The clang of metal striking stone—no, bone—echoed down the narrow corridor of the fourth floor.
"Damn!" Bell exhaled, jumping back.
His dagger, a faithful companion on the first three floors, proved useless now. The blade slid off the monster's dark purple, bumpy hide, striking sparks but leaving not even a scratch.
Before them, hissing and shuffling its short, powerful legs, stood a Dungeon Lizard. It was a creature the size of a large wolf, but much more massive. Its body was covered in horn plates growing over each other like roof tiles, and its long tail, tipped with a bony growth, beat nervously against the floor, crushing small stones.
"Don't hit the back!" Raine shouted. His voice was dry and hard, devoid of even a shadow of his usual irony. "You'll just dull the blade."
Raine himself stood in front, holding his black sword in a low guard stance. The lizard, focusing its unblinking yellow eyes on him, let out a low guttural growl and charged.
The lizard moved like a battering ram. It lowered its head, presenting its frontal plate, and rushed at Raine's legs, intending to knock him down, overturn him, and tear him apart.
"Took it!"
Raine didn't block the blow rigidly—that would have broken his arms, given the creature's weight and momentum. At the last moment, he sidestepped, moving off the line of attack, and struck the monster's side with the flat of his sword as it flew past.
The blow was of terrible force. The heavy black iron crashed into the lizard's ribs.
CRACK!
The sound was dull, unpleasant. The lizard skidded, its claws scraping against the stone, but it didn't fall. The scales held. The monster simply shook its head and, with incredible speed for such a hulk, spun around, whipping its tail.
Raine managed to raise his sword. The tail strike was like being hit by a siege engine. Raine was dragged a foot and a half backward, his boots leaving furrows in the dust. His arms went numb to the shoulders, but he remained standing.
"Bell, now!" he roared through clenched teeth. "Belly! It has a soft belly! I'll hold the head!"
Raine surged forward, closing the distance. He deliberately opened himself up, provoking the creature to bite. The lizard, driven by instinct, opened its maw, lined with rows of needle-like teeth, and lunged for the human's throat.
It was a razor's edge. Raine drove the hilt of his sword into the open maw, blocking the jaws, and leaned in with all his weight, pinning the creature's head to the ground. The muscles in his arms bulged, tendons creaking from the strain. The monster's strength was monstrous—without a Falna, Raine lost in pure physical power; he held on only through technique.
"Do it!!!"
A white shadow darted from the side. Bell, taking advantage of the lizard being pinned, slid across the floor in a tackle. He ended up right under the belly of the thrashing monster.
Where the horn plates of the back ended and the light, yellowish skin of the belly began.
"Ha-a-a!"
Bell drove the dagger in to the hilt, ripping open the soft flesh, and yanked the blade toward himself, widening the wound.
The lizard roared—a sound full of pain and fury. It jerked so hard it threw Raine into the wall like a rag doll. Its tail thrashed wildly through the air, nearly hitting Bell's head, who managed to roll away to a safe zone.
The monster took a couple of unsteady steps, leaving a trail of black smoke, toppled onto its side, and began to disintegrate.
A moment later, only two heavily breathing humans and a purple mana stone lying in a pile of ash remained in the corridor.
Raine slid down the wall to the floor, massaging his bruised shoulder.
"Rough," he stated, spitting out viscous saliva. "Too tough for the fourth floor. Our weapons aren't enough."
Bell, still on his knees, looked at his dagger. A tiny nick had appeared on the blade.
"I thought it would break my arm when it jerked," he admitted in a trembling voice. "If you hadn't held its head..."
"If you hadn't gutted it, we'd still be dancing with it until we collapsed," Raine got up, dusted off his pants, and picked up the stone. "Excellent work, partner. But the signal is alarming. We've almost hit the ceiling."
They found a relatively safe dead end—a small niche formed after a rockfall—to catch their breath. The adrenaline receded, giving way to aching muscle pain and hunger.
Raine sat with his back against the cool stone, wiping his sword with a rag. Bell settled opposite him.
"Raine," Bell began quietly, looking at the glowing moss on the ceiling. "About what you said yesterday... about the Gods."
Raine didn't interrupt his task, merely raising an eyebrow questioningly.
"Well, the ones you drank with," Bell clarified. "Lord Takemikazuchi, Lord Miach... and Goddess Hestia. Do you... do you consider them an option? For us?"
Raine froze. He put down the rag, sheathed his sword, and looked at his friend. His gaze was heavy, thoughtful. He was silent for a long time, weighing every word.
"To be honest, Bell," he finally said with a sigh that carried the weariness of an adult forced to make unpopular decisions. "I'm in two minds myself. My heart says one thing, and my mind another."
Bell tilted his head, waiting for him to continue.
"Reason says we need to keep looking," Raine smirked, but the smile was mirthless. "Look for yourself. The Takemikazuchi Familia. The God is great, a stand-up guy. But he let slip that they aren't here just for fun. They're looking for someone. A specific person."
Raine paused, remembering the God's burning eyes when he spoke of Livia.
"They aren't locals, Bell. They came from the East with a purpose. And when they find this person... or become convinced they aren't here... what's to stop them from packing up and going back home? We'll be left alone in Orario, with a seal on our backs that will have to be changed. A temporary shelter is not what we need."
Bell nodded, agreeing with the logic.
"And Lord Miach?" he asked. "He seemed very kind to me. And Naaza... though strict, is caring."
"Miach is a saint," Raine said without a shadow of irony. "And that's his problem. Did you see his clothes? Did you see his pharmacy? He's in debt, Bell. Deep, terrible debt. Joining him means taking on part of that burden. I'm not afraid of work, but we came here to conquer the Dungeon, not to work off interest on loans. Besides, their profile is herb gathering and potion making. You and I are fighters, not gatherers. We need sword practice, not pruning shears."
"I seeee..." Bell drawled. "So... that leaves Goddess Hestia?"
Raine closed his eyes, recalling the small figure in his jacket, shivering from the cold.
"Hestia..." he huffed. "She is sincere. Alive. She seems more human than many humans. But, Bell... you saw where she lives. Ruins. Poverty. She has nothing."
He looked Bell straight in the eyes.
"When joining a Familia, you swear allegiance to a God. You expect protection, wisdom, direction from them. But with Hestia... I have a feeling that we won't be under her wing, but rather we'll have to adopt a capricious teenager. Feed her, clothe her, protect her from her own boss. Are you ready to become a father to a Goddess at fourteen?"
Bell was embarrassed, imagining the picture.
"Well... that sounds difficult."
"Exactly. That's why I doubt. We need a start, a springboard. And here we get weights on our legs. Although..." Raine fell silent, not finishing the thought. "Although sometimes such weights turn out to be made of pure gold."
"Alright, war is war, but lunch is on schedule," Raine decided to change the subject, feeling the atmosphere had become too gloomy.
Bell beamed. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small box neatly wrapped in a yellow cloth.
"Bento time!" he announced happily.
Raine took out his own bundle—exactly the same, but in dark blue fabric.
They opened the lids. Inside lay perfectly cut sandwiches with ham, fresh vegetables, and soft cheese. The smell of homemade food in the damp dungeon seemed unreal, magical.
Raine looked at the food, and his thoughts involuntarily returned to a few hours ago.
That same morning.
The streets of Orario were still drowned in morning mist. The air was damp and cool; the city was just waking up.
They were walking briskly, heading to the smithy to pick up their repaired gear, and then straight down to the Tower.
"Adventurers! Good morning!"
The voice sounded unexpectedly clear in the morning silence. Raine and Bell stopped.
At the entrance to the "Hostess of Fertility" tavern, broom in hand, stood Syr. A blush played on her cheeks, her ashen hair was neatly gathered, and her apron shone with whiteness. She looked as if she had stepped off a poster for an ideal life.
"Syr?" Bell was surprised. "Good morning! You're up so early?"
"The early bird gets the... well, you know," she giggled, leaning on the broom. "And where are you going so early? You look very purposeful."
"We need to pick up armor from repair," Bell began to recount willingly, always losing his vigilance at the sight of the girl. "And then straight to the Dungeon. We want to try going below the third floor today."
"To the Dungeon?" Syr's eyes rounded joyfully. "How wonderful! Does that mean you've already found a Familia? I'm so happy for you!"
Bell opened his mouth to say honestly, "No, we're going on our own," but cut himself off.
Raine, standing slightly behind, remained silent. His gaze slid over the girl's figure. She assumed the existence of a Familia. Logical. Ordinary people don't go there.
"Well... we..." Bell hesitated.
"Oh, forgive me!" Syr interrupted him, throwing up her hands. "I'm keeping you! Stand here, don't go anywhere! Just a second!"
Not waiting for an answer, she turned and darted into the tavern doors.
Bell looked questioningly at Raine.
"What was that?"
Raine only shrugged, looking at the closed door.
"No idea."
Syr returned a minute later. In her hands, she held two bundles.
"Here!" With a radiant smile, she handed the yellow bundle to Bell. "You can't go on heroic deeds on an empty stomach. This is for your lunch. I made it myself!"
"Uh... for me?" Bell blushed, accepting the gift. "Thank you, Syr! You didn't have to..."
"Take it, take it!" she waved him off. And then, to Raine's surprise, she approached him and handed him the second, blue bundle.
"And for Mister Serious," her gray eyes looked at him with a sly squint. "You need strength too, Raine. Looking after Bell is hard work."
Raine hesitated for a second. Usually, Bell got all the attention. It was habitual and understandable. But this gesture...
He looked into her eyes, trying to read something behind this mask of cordiality. There was only pure, crystalline benevolence. And that made him uneasy.
"Thank you, Syr," he said calmly, accepting the bento. "That is very kind of you."
"Good luck to you!" she stepped back, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning forward slightly. "Come back in one piece!"
She waved to them and, turning, disappeared into the tavern, leaving behind only a faint smell of baking and a feeling of something unsaid.
Raine took a bite of the sandwich. The taste was perfect. Fresh bread, juicy meat, the right balance of spices.
"Mmm!" Bell mumbled with his mouth full. "This is divine! Syr is just a miracle!"
He swallowed the piece and looked at Raine triumphantly.
"See? You said she might be in love... But she made lunch for both of us! She's just a good friend, Raine. A kind soul."
Raine chewed slowly, staring into the darkness of the corridor.
"A kind soul..." he thought.
He didn't voice his thoughts to Bell. Didn't say that Syr was standing with a broom exactly at the moment they were passing by, even though they had left earlier than usual. Didn't say that the bentos were already prepared and packed, as if she knew they were coming.
"Tasty," was all Raine said aloud, trying his lunch and gratefully accepting the unexpected treat.