Hey, I'm finally back with a new chapter! And holy crap we are at 914 follows and 770 favourites! Let's keep it going!

Not to sound ambitious, but I hope it goes up to 2k for each. But one step at a time, as they say.

Anyways, god it's been a while. I've been burnt out from work, not to mention Star Rail and FGO. We're a week away from 6.5, and I have 700 sqs ready for Charlie.

Guest, wait no more. Here it is!

Daemon of Wrath, hmm, Asterius (Danmachi) will definitely be stronger, but not in a way that he would inherit Asterios (FATE/Type-Moon). It will be fun to write their battle though.

As for the Ikelos Familia, yep, they have it coming for them. And with Bell contracting The Count, we'll have to see how the Count will fit in.

AnimeFan13579, the part where Bell meets Asterius (Danmachi) is something I've been planning for a while now. So look forward to it.

Guest, yep, Daphne and Cass are in the Hestia Familia.

Zoral Slazzel, your review was for chapter 5, but I'll reply anyway, right now he is definitely limited in his use of UBW. Yes he would have to manually search for weapons, but not unlike how EMIYA already does. He can't summon the Reality Marble yet, and he can't add to it.

Anyways, here's the newest chapter. Enjoy.

XXX

That morning, Bell was in Hestia's office, relaying everything that happened to Artemis and Hestia.

Everyone else had gone to wash up and sleep, given that they had stayed up most of the night.

That left the captain to speak with their goddesses.

Hestia sighed, "I see… So Wiene's gone with the Xenos."

Bell nodded, "Yeah, I did give her some Command Spells in case she needs me."

Artemis nodded, "Good thinking, it will also let us help them if they need it."

The boy sat down on the sofa near the desk, "They have a group down there, different monsters, different Xenos."

The two goddesses simply stayed silent, and Bell looked at them, "I want to help them."

Artemis asked, "Do you have an idea how?"

The boy looked down, "I have a few… But potentially, we could bring them up, and I can use one of my heroes, maybe Gilgamesh's treasury and say that they are intelligent and tame."

Hestia spoke up, "Bell-kun, Ouranos, the god behind the Guild, said that they have been planning to bring the Xenos to the surface."

Bell nodded, "I know, but if we can make it reality quicker, I want to help."

Artemis placed a hand on Bell's shoulder, "I think we shouldn't rush this. You of all people should know, the people of Orario and this world will not easily accept them."

The heir to the Throne of Heroes sighed, "I know…"

The goddess of the hunt smiled, "Rest for tonight, we just discovered their existence. If Ouranos and the Xenos have their plans, then we should help them along the way, but not now."

Bell slowly nodded, "... You're not wrong."

He took a deep breath, "Thanks, Artemis-sama."

Bell turned for the door, "I'll be crashing for the day then."

Hestia nodded, "Rest well, Bell-kun."

Artemis smiled, "Good night."

The boy smiled and exited the office, leaving the two goddesses.

Hestia sighed, "Lostbelts and Lost Worlds… Humans that look like monsters, huh?"

Artemis sat down on the sofa, "The Xenos certainly fit that criteria, and from what Bell has told us, they are pretty much just that."

The goddess of the hearth massaged her temples, "I can sort of see why Bell-kun is so adamant in helping them."

The goddess of the hunt snorted, "Perhaps inheriting all the existences of those heroes isn't such a good thing after all."

Hestia sighed, "Definitely, I can feel the headache coming already."

Artemis chuckled, "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's not alone anymore, and we have Ishtar's Familia too if need be."

The goddess of flames looked out the window, "I sure hope so."

(Linebreak)

The next morning, Bell was mopping the floor of his training hall after his morning training session.

"Bell."

The boy glanced back to see Aisha at the door, "Aisha, good morning."

The Amazoness greeted back, "Good morning, just finished with training?"

Bell nodded, "Yeah, you?"

Aisha snorted, "I'd rather train in the dungeon, but not today anyway."

The captain of their Familia went back to mopping the floor, "So, what did you need?"

The Amazoness chuckled, "Straight to the point, eh?"

The boy laughed softly, "Hey, you wouldn't be here in the morning if you didn't need anything. You'd be with Haruhime or one of the girls at least."

Aisha just shook her head in exasperation, "True."

She sighed, "I just wanted to ask about Wiene."

Bell glanced back with a raised eyebrow, "What about her?"

The Amazoness frowned, "It's not about her, more about the Xenos."

The boy turned to fully face her, "Yeah?"

Aisha let out a deep breath, "They're a nice lot, but they're still monsters. I know Fels said they have a plan, but what are we actually going to do?"

Bell fell silent, before he answered, "I don't know yet. But we can't rush it, we know what will happen the moment everyone in Orario hears about them."

The Amazoness nodded, "Chaos, at the least, everyone will want to kill them."

The boy nodded, "Exactly, they only number in 40s, 50s if we're being generous. A small monster Familia, even with us, up against everyone else in Orario, we stand zero chance."

Aisha raised an eyebrow, "Even with your heroes?"

Bell nodded, "If we exclude the Loki and Freya Familia, then we have a chance, probably. But as I am now, against Finn-san and the Loki Famiiia, I cannot win."

The Amazoness' lips thinned, "Makes sense."

The boy chuckled, "Well, it also depends on what we call winning."

Aisha blinked, "What do you mean?"

Bell put the mop into a storage room at the end of the training hall, "If we want to defeat the Loki Familia in a fight, well, depending if I can draw them to fight one on one, I might have a chance. If our objective is to keep the Xenos safe and hidden, there are ways too."

The Amazoness' eyes widened in realization, "I see…"

The boy nodded, "Yeap, depends on what we have to do."

Aisha palmed her face, "You have it thought out, haven't you?"

Bell laughed softly, "Well, it's been on my mind for a while. Finn-san definitely will not let them be, for better or for worse."

The woman sighed, "I was an idiot for worrying, well, all of us were."

The boy shook his head, "No, I'm relieved. I was worried you, or any of you were to be against it, I would've probably gone off and did it myself anyway."

Aisha snorted, "That's not saying much, considering you make up 90% of our fighting power."

Bell snorted, "Don't be like that, all of us are equal in this Familia."

The Amazoness scoffed, "Doesn't change the fact that you're the strongest."

The boy smiled dryly, "Then just get stronger, Aisha."

Aisha sighed, "Easier said than done."

The woman shook her head, "Anyway, I can let the others know, our captain's got it all covered. Now they don't have to worry about that vouivre in the dungeon."

She turned to leave the training hall, but before she did, "Oh, and just in case, do you want to bring the others in the Ishtar Familia in on this?"

Bell paused, "I'm not sure yet, we'll cross that bridge when we need to."

Aisha hummed, "Alright."

With that said, she left the room, and Bell was left to his own musings once more.

Later that day, the captain of the Hestia Familia was in the Guild building.

Bell stood at the reception at Eina's station, "Eina-san, the mission is complete."

The half-elf blinked, "Bell-kun?"

The boy repeated, "The mission we got before, it's done. We need to inform the Guild about it to mark it off officially, right?"

Eina looked confused, "Umm, I'm not sure if that is enough…"

Before they could continue, however, a fat elf walked to them from behind Eina, "Eina."

The woman blinked, "Royman-san?"

Royman looked at Bell, "Thanks for informing us, we will mark the mission as officially completed."

Eina blinked, "Wait, what?"

The older elf looked at her, "That is concluded, leave it at that."

With that said, he turned away, leaving them as he disappeared down the hallways.

Bell turned, "I'll be off then."

Before he could leave, however, Eina called out, "Bell-kun, wait!"

The boy turned to her, "Yes?"

The half-elf pursed her lips, "Can we talk, in private?"

Bell blinked, but nodded nonetheless, "Sure."

A moment later, the two sat in a private counseling room.

The half-elf had a concerned expression on her face, "Bell-kun, what happened on that mission?"

Bell let out a breath, "Nothing, it's been done and dealt with, Eina-san."

Eina frowned, "But that explains nothing. Usually missions involve extensive reports, but you just came in and said it's done. What's worse is that Royman-san confirmed that that is sufficient."

The boy closed his eyes, hints of Zhuge Liang and EMIYA leaking through his voice, "And isn't that enough? We completed the mission from the Guild, that's all there is."

The half-elf's face fell, and Bell immediately felt bad, but despite having nothing but trust for his advisor, he couldn't risk revealing the Xenos to her.

Eina looked down, "I see…"

The boy couldn't bear looking at her crestfallen expression, and he stood up, "If that is all, I'll be leaving then."

Eina nodded, and as Bell turned to the door, the young woman couldn't help but speak again, "You've changed, Bell-kun."

The white haired rabbit stopped at the door, "I guess so."

With that said, Bell left the room, leaving Eina alone in the room.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, with Ishtar, the goddess stood in an alley in the entertainment district, an uneasy expression on her face.

"Now I'm hurt, we've been trying to reach you for ages, but you just never wrote back."

The goddess of fertility's eyes narrowed, "Unfortunately, I don't have the freedom I used to have."

A hooded figure stepped out of the shadows, followed by a woman with spiky pink hair.

Thanatos smiled creepily, "Well, that's not good."

Ishtar made an impatient face, "Talk, what did you want?"

The god of death laughed, "Why, to catch up! After we lost our shitty copy of the Gugalanna, we've been under pressure! If you pull out now, we're screwed!"

The goddess sighed, "Unfortunately, I will no longer be able to help you."

Thanatos raised an amused eyebrow, "Now why is that?"

Ishtar snorted, "Because I have a Command Spell and Geas on me. If I so much think about helping you-"

She froze, but after a short moment, Ishtar growled in annoyance, "That happens."

The god blinked, "Oh. That's annoying."

Ishtar nodded, "Everything you do is undoubtedly evil, considering you call yourself an evil god. The spells on me forbid me from doing anything of that nature. I might as well be a good goddess now."

Thanatos sighed, "Unfortunate, really."

Valletta smirked, "Should I put her out of her misery?"

Ishtar snorted, "If you do that, well, go ahead if you want the Heir to the Throne of Heroes after your ass."

The god blinked, "Oh, so you have him on your side, is that what you're saying?"

The goddess sighed, "More like I'm on his, involuntarily. But at any rate, I have contingencies, if anything happens to me, I'll pretty much sic him on you, or anyone. Bell Cranel with Gilgamesh's powers, I think it'll be fun to watch him tear you to pieces."

It was a bluff, Ishtar had zero sway over him, but the goddess also knew the boy had a knack for helping people he considered his ally.

Fortunately, the goddess knew she barely qualified as one. Barely, but still one.

Thanatos hummed, "Well, that won't be pleasant."

The god of death shook his head, "Alright, you win. For now."

Ishtar narrowed her eyes, "Oh, is that a threat?"

Thanatos smirked, "No."

He turned, "Come on, Valletta, we should go."

The woman blinked, "Wait, we're not killing her?"

Thanatos shook his head, "I'd rather not have Bell Cranel come after our heads."

Valletta raised an eyebrow, "What's so scary about him? He's not even Level 4!"

The god fell silent, and Ishtar laughed, "Oh you sweet child, you don't know, do you?"

The woman glared at the goddess, "I think I wanna kill you."

The goddess of fertility smirked, "Bell Cranel is the heir to every hero in human history. And not our history, but a different history with heroes that easily surpass the likes of the Zeus and Hera Familia."

Valletta snorted, "And what of it?"

Ishtar's smirk widened, "He is fated to inherit their very existences, each and every one of them. Imagine a single person bearing the cumulative power of the Zeus and Hera Familias, that will be what you'll be up against."

The woman scowled, but before she could start, Thanatos spoke up, "She's not wrong, that is what Bell Cranel will eventually become. Frankly I do not wish to poke him just yet."

The god walked into the shadows, "Come, Valletta, we're done here."

The captain of the Thanatos Familia grunted in annoyance, before following her god into the shadows.

As soon as they left, Ishtar let out a breath, "At least that's dealt with."

The goddess turned away, contemplating if she should tell Bell and his goddesses about the Evilus.

Unknown to the three, Ikelos had been hiding in the shadows.

The god of nightmares laughed to himself, "Here I was hoping to get Ishtar to help with more trafficking for that dumbass captain of mine, but I think this will be even better."

(Linebreak)

Three days later, Bell walked along the streets of Orario.

The link between Wiene and him pulsed, and he chuckled to himself.

The link had been pulsing almost every day, and the boy had kept reassuring the vouivre he would meet her the next time he went into the dungeon.

Now, the heir to the Throne of Heroes was outside the Loki Familia home.

"Bell!"

The white haired rabbit smiled when he saw Lefiya and Ais at the entrance.

Bell greeted, "Lefiya-san, Ais-san."

The blonde swordswoman nodded to him, "Good afternoon."

The elf smiled, "Good afternoon, come on in, everyone's waiting."

Bell chuckled, "Sure, who else is joining us?"

Ais answered, "Bete, Tiona, Tione, Finn and Riveria."

The boy blinked, "Wait, even Riveria-san?"

Lefiya nodded, "Riveria-sama and Finn have been interested in your King of Heroes powers, so they wanted to watch."

Bell hummed, "I see. Guess we shouldn't keep them waiting."

Ais and Lefiya both nodded, and they both entered the mansion.

As they walked, the blonde asked, "So, Bell, are we having lunch together later?"

The boy blinked, "Umm, I don't mind if we do."

Ais' eyes gained a glint, "Can you cook?"

Bell blinked when Lefiya nodded quickly, "Yes please!"

The boy sighed in exasperation, but his smile said otherwise, "As long as I'm not the only one cooking, I don't mind."

Ais nodded, and you could almost see her anticipation.

Bell just shook his head again before they reached the training area in the Loki Familia home.

Soon, the three reached the training field in the mansion, and Bell blinked when he saw everyone, including Gareth, Raul and Aki.

Finn greeted, "Hello, Bell-kun."

Tiona waved enthusiastically, "Argonaut-kun!"

The boy greeted back, "Hey, Finn-san, Tiona-san, everyone."

Bete snorted, "Took you long enough."

Riveria sighed, "Bete."

The werewolf looked at the high elf, "What?"

The green haired woman shook her head, "No, never mind."

Bell chuckled, before he looked at Raul, Aki and Gareth, "Quite the big group we have, I thought it'd just be myself, Lefiya-san and Ais-san and maybe Tiona-san and Bete-san."

The dwarf laughed, "Oh don't worry, I'm here more to watch than anything. These two young lads, on the other hand, are a bit more keen than I am."

Raul nodded, "You're still a Level 3, but you're already so much stronger. I want to test myself against you."

Bete snorted, "As if a small fry like you can come close to beating him."

Aki glared at the werewolf, "And you didn't have to open your mouth."

The werewolf glowered at her, "You wanna go, bitch?!"

Finn sighed, "Calm down, both of you."

Bete clicked his teeth in annoyance, but simply looked away, while Aki sighed and backed down.

The prum sighed again, "At any rate, Raul here wants to have a spar with you, and I'm not gonna lie, so am I."

Bell blinked, "You too?"

Finn smiled, "Well, I heard from someone that you have a hero that uses a spear. I'm a lancer too, in case you didn't know."

The boy blinked, before he chuckled, "Alright, I'll take you on then."

Tione sighed, "And it always turns into Bell fighting everyone."

Tiona giggled, "I'll fight with him! We can do doubles!"

Gareth laughed, "Now that'd be interesting!"

Bete smirked, "Ais and I can take on the rabbit and the elf!"

Aki raised an amused eyebrow, "You think you can take on Bell and Riveria together?"

The werewolf glared at her, "I meant the weaker one! Not the hag!"

Riveria took a deep breath, but everyone could see her anger seeping through her calm facade, "If you call me a hag one more time, I might just team up with Bell and take you on, just you alone."

Finn chuckled, "Now as amusing as that would be, I think we should let Raul go first, then we can decide who'll be next."

Raul blinked, "Wait, really?"

The prum nodded, "Of course. Right now everyone is at their peak, if we have Bell spar a round or two, he might be worn out. You want to see where you stand against him, right?"

The level 4 took a deep breath, and he nodded, "Alright, I'll go first."

Bell nodded, "Okay."

He paused, "Come to think of it, this will be the first time I'm sparring with you, Raul-san."

The older man smiled, "Yeah, don't hold back, okay?"

Bell nodded, "Of course."

Gareth chuckled, "Alright lads, make some space for them."

The group backed off to a side, as Bell and Raul stood in the middle of the area.

The older man drew a sword, and Bell drew his knives.

Raul noticed that the boy had not Load'ed a Heroic Spirit, but decided not to comment on it.

The dwarf hummed, "Are both sides ready?"

Both men nodded, and Gareth cleared his throat, "Very well, BEGIN!"

Raul dashed forward, swinging his sword at the boy.

To any Level 3, they would've been easily overwhelmed by his speed, but Bell has always been fighting at a higher level.

With ease, the white haired boy blocked the slash with the Hestia Knife, and Raul grunted as he pushed down.

Bell pulled back, letting the older man lurch forward as he punched Raul with his free arm.

The older man stumbled back, grunting as he regained his footing.

Raul took a deep breath, "As strong as ever, but I can't fall behind, now, can I?"

The man dashed forward, swinging his sword constantly in an attempt to overwhelm Bell.

On one side, Finn watched the fight with the others.

Riveria looked at their Familia captain, "What do you think, Finn?"

The prum hummed, "They're both doing well… is what I'd like to say."

Aki paid attention to his words, despite keeping her eyes on the fight.

Finn continued, "Under normal circumstances, you can say Bell is doing exceptionally well to keep up with Raul. But we all know Bell-kun is no longer bound by Levels. In turn, you can say Raul is doing good keeping up with Bell."

Riveria nodded, "I sense a but."

The prum nodded, "As of now, Bell-kun is not using any powers from his heroes. Meaning his stats are in the end a Level 3. You can say he is using his inherited memories and experience to make up for it, but Raul should still have an advantage in terms of strength."

The high elf hummed, "I see where you're coming from. They are evenly matched."

Finn nodded, "Exactly."

Bete snorted, "What a joke."

Aki glared at him, but before she could say anything, Gareth spoke up, "I seem to remember the lad giving you a good fight with his heroes' powers, as a Level 2 no less. What does that say about you, hmm?"

The werewolf just clicked his teeth in annoyance, "Whatever."

Tione snorted, but before anyone could say anything Finn spoke up again, "Actually, you can also say Raul isn't fighting to the best of his ability."

Lefiya blinked, "Wait, really?"

The prum nodded, a smile on his face, "Yeah, watch."

With Bell and Raul, the two were trading blows over and over again, both now sporting visible bruises.

The older man had a pained smile, "You're strong, Bell."

Bell smiled back, now holding Mino-Tan in his other hand, "You too, Raul-san."

Raul's smile faltered, "No, I-"

"Raul!"

Finn's voice caught their attention, and before they could react, the prum tossed his spear at the Level 4.

Raul blinked as he easily caught the spear, "W-wha-Captain?!"

The prum stared at him, "You've been fighting Bell-kun only with your sword alone, you're not giving everything you have. Use that."

The younger man's eyes widened, before it changed into one of determination, "Right!"

Raul twirled the spear in his right hand, swapping his sword to his left.

Bell narrowed his eyes, "Dual wielding…"

The older adventurer took a deep breath, and dashed forward at the younger boy.

Bell's eyes widened as the senior adventurer suddenly unleashed a combination of stabs and slashes at him.

It took the boy everything to parry and dodge the blows, and even then the spear managed to nick him several times.

Bell cursed as he backed away, but that only prompted Raul to push on even more.

The older man swung his sword down for an overhead slash, and Bell crossed his knives to block the swing.

The two pushed against each other, and Bell grunted, 'To think adding a spear alone would make him this much harder to fight…'

The boy took a deep breath, "Load: EMIYA!"

The sudden change surprised Raul, and Bell took the chance to push and kick the older man away.

Sheathing his knives, Bell chanted, "Trace on."

In the blink of an eye, Bell held a red spear, one that got everyone watching on edge.

Raul's eyes widened, as an instinctual sense of fear grew in him, but he managed to push it down, "What is that spear?"

Bell twirled the spear, not unlike how Raul did with Finn's spear, "Gae Bolg, or a fake anyway. One of EMIYA's abilities is to recreate a copy of any weapon he sees. Unfortunately, I can't do the same yet, but I can call upon the weapons he's seen before."

The boy had tried to recreate Heracles' axes before with EMIYA's powers, but they always fell short, and it was more efficient to just use the actual weapons with the actual heroes Load'ed.

But regardless, Bell wanted to practice using other weapons with EMIYA in case he couldn't swap heroes in time.

With that said, the boy dashed forward and Raul quickly found himself under pressure once more.

Simply because he was now facing a Level 3 adventurer with the inherited powers of EMIYA wielding the cursed spear known as Gae Bolg.

Not wanting to lose, Raul gritted his teeth as he parried the red spear with his own, before swinging his sword at the boy.

Not missing a beat, Bell drew the Hestia Knife and blocked the sword, before pushing the older man away.

The boy then backed away, and he decided to end the match.

"Set (Fake)."

Bell bent down slightly into a stance, and everyone watched with interest.

"Gae Bolg."

It happened in the blink of an eye, and with a flash of red, Raul felt pain in both arms, before he found Gae Bolg aimed at his neck.

His sword and Finn's spear fell to the ground behind him, and Bell's voice reached his ears, "Yield."

The older adventurer nodded shakily, before Bell dispelled the Gae Bolg.

Raul massaged his hands shakily, before glancing back at his fallen weapons, "W-what was that?"

"Interesting, it looked like the spear had extended and split into two to hit Raul's hands."

The two turned to see Finn approaching them, and Bell let go of EMIYA's powers, "Yeah, sort of."

Riveria furrowed her brows, "If I didn't say it before, I'll say it now. You are dangerous, Bell Cranel."

Bell blinked, "Huh?"

Gareth laughed, "Wow, to think Riveria would be so freaked out, I think I like you even more now lad!"

Tiona asked, "So what happened there anyway? Can that spear extend and split into multiple spears?"

Tione folded her arms, "It did look like that."

Bete scoffed, "Who cares! The point is the rabbit beat the weak shit."

Aki glared at him, but before she could say anything, someone spoke up.

"It may have looked like that, but…"

For the first time, Lefiya spoke up, and Riveria nodded in satisfaction, "You understand too, don't you, Lefiya."

Bell caught on, "Ah, I see what you're talking about."

Ais asked, "What are you three talking about?"

Finn hummed as he picked up his spear, "I'm curious too."

The high elf frowned, "That spear, it is a cursed weapon. And what we saw wasn't as simple as the spear extending and splitting, it was reversing cause and effect."

Aki blinked, "Cause and effect?"

Bell nodded as he explained, "Gae Bolg's unique ability is that it determines a conclusion, and then creates it."

Finn raised an eyebrow, "Really now?"

Tiona raised an arm, "I have no idea what that means!"

Riveria sighed, feeling a headache coming, "For example, normal cause and effect would be like this. Bell thrusted his spear, so Raul was stabbed. But in this case, it is reversed."

The prum's eyes widened, "I see! Instead, it would be, because Raul was stabbed, so Bell must have thrusted his spear."

Bell nodded, "That's right, and because the effect I determined was the spear striking both of Raul-san's weapons, Gae Bolg had to extend and split. The act of me thrusting is merely a formality."

Aki gaped, "Wait, doesn't that mean it is guaranteed to hit?"

The boy smiled, "Pretty much. But the one I have for now is a much weaker version, so technically you can avoid it."

Finn's lips curved upwards, "That is interesting. Mind if I try my hand against that? I might not look it, but I pride myself as something of a lancer myself."

Bell blinked, before he gained a confident smile and opened his mouth to answer.

The moment he did, his Command Seal pulsed, and he could all but hear Wiene's voice screaming.

'BELL!'

The white haired rabbit's eyes widened, easily feeling the call and the fear behind it.

Bell's jaw tightened, "Sorry, Finn-san, something came up. I have to go. Now."

That caught everyone by surprise, but before anyone could react, the boy took on a bright glow.

The glow died down quickly, and when it did, Bell was nowhere to be found.

Bete blinked, "What the fuck just happened?"

Finn stared at the spot where Bell was mere moments ago, "Riveria, what do you think?"

The high elf studied the spot, "A teleportation spell? No, it felt different, and teleportation spells are extremely rare…"

Lefiya asked, "But wouldn't Bell have a hero that can teleport?"

Riveria shook her head, "I don't know."

Finn let out a breath, "Well, not much we can do. We'll just have to ask him when we see him again."

(Linebreak)

Earlier that morning, Wiene was with a few Xenos.

As explained by Fels and Lyd, the Xenos would split into smaller groups and make their way through the dungeon before meeting up at a larger safe point.

That left Wiene with a Fomoire named Four, a War Shadow named Aude, a harpy named Fia and an arachne named Ranye.

The vouivre sighed as she stared at the mark on her hand, "Bell… Why won't he come see us?"

Fia flapped her wings, floating down to her, "He must be busy with things above the surface. Fels said he would be."

Wiene pouted, "But he's been telling me he would come see me when he comes into the dungeon!"

The harpy smiled softly, "He's an adventurer, he'll come down eventually. Bell-san's not the type to break his promises, is he?"

The vouivre shook her head, "No, Bell is good!"

Fia smiled and nodded, "Then you'll just have to wait."

Wiene sighed and looked down, "I guess…"

"You're better off forgetting him."

The two looked forward to Ranye, who glanced back at them from the front.

Wiene furrowed her brows, "Why?"

The arachne took off her helmet and approached the newest Xenos, "Listen, humans are liars. They are deceitful, they will do everything they can to get what they want."

The vouivre stared back firmly, "But Bell's different! He's kind! And he's strong! He'll definitely protect me! And all of us!"

Ranye sighed, "You… don't know who he truly is, do you?"

Wiene looked confused, "What do you mean? Bell is Bell."

The arachne walked over to the vouivre, "Wiene, listen to me. He may seem kind, he may seem like he wants to help you, help us."

She closed her eyes, "But Bell Cranel… that human is a hero."

Wiene blinked, "A hero? Isn't that good?"

Ranye sighed, "For humans, yes. For us, for monsters? They are the worst kind of humans. Heroes slay monsters, that's why they are loved by other humans."

The arachne looked Wiene in the eye, "Wiene, we are monsters. In the end, we will always be on opposite sides. Whether he means to or not, he will hurt you."

The younger Xenos frowned, "I believe in Bell. He wouldn't hurt us!"

Ranye blinked, and she sighed in frustration, "I'm only saying this for your sake, Wiene. But-"

Before she could continue, Wiene winced and covered her ears in pain, "Gugh!"

Fia quickly went to her side, something mirrored by Four and Aude, "Wiene, what's wrong?"

The vouivre grunted, "I-I hear someone, crying for help! M-my ears hurt!"

The armored arachne asked, "Is it one of our brethren?"

Wiene nodded painfully, "Y-yes, she… she's hurt, if we don't help her soon..."

Ranye shared a look with Aude and Fia, and the harpy frowned, "A siren?"

The arachne nodded, "Most likely."

Fia asked, "What do we do?"

Ranye frowned, "We help, of course. Let's go!"

Everyone nodded, and they started moving towards the source of the screams.

Soon, the group of Xenos reached a cave, and Ranye's eyes widened when the screams reached her ears, "It's here."

Wiene nodded, "S-she's in pain."

The arachne frowned, "I know, I can hear it too."

Fia asked, "What do we do? Do we go in?"

Ranye nodded, "Yeah."

She reached into her armor and brought out a gem, "Gros, we've found one of our kind. Wiene heard her, we're gonna save her. Wait for us at the rendezvous point."

The gargoyle's voice came back almost immediately, "Wait, don't go in yet! We'll come to you, where are you?!"

Ranye scowled, "No time. We can take care of this."

Gros growled, "It might be a trap!"

The arachne shook her head, "No time, we're going in now."

With that said, she put the gem away, and Ranye looked at her group, "Let's go. The sooner we help her, the better."

No one objected, and they walked into the cave.

The moment they did, their eyes widened in shock.

Simply because at the center of the room was a large tree, and chained to the trunk of the tree was a siren that didn't look too different from Rei.

But that wasn't what caught their attention.

It was the numerous wounds, cuts and gashes all over her body.

The siren noticed the Xenos before her, and she managed to whisper, "R-run…"

Wiene gasped, "W-why? Who would-"

"Holy shit! Dix was right!"

The Xenos all turned around to see Gran walking out of the shadows, a giant sword in his hands.

The bald man smirked, "To think a mere siren could draw you out, I'm just glad you fell for mine instead of Dix's."

Gran brandished his sword, slamming it into the ground, "Hmm, four, no, five of you huh?"

The bald adventurer grinned, "I'm not as hungry as our captain is, but this is a bit lesser than I expected."

Ranye growled as she noticed more adventurers coming out from the shadows, easily numbering in dozens, "A trap!"

Aude immediately dashed forward, his claws sharpening as he tried to take down Gran.

But before the War Shadow could react, the adventurer swung his sword, slicing the Xenos cleanly in half.

Gran smirked as Aude fell to the ground, and he stomped on the Xenos' head, crushing it to bits as his body dissolved into gore and ash.

Fia screamed, "Aude!"

Ranye growled, "You bastard!"

The bald adventurer grinned, "I think I understand how Dix feels now. This is fun!"

A random adventurer yelled, "Don't go too far yeah, Gran! If we kill em all, Dix won't be happy!"

The bald man snorted, "Who do you think I am? That one was enough. We can rough the others up, and that'll be it."

Gran brandished his sword again, "Now, let's begin! As Dix loves to say…"

"The hunt is on!"

As if on cue, all of the adventurers moved, and Ranye growled, "Four, protect Wiene! Fia! Take them from the air! We'll take them down ourselves!"

The fomoire nodded, and the harpy immediately took to the air.

By now, Gran had managed to close the gap between himself and the arachne, and Ranye growled as she dodged a slash.

But before she could counterattack, a scream caught her attention.

The arachne glanced around to see Fia on the ground, having been kicked down from the air by an Amazoness, "Fia!"

"Think you have time to worry about others?"

Ranye's eyes widened as she turned back just in time to block a punch from Gran.

The moment she did, the man smirked and swung his sword, slicing off three of her legs, earning a scream of pain.

But before she could even finish, Gran kicked her in the chest, sending her sprawling to the ground.

On another end, Four was getting bombarded by three mages as two other adventurers kept him busy.

Another barrage of spells struck him, and the fomoire fell to his knee, grunting in pain.

Wiene watched in horror as the adventurers took her friends down with ease, "F-Four!"

One of the adventurers that took Four down approached Wiene, "So this is the vouivre, huh? If I didn't know better, I'd say she looks cute."

"Hey, be careful with that one. Dix wants it alive."

The man snorted, "I know, I know."

He raised his sword, "Don't worry, I just wanna hear her scream a bit."

Ranye and Four's yells of worry reached her ears, but there was simply nothing the vouivre could do other than back away.

But the adventurer wasn't simply going to let her run, and before Wiene realized it, she found her back to a wall.

The vouivre gasped, and she looked back to see the man slowly stalking towards her.

But that wasn't the only thing she saw.

Fia's fallen and bloodied body.

Four on the ground.

Ranye struggling against Gran.

The bloodied siren still chained to the tree.

It was simply too much.

Wiene's lips trembled, until she remembered the seals on her hand.

"If you really need help, channel it through the mark, I will appear immediately."

The vouivre closed her eyes as she held her hand to her chest, and she yelled, "BELL!"

The sudden call surprised everyone, but what surprised them more was what came after.

The Command Spells glowed brightly, before one of them floated off of her hand.

It then turned into a sphere of light, expanding quickly and blowing the adventurer away.

As the light died down, Wiene's eyes widened in relief as she saw the person she desperately wanted to see for the past few days.

"Bell!"

Bell Cranel stood before her, and he quickly knelt down, "Wiene! Are you okay?!"

The vouivre nodded, "Mmm!"

Her face fell despite the relief and joy she felt, "But…"

"Who the fuck are you?"

Bell glanced back, taking a quick look around him, and his face darkened.

He saw Fia and Four on the ground, Ranye facing Gran, yet she was missing three legs.

He also saw the set of armor on the ground, and most importantly, the siren chained on the tree.

The white haired hero asked, "Did you do this?"

The adventurers looked at him as if he was dumb, and the adventurer that was about to kill Wiene scoffed, "Of course we did, who else?"

Bell stared at him, "Why?"

The man smirked, "Why not? They're monsters! We didn't expect them to be lured in by a siren's scream though, that was awesome!"

At that moment, Bell felt something in him awaken, and time stopped.

But this time, there wasn't a voice.

No, Bell heard, felt a growl from the depths of his soul that led to the Throne of Heroes.

This scene was way too familiar, and it infuriated Bell and the spirits within him to no end.

"I am thou, and thou art I."

Images flashed through Bell's mind as time resumed, "Thou hast acquired a new vow. Thy body shall serve under mine will. And mine fate shall be thy sword."

A random adventurer yelled, "Wait, he's the Little Hero from the Hestia Familia!"

"How is he here?!"

"Who cares?! Get him!"

The yells from the adventurers around him didn't reach his ears, for he was more focused on the images that were flashing through his mind.

A wolf, a king of his tribe that rampaged the pains of America.

A wolf that slaughtered countless cattle and sheep and came to be known as the devil incarnate.

A beast that had his mate killed by humans, before he too was caught in a trap whilst seeking his mate's corpse.

"Thou shall let chaos blind thine eyes, and I, he who doth hold thy chains!"

Under normal circumstances, Bell would never come across this spirit. But because he had sided with the Xenos, this Phantom Spirit had managed to reach out to him.

Their current situation made it even more possible.

"Let an oath be sworn here! I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven! I shall dispose of all evil of all of Hell!"

Several mages fired spells at him, consisting of fireballs and wind blasts, but Bell paid them no heed, as he simply dodged them by dashing to a side.

"If thou dost accede to this will and reason, then answer my call! Come forth from the rings of restraint, o' Protector of the Balances!"

"Over-Load: Hessian Lobo!"

Energy exploded from Bell's body, pushing the adventurers back.

Even Gran had backed away from Ranye, his attention torn to Bell's appearance.

The white haired hero now held two swords scythes, one in each hand.

But what caught their attention was his features.

The boy now had slitted pupils, his white hair grew longer, almost like a werewolf, and his nails sharpened into claws.

Furthermore, there was a visible white aura around him, and everyone could see the aura flickering, sometimes into the shape of a wolf.

Bell bent down, "You will pay for what you did."

XXX

Done. I want an honest opinion. How many of you were expecting that Spirit?

The next chapter will expand on what Bell has done, and what could possibly come out of it.

I'll try to get the next one out asap too, but I'm gonna be busy as my family is coming over to visit. So we'll see how it goes.

Until then, read and review please.