Similarly to Aiz, when Bell left to go make up with his Familia, he was in a state of bliss. After all who would've believed that they would get to spend hours with their crush, the love of their life, cuddling and getting to know each other more?
Sure Bell was close to many girls throughout the city, even sharing many intimate moments with them, but with Aiz it was different. When he was with her all of his worries seemed to blow away in the wind. Whenever they were together he felt like he could just enjoy her company forever while not caring about what tomorrow would bring.
'She has beauty that rivals any Goddess, she is stronger than almost anyone, and she is becoming more open around me.' Bell thought. He, along with the rest of the city, knew Aiz was a natural airhead who was very socially awkward but he didn't know if she showed her emotions when it was just her and someone like Lefiya for instance. Since she had been more open around him recently, Bell felt like he made genuine progress towards his goal for the first time in a long time.
Dreading the conversation he was going to have with his Goddess and everyone once he got back home, Bell let out a sigh. He knew he had to make up with everyone so he could prepare to join the Freya Familia on their expedition in three weeks. He wanted to see the floors that had been left untouched for nearly 15 years, he wanted to see what the legends from the Zeus and Hera Familia faced, and he wanted to know if he could ever reach those heights. In his heart there still danced a young boy with the dream of becoming a hero who saves everyone, even monsters.
He knew it was impossible to save everyone but he wanted to try. He didn't want to watch people die or cry anymore, if people or monsters could be saved he wanted to save them from their suffering. He knew it was an idiotic wish but it was true to him, he wanted to become that kind of a hero.
Distracted by the thoughts of the future that plagued his mind, Bell nearly missed the sound that cut him out of his trance. It was a far away from him but his near level 5 senses made it to where his hearing could pick up some of the faintest of sounds. And this time the sound he heard was one he heard countless times before in the dungeon of someone or something crash into a wall.
Bell immediately turned around and raced towards the spot where he heard the sound, praying another Xenos hadn't accidentally gotten loose in the city and that it was just a scuffle between adventurers. That way if he was a higher level than them he could convince them to drop their weapons and go home for the day.
After running towards the sound for about a minute he realized he was heading in the direction that direction as Aiz. Thinking of countless possibilities for what could be happening he cursed himself, wishing that he was smarter like Lili or Finn but the only thing he could do was pick up his pace. But when the street came into view, all of those possibilities flew out the window as he came across something that made him wonder if he just imagined it.
The street was eerily empty. It almost looked deserted as the usual stalls that filled it up were nowhere to be seen. The shops had long closed down and Bell's eyes could not see a single soul. Something felt off but he couldn't place his finger on what.
'Did I just imagine it? If something happened Aiz would be here and there are only 4 people outside of her Familia that could hurt her.' Bell thought. He was about to turn around and leave until he got the strange feeling that someone was watching him. It was the same feeling he had come across so many times before but this time it held hostile intentions instead of a gaze filled with curiosity and interest.
Pressing forward he figured if he got to his destination and didn't find anything he would turn around and call it a day. Once his eyed landed on it though he sighed, knowing another crazy event to happen to him today.
On the wall to his left he saw the outline of a body in the bricks of a building. He could tell it was a girl but couldn't make out which one it was from just the outline. After getting closer to the outline, he found something that made his heart stop and immediately put up his guard. A few strands of golden hair scattered on the ground.
'Taking another look at the outline of the person, they somewhat resembles Aiz but nothing could've hurt her in the city right?' Bell thought. He was considering going to get some help until he felt the slight changes in the air change around him. Quickly pulling out his knives and turning around, he barely blocked a spear that was aimed for the back of his head.
Staring into his attackers eyes, Bell realized he had seen this person once before. Knowing that this person could stand on par with Aiz only made his heart beat faster with a newfound fear. Allen glared into his eyes as if Bell was his mortal enemy that the cat man needed to destroy.
'Shit why is Allen attacking me. Did he attack Aiz and now he's just trying to get rid of the evidence?' Bell thought. He knew he wasn't a match for Allen and after all of the things he had gone through today he doubted that he was going to make it out of this alive. But when thinking about something happening to Aiz, a fire became lit inside of his stomach, making Bell determined to at least put up a fight. Bell pulled back Hakugen and launched it towards Allen's left eye where it grazed his face. Hearing Allen click his tongue and form a smile that made Bell feel like he was being looked down upon made the fire inside of his stomach burn even brighter.
As soon as Allen jumped back, Bell got into a ready position and began sizing up his opponent. He never really got a chance to go against spear users since they were a rarity with most people going with swords, axes, or staffs.
Seeing Allen tense his muscles to lunge forward Bell did the same in order to not let Allen build up as much of his legendary speed as possible. As soon as their weapons collided after launching themselves at each other, Bell felt like something was off.
'This isn't the strength of a normal level six, it's like he is holding back.' Bell thought as he swung Hakugen towards Allens injured eye again hoping to keep pressuring the injury. Before the knife could connect this time, Allen grabbed Bell's wrist and through him over his shoulder.
After landing awkwardly, Bell was forced into an exchange of blows with Allen who was wielding his spear like an unrelenting blizzard. Anytime Bell swung his knives they were met in an instant, it didn't matter if he swung them in different directions, he couldn't do anything against his opponent.
"Is this the best you can do?" Allen hissed at Bell, trying to rile him up. "I don't understand why everyone praises you so much when you can't do shit by yourself."
"Why are you doing this?" Bell asked as he dodged a slash coming towards his neck.
"You got in my way."
Bell couldn't believe those words that came out of Allen's mouth. What could he have possibly done to get in his way? Capitalizing on his confusion, Allen delivered a kick that rocked Bell's insides and sent him flying backwards.
Somehow landing on his feet, Bell immediately thrust his arm out to try to get attention from other adventurers or someone to come help him.
"Firebolt!" Bell yelled. With a ball of flaming lightening coming towards him, Allen took a defensive position for the first time. Since his magic was getting recognition from a level 6, Bell felt very proud like he truly had grown into an adventurer.
But that hope was short-lived as Allen swung his spear with enough force to split the magic in two, with each piece going around his body.
Trying not to get discouraged, he did a one second Argonaut charge on his foot to close the distance between them. Appearing right in front of him while his guard was at his weakest, Bell tried to stab Allen's right forearm in order to force him to switch what hand he wielded his spear with. But before the blow could connect, Allen grabbed Bell's wrist again.
"You damn brat." Allen hissed. He had been impressed with Bell's courage but seeing how he just appeared in front of him and nearly caught him off guard, Allen knew Bell had some tricks up his sleeve.
Sure Bell was rough around the edges but Allen couldn't believe this was the same kid that came to the city 6 months ago that was a pathetic weakling who cried and ran off anytime things got hard. Seeing the fight against the minotaur made Allen acknowledge him as an adventurer, but watching and fighting were two different things and right now he wanted to test how much further Bell had grown since then.
"Is that the best you can do?" Allen taunted, figuring the only way to ignite more fire into the boy wasn't to insult him directly, but to insult the ones he cared about. "Even the sword princess did better than you."
Once Bell heard this Allen saw what he wanted to see, the look of an adventurer. Bell's eyes changed from a boy who was nervous and fearful about the opponent he was facing to a warrior who was staring at an enemy. His face became hardened, nearly devoid of any emotions, with an expression that screamed how badly he wanted to win. After he confirmed that Bell still had this part of him that he saw in the minotaur battle, Allen was about to call off the surprise attack but he never got the chance as Bell began to attack with more ferocity.
Since Allen was still not taking the fight seriously he was left unprepared for the onslaught of attacks coming from the rabbit. Bell was making use of his full status for the first time since he fought the juggernaut. The massive update he received upon coming back from his expedition never fully clicked with him and he was left fighting out of sync yet again. But hearing Allen say that Aiz had been hurt triggered something in Bell like that moss monster did. He wanted to end this fight and force Allen to tell him where she was so he could go save her.
"AHHHHHHHH" Bell shouted as he launched another round of attacks at the cat man which the latter barely had enough time to react to since he never imagined Bell was holding back.
'Where the hell did all this strength come from?' Allen thought. After fighting Bell, Allen assumed he was a mid level 5 but this sudden increase in strength made Bell feel like a high tier level 5. 'Does he have a skill that boosts his status?'
Even if Allen was almost ready to level up, this sudden increase left him shocked and as a result Bell was able to open multiple small wounds across his body. It was the first time a level 4 had ever done this much damage to him in years.
Allen felt disgusted by himself, how could he get injured by someone weaker than him? He knew he couldn't hurt the kid too much because of Freya, but he didn't care about that now. He needed to fix this feeling of disgust he had at any cost.
Steeling his determination to test Bell at his strongest, Allen chose to reply by removing the shackles he had placed onto himself to not injure the kid, deciding to respond with as much strength as he could without killing him.
The two met each other in a flurry of clashes that ravaged the ground and windows of nearby buildings. If there were people watching, they would have needed a falna to be able to withstand the air pressure that their attacks generated.
A spear met a black and white knife countless times and each time they collided sparks flew off with sounds that could be heard over a mile away. The few people who were still out on the streets knew those sounds and immediately turned the opposite way and ran. They recognized them as attacks that level 1s and 2s could do nothing against and if they tried to they wouldn't see the next day.
"Where is Aiz?" Bell demanded as he narrowly dodged Allen's spear.
"Heh." Allen scoffed. "Do you really think you should be worrying about others right now you worthless piece of shit?"
No matter how hard Bell pushed, he couldn't get through Allen's defenses and land any blows. The wounds he had given him earlier were just flesh wounds that Allen returned almost immediately. Bell's lack of experience against spear wielders and lower level showed with Allen acting like a predator playing with his prey. Bell knew he had to activate his final trump card if he wanted to have a sliver of a chance. Making use of his escape ability for the second time today, Bell used the same tactic he used against the Goliath. He knew that Allen wouldn't give him enough time to fully charge his skill so Bell dodged backwards and put his knives away.
'Since I can't attack while I charge I might as well not have them out. It'll be easier to dodge this way.' Bell figured. With white lights circulating around his palm, he began to charge Argonaut yet again.
Recognizing that skill, Allen knew he had to end this quickly before things got very out of hand and his Goddess got punished for his mistakes. Currently they could write this off as a surprise training match before their expedition but if Bell were to release a blast of the same power that killed the spirit, not only would he die but a bit of the city would be destroyed as well.
With escape giving him an increase in agility, Bell almost managed to dodge every attack Allen threw at him. Every 5th attack or so, Bell would gain yet another cut across his body since they were too fast but they weren't deep enough to stop charging the skill that carried a sound Allen hated.
After the charade went on for nearly 45 seconds, Allen gave up on holding back fearing that the damage to the city will become too vast. Throwing his spear to the side to not accidentally kill him, Allen rushed forward with an arm extended trying to make use of his level 6 strength to cancel the skill.
Finally getting an opening after another 5 seconds, Allen managed to grab Bells head and slam it onto the ground.
"Quit charging that and listen here you idiot." Allen reprimanded, but before he could continue he felt a hand being placed on his side and the sound of a bell. Looking down at Bell with anger in his eyes, he heard a single word get whispered.
"Firebolt." Bell said in a voice on the verge of failing due to his injuries, watching as Allen got launched through the closest building to them after being hit with the full force of his magic. Bell knew he wasn't dead, after getting slammed into the ground Argonaut had lost a lot of its power but somehow Bell was able to hang on to a little bit of the charge and use it to turn the tide in their battle.
After firing off that Argonaut enhanced firebolt, Bell struggled to stand, recalling the day he remembered as he went down into the dungeon with Tiona, fought the Goliath, trained with Aiz, and now fought Allen. To say that he was overworked was an understatement, his arm ached beyond belief but he knew if Allen was fighting with his full strength he'd lose. He didn't know why Allen was holding back but it was a harsh wake up call for Bell as he still had a ways to go before reaching that level of strength that he yearned for.
'If Allen was that strong when he wasn't even going all out, how strong is Ottar? How am I going to be able to live up to the expectations everyone keeps placing on me and for the ones I set on myself?' Bell thought. He knew that if he kept going down this path eventually something would snap and the pressure would become too much.
Laughing in his head as he imagined the chewing out Amid was going to give him the next time they met after she took a look at his new injuries, he nearly fell unconscious. Struggling to his feet and feeling each muscle call out as if they were going to collapse, he let out a long sigh he looked around, surprisingly the damage wasn't as bad as he thought. The concrete was all torn up and all of the windows were broken but only two buildings sustained damage, the one with the outline of the girl and the one he shot Allen into.
"Dumbass." Allen muttered.
Looking towards that building, his eyes widened in horror as Allen made his way out of the rubble.
'No, why? I can't fight anymore! I can barely move my body! How is he up this quickly?' Bell thought as he tried to move away only to fall down again and push himself away using whatever strength he could muster up in his arms and legs.
Every step Allen took seemed to last a lifetime for Bell. He could no longer move his body as he had given his all with that attack. His mind and body were already exhausted from the day, especially his arm. so when he saw his strongest attack fail, Bell could only stare at the approaching figure.
Death.
With the armor on his stomach charred and debris from the building coating his clothing, Allen slowly walked towards the boy with his eyes devoid of emotions, devoid of any warmth. Reaching into a pocket on his back Bell swore he could see him pulling out something but when he started into the eyes that had killed countless enemies, Bell became terrified. He lost like other monsters had before him and similarly to them he was meeting the end. Silently apologizing to Aiz, to everyone, Bell tried to stand once more, attempting to charge Argonaut once again to no avail.
Once the figure of the cat man was over him, Bell realized this would be it. Until the unexpected happened as Allen tossed him a healing potion.
"Huh?" Bell asked, he figured his lack of mind wasn't allowing him to see properly. 'Wasn't he just trying to kill me? Why is he giving me a potion?'
"You did alright." Allen replied, walking over to pick up all of the weapons that were scattered around after the firebolt hit. With his mind and body shaken from that attack, he really didn't know what to say at this point. "I needed to test your strength for our expedition. You are close to level 5 aren't you?"
"Ah, y-yes."
"I see." Allen pondered handing back Bells weapons, when a flash of gold came over faster than Bell's eyes could process and stood over him.
"Are you okay?" Aiz asked in a very concerned tone as she checked him all over for injuries. Countless times she was about to jump out of her hiding spot and stop the fight but seeing Bell fight his hardest and the occasional glances she got from Allen dissuaded her from stepping in. There was also the fact that mini Aiz stared at him in awe with how much he had improved in such a short time again. She cheered louder than ever before when she saw how well Bell was holding his own and the older Aiz couldn't agree more.
Whenever she thought about Bell recently, she became scared she misread his intentions. After all he didn't know her past, they fought over people who were more human than her, and she struck him with the intent to hurt him. After finally allowing her heart to feel the emotions she had been avoiding after years of shutting them off, deep down she wondered if he had truly forgiven her. Trying to push these thoughts out of her head and deal with them latter, she tried to focus her attention back onto the fight but something happened that made her even more confused.
Her wind felt like it was almost calling out to Bell. In all her years of using her mothers magic, her wind had never reacted like that. It was as if her spirit side, her mothers half, was calling out to him. Aiz knew that she loved Bell and she was thought that he loved her back but she couldn't figure out if that was that the cause of this strange feeling.
"Yes, I'm just a little tired." Bell replied clearly on the verge of a mind down as he struggled to get the lid off of the healing potion. Seeing Aiz there almost made him feel more relief than he had felt in awhile since seeing her confirmed she was safe.
"Let me do that." Aiz ordered him as she sat down next to him, taking the potion while propping his head up, carefully pouring it into his mouth. Once he had drank all of it, she carefully grabbed his head and pulled it into her lap so he could relax before turning to Allen. Even if she was socially awkward and out of tune with her emotions, she couldn't let someone hurt her Bell. "You went too hard."
Seeing Aiz give Bell another lap pillow made Allen narrow his eyes in disgust but after what he put Bell through he just sighed and ignored it, choosing to let Freya deal with it. "It's not my fault. What kind of idiot holds back when someone is attacking them." Allen rebutted pointing at Bell.
"That doesn't matter, you nearly killed him."
"So? If he died to attacks like those then you know he won't survive in the deep floors."
"Um excuse me?" Bell asked, trying to interrupt the two before it escalated into a full blown fight between two of Orario's strongest. "Were you really testing me?"
"Yes, I need to know how strong you are for the expedition. Now what did you learn from that?" Allen asked. Truthfully Allen was rather impressed after his fight with Bell. Through it he was able to confirm that if Bell were to fight any of the Gullivers in a one on one battle they would be hard pressed to defeat him.
"I couldn't get close to you. Even with you holding back I couldn't get a hit in because of your spear." Bell said nervously. He knew Allen wouldn't be able to attack him with Aiz here, but he was still running high off of adrenaline after the fight and that feeling of death he saw when he looked into Allen's eyes.
He already knew the disadvantages to using knives and the fight he just had was a harsh reminder. When he was in a fight, he couldn't rely on Argovestia because of the charge time so he tried to win the edge over in speed. But when facing an opponent like Allen who was far faster he was forced to acknowledge how out classed he was.
"At least you aren't an idiot as well." Allen sighed. "You rely too much on speed. When facing an opponent faster than you, you have no idea what to do. Even if you're close to leveling up and already fighting at a mid level five, in the deep floors that won't be enough."
"I need something that gives me precision and range." Bell sighed. "My magic is good but it won't do enough damage to high level monsters."
"So a spear or a sword?" Aiz spoke up. Deep down she wanted to teach Bell sword techniques but she wasn't sure if switching weapons would be for the best after seeing how proficiently he used knives.
"I don't know. I've only used knives for my entire time as an adventurer so switching now might feel weird and it's too close to the expedition. The only other weapon I've used was a bow back when I used to hunt with my grandfather but I'll just run out of arrows in the dungeon."
"It doesn't matter what weapon you used, you wouldn't have beaten me. You aren't good at making use of your status and you need to improve that." Allen explained harshly.
"How should I do that?" Bell asked while Aiz pouted in jealousy that he didn't consider her immediately.
"Remember if you slow us down we might all die. Either go deeper into the dungeon or-" Allen started to speak before being cut off by a spear getting thrown at him as two other parties arrived on the scene.
"What's going on here Allen?" Finn asked as he picked up his spear with the Loki Familia surrounding Bell and Aiz.
"Did you attack these two?" Riveria asked, narrowing her eyes as the rest of the Freya Familia elites, minus Ottar, showed up at his side.
"No you dumbasses. The sword princess isn't hurt at all."
"And how do you explain Mr. Cranel's situation?"
"I needed to test him to see where to put him on our expedition." Allen said with a shrug. "I can't have him slowing us down."
"Still that doesn't mean you attack him." Tiona yelled.
"How else am I going to see what he is capable of?"
"There were much better ways to go about this." Riveria sighed as she began to cast healing magic on Bell. "And what happened to Aiz's knee?
"It's nothing." Aiz replied. She knew if she were to tell them what really happened things could escalate into an all out war between Freya and Loki, a war which the city couldn't handle. Her current priority was just making sure that Bell was safe and healed, after that she could care less about what happened to the Freya Familia.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Allen, what happened here?" A voice called out which made all of the Freya Familia immediately drop into a bow as their Goddess showed up with the Hestia Familia and Ryuu. Upon seeing his Familia Bell let out a groan, not wanting to see them again yet. Trying to calm him down Aiz began patting his head as the situation quickly became a lot more tense.
"I needed to test Bell to see where to put him in our formations for our expedition. I am sorry to have caused you trouble Lady Freya."
"You are going to have to pay for the damages." Freya sighed. She wanted to crush the Loki Familia but if Bell were to be caught in the crossfire then it wouldn't be worth it. "And? Where is Bell, how did he do?"
"AHHHHH BELL!" Hestia shouted as she raced over to the boy who was still currently being healed. Upon arriving, she began to violently shake him in an attempt to move him off of the sword princesses lap but neither of them budged an inch. "ARE YOU OKAY?"
"Yes." Bell replied briefly. To all who knew it was clear that Bell still had some resentment about what had happened with Hestia and his skill, but for Freya she saw this as a great opportunity. Forcing Bell to love her would dim his soul and she wanted to be on equal terms with her Odr after all so she couldn't charm him.
"I KNEW IT! GOING ON THE EXPEDITION IS WAY TOO DANGEROUS! I FORBID YOU FROM GOING!" Hestia continued shouting. Her rant would have gone on for longer but it was quickly interrupted by two people.
"Hestia, please get off of him. You are making it hard to heal him." Riveria asked. In reality she saw how Aiz looked at how this scene unfolded and she knew it could only lead to problems if nothing were to change.
"Oh right, sorry."
"Goddess. I want to go on their expedition." Bell stated, causing all of the upper class adventurers to understand that Bell hadn't changed at all. They kind of expected it as this was a boy who was willing to throw his reputation and himself into hell just to protect the people he cared about.
"Why?"
"I want to see what's down there. And clearing floors with them will help our Familia in the future."
"B-but-"
"Exactly!" Freya exclaimed as she approached Bell. "It's a perfect learning opportunity for you! Learning the layouts of the floors will help you keep your Familia safe in the future!"
"Yeah. Thank you for the opportunity Lady Freya." Bell said as he got up from Aiz's lap. What surprised everyone the most wasn't the pout that formed on her face, it was when Freya threw her arms around Bell and brought him into a deep hug.
"Oh anytime Bell. As for compensation for what happened tonight, I will allow you to train with Allen till our expedition if you wish." Freya said seductively while staring bullets at Aiz as if to remind her about the favor. Everyone was shocked at this statement as this would normally never be allowed except for Allen who wished to train the kid to see how far Bell could go.
The Freya Familia was radiating jealousy but didn't stop their Goddess from doing what she wanted for she was their queen. The Hestia Familia and Loki Familia were speechless with their jaws falling to the floor. Hestia herself turned into a stuttering mess trying to process the situation in front of her. While Aiz on the other hand also felt lonely. She felt like she was watching her bunny, her hero, get taken away from her and her younger self stuck her tongue out while stomping and pouting, begging the older Aiz to do something.
"I hope I won't slow any of your Familia down." Bell replied as Freya reluctantly got off of him and headed back to her Familia. Signaling it was time to leave, everyone let their guard down as they felt the night was finally over.
"Drink this and meet us in front of the dungeon tomorrow at 9." Allen ordered Bell as he threw him another potion. "Ottar, Hedin, and myself are going down for the next week to clear out any irregularities while Ottar fights Balor. You need experience in the deep floors and being down there for a week will give you that."
"I will see you later Bell!" Freya waved goodbye. While she left quickly with her Familia, Freya herself was quick to notice some changes in the way Allen acted. Normally he was closed off and hostile from everyone other than her but it seemed like he happy that he was taking Bell under his wing.
"Now Allen what was that all about? I believe I told you to watch over the two of them and not interfere." Freya mused.
"I needed to make sure he isn't weak and won't get us killed. I'm sorry for disobeying your orders Lady Freya."
"It's fine, no one was seriously hurt but you are never to raise your spear at Bell again without my permission. Still you seemed rather pleased with how he did and that you get to train him."
"Please. That just means I get to fix all of the mistakes the sword princess instilled in him." Allen scoffed. "That brat has potential but unless he levels up before the expedition it'll be impossible for him to keep up with us in the lower levels."
"Well with his growth rate that won't be long now don't you agree?"
"He's probably close to level 5 now. A week in the deep floors will level him up then I'll train him for a week so he can get used to it."
"So you are looking forward to it!" Freya squealed out in happiness, confirming the changes she saw in Allen's soul were accurate.
"Tsk." Was all Allen could reply. You couldn't lie to a God and he knew better than to try against Freya. He already surrendered himself to the endless amount of teasing he was sure to get from her in the future. All he could do tonight though was go home and rest for tomorrow.
Back where Allen and Bell fought, the mood turned around rather quickly after Bell was interrogated by everyone present for what had happened. After he explained he heard a crash and rushed over only to be attacked by Allen. Everyone was glad it was nothing serious but they each felt that Bell was rapidly taking years off of their lives.
"Now Aiz, what happened to your knee?" Riveria asked in her concerned motherly tone. "It wasn't like that when we last saw you."
"Allen threw a blunted spear at me."
"THAT DAMN CAT." Tione yelled.
"WE SHOULD SKIN HIM!" Tiona followed up with. It was a well known rule throughout Orario that if you attack the princess of the Loki Familia then they will come raining down onto you with no mercy.
"No it's fine. He only wanted to tell me not to get involved in his fight."
"Are you sure? We don't know if that could be an excuse to have us lower our guard in the future." Finn speculated. For the first time he was glad his thumb was off, he couldn't have imagined the backlash that would occur if their two Familia's were to fight here. Since Freya was without Ottar, Finn knew they would eventually win but they would incur some heavy losses that they couldn't afford.
"Fine, we will discuss this more later Aiz. You need to be more alert while you are alone from here on out." Riveria sighed.
"I'm sorry I was distracted." Aiz replied, putting her head down to allow her hair to cover her face so none of the people present would see her blush.
"Oh? Distracted by what?" Riveria inquired with her eyes that said she already knew the truth.
"Yeah Aiz what was sooooo distracting while you were with Argonaut?" Tiona began teasing her.
As the blood started to rush her to face faster than ever before, Aiz turned around and walk towards the person they were all talking about, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Aiz asked. After watching everything he had done today she was positive he was exhausted and needed rest, especially if he was planning on going to the deep floors tomorrow.
"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just tired but I feel like I learned a lot from him." Bell replied.
"I see, so he is a better teacher than me." Aiz pouted while mini Aiz was preparing some items for Bell's upcoming trip into the dungeon to make sure he returns safely.
"Ah that's not it! He just fights so differently compared to you and I feel like it would be a good learning experience to practice fighting against other weapons than a sword. You are still the best teacher, no one could replace you Aiz." Bell rambled on desperately trying to make her drop the pout she dawned.
"It's okay, I know." Aiz replied as she gave him a small smile. Their short lived moment was quickly interrupted.
"Come on Bell let's go back home!" Hestia declared with a proud smile feeling that at the end of the day she won since Bell was coming back home with her. Well her and her Familia but she chose to brush over that part. Seeing Bell roll his eyes at his Goddesses usual antics all Aiz could do was let out a soft chuckle that took everyone for surprise since she rarely laughs.
"It'll be fine Bell." Aiz reassured him.
"I know I just really don't want to deal with it tonight but I should head back and rest for tomorrow." Bell sighed as he turned around but before he could leave Aiz called out to him one final time.
"Wait Bell."
"Yes?"
"Please be safe tomorrow." Aiz replied. SThe remembered how he always told her to be safe every single time they left each other and she didn't want him to leave and experience the deep floors again without saying it.
"Thank you Aiz! I'll be sure to make it back!"
"Come see me when you get back."
"Right!" Bell replied as he ran off to join his Familia. Meanwhile while making her way back to her own, Aiz could already feel the teasing she was going to get from everyone.
"Hmmmmm I really wonder what the distraction was." Tiona said sarcastically after jumping in front of Aiz to see how red she would get since this was a side of her Tiona had never seen before.
Before the teasing could continue, Finn interrupted everyone asking a question that needed to be answered.
"Did Mr. Cranel tell you how far he is planning on going into the dungeon with them on the expedition?"
"No. If Ottar becmes a level 8 I assume they will go past the 60th floor." Aiz replied in her stoic nature.
"Hm I see. We should increase our training since we can't fall behind them." Finn sighed. "Lets head back for the night, we should follow his example and get some rest."
With the Loki Familia swiftly taking off, they immediately resumed teasing their princess.
"So Aiz what did you and Argonaut do ALL night together?" Tiona asked.
"Yeah you were alone with him for almost three hours." Tione added in.
"Now girls, whatever Aiz does with her boyfriend is their business now isn't it Finn?" Riveria asked which caused Aiz to get even redder than she had already been.
"He's … my…" Aiz muttered under her breath. Even with their enhanced status they couldn't pick up what she was trying to say.
"That is correct Riveria. It is rather rude to intrude on a private relationship." Finn chuckled. "Now Aiz I don't believe I heard that, would you care to repeat it for us?"
"He's not my boyfriend yet." Aiz said barely any louder than before.
"Yet?" Tiona asked as she leaned over and nudged Aiz. Realizing her mistake, Aiz took off in a full sprint trying to get home and curl up in a ball to deal with these new emotions as fast as possible. Ever since more and more emotions started to awaken within her that was her go to position. No matter how good she got at dealing with them, love was still too complicated for her.
"Tempest." Aiz activated her spell to increase the distance between her and the rest of her Familia so she didn't have to deal with this conversation anymore. Upon seeing the green wind surrounding her, the rest of her Familia broke out into laughter as they realized that the sword princess was changing faster than they could've ever imagined but thinking about their Goddesses and a certain Elfs reaction gave them quite the headache.
"Alright well now that's over, let's go back home!" Hestia shouted to her Familia.
"It seems my help was not needed. This is where I must take my leave, I'm sure Mama Mia is suspicious of what is going on and I do not want to anger her." Ryu replied with a bow. Before she could leave she made eye contact with the boy she was with earlier in the dungeon and the two approached each other.
"Thanks for taking care of my Familia while I wasn't there." Bell told her. She could clearly see how tired he was but since he was heading home she didn't feel the need to worry about his exploits anymore. She knew by tomorrow he would be up and pushing the boundaries of what he is capable of again but at least tonight she knew he would sleep soundly.
"Of Course. Make sure you get plenty of rest for tomorrow Bell."
"I'll try to. I'm guessing Hestia will want to talk once we get back and I'm not sure I'm ready for that conversation."
"I understand how you feel. They are your Familia though, with every right you have to be angry and upset towards them, do not forget to listen to their reasoning before making a decision on what to do."
"Yeah I guess you're right. I don't really know what is going to happen, I just want to move on and stop keeping secrets." Bell sighed. "Thank you for all of your help Ryu."
"Of course, it is only natural after all you have done for me. Once you get back from the dungeon, could we talk about something?" Ryu asked shyly. She wanted to tell him her plan before she left. She was still scared about meeting her Goddess and did not want to inform too many people, only Bell and Syr, the ones who she allowed herself to be touched by. She also needed to figure out how to get whitelisted by the guild, of course she could ask Bell for help as he seemed to be very well connected with them, but she didn't want to rely on him too much. He saved her and became her hero but she didn't want to become useless or too dependent on him.
"Okay. I'll make sure to see you again before I go on the expedition."
"Are you sure you will be okay after what happened in the deep floors last time?"
"Yeah. I have to get over everything that happened eventually don't I?"
"I suppose so. It will take your Familia a long time to catch up with you if you keep pushing yourself this hard though and I know you said you wanted to grow with them."
"I know it might seem like I'm leaving my Familia behind but if I get more experience on the middle and lower floors I'll be able to protect them when we eventually make our way down there. Plus I don't think I'll ever get another chance to train with Allen or Ottar."
"I see. Make sure you don't over do it, you still aren't fully healed are you?"
"Yeah I'm not, I'm close but don't worry I'll be careful." Bell laughed as if to suppress the memories from the time he received all those injuries. Before the pair could continue on with their conversation, they got interrupted by someone who didn't much care for the mood they had made.
"WAAAAAA BELL NO FLIRTING WE ARE LEAVING." Hestia shouted, quickly running to him and grabbing his arm to pull him away from the Elf which the pair could only sigh in response. With a wave of his hand, Bell left Ryu, who stared at his back as the Hestia Familia disappeared, making their way back to their home and to a conversation she was glad she wasn't a part of.
Thankfully, there were no people out this late around the city. It seemed everyone decided to hold up in their homes and wait for the night to pass while whatever happened in the city ended. Luckily it seemed like nothing happened and everyone's worries were for naught.
Eventually reaching their Familia home after a painful walk clouded in silence and uncertainty, each knowing what was coming as soon as they opened the doors.
"Since everyone is here now." Hestia started staring nervously at Bell. "How about we go talk in the living room regarding the elephant in the room?"
With all eyes immediately turning towards the boy in nervousness, all he could do was let out a sigh.
"Yeah I guess we probably should." Bell said hesitantly.
Entering the living room, everyone immediately took their spots with Haruhime and Mikoto on one side of the table sharing a couch, Bell and Welf doing the same on the other side since Welf got the feeling that Bell didn't want to deal with their Goddess or supporter right now, and Hestia and Lili on each ends of the table in a chair. They had used this room countless times when they planned for the future expeditions, played with Wienne, and when Bell rejected Hestia indirectly the first time, but none of those carried the same feeling as this meeting did.
"So Bell about your skill…" Hestia started. "We only kept it a secret to protect you, I only kept it from you because I know you can't lie to anyone. If you knew about it then you would've been snatched away by someone. If other Gods knew then they would've given you countless offers to join them and they'd declare war on us if we didn't give you over so in order to protect you we had to keep it a secret."
'Does she really think I'd just leave this Familia? After all I have done for it? I made a promise to them to try and make us a top Familia one day and they don't even trust me? And why is she trying to pin all of the blame on me?' Bell thought as he looked down, trying to figure out what to say.
"You've barely changed since back when Lili tried to take advantage of you. You wanted to save everyone and you believed in people so Lili was able to steal your knife from you. If others knew you had this skill then they would've tried to play off of your good nature and trap you in their Familia. We just tried to look out for your best interests." Lili said, causing the rest of them there to look at the two with a certain level of disgust. They couldn't believe they were trying to blame him over this situation when he did nothing wrong.
'I haven't changed?" Bell thought as the countless images of what he had gone through over the past 6 months flashed throughout his mind. Sure he hadn't changed his goals, but he felt like after everything he had gone through how could someone say he hasn't changed?
"I apologize master Bell, we should have told you sooner. Hestia told us to keep it a secret from you." Haruhime added in. "I don't want there to be any more secrets in this Familia. With all that Bell has done for all of us it was unfair to keep this a secret from him."
"It's alright Haruhime." Bell said softly. He figured something like that was the case as Hauhime, Welf, and Mikoto would never willingly lie to him about this. They might keep some secrets from him but not one like this if they had a choice.
"I agree with Haruhime. If the guild were to check for themselves and see that we have been hiding a rare skill we could get into a lot of trouble as well." Mikoto pointed out. With both of their eyes turning to Welf as if they were pleading for him to say anything to smooth over the damages but he just shrugged. He already knew how Bell felt and he didn't feel like there was anything left to add to what they said.
"But Bell would just go tell everyone. Then wars would break out all over Orario over him! Think about it he almost told Finn about the Xenos and imagine all of the trouble that would've caused us." Hestia said before either of the boys could speak up.
"That and this are different." Bell said with plenty of resentment. "We all talked about the Xenos and we all wanted to protect them. But I've had this skill since before anyone else joined our Familia. We promised each other not to keep secrets after the whole knife situation which made us not gain any members but you've been keeping this a secret almost from the beginning."
"Yes but I did it for your protection Bell. Other Gods would've taken you away from me."
"What I think Bell is trying to say here." Welf interrupted since Hestia clearly wasn't getting the meaning behind his words. "Is that he feels as if we haven't trusted him when he put all of his trust in us. We made a promise and we broke it. We have to figure out a way to repair that damage going forward."
"I agree with Welf, Bell has saved all of us at one point it's only right we should have trusted him." Haruhime stated.
"Yeah. I just want us to stop keeping secrets from each other. I know each Familia has their own secrets but we are the only members of this Familia and if we don't trust each other we can't grow." Bell said, wanting this conversation to end. "Besides it's late and I need to get to sleep for tomorrow. I forgive all of you so let's just move on."
"You're really planning on going with them?" Hestia asked in an annoyed voice. "They just attacked you! I don't care if it was just a training exercise!"
"Lili doesn't think it is a good idea. You've heard the stories about the Freya Familia haven't you?"
"Yes I have. If I learn how to clear floors with them it will help our Familia in the future. If I get experience with seasoned adventurers in the lower floors then when we go down there it won't be as dangerous."
"Ugh fine I guess I'll allow it but I'm not sure about that expedition." Hestia growled out.
"I'm going on it. I won't get another chance to be a part of the team that discovers new floors again for a long time. I want to see what is down there."
"Are you sure you will be safe?" Haruhime asked. She knew Bell was determined to go but she didn't want him to act recklessly.
"I'll be with Ottar, Allen, and the rest of the elites from the Freya Familia. I'll be fine as long as I listen to them. Besides, with my skill I should be level 5 before the expedition so that will definitely help."
"FINE!" Hestia shouted. "But if that cat does anything again I'll skin him alive!"
"He won't, he was just making sure I'll be ready." Bell sighed, even he did not know how to deal with the Freya Familia after all that had happened today. He didn't get the feeling that Freya knew what Allen was planning after spending time with her but he couldn't be too sure. It was next to impossible to stay focused whenever she was in the room with her beauty being intoxicating.
"Well now that it's all settled we should probably let Bell rest." Welf said as he stood up and headed out the door as quick as possible. Sensing Hestia still had something to say, the rest followed suit with a little resistance from Lili but she couldn't do much about it.
"Hey Bell? Let's update your status before you go tomorrow." Hestia said as soon as everyone left the room trying to put her plan into motion. She thought there was only one thing she could do to make Bell forgive her even if she thought she did nothing wrong. She felt him slowly getting further and further away from her and she couldn't allow that to happen.
"Alright." Bell replied as he slid his shirt off. Hestia was expecting it to be how they always had been, with Bell laying on the couch and her on top of him, but he just kneeled down with his back to her. The sight of this broke her heart as she felt like he had already left.
"You aren't thinking of joining another Familia are you?"
"No, I made a promise and I keep my promises." Bell said coldly.
"Good. I think after a week in the dungeon your stats will be up to what they normally are for a level up. We will make you a level 5 once you get back." Hestia said as she handed Bell the status sheet, almost erasing his skill out of habit until she realized that probably wouldn't be the best idea considering the situation they were in.
Bell Cranel
Level 4
Strength: S 903 - S 913
Endurance: A 837 - A 845
Dexterity: S 924 - S 936
Agility: S 990 - S 994
Magic: A 838 - A 850
Lucky: F
Abnormal Resistance: G
Escape: I
Magic:
Firebolt: Quick cast magic.
Skills:
Liaris Freese: Fast growth as long as feelings last. The stronger the emotions, the stronger the growth.
Argonaut: An attack capable of turning the tide in battle.
Ox Slayer: Increased damage against Ox type enemies.
"Alright."
While Bell was busy studying his status sheet Hestia finally felt that it was time to be upfront with Bell with everything. As soon as he made his way towards the door to leave, Hestia ran up and wrapped him in a hug from behind with only the sound of burning wood being audible as the two stood there in silence until Hestia opened her mouth.
"I love you Bell." She said determinedly. "I've loved you for a long time."
"Hestia…" Bell groaned trying to pry her arms off of him.
"No listen to me I need to say this. Ever since I met you I knew you were going to be special. We were perfect for each other, a kid who wasn't accepted anywhere and a Goddess who couldn't get anyone. As soon as I saw you I knew you would be important to me. Seeing you grow from the boy who got too embarrassed and screamed at everything to who you are now really helped me realize how much you truly mean to me. Without you I don't know where I would be."
When Hestia first hugged him, Bell wanted to pry her off and run to his room but when he remembered the advice he had gotten from Miach and Welf, about responding to feelings he decided against it. When they told him not to run away and think of the other person would feel with how much stress they place themselves under when conveying their feelings he knew he had to listen to this.
But when he heard Hestia say these words he wasn't happy. In fact he was almost angry at the timing she chose to say all of this, it felt like she was desperately trying not to be hated. As she continued his feelings just became worse after listening to her change part of the details about what happened in the stories.
"Back when you got saved by Wallenwhatsit, I was jealous. I wanted you to look at me that way, to think about me that way, to love me that way, but you never did. I felt like I was losing you to her and I couldn't let that happen so I hid your skill from you so you'd rely on me more. But seeing you grow that fast made me realize I needed to do more or else I'd lose you."
'I really don't want to have to tell her my heart belongs to Aiz, it'll crush her.' Bell thought. Ever since she saved him from that minotaur his soul belonged to her. He knew at first that his feelings were just mere admiration due to him being saved but after all they had been through together from the training, to dancing, to fighting and now where they currently were he genuinely fell in love with her.
"When you became the new record holder I knew that other Gods would try to take you away from me like it did with Apollo. Back then I wanted to tell you how I felt and run away with you as lovers. I wanted to start a life with you somewhere, anywhere. I didn't care if it was just us two wandering around or if we lived in a village, I just wanted to be with you. I never got the chance to tell you back then, but you beat Apollo for me and that made me so happy! You promised you'd beat him for me and you did! But even with all of that I couldn't win you over, not with Wallenwhatsit training you and being your goal. I wanted to put a stop to it so many times so you couldn't be close with her and you'd rely on me but seeing how happy you were I knew I couldn't do that."
Throughout all of Hestia's confession, Bell slowly began to realize the truth. Hestia did not genuinely love him. She just didn't want to lose him and end up alone again.
He couldn't really blame her for that though, he had heard the stories of how pathetic Hestia looked while groveling for members before he had showed up and he was the exact same. He remembered how he practically begged every Familia to let him join but none did. He owed Hestia a lot but he couldn't return her feelings.
In the past six months they had built up a decent Familia together that he cherished with his life. Before he came to Orario he often dreamed of just being accepted into a top Familia right away and saving girls in the dungeon but after all he had been through he couldn't imagine anything else than what he had. To him, the current Hestia Familia was a better dream than his naïve one, but if he were to accept her feelings then things would never be the same. Not only would Hestia be in a relationship with someone who didn't love her back in that way, the Familia he loved would cease to exist. Their relationships would become too damaged.
"Then there was the whole Haruhime situation and the whole incident really made me realize have never changed. You still hold onto that dream you have of wanting to save people no matter what. Sure when you came back from the red light district I was upset, I hated the idea of someone that wasn't me being next to you but once you explained what happened and what you wanted to do it made my entire world light up. You never changed and we did it because of you! We saved Haruhime from Ishitar and managed to get an amazing girl in our Familia!"
This part was rather confusing for Bell. The way he remembered it was Hestia didn't listen to him and he had to do what he wanted to do behind her back since she "banned" him from going into that part of the city. Even after he saved Haruhime, she tried to forbid Bell from even talking to her. Wondering how much jealousy and possessiveness Hestia truly had, Bell continued listening to her confession.
"When you said you wouldn't date a God that broke my heart and I didn't know how to deal with it so I ran away. I ended up getting caught by Ares but you came to rescue me with Wallenwhatsit. I hated her being there with us but you became my hero again. During that entire incident I got flashes of you battling the silverback for me all those months ago when you became my hero. Seeing you and her get along made me want to never return but when you danced with me and told me about your grandfather I couldn't help but forgive you and come back with you!" Hestia sighed blissfully while she recalled that memory with her arms still wrapped around Bell.
After feeling apprehensive about it at first, Bell knew he had to tell her the truth. That their current relationship couldn't go on this way. To Bell Hestia was somewhat of a mother figure to him. He had no romantic interest in her whatsoever and hearing her omit details of what happened made him realize unless he was upfront he couldn't get her to listen.
"Then with the Xenos, at first I was scared but seeing you and Wienne form a bond I couldn't help but accept her seeing you act all fatherly. You even stood up to the Loki Familia for them. You fought against Wallenwhatsit and she hurt you just for you doing what you believe in. I was so furious! I wanted to rip her arms off for doing something like that to you and tell you to never see her again. Thankfully our Familias made up and we were able to save the Xenos and Orario from all of those demi spirits but after seeing how much you changed after coming across the Xenos made me want to stay with you forever. I want to see how much more you change, how much more you grow. I don't want to lose you." Hestia said softly, unwrapping her arms from Bell and allowing him to turn around and look at her.
Back then Bell remembered how he honestly considered if he could be with someone like Aiz if she continued to hold onto all of that hatred for monsters. When their ideals clashed she nearly killed someone important to him and fighting against her broke his heart more than anything ever had. If she decided to kill Wienne that night things would be a lot different and he probably wouldn't be able to love her anymore.
"Then seeing you with Freya after all of the stuff happened with your skill I thought it was over. I thought you hated me and you were going to leave. I couldn't let you do that Bell I need you in my life. Please let me be the one who stands next to you forever."
"..."
"Do you accept my feelings?" Hestia said, gazing into his eyes with a forlorn stare.
"I'm sorry." Bell said. Once those two words little words left his mouth Hestia looked like the entire world crashed down on her. Her once bright blue eyes that had an unnatural shine to them went dim, waiting for the fire to be lit again. Her loud and confident demeanor was crushed as her heart felt like it had been ripped in two.
"I love Aiz. I have since the day she saved me and I always will."
"But you don't even know if she loves you back." Hestia said almost desperately.
"That doesn't matter. I'll never love anyone the way I love her and its unfair to let you think that. She sees me for who I am and I want to be with someone who sees me like that and not just a possession for them to own. I don't ever plan on leaving this Familia but I can't return your feelings."
"Bell…"
"Ever since I joined you always treated like I was your property. You always yelled at me anytime I spoke to another girl, you ran around calling me a cheater loud enough for the entire city to hear, and you rarely supported my attempts to get close with Aiz, even when you knew we weren't in a relationship. I know you are scared of being left alone but I can't return your feelings and I'll never be able to. The only person I want to be with is Aiz. I'll always be your child but nothing more than that. I need to live my own life and I can't have you controlling it." Bell said clearly to make sure the point got across. He knew every word he said hurt Hestia but he couldn't let this keep going on. He needed to tell her sooner rather than later so she wouldn't get hurt worse later on.
Turning his back towards her and heading out of the room he heard Hestia fall to her knees with tears flowing without any sign of elegance. He couldn't turn around and comfort her now, he knew that would be unfair. She put her love, or what she believed to be love, out there and Bell rejected it. If he went back now it would only make her feel worse and give her the wrong idea.
"I won't give up." Hestia muttered. "I can't give up.
To say that Bell was left with a bitter taste in his mouth after what just happened would be putting it lightly. He was exhausted after his fight with Allen and he just wanted to go straight to bed in order to get rest for the dungeon tomorrow but then they had to talk about his skill and in all honesty he could care less. Talking with Aiz and Ryu made him realize just how much his Familia meant to him, he just wanted to make sure that there weren't any more secrets so this didn't happen again.
He could understand why they didn't tell him about the skill though. If a God, adventurer, or even a random person were to ask Bell about it, he didn't know if he had it in him to lie. Instead of being mad he just wanted to go clear his head and figure out what to do from here. Every Familia had their secrets, but he felt like a failure of a captain to not know the important ones from his. Bell felt like his trust in them was betrayed as he would never willingly leave them no matter the offer he got and they didn't believe in him. There was also the fact of other Familia's knew about it before him. Sure they were on good terms with the Loki Familia but that doesn't mean they should know about his own skill before him.
And then there was Hestia's confession. He was planning to get his status updated anyways since he would be in the dungeon for awhile but he couldn't figure out for the life of him why she chose that moment to confess. Bell felt as if she was trying to save face after she got caught in a lie but even if that wasn't the case, Bell just didn't feel the same way. When she described how she "loved" him it just sounded like an obsession instead of actual love. He was the first child of her Familia, the one who brought them to where they were today, and it just sounded like she was scared to lose him.
In all honesty he wasn't really sure what to do anymore. Between Hestia and Lili trying to blame him to save their own faces and the honesty he got from Mikoto, Haruhime, and Welf he was at a loss. Bell wasn't planning on leaving the Hestia Familia after everyone had done so much for him but it was clear that things would never be the same. Their Goddess became too selfish, too obsessed, too untrusting of the person she supposedly loved.
Sighing there was only one thing left he had to do for the day as he made his way to the forge in his home. Thankfully the one he wanted to see was there as he had a few requests for him.
"Hey Welf." Bell called out as entered the forge to see Welf hard at work like always.
"Oh hey Bell. I figured I should repair your armor since you plan on going pretty deep tomorrow, hope you don't mind." Welf replied.
"Oh not at all! I was actually coming here to ask you to do the same thing."
"Well glad to see things are going back to normal around here."
"Yeah…"
"I know that tone, what happened with Hestia?"
"She confessed her feelings to me."
"And how did you deal with it this time?"
"I told her I don't feel the same. Ever since I met her she has been forcing herself and her feelings onto me and making me feel guilty about not returning them." Bell sighed. He knew the only person he could really talk to about this situation was Welf but rejecting someone outright left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"It's for the best. Don't feel so down about it." Welf replied patting Bells shoulder. "Besides it's better to respond to someone's feelings when they put themselves out there like that. If you two continued with what you were doing she would've ended up getting hurt a lot more since her feelings were unrequited."
"Yeah I guess you're right, still seeing her after I told her no hurt, it was like her entire world burned down. I care for her but not in that way."
"And she has to accept that. Even if she is a God, she can't force you to love her. After all they are your feelings and not hers right? You wouldn't want to force Aiz to love you and have her not be happy in that relationship right? You'd want her to fall in love with you so you both are happy."
"Ah yeah you're right." Bell laughed sheepishly. That analogy Welf used really tied together his emotions and thoughts on the whole situation. Hestia might be sad now but in the future she will understand and be able to move on.
"Anyways did you need anything else or just some armor repairs?"
"I was actually wondering if you could make me a new weapon."
"Oh really? What kind? Or is it another knife?"
"Not another knife but if you could do you think you could do maintenance on them tonight?"
"Ofcourse, I can't have you going into the dungeon unprepared now can I? But anyways what's this new weapon?" Welf asked as his eyes glistened. He was getting a feeling that Bell was going to have him to create something challenging and after he made an unbreakable magic sword he had been in a rut. Sure he could create unbreakable magic swords now with the right materials but he wanted to try to create something new again so he can show it off to Hephaestus.
"After I fought Allen I realized I need something that let's me attack from a distance. My knives will still work for close range but I need something that gives me more range if an opponent is faster than me."
"And what did you think? A spear and sword are out since they'd be too hard to switch to. You could use a magic sword but I'd prefer you not end up relying on it."
"I don't really know. I've only used knives as an adventurer so I was thinking of leaving it up to you to designs some weapons that might work."
"Alright I have a few ideas, leave it to me!"
"Really? Thank you so much Welf!" Bell replied with his toothy grin.
"Of course, what else are smiths for? Besides if I can make something amazing then Hephaestus will be forced to acknowledge me as a smith right?" Welf replied smiling with a slight blush crossing his face. "Now get out of here, you need rest for tomorrow."
"Ah one more thing Welf. Do you think you could make any item that lets the wearer know I'm alive and how much mind I have?"
"Probably, do you want it ready in time for your upcoming expedition?"
"Yeah, Aiz looked really worried when I said that I'm going with them and I thought if she had those it might help her calm down."
"Hm. I think I can do that." Welf replied with a mischievous grin after he thought of the designs. "Speaking of Aiz did you ask her out?"
"Not yet, I want to be stronger first. Once I reach level 6 I'll tell her how I feel."
"Why the sudden change in heart? Earlier you were going on about wanting to confess?"
"Well I still want to but I felt like if I did that then it would've been rushed. Tiona was pressuring me and spending time with her made me realize I want it to be special for her. I don't want to give her anything less than she deserves."
"You're really growing up aren't you?" Welf scoffed. "That's one of your better ideas. Anyways get out of here man you need your rest. I'll fix your gear tonight and then get started on the other ones you want tomorrow."
"Thanks Welf! If I get any drop items in the dungeon I'll bring them to you so you can use them!" Bell replied as he hurried off to bed leaving Welf to wonder what kind of new drops he'd get to experiment with and what kind of weapon he'd make.
As soon as he entered his room he took out the potion Allen gave him earlier today. He immediately recognized it as one of the potions Amid makes that helps you recover faster while you sleep. The last time he saw this kind of potion was when he was being treated by her in the hospital and remembering how expensive they were made him shudder.
'I guess top Familia's really live in a different world.' Bell mused. 'Though once I level up to five won't I make a lot more money to help pay off our debt?'
Figuring he'd deal with those thoughts later, Bell downed the potion and fell flat on his bed, wondering what tomorrow would bring him with how eventful the last two days were.
"It seems the Freya Familia was doing a surprise training exercise on Bell Cranel to see where to put him for their upcoming expedition." Fels explained. He had known that Ouranos' divine will came second to none with the only other God who could even compare to him was Hermes. After the warning he received, Fels immediately turned to the skies to watch over Orario.
'So it seems my concerns were for nothing.' Ouranos sighed, grateful that nothing happened to the city last night. 'So why do I still have this strange feeling?'
Ever since earlier the head God of Orario had been a nervous wreck even if he did not show it. Thinking about the feelings he got, it was almost like his divine intuition was telling him to be on guard. He had felt this feeling a few times before, when the Zeus and Hera Familia went to attack the One Eyed Black Dragon, a few days before Evilus attacked with Alfia and Zald, and most recently when the Loki Familia made their way down to the 59th floor where they fought the first demi spirit and eventually uncovered the massive plot that nearly toppled the city.
With the city still recovering from that whole debacle, he wasn't sure how it would fare from something similar happening again. But once he heard the rumors that Ottar was on his way into the dungeon to level up, a wave of relief washed over him as the forces he had influence over were coming back to what they used to be nearly 15 years ago. Having a level 8 in Orario, even if it shifted the balance of power, made Ouranos feel at ease. After all, when thinking back to the monsters that the Zeus and Hera Familia possessed it almost seemed like nothing could stop them.
"Is something still a problem?" Fels questioned.
"I do not know." Ouranos replied solemnly. "We may have to wait and see as the feeling I had earlier hasn't gone away. Make the Freya Familia pay for the damages and leave it at that. I fear a time will come where we must call upon them for aide again is approaching quickly."
As the God continued to send prayers towards the dungeon all he could do was hope that Orario would get stronger to avoid anything similar to what happened a few weeks ago.
Authors Note:
I'm sorry that this chapter took a while to get out again. I originally had a completely different plan for this chapter where there was a huge fight against the Loki and Freya Familia's but after talking with Ottarthemad I realized how bad of an idea that was. It wouldn't make sense to the story and it just felt like a very forced chapter, making everyone act very OOC.
After talking with him and countless rewrites, I realized the problem was in the plan of the chapter so I went back and changed it. To make what happens feel more realistic I had to go back and change the very last part of chapter 11. I'm sorry about that but I like the way it is a lot more now. I'm going to work on my planning process to not make that mistake again but if it makes the story better it'll be worth. It made me realize that I'm still very new to this whole writing thing and that I have a long way to go to be as good as I want to be.
With the last ending if I left it as is I would've had to have a war games between Loki and Freya and it's just way too soon for anything like that and it would cause a lot of tension that wouldn't help the story especially with what is about to happen.
The way Allen acted, it made no sense for him to attack Aiz in the city, if he were going to it should have been the dungeon. Then Bell fighting Allen, Bell would just lose and Allen has no reason to fight him because of Freya. Another thing is some fanfics seem to just use Allen as a plot tool for the "asshole" and I want to take him a different route which is why he seems a little out of character here. He is still going to be an asshole though as the story progresses don't worry.
Once I finished re-planning this story, I now have a few things coming up soon that will be a lot better than a one off fight that is very forced so just wait a few chapters for those. I'm going to try to go back to posting weekly as hard as I can but who knows. Now that I've fixed my plan for this story it should be easier but don't hold your breath, I've become really busy recently and editing is a pain.
Once again I am sorry about everything but this is my first story and I still have a lot to improve on. I want to give another thank you to Ottarthemad for all of the help he gave me with this and some ideas to make this story a lot better in the future. I want to take this story a different route than any others and without him it wouldn't be nearly as good once it is finished. It'll take a little bit to start up as I still have a few things left to solve but it shouldn't take too much longer to add the new ideas.
I also felt that I was kind of forcing the Aiz and Bell relationship a little too hard and doing a lot of things too fast so I wanted to fix that. Everything in the story kind of revolves around them too much and I want to slow that down so I can focus on other things and make it more satisfying for when they do get together.
I'm sorry the Allen fight wasn't good, fight scenes are still hard to write but I'm going to try to improve. I wanted to try to make it seem like Allen was toying with Bell and just testing him so it wasn't a serious battle since Bell would lose if Allen went all out. But I did want to show Bells progression with this fight and I think I did?
Finally with the Hestia scene, as I remember it Hestia never fully confessed to Bell. It was more like "Hey a Goddess might love you one day would you date her?" sorta thing, then comforting him over the loss of his grandfather. She never really conveyed her feelings to Bell directly so I thought adding that in would move the story along as a necessary development. Hestia has never had a crush before and imo she doesn't love Bell its just obsessions so I tried to play off that for it. I know Bell seems a little OOC in it but that's how I genuinely believe he'd react since he rejected Syr in a similarly in vol 16.
If you have any questions or criticisms I gladly welcome them as I want this story to be an amazing read once it is done. Sorry this note was slightly longer than normal, I just felt like I had to explain a lot about the future of this story and why I changed some things.
Thank you and that's all for this one!