I do not own Danmachi or Kingdom Hearts. Both belong to their respective series.

Hello to all my readers.

If you hadn't read the previous chapter update in my author notes, I'll let you know here as well. I've made a bit of a information mistake regarding Zeus, Hera, and Freya Familia dungeon floor achievements. I fixed that.

Moving on from that, have you guys played or watched Final Fantasy 16? More specifically, the Eikon fights? Cause each fight kept making me scream "HOLY SHIT" multiple times. I won't spoil anything, but let me just say, you're in for a wild ride.

Honkai Star Rail story got updated to 1.2, which is nice. But I felt horribly disappointed that we didn't get Hunter Trailblaizer.

And lastly, I watched the Super Mario Bros Movie. That was honestly the most fun video game film I've ever seen, and I'm already waiting for a sequel. Perhaps Mario Sunshine.

Also, be sure to read an announcement at the end of the chapter. I got something important to share to all of my readers.

Let's start the chapter.

Chapter 17: Greedy Darkness

The Dream Eater before them began to happily bounce around, before it then jumped into Bell's arms. Bell was caught off guard when the Dream Eater in question immediately hopped towards him, and he hastily moved himself to catch the Dream Eater. As he did, the Dream Eater began to nuzzle into him, showing that it's happy to meet Bell.

"Lili can't believe it...Bell managed to form a contract with a Spirit!?" Lili yelled in shock.

"And it's all thanks to Sora..." Hestia tiredly said while rubbing her forehead.

"I...I have a Dream Eater..." Bell muttered with a bewildered look, before a joyous expression appeared on his face as he lifted the Dream Eater up into the air. "I have a Dream Eater!"

The Dream Eater happily waved up and down its stubby little arms, while its ears were raised up into the air with joy.

"I'm glad things were able to work out!" Sora said with a grin as he crossed his arms behind his head.

"Yeah! Your Link to All Skill is amazing Sora!" Bell said in awe while he was looking at the Dream Eater before him.

'Oh you have no idea...' Hestia thought with a flat look, before she sighed. "Well, I'm glad things were able to work themselves out. Still, I honestly didn't expect a Dream Eater to come in the form of a...bunny." Hestia commented with a perplexed look.

"It's called a Me Me Bunny." Sora clarified.

"Me Me...Bunny? Just what kind of name is that?" Lili asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's just what they're called. I don't actually name them." Sora shrugged. "But c'mon, it's a cute name at the very least."

"A Me Me Bunny..." Bell muttered as he sets down the Me Me Bunny. Once he sets it down to the ground, Bell looked the Dream Eater straight in the eye.

"...I'm glad that you were able to come at my call." Bell told the Dream Eater with a smile, as he held out a hand towards it. "I know I summoned you, but I still need to ask: will you help me in the fights against the Darkness?"

The Me Me Bunny stared at Bell for a bit, before it happily hopped up and down and wrapped its ears around Bell's hand, shaking it up and down as it bounced.

"S-So you'll help me? That's great!" Bell said with a bright smile.

Lili stared at the scene before her, and then eyed the Heartbinder that was in Bell's hand. She then turned to Sora with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, Sora..." Lili started.

"Yes Lili?" Sora responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you...think it's possible for me to get a Spirit as well?" Lili asked.

"Oh, what brought this on? You want a Spirit to help you out as well?" Sora asked with a grin.

"W-Well, it can't be helped! It's incredibly rare for someone to make a contract with a Spirit! And seeing that you gave Bell a contract with a Spirit makes Lili curious to see what kind of Spirt that she'll make a contract with!" Lili said.

"I see, well-" Sora started, before Hestia cleared her a throat a bit.

"As curious as it is, we need to put that on a hold." Hestia declared to everyone in the room.

"What do mean?" Sora asked with a confused look. Hestia gave a tired sigh as she looked at Sora with an exasperated look.

"Sora, you fail to realize the severe implications on what you're able to do." Hestia pointed out.

Sora blinked when he heard this, before he tilted his head in confusion.

"...I don't follow."

Hestia face palmed when she heard this.

"I swear, you need a class in common sense...!" Hestia groaned. "Sora, it's already absurd enough that you can have a Spirit at your beck and call! The fact that you can have others summon spirits of their own, albeit with your help, just paints the biggest target on your back!"

"...Ah, Lili understands where Hestia is coming from...!" Lili said in realization. "If people were to discover that they can call their own Spirits through that item and Sora, then they would hunt Sora down to no end!"

"Exactly!" Hestia said. "Which is why we need to put this on hold for now!"

"But what about Lili? Isn't she going to join us after she leaves her Familia? I'm sure she can keep this kind of thing secret to just our Familia." Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.

"But she isn't in our Familia just yet." Hestia retorted, before she gave a sigh as she folded her arms. "Look, I'm not exactly opposed to this. However, we still need to deal with the obstacle of getting Lili out of her Familia. If, by chance, that she isn't able to leave her Familia in the near future, they might force information out of her, including us and the Dream Eaters!"

"...She does have a point." Lili muttered with a frown. "Lili is not sure how things will work out, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Why are you saying that we're going to fail?" Sora asked with a frown. "There's no way we're going to fail in having you leave your Familia and join ours! We can't just give up when we haven't tried!"

"Sora's right. We worked to get this far. We're not going to fail." Bell agreed with Sora.

"You two..." Lili muttered, in awe of their determination and optimism. Hestia gave a small smile when she saw this.

"Honestly, it's not surprising that Sora isn't undeterred from this. But I certainly didn't expect you to show this much optimism Bell. Sora is rubbing too much on you."

"A-Am I...?" Bell stuttered in surprise.

"You say like it's a bad thing!" Sora responded with a grin.

"Well, your influence isn't exactly...positive." Hestia responded with a flat look, before she cleared her throat. "Now then, now that we finally settled on getting Bell's Spirit here to us, I believe it's now is the time to finally update Bell's Falna for Level 2!"

"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that..." Bell said, as he was too focused on his Dream Eater, before he nodded. "R-Right! I'm ready to Level Up, Goddess!"

"Well then, take off your shirt so we can get things underway!" Hestia told her favorite child. "Just remember, don't expect to have a new Skill just because you were able to summon your Dream Eater. It was just a temporary Skill or Magic that Sora gave you through his Link to All."

"R-Right." Bell said, as he proceeded to take off his shirt and presented his back to his Goddess.

Everyone in the room watched as a glow emerged from Bell's back as Hestia was performing the update ritual to Bell's Falna. As Hestia was updating the Falna, her eyes were watching the numbers change before her. As she did, her eyes went a bit lower, and her eyes widened in shock upon what she saw.

"...What...How...!?" Hestia muttered incredulously.

"G-Goddess...?" Bell asked in confusion and concern.

"Hestia...?" Sora asked in confusion.

"What's happening...?" Lili asked in concern.

Hestia ignored the two as she started at what was being update before her with an incredulous look. After some time staring, she shook her head a bit as she took parchment and proceeded to copy down what she saw.

Once she finally finished, Hestia stared at the parchment carefully, before she handed it to Bell.

"Bell, take a look at your Skills..."

"M-My Skills...?" Bell whispered in confusion, taking the parchment from Hestia's hand and read its contents.

His eyes widened in shock upon what he saw.

Bell Cranel

Level 2

Strength: I0

Endurance: I0

Dexterity: I0

Agility: I0

Magic: I0

Skills:

Argonaut: Allow charge of active action.

Dream Link: Call upon a Dream Eater's aid. Requires Mind and Heartbinder.

Magic:

Firebolt: Swift Strike Magic Spell. Consecutive casting leads to Raid.

Developmental Ability:

Luck I

Bell's jaw dropped at what he saw.

"I...I have two Skills!?" Bell yelled out in shock.

"You got two Skills from a Level Up alone!?" Lili yelled in shock.

"That was certainly unexpected, but I'm not complaining!" Sora remarked with a small grin.

"Sora, now is not the time for celebration!" Hestia told Sora. "What I want to know, is how you've managed to gain a temporary Skill and turn it into a permanent Skill! I'm pretty sure Sora's Link to All Skill only gives you temporary Skills and Magic!"

"That is rather confusing." Bell agreed, before he turned to Sora. "Sora, you have any idea why I have this particular Skill as permanent?"

Sora blinked when all eyes were turned to him, and could only scratch the back of his head.

"Um...well..." Sora started, trying to scratch the back of his head on why Bell is able to retain a temporary Skill.

His eyes moved from Bell and towards the Me Me Bunny, who was standing nearby Bell's side like a loyal companion.

'...This is rather hard...' Sora thought with a frown. 'Only thing I know is that I'm able to call my Dream Eaters here because of my connections with them. Bell couldn't pull it off before I helped him, but he somehow retained it after he formed a connection...'

Sora's eyes widened in realization when he reached that train of thought. That's the answer!

"It's because Bell and his Dream Eater formed a connection." Sora told everyone.

Silence was made as soon as Sora said that, and everyone was stunned into silence. They all looked at Sora with confusion.

"""Huh?""" was the response of everyone in the room.

"...Urm, Sora, what exactly do you mean by that?" Bell asked, as he was lost on what Sora just said.

"You and you Dream Eater managed to form a strong connection, and that connection turned into a Skill." Sora told Bell.

"Can you dumb it down so it's easier for us to understand!?" Hestia demanded.

"I thought I was explaining things easier..." Sora muttered, as he racked his brain a bit more on how to simplify his explanation in order for Hestia to understand.

"Well...think of the connection between Bell and his Dream Eater like a chain. I helped build that chain." Sora started. "Before, Bell and his Dream Eater didn't have an established chain. It wasn't possible for Bell to summon his Dream Eater the first time, because the chain wasn't there to begin with."

"A chain wasn't there..." Bell muttered when he looked at his Dream Eater.

"However, because I used my Link to All Skill in tandem with Bell, I acted as the chain for Bell to connect to his Dream Eater, thus making it possible for him to summon his Dream Eater." Sora continued to explain.

"Okay, I'm getting the analogy, but how does that explain why Bell has it as a permanent Skill?" Hestia asked.

"Well, that's because Bell and his Dream Eater established a connection." Sora answered.

"This again!?" Hestia said with a comically indignant expression.

"Hang on, I'm getting there." Sora reassured Hestia.

"I acted as a chain. However, when Bell and his Dream Eater linked together, another chain was made, this being their own personal connection. Because they've made a chain of their own, they no longer need the chain that connected them in the first place, that case being me. They don't need me anymore in order for Bell to call his Dream Eater here, since Bell has established his own personal chain with his Dream Eater. That personal chain turned into a Skill for Bell!" Sora explained.

Everyone stared at Sora with dubious expressions.

"That...actually answered my question, easy enough for me to understand..." Hestia muttered. "But wait...I'm still confused on one thing."

"And that is?"

"Is this whole "connections" thing really that simple? This connection is strong enough to manifest itself into a form of a permanent Skill for Bell to have?" Hestia asked.

Sora simply grinned when he heard this.

"You shouldn't underestimate the connection of Hearts! It can bring forth amazing things!" Sora cheerfully answered.

Hestia stared at Sora with a flat look.

"...You know what, I'll just take your word for it. I'm too mentally tired in trying to understand the nonsense you bring." Hestia tiredly sighed. She really doesn't want to expend any more mental energy in trying to comprehend the absurd concepts that Sora brings to the table.

"Lili agrees..." Lili muttered, her head hearing all of this.

"I guess we can call it a day..." Bell muttered, a bit bummed that they're ending today. He was hoping to spend a bit more time with his Dream Eater. He then knelt down to his Dream Eater. "I know we only spent a short amount of time together, but I promise I'll call you soon."

The Dream Eater simply hopped at waved its arms and ears in a farewell gesture, and simply poofed away in pink smoke.

~ Break ~

After getting some rest and taking care of preparations, the Hestia Familia was ready to carry out their plans. They arrived at the Soma Familia manor at late afternoon. As they were approaching the manor, their noses began to pick up a certain strong scent.

"Wow, just what is this strong scent...? It's beginning to remind me of what Jack and the others drank aboard the Black Pearl..." Sora muttered, remembering his time at the Caribbean.

"That would be the wine production..." Lili answered, looking at her Familia manor with distaste.

"So this is where Lili's Familia resides..." Bell muttered.

Seeing what was before him, Sora turned to Bell and Lili.

"You guys ready?" Sora asked.

The two nodded at Sora.

"I am." Bell confirmed.

"Lili has waited for this moment for a long time. Lili is ready to leave all this behind." Lili answered with a resolved look.

Seeing that they're prepared, Sora nodded as he turned ahead of them.

"Alright then. Let's go." Sora told the two.

The trio made their way to the front gates of the Soma Familia. As they did, they were already met with their first obstacle: the gate guards.

"Halt!" one of the Soma Familia members said as he held a spear in their way. "State your business!"

Being confronted with this, Sora stepped up to them.

"We have some business to take care of with Lord Soma." Sora told the two.

"Business...with Lord Soma...?" the Soma Familia member muttered with confusion.

"Did we get any notifications on visitors...?" the other Soma Familia gate guard asked.

"I don't...think so...?" the gate guard tried to recall, though he looked like he was a drunk trying to recall from memory.

"If you weren't told, and I wasn't told, then..." the other gate guard trailed, before a violent scowl appeared on his face.

"These people...they are here to convince Soma to give them his wine...!" the gate guard yelled in realization.

"I should've known...!" the Soma Familia guard scowled, as he turned to Sora with a bit of a frenzied look. "There's no way in hell that we're going to give away our precious wine! We working too hard to get a taste!"

The two Soma Familia guards raised their spears, prompting Bell and Lili to step back in preparation for what is to come.

However, Sora didn't exactly look threatened by their gesture.

"So much for talking things out..." Sora muttered as he simply raised his hand and pointed a finger towards the two guards. Silver waves came out from Sora's finger tip and made their way towards the guards.

When the magic finally came into contact with the guards, the guards stiffened a bit, before their facial expressions grew rather drowsy. Soon enough, they soon collapsed to the side, snoring away without a care in the world.

"Huh, looks like they're sleeping on the job." Sora told Bell and Lili with a sly grin.

"...Lili is astounded with the magic that you're able to pull off..." Lili muttered with an astounded look.

No seriously, she's seen Sora pull of multiple spells without so much as a chant. He has a healing spell, a powerful Light spell to engulf an area, and now a sleeping spell? Honestly, Lili is glad that Sora isn't her enemy, but an ally instead.

With the two guards out of the way, Sora simply walked past them and pushed the front gates aside. With the front entrance open before them, the trio entered the Soma Familia compound.

The three made their way through the front manor. As they did, they've noticed multiple Soma Familia members idling about, not really paying attention to the three. Rather, a majority of them looked like they were in a drunken stupor.

"...Is the Soma Familia wine that intoxicating...?" Bell muttered when he looked at his surroundings.

"It it. Just a mere sip will send you into a drunken state. Lili is not exaggerating when Lili says that you'll be able to taste the most delicious thing in the world, judging by the reaction of others. And that's just a failed product by Lord Soma's standards..." Lili said as she looked around her surroundings with a frown.

"But to go this far...? There's got to be more to life than just drinking alcohol..." Sora said, frowning at the lengths that these people would go for something to drink.

Though, this wouldn't be so bad if there was a certain someone who was enabling all of this.

"Well well well, I certainly didn't expect guest to come at this hour." a new voice entered the scene.

The trio froze, and they turned their view towards ahead of them.

Coming out from the Soma Familia Manor's entrance was a figure that Lili recognized. The figure appeared to be some kind of bespectacled man with a thin face. He had had gray hair, and wore some kind of robe over him.

As soon as Lili saw the man before her, she instantly gave an expression of distaste.

"Zanis..." Lili muttered.

"My my, I certainly didn't expect to see you Lili." Zanis greeted with a bit of surprise. "You were gone for quite some time. A lot of us thought you were dead with your long absence."

"Lili had a lot on her plate to take care of, so Lili didn't need to bother coming here." Lili retorted with bite in her tone.

Zanis blinked at the tone, before he gave a small frown at her tone, something that Lili never had when she was interacting with him.

"And this includes these two strangers here...? I don't exactly recall inviting them into the manor..." Zanis said when he looked at Sora and Bell.

"Lili invited them. Lili figure that since Lili is a member of this Familia, Lili is allowed to invite them into this manor." Lili curtly responded.

"Yeah, we're just here to support on what she's going to do." Sora replied with a frown, instantly not liking the guy in front of him. The person before him gave off some very manipulative vibes, one that he's all too familiar with, thanks to an old Keyblade Master.

"To do...?" Zanis repeated, and looked towards Lili with a raised eyebrow.

Lili clenched her fist. She would've been afraid if she was confronting Zanis alone. But with Bell and Sora at her side, she felt more safe and ready to confront her Captain.

"Lili is resigning from this Familia. Lili wants nothing to do with this Familia anymore." Lili declared with firmness in her tone.

Zanis blinked when he heard this, before he gave a small amused chuckle as he pushed up his glasses.

"My my, this is a sudden declaration. I never thought you would just declare it just like that. Canoe would be quite heartbroken to hear that you're leaving the Familia." Zanis pointed out.

"Canoe and his cronies can rot in jail for all Lili cares." Lili spat with distaste.

Zanis frowned, seeing this bravado that Lili is showing and her clear dislike for this Familia.

"I see. It's quite a shame that you don't see things that way. Canoe and his friends helps contribute to the Familia's budget. And now with them gone, we're rather short on valis." Zanis pointed out.

"Lili fails to see how that's Lili's problem." Lili retorted.

"Oh, but it is a problem. As you know, we need all the help we can get if we truly want to support Lord Soma and his wine making efforts. Leaving will seriously hurt the Familia. I expect that you managed to collect 10 million valis in order to compensate for your leave?" Zanis asked with a rather sly smile.

It was if he was expecting Lili to not have this large amount of valis.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Lili does have the valis necessary to leave this Familia." Lili simply answered with a satisfied smile.

Zanis blinked when he heard this, before he gave a frown.

"...Surely you jest. With someone of your status and your role as a Supporter, do you honestly expect me to believe that you've managed to get 10 million valis?" Zanis questioned with a small glare.

Lili scoffed while she folded her arms.

"Lili don't have to prove anything to you. Lili will simply tell Lord Soma that Lili has the 10 million valis to leave. He can verify the truth since he's a God." Lili simply answered.

When Zanis heard this, a smirk appeared on his face.

"Is that so? Well, I'm afraid that meeting with Lord Soma isn't possible. You see, Lord Soma is quite busy with making his wine, and meeting up with him will take up his time, time that he could be using to make the wine. As such, Lord Soma has left me in charge of managing the entire Familia, including the Familia members leaving." Zanis declared.

Lili scowled when she heard this. Meanwhile, Bell clenched his fist, looking like he wanted to do something to help out Lili. However, he felt a tap nearby him, and he glanced at Sora, who was looking at Zanis with a glare, but wasn't exactly doing anything at the moment.

"So as I said, you honestly expect me to believe that you have 10 million valis on you? I don't see any bags anywhere." Zanis said when looking around his surroundings in a mock gesture.

However, Lili didn't exactly let up.

"Like Lili said, Lord Soma can simply clarify the truth with his own eyes. And quite frankly, your statement of you being in charge of everything is absolute bullshit." Lili spat.

Silence was made when Lili said that.

Zanis stared at Lili with an incredulous look, before a scowl appeared on his face.

"You dare question my authority...?" Zanis gave a low growl.

"As clear as day! Lili has a hard time believing that Lord Soma left you in charge of everything! Lili has a hard time believe that Lord Soma even charges for leaving the Familia! All Lord Soma cares about is making wine! It's just a stupid ploy to extort more out of this Familia, just to satisfy that ridiculous greed of yours!" Lili yelled as she pointed forward at Zanis.

Zanis's eyebrow heavily twitched when he heard this, before he gave a massive scoff as he pushed up his glasses on his face.

"Such baseless accusations from an upstart like you. Lord Soma himself told me that he'll leaving everything up to me to manage the Familia."

"Including the ridiculous leaving fee? Did Lord Soma really say that he wants 10 million valis if a Familia member wants to leave this Familia?" Lili questioned further

"Why do you keep questioning my validity!? Of course Lord Soma said all of that!" Zanis yelled in anger. "Honestly, the nerve of a mere Supporter to question me is ridiculous! Perhaps Lord Soma will add an even bigger fee to your leave for that insubordinate attitude of yours!"

Zanis honestly thought he had Lili with that threat. Lili had no clear proof of anything, and he can simply twist the leaving fee even further.

But rather than seeing despair or defeat in Lili's expression, Lili simply gave a smirk.

"...That's all Lili needed to hear." Lili simply said, before she turned to Sora. "Sora? Will you do the honors?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Sora replied with a smirk of his own, before he raised his fingers, and proceeded to give it a snap.

Once he did, there was a bit of distortion in the air next to the group, before it began to clear up and reveal a new figure before them.

Zanis's eyes widened when he saw the figure before him. Immediately, his mind knew that the figure before him was a being of the divine.

And Hestia was glaring straight at him.

'Never thought that this went accordingly to plan...' Sora thought with a smirk growing on his face.

And they spent a lot of time brainstorming this type of plan.

The Hestia Familia and Lili knew that they had to defeat Zanis in a battle of wits, not strength, as Sora can easily cover that type of field. They needed some way to expose Zanis that he's the one who's using the Familia to fuel his greed for valis, and not Lord Soma himself. Lili kept saying that Lord Soma was apathetic towards his Familia, and simply cared about making his wine. So it felt out of character for Lord Soma to just demand valis for Familia members leaving.

To expose such possible lies, they needed Hestia, a Goddess who can tell truths and lies.

But the problem is, if Hestia were to be presented in front of Zanis, then Zanis would simply resort to half-truths in order to keep the advantage.

But that is where Sora's magic comes into play.

Sora could only pat himself on the back for remembering a particular spell that he learned in the Sleeping Worlds, and never thought it would prove to be quite crucial in this plan.

The Vanish spell.

It's a spell that can make the user invisible for a period of time. It's even capable of erasing one's presence, as Sora discovered when the Nightmares couldn't even detect him. It's only when he was nearby or when he hits them.

Sora initially thought that the spell only worked on himself. But after a few tried on his end, he managed to pull it off and cast it on another person. Sora believed that his Link to All Skill may have been at play.

Moving on, Sora managed to make Hestia invisible. And because Hestia was invisible, Zanis wasn't able to see that Hestia was with the group this whole time.

And Hestia was able to see the whole observation.

"It baffles me with the amount of lies that kept spewing from your mouth." Hestia started. "You may have been able to fool others with that sly tongue of yours, but it's useless before a Goddess like me."

"H-How...!?" Zanis yelled in shock.

"You resort to tricks, we resort to ours." Hestia simply replied, before she decided to continue. "I knew it. Soma never demanded valis in the first place. That guy mainly cares about making his wine. Having to pay leaving fees? Lili was right. You're just using her and this entire Familia just to satisfy this ridiculous greed for valis." Hestia stated the facts before everyone.

"...!" Zanis took a step back.

Hestia just glared at the Captain.

"You're the worst of the worst. No wonder Lili wants to leave this Familia, with you ruining it." Hestia said, before she huffed. "I said my piece. You no longer have any credibility or any grounds on having to listen to you. We'll be meeting with Soma and discuss Lili's leave with him."

With this declaration, Lili turned to Zanis with a firm glare.

"And with that, Lili doesn't have to listen to you. Lili will leave this Familia, and no longer have to deal with a scumbag like you." Lili said with finality.

Silence was made when all was said and done. Zanis stood there with blank expression.

That is, before his expression turned outright murderous.

"To hell with you all!" Zanis yelled in fury, before he turned to his surroundings once more.

"Attention to all Soma Familia members! We have intruders who are here to steal our wine! Detain all of them at once! And whoever manages to capture them first will earn a personal sip of Soma's wine!" Zanis loudly shouted out to the entire manor.

As soon as Zanis shouted that, the Hestia Familia and Lili felt the atmosphere around them suddenly shift. The Soma Familia members who were all around the manor heard what Zanis said, and they began to stir. And one by one, each Soma Familia member began to stand up and pick up their weapons, and all of them look towards the Hestia Familia with frenzied looks on their faces.

Bell, Lili, and Hestia tensed when they found themselves surrounded.

Meanwhile, Sora didn't so much as move from his spot. Instead, he just kept glaring at Zanis with his arms folded.

"I'll make you regret making light of me! Perhaps you'll learn your lesson, after you and your so called friends rot away in our cells!" Zanis sneered.

"I believe that you'll be the one locked behind cells, Zanis Lustra." a new and loud voice entered the scene.

The Soma Familia paused for a bit, and they turned their heads towards the source of the voice. As soon as they saw the who it was, all of them stopped at once.

Even Zanis froze in shock when he saw the person before him.

"The Ganesha Familia Captain...?! What is she...?!" Zanis whispered in shock.

Shakti Varma made her presence known with every step she took, along with the fact that a group of other Ganesha Familia members were following behind her.

Shakti surveyed her surroundings, before her eyes fell onto Zanis.

"...I've always suspected the Soma Familia's activities to be driven by someone. To think tonight's events would reveal everything..." Shakti simply stated.

Zanis broke out of his shocked stupor as he immediately pointed at Lili.

"Ankusha, you must listen to me! Our Familia is being intruded by these outsiders-!"

"Spare me the lies, I've witnessed enough context of the situation when I was patrolling this area." Shakti declared, before she narrowed her eyes. "You are under arrest on the grounds of extortion and attempted wrongful imprisonment of the innocent. If you still want to prove your innocence, then simply talk to Lord Ganesha to verify the truth."

Sora gave a small smirk when he heard this.

Shakti wasn't lying when she said that the Ganesha Familia will be stationed nearby. They had Shakti listen in on their conversation the entire time to get enough evidence on Zanis's admission of extorting valis out of a Familia member while lying about a God's intent. And the attempt at imprisoning the Hestia Familia sealed the deal.

Silence was made throughout the entire area. The whole time, Zanis stood there, his shoulders shaking with shock and rage. He soon covered his face with his hand.

"...Damn you...Damn you all...! Every single one of you...ruining everything that I've built up for...!" Zanis growled.

It was then a dark aura began to emanate from him.

Sora's eyes widened in realization and shock at the dark aura that's coming from Zanis's body.

"It can't be...he's...!" Sora said aloud in shock.

"That dark aura, it's just like...!" Bell muttered in realization.

The dark aura around Zanis's body greatly intensified.

"Come to your master, monsters of Darkness!" Zanis yelled out.

Soon, darkness began to form and materialize all around Zanis. The darkness soon began to take form of Creeper Plants, Dire Plants, Fire Plants, and Ice Plants Heartless.

"Heartless...!?" Shakti whispered in shock.

Seeing the shock on everyone's faces caused Zanis to laugh.

"Surprised? I was surprised by them as well! But soon, I found that these monsters are quite easy to control! They've especially helped me in getting rid of useless pawns that couldn't even carry out simple orders!" Zanis gleefully laughed.

"Do you realize what you're using!?" Sora yelled in outrage. "That kind of power isn't meant to be toyed with! You're just going to endanger yourself and everyone around you!"

"Oh spare me your concern! There's no way in hell that this new given power will ever overtake me!" Zanis scoffed as he pushed up his glasses.

More and more Creeper Plant Heartless and their variants began to spawn near him.

"I should really thank them for giving me this type of power after all the favors that I've done for them!" Zanis remarked, as he was taking a few steps back.

"Alright you monsters, take care of these pests while I make my esca-!" Zanis ordered.

He was cut off when the sound of flesh being pierced was made throughout the area.

Everyone stared in shock at what just happened.

Zanis stood there, his facial expression frozen. However, he shakily moved his head and eyes to look down towards his body. And when he got a good enough view, Zanis soon found a root piercing straight through it.

Zanis failed to notice a lone Creeper Plant materialized behind it, and had its roots pierce through his body.

And at the end of the sharp root was a pink shaped crystal Heart.

"Ah...Ah...!" Zanis chocked out in pain and horror.

He couldn't even do anything else as his body began to break apart, and a massive pool of Darkness began to form underneath him. And soon, the Darkness began to surround him and his Heart.

"What is happening...!?" Lili yelled in shock and horror.

"This is not good...!" Sora exclaimed in alarm.

"The Heartless took his Heart...then that means...!" Bell said aloud in grim realization.

"Everyone, evacuate the area imme-!" Shakti attempted to get everyone to clear the area.

But soon, everyone was pushed back by an intense wave of Darkness that swept throughout the area. A large pillar of Darkness soon exploded from the epicenter, all the while unleashing intense shockwaves of wind and Darkness. As soon as the burst of Darkness and wind came to an end, everyone lowered their arms to see what just happened.

And their eyes widened at the sight of what was before them.

The being before them was massive, and reached the height of the Soma Familia Manor's building.

It possessed a robust and sturdy build, with its body resembling gnarled and weathered tree trunks. The skin was coarse and rugged and the darkest of brown color, and displayed a range of earthly tones, deep browns, rich greens, and hints of mossy gray.

The upper torso of it extends upward from the base, broadening into a massive trunk-like structure. Thick branches and limbs branch out from the sides, supporting a sprawling canopy of vibrant foliage. These branches twist and turn, forming intricate patterns reminiscent of natural growth, and are adorned with clusters of leaves. There were multiple branch-like arms that were sticking out from the main body.

Atop the trunk-like body sits a head that seamlessly blends with its overall arboreal appearance. The face of it is carved with deep lines and furrows, mimicking the texture of aged tree bark. Within these grooves, glowing, yellow eyes can be seen. The mouth, though not often visible, is adorned with sharp and jagged wooden teeth.

And the base of the being was completely rooted to the ground.

"Zanis just turned into a...!" Bell whispered in shock and horror.

The Heartless opened its mouth and unleashed a crackly and jagged roar, resonating throughout the manor.

And from that roar, large roots began to erupt from the ground.

Screams were heard all around them, and the Hestia Familia, Ganesha Familia, and Lili soon saw large roots erupting through the ground and impaling nearby Soma Familia members. And each root that impaled the Soma Familia members soon yanked out Hearts and dragged them underground, bringing it back towards the main body.

Chaos soon erupted throughout the whole area as the Soma Familia began to scream and run in terror.

"Not good!" Sora yelled in alarm.

Shakti broke out of her shock as she immediately turned to her Familia.

"Evacuate everyone in this area immediately!" Shakti immediately ordered.

"Y-Yes!" one of the Familia members replied as they hastily moved to evacuate people within the vicinity.

"Goddess, you need to get out of here! This isn't safe!" Bell urgently told Hestia.

"R-Right! We need to get out of here, and-wait, Soma is still here!" Hestia said in realization.

"That's right! Lord Soma is still here! We need to get him out!" Lili exclaimed.

"I'll go to Lord Soma and get him out then!" Bell immediately volunteered.

"Good idea! I'll keep Zanis's Heartless busy then! Shakti, please get Hestia out of the area!" Sora told Shakti.

"Understood. I'll be back as soon as I can to be of assistance!" Shakti nodded, as she immediately went to Hestia and picked her up over her shoulder, much to Hestia's bafflement.

"Wha-!?"

"Please bear with me, this is an emergency!" Shakti told the Goddess as she sped away from the spot with impressive speeds, leaving Hestia to scream out in surprise.

Seeing Hestia being evacuated from the area lifted one of their worries.

"Lili, do you know where Lord Soma could possibly be?" Bell asked.

"It's this way!" Lili pointed towards the left direction.

"Got it! Let's go!" Bell said as he ran towards the direction where Lili pointed, with Lili following behind him.

With everyone departing from the area, Sora was the only one who stood before Zanis's Heartless.

Sora immediately held up his Gummiphone at had it scan the Heartless to see if there was any sort of data on it.

Scanning Finished

Unidentified Heartless. No Data Available.

Database Uploaded.

Name Created: Mammon

"So a new type of Heartless..." Sora muttered, before he quickly pocketed his Gummiphone.

Sora glared at Zanis's Heartless as he stepped forward, and he wordlessly raised his arm and soon manifested a Keyblade.

The Keyblade appeared to be an abstract swooping design based off of shooting stars. The top of the handle has a silver shooting star design ending in a multicolored star. The length of the blade has a swooping blue and yellow tail ending at the top in an open blue star and a reversed yellow star that make up the teeth. The keychain is three yellow diamonds, and the token is a multicolored star similar to the one on the handle with a yellow diamond on top.

Sora felt that the Shooting Star Keyblade was perfect for this situation.

Immediately, the stars on his Keyblade began to expand, and Sora thrusted his Keyblade forward. The Keyblade stretched and expanded a bit, before returning back to Sora. It soon broke apart into two pieces, and began to reassemble themselves into a form of arrowguns.

Sora pointed his Double Arrowguns towards the Mammon Heartless.

"Time to do some weed whacking!"

~ Break ~

Shakti could hear the sounds of explosions behind her, and she knew that Sora begun engaging with the Heartless before him. After she carried Hestia a good distance away from the manor, she set her down.

"Right, you should be safe at this distance." Shakti told the Hearth Goddess.

The Hearth Goddess seemed a bit ruffled by the experience, but soon shook it off with an urgent expression.

"Don't worry about me then! You better get going and make sure that everyone is safe! Bell and Lili are still in there with the Heartless!" Hestia told the Captain.

"Understood. I'll-!" Shakti said as she turned back towards the manor, but soon stopped when she saw roots spreading and going over the Soma Familia manor's walls.

As the roots were growing and settling in, Creeper Plant Heartless and its variants soon begun to grow from the roots.

"...This is not good! If it keeps spreading, it'll wreak havoc throughout the district!" Shakti scowled as she immediately moved in to take out the Heartless.

As Shakti ran forward to take care of the erupting Heartless, Hestia stood there with a heavily troubled expression.

"Please stay safe, everyone...!"

~ Break ~

"...What's with all the loud ruckus...?" a quiet voice was said.

A good distance away from the center courtyard was a certain room where Soma focused on making his wine. He was simply focusing on making his wine. But he soon felt tremors around the room, and the sound of some kind of explosion was made and could be heard from his balcony window.

These new noises and movements broke the God out of his wine making trance.

Before he could make his way towards the balcony, a new figure suddenly appeared before him.

Well, it was more like two new figures.

"This is the room, right...?" Bell asked to confirm, before his eyes fell to the Wind God before him.

"Who are...?" Soma attempted to question, but Lili soon stepped forward.

"Lord Soma, we need to leave immediately! There's a giant monster attacking the manor!" Lili urgently told her patron God.

Soma blinked when he heard this, and he saw that the pallum before him isn't lying.

"A monster...here? How-?"

He was cut off when roots soon erupted from the floor nearby him, and and Creeper Plant Heartless soon emerged from the roots. When the Creeper Plant Heartless grew to full size, it soon set its sights on Soma, and extended its body to take a bite out of him.

"...!" Soma looked at the Heartless before him in surprise and shock.

Before the Heartless reached him, he felt something push him out of the way, which resulted in the Creeper Heartless narrowly missing the two.

"You..." Soma muttered in surprise, seeing that it was Lili who pushed him out of the way.

The Creeper Plant attempted to attack them once more, before it was immediately cut down with a swift slash of Bell's Hestia Knife.

"You can be all shocked and surprised about all this nonsense later! We need to get out of here Lord Soma!" Lili urgently told the Wine God in urgency, before she turned to Bell. "Bell, just grab Lord Soma and put him over your shoulder! We have no time for formalities!"

Bell blinked at the order, before he hesitantly nodded as he made his way toward the Soma and Lili.

"Please excuse me! This is an emergency!" Bell apologized, before he proceeded to pick up Soma and hold him over one of his shoulders

"Uh..." Soma couldn't help but be dumbfounded in the position that he's in. That, and he's not exactly fully processing on what's going on with all the chaos occurring.

When Bell held Soma, which was manageable with his newfound boost in strength. Still, he had his hands full as he turned to Lili.

"Right, I need an extra hand...!" Bell muttered as he grabbed hold of a certain item in his pocket.

He was going to make use of the new Skill that was given to him by Sora, as he held the Heartbinder to his chest.

"I need your help!" Bell called out.

And soon, a flash of light soon erupted from the Heartbinder, and Bell's Me Me Bunny appeared before them.

As the Me Me Bunny soon manifested, it hopped in greeting towards Bell, but soon stopped when it saw Bell's urgent and serious expression.

"Grab hold of Lili and follow me!" Bell told his Dream Eater, as he soon ran jumped out of the window.

"Wait, Lili is going to be-!?" Lili questioned in surprise.

The pallum was cut off when the Me Me Bunny picked up Lili with its large ears, and began to hop forward and follow Bell.

The sound of screaming was made as they made their way out of the manor.

~ Break ~

Multiple roots kept erupting from the ground in an attempt to impale Sora.

However, Sora proved to be way too agile and swift to be even hit by the Heartless. Every time a root would erupt from the ground, Sora simply slid to the side to avoid getting hit. It also didn't help the Heartless that Sora simply skated around the ground, as he was never in one place.

It also didn't help the Heartless that Sora kept up his barrage of magic bullets. The Mammon Heartless found itself being rained with magic bullets, and it couldn't do anything about it as it was deeply rooted onto the ground.

But even so, the Heartless proved to be quite resilient as it kept tanking the shots. The Mammon Heartless soon roared as multiple vines soon erupted from its crown in an attempt to bind Sora.

However, Sora soon pointed his Double Arrowguns forward once more, and went into Auto-Shot mode as he began to rapidly fire magic bullets incoming towards him.

All of the incoming vines were immediately shot down by the rain of bullets.

When Sora landed on the ground, the tips of his Arrowguns lit up with fire.

"Right, time to heat things up!" Sora declared, as he proceeded to fire off a barrage of Fire magic bullets towards the Mammon Heartless.

The Mammon Heartless heavily groaned as it was barraged with fire magic, and its wooden flesh was burning from Sora's magic. And soon enough, it's entire body was beginning to become engulfed with fire.

'Looks like fire magic is super effective in this situation! If that's the case, then I gotta keep up the-!' Sora thought as he was about to fire off another volley fire magic, but his eyes widened when the Mammon Heartless began to violently shake and wrap its arms around itself. The Mammon Heartless looked like it was charging something, and a blue-white aura began to tint its body.

"That's not good!" Sora muttered in alarm as he fired off another volley of fire magic.

Alas, it was too late as the Mammon Heartless roared as it unleashed an absolute blizzard from its body, extinguishing the fire on it and releasing an absolute chilling wind that froze anything in its path, along with large ice shards erupting from the ground.

"Oh crud-!" Sora yelped.

He couldn't be heard as he was engulfed by the blizzard before him.

~ Break ~

"This should be a safe distance..." Bell said as he sets down Soma onto the ground.

Soma himself was rather silent as he was set on the ground, a bit dumbfounded with the situation before him. And to follow up was Bell's Me Me Bunny landing next to them and setting Lili down on the ground.

"...What is going on-?" Soma attempted to ask.

He was soon cut off when the ground shook, and everyone saw a large explosion of ice erupt from the compound, along with multiple ice shards violently erupting from the ground. Ice shards so large that they scaled to the height of the Soma Familia manor.

Everyone could only look at the sight before them in shock.

"Did...did Zanis do all of this...!?" Lili muttered in shock.

"That scale of ice magic, it must've been Zanis's Heartless doing...!" Bell muttered with a troubled look.

That large amount of ice magic was a terrifying sight, something Bell has never dealt with before. It made the Blue Rhaspody Heartless look downright harmless in comparison.

And Sora is dealing with such a foe.

Bell clenched his fist. The Heartless before him is dangerous. Far more dangerous compared to the likes of the Heartless Minotaur.

But even so...

"Lili, stay here where it's safe! I'm going to help Sora!" Bell told Lili as he ran ahead, and his Dream Eater followed him.

"Wait, what!? Master Bell, you shouldn't! This monster is-!" Lili tried to protest, but her words didn't reach Bell as the white haired teenager made his way back into the Soma Familia manor.

Lili bit her lip and clenched her fist.

She doesn't exactly have the capabilities to stop Bell going towards battle, and she knew that she wouldn't be of much help in this situation. The only thing she can do is make sure Soma doesn't get himself harmed from all of this.

"...What is happening?" Soma asked once more, confused with what is going on.

"...Lili sometimes asks that question as well..." Lili quietly responded.

~ Break ~

"Contain the perimeter! Do not let any Heartless past, no matter what!" Shakti yelled to her Familia members, as they were all combating the Heartless spilling out of the Soma Familia manor.

More and more problems kept getting added to the plate.

It took some time, but she and her Familia managed to evacuate all of the Soma Familia members out of their manor. But following that was the outbreak of Creeper Plant Heartless erupting from the spreading roots of Zanis's Heartless. And if the root remain, then the Heartless will continue to spawn, which already makes containing the Heartless a difficult task.

Silver lining, the roots seems to have stopped spreading. She could hear the sounds of explosions taking place in the distance, which is a sign that Sora is taking care of the Heartless. Meaning that it's keeping it occupied from further spreading its roots.

Just as she thought that she could leave things to her Familia to contain the Heartless so she could go in and help Sora, a massive explosion of icy wind and ice shards erupted from the manor. And the ice shards ended up becoming a blockade, which meant that entry into the manor is not possible.

"Captain, we need help over-AH!" one of the Ganesha Familia members cried out in pain when a Dire Plant Heartless spat out a seed towards his chest, sending him flying back a bit.

"Tch!" Shakti clicked her tongue as she immediately sped towards where her fellow Familia member was attacked and immediately cuts it down.

"Get back and treat your wounds!" Shakti told the injured Familia member as she was fending off the group of Dire Plant Heartless.

Just as she finished saying that, a new and large Heartless suddenly sprouted from the ground near her, something that caught Shakti off guard.

'There are roots underground...!?' Shakti thought.

The Poison Plant Heartless lunged its neck to take a bite out of Shakti, to which Shakti raised her arm to block the incoming attack.

The sound of a vicious bite was made.

"Captain!" one of the Ganesha Familia members cried out when they saw it happened, only to pause at what they saw.

Shakti stood there, looking relatively fine. Meanwhile, the Poison Plant Heartless kept gnawing on the arm, only to realize it wasn't getting past the arm guard that was on Shakti.

And it failed to notice the arm guard soon glowing.

"My turn."

It was the only thing the Heartless heard, before Shakti promptly yanked the arm out of its mouth. She pulled back her fist, and the Heartless saw the gauntlet on Shakti's arm glowing with power.

Before it could do anything else, Shakti proceeded to deliver a punch straight to the Point Plant Heartless's head.

And the impact smashed it into pieces, along with a vicious shockwave that went through. And with the head completely obliterated, the Heartless body began to break apart into Darkness.

Shakti gave a light exhale as she drew her fist back, all the while giving a quick glance to the gauntlet in her right arm.

The gauntlet is crafted with meticulous attention to detail, showcasing a dark and menacing aesthetic. They are primarily composed of a dark metallic material with sleek, smooth curves and sharp edges. The surface of the knuckles is adorned with glowing patterns and intricate engravings.

This is the new equipment that Tsubaki made for her. It was an interesting design, especially made for hand-to-hand combat.

But the most interesting part was the abilities that came with it.

With Tsubaki's blacksmith skills, she managed to integrate the materials she got from the Heartless back in the Dungeon. And these materials bestowed this equipment a unique ability unlike others.

It's able to absorb damage. And when it absorbs enough damage, that damage will be converted to energy; energy that will be used to deliver a powerful force when punching the target.

In other words, she's able to absorb the damage, and return it back to the sender.

'...I'm beginning to understand why Collbrande has a strong desire for these materials. They grant you abilities that you never thought was possible...' Shakti thought.

However, that doesn't necessarily mean she's going to give that woman any room to harass Sora.

She soon snapped back to reality when she heard a roar reverberating from the Soma Familia manor. Seeing that the Heartless is still at a rampage means Sora has his hands full with the Heartless. Knowing the possibility made her pick up the pace, so she could find the right moment to assist Sora.

~ Break ~

The area that was the Soma Familia manor courtyard was unrecognizable. The area looked like it was the aftermath of a frozen disaster. The entire ground was covered in ice. Ice shards of various sizes littered the area.

The only living being visible was the Mammon Heartless, who stood in the epicenter of the icy explosion.

The Mammon Heartless remained silent, looking around the area to see if there was signs of the Keyblade wielder.

The silence, however, was soon interrupted when the sound of movement was made.

Before the Mammon Heartless was a large round mound of snow and ice. It began to rustle a bit, before a burst of light erupted, sending snow and ice everywhere; it only left behind a snowy haze.

The snowy haze began to clear up, and it soon revealed Sora standing there.

And he didn't look harmed in the slightest.

Sora gave a small breath of relief, as he looked at the near transparent hexagonal barrier around him that protected him from harm.

"Almost forgot that I could actually switch my Keyblades during battle..." Sora muttered to himself, as he looked at his hand that held the Kingdom Key.

One of the downsides to his Elemental Formchanges is that he can't exactly use defensive magic in exchange for a large boost in offensive magical power.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that Sora is restricted to a particular Formchange for the whole duration. He can switch to other Keyblades.

And bringing out his Kingdom Key gave him the ability to use Reflect magic.

He hasn't switched Keyblades mid-combat for a while, mainly due to the fact that he can't just switch his Keyblade in front of other people.

But since there was no one around to witness it, he's was in the clear to make full use of his abilities.

The Mammon Heartless gave a jagged roar upon seeing that Sora was still standing before it, while Sora remained unfazed by the roar before him.

"Right...if we're going to fight with heavier firepower..." Sora started as he dismissed his Reflect Magic.

Immediately, he switched back to his Elemental Formchange and his Dual Arrowguns came back to his hands. Rings of light formed around Sora as brought his two Arrowguns together, making the Arrowguns disassemble themselves and the rings around Sora close in on the morphing weapon.

It finished combining, and Sora soon held up his Magic Launcher and aimed it at the Mammon Heartless.

"I got my fair share of chilly environments from Arendelle! I certainly don't need another!" Sora exclaimed as he fired off a large orb of magic towards the Mammon Heartless.

~ Break ~

It was quiet at first, before Bell began to hear the sounds of explosions and the ground slightly shaking. It was clear to Bell that the battle between Sora and Zanis's Heartless is still taking place. Just knowing the battle taking place made Bell a bit anxious on what he's about to get involved with, but he moved forward anyway.

Bell initially thought he could take a straight path to the battle, but ice shards littered the entire manor, forcing Bell to climb around the icy debris and through the wrecked and damaged Soma Familia mansion.

His climbing ended up leading him to the top of the Soma Familia manor, where there was the least amount of debris and roots. When he finally reached the top, his ears could hear clearer sounds of the battle, and he carefully made his way towards the edge of the roof.

Once he did, his eyes widened at what he saw.

Zanis's Heartless roared as it spawned multiple vines from its crown and immediately began to wildly swing around the area. Each movement of the vines were too fast for Bell to even follow, and they were smashing down whatever they got in their way. The ground itself was no exception, as it looked like it was receiving lacerations.

And yet, Sora was in no trouble at all.

Sora was moving all over the place, all the while firing off multiple blasts of magic that blew away the incoming vines. Sora even managed to knock them away with the blaster alone, showing that melee combat is still viable for him.

And once the assault of the vines began to slow down, Sora then proceeded to fire off a ball of Aeroga magic, which resulted in it exploding into a large explosion of wind that blew away the incoming vines. Sora then fired off a ball of Waterga magic, impacting the the Mammon Heartless's main body and soaking it wet. The Keyblade wielder then fired off a large ball of Thundaga magic, which proceeded to electrify the Mammon Heartless, which was further damaged with the water conducting the electricity.

Even with all of that damage, the Mammon Heartless staggered a bit, before it roared as its cheeks bulged, and then proceeded to spit out multiple large seeds into the air, before them began to rain down onto the battlefield.

Once Sora saw this, he immediately began to fire upward into the air to intercept the incoming seeds. This resulted in multiple large explosions occurring in the air.

If it wasn't for the dire situation, Bell would've thought that it was a rather spectacular sight before him.

But as of know, it was downright shocking for the white haired teenager.

"T-This level of combat...!" Bell muttered to himself in realization.

This fight...is way beyond someone of his Level, even as a Level 2. This Heartless was stronger than the Heartless Minotaur. It had more endurance to take on any punishment. It had the firepower to eclipse his and the Heartless Minotaur's magic. It had wide reach that his agility couldn't get him out of it.

The only thing Bell knows is that it's stationary, meaning he could move around it. But even that won't help Bell survive in this fight, much less have a fighting chance to damage it.

"If I so much as jump in...I'll end up getting killed..." Bell muttered with a frustrated look, clenching his fist.

He truly wanted to help Sora fight against the Heartless, more than anything else. To show Sora that he's capable of fighting alongside him, just like Donald and Goofy.

He wanted to do something, rather than standing here doing nothing!

Bell failed to notice small specs of light sparkling around his hand.

His Dream Eater, on the other hand, could only hop a bit in surprise upon what it was seeing.

Just as Bell was standing there in thought on what to do in this type of situation, the battle between Sora and the Mammon Heartless was beginning to reach its climax.

The Mammon Heartless groaned, suffering all of the damage blasted towards its body. Its branchlike arms had all but broken to pieces from the blasts of magic, leaving only the main body and crown. No matter how much it uses its seeds, roots, and vine, Sora has proven to be too agile and resourceful to be hit even once.

It was at its wits end, and the Mammon Heartless decided to do something out of desperation.

Sora's eyes widened when he saw a familiar blue white aura surrounding the Heartless. It was going to unleash another blast of ice magic to engulf the area. But it wasn't like before, where it needed a short time to unleash it. It was going for a longer charge, meaning...!

"Not good...!" Sora exclaimed as he aimed his magic launcher once more, only to immediately move in reflex when roots began to erupt from the ground.

But this time, the roots weren't aiming to impale Sora. But rather, the roots seemed to be forming some kind of barricade to protect it from Sora's blast.

"Seriously!?" Sora muttered with annoyance, as he raised his Magic Launcher to blast the roots blocking his way. However, just as the roots were destroyed, another will soon take its place.

His problems weren't exactly done, as Creeper Plant Heartless variants arose from those roots and began to fire off seeds towards Sora, forcing Sora to intercept them or move.

Meanwhile, Bell saw what was happening and his eyes widened when he saw that Sora was currently being occupied, while the Heartless itself was building up magic power, something that Bell could feel.

"Is...Is it going to unleash another wave of ice magic?! But if it does, it could possibly...!" Bell whispered in alarm, realizing the dreadful implications of what the Heartless could do to this district.

There's no way he's going to let this happen!

Bell didn't waste any time as he held up his arm and aimed it towards the Mammon Heartless.

"Firebolt!"

What Bell expected was a bolt of fire to hopefully disrupt the Heartless's charging process, perhaps slow down its progress.

What came out of his hand instead was a large beam of white fire that erupted from his hand. The large beam of Light Firaga hits the Mammon Heartless dead center, and the Mammon Heartless unleashed a pained and jagged roar when it was engulfed by the white flames.

Normally, a normal Firebolt from Bell would've been a painful annoyance at best to the Mammon Heartless. But with the increased strength, the properties of Light and Fire elements, and the Heartless's own wooden makeup, it resulted in damage that was downright unbearable for the Heartless.

And because of it, its whole process of charging was interrupted.

Bell could only stand there in surprise and shock on what he just saw.

"D...Did I do this...?" Bell asked himself with a befuddled look.

"Bell!?" a familiar voice called out, causing Bell to look towards Sora.

Sora stood there with a surprised look on his face. The Keyblade wielder didn't expect Bell to return back to the scene, and stand on top of the Soma Familia mansion. And he certainly didn't expect Bell to fire off this magic beam of magic to disrupt the Mammon Heartless's charge up.

But Sora certainly wasn't going to complain about it.

"Way to go Bell! You stopped it from unleashing a huge ice spell!" Sora cheered at Bell.

"I-I did...?" Bell muttered, still in a bit of a daze on what just happened.

Before he could process it, the Mammon Heartless gave out a pained screech, and the two heard the sound of the ground cracking.

From Bell's position, he soon saw the roots that were grown around the Soma Familia manor retracting towards the main body. The roots began to gather back towards the main body, and soon combine together to make massive roots all around it. As it did, the burning wooden flash began to slowly regenerate.

"It's gathering the roots to heal its body!" Sora said aloud in realization, before he gained a determined glare. "It's now or never!"

Sora dashed forward towards the Heartless's main body, closing the distance between them. As he did, Ice Plant Heartless began to spawn from the roots and ground, surrounding Sora from all sides.

The Ice Plant Heartless were about to fire off seeds, only to for bolts of Light Firaga magic to fall from the sky and rained down on the Ice Plant Heartless, taking them out one by one. Sora saw this and made a quick glance up, and saw Bell holding up his hand and was firing off his Firebolt towards the surrounding Ice Plant Heartless.

"I'll take care of these Heartless Sora! Focus on the main one!" Bell told Sora, as he focused on using his magic to be of support to Sora.

"Thanks Bell!" Sora thanked, as he made his way towards the main body.

As Bell was firing off his magic, he failed to notice that Ice Plant Heartless were soon growing from behind him. The Ice Plant Heartless then spat out seeds towards Bell, something the white haired teenager noticed all too late.

However, Me Me Bunny soon jumped in front of Bell's exposed back, and proceeded to use its ears to punch away and deflect the incoming seeds.

Bell looked at his Dream Eater in surprise, before he gave a nod of gratitude.

"Cover me!" Bell told his Dream Eater as he focused on firing off his magic.

His Dream Eater listened to what it said, as it continued to deflect any incoming seeds coming his way. But not only that, but it managed to catch some seeds and send it back to their owners, causing the Heartless to be destroyed with their own projectiles.

With all of the distractions out of the way, Sora closed the distance him and the Mammon Heartleess.

Once he got in close vicinity, the Mammon Heartless attempted to open its mouth to fire off seeds, but Sora immediately shoved the Magic Launcher right into the Heartless's mouth.

"Hope you're hungry!" Sora told the Heartless, as his Magic Launcher began to expand and glow with energy. Soon, a large projectile was soon formed, and was detached from Sora's Magic Launcher.

With the projectile stuck within the mouth of the Heartless, Sora proceeded to jump back a good distance away.

The Mammon Heartless flailed around, acting like it would help escape the situation it is in.

Alas, it it was too helpless to escape its demise.

A massive glow began to erupt from the Heartless's mouth, and its body began to convulse violently. Bursts of light began to pop all over its body, and soon...

The entire area was soon engulfed with with a bright explosion.

When the light died down and the dust cloud began to die down, Bell and Sora finally got clarity to see what happened.

The Mammon Heartless stood still, its body absolutely damaged beyond all repair. But soon, black mist began to leak out of the Heartless's body. And just as before, the Heartless slowly disappeared, and a large Heart soon materialized and floated away up into the air.

With that, the battle has come to an end.

Sora gave small breath of relief, glad that it was over as he dismissed his Magic Launcher.

Bell followed Sora's as his shoulders dropped down in relief, followed along with a heavy sigh of solace.

"It's over..." Bell breathed out. Even though he just fired off his magic, he couldn't help but feel exhausted to some degree.

But there was a certain someone that certainly gave it their all to be of support to Bell.

Bell gave an appreciative smile towards his Dream Eater as he knelt down to it and patted its head.

"Thank you. You were a great help." Bell told his Dream Eater.

The Me Me Bunny hopped up and down, clearly happy with Bell's praise and head pats.

And with that, the Dream Eater soon disappeared into a puff of pink smoke, signifying that its time as a summon has come to an end.

When Bell was left alone, a soft frown formed on his face.

"So this is the level that Sora fights seriously...not like the ones we fought in the Dungeon." Bell muttered to himself.

This fight showed that Bell is far from ready to take on the type of Heartless that Sora truly faces. Even though he managed to land a rather powerful blow to Zanis's Heartless, Bell felt like he got lucky in that regard.

"Still got a long way to go..." Bell muttered to himself.

"Bell!"

Bell yelped when Sora jumped out of nowhere and landed next to him.

"S-Sora!?" Bell said with surprise.

The Keyblade wielder gave a grin towards Bell.

"Hey! What was that thing you did earlier? Did your Level Up give you some new form of magic or something? Cause that was way stronger than a Firaga spell, I can tell that much!" Sora told Bell with a mix of curiosity and excitement look on his face.

"I-I'm not entirely sure either. I was just watching your battle and saw the Heartless about to unleash some kind of magic. All I did was use my magic to distract it..." Bell said as he looked at his hand in confusion.

"Hm...wait, didn't you have another Skill? It was called...Argonaut?" Sora tried to recall.

"Oh, right, Argonaut!" Bell said in realization. "It charges up an action! That was the Skill that made my Firebolt stronger!"

"It could be!" Sora said in agreement, and gave a small chuckle. "Man, who knew that Skill could make your magic that strong! That's quite the handy skill."

"You think so...?" Bell whispered, before he glanced down to his hand.

"I certainly think so. It saved us from a lot of trouble with that ice spell it was about to unleash." Sora told Bell, before he raised his fist.

"Thanks for the assist Bell! I couldn't have done this without your help!" Sora thanked Bell with a grin.

Bell's eyes widened in surprise when he heard this.

Sora...Sora is actually thanking him for his help!? Despite the fact that he only contributed with only a small portion of the battle!?

Bell had to suppress the urge to cry out in joy, but his lips formed into a shaky smile.

And when Bell saw the gesture Sora was holding, his returned the gesture as he bumped fists with Sora's fist.

""Ba la la la la!"" the two cheered.

It was moments like these that made Bell feel that even with the long road ahead of him...he's still making progress to fight alongside his hero.

~ Break ~

"What a mess..." Shakti quietly muttered.

There was still debris of ice all around the Soma Familia manor, and the mansion itself was littered with puncture holes and ice burns from the Heartless's rampage.

Silver lining, it was only limited to the Soma Familia's manor. She managed to mobilize the surrounding Ganesha Familia into containing the Heartless. It certainly wasn't an easy task, as she had to deal with large number of Creeper Plant Heartless and the variants.

In terms of casualties, only the Soma Familia suffered from it. Her fellow Familia members suffered close calls, but the worse is mainly just grievous injuries. She supposes that's another silver lining in that regard.

Even with all of this, there was a bigger issue that Shakti took note of.

Shakti's eyes narrowed when she remembered what Zanis said before he turned into a Heartless.

"I should really thank them for giving me this type of power after all the favors that I've done for them!"

"...So it's possible for someone to control the Heartless, not just locking them up..." Shakti quietly said to herself with a frown.

Heartless are shown to be creatures that could be controlled to a limited degree. However, it has shown that they're willing to turn on their "masters" and turn them into a Heartless like themselves.

Her intuition told her that Evilus may have had a part in this, but she wasn't exactly sure.

This newfound knowledge means that anyone in Orario could be granted this ability to manipulate the Heartless. And if Zanis was any example, then that would mean that Heartless are bound to erupt at any time and any place under the right conditions.

Things just became a lot more dire than Shakti thought.

"...Lord Ganesha needs to know of this immediately. We need to come up with better measures to prevent something like this from happening again..." Shakti muttered.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shakti spotted Sora, alongside his Familia and Lili. The group were talking with each other, with Sora having an optimistic expression while patting Bell on the back, with the white haired boy looking rather sheepish. Hestia could only sigh with exasperation while Lili looked at the two with complexed expressions.

Just seeing Sora's smile somehow puts her mind at ease.

"...Right. We're not alone in this." Shakti muttered to herself, seeing how Sora is doing all he can to help out as well.

With that in mind, Shakti began to investigate the rest of the compound to see if there are any useful clues.

~ Break ~

Soma could only stand in silence when he looked at his room where he worked on his wine.

It was an utter wreck.

The room was littered with puncture holes. Few pieces of ice shards were around the room. All the tools and containers were sprawled all over the floor, a majority of them being damaged. And the large pot on where he works on his wine was toppled over, spilling its contents all over the floor.

"All my progress...ruined..." Soma muttered with a despondent tone.

And he worked too hard to make any sort of progress.

It's disheartening that he had to start over from square one again.

"...Lord Soma?"

The Wine God blinked when he heard a familiar voice, and turned around to see Lili standing there, along with multiple large bags behind her.

Lili then got onto her knees and bowed towards Soma.

"Lili believes that with this amount of valis, it should be able to help you recover from this damages." Lili told Soma, her heart beating in anxiety on what she's going to do.

"But before that...Lili wishes to leave this Familia." Lili told her patron God.

Soma remained silent when he heard this. After staring at Lili for a short moment, he glanced around his room and looked towards the large pot that held his wine.

He soon made his way to the pot, and spotted that there was still some left inside of it, just a scoop.

With that, Soma grabbed a small cup and scooped it up. He then made his way towards Lili and held the cup towards her.

"...Drink this. I want to see your resolve." Soma told her.

Lili blinked when she heard this, and her eyes went to the accursed wine that drove her Familia into such a crazy addiction.

Soma was testing her, and if she could withstand the wine...then she's finally free.

Lili clenched her fist, before she reached out to the small cup before her. After some trepidation, Lili took the cup to her lips and began to drink it.

Soma watched as Lili drank the wine. He watched Lili's expression morphed into an expression of bliss and she wobbled a bit, before she fell to the floor.

Soma could only feel disappointment as he saw this. Once more, his Familia only cared for his wine, and nothing else-

"L-Lord Soma...please..."

Soma froze when he heard a voice, and turned around to see Lili struggling to stand up. There were tears in her eyes, and her face was flushed. But the most important thing that Soma noticed was the sheer determination that she was putting to get through the wine she drank.

It was if she was fighting for something else. Something other than his wine.

And it shook the God to his core.

Lord Soma went silent for a bit, before he made his way to Lili and kneeled down to her.

"...Very well. I shall grant you your wish." Soma told her.

And with that, Soma lifted the back of Lili's shirt, and he begun his process of removing his Falna from Lili. The process was brief, before the symbol that was on Lili's back disappeared.

She was no longer a part of a Familia.

She was free.

"Way to go Lili!" a new voice cheered.

Soma blinked when he heard a new voice, and looked up to see the Hestia Familia peeking their heads from the door.

"Lili! Are you alright!?" Bell asked with a worried look as he made his way to her and kneeled down to her level.

"L-Lili is fine...there's no way that...Lili is going to loose...to some wine..." Lili tiredly said with an equally exhausted smile, before she leaned onto Bell, enjoying the warmth that exuded from his body.

"Like we had any doubt!" Sora told her with a grin. "C'mon, let's go home! I'm going to cook up something nice for us to enjoy after everything that we've been through!"

"That sounds great!" Bell agreed, before he picked Lili up into a bridal carry, before he turned to Soma. "U-Um, thank you for listening to Lili's request, Lord Soma."

Soma stood there, looking at Lili with a blank expression.

"...I have failed you, Liliruca Arde." Soma told her, making Lili's eyes widened in shock when she heard this. "...Take care of your health."

Lili remained silent, shocked to hear those words from Soma. But soon, she just relaxed her shoulders and lets out a small sigh.

"...Thank you Lord Soma. Goodbye..." Lili told her God, as she wanted to part ways with Soma on a peaceful note.

And with that, Sora, Bell, and Lili soon left the room, while Hestia chose to remain behind for a bit.

When the three left the room, Soma turned to Hestia.

"...Hestia. Did I truly grant my blessing to a child like her?" Soma asked.

"...You have. While you were focused on making that wine of yours, she had to struggle all by herself. Not only that, but your neglect has allowed a great Darkness to fester in your Familia, which resulted in this mess." Hestia told Soma.

"...A great Darkness?" Soma repeated with confusion. "What exactly do you mean by that? Does it have to do with the monster that suddenly came to this manor?"

Hestia remained silent, before she gave a sigh while folding her arms.

"Trust me when I say, the less you know, the better. You'll be saving yourself from the headache." Hestia simply told Soma as she walked away.

Soma could only tilt his head in confusion.

~ Break ~

After all the chaos that occurred within just a day, getting some rest at their home was a welcoming change of pace. But before they could truly kick back and rest, there was one thing they needed to take care of.

"And with that, you're officially a part of my Familia!" Hestia declared with a smile as she finished granting Lili her blessing.

"And Lili is happy to join you guys!" Lili replied with a smile of her own as she puts on her shirt.

"Um...is it safe to come in?" a muffled voice came from the door.

"It's safe to come in!" Hestia called out to the two.

The door quickly opened, and Sora and Bell quickly entered the room. The two teenagers were smiling at Lili.

"Welcome aboard Lili!" Sora cheered.

"We're happy to have you finally join us!" Bell followed up.

"Lili feels the same! Lili can finally move on with Lili's life!" Lili declared with a smile of her own.

"And the first thing to celebrate this new start is with some food! I hope you're prepared for a delicious 5 course meal!" Sora declared with a grin.

"F-Five course...?" Lili repeated with a bit of a bewildered look. "L-Lili thinks that's a bit too much..."

"Oh c'mon, you deserve it after everything that you've been through!" Sora told her. "Thanks to the valis I got from the dungeon, I managed to get some good ingridients for dinner!"

"And those ingridients weren't exactly cheap..." Hestia remarked with a flat look, before she looked behind her. "Though, that did little to the leftovers that we have..."

Everyone turned their heads to see multiple large bags of valis sitting in the corner of the room. Even though they contributed in making up the 10 million valis needed to pay off Lili's leave, the most it did was take out a mere fraction on what Sora earned from the Dungeon.

"...It's quite amazing that even after all that, we still have so much." Bell commented with both amazement and bafflement.

"Sora certainly went above and beyond the target amount." Hestia tiredly remarked.

"Well, it's a lot better than going under the amount. Honestly, I have no idea what to do with all of this." Sora said while crossing his arms behind his head, before a thoughtful look appeared on his face. "Maybe we should get more beds. Even though I'm used to sleeping on the floor, it would be nice to sleep on a bed."

"A bed..." Bell muttered, before he glanced at the sofa, where he usually sleeps on. He's going to have to agree with Sora on this one. Even though he's used to sleeping on the sofa, sleeping on a bed would be a nice change.

"Lili will have to agree, getting more beds is a sound idea. Though..." Lili said as she looked around their room, which is already getting a bit cramped with the increasing amount of residence. "Do we really have enough room to fit beds for all four of us?"

"You got a point..." Sora said while scratching the back of his head.

Hestia, throughout the whole conversation, remained silent as she was looking around the room and back to the valis.

Hestia was sorely tempted to use all of these valis to buy some more comfortable furniture and other luxuries that she could finally afford or pay off her debts. But that desire was being outweighed by the fact that their current living conditions weren't exactly the best. And with four new residents, their current abode is starting to get rather cramped.

And it was then an idea popped up in Hestia's head.

"Everyone." Hestia called out to everyone.

Everyone blinked when they heard their Goddess call out to them, and turned their heads to see Hestia standing there with a smile on her face.

"How would you all like to move into a new home?"

(IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: BELL'S ALIAS)

Next chapter is going to be Denatus. And do you know what that means? The Gods are going to decide Bell's Alias!

Rather than Little Rookie, there's going to be another Alias for Bell, due to butterfly effect of Kingdom Hearts (or Sora if you want to be more detailed)!

Feel free to offer what kind of Alias you think of is best for Bell due to Kingdom Hearts being involved.

Though I will help give you a direction or theme if it helps: Sky, Stars, or Constellations.

If you have any other ideas outside of this theme, feel free to share!

And that's a wrap to this chapter!

I was sorely tempted to split this into two chapters, but had no idea on the appropriate time on when to end it. So I settled with one big chapter.

Wow, second chapter into the second arc and we already have a Heartless Boss battle. Did you honestly believe that things would turn out that smoothly for Lili's leave? Not with Kingdom Hearts involved!

If you need help visualizing Shakti's new equipment, it's basically the Augmented Deepshadow Knuckles from Final Fantasy 14. It basically has the Damage Syphon ability, where Shakti gains energy when she takes damage or blocks with her gauntlet. This energy will fuel the gauntlet, and deliver strong striking power in return.

I know Bell's first Heartless Boss was the Heartless Minotaur, but I felt it was proper time to introduce Bell to a proper Heartless Boss that Sora typically tackles. But in a way that Bell could possibly handle and survive. Heartless bosses are rather strong, strong enough to give even Level 5s a tough fight. Bell wouldn't really last that long in a fight against your typical Heartless boss, even as a Level 2.

(Zanis's Heartless - Mammon)

So this particular Heartless Boss is an original creation of mine and not based on any Heartless found in the Kingdom Hearts series. However, Zanis's Heartless is a composite of Treants from multiple Final Fantasy games.

Name-wise, the name Mammon comes from a variation of the Treant.

And why did I choose Mammon in particular? Mammon is based on a devil from Christian mythology. Mammon represented greed, avarice, and materialism, all of which embody Zanis's darkest qualities. And perfectly enough, Final Fantasy's Mammon is a Treant rooted in place, just like how Zanis mainly stays at the Familia manor and lets his roots (the Familia) do all of the work to get him valis, fueling his greed.

Appearance-wise, the Heartless is based on Final Fantasy 14 Treant, but imagine with a darker tone and yellow eyes, and a lot more larger than your usual Treant. Also, it lacks legs.

Ability-wise, it's a heavily roided up version of a Creeper Plant Heartless. It can summon multiple roots from underground to impale, but imagine them to be ten times bigger. It has large whips powerful enough to smash through solid rock and bind people. And it can spread out its roots far and wide, the roots can spawn Creeper Plant Heartless and its variations.

It also possessed the spell Diamond Dust, because one incarnation of Mammon in a FF game (4 Heroes of Light) could cast Diamond Dust.

Fun Fact of the Day

During the plan stages for this particular chapter, I originally wanted Zanis's Heartless to be based on Persona 5's Shadow Kamoshida (Asmodeus), as it represented Zanis sitting on his ass at the manor most of the time, the golden utensils for his use of wealth, holding a wine glass to represent his association with Soma, and having minions to fight for him to represent his views and usage of the Soma Familia.

However, Shadow Kamoshida represented the sin of Lust, not Greed. I thought about lust for wealth, but it didn't make any sense. Later on, I soon found that it's better to base Heartless on Final Fantasy monsters, since Kingdom Hearts practically has countless Final Fantasy characters and references. It's more fun that way.