Freya sat atop her throne in Babel. She lived on the highest floor, giving her a perfect view of the city below. A wine glass was in her hand, lazily resting as she gazed out her massive window.

She knew Ishtar's plan would soon be underway. She had planned to wait til the last minute and attack Ishtar, but something caught her interest.

She had heard reports of the Silence returning with a boy who had similar features to her. Freya knew it was the boy Alfia held in her arms almost 15 years ago.

He had given her quite the show during Monsterphelia and another one while he was in Melen. To so easily handle two level sixes was a feat in and of itself.

But to be able to hold his own against a level eight as a level three was downright impossible. Yet the boy did so anyway.

He had captured her interest, but since he was the Silence's nephew, she refrained from her usual methods.

Sure, she still played her part as Syr, but that would be as far as she would go. Which is what she'd like to tell herself.

No, she'd do much more than play the role of Syr. She'd make sure the kid grew because she knew he had the potential to be the best.

Her thoughts wandered back to Ishtar and the pleasure district. It was downright despicable what Ishtar was doing to that poor Renard.

Freya had half a mind to go in and burn the district down right now. But she wanted to wait. She wanted to see what that boy and, in turn, the Far Eastern girl would do.

She would still attack the district, of course. Especially now that Hermes let slip, Freya took an interest in Bell. She knew Ishtar was smart enough not to go after Bell.

But if Bell came to her instead, she could justify it as self-defense. Freya didn't know if Bell knew this or not. She knew Bell was smart. She'd seen it first hand in Melen and when he scouted out the pleasure district.

But did he know he'd be walking into a trap on the night of the full moon? Freya couldn't wait to find out.

She, of course, would still offer her assistance, but saving the Renard and the Far East girl would be all up to him.

"Let's see how much you'll grow this time," Freya thought.

She took a swig of her wine, feeling the fruity contents hit her taste buds. She let out a delighted sigh before turning and facing her captain.

"Ottar dear. Make the preparations for our attack on Ishtar for the end of the week. But don't interfere with Bell Cranel. Let him do his own thing."

"As you wish, my lady," Ottar replied, a sense of longing in his eyes.

Freya noticed this and smirked slightly. "Is there something you want, Ottar?"

"The boy. I've heard tales of his swordsmanship. I wish to spar him," Ottar truthfully answered.

Freya smiled and giggled at her child's answer. He always wanted to improve himself to be like the titans of the Zeus and Hera familia. Even now, at level eight, he still saw himself as weak compared to them.

"You will have to ask the child himself, but I have no qualms about it. Although I do wonder how that would go?" Freya wondered.

Ottar bowed and bid Freya farewell as he went to prepare for the end of the week. A slight sense of excitement inside him.

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Hermes sat at his desk in his home. He was expecting a visit from his nephew anytime now. He knew he was in a world of trouble with Bell.

But in the end, it was worth it because he got to mess with his nephew in a way he hadn't before.

"WHERE IS HE!" Bell yelled, storming into the house.

"Oh my, looks like my demise has arrived early," Hermes thought.

"Bell, wait a minute! Calm down?" Falagar, a weretiger, pleaded.

Bell didn't listen, and Hermes could hear him marching around.

"Bell, what did he do this time?" Asfi asked, seeing the angry white-haired boy.

"Motherfucker almost made me have a sixsome last night! Where is he!" Bell yelled.

Asfi looked shocked but pointed to Hermes' office. Bell immediately stormed there with Asfi following to make sure he didn't kill her god.

As much as Hermes annoyed her, he was still her patron deity.

The doors to Hermes' office swung open, and the blonde-haired god was standing in front of his desk.

"Ah, Bell, welcome back. Did you enjoy-

Hermes didn't get the chance to finish as Bell kicked him in the balls, causing him to keel over onto the ground.

Asfi sighed and shook her head while Hermes groaned on the ground.

"Alright, now we're even." Bell took a deep breath before turning to Asfi.

"So how ya been, big sis? Hermes still annoying the shit out of you?" Bell asked.

Asfi blushed a little in embarrassment. "You haven't called me that in so long. I was wondering if you forgot."

Bell's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why would I forget about you being my big sister? You made being around Hermes bearable, and you also built snowmen with me."

Hermes groaned again as Asfi fixed her glasses. "Well, Hermes has been unusually bearable these past few weeks. He seems almost serious."

"Hermes being serious? Like actually serious?"

Asfi nodded. "Yup. Now, was that the only reason for your visit?" Asfi asked.

"Nope, I need information. So I'll wait til he's done wining to get it."

After a few minutes, Hermes was able to get back up and limp back to his chair.

"Asfi, ice," he ordered.

Asfi left the room, leaving Bell and Hermes alone.

"I expected your retaliation to be a lot worse," Hermes groaned.

"It would've been if you didn't get Ishtar off my back last night. Otherwise, I would've kicked you twice."

Hermes winced at the thought of another kick. "Well, I knew you were there for a reason. My guess is you want to rescue the fox girl. Am I correct?"

"You are. Now I know you deal with all sorts of illegal deliveries. It must've cost Ishtar a pretty valis to get a killing stone, didn't it?"

"Yup. 15 million valis up front and another 15 after delivery. Just letting you know that money's going to Hearthome after covering my expenses."

Bell shook his head and pulled up a chair. "Alright, but you're gonna tell me everything you know about the killing stone. Including how to destroy it and where the ritual will take place."

Hermes nodded. "The killing stone is a dark magic item used to capture the soul of whoever is killed by it. I don't know why Ishtar wants to use it on that girl, but I know where she'd use it."

Bell gestured for Hermes to keep speaking.

"She'll use it during the full moon, but the moon has to shine directly on top of them. Her buildings block the moonlight, so she'll need to go somewhere high and flat. Only place like that in the pleasure district is the Hanging Gardens."

Bell nodded as he started formulating a plan in his head. He didn't have much time to think of one, but he was good at thinking on his feet when needed.

"And how do I break it?"

"Hit it hard enough, and it'll shatter. Although that'll incur the wrath of Ishtar and her Berbera."

Bell smirked as he stood up. "Then it'll be an easy fight."

Hermes chuckled before bidding his nephew farewell. Once Bell left, Hermes looked out his window at Babel Tower.

"Now, what will your move be, Freya dear?" He wondered.

Hermes felt pain shoot through his crotch again, and he winced.

"Asfi!" He yelled.

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"You know you don't have to do this with me," Bell said.

He was sitting on top of a roof overlooking the pleasure district. He couldn't see the buildings that were high in the sky, but he could see the patrols and daily routines in the district.

"This is a way I can get to know you better," Bache answered, sitting next to him.

The two were on a stakeout to get as much information as they could before the night came. They had some food and water and made sure to keep out of sight as they watched.

"Alright, fair point. So what type of things do you like Bache?" Bell asked.

"I like to workout and read hero stories. Or I can't read them, but Kali always told me what happened in them, and I would tell Tiona."

Bell raised an eyebrow. "You can't read?"

Bache shook her no. "I can read in Amazonian. But I can't read or write in Kinoe."

"Oh. Well, I can teach you how to read and write in Kinoe if you want?" Bell asked.

Bache turned her head and faced Bell. "Really? You would do that for me?"

"Yeah. Being able to read and write is important. Especially if you're staying in Orario, where Kinoe is the main language."

Bache felt her heart flutter. "I'd like that."

"Well, in that case."

Bell reached up and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen. He brought these along to write down patrol changes, shift times, amount of guards, and other things.

He clicked the pen and wrote the letter b. He showed it to Bache and explained.

"Ok, this one should be easy. This is the letter b. It makes up the first letter in both of our names, so it should be easy to write."

Bell handed the pen and paper to Bache so she could write. Bache looked at the letter and tried to process it.

"You don't have to get it right on the first try. Do your best, and we'll work from there," Bell said.

Bache nodded and pressed the pen to the paper. She tried to mimic what Bell did to the best of her ability. But it ended up sloppy and squiggly.

Bell took the paper back and looked at it. "Alright, not bad for your first time. It's a little messy, but no one's expecting you to be perfect on your first try."

Bache felt a little better about her writing but still wanted to be better. Bell handed the paper back to her.

"Here, let's try again. This time, I'll help you so it'll look nicer," Bell said.

Bache wondered how as she took the paper back and pressed the pen against it. Bell grabbed the top of her hand and moved behind her.

Bache thought Bell was being very bold. Yet Bell didn't seem to realize what he was doing as he helped her.

Bache felt her heart skip a beat as Bell slowly moved her hand to help her write. Bache let him guide her hand, relaxing and not thinking too much about it.

"See, it's simple. Don't think too much about it, and it'll come out just fine." Bell said.

Once they were done, Bell took his hand away, and Bache missed the warmth it provided. But when she looked down, she saw her b was a lot neater than the previous one.

"See much better. Now you try." Bell smiled.

Bache smiled and tried again. She tried to mimic the movements she and Bell just did and was met with better results than her first try.

"Very good. Now, let's move on to a different letter. We'll come back to that later."

Bache nodded, and Bell taught her a, c, h, and e. Bache wrote all of them down with mixed results. Some were better than others, like her c was better than her a.

So Bell moved behind her and grabbed her hand, helping her with the a. Bache did this on purpose as to feel this feeling of warmth Bell's hand provided.

"Alright, now that you know how to write those letters. Write your name. Here, let me give you an example."

Bell took the paper back and wrote Bache's name. He handed it back to her, and Bache looked at the page in confusion.

"That's your name. I want you to write it."

Bache looked to Bell and back at the paper. She was a little nervous, but positive reinforcement by Bell gave her the courage to try and write her name.

She took the pen to the paper and tried to copy what Bell did. She tried not to think about writing and to just do it.

When she was done, she saw that she had written her name in Kinoe, and that she could read it to. Bache felt an odd sense of joy spread through her body.

She looked to Bell, hoping for praise, and saw him smiling at her. "Good job, Bache. You're one step closer to being able to read and write."

Bache smiled again before tearing the piece of paper off and folding it. "I'm keeping this."

Bell chuckled. "That's fine. I'll keep teaching you until you can."

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A few hours passed, and Bell and Bache continued their stakeout. It was still nighttime, and the two were sharing an apple.

"Hey, Bache?"

"Yes, Bell?"

"How come you cover your face with that scarf?" Bell asked.

Bache's hand subconsciously went to her side and touched the scarf. "When I was younger, Argana used to make fun of how I looked. She said I looked more like a man than a woman and should hide my face away."

"Wow. Your sister sounds like a real bitch"

Bache nodded and still kept her hand on her scarf. She had been wearing it for almost 20 years. She knew she wasn't the prettiest, and Argana made sure she was aware of it.

"Hey Bache"

Bache turned her attention to Bell, who stared at her.

"I find you pretty."

"You're just saying that. I have a rough-looking face.

"No, I'm not. Just because your face is rough-looking doesn't mean it's not attractive. I mean, I have a baby face, and you find me attractive."

"That's because you're cute and have a boyish charm. I'm just rough-looking and jagged."

Bell rolled his eyes. "Which makes you pretty in an exotic way. You just scream danger. It's like you're daring someone to make a move on you. Ah, damnit, my Grandpa had a word for this. Ah, exotic beauty."

Bache giggled and glanced at Bell. "Exotic beauty, huh? I never thought of it like that. Your Grandpa sure knows how to talk about women."

Bell laughed. "Well, he's been teaching me since I was a baby on how to talk to them. But most of the time, I just say what comes to my mind. I know I'm not the best at picking up on cues, but I try."

Bache smiled before leaning over and kissing Bell on the cheek. Bell reached up and touched where she kissed him.

"What was that for?"

"For being sweet."

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Haruhime sat in her room, looking out the window. She saw a bird standing on a gutter before getting startled and flying away.

She wished she was that bird. So she could be free to fly away from the place. But alas, someone such as her doesn't deserve to be rescued.

At least, that's what she believed. She was a prostitute. She was tainted. Who in their right mind would save damaged goods?

She sighed and resigned herself to her fate. A week from now, a dagger would be driven through her heart, and she would die.

However, instead of going to heaven, her soul would be trapped within the killing stone, and her magic would be used to start a conflict.

Her mind wandered back to the bird, and she wished she could fly. Fly far away from this place and back home. Where Mikoto and her friends no doubt wondered where she went.

Where her father banished her after someone lied and said she stole an offering. She didn't know why her father so easily discarded her.

She thought he loved her, but it turned out she was wrong. His face was stone cold as that prum merchant took her away. A few days later, they were attacked on the road, and she was captured by slavers while the prum ran away.

After that, she was sold to Ishtar and has been living here ever since. She didn't want to die. The thought of it scared her.

She desperately wished to be saved. But constantly had to remind herself she didn't deserve it. Prostitutes only bring ruin to the hero, and she didn't want to do that.

So she resigned herself to her fate and waited to die.

She felt sad, knowing her life would soon come to an end. She wouldn't get to experience anything after. Her soul would be trapped inside the stone for a very long time.

Haruhime sighed. She wondered what it felt like to fall in love. She had always hoped to do it when she got older, but it looked like that wouldn't be happening.

Just once, she hoped someone would swoop her off her feet and make her hear race. If she could experience that just once, she would die without regrets.

Just once was all she asked.

Fate is such a funny thing in the end.

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Mikoto waited in her room as the moon rose. A week had passed, and Bell hadn't come to get her. He told her to wait while he got information and that he would come get her.

She was getting antsy and nervous. What if Bell got caught? What if he chickened out? How would she save Haruhime now?

She paced back and forth in her room, not sure what to do. Should she go alone and use her ninja skills to sneak Haruhime out?

But where would she go? She was about to go look for Bell when her door opened.

"Yo, you ready? We gotta act now," Bell said.

Mikoto jumped in fright. "Bell! Don't you know about knocking? What if I was changing?!"

Bell shrugged. "Eh, nothing I haven't seen before. Now, grab your gear. Let's go. We're saving Haruhime tonight."

Once Mikoto heard those words, she immediately grabbed her katana and her Shinto blade. She strapped them to her waist and noticed Bell's swords at his side.

"Alright, I'll tell you the plan on the way."

Mikoto nodded and followed Bell as the two walked to the pleasure district again. The full moon wouldn't rise until 1:00 a.m. Giving them plenty of time to get Haruhime and get out.

Bell also wanted to destroy the killing stone, so if he failed, Ishtar would have to wait even longer to harness whatever magic Haruhime possessed.

That's why he waited til today. So he could snatch Haruhime and destroy the killing stone in one fell swoop.

He explained all this to Mikoto as they arrived. When they did, the two walked in unopposed, blending in with the crowd. They began making their way to the Hanging Gardens. They had about an hour to get there.

Hermes told Bell that Ishtar would have Haruhime at the hanging gardens about half an hour beforehand to get everything ready.

This meant that Haruhime and the killing stone were taken out of hiding and would be in the same location.

However, Bell stopped walking as something felt wrong. Mikoto stopped as well and looked at Bell.

"Sir Bell? What's wrong?"

Bell didn't respond. Instead, he pushed Mikoto away right as the building next to him exploded. Splinters of wood scattered everywhere, and buildings collapsed as more explosions went off.

Bell and Mikoto were separated by the rubble.

"BELL! BELL! ARE YOU OK?" Mikoto yelled.

Bell coughed and yelled back. "I'M FINE. KEEP GOING I'LL MEET YOU AT THE HANGING GARDENS!"

"OK!"

Bell continued walking, hearing the sounds of battle fill his ears.

What was going on? Who was attacking the district? Why now if all times?

Bell unsheathed his sword, Longclaw, and dodged an amazon. He swung his sword downwards and severed her Achilles tendon.

He heard swords clashing against swords and explosions going off in the distance. He parried a blade from an amazon and kicked her away.

Her body slammed into the building, knocking her out. Bell continued forward, running to his destination.

He could see multiple people in black clothing fighting amazons in the street. He furrowed his brow in confusion, seeing the Freya familia crest on their backs.

But he had no time to ask questions. With the attack underway, they might hurry up with the ritual.

He continued his run, making sure to pace himself so he wasn't tired. He cut a dozen arrows in half and took out the amazonian archers.

He kept making his way through the battlefield, taking out all of the amazons that got in his way. Oddly enough, none of the Freya familia adventures attacked him.

Which he found odd as he was nearly blown up. Could that perhaps been a misfire? Or was he simply at the wrong place at the wrong time?

He didn't have time to think as he made his way to the Hanging Gardens.

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Mikoto snuck her way past all of the fighting and arrived at the Hanging Gardens. She didn't see Bell anywhere, and she couldn't wait.

She began climbing up the side of the Hanging Gardens. She was making good progress thanks to her ninja skills and experience of free climbing that Takemikzuchi made her do back home.

She could hear voices the higher she climbed. Which meant if she fell, she have a long fall. But that didn't happen, and soon she was at the top.

She hid behind a corner in the shadows and saw Haruhime chained to the ground. Multiple Berbera were in front of her, with an ugly toad-like woman at the front.

"Rah, where the hell is Ishtar?! She should be here by now!?" The toad yelled.

It seems as if they didn't know about the battle going on down below.

"Calm down, Phyrne. Once Ishtar arrives, we'll start with the ceremony," Aisha said.

Mikoto stayed out of sight. She hoped Bell would arrive soon. Otherwise, she'd have to fight all these Berbera on her own.

"Who's there? Behind the wall, I know you're there," Samira called out.

"Shit," Mikoto muttered.

She took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the wall. Harubime's eyes widened in shock as Mikoto stood right in front of her.

What was she doing here? Why wasn't she back home in the Far East?

"Oh? Lookie here. Someone's trying to rescue Haruhime," Phyre taunted.

Mikoto remained calm with her hand on the pommel of her katana.

"Mi-Mikoto?"

"Oh, so you know her too? How interesting"

Mikoto felt disgusted looking at the toad and hearing her voice. But she held it back.

"Hello Lady Haruhime. It's good to see you again," Mikoto calmly greeted.

"What are you doing here? You need to leave now?!" Haruhime begged.

Mikoto shook her head and drew her katana. "I can't do that, lady Haruhime. I can't let you die like this."

"No, you need to leave! Go forget about me!"

"No!"

"I said go! I'm not the childhood friend you remember! Save yourself and leave me!"

"I'm not leaving you! I finally found you after all these years. I'm not running away!"

Haruhime started crying as Mikoto refused to listen. The amazons watching didn't care for the scene except for two.

"Samira, take care of the trash," Phyrne ordered.

"With pleasure," The white-haired Amazon said.

She walked forward to Mikoto, who stood there with her katana raised. Once Samira was in range, Mikoto swung and attempted to slash her chest.

But Samira swiftly dodged and uppercutted Mikoto in the stomach. Mikoto hunched forward and dropped her katana, causing Samira to laugh.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you're done already," She taunted.

Mikoto threw a fist at Samira's face, which she easily dodged. Samira punched Mikoto multiple times in the face and stomach.

The punches were hard and fast. Mikoto was barely standing, and Samira knew this. She punched Mikoto in the face before grabbing her by the collar and throwing her off the Hanging Gardens.

"NOOO!!" Haruhime yelled.

Samira dusted off her hands and walked back to the other Berbera.

"That fight sucked. She was weak."

Haruhime started crying at Mikoto's death. After so many years, they were reunited, just for them to be yanked apart all over again.

This life was a cruel and miserable one.

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After fighting his way through the streets, Bell arrived at the bottom of the Hanging Gardens. He could sense dozens of amazons inside, so he knew he didn't want to go in there.

So he started climbing up the side of the building. But unlike Mikoto, who was fast and nimble thanks to her experience in free climbing.

Bell jumped from ledge to ledge. Crevasse to crevasse. He was fast but not like Mikoto, whose climbing technique was more refined.

When he was about 75 percent of the way up, he saw someone falling toward him. His eyes widened in shock when he saw it was Mikoto, and he shot his arm out to grab her.

He grabbed her by the collar of her kimono but heard his shoulder pop when he did. He grunted in pain but didn't let it stop him from pulling Mikoto to him.

He threw her over his back, his shoulder hurting every time he moved it. Once her arms were around his neck, he could feel her breathing.

He used his ice magic to tie her around him and continued his climb. He could heal her once he reached the top of the Hanging Gardens and hopefully fix his shoulder.

Once he reached the top, he unsheathed his sword, Longclaw ready to fight.

The Berbera didn't know he was there, and Phyrne was bringing the dagger down. Aiming at the crying Haruhime's heart.

Bell shot forward at incredible speeds and cut off Phyrne's hand. She yelled out in pain as the dagger with the killing stone attached to it clatter on the ground.

Bell didn't waste a second before he stabbed the killing stone with Longclaw. Causing it to crack and then shatter completely.

"Alright, assholes. Who's next?" Bell asked.

Well looks like a big fight is about to happen, and Bell has a dislocated shoulder and an injured Mikoto on his back.

Tune in next time to see what happens.