Last time we joined Leo and Bell as they took a trip into the Dungeon to explore floor two so Leo could complete his map of the floor. However the duo stumbled upon a set of strange symbols of an ancient language that Leo mysteriously deciphered. Now they venture into the strange corridor it opened.

Leo and Bell stumbled their way through the pitch black darkness of the mysterious corridor that opened up in the Dungeon before them mere moments ago. "You just couldn't wait until we informed the Guild and get a proper expedition team together?" Bell grumbled in frustration as the duo continued to march through the seemingly endless darkness. Leo let out a nervous chuckle as his impulsive decision was only now starting to seem like a poor idea. "I apologize Bell, I suppose my curiosity got the better of me." Leo admitted in embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his neck. Bell let out a sigh, he couldn't exactly be to frustrated with Leo, after traversing the Dungeon with him on multiple occasions, he knew how curious he was.

           "It's fine Leo, let's just see what's at the end of this corridor and head back." Bell said in a calm tone as he didn't want to turn back after they came all this way into the corridor. Leo for his part was still trying to figure out what exactly this corridor lead to. "It is rather strange isn't it? If I remember correctly, there has never been a part of the Dungeon that requires manual input to open." Leo said to himself thoughtfully as he looked around the pitch black darkness, still seeing nothing. A light however suddenly cut through the darkness as the duo looked ahead of them, seeing a shining light that indicated the exit to the corridor. "It appears we are about to discover what exactly this strange corridor leads to." Leo said before he and Bell quickened their pace towards the light at the end of the corridor.

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Leo and Bell exited the dark corridor and found themselves in a large room, the walls appeared to be made of a worn and slightly rusted metal. The found themselves at the top of a staircase, the stairs themselves leading to a large open bottom floor. At either end of the walkway they found themselves on there were two more staircases, each leading to a floor above.

"What is this place?" Bell asked out loud as he looked around the strange new area they found themselves in. Leo looked around the strange new area, running his hand along the wall as he did. "Whatever this strange place is, it appears to be man made, the Dungeon never shapes itself to have stairs, nor are any of its floors made of metal." Leo responded to Bell's question as he continued to look the strange area over. Bell turned to face Leo, a bewildered expression crossing the young Adventurer's face at his companion's words.

"How can there be something man made in the Dungeon? The Dungeon is alive, something like this shouldn't be able to exist!" Bell said in a tone that was a mixture of confusion and slight fear. Leo remained calm as he continued to study the strange area they found themselves in. Leo spotted a sign on the wall out of the corner of his eye. The blonde haired teen walked up to the sign, it was covered in what appeared to be dirt. Leo gently wiped the dirt off the sign revealing more of those strange characters that he and Bell found scratched into the wall of the Dungeon. Leo's eyes changed from green to a glowing azure blue as the symbols appeared in his head before morphing into letters he understood.

"Apparently this is the "Lab Floor" at the very least that is what this sign indicates it is." Leo said as he read over the sign again.

"Lab? What in the name of the goddess is a Lab?" Bell asked, dumbfounded by the strange word, having never heard of such a thing or place. Leo continued to study the sign for a moment before looking around the entire room as a whole. "I don't even have a theory as to what it could be. However I believe there is only one way to find out." Leo said calmly as he walked past Bell and began descending the stairs to the floor below. Bell followed after Leo, a nervous expression on his face. "Are you sure it's safe to continue traveling deeper? We don't know what's in this place." Bell said in a timid tone as he continued to scan the area around them for any signs of danger. Leo for his part remained calm, his journal and pencil in hand as he began sketching the first section of this area.

As the duo walked through the bottom floor, investigating each pathway and corridor they found, Bell looked over at Leo. "Leo, how exactly are you able to read those strange symbols?" Bell asked as he shot his companion a curious look. Leo stopped his sketch of the unknown area and looked over at Bell, a grim expression spreading across his face. "I do have a single theory as to why I am able to read this seemingly dead language." Leo said thoughtfully as he did have a single explanation as to his strange ability to read the symbols. Bell's curiosity only seemed to grow more intense at that statement. "Really? Did you read it in a book somewhere? You do spend a lot of time at the Guild's Library." Bell asked, knowing his friend did quite a bit of studying in his free time.

         Leo remained silent for a moment as that was in fact not where he gained this knowledge. "No, I believe it's my unique Skill, Ancient Knowledge. Originally Lady Loki told me it seemingly did nothing from what my stats indicated. However it seems encountering these symbols has activated it." Leo said thoughtfully as he continued to study the corridor around him while adding more to his sketch of the map. Bell however only grew more confused at this explanation, he had never heard of a Skill not working until certain conditions are met. Before Bell could ask another question however, the duo heard a scraping against the metal floor approaching them. The two Adventurers quickly drew their weapons as they focused on the other end of the hallway.

           Three creatures the size of large dogs scuttled around the corner towards the duo. They looked like isopods, with sharp blade like appendages. Their bodies as a sickly white color and four yellow eyes adorned their heads, those same eyes staring directly at them.

"I don't recognize these monsters." Bell said as he readied his dagger while Leo readied his cleaver. The creature in the center spat a jet of water at the two adventurers from its mouth while its brethren scuttled towards the duo. Leo and Bell rolled to the side as the jet of water passed between them. Leo faced the creature coming towards him before positioning his cleaver blade next to his waist. Leo delivered a rising slash with his cleaver that slashed the strange monster across the face. The creature let out a screech of pain as it scuttled backwards, clumsily bumping into its brother that shot the jet of water.

          Bell dodged a swipe from one of the creature he was fighting's sickle like arms before thrusting his dagger into the side of its body. The creature let out an angered hiss as it swiped at Bell again with its sickle arm. Bell clumsily stumbled backwards, letting go of his knife in the process. The creature's sickle arm grazed Bell's cheek leaving a small cut across it. The creature angrily scuttled towards Bell, ready to continue its assault. The creature leaped at Bell, its sickle like arms outstretched towards the young white haired teen. "Bell, duck!" Leo shouted as the boy ducked down as Leo's cleaver passed over his back before slashing the strange creature across the torso. It let out a screech of pain as it was sent crashing back first into the ground. Leo then grabbed Bell by the back of his shirt before pulling him to the side.

Another jet of water was fired as it narrowly missed the two Adventurers. Leo and Bell turned to face the three strange creatures as they all hissed at the duo. "We should focus on killing the one your knife is lodged in. Until we get it back, you are defenseless." Leo suggested as Bell nodded before they both lunge forward. The creature in the middle fired another jet of water from its mouth at Bell. However Leo shoved him forward before getting his in the torso by the water, knocking him off his feet and crashing back first into the ground. Bell lunged towards the creature with his knife stabbed into it, the creature had its sickle arms poised to strike. Bell sidestepped a swipe from the creature's sickle arms before grabbing his knife out of the creature's side.

        The creature hissed in pain as it attempted to slash Bell with its sickle arms again, only for the white haired boy to sidestep. Bell swiftly stabbed the creature through the eye, before twisting his knife. The creature let out one final screech of pain before it collapsed, its body exploding into wispy energy. However instead of leaving behind a Magic Stone, one of the creature's sickle blades was left behind. "No Magic Stone? This whole place keeps getting stranger." Bell mumbled to himself until he heard another pained screech from behind him. Bell turned around to see Leo had sliced another one of the creatures in half as it exploded, leaving behind another sickle. Bell noticed the last of the strange creatures was taking aim at Leo.

         "Leo, watch out!" Bell shouted as Leo quickly dove out of the way of another jet of water. Bell quickly lunged towards the creature before leaping onto its back. Bell swiftly stabbed it in the eye, causing it to let out agonized screech as Bell leaped off its back. Leo lunged forward and swung his cleaver down on the creature's body, slicing it in two. The creature exploded into wispy energy as another sickle was left behind, along with Bell's knife clattering to the ground. "What were those things?" Bell asked as he picked up his knife before sheathing it once again. Leo sheathed his cleaver back on his back before looking down at the sickles left behind by the creatures, his eyes glowing blue again as he looked at the pieces.

"Lethal Lysaats, they are apart of the Lysaat family. A species of Isopod like monsters that dwell in aquatic areas." Leo explained out of the blue, his eyes widened in shock once again as he had no idea how he knew that. Bell picked up one of the sickles before placing it in his bag, the white haired teen then grabbed the other two before handing them to Leo. "We should probably keep going. At least until the end of this pathway." Bell suggested with an encouraging smile spreading across his face. Leo hesitated for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. The blonde teen took the two sickles before putting them away before they continued on down the pathway. The duo rounded the corner only to find a staircase leading further into the lab.

"Onwards and downwards I suppose?" Leo said in a joking tone as Bell merely let out a tired sigh. "I just hope we don't get swarmed by those Lysaats again." Bell groaned before both of them walked towards the staircase before they began their descent deeper into the lab. However as the duo of curious adventurers descended deeper into the lab within the corridor they failed to notice a large hole in the ceiling of the pathway. A set of six glowing yellow eyes were trained on the retreating forms of the two young Adventurers down the staircase. The six eyes let out an enraged hiss as two large appendages dug into the ceiling around the hole as the creature began moving in the darkness.

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Leo and Bell reached the bottom of the staircase, finding themselves in an open room with tubes running throughout it. At the back of the room was a glass container, that seemingly had a girl held within it. Lodged into the ground next to the glass container was what appeared to be a sword of some kind.

"Is that a girl? Why is a girl locked up down here?" Bell asked in a fearful tone, now beginning to think there was something more sinister going on within this lab. Leo approached the containment until holding the girl as he looked it over, no signs of an opening mechanism. "How strange, there doesn't appear to be a latch or handle to open this container she is held in." Leo mumbled to himself as he turned his attention towards the strange sword lodged in the ground. Leo approached the weapon before gently grabbing the handle with his hand. "What a peculiar looking sword, I wonder who forged it?" Leo mumbled to himself as his eyes once again started to glow blue.

           Leo felt a surge of information run through his mind as more of those symbols appeared in his head. The symbols morphed into letters he could read as they spelled out a single word. "Aegis." Leo whispered as the green gemstone embedded in the sword began to shine along with the green gemstone in the girl's chest. Steam shot out of the container as it opened and the girl fell out. Leo lunged forward and stretched his arms out in front of him, Leo caught the girl in his arms. "Are you alright?" Leo asked as the girl's eyelids twitched before slowly opening, her red eyes looking into Leo's green eyes.

"Yes, thank you for freeing me. My name is Pyra." The girl now named Pyra introduced herself as Leo gently set her down on her feet. Before Leo could ask the girl any questions a crashing was heard as Bell let out a panicked scream. Leo and Pyra turned to see a a Lysaat had followed them, however this one was giant, barely fitting through the doorway to the room.

"Leo! We need to get out of here!" Bell shouted as he drew his dagger while Leo drew his cleaver from his back before looking over his shoulder at Pyra. "Sit tight, we'll dispatch this creature and escort you safely out of here." Leo said confidently as he charged towards the King Lysaat. "Wait, I'm your Blade! I can help you!" Pyra called after Leo, a worried look on her face.

         Leo didn't hear the girl's words as he and Bell lunged towards the King Lysaat. The King Lysaat hissed in rage before aiming its sickle arms at the two Adventurers. Leo and Bell both sidestep the sickle arms as they stab into the metal floor. Leo raises his cleaver above his head before swinging it down onto the King Lysaat's leg. However the cleaver's blade only dug into the creature's exoskeleton, leaving a nick in it. Bell lunged forward, ready to stab the monster's other leg only to get swatted away by one of the creature's sickle arms. "BELL!" Leo shouted in concern for his friend as he watch him crash into the metal ground. Leo heard the King Lysaat hiss in rage as he looked up, the monster's sickle arm flying towards him. Leo raised his cleaver in front of him defensively, ready to block the attack.

         The sickle collided with the blade of Leo's cleaver, breaking it in two, the worn blade finally giving out. Leo was sent flying backwards before crashing into the ground. Leo let out a groan of pain as he looked at the broken remains of his weapon. "Is this how it ends? Forgive me Lady Loki, forgive me Bell, this is all my fault." Leo thought to himself as he hoped that while the monster was busy with him, his friend and Pyra could escape. Leo however was pulled up onto his feet by Pyra who handed him the strange red sword. "Please don't rush off like that again, as your Blade it is my duty to protect you." Pyra said in a calm yet stern tone as she shot Leo a worried glare. Leo looked at the girl in confusion, having no idea what she meant.

"Blade? Are you implying you are a weapon of some kind?" Leo asked Pyra, not having the faintest idea what exactly she was talking about. The duo heard the King Lysaat screech as it was closing in on them. "Trust me, I will lend you my power. Together we can defeat that monster!" Pyra said in a reassuring tone as she positioned herself behind Leo. Leo faced the King Lysaat as he held the red sword, the Aegis out in front of him. Pyra extended her arm towards Leo, blue energy surrounding her before flowing out of her hand as a beam that hit Leo in the back. Leo was surrounded by the blue energy as the Aegis began opening up, a stream of fire shooting out of it, forming a blade of fire.

Leo looked at the strange weapon in awe, he had never seen such a thing in his two years of adventuring.

          The King Lysaat screeched as it swung one of its sickle arms at Leo. The blonde tern swiftly sidestepped before swinging the Aegis upwards, slicing the sickle arm in half like it were butter. The King Lysaat screeched in pain as the stump where its sickle arm used to be smoked from the intense heat. Leo lunged towards the disoriented monster before swinging the Aegis downwards diagonally, slicing off its other sickle arm. The King Lysaat let out another agonized screech as it scuttled backwards away from Leo, attempting to escape the flames. Leo once again lunged forward as the King Lysaat shot a jet of water at the Driver. Leo however raised the Aegis to block the attack, the water turning to steam the moment it touched the burning flames that formed the weapon's blade.

         Leo using the impromptu smokescreen dashed forward, delivering a horizontal slash that sliced off the two front legs of the monster. The King Lysaat screeched in agony as it collapsed onto the ground, desperately trying to stand back up despite lacking two of its legs. "We should finish this before anymore monsters show up." Leo said as the stream of energy Pyra was supplying him with went from blue to gold. Leo tighten his grip on the Aegis as the fire of its blade burned even more intensely. Leo raised the Aegis above his head before delivering a vertical downward slash, cutting the large monster clean in half. The King Lysaat exploded into wispy energy as a large sickle arm was left behind where it once stood.

Pyra stopped the energy stream, letting out a tired sigh as the Aegis's blade retracted into the weapon before it closes back up. Leo let out a relieved sigh as he sheathed the Aegis on the back of his waist. "Bell! You okay?!" Leo shouted to his friend as he ran over to where he was collapsed onto the ground. Leo crouched down next to his friend before helping him sit up. "L-Leo? How did you do that?" Bell asked in disbelief as he had witnessed the fight that had just occurred. Leo reached into Bell's bag before pulling out one of the healing potions he gave the white haired boy earlier today. Leo pulled the cork out before gently pouring the potion into Bell's mouth. Bell let out a relieved sigh as his wounds started to heal as he managed to sit up on his own.

Leo stood up as he turned around to see Pyra walking towards him, holding the large sickle arm the King Lysaat had dropped. "Pyra, thank you for your help. Bell and I probably wouldn't have survived without you." Leo said in a thankful tone as Pyra handed the sickle arm to Leo, a gentle smile spreading across her face. "You are my Driver, it is my duty to assist you in combat." Pyra said as once again Leo was confused by the statement that the girl made. However Leo turned to see Bell shakily getting back on his feet, despite the healing potion, he still didn't quite look like he was combat ready. "We can discuss this once we are safely out of the Dungeon. We should return to Orario and update the Guild." Leo said as Pyra nodded her head in agreement. The Driver and Blade each took one of Bell's arms before helping the boy up the stairs out of the secret room to big their journey back to Orario.

So Leo and Bell discover that the mysterious corridor led to a strange, seemingly man made structure within the Dungeon. The duo encountered monsters they have never seen before and found a girl locked within secret room. As always please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments! What awaits Leo, Bell, and Pyra back in Orario? How will the Guild react to an hidden section of the Dungeon that has just been opened? What does Pyra know in relation to the strange lab? What other secrets does the Dungeon have hidden within it? Find out in the next Quest of Danmachi: Master of the Aegis!