Chapter 8

(I don't own Danmachi)

The Setting of the Sun God

A/N

I play super loose with the canon in this chapter so, if some of the details are wrong, it is probably intentional. i also go deep into fanfiction world here so, I hope you do not mind. I wrote this chapter specifically because RabbitHaremLover24 requested it. He helped give me this idea on Reddit and he is always the first to review after a chapter and I am pretty sure he was my first follow/favorite on this story so thanks and here is your Apollo story.

Ganesha Familia made their usual rounds after a God killing an noticed that every familia still had their God. They interviewed several people in the area and realized Zeus was in town. After a bit more research they found out he was in the area in the time of the killing an decided it must have been him who was killed. The last two killings had the Gods in a panic but, this one had them laughing. Zeus killed in the red light district? They figured he either had it coming or it was some sexy time gone wrong. Maybe an Amazon sat on his face and smothered him. They would jokingly throw out suggestions of how it could have happened . Although the more intelligent God's did notice the location was awfully near where Hestia's beam was and thought it might be connected to the godslayer.

It was a couple days later that the guild came by with an official mission. It requested that Bell Cranel head outside the city to help a city with an unusually strong hoard of monsters attacking. The city had sent a large amount of Valis to request aide and specifically asked for the help of the adventurer Bell Cranel. Since the Freya godslayer incident the guild was anxious to show it was still the authority in Orario and Loki was wanting to help them. She quite enjoyed the status quo and had no interest in a hostile takeover. It would be beneficial for all parties to do as asked. That being said some of the monsters were reportedly as strong as level 3 and despite Bell being one of the strongest level 4s in Orario at this point, Finn didn't feel right sending him alone so, he requested and was granted another pass to leave the city. Aiz quickly volunteered to accompany Bell. Lefiya and a few other of the lower level members tried to argue against her going but, were eventually overruled. There reasons were quite weak and nobody else really wanted or had time to go. The elites were busy with running the familia through a crisis. Tione didn't want to leave Finn. Tiona didn't want to leave her sister (plus she thought Bell and Aiz were great together and wanted to support it. She had never seen Aiz so, happy and she wasn't going to take their trip away). Bete thought Bell was just a stupid weakling and he didn't want to waste his time with a stupid weakling. Everyone else wouldn't be strong enough to ensure a safe return because they were all equal or less strong then Bell so, they would have the same struggles as him so, in the end it was Bell and Aiz heading out.

The city they were tasked to aide was Delos. It was about a 2 day journey from Orario. They gathered up their supplies and left. The trip to the city was mostly uneventful. The monsters were no match for Aiz nor Bell with most monster's being on par or weaker then a level 1 adventurer outside of the city. During the night when they slept one would stay up outside the tent and keep watch for monsters. The monster's may be weak but, it wouldn't be fun to be ambushed by a group in your sleep and since, they were reportedly unusually strong for outside the dungeon they were taking extra precautions. Although Aiz did struggle to sleep imagining her poor Bell being ambushed by monsters but, she trusted him. She had trained him and he was strong. She knew he could handle himself but, still she worried she couldn't help herself. If she lost her Bell, she didn't know if she would be able to keep going.

During the days they mostly just focused on making good time getting there. There were people in danger and Bell wanted to save them all. Aiz for her part just thought it was adorable that her hero was rushing off to save the day. She was just making sure to stay by his side and keep him safe.

The sun was just setting when they arrived outside Delos. The city had walls but, they were much smaller then Orario's and they looked like they had seen better days. The walls had massive claw marks and holes had been beaten into the side that had been haphazardly repaired. They found the gates and were shocked to be greeted by someone wearing an Apollo familia jacket.

"Good evening Rabbit Foot. We have been greatly anticipating your arrival. If you could just follow Johnathan here then, he can get you caught up on the situation and take you to the command center. If you get hurt, make sure to see him. He is our best healer" The guard says totally ignoring the Sword Princess while pointing to another young man in an Apollo jacket.

"Are you guys with Apollo?"

"Yes, this is where he originally descended from heaven to. He is the patron deity of this city and has recently made his return. It wasn't long after that these monsters started showing up. In the beginning it wasn't a big deal. We just hid within the walls and waited for them to leave like normal but, eventually they got stronger and stronger until even the walls began to fail. We put our best men on repairing the walls but, they couldn't keep up. Eventually Apollo just started giving his falna to everyone so, they could defend themselves from the monsters that made it in but even that wasn't enough. We were forced to gather our resources and request help from the guild" Johnathan dutifully reported looking at Bell the entire time and ignoring Aiz.

"So you got healing magic from your falna?"

"Yup! I patch everyone up when they get back from the battles. I am not great at it so, try not to get hurt too bad." He says still acting like Aiz doesn't even exist, they never even gave her the slightest glance. Apollo told them Bell would be their savior so, they couldn't care less about anybody else arriving

When they finally reached the command center they saw Apollo and Hyakinthos looking over a map with and discussing plans for defense when Apollo sees Bell and lights up with a big smile before starting his routine.

He steps up dramatically places a hand over his heart before starting.

"Oh dear Bell! Thank you for coming"

He places his hands on his head

"I have no idea what I would do without you!"

"You are our savior!" He exclaims while he runs to go give Bell a hug in gratitude before being stopped by Aiz.

"What are you up to Apollo?" Aiz ask in a harsh tone "We weren't told of your involvement."

"Are you accusing me of something Sword Princess? I just want to help all these good people of this great city!" He says while throwing his hands up towards the city. "Why are you here anyways? We didn't ask for yours or Loki's help?"

"Unfortunately Hestia had an untimely death and Bell is now a part of the Loki familia. If you just want to help these good people then you should be happy I am here but, if you were plotting something on Bell just forget it!"

"I would never do something to harm such a valuable asset as Bell. In fact, I want to ensure he enjoys his stay so, I have arranged accommodations at the nice hotel across the street so, you can drop your stuff off there. The hoard has already retreated for the day so, we shouldn't need you until in the morning. Meet us back here then please. "

Aiz gave Apollo one last death stare before grabbing Bell's hand and dragging him off to the hotel. It didn't take long to get there where they checked in and headed to their room when Bell noticed there was only 1 bed.

"I can just sleep on th..."

"Nope you will sleep on the bed with me."

"But.."

"You are my boyfriend. It is okay besides, it isn't like it would be the first time."

Bell just blushed. Aiz may have accepted Bell's feelings but, he still wanted to respect Aiz and do the courteous thing. Afterall, while Amazons had no problem with sleeping with anybody they found attractive, Elfs had a long courting ritual before anything like that and humans were somewhere in between. He was raised by Zues which really didn't teach him any common decency when it came to this. He was terrified of doing something wrong and upsetting her. He wanted to be the best gentlemen he could be. Aiz though didnt care about any of those kinds of things. She just wanted to be as close to her Bell as possible. She knew he was painfully shy and awkward about these kinds of things so, she knew she would just have to help him along.

When they got to bed Aiz laid down on one side then Bell made his way to the other and laid on the opposite side as far away as possible barely even on the bed. Aiz turns towards him and sees him trying to balance himself right in the edge and giggles a bit.

"Hey Bell, you can come a little closer.'

Bell barely moves a couple inches

" a little closer."

Bell moves a little more.

"Just a little more"

He moves again and he is finally in range and Aiz grabs him and pulls him right next to her and into a snuggle.

"Perfect." Aiz says

"Aiz!" Bell squeals in surprise from being grabbed and his back pressed against her.

"Yes." Aiz says as she pulls him even closer

Bell was going to protest and then realized how absolutely stupid that would be. This was perfect so he just says "I love you"

Aiz snuggles her head against his back. "I love you too, Bell."

Meanwhile Apollo was in full panic mode. He was yelling.

"Feed those monsters all the magical stones we have left!" He told Hyakinthos

There plan had been to use all the magic stones they could get their hands on to feed the monsters outside the city to get them powerful enough to injure Bell and then while he was weakened, abduct him. Just because Apollo was kicked out of Orario didn't mean he had given up on getting Bell. Bell grew fast and was strong, Apollo thought he was his only chance to get back in Orario. He thought at the pace Bell grew it would only be a couple of years before, he would be too strong for even Ottar to stop but, first they had to get Bell on their side and they had a plan. They would get the monsters strong enough and then Apollo could play the valiant hero gaining the boy's trust and love(of course Apollo being protected by his followers). Bell arriving with the Sword Princess had thrown the entire plan out of whack. They needed very strong monsters very quickly. They knew they couldn't get the monsters strong enough to kill the Sword Princess this fast and even if they could they wouldn't want too. Everyone would die if that happened. Apollo didn't know Bell had joined such a strong familia and it was ruining his plans. They needed a new plan and fast. They had to get her away from Bell and distracted.

When Bell and Aiz woke up, they got ready and headed to the command center. They were greeted by Hyakinthos and Apollo.

"Good morning Rabbit's Foot, Sword Princess" Hyakinthos greets

"It seems monsters are attacking on the north side of the city and the south. We were hoping you could handle the north Sword Princess while Bell and I handle the south."

Bell and Aiz just nod before Aiz turns to Bell

"You be safe"

"You too." Bell returns

When Bell arrives he sees an enormous hoard of monsters. It is almost overwhelming. At the beginning they seemed mostly just like level 1's but the longer and longer he fought the stronger they seemed to get. They weren't too tough. Bell also noticed that Hyakinthos wasn't being much help but, they had a notoriously rough relationship and he wasn't trying to start anything so, he didn't mention it. That was when he heard Hyakinthos start to chant. Bell just kept fighting. The monsters started to get stronger. He was no longer able to just easily cut them down in a single slice. These must have been the level 3 monsters and 4 were attacking. Bell may have been level 4 but fighting 4 level 3s at once wouldn't be easy. Bell had taken a couple hits from the monsters but also hit them a couple times. It was basically an even fight and this is when he finally heard Hyakinthos casting end. He was happy for the help but then he. noticed the magic wasn't aimed at the monsters.

Meanwhile with Aiz she noticed there were a hoard of monsters outside the wall but as she started fighting them, she noticed how ridiculously weak they were, even a level 1 could deal with this she thought. "Why did they send me for this?" She pondered. This didn't seem right. She began to be suspicious of Apollo's intentions again so, she called Tempest and killed all the monsters as quickly as possible. She wanted to make sure Bell was fine and this wasn't another one of Apollo's schemes. She also figured that if, it wasnt a scheme they might need help. If the stories about monster's as strong as a level 3 adventurers were true, it could be tough for just a level 4 and a level 3 if the monsters were plentiful enough and lastly if her help wasnt needed, she just enjoyed watching Bell fight. Well, she actually just enjoyed watching Bell do anything, just because they lived together in the same familia house didn't, mean she lost her stalker tendencies. The second Aiz turned on her wind they were dealt with in a matter of seconds. The hoard was large Aiz's speed quickly cleaned them up.

Meanwhile with Apollo, he sees Johnathan running towards him.

"Reports say she took out that giant hoard distraction in just a couple of minutes. What are your next orders, Lord Apollo?"

"Send all your people after her."

"You want us to fight the sword princess?!?" The man says trembling

"No, just slow her down. Hyakinthos just needs a little more time."

With Aiz, she starts to head towards the opposite side of the city but before she gets too far she is swarmed by crowd of people.

"That was amazing!"

"Sign my picture of you"

"Show us your wind magic again!"

This wasn't the first time this kind of thing had happened. High class adventurers were basically celebrities and being a beautiful young woman, got her even more attention that she didn't particularly enjoy. She usually just tried to ignore them and just make her way through but, now it was almost like they were trying to get in the way and not let her through. It was almost like they were trying to slow her from getting to her destination. It was also a little extra weird because yesterday everyone was ignoring her like she didnt even exist. She simply decides to leap over them and continues on her way. That was when her level 6 senses heard something. It was Bell and he sounded in pain and that is when she called her Tempest.

Unfortunately on Bell's end he had just been hit by Hyakinthos magic. He didn't have Freya's amulet this atime and Bell was nearly torn in half. The gash on Bell's back was inches deep and he immediately fell into a puddle of his own blood as he let out the screamed in pain. If it wasn't for Bell's increased status he would have immediately died on Impact. Luckily for Bell the monsters no longer saw him as a threat. They started chasing Hyakinthos.

"Finally Apollo will be over his stupid obsession" Hyakinthos thought as he ran. He got almost all the way back to the relative safety of the Delos walls. The monsters wouldn't break through them quick enough to catch him but, that is when he ran into the Sword Princess. She immediately jumped into action and easily slayed the monsters.

"Wheres Bell!?!" She asked Hyakinthos in a panic.

"He is over there, I tried to save him but, the Monsters were too strong!" He lied pointing off in the distance.

"You abandoned him!?!" Aiz's wind roars a dark black.

Hyakinthos can't even answer as, she grabs the man and drags him along. He would need punished and she wasn't going to let him get away but, saving Bell came first. That was when she came upon Bell. The second she sees him in his own blood. She was in too much of a panic to cry or scream. She checks his pulse, it was faint but it was there. She turns him over to check his wounds but, that was when she noticed the burns by the wounds. This was from magic and not from a monster .

Hyakinthos is just standing nearby when before he can even see anything happening. He felt two hands around his neck. He felt his eyes bug out, he felt his Adam's Apple crushed, he felt veins and muscles tear before his neck can no longer withstand the pressure and his head popped off his neck and lied on the ground as blood left his neck like a fountain, when Aiz saw what Hyakinthos had done. she couldn't stop herself from ending him right then and there. The whole attack only lasted a couple seconds.

She then picked up Bell and held him as close as she could. The second she grabbed him the black wind stopped. The wind was commanded by Aiz's emotions and will. It chose the best form based on what Aiz wanted most at that moment. Black was angry, violent and a will to kill. That was the last thing she wanted to do to who she was holding. Her white wind was a symbol of heroism and purity. She often had this blinding white light around Bell because of her desire for him to see her that way and not as the angry murderer that often came out. The default green was her desire to grow. It was relatively weak compared to the others because, if she was overeliant on her wind, her other attributes wouldn't grow much. That wind allowed her to fight and still grow in other ways.

Aiz took off running and that was when something unexpected happened. She was surronded by a blue wind. This wasn't even the weirdest part, the wind was also enveloping the boy she held. Normally when she was holding someone while using Tempest the wind would just cling to her more closely. They would feel the wind blowing but, it didn't surround them. This wind was surrounding the boy. Aiz then noticed he wasn't bleeding anymore. The cut was still there but, it was like the wind was making a barrier where his skin should be holding it in. In this moment, she wanted nothing more then to save the boy and the wind was reacting. It was her worry, her despair, her will to protect him above anything that had activated her new wind. The boost to her speed and power was slightly less then her normal Tempest but it seemed like she was almost sharing its power so, it wasn't suprising.

She ran all the way back Delos and found Apollo at the headquarters. She wanted to kill him for sending Hyakinthos after Bell. There was a brief moment her wind turned black but, she noticed Bell bleeding again and it instantly turned back to blue. Her concern for Bell outweighed her anger at Apollo for getting him hurt like this.

"Potions! Healers! Where are they at!?!" She asked in a panic.

Apollo saw the boy and was also worried. He told Hyakinthos to rough up the boy up enough to control him with the help of the Monsters attacks. This was murder.

"Hyakinthos?!? Where is he at?" Apollo asked while handing Aiz the best potions he had.

"The monster's got him, he is dead." Aiz sat Bell down on a long table. She was surprised that even when they separated Bell still had the protection of her wind. She figured they had to be touching or something. She poured a potion down his throat and that's when she saw Johnathan.

"Heal him!" She screamed as she ran over and dragged the boy to Bell. The man chants his spell but as soon as it hits the wind it immediately dissipates.

"I can't heal through that wind. It dissipates my magic."

This was the true power of the blue wind. It was a defensive magic wind that protected from magic or physical attacks. It was actually just a massive defensive boost. It would stop most magic and physical attacks from doing much of anything. If she was at her all time peak in her will to protect so, it made sense her wind would go all out defensive.

"It is preventing him from bleeding" Aiz counters

"My magic should be able to atleast close the wound. He might bleed a bit but it is for the best long term."

"Just look at me right before the end of your spell and I will remove it."

He nods and they do exactly that. It takes almost 5 minutes of constant healing magic before the wound closes.

"Why isn't he waking up?" Aiz ask

"He lost a lot of blood. He is lucky to be alive at all. His body will need some time to replace it and until then he will be out. It could be up to a week but, I suspect it will just be a few days." Johnathan explains Aiz still has a worried look but, Johnathan being only level one is near a mind down and leaves to get some rest.

Aiz just picks up Bell and holds him chest to chest. It is when she holds him like this she can feel his heart beat against her and right now nothing was more comforting then that. She just held him like that a few minutes before, picked him up and took them to their hotel room. She sat him on the bed and tucked him in. She kissed his forehead.

"I have some business to take care of, I will be back in just a bit." She tells the still unconscious Bell

She finds Apollo it is obvious he has been crying over the death of his favorite child. Aiz doesn't care and grabs his arm

"Come with me."

Apollo complies, he has had a very bad day. He doesn't have the will to go through his normal theatrics. He decided he deserved whatever she would do to him. After all, children were never too mean to Gods because Gods got to choose what to do with their souls. What is the worst she can do, he figured.

Aiz pulled him to a store where she bought some honey. Apollo was confused. She then lead him to a nearby secluded area and knocked him out. She pulled him to a nearby swamp and found a small Canoe. She tied him down inside of it and smeared honey all over him and gagged him. She then pushed the boat into the water. This was a torture method she had read about called scaphasim. The honey would attract bugs and he would be slowly devoured by them. He would be unable to move and deficate on himself attracting even more bugs. If done correctly the victim could live weeks in this torture. Aiz couldn't afford to do it right but, he would suffer days and Aiz and Bell would be safely back at Twilight Manor by the time he died so, they would have alibis for both of them would be had by the time his beam came. She made sure to bring him deep in the swamp making it extremely unlikely anybody would find him just for insurance.

Aiz rushed Bell home as, soon as she was done and made it back in just over single day, by using her Tempest. Bell woke up a day after he got home to a worried Aiz, watching over him and playing nurse to him. A couple days after that they saw the beam in the sky signaling Apollo's death. He suffered for 4 days being eaten alive by bugs sitting in his own waste. It was truly a horrid way to go for anyone but, especially such a proud god.