Artemis stood in the temple of Elsos, panting and nervous. When they had taken the mission to kill this monster, they had no idea it would be this strong.

Her familia were on their last legs, with Rethusa giving a rallying cry to the other. Artemis steadied her breathing and drew back her drawstring.

If this is where she died, then she'd make sure this calamity would feel her wrath. She loosed the arrow and watched as it penetrated where she assumed an eye was.

The monster howled in pain before turning its attention to her. It swung one of its vines at her, slamming into her side.

Artemis went flying through the air and slammed into a wall, causing her familia to watch on in horror. Artemis slid down the wall and looked at the monster with blurry vision.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched her familia make a desperate last stand against the scorpions that had surrounded them.

"I'm sorry everyone. But it looks like this is where it ends."

Artemis watched as her vision grew heavy, and her head felt lighter and lighter. Rethusa kept firing arrow after arrow at the calamity, and its offspring. When the arrows ran out, she used her daggers. When the blades broke, she used her hands.

The other members of her familia were doing the same. They knew they were going to die and had accepted their fates. But they would take down as many of these monsters with them.

"Come on, keep fighting! Take down ten of them for one of you!" Rethusa ordered.

The Artemis familia was growing tired, yet they kept fighting. Artemis watched with teary eyes as her familia fought their final battle.

But fate had other plans for her and her children.

"GET DOWN!" A voice yelled.

It grabbed the attention of the monsters, allowing Artemis's familia to hit the deck.

"FUS RO DAH"

A strong force of wind slammed into the monsters, causing them to turn to dust. The calamity roared in anger as its children were killed.

It swung a vine at Bell, who sliced it in half with his giant greatsword. He shot forward at blinding speeds, cutting off one of the calamities legs.

He flipped in the air, avoiding its mouth and landing on top of its head. He flipped his sword and had it pointed down before stabbing the creature through the skull.

He used his lighting magic and used the blade as a conduit to cook the calamity from the inside. It roared in pain, trying to buck him off, but Bell remained standing.

It crashed into wall after wall, but Bell didn't move an inch. After another minute, the creature collapsed to the ground, twitching but still alive.

Bell jumped off the creature, taking his sword out from its skull, and landed in front of it.

"VEN GAAR NOS"

A cyclone of wind appeared from nowhere and shredded the calamity to pieces before it turned to ash.

Seeing as his job was done, Bell sheathed his sword on his back and walked over to Artemis. She watched as the boy no older than 14 approached her with a smug smile on his face.

She felt tears well up in her eyes, knowing that she and her familia were going to be alright. But also knowing Bell would make fun of her and hold this over her.

Bell crouched down in front of her. That stupid smug smile plastered all over his face.

"Don't say it," She thought.

"I'm here to save you, Artemis. You crying?"

Artemis sniffled as Bell raised his hand next to her and casted his healing magic.

"I hate you so much, you brutish man."

"Feelings mutual bitchy goddess"

Bell smiled and finished healing her before pulling her up. He picked her up in a princess carry as her body was still weak. Something to which she protested heavily.

"Put me down!! Rethusa, shoot him!"

"Sorry, goddess. Our arrows wouldn't even pierce his skin."

"See, Rethusa can be reasonable. Why can't you?"

Artemis grumbled as Bell carried her out of the temple with her familia following him. Once they exited, the sun shone on them, and Bell could see Zeus and Haruhime waiting by a tree.

"See told you it wouldn't take me too long," Bell said.

"Well, you being quick and efficient is one of your strong suits. Just don't let that be the same in the bed."

Haruhime blushed while Bell rolled his eyes. Zeus looked over to Artemis and smiled.

"Artemis, pleasure to see you again. I see Bell has swooped you off your feet this time."

Artemis scowled as she crossed her arms. "He didn't swoop me off my feet. He just picked me up and won't put me down."

Artemis punched Bell's chest, yet it did nothing.

"So what are you doing here, Bell?" Rethusa asked, ignoring her goddess's plight.

"His Artemis was in danger sense was tingling, so he rushed over to be her hero," Zeus answered.

Bell deadpanned at his Grandpa while Artemis stopped hitting him and looked at Bell in confusion.

"Is this true?" She asked.

Bell rolled his eyes. "No, I got a letter from Hermes saying Ouranus underestimated a monster and wanted me to go and handle it."

"Ah, you forgot the part where it mentioned Artemis and when you grabbed us and took off running."

Bell glared at Zeus, who only smiled at the boy. Artemis looked up at Bell and was glad he was there to help.

Not that she would ever tell him. He already knew.

"As he really does care, lady Artemis," Rethusa joked.

Bell looked down at Artemis, and his eyes portrayed a clear message.

"Not a word."

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The group set up camp outside the temple as the Artemis familia needed to rest their exhausted bodies. They had nearly died, and most of their weapons were broken.

They would need to resupply, but at the end of the day, they were alive, and that's all that mattered to Artemis.

Even if it was Bell who saved them.

Artemis sat by the campfire. Her body still feeling weak from the earlier battle. Bell had healed her, and she felt no lingering pain. But her body needed its rest, too.

"Lady Artemis," Haruhime called out.

Artemis turned her head and smiled at the shy renard. She was a fox girl no older than 16. She had been traveling with Bell for as long as Artemis could remember.

Bell had come across her in a village he and his Grandpa were in shortly after Bell finished his training in Dragon Valley. She was locked inside a carriage with bars.

Once Bell realized what it was and what she was doing in there, he broke her out and ran like hell to his Grandpa.

"Yes, what can I do for you, Haruhime?" Artemis asked.

Haruhime sat down next to her on the log. The campfire illuminated her features, and the fire crackled.

"I was wondering if I could join your familia?" Haruhime asked.

Artemis looked at the girl in shock. She knew of the girl's crush on Bell. Which is why it surprised her when Haruhime was asking to join her and be away from him.

"Can I ask why, Haruhime?"

Haruhime took a deep breath before answering. "I want to get stronger. Bell is already doing so much with killing dragons. I feel like I'm holding him back, and I don't want to be a burden to him."

Artemis nodded as she listened to her reasoning. "You know if you join, you'll be away from Bell for a while. Maybe years even. Are you sure you wanna do that?"

Haruhime nodded. "While it will be hard, I don't want to hold Bell back. I want to help him and not have him worry about me."

Artemis smiled before patting Haruhime on the head. "Of course, you can join Haruhime. We would love to have you."

Haruhime blushed in nervousness as her tail wagged. "Thank you, lady Artemis."

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Present

Rye stood with his sword and shield raised. He kept his breathing steady and practiced his forms. One, two, three, four, five, stop reset.

Bell stood off to the side, watching him. His arms were crossed as Rye went again. He had been practicing for hours at this point.

Bell had pulled him aside, sensing Rye was having some self-esteem issues with his stats. Rye was a human, and as such, he was a part of this world's second-weakest race.

He didn't have magic like elves. Or animal features like Fena. Nor did he have the strength of dwarves. All he had was his sword and shield.

"Alright, stop," Bell said.

Rye did and let the sword and shield drop to his side. He panted as he had been doing this for hours now. He didn't know why Bell was making him do this, but he was going to question him.

"Now, what's the first rule in combat?" Bell asked.

"Keep a clear mind and don't panic. Panic leads to death," Rye answered.

"Correct. Now tell me what you would do if you ended up alone in the dungeon?"

"Try and find my way out."

"If you can't?"

"Hold tight and wait for you to come and find me."

Bell crouched down and ruffled his hair. "Good, you still remember what I taught you. There's a few other rules, but you know them."

"So you gonna tell me why you brought me out here?" Rye asked.

"Well, you've been practicing at the sword for well over a month now. How do you feel about it?" Bell asked.

"Like I haven't really made much progress," Rye grumbled.

"And why is that?"

"Because I still have trouble fighting. Roux and Fena are naturals at it. I just feel like I'm slowing them down."

Bell nodded before using his ethereal magic to summon copies of Roux and Fena, along with a few monsters.

"Alright, they're better fighters than you. Tell me, Rye, what do you see in front of you?"

Rye looked at the copies and answered. "Roux and Fena against killer ants"

Bell nodded. "Correct. Now give them orders."

Rye furrowed his brow. "Orders?"

"Yes, orders. Tell them what to do and which ones to fight," Bell said.

Rye took a look at the scene, taking Fena's and Roux's weapons into account. Fena had her spear, while Roux mostly used his magic. He had a high amount of mind for a level one. But he also carried a bo-staff for close quarters.

"Have Fena move in front of Rye but far enough to where he can shoot over her. Have her spear at the ready and Roux's arm up. Roux will shoot the ants in the back while Fena plays defense and kills the ones in the front," Rye said.

Bell smiled and let the simulation play. Fena moved to protect Roux, stabbing the killer ants that encroached. Roux shot Firestar and burned the ants behind them.

Once all the ants were dead, Roux and Fena were still alive. Bell smiled at Rye, but he made one mistake. Dozens more killer ants appeared and surrounded the two, but Bell stopped the simulation before they pounced.

"Now. What did you do wrong?" Bell asked.

Rye played back the battle in his head before the answer appeared. "They didn't destroy the manacles, which allowed the ants to call in for more."

Bell smiled and nodded. "Correct. Now, do you see why I brought you out here?"

Rye was a little confused, but he slowly pieced it all together. "You made me practice my sword skills so I would get tired. When people are tired, they don't think as clearly, leading them to make mistakes. After you tired me out, you gave me a test in strategy to see how the fatigue would affect me. Am I right?"

Bell patted Rye on the head. "Yup. Look, Rye, even if you don't have a talent for fighting, that's alright. Strength isn't the only thing needed on the battlefield. Intelligence is a key factor as well. Now, I want you to practice by playing Haruhime in chess to further your knowledge of strategy. Who knows, maybe one day you'll be a world-renowned strategist."

"Like that Braver?" Rye asked.

Bell scoffed. "Don't aim that low. That small dumbass is using strategies hundreds of years out of date. You're gonna be a lot better than him, and that's a fact."

Rye laughed at Bell's statement. He always found it funny when Bell talked badly about the Loki familia. He came up with creative insults.

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Bell walked into Haruhime's office. She was sitting at her desk filling out paperwork and taxes the guild had imposed on them.

When she heard Bell enter, she smiled as he walked up and gave her a kiss.

"So how's your day going?" Bell asked.

Haruhime sighed and set her pen down. "Slow and tedious. How'd it go with Rye?"

"Good. He learned that fighting isn't everything on the battlefield. So from now on, you're gonna be having chess matches with him to work his brain."

Haruhime smiled and chuckled. "Does he know I'm a grandmaster in chess?"

"Nope"

"Oh, that's mean, Bell."

"Hey, a good strategist should prepare for anything. All he knows about you is that you're sweet, dating me, and good with a bow."

Haruhime smiled as her tail swished. "So, wanna help me with this paperwork?"

"Can I give you a kiss as motivation that you can do it?" Bell asked.

Haruhime smiled. "Give me two. I'll need extra motivation."

Bell leaned down and kissed her twice. "There that help?"

"Extremely. Now, what are we doing for dinner tonight?" Haruhime asked.

"Hmm, I don't know. I could ask the old man to make his homemade stew. That should tide us over for a few days."

Haruhime's tail wagged in excitement. "Oh, have him cook it. I can't remember the last time I had it."

Bell chuckled before walking back to the door. "I'll have him get it started. Have fun with the taxes."

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Back in the dungeon, Rye and his party were fighting a group of frog shooters. Bell and the others stood back to let them get the experience.

The wall above the kids cracked, and a war shadow popped out.

"Roux, take it out. Fena aim for their eyes," Rye ordered. He placed himself in front of Roux and blocked the frog shooter's tongue with his shield.

"Firestar," Roux's magic shot from his hand, killing the war shadow as Fena drove her spear into the frog shooter's eye.

Once all the monsters died, Bell applauded them for their hard work.

"Good job, you three. You've made quick progress this past week. Rye, good job with your leadership skills. You thought quickly when that war shadow appeared and used the tools you had available to you."

"Fena, good job with that spear, as always. You're a natural with it. Just make sure not to leave yourself open when you thrust with it."

"Roux, good job with your magic. Your aiming has gotten better, as well as your reaction time. Honestly, I'm still surprised by how much mind you possess. Honestly, you might have more than Nine Hells, so good job."

The three kids smiled at the praise while Welf and Haruhime stood off to the side. They were impressed at how fast the kids were growing.

Bell seemed to have found something each had a talent in and worked on refining it. Sure, they were far from masters of their craft as they were only children.

But they were also the next generation of adventurers. They would surpass the old generation, but that wasn't really saying much. This current generation of adventurers doesn't even compare to Zeus and Hera.

They don't even compare to Bell, who was away from the city for 11 years. All he had to level up were dragons. It took him 11 years to reach this level, and in that time, the city had grown complacent with its strength.

But now that Bell was back, he'd make sure these three kids would be the start of something greater than Fryea and Loki. Something greater than himself.

He wanted to show them that world. Once he killed the OEBD. He could show them that world. A world of peace. Peace from the calamities.

"Alright, kids, let's head back. Time for your status update," Bell said.

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Zeus stood behind Rye as he finished up the final touches on his falna. Rye was the last one to go, and after he was done, Zeus would give them their status sheets.

"Alright, and done. Oh, what's this? Looks like you got a skill, Rye," Zeus said.

Rye's eyes widened in glee as he grabbed the status sheet.

Rye

Zeus Familia

Level 1

Strength: G-222

Endurance: H-150

Dexterity: J-160

Agility: G-245

Magic: I-0

Skills:

Shield bash: Shield bashing does 50% more damage against enemies

Fena

Zeus Familia

Level 1

Strength: G-220

Endurance: H-170

Dexterity: H-190

Agility: F-300

Magic: I-0

Skills: Heightened senses

Roux

Zeus Familia

Level 1

Strength: I-100

Endurance: I-100

Dexterity: I-100

Agility: I-100

Magic: F-350

Spells: Firestar

"Hmm, not bad, not bad. It looks like that hell training Bell put you through paid off. Looks like you guys are ready to head to floor eight," Zeus said.

"Of course, Haruhime and Welf will be keeping an eye on you," Bell added.

"Where will you be going?" Fena asked.

"Got a quest from the guild. They want me to investigate some disappearances on the 18th floor. So, for the next couple of days, you'll be under Welf and Haruhime's care. Oh, word of advice. Find a supporter while I'm gone. You're gonna need one," Bell explained.

The kids nodded, and Bell had one more thing to say. "Oh, word of advice. Treat the supporter with kindness. You're not better than them by any means, and if I find out, you pull something like that. Well, you already know how my training goes when I'm happy. Imagine how much worse it'll be when I'm mad," Bell threatened.

The three shivered in place at the smile Bell had. It promised nothing but pain and suffering for those who disobeyed.

"Now, let's eat. It's been a long day, and you three need your rest and relaxation. Rye, after dinner, you and Haruhime will play a few games of chess. The other two, you're welcome to watch or do what you want."

The familia then sat down at the table and began eating. Soon enough, another member would join, and after that, an alliance would be formed.

Not as one as grand between Zeus and Hera. But an alliance between two friends who hadn't seen each other in years.

Well, that's the end of this chapter. I know it's short, but I've had some writer's block for this story. Hopefully, it'll go away soon cause I like writing this. After all, it's like the one story I've written where Bell is actually happy.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see ya later.