"Oh, come on, why can't I go with you?" Ardee pouted.

Bell and the rest of his familia, plus Gareth, were at the entrance to the dungeon. The street was mostly clear, but the odd adventurer was here and there.

"Because you just got out of the hospital. Besides, I need you to keep an eye on Haruhime for me, alright?" Bell asked.

"I don't like this. It feels like a trap. How else would the guild know about them down there?"

Bell smiled before patting her on her head.

"It'll most definitely be a trap. Which is why I'm gonna spring it. I'll be fine, and so will everyone else. So don't worry, your pretty little head about it," Bell smirked.

Ardee blushed a little and looked away. "You're just calling me that to make me feel better."

"Nope. I'm telling ya the god's honest truth. But hey, keep things safe up here for us. Wouldn't be any use for us to go down there and not have a home to come back to."

Ardee let out a chuckle before smiling. "Right, you can count on me."

"Oh, and one more thing. Go into my room and look on my nightstand. There's a couple of hero stories I was able to acquire. You and Haruhime can have a girl's night with that."

"How were you able to get new books, Bell? Book merchants haven't been here for a few months?" Ardee asked, shocked.

"I have my ways. Well, I need to get going. Tell me how you liked the stories when I get back."

Bell then turned on his heel and began walking to the entrance of the dungeon where his familia and Gareth were waiting.

"Hey, Bell," Ardee called out.

Bell turned back around and faced Ardee.

"Yeah"

"Be careful, please. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Bell just gave her a comforting smile and pointed at himself with his thumb.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm strong, remember. I also got you cheering me on, so I'll be peachy."

Bell turned back around and walked to his familia, plus Gareth. Ardee watched him go with a sense of longing in her eyes. She wanted to be by his side and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

But he sidelined her, and for good reason as well. She just wished she could do with him. Was that too much for her to ask?

"You think Bell realizes he's flirting with her?" Alise asked with her arms crossed.

"No, I don't think he does. He seems kind of dense," Iska answered.

"He is dense. He didn't even react to my maid outfit," Kaguya said.

"Why would you bring that out so soon?" Lyra asked.

"Because I wanted to really surprise him, and he barely reacted. He thought I was joking when I said I wanted to fuck him."

"How lewd," Ryu said, her ears and face red.

"Oh, shut it, you prude elf!"

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"So lad, was that yer girlfriend," Gareth teased.

"No old-timer, she's a friend who just so happens to be a girl. Just like everyone else in my familia," Bell answered.

"Right boy your age must be glad to be in a familia full of girls."

"Not really. Try sharing a bathroom with 11 girls."

Gareth's face turned pale, and he shook his head.

"I'll pray for ya lad."

Bell chuckled as he and Gareth continued walking side by side next to each other. Bell's familia was wondering why he was being so friendly with Gareth when they knew about his dislike of the Loki familia. Truth was, Gareth was chill and unproblematic, which was odd since he was a child of Loki.

"Do you want her to be your girlfriend?" Gareth asked.

Bell was quiet for a moment as he looked to the ceiling of the dungeon. They were on the 17th floor and would soon reach the Goliath's room.

"I don't know. I don't really get that type of love, so it wouldn't be fair to her if we went out. I also don't like being touched either, and Ardee can be clingy at times."

"Awfully considerate of ya, lad. But that wasn't a straight answer."

"Well, that's the answer you're getting," Bell replied.

Gareth just laughed, and the two continued walking in front of everyone.

"Well, they're awfully chummy," Nezhe commented.

"Doesn't he hate the Loki familia?" Celty asked.

"Maybe he only hates a few of them?" Asta added.

"Or maybe he's just okay with Gareth since Gareth doesn't care about a lot of things," Noin said.

Nezhe shrugged, and the group continued onwards.

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Astraea sat in her office humming to herself. A few of Ganesha's guards were outside to protect her while her children were away. She was finishing her taxes when her door opened.

"Hey, Lady Astraea, how ya been?" Ardee cheerfully asked books in her hands.

Astraea put her pen down and got out of her chair. She quickly walked to Ardee and wrapped the girl in a hug.

"Thank the heavens you're ok," Astraea muttered.

"Oh, uh yeah, I'm alright. Well, I wouldn't be if it weren't for Bell," Ardee nervously responded.

"It's alright, child. I know about the burns, and I don't judge you at all for them. I've seen worse in my long life as a Goddess," Astraea softly cooed.

Ardee sniffled before Astraea let her go. "Thank you, lady Astraea."

Astraea simply smiled before patting Ardee on the head. "You're welcome, child. Now, what brings you by?"

Ardee's eyes lit up, and she held up the books in her arms. "Bell said he was able to get me and Haruhime some hero stories. I don't know how he got them, but I've never read these before."

"Well, which ones did he get?" Astraea asked, trying to see the title of the book on top.

"Oh, so this first one is called the Tales of the Wizard King. This second one is called Henry of Skallitz's journey, and this last one is the king of curses downfall."

Astraea felt a chill go down her spine hearing that name, but she hid it. She gave Ardee a soft smile before speaking.

"Well, I hope you and Haruhime enjoy your girl's night, and remember, you two are welcome to visit any time you want. I'd like to meet this renard everyone was so worked up about"

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"Woah, what is this place?" Bell said in amazement.

Bell looked out across the vast landscape of trees and grass that littered the 18th floor. He saw some type of monster flying in the sky and a waterfall miles away. The crystal above gave it a sense of daylight and seemed to be shining.

Alise giggled. "It's the 18th floor, silly."

"A place like this can exist in the dungeon?" Bell asked, still amazed. He could see every little detail about this floor.

"I would say close your mouth as you could catch flies. But I know that won't happen," Lyra joked, walking past him.

She was carrying the camping equipment on her back while Iska and Nezhe had the rest. Bell shook himself out of his stupor before following them.

After a few minutes of walking, the group arrived at a clearing at a cliff overlooking the town of Rivira.

"Wow, that place looks like a shit hole," Bell said.

"Yeah, it pretty much is. They surcharge the hell out of ya with supplies and the inns. So that's why we're camping, lad," Gareth explained, standing next to Bell.

Bell nodded before he and Gareth began helping set up camp. Bell was able to set up a tent all by himself, which surprised almost everyone there.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Maryuu asked.

"Oh, my aunt and uncle used to take me camping all the time when I was younger. So I learned to set up a tent all by myself to learn some independence," Bell explained.

A sad smile then broke out on his face, remembering the trips he'd used to take. He shook his head and dispelled the memories of the simpler times. He had a job to do, and he couldn't let something like his feelings get in the way.

He had to keep moving forward no matter what. Zald and Alfia were dangerous and were killing innocent people. They weren't the loving aunt and uncle he used to know. They were something different, something that made Bell sick to think about. Or maybe this is how they were all along?

Whatever the reason, Bell wouldn't hesitate. He would do what he set out to do, and then...and then what? What would he do after his job was complete?

Would he stay in Orario, or would he leave? He didn't have anything waiting for him outside the city. He wondered if his Grandpa was alright. He hasn't heard anything from him in a month. Was Hera alright as well? Or was she dead along with his Grandpa, and if they were, what reason would he have to leave Orario?

He didn't have a home to go back to nor anyone outside the city. But if he stayed in Orario, he'd have constant reminders of him killing his family. But all of his friends were here, and he cared for them.

He also didn't want to leave Ardee, who needed his support. He didn't want to leave Haruhime, whom he had risked everything for. He didn't want to leave his familia, who were what he assumed were his friends. Or the closest things he had to friends. Or Astraea, who filled the gap of a mother that he wanted since Alfia tried to kill him.

"Yo Bell, you alright?" Iska asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, just thinking about things."

"Oh, like what, Mr. Philosopher?"

"Simpler times," Bell responded, looking solemnly at the ground.

Iska didn't ask what was bothering him as she knew he wouldn't talk about it. She had known him for almost two months, and yet she barely knew anything about him.

She wished he'd talk about himself more, but anytime someone tried to find out his aunt and uncle's names, he'd change the subject. When they asked about his abilities, he'd say Ardee was right, and they're spooky ghost powers. All she knew about Bell was that he grew up in the mountains, he liked hero stories, and he wasn't a normal human.

She also knew that he didn't like to be touched, but she didn't know why. She found Bell interesting as his actions oftentimes didn't line up with his personality. But he also confused the hell out of her.

"Don't we all?" Iska responded.

Iska then let out a chuckle. "You know, before the dark times, we'd all get together at this one inn called the Hostess of Fertility. Some of the best food and drink I've ever had. Oh, you should see when Lady Astraea gets drunk."

Bell's head quickly snapped over and looked at the Amazon. "Wait, Astraea, the goddess of justice and purity, has gotten drunk?"

"Oh, yeah, whenever we'd have our familia dinners at the hostess, she'd go all out and get wasted by the end. Of course, since we're her loyal protectors, no man had the chance to take advantage of her. Although she does get pretty clingy when drunk."

"Oh, now that's something I gotta see." Bell chuckled.

"Oh, and when Alise gets drunk, she sometimes uses her fire magic. We have to stop her from doing it so Mia doesn't kick us out," Iska giggled.

"You have a nice laugh, you know that," Bell said, sticking a stake into the ground.

"Oh, you think so?" Iska asked, feeling lighter after the compliment.

"Yeah, I do. You're fun to be around. Even if you annoy the hell out of me by trying to dress me up."

"Oh, come on. You can't go giving a girl a compliment and then say something like that," Iska complained, yet smiled.

"Says who!"

"Says me"

"Oh, well, it's a good thing I don't listen to you then."

Iska rolled her eyes and lightly scoffed. "Flatterer"

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Astraea was lying in her bed. She was dressed in her white nightgown with a lamp on. The lamp sat on her nightstand and lit up a small amount of the room. But provided enough light so Astraea could see the words on the book she was reading.

However, she had trouble focusing as she kept thinking back to one of the books Ardee had. The king of curses downfall. She hasn't heard that name in over a thousand years. Not since Ouranus sealed him away. The book Ardee had was a censored version of what really happened, and people now think Sukana was merely a myth.

"How did Bell get that book? Did he read it? Or does he know the truth Zeus was his grandpa after all?"

All these questions ran through Astraea's mind, and it worried her. One of her fears was that Sukana would return one day and that nobody would be strong enough to stop him.

But that was before she met Bell, and her hope was that if Sukana ever returned. Bell would defeat him and save the world from hardship.

She then felt a burning on her back and felt some of her blessings weaken. She started panting, and her face flushed red. She started sweating, and her nightgown stuck to her body, and her hair became messy.

Her children were dying, and one was already dead. She could feel their blessings weakening. But one burned, and from the emotion, she could feel from it. Was pure rage.

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"Oh yeah, this is definitely a trap, alright," Bell said, seeing the heat signatures of the blaze rocks in the ceiling.

"Alright, well, what do we do? If we walk in there, they'll drop the whole floor on us," Ryu asked.

"Well, that's simple. I can walk in there, have the floor drop on me, and go from there," Bell said like it was normal.

"Lad, I don't doubt your durability, but I don't think you'd survive a whole floor being dropped on your head," Gareth stated.

"Nah, I'll be fine. Besides, I gotta show off a little."

"You sure? You don't have to do this," Gareth added.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Besides, you don't need to worry about me."

"Of course, I do, lad. I'm worried for all of you. You're only children, and I'm an adult, so your life takes precedence over mine. Even if I have to have a whole dungeon floor dropped on top of me to keep you all alive, I will," Gareth firmly stated.

Bell looked into the dwarves' eyes and saw nothing but sincerity and determination. Bell looked at his familia and saw soft smiles brought upon by the dwarves' words.

"Don't worry, old-timer. I'll be fine. Now watch me. You're all gonna see my true powers now," Bell confidently stated, walking into floor thirty.

"Oh, he doesn't know what the confidence is doing to me," Kaguya shuddered.

Ryu took a step away from Kaguya while everyone else gave her odd looks.

"Keep it in your kimono, Kaguya," Nezhe said.

"She's not wrong about the confidence being sexy, though," Iska added.

"Oh great, he awakened her Amazonian instincts," Lyra complained.

"I find your lack of concern for your friend concerning," Gareth shakily said.

"Oh, he'll be fine. An explosion like that isn't anything to Bell. More like an annoyance than a threat," Alise explained.

Before Gareth could respond, the sound of multiple explosions went off, and rubble came crashing down. Gareth watched with wide eyes as all the rubble around Bell harmlessly floated above him.

"Missed me!" Bell yelled.

Bell then threw the rubble away from him and cleared a path for everyone else while a catman standing on a ridge cursed.

"Damnit. What the hell is that brat?!!"

The Astraea familia plus Gareth walked into the clearing and stared up at the catman with over forty men behind him.

"Your plan failed Jura. Now give up, and we'll treat you fairly," Alise stated, unsheathing her rapier.

Jura began panicking as he failed his mission and was either about to be killed or arrested. He took a step back, causing a stick to break.

And despair let out its cry

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Everyone looked around, hearing the ungodly shrieking coming from all around them. The dungeon itself sounded like it was in pain.

"The hell is that noise?" Bell asked, looking around.

He didn't have to wait long for an answer as the ceiling of the 30th floor opened up, and out came a green honey monster that resembled a dog. It fell to the ground, its body curled in on itself before uncurling and landing on the floor.

It looked more bone than monster, but Bell's body was screaming at him to do something and fast. He saw Noin closest to the creature, looking at it in confusion.

At speeds that surprised even Bell, he took off running and tackled her to the ground right as the monsters razor sharp claws swung down.

Bell's infinity negated the attack, and the beast moved on to its next prey. It slashed at Nezhe, but the attack was stopped by Gareth tanking it for the werewolf.

But no one was close enough to save Asta, who was caught in the beast's jaws. She didn't even have a chance to beg for mercy before the juggernaut bit her in half and swallowed the upper part of her body.

Ryu, in her anger, charged at the beast.

"Lion, wait!" Alise yelled after her friend, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Ryu kept charging and jumped at the monster her Luminos Alf drawn. The juggernaut shot forward and spun around, slamming its tail into Ryu's ribs.

Ryu coughed up blood and fell to the ground, and the juggernaut turned back around and swiped at Ryu. But the attack was blocked by Kaguya, who lost her arm in the process.

"Celty, get ready," Ryana commanded, charging her fire spell. Celty charged her lighting, and at Ryana's signal, the two fired their spells.

They felt a sense of achievement seeing their combined spells of fire and lighting hit the juggernaut. But it quickly turned to fear, seeing an amplified version heading straight for them.

They froze in fear, seeing their imminent deaths heading towards them. But both spells were canceled out as two blue spheres blocked the spells.

The shockwave sent Ryana and Celty flying back, and their back slammed into the wall next to the entrance.

The juggernaut landed in front of Iska, and she panicked as her blows to the creature did nothing. Its claws came down and served her right arm. It would've been the same to the left if Bell hadn't tackled her out of the way.

The creature screeched in annoyance before running after Maryuu. The blue-haired girl ran in fear.

"Please don't eat me!" She cried.

The beast's jaws descended on Maryuu.

"Maryuu, hang on!" Alise shouted, running to her friend.

But she wasn't fast enough, and the jaws clamped down.

Only to be stopped by Gareth holding the beast's mouth open with his axe.

"RUN FOR THE ENTRANCE LASS?!!" Gareth shouted.

Maryuu did as he said, and Gareth's axe shattered after causing shards of it to bury themselves in his face.

Gareth kept his eyes open, however, and delivered a solid right hook to the creature. It dodged Alise's jab from her rapier and appeared behind her, one of its claws through her gut.

Gareth jumped up and broke the claw in half before catching Alise in his arms. He started running to the entrance as Noin and Nezhe dragged Ryu, whose back was broken, to the entrance as they began to retreat.

Lyra threw a bomb to distract the creature, but the shrapnel flew back and lodged itself into her right eye.

Maryuu threw Lyra over her shoulder and ran to the entrance with Kaguya and Iska right behind her. Bell was playing defense and meeting the monster at every stop.

His glasses had fallen off during the fight, and his red eyes were filled with rage. He slid under the creature and grabbed its tail before throwing it away from his familia.

But it landed atop Jura and his, and the sounds of their scream rang out amongst the floor.

Bell saw the rest of his familia and Gareth at the entrance to floor 30. He took off running to it, seeing the panicked faces of those still up.

"Run, Bell, come on!" Nezhe shouted.

The screams of Jura and his familia stopped, and several thoughts ran through Bell's head.

"What the hell is that thing? It's fast, and its claws are sharp. It reflects and amplifies magic tenfold."

Bell saw his familia urging him to run faster, but Bell had another idea.

"It could follow us up the floor and put more people in danger. Or it'll go lower and wipe out adventures on the lower levels. I can't let that happen. But I can't risk everyone else."

Bell stopped and yelled. "STAND BACK!"

Everyone else was confused at why he stopped but subconsciously stood away from the entrance. Bell threw blue at it, causing his exit to be blocked by rocks.

"BELL NO!!" Alise shouted, watching the rubble block him from her view.

The rest of the familia, who weren't too injured, watched in fear and sadness as Bell locked himself in there with that monster.

And then despair let out another cry.

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Two figures watched the massacre with indifference on their faces.

"It seems we haven't been pushing them hard enough."

"You're right. It's time to implement the bounty system now. Push the adventurers to their absolute breaking point. Only the strong shall survive this."

The two remained on the cliff and watched as the white-haired boy charged. Without any fear.

Well, shit hit the fan, and most of the Astraea familia is wounded, with one dead. I didn't really have Asta do anything, so that's why I killed her off, and I only wanted to have it not be like most, where Kaguya loses an arm and Lyra an eye. Those still happened, but like half of the familia is also injured, along with Gareth.

Anyway, tune in next time to see how Bell's fight goes. Will he survive? Probably, but where's the fun in knowing?

Anyway later.