When Bell woke up the next morning, he was still leaning against the tree with Ais still on his chest asleep. But after looking into the distance back where the camp of the Loki Familia was located, he noticed that no one else had woken up yet. Fortunately for him, as he did not want to tell anyone about his newly developed relationship with Ais just yet, so very gently, he started to nudge Ais, causing her to groggily wake up with a yawn that was very cute in Bell's eyes. But when her sleepy expression noticed Bell, her cheeks went red as she had a smile on her face.
"Good morning Bell." - Ais said with a small smile, as she rested her head back onto Bell's chest with a sigh.
"Good morning to you too Ais, but about yesterday, are we a, you know, couple?" - Bell asked, as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. As Ais responded with a small smile, as she slowly raised her head and looked him in the eye before slowly leaning closer to him, as she gave a small kiss to Bell, who was now a shade of red.
"Does that answer your question?" - Ais said, as Bell dumbly nodded.
"Uh huh, but if it's ok with you, I would like to keep our relationship a secret for a while, as Hestia and Loki don't really have the best relationship as of right now." - Bell said, as Ais nodded in understanding and in agreement, as she regrettably got off of Bell and stood up with a stretch, as Bell was entranced with the beauty of his now confirmed girlfriend which Ais noticed, causing her to grin, as Mini Ais celebrating that the rabbit found her attractive. But after shaking away his dirty thoughts for the time being, he too stood up with a stretch.
"Hey Ais, wanna train for a bit before going back to camp? As it would also give us a good excuse on why we came back to camp together if anyone was awake and saw us." - Bell said, as Ais nodded before grabbing her Rapier, Bell following soon after as he grabbed Zangetsu.
"Now, what would you prefer, we could either spar or I could help you with a different sword technique.?" - Bell asked, as Ais got lost in thought before coming to a conclusion.
"I would like to spar for now, as I haven't had a good comparison of how much of an improvement 2 rank ups in my swordsman developmental ability has increased my swordsmanship against another person." - Ais said, as Bell nodded in understanding, as they both got into their stances.
"Ready, 3, 2, 1, GO!" - Bell said, as he and Ais charged at each other.
Ais then tried to stab Bell with the front of her sword which he re-directed by swinging his sword into Ais's sword, as Ais used the momentum to perform a heel kick to Bell's side which he was able to block by using his elbow to jam into Ais's calf, causing her to wince in pain. As Bell then grabbed onto her ankle as he attempted to throw her, but by using her superior strength, she performed a cartwheel kick which sent Bell flying into the air, as he readjusted himself mid fall and gracefully landed on his feet. But not even 2 seconds after he landed, Ais was already on him, as she tried to perform a horizontal swing at Bell which he was barely able to duck under, Ais however continued with her swing, redirecting it towards Bell, causing him to parry it with Zangetsu. But before Ais could make another attack, Bell got in her guard, as he put a leg behind her leg and slammed his hand into her towards the ground, causing her to fall over without much effort since Bell's leg caused her to trip, as she than used her Spirit Ariel to shove him off of her with a burst of wind, causing him to get sent flying into a tree.
But in a show of his agility, Bell used the tree he slammed into as a springboard, launching himself back at Ais, as he used his momentum to land a kick to her stomach, launching her backwards as all the air in her lungs was forcefully removed. But as she got ahold of herself, she then noticed that Bell was once again charging at her, so in a show of her superior stats, she dashed at Bell and ducked under the swing of his sword, sweeping his legs with the sheath of her sword which surprised Bell as he started to fall on his back. But whilst he was falling, Ais used her Raiper to slash down towards Bell's chest, as he used Zangetsu to parry her attack. But because of Ais's superior strength and the force behind her attack, he was launched towards the ground at a fast speed, slamming his shoulders into the ground as he rolled over 20 meters before he was able to adjust to his position as he planted his feet on the ground, slowing down his slide until he came to a complete stop.
Bell then shot a firebolt at Ais which she was able to effortlessly slice if in half, what she wasn't expecting however, was the second firebolt that was hidden behind the first one, as it landed into her shoulder, as even though it didn't do any real damage, it still surprised her. As before she could react, Bell was already above her, as he performed an ax kick which Ais tried to block with her forearms, but what she wasn't expecting, was for Bell to adjust himself mid air so his kick would land on her back, as he then grabbed her by the scuff of her armor, as he pulled Ais towards himself as hard as he could before slamming the palm of his hand into her back, sending her falling forwards. But Ais was able to quickly stop her fall with the use of her wind, as she performed a 180 degree wheel kick to try and catch Bell off guard, but to someone who has over 1,000 years of experience, it wouldn't work, as he then blocked her kick with his forearm before quickly grabbing onto her ankle, as he flung her away. As Ais once again used Spirit Aerial in an attempt to readjust herself mid air.
But Bell didn't give her time to fully recover, so before she could fully get ahold of herself, he launched himself towards her at full speed without any enhancements with the intent to end the spar. As he then planted his foot on the wrist which she held her sword, pinning it to the floor and preventing her from using her sword and slammed her other hand into the ground by grabbing her other wrist, pinning her. But before she could try anything to get him off of her, he held the tip of Zangetsu right above her neck, concluding the spar.
"I must say Ais, with only our brief struggle, I can tell that you have improved a lot since we last spared." - Bell said, getting off of Ais and helping her on her feet. Causing her to look dejected for an instant, which Bell noticed.
"Don't look so down Ais, I have techniques and tricks that you aren't even aware existed, hell, the Argonaut and Albert Waldstein got as strong as they did without a blessing." - Bell said, tilting Ais's chin up, giving her a smile.
"So cheer up, I am sure that whatever goal you have will be reached, and I plan on helping you achieve that goal." - Bell said, causing Ais's eyes to go wide in shock.
Flashback Start
"Dad, can you be my hero, just like how you are mom's hero?" - A younger Ais said to a tall man with short black hair, as he shook his head.
"I am sorry Ais, but I can't be your hero since I am your mothers hero." - Albert Waldstein said, rubbing Ais's head, as she pouted, causing him to chuckle.
"One day, Ais, you will find a hero, just like how your mother, Aria, found her hero, which is me. One day, you will do the same." - Albert said, causing Ais's small eyes to sparkle in wonder at who it could be.
Flashback End
"W-will you be m-my hero, Bell?" - Ais asked with hope in her eyes, confusing Bell.
"Of course I can be your hero, but why ask?" - Bell asked, confused why Ais asked him such a sudden question out of the blue. As he failed to notice the bright smile appearing on Ais's face, as she quickly gave him a quick peck on the lips, causing his body to go rigid for an instant, because as soon as it happened, it was over, causing Bell to snap out of his small trance.
"What was that for?" - Bell asked, confused on why Ais would kiss him out of the blue, causing Ais to let out a small giggle before adorning a bright smile, as she started to pick up the pace towards the camp, causing Bell to form a question mark above his head before deciding to just go with it, as he started to catch up to Ais. But as they arrived at the camp and slowed down to a slow walk, Bell decided to take his revenge, as he slowly and gently caressed Ais's cheek whilst turning her towards him, causing her to blush red in embarrassment, as he then leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Ais's lips, causing her to sigh in a mixture of shock and content. But as Bell tried to pull away from Ais, she grabbed the scuff of his uniform whilst yanking him towards her, pressing her lips against his, as they would kiss each other before releasing each other. As after a few seconds of this pattern continuing, their small and brief kisses soon turned into long and passionate kisses, as those then turned to a brief makeout session. Because it was their first time, it was sloppy and uncoordinated, but eventually, they started to find a rhythm. But so lost in their passion, they failed to notice the redhead who lazily rubbed his eyes whilst stepping out of the tent. But when he let out a yawn, Bell and Ais noticed which caused their eyes to widen in shock with their lips still sealed to each other, as they slowly released themselves before slowly turning their heads in sync towards the redhead. As when Bell tried to take a closer look, Ais looked away in embarrassment.
But as Bell took a closer look at the redhead, he realized that it was Welf. As when Bell took a closer look at the 2 intimate adventurers, he realized that it was Bell and Ais, causing his mouth to drop open in shock, as he slowly closed and opened his mouth since he was unable to find the words for the current situation he was in. But he quickly snapped out of his shock, as after he made sure that Ais wasn't paying attention to him, he gave Bell a thumbs up with a sparkling smile, causing Bell to give him a blank expression. But before long, the executive members of the Loki Familia walked out of their own tents, as they looked on to the scene with confused Ais. Causing Bell to get nervous, as Ais tried her best to look at them with a blank expression, causing Finn to speak up.
"I see… To think the 2 of you would be training this early in the morning is slightly disturbing." - Finn said, causing the nervousness on Bell's face to fade, as he spoke up, faking his shy voice to sell the act.
"Yeah, we just wanted to spar and see how much we have improved since our last spar." - Bell said, causing Ais to raise an eyebrow in confusion but ultimately decided to stay quiet and go along with whatever he was about to say, as she didnt like the attention that was being brought to her.
"What was that you filthy human? Are you perhaps implying that you can rival or compete with lady Ais!? She is better than you at everything!" - Leyfia screamed in outrage, waking up everyone else at the camp who wasn't already awake and causing the beastmen and elfs to plug their sensitive ears at the loud scream.
Inwardly, Bell was seething with rage, as this mere infant had the gall to call him a filthy human and belittle his strength. As not only is he part deity because of his relation to the Soul King, but he has also honed his swordsmanship and skills for over a thousand years, as if he so wanted to, he could use The Almighty to crush the entire Loki Familia along with anyone else who wanted to challenge him. But because of his change in personality thanks to Bell's soul combining with his, he has had a change of heart, but if the situation was forced upon him, he wouldn't hesitate to crush anyone and anything that tried to harm him or his precious people. So he glanced at the Elf known as Lefiya, hiding his true emotion. But this caused the said Elf to become even more enraged at the thought that the mere human before her dared to stand next to lady Ais and look at her with what she thought were lustful eyes.
"Why do you find the need to belittle other races? Is it because you are jealous?" - Bell said, earring a harsh glare from Lefiya which caused him to eyeroll, as FInn had to say something.
"Please don't say such things to Lefiya, she has always been like that so there is no need to be so harsh on her." - Finn said, causing Bell to inwardly quirk a brow, as he didn't even try to tell Lefiya to stop her insults, but when he said something as small as calling her jealous and questioning her racism, he simply ignored it.
"Ok, I apologize to Lefiya." - Bell said with what seemed to be a sincere tone, as Lefiya scoffed at his apology before turning her back on him, causing Ais to frown, as Bell became irritated over the fact that Lefiya didn't even consider his apology before turning away.
Welf however had an entirely different reaction, as although he outwardly showed no reaction, he was inwardly cursing towards the elf. How dare she disrespect Yhwach, his king, teacher, friend, Familia member, and customer. But because Bell showed no retaliation towards Lefiya's comment, he too stayed quiet without showing any outward reaction.
"Good morning everyone!" - The ever cheerful Hermes said, walking towards the group who was followed by Asfi who had an annoyed expression because of her patron god's actions.
"Good morning Sir Hermes, Asfi." - Bell said, showing his respect towards the god with a slight bow.
"Come on Bell, no need to be so formal, just call me Hermes." - Hermes said, Bell nodding in acknowledgement.
"Anyways, I am going to go take a bath, I am filthy and reek of monster blood." - Welf said, as Bell nodded in agreement, as the 2 left the area.
"Hey! Wait for me!" - Hermes screamed after them, as he soon followed them since he didn't want to be left out and so he could hopefully get a better opinion on Bell on a more personal level. But as Ouka saw this, he simply sighed in indignation, as not wanting to be left out, he too followed after the 3 people. But since Gareth and Finn had to gather up the members of their Familia and prepare for their leave, they didn't have time to bathe in the hotsprings on the 18th floor.
"Riveria, Tione, Tiona, Lefiya, Ais. Are the four of you going to help pack up or no?" - Finn said, as he started to walk towards the tent he was residing in with Gareth, as the 4 adventurers shook their heads.
"No, I think we are going to enjoy the hot springs as well before we have to start making our way up to the surface." - Riviera said, the other 3 girls nodding their heads in agreement as Finn shrugged before going into the main tent to gather the supplies, as the 4 women started to make their way towards the hotspring opposite to the one the boys were at.
Scene Change: With Welf, Bell, Ouka, and Hermes
As Bell finished taking off his clothes, he was the first one to enter the hotspring, causing him to sigh at the feeling of the hot water surrounding his body and making him feel relaxed, as the other 3 followed suit soon after.
"So Bell, would you mind if I asked how you got that scar on your back?" - Hermes said, noticing the massive scar that was across Bell's entire back that was reminiscent of a burn mark. Causing Bell to instinctively reach behind his back to touch it whilst forming a small smile, confusing Hermes along with the other 3 adventurers in the hotspring to give him a confused look since they don't know the backstory behind that injury.
"It's kind of a long story, would you like to hear the whole thing or just how I got the injury?" - Bell said, causing Welf to answer immediately before the other 2 could reply.
"The whole story please!" - Welf said, knowing that the stories Bell gives are really exciting to listen to, after all, when you are over 1,200 years old, you gain a lot of experience and would surely go through many hardships. But the way his captain seemed to smile whilst touching the scar must mean it's important, as he has only smiled once before whilst telling an old story which was of how he had the fight of his life against Ichigo and Aizen.
"Very well then. So right after I turned level 2, I went on a rampage inside of the dungeon and killed everything I came across. However, with the large amounts of adrenaline and excitement running through me, I completely forgot to either pick up or destroy the magic stones from the monsters I killed. I continued to go deeper into the dungeon whilst doing this, but after I came across a Minotaur, which I of course killed, I realized that I must be between or on the 15th to 17th floors, as that is the only area where Minotaurs spawned. So after realizing this, I then verified the surrounding area which made me realize that I was on the 15th floor, but after taking a not so closer look, I then noticed the vast amounts of Magic crystals across the 15th floor. As I decided to quickly make my way back up a bunch of floors to see if the same situation was going on, on the floors above the 15th floor. But as I continued further up the dungeon, I noticed that a bunch of adventurers were gathered around, collecting all the magic stones on the floor left from my rampage through floors 12 to 1. With that in mind, I remembered that if a monster eats enough magic stones, it can become irregular. So I dashed down towards the other floors and quickly destroyed the magic crystals on the 13th and 14th floors since I didn't have anything to carry them. But when I got down to the 15th floor, I noticed that the entire floor was completely silent with no magic stone in sight." - Bell said, keeping out a lot of the information but still telling some truths since he was supposed to be telling a story,
"Worried, I slowly and quietly traversed the 15th floor, hoping that my fears wouldnt come true which was that a monster devoured all the magic stones and got strong enough to the point that it either scared off the other monsters, or the dungeon thought that it didn't need to spawn any monsters since it thought that the monster would be more than strong enough to kill any adventurers on the 15th floor. As either of the 2 outcomes and reasons were both bad, I silently unsheathed my blade, ready for any possible attack. Eventually, I heard a growl from what seemed to be a Ligerfang, as a pure white Liger Fan that was 2 times larger than normal which also exuded an aura of power and rage. But that was the all I could take note of, because just as quick as it appeared, it attacked, swiping its massive paws on my chest which destroyed the armor on my torso and sent me flying back into the dungeon wall." - Bell said, causing Welf to look down in shame that the armor he made for Bell was destroyed so easily which Bell noticed. "Dont feel bad Welf, it was because of that armor that I didn't get killed from that strike, because if I wasn't wearing that armor, I would have had 5 inch claws gashing my chest which could have been a fatal blow. But because of that armor, I was able to survive the blow." - Bell said in an attempt to raise Welf's confidence in himself which seemed to work. However, he failed to tell him that he wasn't wearing any armor in the first place, as this was back when he was a fresh level 1 adventurer and hadn't made contact with either Welf or Lily.
"Anyways, I had to soon recover from the power from that blow, as it then became obvious that this Liger Fang was no normal monster or even an irregular one, as it had been snacking on various magic stones all around the 15th floor from my rampage."
"How strong do you think it was?" - Hermes asked curiously, wanting to know how strong this type of monster would be compared to its normal variation.
"If I were to guess, a normal Liger Fang is around low level 2, as the one I fought could easily be compared to a low level 3." - Bell said, causing Hermes and Ouka to look at him with dumbfounded looks, as they had no idea how Bell survived that encounter. As Welf simply smiled, knowing that something like that wouldn't be enough to put down his king even in his weekend state. Bell however failed to tell the other occupants in the hotspring that the Liger Fang was actually at the level of a low to mid level 4.
"But as soon as I got a hold of my surroundings, I quickly shot off of the wall, dodging a bite from the Liger Fang which intended to bite my head off. This cat and mouse chase between me and the Liger Fang continued for around 10 minutes, as eventually, I noticed that the Liger Fang started to visibly slow down with its attacks since it was starting to get winded. So using this chance, I quickly shot a Firebolt at the Liger Fang, which unfortunately didn't do much other than slightly seer it's skin and briefly stunning it. So using its stunned state, I immediately launched myself at the Liger Fang at full speed with the intent of piercing its magic stone with my sword in which I succeeded in, this in turn caused the Liger Fang to fall over, seemingly dead. But as I started to catch my breath, I noticed that the Liger Fang's body hadn't dispersed into a cloud of smoke like any other monster would if they were either killed or their magic stone was destroyed. So not taking any chances, I turned away from the prone corpse of the Liger Fang with the intent of getting away from its body. But before I could take even a step away from it, the Liger Fang then burst into a massive explosion of fire that was even hotter than then the flames of a Hellhound, and as soon as it came into contact with my back, it immediately burned away the cloth on my back and malted right through the layer of skin on my back, exposing the nerves, muscles, bone marrow, and bone in my back. As I was then launched away, face first into the wall of the dungeon I was facing. But thankfully, there was no blood since the heat of the flames immediately seared my back, heavily slowing the blood that should have come out of my now exposed back to a near stop, meaning I didn't really have to worry about losing too much blood and either going unconscious or possibly losing my life. The rest is history." - Bell said, causing Welf's eyes to sparkle in awe at the sheer willpower Bell had, as with such an injury, he should have most definitely died, especially since he was in the dungeon, but it seemed that lady luck was on his side. Hermes and Ouka however had different thoughts, as whilst they were heavily surprised at how Bell survived such a situation, they were more curious on why the Liger Fang didn't simply disperse into a cloud of smoke when it was killed but full on exploded in a fiery fashion.
"Do you have any idea as to why the Liger Fang would have exploded, Bell-san?" - Ouka asked, using his respectful voice when he addressed Bell, which also caused Bell to rub his chin in thought.
"Whilst it might not be 100% accurate, my idea is that since the Liger Fang was so much stronger than normal, there was an anomaly that formed in its genes, giving it the ability to exclude as soon as it was killed so it could take out whatever had killed it in a last attempt to take its enemy down with it."
"Is it similar to how the Minotaur you fought was able to shoot a red beam of some type of energy at you?" - Hermes asked, causing Bell to inwardly smirk over the fact that Hermes let it slip that he was somehow getting information about Bell, but he didnt know who his source was so he had to keep quiet for now.
"Yes, the only difference was that their abilities did different things and that they had different purposes." - Bell said, lying through his teeth, knowing that the Liger Fang exploding was a result of magic, and the Minotaurs beam attack was made of pure Reiatsu and was officially called a Cero.
But as Bell said this, a sudden quiet suddenly came over the group of men, which ended as abnormally large bubbles came up from under the water before popping at the surface in front of Bell, causing the others to look at him with amused faces.
"Did you just-" - Hermes tried to say, as he was about to tease Bell, however, he didn't get the chance as Bell responded to his question.
"That wasn't me." - Bell said with a confused tone, as he curiously looked into the hotspring with Welf, Ouka, and Hermes shooting him confused looks. As before the 4 men could say anything, a massive geyser shot out from under Bell, causing Bell's naked form to go launching into the air and away from the hot spring that his male friends were residing in, as they simply looked on in astonishment at what just happened, before quickly realizing that they could be next, so they quickly got out the Hotspring, dried off, put their clothes back on, and started to walk back to the camp. As an unsaid agreement was made between the 3 of them, this being that they would never speak about what just happened to anyone or anything.
Scene Change: The Woman's Hot Spring
"Ahhh, this is life." - The bubbly Amazon known as Tiona said with a sigh, as she leaned back into the wall on the inside of the hotspring.
"Yeah, although it is a little hotter than what I prefer, but you have to take the good from the bad." - Hestia said, trying to adjust to the hot water.
"Wise words." - Mikoto said in a daze, as she had a towel on top of her head with a goofy expression on her face, ignorant to her surroundings as she enjoyed the hotspring to the fullest.
"Were Not hotsprings popular in the far east?" - Asfi said as she sent a curious look towards Mikoto.
"Yeah, there were roughly 4 hot springs in every neighborhood, 2 for the men and 2 for the women. As there were about 34 in total, as they were all different in both size and design." - Mikoto said, reminiscing on the wonderful hot springs of her home land.
"Hey, quit that!" - Tione said, as her twin sister was energetically splashing water on her, as even in a hot spring, she wasn't able to stay calm for long.
"Cmon Tione, don't be such a party pooper!" - Tiona replied, splashing Tione with even more water than before, causing a tick mark to appear on her forehead, as Tiona ignored the signs of her sister getting fed up with her behavior, as she continued to splash her with water whilst giggling childishly.
"That's it!" - Tione said, as she grabbed Tiona by the shoulders and shoved her whole body under the water, only letting her back up after feeling satisfied with her revenge. As the coughing Tiona was coughing since she was unprepared to get dunked under water and accidentally inhaled a tiny amount of water. As she then gave a playful glare to Tione who returned her playful glare with a frustrated look, but before the 2 could continue, they along with the other occupants of the bath which were Hestia, Lily, Mikoto, Asfi, and Ais heard a familiar voice screaming, as when they looked up, they saw a screaming Bell who was free falling straight into the middle of the female hot spring. As there was a sudden silence between all of the occupants of the hotspring, the only sound being that of Bell who was currently trying to recover from his fall, but when he looked up, he came face to face with a smiling Hestia.
"My, my, Bell, if you wanted to join us you could've just said so." - Hestia said with a bright smile, as her hair perfectly aligned with her nipples, blocking them from view and causing him to give Hestia a blank stare. But soon after, Tiona suddenly ran up to Bell, unknowingly knocking Hestia over, as she gave Bell a bright smile.
"Hey Mister Argonaut, I didn't know that you missed me that much." - Tiona said cluelessly of the situation.
Asfi however, was currently pondering on how Bell arrived here, as when she tried to look into the trees to see if she could spot anything or anyone, but when she saw nothing, she simply looked at Bell confusedly, as she then covered herself with her arms along with Mikoto and Lily. As Ais was currently in a daze, she noticed that the tool of her cute little rabbit wasn't very little, as a small drop of blood fell from her nose at the thought of if he could go at it like a rabbit, as she quickly wiped the small trickle of blood before anyone could notice.
But as Bell slowly took a glance at the surrounding area, he noticed that there were no males in the hotspring, as all he could see were a bunch of girls. But because he only had eyes for Ais, it was because of this that he didn't care much about the fact that there were 5 girls in the hotspring, naked as the day they were born. But when he looked to the right side of the Hotspring, he noticed the 6th girl which was Ais, causing him to immediately lose his composure and turn a bright shade of red as he took in the view and curvature of Ais Wallenstein, as he started sprinting away back to camp as fast as he could before anyone could get a word in.
Time skip: 30 Minutes
After the girls finished bathing in the hotspring, they got dressed in their clothes and gear respectively. As they, more specifically Asfi, went to confront Bell and question him. But after Asfi questioned Bell on why he peeped on them, he simply answered that he was shot in the air from a gazer in the men's side of the hotspring and just so happens to land on the woman's side of the hotspring.
Doubtful of his reasoning and how much of a coincidence it would have to be in order for such a situation to come to pass. Asfi then went to Hermes, Ouka, and Welf and asked the same question on why Bell came flying through the air and landed on the female side of the hotspring. As she also had a major suspicion on Hermes, knowing that he was a major pervert and would find any chance he could to peep on ladies. But to her surprise, they all gave the same answer as Bell, that being that he was shot from a gazer whilst he was in the hotspring, sending him flying to the woman's side of the hotspring.
Time skip: 1 hour
It has been 1 hour since the situation with the hotspring, as it is now time for the Loki Familia to head back up to the surface.
"Be careful Ais." - Bell said, as before she could leave with the rest of her Familia, gently grabbed her by the arm to confess his worry for her. As she simply responded by nodding her head with a smile before leaning close to his ear.
"Don't worry so much Bell, after all, I had quite an amazing teache~." - Ais said with a tone that seemed to hint toward seductive, suppressing Bell, as this wasn't how Ais usually acted. What surprised and flustered him even more however, was the sudden kiss to his cheek, causing him to turn beet red as Ais slightly panicked at what she just did, causing her to also turn slightly red, as then speed walked to catch up with the other executives of her familia.
Sadly for Bell, Welf, Lily, and Hestia saw Bell and Ais's little interaction, causing a teasing glint to appear in their eyes.
"Well, well, well. It seems that master Yhwach has found himself a little girlfriend." - Lili said in a teasing tone, using Bell's other name since no one else was around them as of the moment.
"It seems so Lily, our captain seems to have found himself a lady friend. Tell me Yhwach, have you gone further than just a kiss on the cheek? Or have you perhaps taken things up to rated R?" - Welf said with a teasing voice that was very similar to Lily's, causing Hestia to chuckle slightly as Bell's cheeks turned a dark shade of red because of a mixture of frustration and embarrassment.
"Zip it you 2, unless you would like to participate in dodge training when we return back to the surface." - Bell said, as a dark aura started to surround him, causing Welf and Lily to shudder. As what Bell calls dodge and reflex training, Lily and Welf call an assassination attempt. As Bell would launch a barrage of low powered Helig Pfeils which were just weak enough to not pierce Welf and Lily, but would explode upon impact, causing deep bruising whenever they were hit.
"Now, now you three, why don't we all just enjoy our time on the 18th floor while we can?" - Hestia asked, causing Bell to sigh in annoyance, as his chance to both scare and take his revenge on Welf and Lily for their teasing of his relationship and interaction with Ais getting taken away before he could fully formulate a plan.
"Sure, what do you want to do?" - Bell asked, knowing that they had the rest of the day to themselves to go around Rivira and explore.
"Why don't we try out some of the food here?" - Welf asked with a suggestion, as the 3 others nodded their heads in agreement, as they themselves were starting to get hungry since it was around the time when they usually have lunch.
But as the group began to wonder around the 18th floor, they ran into Hermes, Asfi, Ouka, Mikoto, Chigusa, and Ryu, as they invited them to join them for lunch for which they accepted. The group then found a relatively large bar that was half full with what seemed to be a mix between residents of the 18th floor and adventurers that were level 2 at the bare minimum. As they found a table with enough room to fit all of them, as they all then took their own respective orders and waited for their food to arrive.
"So Bell, what's this I hear about you and the sword princess being a couple?" - Hermes asked Bell teasingly, causing the members of the Takemicazuchi to perform a spit take in shock, as Ryu had a small frown, knowing that if it was true, Syr would be very disappointed and sad.
"First of all, how did you even learn that? And second of all, don't tell anyone about this, I would like to keep this a secret for as long as possible. As I would be viewed down upon since a 'fresh' level 2 adventurer is dating the strongest female adventurer in Orario." - Bell finished as he saw the small, mischievous grin Hermes was giving him, causing him to inwardly sigh. As Ryu was contemplating if she should not only break Bell's request by telling Syr that Bell was currently in a relationship with someone else and hurt Syr's feelings in the process. Or keep this a secret like Bell asked and in the process, prevent Syr from getting sad, as she ultimately decided on the ladder.
"To answer the first question, I learned about it from Welf, as I overheard him talking to Lily and explaining your relationship with the Kenki." - As after Bell heard this, he didn't hesitate to bonk Welf on the top of the head, forming a bump and causing Welf to shamefully rub his head. "As for the second question, I will keep it a secret for a while but I get to perform a little prank on you whenever I want and you don't get to do anything to me in return." - Hermes said with a grin which caused Bell to inwardly snarl, as he only showed an expression of indignation, nodding his head in agreement. As suddenly, a large thud was heard, as the food the party ordered was given to them.
After a half hour of going back and forth, talking about different subjects, stories, and about themselves, the group finished their lunch and left the table, leaving Bell and his familia with a bill of 24,840 Valis, causing Bell's eye to twitch in annoyance, remembering that everything inside of Rivira was at the bare minimum, 4 times more expensive than it is on the surface.
But as he left the Pub with his Familia, they then began to explore the rest of the 18th floor and what it holds. As Bell noticed that there were some regular animals in the forest of the 18th floor which were deer, owls, various types of birds, raccoons, and the occasional black bear. But because of the different animals, Bell started to reminisce about the little village he was raised in by his grandfather figure which just so happened to be Zeus. So lost in thought however, that before he knew it, they arrived at a cliff side which just so happens to be over 30 meters above the floor of the 18th floor, giving a view of the entire floor along with the entire town of Rivira.
"It's quite beautiful." - Hestia couldn't help but say, as this type of view and peaceful surrounding is why she originally went to the lower world, as the 3 others nodded their heads in agreement, as the group started to point out different areas of the 18th floor that they thought were the most pleasing to the eye.
Bell however, noticed a lone green haired Elf currently standing in front of multiple different weapons that were stuck in a small pile of dirt in between where they were currently located and the town of Rivira. This caused him to look at her curiously as he glanced at Hestia, Welf, and Lily who seemed to be looking in the same direction he was.
"I will go see if she is okay." - Bell said, as he jumped down from the cliff which caused Hestia's eyes to widen in worry, but when she glanced down, she noticed that he was currently sliding on a river of what Bell calls Reishi, as she remembered that he calls this technique Hirenkyaku. As Welf and Lily simply shook their heads at their showoff of a captain.
"Showoff." - Welf said with a grunt, as Lily looked at him curiously.
"You have to admit, that was pretty cool." - Lily said to Welf, as he simply sighed in what seemed to be a mix of annoyance and agreement. As Hestia just shook her head, knowing that one of these days, Bell was going to give her a heart attack.
Scene change: Ryu
'Why did you decide to leave me behind, Alise.' - Ryu thought to herself, as she was currently standing in front of the grave she made for her fellow familia members of the Astrea Familia.
"What are you doing Ryu?" - Bell asked, knocking Ryu out of her thoughts.
"I'm just... visiting some comrades." - Ryu said without turning to Bell, as he inwardly sighed in sadness, knowing what it feels like to lose friends, comrades, and family.
"You know, sometimes it helps to talk to others about it." - Bell said, hinting to Ryu that he was hoping to get some insight on what happened, even though he already knew, knowing that since Ryu was apart of the Astrea Familia and was the only survivor of that monster known as the juggernaut on the 30th floor which was spawned because of a trap set by members of Evilus.
"It's better off that you don't know, but… around 5 years ago, me and my Familia were fighting against members of Evilus, as you should know, it was around this time that the members of Evilus were most active. But we were led towards the 30th floor where we were led to a trap set by members of Evilus, as all my friends and comrades were slaughtered in the process, leaving me as the only survivor since my captain sacrificed herself for me." - Ryu said with a small tear falling from her eye which was noticed by Bell, as he ultimately decided to ignore it since he knew that Elfs were very prideful.
"You know." - Bell started gaining Ryu's attention, as she wiped the tear from her eyes before turning to face Bell. "I am sure that they wouldn't want you to blame yourself for what happened, as I am most definitely sure that they are all happy that at least you survived." - Bell said, which caused a small smile to appear on Ryu's face for a second, as Bell turned around and began to leave.
I am gonna take my leave now, I am gonna go check on my Familia to see how they are doing." - Bell said, knowing that they would have made it back to camp by now.
But when he arrived at the camp he noticed that the whole place was in ruins, as the whole tent was a mess and seemed like it was torn to pieces. But as he looked around, he noticed that a note was sticking onto a rock. But as he walked over to the note and began to read it, he was filled with an unrivaled amount of fury.
To the Little Rookie,
We have your goddess, Welf, and Lily hostage. If you wish to get them back, you must come to the clearing on the north side of the 18th floor where you will see a giant and flat platform. There, if you are able to defeat me, I will give you back your little goddess and friends. But if you decide to not show up within the hour or decide to bring backup, you can say goodbye to your Familia members and goddess.
Mord
Bell, after reading the letter, couldn't help but crush it into tiny pieces in his hand by sending a shockwave from his palm. As he for the first time in what felt like centuries, was unable to hold back his powers. Disregarding the fact that he was supposed to keep his powers a secret from everyone for as long as possible, he vanished from sight, only to appear in front of the area near where he noticed a bunch of adventurers were located, a plan already formed in his mind as well as the realization that the Hermes must have been the one to plan this. As he asked permission from Bell to perform a 'little prank' on him without any drawbacks back at the pub for his silence was so he could create this little farce. As he also came to the conclusion that he was trying to test Bell and see how strong he was, and he would give him what he wanted without complaint based on the agreement between the 2.
'You despicable little deity, I intend to end this quickly so you don't learn a single thing from me other than the fact that I am far stronger than you estimated.' - Bell thought with a snarl inwardly, but his blank expression was the only emotion people had, as he then walked up a short flight of stairs that led to the place where he would confront the man known as Mord.
When Bell arrived at the staircase to the platform, he noticed that the other adventurers around the little arena had dark looks in their eyes that were full of distrust. As they all thought that he was a fraud and lied to the guild about how long it took him to level up and that he was nothing but a hoax. Bell however, simply ignored this, as he now stood in the center of the arena where Mord suddenly appeared out of nowhere which didn't surprise Bell, causing Mord to gain a curious look.
"Well well well, if it isn't the Little Rookie, what a fool you are. To believe that you were foolish enough to agree to my little letter without bringing any backup." - Mord said with a dark laugh for which his companions surrounding the arena followed soon after with laughs of their own.
"What do you intend to do now Mord?" - Bell said in a blank tone, annoying Mord since he wasn't showing any fear which Mord was hoping for.
"I intend to beat the crap out of you to prove to these guys how much of a fraud you are." - Mord says whilst raising his arms in a display of his own power, gaining a cheer from the crowd watching as was inwardly laughing at the fact that this and thought that he was powerful.
"Ok than, come at me." - Bell said, causing the onlookers to go silent whilst they began to snicker to themselves. After all, this fresh level 2 faker was about to get a thrashing of a lifetime from their advanced level 3 comrade and leader.
"Your way to cocky you cheater!" - Mord yelled to Bell as he took a step forward to charge at Bell. But the second he took his first step, faster than anyone could see, Bell disappeared from his original location to appear right in front of Mord.
"You're too slow, I can see everything." - Bell whispered in a monotone voice that was just loud enough so only Mord could hear him. As he then slammed his hand into Mords face, slamming the back of his head into the ground causing a small crater to form that was roughly 6 inches long, as he didnt want to kill the foolish infant in front of him, but just wanted him to feel a hint of the despair that will fall upon him.
"What the hell?", "That was to fast...", "He took down the captain in a single blow.", "I couldn't even see him move.", "What the hell is this guy?" - Were some of the many words the adventurers watching the confrontation said to one another in whispers, causing a malicious smile to appear on Bell's face for which only Mord could see through the cracks of Bell's fingers that were currently on his face since his long hair surrounded all sides of his face, blocking the view of his face, only leaving Mord as the only person to see the malicious smile on his face. But because of Mord's stubbornness and disbelief on what just happened, he simply had a snarl of his own before attempting to punch Bell in the face.
Bell then responded by grabbing his wrist with the hand that wasn't on Mord's face, slamming it into the ground, creating another shockwave. As he then slightly lifted up Mord's head before once again smashing it into the ground, causing Mord to become dazed.
"That was unexpected…" - Hermes said with an unfamiliar hint of seriousness, as he was currently sitting next to Asfi, as he began to pay close attention to the events that were soon to unfold.
"Now then where is my goddess and friends?" - Bell said in a perfect mixture of uncontrollable rage and calmness to Mord. But because of his stunned state, he was unable to give a response, causing Bell to become even angrier.
"WHERE ARE THEY, I WILL NOT ASK AGAIN!" -Bell yelled, causing the onlookers to flinch at his yell. But unfortunately for Mord, the pressure that was put on his head along with him already being in a daze caused him to faint which Bell didn't know since he had him pinned with his face covered by his hand.
"So that's how it is huh?" - Bell said calmly, as he unsheathed Zangetsu and was about to strike down Mord. "Farewell." - Bell finished as he began to stab his sword towards Mord's chest, but as he did, he suddenly felt a powerful aura erupt from behind him with a familiar voice yelling in desperation.
"Bell stop! he can't answer you because he is knocked out!" - Hestia yelled whilst releasing her divinity in the hopes of preventing Bell from taking yet another life, causing everyone except for Bell to kneel down, as Welf and Lily were currently standing on either side of Hestia, unharmed. Bell then dropped his sword and rushed towards the 3, giving them all a crushing hug and causing her to stop the release of her Arcanum.
"I-I-I thought I lost you guys, please, don't ever do that again." - Bell said, as losing Hestia would be like him losing a sister, and losing Welf and Lily would be like losing a son and daughter.
"Don't worry Bell, those assholes caught us off guard so we didn't have time to even attempt to defend ourselves and Hestia." - Welf was barely able to wheeze out, as he patted Bell's back with a white face since the air in his chest was being forced out of his lungs because of the pressure of Bell's hug. Noticing the color in Wolf's face fleeting, Bell immediately let go, as the color went back to his face.
But before anyone in the area could speak up, they felt that the entire 18th floor was rumbling. As suddenly, the ceiling of the 18th floor formed a small crack. Causing the eyes of Bell to widen. As that crack started to expand, before suddenly, a giant hole was made with a figure falling through it. This creature being the Goliath, more specifically, a black variation of the Goliath. As miny earthquake was created when it landed on the floor, causing 1 of the adventures that was watching the brutal beatdown of Bell and Mord to let out an eep of fear.
But as the Goliath started to stand to its full height, something became very obvious to Bell, and that was that this Goliath spawned thanks to the release of Hestia's arcanum. As this variation of the Goliath was 2 times bigger than the regular Goliath, and based on what Bell, Welf, and Lily could tell, it had the power of a mid tier level 6, which is far stronger than a regular Goliath considering that a regular Goliath is as strong as a high tier level 4 to a low tier level 5.
As before anyone could say anything, the Goliath let out a roar that caused the trees in a 50 meter radius to uproot and fly away along with outer small objects and some boulders. As Ryu, Asfi, Hermes and the members of the Take familia began running towards the group with nervous expressions.
Upon noticing Hermes, Bell inwardly scoffed in anger, but this was no time to hold a grudge, as only 300 meters away from the Goliath, was the town of Rivira that was home to hundreds of people.
"This isn't good. Ryu Asfi, distract the Goliath for as long as possible." - Bell said, without questioning why, Ryu and Asfi did just that as they noticed this seriousness in the voice of the usually cheerful Bell. As he held Lily and Welf back for the moment as even though they would be able to hold off Asfi and Ryu for a short time before eventually losing because of the raw gap in powers, he still wanted to keep their abilities hidden for a bit longer. Bell then felt a buzz coming from the orb, meaning that it could be no one other than Ouranos, as he needed a reason to leave the group to answer his call.
"Lily, you take half of these adventurers and you, Welf, will take the other half. I want you two to evacuate the town of Rivira and gather as many forces as you can to launch a counter attack on the Goliath with everything you've got" - Bell said, getting a nod from the 2 before they began to sprint towards the town of Rivira, as he then noticed the scoffs coming from the said adventurers that watched his confrontation with Mord.
"Do any of you have a problem with that?" - Bell said whilst letting out a small burst of Reiatsu to make his point clear. Getting a nod from the said adventurers, as they followed the retreating forms of Welf and Lily, causing him to let out a sigh of indignation.
"Hermes, Hestia." - Bell said, gaining the attention of the 2 deities, "There is a cave near the bottom of this platform, the both of you need to take shelter, the Goliath will be after the both of you since it's only purpose is to destroy anything that it comes across whilst finding and killing any deities." - Bell said, as Hermes gave a nod of acknowledgement, knowing that Bell was right and that he and Hestia needed to find sanctuary from the Goliath. As he then picked up the protesting Hestia in a fireman's carry before making his way towards the said cave. Bell then took out the orb and answered the call from Ouranos.
"Hello Ouranos, I am kind of in a pickle right now." - Bell said in a rushed tone that wasn't meant to make Ouranos offended. But he then noticed the look on the said god's face, causing him to pay close attention to his figure.
"Listen carefully Yhwach, as I am sure you're aware of the black goliath that just spawned." - Ouranos said to which Bell nodded in acknowledgement.
"But there is a more important threat that spawned because of the massive hole in the ceiling of the 18th floor that was created by the Black Goliath." - Ouranos said, as Bell then heard the dungeon let out a cry of despair, causing his eyes to go wide in realization.
With Ryu and Asfi
"Lookout Ryu!" - Asfi yelled, as she grabbed Ryu and pulled her away from the giant hand that tried to squash her.
"What is wrong with you?" - She said, noticing the look of terror on Ryu's normally calm face.
"I-I-Its back." - Ryu said in a hopeless tone, as a cry from the dungeon itself could be heard across the entire 18th floor that seemed to be filled with pain.
Back with Bell
"A monster so dangerous that it can only be compared to that of despair taking form" - Ouranos said, as a small hole opened up on the opposite side of the dungeon to where Bell was standing which he took note of.
"A calamity of mass destruction, the likes that can only be rivaled by the One Eyed Black Dragon itself." - Ouranos said with a monotone voice, as the cires of the dungeon came to a sudden halt, as a black and boney arm with 3 razor sharp claws that were each 3 feet long erupted out of the hole in the wall.
"The Juggernaut." - Ouranos said, as the boney arm pulled the rest of its body out of the dungeon wall, revealing the form of the Juggernaut in all its glory. With razor sharp teeth and claws that are capable of cutting and ripping through even the toughest of armors. Limbs that bent back at an awkward angle which allowed it to move as agile and as fast as possible. A long and boney tail with a sharp and serrated knife-like structure at its end to pierce through any of its foes. But it could be considered the most terrifying, as it had large red eyes with tiny black horizontal pupils much like that of a frog, a snout that is similar in shape to that of a wolf, and 2 long horns that had a slight curve that ended in a sharp point.
"Goodluck Yhwach, for I can guarantee you that this will be the most difficult foe you have ever faced in this world, may the elder gods protect you and your comrades." - Ouranos finished, but as soon as he ended the call, the Juggernaut let out a loud screech that drew Bell's attention. As it than began to scan the 18th floor, taking notice of the Black Goliath fighting the 2 adventurers to which it ignored, realizing that it is more useful to keep such a creature alive to help it with its upcoming rampage, the group of adventurers heading towards the highly populated town, to which it growled in a mixture of pure hate and desire to feed and tear apart the flesh of the beings that invaded its mother. But then, it sensed a powerful aura on the opposite side of the dungeon it was currently located, and that this being was the strongest on the whole floor. With this thought, it realized that this being was the only thing that could prevent it from fulfilling the purpose for which it was born, that being to destroy all life on the floor it was spawned on.
As the Juggernaut then let out a fearsome screech before it started to run along the wall towards the man known as Bell Cranel, its speed being so fast that Bell immediately released the 5x gravity seal since this was faster than anything he as fought and seen thus far in this new world, as he then grabbed Zangetsu and with a voice that was filled with a fierce and serious tone, said only 2 words.
"Bring it."