The tense silence in the fifth-floor corridor was broken only by the sinister dripping sound of the Minotaur's blood and Bell Cranel's gasping, shocked breaths. Aiz Wallenstein, the Sword Princess, remained the calm epicenter of the carnage she herself had created. Her impassive golden eyes swept the scene. They lingered for a fraction of a second on Hachiman – injured, leaning against the wall, but still alert – and on the strange twin blades, Kanshou and Bakuya, that he still wielded. There was perhaps a fleeting glimmer of momentary curiosity in that gaze, a silent question about the unfamiliar weapons, but it was brief. Almost immediately, she shifted her focus, ignoring Hachiman as if he were an irrelevant part of the scenery.
Her gaze landed on Bell, still paralyzed and covered in monster viscera. With the same efficient calm with which she had killed the Minotaur, Aiz approached the boy. "Are you alright?" she asked, her voice soft and almost emotionless.
Bell, being directly addressed by the figure who had saved him so overwhelmingly, seemed to freeze even further. His red eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open, unable to formulate a response. The trauma, the shock, perhaps the sudden appearance of one of Orario's most famous adventurers – everything conspired to leave him catatonic.
'Of course,' Hachiman thought with bitter sarcasm as he watched the scene, feeling the pain throb in his body. Kanshou and Bakuya seemed to flicker in his hands and then dissolved into particles of bluish light as the sharp perception of immediate danger subsided. 'Ignore the guy who actually fought the beast and nearly died, but who has dead fish eyes. Go straight for the trembling, blood-soaked protagonist. Surely NPCs and supporting characters have no human rights in this world.' The irony was a familiar defense mechanism against the absurd situation.
Aiz, perhaps realizing Bell wouldn't respond, took a hesitant step towards him, maybe to offer help or check if he was injured beneath all the blood. This movement seemed to break Bell's spell. With an incoherent cry that was part fear, part perhaps another overwhelming emotion, he turned and bolted down the corridor, running away from Aiz, the dead Minotaur, and Hachiman, towards the Dungeon exit as if his life still depended on it.
Aiz stood still, watching him flee with a slightly confused expression. It was at that moment that new voices echoed down the corridor.
"Aiz! What was that?!" "We saw a kid covered in blood running like crazy!" "Hey, Aiz! What the hell happened here? A Minotaur on the fifth floor?"
Three figures quickly emerged, clearly members of Aiz's party in the Loki Familia. Hachiman recognized them: Bete Loga, the grey-haired werewolf with an arrogant attitude; and the Amazon twins, Tiona Hiryute, with her bubbly enthusiasm, and Tione Hiryute, with a more serious and protective expression regarding Aiz. They had just returned from a long expedition to the deep floors.
They stopped upon seeing the Minotaur's body, Aiz standing beside it, and Hachiman leaning against the wall, clearly injured and battle-worn. The sight of the Minotaur there, so far out of its natural habitat, seemed to cause a moment of discomfort or recognition among them.
"A Minotaur? Down here?" Tiona exclaimed, exchanging a quick and perhaps slightly guilty look with Tione. "How?"
Aiz explained the situation concisely: the monster chasing Bell, attacking Hachiman, her intervention. She omitted any details about how the Minotaur might have gotten there, but for Hachiman, the presence of the elite group newly returned from the expedition was explanation enough. 'So that was it,' he thought with cold anger. 'They brought it. They probably "lost" this thing on the way up, whether by accident or sheer arrogance and carelessness. And how many others died because of it before it found Bell and me?'
Bete Loga's eyes fixed on Hachiman, ignoring the uncomfortable implication of the monster's presence there. Contempt was evident on his lupine face. "Heh. So this trash here almost got killed by a stray Minotaur on the fifth floor?" he sneered, approaching Hachiman with a scornful smirk. "Pathetic. Can barely stand. What kind of weak adventurer are you?"
Hachiman, normally prone to avoiding conflict, felt the injustice of the situation – being attacked by a monster that shouldn't be there due to the negligence of others and still being insulted for it – ignite a dangerous spark. He straightened his body, ignoring the pain, and faced Bete, his voice coming out dry, laden with a cold accusation.
"'Weakness'?" Hachiman retorted. "This Minotaur doesn't belong on this floor. Is it a 'souvenir' from your Familia's expedition that you 'lost' on the way up?" He paused, letting the words hang in the tense air, before adding with quiet venom, "How many other adventurers died today because of your negligence in containing the monsters you dragged from the lower floors?"
The direct and precise accusation hit Bete like a slap. The scornful smirk vanished, replaced by murderous fury. His fur seemed to bristle, and fangs became visible. "WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU INSOLENT WORM?! HOW DARE YOU?!" He lunged forward, fist raised, clearly intending to pulverize Hachiman.
"BETE!" Tione shouted, moving quickly and intercepting the werewolf with surprising strength. "Control yourself! That's enough!"
"But he...! He accused us!" Bete snarled, struggling against the Amazon's grip.
"He has the right to be angry, considering the circumstances!" Tiona added, helping her sister hold Bete, though her face also showed slight discomfort at Hachiman's words, perhaps because they held a kernel of truth. The twins exchanged a quick, tense glance. The situation was clearly embarrassing for the Loki Familia.
Hachiman watched the scene without further interest. He had said what needed to be said. Arguing more with a furious werewolf and his teammates would lead nowhere good. He already had enough problems.
Taking advantage of the commotion, he turned his back on the Loki Familia group. Completely ignoring Bete's furious shouts and the complicated looks from the others, he began to walk, limping slightly, towards the floor's exit. He just wanted to get out of there.
The climb seemed long, each step echoing the pain in his body, but he finally emerged into the sunlight of Orario. He looked at the sky. It was still morning. Perhaps only two hours had passed since he entered the Dungeon. Two hours that felt like a lifetime.
He went straight home, his body protesting, his mind replaying the events. The Minotaur's fury, the manifestation of Kanshou and Bakuya, Aiz's arrival, the confrontation with Bete... It was a lot to process.
He found Aqua in the hovel, who immediately noticed his worsened state compared to previous days.
"Hachiman! What happened?! You look terrible!" she exclaimed, concern overcoming her usual boredom.
While cleaning the dried blood and checking if the armor had suffered structural damage (just the ugly dent and scratches, fortunately), he told Aqua what had occurred. He spoke of the Minotaur brought up by the Loki Familia, the chase after Bell, the attack on him, the twin swords appearing out of nowhere, being saved by Aiz Wallenstein, and the argument with the arrogant werewolf. Aqua listened with a mixture of horror, indignation, and fascination.
"That Loki Familia! Bringing dangerous monsters up! How irresponsible!" she huffed. "And new swords? What do you mean? You didn't even tell me you could do that!"
"I didn't know either," Hachiman admitted, still confused about the instinctive projection. "It was... different. Stronger." He needed answers, and the Falna was the only place to start. "I need to see the status. Update it, please."
Aqua, still fuming about the Loki Familia but also curious about the effects of that battle, performed the update. Hachiman picked up his makeshift mirror and read the results.
(Reminder: I:0-99, H:100-199, G:200-299, F:300-399, E:400-499, D:500-599, C:600-699, B:700-799, A:800-899, S:900-999)
Hikigaya Hachiman Level: 1 (Initial Status of the Day: Str:F-338, End:F-363, Dex:F-303, Agi:F-325, Mag:D-555)
Strength: E-403 (Gain of +65) Endurance: E-431 (Gain of +68) Dexterity: F-366 (Gain of +63) Agility: E-400 (Gain of +75) Magic: C-705 (Gain of +150)
Magic:
[Unlimited Blade Works] (Hidden) Skill:
[A Loner's Protection] (Hidden) Development Ability:
[Blacksmith: I]
Hachiman's eyes widened slightly. 'Almost 400 points basic gain... Rank E in Strength, Endurance, and Agility now. Dexterity almost there. And Magic... Rank C. C-705!' The jump was even more shocking than he had imagined. Those few minutes of terror and desperate combat against an overwhelmingly stronger enemy had yielded more excelia than perhaps an entire day of normal hunting on the lower floors.
''A Loner's Protection' must have triggered at the absolute maximum,' he analyzed. 'And Magic... projecting Kanshou and Bakuya, even instinctively, must have been an incredibly dense and complex use of Trace On. It drew much more power and refinement than the simple sword. That explains the jump to Rank C.'
The near-fatal encounter was, paradoxically, the biggest catalyst for his growth so far. But the price was high in pain and risk. And now... he had antagonized members of Orario's strongest Familia and crossed paths with the story's 'protagonist' and his future savior. His quiet life of farming the Dungeon discreetly had just become much more complicated.