After defeating a rogue minotaur that came and tried to kill him, Bell is now faced with encountering a blonde female stranger who appeared out of nowhere and is staring at him with a somewhat surprised face.
Bell stood in his place as he is somewhat surprised and confused because of meeting the mysterious person who just spoke out and made an appearance without him knowing.
'another adventurer?' Bell thought while checking the person out, the blonde female teen having a set of clothes and armor that fully covers her body and left only her head not covered. 'she must be from a different yet higher ranked Familia..' his eyes then spotted the Familia symbol on the girl's right shoulder armor that has the symbol of a clown jester. 'If I'm not mistaken, that symbol is from…'
"you…did you defeat the minotaur that came here?" the girl spoke out to Bell who made a noise in reply. The girl went and got right near him while looking at him much closer. "did you kill it? All on your own?"
"i-I did.." Bell replied while backing away a bit from the stranger. "w-was I not supposed to?"
The blonde stares at Bell who is slowly getting uncomfortable from her stare.
"hey, Aiz. What are you doing?!" a voice called out to the girl who turns as Bell sees that a grey haired werewolf wearing adventurer gear with a similar family symbol making an appearance. "why are you talking to that Rookie when you're supposed to be going after that rouge minotaur!?" he looks irritated. "the guild will sock us if we let that thing mess things up!"
"Bete…." The girl now known as Aiz looks at the werewolf she called back as Bete before she looks at Bell. "that minotaur is already dead. "this boy killed it."
"that kid?" the werewolf said as he went and looks down at Bell with a sneer. "just looking at you, I can tell that you're only a level 1." He then leans his head down to get a closer look at the young man. "a level 1 killing a level 3 minotaur? The fuck is that?"
"W-Was I not supposed to kill it?" Bell asks, nervous and a bit scared at the daggering stare from the werewolf.
"you killed that thing? You? A rookie?" Bete said with a growl before he begins to sniff Bell's scent. As he did, he picked up a few scents that made him back away while squinting his eyes as he stares down at the young man. "you. You're that guy's kid, huh?"
"eh?" Bell made a confused noise to Bete's words.
Bete backed away before he turned and begins walking at the other direction.
"let's go, Aiz." Bete said while pocketing his hands into his pants. "the others are waiting on us."
"but what about…" Aiz looks at Bell and then at Bete who just gets farther away. Seeing as this means an end of a conversation, the blonde turns back to the young adventurer who she bows her head to before she followed after the werewolf.
Now leaving Bell all by himself, the young man is left in a completely confused state.
"just what was that all about?" Bell asks completely confused.
Some time later, at the Guild. Bell is found talking to his guild advisor; Eina who looks relieved after having a worried expression.
After the incident at the Dungeon, Bell returned to the surface and went to the Guild where he would explain what he had gone through when he was dwelling in the monster infested labyrinth.
"I'm so glad that you're alright~!" Eina said as she had a hand to her chest, seeming like she was finally relieved of a heavy burden. "When I heard that there were out of control Minotaurs going up the floors, I was worried that you might have encountered one!"
"w-well, I did encounter one and fought it too." Bell said while scratching his right cheek. "b-but I managed to take it down without getting hurt!"
"if you say that, I won't be relieved again." Eina said while adjusting her glasses. She then sighs and smiles a bit. "but just seeing you here in one piece and unharmed is just enough to ease me up." She then reaches under her counter and picks up a piece of paper along with an ink bottle and quill pen. "now then, how about you recount the incident as best as you can so I can record it in your adventurer report?"
"yes, it first started when I was in the middle of hunting some monsters at the 2nd floor and then making my way down to the 3rd floor." Bell said as he begins to explain on what he has happened before he encountered the minotaur and fought it.
It took about 20 minutes for Eina to write it all down as she had to ask some questions to get more precise detail about the entire situation.
"and then you left the Dungeon to return to the guild…" Eina spoke as she writes the last detail of Bell's dungeon dive. Her quill pen's ink moving on the piece of paper as it forms the letters and words before ending with a big dot at the end. "there we go." She then looks at Bell. "your dungeon report is finished." She rolled up the paper, tied it with a small string, and then sealed it with a wax stamp. "you can go now, Bell-kun."
"yes, but before I go…" Bell said as he raised a hand a bit. "does the guild have information regarding other Familias?"
"eh? Information about other Familias?" Eina replied while blinking her eyes twice. "we do have all information about all registered Familias in Orario. Why do you ask?"
"the truth is.." Bell spoke out as he told Eina about the two people he encountered after killing the Minotaur.
"the jester symbol, huh? That's the Loki Familia's Symbol alright." Eina said while having her arms crossed and a hand cupping her chin. "so it's them who caused the minotaur to go up to the Dungeon floors, huh?" she sighs and shakes her head. "that Familia has already made enough trouble with the Kaiser Familia and yet they are growing more trouble with other Familias as well? When will this end?" she then takes a piece of paper from under the counter and begins to write on it. "I have to inform this to the guild head and follow protocol in demanding them compensation for Hestia Familia."
"is the Loki Familia really as bad as they say?" Bell asks.
"I wouldn't say that they are bad or anything, but some members of their Familias are known troublemakers." Eina said as she finished writing on the paper that she rolled up and gave to a passing by guild staff who nodded. The half elf receptionist then went to a nearby shelf and skims through the stored books before she picks one out then returns to the counter to place the object on the table before flipping through the pages. "to be more precise, it's only one member of theirs who is a troublemaker."
"who?" Bell asks while looking at the book as Eina reaches a page before turning the object around for him to get a better look at the content. "Aiz….Wallenstein?"
"Aiz Wallenstein, Level 5 adventurer of the Loki Familia. Current alias; Sword Princess." Eina spoke while turning the book around in reading the content of the book's page which is filled with information regarding the blonde adventurer. "she began as an adventurer about 9 years ago at the age of 7. She is known as the current Record Holder as she had rank up to level 2 in just one year after becoming an adventurer." She then sighs while gently rubbing the bridge of her nose. "still to think that you had encountered her in the Dungeon, Bell-kun. That's not a good sign."
"What do you mean by that?" Bell asks confused.
"Bell-kun, I'm not supposed to say this since I am with the guild whose position is neutral and such, but.." Eina spoke before she glances side to side and then leans forward while motioning Bell to listen a bit closer to which he did to listen to her whisper. "as your guild advisor, I strongly advise you to not associate yourself too much with that person." She looks side to side again and then whispered. "she's the Cursed Child."
"Cursed Child?" Bell spoke out in confusion but Eina quickly shushes him.
"You can't say that word too loudly!" Eina told Bell in a shushing voice before she glances side to side once again then looks at the young man with a seriously worried look on her face. "people in Orario despise hearing that name and there's been trouble whenever that name is spoken!"
"r-really?" Bell asks completely surprised as he looks around to see some adventurers looking at him and Eina which made him awkwardly look back at the guild advisor. "just why is such a name taboo and how did Aiz Wallenstein-san get it?"
"Have you learned about the tragic day of Orario that had occurred a few years ago?" Eina asks Bell who nodded his head once before he made a surprised noise when he realized why she asked the question. The half elf guild receptionist nodded her head while gently adjusting her glasses with her right hand's fingers. "Aiz Wallenstein obtained such a name because she was the very person who tried to steal the Devil's Bane years ago."
Flashback
It is during the time of chaos upon Orario.
"just when the chaos was about to subside, she came and tried to steal the Devil's Bane. Ensuing its rage and released a chaotic destruction that is tenfold."
Helios and the other Kaisers gathered at the Kaiser Garden where they had just finished using their entire power to repair the crack on the Devil's Bane that is slowly returning to its pedestal, but a young Aiz Wallenstein suddenly came jumping and grabbed the weapon before it could sheathes its blade into the stone.
The Devil's bane red gem soon turns purple as it had dozens of electrical discharges just covering its form before it erupts in dark flames that sets everything a blaze. This action caught Aiz Wallenstein off guard as she became shocked at the very power of destruction that she had unknowingly released.
"dark flames of destruction erupted everywhere as this caused so much chaos that it is marked in Orario's History as its most darkest day."
Everything gets burned and destroyed in the dark flames that spreads everywhere as the citizens of Orario panicked and kept on running in fear for their lives, but that all ended when the fire gets controlled and gathered to one place and that is the Kaiser Garden where the dark blurry silhouette of an armored figure is found. The person wielding the Devil's Bane and controlling the chaos and dissipate it.
Flashback
"I don't know why she would dare do something that would without a doubt cause the Kaisers to be in rage and all…" Eina spoke while closing the book and then holding it off the table. "but it's now a known fact for people outside of the Loki Familia to avoid her."
"I can't believe that such a person would be crazy enough to do that…" Bell spoke in a whisper as he remembered his encounter with the blonde back in the Dungeon.
"Bell-kun, I understand what you are thinking, but I suggest that you shouldn't think too much about it." Eina said with a slightly serious look on her face. "Aiz Wallenstein has gained the full hatred of the Kaisers that will not disappear even if she passed on. Her very existence and that of any possibly descendants of her will be hated by the Kaisers for years to come."
"still, even if it was for her own selfish reason. Hasn't she repented?" Bell asks. "I mean, it's already been years after that incident and.."
"Bell-kun, she's still being punished by the Kaisers." Eina said as she went to return the book to the shelf before going back to the counter with her glasses off and being cleaned with a handkerchief. "you may not be able to notice it because she now wears clothes that covers it, but Aiz Wallenstein has flaming tattoo marks all over her body." She puts her glasses on and adjusted them. "those mark signifies her punishment from the Kaisers. Or rather, her punishment from the Missing Kaiser."
"her punishment from the Missing Kaiser…" Bell spoke as he had an image of a dark knight appearing in the back of his mind. "you mean when the Missing Kaiser returned to stop the chaos and soothe the Devil's Bane's anger, he also…"
"we don't fully know if it was the missing Kaiser or not, but it's a known fact that Aiz Wallenstein has been cursed with a mark that will stay upon her and be passed upon her descendants." Eina said as she adjusted her glasses again, the half elf guild advisor tilting them up to the point that they turned white from reflecting nearby light. "A Mark of Death."
"a mark of…" Bell spoke before he gulped. "death?"
"Bell-kun, Aiz Wallenstein has been targeted with the pure hatred of the Kaisers and is completely avoided by those other than her own Familia." Eina said while looking serious to Bell. "if you are seen as someone associated with her, all that hatred will be affected upon you too. Remember that."
Time passes, Bell had left the guild and returned to his Home in the abandoned church. The young man had returned and found Hestia had also returned from a part time job of hers.
Right now, Bell is talking with Hestia while eating Jagamarukun that the goddess received as bonus payment.
"so that occurred in the Dungeon, huh?" Hestia spoke while in the middle of munching some Jagamarukun in her mouth, the goddess chewed a few times before swallowing then made a seriously angry face. "I'll definitely get Loki to pay a hefty compensation for almost getting you hurt. That clown is going to get it!"
"is that so?" Bell awkwardly smiles to see his goddess' reaction before he munches on his share of Jagamarukun.
Bell told Hestia everything that has happened in the Dungeon and the goddess isn't liking on the fact that her only Familia member nearly got himself killed with an unexpected encounter with a monster from the deeper floors.
"still, to think that out of all the Familias who could've done something as stupid as chasing deep floor monsters to the upper floors. It just had to be Loki's Familia." Hestia said as she finished up her share of Jagamarukun and is now leaning against the old couch which creaks a bit. "does she plan for a fight or something?"
"you know the goddess of the Loki Familia, Kami-sama?" Bell asks and Hestia only made an irritated face.
"unfortunately, I do." Hestia said while gritting her teeth. "back in heaven, that flat washing board always tries to make a rile out of me whenever she wanted to and I am always sick of her trying to constantly annoy me!" her twin tail flared up and her body radiating in a fiery red aura. "agghh! Just thinking about the past just makes me so angry~!"
Bell awkwardly chuckles to see how Hestia reacts as he could tell that there is a bit or rather a lot of hated rivalry between be the two goddesses.
After having their meal together, it's time for a Status Update which is something of a routine each time Bell finishes diving into the Dungeon.
The young man is top naked and is currently lying on the bed while Hestia is sitting on his butt, readying to do the Status Update.
"so you think that this Aiz Wallenwhatisit should be forgiven by the Kaisers after everything that she had done?" Hestia asks as Bell had just told her about the things he has been thinking after learning about the so called Sword Princess he encountered in the Dungeon. "is that really what you think, Bell-kun?"
"it's not what I've just been thinking, it's just that…" Bell spoke as he thought back to the encounter with the blonde adventurer. "her eyes…they just looked so desperate, sad, and…so lonely."
"being shunned by nearly all the people in the city would do that.." Hestia said as she pricked her right index finger with a needle to draw out blood that she dropped on Bell's back which glows and his Status appears. The goddess beginning the Status Update. "but I don't think you should be doing anything with her, Bell-kun."
"Why?" Bell asks, sounding very confused.
"This is not just me saying this, but Hephaestus along with your father told me to keep you away from certain Familias. Especially Loki's and Freyja's Familia." Hestia stated as she had her eyes focused on the Falna's numbers which were increasing and changing. "the both of them or rather your father strictly told me to keep you away from the likes of them."
"Dad did?" Bell mumbled while thinking back to his father.
"I don't know why, but I can tell that he doesn't want you to be affiliating yourself with Familias that are not on friendly terms with the Kaiser Familia." Hestia stated as she watched the Status turning and slowly stopping. She then made a scared face when she had an image of Zagreus sternish and cold daggering glare appearing in the back of her mind. "he had warned me that there would be consequences if I failed to do so…"
"I-I see…" Bell replied, thinking how his father is always stern when it comes to something associated with his and his mother's safety during the time he was growing up. He then looks back down on the pillow and began to think. "I still think that she has already repented enough though."
"what was that, Bell-kun?" Hestia asks as she thought she heard him talk a moment ago.
"it's nothing." Bell replied as he turns and sees Hestia finishing up the Status Update while slowly getting off his back. "is it done?"
"yes, and I must say that fighting a minotaur might have given you a lot of experience." Hestia said while handing the Status Update paper to Bell. "here."
"thank you," Bell takes the paper and checks the content. "so fighting a high levelled monster like a minotaur could boost my Status this much, huh?"
Bell Cranel
Level 1
Strength: G180
Endurance: H120
Dexterity: G90
Agility: E280
Magic: F191
"my agility really increased over the fight, huh?" Bell said while seeing his status and checking the highest one.
"well, your parents told me that you were taught how to hunt, right?" Hestia said. "that may be the prominent cause as to why your agility increased."
"I guess so." Bell said before he proceeded to burn the status paper and then grabs his shirt which he puts on.
"oh, right. I almost forgot." Hestia said as she gets off the seat and then went to the old closet cupboard near the bed. She opened and then reaches in to take out a box that she carried to Bell with a smile. "here, Bell-kun."
"this is?" Bell takes the box as he opens it to find the content being a variety of items like a jar filled with cookies, several story books about ancient heroes, couple of folded shirts and pants, and a photo frame that has him, and his parents in it.
"when I was going home for work, Hephaestus gave it to me as she was asked to do so by your mother." Hestia said as Bell checked the photo frame before the story books. "she also asked me to pass you a message from your mother;" the goddess smiling in seeing her Familia's only child looking happy to see the photo that showed how his parents are just happy with him. "she said that she's always supporting you from the sidelines and giving you her strength when you are in trouble."
"I see…" Bell said with a smile as he looks at the items in the box. "I need to thank her when I visit her."
After getting the gift and placing the content at specific places, Bell decided to get ready to go out.
"where are you going now, Bell-kun?" Hestia asks while sitting down on the bed. The goddess seeing her single Familia member wearing a short coat over his shirt. "at this time of the day, it's almost dinner time you know?"
"I know, but I was invited to come to a pub by someone this morning when I was going to the Guild." Bell said while buttoning his short coat. "she said that her pub had very delicious food that I should come and check out."
"oh I see…" Hestia nodded in understanding before looking shocked. "wait! She!? A girl asked you to come!?"
"ah, yes. Syr-san is her name." Bell replied before going to the door. "I'll be going now, Kami-sama. I'll be back in an hour or so."
"ah! Wait! Bell-kun!" Hestia cried out while trying to stop him, but stumbled when she tried to get off the bed and fell on the floor. "ow!"
In a street area of Orario, Bell is walking amongst the people as he is heading straight for the so called Hostess of Fertility that he was invited to come.
"She said that the pub must be around this area, right?" Bell muttered as he tried to find the sign that is named after the pub he is looking for.
As Bell is searching, a large hand came and patted his head before ruffling his hair.
"wha!?" Bell let out a surprised noise before he turns and sees that it is Baku who is standing behind him while grinning. The young man instantly smiling to see his muscular cousin. "Baku!"
"yo, Bell! Looking well as always!" Baku said with a grin. "you're on your own tonight?"
"ah, yes." Bell nods while turning to face Baku. "you too, Baku?"
"not really." Baku said before he turns and waved a hand up. "hey! Kenji! Takeshi! Kamui! Hayate! Over here!"
Upon his call, Bell's four other cousins made an appearance.
"fancy meeting you here, Bell." Takeshi said as he along with Hayate, Kenji, and Kamui stood besides Baku. "going out to grab dinner?"
"yes, I am" Bell nodded. "you guys too?"
"we're actually going out together to have a guys' night out at a favourite bars of ours." Kenji said while pointing at the direction with his right hand's thumb. "we're going to be celebrating Baku's upcoming wedding and we can't let us guys be outdone by the girls who are having their own night out."
"Wanna come?" Takeshi added in while patting Baku's right shoulder. "tonight's drinks and grub are on him."
"I want to, but this morning; a waitress from a pub invited me to come to her pub for dinner." Bell replied. "she said that her pub makes great food and drinks, so I thought I might go and try it out."
"interesting, what's the place's name?" Hayate asks while crossing his arms on his chest.
"the Hostess of Fertility." Bell replied. "have you heard about it? It's rather new and all.."
Hearing his words, Baku, Takeshi, Kamui, Kenji, and Hayate shared a quick glance at one another as they looked rather serious before they turn to look back at Bell who seems confused because of seeing their expressions.
"what's wrong?" Bell asks them after blinking his eyes twice.
"Bell, the name of the place. Are you sure it's called the Hostess of Fertility?" Baku asks in a serious tone after glancing side to side. "a 100% sure?"
"yes, it is." Bell replied while nodding as he looks confused. "why you ask?"
"we're asking because we're stopping you from going there at all cost." Kenji said while sounding serious and looking serious. "you seriously can't go there, no matter what."
"why not?" Bell asks confused.
"it's because…" Takeshi spoke out as he looks around for a moment and then leans close to his cousin to whisper. "The pub's people will totally rip you off with the crazy price for their food!"
"r-really?" Bell asks and his cousins all nodded their heads twice in unison.
"last time, Baku went there on his own and he got a bill that needed his entire life savings to pay off!" Kenji said as he made an imagination bubble showing a chibi Baku coming into the pub while carrying a pouch of money and then coming out with pouch completely empty. "he had to work his ass off to pay some of the remaining bill's fee too!"
"my mom and dad wringed me dead for spending so much money!" Baku said while imagining his parents glaring angrily at him. "they grounded me for half a year! And that was when I just turned 24 too!"
"t-they're that expensive?" Bell asks after gulping.
"with how you're Familia is still struggling financially, it'd be better if you don't go there at all." Kamui said while crossing his arms on his chest. "come with us, we'll treat you dinner for tonight."
"eh, but what about…" Bell tried to say something, but his cousins cut him off.
"don't go apologizing to them for not coming, that'll be bad for their business and for you." Kenji said before making a ghastly face. "if you do, their dwarf owner will pummel your head to the ground till it's smashed like strawberry jam~!"
"r-really?" Bell said while looking a bit scared as he imagined a scary humongous dwarf woman in his mind.
"yeah, and you do not want to cross with dwarves." Baku said while patting Bell's back. "so let's go and have a guys' night out together."
"alright." Bell said with a small nod before he leaves with his cousins as the group heads off to somewhere else besides the Hostess of Fertility. However, unknown to the group or rather unknown to the young new adventurer, Syr saw them taking the young man away and she could only bit her bottom lips in frustration.
At a pub just a few roads.
Bell along with his cousins sat around a table as they had drinks and food served to them.
"well then, to Baku and Airmid's upcoming wedding." Takeshi said as he is leading a toast while holding up a mug of beer. The others having their own personal choice of drinks like Baku got beer as well, Hayate had sake, Kamui choose wine, Kenji got whiskey, and Bell just had plain fruit juice. "cheers!"
"CHEERS~!" the others cheered as they held their drinks up before chugging them down.
"Pwah~! That hit the spot!" Baku exhaled after chugging his beer and then grinning. "nothing beats beer after a hard day at work!"
"you say that even though you barely break a sweat carrying all those crates hour by hour." Kenji said while refilling his shot of whiskey and then took a quick sip that made him sigh a bit loudly. "Airmid must be lucky that you're not sweaty and everything, huh?"
"hey, being all moody already while your cousin here is going to get married ain't what you call supportive, you know?" Takeshi said while holding up a roasted chicken leg which he took a bite from. "you and Tsubaki got into some debating like usual?"
"we weren't debating, it's just that it irritates me on how she can always tease me with things other than blacksmithing." Kenji said after taking a shot of his whiskey and then refilling it. "she's lucky that I love her and all."
"it's more she's lucky that you're shorter than her and that fits her type of guy." Hayate said with a small smirk on his face.
"I ain't short!" Kenji shouted angrily while slamming a hand to the table that shakes a bit. "I'm still growing damnit!" he then looks at Bell. "right, Bell!? I can still grow taller than these jerks, right!?"
"r-right.." Bell nodded while awkwardly smiling. "you can?"
"don't answer so unsure, Bell." Kamui said while sipping his wine. "just say that he's short if he is short."
"I ain't short!" Kenji exclaimed.
"hahahaha! I can't ever forget how happy Tsubaki was when she told me that she's lucky that she got engaged to Kenji!" Baku said while laughing. "she said that she was so glad that Kenji is shorter than her and that she's glad that she doesn't need to take him seriously because she's out of his reach! Hahahahaha!"
Takeshi, Hayate, and Kamui joined in with the laughs while Kenji looks irritated.
Bell smiles a bit awkwardly before he looks around the pub that they are in, the place a bit small for one to be called a pub, but it is quite packed with people who are enjoying a good meal together.
"Mirana-san! Two refills of beer here!" Baku called out to the bar's owner while holding up his empty beer mug as Takeshi did the same with his.
In the call, a middle aged elderly looking half elf woman came while carrying quite a big glass jug filled with nearly overflowing beer.
"I'm coming." The half elf woman said with a smile as she came and then directly refilled the empty beer mugs. "here you go."
"thanks!" Baku and Takeshi said before they begin chugging their drinks and then let out satisfied exhales when they finished. "another!"
"you dearies are heavy drinkers like your fathers." The half elf woman chuckles while refilling their drinks. "remember to drink slowly and not choke."
"we remembered as you already told us a hundred times, Mirana-san." Kenji said before he drank a shot of his whiskey and sighs before pointing at Baku and Takeshi. "it's these two who always forgets."
"is that so?" Mirana chuckles before looking at Bell who is looking back at her. She smiles and asks "need something, dearie?"
"uh..um..no" Bell replied while looking a bit awkward. "it's just that the food and drinks are great."
"thank you for the compliment." Mirana nodded with a smile.
"oh right, since it's the first time you guys are meeting." Baku said as he turns to face Mirana while motioning a hand to Bell. "Mirana-san, meet Bell Cranel. He's Uncle Zagreus and Aunt Meteria's son."
"oh really now?" Mirana said with a surprised expression on her face before she smiles as she looks at Bell. "Mirana Éclair. Just call me Mirana, dearie." She shakes hands with Bell "it's a pleasure to finally meet you again after all these years."
"eh?" Bell made a confused noise. "have we met before?"
"you were still a few days old at that time, but Mirana-san was one of the few people in Orario who was there to meet you back when you were born." Kenji stated while holding his shot glass of whiskey near his lips. "and she was present at that time because she along with Meteria-san and Uncle Zagreus go way back."
"really?" Bell asked and the others nodded.
"she may not look it, but Mirana-san is a retired adventurer of the Hades Familia and an ally of the Kaiser Familia." Takeshi said as Mirana showed a tattoo of a flaming skeletal head symbol basking in fire and lightning on her right forearm. "she along with your dad and Uncle Helios were a team back when they were rookies."
"is that so?" Bell said surprised before he looks at Mirana. "why did you retire, Mirana-san?"
"old age." Mirana replied with a chuckle while patting her back. "I was already in my 50s when I joined the Hades Familia. It was only a matter of time for me to retire these old bones of mine from holding a sword and changed to holding a jug of beer." She then made a noise and smile. "which reminds me, I need to make sure to be ready for you dearies' next refill." Afterwards she excused herself as she walks back to the bar before getting asked for a refill by another customer. "alrighty~! It's coming~!"
Bell watches Mirana go and tend to her duties in the bar before he got his attention taken away when a large hand came holding his head from the top and ruffles his hair. He made a surprised noise before he turns and smiles when he finds that three of his uncles; Polemos, Ploutos, and Zald had just come and joined in on the guys' night out.
The group getting two tables to be shared as the three newcomers began to order from Mirana who is coming while carrying mugs of beer with her.
As the little guy's night out was going, they or rather Bell is being watched from the shadows by his father who is standing on a nearby house's rooftop.
Zagreus looks at his son just smiling and laughing alongside his cousins and uncles before he turns and begins to disappear into the shadows. The half elf leaving behind three dead corpses of men wearing black assassin like outfit which then burns in ashes after being mysteriously set off in a black blaze.
Meanwhile at a distant location from Orario, there lies a garden filled with trees, flowers, and many nature's beauty.
It is currently quiet and silent in the garden as the only person found to be present is the Goddess of Death; Hades who is just sitting on a wooden yet leathered winged chair that is placed near a patch of white roses.
The goddess lingers with the silence as she just sits with her legs crossed, her right elbow placed on the arm rest, and her right knuckles placed to her cheek that leans against it. Hades has her eyes closed and her senses focuses on hearing nothing but silence that is spread in the garden.
Hades is silent in listening to the silence as well, but she soon slowly opens her crimson red eyes when she hears a cold breeze that flew by and a whispering whoosh that followed a second after.
"your child has met Mirana, hasn't he?" Hades spoke out as she glance to the side and Zagreus appears walking pass her seat and then stood near it. "and for what purpose?"
Zagreus didn't speak as he just holds up a piece of torn white fabric with the Familia symbol of a Valkyrie.
Hades sees it and closed her and then leans against her seat's backrest.
"I am only that child's grandmother in name and nothing else." Hades said while crossing her arms under her chest and then re-cross her legs. "if you wish for him to be protected in your absence, Mirana is available to take that position with no hesitation."
Zagreus glances at the goddess before he looks at the piece of fabric that soon burns into ashes from black flames that bursts out of nowhere.
"That child is targeted by all." Zagreus spoke out. "I do not wish any harm to be upon him for it would make Meteria cry." He then glances at Hades. "and making her cry would mean angering Alfia."
"do you really believe that I am afraid of Hera's child?" Hades speaks as she slowly opens her eyes and then glances at Zagreus with her red eyes glowing menacingly. The patch of white roses besides the goddess slowly turns black and began to freeze into ice one by one. "do not forget that I took her in with that oaf of a brother; Zeus's child in order to repay my debt to you and your so called brother." She then huffs a bit and looks away. "I have no more debts to either of you."
"that is true, but not to Bell." Zagreus said as he looks forward. The half elf not bothering to look at Hades who turns and squinted her eyes that glows even more menacing to the point that they slowly turned black. "you may be his grandmother in name and he may fear you at times, but that child loves you like you really are his grandmother." He then begins walking away. "For his sake, care for him like he is truly your grandchild."
Zagreus walks into the depths of the garden before he disappears into a black blur. The man left Hades be in the garden as the goddess looks at where the half elf had disappeared to before she closed her eyes and looks away.
"He has become overconfident after becoming a father." Hades said as she slowly opens her eyes that are no longer glowing black. "too overconfident." The goddess leans against her backrest and then stares at the garden of flower before her. "I should've never took him and his brother in those years ago." She closed her eyes and then gets off her seat to stand up from her chair. "it has become such a nuisance."
As Hades was speaking, a white butterfly came flying by and then perches onto her right shoulder.
The goddess of death looks at the insect as she sees it spreading and flapping its wings slowly a few times before it soon flies away in a minute.
Hades watches the butterfly fly away before she got a flashback of herself carrying a white haired baby boy in her arms, the child giggling and smiling all happily to her and that made her eyes squint a bit.
"love, was it?" Hades spoke before she closed her eyes and then goes to sit back on her seat. The goddess crosses her arms under her chest and crosses her legs then leans against the backrest. "I despise such an emotion."
Hades soon held out her right hand and then did a finger snap which made all the shadows in the garden to suddenly turn darker and come to life as each one had a pair of glowing red demonic eyes.
"go with that child and spread yourself upon Orario's darkness." Hades spoke out before doing another finger snap which made all the dark demonic shadow disperse and leaves no trace of their existence whatsoever. Afterwards, the goddess place her right elbow on the armrest and then leans her right cheek against her right hand's knuckles. "Make sure that spoiled brat is put in her place and that child is safe from any nuisance."
The silence returns in the garden, but it is just freezing as the goddess of death's eyes were glowing red and power emanated from the dark haired woman.
"I hate unprecedented nuisances." Hades spoke as her eyes closed and everything soon becomes black as darkness.
That's a wrap!
Bye bye
