Hey guys! I finally was able to get in my account after a while. I want to apologize to everyone for the two week wait. I hope you all keep reading the series since I plan to make more chapters. So, enjoy the chapter!
When they reached the 18 floor, it returned to its nice and peaceful environment. Though they were there to witness what happened, all the girls had a look of ease on their face. It's like the fight there never happened. Bell though, started to remember everything that happened. His body was shaking as he remembered the fear, pain, and sadness that he experienced. Flashes of the beast attacking, adventurers dying, people running. He suddenly dropped to his knees. The others were shocked by his sudden movement.
"Are you alright?" Aiz asked. He couldn't hear her. All he heard was the screams of the adventurers and the roar of the black Goliath.
"Bell! Is everything alright?!" Aiz asked, with some fear evident. Tiona tried shaking him, but the same look stayed on his face.
"We need to get him some help" Tione said. Aiz then picked him up and they all ran towards Rivira.
When they got there, they ran into Bors, the leader of the town. He was surprised to not only see the Loki familia, but one of the adventurers from the Black Goliath attack.
"Bors, can you help him out?" Tiona asked.
"Yeah, what's up?" He asked.
"Our friend suddenly began to freak out when we got to this floor" Tione explained. After some thought, Bors understood what had happened. Bell probably developed a case of PTSD from the horrible things that he experienced rom the incident. Seeing the floor again brought back those memories.
"I think I know what's up with him. You should take back to the surface and try to make him relax" Bors explained. They then proceeded to carry Bell through the dungeon and back to the manor. When they got there, they went to his room and set him down on his bed. He still had a look as though he was in a nightmare.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Tiona asked.
"I hope so" Aiz responded. Soon, the girls had to leave and Aiz volunteered to stay with him. When they left, Aiz looked back at Bell.
"Please be okay" Aiz whispered as she held his hand.
Inside of his head, Bell felt as though he was in hell. There was blood, corpses, and screams everywhere around him. The Goliath rampaged, making more of those appear. He also saw Lili and Hestia running away from the monster.
"Lili! Goddess!" Bell yelled reaching for them. Before he could, the Goliath brought down its fist and crushed both of them, blood poured out from under it. Then, he heard screams that sounded like Lili and Hestia.
"It's all your fault!" They cried, "You are the reason we are dead!"
"No... I-it's not true!" Bell yelled.
"You were just a coward, desperate to be a hero!" They continued to scream.
"No….No….Noooooooo!" Bell screamed as he felt himself be sucked in by the floor.
"No!" Bell yelled as he suddenly got up. He looked around to see he was in his room.
"It… was just a dream" he told himself. When he tried to get out, he felt something on his lap. He looked down to see Aiz was laying there, asleep. His face quickly turned tomato red.
"What is she doing?" Bell thought while also trying to think of how to get out.
"As long as no one enters, I should be fine" Bell said to himself. Just as he said that, the door opened to show Lefiya entering.
"Miss Aiz, I was wondering if you could.." She was saying when she actually looked in the room. She saw Aiz laying down on Bell's lap while he was sitting up.
…
The room filled with an awkward silence. After a few seconds, Lefiya broke it.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH MISS AIZ?!" She yelled in anger.
"It's not what you think!" Bell said, trying to explain. Before Lefiya could say something, Aiz woke up and looked at both of them.
"Bell? Lefiya? Why are you guys yelling?" She asked while suppressing a yawn. Lefiya quickly dismissed it and walked out. Aiz then looked at Bell.
"You're awake. Are you feeling better?" Aiz asked.
"What do you mean?" Bell asked, as he doesn't remember what had happened after going to floor 18.
"You suddenly dropped to your knees and had a terrified look on your face" She explained while curious on what was happening to him. Bell pieced two and two together to realize he must had a panic attack.
"What happened to you?" Aiz finally asked.
"I just remembered horrible things that happened there" Bell quietly said, trying not to give too much away. Aiz wanted to know more so she could help him, but she realized it would be rude to pester him about it.
"Try to relax for now. You should come down later to eat" Aiz said and then promptly left the room. Bell laid down and began to think.
"Will I have to go through that every time I enter Floor 18?" He thought worryingly. Soon, his exhaustion caught up and he fell asleep.
Aiz was walking to her room when she was cornered by Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya.
"Oh, do you guys need something?" Aiz asked.
"We wanted to talk about the new kid, Bell" Tione said while pulling Aiz into her room. They all sat down in a circle.
"So Tiona, What your thoughts?" Aiz asked.
"I think he's really cool and brave. He took on monsters like the Minotaur and Goliath even though they were stronger" Tiona said with sparkles emitting from her face.
"The kid does have guts. He also is surprisingly polite, as he did apologize extensively for seeing us bathe" Tione remarked.
"That human disgusts me. We give him hospitality and he peeps at us like a creep. He also has a perverted look on his face every time he looks at a girl. He is the worst!" Lefiya said with a disgusted expression. The others felt as though she may have been exaggerating about him.
"So Aiz, What do you think about him?" Tiona asked.
"Well, you guys are right how he is brave, yet polite. He also is very determined to become strong and he works hard to reach that goal. I admire all those aspects as those should be the qualifications for a true adventurer" Aiz said with a small smile forming with every word. Tiona and Tione smiled while Lefiya was shocked by how she said she "admired" him.
"Should we go eat now?" Tiona asked after her stomach grumbled. They agreed and made their way to the great hall. They sat down with Finn, Riveria, and Gareth who were having a conversation.
"What took you all so long?" Gareth asked after noticing them.
"We were just talking about Bell" Aiz replies while nibbling on a piece of bread.
"Ah yes, there are some things I would like to ask about him like his type of weapon and skills" Finn said. Almost ironically, Bell showed up at the table right after he said that.
"Speak of the devil, we were just talking about you" Riveria said with a small chuckle. As Bell sat down, he was immediately bombarded by questions.
"What level are your basic abilities? Tell me more about your weapon? What skills do ya have? Is your armor custom made to match your looks?" The questions came faster than Bell could answer them.
"Um.. well… only…no" Bell attempted but only got out one word responses.
"Sorry for so many questions, how about you just tell us about your weapon?" Finn compromised.
"Well, my main weapon is the Hestia Knife. It was a special gift from the my goddess" Bell explained while taking it out. As usual, it was completely jet black and covered in markings. While most of the group looked in curiosity, Riveria was able to translate some parts of it.
"Wait, it says something about life and growth with user" Riveria pointed out.
"My goddess said that it was alive and as I got stronger, it would get stronger" Bell explained. That shocked the group as the idea of a living blade seemed absurd, even for them.
"No way, only the gods can do that" Aiz said quietly. Before any of them could say more, Bell pulled out his other weapon.
"This is the Ushiwakamaru, a blade made from the horn of the Minotaur I fought on Floor 9" Bell continued with a chuckle.
"What?! It's from the monster we saw you take down?!" Tiona exclaimed. The others were quite surprised.
"It was made by my blacksmith as a symbol of our friendship" He continued with his smile increasing. Aiz also smiled by how it was proof of the bond they share. As part of the compromise, they didn't ask anymore questions and ate while making small talk. Afterwards, they all headed to their rooms to turn in for the night. Bell fell asleep the second as he laid down on his bed.