Dawn on the eighteenth floor was a surreal painting, with the light from the crystals on the ceiling casting a glow that imitated a soft, eternal sunrise. Hachiman awoke in the guest tent of the Loki Familia camp, feeling completely recovered. The night's sleep and his Level 2 vitality had swept away any trace of exhaustion and the wounds from the battle on the 17th floor. His mind, as always, was analyzing and preparing. Upon emerging from the tent, he found some of the Loki Familia bigwigs already up. Tiona greeted him with a wave so vigorous it almost dislocated her own shoulder, while Finn and Riveria, more restrained, were having breakfast near a quietly crackling campfire.
"Hachiman-san, good morning! Join us," Finn invited with that smile of his that could be both friendly and calculating, indicating an empty space.
Hachiman accepted, settling in. As they chewed on a simple but surprisingly nutritious meal by Dungeon standards, Finn got straight to the point, his sharp blue eyes fixed on Hachiman. "That black claw of yours from that day, Hachiman-san... despite the weird color and strange energy, the structure was very reminiscent of a Wyvern. That's what you ran into on the deeper floors, wasn't it?"
Hachiman, remembering that the perceptive Tione had already called this out the day before in Rivira, just gave a slight nod. "That's right. An irregular variant I bumped into on the twelfth floor. And before that, the red and black Minotaur on the same floor, which, unfortunately for me, decided to come up."
"Remarkable," commented Finn, a thoughtful glint in his eyes. "Taking down a variant Wyvern, which in its common form is already very strong for a level 2, and managing to defeat it at level 1... Your strength as a Level 1 was, at the very least, intriguing. And as I said, the doors of the Loki Familia remain open, should you change your mind."
"I appreciate it, Captain Finn, but, as I mentioned, I'm fine where I am," Hachiman replied with his usual lack of enthusiasm, the refusal polite but definitive.
Riveria, who until then had been sipping her tea in silence, interjected, a spark of genuine curiosity flickering in her emerald eyes. "Hachiman-san, forgive my indiscretion, but a mage's curiosity is a stubborn beast. What kind of magic do you use? It's... unusual for an adventurer, especially at level 1, to deal with monsters of that class with such... efficiency, as we saw the Wyvern spoils suggest. Unless there's something special in your magical arsenal."
Hachiman knew she was sniffing around about his projections or, at the very least, wanting a glimpse of his true power. Revealing the nature of Unlimited Blade Works was out of the question. He simply raised his palm, concentrated a tiny amount of mana, forming a compact sphere of pure energy for a blink of an eye before dissipating it. "I have a magic that allows me to accumulate and discharge mana... efficiently," he said, the explanation deliberately vague.
Riveria narrowed her eyes. 'It's not that simple, boy,' she thought, but backed down. Before she could insist, other members of the Loki Familia began to join them for breakfast. Tsubaki also appeared, planting herself next to Hachiman with a morning smile and launching into an animated conversation about her wild plans for the day at the Rivira forge, effectively ending the subtle interrogation.
Later that morning, while Hachiman and Tsubaki were discussing the unique properties of the Wyvern Blade he had forged – and Tsubaki was trying to convince him to let her "just take a closer look" – a sudden commotion arose at the camp entrance. It was Aiz, Bell, Welf, and Lili, returning from a morning foray into the Dungeon. And they were all in tatters. Bell looked the worst of the group, pale as wax and leaning on Welf, who didn't look much better. Lili was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her eyes wide with worry. Aiz, always stoic, had a few scratches, but her expression was a thundercloud.
Hachiman watched them being rushed to the healing tents. 'So it begins,' he thought, a familiar knot forming in his stomach as he remembered the original plot. 'Bell's troubles in the Middle Floors. That means the Goliath incident shouldn't be long, maybe a day or two.' A pang of conflict hit him. The opportunity to farm an obscene amount of excelia was tempting. But the risk, the chance of messing up the timeline too much...
He spent the rest of the morning and a good part of the afternoon wandering around Rivira, his mind racing. He needed a plan. How to make the most of the Goliath situation without unnecessarily exposing himself or getting too involved in the "protagonist's" life? And, more importantly, how to prepare for a monster that was, at a minimum, Level 5? He needed to cool his head, think clearly.
He only returned to the Loki camp at dusk. Bell, Welf, and Lili were already on their feet, bandaged and looking a little less like ghosts, joining the others around a large bonfire where dinner bubbled in a cauldron. Hachiman took a seat next to Tsubaki, who handed him a steaming plate of stew with a knowing smile.
Tiona, with her energy that seemed powered by infinite mana, was in the middle of an animated interrogation of Bell about the fight that had almost sent them to kingdom come. "...and then the Ligerfang appeared OUT OF NOWHERE?! Wow! What terrible luck!" Upon seeing Hachiman, however, her gossip radar instantly changed targets. "Ah! Hachiman! Tell us more about your fight with the Wyvern! Did you use magic too? What was it like? Did it shine a lot?"
Aiz, who until then had been giving Bell silent, almost hypnotic attention, also turned her head towards Hachiman, her golden eyes shining with intense curiosity. Bell noticed the shift in the attention of the girl he idolized and a shadow of... jealousy? Insecurity? ...flitted across his face for a fleeting instant before he lowered his gaze to his own bowl.
In this relatively lively atmosphere, punctuated by Tiona's incessant questions and Aiz's speculative glances, a distant, sharp sound tore through the air, coming from the direction of the ramp connecting the eighteenth floor to the Dungeon entrance. A scream. A shrill, female scream. Hachiman registered it almost with boredom: 'Hestia.' Her voice was no surprise, given his premonitions about the unfolding of Bell's saga; he had sort of expected her intervention at some point. But then, another scream, overlapping the first, even more desperate, unbelievably familiar, made his blood turn to ice in his veins.
"Hachimaaaan! Helppp! I'm falliiiiing!"
Hachiman's pupil contracted violently. 'Aqua?! What the hell is SHE doing here?!' The surprise and genuine alarm were directed solely at the presence of his dungeon-inappropriate goddess.
Before anyone could even blink or process the shock on his face, he shot up, his plate of stew flying through the air, and bolted towards the Dungeon entrance like an arrow. Tsubaki and Tiona, catching the desperate urgency and the look of pure alarm on his face, got up and followed him on pure instinct. Bell, hearing Hestia's cry for help, also ran in that direction, with Aiz on his heels, agile as a shadow.
Arriving at the entrance ramp, Hachiman found pandemonium. Two goddesses, Hestia and Aqua, were tumbling awkwardly down the incline, a comical and desperate tangle of skirts and limbs, finally stopping in a confused heap at the foot of the ramp. There were other adventurers and gods with them – Hermes, with his irritatingly smug smile, Asfi, some members of the Takemikazuchi Familia looking like they'd rather be anywhere else, and Ryuu Lion. The latter's presence, though notable, didn't surprise him as much as Aqua's; he knew, from his memories of that other world, that Ryuu would have her own crucial role in the unfolding events.
Hestia, upon seeing Bell, disentangled herself from Aqua with the agility of a cat and threw herself at him, amidst tears and relief. Hachiman, however, solemnly ignored the divine-mortal reunion scene. He ran to Aqua, helping her up, his face a mask of genuine concern that quickly transformed into a cold fury.
"Aqua! What the hell are you doing in the Dungeon?! And with him?!" he growled, his voice low and dangerous, indicating Hermes with a sharp jerk of his head. He knew, with a visceral certainty, that the Dungeon hated gods, and their presence there, especially with Hermes in the middle of the mess, was a recipe for disaster.
Aqua, still groggy and with eyes wide with terror, began to explain between sniffles and sobs that barely allowed her to speak. "I-I found Hestia... she was so worried about Bell-kun... and she found out he had been... the victim of a setup! By the Takemikazuchi Familia! It seems they lured a bunch of monsters onto him to try and throw them off and save an injured member of theirs... and Bell was forced to go down to even more dangerous floors to escape!" She gasped for air. "Then, in the whole argument upstairs, between the Familias, Hermes-sama suggested everyone come together... him, the members of the Takemikazuchi Familia, and Ryuu-san... to rescue Bell... and a-and he convinced me to come too, said it would be an 'exciting adventure'..."
'Hermes... Takemikazuchi as a scapegoat... and he even dragged Aqua into this mess...' The information swirled in Hachiman's mind like poison. The manipulation was so obvious it was insulting. And Hermes, in his arrogance, had put Aqua in mortal danger.
An icy, crushing pressure began to emanate from Hachiman. A visible aura, a deep, turbulent amethyst hue, began to rise around him, rippling like the air above hot asphalt, but with a coldness that chilled to the soul. The primitive desire to protect Aqua, his only true family in this insane world, mixed with a glacial fury at Hermes' recklessness and blatant manipulation. His eyes, previously crimson in battle, now shone with this sinister amethyst light, like fragments of a dying star.
In the blink of an eye, before anyone could even react, he was in front of Hermes. His hand shot out like a viper, grabbing the Messenger God's neck and lifting him off the ground, Hermes' feet dangling pathetically in the air. Everyone – Asfi, Tsubaki, Tiona, Bell, Hestia, the Takemikazuchi members, even Aiz – froze, shock paralyzing their limbs in the face of the speed and pure murderous intent radiating from Hachiman. Asfi, captain of the Hermes Familia, reached for the hilt of her sword but hesitated, crushed by the pressure of Hachiman's aura and knowing, instinctively, that any rash move could cost her god his life.
"Dragon Slayer!" Asfi choked out, Hachiman's newly bestowed title sounding like a desperate warning, but he didn't avert his amethyst eyes from Hermes.
"I don't give a damn about your power games, Hermes," Hachiman's voice was a low growl, laden with a palpable threat. "But I'm going to make one thing very clear to you." He intensified the pressure, and Hermes began to choke, his face turning a purplish hue. "Anything abnormal that happens in this Dungeon from now on, any 'accident' or 'little surprise'... will fall directly on your account and your Familia's. And for your information, no god needed to come here to 'save' anyone." He brought his face close to Hermes', the amethyst glow in his eyes making the god, for the first time in centuries, taste the bitter tang of pure fear. "And if anything, anything at all, happens to Aqua because of your disgusting manipulations... even if that stupid rule says adventurers can't kill gods... I will personally rip your divine head from your neck. Am I clear?"
The threat was brutal, direct, and delivered with an icy conviction that left no room for doubt. In this moment of absolute tension, where the air seemed about to shatter, surprisingly, it was Ryuu Lion who moved. She approached slowly, hands raised in a placating gesture. With a courage few there would have possessed, she lightly touched Hachiman's hand that was strangling Hermes. A gesture she would have once abhorred making.
"Hachiman-san," she said, her voice surprisingly calm and firm, cutting through the tension like a blade. "Calm down. Don't do anything rash. He's not worth the trouble."
Hachiman fixed his gaze on Ryuu for an instant that felt like an eternity, the amethyst fury in his eyes still vibrating. Her intervention, so unexpected, the gentle touch on his hand... it was like a small crack in the wall of his anger. He looked back at Hermes, who was now a worryingly close shade of violet, and then, with a grunt of pure contempt, he threw the god towards Asfi, who caught him with difficulty, almost falling with him.
Without another word, Hachiman grabbed Aqua's arm with a firmness that brooked no refusal. "Let's go." And he began to pull her back towards the camp, leaving behind a group of shocked gods and adventurers, a terrified Hermes trying to catch his breath, and a Ryuu Lion with a thoughtful, indecipherable look.