Danmachi: Exception

The stone wall of Babel's first floor felt cool against Cyrus's back. His muscles screamed with each tiny movement, a constant reminder of the beating he'd taken. Getting up here had been a pain in the ass - literally. His head throbbed, making the usual evening chatter of passing adventurers sound like hammers on anvils.

"Oh my..."

Cyrus cracked open an eye. An elven woman stood a few feet away, her jade eyes wide beneath elegantly arched brows. Her long silver hair caught the phosphorescent light from above, creating an almost ethereal effect that reminded him of moonlight on water.

"Are you alright, sir?" Her voice carried that distinct elven lilt - cultured, precise.

"Never better." His attempt at a smile pulled at the cut on his lip. Blood, dried and flaking, cracked along with the movement. "Just taking in the ambiance."

Her eyes lingered on his torn clothing and the dried blood that had turned his white fabric overlays into a Jackson Pollock painting. "There's a healing clinic just past the-"

"Guild first." He pushed off from the wall, his knees almost buckling. The world tilted sideways for a moment before grudgingly righting itself. "Rules are rules. Besides, paperwork waits for no man."

"But surely your health takes precedence over-"

"Nya! That's a lot of blood!" An orange-haired cat person bounded up, her tail puffed out like a bottlebrush. Anya - one of the Hostess of Fertility waitresses. Her usual energetic movements seemed more pronounced, ears twitching rapidly. "Did something go wrong down below?"

"Upper floors, actually." Cyrus leaned back against the wall, trying to make it look casual rather than necessary. "Turns out even the shallow end has teeth."

The elf's brow furrowed, creating tiny creases in her otherwise perfect complexion. "But nothing that dangerous spawns on the upper levels. The strongest monsters there are-"

"Tell that to whatever the hell I just fought." He started limping toward the exit, each step sending fresh jolts of pain through his body. "If you'll excuse me, ladies. The Guild beckons, and I'd rather not bleed all over their nice clean floors."

Their whispers followed him out:

"...getting worse lately..."

"...that white-haired boy earlier..."

"...should warn the others..."

The evening sun hit his eyes like a physical blow. Cyrus squinted, weaving between merchants packing up their stalls for the night. His enhanced healing had kicked in during the climb, but everything still felt like it was on fire. At least the bleeding stopped. Mostly.

Outside the Hostess of Fertility, two men's argument carried over the street noise.

"...monsters are different!"

"You're drunk, idiot."

"Different! Ask anyone! They're not acting right!"

The Guild building loomed ahead, its pristine white stone catching the last rays of sunlight. A few regulars nodded as he approached, then stared at his state. A young clerk - new by the looks of her pressed uniform and eager expression - rushed over, wringing her hands.

"Sir! You're hurt! Should I-"

"Just need Rose."

"But you're covered in-"

"Look." His patience snapped like a dry twig. "Unless you're hiding a healing potion under that desk, I need to make my report before I pass out. So either point me to Rose or get out of my way. Por favor."

She squeaked and stepped aside. More whispers chased him through the main hall, but his splitting headache drowned them out. He just needed to file this report and then he could sleep for a week.

Assuming whatever the hell that thing was stays dead this time.

"Cyrus Valentine!" Rose's voice pierced through the Guild hall's murmur like an arrow.

He turned to find his advisor heading his way, her crimson hair practically bristling along with her tail. The remaining adventurers made a poor show of minding their own business, their conversations dropping to theatrical whispers.

"Had an interesting encounter." Cyrus leaned against a nearby pillar, going for casual and probably hitting somewhere around 'about to collapse'. "Thought you'd want to hear about it."

"Interesting?" Her golden eyes narrowed, scanning his injuries with professional efficiency. The tip of her tail twitched - a tell he'd learned meant she was both worried and irritated. "You look like you went to war with a minotaur."

"Just a goblin actually." He pulled out the unusual magic stone. Instead of the typical blue glow, this one pulsed with an angry red light. "A very interesting goblin."

Rose stared at the stone, then at his injuries, then back at the stone. Her tail swished once, twice. The movement reminded him of a metronome counting down to explosion.

"Private consultation room." Her voice dropped low. "Now."

They made their way to one of the small meeting rooms, Rose's tail still swishing back and forth. The sound of her boots on the marble floor created a sharp counterpoint to his uneven limping. As soon as the door closed behind them, she rounded on him.

"Sit."

"I'm fine standing-"

"Sit."

He sat.

"I was doing my first circuit of the upper floors when-"

"The upper floors?" Her golden eyes widened, pupils contracting to thin slits. The tip of her tail went rigid, pointing straight up like an exclamation mark. "You're telling me a goblin did this to you on the upper floors?"

A muscle in his jaw tightened. "If you'd let me finish..." He leaned back, suppressing a wince as bruised ribs protested."Found it in one of the side passages off the main route. Place where the phosphorescent moss grows thicker than usual. Thought it was just another clear."

Rose's hands pressed flat against her desk. "But?"

"This one had patience. Studied my movements. Hell, it even baited me - pretended to stumble just to draw me in." His fingers traced the dried blood on his torn clothing. "Smart little bastard."

The scratch of Rose's quill against parchment stopped. She set it down with deliberate care, as if afraid she might snap it. "That's not possible."

"Gets better." He pulled his shirt aside, revealing a precise pattern of cuts along his ribs. "See these? Perfect form. Counter-strikes. Like someone had drilled the moves into muscle memory."

Her ears flattened against her head. "You're saying it knew how to fight? Actually fight?"

"Like a trained warrior." The memory of those unnaturally focused eyes sent a chill down his spine. "Caught me off guard. Really off guard."

Rose began pacing, her boots clicking against the stone floor in an uneven rhythm. "How long?"

"Ten minutes? Maybe fifteen before I put it down." He touched the wound on his lip, feeling the crusted blood crack. "Bastard made me work for it."

"Fifteen minutes?" She spun to face him, tail puffed out like a bottlebrush. "With a goblin?"

"Tch. No need to rub it in."

"I'm not-" She raked her fingers through her crimson hair, disturbing its usual perfect arrangement. "Cyrus, do you understand what you're describing? A upper floor monster matching a Level 1 adventurer for fifteen minutes?"

His laugh came out harsh. "Match? No. It was winning until I stopped holding back."

Rose's tail doubled in size. She opened her mouth, closed it, then stalked to her desk and yanked out a fresh incident report form with enough force to scatter several others.

"Every. Detail. Now."

"Well, first it-"

A knock interrupted them. Rose yanked the door open, revealing a young clerk whose perfectly pressed uniform marked her as new to the job.

"Miss Fannett? Lady Tulle requested these forms for..." The clerk's eyes darted to Cyrus, widening at his blood-stained state. "Oh! I can come back-"

"These are perfect. Thank you." Rose snatched the papers and shut the door with enough force to rattle the frame.

She spread the forms across her desk like a general planning a campaign. "Continue."

"Like I was saying, it started with-"

Another knock. This time Rose's growl held a distinctly feral edge.

"What?"

The door opened to reveal Eina Tulle.

"Rose? Oh-" Her emerald eyes cataloged Cyrus's injuries with clinical precision. "I see why you requested these forms."

"Yes, ma'am. Mr. Valentine had an... unusual encounter."

"The whole Guild is talking about it. Along with that other incident earlier today."

Rose's ears perked forward. "Other incident?"

"Bell Cranel. Found himself face-to-face with a minotaur on the fifth floor."

Cyrus straightened despite his protesting muscles. "A minotaur? That far up?"

"Ais Wallenstein intervened before things went south." Eina's fingers drummed against her thigh.

"First a high-level monster on the upper floors," Rose mused, her tail swishing in slow arcs. "Now this modified goblin..."

"Modified?"

Rose handed over the magic stone. Eina turned it in her hands, watching the angry red pulses cast shadows across her palms.

"I'll talk to the higher-ups. We may need to issue a warning."

"Or you could show some appreciation for the guy who brought this to your attention." Cyrus gestured at his ruined clothing. "These pants weren't cheap, you know."

Rose's tail cracked like a whip. "Focus. Incident report."

The next hour dissolved into an endless stream of questions. Every strike, every dodge, every unnatural movement needed documentation. By the time they finished, Orario's lights had begun pushing back the darkness.

"That should cover it." Rose arranged the papers. "For now."

"For now?"

"The higher-ups will have questions." Her golden eyes met his. "Many questions."

"Tch. Can't wait for the encore."

"Try not to fight any more impossible monsters between now and then."

"Taking all the fun out of dungeon diving."

"Cyrus."

"What? Can't make promises I won't keep." His grin pulled at the cut on his lip. "Besides, someone has to keep things interesting around here."

She sighed, but he caught the slight upward twitch of her lips. "At least get some rest. You look-"

"Dashing? Heroic? Devastatingly handsome despite the blood?"

"Like something a cat dragged in. Through a thornbush. Backwards."

"Right in my pride." He stood, muscles screaming in protest. "One more thing though."

"Hmm?"

He pulled out his pouch, the coins inside clinking together. "Need to make a deposit."

Rose guided him toward the exchange counter, her crimson hair catching the lamplight.

"After that fight, I doubt you had much time for-"

The words died in her throat as Cyrus upended his pouch. Magic stones spilled across the counter in a glittering cascade. Each one caught the light, their soft blue glow painting patterns across the young clerk's astonished face. Her hands froze above the abacus, mouth forming a perfect 'o'.

"Busy day." Cyrus placed the modified stone atop the pile, its angry red pulses a stark contrast to the peaceful blue beneath. "Save the best for last, eh?"

The clerk lifted the stone between trembling fingers. "This pattern..." Her eyes traced the unusual crystalline structure. "I've never..."

"First time for everything." His lip stung as he spoke - that cut would need attention soon.

Her fingers danced across the abacus beads. Each click drew more attention from the remaining adventurers. Their whispers carried across the marble floor, a susurration of speculation and disbelief. The clerk's movements grew more precise as she felt the weight of their stares.

"Fifty-seven thousand, four hundred and fifty valis," she announced, voice steady despite her widened eyes. "Would you prefer notes or coin, sir?"

Rose's tail snapped straight.

"Notes." Cyrus caught the clerk's eye and let his mouth curl into the half-smile. "Easier on the pockets."

A blush crept across her cheeks as she counted out the money. Her movements became almost ceremonial as she pushed the stack across with both hands, head slightly bowed.

"Thank you for your patronage."

"Pleasure's mine."

He waited until they'd moved beyond the counter's hearing range before speaking again. "Something on your mind, Rose? Your tail's doing that thing."

"That's an unusual amount for the upper floors." Her voice carried the careful neutrality she reserved for when she suspected someone was breaking Guild regulations.

"What can I say?" He ran a hand through his hair, grimacing at the dried blood flaking onto his fingers. "I'm an unusual guy."

"Mr. Valentine."

"Besides." He patted his pocket. "More valis means more taxes. Shouldn't that make you happy?"

"No amount of tax money is worth an adventurer's life." Rose's golden eyes narrowed, studying him with the same focused intensity she used when examining unusual magic stones. Her tail moved in slow, deliberate arcs. "Even one as stubborn as you."

Cyrus leaned against the counter, his muscles protesting every movement. Blood had dried into abstract patterns across his clothing, turning the white fabric overlays into modern art. "Your concern is touching. Really. But I know my limits."

"Do you?" She gestured at his state, ears flattening against her crimson hair. "Because this suggests otherwise."

"This?" He spread his arms, ignoring how his ribs screamed at the motion. "Just means I found something interesting. You know how it goes - the best stories leave a mark."

"Stories don't usually involve goblins with combat training."

"Exactly. Tell me that's not worth investigating."

Rose pinched the bridge of her nose, a habit she'd developed specifically for their conversations. "What I'm telling you is to be careful. Whatever's happening down there..." Her tail bristled. "It's changing the rules."

"Rules were made to be broken."

"Rules keep adventurers alive."

"Rules also said goblins can't fight the way they did." He straightened, suppressing a wince. "Yet here we are."

Her ears twitched - a tell that meant she was about to shift into full advisor mode. "Which is precisely why-"

"Look." He met her gaze, letting his usual smirk fade. "Something's wrong in that dungeon. First the fifth floor minotaur, now this. Patterns like that don't just happen."

"All the more reason to exercise caution."

"Or all the more reason to figure out what's going on before someone less capable runs into one of these things."

Rose's tail went still. The silence stretched between them, broken only by the scratch of distant quills and the muffled sounds of the city beyond the Guild's walls.

"At least promise me you'll rest before charging back in."

"Already planned on it. Got a date with a healing potion that I'd rather not keep waiting." He pushed off from the counter. "Unless you'd prefer to nurse me back to health personally?"

Her ears twitched. "Out."

"Just offering."

"Out."

He made it three steps before her voice stopped him.

"Cyrus?"

"Mm?"

"Whatever you find when you go back..." She paused, choosing her words with typical precision. "Be careful. Please."

The genuine concern in her voice stripped away his usual deflections. He turned back, meeting those golden eyes that saw far too much.

"Always am, Rose." His voice softened. "Always am."

The night air hit his face like a cool cloth as he stepped outside. Orario had settled into its evening rhythm - adventurers trading stories over drinks, merchants counting the day's profits, couples walking arm in arm beneath the stars. A perfect night for forgetting about modified monsters and changing rules.

Tomorrow, he decided. Tomorrow he'd solve the mystery. But tonight...

Tonight he had a healing potion calling his name.

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A/N: Hey readers! Let me know what you think of this chapter? This is my first time writing in third person like this so I was writing how I normally do in first and just changing it.