Cliche Chapter 316-317: Change

After Finn was done discussing his strategy, Riveria seemed considerably tense. Even though she hid it behind a calm expression.

Asahi got curious and asked her.

“Mama-chan, what’s the matter?”

Riveria clenched her jaw, looking more than just pissed. “Stop calling me that.”

“I was just stating the fact. You looked like you aged a hundred years.”

Riveria was sure she would look the same a couple of hundred years later, yet his words struck some nerve. She never tried those ‘shiny’ clothes or attempted to appear girly. Still, she was a woman. Age was their archnemesis.

‘Were my worries that apparent?’

Asahi smirked. “Much more lively now. Care to tell what’s bothering the young princess?”

She sighed. “I will be dealing with most of the waves on the next floor. Everyone will focus on guarding me while I prepare my spells.”

Riveria poured everything out as if Asahi’s words incited her to speak her mind. She was the type to bury her worries and appear strong instead of babbling out her worries.

“What’s the big deal about that?”

He couldn’t tell what the ruckus was about. Fomoires weren’t that strong in his opinion. Any experienced level 3 adventurer could deal with them. Besides Ais, Finn, and Gareth wouldn’t be overwhelmed so easily.

“Big deal?” Riveria said with narrowed eyes. “Thousands of Fomoire will rush for our flesh. Every time we had a line of shieldbearers, magicians, and archers to stop the fomoire. A ten-men party can’t do that.”

She came here because of Loki’s big words about Asahi’s might and his demigod story. She hadn’t seen anything special about his skills, just brute strength. It’d be undeniably useful in taking down bosses, but how could he help them against a tide of goat demons? She was beyond stressed from the weight on her shoulders.

“Oi, I’m also here, aren’t I? We’ll blow them away with magic.”

Riveria recalled Asahi’s magic when she first met him and Nao on the 10th floor. Similar to Bete, she had thought of them as a newbie couple aspiring to be adventurers.

“Thank you,” Riveria said politely.

For her, actions spoke louder than words.

Ryuu knew Riveria wasn’t convinced. Out of all the high elves, only Rivera had a good character. The others had pride higher than normal elves.

“We’re leaving now,” Finn hollered, his Command Howl skill made his voice echo far away.

Alise, who had been silent because of the mask, nodded.

“You’re so cute when you’re silent,” he said.

She just stared at him, her eyes stretched wider than usual. As everyone began to leave, Alise got up and stretched a hand for Asahi.

Asahi gently squeezed her hand. “Little firm with a touch of female softness. Not bad. Not bad.”

Alise pushed down the mask, blushing lightly. “O-Of course, my skin is perfect.”

“Ryuu’s hand is much softer,” he said and grabbed Ryuu’s hand.

Holding the hands of two women, Asahi followed Finn and others. “Let’s stay like this forever.”

Alise and Ryuu speechless stared at his shameless excuse for touching them, but none of them tried to pull back. The warmth coming from his hand made their mind fuzzy.

(These poor lambs.)

Asahi chuckled at how right Klyscha was right now. If he tried to use his charm and showed them a little more pleasure, these inexperienced girls would stand zero chance. They will be seduced to his bed in less than a day. Fortunately for them, he believed in wholesome relationships more than the ones based on sex alone.

With hand in hand, the trio journeyed through the desolate lands of the 49th floor.

Ryuu was having a hard time. On one hand, she couldn’t stop herself from reveling in the gentle warmth coming from his big hand. On the other, she wanted to pull back and let Alise become closer to him. The conflict made her head spin. Unable to decide, she concluded.

‘It’s just my hands, there is nothing dirty in that.’

Meanwhile, Alise didn’t know how to feel about this. She felt like she was betraying her goddess’s trust even though Asahi was the one who did everything. Despite the guilt plaguing her, she didn’t want him to stop holding her hand and guiding her. She used to call out Ryuu for never letting go of a man who held her hand, yet she was being indecisive now.

‘Astraea-sama never tried to stop Kaguya from flirting with Asahi.’

Her friend was half-serious about getting in a relationship with Asahi. For a former princess, her standards for a man were pretty low. Her goddess knew that, yet she let Asahi and Kaguya flirt.

‘Is Astraea-sama dense?’

Finn’s group stopped to scrutinize the surroundings for the monsters.

“There,” Ais said, pointing to the south.

A sand storm was approaching, stirred by the rapid movements of the fomoire horde.

“Everyone, take your position,” Finn shouted and gripped his spear.

Asahi chuckled and patted Alise’s back. “Get as many as you can. I’ll watch your back.”

He could heal her with Phenex fire, or his life element. It was the perfect opportunity for them to get stronger.

Alise took a deep breath. This was the deepest she had ever been inside the dungeon. Instead of anxiety about the unknown, she was far more relaxed.

She slowly faced him and revealed a bright smile. “I’ll be relying on you, Junior.”

Her honest response surprised him a bit.

‘Where is the tsundere?’

He turned to Ryuu, who was still clinging to his hand like a little girl. “You too. You can’t get a better opportunity to gain excelia.”

Ryuu bobbed her head. “Understood...”

Separating from them, Asahi reached Finn’s group. Tiona brandished Urga, her double-bladed sword, grinning ear to ear. Tione swung her halberd, the lust for battle was apparent in her eyes. The Hiryute Sisters looked ready to duke it out with anyone.

Asahi wondered which magic he should use. As the area was massive, he could use any Diva spell.

‘Let’s go with Amon’s spells.’

Amon’s wind spells were versatile and didn’t cause massive damage to the surroundings.

The hideous goat heads appeared on the horizon. Carrying clubs of various shapes and sizes, the sea of monsters raced across the terrain.

Even the usually calm Aki gulped a mouthful of air. She gripped the hilt of her sword with a determined expression.

Ais calmly gazed at the incoming horde. Her resolve remained unwavering in the face of this scene straight out of any adventurer’s nightmare. She was going to kill everything and level up.

“Doesn’t the horde look bigger than the last time?” Gareth pointed out. “The last time we killed seven hundred beasts.”

Finn narrowed his eyes. “It does.”

“Seven hundred?” Asahi said. “I faced over two thousand when I was here.”

‘Dungeon-chan is giving me preferential treatment?’

He wondered. Or the dungeon hated him so much that three everything it had to kill him. The latter could be true since he tortured two so-called Children of Calamity.

“We’re advancing either way!” Finn stabbed a flag into the red sand. The emblem of a smiling trickster was sewn into the fabric. “Asahi Marikawa, Riveria, we will be relying on you. The rest will form a parameter. Prepare to guard!”

Riveria swallowed her dry saliva and nodded calmly. She was about to chant but a pat on her back stopped her.

“Loosen up this tension, alright.”

Riveria stared at him. “Please, do what the Captain asked of you.”

Alise shook her head. “Junior, let’s not bother her.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Riveria watched Alise’s back. The redhead had earned her respect during the Great War where she and her friends defeated the level 7 Alfia and saved the day. She didn’t seem the type to blindly trust someone other than herself.

‘Can he pull off a miracle?’

She hoped he did. It would be better than retreating then later climbing down 49 floors with the entire familia. While her Familia scattered in every direction, she raised her white staff. Her soft, feminine face took on a concentrated expression as her brows sank.

“Soon, the flames shall be released.”

The chants flowed out of her lips.

Her elegance mesmerized everyone on the battlefield. The carnage of the battlefield and her elegance seemed mismatched.

Moving his eyes from Riveria, Asahi cracked his knuckles. He circulated his mana without erasing the effect of his aura pill.

“Divinity Blender.”

He cast the 10th spell of Amon from the get-go. A golden wind wrapped him, swirling fiercely. It sprouted two golden wings behind him, giving him easy access to flight.

Ais felt a whirl of mana in the air and stopped in her tracks. Looking back, she saw a streak of gold. The golden armor around him shone brightly.

“Beautiful…”

She could feel the currents around him were deadlier than her magic Ariel.

Asahi didn’t stop for a second and charged into the Fomoire horde. The monsters’ cries of pain were snuffed out one by one as the swirl of the divine wind sent bloody limbs and heads flying through the air. He was a human-shaped sword flying through the battlefield with nothing but carnage in mind.

“What the hell is that?” Bete growled, eyes wide in shock.

“That’s beautiful,” Tiona muttered.

Tione nodded. “It is.”

“Captain, what are our orders!” Tiona shouted.

Finn, who guarded the northern side with Aki, washed the surprise off of his face. With a grin, he shouted back, “Yeah! Bete, go help Aki!!!”

Finn left an entire direction for Asahi, hoping his mind didn’t dry up until Riveria was done.

‘Loki-sama wasn’t wrong about his strength.’

Meanwhile, the high elf was still chanting. Despite the initial shock from Asahi’s wind cutter spell, her lips kept moving. A ring of jade light emerged from her feet, growing steadily as thousands of motes rose high into the air. If she couldn’t control this magic power, she would self-destruct. A phenomenon commonly referred to as Ignus Fatuus.

“Incinerate, Sword of Surtr—my name is Alf!”

The magic circle grew until it covered half the horde in its radius.

Asahi smiled at the scale of Riveria’s magic. He could go even faster and raze the entire horde, but he chose not to. If he did everything, the adventurers would feel like baggage. Some will even develop inferiority complexes. Doing that to the best squad of Loki Familia after the trust she placed in him felt wrong.

He kept his distance and let Finn tear down the monsters with his spear. Gareth swung his great ax, chopping the heads of the bigger Fomoire. Aki swiftly moved in and out of the horde like a cat, occasionally killing Fomoire. She and Bete distracted the horde for Alicia and Lefiya. The pair of delicate and mature elves furiously cast spells in tandem with Aki and Bete’s protection.

Ais wrapped herself in Ariel and shredded the Fomoire. Her attack power rose dramatically after she killed one Fomoire, thanks to her Hunter development ability. Ryuu was essentially doing the same, although a bit slower. The menacing clubs of Fomoire only hit her afterimages. Before they struck again, their heads would tumble down.

Meanwhile, Alise had wrapped her entire body in flames. The fire-resistant armor and clothes enchanted by Salamander allowed her the freedom to do this. Her burning sword cut through everything. She showed no mercy when she was in her ‘Scarlet Harnel’ mode. Knowing someone was watching her back, she unleashed her maximum flames.

‘It’s fun…’

She looked at Asahi through the corner of her eyes. Wrapped in the golden wind, he was still streaking through the black mobs. She stopped to watch his figure for a few more moments.

‘I really want him. I should talk to Astraea-sama…’

Only her goddess will decide her future. She’d rather be lonely than betraying the goddess who had watched over her since forever.

Just at that moment, Riveria had finished her chants. With sweat trickling down her forehead, she raised the staff high and triggered her spell.

“Rea Laevateinn!”

The adventurers quickly moved out of the way.

Countless pillars of flame sprang from the ground. The pillars kept growing until the ceiling. The Fomoire caught within the inferno were torn apart. The horde of more than five hundred vanished in a mere second.

The pillars receded, leaving an intense heat in its wake.

Riveria took deep breaths and observed the battlefield. The last horde was annihilated by one spell, but this time was different. The sea of monsters grew thinner, but it wasn’t enough.

‘I can only cast one more.’

She’d collapse if she tried to cast a spell of this level twice.

She prepared the chants again.

***

Asahi kept his entire focus on Ryuu and Alise. They were doing fine. His instincts would ring if they fell in any danger.

[—You have leveled up!]

Asahi chuckled. He had achieved level 33 while having fun. He flew up to the ceiling. The monsters kept pouring out of the walls in the far distance, showing no intention of stopping.

“Dungeon-chan is becoming a yandere,” he muttered.

Riveria sweated profusely while casting.

‘How many can she cast? Two perhaps.’

He gave Riveria the benefit of the doubt. But it wouldn’t be enough to kill everything. Everyone will eventually run out of magic power. This non-stopping horde will trample on them.

‘Dungeon-chan is so naughty.’

He sighed and looked down at the horde.

‘I’ll have to go full speed.’

He refreshed the Divinity Blender spell and launched himself into the fray.