DanMachi: Unlimited Blade Works

"Ga—Gareth!"

"You're late, old man!"

Hearing Shirou's playful jab, Gareth laughed heartily, saying, "Looks like you guessed I was coming, Shirou!"

"Isn't that obvious?" Shirou grinned, looking at Gareth who wielded two gleaming silver giant axes. "Finn wouldn't be at ease leaving the five of us to fight alone on the 58th floor."

"Among you four LV6s, Finn, being the leader, definitely can't come. Riveria, as a mage, would make it easier for them to break through if she's up top. As for Ais, her magic is incredibly effective against new species."

"Therefore, all things considered, there's no one else who could come to support us besides you."

"Haha, well-analyzed! You truly are the successor Finn has his eye on!" Gareth's eyes were filled with satisfaction as he looked at Shirou, whose words were tightly reasoned. This old veteran had actually considered retirement long ago, but with the younger generation in the Familia not yet fully grown, how could he possibly leave? Thus, seeing his juniors thriving, his eyes filled with joy.

But his expression quickly turned serious. "We can celebrate later; for now, we need to deal with these monsters." Looking at the continuously approaching monster horde, Gareth stomped the ground, approaching the foot of a large red dragon with a speed unbefitting a dwarf. Then, with the astonishing brute strength of an LV6, he slammed his great axe into the red dragon's foot.

Facing Gareth's assault, the large red dragon was knocked down without any struggle, its flesh and blood splattering. His incredibly swift movements and decisive action made Tiona and the others gasp. At the same time, the other monsters were already closing in. Seeing this, Gareth tossed his great axes aside and gripped the tail of the fallen red dragon. His five fingers pierced the tough red scales, and pulling the massive monster, he actually started running. Then, under everyone's stunned gazes, he incredibly lifted the red dragon, using it as a weapon to smash into the other monsters.

"No way?!" Bete and the others, who had never witnessed such a sight, murmured to themselves.

"Ooooooh! Ooooooh!" Amidst Gareth's magnificent roar, he spun his body, naturally spinning the red dragon along with him.

"Not good, get down!" Hearing Shirou's command, the four quickly followed Shirou and hit the ground. Gareth, gripping the red dragon's tail and swinging it like a flail, spun relentlessly, increasing his speed. As the rotations increased, so did the destructive power. Under Gareth's assault, all the surrounding monsters were completely sent flying. In the brutal whirlwind, countless monsters were directly pulverized, and even the large red dragons were severely wounded, collapsing to the ground. Amidst the wails of countless monsters, all surrounding creatures were swept away.

"Flyyyy away!" Seeing that there were no more monsters around, Gareth released his hands, throwing the red dragon he was holding into the sky towards the flock of evil wyverns. The giant dragon-flail, launched high into the air, arced through the sky, crushing the aerial dragon flock before slamming forcefully into the ceiling.

Looking at the ceiling, which was collapsing and raining down stones due to the red dragon's impact, Tiona, lying on the ground covered in dust, twitched her face and murmured, "No, this can't be real!" Three artillery dragons lay on the ground, tongues lolling out, and the monsters that had been sent flying were completely annihilated. In the depths of their vision, the head of a large red dragon was buried in the wall. Looking at this scene, which resembled the aftermath of a torrential downpour, Bete and the others felt their eyelids twitching. This was Gareth the Heavyweight, a Dwarf Great Warrior renowned alongside Finn the Brave and Riveria the Nine-Magic Princess.

"Hahaha, I really want to drink my fill of dwarf strong ale!" The man who had just performed this feat was breathing heavily, his shoulders rising and falling. He took out a High Potion from his pocket and gulped it down like alcohol. Afterwards, Gareth turned to the stunned Bete and the others and laughed, "What are you dazed about, youngsters! The monsters are coming again soon, hurry up and get on your feet."

No sooner had Gareth finished speaking than evil wyverns once again assaulted them from the large cavity in the sky that connected many floors. Looking at the scene in the distance, Gareth picked up the two great axes he had tossed earlier, maintaining a combat stance.

"I feel like Sir Gareth alone might be enough."

"What nonsense are you talking about? How can I just run wild like that all day?!" Looking at everyone who had stood up and gathered, Gareth immediately dismissed Lefiya's words.

"We should be able to hold out until Finn and the others arrive, right?!" Looking at Gareth, whose armor was scorched, his cape tattered, and numerous injuries on his body, Lefiya finally understood why Gareth called that an absurd attack. It was also then that Bete and the others realized that this was Gareth's full strength. Before this, he had always been positioned at the rear to protect everyone, which meant he usually had no opportunity to truly unleash himself.

While the four of Bete were amazed by Gareth's strength, Shirou, who already knew Gareth's capabilities, had already drawn his bow and fired an arrow, ending the life of the severely wounded red dragon with Broken Phantasm.

"Since we're all here, I'll take command from now on!" Everyone had no objection to Shirou's suggestion. After all, they all knew that Shirou was Finn and Loki's chosen successor for the next Loki Familia captain; it was only natural for him to take command in Finn's absence.

"Since no one has any objections, I'll begin giving orders."

"Our primary objective from now on is survival, to hold out until Finn and the others arrive here."

"Secondly, while we still have energy, we must try to clear out the red dragons on the 58th floor to lighten the burden on Captain Finn and the others."

"Earlier, through Clairvoyance, I clearly saw that there are many new species of monsters at the passage leading from the 58th floor to the 57th floor. So we need to use their presence to lure other monsters there."

"According to our previous intelligence, these new species prioritize attacking other monsters before attacking us. We can use this to alleviate pressure on ourselves." Hearing Shirou's plan, everyone nodded slightly. Indeed, they were somewhat isolated and helpless here; relying solely on the five of them to hold their ground here was a pipe dream. If they could leverage the power of the new species monsters, it would undoubtedly be good news for them.

"Since it's decided, let's do it." Seeing Gareth give his approval, everyone's eyes blazed with fighting spirit. The time for a tough battle had begun.

---

On the 53rd floor, Finn and the others were filled with doubt. On the previous 52nd floor, Ais had used Ariel countless times, yet they hadn't seen any traces of the new species. Now, even on the 53rd floor, there were still no new species, which put Finn on alert.

Not only that, as they advanced, they noticed that no monsters at all were appearing. This was the Dungeon, after all; on previous floors, monster traces were practically everywhere. But here, it was exceptionally quiet. At the same time, Finn's thumb began to throb faintly.

"It seems trouble is coming!" The alert group proceeded cautiously, and soon they encountered monsters. Before their eyes was a dense horde of new species. And amidst the new species, a giant carnivorous plant, noticeably many times larger than the new species monsters, also appeared in the monster horde. Furthermore, on the head of the giant carnivorous plant, a black-robed figure was gazing at the Loki Familia members.

"It's a monster person!" Looking at the monster person blocking their path, Finn's expression grew serious. A great battle was about to erupt.

--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!

Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter