Danmachi: Heroic Will
Rated; M (Blood/Gore)
Disclaimer; I do not own Danmachi or anything created by the author Fujino Ōmori, all rights go to him
Summary: 8 Years after Bell Cranel becomes an adventurer, everything he has built as well as love has fallen after the mysterious awakening across the globe. As a final resort he managed to travel back in time to right before he started his march to the great city of Orario to become an adventurer. Follow Bell Cranel as he fights for a future where everything that he holds dear may survive and faces supposedly impossible odds to achieve his goals.
24: Utter Chaos
Bell's POV
=Entertainment District, Hidden passageway=
I was walking through the passageway that led to my freedom, hearing noises above ground making me wonder what is going on.
*BOOM* *CRASH*
A large explosion shook the entire tunnel, forcing me to lean on the wall for balance. That was the third time that has happened. These explosions remind me of the sounds that I heard the day Orario Fell as well as the day I returned to this time.
I slowly continued to walk down the long passageway, feeling my heels screaming in pain as if telling me I'm an idiot for the millionth time.
After a minute, I came across a room, blocked by bars. I used my heat tempest to melt the iron bars. As soon as the bars finished melting and I deactivated my magic, I collapsed backwards on the ground, feeling the world spin around me in a nauseous way. The best way to describe what I felt was near Mind down.
The potions that Phryne had given me had only healed my wounds, but it seems that they were specialized to keep me from recovering too much mind power. I obviously slept long because the pile of empty potion vials were quite large.
I got on my knees, readying to stand up before-
*BOOM* *CRASH*
Another one came and caused me to fall back down. By now, I could hear screams coming from above ground. That meant that I was close to the exit, I had to go see what was happening real fast.
I got up too fast, causing another wave of dizziness to fall over me. I managed to keep standing straight, before basically limping inside the room I recently opened.
Inside was a bunch of equipment, mostly specialized health potions that wouldn't really be wise to take. I looked around for a while, looking for a specific set of items.
Eventually, I found what I was looking for. On the ground, next to some spare armor, probably Phryne's, was my Pyonkichi MK III alongside the Ushiwakamarunishiki and the Hestia knife alongside the rest of my potions and equipment.
The armor was damaged because of my hard beating in the Knossos, but it was at least in decent shape. It looks like half the potions are gone, leaving only 3 health potions, 2 Stamina potions and one mind potions. I quickly chugged down half of one health potion since my wounds weren't really severe.
I sat down and kept my feet and wrists in the air before the potions effects set in. Once they did, I could see the wounds closing and fixing themselves at an astonishing speed. Naaza might be a money obsessed chienthrope, but to her friends, she can really be god's emissary.
Once my heels, wrists and slight bruise on my cheek healed, I stood up and equipped my armor and black robe. I put the belt on with the Ushiwakamarunishiki and the Hestia Knife sheathed and then set out. My health was back, and while leaving, I drank an entire stamina potion, then saving the remaining ones for later.
I broke out in a full sprint once I felt the effects setting in. The reason I drank the entire thing is that it allowed me to sprint at full speed without worrying about stamina since it held more stamina then my body could actually withstand.
I quickly spotted the light at the end of the passageway before hearing a scream of rage coming from far back in the passageway. Phryne probably found me messing right now, I gotta go… Now!
I dashed up the stairs, just like I have trained during my daily exercise (stairs dash x1000). I came up at the ground, just to be met by people running away, screaming in fear. Fire scorched the buildings and street. It was as if the 100th floor of the dungeon had materialized up on the surface.
My eyes were wide, What the actual fuck is happening? This makes no sense, why is everythi- A cat person, dressed in black, walked past all of the running civilians, knocking any amazoness that rushed him to the ground with ease.
It all made sense now, that… that was Allen Fromel, or better known as Vana Freya. He is the brother of Anya Fromel, the cat waitress of the Hostess of Fertility. He is nicknamed the 'fastest in the city' because of his unparalleled speed.
If the vice captain of the Freya Familia was here, then that can only mean one thing. Freya has launched an all out assault against Ishtar once again, but it's much worse… much much worse than last time. It wasn't this bad last time. They at least didn't set go so all out that the ground was burning!
I quickly dashed behind cover. I was just fast enough to avoid Allens eyes as they turned in my direction. Damn that Agility, his senses are too sharp. I barely even moved but he still sensed my presence.
Allen stood there for one second, before turning back and continued walking forward the way he originally was going.
I pulled the hood that was on the back of the robe on to cover my face, before quickly climbing the building to avoid any more unwanted attention. Once I got all the way up and started inspecting all of my surroundings, I noticed something out of place. People weren't just running from the entertainment district, but looking far to the north east, I noticed that on the main street. People were running from Daedalus street as well.
While I was focused on the main street, my eyes caught wind of movements that I had only seen from one adventurer before. Dashing through the air, with green wind surrounding them. Ais Wallenstein, if she is by Daedalus street instead of here, that meant that something more important has popped up there.
Information was flooding my brain too fast. No matter how much my general intelligence has improved over the years, I still could not handle too much information at once.
I shook my head to clear it quickly, before looking up to the sky in order to calm myself.
That was a mistake. The first thing that caught my attention was the moon, and the shape of it made my heart stop completely… it was round… a perfectly round shape. In other words… A full moon.
"Haruhime…" my mind was doing whirlwinds. How did I sleep for 2 days? I had an entire day after the one that I went into the Knossos. How did I sleep through that morning, and the next entire day?
All at once it hit me. Those specialized potions… they restricted the recovery of mind in order to enhance the recovery of wounds. Sleep is the act of recovering one's stamina as well as mind and since my mind was recovering at such a slow pace, I slept for more than an entire day until my mind power was large enough to be safe to wake up.
Also, if Daedalus street was being charged by Ais, that meant that the Loki familia was there. They would only be there if something larger than Freya attacking the Ishtar familia in this manner happened. I could only think of one thing that could explain it… The Xenos. They have come to the surface, but why? To save me? No, I haven't done anything significant for them, unless they knew why I was in the Knossos.
Wait… Fels! He must have told them! Shit… are you telling me I have to choose between the Xenos and Haruhime? My heart was clenching hard enough to crush itself. I had only felt this feeling in tough battles where the lives of my friends rested on my shoulders.
Damn it! I can't do it alone! I looked around, trying to think of anything to do. There was only one thing to do… trust in my friends. I turned in the opposite direction of all the fighting, running towards my home.
Finn's POV
=Twilight Manor, 2 hours earlier=
"Tell me Riveria, does this position sound like a good place for Bell Cranel?" I was looking down on the formation of the next expedition, trying to figure out where Bell Cranel would be of the best usage while enabling us to keep an eye on him.
"Yes, this position is right in front of you, who is in the center of the formation. He's behind Gareth who is on the absolute front lines. Only I will not be able to keep a constant eye on him" Riveria answered my question honestly.
It had proven quite hard to find a good position for Bell without leaving him outside our view.
The position we had for him right now was one of the central guards. They were tasked with protecting the central units that issued orders like me and Raul. They fought plenty of monsters that made it through the front line in the midst of all the chaos, but not too many to overwhelm them. This meant that they were usually a lower level than the front lines such as Gareth, Tiona, Tione, Ais and Bete.
In reality, the position we gave to Bell wasn't really suited for him. From what Ais tells us of his style, he is quite nimble and fast, allowing him to flexibly move back and forth, eliminating multiple monsters in the blink of an eye.
He was better suited for first extermination squads that went in first before the front line to ease up for the rest of us.
"Alright Riveria, we most likely won't find a better position for him than this so let's finalize the documents and send the information of his position as well as the date of the expeditions departure" Riveria nodded
"Alright Finn, You should probably start finishing up the financial recor-"
*SLAM*
The door was slammed open, revealing Raul, who was holding a letter from the guild
*Pant* *Pant* "Captain! Monsters! Monsters on the surface!" I immediately stood up straight, if monsters were spotted on the surface, then this is extremely important.
"Where!" It came out more as a command than a question
"Daedalus street" I nodded at him
"Get every level 3 or higher to gear up. We are leaving to handle the situation" Raul nodded and rushed out of the room, heading to follow my command. Gareth walked up from the other direction of where Raul headed, gear in hand.
"Are we setting out Finn?" I nodded at Gareth who apparently heard the entire conversation. I walked out of the door, heading towards my chambers.
On the way, I noticed adventurers of our Familia, run back and forth, equipping their gear for battle. Once I reached my room, I quickly put on my battle equipment under my usual attire. Before leaving I stopped to look at my thumb. It was throbbing again, and something was telling me Bell Cranel was going to be at the center of everything.
Bell's POV
=Hearth Mansion, Present time=
"LILI!" I screamed as I flung the doors open. Said Prum, who seemed to have just gotten ready to sleep seemed ignorant of the huge commotion on the other side of Orario.
"What is it, Master Bell?" She started with Master Bell again? Also, shouldn't she be surprised to see me since I have been missing "What can Lili do for you?" She was hopeless.
"I need your help! I have already asked Welf and some other friends to help" Lili seemed to not understand the importance of what was happening.
"Can't we do it tomorrow? After all, I want you to sleep tight before the end of the world" My response died on my tongue. So that was why she was acting so different lately, with such a short fuse… well shorter than usual. She was affected by the information I gave her of the future.
"Lili… That timeline isn't set in stone. I am here and a lot has changed. For example, Welf hasn't joined the Familia yet even though I am working on it. I have gotten stronger a lot faster as well, but I can't do everything. I need my Familia, and right now, one of our future Familia members and a bunch of our best Allies in the future, the Xenos are in big trouble and I need your help to save them" Lili's eyes seemed to get wider.
"You… You need Lili?" I nodded
"Yes, I need my supporter, Liliruca Arde to assist me in this terrible situation" Lili looked down, contemplating what I just said. She didn't look up for quite a while, worrying me that she would just ignore what I just said before-
"Alright! Lili will help Master Bell! Lili will support him!" She smiled, and looked up towards me with tiny tears in her eyes. Did what I just say to her mean that much?
Lili ran up the stairs and came back down with a bunch of items including a small fire magic sword. Strong enough for self defence but not for killing, good.
"Alright Lili, what I want you to do is take the others to Daedalus street and defend the Xenos, but not obviously, just enough to help them escape. We don't want to ruin our reputation now do we?" She shook her head like a little child.
"I don't know if Lili can do it… Lili is not like 'Braver'. Lili hasn't led people before" I smiled, thinking of all the times her commands from the back has saved me.
"Lili, I know you can do it. Up to this point, you have done it before. While we explored the middle floors with welf, you commanded us from behind, telling us when to help each other, as well as when to strike. Just follow your instincts" She seemed skeptical but nodded nonetheless. I told her to go outside and wait for me. Once she exited, I walked up the stairs, towards Hestia's room. There was something that was long overdue.
I opened the door to Hestia's room, seeing her at a desk, writing something.
"Kami-sama" She looked up to me and smiled very lightly
"Bell-kun, I heard from the ones you sent here that you were coming back. Where have you been? It's been almost 2 days" I smiled
"A little busy, but it's almost over. I just need a quick status update" She nodded. I quickly got down on the bed and lifted my shirt. She worked her magic then gave me my status sheet without a hitch.
Name: Bell Cranel
Lv 3
Status:
{STR} E-442 - SS-1265
{VIT} E-476 - SS-1347
{DEX} D-521 - SS-1122
{AGI} B-766 - SS-1498
{MAG} E-421 - SS-1234
Magic:
Heat Tempest
Gloria Obumbratio
Skills:
Liaris Freeze: Precocious maturation. The effect is maintained so long as he maintains his feelings, and the effect is heightened depending on how strong these feelings are. Bonus effect: Unlocks the true potential of the Falna, removing all flaws as well as allowing the user to update the Falna on their own as long as the god/goddess allows it / Required Level: 5
Argonaut: Heroic strike, the possibility of turning any situation around with an overwhelming amount of force
Ox Slayer: Dramatically increases all stats (up to +750 points) while fighting raging bull type monsters, potentially allowing him to tap into the power of the next level.
Aero Mana: Increases attack power the faster the user is moving
Spiritus Venatores: Every defeated opponent improves the users reaction time for as long as the battle lasts
Development Abilities:
Mystery: F
Luck: G - F
Universal Resistance: I - H
Not only have I raised all my stats into the SS Stats, but I have also raised my luck and Universal Resistance.
If I take into account my points in all stats previously and do the math then I have… around 6000 points in all stats. An average mid tier level 5 had 6500 points in all stats (500 points in everything) and a new level 5 has in average 6000 points in everything. That means right now, I have the status of a level 5!
Now for the big cog that's broken here which is my Agility… It has a total of 7110 points. That's right above the edge of a level 5, meaning that I am faster than any level 5, but slower than any level 6. Man at this rate, I will be the fastest in the city by level 4.
I thanked Hestia and told her I would be back tomorrow morning. I headed outside after leaving my status sheet in my room.
I arrived outside where I told Lili to meet me where some people I had contacted earlier were. First was Asfi, who came to assist the Xenos by Hermes command, second was Shakti who did the same by Ganeshas command. Next was Welf of course. The last ones were newcomers that I haven't talked to much in this timeline but knew as if they were my brothers and sisters. Ouka, Chigusa, Takemikazuchi as well as Yamato Mikoto.
Flashback
After I had visited Ganesha and gotten Shakti alongside me and Andromeda, I told them to wait for me outside the Hearth Mansion after seeking out Welf and explaining the situation to him.
Meanwhile, I went towards The Temporary Residence Townhouse, or as I know it as, Takemikazuchi Familia.
Once I reached the door to the Residence, I knocked relatively lightly. Within the next 30 seconds, their patron deity, Take, opened the door.
"Hello there! Wait, aren't you Hestia's cute child?" Typical Takemikazuchi, always insensitive to the very end. I composed myself and nodded.
"Yes, My name is Bell Cranel, and I have come here to ask you all for help with something that may concern you" Take stood aside, letting me inside. It seemed that they were still eating food even though it was around 11PM.
By the table was the burly captain of their Familia, Ouka. Next to him was Chigusa who shyly and curiously looked at me. On the other side sat 2 members that I actually have never met. To their left was Asuka, a level 2 adventurer and at the center of the table was Mikoto, one of my closest friends.
"Bell-Dono?" Right, She had already met me during the dance, and so had most of these members too.
"Everyone!" Take spoke up "Apparently, Bell here has come with a request" I stepped forward waving my hand for him to stop
"Actually, I have come here with a situation that will concern some of you very much" They all looked at me
"Do any of you recognize the name, Sanjouno Haruhime?"
"..."
"..."
The room was eerily quiet, until-
*Crack* *Slam*
Ouka had fallen backwards in his chard by surprise at the name. Chigusa was frozen still, like time had no effect on her while Mikot had slammed her hand on the table and stood up.
"You know Haruhime? Where have you seen her?" I looked at them carefully, waiting for Ouka to get back up and Chigusa to snap out of it. Once it happened, I sighed.
"That's the request, I have come here to request your assistance in saving her life" Take who had been quiet until now looked at me hard.
"What kind of danger is she in?" I looked sadly at him "Ishtar Familia are planning to sacrifice her with a Killing stone" Take had grabbed the collar of my shirt
"A KILLING STONE!" I nodded, he sank back, letting me go and sat down to calm himself.
"I need your help to distract some of the Familia to allow me to enter. Currently the Freya Familia has most of Ishtar Familia occupied but some are still present in their home. I plan on destroying the Killing stone and save her"
"Alright, we can manage that, but how did you find out about Haruhime?" I smiled lightly
"I was in the entertainment district by accident" I lied "While there, some crazy amazoness prostitutes chased me and I ended up in a brothel where I met her. She thought I was her customer" Chigusa and Mikoto seemed to glare at me, waiting for me to continue.
"There I found out she was a prostitute. Sold to the Ishtar Familia after she was disowned by her father and sent on the road with a prum" They gasped.
"Apparently, she has a special Power that the Ishtar Familia want, and they will use the killing stone to get it" They looked down.
"I tell you guys that you have to help me, but please… It will be a tremendous help"
Mikoto stood up, walking to the back of the room and picked up her swords.
"I'm helping, I am not going to leave Haruhime to die" Ouka and Chigusa stood up. So did the others before Take stepped in.
"Asuka, Benjo, Omar, you stay here. We still need some people to defend the place. The rest… Help Bell save Haruhime! But don't take unnecessary risks!"
"YES!" I smiled, the connection between god and his children here is amazing. It reminds me of my own familia in the future.
Ouka, Chigusa and Mikot followed me as we headed towards the Hearth manor to pick up Lili and the others
Flashback End
I smiled "Alright, the teams are split up like this, Group 1 which consists of Andromeda, Shakti, Welf and Lili will help the Xenos in Daedalus street, but don't be obvious. Help from the shadows, we don't want something too impactful to happen" The mentioned people nodded and set out.
"The rest of us will head out and save Haruhime. Mind you, we are heading into a war zone. There will be some gastly sights, so prepare yourselves" The people nodded as we started jogging towards our destination. I quickly looked at a clock nearby, seeing the time.
It was 11:30PM, I had 30 minutes before midnight which meant that Haruhime had 30 minutes before the sacrifice.
I told the others to speed up a little, and we did. Mikoto ran beside me, obviously with something on her mind.
"I can see you want to say something Mikoto" She glanced at me before smiling just a little.
"I just wanted to say thanks for helping our friend" I looked at her with a sly smirk.
"Of course, Haruhime has become my friend too" She nodded as we sped up a lot more.
We continued running at this pace, before I looked back, noticing that Chigusa was falling behind. It's obvious her endurance isn't that high, so I slowed down before picking her up on my back making her yelp before sprinting forward towards the other.
"Alright, Since I got her on my back, sprint at your top speed, we need to get to the destination asap, We only have 30 minutes" Both Mikoto and Ouka nodded and sprung forward at a speed Chigusa could never hope to match right now.
I chuckled "Hold on" She did just that as I sprang forward, much faster than the others, with the giant building right in front of us, down the large burning main path.
Bell's POV
=Outside Belit Babili=
We were right outside Belit Babili, the home of the Ishtar Familia. We were hiding in an alleyway while Ouka and Mikoto painted madly.
We managed to make it here in 10 minutes. That left me 20 minutes to get up there and destroy the killing stone. It won't be easy.
"Alright, here. I threw the remaining Stamina potion at them "Drink half each. Since Chigusa was on my back, she won't need it"
"What about you?" I smiled "I'm fine, My endurance is very high allowing me to withstand a lot of stress" They nodded as Ouka and Mikoto drank half each.
"Mikoto, tell me. Do you have any magic in your arsenal?" I knew the answer to my question, but it would be suspicious if I told them.
"Yes, it's called Futsunomitama, it's an area of gravitational magic" I nodded at her.
"Alright, after I go in. Try to draw the attention of as many of the guards as possible, Once enough are there. Then Mikoto can use her magic to keep them there at least for a while" The group nodded, understanding the situation called for drastic measures.
"How will you enter" I was tempted to say 'In a heroic manner' but I kept myself from it. I closed my eyes, Imagining myself as a hero, fighting the Kyros, while defending my friends from certain death. My right hand started to glow, catching the attention of the others.
I looked at them "Once I fire, you head out" They nodded, not understanding what I meant by fire.
It's time to go all out. Ringing bells rang out as I stepped up and walked out of the alleyway. By now the Ishtar Familia were probably searching for me since I knew about their involvement with the Ikelos Familia. That was confirmed as I heard the voices
"It's the Little Rookie!" The voice came from the gate. I stood still, waiting for the 60 second mark.
The amazoness warriors at the gate were confused by me just standing still. 10 seconds more
They started moving forward. 5 Seconds
I could hear Mikoto screaming at me to move. 3 Seconds
2 Seconds
An amazoness reached me and jumped into the air with the blade ready to slice down at me.
1 second
I opened my eyes and screamed at the last second before the blade touched me
"HEAT TEMPEST!"
*KABOOM*
I had gotten quite a long way away from the others for this reason alone. I had gotten basically right outside the gate before activating it.
The resulting explosion from my explosion had sent the charred amazoness far into the distance, unconscious, barely breathing. The others had burn marks, but nothing that wouldn't heal over time. They could barely move.
I looked around, entire buildings had collapsed from the sudden explosion. I was currently standing in a miniature crater. I looked back, seeing Mikoto's face of pure and utter confusion of what just happened. Ouka and Chigusa had a permanent 'O' stuck to their face.
I could have chuckled if it wasn't for the feeling I felt from knowing I almost killed someone. No matter how many times it happens, I never get used to it.
I broke out in a full sprint towards the giant tower, noticing people coming out to the balcony to see what just happened, I quickly raised my hand, focusing the fire in it and flinging it forward in the same manner Firebolt would. The People on the balcony screamed as it was rendered to rubble.
I jumped up with my full strength, reaching all the way to the top of it. Saving me some time, running around the building, looking for the stairs.
Before entering, I looked back, seeing Mikoto and the others quickly running in. Ouka knocked amazoness left and right like they were peebles. I couldn't help but chuckled just a tiny bit at the scene before running inside, but not before I noticed Ottar in the distance, looking straight at me.
Normal POV
=Belit Babili, 40th Floor=
*Kaboom*
The explosion shook the entire tower causing the Amazoness guardian Haruhime to nearly lose balance alongside Ishtar.
"What was that? Did Freya breach the tower?" Ishtar shrieked in anger.
Samira ran outside and looked down towards the entrance to their home.
"No, it's not Freya… wait, isn't that the Little Rookie? He did that!?" Aisha ran outside to see what she meant. Indeed, it was the Little Rookie and he was standing in a small burned crater with every structure around him completely obliterated.
"I can't believe it" Aisha smiled in anticipation before she turned to Phryne.
"Phryne, how did you manage to capture him before if he could do that? He almost destroyed an entire block of the town in one move" Phryne's eyes bulged
"The Youngling did what? Was his magic seriously that strong?" The disgusting amazoness wobbled outside and looked in disbelief at the spectacle.
"Guess it really was a good idea to use Sharay's curse on him back then, otherwise I would have been toast" She froze, realising her mistake.
"YOU WHAT!?" He looked towards Aisha "You know that we can only use her curse once every week! That's the side effect of it! You know that better than everyone!" Aisha facepalmed, thinking about what to do.
"This means we can't use that to counter his magic and Dix isn't here to make him go crazy. He's too busy in Daedalus street" Ishtar walked forward
"Aisha, what do you think are our chances of success?" Aisha was in contemplation
"Hmm… If we can hold him off long enough, then they are very high" Ishtar nodded
"Alright! Sharay, you grab the Killing stone blade. Since your curse is ineffective right not, your role will be to sacrifice Haruhime once the time comes" Said Amazoness nodded
"The rest, keep the Little Rookie away from the altar until the ceremony is complete" Everyone nodded and stood ready for a battle.
Finn's POV
=Daedalus Street=
*Kaboom*
A giant explosion could be heard from the distance. Ais pushed the armored monster away and looked in time to see white flames, almost sparkling with lightning.
"Bell…" She quitey muttered, but with my heightened level 6 senses, I easily picked up on her words.
I looked towards where the explosion took place, noting it was close to the Ishtar Familia, in other words, in the entertainment district.
"So that was Bell Cranel's power huh?" I muttered. That kind of explosion sound almost reminded me of Riveria's wide area Annihilation magic, Rea Laevateinn. Guess Ais wasn't overestimating him at all.
I focused back on the battle at hand. Once we had arrived, the monsters seemed disinterested in the people, but engaged anyone that engaged them. We tried to keep them at bay, but they proved strong enough to fight evenly against a level 5 adventurer. This meant that the only ones that could fight evenly with them were Bete, Tione, Tiona, Riveria, Gareth, Ais and me. That puts us in quite a peculiar situation, the positive point is that the monsters don't seem to be interested in killing us, they are just fending us off and continuing on their path.
I had quickly deduced that their path leads straight to the entertainment district, and now with the information of Bell being there, the only logical conclusion is that they are heading to him. But why, why are they heading towards him. It made no sense, and right now, the monsters have given up on going there, and are seemingly heading back towards where they came from.
*Clang* *Crack*
I looked to the left through the formation we had formed from the top adventurers of our Familia, and spotted Ais about to finish one of the monsters off. A lizardman it looked like, before something collided with Ais desperate, causing her aim to be off, missing completely and landing on the stone ground.
The Lizardman picked up his sword that had been pushed to the ground and jumped back before something completely unexpected happened. He looked to the others before screaming out
"GET BACK TO THE KNOSSOS!" The monster screamed in Koine! That was something he had never seen. He had never heard of a monster that talks in our language at all, or any language for that matter.
I snapped out of my daze to look to the side where the projectile came from. All that I managed to spot was an Almiraj jumping on the roofs. Did that Almiraj stop Ais' attack?
I decided to keep an eye out for it as we chased the Armed monsters towards the entrance to the so called 'Knossos' We continued forward until-
"UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" A giant terrifying scream that I have never ever experienced before entered our ears as the wall on our side completely exploded, sending the entire building toppling down, splitting us away from the armed monsters.
"What was that?" Tione asked
"I don't know but I want to face it" Tiona giggled excitedly.
"Whatever it was, it sounded like a minotaur, but much much stronger" Raul, who had come up from behind told us.
"Alright, everyone, through the hole in the building. Let's at least cut off that monster" Everyone did as I was told, we continued forward, and eventually came out in an open area. At the center, we saw those monsters escaping through a hidden passage down into the ground, probably into the dungeon.
The only issue for us right now, is the menacing giant black Bull stood in our way. It looked at us, holding an enormous battle axe. His armor on a regular adventurer would be extremely heavy, but on the creature, it was almost like light armor. The bulking muscles on the creature were much stronger and bulkier than that of a minotaur, suggesting that the monster would be extremely tough to injure.
"Come" Everyone just looked at it, stunned again at words uttered by a monster.
"Face me in Glorious battle as the White boy once did" Ais froze completely
"White… Boy? Bell…?" The monster tilted his head
"I do not know his name, but he was a worthy opponent, a worthy adversary. I have come here to face him once again. If you wish to stand in the way, then you will have to fight me"
Everyone looked at each other, most felt fear, some felt excitement. Meanwhile, I was simply stunned beyond my own belief. I only know of one white haired adventurer that could defeat a minotaur, and that is Bell Cranel… but he killed the Minotaur, so how is it standing here right now? Did it survive, or… reborn?
Questions flooded my head with no answers in sight. I shook my head and set out to answer the questions later.
"Then we will face you" I announced to the Minotaur who started to smirk. Before I could Issue a command, Bete sprang forward at full speed, readying himself before drop-kicking the giant… Bull?
To everyone's surprise, the beast didn't as much as flinch. Instead, the knockback was sent on Bete himself as if he had to push back since the Bull didn't move.
"What the hell?" Bete stood up and went in and sent barrages of punches and kicks. The Bull deflected everything before having enough and grabbing a hold of Betes leg. It pulled Bete into the air, before flinging him to the side like he was a small ball.
The building cracked and collapsed on top of Bete after he was sent through the wall.
Tione seemed to not be able to stand to watch and launch herself in a rage alongside Tiona, punching the minotaur everywhere she could, no matter the damage to her hands while Tione was hitting it with her weapon which the Bull deflected with the battleaxe easily.
The Bull used the flat edge of the battleaxe and hit Tione in the face with it. She barely dodged but still took a small amount of its total power causing her to jump back, holding her head from the mild concussion.
Shortly, Tione was thrown back towards us as Bete got back up through the rubble, shaking his bloody head.
"Awaken, Tempest" Ais walked forward slowly with the wind now encircling her. She readied herself before-
Light engulfed the entire square, we all looked back to the source, including the Bull, to see it coming from the entertainment district. It was a god, leaving for heaven. Before I could do anything else, A large explosion appeared near the top of Ishtar's home, Causing the tower to tilt to the side.
"No Way!" I could hear Tiona's voice exclaim. The tower continued to tilt
"THE TOWER IS FALLING!"
I quickly looked at my arm to see the time to note it down, 12:15 AM
Bell's POV
=Belit Babili, 20th floor, 11:50 PM=
The clock was ticking, I had made it around half way towards the 40th floor. There weren't many Amazoness, clearly they were being kept busy with Freya and the others outside.
The hard part of getting up there is over. It's only the first 20 floors that are hard to traverse. After that, it's just one giant spiral staircase upwards until the top.
I was currently dashing upward, moving at a speed that I didn't think was possible for my level. Thank god for the status update I got. I finally am able to move at a speed that's so fast I can enjoy the wind pushing against my face. I was really enjoying it as I dashed up the floors. I counted each floor I passed.
35, 36, 37, 38, 39! I stopped halfway upwards to the 40th floor, my goal. I pulled out my mind potion and drank half of it. Restoring my mind power to it's peak, I have a feeling I will need it.
I was just about to dash as the building shook. There were small ruptures in the building, and it sounded like Freya had finally entered the building.
I walked up slowly instead of dashing, peeking upwards, seeing a bunch of amazoness watching out for me. It was a miracle that they haven't seen me yet. I looked around more before spotting a clock, before realising I had to act. The time was exactly 11:55 PM, leaving me with 5 minutes to rescue Haruhime.
I pulled out my daggers that I had sheathed once I started my mad rush up the stairs.
Alright, One, Two and THREE! I rushed forward at full speed, causing a large commotion for the amazoness guarding the ritual. In their eyes, one second there was no one there, the next I had sprinted half way towards them.
"NO WAY!"
"HOW'S HE SO FAST?" I quickly barraged the Amazoness with my dual daggers, deflecting and parrying their attacks before counterattacking. The front line quickly fell as they consisted of the weakest.
It seems like they plan to tire me out, too bad. My endurance is high enough to last more than long enough.
I continued to knock out one amazoness after another. There honestly weren't that many here. I would say that there are around 15 of them in total including the strongest. I already took out 5 of them leaving 10 left.
Once the second line was knocked out as well, there were only 6 of them left. I recognized all of their faces. The front two were Lena, level 2. Better not hurt her too bad since she is Bete's future wife. The next one was Samira, a level 3 Barbara who specialize in hand to hand combat. I have to be a little careful with her. She is an expert at disarming people.
Next was Aisha Belka, currently level 3, almost level 4. I better not hurt her. No matter what she does, she has done too much for me previously for me to ever hurt her badly, at most I can handle knocking her unconscious.
The 4th is Tammuz who is Ishtar's Aide, he's a level 4 at the top of his game. He's good at hand to hand combat, same as Samira and the last one is the one I am going to enjoy beating the life out of. Phryne Jamil, That bowling ball of a goddamn disgusting amazoness. She was a royal pain in the ass last time and she has been once again, a royal pain in the ass again. These were the ones I will have to fight. I looked back at the one I haven't counted yet. I already knew who she was, Sharay, the one that cursed me. I have to be careful of her curse. If I'm hit by it, then my status is all I have.
I straightened my back, reading my daggers, before launching myself at the next 2 opponents, Lena and Samira. Lena tried her best to fend me off but was kind of a third wheel while I focused most of my attention at Samira.
Samira tried to grab my arm to allow her to knock the weapon out. I quickly unleashed my speed and kicked her in the side, nearly sending her flying backwards. Before she was able to get up, I ducked under Lena's arm and circled my arms around her neck, trapping her before jumping backwards and pushing my arms backwards again, forcing her head to smash into the floor.
Lena seemed to be out of it so I left her there and advanced towards Samira. Before I could get close, an axe nearly hit me straight in the face. If it wasn't for my newly obtained agility, I wouldn't have spotted it and probably would have died right there.
I looked at the perpetrator and noticed that Phryne had thrown a spare axe towards me, she walked down from the altar, looking at me angrily. Before she could speak, I looked past her at the clock that was there which had Sharays full attention. It was exactly 11:59PM. One Minute left. Shit! I don't have the time.
"I don't know how you did all this you bastard, but I am going to kill ya!" I looked at Phryne, I ready my knives as she pulled out her main axe. She tried to overwhelm me with her level 5 status, thinking it would be enough. I quickly dodged the axe, just barley. She is stronger than me, more durable as well as more dexterous, but has the advantage in speed, and I still have my ace in the hole. She charged me and I smirked
"Heat Tempest" The flames encircled me as I hit her axe, sending her back, dragging alongside the ground. The activation of the magic alway begins with a tiny shock wave. It can be used as something to push someone back. I looked at Phryne, then up. Nearly freezing still in fear.
I was too far away and Sharay was right in front of Haruhime. I could see the blade slowly moving towards the Renart as she had her eyes closed in acceptance. I raised my hand before a thought came to mind. I reached out with my mind, connecting it with the knife in her hand.
"What are you doing, Sharay? Finish the ritual!" Sharay was confused, she leaned down on the knife but it wouldn't budge, not a single inch. She decided to try something, and let the knife go.
To Phryne, Aisha and Sharay it was completely unbelievable. The knife was floating in mid air before suddenly it was dragged in a specific direction, making them realise what happened.
The hilt of the Killing stone blade launched right into my hand. I smiled in relief, thank god I have this magic. And I wasn't an idiot for once.
I started frowning and took a step back before throwing the knife, full force right into the ground. The Stone shattered into trillions of tiny pieces, causing energy to be released from the enchanted item.
"Now that that's over, let's finish this" I muttered to them.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Phryne raged towards me in a blind rage, smashing the ground I just stood at, causing it to crack. I quickly infused both my blades with heat tempest and slashed her axe, causing it to split completely in half, rendering it useless.
Before Phryne could react, I jumped into the air and kicked her with my full might down from the top of her head, sending her through the floor that was recently cracked multiple times.
I jumped back so that I wasn't pulled down with her.
"That… that was for being a total, disgusting, pain in the ass" I could hear a chuckle come from Aisha. I looked up to her, seeing her grin.
"You know, none of us really like her, so I am thankful you did that. But you still need to be punished for going against Ishtar's Will. Whether it is by the way of pain or pleasure"
I shuddered, god damn her and her forwardness. I shook my head, and got ready, before we began our clash, I looked to the side, seeing that Sharay had already ran and Haruhime was looking at me, with a completely blank expression. I then turned to Aisha.
"Well Aisha, Shall we dance?" She smirked before running towards me. Her sword moved downwards towards me, as I sidestepped it,
"Grow" That caught my attention, I jumped back and saw that Haruhime was chanting.
"That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes" I dodged another of Aisha's blows before counterattacking with a shallow slice on her arm
"Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion. Grow" Another dodge and small slice, It seems that Aisha is trying to buy Haruhime time
"Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above." Another dodge and slice, when will she learn?
"Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you. Grow" That's it, I just hope that she isn't as mind broken as last time.
"Uchide no Kozuchi" It was impossible to see who the light engulfed as we were both standing basically right to each other's skin. I jumped back, because of the blinding light, before looking up- Dammit. It seems she gave it to Aisha.
"Heh, not it's a real fight" Aisha jumped forward with a speed she would never be able to achieve before. She was currently at the peak of a level 4. Pretty close to me. I dodged the attack of her sword and slashed from underneath her before kicking her after she jumped.
"Hahahaha, that's it. That's why I can't stop sleeping with men!" We continued to trade blow after blow, parrying and dodging. It was a fight only a high tier adventurer would be able to follow.
"Arrogant! Violent! Strong! It's always you who make you blood run-"
"Hot" I interrupted her, I had already heard this speech before. She slashed down, remembering why, I dodged to the side, managing to evade the incoming air knife.
We both jumped back before readying ourselves again for clashing.
"Come, champion of the savages" She began concurrently chanting. We started our clash once again
"Manly warrior, strong hero, greedy and unjust hero" The blades and her sword clashed, and clashed. We dashed fast enough to make an al miraj's head spin and sliced up and down, vertically then horizontally. Its blades moved so fast that not even we could see it.
"Show your worth if you desire the girdle of the empress. Satisfy my body, Penetrate my body, kill my body and prove your worth" The chant was almost complete, but I couldn't stop enjoying this fight. We were both smirking, secretly having fun while fighting for our Familias.
"My starving blade is Huppolyta" She jumped backwards quite far.
"Hell Kaios!" He blade started emanating a red aura right before she swung it at me. The difference from now and last time is that she didn't give me enough time to charge argonaut for a counterattack. She slashed down as I started charging. I dodged quickly, Haruhime was in the center of the altar so she was fine.
I continued charging as she sprinted to me and continued her attack, I continued to dodge over and over since I can't actually attack somebody with the limb that I am charging.
Once I hit the 60 second marker, I jumped up and kicked the blade since I was charging my arm, right before kicking her face, forcing her back. I lifted my hand and-
"Heat Tempest!" I focused the force into a firebolt instead of an area of effect around me. It propelled forward. Aisha's eyes widened and with extreme luck or skill, I don't know, managed to dodge it.
It flung backwards at the same time as a bright light was sent up into the sky, making me look up for a split second to see Ottar, carrying Freya, jumping down from the top of Belit Babili. The next second, the projectile impacted with whatever it hit
*KABOOM*
I looked up at the same time as Aisha, to see where exactly the impact occurred. My heart skipped a beat, realising what had just happened. The tower, The projectile hit the main support beam of the tower on the 40th floor on the eastern southern side.
The tower slowly towards us, until-
*Crack*
The remaining support beams cracked under the pressure of holding it up. I quickly sprinted to Aisha and flung her over my shoulder, causing her to scream in protest.
The I sliced the chains on Haruhime and grabbed her as well before looking back. The tower was falling straight towards us, If we didn't move, then we were dead. I ran to the edge and jumped. The chances of me coming out unscathed were minimal, I can protect either Aisha or Haruhime. Aisha had a level boost so she will receive just a tiny more damage than me, but not deadly, but Haruhime is a level 1. I let go of Aisha as we fell, and hugged Haruhime close to me.
"It's going to be okay Haruhime, You're safe. Everything's fine" I could see a single tear in her face before-
*SLAM* *CRACK*
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
Pain like I have never felt before flushed through my body from all directions. It took all my strength just so that I didn't scream out in utter agony. I looked down at Haruhime, seeing she was alright, before reaching down to my belt.
I could barely move. I kept trying to reach it but I just would not get all the way.
"BELL-DONO!" I turned my head to spot Ouka, Chigusa and Mikoto sprinting towards me. Behind them, I could see the top part of the tower that fell off. It had impacted on the ground at the same time as I had.
I looked up towards Mikoto once she arrived by me.
"Bell-dono! My god! Your spine! Your spine! It's twisted!" I figured
"The potion, Grab the potion on my belt!" She nodded and grabbed one before feeding it too me. I greedily drank the potion up, feeling my spine slowly recovering.
Within 30 seconds, I was good enough to stand. I looked to my side and saw Aisha laying in a pond. At least she got it easier and managed to swim to the surface.
I grabbed Haruhime and stood up
"Bell-dono, is that Haruhime?" I looked behind me before nodding
"She's alright, she might be out for the night. Why don't you take her to the hearth mansion? Hestia will know what to do" I walked slowly towards Aisha, still waiting for the health potion to heal me back to full health.
I grabbed the half drunk potion that I still had and arrived by Aisha who had now crawled to the ground.
Right then and there I noticed something. Her falna was gone, that was Ishtar that was sent to heaven, just like last time. That also meant Aisha lost her Falna the moment that happened, meaning I let go of a regular person. Fuck she got lucky.
"Here Aisha" I held out the potion. She looked up at me perplexed.
"Why? Why are you giving me a potion? After all I have done" I smiled at her
"Reason 1, Because I can"
"What kind of reason is that!?" I chuckled
"Reason 2, Because Ishtar had you under her charm. Now that she is back in heaven, you are finally free" Aisha looked down, before smirking and chugging the potion down her throat.
"Got me there, Little Rookie"
"Bell, call me Bell" She smiled a normal smile for once, before closing her eyes to rest. I grabbed my knives lying around that fell away when I landed before picking her up and jogging towards Belit Babili's entrance. Once inside, I noticed that most of the building was charred and falling apart because of My explosion and Freya's invasion. I put her down on one of the few sofas remaining.
Before leaving to check the situation by Daedalus street, I looked at the clock just to check how long that took. The time was 12:20AM.
Finn's POV
=Daedalus Street, 12:15AM=
Everyone except for the Bull was frozen. Right before the tower fell onto the platform that leaned out of the tower, We all spotted someone jumping off with three others, it was hard to tell, even with our enhanced eyesight, but Ais gasped.
"Bell! That was Bell!" I looked at her before looking back at the Bull.
"I have found my adversary, My battle awaits by that tower" It started moving towards us, I blocked it's path with my spear and started swirling it around as Gareth decided to join me. He blocked the Bull's attacks
"Dvengr Enhance, Earth Raid!" Gareth Smashed the ground, making it crack wide open sending the bull into the air
"Magic Spear, Penetrate my forehead offering blood, HELL FINEGAS" I lost control of my rational thought as I just barraged the Bull with every swing I had in my body. I kept attacking and attacking over and over, The bull who was still in mid air received multiple wounds, but to everyone's surprise, It didn't care, the wounds were not deep, they were extremely shallow.
I could feel my rational thoughts coming back to me and I looked at my spear. It was chirped, I laughed dryly
"Are you saying this damn Bull has muscles so strong, it chirped away at my weapon?" This meant only one thing. Ais was our only hope when it came to hurting it with her Durandal Desperate.
"Ais! Your weapons! It's the only one that can hurt it without being damaged" She nodded
She sprung forth, dodging the Bulls attempt to hit her and tried to pierce it's skin with a straight jab. The blade would only enter a couple of millimeters, Ais jumped back. I guess she's going to use her magic-
"Awaken, Tempest" She sprung forth faster this time and cut straight, so fast that It was basically invisible to everyone. The Bull didn't think it would hurt, but then the pain came.
"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Blood flowed like a fountain out of the bulls now dangling Limb. Ais went for the finish, right before something once again was flung straight at Ais head. She took a step back and I took a look around
I once again spotted that Almiraj. It was holding a slingshot and fired another shot. Ais jumped back this time to avoid being hit. The Almiraj grabbed something then threw it towards the Bull. Once it landed on it, it cracked and the Bull's arm went right back where it was, although slowly. It stopped healing just at the point where the arm wasn't usable, but still attached.
It looked up towards Ais
"I just want to battle my Rival, why won't you allow me that?" None of us bothered to do anything before we heard footsteps behind us.
We turned around with our weapons ready, well the ones that had our weapons. Who we saw was someone we didn't expect to see.
"Bell?"
*Pant* *Pant*
"It's you" We all turned our attention back to the Bull.
"I have had a dream constantly, a battle with a worthy adversary. One human with White hair and red eyes. Moving as fast as a rabbit but with the firepower of a dragon. The fight we had was glorious, I wish for a rematch. Will you accept" Everyone stared at it, realising the truth. The monsters are indeed reborn. I myself couldn't believe it, and was so transfixed with that piece of information until-
"I accept"
That's chapter 24 and I wanted to say that the end of this arc is kind of a rapid fire chapter sequence. I finished all the chapters and just read through it a couple of times and published it, so there might not be many reviews. I can answer these chapters. Anyway, the next chapter is the final one of the Arc and I hope you will enjoy it tomorrow!
Cantstopreadingpleasehelpmeh: Great chapter can't wait for the next one. I'm excited to see what will happen. Will the xenos fight Ishtar and whatever his name is familias to save bell. Will Loki familia help since they seem closer to bell in this version of events. Will Bell manage to save haruhime before it's too late or will she be someone he fails to save and have to live with that crushing guilt. Will he finally reach level five and unlock the true potential of excalia. Guess I'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out.
Author: Well, the Xenos didn't really get far, The loki Familia responded to quickly and held them by Daedalus street. Well, he's level 3 right now, so it's still one more arc until he reaches level 5. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter tomorrow!
DeathLock: nice, thx for the reply, and character dev aside, i realy like this fic and ur writing even more, so here is some advice that helped other writers...go to wwwweb novelcom and check out the ff there, 90% are trashly written but they have some amazing ideas that could easily be reused here (if u ignore the whole rob gives 99 wishes for no reason trope)...believe it or not the is even 1 ultra rare and never written gantz ff(i still dont get why its such a miniscule fandom anyway ty for the entertainment during this shitstorm.
Author: Sure, I will check it out and it's alright. Writing this is kind of entertainment while waiting out this "Shitstorm" xD