The Fallen Argonaut
Rated; M (Blood/Gore)
Disclaimer; I do not own Danmachi or anything created by the author Fujino Ōmori, all rights go to him
Authors: Eli-er01 & ViceroyChalister
Summary: The will of a hero is strong, yet unwavering but all good things must come to an end, even at the cost of one's Heroic Will. Imprisoned and blamed for a crime he hadn't committed, Bell seeks a way out of his predicament so that he can live without fear of being hunted by the people he once looked up to.
13: Fateful Encounter
Normal POV
=Residential Area, Telskyura=
It's been about half a week since everyone had returned to Telskyura, and a lot of things had happened. Argana had gone into labour and Bell, having the aspiration of being a better father, had wanted to be there for the birth. What he hadn't expected was to be downright rejected by a literal army of Amazons outside Kali's home.
Bell had patiently waited outside for what felt like days, but was probably hours until someone new arrived from inside. It was obvious that the amazon who was delivering the news tried with all their might to be as quiet as possible for Bell not to hear. If he hadn't leveled up, he probably wouldn't have heard the words but they sent a wave of sadness into Bell's gut, even though he held no feeling apart from animosity towards Argana.
The baby hadn't made it. Apparently the baby died during birth and had left Argana in a state of disbelief that had quickly morphed into that anger.
Bell had left soon after, not having any other business and had been almost distraught the next few days. Bache had taken the news much better, heck, even with some glee at having something above her sister. Bell couldn't blame her as his distraught wasn't for her, but the child.
This happened 4 days ago, and Bell had somewhat recovered from the event. During his time, he had asked Bache to teach him some basics upon weapon repair, and she complied. She taught him simple sharpening using a whetstone, though she couldn't do much else with their lack of tools.
With their abundance in Valis since the Far East, Bell had quickly asked her for a list of tools that would be useful in… well anything around the household, or any household for that matter. Most of the things that were requested by Bache were useful in different areas of the house such as a measuring tape, a better hammer, some pliers, a better saw which made Bell groan at the image of him trying to use the one they owned. It was horrible, it was honestly more productive to use his damn nails than that.
There were a couple of tools he had figured he would need as well that made it easier to disassemble, assemble and tinker with mechanical mechanisms such as his armor.
It was a masterpiece, but no matter how well-made it is, there is always a risk of it jamming. It wouldn't impede him in combat, but if it jammed and he outgrew the armor, that would be an issue.
With the list in hand, Bell had walked through the streets of Telskyura, heading towards the smithy where they sold these tools, or made them if they were out of stock.
Things had gone on smoothly but Bell became intrigued as he could hear arguing coming from within the blacksmiths shop. He was fairly certain only the owner worked here, so maybe a rowdy customer?
Bell walked inside as the voice became cleared until he noticed platinum blonde locks going down to a woman's waist. She wore a Black pants that stuck to her like a second skin, her feet covered by similar colored leather boots. Her top was covered by a red form fitting shirt that exposed her left arm and wore lightest armor Bell had ever seen. The woman was only wearing metal armor that covered her right shoulder, arm and seemed to go down to her right breast. The only other piece of armor she had on was a metal bracer on her left arm to allow her to deflect strikes with it.
The most prominent feature from what Bell could see, as he could only see her back, was the long elven ears peeking up proudly from the sides of her head.
"How can you not have finished the order in 4 months!? It was 4 longswords, 2 bows and 2 sets of armor! You've done more in 3 weeks than we asked you this time!" The elven woman complained in frustration as she energetically and animatedly shook her shoulders as she talked.
"As I said, I have been jam packed with orders and the orders from lady Kali come first I am afraid" The blacksmith owner explained before looking over the elf's shoulder, smiling at Bell.
"Welcome! What can I do for you?" The amazon asked as the Elf turned around with a scowl, looking Bell over.
'Woah… Alright, didn't expect her to be that beautiful…' Bell said as his cheeks flushed red slightly at the unexpected beauty in front of him. She had perfect slick white skin, with amber eyes and a sharp jawline. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to say a goddess of beauty stood before him if it wasn't for the fact that it was an elf. He quickly composed himself before addressing the two.
"Ehm… Is something wrong here?" Bell asked as the elf nodded furiously.
"Yes, this amazon hasn't managed to fill a small order in 4 months! She's done more in 3 weeks before than I and my village chief requested this time" She explained as Bell nodded.
"Well, as I explained-" The blacksmith started again before Bell interrupted.
"Kali's requests are put first. I heard" Bell said as he smiled, surprising the two.
"You were listening in?" the elf asked as Bell nodded.
"Yup, heard you a couple of houses down before I arrived" Bell said before the elf looked Bell over again, almost as if she was judging him.
"How did you hear us that far away? Only someone of a high level could. Now that I think of it, you're a man" She said, looking smug in her observations.
"Oh, I couldn't tell" Bell responded automatically with sarcasm dripping out of his mouth. The elf chuckled slightly before slapping her mouth shut.
"Yeah… but that's the issue, Men aren't normally allowed here unless they are level 3 or above" She said as Bell nodded.
"Yeah, I'm first class" was all he gave her which made her eyes bulge slightly.
"First cla-… Wow, and I thought I was strong if I had a Falna" She muttered, confusing Bell slightly, before turning back towards the blacksmith.
"When do you think the items will be ready?" She asked as the amazonian thought about it.
"I think I can have them ready within 2 weeks. I already made 2 longswords and one bow" Elora nodded before she began to walk out before Bell stopped her.
"I think I can help you, there is a person I know that has an abundance of ready weaponry including bows and longswords... the armor isn't really worth it though" Bell said as the elf looked surprised.
"Why would you help me? You don't know me at all" She asked suspiciously as Bell chuckled.
"It's in my nature, I want to help people where I can" He explained before she looked Bell over again before nodding.
"That's admirable, I'll give you that, but I can't accept. I don't like being in debt" She said as Bell shook his head
"It's no problems for me, and it seems to me that you need those weapons and armor as fast as possible, otherwise you wouldn't have freaked out like that" Bell asked as Elora leaned to the side in a defiant stance.
"How would you know that? I met you a minute ago" Bell chuckled slightly at the answer that came to mind.
"Someone I knew used to say that I am an excellent judge of character" he replied as she tried to retort back but came up blank.
"Fine, but don't you dare try anything. I'll make sure you will regret it" She warned Bell as he smiled wryly
"Yes Ma'am" He said before leading her through the streets, down towards the canal district. Silence ensued as they walked through the streets.
"By the way… I'm Elora, Elora Carleen" the elf broke the silence as she introduced herself to Bell.
"Bell… I'd rather keep my last name hidden for now" Bell had expected her to question it, but was surprised by her silence and the nod he received.
"Understandable, we all have our secrets" She said as a bitter smile took form on her beautiful features, before it disappeared.
"Where are we headed anyways?" She asked as Bell pointed down a slope towards the Canal district.
"I know of a fighting arena there where you're paid to fight. They have weaponry and I used to work there. The woman in charge likes me and would probably help me out. You'll still have to wait for the armor though. Might reduce the time you have to wait by a week" He explained as they headed down the slope, and entered the Canal district.
"Thank you. Any time saved will make the village chief less stressed. She already is more than anyone should be" Elora said in relief though clearly still frustrated about having to wait even though the order should have finished.
They took a turn around a corner and continued down the street until they reached a building close to the water. The side of it was a giant arena while the other half was an office and living area.
Bell knocked on the door, before he heard a loud 'COMING' from the other side. Soon after the door opened as the amazoness' expression turned into a grin.
"Bell! You've returned!" Amy exclaimed as she stepped aside, letting the two in.
"Who's this beauty?" She asked as Elora's cheeks heated up slightly at the compliment before Bell answered.
"Her name is Elora, and she's having an issue with the Telskyuran Blacksmith not finishing her order in time. I was wondering if I could buy some of the equipment you have for your fights?" Bell asked, Amy giving him a questioning glance before shrugging.
"I have too many of them anyway so I'd gladly sell some of the unused ones" She responded before smiling at Bell who gave a similar one.
"Thanks, now how about I go get a sample of each of the equipment you have" Bell asked as Amy nodded. He left the Elf and Amy alone as he walked away.
"Alright, are you blackmailing him?" Amy's expression instantly turned sour, wanting to know if she was doing anything that she deemed… bad.
Elora frowned, leaning back before shaking her head
"No, I literally just met the guy and know virtually nothing about him apart from him being first class and at least decent from what I can tell. He offered to ask you for the weapons when I was complaining to the blacksmith. I just accepted the offer... although reluctantly" She explained returning the fierce glare that Amy was aiming towards her.
The battle of wills kept going, but the second they heard Bell clear his throat, Amy instantly returned to her usual self as Elora just looked confused and slightly offended.
"Eh… why were you two staring at each other like both of you committed an unforgivable sin?" Bell asked, confused at the situation.
"Nothing,- She- we- was- were- accusing- just- me- having- of- a- doing- staring- bad- contest- things" The two said at the same time, making their sentences incomprehensible for Bell as he just blinked.
"What...?" He almost whispered as the two just looked at each other with a glare before shrugging.
"Nothing" Both said at the same time. Bell just walked forward and handed one of the swords he brought to Elora and put the bows and remaining sword on the table.
Elora inspected the sword with an expert eye. She carefully graced her finger alongside the edge, feeling that it was perfectly sharpened. They were made out of normal metal, but seemed extra durable. Perhaps tiny amounts of orichalcum from the dungeon that was exported out? Just enough to make it not too heavy for people without a falna.
"These weapons are very good for being outside Orario. They also seem… unused? Why is that?" Elora asked as Amy smiled, slightly ashamed of the reason.
"Well… you see, I may or may not have put one zero too many on my order list when I ordered new weapons two years ago and…" Bell gave her a 'really' look as Elora laughed.
"How many did you order?" Elora asked as Amy muttered something.
"Repeat that" Elora heard Bell ask and saw the absolute shock on Bell's eyes.
"One...Thousand" Both their mouths dropped to the floor. That'd cost her over 100 million Valis!
"Are you… in debt?" Bell asked, and Amy shrugged slightly in her still ashamed state.
"A little. I've paid off the majority of it, there is only about 200 000 Valis left on what I owe" She explained as Bell facepalmed.
"Hah… Well, how about I pay for these weapons for 200 000?" Bell asked as both Elora and Amy launched up from their seats in shock
"200 000!? WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Amy exclaimed, Elora just staring at Bell in pure disbelief at the ludicrous amount for so little. He just chuckled awkwardly as he pulled out one of the pouches that was another gift from The Far East. A magic item that had an enlarged storage. Why they didn't put the 150 000 000 Valis in these is beyond Bell.
"Well, I may or may not have been the reason for the Far East stabilizing" Bell explained as the two did another double take. Amy groaned before massaging her temple.
"Holy shit… is this how the guild felt…" Amy muttered, Elora not hearing it as she seemed to be stuck in a trance that she snapped out of.
"That was you!?" The Far East were very secretive of the aid they got, to the point of directly denying even allied nations the information. Bell chuckled at that. It seemed like Takara was keeping her promise of not telling anyone she didn't trust his name.
"Yeah, and I was kind of rewarded for it with a lot of Valis even though I never asked for it" Bell said before Amy asked how much. The moment the number escaped his mouth, the amazon groaned, before laughing. She instantly accepted the Valis Bell handed to her after that.
The transaction happened quickly and efficiently as Amy made Bell promise to visit before the two left, Elora with 2 swords and a bow under her arm.
"Eh, won't you need arrows with those?" Bell asked, wondering the reason behind it.
"No, my village can make our own arrows, same with the bows, but this time we just didn't have the time to make both. It's less expensive to purchase Bows than arrows, considering that one bow usually needs around 100 or more arrows" She explained before the two stopped in the market district.
"Well, I guess this is where we part for now…" Bell said as he looked towards the smithy "I still need to buy the tools I came for" He muttered alongside his statement as Elora nodded.
"I understand" She said before she looked to the side "Where should I go though… the hotel doesn't allow weapons…" She muttered as Bell raised an eyebrow.
"An 'Amazonian' hotel doesn't allow weapons? What world is this again?" He joked as he noticed a small amused smile spread across Elora's face.
"Don't know, perhaps a parallel universe? Anyway, I find it weird too, but it is what it is. I can't leave now, I already paid for two weeks" Bell nodded at that before he came up with an idea.
"You know, I could safely store the weapons where I live. We have an armory in there for my gear as well as Bache" He said, forgetting she probably had no idea who that was.
"Oh… No, I couldn't. You already paid 200 000 Valis for me… Which I intend to pay back. I don't like being in debt" She responded with determination laced in her eyes. She already said it but Bell figured she repeated it to get her point acros
"It's no worry, the room is pretty large, and we don't even use half of the space in there. You also don't have to pay me back if you don't want to" Bell said, waving his hands in front of his face as Elora's determined look just got more powerful.
"I am not staying in debt! Even if you paid a ludicrous amount, I will pay you back!" She exclaimed slightly louder to get her point across
"Alright, at least allow me to store the weapons in there, it isn't even a problem" Bell said, relenting as Elora seemed to be pleased with herself.
"Alright, I guess that can't be helped. I'll tag along so I know where to go when I return to my village" She announced as Bell nodded, giving her a joking 'Aye Aye, Captain', much to her amusement as the two went along towards the smithy.
=Residential District=
"This is a pretty nice place… Though with the amount of valis you claim to have, I'm not surprised" Elora said as she walked into their home.
"Contrary to what you may believe, this place is relatively cheap" Came a voice from the sofa as Elora looked in that direction "Bell, who may our guest be?" Erebus asked from the sofa as Bell smiled.
"Elora Carleen, I'm just helping her out with storing some weapons" Erebus nodded at his explanation.
"Alright then, just don't do something weird in there" He said with a smile on his face as Elora stared at him
"What's that supposed to mean?" She said with an edge to her voice.
"Oh, Feisty are we? I like her" Erebus chuckled as he got back to his book.
"Don't mind him, he's… unique in character" Bell tried to explain, trying to calm Elora down as she did just that.
"Fine… I'm used to it" She said before muttering something about villagers and privacy violations.
"Alright, you can put the longswords and bows we got from Amy and the blacksmith in the back" Bell opened a door revealing a room with hooks, mannequins among other equipment useful for Armor and weapons. Bell headed towards a chest in the middle and opened it. He put all the tools he purchased in there before closing it.
Meanwhile, Elora walked in the back, and hung the 4 longswords and two bows and hooks made for those types of weapons in the back. She turned around before her gaze shifted towards a mannequin with armor which she had never seen the likes of.
Her gaze froze as she stared at it, glancing up and down and admiring it. It was a truly magnificent piece and looked just the same size as Bell, just a little larger so he could fit within.
'It's beautiful…' She thought as Bell noticed her admiring gaze.
"Ah, and that would be my armor… which I somehow forgot was there…" Bell said before sighing. He glanced at Elora before continuing "I'd be grateful if you didn't reveal that I own it. It's quite useful for not being recognized" Elora nodded. That was an easy task to accomplish. She turned towards Bell before nodding.
"I'll be back once everything is finished" She said before walking towards the door. Bell nodded before he walked up to his armor, intending to do some maintenance, even though he hadn't fought anyone with it yet. You can never be too careful.
"Oh… and…" He heard Elora say before she turned around and seemed a little hesitant.
"Thanks… you're a decent guy" She said before quickly leaving, causing Bell to smile at the bashful behavior. She also seemed a little too independent for her own good. She was having issues which could have prolonged her stay, from what Bell could notice, wherever she came from needed weapons and if they didn't come… he could only imagine. She tried to refuse his help at first even though it could have resulted in a disaster.
Oh well, it wasn't really any of Bell's business, she accepted in the end and the village she's from will receive their equipment in time.
He pulled out a tiny mechanical tool which he quite frankly had no idea what it did. Maybe he should ask someone who knows about this stuff before he starts doing anything stupid.
He put down the tool before pulling out a unique one which Bell bought because the blacksmith recommended it. A little expensive but he had been shown it in action. It was a magic stone powered sharpening tool, something not even Orario has managed to create.
Apparently the blacksmith here likes to tinker during her free time, even though she had an incomplete order. Bell frowned a little at the behavior but once again, figured it wasn't any of his business. It was off hours, so she decided what to do.
He pulled out his spear, and tested the tool out. He positioned spears sharp edge inside the open slit that allowed the weapon in on the tool. After that, he flicked a tiny switch to the left of the tool that locked it in place before doing the same to the right side, turning it on.
All of a sudden, the sound similar to a grindstone entered Bell's ears as the tool worked it's magic. He needed to buy magic stones to power it, but a single magic stone can last up to a month if you fight fairly often. Maybe even longer depending on the material of the weapon which Bell figured was the case since the weapon he had was less prone to chipping because it was made of adamantite. That and magic stones were cheap, after all, there was an extreme abundance of them.
Bell turned off the tool and looked at the edge. It looked perfect, the slit was made to be a perfect size not to make it too sharp, but still sharp enough to cut high tier monsters. You didn't want the lifespan of your weapons to wear out because you over sharpened the weapon, right.
He did the same on the other side before putting the spear back. He sharpened all his other weapons and just for the sake of it, he did the same for Bache's.
'There goes the usefulness of Bache's lessons in sharpening' Bell chuckled at the thought. She is so gonna love this tool, after all, she is one for practicality. It's faster, more efficient and has pretty much eliminated the chance of over sharpening.
Bell put the tool back in the box before going out of the door before noticing that Elora was still there, but was looking at a map spread out over a table that she had missed while following Bell.
'Oh… that's…' Bell thought as he walked towards her, hoping to interrupt her 'snooping'.
"Hey, What are you doing, Elora?" He asked as she jumped slightly. Was she that focused? She wasn't exactly hidden.
"Oh, sorry. I was just intrigued with the world map you've got here before I left. There are a lot of places crossed out" She said before listing them in order as she went from one place to the other with her finger.
Agris, Edas Village, Opera Country Meilstora, Amusement City Santorio Vega among many others.
"Hmm, there seem to be some that aren't crossed out. The Far East, Zolingham...Rakia…" She basically spat that last name before shaking her head.
"The only thing all of these have in common…" She looked over Bell, really taking in his appearance, stature and overall vibe.
'She knows!? What? How?' Bell was internally panicking as her stare intensified before shaking her head with a smile.
"No way… can't see you doing anything like that" She said before turning towards Bell, leaning on the table.
"Why are you avoiding all places that have Guild ties?" She asked with a tiny smile as Bell froze.
"Eh… you see… We kind of… don't want to run in with them" He didn't know what to say, so his mouth just let out the first thing on his mind.
"That's not an answer, but I can see you don't want to give one. I'll let it go, My village has no ties with the guild so it isn't any of my business either way" She said as Bell frowned and walked forward towards the map and looked it over.
It was as he thought, they had eliminated all villages on this map already as they all had ties with the guild in some way or the other. Zolingham and Rakia were countries that only had a city with surrounding farmland. The only place that had villages unaffiliated with the guild was… The Far East which brought too much sadness to settle down, Telskyura which was a no, and the Empire which he was staying as far away from as possible. They were brutal and sometimes borderline barbaric in their actions. They went around, conquering any land they could and pillaged the villages and raped the women before selling them as sex slaves.
He wanted nothing to do with a country like that, he'd rather bring it to ruin than ever living under their rule.
"Hey, Elora. Where is your village if I could ask" Bell asked as she quirked an eyebrow before shrugging.
"It's well known but for some reason no one seems to put it on the map, only a few maps we made have it" She leaned over close to Orario and pointed right outside a forest.
'Forest of the… Damned?' Bell asked himself internally before a memory resurfaced. Lili had mentioned it. This was the village that asked for help before Hestia was killed. What was its name…
"Anfesera" Bell finished his thoughts in a mutter as Elora smiled.
"See, you know it" She said before sitting up on the table.
"Yeah… almost a year back, you guys requested the guild for help though?" Bell asked as Elora nodded
"Yeah, the forest spawned a monster horde and was heading towards the village, and since we don't have Falna, we were kinda sitting ducks against hordes of level 1 to 2 monsters. It was a one time deal though as we only request assistance if we cannot survive without it. Thankfully, 4 very nice adventurers came to our aid, two level 2's and two level 1's" She said with a smile, remembering the adventurers that had been very nice, but seemed concerned.
"Though… they did lose their Falna the next night before they headed off" Bell froze now, finally realizing who she was talking about.
"Ehm… Their names wouldn't have been… Lili, Welf, Mikoto and Haruhime?" Bell asked as Elora looked at Bell shocked.
"You know them?" She asked, which was the same as an answer.
"Yeah… They are like family to me. Anyway, could you tell me more about your village?" Bell asked as she complied.
As she continued explaining, Bell started to get a better feeling about this place than any other they could find. It may be close to Orario, but it never dealt with the guild unless they truly had to to survive, and it was barely on any map. Only extremely rare ones, and Lili had apparently gotten the only one the Guild had.
Elora had apparently given the guild a map with their village on it since none of theirs had it. This would mean Finn and the others would never consider this place. To them, it's an empty field outside a forest.
"...Lastly, the people there can be… invasive. I hate it that they keep sticking their noses in my love life!" She complained
"I mean, I am called the never-ending Bachelorette for crying out loud! Leave me be!" Bell laughed at that, and he had thought being called a rabbit was bad enough.
"Oh, Bell… and… Who is this?" Bell looked up at Bache who seemed to have returned from her nap alongside Adrienne.
"Bache, this is Elora. I'm helping her out but it seems that she has helped us too" Bell said before pointing at the map. This intrigued Erebus who had previously tuned out their conversation in favor of reading his book which he finished a minute ago, missing out on the information she had provided.
"How so?" Bache asked as Bell pointed at the location of Anfesera, north of Rakia but north west of Orario.
"There is a village called Anfesera here that Elora is from. It doesn't have any guild activity or affiliations, it's not on any map outside of the ones they provide and it is right outside the 'Forest of the damned' which would act as a training ground to keep our skills up against monsters" Erebus walked up to the map, next to Elora before thinking.
"Hm… close to Orario, but inconspicuous. Has no dealing with the guild who most likely doesn't even remember it exists. Guess we found our place" Erebus said as Elora looked around
"Wait… you want to move there!?" She asked quite loudly, apparently having not realized this.
"Yeah, is that a problem? We could help with monsters so you won't need any outside help anymore. Also, Erebus here is a god, I know the village is made up of Warriors that deny the Falna but-" Elora cut him off.
"That is false, it's just a rumor. The truth is that no god wants to move there because of its close proximity to the forest that spawns monsters that go all the way to the strength of a minotaur. In their eyes, the children would die before they get anywhere near strong enough to survive" She explained as Bell nodded with wide eyes.
"Well, we don't have a problem with it" Bell said before turning towards Erebus "Do you?" He shook his head as Bell smiled before turning to Bache.
"How about you?" She did the same before opening her mouth.
"As long as it is safe for our child, then I am alright with it" She said with a smile, staring down at Adrienne in her arms who was reaching out for Bache's nose with a curious expression on her face.
"Well… If you're planning on moving there, I'm leaving in a weeks when I have the armor if you want to come with" Elora said
"That would be good. We could probably finish our business here in Telskyura by then" Bell said, even though he had nothing special to do here.
"I agree, I do have an overdue talk with Kali" Bache said as Erebus nodded at her. Bell looked between the two before his features morphed into confusion.
"Eh… is there something I'm missing here?" Bell asked as Bache looked at Bell before realizing something.
"Right! Forgot to tell you, I am… Nevermind, I'll tell you once it's done" she said as Bell accepted the answer.
"Guess that's decided. Thanks Elora" Bell said as she shrugged
"Like I said earlier, just repaying a debt, though I'm doing this as a form of thanks. I'm still going to pay you back" Bell nodded as Adrienne started to cry out and reach towards Bell. He instantly reacted and walked up to Bache who handed her over.
"Ah… There we go. Here's your dad" Bell said, smiling fondly as he let her play with his finger.
"She's adorable" Elora said while smiling at the scene.
"I can't say I disagree" Bell responded as Bache nodded, almost proudly. They stood there for a while, just admiring the curious Adrienne as she inspected Bell's hand as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, but the peace couldn't last forever.
"Well, I am going to have to go. It's almost sunset and I do want my beauty sleep. Maybe I'll visit while I wait for the armor to be finished" Elora said, almost unwilling to interrupt the scene but knowing that she was right.
"You're right. We'll look out for your visit, Elora. It was nice meeting you" Bell said as the others agreed.
"Right back at you, Bell. Goodbye" She said as she walked out the front door, closing it as Bache locked it.
"Well… she's an interesting person" Erebus said cheekily "Feisty too if you teased her even the slightest" Bell nodded at his comment as he understood what he meant.
"Well, she's pretty nice in my opinion. Was a little too self sufficient, but nice nonetheless. Anyway, I, like her, want to sleep. Should I be on Baby duty tonight?" Bell asked Bache as she nodded
"Yes, I am going to need as much sleep as possible since I'm talking to Kali, though I have to ask Bell, why didn't you take your armor when you went out today? The Loki Familia could have seen you" Bell froze for a second before facepalming. He had completely forgotten about that this morning, and now he realised the risk he had taken.
"I'm dumb… I forgot, Bache. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. Good night!" Bache nodded before Bell walked into his bedroom, receiving the same words in response from the two still in the room. As Bell didn't really love Bache, they didn't share the same room or bed, but each of them had a crib in their respective room. Bell put Adrienne in the crib before handing her a tiny toy, even she with her infant little hands could play with.
She happily squealed when she got her hands on it before starting to play with it and even sometimes bite on it curiously. For safe measure, he put a blanket over her lower half since she wasn't resistant to the elements like Bell with his status. After that he smiled softly at Adrienne before walking off towards his brush, quickly brushing his teeth, turning the magic stone lamps off before tugging himself underneath the sheets.
He gave one last glance towards Adrienne, making sure that she was safe and comfortable before closing his eyes, letting sleep take him as he adored the little noises Adrienne was making as she stopped playing and seemed to start to sleep.
=Loki Familia Camp, 1 week earlier=
"CAPTAIN HAS RETURNED!" Morel, one of the Loki familia members called out as he spotted Finn and the others returning.
"Captain, did you find anything?" Orba, a supporter asked as Finn shook his head.
"Unfortunately, it seems this lead has run dry. It was clear that Kali is hiding information from us and we can't demand anything from them. It would be too troublesome for Orario to make enemies of Telskyura" Anakitty did a double take before staring at her captain.
"Wait, she was lying?" Finn nodded at her question as she started thinking.
"But why… Oh!" She said as she figured out the reason.
"We all did have a run in with them a little over a year ago now. Perhaps she has a grudge from back then?" He said, asking the last part more towards himself.
"Maybe, but if we can't get the information we need here… then what are we going to do?" Anakitty asked and Finn thought about it. At this point, Bell Cranel could be anywhere on the continent by now. He hoped he wasn't in the Empire since they had no jurisdiction there at all and were hostile with each other.
"I don't know… the trail clearly led here, but we can't find anything right now. The best we can do is to go back periodically and ask around so as not to rouse suspicion" He responded before, to everyone's surprise, Ais chimed in on her own.
"I saw a man… Strong with weird armor and mask… Our eyes locked for a second and he seemed… familiar" She said as Finn looked at Ais, contemplating her words.
"Could you describe what you felt?" Ais pondered the feeling she had felt, it was…
"I don't know… it was like I had seen him before, at first I thought of Bell but… his eyes. They didn't match, they were too… dark" She described her feeling as Finn nodded
"How was it different?" He asked, getting a feeling about this man.
"Like… a black flame had invaded them, small but there" She said as Finn asked his final question.
"What color were his eyes and could you see the hair?" Ais stared at Finn at that. Did he believe this was…
"Red… Ruby Red, it was all I could see underneath his mask. His hair… I couldn't see it, it was tied back, but the mask didn't cover it. It was just the angle that stopped me" Finn nodded as he got an idea, smiling lightly.
"Alright Ais, could you give a detailed description of how the man looked and Cruz here will draw it. Once done, the level 6's will periodically ask around inside Telskyura while the rest of everyone here will split up into posts around the main roads to make sure he doesn't leave. If you spot him, stop him alright! This might actually be our target" Finn said, which got Ais thinking.
'That was Bell? No… it couldn't be, the man was too strong but… it's an order…' Ais thought before following Cruz back to a chair as she described the person.
It only took 30 minutes or so before they were finished. During that time, Finn had prepared a schedule for when everyone will watch a road per day, giving them shifts. He gave them strict orders not to stop any wagons and just try to get a glimpse inside. It was imperative that their activities were kept as down low as possible.
Before Ais knew it, they had a schedule and she went to sleep with the tent she shared with the Hiryute sisters, waiting 3 days for the next time they go to Telskyura.
'This is gonna be a long trip' Ais thought absentmindedly, realizing that they might not find him for a while. She felt herself grow groggy before finally falling asleep.
=Residential district, 1 day after meeting Elora=
"Erebus, what are you doing?" Bell asked as Erebus looked up from his position, holding Bell's mask.
"Just inspecting the stone inside the mask. I think it has an added effect" Erebus explained as Bell gave him a questioning glance, moving to sit next to him.
"Added effect? Asuka and Takara didn't mention that" Bell said, and he was technically correct. After they had gifted the armor, they had given him an apt description of the armor's mechanisms alongside it's cosmetics. The stone on the mask was there purely because it looked nice and added an intimidating effect to it.
Every armor from a royal executioner did have it inside the mask and none had an added effect, so what did Erebus mean?
"Well, from what I can gather… It's enchanted, but that can't be right…" Enchanted? Bell's confusion spiraled into the stratosphere as he tried to dig through his memories as well as the hero stories he had read as a kid but came up with nothing.
"Eh… what's an enchant?" Bell asked as Erebus looked at Bell for a second before smiling lightly
"It's a lost art, something that was only used back before the gods descended onto Gekai. How do you think people defended themselves back then?" Erebus asked as Bell gave an instant response
"With the help of spirits. They bonded and gave strength to heroes, the first being Argonaut, the clown hero" Erebus nodded before tilting his head
"Yeah, but what about those that didn't have the luck of being a hero and bonded to a spirit? They still would feel uneasy having nothing to defend themselves with so they developed different techniques to improve their gear to give them an edge. The one that was most effective was Enchanting. The closest thing today to that would be the Mystery ability" Now that, Bell had heard of. Asfi al andromeda, was famous for her usage of it.
"So… giving it special effects?" Bell guessed as Erebus nodded before handing the mask towards Bell.
"I don't know what the stone does, but just try to imagine it activating. Perhaps that will do something?" Bell complied and put the mask on and did so. Nothing felt different, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Erebus frown.
"Nothing…" Erebus said as he contemplated the stone "It has to have something to do with your head since it's a mask… maybe…" He seemed to get an idea at the same time as Bell
"Changing eye color?"
"Changing hair Color?"
The two spoke at the same time, causing Bell to chuckle awkwardly as he tested the Eye color first, imagining gold eyes. He opened them and silently asked Erebus if anything had changed.
He shook his head. Bell then focused on his hair… maybe… Black? According to Dungeon Oratoria, the world's greatest hero, The Mercenary King, Albert Waldstein had black hair. It was from that thought he got the idea of black hair.
"Alright then… guess we found out it's effect" Bell opened his eyes as Erebus stared at the top of his head. Bell stood up and walked to the closest mirror before seeing the effect. To say it felt weird was an understatement. He was so used to looking in the mirror to see pure white hair, that when he saw jet black instead sent him for a loop.
"This… My hair!" Bell exclaimed as he stared at himself. This armor is more amazing than he thought! This would come in very handy to hide his identity even more.
"Guess we both swapped hair color in the end" Erebus said with a chuckle, causing Bell to realize the coincidence.
"Now that I think about it, you're right" Bell said before taking the mask off, his hair warping back to a pure snow white.
"Good that we know that, but what I am curious about now is what you're going to do? You do remember that the Loki Familia could still be around" Erebus said as Bell nodded
"You're right, let's hope I don't have a run in with them. If that happens, I will have the armor and mask on. That added with this amazing thing" Bell pointed at the stone "Will make me nearly unrecognizable" Bell said with a smile as Erebus nodded
"You're right, but don't forget to act differently. From what you've said, this Ais Wallenstein will recognize you if you act too much like your old self" Bell nodded at his warning
"Good that I've changed in the last 9 months" Bell said as Erebus nodded
"Perhaps… Now, have you done any training recently?" He asked as Bell nodded
"Yeah, I have trained at least 2 hours a day, apart from yesterday because of my run in with Elora" Bell said, chuckling at the last part.
"Want to update your status? With your skill, you're bound to at least go up a little bit" Bell thought about it before shrugging.
"Why not?" He said as the two did their usual gimmick. Once they were done, Bell took his piece of paper and sighed.
Name: Bell Cranel
Lv 5
Status:
{STR} I-7 - I-9
{VIT} I-0 - I-11
{DEX} I-11 - I-32
{AGI} I-5 - I-20
{MAG} I-46 - H-121
Magic:
Firebolt: Swift strike magic. Casts a bolt of fire and electricity on command that explodes on impact upon impacting any surface.
Legacy's Rebirth: Catalyst Magic. Generates a shroud of lightning around the user that interacts with the body, strengthening it and protecting from outside dangers. May also be used offensively as magic but takes a strong toll on the body if doing so.
Requires a Storm Crystal as a catalyst to activate.
Skills:
Liaris Freeze: Precocious Maturation. The effect is maintained so long as the user maintains their feelings, and the effect is heightened depending on how strong these feelings are (Current Bonus: 953%)
Argonaut: Heroic strike, the possibility of turning any situation around with an overwhelming amount of force. Able to be dual charged but drains massive amounts of mind power.
Scourge: Raises the power of the user exponentially depending on the amount of Malice the user lets out
Development Abilities:
Luck: F
Abnormal Resistance: E
Psych: G
"Are you still training with Argonaut, Bell?" Erebus asked as Bell nodded. It explained his jump in magic. His agility and Dexterity went up because of his training, his strength because he helped out a construction worker in carrying a very heavy load. His Endurance confused Bell for a second before it hit him. He blushed madly at the embarrassing story.
He had been jumping across rooftops to get to a location fast and accidentally tripped and fell down, hitting the back of his head on an edge hard enough to create a considerable hole and causing himself to bleed. He hadn't felt that clumsy in a long time and it was during his adjustment period with his armor where his mask was on weirdly. It had disturbed his focus which led to that situation.
"Yeah, though I don't want to talk about my Endurance" Erebus smirked as he remembered Bell telling him what happened that day in a groggy haze.
"Right, it's not like you fell down a roof or anything" He said in a teasing tone as Bell groaned. He was about to retort before he heard a wail coming from his bedroom.
"Adrienne" Bell said as he got up in an instant and rushed inside his room, and got her into his arms.
"What's wrong… are you hungry?" Bell asked, knowing it wasn't the diaper. He didn't expect an answer either as she is only a month old after all. The fact that she had grown this much was a miracle, and quite odd to be frank, but Bell paid it no mind.
"Guess you will have to wait for mommy, you little wiggle maniac" He said as she was trying to wiggle her way closer to his nose, giggling in the process.
'I do wonder how things are going for Bache though…' Bell thought before getting back to Adrienne, determined to entertain her for a while.
=Kali's Palace=
"Excuse me, but you know that I am right in this Kali. You have no right to control me as by law, I get to decide what to do with my child. Just because Argana didn't make it, doesn't mean you can go and try to take mine" Bache all but spat at Kali with Bache at her side, glaring towards her sister.
"I am the goddess of this country!" She tried as Bache didn't give her an inch of ground to work with.
"It's a law you and the amazoness agreed upon when you took over. The clause says and I quote 'Any amazoness of Telskyura is released from all obligations to the goddess Kali once they have a child, and subsequently that child is under the jurisdiction of that amazoness'. In other words, I get to decide where I want to go with my child, how I raise her and whether or not I stay in your Familia! THAT'S FINAL!" Bache screamed the last part at the top of her lungs as Kali tried to find a way to retort back.
Looking around she noticed that amazoness around the room seemed uneasy and she wasn't stupid. What Bache said was something all of the amazoness knew they could rely on if they wanted out, and the fact that she's fighting this hard…
'I might lose my familia if I keep up with this…' Kali thought bitterly and slightly horrified at the prospect. The clause that Bache had mentioned was one of three different ones, and if she doesn't uphold all three, even if it's only one that's not followed, she loses all her honor in the amazoness' view and a woman, mortal or god without honor isn't fit to lead.
Kali shut her mouth, closing her eyes as she grinded her teeth together. It was infuriating but she had to do it.
"Fine… expose your back…" Kali said as Bache did just that, not to follow orders but because she wanted out, something she can finally get.
'Helping them with that boy was the biggest mistake I've ever made' Kali thought bitterly as she opened Bache's falna, allowing any other god to just… steal her away.
As soon as Kali stopped writing, Bache instantly stood up and walked away, not even giving a spare glance at Kali or her supposed sister, who was glaring in Bache's direction with pure fury.
=Residential District=
"Bache, you're back" Erebus greeted Bache as she walked into the house.
"Yeah… but that talk was tiring. She tried to go back on the clauses, though it seems she realized the consequences of such an action before she did anything dumb" Bache told Erebus as he smiled
"Alright, that's good to hear… but are you sure about this? There are many other choices out there" Erebus asked as she nodded
"Yes… though where is Bell?" She asked, noticing his absence. He had told her this morning he wasn't planning on going anywhere today, just some light experimenting with whatever that skill is in the yard basically right next to the house which he wasn't doing currently.
"Oh, he's in the room. Adrienne refused to sleep and apparently got hungry. He was actually waiting for you to return" Bache nodded as she understood the situation.
"I'll feed her first, then we'll do it" Bache said as Erebus nodded. Bache walked into the hallway, before entering Bell's room. Said boy instantly peeked up at Bache and smiled in relief.
"Thank god, I thought I would never be able to get some training in today" Bell sighed out as Bache gave him a look.
"Is it too much of a burden to care for your daughter?" she retorted with amusement evident in her voice.
"Nooo… that's not what I meant! Adrienne will never be a burden! It's just that I've done this for hours now" Bache internally winced at that. He had to take care of a hungry baby for hours… That doesn't sound fun.
"Okay, I'll feed her. Here" She stretched out her arms as Bell handed Adrienne over. Without even thinking, she moved one of the straps covering her chest to the side as Bell blushed scarlet and looked to the side. Bache rolled her eyes before bringing Adrienne up as she instantly latched on.
"You know you're gonna have to get used to that one of these days. I'll be feeding her until we can feed her solid food, which is around 6 months after birth" Bache said, in truth, every time she fed her Bell looked away even though he had seen more than that before. It still amused her though
"Doesn't mean I have to stare!" He retorted back as Bache shrugged
"Touché" She muttered as she continued feeding Adrienne before looking up at Bell again.
"What have you been doing all day? Mine was just arguing with Kali though I got through her eventually. I'm definitely coming along with you to that village… Anfe-something?" She asked curiously.
"Anfesera, and I haven't done much since most of the day was just taking care of Adrienne. I was hoping to get some hours into training but…" Bache nodded before contemplating it.
"You know, I have gotten used to Adrienne by now, and Erebus could take care of her for an hour or two. We could spar" Bell's eyes lit up before nodding.
"Yeah, that would be great. It'd be nice to get my status raised, might even ask you to beat me into a pulp just to raise Endurance" He said chuckling as Bache lightly laughed. It was the life of someone with a Falna.
"We'll see… oh, are you done, my little beauty?" Bache said with a smile as she looked down at Adrienne who had let go of her grip and stopped feeding.
"Alright then, let's get you to Erebus so that we can have some time alone" She said, moving the strap back in place, carefully placing Adrienne in her crib before she made to leave the room, Bell following her.
"I'll put on my armor, it might take a couple of minutes. I'm still not used to it" Bache nodded before smiling back.
"That's fine, I can finish what I wanted to do before then" She said before they split off. Bache walked out towards the living room where Erebus was currently at, reading another book that she had no idea where he got them from. Was there some hidden library in this house or something?
"Erebus, we can do it now" The god peeked over the book that covered his face before nodding. He sat up and patted the side of the sofa. She did so and turned around, giving him a good look at her back.
"Well, let's get started then" He said as he bit down on his finger, causing blood to run out. He let two drops drop in succession, one to reveal the falna, and the other to transfer. He drew the hieroglyph word for transfer with the second drop, causing a blue light to emanate from her back before it stopped, revealing Erebus Dual headed dragon symbol replacing Kali's skull pattern with a crown of spikes.
"Give me a moment to read the status, then I'll update it" Erebus said as Bache nodded. He drew away, stopping momentarily at places, most likely to read.
"Eh… what's going on?" Bache looked up and smiled as Bell had just now walked into the room with his armor on, confused at the scene.
"Well, there was another reason I wanted to talk to Kali" Bache said as she peeked behind her back as Bell's eyes widened
"She let you transfer?" He said, his voice clearly trying to hide the surprise and failing badly.
"Not easily. Like I said, a lot of arguing, but I won since the clause she agreed to in order to rule this country as her familia was that any amazoness have full jurisdiction of their lives, falna as well as children once they have at least one. She couldn't say no, no matter what she did or she would lose her entire familia" Bell stared at her for a minute before blinking before lightly laughing.
"I would have loved to see her face" He said as Bache smile turned more amused
"You should have seen Argana's look. She seemed so pissed" Bell's smile faltered slightly but still remained. It was still a small sore spot that an innocent life died, but that was just life. He had learnt that last year, or little less than that. No matter how hard you try, some people you can't save.
Bell shook his head before sitting down in front of Bache as Erebus kept working, handing her daggers over as she nodded in appreciation.
"Thank you. Which weapon will you use?" She asked as Bell thought for a second about it
"Well, I'll use a little whatever. I need to learn to fight people better. Something that became apparent in the last 9 months is that my technique is lacking when it comes to human opponents. I fight them like they are monsters. My escape, I lost and had to rely on skills. Against you and Argana I lost, and against Railan I lost and only won when I overpowered him with a skill" Bell said as Bache nodded
"I could help with that. After all, I've spent a long time fighting people in the Arena. I know the tricks they come up with as well as tricks of my own" Bell nodded as thanks, before looking at Erebus who just now had put a piece of paper on Bache's back, copying her status before handing it to her.
Bell leaned over slowly, making sure she saw him in case she wanted anything hidden, but she simply shifted over so he could see better.
Name: Bache Kalif
Lv 6
Status:
{STR} H-177 - H-181
{VIT} H-165 - H-171
{DEX} G-201 - G-206
{AGI} G-208 - G-211
{MAG} H-192 - G-200
Magic:
Velgus: 'Di asla' - Poison Enchantment magic that imbues things with deadly poison that is unblockable. Potency of the poison depends on magic stat. Must be in direct contact with items to imbue poison.
Skills:
Eitur Auka: Enhances all poison abilities of the user depending on the 'Abnormal Resistance' of the opponent. Can only increase poison efficiency by one 'Abnormal Resistance' rank.
Taistelija: Boosts basic abilities depending on the user's desire to battle. The stronger the desire, the stronger the effect
Development Abilities:
Fist Strike: G
Fist Fighter: G
Abnormal Resistance: H
Berserk: I
"Hey Bache… What does Berserk do?" Bell asked as she looked at Bache.
"Oh, I don't really know, I gained it a level 6 and the only time it activated was when I fought Tiona. My guess is that it helps me keep my judgement in battle without losing my berserk" She explained as Bell nodded
"I'm inclined to agree, that's what my intuition says" Erebus piped in as the two nodded in thanks. In truth, there was another part of the status that caught Bell's eye. The second skill, Taistelija. It's description is similar to Liaris freeze, only that it's desire is clearly written and it doesn't make one grow faster.
Bell shook out of his thoughts before standing up.
"Should we go now?" Bell asked as Bache nodded before turning to Erebus
"Could you take care of Adrienne while we spar?" Erebus shrugged and nodded
"Why not, is she in Bell's room?" He asked as Bache nodded
"I'll take care of it. You two seem like you need this" Bell and Bache smiled in appreciation before leaving the house, heading towards a spar that they both enjoyed thoroughly.
That's chapter 13! Bache has transferred to Erebus! Took a little long to write though since I've been having bedbug issues. Thankfully Exterminators are arriving soon :D. Anyway, I hope to see you all next time!