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The air was thick on the deeper floors—dense, damp, and humid. Floor Eight was already leagues more dangerous than anything above it. The walls wept moisture, and the faint smell of blood clung to the stone like a shadow that wouldn't fade.
Ethan moved ahead, calm but alert. His new armor, forged light and tight around his limbs, shifted with his steps. At his side, Lili walked close, her crossbow slung tight and her backpack already carrying a modest pile of loot from the earlier floors.
They weren't talking. Not out of fear—just focus.
The deeper they went, the more serious everything became.
A growl echoed ahead. Something slithering through the mist-covered stones.
Ethan raised his hand slightly. Lili nodded and crouched, loading her crossbow silently.
When the monster lunged—an armored lizard the size of a wolf—Ethan stepped forward like water slipping through cracks. One smooth, fluid motion.
His blade sang.
Steel met scale. The monster fell in two halves.
"Clear," he said, wiping his sword.
Lili stood, lowering her weapon. Her heartbeat slowed again.
"…You're different now," she said quietly, her voice steady.
"Yeah?" he asked without turning.
"You move like you're not just surviving anymore. Like you belong here."
He paused, glanced over his shoulder with a faint grin. "That's the goal, isn't it?"
She smiled slightly, but her thoughts drifted deeper. Watching Ethan—so quiet, so focused, so determined—it stirred something in her chest.
This wasn't just a party.
This wasn't like her time with Soma Familia, where her value began and ended with how much she could carry, or how fast she could obey.
With Ethan, it felt like something else entirely.
A warmth.
A home.
She glanced down at her gloved hands and tightened them around the crossbow grip.
Hestia Familia...
She had scoffed at it when she first heard the name. A no-name Familia with a single adventurer and a forgotten goddess. But now...
Now it was the first place where she didn't feel like a tool.
They'd shared food. Laughed. Even rebuilt a crumbling church together.
She remembered how Hestia had looked at her suspiciously the first day. Those skeptical blue eyes—protective, not cruel. Lili hadn't blamed her. But over time, those glances had softened. Little by little, day by day, wall by wall.
Lili never had a big sister, but if she did… she thought maybe it would feel something like that.
"Another one," Ethan said, pulling her from her thoughts.
Two frog shooters emerged from the shadows—monstrous frog-like creatures that leapt faster than a sprinting human and struck like battering rams.
"Stay back," Ethan said, stepping forward.
But Lili raised her crossbow anyway. "I got the one on the right."
He didn't argue. That was new too.
Ethan dashed forward. The left frog opened its maw and let out a guttural roar. It was fast—very fast—but Ethan was faster.
The moment the frog leapt, Ethan met it mid-air, his sword flashing upward. It didn't land.
Thwip—! Lili's bolt hit true, catching the other square in the eye. It fell with a loud thud, twitched once, then went still.
Ethan turned, eyebrows raised.
"Nice shot."
Lili grinned. "I practice."
They moved forward again, slower this time, careful not to draw attention from larger beasts. The deeper floors had a way of punishing arrogance.
They reached a quiet, wide corridor—likely a monster spawn zone. But for now, it was empty.
Ethan let out a breath and sheathed his sword. "We'll rest here. Ten minutes."
Lili slumped to the ground with a soft groan. "Thank you, gods."
He sat next to her, letting the silence of the dungeon wrap around them like a cold blanket.
Lili looked up at the cracked ceiling. Her voice came soft.
"…You know, Ethan."
"Yeah?"
"…I've worked with a lot of adventurers. Strong ones. Smart ones. Greedy ones. But none of them ever treated me like you do."
Ethan didn't respond right away. He just looked over at her—really looked—and nodded.
"I'm not like them," he said.
"No," she agreed. "You're not."
There was something steady in his voice. Something solid. She felt it every time he looked at her and didn't see a tool or a pawn—just a person.
A companion.
Family.
For a long while, they didn't say anything. They just sat there, breathing in the silence of the dungeon, surrounded by monsters and death and stone—and somehow, for once, Lili felt safe.
She smiled to herself.
This… this is what I've always wanted.
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