Vol. 1 Chapter 11: Dance of Death

Temaire’s magic blasted through the tunnels of the Salinas dungeon, pummeling their way in instead of looking for paths to get around the labyrinth. The explosions killed many of the weaker monsters marching towards Rico’s spot, leaving the Qalupaliks and the lone Cetus for them to deal with.

“Temaire, Alice, take Rico out of here,” Yuuki instructed. “I’ll hold off these guys so you can cast your magic.”

“I can’t,” the childhood friend replied. “My mana is used up.”

“What the hell? I thought you’re a goddess?” he was bewildered at Temaire’s explanation. “Why is your mana used up? You cast more powerful spells than today!”

Instead of answering, Temaire only show him a ‘Oops, I messed up’ face. Annoyed, Yuuki then turned to Alice. But…

“My muscles are sore.”

“What are you on, guys?” he asked, scratching his head. “Alice, you haven’t done anything since we entered this dungeon. Why are your muscles sore?”

The brawler displayed the ‘Oops, I messed up’ face.

“Seriously?” Yuuki took a deep breath. Of course, he couldn’t ask Rico to do anything; she was already spent and injured. And, knowing his teammates, he had an idea of what they were plotting. Nevertheless, it was something he could do anyway, so he obliged. Standing in front of them, he folded his sleeves up to his elbows, and took his battle stance.

Well, it’s not like he can’t fight these creatures. The dungeon is new, so the boss and mini-bosses are still weak. He can take those alone, as long as his allies hold the other monsters away.

Temaire happily chirped, “Oooh, here comes the muscles!”

“Look at those veins,” Alice bit her lips. “Oh my…my heart!”

“Damn it, guys! Get some first-aid to Rico!” Yuuki pleaded.

“Ah,” Rico remembered. Back in her OyasumiSe7en days, her teammates would goad Yuuki to fight mini-bosses so that they could watch his martial art moves and his muscles. Nothing dangerous, really. They could kill those bosses in just one shot, and this situation was no different.

“…”

As the boss party neared, the atmosphere inside the dungeon tunnel quickly changed. From the amicable ‘reunion’ of Oyasumi members, everyone felt the thick, heavy air surrounding Yuuki. Rico was speechless; it was the first time she saw their porter with that steely expression on his face, as if he was ready to take on an entire army. With a pistol in one hand and a dagger in the other, this Yuuki was different from the calm and kind porter she always depended upon.

“Groooaaah!!!”

The Cetus, perhaps feeling the tension coming from Yuuki, pushed its underlings to begin attacks. The Qalupaliks followed, sending a forest of elongated nails to the porter in an attempt to limit his movement. However, Yuuki didn’t budge; instead, with a roundabout kick, he cut through the monster nails even before they hit him.

“…”

But the creatures matched his relentless counter-attacks. With their nails, the Qalupaliks also sent their tails thrashing at Yuuki’s spot. But the porter easily dodged those, jumping away from the successive swipes and bash, then replying with a flying roundhouse kick to the monster’s head, or to its stomach. The monsters, unable to pin him down, tried another approach by ganging up on him. Yet, Yuuki sent downward kicks crashing to the skulls of the unfortunate Qalupaliks…

The surviving mini-bosses retreated from the porter’s spot; their numbers shredded by his tenacious defense. Yet, they still hadn’t given up. Meanwhile, Temaire, Alice and Rico felt the tremors from those powerful attacks; as a safety measure, Temaire put up a defensive barrier around them while Alice put first-aid on their scout.

“Grraaahhh!!!”

The Qalupaliks regrouped and charged against Yuuki once again. However, this time, he did not wait for his enemies to come to him. Their attacks endangered his companions; the tremors weakened the walls of the tunnel. While his childhood friend could easily deal with the collapsing cobblestones, he still wished to keep the dangers away from them. He went on the offensive, sending a flurry of kicks and broke the bones of the approaching Qalupaliks. As the monsters attacked him with their long nails and powerful tails, he caught one and shot the head of the creature.

But Yuuki wasn’t finished. As the corpse of the dead Qalupalik fell, he severed an arm and made it his makeshift ‘sword,’ shooting his enemies at point-blank range, and cutting their necks with the Qalupalik nails. When a monster attempted to attack Yuuki from above, he sent a downward kick crashing to its skull then followed it with a straight kick to its jaw.

Seeing that its underlings were slowly and methodically being defeated and killed, the Cetus didn’t just watch the spectacle. It finally moved underground, burrowing its body on the cobblestone ground, only to surface and attempt to hit Yuuki from below. As he jumped to avoid its attack, the Cetus opened its jaws, revealing the rows of saw-like teeth that extended deeper into its body.

“!!!” Yuuki’s heart skipped a beat, as he narrowly missed being swallowed by the boss. Good thing Temaire quickly bailed him by pushing him away with her wind magic.

Hell, this is what parties are for!

His heartbeats pumping, and blood rushing to his head, Yuuki changed his target. As the Cetus burrowed once again, he hurled the severed arm of the Qalupalik into its body, piercing the monster near its body half and effectively preventing it from digging underground. The creature flailed in pain; its screams of agony tore through the dungeon tunnels, effectively deafening anyone who might’ve heard it.

But, again, thanks to Temaire’s wind magic, Yuuki’s ears survived the encounter.

“Finish it, Yuuki!”

The porter nodded and winked at them. With his dagger, Yuuki created a wide gash on the Cetus’ side, spilling its guts and blood. Then, he poured a couple of shots to its head, destroying the eyes, rendering the creature blind. As the monster lashed and thrashed, he cut its body in half, sending blood and gore splatting on the cobblestone walls and floor.

For the finish, Yuuki grabbed the Cetus at its head, emptied an entire magazine on the monster, and then flung the corpse on the Qalupaliks, crushing many.

“…”

With the boss dead, the other surviving monsters immediately fled from them, and Temaire, with a proud smile on her face, turned to her companions…

“And that, my friends, is Yuuki’s Yaw-Yan!”

-----

**Yuuki, a few days later…**

Yaw-Yan, which in my country’s language, was short for ‘Sayaw ng Kamatayan’ or ‘Dance of Death.’ Well, it was not really a dance, but a modern martial art developed by one of my countrymen sometime back in the 1970s. It was an effective counter to magic, as the mage couldn’t finish casting a spell without having to avoid a practitioner’s attacks. Yaw-yan also emphasized ‘exploiting’ an enemy’s weakness amidst the fight, so anyone fighting a Yaw-yan fighter in real-life situations could expect the unexpected.

I learned it from one of the clubs I joined when I entered college. And seeing its practical use in adventuring, I sought to develop myself fighting in that technique.

“…”

But yeah, I didn’t expect it would also come in handy, not only in dealing with street thugs in my neighborhood, and dungeon bosses…it could also be used in negotiating with a family of assassins.

“…”

Rico’s father had a steel gaze. His receding hairline didn’t stop him from intimidating his opponents just by looking at them. And even worse was his voice; it felt like I was speaking to a golem. I didn’t know if that was an effect of Rico telling us her background, or it was something that included in their family ‘secret art.’ Nevertheless, now that her past was known to us, we found ourselves dealing with another trouble, even as we were still reeling from the one in Salinas.

“So you are…?”

“I am Yuuki, sir,” I bowed as a show of respect. My hands were still hurting from the fight, so I avoided offering it for a handshake. “I am the new porter of the re-formed OyasumiSe7en.”

“Re-formed, you say?” he raised his eyebrows.

“I’m a new member. The former porter was a girl named Yukie.”

“I see.”

Silence ensued. Rico sat beside me, her father opposite of us. The restaurant where we met, Jellibee, was full of people; mothers, children, and even grandpas and grandmas. Yet, he warned us that many of their family’s ‘agents’ were with observing our conversation.

As for Temaire and Alice, I asked Lady Yanari to keep an eye on them. My childhood friend was already pissed when she learned of Rico’s circumstances, and the brawler—in a rare moment of solidarity with Temaire—was also ready to fight. I was the only one calm enough to talk to the father, so Rico brought me to meet with him…on the condition that whatever stuff we talked in here would remain within us until we die.

Kind of absurd condition, but I can agree to that.

He began. “My family is part of a clan of proud practitioners of Void magic, and we put it to use via assassinations. We may not rely too much on martial arts, but we get our targets.”

“Yes, your daughter did tell me.”

The father stared daggers at Rico. Seems like she said something we shouldn’t know, at least until now.

“And your teammates led her astray. She was supposed to inherit the leadership of the family from me, yet, instead of magic, you fooled her with guns!”

Honestly, I couldn’t think of any answer to that. No, it was not because I felt guilty. It was more like, dang…we fooled her with guns? We, who just met her recently? Are you sure it’s not because you guys are living in the United States of America? Second Amendment, bro! Second Amendment!

But of course, I couldn’t say that, right?

Still glaring at me, his father brought out a pile of papers. It was from the Adventurers’ Agency, and it detailed the performance of Rico during our simulation trainings. Well, even with all the trouble she did inside the Salinas dungeon, her performance was still subpar. But there was little improvement.

Which is expected…slumps are not solved in one-chapter events.

“My daughter is a platinum adventurer. But her talents lie with Void, rather than guns. You can see for yourself.”

“With all due respect sir, we know that her talents lie with Void magic. However, have you asked your daughter if she really likes to do it?”

“What do you mean? You’re an outsider to our family! You don’t know anything!”

“Well, have you?”

Pushed into a corner, Rico’s father averted his eyes for the first time, and muttered, “No…”

“Rico,” I turned to our scout. “What do you want to do with your life?”

“Father,” she directed her answer to him instead. “I want to be an adventurer.”

“I am not forbidding you.”

“Not as a team leader,” Rico reiterated. “I am the scout of OyasumiSe7en, and I will remain as such.”

The father took a deep breath, and massaged his head. I could tell that he still didn’t come to terms with his daughter’s decision. Good thing, the chocolate sundae we ordered for him came; he started eating that the moment the crew put it on our table.

“Tell me, child,” he began when his thoughts cleared a bit. “How can you be so sure of being a scout, when your performance results are like this? You will only get your teammates injured, or worse, they’d end up dead!”

“Sir, you don’t need to worry,” I answered for Rico. “We are a team; what we lack in skill is answered by the other.”

“That doesn’t give me the peace of mind,” he countered.

“I see…” I nodded, and then said, “…is that why you never talked to us personally?”

“!!!” Rico was dumbfounded. At once, her ‘father’ before slowly dissolved into a dark smoke—a manifestation of Void magic in use. She blurted out, “Yuuki, how did you know—”

“Just a hunch,” I shrugged, as if it was a trivial matter. However, I couldn’t tell Rico three things I noticed about this encounter. First, her father’s warning. I mean, they came from a family of assassins. There was no reason for him to tell us he got guys watching us if he was not testing me, or Rico. If his aim was just to intimidate me, his presence alone was enough. Second, based from Rico’s stories, her father was a ‘ruthless’ man; devoid of emotions and affection for his child. This guy before us was an irony of that description. And third, and most obvious ‘giveaway,’ the introduction earlier…

Professional killers don’t introduce themselves as killers. I mean, it’s fucking stupid.

“…”

Whoever is behind this façade is an amateur, that’s what I can say.

“Ah, it seems your teammate has already caught me,” the ‘father’ said to Rico. His voice also changed from the heavy, tension-filled male tone, into a wily, cheerful female’s voice. Then, in front of us, the ‘mask’ dissipated, revealing a girl with same blue hair and eyes as Rico, albeit a bit smaller.

“M-Miriam!” our scout exclaimed, almost standing from her seat. “Where’s father?”

“Hello, Yuuki!” the smaller ‘Rico’ greeted me. “I’m Rico—is that what you call her? Well, I am her little sister. And I’m impressed you caught me…or perhaps I’m still not used to this.”

I said nothing. I can’t tell her how I caught her; let this brat figure it out.

“Where’s father?” Rico asked while looking around.

“I won’t tell you,” the little sister smirked. “But, let me tell you something. Father already saw your dismal results, and wants you to come home. However, your porter boy passed his test, and I’d say, the old man is impressed. His listening to us, right now.”

“Oh?”

“One year,” Miriam said. “Father gives you one year to improve. If you fail that, then you’ll definitely need to go home.”

Rico and I exchanged surprised looks, but with relieved hearts. Nevertheless, the little sister wasn’t finished…

“Also, father says to bring that boy home if you ever fail…at least, he has some compensation.”

-----

Well, with everything in order from Rico’s side, I guess we could now rest easy.

What happened in Salinas was kept under the wraps, as there were multiple violations committed by our party. One, Rico entered the dungeon alone, when the quest-giver specified a party of three should be the minimum standard. Two, she also crossed the police cordon, effectively breaking the rules of the Agency to follow public safety enforcement decisions. And three, I was also in violation, for I entered the Salinas dungeon with just a green band ID.

Good thing Lady Yanari let us off with just monetary fines.

“…”

Well, Rico’s lonely venture into the Salinas dungeon produced valuable information, though she entered illegally. With her ‘intelligence work,’ the Adventurers’ Agency classified that place as something only silver to platinum band adventurers could enter, eliminating the unnecessary risks for lower-ranked parties. So Rico’s ‘violation’ was offset by the benefits of what she did.

“I’m sorry you also got violations, Yuuki,” Rico told me sometime later. When we received our punishments, we both stayed inside our quarters to keep ourselves from creating more trouble. Meanwhile, Temaire and Alice had to return to simulation practice without us. So, we got the entire room for ourselves. “You should just accept Temari’s offer to bail you out.”

“I can’t do that. This is something we all decided, so I can’t ask my childhood friend to cover for me when I also willingly went there after you.”

“Sorry…”

“Stop that; don’t apologize,” I gave her a head pat. “And don’t make it sound like you’re a burden to us.”

“I…”

“Look, I want to say sorry, too. I asked Temaire to dig up what happened to you and your second party, see? After all, it’s not normal that you will ‘go on a trip’ with your guns in tow, so I assumed you’ll going to train in a real dungeon. I just didn’t expect you’d really try a new, unexplored one. Good thing we have CCTVs for that.”

Rico smiled at me; and really, it was the sweetest I saw from her recently. “You really are observing us, even our little quirks, no?”

“I’m your porter. I can’t serve you if I don’t know you.”

She chuckled, and took a deep breath. “Well, at first, I thought everything’s going well, really. They saw my platinum band; everyone was happy to have me on board. I mean, my new party, GlastHeim, is one full of golden bands, so they looked up to me…even my new team leader. But…”

“But…?”

“There was one time where in the middle of the battle, I missed a shot. It enraged the monster so we had to retreat, but during the retreat, one of the traps I missed to deactivate hit my teammate, and she lost her leg. As we evacuated her, things got complicated that I ended up fighting a Qalupalik, but I failed to kill it.”

I tapped her shoulder, “Everyone fucks up.”

“Yes…but back then, everyone’s expectations on me were so low, my team leader accused me of deliberately injuring my teammate so I can have him for myself. They are a couple, see? But I gave him a slap, and quit immediately.”

Jackasses are always around.

“And my father disowned me because I ‘brought’ shame to my clan with that failure,” Rico’s face formed a bittersweet smile. “You saw how they act; they use us—me, my little sister, and even our other younger relatives—for the interest of our family or clan.”

I said nothing. Rico’s situation was not unique to many magic-focused families. They held their children to high expectations, and when they fail, quickly disown them. After all, magic was the source of their prestige and influence.

The House of d’Anvilles is no exception, though Temaire’s parents are kinder and supportive of their daughter.

“Rico.”

“Hm?”

“We don’t mind if you make mistakes,” I pointed out. “Sure, we may say things out of tension, but in the end, you are our irreplaceable scout.”

Rico’s cheeks slowly turned red.

“If everyone hates you, Oyasumi is your home. Oh, and yeah, I know it’s kind of weird, considering you are already a platinum adventurer, but…improve at your pace. We will wait.”

Our scout sheepishly nodded, and just leaned her head on my shoulder. “Yuuki…”

“Yes?”

“Matilda Ying.”

“Hmm?”

“My real name is Matilda Ying. My parents hail from the Ying clan, practitioners of the Ying Void Assassination Arts. From now on, you can call me Mattie instead of my call sign, Rico.”