Last time, Leo met up with the other members of his Expedition Team and led them to the corridor he and Bell discovered the lab within it. He, Pyra, Ais, and Lefiya scouted the top floor where they were attacked by monsters and discovered a door leading deeper into the lab. What awaits them within the deeper parts of the Lab?

Leo opened his eyes as he sat up, seeing the inside of his and Pyra's tent, he assumed it was morning despite it being impossible to tell what time of day it was. He had taken first watch last night alongside Pyra once they got camp setup as he wanted to make a new entry in his journal for the new monsters he, Ais, and Lefiya encountered yesterday. Leo looked over to his right seeing that his Blade was still asleep. "Pyra, it's morning, time to wake up." Leo said softly as he gently shook Pyra by the shoulder. The Blade began to stir as she sat up before letting out a gentle yawn. "Morning already? Is your arm okay Leo? That injury didn't do any lasting damage right?" Pyra asked her Driver, concern evident in her tone. Leo let out a sigh, Pyra had been fussing over his injury since they returned to camp yesterday despite Lefiya using her magic to heal it.

            "I'm fine Pyra, Lefiya's healing magic worked wonders for it. Besides it was a small gash, nothing severe worth panicking over." Leo said in a calm tone, hoping it would help Pyra relax. A grimace spread across Pyra's face at the mention of Lefiya, she wasn't fond of the elf's attitude towards her Driver. "She seems rather rude, she scolded you after you saved her! She and that Bete seem to have it out for you." Pyra grumbled in frustration as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. Leo let out a sigh, he could sense hostility from Pyra that was directed at his fellow Familia members, particularly Bete. "Lefiya means well, from what I can tell she tends to put pressure on herself to improve so she can keep up with other members of our Familia. I think that causes her to get standoffish with others." Leo explained as he had observed the elf girl get snappy with others on more than one occasion.

Pyra nodded her head in understanding but the grimace on her face. "Bete seems to just be a jerk, he constantly calls you weak despite your skills in battle." Pyra said, still clearly annoyed by the werewolf's attitude. Leo at that let a thoughtful look spread across his face, he never really paid Bete's insults much mind. "Bete talks to everyone who is below his level that way. It comes off as crude and mean spirited, but I get a sense those words come from a place of concern." Leo said in a thoughtful tone as he always found the werewolf's behavior to be odd. Pyra's grimace however was replaced by a look of surprise and disbelief. "You think he treats people that way because he's worried about them? I don't think he cares about anyone but himself." Pyra said doubting the credibility of her Driver's words.

"I don't necessarily think that's the case, if he didn't care why wouldn't he simply tell them to go get slain by a monster? He always tells them to give up and turn back. I theorize that in his own backwards and twisted way, that is his form of telling other Adventurers to stay out of situations that could potentially lead to their deaths." Leo summarized his thoughts as once again Pyra looked at him in slight disbelief. The Blade remained silent for a moment, mulling her Driver's words over in her head before responding. "I still think he's just being a jerk." Pyra said shortly as a pout spread across her face. Leo couldn't help but let out a chuckle at his Blade's antics. Perhaps he was wrong about Bete, but he still believed deep down there was a decent person in the werewolf.

         Leo heard movement outside the tent as he crawled over to the opening of the tent before pushing it aside to peek outside. Leo saw that Gareth, Ais, Lefiya, and Bete were already up and starting breakfast. "Took you long enough bookworm." Bete snarled as he locked eyes with Leo, who merely rolled his eyes at the comment. Leo climbed out of the tent before stretching his body, a few of his muscles popping as he let out a sigh. Leo then stepped to the side, letting Pyra exit the tent after him. "Apologies, I was making a quick entry in my journal on those Dockle Paguls we encountered yesterday." Leo explained casually as he sat down near the fire they had burning at the center of the camp. Bete scoffed at Leo's words, only to get jabbed in the gut by the scabbard of Ais's sword.

Bete let out a groan of pain as he clumsily sat down in front of the fire while Ais walked over to Gareth to help with breakfast. Lefiya watched Leo closely as the teen pulled out his notebook and began reviewing the newest pages he wrote into it. "Leo, if you don't mind me asking, why do you have so many journals you take notes in?" Lefiya asked as she shot the low level Adventurer a curious glance. Leo looked up from his journal, directing his attention towards Lefiya. "It's simple, I believe the Dungeon is like a puzzle, something that can be solved. So I study each floor of it I have explored closely. Learning every pathway, each monster that inhabits it, and what raw materials can be found there." Leo explained casually as he watched Lefiya closely. The other members of the Loki Familia looked at him in surprise at his explanation.

           "So instead of doing something useful like getting stronger, you choose to study? By the goddess you are boring!" Bete said, earning himself a whack on the top of the head from Gareth. Leo looked up at Bete for a moment before simply nodding his head in agreement. "There is merit to your words Bete, as an Adventurer I should strive to grow stronger. However I am pursuing a different form of strength. Knowledge, with vital information such as this, strong Adventurers can only grow stronger. If you know your enemy, you have a significant advantage over them." Leo explained as once again the other members of the Loki Familia were taken aback by his words. Leo opened his satchel before pulling out his Journal on Floor Two. Leo handed it to Lefiya, who opened it, the others peeking over her shoulder to read as well.

The information within the journal's pages shocked the Adventurers, there was a detailed map that spanned two pages of the entire floor, not a single area unexplored, with different areas marked by a letter and number. Lefiya turned the page, finding detailed information pages on the monsters of the floor, the locations of raw materials both common and rare, with the sector they can be found mentioned in their information pages. Finally and most shocking was a page that had rough estimates of how long it takes for the monsters of the floor to spawn. "Lad, how long have you been at this?" Gareth said in both a stunned and impressed tone as he gave Leo an incredulous look. Leo leaned back a thoughtful look spreading across his face as he remained silent for a moment.

          "I have one of the First Floor as well, considering I was solo for quite some time, it took longer then I would like to admit, however I am pleased with the results of my research." Leo said, a small but proud smirk spreading across his face. Once again the other members of the Loki Familia members were stunned over the course of two years, he had painstakingly mapped out and studied the first two floors by himself. "So with this information, were you hoping to potentially make it deeper into the Dungeon, potentially make a name for yourself as an Adventurer?" Ais asked in her usual monotone voice, however there was slight curiosity mixed in with it. To the rest of the Loki Familia's surprise, Leo started chuckling at the question.

"By the goddess no! It's only natural for us to fear the unknown correct? I wish to brave the unknowns of the Dungeon, discover its mysteries, take away that aspect of the unknown. With each map completed and encyclopedias on every dozen or so floors completed, I will hand my research over to the Guild. From there they can publish and distribute it to all Adventurers, giving rookies and veterans alike an edge that could potentially save their lives." Leo explained casually what the intention of all his research was for. This reason however once again stunned the other members of the Loki Familia, this was for the good of everyone, not his personal gain. Pyra however smiled at her Driver, happy she was awoken by someone so concerned with helping others. "Leo, you're a good lad, don't let anyone tell you differently." Gareth said before breakfast was served to the group.

Top Floor
After packing up camp, the group found themselves on the upper floor of the lab, standing in front of the door the scouting team found yesterday. Leo walked up to the door, stopping in front of it before looking over his shoulder at the other members of the expedition party. "Are all of you ready?" Leo asked as he got multiple nods in response from the group. Leo pressed his hand against the door as that familiar blue light lit it up before the door slid open. Leo and Pyra stepped through the doorway first as the rest of the expedition party followed after them. The group found themselves in a strange open room, within it were large crates that looked like they were once used to store something, all but one had their door's torn open. On the other end of the room was a door leading to another section of the lab

"What the hell is with this place? This looks like someone lived here." Bete said as he looked around the open room, finding it strange that everything they had seen so far had a man made quality to it. Ais took a step forward stopping next to Leo and Pyra who were surveying the room ahead. "I doubt anyone would willingly move into the dungeon, it's far too dangerous." Ais said dismissively as she scanned the area around them diligently. Leo however remained silent, contemplating Bete's words for a moment. "Actually I believe Bete might be onto something." Leo stated calmly as everyone turned to look at him in surprise. Bete in particular was caught off guard by Leo declaration.

            "This entire lab is designed like a building, there are signs indicating the floor number, strange tubing runs throughout it. Pyra was sealed deep within this odd place. The Dungeon never creates something as complex as this, its layouts are always natural, monsters spawning from the walls. Haven't all of you noticed that we have been here for over a day now and not once have monsters spawned from the walls?" Leo summarized to the group as all of their eyes widened in realization. Before anyone else could speak up however the sound of a door sliding open could be heard. The sound of metal crashing against metal filled the air as the ground shook underneath them slightly. "W-What is that?" Lefiya asked as she tightly clutched her staff close to her chest.

The sound of metal crashing against metal got closer as the source of the sound came into view. A behemoth made of metal walked in front of the pathway leading to the door. It easily stood at a height of fifteen feet tall, its head was a large disk shape, a singular red eye glowing at its center. Its body was a blocky cylinder like shape, for large metal legs protruding from it. Its metal body appeared to be covered in a layer of grime and wear.

"What in the name of the goddess is that?" Gareth asked as the group all drew their weapons. "A Sovereign." Pyra said in a worried tone as Leo directed a sideways glance at the Blade. The Sovereign's eye began glowing intensely as it appeared to be charging up some kind of attack. A beam of red energy fired from the Sovereign's eye as the entire expedition party dove out of the way of the attack. The energy beam hit the wall, causing an explosion that left a giant hole in the metal wall behind them, scorching marks staining the metal.

"No monster on the second floor should have power like that!" Lefiya cried as she watched the Sovereign closely, fear now present in her eyes. Bete and Ais both lunge towards the Sovereign as its eye begins to glow again. Bete spins around on his right heel before unleashing three powerful kicks into one of the Sovereign's legs. However the kicks harmlessly bounce off the Sovereign's body as Bete lets out an irritated hiss. "This damn thing is made of metal! I can't even dent it!" Bete snarled as the Sovereign raised its leg, attempting to crush Bete, but the werewolf swiftly lunged out of the way. Ais leaped into the air, landing on one of the Sovereign's legs before kicking off of it to gain more air. Ais readied her sword, unleashing four rapid thrust attacks to the top of the Sovereign's head.

Ais's sword however harmlessly bounced off the Sovereign's head as she landed on the ground in shock. The Sovereign fired a small energy shot from its eye at Ais, who swiftly dodged the attack, a small explosion going off when the energy shot hit the ground where she once stood. "You're a tough one, but let's see how ya handle fighting all of us!" Gareth shouted as he charged towards the Sovereign, his battle axe raised. The Sovereign raised its leg before slamming it down to crush Gareth. The Dwarf sidestepped the attack, a smirk spreading across his face as he swung his axe down on the joint of the Sovereign's leg. The axe however still bounced off the less armored joint just as all the other attacks had. "How in the world do we harm this thing?" Gareth mumbled to himself before the Sovereign swatted him away with its leg.

While the trio had been combating the Sovereign, Lefiya was in the process of chanting a spell. "Fusillade Fallarica!" Lefiya shouted as her staff shined, ten arrows made of fire appearing in the air around her before flying towards the Sovereign. The fire arrows impacted the Sovereign's head, torso, and legs, causing the mechanical monster to stumble backwards, however its body remained completely unharmed. "H-How is this possible." Lefiya whimpered in fear as she dropped her staff, her body freezing in terror as the Sovereign turned its attention towards the elf. The Sovereign's eye began to glow as it started charging up that energy beam it fired earlier. The Sovereign fired the energy beam at Lefiya, who was still rooted in the spot from fear. Before it could hit the elf however, Leo tackled her to the ground, the energy beam narrowly flew over them before blowing another hole in the wall behind them.

"Lefiya, you can't lose hope just yet, every problem has a solution." Leo said in a calm yet confident tone as the elf looked at him in surprise. Leo stood up before offering his hand to Lefiya, the elf hesitated before taking Leo's hand, the blonde teen helping her to her feet. "How can we harm that thing? Its body is impervious to everything!" Lefiya cried in frustration as she picked up her staff. Leo turned to Pyra, who nodded her head at him. "Leo, I'm confident I can cut through it, however you can only wield the Aegis for five minutes before my energy is exhausted. That won't be enough time to defeat it." Pyra said in a serious tone as Leo nodded his head in understanding.

"The Sovereign's internals however are vulnerable, meaning we only need to break its defenses so the others can attack." Leo said as he drew the Aegis from the back of his waist as Pyra began supplying Ether to also, the Aegis opening up as its blade of fire extended out of it. Lefiya looked at the strange weapon in awe before Leo charged towards the Sovereign. Bete and Ais were in the process of lunging towards the Sovereign for a two pronged attack. Leo however lunged past the two before slashing the Sovereign twice across its torso, leaving to scorched gashes in its metal body. "Bete, Ais, Gareth. Pyra and I will break through the Sovereign's armored shell. All of you be ready to attack when the openings are created!" Leo ordered as Ais and Gareth nodded their heads, but Bete shot Leo an annoyed glare.

         "Why should we let you take the lead, weakling?" Bete snarled as he didn't intend on letting Leo call the shots. The werewolf was however quickly silenced by a jab to the gut, delivered by Gareth. "Bete, now's not the time for your attitude! If ya haven't noticed, Leo and Pyra are the only ones who have been able to damage this thing so far." Gareth barked causing the Werewolf to merely grumble in annoyance. Leo readied the Aegis before once again lunging at the Sovereign. The Sovereign reared up, attempting to crush Leo, but the Adventurer slashed its front left leg across the joint, melting part of its leg joint, preventing it from moving it properly. Move it weakling!" Bete snarled before lunging past Leo, Bete leaped into the air before swinging his leg down on the melted section of the joint.

Bete's kick broke the leg off at the melted gash, causing the Sovereign to awkwardly stumble backwards, its balance slightly off at the loss of one of its legs. The Sovereign took aim with its eye as it started to glow. The machine fired three energy shots at Leo, who dodged the first two, but the third one was flying directly at him. Ais pulled the Driver out of the way as the energy shot narrowly avoided them. Pyra let out a sigh of relief as the Ether stream connecting her and Leo turned gold. "We only have three minutes left." Pyra thought to herself as she continued to focus on supplying Ether to Leo. Leo readied the Aegis before slashing the Sovereign once again across the torso, melting the metal further with another gash. Gareth charged forward with his battle axe raised. The Dwarf swung his axe down, breaking through the softened metal of Sovereign's body.

Sparks flew out of the Sovereign's body as the battle axe had cut into its circuitry. "Not so tough now are ya you metal behemoth!" Gareth said with a booming laugh before he pulled his axe free. Gareth raised the axe above his head before swinging it back down on the now broken section of the Sovereign's torso. More sparks flew out of the Sovereign's body as it started letting out loud beeping noises, its systems starting to fail it. "Two minutes left." Pyra thought to herself as they had to hurry, the Sovereign was damaged, but far from out of commission. The Sovereign started wildly shooting energy shots around the room, hitting the walls and floor, setting off small explosions all around the Adventuring party. Leo remained focused and lunged forward, the Aegis raised above his head.

         Leo slashed the Sovereign twice across its head, stopping its energy shot assault for a moment. Ais leaped onto Leo's shoulders before kicking off them to gain height on the mechanical behemoth. Ais readied her sword as its blade was surrounded with wind. Ais unleashed four thrusting attacks aimed for the damaged section of the Sovereign's head. Sparks flew out of the damaged sections of the Sovereign's head from the wind infused attacks as it stumbled backwards, finally sustaining heavy damage, but still very much active. "One minute left, time is running out." Pyra thought to herself as she heard Lefiya chanting an incantation next to her. "Pyra!" Leo called out to his Blade as she locked eyes with him. Leo offered his hand to Pyra, beckoning her to join him.

Pyra ran over to Leo as the Sovereign began charging its energy beam again. Pyra gripped the handle of the Aegis alongside Leo as they both looked into one another's eyes. "We need to put everything we have into this final attack." Leo said as Pyra nodded her head in agreement. The duo raised the Aegis above their heads as the blade of fire burst forth into a giant column of fire. The Driver and Blade leaped into the air as the Sovereign aimed up towards them. "BURNING SWORD!!!!!" Leo and Pyra shouted together as they brought the giant blade of fire down on top of the Sovereign. The mechanical menace was engulfed in flames, a blinding white light engulfing the room as it heated up.

When the blazing light died down the other members of the Loki Familia looked towards Leo and Pyra in shock and awe. Leo had collapsed to his knees, using the now closed up Aegis as a support. Pyra was next to him, panting heavily having exhausted the last of her energy.

          "Good going lad! Ya got that hunk of metal!" Gareth cheered as he raised his battle axe in victory. However a glowing red light caught the party's attention. They all looked to see that the Sovereign was still somehow functioning, the metal plating of its body practically metaling off it entirely, revealing damaged wires, circuit boards, and what appeared to be a metal frame of some kind. "How the hell is it not dead after all that?!" Bete snarled as he once again sunk into a fighting stance. The barely functioning Sovereign aimed down at Leo and Pyra, it still being in the process of charging its energy beam despite sparks burst out of its body occasionally. "Leo, I'm sorry." Pyra said in a defeated tone as she looked over at her Driver in regret. Leo looked up at the Sovereign before looking over at Pyra, a small smile spreading across his face.

           "We gave the others the opening they needed, at least we won't all perish here." Leo said in a content tone as he gently held Pyra's hand, ready to accept his fate. "Arc Rays!!!" Lefiya's voice shouted as an arrow of Light flew towards the Sovereign, piercing it through the eye. The light arrow exploded, causing the entire Sovereign to explode, the damaged remains scattering across the ground around Leo and Pyra. Leo looked over his shoulder at Lefiya, who was smiling at him. "Consider us even for saving me earlier." Lefiya said as Leo let out a small chuckle. Leo stood up before gently pulling Pyra back onto her feet as he sheathed the Aegis back across his waist. Leo let out a sigh as he began looking over the remains of the Sovereign.

        Leo suddenly felt a hand also his back as he looked over to his left to see Bete standing there. Pyra glared at Bete, attempting to conjure a fire ball, but she was too exhausted to do so. "I guess you're kind of useful for a weakling that is." Bete said gruffly as he refused to make eye contact with Leo. Leo smirked before gently pressing his left fist against Bete's chest. "Thank you for your help Bete, severing its leg helped tremendously." Leo said in an appreciative tone as Bete let out a dismissive cough before walking away from Leo. Ais walked up to a piece of broken remains, a confused look on her face. "Why didn't it burst into energy? Monsters don't leave behind this many pieces of themselves." Ais said in her ever monotone voice, but confusion was evident in her words.

Leo studied the pieces of the Sovereign, his eyes glowing that azure blue color. "That's because the Sovereigns aren't monsters. They appear to be some form of man made defense mechanism." Leo explained as the rest of the Expedition Party turned to look at him, noticing his eyes glowing blue, all of them realizing his skill activated. "Who in the world would build that monstrosity?! The thing is comparable to monsters of the lower floors of the Dungeon!" Gareth said in complete disbelief at the knowledge that the Sovereign was in fact a man made creation rather than a monster. Leo glanced over at the door the Sovereign had been guarding before turning back to the rest of the group. "I believe we may find our answers beyond that door it was so adamant about guarding." Leo said as he pointed towards the door. The rest of the Loki Familia stared at the door, for better and worst, the answers to this strange place were just behind that door.

So the Expedition Party encountered a man made machine that far outclassed any monster found on the upper floors of the Dungeon. Just barely pulling out a victory they now must enter the final room of the Lab and figure out what exactly is going on in this strange place. As always please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments! What awaits the expedition party beyond the final door of the lab? What exactly will they discover about this strange hidden area within the Dungeon? What other mysteries will they uncover? Find out in the next Quest of Danmachi: Master of the Aegis!