Chapter 4:
Urashima had to wake early, even if he didn't always like it. He worked for the imperial household, and that involved early mornings organizing Otohime's security detail. So, when he came to Orario, he was gratified to find that his familia was like him. They were mostly early birds who woke with the sun, and they worked hard. They were not a large familia, and they were in desperate times with a fight for their lives, but Urashima respected their work ethic.
When he woke that morning, he did his usual routine. He made himself presentable and then checked on his princess. He would peek in and find her still asleep, and he would smile. Then, he readied his armaments for the day. After that, he joined his Familia for breakfast. He started by seeping the tea that Otohime liked the most, then joined the others. It took him a week, but he soon got used to the schedule of chores. Today was his day to clean the dishes. Then, they sat down to plan out the day. Today was different, though. Three weeks into living here, and they were going to be staying overnight in the Dungeon.
Takemikazuchi would be bringing his Familia for the night to look after the place. Hestia Familia would venture down and camp out on floor 24, meander around a bit, and then return the next day. A short trip to get Urashima and the other new members used to the idea of spending a night in the Dungeon. Their weapons were prepared, their items were stocked, and morale was high. Urashima couldn't say he wasn't excited, but his first weeks in the Dungeon had taught him caution. Between Lily's trepidation and Welf boisterousness, he leaned towards Lily's perspective. His life had taught him that accidents will always happen the second that you don't want them to. It was an accident that had caused the greatest tragedy of his life. That wasn't what he was supposed to be focusing on, though. Right now, he was focusing on items.
One of Urashima's talents was that he had the developmental ability, synthesis. So, before the mini-expedition, he was helping Lily and Haruhime prepare their items.
"It truly is a wonderful thing that you can create items, Master Urashima," said Haruhime, filling her bag.
"Well, I'm only really good at poisons and status-affecting items. Some bomb variations. Making these medical items has been a nice change of pace," replied Urashima.
"Lily agrees. Making medicine is always preferred to items that kill. The stink bombs are useful, though," added Lily.
"Which is why I made a sack of them," finished Urashima, "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to check on my garden."
The ninja of the east left the two supporters to finish their packing. By that point, he would be more a hindrance than a help.
The garden was Urashima's pet project. He loved working with plants. Gardening was an activity that helped calm him, and Otohime always loved the pretty flowers that he grew. However, coming to Orario meant that his plants shifted to a more utilitarian variety. They were plants that could be made into weapons or medicine.
As he tended his plants, he let himself get lost in thought for the coming expedition. Apparently, floors nineteen to twenty-four were referred to as the Great Tree Labyrinth and were full of vegetation. He was hoping that he could find seedlings to bring back with him.
While working in his garden, the woman who held his heart knelt down next to him. She quietly got to work, helping him cut weeds and water newly planted seeds. Every once in a while, their hands would brush. Urashima had gotten to the point where contact wouldn't freak him out. For whatever reason, Otohime found touch soothing. She brushed against his despicable hands many times. Eventually, Otohime did what she meant to and grabbed for him. She lowered her head to his shoulder.
"What is wrong, Milady?"
Otohime grunted, "Informal, please."
Urashima sighed, "As you say…Otohime."
"I'm scared."
"About the expedition?"
Then it all came spilling out, "The expedition, my position in this familia, if we're doing the right thing…"
Urashima nodded before sitting back on his legs. Otohime mirrored him and they both turned, so they were eye to eye.
Urashima thought of taking her hands, trying to reassure her, but the thought nauseated him, "It's ok to be nervous about all of this. The dungeon is the most dangerous place in the world. We used to hear stories about it growing up, and none of them were pleasant. Even when we're just staying there for a day, it's a dangerous place to be. As for this familia, that's also understandable. You used to be a princess. You were third in line for a powerful empire. Now, you are just any other adventurer. This is unknown territory for you. I would be worried if you weren't nervous about all this. For the last point, I think we're doing the right thing. My instincts are screaming that this is the right place for us. I like these people; I trust them," said Urashima.
Otohime nodded, "Thank you, Ura. You know, I don't think I ever thanked you enough for coming out here with me. You could've stayed away, like everyone else."
Otohime reached out to lace their fingers together. Urashima drew away.
"Milady, you know how I hate my hands. They are not worthy of your touch."
Otohime pouted, "Well, I like your hands! They're comforting! Can I hold them if you keep the gloves on?"
Urashima nodded. That made Otohime incredibly happy, so she took his hands and smiled. She brought one of his hands up to cup her cheek.
"Hey, Ura. If you're ever nervous about anything, you'd tell me, right?"
Urashima hesitated, "It depends. I will say, though, I am nervous about the same things you are. I am incredibly nervous about my position. Before, the only thing I had to worry about was you. Now, there are others. I like these people, and I want to keep them safe, but I am always awake at night. I am afraid for the day that I have to choose between them and you."
"Well, I know you'll do what's right," Otohime pouted, "And I feel like I can protect myself, thank you very much!"
Urashima snorted, "If that were the case, then you wouldn't be losing your weapon so much."
It should be noted that Otohime had gotten her bisento stuck in monsters ten times over the last three weeks. Suffice to say, her new katana had gotten fast-tracked on Welf's to-do list.
Otohime decided to be the mature one then and left Urashima to tend to his garden. Urashima proceeded to do so for another thirty minutes before he heard Haruhime come outside to call him in.
They had some last-minute food to keep their energy up, and then they were out the door. The food was light, but it was cooked by Mikoto, so it was delicious. The familia's bellies were full before they started making their way to the Dungeon. Orario was only just beginning to wake up when they found their way to the Tower of Babel atop the Dungeon. Before they went inside, Lily signalled for them to stop.
"Today, the formation is as follows. Mister Urashima and Lady Otohime will be in the vanguard. Behind them will be Master Bell and Mister Welf, followed by Miss Mikoto supporting them. Me and Lady Haruhime will be right behind as supporters, with Elwin as our backline mage. Miss Ryuu will be our rearguard. Lily doesn't want to see anyone running on ahead, understood Master Bell and Lady Otohime?"
The two named adventurers had the decency to blush while they nodded. Everyone else smirked at the image of the little prum scolding these two powerful adventurers. With that warning in place, the adventurers took up formation and made their way inside.
The first thirteen floors were child's play. The next five floors got slightly more difficult as they tackled the Great Cave Labyrinth. Only slightly, though, as the newest members of Hestia Familia had taken to adventuring like fish to water. Otohime and Urashima had spent little time fighting monsters in their homeland, but they grew accustomed to it quickly enough. Meanwhile, Elwin had used monsters for practice in his days with Hecate Familia. That said, his current set of spells were not so combat-oriented. Today, his role was as a healer and a supporter. If they needed magical firepower, they had Crozzo Swords, Mikoto, and Ryuu.
There was only one stop on their way through the cave labyrinth. It was a tremendously special occasion. It was the first time Otohime, Urashima, and Elwin had run into the rabbit known as Al-Miraj. Urashima had gone ahead to scout when he called for the rest of the party. They rushed to join him, thinking he was in danger and met him restraining one of the white rabbits.
Everyone was confused as to why he had stopped when Urashima, totally serious, asked, "I was going to ask Master Bell why he had family down in the dungeon."
It took all of five seconds before Welf cracked. Soon he was bent over laughing with Lily. Haruhime giggled into her maiden robes while Mikoto chuckled. Even Ryuu cracked a smile. The other two new members caught onto the joke quick enough. Soon Elwin and Otohime had joined Welf and Lily, howling with laughter. Hestia Familia's poor captain was not as amused.
"That is not my family! They're called Al-Miraj, and they are very dangerous!" exclaimed the young red-faced captain. It did not matter who it was; they all made the same joke about the bunnies and the Rabbit Foot.
After Hestia Familia had their fill of laughter, they resumed their journey through the Dungeon. Every once in a while, they ran into minotaurs. Bell made a particular point of taking the bull-beasts on; he imagined it was his greatest rival every time he did. It took a couple of hours before they reached floor eighteen. They took a light break then, eating an early lunch in the woods by a river. It was during their break that Bell started feeling eyes watching him. He looked around, but he saw nothing.
Urashima and Otohime were the next to feel eyes on the party; both used to be stalked from their political intrigue days. One by one, the rest of the Hestia Familia felt similar sets of eyes on them. They ignored the watchers for the time being and instead chose to press onward. Bell had a feeling that the watchers were not hostile.
It was then that they made their way into the Great Tree Labyrinth. The party's formation shifted slightly then. Welf moved back due to his lack of abnormal resistance ability, while Mikoto and Bell moved forward.
Something curious happened then, and it made Otohime very happy. This time around, Urashima was the one getting distracted in the Dungeon. All the beautiful species of plants had him mesmerized, which left him vulnerable to monsters. This meant that it was Otohime's turn to watch his back. Her bisento verily vibrated with the joy she felt. Even when Lily scolded Urashima for getting distracted and picking flowers, Otohime always added to the end of the scolding that she was happy to watch his back. Otohime also commented that he was so cute with his flower picking. Urashima was a dark red for most of the trip.
They slowed down a lot in the Tree Labyrinth. Lily wanted to make sure that everyone understood the dangers that they faced. Eventually, Elwin had to step forward as a pack of bugbears surprised their rearguard. While Ryuu faced them down, Elwin started to chant.
"Great sea-goat, strong and resolute. I do beseech thee to lend me thine strength. Rush forward to create a path for my allies and part my enemies. I name thee Capricorn: ariedesu irrue!"
His magic took the form of a shining horned goat that ran forward, battering aside their enemies. The spell staggered the bugbears, allowing Mikoto and Urashima to slip back and assist Ryuu. Between their swords and knives, they had the monsters destroyed in minutes. In the front, Otohime and Bell were taking care of a swarm of Mad Beetles when Welf ordered them out of the way.
"Kazuchi!" screamed the smith, swinging his magic sword down. The hallway was engulfed in flames, and the monsters were obliterated. In the aftermath of the battle, the party had stopped to rest. Haruhime bustled about handing out potions while Lily went to work on the monster corpses. The prum was quick with her hands as she cut open monsters to retrieve their stones. Also, Bell was adventuring with them, which meant a bounty of drop items.
"The monsters certainly attack more down here," commented Elwin. Urashima grunted in agreement.
"This is the first true test for you as adventurers. Down here, your brain and spatial awareness become as important as your status," replied Ryuu. Serving as the rearguard, she had seen little action, but the battle with the bugbears was a good reminder that she was still a top tier adventurer with more experience than the rest of them put together.
"It's not just that they attack more, but there's a lot of status effects too," added Otohime, "I can see why Abnormal Resistance is important down here. Do we have enough antidote for today and tomorrow?"
Lily nodded, a smug grin on her face, "But of course! Lily is always one step ahead of the program! Not only do we have Miss Nahza's special poison curing potions, but we have also brought Mister Urashima's potion toolkit."
Otohime started smiling, "Oh, then we'll be ok!"
"Lady Otohime, your trust is misguided," replied Urashima.
"And you need more confidence, Sir Urashima," added Mikoto.
Welf nodded in agreement. While the others kept talking, Bell walked off by himself. He was looking down the tunnel, the familiar presence of being watched still hanging in the air.
Haruhime walked up to join them, "You have been feeling it as well, Master Bell?"
Bell nodded.
"I think we both know who's watching us," added Haruhime.
Bell nodded but made a point of not looking Haruhime in the eye. He changed that when he felt her tail wrap around his arm. He looked to her face to find her smiling.
"I'm sure they're doing fine; in fact, I'm sure we'll see how they're doing faster than we expect."
Bell sighed, "I hope you're right, Haruhime."
Haruhime gave Bell a knowing grin, "Have a little faith in me please, Master Bell."
Sometimes Bell was reminded that there were other ways to grow than just through martial prowess. Haruhime had gained a lot of confidence in the past year. Going home seemed to help her break the last chains of her past.
They rejoined their familia to find everyone in a joking argument. They melted into the conversation like they hadn't just had their own separate discussion. It was only a couple minutes after that that Hestia Familia resumed their march to floor twenty-four. They ran afoul of a bloody hive at one point and had to pause again to clean the mucus off; Urashima worried about what it would do to his weapons. Then they came face to face with a stampede of battle boars. Otohime took the opportunity to let loose and use her full potential. Urashima joined in with his daggers, cutting monsters in half as they came.
When they reached floor twenty-two, a gang of ogres attacked. Ryuu whipped forward, slamming her wooden blade into her enemies. With her enhanced strength, her sword crushed lungs and blew in skulls. Welf rushed to compliment her with his magic blade. His flames were pinpoint, hitting the spaces that Ryuu couldn't reach. Their time together in the Kingdom of Magic and their bond as the older sibling figures of the Familia had forged a strong friendship between them. Ryuu was quite proud of the fact that she had become friends with a Crozzo of all people.
After those constant battles, there was a lull in combat. That only made the group more nervous. When they reached the room right before the staircase down to floor twenty-four, they came face to face with the reason for the eerie silence; a green dragon was hunched in the middle of the room. When it breathed, smoke poured out of its nose. The moss-covered walls were singed by the heat that it gave off. Hestia Familia stood around in shock at their misfortune. This beast had the potential of a level four adventurer. It was not that the dragon was a dangerous opponent, but it was unlikely that the familia would escape unscathed. They had been trying to avoid a severe injury all day, but that plan had to be scrapped. Before Lily could issue a battle formation, Otohime lost it.
The ex-princess loosed a shrieking battle cry as she launched herself at the monster. People shouted for her to back off, but she didn't hear them. All she heard was the blood pounding in her ears. Her bisento carved deadly arcs as it laid into the dragon. Gouge marks began appearing on the dragon, blood dripping onto the floor.
However, Otohime did not escape harm. She earned a deep cut on her right arm for her efforts, claw marks across her abdomen, and a chunk of flesh missing from her left shoulder. Urashima was about to jump in when Lily started barking orders.
"Miss Ryuu, Master Bell, Mister Urashima, please deal with the approaching gun libellula!" she said.
Urashima looked back to find a swarm of large dragonfly-like creatures buzzing towards them. Only Ryuu, Bell, and Urashima stood a chance of fighting back with that kind of speed. As Urashima ducked towards the insects, he heard Lily begin issuing more orders.
"Miss Mikoto, begin magic chanting, focus on the beast in front! That dragon is not allowed to take off! Mister Welf, support Lady Otohime with your magic swords. Lady Haruhime, please begin casting magic for Lily, Miss Mikoto, Mister Urashima, Mister Welf, and Mister Elwin. Mister Elwin, you will be protecting Lily and Lady Haruhime. Does everyone understand?"
"Understood!" came the cries of the familia.
Like a well-oiled machine, they came together and fought as one. Haruhime and Mikoto began chanting while Elwin took up a defensive position in front of the two supporters. Welf started unloading his magic sword whenever he saw the dragon begin to breathe fire. Since his new magic blades took their power from his magic status, he could feel his mind drain quickly. Trying to match the flames of a dragon required a lot of magical energy.
Urashima joined battle with Ryuu and Bell. His moves melded with the boy and the elf's. His daggers created a tempest of death as he whirled and sliced. His arms grew heavy under the strain of so much combat, but these hands that he detested were able to bear the brunt of many attacks. He also knew that whatever he lacked, Ryuu and Bell would be there to support him.
While this Familia appeared to work together perfectly, there was one problem. Otohime was lost in her rage against the dragon. It was a dragon that had ruined her life. These beasts were cruel and wild animals. Otohime despised these types of creatures.
She did not notice the rest of her Familia finish their battles. Haruhime's level-boosting magic helped her Familia make quick work of the dragonflies, and Mikoto's magic quickly restricted the green dragon. The beast had been pinned, dead for one hundred heartbeats. Otohime overlooked that, though. Her only thought was to beat in the dragon's skull, again and again. A dragon had ruined her life before; she would not let a dragon do it again.
She kept stabbing and only stopped when someone had grabbed her shoulders. She whirled around to find Urashima holding her steady.
Otohime felt tears start to fall and grappled herself into Urashima's chest, saying that she hated dragons and that a dragon ruined her life. While Urashima led her off to the side to calm her down, the rest of the familia gathered to make sure there were no more monsters. That did not stop them from looking over to their beloved princess, though.
"Hey, when she says a dragon ruined her life…you don't think?" asked Welf.
Lily nodded, "Lily thinks that's exactly what she means."
Ryuu sighed, "That poor girl, I sympathize with her."
Bell nodded, "Maybe so, but I don't want anyone bringing it up right now. Lily, I think Otohime should take up Elwin's position for the rest of the day."
"Lily agrees with Master Bell. Mister Elwin, please move up to join Welf in support. Miss Mikoto, you are to join the vanguard with Mister Urashima," said Lily.
Ryuu shook her head, "I do not think that Urashima will want to separate from Lady Otohime for a while now."
"No, that is ok. However, I do agree that Lady Otohime should pull back," replied Urashima. Otohime trailed behind him, holding her shoulders. Her body was trembling.
Otohime mumbled out an apology, but no one held her actions against her. They knew her past. The rest of the Familia just pulled their gear together and went further into the Dungeon. Thankfully, there were no other significant hurdles when they reached the twenty-fourth floor. Eventually, they came to the same room they had used on their first expedition over a year ago.
As they made camp, tasks were split equally among the lot of them. Mikoto got to work on making dinner, Haruhime and Lily started checking on everyone's wounds, Welf put up tents, and Ryuu started cutting moss from the walls. Otohime was still catatonic, so she sat alone. Urashima took up a position near her, mixing ingredients for a calming potion and some antidotes. That left Elwin and Bell to guard the entrance to their camp.
"How are you doing, Elwin?" asked Bell.
Elwin shrugged, "Can't complain, really. I mean, things are going a little slower than I liked…but that's to be expected right now. I mean, I still haven't worked up the courage to talk to…you know who…"
Bell nodded, "I know, but…well…" Bell struggled to find the words that a Captain should know.
Elwin chuckled, "I know. We'll be working with Loki Familia soon, so I'll be running into her a fair amount," the half-elf shrugged, "I'll be ok."
Elwin played with the cap that covered his hair a bit more before returning to the rest of the Familia to help Welf. Eventually, Mikoto called for dinner. Ryuu swapped places with Bell, and he was able to sit down and eat. They made idle chatter, and Otohime came back to them. Soon, she was back to her usual chipper attitude.
After dinner, Hestia Familia settled in for bed. Mikoto and Haruhime were on guard duty when they finally got the meeting Haruhime had been expecting. It only took a couple of seconds, but the poor fox girl had been knocked over by a body in a cloak. The renard felt hot tears rub against her cheek and heard the flapping of wings.
"Haruhime! Haruhime!"
Wiene just kept repeating her name, over and over again. In response, Haruhime grappled with the Vouivre, unable to speak. Then a rumbling laugh came down the tunnel, and a Lizardman wearing the armour of an adventurer came with it. The rest of the Familia was up quickly, weapons in hand. Their battle stances didn't last long before Bell put away his knife. Then he was running at the Lizardman.
They came together with clasped hands.
"Bellichi!"
"Lyd!"
The adventurer and the monster laughed together, and more Xenos came through the tunnel. There was Lett the goblin who bounded over to chat with Welf and Lily. Fia the harpy reunited with her former dance partner, Mikoto and talked her ear off about the previous year. Finally, a skeleton in a black robe came through the tunnel.
"Bell Cranel has returned!" said Fels. Though he didn't have a face, it just felt like he was smiling.
Ryuu, and the new members, stood around awkwardly. They weren't entirely comfortable with the Xenos yet, but that didn't stop the monsters from bringing them into the conversation. Thankfully, Otohime was Otohime. She empathized with these monster people. The ex-princess was quick to make friends with the Xenos. Urashima followed, and eventually, even Elwin and Ryuu were drawn into the celebration.
They settled into a circle and restarted the fire. Everyone had ale in their hands, or claws, as the Xenos explained what had been going on.
"So, you were watching us!" exclaimed Bell.
"Mhm," replied Wiene, who had latched onto Bell's arm, deep in cuddling mode, "We wanted to say hi earlier, but Fels kept telling us to wait."
The dragon girl pouted at the skeleton.
"Hey, I told you that I thought it was a bad idea. I could feel it in my bones!"
That got a groan from almost everyone. Except for Elwin, he laughed at every one of Fels's jokes. The two were sure to become fast friends.
"Fels advised us to wait until nightfall to say hi, so here we are!" added Lyd.
"Mister Lyd, I was wondering, how are things going right now? What's the situation been like since Freya Familia…" asked Ryuu.
Lyd scratched the back of his lizard head, "Well, Ryuumichi…. we've rebuilt what we can, but things have gotten difficult down here…"
"Ryuumichi?"
"What do you mean things have gotten difficult?" asked Bell in the confused elf's place.
"New Xenos have appeared, and they're unhappy, to say the least," replied Lyd.
"Anything we can do to help?" asked Bell.
Lyd shook his head, "For now, no. This is a Xenos problem, and we must try and fix it ourselves. Besides, it's always like this with new Xenos. They're young, and they still have to learn what it means to live down here."
"How do you usually deal with your new recruits?" asked Welf.
"Well, Gros usually dealt with them," replied Lyd.
An awkward silence settled on the group; the party mood vanished. Wiene saw that Bell grew melancholic and gave his arm a squeeze.
When no one had spoken for several minutes, Urashima decided that was enough. He hated silence; he had grown up with the damn thing. He was done with it.
"So, these new Xenos are angry about adventurers? Because of what happened? So, I'm guessing that if we joined the situation, things would get much worse?" asked Urashima.
"That's right, Urashicchi," replied Lyd, "But enough about all that depressing stuff. Let's talk about what's been happening with you guys!"
After that, conversations split into groups. Eventually, Bell found himself talking with Fels and Wiene. Wiene was there mostly because she refused to let go of Bell. She had gotten stronger in the last year, her grip was almost crushing, and Bell knew that he was gonna have a set of bruises tomorrow morning. Bell asked the question that had been on his mind since he had gotten back.
"Fels, why did you make those level-up orbs?"
The skeleton chuckled, "Well, for the most part, it's because of Freya."
"I hate Freya!" proclaimed Wiene.
Fels nodded, "We all do. Which is why I worked so hard to make those things."
Wiene brightened, "Yeah yeah, Bell! Look at this!"
Wiene brought her arm up to show some sort of band that glowed, "This thing harvests excelia from monsters!"
Fels nodded, "A one-of-a-kind device of my own making," there was a hint of pride in his voice, "This is the instrument that harvests excelia from monsters from their magic stones. Hooked up to the Xenos, it works to compress their strength and magic. Then, after months of pressure, the compressed Excelia hardens into the level up orbs. The adventurers just have to swallow the things, like an egg."
"Is it dangerous for them?" asked Bell.
"Who, the adventurers or the Xenos?" replied Fels.
"Both."
"For the adventurers, only if they take more than one. Which is why we banned winners from re-entering the tournament," explained Fels.
"What happens if they take more than one?"
Fels brought his finger bones to his skull, "Well, the working theory is that they would burn up from the inside. They'd probably end up looking a lot like me."
Bell paled, "Any other side effects to know about?"
"Nothing worth mentioning, but remember, in your lifetime, you will only be able to take one. Well, not you, actually. You're too strong for them to work," replied Fels.
"Eh?" said Bell.
"The process to harvest excelia is too inefficient to work on anyone above level four. And it's too powerful to work on anyone less than level two. A level one would probably burn up as well." explained Fels.
"So, what about for the Xenos?" asked Bell.
Fels waved a hand, "No problems whatsoever. These machines are one hundred percent safe for Xenos. Actually, they can only be used by them," the skeleton held up a finger, "That's part of the plan, actually. As Orario becomes accustomed to the orbs and grateful to their existence, they'll be more inclined to let the Xenos do as they please. Quite the beautiful business deal, no? The idea had been knocking around my skull for a while, actually! The real issue is how much it requires from me! I'm being worked to the bone!"
Bell allowed a pause of awkward silence to follow, then he nodded and then looked at Wiene, "Wiene, is it ok if I speak to Fels alone?"
Wiene pouted but agreed. She left to go talk to Haruhime.
"Fels, has Freya been back down here yet?" asked Bell.
Fels shook his head, "After what she did, Ouranus made it very clear that she was on thin ice. Her Familia is still paying fines, working with restrictions and supervisions, and they aren't allowed past floor thirty-four."
Bell let out a breath of relief, "And this thing with the new Xenos? How is that actually going? Is there anything I can do to help? Please, I'll do anything to help Fels. I have to make it up to them for bringing Freya down here."
Bell's guilt was tremendous. The entire year he had been grappling with the fact that since the Xenos had hidden him, it had put them in the path of Freya Familia and their hunt. Most nights, he woke up from nightmares of what they did to Gros and Ray.
"Bell Cranel, what happened to you was the result of mad deities and sycophantic followers. It was something that happened because of a dark obsession. What that monster of a goddess did was not your fault. And don't you dare think the Xenos blame you. Lyd, Wiene, and many others are still proud of the fact that they were able to help you," said Fels. He opened his arms, "If you are looking for something to do, get stronger. Get stronger so that you can beat that Goddess of beauty. Get stronger so that you can help the Xenos realize their dreams."
Bell nodded, "I will, Fels, I promise."
With that, the boy reaffirmed his dreams.
And another one down! Who knows how fast this pace will keep up, but I do appreciate all the follows and favourites! Feel free to drop a review down below and let me know what you think as well! I can't change plot points that have already happened, but I'm curious to know what you all think to help with my next story! I've been Zan, and thanks for reading!