Bell was confused about what the elf said. He noticed that a plant-like vine was growing out of his shoulder as well.
"Hey, what do you mean by that? What did that Moss Huge do to you?" Bell asked.
The elf took deep, labored breaths. "It ambushed me and my party out of nowhere. Drawing monsters to us as it did so. We fought them off, but when we saw the Moss Huge eating the stones, we knew we were played for fools. After that, we were shot with those seeds. My guess is they'll turn us into plants from the inside out."
Bell cringed at the statement, imagining the painful process that he and Cassandra were going through. Having a plant grow inside and slowly turn you into one.
That's when it clicked. The plant inside them was feeding off of their life and the life around it, like a parasite attaching itself to a host and growing from there.
"So this is a pseudo curse, per se?" Bell asked.
The elf groaned in pain once more. "Yeah. Our best bet is to get to the Dea Saint. Or, and this is just a theory. Kill that thing, and all this will go away," The elf said, gesturing to the vine growing out of him.
Bell nodded before Lili tossed him a bandage. He wrapped it around the elf's stump before tying it off.
"What's your name?" Bell asked.
The elf groaned before answering. "Luvis. I know your name, Lance. Your name is Bell. People say you're kind and that you're always willing to help."
Luvis let out a labored breath before continuing. "I humbly request...that you save my friends...they stayed behind to let me get away...in return, I offer a life debt."
Bell's eyes widened for a brief moment. A life debt was a sacred oath by elves to pledge fealty to a liege. This meant Luvis recognized Bell as someone worth following.
"Stay your hand with the life debt. There is no need for it. We'll patch you up, and I'll go save your friends. Rest and leave the rest to me!"
Luvis had a coughing fit before answering. "What! Dormul and his group are down here, too. I hope that thing hasn't found them. But if it did, please help them as well."
Bell nodded before giving Luvis's shoulder a squeeze. "Just rest Luvis. I got it from here."
Bell stood up and walked away as Laurier replaced him by Luvis's side. She knew some first aid and was treating the rest of his wounds.
Bell gestured for Aisha and Zald to follow him. When the three were away from everyone, they started discussing plans. Aisha was leaning against the wall, and Zald, his arms crossed, hands covering his elbow.
"I talked with Luvis. He says there's the rest of his group and another down here with that thing. Now that plant thing is growing inside them. Luvis proposed two ways of taking it out. We either get to Airmid, and she can cure them. Or we hunt this thing down and kill it. But that part's just theory."
Aisha looked back to the group, who were keeping an eye out for any surprise attacks. While Laurier and Daphne were with the injured.
Daphne held Cassandra's hand tightly, allowing the whimpering girl to have some relief from the pain. Luvis was an archer, while Cassandra was a mage.
The seed inside her was sucking out all of her magic first. For Cassandra, it felt like her brain was on fire.
"I think we should split up. One team goes up and gets medical help while the other hunts down this monster." Aisha offered.
"I think we should as well. Because if the hunter team fails, the injured could still possibly be cured," Bell added.
Zald moved his arms a little. "Alright. But who's going and who's staying?"
Bell narrowed his eyes at Zald's arms. He was being unnaturally fidgety. "Well, I'm obviously staying. Regis should, too, as we don't know what else lies ahead. Daphne should come as well to take her mind off this, and she'll want to do something useful."
"I think Welf should stay as well. He'll be able to carry people away if needed, and Anya, with her tracking, could help speed this along." Aisha added.
"So that just leaves me, Aisha, Laurier, Lena, Mikoto, Lili, Haruhime, and the injured?" Zald asked, fidgeting his arms again.
"Yeah. It would be best if Mikoto's with you. That way, she can sense any monsters coming your way with that skill of hers." Bell agreed.
His eyes narrowed at Zald's once more before he spoke. "Zald, let me see your arm."
Aisha looked to Zald as the old ace smirked. "So you picked up on that, huh? Alright, but just know I'm fine."
Zald moved his hand away from his elbow, and a small green vine was poking out from it. Aisha's eyes widened in shock, and Bell put his hands to his face.
"Ah, Zald," Bell groaned.
"Monsters stronger than you think. One of its seeds got through the gap in my armor when I had Cassandra. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
Bell ran his hand through his hair while Aisha looked on in shock.
"Why did you try and hide it?" Bell asked.
"Didn't want you to worry, kid. Now, we need to hurry up and get going. Who knows how much time they have left."
Bell grimaced at the statement. The clock was running out, and Bell couldn't waste time wallowing in despair, knowing they were dying.
"Alright, Zald. Just be careful. Who knows what'll happen?" Bell said.
Zald ruffled Bell's hair before walking away. Bell fixed it and looked to Aisha. "Keep an eye on him. He's in pain, I can tell. He's trying to hide it so as to not worry anyone."
"Hmm, I wonder who that reminds me of?" Aisha lightly teased.
Bell rolled his eyes before turning back to Aisha. "Well, I'll see you back on the 18th floor. Safe travels"
Bell kissed her goodbye before the two walked over and explained the situation. Once the groups were organized, they split up. One team headed up, while another went lower.
.
.
.
.
Bell and his group continued deeper into the dungeon. Anya and Regis led the group, while Bell, Welf, and Daphne held back.
Bell could see a scowl on her face as her hand tightly gripped her rapier.
"We're gonna get it, Daphne. Don't worry, we'll kill it, then Cassandra will be fine," Bell comforted.
"How can you be so sure." She growled.
"I have faith. Besides, it's a plant. Just light it on fire and watch it burn."
Daphne scoffed but released the hold she had on the rapier. Welf looked over at the two before getting close to Daphne.
"Hey, she'll be fine. Bell's right. We'll find the bastard and burn him to ash. After that, we'll go to the hostess and celebrate on a job well done."
Daphne smiled a little. Hope had made its way inside her. It was a small amount, but it was there. Bell was known for pulling off miracles, after all.
Bell moved up a little bit and walked alongside Anya. She was using her nose and following the scent of the Moss Huge. It was faint, but she could smell it.
"Hey, you ok? You flinched back there when Allen was mentioned." Bell asked.
Anya nodded her head, focusing on her task so she didn't have to think of her brother. "I'm ok. I try not to think about what happened between us. I just wish he'd come back."
Bell placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He will. One day, he will. I'll make sure of it."
Anya smiled before she kept following the scent. It was getting stronger as they were getting closer. They arrived at an open area of the dungeon. Next to them was a canal running downwards.
"We're on the 26th floor now. Bastards around here somewhere," Regis said.
Strewn all across the open area were discarded pieces of moss and leaves. It was smeared on the rocks and laid out on the ground.
"Is it marking its territory?" Welf asked.
"No, it's making it so we can't track it by its scent. Its smell is all around us now," Anya answered.
"Alright, weapons out. We don't know where this thing is. Eyes up and be ready." Bell ordered summoning Dawn's Ballad.
Everyone unsheathed their weapons while Regis sniffed the air. "Hang on, there's another scent. Smells like elves."
"That's Luvis's party! Where are they, Regis?" Bell asked.
"Directly ahead. They seem to be staying still, however."
Bell nodded and ordered everyone to move up. They moved slowly and with caution. Welf nervously gulped while Daphne grit her teeth.
Bell remained calm, but his eyes were hard and focused. Anya kept her eyes open for anything out of the ordinary, but the sound of rushing water was all she heard.
When they came across where Luvis's party was supposed to be, all they saw was the Moss Huge just sitting there.
"It's sitting?" Welf questioned.
"Regis, where's the party?" Bell asked.
Regis narrowed his eyes. "Those are the elves."
The moss around them dropped, revealing two men and a woman sitting on the rocks. They were tied up with vines and gaged with them as well. They were missing limbs and covered in blood.
"Shit, it's a tr-
Bell didn't get to finish his sentence as the Moss Huge popped out from the ground. It shot out seeds again, which was blocked by an earth wall he conjured.
The barrage stopped as the Moss Huge punched through the wall and grabbed Bell. It threw him into the water as Regis let it on fire.
The monster roared in pain and jumped in after Bell to douse the flames. However, Regis possessed the chaos rune, and as such, mere water wouldn't extinguish the flame. It burned to ash and was swept away by the current.
The vines protruding from the elves vanished with the creatures demise. However, the missing limbs would not grow back. They needed medical attention. Fast
"Bell!" Anya shouted. She ran to the water and was about to dive in but was stopped by Welf. An Aqua serpent jumped above the water and clamped its jaw down right where Anya would've jumped.
"Anya, wait! We can't go after him. We need to get these people out of here!" Regis yelled.
"But Bell-
"Would want us to do this. That Moss Huge enjoyed its hunt, but now it's dead. We need to get these people back so they don't die," Regis explained.
Anya stopped struggling, and Welf let her go. She watched the rushing water run down the dungeon, knowing there was nothing that she could do.
.
.
.
.
Bell was being pushed by the water current, unable to resist. He was spinning around, trying to find some way to straighten himself.
But he soon found himself floating in the air before falling into the water below. His body slammed into it, and he sunk a few feet. Once he gathered his bearings, he swam up and gulped lungfuls of air.
He saw land not too far from him and swam to it. Pushing himself up, he got out of the water and laid down, catching his breath.
"Hey, dog, can you hear me?" Bell asked Regis.
"Not a dog, but I can. You alright?"
Bell panted. "Yeah. Pretty sure I fell an entire floor. Everyone else, alright?"
"Yeah, we're fine. Moss Huge is dead, and we're escorting the elves back. You think you can make it back on your own?"
"Yeah. Can you show me the layout of the 27th floor?" Bell asked.
"Yeah, wait a sec."
Images of routes and dead ends flashed through Bell's mind as Regis shared his memories of the 27th floor. Once Bell absorbed the information, he pushed himself up to his feet.
"Alright, I'll start making my way back. Be careful. There could be another lurking. Also, keep an eye out for Dormul's party. Luvis said they were down here as well."
"Got it. Stay safe, kid. I'll see you when you get back."
Bell was about to respond before seeing a mess of pink hair in the corner of his vision. It disappeared, and Bell was about to pursue it.
"Regis, I think I just saw Valletta. Get everyone back, then meet up with me. I'm going to investigate."
"Alright, but be careful. Don't do anything too risky. If you feel it's too big of a chance, pull back and wait for me."
"Got it, I'll see you so-
A cut appeared on Bell's cheek, and blood flowed down it. Bell's eyes widened in shock as he heard whistling coming his way.
Multiple small bird-like creatures were flying at high speeds towards him. Bell immediately started swinging Dawn's Ballad, cutting as many as he could. Cuts appeared on his arms and another on his cheek, yet he kept swinging.
Everything else was tuned out for Bell as slowly, but surely he killed every last one of the Iguazu. Once they were all dead, Bell responded to Regis.
"Sorry about that. I had to kill some birds. I can't believe first-class adventurers run from these things. Did my dad ever run from them?"
"Oh, those Iguazu fuckers. Nah, they were slow as shit and easy to kill. Anyway, I'll see you soon. Stay safe, Bell."
"You too, dog."
Bell ended their mental link and was about to pursue before he heard clapping. He turned around and saw a mermaid with green hair sitting on a rock with a smile on her face and clapping.
.
.
.
.
Lefiya walked around the streets of Rivira. She liked to walk the streets of the adventurer town by herself every once in a while.
It had a sort of rustic charm to it despite its ridiculous prices. Having houses be made from clay or wood. It was still a marvel that a village even existed in the dungeon at all.
Her mind wandered to her familia, which she loved. The goddess Astraea had taken her in after she left the education district. She was thankful for that, as Loki seemed like a troublesome goddess.
Her mind wandered to Ryu, who was like a big sister to her. Showing her the way while being kind and caring. Helping her with magic and with fighting if she needed it.
Her mind drifted to Laurier, who left the familia to help out a boy who became her friend. Lefiya thought that maybe Laurier wanted more, as whenever the two hung out, she'd talk about him a lot.
Then her thoughts drifted to said white-haired boy. She hadn't interacted with him much. But when she found out who he truly was, she didn't judge him. She knew he wasn't the Silence and never would be.
Laurier trusted him, and in turn, she did as well. She saw his care when Rye was shot in the chest. How he panicked. She knew he was a good person despite his brutal methods at handling things.
But she also knew he was leaving soon, and that it made everyone sad. She didn't really feel sad herself, but it'd be odd not to see him in passing for a while.
Lefiya looked up at the ceiling of the 18th floor and was still amazed that a safe floor like this could exist in the dungeon. It was like the surface but artificial.
She smiled once more before something hit her in the back of the head, and everything went dark.
.
.
.
.
Bell narrowed his eyes at the mermaid as she continued clapping. Was she perhaps a Xenos?
"So cool, so cool," The mermaid cheered.
"Are you a Xeno?" Bell asked.
The mermaid looked surprised when Bell talked to her and didn't attack. "I am, I am. How did you know?"
"I know Lyd and the others. I helped them escape back to the dungeon." Bell answered.
"So cool! That means you're Bell, right?"
Bell nodded. "Yeah, that's me. What's your name?"
"I'm Marie. Oh, come here." Marie said.
Marie dived off her rock and into the water. She swam to the edge of the land Bell was standing on, and he walked to her.
"Pick me up," She demanded.
"Marie, I really don't have time for this," Bell groaned.
"You're injured. Pick me up, pick me up."
Bell rolled his eyes and did as the mermaid said. It didn't bother him that she wasn't wearing a bra. He was far from innocent now.
Marie bit her thumb, drawing blood from it.
"Here. Lick and swallow!"
Bell opened his mouth, knowing mermaid blood had healing properties in it. Marie shoved her thumb down his throat. Bell begrudgingly licked the blood off her thumb and swallowed it. He felt weird doing this, like it was a blood kink or something.
The blood tasted like iron, but he felt the cuts he sustained from the Iguazu fading away. Once they were gone, Marie took her thumb out of his mouth and clapped.
"Yay, all better!"
Bell chuckled before setting Marie back into the water and watched her swim in a circle.
"Thanks, Marie, but I gotta get going. I think I saw someone dangerous, and I can let her run around and hurt people. That includes you, so go hide ok." Bell said.
Marie happily nodded. "Ok, good luck, Bell!"
Marie dived under the water and swam away as Bell stood up. He turned and started running to where he saw Valletta last. He didn't see her but heard her laughing.
"Haha. You'll never catch me."
Bell ran to her voice as she kept taunting him.
"I hurt Demeter, I hurt Demeter," She sang.
Bell kept moving, feeling like he was getting closer to her. But also that she was leading him somewhere.
"Hey, brat. Kind of odd how that Moss Huge was smart, wasn't it? Almost like someone modified it? Oh, I wonder who?"
"Doesn't matter. Regis killed it. Your plan failed," Bell said, coming into an opening.
"That wasn't the plan!" Valletta yelled, charging at Bell.
She swung her sword at him, but he blocked it before kicking her in the knee. She jumped back, limping a little.
"You leveled up, didn't you? Alifa's ass whopping push you over the edge?" Valletta mocked.
"You know where she is?" Bell asked.
"Nope," Valletta said, popping the p. "But I do know where someone is!"
A yellow snake-like monster shot forward to Bell, who jumped back and skidded away from it. His eyes widened in shock.
"A Lambtom?! The hell is it doing here?!" Bell wondered.
A loud, ear-piercing laugh filled the air as the Lambton stood still.
"Heh heh heh heh ha. Lookie here, Thousand Elf. I didn't even have to leave the message for him after all. He came on his own. Maybe you will be saved after all!" A redheaded catman laughed.
Bell looked over to him and saw Lefiya with her hands tied behind her back and the catman holding her. His eyes narrowed as he took his enemies into account.
Bell summoned his knife from his dimension ring and held it in his left hand. He conjured lighting around him and took a deep breath.
"Hang on, Lefiya. I'll get you out of here," He vowed.
He readied himself before launching forward.
Despair would soon let out its call.
Alright, another chapter done. Told ya I'd start writing this again. Anyway, for those of you who feel like the Moss Huge fight went pretty quickly, that was the point.
I wanted to show what would happen if Regis actively participated and didn't hold back when Bell was in danger.
He didn't have a chance to do that against Antares as Bell ran ahead without him, but he didn't with the Moss Huge. Also, the Chaos flames that the rune provides can't be put out unless the user wants to.
I can't remember if I said that as I got short-term memory loss from the aneurysm. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see ya later.
Peace