Bell walked alone to his home, his heavy trench coat hiding the purse that almost burst at its seams as he filled it with this dive's money. Cutting a path through the confusing back streets and alleyways of the city, not an unfamiliar sort of environment, just a new layout, he could work with that.
The gray walls and stone floor weren't such an uncaring environment to him, it felt like home in a sad way. That was… Until the metallic scent of blood hit his nose.
He walked over to where it came from, his steps now once again carried the poise of a veteran warrior, ready to fight back against whatever came at him… Yet his sharp hearing made it clear to him that no fight was taking place… Chances were, Bell would probably find a victim… Or a corpse.
He hurried along, noticing that there was little sound coming from that direction, rarely a whimper but not much, the buildings seemed like a blur as he ran, his coat blowing in the wind as an almost nostalgic feeling of freedom took over him… Running around with no care, exploring the immense city he was in… It was a good period of his hunt, between the initial fear and the decay of the night and his friends' sanity.
Though his trip down memory lane stopped as he reached the small clearing among the forest of bricks and stone, there lay a little girl bleeding out on the lonely pavement, her clothes looked like rags and her skin bruised.
"That size… The proportions are not that of a child, so she is a pallum… Still a dose of blood might not be desirable…" He still remembered the sorrowful stories that Yarnham told, not to those who listened, but to those who looked for the little details of the tragedies that occurred there, the memory was fresh on his mind…
The broken down orphanages that littered the slums, those not fortunate… Or rather fortunate enough, to not be picked up by the choir would live there… The children would be often protected, but even they would still use the blood… There were diaries that told of broken arms or unfortunate accidents that were fixed by taking blood, the side effects on children were the worst… All the protection from the beasts outside could not stop the spread within…
Of course those stories were pieced together, through evidence and notes, circumstance and accounts of those who saw it happen. Even still, Bell knew his reasons for not administering blood, and could very well stabilize her with another method…
The chime of a silver bell sounded faintly in the quiet alley, the wounds on the girl's body seemed to close but she was not waking anytime soon. He scooped up the fragile body up to his chest and decided to take the pathway through the rooftops, until he could see his home in the distance, jumping down to the front porch, he skillfully opened the door before entering the living room and laying the unconscious girl in the sofa, his goddess, hearing him enter was surprised by the scene…
"B-Bell! Who is this? What happened?"
"A girl I found bleeding on the streets, she is no longer in danger yet I don't think I did enough… I used the blood many times to help others… But they were hunters too! I can't risk using it on her."
"I see… Orion?"
The hunter just then turned around, stopped to see his goddess, he didn't like the worried expression on her face, and Bell had a pretty good idea why.
"Doesn't she look like… That girl? From Yarnham?" Artemis asked, and Bell could not lie to himself, nor to her, he cared about the huntress too much for it.
"Yes… Before you ask, that's not why she is here, she needed the help, and I couldn't risk the blood… Neither do I have healing potions…"
She hurried closer to him, before wrapping him in her arms, little was said but what needed to be understood was more than felt. It was a bond that was reinforced by their talks, by understanding each other in a way that felt eerily natural to them.
"I don't think you are doing this just to make amends, you have a lot to think about, and a lot to atone for, that much you have shown me already, yet don't let your past experiences in… That city taints the good that I know you strive towards."
"Thank you Artemis, I needed that." He replied, separating from her embrace he turned to continue the wounded girl's treatment, hoping that the words he just heard held true.
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Lily had been careful, but that was not enough, Ged and the others, whether by Zanis orders or not, found her, and now she was to bleed dry on the streets, her vision fading to black as she lost the will to even try and scream, no sound came from her lips as she was meant to die there.
Then why? Why now that she had naught but expected to wake up to see what lies in the afterlife… Why did she have to live on? Why does her exhaustion and scent of pine remind her that she was still here… The same useless Lily… But as her senses came back to her she realized where she was, her head lifted from the pillow, it seemed that she was in a cottage or a cabin… The prum tried to stand up, but was surprised by the figures she saw:
Two people sat opposite to each other, a white haired man, his expression was seemingly innocent compared to his heavy and monochrome clothes, a heavy coat even though it wasn't yet winter, and his manner was an unnerving mix between seemingly relaxed and a tense spring ready to come loose…
"Still, there's hardly any reason to call me older, by all means I was born way, way later than you." The rabbit-like young man spoke.
"Your circumstances were different, however, you did spend quite some time… Well in a timeless place."
"And did you not?"
"Many people have this misconception, but heaven is still bound by time, all gods can track their age, we just won't tell."
"But… Wouldn't that mean that my time spent in Yarnham wouldn't count?"
"Yes and no… Then again we can't exactly say that time hasn't passed there…"
"Let's just agree to disagree then, I'd say that there was quite a bit of progress today…"
The blue haired beauty just responded to his peace offering by getting up, walking closer to his armchair and sitting on its armrest. Resting her head on his and smiling softly.
"If you say so… My Orion…" She always got like this near the end of their talks, Bell could see through it though and just allowed it.
Lately they had begun to delve into the topic of what he was, it was clear to both at least that, while not being able to call himself anything close to a god, he was similar in nature to them, that is, with a connection to the force of arcanum, but in his case, the connection was deeper than most gods, yet Artemis felt as though that bond was not fully explored… Bell had potential.
Luckily it seemed that Lily hadn't yet woken up fully to grasp her surroundings, keeping their matters private for now.
"It seems she is awake."
"That's good news, you should go see her, I'll be right back, she might need some water, or food for that matter."
"Thank you Artemis."
There was a sliver of his old self shining through the Bell from before, a man who the goddess did not know, yet could still picture from those slip ups, a far more innocent person, with the aspirations of a hero… Not that he would ever call himself that.
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It was scary at first, though Lily soon warmed up to the idea, it wasn't the first time someone extended a hand to her in the past… She had her fair share of problems, with the idea, not unrelated to the actions of her familia, but still the scars were there.
It had been a few days since she began staying at their cabin… She had to admit it was weird that such a location was in the middle of the urban sprawl of Orario, yet she couldn't care less. She had found safety… Like she did before, though this time… No one could hurt her. Bell assured her of it, if not by their proximity to familias such as Astrea, of which Bell had little to no contact, then by the hunter's martial prowess.
A strength that for once he could actually enjoy…
"Try to keep steady, your grip needs to be more relaxed too… Not too much though, Like this."
*BANG*
The sound of Bell's pistol rang out into the familia's courtyard, hitting a target straight through the hay stuffing and stopping into a metal plate behind it.
"Your crossbow skills should translate well into this."
"Understood, mister Bell." Replied the voice of the diminutive rogue, aiming the borrowed pistol with her tiny hands and pulling the trigger.
*BANG*
The shot hit the upper part of the circle, a burnt hole on the target's face showed the clean hit, though perhaps there were some adjustments that needed to be made.
"Well done Lily, though you need to aim a little lower, there is seldom a need to adjust for drop off with a pistol, were it a bow like the one Lady Artemis uses or a rifle for longer distances."
"It's the force of habit… Still Mister Bell, that is incredible! How did you come across weapons like this?"
"That is a very standard firearm actually, and you are using the ammo I prepared beforehand, in the heat of a hunt, I normally use Blood bullets."
Saying that, he punctured his palm with some sort of device with a needle attached to it, the shiny mercury inside seemed to glow a little and not a single drop of his blood spilled over. He showed her as moist and slime covered bullets seemed to load up in the device, ready to be loaded into any arsenal in the hunters inventory.
"M-MISTER BELL!"
"Don't worry Lily it's harmless, besides, you know this is basically a paper cut right? Naught but a yarnhamite's bread and butter."
He could still see her uneasiness, Bell was making strides in his social skills, and it showed when he knelt down to Lily's height, extended his hand to her and showed that no harm was done.
"It's not exactly what I would prefer either, but don't worry. For if I was taught but one lesson from my time as a knight, it was that pain was not without its reward, everything that hurts you makes you stronger, and there are things that you need to make sacrifices for… Perhaps that last part is one I did not take to heart and paid dearly for it, but it is the truth."
The young girl could see the scars of time and experience in the man's words, she always forgot that he was older than her, at least according to Artemis, but it seemed like he lived a lifetime of battles before getting here… It puzzled her, but it also gave Lily hope… That her suffering was not in vain, and that soon, once Astrea familia stepped in, that she would be able to dungeon dive with him as a member of their familia…
"Okay, now try to use those, aim a little lower and remember the recoil, try to control it too, lest your weapon fall out of your hands."
"Understood!"
The rest of the day continued as was their usual, Artemis once joked that Bell adopted Lily and, in a way, that wasn't a lie. Their behavior was truly similar to that of father and daughter, despite neither being kin or having officially done it.
"So, how far have you gone in the dungeon, Mister Bell?"
"... I haven't done much lately, there is some paperwork I needed to fill and issues I need to work through with Artemis, then I started to meet some of our allies to… Well… Give them the news."
"Did you… Met them before their death?"
"No I did not. Truth be told, I encountered Artemis in abnormal circumstances, though I believe that story should be told another time."
As the duo carried on with their training another figure appeared, it was Artemis who arrived to take Bell to the meeting with Astrea's capitan.
"Lily, you should take the rest of the day off. Practicing too much won't be worth the cold you will catch."
"She is right Lily, you still need to rest and eat. You have all the time in the world after all."
"OK Lady Artemis, also… Mister Bell, all you do is either go to the dungeon or practice shots with Lady Artemis, besides the eventual book you read!"
The girl said, hoping to get some sort of reaction, but the only thing she got was a giggle from Artemis while Bell's face remained as stoic as ever, even if the goddess beside him could sense his absolute despair at his lack of social life.
"Very funny Lily, anyway, Lady Artemis, I believe we should get going soon, just allow me to change quickly. "
"Of course Bell, besides, my friend Astrea would think you are some sort of crazy wearing those coats all the time."
"I'd say function over form, but you know that my usual attire isn't half as bad as you make it sound, especially my noble garbs."
Poor Artemis could not confirm nor deny that, though she would maybe admit it to Bell were they alone…
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The stardust garden was in a bit of a fever, the preparations of the meeting, together with the usual activities that took place, like the fight between a certain elf and far-eastern warrior that displayed too much…
Eventually Astrea, like the goddess of justice she was, gathered her bizarre captain and the other familia executives and went on to explain the reason behind the meeting:
"It came to my attention the story of a friend of ours. My fellow goddess Artemis and her familia. As you have seen in the guild records… Her familia has recently suffered a tragedy and was mostly wiped out, a single member is all that remains… She came to me because of a claim regarding a familia we have investigated before, it appears that more victims of Soma are coming forward and we need to hear the official report of their familia before we act on it further."
"Lady Astrea, what do you know about Goddess Artemis' new familia member? And is this incident related to what happened to the rest of her familia?"
"The Artemis' familia fell to a legendary monster, it appears that their new member found a member of Soma's almost dead on the backstreets of daedalus' street… That's the main reason for the complaint."
"Then why do it? Realistically, I mean, it is not one of their members…" Was the response of the Kaguya, the far-eastern bladeswoman, ever skeptical though not coming from any bad intention.
"Artemis is a friend of mine, it is only natural that would be the case, besides I am curious about her new member… I hear some things but it can't all be true… And apparently that member was the one that saved the girl."
"Well then they should arrive soon enough, it's already half past five…"
In almost uncanny timing, a polite knock on the door was heard before a pink haired prum entered the room, after Astrea nodded to her, Lyra spoke.
"They arrived, Lady Astrea, I just asked for a minute and had the wait in the living room."
"That's great Lyra, why don't we keep it casual? No need for much of a secretive venue here, let's go Alise."
Saying that, the goddess grabbed her captain's hand and soon made it to the living room.
I wonder… It's been so much time since we saw each other… Artemis I hope you haven't been too saddened by what's happened…
It wasn't how she expected their reunion to be like, yet Astrea would be lying if she said she wasn't excited, though the reality of what greeted her wasn't exactly anything she had ever thought of.
Artemis still dressed almost the same as she ever did, though the goddess of justice would still notice that it was a tad bit more detailed than her usual dresses.
Next to her was a rather interesting figure, if anything they mimicked their goddess in fashion sense. A plain white shirt, its quality told of a craftsmanship that was usually reserved to a noble or rich trader, the dark gray pants that the person wore were not new in any sense of the word, she could see the belt that could hold a tool or small weapon…
"Astrea! It's been so long!"
"I can say the same my friend, though we will have time for catching up later, and you are my dear friend's captain right? Miss…?"
Artemis realized the confusion and braced herself for her friend's confusion.
"Bell Cranel goddess, and I am a man." Innocent words really, to be fair Bell did het the fact that he didn't have the manliest of features, combined with the assumption that the familia was still all-female… It wasn't an unreasonable mistake on her part.
"EEH?!"
"Lady Astrea?" The scarlet haired Alise asked, trying to understand the confusion, surely that mustn't be a big deal.
"I… I CAN EXPLAIN!"
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"So… You are actually part of her familia, And entered it by vanquishing a monster that fell her entire force?" Still questioned Astrea after a lengthy explanation.
"In short, yes, I believe that is mostly it."
"Pardon the interruption but… Why weren't we chosen for the mission… Or Loki… Hell, even Freya would be better suited…"
"That, Miss Alise, was already discussed… The guild had little knowledge of Antares' true power, it was also decided in part through politics however."
"How so?" This time, Astrea knew the answer to the question, still she wanted to see his articulation of the truth.
"It is obvious, you know it too Lady Astrea, any oficial quest could elevate the issue to the public eye, so they needed capable but more expendable people, lest the rest of Orario know about it."
"It seems so… Then, let's turn our heads to the case in hand, your familia wanted us to investigate Soma's… Currently you have little proof of their wrong doing, though the true testimony of a mortal is enough for my familia. I'd assume that you wish to start with your own version of the events."
"Indeed, it was by pure coincidence that I happened upon the supporter known as Liliruka, she was bleeding on the ground and could very well die were it not by my help."
"You have any substancial medical knowledge? Or was it just administering a potion?"
"I have some, though not needed, as for the potion theory, it wasn't exactly one, though the instrument may work partially like it."
"Interesting, could you perhaps show it to us later?"
"I suppose I can." It would be difficult explaining the origins, especially with… Crap… Bell would have to explain the arcane aura of the choir bell.
"Then that was about a week earlier, were her injuries caused by her famillia though?"
Artemis gave a quick nod to Bell, who continued answering Astrea.
"Yes, caused by sharp weapons and blunt force, after speaking with Lili, I checked the guild, a day afterwards her record said missing."
"Though that does not prove much now does it? I am sorry to say but that is the normal reaction of a familia provided the circumstances."
"I know, albeit you are lacking a critical piece of information, I suppose that the dates would match the disappearance and their supposed ignorance, although, it is weird that only now did they notice that a familia member had been missing for about half a year."
"That is a new development, that is not a reasonable time frame, then I assume you are implying that there is an attempt to rule themselves out of any suspicion?"
"Precisely lady Astrea."
"Very well, that is enough to warrant an investigation, Alise, I trust you will brief our members later, for now, I'd wish to talk as friends, it has been far too long Artemis."
The atmosphere, tense as it was, seemed to dissipate into a warm and friendly tone. Bell could take a step back and crack the serious facade of a political player a little… It was only the instinct of what he learned as a knight after all.
"So, excuse me for asking but, are you really a level 1? You certainly don't seem to be a novice."
"Hmmm. You are a level 5 right? If you want I could show you, I can certainly fight above my level, but it would be interesting receiving feedback on it. Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely confident in my skills, it's just that my experience with the falna is lacking."
"A spar? Hmmm… I'm interested! When could we do it though? I'm afraid that my schedule is kinda full at the moment."
"A pity, It would certainly be interesting, I could probably do it today but-"
The red-haired menace's eyes perked up as he said that, truth be told she was curious, but also, she did like to fight.
"GREAT! Right now?" It seemed like a 180 degrees turn from her previous behavior, Bell wasn't exactly too surprised, after all he too enjoyed fighting, but it was a little peculiar.
"I suppose so, If there is space for it."
"Follow me, I'll show you where we can do it!"
"Very well."
They left the two goddesses speaking with each other as they both went to the courtyard, Alise introducing Bell to a few of her colleagues that met them on their way. When they did reach the training grounds, there was little time wasted as alise gathered the wooden weapons from a rack and asked Bell to choose one.
"Hmmm… I suppose you wouldn't want to choose for me? I can fight with whatever."
"Seriously now? Don't get too cocky!" The redhead said as she threw him a warhammer in front of him, terribly over-sized, it was more similar to what one would use for a demolition, yet the hunter could only smile remembering the absolute atrocity to logic that was the kirkhammer.
Eventually they would both step up into their little circular patch of dirt, a few of Astrea's children would come to watch curiously, after all, their captain was not known for her intelligent ideas! Or sensible thoughts.
"Okay! Since you wanted to see how you would fare against higher level opponents, I'm gonna start on the defensive. And raise my counter attack until we are evenly matched."
"Makes sense I suppose, let's start then."
The hunter's words were barely uttered before the tailwind of his move sped past the lower leveled members of the Familia.
*CLANG*
The sound of a heavy impact echoed in the sound of Alise's mind as an uncanny amount of force was put behind the strike, she took a moment to analyze her opponent… The man's stance was weirdly relaxed, there were many openings to exploit, some almost too good to be true, nevertheless, she stayed in place with her guard up.
Perhaps picking a warhammer was a bit too cruel… Still the guy is not flinching… Maybe I can start fighting back, his defense seems lackluster… Though his strength is… weirdly above average.
Bell took advantage of the recoil between their strikes to pivot himself, spinning with the direction of the blow.
Bell was no rookie, and just like he had asked Alise to test his own strength he too had a slight challenge to her… Her familia could be considered the closest thing in the city to a hunter… Slaying beasts and rogues alike. The question was, would her style show a duelist or a vanquisher of monsters?
The scarlet Harnel poked at his ribs seeing them exposed, though her wooden blade passed harmlessly as he turned his torso to the side. Alise's attack, however, was not the only one.
*SWOOSH*
There was a breeze blowing past her hair, normally her senses would catch such an attempt but there was a slight problem, he attacked before she did, this was not a reaction, but a prediction…
There were but few gasps in their small audience, a tension in the air as the head of Bell's hammer hovered slightly above Alise's cheek, had he actually tried to hit her, it would have been a clean hit.
"I-Impressive Mr. Bell, You surely are not a regular rookie, then would you mind if I upped our marvelous little match?" Alise was intrigued, there were a few things off with him, even the weird way he wielded the hammer, one handed, almost like a mace…
"Very well, I've heard enough about your familia's doing, I would like to see how the Scarlet Harnel would fight a real opponent…"
The rest of her familia had their eyes glued on them, Kaguya and Ryuu in specific, perhaps for different reasons, though it was a consensus that something didn't seem to add up with him.
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"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, HIDING THIS FROM ME!?"
"Astrea, please calm down!" Artemis pleaded! "I haven't got the chance to say it to you!"
"OH! To think my dear friend would be taken in marriage before telling me! Before even dating! Oh Artemis, how he seduced you!?"
"WHAT!? WE ARE NOTHING OF THE SORT! H-He is my champion and just that!"
The scene was quite comical, Astrea of course, was just jesting, though the distraught face of her friend did give an inkling of something more. What was the two's relationship though? She was adamant in her pursuit of this truth, not just for her friend's sake but also because of her own curiosity!
"Your champion? After this reaction? You don't expect me to actually believe this?"
"Please! It's only the truth! Bell is a… Rare case among mortals… And I have reasonable motivations to put a closer eye on him."
"Such as?" A most simple rebuttal, though one Artemis couldn't find a way around, she would keep Bell's privacy safe after all.
"...You'd have to ask him for that…"
"I suppose I will get to know him better later then, though now, it's a shame I won't understand this new you."
Artemis could breathe a sigh of relief at this, shortly before realizing the words employed by her dear friend, truly she had forgotten about this side of Astrea… She also saw the reason she was doing this, to not bring up what happened, if the topic was to be discussed, Artemis would tell her the end of her familia by her own will, the goddess appreciated that.
Author's notes
Procrastination and the scope of this story is the bane of my perseverance... I will try to speed things up and this chapter was more of a test for that, but hey, Lily is here and Astrea fam is alive!