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This adjustment has been a long time coming. I loved the original version, still fairly certain it was one of my best chapters. But, I also acknowledge that it wasn't the most popular with readers because despite it being a victory, it was a pyrrhic. So, this should fix that.

I'll be adjusting the chapters that followed this one soon. Just so you are aware. Most of the chapter is identical. The only difference in the battle with the juggernaut. That said, please enjoy.

Written in the Stars.

Chapter Start.

Deeper and deeper, the familia moved through the dungeon. Nothing slowed them; monsters were dealt with efficiently and without mercy. In fact, after they passed through an area, only glimmering gems and bloody carcasses remained of the creatures that once haunted the halls.

The Goblins and Kobolds, eviscerated one after another, the Dungeon Lizards piled to either side of the halls, cuts littering their bodies. Frog Shooters, bisected, several of their bloody eyeballs oozing freely from their place on the floor. The War Shadows destroyed before they could open their mouths to release their wispy cries of challenge.

Shirou watched on, more than a little impressed. Their economy of movement compared to his own was as different as a giant and a dwarf. Not to mention their speed, he could barely keep track of Lyra and lost sight of Alise altogether.

In minutes they reached the stairs that led down into the eighth floor. The ceilings once so close stretched upwards, moss coated the walls, and grass, none of which raised higher than his ankles stretched across the dungeon floor.

"Shirou, make sure you stay close," Alise said, breaking the quiet for the umpteenth time with the same phrase.

He raised an eyebrow. Didn't they remember that he'd already been down this far? Ignoring that Iska was already resting an arm on his head, he doubted he could get much closer. "Yes, Alise," he answered nonetheless.

"Don't worry, Ali, I've got him," Iska said as she tightened her arm around his head, squeezing it against her ribs for a moment before releasing him.

"And who's got you?" Lyra snickered, "you know what, just make sure if you fall, you don't drag him down with you."

Alise raised a sword, her attention locked on the corner ahead. "Focus, Ladies." She said over her shoulder.

"Boss, I know we—"Iska started before she raised the behemoth blade she carried above her head.

Shirou could hear the lumbering approach of whatever monsters were coming. What came around the corner were the largest apes Shirou had ever seen. At more than triple his size with their forearms as thick as his body and coated in silver-white hair, these creatures had to be the Silverbacks he'd heard mention of in the guild.

"Well, you shouldn't be up here." Asta grumbled, "I really dislike tamer's."

She adjusted her cutlass, so it extended behind her and rushed forward. The stout woman looked like a character out of a story as she sidestepped their attacks or knocked their massive fists away with a tap of her own.

Ahead of him, Alise sighed, though never did she stop scanning the short hall behind them.

A roar drew Shirou's attention back to the gorillas. Asta had cleaved two fingers from one of their hands and was currently sliding between the legs of another to slice away at its knee. She had a large grin on her face and seemed to be having the time of her life.

Popping to her feet, she cut through the Silverback's foot, separating it from the rest. At that moment, Shirou had a revelation. The gleaming look in her eyes, the slight blush on her cheeks.

Asta just so happened to be a sadist.

"If you could find it in your heart to stop toying with them, it'd be much appreciated, Asta," Kaguya said.

The dwarf puffed herself up, looking like she wanted to argue before deflating. Kicking off, she sent multitudes of grass into the air. She met the first of the Silverbacks and batted its bloody fist aside, and buried her cutlass into its skull. She ripped it free a moment later, sending brain matter tumbling through the air as she turned to the next. Using the Silverback, she just killed as a foothold; she bolted down its body, her fist cocked back as the other two clasped their hands together to bring them down on top of her.

Shirou might have felt a smidgen of worry if the monsters weren't so much slower than Asta.

She suddenly sped up, jamming her sword into the descending hands on the left, and slammed her fist into the chest of the other. It caved in like a sandcastle under pressure, several of its bones piercing through its skin outward. Then, finally, she turned her attention to the last one, only for it to fall backward dead, one of Celty's arrows buried in its skull.

Asta looked furious before it slipped away, and she pouted as she pulled her sword free. "You guys always ruin my fun."

The image she presented, covered in blood, standing amidst a trio of mangled Silverback carcasses, one of which was still twitching as it struggled for breath, had Shirou wincing.

"Quit your whining, Asta. We need to catch up." Ryuu snapped.

Asta sheathed her sword and proceeded to kick the Silverbacks from the path through. Shirou was certain he spotted a glint of pleasure in her eye as she kicked the still living monster in the side, sending it sprawling against the labyrinth wall. Finally, she bowed and swept her arm toward the path behind her. "The way is now open."

Shirou twitched as he fell into step beside Iska, his hand moving toward one of the swords on his back as he approached the dying monster. A hand caught him before he could begin to draw his weapon, and he found himself looking into Iska's eyes.

"Don't do it. Asta and you will have issues if you do."

Shirou eyed her for a moment before pushing her hand out of the way. "I'm not going to let it suffer."

"Then at least wait till she's around the corner."

"Oh, for heaven's sake! Iska," Noin snapped, "just let him kill it." She tossed her braided brown hair over her shoulder.

Shirou wasn't quite sure what to think of Noin. The woman could be brass, holier than thou, and half the time, he was sure the mage had a stick shoved so far up her rear it was the reason her eyes were brown, but she also had the tendencies of an overbearing big sister. She was constantly making sure he was cleaning his room and his gear. She'd ruffle his hair when he walked through the door, and she was heading the opposite way.

When Noin drank, she was constantly cursing mages from other Familia before she stalked off to train her spellcraft until she mind downed.

Shaking his head, Shirou drew his blade and approached the Silverback. It was clawing frantically at its chest until it spotted Shirou. It made a feeble attempt to swing at him and groaned in pain as it recoiled from its motion. That's when he struck, his blade delving into the creature's eye and its brain.

It stilled instantly.

A feeling of dread fell over him, and Shirou had no problem finding the source. Asta, her smile gone, glaring at him. The woman was furious.

"Told you so." Iska sing-songed as she wrapped her arm back around his head and guided him after the others.

Rolling his eyes, Shirou answered. "There wasn't a point in letting it suffer."

"Not really, no, save that Asta wanted it that way." Noin quipped over her shoulder. "But hey, if you want to ruin your relationship with a member of your familia, that's your choice."

"Yes, because your relationships within the Familia are so great, Noin," Iska sniped back.

That drew a growl from the woman.

"Enough!" Alise snapped over his shoulder. "People have died! It's time to bring Evilus to justice! To do that, all of you need to get your heads on straight! Now's not the time to indulge yourself!" She glared at Asta, who looked away, ashamed.

"To bicker with your Familia!" Iska and Noin.

She spared Shirou a glance before turning back to the front. "We're going to be picking up the pace. "Iska, if Shirou can't keep up, carry him. I don't plan on letting them get as far as Under Resort."

Before Shirou could protest, he found himself hauled onto Iska's shoulder, and she gave him a rueful grin. "No way can you keep up with us."

It wasn't the clip they were traveling at Shirou that would have found difficult. Keeping up wouldn't have been a problem. Instead, the issue came from a different source—the monsters.

When exploring the dungeon, there was a protocol when entering a new area. Guild suggested, and on the majority, Familia Encouraged.

Scout, if possible, knowing the various ins and outs of the area could easily save lives.

Map the area and the denizens within.

Assess the monsters in the direct vicinity and plan accordingly.

Engage the fewest numbers possible and take the slower but safer path.

Be prepared to change your plans. If one doesn't work, try another.

Flee if necessary.

Of course, said rules promptly went out the window with floors one has already explored. After all, if done correctly, getting through a floor wasn't particularly difficult.

Such was the case for the other members of Shirou's Familia. They cut down the Orc's as they began emerging from the mists. The Hard Armored speared as they rolled in to strike. Often even the terraforms in their path didn't survive. To add to that, as they had passed through the area frequently enough, they knew the location of the stairs and made a bee-line for them.

Of course, it also had its downsides. One monster after another began to parade along behind them. In that, Shirou discovered something new. First, Orcs looked ridiculous when running. Second, their aim was far better than Shirou thought it would be, considering the crowd of them grouped together, knocking and jostling on another. But it managed nonetheless.

He made the discovery as the club drew closer and closer to his face. Then, before he could even start projecting a sword to intercept the makeshift projectile, Iska spun on her heel, pulled a small dagger from her side, and heaved it toward the bludgeoning weapon. It struck, and all of a sudden, the cudgel wasn't flying at him anymore but at the monsters trailing after them.

It struck one in the face sending specks of blood flying as it fell, and if it wasn't dead at that moment, it was just a half a heartbeat later when its compatriots began to trample over it.

Then he felt airborne, the moist air whipping about his face as they quickly began to descend. The hall only wrapped about them for a moment before it curved and opened in another room overlooking the plains so much like the one they'd just left. Any chance he had to look over the landscape vanished as the monstrous stampede thundered down the stairs after them.

"Hold on!" Iska said, and once again, they were on the move.

Despite the thickness of the fog, the Familia moved quickly. Slipping between the landforms and bypassing a good chunk of the monster's milling about.

Not all of them. But most.

Those they couldn't avoid quickly fell into the horde. Actually, it kind of reminded Shirou of one of the openings to an anime Taiga had turned on while visiting one day. It depicted a group of people running, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

"The stairs are just ahead!" Iska said.

Shirou nodded. He'd heard enough from his Familia to know they'd come through these floors a fair number of times. So, if Iska said the stairs leading to the next floor were close, he believed her.

Of course, it didn't take care of the problems attempting to chase them down.

"Hey," Shirou called and tapped his holder on the shoulder, "we can't just leave them chasing after us! We could accidentally pass-parade someone! Should I take care of them?"

He was willing to bet a single Broken Phantasm would take care of the group. It'd cost a decent portion of his reserves, not enough to leave him on empty, but enough. Still, it wasn't like he was doing anything.

Iska shut him down.

"Don't worry about it. We're just lining them up," she said, and Shirou had no trouble seeing the wide grin on her face. "Kaguya will take care of knocking them down."

Almost as if on cue, the Japanese-looking woman fell behind the group facing the group with a grim determination that Shirou had come to expect from her when she stepped into a fight. Her hand hovered over the hilt of her katana.

Fear welled within Shirou; objectively, he knew she had to be a match for the monsters heading toward her. She was level four, after all. But enough numbers could take down anyone as contrary to popular belief, the only things with zero combat power were inanimate objects. Anything alive had a chance to get lucky even if their combat potential was low comparatively, and even if they didn't, you add up enough of those relatively low scores, and eventually, it would add up.

Still, she proved it pointless a moment later when she pulled her sword and whipped it through the air. She was in the middle of their number before Shirou could blink, and by the time he did, the first of the monsters were already falling, long cuts cleaving them from one side or another. As they began their descent, he watched as she flicked her blade and sheathed it just as the last of them, a Hard Armored, slipped apart into gorey chunks that fell to the ground.

The blood-stained mists vanished as they descended the stairs.

"Welcome past the first line Shirou!" Iska said as they crossed into the next room.

The next floors looked like a cave system, and if it weren't for the monsters, they probably would seem like one.

Some rooms had chasms delving into the ground leading into pitch darkness bridged by stone paths going around or bridges going over. Others led down into spaces that were filled with monsters. It was also where Shirou learned a bit more about Iska.

The most prevalent monsters Shirou had seen were hell hounds, giant dog monsters that tended to upchuck fire in their direction. These she left to the others.

The Almiraj, on the other hand, horned white rabbits with ruby eyes might have been considered cute by some if it weren't for the stone and metal hatchets they carried. But, Iska seemed to hold a bit of a grudge when it came to them.

She threw him into the air as she charged into the fray. Taking one by the neck, she shook it as she kicked another hard enough it popped in a spray of blood. She beheaded another, and the fourth she skewered. All the while, she continued to choke the one she held.

Alise caught him as he began to fall. Shirou barely noticed.

Iska paused, inspecting it, and shook it once more for good measure; before turning, she flung it into the wall with enough force its horn was pushed back into his body.

"You know, I can probably keep up by myself," Shirou said as Alise carried him into the next room.

It housed three paths, one hugging the wall on the left, one on the right, and a bridge and extended out over the chasm. Each led to a different room. Neze, however, stood off to the side, staring into the inky blackness of the hole.

Alise adjusted him before settling him onto the ground. "That's good because it looks like they might have taken a shortcut here." She jerked her head toward Neze, who was taking deep breaths through her nose, her eyes closed.

She looked up at Alise and nodded.

In short order, they unpacked several rope lines and secured one end around some rock formations.

"Let's get to it!" Alise said.

Lyra sighed, "the kiddo might need a crash course in getting down the rope?"

Alise winced, but Shirou shook his head. "I know how to climb down a rope."

Lyra eyed with, looking a touch confused and more than a little bit ready to argue, but Shirou wasn't going to have any of it. Moving over to the third line, as Alise held the first and Neze the second, He took it up, slipped it around himself, and began the climb down.

The descent took far more time and was filled with more warnings than Shirou would've liked. Which, as far as he was concerned, might very well have been the reason it took so long or seemed to the very least.

Still, even with that, it probably took less than twenty minutes. Perhaps a touch longer.

They'd hardly reached the bottom before Neze led them to another hole. "They went down there," she said. They had to repeat the process all over again.

As Shirou's feet touched the ground, he looked around. All around the room were tiger-like monsters.

"Flashbomb down!" Lyra called.

Shirou watched as all of them used the crook of their arm to shield their eyes before his brain caught up with him, and he slammed his arm over his own.

Roars of pain came, and so to did the chaos. Finally, Alise's flaming form reached the first of the monsters and impaled the cat monster. Smoke wafted off its slumped form before she pulled out.

Lyra leaped onto the back of another and buried two of her daggers into the monster's ears. It slumped mid buck. An action the Pallum took full advantage of, using it to place her on the back of another.

Asta slammed her fist into one before flicking out with her cutlass and tearing through the neck of another.

Shirou pulled his swords out and bolted to one a short ways to his left. The big cat roared as he dragged his swords across its ribs, obtaining a spout of its blood.

A feeling of danger welled up in him, and he turned to find another one of the monsters there, its paws raised just before a bright light tore through it. Tracing the magic back to its source Shirou found Ryana waiting. He nodded his thanks and turned to look for the monster that would become his next target, only to see all of them dead or fleeing back into the caves.

With the room cleared, Alise led them onward through several turns that led to a gentle slope.

"Lyra, any intel on goliath?" She asked as she took the first step down.

"A few of Loki's familia went to fetch some herbs last week."

"I don't smell blood or hear fighting." Neze added, "pretty sure there would be at least some if one if Evilus passed through here. And they did."

It made sense.

Alise agreed as she began jogging down the slope, "let's get through as quick as we can then."

As one, they moved into the room, and Shirou stilled. The entirety of one part of the room was filled with ice. Ice that seemed to house a curled giant. Thankfully it wasn't moving. So it had to be Goliath in its recuperating form.

Massive hardly described the shadow, but from the size of it, Shirou wouldn't have been surprised to find its hands big enough to wrap around him with nothing hanging out.

He broke from his thoughts as Lyra gave him a shove. "Go, kiddo."

Turning to the other side of the room, he had no trouble spotting the exit, a tunnel directly across the room from the entrance. Pushing himself forward, Shirou retook his position amid his Familia as they stepped into the tunnel and slid downward.

He leaped to his feet as the forest came into view. They had told him that there were trees in the dungeon, a forest even, but he had imagined something along the lines of the landforms he'd seen on the upper floors. But everything was so alive.

"Welcome, Shirou, to Under Resort, the paradise within the dungeon," Noin said as she stepped up beside him and ruffled his hair.

Asta chuckled, "right, paradise. Price gouger village more like."

"Let's get moving." Neze cut in as she stalked past them into the forest.

Shirou started to follow but found a hand on his arm keeping him in place. Following the arm, he found himself looking at his captain, and she didn't look pleased.

"Wait, Shirou," Alise said as she pressed a canteen into his hands and took a second into her own hands as the others moved into the trees save Lyra, who stood off to the side. "We need to talk."

"Do we have time for this? I'm not even tired. Evilus is getting further ahead!"

Lyra rolled her eyes and gave him a shove, "just drink your tea. The others are going to be setting up camp near the stairs."

Shirou took a sip from the canteen and couldn't keep the sigh from escaping. It was clear that Lyra had made it. Unfortunately, she'd over-brewed the leaves, and from the taste of it, the water wasn't quite boiling either. In other words, it wasn't very good.

Her stuff always tasted off.

"Yeah, I know it's awful. Suck it up." Lyra grunted, earning her a glare from Alise.

Alise took a breath and slapped her cheeks. "Shirou, this is as far as you go." She locked eyes with him daring to argue. "There's a lot that could go wrong, and the lower floors are too dangerous for a level 1."

Shirou opened his mouth, ready to argue when Lyra interrupted, "even a level one who fights like a level two kiddo. We can't afford to split our attention with both Evilus and monsters trying to kill us."

He took another sip of the tea to calm his nerves and instantly regretted it. He blamed both the news they'd given him and the girls themselves for the fact that the tea was rotten, slipping his mind.

"I know you want to stop them too, but you've already gotten a lot further than other level ones would've," Alise added.

"Iska carrying you had a lot to do with that, by the way."

Her words earned Lyra another glare from Alise before she sighed and nodded. "You're strong, Shirou, and you adapt like no one I've ever seen before, but it's not going to be enough down there."

"So I'm supposed to just sit here and wait for you to come back? That's not going to happen. I can take care of—"

A muddled feeling filled his mind, and Shirou shook his head, trying to clear it away. It didn't. Raising his hand, he found himself still holding onto the canteen of tea, and the reason behind the sudden heaviness of his body became apparent. They'd drugged him.

"Wha-"Shirou found himself tipping forward as the world around him began to fade.

"Lyra, I told you to wait to drug him!" Alise said. She sounded so far away.

"We both know there was no way he was going to accept staying here. Not with Evilus being who they were. Don't you remember where you met him?"

If Alise responded, Shirou didn't hear it as his world went dark.

Shirou's eyes shot open, and he reached for his sword. It wasn't there. Nor was he in the forest, but a hut. The room was relatively sparse. A single desk against a wall laden with maps of which a number of them hung above it pinned by a dagger and marked with a mess of scribbles. Beside the bed, there was a chest of drawers and several stacked dishes from which a fishy smell wafted.

"So you're up, huh, brat?" A gruff voice belonging to a well-muscled bald man with a scar crossing down his head and over one of his eyes said as he walked into the room. "The Pallum said you'd be out for at least another two hours. She must not have dosed you as well as she thought."

Shirou didn't respond. He chose to get out of the bed and begin gathering his supplies. He could help whether they knew it or not. In fact, he was intent on teaching them that exact lesson.

"You know I can't let you go after them. It's not like you'd even know which way to go." He settled himself against the door frame, his arms crossing and a smirk spreading across his face.

Shirou stopped and raised an eyebrow at the man before pointing at the maps on the wall.

The man laughed. "You got a point there, but can a noobie like you even read one of those? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Just go back to sleep. Your group said they'd be back tomorrow."

"If you'll excuse me, I need to go," Shirou said as he finished adjusting his armor.

"You know I'm a level three, right?" He sighed and pushed off the wall. "The difference between our stats is like night and day, kid. So, sit down, shut up, and relax until your familia swings by to pick you up."

Shirou shook his head. The entire time the man was yammering, he'd been going through his weapons, searching for one that would do the job. He'd found three.

Gae Bolg, it wouldn't have any trouble removing the man from his path but could very well end up leaving him dead. And as far as he was concerned, death was the worse type of side effect.

The cane of Arsene Lupin, a mystic code capable of inflicting various afflictions upon the target upon contact. Which affliction activated was random, and as it contained no blade, Shirou had yet to use it.

In that moment, he chose the third.

Shirou placed a hand on one of his blade's hilt and began. "Trace on."

Judging the concept of creation

A weapon of the king meant to shield her and help her toward her goal—a tool to function where her others could not.

Hypothesizing the basic structure

A dual-edged welsh dagger with a hilt of white.

Duplicating the composition material

Pure iron made up the blade, while ivory shaped the hilt.

Imitating the skill of its making

Forged in holy fire by the same smith that created Rhongomyniad as part of a trinity.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth

While many weapons of its size fell by the wayside, this one did not. It has split men in two, slain giants, and taken the life of the Black Hag. It will always find its way into its target.

Reproducing the accumulated years

One of the three precious weapons of the king! A weapon nearly forgotten by the annals of history. Yet it remains.

Excelling every manufacturing process

Shirou took the weapon into his hand. He could already feel the minute drain on his magical energy but waved at the man his familia had left to watch him as he faded from sight.

"What the hell!" He yelled. Shirou sidestepped the man as he rushed forward. Carefully he made his way through the room and took the stack of maps before running out the door, the pages he held vanishing before he even crossed the threshold.

With the aid of the map, it took him no time to find the way to the nineteenth floor. As he began taking the stairs down, he saw two men taking positions at the top.

"Think the kid went down already?" One of them asked.

"If he did, he's dead. I don't care if he can make himself invisible. Those monsters will sniff him out in no time flat."

Silently Shirou thanked the man for the information before proceeding down. As he passed into the first room, he found it lit by glowing blue light given off by moss lining the floors and walls. All of which seemed to be made up of wood.

The room was vast and coated in grass, with several monstrous boars, some clashing with one another, others eating the grasses were spread throughout.

One snorted, its head swinging to look in Shirou's direction as he moved deeper into the room. Its ear twitched, and it grunted again as it began to paw at the ground. Despite that, it didn't charge as it continued to search for him using its eyes.

That it wasn't attacking him was a good thing, but that didn't stop the others from lining up as they began pawing at the ground as well.

Carnwennan would have no trouble cutting through the monsters in front of him, but that wasn't his goal. Slowly he sidestepped to the right. Every pig's ears twitched as they turned to face him.

With a squeal, they charged. He ran.

He leaped onto a nearby rock and jumped back up into the air, and swung down. The blade split the boar's spine down its length as Shirou sailed over it and onto the one behind. Then, seeing the whites of the monster's eyes, he slammed the phantasm into the beast's eye and ripped it out as he turned away.

He slipped through the entryway and into the hall, though he already knew they were going to follow after him. Likely all the easier because of the blood on Carnwennan's blade. He could hear them scrambling about behind him and stifled a sigh.

It wasn't often, but more often than he'd like, but sometimes Shirou hated being right.

He led them from one path to the next, leading the stampede into the next room and causing them to trample a multitude of other monsters—an action that resulted in several of the boars dying in the process. Sadly the number on his tail still managed to increase.

He rounded a corner and nearly jumped back when he found a colossal hornet flying right at him. Only the fact that if he did, it was more than likely he'd end up getting crushed beneath hooves feet and vines in the process kept him moving. Leaning to the right, Shirou struck with Carnwennan again, severing the wing from the bee as he passed by.

At the next fork, he hung a left and found himself running down a narrow hall. It was well lit, and though the moss stretched down its length, the light at the end was brighter still.

Open space.

Likely it meant more monsters to evade before speeding by and adding them to the troupe he had following at his back. Still, as the dungeon didn't seem to have any doors, he'd no intention of being caught in a pincered position because of a narrow hallway.

That thought continued until he was just a few paces from the opening when he could see paths of wood sweeping around the side of the tree.

He'd run himself into a dead end.

The monsters flooded the hall after him, leaving him no space to run by. Only one option remained, forward through the opening, that led to nowhere but a long fall. He didn't bother looking back at the monsters as he used all the strength he could muster and leaped through the door.

Taking a breath, he brought up a blueprint he'd used only once before, during a hunt. The drain was considerable as not only did it lack a blade, but it wasn't a weapon at all.

He watched as the dungeon floor drew ever closer to him before he heard the sound of the unfurling cloth, and he jerked upward, his descent effectively slowed.

"Thank you, Zale," Shirou said. The young enforcer had somehow managed to convince the higher-ups in the organization that dropping onto the island from the air was a better method than going in by sea. Because of that, Shirou and everyone else on the team got a crash course in parachuting.

Taking the chords into his hands, Shirou began guiding his descent. His goal?

A cave coated in ice or perhaps crystal, about ten feet off the floor itself, the only access being a stone bridge. So it had to be the stairs leading deeper into the labyrinth. It was almost too gaudy not to be. Somehow it seemed like it was shouting, "Hey! Come here! I'm Shiny!"

High pitched buzzing drew his attention back over toward the trunk from which a swarm of the same type of hornet he'd struck earlier was taking to the air. Best case scenario, they were off to feed on some of the nectar that could be had in the plants he could see below. Worst case, they were searching for him.

And something told him it wasn't the first option.

They flew closer, their tiny wings looking like blurs in the open air. Worse, they didn't seem to have the slightest bit of problem tracking him. It took them no time at all to close the distance and rise into the air above him.

The group adjusted their posture, readying themselves to impale their target and dove toward him.

Thp. Thp. Thp. Thp. Thp.

The first wave ran into his parachute. Their stingers cut through the materiel without issue, but the cloth striking their heads managed to disorient them as they flailed about, trying to get away.

Between the added weight and the holes in the fabric, Shirou found himself dropping faster. He still had a good ten meters before he was above the bridge leading to the stairs. Pulling tighter on the chords, Shirou increased the speed of his descent even further.

The next wave came of which another handful struck the parachute. Two, however, didn't. The speared through the air right beside his head, its wing catching on it, in fact. The bee spun, its stinger scraping across his chest plate as it tumbled through the air and away. The second missed him entirely.

Five meters remained.

The last of the bees dived.

Shirou grit his teeth as their trajectory managed to line up well enough at least four of them were going to manage to pierce him,

Then they weren't. The first group of bees had, for the most part, managed to free themselves from the cloth but not without increasing the size of the holes in the process.

Two meters. Shirou cut the line and landed in a roll on the bridge.

Now disconnected from Shirou, the parachute's invisibility was replaced with an identical copy of the one he'd used to make his way onto that island so many years prior.

A red and black tie-dye combination topped with a smiley face.

The hornets treated it as if it were their sworn enemy piercing it again and again.

Not willing to see if they would take the time to notice him or wanting to know what would happen if they did, he quickly made his way into the stairway.

Shirou scratched at his ears. The sound of the waterfall was deafening. It reverberated in every direction. The stone walls were slick with the dampness that seemed to permeate the entirety of the floor.

Shirou ground his teeth for all the serenity granted by the tree's silence; the last few floors had been anything but. He'd thought as he descended the stairs he'd heard a scream. So he remained still, waiting for another noise to guide him for a time. But, of course, it didn't work.

Tracking them via sound was about as useful as expecting Lyra to make an edible meal. Unfortunately, it just wasn't happening. The caves to wide, too deep, and too numerous, any time he thought he heard something that might lead to them, it ended up leading to multiple paths. Needle in a haystack didn't even begin to cover it.

Not that it mattered. He found them.

Sort of.

The floor was marred with a multitude of craters; scorch marks lined the walls, chunks of stone lay scattered across the ground. Likely Shirou realized from the bombs Lyra had passed to the group, and the scorch marks had the telltale mark of Ryana's magic.

There was no denying it was an effective roadmap for all the damage done. One Shirou'd no intention of ignoring.

He charged further into the cave system. The distance between the craters grew. But as he came across the next split, he found he didn't need them either. The crimson glow from the room off to his right was telling of his Captains presence.

Carefully he moved into the room and found his familia facing off against the members of Evilus. All of them looked a bit worse for wear, but he could see any blood, which made sense since they'd Maryuu to heal them. Unfortunately, the room wasn't half so lucky. The thing had been decimated. One wall had been hit hard enough to cause part of it to collapse. Only two stalagmites remained standing. Gouges bisected the room. There was no doubting that he stood in a localized warzone.

A long crack split the damaged wall behind the members of Evilus. It glowed a violent yellow. The walls shuddered and rumbled. A wild screech akin to metal scraping on metal stopped them all cold.

The wall shattered outward, sending stone splinters whistling through the air around them. In that same motion, three members of Evilus fell to the stone floor split in twain.

"What the hell?!"

Alise kicked the man she'd locked swords with away and took a half step back closer to them. "Everyone, get back! Shirou, do not engage!"

"What is that thing?!" Lyra yelled.

Normally when a monster emerged from the dungeon, the walls would bulge for a moment before cracking open, releasing its newest bundle of vile joy. Now while he would likely never find anything joyous about the monsters attempting to end his life, the beast in front of him was another topic entirely.

It stepped from the cloud of dust on all fours, covered in spines and brandishing wicked claws like curved daggers, each connected to one of its five fingers. Its long spindly arms, all but devoid of flesh, were far longer than they should've been for its body as it were its legs. It looked one way, then another. The glowing red eyes set deep within its beastly skull, locking on to each of them in turn.

Raising his swords and with a rush of 'click,' 'click,' 'click,' its eyes focused on Shirou.

"Val, get control of that thing!" One of the members of Evilus snapped.

The monster responded by leaping the distance and splitting the man's stomach from one side to the other.

"Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! What are you!" He yelled as he fell backward. Any further words were cut off as the monster slammed its long tail into the man's head, reducing it to paste.

Celty raised her bow and loosed three arrows in quick succession. None reached their target, struck from the air by the four-meter-long tail. It turned its attention to Celty, which is when Neze struck. She brought her halberd around toward the armored creature's spine.

Like the arrows before, it didn't reach its mark as it leaped up into the stalactites and vanished from sight.

"Anyone have it?" Alise asked as she swept her head from one side to the other.

No one answered. Shirou started toward the group when Alise held up her hand. "Dammit Shirou! I told you not to come! You need to get out of here."

Kaguya added her two cents before Shirou could respond, though he'd no idea how she knew he was there in the first place. "She's right, Lyra, Ryuu, the two of you as well."

Shirou opened his mouth to inform her that he'd no intention of going anywhere as long as they remained behind when he spotted a swirl of motion.

It descended from the ceiling above Neze; its claws splayed wide. One set raked across her face or would have if she hadn't jerked backward. Instead, only one of them landed. Carving its way through her skin and eye without issue. The other claimed the hand that held her weapon. She howled in pain but threw herself at the monster.

She didn't make it, her path cut off by a rushing Alise. "Neze down one of your potions." She roared over her shoulder.

Her sword battered against the beast's claws sending it skidding back into the path of a falling bomb flung by Lyra. It dropped to all fours and began to scamper away as the bomb detonated.

Shirou watched it tumble across the ground, but it was on its feet again before it even stopped moving.

"Encapsulate, Encircle, Bind, Tether! The world requires order to hold fast against the chaos." Magic gathered at the end of Noin's rod, her eyes locked on the creature.

Two arrows provided by Celty struck its armored skull sending it flinching backward.

"Pulling the world to pieces, the enemy wanders before us, propagating naught but destruction."

"Catch them in a web of night and seal them! A tomb of stone, embraced within the earth, never to feel the glow of sunlight!" The glowing light sped from her like a bullet from a gun.

It was clear something went wrong when the creature seemed to shimmer for a moment before the spell flew back the way it'd come, losing none of its speed or power. It struck true.

But it wasn't Noin taking the spell. Asta slammed into her the moment before the magic struck.

Suddenly Asta was struggling against the lengths of stone that leaped from the earth to capture her arms and legs. She pulled to no avail.

"You need to—" she started, only to stop as the stone surged upwards around her mouth when another spell splashed against her face and the process stopped.

The sound of shearing metal brought Shirou's attention back to the fight. The thing had just cut through Iska's blade and was readying itself to cut the amazoness down.

Shirou raised a hand, causing three blades to materialize at his fingertips, and swung his arm as if he were throwing a baseball.

They slipped through the air striking the monster's claws, pulling its attention away from Iska and onto him. He started tracing Kanshou and Bakuya and stopped as Iska acted.

Iska threw herself into the back of the creature, and it took a single stumbling step forward before leaping into the air, backward. Right over Iska's head. Its claws came down. Iska fell to the ground, blood spurting freely from the multiple wounds along her back.

Blood spurted freely through the air as its other set of claws drove downward intent on finishing the job.

Shirou's heart thundered in his chest. There wasn't time. He launched one of the swords from his side forward. But he already knew it wasn't going to make it. A moment later it didn't matter.

It's claws stopped before they could reached the amazon buried as they were in Ryana's face.

His blood ran cold even as the magical energy pumping through his circuits burned as if he stood in the center of a wildfire.

The monster ripped its claws free littering the ground with brain matter and leaped into the stalactites, once more hiding from view.

"Ryana!" Celty cried. She took a halting step before drawing her bow to point it at the stone forms on the ceiling. Silence reigned as the group scoured the ceiling looking for any sign of the attack that was most assuredly coming.

"Lyra," Alise spoke quietly, "get one of those flash bombs ready."

"There!" Neze called, pointing to an area of the ceiling a short ways from the next room where a shadow shifted back and forth.

Celty released her arrows, but Shirou knew it wasn't going to hit their target, mostly because it wasn't the monster. Said monster was silently crawling its way down the wall behind Celty.

No. She wasn't going to die. He wasn't going to let her.

"I am the bone of my sword."

He hissed as a sword appeared at his shoulder and fired as the claws of the monster hissed as they cut through the air, their target Celty's unprotected side. He watched as she seemed to react in slow motion. She turned toward the monster, surprise, fear, and resolve crossing over her face as she dropped her bow and reached for the dagger at her side.

A futile action, her close-quarters combat skills were those that scraped the bottom of the barrel. While Shirou wished he could say he couldn't keep count of the number of times he'd disarmed her, he couldn't. Two hundred and thirteen times. Granted, her speed kept his counters to the glancing variety, but she never walked away from their bouts pleased.

As the monster reached its target, time returned jerked back to normal.

Steel struck claw altering its course just slightly, but it was enough. Celty screamed. Blood flew. She sunk to the ground clutching at her side from which blood gushed freely.

"Celty!" Noin bellowed and turned her glowing staff toward the monster. "Take root all that is life, twist from the soil, and bring about truth!" Golden motes of light burst into the air.

The monster turned to Noin, and Shirou threw himself into a run. He could feel his muscles tear as he pressed more magical energy into them.

It arrived. So did Shirou. Its claws never reached her stomach as Shirou caught them against his sword. Even as she created another, she continued to chant.

"Death begets life. Such is the promise of Spring!" The motes began to dance through the air toward her.

It slung its arm to the side, throwing Shirou back and Noin went tumbling to the ground at Shirou's feet. Still, she continued her spell, her eyes locked on the monster even as blood bubbled freely from her mouth.

"Li- li- li-" She wasn't able to spit the blood out fast enough to finish her chant before the light left her eyes.

A lithe figure rushed forward, her body encased in a glow that Shirou had never seen. Because of that, it took him a moment to recognize Celty, and he only managed that via the process of elimination using her bob cut as the disqualifying feature. "Three incandescent lights flashing amongst the heavens, sailing across the sky!"

The glow separated into three and split off from her body, looking like miniature stars that spat beams of energy toward their assailant. The monster's armor seemed to flash again, and immediately Shirou knew what was going to happen.

It seemed he wasn't the only one as a red-headed blur shot past him. She grabbed Celty as the spell started on its return trip. However, as fast as she was, Alise barely managed to take hold of Celty as the spell struck

Her hands slammed against her face muffling her screams as she thrashed her way out of Alise's hold.

"Maryuu! Get her to Maryuu!" His captain yelled as she charged in.

Shirou sheathed his sword as he ran forward and took Celty by the back of her robes. In doing so, he caught a glimpse of her face. What little of it remained of it, at least. Her flesh had been burned away, leaving him to look at burned muscles tissue, and a quivering eye.

As he pulled her behind him, he stilled as she fell silent. Rapidly he turned to check on her expecting to find her gone. What he received was something else entirely. She was alive, but unconscious, her eyes still wide open, and on closer inspection, Shirou understood why. She'd no trace of eyelid one either of her eyes.

He didn't get a chance to return to his trek as Maryuu slid to a stop beside them, already in mid-chant.

Turning his attention back to the battle, Shirou found Alise swinging her flaming sword with a fervor that he'd never seen from her. She was like a woman possessed. However, she didn't seem to be getting anywhere for all the power of her blows. Every time the monster seemed out of place, it did something to show that it didn't seem to matter. She knocked it off balance, and it whirled into a spiral, trying to bash her with its tail. She dodged a swing allowing it to overextend, and the monster leaped into the air and continued to attack from the other side.

For every one of her moves, it seemed to have an answer. Worse with the amount they were moving and trading spaces, he never had a clear shot.

On the other hand, whenever Alise faltered, Kaguya was there to pick up the slack and intercept.

"Flash!" Lyra hollered, and Shirou turned his eyes to the ground just in time for a bright flash to erupt in the middle of the fight. However, he managed to avoid a direct shot from the flash bomb's burst of light; he had to blink away the spots.

At the moment that he looked away, everything had changed. Kaguya had slipped her katana through the monster's bone ribs and pressed it to the wall as best she could. Of course, her action had a cost. Eight claws pierced through her back.

"Luvia!" Shirou turned his attention toward the stalactites to find Ryuu descending towards the pinned beast. Her incantation caused the golden orb trailing her to explode and propel her all the faster, her wooden sword ready to crush the things armored head.

Lyra raced across the room, her small frame keeping low, but Shirou was able to see the free grey-black orbs in her hand. Bombs.

A sinking feeling filled him. It looked like what was in front of him was a suicide attack, plain and simple—all or nothing.

Shirou scrambled forward. There was no way he was going to let them go through with it. There had to be another way.

The monster's claws vanished from Kaguya's back, and it raised its hand. "Alise! Lyra!" She yelled.

The bombs flew from Lyra's hands as Alise and Ryu descended toward the skeletal nightmare.

Its clawed hand descended just before the bombs went off, blowing Shirou backward. He tumbled head over heels, bouncing off stalagmites until he skid to a stop. Carnwennan bounce a few yards further away but Shirou didn't notice.

His ears rang, and he briefly noted he likely had a concussion. Then, as he sat up, he felt something strike his leg. Looking down, he found Kaguya's head. Her face pinched in a determined expression.

"Kaguya." He heard Lyra say from her position on the ground off to his side. She looked more than a little battered. Her arms were covered in burns, as was half her face, though she didn't seem to notice.

It needed to stop. Too many of his familia had already fallen, too many lay on deaths door. Of course, the monstrosity was well beyond him as he was, and even if he were to start pulling out his phantasms and firing while the girls kept it busy, the thing never stayed in one place. No, there was only one thing he could do. Granted, he didn't know if the rest of the chant would work. Most of it had yet to appear within his Falna, but he had to do something.

He had to try.

"Steel is my body and just is my heart." He chanted the world filling his head as he pushed himself forward. Power flooded his system, but it wasn't enough.

"Having overcome a world of battlefields, never once retreating." He could feel his Falna burning at his back. Whether that was a good thing or not didn't matter.

He raised his hand, dozens of blue lights flashed in the air and blades longer than any three men standing on each others shoulders flashed into being. Half fell, the rest launched toward the roof of the dungeon. They bit into the rock as if they were carving through grease.

The creature snarled as it looked around realizing exactly what Shirou had done. The two of them stood in a cage of swords.

"Shirou," Lyra snapped, drawing his attention as she slammed her small fist against the blade nearest her. It didn't budge. Maryuu had moved to attend her, a soft golden light enshrouding the two of them.

Shirou spared her a nod and turned back to his target only to find Ryuu and Alise running toward them. It felt like a bolt of electricity filled him, and Shirou spun on his heel. Reaching into the air and flung his hand forward as the beast charged. A storm of swords burst into existence and carved through the air faster than any baseball.

The monster blurred, knocking sword after sword from the air, but it wasn't enough. They began to slip through. The first cutting into the things forearm, sending it off course and allowing the next three to get through. They impaled the creature.

One in the arm that had been thrown back and two to the stomach. The force sent the monster into the cave wall and pinned it there. But Shirou wasn't done.

The onslaught continued.

The monster roared and leaped again, tearing its own arm from its body and reached the ceiling where it attempted to hide amid the shadows and stalactites.

Narrowing his eyes, Shirou adjusted his aim. They shot upward as if propelled by a geyser. As the creature fled the onslaught the swords followed.

Shards of stone fell as the swords chipped away at the ceiling. He ignored the pebbles that crashed into him until it struck him like a wave. Shirou blinked and wiped the grit from his eyes as he cut off his assault, he didn't have the reserves to continue an assault that he couldn't see.

As soon as he regained his sight he tried to get a lock on it, but it was too late.

He'd lost sight of it.

"Damn."

"Shirou, get down!" Alise yelled.

A shiver ran through him and he turned pulling the sword from the scabbard at his side as he went. He lifted it just in time to create a shower of sparks as he turned the descending claws away, and with it his sword. Perhaps it was because it lacked an arm, or maybe it was its lack of leverage due to its descent but the thing seemed off balance as it landed.

Shirou stumbled but with a wordless roar continued the assault. He took a step forward and found the creature turning. His eyes went wide as the boney tail whipped toward him.

Crossing his arms in front of him, Shirou focused on the two swords he was most familiar with and felt their handles fill his hands. Bone scrapped against the blades pushing Shirou back.

The creature turned, its tail whipping back and forth as it released a shrieking hiss.

Shirou started forward, each step faster than the last and the monster was quick to mirror him. Vaguely he could hear the others shouting but he didn't have time to pay attention.

He ducked beneath the creatures wide slash and flicked Kanshou up. The blade flashed out cutting its hand from its wrist. It screamed and turned its tails spearing toward him. Shirou jumped back before it could strike home and lurched forward Bakuya poised to skewer the creatures chest.

It finished its rotation and leaned forward roaring. The white blade jammed into its head and Shirou jumped back.

It wasn't fast enough as the tail came around again. The tip of it carving a gouge in its side.

He watched it in surprise. The phantasm stuck from his face and though it flailed trying to remove it, it didn't die.

"Why won't you die?" Shirou roared.

He slung the black blade in his hand forward and created two more and sent them flying after it. Then another four.

He panted as he watched the sword cut this way and that, the creatures tail flicking out to deflect them, only it didn't work. The ones it did manage to knock away just circled around before coming again.

Than the first one struck cutting deep into the creatures skull and it started to fall backward. The other six raced to join it cleaving deep into the admittedly limited space. By the time it struck the ground Shirou couldn't even see the monsters head for all the blades.

Still he didn't believe it was dead.

Another copy of Kanshou shimmered into his hand. He was about to loose it when strong hands took him by the shoulders and he found his vision filled by the bloody but concerned face of Alise.

'It's over Shirou," She said, "it's over."

He nodded, that was good.

With one last look at the monster's corpse his eyes drifted shut.

Shirou woke to his head ringing, his vision swimming. Pain lanced through his side as he pushed himself up. He fell to his side just as quickly and felt something hot seeping onto his arm.

Shirou's attention wasn't there, however. Ryuu's face had a thick coating of blood. Most of her did, he could see her jaw working, but nothing came out. She held Kaguya in her arms.

At first he thought the vice-captain hadn't made it. There were large bloodstains across her clothing after all. But the rise and fall of her chest knocked the thought from him.

His pain forgotten, Shirou pushed himself upward and found himself looking at Lyra. The girl had seen better days, a bandaged cut ran from her shoulder to her hip, and she was missing a few fingers. However, she seemed to be ignoring it as she pressed her hand to him and spoke.

He tried to focus, but everything she was saying sounded like it was being filtered through water.

He turned, surveying the carnage, and found Neze sporting a heavily bandaged midriff and face. She leaned on her halberd, her eyes locked on to the loss that lay about their feet.

She met his eyes and moved on just as quickly as if she was looking past him.

"Shirou!" The world's sound snapped back in place though reality still undulated around him. "You need to drink this!" Lyra snapped.

She was once again in front of him, a vial of light blue liquid in her extended hand.

Shirou looked at the vial for a moment before extending his hand and popping the cork. He downed the liquid as he looked around.

Ryana's body lay a handful of paces from him, or at least he thought it was her, there was a sheet covering her but the members of Evilus hadn't been moved, so he was fairly confident.

A feeling filled him, one he was far too familiar with. Failure.

Chapter End

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Fun Fact: Researchers in Germany successfully trained honey bees to tell the difference between cocaine and heroin and they may one day actively be used to track them along with a myriad of other things.