Danmachi: The Focalors Familia Starting from the Dungeon

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Meanwhile, deep within the 16th Floor of the Dungeon.

As the final Stone-Throwing Infant Ape shattered into fragments and dissolved into black smoke, a brief moment of tranquility finally returned to the area. The cavern air was still thick with the scorching heat of clashed magic and the faint elemental residue left behind by the Whopperflowers.

”Done and dusted. Let’s wrap it up.” Aiden let out a soft sigh, lowering the tip of his sword. He joked lightly, ”I’d say we over-fulfilled our KPI for today.”

Tifa shook her wrists, popping her joints with a crisp sound. Robin patted her chest, trying to catch her breath after her continuous spellcasting. Hyacine had already pulled out her Healing Spray, ready to check the team for any injuries sustained during the chaotic brawl.

Right in the middle of this brief respite, an incredibly faint sound of wind brushed past them.

It wasn’t a natural draft blowing through the tunnels. It was the rustle of fabric, the chilling precursor of a blade slicing through the air.

A figure stood silently atop a nearby rock outcropping, completely motionless like a samurai statue summoned from the underworld. It radiated an intense, suffocating bloodlust that screamed, Do not approach, or you will die instantly.

In the exact same second, Aiden and Robin’s pupils contracted sharply. Tifa and Hyacine froze in their tracks. All four pairs of eyes instantly locked onto the uninvited guest.

The moment Aiden saw the figure, his past-life memories surged like a high-voltage shock. A barrage of crimson, high-level danger warnings aggressively spammed his mind. The relaxed expression vanished from his face, replaced by an unprecedented, heavy solemnity.

Are you kidding me, boss? A heavyweight champion spawning on the 16th Floor?! He screamed internally, though the words that left his mouth were terrifyingly calm.

”An Elite Ninja Zombie...” Aiden muttered the name, his voice slightly dry. ”Tifa, protect Robin and Hyacine. Do not leave their side under any circumstances.”

His instincts were blaring like sirens. This newly spawned monster was far stronger than anything they had encountered before. Its base stats were undeniably, unreasonably overpowered.

Robin and the others sensed the almost tangible aura of danger and immediately shifted into defensive stances. Tifa instantly moved to shield Robin and Hyacine behind her, her beautiful eyes locked dead onto the enemy.

The Elite Ninja Zombie stood much taller and straighter than the standard Guardian Zombies they had fought previously. Every line of her body was sharp and sleek, like an unsheathed dagger. There was not an ounce of excess fat on her; every contour projected ultimate tautness and lethality. Her physical form was pristine, radiating a bizarre, symmetrical beauty crafted purely for slaughter—like a god’s most malicious masterpiece.

Her skin was a translucent, sickly pale, entirely devoid of the vibrant flush of the living. Yet, fine, purplish-red veins crept up her neck and wrists, pulsing with a faint, eerie purple glow in time with her shallow breathing. It was the physical manifestation of the magic violently surging through her veins.

Her most striking feature was her long, silver-white hair. It was wild but stylish, cascading down to her waist like an ink-black plum blossom blooming fiercely in a winter storm. The tips of her hair faded into a pale crimson, scattering fine, purple dust whenever the cavern breeze caught it, oozing an ominous, deadly beauty.

Her bangs obscured most of her face, leaving only a pair of blood-red eyes visible. Those eyes held absolutely zero human emotion—only cold, empty apathy and lethal intent. It was as if every living thing in the world was nothing more than dead weeds waiting to be cut down.

Small, black horns poked out from her hair, matching the color of her outfit. They were subtle, yet served as a stark reminder of her inhuman nature.

She wore a form-fitting black and red outfit that seamlessly blended the agility of a samurai’s garb with the sturdiness of light armor. The overlapping V-neck collar hugged her throat tightly, and the cinched sleeves were clearly designed to maximize wrist mobility for close-quarters butchery.

In her hands, she dual-wielded two slender katanas. The blades were a deep, abyssal black, with only the cutting edges gleaming with a heart-stopping, pale purple chill that looked sharp enough to slice through space itself. The hilts were tightly wrapped in black cloth for the ultimate ergonomic grip.

She wore knee-high black boots that clung to her calves, highlighting the graceful yet explosive power in her legs. The soles were impossibly thin and razor-sharp, allowing her to tread on the stone floor without making a single sound, embodying the phantom-like stealth of a true ninja.

Most bizarrely, a pitch-black tail draped silently from the back of her tight outfit. The tip of the tail glowed with an almost imperceptible pale purple light, swaying gently in the air. It exuded an aura of ill omen, adding an eerie, demonic flair to the cold-blooded killing machine.

Staring at the avatar of death, Hyacine unconsciously tightened her grip on her staff and muttered, ”By the looks of it... we’re in trouble.”

Deep within the gloomy, unlit rock caverns of the 16th Floor, icy water droplets condensed on the walls. The monotonous drip-drop echoed through the vast space, mingling with the lingering scent of blood from the recent battle, making the atmosphere feel incredibly oppressive.

Suddenly, the statue-like Elite Ninja Zombie moved!

A sound barrier-breaking hiss tore through the air, so fast it was nearly impossible to track. Accompanied by a wisp of black mist, the pale figure crossed dozens of meters in a literal blink. Her twin katanas, dripping with their ominous purple chill, thrust directly toward Aiden’s throat.

The shriek of the blades slicing through the air was deafening, as if threatening to rip the surrounding atmosphere to shreds.

”Oh, f*ck me, a cheap sneak attack!”

In that life-or-death fraction of a second, Aiden’s reflexes peaked. His body reacted even before his conscious mind caught up. He pushed off the uneven ground with the tip of his toe, shooting backward like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Simultaneously, an ultra-short chant tumbled from his lips:

”Ride Upon This Wheel of Flame!”

Instantly, a torrent of scorching magic erupted from within him. Crimson-gold fire wrapped around him like a living creature—the first phase of his enchantment magic, [Everlasting Flames].

His right hand snapped to his waist, grabbing the hilt. With a flick of his wrist, the [Fire Spirit Sword] left its scabbard. Enveloped in flames, the blade instantly transformed into a burning greatsword. Blinding red light illuminated the entire cavern, and the extreme heat radiating from the edge distorted the air, sending up a faint, sizzling hiss.

CLANG!

A deafening, explosive clash of metal rang out as the crimson flame sword slammed violently into the glowing purple katanas. The berserk impact generated a visible shockwave that ripped outward. Sparks of clashing metal, mixed with eerie purple dust and blistering red embers, painted dazzling, blinding arcs across the dim cavern.

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