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.
25: Rivals
Bell's POV
=Belit Babili, 12:20 AM=
I ran, and ran and ran as fast as possible. My destination was Daedalus street. I just recently left Aisha on a couch near the entrance of Belit Babili and now I am rushing to save the monsters I call my friends.
While getting close, I could see the people still leaving Daedalus street, most likely because the makeup of the place is like a damn labyrinth. In reality, the place is the likely reason why the city is called the Labyrinth city.
I stopped quickly in front of a couple of citizens.
"Excuse me? What is going on?" Some people stopped and looked me up and down before recognizing me.
"Little Rookie! Monsters are attacking Daedalus street!" I faked a gasp
"Where? Where are they?"
"North western part of it" I nodded and broke out into a full sprint shocking the people that paid attention to me. I continued running and running, hoping I wasn't too late. Eventually I ran into a couple of friendly faces.
"Welf! Andromeda! Shakti!" They turned around, and smiled slightly at me.
"Bell! Thank god you're alright. We saw you jump down from the tower earlier. How are you alright?" Welf's concern touched me
"Healing potions, I swear, Naaza has saved my life so many times I have lost count a long time ago" Everyone chuckled at the remark before I got serious
"So tell me, what's the situation with the Xenos?" Welf looked at me alongside the others
"Well, I don't know that much about them because someone decided to keep me out of it until now!" I smiled weakly at him "Sorry…"
"Well, anyway, we managed to lead the ones split up into the entrance to this knossos you talked about that was hidden behind a wall. I have no idea how you knew about it though since it was sealed a long time ago" He cocked his eyebrow at me as if I was supposed to answer the technically unasked question. I decided to joke.
"One does not reveal his magic tricks" Asfi snorted, as a fellow Mystery user, she understood the remark better than anyone.
"Alright, anyway. It also appears the Loki familia are here, and are battling some kind of… Bull according to Lil'E" My eyes widened
"Asterius…" Everyone looked at me "You know it?"
"Him, It is a he, and he is my Rival" I stood up and left, leaving the trio confused.
I jumped up onto a higher roof and looked around, trying to spot any abnormality alongside any sounds. I spotted one abnormality. A building seemed to have collapsed earlier, did a Xenos go berserk?
"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
The scream of pain that could only come from a raging bull type monster entered my ears, and it was coming right next to one of the entrances to the Knossos.
I jumped from rooftop to rooftop before landing on the ground, running between the memorized terrain of the Labyrinth with Orario and eventually arrived at my destination. In front of me were the loki Familia members. Bete, who was still under some rubble, looked at me before averting his gaze. Tione and Tiona who seemed like they hadn't had a good time looked shocked at my arrival.
Finn was just staring at me, relatively surprised. Gareth and Riveria were the same. That was when my eyed landed on the final person
"Bell?" I noticed that I was panting. Right after I looked straight at the Bull in between the Loki Familia members. The look of recognition on our faces was mutual.
"It's you" The other Loki Familia members turned to Asterius "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" There were looks of shock on the Loki Familia members, perhaps because a monster spoke? Then I thought about the proposal, there was only one answer.
"I accept… Asterius" The Loki Familia members snapped their heads in my direction
Asterius smiled, knowing it was about to begin, I did the same. We both pulled out weapons, me with my daggers and him with his Axe.
"May our fight be Glorious" I smiled at his comment
"Indeed" I rushed forward towards Asterius, but not in a cocky manner. I pulled my hand up to the side, then flinging it to the side.
The next second, before Asterius could swing his axe. A small boulder flew straight into his face, disorienting him. I jumped forwards and used my arms to propel myself at full speed upwards, hitting Asterius straight in the face.
The Bull staggered backwards, one thing I have learned about him is that he may seem immovable, but that is because he uses a technique that changes the course of the Kinetic Energy back towards the user, it's the same one Ottar uses. He can't do that unless he is focused which was the point of the boulder, to distract him.
"Huh? He actually knocked it back? Although that Kick was way stronger than It should have been" Tiones voice penetrated the battlefield, but it fell on dead ears on me.
Asterius swung his axe downwards towards me, I parried the attack, sending it straight into the ground before slashing at him.
I can feel it
I swirled around him in an almost invisible flash of speed
The Ox Slayer Skill. It's giving me strength
I was not holding back any of my skills. I was using all of my techniques at once, but saving my aces for later.
Another slam with the axe came but it topped halfway down the parry before slamming right back into me, sending me flying into a wall.
The skill is even making me more durable
I came rushing through the dust from the rubble with no scratch in sight. We clashed our blades again and again
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
We kept at our movements. An immovable shield against an Unstoppable spear. We kept encircling each other, taking every opportunity to hit each other. In the midst of Battle, I could feel my blood boil in excitement.
Things were just getting started
We both quickly realised that this small place was not enough to fight. We needed something more open. I initiated the move by jumping on top of a roof, Asterius was not far behind
We ran on the roof, clashing our blades again and again, trying to slow each other down to get a head start.
Laughter broke out of Asterius' mouth.
"Glorious! It's just as I remember it!" I laughed as we clashed our blades again
"It is amazing isn't it!" We were like lost friends, enjoying our reunion by having a battle.
Eventually, we had exited Daedalus street, and adventurers that were guarding the outskirts of the place were following us with the intention to intercept. Asterius and I momentarily stopped clashing as he looked back while running, glaring at the adventurers.
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"
His scream paralyzed the incoming adventurers, forcing them to stand still. I smiled, I have faced him before and overcome him once. Standing before him is not a problem for me.
"How about we pause this battle until we get to the large area I believe you call 'Babel Plaza'" I thought for a second before nodding.
We sprinted towards that place before we couldn't take it anymore
Eventually we started clashing blades again for the fun of it and managed to fall off the roofs. We were on one of the main roads. One that was currently under construction since it hadn't been finished meaning there was still a wall blocking Babel plaza.
Asterius axe hit right in front of me after I parried, causing me to lose balance for one second, and that was all he needed. He grabbed my foot and threw me straight into the wall with everything he had.
It hurt like hell, but once I landed and got on my feet, I couldn't help but laugh. There were a bunch of people around still for some reason that were looking at me.
"Isn't that the Little Rookie?"
Probably because of the commotion that has been going on all night. As I continued laughing, Asterius ran through the remainder of the wall and charged towards me as the people and adventurers around completely froze at the mere sight of him.
I sprung forward, using my dual wielding to my advantage, hitting him after parrying with one arm. I aimed for his stomach since his armor didn't cover that area. The hit caused a shallow wound that started to leak blood.
Tough Eh? I guess that I have to keep making wounds until he loses too much
I kept moving my arms, faster and faster as Asterius did the same. Eventually, we were moving so fast that the spectators except for the higher ups could barely keep track of the battle.
The citizens that were around had stopped running away and were now instead trying to get a good view of the battle behind the Ganesha Familia's forces that had been ordered to keep them away from the fighting.
"That's the Little Rookie right?"
"Yeah! Why is he the only one fighting? Are the other Adventurers too afraid?"
"Look up there! It's Kenki! And she's just watching" I jumped over Asterius and looked up on a roof while still doing the acrobatics, noticing Ais' expression had gone from resentment to excitement. She was clearly enjoying the view.
I smirked once I landed. I could feel Asterius moving to cut me while turning around. I did the same and parried the attack upwards but what I failed to notice was that Asterius was actually trying to kick me.
His enormous foot collided with my chest, sending me right into the wall of Babel tower. I was sent through multiple rooms before coming to a stop.
"Owwww" That time… It hurt. Alright, gotta be faster, stronger, smarter.
I got up, deciding to use it now. I started charging right before sprinting out again, surprising the people who thought I was killed.
"No Way! I thought he was done in!"
"Yeah! Guess he's not level 3 for nothing"
Praises end comments were flying everywhere as more and more people were arriving at the scene.
"Cranel-san?" Ryuu's voice reached my ears as I parried another attack and ducked under his giant arm.
"Bell…" The voice of Syr. I sliced Asterius' wrist slightly as I jumped forward to avoid another slam into the ground.
"Holy Shit! Am I seeing things?" Welf seemed to have arrived with Lili and the others. Even Mikoto was there.
"Master Bell is amazing!"
I kept ducking over and over, weaving through the attack. I was charging my argonaut at my blade, Waiting for it.
40 seconds
I backflipped over his sideways slash, narrowly dodging it as it cut a small part of the tip of my hair.
45 seconds
I went so close to the ground to dodge a kick and a slash that I was basically a damn sludge moving on the ground (Imagine Luke Skywalker vs Kylor ren)
50 Seconds
Asterius slammed the axe into the ground, causing the ground to give in and small rocks moved upwards, nearly piercing me if I had not jumped back.
55 Seconds
Asterius stopped, looking at my hand, almost as if in fear. He backed up and readied himself.
He knew what was coming.
60 Second Charge. Time to show the Loki Familia Argonaut
*DING* *DING*
The Bell Rank, I Jumped forwards, surprising Asterius, and making the entire audience basically lean on their toes and climb each other to see what I was going to do.
"HEAT TEMPEST!"
*KABOOM* Asterius was flung into a building, destroying multiple in a row, thank god Ganesha evacuated every building around.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?"
"What the hell was that ringing?"
"He Screamed two words and that kind of power was released?"
Finn's POV
I couldn't stop smiling. This adventurer was coming to the expedition with us? We just struck the gold mine! Not only is his fighting technique nearly perfect, but he's also clearly fighting above his level. Also, most don't notice it, but to us first tier adventurers it's clear as day. His back is glowing, if just slightly, indicating that a skill is active.
"Bell Cranel" I muttered, forcing my brain to remember that name as someone strong, someone dangerous
"You are indeed a spectacle in this world" All of a sudden, I got even more interested. The Bull- no Asterius apparently, was backing up. Was it afraid?
*DING* *DING*
The noise was emanating from Bell, it was a Bell ringing itself in the face of Victory.
Bell jumped forward as he screamed two words I have only heard Ais speak before.
"HEAT TEMPEST!"
*KABOOM*
I covered myself and leaned forward, there was a massive shockwave, as I looked, my eyes widened. Where Bell stood, was basically only charred ground and around him, there was nothing but destruction.
It seemed he led the battle away from the building, whether unconsciously or otherwíse, before activating it. Only the buildings Asterius was sent through were destroyed or damaged.
I also noticed the commotion around about what just happened, to most it seemed that the two words did everything, but something else seemed to have had an effect as well
That Ringing
Is that the skill Ais was talking about? Empowering? No matter, I had no time to debate the topic before Asterius was heading straight for Bell, but not in the best of conditions.
Bell's POV
Asterius rammed through the rubble that had gotten in the way and came out. He had clear burn marks on his skin that would heal with time, I jumped to the side before flinging myself back with my feet to impact straight with one of Asterius' wounds on his side, digging my hand deep into it
"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
It screamed as I could faintly hear Mord alongside the rest of the crowd which was basically everyone I knew.
"YEAHHHH! GET HIMMMMMMMM!"
Asterius pushed me away before holding his wound for a second. He took one step to the side before getting ready to continue.
I got ready as well, I noticed he had covered the wound with the piece that was located a little higher a second ago. Smart.
I charged this time. I switched my blades in my hand since the constant head from the Ushi made it easier to cut through his flesh.
I parried the attack he sent with my hestia knife before spinning around after jumping up. The next moment, all we could see were 4 fingers, flying in the air. For enormous fingers that had been dismembered from the giant Bull
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" It screamed in pain once again as the giant axe fell to the ground right in front of me.
I grabbed it and got ready. I flung forward at max speed, ignoring the exhaustion in my legs flinging the axe in a complex slashing nothing, cutting his armor in half
Within the next slash, blood gushed out of his chest as a massive wound had replaced the broken armor.
In response, Asterius flung his useless arm at me by flicking his shoulder forward hard. I did not expect this and had no time to react as it impacted with the axe in my hand. It was sent to the side alongside my Ushi, leaving me with but one weapon. My Hestia Knife.
I ran forward as Asterius took to dodging without his Axe. He kicked and punched as counter attacks where he saw small openings. For a Bull, he sure is fast.
I decided to increase my speed, even though my legs burned like hellfire. As we continued, we were both panting profusely. If one did not notice this, then there was no end in sight for the battle, but me and Asterius knew. The battle would be over soon, It may not be long, but it's sweet.
We continued to attack and defend, rinse and repeat. My arms and legs were starting to give out and my mind was running out from the constant usage of Heat Tempest to empower myself. I decided to use all my strength for one last Attack.
I took to only defending while charging another Argonaut. The audience was watching with bated breath, waiting for the charge to be complete.
*DING* *DING*
I went further than one minute. I kept going, using as much as I could until I noticed that it no longer charged. 4 Minutes, that's my current limit huh?
I focused my entire heat tempest into the blade and used the argonaut to focus in. The blade extended more and more, causing gasps along every spectator except for Welf and Lili who had already seen it once.
I sprung forward, This is my last push, my last chance at victory.
I jumped up and spun in a circle before the blade was in a direct path towards Asterius
"ARGO VESTA!" The blade made contact with the Bulls armor, but something unexpected happened. The flaming blade disappeared as my a soarding pain entered my body from my wrist. My aim for Asterius missed as I fell to the ground, screaming
"AHHHHHHHHHHH" I looked at what had just happened to see a small dagger, protruding out of my wrist. Asterius stood there, with wide eyes wondering what had just happened before he looked around.
He helped me up on the ground which surprised the now scared audience.
"Be Careful, someone intervened and I don't know who" Wait, that wasn't Asterius? Then it hit me, His arm was in a defence position when I tried to cut him with Argo Vesta. In other words, another adventurer did this. But who?
It also seemed that Asterius wanted answers
"WHO INTERVENED IN THE BATTLE!?" Everyone around seemed to freeze but it was hard to tell since I was kind of busy with the blade that was still in my wrist. I pulled the blade out just in time-
"Well,Well, It seems you survived Little Rookie!" That voice, of course. Anger flushed through my being, he must have dared show himself since there are so many other people here.
I turned around to see the one I thought it was, Dix Perdix. As I stood up, I pulled the blade inside my wrist, causing me to wince. I also looked at Asterius, he was barely standing. The loss of blood had begun to take a toll on him. I leaned down to my belt and took the last health potion, contemplating the choice here. Help Asterius and myself, or only myself. I looked up at everyone who was awaiting our responses, before I shrugged half the potion before lifting my hand up to Asterius, offering the rest.
Some gasps could be heard, but Asterius grinned and took the offered potion and basically ate it.
The wounds on him stopped bleeding and slowly closed, but he still wouldn't be able to fight with me against Dix since he has lost too much blood.
"Asterius, you better leave. You've lost too much blood and if too many of these adventurers try to attack you, you're done for" I whispered just loud enough for only him to hear. He understood and slowly backed away.
"DIX! Why did you interfere in my battle, that monster is mine!" Dix just laughed
"Don't kid me Little Rookie! Both you and I know that is no ordinary monster! It's a damn Xenos!" I flinched, knowing the implications of what he had just done. Murmurs were spreading around, questions were asked.
"Oh, right! The public didn't know about the Intelligent monsters! About that they have the same feelings and emotions as us" The public around seemed more and more skeptical to believe it before they looked at me.
I must seriously look nervous right now. I have to diffuse the situation, if the public get's wind of the Xenos, there will be quests left and right to destroy them.
"Dix, what the hell are you talking about? Intelligent monsters? That's ridiculous!" Dix simply walked one step forwards, gesturing a no with his hand.
"Is it? After all, that cute Vouivre girl that you seemed so attached too didn't think so. What did you call her? Wiene?" My brows furrowed, I just wanted to beat the living crap out of this bastard right now.
I peeked behind me, noticing that he was nowhere to be seen
"Dix, either way. I could have you arrested right here since you basically brutally beat me near death before dragging me to a damn cell just to be used by Phryne Jamil"
"Oh? Do you think I care. My entire operation is fucked up because of you! I never in a million years believed that you! A fucking 14 year old kid, could do THAT!" He pointed towards the cut off part of Belit Babili.
Eina who was on the side looked at me and whispered
"Bell… why?"
I sighed, there was no point in denying it. Multiple people saw me jumping off the platform.
"Yes, I did that but it was an accident. I just wanted to get Haruhime out of harm's way, but it seems Freya Familia did the rest" I finally see it, Dix was not here because he thought it would be safe, but because he is furious and blinded by it. I smirked, I could use that.
"So Dix, Tell me, how did Ishtar even take part in your 'operation' to sell monsters to people as slaves?"
"She was supposed to provide me with a cleansing stone! SHE FUCKING HAD IT AND IT WAS DESTROYED IN THAT TOWER YOU FUCKING CUT OFF!" Oh, I thought that Item was a myth? A stone to cleanse any curse.
"And why would you need such an item, Dix?" While asking the question, I looked to the right where most of the guild employees were standing. They seemed to be paying full attention to what was being said since what Dix did counted as criminal behaviour.
"To get rid of this… this… this fucking Blood Curse that forced me to work on the Knossos!" I smiled
"So you decided to fund Ishtar's goal of sacrificing Haruhime in order to get that stone? Do you know what would have happened to Orario if I hadn't intervened?"
"Like I care!" I smirked, his fate was sealed now.
"Orario would be plunged into civil war between Ishtar and Freya, that sacrificial ritual would give Ishtar the power to fight back against her. Half of Orario would probably have been destroyed" People around me gasped, I just smiled.
"But fortunately, you have failed! And I am going to fucking Kill you for what you did to me"
Dix laughed like a maniac
"Hahahaha, Kill me? You're a fucking Hypocrite! You want to save Orario by doing the opposite to me?" I smiled, I have already overcome this mind trick once.
"Then so be it, I don't care if I have to be a hypocrite, a murderer or a fucking Devil. As long as I can save the people and city I care about, then I will do anything that is required!" Dix looked at me in pure anger
"Then so be it! COME ON LITTLE ROOKIE!" I sprinted towards him with my Hestia knife. My legs were screaming at me once again as he pulled his shortsword and slashed downwards at me.
I blocked the hit and tried to kick him, but I was too slow. He dodged and punched me in the face.
"Haha, is that all the strength you can muster" I made a tsk sound, am I becoming Bete?
"You're Not the one that just fought a 4 ton Bull" I continued to try to parry his attacks, but it's as if my techniques weren't working. He used his short sword to swirl my hand around as he jumped and spun around before kicking me in my stomach.
"That's true, so it's technically an unfair fight, after all, for you, you have been fighting non stop for over a day. It's a miracle you're still standing" I got up on the ground, although it was hard. I couldn't use Argonaut or Heat Tempest. I'm too close to mind down.
This time I waited for him to rush me, I simply blocked the attacks, one by one as I looked around between each attack.
Where is it? Where is it? AH!
Dix tried to kick me again, as I jumped to the side and grabbed onto the knife I had been looking for, the Ushiwakamarunishiki. Now I had my dual daggers.
Dix ran forward once again, still partially blinded by rage and tried to use the same kicking technique as earlied. He must not have noticed me pick up the dagger.
Once he kicked, I pointed the Ushiwakamarunishiki towards his foot as he kicked straight into it, piercing through the foot completely.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH" He jumped back, screaming as I blocked it. He was muttering something and before I knew it-
"Phobetor Daedalus!" The light pierced my mind once again, forcing me to try to remain sane again. Damn Fucking hell! He made me lose focus again
*Crack*
I felt my rib cracking as he used the blunt edge of his shortsword to hit me right where it cracked.
"FUH!?" The noise I made just made him laugh, I fell to the ground, feeling my rib as he kicked down on my foot, twisting it naturally.
Next, I saw through my blurry vision that he lifted his sword up and readied for a final blow
"MASTER BELL!"
" "
"BELL-KUN!"
I thought this was it, closing my eyes, trying to think where I had gone wrong before-
"UGHH!?" I looked up to see a giant axe once again, being used by a giant Bull.
"Asterius…" He looked down at me as I fell back and let unconsciousness take me over.
Normal POV
Asterius had been watching the events after he had been told to leave, but to him. He couldn't take the fact that someone had intervened at the climax of the battle he had sought out.
As he watched, he realised that the boy he wanted to battle with was completely worn out, close to breaking point and was fighting someone at their peak. He already knew that he was going to step in. Make him feel what he felt when he intervened.
Once Bell was thrown to the ground after the red light entered him, Asterius knew it was his time to intervene.
He ran forward and slammed the blunt edge of his axe into the Human that dared to disturb His battle with his rival.
"Asterius…" He looked back down at Bell, Smiling and nodding at him before looking back at the human in front. Asterius may be worn out, but he could still fight fiercely.
"Why? WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" Dix screamed at Asterius.
"You intervened in my rematch, and tried to kill my rival. I won't stand for it" The audience around were just looking in awe that a monster had saved their Little Rookie. Questions flew around in their heads at the prospect.
"Master Bell, drink this" Asterius looked behind him and saw Lili giving Bell three potions of different colour. That only held his attention for a second before turning back towards Dix as Asterius started taking step after step towards him.
Dix was scared beyond anything comprehensible. Looking at the monster in front of him, he could never understand how Bell managed to stand up and fight it. He raised his sword and swung it back and forth in a desperate manner.
"Get away! GET AWAY!" Asterius didn't care. He kicked the sword out of his hand, sending it into a wall where it got stuck.
The next thing everyone saw made everyone who wasn't at least a second class adventurer gag.
Asterius Swung his axe straight down at Dix, cutting his arm and half his shoulder off. It was a mortal wound that not even potions could fix. Half his heart had been cut off as well. Dix was gurgling in his own blood, as it flowed out of his mouth and nose. Painting his face red, as the wound pained the ground the same color.
The gurgling didn't stop for an entire minute, meaning Dix felt everything for that time span.
Asterius turned around to the people.
"If any surface dweller decided to interfere in mine and Bell's battle next time around. This will happen to you!" Those were his final words, before he walked away, into babel and down into the dungeon.
The Audience could not believe what they had seen and heard, Intelligent monsters, selling monsters as slaves and the fighting they had seen going on for the last 3 hours.
It was already 3AM and the sun had started peeking up from the horizon, but no one was tired, not after everything they had witnessed.
The only people that had started moving, were the Loki Familia, Ganesha Familia and the rest of Bell's friends with the latter helping Bell into the infirmary.
One thing was sure for the people and adventurers of Orario. This day would be remembered as a pivotal point in history.
Finn's POV
=Twilight Manor, 9AM=
The entire building was buzzling, and for once, I didn't mind. It set the tone of how everything felt. Bell Cranel had surprised us once again, fighting on par with a monster that was estimated to be level 7. That was indeed a feat not to be taken lightly.
Gareth, for once actually didn't speak too loud, he was excited though as everyone's blood had been boiling with excitement watching Bell fight.
As I was looking down at the current plans of the expedition, I couldn't help but smile. With the skills and power Bell has, this plan has a much higher chance of completion with him there. The exploration of the 59th floor. Where Revis told us we needed to go.
Let's just hope that the Variants have calmed down since last time so we at least reach the 50th floor. I looked up at Riveria who was present
"Tell me, have you sent the information to the Hestia Familia's home?" She looked at me before nodding
"Of course, but he shouldn't wake up until tomorrow. Once I had taken one look at the young man, I could tell that his body had gone beyond its limit. That Dix Perdix wasn't lying when he said that it was a miracle he was still standing" I nodded at that
"I understand, but even I can barely believe what happened yesterday night. I mean, first these 'Xenos' come to the surface, then the Ishtar Familia home collapses alongside Ishtar going to heaven. Then Bell fights that Bull before he fights Dix, and lastly that Bull kills Dix. I can barely keep up" Riveria seemed to chuckle
"That is a feat I have to respect Bell for" A smile crept onto my face as my mind thought one thing in response, indeed.
Normal POV
=Hephaestus' office, 4PM=
"Welf, do you need something?" Hephaestus asked the blacksmith who had just entered the office.
"I need to ask something" She gestured for him to continue
"I want to ask you to convert me to the Hestia Familia" Hephaestus widened her eye, disbelieving of what she just heard
"And why did this come up so suddenly" Welf breathed in and out
"Because I have noticed that everything I have is there. Bell has built a workshop there for me since it's closer to where I live, I have a room there if I wish it, my party is there. Everyone except for you is there. In other words, everything that makes me… well me, is in that Familia" Hephaestus sighed.
"And why would I accept this proposal"
"Because this is a heartfelt request of one of your children to allow him to be with his friend, to be happy" Hephaestus understood now, he was not doing it because he wanted to leave. But because he wanted to be with his friends. In other words, he wouldn't leave her.
"Alright, I shall accept" Welf smiled madly at her
"Thank you lady Hephaestus" She just smiled
"Now, no need to be sentimental. Bring Hestia once you decide for it to happen" Welf smiled at her.
"Hestia! Come in!" Said goddess came inside, smiling at Hephaestus.
"Sorry Hephaestus, I didn't mean to take one of your smiths" She just smiled at the small Lolo goddess.
"It's alright, Welf. Would you kindly lift your shirt?" He obliged as the ceremony started. Both goddesses pricked their fingers. Hephaestus started drawing lines on Welf's back, formulating the word 'Convert' in Hieroglyphs. Once that was done, his back started to shine, it glowed as Hestia let her blood drop once onto his Welf's back.
The next moment, Hephaestus symbol of crossing hammers with a volcano in the middle was replaced with Hestia's Hearth fire symbol.
"It is complete, I have yet to update Welf's status for the last 3 weeks since I haven't really had time. You might want to do that now Hestia" Said goddess nodded as she let another drop fall onto Welf's back as she started modifying it.
Hestia had a small gasp before letting Hephaestus look. The thing she saw made her smile widely at what just happened.
"Welf" He looked up
"Yeah?"
"Congratulations!" Hestia put a paper on his back before copying the information "You have leveled up and your Development ability is Blacksmith" Welf took the parchment excitedly, looking at it with happy eyes.
Name: Welf Crozzo
Lv 1 - 2
Status:
{STR} C-617 - I-0
{VIT} D-521 - I-0
{DEX} C-645 - I-0
{AGI} D-509 - I-0
{MAG} I-70 - I-0
Magic:
Will-o-Wisp - Burnout, illegal work-
Skills:
Crozzo Blood: Sign of being a member of the Crozzo family. Allows the user to create magic sword and amplify their magical power and lifespan while creating them
Development Abilities:
Blacksmith: I
Welf was excited, he couldn't wait to test out his new Development Ability. After some idle chat and Hephaestus giving Welf some tips, they said goodbye and set out towards the Hearth Mansion.
Normal POV
=Hearth Mansion=
The door opened for Welf as he looked around, this was a major step up from his living situation in his small apartment. He smiled as he admired the decorations that were left untouched from Apollo, namely some paintings that didn't have Apollo in it.
He looked at Hestia with a smile before it dropped to concern.
"Where is Bell? I know he took quite the beating" Hestia looked down "He's resting in his room. He has been healed and his body is simply regenerating his mind power. He should wake up around the next morning, so if it's alright, we can wait with the welcoming celebration for you until then" Welf nodded, as he didn't want a celebration without his best friend.
They walked up the stairs to the second floor and started walking down the hallway. Hestia was carrying a small sign which it clearly said Welf on.
"Hestia, you know we don't really need that" She looked up at Welf "Ohh, it's just for a week or so. It makes it easier for people to remember where you sleep, after all. This building is large"
At that moment, a renart walked around the corner in a maid outfit causing Welf's eyes to widen then turn confused.
He leaned down towards Hestia "Who is the beautiful maid?" Hestia simply chuckled at the question before answering
"That's Haruhime. She is also a new member of our Familia after Bell saved her from Ishtar. She insisted on staying with Bell since he was the one who fought tooth and nail to save her even if she helped the enemy" Welf understood and walked up towards her.
Haruhime looked up and smiled at Welf.
"Greetings, Are you Welf Crozzo? Lady Hestia said that you would come, my name is Haruhime" Welf smiled at her well mannered greetings.
"Yeah, my name is Welf, It's a pleasure to meet you" He shook her hand as the Renart waved her tail back and forth slowly.
Welf turned around to Hestia "Where is Lil'E?" Hestia seemed to be in thought before it clicked.
"She had to help a Gnome that helped her before she joined us. He got sick and asked her for assistance" Welf nodded before he looked to his left. It was where Bell had his room if the slightly ajar door said anything.
He walked forwards and slowly opened the door. Hestia and Haruhime did nothing and let him be and left to do other things.
Welf walked inside, noticing Bell sleeping soundly. His complexion seemed fine, and there were no wounds. Health potions had clearly been used on him to heal them.
Welf looked around for a moment, seeing that the room was relatively empty with only the essentials. A bed, nightstand, wardrobe, desk, mannequin for armor and a chest. That was everything. On the side, Welf saw a piece of parchment, most likely Bell's status update, but he ignored it. If Bell wanted to show him, then he would.
Welf sat down at the edge of the Bed and sighed. Seeing Bell like this made him kind of sad, after all, they were best friends. He stayed there for quite a while before leaving and getting his things set up in his new home.
Bell's POV
=Unknown place, Memory=
I couldn't move, it was as if I was stuck watching things happen. I watched myself in the midst of a Battle when the Kyros found us camping out in the woods that we came to call 'Death's Gate' since the entire forest was devoid of life except for one monster or another that came out of the ground. It was almost like a surface dungeon floor.
I was screaming commands to Ais as we worked together to dispatch the weaker kind of Kyros together, but no matter how many we killed. There was no end to the continued flow of enemies.
Something that had always interested me back then is why the Kyros were intelligent but some seemed mindless. We managed to find out that they were a type of Hive mind, with the most powerful 8 Kyros being in charge of 1/8th of it's forces. I had killed 5 out of the 8 leader Kyros before we were pushed on our last legs.
This battle took place two months before I returned, and one month before Ais was killed.
By the time this battle ended, we had lost a large chunk of our forces, but so had the enemy. We were forced to retreat and move our camp again.
As the memory finished, another memory started up. The one I dreamt of not too long ago. It was of the time I told the Loki Familia executives of the reason I grow so fast. Once that memory finished, another one flashed forwards and started playing. It was the death of Ais, and my endless howl of pain.
The memories kept coming and going, until I reached the day I left. It was the same day I had returned after 1 week gone, investigating some ancient ruins that were built by Kentaro Ayers where I found the secret to changing the past.
Once I got back, I got to work with the runes, I didn't sleep for days. At this point in time, I was almost broken. When I had returned, I had found out about the death of almost every loki Familia executive. I had been gone for 1 week and now the only ones I had left were Loki, Hestia and Finn. Everyone else was gone, everything I had fought tooth and nail to protect was just… gone.
I worked on the runes, and once they were done, I finally took a nap. When I woke up, Finn was shaking me awake in a frantic manner. He shortly told me that we were under attack. I told Finn to get Hestia to update my status. I needed just a little more magic power.
Once that had been done, I told her to evacuate with Loki, they refused as one of the last Loki familia members carried them away. I started activating rune for rune, with Finn screaming at me to hurry up. He was basically holding an army on his own.
The moment I was done and announced it, Finn came launching through the tent. I didn't want to lose him too, but he just told me to go.
I did just that as one of the 8 heads of the Kyros came in, Sylvios. The moment the circle of runes engulfed me. I saw my body collapse before Sylvios stuck his weapon into Finn's mouth. I wanted to scream, but could do nothing as I was dragged away, into an endless abyss of darkness. Until light rose again.
Bell's POV
=Hearth Mansion, Present time, 7AM=
I slowly opened my eyes. I felt so refreshed, but sad at the same time after being forced to relive all of those memories.
I got up from the bed quite easily and put on my usual attire with the black robe. I looked at the time to see it was 7AM, It seems I have only been out for a couple of ours.
That thought didn't last long as I exited the door, to see Haruhime tidying up and Welf talking to her. Am I still dreaming? This is just like my familia previously. Haruhime could have joined the Familia after I saved her, but Welf?
I rubbed my eyes as the two noticed me. Once I opened them again, I knew this was real.
"Bell!"
"Bell-sama!"
Haruhime and Welf jogged towards me as I just smiled.
"Welf, what are you doing here?" He just grinned as he put his hand on my shoulder.
"I'm a part of the Familia now you know" I was flabbergasted, did Welf join the familia while I was out. It was 7AM, but he couldn't have joined in a couple of hours, it was basically dawn once I went unconscious.
"Welf, How long was I out?" His smile fell just a little " A little over a day" I sighed, so that's how it is
"Oh right! Hestia wanted you to go to the meeting room. You know, the one" I nodded and left with a wave.
Once I got into the room, I noticed Hestia sitting with some Jagurmakun and a couple of papers. She looked up when I entered and smiled lightly
"You're up Bell-kun!" I nodded at her "Yeah, why did you call for me" She buried her hands in a giant pile of papers before magically getting an envelope out of it.
"Here, it's from the Loki Familia, it arrived yesterday" I nodded and opened the envelope
Dear of the Hestia Familia
As of you accepting the invitation to the Loki Familia's next expedition, we have sent this letter of information to inform you of your position in the Expedition and of some items that are recommended for you to bring.
The Items are:
Salamander Wool x1
Undine Cloth x1
Whetstone x1
Your position in the expedition will be of the Central Guard. This position can be due to change depending on the circumstances in the dungeon. Your designated group for the expedition is group 1
The set date of the expedition is in 2 days of this letter arriving, so rest up as much as you can until then. On the day of departure, please see that you are present outside Babel tower at 7AM
Best Regards, 'Braver' Finn Deimne
"Wait, the expedition is tomorrow? Alright, guess I have to go buy an Undine Cloth and borrow a Whetstone from Welf" I turned to Hestia.
"Could you update my status? I won't be fighting today so I might as well get it done now" Hestia nodded as I pulled my shit off. The normal events happened until Hestia gasped and then chuckled.
"Two in a row. First Welf, now you" I was confused
"Congratulations on your level up!" I reached level 4 huh? Finally.
I grabbed the parchment and looked at it with a neutral face
Name: Bell Cranel
Lv 3 - 4
Status:
{STR} SS-1498 - I-0
{VIT} SSS-1654 - I-0
{DEX} SSS-1611 - I-0
{AGI} SSSS-1767 - I-0
{MAG} SSS-1655 - I-0
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: F - E
Universal Resistance: H - G
Finally level 4. With this I should be able to fight at the peak of level 5 and my agility should be going into the beginning of level 6.
Got up smiling, I can already see Lefiya's face when she finds out I'm level 4. She might even do some autistic screeching. Ehh what am I kidding, she always screeches autistically.
I left the room after thanking Hestia, I walked out the door of the house after I went back to my room and picked up a large chunk of Valis.
Once I was outside, I noticed that the shed had smoke coming out of it and there were noises coming from it. I heard Welf had leveled up, so he was probably testing his blacksmith ability in there.
I decided to leave him be and walked towards Babel tower. That's one of the only places to find a shop that sold Undine Cloth.
On the way, I stopped right outside the guild. I pulled out the level up parchment and cut the paper where the skills started, and burned it with my heat tempest. Now I only had my basic abilities which I drew with a very cool flame over the ones before level up so you would not see the real status.
Previously I had just done this with my knife, but this was more effective. I couldn't allow people to see my ridiculous stats.
I walked into the guild where everything went quite as soon as someone said my Alias.
"Little Rookie!" Everyone stared at me, with something akin to… Pride? What is that pride? I thought there would be disgust since I gave Asterius a health potion.
"Good to see you're alright boy!" One person patted my shoulder smiling, while another shook my hand. People were telling me they were happy to see me standing.
I lowered my head and smiled. This feeling never gets old, I just love it.
I straightened my back and walked towards Eina with the parchment.
"Eina!" She smiled at me
"Good to see you Bell-kun!" I smiled and put the parchment on the desk lightly. She didn't notice it right away.
"Eina, I have some good news" I smiled at her making her look at me seriously
"Your definition of good news is our definition of breaking basic common sense" I chuckled nervously, she was kind of right on the spot with that.
I gestured to the parchment on the desk, making her look down.
She just stared at it before looking up at me.
"Well… I am not going to scream this time… but Seriously? It's not even been over a month and a half and you're already level 4?" The adventurers around that were listening in on our conversation gasped.
"LITTLE ROOKIE IS LEVEL 4?!" Now every single adventurer and guild staff had all their attention at the two of us.
I sighed, They would find out soon anyway. I turned around and addressed them
"Yeah, It kind of just happened" Everyone was speechless as I left the guild and went on my merry way towards Babel tower.
That's the final chapter of the arc for you. It kind of ended halfway through and I began with the preparations of the next arc, but I hope you all enjoyed it (Psst, there will be another Asterios fight later on)
Anyway, I am going to get to the reviews right away
Sanguine-San: awesome chapter! can't wait for Bell to fight asterius. his stats are gonna be thought he roof and he'll probs level up, it'll be cool how shocked the loki familia will be to see him moving faster than your average level 5 thanks to his ox slayer skill. thanks for posting :)
Author: Yeah, the only people that could see Bell during the fight were people who were at the peak of level 5 or higher.
Anyway thanks for reviewing and you also don't have to thank me for posting the chapters. It's a hobby for me as well as entertainment. For me when I write the chapters, 5 hours fly by before I know it. It's just something I enjoy xD
DeathLock: nicely done again xD, quick question though...is there going to any R&R fluffy goodies next? Cuz it's been straight kickassery the last 4? again imma gon read chp 3 of mind-mind luffy(that fic is cray-cray).
Author: Yeah, there will be some fluff here and there. After all, the next 2 arc's is completely focused on Bell's relationship with The Loki Familia and Ais.
Starcofan09: nevermind what I said before holy shit this...this is gold the fights,the plot,the choices he makes damn well done I seriously can't wait until bell decides to kill dix hated him in the LN still hate him again good job this fanfic definitely got way way better than in the first few chapters
Author: Heh, I'm glad I could change your mind with time xD. I also hate Dix, he deserves the brutal death he got. Anyway, thanks for the praise and I will think about what you said about POV's.
Chrismar0907: I'm so excited, Keep it up Bro, I may not know that much about Danmachi since I only watch the anime and haven't read the light novel, I fell in love with you fanfic, you're doing the series justice for its name. Please update soon.
Author: Well, Fanfictions aren't there just for hardcore fans. Anyone can enjoy it no matter how little they have read and it makes me really happy for you to say that I do the series justice for its name. I also plan to update pretty frequently since I finally got everything sorted out in my life.
That's all for the reviews and I hope that I see y'all next time!