’ll figure it out in time, Lili Bean!” Loki smiled as she called Lili by the nickname that she’d given the Prum while handing her the Status Update.

“Yes, Goddess.” Lili playfully rolled her eyes at the nickname. It’s not that she hated it, but one always had to let Loki know their limits.

-Status-

Liliruca Arde

Level 1

Strength – F 388 > F 392

Endurance – E 479 > E 485

Dexterity – B 786 > B 794

Agility – A 812 > A 818

Magic – A 864 > A 871

-Magic-

Cinder Ella – Incantation: “Your wound is mine. My wound is mine. Echoing message of midnight.” Transformation Magic that enables the user to transform into anything around their size.

-Skills-

Artel Assist – When the user is carrying a certain amount of weight, this Skill will help compensate in abilities. The amount compensated depends on the weight.

-Status-

Lili smiled at seeing more growth on her Status. She couldn’t have ever imagined growing so strong back in Soma Familia. But almost a year of being in Loki Familia, and getting instruction and training from Finn when the Captain had time, had seen Lili’s stats rise immensely. ‘Strength and Endurance aren’t a Prum’s strong points, but we can make up for it with Agility, Dexterity, and whatever Magic we have.’ Lili recalled what Finn had told her during their training over the past year as she looked at the proof of those words in her hands.

“You’re more than ready to Level Up whenever you get enough quality Excelia or accomplish a Grand Feat, Lili Bean!” Loki praised Lili for her past year of hard work and training.

“Thank you, Goddess.” Lili smiled at Loki over her shoulder. She burned the update with the candle on Loki’s desk and put her shirt back on with her back facing Loki. “Lili will come see you again soon.” Lili promised with a smile.

Loki grinned at Lili. “Don’t let me take up too much of your time with Finn~”

Lili’s cheeks turned bright red and she practically bolted out of Loki’s room.

“Hehe…still so easy to tease, Lili Bean!” Loki laughed to herself.

It was only a minute later that a knock on the door alerted Loki to her next visitor.

“Good evening, Loki.” Bell smiled at his Goddess warmly.

“Snow bunny!” Loki cheered playfully, throwing her hands up in the air.

Bell made sure that Loki could see him jokingly roll his eyes. “Not a bunny.”

Loki waved off Bell’s disagreement. “Cute as a bunny!” She grinned as Bell pulled off his shirt. “Well, cute in the face…sexy everywhere else~” She bit her lip as she took in Bell’s muscled form appreciatively.

“Uh huh.” Bell chuckled as he sat with his back to Loki.

Loki placed a drop of her blood on Bell’s back, watching as her Falna appeared like a Tattoo rising from his skin. The blue-white light glowed as she watched his Excelia for the day, seeing the traversal of most of the Ninth Floor through Bell’s eyes this time.

Bell sat in quiet contemplation as Loki watched his Excelia. He often went over his days in the Dungeon while at home, and today was no different. ‘For a first day using Snjógöngur, I think I did fairly well. But I can’t be content with just ‘pretty good’ I need to truly understand and master all of my Skills.’

“You and Lili went on quite the jaunt through the Dungeon today, huh?” Loki commented with as she got to the end of Bell’s Excelia.

“Yeah, but it was good training and I got to learn the layout of the Ninth Floor today; not to mention getting some practice in with my new Skill.” Bell replied as Loki placed a paper onto his back.

Loki copied the update over onto the paper and handed it to Bell as she locked up his Falna again. “You both did well today, and you didn’t go too crazy, so I won’t say anything…except, good job.” She praised Bell for his continued hard work in the Dungeon.

“Thank you, Loki.” Bell gave her a smile as he took his new Status Update and looked it over.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – A 802 > A 894

Endurance – B 796 > A 889

Dexterity – A 811 > S 902

Agility – A 800 > A 890

Magic – A 859 > S 947

-Magic-

Aurora – Incantation: “Frost.” Ice Enchantment Magic.

-Skills-

Eilíft Frost – Provides protection from cold along with Ice and Water Magics and makes all Ice Magics the user casts use less Mind while significantly increasing their power.

Einhuga Löngun – Fast growth as long as desire lasts. The strength of the effects corresponds with the level of the user's desire. As a side effect it makes the user immune to Charms and Mental Magics.

Snjógöngur (Snow Walks) – Allows the user to vanish into a burst of snow and rapidly accelerate in a desired direction. The distance able to be covered and the speed at which the user moves are dependent on the Magic and Agility stats. Active Trigger.

-Status-

“Magic and Dexterity are both ‘S’ Rank…” Bell breathed out, seeing his stats reach a height that a lot of Adventurers never saw on their own Status Updates. He knew that Einhuga Löngun maximized his Excelia gain and his growth was boosted in proportion to his desire to grow…but seeing this for the first time was still incredible.

Loki wrapped her arms around Bell’s waist and hugged him warmly. “Your other stats are very close to becoming ‘S’ Rank as well, Bell.” She softly kissed his fluffy hair. “You’ll be my first ‘child’ to ever have all of your stats in the ‘S’ Rank.”

Bell smiled at learning that. “Even the Captain, Gareth, and Riveria don’t have all ‘S’ in their stats?” Having seen his Familia’s three leaders, not to mention everything he’d heard and learned about them, it almost seemed impossible that he could accomplish something that they hadn’t already done before.

“Nope.” Loki popped the ‘p’ with a grin on her lips. “You’re the first one, Bell. Be proud of that.”

“Alright.” Bell smiled as he allowed himself to feel a bit of pride in his accomplishment, or soon-to-be accomplishment as it were.

The two just sat their together, enjoying their closeness and warmth. Neither of them paid any attention to the time at all. It was only after a long while that Loki spoke up again.

“Bell…would you like to go to Monsterphilia with me?” Loki asked softly as she held him.

“The big festival, right?” Bell had wanted to go and see it, especially the tamed Monsters that Tione, Tiona, Lefiya, and Ais had told him about. “I’d love to, Loki.”

Loki felt her heart soar at Bell’s acceptance. “Yes!” She pulled him backwards onto the bed, letting him lie on top of her as she laughed happily. “We’re going to have so much fun, Bell!”

Bell carefully rolled over, so that he could look at Loki properly. The radiant smile on the Goddess’s face made Bell smile too. “I’ll look forward to it then, Loki.”

The two looked at each other, red eyes meeting rubellite, with their faces only centimeters apart.

“Mmm.” Loki hummed as she kissed Bell, wrapping her arms over his shoulders.

“Mm.” Bell kissed Loki back, using one hand to hold himself up and not crush Loki, while his free hand trailed up her side, across her chest, along her neck, and then cupped her cheek softly.

The two would continue to be wrapped up in each other for quite a while, only separating as it got late and they both wanted to get to bed so that they had plenty of energy for tomorrow.

-Next Morning-

“Ehhh?! Bell, you’re going to Monsterphilia with Loki?!” Tiona cried out in surprise.

“I asked him first, so Bell’s gonna spend the whole day with me!” Loki had a big smile on her face as she lounged on one of the couches in the common area.

Tione crossed her arms and turned her head. “Tch. Bell’s too nice to say ‘no’.”

Lefiya fidgeted a little, having wanted to ask Bell to go too, but she’d been unable to work up the nerve.

Aki sighed a little. “Well, not much we can do about it now.” The way her cat ears were lowered showed off her true disappointment, despite her nonchalant tone.

Ais, wearing a cute sleeveless white blouse with a purple skirt, thigh high white stockings, and matching shoes had her hands behind her and looked between Loki and Bell. Her normal stoic expression was marred by the smallest of pouts.

“I didn’t know you all wanted to go to Monsterphilia together.” Bell said as he looked at the other girls apologetically.

Loki, seeing that all of the girls that she knew had feelings for Bell were here, let a soft and warm look cover her face. “I’m not heartless or anything.” All eyes turned to Loki. “If you all are willing… We could make this into a group date.”

“D-Da-Date?!” Lefiya’s face instantly turned an adorable red as she stumbled over her words, flustered by the implications. Her wide blue eyes looking between Ais and Bell repeatedly.

“Are you using this as an excuse to act like an old geezer?” Tiona questioned; her eyes narrowed at Loki.

Tione scoffed a little. “You know she is.”

Aki rubbed the back of her head. “You do have a history, Goddess.”

“Mm.” Ais had a flat, deadpan look on her face.

“H-Hey…” Bell wanted to speak in Loki’s defense. Sure, their Goddess was affectionate, but he hadn’t personally seen anything like the girls were talking about, other than the one time that Loki had overreacted when he and Ais had first met.

Loki’s mood dropped and everyone could practically feel it in the air. “Come on… I stopped doing that a while back. Haven’t I given you all space, not touched you, and done everything else you asked me to stop doing?” Her words were soft and low, so very different from her normal upbeat and boisterous tone. “I even apologized to all of you.”

Now all four young women were looking a little guilty about their accusations.

Loki has apologized about her ‘handsy’ actions quite a while back. She’d also respected their space, aside from normal moments of affection for her ‘children’, and hadn’t been aggressive or perverted towards them since her apology.

“Sorry, Loki.” Tiona was the first to apologize.

Tione looked a bit offput for a moment before she let out a short sigh. “No. You’re right…you’ve done everything that we’ve asked. Sorry for accusing you like that.”

“We were wrong to judge you when you’ve made a real effort to change.” Aki gave Loki a short bow as she apologized.

Ais was quite for a moment, but her golden eyes softened a little as she accepted the truth and how much Loki had put into changing her old habits. “I apologize.” She also gave Loki a short bow. “I was wrong…to hold a grudge.”

“I’m sorry for not noticing your efforts to change!” Lefiya bowed as well, even though she hadn’t accused Loki of anything.

Loki brightened up noticeably and rubbed the back of her head with a smile. “It’s alright… I get it. Apology accepted.”

Bell smiled at seeing the situation resolve positively and moved forward to give Loki a hug.

“Bell?” Loki happily accepted the warm hug, even if she was surprised by the suddenness of it.

Tiona joined in with a bright smile, hugging both Loki and Bell. “If that offer is still open, I’ll join you two!”

Loki smiled brightly. “Of course.”

“I-I’ll go as well!” Lefiya managed to get out, her cheeks still pink.

“Why not?” Aki had a small grin on her lips, her tail swaying a little behind her.

Tione sighed, though the little smile on her face ruined her attempt to appear aloof. “Alright, sure.”

“Okay.” Ais said after a moment of silence.

Loki’s cheer had fully returned now as Bell and Tiona pulled back from the hug. “Woohoo! Group date!” She cheered happily, beaming at the six of them.

Bell smiled happily at Loki’s renewed mood.

“We should head for East Main Street first!” Tiona declared brightly while pointing at the front doors. “We can try all of the street stalls on our way to the Colosseum!”

The plan was quickly agreed to by the group.

“By the way, Ais-tan…” Loki smiled at Ais. “That outfit looks amazing on you! You’re super cute!” She had a blush on her cheeks as she complimented Ais’s new outfit for the day. “Never thought I’d get to see you like this!”

“…thank you.” Ais accepted the compliment, noticing how Bell’s eyes were also drawn to the outfit that she’d picked out when she and the other girls had gone shopping together yesterday. Why that made her get a fluttering feeling in her stomach, she didn’t know…but she didn’t mind it.

“Did you get all dolled up for a certain someone~?” Loki teased playfully, knowing that Ais was finally opening up a bit and coming out of her shell with the other girls befriending her. “It fits you so well!”

Ais briefly glanced at Bell, her cheeks turning pink.

“You do look nice in that outfit, Ais.” Bell smiled as he noticed Ais looking at him once.

“Thank you…Bell.” Ais felt her heart speed up a bit and gave Bell a small smile.

“As adorable as this is, we should probably get this ‘group date’ started.” Aki reminded with a cheshire grin at the cute byplay between Ais and Bell.

Loki quickly latched onto Bell’s right arm. “Let’s go!”

“No fair!” Tione and Tiona said at the same time, only to nearly gape in surprise that Lefiya had taken Bell’s left hand in her own, even as the adorable Elf blushed all the way to the tips of her pointed ears.

“Ready, Lefiya?” Bell asked the cute Elf with a smile.

Lefiya could only look at Bell briefly before looking down and nodding her head. “Y-Yes.” The hundreds of questions about whether this was too fast, or appropriate, or anything else were brought to a halt as Bell gently squeezed her hand as they headed out the doors of the Twilight Manor. ‘What was I worried about?’ Lefiya wondered as an absolutely beautiful smile covered her face.

-East Main Street ~ Monsterphilia-

“So this is Monsterphilia, huh?” Bell marveled at all of the crowded streets lined with stalls for the day of the festival.

There were many different scents in the air as food from all over the world was present for the annual event. Colorful cloth and clothes in more styles than any one person could identify were seen, both being sold and being worn by visitors from outside of Orario. The entire city was seemingly out in force to celebrate the massive festival hosted by the Ganesha Familia.

“Don’t miss the Xenos Mock Battles!” A member of Ganesha Familia stood on a small platform and hollered over the crowd. “See the pinnacle of the Ganesha Familia’s rare Taming Skill! The intelligent Monsters that we call companions! The first mock battle happens at noon!” The man handed papers with the schedule of Xenos-related events at the Amphitheatron out to everyone that was gathered around his small platform.

“I wonder what the schedule is like?” Bell quickly went to get one of the papers. “Battles between Xenos…” He looked over the schedule and noticed a match between a Fomoire (named Four) and a Lizardman (named Lyd) would be happening at noon. There was also an aerial battle after that between a Gargoyle (named Gros) and a Siren (named Ray). “I definitely want to see this!” Bell smiled at the paper. “Huh, they have regular taming of new Monsters taken from the Dungeon after the first two mock battles…and then the Siren and a Harpy are going to sing?!” Sure, Sirens were supposed to use sound as a weapon in the Dungeon, but if they sang… “Huh, it might actually be nice.” Even though Bell had only been in Orario for a while, even he’d heard of some of the mysteries within the Dungeon, thanks to other members of the Loki Familia. Some Adventurers swore they heard angelic singing coming from deeper within the Dungeon, unsure if it was a person singing, a Monster, or perhaps the Dungeon itself. “We’ve still got plenty of time.” He checked the time on a clock that was set up on a building not too far away from him.

“Let’s eat Jagamarukun!” Loki declared, pointing at a stand that was cooking the potato snacks.

The group made their way over to look at the menu.

“Let’s see…” Loki was about to order, but Ais nearly blurred as she was suddenly in front of the stall owner.

“One Azuki Cream flavor, please.” Ais requested politely, yet eagerly.

The man behind the counter chuckled and easily got Ais her order. “One Azuki Cream!” He handed the snack over to Ais and accepted her Valis.

Loki blinked as Ais eagerly munched on the Jagamarukun. “Is…is it that good?”

“I’ll take a bacon Jagamarukun, please.” Bell ordered his own.

“Butter for me, please.” Aki chose a simple one.

“Hmm… I’ll go with a cheese one.” Tione decided after a moment to look over the menu.

Lefiya found one that she thought would be good. “May I have the mushroom variety, sir?”

Tiona pointed at the menu as she made her own order. “Spicy for me!”

“Bell~” Loki called out with a little grin. “Can I have a bite of yours, please~?”

Bell, just about to take his second bite after receiving his Jagamarukun, stopped. “Are you sure…Loki?” He held it out to her anyway.

Loki took a small bite with a bright smile on her face. “Mmm! It’s good!” She held her cheek with her free hand. “Bell’s indirect kiss…”

That got all of the other girls blushing as they realized their Goddess’s game.

“Bell, try mine too!” Tiona put her spicy Jagamarukun close to Bell.

“If you want.” Aki held up hers to Bell.

Tione had an adorable smile on her face as she offered her Jagamarukun to Bell as well. “Bell~”

Lefiya was a blushing mess as she watched on, looking between Bell and her own Jagamarukun.

Ais had already finished off her Azuki Cream Jagamarukun and was watching the ‘show’ in front of her curiously. That didn’t stop her cheeks from being a bright pink color though.

“O-Okay…” Bell blinked at the offerings to ‘share’ bites. He took a bite of Tiona’s spicy Jagamarukun first, only to stare as Tiona happily took a bite from the same spot a second later.

“Hehe~” Tiona was beaming brighter than the sun as she enjoyed her own indirect kiss.

Bell took a bite from Aki’s next, the contrasting flavor from Tiona’s pleasant on his tongue.

Aki turned to the side as she took a bite from where Bell had bitten into the Jagamarukun. Her cat ears flicking happily atop her head.

“Aahh~” Tione said as she got to feed Bell. Once Bell had taken a bite, Tione looked at the Jagamarukun before taking her own bite with a happy little giggle.

“Eh?” Lefiya blushed so red that she nearly put a tomato to shame when Bell took a small bite from her Jagamarukun as well. She turned her back to the others, steam nearly rising from her head, and quickly nibbled on the spot where Bell had taken a bite.

Loki was absolutely thrilled by the direction this ‘group date’ had already taken. If things continued in this fashion, then a real relationship could start between them all! ‘Could I be any happier?’ She wondered, even as she still felt an odd tingle in the back of her mind that ‘something’ might happen at Monsterphilia. ‘It’s just a hunch though.’ Sometimes Divine Intuition could be almost annoying in its vagueness.

But that’s why Ais had her loaned rapier strapped to her hip right now at Loki’s request. A ‘just in case’ measure for anything that might come up. Also because Ais often went out with her sword at her hip, so it didn’t look out of place today.

-Amphitheatron-

The small group chatted as they made their way into the stadium together. Their seating arrangement had to be worked out though. Bell chuckled slightly at the fast-paced game of rock-paper-scissors that the girls had played before sitting down. Lefiya had pouted when she lost, while Tione and Tiona had both giggled brightly at their victory. In the end, Bell was in the center of the group with Ais on his left side and Tione on his right. Tiona was next to Tione, Lefiya was next to Ais, with Aki and Loki on either end, both with cute little pouts on their faces. Bell admitted that he was very interested in seeing the Xenos. Tiona agreed with him, liking the mock battles herself. Tione also enjoyed the Xenos events, mentioning that the Siren Song of Ray was very popular. Lefiya always thought that the skill of the Ganesha Familia’s Tamers was incredible and had come to see Monsterphilia the first time that she was in Orario during the festival, solely because she was curious about the Xenos. Aki liked the battles and the performances equally, but enjoyed the performances a bit more depending on which of the many Xenos were doing the performing.

“Mm.” Ais looked a little less thrilled by the Xenos.

“Is there something wrong, Miss Ais?” Bell asked her quietly at seeing her expression.

Ais looked at him and let a small sigh escape her lips. “I’ve…never liked Monsters. When the Xenos were first debuted…no one could believe it. I still…worry about what they could do to people.” She admitted her distrust of the Tamed Monsters, even knowing that they could speak and think like people.

“I can understand that, Monsters are dangerous.” Bell nodded to her after a moment of thought. It would also explain why Ais was the only one of the group that had her weapon on her, even if it was just the loaned rapier from Goibniu Familia. “The Xenos have never hurt anyone though, right?”

“No.” Ais confirmed that no Xenos had ever attacked a person before.

Bell was a little bold and gently took Ais’s hand in his. “I think it’s okay to give them the benefit of the doubt. But being cautious out of concern for others is a good thing too.”

“Thank you.” Ais’s felt her face getting warm again, even as she gently squeezed Bell’s hand with her own. Tione and Tiona both grinned at them, enjoying how much Ais was smiling with Bell around.

‘Ais… Don’t just h-hold hands with Bell! I…I’ll hold your hand too!’ Lefiya thought to herself, her blue eyes focused on Ais and Bell’s entwined hands. She gently took Ais’s opposite hand into her own with burning red cheeks.

Ais looked over at Lefiya, but could only smile at how much effort it clearly took Lefiya to hold her hand and offer her emotional support like this. “Thank you, Lefiya.” Ais whispered softly as she gently squeezed Lefiya’s hand too.

“Y-Yes…” Lefiya managed to get out as she blushed, though the happy smile on her face was adorable.

“Now! For the moment you’ve all been waiting for!” The announcement came over the speakers. “The first Xenos Mock Battle of the day!” The crowd roared in excitement. “From the east gate, the Lizardman warrior himself, Lyd!”

“Yeah!” Lyd was a red-scaled Lizardman with light armor strapped to his body, a shield in one hand, and a sword in the other. He raised his sword high to the cheers of the crowd.

“And from the west gate, the Foimore powerhouse, Four!” The announcer pointed to the opposite gate where a large goat-headed humanoid Monster walked out, carrying a large metal club and wearing armor similar to Lyd’s.

“Baauuhhh!” Four bellowed out loudly, before pointing his large club at Lyd challengingly.

“Are you two ready?” The announcer looked at both of the Xenos with an excited grin.

“Let’s go!” Lyd raised his shield and readied his sword.

“Bah!” Four nodded, taking his large club in two hands, ready to fight.

“BEGIN!!!” The announcer declared, and was quickly drowned out by the roar of the crowd as the two Xenos rushed towards each other as the fight began.

Bell marveled at the speed of the two Xenos as they exchanged blows. “They’re fast!”

“About Level 5, roughly?” Tiona estimated the strength of the two Xenos for Bell.

“Yeah, that seems right.” Aki nodded her agreement, her eyes following the movements of the two Xenos.

“Low to mid-Level 5, I’d say.” Tione agreed after a second to observe the moves of the two Monsters.

“Mm.” Ais’s golden eyes followed the fight, picking out openings, but also taking note of which Monster was pushing the other back. “The Lizardman.”

Lefiya blinked, taking her eyes off the match to look at Ais. “Ais?”

“The Lizardman will win…if it uses its tail.” Ais explained, now having the attention of all of her friends.

Loki grinned at the prediction. “If Ais-tan says so, then it’s probably right.”

Sure enough, after a clash of weapons, Lyd’s tail swiped one of Four’s legs out from under the Fomoire. The goat-like humanoid staggered a step, only to take a shield bash from Lyd and be knocked to the ground. The next instant and Lyd’s sword was pointed at Four’s neck.

“Shuah…” Four snorted out and yielded to Lyd.

“Good match.” Lyd chuckled to his friend.

“And we have our winner!” The announcer called out into his mic. “Give it up for Lyd!” The crowd burst into applause and cheers for the Lizardman.

Lyd helped Four up and the two walked off to the south gate together, both waving to the people as they left the field to make room for the next Xenos participants.

-Later-

Bell could honestly say that he was amazed at what he’d seen from Monsterphilia and the Xenos, so far. The aerial battle between Gros and Ray had been amazing, the two Monsters demonstrating advanced maneuvers and combat, all the while never touching the ground. Ray’s singing had also been superb, the Siren Xenos’s voice was melodic in an almost hypnotic way, everyone enjoying the songs and feeling relaxed.

The exception to that had been Ais, who had squeezed Bell’s hand a little tighter when the singing began. The swordswoman wouldn’t let herself relax and be taken in by the song. Bell had gently returned the squeeze and gave Ais a smile when she looked at him. The thankful smile that Ais had given him was cute and Bell was very happy that he’d gotten to see it.

“I think something’s going on.” Tione noticed the rushing members of Ganesha Familia that were heading to the top box where Ganesha presided over the events.

“You think something went wrong?” Tiona questioned as the Ganesha Familia members rushed back out of the top box even faster than they’d gone in.

“Oh? What’s this?! It seems Ray has volunteered to sing us one more song before we move on to our next event!” The announcer told the stadium at large with a big smile. The cheering from the audience proved that no one had any objections, though a few did wonder about the deviation from the printed schedule.

“Something has happened.” Ais stood up from her seat.

“Ais?” Lefiya blinked at seeing her idol’s serious face.

“Think we should go check it out?” Tiona also stood up.

“It couldn’t hurt.” Tione was already standing up.

Aki was already on her feet too. “Did something go wrong with the Monsters?”

Loki grimaced at her ‘group date’ being interrupted. “Hah… It’s possible something has gone wrong. Ganesha is so gonna owe me if we have to clean up a mess of his!” She stood up with the others.

“I’ll come too!” Bell followed after the women as they left the stands and headed for the stairs to leave the Amphitheatron.

-Orario Streets-

It hadn’t taken long for the Lokia Familia members to find out the situation from the Ganesha Familia. Apparently, some odd rumblings had been felt a short time ago not too far from the main area of the festival. Reports of a strange sound had followed, being heard coming up from the sewers. The Ganesha Familia had been doing a quick investigation already, while trying to contain any fear that Monsters had somehow escaped; since all of the Monsters that they’d brought from the Dungeon were still accounted for.

The Loki Familia group had headed off to the area where the reports had come from to check things out. The Ganesha Familia was thankful for the help, as they were already being stretched thin by the festival. But just before the group got to the location, the situation erupted.

Crack

BOOM

Dust was thrown into the air as the street cracked. A long sinuous body moved around as people yelled in panic and fear. The green skin looked scaly, like a snake, but the ‘head’ was weird, with no visible mouth, eyes, or features of any kind.

“Is that another new species?!” Tiona questioned loudly as none of the four Loki Familia members had ever seen a Monster like it.

“But the other new species were all the way down on the Fiftieth Floor!” Lefiya exclaimed, knowing that new species didn’t appear regularly, and that the vast space between the surface and Fiftieth Floor would be impossible for a Monster of this size to traverse without being noticed in one way or another.

“Ais, use your speed and get the civilians away from that thing!” Tione started giving out orders, having some training in leadership thanks to Finn making her a leader of small squads from time-to-time.

“Yes.” Ais nearly vanished as she blurred towards the people closest to the strange Monster. She grabbed the two people that were within the snake-like beast’s range and dashed away with them quickly.

“I’ll help you, Ais-tan!” Loki said loudly as she let just a fraction of her Divinity free, a faint prismatic glow surrounding her as she rushed towards the crowd of people on the largest street leading to the plaza. “Stop.” She said softly, yet her words carried to all of the mortals. “Turn back. It’s dangerous.”

People immediately did as the Goddess instructed, turning in the opposite direction and fleeing.

“Lefiya, look for an opening and start casting!” Tione instructed the Mage, snapping Lefiya’s focus away from where Loki was using a tiny portion of her Divinity.

“Y-Yes!” Lefiya agreed with a quick shake of her head.

“Bell, can you make a perimeter with your Magic?” Tone questioned him quickly.

“Yes!” Bell could use his Ice Magic for that much.

“Perimeter then, make sure no one else can enter this area as best as you can!” Tione gave him a role in this upcoming fight. ‘If this thing is from the Fiftieth Floor too, then even a strong Level 1 like Bell won’t stand a chance against it.’

Aki looked at Tione for orders as well. “Where do you want me?”

Tione only took a second to consider the options. “With me and Tiona, we’ll take this thing out!”

“Gaaaahhh!” A Cat Man cried out as the ‘head’ of the Monster rushed towards him.

Tiona and Tione launched themselves off the nearby roof so hard that some of the tiles cracked. Both of the Amazons’ eyes nearly seemed to glow as they blurred towards the Monster; such was the intensity of their focus. As they blurred towards the strange new species, Tiona cocked back her left fist, while Tione cocked back her right.

Wham

The ‘head’ of the Monster shattered the street as the twin punches knocked it down. The Cat Man was grabbed by the swift form of Ais and removed from the area a second later.

“Nnnngh.” Tione hissed, raising her right arm above her head, gripping it with her left as her hand throbbed with pain.

“It’s so hard?!” Tiona was hopping in place, cradling her hand which was noticeably bruised.

“Punches aren’t going to get us anywhere!” Tione took up a stance anyway. “This thing is made to withstand blunt force!”

“Gahh! Why didn’t we bring weapons?!” Tiona questioned, only to remember that they’d been having a nice day at Monsterphilia before this; so weapons shouldn’t have been needed.

Crkkkllle

Ice rapidly spread and rose up into thick walls at every entry point to the small plaza that the Monster was in one after another, accompanied by bursts of snow clouds each time. The strange Monster’s head whipped around at the Magic, seeming to be confused or attracted to it.

“Great job, Bell!” Tiona cheered at the effective perimeter and how quickly it had been made.

Aki jumped in and slammed a kick into the distracted Monster, sending it flailing backwards. “Shit!” She cursed when she landed, briefly rubbing her leg. “How is it so sturdy?!”

“Unleashed pillar of light, limbs of the holy tree. You are the master archer. Loose your arrows, fairy archers. Pierce, arrow of accuracy.” Lefiya was nearly finished with her chant and the Monster hadn’t noticed her yet. She could take it out before it caused any further damage!

The Monster’s head snapped around and locked directly onto Lefiya.

Crack

The ground next to Lefiya’s feet broke and a green tentacle, or limb, perhaps a tail, slammed into the Elf’s side with a snapping sound. The limb shot up high into the air, sending Lefiya flying into an abandoned stall, collapsing the canvas and wood.

“That thing had a tail?!” Tione nearly cracked a tooth in anger at not having considered that before, trying to get to Lefiya’s side.

“Lefiya!” Tiona rushed towards their injured friend.

“Damn it!” Aki bit out as she saw her friend injured. “How long is this thing?!”

The ‘head’ of the weird Monster shuddered, nearly vibrating, for a second before it split and then burst open to reveal a flower with jaws similar to a humans. “ROOOOAAARRRR!!!” The weird Flower Monster roared, briefly revealing that its Magic Stone was attached to the roof of its mouth, as more vine-like limbs burst through the road and swung around.

“It…bloomed?” Tione looked confused by this new species now that it had revealed its true form.

“It’s not a snake…it’s a flower?!” Tiona exclaimed, dodging the rapidly flailing vines that were rising from the ground.

The flower Monster disregarded the Amazon sisters and Aki entirely, turning its attention to the downed Lefiya. It slithered towards her, mouth opening, clearly intending to eat the Elf.

“Lefiya! Get up!” Aki called out a warning, trying to force her way through the wriggling vines.

“These damn things are in the way!” Tione punched one of the vines, but even as it was knocked aside, she could tell that it hadn’t really been damaged.

Lefiya seemed to come to, trying to sit up proved to be the wrong move, however. “AAAAHHHH!!!” She cried out in agony, her hand going towards her injured side, clearly something was very wrong to make a Level 3 be nearly unable to move.

But even through the pain, Lefiya tried to get away from the Monster. As it came closer, even as the Elf continued to cry out from the searing pain of her injury, she never stopped trying to get away from it.

The Flower Monster’s head went flying through the air. A clean slice had separated the head from the long, sinuous body in a single strike. Lefiya felt a tear fall from her eye in shame at having to be saved by Ais, again.

‘Made it.’ Ais let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. ‘Pushed a little too hard though.’ She felt her body twinge in pain from blasting all the way back to the battlefield in one burst of Airel. “Lefiya?” She turned to check on her friend.

As if reacting to her presence, three more Flower Monsters burst from the ground, shrieking at Ais. Revealing that the other vines belonged to them and not the first Monster.

“There’s more?!” Aki hissed out as they were already having problems with just the one.

‘Three of them? That won’t be a problem!’ Ais was surrounded by her Wind Magic as it spun fiercely into a gale. She launched herself forward at the nearest Flower Monster.

Snap

Only for the rapier that she was using to break apart under the power of her Ariel.

‘The sword… This is its limit.’ Ais realized that she’d once again pushed a weapon too hard and destroyed it. She could already imagine Goibniu’s anger at her destroying the weapon that he’d loaned her while Desperate was being given maintenance. ‘I’m going to be yelled at again…’ She snapped out of her worries of the future as the nearest Flower Monster came at her with jaws wide open. With just the hilt and guard of the sword left, she wrapped it in wind and then hammered the Monster into the ground with it. She leapt away and the Flower followed after her at speed, targeting her exclusively. ‘Ariel alone isn’t strong enough to kill it?’

“Now they’re after Ais!” Tiona fought against the lashing vines that were keeping her, Aki, and Tione from helping Ais and Lefiya. “We’re right here, damn it!” She yelled at the three Monsters.

“That’s it!” Tione figured out the Flower Monsters’ fixation. “It’s magical energy! Ais! They’re attracted to Magic!”

‘If that’s the case, then I can lead them away from Lefiya!’ Ais used her speed to dodge the three Monsters as they repeatedly came after her.

“Frost!” Bell cast his Enchantment again while watching the ongoing fight from the rooftop across from the one that the group had originally been on. He vanished in a cloud of snow and reappeared near the tails of the three Flower Monsters. “Hyah!” Throwing both hands forward, Bell unleashed a wave of ice, freezing the Flower Monsters’ tails to the ground.

“Raaah!” The three Flower Monsters briefly stopped their pursuit of Ais to direct their attention to the one that had frozen their tails.

“Bell?!” Aki cried out in shock at seeing Bell fighting the Flower Monsters.

“Get out of there!” Tione roared as she rushed to attack the Monsters before they could attack Bell.

Tiona was nearly a blur as she pushed her speed to the limit.

“Bell!” Ais’s raised voice would’ve been surprising to those that knew her.

Bell vanished into another cloud of snow just as the three Flower Monsters slammed into the ground where he’d been.

“Reeeaaahh!!!” The Flower Monsters screeched as they raised their heads, not having managed to capture Bell.

All three Monsters were quickly slammed back into the ground by Tione, Tiona, Aki, and Ais. Not one of the young women gave a damn that it felt like their bones were shaking as they tried to pummel the Flower Monsters to death.

“Lefiya! Lefiya!” Bell was already at Lefiya’s side, snapping the Elf out of her pain (and shame) filled stupor. “We need Magic! Powerful Magic!” His own, even boosted by his Eilíft Frost Skill, wasn’t enough to stop these Monsters.

“Ah…ugh…y-yes.” Lefiya felt her entire body nearly spasm in painful protest as she stood up, accepting Bell’s hand to get back onto her feet. Having Bell with her, relying on her, it made new and powerful resolve explode within Lefiya’s heart. “I am… Lefiya Viridis. An Elf of the Wishe Forest. I swore myself to the Goddess Loki. I am a member of the strongest, proudest Familia!” She leapt forward to get into position, putting herself between the three Monsters and Bell, regardless of the screaming pain within her body. ‘I cannot leave the people that’re most important to me behind. I will not run away! I refuse!’

“Whoa!” Tione was nearly grabbed from behind by one of the vines, but it was knocked aside by Aki while the Flower Monster screeched.

“Damn it! We can’t kill them like this!” Tiona cursed as she dodged three lashing vines that cracked the street wherever they hit.

Ais knocked one of the Flower Monsters backwards with a powerful blast of wind, but the other two only came at her even more viciously in response.

“I wish upon the name of Wishe.” Lefiya began her incantation as an orb of light appeared at the tip of each of her index fingers. She moved them through the air as her own Magic Circle glowed beneath her feet thanks to her Mage Developmental Ability. From the small glowing orbs upon her fingertips, magical script was written into the air. “Ancestors of the forest, proud brethren. Answer my call and descend on the plains. Connecting bonds, the pledge of paradise.” The circle of glowing script was almost complete as Lefiya turned back to face the Monsters. “Turn the wheel and dance. Come, ring of fairies. Please – Give me strength.” She brought her hands together in front of her and the two glowing orbs merged into one, the script in the air turning into a bright ring of light. “Elf Ring!” Bell was forced backwards from the sheer magical power that Lefiya was releasing, but his rubellite eyes watched everything without blinking.

“Lefiya?!” Tione called out, feeling the intensity of Lefiya’s magic power even from a distance.

“Oh wow!” Tiona blinked as her Flower Monster rushed towards Lefiya, completely ignoring her.

“Watch out!” Aki called out a warning as the intense magical energy sent the Flower Monsters into a frenzy.

“REEEAAAHHH!!!” All three of the Flower Monsters lunged for Lefiya, slithering across the ground rapidly.

‘I am not afraid.’ Lefiya stared at the approaching Monsters unflinching. ‘Everyone is with me.’

“STAY DOWN!!!” Tiona and Tione roared as they, along with Aki and Ais, were above the Monsters from behind. Each girl slammed a powerful blow into the head of one of the Flower Monsters, cratering the pavement from the force of the strike.

‘They’ll protect me.’ Lefiya knew this to be true, more than anything. ‘And I will save them!’ The Elf declared to herself absolutely. “Harbinger of the end, the white snow.” Lefiya’s Magic Circle glowed brightly as it changed to match the color of Riveria’s. “Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezing land. Blizzard, the three severe winters - my name is Alf!” Lefiya held up her right hand as Ais, Tione, Aki, and Tiona leapt off the heads of the Flower Monsters letting them move again. “Wynn Fimbulvetr!”

“RAAAHHH!!!” The three Flower Monster roared, but it was too late.

White.

Bell blinked, but all he saw for a moment was white.

The magical energy died down and other colors came into view.

“Incredible…” Bell could only stare at the mass of ice in front of Lefiya, all three of the Monsters were frozen like sculptures now. ‘Could I do that someday?’ He couldn’t help but wonder.

“Nice one, Lefiya!” Tiona yelled out, coming down from her jump to get out of the way of the powerful spell.

“You’ve caused us enough trouble, you damn weeds!” Tione nearly growled at the frozen Monsters.

The two sisters landed easily on the ground before launching themselves at the ice. Tione and Tiona stomped hard on the ground right before they reached their target and raised their one of their legs high into the air in perfect synchronicity. They brought their heels down on the frozen Monsters and entire mass of ice shattered from the force of their combined axe kicks.

‘They’re so powerful!’ Bell thought as he saw the power of the Amazon twins on full display. ‘Flexible too…’ A different part of his brain filed that image away for later.

The remaining fragments of ice and frozen Monster were shredded into snow as Ais landed on them with Ariel going at full power. The magical wind tossed the snow around, the sunlight sparkling off the white flakes made the girls look beautiful in Bell’s eyes as it floated around them.

Aki was already rushing to Lefiya’s side. “Are you alright, Lefiya?!”

Lefiya leaned back into Bell as he helped steady her. “I’m…alright.”

“Thanks, Lefiya, you saved our butts!” Tiona hugged Lefiya gently, aware of her injury.

“T-Tiona!” Lefiya was always a bit flustered by how physically affectionate the Amazon was.

“Thank you, Lefiya.” Ais smiled at her friend. “You looked just like Riveria…amazing.”

“Ais…” Lefiya flushed at the praise, especially being compared to Riveria, and the fact that it came from Ais! “Ais… May I… Go with you in the Dungeon?”

Ais grinned at her Elf friend. “…Sure. Let’s go anytime, Lefiya.”

“Okay!” Lefiya agreed, happy little tears at the corners of her eyes.

Bell was suddenly the focus of the five women. “Y-Yes?” He wasn’t expecting to be hugged gently by all of them, even Lefiya who was clearly ignoring her injury at the moment.

“What were you thinking?!” Aki demanded as she tightened her hold on Bell. “Those things were easily Level 4 Monsters!”

Tione agreed as she squeezed Bell a bit more. “She’s right! One hit and you’d probably would’ve died!”

Bell stunned them all with his response.

“I saw you all fighting so hard… I couldn’t leave the ones that I care about alone.” Bell said firmly, his resolve unwavering under the gazes of the much more powerful Adventurers.

All five girls felt their hearts thump in their chests.

“Bell!” Tiona hugged him more and surprised everyone when she kissed Bell’s lips.

“Hey! Idiot Tiona!” Tione wasn’t about to let her sister get ahead of her! She quickly took Bell’s lips for herself.

“Guys, we should really get Lefiya treatment!” Aki said to break up the moment.

Bell and Ais both blinked at that, quickly breaking up the group thug and gently guiding Lefiya to lay down.

“Is everything okay over there?!” Loki’s yell came from the other side of Bell’s ice wall.

“The Monsters have been taken care of, but Lefiya’s injured!” Tiona called out.

“MEDIC!!!” Loki’s yell was louder than any of them had ever heard before.

Tione quickly shattered the ice wall with a punch, making Bell’s eyes widen at how easy the Amazon made it look. “She’s over here!”

Loki rushed in first, followed by members of the Ganesha Familia with a bag filled with various potions. Coming up behind them were members of the Guild. This incident needed to be investigated and that started with questioning all of the witnesses.

Lefiya was a blushing mess as her right hand was held by Ais and her left hand was held by Bell. Even as the Ganesha Familia gave her High Potions to drink to heal her injury, the Elf’s blush refused to go away. Despite her injury and the sharp, intense pain it had caused her, Lefiya was incredibly happy right now, being with those she cared about the most.

‘I’ve still got a long way to go.’ Bell thought as he held Lefiya’s hand while she drank a second High Potion. His Ice Magic was strong…for a Level 1…but Lefiya had shown him the extent that she, a powerful Level 3 Mage, could reach with a spell that wasn’t even her own. ‘But I’ll get there someday…no matter how long it takes.’ The aurora of desire within Bell’s heart shone ever brighter at his declaration.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Well, well… Monsterphilia was similar, and yet different from Canon!

Loki got a group date! Happy Trickster Goddess! Yay!

All of the warm and fluffy!

Bell is about to be Loki’s first ever ‘child’ that has all ‘S’ Rank stats!

But aside from the appearance of these strange Flower Monsters on the surface, there seems to be something stirring in the Dungeon as well!

While the strange brightly colored Monsters are a mystery, it seems the Dungeon is the same as always as one of its infamous irregularities has occurred.

What might happen during Bell’s future dungeon crawling?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!