Is It Too Much To Ask To Be Left Alone?

by Ashbel Longhart

Bell Cranel died to a Minotaur in the Dungeon. Years later, he finds himself in Lordran after escaping the Undead Asylum only to die over and over. And then he burned for many, many years. And after many centuries, what seemed like a dream, Bell finds himself back in the Dungeon. So what does he do now that he's back home? To be frank, he just wants to be left alone.

13. Grace 13: Confrontation

Time and time again you people have been asking for an update...well, here you go! Welcome back ladies and gentle readers for another exciting chapter of DanmachixDark Souls! You people have been spamming me to update and honestly, it was kind of annoying, but I know full well just how popular this story is. It's amazing really. And I do mean... *looks over at the story's Fav's and Fol's* ...amazing. Anyway, before I continue, here's the disclaimer!

(Disclaimer: I do not own Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka, Danmachi for short, or Dark Souls. Both belong to their respective owners. I just own this story and nothing more. Please Enjoy.)

All right, for those needing a recap, here's what happened: the events of Sword Oratoria continued only with Chester added into the mix where everyone got the (dis)pleasure of getting to know him. As the fighting continued with Chester stepping in every now and then, Bete's group arrived followed by Ais and finally Bell who caught everyone by surprise with his Pyromancy. Now faced to face with Chester, Bell is finally going to get back his stuff...or will he? Let's find out, shall we? Gather your gear my fellow readers for it's time for some jolly-adventuring!

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Is It Too Much To Ask To Be Left Alone!

Grace 13: Confrontation (Choas Storm)

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Amongst all the adventurers who stared at Bell in shock, those adept in the use of magic could not stop their trembling bodies. This went double for Lefiya who looked ready to faint right then and there. Undergoing training from the strongest mage in the city, and adding in her biology as an elf, Lefiya stared over at the knight, who was currently having a staring contest with Chester, in absolute fear as she took in and processed the full magical force of Bell's flames that had been displayed seconds ago.

'Such power...to call upon so much power...without even chanting!'

Abnormal. That was what the elf thought of the armored Adventurer as she tried to figure out just how was it possible for this person to have this kind of power. Was he an elf? Was he descended from a family that had great magical powers? And most importantly, what was his Level?

So busy trapped in her thoughts, the elf missed most of what was going on as Bell raised his sword at Chester and said,

"I'm here for my stuff."

One could have heard a pin drop amongst the utter silence that had dropped down from Bell's words. The shock everyone was in was soon accompanied by confusion only to snap out of it due to Chester breaking out into laughter.

"Kuhahahaha! Oh, Bell. Once again, you never fail to make me laugh. Then again, I shouldn't have expected anything else considering what other reason could you have for chasing me all the way down here," Brushing a finger across his mask as if he were wiping away a tear, Chester regained control over his laughter before reaching into his coat and pulling out what appeared to be a small wooden chest no bigger than his hand. "By your 'stuff' are you perhaps referring to this?"

*BOOM!*

No sooner did Chester take out the miniature chest did Bell disappear from where he stood leaving behind only a footprint in the ground. Less than a second later he reappeared right in front of Chester, his sword already in mid-swing to take the masked man's neck. Just as the steel blade seemingly sliced through Chester's neck, it was soon revealed that it was only an afterimage as the real Chester had bent backward, evading Bell's attempt to kill him as he flipped over and kicked Bell, striking him right under his chin which sent the knight reeling back. Bell quickly regained his balance as Chester flipped back onto his feet, readjusting his hat as he wagged a finger at the Undead.

"Ah, ah, ah! Temper, temper. And here I had thought that fiery side of you had dimmed down after all you've been through."

"Gimme. That. Box." Speaking slow and threatening, Bell sheathed his current sword and grabbed the one hanging from his back, wielding the broadsword (that he pillaged from the Ilkelos member way back) two-handed as he glared right over at Chester.

"Oh? You want this box?"

"I want it."

"You want this box?"

"I want it."

"You want this box?"

"I want it."

"You want? You want?"

"Gimme my things back!" Fed up with the masked man, Bell kicked off the ground and practically pounced over to Chester with the sole goal of reclaiming what was his. Chester, for his part, simply smiled under his mask as he reached to his side and drew out an Eastern-style sword, a katana as it was known from those of the East.

"...Kuh!" Recovering from his shock, Olivas pushed himself up to his knees and turned his attention away from the two monsters and over towards Ais. "Viscum! Seize the [Sword Princess]!"

"Wait!" Recovering from her initial shock too, Revis shouted over to Olivas to stop, but it was already too late as a second Viscum uncoiled from the quartz pillar and set its sights on Ais which broke everyone else out from their shock.

"Miss Ais!" Lefiya cried out in worry as the giant plant monster dived down towards the blond swordswoman.

"...Tempest."

*SLICE!*

It happened all in the span of a second. With one word, wind gathered around Ais's sword, collecting together until it was a fierce gale. Since reaching Lv. 6, Ais had restricted herself from using her wind. The reason? She had initially lost against the red-haired tamer, Revis, in the past and thus chose to reflect and retrain her sword skills, sharpening it not just for a chance rematch that may or may not come, but for the goal she was trying to reach in the far future. One only had to look at the state Revis was in to see that Ais's efforts were not wasted. Now, in the face of such a massive beast, the [Sword Princess] decided then and there to undo her restriction.

All it took was one swing of her sword to slice the Viscum's head in two, destroying the Magic Stone hidden within its flesh as the Viscum's remains disintegrated into ash and smoke.

"Wha...!" Once again, Olivas found himself speechless as did everyone else. Off in the distance, the creature inside of the Jewel Fetus screamed as if in response to Ais' magic, but it mostly went ignored due to all attention being on Ais.

'First that knight, now Miss Ais!?' Lefiya shouted within her mind, shocked at her senior Adventurer's display of power. Ais's magic, Ariel, was classified as a super short, chanted enhancement. Yet, much like the magical might behind Bell's flames, Ais's winds were too strong. It was abnormal.

However...

"...not enough," Ais said to herself, her thoughts running contradictory to Lefiya's as she looked at the results of her attack and found herself unsatisfied.

Don't get her wrong, compared to when she was still Lv. 5, she was much stronger now and so was the strength and power of her wind. Yet, after seeing Bell's flames, she couldn't help but feel like she fell short. Even now, even after releasing her wind, the temperature of the floor was still uncomfortably warm, a leftover effect of the knight's magic she guessed.

'As I thought...he's stronger than me,' Ais thought as she looked over to where Bell was right now and her eyes soon widen at what she was seeing.

*ting-ting-ting!*

Raising his shield, Bell blocked three knives thrown by Chester before the Undead leaped forward with a thrust of his sword, aiming right for the masked man's face. Said man ducked under the blow in time and proceeded to leg sweep the knight, knocking him to the ground. Once completing that move did Chester leap away while throwing three more knives down at Bell who quickly rolled away from the incoming projectiles. Rolling up to his feet Bell charged over towards Chester, swinging his sword with such speed and precision that it was almost surgical. And yet Chester was able to dodge and block Bell's attacks with his own sword. Drawing back for a bit, Bell grips the longsword with both hands and thrusts forward, aiming for Chester's stomach this time, but the man quickly drew a knife from within his coat and used it to deflect the blow, positioning it in a way that caused Bell to move past Chester as sparks flew from the sword skidding across the knife. With a quick spin, Chester got behind Bell and struck him in the back of the head with the end of his sword. Had it not been for his helmet, the blow would have disorientated Bell. Instead, all Chester did was simply annoy the Undead.

Quickly spinning to the right, Bell swung his sword only for it to be blocked by Chester's katana whose study guard stance caused the bigger blade to bounce back. Moving with the momentum of this bounce Bell spun around to the other side and tried to attack Chester from there, but the masked man jumped back and counterattacked with more thrown knives which Bell blocked by raising his sword in front of him. Grabbing his own throwing knives, Bell threw them at Chester before charging straight at him, throwing his broadsword back onto his back and drawing his straight sword from its sheath.

Chester deflected all of Bell's thrown knives with one upward swing but in that small span of time, Bell was able to close the distance between them. The armored Adventurer stabbed forward thrice at Chester only for him to slap the sword away with his free hand and move in close, grabbing the Undead by his helmet, placed his leg right behind Bell's, and pushed him back, sending the Undead slamming into the ground. Raising his katana, Chester went to stab down at Bell, but the knight quickly raised his shield and blocked the stab, causing it to skid across it and leave a slash mark on the metal plate, showing the difference in quality between the shield and sword. Of course, Bell didn't care for that, not even registering it as he pushed Chester away from him before rolling away himself, getting up to his feet quickly, and took a quick swing at the masked man only for him to quickly jump back. Bell swung his sword again, deflecting more knives thrown at him, and was about to charge forward when he reeled back due to an arrow stabbing right into his right shoulder. Bell quickly raised his shield and blocked a second arrow in time. Lowering the shield, Bell looked and saw that Chester had put away his sword and was now wielding what he recognized as a Sniper Crossbow.

It should be noted that this entire fight was conducted in less than 10 seconds, shocking those that had been watching and unable to keep up.

'S-So fast! I...I couldn't track their movements at all!' Lefiya thought to herself and judging from the expressions of the others, it was the same for them. Not even Bete and Ais, two of the fastest adventurers in Orario, were barely able to keep up with the two.

Oblivious to the others were looking at them, Chester began speaking to Bell, his tone carrying slight disappointment.

"Come now, Bell, surely this isn't the best you have to offer. I remember you being much faster than this during our time in Oolacile. Surely that armor of yours couldn't be weighing you down considering you were doing flips in it the last time we fought."

Bell made no attempt to respond back as he grabbed the arrow lodged in his shoulder and pulled it out. Ignoring the blood that flowed out from his wound, Bell threw away the used arrow before summoning and throwing a Fire Orb at Chester who jumped back to avoid the improved fireball.

"Resorting to magic now, are we? You never were a one-trick pony. It's what makes fighting you that much more annoying!" Chester exclaimed, throwing a dagger at Bell before firing an arrow at the Undead who blocked the thrown knife with his shield before using it again to swat the flying arrow away.

Chester fired off more arrows at Bell who either dodged or blocked each shot while continuing to advance towards Chester's position. Seeing that his arrows weren't getting him anywhere, Chester stashed it away, surprising those watching due to how big the Sniper Crossbow was, before redrawing his katana and ran down to meet Bell halfway. A big *clang* sound echoed when their respective swords met and they pushed against one another, trying to overpower the other. Much to Bell's surprise, he found himself losing the strength contest as he was forced back by Chester little by little. Thinking fast, Bell focused before breathing out Poison Mist straight at Chester's masked face, causing him to reel back coughing. Taking this chance, Bell rushed in and swung at the coughing Chester only to get kicked in the chest which then sent him flying back. The fact that he was sent flying despite wearing armor showed just how strong Chester was as he waved away the poison mist while getting his breathing back under control with no signs of him being poisoned showing.

"Bloody hell, when did you become so crafty?" Chester said only to gasp in surprise when Bell went and threw his sword at him! Chester moved to the side to dodge the unexpected projectile, only to feel something hot wrap around his leg. Before he had a chance to look down, Chester was pulled off his feet, landing on his back before being pulled over towards Bell where he saw the Undead using Fire Whip to drag him over.

As Bell was dragging Chester over to him, he reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a Firebomb. Summoning fire to his thumb so that he could light the bomb, Bell was around to throw it when two arrows came flying, one hitting the bomb out of his hands which exploded harmlessly, and the second hitting Bell dead in the head. Thankfully, due to the thinness of his helmet slit, the arrow that would have taken Bell's eyes got lodged in the slit instead. Bell went to grab the arrow stuck in his helmet when Chester, having gotten back up to his feet, raced up to the armored Adventurer and proceeded to bash him across the head with his crossbow, using the metal-pointed tip to deal the most damage. Bell's helmet once again saved Bell from being damaged too badly, as well as preventing him from getting dazed, but much to his chagrin, he could hear his helmet getting dented from Chester's hit. Thrusting his right hand forward, Bell quickly cast Great Combustion to not only damage Chester but also make him retreat. The Undead managed to achieve both as Chester was forced back while being covered in flames. With his left hand still using Fire Whip, Bell pulled back, preventing Chester from escaping too far as he then used his right hand to cast Fire Surge, attempting to torch Chester up close. Unfortunately for Bell, Chester dropped down to avoid the flamethrower before he swung his crossbow like a makeshift club and struck Bell's right leg, throwing the Undead off balance as he tripped and fell to his knees. Loading another arrow in quickly, Chester fired his crossbow point-blank at Bell's face again, losing another arrow in the Undead's helmet which almost came off due to the force behind the arrow.

Letting out an annoyed grunt, Bell stopped casting Pyromancy and grabbed his remaining sword hanging on his back before proceeding to swing it down at Chester who, now free from the literal whip of fire, rolled away from the attack. Jumping back to his feet, Chester rushed back to Bell and delivered a kick to Bell's head, knocking the Undead to the ground. Growling in annoyance, Bell pushed himself up and quickly took the chance to remove the arrows stuck in his helmet, allowing him to see more clearly now. Getting up to his feet, Bell turned to face Chester only to be met with another kick, this time to the chest which sent the armored Adventurer stumbling back as Chester used his kick to flip into the air, using Bell as leverage. In a showcase of acrobatics, Chester flipped once in the air before he swung his arms out, throwing a fan of knives down towards Bell who countered by swinging his sword with enough force to generate wind which knocked the knives out of the air where they fell harmlessly to the ground. With that done, Bell raced over to where Chester would land and thrusts forward with his sword. However, to the Undead's surprise, instead of landing on the ground, Chester instead landed on Bell's outstretched sword, balancing on it as if it were a tightrope. Growling again, Bel swung up to knock Chester off of his sword, but all it did was propel the masked man into the air where he flipped twice before landing back down on his feet, arms raised as if basking in the applause of an imaginary audience. Quite fed up with Chester's behavior, Bell charged at the masked man only to feel himself slamming into something. Looking down, Bell found Chester's crossbow leveled at his stomach. Before the Undead had a chance to pull back, Chester pulled the trigger, and the arrow stabbed into Bell's gut, piercing through the chainmail hidden underneath the surcoat and knocking Bell back to the ground.

"That," Chester began, lowering his crossbow. "Was for my pants."

"Kh!" Bell gritted his teeth underneath his helmet, holding his gut as blood started flowing out from the arrow wound.

"Still not dead yet? Then again, you always were an expert at taking a beating," Chester said, laughing a little as he reloaded his crossbow. "But it looks like I'm the victor this time around. Better luck next time, Bell. Then again I haven't seen a Bonfire since coming here so is there even a next time for you?" Despite the mask on him, Bell could tell Chester was smiling wickedly as he aimed his crossbow at him. "Let's find out, shall we?"

*FWOOSH!*

The sound of wind blowing alerted Chester who quickly turned around and used his crossbow to deflect a thrust attack from a surprise Ais who flew past Chester and landed right in front of Bell who she stood in front of protectively, leveling her sword at Chester.

"Miss Ais!?" Lefiya exclaimed in surprise, having not expected the blond swordswoman to suddenly jump in like that.

"Hey now, a bit rude trying to attack me from behind like that, don't you think?" Chester said, lowering his crossbow. "Now I don't want to fight with one of Loki's kids so could you be a dear and step aside?"

"...No," responded Ais as winds started gathering around her.

"Is that so?" Chester said as he looked between Ais and Bell, the latter of whom was getting back up on his feet. "Well now, I didn't know you two were friends. I mean, you both did arrive here together, but I didn't want to assume..."

"Not friends...acquaintances," Ais responded, correcting Chester.

"Really? You're acting quite protective of him for a mere acquaintance," Chester pointed out. "What? Are you in love with him or something?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Ais responded with brutal honesty, causing everyone else to wince at her bluntness. Chester, on the other hand, found himself amused.

"Ouch! I think you just got rejected, Bell."

"And I should care why?" Bell said as he walked up to Ais' side, surprising the [Sword Princess] who turned to see the knight had removed the arrow in his gut as the bleeding had stopped.

"How...?" Ais was about to question how Bell was back up on his feet so quickly until she saw him putting away his Estus Flask.

"'And I should care why?'" Chester repeated Bell's words, laughing at them. "Hehehe...it seems Lordran did a damn good job breaking you, didn't it?"

Bell didn't respond as the only indication of him being affected by Chester's words was him tightening his grip on his sword.

"Well then, I guess we're doing this then?" Chester asked as he faced both Bell and Ais who readied their respective weapons.

"I'll make an opening for you," Bell said to Ais who nodded back, knowing she would need to take every advantage handed to her in order to properly contribute to this fight.

Armed with seemingly nothing but a crossbow, Chester beckoned for the two Adventurers to come at him. In response, flames and winds were called forth, and both Bell and Ais charged forth—

*RI~P!*

Only to skid to a stop when the sound of flesh being ripped open caught not just them, but everyone else's attention.

"The hell!?" Bete exclaimed in surprise and confusion as over by Revis and Olivas...

...was the former plunging her hand through the latter's chest.

"Wha...Re...vis..." Olivas gasped out as he looked at the redhead in confusion. "What...are...!?"

"I need more power. That's all," Revis said as she grasped the Magic Stone embedded inside of Olivas' chest. "No matter how many Violas I eat, it doesn't amount to much."

"Well now, this took an unexpected turn," Chester commented.

"Wait!" Olivas exclaimed as he grabbed Revis's arm. "I am a human...chosen by her...just like you!"

"Chosen? Do you think that thing's a goddess or something?" Revis said as she used her other hand to grab Olivas by the neck, choking him. "There's no way that thing is an empyreal existence. You and me, we're just its tentacles."

"Are you seriously going to kill your only ally?" Olivas said, sweating profusely as he could feel Revis pulling back her hand. "If I'm not here, you can't protect—!"

*RI~P!*

Revis removed Olivas' Magic Stone with a sickening rip before throwing away his body, which broke and crumbled away like stone and dust.

"Don't misunderstand," Revis said as she stomped on the ashes that were once Olivas. "I've always had to protect myself. And I'll keep on doing so."

*CRUNCH!*

With a bite, Revis crushed Olivas' Magic Stone between her teeth and swallowed the remains with an almost audible gulp.

'Was that a Magic Stone?' Both Ais and Bell thought, having not been here when it was revealed what Olivas really was.

As the remains of Olivas Act's body disintegrated into ashes, Revis finished devouring all of Olvias' Magic Stone. Nothing seemed to happen, yet the air around Revis noticeably changed, causing Ais to tense up. Then, ever so slowly, Revis turned her gaze over towards Ais...

*BAM!*

Ais' instincts flared up and she raised her sword in front of her just before she found herself flying back as Revis pushed against her Desperate using her bare hands, covering the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

"Huh!?"

"What!?" Bete and Lefiya and everyone in the Hermes Familia all cried out in surprise at Revis' sudden burst of speed.

'She's like a different person than before!' Ais thought as she found herself struggling to push Revis back.

"So you were still able to react. Guess it wasn't enough," Revis noted as the two neared the ground. Once they did, the redheaded 'creature' dug her hand into the ground before pulling out a natural weapon, the same unnatural-looking sword she had previously used against Ais earlier. Ais tried to jump back to create distance between them, but Revis matched her speed, keeping close to the [Sword Princess] as she swung her weapon down at her, causing dirt and rubble to go flying.

"Dammit!" Bete cursed as he, Lefiya, and Filvis all raced over to Ais to go help her.

"She got stronger by eating a Magic Stone. Is she a strengthened species or something!?" Lulune exclaimed, having a hard time processing the current events. Nevertheless, her body moved to go help the blond swordswoman but was stopped by Asfi.

"Wait! We won't be much help in our current state!" Asfi said before pointing over to Jewel Fetus. "More importantly, we need to focus on that jewel! It's definitely at the center of this whole incident. We need to secure it!"

"A-Alright!" Lulune said before she and everyone else that wasn't currently fighting ran over to where the jewel was embedded. As they all ran, Asfi was noticeably sweating more than the rest of her party members.

'My body feels heavy...I've lost too much blood,' Asfi assessed but kept going. After all, she wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for Keek's sacrifice. For her fallen comrade, she will secure that jewel!

Unfortunately, due to her still injured state, Asfi failed to notice the shadow flying over her until it was too late as the bluenette found herself being kicked in the face.

"Asfi!" Lulune, being the closest to her captain, quickly caught her before looking up to see who had shown up.

It was a hooded figure dressed in a purplish-blue robe. A strangely patterned mask obscured the figure's face, making it all but impossible to tell if the figure was male or female.

"They still have allies!?" Lulune exclaimed as the hooded figure went and removed the Jewel Fetus from the ground with a metal-gloved hand.

"It's not complete yet, but it's grown enough!" Revis shouted over to the hooded figure while continuing her battle with Ais. "Hurry and take it to Enyo!"

"Got it," The hooded figure said, their voice a spine-tingling disquieting as it sounded like multiple people were trying to speak all at once.

"Dammit!" Lulune cursed as she tried to chase after the retreating robed figure.

"Lulune! Stop!" Asfi cried out, yelling for the Chienthrope to stop, until...

"Viscum!" Revis roared at the top of her lungs, calling over to the remaining Viscum wrapped around the quartz pillar. "Keep giving birth until you shrivel up!"

The second those commands left the redhead's mouth did the entire place shook. Then, dropping from the ceiling was a single Viola, baring its teeth over towards Asfi's group.

'A newborn man-eating flower? Is it forcibly blooming it?' Asfi thought until another Viola dropped down. And then another followed.

And another...

And another...

And another...

"O-Oi..." One of the members spoke up as more and more Violas began dropping all around them. "Aren't there too many of them?"

'...No, it can't be!' Asfi thought, sweating. Looking up, Asfi and everyone else saw, to their horror, all the Violas stuck to the ceiling were all dropping down at a rapid pace. Asfi then realized just what exactly Revis had ordered the Viscum.

'It's giving birth throughout the entire pantry!'

Soon enough, hundreds of meaty mouths which should not be found on any sort of flowers filled the entire area, utterly surrounding everyone inside. And judging from the drool flowing out of every Violas' mouths, they were hungry.

"They're coming!"

"It's impossible! There's too many!"

"Don't get separated! You'll get crushed!"

A Monster Party. Consisting of about 400 members, maybe even more. Up until now, Asfi and her group have been getting by, but at this point, they've used up all their weapons, stamina, and reinforcements.

'We can't break through this!' Asfi thought whilst being sent flying.

"Violas!" Revis cried out as more than ten Violas surrounded the redhead before they all charged towards Ais who in response raised a wall of wind to defend herself. The wind itself acted as a sort of shredder as when the Violas slammed into the wall, they were shredded to bits. But their purpose was not to hurt Ais, rather they had been used to make a hole in the wall which Revis used to pass through and get close to Ais.

Revis disarmed Ais of her sword with a powerful swing where it stabbed itself into the ground a distance away. Ais raced to go retrieve it, but Revis would not allow it, sticking close to Ais who was now on the defensive. Elsewhere, Filvis was using her magic to blast away any Violas she could while using her agility to keep herself from getting caught by the man-eating flowers. Lefiya, holed up inside a makeshift fort, was quickly saved by Bete who told her something before dashing off to go help Ais. Truly, the situation had turned chaotic.

"My, my, I guess there are some things that don't change with the Dungeon even after all these years," Chester said, standing completely fine amongst all the chaos going on around him. "What about you, Bell? What's your take on all of this?"

*BAM!*

Caught completely by surprise, Chester let out a grunt as Bell went and tackled him to the ground.

"Gimme my stuff back!" Bell exclaimed as he went to stab a knife through Chester's face only for him to stop it by grabbing the Undead's arm and pushed it back. But this didn't slow Bell down as he let go of the knife in his hand, dropping it to allow his other hand to grab it before stabbing it down towards Chester who grabbed that arm too, forcing the two to wrestle with one another.

"Seriously!? You're still on about that in this situation!?" Chester exclaimed before quickly rolling along with Bell to dodge an incoming Viola trying to eat them.

"Give me my stuff!"

"Man, I forgot how persistent you were! No wonder I don't like you!"

"The feeling's mutual," Bell said, freeing his right hand from Chester's hold before thrusting it past the masked man's head to blast an incoming Viola with fire. After dealing with that, Bell set his sights back at Chester, pulling his hand back to incinerate the masked man's head off, but Chester grabbed his arm again and pushed it away, preventing himself from getting torched in the face.

"Everyone! Surround [Thousand Elf]! We'll leave everything up to her!" Over by the others, Asfi shouted to the others before they formed a circle around Lefiya.

"Five minutes! No, please hold out for three minutes!" Lefiya shouted before she started chanting, summoning a magic circle under her feet.

"Well, well, seems like they're gearing up for one final stand," Chester said, sounding amused before looking back at Bell. "I'm surprised you're not over there helping them. I mean, isn't that what you do?"

"Not my problem," Bell said as he took in air, about to breath out Poison Mist once again, but was prevented when Chester went and suddenly headbutted him. Again, his helmet protected Bell from the blow, but the suddenness of the blow surprised Bell and Chester used that moment to flip over once again before kicking Bell off of him who flipped and landed on his back.

"Not your problem?" Chester said as he and Bell got back to their feet. "I never thought I'd hear you utter those words. Now I'm curious as to what happened to make you the way you are right now."

"None of your business," Bell said as he charged towards Chester, shield positioned in front of him.

"None of my business? Now isn't that hypocritical of you?" Chester said as he went and punched forward, striking Bell's shield with enough force to not only stop the knight's attempted shield bash but to also produce a small shockwave. "I wonder how many times you've had those words thrown at you yet you still got involved anyways? But I guess it takes being a hypocrite to become a 'hero' right?"

The second the word 'hero' escaped Chester's mouth it was like a flip had been switched inside Bell. A red light appeared through the slit of Bell's helmet before the Undead went and overpowered Chester, throwing his arm off to the side before Bell stepped forward to close the distance between them, clenched his left hand into a fist to the point it was shaking, and...

*POW!*

...landed a blow right on Chester's masked face, producing so much force that there was a brief echo in the air as Chester was sent flying back before skidding to the ground.

"I'm no hero," Bell growled, stomping over to Chester as the air around him noticeably heated up. "Nor will I ever be one...not after all the things I've done."

"Hehehe...is that how you see yourself?" Chester asked as he picked himself up, cracking his neck. "I guess Lordran really did fuck you up. But I guess that's to be expected. After all, no soul can remain pure in those lands, not even the mighty Lords themselves."

"You talk too much," Bell said, sheathing his knife before grabbing the sword from his back.

"Man-eating flower reinforcements are coming from outside the pantry!"

"They're coming from behind!"

"How long has it been!?"

"Aren't you done yet, Lefiya!?"

As Bell continued to fight with Chester, the situation around them continued to grow more chaotic. As it was shouted out before, more Violas started coming from outside the pantry, adding to the already huge numbers Asfi and the others had to deal with. Already the party was down one member but none of them were allowed to grieve as their survival relied on them protecting Lefiya until she completed the preparations for her spell. To the disbelief of many, only a minute had gone by.

Bell and Chester were not the only ones continuing their fighting amongst the chaos. In another part of the area, the fight between Ais and Revis continued with the former still being pushed back by the latter. In an attempt to fight back, Ais wrapped her wind around her leg and swung it, but the only thing she struck was air.

"Compared to your sword skills, that was pitiful," Revis spoke, having gotten behind Ais who could only cry as the redhead batted the blond away. She then used a nearby Viola as leverage to propel herself after the falling Ais, sword raised above her head. "Hurry up and die!"

"You first!" Completely plowing through a Viola, Bete roared as he leaped over to Ais. "Give her to me, Ais!"

Ais appeared surprised for a brief moment before she quickly realized what the werewolf meant and flipped over so that she would meet Bete feet first. As planned, their feet met and the two flipped around, switching their positions as they both used each other to propel themselves with Ais sending Bete over to face Revis in her place.

"Tch! She's—"

*POW!*

In a burst of speed that caught Revis by surprise, Bete's armored foot struck Revis across the face.

"Stay still you damn woman monster!"

'How did—!?' Revis thought to herself, wondering how was the werewolf so fast until she spotted wind surrounding Bete's boots.

To those that don't know, Bete's boots were no ordinary boots. Dubbed Flosvirt, Bete's mithril boots were made with the ability to absorb magic and use its power to increase the wielder's own power. And right now, they were using the power of Ais's wind to increase Bete's already incredible speed.

However...

"You're in the way," Despite Bete's increased speed, Revis had no trouble keeping track and blocking his attacks. "Move aside!"

Revis swung her sword in rapid succession, blowing Bete back as multiple wounds began to cover his body. It was clear to see that even with Ais's wind helping him, Revis, who was matching Ais's Lv. 6 strength, was still stronger than Bete.

But...

"Why don't you die instead!?" Bete shouted as he pushed through the redhead's incredible strength, refusing to retreat until Ais retrieved her sword.

*BOOM!*

"Guh!" Pock let out a grunt-like cough as he slammed into the ground back first, almost knocking the wind out of him. "Ugh...you still alive, Pot?"

"Somehow..." Pot said, having been knocked aside along with Pock by the Violas that had come from behind.

"Shit, we need to hurry and get back," Pock said as he went to push himself up only to fall back down. Confused, Pock looked to see what was wrong before breaking out into a sweat. Why?

Because both his hands were missing.

'Ffffffuck!' Pock screamed in his mind as he prevented himself from screaming for real. He must have lost them when the Violas had surprised them. The adrenaline that was coursing through Pock was the only thing keeping the Pallum from experiencing the pain of losing his hands.

"Pock? Where are you?"

"Pot, I'm..." Pock slowly turned towards his sister, trying to hide his condition from her only to gasp. Why?

"Did we fall down a hole? It's so dark I can't see anything."

"..." Pock could say nothing and his silence told Pot what had happened to her.

"Oh...so that's what happened..." Pot said as she touched her face and felt the wetness that was her blood flowing from where her eyes used to be.

Pock had no idea what to say. Should he try to comfort her, tell her everything was going to be alright? Should he tell her about his own injuries in order to sympathize with her? Should he blame their patron god for accepting this Quest?

"The man-eating flowers are coming in from behind!"

"Their numbers are increasing!"

"We can't hold out for much longer!"

"Someone, help!"

As the situation continued to grow worse and worse by the second, Pock had no idea what to do...until a corpse fell near him. Looking, the robes identified the dead body as one of the Evilus suicide bombers only this one appeared to have died before he/she could set off the explosives on them.

That's when an idea popped up in Pock's head...one his fellow members would have never approved of.

"Riwo Flare!" Finishing her chant, Meryl's fire magic successfully destroyed two Violas near her and Dodon as the latter defended the Pallum mage, using a random bolder as a makeshift shield. However, just as Meryl killed those two Violas, two more appeared from the smoke to replace them. Quickly, Dodon got in front of Meryl, shielding her from the man-eating flowers.

"I need to hurry and use the next spell..." Meryl said to herself, trying to remain calm against the chaos slamming against Dodon's bolder shield.

"Meryl!"

"Huh-kyah!" Letting out an accidental cute scream, Meryl caught something thrown at her. Looking, it was Pock's dagger. Meryl stared at the thrown dagger in confusion before looking up to see the Pallum twins dragging an Evilus corpse over to a nearby pile of rubble.

"Hold onto that for me, would ya?" Pock said as his sister leaned on him while dragging the corpse over to them.

"Wait! What are you two doing!?" Meryl shouted, not liking the look on her fellow Pallum's face.

"Did it reach her...?" Pot asked, having thrown her brother's dagger for him since he now lacked the limbs to do it himself.

"Yep. You sure have good aim, even when blind," Pock complimented his sister, possibly for the last time. "I'm sure we can lessen their numbers here...I'm sorry, sis."

"It's fine," Pot said as her hand moved around until it found the switch that would ignite the explosives. "It's for everyone's sake after all."

"No way..." Meryl muttered, tears forming as she realized what the twins were planning to do. "No! Don't do it!"

"Oh, man..." Pock said, smiling in regret as Pot pulled the switch. "And I really wanted his signature."

*BOOOOOOOOOM!*

In seconds, the Kaenseki bombs detonated, taking the Pallum twins with it as the explosion broke apart the rocks, causing a huge, building-sized boulder to come falling, crashing down on and blocking the way the Violas were coming through to enter the pantry.

"That's..." Asfi turned in surprise as Meryl collapsed to her knees, crying.

"Pock and Pot...with a bomb..."

Asfi's widened her eyes in horror before she gritted her teeth and reigned in her emotions. Now was not the time to break down here.

"Our rear has been secured, everyone to the front! We'll do whatever it takes to hold out!"

Tears rolled down Lefiya's eyes, the guilt building up inside of her at the knowledge of more people dying for her. She didn't even know the names of the two that had sacrificed themselves in order to buy her more time. She hated it, this feeling of powerlessness. Nevertheless, she had a job to do and by her pride as a Loki Familia member and as a mage, she will complete her spell!

"Did you hear that just now?" Chester asked, cupping his ears while leaning towards where Asfi and the others were. "Sounds like more people just died. Such a shame, really. Are you still not gonna get involved?"

Bell's answer was to draw his knife and throw it at Chester who went and caught it before the blade reached his mask.

"Geez, talk about cold. So you won't go help even after all that?" Chester said, flipping the knife in his hand. "You're making me start to miss the old you. It's like you're afraid of saving them or something."

Bell suddenly flinched at this, something Chester caught before the Undead quickly recomposed himself. Imaginary gears ticked inside of the masked man's helmet as he puzzled over why Bell had reacted like that. A second later, there was a *ding* and Chester erupted into laughter.

"By the flatness of Loki's chest, I can't believe it! Mwahahahahahaha! Y-You...Are you actually afraid of saving people? Oh, that is just hilarious! Oh, I gotta tell Loki about this, she'll love it!"

"Shut up!" Bell exclaimed as he rushed in and swung at Chester, but he missed when Chester spun around him, dodging the attack.

"And why should I? I love to talk! Talking is how people communicate with one another," Chester said as he danced around Bell, dodging each and everyone of his swings. "Well, scared or not, I'm afraid you have no choice but to play the part of the hero."

"What are you talking about?" Bell said as Chester bent down and picked up a random stone off the ground.

"Perhaps I was being too hard on the Monkey earlier," Chester said as he casually tossed the stone in his hand up and down. "After all, there's just something quite thrilling about throwing rocks around...Like this!"

Faster than Bell could react, Chester went and threw the stone where it flew past Bell's head and continued to fly through the maze of Viola bodies until...

"Sweep completely, bring a close to the great wa—agh!"

'Wa—agh!?' Everyone thought, knowing despite not being mages that that wasn't how the spell was supposed to go. Turning to see what was wrong, everyone felt their hearts sink when they saw Lefiya on her knees, coughing violently as the stone that had struck her throat fell to the ground.

"No!" Asfi exclaimed as all their efforts to provide time for Lefiya had just gone down the drain because of a single rock. Looking around to see who had thrown it, her eyes caught Chester waving at her. "You!"

"Hehe, oh I bet I won't be landing a date with her anytime soon," Chester said, his tone joking while filled with amusement.

"Why did you do that!?" Bell exclaimed, appalled at what Chester had just done.

"To force your hand, Bell," Chester said, tipping his hat a little. "Don't think I don't know why you didn't go down there to help them at the first chance you got. It's because of that elf. So long as they protected her long enough to complete her spell, you could focus your attention on me. But now I've taken the girl's voice, the one thing a mage needs to cast magic."

Down below, as if in response to Lefiya's interrupted casting, the situation grew even worse. The Violas started attacking more fiercely, pushing back Asfi and the others as their weapons and shield were destroyed one by one. Filvis, in particular, stood in front of Lefiya, protecting her as the blond elf tried to recover only to cough more as the stone had hit her so hard that it was hard for her to even breathe.

"Why!?" Bell shouted, questioning the masked man as to why he was going so far to make him act. Just what did he have to gain by forcing Bell to play hero?

"Instead of asking me why, shouldn't you be more concerned about saving lives?" Chester said as a scream down below informed the two that the Viola swarm had claimed another life. "The more you stand here talking to me, the more lives will be lost. Now, what will you do? Will you run down there and save the lives of those people who you don't even know? Or..."

Reaching into his coat, Chester pulled out the tiny box that supposedly contained all of Bell's belongings.

"Will you continue to fight me in order to reclaim the remnants of your dead comrades?"

"Gh!" Bell gritted his teeth as he was caught in a dilemma. Either give up on reclaiming his belongs in order to save Asfi's group or continue fighting while leaving everyone else to die. Had Bell been his previous self, the choice would have been obvious. But...

"My father…all Hollow now…has been subdued. He will cause no more trouble."

The memory of the event that broke his beliefs came rushing to his head, paralyzing him as more and more voices invaded his mind.

"I ask just one thing. If I do go Hollow, then finish me off. I beg of you."

He stood there, tears rolling down his face as he plunged his sword through her chest. His wails echoed throughout the cell.

"...Who are you...Stay clear...stay clear of my work...Curses upon you!... How dare you disturb me!"

He held his sword with shaking hands as he hovered over the downed form of what was once his respected teacher.

"...Finally, I have found it, I have!... ...My very own sun... I...am the sun!... ...I've done it...I have... ...Yes, I did it...I did!"

His cries echoed throughout the demonic city as he plunged his lightning spear through his friend's chest, putting him out of his misery.

"That Keeper has served me well, but… enough with her…Keh heh heh heh…"

He laid on the ground bleeding, extending his hand out in vain as he watched the golden knight raise his scythe-like swords at the defenseless Fire Keeper.

'Stop...' Bell begged, not realizing that his hands were shaking. He knew already. He knew his failures. He did not need these memories to remind him of what he already knew. What he had lost. For all his strength, for all his magic, for all his faith, not once...had he ever saved—

"I never did thank you for saving my life back in the Asylum."

It was like something clicked inside of Bell. Before he realized it, his back was turned to Chester as he raced off to where Asfi and the others were, becoming a complete blur despite all the armor he was wearing.

"Heh, I knew he couldn't resist," Chester chuckled, pocketing the box before looking up to where Loki's kids were still fighting against Revis. "I suppose I should go help out Loki's kids. After all, it's the duty of a senior to look after one's junior."

"The enemy's gathering at the center!" Someone shouted as all the remaining Violas gathered, coiling around one another until they all combined to form a giant version of themselves, easily matching the size of a Viscum, maybe even bigger.

"There's no way...We can't fight that..." Lulune stuttered, looking utterly hopeless in the face of this giant monster.

'Virdis!' Filvis looked back at her fellow elf who was still holding her throat, coughing up a bit of blood now. It seems the blow to her throat was more serious than predicted.

"So, this is it..." Asfi said to herself, her body sagging under the situation. They had sacrificed precious comrades to buy [Thousand Elf] time to complete her preparations, but all of it had gone to waste due to the actions of a single man and a stone. She could imagine Keaks raging up in the Upper World if he knew that his method of fighting had put them in this situation.

'At the very least, I need to...!' Filvis thought as she extended her hand out, mouth moving to cast a spell. At the very least, she needed to make sure Lefiya was safe and protected.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Suddenly, a powerful roar not unlike that of a monster's caused everyone to jump and turn to where it was coming from. To their surprise, Bell was racing over towards them covering the distance at an alarming rate.

Pulling his arm back, Bell went and threw his remaining sword towards the gathered Violas where it lodged itself into one. While Bell's throw was strong the attack did little to affect the gathered Violas. But upon closer a look, about a dozen Firebombs were tied together and attached to the end of the sword where every single one of them was already lit up. A second later...

*BOOM-BOOM-BOOM (x5)*

All the firebombs detonated, each one exploding spectacularly as a nice chunk of the gathered Violas had been killed. Still, though, there was enough left to maintain their combined form, but taking them all out hadn't been Bell's objective in the first place.

Skidding to a stop in front of Asfi's group, Bell didn't bother turning to any of them as he went and yelled" Everyone! Gather around me if you don't want to die!"

"Wait, wha—?"

"NOW!"

Everyone flinched at the volume of his voice. Asfi herself was taken completely by surprise at the knight's attitude as it was the complete opposite of what Hermes had described the boy to be. Nevertheless, as the armored Adventurer clasped both his hands together as if he were about to make a prayer, Asfi found herself listening to him.

"Do as he says!" Asfi shouted as she and everyone quickly gathered by Bell's side with Filvis helping Lefiya over.

"What are you planning to do?" Lulune couldn't help but ask as Bell's clasped hands shook from how hard he was squeezing them.

"This." With a single word serving as his response, Bell lifted his hands above his head before slamming them into the ground. At first, nothing seemed to happen which worried the group as the combined Violas neared them, jaws wide open to devour them.

And then...

*FWOOSH!*

To the still recovering Lefiya, the sight that played before her eyes made the elf completely speechless. And she wasn't the only one as intense heat washed over them all. Their bodies immediately started sweating in a vain attempt to cool their body. Why were they all sweating so badly all of a sudden?

*FWOOSH!*

'What...is this?' Lefiya thought which was shared with everyone else as they gazed at the literal storm of fire that swept over the entire pantry.

"What!?" Up in the air, Revis looked down in complete shock as pillars of intense fire rose from the ground and formed together to make a literal sea of flames. This red sea swept over the entire area below her, devouring not only all of the Violas that the Viscum had rapidly given birth to, but it also ate away at the Viscum's shriveled up body as the screams of the monsters blended in with the flaming sea, producing a scene straight out from hell.

"What the fuck is this shit!?" Bete said as he looked down at the burning scene below.

"This is what happens when Bell gets serious," Appearing suddenly behind Revis, Chester smiled behind his mask. "Revis, was it? Sorry to say but the minute he decided to play hero was when you lost."

"Damn you!" Revis cursed as she turned around to slash Chester only to receive a punch to the face which sent her spiraling towards Bete who refocused when he saw the redhead coming towards him.

"You're dead!" Bete declared as he snapped his leg towards Revis only for the redhead to block it with her sword.

"For someone like you to use the wind...!?"

"The weaklings are doing their best down there, so..." Noticeable cracks began to form on Bete's boots, but the werewolf gave no fucks about it as he continued to push forward regardless of what'll happen. And that's because...

"What kind of face am I supposed to make...If I don't stop you here!?"

*CRACK!*

Pushing all of his strength forward, Bete's boots...broke apart as the werewolf's foot was bleeding and snapped. And yet, the werewolf did not care for his injuries as he had succeeded in throwing Revis's arms back, leaving her wide open for...

"Do it, Ais!"

"Tempest!"

*FWOOSH!*

From the sea of flames below, a pillar rose until it dispersed revealing Ais having retrieved her sword and was wrapped around in her signature wind. But that wasn't all as the blade of Ais's sword was bathed in flames!

"I'll finish it...with this!" Ais declared as her wind propelled her past Bete and got her close to Revis who tried to bring her sword back down for defense.

*SLICE!*

It had proved useless as the flaming Desperate sliced through not only Revis's weapon but also through her chest and shoulder, cutting through it all like a hot knife through butter. Then, with the force of Ais's Ariel, Revis was knocked downward towards the ground. Except...

'Is that lava!?' Ais thought in surprise as the entire sea of flames finally subsided, revealing that the entire ground below had transformed into a sea of lava!

"Oh, shit!" Bete cursed as he and Ais fell to their fiery deaths with no place they could land safely. Despite being high-level Adventurers, even they weren't confident they could survive taking a dip in lava.

'No! I can't let it end like this!' Ais exclaimed in her mind as she went to activate Ariel when Chester suddenly dropped over to Bete's side.

"You!"

"Thank me later," Chester said before he went and kicked the werewolf, sending him over to where Asfi's group were at. Then, using the moment when he kicked Bete, Chester flipped over to Ais's position where he proceeded to kick her too.

"Someone stupid get in my way!"

"Huh?" Lulune only had a second to look confused until Bete came crashing into her. Two seconds later, Ais soon came into view where she slammed right into Bell who skidded back, successfully catching her, unlike Lulune who was now on the ground groaning.

"Hi," Bell said to the woman in his arms, carrying her like a princess which was ironic considering the swordwoman's title.

"Um...hello?" Ais meekly replied as the irony of being princess carried was not lost on her. A faint blush colored her cheeks until she noticed that Bell was breathing quite heavily as if exhausted.

"Are you...okay?"

"I'm fine," Bell insisted, placing Ais back on her feet before he pulled out the blue Estus Flask and drank from it, taking only a sip as he felt most of his magic replenished. Chaos Storm, his most powerful Pyromancy spell and his reward for his continued services to the Fair Lady always took much out of him which is why he rarely used the spell at all. Even still, Bell did not remember the spell being this powerful. Either he had severely underestimated his magical potential...

'Or...' Bell threw a look over his shoulder where he could feel the Falna on his back burning.

"Holy shit..." Falgar said, unintentionally expressing everyone's thoughts as they gazed at the scene in front of them before they all glanced over at Bell, the fear in their eyes quite clear.

'He's...a monster...' Lefiya secretly thought to herself, staring fearfully at the armored Adventurer who had just casted a spell equal in power to her teacher's Rea Laevateinn, except the devastation it caused was much worse as the knight had practically changed the entire terrain. A spell this powerful should have taken minutes to prepare, and yet Bell had done it in a matter of seconds without chanting. The elf really couldn't be blamed for fearing the Undead.

But on the other hand...

'Incredible...' Ais thought to herself as she looked back at Bell, his face ever hidden by his helmet. Her thoughts concerning the armored Adventurer ran contrary to Lefiya's. Yes, a part of her did fear the knight, but the power he had displayed enraptured her. Any lingering doubts about Bell being stronger than her were vanquished and the [Sword Princess] wondered just what had the knight experienced to make him this strong...and if she could somehow emulate it.

"Well, well..." The sound of clapping broke everyone out of their stupor as they turned around and saw Chester standing at the very edge of their safe zone, clapping away. "While you aren't as strong as you used to be, the fire inside of you certainly hasn't waned."

"You bastard!" Lulune practically screamed as she and everyone glared over at the masked man, none of them forgetting what he had done earlier. "You nearly got us all killed! You got Elilly killed!"

"Who?"

"You...!" Lulune looked absolutely livid, looking ready to pounce over to the masked man only to be held back by Asfi who knew full well everyone here except maybe Bell would be no match for Chester, especially in their current condition.

"Hm?" Suddenly, Chester noticed something in the distance as he looked past the group before he started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Bete growled as he was helped to his feet by Falgar and Thane.

Instead of responding with words, Chester pointed past them, getting everyone to turn where their eyes widen in disbelief as over by the quartz pillar was Revis who was using the pillar as support.

"She's still alive!?" Filvis exclaimed in surprise as Ais raised her sword, looking ready for another round only to find that the blade of Desperate was partially melted along with part of the guard. The fact that it was melted despite its Durandal properties caught Ais completely by surprise and made her curiosities towards Bell grow.

"You barely missed my Magic Stone," Revis said as the wounds Ais had dealt her were smoke as well as her legs since they were standing in lava. One could even see some bones poking out. "It seems I can't beat the current you, not mention that monster standing next to you."

"Hm?" The redhead's attitude confused Ais. The wounds she dealt the 'creature' were numerous and she had no more allies to call upon, the latter of which had been dealt with by Bell. And yet, Revis's confidence was not waning at all.

"This pillar..." Revis placed her hand on the quartz pillar behind her. "...is the core of the pantry. What do you think will happen...if I break this?"

At this did everyone's eyes widen in disbelief.

"No, she wouldn't!" Asfi exclaimed before Revis turned and punched the quartz pillar. And with that punch alone did the entire crystal structure break apart before crumbling down. And then...

*RUMBLE!*

The entire pantry, that is to say, the entire labyrinth began shaking before the entire ceiling above started coming down.

"Everybody move!" Asfi shouted. "Help the wounded! Leave your belongings behind, our priority is to get out safely!"

"But the lava—"

"Should be hard enough to walk on," Bell interjected as the lava covering the entire pantry had cooled down enough to turn into solid rock. "Get moving."

"Don't need to tell us twice!" Lulune said as she and her fellow party members began running.

"Wait, what about..." Ais turned towards Chester who despite the situation was still calm.

"Forget him! We'll be crushed if we stay here!" Bete said as Falgar practically carried the werewolf over his shoulder.

"Aria," Revis spoke up, getting Ais's attention. "Go to the 59th Floor. It's getting pretty interesting down there. You'll find some answers too."

"What do you mean?" Ais asked, not taking notice that Bell had turned to Chester.

"What?" Chester asked as the Undead stared him down. "Don't tell me you still want to fight? Even you can't be that stupid."

"You never answered my question," Bell asked, still questioning why Chester had gone to such lengths in order to make Bell be the one who saved everyone.

"...Call it...a request."

Bell tilted his head in confusion. "A request?"

"Someone's got their eyes on you, Bell Cranel. And they need you to get back into tip-top shape for their sake."

"And what does your so-called employer benefit from making act like a hero?"

"Who knows? They weren't exactly specific with the details," Chester said as he reached for something inside his coat. "By the way, I suppose I can give this back to you. Think of it as a reward for helping me complete my job."

Bell raised an eyebrow under his helmet before his eyes widen at what Chester pulled out from his coat.

It was a piece of white cloth wrapped in gold and tannish embroidery, all tied and held together by a golden ring. It was...

"I am most pleased to find you in good health. I am ready. Let us speak of Miracles."

*FWOOSH!*

Faster than even Chester could react to, the Ivory Talisman in his hand was gone. Blinking in confusion while grasping at air, Chester turned around and saw Bell on his knees, cradling the talisman in his hand ever so gently as if a single wrong touch would rip the thing into pieces.

"Hmph," Chester couldn't help but scoff at how pathetic Bell appeared to him. "So he cares for those things that much? How sentimental can he be?"

"My stuff," Bell spoke up, clipping the talisman to his belt before getting back up to his feet where he glared over at Chester. "Give it."

Chester smirked under his mask, not failing to notice how Bell's hands were now crackling with lightning. But faster than Bell could react, Chester jumped and used the falling rocks to leap away.

"Sorry, better luck next time, Belly!"

"Wait!" Bell exclaimed, curling his fingers around a pole that wasn't in his hands as they crackled with lightning. But just before Bell could go any further, a boulder fell too close for comfort, reminding him of the current situation.

"Forget him! There's no time!" Speaking up for the first time since Bell arrived, the voice in his head urged Bell to quickly escape.

"[Sword Princess]! Hurry!" Asfi's voice called out to Ais who had just finished listening to what Revis had to say. Both she and Bell looked at one another before they both sprinted off to escape the collapsing labyrinth.

---

To make a long story short, the group consisting of Hermes Familia, three of Loki's kids, Filvis, and Bell all managed to escape the collapsing labyrinth. Their casualties included five deaths all from the Hermes party and they had only been able to recover two bodies while reluctantly leaving the other three behind. As most of the group was suffering from various injuries and exhaustion, it fell to those who were still able (that being Filvis, Ais, and Bell) to lead the group back up to the surface. As they ascended floor after floor, Bell had been questioned multiple times on who he was and the nature of his strange (or lack thereof) casting method. Beyond giving Lefiya a sip of his Estus to heal her throat, Bell had remained quiet throughout the march much to the chargrin of a certain werewolf. And once the group reached Rivira on the 18th Floor, Bell made a speedy getaway, losing them amongst the forest outside the Under Resort.

Despite armed with only a damaged shield, Bell had no problems making it back to the surface. It was a simple matter of grabbing one of the many natural weapons produced by the Dungeon to use for himself, killing any Monsters stupid enough to attack the Undead. Once he made it to the 10th Floor, Bell opted to just sprint the rest of the way, racing up the floors as his form was a complete blur to monsters and adventurers alike. Finally, after half an hour of sprinting, Bell made it back to the surface where the stars of the night sky were there to greet him.

"I was down there for a long time," Bell said to himself as he exited Babel Tower. Judging by how empty the streets were and the lack of any commotion coming from any nearby taverns, Bell guessed it was now an hour where people were mostly asleep. Checking his pocket watch, Bell saw that it was almost three hours past midnight.

Pocketing the watch (pun not intended), Bell turned in the direction of where the church would be only to stop at the sound of a whimper-like growl. Turning to his right, there sitting right under a lampost was the Wolfen figure of Sif.

"Sif?" Bell blinked under his helmet, surprised to see the wolf here and up at this hour.

Getting up on all four, Sif made her way over to Bell where she nested her head into Bell's waiting hand.

"Did you wait here for me?" Bell asked, kneeling to stroke the larger-than-average wolf's head. Another growl along with a look from Sif told Bell all he needed to know. Under his helmet, a small smile formed on Bell's face as he stroked and petted his canine companion for a few more minutes before standing up.

"You must be hungry. Come on, let's go home."

Barking in agreement, Sif settled by Bell's side as the two walked down the lamp-lit streets of Orario. It wouldn't be until morning when Bell would receive a scolding from both Hestia and Lili, and it would be for some time until Bell and co. would venture back down into the Dungeon where Bell would continue his search for Chester, not knowing if the masked man was even still in there. But until such a time came, Bell took his time getting back home as he talked with Sif about the stars in the sky and the moon hanging above.

---

*RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!*

The situation had taken a turn for the worse. On an unknown Floor of the Dungeon, the entire place shook, scaring all of its current residents. The Monsters that made up the floor cried out, moving around like headless chickens. They could feel it. Something was trying to escape. Something that wasn't one of them.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

Sounds akin to an explosion were heard from a certain spot in the wall. The monsters near it gathered around, their curiosity too great for them to ignore. This was not the first time this had happened, and yet it had never been this bad.

The Dungeon had sensed it. And the being trying to escape had sensed it too. Somehow, chaos had returned and the being inside the wall wanted out in order to pursue it. Time and time again the Dungeon had been successful in holding in the being. This...was not one of those times.

*BOOM!*

In an explosion of rock, the wall exploded, causing the monsters to gather near to retreat. They all roared, cried, and screamed at whoever was appearing from the other side.

*SLICE!*

In the span of a second, all those monsters had ceased, their bodies going stiff until they all blew up into smoke, their Magic Stones destroyed before they could even blink. Those that were lucky enough not to be near the wall retreated further back as a huge figure stepped out from the wall. The area shook slightly every time this figure took a step. After taking a total of five steps, the shaking stopped for the figure was now levitating off the ground. Any thought of attacking this hulking figure was dashed from the minds of monsters as a red glow emerged from the smoke, frightening the monsters as they allwisely ran for their lives.

If it could, the Dungeon would have lamented at its failings. But by its very own nature, its focus was on repairing anything done to its body, allowing the figure to run off Scott free.

In another part of the Dungeon, a pair of eyes opened, awoken from their resting.

"My Lady, is something the matter?" Nearby, a winged figure asked their Goddess, clearly concerned.

"Something...has escaped...from the Dungeon's hold..." A gentle voice spoke, its very sound bringing a sense of calmness that soothed any that were nearby to hear it.

"What should we do?"

"...Gather everyone. No one is to venture out until the situation has been sorted."

"Are you going out?" The winged figure asked, wondering if her goddess was going out personally to deal with whatever had her concerned.

"...No." The Goddess said, turning her eyes up towards the ceiling covering the sky that was hidden from them. "There is another...he shall be the one to put down this ghost of the past."

As a new danger awoke from its slumber within the depts of the Dungeon, the residents of the city meanwhile slept the night away, completely unaware of the casualties that would soon occur.

---

And...done! Wow, did I finish that father than I expected. I mean, compared to the time it took me to update my RWBY story, the speed at which I finished this kinda makes a bit salty, but I guess it's just the difference in motivation. That and the difference in length. I hope the chapter was to everyone's liking. The chapter today was one of the rare moments where it's jammed packed with action. It was just non-stop fighting from beginning to end and I will admit, it was kinda awesome writing up all these fight scenes. The most difficult ones were Bell and Chester's fight. I tried to make it the least flashy out of all the other fights since Dark Souls combat isn't all that flashy of a game, at least when compared to its sequels. Considering this is a rare moment of Bell fighting for an extended amount of time, I tried to display the difference in his and Chester's fighting style with Bell being very grounded like in the game while Chester was more fast and acrobatic, emulating the style of Bloodborne.

For those who expected Bell to re-obtain his lost items, sorry to say but a talisman's all I'm giving him. Considering his already insane stats, giving him access to his high-grade gear this early in the story would make for some bad development. You people will have to put up with a character not fighting at their best for a little while longer. Of course, after an action-packed episode like this, it'll be a while until Bell gets into another big fight as I'm gonna slow things down for the next few chapters. Remember, this is a story of Bell reestablishing himself back into his old life and not about him wrecking things left and right. I've already laid the groundwork for some interesting development so you'll just have to wait for those in the future. Until then, this has been Ashbel Longhart here, signing here, signing out. May the sun bless you all.