"Hey… did you feel like… people were staring today?"
"At breakfast?"
Bell raised his dagger, tearing through a Killer Ant with ease. Its body burst into a cloud of ash, scattering in the air. Below it, a small gem fell to the ground.
"They do that sometimes."
"Yeah… but I mean like, more than usual."
Behind him, Ais hadn't even bothered to draw her sword. She simply strolled nonchalantly through the dungeon, swiftly stepping past enemies and occasionally lashing out with a kick.
She sighed as she bent forward a bit, kicking a purple crystal along.
"It's only natural. They're just impressed by your level up."
Impressed…?
Bell shivered as he remembered the stares he had felt earlier that morning. Impressed wasn't the word he would've used to describe the hostile, almost contemptuous glares aimed at him. Simply sitting next to the idol of the Loki Familia as a relatively new comer was hard enough, but as a certain pair of sisters began to pester and plaster themselves all over him, the hateful stares only grew more and more intense.
It made for quite a tense breakfast. He'd hardly been able to even lift his fork under the unyielding pressure at his back.
But, as for the girl who sat next to him, she seemed to pay no mind to them. Even now as she answered the question, she simply brushed it off as a what could only be assumed to be a reflection of her own feelings.
"Hah… maybe…"
Eerie silence followed them as they walked through the dungeon. It was an uncommon sight, to say the least. A level 5 and a level 6 leisurely walking through the upper levels of the dungeon, piles upon piles of ash and gems left behind in their wake.
Before, Bell would've been scrambling to collect each and every glittering gem that dotted the floor. But now, not so much. He simply left the gems where they fell.
What a frivolous thing it seemed. By no means was he rich, but he wasn't barely scraping by like before either. Recently, every incursion into the dungeon had yielded significant returns just off of drop items.
In Bell's hands was one such item.
"Is this thing really that valuable?"
He rolled a long, milky white fang in his hands. The base was marked with smoky rings of brown and black that circled the 'stump' of the fang, while the length narrowed to a razor sharp point.
"Yes. If given to the right person, you could sell that for… half a million valis, I think?"
"Huh… cool."
He looked back at the fang, suppressing a shriek of surprise.
This one item… is really worth that much?
Somewhere far down below, Bell had cut through a small dragon, causing it to burst into ashes leaving the precious drop item behind. Ais had called it a 'minor dragon', but there was nothing minor about it. The thing was almost as big as the Lambton from the past expedition. Seeing it only made him wonder what a fully grown dragon would be like. It also served to remind him that there would always be something bigger, something even more dangerous, waiting for him in the depths of the dungeon.
He still remembered the heat of the lower levels, the danger that lurked around every corner, and the sheer pressure he had felt simply just walking through the floors. Even when there was seemingly nothing around, he was never truly free from the 'eyes' of the dungeon. Death was always one mistake away, and the pressure of knowing that was almost overwhelming. The lower levels were truly terrifying. They were a place that only accepted the strong, the best of the best, while casting out the weak. Not too long ago, Bell would've been one of those 'cast out', or struck down by the dungeon.
But now, with the improvements to his status, he was finally able to form a two-man party with Ais. While he was still far from her level, it was clear that he'd earned the right to accompany her down on her expeditions. He'd truly grown stronger.
"Just take it slow."
That was what she'd said. And so, that was what he did. Together, they'd been diving deeper and deeper into the dungeon. They went day by day, slowly allowing Bell to get accustomed to fighting mid leveled enemies for extended periods of time. Each day was another couple of floors deeper.
With each floor progressed, Bell slowly was growing used to fighting stronger enemies such as Elite Lizardmen and Wyverns or Dragons. More importantly though, he was gathering precious experience - a department that he, despite his high status, was deeply outmatched by other adventures such as Raul and Anakitty. His miraculous blitz through the first four levels as an adventure wasn't without flaws. His biggest weakness was that he himself didn't have much knowledge of how to handle waves of stronger monsters, nor how to react to the ever shifting form of the deep levels. Until now, he'd just barely managed to scrape by, fighting to his last breath to overcome a hurdle before falling safely into the arms of his comrades.
But that was what she was there for. To 'hold his hand', to guide his descent, to make sure he grew not only in strength but inexperience. It was time for him to stand by himself.
As a result, his new dungeon range outside of major group expeditions was the 42nd floor.
I'm catching up…!
Bell smiled as he went along. Not only had his status improved, but so did his gear and equipment.
In his hands was his main weapon, the Hestia knife. At his hip was the bright crimson blade forged from the minotaur's horn, Ushiwakamaru. As for protection, he wore his favorite lightweight armor, the Pyonkichi - Mk VI.
"Really?! Again!? Why don't you just upgrade to some better armor already!"
He almost laughed as he remembered Tsubaki's complaints as he brought the shattered remains of his armor before her to be reforged for the sixth time. He'd always preferred the light armor for its speed and mobility, but what it gave him in maneuverability, it took away in defense.
It'd been this way for some time, as shown by the constant repairs and reforging. And it was only after the Goliath fight that he decided to take more protective measures.
He could still see the look of surprise on the smith's face when he dropped the heap of Goliath skin at her feet. The pile of rancid black skin had caused her face to turn all shades of purple in mere seconds.
Nevertheless, in return for a rather large sum of valis, she covered her nose and crafted the Goliath Robe for him. Much like his Salamander wool, the dark cloak draped over his armor, with its high collar occasionally rising up to tickle the side of his face. Its protection against physical and magical attacks was unparalleled with its close to 0% penetration rate - however, it didn't do much for shock absorption or other forces like it.
He had learned this quickly after his first test run on the 8th floor. As 'surprising' as it may seem, an orc's club swing or killer ant's jaws wouldn't break through the cloak, but they still hurt.
The pain was something a set of heavy armor would better negate, and yet, Bell wore his familiar pieces with pride.
In the end, it was clear that he was happy with the changes. In his mind, he was starting to look like a real, bona fide adventurer.
"Hah… hey… you're doing it again, Bell…"
Behind him, Ais stifled a laugh as she brought a hand up to her mouth.
After receiving the cloak, he'd unconsciously fallen into a habit of moving his arms in a way to make it "flutter", like a cape flowing behind him.
"…! A-Ah… uh…"
He blushed as he stopped his movements. Embarrassment shot through his body in an instant as she pointed it out. But who could blame him for wanting to be a hero? An important step, after all, was to look the part.
Ais only shook her head with a smile as they continued to walk along.
Adorable.
She wouldn't say it of course, but watching him play with his shiny new cloak as if it were a cape was almost too much for her to handle.
"Oh, we're already back?"
They stopped at the 1st floor, pausing at the stairs and glancing up the spiral staircase to the Tower of Babel.
"Okaay! Wanna get some food? I'm —"
Ais' hand shot forward, grabbing his arm and stopping him as he took the first step up.
"Huh?"
"Hold on."
She raised a finger to her lips as she looked up, her eyes focused on something in the distance.
An enemy?
His hand fell to his waist instinctively as he turned to look up as well.
"…?"
He couldn't see anything. Just the shapes of some adventurers making their way up to the surface. His vision was much better than most, due to his powerful status, but the best he could make out was a group of amazons carrying a bunch of chests and bags.
"Ais…?"
She dropped her hand, shaking her head.
"Sorry… I just saw someone who we'd be much better of avoiding…"
One of them…?
She smiled reassuringly at him as she began to go up the stairs.
"It's fine, you said you were hungry?"
"Oh, yeah."
Huh…
—
That was close…
Had they walked just a bit faster, they would've met again.
Ais shook the unpleasant thought away. But as they walked up the stairs, she couldn't help but feel on guard. Her hand slipped down to rest on the hilt of her saber.
She felt Bell's eyes on the back of her head, the boy probably questioning why she seemed defensive.
Wait…
Besides his, she felt another presence. Glancing over her shoulder casually, she looked past Bell and down the stairs where another group had just begun their ascent.
No…I'm being paranoid…
"Hey Bell…?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's head back to the hall and drop of our stuff before we go out, okay?"
Let them pass… there's no need for conflict…
—
After returning to the Loki Familia mansion and dropping off all their gear, the two headed out once more into the city.
There were still plenty of hours left of daylight, with the sun being positioned straight overhead. It was nice, walking through the streets and looking through the city with Ais.
But still, something felt a bit off. He, simply put, felt naked. After the past couple of weeks where he'd increased his time spent in the dungeon, he'd become more and more used to the weight of his armor and equipment.
Without those items covering his body, and without the familiar tug at his hip where his spare dagger usually was, he felt weird. Of course, he always carried his precious Hestia knife, but that was just about it.
One unfortunate side effect of his ever increasing daily ventures into the dungeon was that sometimes, the intensity and focus never left his mind, even upon returning to the surface. He'd been so used to doing everything with his senses dialed up to 11, that simply relaxing and resting easy was something he had to force himself to be able to do.
As a result, he often found himself unconsciously scanning an area or checking down shadowed alleyways.
I guess today is just one of those days, huh…?
Bell looked around once more.
No one in sight.
"So, uh, Ais?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are we going?"
They stopped.
"…"
"…Ais?"
She turned to look at him, a quizzical expression on her face.
"I was… following you…?"
Uh oh.
"Ahah… that's uh…"
He turned his eyes to their surroundings once more. They were in an empty courtyard in some far off corner of the city, with not a single person in sight. Weeds and overgrowing plants stuck up through the unpaved roads and between the limestone bricks that made up the ground. Pillars were scattered around the open space, fallen and broken, left as the remains of some long gone building. Abandoned and empty buildings lined the streets; rows of hollow, windowless wooden structures that gave off the appearance of a ghost town.
All in all, he figured they were in some lesser used and less populated section of the city.
"Wait here for a second. I'll be right back."
"Huh? Wait, where are you —"
The girl turned her eyes towards a small chapel spire tucked past a row of buildings.
Oh.
With a couple of running steps, she jumped into the air, clearing the buildings effortless before disappearing from view.
"Ahh… and there she goes…"
He spoke to no one in particular, only turning his eyes to the ground as he looked for something, anything to just simply look at.
His eyes locked onto a small rock, smooth and round, and perfectly suitable for kicking.
"Hup!"
Clack.
He smiled to himself as he sent the rock soaring through the air.
Shff.
Wait… what?
A second noise shifting nearby kicked his senses back into gear. Once more, he was down in the dungeon. Once more, he was resting his hand on his dagger, scanning his surroundings and listening for any approaching sounds.
Unconsciously, his breathing slowed to a steady pace. In and out, in and out.
There.
He moved quickly, pressing his back to a nearby building as he inched closer to the alleyway next to it.
Silently, he counted down in his mind before taking a swift step and moving into the dark alley.
Oh..? Wait… that's…!"
"Allen? I-I mean, sir..!?"
Bell stepped into the alley, calling out the man's name.
What the…?
The man jolted up as Bell's voice reached him, and as he turned, Bell got a good view of him for the first time.
Is that…!?
Blood was splattered all over his chest plate. Even more crimson liquid had soaked through bits of his clothes. Other than that, he seemed fine. He wore his usual jet black clothes and lightweight armor alongside his signature visor over his eyes.
"Allen!"
He moved without thinking.
"A-Are you—!"
"What the hell are you doing here!?"
Bell stopped abruptly, raising his hands as the tip of a shining silver spear was leveled with his throat. He found himself looking into the cold obsidian glint of his teacher's visor, devoid of any hint of warmth.
"I just… thought, uh, well, are you okay?"
The man paused, his spear lowering slightly as the scowl beneath his visor loosened.
"…am I… okay?"
He looked down, bringing a hand to the smear of red over his armor. He laughed coldly as he brought his hand away, flicking his wrist and letting a spray of blood fall to the ground.
"Tch. It's nothing."
The tip of the spear wavered slightly, bringing Bell's eyes down to glance at the weapon.
Oh…
Blood dripped from the spear, landing in a small puddle at his feet.
It's not his.
"Uh, ah…"
Bell smiled nervously as he struggled to come up with something to say.
"How…uh… how've you been? You seem… busy…?"
"Shut up. I don't have time for this."
Allen lowered his spear and turned to look up at the rooftops adjacent to the alleyway.
"You should go…"
Bell lifted his head in surprise as Allen spoke again.
"…and watch your—"
"There you are."
The sound of footsteps stopping at the entrance to the alley caused him to turn around.
"Oh? Hi—eep!"
His voice cut off as he found himself looking into the face of a gargantuan woman merely inches away from him. Her frame dwarfed his in comparison, with his eyes falling laughably short of her shoulders.
What the…! She's… huge…!
"What do we have here?"
Bell swallowed nervously and tilted his head back to look up at the woman. Her rumbling voice filled the alley, practically purring as she looked him up and down.
The woman had olive colored eyes and wore similarly colored clothes. Her lips were smeared with an almost sickly bright red lipstick, and as she stared at him, she smiled with a malicious grin.
"U-Uh… h-hi, ma'am…?"
Her smile grew even more across her wide face as he offered a nervous smile and greeting.
"Hmm… aren't you adorable…?"
Her eyes narrowed and Bell caught a glimpse of her pink tongue flicking out to brush over her lips. He shrieked inwardly as the woman moved closer, lifting a hand slowly.
"Hey."
Clang.
A hand grasped his shoulder, pulling him back roughly. Allen had stepped forward, snapping his leg out with blinding speed and sinking a vicious kick into the woman's stomach.
"W-Wait! Allen!"
"Shut up."
The woman was sent skidding backwards a good couple of feet, her upper torso hunched over her stomach.
"Why did you—!?"
"I said shut up. Go play around somewhere else. This doesn't concern you."
"Hah…. Straight to the point, huh? I like that."
The woman straightened up, a smile on her face as she lifted her body to reveal a the flat blade of a massive axe shielding her body. A footprint of mud mixed with blood stained the shining steel of the weapon, leaving behind a rather grotesque mark on the otherwise pristine weapon.
It was clear that the massive amazon wasn't just another normal adventurer. To be able to block Allen's attack, she had to be at least a first class adventurer.
"Tch… seems like your friends finally caught up."
"What… is that…?"
Bell's eyes widened in surprise as he continued to watch. A fluttering orb of light had settled around the woman's shoulders, hovering and floating as it danced around her body.
It looks just like my magic…!
"Goddamn toad…"
"You're not going anywhere."
She took a step forward, rolling the axe in her hands as she flashed them a predatory grin.
"We're gonna make sure you suffer."
"H-Hey… I'm just gonna, uh… go…"
Bell raised his hands and turned sideways, scooting alongside the wall and moving back to the open streets.
"—ack!"
A meaty hand fell onto his shoulder, stopping him just as he passed the woman.
"Hey."
She turned her eyes to look at him as if he were nothing more than a small mouse in her clutches.
"You're not going anywhere."
Oh…
Bell felt a shudder pass over his heart as she smiled at him, lifting the corners of her lips in a way that caused his stomach to turn over.
That smile…
He was sick and tired of seeing that type of expression. He was sick of remembering the memories that came with it.
That sickening, revolting, smile. That curl of a lips, that look in an eye filled withpure malice and evil.
She's just like them…
She patted his cheek gently with a smirk.
"I'm gonna have some fun with you lat—"
She stopped as she met Bell's eyes.
"Oh…?"
Her smile widened, further putting on display her predatory features as her dark eyes seemed to reflect her warped, carnal desire.
"Looks like you got some fight in you… I like that."
Bell lifted his head to stare her head on. He wouldn't look away. He wouldn't back down.
That's right. I'm not the same weak kid I was before. I can stand up to people like you.
"It'll be that much more fun when I break you…!"
"Try me."
His heart beat against his chest, steadily thumping as his blood began to boil. Surprisingly enough, he wasn't scared or nervous. No, in fact, he was in total control of his body. As he spoke, he could feel his words cut through the air like a knife.
Even as the woman's gruesome smile filled his vision, he remained unfazed.
That's right. She was much scarier than you are.
He reached up and moved to brush away her hand. Time seemed too slow to a crawl as he moved. Neither of them said anything. Their bodies hadn't given anything away - their legs were perfectly still, their hands were calm and steady.
It was their eyes that did all the talking.
Chkk.
As soon as he pushed her hand off, they moved. Bell's hand dropped to his waist with lightning speed, drawing his knife up to his face just in time to catch the edge of the woman's axe pressing towards his throat.
"..gh…!"
She's… strong…!
"Gheheh…!"
The woman cackled as she pressed down on the blade, slowly inching closer to his neck.
This is nothing…!
"Ha…!"
He breathed out, pushing back with everything he had. His sudden burst of strength surprised the woman, and Bell felt the pressure against his knife waver.
He didn't miss that one moment, that one window of opportunity. He ducked down low, pulling himself into a crouch and letting the axe fly over him, burying itself into the wall with a shower of brick shards and dust.
Slow.
In a flash of white, he launched off the ground like a spring, lifting and lashing out with his leg. As he moved, he saw it. He saw her hands fly over his head, he saw her eyes fail to keep track of his movements.
It was at this moment that he realized.
I'm too fast for her to keep up with…!
"You—!"
Crack.
His leg slammed into her unguarded body, sending her crashing into the wall. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock as the air was knocked out of her.
"Grr..!"
Bell hopped back, taking a quick step to clear the distance. His hands tingled slightly as he lifted his knife up to watch her carefully.
Don't get ahead of myself over one hit. Keep watching. This is a fight, be prepared for anything.
He wouldn't drop his guard. He wouldn't give his opponent any openings. He wouldn't lose.
"That was a lucky hit."
The woman peeled her body away from the wall, a dark scowl crossing her face.
"It won't happen again…!"
She wrenched her axe from the wall, turning to face Bell and Allen.
"Hah… you call yourself a captain…?"
Allen scoffed with a twisted smile as he pulled his spear back to rest on his shoulder.
"…huh…?"
"Maybe you were too busy getting your ass kicked by a kid that you didn't even notice."
The woman took a half step back and brought her hands before her, turning them over as she looked at them with a surprised look on her face. Allen's mouth curled into a smile - a real, genuine smile.
"Wait… but… she should still have a couple minutes left…!"
The fluttering light that had been circling her body was gone.
She…?
"Hah… you've lost."
"…Shit…!"
Allen stepped forward, grasping his spear as he advanced upon the panicking woman.
"Where… where are they!? What are they doing!?"
"Wait, Allen!"
A cold shiver crossed his chest as he noticed for the first time the amount of bloodlust that was seeping out from Allen's sleek figure.
He's really going to kill her…!
He stepped forward, holding out a hand to Allen, asking him to wait.
"Huh…? What? You wanna do it yourself?"
"N-No!"
Allen paused for a second. His tail flicked from side to side, surely mirroring his eyes beneath his visor that were almost certainly passing between the him and the woman.
"…Hmph… whatever. You beat her."
He turned his face to look at her.
"You're lucky, toad."
The woman clenched her teeth together, shaking in rage as she swallowed her pride and turned to run out of the hallway.
As her huge figure disappeared around the corner, he let out a breath of relief. His shoulders sank as he sighed and sheathed his dagger.
"Wow… so… who was that—"
He turned back to look at Allen, only to find himself facing once more a dark and empty alleyway.
"…oh."
Not even a goodbye, huh?
He smiled despite the cold goodbye and odd scuffle. That was just like him, after all, to leave without saying a word. But even as Bell walked out of the alley, he couldn't help but feel a slight ember of warmth persist in his chest.
Seeing Allen smile like that. It almost looked as if he was happy.
Maybe… he was pleased…?
"Ready to go?"
"—huh?!"
He nearly jumped as a voice spoke up from his right.
"O-Oh, Ais!"
The girl was standing at the side of the alley, her arms hanging loosely at her sides.
"What the… what happened out here?"
She looked to her side at the group of unconscious Amazons grouped up and leaning against the side of the building.
Ais merely shrugged lightly.
"They had their eyes on you, I think…"
Oh.
"Hah….haha…!"
Bell laughed as the girl shrugged it off with a straight face.
"Thanks, Ais."
She nodded and began to move.
"You moved well."
"You were watching?"
"Yes."
"…"
"…"
"Who was that…?"
They stopped walking after just a few steps.
"That was…"
Ais pressed her lips together, as if thinking hard about something.
"Her name is Phryne. Level 5, captain of Ishtar familia."
Phryne…?
"That sounds… familiar for some reason."
Ais nodded again.
"…they're a big familia, with a huge area of influence. They control the Red Light District."
"T-The Red Light… District!?"
Had he been drinking something, he would've certainly spat it out.
"That means… so, uh, she's a…?"
Ais ignored him, only spinning around while drawing her sword to look back at the group of women.
"Oh…"
Bell felt a light heat brush over his face as another woman stepped into view, placing herself between them and the other amazons. She had lightly flushed pale and delicate skin with long flowing golden hair that reached all the way down past her waist. Two golden fox ears poked through her hair alongside an orange and white tail that swept over the ground behind her.
She wore a flowing red and white robe that fell away at her shoulders, revealing copious amounts of her bare skin to his eyes. Despite her rather seductive appearance, as Bell watched her, he couldn't help but feel an unexplainable pang of sadness mixed with sympathy in his heart.
Is she also…?
Her innocent, trembling green eyes pierced his red ones, begging them as the hints of tears appeared at the corners of her eyes.
"Wait… p-please…"
She removed a hand from her shaking chest and held it out before her. Her lips trembled as she spoke, her legs a simple gust away from caving in.
She's…terrified…
With a click, Ais let her sword rest once more in her sheath.
"…lets go…"
The swordsman turned smoothly, blinking once before looking away.
"…okay…"
The girl gasped for air and collapsed, her knees folding in as she fell to the ground. Her robes fluttered and spilled around her, pooling over the dirty street as she clutched her hands to her chest.
He barely was able to tear his eyes away before he moved to join Ais in walking away.
"…Ais…?"
He glanced back slightly, catching a glimpse of the girl pull herself to her feet and move to the other amazons.
"…yeah…?"
No… never mind…
"Uh… where are we…?"
He didn't hear Ais' response. His mind was elsewhere. His thoughts spun and spiraled out of control, all of them leading back to that girl they'd seen.
Who was she? Why was she there?
Perhaps it was because she was a girl. Maybe it was because she was beautiful, or maybe it was because her teary eyed expression and innocent face struck a chord within his heart.
But even as Ais glanced at him worriedly, he couldn't take his thoughts off of her.
Something was wrong. That was what her eyes seemed to be telling him. More than just begging for them to spare her.
Maybe… to…
He shook those thoughts away.
No…
He remembered Eina's words now. To never go to the Red Light District.
He remembered the stories of every hero and legend he'd ever read. A hero's bane - the woman of the night.
Damnit…
He swore silently to himself. It was strange. His thoughts began to spread outward, moving away from the girl to form a bigger picture overall.
Two familias in a silent conflict…
He furrowed his brow as they walked along, racking his brain for answers to this still incomplete question in his head.
I don't even know what I don't know…
Something was telling him, some animalistic instinct, some adventurer's sixth sense. There was something here. Something that he was missing, something big. It was obviously dangerous enough to get involved with the shadows of Freya familia, but he couldn't help but feel curious.
As he lifted his eyes to stare at the mansion before him, he silently made a vow to himself. A vow to find out more about what was going on. More about Ishtar familia, about that girl.
Little did he know, that it was these thoughts that would soon pull him into a conflict much, much bigger than he'd ever expected. For his hunch was right. Something was going on.
And at the center of it all, was that girl.
—
oh my god why did this take so long
sorry for the wait, tks for reading :D
