Hey everyone

It has been a while, but we are the last part of a very short arc. Let's how Bell will get Anne out of this situation, and the aftermath of it all.

So we will see more things going on. Let's get to it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danmachi nor the characters

Chapter 20:Mayhem in the Casino

Bell just smiled and looked at the man. "Well sir, how about a bit of a warm-up?"

The older man smiled, "Of course."

The dealer placed their cards and they looked at the cards. Both had a stoic face, not wanting to betray their emotions. Bell placed two cards down and the other man placed three. They looked at the cards and waited.

Terry snorted "Well….ready?"

He nodded.

Both placed their cards down and noticed they both had two pairs. Neither had the advantage. "Interesting."

"Interesting indeed."

"I suppose the warm-up is over, how about we start pushing a bit of the wager."

"Alright, how much?"

He moved a few stacks of chips. Bell followed as well.

The white haired teen felt a tap on his left shoulder and saw Syr. He smiled and nodded. He closed his eyes and relaxed. Then he opened his eyes and was ready. "Okay, let's start."

A new game was played and they each had their cards. They looked at their hands and had a stoic expression. Bell asked for one card, while Terry asked for three. They were given the cards.

Bell sighed and showed his cards. He lost that round.

Terry smirked, "Welp, that was too bad." He then placed more chips. "Want to try again?"

Bell nodded and he closed his eyes for a moment and opened. "Sure."

Another hand was played. This time, Bell was looking through it, and gave one card back. He saw his opponent give two. Then they showed their hands. Terry was surprised, he had only a pair, while Bell had three kinds. "I must admit, that was pure luck on my end."

"Hmph, let's increase the wager."

Bell and Terry were pushing wager after wager. There wasn't much of back and forth between them, some wins and losses were made. The audience were awed how they were betting more chips each time and the others were making comments.

"That kid is playing a risk game."

"Terry is pushing himself."

"Man, I would never bet this much."

On the side, two people were betting on who would give out in the end.

Syr and Ryuu looked at Anne and noticed her lack of interest in the game for a bit. It's as if she saw this play out before and knows the end results on who would win. The gray haired woman knew the game would be over soon. Everything is going to plan.

A drink was served on the table for both of them and they both stopped. "I am going to admit it kid, you are good."

"I am not going to lie, I never felt this competitive at all."

He then had a sly smirk. "Well, how about we make things interesting."

Bell had a look of curiosity "Oh? How?"

"I noticed we have been going back and forth with our chips. At the end of all of this, I believe money isn't something to bet. I do, however, want to up the betting."

Bell smirked, "I'm listening."

"This last game would be determined on something very valuable" he looked at the two women with him. Particularly the gray haired one "Something that is worth more than gold."

"Very well, what do you want?"

He pointed at Syr "I want her, for good."

Bell played along and raised his eyebrow "My fiance?"

"Yes. You see, she is a lovely woman and I am very charmed at her beauty, just as I am still charmed with what I have." He pointed at Anne.

"I see." he looked at Anne "How about your girl then?"

"Oh? You want Anne?"

Bell nodded "However, I will make this even better" he looked at Syr and nodded. He got up and she sat down. "She will play for her life."

The older man chuckled darkly "I like where this is going. Very well, I will play one last game. Everything is on the line. If she wins, Anne is yours, but if I win then your lovely fiance is mine."

"Deal."

Anne didn't like this. She knows where this is going. She saw the dealer changing the deck. "I wish I could stop this….I'm so sorry…."

Syr looked at the deck "Hehe. Such a naughty man, changing the deck to give him a chance. Oh how he is in for a big surprise."

The dealer gave the cards, five each, and watched on.

Syr took it and smiled. She then placed two of them "You know, I used to know a very interesting man years ago."

"Really? What is so interesting about this man?" He gave three cards and was given three new ones.

"This man was part of an evil familia and did nothing but steal things. Then one day he was captured and asked for forgiveness. Of course, the goddess was forgiving and let the man free. Time passed and the man took the identity of another man. This man now lives a more comfortable life than the last one."

He felt like his punch in the gut. He tried to stay focused, but that story. "How the hell did this bitch know about me?! Is this a set-up?!" He looked around for a moment, but couldn't seem to find anything out of the ordinary. "Just who is she?!"

Syr saw how it was affecting him. His face had a moment of disbelief but went stoic. "I do wonder if anyone has ever found him?" She then shrugged "So, ready to play….Ted?"

He nearly fumbled, but it didn't matter to him. He will have her. He showed his cards, four '9' of spades and a club 'king' "Four of a kind. I got this."

Syr then looked at him "Wow…that is so difficult" she had a sad look "I am so sorry Anne…." he had a big gleam on his eyes, but then Syr gave a big smile "But you won't be with him." She placed her cards down and shocked everyone on the table. An 'ace', a 'king', a 'queen', a 'jack', and a 'ten'. They were all in spades. "I believe this is a Royal Flush….I win."

The table was silent. Bell was trying not to laugh and Ryuu was amazed. Anne couldn't believe it, she won her freedom.

Ted though, he was in disbelief. The game should be rigged for him to win. How is that possible "H-how?! That can't be!"

Syr giggled "I must admit, just watching your dealer changing the cards just to be rigged, it would have worked on an average person. However" she looked at him. Her smile didn't have the same playful eyes, as they looked cold. "I am not an average person here."

It sent shivers down his spine. He grew very nervous and pressed a button on the bottom a few times and in came more men with weapons on. "I'm afraid our deal has to be pushed back."

She tilted her head "Well, I don't think that would do." She then looked at Bell with a smile "My dear love, make sure we don't hurt them too hard."

Bell took his jacket off and threw it to the side. He noticed how tense they were becoming. "We could have done this the easy way, but I suppose it can't be helped."

"Let's get this party started, meow!" Out of nowhere, this dark haired cat girl slammed a large wooden weapon at the table breaking it into two.

That was the distraction Bell needed and grabbed one of the men's batons and knocked out the guy. He then went after the other guy, near Ted.

Syr avoided a hit as Ryuu punched one of the men, took his weapon and knocked him out. She removed the skirt, showing she was wearing pants. She blocked an attack easily and knocked a man out.

Ted grabbed the girl and was running for it. Bell went after her, but two of the guys blocked his way. He punched the guy in the gut, avoided an easily incoming swing, hitting his partner. Bell then kicks the guy on the back of his thigh, making him fall, then punches the other guy out.

Meanwhile, Chloe ended up disarmed as one of the men smirked "Got ya now, kitty cat- ugh!" He was kicked hard, sending him flying. She smirked and ducked from an attack she sensed and punched him out. She saw Ryuu take another man out.

"Chloe, does Mama know?"

"Kinda."

She shook her head "She is so dead when she comes back."

Back with Bell, he easily caught up to him and both were in a dead-end of the building. He saw the older man take a knife out and placed it near her throat.

"Well kid, it seems that I underestimated you."

Bell smiled "True. I have to admit, your plan would have worked, but as she said, we are not ordinary people."

"You are going to let me leave this building and I won't allow myself to be captured by you at all."

Bell smirked and threw the baton very fast that it hit the head of Ted and he was knocked out. The white haired teen calculated well enough not to kill him.

Anne was surprised by all of this and saw her savior. "You….you saved me."

"Of course I did. I don't like seeing a beautiful woman like yourself being kidnapped. Your parents told me of your problem, so I am here to solve it."

She went over and hugged the man. He hugged her back as she felt her crying. "It's over…. You won't have to deal with him ever."

Ryuu arrived and sighed in relief. She then saw Syr coming over and bent down toward Ted. She saw him slap him a bit "Wakey, wakey."

He groaned as he opened his eyes. His eyes widened in fear seeing the gray haired girl "You!"

"Yes, me!" She gave a smile. A smile that lacked any emotion from it. He saw her go over and whisper a few things, which drain the color of his face. She saw him go over to Ryuu and was on his knees.

"Take me to jail, I will confess to anything! Just keep me away!"

Ryuu was surprised to see the man panicking. She then saw Shakti appearing, which caused the older man to crawl over to the woman really quickly. "Please, take me to jail, I will tell you anything!"

Shakti looked confused, but then arrested the man.

Two hours later
"I am surprised they allowed me to keep my winnings." Bell said.

Ryuu responded "You did win it, but I am happy you did give it to the Orphanage. It's nice of you."

Bell chuckled "Well, Syr suggested it. Plus, I do love children."

Ryuu kisses his cheek.

Then they saw Anne reunite with her parents. She hugged them and was happy to see them. They seemed to be chatting for a bit and then she went to Bell.

"Thank you for saving me. I don't know how to repay you." She smiled brightly.

"You don't have to. Just happy to help."

She looked at Syr "Can I reward your fiance?"

"Oh? Go ahead."

She went over and kissed Bell's lips. He kisses back and holds her closely. She wished she didn't end the kiss, but he stopped it.

Syr went over and began to whisper her ear for a while. Her face turned red and nodded "I could try it…."

"Don't be shy."

Bell knew what she just said and pondered if his next level up would be good enough to keep a number of girls happy. Or a new skill.

Next Day, House of Fertility
Chloe was scrubbing on the pots and sighed. "I just wanted to make sure mew butt is okay, meow."

"You should have stayed at work though." Ryuu pointed it out.

"Meow, that is ridiculous. What about Anya?"

"It was her time off, and for Syr and myself? You already knew why."

She scrubbed the pot, all while thinking of trying to trap Bell for another round of lovemaking. For now, she would take this punishment.

"Oi, focus on your work!"

"Yes, Mama, meow!"

With Hephaestus
She was sitting in her chair and sighed. She couldn't stop thinking about what happened with Welf. "How did it happen?!"

Flashback, two days ago
She began to deal with a new project this time around, but it seems she needed an extra hand on this one. She heard a knock and went to answer. She was surprised to see Welf, wearing a different set of clothing, but well enough to do his work. She noticed he has become a little more different from how he looked.

"Did he grow a little taller?" she then greeted him "Hello Welf."

"Lady Hephaestus. I was sent here to assist you on your new project."

She nodded and allowed him in. She then gestured to follow her. He followed her until they got inside of her private furnace. Once inside, she saw Welf grabbing a hammer and looked at her. "Alright, let's see the plans."

They got a good look at it and began to work.

Thus far, everything was normal, and they are moments that both were working well synchronized. Like clockwork, they were making good strides.

Then they took a break as they left it in the heat of the furnace. Hephaestus sighed as she felt slightly stressed lately. She then felt a pair of hands on her shoulder and was gently massaged. It started to feel good.

"You seem very stressed."

"Yes. So many orders and already another project…."

"I am available to work you know."

"I know, but you are with Hestia's familia."

"That is true, but lately, I have improved my skills." He moved his fingers and rubbed at an area, making her moan. "Yep you are stressed out."

She smiled and was enjoying it. "More."

He kept going at it for a while, as she was feeling stressed free. He then moved to remove her gloves and massaged her hands. Despite working, her hands felt soft.

She opened her eye and blushed. She saw how his hands would intertwine with hers. She watched how….naughty it looked. "He is just massaging my…..oh my~"

"Soft hands." He then stopped and moved his hands on her neck, giving a small massage.

Once he stopped, he held her hand and led her to her couch. She sat on his llp and held her close. He caresses her hand, while holding her close.

"I used to do this with Aphrodite a long time ago, but she sat on my lap. Times have changed now…."
"Feeling better?"

She nodded, meekly. She shouldn't feel this way, yet Welf was making her feel cared and….loved?

"Let me know when you are ready to continue working on the project."

She looked at him and smiled, "Just a little bit longer."

He nodded and they stayed holding each other.

Flashback ended
Hephaestus smiled and giggled to herself. "I love the cuddles, Welfy~ Maybe we might do more things."

She couldn't wait until he visits again sometime in the future.

Unknown location
Viettreux was staring at the map of Orario and made a few markings.

Then he saw something pulse and glow. He picked it up and it vibrated. He then had a sadistic smile "It's here."

To be continued

A/N: Thus ended that arc. And now, starts this new arc which will be pretty….messed up in a way. You will see why.

I am sure most of you have already seen the 'What if?' story that was released in the Danmemo game. I have to admit, being trained by Alfia and Zald would have made Bell a beast no doubt about it. However, it does make me ponder about the other familias and such, and how much would that play out. Would they still be pushed to get stronger? Or complacency? Would Loki push themselves to be the best? Would Ottarl feel any way of being the best?

That is one story that would be amazing to think about. That would be an interesting take on the story, but I suppose it is the best to what happened, as it pushed others to be stronger, Ryuu and the others understood what Justice is, and Ottarl was pushed to reach that Level 7, making him King.

Well, that is all for now, I will see you around.

Next time: A little girl looking for warmth, Syr bumps into the girl, Syr adopts her as her daughter. Don't miss it.