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.
62: Broken Records
=Orario=
On the way back to the surface, nothing truly of note occurred. The monsters didn't really give any challenge and Udaeus was easily defeated with the Xenos with them, even with Bell acting like a support.
At first, it had felt off acting like a support, only carrying luggage to him, but he understood that if he didn't and broke his word to Elora, there'd be hell to pay. The fire in his heart practically begged him to drop the bag and fight, but he refrained.
They'd said their goodbyes to the Xenos on the 21st floor, glad to not have run into any stray adventurers on the way back up. Hugs had been shared and promises to see each other soon. Bell and Asterius had vowed to each other they'd grow stronger and fight again someday before finally ascending again.
The eighteenth had been a bit interesting with adventurers spotting the group, some looking at Bell with wide, shocked eyes, while others scoffed, mumbling why the dungeon didn't just finish him off.
It had been… annoying and caused a lot of rolled eyes but at least Bors had been friendly enough, if only to try to earn (swindle) money from them.
They'd stayed there a day, the ascent only taking two days in total to reach the 18th in contrast to the 5 it took them to descend. After all, Ascending the dungeon is always faster than descending.
The next day, they took their leave before finally reaching the surface, to where they were at the moment, walking up the spiral staircase of the dungeon right underneath Babel tower.
"Oh god, I can see the sun! THE SUN!" Adrienne groaned in relief as she saw the exit that led into the main area at the bottom floor of Babel.
"Yeah! God, It'll feel good having the sun on my skin again." Jannor mirrored the sentiment while Aralaya nodded with a relieved smile.
Bell felt similarly to them, even if the expedition had been one thing after another. It'd still been quite some time since the sun had seen him, or any of them for that matter.
Finally, exiting the food with the morning sun bathing their skin. Bache practically purred in delight at the feeling.
"God, I haven't gone this long without feeling the sun in… well, ever!" She purred, stretching her limbs as she took in the star's rays. Elora chuckled slightly as she nodded.
"Yeah, it's something you have to get used to." She threw as a comment as Bell smiled next to Welf who mirrored his look at the interaction.
"Lili agrees with Elora-sama. Getting used to not feeling the sun for long periods of time is necessary for both adventurers and supporters. But it's worth it!" She finished off before hugging her pouch as if it was her baby, rubbing her face against it.
The children instantly looked at her with weird looks before turning to the rest of the group.
"Ehm… is this… normal?" Aralaya asked as Bell snorted.
"Yeah, for Lili it is. Her fixation for money is legendary-"
"Hey!"
"-and it can definitely become… weird." Slow nods followed those words before they continued out towards the large plaza where adventurers had begun to gather to prepare for their days alongside passing citizens of Orario..
The moment the group walked out of Babel, practically all eyes turned towards them as Bell smiled slightly. Everyone's expression differed slightly from some openly giving them smiles, while others scowled.
His eyes locked onto that of Mord in passing who nodded back at Bell who returned the gesture before turning forward, continuing down the path towards their home, wanting to get a good rest before cashing everything in.
It didn't take long for the group to split off, everyone saying their goodbyes and going their one way towards their homes.
Once they made it home and headed inside, Bell couldn't help but smile in relief at seeing the familiar entryway, clean as a fiddle before heading upstairs alongside the others before everyone split off into their respective rooms.
"So… what should we do with the rest of the day, since I don't really feel like going to the guild until a good night's rest." Elora commented as she unstrapped her armor as Bell did the same.
The two on their parts of the room where they stored their own items.
"I don't really know, maybe get my Status updated. I'm bound for a lot of execlia after this expedition." He answered with a thoughtful hum.
"Right, we all went through a lot, but it's as if fate has it out for you." She mumbled, making Bell turn to her.
"Yeah… It does seem that way sometimes, but hey, I'm still here, aren't I?" He asked, the question relieving Elora slightly as she remembered that despite all the challenges life had thrown at him, no matter how dangerous, he'd always come back alive, one way or the other.
"Right." She smiled, mounting her arm piece on the armor stand before pulling her shirt over her head.
"I'll probably shower first, then update my status. I feel disgusted right now."
"Oh thank god, I didn't know how to break it to you." His lips twitching as the two pair of eyes met.
"Is that sass I hear? Ohhh, you really want to go?" She asked, her question making Bell turn to her as the two met in the center.
"Perhaps, but can you handle it?"
"Oh, that's it!" She grabbed hold of his wrists as the two began to wrestle, struggling against each other's grip as Bell playfully let her push him back as the two fell back on the bed.
"Got you!"
"That's what you think!" The moment the words tumbled out of his mouth, he flipped them over, pinning her arms above her head as she tried to force herself out of his grip in vain, smiles stretched on both of their lips.
"Oh my, how the tables have turned on me…"
"Hmm, that they have." Without even realizing it, the two leaned in, their lips touching slightly as their eyes fluttered close, their lips meeting and moving together. Bell's free arm instinctively wrapped behind her back as she arched it, her pointed ears fluttering in the air slightly, reddening at the tips as her breathing intensified as a natural response.
Bell wasn't much better, pulling her closer to the point that she was practically squished against his chest.
"We should stop…" Elora mumbled quietly in between kisses, Bell humming in disapproval.
"I don't see why we should."
"But I need to shower!" She forced out, breaking their lock as the two opened their eyes and looked at one another.
"Won't you just get dirty again whenever we continue this?" He challenged as Elora rolled her eyes.
"Very assumptious of you to say we're continuing this later." She answered back cheekily.
"You weren't really complaining."
"That is true, I do love myself some worship." She smirked as the two separated.
"I'll head into the shower, you can join if you want…" She asked with… that look. Bell gulped before shaking his head.
"I… should probably get my status updated." He reasoned as she nodded, sighing out for a second in a seemingly disappointed manner before smiling at him.
"Alright, just remember, if when you're done I'm still in the shower… just jump on in." With those words, she left as Bell took a moment to get his bearings. Hoo boy, she is going to be the death of him.
Heading out and towards the library, where he figured Erebus would be, he took his time to soak in the feeling of actually being back home after such a grueling journey. He really thought he'd die so many times… It just felt liberating just coming back with all limbs and his life intact.
As he rounded the corner, he came face first with red eyes as the girl looked at him as if in a completely different light.
"B-bell!" She squeaked and leaped backwards, making Bell catch her so to no accidentally bump into anything.
"Hey, Fina. We're back." He smiled, the girl smiling at her, though somewhat strange, making Bell frown.
"Is… something wrong?" Fina could only shake her head slowly before opening her mouth.
"It's just… guessing having a status makes me more sensitive to your level…" .she muttered as Bell's eyes widened.
"Wait, you had Erebus give you a status? That's great!" He breathed out a laugh as she nodded.
"It's… helped a lot, just… it's going to take a while to get used to… well, whatever that feeling that surrounds you." She tried to explain as Bell hummed.
"Right, unblessed people can still tell I'm a high level, just… it's much worse for a level 1."
"Yes… it's like looking up at a mountain." He sweatdropped at that before nodding.
"I get that, but hey, welcome to the familia. You're part of the family now, so the thing I said about not hesitating to ask stuff? That goes double now. Alright?" Fina's ears flapped for a moment as he heard her heart beat faster.
"Yeah… okay." She said, smiling widely though looking like she was trying to hold it back.
"Good. Now do you know where Erebus is? I'm looking for him." Fina instantly perked up and nodded.
"Yes, I do! He's in the lounge with Marx. He's been really good at handling him when I can't." She exclaimed, surprising Bell a bit before he chuckled. She sure has gotten livelier since he first met her again.
"Is that so, thanks." With that, the two parted ways with Fina continuing on her duties and Bell heading down towards the lounge.
It didn't take long to arrive by the door, knocking on it lightly before walking in.
"Ah, you're back, good. I was worried for a good while." Bell winced at the words, having figured that he must have felt the connections weaken when they were close to death.
"Yeah… a lot happened. It was intense, difficult and quite frankly, terrifying… but we made it out in one piece." He said shortly, his patron deity smiling at him as he tilted his head, the baby boy gurgling slightly in his arms.
"That you did. Welcome home."
"Good to be home." The two said back to back, mirroring that of a certain prum captain and his goddess.
"So, I'm guessing you want to update your status? Sit down and let me put Marx in his crib." Bell did as he was told and unbuttoned his shirt as Erebus put Marx down in the crib within the room.
"So… what all happened down there? Must have been intense to have caused so many instances of the connection weakening." The god asked, walking back before taking a seat behind Bell.
"Well, it was fine at first. We got down to the glacier territory without issue and back to the 50th. I might have punctured a lung and broken some bones on the way, especially against Balor, but things seemed to be going well." Bell began, Erebus puncturing his finger before beginning the updating process, Bell's back lighting up as the numbers came to life.
"Then it all went to hell, something called a Chimera attacked us. At first, we had it, but it hurt a lot of us badly. Lili was basically crushed under it, Haruhime was impaled alongside… Jannor." Bell winced at the memory as Erebus glanced up, a pitying expression on his face.
"Sorry to hear that, a parent shouldn't have to witness something like that."
"Yeah, I basically lost myself in anger and whatever emotions I felt at the time, but it pulled me under eventually, all the way down to the 73rd floor without any food or water and a broken bone and leg." Erebus' finger twirled as his eyes widened at the number increase he was seeing, the sheer amount of excelia reminding him of when his skill was at it's max power. Maybe even more.
"That's… tough. What then?" He asked, wanting to find out more.
"Well… I can't speak for the others, but I had to march my way though those floors alone for what the others said was five days. It was by a stroke of luck, probably my luck development ability, that saved me. If I had made it any later, I would be dead by now." He said, shuddering at the memories of monsters around every corner, his limbs hurting and his lungs and throat feeling like molten lava.
"It was hell." The two went quiet as Erebus finished the update, pulling a paper from the table and putting it on his back and copying the information.
"Well, I can say you didn't go through all of that for no reason. Orario is about to flip on it's head… again." He chuckled slightly at the last part as he handed the status to Bell who slowly read it over before sputtering in shock.
Name: Bell Cranel
Lv 7
Status:
{STR} S-915 - SSS-1353
{VIT} S-956 - SSS-1399
{DEX} S-947 - SSS-1387
{AGI} SS-1000 - SSS-1399
{MAG} A-890 - SSS-1265
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: 332%)
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)
Vesta: As long as the user's desire to protect something remains, regenerate wounds and fatigue at an increased pace. Heightens defense against any flame or heat by a large margin. All fire based attacks have increased effects.
Strength of the effect is based on the strength of the user's desire to protect.
Development Abilities:
Luck: A - S
Abnormal Resistance: B - A
Psych: C - B
Intuition: C - B
Strong Body: F - E
Mystery: G
"Holy…!" He stood up, staring at it, reading it again and again as if not believing what he was seeing.
"That's the reaction I expected. You haven't seen such an update in a long time and gotten used to how normal people grow. With the activation of your skill and it more than doubling your regular excelia at this point, it isn't really a surprise you grew that much from what you went through." He said as Bell nodded absentmindedly.
"I even got a new skill!" Bell exclaimed, reading it over as Erebus nodded.
"Yes, you did. Guess your desire to protect the people closest to you manifested onto your status too." The god smiled slightly before Erebus decided to mention something else.
"Also, you can level up if you want." At the mention of that, Bell perked up as he looked at him.
"Really?" He asked as the god nodded before Bell looked back at his status.
"But should I?" he asked more to himself than anyone else as he pondered the choice. All of his abilities were above the limit and every single one but magic was in the 1300 range.
"I think you should train intensively with your entire familia to push everything to its limit. Then I'd say you can level up." Erebus advised as Bell nodded. Though it was tempting at the moment, he knew deep down that pushing his stats now that he could was the smartest choice.
Deciding on his course of action, Bell headed off towards the showers, both needing a good scrubbing, and to accept the offer he got earlier.
As the man left, Erebus looked at the status update, smiling slightly as he read it over again.
'He is slowly shaping up to become the perfect dragon slayer. I wonder how far it can go before the promised time finally arrives' His mind wandered thoughtfully, shifting his gaze to look out towards Babel.
'Let's see who really comes out on top…'
=Archian Manor, 5 minutes later=
Fina both felt on edge, but also extremely relieved, as if a mountain of burden had been released from her shoulders. Ever since she'd heard Erebus' words as he had looked out the window towards Babel, she'd worried she'd be left alone again… it had terrified her and caused some panic attacks in the last few days.
It taught her that out of everything in this world, she feared loneliness the most, having been intimately acquainted with it for some time.
Ironically, being alone was suffocating. She felt truly helpless, everyone she knew either having died or abandoned her. All she had was her son, but no matter how much she loved him, he wasn't much for a conversational partner.
The most she got was with that elf at the hostess, but it was always curtly and to the point. Now that she had gotten another taste of what a family felt like, she never wanted to let go. She didn't want to lose it again and the very thought of it made her throat clog and her breathing to become erratic.
Now that they were back, that pressure of not knowing what was happening, of where they were or what dangers they faced… if they were even alive had crushed her every waking moment.
Instead, it was replaced with the sensation of how truly powerful her new family was. The children were the easiest, but the three adults were… Well, it at first had made her want to run, but she'd investigated the manor, not knowing where it was coming from until running into Bell.
Shaking her head, she walked towards the bath's, already having put up the clothes to dry right after Bell and her parted ways. It left her wanting to take a bath before truly starting her work for the day. Passing the corner towards them, she stopped right in front of the doorway as she heard whispers coming from the female baths.
Was Bache and Elora in there? Maybe, it'd make sense… are there even baths in the dungeon? She doubted it.
Walking through the doorway, she moved through the tiny hallway of wooden walls leading to the left that was towards the women's bath as she heard another voice, freezing her to the spot.
A distinctly male voice, a specific male voice. Widening her eyes as she heard something she wished to be erased the moment it entered her ears, she wrapped her hands over the fluffy appendages, shaking her head as a wild blush spread on her face.
Oh god! She did not need to hear that! Why are they doing it here? Why, oh god why!? Covering her ears wasn't helping either! With her naturally enhanced senses on top of the level 1 status, she could hear a distinct grunt clear as day.
Crap! She had to leave, she couldn't listen to this, no, no, no!
Practically sprinting out, not noticing the two stopping for a moment, she practically exploded out of the bath entrance, smashing into the chest of Bache as she yelped.
"Woah there, what got you in a jiffy?" Bache asked as Fina looked up at the Amazonian woman, her daughter behind her. Just as she was about to open her mouth, the sand colored eyes of the person above her shifted towards the doorways, her ears twitching slightly, almost not noticeable before a shit-eating grin spread on her face.
"Oh, those two have got some balls!" She bellowed out, laughing to her heart's contents as her daughter's face exploded like a tomato. She did not need to hear her father doing… that.
"Ehm… I'll… just… go." Fina said, shuffling onto her feet and practically sprinting away, only serving to make the amazoness laugh even louder with Adrienne wanting to copy the chienthropes actions.
"Adrienne, wait here, I've got some business to attend to." Bache grinned, heading into the baths as Adrienne reached out to her in hopes of stopping what was about to happen, but it was all in vain.
"Oy, if you two are going to be doing this publicly, then at least invite others!" She heard her mothers voice, just before two screams were heard before shuffling and oddly enough, an explosion or two.
"Woah! That was not what I expected, but I ain't complaining. Have you gotten bigger?"
Silence ensued for but a second before-
"BACHE KALIF! I WILL MURDER YOU!" Adrienne winced as a loud boom was heard alongside laughing.
"Oh, gotta be faster than that. But seriously Bell, you've gotten bigger."
"Bache… plea-a-a-a-ase" Her father dragged out the words, clearly embarrassed and thoroughly uncomfortable with the situation.
The words were followed by an eerily animalistic growl from the elf right before the two exploded out of the bath, Elora stark naked as the two disappeared down the hallway.
"Well… I really should have figured that was gonna happen…" Adrienne heard her father mutter right as she walked inside, knocking on the wall as the man's head looked up.
"Adrienne?" He asked, his voice sounding mortified again.
"Yeah… sorry, I kind of overheard that." She apologized as he took a moment to sigh.
"No, I'm sorry. This was a stupid idea. Let me get dressed."
It took a moment, but her father eventually came around the corner, giving her a strained smile.
"Sorry again." He said sheepishly, Adrienne nodding before he took his leave, the girl entering the bath reluctantly, really needing a good cleaning.
=Morning After=
To say that Elora had been pissed at Bache had been an understatement. Bell had to practically sit with her and let her vent on him for a good portion of the day, but in the end, the elf could find it in herself to forgive her sister in everything but blood.
As an amazon, there are just things that they do without thinking that could be seen as… unacceptable to others. Amazoness are just like that, even Adrienne had her moments and she was raised more like an elf than an amazoness.
Though, if there was one thing that came out of this, it was that Elora swore to never try anything in public ever again. That whole ordeal had left her woefully unsatisfied which she happened to take out on Bell that night.
The morning began quite ordinary, though in a good way. Currently, they were eating and catching up with Bell stuck in his thoughts after hearing the result of everyones status updates.
Bache was able to level up but refrained from doing so due to her status only having a single S in it, even after the monstrous update she gained.
Elora maxed out her entire status at 999 in everything. As for the kids… Well, Aralaya managed to max her Endurance, Agility and Magic with the rest of her stat hitting S and decided to not go through with the level up either until they reach the maximum value..
Jannor and Adrienne, did reach S-999 in everything and officially became a level 4 and 5 respectively. Bell already knew that there would be questions about what happened down in the dungeon from the Guild for when he heads there soon.
He did not look forward to explaining all of that. He just hoped he could do it to Eina herself. Thinking about it, he hadn't really seen her since the city found out who he was, had he?
Things had been a bit hectic with the Expedition, meeting up with his old familia and training Ais and Fiona. He honestly felt a bit bad about it.
Well, at least he'd be able to properly catch up with her now, no masks included.
"-ou listening?" Bell blinked as he shook his head, turning towards the culprit.
"What? Sorry, was kind of lost in my thought there." He answered the questionnaire awkwardly. The questionnaire in this case being Aralaya in this case who giggled at her father.
"Yeah, I figured. We were talking about the development abilities we chose." That peaked his interest. Looking at her with a smile he nodded, Adrienne instantly piping up as she was clearly excited about it..
"I actually had a lot of choices so it was kind of hard-"
"You had three."
"-But I ended up choosing Flash Fist." Adrienne continued, completely ignoring Erebus' deadpan correction and look.
"Flash Fist huh… isn't that a development ability that increases the speed of attacks when stacked in a chain?" Bell asked, eyes drifting to Erebus, much to Adrienne's annoyance as the god nodded.
It was actually really similar to that of Chain Attack, with it giving speed instead of force. If Adrienne got Chain attack later, she'd honestly have two development abilities that synergize really well together like his Intuition and Luck.
"It is. It's actually a really good development ability, especially for her since she prefers to pummel her opponent as quickly as possible when she can." Erebus explained, Bell nodding along as he thought of that.
Without a doubt, it was a great choice, one that can rattle a person if they aren't prepared. A tiny part of him wanted to ask what her other options were, but decided to refrain before turning towards Elora.
"How about you? You didn't tell me yesterday what you chose when you reached level 7." Bell asked the amber eyed elf who smiled back.
"I could choose between Strong Defense and Mage." She said as Bell hummed. That would actually be a rather hard choice for her. On one end, Strong Defense could give a large boost to the protection her skin provides (the inverse of his strong body that strengthens the inside of the body), while mage would give her a considerable boost to her magic power which she does rely on quite heavily in a lot of situations.
"That had to be tough to choose between." Bache mused, mirroring Bell's thoughts as Elora looked at the Amazon with a stink eye for a second before nodding.
"It was, but I decided on mage after some consideration. We have a lot of firepower, but my magic at the moment is by far the strongest excluding Bell's, though he's not really a fair comparison." She teased, smirking slightly as a few snickers went around.
The man in question couldn't help but let his mouth twitch upwards at her jab at his status before nodding along.
"Yeah, Yeah, laugh it up."
"Sorry honey." She apologized before turning back towards the others.
"Aralaya is definitely catching up with her magic, but with me relying on my spell so much and being so useful with handling large groups of enemies, I could really only see myself choosing Mage." She finished her explanation.
"How about you Jannor? You were the only one that hasn't shared yet before someone decided to get stuck in his thoughts." Elora shot Bell a pointed look as he laughed it off nervously.
"Right, I could choose between Strong Defense, Bojutsu, Escape or Instinct." Jannor gave the options as a snort came from Bell at his mirror choice of Escape at level 4 to him.
It was kind of obvious why he got it though. The amount of times he had to run from Adrienne or Aralaya like a madman in an escape chase was honestly boggling.
"There are some good choices there. Which did you choose?" Elora asked as Jannor smiled at his mother.
"Well, I chose Instinct. It appealed to me the most out of my options." The group nodded along, some thinking that something like strong defense would have been better (Elora in particular), but respecting his choice.
"Ehm… What exactly do development abilities do?" Everyone turned towards the voice as Fina looked around confused at everything.
"Right… forgot you're new to this. Development abilities are basically abilities you can choose between when you level up that grow much slower than your status, but have much more potent effects than basic abilities. For example, there are skills that increase your fighting power against certain type monsters, but the development ability for it is called hunter and does it for every monster type you've defeated at least once, and has varying effects depending on how developed the ability is." Bell explained as Fina nodded.
"That… was actually a really good explanation." Erebus mused.
"Ehm, Dad. Were you able to level up too?" Jannor asked out of the blue as all eyes on the table turned towards him.
"Ah, yes, but I decided not to. I wanted to push my stats as much as possible, but I can level whenever I want." Bell said with a smile.
"Isn't it obvious he'd be able to level up, brother? He went through more than any of us." Aralaya asked as Jannor frowned for a second before his cheeks reddened a bit.
"Yeah… sorry." He chuckled.
"Don't be sorry. Be better." Adrienne chimed in as Bell leaned backwards, smiling as he prepared to enjoy the interactions between his children. He'd just enjoy the peace and quiet before he had to go to the guild. Oh, how he was not looking forward to that.
=The Guild=
An hour later, Bell walked into the guild alongside Bache and Elora as they were all top executives. The guild requires them to be there for any and all expedition reports. He looked around before walking down to the first guild official she spotted, that being Sophie.
The Silver haired elf's blue eyes spotted him heading towards her, causing her to panic in whatever she was doing and sending the pen and paper she held down onto the floor.
"Oh, come on!" she complained as she reached down, grabbing what she dropped as Bell leaned onto the counter.
Once on her feet, she quickly put down the pen and paper and cleared her throat before putting on a professional and brave face, forcing back her nervousness.
"Apollyon, I see you've returned from your expedition. Are you here to report it as a success?" she asked, almost as if off a script.
"Yes, I am. We have collected all of the requested items. Elora?" He asked, turning to her as his wife held out a bag which Sophie collected.
"One moment, let me get this appraised." She bowed slightly before disappearing behind the counter, leaving Bell with his two executives and family members.
"Is it only me… or did she act off?" He asked as he turned to the two.
"Well… I haven't had the pleasure of speaking to him, so I can't tell." Elora shrugged as Bache mirrored her statement.
"Huh…"
They waited for a moment before Sophie returned from where she had gone, before nodding at them.
"The materials have been confirmed. Here's the papers I'd like you to fill out. It's a report on general information about how the expedition went, like the deepest floor achieved among other things.
Bell nodded before picking up the paper and heading towards one of the tables, his ears picking up Sophie saying she's going to get Eina.
Once seated, all three of them looked over the paper together as Bell hummed.
"It really is just basic information. Deepest floor achieved, members returned… This should only take a minute." Bache said before leaning back in her chair as Bell nodded.
Picking up the pen at the center of the table, he began noting down the information it required before stopping at Floor Achieved.
"Should I put down my deepest floor or…?" He asked as Elora nodded.
"Do that, it is technically the deepest floor achieved by someone in the expedition, isn't it? If you don't want to, that's fine."
Thinking it over, Bell wondered if it was worth actually noting down him having reached the 73rd floor. It's a whole ten floors deeper than Loki familia in a single go. It'd completely turn Orario on its head and might be really annoying with him most likely having to report all the details he could of those floors… but it'd also cement him as an indispensable asset to them, making sure they won't banish me unless for extreme reasons.
It had its cons and pros, but in the long run? Noting down his new record was without a doubt the best choice.
Filling out the final piece, he looked over the paper one more time to double check that all the facts were correct.
~Expedition Report~
Adventurers Present:
Head Familia: Themis Familia
Expedition Members:
Bell Cranel | Apollyon | Level 7 | Themis Familia
Elora Cranel | Thúl | Level 7 | Themis Familia
Bache Kalif | Veregina | Level 7 | Themis Familia
Adrienne Cranel | Daemonias | Level 5 | Themis Familia
Aralaya Cranel | Novae Sanguis | Level 3 | Themis Familia
Jannor Cranel | Cerberus | Level 4 | Themis Familia
Welf Crozzo | Ignis | Level 4 | Hephaestus Familia
Liliruca Arde | Taliye | Level 4 | Soma Familia
Yamato Mikoto | Kensei | Level 5 | Takemikazuchi Familia
Sanjouno Haruhime | Enchantoresu | Level 4 | Takemikazuchi Familia
Objective Status: Complete
Deceased: None
Deepest Floor Achieved: The 73rd Floor
Nodding to himself, satisfied with what he wrote down, he headed back to the counter, Sophie not back with Eina yet, leaving him with Misha as a choice.
"Misha, I've filled out the report." Bell called out as the girl looked at him and smiled slightly.
"Can I take a look? Just to make sure, you never know!" Her cheery attitude elicited a chuckle from him as he handed over the piece of paper, mentally preparing for the incoming storm.
The pink haired girl began reading, her eyes going from one end of the paper to the other as Bell noticed Eina walking down, appearing from where the stairs were and heading towards them.
"Eh…." The tone of her voice said everything as Bell glanced at her, her eyes staring at a single spot as she blinked in disbelief.
"Be-"
"Are you sure this is correct?" Misha cut off Eina's greeting, confusing the half-elf as she looked at her colleague incredulously.
"What do you mean?" Misha glanced around before leaning forward as if wanting no one to hear what she was saying.
"You didn't actually reach the 73rd floor, right? Cause that's not a good joke." She hissed as Bell rolled his eyes before smirking at the look Eina was giving him. One that just said it all from one glance.
"Actually, it's true. I reached the 73rd floor." The moment the words tumbled out of his mouth, the two guild officials' mouths dropped to the ground as the guild came to a complete halt.
One could hear a pin drop in the silence, even someone unblessed.
"T-the 73rd floor… b-but Loki familia has set the record for the 63rd… that's ten whole floors…" Eina stuttered slightly in disbelief as Bell nodded.
"That's correct. Well, I was technically dragged down to the 73rd floor, but I had to ascend back up again so… which with how scorching hot it is down there, was not fun."
"Are you serious! He reached the 73rd floor!"
"What the fuck!"
"This is ridiculous!"
The guild exploded in chatter as Bell sighed out. He already knew that this was going to be a pain. Doesn't mean he can't somewhat regret his decision to not stay quiet.
"Bell! Follow me, now!" Eina commanded, her face having contorted into a serious manner as she practically dragged him behind the counter and into one of the empty rooms.
"Eina, wha-"
"Sit." Her voice left no room for negotiations as he understood that it was just best to follow her instructions. Taking a seat, he waited for her to do the same before her emerald green glared into Bell's red ones.
"Bell… What did you mean with 'you were dragged down to the 73rd'? She asked as he sighed.
"I meant exactly what I said. We encountered an irregular… something. Something Lili called a Chimera. It could dig through the dungeon like a lambton and dragged me from the 50th to the 73rd." He told her truthfully as Eina looked at him in shock.
"A new monster…? Anything else?" She asked.
"Well… I never encountered it, but the other's talked about some… calamity. They described it as a sleek monster that looked as if it was made from bone. Pitch black with razor-sharp claws and some kind of magic reflection armor" He paused as he thought of something.
Bell stood up and walked over to a bookshelf, sifting through the books before stopping, plucking it out before looking towards Eina. She motioned that he could continue after a moment as he did so. As he headed back to the seats, Eina couldn't help but glance at it before frowning.
''Astrea Records'? Why would he-'
"I believe there may be some clues here." Bell said as he held the book out to her, causing Eina's eyebrows to raise.
"How so?" She asked as she grabbed the book while looking him dead in the eyes.
"Elora said something that concerned me. I don't remember it, I was probably unconscious at the time, but the dungeon roared out, similarly to how it did twenty years ago." Bell explained as Eina nodded.
"Yes, I think all of Orario heard it… wait, wasn't twenty years ago-!" Eina gasped as she realized why he'd grabbed this book.
"That's right. The massacre of the Astrea Familia excluding that of the Gale Wind." He said clearly.
"And… you all met that kind of monster…?" She asked, gulping as Bell hummed.
"I didn't, I was in the Scorched Hell at that point. It was the rest of the expedition." He said.
"Scorched Hell? Is that what you're naming the zone after the glacier territory?" Bell winced slightly at her question, not enough for anyone non blessed to notice, but her did.
"Actually…" Bell began, pondering what to say before sighing. Might as well, he trusted her.
"The Zeus and Hera Familia records aren't exactly truthful in their real achievements." Bell said, his words echoing in Eina's mind as the gears in it shifted to absorb the information.
"What?" Was her eloquent response.
"Think about it. Does it seem reasonable for familias mainly consisting of level 7's with one level 8 and one level 9 to have only reached the glacier territory? The strongest monster there is around level 7 high level 7 at its strongest. There is no way they'd get a level 9 from that." Bell reasoned as the half elf couldn't help but agree.
There were clear gaps in the information if one really looked at it.
"Then… how deep have they gone?" She asked as he looked at her seriously.
"Floor 85." Eina nearly fainted at the number as her hands covered her face with a loud groan.
"... Do you take pleasure in breaking my world view?" She asked as Bell shook his head, holding back a slight chuckle due to the tense atmosphere.
"No, I don't, but it is the truth. Just going to the 73rd alone was difficult. I don't even want to imagine what the Oscillate zone is like." He answered before they fell into a comfortable silence as Eina opened the 'Astrea Records' book and began reading.
"Eina… it is good to see you, you know." His words made her eyes peek up for a second, analyzing him for a second before smiling.
"Yeah… It's good to see you too, Bell-kun. You know I missed you right? It's been… difficult the last few years." Bell snorted with a slight smirk.
"So I hear. Being the head of the guild must be taxing work… though I didn't have it easy either. Sure, I had some peaceful years and that was really nice, but I've seen things most would never believe." Eina's attention piqued as her ears straightened alongside her back.
"Oh, can I ask what?" She asked as Bell looked her over before shrugging.
"Sure. I've been beyond the Valley of Dragons for one." He smiled, her eyes widening at his words as there was no record of anyone traveling that far north. The Valley was said to be a death trap and endless.
"Oh… that's… wow. What's out there?" She asked, curiosity skyrocketing as she awaited the story to unfold from her old advisee.
"Hmm… It's lush, really lush. Forests and overgrowth everywhere, covering ancient structures and cities. Animals and life pretty much can be seen everywhere… It's beautiful." He smiled at the memory of his first time taking in the scenery. He'd been in true awe at the sight of the lost world.
"Ancient… Structures?"
"Ah, right. You know the cities in the fairytales? Cities like Lakrios or the resting place of Heroes, Endaria?" She nodded, having heard of them before when her mother, Aina, read her the storybooks. There was practically no child that hadn't at least heard of Lakrios before.
"They are real. I found them." He almost laughed as her jaw dropped to the ground.
"In fact, I even found the graves of the ancient heroes. Heroes like Prometheus and even the Argonaut." His smile faltered slightly as that message left on it haunted his memory.
'May the world treat you well, Bell Cranel'
"Bell-kun, that's amazing. What was it like? Was it as large as the stories depicted? Did you find any artifacts?" Eina bombarded him with questions as her guild persona took hold, wanting as much information as possible.
"Woah there, I did find some stuff, and yes, it was more than twice the size of Orario. Endaria that is. Lakrios was a bit more difficult to tell since a lot of it was completely buried or collapsed." Bell answered as she nodded.
"Sorry, it's rare to hear such unique tales that aren't clearly lies or deceit in some shape or form." She smiled as he nodded in understanding.
"I get it, but um… I'm sorry to cut this short but Bache and my wife are waiting for me outside. They are probably wondering what's taking so long." He said sheepishly as Eina's eyes widened.
"Oh my! I'm sorry, just one more thing. In two days time, could you come to the colosseum?" Bell instantly frowned in confusion at her request.
"Eh, sure. Can I ask why?"
"Well… I may have taken the liberty to set up a meeting with a god and a few others to clear your name… you know, to get the record straight." She fidgeted slightly, not really knowing if that decision had been the right one as she waited for the outcome.
"Wait, really? Huh… I actually had wanted to do that. Sure, I'll be there by midday." Eina instantly perked up with a smile as she nodded.
"Perfect, I'll inform the others. Now, Mister, I do believe you have a family that's waiting for you." She cheekily said as he laughed.
"Yeah, Yeah, and you have work to do, Miss Guild Head." He shot back as her face heated at his comment.
The door shut right before she could open her mouth, causing her to pout slightly as she looked up.
"He got me there…" She mumbled before a fond smile tugged at her lips. Shaking her head, she too headed out, intent on sending out the notifications for the event so that everything will go smoothly.
=Twilight Manor=
Lefiya aimlessly wandered throughout the manor, having been conflicted for the past few weeks since the reveal of Apollyon's identity. Never in her wildest fantasies had she imagined that that human, Bell Cranel, was Apollyon.
It had been completely unthinkable as somewhere deep in her mind, she'd always pictured him as this mastermind that worked to worm his way into Ais' heart.
She felt really stupid in hindsight. Back then when she really thought about his actions, were just earnest. Though he was really suspicious from the start. Like, who can run away that good?
He was like a snake, slithering through the tiniest cracks as she had chased him.
Huffing at the memory, she looked out the window towards the morning sun before she spotted Ais and Fiona training down on the field. The two had been really diligent since Themis Familia had gone on their expedition.
Every day they trained like this, working on their techniques and helping one another. It was warming her heart to see the care Ais held for the girl, her eyes softening and smiles that blinded her at times appearing on her.
It was no wonder Fiona called her . She basically was an honorary aunt.
"Ah, Good morning Lefiya." The golden yellow hair of Lefiya that bordered on orange swished through the air as she locked eyes with her teacher and Mentor.
"Riviera-sama. Good morning. I did sleep well. How about you?" She responded with a smile as the elder high elf returned it in kind.
"Quite well. I see Ais and Fiona are training once again. Bell Cranel truly lit a spark in the two, didn't he?" She mused, making Lefiya hum slightly in a tiny amount of discontent.
"Yes… though I do wish we could do the same." All Lefiya had wanted to do was be there for Ais. To be as close to her as possible. But the girl had always locked them out. Now knowing why, she really wondered if there ever had been any chance for them to succeed at all.
It pained her knowing that her idol had to have watched her parents die horribly at such a young age before being thrust into a completely unknown place and time.
"Yes… but the boy has always managed to bring out that little girl hiding in her like no other. I have no idea how, but he does." The two fell silent as they watched Ais flip Fiona onto her back in a slick shoulder vaulting move.
Lefiya was about to comment about it before the sound of rushing footsteps were heard down the hallway as the two turned their heads in the direction.
They were greeted with the sight of a sweating Raul rushing towards them, or most likely, past them to head to Finn's office.
"Raul? What's the matter?" Riveria asked as she stopped him for a second, his breath hitching as if he'd run a mile.
"Themis… Broke… floor…" He panted, making his sentence incoherent as the two frowned
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I didn't quite get it." Raul took a moment to gather his breath as Annakitty could be seen coming around the corner, her lips in a thin line.
"The Themis Familia broke our floor record!" Raul finally said out loud as Riveria's back straightened and her eyes widened in surprise. Her mouth even dropped a little as her dignified appearance dropped for a second.
Lefiya on the other hand completely dropped her jaw, her eyes blank as the information repeated in her mind.
"We need to get this to Finn." Riveria said before moving to the window and opening it.
"Ais! Fiona! Finn's office, now!" The two looked up in surprise before frowning. A nod later, the two headed towards the entrance as Riveria turned back to the company around her.
"Let's not daddle. Annakitty, get all the other executives to head to Finn's office. Wake them up if you have to." She commanded as the catgirl nodded and headed off, Riveria dragging a catatonic Lefiya with her as Raul followed along.
Twenty minutes later, everyone was gathered in Finn's office.
"Is that everyone?" Finn asked as he mentally tallied those present. Seeing that everyone was there, he turned towards Riveria before nodding towards her with a hand motion for her to explain the impromptu meeting.
"Finn… Themis Familia just returned from their expedition." She started as he nodded.
"That's good, no death's I presume." He asked as she nodded, everyone smiling slightly at no lives lost.
"But I assume that's not why this meeting was called, especially so early in the morning." He smiled as the high elf nodded, gulping slightly at what she was about to say.
Raul hadn't initially told her how far the Themis Familia had managed to reach, but once he was on their way… dear god.
"It appears we no longer hold the record for the deepest achieved floor." The words were like an invisible bomb that was set off as all eyes turned to her in shock.
"What…?" Alicia practically whispered, the sound like a loud holler in the quiet that had ensued.
"That… that is unexpected. How deep?" Finn's question was met with an uncomfortable silence as everyone awaited eagerly at the new supposed explored depth of the dungeon.
"The 73rd floor."
"Well, fuck." Bete hissed as Tiona whistled at the number. Ais looked down in contemplation at the number of floors they'd surpassed them with.
"Apparently, Bell Cranel was dragged from the 50th to the 73rd floor by an unknown new monster. There isn't much more information about it apart from that it was scorching hot for a level 7." She reported the rest of the information.
Finn was still silent as his mind worked through the information as his eyebrows frowned more and more.
"Dragged? By an unknown monster… That would mean he had no supplies in an uncharted and unknown environment with an unspecified variety of monster that he would have no way of knowing any of their patterns, attacks or strengths and weaknesses with over 24 floors to traverse to get back to safety." The group listened as Finn analyzed what he could.
"The chances of survival in such a situation would be… nearly an impossibility… Fiona, didn't you say that he seemed to know more about the dungeon that what he told?" Finn asked his daughter who nodded.
"Yes, his wording at the time just bothered me."
"Then let's make the assumption that he knew what to expect of those floors… if that's the case, then the chances of survival would drastically improve. It makes a strange amount of sense."
"So, just assume the lad knows more about the dungeon than he lets on, got it. Anythin' else?" Gareth asked.
"Hmm… no. We can't force anything, but it'd be nice to find out what to expect of the floors to come. Does anyone have any inputs?" Finn asked as his eyes glanced over the group that were deep in thought.
"Ehm…" Lefiya piped in as everyone turned to her "If what you say is true… then how did he know in the first place? We have the records of Zeus and Hera familias which clearly states that they reached the glacier territory and no further." She asked as that made everyone frown.
"You make a valid point, Lefiya." Riveria smiled as her student blushed "How would he know more than us if we have the written recordings of the previous record holders for dungeon exploration?"
Before the question could be answered, a knock on the door sounded before it opened, revealing one of the guards who was supposed to be stationed outside.
"Yes, Mark? Can I help you?" Finn asked politely as he glanced around before locking eyes with Ais.
"Ais, Fiona, Bell Cranel has asked to meet you about your training." He relayed his message as all eyes widened as Finn seemed to smile.
"Hmm… This might be a blessing. Ais, could you bring Bell up here?" Finn asked as Ais nodded, heading out the door to greet her guest, and friend, hoping that Finn wouldn't try to push too hard… Well, if he did, she'd have a few words with him.
=Outside Twilight Manor, a few minutes earlier=
Bell stared at the gate to the home of Loki Familia. This was yet another visit he hadn't been looking forward to, but he knew he had to go and inform Ais and Fiona that the training was on again tomorrow.
By now, they'd probably heard of their record being broken by him and his familia, if how fast rumors spread in this city was any indication. They were bound to have questions… questions he did not want asked.
Questions he did not want to answer as no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't trust them for the life of him. Every time he did, the image of their betrayal flashed through his eyes and due to that, there was always this nagging feeling in the back of his mind asking him questions he had no answer to.
'What would they think of your god? Would they let it slide?'
'What would they do if they found out your blood relation to one of the greatest foes the city has faced?'
'Who would they side with, you or the city?'
Questions like these always plagued his mind when he was anywhere near them, the only one he felt sort of at peace with being either Ais or Fiona. Ais due to the clear pain and regret in her eyes that was unmistakable. How angry she'd been at her surrogate parents for making the choice of meeting him for her.
She'd proven that she cared, that she was on his side and regretted her actions thoroughly. He'd even seen cry by the statue of her father as he'd calmed her down.
Fiona on the other hand… he didn't know why. By all accounts, he shouldn't trust her, shouldn't feel safe around her to let his guard down, but he did. It was like there was an aura around her that calmed him… like a warm home.
It was hard to explain, but that's the closest he could get to it. He felt at home near her, like he was among family.
Sighing out, he walked up to the gate and guards, where one had been eyeing him warily while the other had waved at him. It was a bit of a change of pace, but he recoginzed the friendly one as the brother who had asked for his autograph.
"Good morning. I'm here to see Fiona Deimne and Ais Wallenstein regarding our training regiment." He said clearly with a put on smile to ease the tension.
"Hey, Mark. Could you go and report that to Ais and Fiona?" The friendly guard asked as the guard, Mark in question nodded and headed inside.
"Don't mind him, he's still wary about you." Bell nodded with a thankful smile at the man.
"It's alright. A lot of people don't have the highest opinion of me. Thankfully you're not one of them… ehm…" Bell frowned as he realized he hadn't gotten the guards name.
"Adrian, and yeah. You saving my sister is something that I can never forget… She's the only living blood relative I have left. I don't know what'd do if I lost her." Bell's eyes softened at his words, familiar with that train of thought before growing somewhat somber.
"I understand. Before I married my wife, I had no family. Everyone had either abandoned me or died. My mother shortly after I was born, my father… well, I have never met him and for all I know, could be part of the empire or dead in a ditch." Bell started as his thought trailed.
"Oh… I'm sorry, that has to be rough."
"Yeah… I did have an Aunt, but I never got to meet her. She believed she didn't deserve to raise me… to even meet me. She died after doing something she believed to be right that not many agreed to." Bell said, keeping in vague so Adrina couldn't make any connections.
"God, I'm-... I don't know what to say. I'm sorry to hear that I guess…" he answered back honestly with a strained smile as Bell nodded.
"Thanks, I do have a family now, so I'm quite content with my life, even if there are a lot of things I have to do to truly be satisfied."
Before any more words could be said, the doors to the manor opened as Ais walked out, looking around before locking eyes with Bell.
He waved at her as she walked over towards him, motioning him inside.
"Good morning Ais, hope everything has been good while I've been gone." He sprung up a conversation as she nodded with a smile.
"They have. Fiona and I have worked hard." Bell nodded at her response.
"That's good. Speaking of her, where is she?" Ais looked forward for a second before turning back towards him.
"She's in Finn's office. We were having a meeting." Bell made an 'Ah' sound as he quickly came to a conclusion based on his gut feeling.
"Can I ask if it was about my expedition?" He asked as she looked towards him for a second as if contemplating, until she finally nodded.
"Yes… Finn might have some questions."
"Yeah, I figured." He sighed before they headed up the stairs.
"Did you get hurt?" Ais asked after a second of silence as he peeked at her for a second, his features softening slightly at her worry.
"Yeah… it was tough. I nearly died at least twelve different times, though, since there are some gaps in my memory." He answered truthfully as her eyes widened in shock.
To hear a level 7 being pushed that far to nearly die that much. Was the next region really that brutal?
Before any more words could be exchanged, they arrived at Finn's office with Bell knocking on the door. After getting the affirmative to enter, he walked inside as he looked around, chuckling to himself slightly as he couldn't help but let out a small remark.
"A whole party huh? For me?" He snarked as he ended it with a slight snicker.
A scoff was heard from Bete that suspiciously sounded like a laugh while Gareth, Tiona and Tione smirked at him.
"You bet, Argonaut-kun. I hear you've had quite the adventure. What new monsters did you find? What is the next region? Was it tough? Any strong monsters you killed?" Tiona instantly barraged him as he couldn't help but laugh at her as she leaned back, tilting her head in surprise.
Usually, people just backed off, weirded out when she did that. He even did it to, but that reaction was new.
"Yes, I had quite an adventure. I got to fight a lot of new monsters. The next region is the Scorched hell. It was not just tough, but brutal and I killed some abomination called a Chimera." Bell responded with quick-fire answers.
"Hold up, You got all that?" Tione asked incredulously as he nodded.
"Yeah, when you have an overzealous daughter with no boundaries at times and a study horse that loves to ask question, you tend to get used to a lot of questions at once." He gave her an honest answer as she hummed.
"Well… That was enlightening." Bell turned towards Finn at his interruption before nodding.
"Finn, I hear you called a meeting. Does this have anything to do with me reaching the 73rd floor?" He asked as the prum nodded with a plastered perfect smile.
"Indeed. If you don't mind, could I ask some questions about your expedition. No critical details of course." Bell contemplated his words for a second before shrugging.
"Alright, that's fine, but first. Ais, Fiona." He turned to the two who nodded at him.
"If you're up for it, we can start training again tomorrow morning. I'm kind of interested in how much you've learnt while I was away getting the shit beat out of me." He joked as flashes of that horrible heat sprung up in his mind, missing some concerned looks.
"Yeah, we're up for it." Fiona answered as Bell nodded.
"Now, why don't we get down to business?" Finn asked as Bell nodded, walking towards the window before leaning against it.
"Alright, ask away. I'll answer what I can, but don't think I'll tell you everything. Only what you need to know." He told them clearly to make sure they knew what to expect.
"Understandable. Firstly, you called the next zone, 'The Scorched Hell'?" Bell nodded at the question.
"Can you describe it for us?" The moment the question was asked, Bell took a deep sigh as he tried to find the words, Finn preparing his pen to write down everything important.
"Oh, how to explain it… the landscape is like a ginormous mesa, with the rocks being blood red and the heat… it felt like my blood was boiling. I don't think anyone below level 5 can go down there, if even that." He explained as Finn wrote with his pen.
"Shit, I fucking hate the heat." Bete muttered as a few people felt a bit uncomfortable thinking about going down there. Where with the cold you could protect yourself with a lot of layers, the heat is harder to protect against.
"Anything else?"
"Well, the floors are set up in a pattern. The first part is a moving maze that changes as time passes." He got a curious glance from Finn at that before he looked back down, furiously scribbling down something.
"The second part is a giant open room, similar to the glacier territory. In all honesty, it's completely reversed. Where the Glacier Territory has an open room then a maze, the Scorched Hell has a maze then an open room." That made it click for most as they understood the layout.
"Alright. What about monsters? What should we expect for any of them?"
"Well, in the maze, there was only one. A monster similar to the Peludas but smaller and completely camouflaged with the walls. It didn't even have a heartbeat so it was nearly impossible to notice it until it moved. It fires an exploding spike that nearly blinded me the first time, but if you know what to expect, they are actually quite easy to deal with."
He continued like this, giving the answers to the questions, but only those that pertained to the floors he had been on. To him, he knew he could easily have said more, revealed more, but it wasn't like they would jump twenty floors or so in a single expedition. It'd take time for them to catch up so at the time, what information he gave was like a goldmine to them.
"Lastly, the 73rd floor was… well, it's a monster rex." At that, everyone's backs straightened at the mention of the next monster rex after the Remorhaz.
"Oh? Did you defeat it?" Finn asked as Bell laughed and shook his head.
"What, do you think I'm suicidal? I had a broken ankle, surrounded by a horde of monsters and a monster rex in an unfamiliar environment. I just booked it to the stairs that was thankfully nearby." Bell shook his head slightly as everyone could understand that decision.
"Last question." Finn said, leaning forward as he put his hand together, leaning onto them. Bell looked towards him and nodded.
"To what extent does your abnormal knowledge of the dungeon reach?" The question wiped the smile off of Bell's face as he sighed.
"I figured my slip up with Fiona wouldn't go unnoticed. She clearly has your brains." He muttered as the girl in question blushed at the praise.
"Finn… with all due respect, but I won't be answering that, or how I know in the first place. Yes, I know more than I'm telling, but that's just me holding my cards close to my chest. Just know that I will eventually tell you all, but I can't say when. It could be next week or it could be years from now. Just don't push me… or there will be hell to pay." For a split second, his eyes lit up red as everyone got a chill down their spine.
"I understand. It was worth a try, but I see that it's best to leave it alone." Finn admitted as Bell nodded.
"Good, Now, are there any more questions from anyone else?" he asked as all eyes darted around for a second.
"Ehm… did you level up?" Fiona asked suddenly as everyone looked at her flabbergasted at the forward question that would normally invade once privacy.
"Huh… wasn't expecting that. Well, might as well, I'm close anyway to where I want to be. Yes, I can advance to level 8 whenever I wish." He answered her as a few gulps went around.
"Now… If there are no more questions, I do have a family waiting for me at home." He stood up straight, glancing at everyone before walking toward the door.
"Good luck with your endeavors." Was his parting words as he exited, leaving the group to regain their bearing after the bomb of a soon to be second level 8 in Orario.
Chapter 62… FINISHED! That took some time, but it feels good to have it done. I had the one shot to write alongside the next Side Story to release, which in total added up to 22k words stretched across all three.
Yikes.
In case any of you are wondering, the one shot is a bit… unique and… can be seen as degeneracy. I asked the Discord Community I'm part of where we have a lot of authors in it to give me some tags and characters with the idea of a plot to write just for a one shot.
It kind of spiraled into the tags of Dark Age, Elf Bell x Riveria x Astrea x Alfia x Ryuu (Yeah, you can tell what kind of people this is xD), Romance, Tragedy.
They also added Sex, Harem Cat-fights over Bell and… Fucking hell… Enslavement to the mix.
Yeah, this made for one weird ass one shot. Just hope they enjoyed the abomination they made me write. Thanks a lot guys!
As for the Side Story. This chapter was accompanied by the story of when Bell saved the now named guard, Adrian's sister. Including that of his takedown of the so-called 'Golden Vipers' gang. Grateful fluff, awkwards Bell among other things.
Hope everything is enjoyable, but I won't keep you any longer. Instead, I'll get into the reviews!
JackBlade: Wait, what? Is this true? Why does the author want to lewd the dragon girl all of sudden? Is this like a meme or actual planning in progress? But with who? Bell's love life has kinda been set in stone and Wiene had always been a daughter to him. Oh so like he is pairing her with his son or something? Like the steamy route of giving up on the father and settling for the son? That would work . But damn, never even thought the author looked at Wiene and decided that. There was no hint in the author's note at all. Well, I like your story however it may turn out so good luck.
Author: Well no. It's sort of an inside joke in a reddit community made by the author of KIIF (Keeping It In the Family). We were talking and I accidentally wrote 'As long as it's Wiene' instead of 'As long as it isn't Wiene' to someone asking if it's alright to fuck a dragon.
Yeah, that has gone over well xD.
Just ignore it as it has nothing to do with the plan of the story.
Guest: I used to enjoy your stories, they were very enjoyable…until you said it's not wrong to fuck Wiene… then no.
Author: I know it's one of you guys. I swear, I will find out who you are… and make you pay…
Karlos: Where is the chapter with the smut that people were talking about? Couldn't find it, but this sounds weird and spicy.
Author: You won't find it here, but wait a little bit and there might be one.
SentinelSlice: Great fight. I see why this chapter took longer than others.
By the way, wouldn't the force of the attacks blow back the dust obscuring the fight?
I'm glad Bell still lost. This will be something that lights a fire under him. Honestly, I'd half expect the loss to activate Bell's skill even more.
Author: Thanks, but the chapter was delayed due to other difficulties. Also, you'd think that the force of the attack's would blow away any dust, but only if it wasn't blowing up more dust itself. All it'd do was expand the cloud while filling the previous space with new dust.
Bell had to lose too in the end, it was the only choice to be honest. He needed the push for himself and for what's to come… hehe.
Guest: I bet the fight between Kaius and Bell will be epic. Though, I wonder. Considering the level of the Kaius faction and their number, he will need help.
The Xenos maybe?
I doubt Kita could move. Maybe Freya and Loki? I am waiting for it impatiently.
All in all, I very much enjoyed the chapter. do not worry too much about frequent updates!
As long as the story continues, it will be fine for me.
Author: Thanks for the support. It really means a lot :). I have always loathed the feeling of having to get chapters out, and that's why I usually try to pace myself to not burn out or lose interest. I have no plans to top writing anytime soon, and have plans for stories in the future, mainly The Progeny of Talent and Heroic Will Rewrite.
As for Kaius and his faction, let's just say they have a bit of an ace up their sleeve, but you'll just have to wait and read to find out xD.
Stevenpiskunov2: I just realized a few things. If you can correct me if I am wrong and if I am then sorry for assuming. First the most obvious one that pit monster Bell encountered was supposed to be a reference from Star Wars right? And second, The "Hidden Ones" that I see were mentioned, is that a reference to Assassins creed? Or was that just pure coincidence lol.
I had no idea they were called the Hidden Ones was what they were also called until I played Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The last time I think they were brought up in the story (unless this is the first time they were mentioned) was before I touched the game.
Speaking of Assassin's Creed there is this one song that these YouTubers called NerdOut made for the game called "Fire and Ice." I am bringing this up because ever since listening to the music and watching the actual video itself, it just reminds me of this story and I can't help but see Bell in place of the scenes in it, don't get me wrong there are a few songs that remind me of this fic but this one really takes the cake (if that's even the right word to use lol). As I was reading this chapter I just couldn't get it out of my head. Anyway I recommend this song to you as I think you may enjoy it.
Oh and thanks for recommending that other story to me I might check it out later. Now I'm going to sleep lol.
Author: DING DING DING, you are correct. The pit monster is a reference to the Sarlacc from Episode VI which Boba Fett fell into. Chalister added it and it fit right in. It's nice to see someone recognize the reference :D
Also, you found the second reference which is of Assassin's creed. I'm surprised you're the first to notice, but that's fine. I had played a lot of it recently when naming them so it kind just stuck.
I also listened to the soundtrack, but funnily enough, me and Chalister already have a 'theme' for TFA, which we might share in the future (We didn't make it, just found it on youtube).
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the recommendation and that you slept well!
Primo The Arbiter Of Darkness: I feel like this story portrays mothers in a more positive light than fathers, as a large amount of characters are/were abandoned by their fathers and cared for by their mothers, I am not calling unrealistic, just saying that maybe portray the other side, where woman abandoned their children as it would balance things out. Otherwise I really love this DAM story. (PJO)
Author: Oh… Me and Chalister never actually intended to put fathers in a bad light in the story. I love my father very much and miss him to death, so hearing that really hit home for me. I'll try to keep it more equal in the future as it's a bit too late to change any of the ones mentioned in the story now as it'd have ramifications on a lot of things I'd rather not change.
Thank you for bringing it up though!
That's it for the reviews! I do hope you enjoyed the chapter and to see you next time!