Bell Cranel was having a great day. After around two weeks of being an adventurer, he was faring well against the monsters on the first four floors. He was currently taking out the magic stone from a dungeon lizard that had failed to ambush him.
"The fourth floor is pretty easy now, maybe I should try going to the fifth floor for a bit," he happily said out loud.
After lightly brushing away some sweat on his forehead that had fallen from his white, fluffy hair, he put the magic stone in his small pouch and began descending to the fifth floor, his ruby eyes shining with excitement.
With it being his first time on the fifth floor, Bell looked around as he walked, noting the change in the wall colour from a light blue to light green. As he kept walking, he quickly realized that something was wrong.
'This is weird. Eina-san said that the fifth floor spawns stronger monsters and that they spawn faster, but I haven't been attacked even once. I haven't even seen an adventurer. It's too quiet,' he thought to himself.
"URAAAAAAA!"
Bell jumped from the sudden roar coming from the tunnel on his left. All of his excitement melted away.
"Wh-wh-what was that?"
There he saw it. With its characteristic bull-head on top of a tall muscular body, it was heading towards its next prey: Bell.
"W-why is there a minotaur on the fifth floor, I thought they spawned past floor 15!" Bell exclaimed in a mix of confusion and fear. The minotaur simply gave another yell before getting ready to charge.
"AAAAAAAAAAAA," Bell screamed as he ran away at a speed befitting his looks that were like a rabbit.
The sudden show of speed even froze the minotaur from shock for a bit, but it wasn't in the mood to let its prey get away. It charged towards Bell, quickly covering the distance from the head start. Approaching a wall with tunnels leading to his right and left, Bell quickly glanced over his shoulder to see a fist on its way to his face.
"Ack," Bell ducked just barely fast enough to avoid a brain splatter as the huge fist brushed past his hair and crashed into the wall. Seeing an opening, he quickly swung his knife at the arm stuck in the wall, but it simply bounced off. Realizing that he had no way of hurting it, Bell quickly turned to his left and sprinted for his life as the minotaur turned and got ready to charge again.
'Why is this happening, why is a minotaur here, I can't beat that thing!' Bell's thoughts were frantic as he took turns over and over again as despite being much faster than a level 1 adventurer, the minotaur was not good at turning.
Bell was not having a great day. After running for a while and dodging some rock-crushing punches, he ran into a dead end and now had his back against the wall as his killer-to-be slowly approached him. It bared its teeth in a way that looked like a mocking smile on its face.
"E-eekk" *sniff* 'I'm going to die.'
He felt his shoulders being grabbed by a crushing grip and screamed loudly from pain unlike anything he has ever felt. Despite this, he managed to open his eyes to look up at the last thing he could ever see.
'So this is how I'm going to die, eaten by a monster. I wish I could try again. I wish I was stronger. I'm sorry Grandpa, Kami-sama' Bell thought as the Minotaur's mouth opened wide.
Behind them, an adventurer dashed towards the scene desperately, hoping to kill the minotaur in time. Her usually blank face morphed into an expression of horror as she heard a loud crack and blood and brain matter burst out of the poor boy now only a few meters ahead. She was too late. The minotaur she let escape killed a young, rookie adventurer in a terrifying way. A huge mistake that she would never be able to fix.
At the same time at an abandoned church, a Goddess cried out first in pain, then from despair as she realized what that pain was. Her first and only familia member was now dead.
Fortunately for the blonde adventurer and the twin-tailed Goddess, this ceased to have happened.
Bell stared at the wall in front of him.
…
…
"Huh?"
"Am I dead? Is this what heaven looks like?"
Bell looked around. Heaven looked like a place he had seen before. It looked like the… dungeon?
'This is… the 5th floor! Am I not dead? What just happened? Was it all… fake?'
He didn't understand what was going on. He could clearly remember being chased by a minotaur and had even felt pain. But he was alive and well meaning he couldn't have died.
'Could it have been a vision?' Finding no other explanation, he settled on this one. But if it was a vision, it meant that he was in danger. The minotaur was close by. All he needed to do was get back to the 4th floor. He quickly turned around, and after taking a glance at the map given to him by Eina, started running towards the stairs leading up. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough.
"URAAAAAAA!"
He heard the same roar from last time as the minotaur entered the corridor behind him. The only difference this time was that Bell had already gained some distance from it and that he wasn't running randomly towards a dead end.
'It really was a vision. Did I have a skill like that? Well, it doesn't matter right now. I need to run so that I don't die!'
As the minotaur tumbled into the tunnel he was in, Bell dashed up the stairs into the 4th floor. He did not stop to see if the minotaur would come up. If it came all the way up to the 5th floor, it wouldn't be surprising for it to keep going up. There was no time to waste if he wanted to survive. Running with a panicked expression on his face, Bell came across some adventurers.
"Huh? A rookie? What are you running like that for? Wait, don't tell me you're pass parading us!" Said one of the men from the party of three.
"A MINOTAUR IS ON THE UPPER FLOORS!" Bell yelled in reply as he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. They looked like experienced adventurers and seemed to be heading down, surely they could hold their own against one minotaur, or at least hold on until more help arrives.
"Hah? That's impossible. A minotaur only spawns on floors 15 to 17. If it were on the upper floors, us level 1 adventurers would be long dead," said the second man.
Bell paled at this. They wouldn't be able to survive a single hit. He had to run, but they did too.
"Please trust me! It will be here any moment, we need to all run!" He pleaded with them.
The third person replied from the back: "Calm down, kid. You look weak, probably a new adventurer. You wouldn't even know what a minotaur looks like, probably just saw a war shadow. *sigh* Listen kid, there are many adventurers who won't hesitate to attack you in the dungeon if you get in their way or annoy them. Hell, some would even rob you if you look like an easy target. I wouldn't want to see a kid die in the dungeon. Let's go guys, stay on guard in case he was running from a war shadow. They can be tough."
The first two men gave small words of encouragement to Bell as they walked past him. They knew how hard the dungeon could be on newbies, and wouldn't hold it against him. They hoped that he would be more careful in the future.
Bell was heartbroken. He couldn't get through to them. These nice adventurers were going to die and it would be his fault. They weren't even out of his field of vision yet when he heard them scream.
"IT REALLY IS A MINOTAUR, YOU TWO RU-" *thud*
"SHIT, DON'T COME CLO-" *splat*
"GYAAAA-" *crush*
Bell was breathing heavily on his knees. He let them die. He led the minotaur to them. He was the furthest thing from a hero. And now he was going to die. He couldn't even protect himself, then how would he protect others? He let them die, just like he let his grandfather die, and now he was going to let his goddess down too. Picking up girls in a dungeon? What a foolish idea he had. Still, even in his last moments, he prayed. He prayed that in his next life, he could be a hero. He knew it was selfish, but-
His head was smashed by a fist and death came instantly.
…
…
"Huh?"
Bell fell to his knees. While breathing heavily, he looked up. He was on the 5th floor. It defied all logic, but he had to accept it. His wish to try again was somehow granted. It wasn't a vision, rather he had died and gone back in time. He turned his neck, and there it was. A minotaur far at the end of the tunnel to his left. His body froze as his memories of his past two deaths flashed in his head. Death was terrifying, possibly even more so now that he had experienced it, and he did not want to go through it again. As he saw the minotaur notice him, Bell forced himself to get up, but froze again for a moment as he noticed the direction he was about to go in.
'That way leads to the fourth floor.' He remembered his wish to be a hero from his previous last moments. 'I can't let them die again!'
Resolving himself, he ran the other way, hoping to get to the 6th floor. It would practically be suicide, but he couldn't go up or stay on the 5th floor. Going lower meant risking fighting more monsters that he couldn't handle, but added a slight chance of running into higher-level adventurers. As he ran towards a fork in the tunnels, he felt like he recognized it. Instinctively, he ducked as a fist went flying by into a wall. He dashed to the left.
'I should've checked the map for the path to the 6th floor,' he thought while mentally cursing at himself. He didn't have the time anymore as he was barely avoiding being crushed while taking sharp turns to stand a chance at survival. A feeling of dread filled him as he suddenly realized something.
'I'm going the same as the first time!' Which meant… A dead end. It was the same one where his time first ended.
'Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! I'm going to die again.' He started tearing up at the thought as he fell down with his back against the wall in the same position as the first time. As if it was scripted to do so, the minotaur once again bared its teeth in the same way and grabbed Bell's shoulders, crushing them.
"GAAAAAAAAH" Bell screamed.
'I don't want to die, I don't want to die again. What should I do?'
"You can be a hero Bell," a voice from the past made it to his head. His Grandpa's voice.
"HYAAAAAAAA" Bell forced his right arm to move despite the excruciating pain from his crushed shoulder. He stabbed his knife into the minotaur's mouth, cutting a part of its tongue in the way. Unlike its skin or any other external feature, anything on the inside wasn't nearly as hard, giving no resistance as the knife went into the roof of its mouth.
The minotaur howled in pain, letting go of Bell as it scrambled to get the sharp object out of its mouth. That was a mistake. It ripped the knife out, forming a large gash out of which blood poured, eliciting a stronger shout of pain. Having its airway open while blood was going down its throat led it to start choking on its own blood. Bell couldn't help but feel a bit of satisfaction at watching the same minotaur that killed him and caused him great pain howling and struggling. Alas, monsters are different from people. It was going to drown in its own blood, there was no escaping that, but it would take some time. More than enough time to kill the weak adventurer in front of it. And it wouldn't play with its prey this time. The blood flowing out of its mouth like a waterfall forced it to learn its lesson.
Bell slowly stood up, preparing to dodge as best as possible and survive until the minotaur would fall dead. The minotaur swung its arm and Bell jumped above it. The minotaur didn't seem to have as much control due to the blood loss as well as it drowning in its blood. That lack of control caused it to miss a punch with its other arm when its target was in the air and couldn't dodge. Bell tried to use this as an opportunity to slip by and get out of the dead end but the shockwaves from a stomp caused him to lose his balance. He tried to regain it but stepped into the now massive pool of blood and slipped. Watching another stomp headed towards him this time, he rolled out of the way, accidentally putting weight onto his shoulders.
"AGHH" Bell yelled out with his back once again against the wall. He tried to get up regardless, but felt a sharp pain in his leg; he hadn't fully dodged the last attack. As it felt its life fading, the minotaur got down for the final charge of its life to take down the prey that could no longer move. The hopelessness began to settle in Bell again. He couldn't move. He gave it his all, made a last stand, but it wasn't enough. Death was staring him in the face yet again. Now that he thought about it, the minotaur was coming from the lower floors, so to make it to floor 6 would mean having to pass by it. Going up was not an option as it would lead to others dying, and the minotaur would catch up anyways due to fewer turns in that path. Was he going to keep dying forever?
Suddenly, the minotaur stopped mid-charge and was split open, drenching the already blood-covered Bell with even more blood. He stared in shock. He wasn't dead. For once, the minotaur failed to kill him. He wasn't stuck in an infinite loop of dying to it.
"Are you okay?" A voice called out to him.
The dam burst. Bell cried louder than he ever had before. He wailed because of all the pain he had faced, pain that no one should be able to go through and be able to tell the tale. But most importantly, he cried tears of relief.
Aiz stared at the crying boy with guilt. One look at the area made it clear that he didn't just run into the minotaur. The obscene amount of blood and the damage to the floor and some of the walls made it clear that the boy in front of her, who looked like a new adventurer based on his guild-issued gear, was forced to fight and survive for who knows how long against a monster that even level 2s have trouble fighting. It had been at least a few minutes since she heard his first scream and she had seen some damaged walls on the way here. It all happened because of her carelessness on the middle floors. Watching him cry only increased her guilt, as she resolved to try to make it up to him.
Still, she didn't know what to do in this situation. She had never comforted anyone. Trying to think of what Riveria would do, she got an idea. Ignoring the blood, she walked up to the boy and after sheathing his knife that she had found in the blood close by, gently rubbed his hair. She mostly stayed quiet with some "there, there"s, not knowing what else to say. Through some small spots not covered in blood, she noticed that his hair was white like a rabbit's fur. She could also hear him mumbling "I'm alive. I'm alive. The minotaur won't kill me again" in between his sobs. The 'again' confused her, but she didn't dwell on it.
After around two minutes, his tears stopped flowing. He finally looked up. He couldn't help but think that the person staring at him was beautiful. Rather than her physical features (which he would notice and admit are also beautiful later), it was because she was:
"My hero," Bell said out loud while looking at her golden irises with his ruby eyes full of admiration.
"Thank you very much for saving me!"
Aiz was taken aback. His hero? She was the reason he had to suffer!
"No, it was my fault since I let it get away from the middle floors, I'm sorry" Aiz replied guiltily.
"But you still saved me, so we can call it even right?" Bell said with a smile.
She couldn't believe it, she told him that she was at fault but he didn't hold it against her at all. Now she really had to make it up to him. Now was not the time for that, however, as she had to make sure that he is alright.
"How are you feeling, any injuries?" She couldn't see any visible cuts or bruises, but with most of his skin being covered, that wasn't saying a lot so she had to ask him.
"Oh, I'm ouch!" Bell tried to stand up but failed due to his injured leg.
"Don't push yourself," Aiz said as she lowered her back for him to get on.
It felt incredibly embarrassing, but he knew he wasn't going anywhere on his own. Trying to lift his arms up to get on, he winced from the pain as his shoulders refused to move.
"My shoulders are broken, I can't lift my arms."
A small expression of guilt flashed briefly on Aiz's face before she turned around and picked him up in a princess carry.
"Eh, EHHHHH?" His embarrassment shot through the roof and he felt his cheeks flush which, fortunately, wasn't visible due to the blood. Oh, the blood. His embarrassment melted away as fast as it came as he noticed that she also had quite a bit of blood on her now from him.
"I'm sorry for getting you dirty."
"No, don't worry about it."
Looking at her, he had a sudden realization. The blonde hair, the golden eyes, the way she dispatched the minotaur with her sword skills.
"No way, the Sword Princess Aiz Wallenstein-san?" Bell shouted at his sudden realization.
"Aiz."
"Huh?"
"Call me Aiz, everyone does so."
"Oh ok, Aiz-san. My name is Bell Cranel."
"Bell, how long did you fight the minotaur for? How did you injure it?" Aiz just had to know how much she had caused him to suffer so she could ask Riveria later how to make it up to him.
Pain flashed on his face as he thought about all he had to face. But she saved him, so she had a right to know. Plus, he was slightly proud about lasting this long and even nearly killing a minotaur. Leaving out the previous loops, he told her about how he ran into it somewhat close to the stairs to the 4th floor, how he had to run the way to avoid it killing other adventurers on the upper floors. He talked about how he ran and ran, taking turn after turn and dodging punch after punch. He mentioned how it crushed his shoulders and how he forced his arm to move to stab its mouth, and finally the last sequence that led to the minotaur charging, from where she knows the rest of the story.
To say that Aiz was impressed was an understatement. It was truly a miracle that the boy survived, but a miracle of his own making due to his sheer resolve.
"You did good, Bell," she voiced her honest thoughts. When he didn't reply, she looked down to find him asleep.
Soon after, she ran into Riveria.
"Did you get all of them Aiz?"
She nodded in reply.
"I see. And who is this boy?"
"He was chased and had to fight the minotaur," Aiz said while looking down at the boy.
"We will have to apologize to him for this in the future," Riveria said while looking at the boy covered in blood.
As they walked towards the surface, Riveria cast a healing spell on him after hearing about his injuries from Aiz. After getting to the surface, Aiz took him to the Dea Saint and paid for his treatment before heading to the Twilight Manor.
AN: I have never written anything before so I expect this to be pretty bad. The main reason I wrote this was to get this idea out of Bell with return by death as the only story I found is from a while ago and seems to be discontinued. I plan to write at least one more chapter and maybe more, but my hopes are with a good writer using this idea.