Chapter 16: argonaut
Chapter Sixteen: Kajōna Tamashī
There was one stop he wanted to make before they went into the Dungeon, so he led Aedan to the Benevolent Mistress in the morning, greeting the maids in a friendly manner before asking if he could talk to Ryu. When the elf appeared, she smiled at him, "Good morning, Bell" sparing a look to Mr. Aedan, she nodded politely and bid him a good morning as well. After realizing that he hadn't introduced anyone, he briefly did so for Ryu and Mr. Aedan.
'When I get back, we'll all celebrate here together'
"Ryu" he said seriously, and she returned the sentiment as she paid attention to him, "I'm going on an adventure again" her eyes widened in surprise, he hadn't slowed down at all, but her expression only made him smile, "When we come back, I want to celebrate here at the Hostess; can you ask Mama Mia for me?"
"Of course, Bell. That will be no trouble at all"
"Great, thanks! Oh, and when we do, there's something I'm going to ask you, but I'll wait until then, okay?" he gave her a close-eyed smile and waved, not waiting for her response as he took off for the Dungeon. Haroeris held in a chuckle as the elf didn't have much of a response to give other than a bit of flustered bumbling. Instead, he took off after Bell; he had made the boy a promise, after all.
Loki Familia and Freya Familia were in very similar predicaments. Their goddesses were unsure of what to do precisely following the Denatus, and decided to put off making a decision until a later time. Their children, meanwhile- felt an increasing pressure to do something following the Guild's announcement. Loki Familia had already been in the planning stages of a major expedition, so they had an outlet for their energy, and Freya Familia…
"Hah! Hup, fuh- gah!"
Ottar watched over the "training" in the gardens of Folkvangr. It wasn't something he normally did, but occasionally it helped him to think. He had long grown past the need to participate in the glorified near-death matches, as they were best suited for lower level members of the Familia. Instead, the nostalgia of supervising let him organize his thoughts coherently; the primary one for him at the moment being that the Guild announcement about Haroeris was almost certainly fabricated.
'I'm sure there's no way he is level 7; it felt like he was still far above me…'
It wasn't easily noticeable, but the feeling he got from seeing one of his old teachers again was a shadow in weight, but far more expansive than the foreboding he had facing the Predator, Gluttony, years ago. Unlike with Mia, who he could clearly feel he had surpassed; he was sure the man had to be at least a high level 8, or 9 even. He was thinking about how he might approach him, given he was now a member of Hestia Familia; if he waited out by the Dungeon or anywhere he was likely to cross paths, he would just attract unwanted attention. So, leaving aside chance, the only real option was to go directly to the home of Hestia Familia as discreetly as possible; then he could either meet or setup a meeting, if things went well.
He was sure that he was the only one of Freya's children that was planning about this. The others probably didn't much care, and only Allen might be thinking about it insofar as he might be able to attack the man.
He wouldn't go against Freya's orders, but she hadn't told them not to attack him, so it was a possibility, as long as Bell was left alone. Still, Haroeris was powerful enough that he didn't need to worry about his vice-captain doing something that would land their Familia in hot water, and so Ottar resolved to go pay them a visit at the next opportunity, even as over a dozen duels of bloodsport raged in the garden.
"Alright, so that leaves the initial checks and preparations complete; thank you Raul. Now, I want you to watch while we go through the process of developing our strategy for an expedition based on our logistics and personnel reports"
"Uh, I mean, yes sir, but… why?"
"Anakitty and Cruz have had their introductions already, so that leaves you"
"I mean that I don't follow…"
"Ah, well hopefully, our Familia will continue to grow in both strength and size, yes? We are getting close to the point already where it will be not only viable, but optimal to keep two distinct forces for Dungeon exploration. We already keep lower level members on rotations of small teams to gain experience with veterans, but even among our most elite adventurers, it has become clear that we can expand our capability.
The deep levels we have reached are already far larger in area than Orario itself, which means that being able to maintain two independent forces in the same general area will increase our effectiveness more than simply concentrating our forces"
"I… think I see now; you want me, Anakitty, and Cruz to head the other group?"
"Well, I was thinking more of mixing everyone up on different trips to improve how quickly you all pick things up, but eventually yes; I would like for you three to be able to take over leadership of an expedition group, if need be" Finn and Raul were interrupted by a knock on the office door.
"Captain?"
"Come in Alicia, its fine"
"Thank you, sir" the beautiful elf closed the door behind her, "I completed my investigation" she waited for him to usher he to continue before doing so, "I'm afraid there wasn't all that much that was available for me; most of his records are sealed beyond even senior Guild officials. What I could get simply confirmed what Loki told you before: he has been a first-class member of Zeus Familia for over 80 years prior to their departure from Orario, at least.
"His last listed level was indeed 6, apparently having gained that after training the Zeus and Hera executives from the Golden Age before he confronted and slew B-Balor on his own. The recent announcement only said he reached level 7 after spending fifteen years in the Dungeon" she finished her scarce report, barely giving him anything useful, but it wasn't her own fault.
"…Thank you, Alicia. For now, I want you to focus on the upcoming expedition; we will shelve the matter of Haroeris" Finn bit his thumb, astounded that the records even allowed something like that to be available, 'Killing Balor on his own? That seems impossible for a level 5 or even 6, it's threat level is enough that even a full party of level 6's could level up by confronting him…'
"Understood, sir" she politely excused herself, and Finn sighed in a rare show of exasperation in front of his remaining subordinate.
"Um, captain… I understand that the appearance of this old adventurer presents some issues, but I think overall it doesn't seem like it's much to worry about"
"… You may be right; in the past, he never gave any indication of malevolence whatsoever, but then… neither did Zald nor Alfia; her coming back with him puts me on edge, I suppose.
Well, it isn't as if I can't understand some… motivations for why they did what they did, but that doesn't mean I agree with it, of course. It might not worry me so much if Riveria, Gareth, and I could just level up; I would at least be more comfortable then"
"But if he is a level 7, wouldn't one of you be enough?"
"…He trained us, you know? Not only him, and he didn't do all that much as far as it goes, but there were several occasions where he handled our instruction. One motto that he had was, 'An adventurer- to grow- must be capable of going the distance, beyond the limits of their status' Basically, he tried to get across that one had to fight above their level in order to earn the right to level up"
"That sounds sort of convoluted, though. Levelling is based on recognition of feats by the gods, right? That's like saying to level up, you have to prove you don't need that recognition anyway"
"That's an interesting perspective on the matter, but the point is that he practiced what he preached, if he is a level 7, I wouldn't want to seriously challenge him unless I was a high level 8, at least"
"… Crap, so that's why you said you would want all of you to level up"
"That's right, and I'm hoping that the three of us can take this expedition and finally do it; if we can bring down Balor on our own, it should be enough. It will be very difficult though; Ottar has attempted to solo it for his own feat to reach level 8, and didn't manage it"
"But between the three of you, it should be possible; you can still rely on the rest of the Familia for support in case you need it, too. Ottar has a record of moving about on his own, so he had to worry about getting back to the surface from Balor's floor"
"All good points, Raul. To be honest, I wouldn't have decided this if I thought we would fail; that doesn't mean I'm not anxious" Finn didn't comment on Alicia's previous information going completely over the man's head. He would need to instruct the High Novice for some time, yet…
"So, one goal is for you three to kill Balor and level up, and our goal in general is to reach floor 62…"
They made excellent time, even considering that they camped out one the 18th floor; Aedan went with him past the Water City- where the Amphisbaena had not reemerged from the last time it was slain- and took him down the main path beyond. He knows that the Xenos had taken his friends, Ryu, and himself out from the 37th floor, but they likely used safer, unknown routes. This was the first time that he was going down the main path to floor 37, finally earning his Dungeon reach more properly; still, the man kept all of the monsters they encountered handled. He wanted Bell to be completely fresh for the battle ahead.
"Udaeus- I know you are already aware- is not to be trifled with. Keep in mind what we discussed"
"Spartoi will continue to spawn until I bring him down, so I'll need to stay fast and not let up. Once he pulls out his sword, you'll move in to keep the Spartoi at bay, and then I'll be able to focus on him; he's weak to fire-based magic, so my firebolt should be saved to soften him up after he pulls his weapon so that I can use distancing until I can use Argonaut as a finishing blow" Bell reciting, using the lesson that he had given him on the floor boss as a focus to keep himself calm as the moved through the upper part of the 37th floor.
Before he realized it, the other man stopped them short of the Throne Room, where the rex would spawn, "Alright Bell, take a breath" he actually waited as Bell took several deep breaths before he continued, "Take some time and check your equipment; we know your strategy, so make sure all of your weapons, armor, and potions are secure and ready. Remember, if anything goes wrong, I will be able to intervene, but otherwise, I'll stick to the plan"
"Right… right!" he checked his armor, making sure it was properly fastened and tightened up after the trip down, then moved to check where his knives were secured in their sheaths. He also carried a mace attached with a hook and loop at his waist, and the short pike on his back.
'Blades won't be as effective; the mace will do the most damage unless I can attack his core. I can use them if I get close to his back'
His potions were in place, and he was as fresh as he could be, "I'm ready"
Aedan smiled at the steel in the boy's voice, his respect growing at witnessing his mettle for himself, "Good, I'm right behind you captain"
With a nod, Bell stepped into the last area of the floor. A vast, dome shaped room held nothing but pale stone and a massive, ebon-boned torso of a skeleton. Udaeus is known as the Lord of the Spartoi, and had two black horns that sprouted out of his skull like some kind of monstrous crown. Bell grit his teeth as the red glow within the eyeless pits of the massive skull focused on him.
Udaeus was unique among monster rexes, as his spine was attached to the floor of his room. It gave him a definite range unless one shattered his back at the ground, which was one viable tactic. His magic stone core was visibly exposed as well, floating where the heart would be if he were a person, and nearly the size of Bell himself.
He continued forward as Aedan stood by the entrance, watching. Once he got close enough, the monster rex roared at him, shaking the room with the noise, and he took it as a starting gong. Mace in hand, he dashed straight ahead, baiting Udaeus to attack him with his hands.
Dodging by as slim a margin as possible, he could see why it was considered a level 6 threat despite being fixed to the floor. Its speed and power easily exceeded the Black Goliath that had needed a small army of adventurers to take down. Luckily, Udaeus lacked the regeneration ability that the irregular rex possessed.
"Grraahh!!" he swung the mace, crafted by Welf from a combination of dir-adamantite and Blue Crab Shell, cracking into the hands and arms of the rex as he weaved around its strikes. As he dodged, he could tell that taking one blow wrong could knock him out just like one of Aiz's kicks, so he prioritized evasion over his attacks, sometimes having to stop a strike short, or dodge multiple attacks before he had an opening to try again. Still, his progress was slow, and the Spartoi were beginning to spawn.
The skeleton soldiers would do so continuously at a slow rate until Udaeus was defeated. Despite being on par with a level 4 adventurer, Bell's ability and recent experience against them made him able to thin their numbers and evade them as he continued to wittle away at their leader. Horus had said that it would take a significant amount of damage to get to the next phase, so he decided to take a shot as the Spartoi numbers were starting to swell.
His pike flew from his hand like a dart, sinking into the glowing red joint of one of the monster's damaged arms at the shoulder, with him following it. He dodged another punch, and used the arm to climb toward the shoulder, pulling his mace back for as hard a blow as he could manage.
Like a hammer hitting a nail, the mace shot the pike deep into the dark bone, shattering it and causing Udaeus' arm to crumble away, even as it swiped Bell from the air, launching him across the large room. Another earsplitting roar shook the room as he managed to stand, seeing Udaeus pull forth a huge black blade. Almost in an instant, the whole mass of Spartoi were eliminated, but he still had to avoid the spear-like bone spines Udaeus sent out.
He downed a potion as he circled it, taking advantageous shots with firebolt, mostly aiming for its core. However, even with his distancing, Udaeus swung its blade, and a shockwave shot out in an arc from it all the way to the far wall of the room, crushing him into it.
"Gah-huh!?"
'Well, the size of the room make sense now…'
He got his feet beneath himself, and ran off again, taking more shots with firebolt in an attempt to overwhelm the rex and put it on the defensive. As Udaeus guarded its core and eyes, he closed in. through dozens of magic attacks, he could feel his mind steadily draining, even as he downed another potion.
He sped up, casting over a hundred firebolt shots as he closed in before he started to charge his skill. Udaeus took notice of the lack of fire and prepared to attack again, only to find no target save for a distant Haroeris, but it was aware of the one that had been fighting it, and that they were two different opponents. Roaring in anger, it swung at the other adventurer anyway, only to recoil as the shockwave failed to shift him.
Meanwhile, Bell tried to keep himself quiet and behind the monster, remaining in its blind spot, but Argonaut wasn't a silent skill, so when its gentle chimes started to sound, it gave him away as Udaeus swung itself around in surprise. He managed to dodge the first attack and started into a match of close combat just as intense as his battle with Asterius.
Like the bull, even the wind off of Udaeus' sword was deadly, so he didn't just need to dodge the blade, but the entire path of the attack itself. The minutes dragged on like cold syrup as this continued, until finally, a great bell sounded out as he reached the limit of Argonaut. He needed to attack soon, or he would have to release it; a limit-off might take Udaeus down, but he would be comatose whether it did or not.
Pulling back, he tried to bait it into a big attack, but it kept going for swipes which allowed it to attack fairly quickly over and over. He destroyed the pike with his attack earlier, so all he had now were the mace and his knives. Before, he had expected to try Argonaut with his mace, but now he realized that he was going to need to use it with a firebolt or let it release, so he did exactly that.
"FIREBOLT!!!" a bright beam went faster than an arrow right at the monster's head. Unprepared for the new attack, Udaeus took it head on, its body forced back as the ground shattered. Its own back crumbled as it was tossed back with a mighty crash into the ground.
Panting in exertion, Bell dropped his arm, but noticed that the rex was still whole despite the attack, so he cautiously moved forward, gulping down his last potion as he gripped his Hestia knife in one hand and the mace in his other. Sure enough, it began to stir, awkwardly rolling until it shifted onto its side, giving him a view of its half destroyed skull, literally the right side of it being completely gone, while the left horn had broken off.
"OOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" with an enraged roar, Udaeus contorted its body and coiled as a means of stabilizing itself. In its rage, it hurled the sword at Bell which glanced off his attempt to dodge it, flinging him to the side like a ragdoll. He was beaten and ragged, but Udaeus was out of reach and without its sword.
He charged Argonaut again.
This time a shorter duration, but a dual charge.
'One more attack'
Logically, he should have repeated his attack from earlier, having the advantage of distance, but he wasn't thinking purely on logic; he gripped the mace tightly. Once he had enough power, he ran as fast as he could, aiming straight for the base of the monster's skull. It tried to swipe him away, but compared to its earlier attacks, it was feeble, and adrenaline pushed his own body like the last time he had been on this floor.
He closed in to attack, and Udaeus tried to throw itself back in a final attempt to crush him, reacting on instinct, he swung the mace up at its head, releasing Argonaut's first charge as the mace impacted, creating a shattering boom as the monster was bodily knocked into the air by its head; he charged a few moments more as it rotated until he could see the remaining red glow in its sole eye socket.
Bracing his arm, he roared at it, "FIREBOOOLLLTT!!!!"
The weaker attack was still enough to destroy Udaeus, finally ending the battle. Bell collapsed as the floor was covered in a huge cloud of dust from the monster rex, as its core thudded to the ground. He wasn't sure how long he took to collect himself, but at some point, he looked up to see the other man beside him.
"I already collected all the drops and stones; Bell, that was amazing" he crouched down beside him and circled an arm around his shoulders, "Now I can begin to understand some of what Fels was talking about with you; I didn't realize they still made adventurers with balls as big as yours…" he chuckled as he helped Bell to his feet, "While we're down here, do you want to take a peek at the next floor, or head back up?" After a moment, he smiled; it wasn't like any monsters were coming up behind them.
"Let's take a look"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone