A/N
Yay! Another three day chapter! Please don't get used to this, I've just been particularly into writing this week…
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Well, I hope it turned out well, and do be warned, there is one instance that may be seen as over the top, sorry about that.
But hey, if you don't notice it, awesome!
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Enjoy!
5,300 words in total. (I can't believe that…)
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The dismantling of the Loki camp was in full swing.
The tents of the Eighteenth floor campsite were unique to the other floors. The lodgings were built with permanent wooden frames, meant to be left on site between expeditions, all they had to do was clear out the interiors, then throw the fabric into the center, and fold for travel.
Bell, whilst helping out in the early morning, couldn't help but reminisce on the old medical camps that followed Alberts forces in the last age. How they followed the front lines in semi permanence, but were always ready to bug out.
He and Ais had managed to take down one of the larger tents, now folding it from within the framed area.
"You're heading up later today?" Ais asked, hunched over, rolling the fabric parallel to Bell.
"Mhm." He nodded. "Were letting the others who were worse off sleep in, then our plan is to tail just behind the last group of your expedition." Bell and Ais found the end of the fabric.
Them both closed in on each other, Ais taking the fabric and folding it down to the size of a particularly big sleeping bag.
"Be safe." She looked at him.
Smiling. "Will do."
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Riveria found a moment to approach Finn, who was currently coordinating the clean up effort.
"Do you have a minute?" Riveria asked.
"Mh?" Truly not having the time.
"Great, so, I was thinking about the logistics of our- or rather their way up to the surface." She spoke.
"Who's?" Finn asked, fumbling between his clipboard papers.
She dead panned. "The poor fools that are stuck here till we leave."
"Oh! Well, aren't they just following us in the rear?" He responded.
"Yes but what about on the middle floors? Not all of them can hold their own, and there are two gods with them." Riveria crossed her arms.
"Don't they have three Level Fours?" He asked.
"Yes, but is that enough?" She looked on, raising her brow.
"More than, I'd think." Finn looked over, away from her. "Tione!" He shouted.
"Yes captain!" Called back, a smile audible in her tone.
"Can you double check on the cooks for me?" He called back.
"Sure!" The voice shouted again.
Riveria looked to Finn, still enamored with his clipboard.
"Anything else?" He spoke, turning to her a moment later.
"No." She spoke dispassionately.
He watched for a moment as she turned and left.
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Ais and Bell each carried a stack of different boxes, all emptied throughout the expedition, so these stacks reached up to roughly three times their own height.
Ais and Bell exchanged the normal small talk, her of course trying to subtly get info about his growth, and him just wanting to spend time with his long lost niece.
"So how far down did you get before leveling?"
"Lowest I'd been at that time was... Where you all found me fighting."
Her eyes widened, much to his amusement, knowing full well how badly she wanted to get stronger.
He found it particularly funny on the rare occasions she fell into deep thought, so much so that one could almost see the gears turning behind her eyes.
Bell grinned as they set the stacks down, this being the final resting place of said crates, burned as to not hinder the return trip. Bell and Ais turned and made their way back to Finn, both needing a new task.
He looked ahead, seeing the trio from Take Familia walk by, all carrying twine bound bundles of tent fabric.
Ouka and him crossed eyes, both sharing a small nod as they continued past each other.
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Welf and Lili were doing much the same, gathering up as much of the scraps left behind as possible.
Lili recalled Gareth's words. 'Leave the floor better than you found it.'
"You've been stressed out, care to explain?" She called over her shoulder to Welf, who was currently carrying a bucket of used bottles.
At first, he looked forward to retort her, but after a second, he came clean. "You don't think… Bell holds any grudges cause of who I am… and what he is, do you?"
She turned up towards Welf, an incredulous look upon her. "This is Bell we're talking about here!"
Welf looked down. "I know, but-"
"You need to stop that!" Lili shrieked.
Welf was taken aback. "What?"
"You always doubt how others feel about you." She threw her arms into the air. "So stop it!"
"But-"
"NO! If he cared about that, he wouldn't have done so much to save us, he dragged BOTH of us, not just Lili, down three whole floors. He cares about you, so stop second guessing him."
Welf and her stared the other down for a few moments, before he nodded his head.
"Thank you." He spoke quietly.
She looked through the corner of her eye, turning back to her work.
"Don't worry about it."
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Ais had parted ways with Bell a few minutes ago, now standing in place for the vanguard of Riveria's group.
"Are we ready to move out?" Finn called over the gathered expedition. Getting a reply form Riveria and Gareth, both leading the other groups.
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Bell carried a box of supplies with him as he went back to their tent, the only one left standing.
He carried with him the supplies necessary to make a mid morning lunch, hoping to get everyone gathered before the trip.
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He opened the curtain, stepping in to wake Hestia, her being one of the few with particularly bad hangovers from last night.
"Goddess!" He called loudly, letting as much light in as possible.
"Goddess?-" He called again, though not helping the apparent lack of one such person in the tent.
He looked between the four cots, hoping to find her fallen over, to run down for the climb back into bed.
As he kept not finding her, he became more and more worried.
He was about to leave the tent, before a slip of paper caught his eye from her cot.
He picked the paper up, reading it through once, then twice, standing absolutely still in disbelief, before his sense of rationality and reason left him.
He bolted out the entrance.
As he passed some of the leftover junk, meant for them to burn, he grabbed a worn and disused bow. Knuckling a set of four arrows lying in it's associated quiver.
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Asfi paced back and forth, being too hesitant to warn the Loki Familia of her gods plan, they had now left, and she began to pace faster.
"Relax Asfi! I'm sure Bell can handle himself like you said, if so this won't even be an issue for him." Hermes raised his hand to the side, while lounging against a downed tree trunk.
She looked down over the rocks they used for concealment, seeing the crowd of adventurers who had come to see Mord 'fight' the Little Rookie.
"Why though do your methods need to be so- so crude?" She spoke back.
He sighed. "I know it isn't he most conventional-"
"Then stop this!" She cut him off.
"-But if he is to usher us into a new era, then we need him to be properly prepared."
She snarled in the other direction. "You make being your captain a little too hard sometimes."
He noticed the strained posture she held, everything from her stance to the clutching of her fists gave that away.
He simply smiled again, laying back and paying the situation no further mind till he arrived.
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Welf went to check on the two, not having seen Bell since he went to wake the still unseen Hestia.
Welf peeked into the tent. "Yo!- Bell, are we good in here?"
He looked left, right, up, down, but didn't find either of them.
"Huh." Welf spoke out, stumped.
He was about to leave, when he saw the spilled box Bell was holding earlier, and beside it, a note.
He walked in, picking it up, and skimming the contents, expecting it to be something like a recipe for the food.
His eyes widened in panic, quickly stumbling out the door as the situation fully hit him.
"EVERYONE LISTEN UP!" He shrieked.
Everyone from Lili to Horn looked his way, noticing both the panic in his voice, and his face.
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Bell approached swiftly, making his way up the path towards the supposed meet up.
As he moved uphill, he noticed the group of people, becoming worried for a moment, he quickly refocused as they parted, creating a way through.
He knew he shouldn't have, but he continued through, disregarding all logic by entering the obviously against him crowd.
He saw Mord, standing rather proudly in the center of the clearing.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't-" He was cut off as a general gasp crossed their audience.
Bell did not carry the arrows between his fingers to look cool, he cared little for appearances.
He held them so that he may fire in quick succession, and that he did.
The first arrow landed just above the kneecap, stopping all attempts at boasting about how 'he'd beat his weak ass' or other such profanities.
Only just as Mord realized what had happened, not even looking down yet, did the second land in the same spot of his other leg.
He collapsed backwards, Bell approaching with no loss of stride.
Off in the hills from his viewing perch, Hermes' eyes widened with shock, not thinking Bell would attack first.
'He's not even going to get the thing on in time?!'
Asfi also flinched, both in shock and relief, happy that she hadn't left Bell to his fate.
They watched as the ever moving Bell notched his third arrow, landing it just under Mords primary shoulder blade.
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Bell took the last few strides forward, the crowd behind him in shock, and Mord laying in confusion.
He stood over him, planting his foot on Mord's good shoulder, forcing him down.
As he drew the last arrow, holding it ready, just above his eye.
"Where is she?"
Bell spoke coldly, just loud enough for the closest of the audience to hear.
Mord was Scared beyond reason, too much so to talk properly. "Aeheahe!?"
He shifted the bow, letting loose just close enough for his hair to feel the arrow.
"Where. Is. My. Goddess."
Mord was all but a mess, not knowing what was to come next.
Bell grabbed onto the arrow in his shoulder, torqueing it toward his chest, but not tearing it, or removing it.
He screamed violently before Bell stopped.
"Sh-She-" He slobbered as he spoke, not being able to control himself. "In the woods."
"Where?" Bell asked.
At this point, the observers realized they should step in, but at that same time, a new front for this battle had begun.
Bell's second sight flared in his anxiety, just enough to notice the blip covering part of Mord's soul.
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"Lady Riveria? Are you okay?"
The group leader turned towards the voice, finding Lefiya.
"Yes." She responded. "I was just thinking about some matters of concern."
Lefiya became worried herself. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes-yes. It's just about Bell, something isn't right with him."
Lefiya became slightly more worried, though she was jealous of the amount of time he'd spent with Ais, she did come to like him during their lessons under Riveria.
"What's wrong with Bell?"
"He…" Riveria looked over to her, a look of worry clear across her. "There's too many things going on with him, he has too many secrets. Or rather, there's just too little we know."
"Like what?" Lefiya's face scrunched slightly.
"His ears, did you see them?"
She hesitated. "I did… They're too long, aren't they."
Riveria nodded. "I think he may be a High Elf."
Lefiya felt the same, but didn't want to think of the ramifications. "Really?"
She nodded. "There too long, as long, if not longer than my own…"
"So… Is that a bad thing…?" Lefiya asked nervously.
"Yes, it is. Especially considering his story about leaving the forest. I heard him talking with Ais and Lili- his supporters." Riveria clarified. "He claims to have been forced out of the forest for mingling with humans, something he was told not to do, but for him to be received the way he had, as a high Elf, it doesn't make sense."
Lefiya was lost in this logic. "Per-Perhaps Alicia can help us think when we're back?"
Riveria looked up in slight surprise, masked in realisation. "That's right. I forgot she stayed back as Loki's guard."
Lefiya smiled. "What a shame, it would have been funny seeing Bell be scolded again."
They both chuckled, Ais looking back at the duo, wondering why they were laughing.
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Lili and Hestia arrived just in time to see Welf slam a bear sized man with the side of his great sword, sending him down to the ground.
He looked over, a flash of recognition before he smiled.
"Bell's just up the path!" He screamed out as they approached, though they stopped as Welf took on another foe.
Lili took Hestia's hand, pulling her though the battle, as Ryuu joined them and tried to clear a path.
Soon though, they became surrounded.
Hestia saw no other option, seeing the growing wall of enemies, Ryuu shifted her stance to hopefully combat as many as she could.
A cry was heard throughout the Eighteenth Floor.
"STOP!"
A goddesses arcanum flooding the area surrounding, as the fight came to an abrupt end.
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Deep in the dungeon, something began to stir.
And ancient and temporarily un-dormant malice filled the roots of the labyrinth.
The tomb of many became active for the first time in maybe two thousand years.
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Bell stood, staring down the beast.
It Waded through the forest below, though in such a low section of the floor, it still stood high above all who looked.
Bell turned, pulling Mord up to his knees.
"Wh-" Mord was once again confused, having just a moment ago been healed by his foe.
"You're their leader, right?" Bell asked sternly.
The others who had come to help, somewhat confused by the Bell who appeared before them. Though not visually different, he carried himself like someone altogether different. The only one not confused by this being Hestia.
"Look!" Bell pointed down into the valley. "They're fighting without you." He turned back to him.
Dozens of disorganized adventurers both fought and ran from the wave of monsters appearing in the Monster Rex's wake.
Mord kneeled still on one knee, confused but catching up.
"They need you, go." Bell yanked him up the final distance, turning back to the cliff.
Mord watched along with everyone else, as the supposed Little Rookie overlooked the chaos, as though he was staring at a memory he'd rather not be.
Mord, though still confused, turned away to go join the battle.
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Riveria looked around at her group, watching as several different animal people were shivering, shaking and even in one case, vomiting.
There was no explanation as Bete appeared through the fog of the Twelfth Floor.
"The fucks happening?!" He screamed, also having a massive anxiety spike from whatever the dungeon was doing.
"I don't know! Anything from Finn or Gareth?!" She shouted to him as he crossed the final distance.
"No, they asked the same thing!" Bete sounded off, just before flinching hard as his stomach churned.
A massive tremor coming through the dungeon, the floor to shake violently.
More of the animal people began to lose their stomachs.
"Lefiya! Tiona!" Riveria called.
Arriving quickly, she began.
"Follow Bete and regroup with Finn and Gareth."
"What about you?!" Tiona asked.
"Me and Ais are going down to find whatever's causing this." She spoke bluntly.
"You can't be serious?!" Bete shouted, another tremor arriving.
"I am! And you're coming once you get them to the others." Riveria added.
Bete's eyes went wide. Though he didn't argue, also wanting to know what was happening.
"Go as fast as you can, find us as soon as possible!" Riveria spoke, ushering the waiting Ais to start moving, equally willing to investigate.
Another, final tremor passed, as the Goliath, unbeknownst to them, arrived at the Eighteenth Floor.
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He swung down, cleaving through one of the dozens- no, hundreds of monsters charging in a never ending assault.
He fell to his knees, only upright by the strength of his arms, and the sword buried before him in the charcoal black dirt.
He looked up, using some of his dwindling energy.
Various different races of people all fighting for the cause of survival, a united front shared between all who could stand the challenge.
His vision faltered, exhaustion catching up, as though mimicking the falling sun before him.
Another person came crashing down beside him, latching onto his shoulder, shaking him violently, though with purpose.
"Al?! Are you hurt?!" Rang the voice beside him.
"Bell?" He called weakly.
"Get up! We need to keep moving!" Bell grabbed him from beneath his arm, dropping his own weapon to do so.
A spell broke out to the left, wiping out a cluster of different charging monsters. All around them, mercenaries and monsters clashed, Alberts forces not falling before downing at least three for their efforts.
Bell fell to the ground, dragged there by Albert.
"Al?! Al Get up, we need you!" Bell filled with panic.
"I-I can't keep-" Albert was exhausted as they entered their sixth hour of combat,
"You can! You're the chosen hero of the wind! We're almost there, just a little longer!" Bell saw those around begin noticing Alberts condition, some turning to retreat.
"But-"
Bell grabbed the back of his hair, exposed since his helmet split open from an early encounter. "I refuse to tell Aria you died here!"
Bell's stomach dropped, watching as Alberts eyes darkened slowly.
"YOU HAVE YOUR WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF YOU, DO YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR DAUGHTER OR NOT?!" Bell screamed out.
Slowly, a flickering but growing passion reentering Albert.
He planted his dislodged sword back into the grounds of battle, forcing himself up, struggling as his body flashed with pain.
Those who were teetering on desertion, saw as Albert forced himself up, though injured, he pressed on, cleaving downward across the body of a charging monster.
.
Bell recovered as he looked for new targets, the Lygerfang dissolving, it's stone destroyed.
Ryuu came to his side, finishing her own fight a moment prior.
"Where do we need support?!" She called out, though capable of feats much greater, the constant stream of monsters for three, soon four hours, was not a laughable challenge.
The few crystals still intact after spawning the Goliath turned deep red, sunset now arriving on the surface.
"Mords forces are holding them off to the north, but the southern forces signaled for help not long ago." Bell spoke, looking around for anything hostile.
"Alright." She spoke, before seemingly disappearing before his eyes.
Bell looked around more, stopping as a heavy vibration ran through the floor. Looking over, he found the black Goliath on its knees, though rather from injuries, it's legs had simply been tethered down by the various adventurers around it.
The Goliath opened its gaping maw, a flash of bright blinding white emerging. All the same, it ignited with a bang, only heard by Bell several seconds after.
'Will-o-Wisp?' Bell thought.
A moment later, the face revealed, though its lips not gone, once again ready to fire off. Bell felt a panic build in him for the briefest of moments, before a green blur knocked the monstrosities head off to the side.
'...Level Fours sure are fast…'
The beam landed in a relatively safe place, against the floor's wall, causing a small vertical avalanche.
Bell turned back, setting off for the immediate battle which had shifted towards the Goliath.
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Riveria and Ais were entering the Sixteenth Floor as they heard the fast paced footsteps of Bete now catching up to them.
She turned to him, just as he started shouting. "Old hag!"
Caught off guard by the name, Riveria nearly launched the staff in her hands, though catching herself. "You finally showed up!"
"You had a head start!" He defended.
"Come on." Called Ais, a good few strides ahead of them both.
They followed, but continued.
"Have you guys seen any monsters down here?" Bete asked, genuine concern coming through.
"No, it's like they've disappeared!" Riveria responded.
"Or the dungeon's spawning them somewhere else?" Bete countered
The trio only became more motivated as they ran down empty corridors and valleys.
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As time passed, seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours.
The sense of a unified front came about through the adventurer forces, armaments and defenses started popping up on high grounds and valleys, or anywhere else damage could be done from afar.
Some of the braver souls had dared to venture out, building spike walls out of logs in the center valley of the Eighteenth. Many of these defenses being what kept the walking calamity at bay, preventing it from directly reaching Rivira, and buying the adventures as much time as possible.
Another magical bombardment rang out.
The Beast did little in the grand scheme of things, however, that little action resulted with intense carnage, the likes seen by few present, and thought possible by even less.
The Goliath's hand came down, leveling an area as big as Loki Familia had taken up for their camp.
.
Bell, who had been knocked out some twenty minutes ago, finally woke.
He sat up, readying to stand, not paying attention to the worried few surrounding him, but fell quickly back to his knees in pain..
"W-Where's the f-ront?!" He grunted out.
A hand grabbed his sleeve, followed by a weak voice. "Bell?"
He turned to find Hestia who had been one of those watching over him.
"We need to win soon…"
He matched her gaze, not sure where she was going.
"I think it's time to try the spell."
A simple set of eight words, and it ignited a sense of fear and anxiety in him like no other.
"...What if it doesn't work?" He asked, gritting his teeth.
"It will." she reassured, now standing.
He looked down in thought, recognizing that more damage came with every second he hesitated.
He looked back up to her.
"I'll need to see the incantation again." He spoke, Hestia nodding.
.
In only a few moments, his shirt was off, the armor gone, already ripped and shredded by the never ending horde.
A glow shined for only a moment, enough for the words to show and be copied.
The Goliath turned, sensing the arcanum though weaker than earlier.
A moment later, the source disappeared.
Bell took off running, feeling agonizing pain as he did.
.
Bell arrived on the cliff he'd first seen the beast from, wasting no time.
He lifted his arm.
But now, instead of the sounds of cracking and shaking, a grand bell rang.
Everything stopped as the sound wave reached all corners of the floor.
...Ring…
The monsters turned away from the town of Rivira, now setting off to the opposite side of the floor.
...Ring…
The adventurers gave chase, a new sense of courage sweeping through them, as the monsters now moved towards the source of the sound.
...Ring…
After the third and final ring, Bell spoke the first words of his chant.
"Unbound hatred, come forth to this land of man, gods, and chaos. Bend the will of what once was, and change it into what will be…"
The new wave of willpower flowed through all, as they caught up to the monster wave.
Those who could, now focusing on stalling and immobilizing the Goliath as it targeted Bell.
.
...One minute passed…
.
On Bell's raised arm, three fingers pointed out in a triangle formation, those being his index, middle and ring fingers. The first tangible signs of magic appearing between the three, a black sphere that seemed to absorb the light around it.
The level fours engaged, slashing at its legs and feet, hoping to slow it's advance.
Various spears bolts flew, launched by ballistas mounted in the hillsides, only adding to the vast number of weapons embedded in the thick black flesh.
Bell felt the temperature around him drop, as Hestia and Lili found him, having run ahead of the group.
.
...Two minutes passed…
.
A shaking went unnoticed by the path to Floor Seventeen as the fighting took priority over all.
Several booms went off, the beast's eyes now filled with glass from explosive filled bottles, the likes of which only Asfi could be responsible for.
It stumbled, grasping at its face.
The various different adventurers supporting the Level Fours took their opportunity to strike, though with this Goliath's intense healing ability, they may as well not have. But every hit helped.
.
...Three minutes passed…
.
"...Darkness between realities, shift in our favor. Foundations of everything, crumble under the weight of time..."
Unnoticed by Bell, a set of two glyphs appeared both beneath his feet, and an arms reach above. Both glowing a light blue and outlined by an ancient form of elvish writing.
The other's, Mikoto and Asuka arrived carrying the now conscious Ouka.
The first signs of frost dotted Bell's clothing, as Hestia, being closer, started to feel the chilled air.
.
...Four minutes passed…
.
The collapsed tunnel to the Seventeenth shifted, now being noticed by the non-combatants who were stuck with nothing to do but watch.
Bell still chanted as flashes from other magics crossed the charred Goliath.
The Take Familia sat Ouka down, Mikoto stepping forward and kneeling as she began her own chant from behind.
Frost became noticeable on Bell, as it gathered on both his boots and the hand not outstretched. His body aching from the cold.
.
...Five minutes passed…
.
As the fighting ran out with the regular monsters, more and more adventurers began focusing on the Goliath, or more so its legs.
New sets of wire crossed in front of the recovered Goliath, standing up with eyesight once more. Every adventurer around dropped their weapons, or dug them in for leverage as they banded together to stop the beast.
Only giving up as a translucent box appeared over the Goliath, quickly closing in around it.
Bell's eyes began to fail, as frost covered his arms and legs, now slowly moving up to his chest.
.
...Six minutes passed…
.
The rubble keeping those fighting from running broke free, an air burst breaking through, quickly followed by Ais who was the first of the three to see it.
Soon, Bete and Riveria followed, both also freezing up as they saw the Monster Rex, Riveria now thinking back on the time since the tremors.
The box shattered as Mikoto's spell was overcome.
'...Six hours stuck with that…?'
.
"...Dark of hate, transcend our fate. Succumb to the calls of those your lesser, aid us in our bid for splendor. -"
The black sphere pulsed, moving just forward enough to not envelop his fingers as it grew.
Everyone on the hill watched in horror, too afraid to stop his chant, as his body up to the neck became covered in frost and thin ice. His eyes stopped seeing, except for the light blue and white covering them.
They watched him in shock, standing above the entire battlefield as his spell slowly overpowered him, so much so that he could only muster the strength for one last moment.
.
...Seven minutes passed…
.
"- Dark matter."
.
.
.
The Sphere at the tip of his fingers dissipated from the size of a watermelon, to nothing.
For the briefest of moments, everyone behind him believed the battle simply lost.
Until a blinding light which disoriented all on the floor, shot out, impacting the Goliath in the chest.
All sound was absorbed, the only thing heard, a high pitched crackling.
In the following moment, as people began to see once more. They observed as the Goliath was stopped mid step, and to those just below it, shaking violently, but never moving more than a centimeter.
As they watched, they had no idea what was occurring, other than that a spell had been casted.
.
The Goliath was the target of a spell which, in theory, should not exist. Let alone be in the grasp of mortals.
The area which the irregular took up, stopped in time, though with how fast everything occurred, you wouldn't realize it.
Instantly, every atom of the beast turned a bright orange and pink, the matter turning into what would be described as a crystal material, lost in what they should consist of, they both became super heated, and flash frozen.
Now, time doesn't just STOP, like it had. Reality itself filled with a spider web of cracks, all centered around that one point.
As time and space fought each other and themselves for what would happen to the now fractured and decomposing matter, the universe and all its many scales and balances, became tipped, tipped towards complete end.
The end of time, space… and reality.
Of course, fate needed to step in, it wasn't the end for this particular chain of events. So a decision was made by the unseen hand of… of… well, there aren't proper words to describe the force which took over.
In less than a fraction of the smallest segment in time conceivable, the atoms of the once Goliath broke down, shredding themselves beyond the smallest confines of matter, until they simply stopped existing.
The universe, for the first time in… Well time. Lost matter and energy.
.
There was nothing left, not even air as an unnoticed vacuum filled the empty space.
All of this, taking place in about the same time, electrical signals in your eyes, take to reach your brain.
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The many adventurers watched as, to their astonishment, the Goliath seemed to just disappear.
No flare, or fanfare, it just disappeared from their sight.
Slowly, their disbelief turned to smiles, and after a few moments of silence, the first in hours, screams of happiness and victory crossed the floor.
The few behind Bell were also smiling with glee, lost in the moment. But their smiles faltered, and disappeared, as Bell collapsed before them, creating a sickening chorus of snapping and popping while piles of shattered ice fell around him, landing with a soft thud.
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Bell's mind raced as he tried desperately to find breath, staggering over to Albert who was no better off, if not worse.
Bell eventually made it to him, now seeing down into the black abyss Albert had been staring into.
"W-We did- it." Albert muttered out, with what little energy he could.
Bell caught Al's shoulders, just before he would've fallen into the presently uncharted First Floor of the dungeon.
"It's okay Al, rest-rest." Bell pulled him back, laying Al's back across his front, now having his back against the corpse of an Orc, just a few meters back from the edge.
"R-Rest now-" He spoke before passing out himself.
A number of mercenaries cheered in victory, as the last of the monsters had been pushed back, the dungeon's first defensive battle, now lost.
.
In the coming days, Albert and him would heal from their wounds, Aria would venture out from their home, excited to see him, being two months pregnant and happy that she still had a husband.
A temporary camp was set up around the dungeon, a makeshift wall soon following to keep something between them and it.
Albert and Aria would never see that black field again, only hearing throughout the rest of their lives as the wall meant to take the burden from the surrounding four castles, was slowly constructed over the next eight years.
Bell would be the only one of the three to see said wall, wishing to have shown Albert the results of his life's work.
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Fun Facts!
1. Bell is incapable of opening glass mason jars, they always break no matter how hard he tries not to.
2. The natural predator of the Snow Elves is the 'Giant Northern Ferret'.
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A/N
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Hey! Thank you all for reading!
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Before anyone asks, I will explain why Bell healed Mord in the next chapter.
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I got a question from a 'Guest', I haven't really decided which heroes Bell would have met, however I don't think there are many canon options to choose from.
So, in the event that I do write the prequel about Albert, Aria and Bell. I will likely introduce some OC heroes, after all, it might be fun.
Or if I can't think of any, I'll maybe bring in mythological people from real life. Maybe Aeneas, or King Arthur.
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Is it me or does the word 'Smiling' just not look… right…
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For anyone curious, my current goal (Not my end goal) is to pass the 'Hobbit' in word count, that being 95,356. So you guys can definitely expect more!
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Anyways!
I hope you all liked this chapter, I know there are probably a few rough patches, but I hope they can be forgiven!
I try alright!
Thank you all for letting me entertain for this brief moment in time!