Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Danmachi, because if I did, Alise would be the main heroine and Hestia won't be the brat that she is now.

Previously.

Bell after obtaining his status last night woke up with the sound of swords clashing, he thought it was an attack at first but later saw that it was just Alise and Kaguya having a sparring match. Bell watched them for a while before deciding to start his day with a nice bath and was surprised by the sheer size of the cypress bath inside their home. After washing his body and sinking to the hot water, a certain woman entered the bath, aware that he was already inside. This is where all the chaos began as things escalated pretty quickly from Bell helping Kaguya on washing her back to Ryuu and the other members seeing something that they shouldn't have which led to Lyra to make a sign and schedule of Bell's bath. The day continued after that with Bell getting registered as an official adventurer as well as getting an advisor before heading down to the dungeon and receiving Kodachi Futaba from Kaguya, who later gave one of the two short swords to Bell because she knew that the beginner's weapon will crumble on his hands after just a few swings.

Later that day after returning to the manor, the whole familia ate outside with all their members including Bell where they enjoyed some delicious food made by Mia at the Hostess of Fertility before heading back and retiring for the day.

While a little tired, Bell couldn't sleep that night and decided to take a walk around before stumbling on Alise who's clad in very different clothes than usual, without her trademark ponytail as well as her hidden talent being displayed in front of a mesmerized rabbit.

A few exchange of awkward words happened between the two which led them not being able to sleep even a wink that night, thinking about the whole thing that happened between them until morning.

It has been roughly 3 days since the bathroom incident and everyone seems to have forgotten it, as Bell and the other girls finally got time to get to know each other.

But things between him and Ryuu is still not doing good, especially since Alise started acting weird around Bell and seems to avoid him after their short exchange the night that the bathroom incident happened.

No one knows why, except for the goddess of the Familia whose smile just won't leave her face especially when the two get embarrassed around each other. This gave others a chance to tease their captain or Bell whenever the two has to do something together.

"Oh, it looks like today is finally your turn to keep him company during his dungeon exploration!" Lyra teased her before taking a bite of her bread.

"I know that already..." She said casting her gaze on the ground as she tries to hide the blush on her cheeks.

" ARGHH!!! WHY AM I ALWAYS GETTING SO EMBARRASSED AROUND HIM!? IS IT BECAUSE OF WHAT HE SAID!? WHY DOES THAT EVEN BOTHER ME!? " Despite looking just a little flushed outside, on the inside, she is just a mess. She wants to scream out of embarrassment and how weak she is to someone else's honest compliment.

Just like Kaguya said, she loves kissing her own ass, and every members agree to it except Bell and Ryuu, who finally found a common ground. But despite her sometimes pompous behavior, she is weak to genuine compliments.

"I don't know what the fuck happened between you two but get yourself together captain." The vice captain said with a hint of irritation because Alise haven't done anything productive ever since she started acting like this. Not being able to focus on the paperwork or during their patrols and almost letting a criminal without a Falna the other say, as if she doesn't know what to do.

"Watch your words Kaguya, you're right in front of Astrea-sama." Ryuu glared at the far eastern girl before turning her attention back from the food.

"Shut up, I'll say what I want to say. Because if I let this slide, I will have to pick up Alise's slack. Have you seen that mountain of paperwork? God I wish I could just slice them up and call it a day." The other girls sighed as they remembered the time after the great feud where the whole living room was full of reports and whatnot that it took them almost a whole month just to clear.

The Familia continued to eat their breakfast until it was finally time for the to do their task for the day.

Lyra left with 4 other members to place various orders of the supply that they will need for their expedition while Kaguya and the remaining girls left to either patrol or go to the dungeon to earn some money before the expedition.

Which left Alise, Astrea and Bell together at their home.

"B-Bell? Should we get going too?" Alise turned around and started to stretch her arms, trying to get herself ready for some dungeon action but in truth, she is just embarrassed to face him yet, still embarrassed by their exchange 3 days ago.

"Alise-san... Did I do something bad?" The boy asked while looking straight to her back, his sincere look giving the girl in front of her a hard time. As if she couldn't bring herself to him.

"... No you didn't, sorry for acting like this but I... ARGH WHY AM I LIKE THIS!" She slapped her face hard and looked at Bell with a bright red cheeks. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I was actually just embarrassed that someone caught me doing that, as well as the unexpected compliment for you." The girl's usual expression finally returned with a hint of fondness in it which made him blush and happy.

That's the Alise-san that I know.

He thought to himself before smiling at the girl.

"I see, I actually didn't expect you to have a hidden talent like that. I was so surprised when I heard your voice that I thought I was dreaming!" The two of them laughed as they exited their home leaving the goddess alone with a gentle smile on her face.

"It looks like I didn't need to interfere after all." She said before taking a sip of her coffee. "They sure do get along pretty well, like a pair of siblings or something." Astrea could tell that there is a spark between the two, but she wouldn't interfere with it nor stop it if it ever becomes a fire.

"Well, it's too early to conclude things as they both still have a long journey to go. Especially Bell, many things could change and he still has yet to encounter individuals outside of our Familia. The same goes for Alise. It must be so nice being young, right?" The goddess looked at the blue skies with deep longing as if she was wishing that a certain someone was looking at her right now.

"I wonder if you are watching us from there..." Her last words were inaudible, but it was certain that she just called someone out. Someone that she could not reach at the moment, someone she could not hold yet. But maybe when the time is right, she will see him again. The Inevitable.

"Wow! Kaguya and Neze weren't joking when they said that you are incredibly skilled!" The crimson haired girl said in surprise as Bell took full control of the battle.

Despite being surrounded by a horde of Killer Ants, he looks so calm and composed. As if he knew where the next attack would come from, the extreme display of knowledge and skills made Alise clap her hands silently as he kills monsters left and right with ease.

"Hah! Sei!!" Bell dashed around, attacking killer ants and breaking through their formation before luring them to line up in a path and exterminating them in one go.

"Wow! Did you know that those ants are called newbie killer!? No normal level one could ever deal with their sheer number no matter who they are but you defeated such a large number on your own!" She cheered while walking towards the boy.

"Well... I did study a lot about dungeon monsters as well as trained hard for it until I arrived here. My mom was really knowledgeable with these kinds of things and taught me which type of monsters I should be really paying attention to. I also asked Lyra-san a few days ago for more information but so far, I didn't find any use of them. Maybe as we proceed further but I think 9th Floor should be enough for now." The two chatted about Bell's past and how he grew strong, as well as who taught him his techniques.

Because of his build, Alise thought that he was a victim of child labor but her theory was proven wrong when he stated that he started training at the young age of 7, the same age that Alise started to gain interest reading heroic tales like Dungeon Oratoria or Knights of Fiana.

"You really do love your mom huh? To train at such a young age to become ready as soon as you set foot here in Orario is just amazing. I was busy reading heroic tales at that age and never did the thought of training myself come to my mind. I think heroes are great but I never thought of becoming one until a year or two." The girl turned around and gave him her usual smile, a smile that Bell hasn't seen for almost 3 days.

"I'm glad that you are finally back to your usual self. It's just weird to have a shy and timid Alise-san around although it's kind of cute on its own, seeing a very different side of you.." Bell chuckled, earning a flushed look from Alise.

"Hmph! It's all your fault to begin with for spying on me! You're such a stalker Bell!" The girl huffed playfully before bursting into laughter as they walked back towards the exit before hearing the sound of a large group of monsters moving in and when Alise turned around, she was reminded on how dangerous Killer Ants can be to third class adventurers like him.

This is the first time I've encountered this many... No matter how good he is, he can't possibly do this on his own.

Alise gritted her teeth as she found no way out of the situation when the monsters also started appearing in front of them.

"Bell, I'll help this time. There's no way you can handle this much." She drew crimson order, ready to slice the monsters. Until the boy stopped her.

"Thank you Alise-san but please let me do this alone for a while, I want to see my own limits and if I know that I won't be able to make it, I'll call for you. Would that be alright?" The two stared at each other before Alise gave him a hesitant nod, slowly backing away.

"If it gets bad, I'll immediately jump in." She sheathed her sword before jumping out of the monster's way, leaving Bell in the middle of the area.

"Mom, please give me strength." He drew the Kodachi that Kaguya lent him before engaging in an endurace battle against an endless number of Killer Ants.

Somewhere.

Alfia, Zeus and Zard was riding a carriage towards a certain place where a friend of Zeus resides. This place is also rumored to have a fountain that not only cures all type of curse, illness and poisons but also gives those who drink it's water eternal youth.

"This is our last chance to get you cured, if this doesn't work. I do-"

"It has to Zeus, and I know that this is the last. With how weak I've been ever since Bell reached 10, I know that my death is finally about to come but whenever I think about him, I just couldn't give up."

"And your Falna responded to your wishes which kept you alive until now." Zard too was nearing his limit, as his sword that he used to swing around started to become heavy for him.

"We're here." The three got down and was welcomed by a goddess with long black dress, gray hair with flowers attached on them. She was smiling amusedly by the sight of Zeus who looks serious for some reason, something that she rarely sees.

"Welcome, Zeus and company. You just arrived here at Beltane, the village who failed to protect the Spring of Life and is now contaminated by Swamp King!"

Back to the Dungeon.

"Hah... Not yet...!" Bell was getting extremely exhausted fighting the monsters, despite him not having a single scratch yet, his moves are finally showing some openings and are getting clumsy as he's been fighting a huge horde of Killer Ants 2 hours straight now.

Of course, after receiving a Falna has greatly increased his endurance but that doesn't mean it has no end.

Soon, the monsters finally started to overwhelm the boy and reached him, biting his left leg. It didn't end at that as the monsters immediately jumped at the opening and went to further attack him, tearing his sleeves off as they bit his arm and left abdomen.

"Argh!"

"Bell!" Alise drew her rapier and immediately jumped in, slashing every monster near him before lifting him up and jumping out of the center.

"Alise-san, I know that I'm almost out of gas but please let me fight until the end. But I will have to ask for your support because I'm afraid that I can't eliminate them.

Alise just looked at his bleeding form, concern and worry showing on her face as he tries to stand up. It took her a few seconds to finally give him a nod.

"Alright, but I'll do most of the work from now on. I won't kill all of it but I'll only left a few so you can earn more excilla before we return alright?"

"Yes. Thank you, Alise-san. You're the best."

"Of course I am dummy! Now, shall we get this over with?"

Alise dove straight into the countless monsters and slashed all that she could see while forging a path for Bell to follow and assist her on killing all the left over ones that Alise intentionally left for him.

The fight didn't even last that long before the last one was eliminated by Bell, though after that. He immediately dropped to his knees and passed out because of exhaustion.

"You've really worked hard Bell. Let's just rest here until you wake up." The crimson haired girl carried him on her back as she searched for a small room inside the floor where she could let him rest.

She soon found a pretty spacious one before doing some damage on the walls to prevent monsters on spawning, she then placed him down and had his head resting on her lap while she stroke his blood stained white hair.

"I didn't expect you to be this strong, everyone said that you are incredibly skilled but I didn't expect you to be this advanced. Your mother must be very proud of you Bell."

When she first heard his story, she couldn't help but admire his love and dedication to his mother. Starting to train at a very young age, wielding a sword until he now. He did all of this just to fulfill his promise to her, a promise that he told no one but Astrea.

"I don't know what type of promise you made to your mother but I'm getting a little jealous, you're such a playboy Bell." He poked his cheeks while giggling to herself as she poked around his sleeping face.

A few minutes later, Bell's eyes slowly started to open. And the first thing he saw was Alise's cheeky grin.

"I bet you had a good rest, after all you are lying on my lap! Oops, as if I'd let you do that!" Bell was surprised when she pressed her hand on his forehead, stopping him from immediately getting up and running away out of embarrassment.

"You still need some rest, I only had small potion in my pocket so it didn't completely restored your stamina. That's why just stay here for a few more minutes, besides there is no need to rush now. We've already cleared this floor anyway."

"Alright... But can I ask you a little favor?"

"What is it Bell?

"I want to hear you singing again..." As soon as she heard that, her eyes widened and immediately landed on his which she soon regretted as his puppy dog eyes made it hard to resist him.

"A-Alright... You're such a baby Bell... Ehem!" Alise cleared her throat, thinking of a song that she loves hearing until a certain favorite of hers popped into her head.

Life blooms like a flower

Far away or by the road

Waiting for the one

To find the way back home

Rain falls a thousand times

No footprints of come-and-go

You who once went by

Where will you belong?

I feel your sigh and breath

In the last blow of wind

Not yet for the story on the last page

It's not the end

Life blooms like a flower

Far away or by the road

Waiting for the one

To find the way back home

Time flows across the world

There is always a longer way to go

'Til I reach your arms

A madder there for you

Bell quietly listened to her voice while staring at her face, he didn't know if it's due to exhaustion but right now, Alise looks exactly the same as the first time he saw her singing.

Her voice sounds so gentle and lovely and it was only enhanced by the quiet surroundings, as if it was echoing inside his head.

"I really love your voice miss Alise, I think you can be a really succesful if you chose that career instead of being an adventurer." Bell said truthfully, not averting his gaze and Alise could feel his honesty in it. No lies, just pure admiration for her which made the young woman clutch her chest gently.

"Thanks, but I don't think that's going to happen. I'm really shy when singing in front of others, even around our Familia. I get so nervous that I can't sing normally but for some reason, I can do it when I'm around you. I wonder why? Hahahaha!"

The two got up and made their way back until they reached the surface, welcomed by the setting sun as they walked up the stairs, chatting about things that they find fun before Bell saw a familiar looking Cat person who seemed to recognize him too.

"Hello! If I remember it correctly, you are the person who bumped into me last week. Am I correct?" The girl waved at him as she walked towards the pair, her companions trailing behind her and wondering who the white haired boy is.

"Yes, I'm really sorry. I was so fascinated by the sheer amount of people and establishments at the time so I didn't notice you." Bell slightly bowed with a smile on his face before waving at the girl's companion.

"It's already over and you already apologized to me back then. Anyway, so you are the talk of the town! The first male member of Astrea Familia, the White Haired Adventurer." She crossed her arm and looked at him curiously, the two ladies behind her gasping in surprise especially the elf with long orange hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes.

"W-Wow! You must be really special to be allowed in that Familia despite your gender!" The elf suddenly got in front of him and stared at the boy with admiration.

"No not really, Alise-san just happened to pass by when I was sitting at the plaza. And things just took a sudden turn that led me to join them. I'm not special at all, I'm just a country bumpkin." His gaze softened as he humbled to himself in front of the three ladies from another Familia.

"Don't listen to him Aki! He's super amazing, despite being a level 1, I bet he can take on a veteran on the same level or a fresh level 2. He's got a good build before he even got his Falna and is incredibly skilled with sword that could surpass Kaguya if given more time!" The crimson haired girl intervened while placing her arm around Bell's shoulder.

"Eh? Now I want to see it for myself then, do you go down everyday? Or do you also participate in their rounds?" The girl named Aki asked, curiosity really getting to her at the mention of sword skill, because of how proud she is of her techniques. A skill that she inherited from her mother.

"I haven't participated yet on it, Goddess also said that I should have complete knowledge of our rules and laws here in the city before being allowed to go on rounds."

"Sorry to cut your conversation short but we really should get going. I apologize, my name is Alicia Forestlight. Please don't get me wrong, I am also interested in you but we have a task to finish so we really should get going." The last person from their group bowed respectfully before giving him an apologetic smile. The girl has a similar color to the first elf but hers was not tied in a ponytail and is wavy. Her eyes were golden brown and she has this sisterly vibe radiating from her.

"Oh, no problem Miss Alicia, I should be the one apologizing for taking your time."

"Before we leave, let me introduce myself. My name is Anakitty Autumn from Loki Familia."

"And I am Lefiya Viridis, all of us belong to Loki Familia. It's nice to meet you Mister."

"My name is Bell Cranel. Nice to meet you three, I hope we can talk again sometime!" Bell and Alise waved to the three girls as they left them to complete their remaining task for the day.

"Shall we get going to Bell-Ah!" Alise was suddenly shoved by a large group of men carrying a cage housing a dungeon monster in it.

"Apologies Alise Lovell, we are in a hurry. Sorry for not noticing you." Luckily, Bell caught her in his arms before she could fall down the stairs.

"It's fine. Bell, thank you." She smiled before he let her go and continued their journey back to their home.

"By the way Alise-san, I noticed that large monsters especially the scary looking ones are being brought up to the surface for some reason. Why is that?" Bell asked as they walked down the streets of Orario, curious as to what those adventurers are planning to do with them.

"Oh that? I guess you didn't know since it's your first time here. They are going to be used in an event hosted by Ganesha Familia called Monsterphilia. They are used to attract more tourists and adventurers to join their Familia, by putting up some amazing shows as they tame monsters or perform things with them." Alise explained.

"I see, when will they do it?"

"Oh yeah, it's going to be held tomorrow at noon and we are tasked to certain places inside and outside the colosseum to watch out for shady people or anything not normal! We should hurry back Bell, let's run!" The girl dashed out with Bell following her trail but because of the difference in level and his status not getting any update yet, he got left in the dust by the woman.

The two arrived back at the manor with Alise entering the home first before Bell who appeared a few minutes behind her.

"Everyone! Sorry for being late, let's talk about tomorrow-"

"Oh nice, we just finished our discussion. Alise, your position would be right at the northern entrance while Bell will take the southern entrance. You two don't need companions because you will be with Ganesha Familia members. I'll be counting on you guys." Lyra said before placing her hands on the back of her head before walking off.

"I see..." Alise said in disappointment as she didn't get to say anything.

"Let's work hard tomorrow Alise-san, I'm really excited for this because this will be my first official mission in this Familia." Bell clenched his fist and smiled excitedly before being called out by their goddess to follow her.

After entering Astrea's room, the goddess asked him to take his shirt off and turn around so that she could update his Status as she did for the other members earlier.

"Alright, let's see how much you've grown these past few days Bell and see how effective your skill is."

Astrea pierced her index finger and let her blood drop on his back, revealing his Falna and Status shortly after that.

"Okay... Huh!?" Astrea gasped as she updated her child's status, the huge jump on the numbers almost gave her a heart attack.

Name: Bell Cranel

Age: 15

Status

STR: I0 - F308

END: I0 - G271

DEX: I0 - G290

AGI: I0 - G299

MAG: I0 - I0

Skills

Liaris Freese: Fast growth as long as the user has a strong desire. The strength of the effects corresponds with the level of the user's feelings. As a side effect it makes the user immune to charms.

Heart of Fire: Temporarily raises the user's status as the fight goes on, the more composed the user is during a heated battle, the greater the effect.

Hero's Destiny: Raises the user's chance to encounter Irregulars, Enhanced Species, Rare Monsters and obtaining Drop Items. It also gives the user a huge boost in Experience when encountering a monster stronger than him.

Magic

???: Can be activated but without chant or name but its power is reduced to the tenth of its original. Unless the user figures out the name, this spell will remain as it is.

Astrea stared at the piece of paper with Bell beside her as they couldn't believe the huge jump in his status in just 3 days of being an adventurer. No matter how they look at it, they just couldn't believe the potency of Liaris Freese. As if he's cheating on his own growth.

"Bell. This skill is highly classified and shouldn't be spread out carelessly, we can tell our Familia about it but that's as far as it can go." Astrea said sternly which made the boy nod vigorously, not wanting to upset his goddess.

"This skill will cause chaos if the public knows that this type of skill exists, adventurers will push themselves carelessly which will lead to their own demise, I don't want that to happen so please. Promise me not to tell anyone else outside of our Familia Bell."

After seeing her expression, Bell couldn't help but smile and promise her to keep everything a secret. His goddess is just too kind and loving for him to refuse, and besides. She is doing this for his own good so he can't see any reason to deny her request.

After thanking his goddess, Bell decided to burn his status sheet before leaving a smiling Astrea.

"Oh Bell, please do tell Alise to come here too as I haven't updated her status yet." The goddess waved to him as he went down to fetch his captain.

The night came and after checking their equipment for the final time, the members finally went to sleep to get some good night's rest for the big day tomorrow. Aside from Bell who decided to go down to their yard and try his skill for the first time.

"Alright... Here goes nothing..!" Bell stretched his arm out with his hand open before concentrating.

"..!" The boy managed to fire off his skill but he didn't notice it as nothing came out. Which is weird since he felt his mind taking a hit from activation.

"That's weird. I swear I did it..." He tried again a few times before finally giving up as he thought that it is pointless to do so.

"How am I even supposed to use this? It does literally nothing! Maybe if I know it's name or right trigger but it's not even written in my status, how am I supposed to use this?"

He suddenly felt dizzy before falling down only to be caught by Neze, who looked at him with slight annoyance for some reason.

"Hey you, do you know what your magic can do?" Her tone was slightly angry, frowning at the boy in her arms.

"No I don't, do you?"

"Yeah idiot! That thing woke me up and made my ears ring! It's so annoying that it almost gave me a headache, stop that already and go to sleep. We have a mission tomorrow Bell, rest up." The woman was about to leave before Bell grabbed her left arm.

"What? Let me sleep already..."

"Please wait, please I want to know what my magic is capable of. Could you please describe to me what you felt earlier." The boy on the verge of mind down asked in curiosity.

"I got it already... Hm... They produce this thin annoying sound, I don't know what they actually do but they make this annoying noise, like an old rusty gate being opened except that it is hundred times more annoying. Satisfied? I'll go now, stop using your magic already and go to sleep." The werewolf said before entering their home.

"A sound wave? So disrupting an opponent's senses for a short time is their effect. But I doubt it will be any useful considering that Neze-san is the only person who heard it. Probably because her sense of hearing being higher than us humans." Bell finally retired for the day, entering his room and diving straight to his bed only to be surprised by Alise, sleeping on it.

"Eh!? What are you doing here!?" He whispered at the drooling girl on his bed.

"Mhm? Oh Bell... You're back... Come on let's sleep... Zzz..." The half asleep woman dragged him down to his bed before being embraced tightly, her hands brushing his white hair and his face buried on her left shoulder.

"You're like a rabbit Bell... Hmhm... Do you want me to sing you a lullaby..? Ehehe..." She asked still sleeping on his bed with a relaxed look, her arms still around Bell who couldn't escape her first class grip while drooling over his pillows.

He later surrendered to his fate, slowly falling asleep with a peaceful look on his face. His arms wrapped around her slim waist and their foreheads pressed against each other. Wondering if this is how it feels like to have an older sister.

Bell woke up the next morning completely refreshed, noticing that Alise was already gone. He made his way downstairs and saw his Familia already eating their breakfast.

"Good morning, you're quite late. We need to leave after this so hurry up and eat with us." Kaguya pointed out at the seat beside her and Ryuu who looked calm as always before she shot her killer glare at him.

"Can we swap places? I'm afraid I am not yet strong enough to defend myself..."

"It's fine, if she does something I'll be sure to cut whatever part of hers touches you..Ohohoho..." The far eastern girl joked before taking another bite of her food.

"Just sit down and eat with us, as long as you don't do anything suspicious, I won't harm you. A-Also, I want to hear your feedback regarding the food." She turned away with a slight blush on her face as she was too shy to say that this is her first time cooking for everyone.

The whole Familia finished their breakfast peacefully despite Ryuu's constant glaring at Bell who is too immersed at their food.

"That was really delicious! Is it true that you made it Ryuu-san?" The boy asked innocently.

"Y-Yeah, I was actually reading lots of recipe books last night and practiced for a while before going to sleep. I am glad it is to your liking." The elf said shyly, putting her mask on as she doesn't want anyone to notice her embarrassed look.

"Speaking of last night. Alise-san, why did you sneak into my room-"

"No don't say it Bell!!" Alise screamed as she knew that Ryuu would definitely dice him up.

"This idiot!" Kaguya got on her Iai stance, ready to intercept Ryuu's incoming attack.

CLANG!

Ryuu's wooden sword suddenly appeared above his head ready to strike him down but was blocked by Kaguya's katana on time.

"You... WHAT DID YOU DO TO ALISE YOU BEAST?" Ryuu asked coldly, her extreme bloodlust becoming visible scaring the other girls and making them back away a little.

"Wait! Lionn, it's my fault! Forgive him, he didn't do anything wrong! I was waiting for him inside his room last night but he didn't come right away so I fell asleep on his bed. I also somewhat remembered that I was the one who dragged him down. Please Lionn, forgive him!" Alise clasped her hands and bowed in front of the elven warrior, slightly quelling her murderous intent.

Ryuu turned away and began walking outside, everyone sighed out of relief before following her lead to stand guard and observe the whole Monsterphilia for the whole day.

"This is your position Bell, just be vigilant and wary of shady individuals. And if anything happens, contact us with this magic item. It is a communication network for our whole Familia that is always used during missions. Hold it tight and never lose it!" Alise then said her goodbye before heading towards the other side of the colosseum.

Unknown Location.

"We've already spent too much time on hiding, I think it's time for us to make our presence known." A female figure said while inspecting her bizarre looking sword.

"No need for us to come out, we can just send our pets on the surface to cause confusion and chaos. This is just our greeting, we can meet them later." Another figure said. Unlike the first, this one looks masculine and tall and his voice was deep.

The Monsterphilia shortly opened when the noon arrived and a sea of people came rushing inside the venue, excited about what kind of spectacle Ganesha Familia has for them this year.

"Wow! I can't believe it, there are so many people!" Bell said in awe before noticing the ground beneath him was shaking for some reason.

His instinct immediately kicked in and made him jump out of the way before a weird looking plant-like monster emerged.

It has a bright green colored body that is covered by shells and its petals are a mix of purple and pink hue with a giant mouth full of large and sharp teeth both inside and outside.

Bell knew that this monster is definitely not normal because he can't recall a monster that looks like this from his memories. Not to mention that it looks so strong and he is outnumbered by it.

" I should call for a back up, I can't take 3 of it all at once. " He thought before pulling the magic item out of his pocket, calling the attention of his other familia members.

"Is anyone available!? There is a weird looking plant monster here, there are 3 in total and it definitely looks strong. The Ganesha Familia members are occupied trying to evacuate the normal citizens!"

He waited a few seconds and after not receiving any form of reply from everyone, he concluded that they are also facing the same dilemma as him.

"Tch!" He dodged an incoming attack narrowly as he is too slow for his own liking. The monster clearly levels above him.

While he has some form of confidence in his skill that Alfia taught him, he is not sure if he could even take down one of them.

Bell tried and fought the monster while trying to not get the evacuating civilians caught in the battle, even taking its attack head on to save a child from being bitten on her head. Resulting in him getting his arm damaged instead and almost getting torn away from his body.

"Aarrghh!!!" He screamed in pain while still holding the sword that Kaguya lent him.

"I... I won't let this thing harm anyone!" He gripped his sword tightly depite his arm screaming in pain, as he is now a follower of Astrea, he can't bring himself to turn back and let this thing harm innocent people. It would only bring shame to his goddess's name.

""That's our Bell.""

The boy heard two familiar voices behind him, looking back, he saw the captain and vice captain of his Familia with a proud look on their faces.

"You did well Bell, sorry it took us so long... Now then you filthy fucking monster. How dare you do this to our new recruit." An immense pressure suddenly came out of Kaguya as she sharpened her gaze. Earning the monster's attention.

"Stand back Bell. Please." Alise on the other hand has a very dark expression, something that Bell did not expect to see on her face as he was so used to seeing her gentle and joyful expressions.

Bell just nodded, clutching his almost torn off right shoulder, he slowly got out of Alise and Kaguya's way.

"Ennetsu Jigoku." As soon as those words left from Alise's mouth, the plant-like monster got surrounded by seven pillars of flame, trapping it inside before the pillars came closing in and triggering a large explosion and later a giant flame vortex that could be seen throughout the whole Orario. Luckily, Ganesha Familia finally finished evacuating the citizens as well as tourists so no one was caught by the sheer destructive power of her attack.

"Eat this. Gokou!!" Kaguya then cast her own magic, at first, it doesn't look like anythingh was happening but when she drew her sword. Her blade suddenly looks like it was moving in slow motion before it disappeared, leaving thousands of after images as the samurai girl sliced through the sea of fire.

Bell witnessed for the first time the might of his friends, leaving him speechless as he looked at the flames slowly disappearing, leaving no trace of it, not even its magic stone was left.

He didn't expect this, he knew that they are famous and strong but he didn't expect them to be overwhelming like this, which is obvious because he knew nothing of them other than their usual attitude inside their home, nor the titles given to them by the gods or their accomplishments.

"Whoever did this must have a death wish, I'll definitely kill them as soon as they reveal themselves." The samurai sheathed her blade as she gazed at the scorched part of the stone path.

"Bell!" Alise on the other hand ran towards his direction with an elixir on her hand.

"Here, this will make you feel better." She said before assisting him in drinking it.

Shortly, Bell's wounds started to disappear until he looked as if nothing happened to him. Save for his completely shattered breastplate and torn clothes.

"Sorry Bell, but I'm glad we made it on time." The captain apologized which he gladly accepted, explaining that it's not their fault that he is the weakest member of their Familia.

"But this really served as an eye opener for me, and I am thankful for that. It showed me that I need to work hard and how weak I am. That in this state, there is no way I can defeat that thing and save my mom from her regret." Bell balled his fist as an image of Alfia appeared on his mind.

"I... I will definitely get stronger!"

Name: Alise Lovell

Age: 20

Title/Alias: Flaming-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter

Level: 5

Status

STR: C634

END: E499

DEX: D522

AGI: D589

MAG: C651

Hunter: G

Abnormal Resistance: H

Fire Flash: H

Skills

Lubride Bequia: Lubrude Bequia is a rare skill that increases Alise's abilities, allowing her to be on par with a first class adventurer. It raised her Strength stat by a large amount when she was in combat, raised her Endurance and Dexterity stats by a large amount in the face of adversity, and raised her Agility and Magic stats by a large amount when she fought against a powerful opponent. When all three conditions were met, it further increased her Strength, Agility, and Magic stats slightly in proportion to the duration.

Batleate Asyrath: Batleate Asyrath increases the effects of user's skills when fighting in close combat and increases the effects of their magic when they are used.

Magic

Agaris Alvesynth: Powerful fire enchant magic that covered Alise's whole body and sword with fire. Alise could use it to release a torrent of flames through her sword with the Spell Key Arvelia. She was also capable of using it to generate explosions.

Ennetsu Jigoku: Creates seven or more immense pillars of flame which surround an area. The intent of this technique is to trap the opponent in the caged inferno and destroy them. The power of this technique can destroy everyone caught in its vicinity, including Alise herself. This magic can be triggered by just calling out its name, but its power is greatly reduced compared to its full incantation. Still, it is strong enough to completely destroy monsters level 4 or below while its full incantation can set half of the 18th floor on fire if she uses all of her mind.

...

Name: Gojouno Kaguya

Age: 21

Title/Alias: Saikyō no kenshi (Strongest Swordswoman)

Level: 5

Status

STR: E410

END: G214

DEX: B727

AGI: D553

Abnormal Resistance: H

Night Fight: G

Presence Concealment: I

Magic

Gokou: A magic that creates an almost unlimited blades of lights that move at the same time as the user makes a slash with their real sword. When used together with the sword-drawing technique of the same name, it creates god-speed magic slashes from different positions which surround the enemy.

Shikai: ???

Skills

Kaina Blood: ???

Tekiheni: ???

A/N: Hello again!

Thanks for another week, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter.

Sorry for not writing a detailed fight scene because I am not really good at them, maybe I'll try in the future but please don't expect too much.

The Magic that Alise used in this chapter is not present in canon. I just gave her one of Genryuusai Yamamoto's techniques from Bleach. I think it does suit her because they are both fire users and it's really cool.

As for Kaguya's, it's her original magic. I didn't copy any from other characters from any series except for her development skill Presence Concealment.

That's all for now. See you guys next week!