Chapter 1095: Exhausted Party

She fed Carnage into the downward swing, burying her axe in the softened chest. Beside her blade, Kaiden rammed a wedge shaped from his blood hammer, switching from Envy to Wrath to blast the split open.

Calypso tore through the exposed mechanisms with a delighted, breathless cry. As she wrenched her axe free, the warrior toppled beside Kaiden, whose legs finally gave out beneath him.

"Everybody?"

"Here," Nyx answered breathlessly.

"Fine," Luna managed. "Fucking... perfect."

Once everyone had answered, he released Wrath and drew the blood back into his gauntlet, grinning at the notification in his sight.

[Level: 85 ? 86.]

"Finally."

His grin broadened as he read it again. After all that climbing, all those stubborn shields, and a final opponent determined to beat him flat, he had earned another level.

Beside the wreck, Calypso leaned over her axe with sweat dripping from her chin.

"Did you get it, Darling?"

"Eighty-six."

"Good." She smiled at him, far too pleased to disguise it. "Now this demoness shall take a beauty break..."

Calypso sank onto the broken column, her axe resting against her thigh. Her chest rose and fell beneath her damaged armor, and when she tried to push damp hair away from her face, her first attempt missed.

Luna had already sat down on the dais steps. Sweat had plastered purple strands to her cheeks, but she seemed unwilling to lift a hand to deal with them.

"Whoever invented stairs," she said between breaths, "can choke on a big one."

"I’ll pass along the complaint if we meet them," Nyx murmured.

The space mage lowered herself beside Bastet at the base of a column. For once, she used her own hands to pull a flask from her bag, taking a long drink before offering it to the felinid.

"Here, tanned bestie."

"Thank you."

Bastet accepted it with both hands. Her ears had drooped, and the gold ornaments in her hair hung crookedly above a face flushed from exertion. After drinking, she rested against Nyx, who gladly leaned back into her.

Kaiden wanted to join them. Getting off the floor would have to come first, and the discovery of how much that hurt made him briefly reconsider the arrangement.

"Kai, your side."

Aria crouched beside him, keeping her weight on the hand she had planted on the tiles. Her silver hair was damp against her neck, her smile tired as she offered him the other hand.

"Could you let Lexi look before you try standing?"

Alexandra knelt at his other side with a weary little sigh before he could even respond. The restoration light gathering beneath her palms had lost much of its earlier brightness, but warmth still spread through the cut along his ribs as she worked.

"There," she murmured after the skin had closed. "Please be careful getting up. I can’t do much about the rest until my mana regenerates..."

"You’ve done plenty. Thank you."

Her smile made him squeeze her hand. When she sat back on her heels, Aria shifted closer and let the maid lean against her shoulder while Kaiden caught his breath.

He looked around at his family, scattered across the battered hall with sweat on their faces and dust worked into every seam of their clothes. Yunohana had joined Luna on the steps, her fan lying open across her lap while she tried to undo a knot in one of its cords.

She gave up and let her hands rest.

"We did rather well," she said.

"We did," he agreed, unable to keep the pride out of his voice.

He had enjoyed every hard-won opening, every moment when one of them made another’s attack possible. Seeing Yunohana find her place among them had made him happier still. Now he wanted them home, fed, and comfortable enough to enjoy what they had accomplished.

His own legs could lodge their objections on the way.

- GateTheory: They reached the last chamber. They actually cleared the whole place today.

- TouchGrass: I’ve been watching since the plaza. I went out, bought groceries, came back, and they were still fighting. How are any of them standing?!

- Princeless Princess [Mod]: They mostly aren’t. Look at them...

- Lady Leia [Mod]: AN ENTIRE FORTRESS OF MURDEROUS CROCKERY!! IN ONE DAY!! MY GIRLS DESERVE THERMAL BATHS AND KAI THEIR LOVING LIPS AROUND HIS CO-

Lady Leia has been timed out for two minutes by Princeless Princess. Message: Chill, you unhinged bitch. We get it.

- TokyoNightOwl: ONE MORE DUNGEON CLEARED!! THANK YOU!! ALL OF YOU!! ????????????

- Kaiden’s Wife [Mod]: Please rest now. You’ve all worked so hard. Kai, don’t forget to drink a lot of water.

As Kaiden pushed himself upright, the dark halo dipped toward his shoulder.

"Big Brother..."

Alice’s voice chimed faintly through it. He looked up at once, his amusement giving way to concern.

"I’m coming down."

He raised his arms before the halo dissolved. Golden light gathered in front of him, taking his sister’s familiar shape, and he caught her with one arm beneath her knees and the other supporting her back.

Alice’s head came to rest against his chest. Her hair brushed his chin as she curled closer, too exhausted even to arrange herself with her usual insistence.

"Alice..." He adjusted his hold. "Everything okay?"

"Mhm. Just tired."

Her fingers closed loosely around his shirt.

"Can you carry me, Big Brother?"

His arms ached. Looking down at her heavy eyelids, he found that he cared very little about that.

"Of course I can."

"All the way?"

"All the way."

She smiled against him, her eyes closing while he tucked her more securely into his arms. She had spent the day watching his back, lending him her strength, and burning through her own reserves whenever he needed help. He was very happy to let her stop.

Alexandra brushed a damp strand from Alice’s forehead, then looked up at him with a fond smile.

"I’ll get your bag."

"Thank you."

- Kaiden’s Wife [Mod]: Oh, Alice... Sleep well, sweetheart. You were wonderful today. ??

- Princeless Princess [Mod]: He looks ready to fall over and he’s still carrying her. My heart can’t take this.

Nyx watched them as she rose, keeping the pair in her feed while Bastet gathered the abandoned flask.

"Would you like to say goodnight, Kai?"

He lifted his gaze from Alice.

"Thanks for keeping us company, everyone. I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as we did. We’re going home."

Flags and hearts filled his vision. Yunohana waved at the viewers with a shy smile, giggling when another flood of Japanese comments greeted it.

"Goodnight. And thank you for cheering for us," she said in their language.

Kaiden ended his feed with a thought. Across the hall, Nyx closed hers too, then offered Bastet an arm for the walk down.

Luna stared toward the doorway.

"Right. The stairs again."

Yunohana held out her hand to the smaller woman.

"We can complain together."

"I could get used to you."

...

By the time they emerged from the quarry gate, dusk had settled over the hills. The officer at the enclosure hurried toward them, only to lower his voice when he saw Alice asleep in Kaiden’s arms.

Yunohana confirmed the clear while the others climbed into the waiting cars. Kaiden settled onto the back seat with his sister across his lap, grateful when Aria reached over to ease the belt around them.

The ride to the marina passed in sleepy conversation. During the yacht crossing, Calypso stretched out beside Bastet and lost her argument about who was using whose leg as a pillow by falling asleep halfway through it.

Nobody hurried them when they reached the island.

They made their way through the cave and back into Kaiden’s domain, then took a carriage from the conquered cavern to the palace. Alice stirred as he carried her through the front doors, peering up at him beneath sleepy lashes.

"You didn’t put me down?"

"I promised."

Her arms tightened around his neck.

"Big Brother is no longer stupid..."

Behind him, Luna dragged herself over the threshold, leaning on Yunohana’s arm.

"I’m dying."

"More like stinking, miss," Yunohana muttered with a grin.

"Hey, how dare you...??? I never stink... Not even when sweaty..."

"Is that so? Could’ve fooled me-"

"Let’s move on... Bitch..."