80 Descent into Madness

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'Under the setting sun, Silver stood off against Aetos, the new and third Level 7 currently alive in the world.'

'An Elf who accomplished the previously thought impossible and broke his limits and the young man who seemingly has no limits.'

'But what did Silver wish to accomplish by stepping up like this? He already lost once, and now that his enemy got stronger, would there be any point to this?'

'That was what many thought, but Silver himself did not care. His main objective as an adventurer is to explore the Dungeon to its fullest, and that requires him to get stronger and stronger, to get to new and untold heights.'

'Only then can he surpass every challenge the Dungeon has to offer.'

'Such a grand dream cannot be so easily accomplished without shedding blood every day.'

'And that is exactly what he wishes to get here, to shed his blood and improve.'

'This was very similar to how Ottar used to think before he himself became the strongest with the demise of both the Zeus and Hera Familias.'

'The old will eventually have to step back for the young no?'

"Adventurer Silver, may I ask what is the meaning of this?" Asked Finn as he frowned

He had to wake up now of all times…

'Finn knew exactly what was going on in Silver's head, however, he had just declared in the name of his Familia, he cannot give ground right now.'

'The enemy that threw dirt on their prestige and honor by burning their house and targeting their God, Finn barely suppressed his anger when he put the pieces together, and now he is expected to stay put and wait for a meaningless fight?'

'No, Finn knows that this fight wasn't exactly meaningless, he was also once a young adventurer seeking an adventurer, as he grew older, his way of adventuring changed, but it doesn't mean he forgot what it is to put his life on the line.'

"I have something to resolve with this guy, so before you guys take him on, I would like to finish what I began. I don't want to regret this later. Just 5 minutes."

'Silver knew that unless a miracle happened, there was no way the guy in front of him would survive.'

'The Loki Familia is no joke, Finn, Gareth, and Riveria when working together, are said to rival Ottar at his prime.'

'But here it is, the twins, Ais, and even Lefiya don't underestimate her just because she is Level 3 and goofy, but Lefiya knows over 100 spells. Even if they are weak, they are enough to help.'

'And being this close to the Manor, it's a no-brainer Loki would've realized by this point that whatever was happening was serious so she would send reinforcements.'

"..."

'Aetos was silent through this whole encounter, there was nothing for him to fear, or better put, nothing he could do.'

'There was no escape at this point, the only way forward is by proving his might.'

'He was analyzing his own body, trying to get used to it... But against this selection of adventurers, even he started to doubt himself if he was capable enough to survive.'

'Somehow, he even felt relieved when he saw such strong opposition, but he also felt dread.'

'In a sense, deep down he only wanted to be put down, but he also felt deep dread knowing this was enough to spell his end, he was nowhere near the strength level he had envisioned, it was far from enough…'

'How could he fall to a Level 7 when out there was a monster capable of killing dozens of them together?'

"..."

Only when I have achieved this level of strength I can realize just how insane all of this truly is, this peace is as solid as a sandcastle…

It's good that it exists in the first place, proof of many centuries of effort, but in the end, no progress has been done towards turning this sand into rock.

Perhaps… There was never a chance in the first place and whatever we are doing right now is nothing but grasping at straws until our inevitable end.

The strongest of the strongest are gathered here, the pinnacle of what this world produced within the years after 'their' fall, and yet, this is just enough to match my strength…

And I am far from the Black Dragon... Even if I am given a year, I can at most Level up again, and after that...

"Hehehe…. HAHAHAH!" He laughed maniacally, startling the others

'Aetos looked at Silver and bit his lips in agony.'

"You are way too late, there is no stopping for this now."

What is talent when the world tells you to die?

(That's why Bell is busted N1)

'Gazing at the sky, he pointed his rapier at Silver.'

"I won't escape, I refuse to do, so allow me this fight against the boy." He said towards Finn, making him narrow his eyes with hidden anger

I will take all of you on after him, even if it spells my doom, as I always lived without backing down.

"..."

'Finn was trying his best to hold his anger, this man was responsible for many deaths, and fatal injuries, and now he is asking them for something?'

"... He can't escape Finn, in fact, let's use this chance to circle him." Said Gareth as he touched Finn's shoulders

'Gareth came to the rescue helping his friend calm down.'

"Haaa… Things are truly in bad shape, for me to be given a wake-up call by you."

'Finn deeply cared about his and his Familia's reputation, since both were directly connected. It was because of his dream, his mission.'

'In a sense, his obsession with it can be related to Aetos' obsession for strength and the Black Dragon...'

'So any stain in it needs to be washed out from the moment it occurs.'

'But it had been so long since one such stain happened that Finn lost his cool for once.'

"We'll encircle them as they fight, be ready to move at any moment!" Commande Finn to the others

'Tione and Tiona nodded, moving towards the South to block his escape path, while Gareth stayed in place with Lefiya to block the North, Finn would move to the East while Ais would block the West.'

"Perhaps I can help."

'In the middle of all of this, old man Saphos interrupted.'

"It was a long time ago but I know some of his abilities, although I am unsure if they changed, it is impossible for things such as his Magic to have changed."

"Allow me to share what I know with you, it's the least I can do…"

…

'As they talked, Silver stood off against Aetos, his Halberd in hand.'

"So how is it? You got what you wanted, what are you going to do now? I don't see any chances of you being able to continue your grand plan at the end of the day." Said Silver in irony

"... Are you making fun of me?" He said with a smile

But he stopped for a while and said:

"Well, I definitely deserve it… Initially, I thought such power would be enough to start, and within 2 years no, a year, I can guarantee you that I would Level up again, but only now that I have stepped into this Level can I understand simply how delusional all of this was."

"I am still far from it..."

'However, Silver did not think that was the case.'

'Aetos power may only be that of a Level 7, but by the words, he used it is very possible he leveled up with high stats every single time. His Magics aren't useless, and he certainly does not lack combat experience.'

'If he Level's up to 8, and stack many buffs from wizards and even someone like Haruhime... Wouldn't he be able to do something against the Black Dragon? If not, then this world was doomed from the very start.'

'The same can be said for Ottar... Ottar is already someone stronger than an average Level 9 with his stats if he beastified and gets buffed by other people and items...'

'And if he uses his short chant magic on the Dragon, if even after all of this, the black dragon leaves unscathed, then there is no hope anymore.'

"Honestly, tell me, do you think we have any chance when this is the current state of things? Around us are the strongest in Orario, and even though there are other strong warriors outside of Orario, they wouldn't be stronger than the ones already here."

"..."

'Silver did not reply.'

"With this strength, how are we supposed to resist given our remaining time?" He asked

"..."

So that's what happened to him huh…

He decided to face reality and fell into despair, it's not entirely his fault given the circumstances, a Warrior capable of defeating the Black dragon cannot possibly rise within a few years... But this is all due to that nonsensical prophecy.

He is an Elf, and probably one that lived for many years in his home forest so it's much more understandable for him to believe those words.

But I don't fully believe them. On the contrary, I know little to nothing about the prophet, so I don't take her words as seriously as him.

In the end, a Hero will eventually rise, breaking all common sense and making the impossible possible after all…

However, Aetos decided to believe in himself rather than in fate, and I can't really blame him for that... But at this point, this is more of a mad desire than a desire to do good.

"To be honest, I understand where you are coming from, but instead of falling into despair I will just continue to do my all every day, that's the least I can do."

"But enough of this."

/Crack!/

'Silver stepped on the ground dashing forward, shattering the stone beneath his feet!'

…

"And there he goes." Said Gareth as he observed the fight

…

'Back on the street, Finn, Lington, and Saphos observed the fight from afar.'

"They started." Said Saphos

"I don't want to sound rude and direct, but I still don't know your relationship with those two." Asked Finn as he pointed at Silver and Aetos

"Oh? I am his grandfather. That guy over there is also his grandfather, father of his mother."

"As for those guys… Many decades ago, he used to be the Vice-Captain of my Familia, before I retired to the countryside."

"I see, please continued." Said Finn

'Saphos nodded, saying:'

"All of this situation stems from a disaster that happened during one of our expeditions to the lower floors. It was against Udaeus to be specific."

"We were ready for it, a few Level 5's including me, my wife, and our captain that at the time, was Level 6 and also... Aetos' wife."

"While we fought the Boss a monster came from the lower floors, going up the stairs from the 38th floor… It wasn't just any monster, it was a Peluda."

(N2)

'Finn immediately understood what was going to happen based on the tone of Saphos' voice.'

"While we fought against the monster Rex, it completely annihilated our backline, and it was in the chaos that it created that Udaues ended up wiping out most of our Familia at the time."

"To save the remainder, our Captain stayed behind to face the Boss monster, and despite the massive protest, we left her behind… And we never recovered her body, only a few broken pieces of equipment."

'This deep down, a single mistake can cause the deaths of everyone, after all, not everyone is high level, sometimes, such raid groups are followed by low-Level adventurers, this is common even in the Loki Familia, Lefiya would always be in areas where the recommended Level is 6 despite being level 3.'

'If things get out of control, these low-level adventurers would be the first to perish.'

"This event marked Aetos deeply… And when he assumed the position of captain, his twisted views and goals didn't go well with us, so we left."

'Finn knew there was a lot more to this story, things the old man was purposely omitting, but he would have all the time in the world to hear him out later.'

"Thank you for sharing, I know it must be hard." Said Finn

'He knew very well how heavy was the weight of a companion's death, he experienced it first-hand multiple times…'

"When I left, Aetos was mainly a close-quarters combatant, and this is due to his third magic."

"His first magic is a super short chant binding magic, he selects a target and chants, if successful, it will create chains that will seek out the target until he/she is fully bound, the higher the difference between Aetos' Magic stat and his enemy Strength, the harder it will be for them to get out of the chain."

"His second magic is a rare Hex, he can curse his opponents to sleep for up to five minutes… While sleeping, the enemy will not wake up no matter what… It is also a super short chant magic."

'Finn sweated a little when he heard that, to be forced into such sleep for even a second would be more than enough to spell one's doom…'

"Because of his many years of training, Aetos can cast while fighting and he has managed to cut the time needed to cast them by several times. Perhaps more since its been so long."

'Finn remained silent, waiting for Saphos to finish.'

"And lastly, it's the magic that defines who he is and his Alias as 'Thousand Echoes'."

"It's a super long Chant Magic that allows him to borrow the stats of dead companions from his Familia."

'When he heard that, Finn's expression twisted.'

"He can only borrow a single stat from said person, but he can cast it multiple times in a row, meaning, he can have the Highest Strength, Vitality, Dexterity, Agility, and Magic our Familia has ever accomplished at the same time."

"Although, I don't think he needs to cast it more than 3 times, since he was always the holder for the highest Magic and Agility…"

"However, to cast it, he needs to remember the time he spent with each person, and it used to be extremely painful for him to do so, hence, he never had a lot of practice with it."

"I can't say much about the rest, a lot of time has passed and it's clear to me he already changed the gear he used to wear…" Said Saphos with a bit of remorse

"... I understand, thank you for this, I will make sure to properly compensate…"

'But he was interrupted.'

"I don't need compensation, I just need him to be taken down…" Said Saphos as he turned around and left as to not become a weight in this fight

"... We can talk more about this later if that's the case." Said Finn as his attention was redirected toward the fight

/BANG!/

'Silver's fight against Aetos was still going on after all!'

…

/Back in Loki's Manor…/

'Loki could be seen looking at the window, the direction of her sight was exactly where Ais and the others were.'

'Loki's expression was one of annoyance and a bit of anger.'

"Why is it always near my house?!"

"Please, don't break anything... Loki-Sama." Said Line

'Loki almost tore the curtains on the window, but she was stopped by Line.'

'Loki finally calmed down after a few seconds, and she even considered if she should go inside the emergency room as a precaution.'

"Urg! This is driving me nuts!"

"Why is everyone fucking screaming and running around the place huh?!"

'Suddenly, a male voice came from the corridor near Loki's office.'

'Soon enough, someone entered the office without any sort of courtesy, it was, of course, the always angry Bete.'

"I don't see anyone here. Oi! Shortie, what happened?" Asked Bete towards Loki

'Line, on the other hand, was completely mute.'

"Trouble, everyone already left a few minutes ago but there is still no news." Said Loki as she gazed at the window

"What? And they left you alone?" Asked Bete

"Humph! I am perfectly safe here! Isn't that right my little Line?" Asked Loki as she touched Line's body

"Lo-Loki-Sama… Please stop…" Said Line with an embarrassed face

"Her? What the fuck is a Level 2 going to do? It's better for her to stay hidden and out of sight." Said Bete rudely

"..."

'Line's expression fell, she looked at the ground because she knew he was right.'

'While Loki opened her eyes and stared at Bete, she wasn't happy.'

"You talk big for someone who was humiliated a few weeks ago by a Level 2 isn't that the case?" Asked Loki as she remembered that 'glorious' day

'Oh! How glorious it was, not only did she have a good time in the pub, but when she got back home, she managed to see the incredible scene of Bete running around the Manor naked with a small silver cup to protect his private parts after she opened the door to the secret room…'

"..."

'Bete was on the verge of exploding when he heard what she said, his face was red and his hair was spiked like that of a cat, but he knew better and just turned around…'

"FUCK IT, DO WHAT YOU WISH THEN!"

/BANG!/

'Bete closed the door with a lot of strength, startling Line who looked at the side to see a smirking Loki.'

"Okay… Now I can rest easy." She said

Everyone's here, there is no need to think about this anymore.

"Come on Line, let's drink something while we wait for them to come back!"

"What?! I… I am not into drinking that much…"

'But Line had no choice, she was a Beta female against an Alpha predator, what could she do?'

…

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Notes

N1

That's why I think Bell is busted.

Aetos is a character I designed to follow the steps of people like Zald who survived the black dragon and despaired, they understood there was no fucking way for them to defeat that shit, even more, when they were all fucked, Zald was under the poison of a creature he consumed and was close to death while the other girl Alfia had a terminal disease.

Aetos was half-mad, half in the sense, that he believed what he was doing was right despite believing that there was no chance for them to survive.

He always kept those thoughts at the back of his mind because he convinced himself there was a chance if he achieved what he wanted, but that was a lie he created subconsciously when he lost his wife, as to give a meaning to his now meaningless life.

There was never the possibility he would be able to hold everything together simply by breaching his limits once or twice.

Bell, on the other hand, is so busted he would grow to beat the one-eyed black dragon within a year so… Yeah?

No matter how much he suffers for it, it's simply too much.

If it was 4-5 years of super-intense adventuring, I am sure there would've been no issues... At least not many.

He would grow to become an adult by the end of the show and marry the girl he likes, but I guess the author really likes kids since that is the entire reason why Bell is to remain an Innocent looking kid who saves the world.

N2

A dark-green dragon monster with a long snake-like body and four legs.

It has poisonous needles on its back, resembling a porcupine, which it can fire at its enemies.

Its poison can overwhelm upper-class adventurers with abnormal resistance and it requires superior detoxification magic or an antidote to remove, meaning, if you get stung, you're fucked, because only someone with detoxifying magic on the Level of the best healer in Orario can fix it.

It is also able to stand on walls and breathe scorching fire.

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I would like to thank my Patreons that have given me support so far!

If you wish to have your name at the end of the chapter as well, just give me a call on P@treon and I will add it.

[Lefi]

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/IMPORTANT/

I forgot to say that this week there won't be the third chapter!

Peace!

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