Hey, I'm back with a new chapter.
NinjaFang1331, hope you like this one as well.
lonewolf1986, hey, I actually welcome people giving me their thoughts and opinions. It gives me a new perspective too. Obviously, I'd appreciate if people didn't sound like asses, but you're alright.
Freddy8712, Bell inheriting the power of the gods is something I am torn on. I'm leaning towards not, just cuz Bell's whole gig is with the heroes and anti-heroes.
Guest, Manh, that might be fun to write about too. But we'll see, I have to finish Lostbelt 7 before I can comfortably write about ORT.
AnimeFan13579, honestly, Lancelot's ability will come in handy if he were to have to fight the Freya Familia. But we'll see.
Temsen, honestly, I was trying to think on how I'd bring in Asterios' powers. Against Asterius (Danmachi), Theseus felt more fitting, or even if I just had Bell stick with Kintoki. Then I reread Asterios' (Fate) Noble Phantasm, and I remembered Dix having that trinket to self destruct Knossos. So viola.
Guts and Toes, I'm a bit curious about which famous danmachi fanfic that died. But for the foreseeable future, I do plan to do season 4 and potentially 5, then I'll split off and do one final separate non-canon arc to end the story.
nbjdawe2001, the alters are definitely possible. But like the Beast classes, Bell will have to fully fall into darkness or despair to access them. For now I think the closest he's come is with Taira no Kagekiyo.
Axcel Allen, hahaha maybe I did. But in all honesty it was just by luck I finished the chapter shortly after I saw your review.
Arthurwho, yes, Bell could use the golden axe. But just like in FGO where we can choose to use different Saint Graphs, Bell can choose to use any weapon from the Heroic Spirits once he gets strong enough.
Rider126, I'm more inclined towards one girl here, as a personal preference. Lili does like Bell, but Haruhime and Tiona both only admire him in a heroic way, not romantic. But we'll see.
Anyways, here's the newest chapter.
XXX
Earlier up on the surface, Freya walked towards the home of the Loki Familia with Allen by her side.
As the goddess walked, she asked, "So, is everything under control?"
The cat person nodded, his face almost scowling if not for the fact he was with his goddess, "Yes."
Freya nodded in satisfaction, "Very good. Let's see if Loki is up for a chat."
The two quickly reached the Twilight Manor, and if anyone were to just look, they would never have known that the Freya Familia had them cornered.
The silver haired goddess looked up at the roof tops, and she could easily spot her children watching the home.
Freya walked up to the two guards who both looked extremely uneasy, but she couldn't blame them.
After all, how could anyone be at ease when your own home is under watch by another Familia? Especially when the goddess of said Familia was now before them?
Instead, she smiled, earning her two blushes that was quickly followed by fear, no doubt thanks to Allen, "Hello, I'm looking for Loki. I'm hoping she's home?"
One of the guards managed to find his voice, "Y-yes! S-she should be inside!"
Freya's smile widened, "Excellent."
With that said, she walked towards the door, and neither guard made any attempts to stop her.
Soon, Freya made her way into the manor, and she was met with many of the Loki Familia members.
"What is the meaning of this, Freya?"
Not long after she walked in, Loki's voice reached her ears, and the silver haired goddess smiled, "Good afternoon, Loki. Have you been well?"
The redhead scowled, "Been better. No thanks to you."
Freya's smile didn't waver, but Allen could easily sense her anger, "No thanks to me? Now, I can't believe what I'm hearing."
Loki glared at her, "What do you want? You had almost all of your stronger kids box us in. For fucks sake, you even chose to do it when Finn and all my stronger kids are gone!"
The goddess of love chuckled, "Well, that was the plan."
Freya's smile dropped, "But why are you so surprised? You should've seen this coming when you decided to stand against my dear Bell and poor Hestia."
The goddess of mischief frowned, "So this is what it's about…"
Freya snorted, "And here I hoped you'd know me better by now."
The silver haired goddess looked around, spotting multiple members of the Loki Familia staring at them warily, "This was what you did, wasn't it? You brought the Braver into their home, threatening them knowing Bell wasn't home."
Loki's jaw tightened, as Freya smiled at her coldly, "I'm simply returning the favor. Just like how Bell's Familia can never win against Finn Deimne, no one in your Familia at the moment can win against Allen here."
The redhead clenched her fists, "What do you want, Freya?"
The silver haired goddess snorted, "What I want has never changed, I just want the best for my dear Bell."
Freya stared Loki in the eye, "But relax, we won't do anything if you sit still. As long as you let Bell settle what he needs to do in Knossos, then we're good."
Loki sighed, "Not much I can do now, can I?"
The silver haired goddess just smiled again, but her eyes burned with fury, "You only have yourself to blame. Be glad I'm not doing more."
The redhead wisely kept quiet about this being Finn's idea. Loki knew better than to direct her attention to her captain after all.
But before she could speak again, Freya brought her out of her musings, "Now, shall we have some tea? It's been a while since we actually caught up, no?"
Loki sighed, "Alright, but you're paying."
The silver haired goddess just chuckled as the two goddesses left the home with Allen and one random Loki Familia member.
(Linebreak)
Meanwhile, Eina frowned as she stood outside Royman's office.
The half-elf had been looking into the mission issued to the Hestia Familia, but she couldn't find anything.
Then news of Bell killing members of the Ikelos Familia reached her.
It was disheartening and shocking, but Eina was determined to find the truth.
The young woman knocked on the door, and the older elf's voice sounded, "Come in."
The half elf pushed the door open, "Excuse me."
Royman's lips thinned as he saw Eina, but quickly hid his displeasure, "What can I do for you today?"
Eina spoke, "Royman-san, I have a question I hope you can answer."
The older elf raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
The half-elf took a deep breath, "I know it is not my place, but I have to know… What did the guild order the Hestia Familia to do?"
Royman closed his eyes, "That is none of your business."
Eina frowned, "It is! I'm Bell-kun's advisor, I have a duty to know so I can advise him-"
The older elf cut her off, "Then why don't you ask him directly? You are a member of the guild, and as you have said, his advisor."
The half elf fell silent, and Royman snorted, "He didn't say anything, did he? I'm sure someone as intelligent as yourself should be able to take the hint."
Eina clenched her fists, "Word is Bell-kun killed members of the Ikelos Familia to protect some monsters, monsters that are armed with adventurer equipment."
Royman paused, but the young lady continued, "This is some sort of secret the guild has, isn't it? You chose Bell-kun and his Familia to help protect that secret, but now something wrong has happened, and Bell-kun and his Familia have to take the fall."
Eina glared at the older elf, "Tell me I'm wrong."
Royman narrowed his eyes, "Watch your tone."
The younger woman didn't falter, but instead turned away, "Thank you for your time."
Not waiting for a response, Eina stormed out of the room, leaving a scowling older elf.
Meanwhile, back in Knossos, everyone watched as Bell and Asterius clashed blades.
The minotaur held a double edged axe in one hand, with another on his back.
As for Bell, he wielded his own two nameless axes, one in each hand.
Asterius grunted as he pushed against the boy, who pushed back with equal amounts of strength.
Lefiya watched in awe as the two axe wielders swung their weapons with absurd strength and speed.
As the pair clashed, Bell narrowed his eyes as he almost buckled from the force behind Asterius' swings.
Even with the strength of Asterios, it was obvious that the black minotaur was stronger. The only thing Bell had over him was his speed.
The black minotaur grunted as they parted once again, similar thoughts running in his mind.
Strength was an advantage, but so was speed. And strength would have no meaning if he couldn't hit the boy.
And so, he reached for the axe on his back.
The moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt, the axe came to life as lightning danced around it.
At the same time, the smell of ozone filled the air.
Finn's lips thinned as he quickly knew what it was, "A magic weapon…"
Without another word, Asterius swung the magic axe at Bell, unleashing a wave of lightning at him.
Bell's eyes widened as the lightning shot out straight at him before he could move.
Then, the lightning struck, bringing about a large explosion.
Lefiya grunted as she struggled to stay on her feet, "Nhh, Bell! Is he okay?!"
Ais stared at the fight with an almost blank face, "He's fine."
Ottar and Gareth both simply watched, the irony of the situation not lost on the boaz.
The elf looked as the smoke slowly cleared, and she quickly noticed the lightning dancing within.
"Over-Load: Sakata Kintoki."
With a swing, the boy dispersed the smoke with the Golden Eater, replacing one of his nameless axes.
Asterius smirked, "That's more like it."
Bell let a small smirk appear on his face, "Copycat."
The larger minotaur snorted, "I call that inspiration. Besides, I only got this by chance."
The boy shouldered the Golden Eater, "Then let's see who's better, shall we?"
The pair dashed forward, each wielding a lightning axe and a normal one.
The Xenos and adventurers all watched as Bell and Asterius traded blows.
Despite looking nothing like each other, despite being human and monster, they couldn't help but feel as if they were looking at two of the same being fighting each other.
With both Kintoki and Asterios Load'ed, Bell had enough strength to match Asterius' own.
And with his magic axe, Asterius was now able to react faster thanks to his dual wielding.
Finn clenched his fists as he watched the two fight, 'Bell-kun… He's long gone past the limits of his Falna.'
The prum could roughly gauge how strong they were. Asterius was easily the equivalent of a Level 5 adventurer, if not even a Level 6.
Bell, on the other hand, despite being a Level 3, was fighting on equal grounds.
But that wasn't what he was frustrated about.
No, he was frustrated about everything he was witnessing, because what he was witnessing wasn't just an adventure.
More accurately, it wasn't just an adventure for adventurers.
Finn could see the Xenos watching on the other side of the chamber, just like how they were.
And just like himself, none of the Xenos were picking a side, rather choosing to just watch and hope for the best.
At the same time, all of the Xenos had a certain look in their eyes, a look Finn was very familiar with.
After all, those were the same looks Finn had seen his fellow Familia members give him, as well as other people on the surface.
Worry, anxiety, excitement and anticipation.
It was a look no mere monster could ever have.
Finn's fists tightened as he focused on the fight before him.
No, what he was witnessing was an adventure for both Bell and Asterius.
An adventure equally for the monster, just as much as it was for the hero.
The sound of thunder rang through the chamber as both hero and monster clashed again.
By now, both Bell and Asterius were starting to pant.
Bell took a deep breath as he kept his gaze locked on Asterius, the minotaur doing the same.
Without realizing it, the minotaur found himself grinning ear to ear, and Bell too had a smile on his face.
As the pair traded blows once more, Lefiya stared in disbelief, "They… They're smiling… How can they be smiling?"
The stronger adventurers around her kept silent, but they all knew why.
Then, Asterius suddenly lowered his axes, before giving out a deafening roar.
Lefiya and many of the Xenos all froze at his howl, even Ais found herself affected by it.
The minotaur slammed his axes onto the ground, his gaze firm and fierce.
At that instance, time froze for Bell once more.
"A minotaur, how ironic, especially when you've inherited Asterios' powers too."
A male voice rang in Bell's mind, and the boy responded, "I guess it would be…."
Bell trailed off, and the voice spoke again, "This is your second fight with him, and we were very close to forming a contract when you first fought him. Unfortunately it didn't work out thanks to his howl."
The boy quickly remembered the time he had faced the abnormal minotaur, and he nodded, "Ah, so that's what it was…"
The voice spoke again, "And well, you were reaching out to me too just now, but Asterios cut us off. Rude by the way."
Asterios' voice whimpered from the back of his mind, "So…rry…"
The voice chuckled, "Anyway, I know this is not a fight to the death, but-"
Bell cut him off, "I know. But well, I still want to win."
The voice fell silent for a brief moment, before he laughed, "Alright, then I have nothing more to say. From this day onwards, I am thou…"
Bell's lips moved together, "And thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow."
As the boy started chanting, Asterius felt the change in the boy, and he knew what was about to come.
He didn't like it at all.
The minotaur swung his magic sword, sending a sphere of lightning at Bell, but the white haired rabbit skillfully used the Golden Eater to bat it aside.
"Thy body shall serve under mine will. Mine fate shall be thy sword."
Asterius growled and charged forward, swinging both axes at the boy, only for Bell to parry or dodge them.
"An oath shall be sworn. I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven. I shall dispose of all evil of Hell!"
The Golden Eater and nameless axe sliced through the air, slamming straight into Asterius' own two axes.
The minotaur growled as he reared his head in an attempt to throw the boy off, but instead he struck the two axes, sending Bell flying.
"If thou dost accede to this will and reason, then answer my call!"
Yet, Bell held strong as he continued his chant.
"Come forth from the rings of restraint, o' Protector of the Balances!"
The boy landed on the ground with a soft thud, "Over-Load: Theseus."
His aura exploded, forming a thick veil around him as the powers of the Greek hero filled his body.
Asterius stared on with slight awe as he felt the power radiating from the boy, and he found his grin widening.
The minotaur tightened his grip on his weapons and swung them with a deafening roar.
The swing sent a giant sphere of lightning magic at the boy, but Bell simply parried it with his own blast of lightning.
Bell let out a breath, "Let's end this, Asterius."
The black minotaur growled, "Very well."
Asterius let out another roar, before he slammed his weapons into the ground, kicking at the ground with his feet.
Bell, on the other hand, relaxed his stance as he swapped out both of his axes.
Instead, he now held a different axe and a ball of red thread. They were otherwise known as the Labrys of the Abyss and the Thread of Ariadne.
Bell took a deep breath as he widened his stance, "Set: Ariadne Apórrito Ádis."
Asterius roared as he broke into a dash, easily pulling his axes out of the ground as he blitzed towards the boy.
In response, the ball of thread in Bell's hands shot out into multiple threads.
In no time, they quickly danced around Asterius, forming a wide net.
But the minotaur ignored them, simply because the threads weren't blocking him from reaching Bell.
Little did he know, the threads were merely securing a path for Bell.
The Labrys glowed with a bright, almost blinding yellow light, as Bell tightened his grip on the axe.
Then, he broke into a charge.
Asterius gave out a mighty roar, and Bell responded in kind.
The pair quickly met in the middle of the chamber, surrounded by Ariandne's Threads.
Asterius reared his head and swung both of his axes at the same time, whilst Bell simply swung his Labrys down hard.
The moment their attacks met, the clash unleashed a giant shockwave that blew some of the Xenos away, whilst the adventurers did their best to stay on their feet.
Lefiya grunted as she pushed her wand against the ground, "W-what happened?!"
Ottar snorted, "It's over."
The shockwave ended as soon as it happened, and everyone focused their attention at the center of the chamber.
To the surprise of the Xenos, but not so much for the adventurers, Asterius laid on his back panting, whilst Bell stood before him, breathing heavily.
Gareth whistled, "By the gods, the lad beat that beast of a monster!"
Finn stayed silent, watching as the other Xenos all approached the pair, but also keeping an eye on Ais.
Asterius grunted as he slowly got up, "It is my loss, again."
Bell let the powers of the three Heroic Spirits leave his body, "Yeah."
The black minotaur grunted as he fell on his back again, "End it."
The boy raised an eyebrow, "Sorry?"
Asterius glanced at him, before opting to stare at the ceiling again, "I trained. And trained, and trained. I thought I was ahead, that I could defeat you, but you went further and beyond. There's nothing more for me."
The boy raised an eyebrow, "Do you really have to go that far?"
The black minotaur snorted, "Please. You weren't going all out, not even close. Compared to our fight before, you don't even look winded."
Bell sighed, "You're not wrong. I wasn't trying to kill you, after all."
He picked up Asterius' axes, and slowly walked towards the black minotaur.
The Xenos all looked with worry, and Rei yelled, "Bell! Wait-!"
To their surprise, the boy simply dropped them on Asterius' chest.
The black minotaur blinked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
Bell snorted, "You lost. The loser listens to the winner, right?"
Asterius furrowed his brow, "What are you saying?"
The boy smiled, "If Rei-san didn't make it obvious, the Xenos all care for you."
The black minotaur grunted as he got up again, and Bell continued, "Stay with them, protect them, and grow stronger with them."
The boy stared the minotaur in the eye, "I won't be able to stay with them as much. But you, you are strong. With you here, I can trust you to keep them safe."
Asterius studied the boy for a moment, before he snorted, "I see, I suppose you're right."
The black minotaur looked at the Xenos behind him, and he nodded, "Very well. I suppose I do not have the right to complain."
He spared Bell a look, "But next time, I will win, and it will be against every spirit you have on you."
The boy smiled, "I'll look forward to it."
With that said, Asterius walked towards the other Xenos, but before they left, Rei looked at Bell, "Bell, are you coming with us?"
Wiene quickly grabbed Bell's hands, "Come on, Bell!"
The white haired boy smiled gently at the vouivre, "Not yet, Wiene. You go on ahead with them, I'll find you when I'm done."
The vouivre pouted, "But I don't want to go without you!"
Bell chuckled, before he pointed at the Command Spells on her hands, "You still have this, remember? I'll come to you."
Wiene furrowed her brows, and the boy held onto her hands, "Wiene, do you trust me?"
The vouivre nodded, "I do."
Bell smiled, "Then can you trust me when I say I'll come find you after this?"
Wiene pouted, "Alright…"
The boy patted her on the back as he gently pushed her to rejoin the Xenos, who all quickly vanished into the corridors to look for Fels.
As soon as they were gone, Bell turned to the Loki Familia members and Ottar.
He took a deep breath and spoke, "So, what do you plan to do, Finn-san?"
The prum smiled dryly, "That's a pretty hard question you're throwing at me, you know? What with everything you've shown me so far."
Gareth snorted, "But ya've made up yer mind, haven't ya?"
Finn nodded, "I have."
He looked at Bell, "Bell-kun, before we get to the main part. I want to make a few things clear."
The boy raised an eyebrow, "Okay?"
Finn stared him in the eye, "Looking at this chamber, it's clear you are not at fault. It is the Ikelos Familia behind all of this. Once we get out of here, I will personally testify to your innocence in this matter."
Bell nodded, "I see, thank you."
The prum smiled lightly, "It is but the truth."
The boy asked again, "But you have more you want to say, don't you?"
Finn nodded, "The case in your clash against the Ikelos Familia, I can understand, and I must apologize for what happened."
His gaze turned hard, "But the matter with the Xenos, is something I cannot let go."
Bell let out a shallow breath, "I guess I should have seen it coming."
Finn continued, "Monsters with intelligence, I trust your judgement that they are friendly and mean no harm. But I cannot say the same for adventurers, what happened here is proof of that."
The boy narrowed his eyes, "So you mean to wipe them out because of that? From what you're saying, it's the adventurers that are wrong."
The prum nodded, "That's right. That's also why I want to settle this properly."
Bell frowned, "And what do you want to do?"
Finn pointed at him, "Simple, you and I are adventurers, people who seek to become heroes. There is no other way to settle this."
The boy quickly understood, "I see…"
The prum lowered his hand, "Well, that's what I would say before, but unfortunately, I'm sure I will anger the wrong person."
Finn glanced at Ottar, who simply nodded.
The shorter man sighed, "At any rate, I'm convinced now. Bell-kun, the Loki Familia will no longer go after the Xenos. Not that we actually started anyways."
Bell studied the older adventurer, before he asked, "So I can take this as a ceasefire, yes?"
Finn nodded, "That's right. An alliance or more would probably be a bit hard to swallow at the moment, but a ceasefire is definitely possible."
The younger hero hummed, "If the Xenos can move without worrying about the Loki Familia, I'll take it."
The older adventurer looked at Gareth, "I hope that is acceptable."
The dwarf snorted, "Hey, you're the boss."
Ottar blew through his nose, "Then I suppose that is settled."
Finn nodded, "We'll go find the others and head back to the surface. We have quite some work to do."
As they started heading out, Ais stood still in the chamber, her almost cold gaze trained on Bell's back.
The four males were already moving out of the chamber, and Lefiya asked, "Ais-san?"
The blonde didn't respond, and Lefiya walked closer, "Ais-san, are you okay? We're leaving."
Ais didn't move her gaze away from Bell, "... Okay, I'm coming."
With that said, the blonde quickly walked after the four adventurers, quickly moving past and leaving Lefiya behind.
The elf quickly chased after her, but she still looked at the blonde worriedly, "Ais-san…"
(Linebreak)
A few days later, everything had settled down.
Revis and a number of the Evilus remnants had escaped when Dix tried to bring down the floor.
Despite having more influence over Knossos, Bell couldn't find any of the Evilus remnants in Knossos at all.
The whole issue had been blamed on the Ikelos Familia, and the official released story was that the Ikelos Familia were a part of the Evilus and happened to target the Hestia Familia.
That fact easily placated most, if not all of Orario, on the matter with Bell killing members of the Ikelos Familia.
Finn and Loki had also come out and testified for Bell to the public, Ottar showing himself and agreeing also helped a lot.
Which led them to their current situation in Ouranos' chamber.
Bell, Hestia, Artemis, Ottar and Freya stood on one side, while Hermes, Loki, Asfi and Finn stood on the other.
The patron god of the Guild opened his eyes, "So, what is your answer?"
Loki sighed, "Not much of a choice you're giving me, eh?"
The redhead glanced at a side, "You've got Hestia, Artemis, Hermes and even bloody Freya of all people on board."
Loki glared at him, "And I know Hephaestus and Ganesha are in on this too."
Ouranos nodded, "That's right, but what we want to know is if you will cooperate."
The goddess of mischief grumbled, "I'll leave that to you, Finn."
The prum nodded, "Thank you, Loki."
Ouranos turned his attention to the shorter adventurer, "Braver, the prum who seeks to become a hero. Very well, let us hear your answer."
Finn met the god's gaze firmly, "For now, if we can guarantee the Xenos being friendly, then I am not blind to the potential benefits."
The god of the sky raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And what benefits do you speak of?"
The prum's gaze did not waver, "The Xenos have been traversing the dungeon for a while, potentially more so than we have. If things progress well, we may even have them as guides."
Ouranos hummed, "I suppose."
Hermes spoke up, "Mind if I butt in? How do you go about that though?"
Finn glanced at the god of messengers, "We mark them, or at least have them wear clothing that would be easy to identify. Or alternatively, have them gather drop items."
Ouranos nodded, "You have a fair point, and the latter one is already being done."
The god spoke up, "What do you think, Fels?"
The sage revealed himself from the shadows, "It is something to consider, I suppose. But it is still early."
Finn nodded, "Perhaps, but I believe this will help us reach the deeper floors faster. Even beyond the floors the Zeus and Hera Familias reached."
None of the gods reacted to his words, until Fels spoke up again, "I agree, if we can get adventurers and the Xenos to work together, it will benefit both sides heavily."
But before anyone could speak up, the sage stared Finn in the eye, "But you would do well to remember what transpired recently. I will not have the Xenos be put at risk again."
Everyone could hear the sage's displeasure, and Bell spoke up, "I feel the same way, Fels-san. Orario is not ready for the Xenos yet."
Everyone turned to Bell, and Artemis asked, "Bell?"
The boy looked at the gods around him, "But then, the majority of Orario doesn't know about the Xenos, right? The rumors about the armed monsters were all blamed on the Ikelos Familia, after all."
Hermes snorted, "That's the Guild's information division for you."
Asfi nudged him in the ribs, earning a silent wince.
Freya chuckled, "Hermes is not wrong, the existence of the Xenos, and even the public opinion on my dear Bell destroying the Ikelos Familia has settled down."
Ouranos nodded, "It is the least we could do. There was no way we could have Bell Cranel take that fall."
The white haired hero continued, "What I'm trying to say is we'll keep things as we have before, but that doesn't mean we can't slowly start more collaborations between us adventurers and the Xenos."
Bell looked at Ouranos, "Or am I wrong?"
The god of the sky breathed out deeply, "No, you are right. The Xenos do see you as one of their own, Bell Cranel."
Ouranos looked at Fels, "We'll have joint missions between the Xenos and select adventurers from the Familias present. Will that work?"
The sage sighed, "I suppose that is acceptable."
Fels nodded, "Very well. We will arrange for certain missions to be done together."
The sage looked at Ouranos, "That concludes everything we wanted to settle."
The god of the sky nodded, "Thank you, Fels."
Fels nodded, before he glanced at Bell, "Come down to the dungeon when you have time today, Wiene has been making a fuss the entire morning."
The boy smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, I know. She's been pinging me through the Command Spells."
The sage snorted, "I'll leave you to it then."
With that said, Fels vanished into the shadows, leaving the six gods and four adventurers.
After a short moment of silence, Ouranos spoke again, "That is all today. If you have no questions, you may leave."
Hermes grinned, "Excellent! Bell-kun! There's this skewer shop that-"
"Not you, Hermes. I would like to have a few words with you. Alone."
Ouranos cut him off, and the god of messengers deflated, "Alright."
Freya giggled, "How unfortunate. But regardless, we already have plans for afternoon tea, so I'm afraid you're a bit too late, Hermes."
The god sighed again, "Just my luck."
The goddess of beauty glanced at Loki, "You're still invited, Loki."
The redhead grumbled, "Alright, I'll come too."
Freya smiled, "Excellent, let us get going then."
The group quickly left the chamber, leaving Hermes, Asfi and Ouranos.
(Linebreak)
A short moment later, the goddesses were all in a room in a cafe, whilst Bell sat in a different one with Finn and Ottar.
The prum sighed, "Well, this turned out better than I thought."
Bell raised an eyebrow as he bit into a cookie, "Huh? Why?"
Finn chuckled, "When Loki dragged me along, I was expecting to have to stand guard with the two of you whilst they had tea. Didn't expect your goddess to have prepared another room for us, Ottar."
The boaz snorted, "Normally she wouldn't."
The prum glanced at Bell, "So, Bell-kun, do you have any plans moving forward?"
The boy swallowed the cookie, "What do you mean?"
Finn leaned into his chair, "I'm going to be honest with you. You've gone way past what a normal Level 3 can do. That black minotaur you fought? He was easily level 5, if not Level 6."
Bell quickly understood, "Ahh, I see."
The boy picked up a small cake, "I may have sort of cheated though. I had Asterios and Kintoki's powers, not to mention Theseus too. They all just happened to be compatible."
Finn chuckled, "Choosing the right set of skills to face a foe like that can hardly be called cheating. If anything, that's how it should be."
Ottar nodded, "Agreed."
Bell smiled, "I guess I'll take it then."
The prum took a sip from his cup of tea, "Back to where I was going with this, Bell-kun, have you thought of going on an expedition?"
The boy blinked, "An expedition?"
Finn nodded, "I believe your Familia is ready. And it doesn't have to be too deep, just the Lower Floors should be enough for now."
Bell hummed, "The Lower Floors…"
The prum took a bite from his cake, "Just an idea. You've had a lot going on recently already."
The boy gave him a dry smile, "Oh I'm sure you'd know why."
The pair laughed at that, and Ottar spoke, "If you do plan on actually going for the Lower Floors, you will have to be prepared, Bell."
Bell looked at him, "Is it that bad?"
The boaz shook his head, "No, you alone will be fine. But when you go, you will be with your Familia members as well."
Finn nodded, "That's right. You might remember, but going from the 10th floor onwards, the number and ferocity of the monsters are very different."
The boy folded his arms, "I see… I'll have to talk to Einaaa….oh shit."
Bell trailed off, as his face paled.
The two higher leveled adventurers looked at the younger boy curiously, and Finn asked, "What's wrong?"
The boy palmed his face, "I might have gotten a little heated and cynical to my advisor."
The prum blinked a few times, before he chuckled, "Surely she'd be okay if you explain everything."
Bell nodded, "Yeah, potentially."
He stood up, "I think I should go, to at least clear things up."
Ottar hummed and nodded, and Finn laughed softly, "Sure, go ahead."
Bell smiled, "Thank you, Finn-san, Ottar-san."
The boy went for the door, but before he could, Finn spoke up, "Bell-kun."
Bell glanced back, "Yeah?"
The prum stared at him firmly, before settling for a smile, "Good luck."
The boy blinked in slight confusion, before he nodded, "Oh, thanks."
Bell opened the door, "I'll be going then, see you two around!"
After a short moment of silence, Ottar spoke, "You wanted to say you won't lose, didn't you?"
Finn snorted as he bit into another cookie, "Now just what are you talking about? I just wanted to wish him luck with his advisor, that was all."
The boaz scoffed, before he took a piece of cake and started eating.
(Linebreak)
A short walk later, Bell was back at the Guild.
He stood in front of the counter, "Eina-san?"
The half-elf blinked in surprise when she saw him, "Bell-kun…"
Eina's lips thinned, having heard bits and bits, but she'd yet to actually speak to Bell personally.
The woman asked, "How can I help you today?"
The boy asked, "Can we talk? It's about that mission before and what happened recently?"
Eina paused, before she nodded, "Okay. Come with me."
A short while later, Bell had told Eina everything that had happened.
The half elf leaned back into her seat, "I… I see…"
Eina looked down at the desk, "So that's why…"
Bell nodded, "Again, I'm sorry for not talking to you before. But well…"
She understood now, why Bell had to keep everything a secret.
Eina took a deep breath, "Bell-kun, I get it. You had to make a choice, in case things go wrong."
The boy smiled dryly, "Well, things did go south, what with news of me killing the Ikelos Familia going around."
The half elf fell silent, before she spoke again, "I… you did it to protect the Xenos, I just wished the Guild would have acted quicker."
Bell chuckled, "It ended up well, I guess."
Eina nodded, before she asked, "Bell-kun, in the future… Can you talk to me about these things?"
The boy looked surprised, "Huh?"
The half elf pursed her lips, "I am your advisor, I want to help you, in any way possible. I know you have your own Familia and the Ishtar Familia, even the Loki and Freya Familia. But I just…"
Bell smiled softly, "Thank you, Eina-san. And look, I might be friends with the Loki and Freya Familias, but even then I can't say we will always see eye to eye. The matter with the Xenos and Ikelos Familia recently is proof of that."
Eina nodded, "That's true."
The half-elf let out a deep breath, "But still, thank you for telling me. I'm still annoyed, but at least I know now."
Bell sighed in relief, "That's good."
Eina smiled lightly, "Alright, I better get back to work."
The boy spoke up, "Oh, actually, I was hoping if you had time to help me with something."
The half elf raised an eyebrow, "Oh? What is it?"
Bell's smile strained, "Well, Finn-san suggested I try and tackle the Lower Floors, potentially even just the first two floors. Soo…."
He trailed off when he saw Eina's expression, "Umm, Eina-san?"
The young woman nodded, "I see, the Braver suggested it."
Eina massaged her temples, "Usually, no one would go for the Lower Floors so early… But whatever, I should really be used to this by now."
The half elf placed her stuff on the desk, "Alright, just give me a few minutes. I'll go grab the records."
Bell smiled, "Thank you, Eina-san."
Eina smiled in exasperation, "Seriously, you need to slow down, you'll give me a heart attack one of these days."
With that said, she went out of the room to grab her materials.
That day, the boy spent the day learning about the Lower Floors with the half elf.
XXX
That's done. That marks the end of the Xenos arc.
I'll make a start on the Ryuu arc very soon, but I have to rewatch the whole season first too.
So yeah, until then.
Read and review please.