The Hestia Familia had officially taken in the talking monster, Wiene.
"[X-Shotgun]."
Tsuna fired a concentrated laser of Cloud Flames. Driven by the Propagation trait, the beam violently branched out, perfectly piercing the cores of the charging monsters and reducing the entire pack to ash simultaneously.
Currently, Tsuna, Bell, and Welf were exploring the 19th Floor. Their objective: to investigate Wiene's origins.
Ever since they brought Wiene home, the Familia had been desperately searching the surface for any clues regarding talking monsters. Knowing they wouldn't betray them, Hestia had discreetly asked Miach, Hephaestus, and Takemikazuchi. However, none of the Gods knew anything; in fact, they were just as shocked by the concept as Hestia had been.
Meanwhile, using her shape-shifting magic to disguise herself, Lili had eavesdropped in a tavern and overheard members of the Hermes Familia discussing an armed group that was actively hunting talking monsters. Furthermore, she learned that the Hermes Familia was currently tracking that very group.
Realizing that gathering more concrete intel on the surface was going to be nearly impossible, Hestia ordered Bell's group to return to the exact spot on the 19th Floor where he had first encountered Wiene.
Because Wiene had grown incredibly attached to Bell and Haruhime, Haruhime had stayed behind at the Manor to watch over her, with Mikoto remaining as a bodyguard. Lili had been tailed by someone after leaving the tavern; though she successfully shook her pursuer, she stayed behind at the Manor just in case they were targeted.
"That clears out the monsters in this sector. Let's keep moving."
""…""
Tsuna casually blew the smoke from his index finger. Behind him, Bell and Welf were standing frozen, staring at him in disbelief.
While Tsuna was busy intercepting the Rakian army, Bell and the others had continued exploring the Dungeon without him, pushing all the way to the 18th Floor. But compared to that grueling trek, their current descent to the 19th Floor with Tsuna leading the vanguard was incredibly fast. Seeing firsthand just how drastically the difficulty plummeted with Tsuna in the party left the two adventurers speechless.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Tsuna asked, looking back.
"N-No…"
"I-It's nothing…"
Knowing that finding clues about Wiene was their top priority, Bell and Welf shook off their shock and hurried after him.
"Bell. You're losing focus. I understand how you feel, but if you don't stay sharp, you're going to die. If something happens to you, everyone is going to be devastated."
"S-Sorry…"
Ever since meeting Wiene—a monster possessing human-like intelligence and emotion—Bell had begun hesitating before striking down the mindless monsters in the Dungeon. Tsuna's Hyper Intuition had easily seen through his internal conflict.
Hearing Tsuna's sharp reprimand, Bell lowered his head apologetically.
"Sorry. That was too harsh."
"No… You're absolutely right, Tsuna."
Bell knew firsthand that a single moment of hesitation in the Dungeon resulted in instant death. He slapped his cheeks, forcefully resetting his mindset.
Guided by Bell's memory, the trio pressed deeper into the floor, heading toward the coordinates where he had rescued Wiene.
"Hey Tsuna, what do you think about Wiene?" Bell asked quietly.
"I was shocked at first, but now I consider her an important friend. That's why I'm going to protect her no matter what. On my pride as a Vongola."
Though she was technically a monster, Wiene displayed the exact same innocent curiosity and joyful exuberance as a human child. To Tsuna, she was already someone he had sworn to protect.
"You really are amazing. I mean, I know Wiene isn't a bad person, but…" Welf muttered, staring at Tsuna in genuine awe.
Welf didn't harbor any ill will toward Wiene, but deep down, as an adventurer conditioned to slaughter monsters, he couldn't shake the lingering, instinctual fear he felt around her. Seeing Tsuna interact with her without the slightest hint of apprehension was truly impressive.
"Is this the place?" Tsuna asked.
"Yeah."
They arrived at a steep, downward slope heavily overgrown with massive tree roots.
"There's nothing here," Welf noted.
He carefully scanned the surrounding area, but there wasn't a single clue to be found. Concluding it was a dead end, they prepared to move on to the next sector.
It was then.
That's…
Tsuna's eyes snapped forward. Stepping out from the dense foliage ahead was a figure concealed beneath a heavy black robe.
"Bell, Welf. Do not take your eyes off that guy."
"Eh?"
"Is something wrong with him?"
"I can't explain it, but something feels off."
To a normal adventurer, the figure simply looked like another explorer wandering the Dungeon. But Tsuna's Hyper Intuition screamed that something about the robed figure was fundamentally wrong.
The mysterious figure walked slowly toward them, coming to a halt just a few paces away.
"────I smell my brethren."
I don't feel any hostility.
The figure spoke. Judging by the pitch of the voice, it was a woman. However, everything else remained a mystery. Despite her ominous entrance, Tsuna couldn't detect any killing intent, but he kept his guard raised against the bizarre anomaly.
"Are you the ones kidnapping my brethren?"
"""!?"""
An intense, suffocating wave of bloodlust violently erupted from the woman. Tsuna instantly stepped in front of Bell and Welf, dropping into a combat stance.
"…No. You are different. I do not smell blood on you."
She dropped her killing intent?
Just as quickly as she had flared her bloodlust, the woman retracted it. Tsuna was left confused by her erratic behavior.
"Could it be… Are you the people Fels spoke of?"
"What!?"
"Fels…?"
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Welf yelled.
Hearing the name of their skeletal ally drop from the lips of an unknown entity, Tsuna gasped in shock, while Bell and Welf stood thoroughly confused.
"I have a question for you," the woman asked softly. "Do you believe we can coexist? Do you believe we can take each other's hands?"
The trio was struck silent. None of them knew how to answer her profound, sorrowful question.
"You kill us. We kill you. Is this simply our fate? Can we truly never understand one another?"
"The way you're talking… You really aren't human, are you?" Tsuna said quietly.
"Fufu. Even though you have realized my true nature, you make no move to attack me. Perhaps we truly can understand one another. I will allow myself to hope."
Without another word, the woman bent her knees and vaulted high into the air. But she never returned to the ground. Instead, the heavy black robe fluttered down, followed a moment later by a single, brilliant golden feather drifting softly to the earth.
"A Siren… So she really is just like Wiene," Tsuna murmured.
""Eh!?""
Tsuna's eyes had perfectly tracked her movement. From the golden feather and her ability to speak human language, Bell and Welf had already deduced that she belonged to the same anomalous species as Wiene. However, because she had taken off so fast their eyes couldn't even register her departure, they hadn't actually seen her true form.
But the real problem is…
While discovering a second talking monster was certainly shocking, what truly unsettled Tsuna was the fact that the Siren knew Fels's name.
Does Fels know about Wiene and the others?
If he confronted Fels directly, he might finally get some answers about the talking monsters. But there was always the terrifying possibility that the 'Fels' the Siren mentioned wasn't the Fels he knew. If he asked the wrong questions and the Guild discovered Wiene's existence, she would undoubtedly be marked for extermination. Terrified of putting her in danger, Tsuna hesitated to contact the skeleton.
"Let's head back to the surface and report this to Hestia for now."
----
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