True Vorpal Bunny (Danmachi SI) Ch.20 (Patreon)

Chapter 20:

Iru stood at the border of the Great fall, on the 25th Floor, carrying a backpack bigger than he was. The water made a deafening sound as it fell down the 800 meters tall drop.

Today, he was alone. Fels had contacted him with one of his messenger birds. He was to head down to the 27th Floor to give some supplies to the Xenos as one of their villages was there. Officially, it would be a Guild-given survey quest added to his record, along with a nice monetary reward.

He didn’t have the Artel Assist Skill like Lili and other supporters, but at his Level and with the compound effect of his stats, he barely felt the weight.

He was also chosen because his magic made traversing the more vertical parts of the Dungeon a breeze.

With a hop, and the summoning of Star Crown’s power, Iru fell down the waterfall.

Going down from the 25th to the 27th Floor was usually a slog for most as they had to go through a series of caves around the Great Fall. Iru just enjoyed the freefall before slowing down when he started to get near the bottom.

As he got close to the bassin at the bottom of the waterfall, the water near the shore bubbled before a humanoid head emerged. The mermaid  looked around to make sure no one else was here before she looked back at Iru and waved at him.

“Hello! You must be Iru. I’m Marie!” The mermaid Xenos introduced herself with cheer. “Fels told me to wait for a flying bunny boy. I thought he was messing with me, but you’re here.”

“Nice to meet you.” He nodded at the Xenos and then lowered himself on the shore.

Marie smiled upon hearing Iru’s words

“Hehe. It's nice to hear someone say that. Usually, it’s more ‘DIE MONSTER’ before trying to stab me.” 

Iru hid a wince. No wonder some Xenos didn’t trust people.

“Anyway. Follow me, I’ll show you where the village is.”

And so, Iru followed the mermaid along as she guided him. They got in a cave that had a stream big enough for Marie to swim through. Some monsters bared their way, but Marie was fast enough to swim circles around them while Iru dealt with them.

When Iru picked up a magic stone and ate it, Marie gasped.

“I thought people up there couldn’t eat those. Are you actually a Xenos too? Are you some kind of mutant Almiraj?” Marie pushed herself out of the water to get closer to the Hume Bunny.

“Nope. Got a Skill that allows me to grow stronger depending on what I eat. Guess that gives me something in common with you lot.” He told her before she could get more excited.

He then threw her some of the magic stones that she gobbled up without hesitation.

“Then, we can share meals. That’s awesome. The others are going to like you a lot.”

The Xenos village was hidden behind many twists and turns, and far away from the way to the 28th Floor, as if the Dungeon wanted to make sure that the Xenos would not be bothered by adventurers.

When they finally arrived, Iru and Marie were greeted by a group of around thirty Xenos. 

And at their head, there were three monsters that were on guard. A gargoyle, a green dragon and a red lizardman wielding two swords. Gryuu, Gros and Lyd. 

They were on guard.

It took a weight off Iru’s conscience to see that Lyd was already among the Xenos, and didn’t seem to recognize him. The enhanced species that Iru killed was not him.

“Yo! Special delivery for our friends downstairs. I just need a signature on the receipt. A pawprint will suffice.”

Iru’s joking tone echoed across the walls of the cave.

“Bwahahaha! I like him!” Lyd dropped his swords and laughed.

Gros grumbled, but a hip check from Gryuu made him stand down.

It seemed to be enough for the other Xenos as they started to approach Iru.

“You got here quickly. Fels told us that we would be getting supplies in the coming days.” One of the Xenos that could talk commented.

“He flew down the Great Fall! It was awesome!” Marie caught everyone’s attention as she jumped out of the water and landed back with a splash.

The Xenos’s eyes glittered as they got even more interested in Iru.

“Yeah. My magic allows me to mess with gravity.”

He let the Xenos crowd him and activated Star Crown. He lightened the gravity and the smaller Xenos started to float, much to their glee.

Age didn’t show much on Xenos. Some must have been born recently, with how they squealed and enjoyed the sensation of being in the air.

“Hahahaha! Look at me fly!” Lyd was doing backflips in the air. He was just a very jovial person.

After a while, Iru had to let them down. He wasn’t going to get a Mind Down just because the Xenos wanted to play.

When he showed he could eat magic stones, they were just as amazed as Marie. Iru was acting kinder than usual because he knew that some of the Xenos had trust issues after being betrayed by humans before. The Xenos had been a thing for more than thirty years. That was confirmed by the fact that the Dungeon had created the Colosseum deeper down in order to make more Xenos, even if that didn’t work. 

The Xenos had spent that time trying to survive the other monsters and adventurers trying to kill them. And when they found people willing to listen to them, it ended in betrayal down the line. It was only when a Xenos was captured by the Zeus Familia and that Ouranos and Fels learned of their existence that they gained true reliable allies.

The mood was great. The Xenos were picking up the supplies Fels had sent down. Not everything was necessary, but even just items to make the Xenos more comfortable were a sign of good intentions. He even saw a Hellhound pick out a ribbon and a War Shadow using its claws to wrap it around the dog-like Xenos’s neck.

And then a series of explosions and roars rocked the 27th Floor.

“Damn it!” Iru cursed. “Stay here, I’ll check what’s happening!”

He ran out of the Xenos village and found his way back to the main area of the 27th Floor. The spectacle that greeted him was bone-chilling.

There were a lot of adventurers. Iru could glimpse that they had emblems from different Familias on their gear. And those different parties who would have normally ignored each other were now back to back, surrounded by hordes of monsters.

Not only was their number unnatural, but Iru could see monsters that didn’t belong to the Water City. There were dinosaur-like monsters from the Jungle Ravine, the desert-dwelling monster of the Sand Land, and even some of the more humanoid monsters of the White Palace down on the 37th Floor.

And then, from different cave openings, humans ran toward the horde and the encircled adventurers. They were carrying monster bait, making monsters follow them and adding them to the horde at the cost of their lives.

Above it all, a white-haired man with a gaunt face stood on a rocky ledge, laughing like a maniac.

“Hahahahaha! Despair, adventurers of Orario! You may have obstructed our great work, but Evilus will rise once more!” Olivas Act, a madman from Evilus who had escaped capture until now was launching into an evil speech while the adventurers below were being torn apart.

That was the Nightmare of the 27th Floor. But it shouldn’t be happening now.

Iru’s brain sparked as connections were made at lightning speed.

“Oh.” He uttered as he realized something.

Actions had consequences.

With Valletta dead, and the reveal of Knossos making them more trackable, the remnant of Evilus would be panicking faster than in the original timeline, and they unleashed this last ditch plan earlier.

Iru just got bitchslapped by his own butterfly’s wings.

Iru closed his eyes, released a deep, irritated breath, and opened his eyes with determination.

“Fine. I’ll own up to my actions.”

He could have turned around and taken cover with the Xenos. Instead, he shouldered his labrys and ran toward the monsters.

It was a mess. Multiple parties not used to each other didn’t make for good teamwork. And while the monsters of the Water City could be dealt with with subpar handling, the monsters from the Deep Floors were different beasts all together.

Even with his synergetic Skills and overinflated stats, Iru had to put effort to take down a single Barbarian. The Spartoi with their bone weapons moved like disciplined units. The Loup-Garous blitzed anyone that lowered their guard.

Those monsters were around Level 3 or 4, but unlike Phryne, there existed no notion of holding back or underestimating an enemy in them. The monsters of the Dungeons existed to kill and always used 100% of their strength to kill their enemies.

And the biggest problem was their numbers. With every Floor being bigger the lower you went, it turned out that not only were the monsters stronger, they also got more numerous. So, the monsters who had been baited from the Deep Floors were actually greater in number than the local monsters from the Water City.

The situation was absurd, and Iru needed a miracle.