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missyporkbarreling · 2 years ago

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Leonid Konstantinovich Kovar

- A character living in tragedy

While I was out on my daily walk I realized just how like fucked up Leonid's life is and how it isn't really shined apon. Mostly because the last time Leonid had a line of dialogue was 12 fucking years ago

In his adolesence (because this is comics he's not given a difinitive age) Leonid went out on an expadition with his dad where they came across an alien space ship. Fiddling around with the craft it gave off a great amount of energy. Giving him super powers but seemingly killing his father, Konstantin.

He was then taken in by Konstantin's colleague and good friend Pyotr Raskov. Who while treated him like his own son was also the one to get him into the KGB while he was still a child. So

his first appearance doesn't give much (it's a very mediocre story, Leonid was yet to be developed and beyond Wally being a right fuck there isn't anything bad inflicted apon him)

but when he reappears in the new teen titans is when this gets interesting. in the interum Leonid had found a girl and they were hoping to get married soon. With Draut and Perez drawing him with similiar builds to Dick and Wally it's safe to say that Leonid and Maladi in this story are 18 or 17 going on 18.

Maladi had conracted a horrible illness that was not only killing her but would cause rabid cellular deteriation in anyone she touched. Leonid neither wanting his darling to suffer or for her to hurt or kill anyone else he volunteered to kill her. Because Maladi and Leonid only have 1 page where they talk it's unclear wether or not Maladi wanted to die but her final words shared through the doctor suggests that even if she didn't want to she understood the pain she caused by her existance.

jumping ahead several issues Leonid reappears as part of an exchange program between the US and the soviet union. Slightly confusingly when Hammer and Sickle kick down the door of star labs because they can't alow Leonid's secrets to fall into the hands of the US, he joins them in fighting the titans despite his moral objections. However once the cat is out of the bag that the gang of eight are trying to have him assassinated he joins back up with the titans despite it branding him a traitor to his state.

This leads to Leonid trying to ice Hammer because as Leonid says "you stole my life away from me, boris". But in what'll become an upsetting trend he's not alowed to get beyond that initial punch and kick as the titans save him from becoming a murderer.

Leonid's beautiful speech at the end of issue 49 is only slightly undercut with when he shows up once again this has seemingly been brushed over and he's back to living in the late Soviet union.

Inbetween this and his reapperance in the new titans it's assumed that he stayed in touch with the titans as the last thing Leonid and Vic tried to do here was beat the shit out of each other but Leonid later mourns cyborg as his best friend.

I will start to speed up as post titans hunt he becomes a fixture on the titans and there are only 2 examples of Leonid getting traumatized I wanna talk about.

Leonid is reintroduced after Victor Stone is shot out of a rocket and blown up above the icy tundra of Siberia. Where he found Vic's body and brought it to his adoptive father and his science boys to hopefully save Vic's life. They are semi sucessful but due to the state they found him in he's made a vegetable.

Which going off on a tangent it really fucking sucks that Wolfmann essentionally killed off a long time Titan jus so that Garfield and Leonid could be angsty about it.

Back on point. Unbeknownst to Leonid Raskov, ever the nationalist turned the corpse of his stepson's best friend into a weapon's platform for the soviet government. Can you see why I pin Leonid becoming an agent on Raskov?

Leonid is extremely ashamed for what his father has done and to try and get Vic back with his family agrees to "keep an eye on" their new weapon.

when Leonid, Vic and Sarah head back to Russia to try and fix cyborg up they're greeted by Pyotr and a bunch of bootleg cyborgs dubbed the metamen. Once they're captured (because again Vic is nothing but a vegetable in a weapons platform controlled by the ruskis) Leonid finally comes face to face with the man he hasn't seen in atleast 9 years (19 real world years) Konsantin Kovar is alive.

but Konstantin isn't here for a mere family reunion. He hates what the russian federation has become and with cyborg and Raskov's metamen he hopes to bring back the glory days.

And when Leonid is uncooporative because ofcoure why would he alow his best friend to become even more of a weapon Konstantin is resigned to jus turn his own son into a metaman. With the only thing stopping him being Pyotr finally growing a damned spine and refusing to hurt Leonid.

This rebellion however is short lived as Konstantin quickly catches up and with Raskov's continuing attempts to fight back Konstantin has cyborg kill him. And to ensure everyone else dies he blows up the complex for good measure.

After a failed attempt at president Yeltsin's life the woman Leonid had been working along side for all of this I never mentioned shoots Konstantin dead.

Konstantin gets turned into another metaman but this plot never goes anywhere and Leonid never learns of this

so within the span of a weekend Leonid finds out his biological father is alive, nearly becomes a mindless machine, has his adoptive father killed and then he witnesses his biological dad be killed again.

however Leonid persists. With him getting perticularely close to his teammate Pantha and her son Baby Wildebeest. And when he leaves the team they go with him.

While there's sadly very little buildup that I was able to pick up on Leonid becoming patriach of this quite queer little family unit is adorable and I wish we got to see more of it.

after Leonid's departure from the titans he made a few scamp appearances. mainly in the anniversary specials that brought every living titan together.

And then we get to he big one. Infinite Crisis.

Leonid, Pantha and Wildebeest head Connor's distress signal and meet in Smallville to fight against Super Boy Prime. and in the span of 2 pages (really 2 half pages because these deaths aren't given too much space) Leonid loses everything. enraged by the bullshit Prime is spewing Pantha jumps to try and claw at him only to have her head punched off. That head lands in front of their feat. Baby rushes at him but likewise he has a hole punched through him. Before Leonid can properly react Prime freezes him into a block of ice.

and if you're still following this I think you can sense a theme. Leonid's suffering almost always comes from throwing other characters by the way side and treating hem as disposable.

this to me is the most agrivating and aggregious one. With Victor's coma he was able to escape from that in an amazing sory. Baby and Pantha never go that. Pantha showed up one last time as an alternate timeline version of herself aided Booster Gold and Ted Kord in a world overrun by OMACs (which I have my own issues wih but this is about Leonid so I won't dwell), and baby? has never been seen again.

After this Leonid becomes a shell of the man he was. An angry recluse who only stops moping over what's been lost when his country is in danger. And to add insult to injury like Wolfmann before him Geoff Johns reverted him back to basics and made him an agent of the russian government. Despite that making no god damned sense with his history of russia's conservatives.

I will admit I have not read Geoff Johns' teen titans run and with how he butchered my favorite character and turned the other one into a jackbooted asshole I don't ever want to.

But what's important here is the call back to new teen titans 49 where despite how much pain and anguish Prime has subjected Leonid to. Slaughtering his family. Leonid is never alowed to give that cathartic beatdown that would not make all of this worth it but would soffen he blow.

ever since Wolfmann alone started writing him Leonid's life has been a whirlwind of tragedy. But through out all of it. Leonid continued to be nice, kind, and above all a god damned hero. Willing to risk life and limb if it meant saving people.

Geoff Johns did not continue this. the red star that Johns' wrote is not the character I fell in love with. He's a depressed asshole working for the people who made his life a living hell.

I just prey that one day we'll see the real Leonid Kovar again. His last appearance was in doomsday clock where he said nothing and was once again just a russian agent.

Him and Pantha hasn't shared panel space since she died. And that doesn't seem to be changing soon.

But I will not stop hoping.

If you've reached this far I just wanna thank you. This rant is way too fucking long but I needed to get it all out of my sysem. If like me you're a red star fan I would love to have a chat sometime (lord knows there ain't alot of us left). And if you're not a red star fan I especially thank you for reading these autistic ravings about something you care not for.

#leonid kovar #red star #teen titans #new titans #pantha #baby wildebeest #jesus fucking christ this is way too long

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elwynten · 1 year ago

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Chapter 47

Hestia Familia's First Expadition into the dungeon

Because of my team's ranking up to Level 4, along with Bell. Our names were brought up at the next Denatus. They gave Bell the alias of Rabbit Foot. Cinnamon is Dragon Empress, Iris is Red Wolf Countess, Pakima is Tember Wolf Princess, Rosni is now Leopard Contessa, and my alias is Manticore Master, while Welf's alias is Ignis.

We, Bell and I, also had a visit from Fels. We were on the city wall looking over the city when we heard footsteps. Fels appeared in front of us. He congratulated us on ranking up to Level 4. Fels gave both Bell and I more incentive to keep getting stronger and ranking up even more.

"The Xenos are able to live above ground, but they are still in hiding, using their Companion's ability to shapeshift into a human or demi-human form. They will not be able to really live in peace above ground unless you clear the deepest floor of the Dungeon. Unless you do that the Xenos will not really be able to live above ground as themselves in peace." Fels told us.

"Of course, Ouranos and I will continue to support you and the Xenos… but in the end if you are not able to do this. The real future we all hope for is not likely to arrive." He added.

Fels didn't tell us why we needed to clear the deepest floor of the dungeon, why that would let the Xenos live in peace on the surface or what was down there.

I nodded my head in understanding, knowing the Xenos wanted to be able to live on the surface as themselves and not in disguise.

"Bell Cranel and Eilwyn Tengee if you want to help Lydo and the other Xenos… then please find a way to keep moving forward. May the light accompany you on your journey." Fels told us, then he disappeared and all we hear is footsteps receding away from us.

==========

Shortly after Bell and my Team ranked up to level 4, the Hestia Familia received a letter from the Guild. The letter said that since the Hestia Familia has been given the ranking of 'D'. Because of that we have to go on an expedition into the dungeon to the 25th floor. To prove we had made it to the 25th floor we had to collect a number of different items from the 25th floor.

Fortunately for us, the Hestia Familia, my team and I had ranked up to level four almost at the same time Bell had ranked up to level four.

Mikoto, Rosni and Welf had ranked up to Level three and Lili and Haruhime had ranked up to Level two because their Companions, I had given them had raised all of the basic stats up to 'D' or higher so all they needed to do was do something 'great' to rank up. I have given all of them Physical Enhancement so all four of them are at 'A' or 'S' in all of their stats except Magic. With that they all should be able to rank up again shortly. Hopefully with them going on the expedition it will give them enough Exelia to rake up again.

Even with Bell, Welf, Mikoto and my Team, we really didn't have enough people to do an expedition. That leaves us with asking other Familia's if they will let some of their members join us in our expedition.

We weren't going to ask the Freya Familia because it didn't exist anymore and if they were still around, they were to dangerous. The Loki Familia is out because of the bad blood between Hestia and Loki. The Hermes Familia is out because they lie to the Guild about how strong they are, so they don't have to go on expeditions.

So that leaves us with asking smaller Familias. There is nothing wrong with doing that. It's just that we will have to ask two or three Familias, because the smaller Familias don't have many members. That means we will have to ask the Takemikazuchi and Miach Familia's for help.

We had the 'strength' to do the expedition on our own but having more manpower would make it a lot easier on us. Plus, it would help out our friends in ranking up as well as financially.

Because we are going to be gone for a week, I decided to have Pembe, Fenton, Horn and Keao stay with Hestia to guard the manor. Because of that I also decided to give the new members their Companions before they have been in the Familia for two months.

Wiene, Fia and Sky are also going to stay behind and guard the manor. They haven't learned how to fight in their human forms yet and Wiene doesn't really like to fight unless she really has to. So, with us going on an expedition we all agreed it would be safer for them to stay behind. Besides it gives us more people to watch over the manor while the rest of us are gone. I did concede to take all of them into the Dungeon with my Team after we get back from the expedition. I also agreed to take them on the next expedition.

All seven of them were sad that they weren't going along, but I agreed to port back to Hearthstone Manor once a day and update Wiene, Fia, Sky, Keao, Horn, Pembe, Fenton and Hestia on what we were doing and how the expedition was going.

I would have preferred to have waited the full two months before giving the new members their Companions, but with most of us gone on the expedition, I decided it would be better to give them their Companions early.

I went through the same process as I have with all the other people that I gave Companions to. That is, asking the person what they wanted, what they liked, etc., before giving them Their Companion. After I had given the new members their Companions. Again, I went through the same litany of telling them about what the Companions and now they can do because of their Companions. Since the new members have seen all of the other Companions, they knew quite a bit about them already.

= = = = = =

Pembe Automation Name: Vlora/F (A brave and bold woman) Mythical (Winged Manticore) (Eagle, caracal (African wild cat), Scorpion) Intelligent L2 Strength L2 Agility L1 Speed L1 Durability L2 Regeneration L2 Teleportation L1 Sustenance L2 Elemental Blast L1 (Nature) Size L2 Magical L2 (Dancing Lights, Missile, Cleaning, Servant, Telekinesis) Flight Shapeshift L1 (Winged Manticore, Caracal, Eagle, Scorpion, Ferret, Dog) Venom L1 (Tail stinger, Paralysis)

Keao Automation Name: Odaka/M Mythical (Winged Manticore) (Eagle, Linx, Scorpion) Intelligent L2 Strength L2 Agility L2 Durability L2 Regeneration L2 Teleportation L1 Sustenence L2 Elemental Blast L1 (Ice) Size L2 Magical L1 (Dancing Lights, Missile, Cleaning) Flight Shapeshift L1 (Winged Manticore, Linx, Eagle, Scorpion, Dog, Horse) Venom L1 (Tail stinger, Paralysis) Free

Fenton Automation Name: Azure/M Mythical (Winged Manticore) (Eagle, Couger, Scorpion) Intelligent L2 Strength L2 Agility L1 Speed L1 Durability L2 Regeneration L2 Teleportation L1 Sustenance L2 Elemental Blast L1 (Electrical/lightning) Size L2 Magical L1 (Dancing Lights, Telekinesis, Cleaning) Flight Shapeshift L1 (Winged Manticore, Couger, Eagle, Scorpion, Wolf, ferret) Venom L1 (Tail Stinger, Paralysis)

Horn: Automation Name: Qadira/F (Powerful) Mythical (Winged Manticore) (Eagle, Leopard, Scorpion) Intelligent L2 Strength L1 Agility L1 Speed L1 Durability L2 L1-Free Regeneration L2 Teleportation L1 Sustenance L2 Elemental Blast L1 (Electrical/lightning) Size L2 Magical L2 (Dancing Lights, Telekinesis, Cleaning, Missile, Heal, Servant) Flight Shapeshift L1 (Winged Manticore, Leopard, Eagle, Scorpion, Dog, horse) Venom L1 (Tail, Paralysis) Free

= = = = = =

With Pembe, Fenton, Horn and Keao having their new Companions, the rest of us set out making plans for the expedition. Although for us, planning the expedition will be fairly easy, because everyone going has a Companion. That means we won't need to take food. We'll use one of my PDs to sleep in so we don't have to worry about setting a watch for monsters, plus if we do want anything to eat the PD will have plenty of food for us to eat. And we will save plenty of time because once we are on the first floor of the Dungeon, I'll port us to the 20th floor. That will save us several hours of travel time both going in and coming back out. Plus, with everyone having a weapon from the Armory, we will not need to take extra weapons, because any weapon from the Armory is indestructible and will never lose its sharp edge.

To prove we have completed our expedition, we have to bring back so many drop items from monsters on the 25th, 26th and 27th floors. We have to bring back ten blue crab shells and ten Raider Fish fangs. Because of that, we are also able to 'cheat' if we want to. By that I mean, all we have to do is get one drop item from each monster, then I can create copies of the drop items to meet our quota. That may not be fair to other Familias, but it's not really fair that such a small Familia, like ours, has to go on expeditions either. So, since we are such a small Familia, you have to do what you need to, to get by.

I'll do the same thing for the Take' Familia, once they reach a 'D' ranking, too. I would do the same thing for the Miach Familia, but they are a merchant Familia even though some of their members spend a lot of time in the Dungeon.

Individuals were doing what they could to get ready for the expedition. Mikoto and Chigusa went to Takemikazuchi for more martial arts training. Ouka went to Welf and asked him to make a new weapon. Bell went to Eina to learn more about the Water City, and even Lili had Daphne teach her how to be a good leader and how to give orders.

The next Denatus was held before we were to leave on our expedition and since several members of our Familia have ranked up, we received new aliases. Bell is now Rabbit Foot. Cinnamon is Dragon Empress, Iris is Red Wolf Countess, Pakima is Tember Wolf Princess, Rosni is now Leopard Contessa, and my alias is Manticore Master, while Welf's alias is Ignis.

Since everyone else in the expedition has a Companion. I decided to give Aisha a Companion as well. It is partly because everyone else has a Companion and it wouldn't feel right for Aisha to be the only one without a companion. And it is partly as a thank you for joining with the Hestia Familia to help us with our expedition.

Aisha: Automation Name: Oshee Mythical (Winged Manticore) (Golden Eagle, Clouded Leopard, scorpion) Intelligent L2 Strength L1 Agility L1 Speed L1 Durability L2 Regeneration L2 Teleportation L1 Sustenance L2 Elemental Blast L1 (Lightning) Size L2 Magical L1 (Mending, Dancing Lights, Cleaning) Flight Shapeshift L1 (Winged Manticore, Clouded Leopard, Golden Eagle, Scorpion, Grizzly Bear, Ferret Venom L1 (Tail stinger, Paralysis)

I also gave Aisha and Oshee, Poison Proof and Weather Proof. So, nothing in the Dungeon will be able to poison either of them and they won't have to worry about the heat or cold.

During one of the big meetings when everyone that is going on the expedition would be at Hearthstone Manor, I made an announcement. "Okay, everyone. Because of how magic is used here, I had not thought about giving any of you 'Magic'. This Magic does not give you spells. What it does is, it gives the magic user unlimited magic power or magic use. That means anyone using magic would never run out of 'mind' so they won't suffer from mind down or mind zero." I told the group and grinned.

"You mean any of us that can use magic, can now use our magic as often as we like and not go mind down?" Welf asked shocked.

"That's exactly what I mean. You can use your 'Will-o-Wisp' as much as you want or need to and not go, mind down. Bell could use his 'Firebolt' until he goes horse, and he wouldn't black out. And the same goes for everyone else that can use magic that is going on the expedition." I informed them.

"That means Cassandra can use 'Soullight' constantly and she won't go mind down. Is that what you're saying?" Daphne asked.

I nodded my head in agreement. "Yes, that's what I'm saying. Cassi can cast Soullight and leave it going as long as she wants. The only thing that would stop her from continually casting Soullight is if there is a time limit on how long it lasts or if she stops the spell herself." I told Daphne.

"Why didn't you give us this before?" Mikoto asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I didn't think about it for one. And another reason, I can't give everyone all of these powers at once. If I did, then it could cause an uproar and we could be targeted by other Familias. So, if I give out a power now and then, no one thinks about it. Like Adventurers getting a skill or a magic spell when their status is updated." I explained.

"That makes since." Welf admitted. "So, when are you going to give us this magic?" Welf asked.

I chuckled. "I already have." I informed them.

"Now any of the 'magic' you get from your Companions, your weapons or I've given you, does not require mind. So, the only limits that magic has is, your Companions limitations on magic spells. Their Breathe weapons are unlimited other than you getting dizzy if you breath the breath weapon. If you use your hand like Bell does for his 'Firebolt' then you can cast your 'breath' weapon as much as you like. Although I would not rely totally on your Breath weapon. because I don't know how doing that will affect your status." I added.

"That is good to know. So, now we can use our magic all we want, correct?" Daphne asked.

I nodded my head in agreement. "Correct.

==========

Our expedition party included, Bell, Lili, Welf, Mikoto, Rosni, Cindy, Kimmy, Iris, Haruhime, Daphne, Cassandra, Ouka, Chigusa, Aisha and me. All of our Companions are with us as well. Plus, an extra Companion who belongs to Hestia. As I told Hestia when I gave her, her Companion Osma, Hestia can send Osma into the Dungeon with any one of us so she can know what is going on through Osma. Although I told Hestia to not keep pestering Osma to know everything that is happening because that will distract Osma from guarding against monsters.

Since we are going to be in the Colossal Tree Labyrinth, we took on a quest from the Miach Familia to get them some potion ingredients. We had also gone to the Guild and picked a couple other quests for the lower floors we would be on. As the saying goes, we can kill two birds with one stone, that way.

When we started on the expedition, it was a clear and sunny day. Technically we wouldn't see the sun for around seven days.

There was a lot of chatter as we walked to Bable Tower.

"Daphne… can't you stop the expedition?" Cassandras asked.

"Huh? Isn't it a bit late for that?" Daphne replied.

"I had a premonition last night… I have a feeling that something horrible is going to happen…" Cassandra told Daphne.

Cassandra was on the verge of tears being rebuffed by her partner. Then she turned to me.

I put my arm around Cassandra. "Don't worry too much about it. Remember what I told you?" I asked. Cassandra looked confused. "You never dream about me. I don't figure into your dreams. That means your dreams are a warning of bad things happening if I'm not around. In this case I'm part of the expedition, so me being here changes the outcome of your dream." I tried to reassure Cassi.

Cassandra leaned into me as we walked.

"Daphne looked around Cassandra at me. "Why do you call her Cassi? Her name's Cassandra." Daphne scolded me.

"I d-don't mind lord Eilwyn calling me Cassi." Cassandra told Daphne.

"It's called a nickname. Cindy's real name is Cinnamon, Kimmy's name is Pakima. I just use a nickname for them." I informed Daphne.

Daphne shrugged her shoulders and looked away from us.

Our group looked a sight walking to Bable Tower. With all of our Companions in animal form walking along with us. We have wolves, great cats, and a few birds walking and flying around us. People have seen my Team and Bell's Team going into the Dungeon with their Companions, but with such a large group we were getting quite a few stares.

To make it look good we entered Bable Tower and descended to the Dungeon. Once in the Dungeon we worked our way to an empty room so I could port our group to the 20th floor.

I turned to Aisha. "This ability goes no farther than here with us. I don't need Hermes knowing I can teleport people in and out of the Dungeon." I told Aisha and turned to Cassi. "Besides, I know a little about the future as well, and what I know allows me to prevent anything bad that might happen from happening. So, cheer up, Cassi, it will turn out fine." I assured Cassandra.

Aisha flipped her hair back over her shoulder. "Is if. No one would believe me if I told them anyway. Besides, I don't tell Hermes everything I find out. This will just be another one of those things I don't tell him or my Familia." Aisha replied.

"Welf, Ouka, Aisha and Bell are in the vanguard of our battle formation. Mikoto, Chigusa and Daphne will act as floaters to protect the combatants and supporters, while Lili, Haruhime, Rosni and Cassandra serve as our supporters. And Iris, Cindy, Kimmy and I will be the rear guard. The rear guard and vanguard would change every couple hours." I gave the marching orders.

"And Remember," I said as we walked along the path through the Colossal Tree Labyrinth. "All of the supporters can use their ranged weapons and 'breath' weapons on any and all flying monsters. That will make it a lot easier on the rest of us, along with giving all of the supporters more Excelia." I reminded everyone.

Because this was our first expedition, I pulled out one of my cameras and was taking pictures of our progress. I gave cameras to Iris, Kimmy and Cindy so when they're not fighting, they can take pictures as well. Once the expedition is over, I'll print all of the pictures and put the good ones into a couple photo albums. One for the Familia and one for our Team.

==========

AAGH!" Bell yelled as he slashed at a Mad Beetle with his Hestia knife. Cutting the monster in half.

"That's it Little Rooke, I mean, Rabbit foot, right? Kill them all!" Daphne said as the two halves of the Mad Beetle fell to the ground and rolled to the side.

"Hornet at two o'clock!" Lili yelled.

Haruhime, Lili and Rosni have been using their breath weapons on any of the Deadly Hornets they could. Although some of the hornets were coming in low so the supporters couldn't do anything about them.

"They're fast!" "Dang!"

There was a swarm of Deadly Hornets. Bell jumped into the middle of the swarm, taking them by surprise. There were after images of purple and white as he slashed at the hornets with his two knives.

While Bell was still in the air, he sheathed his Hestia knife and stuck out that hand. "Firebolt!" Bell yelled.

Two Deadly Hornets burned to ash as Bell landed back on the ground.

"This is pointless, unless we can take that out!" Aisha called out.

Against the dungeon wall is a Bloody Hive. It looks like of like a pinecone. Its attack is to spray a sticky substance onto adventurers which caused them to become stuck and immobile. Then the Deadly Hornets make their attack. But, because the Bloody Hive is attached to the dungeon the hornets are spawning faster than normal.

Welf and Ouka are using their shields to defend against the Hornets from getting to Haruhime as she says stuck on the floor. The Bloody Hive had sprayed Haruhime causing her to fall and being immobilized on the ground.

"Cindy!" I called. "Take that thing out!" I told her as I slashed cut a hornet in half with Sasori.

"On it!" Cindy called out with a grin on her face. A moment later a blue flame was sprouting from her mouth as Cindy breathed her blue fire onto the Bloody Hive. The hornets caught in the flame burned to ash as the hive exploded with a resounding and defining explosion, burning and shattering the Dungeon wall the Bloody Hive was attached to.

==========

"That was exhausting. It was like fighting a floor boss."

"It's as good as. A Bloody Hive is the biggest thing around."

Daphne and Aisha were chatting as they rested for a moment. The rest of us were gathering up the magic stones and drop items from all the monsters we had just killed. The magic stones are bigger and purer than those from the upper floors.

"I'm sorry, Master Bell… I slowed you down." Haruhime apologized.

"It's not your fault. We should have been protecting you." Bell told Haruhime.

"Don't worry about it Haruhime. It was a surprise attack. None of us caught it." I told Heruhime.

"Think of it as a learning experience. Now we know to be that much more vigilant, so it doesn't happen again." Cindy put in.

I looked at Cindy out of the corner of my eye. I'm not sure if Cindy had said that to be serious and funny at the same time or not.

"Yes, Mad Eye." I said to Cindy.

Cindy blushed. "I-I didn't mean it like that." Cindy replied.

I chuckled. "It still fits though. It just struck me as funny the way you said it."

Daphne, Cassandra, Welf and Ouka were all looking at us with confused looks on their faces.

"What are you talking about?" Welf asked.

I chucked. "It's a character in a book. He always tells his students to always be vigilant." I explained.

"Oh, I understand. That makes since though." Welf admitted.

==========

We worked our way on down to the 24th floor. Once there Lili looked at her watch. "It's time to make camp. It's night on the surface." Lili informed us.

"What do you mean make camp?" I asked.

"Well… I… I mean…" Lili stumbled with what to say.

I chuckled. "It's fine Lili. That's what you do down here even if all you have to do is open a portal." I told her. And I did just that.

I opened a portal to one of my PD's. I motioned for everyone to enter as fast as they could. We don't want any monsters getting into the PD. Once everyone and their Companions are inside, I closed the portal.

"I don't know how you do this, but it sure is a lot better than camping out in the Dungeon and having to deal with monsters in the middle of the night." Aisha told me.

"It sure is Aisha." I replied then I turned to the group. "Get something to eat, if you want to you can take a bath, just relax or get some sleep. We'll stay here for ten hours then start out in the morning." I offered. "I need to report to lady Hestia, so I'll be back in a few minutes." I told them then I ported to Hearthstone Manor.

==========

At Hearthstone Manor I looked around and found Hestia. "Hello, lady Hestia. I'm here to give you, my report." I told Hestia.

Hestia giggled. "That's not really necessary. I've been watching and listening through Osma as you suggested." Hestia told me. "It was scarry seeing those monsters attacking all of you down there." Hestia added with a shiver.

"I guess I don't need to tell you anything then. Do I?" I asked.

"Not really." Hestia replied.

"How are the new members doing?" I asked.

"Horn has taken it as her personal task to watch over me and to take care of me. Fenton, Keao, and Pembe have been taking turns patrolling the grounds. Miach and Nahza came over after they closed the pharmacy. They said Take' would stop by tomorrow." Hestia told me.

"It looks like everything is going good here, so I'll head back. Do you want me to come by tomorrow evening or skip tomorrow and come back the day after tomorrow?" I asked.

"You can skip tomorrow night since I'm getting to see what's going on myself, so to speak." Hestia offered.

"Okay." I said and gave Hestia a small bow. Then I ported back to the PD.

==========

While we were sitting around the table on the patio. "We have to be careful of what we say and do." I told everyone.

"Why?" Lili asked.

In a loud whisper. "Because we have a 'spy' in our midst." I said and pointed at Osma.

Everyone looked over at Osma for a moment.

Lifting her head up and looking towards the table. "I am not, a spy." Osma stated emphatically.

Everyone laughed.

"I'm just teasing you Osma. Hestia told me she was watching and listening to us through you. If it becomes a problem just block her out if you need to." I told Osma.

"It's fine, Hestia watching through me doesn't bother me. Although her yelling and screaming at the monsters does get annoying." Osma admitted.

Everyone laughed at Osma's reaction to Hestia yelling and screaming at the monsters.

"You have to give Hestia a break Osma. She's just worried about her Familia." Kimmy told Osma.

"I know, I know. It just gets irritating after a while." Osma admitted.

"I can understand that." Welf put in with a big grin on his face.

"I'll talk to her about it the day after tomorrow when I go see her to give her a report on the expedition." I told Osma.

"Thank you." Osma replied.

"I just hope Hestia's not yelling and screaming out loud at the Manor. They'll think she's crazy." I added.

"Food's ready!" Chigusa called. She and Mikoto had been making supper for everyone.

"We added some ingredients we found in the Dungeon that Aisha said are edible." Mikoto told everyone as she put bowls of food on the table.

"Is it such a good idea to use so much water? They say having enough portable water makes or breaks an expedition. We wouldn't want to have to turn back because we ran out of water." Cassandra asked.

"Uh, Cassi? I don't want to embarrass you but think about where you are right now." I Suggested.

Cassandra started blushing. "Oh, I'm sorry." She said in almost a whisper.

"Don't worry about it Cassi. You're used to going on expeditions with the Apollo Familia. So, you needed to make sure you had plenty of water with you. This is the first time you've been on an expedition with a Pocket Dimension you can use to get water, food and have a safe place to rest and sleep. So, there's nothing to be sorry about." I tried to reassure Cassandra.

"I was thinking the same thing, Cassandra." Aisha told Cassandra. "This is a totally new experience."

Aisha told us about what the floors below us would be like and what we should expect. After that we talked about different things until it was time to hit the sack.

==========

The next morning, we 'break camp'. Which means I opened the portal from the PD to the dungeon so everyone could exit the PD. When everyone had exited the PD, we headed to the tunnel to the 25th floor.

"Ice… No, crystals." Lili says as we walk the long path to the 25th floor.

"I hear water…" Mikoto whispers.

As we reach the end of the passage, everyone can hear water. There is a huge thundering waterfall that passes from the 25th floor all the way down to the 27th floor. The Water City or Water Capital is the only place in the Dungeon that is open to more than one floor.

In the open space created by the waterfall, harpies and sirens are flying around. Fortunately for us, none of them have noticed us, yet.

"Wow!"

Everyone stops and takes in the slender and magnitude of the Water City. In front of us is the Great Falls, which is an appropriate name.

The falls are about 1312 feet wide and just as tall. Directly below the cliff we are standing on is a huge plunge pool, but the falls are like a staircase going on down to the 27th floor.

"This insanely huge waterfall crosses floors and reaches all the way down to the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh floors. Oh, don't worry, monsters don't climb up the falls. Well, most don't." Aisha explains.

"How do we get to the twenty-sixth floor…? Don't tell me we're gonna climb down the cliff.' Welf groans.

"No, there's a proper path. Tons of slopes and staircases, too. You take them down to that cave over there." Aisha informs Welf along with the rest of us.

It is a wonderous sight. A huge waterfall, blue crystals all over the place, and even the harpies and sirens were fascinating to watch from this distance. I could stand here and take in the sights for hours, but back to reality, completing our mission.

"Alright enough gawking. Let's get a move on. If we keep standing here, those harpies hovering over there are going to attack us." Aisha told us, getting us back on track.

"Take that path off to your left and follow it along the wall. Of course, it's a straight shot, so you can't get lost. That cave over there will take us back to the usual labyrinth." Aisha said with authority.

We all headed along the cliff with Bell in the lead. The path is ten feet wide. To our left is the wall and to our right is a sheer drop off.

"Hey, Bell, is everything on this floor made of crystals?" Welf asked Bell.

"There are supposed to be some plants, too… but Eina told me that basically, yeah, it's all crystal." Bell informed Welf.

The light on this floor is coming from translucent crystals. They are growing from the walls and along the path like bamboo.

As we walk, the right wall of the tunnel can be seen, marking an end to the cliff. We finally made it to the labyrinth without having to fight any of the harpies or sirens.

"Let's take a minute to go over the plan." Lili said taking charge.

"In order to prove to the Guild that we've completed our mission, we need to have the following number and types of drop items: ten steel shells from blue crabs and either three aqua serpent fins or thirty raider fish fangs, for rare monster items, one secret carbuncle crystal will do it. For resources, we have to gather one thousand grads of azure stone to satisfy the requirements." Lili listed off what we needed to collect as she adjusted her huge pack.

"Please focus on searching for monsters and resources I just read out. As for the extent of our exploration. We've already achieved our goal of reaching the lower levels, so I see no need to push on to the twenty-sixth floor." Lili added.

"So, you're suggesting we spend our time thoroughly exploring the twenty-fifth floor?" Mikoto asked Lili.

Lili nodded her head in agreement. "Yes. This is our first time in this area. We have six days left in our expedition, so Lili thinks it is best to use lord Eilwyn's PD as our base camp. All we need to do is find a dry chamber for the opening. That way we can thoroughly explore the twenty-fifth floor.

Aish, Welf and the others looked like they agreed with Lili's explanation, and No one had any objections. "This may seem like a silly request, but please do not approach the water's edge. There are a lot of monsters that live in the water." Lili continued.

"Last thing, just to be sure… Does everyone have their Urdine cloth I handed out this morning?" Lili asked.

Urdine cloth is a spirit cloth. That means if you are wearing Urdine cloth, if you fall into the water, you can swim and maneuver better in the weather than if you did not have any Urdine cloth on.

Since this is the Hestia Familia's expedition, we bought the cloth for everyone. We are hoping that we can make the money back and then some during the expedition.

"Well Aisha, am I forgetting anything?" Lili asked Aisha since she has been to the Water City before.

"Not only are there water monsters there are also many humanoid monsters on these floors. Don't stand around waiting for it to see if it's going to talk to you. If you pause, they will kill you." Aisha told us. Reminding us of the Hestia Familia just because we are friends with the Xenos we need to not think twice if we see a lamia or mermaid and kill it.

"Okay, breaks over. Oshee (Aisha's Companion) says monster are coming." Aisha announced as she grabbed her podao, that she had stuck in the ground.

Aisha, Welf, Bell and Ouka rush towards the hoard of blue crab monsters that are headed towards our group. My Team and I take up the position of rear guard.

The Blue Crab's shells have gaps in them that can be exploited to kill the crabs easier.

The battle was over in a few minutes with no incidents on our side.

The Blue Crabs are categorized as metal monsters. Their steel shells are even stronger than that of the Deadly Hornets. The most unusual thing about them is they attack head on, unlike regular crabs that scuttle sideways.

"I've got two Blue Crab shells and we just started," Lili cheerfully informed everyone.

We head out again with Bell, Ouka, Welf and Aish as vanguard. Daphne, Cassandra, Lili and Rosni are in the middle while Iris, Cindy, Kimmy and I take rear guard. Lili is also acting as navigator, keeping her map of the floor out and keeping us on the correct path.

"I can hear something other than the waterfall." Haruhime said as her ears twitched.

"Ya, I hear water flowing." Daphne replied.

"A stream…" Chigusa told everyone.

A stream was flowing along the passage we were traversing.

"There are streams all over the Water City. But it is mostly dry land. So, you don't have to worry about swimming. Aisha explains as we stop to look at the water.

"What if you fall into the stream? Cassandra asked.

"Get back on land as fast as you can. You won't die the moment you fall in, but you will get killed." Aisha told Cassandra. "The monsters will torture you to death."

"Oh, and also, make sure you are always alert when you're walking at the water's edge like we are now." Aisha said offhandedly.

At that moment. "OOOOOOO!"

"AAAHHHHH!" Haruhime screamed.

A huge fish about five feet long suddenly jumped out of the water flying through the air. It's a Rader Fish.

"That's what happens when you let your guard down." Aisha said as she swings her podao.

Mikoto did her quick draw with her katana. Both slicing the fish into pieces.

Aisha was smiling calmly while Mikoto was sweating up a storm.

"The water monsters are constantly watching us. Remember that. Good job reacting Eternal + Shadow." Aisha said.

"N-no, it was so sudden. I just reacted on reflex. And since Mister Bell is up front, it's my responsibility to guard Lady Haruhime." Mikoto replied.

Haruhime flung her arms around Mikoto while crying. "Thank you." She exclaimed.

"Y-you're welcome." Mikoto got out surprised by Haruhemi's reaction.

"What's that over there?" Welf asked pointing to a bright corral colored dead bush across the stream.

"Under coral? You only find it on the lower levels." Bell told Welf.

"That's what I thought it was. Can we get it? I hear it makes good weapons." Welf asked.

"Aisha just told us how dangerous being close to water is. We'd be in monster territory if we tried to get that." Lili objected.

"But it's got a great luster to it and isn't that shell under it an under pearl?" Welf added incentive to retrieving the under corral.

Lili sighed. I guess we can get it." Lili gave in.

"Anything for money, hu, Lil'E?" Welf said with a hollow laugh.

Now we have to cross the stream to get to the far bank where they under corral is.

"This party have a thief, so is there a scout? This kind of work goes to them." Aisha stated.

My Team and Bell's Team never really had a scout, so everyone looked to Mikoto. Being a ninja makes her the closest we have to either a scout or a thief.

"That leaves it up to me, doesn't it?" Mikoto asked but it was more of a statement than a question.

"What if it's a crystal turtle?" Bell asks.

"I'll shoot an arrow at it to see." Ouka offered.

"I'll help Mikoto." I offered.

"Are you sure?" Bell asked me.

"It's easy." I told Bell.

I used my telekinesis to make a walkway over the stream to the far bank.

"Just don't look down." I told Mikoto as I stepped onto the walkway.

Oh, my!" Mikoto exclaimed. I don't know if I could get used to that." She added as she followed me to the under coral.

Once we are on the far bank, Mikoto and I start harvesting the under coral. Mikoto uses her knife to but branches off at the base and I put them into my closet PD.

"Don't forget the under pearl!" Lili called out to us.

I chuckle as we pry the under pearl out of the base of the under corral and I stow it in my closet PD with the under coral.

"That's it. Let's go back." I said and Mikoto nods her head in agreement.

As we start back over the telekinetic walkway there is a loud splash and a thud.

"AAAHHH!" Mikoto yelled.

"What was that?" Welf asked to no one in particular.

It's an aqua serpent." Lili replied. "But what happened to it?" She asked.

"I think it knocked itself out. When it tried to jump out of the water it hit its head on the telekinetic walkway, I put up for us to cross on. The walkway acted like a shield." I told Lili and the others. We could see the body of the aqua serpent floating down stream.

"That's convenient." Ouka said as Mikoto, and I arrived back with our group.

I pull out the under corral and under pearl and place it all on the ground so everyone can see what we had retreated.

"So much under corral and even a under pearl to go with it." "I'd say there is a least three million valis worth there." "If you haggle enough, you might get three and a half million." "I could pay back my loans for my weapons with that." Ouka said. "Ouka it's not all yours." "That's a great achievement, Miss Mikoto and lord Eilwyn." "It's starting to feel like a real expedition." Welf said putting his arm around Bell's shoulders.

They all cheered at Mikoto and I getting such a prize right off the bat. Mikoto blushed and scratched her cheek. I bowed like I was on stage after a well received performance.

"Thank you, thank you. It was nothing." I said dramatically while bowing and making a sweeping gesture with my hand and arm.

The Water City has lots of stairs and slopes. When you've been walking down hill for a while the next thing you know you're walking up hill again. You also have to watch out for geysers not only from the floor but from the walls and ceiling as well.

So far, we have been stopped by a huge geyser erupting from the floor, blocking our progress. As we tried to get around the geyser by the way of another route, we were attacked by a monster party. A monster party is when a large number of monsters spawn at the same time in the same room or along the same tunnel.

As we walk down a dimly lit passageway, Bell notices something in front of us.

"Is that, an adventurer?" Welf asks seeing the same thing Bell had seen.

Looking closely, it looks like an elf coming our way.

"Stay back here girls." I tell my Team as I head to the front of the group.

"That's right leave us so you can have all the fun." Iris said as I walked towards the front of the group.

"We haven't seen anyone outside our own group for some time. We didn't even see anyone in the middle levels." Ouka said.

"It must be someone strong. No other Familia was scheduled for an expedition as the same time as us. Lili thinks it's a second-tier adventurer or higher to come this far down for ordinary exploration." Lili replied.

I walked up beside Bell. "Isn't that Luvis?" I ask.

"What's he doing down here all alone? He's only a level three." Bell replied.

As Luvis gets closer. "…Everyone, take a defensive posture! Something feels wrong!" Bell announced.

Luvis is struggling to keep standing. It looks like he could collapse at any moment. He moves directly under a white crystal in the ceiling illuminating him.

Because of the light we can see that Luvis is covered in blood. Everyone in the group is shocked and surprised.

Well, my Team and I aren't surprised because we knew this would happen. But seeing it with our own eyes is shocking.

Everyone can see that Luvis's arm is missing from the elbow down. Luvis reaches out with his good arm. "He..el…!" He says as he collapses to the floor.

With Luvis out of the way we can see a monster coming up behind Luvis. It's big and green.

"Everyone back!" I yell as I move towards where Luvis is.

"Lord Eilwyn, wait!" Bell calls out to me.

"I know what this is, Bell. I've got it. Just make sure nothing comes up behind us." I call over my shoulder to Bell and the others.

I move just past Luvis so I can protect him as well. I reach out mentally and create a telekinetic wall ten feet in front of the monster.

The monster is what is known as a moss huge. But this moss huge is an irregular. It's not a Xenos but it is more intelligent than a regular moss huge. It has learned that if it eats magic stones, it will get stronger and now it is obsessed with getting magic stones. It has also learned the easiest way to get magic stones is by attacking adventurers who will usually have large numbers of them.

By standing in the middle of the tunnel, I was using myself as bait to draw the moss huge closer to me so I can catch it.

The moss huge stops for a moment. It has a landform in one hand, a crystal mace and in its other hand it is holding Luvis's arm.

The moss huge starts walking towards me and/or Luvis again. As the moss huge gets within three feet of the telekinetic wall I had put up. I create another telekinetic wall behind it so it can't escape.

"Get Luvis!" I call over my shoulder to the others.

"What about the monster!?" Aisha calls back.

"It's not going anywhere. I have it trapped." I replied to Aisha.

The moss huge ran into the telekinetic wall in front of it. It raised the crystal mace it has in its hand and slams it against the invisible wall. The mace shatters into pieces.

I Bring the two walls together creating a tube so the moss huge can't try to break through the walls to escape. As the tube is formed, I also seal the top and bottom as well, making it totally sealed off, and I shrink the tube, so it is just big enough to hold the moss huge.

I can hear Welf, Ouka and Aisha moving close behind be and dragging Luvis farther away from the moss huge and myself.

Again, I call over my shoulder. "Cindy! Come here, please!"

"Coming!" Cindy replies. A moment later Cindy is at my side. "What do you want?" She asked me.

"I'm going to open the tube up, when I do, I want you to breath fire onto the moss huge." I instruct Cindy.

"Moss huge?" Cindy askes.

I chuckle. "That is what kind of monster it is. Although this moss huge is an irregular it's even an enhanced species. So, it's extremely dangerous." I inform Cindy.

Cindy takes a good look at the monster as it tries to break free from its telekinetic prison.

"Okay, tell me when." Cindy tells me. "That thing's weird." She adds as she scrunches up her face.

"On the count of three." I tell Cindy. "One, Two," As I start to say three, I create dozens of holes over the whole surface of the tube so Cindy's breath weapon can flow through every part of the tube. "Three!"

As I say 'three', Cindy gives a huge exhale, breathing out her blue fire breath weapon, totally engulfing the tube and the moss huge is in.

"OOOOOHHHHHHHGGGgggg…" The moss huge screams as it is engulfed in the blue flames.

Cindy stops breathing fire and we can see ash falling through the holes in the tube that once held the moss huge.

I turn and look at Cindy. "I think you destroyed the magic stone." I told her.

"You didn't tell me to hold back my fire any." Cindy chided me.

I chuckled. "No, I didn't, and I didn't want you to hold your fire back. This was a very dangerous monster." I told Cindy. "Let's go see how Luvis is doing." I suggested and turned to go back to the group.

"How's Luvis doing?" I ask the group in general.

"I-I can heal him, but I d-don't think I can regrow his arm." Cassandra meekly tells me. "But the vines that were growing out of him all died when the monster was killed. I don't know how that happened." She added confused.

I nod my head in understanding. "I can heal him and regrow his arm." I told Cassi and the others.

I looked down at Luvis who had been propped up against the tunnel wall and healed him. In under a minute Luvis's arm had regrown and he was back to perfect health.

"With you here, you don't need me." Cassandra said in just above a whisper with her eyes downcast.

I stepped over beside Cassi and put an arm around her. "We will always need you, Cassi. Besides I'm not going to always be around when someone needs to be healed." I tried to reassure her, and I gave her a hug.

"Thank you, lord Eilwyn." Cassandra replied as she laid her head on my shoulder and put her arms around me.

"What was that thing?" Welf asked.

Everyone looked at me for the answer.

I chuckled. "It was an irregular, but it was more like an enhanced species. It wasn't a Xenos, but it was still very intelligent." I told them, then I looked down at Luvis. "Where is your party and do you know where Dormul and his party is?" I asked him.

An enhanced species is a monster that kills its own kind or other monsters and eats their magic stones so they can get stronger.

"My party's back that way." Luvis replied, pointing back the way the moss huge hand come from. "I don't know where Dormul and his party are. We were together for a while, but we were arguing so much we split up."

Lovis looks over at Bell. "Rabbit's Foot. I never expected you to save me." Luvis told Bell.

Bell blushed at receiving such praise. "I-I didn't save you. It was lord Eilwyn that saved you, and he healed you as well." Bell replied.

Luvis looked over at me. "Thank you, Manticore. I've heard of you." Luvis said.

I nod my head in acceptance. "Thank you, but we need to find your party and Dormul's party." I replied. "With the moss huge dead, the seeds it planted in your two parties will be dead now as well. But that doesn't mean they are out of danger yet."

"Do you think you can lead the way back to your party?" Bell asked Luvis.

"Ya, ya, I can take you to where we separated."

"Then lead the way." I told Luvis and motioned for him to take the lead.

As we walk through the passageway. "Elf, you're telling us that you left your companions and ran away?" Aish asked Luvis.

"Don't be an idiot! I was a decoy." Luvis replied angrily at Aisha's question.

"The monster wants this." Luvis said holding up a magic stone.

"The monster is after the magic stones, adventurers are carrying?" Lili said. I've never heard of that.

"It's true. When the monster first attacked my party, it went after the supporters first. It grabbed the pouches the magic stones were in." Luvis explained to Aisha. So, I took the magic stones to try to get the monster to follow me so my party could escape."

By this time, we came across a red line on the Dungeon floor. It looks like it was made by dragging something heavy.

"What's that?" Bell asks pointing to the red line.

"…Blood?" Ouka said.

We followed the bloody trail. It led into a chamber with a crystal pedestal in the middle of the room. Two elves were laying face up by the pedestal. One male the other female.

The room has several water ways flowing in and around the room, as well as it many crystals growing around the room.

It appeared that the moss huge had crushed their arms and legs so they could not move.

"Oh, no!" Haruhime cried as she covered her mouth with her hand at seeing such cruelty.

"Shero, Lana…!"

"Those are your companions?" Aisha asked Luvis.

"Yes, but one is missing…! Alec…!" Luvis replied, his face had gone white from seeing his friend so close to death.

Next to the crystal pedestal. "The enhanced species!" Welf said.

"I thought Eilwyn killed it." Daphne said.

"I did. That's not the enhanced species. It's Alec, the last member of Luvis's party." I told Daphne and our party.

"How do you know that!?" Luvis demanded.

"It's a long story, but it is Alec." I said as I walked over to what looked like the moss huge.

I started pulling the moss covering off of Alec to reveal a face and head. As I did that, I healed Alec. I also healed Shero and Lana as well. Lana had lost one of her legs. Like Luvis's arm, Lana's leg grew back in under a minute's time.

"How did he know it wasn't another moss huge?" Luvis asked surprised by my actions and that no one in my party had tried to stop me.

"Welf shrugged his shoulders. "Eilwyn knows things before they happen." He told Luvis and his party.

"Why did you come back?" Shero asked Luvis.

"They killed the enhanced species. So, I brought them back with me to find you. And it's a good thing I did." Luvis explained.

"Yes, it is. We were almost done for." Lana replied.

"Stay away from the water. There are hordes of monsters in the water." I instruct the group.

"That's what I see with Yatano Black Crow." Mikoto added. Yatano Black Crow is Mikoto's magic ability to find the same kinds of enemies she has fought before. "So be ready, everyone."

#Hestia #DanMachi #Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon #Bell #Mikoto #Dungeon #Monsters #Welf

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