DanMachi: The Epic of the Heroic Spirits of Emiya Shirou

Aisha slammed heavily onto the ground, and despite having a Lv.3 ability value and the tough body of the Amazon race, she still coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Haruhime, are you alright... Damn it, all the medicine is with the supporters..."

“Sister Aisha…” Chunji’s eyes immediately welled up with tears.

"Don't cry, little fox, I'm fine... damn it!" Aisha couldn't help but curse out loud.

Because the second time, she heard the sound of the floor cracking beneath her.

Chapter 42 Confident Girls

"You're alive! Thank you for your healing magic, little elf girl. And thank you for the medicine, young man. As a reward, next time you go to Pleasure Street and mention my name, I'll give you a free night of the King's Set Meal... Wait, wait, I was just kidding. Put the sword away, please!"

The beautiful Amazonian woman lay on the ground, a katana and a rapier crossed at her neck. The two female elves' cold expressions told Aisha that if she dared to utter another word, she would be saying goodbye to her head.

"By the way, what is the King's Set Meal?" Ryu asked Alicia beside her in a low voice. She only instinctively realized that Amazon was talking about something bad, but she didn't have any specific understanding of it.

Alicia hesitated for a moment, then whispered in Ryu's ear: "...private the whole place...one against ten...a court ball...uncovered..."

After hearing Alicia's description, Ryu's head instantly steamed, and Alicia's face also turned red.

"Alicia, how...how do you know this..." Ryu stammered.

Alicia gritted her teeth: "I overheard one of the idiot boys in the Familia saying this, don't ask anymore..."

There was once a male adventurer in the Loki Familia who embezzled a huge sum of the family's funds to go to the pleasure quarters, and then squandered it all in just a few days after being deceived by a wicked woman.

As for Mr. Raul, the "superhuman" who wished to remain anonymous, his spending in the entertainment district was so excessive that he still hadn't paid back the money owed to his clan.

Thus, the stories of Raulnold and the Pleasure Quarter, Raulnold and the Debt, and Raulnold and the King's Meal have become enduring legends within the Loki Familia.

"What's going on with these two lewd elves..." Aisha thought to herself as she watched the two female elves acting coy, but of course she didn't dare say it out loud.

"So, you first fell vertically down to the sixteenth floor, and then encountered a crack in the floor and fell here. That's really unfortunate." Emiya said, "I am Emiya Shirou. May I ask your name?"

"My name is Sanjou Haruhime," the fox-girl said softly.

Chun Ji had a pair of melancholy, beautiful eyes that resembled jade. She lowered her eyes, and her long, golden eyelashes were faintly covered with dew-like tears.

Emiya said in the gentlest tone he could muster, "Haruhime, I'll call you that from now on. From now on, you and Lefia will follow behind me, and I will protect you."

"This humble woman... obeys." Chunji lowered her head even further.

Haruhime quietly raised her head and looked at Emiya's profile. Emiya was taking the time to try to comfort Lefia and cheer her up.

"Lord Emiya said he would protect me, just like a hero, but I am... a prostitute destined to bring disaster to heroes."

She lowered her head again, her golden ears and tail drooping down as well.

·

“I’m quite certain that not long ago, our clan’s expedition team killed the giant Goliath on their return journey, and it’s not time for him to be reborn yet.” Aisha stood up again.

The Amazons' greatest strength lies in their resilience; minor injuries from falling a few stories can be healed in the time it takes to drink a stamina potion.

The Ishtar Familia boasts over ten adventurers at level 3, with its leader being a level 5, first-class adventurer. Even without a full-scale expedition to deal with the guild, defeating Goliath would be a piece of cake.

It was certain that Goliath had not yet been reborn, and Aisha could not understand why they were preparing to attack Goliath.

“You don’t understand the malice of the dungeons,” Alicia said. “Dungeons will make all sorts of unreasonable things happen in order to target adventurers. It’s not impossible for the Labyrinth King to be reborn ahead of schedule.”

"Alright, but with you and Gale here, even if there are fewer people, defeating Goliath shouldn't be too difficult, right? I can also help."

Although Goliath is the Lone King of the Labyrinth, he is only a Lv.4 with exceptional durability. There are two Lv.4 adventurers here, and neither [Garden of Purity] nor [Swift Wind] are ordinary people. Their strength is among the strongest of the Lv.4.

Aisha's reputation wasn't solely based on her profession as a prostitute. Her stats and physical strength were above average, and she possessed a powerful offensive magic. She was also very successful as an adventurer and held a high position within the Ishtar Familia.

“To be honest, we’re even more worried because of you,” Alicia said. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to belittle you, but with you in the mix, defeating Goliath seems a bit too easy.”

The combat power of an adventurer's party increases significantly with the number of members. Aisha of the Amazon tribe is perfectly qualified to be the vanguard, which further unleashes the attack power of Ryu and Alicia.

"The dungeon's goal is to kill us adventurers, so I'm worried, is it really that simple..."

Alicia abruptly changed the subject, asking, "Would that Level 1 fox-girl be of any use?"

Aisha immediately replied, "No, she's just a newbie, and she doesn't have any skills or magic."

"I see..." Alicia didn't ask any further questions, although she still had doubts in her heart.

Will the Ishtar Familia have [Rie] Aisha specifically protect a Lv.1 who has no skills or magic?

Moreover, isn't it a bit too strange to come to the dungeon wearing a kimono?

Alicia restrained her curiosity, as it would be impolite to delve into the secrets of other clans.

Seeing that Alicia wasn't interested, Aisha secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Haruhime possesses magic, and it's an incredibly powerful and almost supernatural spell. That's why the Ishtar Familia has assigned so many high-ranking adventurers who have reached higher levels to protect and care for her at all times.

To be honest, even Amazons don't treat their own mothers this well.

Because of that heaven-defying magic, Haruhime was also the highest-level secret of the Ishtar Familia. If it weren't for an accident, she shouldn't have appeared in the sight of beings like the Loki Familia.

At this moment, Ryu returned, and because she had the highest agility, the task of reconnaissance was assigned to her.

"I'm sure of it, the road to the upper level is blocked."

Although I had some expectation of it, I still made a point of checking, just in case a miracle happened.

"Thank you for your hard work. I understand. It seems we only have one path to take. Let's set off before monsters start spawning in this room."

"Ah."

"You decide."

The three veteran adventurers made a decision.

Meanwhile, on the other side, there were the three newcomers.

Chunji lowered her head, thinking about the rumors she had heard from the older women in the entertainment district: "I heard that the dungeon deliberately targets promising newcomers, using 'abnormal situations' to eliminate future threats in advance. So, this disaster must have happened because of me; I brought about the disaster."

Lefia was also disappointed: "'The malice of the dungeon' must be aimed at me. I've dragged Shirou, Ryu-senpai, and Alicia-neechan into this mess."

Emiya... He wasn't thinking about anything, he just closed his eyes, took deep breaths, and adjusted his physical and mental state to prepare for the battle ahead.

Chapter Forty-Three: Black Goliath

After leaving the initial room, the group headed towards the deepest part of the seventeenth floor.

Alicia and Aisha led the way, while Ryu brought up the rear, with the three juniors guarding the middle.

As you traverse the corridor, the caverns gradually expand, transforming into open structures large enough for groups of dozens to pass through. The branching paths also decrease, eventually narrowing into a single path, making you feel as if you're walking inside the belly of a gaping snake.

The ceiling grew higher and higher, and the phosphorescent light, flickering like torches, appeared to be only the size of light particles.

Follow the direction in which the passage widens, and you will reach the large room at the deepest part of the seventeenth floor.

“Something is definitely not right,” Aisha said softly.

The seventeenth floor was unbelievably quiet.

This level is where the Lone King of the Labyrinth resides, but that doesn't mean ordinary monsters won't spawn there. That's why Alicia and the others dare not leave their juniors in other rooms while they go to hunt down the Boss themselves.

On the seventeenth floor, Lv.2 monsters appear in groups, making it extremely dangerous without these high-level adventurers by your side.

However, they didn't encounter a single monster on their way to the deepest room.

If it weren't for the terrain confirming that this was indeed the seventeenth level, one would almost suspect that they had traveled from a vertical cave into some mountain cave outside the underground city.

“Not a single monster,” Aisha said softly.

It gives one a bad feeling—

"It's almost as if the dungeon is gathering power."

However, whether it was Ryu, Alicia, or Aisha, they only felt vigilance and a little unease, but not much worry.

Because of the advantages of "experience" and "intelligence".

In dungeons, the most terrifying enemy is the "unknown." Those monsters whose information has been thoroughly investigated can, with sufficient preparation, allow even a weaker team to achieve victory.

Conversely, when facing a completely "unknown" enemy, even if the adventurer's party has the advantage on paper, it may be wiped out instantly due to a lack of information.

Ryu has a particularly deep understanding of this.

And "Goliath the Giant" is one of the monsters with the most complete information.

Adventurers already possess all the information about this original Labyrinth King: its ability parameters, attack patterns, combat habits... everything is transparent and visible.

The current Goliath is a monster that can be reliably defeated by following a strategy, with one Lv.3 as the core, several Lv.2 as the backbone, and dozens of Lv.1 with high abilities as the core.

In contrast, Alicia and her companions' combat strength far exceeded the requirements for dealing with such monsters.

Without any monsters to stop them, the adventurers quickly reached the deepest part of the labyrinth.

This is a spacious, long, and large room.

Unlike the strangely shaped rooms before, this one is structured like a perfectly square cuboid. From the circular entrance to the deepest part of the room, it's about two hundred meters long. It's approximately one hundred meters wide, and the floor is about twenty meters from the ceiling.

The walls and ceiling of this large room are made of rugged rocks, except for the wall on the left side, which has a different structure.

It's so striking that one might mistake it for being hand-polished; the wall's surface is perfectly smooth, without a single bump or dent. It's as if it's been meticulously crafted by numerous stonemasons, without a single crack, stretching from one end of the room to the other. It's truly remarkable.

This wall is even somewhat beautiful, yet incredibly eerie; looking up at it, one feels their vision distorted.

The Wailing Wall

The seventeenth floor, the final barrier, was named by the adventurers who reached this large room and returned alive.

The massive wall of the Lone King of the Labyrinth can only conceive one specific monster.

Ahead, in the center of that wall, was the passage to the eighteenth floor leading to the safe zone, but unsurprisingly, it was completely blocked by huge rocks.

Whether moving forward or backward, all paths were blocked, temporarily trapping the adventurers in the seemingly vast seventeenth floor.

"Click——"

As if welcoming the newcomers, such a sound rang out.

Huge cracks ran down the giant wall like thunder.

The walls continued to crack, snapping and cracking, the sound gradually growing louder. Then, it transformed into a heavy, panting, painful sound, like a sigh, which shook the entire large room.

Listening to the tsunami that sounded like an avalanche, I felt my eardrums groaning.

The sighs and cries grew ever louder. Several cracks, growing larger and deeper, appeared. The seventeenth layer was shaken by the mournful cries.

As they approached the limit, an even stronger impact pounded against the wall from the inside—

The adventurers' expressions gradually became more and more serious, especially those of the higher-ranking adventurers.

“No…” Aisha’s voice was somewhat serious.

“This isn’t Goliath,” Alicia murmured softly. “No, it’s the Goliath we’ve seen before…”

The ejected rocks crashed into the air with a deafening roar, scattering fragments of the massive, shattered wall across the ground.

"Boom——"

It sounded as if something enormous had descended upon the earth, a particularly piercing thud.

A silhouette of unimaginable size. Thick neck, thick shoulders, thick arms, thick ankles. Its body was almost human-like, and its entire body was a jet black, like the deepest ink.

A typical Goliath should have a grayish-brown coat and be about seven meters tall, but this black Goliath is at least nine meters tall.

Its black skin shimmered with a metallic sheen, and it was larger in size, but compared to the robust ordinary Goliath, its body appeared more agile and lithe.

A monster never before seen, with no prior eyewitness accounts—the black Goliath.

A chilling aura spread; the vast difference in strength between them, in terms of race and size, filled the adventurers with awe and fear.

Not only Haruhime, who was so frightened that she fell down, and Lefia, whose legs went weak, but even Lv.4 Alicia hesitated for a moment.

"The judgment was wrong—"

I originally thought that I and Ryu's strength would be enough to deal with Goliath, and with Aisha's help, we would be even more confident.

All along, Alicia's concern was that other monsters would spawn in the dungeon while they were fighting Goliath, and that these monsters would harm Shirou and the others.

Despite warning Aisha not to underestimate the "malice of the labyrinth," she herself was actually careless.

"The seventeenth floor contains the Labyrinth King, Goliath the Giant," which is common knowledge to adventurers, like an absolute truth.

This creature, which regenerates every ten days or so and is immediately killed, is known as the Lone King of the Labyrinth. In the eyes of high-level adventurers, it is nothing more than a "weakling" whose threat level is far less than that of a few random monsters in the Deep Zone.