What's up, boys? Here's a new chapter for you all and, of course, the reviews!
Temsem: Well, that's what happens to kids who disobey, right? Hope you enjoyed the interaction in Chapter 6, hehe.
NinjaFang: Thanks! ;) As for Rose, maybe I agree, maybe I don't, but hey, everyone does things for a reason, right?
Dman4869: Thanks for your reviews; they're much appreciated, man. Anyway, yeah, I wanted to create a more "ferocious" Bell while keeping his purity and innocence intact. I'll admit that with all the things I have planned for this story, that might be a bit tricky. As for Loki, Bell, and Aiz—well, we'll have to wait and see, won't we? I've also been thinking a lot about what Bell and Lefiya's interactions will be like, but I've got something interesting planned, so don't worry.
With all that said, this chapter is a bit shorter than the others because I wanted it to be more narrative-driven. I worked hard on every paragraph to describe and narrate everything so readers could connect with this version of Bell. I hope I managed to pull it off. Don't forget to leave your reviews, opinions or constructive criticism—they help me a lot. Enjoy the chapter!
Bell's suspicions were confirmed—something was chasing him. Or was he the one running away?
It didn't matter. Not in the slightest.
He sprinted as fast as his legs would carry him, but the labyrinthine layout of the fifth floor was merciless. Unfamiliar with its twists and turns, he found himself lost among the pale green corridors. His pursuer was relentless, the gap between them closing with every passing second. Behind him, he could hear the unmistakable scrape of a bladed weapon in hand, promising only death.
"MENTAL NOTE #1! STOP BEING SUCH AN IDIOT!" Bell screamed inwardly, the panic swelling inside him.
Maybe this was karma, he thought bitterly. He wanted to blame his cursed skill—its reckless influence, its maddening pull—but deep down, he knew better. His own naivety, his own choices, had led him here. Change felt like an impossible hope, but perhaps someday he… or maybe he just needed to learn how to live with it and dont give so much mind about it.
Shaking his head violently, he shoved the thought aside. This wasn't the time for self-reflection. He had bigger problems. Like the damn Minotaur bearing down on him.
His frantic escape ended abruptly as he skidded into a dead-end chamber. No time to think. No time to hesitate. With nowhere else to run, Bell turned to face the beast. His hands clenched into fists, trembling as he prepared to fight.
But the Minotaur had no intention of slowing down. Its massive body barreled forward, the sheer force of its charge rendering Bell's desperate stance meaningless. He barely had enough time to brace himself, crossing his arms in front of his chest in a futile attempt to block the impact.
It wasn't enough.
The beast's shoulder struck like a battering ram, hurling him backward with merciless force. His body slammed into the wall behind him, the stone cracking under the impact. Shards of rock flew in every direction as Bell collapsed face-first onto the ground. Pain exploded through his body, sharp and unrelenting, as he gasped for air, clutching his stomach tightly.
But there was no reprieve.
The ground trembled under the Minotaur's weight as it charged again, its monstrous roar echoing in the confined space. Bell didn't have time to recover. He rolled across the floor, just barely evading the deadly rush. The beast's horns buried themselves into the stone wall, leaving deep cracks in its wake.
Seeing an opportunity, Bell forced himself to act. He ignored the searing pain in his abdomen, leaping into the air with everything he had. Raising both fists above his head, he brought them down in a hammer blow, mimicking the move he'd used against the Killer Ant. This time, he put every ounce of strength, every shred of weight behind the attack.
And yet… nothing.
The Minotaur didn't even flinch. It felt as if Bell had struck a wall of unyielding steel. A deep, guttural laugh rumbled from the creature, its mocking tone sending a chill down Bell's spine.
"WHAT?! IT DID NOTHING?! NOTHING?!" His thoughts raced, panic setting in.
Before he could react, the Minotaur lashed out, swinging its massive arm in a brutal arc. The blow connected with his ribs, sending him flying once more. The world spun around him as he crashed to the ground, pain shooting through his side like lightning. Something was broken—he was certain of it—but the adrenaline coursing through his veins dulled the edges of his agony.
Bell rolled to a stop, coughing violently as he clutched his chest. His breaths came in ragged gasps, his vision blurring. The ground beneath him cracked slightly from the force of his fall, his armor clinking faintly as he struggled to move.
And then he felt it.
Vilja Einherjar surged to life within him, its power flaring without warning. Bell's body stiffened, his mind screaming in defiance.
"No… not now," he whispered, shaking his head. "Not now!"
But the skill ignored him. It didn't care about his fear, his pain, his desperate wish to run.
"I DON'T WANT THIS! PLEASE, DEACTIVATE!" Bell's plea was raw, directed at no one and everyone. A god? The force behind his skill? It didn't matter. No answer came.
His body betrayed him. When he tried to retreat, his legs moved forward instead. When he reached to clutch his broken ribs, his arm rose as if preparing to strike.
There was no escape.
The crushing reality pressed down on him: he wasn't strong enough. Not yet. He was weak.
With trembling hands, Bell forced himself into a fighting stance. His vision swam, the edges darkening. If not for Vilja Einherjar, he knew he'd already be unconscious.
And yet, here he stood.
Scared. Trapped. Alone.
But still standing.
The Minotaur launched a devastating punch with its free arm, an explosion of pure force that Bell barely managed to dodge. The air displaced by the blow violently shook his hair, a brutal reminder that a single direct impact would be fatal.
Taking advantage of that fleeting moment of proximity, Bell grabbed the monster's arm with all his strength. In a desperate move, he tried to break it by striking the elbow with precision. However, his effort was in vain; he lacked the strength needed to cause damage. The Minotaur barely reacted, letting out a guttural roar that echoed through the room, as if mocking his attempt.
In the blink of an eye, the Minotaur's massive hand caught Bell's with terrifying ease. Although the metal gauntlet prevented his hand from being crushed, the impact sent a sharp pain through his arm like an electric shock. Without mercy, the monster lifted him as if he weighed nothing and hurled him brutally toward one of the nearby walls.
Bell's body spun uncontrollably in the air, but his instincts allowed him to react. He adjusted his posture as he fell, orienting himself to minimize the damage. His back, protected by the armor, slammed into the wall, the impact reverberating forcefully through the room. Despite it all, he managed to reduce the damage enough to stay conscious, though stunned.
As he regained his breath, his eyes caught sight of the Minotaur preparing for its next move. The monster dropped its weapon to the ground and dropped onto all fours, tensing every muscle in its body like a spring ready to fire. Its posture was unmistakable: a savage charge, with the horns aimed directly at him, looking to pierce and tear him apart mercilessly.
A chill ran down Bell's spine. His instincts screamed that this charge was inevitable and lethal. A direct impact would mean his end, and dodging it was almost impossible with so little margin. However, his mind worked quickly, searching for a desperate solution.
With the wall still at his back, Bell took a defensive, tense but calculated stance. He placed both hands in front of him, preparing to absorb part of the force. His feet anchored firmly to the ground, and his armor made a metallic sound as it adjusted against the rock, ready to resist.
A second later, the Minotaur unleashed its fury. The charge hit like an uncontrolled storm, the monster's horns clashing against Bell's gauntlets in an explosion of force. The sound of the collision echoed throughout the room, accompanied by the impact's reverberations that made the ground tremble beneath his feet.
Bell managed to resist by sheer luck, thanks to his quick-thinking plan; the devastating force of the impact was distributed between his armor and the wall, not just on his poor arms.
The Minotaur, letting out slight guttural growls, tried to advance, but the wall and Bell's strength were holding it back.
Bell's legs were planted directly on the monster's chest, applying all the force they could muster despite the pain his body was feeling.
Sweat began to pour in waves, slipping down his forehead and soaking his skin, while the pain kept accumulating relentlessly, intensifying with every forced breath. The constant metallic screeching of his armor, pressed with growing force against the broken fragments of the wall behind him, echoed in his ears like incessant torture. Every small movement made the metal pieces shift with a creak, adding more strain to his already overwhelming situation.
His constant, heavy breathing, a result of the extreme effort in such a short time, caused sharp pain in his dry throat, accompanied by an intense sting, as if a nail were piercing his skin and embedding itself, going in and out of his flesh. His face contorted in pain and suffering, causing the sweat to constantly sting his eyes as it escaped from his forehead.
The Minotaur forced its legs, increasing the pressure, causing the wall behind Bell to begin to give way. It was thick enough not to collapse, but not strong enough for the boy to hold out much longer.
The Minotaur's horn began to slip from the grip of his metal gauntlet, slowly but steadily digging into his skin. The pain came swiftly, like a knife sinking into his abdomen, painfully slow. Bell, frustrated, defended himself clumsily and futilely. His strength, already depleted, was not enough to stop the power of the beast, which, in the Lycan's eyes, was unstoppable.
"Why won't it stop?!" was all Bell could think, feeling his consciousness fade as the horn began to tear through the flesh of his abdomen.
"Please, just fall, FALL ALREADY!" he screamed, but the voice came weakly from his now dry throat.
While his hand tried to stop the giant bull-like creature, his legs kicked at the monster's chest, constantly halting its advance. His armor was starting to crack under the constant pressure against the stone wall, and his free hand struck, tried to crush, pushed, and battered the Minotaur's head, but nothing seemed to affect it. Nothing seemed to hurt it… "NOTHING DOES ANYTHING TO IT!" he screamed, but this time only in his mind, as his body couldn't find the strength to distribute enough force without succumbing to the monster's charge.
His eyes began to close, his arms gave out, and his legs could no longer apply any more force. He was going to die because of someone else's negligence… and for accepting challenges he wasn't ready to face.
However, the suffering stopped. There was no more effort, and the pain threshold his body had been experiencing no longer increased.
His blurry vision caught a glimpse of blood pouring from the Minotaur's arm, along with a golden flash.
Then, his consciousness returned. He opened his eyes wide and emitted a confused sound, like a choked gasp, just like the beast in front of him.
"Huh?" the white-haired boy muttered.
"Grah!?" roared the beast.
Seconds later, the monster's head was severed as if it were a simple block of butter.
The Minotaur dissipated into black smoke, and its magic stone fell to the ground, causing the boy, who had been against the wall, to fall as well.
The Vilja Einherjar ability deactivated, but he remained conscious.
The pain returned, and Bell coughed, clutching his abdomen and ribs as blood poured from his wounds. His armor was broken, and his gloves were worn out.
"I'm sorry... I didn't make it in time..." said an almost angelic voice. Bell lifted his gaze and saw her.
It was Aiz… a woman saved him.
Clearly, that didn't hurt him; what hurt him was that she had to see him in such a pathetic state. He didn't know why, he should have been happy to be saved, but he wasn't.
Nervousness overtook his body. As if everything that had just happened had disappeared from his mind, he got up, but the pain transmitted unbearably through his wounds.
Still, he moved forward.
"Aiz-san! T-thank you...!" he managed to say, before coughing. "But... I have to go—"
However, in his second attempt, he couldn't finish the sentence, as he coughed again, this time with blood that poured from his scratched throat.
A hand stopped him, forcing him to sit down. Bell felt that, in terms of pure brute strength, she was much stronger than the Minotaur.
"Don't call me that... and no, you can't. Why are you running?" the blonde said, looking at him intently.
"I…" He didn't want to admit it. He felt weak, he didn't want the girl who had captured his gaze at first sight to see him like this.
He only raised his gaze, trying to breathe, but the suffering was evident even in that simple effort.
His ability was no longer active, and now, without the adrenaline that at least dulled the pain, he felt every blow painfully.
He only managed to see the blonde, worried, saying his name, followed by "Are you okay?" before his consciousness faded.
At least he was in safe hands… at least he was rescued; a feeling that hurt him more than the beating he had just taken.