As a level two, it was suicidal to do what he had done. If it weren't for Arash's long distance support, Bell was certain he would've died before reaching this point. As expected, there were plenty of guards standing in his path as he rushed towards the tower that belonged to the goddess. Not to mention the Violas. Many of them were dispatched before they got even close, but some managed to get through, as the Starfall couldn't just focus on supporting him. Thus Bell was mentally exhausted with all the magic he had to cast as well as physically. His legs and arms never stopped moving as he pushed his way through to what guards were left, most of them ranging from level one to two. Perhaps it was fortunate that most other level three of the Ishtar Familia were spread out in the city to keep an eye. Still, it took a while to reach the top, with his legs aching. A stray attack, causing it to bleed more than he liked to. Cuts from the Belbera weapons covered his body and his lungs were on fire.
Despite all that however, he stood tall, pointing his right blade at Tammuz Belili, trying to put up a brave front. Trying to hide that his vision was a bit blurry. Trying his best to hold onto his Argonaut Charge, knowing he needed it for this and charged it up beforehand. To his frustration, Ishtar did not seem intimidated at all, grinning at him after the shock wore off.
"My, if it isn't the up and coming rookie." She licked her lips as she held her chin. "Even cuter in person~!"
If he was in his right mind, he might have thought her beautiful. Not exactly attractive, as the lack of clothes was a bit much, but certainly there was a certain charm. But due to the threatening situation he was in as well as the lack of oxygen in his mind, he merely let out a growl. For some reason the goddess blinked in surprise before clicking her tongue in annoyance.
"Unfortunately for you, I don't have much time... " She made a quick head motion with a huff. "Tammuz, catch him."
Despite his plain appearance, the man was fast. Almost blindingly so. If Bell didn't meet plenty of other people that seemed to teleport in his eyes, he would have been knocked down and captured. Instead he exhaled and swung his left blade, aiming right for the man's neck. The man's eyes were focused on his right blade, thus his eyes widened as he was forced to lean back, sliding on the ground with his knees. Bell forced his body to relax, in order to snap his right arm like a whip, stabbing after his back. Tammuz however rolled forward and proceeded to take out a knife with a frown. For a moment, they stood in front of each other before Bell moved first, picking up speed as his feet danced on the ground. Then he let out a war cry as he began to cut away at his opponent. For some reason, the people at the Stardust Garden named this particular move "Rabbit Rush". He wasn't sure how to feel about the rabbit part, but he certainly appreciated the 'Rush'. Not that he was swinging blindly. If he did that, he'd be dead already. But no, he relied on the lessons he learned in his life so far. Aiming at spots to make it awkward to defend for the next strike. Built up on each other. Never settle for an attack until the last second. In a sense, his style was inspired by one man, even if the choice of weapons were entirely different. However, he already saw someone fight off a person that was two levels above him. Bell was no Sasaki Kojiro. He may not be unreadable like him. He may not have his immense insight. Nor did he have the mobility of Ryuu or the swordsmanship of Aiz. Raw power like Penthesilea or Oryou was a pipe dream as well. But what he had now was more than enough to survive a man who wasn't even trying that much, focusing too much on the order he received from his goddess. He felt a certain sense of accomplishment as he pushed the man back, Tammuz gritting his teeth in concentration as he was on the defense. However, the level gap was still a gap. Bell's mind was growing sluggish, his choices becoming less choices and more instinctive strikes. The strain on Tammuz' face became smaller as Bell's movement began to simplify, even if they didn't slow down. Fortunately for Bell, the man decided to back off for a moment, creating some distance between them. Tammuz then glanced at his goddess who chuckled in amusement, rubbing her chin.
"Hoo~?" She eyed Bell like a piece of meat before looking at her own child. "Tammuz, be a good boy and try a bit har-"
Bell knew that was his best chance. His only change he could get. Argonaut has been charging him for far longer than three minutes, the maximum amount he could charge. With it, he was certain he could down Tammuz with ease. However, that was only the case if he actually hit the man. Firebolt could be deflected if the man was too close. Or avoided, as it was a straight blast. Massive as it would be with Argonaut, but still a straight attack. Dragon Fang was arguably worse, as it possessed a limited range. Not to mention his arm motion would make it obvious to anyone worth their salt and a level four would fall into that category. Both spells could be avoided. Therefore, as much as it disgusted Bell to do this... He raised his arm and moved it to the side. Ishtar blinked, before her smile died swiftly. Tammuz' eyes widened and began to move the moment the words left Bell's mouth.
"Firebolt!"
If Tammuz could just avoid his attack, he just had to put him into a situation where he didn't want to avoid it. In this case, when it came between him or his goddess. It tore at Bell's conscience. This wasn't something a hero would usually do, doing something so cowardly. But that thought was suppressed quickly. Neither Kaguya nor Lyra would object to this kind of move. And he recalled Kojiro's words, to always use any advantage he could get. Because of that, he didn't waver in his aim.
The mass of plasma, fire and lightning accompanied by the white of Argonaut, roared towards Ishtar. The goddess screamed, crossing her arms. Fortunately for her, Tammuz was fast enough to reach her. If he stayed cool and calculated, he would've just grabbed her and jumped away. Maybe even jump off the tower. But with the chaos addling their mind, as well as the threat to his goddess, he made an irrational choice. A choice based on his belief that she was more important than himself. Thus he grabbed her and threw her out of the path of Firebolt, only to be hit by it himself as he switched places with his goddess. The blast destroyed the wall and balcony and everything in that direction, shooting Tammuz out as he let out an agonizing scream. Bell collapsed on his knees, his vision becoming rather blurry. But he refused to faint. Gritting his teeth, he held his head, gasping for air. Suddenly he felt a hand stroke his cheek. As his vision slowly cleared up, he looked up to see Ishtar smirk at him, even if it had an edge to it.
"Just let go... Surrender yourself to me... " She whispered, trying to sound seductive. He only stared blankly at her, almost forgetting his terrible headache. What the heck was she doing?! Letting out a growl, he caused her to blink in shock. Then he forced himself to stand up and point his right blade at her. In a panic she stumbled backwards, towards the now open hole. Looking back with a gulp, she quickly stood up, hands raised up trying to placate Bell.
"Okay, okay, cool it!"
He had no idea why she was in such a panic. Because her seduction didn't work? He thought goddesses of love like her could charm any person, but apparently that ability was overblown. Still, shaking his head, he stumbled a bit but found his balance as he took a deep breath to center himself again.
"Surrender... !" He said in a raspy tone, causing Ishtar to nod frantically.
"Yes, yes, I will! I'll tell you people everything, alright?!"
He wanted to relax. With the sounds of battle becoming quieter in the distance, he thought he could leave it to the others now. However, he still had questions. Many questions. If he didn't ask them now, when could he? Better to ask sooner than later. There was one burning question on his mind as he snarled.
"Who is the Night Queen?! What's the god's name?!"
The one who was behind everything. Behind the smuggling. The one who gave Nyx so much grieve. Among all questions, this one burned the most in his heart. Ishtar blinked at his words before a scoff escaped her. That scoff evolved into laughter, as she shook her head in disbelief. With an ugly smirk, she eyed Bell.
"You believe that thing is a god?"
Bell froze up. That thing? It was demeaning. But also a term that meant that someone had no other word to describe something with. That a goddess would use such a word that represented ignorance... Ishtar seemed amused by his expression, letting out a wistful sigh.
"Hah, fine. She's-"
Music. No, an orchestra boomed in the area. The next instance, Ishtar was hovering over the edge, her feet dangling in the air. Her eyes were wide, as she reached out, as if she was flung back by an invisible force. Bell moved quickly as a scream formed in the goddess' throat. He jumped forward, feeling awfully slow, and tried to grab her hand. But it slipped through his fingers before he could grasp it. He could barely hear it. Her desperate screams were muffled by the music that bombarded his ears, causing his head to feel like it's splitting apart. With wide eyes of disbelief, he saw how she smashed on the ground. In the next instance… a pillar of light exploded upwards. He could barely comprehend what was happening. Then he forced himself to look around, feeling the thousand stares on him, from everywhere.
Where did the music come from?! Who attacked Ishtar?! To these questions, he received no answers, as he frantically looked for them, ignoring how he was completely visible at the edge of the tower to all that looked towards the pillar of light.
/
When the pillar of light appeared, when everyone saw a divine being sent back to heaven once more, several things happened at once. Several individuals in the Red Light District suddenly died. Not to some outside force, but by themselves. Throats were slit with manic laughter, Belbera biting their tongues for some reason. Only those in the evacuation area were safe, with Aisha witnessing those acts of suicide with horror, as the wonderful music seemed to infect everyone with madness.
At the same time, as the pillar started to disappear, a hooded figure emerged, arriving at the spot Ishtar slammed down. A certain orb rolled on the ground and she quickly picked it up. Throwing it at some other servant, she then looked up only for her ringed eyes to widen.
The Royal Gale chased after another hooded figure, wearing a dragon's skull over their head, with some silver hair peeking out. Over their shoulder they held the body of a scorched individual. But it was the other person that caught her eye. At the sight of Kaguya, the one called Gojouno growled and stumbled into an alley after shooing the servant away with the key. Clutching her head, she collapsed before hitting it against the wall repeatedly, her eyes almost seeming to flicker between the rings and losing them. With great agony, she reached into her pocket, her hand shaking and twitching before raising a bunch of pills in her palm and attempting to shove it down her own throat.
While this was happening, Alise watched in horror as Phryne screamed, convulsing on the ground. With her goddess sent back into heaven, her blessing was sealed. With her blessing sealed, its protection vanished, leaving the former level six to the side effects of the drugs she took. Alise was about to move forward, trying to help, before someone suddenly appeared. The Pallum Knight, the helmet still broken, shoved something into Phryne's mouth. The twitching and agony seemed to stop as she slumped down. The next moment, the massive body was flung over the Pallum's shoulder. Alise's eyes widened, realizing what was happening and moved at the same time as the stranger.
"Hold it!"
Jumping over the rooftops, she spotted Ryuu and Kaguya chasing their own stranger. Joining up with them, she was glad they didn't seem too injured but that was only a light consolation.
"They're moving to Daedalus Street!" Kaguya roared, causing everyone to increase their pace. Yet for all their speeds, their opponents just seemed faster. Then Alise smiled a bit, hearing the familiar sound of arrows soaring through the air. But to her shock, before they could get even close to them, the dragon skull person muttered something under their breath. For some reason, the Scarlet Harnel and her two friends paled, their bodies stopping before their minds even caught up, as if remembering something terrible. The next instance, a wave of pure force smashed the arrows trying to stop them and hit the three. Forced back, they spun through the air before landing on their feet. Alise was shaken, her eyes wide at what just happened. This wasn't the first time they met this attack. Her body reacted too fast for it to be anything else. But she couldn't place it. She recalled Olivas Act. Someone who was meant to be dead, but was revived by the dungeon. That magic just now…It couldn't be, if it was that person, there should have been-
"Captain, head in the game!"
Alise clicked her tongue, shaken out of her musings. Right, thoughts for later. They hurried after them, entering the streets of Daedalus. They heard a loud bang, of heavy steel hitting something. They turned around the corner, only to have their eyes widen.
A massive, ornate door. No, a gate to be specific. It seemed almost alive, with the ominous gargoyles and the weird patterns. Still, it did not bode well. They definitely saw the two strangers carrying the Ishtar executives into this direction. With a loud scream, Ryuu began to hack away at the gate, yet it wouldn't even budge, even with the power of a level six. In frustration, she kicked it, only to wince in pain. Shaking her head, she stepped back.
"No, no, no!"
"Lion-"
"We had them!" The elf snapped at Alise. She pointed at the gate with tears welling up in her eyes. "They are right here!" She turned to it with a snarl. "Open, you cowards!"
"You're wasting your energy," Kaguya muttered, equally angered, just as Ryuu was about to chant her magic. Tapping the wall a few times, she picked up a black piece of rock. "Not only is this Adamantite, it's also made of Obsidian Soldier."
Alise winced at the words. Not only indestructible to physical attacks then but also magic resistant? Yeah, no, not even Riveria could crack this open. Which only made her worry about the Loki Familia. Didn't they try to... ? With a sigh, she shook her head.
"We need to get back to the Red Light District." She slapped her hands together, putting on a bright smile. "Heads up, girls! We did it!"
Unfortunately, it didn't do the trick. Kaguya and Ryuu shared a look, with the former letting out a scoff.
"We won against the Ishtar Familia... " She muttered, as if it was just a minor thing. Ryuu bit her lip before glancing back at the gate that seemed to mock them.
"So why doesn't this feel like a victory then, captain?"
To that, Alise had no answer.