A loss.

In one of the ballrooms of the Ganesha family, two figures were spinning in a waltz, and while the girl was dressed appropriately, the male figure was dressed only in wide trousers, his torso remained naked, and there were no shoes on his feet.

- Step-step-substep, yes, that's right. Don't let me go, lead me.

In such conditions the dance was not particularly beautiful, but there was something bewitching about it. More precisely in the atmosphere between the dancers.

*Hahaha* the girl suddenly laughed.

- Am I wrong again?

- No, no *hah* it's just... I somehow made you put on pants, but everything else... is so unnatural. But I like it.

- I don't understand.

- You don`t need to, enjoy the moment, - a gentle smile bloomed on her face.

- You are very nice person. I would even say one of the best, when you are near I feel joy.

- I feel the same. But it's time for us to continue, we'll have time to run the dance a couple more times.

....

Early in the morning, a hurricane raged in the kitchen; at great speed, the arms, like two streams of water, smoothly bent. With a deft movement, they will gut the fish, after which a light blow to the coconut will destroy its shell.

Periodically, the dough flew to the ceiling, each time becoming thinner.

A slight push on the marinated meat and its tissue was damaged, making the future dish much softer. It seemed like a whole team of chefs with special skills was cooking, but in the kitchen there was only one boy in a chef's hat.

The temperature of the instruments was measured by touch; the teenager's body could withstand the heat of the kitchen. Nothing burned, nothing remained raw.

All dishes corresponded to the recipe. The team standing on the other side of the kitchen saw divine light surrounding the figure.

- Breakfast in 15 minutes, is everything ready? - the voice of Miranda, the head of the kitchen, was heard.

- Yes, chef!

- Great, start serving, when everyone arrives, the dishes should be on the table.

....

- Let's start.

Somewhere in the dungeon, goblins tied with rope were sitting near the wall, the figure in front of them slowly uttered the sounds

- O-o-o, - A-a-a-a.

Horror appeared in the eyes of the monsters, they had already been imprisoned in this trap for many hours. And the upcoming events frightened them even more. In front of their own eyes, one of the kobolds chose death when he heard the voice of the creature in front of them. Then they had the opportunity to escape. But now, their limbs were also tied.

- You have already stretched your throat, my dear student. Start singing. Three two one:

 My father told me, it`s a beautiful life.

 So make sure you always open up your eyes....

Surprisingly, this time the monsters retained the will to live, and did not even begin to rush from side to side in agony. The sound was pleasant.

- It`s finally worked, - tears of happiness appeared in Asha's eyes.

.....

The 18th floor was a dome-shaped structure, the ceiling of which was completely filled with crystals. In the center there were white ones, they were surrounded by blue ones, it seemed that the dungeon was trying to depict the world on the surface, for about 14 hours these crystals emitted light, after which they went out, forming a cycle of day and night.

No monsters appeared in this place, although they were here. They climbed from the 19th floor. The entrance to which was located in the roots of a huge tree, visible from anywhere on the floor.

The entire surface of the safe zone was covered with forests and water sources; crystals, exactly the same as on the ceiling, were periodically discovered among them. Thanks to this, the light bathed the surroundings in a pleasant blue light.

Also 200 meters from the lakes, located on the floor on a cliff, stood the city of Rivira. Named after the founding adventurer Rivira Santilini. The city has already been rebuilt almost 300 times due to attacks from monsters that came from the lower floors.

The guild was once responsible for maintaining order in this place, but the cost of maintaining the city forced them to abandon this venture.

Therefore, moral standards vaguely extended to the city; things sold here had an extra zero, and sometimes several, in their price tags. Items prohibited for sale also easily found buyers. And a group of gangster-looking people kept order. The teenager was now having a conversation with one of these.

- Again. You are buying from us the rights to own some hot springs almost on the other side of the floor, after which we will periodically clear them of monsters. What's the point of this anyway?

- Not only tired adventurers come down here, but also extremely rich people without a phalna, each of them will be ready to pay a good amount for a quality bath.

- What prevents us from doing this without you? You gave us the idea.

- Bors, do you really want to try?

- It's a joke! Who in their right mind would decide to put a spoke in the wheels of Loki's family? So how much are we talking about?

- 20 million valis for the land, profit 70 to 30. We will conclude an agreement on paper.

- Hmm... Deal.

....

- Come on quickly, I took a day off for the first time in six months. We have so much to do! - the blue-haired girl with a smile dragged a teenager a little shorter than her through the streets of Orario.

- Ardee, maybe we can have a snack first?

- Ah? Of course! What do you want?

- I don't know, I`ll eat anything, - her companion's hand thoughtfully scratched his head.

- Then the choice is mine? How kind of you! I want Jagamarukun! - the couple headed to the North Main Road.

...

In the dining room in the evening, Riveria taught the boy etiquette, the last lesson that the goddess of the family decided to observe.

- You know almost everything, all that remains is to consolidate it. Can you serve your own food?

- At a ball with a laid buffet - yes, but if I sit at the table and wait for food, then only cold dishes. Waiters will serve me hot food.

- Exactly.

- When you ask a lady to dance, what should you do?

- But I can't...

- I don't care if you can or not, say what you should according to etiquette.

- Bow and offer your hand, palm up.

- Yes.

- Riveria.

- What?

- I prepared a gift for you and Loki.

- Really?

- Yes, take it.

The teenager took out a book he had prepared in advance and handed it to the elf.

Then he placed a strange cube in Loki's hands. It consisted of 6 colors, on each side the toy was divided into 9 sections, turning different levels of the cube, it turned into a colored commotion.

- What should I do with him now? - bewilderment overtook the goddess.

- This is its essence. It is necessary to return it to its previous form.

- Ooooh! How interesting! - the simple gift made Loki very happy.

- Where did you get all this? I've never heard of such a toy. Especially since a book with the title "Ancient Magic of the Elves" obviously won't be sold in a store, - the elf was torn between the desire to quickly read this work and concern for the teenager sitting in front of her.

- An acquaintance told me about the toy, I received the book from him, and in exchange I had to buy a hot springs on the 18th floor. There's nothing to worry about.

- Okay, then let's continue the lesson, we still have a lot of questions.

....

On the 22nd floor, a group of adventurers followed the siren, their attacks were aimed at non-fatal points, apparently they wanted to catch the monster alive.

The monster girl had golden feathers with blue tips, currently covered in blood. Her clothing consisted of two strips of fabric covering her chest, similar to amazoness clothing. The lower part of the body was covered with blue feathers arranged in the form of a skirt.

- Come on! This is just a siren, for her cute face we will receive a huge fee, further along the corridor our people are waiting.

The group drove their prey into a difficult situation. The only escape option for the girl is to break through. And then, around the corner, she was met by the sight of a teenager with bloody hands, the corpses of adventurers lay around and his hand pierced the body of Vouivre, a female humanoid dragon monster that soon disappeared.

The woody labyrinth around began to wither, some of the small plants completely withered.

- This is the end? No, he's alone, it's even better, - the siren gathered her thoughts and with the last of her strength prepared to break through. But a blow from one of her pursuers sent her into the wall.

- Stand!

The voice sounded from all sides, piercing the ears of those present. And they stopped.

- Are you with them?

The question addressed to Evilus members was rhetorical. The equipment and flame, visible through the special eyes of the teenager blocking the path, have already given the answer. A weapon was pointed at the man. A massacre began; adventurers, accustomed to operating under the guise of magic and curses, fell from the superior physical strength of living weapons. All five died within 3 minutes.

The winner headed towards the girl moving away from the blow, her right wing was leaning staggeringly on the wall, she was trying to get up. His hand hovered over her in uncertainty.

For the first time, he saw that the monster had black flames and a white silhouette inside. As if she were an intelligent being, with her own goals and sympathies.

- N-n-no, - the siren's voice sounded, tears appeared in her eyes.

Many thoughts ran through the mind of the teenager in front of her. He retreated and walked further through the woody maze that formed floors from 19 to 24.

....

There was a meeting in Finn's room, all family members level 2 and above were present. The golden-haired girl has already reached level 3.

- One of the Evilus bases was found. The families of Loki, Freya and Ganesha will take part in the destruction. I want everyone to get ready. The battle will not be easy, there has been information about strong enemies, I ask you to exercise maximum caution.

The family captain's gaze darted to the children.

- You are not participating.

- Understood. x 2.

- Great, the operation starts tomorrow.

....

Somewhere in the white space a silhouette was spinning in a beautiful slow dance. This time the usually revealing outfit was replaced by a clean white fluffy dress. A sad melody came from her mouth. But there was an ominous smile on her face:

Loving and fighting, accusing, denying.

I can`t imagine a world with you gone.....

....

There were explosions all around, there were battles here and there between the alliance of families and Evilus, and as it turned out, the Astrea family was not left out either. The battles were not easy, even Ottar, a 6th level adventurer, fought to the limit of his capabilities.

The same thing applied to all high-level family members.

In front of the burning building, the blue-haired woman saw a crying child.

- Ardee, we are told to hold the perimeter, we will wait for Shakti.

The girl's righteous heart could not stand by and she rushed to his aid.

- Baby, how did you end up here? - sitting down next to him, she tried to hug him. At that moment, the glint of a dagger flashed across the girl's throat and blood began to flow.

Before anyone could rush to help, the red color of Hellstone flashed under the little boy's clothes. There was an explosion.

*BOOM*

Until the end of the operation, only those present knew about what had happened. A huge beam of white color shot up into the sky, Erebus returned to heaven, his family members lost their blessing, becoming equal in strength to ordinary people. The fight is over.

On this day, many adventurers will rise their level, but many of them were also lost.

Shakti stood with tears in her eyes over the corpse of her sister, and Ardee's close friends from the Astrea family cried with her.

- We are sorry, their contribution will not be forgotten, - Finn, Riveria and Gareth came over to offer their condolences.

- Thank you, as adventurers, each of us knows that at any moment we will die.

- But it doesn't make it any easier.

- Yes...

- Lady Riveria, I think you know, but Ardee was close to one of your people, - Ryuu's sad voice sounded.

- To be honest, this is the first time I've heard about this, - surprise showed in the voice of the elf queen.

- So you don't know? For almost a year and a half, she often spent her free time with Shichika, she really liked him. And judging by her stories, these feelings were not one-sided, - Alise Lovell, known for her honesty, confirmed the words of her friend.

- Oh no.... x 3

...

On one of the bridges between the towers, the Teenager looked thoughtfully at the place from which the light from the returning god came half an hour ago. Something was bothering him greatly this evening. Familiar footsteps were heard from behind him.

- Shichika, I have bad news, - Loki did not dare to say the prepared words for a long time. Only after wrapping the teenager in a warm embrace did she continue.

- Four family members died.

The teenager's shoulders shook.

- Since my arrival in the family, we have lost more than one. Monsters, their poison, ambushes, natural traps. I remember everyone, and I grieve, but Loki... Finn could have told such news, your presence away from prying eyes suggests that this is not all I need to know.

The goddess's cheek rested on Shichika's back, the mournful beating of hearts echoed throughout her body.

- Ardee is dead, - tormenting the person who spends the most time with her in the family was not part of the goddess's plans.

Tears began to fall from the boy's black eyes, a hidden status panel appeared emitting red, the emotions he experienced were enough to cause an overload of the falna, the so-called Limit off.

- Loki. How long will it take for Goliath to appear?

- Two days ago, the children of Astraea received a letter from the guild, when they descend they will kill him.

- Can I...

- If you get there first, there won't be any problems.

- What about Evilus bases? Finn said that this base was the main one. So there are others.

- Yes. If the opportunity arises, I will ask for exсlusive purging rights.

- Thank you... Can we stand like this a little longer?

- As much as you like. Let me ask you, did you love her?

- I loved her very much. As much as I love you.

- I love you too.