The Journey Begins in DanMachi

If it weren't for the fact that she was an adventurer who frequently felt explosions within the Dungeon, Ais might not have been able to distinguish this sound.

What was certain was that while the destructive power was low, one could sense a commotion beginning to stir at the edge of the plaza.

"Riveria?"

It wasn't just Ais; the party members around her also instinctively cast their gazes toward Riveria.

At the center of so many eyes, Riveria surveyed the plaza with a calm expression before finally making a judgment.

"This is not the main assault; it is meant to incite panic, perhaps to lure us away. Leave that side to the Astraea Familia."

She looked toward the street in the opposite direction. "We will head this way to maintain vigilance!"

As the party members rushed toward their target, Riveria looked at Ais and pursed her lips in thought.

"Ais, I have a mission for you. Someone might be lurking among the civilians waiting for an opportunity to act. We are all too conspicuous; we need your help."

Riveria knew that even if she told Ais to leave, it was unlikely the little one would behave.

Since that was the case, it was better to give her a mission and send her to protect the civilians.

With those three broken-limit stats, ordinary Level 2 adventurers were likely no stronger than a Goblin to Ais.

Not to mention that magic of hers...

"Understood! Leave it to me!"

Sure enough, the light immediately erupted in the eyes of Ais, who had been lost and bewildered in the wind just moments before!

Before leading the team away, Riveria thought for a moment and looked back at Ais.

"Ais, if you encounter a strong enemy, shout 'Awaken'."

Awaken—

Watching the backs of Riveria and the others as they departed, Ais slowly repeated this chant that gave her such a strange feeling.

Unable to reach a conclusion, Ais gave up on thinking, turned, and walked into the crowd.

Back when the stalls were being set up, the Guild had erected many high towers in the plaza, which were now occupied by adventurers arranged by Finn.

Although they could not provide direct protection to the civilians, just like stones placed in a flood can slow the current, the mere sight of these famous, powerful adventurers provided the people with a sense of security, slowing the spread of panic.

The hardest part of protecting residents was not resisting the attacks of the Dark Faction, but getting the civilians to follow instructions.

Because compared to the attacks of the Dark Faction, the casualties caused by trampling during a panic were sometimes even greater.

However, amidst the increasingly dense explosions erupting from all sides, anxiety spread like wildfire, threatening to burst through the levees.

Carrying a sword strapped to her back that was as tall as she was, Ais moved nimbly through the crowd, yet she found herself unable to locate her target.

Bad people, where are the bad people? Which ones are the bad people?

Feeling the terror and unease radiating from the crowd, along with the weeping of children, Ais felt a sense of irritation.

The boundless wailing and roaring from the depths of her memories seemed to ring in her ears, causing black flames to begin to churn.

Why?

Why must you kill each other?

Why, when there are already so many monsters in this world causing pain and sorrow, must people still turn their blades against their own kind?

I hate you all!

I hate everything that brings pain!

Therefore, when the figures of the Dark Faction in white robes appeared in her field of vision, Ais suddenly drew her sword!

"Ahahahaha! I, Oliwas, have returned!"

In front of a certain stall, a group of people who appeared to be vendors and customers suddenly donned white robes in unison!

Finn, oh Finn, you arranged for city members to guard the plaza since early this morning, but what if we had snuck in late last night and hidden under the counters?

...Though that didn't seem like something worth being proud of?

Thinking of having slept on the cold floor all night, Oliwas's smile faltered.

"Forget it! Kill them all to your heart's content!"

Although the actions on the surface were meant to provide cover for Valetta in the Dungeon, if one looked closely, the other executives were the ones drawing fire for him, Oliwas, this time!

In a sense, he was the main attacker!

Heh heh, I must slaughter them for a while to build up my own reputation—

Just as Oliwas thought this, a flash of gold suddenly appeared in his vision.

Gale?

As he recalled the name of the enemy he had fought many times, a silver light streaked past, the slash stinging everyone's eyes.

After the beautiful golden hair fluttered by, the warrior who had been unable to put up any resistance collapsed onto the rubble.

Only then did Oliwas clearly see the true form of that golden flash.

Golden hair, golden eyes, and delicate, doll-like features.

In that instant, Ais swung her Silver Sword, a blade entirely disproportionate to her petite frame, and sliced through the body of an Amazon.

Facing an Orc who swung a giant axe from another side, Ais struck once, severing both the opponent's body and his weapon in a single blow.

But by the time Ais had struck down the fifth member of the Dark Faction, even the civilians who should have been fleeing in terror stopped in their tracks, staring at the scene.

"Is that the Sword Princess?"

"The Doll Princess?"

"From the Loki Familia?"

Her rapier transformed into an impenetrable barrier of blades, enveloping all the robed figures before adorning them with a rain of blood.

"To think... they were all merely incapacitated?"

The remaining squad leader of the Dark Faction widened his eyes to their absolute limit.

Although she had unleashed a storm of blood and carnage with her sword, Ais had not killed a single person; instead, she had severed all their limbs, not even a single drop of blood staining her own person.

Being able to accomplish a feat far more difficult than simple killing proved that the gap between them was unimaginably vast.

With no chance to resist or flee—realizing this, he felt his eyes split with rage and reached into his robes.

"Oh Lord!! Please accept my life as an offer—"

However, as a golden shadow swept past from the side, his voice cut off instantly, and his entire body was frozen in place.

"I won't give you the chance."

When the emotionless voice rang out behind him, he realized he hadn't even seen how he had been struck.

After cutting down the enemy, Ais looked at Oliwas, the only one left standing on the field.

"Oh ho, it seems that besides that silver-haired brat, I've gained something for myself today! If I kill you too, it should be enough to keep the Loki Familia in despair for a while, right?"

Silver-haired...

Noah!

Their target was Noah!

Although she did not know what the Dark Faction's plan was, Ais keenly grasped the key.

In an instant, pitch-black flames surged and roiled behind her.

"...I will, defeat you!"

"Hahaha, as long as I kill the Sword Princess too, I, Oliwas, will be famous—"

Oliwas, who was daydreaming about becoming a top executive of the Dark Faction, was laughing wildly with his head tilted back when he saw a sharp silver gleam strike; he scrambled backward in a panic.

Standing up covered in dust, Oliwas touched his cheek and felt a stinging pain, realizing his face had been slashed.

"Damn it! You little brat!!"

Assaulted by a sense of intense humiliation, he drew his longsword and hacked at Ais, who was charging toward him again.

But the moment their blades clashed, the impact transmitted through the weapon numbed his arm, causing the rage on Oliwas's face to vanish, replaced by shock.

He naturally held the advantage in raw strength, but her speed and swordsmanship were completely above his own!

She is just a Level 1 brat!

Faster than Oliwas's thoughts was the sword in Ais's hand!

Her swift, sharp attacks possessed the precision to thread a needle, stabbing toward Oliwas's eyes and leaving him unable to adjust his stance, forcing him to parry in a rush.

But in the gap left by a single defense, three more slashes followed in succession.

The sword light, invisible to the naked eye of an ordinary person, transformed into a storm of slashes, weaving endless flowers of blood across Oliwas's body and forcing him to retreat step after step.

It was hard to imagine such imposing slashes coming from Ais's slender arms.

Oliwas was forced into a purely defensive position with no room to counterattack, and even his heart felt as if it were being drowned by the slashes.

Feeling his inner trembling and wavering, Oliwas twisted his face violently.

"I am a Level 3! How can I be pushed to this point by a little brat?!"

In a fit of rage, Oliwas abandoned his defense, used both hands, and slashed out with his sword from the front!

The unexpected blow forced Ais to stop her offensive and hold her sword vertically to defend.

The moment the blades clashed, a massive force sent Ais flying, and she tumbled backward four or five meters in the air before landing steadily.

Even so, the overwhelming impact caused Ais's feet to carve furrows into the ground.

When her body finally came to a stop, Ais looked down at her sword.

The blade was already notched in many places, and her slender arm trembled from the numbness, causing the sword itself to shake.

She was outmatched.

Even with her off-the-charts stats and exquisite swordsmanship, the two-level gap was, for the current Ais, still difficult to overcome.

Then, I will change tactics to stall him! Until Riveria and the others arrive!

As Ais decided to change her strategy, a serpentine, sinister grin suddenly spread across Oliwas's blood-stained cheeks.

He looked at Ais, then at the other adventurers rushing over from the distance, and pulled several items resembling bright red gemstones from his hand.

"Little girl, make your choice!"

Flinging the items toward the surrounding civilians, Oliwas turned and sprinted away without looking back.

In mid-air, the items suddenly began to emit an ominous red glow like red-hot iron, revealing the immense energy contained within them.

In an instant, Ais understood what 'choice' Oliwas was referring to.

Launching an attack at Oliwas's defenseless back would not only stall him but might even provide the opportunity to defeat him while he was caught off guard.

However, the civilians nearby would inevitably suffer heavy casualties in the resulting explosion.

To kill the enemy, or to protect?

A multiple-choice question with no room for compromise lay before the girl.

Yet, what surfaced in her mind was not the image of defeating Oliwas, nor was it a scene of countless cries and wails erupting all around her.

It was a clear, crisp, azure morning.

Time seemed to stand still; the girl's consciousness drifted away from the blood-splattered field of vision, and amidst the high-speed, endless flashes of light, she saw another scene.

"Ais, if one day you need to use our deaths as the price to complete your revenge, would you do it?"

"...People like you and me will sooner or later encounter such a choice at some point in our lives: whether to press forward for our ideals, or to stop for the sake of those beside us..."

The items began to melt, spewing out a blinding light that symbolized death, and the surrounding air began to churn like a tidal wave.