Danmachi: Strongest Familia

A joint exploration sounds promising, but when the time comes, who will take command? 

Besides, there are always those clever enough to lie about their levels within a team. Riveria doubted their acting skills would ever fool Finn's sharp eyes. 

It was better to stay honest. Once Finn and his group returned, they could leave together without any suspicion.

Riveria had no intention of continuing deeper into the dungeon; meeting the Loki Familia here was simply to get a personal ID for their team to reach the 50th floor. Once they had that, they would head back quickly, and the guild wouldn't raise any questions.

In the blink of an eye, the Sol Familia had been on the 50th floor for an entire day. On the other side, Finn and his group, who had been on this floor for some time, were preparing to move deeper. 

However, just as they were making their final preparations, a high-pitched scream echoed from a distance.

The scream came from Raul, an LV4 member of their group, known for his "High Novice" title. Raul had been assigned the task of checking the passage to the 51st floor early that morning, and the scream seemed to come from that direction. Something had happened there.

Without waiting for Finn's orders, Bete rushed out with several cadres. 

Riveria, who had chosen to camp in a secluded spot in the forest, heard the scream more clearly. Their position was closer to the passage to the 51st floor, and they could even feel the ground tremble slightly. It seemed as though something from deeper within the dungeon was about to emerge.

But it shouldn't be possible; the 50th floor was supposed to be a safe floor, and there shouldn't be anything dangerous on the deeper levels. But Riveria didn't have time to dwell on it. To be safe, she immediately gathered her companions at the temporary station.

"There are low-level adventurers in our group. If something happens here, it could be disastrous," Riveria muttered to herself.

"Look over there!" Lulu suddenly shouted, pointing to the cliff. 

From every direction, huge green caterpillars with strange patterns began to crawl up the rocks. The air was thick with them, and the sound of intense fighting reached them from the direction of the 51st floor. 

There was no one else in sight; it was clear that the Loki Familia's cadres were already engaged in battle with the swarm of bugs.

"Diana, Ahri, Irelia… go check the situation at the 51st floor entrance! The rest of you, stay in the camp and keep yourselves safe!" Riveria ordered, and the named members immediately rushed out.

Riveria, still curious about what was happening with the Loki Familia, decided to follow. She didn't know what had caused the outbreak, but the sight of these unfamiliar monsters breaking into the safe zone left no doubt that something major was unfolding.

They were now in a similar situation to the Loki Familia, with their fates intertwined in a way that made Riveria feel that it was a matter of life and death. Despite that, she only took a small group with her, leaving others behind for their safety. Riveria even cast a defensive spell on those who remained behind.

With everything prepared, she and her team rushed toward the entrance of the 51st floor.

It wasn't long before they spotted the Loki Familia members in the midst of a fierce battle. They seemed to be struggling, mostly because there were so many of the green caterpillars, and the Loki Familia was unarmed, having lost their weapons.

"They're making things harder for themselves, aren't they?" Riveria muttered.

"What should we do now? Should we join the fight?" one of her companions asked.

"Of course. They're already in the fight, so we should join too. I can take out a lot of these bugs!" Kled exclaimed. 

Without waiting for an answer, Kled charged forward on Skaarl, shouting loudly. With his ultimate ability, he sped into the swarm of caterpillars without hesitation.

His long axe swung like a windmill, cutting through the green creatures with ease. The worms let out strange, gurgling sounds as purple blood sprayed from their bodies, instantly staining the axe.

"Be careful, don't use your weapons on those monsters!" Finn's voice rang out from nearby, but it was too late. Kled had already cut through three of the caterpillars in the blink of an eye.

The surrounding swarm was cleared out in an instant, but despite his bravery, Kled's reckless charge had created a vacuum in the monster pile.

Finn had thought some of his own team members were reckless, but Kled had just outdone them all. He found himself feeling slightly relieved that his team, at least, wasn't this impulsive. It was a hard job for Riveria, dealing with Kled and his impulsiveness.

Kled didn't notice at first, but soon, an unpleasant smell emanated from his beloved weapon. A sizzling sound followed, and the long axe, which had been with him for so long, began to dissolve in front of his eyes.

The blade had been corroded, and Kled, realizing what was happening, looked down at the weapon in horror. The long axe, his trusted companion, was being melted away.

As the effects of the corrosion took hold, Kled winced in pain. The flesh on his body, too, was being corroded, and Skaarl, beneath him, was also suffering. The pain was too much for the mount, which lowered its head and started to retreat from the battle.

When they returned to Riveria and the others, both Kled and Skaarl were severely damaged. The skin on their faces had been eaten away by the corrosive blood of the caterpillars, leaving them looking grotesque. As for the hair that had been touched by the blood, it had been completely burned away, leaving Kled and Skaarl with a bald appearance.

The other companions quickly rushed to help, pouring a healing potion over them. The skin that had rotted away began to regenerate under the healing light. Unfortunately, the potion couldn't restore their hair, and Kled was left with a completely bald head.

"These damn bugs! I'm going to kill them!" Kled shouted in frustration.

"Are you planning to fight them with your fists? Just stay here and cover Ahri and the others. Use your magic to eliminate the bugs!" Riveria snapped, holding Kled back.

She handed him a spare long axe. While it wasn't as good as his original weapon, it was all they had. 

Moreover, Skaarl seemed to be frightened, and it didn't dare to rush into the worm pile for a while.