Hey, I'm back with a new chapter!

So I've been rolling on FGO for the past few days, and my EX Rank luck is back! 100 sqs for Koyanskaya on my main account, then 5 tix for Koyanskaya on my sub account. Not to mention getting Ibuki Douji on my GSSR when I had everyone else in that category.

Now I have 900 sq left for Summer Kama,

Anyway, gacha aside...

Tengeme, thanks. You have me convinced. I'll be honest, I get where you're coming from, and I have been debating if I should have him use any non-heroic and more villainous Servants. The issue I have with letting Bell use them is because he genuinely wants to become a good hero.

Of course, Zeus would've told him stories about most legends, including evil ones to put it simply. Vlad III is definitely one I have been considering, same with Servants like Okada Izo.

But it also depends on the situation, or at least until Bell learns to call upon a Heroic Spirit to contract with on his own violation. So yes, I will consider that, but it also depends on what happens in the storyline.

JustACrabWithCheese, I have ideas for Lancelot, but Bedivere is one I am still thinking about.

AnimeFan13579, I agree, the Sword Oratoria anime was nice to see. Honestly a shame they didn't animate the rest, but well... Anyway, I have mentioned that I have plans for Achilles, so yes, he will get him. But the crossdressing one is not for Achilles, someone who is more deeply involved, and that is not Astolfo.

codywhite162, glad you're liking this story so far. I hope that stays the same moving forward.

Guest, Hestia would freak out whe she finds out. It'll be interesting to write about that when it comes.

So yeah, without further ado, here's the newest chapter!

XXXX

Early next morning, Bell sat on the sofa in the church basement, staring at the tray of special potions.

After their quest, Naaza had managed to complete her new potion, which was designed to restore vitality, stamina and Mind.

Basically it was a three in one potion, able to heal wounds, restore strength and Mind all in one go.

With the amount of Papilon wings and Bloodsaurus eggs she had at hand, the chienthrope had managed to make 30 potions in total.

They had sold 20 of them to the Dian Cecht Familia to clear off their debt, and given the rest of them to Bell as payment for the quest.

That wasn't including the amount of money Naaza and Miach had promised to pay back to him from the times Naaza had ripped him off.

Lili and Hestia, had of course, overridden his opinion in letting it go, but that didn't mean he wasn't too happy about it.

Hestia's voice reached his ears, "Still sulking about what happened?"

Bell glanced up to see his goddess walking in, "Well..."

The goddess snorted, "I admire your want to help people, but that's just taking it too far, you know that, right?"

The boy sighed, "I mean-"

Hestia raised a palm and yelled, "Alright STOP!"

Bell blinked, "Huh?"

The goddess walked to stand in front of him, holding him by his cheeks, "Bell-kun, I understand, you want to become a hero worthy of the Throne, but that's not how that works."

The boy blinked, "Uhmm-"

She cut him off again, "The heroes that make it to the Throne don't get there because they want to, it's because they have achieved something that cannot be ignored by history. If you keep going around helping people without a care, you will burn out."

Bell nodded, "I know that, but I'm not planning on helping anyone every time. It's just that in Naaza-san and Miach-sama's case, I don't see the harm of letting go of the money. They need it."

Hestia sighed, "Bell-kun, it is one thing to want to help people. But you also have to respect them. Naaza and Miach are by no means helpless."

The boy nodded, "I know..."

The goddess smiled, "Then we should accept that they don't want to owe you that money. You want to help them, and that is good, but you should also respect their wishes. And sometimes that means you have to stop caring too much, learn to let things go."

Those words triggered something in him, not sitting well with him, and an uncomfortable feeling formed in his back, but the boy decided to push it down.

Bell sighed, and decided that arguing with Hestia was more trouble than worth, "I understand. I'll let it go this time."

Hestia nodded, "Good! Now, I have to get going, or Hephaestus will be mad at me."

With that said, the goddess turned away, leaving Bell alone in the room.

The boy sighed and stood up, "I should get going too."

It was almost time to meet Ryuu at the Hostess' courtyard anyway.

A while later, Bell sat in the staff room of the Hostess of Fertility, with Ryuu sitting opposite of him.

The elf drank from a bottle of water, before placing it on the table.

Bell wiped the sweat from his neck, before glancing at the elf, "So, Ryuu-san, how did I do just now?"

Ryuu glanced at him, and she considered the question for a while, "To put it simply, you've been growing very fast, impossibly fast even."

The boy blinked, "Really?"

The elf nodded, "Yes, in less than a month, you have managed to go from being unable to evade my attacks at all, to being able to block or dodge almost, if not half of them."

Bell grimaced, "O-oh..."

Ryuu evidently noticed his expression, and she giggled, "It's actually more impressive than it sounds."

The boy nodded with a pained smile, "I-I see..."

"She's telling the truth-nya."

The pair turned to see Anya at the door, along with Lunoire.

Bell made a complicated expression, "I... can't see how it is more impressive than it sounds..."

The former bounty hunter snorted, "You're a level 1, and I know Ryuu is holding back, but she's a lot stronger than that."

Ryuu nodded, "I am a Level 4, Cranel-san."

The boy almost did a spit-take, "A Level 4?!"

The three girls nodded, and Anya spoke up, "In fact, aside from you, all of us working here are Level 4."

Lunoire smiled, "Well, Mama Mia is a bit higher than that, but that's beside the point."

She looked at Bell, "The point is, you went from being unable to keep up with Ryuu, to being able to at least follow her attacks and movements. I'm not sure if you know, but a Level 4 is exponentially stronger than a Level 1."

Ryuu nodded, "And that's ignoring when you use your magic."

Anya snorted, "You say that-nya, but you still beat the crap out of him-nya."

The elf scoffed, "If I don't, then he will never improve."

Bell chuckled, "I see..."

Ryuu sighed, "But what I'm trying to say, is that you have grown a lot, and you can grow even more."

Anya grinned, "But don't let that get to your head-nya, any of us can still beat the crap of you-nya!"

The boy beamed, "Got it!"

The three older women almost grimaced from how bright and innocent his smile was, but they managed to hold it in.

Bell quickly took off the towel around his neck, "Anyway, thanks for today, Ryuu-san, I'm going to head down to the dungeon now."

The three females blinked, and Ryuu nodded, "Good luck, Cranel-san."

"Got it, thanks!"

He yelled back, before dashing out of the establishment.

The elf chuckled softly, "Always excited huh?"

"Hmmm..."

Ryuu blinked when she heard those hums, and she turned to see both Anya and Lunoire smirking at her, "W-what?"

Both of them shared a smirk, before speaking in complete unrehearsed unison, "Nothing~"

(Linebreak)

With Bell, he reached the front of the tower of Babel, where he would usually meet up with Lili.

But to his surprise, he was met with a large crowd, the flag of the Loki Familia hanging proud and tall at the front.

The boy blinked, "Woah, what's going on?"

"The Loki Familia's going on an expedition, a big one apparently."

A random adventurer answered him from a side, and Bell blinked again, "Really?"

The man nodded, "Seems like the whole Familia is heading in."

The boy looked around, noting that there was almost 50, if not more people around, "Woah..."

"We will now officially begin our expedition, the goal this time lies in the Deep Floors!"

Bell looked on to see a prum speaking out loudly, and the boy noted him to be the Captain of the Loki Familia.

Finn Deimne, also known as the Braver.

A modern day hero as far as everyone was concerned.

Finn continued his speech, bringing Bell out of his musings, "To avoid confusion and overcrowding, we will head in with two different teams. I'll lead the first team, and the second team will be headed by Gareth."

But before Bell could listen to the rest, he felt someone tap him on the back, and a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Bell-sama!"

The boy turned around to see the prum in disguise, "Oh, there you are, Lili."

The 'chienthrope' looked past him, "Ah, were you watching the Loki Familia?"

Bell smiled, "Yeah, they look impressive."

Lili giggled at his reaction, "Well, they're known as one of the strongest Familias in Orario for a reason."

Her smile dropped, "And speaking of which, if we don't hurry, they'll clear off the upper floors before we can get anything."

Bell laughed softly, "We can't have that now, can we?"

Lili nodded quickly, "No we can't! So let's go!"

The shorter girl pulled on the boy's hands, dragging him towards the entrance to the dungeon.

As they headed in, Bell glanced back, spotting the head members of the Loki Familia before he descended down the stairs.

A short while later, Bell and Lili were down on the seventh floor.

The prum marveled when she checked the time, "Bell-sama, that was amazing! We cleared the first five floors in like... minutes!"

Bell chuckled, "Thank you, I guess all that training's kicking in."

Lili laughed, "What kind of training are you doing anyway?"

The boy's smile dropped slightly, "I've been... well, sparring with a stronger adventurer."

The prum oh'd, "Ohhh, right, you told me about that before."

She scratched her temples, "That elf, right?"

Bell nodded, "Yep."

Lili hummed, but before she could further voice her opinions on that matter, the walls shook slightly, "Guess break time is over, Bell-sama."

The boy nodded, "Yeah, stay back."

The prum complied, as monsters formed before them.

Taking a breath, Bell dashed forward, swinging the Hestia Knife in hand.

In the blink of an eye, the boy was behind the monsters, his knife outstretched.

Then, the monsters all exploded into ash, leaving the magic stones on the ground.

Lili started to pick up the magic stones, praising her partner as she did, "Amazing as always, Bell-sama."

The boy sheathed his knife once he checked that no more monsters were spawning, "I still have a long way to go, Lili."

The prum puffed her cheeks, "Learn to take and accept compliments, Bell-sama!"

Bell rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, laughing softly as he apologized, "Sorry, it just came out naturally."

Lili sighed, "Anyway, we're done on this floor for now, the stairs are up ahead."

The boy nodded, "Alright, let's head down further then."

The pair descended down the stairs, and as they did, Bell looked around.

Lili noticed that, and she asked, "Bell-sama, is everything okay?"

The boy's eyes landed on a random wall, before tracing up towards the ceiling, "For some weird reason, I feel like there's someone watching us."

The shorter girl blinked, "W-what?"

Her eyes darted around, and she frowned, "But I don't see anyone..."

Bell's lips thinned, "Must be my imagination then..."

He turned back to the front, where the beginning of the eight floor laid, "Let's continue, we're aiming to get to the 11th floor today, right?"

Lili smiled and nodded, "Yep, I really think we can fully clear it this time."

Bell chuckled, "Alright, let's get going then."

The pair continued down deeper into the floor, and the dungeon walls rumbled, spawning more monsters.

The boy just met them head on, not faltering at all.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, back in Freya's room, the goddess watched through the divine mirror, as Bell cleared the eighth floor with ease.

Freya hummed, "He's progressing nicely..."

Her lips curved upwards, until she heard footsteps, "Ottar."

Freya didn't need to turn, for she easily knew that it was her captain.

The boaz reported, "Preparations are ready, we can begin whenever."

The goddess simply continued staring at the white rabbit, "Good, I think today will do just fine."

Freya hummed again, "Go get things ready, Ottar. I'm sure my dear Bell will show us something remarkable."

The boaz nodded, "By your will."

He turned to leave the room, but before he could step out, Freya's voice reached his ears again.

"And one more thing."

The man stopped and looked at his goddess, "Yes?"

Freya turned to look at him, and the boaz almost widened his eyes when he saw the expression on her face.

The goddess spoke, "Make sure he lives, if not..."

She trailed off, and Ottar nodded, "Understood, I shall see to it that he makes it through regardless of the results."

Freya nodded, smiling as she did, "Thank you. You may go."

Ottar nodded and left the room, descending down towards the 9th floor.

As he made his way past the first five floors in almost an instant, a thought passed his mind, 'Bell Cranel, for your sake. I hope you prove to be worthy of her affection.'

After a while, Bell and Lili reached the 9th floor, having taken a short 5 minute break on the 8th floor after clearing it.

As they walked, the pair noticed that they'd passed the middle point of the floor.

Bell asked, "Lili, is it just me, or does this floor just seem... a bit off?"

Lili nodded, "It does, we haven't seen a single monster at all, and no adventurers too."

The boy hummed, "Perhaps someone cleared them all off?"

The prum considered the idea, "It may be possible, maybe someone cleared them all out just now and headed on ahead."

Lili furrowed her brows, "But still, I have a bad feeling about this."

Bell nodded, "I think it should be fine, let's keep moving."

The prum nodded, and they continued their way forward.

Until they heard a loud roar, followed by a scream.

The pair froze, and Lili swallowed, "W-what was that?"

Bell, on the other hand, almost started shaking.

He knew that sound. He knew it, but he couldn't remember what it was.

Until another scream reached his ears, and the boy snapped out of his stupor, "Someone needs help."

Lili blinked, "Wait, what?"

Before she could get another word in, Bell broke into a dash, and the prum yelled, "W-wait, Bell-sama!"

She quickly chased after him as Bell took a turn.

Lili followed after him, but quickly realized her partner had stopped right after he turned.

The reason?

She found out very soon, for a body flew past them, and Lili turned to see the man, already dead.

The prum snapped her eyes around, noting that there was another adventurer in the walls, probably the one that Bell had seen being smashed in and killed.

"H-help me!"

The two turned towards the direction of the voice, and they both saw it.

A minotaur, and not just any minotaur.

The ones Lili had seen were all black, this one was red.

That meant one thing. This minotaur was an abnormal species.

Furthermore, she had never heard of a minotaur being on the 9th floor.

She gulped, before she quickly tugged on Bell's arm, whispering as quiet as she could but loud enough to reach his ears, "B-Bell-sama, we should go."

The boy didn't respond, instead, his eyes were locked onto the minotaur and the adventurer cornered by the monster.

Lili spoke again, daring to raise her voice more, "Bell-sama?"

Only then did she notice that his hands were shaking, if ever so slightly.

The prum looked at him again, "Bell-sama? Are you okay?"

Bell didn't respond, until he saw the minotaur raised the giant blade in its hands, and the adventurer yelled out again, "No! NO! HELP ME! PLEASE!"

Lili blinked as she recognized the voice, and she looked, spotting Canoe backed up at the wall.

But before she could react, Bell broke into a dash, screaming as he drew the Hestia Knife.

But he was too late. He was too far.

The minotaur swung, and Canoe's head fell to the ground.

Bell skidded to a stop, and Lili's eyes widened with horror as the head rolled on the ground.

Then, the minotaur turned to see Bell and Lili.

The prum clenched her fists, and she yelled, "Bell-sama! We have to run!"

The monster roared, and Lili flinched, before she yelled again, "Bell-sama!"

Yet, to her frustration, Bell didn't respond.

For unseen to the girl, the boy was almost hyperventilating, frozen with fear by the fact that an adventurer had just died before him, along with the fear inducing roar from the minotaur.

Then the minotaur charged.

Lili panicked, and she cursed herself, "Bell-sama!"

The boy didn't respond yet again, and the prum found herself dashing forward, pulling Bell back.

But she wasn't fast enough, and despite being able to pull the boy out of danger's way, Lili failed to save herself.

The beast swung its blade, smashing into the ground, but still managed to graze Lili's sides.

That was more than enough to send both of them flying back.

Both of them crashed into the ground, and Bell groaned as he sat up and quickly regained his bearings, the crash having snapped him out of his stupor.

Until he realized Lili was on top of him, "Lili?"

But before he could do anything, the minotaur growled, pulling its sword from the ground, and earning it Bell's attention as well.

The boy gritted his teeth, still shaking slightly.

But he managed to stand up, holding Lili in his arms, who he quickly realized to be unconscious from the impact.

Bell gritted his teeth again, and he glared at the minotaur that started to charge at him, "Load: Hera-!"

His eyes widened when the monster was suddenly in front of him, having closed the distance between them in no time.

Bell barely had time to pull Lili back, shielding him with his back, and the minotaur swung.

The sword met his armored back, and the armor dented, but not broken. However, the force behind the swing was strong enough to send them both flying into the ground once more.

Bell groaned as he got to his knees, quickly realizing that Lili was under him.

He grunted in frustration, the minotaur's footsteps reaching his ears, and his eyes darted around.

There was a small rock nearby, and Bell quickly threw the prum towards that rock with hopes that it would hide her.

The girl crashed into the ground, rolling into the rock.

The footsteps became louder, and Bell quickly rolled to a side just in time to dodge the earthshattering blow.

The boy got to his feet, wincing from the armor pressing hard against his back as he did.

Bell grunted as he quickly took off his chest plate, the piece of armor falling to the ground.

The minotaur roared and charged again.

This time, Bell was prepared, and he gripped the Hestia Knife in hand.

The beast swung, and the boy dodged, sidestepping to move behind the minotaur.

As he moved, Bell's mind raced.

He needed to keep it busy and find a time to cast his magic. The boy knew that he wasn't quite ready to take on a minotaur at his base state, much less an abnormal type.

Bell knew, from that brief exchange, that the minotaur was slower than him, if only slightly.

Power-wise he lost hands down, but speed was a different story.

All he needed to do was not get hit.

The beast charged again, swinging its sword at Bell once more.

This time, the boy dodged, despite almost panting from his hyperventilation, Bell dodged all of the swings.

He was afraid of the minotaur, but he was even more afraid of losing Lili, just like how the minotaur had killed Canoe and the other two adventurers.

Bell took a deep breath as he dodged yet another swing. That was it, just avoid the swings.

He could do this, he could find an opening, then he could finish it.

The minotaur swung its sword once more, and Bell dodged it, letting it strike the ground.

That was it, that was his chance.

"LOAD: HERAC-!"

Before he could finish his chant, the minotaur reared its head and flailed, and Bell barely managed to bring his arms up to block the horn, slamming into his arms and sending him flying back.

The boy crashed into a pillar nearby, and he groaned as he struggled to get to his feet.

Pain filled his body, and Bell was sure he had broken at least a few ribs just from the horn.

The stomps reached his ears, and Bell was sure the minotaur was almost upon him.

The boy grunted as he struggled to his knees, but before he could get to his feet, someone appeared between Bell and the beast.

The boy managed to look up, and he spotted the blonde hair before her voice reached his ears.

"You did well, don't worry, I'll take care of the rest."

Bell's eyes widened, for he easily recognized the person before him, "Ais... Wallenstein."

More footsteps reached his ears, and Bell turned to see more members of the Loki Familia.

In fact, they were all the higher ups. He recognized Tione and Tiona, and he quickly saw Bete as well.

The sight of the werewolf quickly reminded him of what happened at the Hostess, the first time he'd visited the establishment.

And Bell's eyes snapped back at Ais and the minotaur.

Then, everything froze.

"Are you frustrated?"

A voice vibrated in his mind, and Bell found himself answering, "Yeah... I am..."

"Why?"

The boy gritted his teeth, "Because even though I've trained so hard... even though I've been told I've grown a lot..."

"You couldn't save them. And now you're afraid."

Bell didn't answer this time. He didn't need to. He knew the voice was right.

He was afraid.

"But is that so bad?"

The boy's eyes widened, and then confusion filled his mind, "Huh?"

"We've been watching you. All of us. Your goddess told you, that you cared too much, didn't she?"

Bell furrowed his brows, "What does that have to do with this?"

The voice laughed, "Oh it has everything to do with this! Everything you've done so far, is because you cared, and I've let Heracles and that nameless bowman take the spotlight before, but I can't wait no more, not when you're facing a bull too. I've got a tiny bit of a connection with cows too, ya see."

The boy's eyes widened, "Wait, does that mean..."

"Damn right. Now, you are afraid, but why does that matter?! It's okay to be afraid, but it's not okay to let it control you!"

Bell clenched his fists, "No... I can't do that."

"Good. You care about your partner. Are you just gonna stay there and let someone else take care of everything?"

The boy took a deep breath, "No."

"Then I ask you, what are you going to do?!"

The boy grunted, "I want to protect Lili, I want to defeat that minotaur... And I don't want to be rescued by someone else again!"

The voice laughed, "Good answer! That's as golden as they can come! Then let us begin, and we can show everyone just how GOLDEN you truly are!"

Time resumed, and Bell found himself having the energy to get to his feet.

The boy gripped the Hestia Knife in his hands, and he reached out to pull Ais back.

The blonde blinked when she found herself almost stumbling, surprised that the boy had enough strength to make her budge, "What are you-"

Bell stepped past her, "You've saved me once. I can't let that happen again."

Ais blinked at his words, and she nodded, "Very well."

Tiona blinked, "Wait, are you really going to just let him do that?"

The blonde nodded, and Bete scoffed, "Yeah sure, why not? It's against the rules to steal someone's prey in the dungeon anyway."

Tione frowned, having carried Lili in her arms, "Bete..."

The Amazon turned to see Finn and Riveria reaching them, "Finn, Riveria."

The leader of their Familia nodded to her, "What's the situation?"

The younger woman was about to answer, but before she could, Bell broke into a sprint, tearing their attention towards the Level 1 adventurer.

As the boy dodge the swings from the monster, Bete blinked when he actually looked at him, "Wait, that brat..."

Riveria asked, "You recognize him?"

The werewolf laughed, "Oh hell yeah! That's the tomato brat I was telling yall about!"

He smirked, "But holy shit, he really does have something with minotaurs huh?"

Tiona glanced at him, "So he's the one Ais saved?"

Bete smirked, "Yeah, and I can see why he doesn't want to be saved again. If it were me, I'd kill myself than let it happen again."

Tione frowned, "That's not funny, Bete."

The werewolf laughed, "Hey, he's trying to be a man here, I say let him try!"

The long haired amazon glared at him, "Bete, stop!"

The werewolf noticed the prum in her arms, and he clicked his teeth in annoyance, "Whatever..."

But before he could continue, Lili got out of Tione's arms, having regained consciousness, but also stumbling into Bete at the same time.

The prum spoke out as she struggled to stand, "P-please, save... Bell-sama..."

Bete blinked, "W-what are you-"

Tione quickly held onto Lili, "Careful, you're wounded!"

The prum groaned out weakly, "P-please... don't... leave him..."

Riveria stepped forward, "Let me."

She held a hand over the prum's head, her healing magic quickly healing up any wounds she had.

Bete clicked his teeth in annoyance, "Whatever."

The man turned and began walking towards the monster.

The high elf glanced at him, "Are you going to help him?"

The werewolf scoffed with distaste, "Yeah... I hate weak ass people like him, but I can't stand people who'd leave weak ass people to die even more."

He turned back to the monster, "All of you piss off, I'll handle thi-!"

Until now, the others had been silent, and Bete quickly realized why.

With Bell, the boy was dodging every swing from the minotaur.

His back burned, it burned a lot, but Bell didn't feel pain from it.

No, in fact, he felt strong, stronger than he ever felt.

It had taken him a while to get used to the minotaur's devastating swings, but now?

Bell was used to it, and he could keep up. None of the slashes would reach him.

So he chanted.

"I am thou...thou art I."

The minotaur swung again, and yet again, Bell dodged, sliding under the blade before he landed a slash on the beast's thighs.

"Thou hast acquired a new vow."

Magic filled the air, along with the smell of ozone.

The small audience Bell and the minotaur had gained all widened their eyes, and Tiona gaped, "Wait, is he doing what I think he is?!"

Bete stared in shock, "Concurrent chanting?!"

"Thy body shall serve under mine will. Mine fate shall be thy sword!"

Bell continued chanting, and he continued moving, not stopping at one spot at any given moment.

"Let an oath be sworn here! I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven! I shall dispose of all evil of Hell!"

As the boy moved, Bete scowled, "What the hell is going on here?!"

Finn's lips curved upwards, "A while ago, in Bete's eyes, that young man was but a rookie, a newcomer who wasn't capable of anything, am I wrong?"

He watched the white haired boy, "But that doesn't seem to be the case anymore, does it?"

The werewolf could only stay silent, unable to find any words.

Even then, Bell continued to move, ignoring everything else around him, even the group of people watching him.

"If thou dost accede to this will and reason, then answer my call!"

The minotaur swung it's sword at him horizontally, forcing Bell to block it with his knife, but the boy didn't stop chanting.

"Come forth from the rings of restraint, o' Protector of the Balances!"

Bell grunted as he did his best to push back against the sword, and the minotaur took the chance to swing its horn at the boy.

But it was too late, for the boy's chant was now finished.

"LOAD: SAKATA KINTOKI!"

Lightning exploded from the boy's body, and the sound of thunder reached everyone's ears.

Bell let out a deep breath, staring at the minotaur who had been blown away, quickly getting to its feet.

The boy gripped his knife tightly, feeling the power and lightning coursing through his veins as images flashed through his mind.

A man who cared more than anyone else in the distant country of Japan.

A man who had accomplished so much, just because he cared for others.

A man who made caring for others his reason to fight.

A man who became a genuine hero in the eyes of the many.

Bell opened his eyes, and he stared straight at the minotaur in front of him.

The monster roared, and it swung its sword at him once more.

This time, Bell didn't dodge.

He didn't need to.

Bell switched the Hestia Knife into his left hand, and in the blink of an eye, a giant axe clashed against the giant sword.

The Golden Eater crackled with lightning, and the minotaur growled as it tried to overwhelm Bell with its strength,

Except it didn't account for the fact that Bell now had more than enough strength to match it.

As Bell fought the minotaur, Tiona's eyes gleamed, "A lightning weapon, a white haired boy, and a minotaur! This is just like the Argonaut!"

Finn's lips curved upwards, "That story about a boy who wanted to become a hero, is that right?"

The amazon nodded, "Yes, I love that story!"

The prum chuckled, "I suppose, this does seem exactly like a scene from that story..."

Finn turned his attention back to the boy, as Bell swung the Golden Eater at the minotaur, sending it skidding backwards.

Both Bell and the minotaur stood off against each other, the latter regaining his balance, while the former simply stood there.

Until the boy shouldered the axe, magical energy filling the air, much to everyone's confusion and curiosity.

That curiosity would soon be satiated, for Bell's lips moved.

"Golden..."

It first came out as a whisper, but the boy continued.

"Golden..."

His eyes locked onto the minotaur, "With the sound of thunder, begone!"

Lightning exploded around the axe, and Bell tightened his grip on the axe, "SET!"

He dashed forward, "HISSATSU!"

The minatour did the same, but before they could meet, Bell leaped into the air, "Golden..."

The smell of ozone intensified, and the lightning around the Golden Eater increased tenfold.

Then, the boy brought it all down.

"SPARKKKKK!"

The monster barely had time to widen its eyes in shock and surprise, let alone react to it.

Then, the lightning struck.

It ended in but the blink of an eye, and Bell's axe was now embedded in the ground.

The minotaur was scorched all over, and it also lost its remaining horn, having being chopped off by the Golden Eater.

That same horn stabbed itself into the ground, and as if on cue, the corpse of the beast exploded in a burst of ash, leaving its magic stone on the ground.

At the side, Bete, nor any of the onlookers, could believe their eyes, "He really pulled it off..."

They had a lot of questions, like how the hell did a Level 1 get so strong? How did he get that magic?

How did he get that weapon?

But they quickly remembered the situation they were in, and Finn cleared his throat, "Riveria, can you heal him?"

The high elf snapped out of her stupor, and she nodded, "Of course."

She laid Lili on the ground, before quickly walking towards the boy.

As she reached him, the Golden Eater vanished, and Bell fell to the ground.

Riveria's eyes widened, "Mind Down..."

She shook her head and gave him a quick lookover before using her healing magic.

Tiona asked, "Is he okay?"

After a short moment, Riveria nodded, "He's fine. It doesn't seem like he has any major injuries."

The amazon sighed in relief, "That's good to hear, right, Ais?"

The blonde girl didn't answer, her eyes locked onto the boy, and Tiona blinked, "Ais?"

The shorter girl blinked when she noticed Ais' hands clenched in fists, "Ais? What's wrong?"

"Spirit..."

Bete frowned, "Hah? What are you talking about?"

Ais stared at Bell, her expression unreadable, "Just now, I saw it... A spirit... He summoned a spirit..."

Finn blinked, before he hummed, "Is that so?"

The man's eyes landed on Bell's unconscious form, 'I guess we found the one Loki was telling us about then...'

That made things a lot more complicated than he had expected.

Finn shook his head, and he spoke up, "Ais, Tiona, Riveria, can you three bring them back to the surface? The rest of us will meet up with the others, then we can meet up on the 18th floor later."

The three nodded, and Ais carried Lili, whilst Tiona held onto Bell.

Riveria hummed, and she looked at Finn, "Do you want me to talk to his patron god?"

The prum nodded, "If you could, that would be great."

The two shared an understanding nod, and the elf turned to the other two, "Let's get going, we should at least make sure they get proper medical attention."

Both Ais and Tiona nodded, and the three made a dash for the surface.

As soon as they did, Finn glanced to a side, where he noticed Ottar following them up.

The prum sighed, "Guess things will be getting interesting..."

He shook his head and turned to Tione and Bete, "Come on you two, let's get going."

Tione easily complied, but Bete wasn't as obedient, "Tch, alright alright... This took way too long than it should've anyway."

The three made their way back to the main group, and as they did, Finn turned to glance at the exit to the surface one more time, 'That young man... I think I should find out his name later.'

He had a lot to think about after seeing all that happen.

XXX

So we're done with the chapter!

I'm gonna be honest, I was honestly torn between Cu Chulainn and Sakata Kintoki. But considering Bell's relationship with Zeus, and with the latter being the god of thunder, I felt Kintoki would be a more fitting one here.

Especially with his connection to Ushi Gozen/Raikou, whose name is literally Ox-Head Heavenly King.

So yeah, the next chapter will be the reveal of Bell's title, and no, it won't be Little Rookie.

Do tell me what yall think about this chapter.

Until next time.

Read and review please.