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.
41: Temperament
=Eastern wall of Orario=
*Smack*
Fion flew into the wall with an audible thud as she felt her entire body ache as Ais tried desperately to defend against Apollyons constant barrage of attacks.
As Fiona groaned and looked up slightly through the bangs covering her eyes in her state, she couldn't help but wonder why he was being somehow worse than yesterday.
She hadn't thought it at the time, but his attacks now were a lot harder than before and harsher. They rattled her to her very core and she was confused at the change in training.
Apollyon sent a kick towards Ais midsection which she weaved under through her agility before she tried to counter attack, only for it to be deflected with a light swat and a fist to fly straight into her face before she could even react.
Ais was in a similar position. The man was a lot more brutal than before, clearly not holding back as much as before as she felt her jaw bone being pulled out of line before rolling on the ground and skidding to a halt.
She put a hand on her jaw, cracking it with a wince before preparing herself as the man's red eyes looked between her and Fiona.
He was about to launch himself back at one of them before Fiona put her hands up in the air.
"Please, stop!" She called out, making him tilt his head in confusion.
"Hmm? Had enough?" He asked cooly as Ais relaxed at the halt in the supposed training, if you'd call it that and not complete and utter pummeling.
"It's just… you're a lot… harsher than before" Fiona said as she took a step forward, only to wince and collapse on one knee at the violent assault of pain from her midsection and leg.
"As I've said before, this training requires you to push your limits. It also raises your status faster because you have no time to rest, pushing your basic abilities above and beyond" He told them matter of factly as Fiona shook her head.
"I get that but-"
"Isn't this a bit much?" Bell turned towards Ais' sudden words tilting his head.
"What do you mean?" He asked as the woman seemed to give him a 'really' look, which was rare coming from her.
"We… can barely stand. Let alone keep pushing our limits like this. Every movement makes our limbs nearly collapse, let alone allowing us to attack" She told him as Bell sighed.
Apollyon seemed to look between the two for a while, inspecting their current predicament before finally sighing out loud before nodding.
"Alright, guess that's enough for today, let me get out some food" He relented as both students sighed in relief as they slumped down completely either on the ground or against the wall.
"Is it Jagamarukun again?" Ais asked as she looked at him. She was somewhat disappointed at the shaking of his head before he pulled out some lunch boxes, seemingly prepared beforehand.
He slid them across the ground towards them, throwing some cutlery to them before they opened it, being met with a delicious aroma that practically made them drool.
"My wife made some beef stew yesterday. She's gotten really good at it if I say so myself" He chuckled before opening his own box and digging in.
The area became silent apart from the sounds of eating about half an hour before everyone took their leave, the two women wondering if they'd done something to upset him and earn this new level of harshness.
=Twilight Manor=
Finn stared at the condition of the two women who just arrived from training as Riveria seemed ready to blow the recently named, Archian manor apart with a Rea Laevateinn as she healed them.
"My, I'm going to be getting the wrong idea if you two keep turning up worse for the wear every time you train with the man" Finn said as Gareth hummed. Ais and Fiona both at the same time shook their heads in thought before the latter looked up at her father.
"No… something seemed wrong dad" That got everyone's attention as he looked at the amazoness in thought.
"Wrong? How so?" He asked
"Well… he seemed… harsher. I can't think of anything we did to upset him. It was almost as if he was under the effect of something" She mumbled the last part as Finn got a bad feeling.
"Effect? Did he seem… distant?" If it was what he feared, then they had a really bad situation on their hands.
"No… not really. It was only as if he was…" She trailed off before Ais looked up.
"He seemed to have less control" The room became silent as the executives seemed to ponder upon this new information.
"Less control…" Riveria hummed as she looked towards Finn "Delayed mental attack?" she asked as Finn bit the tip of his finger in thought.
"Maybe, but there is no real way to be sure without more information. At least it isn't Freya. If it was, he would have been at the very least, distant and noticeably so" That sent a wave of relief through Riveria and Gareth. They'd seen how the man fights and didn't really want to fight him. Especially if what Elora had said about his status was true, which by all accounts, seemed to be so.
"Alright, Ais, Fiona. Why don't you go and get your status updated? You haven't done that in a while, right?" He asked as both hummed before nodding.
It didn't take long for them to leave towards Loki's chambers leaving the executives on their own.
"Should we look into it?" Riveria asked as Finn nodded.
"Definitely. We can't jeopardize this alliance right now, especially when he's teaching Ais and Fiona his techniques. It's too much of value to lose so easily"
"You're right about that Finn, we should look into it" Gareth piped in with his opinion as Finn nodded in confirmation before Riveria did the same.
"It does narrow down the suspects. There aren't a lot of people within Orario with mental attacks. I can only think of a two at the top of my head and both are either dead or without a familia" She reasoned as Finn motioned for her to explain.
"Dix Perdix with his curse magic. Killed by one Bell Cranel" Finn nodded at that solemnly as Gareth grunted "the other being Phryne Jamil who reportedly had a weak charm skill, though since she's without familia…" Finn sighed at that.
"Makes her not viable as a suspect. Is she even within the city anymore?" he asked as Gareth shook his head.
"Last I 'eard, she left for Kali Familia" He told them as Finn sat down in a chair.
"That leaves us… with nothing" He muttered as Riveria nodded.
"That it does…"
=Loki's chambers=
Loki traced the back of Fiona with slight excitement. Having heard of their harsh training with Apollyon, she had been wondering how much it'd improve upon their regular growth if at all.
So as she trailed her finger across the runes, moving the lightshow in front of her, she couldn't help but grin at the stats. She sat still for a moment, simply looking over the status before nodding in approval and ending the update.
She slapped the paper to the girls back before copying the status onto it before finally giving it to her silently, waiting for her to read it.
Name: Fiona Deimne
Lv 3
Status:
{STR} D-511 - D-543
{VIT} F-377 - E-436
{DEX} D-554 - D-565
{AGI} C-602 - C-632
{MAG} I-0
Magic:
Skills:
Stealth: Allows the user to hid their presence, when hidden, the user's speed is increased moderately at no additional cost
Active Trigger
Hearth's Presence: When anyone within the same familia as the user rests within the home of the user, increases the rate they recover from wounds, fatigue and mind downs. Also improves moves for everyone within the home of the user. Also extends to the user
Development Abilities:
Iron Skin: G
Tracker: G
Intuition: H
"Eh?" Fiona uttered out loud as she stared at her stats.
"Loki… is this a joke?" She asked as the goddess shook her head.
"I can't say I agree with the man's methods but… can't say they ain't effective" The goddess responded as Fiona inspected her status sheet again, staring at her stats. Her status hadn't jumped like this since… well, since she was a level 1, and even then, this would have been one of her best updates.
"But… I've only trained with him twice!" She called out again as Loki chuckled.
"True that, but you also have to remember that you haven't updated your status since before the monster parade" Fiona nodded, accepting that for a second before stopping.
"That was three days ago!" She called out as Loki laughed before shooing her away, mentioning that Ais was outside and waiting.
The girl practically bounced out the door before taking off towards… most likely her father to show him her status. Right after her, Ais walked inside, a tiny bruise still on her cheek left which Riveria hadn't gotten around to healing.
"My… I might actually have to give this damn brat a piece of my mind" Loki growled at the sight as Ais simply stared before taking a seat and lifting her shirt enough for Loki to update the status.
Seeing the girl's impatience, the goddess got to work, using her already cut finger to unlock the status on the girl's back before her.
It didn't take long to update Ais' status before doing the same, handing it to Ais as she took it and looked it over the way she usually does, only her eyes widening slightly in indication of her surprise.
Name: Ais Wallenstein
Lv 7
Status:
{STR} C-669 - C-688
{VIT} B-756 - A-800
{DEX} B-752 - B-788
{AGI} A-878 - S-901
{MAG} A-861 - A-862
Magic:
Ariel: 'Awaken, Tempest'
Self-enchantment spirit magic that envelops the user in a protective wind that can be used in both defensive and offensive purposes, increasing the user's speed and power exponentially alongside their defense.
Skills:
Avenger: Explosively boosts attack power of the user against monsters. The boost is increased exponentially when fighting dragon type monsters. Requires the user to see the enemy as a monster to be activated
Development Abilities:
Hunter: E
Abnormal Resistance: G
Swordsman: G
Spirit Healing: H
Hypothermic Resistance: I
Ais hadn't seen her status jump like this in a long time. The only times it was even a comparable was just as she levels up and her status is at I-0.
A small smile spread across the sword princess lips as she felt good about the results before pulling the shirt back down and kept inspecting the status, counting the overal points she had gained.
…
123 total points gained… a ludicrous amount, but most in her endurance for obvious reasons. Her agility had also reached the S tier which it had never been in, always getting stuck at A rank before it hit the point where she feels like she's stuck in mud that won't budge no matter how hard she tries or pushes herself.
To see this kind of gain was something otherworldly at this point and it really did put a genuine smile on her face.
She had to thank Apollyon later as she knew she wouldn't have gained even a fifth of the points she had if it weren't for him. His training was the worst she had ever experienced, even worse than Ottar but it had shown its results in only two days.
It wasn't all great though, even with Riveria's healing, she still ached all over her body and already knew that tomorrow wouldn't be any different… but now that she had seen what this training could do… it was basically impossible for her not to want to keep doing it.
"Well, color me impressed Ais-tan. Seems I might not have to give him a piece of my mind after all" Ais nodded towards Loki at that, feeling thankful for her acceptance of the training.
"Anyway, was there anything else you wanted? Perhaps a little… personal time" Aaand the moment was broken. She stood up, shoving the chair behind her, right into Loki's nose as the goddess let out a strangled noise of pain and complaints as Ais left, leaving the goddess to her thoughts as she looked out the window towards the direction of the Archian Manor.
Her eyes squeezed tighter together before she turned and left her chambers, heading towards her personal stash of Soma for a quick sip.
=Archian Manor, 5PM=
Everyone, excluding Bell and the kids, sat in the lounging area, an eerie silence filling the room as Elora had finished her complete tale of what had transpired with Freya that morning.
"So… let me get this straight. The goddess of beauty we're looking for… is in The Empire? She wants Bell dead, whose soul also happens to be completley transparent and a unique color… and to top it off, she tried to charm Apollyon" Bache repeated the events she had picked up on.
"Well… that's basically what happened, though I am worried about the last part" Elora voiced her opinion as Erebus nodded.
"Indeed. Psych may have blocked the charm but… as it's an untested method, we don't know if there's any side effects. A regular charm wouldn't be a problem, but since it's a divine one, it's so much more powerful it's incomparable" Erebus chimed in as Elora grunted.
"So, what you're saying… is that slap on Elora's ass earlier… Was it a side effect?" Bache had an amused grin on her face as Elora's face heated.
"Most likely… yes. I don't know exactly how the side effect will take form but from a gut feeling? Probably lowered inhibitions and rapidly changing moods" That sent the amused grin right off Bache's face as an irritable Bell is a recipe for disaster.
"But… Why those side effects?" Elora asked, seemingly confused.
"Well, do you know how a charm works?" Erebus asked as Elora shook her head. Most chalked it up to drawing a person to themselves and left it at that so there wasn't really any concrete research on it.
"It's like a parasite. It latches onto the soul and forces it in a certain direction, drawing them to the caster of the charm. The issue here is that Psych makes him resistant to it's effects, but the parasite still takes hold" He finished as both women nodded at his explanation.
"So… his soul is fighting back while bottling the charm up and what… negating the effects?" Elora asked as Erebus shook his head.
"Not exactly. Tell me, what happens when you bottle up emotions?" He asked as Elora blinked before her eyes filled with realization.
"They eventually burst" She finished as the god nodded.
"That's exactly what's happening. Most think of bursting as a grand explosion, but in fact, it's the same as if a water tank began bursting from the pressure. A hole in the container would prop up, leaking the emotions out into the open and right now… Bell's soul is the container for the charm…" He trailed off as Bache was the one to finish.
"And a leak has appeared, and the emotions are leaking out" She finished as Erebus nodded.
"That's right, only since Psych blocked the connection to Freya, meaning the emotions aren't linked to her anymore, meaning they aren't exclusively focused on love, but can come in all forms"
"I think I understand now" Elora called out as Erebus looked at her and nodded.
"Yes, but how long would it take for the charm to be gone?" Bache asked as Erebus shrugged.
"Well, it depends on how fast he works his way through the emotions. The more they make themselves known, the faster and harder his Psych will fight it. So… at the lowest, an hour… at most? A day or two" He answered as the amazon nodded
"All we need to do is wait it out?" Elora asked as the god nodded.
"Then we weather the storm" Bache added as Elora nodded, determined to take whatever may come from him.
"It's not how Apollyon will act with us I'm worried about" Erebus said as the two blinked at him "It's how he will react to others. The emotions aren't linked to love anymore, so they turn into whatever he feels at the moment" Elora stood up as her eyes widened.
"If someone were to tick him off…" She breathed out as Bache gasped.
"Yeah, they'd be in for quite the explosive temper"
=A few minutes earlier=
Bell walked through the doors of his home, looking around as he looked for his family. He had been gone for quite a while and a large part of it was not training but an admittedly long stroll which had been refreshing.
He walked through the manor, not finding them in either their bedrooms, back yard, underground training area or even the kitchen he had relied on his senses and followed the location of the strong presences in his humble abode.
It led him to one of the lounging areas in the house and since they had a few, he hadn't looked there.
He smiled and put his hands on the door and was about to push them open before his hearing picked up on their conversation, making him pay attention and stop in his track.
"All we need to do is wait it out?" He heard Elora's voice through the door as he wondered what they were talking about.
"Then we weather the storm" Bache's voice came, confusing him more. Weather, what storm? Why wasn't he privy to the information to a supposed storm. Frustration made itself known before quickly turning into an inferno as he tried to calm himself down at the feeling of betrayal.
'Calm down… they probably have a reason to hide whatever this is from me. I can at least give them a chance to explain, they deserve that and so much more' He thought to himself, successfully containing the emotion before listening in again.
"It's not how Apollyon will act with us I'm worried about" Erebus said as Bell blinked.
'Me? What do I have to do with this' he asked himself, a bout of irritation sparking within him without consent.
"If someone were to tick him off…" He waited for Elora to continue as he heard Bache gasp.
"Yeah, they'd be in for quite the explosive temper" Bell felt positively betrayed at that. Didn't they trust him to keep his cool? Hadn't he shown them again and again that he wasn't someone to be overcome by feelings?
The emotions began piling up as he began hyperventilating, a part of him confused where all of these emotions were coming from and why the hell it was so damn powerful. It was like a tsunami overcoming him.
Bell's heart began beating a million miles a minute as he gained the urge to suddenly run. To get the hell out of there or something bad was going to happen.
He knew better than to ignore his own gut instincts. They'd saved him more than once and he'd trust them any day of the week.
He instantly booked it, speeding off back into the streets of Orario with no destination in mind. He only knew one thing.
He had a lot to think about.
=Twilight Manor=
"Oh, will you quit it Bete!" Tione hissed as the wolf sneered at her.
"Why would I do that, eh!?" He threw back at the amazoness, only incurring more of the amazoness' wrath.
"Because you do not call her a weakling! You understand me! She isn't weak!" Tiona was holding Tione back from lunging at the wolf as Finn was desperately trying to calm the situation down.
Ever since Fiona had come back with a casualty from a monster parade on the upper floors, Bete's apparent view of the girl had gone down the drain. To him, she, who was supposed to be a level 3, someone who should be able to solo the upper floors was bested by those very same monsters.
"I'm sayin it as it is. The girl is weak. What else do you describe what happened with that damn monster party!?" He asked back in a sneer, huffing and turning to the side as Tione thrashed against Tiona.
"WERE YOU THERE! YOU KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE THAT EVEN WE CAN BE OVERWHELMED BY SHEER NUMBERS!" Tione blew up and screamed at the top of her lungs as more and more of the Loki familia began paying attention.
"What's going on?" Ais asked as she walked up to Finn who turned to her and sighed.
"Bete and Tione again" He told her simply. He was beyond lashing out at Bete for his slander since he knew he didn't mean anything truly bad by it, but even he was reaching his limit.
The fact that he was slandering his daughter was… well, it wasn't helping either.
"Not again…" Ais whispered sadly yet with a hint of irritation as Finn nodded.
"You and I both. Think you can get him to stop? I've had no success" He asked as Ais nodded.
"I'll try" She said with determination before walking up towards the three executives, locked in their verbal battle.
"That was one time and you know it!" Bete hissed as Tiona scornfully scoffed at that.
"One time!? THIS WAS ONE TIME FOR FIONA TOO!?" Even Bete relented slightly at that, knowing it was true since it had never happened before.
"Yeah, well who's to say it won't happen again!?"
"STOP!" All eyes turned to Ais who was glaring at Bete "I will repeat to you what I told you at the hostess some time ago. Why are you always like this? Looking down on others. We all make mistakes, and we learn from them" She asked him as the werewolf scowled.
"Tsk, for us adventurers, mistakes are the same as a guaranteed death. If you make mistakes, you shouldn't be an adventurer" He tried to reason with her, only managing to earn more ire from those around.
Ais was about to retort back, but Finn shoved himself in front of her and positively glared at the wolf who stared back down without giving any ground.
"Mistakes you say? How about your mistake about slandering Bell Cranel after the minotaur incident?" He asked as Bete's eyes widened.
"Words ain't the same as mistakes in battle" He reasoned as Finn glared even harder.
"How about the fiasco on the 37th floor?" Bete seemed to slump at the mention of that and mumbled something.
"Excuse me, what was that?" Finn pushed as Riveria in the background looked at the situation unfolding.
"Nothin'" He muttered as Finn sighed.
"Get out" Bete blinked as he stared at him in shock, as did the others.
"What?" He asked as Finn glared at him again.
"I said, get out. Don't return until you've had a good, long, thoughtful day to think over your behaviour. Until then… you aren't allowed back here. That's a captain's order" The only thing that could be heard was Gareth's whistle next to Riveria before Bete huffed, turned and left.
The room was completely silent as everyone stared at Finn in shock while the Prum himself stared at where Bete left towards the doors.
'Great… I overreacted… but it was for the best' He sighed once again, somewhat regretting his lack of self control.
"Well… that happened. That goes for the rest of you. Until I say otherwise, Bete is not to return to the manor. Now, I need some time to think" He promptly walked off as everyone nodded absentmindedly at his order while Riveria walked up to Ais.
"Did… did that happen?" The blonde asked as Riveria hummed.
"Seems so. I'm surprised too. I don't think I've seen Finn react quite like that before, though I'm not surprised. Bete has been pushy the last three days" She responded honestly as Ais nodded.
"Yes he has… I just hope he will be okay" She commented, remembering the shell shocked face the wolf had at the order as well as the deep hurt she had seen in his eyes.
"I do believe he will. Maybe it will teach him some manners, though that's highly unlikely" Ais nearly sighed as for once, she felt like she was the only one having noticed the small details.
The two walked off, the elf being contemplative and the half spirit being worried.
=Hostess of Fertility=
"Here's your order, Nya!" Bell looked up to Chloe, putting his bowl of meat and rice down with the drink to the side.
He had ordered something light to snack on as he was honestly here most to think. Yeah yeah, picking a pub to think may be a weird choice, but he did always find it easy to think here.
Firstly, he knows he's overreacting and he has absolutely no idea why. But that doesn't change the fact that they are talking behind his back and that it hurts. He can't think of a single reason as to why they wouldn't trust him.
'"It's not how Apollyon will act with us I'm worried about"'
Those words echoed in his mind as his heart ached at the thought that they might not trust him to reign in his emotions. He'd done so many times in the past and they hadn't seemed worried about it then.
'Clearly not' A traitorous voice sounded in his head, as if spurring on his bad mood.
'But they are my family… I can give them the benefit of the doubt' he reasoned with himself as he put a hand on the front of his mask.
'Why should I? They aren't doing the same' The voice returned as Bell desperately tried to calm down.
'Doesn't mean I should be just as bad though'
'A relationship is give and take, and right now… all I am doing is giving, and all they are doing is taking'
The mental battle continued, dulling his senses as he failed to notice the wolf entering the pub and ordering a few drinks.
Bell looked up when a tankard hit the table in front of him, revealing a familiar Loki familia level 7 taking a seat.
"Oy, any reason you're alone?" He asked calmly with a hint of curiousness and sadness in his voice before chugging half of his three tankards.
'Great… I am not in the mood for this' Bell bitterly thought but managed to get his voice out in a pleasant manner.
"Just thinking" He said simply as the silver haired adventurer stared at him incredulously with a raised eyebrow.
"Guess that makes two of us" He muttered, catching Bell's attention.
"How so?" He asked.
"Eh, just got kicked out by Finn. Even I gotta admit that I went a bit far… why the hell am I telling ya this" He muttered the last part as he finished his tankard and without pause began drinking his next one.
"What'd you do now?" Bell sighed out, already seeing where this was going before taking a sip from his water and taking a bit out of his meat.
"Just telling the truth, even if it was going too far" Bell seemed to understand where he was going with that, deciding only to shake his head and try to end the conversation there.
They were silent for a little while, Bell silently arguing with himself in his mind while Bete was drinking and buying more and more.
It didn't take long for the werewolf's cheeks to begin tinting red in an intoxicated manner.
"Oy, I e'ard somethin' interesting" Bete slurred as Bell turned to him with exasperated eyes.
"What's that?" He asked, hoping to get whatever he wanted to say out of the way as fast as possible.
"I e'ard ya met that damn bunny brat on the road" His words made Bell's eye twitch as he got a feeling where this was going.
"That I did"
"Well… tell me, was he still as pathetic as before?" He sneered as Bell restrained the anger bubbling up.
"What's it to you?" Bell asked as he noticed that behind Bete, Ryuu and practically everyone was staring at them, including Mama Mia.
'Seems that everyone knows that lie now' Bell thought bitterly before turning to Bete again 'Thanks for that you asshole'
"Cuz even with 'im gone, the brat still affects Ais" Bell blinked for a second before remembering her earlier reactions to his name.
'I already knew that…' he thought before focusing back on the werewolf.
"And I. Don't. Like. It" He hissed as Bell bit back the urge to laugh at the clear jealousy. Bell was about to retort back until the werewolf opened his mouth again.
"Bet even if he had kids, they'd be just as pathetic and weak as him… no, even more so" His words lit Bell's heart on fire as he felt his vision nearly go red and before he knew it, he stood up and glared straight into Bete's eyes.
"Don't… You… DARE!" He practically screamed the last word in a hiss as Bete glared right back and stood up.
"What? Don't tell me you like the brat too!?" He asked, as Bell practically growled as he tried to calm down.
His heart began slowing down and he thought he had a handle on his emotions until Bete shoved him hard, pushing him back into the wall hard and cracking it.
"Maybe I reminded you of your own kids. They probably got it from that damn Elfy" At the direct mention of them as well as degradation… Bell snapped, before anyone could even react, an obsidian clad fist flew straight into Bete's face as a loud crack was heard from the breaking of his nose before he flew straight out the pubs doors.
"OI! QUIT IT!" Mama Mia lashed out as Bell snapped his eyes to her, glaring straight into her eyes.
"Don't get involved" He said in a voice cold enough to freeze every person in the area with unadulterated fear. Mia seemed to want to argue, but knew that things would only get worse if she tried anything. After all, the man was much stronger than her and even she had to acknowledge that.
Bell walked outside calmly, being met by a crowd looking at Bete in confusion and fear before turning to him, seemingly putting two and two together.
"Bete Loga…" Bell hissed as the wolf rubbed his nose before looking up, fury in the wolf's eyes. Without a second's thought the werewolf lashed back, charging forward with a well practiced kick which Bell swatted away, grabbing the werewolf wrist in a vice grip before quickly squeezing, snapping it like a twig.
"AGH! You'll pay for that!" Before he could even move, Bell hit him in his stomach before following up with a hard kick straight to his knee, sending the wolf onto one known as Bell sent another fist towards his face.
Bete dodged as he put the arm in a hold before twisting, giving a snapping noise as Bell felt one of his bones cracking slightly under the wolf's pressure.
Without thinking, Bell twisted, jumping into the air before smashing his arm still with the wolf on it into the ground, cracking the ground as Bete coughed in surprise before he felt a knee on his throat.
"Don't… ever say that about my children EVER AGAIN!" Bell screamed before smacking his fist into Bete's face hard… again, and again, and again.
Gasps were heard all around them as they witnessed the absolute pummling with no mercy.
"Someone… GET HELP! HE'S GOING TO KILL HIM!" At those words from one of the scared bystanders, Bell's fist froze a milimeter away from Bete's face, the wolf coughing out blood as he tried in vaid to struggle against Bell's grip.
'What am I doing…' He thought as he got up and stared at his bloodied hand before he felt his vision turn to the sky.
*Crack*
Bell felt himself involuntarily spitting all the saliva in his mouth as he felt a hard kick on his stomach before he smashed into the ground.
'Did he… Did he flip me as I was distracted' Bell asked himself as he felt a hand on his mask.
His eyes widened as his hand flew instantly towards Bete's hand trying to pull the mask. Squeezing again, and breaking his entire hand and all its fingers before kicking upwards, sending Vanargand rolling on the ground.
Bell stood up and stared back at the wolf, his anger flaring again at the thought of how close he had been to taking off the only thing protecting his identity.
"Not only… do you commit a blood insult…" Bell hissed before touching the mask lightly "But you also try to invade my privacy!?" His voice got louder before he completely lost it.
Scourge exploded as the wolf's eyes widened. Before he could even react, his face was deep in the ground from being slammed front first into it.
Before the wolf knew it, he felt hit after hit all over his body as he was sent flying before once again, being hit back into the ground.
There was no interruption between attacks as Bete began realizing that he might actually die.
'No! Not like this' He thought as he pushed out his good hand in a desperate attempt to get a hold of his opponent, only for it to be roughly swatted away and another fist to fly straight into his chest, cracking his ribs.
"DAD!" Bell felt a tug on his arms and before he had time to think, he backhanded the interrupting, hard, sending them into the ground with a loud thud.
Taking a moment to look at the person interrupting him, his blood ran cold as he saw the reddening of chocolate cheeks, the fearful sand colored eyes staring at him as blood ran down her nose.
"A…Adrienne?" He asked in barely a whisper as the girl seemed to recognize his change of demeanor.
"Y-yes… Dad… it's me" She said quietly as Bell took a step towards her, only for her to lean back a little making him flinch and look at his own hands in disgust.
'I… I punched my own daughter… I hit her and meant it…' His emotions in turmoil, he had absolutely no idea how to act so he did all he could in that situation, he collapsed onto his rear, putting his arms on his legs before leaning forward, trying to force himself to calm down.
'Calm down… calm down damn it! If not for you, then for Adrienne' He looked up at her 'For fuck's sake, she's scared of you!' He berated himself before noticing a few more approaching figures.
"Adrienne! What happened!" Bache and Elora rushed to the girl who tried to calm her mom and aunt down.
"It's okay… He didn't mean it" At that, Elora looked up at Bell who's eyes stared back at hers in silence, conveying all that needed to be said. She mouthed 'It's Okay' to him as Bell shook his head before lowering his head again in shame.
Elora walked over to him before getting onto her knees, putting one of her hands on one of his bloodied fists.
"Apollyon…" She muttered, not getting a reaction before looking around her, noticing the distance between everyone before leaning in.
"Bell…" She whispered as quietly as possible as the man in question peeked up only enough to see her at the top of his vision.
"It's okay… this is all happening because of Freya…" She explained as Bell tilted his head.
"Her charm… it affected you differently because of… you know what" He seemed to accept that before sighing.
"B-but I… I still" He turned to Adrienne, the twins now having arrived, inspecting the scene and trying to get what happened out of their sister "I hurt her… She… god… the fear in her eyes" Elora seemed to understand as she winced before letting go, only to wrap her arms around Bell.
"It's okay… everyone makes mistakes… just… learn from them" Bell sobbed at that returning the hug as they sat there for a minute.
"What's going on here!?" Everyone looked up at the voice anyone would recognize at this point.
"Finn…" Bell whispered as the prum looked at him in question.
"Apollyon, what's going on" At the lack of an answer, Finn looked to the limp wolf, eyes widening in recognition before rapidly turning around.
"Riveria!" The elf instantly reacted, running forward and chanting before Elora looked behind her.
"Aralaya… could you help?" She asked loud enough for the half elf to hear. She looked up and turned to the wolf before nodding, making her way over.
"Apollyon… I want an explanation as to why one of my executive members is bloody and beaten on the ground, with you seemingly being the one responsible" Finn asked, a hint of anger in his voice.
"Blood insult" Bell muttered as Finn blinked and as did Elora.
"What?" Finn asked as Elora mirrored the words with her eyes.
"He said that our kids were weak… and they got it from you" He pointed lightly at Elora who's eyes widened before turning to the wolf in a glare.
"Oh… I apologize on his behalf then" Finn said before his demeanor turned towards the stern.
"But I still have to reprimand you. The state he's in is too close to death for comfort" Finn's words made Bell huff.
"Finn… do you know how deep a blood insult goes?" He asked as the prum blinked.
"He not only insulted my kids, but my wife. He insulted my family, calling them weaklings and in a way, not deserving of where they are now. A blood insult extends not only to themselves but their family as well, which in this case…" He trailed off as Finn picked up on where this was going.
"I see… so, is there a way to reach an impasse?" The prumm asked as Bell nodded.
"Yes… A wargame with no real stakes… or more accurately, a duel to prove the blood insult wrong" Bell said, his emotions getting the better of him as Elora stared at him in shock.
"Apollyon, that's not necessary is i-"
"Yes it is" He snapped at her sharply as she shut up, the conversation from earlier with the others flashing in her mind again.
'Weather the storm'
Finn seemed hesitant before finally sighing.
"Alright… guess we have no choice if this means this much to you. I'll go inform the guild and Ganesha Familia" He said as Bell nodded. Finn turned back and walked up to where Riveria and Gareth was alongside Aralaya.
Bete's wounds had mostly healed as he looked Finn in the eyes.
"Bete… you nearly cost us our alliance with Apollyon today" He said in a disappointed voice as the werewolf turned to the side.
"Thankfully, we smoothed it over, but there was a consequence" At that, Riveria turned to him in confusion.
"What consequence?" She asked as everyone listened intently.
"A wargame. He's challenged us to a wargame in the form of a duel. No real stakes, only so that he could settle the blood feud Bete here issued" Riveria sighed as Aralaya's ears drooped slightly as she continued her efforts at healing.
"I'll head to the guild to inform them before doing the same with Ganesha familia. I want to get this done as fast as possible… It'll happen tomorrow" Finn stood up and began walking away, leaving the area and the people who heard the news, to spread it as they saw fit.
=Archian Manor=
The entire manor was silent as Bell sat on the couch, hands squeezed together and covering his face as he seethed in anger, pointing it in one direction.
"Bell…" Bache whispered as everyone stared at him in worry.
"I'm going to kill her" Bell hissed as everyone shuddered at the implications. It had been clear the charm's effects had slowly been decreasing in intensity as his soul managed to fight back against the charm and make it less pronounced.
Thinking more clearly, he had justifiably felt incredibly furious at Freya and what she had caused. In fact, even his challenge due to 'blood feuds' had been something influenced by his emotions but…
Now it can't be undone. The announcement has been sent out and it's become official. The duel will take place tomorrow, and Bell was not happy about it.
"Bell… you know you can't. It'd have too much of an adverse effect on the stability in Orario" Elora reasoned as Bell sighed.
"Oh I know just the kind of effect she has on Orario… and quite frankly, if we lose the Loki familia as an ally and a source of information for the future because she tried to charm me…" He trailed off as Erebus sighed from his side.
"Look, I understand your anger and the Loki familia in a way, does too. The puppy did after all call your bloodline weak and insulted not only your wife, but your kids. Even without the side effects from the charm, you'd still have been justifiably mad" Bell nodded before sighing.
"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that I went too far. For crying out loud, I almost killed him… then I…" He turned to Adrienne who looked at him for a second before smiling.
"It's okay dad, I understand and I don't blame you" He could still see part of that fear behind her eyes, but it was clear it wasn't as strong as before. He supposed he could live with that. At least for now.
"Thank you… but…" He leaned forward and picked up the official notice for the 'Wargame' as they called it and the ones that were going to duel.
"They had to choose her" Bell sighed out before looking up, meeting the eyes of his family.
"Ais Wallenstein. Shouldn't be too difficult for you dad" Jannor commented as Bell smiled.
"True, just don't play around too much. We want this to be over as fast as possible" Bache advised as Bell nodded at her in agreement.
"Well… guess there is nothing to do, but prepare" He stood up, as everyone smiled at him, ready to help him in any way they can "but first" He started before bowing towards everyone as they blinked.
"Even if you don't think so, I have to apologize for my behaviour. Especially towards you, Elora and Adrienne" He looked up towards the two as they put their hands up with awkward smiles.
"It's alright, Honey. We understand where you were coming from"
"Dad, like I said, I don't blame you. You didn't know it was me and definitely didn't mean it" She said but it didn't placate him.
"Even if that is so, I still have to apologize. What I did was downright disgusting behavior and you deserved none of it" The two seemed to put their hands down before looking at each other. They nodded at each other before looking back, smiling.
"Well, then apology accepted" Elora smiled lightly as Adrienne nodded. Bell returned them before his eyes scanned everyone.
"Well then, let's get some training in. Better begin the warm up sooner than later" He smiled before turning, heading towards the underground training arena as everyone followed him, feeling good that things were getting back to normal. Hopefully, things would stay that way.
Little did they know, that everything, was about to change
That's chapter 41 everyone! This one was a little quicker to get out, thankfully. But as it's such a short time since the last time, I'll just get to the reviews without any hustle.
Zasun:Alright, Author(s), I need a canon reason as to why Riveria would EVER explain what a masochist and sadist are to Aiz XD And why would SHE even know! I demand a flashback in chapter 41 as to how this possibly came up.
I hope Bell overheard Aiz in her reminiscing with Fiona about him. I'm totally on board with him being against Finn and the higher ups though. Training was solid!
The Freya meeting went well too. Lots of info there that actually helps out. He knows where to look and who he has to get through to get to the goddess. Great goal setting for future chapters! And the threat was amazing too! There was a small typo. I believe "three level 7s and a level 6" Ottar was level 8, yes?
Psych came though for the win in the end and I feel dumb for not even considering that's what would make him immune. I thought he might have mystery'd something up, but maybe it didn't completely negate the charm it seems? I can't imagine as ass slap from Bell would feel good. Like at all. I fear for the asses of Orario.
Author: What a review! I'll begin by thanking you for informing me about the typo. It should be fixed by the time this chapter is up.
Who's to say that Bell didn't overhear Ais and Fiona, but I'll leave it up for viewer interpretation.
Psych on the other hand is a good defence, but it isn't perfect as showed in this chapter. A short but powerful side effect of burst emotions is quite a hefty price to pay as it can cause a lot of complications, which as you know by now, it did.
Now… as for the Masochist and Sadist thing… hehe, let's just say that a certain werewolf said a few choice words about her behavior towards her goal which she didn't know what they meant. Poor Riveria having to deal with Bete's mistakes.
I also just wanted to say, thanks for the review, it gave me a good laugh as well as a smile :)
Ladis11:Ow. She just awoke the monster within him, the one he'd been restraining since the prison (i forgot the name. Kotaera ? Kornauss ? Ko something... I think). And next chapter, he's going to see hestia's knife again, hopefully he won't do something he'd regret later
Author: Well… about the Hestia Knife. They are still fighting hand to hand so he hasn't really noticed it yet. But don't worry, he will. Psst, the prisons name was 'Kauhea Forbande' ;)
That's it for the reviews, and as usual, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and to see you all next time!