| Synopsis |
Volume 4[]
Prologue[]
On the Orario city wall, Ais stated to herself that she might be sleepy, then went over the recent events to herself. She felt guilty for using Bell to find a way to become stronger, though she needed to in order to fulfill her earnest wish, however she would do whatever she could to help the boy reach his goal. She began contemplating on what to teach him, not really knowing what to do in the first place.
Prior Chapter[]
On the morning of his first day of training, Bell set out for the planned meeting place that Ais told him about at the Guild. On the way there, he bumped into Lefiya Viridis, who was also looking for her after seeing her sneak out the back of their Familia home. Lefiya asked Bell if he'd seen Ais to which he told her that he didn't. She thought that he was suspicious but he quickly took off. Lefiya had the higher level but Bell's speed didn't lose, allowing him to hide from Lefiya. Once he shook her off his trail he made his way to the meeting place.
Three hours later, Lefiya coincidentally spotted Ais helping Bell walk, causing her to be shocked. She questioned Ais about it that night, and upon learning that she was training the boy, the Elf had her promise to train her as well.
Five days before the expedition, Tiona asked Riveria what Lefiya was doing. Tione and Tiona were injured and bloody all over. She explained that they'd been fighting each other to train for the upcoming expedition, causing Riveria to sigh. Riveria didn't know anything about what Lefiya had been doing but told them to fix their appearance. Tiona didn't pay it any mind as they would train again later. Riveria forced Tione to sit down and started fixing her hair so that she would look good in front of Finn. Tione was surprised that a High Elf like Riveria would know how to fix hair, and she explained that she used to take care of Ais. Tiona became jealous, wanting to have her hair fixed next. As Riveria worked on Tione's hair, Tiona asked her about Ais's past, particularly about Aria. She reacted to Aria, stopping her hands to ask them where they heard it. Tiona informed her that Lefiya mentioned it earlier. Riveria finished fixing Tione's hair and told them that they should find answers on the 59th floor.
At the same time, Loki and Finn visited Hephaestus, meeting her in front of a workshop. Finn had asked Loki to send Hephaestus a request to borrow some smiths for the expedition. Hephaestus agreed and so the two met with her to discuss the request. As they entered, they heard the sound of a hammer hitting metal. Hephaestus explained that it was a smith she called for a meeting but was repeatedly told to wait as the smith was in the middle of working.
She led them to the forge where a female smith was busy making a magic sword. Hephaestus called out to Tsubaki to gain her attention. Tsubaki noticed them and joined the meeting, but not before asking Finn for a hug since she wanted human warmth after being alone, however he declined due to the fear of what would happen if Tione found out. Loki noticed the magic sword Tsubaki made while mentioning her alias. Tsubaki asked her to not mention her alias as she didn't like it since it sounded like a monster's name. She then tried to sexually harass Tsubaki by commenting on her well endowed breasts, though she countered by offering to give them to her as she thought of them as a bother.
Hephaestus offered to lend Loki around twenty smiths including Tsubaki. She agreed to come though she made sure to tell Loki and Finn to scold Bete later for his rudeness. Bete had come by after his Flosvirt was destroyed by Revis and ordered Tsubaki to fix it by the next expedition. Hephaestus asked if it was okay to not procure magic swords from the Hephaestus Familia but Loki mentioned that her prices were expensive, causing Hephaestus to offer a loan for her products. While on the topic of magic swords, Tsubaki was reminded of a fellow smith. She tried to tell them about him but Hephaestus stopped her. Tsubaki's expression became harsh and she commented that one had to use anything to reach the realm of the Gods. The four of them agreed to meet in front of Babel the day of the expedition and left.
On the fourth day of training, Bell asked Ais if he could train the entire time the following day as Lili would be busy. She also had Lefiya training that day but theorized that she could move it since they were in the same Familia. Related to that, she needed more time for Bell's training. She agreed to his request to train more the following day, and explained his request to Lefiya while apologizing.
Lefiya herself was in a bad mood because of the sudden change. She walked along the northern street while cursing Bell under her breath. At that moment Filvis called out to her and broke her out of her thoughts. Dionysus, who was with her, recognized Lefiya, offering to have tea together. She accepted their request and they headed to a cafe. Once there, Dionysus thanked Lefiya for saving Filvis' life during the battle on the 24th floor. He was interested in hearing a first hand account of what happened on the 24th floor. Lefiya ultimately decided that she could trust him and explained everything.
Once Dionysus heard her explanation, he shifted the topic to the Loki Familia's upcoming expedition. Dionysus revealed that Filvis was worried for her safety and always talked about her, causing Filvis to become embarrassed. He offered to lend Filvis for her training. Lefiya thanked him and the two left the cafe. However, the real reason that Dionysus had them leave was because Hermes had been watching them. Dionysus headed for an alleyway, meeting Hermes there. Dionysus was wary of Hermes, accusing him of not only abandoning Zeus but also becoming Ouranos' dog. He tried to pry into the connection between Hermes and Ouranos' but Hermes shrugged him off. Having had enough, Dionysus tried to leave, however Hermes baited him with wine, mentioning the possibility that he might let something slip after becoming drunk. He reminded Hermes that he was a stickler when it came to wine. Having reached an agreement, the two Gods left together.
Asfi and Lulune stood on the roof of a building above while watching Dionysus and Hermes talk. Lulune commented that both of them were most likely black hearted inside. She then asked Asfi if she could leave but she rejected her request. The two silently followed the Gods as they left.
Freya, watching Bell and Ais train, ordered Allen Fromel to give Ais a warning. Allen took the Gulliver Brothers and several other Level 1 Freya Familia members with them to ambush them on their way back from the training at night. Dressed in full black with visors covering their faces, Allen and the Gulliver Brothers attacked Ais while the Level 1 adventurers attacked Bell and Hestia. Even with their visors, Ais recognized them based on their skill. Allen warned her that she would regret it if she went against that person's will and added that she should stay in the dungeon, telling her to go die during the Loki Familia expedition. The Freya Familia forces soon retreated after seeing how powerful Bell's Firebolt had become.
The day of the expedition, the members each got ready, then assembled at Babel. While there, Ais talked with Lulune, who came to see them off and give her an crystal that Fels requested to give to the Sword Princess, while Lefiya received potions for the whole team from Airmid. After a speech from Finn, the members headed into the dungeon and Loki, Ouranos, and Freya watched over them.
During the expedition, Ais ran off to find Bell as soon as she heard about a minotaur on the 9th Floor. However, in the room next to where he was, Ottar confronted her and blocked her way. Ais asked why he was blocking her to which he answered by stating that he encountered an enemy of his Familia which was enough of a reason. The two fought for a short while and she saw that her attacks were easily deflected and repelled by him, showing the difference in their strengths. Seeing this, she activated Ariel and attacked him although she stopped due to concerns about killing him. However, Ais still managed to deal damage to Ottar and cut him in a few places. Bete, Tiona, Tione, Finn, and Riveria arrived to which Ottar knew that he wouldn't be able to fight all of them at once. He silently retreated back to the surface, allowing the members of the Loki Familia to reach Bell.
Upon reaching the boy, she tried to take over, however he rejected her offer to help, stating that he couldn't be helped by her any longer. She tried to protest his decision, but was reminded of her father's words as the memory of her father overlapped with Bell's image as she watched his back, and realized that Bell had broken out of his shell and started on the path to becoming a hero.
Rear Chapter[]
After watching over Bell's battle with the minotaur, Ais and Riveria helped him back to the surface with Lili and regrouped with the others on the 18th Floor and together headed to 50th Floor. Finn selected Riveria, Gareth, Ais, Tione, Tiona, Bete, Lefiya, Tsubaki, Raul, Alicia, Narvi, and Cruz to journey down to the 59th Floor.
Ein appeared in front of Revis while she was killing monsters and eating their Magic Stones. It asked her what she was doing to which she stated that she was eating. It informed her that Ais and the selected members of the Loki Familia were heading down to the deeper floors and asked why she wasn't moving. Revis simply told it that her body consumed energy at a fast rate and that she would rest, causing it to become angry, worrying about the chance of something bad happening. She wasn't worried as she knew Ais was strong and would reach the 59th Floor, and they could always capture her as a dead body. Ein accused her of betraying Enyo's orders, causing her to tell it that she didn't mind them using her but she would move on her own, adding that Enyo should act on her own for once and told it to leave.
During their journey down, the group was locked onto by several Valgang Dragons on the 58th Floor and sniped through several floors. Lefiya saved Raul but was then pulled into a hole by a Deformis Spider, though fortunately the blasts killed the spider, however she fell down through the hole created by the blasts right after. Tione, Tiona, Bete, and Gareth went down after her while the others journeyed through the dungeon.
Finn's group continued to make their way through the dungeon, and on the 53rd Floor, they encountered Ein and a group of Virga. While the others fought against the monsters, Finn faced off against Ein. Seeing that it couldn't win against the first class adventurer by itself, it summoned a group of Violas, though he was counterattacked by Raul, then had its right arm cut off by Tsubaki. Immediately, it tried to escape by having a Violas carry it in its mouth, causing Riveria to cast Wynn Fimbulvetr at it. To their surprise, Ein escaped the magic along with its severed arm, leaving behind the clothes it was wearing in its place.
After they rested on the 58th Floor, the group made their way down to the 59th floor. According to the Zeus Familia, the 59th Floor was supposed to be extremely cold and covered in ice, however what they saw was a hot forest. As the group wandered through the floor, they ended up at a large gray clearing. At the center was a Demi Spirit feeding on the magic stones of monsters, and the group realized that the gray clearing was actually the ashes of an incredible amount of dead monsters. As they watched, the upper half broke apart to reveal the shape of a beautiful woman. The others wondered what the monster was but Ais knew it was a Spirit. The Demi Spirit sensed them and called out to Ais for her to join together.
Immediately, the monsters still left surrounded the group and attacked them. As they fought, the Demi Spirit began chanting for magic which surprised them, as no monster should be able to use magic. Lefiya tried to attack it with Fusillade Fallarica but it did no damage at all. The Demi Spirit finished up its chant and Riveria cast Via Shilheim before it finished. The Demi Spirit cast Firestorm and covered the whole floor with flames. Riveria was shocked as her barrier began to crack and the magic rushed through. The attack resulted in the whole forest and remaining monsters being destroyed, Riveria collapsed on the ground with her staff broken and clothes burned, and Gareth collapsed on the ground with burns all over his body. The Demi Spirit immediately followed up with Meteor Swarm and once again obliterated the whole room.
As the members of the group struggled to get back up, the Demi Spirit opened two large flowers on its lower body and began sucking magical energy back into itself to recharge. As it did so, it also called a whole army of Virga and Violas from the 60th floor to help. Finn called upon the remaining members to fight and reminded them of Bell's win over the Minotaur. The group's morale was boosted and they all moved to fight the monster. As Finn passed by Riveria and Gareth, he told them to stay down if they couldn't get back up. Riveria and Gareth got back up a short while later and rejoined the fight. The group and the monsters clashed. Finn saw that the Demi Spirit was trying to cast Firestorm again and shot its throat through with his spear. The Demi Spirit fixed it back and tried attacking the group with Thunder Ray. However, Lefiya moved in front of everyone and cast Dio Grail. The magic proved to be much weaker but Tione and Tiona helped support it. The magic canceled each other out and the girls were blown back.
Riveria cast high power magic at the Demi Spirit. Suddenly, magic was cast from below the floor and a thick green wall enveloped the Demi Spirit to protect it. Finn and Bete tried to destroy the wall but couldn't leave any damage on it. Gareth arrived and helped break down the wall to allow Ais to get through. As Ais rushed up to the Demi Spirit, the Demi Spirit opened its mouth to show a magic circle hidden inside and cast Icicle Edge. Lefiya cast Arcs Ray at the Demi Spirit to force the Icicle Edge off course. Ais continued with her attack and hit the Demi Spirit but it used one of its tentacles to push her away. She maneuvered her body and landed on the ceiling and propelled herself back down at the Demi Spirit using her wind. The Demi Spirit tried to stop her using Light Burst, but Ais' Ariel cut through it and the Demi Spirit, killing it.
Epilogue[]
Once the battle finished, the group quickly made their way back up to their camp, and while they did so the top executives went over the information they had, deducing that the Demi Spirit they fought was nothing more than a vanguard and that the main body lurked somewhere in the dungeon below the 60th Floor. However, they knew that wasn't the main problem, as they quickly realized that the Jewel Fetuses could easily be carried to the surface to create Demi Spirits there to destroy Orario.
Back on the surface, Loki was surprised to find Hermes at their meeting place, who stated that he was involved as he had lost children. Leaving that aside, the three Gods began discussing the fact that the members of Evilus had been trying to smuggle Violas to the surface, making them realize that there must be a second entrance to the dungeon.