Hello everyone. I guess it is time for the sequel, that I would imagine most people have been waiting for.

Let's put it this way: I had a long hiatus due to work, burn out, pressure in life, and other things that forced me to figure out what to do. After a long leave, and with the new season of Danmachi, along with the anniversary of the game, I decided to make the return.

I have to admit, this story does need to continue until we reach the end game. Hope you all are ready for somewhat of a bumpy ride and crazy changes on the timeline, because it is going to be different.

Hope you all enjoy

Disclaimer: I don't own Danmachi, nor the characters.

Chapter 1: Puzzlement
The rain fell heavily on the road. A few crunches were heard from the distance as small creatures were spooked. Then came a few people, wearing various armor on them, surrounded by someone in a cage.

A little girl looked sad and wondered how she ended up like this. She can't remember how she got there. She is frightened by these people that are around her.

"You know, I never knew our boss would give us a chance to transport this person" one of them took out a pendant that was glowing. "I'd rather thank him for giving us this thing" he gestured it "to find her."

"It's too bad it's raining. We should have waited, but knowing our boss…."

"Yeah, I don't want to piss him off. With how everything is going on, he doesn't want this to be a failure at all."

"Yeah, no kid-"

Before he could finish his word, a large creature pounced on him and began to maul him while the screams were heard.

"Shit!" one of them took out his spear and began to stab it on the side of the chest. This caused the others to get into helping out. More large monsters appeared.

"Ambush!"

They were fighting back as the cage was left with only one person guarding it. The little girl watched in horror as some of the guards were able to kill off some of the monsters, but some of them began to kill off the guards. She saw a monster was looking around, as one of the guards never noticed a large serpent, biting the shoulder and then wrapping its body around the guard.

The tail swiped at the cage, sending the little girl flying a few feet, before landing on the side of a large rock. This opened the cage, and she made a run for it. Away from the chaos as the fighting went on, all she could try to figure out was where to go.

The fighting went on a bit longer until it was over. One female guard stood up and looked around. She noticed the cage broke, but no prisoner.

"Great….there goes the girl. I may have to report to him that she is gone."

She could look around, but the rain and another growl is heard from behind her. She turned and saw a large sabertooth monster, ready to lunge at her.

She gave a shallow chuckle "Heh….bring it."

It launched right at her.

Hestia's Church
Bell sighed and stared at the map of Orario. All he could think about is trying to stop Evilus in one move. The problem is that now the parts and such are altered, up to the point that not even trying to get into the mind of Dionysus is enough.

Filvis is doing her best effort on any information, but even she is ending up cut and dry on locations. Even if they could get into the Lower Floors, they are still moving around, from one floor location to another.

He would have to find another way then. For now, he had another plan.

He then looked into the Entertainment District and began to plan out to get Haruhime out and put a stop on Ishtar's plans. The last thing he needed was another surprise, reconsidering adding more guards or nearly isolating her.

He had to figure out how to free her. He had to remember how to get that lock out of her.

"Trouble?"

He looked up and had a sad smile. "In a way, Hestia."

She went over to him and kissed his cheek "I'm sorry what happened to your friends."

He nodded "I know it has been a week since the incident, but I can't seem to shake off my mind on it. I feel responsible for not being proactive enough to stop it. If only I had moved in more or never gone to that location, I would have…" He sighed.

"Bell. Even if you didn't or not, no one knows how things would have played out. You also managed to prevent a bigger problem on the long way."

He looked at her "I know. It can't be helped. I feel each day is going to be rough for me."

She gave another kiss "Don't let it consume you more Bell. Otherwise, it will make you forget what matters the most: Your family and friends."

He nodded "You're right."

She gave a sly smirk "Of course I am" She then gave one more kiss "Come, let's eat."

He nodded and went downstairs, where Lilli, Aurora, and Eli were waiting for them.

Twilight Manor
A cat girl was aggressively punching the hay bag that is meant for her level. All she could think about is finding Evilus and making them suffer for what they did to Raul.

She stared at the only thing left was a piece of arm and his sword.

She punched harder and kicked it.

A ceremony was made for him, while she was dressed in black, with tears coming out.

Few tears escaped on her eyes.

"Finn seems to be pushing me harder, Aki." Raul looked embarrassed.

"Maybe he wants you become a leader one day." Aki smiled softly.

"I don't think I am cut up for it."

"Don't say that. I know you will be a great leader. If you do become the new leader, I will fight by your side as always!"

She punched it hard, nearly breaking it.

Loki observed this from a distance and frowned. She understood grief well enough in her lifetime and she needs to find a way to help her out. It isn't just her being hurt but also Finn. The Pallum saw a lot of potential in the young man, but to be cut off in a cruel manner. For the first few days, he began to look for clues on where they were hiding.

They did manage to catch a few members, but Aki tended to be borderline cruel on her interrogations.

Flashback
A man was tied up on the chair and was trying to breathe.

"Where is your main operation?" The woman's voice was devoid of life.

"I….I don't know…"

She grabbed a stick and smashed it hard on his hand, making him scream.

"Stop lying to me."

"I really don't know…"

Another hit and it made the man wish he was dead.

"Aki, he's telling the truth."

She turned around and saw Loki, standing there with a look of disappointment.

In near angry tears, she shouted "He should know where-"

"He doesn't" She stopped her "Considering he is just a small footsoldier, I don't think we will be able to get any information on him, save for his own party. At this point we should heal his hands and send them to Ganesha."

"But…"

She shook her head "We are done here."

She grew frustrated and punched the man hard across the face.

End Flashback
At the rate they are going, they won't be any closer to finding Evilus. She kept walking toward her office and noticed a few letters on her desk.

She went to check on them, flipping on each one.

"For Finn, another fan of Ais, another fan of Ais…..Oh, Mr. Rabbit."

She went to open it immediately. She began to read:

Loki,

I do hope you and your familia are doing well. I am writing to let you know that my Familia, Freya and yours will go through the Moon Festival that is coming up soon. Hermes got word of a big reward, but he won't say much.

I would assume you might know the details of it. Care to help me? Please?

She began to giggle as imagining him giving those innocent rabbit eyes to him.

I also learned of your recent activities of finding Evilus. I would implore you to step aside for now. I know it is a strange thing to write, but Bellerophone is already planning a large raid and might find the clue to where they are heading next. So please, use this moment to find something to distract your familia or at least use this as a moment to pay respects to Raul. I understand loss, believe me, I lost people in the past. It hurt me that I lost a friend as well.

If you have any plans, let me know.

With love,

Bell Cranel. Mr. Rabbit.

She smiled and sighed. "I swear, you are full of surprises" She then checked out one more letter and recognized the seal.

"I wonder what he wants…"

She opens it and reads the contents of it. The more she read it, the more she grew interested. She wondered how to approach this. She looked out the window and noticed the weather was improving somewhat and smiled.

"Maybe a trip to Melen would help them out. I might also have a good chat with Njord about this….situation he has" She then had a bigger smile "Maybe inviting Mr. Rabbit would do good. I do wonder if I should invite Hestia over. Hehehe…she does have large knockers for sure, even if she is a virgin goddess. Eh, why not."

She began to plan things out and check out the budget as well.

Next day
Bell, wearing his Bellerophon disguise, gave the signal and five people infiltrated the building immediately. He then began to walk towards it, as if it were just another casual day. He kept walking until the chaos of fighting was heard.

He saw the bodies of guards, knocked out of the fight, and kept walking casually.

He kept walking until he avoided swiping with a sword. He used his cane and cracked it hard across the face of the person, knocking the person out. He kept walking into the building and saw some people being dragged in front of him.

"Sorry for dragging you all out here. You see, I have a problem right now and-"

"No!"

A child was running toward Bell and had a dagger on him. He disarmed him safely, picking him up in the air, while the boy was trying to kick him. "You won't hurt my daddy!" A child, no older than 7, was crying.

"I am not going to hurt your father. Your father is associated with an organization that caused the lives of many."

The older man's eyes widened "T-that's preposterous!"

"We invaded a Lord Gammel and he had information on not only members of the Evilus, but also anyone associated with them secretly. Be thankful I am merciful, as I know you had no idea from the looks of things."

The older man gulped and said "What do you need?"

"Has Lord Bethel given you anything?"

He nodded and went to check on his pockets and took it out. He checked on the paper and raised his right eyebrow "Numbers?"

"Yes. I am trying to figure this out. He said it might be important. Look…." He stood up "I didn't know he was part of Evilus, I swear! If he is, then I will cut off contact with him for good!"

He looked at the letter some more and responded "Very well. I will spare the trouble for you, for now." He saw the man and his family in relief "I will have a few of them keep an eye on you. However, don't cut him off yet. Keep befriending him, and see if you can get more information from him. If you have anything, let my subordinates here know about it."

"Of course. Thank you, sir."

He was walking out the building. A woman with a green cloak stood close to Bell. "Back then, it would have been handled differently."

"I know, Ryuu, but that was years ago." He turned to look at her "We need to be level headed in order to find that masked man, as he might be the key to where Evilus is."

She nodded. She then said "If you do get a chance, do try to talk to Aki a bit. I think she might need someone that can relate to her loss of friends."

"Of course."

He then stopped and held her hand, surprising her "Thank you for being there." He smiled softly at her.

If he could see her face, it would have been a different story. "M-Mr. Cranel"

"Do take care, Ryuu and try to keep a lookout for anyone else."

She nodded and left the place.

He knew he had a long day to investigate the numbers.

Unknown location
"This Bellerophon is becoming a nuisance!" Royman exclaimed, hitting the table hard.

"It is causing some of our contacts to lay low, and making it difficult for our plans!" A man with a regal suit exclaimed.

"Any ideas on how to stop this man?"

They each looked around, until a laugh was heard. They turned to see the masked man, which angered Royman.

"You! Because of your little stunt, we have to get into hiding further!"

"Oh please, it was inevitable for it to happen. Besides, causing a little chaos won't hurt us at all. I already have plans to deal with the problem."

The older elf had a skeptical look on him. The masked man continued "At this point, they are bringing me someone here, and once they reach the person here, then you will see we will bring Orario to their knees."

Royman still had a skeptical look "You better make sure. Otherwise, we will change our plans."

He got into the face of the older elf, making Royman back off a bit "You have very little to say as you are wanted by the Guild. I could just turn you in for making a little bit of extra money. But" He backed off "Where would the fun be on the hunt?"

The others looked unsure, but they will have to follow the masked man's lead for now, while Royman had to keep his mouth shut on antagonizing him.

Hestia's Church
He arrived home, took off his disguise and went to the basement. He saw his son asleep while Lilli was sleeping close to him in Eli's bedroom. He smiled at seeing them and placed his disguise on his bedroom.

He made it up to the attic, only to be tackled by someone. Then he felt a cuddle and recognized the scent "Hey Loki."

She nuzzled his cheek and felt his chest "Hehehe….getting a nice workout I see."

He chuckled "I am."

She laid there on his chest and he caressed her back. "How are you, Loki?"

"Better now that I am here. Although" She had a frown on her face "My familia are stressed out with everything. And I need your help."

"Oh? How can I help?"

"I am thinking of taking the girls to Melen and giving the boys some time away."

He smiled, "That's great, but what does that have to do with me."

She looked at him with a sly smirk, and her eyes opened "I am taking you with me."

"Eh?"

"Yep, I am bringing you with me and the girls only. It will be nice as Lefiya told me of your interesting….abilities."

"I would like to, but I can't just leave Hestia, my son and my other familia members."

"Take them with you."

"Take them with me?!" He was surprised to hear this.

She nodded "Oh yeah. It would be a good thing to have two familia members be a bit more united. After all, we get along really well."

He thought about it for a moment and replied "Let me ask Hestia about it and see what she has to say."

She nodded "Very well." She patted his head and nuzzled a bit more. "Can we stay like this longer?"

"Sure."

He caresses her back. He took a scent of her and sighed quietly. Still wore that same perfume for years. He moved his hand up to her ponytail and removed it, letting her hair loose. He felt the smooth lower back.

"So what are you planning to do, Mr. Rabbit?"

He pulled the paper out and showed the numbers. She got one look at it and replied "Not a decoded message, that's for sure."

"Hmm….I was going to check on that, but that eliminates that possibility."

She looked at the numbers more. She sighed "Weird numbers…. I am trying to find something in common or anything at all. Coordinates, maybe?"

He looked at it and tilted his head. "Could be, but I have to look at which map though and how the coordinates work on it."

"Wish there was more to help. Heck, if I am allowed to use my godly powers, I could. But…"

He pats her head "I rather you stay here longer, Loki."

She smiled and nuzzled her face with his "That is why I like you a lot, Mr. Rabbit!"

He looked at the paper and pondered about it. However, he had a beautiful woman in his arms, and made the choice to ignore it.

"Hello Bell and….Loki." She had a smug smirk.

Loki looked up and had a sly smirk "Mr. Rabbit promised we were going to stay longer like this."

"Oh really?~" She then laid next to Bell "So tell me, Bell what are you going to do about this?"

Loki blinked in surprise how forward she would be. Normally she would just be icky about it, but this Hestia is different.

"Ummm…"

The Trickster subtly moved his hand up, as Bell felt something soft. "Oh dear, Mr. Rabbit seems to prefer less meat."

The old Hestia would have been pissed, but this Hestia had a sly smirk "Hmm…I think he doesn't mind if it did have some meat or not, right?~"

"Yeah."

She smirked as she moved his hand up and he felt more of it. Loki at this point didn't know what to do. "Well shit….she got me."

They stayed in this stalemate, all while Bell could have sworn he heard his grandfather laughing in the distance.

To be continued….

A/N:

And that's the first chapter. A lot has happened since then, and things are a bit chaotic. It will get more clear as time passes by.

I can't promise everyone that I will release each chapter as I used to, considering I am making edits on it and such, and also my work involves very little time and such. So please, bear with me.

So hope to see you guys and gals next time.

Next chapter: Misadventure of Eli, Welf's choice, and more devious plans. Don't miss it.