Chapter 766: Heaven in Hell

The truth of the matter, sheltered kindly in their thoughts, was, the norm was to worry about oneself against the lives of strangers. The selfish way of thought, not that it mattered whether it was good or bad, had to be accepted to promote growth. Stronger alone, and strongest in a team, the formed clicks were tight and very much unaccepting of the newcomers. Hence presented the society of Aria, a commune of very interesting personage, a slight faction kept the same old joyous approach of eating and drinking, living proof, old man Tenmo and his contagious personality. 

Cup in hand and eyes towards the wave of headlights, he continued listening to Wendy's thoughts. She provided much information – at a fixed point during the night, whereby the train station dimmed and the highway grew desolate, the party spilled onto the concrete walkways. Tables and benches scattered among the street, strangers enjoying a nightly visit were stopped and coerced into joining the celebrations.

All wasn't so joyous and eccentric. Groans and the slow dripping of a liquid resounded throughout a giant rocky cage. Swords, broken weapons, guns, and ammunition littered the area, spilled potions, unconscious bodies, and a booming echo of a monster. An exoskeleton armored its back, the appearance was of a four-legged mammal upsized into a combination of insects and weapons. Its mouth, or what remained, had claws, the eyes, unseen and weak spots, unknown. It fell sideways, covering a few hundred meters. A singular entity stood upon the dead beast, she'd dug a sword into its armor and poured all her energy inside, the pressure built against the strong layer (the armor) till an explosion out of its face, or what seemed to be a visage. Internal organs guzzled out its mouth, hitting the wall and laying upon the rocky ground. 

*Huff, puff,* she slid down its belly, barely catching her step upon contact with the ground, '-we've defeated it,' she gasped, the hands and legs vibrated in pain and elation. A fresh wound slowly dripped blood, she clambered, making way around to the body in hopes of checking on her companions. A few minutes elapsed, she limped and held against the boss to veer the corner, "-are you here?" the claws outside its mouth laid strongly on the ground, blood poured in mild increments. The waterfall of crimson life essence spawned a pond. Her spoken words fell on an empty scape of rock and boulders. 

"Anyone here?" she walked, aided by the sword's scabbard-made walking stick, "-Enria, Zoria, Harvie?" every pronunciation ended on naught. A slowly brightening light watched from the ceiling – the rays caught dissimilation of the boss, the mangled body parts turned to dust, a whiff scattered ash. The twinkle of the reflected last moments forcibly exhaled, '-pretty,' from her chest. Dimness and the sensation of fear and doom lifted, the disappearances of the boss meant; Floor 198 was cleared. Giant double doors at the far end clicked – vegetation and strong light escaped to where she knelt. "We've done it, the quest to conquer the Tower of God has been accomplished." A mountain of golden coins, ancient weapons, treasure chests, and much more, piled where it last breathed. 'To stand at the top, one must climb upon the dead bodies of one's enemies and comrades,' to her side, left and right, laid the bodies of her companions. 

"Zoria," she paused with a resigned smile, "-thank you for the support, it means a lot. I can't express how much grateful I am, you were always there to catch our mistakes and spot traps long before we were harmed," her long bloodied fingers, gently caressed pale cheeks.

"Enria, my fellow swordswoman, we had fun, didn't we."

"Lastly, Harvie, you were a trouble maker from the beginning," she exhaled, no tears nor woe came, the expression remained nonchalant and peerless, "-I'm happy we met, and I appreciate you spending thy last moments fighting the last boss with me." A bottle opened, a few scrolls laid at her feet, '-the last of our supplies,' she downed the healing potion, used the scroll on her wounded leg, '-I'd have died without my invincibility. A direct hit from those claws was foolish, very foolish.' In the truest sense of the word, Achilles stood as the strongest upon a mountain of corpses. An expedition that had lasted a year, whereupon five guilds gathered into a single unit of around two hundred members, remained with but a single adventurer. She stood, grabbed the tags of the fallen, opened a red pouch containing the other tags, and let go. A twinkle whispered, she tightened the sash, took her time setting the bodies in a respectable line, and lit it ablaze. Smoke rose, she passed the mountain of gold, uncaring of the treasures, and made for the next level. 

'Floor 199,' in what could be described as a heavenly forest, her heart warmed to a genuine smile. A straight narrow path went through the green, tall trees of brightly colored leaves – the melody of flowing water tickled her ears, a slight inclination prevented a direct view, she climbed up the mound until a whiff of freshness – crystal clear water under which laid soft-looking pebbles, meadows of flowers, birds in the distance and reindeers lined against the edge. It truly was heaven, '-is the hell over?' her presence sent the wildlife running, '-or is there another floor?'

"Igna… Igna… Igna…" it progressively grew louder, "-Igna…" 

"What's the matter?" the eyes opened to a painful headache, '-I feel awful,' he massaged his brows hoping to ease the pain, '-where are we anyway?' 

"Wake up already," said blue hair with a nasty smell.

"Fenrir?" he sat, turns out, the location hadn't changed. Many drinkers of last night were passed, some slept on comfy sleeping bags, others on the cold stone floor. The stalls were shut, and the owners, nowhere to be seen. Morning rose, a cold breeze washed the area, "-Igna," muffled a slightly seductive voice.

'-Please no,' he looked down, the pants were present, glanced to where the sound originated, '-she's dressed, thank god,' a sigh of relief escaped.

"What are you so happy about?" pouted Fenrir, "-my friend, you had a very energetic night. Wendy's cabin," she pointed, "-the number of times we heard her scream and moan… it was, let's say, educative," she chuckled, "-never knew you to be such a dog."

"Rich coming from Fenrir," the eyes narrowed, "-well, we don't speak about drunk me, nobody speaks of drunk Igna." 

*Burk, burrk,* hailed from a side-alley, "-you good?" fired Fenrir.

"Yeah, just fine," said a grumpy tone, "-hungover that's all," it hurled once more.

"What the hell happened?" 

"A fun night," she explained, "-I had a blast, we drank, drank, and drank – we had people come from the second districts with booze and the white powder. When I say it was wild, trust me, it was fucking wild," her eyes widened, "-I want to do it again."

"How are you not hungover," he burped, the burning odor of alcohol rose from within.

"I can hold my liquor," she winked. Meanwhile, the gentle mumbles reached over and grabbed his waist, "-Igna," said a red-eyed Wendy, "-don't leave, I want to know more…"

'She reeks of alcohol…'

"Go back to sleep," he tapped her forehead. 

"Going to abandon her?" 

"Not really," he undid her grip, "-Wendy was very helpful in giving intel."

"Well, whatever you say," she backed off, "-I'll head off to the tavern," she threw a business card, "-an acquaintance of ours offered to rent us a room for our stay, says it's a thank you for last night's party."

'Last night's party?' the memories slowly gathered; '-I offered to pay…'

"Good morning, kiddo," said a man in casual clothes, "-you guys know how to party, don' ya," he smiled with a few teeth missing. "-I'll open up shop, check on the others would you, I'll ready the check and fire up breakfast, don't worry, it's on the house." 

The side panel opened, and Tenmo began about his day. Fenrir suddenly left, leaving him confused, '-check on the others?' he fought through the headache and stood. The side-alley shy at the back of the old man's stall had a bunch of sleeping drunkards, "-Hey, you good?" he voiced loudly.

"Yeah, I need some water," said he who had vomited, "-god, I'm still not sober," his arms stretched around a bin, constantly filling the container with his guts, "-what sort of stuff did they buy last night."

'-I saw a vending machine around last night,' to the left built a cozy garden for late evening strolls, arch-top gates unlocked, '-I knew it was there,' he hopped over the separating bricked pavement, bought a few drinks, and returned, the guards of the garden nodded and said, "-thanks for last night, we had fun."

"Sorry?" he halted shy of the entrance on the way out.

"The drinks and party," they commented, "-you invited us to partake in the feast. Tis the first time in forever I've seen young Wendy smile and laugh so openly. Must be tough for a girl to be born into an adventuring family. Old man Tenmo's her grandfather," they smiled, "-those two always get in fights and make the overall atmosphere pleasant. Too bad the town doesn't return their energy." 

"I'll keep that in mind," the hurling resumed, "-I better go check on them," he laughed.

"Take care, Igna," they waved, he crossed the pavement, the station roared to life, time showed 05:34, '-an unexpected encounter. You have to love visiting new places,' he entered the landfill of drunkards and handed cold drinks to those who woke.

"Thanks, Igna," they replied with grateful smiles, the few able to stand nodded and clawed to the second district – their homes. A gathering of a few dozen, at its peak, a hundred or so, dissipated with the rising sun. Many exchanged contact information, wanting to relive tonight, the clock advanced to 06:20. The area cleared; demi-humans arrived to clean the roads, they bore orange vests, '-Eizo Cleaning Company,' branded across the back.

"Old man Tenmo," said an older worker, "-today seems more charged than usual."

"Han," he exclaimed, "-I'm glad to see you. Last night was the best event we'd ever hosted."

"Is that right?" the curious gaze wandered to Igna, who matched the man's stare.

'Curious,' he thought and sat beside Wendy who slept deeply, '-not dignified for a lady…' he smiled, '-drunks are funny people, the bench looks like her bed, she's so comfortable.' 

"Too bad you couldn't join. Once again, we appreciate you guys cleaning up after us."

"No problem," burst a thumbs up, "-pleasure is ours," he said, "-long as we get to eat your food, old man." 

"Stop… Igna, please, I can't take it anymore," said a few whimpers, "-stop I c-can't."

"WENDY!" he reached over and covered her mouth.

"W-what," her sleep broke, "-why you covering my mouth," she muffled, the tipsiness faded.

"I had to," the grip eased, "-you began to sleep talk."

"Can't be that bad," she rose, "-last night was fun."

"Are you not hungover?"

"No, why would I be," she laughed, "-we drink all the time," she straddled over to Tenmo's stall, "-grandpa, I'm going home."

"Whatever, take Igna with you," he said, "-he's a good kid."

"What about stranger danger."

"Oh please," he breathed a loud laugh, "-you two made an orchestra yesterday, everybody knows of the intimate bond. Go on, kiddos else you make this old man feel sad." 

"Right," she turned, her freckled cheeks flushed, "-I'll get my stuff ready."

"Okay?" he observed, the day resumed without hassle, last night slowly faded into the everyday motions.

"Igna!" hailed Tenmo, "-the bill's here if you ready to pay."

"Right, payment," he ducked into the stall's seating area, "-how much?"

"Here are the invoices."

"76,000 EXA?"

"I know, the price's too much, I should have stopped the party."

"No, no," he reassured his worry, "-tis cheaper than I expected," a tap of his phone cleared the bill, "-right, that should handle it." 

"IGNA," waved from the side, "-I'm ready to go, follow me."

"By the way," whispered Tenmo, "-look after her, I know it's a tall order to ask of a stranger, but still, I trust you. A drunk man is very honest, and what we saw yesterday were humbleness and charisma, you're a great kid." 

"Don't know what to say… I appreciate the thought, old man."

"Right," he smirked, "-visit us anytime, tell the blue-haired girl she's always welcome to share a drink."

"Will do."