Usually Bell would mind his manners if he forced his way through a crowd while pushing them aside. But right now, he didn't care who fell to the ground. He didn't care who he even had to flip over himself, forcing the elves following him to catch them and apologize on his behalf. Later, when the situation was more normal, he'd probably look for each and every single one of them and beg for forgiveness. But right now he was way too worried. It didn't help that it felt like he was swimming through an ocean of infinite length, trying to reach his Familia that might as well have faced a Monster Rex, which just added to his anxiety. The fact he was starting to hear what they were dealing with, loud voices overshadowing the murmurs around him, did not help at all.
"You think we don't know what you have been doing?!" He heard Solaris' seething echo in the air. In return she received a mocking chuckle, one that made his stomach churn. He recognized that voice. The sound of a fan being opened sounded, causing Bell to hurry.
"Ah yes, your wild fantasies." A dramatic sigh. "Of course I have the power to control the economy of the entirety of Orario to bully one little Familia. It's not like I have better things to do."
"Like spreading your own wild fantasies?!" He never heard Haruhime snarl like that before. It only made his pushing more frantic.
"See, my words at least have some basis." The fan was shut with a snap. "After all, you did show your true colors to me in private, didn't you? That's why I had to ban you, Hestia. Can't risk you aiming for me like you did with Ishtar."
"What are you... ?"
The moment he heard Hestia's frail voice, he let out a ignored the muttering. The increased suspicion in the air. He forced his way through, catching himself from stumbling to the ground and looked up.
"What is going on?!" He shouted, out of breath, but determined to stop whatever was happening. He first spotted his goddess. The sight of her almost broke his heart. Hestia was on her knees, being consoled by Haruhime who held onto her. The goddess' eyes were watering up, but she refused to cry, as her lips quivered as her self control wavered. Meanwhile Kojiro and Solaris stood in front of her, both having a hand on their respective weapon. The swordsman openly glared at the opposition while his captain seemed close to blowing up, the air around her disorting a bit with heat. Bell turned his head to the ones responsible for this mess and bared his teeth.
Eris. With a smug expression, she raised an eyebrow before letting out a small giggle. Shutting her fan, she pointed it at him with an arrogant smirk.
"Ah, there is the last one." Coyly she tilted her head. "So, what dirty work did you do for your goddess, runner up?"
The way she drawled those words caused her Familia members, the ones that usually accompanied her and the ones that kicked the Hestia Familia out, to laugh in amusement, sans the stoic giant tiger man and the bandaged one. The latter actually seemed to seethe just as much as Bell did right now. Stepping forward with his hands forming fists, he felt fire burn in his heart.
"What are you talking about?!"
Before he could even take another step forward, with Kojiro and Solaris right behind him and his enemies about to draw their weapons as well, a sharp whistle cut through the air.
"Bell!"
Before he knew it, a hand grabbed onto his shoulder and forcefully pulled him back. The same was done to his other two Familia members. Before he could struggle, he saw Ryuu's eyes glare into his. Solaris and Kojiro equally calmed down when Alise and Kaguya pulled them back as well, the former actually wrapping her arms around his captain with a frown that did not fit her usual jolly personality. Lyra on the other hand stood further in the back, as if hiding in case something had to be done. But Arash was nowhere to be seen.
"Astraea... ?" Hestia whispered. Her friend smiled as she knelt in front of her, gently running her hand through her hair. Then the goddess of justice rose and crossed her arms with narrowed eyes directed at Eris. If the latter was in any way intimidated, she didn't show it, instead raising an eyebrow of her own. Astraea closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before turning her back on them.
"Everyone, let's go-"
Before she could finish her sentence however, a low chuckle sounded in the area. Turning around, her eyes went wide when Eris broke out into boisterous laughter, not even bothering to hide her expression as she threw her head back. It was grating on Bell's ears as he grit his teeth. The sight only caused Ryuu to increase her grip on him, to make sure he wouldn't do anything foolish. Eventually the goddess calmed down and the casino owner covered her mouth with her fan, while still holding a mocking glint in her eyes.
"What, not allowed to have a discussion? Not allowed to speak out my opinion?" She twirled her hand at Astraea. "Are you not mistaking justice for tyranny?" Turning to the crowd, she opened her arms with a sigh. "Is this what we can expect from the self proclaimed heroes of the streets, everyone? Keeping us safe no matter what we think, hm?"
"You... !" Solaris growled but Alise only shushed her. A part of Bell was impressed by the Astraea Familia. Despite their own glares, they remained silent, allowing the insinuated insults to wash over them with ease. Eris huffed, as if expecting that. For a moment, her eyes darted up to some place, before looking back down with a smug smile.
"Anyway...Before you so rudely interrupted this civil talk, I was just explaining my theory of Hestia using you for her own agenda." She pointed at Hestia, causing her to flinch."Investing all that money after taking down Ishtar... well, one might think she was going for the territory itself!"
"She isn't like that!" Bell barked out, unable to keep it to himself. As his Familia nodded in agreement, he forced himself to take a deep breath as Ryuu sent him a pointed look. Damn it. How dare they sully his goddess' name? She did nothing but good things for everyone! Having known poverty, it would've been only natural for her to use the money for herself, but she didn't! How could anyone doubt the warmth she radiated?! As if reading his mind from his facial expression, Eris playfully tilted her head as if she was facing a clown.
"Maybe. Maybe not. Some gods are really good at acting." She pressed her palms together with a giggle. "Besides, I think my theories have merit."
"If you don't watch your fucking mouth... !" Solaris bit out. Veins were at the verge of popping on her body as actual flames began to flicker out. Alise flinched at them, but kept a solid grip on her, her superior level allowing her to ignore the heat for a bit. In delight, the goddess of discord turned to his captain, her eyes glinting as if it found a treasure.
"Ah yes, what a nice dog. So willing to bite and bark. Then again, it is only fitting. After all... "
She trailed off, leaving an opening. A bait. Everyone could see it. But at the time, he couldn't blame Solaris for falling for it. She literally exploded into fire, forcing Alise to back off out of instinct. Immediately Solaris straightened up and cut the air in front of her with her arm, ignoring the gasps of shock from the crowd.
"We aren't slaves! None of us!"
Bell's eyes widened. What? Where did that come from? THe very idea sounded like a bad joke. He shook his head, almost smiling at the ludicruous idea. But then he saw it. The concerned expressions. The disgusted expressions. The lack of disbelief they should've shared. As if hammering the nail in that everyone in this place apparently lost their minds, Eris stood her ground, unflinching at the heat Solaris radiated.
"Are you not?" She pointed at the Hestia Familia with a scoff. "It is well known that the Night Queen has produced some strong individuals and sold them to other countries." She shrugged, raising her hands with a smirk. "Who can say that you are not just faking your so called growth and are just holding back?"
"Are you implying the Guild would allow this?!"
"The Guild isn't perfect, fool." Eris sent a sharp look at Haruhime, who flinched back at the glare of the divine. The goddess opened her fan once more, her face becoming a cool mask. "Maybe I am giving Hestia too much credit….but one can never know how people can change. Maybe she was desperate enough to take on loans for strength, to rise above her station? Can't exactly fault her."
"That is enough!" Astraea shouted, surprising everyone at the volume of her voice. "You are implying that Hestia is making deals with the Night Queen? That her children are all just slaves? That is ridiculous!"
"But not impossible."
That was it. With such a calm voice, the seeds Eris spread were already growing. It was like a nightmare, Bell noted numbly. It didn't matter if it sounded fake. It didn't matter if it was ludicrous. Any lie, any story, could become real, real enough to hurt everyone, especially Hestia. Eris didn't need to convince everyone after all. She just needed to convince enough people. And with her play for dramatics, her rhetorical skill, it was more than enough to ignore the fact that it was all speculation she was spouting out. The damage was already done.
"This is utter nonsense," Kaguya said, raising her voice for the first time in this confrontation. Her expression was utterly calm, but even a rookie like Bell could feel the bloodlust oozing from her. Even a veteran like her seemed to have her mental limits. "They don't have to defend themselves against this complete insanity."
"Of course. They can just walk away." Eris wiggled her hand in a mocking way. "It's just words, isn't it? I might be wrong." She spun around, making it a point to look at the audience before putting her hand on her chest while pointing at Hestia. "Or I might be right and we are allowing slavery to exist in Orario, despite the rules. I for one am not willing to risk that."
"N-No, I... "
"Alright, that's it."
Whether it was her broken expression or her pleading tone, for the wish that everyone shouldn't believe Eris. It didn't matter. It broke the dam. The flames disappeared. But that was only more concerning. Solaris' voice was utterly emotionless. As if she absorbed all her rage, her fire, into herself and bottled it up. As if preparing it for a better time. With the flames gone, Alise stepped forward as quickly as she got, reaching for the Crozzo's shoulder.
"Solaris, do-"
"Stay out of this, Alise." The whisper was flat in tone, but it was enough to make Alise hesitate. Solaris slowly shook her head, exhaling steam. With her cold demeanor, one could've thought she was ice itself. Then she pointed at Eris while facing her Familia. Kojiro. Haruhime. Bell. Hestia. In her blank eyes, she directed a question at them. "They won't shut up. They will keep saying those lies. Something must be done to destroy those delusions."
Bell's eyes widened. He realized what she was going for. An old memory came up to the surface. In a way, it was a foolish idea. Sharing a glance with the others, he realized they came to the same conclusion. But while Hestia's eyes widened in shock, Kojiro and Haruhime nodded, the latter less resolute than the other. Bell himself grit his teeth... and stayed silent. He trusted his captain. Even if he wasn't sure if this was the right way. Even if he didn't know if this would help. Right now... he was just too angry to particularly care.
"Oh? How do you want to do that, slave?" Eris asked, sounding positively giddy. In response, the captain raised her finger, pointing towards the sky with narrowed eyes.
"I'll let the heavens decide our fate."
"Solaris-" Hestia began to say, gathering her wits in her desire to protect her family. Solaris raised her other hand, palm pointing at her goddess. A smile appeared on her face before she shook her head gently. Eris let out a snort, tilting her head as she beckoned for Solaris to continue.
"Whatever do you mean by that?"
The Flamma took a deep breath. Then, all at once, fire exploded around her, roaring at the same time as her voice increased in volume.
"We'll let our abilities speak for themselves! We just have to show that we aren't mere slaves! If you think we are evil, if you think we are mindless who only follow orders, there's a simple way to prove it, isn't it?! We do it the old fashioned way, to show to everyone that we are warriors!"
From her pockets, she pulled something out and threw it to the ground. On it, the emblem of their Familia was visible to everyone. The flames surrounding a bell, covered by two katana crossed in front of it. Complete silence reigned, in that second of revelation for everyone. Then Solaris pointed at Eris, snarling as she kept her flames up as if it was her fighting spirit itself.
"I challenge the Eris Familia to a War Game!"
Shock rippled through the air. How long has it been since the last confrontation between two Familia? Not Evilus and the protectors of Orario. No, a legal competition between two factions, settling their disputes in a fantastical bout between each other. That shock was followed by a myriad of emotions. Joy. Greed. Amusement. Yet there was also fear, radiating from Solaris' very own allies. Hestia covered her mouth in horror while the Astraea Familia stared at them as if she, no, as if they were all crazy. Ryuu shook her head, eyeing the crowd as if they were monsters before trying to step in before it was too late.
"As if we-"
But in the end it didn't even matter. After all, the moment Solaris made her challenge... the rock could not be stopped from rolling. Their opposition must have thought the same, as their grins threatened to split their faces in half.
"Excellent! Yes, that is the only way to dispel doubts!" As if high on their misery, Eris hugged her own body, laughing like a maniac as she buckled over. "Are you the results of inferior torture and training of the Night Queen or are you results of honest hard work?! The fire of combat will burn away any facade and reveal the truth!" She snapped her fingers, gasping for air. Her own captain didn't hesitate for a second, throwing their own emblem right on top of the Hestia Familia's one. "I, Eris, accept that challenge!"
The streets exploded into noise. No matter how hard Alise tried to shout over them, no matter how hard Hestia tried to deny Solaris' challenge as her goddess, it was settled. Word spread like a wildfire from one person to the other. Written in stone, Eris would fight against Hestia. Bell exhaled slowly even as Solaris was shaken violently by Kaguya, the latter's face distorted in fury while Solaris defiantly glared back.
This was a trap. Their goal was this conclusion all along. But even as the crowd cheered, feeling joy and excitement at the expense of the Hestia Familia, even as Astraea and the others dragged them away, their disappointment and anger clear at their actions... His eyes were focused on the enemies themselves as he held onto Homebringer and their hilts.
If they wanted to ruin his home and family, they would have to go through him first.