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.
48: Perpetrations and Veiled Secrets
=Orario's Eastern Wall=
"Gah!" Fiona guwaffed as she collapsed on her knees as Bell vaulted over her making Ais stop as her attack all of a sudden was heading straight towards the vulnerable amazoness.
Not wasting a second, Bell dashed around and began sending a flurry of punches and kicks as the sword princess tried with all her might to keep up as she deflected the blows she could.
'She's getting better' Bell thought as a smile graced his lips. She was actually able to precisely use his momentum to guide it to her side instead of following one's natural instinct to completely block it all at once.
He could tell there was still quite the way to go until the golden haired swordswoman would be ready to move onto swordsmanship and even then, he would have to go over the basics first and see how much she has truly mastered them.
Switching his movements up, Bell let up his assault for a split second, causing Ais to retaliate with her own attack only for it to get locked between his arm in a hold before swiftly flipping her into the air, tumbling without any semblance of control.
The next second, she was on the ground with a knee on her throat beside Fiona who had met a similar fate during Ais' time in the air.
"Dead" Bell said as his usual word for the end of the match. Getting up from Ais' throat and letting go of Fiona's head, he smiled at the two before nodding.
"Well, you both held on better than before. Fiona, you've definitely improved in not only reaction time but also in the telegraphing department. Your movements were swift, efficient and well telegraphed but you should rely more on dodging than just deflecting, same for you Ais. In some situations, the only way out is to get away from it instead of finding a chance at a counterattack" He began listing off as he turned to Ais at the end.
"You've also improved a lot since we started Ais. In the beginning, your stance was off balance and odd. Your defense was quite simple and easy to break but now, you kept up with my attacks quite well. What you should work on is to be better at reading your opponents intent, even if it isn't an attack instead of blindly going on whenever you see an opening" Ais nodded as she thought it over.
"Hey, Bell. Isn't this the last training session before your expedition?" Fiona asked as Bell nodded.
"Yes. I'll be leaving tomorrow and I don't really want to use too much energy in the morning. Just keep refining what I've taught you and you'll still improve" Bell answered, sensing where she was going with this before throwing her a potato snack from a bag he picked up that was prepared beforehand.
"Thanks"
"Bell… How deep are you going?" Ais asked in curiosity as she leaned down, grabbing two snacks before sitting down with a light thud.
"Well, our mission is the 50th floor so…" Bell said, not really wanting to reveal their true goal.
"Hm" Ais nodded as she took a small adorable bite from her snack before humming out a small moan at the taste. Bell closed his eyes and took a deep breath while Fiona snickered while looking at him with a teasing smile.
'Why does she have to be so innocent…?' he thought in exasperation as he peeked at the girl before his red eye locked onto Fiona's expression.
Sending her the best 'What?' expression he could, she only turned to the side while covering her face while her body shook.
"Bell… Do you think you all are ready to go that far? What's your record in the dungeon?" Before answering, Bell stared at her. Silently wondering why she was looking at him like that… with so much concern.
Mentally shaking his thoughts away before answering. "Well, my personal record right now is the 27th floor, but before coming back… the 24th floor" Bell answered before giving her a look "And what do you mean ready? I know practically everything I need to know of the dungeon from the upper floors all the way to the deep floors" Ais nodded at him, figuring that he had read up on all the information. Fiona, on the other hand, noticed the missing information in his sentence.
'Deep floors? How deep? That could mean the 29th or the 60th floor. All of it is the same classification' Her frown did not go unnoticed as Bell spared her a glance before turning his eyes back to Ais.
"Anyway, Fiona. Last time, you promised to tell me some embarrassing stories for me on Ais… Now's a good time" Ais' eyes widened as she choked on the snack she was eating before turning to him in a panic, her face completely scarlett from the amount of dirt the girl had on her.
The golden eyes shifted towards Fiona with pleading eyes only to be met with an expression that she could only describe as 'pure evil'. There was no other description whatsoever in her mind.
"Well… a few years back, I found her reading a book on birds" Fiona began as Ais' panic became more and more frantic as she reached for the amazoness' mouth, only to be stopped by Bell who looked at her with a smirk.
"Birds huh? Didn't know she was interested in that" Bell looked at Ais before turning to Fiona with a smile as the girl returned it in full.
"Oh, it's getting better. Apparently, there was some guy that had commented on mom and dad being 'Love Birds' and Ais didn't know what that meant…" Bell's eyes widened as he began to get an idea in his head on the direction this story was going.
"Well, the book's title was 'Bird Mating habits for bird lovers' and the first words on the back were 'Love Birds'. Fast forward a day or so and we have Ais trying to convince Tione to do a and I quote 'Colorful Feathery dance while shaking'" Fiona was snickering at the end of it while Bell burst out laughing, falling onto his back before rolling around.
Ais' face was beet red in embarrassment, having had the expression 'Love Birds' explained to her in full and what the book was actually meant for. To say she had been mortified was beyond an understatement. It had been an inside joke in the familia for an entire year.
"Yo- You're kid-haha- kidding me right!?" Bell bellowed out as she tried in vaid to get control on his laughter.
"I wish I was but mom gave her hell after it! The familia laughed at it for the remainder of the year! Mom and Auntie Tiona being the leading teasers for it" That only made Bell's laugh run wild even more, taking a few minutes to calm down.
At the end of it, Ais was practically sulking in a corner while giving the two the stink eye.
"Can't imagine Lefiya was happy"
"Oh no, she was trying to get us to stop but I could see that she also found it hilarious" Both Fiona and Bell were grinning at each other before looking at Ais who only hardened her scornful stare to the best of her ability with a pout, only making it look cute.
Bell rolled his eyes with a smile and a snort before leaning back and thinking upon what Ais had asked. In truth, he knew a lot more about the dungeon than he should. Alfia and Zald hadn't withheld the information they had on the dungeon from Erebus. In fact, they told him outright when he had asked.
Thanks to that, he had passed on that information to him and Elora. Bache and the kids were still researching to the 50th floor so there was no need for them to know anything deeper at the moment.
He couldn't help but think that it would be a good idea to find out all that the Guild knows of the dungeon and compare it to what the Loki familia knows…
"Ais" Bell called out as the girl turned to her, still giving him her best stink eye with a pout "I'm curious, how deep have you gone?" He asked as the blonde woman blinked, her expression melting away as she looked down in thought.
"The deepest I've gone… the Glacier Territory" She answered as Bell sighed.
"Ais… that could mean anywhere between the 59th floor to the 69th" Ais blinked as she looked at him in confusion.
"69th? How do you know? The record is the 63rd floor which we set. We don't know how far the zone goes" Fiona seemed to look at Bell with suspicious eyes as Bell mentally chastised himself at his own recklessness.
"Ehm… well, it's kind of a guess"
"Guess? Why would you guess that specifically?" Fiona jumped into the conversation, leaning forward as she gulped down the last of her snack.
"Well, because it's a nice number to end on. A good floor number of ten" He tried to play it off as Ais seemed to buy it and Fiona backed down. Bell noted that she seemed to not really buy it at all and cursed himself again. She would definitely tell Finn about this… and couldn't help but see the resemblance between him and his daughter at this moment. Both were uncannily good at picking up on tiny details.
"Well, enough of that. It's evening already and my family's probably wondering where I am. It was a good training session, keep up the good work" Bell smiled as he stood up, chowing down half a potato snack before throwing the bag with the remaining Jagamarukun in it to Ais who happily took it and dug in.
"Alright, see you in a few weeks then… hopefully" Fiona's demeanor changed completely from her calculatingly suspicious one towards a solemn and worried one.
Smiling, she put a hand on her head without thinking, petting her lightly as he chuckled.
"Yeah, I'll do my best. Though as you know, I can't promise anything when the dungeon is involved" Everyone present understood what he meant. The unpredictability of the dungeon was something you learnt was a characteristic of the dungeon early, or you wouldn't survive long not understanding that.
"Alright, I'll head out. Remember to work on what I've taught you. I look forward to seeing how far you've come once I return" He flashed them a smile before walking down the steps, noticing their waves in his peripherals before they disappeared from sight.
'Alright, guess I should head for the guild and see how much they know… I should have done this earlier'
=The Guild, 15 minutes later=
Bell walked into the familiar reception area, scanning his surroundings for a certain adviser he used to have.
Not finding his trusted half elf ex-advisor, he turned towards Misha as they locked eyes. Throwing a smile he walked up to the counter before nodding at her.
"Misha, it's been quite a while hasn't it?" He opened up the conversation casually as the human girl blinked before nodding.
"Ehm, yes it has… um… Apollyon-san" Her entire posture and way of talking spoke volumes of how she felt. Bell almost felt bad for her if he wasn't somewhat exasperated with it. Why was everyone treating him as if he would attack anyone that so much as looked at him wrong?
Scratch that… probably because of his aura. God, he's got to ask Erebus if there is a way to contain it.
"Misha, you don't have to be nervous. I won't harm anyone as I don't want to do that. It's just not who I am… well, most of the time unless they really piss me off" Bell added the last part as the pink haired girl seemed somewhat placated.
"Okay ehm, Bell… What can I help you with?" That was better.
"I would like to request information upon the dungeon. As deep as possible for my Familia's upcoming expedition" Bell requested. In all honesty, they didn't really need it as Alfia and Zald during their planning of the attack on Orario had shared information about the dungeon with Erebus.
Wasn't really that surprising in all honesty that it happened with how that god seems to love finding out new things and questioning the world on top of throwing philosophical questions here and there.
What Bell really wanted to do was see how much the Guild knows about the dungeon. According to Erebus, Zeus and Hera familia never truly were honest with their exploits in the dungeon, having reached a far deeper floor than what was recorded, making the truly uncharted floors everything below floor 85.
"Of course. Let's see here… your familia is set for an expedition to the 50th floor, collecting multiple drop items on the way and bringing back fifteen Cadmus drops from the safe zone. Is that correct?" she asked as Bell nodded.
"Okay, let me go back and bring it" Bell nodded as he frowned. Bring it? Was she going to give him a huge book or something?
After a minute or so, she came back around the corner, and to his surprise, held a small handheld book and handed it to him.
"This is a copy of the Zeus and Hera familia's dungeon records. As your familia classifies as an S-class exploration type, we are allowed to supply you with one of our copies. Everything you need to know is in there" Bell frowned hard as he seemed to stare holes into the little leatherbound book.
Nodding, he turned around and left, never letting his eyes leave the book as his bewilderment intensified.
'Record? Didn't Erebus say that Zald specifically said their records were burnt when the Loki and Freya familia forced them out due to some spiteful members wanting to screw the new top familias over?' Bell thought as he unclipped the leather strap and opened it to the last page, only for his frown to deepen.
"The 59th floor and onwards is known as the glacier zone…" Bell muttered as he read it. That's literally where it ended before a clear addition after the copy was made judging by the change of color in the ink. Was this really what these records say…
As he got closer and closer to the Archian Manor, his mind began piecing it together one by one.
'My intuition tells me that the records were burned but… if I think on it logically, such an important part of the familia wouldn't only be recorded in a single place… perhaps the guild got their hands on a copy and copied it again? But why doesn't-' Bell thought as he came to a realization.
Was it a precaution? They didn't want adventurers to know what existed down there, in that hell, so they didn't even record it in the books?
'So that's how it is' Bell mused as he closed it, truly letting his understanding upon how uninformed the guild and Loki Familia really was on the deeper floors.
Sighing, he turned the corner towards his home. It took no more than a minute or so until he reached the gates to the manor and pushed them open and walked inside with a thoughtful expression.
"Ah, Bell! Welcome home!" Fina's voice entered his ears, snapping him out of his thoughts as he turned to her.
"Thank's Fina. Hm? What happened to your wrist?" Bell asked as he noticed the fresh bandage.
"Oh, just an accident. I was cleaning the kitchen when I accidentally knocked over a knife. It kind of cut my wrist but Aralaya healed it though I shouldn't strain it too much. The bandage helps with that" She lightly waved her arm showing the bandage in full.
Nodding Bell gave her a smile before putting a hand on her unmoving arm gently.
"Alright, just… be careful next time. I don't like seeing you hurt" A light blush spread on her face as she grinned at him and nodded.
"Of course… Now, is there anything I can do for you?" Bell shook his head with a chuckle at that.
"No, but thank you anyway. You've already done more than enough. How about you take the rest of the day off. The manor can survive that" Bell suggested as Fina seemed to want to protest before sighing, her shoulders slumping slightly as a clear indication of her fatigue taking hold.
"Alright… and thank you" She smiled lightly at him as Bell led her into the manor, Fina heading towards the bath while Bell headed to the training room, planning on experimenting with his abilities.
As he walked down towards the underground training area, he just hoped that this time, he wouldn't accidentally explode.
=Twilight Manor=
"Captain, Captain!" Finn turned towards the voice of his wife while putting down his fork, raising an eyebrow as she sat down across from him with her own plate of food.
"Yes, Tione?" He smiled at her as she returned it before leaning forward.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go into the dungeon tomorrow? I kind of need to pay off my debt. My blade chipped again and I'm ten million valis short.
"Ah, tomorrow?" He asked as he thought about it while Tione nodded. Riveria, Gareth and Loki smiled at the interaction from the side as Tiona and Lefiya approached them.
"It seems like a good idea. Our funds are fine as of the moment, but it could use some additions in case of emergency"
"Eh? Are you going into the dungeon? I wanna go with! Come on! Come on!" Tiona practically jumped as she leaned on Tione's shoulder after setting down her plate of Food, Lefiya smiling, amused at the antics of the amazoness.
"The more the merrier I suppose. Gareth, Riveria. What about you?" Gareth shrugged with a smile before nodding while Riveria simply gave a smile as a response. That was as good as a yes for any of them.
"Oh! Is Ais-san coming as well? If so, I'd like to accompany you" Lefiya asked as they all sent her a teasing smile.
"We haven't asked her as of the moment, but she should be returning from her training with Cranel-san soon… Well, speak of the devil, here she comes" Finn smiled as Ais and Fiona walked into the room, both clearly battered and bruised from their session.
"Ais! Over here!" Tiona waves energetically as the sword-princess locks her eyes with the bundle of energy, nodding as she begins walking towards them.
"Good Afternoon" Ais greeted with a smile as Fiona smiled at the group.
"It seems Cranel-san hasn't let up on his training, has he?" Riveria commented as Ais and Fiona shook their heads at the same time.
"No. He's quite rough but a good teacher" Ais' words intrigued Finn, making the blonde prum lean forward with a clear question in his eyes.
"Is that so? What has he taught you so far?" He asked as both Fiona and Ais looked at each other.
"Well… it's quite weird, but it clearly works. He's only been training our foundation and hand to hand skills" Ais' answer seemed to peek the twin amazoness' attention as they looked at him.
"Hand to hand? Doesn't he use a sword?" They asked as Fiona shrugged.
"Kind of, from what he says, he uses a variety of weapons but also trains in hand to hand just in case he gets disarmed. He's actually really good" Fiona answered this time as the twins looked at one another before turning back to the two girls.
"Oh, bring me with you tomorrow. I wanna fight him!" Tiona grinned as she smashed her fist together with her hand.
"Hey, Idiot, he's going on an expedition then. Are you planning on following without an invite?"
"Ehhhh!? Really!? Bummer!" Tiona deflated at the notion while Fiona took the opportunity.
"Speaking of his expedition… dad" Everyone's eyes turned to her "Bell-san said something strange earlier" That piqued all of their interests as Finn hummed and nodded.
"We were talking about how deep we've gone and Ais mentioned she's reached the Glacier Territory… well… he mentioned that the floors reach between the 59th to 60th… not form the 59th and beyond" Both Riveria's and Finn's eyes widened at the information while Ais looked at her confused.
"Ehm… Fiona, didn't Bell say that it was a guess?" She asked as she shook her head.
"That doesn't make sense, Auntie Ais. The only way he'd know about the Glacier Territory is if he read the Zeus and Hera Familia records which clearly state that the 59th floor and onwards is the Glacier Territory and if so, he would have said that instead of mentioning the 69th floor" Blinking, Ais saw the logic in her words. Copies of that book was the only information available for familia's that go deeper than the 50th floor, which are all classified as S-class familia's by either floor achievement or overall power.
"Hmm… that does sound odd. Do you think he knows more?" He asked, trusting his daughter's judgment as Fiona thought for a second.
"Well… yes. He never mentioned how much he knows, only saying he knows about the deep floors, almost as if he was hiding the length of his knowledge" Nodding, Finn sighed.
"That's troubling… and if your hunch is true, then that begs another question. How would he know this, if the dungeon record in history is held by us at the 63rd floor" The table went quiet as they failed to come up with a plausible explanation.
"Anyway, thank you Fiona. I'll look into it but unfortunately we can't really force anything. At best, we can only hope that he slips up. Our current relationship is fragile and held on by a string. Any wrong move could sever it completely which we do not want" His daughter nodded as Finn took a bite from his food, the table erupting in more chatter after a minute as Tiona swiftly changed the subject.
Finn, watching on, couldn't help but think of how many mysteries seemed to float around Bell Cranel. He just hoped that one day, none of them would remain.
=Orario, Western Mainstreet=
Elora smiled lightly as she walked home. She had decided to spend the time everyone was out by going to the shopping district. It wasn't really often she went out to actually browse what was available due to her having lived in a village before, constantly having duties and their full schedule since arriving in Orario.
It had been refreshing and her smile widened as she held up the two matching necklaces of two hearts, each being one side of the other. It was kind of cliche to be honest, but she liked it. It was also relatively cheap for being made from Orichalcum.
'Hmm… should I give the left heart or the right one to Bell? Choice, choices' She wondered as she hummed.
Apart from that purchase, there hadn't really been anything much that had piqued her interest with most of the wares being tailored towards civilians and their needs and desires instead of an adventurer. To her, most of that was just unnecessary everyday necessities that Fina seemed to be taking care of filling up on.
Taking another glance at the necklaces, her smile fell as her head wandered to the reason she had been drawn to them in the first place. She knew she had been very affectionate since his skill had reactivated, almost overbearingly so in her opinion but… Bell in all honesty didn't seem to mind.
It eased her a lot, knowing that Bell wasn't put off by her behavior, making her lips grow back into a smile. That still doesn't mean she liked the sword princess, but there wasn't really much she could do. She may be Bell's wife, but she had no right telling him who he couldn't interact with just like he couldn't tell her the same.
Turning the corner to the manor, she couldn't contain the smile, knowing he would be home by now. As she entered through the gates then the manor, she expected to either be greeted by Fina, Erebus or an empty hall.
What she didn't expect was a loud boom to shake the building as she wobbled slightly from the subsequent shaking.
"WHAT WAS THAT!?" She heard Erebus scream out from the lounge alongside a cry from a baby accompanied by a shriek.
'Oh Bell, what have you done now?' She asked herself as she launched towards the training room. The moment she opened the door, her eyes stared at the scene in front of her, blinking as she asked herself:
What the hell?
In front of the door, Bell was on his back, legs thrown over his own head backwards with his arm smoking.
"E-ah, Elora! Eh I- I can- You know, explain!" He said as if he didn't even know what he was supposed to say.
Putting her hands on her hips, she raised an eyebrow at him, filled with mirth.
"Oh, do tell. What could have caused this? The center of the room is charred and you've somehow ended up in… that position" She delayed the last part, mentally tallying if she should call it revealing or not.
"Well… I was experimenting, you know… Just trying out different combinations" He tried to explain as Elora listened on.
"And what, one of them just exploded?" She asked as he nodded.
"Yes! I was trying to use dual charge while containing Legacy's rebirth… it kind of went bad" Elora wanted to facepalm.
"Bell… that magic may say catalyst magic, but when active, it's identical to an enhancement type, one that can't be channeled into one point! No wonder it exploded! It would be like enhancing the entire magic at once with your skill" Bell blinked as he got up on his feet before closing his eyes in realization.
"Oh… Yeah, that's not good with such a volatile element…" Elora nodded in a 'you're smarter than this' look.
"Yes, the only elements stable enough to do that would be Wind, water and earth… scratch that, wind would just go out of control. Just the last two" Bell nodded before sighing.
"Well, Let's just say that it happened and leave it at that?" He asked, giving her his hand with a smirk, obviously having become amused.
"Fat chance of that! The entirety of Orario will find out about your little accident by the time the sun sets" She laughed as the two began laughing at their own antics.
"Oh dear, however may I appease you to save me?" He mocked while Elora imitated a thinking stance.
"I don't know… So many choices"
"Oh, I have a bad feeling of where this is going" The sly smirk on his mouth made her stomach commit to a summersault as her heart skipped a beat.
"Oh, is that so? Guess you'll just have to allow me to…" She trailed off as she leaned in, arms snaking around his shoulders as he locked her into a grip, not allowing her to escape. Not like she wanted to anyway.
"Their noses touched as their breaths mingled, eyes taking in all the tiny details in one another.
Leaning in slightly more, their lips ghosted over one another before she finally pushed onwards, her heart desiring what was happening completl-
"Ahem! " Both of their heads snapped to the side where the stairs were, coming face to face with Jannor who was looking positively embarrassed while looking down at the ground.
"Ah, Jannor" Elora got out as his red eyes looked up at her.
"Ehm, Mom. Could I use the training room?" He asked as the both adults looked at each other before eyeing the room and the charred ground.
"Well…" She muttered as Bell cringed.
"If you're fine with ending up colored black by the end of it…" Bell reasoned as the boy frowned before pushing past the two as they let go of another. He gawked at the sight of the room in front of him.
"What the fuck did you do dad!" He called out in surprise while Bell closed his eyes, silently praying for his son's survival.
"JANNOR! What have I said about your language!" Elora scolded as the boy instantly shrank into himself while five snickers and a confused gurgle could be heard behind them.
Looking back, Bell spotted everyone else, having checked out the noise or come home trying in vain to contain their laughter at Jannor's expense.
Looking back at his son, he couldn't help but smile too as Elora hovered over him like a hawk while spewing out scolding words.
Shaking his head, he turned around and walked towards the stairs while looking at everyone and nodding.
"I'll go start dinner, so if Elora asks, that's where I am" They nodded before he left, contemplating what he should make.
By the time Bell started on dinner, everyone had ended up training together after cleaning up after Bell since he was making food for them.
The results from the training weren't really that hard to guess. It ended up with a 1v1 between Elora and Bache where in the end, Bache had come out on top due to her superior status. While their skills differ in their choice of weapon, they were on similar level of skill in comparison, leading to Bache's victory.
Dinner was served after that and before long, they all went to sleep, wanting to get well rested for the expedition that they were about to venture into.
=Morning=
Bell mumbled slightly as his consciousness slowly returned to the waking world, his body spooning Elora's as he hugged her from behind, a content smile on both of their faces.
Blinking, he took the moment to take in the view of his wife's peacefully happy expression, one he never tired of seeing, no matter how long or how many times he stared at it.
It was one of the precious things he found unquestionably beautiful to the point that there was no way he would think otherwise, no matter what.
After a moment, he figured it would be better to begin getting ready. From the way the sun leaked into the window, he'd say it was around five in the morning, two hours before everyone was supposed to gather outside the manor's entrance.
Carefully detaching his arms from Elora's hips and untangling their legs, he got out of the bed, silently apologizing to Elora since she hated it when she didn't wake up with him next to her.
Probably a consequence from the long times they went apart which lingered in her subconscious.
He opened his drawer, switching his boxers before putting on black pants and a long sleeved shirt.
He didn't really have to bother with his hair as he had cut it regularly since coming to Orario and actually found it nice having a fade on the side while keeping the top somewhat long yet maintained.
It looked good, at least according to his wife when she first saw the style. She had practically passed out in front of him from a nosebleed.
"Mhmm… Bell?" The rabbit turned towards the voice of his wife, smiling as her amber ones blinked, trying to make sense of her surroundings.
"Morning" He greeted with a warm smile as the elf yawned before throwing the bed sheets to the side, stretching as Bell's eyes fell down for a moment before going back to her eyes.
"Morning honey… what time is it?"
"A little over five in the morning" He informed her as she nodded before getting onto her feet and walking over to her own drawers before unclipping her bra and getting out of her panties.
Being married for 15 years removed basically any second thoughts on changing clothes or being naked in each other's presence. It was like second nature to them.
"So, are we going through with this? Seeing how deep we can go?" He asked as Elora turned to him while putting on fresh undergarments.
"Yeah, I mean, why not? Question is… how far can we bring the kids?" She asked as Bell hummed.
"I mean, I think no further than the Glacier Territory. The Salamander wool should protect them enough to survive and not freeze to death and with them having maxed their stats every level, should at least be able to injure the enemies down there" Bell reasoned as Elora nodded.
"Yeah, but we should still keep a good eye on them. You never know with the dungeon" Bell nodded at her in agreement as she finished putting on her clothes and armor.
Bell merley reached out and touched him before it connected to him and covered him.
"God, why can't you do that with my Armor?" She asked as Bell winked at her, opening the door and walking outside.
"Now where would the fun be in that?" He asked, walking away as Elora scoffed, shaking her head before following him down the hall.
"Oh come on! Don't you want me better protected?" She complained while laughing.
"Well, when you put it like that, I'll put it on note. Perhaps one day you will have it" He threw a smile over his shoulder before walking down the stairs.
"On note!? You're impossible…" She sighed out at the end as Bell laughed.
"You two seem to be in high spirits" Both their eyes turned to face the voice.
Erebus smiled at them as he cracked his neck slightly.
"Well, look who finally decided it's time to participate with breakfast! Is it the end of the world?" Bell jokes, voice dripping with sarcasm as Erebus shrugged.
"Oh, you don't know? This is what 'The Promised Time' entailed. Me finally eating breakfast with everyone" Elora groaned, cringing as her ears flopped due to the heavy sarcasm being thrown between the two.
"Oh, my bad. Was the sarcasm too much for you?" Elora just ignored Erebus' jab as she walked into the dining room, smiling when she saw everyone already sitting down while eating.
"Elora, Bell. Nice of you to join us" Bache greeted as she motioned towards the two empty chairs while Erebus walked around the table and plopped down next to Adrienne.
"You're up early" Bell commented as Aralaya shrugged.
"We're just excited. I mean, we are going deep into the dungeon today and seeing things we never have before" She smiled at her father who couldn't help but return it.
"True. Just don't let that excitement get the better of you" He added the last part with clear mirth in his voice as the half elf girl rolled her eyes while two snickers sounded from the other kids.
"How about you, Fina? Why are you up so early?" The chienthrope smiled at Bell's question before answering.
"Well, I wanted to spend some time with you all before you leave… After all it might be…" Elora's and Bell's eyes softened as they realized where her train of thought was going.
"Hey, It's alright. We will do our best to come back" The elven woman tried to lighten the mood successfully as the chienthrope took a deep breath before nodding.
"Of course. I'll make sure the mansion is clean and fresh for when you return then" Everyone nodded at that with smiles.
"Just don't overdo it. Anyway, Erebus. Once we are done here, let's all get one last status update before we leave" Bell suggested as the god nodded, understanding why he wanted that.
"That's probably for the better. Being prepared makes survival that much easier in the dungeon" Elora commented as she dug into a piece of bacon.
"Speaking of preparation. Thanks for the pouche's dad. They will really help" Adrienne grinned as Bell just wifted his hand.
"Don't mention it. My Mystery went up a rank because of it so I'm not really complaining" He played it off as Erebus nodded in confirmation.
The conversation continued on as they continued with their breakfast before finishing half an hour later. Getting their statuses updated went by quick with everyone only glancing over their status before finally getting everything ready and heading out, outside the gates of the manor, waiting for the four that would accompany them on the expedition.
Erebus stood by the manor's doorway, leaning on it while looking at Bell's status sheet. Nothing much had really happened, only having a magic actually increase. Taking one last glance, Erebus skimmed through the sheet before looking back up at his familia outside the gates.
Name: Bell Cranel
Lv 7
Status:
{STR} S-915
{VIT} S-956
{DEX} S-947
{AGI} SS-1000
{MAG} A-880 - A-890
Magic:
Firebolt: Swift strike magic. Casts a bolt of fire and electricity on command that explodes on impact upon contacting 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: 107%)
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
Blade Master: When the user uses a bladed weapon, increases proficiency of the weapon and technique that is currently used
Dragon's Bane: Dramatically increases all basic abilities when fighting draconic type monsters. (+1000 to all stats)
Development Abilities:
Luck: A
Abnormal Resistance: B
Psych: C
Intuition: C
Strong Body: F
Mystery: G
His skill had once again doubled in effectiveness. If it keeps going in this trend… Well, Erebus knew only one thing. Bell would have to choose and as of the moment, the leading party is definitely, without a doubt, Elora.
He just hoped that he wouldn't end up regretting the decision he would make in the end.
=7AM=
"Bell!" The group turned towards the familia voice of the red haired smith walking towards them, grinning while waving with Lili beside him.
"Good morning" Bell greeted as Adrienne peeked out from behind Bell at the Prum.
"Hey, Lili, do you guys have everything you need?" She asked as the prum looked at the girl, giving her a smile before nodding.
"Lili think's so. We have salamander wool and Undine cloth. Lili is also carrying Welf's equipment. Bell-sama, have you gone over my suggestion for party formation?" Lili asked at the end as Bell nodded.
"Yes, and everyone had memorized it. It's a good strategy, and effective too when I really think about it. As we all talked about, Lili will be the commander of the party as we delve towards the 50th floor" The prum nodded alongside everyone else at his statement.
"Hey! Good morning everyone!" Mikoto and Haruhime jogged up to them all as everyone stood there, now gathered.
"Good morning. Now that you all are here, I have something for you" Bell smiled as he unstrapped four pouches from his waist before handing one to each of them.
"A pouch? Oh, you shouldn't have Bell" Welf joked while giving him a quirked eyebrow with a silent question.
"They are magical items, enchanted with my Mystery Ability. They can carry all the magic stones and drop items you find with ease and won't weigh you down. You'd have trouble putting larger objects in there though" Lili blinked as she held the pouch in her hands, eyes practically gleaming at the implications.
"Bell-sama! That's amazing! We won't have to destroy leftover magic stones we wouldn't be able to carry! Lili can't imagine how much money this will make us!" Everyone sweatdropped at the girl while Welf, Mikoto and Haruhime strapped it to their own waists while giving a thankful nod towards Bell.
"Yeah, that's the point. That and it makes it easier for everyone to carry stuff if necessary. Anyhow, do you think we are all ready?" Bell asked as he looked towards his friends, knowing his family was more than ready.
"Of course!"
"Whenever you are Bell-dono"
"Lili is ready!"
"Mhm, Mhm!" They all answered while Haruhime nodded.
"Alright then… then I guess we can say that our first expedition has officially begun" Bell announced with a grin before beginning the march towards the dungeon while everyone followed behind.
Little did they know that this expedition would truly show not only the horror of the dungeon, but also its cruelty.
That's chapter 48! Not really as long as usual, just a hundred words short of 7k words. The intermission between arc's is officially over and the Expedition has begun. I kind of feel bad with the hell we've planned for them all.
I won't say any more though so you'll just have to be patient and find out in your own time!
I also wanted to announce that I've published the story on ArchiveofOurOwn as well for those that prefer that site over (The view counter is broken…). Just wanted to let you all know :)
Now, without further ado, let's get into the reviews!
Zasun:Yay Fina! I'm glad she's finding a place to call home again. I can't imagine how much a level boost would help someone with raising a child haha.
I found it a little odd all the hostess girls were weary and hostile, as thought they hadn't murdered a bunch of people for lesser reasons (which you did acknowledge). Bell saying he trusted Ryuu more than anyone besides family melted my heart and I want more of that please. She will forever be best girl in my heart.
Also.. you know. Be kinda cool if Freya and Bell became friends..
Author: Fina definitely had found a new home, but she had underlying fears of what will happen to not only Bell and everyone, but also her and her child if they kick the bucket.
As for Ryuu, yeah, it's obvious he trusts her more than practically anyone else. She never betrayed him and at the time in the Xenos Arc where this story began, had helped him as much as Ais had. She's a precious person to him and he wants her to know that.
Now, for Freya. I won't say, so you'll just have to wait and see.
Mairsarmy321: Amazing chapter as always. Liked the interaction you made with Mia and Bell about the true nature of Freya. It doesn't really excuse all the things she did but it does give a nice understanding.
Also i have a question regarding the Xenos, well the Xenos we know Wiene and her group, most specifically Asterius. How strong would he be in the present? He had many years to train and I'm sure even with Bell gone, he would still continue to grow stronger.
I can already imagine the moment he learns Bell came back, he will bust out of Orario and challenge his rival to a glorious fight. It would be amazing to see the two fight again :D :D
Author: Well, We have plans for Asterius so I won't spoil it. He's obviously stronger than he was in the Xenos arc but as with most things, you'll just have to wait and see.
Whitewolf: Could you update the summary if possible maybe to go along with how far bell has come also great chapter
Author: We are going to update the summary, but unfortunately, it won't go along with where Bell is at the moment. That would be like spoiling the story for new readers. Instead, we want to make it more accurate to the story as well as more appealing.
PINHEADLARRY0122:Oh shit! Kita is finally making her move, and that means her meeting with Bell. The question is though if the meeting is going to be hostile with her slowly losing her sanity and everything. Bell is arguably the only person who can put up a fight against her. If Bell is as strong as Alfia and Zald in their prime like you said he is he might be able to win with help but that's a big if. I say all this but that might not even happen until the Expedition is over with. Although since her last words this chapter were her saying she would go after her mother aka the dungeon is very possible she enters Orario while the Expedition is still ongoing and it would be up to the rest of orario to deal with the second strongest monster ever. It would be really cool to see but at the same time bell would inevitably have to be the one to deal with her as I don't see a way for orario to beat her without him especially with her army. It could help with alleviating some of the hatred directed at Bell since he would end up being the hero of orario at last. Then again though this is all just speculation as it's very possible she retains her sanity and just requests to meet with Bell in hopes of getting his help with killing the OEBD. Although if I'm being honest with you guys writing this I feel you'll choose the first option as way back before whenever someone asked about orario you guys would respond by saying that arc would be absolutely crazy. Also I feel like that whole deal with Albert and his party saving Kita is foreshadowing for Bell and whoever saves her should she lose control.
P.S. Sorry for rambling. I just kinda wrote what came to mind.
Author: Holy mother of wall of texts but I'm not complaining. Yes, Kita is out for her creator… but I will give a slight hint. Her creator is definitely not what you think it is, but she definitely has been planning and preparing not only for the promised time, but also to fight against her so-called mother.
P.S. Don't worry about rambling, It's alright… just next time. Paragraph a little? Just looking at the wall of text makes me dizzy.
That's it! As usual, I hope to see you all next time!