Power Corrupts: Divine Truth (Patreon)

“Lili, you feeling okay?” I asked, spotting the smaller girl as I walked up to the central plaza, the dark sky hanging overhead. Even in the low light, the moment Lili turned to look at me, I saw something was wrong. She looked absolutely haggard like she stayed up all night for the second day in a row. Dark bags hung underneath her eyes, her light brown eyes were bloodshot and her face was pale. Practically bloodless. 

Even still, Lili nodded, looking as chipper as ever. “Lili is fine! Lili just stayed up a little too late past her bedtime, is all,” she said, beaming joy and happiness out of every pore. 

I frowned at her, not believing that in the slightest. “I’m serious, are you feeling okay? Do you think you’re up for going into  the Dungeon?” 

Again, Lili nodded, undeterred by my tone. “Lili won’t slow Mr. Jericho down at all, she promises-”

“I’m not asking because I think you’ll slow me down. I don’t want you getting hurt or push yourself when you’re ill. Lili, you look absolutely exhausted.” I observed, wishing that her coat didn’t cover so much of her so I could find more symptoms. She looked awful. 

Lili blinked, my concern catching her off guard, but she shook her head a moment later. “Lili isn’t sick. She...just hasn’t been sleeping really well,” she admitted, looking down so I couldn’t see her face. “Lili’s familia dues are coming up, and she has rent too. Lili has been stressing out a whole bunch because she doesn’t think she can afford both.”

That was a lie. I’m ninety-nine point nine percent sure of it. In the canon timeline, Lili avoided paying her dues for months to stockpile funds to buy her way out of the Soma familia. I guess it wasn’t any real surprise that she didn’t trust me enough to not tell me the real reason, but I had my suspicions. 

“...Are you absolutely positive that you’re okay to go into the Dungeon,” I pressed, making Lili look up at me as she gave another nod. I didn’t believe her in the slightest, but she seemed determined to come with me into the Dungeon. Did that mean there was a trap, or was she that eager to impress her cash cow. Did she think that I would just find another supporter? “Because if you can’t, then I’ll go in alone. You can take the day off and we’ll just pick up tomorrow.”

Still, Lili shook her head, “Thank you for the offer, Mr. Jericho, but Lili is certain that she can keep up. Please, don’t worry about her.” She insisted, still smiling at me but when she looked as ill as she did, then it looked that much more out of place. 

“Then...at least take this then,” I said, pulling out a stamina potion that I passed over to her. “I don’t know how much it should help, but at the very least then it should keep you going for a bit,” I said, watching her as she popped the cork and drained the potion. “And, I want you to tell me if you don’t think you can go on. None of that toughing it out, crap, okay?” 

This time, Lili’s smile seemed a little more genuine, “that’s a little hypocritical coming from Mr. Jericho,” she commented, her tone light and teasing. 

Well, she had me there. “Do as I say, not as I do,” I quoted to cover up my hypocrisy. I learned that tidbit from my dad. “So, what will you do if you feel like you can’t continue?”

“Lili will tell Mr. Jericho that she needs a break,” Lili said, her tone serious, seeming a little more alive now that she had an endurance potion in her. I guess those were the energy drinks of the fantasy world. Ah, I just reminded myself of coffee. I really needed to look into on if there was any of that lovely beverage in this world. 

“Exactly,” I said, gesturing for us to go on our way. Lili happily nodded as we made our way up the steps. Again, there was no Eina or Misha to be found, so we were able to march our way into the Dungeon without any complications. We blew through the first six floors in no time -- with my greatly improved Strength and Endurance. I could sprint all the way down, barely winded by the time I reached the seventh floor. 

I gripped my sword in one hand as we stalked down the halls. Unlike all the times before, we weren’t immediately besieged by monsters as soon as we stepped onto the seventh floor. That told me one of two things -- either the monsters were floating around somewhere else, already spawned, or someone got here first and already killed them so they were on cooldown. 

If it was the second, then that sucked but oh well. If it was the first, that meant there could be a swarm of killer ants somewhere in the halls. With that thought in mind, I summoned upon my map to make sure we had a simple path back to the surface, and to make sure we didn’t go near large open spaces or pantries. 

Minutes passed as we walked through the halls, only the occasional monster appearing. Without constantly fighting, it made exploring the Dungeon exceptionally faster. I did my best to avoid open areas, but as we consistently found nothing, the more it looked like someone had cleared out this floor before heading down. 

Which raised some questions. How high of a level were they if they could solo a floor? Or was a it a group? Either way, for the past twenty minutes, I only had a hundred exp to show for it and, usually, by this time I had closer to five hundred. At this rate, I was better off going back up to the sixth floor. 

“Perhaps we should go down to the eighth floor?” Lili suggested in my ear, her grip tight but already I heard the beginnings of labored breathing. She really wasn’t doing too hot, was she? Though, I considered her words for a moment, feeling...uneasy about the proposal. 

The recommended stats for the eight floor and below were E. Most of my physical stats were D, so technically I could go down there. 

But...it was a bit odd that Lili was suggesting that we go down there. To be blunt, I didn’t think she was trying to get me killed. Why would she? I was making her a crap ton of money, but there was something about this that raised red flags. Or, was I just overthinking it? It wasn’t like Lili didn’t know I seemed to make some incredible gains each day. I went from being able to barely carry her for more than a few minutes, to being able to sprint for thirty minutes and barely breaking a sweat. 

She wouldn’t need to know my stats to know that I made some pretty big jumps. She could be assuming that I was strong enough to at least hang around the entrance. Not to mention, if things did go bad, then there wasn’t much on this floor that would try to ambush us. Actually, this was probably my best shot to test the waters of the eighth floor.

"Good thinking," I praised as I started to make my way towards the entrance of the eighth floor. We were already kinda close, so it didn't take very long to reach there. Especially when the only monsters we came across were a few purple moths, and that was it. The entrance to the eighth floor looked similar to the seventh, only it stood out less. If I didn't know it was the entrance, then I would have assumed that it was another tunnel. 

The man-made feeling was gone from the Dungeon. The steps were uneven while some were a lot bigger than others. Like it was trying to look man-made, but it was crafted by a drunk toddler that only knew what stairs were because an equally drunk toddler described them.

Slowly, I made my way down to the eighth floor, trying to spot the differences.  Walking down, I stepped onto the eighth floor for the first time. 

It looked...pretty much exactly the same as the seventh floor. Maybe a little bigger, the ceiling was higher, but the tunnels looked to be about the same size. I waited a moment, waiting for the sound of monsters erupting from the walls, only for nothing to happen for a moment. A deep frown tugged at my lips as I walked a few more steps. Still nothing. 

“What’s going on?” I muttered to myself, not expecting an answer. 

“Maybe another familia came down here on a money gathering run?” Lili answered me, sounding just as thoughtful. That caught my attention.

“Money gathering?” I asked, starting to walk down the tunnels, slowly mapping out the floor since Eina hadn’t given me one. I don’t think she expected me to get to this floor any time soon. Oh, man, she was going to be so pissed when she found out. 

“It’s where a familia brings out all their members to gather as much money as they can. It’s a more common tactic for adventurers going to the middle floors, but if a familia doesn’t have any members that are level 2, then they’re forced to do it on the upper floors.” Lili explained, sounding just as annoyed about this as I was. Which was surprising. And reassuring. 

“So they don’t bother with the first six floors because the monster stones aren’t worth it?” I hazarded a guess, walking through the tunnels with growing confidence. This one seemed to be even emptier than the seventh. 

“Exactly. Depending on the familia, it could be like this all the way down to the twelfth floor,” Lili confirmed with a nod of her head. That was extremely frustrating. 

“Do you know who it could be?” I asked, picking up the pace a little bit to jog through the tunnels. If there was nothing here, then I might as well map as much of it as I can. I sincerely doubt that Eina was going to be handing over any maps to this floor when she found out I was on it. Or, maybe she would, but either way, there would be a whole lot of yelling involved. 

Lili shook her head, “Lili doesn’t know. Doing money farming on the upper floors is usually frowned upon since most adventurers can’t go into the middle floors, so the rest of the city won’t make as much money. Lili is sure she’ll learn who it is later today when everyone starts bad-mouthing that familia.”

Well...that freakin sucks. I was kinda pumped for taking on the eighth floor, not to mention that today was a complete loss in terms of exp and stats. 

“Should we go back up to the sixth floor?” Lili questioned, sounding like she wanted something for waking up this early. I couldn’t blame her there. 

“Could you tell me where the entrance for the ninth floor is- I’m not going down, but so I can map it out in my head when we come back down here,” I hastily explained, hearing Lili suck in a breath to tell me that was a horrible idea. “And we know this floor is practically empty for the next couple of hours, so we should be fine. What do you think?” 

Lili didn’t say anything for a moment before I felt her nod. “So long as Mr. Jericho promises to run away when it looks like were put in a tight spot and not leave Lili behind,” she requested, forcing me to swallow a sigh. 

“I promise I won’t leave you behind,” I swore, feeling awful that I had to promise that in the first place. It seems that she still didn’t trust me. 

With Lili directing me, it didn’t take long to find the entrance to the ninth floor. There were only a handful of monsters crawling about, the Dungeon offering minimal resistance as I delved deeper into it. The entrance looked nearly the exact same as the entrance to the eighth, and when I stepped down the stairs, I saw that it looked similar to. 

Everything was just getting a little bit bigger. As I glanced up at the ceiling, I frowned since I doubt I’d be able to jump and get the purple moths and other flying critters now. And since everything was bigger, the shadows the minimal light cast were longer and darker. Not so dark that I couldn’t peer through the darkness, but just dark enough to hide something if I didn’t pay attention. 

My musing was cut short when I heard the sounds of the Dungeon walls crumbling. My hearing was so sharp at this point, I guessed that three monsters were spawned. Glancing over to my right, I saw that I was correct. Three killer ants pulled themselves from the walls -- instantly, I noticed the difference between the ones I was killing on the seventh floor. 

These were bigger. The head was almost twice as big, its legs were thicker as they spread out more for stability. The mandibles were nearly the same size as a short sword, twitching as they seemed to be imagining ripping me apart with them. The ants earlier were the size of Lili, but these came all the way up to my stomach. 

They were creepy looking as all hell. Their exoskeleton was darker, almost black in some places -- these must be soldier ants. 

Wasting no time, I rushed towards them, Lili dropping off my back so I could fight this new enemy unimpeded. I gripped my sword with both hands, angling it so the tip was even with the closest killer ant before I thrust my sword forward. Immediately, I felt the difference as my sword plunged into the monster’s skull. The exoskeleton was thicker. Worse, since its head was so big, I think I missed the brain. 

The killer ant threw its head back, nearly ripping my sword from my hands, as the other two moved to flank me. I backpedaled, yanking my sword free. The action was so sudden that I should have fallen on my butt, instead, I deftly dodged out of the way as an ant lunged at me. I guess Graceful did what it said on the tin. 

Seeing an opening, I brought my sword down on the ant’s neck. Its thorax seemed too small in comparison to its head and abdomen. Snarling, I cut my way through the tough exoskeleton, beheading the monster. Even as its head flew free, the other two monsters pressed the attack, one of them gushing bug juice from its head. 

They climbed over the body, delaying them just enough that I could rear back my sword and unleash a slash at their heads. Swinging with all my strength behind it, I cleaved through the fist killer ants skull but the second was spared of any serious damage. With my sword out of position, it lunged again, its mandibles going for my neck. I dodged to the side, the monster sailing by. I couldn’t kill it, but I slashed at its legs, they served with far greater ease. 

The monster collapsed in a heap, lashing out in agony before I put it down with another stab in the head. 

“So, that was new,” I commented, checking the tunnels to see that they were still empty. Lili wasted no time going to the corpses to dig out the monster stones. Out of the three I killed, one of them dropped a large mandible that Lili dropped into her bag. Hopefully, that trend would continue while we were down-

I heard more stone clatter to the floor, not as many this time. A lone killer ant emerged from the wall. I darted forward, killing the monster before it could fully escape, cutting it in half at the thorax.

“Mr. Jericho sure is strong,” Lili commented as she retrieved another magic stone. No mandible. That quest reward would be mine! “Usually, only veteran adventurers can cut through the exoskeletons of soldier ants. And Mr. Jericho moved really well just now for being in heavy armor.”

I nodded, feeling pleased with myself. I had my worries about not getting that extra five percent exp boost for Dexterity, but I think it was the right move. I didn’t really notice it when I was walking around or carrying Lili, but when I was fighting, it was easy to see the difference in how I moved. My movements felt smoother, more...reactive to what I wanted.

Yeah, I think I made the right choice. 

“Thanks, but these things feel a lot tougher than the killer ants before. I doubt I could have managed it with my old swords.” I replied, keeping an ever-vigilant eye on our surroundings. Once I got used to fighting them, they wouldn’t be an issue, but for now, they seemed to be a pretty big threat. “Do they only spawn this floor? I know things change a lot on the tenth floor.”

That’s when large monsters started to spawn like orcs. Landform weapons became a thing. Smaller monsters got stronger and faster. 

“They do,” Lili confirmed with a nod of her head as we slowly moved away from the entrance. “Soldier ants are why the guild recommends having stats that are at least E to come to this floor.”

I glanced over at the entrance before turning the corner, before turning my attention back ahead. We still had a clear shot back. This floor didn’t seem to be completely cleared out like the others, but so long as we hovered around the entrance, I didn’t see any problems with exploring a bit. Neither did Lili since she didn’t say anything about it. 

As I jogged through the tunnels, killing the occasional monster, I heard a sound behind us. The sound of footsteps, of metal tapping against metal. For a long while, I figured that it was something in Lili’s bag, but the sound was never consistent. As minutes turned to hours, for a time, I thought I had imagined it. 

I sidestepped a soldier ant before I cut it in half, eyeing the horned menace that lurked in the shadows. The horned rabbit launched itself at me like a speeding bullet, its horn aimed at the back of my knee. I turned sharply so the horn hit the knee guard of my armor, breaking the horn. Before the monster could flee, I stomped on the rabbit, crushing it. 

Whipping my head around, I looked behind us. To my surprise, I saw someone peeking out of the corner to watch the fight. They jerked their heads back, but it was too late. Someone had been following us. 

“Come out,” I hollered at the person, turning around to face them. Lili glanced at me, then at the direction that I was facing. She pulled out her crossbow and pointed it at the corner. For a moment, the only sounds on the ninth floor were the hushed voices of whoever was behind the corner -- meaning, there was at least two. 

I gripped my sword tighter, ready to shout the demand one more time before they stepped out with confidence. And they should feel confident. There were five of them, three of them were decked out in armor while another two hung back, wearing leather armor with bows in their hands. All of them were men, the tallest of them was the one at the center that carried a sword and shield. 

The three warriors spread out, making it difficult to run by them. The one on the left carried a broadsword, a handsome man if it weren’t for three long scars that dragged down half of his face. On the right was a smaller elf, two twin daggers in his hands, his hair a deep blue while his golden eyes burned with greed. 

My gaze swept over them, taking a step forward as I pushed Lili behind me. My gaze lingered on the two in the back, humans holding bows aimed at me. Brothers, if I had to guess. 

“Well then. It’s like that, is it?” I spoke, keeping my voice calm, my gaze landing on the emblem emblazoned on the guy’s shoulder pad. Soma’s emblem. These were the guys that tried to rob me yesterday. And...I just put Lili behind me. Had I just surrounded myself?

Was this a trap? Because this looked like a trap. She nudged me to come down here, now these guys appear? Were these the guys that cleared out two floors? Because if that was the case, then I was fucked. 

“Lili didn’t know,” Lili spoke, her voice desperate as the men chuckled at my question. “Lili didn’t know! Please believe Lili, Mr. Jericho!” I...didn’t entirely believe her, but, at the moment, it didn’t look like I was about to get a bolt to the back of the head. That was good enough for me, at the moment. 

“Lili, I want you to take off your bag and get ready to run,” I spoke quietly, glaring at the man that stood front and center. A plan formed in my mind because there was no way that this was going to end well. 

“Ah, yeah, it’s like that,” the leader said, raising his shield as Lili dropped her bag. “We were hoping for a big payday before familia dues, but we barely have anything. I don’t suppose you’ve had more luck?” He asked, a knowing grin on his face. His sandy blonde hair was cut short, revealing the face of a young man. 

So, they didn’t clear the floors. That was better. It was still five to one, but it was better. 

“No, I don’t think I have anything for you,” I said, my tone nowhere near as friendly. I was going to have to kill them. There were too many of them. They were going to kill me if I didn’t hand over everything that I had. I doubt they would stop at monster stones -- they would take my sword, armor, and potions too. They would leave me with nothing, forcing me to start from scratch. 

“Don’t be like that! We’ve been watching you, you know. You’re so generous with that girl behind you. Why can’t you throw a little of that generosity our way?” He asked, taking a confident step forward as the other two moved up with him in sync. 

I should have seen this coming. I was a huge guy, and it wasn’t like it was a secret at this point that I was a rookie. And most days I came back up with around fifty thousand valis.

“How about this -- you hand over your magic stones and send...Lili, was it? Send her to collect whatever you have saved up. And we’ll let you live.” He said, throwing me a smile filled with white teeth. “And, maybe, you let us in on that generosity from now on? Nothing crazy, but maybe you toss us half of what you make down here?”

Yeah, this was only going to end one way. 

“To be honest, I think I’d rather just kill the lot of you,” I told them, speaking with far more confidence than I felt. My heart pounded in my chest, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. They had ambushed me, they were trying to rob me. This wasn’t like with Asshole the Second. I had a choice there. I didn’t have one here. 

“That’s a real shame. We could have a pretty profitable relationship, you know. You’re apart of a new familia -- there’s all kinds of things we could help you with-”

I reached back to Lili’s book bag and threw it at the group of people. It sailed through the air, not fast enough that they couldn’t dodge it, but the bag was so big that it covered my approach. I heard the sharp twangs of a bow, so the archers had shot at me but the bag served as a shield. They were expecting me to go left or right, to thin out the numbers with a surprise attack. 

Instead, I dropped to my knees, sparks flying as my momentum carried. Like I thought, they had mostly stayed in formation based on their legs. That changed when I swiped at their legs with my sword. My sword wasn’t long enough to get all of them in one swing, so I picked the easy targets. The elf and the guy in the center. 

The elf was wearing light armor, so only his knees were armored. I cut through his boots and legs with ease, severing his legs as my sword continued the path towards the guy in the center. He was wearing armor, unfortunately, so I didn’t manage to do the same to him. Instead, I knocked his legs out from underneath him. 

The elf screamed bloody murder as the center guy went down, Lili’s pack hitting him since he wasn’t prepared for it. There was still the broadsword guy, but I ignored him for now. As I pushed myself up, I looked at the archers to see that they wore matching expressions of terror. They both went to fire off another arrow, but one of them fumbled, dropping it as I rushed towards them. The second did not. 

An arrow raced towards me, I don’t know if they were aiming for my chest, but that’s where they hit. Thank the gods for heavy armor. The arrow bounced off my armor, letting me get in close. Readying my sword, I swung with all my strength, pivoting for a little extra power because I heard Broadsword Guy rushing my back. 

My greatsword cut right through their leather armor. Flesh and bone gave way with some resistance, but it was easier than cutting the soldier ants in half. I cut through one brother, then the other, both halves falling to the floor as I turned on my heel just in time to block an attack from Broadsword Guy. A loud clang rang out, Broadsword Guy’s face twisted int a ferocious snarl. 

I guess they were friends. He pushed me back a half step, slashing at me with a ferocity that I was barely able to block in time. Each time our swords clashed, I felt the vibrations race through my arms, my grip so tight on my sword that my fingers could mold it. His sword was little more than a blur to me, forcing me to be on the defensive. In a way, it felt a lot like fighting my brother with lightsabers back when I was a kid. Only about a thousand times more dangerous. 

Sword and shield guy pushed himself to his feet, and unless I wanted this to be a two on one fight, then I had to end this fast. He was faster than me. Stronger too, despite my larger size. What did I have on him? Dexterity. Grace and Ballerina.

Instead of blocking the blow that was poised to behead me, I stepped out of its way as I readied a counter-attack. Broadsword Guy was already moving to block the attack, so plan A was already a failure. Instead, I angled my sword away from me as I took a step forward, making his sword effectively useless. His eyes widened when he realized what I had planned, jerking his head out of the way but it was too late. 

The edge of my sword opened up the side of his neck, red blood spurting out as I shoulder checked him hard enough that he fell. He let go of his sword, a hand going to his neck to stem the bleeding as another hand went to his pouch. 

Ah. Then he would live. 

The thought came from something ice cold and rational in my mind. Health potions were incredibly effective -- if he poured one powerful enough on his neck, then he would be back in the fight. He was using the same strategy that got me through every video game I have ever played: Spam health potions. 

So, I cut his head off. 

As his head flew free, I heard a snarl rip itself from Sword and Shield Guy’s throat as he rushed towards me. “What the fuck is this?” He roared at me, swinging at me- my legs nearly buckled at the near overwhelming force he hit me with. He wasn’t just stronger than me, he was stronger than Broadsword Guy as well. “You killed them!” 

I did. I cut a guy’s legs off. I cut two guys in half. I executed another. I… “I told you I would,” I said, pushing my thoughts into the deepest, darkest pit in my mind I could find. 

That was the wrong thing to say. Sword and Shield Guy snarled, shifting his grip to make a thrust at me. I blocked the blade, but not enough. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder as he practically stabbed my shoulder, only to yank his blade to the side. It hurt a lot, just not enough to stop me. I’m sure at this point there was more adrenaline in my veins than blood. 

“What kind of bullshit are you trying to pull?! You’ve been an adventurer for a fucking week, my fucking ass!” Sword and Shield Guy roared at me, swiping at me. I managed to block again, but I felt another cut on my arm, though it was shallower this time. I was losing this fight. 

“You’re in over your head, you stupid kid. I’m nearly a level 2 adventurer!” Sword and Shield Guy yelled, lunging at me. I blocked a swing aimed at my arm, no sooner that I blocked it, he was attacking again. His sword slipped downwards, dragging across the back of my knee and only Welf’s foresight saved me from getting hamstrung. 

As he withdrew, tsking to himself, I seized the chance to press the attack. My blade was completely out of position, so I reversed my grip and lashed out at his face with the pommel. Sword and Shield Guy dodged a second too late, the heavy pommel slammed into his forehead hard enough that skin broke. 

Sword and Shield Guy stumbled back, recovering from the blow. Gripping my sword with both hands, I swung as hard as I could, intent on cutting him in half. Unfortunately, he wasn’t stunned enough that he was out of the fight. He raised his shield, blocking the blow, and even as he skid a few inches over the rough ground, my sword came no closer to him. 

He was so much stronger than me. His stats had to be somewhere around...B, or A even. He couldn’t be a level 2 since I was able to fight back at all, but this was insane.

“You actually suck at this,” Sword and Shield Guy sneered, sliding his blade forward to cut me again on the arm as he retreated out of my reach. “Is this your first time fighting something that isn’t a monster?” He taunted, making me grit my teeth in response. 

Now more confident with his superiority, he went on the attack. His sword darted to my face, I went to block it but it proved to be a feint, leaving me completely out of position to stop a cut at my hip. When I went on the attack to drive him away, he simply parried my sword before cutting my forearm again. 

“It’s a lot different fighting a man than a monster,” he pointed out, sneering so hard that I hoped he pulled something as he drew another red long on my upper arm. Blood dripped from my wounds freely, trailing down my arms and dripping from me with every movement. I was lucky that I had the neck guard and leg armor, otherwise, he would have gone for an artery by now. 

I wasn’t winning this fight, I slowly started to understand. I had no sword skills beyond wildly swinging my sword. He was stronger, faster and more experienced. What did I have on him? My size? 

With lack of a better plan, I darted towards him, swinging my blade with a wordless roar. Sword and Shield Guy smirked as he dipped below my blade, his own poised to stab upwards. I let go of my sword with one hand, lashing out at his blade and smacked it off course with my wrist. I felt the blade cut into the bone, but I would be fine. All I needed was a health potion and I would be fine. 

Now that he was wide open, I threw myself at him, knocking the both of us over. But I was on top. 

“Get off me-!” Sword and Shield Guy started to shout, thrashing underneath me with shocking strength. He tried to flip me over, and he would have managed it if I hadn’t jabbed a thumb into his eye, crushing it. “AHHH!” He screamed in agony, his face twisting. He hit me with his sword, but it harmlessly bounced off my armor. 

Since my sword was too long, I had to reverse my grip and raised it high before bringing it down on his forehead. Once. Then twice. Then a third time and a fourth time and a fifth. I kept slamming the pommel into his head until it cracked, splitting open. 

I won. 

“Fuck me,” I cursed, rolling off him. The elf from earlier was still screaming his lungs out. Looking at him, I saw him clutching at his bleeding stumps, trying in vain to slow the bleeding. Crimson blood slipped between his fingers, dripping into a pool that rapidly expanded. My stomach clenched at the sight, dawning horror filled me. 

I did that, didn’t I? At the time, I wasn’t really thinking about anything other than surviving. Of winning the fight. I was...very different now that the fight was over. I cut that guy’s legs off. I was watching him bleed out. Broadsword Guy, I straight up executed him. Sword and Shield Guy, I broke his skull open-

No. No, none of that. I could think about all that crap later when time was of the essence. I pushed myself up, spotting Lili pretty much exactly where she had been earlier. Her crossbow was still in hand, but when she caught me looking at it, Lili dropped it like a hot potato. 

“Lili didn’t know,” Lili swore, tears gathering up in her eyes. “Please believe Lili, Lili had no idea that Soma familia was trying to steal from Mr. Jericho!” She took a step passed the weapon, her bottom lip trembling as she held her hands up in surrender. I wanted to believe her. She seemed genuine. 

But I couldn’t. Lili was a brilliant liar and actor. No matter how much I wanted to believe her, I couldn’t. 

“Just…” I trailed off when the elf let out another horrified scream, clutching at his legs. He looked up at me, holding out a blood-drenched hand, an expression of pure horror on his face.

“Please! Please, a-a health potion! Please!” He begged, his face devoid of a single drop of blood, his dark blue hair plastered to his sweaty skin. A hand went to my pouch to give him one, only for my hands to pause. They...they tried to kill me. They tried to rob me. Maybe they didn’t deserve this, but…

I regret not killing Asshole the Second a couple of days ago. If I hadn’t been such a pussy, I wouldn’t have to worry about blackmail or the Soma familia or anything like that. If I had just killed him, then this entire thing would have never happened. 

I swallowed my horror and put on a brave face. I could do this. I could totally do this.

Taking a knee, the dying man clutched at me weakly, only to catch a second wind when I pulled out a health potion. My mouth felt uncomfortably dry as I held the health potion out of reach, his weak clawing at my armor doing nothing. I quenched my thirst by drinking the health potion in front of him, his expression crumbling into utter despair. 

“Please, I’m begging you, I don’t want to die!” He wailed, fat tears trailing down his face. My will to do this nearly crumbled then and there. A hand went to my pouch again to give him one, but I stopped myself. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I pulled out another health potion that I held out of reach. 

“Who put you up to this?” I asked, trying to keep my voice firm. Showing weakness when I was...was practically torturing a guy would defeat the purpose. 

“No one did! We- we saw that you were kept bring up a lot of money, so we did some asking around and found out that you were a rookie! We thought you were just cocky since nothing could seriously hurt you!” The elf practically screamed at me, a hand lunging for the health potion. I don’t think he was lying. 

So, this wasn’t Asshole the Seconds move. Which was...good?

“D-Did anyone tip you off?” I asked calmly, glancing up at Lili, who looked frozen stiff. She stared at me, wide-eyed, appearing so scared I half expected her to take off running. 

“No! I told you, we heard that elf screaming about you and kept seeing you making a lot of cash!” The Elf roared at me, apparently pissed that he had to answer the question again. “Please, please, just give me the health potion. I-I won’t say anything about this. I swear. I swear on my fucking life! Please, give it to me!”

Lili...wasn’t in the clear yet. It was possible that he didn’t know. I couldn’t trust her about this because I wanted to. No matter how I looked at this, this looked shady as all hell. 

“Did you tell anyone you were going to do this?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around what I was about to do. Knowing that I was going to do it, and kneeling here to do it were very different things. My hands got all sweaty, my heart pounded in my chest even harder than it did in the actual fight. 

“No! W-we didn’t tell anyone, didn’t w-want anyone to muscle in our p-payday,” the elf stammered out, still weakly grabbing at the health potion in my hand. 

“Are you sure that no one knows? Because if you’re lying…” I moved the health potion away from him, and the pathetic noise that he made nearly made me puke. 

“No one knows,” the elf swore, practically sobbing as he grasped at the health potion. 

“Is anyone else planning anything? Has...uh...Canoe said anything?” I demanded, struggling to recall Asshole the Second’s real name. The elf was fading fast. He didn’t have much gas left in the tank. 

“I don’t know! I swear I don’t know! Please, just give me the health potion. I-I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die…” the elf said, his voice trailing off as it was lost in heavy sobs. Everyone thought that when they stared death in the face, they’d be the cool, collected, badass that didn’t blink. I sure did. 

After dying once, I’m certain that if it hadn’t been so fast, I wouldn’t be any better than the elf. 

Swallowing thickly, I pushed myself to my feet. I didn’t get all the answers I wanted, but I got enough. The elf grabbed onto my leg, muttering denials because he knew what was coming. I...doing this was probably going to royally screw things up with Lili, but in this scenario, I couldn’t bring myself to care. Especially when I wasn’t sure if Lili hadn’t set this up. 

“Don’t,” The elf ordered, trying to control his voice as he squeezed down on my armor. “Please, don’t.”

I raised my sword and, for a moment, I hesitated. Did I really have to do this? Were there better options? Maybe if I made him promise...no. I picked the wrong choice once already when it came to this decision. I should have killed Canoe when I had the chance. If I let him live, then I was going to constantly wonder if he was going to keep whatever promise he made to save his life. He was begging now because he was in shock. That shock would turn to anger soon enough. 

So, I plunged my sword down into his chest. The elf gargled, his hands going to my sword, but they never made it. The fell to the side, his gaze staring up at me but his eyes were blank. He was dead. 

A huge sigh escaped me as I pulled my sword free. I stared at his body for a second, then I turned my attention back to Lili. She stared up at me, so still I don’t think she was breathing. When it was clear she wasn’t going to speak, I broke the heavy silence between us. 

“Lili...you have to understand how this looks, right? I was just ambushed by your familia members,” I spoke, keeping my voice calm. Slowly, Lili nodded, her expression a mix between fear and anger. 

“Lili knows how this looks, but Lili didn’t know about this. Or any of it! Lili didn’t set a trap for Mr. Jericho! I- the Soma familia is really big, and-” She cut herself off, taking a step forward, another step away from her weapon. I wanted to believe her. I really, really did. 

But…”Lili, if I brought you in front of my goddess, and asked you to say that you didn’t know about this, what would my goddess say?” I asked, watching her very carefully. Hope ignited in her eyes as she gave a firm nod. 

“Lady Hestia would say that Lili is telling the truth!” Lili declared with so much certainty that it made me pause. She looked half ready to grab me by the hand and march me to Hestia herself. That was...good, wasn’t it? If she was so confident, then that had to mean she was telling the truth, right?

I hesitated before I gave her a slow nod. “Okay. That’s what we’ll do then,” I said, watching very carefully for any hint that she might be lying. If anything, Lili looked relieved. 

“Thank you for giving Lili this chance to prove herself, Mr. Jericho,” Lili said, going towards her bag with my permission. I turned my attention to the bodies, swallowing back bile as it sunk in that I caused this carnage. I pushed my disgust away and started following Lili. The urge to loot the bodies was lost underneath the desire to get the hell out of here. 

After Lili picked up her bag, neither of us said a word to each other. 

…

“Is this Mr. Jericho’s home?” Lili asked, looking around the hovel, trying to disguise her interest. She seemed surprised, which was fair I guess. Hestia and I could afford to move to a better place, one with a ceiling that wouldn’t leak when it rained, but the topic hadn't come up yet. It would soon enough if only because I wanted a bed that could actually fit me.

The small home was empty at the moment, so Hestia was probably off getting ingredients for dinner. She would be back soon enough. 

"Hm," I confirmed with a nod, sitting on the bed to give Lili some space. I gestured to the worn-down couch for her to sit on, paying close attention to her. She looked drained physically and emotionally. For a few seconds, there was a heavy silence, Lili oing her absolute best not to look at me while I didn’t know what to say. 

"I know it's not to look at but it's enough for me and my goddess," I spoke, at last, going to a safe topic. 

"Goddess Hestia? What...what is she like?" Lili asked, sitting on the center cushion. She clasped her hands in her lap, looking down at them to prevent me from seeing her expression.

"Bubbly," I started, scratching at a smooth cheek. "Kind. And she worries a lot about me, probably more than she should. She works hard too -- if you've gone down Spirits Cross, then you've probably seen her work a jagamarukun stall." At that, Lili glanced up at me sharply, surprised. 

"She is your goddess? Lili thought Mr. Jericho's goddess would a little more…" she trailed off, shifting where she sat as she looked back down at her hands. 

"Yeah," I agreed, knowing what she was trying to say. I would take a double look if I saw someone that looked like me walking down the street with someone like Hestia. "But I couldn't ask for a better goddess," I told her honestly, getting a small nod out of Lili. She fell silent after that, staring at her hands in deep thought. It would seem that I was going to have to carry this conversation. 

"Lili...tell me about the Soma familia," I requested, leaning forward so our eye levels at the same level. Lili’s hands curled into fists before she realized it, forcing herself to unclench them. 

"Does Mr. Jericho know what Soma is?" She asked in a quiet voice, still refusing to look at me. 

"I know your familia specializes in selling wine, but only your God makes it," I told her, not wanting to overplay my hand. It would one thing to know common knowledge about her familia, but the inner workings were closely guarded secrets. "But I'm guessing there's more to that story. I've seen some other members of your familia at the teller, and they always seem...desperate for more money." 

"That's because they are desperate. Lili's familia isn't like Mr. Jericho's," she continued, clasping her hands together. "The wine that the Soma familia sells, it's all labeled as failures to make true Soma wine. The familia sells it to recoup some losses, and failures are still worth tens of thousands of valis, but it might as well be water when compared to true Soma wine." 

"Lili's familia has dues to determine who gets to drink Soma wine. It's no more than a single sip but that's all it takes to get drunk...and...Soma wine...it's…" Lili trailed off, making me glance at my own hands in thought. 

"The euphoria that it gives is addicting," I supplied. "The feeling of release. It becomes all they think about, everything that they do is to chase that feeling. It makes the time when they’re not feeling it unbearable. They do things that they never would have done before to chase it. And, in their own minds, no matter how twisted and awful, make perfect sense if it gets them what they want." 

I glanced up to see Lili staring at me with naked shock. "Has Mr. Jericho…?" She asked, the question a sensitive one.

"My dad," I answered shortly, not wanting to delve deeper into painful memories and a lifetime of disappointment. Thankfully, Lili seemed to pick up on that since she nodded in understanding. 

“Lili’s parents died because of Soma. They went into the Dungeon to make money to get more Soma, and they never came out.” From the sounds of it, that was an old wound for her. “But no one cared. Plenty of members of the Soma familia go into the Dungeon and are never seen again.”

“And it’s not always the monsters that get them,” I stated, earning a slow nod from Lili. 

“Lili’s familia isn’t a real familia. All everyone cares about is drinking more Soma and nothing else. All the stronger members of the familia steal from the weaker ones like Lili, or...kill them to avoid paying them. It’s gotten to the point that no one in the familia will go into the Dungeon together. No one trusts anyone to not turn on them for a handful of valis.” Lili explained, painting a very grim picture for the Soma familia. 

“So...will anyone notice that, uh-”

“Lili doesn’t think so. Lili recognized some of them, and most of them were new members,” she said earning a sharp look from me. “But Kylar, the one with the sword and shield, did drink Soma regularly, so it’s possible that the leaders of the Soma familia might notice that he’s gone but they’ll probably assume he was murdered for money.”

Well, that was a relief. If the Soma familia decided to show up on my door right now, I’d die. No questions asked. I barely won that fight against Asshole the Second, and apparently, he was a generic mook that existed solely to show off how bad the bad guys were. 

“The leaders of your familia...they’re level 2, right?” I recalled, earning another nod from Lili. 

“Zanis and Chandra. They don’t really get along, but Zanis is the captain of the Soma familia. He’s the reason why the Soma familia is what it is. He’s the one that made it that you had to pay to drink Soma, and he doesn’t just let his familia kill each other for money, but he encourages it!” Lili practically shouted, the anger I saw a glimpse of before returning, only she was too tired to maintain it. She slumped into the couch, her shoulder drooping in defeat. 

I nodded, having known all that already. Zanis was scum of the highest order. He was the worst kind of villain -- a narcissistic mastermind that bought into his own hype that was evil for the purpose of being evil. When I came to this world, I can’t say killing him was one of the reasons, but it sure was on the list now. 

“And your god just lets that happen? Why doesn’t Soma do something about it? I mean, if he just told him to fuck off and not update anyone Status, then I can’t imagine Zanis would stay in power long after that,” I asked, making Lili clench her fists again, the anger surge in her tense, but small frame. 

“Because Soma doesn’t care enough to stop it. The Soma familia exists to support him so he can spend all his time making wine. He couldn’t care less what happens to the members of his familia,” Lili muttered bitterly. I nodded slowly at that, let out a soft breath now that the exposition dump was over. 

I heard the door opening behind me. Lili went stiff where she sat as Hestia hummed loudly to herself right up until she noticed that we were here. Several expressions passed over her face before she landed on concerned. 

“Is everything okay?” Hestia asked, rushing over with arms full of ingredients, her gaze going over both of us for any signs of injuries. A small gasp escaped her when she found the blood on my arms. “What happened?” 

“We were ambushed in the Dungeon by the Soma familia,” I told her, making Hestia’s eyes go so wide they nearly fell out of her head. “We’re fine, but…” I trailed off, feeling oddly exhausted from everything.

“Lili is apart of the Soma familia,” Lili picked up, understanding flooding Hestia’s eyes. “Mr. Jericho was afraid that Lili might have lead him into a trap, so he wanted Lady Hestia to confirm that Lili hadn’t.” 

Hestia glanced at me and got a nod to confirm what Lili said. “I want to believe her, but it looks sketchy as hell. We went down to the ninth floor, and five of them had been following us for a while. All of them Soma familia.” I explained, watching Hestia’s lips thin until she wore an expression I had never seen before. 

Anger. Hestia looked beyond furious, achieving a tranquil fury that allowed her to take in a long breath before she turned to Lili. 

“Did you have anything to do with this?” Hestia asked, her voice ice. 

“Lili didn’t! Lili didn’t know about the ambush! If she did, she would have warned Mr. Jericho about it!” Lili said with conviction. I glanced at Hestia to see that she let out the breath she took as she nodded softly to herself. 

“She’s telling the truth,” Hestia confirmed, lifting a great big weight off my shoulders. Lili wasn’t involved in this. She wasn’t secretly planning to murder me. There was still the issue of her stealing from me, but at this point, money was money and I knew what she was going to use it for. 

Actually…

“Lili...do you want to be in the Soma familia?” I asked, the question completely catching her off guard. She blinked at me, displaying clear confusion that couldn’t be faked. Then, slowly, her expression became far more guarded when she glanced at Hestia, who turned to me with a puzzled expression. 

“Lili…” Lili trailed off, her mouth open to continue but the words wouldn’t come. Then she looked down at her hands, unable to continue. As Lili fell silent, Hestia shared a meaningful glance with me. Somehow, she knew exactly where I was going with this and, despite knowing none of the circumstances, she gave a nod of approval. 

I reached out with a hand to give one of hers a squeeze. She offered me a smile that I returned before turning my attention back to Lili. 

“Well, that settles it then. I guess we’re getting you out of the Soma familia.”