Her Bloodthirst

Judging that it would be a bad idea to let Ais sleep in Loki's tent at night due to the latter's history of impropriety, Riveria took it upon herself to take care of the girl, letting her rest at her side instead. Likely because of the connection that they shared, Ais didn't object to this arrangement, obediently adjusting to her new circumstances–after all, that was all that she could do.

The next morning, during breakfast, Loki revealed to everyone that they now had a new familia member amongst their midst, eliciting warm-hearted cheers and turning what was supposed to be a regular meal into a welcome feast. Well, there weren't any extraordinary dishes, but the atmosphere was certainly festive enough. It wouldn't have mattered what food there was anyway, as Ais had found everything that she had eaten since her return utterly tasteless. If her body didn't require it, she wouldn't go out of her way to consume it.

When the group finally set off, they told her that they were currently at the easternmost edges of the Alv Mountains, a mountain range to the east of the Labyrinth City of Orario, where their home was located. This revelation caused Ais to fall completely silent for a considerable while, as she realized that the place where she had found herself after her return was that same training field she had spent hundreds of hours sharpening her swordsmanship at. A millennium had ground away any and all geographical features that would have allowed her to spot the resemblance, so she hadn't recognized it at the time.

Surprising her new companions, their travels showed that Ais' stamina was far greater than they had expected. Sure, it didn't measure up to experienced adventurers like them, but she could at least outperform any and all regular people that they had come across. Even their goddess could be said to be lacking in comparison, but that was clearly due to Loki not really bothering to put much effort into her steps.

As if bound by a silent agreement between them all, occasionally, one or two of the familia members would split away only to return moments later, the smell of blood minutely suffusing the air. Clearly, they wanted to avoid exposing their youngest comrade to the brutality that was their battles against the monsters that they encountered on the way. However, they were doing so for the wrong reason. Contrary to what most of them would have expected, they didn't need to coddle Ais, as she wanted nothing more than to rip all monsters apart.

Eventually, the girl picked up on what was going on and her bloodthirst flared up. While she didn't have a weapon of her own, she didn't even take this into consideration and attempted to chase after the next group of people to temporarily separate from the main party. Before she could do so, Riveria and Loki stopped her, with the former holding her arm in an inescapably tight grip, not allowing her to move. Of course, she made sure to not actually hurt the girl, but that didn't mean that she would give her free rein.

Enraged by her inability to slaughter her enemies this instant, Ais was about to angrily demand to be let go, when Riveria's words entered her ears.

"You don't have any equipment or weapons. If you're trying to fight monsters, then they'll only get a free meal. As a result, you won't be able to kill any of them, wasting this precious opportunity that you've gained after so much hardship. Wait until we've returned home, went through all necessary procedures, got you some gear and trained you a little. That way, you'll be able to kill a lot more monsters than you would be able to get rid of now. Which would be zero, just in case you were wondering."

Despite her rage clouding her judgement to a significant extent, Ais could still understand what Riveria was trying to convey. After contemplating her options for a while, she reluctantly agreed with her. If she wanted to achieve her goal, then she would have to be properly prepared first. Everything would be in vain if she threw her life away uselessly.

"... okay. Then let's hurry. I don't want to waste more time."

With that said, she significantly increased her speed, almost breaking into a desperate sprint. In response to this sudden change, the entire party got faster as well to keep pace with her, all speechlessly staring at the little girl racing through this mountain range with reckless abandon. Only Loki was cursing silently, annoyed at having to try a tiny bit harder herself.

Although she tried her best, Ais soon felt a wave of exhaustion catching up with her, her breathing becoming more laborious as well as her eyelids and limbs growing heavy, trying to drag her down to the ground. Still, compared to the raging inferno that was fuelling her from the very core of her being, this was nothing!

Ignoring her rapidly deteriorating physical condition and the metaphorical small rivers of sweat that were drenching her from head to toe, she forged onwards without a break.

Eventually, she began to stumble and one of the tree roots that she had just been in the process of stepping over tripped her up. Not being able to bear to watch any longer, Riveria flashed to her side and caught her, before carrying her in her arms and speeding up significantly, all the while parting the air in front of them to reduce the burden on the young girl.

"You can sleep now. I'll carry you for the rest of the way, that'll be faster."

Even though her consciousness was about to fall into a deep slumber, Ais felt the comforting warmth of Riveria's embrace and heard her reassuring words. Still, before drifting off completely, there was one persistent thought occupying her mind.

'If that's the case, then why did you not just do so earlier?'

In fact, all members of the Loki Familia had been observing her with keen interest, wanting to see exactly how strong her determination was, and how far it could carry her. They hadn't initially planned to do anything ruthless like this, but when the young girl simply had run ahead out of nowhere, she had ignited their curiosity. Nobody but Loki and Riveria understood why she was acting this way, but the rest could still make some experienced guesses that were mostly at least somewhat close to the truth.

"Alright, looks like the plan has changed. We're rushing back. Hop on, Loki."

Squatting down in front of his goddess, intending to give her a piggyback ride, Noir waited until the mischievous trickster had 'come aboard' before increasing his speed as well. They had to catch up to the rest of the party which had already left the two of them behind following Riveria's actions.

Initially, they had wandered through these mountains in a rather casual, slow manner because that's how Loki usually preferred to experience her travels. But with their newest familia member being so eager to get into the thick of things as quickly as possible, they would start to feel a little guilty if they were slacking off too much. As their goddess hadn't protested immediately upon realizing what they had decided to do, they took it as a sign of her silent consent. Or maybe they just hadn't given her enough time to react to the changing situation.

Judging from the annoyed but helpless expression on her face, the latter was very likely to be the case.

Due to their significantly increased pace, at around noon two days later, the party arrived at Orario's eastern gate. Ais was obediently following Riveria, who had essentially turned from a respected mage into her babysitter during their journey. Because of how lifeless her eyes always appeared and the way in which she was being held by her High Elf 'mount', the others began to jokingly refer to her as the familia's 'Doll Princess'. She didn't mind this at all, as she had often been compared to a delicate doll by her parents' friends in ages past, so she thought that it was just a normal compliment.

Despite how numbed her emotions had become, she still found it difficult to wrap her head around a city as massive and populated as Orario. Never before had she seen so many people and been exposed to so much information assaulting her senses from all around. The hawkers peddling their goods on the street side, the stenches and smells emanating from the bustling crowds under the summer sun, the array of gorgeous products put on display by all of the shops in the area... it was overwhelming. She stopped in her tracks and looked around for a good long while, fascinated by everything she was seeing–the vast majority of it was entirely new to her. Only when Riveria grabbed her hand and led her along did she snap out of this state.

"You don't want to waste time, right? So we'll be going straight to the Guild and register you as the newest adventurer of the Loki Familia. You remember my instructions, right?"

Nodding at Riveria's words, Ais was internally really looking forward to it. After she had woken up a bit more than one day ago, she had been clued in a little bit about Orario and what adventurers were on the way. In her eyes, to become and adventurer was to obtain the licence to slay monsters–one would even be able to accumulate rewards from doing so. By the gods! It was a profession practically tailor-made for her!

During her registration, exactly as everyone had expected, the staff member in charge was shooting odd glances in the direction of the Loki Familia's party, seemingly unable to believe that they had really brought such a young child here. But knowing better than to poke his nose into matters way above his pay grade, to doubt the capability of these respected veterans, he merely shook his head and obediently went through all the necessary procedures with Ais playing along just as well. Even without Riveria's reminders, she wasn't naïve enough to openly reveal the fact that she was more than a millennium old, so there naturally weren't any issues.

"We usually provide new adventurers with a free weapon and armour, but because of your small size, I'm afraid that you can only choose from the Pallum equipment. You said that you use a sword, right? Then how about these two? The shortsword is called 'Little Blade' and this set of reinforced gambeson-style clothes is 'Little Leather'. I'd recommend a lightweight armour just like it if you intend to be quick on your feet."

Silently nodding in approval, Ais' lifeless eyes began to brighten up ever so slightly when she grabbed hold of the blade, almost unable to suppress the desire to rush off and search for the nearest monster. Due to this, she didn't really pay much attention to the small smile on Finn's lips, or the pressure that he exuded on the poor Guild staff member. As for the words that followed, they went in one ear and out the other, never properly registered.

"Hey, I'm not the one who chose these names! I know that they sound ridiculous and demeaning. The craftsman is the one who came up with them, so don't blame me, alright? As they say, don't shoot the messenger."

Washing his hands clean of this mess, the staff member watched the party leave with a helpless smile on his face, before properly filing away Ais' registration. As for the fate of a certain craftsman that he had just sold out? He threw that to the back of his mind, forever buried beneath countless incidents quite like it.

To the young girl's dismay, she was soon told that they would return home for the day, to the Twilight Manor. They would be inspecting her skills and hopefully training her for a while before allowing her into the dungeon, where her enemies congregated en masse. There, under Riveria's supervision and protection, she would be facing her first battles.

With no say in the matter, despite her displeasure at having been hindered yet again, Ais understood that they were merely doing this to protect her. Because they had no idea how capable she was when it came to fighting, they were being overly cautious.

'I'll prove to them that I'm not as weak as they think I am. Then, they'll let me get stronger quickly.'

When she had been told that slaying monsters would not only fulfil her own goals, but also eventually allow her to increase her strength, which would enable her to walk further on her path towards revenge, she had been outright ecstatic. Of course, none of this joy had shown on her face, but the air around her had turned a little less gloomy for a time. Ever since then, every moment that she wasn't actively working on becoming stronger had felt like a waste to her.

After having been introduced to some other familia members who had stayed back at home while everyone else was journeying outside, Ais was finally brought to the training courtyard by Finn, Gareth and Riveria. The rest of the party she had been with until now had tacitly handed her education to the three of them, who were seen as this current generation's brightest stars of the familia.

Facing her with a sword of his own, Finn, who was barely a head taller than her, invited her to a spar. While he wasn't an expert swordsman, he had at least learned to handle most weapons decently well, so he felt sufficiently equipped enough to serve as a teacher for a child.

"Use your new sword to attack me with all you have. I'll only defend and not retaliate, so show me what you've got! Don't worry about hurting me, that will be impossible for the current you. Your blade can't even scratch my skin. Come, try it."

To prove this point, he allowed Ais to poke his forearm with her sword's tip–and nothing happened. There wasn't even a mark left behind, causing Ais' eyes to widen in disbelief. But the more she poked and eventually slashed at his arm, the more impressed she became. He really couldn't be hurt at all!

With immense newfound respect for her senior, the power-craving girl's attitude changed. While she originally had wanted to shut up anyone who stood in the way of her obliterating monsterkind, she now realized that learning from someone this strong was an invaluable opportunity in and of itself. She was extremely lucky to have become a familia member of a powerhouse who was willing to train her.

Recalling her father's swordsmanship and her many days of serious practice, it only took Ais a few minutes to get back into the swing of things. Although this was her first time seriously attacking someone, the fact that she knew that she couldn't injure Finn no matter what she did allowed her to overcome whatever psychological hurdles she would have otherwise had to struggle with.

At first, Finn still found it extremely easy to deflect his new student's sporadic blows, happily giving her all the helpful feedback that he could come up with. But as soon as Ais' muscle memory kicked in, it became increasingly strenuous to keep up with her without raising the amount of strength and speed that he used. Soon, he found himself at a complete loss, causing him to come to a startling realization: If both of them had the same stats, then he could not even remotely match her in terms of swordsmanship!

Not only was he astonished by this, even the observers–Gareth and Riveria–were the same. The latter still found it easier to accept when she recalled that this was Albert Waldstein's–no, it should be Wallenstein's–daughter. After all, that was one of the most outstanding heroes of the ages, renowned in all lands as the greatest swordsman of his time. Finn and Gareth, however, had no idea about this background of hers and found the young girl's swordsmanship prowess to be simply monstrous. Admittedly, neither of them were anywhere close to experts in the field, but Ais was just a seven-year-old girl!

"Have you learned swordsmanship from someone before?"

While they were taking a break, Finn's curiosity got the better of him, and he couldn't help but ask what had been on his mind.

"Yes... My father... taught me."

Amidst her laboured breaths, Ais wiped the sweat off her face with the wet towel that Riveria had handed her and responded to her sparring partner's question, a hint of pained trembling in her voice.

"Your father? And who–nevermind."

Initially, Finn had wanted to inquire a bit further, but sensing the cautioning, stern gaze that Riveria was sending his way, he chose to refrain from doing so instead. Clearly, this wasn't a topic which he should bring up now, or maybe ever. If little Ais wanted him to know, then he would eventually learn about her circumstances.

To not leave things hanging awkwardly after he abruptly stopped talking, he chose to change the topic.

"I have to admit, your swordsmanship is fantastic, far surpassing my own. We currently don't have any expert swordsmen in our familia, so you've practically claimed the spot of our top swordsman just now, right after joining. Considering your physical constitution, I can confidently say that you shouldn't be in much danger when facing the monsters on the first floor."

Once he had delivered the good news, it was time to dampen her enthusiasm, for her own sake.

"Of course, you can't be overconfident. While there won't be any issue when facing them one-on-one, or even two-on-one, you don't have any experience battling monsters. So always keep steady. Also, remember: While skill at handling one's weapon is an extremely important, essential part of someone's overall strength, their stats and Levels ultimately reign supreme. Skill will enable you to properly display the abilities your stats and Levels bestow you with, but it is not the root of your strength itself. Still, it shouldn't be completely disregarded either. You'll have to raise both to become as strong as possible. Understood?"

After staying silent for a time to take it all in, Ais nodded seriously. When it came to matters of increasing her power, she would always be all ears.

"Yes."

Giving a reassuring smile, Finn walked to the middle of the training courtyard again, beckoning her to follow him.

"Good! Then we'll proceed with the second part of today's training. This time, I'll be attacking you, and it'll be your job to defend against my blows. Don't worry, I won't actually injure you, but it will still hurt if you don't take it seriously."

No sooner had these words left his mouth that his relaxed demeanour changed entirely. His gaze had grown sharp and focused, while the aura around him had turned oppressive, intending to rattle her. He used a little bit more power than Ais' own to enable him to suppress her with a stat advantage, forcing her on the back foot.

'Don't blame me for being harsh. Monsters are much more scary and heartless than this...'

By the time that evening rolled around, Ais was utterly exhausted, so Riveria helped her bathe and tucked her into bed. Although it made her uncomfortable to let a young girl like Ais fight against monsters, she had to admit that it would be unreasonable for them to keep her away form the dungeon entirely. After all, she already possessed skills that Finn, Gareth and her had to acknowledge.

So, with that in mind, she met with the other two and discussed it again. Eventually, they all agreed to let her go experience the dungeon first thing in the morning, with Riveria at her side to watch her back, as they had decided earlier.

When Ais was informed about this after waking up, the bloodthirst in her threatened to overflow and her lifeless eyes displayed a hint of what was clearly excitement. She put on her new armour and got her blade, obediently following behind Riveria until they finally made it into the dungeon after a number of twists and turns.

Some well-meaning bystanders had tried to stop them for her own good, so Riveria had to waste a bit of time explaining, but Ais hadn't really listened to anything that was going on, so she had no clue had what happened. All that she had thought about were the various ways in which she would slice up her enemies very, very soon. Oh, and the information regarding the monsters that Riveria had repeatedly emphasized on the way had also occasionally flashed past her mind, but she cared significantly less about the details than she probably should.

A couple of minutes later, with Riveria following some distance behind her, she eventually ran across a lone, disgusting-looking, green-skinned creature. The moment her eyes fell upon it, she realized what it was.

'A monster!'

From deep within her, an overwhelming hatred bubbled forth, erasing what semblance of self-control and rationality she had clung unto all this time. Unknowingly, her Avenger Skill had activated, massively increasing her own power. Before the Goblin could do much more than turn around and register that someone was there, she had already arrived next to it, her sword slashing straight at its head. The moment the blade met the skull, it sliced through unobstructed, but also shattered it like a watermelon at the same time. It was as if it had been simultaneously cut and been hit by some sort of blunt object.

Brain matter, blood, as well as pieces of flesh and bone scattered in all directions, drenching Ais, who didn't pay any attention to it at all. With a ferocious light shining in her eyes, she scanned her surroundings for the next monster. She hadn't even noticed that a slight crack had appeared on her blade following that singular attack.

'This... is not the kind of power that a new Level 1 adventurer should possess!'

Shocked by this display, as well as the brutal way in which Ais had dealt with her foe, Riveria stood rooted to the ground and chose to observe her for a little longer. Maybe it was just a one-time thing?

But a few minutes later, she found out that Ais could keep up this kind of power seemingly indefinitely. Although she grew calmer and more restrained when there were no monsters around, as soon as she spotted one, she instantly reverted to her bloodthirsty, overpowering state. Like a bloodhound seeking out its prey, she dashed through the caves and caverns, barbarically obliterating all Goblins and Kobolds that she could find. Despite her significantly inferior stats to the latter monster species, the boost that she obtained from her Skill, coupled with her remarkable swordsmanship, made all of this a walk in the park. Or rather, in a park-turned-warzone.

'This can't continue. If she rushes headfirst into all battles like this, then there will be countless times when she'll be in danger. She seems to pretty much turn berserk, too, not caring about her own well-being at all! It's likely that she used that Skill of hers, but she can't control it. In this state, rather than a powerful supportive tool, it is pretty much a wildcard that drags her close to death whenever she activates it. Also, her weapon... it's about to shatter...'

No sooner had she thought of this that Ais' blade couldn't stand the repeated violent abuse and chose to bid adieu to the stage of history, reduced to mere scattered fragments of metal. Because she had been fighting two Kobolds at the time, Ais had only taken out one of them so far and was now left with one more to go, completely unarmed.

She didn't hesitate for a second. With a few quick steps, she rushed straight towards it and punched its guts, breaking its spine in the process and showering in its internal organs. The gruesome sight made Riveria's heart ache too much to hold back any longer.

"Stop, STOP! We'll end it here. Your sword is broken, so we'll have to get you a new one. For now, I'll bring you back to take a shower, then we'll commission a more durable weapon for you."

Arriving next to her, Riveria laid out her plans and intended to escort her home, only to be met with a gaze filled with bone-freezingly cold killing intent. For a moment, her movements instinctively ground to a halt, but then she furrowed her brows and flicked Ais' forehead at a speed that the young girl couldn't react to in the slightest, stunning and confusing her in the process.

'This is going to be exhausting, isn't it? Just what have I got myself into?'

Although she was complaining internally, Riveria's heart was filled with nothing but worry and care as she wiped away some of the blood and gore covering the child's face. Then, she picked her up and carried her back to the Twilight Manor's bathrooms at her fastest speed.