After the attack, Finn had his familia put a tight security around Babel until they could confirm the Evilus threat passed. Riveria stayed with Ais while she rested. The case was the same with Bell. The next morning, everyone was better than the night before. After breakfast, Alfia took the time to bring Zeus and Bell somewhere else. They sat in Bell's room and Alfia began her interrogation.
Alfia: Zeus, everyone was tired last night so Hera and I decided to wait until now to ask you about what happened.
Zeus and Bell trembled as the woman grew more and more demonic in appearance along with her increasing anger.
Zeus: I-I...
Alfia: Spit it out! Why did you send Bell out to fight?!
Zeus: You can't expect him to just sit still while all of you are out helping.
Alfia: This was a terrorist attack on the city, an eight year old has no place to be fighting there!
Bell: But mom-
Alfia: I won't accept it! I don't care if you're a level 3 or even a level 4, it's not your place to be!
Zeus: Alfia please, try to understand. I also was against sending him, but his determination was too great to ignore.
Alfia: Why does that matter, he's still just a boy.
Zeus: You should know being a hero is his greatest wish. His sense of justice is greater than you realize. I couldn't just let him stay here and wait for the whole thing to just pass, he needed to be out there with you all.
Alfia: But still, you should have seen his injuries. A child his age shouldn't be getting hurt like that!
Bell: It was either me or letting Ais get hurt, I can't let people get hurt while I can do something! You trained me yourself, you know I'm not weak, I can do something to help!
Alfia was about to speak until Hera walked in.
Hera: Bell, we know this, but you're still a child.
Zeus: Dear, you're not seeing the bigger picture here. How many kids his age are level 3, even less, adventurers?
Hera: That isn't that point, I-
Zeus: You can't keep him chained down, or he's just going to find a way to escape.
Hera: Then, what are you suggesting?
Zeus: Alfia, you and Zald can resume training him. You know how Bell is when it comes to being a hero, he needs someone to help him grow.
Bell: Yeah, can we train again, mom?
The silver haired woman thought to herself for a moment before nodding.
Alfia: It won't be as easy as when you were only level one. If we can keep up thos pace, you could level up on a monthly basis.
Bell: I'll do my best!
With the Astraea girls...
They were currently with Ardi at the graveyard fir adventurers mourning Shakti's death. Ardi was still leaking tears over letting her sister die. She blamed herself for being fooled and almost falling for the trap Evilus set for them. Ryuu had spent most of the night trying to comfort her friend. Alise and Kaguya were upset at how they let the pink haired woman get away.
Kaguya: If we were just a little stronger, we could have trapped that woman.
Alise: Even at level 4, we couldn't avenge her.
Lyra: ...
They continued talking to themselves and blaming their lack of power, but Ardi turned them out.
Ardi: (Please forgive me, sister. I'm so sorry I let this happen to you. It should have been me. For all the promisingnive made for helping people, they've all been empty words.)
The girl got up for the ground and wiped her tears away before a fire lit in her eyes.
Ardi: (For you, and everyone, I'm going to be stronger, and give my words meaning. I'll keep my promises and be strong enough to protect everyone!)
She turned to Ryuu.
Ardi: Lion, thank you.
Ryuu: Ardi?
Ardi: Could you meet me back at your place, I need to talk to Master Ganesha about something.
Ryuu: I-If that's what you want...
She gave her friend a small smile before leaving. Soon, Alise and the others left as well.
With Ardi...
She had to look around for a bit, but eventually found her god helping with the clean up. She went to him and asked for a private conversation, which he agreed to. They found somewhere out of the way and Ardi gave her request.
Ardi: Can you unseal my falna, so I can transfer familias?
Ganesha: I can, but where is this coming from?
Ardi: I... I want to switch to the Astraea familia. I know I can grow even stronger with my friends there.
Ganesha: Are you absolutely sure about this? I hope your sister's death hasn't forced you to make rash decisions.
Ardi: Maybe it has, but this something I have to do for her, and for everyone else.
The elephant god looked at his child and saw no doubt in her eyes. She was fully committed to her choice and he would respect that.
Ganesha: I see, then I will agree to this.
Ardi: Thank you.
They did the necessary ritual to remove the seal, allowing her to transfer without any trouble.
Ardi: Thank you for everything, Master Ganesha.
Ganesha: I am Ganesha!
She chuckled before the two parted ways. The girl made her way to Stardust Garden where Ryuu had been waiting for her. She let her friend in and they sat in the living room with Astraea there. Zeus and Hera were able to listen in, but they wouldn't step in to their business, Astraea was fully capable of managing her familia. Ardi had known about them for a while, but the to former legends still make her feel uneasy there.
Ryuu: So, we're here.
Ardi: Right.
She turned to Astraea.
Ardi: I'll be blunt, I'd like to join your familia, Lady Astraea.
The girls were shocked to hear this, they didn't think she'd leave Ganesha, but Shakti's death had an effect on her.
Astraea: Why the sudden decision?
Ardi: I know I can become stronger with you. I also want to prove my on justice with everyone here. My sister's death won't be in vain and I need to make sure of that. That's why I'm here now.
Astraea: I see.
The goddess thought on the girl's words and saw that she was dead set on her decision. Additionally, she was told of Shakti's death and knowing her relationship with Ryuu and everyone, they could help her move on and achieve her goals. She essentially had no reason to deny her.
Astraea: I've decided, I will allow you to convert to my familia.
The blue haired girl was finally able to give a genuine smile to her.
Ardi: Thank you, goddess!
Astraea: Just remember, you have family here who will always be willing to help you.
Ardi: I will.
That day then came to a close. Ardi joined the Astraea familia and Bell was completely wiped out from training with Alfia and Zald again. .
Timeskip 4 months...
The rebuilding process was a slow one, but was making great progress. The people were slowly regaining their trust on the adventurers and the top familias were working harder than ever. The Loki familia, under Finn's leadership, was able to balance scouting Evilus movements and exploring the dungeon. Their last dive brought them to a good stop at floor 43, were many made great jumps in status. Finn, Gareth and Riveria were able to rise to the high B ranks in their level 6 status and Aiz reached level 4. Bell was happy to hear this as were many of the other Astraea girls. They needed to work harder than ever if they didn't want these kids to leave them in the dust, especially since Bell is one feat from jumping to level 4 too. There were other level ups as well. Alfia and Zald had risen to level 8, shocking all of Orario. The city was in uproar at the news, even more so when it was revealed that they were staying with their gods at Astraea's place. Ryuu and Ardi rose to level 4 after their party took down the Amphisbaena. Currently, the Loki familia had gained information about another plot of Evilus. Their executives would meet on floor 27 and Finn was having everyone prepare to eliminate them there. .
With Bell and the others...
Alise: Okay, we've got Braver's information and will join them in three days.
Everyone: Right!
Alise: Bell, you'll be staying up here.
Bell: Mmm...
The boy just looked away and pouted.
Kaguya: You'd be a great help, but your mother wouldn't budge.
Kaguya and Alise shivered at the memory of asking Bell for his help. They were lucky to get out with two punches to the face.
Alise: With that being said, we should take these next few days to prepare, so do what you need to do.
Everyone: Yes, captain!
With that, everyone left to either buy supplies or train for the assault. Ryuu and Ardi did just that, or were about to before they got interrupted.
Bell: Wait!
Ardi: What's up?
Bell: I already know I can't go, so if that's the case, I want to put my energy into helping you guys.
The two couldn't help but smile at him.
Ryuu: Thank you, we can use today and tomorrow to train.
Ardi: Good idea!
Bell: (Like grandma always says, I don't need to be there to be useful.)
Said person soon walked to Bell and put her hand on his head.
Hera: They can handle this. Alfia and Zald are joining them as well so there's nothing to worry about.
Zeus: Precisely, what could go wrong?
AN: edit: this was the video of that spanish guy laughing and you all know which one I'm talking about
Bell and the others got to training right away. That would become their routine for that and the next day. The day after, they spent it resting and preparing for the assault after. Lyra was busy making gear for everyone while the others finished buying any potions or getting their weapons ready. Then, before they knew it, the fated day arrived. It was time for Orario's assault on Evilus. Everyone was currently in front of the entrance to the Dungeon where Finn was giving another of his speeches.
Abridged Version
Finn: Blah blah blah dungeon blah blah blah stop Evilus blah blah blah we must avenge our fallen comrades blah blah.
With his words of inspiration, they went down with new felt motivation. Bell watched his friends go down, even Ais. Surely he could go if she did, but what was stopping him?.
Flashback.
Bell had been asking Alfia to join, but she could be seen holding Bell by the collar of his shirt and yelling at him.
Alfia: You think you're fucking smart?! After what happened to you during their last attack I'm not letting you go down there with us! If I see you down there I'll slap your shit, boy!.
End of Flashback.
Bell just walked back home with his grandparents and goddess. Fortunately for him, he had been practicing a new spell these last months and it would be a good way to take his mind off of being absent from the attack. .
With the Assault group...
They had traveled to the 27th floor where they saw exactly what Finn had said. A gathering of their executives both from Evilus, and familias inside Orario that they hadn't expected.
Valletta: Oh Finn, you're just in time for the fun!
Finn: That's sad to hear since the fun and games are over.
Valletta: No, they've only just begun.
At that, they heard the roars of various monsters followed by screams.
Neze: It's adventurers, sounds like there are a lot of them!
Lyra: What?!
Finn heard this and glared at the woman.
Finn: You...
Valletta: Hahaha! There are a lot of weaklings down there being torn apart. So you'll have to choose between chasing us and saving them. Bye~.
She and the others left while Finn was deciding their next move.
Gareth: Now what?
Finn: We can't afford to let them get away. Alright, Alise, can your familia handle the monsters? My group will chase down the ones that escaped.
Alise: You got it! Let's go girls!
Alise and her familia went down to save the adventurers caught in the massive pass parade while Finn went to chase the Evilus escapees..
With Alise and the others...
When they got down there, they saw a massive amount of monsters.
Ryuu: There's so many of them.
Iska: We have to save them!
Alise: Move out everyone!
And they rushed out to kill as many of the monsters as possible. If they could cut down the numbers enough, the lower leveled adventurers would be able to fend the rest of and eventually flee, which is exactly what happened.
Alise: Hah!
She slashed at the final monster which crumbled to dust.
Alise: Phew.
Adventurer A: Thank you so much!
Alise: No problem. You should be part of the last group so you all should head back up.
Adventurer B: Thank you again.
The group waved goodbye before heading back up, leaving Alise and the others to rest a bit.
Alise: So, that went well.
Lyra: A little too well.
Neze: *Ear twitch* ?!
Ryuu: Neze?
Neze: Everyone, scatter!
They did that just in time before the surprise attack came.
Boom*
Kaguya: Gh, what was that?!
Lyra: Fire crystals?!
???: Hahahaha!
They turned their heads to the laughter and saw a group of at least 12 adventurers that looked anything but friendly. Even more so when Ryuu recognized them.
Ryuu: You... You're all Rudra familia!
Alise: They're with Evilus.
AN: Spoilers, since most of those guys will die, I'll be giving them random names so I apologize if any of those happen to be your names.
Hubert: Yes, and you all fell into our trap!
Ardi: Trap?
Richard: Don't worry, we'll take our time killing you all.
All the girls were put on guard before the battle began. It was even at first, but the Astraea girls were able to gain momentum and push the Rudra familia back.
Craw: Hey Jura!
Jura: Yeah, it's about time.
Alise: Time?
Jura: Hahaha! Did you really think we'd come without a back up plan? Look around the place more closely!
They did just that and their eyes widened. On the walls were many fire crystals waiting to explode.
Jura: We can't beat you, so we'll all go to hell together!
Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
With that, the cat man detonated the crystals, but found that only a little more than half actually exploded.
Jura: Wha-
Lyra: Hehe, gotcha.
He turned to see the pink haired prum smirking at him.
Jura: What happened?! Why didn't they explode?!
Lyra: I canceled the explosions by stabbing the crystals with this special knife. Perseus can come up with just about anything now, this baby can suck out the magic power what ever it touches, or it did.
She pulled out the broken blade of what used to be the weapon.
Lyra: Sadly, it has limited uses, but it drained enough so that you only destroyed most of the dungeon.
Jura: Damn you!
Alise: Now that you're plan has been foiled, let's get back to-
Loud Cry of Pain*
They suddenly heard a load cry coming from all around them.
Hubert: What's going on?!
Neze: Ow, my ears!
Suddenly, it stopped and a purple liquid dripped from the ceiling before falling and taking shape of a boen monster.
Jura: What... is that?
Before anyone could answer, the monster quickly rushed to his group and began using its claws to shred through their bodies like butter. Blood flew everywhere as the monster tore them apart. Alise and the others could only watch as the carnage continued.
Alise: We have to stop that!
Celty: We can't just retreat?
Kaguya: Not an option. That thing is just going to go on a rampage if we don't stop it here.
The girls quickly got into battle formation and went to rush the monster as it finished the last of the Rudra familia..
With Bell...
He had done some basic warm ups after eating something and was about to begin his practice before Astraea screamed.
Astraea: AHHH!
Zeus and Hera quickly went to their friend to see what was wrong.
Zeus: Astraea!
Hera: What's wrong?!
Astraea: I-It's Ryuu and the others! I-I can feel them slipping away, like their being forcefully pulled away!
Zeus: They're dying.
Zoom*
They only heard a rush of lightning after those words and an empty spot where Bell used to be.
Hera: BELL!!!
The boy heard his grandfather and rushed to the dungeon. Many only saw a blur as the boy used his full speed to run down. He even went as far as chanting his new spell and test it.
Bell: As quiet as the sky, and faster than lightning
After finishing his chant, lightning thickly cloaked his legs as his speed skyrocketed to new heights. The boy was surprised at how effective his spell was, but he had no time to let it sink in.
Bell: (Please, let me make it in time!).
With Alise and the others...
About 30 minutes had passed and they were battered to say the least. They were tired and injured, and even lost some of their familia. Asta and Noin were cut down my the claws while trying to block it with their weapons. Celty had died when she tried to fire a magic spell at the juggernaut. Her sacrifice was able to quickly teach them that magic was not to be used on it. Maryuu had her head blown off when she was hit by it. Several other also pershied similarly by the monster. Alise tried to use her fire enhancement, but even she was still out matched. They were on their last legs before Alise had decided to make the hard decision.
Alise: Kaguya...
The far eastern girl looked at her captain and understood what she wanted.
Kaguya: Yes, let's do it.
They knew how Ryuu and Ardi were barely fit to keep going, so they decided they would sacrifice themselves so the rest could escape. Naturally, the Ryuu and Ardi refused.
Ryuu: NO! I'M NOT GOING TO JUST RUN AND LEAVE YOU THREE TO DIE!!!
Ardi: Me too! I've already lost many who were precious to me, I can't lose you too!
Lyra: Will you just listen! Neze and Iska are already unconscious and barely alive! You two need to get out of here with them!
Ardi: But-
Alise: No buts! Please, Lion, do this for your captain.
Ryuu: I-
She couldn't continue before they heard thunder rumble in the distance, which was odd as they were underground.
Kaguya: Thunder?
The next thing they saw was a white blur that charged the juggernaut and pushed it backwards. When they looked at the figure, they saw Bell cloaked in his lightning magic and his armor.
Ryuu: Bell?!
Alise: Why're you here?!
Bell: Goddess Astraea felt you all slipping. She was crying in pain so I rushed down here to help.
Ardi: But how did you-
ROOOAAAR*
They couldn't continue as the juggernaut roared at the new arrival.
Kaguya: No time for that, we have to distract it!
Alise: Wait, we've already chipped some of it's armor. Maybe we can win with his help!
Bell: I'm game!
Ryuu: Are you insane?! We can't have Bell fight that!
She couldn't protest further as the monster charged again. This time, Alise and Kaguya were able to hold back one of its arms. Ryuu, Ardi and Bell went to work to disable to other one. After a rinse and repeat, Bell found his opening and was able to fully disable one of the arms which caused it to roar louder.
Kaguya: Wha-
The juggernaut slammed the ground as hard as it could with it's only good arm and destroyed the floor under them. The floor caved and they tried to back away, except that Bell hadn't backed away in time and fell through the floor.
Ryuu: BELL!!!
The elf was about to chase after him along with Ardi until they were grabbed by Kaguya.
Kaguya: We can't!
She dragged the two to safety while Alise and Lyra dragged Neze and Iska. The floor caved away and the entrance was surrounded by rubble. Ryuu and Ardi broke free and tried to remove the rocks to save the boy, but Alise put a hand on their shoulders.
The two looked at her in anger before they saw her look down at the ground with tears covering her cheeks. Even Kaguya and Lyra were crying at the lose of the boy. They dragged themselves to the surface where they found a blank faced Finn along with Alfia and Zald looking very anxious. They saw Zeus and Hera along with Astraea waiting at the entrance. Apparently Bell rushed to the dungeon to save the Astraea familia while the other group was busy with their assault. The assault was a success, especially with Alfia and Zald there to eliminate what was left of the Evilus executives, but their moods were slightly sour at the fact that they nearly let innocent adventurers die. Fortunately, they had the Astraea familia with them to handle that. They saw that the adventurers were doing fine, but the good atmosphere sphere stopped when they saw the tattered remains of the Astraea familia. Two of their members unconscious and the rest injured and had signs of crying. Alfia looked among them and saw Bell wasn't there. She along with the others felt a fear that they had never felt before. She walked up to Alise and asked where her son was.
Alfia: Where Bell?!
Alise was still crying. She could only close her eyes and shake her head as the silver haired woman staggered a but before screaming. Astraea broke down into tears along with Hera as Zeus tried to comfort her. Later that day, a memorial service was given to the Astraea members who fell during the attack. Alfia spent the rest of the day rampaging through the dungeon in the impossible hope that her boy was still alive, with Zald following her when she inevitable would fall into mind down from tearing through every monster there. The days went by and no sign of the boy was found except for the broken remains of his armor near some fallen debris. Alfia soon lost hope and spent her time mourning over Bell's death and failing to keep her sister's promise...
In the dungeon on the deep floors...
A white haired boy was on his last legs as he no longer felt his falna. He didn't know about a burning sensation on his back while he was unconscious, but another skill had appeared.
Defibrillation
Can revive upon recieving a fatal blow at the cost of losing ones blessing and having to regain it from their god again. One time use
He was tired and weak as he fell to the ground. He could only watch as another monster was walking up to him until a giant axe had cut it to nothing.
He looked up and saw a black minotaur before passing out.
AN: And that's the end of that arc. The next one will start the next arc of the story. Whew, that juggernaut really did a number on them. Good thing it died on the drop down or Bell would be in deeper water. How are his family going to move on now that he's "dead?" You'll have to find out on the 10k special coming next.
Hi, thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm trying to put as much work into these as I can to make them enjoyable for everyone, but some typos escape me every now and then. As you hopefully saw, I decided to change my plan which is why this took longer to come out, sorry about that. Anyways, that's enough from me, I'll see you all in the 10k special(and possibly a 400 special if it gets there in time but Ican just edit the title), take care.