Bell Cranel?
16:00
My body!
"Where… am I?" Sweeping the area with my eyes, I noticed a few things. First, was Napaea, who kept watch near the door. Next, was the room itself. It seems like my body was dragged as soon as it dropped to the ground, carried over to a hospital. There appear to be no wounds on my body, perhaps they healed them off with magic. Probably, though, the people in charge still wrapped my chest in bandages and gave me enough blood to at least function.
Checking my pockets, I found my COMP inside, so I took a look at it. Still intact, none of my Macca has gone missing, and my death clock still read zero despite having already died, weird.
It still meant that fate had other plans for me, and didn't want to let go... This news is troubling. Still, I was now on a mission to find the girl of song, whoever she was.
'Yoshino Harusawa, the girl who can summon demon armies with her voice. That title might refer to the band singer "Haru". Someone who, you should be very familiar with based on a few memories.'
Right, right. But what should I refer to you as? Original Bell? Not like I can call you conscience any longer, now can I?
'Call me whatever you like. In truth, I have forfeited control over your life from the very beginning. You alone will dictate how you lead from here on out. My existence in the mindscape will only be to serve as your mentor during more trying times.'
Huh, that name suited him more than I thought. Back to planning, first, we need to leave this place, not like we'll find anymore help here unless she's one of the other injured residing here.
"Master? You're awake now, right?" The nymph turned to me, concern riddling her voice. "You are… no longer injured, but how? Humans aren't supposed to heal this fast, and the healing magic those kids had was too weak to do more than fix minor scratches. The only other explanation would be if… you made a deal with another demon."
"Caught red-handed. But hey, what are you supposed to do in the realm of the dead besides flexing your status? Things become so much easier when you know you can just fall back on previous agreements because you're king and you don't have to listen to anyone. Though it doesn't look like we can quit this job." I said with a dynamic tone, changing it from sarcastic to serious at the end.
"Oh? Pray tell. I am sure your escapades and narrow run-ins with death are sure to cause more misfortune than they solve."
"Exactly. We're reviving a goddess today."
The color on her face grew pale, her jaw dropping with the revelation. "Are you sure? There are very few that have died, and the ones that have are married to their respective pantheon's death god. Wait, you don't mean?"
"Yep," I confirmed, popping the p. "I recruited another ally. Besides, she's the one who resurrected me free of charge, so it's only right that I return the favor."
"Okay, I can understand that. But why go through such hardship so soon? Especially after you just died!" She emphasized, closing the distance between us to where she stood at the foot of the bed. "I wasn't even sure if you were going to wake up again. It was practically suicide what you did. Should have gone along with the others and taken it slowly, rushing things will only get you killed, see!"
"Alright, relax. I'll need a few things to at least ensure things go smoothly, that way neither of us has to worry too hard. First off, a knife or dagger. I've been running around practically crippled without them."
"Easy enough, but you have to understand, taking a break isn't so bad, just stop for a few moments and take things one step at a time."
"Sometimes, you just can't. We're going to die Napaea. Look around us. All of this will be gone in the next six days if we don't do something about it. Time is of the essence and I'm barely powerful enough to kill a wandering demon, let alone another Bel.
Those things, they're absolute monsters. You yourself felt just earlier. Dark, hot, overbearing. That wasn't even a full manifestation, and look at how terrified we both were. And nothing will change if we don't take action before any of them appear. We need this, our future needs this."
Her lips quivered as she slowly walked towards me, wrapping her arms in a tired hug. "Please, please be careful. I don't want to lose my master so soon. Things have just begun and we've only met a few hours ago, but it felt like days. The small idle chatter, the way you talk to me without calling me disposable. I don't want things to end like this."
"Disposable?" I questioned. "Are you saying I'd just throw you away like you were nothing? Look, even if the strongest of gods were to come here right now, I wouldn't use you as bait even if it let me live. Something like that is simply far below me. And you still haven't told me where I could get my weapons."
Pulling the device out of my pocket, she flipped over to the auction section before typing in a few letters. It didn't take long before a black dagger materialized out of nowhere. It was about the length of my forearm, tinted ebony all over, with tinges of florescent blue glowing throughout.
"There," She pulled back, her lips raising. "I had to pull in some favors, but a friend just so happened to come across this beauty. Thankfully, it only cost a penny's worth, so you didn't have to break the bank for this one. You could call it, an investment, from me to you."
"Wow. I really don't know what to say. In that short amount of time, and with the relative ease… you're a miracle worker Napaea, truly irreplaceable." Giving her a compliment, a subtle blush overcame her face, but her body language didn't change in the slightest.
All of a sudden, she moved closer, shortening the gap in our already tight space. It all came so quickly; my thoughts didn't have time to register. We were doing this? Never in a million years did I think this would ever happen. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to say?
'Simple, you accept it.'
Taking the advice, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the kiss. It was short, sweet, and chaste. The way her lips rested on mine, soft, tender.
Pulling back, we stared at each other for mere moments, before I left the bed, taking the time to look through the window. -Damn, I really just did that… I really did that!- Surprise filled my eyes at the realization as my body's heart rate sped up to the point where I could no longer feel it.
But slowly, that emotion was replaced by dread. Looking to the streets, an orange tint colored the city as a few demons rushed to converge on one singular point. This didn't look right.
"Hey, Napaea. It might not seem like the best time to talk about this, but-"Turning around to call her, the nymph had already gone to action, blowing the window open and mindlessly flying towards the location.
Grabbing my items off the bed, I latched onto her back, waving my hand in front of her as we floated away. "Come on! Answer me!" I shouted, holding on for dear life as we flew into the open air, hovering at least two stories off the ground.
Still, I continued trying to get her attention, haphazardly sliding down the spherical objects over to her shoulders. Causing a sudden imbalance that almost resulted in my death once again if it weren't for her readjusting.
Eventually, however, she came back to her senses, almost like she woke up from a deep sleep. "The primordial tongue." She muttered, gaining back control over her body. "Master, whatever's doing this… it has to stop. The city's in danger if we don't put an end to this potential disaster."
'Hmm, it would seem that we have exactly what we're looking for. And if other demons are trying to get there, that would mean they have the exact same goal as you. Go to the destination or forever lose the chance of victory.'
"Head to it at top speed, the quicker we find where she is, the fewer demons, or worse, fellow tamers we have to face." I ordered, shifting position to tightly grip her back as she went faster, flying at top speed.
...
16:45
Soon enough, we make it towards the target destination, and from the look of things, it's exactly as I predicted. Hordes of demons hovering around a woman, who simply stared, chuckling at her impending doom.
Lowering ourselves outside of the growing pit, I stared over at the crowd before cracking my knuckles. "You ready for this?"
"What other choice do I have in such a situation? Fine, I'll support you from the back, be careful out there." She said, charging up three green balls.
"Oh? What's got you so fired up all of a sudden? Wasn't it just a moment ago that you were practically begging me not to run in without a plan?"
"Difference is there are stakes far beyond you or me this time. If they get their hands on her, your other competitors might have a chance to come out early. So, go out there and win, or you won't survive long enough to experience what's coming for you tonight." Driven an odd sense of desire, I leaped forth with a maniacal grin etched into my face.
Sheer excitement. That's what it felt like to once more wield a dagger. Running the blade through flesh, I cleaved through a wave of demons who didn't bother to take notice. Dashing around from group to group, I mutilated chunks out of them, creating several lacerations in seconds.
The muscle memory and instincts aided me in weaving through the few attacks that crossed my path, warning me of threats yet to even be there. And the few that manage to bypass my defenses, were quickly stopped when a well-timed wind bullet shot into their face, followed up by a devastating firebolt.
With the weapon in hand, it all felt as though I was cutting through butter, each giving out a burst of cranberry sauce as I did so. All until I hit a yellow brick wall.
Standing in front of me was a dragon that easily dwarfed me in size. It was bipedal, standing only on two legs. But that did not detract from its fear factor. Seeing this, I could feel the blood pumping through my veins, a challenge. If I could fight this super beast, then nothing here would be able to stand in my way.
In an instant, fire burst from the pavement, scorching the rest of the demons in a fiery blaze. It was now the last thing that stood before me and my prize. Holding up the knife in a reverse grip, I stood, patiently waiting for its next attack.
Letting out an earth-shaking roar, the dragon's claw swooped in from the right as I narrowly deflect it with the edge of my blade. Tracing it along the edge, I push forward, dragging it along as I change the grip, cutting through the scales and into the soft flesh underneath. The beast wailed in pain, but still continued fighting on, flames raining out of its breath.
And with the torrent of hellfire, came a shot of my own, ripping out of my hand and combusting with great effect as it clashed with a blast of wind. The combined power of the two, caused an even greater explosion, the wind providing more fuel for the flame.
Roll left!
Doing as my instincts told of me, I watched as a massive tail came sweeping from above, catching nothing in return. Seeing the prime opportunity, I capitalized, dashing up the dragon's leg and nudging my weapon into its spiked back. And with a few firebolts, it didn't take long before I got the beast to stop thrashing, knocking it down on its knees from the pain.
Just as I was about to start, a sudden shiver rolled up my spine.
Jump off!
Doing as told, an explosion rippled through where I was just standing, spikes made of hard white bone, ricocheting through the air, piercing through whatever it came across. Luckily, I was just barely able to get out in time, but it was troubling that I was that close to death again.
With the debris cleared out, I picked my dagger back up, and climbed up the head, hanging over the front as I slit its eye, gliding the weapon through the neck when I inevitably fell over the edge.
Letting out one final cry of pain, my job here was done. The damsel was saved, and the dragon slain.
[A/N: As I said, escalated quickly. I really need to learn how you write this kind of thing. Anyway, if you have any complaints about the new development, then please, say it. I'll try to improve my writing so that the later routes' quality won't suffer.]