Hello readers! Missed the equinox by a little bit but figured I'd shell this out now rather than wait for the next weekend.

So again, I think we're getting to the finale of this installment. After this, I'd say another five chapters at the least, probably more like seven or eight. Chapter after this will start up the climax! For now, let's see how our characters are doing.

Hestia didn't come back that night. Bell assumed whatever pressing business she had was keeping her busy. He relayed as much to Wiene when the girl voiced concern, telling her their goddess was working hard for their sakes.

Maybe he should have held off on saying the two of them would have to put in effort too. The sudden challenge had Wiene pumped up to the extreme, it taking over an hour for Bell to calm the girl down. Eventually though, the pair managed to find sleep.

It was early the next day when both had arisen. Honestly, they probably could have used more sleep, but the spark from yesterday wouldn't let them settle down again. Wiene was practically bouncing off the walls as Bell readied his equipment, hopping between imaginary opponents, swapping between bare handed and knife strikes.

Her enthusiasm was infectious and Bell found himself unable to keep the smile from beaming across his features. They weren't out the door fast enough for Wiene, the blunette practically skipping down the street.

As they speedily made their way closer to the tower, Bell couldn't help but note how many people were active this early in the morning. Most of them appeared to be shopkeepers and Guild workers and they were busily setting up decorations.

'Some kind of festival,' Bell wondered, his knowledge of Orario's traditions still rather lacking. He'd have to ask Eina when they met up at the end of the day. If for no other reason than to appease Wiene who was even more energized, anticipating the festive atmosphere.

In spite of the distractions, they reached Babel just as the golden rays of sunrise banished the remnants of night. The great tower stood before them, shining in the radiance of dawn. It almost seemed to beckon them forward, towards a day full of adventure.

Bell froze abruptly, feeling as though an electric spark had pierced through his skull. As though driven by animal instinct, the rookie adventurer darted his gaze all about the area. The feeling of being watched – yes, that was what it was – wavered for a second before suddenly intensifying. Now it was like a physical pressure laying into him.

His sight shot upwards, towards the high reaches of the tower. At once the sensation diminished… but it did not disappear. Bell held his gaze silently towards the heights of Babel.

"… Bell." Wiene's voice snapped the boy out of his trance. At once he put a smile on his face, looking to show the girl that he was alright.

But Wiene wasn't looking at him. Just like he was, her eyes were drawn towards Babel. But while Bell had been staring upwards, Wiene's sight remained at the tower's base. At the entrance to the dungeon.

She seemed shaky.

Bell glanced down at Wiene's hanging hand. He swiftly reached down and clutched it in his own, causing the little monster to jolt slightly.

"You ready for this?" In truth, Bell had been quite worried about this sort of thing ever since Hestia gave Wiene a falna. While she had proven herself a capable combatant both during their spar as well as their initial escape a few days back, that didn't mean Wiene was ready to delve back into the pit that had relentlessly tried to murder her for weeks on end. He'd almost forgotten that concern with how eager the girl had seemed, it all coming back when Wiene had rasped out Bell's name.

She didn't respond to her savior's question right away. A shudder rocked her form as Wiene straightened, visibly inhaling. Bell watched her hold that breath before slowly pushing it out of her. A few jitters persisted, but she looked a good deal more composed.

Wiene half turned towards Bell. Her free hand grasped Farah's dark handle tightly. A slight grin lifted her features, "I'm ready… if Bell is ready."

The dungeon delver looked over his charge, searching for any further apprehension. After a short time, he smiled back at her, his red orbs bright and determined.

"Then let's go."

A sharp nod from Wiene and the pair were off, taking advantage of the morning lack of traffic and dashing for the stairs.

The pair of rookies, even greener than Bell from his estimate, stood by in silent awe at the entrance to the chamber. The white haired youth regarded the strangers with a wry grin, his eyes settled on the commotion transpiring in the center of the room. While contented to watch, Bell kept a nimble grasp of his knife as he twirled it between his digits.

Wiene was absolutely tearing through a group of rather solid looking goblins. Their childlike proportions were more muscular than usual and a few seemed to have acquired some rough iron blades. One even had a chipped, wooden buckler that, on its slight frame, was basically a small shield.

That tiny hand-held barrier was raised up, catching Wiene's arm and stopping Farah from being plunged into the monster's face. The blunette dropped the dagger, her free hand streaking forth at lightning speed. As her blocked limb retracted, her other palm caught the falling blade's handle, slashing down and across. The goblin's front parted in a diagonal line across its breast.

"Well fuck," one adventurer, a young man with blonde hair and a longsword, balked at the display.

"That's one way of saying it," his companion, a slightly older girl with dark hair and an oaken bo staff, stated in a slight daze. "Watching someone five years our junior dominate a squad of greater goblins is… humbling, to say the least."

Bell resisted the urge to choke out a laugh. As the shieldbearer reeled from having their chest sliced open, Wiene rolled to the side. Another monster barreled past her, just missing the dragon girl. A swift pivot and swing of her arm saw Farah's edge carving through one of the goblin's heels, sending it to the ground.

One holding an old sword brought the weapon down on Wiene. Without pause, the blue haired girl rushed upright, her own blade rising. The pair of weapons met and Farah's golden edge broke through the greenskin's battered steel.

"Wow," the female rookie blurted, "that's a nice quality knife."

Her teammate shook his head, "It's high spec for the upper floors, no doubt, but it would do far less against opponents further down."

In a corner of his mind, Bell cheered the fact that they'd have to replace Nessa's "gift" sooner rather than later.

The goblin stared in bewilderment at his stump of a sword. That observation was halted as Wiene thrust her hand into the creature's brow, slamming over its eyes. Her strike lifted the somewhat smaller monster off its feet before driving its back into the floor. Its howls of pain turned to gurgles as Wiene stabbed the goblin in the neck, slashing her knife out in a frank display of violence.

The observing trio could only respond with silence, the older girl's mouth parted into a numb "o."

Crouched upon her dying foe, Wiene snapped her sight to the fiends that were still standing. The savagery in her gaze was enough to inform the group's next decision and every able bodied greenskin immediately turned and fled. The one whose leg she'd slashed earlier crawled away with every desperate ounce of strength it had left.

Wiene fell on her struggling prey like a practiced hunter. Mulling over that thought, Bell realized it was probably quite accurate. She landed hard on its back, one foot stomping the smaller monster in place. Her open palm clutched the goblin's shoulder, steadying it as she leaned in low. Farah swept down in a swift arc, the monster's neck thin enough that the short blade nearly beheaded it in a single strike. The creature's flailing arms went limp in an instant.

"… Well, shit." The frank bit of commentary from the male adventurer had Bell scratching the back of his head nervously. The female rookie was notably looking away at this point, her features pinched as the meaty echo of flesh being torn faded from the chamber.

Glancing up, Wiene caught a final glimpse of one fleeing goblin as it pulled around the corner of a tunnel. Her teeth gnashed together in a slight snarl as the dragon girl readied to leap into pursuit. The younger of the two rookies locked his gaze onto Wiene, anticipating another show. His older comrade regarded his enthusiasm with both annoyance and a slight level of disgust, not mirroring her teammate's taste for violence.

Bell stood up. "Wiene, leave 'em be. We've still gotta gather up the magic stones."

That callout seemed to flip a switch in the blunette. Wiene blinked rapidly before coming out of her bestial crouch, stepping off the smoking corpse of the headless goblin. Then, with a rather content expression, she rolled the body onto its back and started carving into the greenskin's chest. She was even humming a little tune.

The two observing adventurers deflated, the boy in mild disappointment and the girl in relief. Bell smiled at Wiene's quick switch as he made for his own nearby goblin corpse. He was far from lacking in choice here, at least a dozen bodies in various states of crumbling littering the area.

As Bell worked on his second stone retrieval, a sudden scent wafted past him. Something that he would readily describe as "scrumptious," if he could be so bold. He could hear Wiene take a deep sniff from her position nearby.

"Really Dor? You're gonna just start eating in the midst of," the older girl spread her arms and spun in gesture to the room laden with monster corpses, "this?"

The boy, "Dor," offered a flat stare as he brought one end of his very meat-heavy sandwich to his open mouth. He bit off a massive chunk and began to chew like a cow, breaking his stare with the girl and looking carelessly across the bloodied chamber. His comrade let her arms flop down as she took a seat on an adjacent rock, starting to rummage through her own pack.

Bell and Wiene continued their task though the boy noted his hunger beginning to build. He heard Wiene's stomach grumble once as she lingered over one of her kills. The sharp crack of a monster's crystal felt deafening to the young adventurer, though it seemed the other pair hadn't noticed. They were quite consumed in… consuming their meals, the girl looking more and more stubborn with every bite of her sauce filled wrap.

"Bell, look!" The call of his name roused the white haired youth. Wiene had skipped to his side, done with her share of the gathering if the bounty of crystals she presented was any indication. It was unfortunate that she'd used the loose length of her sarong to carry it. They'd at least had the forethought to include undergarments in Wiene's ensemble, an addition that Nessa both overlooked and seemed somewhat miffed to be reminded of.

That was another knick in Bell's "dislike Nessa" category.

The older girl of the feasting duo swiftly planted her palm on her fellow's skull, turning the young man to face the wall. Dor didn't resist, angling his sandwich to reach his mouth. She was looking straight at the ground herself, her already uncomfortable expression rocketing up to eleven. Bell placed a mental reminder to get Wiene a pack of some sort in the future.

"Th-That's great Wiene," the rookie dungeon delver sputtered, abruptly slapping down on the girl's wrists and loosing her hold on her garments. This sent both the cloth and the stones down, Wiene stunned as her hard work clattered against the floor.

Bell quickly took up her hands to placate the little monster, "You did really good… but don't use your clothes to carry things like that. Or at least, don't use your bottoms."

Giving a queer look, Wiene cut back, "But I can't use my bandanna, you said not to take it off in front of people." If nothing else, Bell was happy she remembered the rules he and Hestia had been stressing on her.

"Yeah, that's true," he admitted, releasing his grip on the blunette. Wiene promptly crouched down over her scattered crystals, Bell swinging around his modest pack. "We'll just make sure to put everything in my bag. When it's full, we'll know it's time to le-"

That terrible crack rang out again. This time it was clear and loud. This time the other pair noticed. Bell sat frozen, his fellow rookies locking two sets of eyes on Wiene's chewing maw.

The dragon girl paused for a moment, gaze dancing between her savior's pale features and the astounded faces of the two strangers. Wiene swiftly lost interest, pressing the other half of the munched magic stone she was holding past her parted lips. She crunched down on it, giving a happy little whine as she continued to chew.

Dor swallowed his latest mouthful as he presented the last third of his sandwich towards Wiene. "You can have some of this if you're hungry."

Wiene popped up in an instant, a blinding smile in place as she all but flung herself across the room. The mostly stoic young man pitched back, wide eyed at the sudden surge of energy. "Hello, I'm Wiene! Thank you so much!" Dor remained still as the dragon girl liberated the last of his lunch from his weakened hands.

The older girl's less than pleasant array of emotions fell away as soon as Wiene's smile came within range. Now she appeared largely confused. Though with a healthy degree of wonder present. It left her in a "positively stunned" state.

Though he still felt like his life had flashed before his eyes, Bell calmed as he beheld Wiene's natural charm claiming another two victims. She'd even added onto her greeting, further endearing herself to the other party. A truly terrifying talent.

Hestia was finished. Done, kaput, at the end of her rope. The amount of sweat she'd lost over the last few days was enough to fill the public baths. She was quite grateful to Hephaestus for making her wear some loose scrubs and a blacksmith's apron instead of her standard dress. Hestia had already gone through three such uniforms – her everyday wear would have disintegrated on the first day!

The Goddess of the Hearth flopped onto a stone bench, slumping back until her shoulders hit the edge of a work table. She hardly noticed when the impact shook loose an iron rod, the length of metal rolling down and landing against the back of her neck. The room itself was so warm that Hestia could only just feel the heated pipe on her skin. Eyes closed and sweat pouring off her brow, the twintailed goddess unleashed a roaring sigh.

A damp cloth was thrown over her face, Hestia's exhalation turning into a vexed grumble.

"Wipe your face," Hephaestus ordered, placing a pair of hot tongs onto a counter and yanking the heavy gloves off her hands, "we'll take a ten minute break. We're almost done."

"Thank the powers for that," Hestia breathed, a wry grin lifting her features. Her fellow deus deia allowed her own amusement to show, Hestia's turn of phrase amounting to thanking herself. Hephaestus settled down next to her lounging friend.

"Moments like these I start to miss having you around." The smithing deity must have been feeling light headed herself, admitting this so openly. Her focus sharpened as she realized the opening she had just left Hestia. And, true to form, even as out of it as she was, the Goddess of the Hearth brandished the smuggest little grin.

"If you're attempting to invite me back over, sorry to say I have to let you down. Bell and I already have our little love nest established."

Hephaestus mentally released a breath, glad her old friend hadn't hounded her about being "roomies" again, even as a joke. Moreso, she'd shot the idea down entirely. All things considered, what with her having a "man" now, she probably appreciated the privacy.

"You gonna tell me a bit about that." the red head ventured. She did have a vested interest in how Hestia was handling a relationship. Interest that went beyond being her friend. Thoughts of a certain wayward blacksmith came to mind.

Hestia's grin turned much more pleasant, "About my Bell? What do you want to know?" The eagerness she had to talk about him had Hephaestus feeling giddy by proxy. Having had the question sitting in the back of her mind for days now, the one eyed deity spoke without thinking.

"What… what was it like?"

Hephaestus hesitated at the start, realizing what she was about to ask, but ultimately got it manageable levels.

Hestia's own cheeks went red. But her expression was strangely somber, her blue orbs settled on the floor. The smile she allowed had little emotion behind it. "It was… unexpected, the moment just kind of came over us all at once."

As she spoke, Hephaestus couldn't help but notice the way her friend would wince throughout her speech. There was something… unpleasant behind her words.

"It was nice, what I remember of it."

That got the red head's attention, the master smith quirking a brow. "What do you mean 'what you remember?' Why wouldn't you have every minute detail committed to memory?"

This injected some actual embarrassment into Hestia, the brunette actively turning away from Hephaestus. The taller goddess was made more curious by her friend's silence, leaning into the twintails' space. A long humm of thought issued from her lips as Hestia leaned away from the encroaching smith.

Single eye squinting, Hephaestus definitively stated, "You were getting drunk with Miach and Take, weren't you?" The high pitched squeal Hestia loosed said all that the smithing goddess needed to know. Hephaestus could do nothing but pinch the bridge of her nose, offering some brief snorts of humor.

"D-Don't laugh!" Hestia's cry made her fellow deus deia bark with laughter. She had to clamp a palm over her mouth to hold it back. Really, the idea that one of the virgin goddess' would have a drunken tryst…

"That about tracks for you, Hestia. Falling ass over head into a relationship." Though speaking through light chuckles, Hephaestus was being quite genuine. She was happy that her friend had found love. It helped to encourage her in her own pursuits.

The Goddess of the Hearth loosed a single puff. While it affected humor, it came across as rather dull. Hephaestus sat perplexed as Hestia seemed to fall once again into a somber mood.

"Yeah… that's me alright," Hestia sighed, "just bumbling everything up…"

At this point, Hephaestus was fully concerned. Her former roommate could fall into some dour states, what with her familia founding struggles, but this was something deeper. Something had happened that was casting a prolonged shadow over the tiny deity. Now the master smith had to mull over how she was going to breach her concerns.

But Hestia cut off her musings, "How do you know whether or not someone was forced to love you?"

The Goddess of Smiths paused, her eye gone wide at the question. Hephaestus was a sharp woman, skills she'd honed over years of running a familia and a major business simultaneously. The implications of Hestia's words, combined with her sorrowful mood and the story of her first time painted a clear enough scenario.

At least, it painted Hestia's perception of things.

Hephaestus was at a loss. From the look on her friend's face, Hestia hadn't expected much from the smithing goddess. It there was anyone among the deus deia with as little a clue to romance as the virgin goddesses, it would be the defect. Unconsciously, Hephaestus brought her fingers to her left temple, just above her black patch.

"… I really am a failure."

"No," Hephaestus breathed. She couldn't hold back, not when her friend was in pain like this. "No, you're not a failure."

Hestia didn't respond, didn't look up. It was clear she didn't believe the red head's words.

Hephaestus' hand hovered over the brunette's head, waiting for a reaction, for an indication to continue. After half a minute of nothing, the cycloptic goddess pressed her palm onto Hestia's scalp.

The tiny deus deia sniffled.

Drawing the smaller girl's head into her chest, Hephaestus wrapped her free arm tightly around the twintails' shoulder. Hestia heaved powerfully, tears collecting in her eyes but not quite falling.

Hephaestus didn't know what to do. Running business and a household were things she was well versed in. That was part of what made Hestia so endearing and infuriating all at the same time: she simply operated on emotions, flighty and free at all times. Leave it to her to stump the red head once again, in the most unexpected way.

All she could do was hold her friend and wait for things to pass.

For a moment, Bell worried that they may have gone down too far. On his own, the boy often became quite overzealous when it came to dungeon diving. Wiene's presence only seemed to exacerbate things, the pair practically feeding off the other's energy.

It didn't help that Wiene could breeze through the upper floors largely on her own. Bell had only needed to step in twice and both incidents felt more like him being overly worried than actual life or death situations. In all honesty, Bell was getting antsy from the lack of action.

The pair had never made any concrete plans for their current venture. No cutoff floor or approximate period of time at which they would turn back. In general, a two man party of "level one" adventurers was advised not to go beyond the fifth floor.

Bell and Wiene had readily stepped onto floor six after a short break. The young man made a note on his mental map to thoroughly avoid the long staircase down to The Ant Hill. More than the fact that it was a known rookie death trap, he and Wiene didn't need the reminder of their harrowing ascent from nights before.

Wiene, for her part, seemed to have very little apprehension towards being in the dungeon. While she'd voiced her willingness when they'd first approached Babel, Bell still made the effort to monitor the girl as they delved deeper. The ease with which she acclimated was a little perplexing, but Bell supposed it made some sense.

After escaping the middle floors, these single digit levels probably felt like a vacation to Wiene.

Unfortunately, the boy may have been paying more attention to his charge than to the dangers around him. Some swiftly honed instincts saw him away from the surprise attack, though his dodging saw him and Wiene separated.

He'd been following the dragon girl on autopilot, his only concern being an avoidance of the previously noted Ant Hill. He had neglected the other possible hazards of the floor. And thus, perhaps owing to Wiene's monstrous nature, they had found themselves on dangerous ground.

A Monster Pantry.

That was the name given to areas of the dungeon in which masses of various creatures gathered. In their current case, the pair had stumbled upon a large, marshy spring that seemed to serve as a watering hole. The water's surface itself was dotted with patches of algae and large lily pads, the walls and ceiling of the cave bright with numerous amber and verdant crystals.

And, as befitting a pantry, a mob of monsters filled the area. One of which, having fumbled the ambush on Bell, reoriented its single eye on the white haired boy.

The amphibious frog shooter shot its fleshy tongue at the rookie adventurer. Bell ducked and spun away from the fast attack, pulling his knife simultaneously. But before Bell could counter the green fiend, Wiene made her presence known. The frog's singular eye burst into crimson as the blunette drove Farah down into it.

Bell turned, another long tongue zipping past his side. The boy promptly rolled on his side, tumbling over the spinning frame of a charging dungeon lizard. His shoulders bounced off the monster's scales and sent the boy airborne. Bell extended his knife hand, slashing out with his momentum to power the blow. The frog shooter now lunging for him, its maw drawn open, took a severing strike through its jaw and lower lip.

The monster still slammed into Bell, the duo splashing into the mossy edge of the spring. Wiene, seeing her savior stricken down, sliced through a moth like fiend before moving towards Bell.

A frog's tongue snapped onto her unarmed wrist, halting the dragon girl's progress. It had no chance to draw her back, Wiene lashing out with her dagger instantaneously. The frog's tongue was severed but rather than press forward, the dungeon child latched her free hand onto the bloody organ. Wiene kept her grip tight as she bounced backwards.

The curled up lizard had changed targets after missing the boy, attempting to rush Wiene. When she leapt out of the way, the living wheel instead blasted into the cut, sticky tongue. The poor frog shooter was yanked in as the dungeon lizard lost balance. The monsters were slammed together, pitching painfully over the ground and each other.

Wiene was already on her next task, stepping back as another lizard lumbered up and made to snap at her calf. The sudden lunge exposed its lightly scaled throat, a tempting target. Bell splashed swiftly past his charge, parting the reptile's neck with a rising slash. At the same time, Wiene jumped past Bell before stomping both feet down onto the skull of the now recovering frog with the split jaw.

The dull crack of shattering bones seemed to resonate through the chamber. And then the atmosphere turned to complete chaos.

Whilst before the creatures present had approached the duo in a relatively "orderly" fashion, now the air was rife with bloodlust. The once "lax" horde surged towards the adventurers with reckless abandon.

Bell caught Wiene's shoulder and drew her away from the lake. A violet moth dove down on the young man, looking to douse him in toxic spores. Bell flung his knife into the insect's abdomen, the moth flopping to the floor nearby.

A frog shooter's head burst free of the pond's surface, flinging its tongue at the dungeon delver. Wiene shot ahead of Bell, catching the lengthy organ with Farah's edge and dragging the blade through the moist flesh. The injured amphibian flailed its split tongue through the air, whipping into a pair of violet moths. One burst into a spray of dust, showering another two frogs and a dungeon lizard.

As the inflicted fiends rolled and screeched from the poison, Bell made a dash for his knife. A bloated lizard reared up on its hind legs, ready to throw itself at the approaching adventurer. Wiene intercepted, closing with the monster at breakneck speed. Despite her lithe frame, when she struck the beast with both hands it was actually forced back, a heavy thoom sounding from the impact.

Bell crouched, found the handle of his knife, and then shot his sights towards Wiene and the lizard. "Wiene, move!" As the boy roared out and withdrew his weapon, he gave the dead moth a strong kick.

Wiene dropped back into a roll as the monster corpse flew overhead. The violet moth crashed into the lizard's open mouth, bursting into spores and choking the scaled beast with toxins. It flopped into the water as foam poured from its maw.

Snatching up a vial from a belt pouch, Bell popped the cork and downed half the pink contents. At the same time his knife flashed out, clanging against a stone club being wielded by a goblin. He hopped away as a second monster tried to pounce on him from the flank. As the sneaky goblin wiffed its attack, its short nose was promptly intercepted by Wiene's flying knee. The lunging girl had also caught the one with a club, her open palm driving into the green fiend's face.

The trio crashed into the rough ground, Wiene kneeling on top of one goblin as she slammed the other's skull into the dirt. Her blade arm sliced down at the monster beneath her, carving through its neck. The surviving goblin thrashed against the hold on its face, Wiene increasing the pressure as a result.

Bell stomped down on the struggling fiend. At the same time he presented the half emptied vial to Wiene. The girl didn't hesitate to take it, downing the remaining liquid with little more than a grimace. Taking the antidote may have been a little overkill, but Bell didn't want to risk exposure to the violet moth's poison.

Also he'd gotten over a dozen from Naaza a month ago and they were gonna go bad in a week.

The goblin Bell had under foot began scratching at his pantleg, the boy crouching low and delivering a fatal stab to the beast's chest. The crouched adventurer jolted slightly as a third greenskin body pitched into the floor beside him. Its neck had been snapped, a large bruise forming across its throat and sternum. Wiene stood over Bell and the fresh corpse, the both of them looking perplexed by its presence.

They quickly shot their attention towards the rumble of struggle nearby. Both jumped back as a frog shooter and a dungeon lizard tumbled past, wrestling with savage fervor. A snarling goblin hurled stones into a small group of moths, felling one with a solid hit to the skull. It, in turn, was snatched up by the sticky tongue of a monster frog and swiftly dragged into its mouth.

The whole pantry hadn't just been roused, they were in a full on frenzy. The white haired youth could only gawk at the chaotic melee.

"Bell!"

Wiene's cry preempted her vaulting over him. Her body jerked into a harsh twist as she swung her leg down onto a diving moth. The stricken insect bounced off the earth with a burst of purple dust. As it hung in the air Bell swept his knife into the bug, dashing it in half.

Then the pair were in the thick of it. Monster cut down monster, the once tranquil spring stained with streaks of blood. For Bell and Wiene, there was simply no time for panic. They moved, dodging, dashing, and slashing as the horde continued to scramble with wild abandon. Every instinct was geared not towards survival, but victory. That mutual, undaunted need to conquer and surpass this trial saw them through with tight efficiency.

Wiene was a well of bestial capability, Bell a monument of growth and ambition. Together, the upper floors were no match for them.

But with their attention on the fight, they paid no mind to the towering shape that lingered in a tunnel rising out of the cavern. Their frame concealed beneath a heavy, dirt encrusted cloak, the shape remained crouched as they observed the mayhem below. Lips pulled back to reveal sharpened fangs, locked together in a cruel smirk.

'Next time…'

The goddess duo stared down, watching as the latest layer of white hot ore began the slow process of cooling. After a good deal of observation, Hephaestus released a pleased humm as her tensed posture relaxed.

Hestia perked up beside her. "Good," she asked, a note of hope peaking past her exhausted tone. Her red haired friend dragged an arm across her sweat covered brow before gracing the shorter woman with a thumbs up.

The Goddess of the Hearth absolutely sagged, sighing out with every bit of air her lungs could hold. With both hands she pulled out the front of her smock, a poof of steam escaping as her breasts were allowed to breathe. Turning to one of the high window slits in the forge, Hestia took notice of the darkening sky and practically skipped to the door.

Hephaestus snorted at her former roommate's typical childishness, yanking at the front of her own apron as she followed behind.

Exposure to the cool evening air was liberating, Hestia taking the time to fully breathe back in before loosing a long gasp of pleasure. The Goddess of Smiths grunted in solidarity, eye closed as she basked in this moment of peace. She quirked a brow at the sound of Hestia flopping back first onto the lawn, but gave no further response. Again, such a child.

"So how many more layers do we need to add tomorrow?" The twintails sounded resigned to the work, but she'd at least lost the irritability.

Hephaestus let the silence linger for a bit, building some suspense. Then she reported, "None. That coating of crystal was the last one."

A longer period of silence followed, Hestia's blank, unblinking features staring up at the one eyed smith. A full minute passed before the brunette's expression began to shift, eyes widening as her mouth parted into a small "o." Then the rapid exchange to a face full of mirth, cheeks burning with zeal as she bounced about and cheered with joy.

Her fellow deus deia pointedly refused to join as Hestia crashed against her side, rubbing her front and hands up the smith's frame in an effort to make her hop along. Hephaestus didn't resist the smile forced upon her lips. Nor did she hold back her own blush as her friend's plentiful mounds squished and rolled against her. Hephaestus still wasn't all too accustomed to such physical displays, but she appreciated the tiny goddess' affection.

Now if only they weren't such a sweaty pair, the moment could be a little less gross.

Hestia popped back, "So we're really done?"

With some room to maneuver, Hephaestus turned and crouched slightly as she placed a palm atop the short woman's scalp. The red head froze for an instance, realizing that such a display could be considered rather patronizing. But Hestia immediately began to preen, prompting the smithing goddess to rub her head a little.

"Not just yet," Hephaestus said, "Tomorrow I'll carve some runes into the blade. They'll be necessary for the purpose the knife will serve. Then I'll need you to imbue those runes with power and essence. Shouldn't take more than two hours, then we can take a third to polish things up. All in all, you'll be good to get out of my hair by the early afternoon at the absolute latest."

Hestia purred at the news and Hephaestus could only respond with heavier head rubs. She really must have been drained to entertain the little twintails this much. Though she did make a note for the future that her friend was weak to pampering.

On her own end, Hestia now had a healthy appreciation for Wiene's love of head pats.

"Thank you, Hephaestus," Hestia declared, her voice all but thrumming with gratitude. The Goddess of Smiths herself jolted at the air of actual power in her words, proof that Hestia's thanks came from the deepest recesses of her being. She couldn't help but feel humbled by that, a rare show of connection between deities.

"No problem," Hephaestus softly said, voiding the notion to remind her friend that this was, ultimately, a business transaction. It would ruin the moment… and she could always remind Hestia later. Pondering what to say next, the one eyed woman snapped her fingers as something sparked in her mind.

"It'll be good timing too. Monster Feria starts up tomorrow, You can give it to your boy then, maybe use it to cap off a date?"

The previous spectacle of Hestia being stuck on one expression – quiet shock this time – before erupting into euphoria was repeated. The busty goddess then launched herself at Hephaestus, managing the impressive feat of wrapping her arms around the taller woman's head, squeezing her face into her cleavage.

When Tsubaki arrived minutes later, alerted by shouts and sounds of struggle, only to find her goddess and their little quest engaged in the strangest grappling match of all time, all she could do was laugh.

Then she escalated the situation by joining in.

Night fell as the white haired youth and the hidden monster child ascended onto the surface. The pair looked fairly roughed up, but nowhere near what could be expected from the fierce encounter they'd had. Bell himself had a smile on his face as he carried a brown sack clinking with the bounty of magic stones held within.

Walking beside him was Wiene, holding her own, smaller sack of crystals. These were notably tinnier and cracked stones, ones of middling value to The Guild. That made them a prime snack for Wiene, the girl quickly plucking a pebble from the pouch and pitching it into her mouth.

She could feel The Red bubbling at her core, begrudgingly accepting the meager offerings. The minute sparks of strength that came with every crystal consumed would do… for now.

As the two advanced into the open air of the Babel Plaza, a few silent observers watched their path. A lanky figure clad head to toe in black garb stared from a distant alley between buildings, his skeletal arm holding up a small marble that glowed teal with magic.

And high above, her body flush with the repaired glass of the massive window, Goddess Freya gazed down with a look of pure wonder. Not just the purest soul touched by the flames of the hearth, but accompanied by an innocent spirit that barely contained a smoldering savagery. Oh yes, Hestia's familia was looking more and more appetizing by the day…

Meanwhile, a group of two traveling familias were closing in on the walls of the dungeon city.

Again, bit of a branching chapter. I'd suppose the main purpose of this entry is to solidify Bell and Wiene's "power level." Even in canon Danmachi, Bell alone kind of dominates the first five floors. With a combat-ready Wiene added to the mix, they're basically smashing through even enraged monster hordes. Like Diamonds in a Silver lobby…

Finally starting to advance/wrap up Hestia's adventure with Hephaestus. Wanted to have one more round of interaction between the two of them, again showing off their friendship. I liked the idea of the smithing goddess having a bit of interest in "girl talk." If it was gonna be with anyone, it would be with Hestia. Plus she's got a vested stake in asking her friend for details on a relationship between a goddess and one of her children.

Somewhere in this world, Welf Crozzo suffers a concerning amount of sneezing fits.

Lot's a set-up for characters making moves in the near future. Fels – and by extension Ouranos – are maintaining observation. Freya is doing much the same, though I'd imagine that particular pot is about to boil over with a need to act. Our Wandering Alliance of familias is making their way towards Orario, back in for the finale. Let's not forget that the Monster Feria is right around the corner! And… someone with an interest in Bell is scoping him out in the dungeon.

"Next time…"

…

Alright, actually next time: festivities begin.