"A Minotaur?! In the upper floors?!"
The snow-haired teen ducked before rolling to his right, avoiding the slash that threatened to remove his head.
Popping back to his feet, the boy swung his hips, slamming his right shin into the left knee of the Minotaur, shattering it.
The adventurer then jumped backward, avoiding the retaliatory right hook aimed at his skull.
Brandishing his knife, the teen tossed the weapon up, causing the beast to focus its eyes on the weapon.
A horrible move on its part.
Switching stances, the snow-haired teen carried the momentum into a spinning hook kick which collided with the airborne blade, sending it flying toward the beast.
The rusted knife lodged itself firmly into the beast's eye, popping the organ and sending a spray of blood into the air.
"One more!"
The teen then rushed the beast, jumping into the air mid-stride and throwing his body forward into a front flip.
Sticking his leg out, the snow-haired boy eagerly awaited the moment his heel made contact with the creature's skull, signifying his victory.
The moment never came.
Mere inches away from defeating the beast, a line of steel flashed down the beast's centerline, cutting it in half and rendering it a puff of smoke and blood.
Blood which splashed on the snow-haired adventurer.
His previous target now gone, the teen's momentum continued, throwing him headfirst into a wall.
"You there, are you alright?"
The voice was soft, almost regal, as the distinct sound of a sheathing blade punctuated the question.
Pulling himself from the stone wall, Bell turned to face the source of the voice, his face marred with slight irritation.
Upon seeing the woman's face, however, that irritation melted, being replaced by a blush matching the crimson liquid painting his face.
"U-Uh…you're pretty."
"Going down to the fifth floor by yourself wasn't smart."
The snow-haired teen ran the rag along his neck, wiping off the last bit of crimson that stained his skin before setting the rag down beside his gear.
"In my defense, the monsters down there weren't a problem, I nearly took down a Minotaur too!"
Excitement permeated his voice as the teen's advisor looked upon him in shock, her expression marred with disbelief.
The surrounding Guild staff turned their eyes toward the teen, their faces matching the half-elf responsible for the teen as they struggled to believe what they'd just heard.
"I-I don't mean to sound rude, Bell, but you're a level 1 adventurer, I find it hard to believe you held your own against a Minotaur."
A pout immediately befell the teen's face as he began to wave his arms and whine, his mannerisms not dissimilar to a whining child.
"But I diiiiiddd~ Why don't you believe me Einaaaa?"
The brunette advisor felt her face flush as she hastily brought her hands to her face, waving them as though to dismiss the claim.
"It's not that I don't believe you, Bell, it's just-"
A strong gust of wind silenced her as a booted heel threatened to collide with her skull.
Tracing up the leg, Eina felt the blood in her body drain as she locked eyes with a seemingly irate Bell Cranel.
"Don't forget, Ms. Eina, the Falna is only a shortcut to strength that can be achieved by hard work."
The advisor offered a shaky nod as a part of her fearfully awaited the strong impact she just knew was coming.
Lucky for her, it never did.
Retracting his extended leg, Bell offered the woman a wide grin as he fell backward onto the couch, his green sleep mask resting atop his hair.
"Now, what can you tell me about Ais Wallenstein?"
"Hello, are you still here goddess?"
As though propelled by jet fuel, a short, black-haired woman collided with Bell, smothering him in her embrace.
"Welcome home Bell! You're back early."
The snow-haired teen offered his goddess a smile, patting the woman on the head as he used his free hand to procure a pouch.
"Yeah, I was fighting a Minotaur but then a member of the Loki Familia took it down before I could."
Annoyance permeated the teen's voice as he scratched his cheek, his brow slightly furrowed as he recalled the incident.
The woman before him had a wildly different reaction as she feverently checked over the boy, concern stamped upon her features.
"You're not hurt are you?! I mean, if you ever ended up dead it would totally give me a heart attack!"
Chuckling to himself, Bell gingerly grabbed his goddess before setting her down on the floor, a light smile tugging on his lips.
"I'm fine, goddess, I swear. It'd look pretty bad if the only member of the Hestia Familia died on floor five."
Relief flooded the woman's face as she wrapped her arms around the sole member of her Familia.
"I'm glad to hear it! Guess that means all that's left is to relax and hope you don't get into trouble."
The goddess then turned on her heel and pointed eagerly to a bowl of potato croquettes, a sense of pride twinkling behind her bright blue eyes.
"Oh yeah! I brought you a special treat todayyyy~"
The snow-haired teen allowed his ruby-red eyes to drift toward the food item, his stomach grumbling upon catching sight of the fried treat.
A grin tugged at the boy's lips as his eyes sparkled in anticipation, his mouth drooling at the thought of sinking his teeth into the fried potato.
Grabbing his goddess in his right arm, the teen eagerly marched toward their small kitchen, eager to taste his goddess's cooking.
"My poor little Familia, seems like nobody is interested in joining us."
The goddess punctuated her sentence with a bite of her croquettes, her voice tinted with dismay.
"Right now we're unknown, but once I make a name for us out in the dungeon we'll have loads of recruits begging for your blessing!"
The teen pumped his fist, almost sending his croquettes flying into the air as he did so, before taking a large bite of it.
His sentence seemed to amplify the melancholy within the goddess's voice as she picked apart her croquette with her finger, her blue eyes focused on the floor.
"I guess…"
The two fell into a bit of silence broken intermittently by Bell's chewing.
Before long, Hestia spoke, her voice marred with a mix of anxiousness and sadness.
"Hey, Bell?"
The chewing stopped.
"Yeah?"
"Why…why don't you want my blessing?"
I was gonna write more but I felt like that calm luh cliffhanger was good.
If you've read my stories before y'all know that this is ah spontaneous fic and as such pairings are up for anyone open to reviewing.
Basically, this is a GOH X Danmachi cross-over that I have sparsely planned.
Word is bond.