Ryuu approached the Hearth Manor with her bag strapped around her back. She briskly walked up the steps to Bell's familial home and knocked on the door.

"Master Bell is hooooome~ oh it's you Lady Ryuu. Please come in."

Haruhime quickly let the elf inside as she closed the door behind her.

"Haruhime, do you know where Bell is? I need to speak with him. It's urgent."

Haruhime noticed the bag around Ryuu's torso. She wondered if perhaps Ryuu was planning an excursion down to the dungeon. Though she didn't appear to be in her normal adventurer clothing.

"Master Bell isn't home, he actually went out searching for you. I'm surprised you two didn't run into each other. You must have just missed one another."

'Huh that's weird. I would assume Bell would just go straight to the Hostess of Fertility if he wanted to find me?'

Ryuu didn't give it too much thought as she figured Bell would be getting back here soon enough as the sun had just set and the night sky was just now appearing.

"Well Lady Ryuu, would you like some tea while you wait for Bell. We could chat until he comes back. I've always wanted to know what your Familia was like."

Ryuu smiled kindly at the warm offer. She figured it wouldn't hurt to stick around as Bell was bound to come back around, sooner or later.

"Okay, that sounds wonderful."

As the two ladies shared tea with one another, Ryuu recounted many tales to Haruhime of her fallen sisters, and the many adventures they had shared together.

Freya was not happy.

No, she was beyond 'Not Happy'.

She was livid!

'I can't believe them! They disobeyed my direct orders and interfered with Bell and dragged him here against his will and-'

And yet…

And yet.

Here he was, her Odr, tied up, just waiting for her

Helun had truly felt inside Freya's thoughts and inner wishes. Because no matter how hard Freya was trying to let Ryuu have Bell, it was pure torture for the Goddess of Beauty. Her heart was screaming out to her in pain and she could only stand and smile in support as she saw the love of her life and best friend begin a new life together.

She was trying so hard to be good, she was being so supportive, yet yer inner thoughts betrayed her….

'Don't I deserve a reward?'

Freya slowly got out of her clothes and let them quietly fall to the floor.

'Don't I get to have my hero as well?'

She started making her way over to the bed.

'It's not fair to keep him all to yourself, Ryuu.'

Freya quickly crawled into the bed.

'He's so perfect.'

She intertwined her legs with Bells and looked at him from the side.

'Oh I love him so much.'

She sniffed his white hair and then slowly brushed it with her fingertips. It made her so excited to be this close to her Odr.

"Don't I deserve….a small reward?"

Freya would scold her Familia later. But to pass up on this opportunity, would just be torture for her…..

That is until she heard an equally tortuous voice ringing in her head.

'No, this is wrong'

"Shut up"

Freya whispered quietly under her breath. She was trying to silence the girl Syr.

'No one needs to know. No one ever has to find out.'

Freya caressed Bell's face in her soft, slender hand.

She brought herself even closer to him. Every part of her now clinging to the still unconscious adventurer.

'I want this so much.'

Freya's lips brushed against Bell's cheek ever so slightly. His soft white hair was so uniquely perfect. To her, it shined as brightly as freshly fallen snow reflected in the sun. His soul was just magnificent. He was magnificent.

'I won't have the whole meal, just a nibble, a small taste, enough to satisfy my love for him.'

Freya was getting impatient. She climbed on top of Bell and pressed her naked breasts into his torso.

'I can feel it! I can feel his heartbeat in my chest! Ahhhh, this is better than anything heaven had to offer.'

Freya's lips got closer and closer to Bells. She was mere inches apart from her prize when suddenly that voice came back even louder than before…

'NO! What about Ryuu!?'

"…."

'This isn't right! We promised her! For once, let's be selfless. Please. If not for her, then for ourselves. We can't do this'

"…"

'We will find another Odr.'

'But I just want…..'

'We will find another Odr.'

'But he's right here and I just…'

'We will find another Odr.'

"…fine."

It was no louder than a mouse's squeak, but to Freya, she might as well have been screaming it out her resignation at the top of her lungs.

She quickly and quietly un-wrapped herself from Bell, left the bed, put back on her clothes, and silently exited the room.

Ottar was right outside the door waiting for her.

"….."

He didn't say anything to her.

"….."

She didn't say anything to him.

She wasn't even looking in his direction. Instead, her eyes were glued to the floor.

"Take him back to the Hearth Manor. I'm going to bed."

"As you wish."

With their brief exchange, Freya left for her room, not letting her eyes escape the ground. She refused to look up to meet anyone's gaze, or to even view her surroundings.

It wasn't until Freya entered her room, and she was all alone, that she raised her head to reveal a look of devastation on her face. Her lip was quivering, her eyes were on the verge of bursting. She could barely drag herself to her bed before a wail of grief began to escape her mouth as she crashed into her pillow and started sobbing into it.

"We will find another Odr."

Her own thoughts ran through her head again. Causing her to cry harder than ever before.

"No…..no I won't. Not like him…"

"And then Lyra said, 'If I'm gonna pay a fortune for explosives, then I'd like them to actually work, damnit! Next time, I'm building my own!' "

""""Hahahahahaha""""

The whole Hestia Familia had gathered around Ryuu, she was recounting a tale of how Lyra had decided, after some rip-off, faulty bombs from a gnome almost got her killed, that she would start making her own from then on.

"Ha, that's hysterical. Did she ever wind up finding that gnome?!"

"She hung him off a roof and forced him to give her back her money, plus a "you almost got me killed" fee!"

"""""BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"""""

Even Ryuu couldn't help but join in on the laughter. That pink haired Prum really was just one of a kind.

"Oh, and then there was this one time whe-"

***KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK***

A loud knock came from outside the Hearth Manor. Everyone got up from their seats and went to check who it was.

When they opened the door, they saw the fearless white haired captain of the Hestia Familia standing there all alone, and in a bit of a daze, but otherwise okay.

"""""Bell!"""""

"Where were you?"

"Are you okay?"

"I-I don't…."

"What happened?"

"Would you guys let the poor man speak please?"

It was Welf who finally got the ladies of Hestia Familia to calm down from their merciless questioning of Bell.

"Ah, thank you Welf. Well like I said I was-wait? Ryuu? What are you doing here?"

Ryuu looked at Bell and chuckled a little bit from the seemingly confused state her lover was in.

"I came here looking for you. I was just passing the time with your Familia."

Bell slowly started connecting the pieces together back in his head.

"That's weird. I went out looking for you too but then….I found Syr, I think? She….was really mad at me. And then I got attacked. Everything went black, and then somehow, I wound up here. I don't really remember anything at all."

Everyone but Ryuu kinda chuckled and laughed it off, saying how he must hit his head during his outing because they couldn't imagine the friendly girl from the pub ever being mad at Bell.

However, Ryuu on the other hand was having a very different reaction.

Her hands started getting clammy.

The color drained from her face.

A pit opened up in her stomach.

Her face was staring straight into the ground.

'Syr attacking Bell? But Syr is Freya! Why in the world would she ever attack Bell? Unless…..'

'Unless she's mad at Bell for something ?'

''Unless she's mad at me for something ?'

Suddenly, things began to click together in Ryuu's mind as well. The attack from Allen, Freya's reveal as Syr, and her "apology", Bell being mysteriously assaulted by "Syr". It was all too similar and coincidental.

'I stole Bell from her.'

'She's mad at me'

'She wants to hurt me and Bell.'

'Maybe even our child too.'

Tried as she might to find another meaning to everything, these were the conclusions that Ryuu came to in her head. Of course it was based on the limited information Ryuu had but something in her screamed that she and Bell needed to leave Orario, immediately.

"Bell, we need to…-"

Before Ryuu said anything further she looked up to see him interacting with his Familia.

Haruhime was looking up at him and telling Bell what a wonderful person Ryuu was, and how charming Astrea Familia sounded.

Mikoto was telling Bell how she had learned yet another powerful combat technique from Takemikazuchi that she wanted to show him.

Lili was talking about how she had begun planning their next expedition to recoup their losses from the last time.

And Welf was boasting about how he was working hard on a new and special weapon for Bell to use the next time they head into the dungeon.

'The Dungeon….'

In all their eyes, Ryuu could see it. She could see how much they all admired and needed Bell.

For the first time since the safe zone on Floor 37, Ryuu hesitated when it came to Bell. When she had resolved to leave the city, she of course had intended to leave the city with him. But seeing his Familia light up upon seeing their captain…..

'He's their hero. Just like he's mine.'

If you could see inside Ryuu's heart, you would see it begin to harden once again. The very heart which Bell Cranel had been able to break through to and capture gently in both his hands was once again resolving itself to walk down a path of loss and loneliness.

There was no doubt Bell was on his way to becoming a first class adventurer. In fact, given enough time, Bell could very well surpass everyone and become the last hero. Finally slaying the One Eyed Black Dragon, and conquering the dungeon once and for all.

'How could I be so selfish? To pull him away from his friends, from his familia, from his dreams.'

'From his destiny…..'

She didn't know what Bell was going to say to her, but if he turned his back on her now, she would almost certainly break. What she was about to ask Bell was tantamount to asking him to throw away everything for her.

His hopes that the Xenos could one day live in harmony with people on the surface.

His Goddess and his Familia.

His dreams of becoming a hero.

Everything that truly mattered to him.

'Chloe was right, all I will do is drag him down and lead him to an early grave.'

Bell looked over at Ryuu and smiled the happiest smile she had ever seen from him.

'So then…..'

Ryuu looked as Bell's gaze was turned away from her towards his Familia as they all began laughing at a horrible joke Welf had made.

'So then I must….-'

Ryuu was in agony as she came to a horrible conclusion in her mind.

'So then I must abandon Bell."

Finally, Bell and Ryuu had managed to get away from Hestia Familia and into Bell's room. They were both over due for some long awaited alone time with each other.

"Bell….listen I-"

Ryuu was cut off as Bell grabbed her and pulled her in for a kiss.

It was a short, yet very sweet and loving kiss.

"Sorry Ryuu, I just missed you."

Ryuu couldn't help but blush, even though it was just a little.

"It's alright….Bell. Listen I-"

"How did it go with Syr?"

Bell innocently asked Ryuu how her talk with Syr went.

"It went fine, but-"

"Really? Cause I thought when I ran into Syr she was-"

Ryuu had to stop this now.

"Bell, I'm leaving Orario. Tonight. And you can't come with me."

Bell stopped talking immediately. His heart sank into a bottomless hole. He felt like someone had just slammed through ten brick wall.

"What…?"

'Leave? Why?! Why does she want to leave the city? Why does she want to leave me? I'm here, our lives are here.'

"W-Why? What's wrong with Orario? All of our friends are here. We escaped the deep floors so we could return and be with them, right?"

Ryuu flinched at Bell bringing up their motivation for escaping the 37th floor. If only he knew how Syr was Freya and how she was putting all three of their lives at risk.

"My familia even accepted us being together…..so why-? "

Bell was so confused as to where all of this was coming from. When Ryuu left to go meet Syr, everything between them was great. And now, all of a sudden, she wanted to leave Orario and Bell?!

"...it's dangerous. "

Bell's mouth felt dry.

He wanted to curl up and die.

'I knew it. I'm too weak. I failed her when I didn't stop Allen. She doesn't want a pathetic loser like me…-'

'But even still…..'

'But even still, I have to fight for her!'

"I..I know I'm not strong enough to protect you right now. But I promise you, I will be someday. Someday soon. If you just give me a little more time.."

Now it was Ryuus turn for her heart to sink.

'Bell thinks I'm leaving him behind because he's not strong enough.'

Ryuu looked at Bell. She was doing her best to keep her composure. All she wanted to do was reach out and hold Bell and tell him none of this was his fault. Well, it sort of was. But he shouldn't- couldn't, know the truth. For his own sake, and for the sake of everyone who was counting on him.

"Bell, of course you can protect me. You're not why I'm leaving Orario. It's just….I have this person. And they need me. They need my protection. And Orario is just too dangerous. I have too many enemies. And as much as I want to be with you, I want and have to be with them even more. So I have to go, and you can't come with me."

It was cruel of Ryuu to be so vague. Of course it was intentional. She was purposely trying to sever their bond so he wouldn't follow, so that he wouldn't have to shoulder the burden of choosing between being what she needed him to be, and what the world needed him to be.

"But…..but what about us?"

Ryuu looked at him in sadness. She wanted to tell him, but she knew this would be a burden she would have to carry alone.

*Crack*

Though even now, she could feel her resolve begin to break under the love that Bell was showing her.

"I'm sorry Bell….but I have to go."

Ryuu stood up and bowed to Bell.

"Goodbye Mr. Cranel"

Ryuu started to leave the room, barely holding in the tears rushing towards the edge of her eyes, begging to escape.

"What if…we protected them together?"

Ryuu felt her steeled heart jump up in her throat. She froze before she reached the door.

"What?"

Bell got up and reached out to grab Ryuu's hand. Once he grabbed it he held it tight and turned her around to face him.

"You said they needed protection. Whoever they are, they are clearly the most important person to you. And you're the most important person to me. I don't want to loose you Ryuu. So let me help you protect them. We can do it together."

Ryuu gasped as tears began streaming down her face.

"Please Ryuu, don't shut me out. I love you."

Ryuu grabbed Bell tightly and held him close.

"Bell, I'm pregnant."

"….."

"I plan to leave Orario tonight and take the baby to my home village of Ryumilua to raise it in hiding. Away from Orario, away from the Gods, away from any remnants of Evilus who may try to hurt them."

"…."

Ryuu parted from Bell's embrace. Wiping away the tears in her eyes. She held out her hand to the still speechless Bell.

"Will you….come with me, Bell?"

She knew it was horrible. She knew she may very well be robbing the world of a true hero. But she was in love. And she wanted to be selfish, just this once.

'Please Bell….please say yes.'

Bell looked at her hand, and then looked at Ryuu.

It took only a few seconds for him to take her hand in his own with a resolved look in his eyes.

"Of course Ryuu. Let's go."

Before Bell or Ryuu really knew what was happening, they were both packed up and ready to leave. Neither had too many possessions, so it wasn't hard for them to get together everything they would need for the trip that lay ahead of them.

They snuck out in the dead of night. The Hestia Familia had fallen asleep. And as high end level 4's there stealth skills were at such a level that they could basically be considered invisible.

Before Bell and Ryuu left though, they had one last stop to make.

Bell and Ryuu entered the Hostess of Fertility quietly. They began making their way over to where Anya's room was..

"What the hell do you two think you're doing?"

""Mama Mia?!""

Bell and Ryuu both had a slight blush on their face as they had not expected to be caught so easily, or really at all.

They may have been quiet and stealthy, but they weren't actually invisible.

"Ha, so it's true, you two really are an item. Well I'll be damned, those dumbass cats were right."

Ryuu was the first to try and say something.

"Mama Mia, we can-"

"Quit your yapping. I know what you're here for, she's in there."

Ryuu and Bell both bowed quickly and began walking towards her room.

But Mama Mia wasn't done with them just yet. She saw the bags on their backs and knew that they had decided to leave Orario.

"Ryuu, be careful out there. And Bell, keep her safe."

Mama gave them both one of her signature grins before she went back to polishing her bottles.

This time, it was Bell who spoke.

"I will Mama Mia, I promise."

And with that, the two entered Anya's room.

She was sitting propped up against her head board on her bed. She looked fine. Her visible injuries had all but been healed. Apparently Mama Mia had spared no expense to get Anya healed up.

Her emotional state was a lot less stable however. As soon as she saw Bell and Ryuu standing there, bags packed and ready, she instantly knew what was happening, and her eyes began to water.

"I'm glad you're both nyokay. Thank you for coming and seeing me before you left. Don't worry I'm gonna be okay nya."

Anya couldn't help it anymore though, tears started rolling down her face at the thought of imminently losing Ryuu.

"I'm really gonna miss nya though."

Ryuu began to cry too. She went over to Anya and grabbed her by the hand. This act alone caused Anya's face to light up in shock.

"I'm gonna miss you too Anya. Thank you for saving me….. for saving us."

Ryuu brought both her and Anya's hands down to her stomach and let Anya process what she meant by that. It took the cat girl a few more seconds before she realized what Ryuu meant but when she did, she jolted up and grabbed Ryuu, hugging her tightly.

"Of course Ryuu. I'll always be there for you."

When they parted Anya looked over at Bell and gave him a smirk.

"Next time I see you two, I wanna see fifty of them running around. And one of them should be named after me nya!"

Bell began blushing wildly as Ryuu rolled her eyes at the ridiculous number.

"Are you ready?"

They were outside of the gates of Orario. Bell had told no one from his Familia of where he was going, and the only two people in Orario who knew they were even leaving were Mama Mia and Anya, and even they didn't know an exact location.

Nobody would be able to find them.

Bell held his hand out to Ryuu as they faced away from the great labyrinth city of Orario.

Ryuu looked at Bell and took his hand into her own.

"Ready"

With their backs turned to Orario, and with not a single soul knowing there destination, Bell and Ryuu began their long journey towards their new home together. Hand in hand.

Well I would say reviews were positive. So here you guys go, the finale of my First Arc.

I should clarify that when I said "I had most of the story done" I meant I had most of it planned out. Not Written down lol. Sorry for any confusion. It'll be a while before the full vision of this story comes to fruition. But the goal is to have it done by around August. Hope that's okay. To make up for it, I will tell you the names of the 2 final arcs.

Arc 1: Beauty Arc

Arc 2: Vengance Arc

Arc 3: Justice Arc

Do with that information as you please. Before I get to writing "Vengance" down, I plan to go through the "Beauty Arc" and do some rewrites and add that long awaited lemon in so this story finally becomes the M rating I promised so long ago….

Ahhh, I'm just so embarrassed to publish it. Oh well, it was gonna happen sooner or later.

I really can't believe this whole thing started because of a meme on Reddit. Life is crazy sometimes.

As always constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Until we meet again,

CGQ