Last time Leo went shopping with Loki, Pyra, and surprisingly the Sword Princess herself Ais for new equipment for the upcoming expedition back into the lab. However monsters escaped the arena and began wreaking havoc on Orario, luckily Leo and other Adventurers put a stop to it before it got to out of hand.

The sun rose once again in Orario as a new day was once again starting. Within the Twilight Manor, Leo could been seen already awake. The young Adventurer was in the process of putting on his new armor. The blonde haired teen looked himself over in the mirror to make sure everything was secured properly.

"It appears everything is fastened properly." Leo mumbled to himself as he gave himself one last look over in the mirror, the breastplate was over top of a long sleeve red shirt, his boots had also been replaced with more armored boots that connected with the armor on his pants. "Well it certainly looks like it'll protect you more than your old outfit." Leo turned to face Pyra who walked up to him with a smile on her face. Pyra handed Leo a sheathed cleaver like sword that he strapped to his back. Leo already had the Aegis secured to the back of his waist, ready in case he needed it for combat. Pyra then handed Leo a bag that he secured to his right hip, it was satchel like in design, but flexible enough to conform to his hip.

            "Yes, well let's hope we can figure out what exactly happened within that lab and potentially find a few of your brethren along the way." Leo said as he gave Pyra a small smirk, which she returned with her usual warm smile. A knock at the bedroom door broke the Driver and Blade out of their conversation as they turned to look at the door. Leo walked up to the door before opening it, standing in the doorway was Ais, the Sword Princess geared up in her armor, her usual sword sheathed on her hip.

"Good morning Ais, is it already time for us to begin leaving for the Dungeon?" Leo asked the female Adventurer who gave a short nod of her head. Ais stepped back allowing Leo and Pyra to exit the bedroom and join her in the hallway. "The other members of the expedition party are already ready and waiting at the door." Ais explained in her usual monotone voice as Leo nodded his head in understanding. Leo checked himself over one last time before looking over at Ais again. "Good, hopefully this should go off without a hitch. The lab seemed somewhat docile outside a few monsters." Leo explained as Ais nodded her head in understanding.

"This whole expedition seems like a waste of Ais's talents." An annoyed female voice growled as the trio turned to see an elf girl approaching them. She had golden yellow hair, dark blue eyes, wore a white shirt, red skirt, a pink corset with a pink skirt attached, white stockings, and red shoes. In her hand was a magic staff, an annoyed expression spread across her face.

"Lefiya Virdis, are you joining us on this expedition as well?" Leo asked as he gave the elf a curious look. Lefiya directed a glare at Leo, who simply remained his usual calm self. "I can't leave Ais alone with a shameless lecher like you!" Lefiya growled as she pointed her staff at Leo, who simply cocked his head to the side in confusion. Pyra bit her lip in frustration, not appreciating the accusations made against her Driver. "I have no such interest in Ais." Leo stated bluntly, causing Lefiya to nearly fall flat on her face in disbelief. Lefiya quickly recovered and regained her composure before once again casting a glare towards Leo.

       "R-Regardless! It is strange that Lady Loki would make a low tier Adventurer such as yourself the leader of an Expedition! Someone more qualified should be leader!" Lefiya snapped, her glare returning in full force as she attempted to burn holes into Leo's forehead. Pyra clenched her fist, but remained calm as to not cause a scene. "Your words certainly hold merit, I am rather inexperienced in collaborating with a party of this size. However I also have a map of the area we will be exploring, despite it being incomplete." Leo explained as he held up the journal he started on the lab. Lefiya's face turned a light shade of red with frustration, but opted to turn her head away in annoyance. "We should get moving." Ais suggested as Leo nodded before all four of them made their way down the stairs to the first floor of the Twilight Manor.

Front Door
The three Adventurers and Blade made their way to the front door, there waiting for them were two men. One was a dwarf with brown hair, a large beard, brown eyes, he was dressed in Viking like armor and carried a battle axe that was taller then he was. The other was a younger man with wolf ears, grey hair, orange eyes, he wore a grey jacket with black pants, on his legs were a set of armored boots.

(A/N: Gareth on the left, Bete on the right.)

These two were Gareth Landrock and Bete Loga, two high ranking Adventurers of the Loki Familia. "Took you guys long enough! Honestly I just wanna get this done with already. Why we gotta follow this weakling around is beyond me!" Bete snarled as he roughly jabbed his finger into Leo's chest, the blonde teen locking eyes with him. Leo studied Bete closely, while he only knew of his Familia member in passing, he was aware of his overly aggressive nature and distaste for Adventurers that lack strength. Bete suddenly let out a yelp as Gareth had stepped on the werewolf's foot. "Now don't be like that Bete! Are you forgetting Leo here is the one that found this place? It'd be rude if he didn't lead us on this expedition." Gareth said in a somewhat stern as he gave the werewolf a disappointed look.

           Bete shot Gareth a glare, but merely grumbled in annoyance as he turned away from the rest of the group in frustration. Gareth then turned to look at Leo with a jovial smile as he gave the teen a strong pat on the back. "So what exactly are we walking into Leo? All Lady Loki said was it's nothing we've ever seen before!" Gareth said in an encouraging tone, as he waited for Leo to answer his question. Leo paused for a moment, contemplating how exactly he should answer that question before deciding on an answer. "It's called a lab, it's a rather strange location from what I observed. The walls and floors were made of metal, there were staircases and hallways, everything within was man made from what I could tell. Pyra here was asleep in some kind of container on the bottom floor of the strange place." Leo explained as his fellow Familia members eyes widened in shock.

"You expect us to believe that there's something man made within the Dungeon? Are you sure you didn't just imagine it?" Lefiya said in an annoyed tone as she found the whole thing completely ridiculous. The elf however received a whack on the top of the head with Ais's sheathed sword causing her to let out a whine of pain. "Leo has no reason to lie to us. From what I witnessed during the monster escaped the arena a few days ago, Pyra and that sword strapped to Leo's waist have a power I've never seen before." Ais stated calmly as the other members of the expedition party eyed both Pyra and the Aegis suspiciously, curious to what exactly both were capable of. Pyra blushed in embarrassment as she meekly hid behind Leo, who simply shrugged his shoulders. "Well then sounds like we have ourselves a proper adventure ahead of us! Let's get a move on everyone!" Gareth said in a jovial tone as he ushered everyone out the door.

Dungeon Floor 2, Strange Door
After an hour and a half of traveling to floor two of the Dungeon, Leo guiding them with the complete map he created of the floor, they arrived. The other members of the Loki Familia stared completely dumbfounded at the metal door in front of them. "Where the hell did this come from?!" Bete shouted as he gestured to the giant metal door in front of them, completely lost as to how it could exist. "It was buried under stone on the wall. Bell and I discovered a set of strange symbols, that turned out to be some form of ancient language. I was able to decipher it, reading it revealed the door." Leo explained as the rest of the party to turned to look at him. Lefiya marched up to him before jabbing her finger into his chest.

           "How exactly could you read a language we have no information on?" Lefiya asked in a suspicious tone, a glare plastered across her face. Leo remained silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "My unique skill, Ancient Knowledge. Originally I thought it did nothing, however it appears it helps me learn ancient or lost information at an accelerated rate. I learned the names of the unknown monsters within the lab after defeating them in battle." Leo explained in a matter of fact tone as he didn't see the point in lying to anyone. The members of the expedition party looked at Leo in surprise before Gareth let out a booming laugh, the Dwarf walked up to Leo and gently patting him on the back. "Seems we got ourselves a natural born scholar! I'm assuming you know how to open this strange door then?" Gareth asked as he waited for Leo to respond.

         Rather than answer verbally, Leo walked up to the metal door before resting his hand in the center. The seems of the door lit up a blue color before they slid open revealing the dark void within. "Pyra, would you be so kind as to light the way?" Leo asked as he turned to look at the Blade. Pyra nodded before holding up her hand, a ball of fire sparking to life in it before she began leading the way through the dark corridor. Leo followed after her with Gareth walking alongside him. Ais, Lefiya, and Bete followed behind them as they did their best to keep Pyra's flame in sight. "So Ais, what exactly can that Pyra girl do?" Bete asked wondering what exactly the Blade was capable of. Ais remained silent for a moment, contemplating the question, figuring out how to answer it.

"Pyra seems to supply Leo with some form of magic energy that activates that sword on the back of his waist. The sword unfolds and a blade of pure fire to eject out of it. It was powerful enough to defeat a Hard Armored." Ais explained in her usual monotone voice as both Lefiya and Bete's eyes widened in shock at that statement. "You're telling me that fancy sword can let the weakling beat one of the two strongest monsters on the eleventh and twelfth floors?!" Bete snarled in disbelief, refusing to believe a sword could do all of that. Lefiya however studied Leo closely, particularly the Aegis strapped to the back of his waist. "Why is someone like him worthy of a weapon like that?" Lefiya thought to herself, not out jealousy, more so confusion as she knew Leo had no aspirations to be a great adventurer or hero. The group continued through the corridor in silence.

Lab Floor One
The Expedition party after ten minutes of walking arrived in the large main room of the lab. "You weren't kidding about this place being strange, Leo." Gareth said as he looked around the strange place with curiosity in his eyes. Leo however was eying the staircase that led to the upper floor, the other half of this unknown location he did not get to explore the first time. "Where exactly did you find Pyra?" Leo turned to look at Lefiya, who was still shooting him a glare, but this one held more curiosity rather than disgust. Leo remained silent for a moment before answering the question. "She was sealed within a container in the bottom floor, when I touched the Aegis, it woke her up. Apparently this is a process known as resonating. When a Blade resonates with their Driver, it activates their weapon, granting the Driver power." Leo explained as Lefiya nodded her head in understanding, but now was curious about the Blades as a whole.

"Living weapons, I imagine the Hephaestus Familia would have a field day trying to figure out how they were created!" Gareth said with a hearty laugh at the thought of the blacksmith familia learning of the living weapons. Pyra however once again grew nervous at the mention of resonating with Blades. "If we find any Core Crystals, please refrain from resonating with them." Pyra said in a nervous tone as she fidgeted around uncomfortably. The other members of the Loki Familia looked at the Blade in confusion, not understanding why she wouldn't want that to happen. "Why exactly would that be a bad idea?" Ais asked in her usual neutral tone, however a confused look spread across her face. Pyra remained silent for a moment, nervous to continue her explanation.

"Pyra explained to Lady Loki that if someone unworthy resonates with a Core Crystal, the overwhelming power would kill the person." Leo explained, deciding to help Pyra with her explanation. The other members of the Loki Familia eyes widened in shock at the piece of information, however an annoyed expression spread across Bete's face as he marched up to Leo before grabbing him by the front of his breastplate. "If that's the case why would a weakling like you be worthy?!" Bete snarled as he directed a glare the studious adventurer, who simply stared back at him with a bored look on his face. What Bete failed to notice Pyra glaring at him, a fireball sparking to life in her right hand. Pyra threw the fireball at Bete's tail, setting it on fire.

        Bete released Leo as he let out a yelp of pain as he desperately attempted to put his tail out. "Let this be a lesson to you, never threaten a Driver in front of their Blade. Us Blades prioritize our Driver's safety over everything else." Pyra said in a stern tone that both surprised and scared the group as they had never seen the Blade angry before. Gareth however let out another hearty laugh as he slapped Bete on the back, who just managed to extinguish his tail. "I suggest you try and stay on this lady's good side." Gareth suggested as Bete shot a glare at Pyra, but simply turned away in minor defeat. Gareth then turned towards Leo, Ais, and Lefiya. "Why don't you three scout out the path ahead a bit? Bete and I will get camp setup. Better to establish a base of operations in an unexplored location yeah?" Gareth suggested as he began taking his backpack off his back.

             "Leo, where exactly are we going?" Ais asked as she turned her attention towards the expedition leader. Leo turned to look at Pyra, who nodded at him before he turned to look at his fellow Familia members. "We head up this staircase, I was unable to even scout that area due to needing to help get Bell out of the Dungeon after a rather difficult fight." Leo explained as both Ais and Lefiya nodded their heads in understanding. Leo and Pyra made their way over to the staircase as Ais and Lefiya followed after them. The group ascended up the staircase in relative silence before reaching the top of the staircase. The group found themselves in a seemingly empty room with nothing of note within it. "Looks like a dead end, are you sure there wasn't a floor below the one you found Pyra in?" Lefiya asked as she shot an accusatory glare at Leo.

          Leo was about to respond, however he spotted a large object charging towards the elf from her left side. "Lefiya!" Leo shouted before grabbing the elf by the arm and pulling her out of the way of the charging object. The spear like protrusion on the object grazed Leo's right shoulder, leaving a gash. Ais immediately drew her sword as the object stopped, another scuttling up to stand next to it. Both objects turned around to reveal that they were in fact crablike creatures that stood at the height of a full grown man, their shells having a large spear like protrusion on them.

"Are you okay Lefiya?" Leo asked as the elf remained silent for a moment before nodding her head. Leo let out a sigh of relief before he turned to look at Pyra. "Pyra, keep Lefiya safe while Ais and I deal with these creatures. As a magic caster head on combat is not her strong suit." Leo instructed as Pyra nodded before standing in front of Lefiya. Leo grabbed the handle of his sword before drawing it from its sheath, the blade itself being a large single edge blade.

           "Shall we divide and conquer?" Leo asked Ais as he stood next to the Sword Princess, his weapon at the ready. Ais nodded her head in agreement before both of them lunged towards one of the Dockle Paguls. Ais unleashed two thrust attacks with her sword, the Pagul using its large pincer to block the strike, however Ais sidestepped before delivering two more thrusting strikes to the creature's front legs, causing it to let out a hiss of pain. The Pagul raised its large pincer and swiped at Ais with it, only for the girl to leap into the air, dodging the attack. Ais readied her blade in midair before unleashing three more thrusting attacks onto the large horn on the creature's shell. The sword strikes caused the horn to crack before breaking off completely as Ais landed on the ground in front of the monster.

          Leo blocked a pincer swipe with his sword before delivering an upwards swing that deflected the pincer, knocking the Pagul off balance. Leo raised his sword above his head, tightly gripping it with both hands before delivering a downwards swing that sliced off the horn on the Pagul's shell. The creature clumsily stumbled backwards next to its kin as Leo and Ais readied their weapons, standing side by side. "Shall we end this?" Leo asked Ais as he looked over at the Sword Princess who nodded her head in agreement. Both Adventurers lunged forward, their weapons poised to strike as they closed the distance. However the Paguls quickly turned around, putting their shells up in a defensive manner. Leo and Ais's sword harmlessly bounced off the shells, causing them to stumble backwards.

As the Paguls began backing up, forcing the adventurers to backpedal as well, Lefiya was busy chanting a spell. Magic energy gathered around her staff as she opened her eyes and aimed her staff at the two Paguls. "Hail Dust!" Lefiya cried as a sphere of blue and white light appeared above Lefiya's head. The sphere fired out multiple magic bullets that flew towards the Paguls, pelting the creatures. The Paguls were covered in ice as their bodies were frozen in place. Leo and Ais took this opening to deal the killing blow. Leo lunged forward and sliced the first Pagul in half horizontally, causing its body to shatter before exploding into misty energy. Ais followed after him, delivering a thrust attack that caused the second Pagul to crack all over its body before shattering.

When the misty energy dispersed on the ground were the horns from the monsters shells that had been cut off. Leo and Ais both sheathed their swords, letting out a collective sigh of relief. "Another successful battle I suppose." Leo mumbled before he felt someone tug on his arm. Leo turned to see Lefiya who was shooting him a stern glare, however this one held concern rather than disgust. "Let me see your arm." Lefiya ordered as Leo showed her the gash on his right shoulder. Lefiya rested her hand over the injury before reciting a small chant. Green light emanated from the elf's hand, healing the wound, closing up as if it never occurred to begin with. "Thank you Lefiya, I appreciate your concern." Kei said as he gave the elf a gentle smile.

A small blush spread across Lefiya's face as she quickly turned away from Leo, letting out an annoyed huff. "Consider it thanks for saving me, if though you didn't need to, I'm a higher level than you." Lefiya said in a stern tone, slightly annoyed by Leo's actions. Leo cocked his head to the side in confusion, not quite understanding Lefiya's words. "Why would level dictate whether or not I should protect you? We are Familia members and your magic is far more useful than my swordplay. It only seems logical to keep you safe." Leo summarized as Lefiya's face turned a light shade of red due to the praise, causing her mumble another thank you before going to stand by the staircase. Leo then turned to look at the other side of the room, spotting a door on the other end.

"It appears there is a doorway, it most likely leads further into the lab." Leo said as he started to walk towards the door, only to be stopped by Ais grabbing his arm. Leo turned to look at the Sword Princess who merely shook her head at him. "We shouldn't travel to far in without the others, if a larger group of monsters ambushes us we may not get as lucky as we did this time." Ais said in a stoic tone before releasing Leo's arm. Leo contemplated Ais's words for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. "You're right, for now we should help setup camp and secure the lower floor to make sure it is as safe as possible for us to sleep at night." Leo relented as he turned back towards the staircase willing to let the exploration wait until tomorrow. The group proceeded to return down the staircase to rejoin with the rest of the party to setup camp and secure the area before pressing on.

So Leo, Ais, Lefiya, Gareth, Bete, and Pyra start the Expedition into the Lab within the strange corridor. However it appears the corridor goes far deeper and is large than they initially expected. For now they must setup camp and secure the first floor of the lab to ensure their safety. As always please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments! What awaits the Expedition Party as they travel deeper into the lab? What secrets will they uncover in relation to this hidden sector of the lab and the Blades? What other dangers lurk within? Find out in the next Quest of Danmachi: Master of the Aegis!