Hey, I'm back with a new chapter!

Freddy8712, no spoilers.

The Last Kenpachi, Cassandra will be fine. It is simply something she foresaw and tried to prevent, but basically her visions just came to pass.

Justin D, glad you liked the trap scenes.

codywhite162, Roland Tepes, NinjaFang1331, glad you liked the War Game. As for the Ishtar and Haruhime arc, you'll just have to read on.

AnimeFan13579, now honestly I'm not sure how I'll be doing the Rakia war arc. Cuz it pretty much ended in 2 episodes in the anime. So I may or may not include it. But we'll see.

Anyway, here's the new chapter.

XXX

That night, Bell and Ryuu sat at the bar in the Hostess, while the others cleaned the place.

Hestia and Artemis were at the Guild with Apollo to sort out the transfer for all of their winnings, and Mia had basically forced the pair to take a break.

The dwarf laughed as she dropped two sacks of valis on the countertop, "Here, these are yours!"

Bell blinked as Ryuu silently took them, "What are these?"

Mia grinned, "Our winnings, of course!"

The elf explained, "I believe a bunch of adventurers started betting, and Mama Mia obviously bet in our favor."

The dwarf laughed, "Exactly! Considering you wiped the floor against Apollo's Familia, I'd say you're deserving of some of that money!"

The boy wanted to refuse, but paused and chose to nod instead, "Thank you."

Mia chuckled as she went back to cleaning the kitchen, "All good kid!"

Syr walked to them as she mopped the floor, "But that was amazing!"

Anya nodded, "It was-nya!"

Chloe asked, "How did nya set up all those traps-nya?"

Bell smiled, "A new hero I contracted, he's a strategist, a tactician. Basically through the materialization of his legends, I was able to set up those traps."

Lunoire hummed, "I see, that's interesting."

The boy chuckled, "It is."

Mia snorted, "So you're famous now. How's it feel?"

Bell smiled sheepishly, "Honestly? This feels like when I Leveled Up the first time."

Syr giggled as put the mop away, "I think it's a good thing. At least now people know not to pick a fight with you."

The boy chuckled, "Maybe."

Mia snorted again, before she gave the store a look over, "Now, cleaning's done. Good."

She walked into the kitchen and brought out a tray of food and drinks, "Alright!"

Mia placed it on the counter, a smirk on her face, "Considering it's Bell's first victory in a War Game, we can't let it end without a celebration, yeah?"

Bell smiled, "Thanks, Mama Mia."

The dwarf laughed, "I should thank you! Your win brought me a ton shit of valis!"

Chloe smiled as she grabbed a glass of beer, "You know-nya, is it just me, or have we been celebrating a lot since Bell-nya joined us?"

Lunoire chuckled, "Oh its not just you."

Syr giggled, "I think that's a question we need to ask Mama Mia, no?"

Mia snorted, "Very funny. If you don't like it, you can give me back those glasses."

The three waitresses backed away as they held their glasses away from the bar.

The dwarf hummed, "Thought so."

Anya cackled, "Yall should've just kept queit-nya."

Ryuu just smiled as she took a sip from her glass of beer.

Syr looked at Bell, "So, Bell-san, now that you have a larger home, is your goddess planning to expand your Familia?"

The boy shrugged as he sipped on his soda, "No idea, maybe?"

Mia hummed, "Just make sure you get a good look at their background. Not everyone is a good kid like you."

Bell smiled, "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

The dwarf smirked, "Now, a toast!"

Everyone cheered and raised their glasses, and the night quickly passed.

(Linebreak)

Three days later, Bell stood in front of the Apollo Familia mansion, or rather, former Apollo Familia mansion.

Hestia smiled as she looked at everyone gathered with them, "I present to you, our new home!"

Welf smiled, "That quick huh? I thought it'd take em a week, if not a month."

The goddess of the hearth nodded, "Rules are rules, and Apollo did agree to the terms of our War Game."

Artemis sighed, "Well, that, and the guild helped facilitate Apollo's kids moving out and cleared the home for us."

Hestia grinned, "And thanks to Hephaestus and Goibniu, we also renovated some of the mansion!"

She looked at her four children, "And yes! That includes everything everyone wanted!"

Hestia pointed to Welf "Your forge!'

She then pointed to Mikoto, "Your bath!"

Hestia pointed to Bell, "Your training room!"

And finally she pointed to Lili, "Your library and personal study!"

The prum's eyes widened with excitement, "Are you serious?"

The goddess folded her arms with a grin, "As serious as a heart attack!"

Welf grinned with anticipation, "Then what are we waiting for?"

Hestia laughed, "Nothing! Let's go!"

A short while later, Welf stood in front of a small building next to the main mansion, and he pushed the door open.

What laid inside immediately put a smile on his face, "By the gods, they really do know their stuff."

Welf walked in, running his hand over the forge, before looking at the hammers included.

The equipment included in the forge were all top notch, even by the standards of the Hephaestus Familia.

The man walked around, until he spotted a small note beneath one of the hammers on the desk.

Welf raised an eyebrow and plucked it off the desk. It was a note from Hephaestus.

'Welf,

You may not be a part of my Familia anymore. But I do look forward to that magic sword you will forge. Think of this forge as a gift from all of us. May the flames of the hearth burn brightly in you as much as the flames of the forge.

Hephaestus.'

The redhead read the short note, and a smile formed on his face as he gave the forge another lookover, "Looking after me even after all that, huh… Thank you, Lady Hephaestus."

Welf walked over to the forge, "I guess I better get started soon."

Meanwhile, Mikoto stood in front of a Eastern style bath.

A happy expression was plastered on her face, "Thank you Hestia-sama!"

Ever since Takemikazuchi and his Familia moved to Orario, Mikoto never did find a chance to find an onsen style bath.

Whilst their Familia Home was modelled after the Eastern homes, it lacked the baths.

Thanks to their winnings, Hestia had asked Hephaestus and Goibniu to take down a few of the storage rooms and build an onsen bath.

Mikoto was never so grateful for leaving her old Familia.

The swordswoman quickly took a quick shower, before dipping into the baths, letting out a sigh of pure bliss, "My former comrades… I apologize for not sharing this with you."

Mikoto would then spend the rest of the afternoon in the baths, not to be seen until dinner.

At the same time, Bell was walking with Hestia and Artemis.

As they walked, Hestia asked, "So, what do you think, Bell-kun?"

The boy smiled as he looked around, "It's wonderful, actually. I can't believe it only took them a few days to get everything and everyone out."

Artemis snorted, "Well, considering everything Apollo owned now belongs to Hestia, there's not much for them to take."

Hestia nodded, "We did allow the children to take their belongings. Anything they bought of their own money would be okay, but anything given to them by Apollo is now ours."

Bell hummed, "I see."

The white haired rabbit looked at his patron goddess, "Speaking of which, are you planning to recruit more members now that we have more space?"

The goddess of the hearth shook her head, "I did think about it, but probably not. Take has a small Familia, and he's doing pretty good. I think I'll hold off for now."

Artemis blinked, "Really now? That's surprising. I'd have thought you'd be jumping to expand it."

Hestia scoffed, "And lose my Bell time? I think not!"

The goddess of the moon sighed, "Of course."

Bell laughed lightly, "I guess I should be happy to hear that."

Hestia giggled, "You should!"

The goddess of the hearth hummed, "But obviously if people were to apply, I wouldn't say no. I just won't be actively advertising."

Artemis nodded, "Good idea, especially with your de-"

Hestia shot her a glare, and the moon goddess quickly realized and stopped.

Bell blinked, "Your what?"

Hestia quickly shook her hands and head, "It's nothing!"

Artemis nodded quickly, "It's nothing! Just a slip of tongue!"

The boy raised an eyebrow in confusion, but decided to ignore it, "Okay, I guess."

The twin tailed goddess smiled, "Let's go check out your training room! It's behind the main building, and I've asked Hephaestus and Goibniu to include some pretty sturdy dummies."

Bell grinned, "Sure!"

He pulled both Hestia and Artemis with him and ran off, pulling the two goddesses who tried to keep up with him.

"W-Wait!"

(Linebreak)

Later that afternoon, Bell was walking around the front yard of their new Familia home, until he spotted two familiar figures at the railings.

One of them was hugging the railings, while the other was trying to pull her away.

Bell approached them, and he recognized them quickly, "Cassandra-san… Daphne-san?"

Unlike most of the other former Apollo Familia members, the two young women were some of the few that were civil towards Bell.

Daphne stopped pulling on Cassandra when she noticed the boy, "Hello, Bell Cranel."

Bell immediately felt awkward, considering they had effectively kicked them out of their home, "Umm… What are you two doing?"

The redhead made a complicated face, "Umm, it's not what it looks like."

The boy scratched his cheek, "I honestly have no idea what this is, honestly."

Cassandra whined, "My rabbit….!"

Daphne sighed, "R-right… So Cassandra thinks she left her stuffed animal here, and well… I guess we are allowed to keep the things we bought ourselves…"

Bell blinked, "Your stuffed… rabbit?"

Cassandra continued to whine, and the redhead sighed, "See… Cassandra can't live without her stuffed rabbit… So…"

The boy hummed, "Okay, so you said you left it here?'

The long haired girl hung her head, "I don't remember… But my dream showed me it'd be here!"

Bell blinked again, "Your…dream?"

Cassandra nodded, "Yes!"

The boy hummed, before he nodded, "Alright, do you have a brief idea where it is?"

The girls blinked, "Eh?"

A short while later, Cassandra was hugging a grey stuffed rabbit, "You believed me…"

Bell smiled awkwardly, "It probably fell off the stairs when you were moving out, it was behind one of the pillars near the wall."

Daphne sighed, "Thank you though, at least this will help us sleep."

The boy nodded, before he asked, "So, how are things going?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Bell smiled awkwardly, scratching his cheek, "I mean, you're essentially without a Familia now thanks to my goddess… So…"

Daphne blinked, before she nodded, "We're still looking. Honestly the only reason we were ever in a Familia is because Apollo found us cute."

Cassandra nodded wordlessly, and the redhead continued, "Frankly speaking being an adventurer was never really something either of us wanted to do. But as you can guess, it sort of stuck, and we're not keen on going back to our old homes anyway."

The white haired rabbit nodded, "I see…"

An idea popped into his mind, and he looked at them, "Actually, this might sound weird coming from me, but would both of you like to join my Familia?"

Daphne blinked, and she furrowed her brows. But before she could respond, she felt Cassandra tug on her arm.

The redhead looked at her friend, and blinked when Cassandra leaned in to whisper to her.

Daphne sighed, before looking at Bell, "Alright, Cassandra is keen. So I guess we can have a go."

Bell smiled, "Great! Let's go find Hestia-sama."

The redhead nodded, "Sure."

Cassandra hid a smile behind her stuffed rabbit, and they quickly went around to the main gate.

As they entered the front door, Daphne commented, "It feels weird not seeing all of those statues of Apollo now when we enter the front door."

Bell scratched his cheek, "Yeah, well… Let's just say Lili, Hestia-sama and Artemis-sama didn't quite like it."

The redhead snorted, "I can imagine."

The boy nodded, "Now if I remember correctly, Hestia-sama and Artemis-sama should be in the main office."

Bell paused, "Where was that again?"

Cassandra giggled silently while Daphne sighed, "Do you want me to show you the way?"

The boy looked embarrassed, "Yes please."

The redhead nodded and walked ahead of him, and soon the three reached a large door.

Bell went on to knock on the door, "Hestia-sama, Artemis-sama? Are you two free?"

"Yes! Come in!"

Hestia's voice reached his ears, and he pushed open the door, before glancing back at the two, "Come on."

The two girls nodded and followed the boy in, and the moment they did, they saw Hestia with her head on the desk, while Artemis was trying to get her up.

Hestia glanced at Bell, "You need us, Bell-kun?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah, actually, we have two people looking to join our Familia."

The busty goddess sat up almost immediately, "Really?!"

Bell gestured to behind him, "Yeah."

Hestia's lips thinned, "Oh… Aren't you two…"

Daphne nodded, "Yes, we were in Apollo's Familia before."

Artemis hummed, "I see."

The twin tailed goddess narrowed her eyes, "Mumumu…. You're not here to try to steal the home away, are you?"

That caught the pair by surprise, and Daphne blinked, "Huh?"

Hestia pointed at her accusingly, "Apollo must have sent you! Right?!"

Cassandra quickly spoke up, "N-no! We have no ties with Apollo anymore!"

Artemis pushed the twin tailed goddess' hand down, "Relax, they should be fine."

The moon goddess looked at Bell, "Right, Bell?"

Bell nodded, "Daphne-san and Cassandra-san are good people. I think they'll fit in just fine."

Hestia hummed, her eyes still narrowed. The goddess then sat down, "Okay, what can you two do?"

Daphne nodded, "Cassandra is a healer, her healing magic is better than most generic potions you can find."

The busty goddess folded her arms, "And you?"

The redhead answered, "I have experience leading parties into the dungeon, and I am decent in combat."

Daphne paused, "Obviously our recent War Game says otherwise…"

Hestia hummed, before she looked at Bell, "What do you think?"

Bell smiled, "I'm happy to have them in our Familia."

The goddess of the hearth nodded, "Okay then, done. Welcome to the Hestia Familia."

The two girls looked surprised, and Daphne gaped in disbelief, "Just like that?"

Hestia nodded, "Just like that."

Artemis smiled, "You were expecting some sort of test, or a full interview, weren't you?"

Both Daphne and Cassandra nodded, and the latter spoke up, "Yes, that was our impression with other Familias aside from Apollo's."

The moon goddess' smile dropped, "Apollo just took anyone in as long as they met his criteria, didn't he?"

The two girls nodded, and Hestia scoffed, "Well good thing he's out of Orario then!"

She smiled at the two, "But you don't have to worry! We're all family here! Even Artemis! And she's way better than Apollo!"

Artemis sighed, "Hestia."

Hestia looked at her, "What? It's the truth!"

Daphne smiled in exasperation, "You're… not wrong, I suppose."

Bell chuckled, "Anyway, that's that, I guess. I'll get out of your way so you can deal with their Falnas?"

Hestia nodded, "Okay!"

The boy left the room, leaving the four women.

Hestia stood up and gestured to the sofa and coffee table, "Alright, let's make it official then."

Both girls nodded, and soon after, they both held Hestia's Falna.

As they got dressed, Daphne asked, "And just while we're here, is it okay if we got our old rooms back?"

Hestia nodded, "Of course! You can have any room you want! As long as it's not the one next to Bell-kun!"

The two girls blinked, before they smiled and nodded, "Understood."

Daphne and Cassandra left the room, and they spotted Bell waiting outside. The redhead blinked, "Bell Cranel, were you waiting for us?"

Bell smiled, "Just Bell please, we'll be in the same Familia from now on."

The two older girls blinked again, and Daphne sighed, "Alright, then do the same for us, okay?"

The boy grinned, "Sure!"

He chuckled, "Honestly this feels kinda awkward."

Daphne sighed, a small smile on her face, "You think?"

Bell nodded, "But anyway, we made some renovations, as you may have noticed."

Cassandra nodded, "Removing Apollo's statues was good."

The redhead chuckled, "Can't believe I'm saying this, but yes."

The white haired boy laughed, "Glad to hear!"

He walked forward, "Come on, we changed a few rooms into a training room, an Eastern style bath, and we even got a forge for Welf."

Daphne raised an eyebrow, "A training room and an Eastern style bath?"

Bell nodded, "Yep."

After a short trip around the newly renamed Hearth Mansion, the three were in a dining room that was previously a meeting room.

Daphne hummed as she sipped from a cup of coffee, "This will take some time to get used to, honestly."

Cassandra smiled, "I like this new change."

Bell chuckled, "Well, there were only six of us, now eight. So we changed some stuff here to accommodate the smaller number."

The redhead nodded, "And it's a good thing. In fact, it's better that it's different."

Cassandra nodded, before Daphne looked at the boy, "So, I assume we'll be heading into the dungeon soon?"

Bell blinked, "Eh?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "This Familia is an exploration-type, right?"

The boy blinked again, "Oh! Yes, definitely. But well, things have just been a bit hectic, so dungeon diving honestly wasn't something on our minds."

Daphne nodded, "I suppose that makes sense."

The door opened, and they heard Welf's voice, "Bell! I hear we got new members!"

The three turned to see the blacksmith, and the man blinked when he saw both Cassandra and Daphne, "Eh?"

Daphne stood up, "Nice to meet you, we weren't properly introduced before. I'm Daphne Lauros."

Cassandra quickly stood up and bowed slightly, "My name is Cassandra Illion."

Welf scratched his head and looked at Bell, "Weren't they a part of the Apollo Familia?"

Bell nodded, "They were. But well, one thing led to another, and they're here with us."

Daphne looked at her fellow redhead, "Look, I know we didn't start off on the right foot, but-"

Welf cut her off, "That's good and all. I was just surprised."

He cleared his throat and walked forward to extend a hand, "Name's Welf Crozzo."

Daphne shook his hand, "I'll look forward to working with you then."

Cassandra nodded, "Y-yes, me too."

Welf hummed, "Guess so."

Bell smiled, "Glad to see you all getting along."

The man snorted, "Speak for yourself. We better let Mikoto and Lil Lili know too, especially the midget."

"We already know, and what was that about a midget?"

The four turned to see Lili and Mikoto at the door, and Bell greeted, "Mikoto, Lili."

Mikoto looked at the two girls, "I believe this is the first time we've met outside of battle."

Daphne smiled dryly, "If you mean aside from when we attacked Bell in that church and the War Game, then yes."

The swordswoman nodded, "I'm Yamato Mikoto."

The red haired girl responded, "Daphne Lauros, this is Cassandra."

Lili nodded, "We know, and well, I'll say this. I don't feel comfortable with former Apollo Familia members being in our Familia."

Daphne's lips thinned, while Cassandra looked worried, but the prum continued, "But Bell-sama trusts you, so I'll trust you too."

The redhead hummed, "Very well, I understand where you're coming from. So I suppose all we can do is live up to that trust."

Bell sighed in relief, "Whew…"

Daphne snorted, a small smile appearing on her face again, "Anyway, I suppose that's all of us for now?"

Welf nodded, "If you mean in the Familia, then yeah."

The red haired girl hummed, "Back to what we were talking about, Bell."

The boy nodded, "The dungeon, right."

Daphne nodded, "Normally I'd say the number of people we have here is barely enough to form a small party that can reach the end of the middle floors."

She smiled, "But considering you single-handedly wiped out the Apollo Familia, I'm comfortable to say we can hit even the Lower Floors."

Bell blinked, "Wait, really?"

Lili folded her arms, "I can see where you're coming from. Bell-sama is essentially a one-man army, and with Mikoto-sama, Welf-sama and you, we have a pretty good team."

Daphne nodded, "Exactly, and as far as supporters go, I'd say you're at the top, not to mention Cassandra's healing abilities."

Bell hummed, "And just based on what we have, a three line formation would be effective…"

Mikoto's eyes widened, "Oh, Bell-dono and I will be on the front, then Daphne-dono and Welf-dono will be in the middle to protect Lili and Cassandra-dono!"

The red haired girl smiled softly, "Something like that, yes."

Welf smirked, "And we also have my magic swords."

Lili grinned, "That means we can easily go further down!"

Cassandra smiled, but kept silent and just listened.

Bell laughed, "Then if everyone is up to it, how about we head into the dungeon tomorrow?"

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, "Well I'm okay."

Lili nodded, "Lili is good too."

Welf shrugged, "Why not? I have a bunch of magic swords to test out."

Daphne glanced at Cassandra, "I'm okay, what about you, Cassandra?"

The long haired girl nodded, "Yes, I'm okay too."

Bell grinned, "Then it's settled!"

Daphne asked, "But how far down do you wanna go?"

The boy hummed, "How about the 21st floor? Just as a test."

The redhead nodded, "That works."

Welf chuckled, "Alright, then I better go prepare then."

Lili nodded, "Lili too."

Bell nodded, "Gotcha, thanks, Welf, Lili."

The pair just smiled as they left the room, and Mikoto spoke, "I'll go let Hestia-sama and Artemis-sama know then."

Bell nodded, before he looked at Daphne and Cassandra, "Alright, while they prepare, let's go over what everyone is capable of."

(Linebreak)

The next day, Bell was in the guild with Eina.

The half-elf hummed, "I see, so you gained two more Familia members, and they're former Apollo Familia members?"

Bell nodded, "Daphne-san and Cassandra-san, yes. I think they're good people."

Eina nodded, "They are, but considering you pretty much caused the disbandment of their old Familia."

The boy smiled, "I think they're okay with it. Apollo isn't the best god apparently."

The half-elf sighed, "That he isn't. But… Just be careful anyway, okay? I know you defeated them easily, but anything can happen."

Bell nodded, "I will, thank you, Eina-san."

Eina smiled, "Alright, now, it feels like it has been ages since we last talked about which floor you'll be going to."

The boy nodded, "This time we'll be going to the 21st floor."

The half-elf blinked, "The 21st floor?"

Her lips thinned, and it was at that moment Bell knew he fucked up, "W-wait-"

Eina exploded, "Did you forget we agreed that you'd keep to above the 18th floor until you grew stronger? I know you defeated the Apollo Familia, but the dungeon is still different!"

Bell raised both hands in a surrendering manner, "Eina-san, to be fair, I've already visited the 21st floor with the Loki Familia when they trained me. And I've gotten a lot stronger, you can ask Finn-san if you want to."

The half-elf blinked, "Loki Famila? You didn't tell me that."

The boy blinked, "I didn't?"

Eina narrowed her eyes, "What else have you been hiding from me?"

Bell smiled forcefully, "Umm, I also trained with Ottar-san and fought 100 members of the Loki Familia in the dungeon?"

The half-elf saw red, and she spent the next hour lecturing the boy about recklessness.

Fortunately, Bell had somewhat expected this to happen, so he didn't end up being late to meeting his friends.

Later that morning, Bell stood outside of the dungeon entrance, a blank expression on his face.

Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow, "What's wrong with him?"

Welf smirked amusedly, "If I had to guess, he forgot to tell his overprotective advisor something and got grilled about it."

Lili giggled, "Oh definitely."

The red haired woman blinked, "An advisor? From the guild?"

Mikoto nodded, "Yes, Bell-dono meets his advisor, Eina-san, from the guild every morning before we go into the dungeon in case there's something we should know."

Daphne hummed, "That's not a bad thing I suppose."

Cassandra approached Bell and patted him on the head, but the boy didn't respond.

The red haired woman sighed, "So this is our Familia captain huh?"

Everyone looked at her weirdly, even Bell who looked more confused than anything, and Daphne felt uncomfortable, "W-what?"

Bell asked, "Did you just call me our Familia captain?"

Daphne blinked, "Yeah, why? Aren't you the Familia captain?"

The boy shook his head, "No, actually we haven't even decided yet."

The red haired girl felt dumb, "Oh."

Welf laughed, "But that's fine, isn't it? Personally I think Bell'd be the perfect fit!"

Lili nodded, "Bell-sama has been the party leader before anyway, I don't think there's any other good option."

Mikoto nodded, "Agreed."

Bell gaped, "But-"

Daphne cut him off, a smile on her face, "And don't look at us, we're newcomers, remember?"

Even Cassandra had a smile on her face despite keeping quiet.

The boy sighed, "Alright, fine. Let's go with that."

Bell turned to the dungeon entrance, "Now come on! The dungeon awaits!"

Daphne was once again reminded just how much of a monster Bell Cranel could be.

Cassandra and Lili were at the back keeping an eye out, but even then they didn't need to do much.

Hell, Daphne and Welf didn't do anything to begin with.

Bell easily wiped out the monsters on the first 10 floors, even Mikoto had trouble keeping up.

The redhead honestly had trouble believing the boy was still a Level 2.

In no time, the party found themselves on the 15th floor.

As they walked through the dungeon, Daphne asked, "So, I forgot to ask this before, but the Goliath is due to spawn later today. Are we gonna go straight for the 18th floor or do we want to wait for it to spawn?"

Everyone looked at Bell, who hummed, "I don't see why not? I've been meaning to challenge the Goliath again."

Cassandra blinked, "Again?"

Daphne gaped, "Wait, so that thing about you one-shotting an abnormal Goliath was real?!"

Everyone looked at them as if they were dumb, and Lili spoke up, "Of course it was real."

The red-haired woman sighed, "Hyakinthos… that idiot…"

A smile formed on Welf's face, "What, did everyone in your old Familia think it was a scam?"

The two nodded, and Mikoto smiled amusedly, "Well, now you know."

Bell chuckled, "Alright, that's enough. Let's get to the 16th floor and take a break, then we'll challenge the Goliath."

Later, the group of six found themselves on the 17th floor, before the boss area.

Welf looked around, "Well, I guess this will be the first actual time we're challenging the boss."

Lili nodded, "The only time we faced it was on the 18th floor, and even then that wasn't the same."

Mikoto folded her arms, "People said that one was much stronger, and we had an army of adventurers too."

Daphne hummed, "I see… From my experience, the Goliath should be pretty easy for us."

Cassandra nodded, "We'll be fine."

Bell nodded, but before he could voice his thoughts, the floor shook, "Here it comes."

The walls cracked, revealing the face of the Goliath as it broke through.

Welf asked, "So, what do we do?"

The white haired rabbit sheathed his knives, "Welf, Mikoto, Daphne, I want you three to hit it with your magic swords."

Mikoto nodded, "Understood."

Daphne smiled dryly, "Okay, what will you do though?"

Bell smiled at her, "I'll hit it with a big one while you three distract it."

The Goliath roared, and Lili spoke, "Here it comes!"

Mikoto dashed forward, sheathing her normal sword and exchanging it for one of Welf's magic swords.

Said blacksmith and Daphne fanned out to flank the Goliath as Mikoto circled around the boss.

Then, all three swung their swords, unleashing blasts of flames and lightning that struck the giant head on.

The Goliath roared in pain as it stumbled, and Bell took the chance.

"Load: Sakata Kintoki!"

The Golden Eater appeared in his hands as Bell dashed forward, "Set: Golden…"

He leaped up into the air, the axe crackling with power and lightning.

"SPARK!"

Everyone watched as lightning struck the Goliath, before the boss was cleanly split in half before exploding into ash.

Daphne gaped, silently glad that Bell hadn't used that during the War Game.

Welf laughed as he spotted the expression on his fellow redhead's face, "Yep, that was my exact reaction when I saw it the first time."

Daphne handed the magic sword in her hands back to Welf, "Remind me never to get on his bad side, ever."

The blacksmith snorted as he took the magic sword, "Noted."

Welf then walked back towards Lili and Cassandra, "Now we let Lil Lili do her job."

Daphne nodded, and she spared one last glance at Bell, who brandished his axe while Mikoto approached him.

The red haired girl let out a breath. Perhaps joining the Hestia Familia wasn't a bad idea after all.

XXX

Done. So that's the chapter, more of a chapter to finish up the War Game arc.

So the next chapter will officially be the start of the Ishtar arc.

Read and review please. Until next time.