Marie is OOC. This is a requested three shot. The story goes very differently. It starts at the end of season 2 but Bell never met Wiene. Bell reaches level four by helping Hermes Familia and defeating a black Amphisbaena. Also for the first time I will kill main and important characters. I apologize to the fans of such characters. But it was a good chance to do so since I never did this in my other fics.

A Mermaid's Love

First Part – The Boy With White Hair

It was a quiet and calm day. The area in which I lived saw no light, but then again, no area in the dungeon ever saw the light of the sun. Only few places had the luxury of some artificial light, one which resembles the day on the surface so much. The sun we so much desire to see, yet I am one of few who could never witness said beauty.

My name is Marie, and I am a mermaid. I was born in this abyss fourteen years ago and for as long as I can remember I was always on my own. Having to learn how to fight and defend myself. To cloth and feed myself. To learn how to use the equipment left by dead humans. All to not end up like those humans and monsters alike. It was so unfair. Both monsters and humans all saw me as an enemy. Left and right, there were no allies only enemies.

It was only later, after nearly five years, that I met someone like me. According to him I was a Xenos, just like him. A monster born with intelligence and possibly … a human soul. Because of that we were cursed to be hunted down by both sides who saw only the evil side of us. But finally there were more like me. Xenos, who banded together to protect each other. Only … I could not join them, for I didn't have the ability to move or even live on land. And then once again I was abandoned. They often came to check on me but to me it was no different from being left behind.

Even the very beings who were like me could not take me with them. They had fun, speaking to each other, playing and eating together like a big family. But never with me. It was too dangerous to do that outside of the hidden villages. And I understood why after the few that I had distantly befriended, died in during a trip to come see me. Caught by surprise by a party of adventurers. I couldn't bear it so I closed myself off to prevent this from happening. Spending my life as a solitary being. Always living life on the edge. Any moment I could have been attacked. There was never a moment for me to relax, even as I slept.

So it went on for years. By eating the monster's magic stone and equipping myself with the items given to me by the fellow Xenos, apparently sourced to them by a shady guy in a black cloak, I became bigger and stronger. Soon the oldest of the Xenos, Lyd, was no match for me. Having become the strongest, the other Xenos started to see me like an introverted big sister. One who would help them if in need but often didn't interact with them otherwise.

I felt kind of like Asterius. The big black bull appeared all of a sudden. He was strong, exceedingly so. Perhaps the only one that proved to be worth paying any attention to, but even he couldn't defeat me when it came to a direct confrontation. But he never was around the Xenos, always challenging himself in the depths of the dungeon, a place I couldn't reach. While he delved into the deep floors, I was stuck between the twentieth and thirty seventh floor. And thus, my growth slowed down. The only monsters in my area were weak and couldn't provide me with any more strength.

What really set me apart, however, was the fact that unlike the other Xenos, I was but an empty shell. They all had a desire, one beyond being able to see the surface and its beauty. For example, Ray wanted to find a lover, someone she could fly the skies with. Asterius on the other hand wished to find his rival to challenge him again.

I on the other hand had nothing and wanted nothing. Sure, like all Xenos I was born with the desire to see the surface, the gorgeousness of the open seas. However, having grown accustomed to this small place there was nothing, beyond the seas, that I wanted more than just some peace.

Life was getting boring, infinitely so. When I suddenly grew a new interest. Over the past couple of months, I had taken a special interest in a group of adventurers who seemed to be advancing rapidly through the dungeon. A bunny boy, that led the group, in particular sparked my interest. I don't know what about him caught my attention so much initially. But soon I too saw it.

Everything I had always yet never realized I had wished for: a family, a friend, the kind of person I wanted to be before reality crushed my dreams. He was all that. Though I had no interest in human interaction, he alone with his warmth and kindness kept me from dying of boredom in this dark world. Though if asked I'd probably deny it, I will have to admit to myself that he is the one who saved me in my moment of uncertainty.

For a moment I wondered if it was possible for him to turn that kindness my way. If there was one person who perhaps could see beyond the outside of a person it was him, the hope of the Xenos. To share that same smile with me, but I immediately crushed even the possibility of that idea. I was a monster; he was a human. That was all there was in this world. Nothing more. We were destined to be enemies the moment we were born … but if only there was the slightest chance, I'd take it. Not that it would ever come, to me in particular.

It only took a quick glance at my silver spear to remind myself of that. The weapon had pierced as many monsters as it had humans. Any who showed any hostility towards me, I never showed any mercy. I had long gotten used to this cruel world and no matter how many people I kill, no matter what sad expression they wore I never felt any sympathy for them. They knew the risk when they entered, or perhaps they didn't, but that mattered not.

None of this was ever going to change. I was convinced of that. It is what I told myself. Until one day everything changed. When someone intruded in my life, changing it forever into something I myself would have never imagined it to have become.

.

The only sound present as I enjoyed the cool spring of the thirty seventh floor was that of the water droplets hitting the surface of the liquid. It was pleasant and silent, just as I liked it. Then my ear twitched. And all my bliss was gone. My mood was ruined by a rumble barreling towards me. Grabbing my silver spear, I turned to see who would dare interrupt me. What I didn't expect was for the person responsible to fall straight from the ceiling, crashing into the ground with a sickening crunch.

If whoever crashed didn't die, he was sure to be close anyways with several broken bones. Then getting up from the dust cloud a cute boy with white hair and red eyes began looking around. If not for the tired and bloody look he would have been quite similar to the cute bunny that was Arles. The boy then looked at me and began sprinting.

It didn't look like he was trying to attack me, so I let him get close not expecting him to grab my wrist and pull me out of the way of an attack. It was nothing dangerous, but it was the thought that counted, right? Well, Lyd said something along those lines. But to me it was interesting to see how he seemed to be trying to protect me. Perhaps he was too caught up in the moment to see that I was not a human or an elven girl in need of help.

The monster that appeared, however, was something I had never seen before yet instinctively knew what it was. Either way it was possibly the most dangerous entity I had seen since Asterius. It was weird to see someone weaker than me trying to protect me. The way he spread his arms to defend me against a monster that he probably couldn't take was somehow heartwarming.

Then the battle started, the two clashed and to my surprise the boy held himself together against the destroyer quite well. They were almost evenly matched … almost being the keyword. He glowed bright white for a while and with the sound of a bell he unleashed a powerful attack that injured the monster. But unfortunately it wasn't stupid, deciding to sacrifice its less vital parts to survive and land a deadly strike to the boy's torso with its razor sharp claw.

He fell limp to the ground, struggling to get back up before passing out. I had watched enough, with a swift strike to the distracted beast, I sent its head flying and put an end to that monstrosity, making sure the dungeon didn't take more than it was supposed to for today.

No matter how beat up the boy was, he had been just a step away from defeating such a powerful monster. In a way that made him dangerous, but he had also shown that he was different. Though he had no idea I was a monster it did demonstrate that he was fighting for the sake of someone he didn't know. To just let him die would have been a shame and a waste of my efforts to save him from the Juggernaut. Besides I did say that if I ever had the chance to interact with a human and have them see me for who I am and earn their trust and kindness, I would take it in a heartbeat.

"Hmm."

I got closer and grabbed his arm before dragging his body into the water, leaving enough of his head out so that he wouldn't accidentally drown. Using my spear to cut my forearm, I let his body heal through the magical ability that my blood had.

While waiting for him to heal, I took a moment to take a closer look at him. I had never been in such close proximity to anyone unless it was in their final moments as I ended their life. So, it was a somewhat new experience for me. Everything about him was so different from me. He was shorter than me by nearly a head in length, his pearly white skin and his fluffy white hair completely contrasting my light blue skin and my verdant hair.

However, taking a close look at his face I realized I recognized his face. A face that for a few months I had taken a special interest in. His kind soul was far too innocent for this world, especially the dungeon, how someone like him had decided to become an adventurer of all the things, was beyond me.

Despite how powerful my healing ability was, his injuries were quite serious, deadly even, thus a slow recovery was simply to be expected. How he managed to survive with such a mangled body is a miracle, even to me. Looking at his cute face I couldn't help but start gently caressing his cheek. Like when I used to pet Arles.

'Wait a minute.'

It was then that I remembered that I could have sworn that I saw someone else had fallen down together with the boy. Thinking about checking it out I summoned some of the nearby water monsters. It is an ability that I dare not rely on or overestimate since I don't know if the monsters obey me because of my strength or if it's because of an ability of mine. What would happen should I face monster rex and suddenly I am no longer able to control them? If it takes over control? That is why I dare not rely on it.

But they were better than nothing, so leaving them to guard the body from any other monster that I couldn't control I went back. It was just on the other side of the small lake I was in anyways, so it's not like I couldn't rush back if anything happened.

The room was as flat as a plain with little to nothing to hide behind, beyond the crater formed by the initial fall of the destroyer and the boy, so scouting for other people was rather easy. And just as I thought, there was indeed someone else.

A tall slender woman with short blonde hair and a beautiful face. An elf going by her outfit and ears. Unfortunately, it looked like she was less fortunate than the boy. Her right arm was missing, and her left leg was several leagues more mangled than the boy's.

But there was a more pressing issue. The lack of sound was concerning, to that person's health that is. Any living being would make some sort of sound, particularly if they were injued. I was unfortunately proven right when I discovered that there was no breathing or heartbeat, no sign of life no matter where, or how I searched. She was … dead. It shouldn't have been that surprising, but looking at the boy I couldn't help but feel sorry. Make no mistake, my heart is a harrowingly cold one, but I do have a heart and a soul, nonetheless.

It was a shame, but I feel like for the sake of the adventurer I did manage to rescue I shouldn't just throw the body out. He will probably want to bring the corpse back so begrudgingly I take it back with me. As much as I wish I could do something, healing is the limit to my blood's ability, it can't bring the dead back. With no choice I laid her down next to the boy as I kept watching over them.

.

It had been several hours but there were still no signs of the boy waking up, the problem though was that we couldn't just stay here. So, I had no choice but to take him back home with me. I made sure to dismiss the monsters and send them off before grabbing both bodies and swimming off to my safe haven. A small place located on the twenty eighth floor, the safe area where no monsters spawn.

With the help of the other Xenos I had made a house out of a small spring on the edge of the floor, one of the few places that no monster or adventurer would ever go near. Walled off with the only entrance being a hidden underwater passage, there was no chance of anyone sneaking in unless they could fly, in which case I'd be able to see and hear them from a mile away and if they weren't a friend then I'd shoot them out of the sky.

It was perfect for me. Just like the eighteenth floor it had a crystal ceiling that mirrored the surface's day and night cycle, it had a spring with clean water and a constant supply of foods of all kinds. As an aquatic being, there wasn't much land so I had to deposit the boy and the elf on the small patch of grass at the center of the spring, before covering the boy's ears and singing, or shouting out depending on who you asked, with my melodic voice. No matter how charming my voice was, at this volume it was bound to bust eardrums according to Ray, not that it was a problem for the elf now.

No matter how grievous his wounds were, my blood should have healed him enough to wake him up, or so I say but there are still some serious issues with his body. Like the nearly cut off arm, the large gashes on his head and, quite frankly terrible, holes in his upper body. They had healed rather nicely, but traces of their existence remained. Not that I was worried, it was just that if he didn't survive it would have wasted my efforts, the which idea I did not appreciate.

"Marie!"

Luckily someone responded to my call. The song is meant to signal the Xenos to come and help and it would appear that a beautiful siren answered my call this time. Looking up, the colorful girl landed next to me, smiling happily. Then again it has been nearly a month since we last saw each other.

"Hey Ray."

"How are you … do- is that a human?!"

"Yes. It is. I wanted to ask you if there was something wrong with him. I healed him but he isn't waking up."

It looked like she had many questions but wisely decided not to ask me.

"Marie, sweetheart, that … does not look like a healed person to me. Well, tell me what happened."

So I told her how I ended up saving him and why I brought him here.

"The destroyer?! No wonder he's so hurt, and he isn't waking up Marie! He's probably exhausted, just because you heal his wounds a little it's not like he will just recover in an instant! Accelerated healing comes at the cost of one's stamina. Also, you're currently in that time of the year, no? You're healing powers will have weakened, momentarily but substantially."

I looked at her and tilted my head.

"Really?"

"Yes, you silly girl. So what about the elf?"

"She's dead."

"Ah I se- what?! How can you say that so nonchalantly?! And don't just leave it right next to the boy. What happens if he wakes up and just sees his dead friend? Are you crazy he's probably shook enough! Remember very carefully, I don't know why you are caring for a human, but just like us, well not so much you, they are emotional beings. Place the body away from him, but! Don't toss it away! Like put it there at the edge. Just … make sure he becomes comfortable with you and then slowly break the news to him, particularly if he asks, okay? Please promise me Marie."

"Why are all of you so difficult and bothers- … ah fine, okay, okay I promise I will. In the meantime, contact Fels as soon as possible."

My friend sighed looking like she lost all hope and nodded.

"Alright, I will. Just don't kill him."

"How rude. I wouldn't do that, I just saved him, last thing I'm going to do is waste my efforts by killing him. Don't worry I'm not that dumb."

The 'are you serious' look she gave me said volumes of how she didn't believe me, but that didn't matter. I said I'd take care of him so I will, I'm not that incapable or irresponsible, seriously, I'm your friend have some faith.

So, I said, but for the next year when he didn't wake up, I found out the hard way, that taking care of an unconscious person was actually quite difficult. Though Fels, our connection to the surface, helped a lot, I had to constantly be watching over lest he drowned himself and that wasn't the worst of it … I had to feed him. Feed him! I'm not his mother! I'm his savior! Not only that but human bones and tissues really take their sweet time to cure themselves. Though, I must admit that in that year I was so busy that not once did I ever have the chance to think that I was bored.

I learnt more about people and caring for others in that single year than in the entirety of my life and admittedly … it wasn't so bad. Initially I pitied him but soon I learnt compassion much to the joy of Ray, Fear and Arles. I found myself becoming more and more comfortable with the human boy despite him being completely unresponsive.

Nothing major happened over the passing year. It was silent and calm. Though I can't say the same for the people on the surface or my fellow Xenos. For me, who busy taking care of the boy and doing nothing else lived a nearly blissful life. Ray soon began nagging me that I was like a wife caring after her bed ridden husband … honestly, what a ridiculous suggestion. If only I knew the irony of it.

Yet sometimes I couldn't help but find myself staring at that bunny's face. It was only every once in a while, that I did that, the idea that perhaps coexistence being possible was closer than ever. However, as usual nothing lasts forever and the silence I lived in, was soon shattered when he finally woke up.

.

"Ugh."

Looking back at the source of the sound, I saw that the boy was finally stirring from his long sleep. I had almost forgotten over the past year that he was, in fact, a human adventurer. I had just gotten so used to him being unconscious that to me it was no different than tending to my flowers. With a lot more care and affection.

Then he stopped moving … and then he suddenly shot up screaming like a chicken, or at least he tried, there wasn't much he could do with such a battered body. Shouting some incomprehensible gibberish about the dungeon, the juggernaut and someone called Ryuu … supposedly his dead companion.

It had never struck me before, but I can see why Ray was so worried about this. All I had to do was tell him his friend was dead … or so I thought. But now that I'm in that situation it is unexpectedly hard to do so. There is like an invisible barrier in my mind that stops me. Thinking about it, Ray was one of the few people I was close to. What if one day I woke up and the very friend who I fought side by side with was suddenly dead? Killed by a human? And what if it was a human that told me so?

I'd fly into a furious rage. For the first time I felt fear, sadness and an unbearable pain. I was not close to the boy in any way. I was not close to any human as a matter of fact. But I had been in his place a few times and had a dozen more times where my few friends nearly died, part of the reason why I try to isolate myself, I guess. Even I was not as tactless as to just go up to him and say:

'Hey there, you've been out for nearly a year after you got your ass kicked by the juggernaut. Oh! And by the way your dear elven friend is dead. You see that over there that's her corpse!'

Yeah, no, she was definitely not going to do that. It was going to lead to a disaster. First of all, as Ray had said, she'd have to first get him to be friendly to her, which could be a massive task since he was an adventurer and she was a monster, at least to the boy. But she knew there was no avoiding it, he'd ask eventually, which meant time was running short.

I made sure to move so that I was in between the bunny and the corpse. It was covered, and thanks to Fels, maintained through magic, making it look no different from when she died, cleaned of course, but I didn't want to run the risk. As soon as he got his bearings, however, and saw me his eyes opened wide in a state of shock and stared at me. Just as I expected he saw me as a monster.

"A-a monster? … A m-mermaid?! Stay … back! Huh?"

His voice was croaky from his damaged lungs and throat and his movements extremely sluggish. He immediately fell into the water when he tried to back off and went for something behind his back only for it to not be there.

I could only assume that is where he normally kept his weapon, but he must have lost it in the battle. Instead, he grabbed the first thing that he found … a stick. He weakly pointed it at me and frowned. Probably realizing his foolishness and how embarrassing his situation must have appeared. Though I have to say I'm surprised he can move like that despite the fact that he hadn't even moved his body for a year.

Not wanting to have my efforts gone to waste though, I approached him and picked him out of the water he was drowning in, disregarding any action he took to try and keep me away. Soon, understanding I didn't mean to harm him and not having the strength to fight, he simply gave up.

"Hmph! Is that how you thank your savior? You shout at them? And what is that meant to be? Your weapon? You're not killing anyone other than yourself with that."

The look of pure shock and confusion was awfully cute, but I decided to stay on track for now.

"Eh? Y-you can talk? W-what? What is going on?"

"I-I guess you would be confused. Sorry, I didn't mean to shout, just trying to get you to calm down. Not only were you seriously injured and now woke up in a completely unknown environment with a monster caring for you, but you've been out for a year as well. A coma if what Fels said is right."

"W-wait! A year? I've been out for a year?"

"Ah."

Shiiiiiieeeeet. It slipped out before I realized I said it. Probably not a great way to start a conversation or break the news to him. It certainly wasn't the desired outcome, or so I realized as I looked at him and I could see the panic in his eyes. Damn, I really mess up in the weirdest of ways.

"Stop, stop, calm down. It wasn't the best of ways to tell you that, my bad. But now that it's out yes, you have been unconscious for a year. And I'm the one who cared for you in this year so try to understand I don't want to harm you and try not to stab me with a stick."

"W-what about … Ryuu? She is … an elf … with blonde hair."

"Focus on your savior a little, I … deserve some … recognit- oh. The elf. Right."

This is too soon! What do I tell him? Looking around I try to find an explanation but seeing his pleading look was too much for me. Despite everything that was happening, the fact that I was a monster, that he was talking to a monster, that he was cared for by a monster or even that he was out for a year, knowing about his friend seemed the most important thing to him now. He probably was already racking his brain around a million different things adding this one might just break him.

"Ah … I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Bell … Cranel … please tell … me. What happened … to Ryuu."

Hesitantly I looked at him and decided to tell him. To many, this would have been out of character. And it was. I was a cold-hearted killer that cared for only myself, and occasionally looked out for my kin, and would put an end to anyone who disturbed me. A battle-hardened warrior who was not naïve enough to let her guard down no matter the situation. That's why they saw me as an isolated older sister. The type that had been cast out but was a reliable source of strength.

However, that is only a mask to hide my insecurities, my weaknesses and loneliness. Only Ray, Fear and Arles knew the real me. But now that there was no one but the poor and vulnerable boy in front of me, I decided to let the façade slip for now. With a sigh, I let out the words that would likely haunt him for the rest of his life. I relaxed my face, the serious steely gaze turning to a sorrowful and meek one.

"Bell … I'm sorry … when I rescued you from the juggernaut … your friend … the elf you call Ryuu … she was already … haa … what I'm trying to say is that … she died a year ago."

~To Be Continued