Disclaimer: I don't own Danmachi.
A young girl watched as glistening orbs trickled down, her saviour passed out. She thought he had died, but after checking his pulse, she was relieved to find that he was still breathing. She looked at her saviour, still not comprehending why he had saved her.
"Adventurer, huh?" she said softly as she watched him sleep. His body was still bleeding and full of bruises which could prove to be fatal if weren't treated, so she decided to bring him to some place where he could be healed. The only placed that came to mind was the small village in the eighteenth floor; she placed his hands on her tiny shoulders and started dragging him towards the village. Since she was used to heavy things, being a supporter and all that, she could move him around with ease.
Once she took her second step, something fell down in front of her, creating a cloud of dust. As the dust cleared, she was able to see two figures, obscured only slightly by the settling dust. One was a blonde man wearing a cowboy hat and the other was a woman with short curly hair. The woman seemed to have some tears in her eyes and the man had an expression full of grief.
The woman stepped forward slowly, unsure of what to say. Her attention was completely directed at the incapacitated white-haired boy. It was as if the Chienthrope wasn't even in front of her.
She then turned her attention to the girl. "He needs medical treatment. I know where he can get some," she said whilst walking towards her. The girl immediately doubled back.
"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously. If she had learned one thing on her short and miserable life, it was that she shouldn't trust anyone. Even more so for strangers that appeared from thin air.
"My name is Asfi Al Andromeda. If you want the boy to survive, you should listen to me," she said while trying to gain the trust of the wary dog-eared girl.
"Why should I trust you?" she said, still wary. She knew that her saviour needed treatment as fast as possible, but she couldn't bring herself to trust strangers.
"Both of us know him. We also know where he was staying and that there are people capable of healing magic there."
The dog-eared girl listed carefully as she tried to search for any signs of ill intentions in the woman's voice. Finding none, she decided that she could believe her for now. But believing and trusting were two completely different things. She looked back at Bell and noticed his skin changed to an abnormal yellow and her coat was also covered in his blood. She looked back at the adventurers.
"Alright, but don't hurt him," she started, "Where is the place?"
"If you were to go in your current state, you wouldn't get there in time. Let me carry him. The blonde guy over there will show you the direction while I run ahead," she explained. The girl could notice that the woman had said "blonde guy" with vehemence. She wondered what was going on, but decided to hand him over. His life was more important.
"Here," she said as she let go of the boy slowly, letting he rest on the ground. The other woman than murmured a quick "thanks" as she picked him up and disappeared. The girl then looked at the blonde haired man.
"Are we going?"
The man nodded. His face was still full of grief and he was contemplating on something.
"Lets go," he said as he stopped his thoughts and decided to focus at the situation at hand. He would have enough time to think about what he had done later. He then started walking towards the camp. As they walked, he decide to figure out who the girl was.
"What is your name, girl?" he asked as he walked alongside the girl.
"It's Liliruca," the girl said. "What is yours?"
"It's Hermes," he said. Liliruca eyes widened.
"You mean the god?"
He nodded. "Yes."
"What are you doing down here?" Lili asked since she was confused as to why a god would be in the dungeon. As far as she knew, the gods were prohibited from entering the dungeon.
"It's a long story..." Hermes said before he looked forward and noticed that they had already arrived. He looked back at Lili. "It's here," he told her.
"Where is Adventurer-san?" she asked him immediately. Hermes then pointed to a green one. "He should probably be there."
Liliruca immediately ran to the tent. Upon nearing it, she entered only to see a certain scene. In front of her was her saviour, being healed by a woman with short blonde hair who was wearing some sort of hood. On the other side of her saviour were three other women. The one furthest to the right had long blonde hair, the one in the middle had black hair tied in ponytails and the third one had short red hair. All of them had saddened expressions, with the black haired one crying; it was as if someone had just died.
As soon as Lili entered, all eyes were on her, except the person who was healing her saviour. "Who are you?" The one with long blonde hair asked in a monotone albeit sad voice.
"I am Liliruca Arde," she said. She then noticed that they were expecting a more throughout explanation. She began thinking of ways of how to explain to them that he had saved her, but before she could further think, the blue haired woman from before explained the situation.
"Bell got those injuries while saving her," she explained, making their eyes widen. They looked back at the girl. "Could you please explain what happened?" The blonde asked once more. Liliruca simply nodded.
She then explained to them how she was about to be raped by Sirou when Bell interrupted and what they did to him. She then explained what Bell did to stop them. By the end of the explanation, everyone emitted rage that spread through the room, especially the twin-tailed woman. She immediately got up and started walking away, but the blue haired one stopped her.
"Hestia-sama, where are you going?" She asked while blocking her path. Hestia looked at her eyes with a dark expression. Killing intent flooded the area.
"Out of the way, Andromeda," she said in a slow voice and cold voice. Andromeda began sweating. She knew she was no match to the goddess if she released her powers, but she still couldn't allow her to ravage the city.
"I am sorry, but I can't do that, Hestia-sama," she said as she steeled her nerves. By each passing second, the atmosphere was getting heavier.
"Don't make me repeat myself," Hestia said as she slowly lift up her hand, magic power beginning to condense in it. By now, Andromeda could barely keep standing. Before she fell to the ground, Hermes appeared.
"Hestia, stop this," he said, letting out his own magic power. Hestia looked wide-eyed at him.
"They hurt Bell!" she screamed, tear falling off from her off. "They must pay for it!"
Hermes looked saddened, but quickly regained his posture. "I know, Hestia. Just calm down for now. They will pay for it. I guarantee it," he said while placing magic power in his words, making Hestia sleepy. Hermes caught her as just before she hit the ground.
Hestia looked at him with teary eyes. "They hurt Bell..." she muttered weakly before she passed out in his arms. "I know..." he muttered softly before he looked at the other adventurers.
"I will bring her to her tent. Treat the boy well," he said before he set off with Hestia in his arms. Although he looked composed on the outside, there was a war waging inside him. He felt like punching himself. 'How could I let that happen?' he thought while he brought Hestia to her room. 'That wasn't the plan.'
Hermes looked at Sirou and Bernard. He had found them in a tavern in the city mumbling about how Bell ruined his life. That was perfect for his plan. All he needed were adventurers who were stupid enough to believe a complete stranger. He looked back at the two in front of him.
"I assume you want that Bell person to pay, right?" he asked as he eyed them carefully.
"Yes, but what does that have to with you?" Sirou asked.
"I know a way you can do that," Hermes said with a smirk.
"Oh, and what might that be?" Sirou asked, interested at the offer.
"You have a female supporter, right?"
Sirou nodded. "Yeah, a weak girl. Why?"
"You see, I have heard that Bell will always do everything he can to help a person in danger. You could use that to your favour," he said as he began explaining to Sirou a plan which consisted of having the supporter as a hostage and hurting Bell. He then told them to wait for his order to start.
After Bell woke up with thirst, Hermes wasted no time in putting the plan in motion. He told them start near the lake closest to the camp. At first, the plan went perfect. Bell agreed to their conditions. But, soon enough, everything went down-hill.
His purpose with this plan was to see Bell's resolve. To see how far he was willing to go. To see if he could bring change to Orario, like a certain goddess told him. He expected that if the goddess was telling the truth, Bell would maintain his posture for two minutes and after that would have screamed. Hermes would them interfere, defeat both Sirou and Bernard and help Bell. Sadly, it didn't quite go that way.
Hermes watched as Bell was tortured. Every once in a while, he would think that it was enough and that he should interfere, but some mysterious force stopped him from doing so. He couldn't move. He could only watch as Bell was tortured again and again.
After some hours, Andromeda appear while searching for Hermes. Once she saw the scene, she was about to interfere, but it was in that moment that Bell snapped. She could only watch as Bell scared the adventurers away and passed out. After that, she immediately appeared on the scene along with Hermes to help Bell.
Hermes sighed as he placed Hestia on top of a piece of cloth that was on her tent and sat down near her. He knew he had to tell her that he was the one responsible for Bell injuries, but he couldn't bring himself to. He was quite fond of the loli goddess and he knew she would completely hate him the moment she knew the truth. He then remembered that he had to further explain the situation to Andromeda. All she knew was that he was watching as Bell was tortured.
The blonde god sighed again. 'Just what have I done?' he asked himself mentally as he got up and headed for the green tent. He decided that the sooner he told Andromeda the better.
Upon reaching the green tent, he looked inside and searched for the cyan haired girl. He quickly found her sitting in a corner as she looked at the Bell being healed. Hermes also looked at Bell. He had come to respect Bell, given all that he did. That boy endured torture no other human could just for a girl he didn't know. That young boy was more heroic than most heroes out there that were corrupted by power. Bell was pure. He knew that, and he was afraid. Afraid that he had stolen his purity by showing him the cruelty of the human race. He could only hope that he would still retain some of his purity.
"Hermes?" Asfi asked in a surprised and angered tone when she noticed her god looking at Bell. Hermes looked back at Asfi with a sad smile.
"Can you come with me?" He asked her as kindly as he could. He knew that the situation between them was dire, and would get even more once he explained why he was there, but he just had to tell someone.
She looked reluctant for a second before she noticed the sad smile in his face. She decided that she should listen to him. She got up and exited the tent. She looked back at Hermes.
"What?" she asked, waiting for him to speak his reasons.
Hermes looked around warily. "Not here. Follow me," he said before he entered his tent, with Asfi doing the same. Once they were seated inside his tent, he looked back at Asfi.
"You are probably wondering what I was doing there, right?" He asked. Asfi only nodded her head.
Hermes then began explaining how he contact Sirou and Bernard and told them the plan. He then explained that as he watched, there was some sort of mysterious force impeding him from interfering.
Asfi listened to his explanation, her rage rising by each passing second. 'He did that to test him?! How could he do such a thing?!' she asked herself with disbelief. Along with her rage, her admiration for Bell also increased as Hermes continued telling the story. By the end, she saw Bell in a new light and Hermes in a much worse one. She had always known that Hermes had done unthinkable things in order to get something, but this? This was just insane.
She slapped him hard in the face in the moment he finished telling her the story. Hermes simply looked down.
"What is wrong with you?!" she screamed. "How can you do that?!" Her voice was filled with hatred.
Hermes tried to explain himself. "It wasn't supposed to-" But before he could say anything more, Asfi interrupted him.
"Don't tell me it was supposed to go that way! Your plan was insane from the start!" she screamed before she got up and stormed out of the tent, leaving a crestfallen Hermes alone in his tent.
"I know..." he muttered as a single tear fell down his eyes. He then laid down on his cloth and let himself sleep. He needed to clear his mind.
Asfi then walked to the tent where Bell was being healed. She could hear sobs from within it. She entered it quickly. The first thing she noticed was that everyone had a shocked expression, with tears slowly falling down their faces. There was also a gloomy atmosphere in the air. She looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. She then noticed that Ryu was heavily crying.
"What happened?" she asked worriedly, trying to figured out what had caused the situation. Ryu was the first to answer.
"My healing ability... wasn't enough. Bell... W-well he... He's passed away," she said as she closed her hands in anger. She wasn't angry at the people that harmed Bell. She wasn't angry at Bell for getting hurt. No, she was angry at herself. Angry at her own inability to save her comrade, her friend, her love.
Asfi eyes widened. Bell, that heroic white-haired boy, was dead? She looked back at his static body. He showed no sings of breathing. She checked his pulse. There was nothing. Not even a single heart beat. She looked at his body with shocked eyes. How could this happen?
At that moment, the other girls who were in a shocked state started crying. Even though Asfi barely knew the boy, she knew just how good of a person he was, and had to held back tears. She knew that she shouldn't cry for someone she had only met recently, she was known as Perseus, for gods sake. But still, she couldn't help but shed tears for the kind boy. She immediately exited the tent and headed for Hermes's tent. She entered it abruptly, waking him up.
"Asfi, what's wrong?" He asked once he noticed the teary face of his familia member. He was surprised. Asfi, the adventurer known as Perseus, the most strict person he knew was crying?
She looked back at him in anger. "Congratulations," she said in a dark voice. "You just killed Hestia's one and only adventurer."
Hermes eyes widened. Did she just say that Bell died? Even though the injuries he sustained weren't light, that wouldn't be enough to kill him. "Are you serious?" he asked cautiously.
"Why would I lie, you bastard?!" she snapped, making tears fall everywhere. Hermes immediately got up and headed for the tent where Bell was in. He looked at all the girls crying in it. He then directed his attention to Bell and checked his pulse. Asfi was right. He had died.
At that moment, Hermes's world collapsed. He couldn't believe it. He had just killed Hestia's first adventurer and the adventurer destined to change the world. 'Damn it!' he screamed in his mind. He just fucked up big time. He then brought himself closer to Bell.
"I'm sorry," he muttered in a slow tone so that no once could hear him. He then got up and was about to leave the tent when he noticed something strange in Bell's blood. There was something green in it. He walked closer and got some on his hands. He looked at it in widened eyes as he noticed what it was. It was venom. Those bastards poisoned him. That would explain the reason why he died.
Hermes expression darkened greatly. He looked back at Bell. He decided it at that exact moment. He would avenge the white-haired hero. He then walked out of the tent and started heading to the city. Just as he was about to step outside the camp, a loud noise, similar to scream echoed throughout the floor. He looked up just in time to see a section of the ceiling crystal breaking, and a gigantic monster falling down. He immediately recognized the monster. It was the Black Goliath.
'Just what is he doing here?' He asked himself as he looked at the giant. He also noticed as the rest of the adventurers – with the exception of Ryu as she stayed with Bell, now deceased – went out of their tents to see what was happening.
He could also see that most of them had a dark expression. 'Damn, he just had to come now, didn't he?' he cursed. It was all his fault. If Bell was alright, everyone's mood would be much lighter and they would have a better chance at winning, but right now? They were doomed.
As Hermes looked at the Black Goliath, his eyes widened as he noticed something. The Goliath that appeared was thee times bigger than the normal one. He was also emitting a presence much stronger than the original. Hermes eyes widened as he realized just how strong his presence was. It was in the same level as the one from fifteen years ago. In the same level as the monster who completely crushed the Zeus familia, the familia known as the strongest one to have ever existed in Orario. In the same level as the One Eyed Black Dragon, the monster regarded as the strongest monster ever discovered.
A white-haired boy slowly opened his eyes. He was in a dark place. Everywhere he looked was dark. An infinite darkness. He slowly got up. He had no idea of what was happening. Before he could further look around the place, a voice called him out.
"Oh, you woke up."
Bell immediately looked back to see a person clad in darkness itself. The person was incredibly tall. Bell looked up to his face. His eyes widened when he noticed that the persons face was a hollow skull. He immediately took a small step back.
"Who are you?" He asked cautiously.
The skull chuckled, making an odd noise. He then looked back at Bell.
"I, little adventurer, am Death itself."
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