Yukari Takeba was worried.
The expedition into the upper floors of Tartarus was nothing new for them. The members of SEES, they could be considered to be veterans of the tower now, having gone through over dozens of the lower floors already.
No, what worried her wasn't Tartarus or the shadows that the tower hosted.
What worried her, what had been eating away at her lately, wasn't anything of the sort. No, what had been worrying her was none other than their leader himself. Minato Arisato had not been himself as of late, ever since Shinjiro-senpai's untimely demise.
If she could describe in one word how he had been acting lately, she would use the word, apathetic. She wasn't sure if the rest of the team had noticed it or not, as Minato Arisato had always been a rather stoic individual. But lately, it almost seemed as if he's reverted back to how he was when they had first met.
That bothered her a great deal, because whether he realized it himself or not, Minato Arisato had changed a lot over the course of these few months. He was no longer as withdrawn as he had once been. He was no longer as… emotionless as he had once seemed to be. Slowly and steadily, throughout these last couple of months, he had started opening up to the people around him.
But as of late, it seemed as if he had all but reverted back to his prior state of self.
"Yukari-san, there is a shadow approaching. Please prepare yourself for battle."
She blinked, as Aigis' mechanical like voice shook her out of her stupor.
A shadow had indeed revealed itself. She began to notch an arrow onto her bow as she got into her usual position in the backline. Minato was at the front of their formation along with Akihiko, while Aigis stood in the middle between the two boys and herself. It was the standard formation that they always formed when they were all grouped together for an expedition, and it was a formation that proved to be an effective one, time and time again.
The shadow itself wasn't a particularly dangerous breed. She took aim with her bow and let the arrow fly. The wooden missile sailed through the air and found its mark, easily tearing through the shadow's mask. The shadow let out a howl in pain before it charged forward in anger.
That turned out to be the wrong move and ended up being the shadow's undoing, as Akihiko made quick work of the masked monster. An iron gauntlet covered fist and a quick Zio spell all but ensured that the shadow met a rather painful demise.
"Tch, another weak one," Akihiko muttered, "I need a real challenge."
Yukari found herself frowning at this.
"But Akihiko-senpai, aren't you still injured?" She asked, "Shouldn't you be taking it easy?"
The grey-haired boy merely waved her off.
"I'm fine. I won't get any stronger unless I fight against more powerful enemies."
She wanted to protest, but eventually decided against it and simply sighed. Akihiko was one of the most stubborn people she knew, and once the boxer had made up his mind on something, nobody was going to change it. Well, unless you happened to be Mitsuru Kirijo anyway.
"Yukari-san is right, Akihiko-san," Aigis intervened, "Because you are still injured, you should not be overexerting yourself."
"Not you too Aigis," Akihiko sighed, "Hey Minato, help me out over he—"
Akihiko never had a chance to finish as the sound of rattling chains soon filled the air. Her eyes widened and she could feel a sharp chill begin to run down her spine. There was only one shadow that gave away it presence in such an ominous way like that…
"Arisato-san!" Fuuka's voice sharply cut in, "You need to get out of there now! I'm detecting an extremely dangerous shadow coming your way!"
All eyes turned towards their leader, who seemed to be firmly rooted in place. It was as if he didn't realize just what exactly was transpiring at the moment. Was he that out of it? Yukari grabbed him by the shoulder and gave it a firm shake.
"Arisato-kun! Snap out of it!"
Dull, inattentive looking eyes stared back into her own Hazel colored orbs, and for a moment, she was afraid that he was going to remain like this. Then, as if he were suddenly startled awake, some clarity began to return into those grey irises that she had grown so used to seeing.
"…Takeba-san?"
"Yes, it's me," She briskly answered, "We need to go. Now!"
He blinked once, as if to regather himself and nodded, before he quickly broke off into a run. Yukari glanced over towards the rest of the team, who all nodded in response as well, before she took off into a run of her own. She could hear the footsteps from the others falling in line with her own as she followed after their leader.
They needed to get out of here before the Reaper found them.
She had the unfortunate experience of being in the expedition party when they had ran into the Reaper once before, and they had barely escaped with their lives that time. She had no wish to go through a second meeting with that… Monstrosity, none whatsoever.
As she continued to run, she could hear the rattling of the chains grow louder and louder with each extra step that she continued to take. That only caused her to pick up her pace. At times like these, she couldn't help but regret not choosing to join the track club over the archery club.
"Shit!" Akihiko swore, "Shadows!"
Much to her dismay, her upperclassman was right. A group of shadows stood in front of their path, blocking the way. All while the Reaper continued to trail behind them, getting closer and closer as each second passed by. If they were to try and clear out the shadows, the Reaper would catch up to them, without a doubt. But it wasn't as if they could just run past the group of shadows either. There was another corridor that they could go down, but seeing as how they had yet to finish exploring the entire floor yet, if that corridor led to a dead end…
She found herself glancing over towards their leader for guidance.
Minato Arisato appeared to have his evoker pointed towards his head. Yukari frowned, but began to reach behind her back for an arrow from her quiver nonetheless. It seemed that they'd have to just clear out the shadows before the Reaper could catch up.
Although that was easier said than done…
As she was about to notch an arrow, the familiar form of Orpheus caught her eye. The harp-wielding Persona soon began to fly down the last remaining corridor, with its master not too far behind. Orpheus let loose a couple of Agi shots all the while, drawing the attention of the shadows that were blocking the way.
Having been provoked from the attack, like the dim-witted creatures they were, the group of shadows soon began to hastily make chase.
"W-wait, Arisato-kun!" She yelled out, "Just what do you think you're doing?!"
"You guys get out first!" He ordered back, "I'll loop around and meet you guys later!"
Yukari blinked.
She blinked, and then she clenched her fists in frustration. There he was again, just like before, putting himself in harm's way, not giving a damn about his own well-being. Not giving a damn about the feelings of the people that care about him.
"Yukari, what are you waiting for?" Akihiko hastily asked, "You heard the leader's orders, we need to go, now!"
"…"
"Yukari-san, we need to follow his orders," Aigis added, as she looked away dejectedly, "…Even if we do not want to."
She grit her teeth and gave one last look towards the corridor that their leader had run through, before breaking off into a run herself towards the staircase. She was tired, so tired of him doing this. And just when he had begun to change, he relapsed again because of that damn Strega…
…
Once they all got out of this in one piece, she was going to have to have a long talk with their leader.
From One Dungeon Crawler to Another
Chapter 1-
Lost
Minato blinked.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes. When it became apparent that he wasn't simply seeing things, and that he actually was in a completely new area, he blinked once more. This place was not similar at all to any of the floors of Tartarus that he and SEES had explored thus far.
In fact, he could not recall there being any floor in Tartarus that even remotely resembled this place. Rather than the flat marble like floors of Tartarus, he was standing atop a vast grassy field that had a few trees sprinkled about, here and there. It was a large open area that was encased on all sides by rock and stone. A small little spring stood off at the edge of the field, with water dripping out from a small crack in the wall.
He frowned at that.
Tartarus did not have any grassy fields, much less an actual source of water for a spring. As he began to survey the area around him, his eyes finally settled onto the strangest thing he had seen yet.
A dragon.
An actual living breathing dragon. Not a Persona, but an actual dragon that looked as if it came straight from one of Junpei's video games. It was a massive beast, bright red scales covered every inch of the legendary creature like an impenetrable suit of armor. He watched every breath that the slumbering beast took, as it's chest heaved in and out, in a familiar rhythm.
He let out his own breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding in.
He had a feeling that he wasn't in Tartarus anymore. When he tried to contact Fuuka and received no response; that only made it all the more clear to him. He was without a doubt no longer in Tartarus. In fact, when he checked his phone and found that the device was actually working, but received no signal, he began to wonder if he was still even on Earth anymore.
Electronic devices did not work in the Dark Hour, and he was absolutely certain that that the Dark Hour should still be going on right about now. Tartarus could not be entered without the Dark Hour after all, and he was most definitely inside Tartarus until mere moments ago. And since the Dark Hour was a worldwide phenomenon, that could only mean one thing.
He was no longer on the same planet.
This was new for him. It was a scenario that he was not experienced with. It was a situation that was completely and utterly foreign for him.
And he did not know what to do.
Minato couldn't help but sigh. He reached into his pockets and pulled out his headphones out of habit, before firmly placing them into his ears. At the very least, he could listen to music with the Dark Hour no longer in effect. The familiar tune of Burn My Dread soon occupied his senses.
He tried to recall what had happened. He could remember luring the shadows away from his friends. He remembered running down the corridor until he finally reached a dead end. At that point, he was forced into a fight with the group of shadows. He could recall defeating the shadows and the Reaper arriving soon after.
The Reaper had him cornered.
He could recall a blinding flash of light, and then, nothing.
He frowned, as he tried to figure out just what had exactly occurred at that very moment. When nothing eventually came to mind, he couldn't help but let out a sigh once more. Things always did get complicated when it involved the supernatural, he should have expected things like this by now.
He began to survey the area around him once more. After all, it wasn't as if he could stay here forever, even though there did seem to be a source of fresh water nearby. He had a feeling that he didn't want to be around when the lumbering dragon finally decided to wake up. Of course, it was just his luck that the only exit that he could make out in this entire place, was right next to the giant sleeping dragon.
Hopefully, he'd be able to sneak his way out.
He kept his footsteps as light as possible as he slowly inched his way towards the exit. When he was halfway there, the dragon began to stir and he all but stopped in his tracks. A single large eye slowly began to crack open.
The dragon stared straight at him.
He simply stared back. Perhaps he should've turned off his MP3 player before trying to sneak past it.
After what felt like an eternity, the beast finally broke the deadlock and let out a bloodcurdling roar, as it all but jumped to life. Great red wings spread out from its back as the beast stood up to its full height on all four paws. It was a massive creature, larger than any shadow or Arcana shadow that he had seen yet.
And it looked as if it wanted to eat him.
He wasn't sure if he could summon a Persona here without the Dark Hour, but now was a good a time as any to find out. Gripping the evoker tightly, he quickly brought the pistol up towards the side of his head and pulled the trigger.
The all too familiar sound of shattering glass soon followed, much to his relief.
"Thou Art I… And I am Thou."
Orpheus, the master of strings soon emerged in all of its metallic glory.
"Agi"
A jet-stream of concentrated fire spewed out from the winged beast's jaws in response. In comparison, the small pitiful ball of flame from the Agi spell was all but evaporated by the dragon's fiery breath. Orpheus stood in front of him and managed to shield off most of the flames, but he could still feel the heat begin to burn off patches of flesh and skin, as he covered his eyes with his forearm.
When the heat finally began to lessen, he opened his eyes. Orpheus' once silver body was now charred black, like burnt coals. A crack began to appear on the now charred metal's surface, followed by another and then another. And then, the manifestation of thought shattered, disappearing away in a shower of dust.
It seemed that lower-tier Personas wouldn't stand much of a chance.
To defeat a beast like this, he would probably need one of his strongest Personas. He brought the evoker up towards the side of his head once more and pulled the trigger. He had the perfect Persona in mind.
What better way to slay a dragon than with the dragon-slayer himself?
Siegfried, the dragon-slaying hero along with his legendary sword Balmung, soon emerged from the confines of the Sea of Souls. Armor made of peerless steel all but draped over his body. A silver colored helmet covered most of his features as a crimson red mantle ran down his back.
The dragon-slayer drew Balmung from its sheath and hefted it over his armored shoulder. Unlike most warriors from his time, Siegfried did not use a shield. This was because Siegfried could not be harmed through conventional means, after having slain the great dragon Fafnir and having been bathed in its blood, the great hero became an invulnerable existence.
Of course, the Persona counterpart of the dragon-slayer possessed no such trait. After all, a Persona was simply that, a manifestation of thought, a mere copy of the original. And while this version of Siegfried did not possess the same form of invincibility, the same unwilling desire to use a shield remained.
And as such, with only Balmung in hand, the great dragon-slayer let out a loud battle cry as he charged forward.
It was unbecoming for an adventurer of the Loki Familia to be such a bother, to be so… Useless. One would expect much more from a member of one of the strongest Familia's in Orario. It was shameful for her, not only as an adventurer, but as an Elven Mage that was a student of Riveria Ljos Alf, of the royal family herself.
To not even be able to finish a chant while the members of her Familia fought so hard to protect her. It bothered her a great deal. She was a rearguard magician, and as such, it was her job to chant and cast spells in order to support her allies from afar. And yet, she could not even accomplish something as simple as that.
She was afraid. The very moment that danger reared its ugly head, when a monster of the dungeon approached her, that terrible feeling of dread would always overcome her. More often than not, she found herself freezing in place, and even something as simple as a three-layered chant, became next to impossible.
Lefiya Viridis was a failure as an adventurer.
She was a failure as an adventurer, a failure as a member of the Loki Familia, a failure as a representation of her people, and as a student of Riveria Ljos Alf. She was weak, and because she was weak, she was only a burden during battle.
But even then, she would continue to stand beside her comrades.
For Aiz Wallenstein, the Sword Princess of Orario, believed in her. The Loki Familia, her friends and family, they believed in her. Her mentor and future queen, Riveria Ljos Alf believed in her. And so, in spite of the fear, in spite of the dread, she would continue to stand by their side as a proud adventurer of the Loki Familia. She would become stronger, strong enough until the day came when she could stand beside her friend, Aiz Wallenstein, as an equal.
"Lefiya-chan," Tione Hiryute said, with a smile on her face, "This time, we will be relying on you."
Lefiya stilled her shaking hands as she slowly nodded in acknowledgement.
"…Yes."
They would be fighting against the Cadmus, one of the strongest monsters in the dungeon, aside from the floor bosses. The Cadmus was a massive dragon that was without a doubt, the strongest monster on the 51st floor of the dungeon. They needed the Cadmus's spring water for a request, and the only way of obtaining this water was by defeating the great dragon itself.
To say that she was nervous would be an understatement.
"The plan for this battle will go as usual," Tione began, "Aiz, Tiona, and I will draw the Cadmus's attention," The older Amazonian sister paused, "We will buy you time to chant Lefiya-chan, use your strongest spells. Once the Cadmus has been adequately weakened enough from the magic attacks, the rest of us will charge in and finish it off. If anyone has anything against this course of action, speak up now."
When it appeared that nobody was going to say anything, Lefiya glanced towards the other members of their little expedition party. Aiz Wallenstein had a serious look on her face, while the younger sister of the Amazons, Tiona Hiryute flashed her a happy-go-lucky smile.
"Good," Tione curtly nodded, "Everybody get ready, once we enter the Cadmus's lair, there won't be any turning back."
Lefiya couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when she saw the look that the elder Amazonian sister had on her face.
"Tiona-san, you sure seem…" She paused, unsure of what words to use, "Eager about this request."
"Of course!" Tione replied, with fire in her eyes, "The captain entrusted me with this job!"
"O-oh."
She should have expected that as the reason, really. It was quite well-known among the members of the Loki Familia that Tione Hiryute had feelings for their captain, Finn Deimne.
"Yeah yeah sis, we get it," The younger sister brushed off, "By the way, Aiz already went on ahead while you guys were talking."
"What?! Aiz, wait for us!" Tione yelled as she chased after the Sword Princess.
"Ah, let's get going too, Lefiya-chan," Tiona suggested, "Don't want to get left behind after all."
"R-right!" She promptly nodded.
Catching up to Aiz did not take as long as expected, as the Sword Princess had not actually ventured that far away from the group. That shouldn't have come as a surprise, after all Aiz Wallenstein was a veteran adventurer, and she knew better than most to stray too far away from the party in the deeper floors of the dungeon. Not just for her own safety, but for the party's safety as well. As they continued down the corridors of the dungeon's labyrinth floor, Aiz Wallenstein who had been at the forefront of the party abruptly came to a stop.
"Huh, why'd you stop Aiz?" Tione Hiryute asked.
Aiz merely held a hand out and pointed up towards the ceiling. Lefiya looked up and saw a faint trail of smoke leaking out from within the Cadmus's stomping grounds. The surprise on her face was shared among the rest of the members of the party.
"Hey wait," The younger Amazonian said, as she sniffed the air, "Do you guys smell that?"
Lefiya sniffed the air as well and she couldn't help but feel her nose scrunch up in disgust. It smelled of burnt flesh and sulfur. Tione had a similar look of disgust on her face as she.
"Uck, it smells terrible."
If Aiz was disturbed at all by the terrible smell, none of the discomfort showed on her face. Aiz Wallenstein appeared to be as stoic as ever.
"… Someone fought with the Cadmus."
The Sword Princess's voice was as soft as a light spring breeze. It was quite the surprise when she had found out that someone so powerful could have such a soft voice. Were it not for the fact that she had grown used to Aiz's way of speaking, she would have probably dismissed her remark as simple muttering.
"What? That's impossible," Tione Hiryute dismissed, "The amount of teams that could venture this far into the dungeon could be counted in one hand. And we haven't heard about any other Familia's expeditions overlapping with our own."
Lefiya tried to recall if there were any other Familia expeditions going on near the 50th floor. When nothing came to mind, she frowned. That meant that it probably wasn't another adventurer that had fought with the Cadmus.
"Uhm… Perhaps the Cadmus got into a fight with another monster?"
A monster fighting with another monster within the dungeon was not unheard of. It was certainly a possibility, and judging by the look on Tione's face, the elder Amazonian seemed to agree with her theory.
"… Strange."
Before anyone had a chance to ask what Aiz had meant by that, the Sword Princess had already rushed past everyone into the Cadmus's lair.
"Hey wait! Aiz!" Tione called out as she ran after the Sword Princess, "You can't just keep rushing out there on your own like that!"
Lefiya shared a quick glance with the younger Amazon sister before she began to chase after the Sword Princess as well. She could hear the footsteps of Tiona following close behind her as she stepped into the entrance to the Cadmus's lair.
What she saw took her by complete surprise.
What had once appeared to have been a grassy field was now no more than a ruined wasteland. Dirt and uprooted tree trunks, covered over the field as debris, marring over the once lush field of grass. Parts of the stone and rock encasing the area seemed to have been melted off, as a small little fire continued to burn away at any nearby debris.
It soon became very clear to her that she was staring at the remnants of a battlefield.
"The Cadmus…" Tione trailed off, "The Cadmus, it's dead."
Lefiya couldn't help but nod, as she stared at the large remains of the winged beast. Parts of its massive body had been melted away, but what really caught her attention was the short-sword that appeared to have been wedged into its right eye.
There weren't any monsters that used weapons on this floor, which meant that an adventurer had accomplished the deed. But, that only gave way to even more questions…
She was about to ask Tione about the short-sword before a soft voice interrupted her.
"Lefiya-san, this person requires healing," Aiz gently called out.
Aiz Wallenstein was kneeling down on the ground a good distance away from everybody. For a moment, worry seeped into her heart as she thought that someone from their party had gotten injured. But, when she realized that the Hiryute sisters were standing right beside her, her brows furrowed in confusion.
Who was Aiz talking about?
As she began to make her way over towards the Sword Princess, she finally got a good glimpse at the person in question. His clothing was strange, and seemed more fit for a civilian than an adventurer. His hair was a dark shade of blue and was quite unruly.
As she got closer, she could smell the scent of burnt flesh growing stronger with every step she took. Once she got close enough to see the full extent of his injuries, she frowned at the sight. Skin that had been burnt a dull shade of red, labored breathing that most likely indicated broken ribs, and a deathly pale complexion.
Whoever the mysterious adventurer was, he was not long for the world unless he received some form of healing.
And so, Lefiya Viridis began to chant.
"The song of a now distant forest."
She closed her eyes and focused.
"The nostalgic song of life."
Her magic was her greatest source of pride.
"Please bring the mercy of healing to those that seek you."
If she could not support her friends on the battlefield, than at the very least, she could accomplish this.
"Noah Heal."
A glyph began to form under her and stray mana soon filled the air. A faint light began to engulf the mysterious adventurer. Skin soon began to reform and bones started to mend. The deathly pale complexion soon began to take on a healthier shade of red.
She let out a sigh of relief, just as the Hiryute sisters began to approach.
"… Hey Tiona, does he look familiar to you?" The older sister asked.
The younger sister placed a single finger on her chin as she appeared to be deep in thought.
"Hmm… Nope, never seen anyone like him."
"What about you Aiz?" Tione questioned, "Recognize him from another Familia?"
Aiz Wallenstein simply shook her head in response.
The elder Hiryute sister rubbed the back of her neck, a puzzled expression on her face.
"To be able to take down the Cadmus, solo as well…" Tione eventually began, "You'd have to be at the very least, a level 5."
Lefiya blinked.
What Tione was implying could have powerful ramifications on the delicate power balance of Orario, if proved correct. Even if one added up all of the level 5s in the city, it would make for an extremely short list. First-class adventurers like Aiz Wallenstein or the Hiryute sisters were scare, even among the most powerful Familia. That only added more fuel to the burning question that was on everyone's mind.
Just who was this mysterious adventurer?
Author's Notes- Ah hahahahaha... Fuck me, I did it again. My muse got the better of me... I really need to stop starting new stories, ugh...