DanMachi: Heroic Epic of Emiya the Great Hero

Actually, it was not because of that reason that she was unable to participate, but rather because her name was still under Freya Familia. No matter what, participating in an expedition against the rival Loki Familia seemed extremely inappropriate.

This time, entering the dungeon was not an official expedition but a purely profit-driven adventure.

Among the adventurers accompanying them, there were three Lv.5s, but they had no intention of going deeper into the dangerous areas beyond the twenty-seventh floor.

Emiya, considering that Anya missed the chance to join the last expedition, especially invited her to come along.

After entering the dungeon, the early battles were mainly handled by Tiona, to let her get familiar with and adapt to the feel of her new weapon, [Golden Impact Revised].

She wielded the heavy greatsword smoothly, easily slaying monsters one after another.

To others, her new weapon didn't seem much different from the previous one. In this area, no matter what weapon Tiona held, with her Lv.5 strength, she could effortlessly one-hit KO the monsters.

Tiona herself was very satisfied, and that was enough.

Soon, they arrived at the safe zone on the eighteenth floor, Rivira Town.

However, just upon entering, Lefiya exclaimed, "Eh? Why is Rivira destroyed again?"

Not long ago, the safe zone on the eighteenth floor, Rivira Town, had just been destroyed by a strengthened Green dragon. The town was flattened, and the reconstruction work had only just begun.

Who would have thought that so soon, the town would be damaged again?

This time, the destruction seemed slightly lighter, only about half the town was destroyed, but the bustling reconstruction scene still felt depressing. All over the town were broken walls and ruins, dust flying, with adventurers and craftsmen busy rebuilding the houses.

"Ah, Loki Familia folks... didn't you see the report I sent up?", A deep voice sounded. Bors took off the safety helmet on his head, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and walked toward them.

"What happened this time?", Tiona asked.

Bors sighed, "This time again, it was a 'dragon'. A powerful dragon-type monster suddenly charged in and destroyed two-thirds of the town."

"Dragon? Was it a Green dragon?", Tiona asked in confusion.

Bors shook his head, his eyes showing a hint of dread, "No, not a Green dragon. This guy was much stronger than a Green dragon, and it had wings, could fly. Though its size was much smaller than a typical Green dragon."

"So, what kind of dragon was it?", Tione asked.

Bors spread his hands helplessly, "We don't know either. Who had the mind to observe carefully at that moment? Everyone was just desperately trying to escape. When we came back, that dragon had already vanished without a trace."

As usual, Rivira's adventurers stuck to the principle of "running is best." The moment the dragon rushed in, they had all fled.

"A winged dragon… a wyvern?", Lefiya muttered thoughtfully, "But that should be a deep-floor monster… Vouivre does have wings though…"

Bors firmly shook his head and denied, "Impossible that it's the Vouivre. How could a Vouivre be that strong? If it were really a Vouivre, would we have run away in such a panic?"

Even if Vouivre transformed into her dragon form, her potential power was at most Lv.4. The adventurers in the town working together still had a chance to deal with her.

Moreover, the drop items from a Vouivre were worth a fortune. If they really encountered one, those usually cowardly adventurers might instead muster the courage to hunt her down.

At that moment, Ais quietly walked up to Emiya's side and asked softly, "Master, what is it?"

Emiya was carefully observing the surrounding destruction as if he noticed something unusual.

He said, "The traces on these ruins... don't look like one-sided destruction, more like the aftermath of a fierce battle."

This judgment was made by observing the way buildings collapsed and the direction of the scattered debris.

If this place had suffered a one-sided attack, then all the damage traces should be more uniform.

However, the distribution of these building remains was chaotic and disordered, with the direction of the scattered fragments extremely jumbled.

Emiya looked forward, and suddenly a faint glint caught his eye. He walked into the depths of the ruins, carefully searching for the source of the light.

Soon, among some broken building fragments, he found that object, a bloodstained dragon scale.

The blood on the dragon scale was a dark, viscous fluid that emitted a strong sense of filth.

Ais came to Emiya's side, her gaze falling on the sharp scale in his hand. She frowned slightly, "Is this a scale shed when that dragon monster got injured?"

Emiya carefully observed the surrounding ruins and the scale, then said, "No, it's not like that. Look at that cut on the stone slab, this is a scale shot out by the dragon. It attacked the enemy using a 'scale shot' method."

He paused, noticing Ais's expression seemed a bit off, a hint of suppressed disgust in her eyes. So he asked with concern, "Ais, what's wrong?"

Ais looked at the scale in her hand, her brows furrowed, and she replied softly, "This thing... makes me feel a bit sick."

"Is it the dragon scale, or the filthy blood on it?"

Ais shook her head, her tone hesitant, "Probably… both?"

After that, they investigated briefly but found no more clues. The adventurers moved to the other side of the town.

"We're lucky, there's still one inn intact among the undamaged buildings," Tiona said lightly.

Though they carried tents, undoubtedly, staying in an inn was much more comfortable than sleeping in a tent. Not to mention setting up camp itself was a tiring and troublesome task.

Lefiya: "But the inns in Rivira Town aren't cheap..."

Rivira's prices were already high. Now, with only a few inns left, the rates had naturally skyrocketed.

"It's fine, I'll pay," Emiya said. He glanced at the temporary high prices posted outside the inn and didn't find it expensive.

"Everyone's tired today. Rest well first. We'll decide tomorrow whether to continue adventuring based on the situation."

In the wilderness of the eighteenth floor, night fell, and a chill permeated the air. In the distance, the hazy silhouettes of trees and the dark forest loomed. Only occasional monster cries broke the silence.

———

"I'm heading back," The masked person said in a cold tone.

"What?", Revis frowned and looked at her with dissatisfaction, "You're giving up just like that? Not going to keep chasing that dragon beast?"

The masked person replied faintly, "I don't want to expose my presence. Continuing the chase isn't wise."

Her gaze fell upon Rivira Town in the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

"Then get lost! But I'm telling you, no matter what, the orb must be recovered, and that dragon beast must die," Revis said coldly.

The masked person chuckled lightly, "Are you sure you can handle it one-on-one?"

That hit a sore spot for Revis. The truth was, when she first caught up to the Vouivre, she and it were evenly matched.

It was precisely due to the masked person's help that they managed to suppress the opponent. They had chased the Vouivre across several floors, eventually reaching the eighteenth.

However, right there, the Vouivre, perhaps provoked by something, suddenly went berserk.

She activated her dragon form, her power surged instantly, and after a fierce fight with Revis and the masked person, she found a chance to escape and hid.

"Shut up!", Revis said coldly, "A weakling like you has no right to criticize me!"

The masked person sneered, "Heh."

"That dragon beast is already heavily injured. It won't recover anytime soon. Besides, don't forget, I'm not someone who only fights solo. The strength of a beast tamer was never in one-on-one battles."

Revis replied coldly, "Then suit yourself."

The masked person turned and left.

———

Late at night, Emiya, who was staying on the first floor, suddenly opened his eyes.

"Trace, On," He chanted softly, and a black magical sword instantly appeared in his hand, [Hrunting].

This sword had two traits: "track blood" and "dragon slayer." As it settled into his hand, Emiya's eyes became even more serious.

The faint trace of blood he could barely sense before became much clearer under the effect of [Hrunting], almost directly pointing toward the target.

He dismissed the projection of [Hrunting], then projected [Tsubame Gaeshi], activating his night vision ability.

He silently opened the door and stepped out of the room, following the feeling toward the direction of the cellar.

Emiya's footsteps were light, almost blending into the night, suppressed to the minimum. Step by step, he carefully descended the cellar stairs.

After entering the cellar, he saw a completely unexpected scene. A blue-skinned Vouivre was squatting in the corner, secretly eating the ham stored in the inn's cellar.

Emiya's first reaction was to swing his sword at her.

However, just as he was about to make a move, he saw the Vouivre fiercely bite off a large chunk of ham, and her whole face immediately scrunched up.

"So salty…", The Vouivre stuck out her small cyan-blue tongue, speaking in a somewhat pitiful tone.

Her voice was very childish, her pronunciation not very clear, like a child who had just learned to speak.

Emiya hesitated. [Tsubame Gaeshi] slowly lowered.

At that moment, the Vouivre seemed to sense his presence. She slowly turned her head, her gaze filled with curiosity.

She stared at Emiya, as if trying to identify something, then suddenly opened her mouth and spoke in a stiff voice, "Father?"

———

In the middle of the night, Ais slowly sat up. The girl looked out the window. Moonlight faintly filtered through the curtain, casting a silver sheen over the room.

For some reason, she found it particularly hard to fall asleep tonight.

Ais turned her head to look at Lefiya, who shared the same room. The latter was sound asleep with a sweet smile on her face. She happened to turn over and murmured, "Hehe… Miss Ais, Mr. Shirou… I'm not that great…"

'What is she dreaming about?', Ais was curious but didn't disturb her. She quietly lifted the quilt and stood up.

When she was little and had trouble sleeping, Riveria would always sit by her bed, gently telling her stories until she fell asleep peacefully.

Thinking of that, Ais couldn't help but recall her master.

She left the room and quietly arrived at Emiya's door. She gently knocked, "Master, I can't sleep…"

However, the door didn't respond as expected but slowly creaked open. The room was empty.

"Master's not in the room?", Ais muttered to herself.

At that moment, a faint scent drifted into her nose.

"This is… the smell of fried potato balls… salty ham flavor," Ais murmured. That unique aroma unconsciously drew her along.

The scent led her to the cellar entrance.

Ais slowly descended the steps, only to be stunned by the scene before her.

She saw a blue-skinned Vouivre sitting in the corner of the cellar, wrapped in many bandages, draped in a hotel bedsheet, holding a porcelain plate. On the plate were fried potato balls, the exact smell she had followed.

"So it wasn't salty ham-flavored potato balls… it was potato balls and ham…"

The Vouivre's appearance was completely different from any dragon monster she had seen before. This strange outfit stunned Ais for a moment.

Her instinctive hostility toward dragon monsters made her reflexively want to draw her sword, but she quickly realized she was only in pajamas, with no sword at her waist.

No time to hesitate, her eyes scanned the surroundings and landed on a nearby, dinner knife.

'Use what you have,' Without a second thought, Ais grabbed the knife and charged at the Vouivre.

The Vouivre was clearly startled by the sudden attack. But when she saw the small silver knife in Ais's hand, her reaction was also instinctive. She immediately picked up a nearby dinner knife to parry.

Sword clash, no, two silver dinner knives clashed in the air, making a crisp sound.

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