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.
49: New Sights
=Dungeon, Floor 27, 13 Hours Later=
"Bell-sama! Welf needs assistance!"
Bell snapped the neck of a Merman before snapping his head to the side, noticing the concentration of monsters pinning Welf behind a crystal.
On the wall, multiple Light Quartz were bombarding Welf's location with its beams while he fended off mermen and a few Blue Crabs.
Bell was about to launch towards him before his eyes caught a swarm of monsters looking similar to a swallow bird flying straight towards Aralaya in the rear guard, originating from behind the giant waterfall.
'Crap… Iguazu' He cursed before shooting forward at high speeds, pulling out one of his Storm Crystals, he threw it straight at the wall where the Light Quartz were situated before shooting off towards his daughter.
Aralaya's eyes only saw a blur before Bell appeared behind her and cut down the swarm of Iguazu with his dual daggers before shooting off again, kicking and obliterating any monsters in his path.
At the same time, the storm crystal he threw blew apart the group of Light Quartz, freeing Welf to move and reposition himself.
The general formation of the party was built around Bell at its center with Elora and Bache in the front left and right to create a nearly impenetrable frontline.
Mikoto stayed in the rearguard, protecting Lili and Haruhime while Aralaya was between Bell and Lili.
Welf and Jannor were on the front line, between Bache and Elora.
The entire strategy was to create a powerful offense while simultaneously imitating an impenetrable defense by utilizing Bell's hit and run fighting style to efficiently take down any monsters that may slip between any cracks that open during the battle.
It wasn't perfect by any means due to them being somewhat undermanned with not having Daphne and Cassandra as they originally wanted, but it was definitely effective.
"-Lend me your power, and remove those before me! Earth Strike!" Aralaya finished her chant as the Merman Leader that had stayed behind became surprised from the ground suddenly shooting up, launch it towards Bache, who took the opportunity to flip into the air, using the momentum of the movement with the force of her kick to completely obliterate it's head into a mush of blood and gray matter.
"Welf! Jannor! Herd them into the left side corner to our front!" Lili called out the command as the two instantly responded and committed to the action the prum ordered. With the leader dead, the rest of the mermen of course fell into disarray, allowing the two to herd them into a singular location with relative ease with the monsters either running into one another or panicking.
"Through the protection of the forest, power flows through me. May the call of the wind show us the way." Elora shot forward towards Jannor and Welf while Bache handled any stragglers around that were too far away to fall into the herd.
"It cuts down the enemies, who stand before me" Jumping over Welf, she aimed her sword at the group as it glowed with the magic that was about to be released.
"Secatus Veti!" The wind magic cut through the air, completely decimating the mermen as they screamed and smoke enveloped the area due to the large scale magic.
"Seems there aren't any more monsters. I'd call that a success" Bell commented as he looked around.
"Hell yeah. Also, Thanks for the save Bell. I was in a pickle there" Bell smiled and nodded at Welf as everyone regrouped but still on guard.
"Alright everyone, we are coming up on the entrance to the 28th floor. Let's hurry down there so we can regroup and resupply" Lili ordered as everyone nodded and began moving forward, paying attention at all times while Mikoto constantly used her skill to detect any monsters that may try to surprise attack them.
"Oy, Bell. I have to say. Actually getting to see you now, you're stupidly strong" Welf started a conversation as Bell and his entire family chuckled.
"It's kind of an unspoken rule for all of us that Dad, no matter what, will be the strongest one in the party. I mean, his skill is broken" Aralaya chimed in as she got a nod from Welf.
"Lili agrees. Bell's skill is unfair. It's something that shouldn't exist" Her voice was somehow a mix between mirthful and serious.
"Huh? What is that supposed to mean? Also, can we not talk about my skill here? There may be some adventurers around that may overhear!" Bell complained as the area became quiet before they all burst out laughing.
"What!?"
"Bell, are you serious? I don't even know why you hide your skill anymore. You're already strong enough that no one can use it against you. I mean, there are no counters once its effect has been used" Bache said, walking up to him and lightly hitting him in the shoulder.
"What was that for?" He said as he returned the gesture with a shoulder tap that made the amazoness lose her balance slightly and break out into laughter.
Elora looked on in amusement at the two before the entrance to the 28th appeared before them.
Walking down the stairway to the next floor wasn't really anything new, in fact, it made the party less tense as no monsters spawned in the stairways and the floor below was a safety point.
"Hey, Elora. How many kills do you have?" Bache asked as the elf's head lowered slightly with a smirk on her face.
"Fifty six" She said as Bache groaned.
"Oh, man! I only have forty eight!"
"Am I the only one lost here? What's going on?" Welf asked as the rest of the old gang shrugged their shoulders before shaking their heads.
"Whenever Elora and Bache went into the forest of the damned, they always had a competition on who would kill the most monsters. Whoever loses owes the other fifty thousand valis" Welf blinked at the sum before looking at the two.
"I have tried to make them stop since it makes no sense. Whoever loses always ends up asking me for fifty thousand instead before paying the winner.
Lili practically looked at Bell with a disappointed expression while Welf facepalmed.
"Then why do you give it to them?" the smith asked as Adrienne piped in.
"Welf, do you not know how rich dad is?" She asked as the old gang blinked.
"Bell-sama is rich?" Haruhime asked while tilting her head.
"Yep, dad is loaded"
"Lili is curious… how much?" She asked as the staircase ended, leading into the large open area of the last floor in the water capital, devoid of monsters.
Bell and his family all looked at one another before said albino turned to Lili with a smirk.
"One point five billion Valis" Welf's jaw practically dislodged from its joints as it hit the ground, Mikoto's eyes were wider than dinner plates as her arms went slack.
Haruhime simply passed out from the shock while Lili had stars in her eyes, drooling as fantasies began forming in her head.
"One point five billion valis!" Welf screamed "Holy shit Bell, you're richer than Loki and Freya familia combined!" He laughed as Bell frowned.
'Combined? Well, their overall public finance was open information. Private funds were not. Just looking at public funds he would definitely be richer than both' He thought as he shrugged, frown receding.
"Becoming a national hero to two nations does have its benefits. Anyway, Lili, we should prepare for the next zone" Bell changed his demeanor, snapping the brunette out of her fantasies before nodding.
"Of course, Bell-sama. If anyone has sustained any wounds, Aralaya or Haruhime will heal you. Everyone else apart from Welf will set up the tents" Lili asked as Jannor walked to Aralaya and Adrienne sat down next to Haruhime, both having received cuts from the battle.
"Anvil-head, can you repair our equipment in the meantime?" She asked as she put her large back down on a rock, opening it up so that Welf can grab what he needs.
Everyone left their used weapons with him as he began working and repairing any chipping or damages that may have occurred on the way down. At the same time, Lili brought out the four tents they had brought along.
Normally, Expeditions would stop at the end of the 24th floor before the water capital to rest, due to it being closer and was more abundant with resources like food.
The reason they had opted to go for a camp on the 28th instead was that it wasted less time, shortened the amount of marching needed in one go to reach the 50th floor and finally, had more water than the 28th floor, a resource heavily needed between floor 43 and 49 due to the environment being devoid of the resource entirely.
Bell forced the specialized spiked into the rocky ground with his finger, securing the tent he would share with Elora in place.
The arrangements for the tents were as follows.
Bell and Elora in one tent.
Welf and Jannor in one.
Adrienne, Aralaya and Bache in one.
And finally, Lili, Mikoto and Haruhime in the last one. Originally, they had planned for Cassandra and Daphne, having them share with Elora while Bell joined Welf and Jannor.
With them gone, it allowed Bell to stay with his wife, which he was happy for, but also sad since the two couldn't come along.
Heck, even Ouka and Chigusa couldn't come, but it was what it was.
"Bell, how's the tent coming along?" Elora walked up to him as Bell smiled over his shoulder.
"Just finished actually. Is Haruhime making the food?" His answer came with a nod from the elf as Bell smiled at her.
"That's good. I'm a little hungry at the moment so something to eat sounds nice"
"Definitely. So far, I'd say the expedition has gone well. One of the last ones I went on with my old familia… went quite awry compared to this. It was the same day the Astraea Familia was massacred and I swear. I heard the dungeon scream that day" She frowned as the memory surfaced in her mind, Bell returning it as her words sank in.
"Screamed? This is the first time you've told this to me" He asked as Elora nodded.
"Yes, I don't really like talking about it. We were actually returning from our expedition at the time, and were on the 30th floor. By the time we reached the 27th floor, it was covered in blood. Whatever happened, had slaughtered every living thing there, including everyone in the Rudra and Astraea Familia present excluding the Gale Wind and a single Rudra Familia member present" Bell nodded, feeling saddened at Ryuu's loss.
"But here's the strangest part" Bell perked up at her words, curiosity sparking as he paid full attention to her next words "The floor was completely decimated, as if the walls had collapsed, the ground between floors, cracking or having caved in entirely. The Water Capital was completely unrecognizable. Even the great fall had been destroyed, the water sprouting in every direction" Bell's eyes widened at the image forming in his head. That kind of destruction was unheard of. He had never seen anything that could even come close whatsoever.
"Strange, It's almost as if-"
"Oy, Bell. Can you come here for a second?" Bell stopped his train of thought before smiling at Elora who nodded at him.
"Go, I'll set up our sleeping bags" Humming in affirmation, he turned and headed towards Welf who was staring at his sword in wonder.
"Is something wrong Welf?" He asked as the smith turned to him.
"No, it's just… What is this sword made of? I've never seen anything like it" He asked as Bell let out an 'Ah' as he understood why Welf wanted him to come. He hadn't really told anyone outside his family about the Spirit Steel.
"Oh, just some Spirit Steel" Bell answered nonchalantly as Welf blinked.
"Huh… HUH!?" Welf's jaw, for the second time dropped "Spirit Steel!? Isn't that stuff a lost material? How did you get your hands on this stuff?" Welf asked as he seemed to look over the swords in a new light.
"Well… let's just say that I had quite the journey for it" Welf shrugged at the response before squinting.
"You know, if you want, I could try to reforge parts of the swords. Whoever made these is pretty good but there are still some mistakes that I can fix" Welf suggested as Bell nodded.
"That'd be great. I'm not really a smith, but I kind of picked up a few things over time"
"Wait, you made this? Man, we really have to sit down to talk about all the things you've done over the years. At this rate, you'll give me a heart attack" Chuckling, Bell sat down next to Welf.
"Well, that'd take a long time. It was 15 years after all"
"Oh, I'm counting on it, especially when it involves you" Welf smirked as Bell scoffed.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Well rolled his eyes at Bell's response, not believing for a second Bell hasn't heard this before.
"Oh come on, there is no way you haven't noticed. You have a habit of finding yourself at the center of history wherever you go. You come to Orario and level up faster than anyone has any right to, you achieve multiple incredible feats and achievements. Then you leave and the Far East stabilizes, the general safety of the world increases due to your so called 'Mercenary work' and you save Rakia from the vikings. I can keep going if you want" Welf threw him an incredulous stare before turning back to the sword, heating up the makeshift forge before beginning the heating process for the sword.
"Well… when you put it like that, I guess you have a point… but thinking about everything that's happened, we've really come far, haven't we?" Bell asked as Welf looked at him, before turning in the direction the albino's eyes were gazing in.
The twins were helping Adrienne put up a tent with Bache sitting on a tall rock, keeping watch for any monsters that may have wandered onto the floor. Elora was helping Haruhime with the food while Mikoto was cleaning some blood off her clothes.
"Yeah… Hey, now that I think of it, half of this party's last name is Cranel… doesn't that make this party technically 'The Cranel Party'?" Bell snorted at Welf's grimace. The smith turned to Bell before his face morphed into a teasing smirk.
"You really are a rabbit, aren't you?"
…
…
"What?"
The two stared at one another before Welf burst out laughing, falling back on the ground, almost knocking Bell's sword out of the forge alongside with him.
"Hahaha, I mean- You have three kids! Most humans only have one or at most, two kids but you? Three!" Unable to continue as his laughing fit intensified, Bell stared, red in the face as the implications of what Welf had just said set in.
"What?! Come on! If anything, it's Elora that's the crazy one! I swear, she's insatiable!" Bell complained as Welf seemed to freeze. Blinking, Bell tilted his head at the sudden change in behavior before he felt a chill run down his spine.
"Oh, Honey!" Slowly turning his head to the side, he saw that everyone in the camp was staring at him with wide eyes, teasing smiles or in Elora's case, the most horrifying visage he could think of.
The face of a wife that was out for blood.
'Shit… I should not have screamed that' Bell cursed himself as he put his hands up in surrender.
"H-hey, Honey. I didn't mean anything bad with that, you know. It's just that Welf was te-"
"I. Don't. Care" She said before swiftly grabbing the hem of his shirt and dragging him off towards their tent while Bache was clutching her stomach on the rock she was sitting, thoroughly enjoying the show.
'God, have mercy on my soul…' Bell prayed to himself as the tent closed with a loud zip. The only things that could be heard from inside was either Elora's scolding voice or… well, questionable voices were one word for it.
It was this day that Aralaya decided to get her dad to soundproof his tent for any future expeditions, an action that would save many, many sleepless hours.
=4 hours later, Midnight=
Bell woke up in the night, knowing and trusting that his body had woken at the time he was supposed to change shifts with Welf.
They had set up the watches so that there was a change in shifts every two hours, and Bell was chosen as the third shift with Bache being the first.
He tried to untangle Elora's vice grip upon his waist only for it to tighten in protest and mumbling to reverberate into his back.
He almost chuckled at her sleeping antics before more forcefully pulling her arms off of him. The moment he was up, Elora grunted, seemingly despairing at the loss of warmth and security as she curled up into herself.
He felt slightly bad, but it was needed. Welf also wanted to sleep and it would be unfair if he ignored that just so that he could spend more time in bed with his wife.
Looking back, his smile softened considerably as he noted that he had been surprised by her actions earlier. He had originally thought that the dungeon was an obvious 'No sex zone'.
In all honesty, he should start being less surprised. At this point, he wondered if she had a kink for being mad that turns her on because he swears, every time she gets mad or irritated at him, she always ends up kissing him fiercely and unyieldingly until he caves to her desires.
It's honestly intoxicating.
Tearing his eyes away from his now frowning, curled up ball of a wife, he exited the tent and headed towards the rocky vantage point that was setup as a makeshift watchtower.
He almost let out a chuckle when he heard the loud snoring from Bache before he saw Welf, slightly leaning against the larger rock while overlooking the area where the monsters would come from if they wandered down here.
Even if the camp wasn't situated against a cliff or some strategic spot, thanks to the floor being a safe zone, they already knew that the monsters could only come from one direction since that's where the floor entrances were.
"Hey, Welf. Are you dozing off or something?" Bell asked with amusement evident in his tone. The smith cracked one eye open and smiled at Bell.
"Ah, no. Was just relaxing… or at least as close as I can get to it with that noise" He chuckled as he pointed with his thumb towards the tent where Bache slept in with Adrienne and Aralaya.
"Yeah, trust me. Biggest mistake I made one time was promising Adrienne to sleep with her alongside Bache. Both me and Adrienne promised each other to never do that ever again" Bell shivered at the memory. Her snoring was bizarre. Some days it was like the worst chorus of all time had arrived with the intent of disturbing anyone and everyone's sleep.
"God, I can imagine. Speaking of Bache, about earlier…" Bell frowned, trying to place where he was going with this.
"What about earlier?"
"You know, about you being a rabbit? I mean, it was kind of insensitive, but I am actually curious. How come you have a child with an amazoness without being married? That doesn't really seem like… you know, you?" Welf's question made Bell sigh before nodding, understanding why he was asking such a question.
"Welf, before I answer that, can you promise me something?" he asked as the smith nodded.
"Of course man. Anything"
"You cannot hold what I am going to say against Bache. She feels horrible about it and regrets it wholeheartedly" nodding, Welf waited for where this was going.
"To get started, after escaping Kauhea Forbande, I wasn't really in a good place, especially with being considered an escapee. I wanted somewhere safe to be, somewhere I wouldn't be scared to live, but I can't really find such a place when I was being hunted. So after getting some valis and equipment, me and Erebus headed to Telskyura" Welf whistled quietly but impressed at the words.
"Telskyura you say? Damn, that is one place I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole" Bell shrugged at Welf's comment before continuing.
"Yeah, well I spent a month there, earning money in a fighting arena while training my basic abilities and eventually magic. This caught the attention of Bache as there had never really been a man that had done what I have… so like most amazonian woman, she went out to scout me"
"Oh…" Welf instantly knew what he meant. How amazoness act and behave is common knowledge. Heck, there probably isn't a single parent of a boy that don't tell their child tales of how amazoness abduct and practically rape their targets until they are pregnant. Sometimes, this even happens in the middle of the day and in view of many though rare.
"Yeah, well, they kidnapped a girl I met on the way to Telskyura and killed her aunt before threatening to kill her if I didn't agree to a bet" Welf's face contorted into a frown, imagining if that had been his child.
"I had to fight Bache and her sister and if I lose… I have to impregnate them. If I win, I don't and get Adrienne back"
"Adrienne?" Welf asked, clearly confused now.
"Oh, sorry. We named our daughter after her… she… died" Bell's face fell as his mind wandered back to the girl. When was the last time he visited them? Two years ago?
'Maybe I should visit them… Asuka would really love it if I do…' He wondered before Welf snapped him out of it.
"Shit, I'm sorry man. I hope she's in a better place" The redhead tried to comfort him as Bell nodded, smiling at him.
"Yeah, she definitely is up in Tenkai. Anyway, as you can guess, I lost and had to impregnate them… losing my virginity to two horny amazoness? What a hero I turned out to be…" Bell sighed as Welf hit him on his chest, hard enough to slightly feel it.
"Don't say that. The entire situation was out of your control, and overall shitty. No one, hero or not can be blamed for what happened but the asses that caused it" Welf said as Bell stared at him for a moment before breaking out into a smile and nodding.
"Yeah… well, apart from Bache. She did make up for it, even got close to Adrienne, you know, not my daughter" Bell clarified as Welf rolled his eyes with a nodd.
"Yeah, I can guess. I won't hold it against her since she doesn't seem like that now. I mean, I can tell from the way that she looks at you that she cares for you deeply" Welf said, as Bell nodded.
"Yeah, she loves me. I know, she's told me before" Welf blinked before nodding.
"Oh, well can't really have been fun for her watching you marry someone else" He commented quietly, not really meaning to say it out loud.
"Eh, she said that she didn't really care. This was after me and Elora were married for a while. Ever since then, it's hard not to see the signs and I kind of love her too, in my own way. More in the family sense than romantically, heck, Elora has even pushed us to interact more and get closer" Bell chuckled at the end as Welf raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Oh! That's nice. Anyway, I'm kinda tired so I'll head off to sleep. Good luck not boring yourself out here" Welf smiled, walking off while Bell shook his head, waving in return.
Left alone, he jumped up on the rock and sat down, preparing himself for the next two hours of watch duty.
=Morning=
The moment the clock had hit 5AM, the camp had been lit alight with activity with everyone scrambling around to get something to eat and packing up. The dungeon was no place to daddle, even in a safety zone, especially one beyond the 18th floor.
It took only an hour for everyone to finish before they headed off towards the entrance to the 29th floor and the end of the Water Capital.
"Kids, are you ready?" Elora asked as she stared down the passageway towards the area the kids had never seen, an area more fit for a level 3 and 4 than the Water Capital.
""We are"" Aralaya and Jannor said at the same time, smirking as Adrienne shivered while looking at the two with a creeped out expression.
The girl quickly recovered before turning towards her aunt.
"Count on it"
Everyone turned away from her and headed down the staircase. Bell was honestly very excited since he had never been down here before, heck, he hadn't even read up on it before his banishment so he had no idea it existed.
As the staircase ended, a landscape that reminded Bell of the Tree Labyrinth spread out in front of all of them, only… thicker.
"The Jungle Paradise…" Bell whispered as he looked around, his enhanced vision able to pick up on slight movements behind the thick vegetation in the distance.
"Everyone, into defensive formation!" Lili called out as they all moved into their designated places. They moved forward like this, sticking relatively close to one another while keeping some distance just in case.
This was due to a certain monster on these floors that would make any regular person weep in the cruelty of the dungeon. A monster called Babycerasaurus, aptly nicknamed Vomva, which is amazonian for Bomber. It's literally a monster that as implied, blows up.
That… unfortunately isn't why it's cruel… It's because the monster prays on mortal's natural parental instincts towards the young, being reminiscent of a newly hatched reptile with adorable features, with an eggshell stuck to its underside to protect the highly explosive material, similar to an inferno stone in its contents.
The entire group's attention shifted to the right as a screech was heard in the distance alongside pained wailing from another monster.
Another characteristic about these floors are its abnormal rate of monsters attacking monsters and eating their magic stones. In fact, a nickname the 'Jungle Paradise' has… is the capital of abnormality.
After all, the majority of irregular and abnormal monsters originate from these floors.
Normally, a group would tredge extremely carefully on these floors due to monsters like the Bloody Venus and Bloody Pitcher that act like traps. Thanks to Mikoto's skill though, she was basically their ace in the hole, not only able to detect monsters such as the mentioned Vomva trying to sneak up on them as well as trap type monsters.
"Mikoto, how's the situation looking?" Bell asked as the girl looked at him before closing her eyes, focusing her senses completely on her skill.
"We just passed a Bloody Venus on our left" She mentioned as Bell's eyes glanced over, noticing the strange protrusions from its sharp fangs sticking up slightly between the grass.
"Man, that skill of yours is really useful!" Adrienne smiled as she looked back at the rearguard.
"You give me too much credit"
"No, really! This is my first time down here and I'd probably have stepped into a trap already if it weren't for you" Adrienne praised as Jannor looked back at her, frowning.
"But we haven't even been here for more than ten minutes" He commented as Aralaya snorted.
"What's that supposed to mean!"
"Well… take it how you like" He said while shrugging, turning back up front as they continued through the thick vegetation.
The passageway was actually really wide but the vegetation in general truly made it feel like you were being squeezed in even with a party of this size.
Bell couldn't even imagine how the Loki Familia felt, bringing down over fifty people at once. It must be chaos.
"Hey, guys, isn't that bloodroot?" Bache asked from the front, having stopped and pointed to the side.
Bell turned and stared at the red petals of the flower, analyzing the details. Tilting his head, he walked past Bache and got to his knees and positioned his fingers around the base of the plant.
"Well, there is only one way to find out" He said before carefully pulling the plant up, wiggling it slightly when one side became heavier than the other.
After a moment, the ground caved in from the pressure exerted, allowing Bell to pull it up.
"Would you look at that, it is Bloodroot!" Bell smiled as the crimson root was revealed to them and the iron like smell invaded their noses.
"Great! How many did we need again?" Welf asked as Lili seemed to mentally check.
"Lili believes we need five in total" Bell nodded before handing it over to the prum who happily put it down into her backpack.
"If I remember correctly, that root is worth around two to three million valis. Its healing properties can be used to make a high potion" Elora commented as Lili nodded.
"You're right, Bloodroot is very popular among medicinal familias so they are worth a lot"
"Hmm… I'm guessing we could bargain for a reasonable price with Dian Cecht familia for it?" Bell asked as Lili nodded. Normally, he would have gone with Miach, but even now, their familia doesn't have the funds to purchase an item of the quality Bloodroot has.
"Alright, let's keep going. We still have 7 more floors to go" Elora called out as everyone agreed, continuing onwards.
The next hour or so wasn't really that interesting with only a stray monster here and there attacking them. Lili called it a stroke of luck as usually these floors were unforgiving in how relentlessly they usually are against adventurers.
It wasn't until they reached the 32nd floor that things started taking a turn for the worse with their luck.
It was the first large group of monsters they came across. As they were moving through the vegetation, Jannor had been unfortunate enough to come face to face with an Infant Bloodsaurus… and behind it was tow more of them alongside multiple other species, clearly having been in the middle of a brawl.
"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The infant bloodsaurus screeched loudly before rapidly moving in to bite Jannor in half.
Without thinking, the boy used his staff and positioned it so that when it clamped down its teeth, it blocked it from closing.
"Jannor!" Elora screamed as she shot from her side, kicking it away from him alongside his staff.
"God, this vegetation!" Bache cursed as a dinosaur type monster similar looking to a raptor jumped in front of her, trying to use its sharp talon to blind her.
Bache grabbed ahold of its hindleg and swung it behind her, hitting the ground hard enough to crack it before swiftly crushing it's chest area with her foot, killing it.
"Jannor-sama! Retreat and protect Aralaya-sama! Aralaya-sama, begin chanting! Bell-sama! Elora-sama! Bache-sama! Hold them off! Anvil-head! Block their path with your sword!" Lili exploded out with commands as Jannor jumped back, ignoring the loss of his weapon and switching to hand to hand.
Bell instantly sprung to action, a sword in one hand and a knife in the other, shooting off around the field and slaughtering anything in his path as Elora and Bache held the monsters off.
"Mikoto! How many enemies?"
"One second" The easterner requested as she counted the amount from the map projection in her mind from her skill.
"Fifty six monsters! More on the way!" She answered as Lili cursed.
"Not good… Bell-sama! Can you use your skill!?" Lili asked as Bell looked at her, with a confused expression as he kicked an Infant bloodsaurus in the head, snapping it before it turned to dust.
"Which one!?" He asked as Lili blinked, remembering he had multiple ones.
"Argonaut!" He nodded, sheathing his knife before charging his now empty left hand.
"Mikoto! Which directions are enemy reinforcements arriving from?"
"To the west!".
"Fire Strike!" Aralaya's magic shot past Bell, incinerating multiple monsters as another one flew into the flames from the side, courtesy of Bache.
"Oy! Send some monsters to me!" Welf asked as Bache nodded, quickly grabbing and throwing confused monsters in his direction, only for the fire from his magic sword to incinerate them.
"Bell-dono! Here they come!" Mikoto called out as Bell turned in the direction she had specified.
Behind the bushes, a large group of monsters that heard the commotion was running straight at them.
He aimed his free hand up, his sword underneath, pointing forward to help him aim.
"Elora, get out of the way!" The elf instantly listened, leaping to the side, straight into a Black Ptera, slashing it in half with her shortsword.
Activating scourge at full power, Bell decided to just end it.
"FIREBOLT!" The torrent of flame completely consumed the passageway leading west blowing apart anything in its path while everyone else held onto something for dear life in order to not get pulled along with the force of the attack.
After a moment, the flames died down and the monsters completely incinerated.
"Hyaa!" Bache ripped off a Beatraptor's arm, shoving it into its chest as its own claws broke its magic stone.
"Damn…" Welf breathed out as he looked up at the devastation from Bell's attack. He had seen an argonaut firebolt before but this… this was completely different. The entire forest up to the end of the passage was nothing but charred remains with some drop items and magic stones somehow surviving the blast.
"Oh… maybe that was a little overkill?" Bell asked sheepishly as Elora deadpanned at him.
"You don't say?" She commented sarcastically before shaking her head.
"Amazing Bell-sama! Lili will collect the drop items!" Lili said enthusiastically as she began moving through the battlefield and began her plundering.
"Oy, Jannor! Here!" Welf called out as the boy caught what the redhead threw at him.
"Ah, my staff!" He said with a smile, grabbing it before securing it on his back..
"It was laying on the ground over there. Next time, don't lose it will ya?" Welf grinned as Jannor laughed awkwardly.
It took a few minutes, but eventually, Lili finished up before they continued onwards, intent to make it as far as possible before night would fall once again.
=Einhente=
"M'Lady, you called for me!" Milia said as her feathered wings were put lightly behind her back in a respectful manner to her best friend in her six decades of life.
"Ah, Milia. Yes… I wanted your input on something" Kita mentioned as the harpy tilted her head, her wings falling back to her side before smiling.
"Of course, M'Lady. What troubles you?" Kita graced her with a small smile as she didn't really know how to approach the heavy topic.
"Well… yesterday I had… another episode" Kita's words sparked a frown on Milia's face as the tips of her wings closed up as if it was a fist, clenching it hard.
"Those damn abominational bastards. They dare continue to try to sway you? Grrrr… I swear I'll tear all five of them apart!" She growled with barley withheld fury as she glared out the window towards the south where the dungeon lies.
"I understand your anger, I'm livid as well, but there is no point in cursing it when they are out of our reach. Remember what our preparations were for? The war is coming, and Oldurin will soon make his move. Once he does and the world falls into chaos once again, the path towards them will be open" Kita reasoned as Milia looked at her before taking a deep breath, calming herself.
"You're right, M'Lady… According to your predictions? How long until the war truly strikes?" The room fell into silence as Kita looked out the window.
"Hmm… when indeed. My prediction wasn't accurate enough to pinpoint the exact year but… soon enough that there isn't even a decade left… perhaps… even within the year if the world is unlucky" She said as Milia nodded.
"And we will be ready Milady, I swear it"
"Yes, now I wanted to ask your input about a conundrum. Mother is… well, immortal is one word for it. It's something I've tried to solve but always come up short… how would we kill them, when they are unkillable?" She asked as Milia hummed, putting her left wing on her chin.
"That is quite the conundrum… What are your possible solutions?" She asked as Kita closed her eyes before thinking.
"Well, first I had thought to trap them… but that would be futile. They are already trapped. The second option is to free them so that they return to where they came… the world of the gods, Tenkai" Milia nodded, but knowing how robust their… prison was. It was a difficult task even if Einhente, humanity and Oldurin worked together, the task would still be a tall order.
"Was that all?" Milia asked as Kita shook her head.
"No… There is one more but you won't like it" She said as the harpy frowned before tilting her head.
"Why wouldn't I like it?"
"Because it includes a certain human" At that, Milia's frown hardened as she clicked her tongue.
"You're right… I don't like it… and don't understand it. How could he help?" She asked as the vouivre raised one eyebrow.
"Did you not see the spear on his back?" She asked as the harpy blinked, trying to recall the memory but failing.
"I had only heard about it in legend, but it was said to be a weapon created by the goddess of the hunt. An arrow that takes the form similar to a spear" She began explaining.
"A spear built to be able to kill even the gods" Milia's eyes widened.
"Wait… you're saying that he could-"
"Yes, my friend. He's probably the only one in Gekai that can truly end this long plight that has spanned for over 3000 years… after all, the only way to do so truly… is to kill the unkillable. To end their reign"
=Dungeon, 3 days later=
The past three days had been one battle after another with them setting camp wherever they could effectively keep watch when needed.
The Jungle paradise had been passed fairly quickly due to their party being very well equipped to handle the dangers of that floor. Soloing normally is so ill advised it borders on it being law on those floors but due to Mikoto's skill, the competence of their commander and overwhelming strength of two level 7's, it hadn't really been that much of a hassle.
They also managed to collect some edible fruits and seasonings from the region so that was also a plus.
It wasn't until they reached the region of The White palace that things had taken a darker turn. With its natural duskiness, everyone had been on edge due to how monsters can blend into the environment so perfectly.
For some reason too, Bell had felt off on the floors, almost as if things had been different, this floor would have been a source of grief and nightmares for him.
That didn't stop him from simply shrugging the feeling off and focusing on the tasks at hand like keeping an eye out for any danger.
Even with Mikoto's skill, the floors were very dangerous due to it only telling the general location but without visual confirmation, it's hard to fight.
The monster that had them most on edge was without question the peluda. A dark-green dragon monster that clings to walls and fires off small needles with poison strong enough to threaten even first class adventurers with abnormal resistance at less than G.
Of course, due to everyone having G in abnormal resistance at the very least, it wasn't really the poison's deadliness that made them alert, it was that G was the bare minimum to not die. Getting hit would still guarantee the poison to weaken the victim significantly, making them practically useless in battle. The only one in the party that didn't have to worry was Bell with his abnormal resistance ability at B.
With it being so high, he could take a few hits without much effect though even he would be affected by too much.
The floors had also been a little difficult due to the monsters being extremely aggressive but thankfully Udaeus hadn't respawned since the last expedition that passed it. It was a close call though due to the estimated respawn time being only a day away.
They would definitely have to fight it on the way back.
They had stayed on the 38th floor and set up camp due to it being a safety point and not much happened apart from a stray spartoi wandering on the floor being taken down by Elora during her shift.
The 39th to their current location, the end of the 47th floor had been much the same. A volcanic region with ash like monsters bombarding them at every turn. The kids had been extra thankful in this region towards their father getting them the Undine cloth and salamander wool clothing he had gotten for them.
Especially the twins as their' level 3 status meant that without it, the heat from these floors would have been annoying as it's always a passive factor.
The monsters such as Flame Rock's and Lava Hounds didn't help as Flame rock's flaming orb at its center exudes heat that made the temperature worse and the Lava Hound breathing powerful blood red flames. It's basically a suped up Hellhound but with pitch blad fur and it's tail and legs burning with the very same flames.
Gargoyles were pretty much just a nuisance but it wasn't until they started encountering Lava Golem's that it had gotten much worse. Its defense being Ridiculously high meaning that only Bache, Elora and Bell could effectively damage it. The worst part is that they couldn't leave this region until they collected five of their drop items, Lava Golem Gem.
They were also rare so in a single day, they encountered only 4 and had to set up camp on the floor.
It had been the most exposed camp they had on their way down, but it had to be done. Thankfully, the next day, they managed to get the last drop items before continuing onwards to where they were at now with the 48th floor being part of the two floor region known as the Moytura.
If the previous region was said to bombard them, this region was a non stop assault.
The enemies felt endless with waves after waves of different monsters like Sand Worms, Desert Lizards, Fomoire and a few more constantly attacking them.
These floors spawn a lot of monsters and they tend to stick together in a very large group. They aren't aggressive against each other and instead wander around until their prey encounters them.
In other words, any encounter in this region is basically guaranteed to be a large-scale battle.
It had taken them over an entire day to make it from the lava region to the end of the 48th where they were at now, staring down the staircase towards the biggest hurdle yet.
"Well… are you ready?" Bell asked as he looked at Lili, knowing she would have to lead them into this battle.
"Lili doesn't know. She has never fought Balor, but she knows from the information Lili gathered that Balor is a long range combat monster" She said as Elora nodded.
"Yes, my old captain told me once that they once accompanied the Zeus familia to combat Balor. It uses the monsters to keep us in place while bombarding us with powerful beams of red light. I haven't experienced it, but it sounds rough" Elora said
"Yeah, that does not sound fun" Welf snorted as Lili turned to Bell.
"Bell-sama… I believe you will be our ace in this battle. I want you to ignore the regular monsters and focus on Balor. If you keep it occupied, Lili and the rest can handle the monsters" She said as Bell nodded.
"Got it. I'll handle Balor while you all handle the monsters"
"Right… guess now's as good as any time" Bache shrugged as she began walking down the passage, everyone following behind.
It didn't take long for them to enter the floor of the massive mesa-like environment stretching across their eyes, larger than all of Orario by a considerable margin.
The first few minutes were the easy part… but once the grumple followed by a high pitched shriek was heard, all hell broke loose.
A flash over the horizon followed by a bright red light zoomed towards them. Without thinking, Bell instantly jumped forward and took the blow head on, knowing none of them were ready for it.
The area became engulfed in a large explosion and flames as Bell was launched back behind the group as they all coughed.
His sight was shaking as his arm ached from the blast. He probably dislodged a bone from the force.
Regaining his bearing's Bell, looked up and squinted across the horizon. Through the smoke from the blast, a large creature with one large red eyes that seemed to pierce the horizon stared back at them… a large horde of monsters heading towards them.
"Everyone! Into defensive formation!" Lili called out as they did so while Bell continued staring back at the monsters, glaring at it as he prepared himself for the battle.
'So this is Balor… The piercing eye? A monster not even Ottar at level 7 could defeat alone' Bell thought as he knew this would be tough.
Everyone got into positions… before shooting off towards their next battle.
That's chapter 49! The beginning of the expedition is going well so far, but who knows how long that will last?
The beginning of the arc is a little fast paced, but things will slow down as stuff happens so don't worry if you are.
Now, I won't daddle so let's get into the reviews!
Kneeoil:The hell you've planned for them? I swear if someone stubs their toe, I might have to drop this story.
Author: Ehm… no comment.
Mattn10076:I don't think Bell has to worry about making a choice between Aiz and Elora you evil evil writers. Loving the chapters as usual.
Author: Oh I think he does since we're evil like that xD
Rakks: Man, I love this story, but those little comments about Bell's skill make me worried. He better choose Elora :(
Author: Man, you know you've done something right with a character when everyone is scared for them lol
Voidborne II: …Someone is going to die, aren't they?
Author: Once again… No comment.
PINHEADLARRY0122: Hahaha sorry about the wall of text. Even when I wrote the response I was like "I should probably break this up a little bit to make it easier to read." I was just tired so I said screw it I'm going to bed. So thank you for taking the time to stare at that wall.
So Kitas creator is not the dungeon? This gots me a little intrigued. If not the dungeon itself maybe you took inspiration from other fanfics and made it so she's made by whatever is trapped at the bottom of the dungeon. Like a corrupt God, fallen angel, possibly even a demon.
We know that even in the canon the gods know a lot more about the dungeon than they let on. I mean there has to be a reason why the dungeon absolutely despises the god's way more than even the mortals who venture into the dungeon to kill its "children".
I can't wait till you expand on more of kitas backstory. I feel that is going to be an arc all on its own if anything. Maybe not though it might honestly mix in with an arc about taking down the OEBD.
Author: Haha, that's understandable, there have been some night's i've stayed up waaaaay too late writing. Also… Viceroy… WE'VE SAID TOO MUCH! SILENCE THIS MAN!
That's all for today. This chapter took a bit longer than expected due to the unfortunate complication of me getting sick. Anyway, I am feeling much better but might still delay the next chapter by a small margin.
Anyway, I won't keep you any longer and as usual, I hope to see you all next time!