Chapter 18: The Beginning

After meeting the Goddess of Justice, the former goddess of his elven comrade Ryu, and one of the three most adored goddess in the whole Orario. Bell stood there motionless, not knowing what to say nor what to do.

Astrea on the other hand was smiling affectionately for the boy who's clearly confused and surprised. But this isn't the time to be just standing around so she decided to speak to break the silence.

"Excuse me, but could we please go out of the gates of Orario? And after that, please wear this special robe that can remove your presence and the color of your soul as if you're not there. To avoid any detection from anyone even a certain godess' eyesight..." She took the boy's hand and gave her a pleading look, asking him to believe her and obey her words.

"What should I do...? I know she's a very righteous goddess, a goddess who's absolutely good and will never trick him into doing anything but after my experiences recently, I can't help but doubt any deity I came across with..." His head sank while thinking deeply.

Still doubting the goddess in front of him, Bell was about to shook his head until a very soft hand landed on his head and starts patting him gently, as if cleansing all of his doubts he has on his heart.

"It's alright, I know the hardship and the sorrow you felt before leaving your former goddess who's also a friend of mine, and I do apologize for her. We gods are no perfect being despite being above everything else, we make mistakes, we toy childrens around and sometimes, make them our slaves. We never learn, because of our immortality, we never felt limited by our time that's why we never evolve and become better, but..." She then proceeded to cuff Bell's face with both of her hands and gently lifts it up to match her gaze. "I promise you, I won't do anything to harm you so please, follow my lead..."

Bell was moved to tears, this is the first time ever that he felt so safe, too safe that even though he is not his goddess, he instinctively replied "Yes, Kami-sama..!" while wiping his teary eyes.

The two of them went out of the main gate and went to the right side of the wall outside. Astrea then handed over a simipar robe she's currently wearing but the color of the robe she gave Bell was the opposite of the color she's wearing, Black.

"Ryu-san was right... You're very perfect in every aspect, you are as kind as a loving mother and your arms are like giant wings that warms up anything it envelops... That's why she adored you so much that she still carries out her duty as your child by defeating evil adventurers even though she herself is saying that "I'm not worthy of bringing up the word 'Justice' anymore"..." He said while smiling radiantly at the goddess in front of him which she returned in kind before asking him who's this Ryu that he's talking about.

Bell explained who she is from her race up to her former Alias and rank as an adventurer. This surprised Astrea because even though they've already parted ways, she still continues to serve her and take her will on doing what's just and right.

"I see... Then, could you please tell me more about her? I really really miss her and I do want to meet her again as soon as possible but that would be impossible..." She said solemnly.

"Don't worry, Kami-sama. I'm sure you'll meet each other again, and I also know where she works as a waitress everyday so please don't lose hope, I think you can reunite with her anytime from now on... And if it's okay with you, I can help you go to her." He took both of her hands which surprised the goddess.

"Thank you Bell... Then if you don't mind. I have a proposal to you..." She closed her eyes and held his hand tighter, wishing for his agreement to her proposal. She gulped one more time before finally asking the boy. "Would you like to join my Familia? Bell?"

Freya's Throne Room

Freya's POV.

Anger. That's all I could feel throughout my whole body, mind and soul. It was filled with anger and sorrow after he left this city. I clearly saw it with my own two eyes, how his colored disappeared from the northern gate of Orario.

"Is something wrong my lady...?" My beloved Ottarl asked me and I could hear and feel his worries for the sudden shift in my mood. I can't blame him though since this is the first time ever I've felt this kind of feeling in millenium.

"Don't worry, I'm just saddened by the actions that my Bell-kun took. Hestia's at fault too for acting bitchy here and there, saying whatever comes to her mind first... Wait, does she have a mind in the first place...? Well, not that I care..." I said while placing my glass of untouched wine to the table beside my seat.

"I see, so he decided to leave Orario, abandon his career as an adventurer and hero..."

"strange. That's what came into my mind when I heard his voice full of disappointment for someone for the first time. I guess he also sensed the limitless potential that child holds when he trained him with Loki's childs before his War Game."

"How unusual, this is the first time you sounded disappointed, would you please tell me as of why?" I asked my child.

I loved him in every way, from his meek and quiet demeanor to his fierce and superior fighting capabilities that no one can match. The only thing I dislike about him is how he's so obedient on me to the point that he's not even under my charm.

"Maybe because I somehow felt a sense of rivalry from him from not just your love but rivalry on who's going to be the strongest. Since I saw with my own two eyes how his progress can be terrifying when he puts his all on pushing forward..."

I see, so that's why he's watching that boy with fires on his eyes during their fight against Apollo's childs.

"Aahhh... I want to see him again soon... And make him MINE..."

Outside City Walls.

Bell's POV.

I don't know what answer should I give Astrea-sama, sure I don't mind being her child and starting Astrea Familia again but being an adventurer again will surely remind me on how I got toyed by these gods. But as if knowing what's inside my mind, Astrea-sama again erased all of my doubts as she places her hands on my shoulders while looking at me, straight into the eyes.

"I can see that you're still having doubts... Pain and suffering can bind us and limits the decision we make. So if you don't mind... Would you please share me what's that lingering darkness that's shrouding your heart? What pain you had to endure for a strong person like you to stop moving forward...?"

I can feel her concern from every angle, I can genuinely say that she's absolutely worried about me that's why I trusted her and shared all of my happy and painful experience during my life under Hestia.

But after finishing my story, I noticed the look on her face. She's wondering about something or someone that's why I decided to ask her on what's bothering her.

"Nothing special... It's just that this girl you call Aki, it seems like she's a very special person to you. Someone you don't want to be separated, I can feel that you want her to be on your side all the time no matter what happens..." She explained while placing a hand on her chin thinking very hard and trying to understand what our relationship are but when she came up with an answer, it blew me away since I never noticed that I'm describing her as something like that.

"Um... Do you love her by any chance?"

Her question stopped the world itself.

I don't know the answer but I can clearly say that "No" is not my answer. She holds a very special place in my heart that no one can ever fill up, even though we had a very short time together. We became closer than normal friends should be, our relationship is not family like but also not friends like. It's more like of...

"of what exactly...? " I asked myself.

Do I love her? If yes, since when? How come I did not realize it the moment it happened? Is this the reason why I'm so sad parting from her that I almost went back earlier just to say everything I wanna say to her?

"I... I-"

"Bell" Astrea-sama then interrupted me by placing her index finger in front of my lips, signaling that I should stop and just relax.

"Love comes around unexpectedly, sometimes. We never realize it until someone makes us do. I too have experienced that kind of feeling back then... Although I never saw him again after a certain event and will probably not meet him until the end of the humanity but I'm sure he feels the same way I do for him even though we are pollar opposites..." She explained while looking at the cloudy sky as if looking for someone.

After hearing her words, I decided to recall all of our memories together. Short it maybe but it was very special and the more I dug into it, the more my heart beat keeps getting faster and faster. My heart is screaming her name and my mind was filled with the image of her beautiful smile.

"I see... I'm not just in love with her, I'm madly in love with her. The first time I saw her wonderful smile was the moment she took my heart from me... I never realized it until now. Thank you Kami-sama for letting me know..."

I resolved myself and steeled my resolution, accepting Astrea-sama's offer to become her children but before bestowing me her Falna and the mark of Justice, she asked me to accompany her to a place where a friend of her resides.

We walked to the right side further until she stopped and called out to someone named Fels, a door then opened from the city walls and showed us the passage that goes underground. It was a very dark pathl and the walls were covered in sacred lettering. We then reached a seemingly dead end until the letters glowed and the wall in front of us disappeared and beyond that, a dark room with the throne in the middle of it presented itself unto us.

"We are here, Bell."

After stepping inside the dark room, I noticed the torch beside the throne in the middle to be very eerie, a very strong presence then covered the whole room before a voice of an old man echoed.

"Welcome, young adventurer, my name is Ouranus. The god who offers prayer to the dungeon to keep the monsters from going out of Babel."

Next Day.

Normal POV.

After hearing everything from Ouranus and Astrea, Bell accepted their offer to become a secret agent working solely for maintaining the peace in Orario, since they don't want to repeat the tragedy that happened to Orario 7 years ago that was caused by a god named Erebus who commanded hundred thousands of adventurers to turn Orario into a living hell.

"Kami-sama, why am I not allowed to reveal myself to even one of my dearest friend or to my... To Aki...?"

"Because it will defeat the purpose of our existence being a surprise for the remnants of Evilus, even I want to go and hug my Ryu but it will only cause ruckus and will result on her getting arrested by the guild... Oh I forgot about this yesterday but I've updated your status and here it is."

Bell Cranel

Level 3

Str: H 108

Dex: I 78

Agi: H 164

Mag: I 69

Magic:

Firebolt: Quick trigger no-chant fire and lightning magic.

Skills:

Liaris Freese: Stronger feelings and resolve results in rapid growth.

Argonaut: Charge skill and can be triggered by charging up the user's excilia as well as the ones around him. Can be used to turn hopeless situations to your favor.

Blood of Jupiter: Enables the user to easily learn and use any old type lightning magic with little mind consumption.

Can also unlock the true potential of Falna after reaching a specific level.

After taking a look in his status, Bell could not believe what he just saw. The skill called Blood of Jupiter was something he saw in one of the picture books his grandpa used to make. The skill of the strongest hero to ever exist in mankind's history, the skill Argonaut posses.

"K-Kami-sama... Is this real? I mean, I don't doubt you since you've been doing this for so long but I can't believe I have a skill that only Argonaut was known to posses..!" Bell said with eyes wide.

Truth to be told, Astrea herself could not believe what she just saw yesterday when she updated his status after engraving her falna to his back but after consulting Ouranus, she began to understand what this is.

Flash Back

Guild Under Ground (Throne Room)

"Ouranus... What is this? I can't believe a child like him who's so young and pure have a skill with tremendous potential like this... Is this why you want to keep him around?" She demanded to the god sitting on the throne.

Ouranus did not waste anytime and told her everything he knew from what he saw with his divine vision.

It turns out that Argonaut was not the only heroic spirit that reside in his body but the spirit of the 'Sword Champion' Albert was also living in him, supporting his growth and such.

"I see, so this is why other gods was so fascinated on him including Freya..." The goddess of justice sighed after hearing his explanation.

"That's right, that's the reason I had Fels to prepare a special concealing robe for you and him, to escape her detection.

"I see, thank you. I'll be going now" Astrea then left his chamber and made her way back to their secret home in Daedalus street where they can hide and where they won't attract any attention.

End of flash back.

"Yes it is, and also please prepare yourself, we'll head out of Orario and go to a village not too far from here. I have an appointment with someone."

Hearing his goddess' words, Bell immediately wore his brown coat and robe before leaving their home, heading to the northern gate of the city.

After walking for some few hours, they've finally reached a small village and went to a small hut at the edge of it.

"Hello? Are you there?" The beautiful goddess knocked at the wooden door.

A man suddenly emerged which surprised Bell, not only his appearance was odd but his way of speaking was also very unfamiliar to him.

"Yahoo! Chan-Astrea! Yes I'm here, and I've just finished repairing and modifying the weapon you had Fels ma bro deliver yesterday!" The weird man with black eye glasses and hakama said in what Bell can only call 'Cheerful manner'.

"Oh I see, Is it him who's going to wield this baby?" He asked the goddess who looks tired and stresses for some reason.

Astrea nodded at him, after that. He started to inspect the boy from every angle and nodded to himself while saying 'I understand' repeatedly.

"One final last saigono thing! But before that, may I ask your name? Young hero?" He smiled at him as he snaps his fingers before pointing them out to the white headed boy.

"My name is Bell Cranel."

"NAAAARUHOODO! My name is O-Etsu Nihmaya! yoroshikyu! And now for the final thing, please pull out a strand of your hair and I'll add it into the sword" he extended his left hand while smiling deviously.

He then observed him, as he picks up a hair before handing it to him.

"Okay, follow me. This will be a quick adjustment to the weapon you'll be wielding soon Cranel-chan. And I also need your cooperation on this so ya better not mess up or I'll hammer your head."

O-Etsu picked up his forging tools and placed them in his bag before heading to the back of his house, there. The two saw a very huge lake with a very beautiful scenery on it.

"Time to work..!" He took off his white shirt and removed his glasses before tying up his hair. Bell was so surprised when he saw his back with Hephaestus' falna engraved on it.

A few seconds later and the blacksmith signaled the young boy to come to him.

"Shounen, this sword is you. This sword represents the user's power and becomes an extention of the adventurer who has his hair in it and in this case, it's you. But the final part is where you will see how powerful your weapon and you will be. You need to plunge it down to the lake and see how much water it needs to cool down. The more water it dries up, the more powerful the user and the weapon is. But you won't be able to tell the difference if you just look at the lake since it's so vast and deep so you have to just try it out after cooling it off. Now go! Plunge the blade into the lake!" He pushed Bell's back which made him stumble a bit before placing the blade unto the water.

But what happened after that was something that shocked all three of them.

The lake became so dry that not even a drop of water can be seen and the crimson blade became a silver with sacred lettering engraved on it.

"That one is an absolute hottie! I never saw a sword suck that many water on it..." O-Etsu said in disbelief after seeing the blade.

"This is..!" Bell could not believe what he just saw, he's holding again yet another living weapon. A representation of himself and a weapon that grows with the user.

"Bell, that sword is called 'Crimson Order'. It is the sword of the former captain of my familia Alise Lovel. I hope I can trust you with her weapon and will to do what you think is always right." Astrea said as she closed the gap between her and Bell.

"Yes..! Kami-sama!"

Hi everyone!

Yeah this chapter came out way too early but yeah.

Thanks for your advice guys I really appreciated your help and you know what I felt after reading all of your comments? You know that feeling when you're taking your exam and you're so troubled but you suddenly remembered all the answers to the questions? That's what I felt when writting this chapter!

Anyway, as you can see. O-Etsu Nihmaya was a character from my favorite series Bleach. He's the father of Zanpakutos and he's the one who creates it that's why I introduced him as Hephaestus' first child. He's a level 6 retired adventurer who's just living peacefully outside of Orario.

That's all for now, bye and take care guys see you next time!