Hey, I'm back with a new chapter. Work has kept me busy and exhausted the past few weeks, but I managed to finish this one today, so here we are!

Guest, hmm, Vritra is more of a god+dragon, perhaps we can see it eventually, but that's not the one I have in mind.

Lynox, it would be, especially in the face of the Xenos named Asterios.

Guest, now I'd say Melusine in FGO isn't exactly Wiene's counter part, but close enough I guess. Honestly I'm tempted to do it, but we'll see.

AnimeFan13579, I think the points you brought up regarding Theseus' Noble Phantasms are all valid. But honestly if you look at other Heroic Spirits that Bell has already inherited, then honestly this is pretty much just the same in terms of complexity.

Besides, at this point, Bell's Noble Phantasms, especially passive ones, mostly become active when he Loads them.

Barbatus Lupus Rex, yes he did. Hunger is the enemy.

daizuke, can't speak spanish, so Google translate what you said, and I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but I'm guessing you're askiing if this is a harem and who will be in it.

For now, Ryuu is a definite yes, Lefiya maybe, Syr/Freya maybe, but that's all I have in mind.

animehelpsdepression, honestly any Beast would work. For now I think the one that fits him the most is none other than... GUDAKO.

Axcel Allen, thanks for the review. For now, I will go up to season 4. Season 5 with the Freya arc is coming soon, so I'm hoping to watch it before I do that arc too. Otherwise after that, well, we'll see.

Father-One-Eye, glad you liked it the part with Gilgamesh and Achilles. I hope you'll enjoy what I have prepared for this part too.

RaidenStrayX, hmm, that would mirror Illya using Excalibur, or Saber Liliy. We might see it.

Anyways, without further ado, here's the newest chapter.

XXX

That night, Bell and the rest of the Hestia Familia left for the dungeon, leaving Hestia and Artemis.

As soon as the group left, the goddess of the hunt looked at her aunt, "Hestia."

The goddess of the hearth nodded, "Let's go."

The two goddesses made their way through streets, until they reached the ruins of the abandoned church they used to call home.

Artemis looked around, "This is where the message told us to come."

Hestia nodded, "Now we wait, whoever issued that message should show up soon."

Soon enough, a hooded figure appeared from the shadows.

The hooded figure greeted, "Greetings, goddesses Hestia and Artemis."

Artemis asked, "Who are you?"

The hooded figure lowered his head slightly, "My name is Fels, pleased to make your acquaintance."

Hestia brought out the mission order from the guild, "Using sacred text as a way to send us a message, what a roundabout way of doing things."

She snorted, "I assume you must be quite involved within the workings of the guild to be able to do something like this."

Fels chuckled, "Whilst I can do something like that, unfortunately, it is not me. All I am here for is to be a guide and a messenger."

Artemis asked, "So that means whoever wants to speak with us is your master?"

The sage nodded, "You can put it that way."

Fels turned around, "Let us move, it is quiet here, but I don't want to take any more chances."

The two goddesses nodded, and they followed the sage out of the streets.

Soon, they found themselves in a tunnel filled with runes.

Hestia asked, "What is this place?"

The sage explained, "It is a secret tunnel, carved with runes so no one could navigate them. Unless you know how to control these runes, of course."

Artemis nodded, "Did your master design this?"

Fels chuckled, "Unfortunately, no. This is all me. I doubt anyone alive would be able to figure this out."

Hestia nodded, "I see… Impressive."

The sage nodded, "Thank you."

As they walked, Fels stopped, "This will be as far as I will take you. Continue forward, you will find the person waiting to speak with you."

Artemis looked at him, "What about you?"

The sage turned away, "I need to make sure your little hero doesn't kill my friends."

With that said, Fels left without a trace, and Hestia sighed, "Alright, let's keep moving."

The goddess of the hunt nodded, and the pair continued walking, the runes on the walls giving way until they reached a dark chamber.

Hestia's face soured almost instantly, simply because the figure waiting for them was one they were all very familiar with.

The two stepped forward, and the goddess of the hearth stared at the god almost coldly, "Ouranos, I should have known."

Ouranos met her gaze firmly, "Welcome, Hestia, Artemis."

Artemis looked at the primordial god of the sky, "Was everything your doing, Ouranos?"

The god nodded, "Indeed, the mission was my decision, and mine alone."

Hestia narrowed her eyes, "Why? Why issue a mission for my children to bring Wiene to the 20th floor?"

Ouranos closed his eyes, "I shall explain that in a moment."

The goddess of flames asked, "Are they safe?"

The god of the sky let out a shallow breath, "They venture into the dungeon. Unfortunately, I am in no position to guarantee their safety."

Hestia's features darkened, "If anything happens to them, there will be hell to pay."

Ouranos met her gaze, and he nodded, "We will cross that bridge if it comes."

Artemis placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Relax, Hestia. They will be fine."

Hestia closed her eyes, before she nodded, "Alright."

The twin tailed goddess looked at the primordial god, "Let us hear it then, the Guild knows of Wiene's existence, yet all you've told us to do is to bring her back into the dungeon."

Ouranos raised a palm, "First, you are not entirely correct. The Guild doesn't know of the dragon girl's existence."

That caught the two goddesses off guard, and Artemis asked, "Then the mission?"

The primordial god shook his head, "I said it before, that was my decision and mine alone. The Guild is not aware of the details of the mission, only Fels and myself are."

Ouranos leaned into his seat, "But I digress. So let us start from the beginning."

He looked at the two goddesses in the eyes, "Hestia, Artemis. Humans, mortals, prums, elves, dwarves and demi-humans. All of these mortal living beings possess souls."

Hestia nodded, "Yes, and?"

Ouranos nodded, "When they die, they go through a cycle of reincarnation, a cycle that occurs closely to Tenkai where us gods reside."

Artemis furrowed her brows, "And what does this have to do with-!"

Her eyes widened, and the god of the skies nodded, "Then that begs the question, what happens when a monster is killed?"

Hestia blinked, "When a monster is killed…"

Ouranos looked at them, "Before meeting the dragon girl, you would think monsters do not possess souls. But in actuality, they do. So what happens to those souls?"

Hestia frowned, "You mean to say monsters have their own cycle of death and life?"

The god nodded, "Exactly. When a monster dies, the soul returns to the dungeon, and they enter a cycle of death and life."

He closed his eyes, "This is but a hypothesis, but we believe the monsters retain memories from each cycle, or at least, parts of them."

Artemis folded her arms, "And you believe that is how they gain intelligence?"

Ouranos nodded, "Indeed. It was only a mere 15 years ago that we came into contact with some of themof these monsters, and we have been providing them with support through supplies and information."

Hestia furrowed her brows, "But why help them?"

The god of the sky stared at her, "The same reason your little hero is protecting your vouivre."

That surprised the two goddesses, and Artemis folded her arms, "I see… So you already knew that much at that point…"

Ouranos nodded, "Exactly. All of us know of the existence of Lostbelts and Lost Worlds. Yet we never gave it much thought, simply because it does not have anything to do with us. But the fact that humans can still be seen as humans after taking on the form of monsters is an undeniable fact."

Hestia stared at him, "So you judge the monsters with intelligence to be equal to humans."

The god nodded, "That is correct. But unfortunately, they are, at the end of the day, not humans. Hence that is why I bestowed them with a name."

Artemis asked, "And that is?"

Ouranos stared at them both, "We call them the Xenos."

(Linebreak)

Earlier with Bell and the others, they managed to reach the 18th floor quickly.

Now, they were taking a breather near Rivira.

As everyone took the moment to catch their breath, Daphne approached Bell, "Bell."

The boy looked at her as he drank from a flask of water, "What is it?"

The redhead had a concerned look on her face, "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the monsters we've fought so far…"

Daphne glanced back at Wiene, "They all seem to be targeting Wiene."

Bell looked at the vouivre who was with Haruhime, Cassandra and Aisha, and he nodded, "I noticed. It was like that when I first saw her, monsters were after her too."

"Do you know why?"

The two turned to see Lili approaching them, and the prum looked at the four, "And we should keep quiet about this too…"

Bell nodded, "Agreed, but unfortunately, I have no idea. All we can do is make sure we protect her."

Daphne nodded, "And we know the monsters will definitely go after her first, so we can adjust our positioning based on that."

The boy nodded, and he glanced at everyone, before he nodded, "Alright, I think it's about time we get moving."

Bell turned, "Welf, Mikoto!"

The two turned to him from some distance away, and Welf asked, "What's up?"

The white haired hero beckoned them to come over as he approached the others with Lili and Daphne, "We'll be moving on to the 19th floor."

That caught everyone's attention, and Mikoto nodded, "Understood."

Bell nodded, before he looked at everyone else, "But before we do, I want to change everyone's positioning."

Aisha raised an eyebrow, "A bit out of nowhere, but okay?"

The boy looked at Mikoto and Welf, "I want the two of you to always be with Wiene, Haruhime and Cassandra at all times. The five of you will stay in the middle of our group, Lili too."

Bell looked at Daphne and Aisha, "Aisha, Daphne, I want you two to cover the rear."

The Amazoness blinked, "The rear?"

The redhead hummed, "I see, in case monsters come from us at the back."

Aisha hummed, giving the formation some thought, before her eyes widened, "Wait, this makes it as if we're-"

Bell nodded, "That's right, this will let us protect Wiene easily. I'm sure everyone has noticed this to some degree, the monsters are always targeting her. This will let us respond easily."

Welf sighed, "Well, that makes sense."

Mikoto nodded, "We will do our best to protect Wiene-dono then!"

Wiene approached Bell, "Bell, is everything okay?"

The boy squatted down to her level and smiled, "Everything is okay, don't worry."

The vouivre smiled, "Okay!"

Bell stood up, "Alright, let's get moving."

Everyone nodded, and they all descended down the 19th floor.

Soon, the group found themselves at the 20th floor.

As they walked through the entrance, Lili asked from the middle, "Bell-sama, what are we even looking for?"

Bell looked around at the front, "Honestly, I have zero idea. But the Guild wanted us to come here, so something's definitely gonna happen."

The boy scanned the area before him, and unlike the previous floors, the 20th floor was more like a maze, an actual labyrinth.

As they walked, Bell noticed something on the ground, "Guys, look at this."

Everyone caught up to him, and the boy picked up a blue feather from the ground.

Welf's eyes widened, "Wait a minute, isn't this-"

Lili finished, "That monster we saw before!"

Daphne pointed to the front, "Look, there's more, and it looks like it's leading towards that direction!"

They all looked forward, and sure enough, more feathers laid on the ground, as if forming a trail.

Aisha blinked, "Wait, you think this is something a monster did to show us the way?"

Mikoto nodded, "Most likely. If it is that same monster we saw, then it should lead us to them."

Cassandra asked, "What if it doesn't?"

Bell looked at them, "No harm done even if we follow the trail anyways."

Haruhime nodded, "Let's follow the trail."

Lili sighed, "I think that's the only thing we can really do at this point."

Bell nodded, "Let's go."

The group turned and followed the trail of feathers, making their way through the floor.

Soon, they noticed a bunch of feathers in the middle of the corridor.

Welf blinked, "What the hell? It just ends like this?"

Daphne frowned, "Why? This makes no sense."

Lili walked to the feathers, "But this is like in the middle of nowhere!"

Aisha looked around, "Are there any more trails?"

Cassandra looked forward, "Not that I can see…."

Bell narrowed his eyes, staring at the bunch of feathers, "Unless…"

Before anyone could do anything, Wiene walked towards the feathers, "I… I can hear something…"

Bell blinked, "Wiene?"

The vouivre looked at the feathers, before looking up at the wall before them, "I can hear a song."

Aisha blinked, "A song?"

She looked at the others, "Do yall hear anything?"

Welf and Mikoto shook their heads, and so did Daphne and Cassandra.

The boy looked at Wiene, before he closed his eyes, "Load: Atalanta."

The powers of the huntress filled his body, including her senses as a hunter and hearing.

Sure enough, he could faintly hear a humming, "I can hear it too. It's soft, but it's there."

Bell opened his eyes, and he approached the wall before them, "It's behind this wall, and it feels like it's calling something, or someone."

Welf asked from behind, "What do we do then?"

The boy placed a palm on the wall, before he answered, "We break it down."

Everyone blinked at his answer, "Eh?"

"Load: Heracles."

Without another word, Bell easily broke down the wall, much to the surprise of his Familia members.

Lili sighed, "Please give us a warning before you do something like that."

Bell gave them a toothy grin, "Hey, it worked, didn't it?"

Aisha shook her head in exasperation, "Let's get moving then."

The group walked through the hole in the wall, and soon entered a dark spacious area.

Lili spoke as she pulled out a lamp from her bag, "Lights on everyone."

Mikoto looked around, "Wow, to think a place like this would be behind the walls."

Daphne nodded, "Some sort of unexplored space in the dungeon, it makes sense though."

Aisha nodded, "Perfect for monsters to hide in."

As they walked, Bell stopped, and Welf asked, "What's wrong, Bell?"

The boy seemed to stare into the darkness, "Mikoto, are there any monsters nearby?"

The samurai blinked, "I haven't checked, why?"

Bell's eyes narrowed, "Because we're being watched."

That caught everyone's attention, and Aisha asked, "Where?"

The boy looked around, "Everywhere… We're surrounded."

As if on cue, countless roars reached their ears, and Lili reached into her pouch, "I'll spread some lamp moss!"

The prum tossed a handful of glowing powder all over the place, illuminating the area quickly.

The moment she did, they saw them.

Monsters all around them, glowering at them.

And right in front of them was a lizardman, wearing armor plates and holding two swords.

Bell narrowed his eyes, "Armed monsters…"

The lizardman growled, before raising one of its swords.

On cue, multiple humanoid monsters, all armed, placed themselves around them.

Then, the lizardman lowered the sword, aiming it straight at Wiene.

Then all hell broke loose.

All of the monsters charged, as the lizardman leaped straight for Bell.

The boy grunted as he blocked the strike easily thanks to Heracles' strength, before he pushed the monster away.

The moment he did, Bell heard Haruhime's scream, and he snapped his head back to see multiple monsters around them, Welf and Mikoto barely holding them back.

With the multiple monsters, even Aisha and Daphne struggled to keep them at bay.

A roar caught his attention from behind, and the boy managed to summon the nameless golden axe just in time to block the slash from the lizardman.

Bell took a deep breath, "Are these monsters targeting Wiene too…?"

He narrowed his eyes, "Over-Load: EMIYA!"

With a burst of strength, the boy kicked the lizardman away, "Trace… on!"

With a blue glow, countless swords appeared above them, and the lizardman's eyes widened, "Oh shit."

Unfortunately, Bell failed to hear the lizardman's words, and he sent out a mental command to send the swords raining.

The lizardman dashed back, dodging the swords while managing to parry some of them.

Some swords tore through some monsters, but ultimately didn't kill any of them.

The boy narrowed his eyes, "Trace. On!"

"Wait! Stop! Please!"

A familiar voice reached his ears, and Bell turned to see a blue siren landing before him, "Wait, please!"

Bell blinked, "That voice…"

The siren sighed, "...I hoped our meeting would be much better… But thanks to some idiots, this happened."

The boy blinked, "Wait, if you're here…"

The siren nodded, "Yes, we are not your enemies, Bell Cranel."

Welf frowned, "So what was all that about?"

The lizardman grinned sheepishly, "Y-yeahhhh, sorry about that, we were trying to test you."

Aisha raised an eyebrow, "Test us?"

The lizardman nodded, "We wanted to know if you'd leave our brethren to die if it got desperate… But well, I guess we underestimated you."

Bell sighed, "I see."

He dispelled all of the swords around them, and he looked around.

Sure enough, the monsters were all standing by, waiting. Some were nursing their wounds, but most of them were just watching.

"This might sound weird, but I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for protecting one of us."

The lizardman spoke again, and the siren lowered her head in agreement.

Bell sighed again, "No need to thank us, we just did what we felt was right."

Lili muttered under her breath, "More like you did."

The lizardman turned around, "Would someone put on the lights?"

The area lit up with proper lamps, and soon Bell and the others got a better look at the area.

The lizardman smiled, before he turned to the group of humans, "Name's Lyd, as you can see, I am a lizardman."

Bell thinned his lips, "Bell Cranel."

Lyd grinned, "Nice to meet you, Bell Cranel. Actually, do you mind if I call you Bell-cchi?"

The boy blinked, "Eh? I mean, I don't mind…"

The monster's grin widened, "Great!"

Lyd approached him, and extended a hand, "Let's shake on it."

Bell glanced down, before up at the lizardman.

But before he could shake the monster's hand, he felt countless gazes on him, and Bell quickly realized everyone was watching them.

The boy looked past Lyd to where the siren was, and she gave him a comforting smile and a nod.

Bell nodded back, before he clasped Lyd's hand firmly, "Sure, nice to meet you, Lyd."

The lizardman grinned, but before he could speak, the entire cave exploded with roars and cheers.

Before anyone could react, the monsters swarmed around Bell.

"It's an honor to meet you!"

"What was your name again? I'm Fia!"

"RAWRRR!"

Bell smiled awkwardly, until he noticed the majority of the monsters were still injured, "Load: Gilgamesh."

In an instant, the regal aura of the King of Heroes formed around Bell, to the surprise of the monsters.

A number of golden portals appeared, revealing a dozen jugs and a number of glasses.

Lyd blinked, "What's this?"

The boy released his hold on the king's powers, "All of you are still hurt, well, cuz of me. These are all potions of the highest quality I have in my treasury, please use them."

Bell held up one of the jugs to the lizardman, who accepted it gratefully.

Lyd nodded, "Thank you."

The lizardman turned and spoke aloud, "You heard the man, help yourself with those potions!"

"Do you really believe we can trust these so-called potions, Lyd?"

A gargoyle landed on the ground beside the lizardman.

Lyd glanced at him, "Gros… That was what our little test was for, and Rei has vouched for them. I think we can trust them that much."

The gargoyle scowled, "It might be a trap."

Bell spoke up, "If I wanted to kill you, I would've done so already when I had Gilgamesh's powers."

Gros narrowed his eyes at him, "You talk big, human."

The boy shook his head, "I speak only the truth."

Bell took a deep breath, "But that's not what we're here for."

The gargoyle stared at him, "Then why are you here?"

The boy glanced at Wiene, "I… we want to know the truth."

He looked back at Gros and Lyd, "I want to know what's going on. I want to know what… no, who are all of you, and if we are friends or foe."

The two stronger Xenos looked at each other, and the gargoyle grunted, "Alright."

Gros turned and walked away, along with a few other Xenos that didn't participate in the fight earlier.

Lyd sighed, "Sorry about that, Gros… Well, we have our own problems, I guess."

Bell nodded, "Don't worry about it."

The boy asked, "So, do you mind telling me, just who are you? All of you?"

Every monster looked at him, and Rei answered, "Xenos. We are the Xenos."

Welf blinked, "Xenos…?"

Lyd nodded, "That is the name Fels gave us. And it is the name we go by, our society, our existence."

Aisha asked, "And all of you here are monsters?"

Rei nodded, "All of us."

The Amazoness furrowed her brows, "Yet all of you can understand us, as if you're… humans?"

Lyd shook his head, "We have no idea why. Some of us can speak, some of us struggle to. But it is just how it is."

The lizardman chuckled, "But anyways! Let's sit and talk! Now that we have the annoying part out of the way, we can have a feast!"

The humans all blinked, "A feast?"

A short moment later, the whole group of both humans and monsters sat around a bonfire.

Plates of food consisting of roasted vegetables, fruits and meat laid on the ground around them.

Bell looked around him, "Wow, did you really go out of your way just for this?"

Lyd grinned, "Well, we were hopeful. And we wanted to celebrate our first meeting with humans who'd accept our existence."

Rei chuckled, "I just never thought it'd be with the heir to the Throne of Heroes."

The boy blinked, "You know what I am?"

Gros snorted from opposite of them, "Fels told us about you. The heir to every hero in human history, of which most are known to have slain monsters."

Lyd nodded, "Fels was skeptical, which didn't help things I guess… But Rei vouched for you, so here we are."

"And I still am, mind you."

Another voice reached their ears, and Lyd grinned, "There you are! We were waiting for you, Fels!"

The group looked back to see a robed figure approaching them.

Fels stared at Bell for a moment, before he sighed, "But I suppose I was worried for nothing."

The sage spoke again, "This will be our first meeting, Hero of Human Order. My name is Fels."

Bell nodded, "Bell Cranel."

Fels nodded, "I know."

The boy asked, "So, that means the Guild knows about you?"

The sage nodded, "That is correct. The Guild, or more accurately, the god Ouranos and I, have been providing them with support through supplies and equipment. We're also liaising together to prepare for a time where the Xenos can live in peace and coexist with humanity."

Daphne looked to a side, to where Wiene was happily talking to Fia and a few other monsters, "I see… So the purpose of this mission was to bring Wiene to you."

Fels nodded, "That is one part of it. The other is to see if you deemed their existence appropriate, Bell Cranel."

Bell blinked, "Me?"

The sage nodded, "Correct. The god Ouranos has high hopes for you, I was skeptical, but I suppose I was wrong."

Bell shook his head, "No, you're right to be skeptical. But the memories of heroes that slay monsters are not the only heroes I've inherited."

Fels fell silent, before he nodded, "Then we should be grateful for that."

Bell looked at Fels, "So, are you a monster too, Fels?"

Lyd spoke up, "No, Fels' a human."

The sage shook his head, "Former human, to be precise."

He pulled down his hood, "I suppose if we are to work together, I shan't keep this a secret."

Everyone blinked in surprise, and Welf's eyes widened, "Holy shiet!"

Daphne kept her surprise minimal, "You're… a spartoi?"

Fels nodded, "As I said, a former human."

Lyd laughed, "Fels' a sage, ya see! He's super strong!"

Lili's eyes widened, "Wait, you mean a sage… Like from that nation of scholars, where only one sage achieved eternal life?! That sage?!"

The lizardman blinked, before he glanced at Fels awkwardly, "Umm, I'm not too sure about that one…"

Fels nodded, "That is correct, and do not worry, Lyd. My identity is not something that has to be concealed."

He looked at the other humans, "But that is correct, I am the remains of what was once called the Sage. My current state is the result of my foolishness in pursuing immortality."

Bell nodded, "I see…"

Fels looked at him, "Just like the king of heroes you have inherited, I sought eternal youth. But unlike him, I had to create my own potion, and this is the end result."

The sage looked around him, "But that is neither here nor there. Right now, I am working with Ouranos to help the Xenos, that is all that matters."

Bell let out a small breath, "I see…"

Mikoto spoke up, "Speaking of which, when we made our way down, all of the monsters were targeting Wiene-dono. Is there a reason why?"

Rei shook her head, "We have no idea either. As far as we can remember, we have been hunted by our fellow monsters, as well as adventurers alike."

Haruhime looked down, "So you are put right in the middle, not amongst normal monsters, but not amongst humans…"

The siren nodded, "Yes, but that's also why I think our mother prepared these villages for us."

Aisha raised an eyebrow, "Villages?"

Fels explained, "We call them hidden villages, adventurers call them safety points. Basically areas in the dungeon that do not spawn monsters."

Welf asked, "But you said… your mother? She prepared these places for you? Who would have the power to alter the dungeon?"

Lyd chuckled, "The dungeon itself. We call the dungeon our mother because it is the dungeon that gave birth to us, and despite being hunted by both monsters and humans alike, our existence is permitted by the dungeon thanks to these hidden villages."

Rei nodded, "And thanks to these hidden villages, we can move around the dungeon safely and find new brethren and live together."

Everyone nodded in understanding, before Aisha asked, "So, that means you can pretty much self sustain, why would the Guild need to help you?"

Fels stared at the two senior members of the Xenos, "That is up to you to answer."

Lyd nodded, before he looked at Aisha, then to Bell and the others, "Often, we dream."

The Amazoness blinked, "Dream?"

The lizardman nodded, "We dream. For me, I always see this giant yellow rock in the sky, moving across the sky before it turns red and sinks into the ground."

Everyone blinked in confusion, and Lyd smiled, "You all call it the sun."

Haruhime asked, "Wait, so you've seen the sun before?"

Lyd shook his head, "Not once. But I think… At some point, in one of my previous lives, I must have lived somewhere where I could see the sun."

Bell furrowed his brows, "Previous lives?"

Rei nodded, "Previous lives."

She looked at Bell, "Us Xenos, we have ones who can talk, and those who can't. The ones who can, we learn how to speak quickly, as if we were remembering how to speak. Others struggle a lot."

Bell's eyes widened, "Wait, so you're saying all of you here are reincarnated?"

Fels nodded, "That would be the case. Just as humans have our own cycle of life and death, so do the monsters."

Lyd looked at Aisha, "Aisha-cchi, all of us here wish to live on the surface. We have our own dreams we want to fulfill on the surface world."

The Amazoness blinked, before she sighed, "Well… Now this has become large all of a sudden."

Fels spoke, "An intense longing, or at the very least, feelings and emotions towards the surface world and humanity. That is the one common thing all Xenos have so far."

Lyd chuckled, "Except for him though."

The sage snorted, "That one is an anomaly. An anomaly amongst anomalies."

Mikoto blinked, "Him?"

Rei explained, "We had another new member join us recently, but he's extremely obsessed with getting stronger."

Lyd sighed, "Yeah, he's much stronger than me, as much as it pains me to say it."

The samurai asked, "Where's this person… I mean monster?"

The lizardman folded his arms, "Deep in the dungeon floors, training."

Lyd shook his head, "But enough about him, tell me about yourselves, Bell-cchi."

Bell blinked, "Eh?"

The lizardman grinned, "I want to know more about you, and all of your friends. We've told you about us, so wouldn't it be fair if you did the same?"

Bell blinked again, before he smiled, "Alright, it might be a bit of a long story though."

Lyd's grin widened, "The night's still young, we have a lot of time."

(Linebreak)

A while later, Bell and the others stood some distance away from the bon fire.

Lyd reached his hand out to Bell, "It was nice meeting you, Bell-cchi."

Rei smiled, "You have no idea how much it means to us to know someone like you exists."

Bell nodded, "The feeling's mutual."

He looked at Fels, "Fels, are you sure we can't bring them up to the surface under the pretext that they are tame and friendly?"

The sage shook his head, "Not now. But that is something we will do eventually, and we will definitely need your help when that time comes."

The boy smiled, "Of course, you can count on us."

Lyd chuckled, "We definitely will."

"BELL!"

Wiene's voice reached their ears, and they all turned to see the vouivre running to them.

The monster giggled as she ran towards them, "Today was so much fun! We should come find them more next time!"

Before Wiene could reach the boy, Lyd swiftly cut into her path and scooped her up, "Nope, you're coming with us, Wiene."

The vouivre blinked, "Eh? Why?!"

Rei explained, "If you stay on the surface right now, eventually it'll cause trouble for Bell and the others. So we'll need you to stay with us for now, for their sake."

Fels nodded, "For now, they have done an excellent job keeping you safe and hidden, but that can't continue."

Wiene's face fell, "Then when can I stay with Bell again?"

Lyd sighed, "Not anytime soon, unfortunately."

The vouivre froze, but before she could start crying, Bell approached her, "Wiene."

Wiene looked at him, "Huh?"

The boy took a short breath, "Load: Gilgamesh."

A golden portal appeared in his palms, and Bell pressed it against the back of Wiene's hand.

The golden glow vanished, revealing a red mark on Wiene's hand.

It looked like two Vs inside a larger V, almost looking like a draconic head.

Fels' eyes widened, "Is that-!"

Bell nodded, "A Command Spell."

He smiled at Wiene, "Wiene, this will bind us together. Can you feel it?"

The vouivre stared at the mark in awe, "Y-yes, I can."

Bell nodded, "With this, we will always be connected. And if you really need me, you can call me through this Command Spell."

Wiene's eyes widened, "R-really?!"

The boy nodded, "I want you to stay with me at our home too, but right now this is for the best. So until then, this will have to do."

Bell smiled, "And well, I can tell where you are with the Command Spell, so I can come visit you when I come into the dungeon."

Lyd whistled, "You can sense where she is with that mark? That's neat."

The boy nodded, "And if you need help, channel it through the mark, I will appear immediately."

Fels studied the Command Spell, "I see… Using the mark as a catalyst, you can cast a spell that transcends space…"

Bell chuckled, "It's a bit simpler than that. Command Spells are but contract spells with a massive amount of magical energy. Basically it bulldozes the laws of physics and nature with pure power to achieve its goal."

The sage nodded in understanding, "But still an impressive feat."

Wiene looked at the mark, before at Bell, "Can I use this when I want to see you?"

Bell laughed softly, "Just tell me through our connection, I'll come find you if I can. But only use the spell in emergencies, okay? You only have three at the moment."

The vouivre nodded slowly, "Okay…"

Lyd nodded in satisfaction, "We'll get going then, it's time we switched villages."

Rei nodded, "Thanks again, Bell, and all of you. I hope we meet again."

Everyone nodded, and Bell smiled, "Don't worry, if you're with Wiene, I can find all of you anytime."

The lizardman chuckled, "That'll be good, until next time!"

With that said, the three Xenos went and joined the other monsters, leaving Bell and his Familia with Fels.

The sage looked at the hero in training, "I'll excuse myself then. This has been a fruitful meeting, and I hope we can work together to help the Xenos."

Bell nodded, "Of course, let us know if you need help."

Fels nodded, "We will. Until then."

The sage vanished into the shadows, and Bell looked at his friends, "Alright, let's go home."

Everyone nodded, before Mikoto asked, "Was that okay? Leaving Wiene with the Xenos."

The boy nodded as they walked, "Yeah, I'd prefer if we kept Wiene with us… But we can't hide her forever, letting her stay with the Xenos will be good thanks to their villages."

Daphne asked, "How are you so sure?"

Bell closed his eyes, "We didn't talk about this before, but the Xenos have enemies, and I think some adventurers know and are hunting them."

Welf widened his eyes in surprise, "Then why didn't you tell them?"

The boy shook his head, "I'm sure they know, Rei told us when we first met her on the 19th floor. For now, they've been safe, I hope it stays that way."

With that said, the Hestia Familia went back to the surface.

Meanwhile, in a hidden warehouse, Gran grunted in frustration, "For fucks sake, the Hermes Familia is annoying!"

"It can't be helped. They are just that good, Gran."

The bald man glanced at their Familia captain, "But if we followed the Hestia Familia, we would've found their base by now!"

Dix shook his head, "Patience, we had no choice but to shake the Hermes Familia off, and that took everything we had."

He smirked as he glanced to a side, where a bloodied harpy laid in a cage, "Now that we've gotten the Hermes Familia off our ass, we can start our hunt again."