Hello.

My first $12 Commission! I actually watched the entire anime for this along with some preliminary research. Not going to do the LN just yet.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Different POV narration

Chapter 1: A Different Grimoire

Fuck the pagan gods!

Not only are those assholes arrogant enough to call their celestial realms Heaven, when in fact none of them could ever compare to the real deal, they all came down to earth and started living with the mortals!

It was one thing when they would just mingle every now and then! Sometimes it was just a test. Sometimes a way to get away from godly duties. The list goes on and includes many examples of moments that resulted in demigods or massacres and destruction, often both.

But this-this absolute breach of their very own laws! Its unspeakable! Even without their divine powers it does not change the fact that they were directly and in person affection human civilization, influencing its growth and development in ways that defied the natural order.

As if Lucifer didn't have enough reasons to despise them.

He would never see them as Gods, emphasis on the capital G. There is only one God, and he, at least, does not break his own word when convenient. Oh, he hates Him all right, but that is a different kind of hatred. While the feelings Lucifer hold towards the Heavenly Father are complicated beyond human comprehension, the disgraced seraphim still respected him.

But those pagans on the other hand…

The mere thought of them was enough to make his blood boil. They always claimed themselves to be superior, as if their very existence was something worth praise. Bullshit. They were the reason shit kept happening in the mortal realm. To think that was all while watching from those pretentious seats they called thrones.

But now they are in the mortal plane, actively collecting followers, daring to call them "familia" and "children" as if they were parents raising them. Sure they give some strength to make them a bit special, only to send them to guaranteed death traps of dungeons, all to get money fancy ass temples they called "homes" or "bases". Some of them use even dirtier methods on their followers. Take that Soma god for example. Using his most powerful drink to pressure the followers into getting money as fast as possible to the point of committing many acts of treachery, and that's just the more obvious example.

Even ignoring their outright despicable manipulation, the effect they've had on human society is appalling. Those so-called "adventurers" get their heads inflated just from having a bit of extra speed or strength. From there it's a quick decay in morals and rise in arrogance. Humans were reminded to be humble by miracles, disasters, and the angels themselves. Now all that work was undone! By the time any of them learn their lesson, they or their comrades are already dead!

The worst part of this entire situation was Lucifer himself could not do anything about it all! If they were still back in their realms, he could have acted in a variety of ways be it flaming messages to torment them, spying on their meetings, or even barging in uninvited and just ruining their moods by just standing their reminding them of their inferiority and the falsehood of their divinity. But to do so on the mortal realm would be violating his own rules and make him no better than them. And he was sure they knew it! No doubt they laugh about it, calling him out on his pride, taunting him from the safety of the one place he could not hurt them.

Not physically at least.

Leave it to pagans to be so arrogant as to forget that he's the one and only Lucifer Morningstar, former High Arch Angel, True Devil, Ruler of Hell, Prince and Pride and Lies. No being in existence has more experience than he when it comes to influencing the minds of mortals with out being noticed. After all, his greatest trick was making them think he did not exist. It certainly took a bit of time and experimentation, but he had the perfect spy network set up. And what do you know it already got a juicy opportunity.

Its not often that a chance to mess with Freya presents itself. To think she got wet for some snot nosed adventurer who serves the Olympian Hestia. Not that he could blame her, not after her personally wrecked her cunt to the point that it would take very extreme measures for her to every be satisfied. So in a way, it was kind of his fault this Bell Cranel got caught in her crosshairs, but that's a debate for another time. What mattered now was how best to interfere with her manhunt.

Actually, the answer is quite simple. The boy already has the company and interest of a few interesting women, including his own goddess, not to mention he own feelings for some blonde Loki warrior. Of course, those were all human forms/flesh. What better deterrent against holy bodies than sinful ones? It's just a matter of getting that boring grimoire switched for a more interesting one.

This was easily accomplished thanks to one of Lucifer's most common weapons, alcohol. With an entire pub full of drunk fools, all it took was a few gusts of wind to knock over the right patrons creating a domino affect that knocked Freya's original trap into the fire and no one was any wiser. Then with a few "misplaced" mugs tripping over the floor becomes slippery and the drunk bastards start tripping over themselves, including a certain merchant who had just happened to have a certain tome on hand, one that he originally planned to sell, that flew out of his bag all the way into a back corner where it would not be discovered until the patrons had left and the employees cleaned up.

Freya thought her little plan to give the brat magic abilities was special. All it took was a few moves to completely hijack it. So much for the wisdom of the Norse.

Added bonus, watching this Bell Cranel deal with his new powers and everything that comes with it will make some good late night entertainment.

To say that the white-haired youth was excited was an understatement. He was thrilled to the point of jumping with glee! Skipping might have been a better word, but lucky for his image his strides were just long enough and hops high enough to count as jumping, but let's leave the issue of his manliness for another time. What mattered now was that he stumbled onto another way to get strong fast!

Even if he did not know about his skill Learis Freese it could not be denied that he was growing at a much faster rate than the average adventurer. Then there was the fact that he had a one of a kind knife made by the one and only Hephaestus that only he could wield as it grew with him. Considering these advantages, he should have been satisfied with his current rate of progress, or at least figured out his current limits before trying to expand them.

But, much like the hasty hare, he was impatient to catch up to the woman of his dreams, Ais Wallenstein, despite the fact that she had much more experience as an adventurer and in combat itself, natural talent aside. Clearly someone had an inferiority complex. So, when the opportunity to learn magic presented itself, he did not question it too much.

This very impatience is what made the bait so effective.

Once he had gotten himself situated back in the Hestia Familia base, a dilapidated old church, he opened the book and started reading.

While not much of a reader, there was something about this book that turned it into a completely new experience for Bell. It was more than just processing each word and sentence, internalizing them and figuring out what they meant. It was…something more. As if each word, each letter, each line was imprinting upon his identity, making the core of his soul and expanding it to the point that the body of flesh and blood became exhausted.

Which is why he was found by his goddess, the one and only Hestia of the hearth, to be slumped over his makeshift desk looking like he had passed out after running a hundred mlikes.

"Bell!" She squeaked in panic, dropping her bags and rushing over to check on her precious familia. Her fear was lessened when she confirmed he was alive and breathing. Not wasting any more time, she pulled him out of his seat and dragged him onto the couch, making sure his head would be on her lap. Once situated, she took advantage of their position by running her hands through his hair. It was a simple act, but one she greatly enjoyed. It was such a comforting feeling, as if she was once again warming the homes of her beloved pantheon. Speaking of which, the act also caused some of her impulsive Olympian qualities to rise up, namely a huge libido. Definitely didn't help that she was still a virgin due to the oaths made upon Mount Olympus, oaths that were no longer mandatory to keep. And every day, every second in Bell's presence wore on her patience. Though physical contact did reduce the desires, which is why she tried to embrace him as much as possible.

It was these very instincts that was causing her head to move down bit by bit towards his own face only to stop when his eyes began to open and showed signs of actual consciousness. Holding back from voicing her annoyance, she decided to focus on her previous boy toy.

"What were you doing Bell?" Her voice full of concern. "Don't tell me reading a book actually made you pass out." Her tone took on a teasing edge to alleviate the atmosphere.

"I'm not that bad." Bell grumbled groggily, still getting his head back in the game. "I was trying to learn magic from it but got exhausted."

"Magic!" Hestia exclaimed. Without waiting for any permission, she got up and flipped him over, somehow ripping off her his shirt in the process. Not wasting time listening to his yelps of protest, she got to work updating his stats, somewhat fearful of what she might find. One drop of blood and a minute of divine powers later, her suspicions were confirmed, with a few questions raised.

"Seriously, this was supposed to be your day off Bell." Hestia sighed as she imprinted the information onto a paper.

"Did I actually get magic!" He asked eagerly practically jumping into a sitting position.

"Yes." She said, shaking out the paper to let it dry before handing it over.

"This is great!" Bell said, bordering on squealing like a school girl, as he grabbed it and read what he had. "Summon?"

"I'll admit I don't know what it means either." Hestia said while massaging her temple. "Maybe it calls forth some sort of ally or something. What I do know is that, for some reason, you can already use this spell by just calling out the technique, no ritualistic chants or anything. It takes time, practice, and knowledge for most mages to get to that level of casting for each spell, and even then, the results can differ."

'No doubt thanks to that stupid skill of his and his feelings for that Aiz Whatchamacallit.' Hestia brooded, only to have her thoughts interrupted.

"I can't wait to try this out!"

"Well I order you to wait!" She proclaims pointing a finger right in his face. "It's already late and it's better for you to experiment with a new technique when you can have someone watching your back or another adventurer in the area. There's no telling what could happen if you misuse this skill."

"B-b-but-"

"I said you're not going now and that's final!"

A few hours later

When will gods learn, humans just love to break rules and promises. Especially overly eager children who think they know better than adults and have a new toy they want to play with. Sure, the dungeon is dangerous at all times of day, but Bell reasoned that he would be safe enough so long as he stuck to the first floor. Since the night was still young, there could not have been that much time between the last adventurer leaving so the dungeon could not have replenished the monster population to the point of being threatening. At least that's what he told himself as he snuck out and disobeyed direct orders and entered the tower, which was surprisingly easy.

As he stepped into the dungeon's first floor, Bell took a deep breath. Now that he was actually here, all that self-motivational talk was starting to lose effect as the dark ambience surrounded him. Every single time he wondered if other adventurers felt that sense of foreboding, as if something were watching their every move. The sensation passed, however, as he soon came face to face with his first test subject, a giant ant.

"All right." Bell grinned. "Let's see what this can do!" He held out his hand and took a deep breath before calling out the name of his spell with the full power of his voice.

"Summon!"

For a moment nothing happened…and then another moment of nothing happening, and another.

"Summon!" Bell called out again, thinking that maybe he did something wrong on accident the first time.

Once again, nothing happened, except for the fact that the giant ant now noticed him and was turning towards him. The insect clicked its mandibles, the sight and sound reminding Bell of the way some people lick their lips before eating a delicious meal. Sweat dropped down his face as he called out the spell again, panic entering his voice, but it only spurred the monster into charging forward. It did not stop and nothing still happened as Bell called out "Summon" over and over, getting more desperate each time. It wasn't long before it was right on top of him, literally as it jumped at him.

"SUMMON!" Bell cried out one final time as he shut his eyes in anticipation for the pain to come, wishing for anyone to save him. There was a flash of light below his feet, and right when the ant was in front of him, a sharp pillar of ice burst out of the ground piercing its skull and pinning it to the ceiling. The sounds of flesh being ripped and breaking rock and shell prompting the young adventurer to open his eyes. Seeing the monster that was about to have him for a midnight snake crushed into the ceiling, quickly dissolving into black ash and dust made his jaw drop. His attention was immediately redirected to the ice that saved him, only tho panic as it started to crack. His fears were uncalled for, however four out of the ice emerged a girl, no. A woman.

A beautiful woman with light blue skin that reminded him of aquamarine gems yet was much more smoot and shiny, her dress a slight shade darker accentuating it and her modest chest with the exception of the fur linings that were as white and soft as snow. Honestly, he had a hard time telling if she was even wearing stockings or arm sleeves. Her hair was wavy like the slope of a snow-covered mountain that went all the way to her hip, drawing attention to her heart shaped rump. That and the shards of ice that seemed to sprout from her head where her ears should be. And did the temperature actually drop just now?

When the mysterious woman turned to him smiling a bright smile that showed off bright white teeth, Bell could not help but blush. His face only became redder as she spoke, her voice like the footfalls in snow.

"Tell me, are you my master?" To this question, Bell had only one thing to say.

"Huh?" to which the mysterious woman smiled and giggled a bit.

"I'm just doing a bit." She said, a teasing tone in her voice. "After all, first impressions are verrry important." She added, leaning in a bit as she played with her "r's". "Which is why I waited until the last minute to answer your call."

"Wait," Bell interjected, shaking his head a bit. "You mean…you came to me because of the spell?"

"Exactly."

"But why didn't you come when I first used it!"

"I just said that first impressions are important." She retorted with a roll of her eyes.

"But-" Bell's words were cut off by a cold finger placed directly on his lips., keeping them shut with the temperature itself.

"You seem to be misunderstanding something here." The blue ice woman said with the exact same smile and voice, yet everything was getting a bit colder with the moisture in the air actually condensing. "We have no obligation to answer your call just because you said the magic word. It is up to use to decide who lends a hand or if we even want to help out in the first place." She tilted her head a bit, her expression remaining the same despite the fact that a layer of ice was forming on the walls. "Be grateful I was your first summoning. I know a few girls who are much less forgiving than I am. Understand?"

Bell could only nod his head and squeak as the fear and cold kept his mouth from opening.

"Good." She grinned pulling her finger away and stepping back a bit, the room starting to become normal. "I believe some introductions are in order then." She said with a curtsey.

"I am Rosty, though I suppose you are more familiar with my male cousins the Jack Frosts." Rosty raised her head. "I look forward to slaying our enemies together in the future."

Okay.

This chapter was brought to you by my pa_tr_eo_n. To find me, just search for Composcreator on the site or enter pa_tr_eo_ / Composcreator. Just get rid of the underscore and put an actual period. The ff site won't let me type up the whole word or URL.

That's it for now. Please Favorite, Follow, and Review. But most of all, thank you for reading!