Pushing aside the matter with Aiz for now, promising to have a proper chat with her once they leave the dungeon, Yuji watched on from the side as Finn gathered the rest of the Familia members together around a campfire.
He looked up at the ceiling and couldn't help but marvel at how it had turned night in the dungeon, seeming as though the dungeon was mirroring the day night cycle outside.
"Let's review our plan moving forward!" Finn said as he sat down to look at all the members of the Loki Familia gathering around the campfire by him, forming a large circle.
"The expedition's goal to trailblaze unexplored areas of the dungeon remains unchanged. We were planning on pushing towards Floor 59, but the horde of monsters the dungeon threw at us today reduced the number of our supplies more than what I would've liked."
He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, "Instead, our main priority is now completing our quest."
"The one issued by Dian Cecht Familia?" Tione asked, sitting to Finn's left.
"Yes. They want us to collect a large amount of water from the Cadmus Springs on Floor 51. Unfortunately, each spring only allows for a small yield, so to be as efficient as we can, we'll split into two small parties and head for two springs at once."
Finn grabbed a stick near his feet and pointed towards the first few people, "Quest party one will consist of Tione, Tiona, Ais and Lefiya. Quest party two will be Bete, Gareth, myself and Raul."
"Eh? You want me to come?!" Raul quickly interjected but was ignored.
"I should go with the captain~!" Tione quietly complained.
"Why was I chosen to go over Miss Riveria?!" Lefiya quickly asked in a slight panic.
"I shall remain behind to protect the camp." Riveria calmly stated. "Lefiya, you are the one who shall eventually follow in my footsteps. You shall go in my stead."
"That… That's true, but…" Lefiya muttered out, looking unsure of herself.
Yuji couldn't help but raise an eyebrow seeing her demeanor. It was sort of refreshing seeing someone so timid compared to the usual confident adventurers. But then again, could she really afford to stay like that if she wanted to go deeper in the dungeon?
"As for our newest guest, I don't want to impose, but it would leave me with a sense of ease if you also stayed behind to protect the camp." Finn requested Yuji.
"Sure, I don't mind, it's no skin off my back. I'm freeloading off you guys right now anyway." Yuji said with a light tone, causing a few faint chuckles to spread amongst the people.
Finn nodded in appreciation and continued on, "Cadmus Springs got its name for a reason. A cadmus dragon calls it home. With the exception of Floor bosses, it's the strongest monster ever discovered in the dungeon. Even so, I strongly believe all of you will absolutely succeed."
"Yes, sir!" Each of the people assigned to the Quest parties sang out.
With those words, everyone parted and headed off to their tents to sleep. Gareth walked up to Yuji and slapped his back, though Yuji didn't budge an inch from the dwarfs strong physique, "You can stay with me if you haven't picked a tent yet. I don't snore"
"Sure, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper anyway, thanks." Yuji said as he followed behind, watching the others part ways and head to their own tents. He spotted Raul gesturing at him from the corner of a tent, and when he turned to face him, the man mouthed out some words towards him, resembling the words 'He snoressss'.
Yuji chuckled and waved him goodnight, entering the tent. Gareth had already crashed into his bedding on one side of the tent, leaving the other free. Yuji laid down on the other and got comfortable, well, as much as one could on some sleeping bags stacked on a wooden frame.
'Wonder what the city is going to be like once we head back up again.'
With those last thoughts, he shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep…
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"I'm never sleeping in the same tent as you ever again."
"Hahahah! Come on, it's not that bad!"
Gareth laughed as he put on his equipment, getting ready to leave to fulfill Familia's quest. Yuji stood near the entrance towards Floor 51 and below, watching the group prepped themselves.
"Pfft…I tried warning you." Raul covered his mouth, stifling a laugh.
After a much deserved rest last night, the group was ready to head out once again, eager to finish their quest and head back home to the surface.
"Alright, we'll head down together before splitting up at the first intersection that'll come up. Riveria, hold down the fort until we get back." Finn addressed everyone, turning to Riveria at the end. "Even if we're in a safety point, anything can happen in the dungeon."
"Don't worry, we'll handle anything that comes our way if the need arises." Riveria stated, giving Lefiya a look and an encouraging nod.
The girl in turn gripped her staff and bowed back, turning to go join Aiz and the rest of her group.
Aiz gave Lefiya a smile, glancing at Yuji one final time before the group set off. Finn stayed back slightly, "If anything does happen, I'll be counting on you to help Riveria out."
"Nothing's going to happen with me here. Stop worrying and head out." Yuji gave him a reassuring smile and the Pallum reciprocated, leaving to join the Quest parties.
"Well, now we just wait for them to get back. You know how long they'll take?" Yuji stayed watching as their figures disappeared down the steps towards Floor 51, with Riveria by his side.
"At most, I presume they would take 7 hours. They will only be on Floor 51, so there is no need to bring any camping supplies with them, they can always come back and continue again tomorrow if today yields unsatisfactory results." Riveria stared at the dark entrance for a moment before turning to leave, heading back to the camp. She turned back towards Yuji and asked, "What will you do in the meantime?"
"Well, might as well explore the rest of this Floor while I wait. Got nothing else to do anyway." Yuji stretched his arms behind his back, a gust of wind blowing from who knows where and ruffling the few loose strands of hair on his head. "Tiona mentioned there was a spring nearby, right? I'll wash up a bit before looking around. If something happens, just yell out, really loudly."
He turned to leave, waving his farewell to Riveria as he walked to the steep drop by the edge of the plateau, giving her one final look over his shoulder and dropping straight down.
"*Sigh* Well, at least he's not as troublesome as Bete." Riveria muttered and walked towards the inner camp and began giving out her orders.
---------------------
"Close the formation!! Don't let a single drop of that liquid through!!" Riveria's shout echoed across the plateau and smoke bellowed from the remnants of various melted tents along the edges of the base camp.
Hundreds upon hundreds of Virga, green caterpillar-like monsters that could shoot out dissolving liquid swarmed up the side of the plateau the base camp was situated upon.
They had burst through the ground near the base of the plateau and began rushing up towards the Loki Familia. From far away, a long stretch of green mass piled from the bottom of the cliffface, heading straight up the side and converging at the top around the camp.
The defenders all huddled together, forming a tight encirclement, keeping the wounded and supporters near the back and middle, away from the front where the Virga pushed against.
Piles of melted shields and pieces of armor strewn the ground, a result of taking a direct hit that these species of monsters shot out.
"Leene, Amis, Litti, take the injured to the rear!! Anyone who can still move, grab pots and cutting boards, everything and anything that can be used as a shield! Prevent that liquid from getting through!" Riveria handed out her orders as she stood behind the frontliners who were all desperately holding the enemy back with their large shields.
Looking over her shoulder, she could see the supporters tending to the critically wounded with the elixirs they had on hand.
"Finn, Aiz and the others are due back from their quest any moment! We must hold out until they arrive!!"
One of the Virga at the front spat out its liquid towards her, which prompted one of the men at the front to quickly lift their shield to block. The blast struck the shield, but it was quickly dissolving as the horrid stench spread out and sizzled.
"It's melting! Drop it!"
"Dammit, pass me another!"
The supporters quickly passed more shields, or whatever could substitute as one, towards the front constantly whenever it was needed.
"Archers, loose!!" Riveria turned and ordered the few archers at the back.
"But… But Miss Riveria, this is the last round!" An elf dressed in light leather armor holding a bow said back, holding her last arrow between her fingers and on her bow. Her friends besides her are doing the same.
"Irrelevant, loose!"
Heeding her orders, the archers fired off their last volley of arrows, striking and killing a score of Virga that were climbing over its own allies, causing them to roll back and knock others down with them.
The situation only got worse as the fight went on.
"We can't hold them! There's not enough time for casting!!"
"Ahhhh! My… My leg…"
"There's more of them! Are there no more shields?!"
"Somebody Help me! I can't see!"
"Dammit! Damn it all!!"
"The bleeding won't stop, bring out more elixirs, now!!"
"We-We're running low! We only have half a craft left!"
Throughout the chaos, Riveria stood still, her breathing slowly gaining speed as her eyes darted left and right, looking at the faces of the terrified members of the Loki Familia. A flag bearing the Loki Familia emblem flapping behind her high up, with its edges singed and dissolving from the Virga's stray shots.
"I told you to shout for me, didn't I?"
Riveria was pushed out of her stunned state, snapping back to reality as she turned to the voice. She looked up and saw Yuji standing on top of the flagpole with one foot, the wind pushing his hair back as he stared down at her with a straight face, hands in the front of his jacket's pockets, as though all the shouting and suffering from the people below him did not enter his ears.
(AN: We see the fit bro, get down already! Can't utilize the sun kissed technique since there's no sun)
"Yuji…" Riveria could only say his name, shame marring her face as she bit her lip. "Please, assist us."
"All you had to do was ask."
He gave her one last glance from the corner of his eyes before turning to face the swarm of Virga.
The Virga seemed to become more violent the moment Yuji had appeared, throwing themselves forward into the shields and even impaling their own bodies on weapons.
"I'll be taking a page out of your book, brother." Yuji stated as he lifted his right hand up in an open grasp.
One of the support members behind him looked up, but then saw the sight far above Yuji and the rest of the people here.
"W-What's that? Is that… Is that all… blood?"
His voice attracted the attention of others close by, including Riveria. They each subsequently looked up and for a moment, forgot about the chaotic fight they were in.
Hundreds of tiny red orbs floated high up in the sky, blanketing the sky almost like a long stretch of red carpet if not for the flicker of light passing between them.
"How… When?" Riveria muttered out as she stared at the orbs. Magic of this scale always required a long cast time, but she hadn't heard any at all. He could've said his chant before appearing before her, but… she had a feeling deep down this wasn't the case, as illogical as that was.
"Chōshinsei" (Supernova)