DanMachi: Heroic Epic of Emiya the Great Hero

"Ais," Tione shouted toward the golden-haired girl.

Ais did not hesitate. Her gaze was as sharp as a blade as she softly chanted the incantation: [Sweep forth.]

With her chanting, the magic [Ariel] activated. The power of the wind spirits wrapped around her legs and sword. With the blessing of the [King of Storms], her speed and attack power were raised to the extreme.

"Ahhh!", Ais let out a roar, leapt swiftly, and her sword flashed, aiming straight for the Unibear's neck. This strike should have been a sure kill.

However, at that very moment, a twisted yet familiar voice echoed in her ears, ["Aria!"]

Ais's mind was disturbed for a split second. Her movements slightly paused, and what should have been a decapitating strike only pierced through the Unibear's chest.

The sharp blade brought up a mist of blood, but it wasn't fatal.

"ROAAR!"

The Unibear was enraged. Its furious roar echoed across the icy plain. It suddenly broke free from Tione's binding spell and swung its massive paw straight at Ais.

At the critical moment, Tione suddenly rushed up and forcefully pushed Ais away.

Thud—

The Unibear's massive paw struck Tione's back hard. Four deep gashes instantly split open on her back, blood sprayed, and her body rolled on the ground like a kite with a broken string.

"AHHHH!", The Amazonian warrior endured the intense pain, gritting her teeth to rise. The wounds on her back only further fueled her rage and fighting spirit.

[Berserk]: Increases attack power based on injury severity, and enhances effect based on anger level.

[Backdraft]: Increases strength when near death.

Tione's eyes were full of wildness and fury. She roared and pounced again at the Unibear.

The massive Unibear roared, swinging its claws to stop her assault, but at this moment, Tione's speed and strength had peaked. She grabbed the bear's claw with one hand, yanked it hard, then thrust her other hand directly into the wound Ais had made before, and without hesitation, detonated the magic sword she held.

BOOM!

Fire and explosion instantly engulfed the Unibear's body. It howled in pain. Though its massive frame was not torn apart by the blast, its magic stone had been shattered.

Tione knelt on one knee, gasping heavily.

Lefiya's [Fire Volley Javelin] fell from the sky. The flames exploded like a barrier in front of Tione, blocking the approaching monsters.

"Ais, you idiot, what are you dazing off for?", Bete's voice rang out in the chaos of the battlefield. He shouted angrily.

"Riveria, is your magic ready?", Finn shouted loudly from the rear of the battlefield, his gaze filled with firmness and calm.

Riveria lifted her head. Magic light flickered in her hands as she swung her staff, guiding the mana toward the forest ahead.

[Wynn Fimbulvetr]

With Riveria's magic, the adventurers finally opened a path leading deep into the forest. They quickly charged into it.

Meanwhile, the monsters from the icy plains had no intention of blocking the adventurers. On the contrary, with the adventurers' help, they began wantonly destroying the forest, wildly fighting the plant monsters within.

Seizing this rare opportunity, the monsters of the icy plains seemed to achieve a long-awaited victory.

As for the adventurers, Raul, Anakitty, and Gareth suffered burns from corrosive liquid. Chloe was attacked during the fight and suffered some bone fractures. Other members also sustained minor injuries.

But none of these were serious. With healing potions, their wounds would soon recover.

Anakitty gently rubbed her recently healed wrist, which still bore traces of the corrosive liquid, "Those bugs are really troublesome. If it weren't for Shirou, we'd have no idea how to deal with them."

Finn said, "This was my mistake. I should've assigned Ais with 'auxiliary magic' and 'unbreakable weapon', to your team."

"No, Captain, this isn't your fault," Tione said weakly, "You couldn't have predicted all this…"

In comparison, Tione needed treatment the most. Her injuries could only be healed by an emergency healing spell from the team's mage.

"Ais," Riveria looked at the golden-haired girl standing to the side.

"I'm sorry, Riveria," Ais lowered her head.

Riveria sighed, not rushing to scold her, and instead gently asked, "That voice just now… was it reacting to your Wind?"

Ais was silent for a moment at the question, then finally nodded slightly.

The name Aria meant too much to Ais. Her reaction was intense because it was her mother's name, the High Elf of Wind.

———

Under the lead of Bete and Tiona, the adventurers continued forward along the newly opened path.

Having lost her weapon, Tiona was now wielding a massive sword projected by Shirou. Her face was still filled with regret, after all, that was a First-Class Weapon worth 120 million valis.

The forest's scope was much smaller than expected. It didn't take long before the dense woods gradually disappeared, replaced by a vast expanse of gray land.

In that seemingly desolate space, there were countless larva-type monsters, along with various tree- and flower-shaped monsters.

They gathered densely together, forming a nauseating scene, as if the entire space was overrun by these grotesque creatures.

These monsters surrounded a massive monster at the center, a female-shaped monster with a plant lower body.

"A humanoid upper body monster?", Chloe frowned, her eyes full of disgust.

"So gross… even for a monster, this is too ugly," Tiona couldn't help but mutter.

Gareth responded in a low voice, "Leaving the upper body aside, the lower part… is that a Stinking Corpse Lily(Raflessia)?"

He pointed at the massive plant root beneath the female-shaped monster.

Riveria nodded, recognizing this as a special giant monster found in the deeper floors: "Yes, a massive plant beast that devours both adventurers and other monsters, also called [Viscum]."

That female-shaped monster seemed to be receiving sacrifices. The surrounding larva monsters opened their mouths, extending tongue-like organs, and offered one magic stone after another.

Her face was full of greed. She unhesitatingly swallowed the magic stones offered to her.

And once the magic stones were absorbed, those larva monsters would quickly wither as if drained of life, eventually turning into decayed dust.

Seeing this scene, Shirou's gaze sharpened slightly, "Another… enhanced variant?"

This was the fourth enhanced variant Shirou had encountered in a short time, and unquestionably the most dangerous and bizarre one yet.

Standing beside Shirou, Ais subconsciously reached out and grabbed his hand. Her fingers trembled slightly, cold as if chilled from the depths of her soul.

———

In a corner of Orario, a dim tavern was filled with the faint aroma of wine.

Dionysus sat alone at the bar, toying with a glass of deep red wine. The ruby-colored liquid shimmered slightly under the candlelight.

"The fifty-ninth floor. How are things over there?", Without shifting his gaze from the glass, he casually asked.

Beside him stood a masked figure, who replied in a low voice, "The Fallen Fairy… is growing quickly."

Dionysus slightly curled his lips into a smile, with a hint of cruelty, "Just like we tested before, plants truly are the best vessels for filth."

In earlier experiments, they had tried to catalyze a Green Dragon, transforming it into an enhanced variant.

The goal had been to test the potential of the strongest monsters, Dragon types. But it turned out that the tree body fused with the dragon showed the most excellent "evolution."

Powerful plant lifeforms were indeed the most suitable hosts for the power of corruption.

"We've used up quite a lot of the magic stones we stockpiled. As of now, that Fallen Fairy's ability should have reached the early stage of Lv.7."

The masked figure spoke calmly, "In terms of magic power, the growth is the fastest. It might already be near the peak of Lv.7."

Dionysus took a small sip of wine. After savoring it, he slowly said, "In other words, she's now much stronger than you?"

The masked figure nodded slightly, "If we're talking about potential alone, yes."

"Excellent," Dionysus's smile deepened, as if he could already see the future, "As for our progress here, it's going smoothly. [Man-Killer]… even though she's only the weakest Lv.5, she's still a First-Class Adventurer."

He set down the wine glass, a playful glint in his expression, "Ishtar's personality has changed drastically lately. She's strictly banned Phryne from indulging in her old habits of hunting men. Their relationship is worsening."

"Also, the [Phantom Trio] of Istar Familia have all leveled up. It seems they've unlocked some kind of new skill. The three's teamwork now surpasses the threshold of First-Class Adventurers and can rival Phryne."

The masked person added coldly, "But [Man Killer] is already useless. Since being defeated by [Gale], she's only gotten weaker."

Phryne's stats hadn't decreased, but her heart had been completely crushed in that battle.

Dionysus shrugged, "A discarded pawn. It doesn't matter if we don't use her. Besides, maybe she just has 'adaptability.'"

At the mention of "adaptability," the masked figure slightly lowered her head and continued, "What's more concerning now is the Loki Familia. Their last expedition reached the fifty-first floor. If they push to the fifty-ninth floor, our plan could be disrupted…"

But Dionysus chuckled and cut her off, "Don't worry. That's impossible."

The god toyed with the glass in his hand, his expression confident and relaxed, "[Dragon's Vase] isn't something they can easily surpass. From the fifty-first to the fifty-ninth floor?"

'They're just the Loki Familia, not the Hera Familia.'

The god took another sip, "This time, if Loki Familia makes it to the fifty-third floor, that's already their limit."

"With just them? I'd even say, if they reach the fifty-ninth floor within a year, I'll eat this wine glass," Dionysus chuckled softly, tapping the crystal glass before him with slender fingers. The sound rang sharply through the dim tavern.

———

[Dungeon, Fifty-Ninth Floor]

The adventurers gazed at the female-shaped monster. Their eyes fell on the piles of gray powder stacked like salt blocks around it.

They realized the gray earth beneath their feet was actually formed by the dust of countless monster corpses.

The scene was bizarre and shocking, raising an ominous premonition in everyone's hearts.

As for Ais, she seemed to be trapped in her own world, hearing only the heavy, rapid heartbeat from her chest.

That sound pounded in her ears like war drums, nearly tearing through her eardrums.

In the next instant, the female monster's upper body began to slowly rise. Its hideous head let out a faint sound.

Its upper body twitched as if squirming. That grotesque flesh suddenly expanded violently, twisting.

As Finn and the others stared in astonishment, the monster suddenly exhaled, as if emerging from a cocoon, giving birth from its bulging flesh shell to a beautiful female figure.

"—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—"

A cry of joy burst into the air, a membrane-ripping wave crashing down, assaulting the ears of every adventurer and forcing them to cover their ears in pain.

The female's upper body leaned back, gazing at the sky. Her long hair spread out behind her, now glossy and beautiful.

Her arms, chest, and waist were alluringly shaped, and her moist skin shimmered with a seductive glow.

Her upper body was cloaked in colorful garments. As she looked toward the dungeon ceiling, her trembling face was stunning, rivaling even a goddess in beauty.

Her hair was green. Her skin was green. Her entire upper body shimmered with a dazzling jade hue.

Her eyes had no pupils or irises, only empty golden voids, lacking any vitality.

Not only had her humanoid upper body transformed, but even her grotesque lower half underwent a mutation. Its structure became more complex, sprouting massive petals and countless tendrils.

This colossal being, with an upper body like a celestial maiden and a lower body like a monster, let out a mournful wail that echoed throughout the fifty-ninth floor.

"W-what is that thing?", The voice was still deafening. Anakitty and the others had to cover their ears, their faces filled with fear and pain.

Everyone stared in terror at the unidentified creature singing in delight.

"Impossible…"

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