Swoosh, swoosh—!
A light breeze blew as the figures of two girls flashed through the passage, leaving only two sets of footprints behind.
A few seconds after the two figures departed, countless monsters swarmed from the pitch-black caves, pursuing the girls relentlessly.
"The number... is about a hundred!"
"Are you ready, Little Ica?"
"Doo doo doo—!"
Glancing behind her during a brief window of respite, Hyacine roughly confirmed the number of monsters before looking at Little Ica, who was fluttering its small wings beside her.
"Rain, Rain, Go Away!"
As Little Ica spun its body, a rainbow-like light immediately enveloped the little horse.
In the next instant, a rainbow-colored storm tore through the space behind them, obliterating every monster chasing the two girls until not even a scrap of their bodies remained.
Naturally, there were no Magic Stones either.
Hyacine: "..."
Barbara: "..."
Did we go a bit too far?
For Adventurers, their daily living expenses relied entirely on the Magic Stones dropped by these monsters.
But now, Little Ica's damage output was simply too high. Even with Hyacine and Barbara working together to control it, they still couldn't preserve the Magic Stones inside the monsters' bodies; the monsters and the stones were crushed together the moment the attack landed.
"This is going to be a bit difficult..."
Although the girls had Lord Ouranos's promise that they could use the Guild's money without issue, how could they feel comfortable using it indefinitely? They should at least bring some Magic Stones back to hand over to the Guild, right?
Regardless of whether the price of the stones could offset the Valis Hyacine and Barbara used, it was about showing their attitude to the other party.
"It seems we need to find some stronger monsters. If they're powerful enough, they shouldn't be insta-killed, right?"
Currently, Hyacine and Barbara were on the 5th floor of the Dungeon. For novice Adventurers, this was already a relatively dangerous area. If one's Status wasn't high enough, there was a significant chance of being killed by monsters.
But Hyacine and Barbara were different. As the Messiahs personally designated by the great god Ouranos, they possessed power that ordinary Adventurers lacked. Even going down a few more floors wouldn't be a problem.
Having defeated the Level 3 Hyakinthos, both Hyacine and Barbara possessed strength equivalent to at least Level 4. Although this strength belonged to Level 4 Healers, it was more than enough to deal with monsters.
Even when eliminating these weak monsters, the two girls could clearly perceive the improvement in their own strength. They didn't need to constantly check their Status like the protagonist Bell or other Adventurers in the original story.
"Besides Strength and Endurance, my Dexterity, Agility, and Magic have all seen significant increases. Is it because I healed a monster just now?"
The girls' running and dodging had conveniently increased their Dexterity and Agility, while the attacks launched through Little Ica enhanced their Magic.
For the girls, this method of improvement was quite good, but it also meant...
Strength and Endurance would become their fatal weaknesses!
"Forget Strength; no matter how much we train, we can't build muscle like Lord Mydei or Lord Phainon... but we should be able to increase our Endurance, right?"
Every attribute had a fixed method of improvement. As long as one underwent enough tempering in battle and performed targeted training, they could grow stronger.
In the original story, Bell's Endurance reached SSS—an unprecedented level—precisely because he was repeatedly beaten by members of the Freya Familia.
"So, Endurance requires getting hit?"
A clear look of worry appeared on Barbara's face, and Hyacine felt much the same. Even if they knew the method of training, not everyone would dare to do it.
Who would want to get beaten up?
Being an Adventurer was a high-risk profession. One careless mistake could lead to death in a monster house, leaving no chance to take a hit from a monster.
Ordinary Familias wouldn't allow it, and high-level Familias even less so. Even if the girls asked Finn and the others for help after returning, they likely wouldn't agree to something so dangerous.
"So we have to let the monsters hit us?"
"Should we... try it?"
As long as they had Magic, the girls' healing was inexhaustible. Even being besieged by a swarm of monsters for an entire day wouldn't be life-threatening.
They weren't particularly afraid of pain anyway, so they might as well let the monsters hit them for a while. If they found there was no improvement, it wouldn't be too late to eliminate the monsters then.
"Let's go, Little Ica."
"We might do something dangerous in a moment, so please don't be in a hurry to wipe out those monsters."
After receiving an affirmative response, the girls continued as before, wandering through the Dungeon at high speed to attract the attention of spawning monsters.
This scene was naturally witnessed by many Adventurers, who were so frightened they immediately fled the Dungeon. If a trained monster parade occurred, wouldn't a huge number of people die?
However, Hyacine and Barbara were different. Looking at the monsters chasing behind them, a sharp light immediately burst from the two girls' eyes.
"Little Ica, get ready to heal. Next, it's our turn to 'take a beating'!"
"Doo doo doo..."
Little Ica's gaze was very worried, but this was its companions' decision, and it couldn't really argue. It could only choose to fly high into the air to observe the situation. If it sensed any distress from Hyacie or Barbie, it would definitely eliminate the besieging monsters with the utmost speed!
—
Not here!
Not here either!
Still not here!
Where on earth had Hyacine and Barbara gone?
The members of the Loki Familia, having realized the two Messiahs had left, immediately entered the Dungeon to search for them. But after searching five floors, they still hadn't seen the two twin-tailed girls, and they couldn't help but grow anxious.
"Where... are you?"
Ais darted through the Dungeon at extreme speed, but she still saw no sign of them.
Not only her, but Riveria, Bete, the Amazon sisters, and even Raul and the others found no trace whatsoever.
"Tch, some Messiahs they are... always causing trouble for others!"
"Don't say that, Bete."
"We've all been through this stage, and we understand their desire to get stronger, but this is far too dangerous!"
"We absolutely must ensure their safety!"
For the Loki Familia, having the Messiah join was a major event that had already brought the attention of the entire world upon them.
But if the Messiah died... wouldn't the Loki Familia be finished?
Conspiracy theories would likely sprout up across the world, claiming the Loki Familia killed the Messiah and demanding they pay in blood.
However, just as they were discussing the situation, countless Adventurers suddenly fled from the passage, their faces displaying unprecedented terror.
"It's bad! Monsters!"
"It's the Messiahs! They're being hunted by monsters!"
"Loki Familia? Go save them, quickly!"
Judging by the panicked attitude of these Adventurers, it was clear the situation was critical. Ais and Bete dashed out at their top speed, heading toward the direction of the Dungeon's tremors.
Soon, everyone from the Loki Familia found the source of the tremors... over a hundred monsters were crowded in one room, seemingly launching attacks at something in the center.
Ais and Bete's expressions froze. Even Riveria, Raul, and the others who arrived later were filled with horror.
Because they recognized the color of the clothes amidst the monster swarm!
Wasn't that exactly what Hyacine and Barbara were wearing?
"The Messiahs... are dead?"
This world is doomed!
Hyacine & Barbara / Danmachi Encounter: