Bell awoke with a groan as his eyes fluttered open. His chest felt like thousands of Minotaurs had trampled him in a stampede.
As his eyes focused he noticed that he was in a cave-like structure. Bell quickly shot up and his chest exploded in a dull pain.
Bell groaned once more and gripped his chest. He was quick to buy another potion from the shop and he drank it.
The pain in his chest faded as memories of his dream came flooding back to him. Bell shook it away though. It was just a dream and not reality. Something he couldn't achieve with his circumstances.
"Why would she even want me anyway? I've all but left everyone I love behind." Bell was quick to shake his head. "But that's alright with me, as long as they're safe and happy." He lied to himself.
He knew it was a lie but it brought him some comfort. It wasn't much however as Bell's ever-growing pit of self-hatred grew deeper.
"Oh good you're awake. Thanks for the help Bellchi." Lyd called out.
Bell raised his head and looked at the lizard man. He had saved Bell's life so he owed the lizard a debt. Bell was thankful to be alive to owe that debt.
"You're welcome." Bell then looked around once more. "Where are we?" He asked.
Lyd looked behind him at the other Xenos that were eating and healing. "It's one of our havens. Right now we're on the 20th floor of the dungeon."
Bell nodded and winced again. Bullets moved at twice the speed of sound. Some even faster and Bell had taken four hits directly to his chest.
All that energy suddenly stopping really did a number on his ribs. Something he was starting to feel right now.
"Havens? I've never heard of such a place." Bell groaned. He pushed himself to his feet and stood up. Taking in more of this haven that reminded him of a cave.
"That's because they're kept secret. Only us and a scant few others know about them. Their secrecy is the key to our survival." Lyd explained.
Bell nodded again in understating. Part of him wanted to bring Elfy down here. Where he could safely talk to her. But again he pushed that longing down. Him being anywhere near her would probably get her killed.
"Everything alright Bellchi?" Lyd asked. His clawed hand rested on Bell's shoulder. The lizard man was careful not to harm Bell.
"Yeah, I'm ok. Just a little shocked a place like this exists. If these were ever discovered it could change the way adventuring works as a whole." Bell said.
"It can, but you know you can never tell anyone about this right?" Lyd asked. His grip tightened just a hair on Bell's shoulder.
Bell wasn't fazed however. "I know, you saved my life so your secret is safe with me."
"You let us out of our cages. Took a chance that we wouldn't attack you. I'd say we're even." Lyd responded.
Lyd took his clawed hand off Bell and approached his fellow Xenos. Bell didn't follow as he felt out of place. The only human stuck with a bunch of talking monsters.
It sounded like something out of a storybook.
Looks like you made a new friend.
"I guess, who were those guys?" Bell asked referring to the men that attacked him.
The Wolves. From what I was able to gather they seemed to be a special forces group from another world. Their tactics are something you've never seen before.
"Great, I have a six-eyed man, Evilus, and now some special forces guys hunting me down. What's next a talking monkey?"
Don't jinx yourself. Remember there's countless worlds of you. A talking monkey is not entirely out of the picture.
Bell clicked his tongue. "Right, thanks for reminding me. I'm just a story for people to read."
Not necessarily. You still have free will. It's just what you choose is written down on these pages.
Bell was confused. "So I control my fate?"
Correct. Think of your story like a history book. What is being told on the pages are recorded actions you did.
Bell nodded in understanding. "I think I get it now. What I choose to do here gets written down for future generations to read."
Correct again.
Bell felt a little comfort in that fact. He controlled his destiny. Not some wicked author who could play with him and his loved one should they choose.
No. He controlled what happens to him. What people would read long after he was gone. Him and only him.
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Some time passed and Bell still sat away from everyone else. They were drinking and eating. Celebrating their freedom and the fact that they were alive.
Bell meanwhile sat in a far-off corner keeping quiet. Part of him wanted to join in on the celebration. But he didn't because Lyd said someone wanted to meet with him.
So Bell had his guard up ready for anything and everything. He had no idea who he would be meeting. So he had his Python ready and waiting.
"There's no need for weapons." A voice called out from behind him.
Bell quickly jumped up from his seat and cocked the hammer back. He aimed the python at the person's head. Or where Bell assumed the head was as the person was wearing a black cloak.
The person raised the arm. "I mean no harm. I am a friend of the Xenos. I wish for you to meet someone." They said.
Their voice was an amalgamation of other voices both male and female. Bell couldn't discern anything else.
"Woah Bellchi calm down. That's Fels the one who I wanted you to meet." Lyd said. He had rushed over seeing what was happening.
Bell held the python up for a few more seconds before lowering it. He put the hammer back in its original position and put it back in his inventory.
"Spacial manipulation. Remarkable." Fels said.
Bell was slightly off-put by Fels. He didn't know why but Fels didn't feel right per se. Something was off about the person.
"So who am I meeting?" Bell asked. He wanted to get this over with and continue waging his war.
"Someone who is very important to the city. Please come with me." Fels answered. They began to walk away but Bell was hesitant to follow.
New quest: Follow Fels and see where you're led
"Looks like I have no choice." Bell mused. He told Lyd to tell everyone else bye for him. Lyd agreed as Bell began following Fels.
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Bell had no idea where they were going. He and Fels took secret passages in the dungeon Bell had no idea existed.
If Elfy knew about these perhaps she could be safer whenever she came down here. Avoiding most of the danger but still exploring nonetheless.
Bell shook his head again. He needed to stop thinking of her. Thinking of her was wearing his resolve. He needed to stay strong for her.
"Close your heart. Close your heart." Bell chanted over and over again in his mind.
Fels had no idea of Bell's internal plight. He kept his pace and moved closer to their destination. After around an hour of walking, they had arrived at a weird chamber.
The room was mostly dark minus the few torches that lit up a throne and the man sitting on it. It was an old man in a black robe that covered his entire body. He had white hair much like Bell's but blue eyes.
An aura of divinity radiated off him and it was much more powerful than any other god Bell had met before.
"Lord Ouranus, I have brought you Bell Cranel. The boy who saved the Xenos from the Ikelos familia." Fels said.
Bell's eyes widened in shock at the same. He was in Ouranus chambers. The Ouranus. The man who kept the dungeon monsters at bay with his prayers.
This god had practically saved the lower world from extinction when he descended. Bell felt the hairs on the back of his neck stick up as the old god turned his gaze towards him.
"Bell Cranel." The old god began. Bell gulped as his knees shook slightly. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for recusing the Xenos."
Bell gave the god a small bow. He didn't know why but something about Ouranus commanded his respect.
"I-It w-wasn't a problem Lord Ouranus." Bell shakily answered.
The old god nodded. "Maybe not to you. But to Fels and I your actions have given us hope for the future. Please raise your head."
Bell did so and tried to remain calm. He didn't know what was happening to him. Wasn't the System supposed to suppress emotions like these?
Ouranus kept speaking, however. "Although there is one thing I would like to know. Two things actually, who are the people chasing you? And why have you decided to wage a one-man war against Evilus?"
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Ryu Lyon of the Asteaea familia crouched in front of Babel Tower. Multiple dead bodies with weird weapons were strewn across the street. Their clothes and what Ryu assumed to be armor and weapons were things she hadn't seen before.
The reports from eyewitnesses described a most bizarre scenario. Monsters roaming around on the surface. Loud sounds ringing out across the plaza. A massive explosion minutes beforehand.
Ryu's mind was struggling to comprehend all of it. However, one thing filled her with hope. Multiple people had described a white-haired boy among the fighting.
A white-haired boy with ruby-red eyes and carrying weapons much like the others. It was Bell and Ryu knew that.
Her friend was still alive after leaving Syr and Elfy those letters. That news made her happy but also worried.
"Just what did you get yourself involved with Bell?" Ryu wondered.
She stood up from her crouching position to try and figure out what truly happened in the fight. She saw the oldest blood trail which led her investigation to an alley.
Ryu found another dead body with a small hole in the center of his forehead. Next to him lay another unknown weapon and a bloodstain on the wall and ground.
Ryu put together that whatever these weapons did hurt Bell so he hid here. Was then ambushed by this guy but killed him before anything else happened.
She noticed more blood further away from the other stains and moved her foot back slightly. She quickly pieced together that Bell was then struck in the leg.
Ryu then turned around and saw a giant blood splatter in an alleyway a dozen yards away. However, with the amount of Bell where she stood, she mused Bell had stood here for a while longer.
"So he gets hurt and makes his way into the alley. Then gets surprised by this man and quickly takes him out. But he's already surrounded so he gets hurt even more by someone behind him which he injures." Ryu pieced together.
She then made her way over to the entrance to the dungeon. More blood and more of those weird casings. Maybe Asfi could make sense of these weapons.
Ryu also noted the holes in the wall. "So Bell makes his way to the dungeon but stops here for some reason. He fights back but is injured some more judging by the blood splatter. But then someone or something carries him away."
This whole situation was very odd and puzzling to Ryu. The weapons, the bodies, the armor, and that weird canister that laid in the street. Ryu couldn't make heads or tails of this situation at all.
But the one thing she did know was that Bell was injured and badly. She hoped whoever dragged him out of here had the means to heal him. Else Bell would bleed out.
"Lion!" Alise called out.
Ryu turned her attention to her redheaded captain. Alise was jogging towards her and soon arrived by the elf's side.
"So you figure anything out?" Alise asked.
Ryu shook her head. "Not much, only that Bell was bleeding a lot during and after that fight. Someone carried him away but whoever did so might not have the means to cure him." She said that last part grimly.
Alise's hand was soon on her shoulder. "Hey don't think like that. I'm sure whoever saved him patched him up real nice."
Ryu shook her head. "Maybe, you find anything at the bombed-out building?" Ryu asked.
"Not much, we do know some type of operations going on there. The cages remained intact and that it was run by the Ikelos familia. Kaguya and Lyra are working on rounding up the rest of them. Whatever hit them did it hard and fast." Alise explained.
Ryu's brain then clicked. "It was probably Bell. Alise do you think the Ikelos familia was smuggling monsters out of the city? Multiple people claimed to have seen monsters on the surface."
Alise shrugged. "It's a possibility, but as of right now and evidence we could've gathered went up when that building exploded."
Ryu grimaced. "I see, well I've finished my investigation here. Whatever happened Bell made it out alive at the time. Maybe we can get these strange weapons to Asfi and see if she can figure out what they are."
Alise nodded. "That's a good idea. Maybe once we figure out what these are we can put together a better picture as to what really happened here."
The two then gathered the strange weapons and proceeded to leave the scene and gave the all-clear for the Ganesha familia to clean up the bodies.
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"I see, so you have no idea what is truly happening. Just that you've opened a hole in reality and now these so-called others are hunting you." Ouranus repeated.
Bell nodded. "That's correct."
He didn't tell Ouranus the full truth. He kept the system out of it but Ouranus knew Bell was hiding something. He didn't pry, however. Mostly because it seemed the boy himself didn't fully grasp his own situation.
Even if he knew it or not.
"And now you're stuck in a three-way war between these Others, Evilus, and yourself. All in the hopes of going back home someday?"
Bell nodded again. "That is also correct. These people are in my way and I can't risk the ones I love."
Ouranus was silent for a moment. "An honorable goal. Protecting the ones you love. But why free the Xenos? You didn't know them or of their existence. To you, they were just monsters."
Bell was then quiet himself. Well…if I was in another situation like that. I'd want someone to help me that time."
Ournaus nodded. "An acceptable answer. Very well I have no more questions for you. However, I do have information on some other Evilus locations I was going to give them to the Loki and Astraea familia. But with your results with the Xenos and Ikelos familia, it shouldn't hurt to give you a head start."
Ournaus then waved his hand towards Fels who approached Bell. The cloaked figure handed Bell some papers all filled with addresses of Evilus hideouts.
The boy allowed a small smile to fill his face at this information. He didn't know how Ouranus got this but he didn't care.
If he destroyed all of these operations Evilus would feel it. Evilus would feel it and be hurt by it.
Which meant Bell was one step closer to heading home.
"Alright, I'll have these all taken out within the week's end. Thank you for the information Lord Ouranus." Bell said. He once more gave a bow before realizing he didn't know how to leave.
"Uh, where's the exit?" Bell asked.
The old god had a ghost of a smile on his lips as he gestured to Fels. "Fels will see you out. Good luck on your mission."
Fels then escorted Bell out and once they left Ouranus let out a small groan.
"It seems she once again found a host."
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Fels and Bell exited out on a back street in the middle of the night. The streets were empty and quiet. A good place for Bell to move through undetected.
"It seems this is where we part ways Bell Cranel," Fels said.
Bell nodded. "It does, thanks again for the information. I'll make sure to put it to good use."
Fels didn't say anything more and went back inside the wall. The stone closed behind him and then sealed leaving no trace of him being there.
Quest completed: Follow Fels and see where you're lead
Reward:
50,000 gold
"Well, money is always nice." Bell thought. He jumped up to a roof and began making his way to the first address.
He had well over 50 locations to strike. It seemed his first one would be a brewery, however. It was owned by the Soma familia and it seemed to be a big revenue source for Evilus.
Bell would dismantle this operation first to put the hurt in Evilus's wallet. Less money meant fewer supplies and fewer supplies meant a weaker Evilus.
A weaker Evilus meant an easier target for Bell to destroy and once they were he's finally be able to go home.
But a lot of people would have to die in the process. Bell would have to become a mass murderer just to go home to his loved ones.
Had the system not suppressed his emotions like it had done and was still doing that might've made Bell pause.
But in the end, Bell was in a one-man war and nothing would stop him from getting back home. Not Evilus or the Others.
Quest started: Destroy all Evilus sites and make them hurt.
Bell smirked as he landed just outside the Soma compound. He'd make sure Evilus's purse felt the hurt.
Well, it's been a while since I've touched this story. Anyway, Bell's war has gotten off to a rocky start but he's back up and ready to fight.
How many people will die and how will the people close to Bell react to his rampage?
You'll find out sometime if I don't leave this story again or if I decide to rewrite it.
Anyway later.