"...I need to make certain of something...You've just entered the second floor, haven't you?"

He was left hanging with his hand in front of her as she stopped him to ask a question first, letting her familiar perch itself on her slender shoulder.

"You can tell?"

"The fact you didn't try to kill me the moment we made contact is enough to know that, or maybe you're just truly an idiot. Either way...There is only one reason I want to form an alliance. There are a band of challengers that have grouped together...A real nasty bunch, I don't know if they're even trying to get past the second floor anymore or if they're comfortable ruling over this floor. Anyway, I'd like your assistance in wiping them out"

"Wipe them out?"

Ren asked with a bit of worry in his voice, pulling his hand back before she had the opportunity to shake it.

"Is there a problem? They're tough, but I've seen how you can handle yourself--I think together with the right caution and planning, we could do it."

Seating himself back down on the slab of stone inhabiting the dust-covered floor of the once lavish keep, Ren listened as Aiko divulged her plan.

"I'm not worried about them being too much."

"Then it's fine?"

"I don't want to kill anyone. I won't."

Making it known plain and simple; the room fell silent for a moment as Aiko looked into his eyes--the steely yet devoid look in his chestnut eyes left no room for argument. One look at his unmoving expression and eyes, she could see that there was definitely something in there he didn't want to dig up.

"You do know where you're at, right? There is no room for mercy here, only the strongest can survive these trials--"

"I know that already! What's the point of becoming strong if I have to abandon everything else first? What'll be left for me to protect? If I become some cold-blooded, thoughtless murderer in the process--will I even use my strength to protect them? Not just that; making the choice to take another life...I'm afraid after that I'll start to value life less and less. It's selfish, I know, but I don't want to become that kind of person."

He caught himself as he unintentionally let his words out sharply, grating them against the girl as he brought his hand to his chin to cool himself off. Even though he didn't remember it well, he could still vividly feel that sickening sensation as he drove steel through the flesh of Goldheve. Feeling warmth shift to cold as life fled to death; it wasn't something he wanted to truly experience firsthand.

"...We don't have to kill them then."

"Really?"

Aiko nodded in response, letting out a brief sigh as she held a prolonged link before turning her gaze to the young man again.

"If I'm being honest; leaving them alive is a total risk so I'm leaving the responsibility to you."

"We'll just have to beat them well and good so that they don't try anything!"

--This is a good opportunity; with them having their own share of keys, this is a quick and efficient way to acquire some. With a companion of my own with me, this is my best chance. I'm pretty damn lucky today, aren't I? A companion--a cute one at that.

"--Quite a childish conclusion to come to, but I agree."

Noticing that Calio had fallen into slumber, Aiko carefully lifted the albino crow before guiding it back into the pouch it originally came out from, closing it and giving it a gentle pat.

"So, do you know anything about this group?"

Asking this, Ren looked around the lobby they were sitting in, feeling a bit wary by the lack of windows--completely obscuring their vision of what could be lying outside. Aiko nodded her head, running her fingers over the smooth, fine-metal of her gauntlets; brushing the tip of her digits against the scarlet gems that sat on the center of each armored glove.

"...I had a run-in with them earlier, I was forced to retreat...I thought you were one of them…"

"That's why you tried to rip my head off the moment I walked in, huh?"

Putting it that way, Aiko meekly nodded her head as if apologizing for her actions silently. Seeing her like that, Ren felt like comforting her with a head pat but didn't want to risk losing his hand in the process.

"They're led by a man named Leo; the rumor is he is an ex-argonaut…"

As she told him this, Aiko looked at Ren as if trying to gauge his reaction to the identity of their target. The young man stopped in place, running his gloved fingers across his chin while keeping his arms folded across his chest.

"An argonaut...That could be troublesome. They're all pretty strong, right?"

"Mm."

Aiko nodded her head, watching as Ren ruffled his head of snowy locks with a sharp breath, planting his rear back down on his chosen seat.

"What kind of magic does Leo have? How many people are in his group? Do you know their abilities?"

Ren began to plaster his newfound companion with questions, looking at her with watchful eyes as he rested his chin against his hands.

"Urr...He uses high-level fire magic...From what I saw, he had three people with him, but there could be more. I didn't get to see the full-extend of their abilities…"

"I get it; you were pressed by their numbers. I'd probably tuck-tail and run if I was in your situation as well. They have keys, right?"

Hearing his next question, Aiko looked at him for a moment before nodding. A confident smile painted itself on his face as his eyes sparkled for a moment.

"I'm feeling pretty good; I think we can give them a bit of an introduction today."

"...Wait, wait, wait. Right now? Are you sure?"

"I don't know why, but I'm fired up! If they are well-acquainted with this floor, they might have a lead on my companion. Even so, having an actual destination might help find them as well. Bifrons, wake up!"

In complete honesty, Ren was so anxious to take care of these malicious adventurers out of his protective nature of Iris--the thoughts of what a group of ill-natured men who've been holed up in Purgatory all of this time would do to a lovely girl like that made him sick to his stomach. "Fired up"--it was another way to describe the clear-cut rage he felt imagining this; he wanted nothing more than to put these guys in their place. Still, he opted not to show the girl this side of himself, keeping his boiling blood under wraps.

Standing himself up with proper enthusiasm, Ren poked the cheek of the cat as it was plucked from its blissful dreamstate; yawning cutely before it moved its magenta gaze to Ren with scorn.

"...What is it-nya? Oh, I see you've made a new companion-nya. Pleased to meet you, I am Bifrons--attendant to Ren."

The smooth-furred cat sat itself up, lowering its head as if bowing for a moment as he introduced himself to the new existence.

"...I'm Aiko. This is Calio, my attendant."

She opened the flap of the pouch used as a room of rest for the all-white bird, showing its sleeping state to Bifrons.

"Ah, I'm well acquainted with Calio-nya. So what brings about this unlikely unison of two challengers-nya?"

As Bifrons asked this, quickly following up by cleaning himself like a cat, Aiko and Ren exchanged looks before the man decided to answer.

"Well, it seems others have already teamed up--so this is to even the odds a bit."

"I see. Not a bad plan at all; likely the only one that could work in this environment-nya. To overcome a numerical disadvantage, one would need to make up for it with a vastly higher power of their own-nya,"

"Anyway...Can you do the thing? The sensory thing?"

Ren asked, placing his palms together and shutting one eye, giving a soft plea to the recently awakened feline.

"And you're certain you want me to do this-nya

Bifrons asked, looking between the two companions who both gave him affirmative nods before he let out a sigh of his own.

Following Ren's asking, Bifrons' eyes briefly shifted into a complete white, taking a radiant azure that emitted an almost blinding light.

A wind separate from that which stood still in the realm of Purgatory pulsated from the familiar's origin, unleashing a deafening hum as Ren could feel his pores tremble from the unknown sensation. It was nauseating to say the least; finally coming to an end as Bifrons' eyes returned to a normal state.

"Three keys are a thousand meters to the north of here; they seem to all be within a single area-nya."

"...That must be their base. It's a cleared out quarry."

Aiko looked over at Ren, who nodded his head quickly, "Let's go then! We can't really stand around here anymore anyways!"

"That's correct-nya."

Deciding to leave the directions to the one who had actually somewhat explored the floor, Ren followed closely behind Aiko as they traversed the winding halls of the abandoned castle before finding their way out of the back--meeting with the endless cavern once more as a series of bridges presented themselves. To little surprise, Bifrons already returned to his slumber.

--Do these familiars run on batteries or something?!