[EDITED]

DUNGEON - PART II

CHAPTER 2

'Maybe I should let someone else handle him, what am I supposed to do with a green-haired swordsman who lost his memory?!'

To say that Zoro is lost about the situation at hand is an understatement—and what's more, the pun wasn't even intended. The redhead tried to be as much help as possible to Zoro. Well, keyword tried, but any information that comes out from the redhead's mouth did nothing to help Zoro clear his disoriented state of mind. His explanation only provided to more questions rather than answers.

The redhead earnestly explained the situation to him; according to the young man, supposedly they are inside a dungeon, on the 18th floor of the dungeon to be more specific—a safe haven to both adventurers and monsters. Informing him about the Livira, a small town founded by seasoned adventurers in the middle floors of the dungeon. Though he did not go into details about what a party and familia are supposed to be. The redhead asked Zoro concerning his party, saying he can't be this deep under all by his own.

'Adventurers? Dungeon? Monsters? Familia? Party? Is he talking about a feast?'

"No." Brows furrowed as Zoro's mouth turned grim, "No, I know exactly who I am. I don't think I'm still in-" Silence. Whatever Zoro was about to say got cut off mid-sentence, and he's left standing with his mouth agape, looking awfully stupid while doing so.

'Why can't I say the damned thing? Open your mouth and say it, damnit! My voice- Where the hell is my voice!?'

"Why can't I-" Taken off guard by his sudden ability to speak once again, he jerked his head backwards by an inch. A clearly confused expression stretched across his face, crack of lines grow more apparent in between his straight eyebrows—though the odd behaviour was easily overlooked by the redhead, Welf Crozzo, who by now Zoro has had the pleasure to personally be acquainted with.

"The first party has left already, which is from the Loki's familia. It's weird that they would just leave a member of their familia behind, if you are indeed one of them." Welf voiced his thought out loud, his tone of voice dubious. A pair of light blue eyes carefully assessing the lost swordsman standing in front of him, pupils darting to every inch of Zoro's face in an effort trying to get a read on the man.

'Judging from his scar and those swords on his waist, this man is undoubtedly a warrior. The only question here is how come I never saw him before? I would definitely remember that hair colour, though it is quite common for adventurers to have a colour code. Only elves are supposed to have that unique shade.'

Welf leaned his back against a tree's bark, calmly appraising the situation. So far none of them has made even the slightest of indication that they have any intention of harming the other. There's no need to get defensive and harbor suspicions on the other just yet. The redhead seems to be in a deep thought, all the while Zoro is having an internal struggle with himself.

'I can't say anything about the grandline. As I try to form the words, something caught itself in there, like a lump forming a blockage in my throat. Almost similar to when a den den mushi's line got cut off abruptly.'

Try as he might, none of the words he thinks of could Zoro say out loud.

'One Piece! Marines! Grandline! Strawhat-'

"Pirates!" The green-haired bellowed out suddenly, surprising the redhead standing a few feet away from him. Welf blinked owlishly at Zoro, not expecting the grim-looking man to suddenly shout out like that.

"Pirates? You mean that legendary myth about sea bandits from centuries ago? You must love them to randomly yell out like that.." Responded Welf, half-heartedly. "I read a story book full of them once, when I was a kid." Welf recalled back from his childhood days, as the corner of his mouth lifted up into a soft smile. The both of them look like they were about to say more when they heard the rustling of bushes and the sound of rushing footfalls heading directly towards them.

"Welf-sama!" A little girl's voice breaks through the flowering shrubs before the owner of the said voice come bursting out into sight. A little girl who look like she's not older than 15 rushes over to them and stopping roughly five-feet away. She paused for a several seconds to take in a few mouthful of air. The girl has a short brunette hair, a tiny figure drapped in a white ragged-looking cloak, with a battered rucksack strapped to her back.

She looked as though she just ran a great distance in small amount of time—with that petite and frail looking body—it wasn't a surprise that she's completely beat to even say another word. Gathering her breath together, she opened her mouth to speak again, at that time she finally realized the redhead was not alone and gawked awkwardly at the extra company for a second. Golden cat eyes lingered over the single line on Zoro's left eye. Realizing that she might have been staring a little bit too long for comfort, she tries to break the silence in the air.

"Eh who are you?" The fragile looking being adressed Zoro before another thought crosses her mind—something much more important than the identity of the stranger, or more precisely, someone. Immediately, she swung her bright-coloured eyes towards the redhead. "Ahh that's not important right now! Welf-sama, Bell-sama is in danger! Goddess-sama got kidnapped and Bell-sama went alone to save her!" Rushed out the girl in a single breath, face creased with concern.

"What?! Damn, sorry but I have to go now, Roronoa-san! Quick now! Lead the way, Lili-suke!" Barked Welf as he rushes after the girl, running past all the tree barks and moving deeper and deeper into the woods. Their figures gradually grows further and smaller until eventually they are gone from Zoro's sight.

"What was that about?" Zoro huffed, feeling much more dumbfounded than before. He began scanning his surrounding for something he can take a seat on. Single black pupil darting around randomly, scanning the open area. Conveniently his eye lands on an appropriately-shaped boulder. As Zoro saunters over to it, his mind was already on some place else.

'Another rainbow mist? What about the others? We could mention things and people from our world back then, this has never happened before. It seems like I just got myself into a little bit of a trouble, and the timing couldn't possibly be any worse too.'

Zoro attempts to make sense of his situation. All Zoro could remember was he and the others are very well on their way to Zou with Trafalgar Law and the samurais in tow—to be regroup with Chopper, Nami, Sanji and Brook. Skip the picture to the feast Zoro had the night before, a celebration on taking down the Donquixote Family as well as the formation of the Straw Hat's Grand Fleet. He drank, he had a blast, he past out, and the next time he woke up, he's in a foreign place surrounded by more foreign people.

'One of the Yonkos is onto us, Kaido of the Beast. How did I end up here? It's not a good time to be separated after being reunited only just a few weeks ago. Damn.'

Zoro sighed for the umteenth time that day. Standing up, he decided he might as well pay this adventurers' town—that Welf mentioned, the Livira, a visit after all. As Zoro was walking the trail leading into the woods, his body suddenly make a complete 90 degree turn to the west.


"Dungeon, he said. Ehh, where did this light come from, then?" Continuing his march into the forest, Zoro is absolutely clueless that he's moving farther and further away from his destined place. The rustle of the stale leaves on the earthy ground fly up with every shuffle of his feet, towering trees surrounding him as Zoro continued his walk through the woods. About a mile and half into the wilderness, Zoro picks up the sound of streaming water. Remembering that he hasn't had a sip of water since he woke up in this place, Zoro's throat feels a bit croaky and he thirst for something to moisten it. Zoro skips onto a tree's top, high enough to see where the source of sound came from.

Eye sharp like silver lightning narrowed to a slit—it's the first time Zoro gets a clear view of the forest—for what he saw up there made the green-haired swordsman paused in his steps for a second. Zoro absorbs the scenery around him, whilst taking a leap from a tree to tree, the thought about a river and the town forgotten as he is now jumping around aimlessly.

'Is this place really a dungeon? It's about the size of an island! And it's closed up from each side by this huge wall of-'

"No way!" Zoro could be heard taking an involuntary sharp inhale of breath, with a jolt of surprise in his voice. He then darts over to the soaringly high barricades to take a closer look, and he almost couldn't believe his eyes.

"Crystals." Zoro whispered to himself, deeply impressed, but what astonished him further is the sight above of him. Zoro angled his head facing upwards only to see what must be millions of crystals staked up together onto the dome-like ceiling of the place. Formations that look like icicles just hanging from the ceiling like some kind of chandelier. A truly astounding sight, a feast for his eye.

"I see, I guess that's where the light comes from. Nami would be driven mad by this sight." Zoro stated humourlessly as he ran his hand through his dishevelled hair. Turning his body around to face the forest once more, bewildered eye stare far off into the distance.

'Just what is this place?'


"The magic item, Hades Head." A young man observed, "Splendid work, Asfi." Praised the deity to his favourite person. Hermes' short blonde locks fluttered in the soft breeze. A pair of bright amber-coloured eyes anchored on a particular person standing in a great distance. Those brilliant orbs looks like they have a mind of their own and could swallow you whole like a wildfire if you ever get too close. On good days, they shone red, like two blazing fires entrapped in two cases of glass. Though the fiery eyes, everything else about the young god screams calm and soothing. From the relaxed downturn of his shoulders, quiet amused sighs, the permanent upward curve on the corners of his lips, bend up knee with his right arm casually draped over it. The blonde god sat—perched comfortably—on the ledge of a cliff about thirty-feet tall jump. Sharp eyes staring down at the commotion unfolding below. The boy is getting a senseless beating from other adventurers, they are all ganging up on him.

'Poor kid, a Little Rookie, as they call him but I won't lift a finger to help him. Not yet,'

Hermes donned on a well-made dark green tunic with a vertical stripe of light brown tone on the middle front of his clothing. A slim belt clasped around his thin waist, plain red scarf wrapped prettily around his neck, his hands protected by a pair of black leather gloves. He also wears a pair a combat boots and a mustard coloured breeches. His look is completed by a cavalier hat with a single long white feather.

"You have some nasty hobbies." Retorts the girl to her blonde godfather. "Do you have something against Bell Cranel?" Asfi openly asked, for the two of them are the only people on the top of the rock hill. Short, aqua blue hair nestled atop her head, with a pair of dark blue—with the lightest tint of greys—eyes staring at the back of the young god's head behind the frame of glasses she wears.

"No. You could say this is my way of showing love." Hermes replied in his easygoing voice, head tilted to the side for a second as if to feigned innocent before turning his attention back to the said boy.

"Bell-kun doesn't know enough about the ugly side of humanity. Nasty of not, I wanted him to learn about people." He continued, before the upturn of his lips slowly dissolved into a real soft smile as he closed his eyes. "I won't deny that part of it is for entertainment, though." Hermes joked, lifting his shoulders up just slightly. As if she anticipated her godfather's last sentence, Asfi let out a why-do-I-even-try sigh.

"And if his fangs are broken here?" The blue-haired woman continued prodding her godfather with questions. Hermes let out—what sounded like half-sighing and half-laughing before turning around to stare Asfi right in the eyes.

"That means he was never right for this place." Hermes finished his words as Bell's body once again hit the ground hard.


He jumped and delivers a round-house kick to the left side of his face, destroying the device—Hades Head—that was making him invincible. A man, looked to be in his early 30s appeared out of thin air right in front of him. Bell, throughly worn out from getting a beating from the previously invisible man, couldn't push the man away when the man dashed towards him with the broken sword Bell shattered when their metals clashed earlier. He used the last bit of his strength when he performed that high kick.

"Stop it!" Someone yelled out. At the far corner of Bell's eyes, a silhouette of a young girl with twin tails is running towards him, followed by other few figures of people who he recognized as his party members, Lili and Welf.

'Goddess-sama? She's safe... They must have saved her while I was keeping the others busy. I'm really glad.'

The goddess' cry for halt was ignored and her favourite godchild was still in the danger of an incoming horrendous slash. Adventurers doesn't respect her as much as they would other gods and goddesses, and Hestia understand that. Hestia is a poor deity, with only a few believers and even fewer people in her familia. Everyone knows that a god's power and influence is stronger with more people worshipping the grounds they walk on and with more hearts and souls are devoted to them.

"I said stop!" The girl cried out to the crowd of people, only to be ignored once again. She is left with no other choice than to break the taboo, for she knows that is the only way other beings will directs their attention to her and this is the only way to save her Bell.

'Forgive me Lord Zeus for breaking your second rule.'

"Enough." The pressure dropped in the vicinity and every outcry of a fight was cut off. "Children, sheath your swords." Goddess Hestia released her divine power, making everyone stop in their tracks out of pure shock. A few individuals was immediately down on their knees, head bowed respectfully, as she walks past them. It is a very rare moment for a deity to unleash their true form to the eyes of mortals. Bell fell on his behind like a bag sack of beans, utterly grateful his goddess is safe and sound but also taken aback by his goddess' true appearance. Realising that they are outpowered with the arrival of Goddess Hestia, the random group of adventurers causing the commotion earlier ran with a tail between their legs and that was the end of Hermes' entertainment for the day.

Or so he thought.


A/N: YEP I GOT A LITTLE LAZY AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER IF YALL NOTICED. I HOPE IT WASN'T OUT OF CHARACTER OF ZORO TO COMPARE HIS VOCAL CORDS TO THAT OF A DEN DEN MUSHI'S. I KNOW THAT ZORO IS NOT DUMB, BUT HE DOES TEND TO BE A BIT DENSE SOMETIMES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, IF IT'S NOT TO MUCH, PLEASE LEAVE ME WITH YOUR THOUGHTS. SEE YOU NEXT TIME!