Chapter Thirty Six: Pass Parade and Soma Familia

Pass Parade, is a "gift-giving" specialty in the dungeon, but the gift is monsters. 

When adventurers encounter monsters they can't handle, they intentionally flee in the direction of other adventurers, shifting the danger onto them, letting them handle the monsters. This is known as a Pass Parade.

In most cases, "Pass Parade" is a desperate act of survival. 

Under such circumstances, adventurers like those from the Loki Familia wouldn't mind stepping in to help.

However, there are times when some despicable adventurers deliberately use this method to entrap others. Some even make a living from this tactic, entering the dungeon not to kill monsters but to seize the "inheritance" of other adventurers.

Pass Parade is the trade these people are most skilled at.

"Hey, beauties, we'll be leaving these gifts to you! Do your best to protect us..." One of the men yelled as he ran toward them.

"Wait, boss, that elf... She's Loki Familia's [Elleaf], and there's also [Gale]…."

"What? [Gale]?! Damn it, run!" The leader's expression changed drastically, his fear evident.

(((As Expected.)))

This thought echoed in the minds of Shirou and the two elven girls, excluding Lefiya.

Shirou sighed softly. He wasn't angry or upset, just deeply saddened.

"Freeze, binding chains of winter. 

"Trace, on."

"Sheee-" Ryuu draw her blade, but then quickly sheathed it again.

The three male adventurers' legs were frozen in ice. The leader's knee had already been pierced by an arrow before being frozen, with Alicia's ice magic inadvertently helping to stop the bleeding.

"It hurts! Goddamnit, what the hell are you bastards doing?!"

"Why, why are you doing this?!"

"No, let me go, I don't want to die!"

"You elven b****, let me go! No, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I swear I won't do it again, I-"

A pursuing silverback slapped one of the adventurers, turning them into a bloody pulp.

"It hurts, it hurts! You damned b****es, I curse you all to die horribly-"

Another man had his abdomen pierced by an imp's claws. He vomited blood as he wailed, his face twisted into a grotesque expression.

"Whoosh!" An arrow pierced through his forehead, with Shirou granting him a painless death.

Even though his former dream of being a "Hero of Justice" had changed, Shirou still had a fundamentally kind nature. He disliked watching people suffer.

Alicia looked at the boy with disbelief in her eyes. His calmness in shooting through someone's knee had already surprised her, but this arrow shocked her even more.

"At least, I've eased his suffering," Shirou said softly.

"How decisive... so calm and resolute, not like a child at all," Alicia murmured, her tone wavering between surprise and admiration.

The last adventurer also met his end at the hand of a silverback. Compared to the imps, the silverbacks at least had the decency to finish things with a punch to the head, sparing their victims from further suffering.

"W-why..?"

A trembling voice came from the center of the group, it came from Lefiya, who was protected in the middle by Shirou, Alicia, and Ryuu.

"Why did you have to kill them?" Lefiya asked in disbelief.

"They smelled off,"answered Alicia, a seasoned adventurer and the second-in-command of Loki Familia's Fairy Force.

"Their reactions were strange," replied Shirou, someone who had survived a post-apocalyptic world.

"They were suspicious," added Ryuu, the infamous wanted criminal and reaper of Evilus, also known as [Gale].

"I spent some time as a hunter in my homeland, so I'm sensitive to the scent of 'blood.' They probably had chunks of fresh bloody meat on them—the kind of stench that attracts monsters," explained Alicia.

"When they encountered high-level adventurers, their first reaction wasn't relief at surviving, but anger at their failed scheme and the guilty fear of being caught," Shirou continued, projecting two swords into his hands. "Honestly, their malicious intent was obvious from the beginning."

"Not to mention, there's definitely more than just blood on them. They have the smell of alcohol and herbs meant to attract monsters," Ryuu said coldly. "I've seen people like these before. They're adventurers from the Soma Familia."

"The Soma Familia may not be part of Evilus, but they're not much better," she added.

Ryuu, a true expert when it came to dealing with Evilus, was all too familiar with the Soma Familia. 

They were led by the god Soma, a god obsessed with making wine and who cares little for managing his Familia. True to their god's authority, the members of the Soma Familia were a bunch of drunk alcoholics.

Since Soma himself doesn't handle the Familia's affairs, the real leader is their captain, the Level 2 adventurer Zanis Lustra. Under his leadership, the Soma Familia has grown in size to be one of the more prominent Familia in Orario. However, aside from Zanis and another Level 2 adventurer, the rest of the Familia consists entirely of Low Class Level 1 adventurers—almost all of whom are despicable alcoholics and scoundrels.

Although the Soma Familia is recognized by the Guild as a legitimate Familia, their reputation in Orario is among the worst, known for being a den of petty thieves, crooked merchants, and thugs, having the highest number of criminals compared to other Familias.

However, even during the peak of Evilus, the Soma Familia never openly joined the dark factions. Plus, due to the profits they earn from selling wines, they always paid a ton of tax money to the Guild, so their legal status as a legitimate Familia was never revoked.

However, from Ryuu's perspective, aside from the fact that Soma is not an evil god, the only other reason why the Soma Familia didn't joined Evilus was because, they were deemed not worthy. 

The core members of Evilus consisted of doomsday cults or, at the very least, high-level terrorists. The lowly drunks and thugs of the pathetic Soma Familia would have done nothing but bring down their status. 

With only two Level 2 members and the rest being weak Level 1 adventurers, even agricultural and fishing Familias, like the Demeter and Njord Familias, would seem stronger in comparison. The dark factions would have been insane to invite them to join.

During the chaotic period in Orario, whether intentionally or not, the Soma Familia was frequently "robbed" by the Evilus. Their stores of fine wine were often seized and sold outside the city, they often found themselves "unintentionally" providing financial support to the dark factions.

Ryuu didn't wiped out the Soma Familia for two reasons: first, despite their bad reputation, there was no concrete evidence that they had committed any major atrocities, second and most importantly, they were simply too weak to be worth the effort, she had bigger priorities at hand.

Still, she hadn't expected the Soma Familia to stoop to such low tactics in the dungeon, nor for them to accidentally run into her. 

Before she could act, though, her fellow elf Alicia and the young Shirou had beaten her to it.

Alicia, was a fellow elf who had also experienced the dark age, Ryuu had once witnessed her, covered in blood, fighting fiercely in a stronghold of Evilus.

Among the elves in Orario, rumors circulated about Alicia's controversial decisions during the "Great Feud." 

Rumors has it that as the second-in-command of the Loki Familia's Fairy Force, Alicia had made many controversial decisions behind Lady Riveria's back. 

For example, she allegedly ignored hostages used as bait and organized mages to bombard the traps and ambushes set by the dark factions.

Whether these stories were true or not was difficult to verify. Regardless, Alicia's resolve as an adventurer was beyond question.

In contrast, it was Shirou's decisiveness that truly caught Ryuu off guard. His ruthlessness surpassed her expectations, and it made her feel both worried and sympathetic.

"Shirou, is it because of your past that you've developed such resolve?" Ryuu couldn't forget how she had once rescued this boy from the clutches of Evilus.

Given their ages, it was much more normal that the young elf girl called Lefiya, reacted the way she did.

"Why…why did you kill them?" Lefiya asked, her eyes widden in disbelief as she looked at Shirou and Alicia. "Even though they brought the monsters, they didn't pose a real threat to us…."

"More monsters are coming—now is not the time for chit chat." Alicia cut her off short. "Either hide or pick up your staff and fight." 

She gave Lefiya a calm look, yet it was somehow far more intimidating than when Lefiya had teased about her age earlier.

"In this situation, how could I possibly have the will to fight?" 

Lefiya thought, though she didn't dare voice it.

The gentle elf sister she was used to had suddenly disappeared, becoming very stern, the drastic shift in attitude left Lefiya feeling bewildered and lost.

"Shirou-kun, do you want to take care of these monsters by yourself or do you need my help?" Alicia's tone softened when speaking to Shirou, even though she had just met him today.

"I'll take care of them, a group of monsters like this is a rare opportunity to gain some valuable 'experience points'. Alicia-senpai, could I trouble you to protect me?" Shirou responded.

The female elf nodded. "No problem, Shirou-kun. You can also call me Alicia-onee-chan from now on."

"Then I'll be counting on you, Alicia-onee-chan. Trace, on." With that, Shirou dashed toward the approaching monster horde, projecting two swords on his way.

Meanwhile, Alicia glanced back at Lefiya and sighed. "If you feel like throwing up, just let it out."

Lefiya hadn't fully processed what she was feeling until Alicia spoke. She had only felt a vague discomfort in her stomach. But after hearing Alicia's words, a wave of nausea and dizziness surged up, overwhelming her.

"Bruuu…"

Alicia stood at the front, with Ryuu at the back, the two seasoned elves—who had both survived the dark age of Orario—stood in silent as the young inexperienced elf girl fell to her knees and vomited. 

All they did was remained close by her side, protecting her, while their eyes stayed fixed on the boy charging toward the hordes of monsters ahead.