The Cure

DISCLAIMER: Danmachi belongs to its respective owners. Everything that occurs in this story is of my own creation and the characters abide by the fictional laws in the setting.

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Chapter 10: Won't Let Me Down.

Part 12

… You charmed a Goddess, Bell, what now?

Okay, MAYBE he hadn't thought things through as clearly as he initially believed.

Now that Freya's noise wasn't trying to drown his own with her charm, Bell's thoughts were finally clear, and he immediately realized as Freya, in all her naked godliness and hearted irises, awaited his next command, that he may have gotten in way over his head.

Then he finally realized, too, that Freya was the second woman he'd seen completely naked from head to toe, and Bell's face blushed up a storm as he looked away. One thing were the medicinal books with drawn depictions of the human body, another thing altogether was facing head on such beauty, and gods damn, wasn't that a beauty.

If only Freya's soul wasn't so tainted, or vile, or she hadn't tortured his aunt, or… There were quite a lot of 'or' more that Bell had to consider before he could try to look at Freya that way. Bell knew that all beings were inherently selfish, but the kind of selfishness Freya possessed… The less said there, the better.

He really needed to learn how to control his anger better, as it was, one day it would come to bite him back in the ass, not that the current consequences of his actions weren't already going to do so, but damn.

H wasn't wrong about how cathartic it felt to strangle Freya to within an inch of her life so many times, despite her wantonly enjoying it, it certainly soothed a lot of his anger at the goddess past actions.

Now, again, what the hell was he supposed to do with the Goddess shaking her rear like a pup awaiting their owner's next orders.

…

"Dress up."

Yeah, that was certainly a start, one that his innocence approved of. The less said about how his eyes strayed to Freya as she dressed herself in those flimsy rags of hers, the better.

He still hated her.

That would never change.

The stray thought of asking her to take her clothes off again and walk off the building into the streets of Orario as a form of humiliation and punishment did last a lot longer in his mind than he was comfortable with, enough for him to realize that perhaps he hadn't been so immune to Freya's charms as he believed himself to be.

Or it could very well be the blood string connecting their souls together, not that he could see his own soul, but such string was clear enough if he focused his magic on it.

A Goddess's natural resistance to magic would've been enough for Bell's plan to fail from the very start, which is why he had resorted to weakening Freya's resolve by… well, giving her pleasure, and imitating her own branch of charm magic against her.

Her resolve weakened enough for him to, quite literally, stab at her soul with his noise and flood her with his magic imitating her own, which, again, reckless, but it was a better option than just killing her, and ruin his, and his aunt's, entire new life.

This way, Freya would certainly never get in their way again…

…

Right?

"Hand," Bell intently ignored the liquid clearly visible trailing down Freya's exposed thigh, really what kind of dress was that even, the sensation of her dainty hand resting on his palm interrupted his thoughts again, "Did you come here, alone?"

"Yes."

That, Bell already knew, there was absolutely no way a single member of her Familia wouldn't have killed him the moment he started strangling her if they were nearby, after all. Truly, did Freya really believe herself so omnipotent in Orario so as to forsake her guards? Had the power she obtained from destroying and playing with so many lives gotten to her head so bad?

That would be no more.

He would not let it be.

Freya would pay for everything she had committed, he would hold her accountable for all sins he knew, and learned, about her, then, and only then, would he liberate her from his bindings.

He feared not her retribution, for the day she finally finished paying her dues, he'd be one step into the grave already.

Now, again, what was he supposed to do?

A glance around Airmid's office told him what he should do first, "Do you have magic that could clean up your mess?"

A snap of the fingers, a fluttering tone, and everything Freya had dirtied in her throes returned to how it was an hour ago. Her silver pupils set on him, waiting yet again, in their absent-spirited daze.

…

Bell hated her.

…

But this… Such mindless obedience would not work.

"Why did you come here?"

"For you."

"What do you want?"

"You."

Bell sighed… He truly hated her, and he hated how her selfishness and arrogant pride allowed her to be so honest. So, again, he betted on that skewered honesty, and his magic.

"Return to your real self."

Freya's silver irises regained their godly tint, then immediately narrowed. Yet, she did no more. Quiet, pensive, she glanced around, then studied Bell from head to toe, then looked at herself, "What did you do."

"The same you've done to others."

Freya frowned, she caressed a spot between the valley of her chest, exactly where the blood string of her soul connected with his, "… What now?"

What now, indeed.

"I… didn't think that far ahead," Bell sighed, and crumpled down on the chair he'd been sitting an hour earlier, Freya made no move from her spot standing at the foot of the table. "I… Do you know how much I hate you?"

There was a flicker of hurt in Freya's gaze, "Because I tried to charm you?"

"Not just that," Bell growled, "You've made my life so miserable, yet… I can only trust what I've done to be the correct choice."

Freya frowned again, there was no shortage of people she'd made miserable, he certainly wasn't the first, nor would be the last, but she didn't even know how she had done so. Every time she had made someone miserable, she made it her life's passion to know how, why, and to which extent, just so she could revel in the entertainment of the mortal world.

As much as Freya wanted to find out how she had made Bell Cranel miserable, that wasn't her primary concern, no, that went for the connection he had knowingly made with her soul.

She knew very well what he had done, and how easy it would've been for him to abuse the absolute authority he had over her moments ago. That was how potent her charm was, and he had replicated it to perfection.

But he didn't abuse his authority over her.

'To be the correct choice' he said, to liberate her from the charm aspect of the binding yet not the binding itself. He truly could've kept her under the spell for as long as he wished, she had felt the charm spell siphon her magic to sustain itself, and she wouldn't run out of magic anytime soon, not even for the next few thousand millennia.

He hated her.

So…

"Why?" Freya needed to know.

The tired slouch of his body spoke of how aware he was of the heavy burden he put on himself by binding her, the look in his eyes…

Fierce.

Hateful.

"Because as arrogant as you are, as selfish as you are, as much as I hate you, I know you won't let me down."

Afraid.

He knew she had been honest in his desire to have him, and he was betting on such desire.

He was still a child, a ruthless one, but a child, nonetheless.

Freya snorted, a very unladylike act to her, but she didn't care.

She lost to a child, she lost the battle, but not the war.

She had gotten what she wanted, not in the way she wanted, but still what she wanted.

She wanted him, and he needed her.

That was enough, for now.

The rueful grin she'd greeted him with when she first entered the room returned, the seductive shine to her irises sparked alive once more, and she crossed her arms to emphasize her bust, and tilted her hips to bring them out, "What now, Master Bell?"

The way he tensed up was downright adorable for her, his fierce gaze lit her core ablaze, but she refrained from acting against her first master's wishes. This would certainly be a more interesting roleplay than the barmaid life she'd been entertaining herself with.

That he freed her mind from the charm would let her thoroughly enjoy it.

"Now? Nothing, but be aware, Freya, that I will be making you pay for everything you've done, whether I know of it or not." His words had the resoluteness that she had found charming when she first cast her gaze on him.

Freya smiled; To make her pay? Many had said those words to her, but never had anyone managed to come close to even planning whatever way of making her pay… But he did, the first at taking so many of her firsts...

The burning sensation around her throat cemented the fact that he would have no qualms acting on his words, whether it be physical punishment or submitting her mind under her charm again, and she was thrilled to find out, just how far those words of his would take her.

She sought entertainment, and he was going to give it to her.

"Very well, I won't let you down… Master Bell." Freya curtsied, a grin on her lips.

Bell nursed his forehead, "Sit down, there's a lot I want to ask now that I know for certain you won't lie to me."

…

Bell's eyebrow twitched angrily, "Not on my lap."

Freya laughed as she stood up and sat on the table instead, crossing her legs over the other while resting her chin on her palm, "I wouldn't have lied to you, you know?"

Bell sighed, "You didn't lie to me, but you tried to deceive me."

Freya smiled, "Oh, so you do realize there's a difference between those two, so many confuse them~"

"To all I asked, you gave me the truth," Bell shrugged, Freya's noise certainly didn't sound like she had lied to him even once, and so far, his interpretation of noise hadn't failed, ever. "That you tried to hide things doesn't mean you lied, that you tried to make yourself seem as you knew more than you truly do doesn't mean you lied to me, only to yourself."

Freya's smile continued growing.

Bell continued, "From what I think of you, there's no doubt that you would search that knowledge and turn that lie to yourself into a truth, one that you would've shared with me if you had known about it…"

Freya's breath picked up again, and if she wasn't if slightly afraid of losing the freedom Bell returned to her, then she would've tried seducing, or even charming him, again.

"Because that's how much you want me, you selfish…"

Freya laughed, "Ahahaha! Yes! Yes! Exactly! This is exactly why I want you; you already are so much and your potential, mgh~" The goddess bit her lip, but refrained from doing more as Bell's face turned to disgust. "You're more and more interesting by the second, master."

Bell twitched, "What do you know about the sickness my mother suffers from?"

Freya cutely tilted her head, an action that would've looked a lot better on her Syr persona than the mature goddess she was, "A decaying sickness that eats away at the person's body and soul, those with magic last longer if only because it takes longer for their magic to decay than their soul does. As for the treatment, it was a wild guess of mine that worked, the sacred elven branch restores a soul's vitality and passively restores more over a long period of time, the sickness and the passive effect counteract one another until the effect finally goes away, yet the sickness decay buildup continues to buildup and without the effect, well… Most don't live long after that."

"And do you know where that sickness originated?"

"No." Freya blinked, "Oh, this is why you said I won't let you down. I can't lie to you, I just tried, hah! Amazing."

Bell couldn't help smiling smugly.

"But to answer your question, again, no, I do not know where it originated. I'm only aware that it's a recent sickness, extremely recent by my standards, barely a century old." Freya sighed, "I even lost one of my cute children to it back then…"

"Is that so…" Bell grinned.

Yes.

Freya offer had no value.

But she truly did.

And he'd finally found what he could do with her.

"Freya… What would you do if I told you, it's no sickness?" Bell truly couldn't wipe the satisfied smile from his face as Freya's irises sharpened dangerously, all airs of flattery and seductiveness disappeared without a trace from her.

"… I would say you're lying." Freya sat straight; the presence of a War Goddess made itself present. "I love my children, and I looked into her death, into her sickness, and it was a sickness."

"No." Bell could feel the torment brewing in Freya's soul, and while he did enjoy making her suffer by withholding the information if only for a second longer, what he wanted lay after her suffering.

Her retribution.

"That is no sickness, that is a curse." Bell tapped his chest, the place where he knew Freya could see their blood string connection, "I saw it, I saw him."

Freya's nails dug into her palms, her body tensed and despite her wanting to demand answers, that very same string Bell was pointing at denied her the opportunity to do so.

She couldn't go against him.

When was the last time she had felt so vexed?... Ah…

But she was finally starting to understand why he took such risk.

"Sapíla is a God's curse, Freya."

Yes, she truly understood why now.

"And you need a God to find out which one it is." Freya replied with a dangerously low tone.

"Yes."

Freya lips twitched upwards, "You're… Heh, very well, master. This tamed Freya will find out which God it was." Not only because Bell asked, but because he had also made it personal for her.

Truly, Bell Cranel was the most interesting soul she had ever laid witness to, and despite the master-role reversed, Freya found herself not minding it one bit.

A human pitting Gods against one another, what could be more entertaining than such a reversal of roles from which she had enjoyed so much?

Bell trusted in her arrogance, in her pride, and in the strength she obtained from stepping over so many others… He was trusting in everything he hated about Freya, because it would bring the answers he sought for his mom's cure.

"I know you will."

Bell met Freya's gaze.

"Because you/I won't let me/you down."

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Author's Note: So, uh, commissioner… kinda… caved in and decided Freya can be the potential third final partner so… Teehee~