"Ugh."
A weary, gravelly groan escaped Draco's lips as he roused from a sleep that had been far too short and far too eventful.
The air in the room was thick with the lingering, sweet scent of the wine Bahamut had consumed the night before, a stark contrast to the sharp, tang of the lingering tension that still sat heavily in the back of his mind.
Feeling the dryness in his throat, he sat up, his movements stiff and deliberate.
He reached for the jug of water sitting on the bedside table, the condensation cool against his fingertips.
After a long, refreshing swallow, he let out a soft sigh and turned his head to the right.
Sprawled across the oversized bed, looking entirely peaceful and utterly devoid of the chaos she had caused just hours earlier, was his goddess.
Bahamut was clinging to her pillow like a koala, her silver locks fanned out across the sheets in a chaotic halo.
Her expression was cute and blissful, a stark contradiction to the scandalous, unfiltered declarations she had broadcasted to the entire Familia the previous evening.
Draco reached out, his hand hovering inches from her face.
He barely resisted the urge to pinch her puffed-up, sleepy cheeks.
He wanted to be angry…..he really did…..but looking at her, he couldn't in good conscience put the blame entirely on her shoulders.
He was at fault, too.
When the chaotic brawl had begun among the female members of his Familia, he had stood back, frozen by indecision, failing to nip the conflict in the bud.
And then, the goddess had returned home, flushed with the warmth of the spa and the liquid courage of too much alcohol.
The memory hit him like a physical blow.
Bahamut had returned from her outing with Demeter...an invitation she had accepted not merely for the relaxation, but for the succulent prospect of gossip.
Demeter, known for her circle of sane, amicable goddesses, had provided the perfect stage.
But when Bahamut returned, she had stumbled into the foyer, seen the girls fighting over the void left by his five-year absence, and instead of playing the role of the mediator, she had chosen arson.
She had spilled the beans.
Every detail…..the intimacy, the whispers, the nights spent behind locked doors….had been laid bare with such devastating, vivid clarity that Draco's own brain had instinctively tried to censor his own memories as he heard them.
It was a verbal barrage so absolute, so frankly impossible to ignore, that it had disarmed the entire room.
His young brothers...Michalis, Vasileios, and Nikolaos…..had been the most pitiable sight. They had offered him shaky, hesitant thumbs-ups, their faces permanently stained a deep, burning crimson.
They were impressed, certainly, but they couldn't look him in the eye.
They weren't innocent…..they had seen enough of the underbelly of Orario to know what happened in the red-light districts…..but hearing their own brother's private life narrated by their goddess in such agonizing detail had broken something inside.
The girls, conversely, had been a storm of conflicting emotions…..jealousy, shock, disgust, confusion and a simmering, quiet rage that had finally burned itself out, leaving them too exhausted to do anything but retreat to their rooms.
Draco slid out of bed, his feet hitting the cold floor.
He walked over to the window, staring blankly out at the pre-dawn darkness of Orario.
He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, letting the smell of ozone fill his lungs.
The wind was picking up, billowing through the drapes and causing his long, silver hair to dance in a frantic, wild frenzy.
"It smells like it will rain," he muttered to the empty room, observing the dark, ominous silhouette of clouds gathering over the Beol mountain range.
He stood there for a long time, watching the sky.
He had to handle this.
But how?
How could he walk into the kitchen for breakfast and look at his Familia?
He made a decision.
It wasn't a brave one, perhaps, but it was necessary.
Gathering his hair into a neat bun, he walked toward the bathroom.
The house was deathly silent; he and Bahamut were currently occupying his room, a decision she had insisted upon in her drunken state.
It had served a dual purpose: it kept him safe, and it prevented the more romantically aggressive members of the household….like Clair and Kaguya…..from staging a late-night ambush.
After a refreshing, icy bath that did little to cool the heat of his embarrassment, Draco donned his dungeon set-up.
It had been ages since he had worn this set-up in earnest.
It felt surreal, like donning a costume from a life he had lived in a dream.
He moved to his desk, picking up a pen.
He began to write, his hand steady even if his heart was racing.
He drafted a note, weaving in the commission Ouranos had given him.
It was perfect….the perfect, cowardly, wonderful excuse to disappear into the depths of the dungeon for a few days.
In that letter, he laid it all out.
He didn't just mention the mission; he mentioned his confession to Hephaestus…..a detail he didn't need to include, yet one he felt compelled to add.
If everything was already out, he might as well be the one to complete the picture, giving the girls the clarity they needed to either move on or sort through their own complicated feelings.
It was a mercy, he told himself.
It was better to be a target of their confusion from a distance than to be the center of their scrutiny at the breakfast table.
He was dying from success, and he needed space to breathe.
Checking the time…..it was just past 3:00 AM…..he returned to the window.
He climbed onto the roof, the cold wind whipping against his gear.
With a subtle flick of his tail and activation of his wind magic, he launched himself from the estate, his silhouette cutting through the dark, cloudy sky like a falling star.
His destination was the one place where he didn't have to answer to anyone: the Dungeon.
..............................…
Hours bled into one another as Draco descended with a precision that bordered on mechanical. By the time the sun had barely made it to mid-day, he was already on the 25th floor.
He was moving at a pace that defied his previous limits.
He hadn't expected the descent to be this quick; he had calculated his travel time based on his physical condition from five years ago, failing to account for the fact that every fiber of his being was now exponentially stronger.
He stopped to hunt on each tier, deliberately slowing his progress.
He needed to stretch his stay for at least a week....enough time for the initial shock of Bahamut's revelation to wane into something more manageable.
But the dungeon was eerily quiet.
Past the 19th floor, the monsters had begun to show a strange, instinctive hesitation, a sixth-sense reaction to the sheer density of his aura.
They were avoiding him.
He had to actively stalk them, turning the dungeon into a game of hide-and-seek that was rapidly becoming mentally exhausting.
Each kill felt less like a battle and more like a chore, a necessary distraction to keep his mind from circling back to the image of his Familia's faces.
Draco soon came to rest on a rock formation on the 26th floor, scratching at a rock with his claws, a rhythmic, hypnotic scritch-scritch sound as company.
He was bored out of his mind, the silence surrounding him, ringing in his ears.
He had no way of knowing of the surprises that awaited him in the deeper floors.
..............................…
Around the same time, on the 37th floor.
There was a flash of silver light.
"Grrooaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!"
The light carved a line from the head of the skeleton monster…..the Spartoi.....straight through its body.
The monster let out one last dying cry.
Spartoi's looked like human skeletons, with the exception of pieces of armor attached to different places all over their bodies.
They were truly fearsome beasts.
With sharp angles at every corner of their frame and wielding white bones as weapons, they were every inch the cursed, skeletal warriors they appeared to be.
This beast was categorized at level four, and it guarded its territory in the deep floors of the Dungeon very well.
This time, however, it was slain in the blink of an eye.
"..."
The warrior whipped her sword to the ground, the overwhelming power of her attack causing everyone around her to break out in a cold sweat.
Bones, bones, bones, bones.
Bones littered the ground as far as the eye could see.
These white fragments of their former forms were all that remained of a group of at least ten Spartoi's that met their demise at this spot.
Blond hair, golden eyes.
A girl with beauty to rival some goddesses stood in the middle of this gruesome graveyard.
"…And she did it all herself."
"She'd be a lot cuter if she pretended to be in trouble every now and then…"
In the time it took for her allies to speak those words, the blond girl…..Ais Wallenstein…..silently sheathed her narrow sword and turned to join them.
"Nice, nice! Good work, Ais! Need a potion? Or an elixir? How about one of your favorite sweet-bean-flavored potato puffs?"
"I'm fine, Tiona, thanks…But I want the last one." Ais replied, her eyes brightening up at the mention of treats.
"Why would she need a potion anyway? There isn't a scratch on her." Tione muttered.
"In any case, the monsters have been taken care of…What should we do now, Finn?" Tiona asked.
"Hmm, should we head home? We came here for fun, so it would be a real buzzkill if we ran out of food and had to go back hungry. What're your thoughts, Riveria?" Finn asked.
They were standing in the thirty-seventh floor of the Dungeon.
Members of Loki Familia had journeyed down to the floor known as the "Lower Fortress."
The party was very small, only seven members including their supporters.
Not long after her spar with Draco, and becoming level 6, Ais had led a group of only five top-class adventurers.
This time was indeed just for fun.
Unlike their earlier failed expedition, a few Loki Familia members with some free time on their hands had gathered together to do a little dungeon prowling.
Why were they here?
They were bored.
Many adventurers barely made it this deep into the dungeon only to lose their lives.
The fact that any of them could say this was "for fun" spoke volumes about their true power.
"I'll go with the leader's decision…Hey, you two, we're packing up!"
The normally aloof elf, Riveria, raised her voice.
Tiona and Tione, two Amazonian sisters, nodded in acknowledgment.
Ais, holding a potato puff in both hands, slumped her shoulders in disappointment.
Food provision was a common problem whenever a party of adventurers journeyed this deep into the Dungeon.
"But you know, if Bete were here he'd be putting up quite a fuss right about now. He always tries to act like a big shot in front of Ais. It pisses me off, seriously." Tione said.
"After that night at the bar, when we told him after he sobered up that he nearly picked a fight with the 'Monster' and Ais flat-out rejected him, he almost cried! So depressed!"
"Ohhh?! I really wanted to see that! Why didn't you tell me, Tione?!" one of the supporters said.
There wasn't much for them to do in terms of getting ready to leave.
This was because collecting magic stones was the supporters' job, and Ais had already annihilated all the monsters in the area.
The sisters created a very relaxed atmosphere as the two supporters, who just ranked up to Level 3, went to work on the remains of the Spartoi's.
Ais looked up from her potato puff to voice her own opinion.
"Finn, Riveria. I would like to stay behind, alone."
The two people she named had very different reactions to her request.
Finn's eyes opened a little wider; Riveria's expression remained unchanged, save for her closing one eye. Ignoring the stunned Tiona and Tione, Ais expanded on her request.
"You don't have to leave any food for me. I don't want to cause any problems for anyone. Please."
"W-wait….! You're causing us problems just by saying that! If we left you behind, we'd be too worried to think straight!" Tiona interjected.
"I agree with Tiona. No matter how low the monsters' levels are, I can't abandon an ally this deep in the Dungeon. It's much too dangerous."
Ais looked sad, facing Tiona, who stood with her hands on her hips and leaned in to within inches of Ais's nose.
She couldn't refute Tione's opinion, either.
She knew what the girls were saying was unquestionably right.
"Why do you want to fight that much? It's such a waste, Ais! You're so lovely! You should act more like a lady! How can you be losing to me, an Amazon, in fashion sense?"
"I…don't care about that…" Ais replied.
"Why not? Don't you want a good strong male…or that Draco fellow you favor, at least? Is that pretty face just a decoration?" Tiona teased.
"Stop telling others to do things you wouldn't do yourself." Riveria took in a deep breath, standing one step away from the silent, slouching Ais.
Riveria could understand why Ais was acting like this, it was because of Draco.
More specifically, Draco's strength.
After hearing the details of the spar between them, Riveria could somewhat understand Ais's worry.
In the five years of Draco's absence, Ais had taken several steps forward.
Yet without even having access to the dungeon, Draco had somehow gotten so much further.
Turning to Finn, Riveria opened her mouth to speak.
"I will ask on her behalf as well. Please respect Ais's wishes."
"Riveria?!"
"Hmm?"
The shortest of the group, a pallum, looked up at Riveria as if trying to figure out her intention.
"This one doesn't often make selfish statements. I want you to listen." Riveria said.
"You can't treat her like a parent looking after a child, Riveria. Tiona and Tione are in the right. As long as it's my responsibility that everyone gets back safely, I can't approve of this." Finn countered.
"I'm aware that I'm spoiling her…So."
Riveria let out a second sigh and looked in Ais's direction.
Looking at the sad eyes of the girl who normally didn't show emotion, the elf laughed a bit inside at herself.
She then locked eyes with Finn.
"I shall remain as well."
She declared her intention to support Ais.
Finn looked back into the elf's eyes, her hand on her chin.
She slowly nodded, as if this decision was extremely important.
"Okay, go ahead."
"Huh? Finn, talk some sense into them!" Tiona argued.
"As long as Riveria is with her, I doubt the worst will happen." Finn replied.
Things happened quickly after the leader made up his mind.
Finn's group with the supporters said their good-byes to the two staying behind and left.
Standing in the only entrance to the room, Tiona turned around and gave a big wave to Ais and Riveria.
"Thanks, Riveria." Ais said with a grateful expression.
"While I would like you to stop, it's too late now. I will say this, though: I better not have to fight." Riveria replied.
"…Sorry." Ais apologized.
The two girls didn't look at each other, but there was a great deal of trust within their words.