[One month later]
I sat at the grand, twisted black-wood dining table inside Hestia's Divine Palace of Doom and Hope, staring at the once-empty seats now filled with voices, laughter, and echoes of chaos.
Bell sat near the center now, not the shy boy he once was. Ever since he faced that Minotaur on the 9th floor and won solo, something changed. His back was straighter, his grip tighter, and his eyes... more determined. Level 2, now, the Little Rookie had grown some fangs. It didn't stop him from blushing every time Lili poured him tea, though.
Ah, yes, Liliruca Arde—Lili, as she liked to be called. Sharp-tongued, street-smart, and suspicious of nearly everyone... except Bell. He'd saved her from a grim end, and despite her past with Soma, she chose to follow him. Loyalty through gratitude, and maybe something more.
Beside her sat Welf Crozzo—red-haired, scar-faced, and with a will like heated steel. A blacksmith with a cursed bloodline and a dream to make weapons for heroes who earned them. He didn't care about nobility or his family's shame; he followed Bell because Bell trusted him. And honestly? That says a lot.
But even in this warmth, I felt it—a chill. Not from the palace walls or the floating dread wisps that occasionally brought tea, but from the city itself.
Alpha had gone to assist Bell during the Minotaur fight—he should have made it in time. But a man from the Freya Familia blocked him. A cloaked figure with eyes like oil-slick obsidian. The moment he appeared, the temperature dropped. Not because of magic—because of intent.
Alpha nearly tore the Dungeon walls apart to get past him. And Loki Familia? They were there too, observing. But they didn't move.
Not because they didn't want to… because they weren't allowed to.
When Alpha returned, he was silent. Not brooding—boiling. I've never seen our Bloodhound this angry. If he hadn't diverted in time, Lili might not have made it out. He saved her, barely. But he hasn't spoken a word to Freya's people since. Not without his weapon drawn.
In that month of madness, the Guild began issuing titles.
Bell Cranel – Little Rookie
Grey Walpurgis – Blood Hunter
Alpha – Bloodhound
Alexander – Dark Emperor
Douplo – Doom Chief
Glares – Demon Elf
Tri–Sidewalk King
Frostbite – Frost Fangs
We were no longer just an anomaly in the Dungeon—we were a force.
The Hestia Familia had become the strangest, most unpredictable collection of monsters, mortals, and mysteries in Orario.
But this was Orario.
Things never stay calm.
Something was stirring beneath the surface, behind Freya's veiled smile. Watching. Waiting. Plotting.
But today... I pushed all that aside.
Because Alpha made pancakes for Bell again, and Bell, bless his sweet cluelessness, looked like he was going to cry from joy.
I tilted my head, smiled, and stood from my floating seat.
[Grey]: Hey, Alpha. Call everyone to the main hall. I found something... special.
Alpha raised an eyebrow, flipping a pancake with practiced efficiency. Then he grinned.
[Alpha]: Aye, Blood Hunter.
He turned to Bell and the others. "You three—main hall. Now. Grey's got something."
Bell blinked, confused. "Eh? What is it?"
"Just go. And Lili—bring your arms, not your attachments."
"HEY!"
Then Alpha vanished to round up the rest. Like a blur of shadows and barked commands, he dragged the others from training rooms, kitchens, rooftops, and even from under Tri's favorite lamp fort.
[Main Hall]
Within ten minutes, everyone was gathered.
From Glares silently adjusting her cloak, to Douplo nervously holding a teacup labeled "World Ender #5," to Frostbite, who simply stood like a ghost at the edge of the circle, eyes unreadable.
I stood in front of them all, holding a dusty old camera with a mechanical timer.
A relic I fished out of a collapsed Dungeon room, still functional thanks to a lucky enchantment.
[Grey]: Alright, listen up! I want a photo. A proper one. For memories. Now hold still— Tri! Off the chair!
[Tri]: But I'm taller this way!"
[Grey]: No excuses. Alpha, stop flexing. Alexander, behind Lili. No, not hovering, behind her. Lili, stop hugging Bell like he's a lifeline.
[Lili]: He is my lifeline!
[Bell]: Wha—?!
Lady Hestia stumbled into place.
[Grey]: "Hestia-sama, just a bit to the left. There, perfect. And smile, please!"
She gave a radiant V-sign.
I dashed to my spot between Frostbite and Bell just as the camera clicked.
FLASH.
The photo developed a moment later. And to my utter disbelief... it was perfect.
Bell stood at the center, slightly blushing.
Lili clung to his side, smug.
Welf stood strong, arms crossed with a proud grin.
Alpha towered behind them, arms folded, dead serious.
Glares looked off to the side like she was bored, but couldn't hide her smirk.
Tri held a mushroom he snuck in last second like a trophy.
Douplo somehow wore war paint.
Frostbite stood frozen, one fang slightly showing in a rare smile.
Alexander stood at the back like a villain out of a fairytale.
And I, tentacles slightly tucked, one hand raised in peace, eyes glowing softly, stood among them.
Even Lady Hestia was radiant, arms spread like she was hugging the whole Familia with her warmth.
We weren't just a group anymore.
We were a family.
And as I held the photo up, something within me felt grounded, like this moment might be one of the few things I'd treasure across all the worlds to come.
But moments like this don't last forever.
The Dungeon has a way of reminding you that peace is temporary, especially when you start feeling comfortable.
Bell and his little team had decided to push into the Middle Floors. Brave. Foolish. Admirable.
Also, predictably, they got swarmed. A horde of monsters—bigger, faster, meaner. I don't know whether to pat Bell on the head or bonk him with a cursed tentacle.
So here we were:
Operation Bell-Bailout, featuring the entire Hestia Familia.
And just to crank the difficulty up to 100, Lady Hestia insisted on coming.
Not alone.
Hermes tagged along too, because of course he did.
Gods in the Dungeon are like cursed bells in a monster church—if there's a beast within three floors, it will find you.
We tore through monsters like a blender set to "wrath."
Douplo bulldozed through mobs with wild laughter.
Glares fired off arrows like she had a grudge against the air.
Frostbite froze half the battlefield.
Alexander… well, he made everything worse for the monsters, better for us.
I split one chimera in half with my Hollow Abyss Sting, then crushed another under a summoned Abyss Kin.
Alpha, on the other hand, was surgical. Calm. Quiet. Brutal.
When we finally smashed through the boss room and reached the Safe Zone, we found them.
Bell's party—bloody, bruised, but alive.
And right behind them?
The Loki Familia.
Ais, Riveria, Finn… and unfortunately, Bete.
[Ais]: Grey…?
Her voice was unreadable. She was staring at me like she'd seen something strange.
I tilted my head.
[Grey]: Ais. Good haircut.
She blinked.
[Ais]: I didn't cut it…
[Grey]: Still good.
The tension? Heavy.
And then came the incident.
Bete, as expected, opened his mouth.
[Bete]: Tch. What's this freakshow doing here? The Blood Witch pet mutt forgot who's in charge?
He didn't see Alpha move.
[CRACK!]
A shot to the leg.
[THUD!]
Then the slam. Alpha pinned Bete down like he was nothing more than a yapping mutt.
[Alpha]: Next time, you insult Grey again... I take the leg.
Loki didn't intervene. Neither did Freya's agents, who, strangely enough, kept watching from afar. Eyes narrowed. Calculating.
Of course, that wasn't the only incident.
Apparently, while I was making pancakes with Frostbite last week, Tri got into a full-on brawl with Tiona and Tione, the Amazonian twins. Something about mushrooms, pride, and who kicked harder. It left a crater the size of our dinner table in the western training yard. Nobody apologized.
And Glares?
She's been seen talking—very quietly—with some of Loki's information agents. I don't know what she's up to, but knowing her, it involves shadows, poison, or blackmail. Possibly all three.
Alexander? He just grinned and offered Ais a flower made of bones and silk. I'm still not sure if it was romantic or a threat.
I started to mutter as everyone argued in the background
[Grey]: Family bonding, I said. Let's take a photo, I said. What could possibly go wrong, I said…
[Later]
After Alpha buried Bete into the ground like a tent spike, I expected a few angry words and some posturing. What I didn't expect… was for Bete to get back up, bleeding and grinning like a mad dog.
[Bete]: You wanna settle this? Let's settle it for real.
[Alpha]: Say less.
One heartbeat. Two.
Suddenly, the air cracked with tension.
Ais, arms folded, raised an eyebrow. She said nothing, but didn't stop Bete either. Neither did Tiona, who looked amused, nor Tione, who was already cracking her knuckles. Finn, the only adult in the room, stepped forward to break things up—
But then Hermes, with a flourish and that annoyingly smug grin, stepped in.
[Hermes]: How about we make this more interesting, hmm? Two Familias. One contest. No killing, just pride on the line.
[Welf]: Oh no. This'll be a disaster.
Rules (as agreed and witnessed by Hermes):
No divine intervention.
No full-on killing blows.
Three rounds. Winner pride.
Bell is forbidden from participating. Hestia's orders.
Loki Familia's elites vs Hestia Familia's finest.
[Alpha vs Bete]
No weapons. Just fists and fury.
The ground cracked under every step. Bete was fast, but Alpha moved like blood lightning—disappearing, reappearing, delivering precision strikes. Bete landed a powerful spinning kick to Alpha's ribs.
Alpha responded by breaking his nose and slamming him into a wall.
Winner: Alpha (barely bruised)
Result: Bete was knocked unconscious again.
ROUND TWO
[Tri vs Tione]
You'd think Tri—our so-called "Sidewalk King"—would be the underdog. But no. He pulled out a giant enchanted traffic sign, blocked Tione's fists, and fought like a drunken martial artist on caffeine and spite.
He lost.
But not before launching Tione through three stalagmites and earning her grudging respect.
Winner: Tione
Result: Mutual headbutt at the end. Both had concussions. Hermes called it entertaining.
ROUND THREE:
[Frostbite & Glares vs Tiona & Lefiya]
A tag team match.
Frostbite's twin daggers danced in cold arcs, while Glares manipulated the shadows to bind and deceive. Tiona, laughing with joy, fought them both with unarmed savagery, while Lefiya cast support magic from the rear.
Then, Glares hit her with a venom fog that made her illusions real for thirty seconds.
Tiona ended up punching a fake Frostbite. The real one cut her ankle tendon.
Lefiya panicked, screamed, and hit herself with a silencing spell.
Winner: Hestia Familia
The dungeon echoed with cheers, groans, and disbelief.
[Finn]: We'll call it… a draw.
Hermes, whispering to Grey: "Your team is terrifying. I love it."
[Bell]: Can we please never do that again…?
[Hestia]: My children are the best!! Look at them! Beautiful chaos!
As Loki's Familia limped away, some muttering revenge, others in grudging admiration, I felt it deep in my gut.
We weren't just leveling the playing field.
We were rewriting it.
[Grey]: Next time, let's bring snacks. These duels burn calories.
[Alpha]: Next time, I'll bring a second gun.
Just as the tension in the air began to fade into banter, a new presence stepped forward. Silent, composed—and dangerously curious.
Ais Wallenstein. The Sword Princess.
She stood before me with that unreadable expression she always wears, like a statue sculpted from silence itself.
She tilted her head slightly.
[Ais]: Miss Grey, can we have a duel?
Silence.
Even the air stopped moving.
Welf's jaw dropped.
Lili gasped.
Bell just looked like his soul left his body.
[Grey]: And why is that?
Ais]: "I heard you reached the 32nd floor… alone."
My eye twitched.
That was supposed to be a secret. I literally gagged the Hunters when they tried to tell anyone. But here it was, floating in the open air like spilled ink.
Fine.
If she wanted to taste the deep water, I'd let her drown in it.
[Five Minutes Later]
The duel took all of two minutes.
Not because Ais wasn't strong.
But because she wasn't ready for me.
The moment it began, she lunged with that signature high-speed thrust. But my Time Eye activated instantly. Her movement was so clear, so slow. I sidestepped casually, pressed two fingers to her stomach, and whispered:
[Grey]: Abyssal Tap.
It wasn't magic. It was raw void pressure, condensed into a pinpoint strike.
Enough to knock her out without breaking a bone, but leaving her completely unconscious.
Now she was face-down on the stone floor, hair sprawled like golden silk, while everyone stared in horror and awe.
[Douplo]: ...She didn't even draw her axe.
[Glares]: That's our Boss.
[Tri]: Shoulda bet money on this.
[Bell]: Grey… just how strong are you?
[Grey]: I'm still holding back. I didn't even switch forms.
Hermes, watching from the side, laughed nervously
[Hermes]: Well, Orario just shifted… again.
I turned and looked up at the Dungeon ceiling. Something darker was stirring in the depths. But for now—
Ais was still passed out on the stone floor. Peaceful. Quiet. She looked like a sleeping knight—if said knight had just been gently obliterated by a jellyfish demi-human.
I dusted my hands and turned to the stunned crowd.
[Grey]: Hy, Bell. Come here and give this girl a lap pillow. That is an order.
[Bell]: W-What?!
He turned beet red, eyes flickering between Ais's unconscious body and my very serious expression.
[Bell]: B-But I-uh-I mean—Lap pillow?! Miss Ais?!
[Alpha]: You heard her.
[Tri]: C'mon, Rookie. It's for the morale.
[Alexander]: Ais took her loss like a warrior. This is an honorable act. Go. Fulfill your duty.
[Douplo]: Besides, your thighs are probably softer than the stone.
[Bell]: This is either the best or worst day of my life…
Shaking and pink-faced, Bell gently knelt down beside Ais and carefully guided her head onto his lap.
The moment her head rested on him, Ais mumbled in her sleep:
[Ais]: ...Bell…
Dead silence.
Then chaos.
[Lili]: WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY?!
[Welf]: I knew it!
[Hermes]: This is going straight to the bard guild.
[Hestia]: THIS COUNTS AS CHEATING, BELL!
[Alpha]: We should've brought popcorn.
I watched from my seat at the edge of the safe zone, swirling mana in my palm like wine in a glass.
[Grey]: And people say I'm the drama.
[Chapter end]