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.
40: Invitation
Normal POV
=Hearth Mansion, 7PM=
"Lili, have you packed the water- Oh, also don't forget the thick coats!" The entire mansion was in a frenzy. It was the day before the departure on the most ambitious expedition to date. Throughout the day, the familia's schedule had been jam-packed, especially Bell's. While everyone else had been getting ready for the expedition by running around and adding the finishing touches to the items they were going to bring, Bell had to do that alongside the added pressure of training his thunder magic alongside Riveria.
Speaking of that, in Bell's perspective, his proficiency in casting lightning and thunder magic had increased exponentially. He had memorized multiple magic spells of the sort from Riverias seemingly endless knowledge of magic.
Riveria had been positively surprised at the fast progress Bell had made with his magic, even to go as far as to almost brag at how fast he had gotten used to it.
This had also sparked a small debate among the Loki Familia executives upon Bell's true natural talent with all of them coming to the conclusion that Bell was just abnormal in every sense of the word.
That all leads us to the current situation, everyone in the Hestia Familia and Astraea Familia were packing their gear and making sure everything was ready for tomorrow's early departure at 6AM.
"Yes! Lili has packed everything you have mentioned Bell-sama. I think that was the last of it too" Bell nodded with a smile at her response.
"Good, that means we are all packed, we got magic swords, weapons, blacksmithing gear, food, water… I honestly think we are finally done!" Bell said with an exasperated sigh as he sat down in one of the couches.
Lili proceeded to do the same, sitting next to Bell. They were both leaning and looked exhausted from the day they had.
"It's kind of funny, no matter how strong you get, your mental fatigue of having to do so much eventually weighs you down no matter what. It's the one thing the falna can't fix" Bell sparked a conversation
"You're right. Lili noticed it when Lili was still part of the Soma Familia. Lili was always alone and always had to do everything. For Lili, it was always exhausting, no matter how much Lili grew" Bell mentally screamed in relief as the tension in his mind finally died down.
'Nothing can ruin this mood' Bell thought as he sank deeper into the couch.
*Knock* *Knock*
Bell peeked over to the door before rising with a sigh and opening the door to meet Astraea.
"Bell, a letter from Braver arrived" She told him respectfully. Bell bowed after taking the letter in appreciation.
"Thank you, Astraea. Is there anything else I could help you with?" Astraea hesitated for a moment before shaking her head
"No, I will handle it myself, you look very tired" Bell smiled thankfully at her as she took her leave.
After closing the door, Bell sat down beside the now very curious Lili, and opened the letter.
Dear Cranel-san
I have received your warning of what we might encounter on the 100th floor.
We would like for you to visit my Office if you have the time before the expedition to share the knowledge you have of this 'Monstrosity'
Best Regards, 'Braver' Finn Deimne
It was short but right to the point. Bell groaned as Lili looked at him confused.
"Is something wrong Bell-sama?" She asked as she leaned over and tilted her head a little.
"Yeah, Finn wants to see me. I will be gone for a little while. Make sure you and everyone gets rest. We are getting up at first light" Lili nodded as she got up and trotted away.
Meanwhile, Bell wasted no time. Instead of taking the more obvious approach and go through the main door. He opened the window and leaped onto the streets and set out towards the Twilight manor
=Twilight Manor, Finn's Office=
"Thank you for allowing me to borrow your time, Bell" Finn greeted Bell as he entered the office alongside Riveria where Gareth, Ais and every adventurer that will be going to the 105th floor in the Loki Familia were situated.
Bell took a seat next to Ais near the sofa. He softly greeted her with a smile as she did the same before Bell turned back to Finn with a quizzical look.
"No need to be so formal Finn, we are allies, comrades and in a way, partners, but I would also like to add friends to that list" Bell asked as Finn smiled at him
"Indeed, I hope the request wasn't an inconvenience to you" Bell shook his head in response
"No, me and my familia just finished our preparations for our expedition. It was perfect timing actually, but the meeting was kind of shocking as it's very late" Bell commented
"That is expected from such a short notice meeting, but I would like to hear this from you in person"
"Ah, right, the monster on the 100th floor…"
"Indeed…"
"Before we start, can I ask you for a small favor?" Finn nodded
"Could you give this letter to Loki?" Finn nodded and was about to start talking but Bell beat him to it
"Is everyone here filled in with that warning?" Bell asked before Finn nodded.
*Sigh* "It's really hard to explain the reason for the warning Finn, in the letter, it included the most basic of information, what else would you like to know"
"The letter did mention the 'monstrosity' that you were warning about on the...100th floor, if I remember correctly?" Bell nodded, confirming Finn's information.
"You're right Finn, The letter mentioned that"
"I would like to know what we are diving straight into here Bell" Bell sighed, knowing there was no way for him to not explain this
"As I said earlier, it's really hard to explain. This monster is like nothing you've ever faced before. The first time I ever fought it alongside you all, we nearly lost all the level 4 adventurers in your familia, and only managed to save them by a damn miracle" Finn nodded
"Right, but what makes this monster different?"
"The fact that we can't touch it, we can't shoot it, but it can do that to us" This confused Finn as the thought of something that can't be fought by either close combat or long ranged projectiles was entirely foreign.
"How can something be immune to both attacks? And if it is, then how do we fight it?"
"Simple, we just don't. This monster is literally the Bane of all adventurers. Mages are useless, front liners are useless. Nothing works on this thing, and honestly, I doubt there is a way to kill it"
"Then what would you suggest we do, ?" Riveria piped in
"The way I got past it was by using Fels invisibility cloak coupled with Scent Purifiers. It allowed me to completely bypass the monster since it has no ears… and quite frankly, is too big to notice tiny noises" Bete scoffed by the corner
"How big can it be? It's still a monster Rabbit Brat"
"First off Bete, don't call me that, or I cut your tail off" Bete growled as he instinctively grabbed his tail
"And Second off, This thing in the literal sense, makes the Goliath look like a damn ant in comparison. It's so massive that if it sat on Orario, it would squash the entire city, but Babel tower might impale it's rear cavity though" A laugh could be heard from Gareth at the remark.
"Anyway, Bete, the damn thing is so large that a single one of it's scales would cover 4 blocks of buildings!" Everyone was quiet after that, trying to picture that monstrosity.
"So… Do you have a name for this monster?" Bell turned to Finn
"Yes, it's name is derived from it's habitat and it's behavior. It's called the Hellbrute"
Normal POV
=Next day, Hearth Mansion=
Bell woke up early in the morning. The time was only 4:30AM, and despite the early morning wake up, he sat up on his bed and checked his arms for a last status check.
Name: Bell Cranel
Lv 5
Status:
{STR} G-281
{VIT} H-141
{DEX} G-274
{AGI} F-321
{MAG} H-109
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 / Requirement Passed
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
Blood of Jupiter: Allows the user to cast any thunder type magic with minimal mind usage. While using this Skill, the development ability, Mage is temporarily gained.
Focus: The more focused the user is, the faster they move.
Secunda Opportunitas: The more pain the adventurer is in, the stronger he gets (Has no limit) Bonus Effect: Olim user perit, et fortiter falna resuscitanda ad user. Cooldown: 1 day
Development Abilities:
Mystery: F
Luck: E
Universal Resistance: F
Regenerate: H
Sixth Sense: I
His growth hasn't been great lately, but he hasn't really had any challenges. The last real challenge was fighting Udaeus alone for his level up. Just that his stats had reached this point without even straining himself was completely mind blowing.
After Bell got out of his stupor, he rose from his bed and quickly got ready. Once put his adventuring gear on since they were leaving right after breakfast and he wanted to take a quick stroll in the dungeons upper floors to simply wake up.
Once he had left, he quickly noticed some people around that had woken up early and some that were returning after a long night of drinking.
Faster than anyone could react, he disappeared towards Babel tower in a blur. He was sprinting as fast as possible, wanting to get more used to his movement speed.
He didn't stop at Babel but continued running down the first set of stairs and began running around the first floor. Within a minute or so, the entire floor had been cleared by Bell as he started noticing something weird.
He had now ran down to the second floor but he was yet to spot any monsters at all. It was completely dead quiet except for his barely noticeable footsteps and breathing.
'This is very wrong, I should check the entire upper floors as fast as possible. It should only take an hour or so at my full speed' Bell thought as he dashed forward, holding nothing back.
The deeper he got, the weirder and more ominous the entire dungeon started feeling. It was as if it was inviting him deeper into it, daring him to go farther and farther.
Once he had reached the entrance to the 19th floor, he froze. The entire situation was bizarre, and something was definitely off. This had never happened before from what Bell could remember, not even before the Kyros attacked.
'This has to be the doing of Du'An, who else has the power to do this? The only one that has a similar effect on the dungeon is Ouranos, and I know he can't do this.' Bell turned back, but before heading up, he left a warning in Rivira, making sure they knew of the abnormality before the head out.
Normal POV
=Orario, 6AM=
The entire city was buzzing, more so than usual on days that expeditions were being sent off. People were gathered all around babel plaza as the Loki familia were patiently waiting for the Hestia and Astraea familia to arrive.
Within the next couple of minutes, the crowd made way for the incoming familia duo.
"It sure is unusually busy ain't it?" Welf commented.
"True, they all seem… excited" Ouka responded to Welf. Lili was looking around cautiously while Haruhime was looking anxious at all the attention.
A lot of attention was on her specifically as well with her recently announced level up. To the populus, this was impressive as she had been registered as a non-combatant in the Ishtar familia for years, which meant being a prostitute. That amounted to basically no excelia gain and had only been in the Hestia familia for a little more than 2 weeks.
Next to Haruhime were the previous members of the Takemikazuchi familia, chatting with each other.
In front of them were Ryuu and Bell. Ryuu and Bell were quietly talking to each other with a small smile that made Ais pout.
Once they reached the Loki Familia, Bell shook Finn's hand in greeting before leaning in to whisper in his ear.
"Don't expect monsters on floors 1 through 18. I ran around there earlier in the morning. All of them have disappeared" Finn's eyes momentarily widened at the prospect before quickly composing himself and returning to his sense
"So, shall we get this started?" Bell asked with a smirk, seeing Finn calming down and returning the gesture.
"Of course. Alright! Listen up! The time has come, even if it was short, for our next expedition. As usual, we will be splitting up into groups, this time, there will be three groups. 42 people will be in each group. Everyone had gotten a group number and knows what paths they will take" Everyone nodded in the Loki familia
"As for the Hestia and Astraea familia…" Finn gestured to Bell who took the word.
"We will be going our own path, taking Raul, Annakitty and Ais alongside our group to even out their numbers somewhat. The path we are taking is designated as A-02, and we are scheduled to arrive on the 18th floor one hour before the rest of the Loki familia, meaning we are group 1" Everyone nodded
"Everyone get into your groups, Bell, you take the initiative" Bell nodded as he gathered everyone. Once everyone was right outside the entrance and were ready to go in, an ear shattering screech was heard from beneath their feet and echoing from Babel and Daedalus street.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK" Everyone clutched their ears as they tried their hardest to ignore the sound that was shattering their eardrums.
After a couple of seconds, it stopped as everyone looked up in either shock or fear towards Babel, but that was multiplied after what they heard next
"Come… Hero of time… Show me your desire… your will to save those you love… show me the strength of your soul…" The eerie, dark yet somehow light voice shook everyone to their core. Every citizen, every god, and every adventurer, no matter their level. It was as if they were petrified.
Bell had never felt this kind of presence before, not even from the Kyros commanders. It was as if something had taken a hold of his entire body and rooted it to the ground, shattering all of the control of his own motor functions.
Through his peripheral view, he quickly deduced that everyone else felt the same, they were all rooted to the ground, including the gods in the crowd.
Through a miracle, Bell managed to get his voice through his mouth as he screamed the question on top of his mind.
"WHO… NO WHAT ARE YOU!?" He screamed, causing the voice to appear again.
"You might call me your worst nightmare… I am life… and death… both at once, as you are dark and light at once. Meet me at the bottom of the dungeon, hero of time, for our fates are about to collide" Bell quickly understood who it was.
"It's you isn't it" He started in a barely audible voice "Du'an…" he finished even quieter.
"Indeed I am, for we are linked through both time and fate. Light and dark versus life and death. Similar beings but different nonetheless" Bell felt eyes boring into him as the fallen spirit kept talking
"You who has traveled the fabric of time shall decide the fate of this timeline" Du'an finished as Bell straightened his back, getting used to the pressure Du'an was releasing
"Why are you telling us this?"
"..."
"What? Are you staying quiet now?" Du'an didn't respond as Bell sighed. He turned around to look at the others before gesturing for them to follow him.
He completely ignored the murmurs and eyes all around that were solely focused on him. His group just shook their heads and followed Bell's request, jogging towards Bell to catch up.
'What the hell is even going on anymore?'
Well, that's chapter 40. It's short I know, but it's meant to be, since it's a setup chapter. Next chapter, The Expedition Begins!
As for the reasoning behind my absence, I have been having connection issues with , and have finally resolved them. I am now able to publish again! (Yay!)
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the short chapter, and to see you next time!
