Education is an important part of life.
Gin finally realized that after being half-forced to read his own work because Ais still couldn't read properly.
The agony of reciting every passage and dialogue in the story was unimaginable.
He guessed the only reason he hadn't completely broken down mentally was solely because of Niflheim's passive defense on his mental health.
Why didn't he have someone else read the story instead? Hahaha! Foolish question.
Just imagining Loki or Riveria reading it out loud was enough to give him acid reflux.
If he ever witnessed them doing it for real, he was confident he would be left a shell of his former self.
Therefore, he kept soldiering on alone whenever Ais asked him to reread the story.
The only silver lining was the fact that Ais actually enjoyed the story.
The darker, more ominous lining was that Ais seemed to enjoy the story too much, to the point that…
"Gin, where did you buy this book?" Ais asked him one day, holding Alice in Wonderland in front of his face.
"I couldn't find Nig Gelverh's books anywhere."
…To the point that she wanted more, apparently.
Of course she couldn't find them anywhere.
That was the only book by 'Nig Gelverh' ever. He had never written another story other than that one.
He couldn't tell her the truth after going this far.
Because of that, he avoided the issue by telling Ais…
"Yeah, he is a very… accomplished author, you see. Most of his works are only owned by nobles. I just got very lucky to get my hands on this." He tapped the book in her hand.
Ais looked at the book and then toward him with newfound awe. "You managed to get this book, Gin. You are amazing."
"Uhm, yeah, sure."
Her pure look hurt his soul.
How could he lie to this innocent girl?!
"…Then finding another book will be difficult." Ais looked downtrodden.
Gin turned away, not having enough mental fortitude to see her looking like an abandoned puppy.
"…I will find another one for you, then."
"-! Gin? Can you really get another one?" She perked up.
Gin gulped. "…Yeah, Nig Gelverh takes around a year to publish a new work. I promise I'll buy the next one and give it to you, okay?"
"…A year? Why does it take so long?"
"…Because making a good story takes a long time. He probably struggles a lot too, Ais. Please understand."
"I see."
"Well, here's an idea. Why don't you study reading again so you can read it on your own next time? Or we could even share and read it together."
"I see. I will work hard!" Oh, she looked determined now.
She turned to him again. "Gin, make sure you get his next story for real, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I promise. Cross my heart and all that," Gin said. "Want to pinky swear too?"
Ais got quiet for a while before shaking her head. "No need. I believe in you, Gin."
…Her trust in him hurt!
It was like salt on his wounded conscience.
Anyway, thankfully that excuse worked, and Ais had eagerly practiced reading again.
Hopefully, by the time his second and subsequent works came out, she would already be fluent at reading.
He would need to write up another story in the meantime.
Writing a new story would definitely force him to sacrifice some of his time, maybe even cutting into his dungeon diving sessions, but it couldn't be helped.
Sheesh, the things he did for that munchkin.
...
The days that followed were pretty standard.
He went to the dungeon, got money, got a status update, grew stronger, ate, trained—the whole shebang.
There hadn't been any unusual happenings lately.
Sure, there were the occasional Evilus attacks here and there, but that was par for the course these days.
Maybe that was why he didn't expect a very troublesome event to happen.
...
It was after dinner.
Gin had just finished another status update with Hel.
Gin Hvergel
Level 1
Str D 505
End H 101
Dex C 602
Agi G 210
Mag B 717
His numbers didn't change that much.
Perhaps because he had done this repeatedly for quite a while, he could actually notice a trend in his status growth.
'It really got slower, huh?' His Magic would have reached the upper B rank if it had followed his previous growth rate.
Well, it couldn't be helped.
His fast early growth had been a boon already. Now he only needed to keep adventuring steadily.
There was no rush to get stronger anyway.
He was walking through the courtyard after finishing some light exercise when he saw Finn, Riveria, Gareth, and Loki herself heading toward the gate.
…This was unusual.
If it was an Evilus attack, there was no reason for Loki to head outside too.
"Teach, Sir Finn, Sir Gareth, is there something wrong?" Gin called out and ran up to them.
They turned to him, their expressions grim.
Yup, something really was wrong.
Finn nodded to Riveria. After a second, she motioned for Gin to follow them.
He quickly walked up beside her, matching her pace.
"Gin, we could really use your help too. Ais hasn't come back to the mansion," Riveria said, her tone urgent.
"Huh!?"
"Have you seen her today? When was the last time you saw her?" she asked.
"This morning, before I headed out to the dungeon," Gin answered promptly. Both of them were hastening their pace now.
"She was heading out as well, but I don't know where to."
"So you didn't meet her in the dungeon?"
"No, I only got to the 6th floor before turning back. My potion vials broke because of a War Shadow. Afterwards, I went outside, bought replacements in the First District, and then went home."
"I see." Riveria looked angry and worried in equal measure. Gin probably looked quite similar right now, actually.
"I swear, that girl will get a scolding after this!"
"Riveria, Gareth, let's split up for now," Finn ordered. "I will take Loki and look west. Gareth, east. Riveria, head south. Gin—"
"I'll cover the south too." Gin nodded to him. "I'll look in different places than Teach. That way we should be able to cover more ground."
"Good. We'll reconvene in an hour at the Guild whether we find something or not," Finn said. "Let's go, Loki."
"Aye. Careful you guys, especially you, Gin. If something happens, use your lungs. You know what to do," Loki waved to him.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll scream real loud. I know." Gin ignored Loki's jab as usual and took off toward the south.
Riveria did the same before splitting off in a different direction.
"Ais, you better be okay," Gin muttered as he ran through the Third District.
...
"Not here either." Gin jumped down from the roof he was perching on and sighed.
No luck there.
There was no trace of Ais anywhere. He gritted his teeth in frustration.
Orario was a big, developed city.
Most of the roads were paved with stone and the buildings were neatly placed following certain patterns.
Normally this was convenient for the residents, but right now it was a liability.
No footprints could be left behind on the pavement. The packed buildings limited his view of the surroundings.
The heavy rain pretty much erased any possible tracks while covering any noises or scents.
His skills as a hunter were crippled by the environment.
Of all the times his skills couldn't be put to use!
Right now he could only depend on his luck, which was honestly pretty shitty.
…No luck. One hour was almost up. He needed to head to the Guild now.
"Fuck!" he cursed.
Hopefully, the others had more luck than him.
He ran through the Third District, heading southwest toward the Guild while trying to look for any sign of Ais's presence.
Still nothing.
"Ais, where are you, dammit!" he swore.
What if something happened to her? Orario wasn't a safe city.
Even if she was a little strong, she was still a Level 1. If some Evilus bastards had gotten to her…
He pushed the dark thought away.
No. He needed to focus.
What could he do to find her? Was there nothing he could do now?
…No, there was something.
If his skills as a hunter failed him, he only needed to use his skills as an adventurer.
Niflheim.
He had only used it to increase his strength before, but maybe it could be used to strengthen his senses?
…Yes, it was worth a shot.
No one was looking anyway, this was perfect.
Putting all his frustration into the never-ending rain, Gin stopped and yelled toward the sky.
"O' storm! Rumble and struggle in your futile attempt! No rain shall douse my senses! No downpour shall block my ears! Come O' Muses! Prostrate and I shall allow you to assist me! No muttering shall escape my notice! For I am beloved by Hel!"
At once, his sight lost its colors.
His skin felt numb and barely registered the drops of rain.
His sense of smell and taste were all but gone.
In exchange… all noise that was previously blocked by the rain could now be heard clearly.
"You're not my mother!"
Yes, even the faraway scream of that troubled little sister of his.
"You are right... I am not your mother. And I can't take her place."
Found her.
And by the sound of it, Riveria was there as well. The situation didn't sound good, though.
Gin quickly turned toward the direction of the voices and ran like his life depended on it.
"Teach!"
By the time he arrived, Riveria was standing motionlessly in the rain.
Ais was nowhere in sight, but judging from her footsteps, he could tell she was heading to the dungeon.
"Teach, oi! What are you doing just standing here!?"
"…Gin?"
Riveria Ljos Alf was one of the strongest women he knew.
She was beautiful and dignified, never once showing uncertainty in her speech or actions, but now…
He looked at her face and saw her lips quivering.
This was the first time he had ever seen her like this.
So fragile, so unconfident, so weak.
"Gin, what should I do?"
"Isn't it obvious!?" He yelled at her for the first time, gripping her shoulders. "Help Ais, of course!"
"But—"
"Teach, come on. I understand why you are feeling lost! You see her as family, right!? It hurts when she denies you, right!?"
"Of course it does! She's precious to me!"
"Then Ais feels the same when you deny her, Teach!" Gin admonished her. "Ais is a kid! She's immature and dumb! Rather than agreeing that you are not her mother, you should have hugged her until she accepted you, dammit!"
He caught his breath.
"Teach, come on. I need your help," Gin said gently. "Ais too. We need your help, Teach."
"…" Riveria hung her head. Did he go too far?
"…Fine. If you won't move from here, then I'll get her back alone," he said. "I am not gonna let that idiot be alone right now."
It was doubtful if he could actually catch up to her, but there was no time to waste pondering on 'can' and 'cannot'.
He just had to do it.
He'd use Niflheim non-stop if he had to!
"Gin, wait." As he was about to take off, his mentor finally found her voice.
Gin turned back to her. Her eyes were red, but her expression was determined.
Yep, it was finally the normal Riveria. The most reliable mentor he had.
"Are you planning to go without your weapon? You won't last past the third floor like that."
"…I have a plan."
Riveria gave him a doubtful expression.
"I trust that you'll catch up to me sooner or later," Gin cheekily said to her. "That, or I'll just run away from all the monsters, hoping for the best."
She sighed, her lips forming into a weak smile. "Foolish student."
"Luckily I have the best mentor there is at my back," he laughed. "Are you ready, Teach?"
"Yes. Stay close to me, Gin," she said, leading the way. He jogged to keep up with her. "…Gin, thank you."
"Don't mention it. Supporting my mentor is in my job description," he answered lightly.
"And helping that girl is simply my duty as a brother."
...
High-class adventurers were built different.
That was the first thing that entered his mind as he witnessed Riveria decimating monsters left and right with a single swing of her staff.
She was a mage, a role that normally had no need to engage in melee.
He thought she would launch spells using concurrent chanting to fight, but he had clearly underestimated what it meant to be a Level 5.
Gin was pretty much useless here.
The only thing he could do was point her in the direction where Ais was most likely heading, but even then it wasn't hard considering the trail of monster corpses she'd left behind.
In what felt like less than an hour, Gin and Riveria had already passed the misty barren land of the 10th floor.
Now the two of them were running across the 12th floor.
"Teach! Over there!" Gin pointed in front of him.
There in the distance, he could see Ais standing across from a group of suspicious people.
They were definitely Evilus, no doubt about that.
Like, they wore robes.
They were obviously evil!
"Come with me. Everything you desire, I can grant you." The leading robed figure extended his hand toward Ais.
"Get away from Ais, you bastards!" Gin's yell traveled across the distance.
All of them turned toward him. He was close enough to see Ais's eyes widen.
"Gin?"
"Ais!" He called out to her.
She only stared at him, not moving a step.
'Dammit.' Gin reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar.
"Ais!" He tried again.
Now she finally moved.
"Gin!" She dashed toward him, taking the chocolate before standing behind his back.
'Damn munchkin.'
Gin turned his attention toward the suspicious dudes.
The leading figure looked back at him. Yup, definitely Evilus. They looked evil. That fit the bill.
He shielded Ais from them. "Stay away from Ais, you suspicious, young-girl-soliciting creep!"
The other robed dudes stepped in front of their leader, brandishing their weapons.
Gin grimaced. Luckily it seemed they were prioritizing the safety of their leader rather than his demise.
"Ais, stay behind me. These guys are dangerous." Ais nodded at his instruction.
"Ais! Gin!" Riveria caught up to them. "Thank gods you are alright."
Gin let out a breath of relief.
"Teach! Great, keep me behind you. These guys are dangerous."
"Oh dear, to think that you would arrive this quickly," the leading dude said.
'Wait, was he a god? Maybe? His divine feeling wasn't all there.'
"Welcome. I believe this is the first time we've met, Nine Hell?"
"Evilus…" Riveria took a stance as well.
Even his mentor agreed they were Evilus.
They were evil, seriously evil.
They would definitely do something cowardly like attack them from behind or something.
Gin looked behind himself just in case.
Ais was reaching into his snack pocket.
He slapped her hand lightly.
"No, later." She pouted.
"It's a shame. I was hoping for a private conversation with the Doll Princess first. If you don't mind, would you be so kind as to give us a room?"
The conversation between Riveria and the leader was still ongoing.
Gin turned his attention back to it.
"I refuse," Riveria retorted firmly. "I will not let you taint Ais."
"Taint? Oh no, no. You are mistaken. I am not planning to taint anything. The only thing I am going to do is let her soul blossom." The god chuckled. Evilly.
"How about it, Doll Princess? It is not too late. If you accept my hand, I promise I will give you the power that you want."
Gin looked back at Ais. Her expression was stern, unlike anything he'd ever seen before.
"I want power," she declared strongly. "But joining you is wrong! Betraying everyone is wrong!"
'Ais… To think she could answer this strongly.'
This feeling in his chest… Was it pride? She had already grown up so much without him noticing!
"Nicely said, Ais. Here, take another one." Gin handed another chocolate bar to her.
Reinforcing good conduct with rewards was par for the course, The book said so.
Ais took it from him happily. "Thank you, Gin! Praise Hel."
The maybe-god raised his eyebrow at this. "…Hahhh. Oi, seriously? You got tamed by sweets? Not only that, you are praising Hel? Did she descend and start a cult already?"
"Not a cult, okay. The legal term is a Familia. We are the Hel Familia." Gin spread his arms.
No, wait, he was the sole member now that he thought about it.
"Well, okay, I am the Hel Familia." He pointed to himself. "Ais is just kind of… an honorary member of Hel's Fan Club."
"…I am not."
"Hush, here's another candy."
"Yay… Praise Hel." Gin patted her head.
"Ah, damn. So even the Doll Princess is just a kid being fooled by a candy bribe," the god sighed.
"Hel's brat, don't you feel ashamed soliciting her with sweets? Ever look yourself in the mirror and question your methods?"
"That's some strong talk from a guy who sounds like a pedophile," Gin retorted.
"Ah, false assessment there. I actually like them big, you see. Brats like Hel and the Doll Princess don't get me hard at all," he smirked.
"Huh?" Gin felt a vein pop. "…The fuck did you just say? Someone who can't see Hel's allure is just an impotent fuck. Get your eyes checked, you discount divinity god."
"Gin, language," Riveria sighed. "Can we get the conversation back on track?"
"Ah right, right. Sorry about that. That Hel's brat is just too noisy, isn't he?" The god raised a middle finger at him.
Ais looked at Gin and tried to imitate it, but Gin pushed her hand down at the last moment.
She pouted again.
"Anyway, can we just walk away and pretend this never happened? I am already tired, you see."
"Not a chance." Riveria brandished her staff. "Your only choice is to surrender now or to get caught after trying to run."
"…Hahhhh. This is why you straight moral types are so troublesome. Well, it can't be helped. I have always wanted to try this out." The evil god raised his arms, and Gin could feel his whole body shiver.
'This bastard was releasing his divinity!? What the fu—!'
Gin pulled Ais closer to his body as the dungeon shook like crazy.
There was no way this earthquake was natural.
"Gin! The exit!" Gin glanced at the nearby exit at Ais's cry.
Giant rocks fell one after another and buried the exit.
He could hear another similar noise in the distance, which was most likely the other exit being blocked the same way.
"Oya? To think something like this would happen. Is this one responding to Nine Hell's presence? The dungeon really is hardcore," Gin could hear the evil god mutter to himself before walking away, leaving his followers scrambling behind him.
"Oh well, enjoy my present to you all. Ta-ta for now."
Gin tried to run and catch them, but he felt himself being pulled back by the scruff of his neck.
"Gin! Something is coming! Be careful!" Riveria shouted behind him.
He didn't need a long time to see what Riveria was referring to.
The dungeon ceiling was crumbling, and from the crack that formed, a monster was born.
"N-no way," he could hear Ais whimper.
The monster dropped from the ceiling, spread its wings, and let out a monstrous roar.
It was a Black Wyvern.
Gin could only stare as a fireball formed in the thing's mouth.
Okay, maybe they were all in trouble.
As that thing let out a flaming breath of fire, Gin instinctively placed himself in front of Ais to protect her.
"Assemble, breath of the land—my name is Alf! Veil Breath!"
A fast chant arrived from behind him.
He didn't need to look to see that Riveria was casting defensive magic to shield all of them.
It was a weird experience to feel the flame yet not feel the heat at all. So this was the power of defensive magic.
He definitely needed to learn stuff like this later.
This was awesome!
But of course, his mentor didn't stop there. She was quickly chanting another spell right after, all while carrying Gin and Ais to put distance between them and the wyvern.
She was awesome.
"Harbinger of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezing land. Blizzard, the three severe winters—my name is Alf. Wynn Fimbulvetr!"
Wynn Fimbulvetr, an extreme cold magic that could freeze time itself. Okay, maybe the claim was a bit hyperbolic, but the spell was strong.
Gin could see that by the fact that it froze the whole scenery before them.
The only problem was…
"OOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The wyvern was still alive and well, definitely unhurt after taking a direct hit from a Level 5 magic.
"Teach… you're not holding back, right?"
"I assure you I'm not. That wyvern is probably immune to magic." Gin wanted to applaud her calmness in the face of the most incompatible enemy for her.
Okay, maybe they were fucked.
Their situation didn't look too good.
The Black Wyvern was impervious to magic, which meant that Riveria could only use her support spells.
Gin's Ginnungagap was useless too.
He only brought some knives with him, while Ais had been fighting against dungeon monsters the whole day.
The exit was blocked and reinforcements probably wouldn't come.
'What to do…'
"Both of you, listen to me." Gin looked at Riveria.
Her tone was still level and the composure hadn't left her face.
"Our situation is not hopeless. If you want to escape, I can destroy the blockage with my magic. It should not be hard to do, but…" She looked at Ais. "Ais, you want to level up, right? Finn, Gareth, and I would never allow you to risk your life the way you were back then, but right now it is a different story."
"That wyvern is strong, but it is not impossible to win against it. I am here. Gin is also here. This is the best chance for you to level up. If you want to fight it, I will not stop you."
Ais turned to Gin at that.
He could see that she was still wavering between both choices.
He wanted to point out that he was pretty much dead weight here, but he read the atmosphere and nodded reassuringly to Ais.
"There's no need to hesitate, is there? You get the best support in Teach and me right now." Gin grinned at her with as much bravado as he could.
"Fight it with all you've got. If things get too dangerous, then I'll step in myself."
Ais's eyes widened at his statement. "Gin…"
"Yeah?"
"…You won't fight from the start?"
Gin looked anywhere besides Ais's piercing stare.
'Dammit, how did she notice that?'
He coughed and cleared his throat. "Don't be stupid, Ais. There's no way I could steal your spotlight here."
He was sweating like hell, but he somehow kept his expression under control.
"This is your stage, Ais. Think back about the journey you took to get here."
"My journey…"
Great, she was probably starting a flashback right now.
"That's right! Remember them, Ais! The daily training you went through under Finn, Riveria, and Gareth! The sword you painstakingly sharpen every day! The bond that you made! Our bond!"
"Our bond…"
"Ais, I know that this might be a difficult trial for you. It is normal that you waver, but…" Gin put his hand on her shoulder, looking straight into her eyes.
"Peer beyond them, and you shall soon find those same adversaries will serve as the foundation of your legend."
"My legend…?" Gin nodded.
"Look there, Ais." He pointed at the Black Wyvern. "Is that an adversary so great that it leaves you in despair?"
"…No."
"Will your strength, the strength you cultivated with the others, fail you at this moment?"
"…No!"
"Will your bond lose to that dragon!?"
"No!" Ais shouted as loud as she probably could.
Her glare toward the wyvern grew stronger. "Our bond is stronger than anything!"
Hell yeah, his BS worked!
"Riveria, Gin. Watch me. This will be the start of my legend brought forth by our bond." Damn, that was some cool line.
"Here I go."
Gin watched as Ais dashed toward the Wyvern, Sword Air in her hand.
"She grew up so fast." Gin sniffed, before yelping as Riveria slapped the back of his head. "What?"
"…I can't believe you did that." Her tone was laced with disapproval.
It was understandable since he'd just entrusted fighting some buffed up, magic-immune mini-dragon to a little girl.
"In my defense, right now I am defenseless, offense-less, and useless." Gin shrugged. "What do you want me to do? Charge heroically in there yelling my name at the top of my lungs? That wyvern will cook me well-done within seconds."
"You could have done things differently. Offer her some useful advice, for example."
"Like super obvious ones? Damage the wings, blind the eyes? Stuff like that? This might be a surprise, but Ais isn't that clueless about battle."
Riveria knew this too, of course, which was why she relented on his point.
"She will prevail. I know she will."
"And if something happens?"
"Then I trust that you will save Ais and give me a proper funeral," Gin said without missing a beat.
"Since I will be long dead before something ever happened to her."
"…Good answer."
Gin watched from a slight distance as Ais battled the Black Wyvern.
This was actually the first time he had ever seen her fight.
There had been no instance where he was assigned or invited to accompany Ais despite his closeness to her.
The reason for that was Finn's request to him.
"I want you to be someone that she can depend on outside the dungeon." Finn had asked him to keep himself separate from Ais's dungeon life beforehand.
"Gin, you are an important part of Ais's peaceful life. None of us can do what you do. None of us share the exact peculiar bond that you have with her. That is why, please become her life outside of the dungeon."
He agreed with Finn's view and promised to keep away from Ais during her expeditions.
As such, her fight with this monstrous wyvern was the first time for him to witness her strength firsthand.
She was amazing.
He had heard tidbits about her power from Raul and Aki and had seen her training sessions once or twice, but the real thing was even more incredible.
She swiftly moved around the wyvern, avoiding its attacks by constantly repositioning herself in its blind spots.
Her new adamantium blade, Sword Air, danced through the air as Ais hacked and slashed the wyvern's wing root.
Not only that, she fought while making full use of her surroundings.
Taking cover and using height advantages with the rocks were one thing, slashing them apart and utilizing the fragments as high-speed bullets were a whole other thing.
Ais was strong… but as things stood right now, that wyvern was stronger.
The shockwave from its attacks was enough to blow Ais away. Its scales stubbornly resisted her repeated slashes.
If Riveria hadn't covered for Ais with her magic every time it sent a flaming breath Ais's way, things would have gone pretty differently.
Ais wouldn't win if the situation stayed as it was. Something needed to change.
"Teach, isn't it about time for you to step in? Ais won't last long if this keeps up," Gin called out to Riveria.
"Enough is enough. We don't need to wait for that wyvern to score a direct hit before calling it quits."
"…Not yet. My assistance isn't needed more than this." She didn't move her gaze from the battle.
"It's clearly needed from what I see here. Ais can't win this alone."
"She can. If she learns of that, she certainly can."
That? What was she talking about?
"It is just… I don't know if it's the right time for her to learn to use that."
That? Dammit, was it a secret skill or magic that Ais didn't know about? Why would Riveria—...No, all of the Loki Familia, or at least the executives, were in on this.
They agreed to keep this secret, whatever it was, away from Ais.
"…Teach, seriously!? You are keeping a hidden trump card from her even now!?" Gin shot her a disbelieving look.
"She's fighting for her damn life now! What more do you need from her!?"
"Composure. If she abuses that magic, she will turn back into how she was before. Do you want to see her breaking herself like a sword again!?" Riveria answered his glare with one of her own.
"She won't." Gin didn't turn away from her. "I won't let her become one."
"Your promise alone isn't enough, Gin!"
"Like I don't know that!" he retorted. "Of course I am not enough! But she doesn't have just me to fall back on, does she!? She has you, Teach! She has Sir Finn and Sir Gareth! Hell, you can add Loki to that list too, no matter how bad an influence she is on Ais's upbringing!"
"She's not a lone avenger or something edgy like that, Teach. She's a normal girl. Sooner or later she will do something stupid. That's a given." Gin began to steady his breath. "Our duty as her family isn't to coddle her securely forever. It's to make sure that if she ever messes up, she will know that we are still there for her."
"…Believe in Ais, Teach. She's ready for anything you are thinking of. If she enters her emo phase again we just have to admonish her again."
Gin and Riveria stood in silence for a moment before she let out a huge sigh.
"You better do as you say, Gin. I will not forgive you if you let her down."
When Gin turned his attention back to the battle, Ais was skidding away after getting grazed by the wyvern's tail whip.
Her armor had dents and cracks running all over it, but Ais herself was still okay.
"Ais! Listen to me!" Riveria called out to her.
Ais didn't turn away from the wyvern, but the fact that she didn't immediately rush in again showed that she was listening.
The wyvern, however, took Ais's pause as an opening to switch to the offense.
It opened its mouth again to prepare another fireball.
"Say these words! Call it forth! Awaken, Tempest!"
As the fireball was launched toward her, Ais recited the exact same words.
"Awaken, Tempest!"
In a flash, Gin's sight was blinded by an explosion.
Okay, Ais's magic did something.
There was no way that wyvern fireball alone caused this explosion.
As his sight came back, the scenery that greeted him was something he had imagined when reading the occasional stories about heroes.
Ais was standing among the flames, unharmed even so near to the inferno.
He couldn't clearly see the effect of her magic, but he sure as hell could feel it.
"Wind, huh?" He could feel the breeze standing quite a ways away from Ais, but he could make a guess as to how strong the actual wind near her was.
"Wow, that's no longer a wind barrier. At that level, that's definitely Divine Protection of the Wind."
"Ah… this is Mother's wind."
The wind carried Ais's small muttering right to his ear.
Okay, that was unexpected.
Was this wind acting on its own?
"…Always, she will always be with me!"
Mother? Always with her? The wind was acting on its own and letting him hear Ais's small whisper?
Yep, a ghost.
A ghost was definitely involved.
Dammit, ghosts were real as expected!
"Hi… uh, wind? Ais's Mama? You there?" Gin didn't know if his mind was playing a trick on him or what, but he definitely heard something like faint giggling.
Shit, it was really a ghost!
"I just want to tell you Ais is the sweetest girl I've ever met and I definitely never messed around with her before."
The wind's caress on his cheek left him trembling in horror.
Dammit, he needed to pray to Hel daily after this.
There was no way he could stay sane knowing Ais's mom's ghost might appear every time Ais used her magic.
"Gin, is something wrong?"
Without noticing, he had already repositioned himself closer to Riveria. She looked at him puzzlingly.
"…No, everything is fine. Maybe. Kinda."
The wind magic—infused with what he suspiciously thought was the ghost of Ais's mom—enveloped Ais's body and sword.
Right now, Ais might as well be the eye of the storm.
With a swing of her sword, the inferno that surrounded her was blown away by a whirlwind.
The whirlwind was strong enough that even Riveria needed to cover her face from it.
…The fact that the wind was still kind of protecting Gin too honestly freaked him out to no end.
Well, it at least proved that he made a good impression on Ais's mama.
But this wouldn't be enough if Ais wasn't using it properly. That wind magic was still magic in the end. It would not bypass the Wyvern's magic immunity.
The only way for Ais to win this was obvious, and Ais knew that too.
Ais took a stance with her sword. The wind coiled around her, reinforcing her, strengthening her.
Ais ran toward one of the trees near the wyvern, avoiding its attack, ran up the tree, and leaped toward the wyvern.
"Airiel!" She shouted as the wind embraced her sword.
As her sword made contact with the Wyvern—
"Eh!?"
The wind enveloping her sword faded.
The wyvern didn't miss this opportunity; it rotated its body around and sent Ais flying with its claw.
"Ais!" Gin shouted her name in worry.
He ran up to her, feeling his worry leave when he noticed that her wind was still cushioning her fall.
As such, he changed his action midway.
"You dumbass! That thing is immune to magic, what's the big idea using magic on your sword, huh!? You munchkin!"
The wind somehow made way for his hands to pinch Ais's cheeks.
"Uuu, Gin, that hurts. I am sorry."
"Don't 'sorry' me! That was a good place to wrap things up! Defeating your foe after awakening a new power is a guaranteed pass to finish a battle, dammit! How could you mess this up!?"
"Alright, break it up, you two." Riveria came between the two of them. "You were too excited after getting your magic, Ais. You should have planned your attack better."
"Umu, I'll do better this time."
"Don't 'Umu' me. You think you'll get a get-out-of-jail-free card if you act like Hel-sama!? I'll teach you a lesson, you munchkin!" Gin pinched harder.
"Auuu, Gin, sorry. I'll definitely win on the next one."
"No, you lost your chance to finish this alone. I am joining in," Gin huffed. "Rejoice. Witness my majesty, though I won't use even ten percent of my true power."
It was time to awaken the forbidden technique.
If this failed, he hoped the wyvern killed him quickly.
Time to unwrap Niflheim in front of a watching audience!
"Gin, are you going to use your magic?" Riveria asked him. "I doubt that Ginnungagap would work. You are without your main weapon as well, so that possibility is also out."
"…No. I won't use Ginnungagap. I won't be dealing with that thing directly either," he answered. "Ais, do you trust me?"
"No." Gin made a pinching motion with his fingers. Ais wisely understood the threat. "—one else trusts you as much as me."
"Good, then this should work." Gin poked Ais's forehead repeatedly. "Listen here. Use your magic to boost your speed, aim at its neck, and pierce it through with your sword. One attack. We'll bring that monster down in one attack. Easy to understand, right?"
"…Okay." Ais got up and took her stance again. "This will work, right? Gin?"
"Only if you trust me. So if this fails, I know who to blame."
"Gin, what are you planning to do?" Riveria asked. "This is just Ais fighting alone again."
"Watch, learn, and forget this, Teach. This isn't a skill I want to use in front of others," he said to her.
"Promise me you will never tell anyone about my skill."
"…I promise on my name."
"Good." Gin turned back to Ais. "Ready when you are, Ais. Let's do this."
"Ais, you never saw me fight before, right?" Gin asked quietly as he placed a hand on her back.
The wyvern had been trying to attack them with fireballs, but Riveria's Veil Breath had blocked them all.
She shook her head.
"I am an archer. If my enemy doesn't fall in one hit, then I did something wrong," he remarked. "I don't have my bow and arrows with me right now, so I can't show you my full power. That's why, just this once, I will become a bow, and you will become my arrow."
She nodded obediently.
"Bow and arrow work together to shoot down their enemy. The arrow only needs to be launched once to kill the prey. I am the bow. You are the arrow. The Wyvern is our prey."
This whole spiel about bow and arrow was his foundation.
Niflheim, his skill, was at its base a suggestion.
He needed to trust the words he said for it to work.
If Niflheim was ever going to work on someone else, it would be on someone who trusted his words without question.
Weirdly enough, the only one who fit the bill right now was this munchkin in front of him.
"Let loose and fly! Ais!"
Gin gave her a push. Ais dashed forward with frightening speed, but this was only the beginning.
'Time to get serious.' Gin took a deep breath.
"Awaken, Tempest! Airiel!" Ais activated her magic again, but this time the wind didn't wrap around her.
It was pushing her from behind, increasing her speed for every step she took.
She had it easy.
He didn't have a fixed chant to fall back on.
All his words were scooped up directly from the abyss that was his soul.
Just as it should be, for all that surfaced were words harboring dark powers.
Gin spread his arms wide.
"Open your ears and hear my declaration! My words are truth! All that spills forth shall be etched into the pages of history! I am the writer of legends!"
That was the truth.
What other than a legend could be happening before his eyes? Two individuals tied together by fate, not by blood, facing the adversary of their life.
"Open the path! The road illuminated by the brilliance of youthful winds! The saga of the young hero! Celebrate! Raise your gospel! Dance O' Wind!"
Ais's wind was blowing around him, but rather than deafening his words, the wind instead amplified them, spreading his words to all who had the capacity to receive them.
Ais's figure could be seen in the distance.
How majestic. This was his kin. His protégé. His arrow.
"O' Godspeed, O' child loved by the wind! In the moment of truth the evil dragon shall fall, and the world will reach its sunset!"
Gin raised his voice even more, feeling his soul resonating with hers.
Her wind was held down, controlled and tempered by his power.
The power was intoxicating to them both!
""We will bring you down, O' Evil Wyrm!!!""
This was how it should be! The evil dragon shall fall!
Gin witnessed as the girl became an arrow of light, a brilliant line that shot through evil.
The dragon could not offer any resistance as its throat was pierced straight through.
Both he and the girl turned toward each other, instinctively gazing at their other half.
Gin walked toward the now-perished dragon. The girl awaiting him ran to him in joy.
He picked her up into his arms. For her place was here.
"Witness this O' Dungeon! O' World! A new dragon slayer is born! This tale shall become the first chapter of our saga! For this is…"
""Nyr Nibellung!"" Gin declared together with the girl.
…
…
…
"…What in tarnation is this?"
From a slight distance, a lost soul spoke in absolute confusion.
---
Niflheim (Words of Power 'Able to turn his words into reality', has secondary effect of minor mental debuff resistance)