Intermission IV

One month later…

The noon sun was out in all its glory. Its gleaming light shone in the cloudless sky. Despite its beauty, the heat was hideous. With no clouds or wind, the air was coated in overwhelming concentrations of hot air. To go outside on a day like this would be the equal of self-inflicted pain. There was one boy, however, who was determined to do what he must to reach his goal.

Light and pure white hair was coated in sweat. The pale face had become closer in color to his red eyes due to the harsh temperatures. The boy panted and deeply breathed in and out exhausted as the sun blared onto him. What made the situation even poorer was that he stood atop a tall stone structure. A tall brick wall encircling the famed city. There was no shade or escape from the hellish sun, but the boy had more pressing concerns.

Ding!

Bell raised Ushiwakamaru, the red knife made of minotaur horn to block Aiz's forward strike. He then pulled back and launched himself while low to the ground trying to bypass Aiz's longsword while attacking with the black Hestia Knife. Aiz, however, did not give Bell enough time and swung down forcing Bell to rapidly break his movement on his heels. Unbalanced, Bell shouted as he raised his left arm.

"Fireb-"

Swoosh.

Bell was cut off from being able to cast his chantless spell. Aiz's longsword was pointed directly at his neck. The calm golden eyes stared directly into Bell. Then, in a soft yet domineering voice, the blonde warrior spoke.

"I win."

"R-right. I guess you're still too fast for me."

"No."

"Eh?"

"You did good. That attack was smart, but you forgot to block while casting your spell."

"Ah, I see. The heat must be getting to me."

Bell leaned his back to the wall of the castle placing his elbows on the crenel of the fortification. The white-haired boy looked up at the clear and illuminated sky and gave a long blink. He breathed deeply in and out in order to catch his breath. The sweat on his face was essentially a shower at this point.

"I think that's enough for today. Thanks, Aiz."

"Right."

The blonde swordswomen seemed to stare at Bell for a few seconds. Bell noticed this and became flustered.

"Oh, u-uh, you can go. I need to catch my breath."

Aiz nodded then sheathed her sword. Bell watched as she walked away on the castle walls. As he looked up at the calm sky he thought about how glad he was to be so close to Aiz. It was because of her that Bell had lived. It was because of her that Bell was able to learn. It was because of her that Bell had something to strive for in his life.

Turning around to look at the outside of Orario, Bell looked at the dirt-path that led to the main city gate. It was just yesterday that he and Aiz returned from Edas Village after Hestia had been kidnapped. Yet another reason Bell was glad to have Aiz in his life. His calm and restful thoughts were soon interrupted.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?"

A high-pitched feminine shout. It was coming from beyond the wall's tower to Bell's right. Ignoring the sweat and heat, Bell rushed over to where the shouting was coming from. To him, it sounded like someone was being hurt. As he neared closer to the noise, he heard another voice.

"There is nothing wrong with my method."

'Something is definitely up.'

The second voice was a male's. It was cold yet clear and precise. Bell connected the dots quickly. A desperate female and an unconcerned male. He hastened his pace and as he approached the tower, he prepared to burst through the two archways on the tower dividing the ramparts. Then, Bell suddenly stopped.

"How does this help me!? Y-you were supposed to train me, but all we've done is your stupid exercising for an entire month! Everyone laughed at me because I couldn't turn up to the battle with Rakia!"

Bell had got it wrong. This wasn't a crime or someone being hurt, it was an unruly student being impatient. His curiosity piqued, Bell quietly made his way over to the side of the arch of the round tower. He heard a response to the student as he peeked his head over the ledge.

"Your movements are unbalanced and unrefined. Your body lacks coordination. If you cannot control your physical state then you will fail to use a weapon."

"Give me a weapon! I'll go to the dungeon myself if you won't let me!"

Bell watched the scene before him unfold. The one trying to teach his student had an ominous appearance. His entire attire was black save for the silver lining and froggings on his closed jacket. His hair was equally dark; the tufts above his forehead were swept to the right in a well groomed manner while his top was slightly messier but still swept to the right. Attached to the belt wrapped over his jacket at the waist was a long curved scabbard at his left and a narrow shorter scabbard to his right. The pale hands were partially covered by black fingerless gloves.

Bell had a sense of deja vu. This appearance was familiar. He remembered having an impression from something similar, but he couldn't quite remember. Thinking to himself, he then remembered. This was one of the people he asked Eina about out of curiosity.

'What were they called again? It started with an 'H.' H…He…Heman? No… Hecate! Hecate Familia!'

Bell then remembered. Eina had said that they were a very small familia, though the two members they had were quite skilled and thus the familia was given a D rank. Due to the small size, the guild had given them permission to have more than 50% of non-familia members on expeditions so long as no adventurer was of equal or higher level to the highest ranking member of Hecate Familia. Apparently the group also ran a reputable business. Bell remembered going there after his talk with Eina out of curiosity, but back then he obviously couldn't afford any of the items.

In the public records he had been allowed to look through, he remembered a level six and a level four. The alias' had also left an impression on the then green and inexperienced Bell. 'Reaper' and 'Shadow': those were the aliases. He remembered when he was supposed to get his first alias. The aliases of Hecate Familia had left a false impression on Bell that all adventurers received cool and heroic aliases.

'So that is Reaper…'

The name certainly fit the appearance. Anyone who wore that much black would quickly be associated with something dark like death. Bell, however, did not recognize the student. Her short height made it clear that she was a prum, just like Lily. She had short lime-green hair which ran down the sides of her face in the form of two small pigtails. She wore a short blue dress with a cropped, loose, white short-sleeve top. She was sweating and panting hard as she yelled at her mentor.

Bell was not very intrigued. He wondered why someone like the so-called Reaper would be teaching what appeared to be a very inexperienced adventurer. Bell watched as the scene unfolded.

"Do you believe that just because you are level two that you can go to the dungeon on your own? The ability to stab a harmless low level monster with a weapon means nothing. I will take you to the dungeon and give you your weapon once I believe you have the physical potential to do so."

'A level two not being allowed into the dungeon? That's odd.'

Bell wondered why someone would not allow a level two student to fight even the most simple of monsters. Bell himself had gone on his own without any training, though it was true he almost died. Perhaps the mentor had a point, though that would only apply if the prum was a level one.

"But I'm level two! You can at least let me on the upper floors!"

"You are level two only because you served Ishtar Familia as a supporter and reserve for five years. Your status comes as a result of slow growth from a staggered moment where you never actually experienced combat. Perhaps you need to be shown why you must control your movement and body before you handle a weapon."

His harsh eloquence awed Bell. Such a tone of speaking was certainly intimidating while also being clear and direct. Aiz rarely spoke during Bell's training with her. She would give advice and help him when necessary, but she was never as direct as this person. Bell was now more curious than ever and wondered what type of demonstration the high-tier adventurer would give. His expectations were subverted when Reaper turned towards the arch Bell was peeking through.

In an intimidating walk, the swordsman donned in black approached the tower. Bell moved his head to behind the cover of the tower so as to not be seen, but avoiding a high-class adventurer was not so simple. The tapping of the boots on the stone ground got louder and louder and began to echo as Reaper entered the tower. Bell pressed himself against his side of the curved wall in hopes of being not detected. As expected, it did not work.

"You seem to be quite interested in my lecture. Perhaps you would like to be part of my demonstration."

The voice did not warm up at all. It remained toneless and domineering. Bell looked at the archway he was hiding beside and saw the fearsome first-class adventurer up close. As he stood before Bell, the latter could see in more clear detail how intimidating Reaper looked. First and foremost was the height: Reaper was at least 10 celches taller than Bell. Next were the weapons on either side of his belt. Both had curved hilts with the sabre having a full handguard while the short and linear sword had a hollow hemispherical guard. The light green eyes that contrasted from his attire had the cold stare of death.

This was certainly not an ideal situation. Bell had been caught eavesdropping and was now face to face with someone who looked very unforgiving on any issue. Bell was unsure what to do in such a position. It was true that he was eavesdropping, so helping with a demonstration would be the nice thing to do… though there was one problem.

'Bad bad bad… this guy looks like he's going to kill me!'

Bell was given no more time to think on the issue.

"Well then, are you going to help me?"

There was now more sweat running down the back of Bell's already sweaty neck. The boy struggled to get the words out to answer such a simple request.

"Y-y-yes…"

'Shit! Why'd I say yes?!'

The intimidation had gotten to Bell. There was no going back now. He had to partake in a demonstration. Bell was given no more time to regret his sudden choice.

"Follow me."

Taking a deep breath, Bell followed him through the tower and onto the other rampart. Glancing over at the prum, he noticed her turquoise eyes were squinting at him. Then her eyebrows suddenly flicked up as her small hands pointed at Bell.

"E-eh!? That's him, that's Little Rookie!"

Bell had certainly become somewhat of a celebrity amongst the adventurers of Orario. This was particularly true for newcomers and lower level adventurers who were inspired by his feats. Bell couldn't help but shyly wave at the lime-haired prum. He had also earned a sizable amount of animosity and jealousy. Apart from these two polar opposite opinions, some were simply not interested in the Little Rookie.

"And what of it?"

Charon certainly seemed to give off that aura to Bell.

"Yes, he managed to reach level three within only around a quarter of a year since starting, though that means he has less than a half-years worth of experience. I will show you what I mean, my student."

The tone taken when Reaper addressed his student was very threatening. To Bell, it sounded like he was about to be murdered. He then saw the light green eyes focus on his being. It was like they were peering into his soul and trying to find something in his body. He then saw the gloved hands move towards both curved handles on Reapers' sides. Fearing that he might be suddenly attacked as a part of the so-called 'demonstration,' Bell reached for his two knives. Reaper noticed these movements and called it out.

"Wait."

Bell froze his arms. Reaper's hands which were beside the curved handles on his swords reached to the base of both scabbards. Ding! Both swords, tucked in their respective scabbards, hit the ground making the sound of metal on the stone floor. Reaper was facing Bell at a distance of less than a hundred celch without any weapons on him.

"Attack me. Don't restrain yourself."

"H-h-huh!?"

Bell was baffled. He was being told to attack an unarmed person by said unarmed person. Bell wasn't quite sure what Reaper's intentions were. Seeing this, the latter made things clear.

"Attack me. This is a duel. My weapon will be my body."

The cold tone was completely serious. Reaper intended to defeat Bell without using a single weapon. Bell was quite unsure about this. Without a weapon, Bell might make a mistake then accidentally cause a serious injury. Bell saw Reaper take a stance such that the left foot was pointed towards Bell while the other was pointed to the side, placing the body at an angle. Both the arms were tucked behind the back with the hands meeting each other around the rear-end area.

"You may begin when ready."

'He's not joking…'

Bell wondered whether or not he should actually go all out on an unarmed opponent. On the other hand, this was a first-class adventurer who would likely be fine against Bell. Taking a deep breath, Bell decided he would embark on one more practice spar for the morning. With the Hestia Knife in his right hand in a standard grip and Ushiwakamaru in the other hand with a reverse grip, Bell raised his arms into a ready position.

His opponent wasn't moving, simply standing still in that stance. Understanding that he was being told to make the first move, Bell bent his knees and launched himself forward. As he burst through the air, Bell crossed his arms so that both knives would be attacking in a parallel position. He didn't even get close to his opponent.

The black figure in front of Bell simply jumped back diagonally and landed on his feet. Bell did not have enough speed to reach him in the leap and was forced to land, though the distance between the two combatants was now closer. Bell advanced forward; this time his feet stayed on the ground. With each slash and stab Bell attempted with his knife, Reaper simply moved his entire body and kept on maintaining the distance.

Bell was starting to get frustrated. No matter what he did, Reaper seemed to be able to predict every move and direction. This was nothing like fighting Aiz who would always fight by victory through confrontation. Bell's current opponent, however, seemed to be much more passive and calculating. The white-haired boy consistently found himself not having enough reach and expending more energy to try and hopelessly get a blow.

This pattern of attack and miss continued on for around three minutes. Bell was starting to sweat more and more thanks to the combination of blistering heat and being dragged around. Ever so antagonized by his opponent's style of combat, Bell raised his left arm and shouted.

"Firebolt!"

In an instant flash, a ball of pure volatile heat shot forward from Bell's hand. The concentration of raw energy made its way towards Reaper faster than Bell's physical being could ever hope to. The boy had finally realized what he had forgotten. Reaper didn't have a weapon; in other words, he had no way to block instant-chant magic. Bell watched heavily anticipating for his magic to make its impact unopposed.

"Acheron Aktina."

And with a chant equally as quick as the Little Rookie's firebolt, Reaper shot a quick and briefly continuous arc of flashing green lightning from the fingertips on his left hand. As the response traveled through the air, Bell's opponent then returned his left arm to behind his back. The flashing and sparkling ray almost instantly impacted the ball of fire mid air. Bell was completely caught off guard. This was the first person the inexperienced adventurer had met who also had chantless magic. The surprise didn't stop there.

The green ray appeared to wrap itself around the ball of fire while the latter sent out wisps of white heat into the air. Within fractions of a second, this strange interaction became more and more extreme as the green lightning condensed its volatile hold letting sparks fly into the atmosphere. The blazing ball of fire seemed to send out more dangerous wisps of fire as the area continued to condense.

'What the hell?'

Bell was flabbergasted. Normally two spells colliding would either cancel eachother out instantly or would maintain a prolonged engagement at the discretion of the casters. In this case, however, both he and Reaper had already withdrawn their control over their magic. The spells seemed to be fighting each other on their own. Looking to Reaper, Bell saw those green eyes squint in confusion and curiosity. A high-pitched feminine voice called from behind Bell.

"C-C-Charon, what is that!?"

'Charon, that must be Reaper's name…'

As Bell was finally told his opponent's name, the magical phenomenon reached its breaking point. At the last moment, Bell noticed Charon's deathly green eyes widen from confusion to realization. Charon quickly leaped back from the center of contact which had been closer to him than Bell.

The fire and green lighting appeared to push and pull each other until the spells finally blended. With the sound of cackling sparks and roaring fire, a shrill echo could be heard piercing the air. This was soon followed by an spherical explosion of sparkling green fire. An electrical shockwave blasted through the air in a circle spreading its effect. .

This sudden blast knocked the boy onto one knee. As the wave of green sparks and bolts passed through his body, he felt sudden pain. His chest cramped up and felt like it had been burned with a hot iron. The pain was so effective on his nerves that Bell let out a groan from his mouth as he clutched his chest and hunched over. After a few seconds, the pain subsided allowing for Bell to finally breathe calmly.

'W-what was that!?'

Bell was seriously shocked. He had never seen any explosion or magical occurrence of such a manner as had just happened. The explosion that occurred between the two spells was nothing like Welf's Will O' Wisp. That spell created a fire-like reaction no matter what magic it was countering. In this case, it was like the two spells had merged thus leading to an explosion..

Bell was finally able to stand back up. As he did so, he saw Charon standing exactly where had jumped to previously. The first-class adventurer was glaring at where the center of explosion had taken place. He appeared to be in deep thought as his right hand rubbed his chin while his left arm was crossed across the front of his torso. It appeared that Bell's opponent was just as confused as he.

Bell observed as Charon began to walk towards his direction. Behind him, Bell could hear a faint whimpering. Getting back on his feet, Bell turned around to see the female prum hunched forward and clenching her chest. She appeared to be biting hard on her own teeth as if in great pain.

"Oi! Are you okay?"

"I-it hurts…"

The voice was very frail and feeble. Bell could see tears forming at the corner of the girl's eyes as she quivered. Sheathing his knives, Bell began to approach her very gently with the intent of helping her. Before he could get close enough, however, he felt someone grab his shoulder.

"There's no need to bother. It's just a little pain."

'A… little?'

Bell couldn't believe what he was hearing. Wasn't this person supposed to be helping the prum learn and become a stronger adventurer? Why was he so negligent towards her thoughts and needs? Bell wouldn't accept this, even if he didn't know the full context. The prum was crying in pain and needed someone to help. If Charon would not let Bell save someone, even from something so unfatal, then Bell would fight.

Bell pushed the hand that was grabbing his shoulder away as he turned to face towards his opponent. That cold and disinterested face with those bleak green eyes; it pissed Bell off. It emanated an aura of someone who truly was not interested in helping or comforting others. Reaching down to his hips, Bell wrapped his fingers around the handles of his two knives. Charon's face cocked its left eyebrow up slightly.

"Very well, the fight will continue."

And just like that, their 'friendly' sparring match resumed. Bell immediately attacked as quickly as possible. He was no longer treating it as a mere spar. Charon reminded Bell too much of Bete Loga. Both seemed to go out of their way to deny help and support as if it were meaningless.

With the desire to help this prum, Bell put as much focus as possible in a forward dash. Leaping forward and bringing his arm back, Bell made a wide swing. Despite all motivation and will, Bell still failed to land a hit. Then, his opponent spoke.

"How interesting. Everything about your movement indicates you're trained to fight with a sword, yet your knife is a completely different weapon."

To Bell, those words made little sense to him. His face scrunched up as he tried to process the comment.

'I've almost always used a knife, so why is he saying I fight like I have a sword? Wait, he said my movement… is it because I trained with Aiz? She wields a sword so her technique must've rubbed off on me!'

Charon, seeing that Bell had thought over it, responded as if he knew exactly what the letter was thinking.

"Indeed, your footwork is one of a swordsman, but a knife is a much smaller weapon. I will demonstrate."

And just like that, Bell saw Charon dash up to him. The black-clothed body moved so smoothly and coordinated like it was dancing. Everything about the technique was perfect as the gloved hand chopped at Bell's left wrist in a manner too swift for the Little Rookie. Bell winced as Ushiwakamaru slipped out of his grasp.

Charon then twisted the rest of his body, elbowing Bell in the chest with his other arm. The power put behind the swing was shockingly powerful despite it appearing as a controlled strike. Bell was knocked away and stumbled as he tried to regain his footing. As he did so, Bell watched as Charon completed his spin then caught Ushiwakamaru by its handle right as it was falling to the ground.

Bell had now lost his only advantage in this fight. Charon now had one of his knives and clearly intended to use it. Bell saw the gloved hand take a reverse grip as Charon took his stance. This time, the left foot faced forward while his right faced to the side. The left arm was once more tucked behind the back. The right arm, which had Ushiwakamaru, went across the chest diagonally up to the left shoulder area. The reverse grip meant that the crimson red blade pointed at Bell.

Regaining his balance, Bell readied the Hestia knife. His opponent was still allowing him to make the initial blow. Bell had no other choice but to attack with his knife as Firebolt was rendered redundant by Charon's chantless magic. This time Bell would use every bit of experience and knowledge he had. There was no holding back.

Bell launched himself forward vertically. Instead of attacking directly, Bell intended to use his extremely high agility to force an opening. So far Charon appeared to fight rather passively and always used movement to drag out and exhaust Bell. If Bell went all in on a series of moving blows, he might be able to halt this strategy.

Bursting through the air, Bell zig zagged side to side by using his feet to bounce from the crenels on either side of the rampart. As Bell was about to bounce off the fortifications one last time, Charon stepped to his right. Bell was on the same side as the direction his opponent had moved. When he kicked off the side of the crenel, Charon suddenly pushed forward right into Bell's trajectory.

"GAH!"

Bell felt a powerful strike hit him right in the stomach. As if he had been slammed by a hammer, a shockwave of pain erupted in his body. Bell never even had a chance to ready his knife for a black. As his eyes drifted down, Bell saw Charon's left fist thrusted straight into his stomach. A few milliseconds later, the air left his body and flung backwards.

Thump thump thump.

Bell hit the ground back-first and rolled on the ground uncontrollably from the momentum. He ended up with his belly to the ground and with a great ache. Despite this, he still tried to stand up. As he began to push up, something flashed right in front of his eyes.

Thwp!

In front of his field of vision was a reflection of Bell on a red surface. Bell's red eyes were shocked wide by the sudden appearance of a red blade embedded into the ground he lay on. It was Ushiwakamaru. At that moment, he stopped trying to get up and saw a black figure approach his position. That same cold voice spoke out.

"How disappointing. I was unable to show you how to properly use your weapon. Your movements are fine but predictable. It's too easy to see your next move."

Had Charon known where Bell would strike? Was that why he was able to land a sudden punch to the gut? It must have been the case. Bell reflected to himself as he replayed through those events. Charon had perfect form. His body was always moving in an ideal form whether it was attacking or dodging. He also had a certain stance with his body that he would default to. Charon seemed to be able to do a variety of movements from that positioning.

A true master of technique. Even if they were the same level, Bell would have been crushed. He simply did not have enough long term experience in combat. Charon, on the other hand, moved and fought like he had been fighting intelligent beings for his entire life. It even made Bell wonder if this opponent would actually be able to take on his idol.

"Stand up."

Bell looked up at the face that matched the voice. Instead of looking at Bell, the face looked behind him. Charon was not talking to Bell. Bell saw the black boot walk around his body on the ground. After pushing himself up, he turned around to see what was happening. He saw the black figure crouching over the scrunched up body of the wincing prum. Then words were spoken.

"Great soothing river, grant me your gift. Allow me to bestow your calm grace. Let those you embrace rest in a forgetful sleep. Stagona Lithis!"

The hand hovering above the girl's head glowed with a light blue aura. Immediately, the lime-haired prum seemed to calm down. Her shivering stopped and her body loosened up. Her chest was still moving, though it looked like she was now sleeping. Her movement subsided and she was now calm.

Charon then turned his attention back to Bell. By now, Bell was on his knees observing Charon perform his magic. As the figure clothed in black turned around once more, he stared right into Bell eye to eye. Those green eyes hinted at observation and seemed to be processing some information. Then, the mouth opened.

"Do not mention a single word of our encounter today. If you do, I will expose your secret."

"Secret?"

Bell was genuinely confused. Apart from his feelings for Aiz, there was no big secret Bell was hiding. Perhaps it might be better if he could get Charon to elaborate. Before he could do so, however, Charon spoke again.

"I know why you are so strong, but don't let natural growth deceive you. Your power means nothing if you cannot apply it to its fullest. That is my final piece of advice for you."

And with those words, Charon picked up the two sheathed swords he had left on the ground earlier and reattached the scabbards to his belt. He then scooped up the sleeping prum in his arms and began walking away. He left without even taking a final glance back at Bell.