Chapter 8: Desperate Alliance

I'm sorry for the delay in updating a new chapter, but I've been busy with university studies and other things. I hope you like it, I didn't think the chapter was going to be so long, so here it is. With images included. A quick warning this chapter may have descriptions of gore and blood.

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I was once again in the dungeon; three days had passed since my encounter with the girls and the guy, Jake. My Excelia had increased since then, and I had ventured much deeper into the dungeon. However, the deeper I went, the more aggressive the monsters became as they tried to kill me. At this moment, I found myself on the ninth floor, dodging the sharp tongues of the Needle Rabbit monster, which Sophie, now my advisor, had warned me about.

My body had become much faster as I gained more points, so despite being overwhelmed by more monsters than on the earlier floors, I could move much more agilely. I tried not to use my gravity magic for two reasons. Firstly, I didn't want to waste too much of my AGONY, as depleting it would force me to use my Remnant as a backup. While I currently generated more AGONY than I spent, the deeper I went, the more AGONY I would consume, to the point where it exceeded my generation rate.

The second reason was that I didn't want to become reliant on it, especially since this energy was corrupt and evil. If I continued to use the gravity ability, it would make it difficult to increase my other statistics.

I leaped backward to avoid an attack from a War Shadow, but I wasn't agile enough to evade it completely, and it cut my shoulder. I glanced at the blood oozing from the wound but chose to ignore it as I barely dodged another monster's attack.

"Tch," I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I didn't have trouble with the monsters on this floor; the problem was their sheer numbers, as they tried to overwhelm me. However, I didn't want to dwell on it too much as I killed the War Shadow with a single blow and leaped back to avoid another tongue attack. Then, I turned and decapitated the Killer Ant that was about to attack me.

If I didn't finish these monsters off soon, they could become a problem not just for me but also for others who might be in danger because of me. I didn't want that to become a reality, especially considering my luck; someone might come along and die due to the monsters because of me.

So, I was going to end it all right now. My eyes gleamed, reflecting the malicious purple in the cave's well-structured area. The monsters tensed and growled with barely contained rage before pouncing on me.

It did them no good. I activated my Gravity ability, using a significant amount of AGONY, causing all the monsters around me to be affected. There was a sickening crunch of broken bones as they turned to dust.

I gasped to catch my breath after the exertion of using AGONY. I wiped the sweat from my forehead with my forearm before scanning my surroundings, my guard still up and my muscles tense. I sighed with relief when I saw that no more monsters were generating, and there were no survivors left.

You would think that wielding spiritual energy in your phantom body wouldn't be very taxing, but the reality was quite the opposite. AGONY, being a corrupt and malevolent energy, weighed on your body because it tried to corrupt you every time you used it. The more you used it, the harder it became to reject those negative feelings that wanted to overwhelm and control you, relying solely on the determination of your SOUL and the strength of your Remnant.

Another thing to consider was that once you exhausted your AGONY, you had to use your Remnant to keep moving. The less Remnant you had, the less self-aware you became, so to replenish lost Remnant, you had to wander and collect more from the imprints left on the world. Fortunately, this world seemed to have an abundance of Remnant, especially in the dungeon, so I didn't have to worry too much.

And the more killings I committed, the more remnants I would have for fuel. It might sound cruel on my part, but there was nothing I could do about it, and at least I was using that fuel to help more people.

I shook my head, letting go of thoughts that weren't essential at the moment. Besides, I had to stay alert because I was still in the dungeon, and it seemed determined to kill me.

I didn't know how long I had been in the dungeon, but I only had one sword left out of the five I had bought, and my Valis bags were full. So, staying in the dungeon didn't make much sense beyond gaining more Excelia. It would be better to start withdrawing.

Moreover, I didn't want to keep worrying Sophie or the goddess. So, it was better to leave the dungeon. I was going to end the day as another productive one in the dungeon, and although I wanted to find a clue about this Evilus person, it would be better if I became strong enough to fight him first. However, I would always fight them if the need arose.

While I was heading back to the surface, just as I reached the seventh floor after killing several more monsters that had tried to kill me again, it seemed that something was wrong.

Not like the feeling that something bad was going to happen to me, but it seemed that something bad was happening to someone else. It almost reminded me of that time when I went after Marylin Schmidt, and we ended up in that abandoned factory where we had to fight two AGONY-filled ghosts.

Following my instincts, which had never failed me, I began to run, extending my spiritual senses to feel the negative emotions of anyone on this floor. I couldn't call myself empathic because I could only sense negative emotions and only when I concentrated and expanded my negative feelings to find others, which took a great effort on my part. However now that I noticed, the tension was back to what it was before I received my Status and increased my Excelia abilities.

Each time I was amazed by the significant advantages Excelia had brought to my body and SOUL. However, getting used to the power I generated every time I gained large amounts of Excelia had left me a little bewildered. My mind had become accustomed to my previous body's great fragility, but now I was much stronger than any civilian or athletic person in my old world.

Which was no small feat. Unfortunately, the habits of my old body had come with me, such as running. I knew I was healthy and could run normally, but my mind had been so used to running

strangely to endure my corpse's fragility that I couldn't help but run that way.

It was strange and amusing for spectators, but there was little I could do about it. Patience was the only thing left for my body to get used to being healthy again. However, I still had doubts about whether my body was that of a human being or just the projection of a very realistic and detailed human-like spirit body.

Once I sensed the negative emotions emanating from someone, especially fear and desperation, I wasted no time. I released my weight from my entire body and leaped off a wall, pushing myself with all my might toward the person who was experiencing great distress.

It didn't take me long to locate the person. She was a long-haired blue-haired girl who was fighting for her life against a bunch of Killer Ant and it seemed they were starting to overwhelm her too much.

I bent down and twisted my body, drawing the spare sword that I had, before decapitating a Killer Ant that was about to approach her. I landed on my feet with my back to her and quickly began to kill several monsters while assisting her.

Her green eyes looked at me with surprise and relief; she seemed about to speak to me but had to stop when another ant tried to pierce her, so she had to defend herself to prevent it from harming her body.

I don't know how long we were killing ants and other monsters that were with them, but it took us several minutes, and on some occasions, I had to save the girl from some attacks she couldn't dodge, injuring myself in the process. There came a point where my sword broke, and I had to use my gravity ability.

Once we finished murdering all the monsters trying to kill us (although I was more concerned about her life than mine), I looked at my broken sword in disgust. "Bloody hell, these swords break easily," I sighed before tossing it to the ground, not caring what the girl might think. It was pointless to keep carrying it, and I didn't believe anyone would be bothered by littering in the dungeon.

"Thank Kami," the girl said aloud with a sigh of relief, snapping me out of my thoughts. Both of us turned to look into each other's eyes (even if she was wearing a mask). "Thank you for helping me. If it weren't for you, I probably would have died," she smiled at me and approached before bowing to me.

I smiled reassuringly, even though she wouldn't see it, before saying, "Don't worry; I'm glad I arrived in time," I told her, and a part of me felt relieved for that. The darker part of my mind told me it was just luck and reminded me of how I couldn't save all those victims William murdered.

After a few seconds, the girl's eyes lit up as she remembered something and pointed at me. "Ahhh, you're the one from the rumors, the strange guy with the mask."

(Image)

Sweat trickled down my forehead, and I raised an eyebrow, looking at the girl expressionlessly. "I hope these rumors are good," I commented, a headache forming near my forehead. I just hoped it wasn't another ridiculous rumor like the Purple Zombie or Anomaly.

"Ehh. Hehehe," she nervously laughed, avoiding eye contact with me. "The guy with the mask, the crazy one who fights a bunch of monsters and has a death wish. It's pretty scary when he always comes out covered in blood. A crazy suicidal bastard. Haaa." She began to panic and wave her hands. "But I don't think that way; those rumors must be false, I mean..." She looked me up and down. "...I don't think you're that bad. Hehehe." Her voice trailed off as my gaze became more penetrating.

"Haaa." I let out a deep sigh before shaking my head. From a stranger's perspective, I suppose it makes sense to label me as such. They're not entirely wrong about the suicidal tendencies. Well, maybe I can't die per se, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of death or that I prioritize my well-being over others. In extreme cases, I've even sacrificed myself, like I did in Pizza Simulator. (Even if the sacrifice wasn't necessary, it showed how far I was willing to go.)

"It doesn't matter. You can call me Mike Schmidt." To put the girl at ease, I removed my mask, revealing my face, my eyes studying her more closely.

"Oh, pleased to meet you, Mike. My name is Maris Hackard," she smiled at me. "And thanks again for saving my life."

"As I said, it's alright." I gave her a half-smile, then looked around. "Have you been alone all this time, or...?" I didn't finish, hoping she would understand.

To my relief, she did. "Oh, yes, I've been solo diving since I arrived in Orario. No one wants to team up with me, you know? Well, there are people, but they give me a bad vibe, and I'd rather take the risk alone than trust a stranger who seems to have bad intentions or simply doesn't value me just because I'm not high-level." She frowned. "These days it's very hard to find honest people among adventurers, and the ones who are honest don't accept you because of the distrust that exists, and they prefer to keep it within their Familias." She clenched her fists in anger.

"I see..." That's a serious problem, especially with the state of Orario and Evilus lurking around the city. I could understand how difficult it would be to find someone trustworthy. Even so, after what just happened, she wouldn't hesitate much. "...I think you should try to find someone trustworthy again. It's dangerous to be alone, especially with Evilus around."

"Do you think I don't know that?" She snapped, frustrated. She looked ahead at the magical stones on the ground before giving me a sidelong glance. "I know the danger, but I want to become strong. I need to become strong." She looked at me with a determined gaze that surprised me before smirking cunningly. "Besides, I could say the same to you. I don't see anyone around you."

I sighed. "I'm not worried about monsters killing me. I think I'm strong enough for these floors, at least. Not to mention, the monsters have zero intelligence, so it's very unlikely they'll kill me. If not impossible." What I said wasn't an exaggeration; these monsters weren't something to worry about. What made me nervous and paranoid was Evilus' cult ambushing me. Even then, I doubted those idiots could kill me.

"It's not that I mind dying," I was honestly tired of living, but I couldn't rest until I made sure all these people weren't afraid of Evilus and made sure my father wasn't in this world. Now that I think about it, it makes me wonder if the other souls in Pizza Simulator made it to Gekai with me, only to be separated.

"What?" The girl blurted out, snapping me out of my thoughts and making me look at her, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Is something wrong?" I asked curiously, looking at her. She opened her mouth as if to say something; I could see she was nervously biting her lip before shaking her head. Whatever it was she had thought, it seemed she had dismissed it.

Then I was surprised when her eyes lit up, and she gently slapped her palm with her other hand in a fist. "Let's be partners, you and me. I'm sure we'll make a great team."

I stared at her for a few seconds before looking away from her. "I don't think so. I work better alone. Not to offend you, but I think you'll only slow me down."

I said bluntly and straightforwardly. It was better if she wasn't with me. Given my track record, she'd most likely end up dead because of me. They tend to die because of me. I preferred not to have more guilt and burden than I already had, even if I sounded a bit cold.

"Ahh, well, can't say I didn't try," she shrugged and gave me a pitiful look, even though I didn't understand why. "I still believe we'd make a good team, though. So I won't give up on this." She gave me a mischievous smile before shaking her head. "Anyway, I think we should collect the magical stones from the monsters. We don't want an Irregular to spawn because of them."

"I can't carry any more stones because my bag is full. You can collect them if you want. And don't worry; pretend I'm helping you collect them. Between the two of us, it'll be much faster, and we can avoid being surprised by monsters again."

She gave me a thumbs up. "You got it, Mike. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

I sighed; she was so stubborn, she was sure to give me headaches. "You don't have to thank me for anything. I did it because I felt like helping." And to keep the guilt of my past actions and sins from piling up.

"Nah. I'm going to reward you for this." She put her hands behind her back and looked at me, smiling and winking at me.

I just sighed before putting the mask back on my face. "Alright, let's get to work and finish this quickly because, honestly, I'm tired, and I want to get out of here," I commented before starting to help collect the magical stones and store them in a bag that Maris gave me.

We spent quite a while picking up the stones from the ground and extracting them from the monsters' corpses before they disappeared in a puff of smoke, completely disintegrating. That still puzzled me, but I didn't attach much importance to it.

As we were collecting, my senses started going haywire. Not like the previous feeling, where I sensed the danger wasn't for me, but for someone else. This sensation felt different, almost like the feeling I got when Experiment 1006 tried to trap all of us fighting against him.

I stopped picking up the magical stones, and at the same time, my muscles tensed, and my eyes scanned our surroundings attentively. Did the dungeon want to act against us again? Or was it something else? I didn't know, but it was better to be on guard.

"Eh? Mike. Is something wrong?" Maris stopped when she noticed something was amiss with me. I didn't pay her any attention and walked a few paces forward, tilting my head, and concentrating on what was about to come down that corridor.

"Hmm," Maris looked to where I was staring, realizing what was happening, and began drawing her sword as her muscles tensed.

"This way," a male voice called out, and then several people (all of them men) emerged from the corridor we were observing. This took both Mary and me by surprise.

Before we knew what was happening, the men passed us. One of them pushed me, and as they moved farther away from us, we noticed a large number of monsters following them.

"They've just thrown us a parade pass," she exclaimed.

My eyes widened in surprise and indignation. I briefly looked back and noticed the man staring at me with an evil grin. I recognized him, and anger coursed through me. He was the same man who tried to harm Jake.

I didn't have a chance because a War Shadow lunged at me, trying to impale me with its body. I didn't notice it until my instincts kicked in, causing me to reflexively dodge.

My eyes turned to my companion Maris, who was defending herself against a Killer Ant trying to pierce her. My heart started pounding with fear when I saw the large number of monsters. I wasn't afraid for myself; I was afraid for her.

I tried to use my gravity power to kill all the monsters near me but not those near her. I couldn't differentiate between her essence and the monsters', and if I used my power on everyone, I risked breaking her bones or worse, given my luck.

All the monsters around me disintegrated completely, and when I was about to approach to help her, a War Shadow struck me forcefully, making my eyes widen in surprise and forcing me to step back a great distance.

What?

My hand went to where the monster had hit me, and I saw a deep diagonal cut on my abdomen. Blood dripped onto the floor and stained my hand. Incredulity swept over my body.

How did I not notice this monster approaching me so quickly? How did it surpass the speed of my instinct's reaction time? The only way to explain it is that the monster was stronger than usual.

An abnormal monster.

One like this couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere. There had to be a process behind this. Was it the guy who fed the monster magical stones? Or did the dungeon have something to do with it, and we just had the bad luck of encountering one in the parade?

I gritted my teeth as I barely dodged several attacks and, as I was about to use the gravity ability, I felt danger behind me. I was forced to dodge a bunch of tongues from a Frog Shooter trying to impale me from behind.

I couldn't avoid them all as the War Shadow tried to impale me in the direction I dodged most of the tongues, which hindered my mobility. I dodged the War Shadow's attack, but I felt several monsters closing in around me.

I saw a large horde of Killer Ants approaching with bloodthirsty intent, attempting to corner me. But I lightened the load on my body and jumped super high. I did a complete flip and put my feet on the ceiling before looking at all the monsters surrounding me.

"Agh!" Maris cried out in pain as one of the ants impaled her abdomen. I could see her trying to defend herself, but she was quickly overwhelmed by the ants. In a quick thought, I deactivated gravity for all the bodies around me.

All the bodies began to levitate, causing the overwhelming attacks of the Killer Ants to stop, but that meant I left her defenseless against other ranged attacks since she also lost all sense of balance and spatial awareness.

At least the danger from other attacks was much better than being eaten by the ants. My body began to shake from the strain of modifying the gravity of too many bodies in an instant. I could feel tears of AGONY running down my face.

I winced due to the corrupt energy tension coursing through my body, but I ignored it and focused on saving Maris. I pushed with all my strength and propelled myself toward her. Once I was close, I grabbed her waist and carried her as far away from the monsters as I could before only deactivating gravity for the two of us.

"Eep," she cried out and then grimaced in pain from the way I grabbed her.

My knees buckled as I landed on the ground, with Maris in my arms bridal-style. I winced as I almost lost my balance due to the tension running through all my muscles trying to withstand the corrupt energy in my body.

"Are you okay? How bad is your injury?" I asked with concern.

Maris's cheeks turned pink before she nodded with relief. "I'm fine. One of the ants injured my abdomen, but it wasn't too serious. With a healing potion, I can recover."

I sighed in relief before setting her on the ground, making her stand up immediately and take out a vial from her bag before she drank it. While she did that, I stopped using anti-gravity on the monsters because I was overexerting myself and preferred to take a break for a few moments rather than lose control or hurt myself.

The thought of running crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. I couldn't leave this monster parade, or other people would die. Rage filled me as I remembered the one responsible for all this mess.

When I get my hands on that bastard, he's going to regret it dearly.

I clenched my fist, trying to calm the anger and the tremors in my body. I looked at Maris before making a decision. "Go on; I'll deal with all these monsters."

She looked at me surprised. "What? No! I'm not leaving you alone against this whole party. Are you crazy?" She frowned at me before giving me a determined look. "We'll both deal with all these monsters."

My teeth clenched in frustration at her stubbornness as we watched the monsters charging towards us. "No. Go. I can handle this on my own; there are too many, and you'll be overwhelmed again. I have my gravity power to defend myself, and because you're close, I can't use my full potential for fear of hurting you."

"Eh?" She was surprised by what I said before gripping the sword's hilt so hard that I noticed her hands turning white. "Even so, I can't leave you alone. What if you fall into Mind Down? I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you and you died."

"Stop being stubborn; I promise I won't die," I said before pointing the palm of my hand toward the monsters and activating my gravity power. A repugnant snap later, and several monsters turned into dust. I gave her a smug smile. Seeing her look of doubt, I quickly removed my mask and showed it to her, surprising her. "This mask is very important to me, so I'll retrieve it, and it will serve as a promise that I'll see you again."

She looked at the mask before releasing a resigned sigh and grabbing it. "Fine," she pouted. "But you'd better not die and keep your promise, or I won't forgive you, understood?"

I just nodded, relieved that she was listening to me and getting to safety. As she began to move away, I could see the monsters about to reach us, and I prepared for the slaughter that was about to happen.

.

.

.

I panted when I finished killing the entire monster party that bastard had thrown at us in an attempt to kill us. It didn't work since now all the monsters were dead by my hand.

Speaking of my hand, I looked at my left arm, which had been severed, leaving a large stump that oozed black blood. I grimaced in pain. It hurt too much, but I couldn't ignore it. This pain was nothing compared to the Scooper.

I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart and focused on regeneration, speeding up the growth of my arm. I looked around with a furrowed brow, even though I had finished off everything, something still felt wrong.

I thought about what could be wrong in this situation, my eyes scanning the corridors of the 7th-floor dungeon. My heart, which had almost relaxed, suddenly started pounding again as I desperately tried to figure out what was missing, what didn't fit.

Now that I thought about it, where was the irregular monster? It hadn't attacked me again after cutting part of my chest. My eyes scanned the room, trying to find the monster, but I couldn't find it, and I got a bad feeling in my chest.

It almost felt like...

My eyes widened the moment I thought of the blue-haired girl I had met recently.

Without any hesitation, I began to run in the direction she had gone, killing monsters on the 7th floor with a desperate need, but I couldn't find her, so I quickly went down to the 6th floor.

I searched for a few minutes before I finally felt a signature on my spiritual sense, but I also felt something that disturbed me. I sensed a non-living matter collapsed on the ground near the living signature.

A knot formed in my stomach, and I started accelerating to get there much faster. I turned down one of the corridors to stand in front of both matters—the living and the non-living.

My eyes widened in horror and disbelief.

(Image)

It was the War Shadow and underneath it. I could see that a good portion of her abdomen was missing, a large diagonal cut starting from where the sternum one to the ribs above her diaphragm and ending up to where her left shoulder passed right where the heart is located.

A large stream of blood was splattered across the floor and the white mask I had given him as a promise was a couple of feet away on the floor, the pure white now stained a dark red.

Her body was pale and I could perfectly see part of her ribs sticking out of the girl's body. The green eyes that once shone with hope, joy, and determination were empty and devoid of any emotion that represented the girl and the only thing they expressed was the horror and fear before she died.

I could only stand in shock looking at the scene for a few seconds while my brain was processing the reality of the situation. Not being able to believe that this girl had died. Even if I met her a few minutes ago, I had hoped that she could live, but my orders only resulted in her death.

If she had stayed to help me, would she have been alive? If I didn't tell her to leave, would she have a better chance of survival? Was I a fool to think she would be safe if she was away from me?

You only put her in more danger, you abandoned her to her fate whispered a dark voice in my head.

You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her. You killed her.

When the War Shadow monster locked eyes with me, it shot me a mocking, scornful gaze.

I saw red. Primitive anger and rage coursed through my veins and my entire body. Without me even noticing, the whites of my eyes changed to a deep black, like a void, and my pupils contracted to a small purple dot. These eyes began to exude an intense thirst for blood, and my body started emitting a substantial amount of dark, corrupt energy that would send even the gods trembling in fear.

The War Shadow attempted to attack me, trying to match the primal rage I was emanating, but it only got halfway before the monster's gravitational force increased by 50 times its weight. It struck the ground with immense force, shattering it and creating a crater. The monster couldn't contend with my gravity manipulation ability and disintegrated within seconds.

I stood there, gazing at the spot where the monster had met its end for a considerable while, wearing an empty expression, unmoving. Before my eyes shifted towards the girl, once joyful but now lifeless. I approached slowly, my steps leaving dark stains in the blood that now covered the floor. This time, the blood wasn't mine or the monsters'.

I didn't know what to say in the face of this. I couldn't even shed tears or try to feel anything for her. All I felt was the hatred for myself growing due to my ineffectiveness once again.

I crouched down and retrieved my blood-soaked mask before placing it around my head without covering my face, heedless of my hair and face becoming even more stained with blood. I gazed into her vacant eyes once more before letting out a sigh and preparing for what I was about to do.

"Your soul is mine. My soul is yours..." I uttered as I raised one of my arms and positioned it over her sternum, just below her breasts. As I did so, I began to feel a chill running through my entire body.

"Let the hate flow from your body, let the sadness out your body..." I could feel my AGONY within me beginning to churn as if it were preparing for something significant, something I was sure I wouldn't like at all.

"Rise and cause grief to the people who tormented you. Remnant!!"

A heartbeat resounded strongly throughout my entire skull. Before my entire body began to emit a sort of light, I experienced excruciating pain as something was forcibly expelled from my body. I saw a sphere of light, purple with a whitish hue, projecting from my body and hovering over Maris' lifeless form. I was confused for a few moments before my AGONY screamed in terror.

And then, it occurred.

The most unbearable pain I had ever experienced washed over me. It was so intense that I even compared it to the Scooper and thought that the pain in these moments was much more agonizing than having all my organs removed.

The purple sphere shattered into pieces, with one of those pieces forcibly entering Maris' body. As I let out a sound of AGONY, Maris' body began to heal at a remarkable speed, even faster than I could achieve.

I could feel as if every part of my body was being torn to shreds, a pain so sharp and unbearable that my vision blurred, slowly losing consciousness. The last thing I saw before blacking out was Maris gasping, her eyes glowing in an otherworldly manner.

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By the way for those who don't know. Maris Hackard is not an OC created by me. She is an existing character from Danmachi, who was the first adventurer of Eina before dying against a child dragon (it is not explained how she got to that situation, nor how she died. Only that she is killed by that child dragon). And because of that reason, Eina cut her hair short and left it short. The only difference with the canon is that Maris is born years before Eina becomes a member of the Guild. So in this story, she doesn't know Eina, she has another guardian, and yes. She also fought with that guardian, but they became friends although she still causes headaches to the guardian.