The Fallen Argonaut
Rated; M (Blood/Gore)
Disclaimer; I do not own Danmachi or anything created by the author Fujino Ōmori, all rights go to him
Authors: Eli-er01 & ViceroyChalister
Patreon: Elier01
Summary: The will of a hero is strong, yet unwavering but all good things must come to an end, even at the cost of one's Heroic Will. Imprisoned and blamed for a crime he hadn't committed, Bell seeks a way out of his predicament so that he can live without fear of being hunted by the people he once looked up to.
1: The Fall of a Hero
Normal POV
=Orario, Streets=
Everything for Bell Cranel had gone to hell. He felt the glares burrow holes into the back of his head, the snickers and whispers focused on his actions a day ago.
Ever since he took his stance as a fool, a hypocrite, his life has taken a huge leap backwards, completely alienating him from everyone except for his own familia… even Ais.
With his head hung low, he was heading back towards the Hearth Mansion that was only a minute walk away from the groceries store.
His head was wrapping around the encounter he had just had with the Orphaned children. How they had completely pushed him away, screaming and frowning at him.
Bell flinched as yet another verbal jab was thrown his way in the form of a whisper
"Isn't that the Little Rookie? Didn't he defend a monster?" One said with a venomous voice
"Yeah, he must have a monster fetish or something" Another replied with a click of his tounge at the end, making Bell flinch again.
"Can't believe we ever trusted him" That stung the most. Bell cared more than he let out about how the public sees him.
He sprung forward on his feet, sprinting as fast as they would allow him, trying with all of his might to get away from all the pain.
He could feel tears threatening to leak, pushing with all their might to be released. No matter how much he hears their verbal jabs, they always cut him to the core, forming a clog in his throat, making it hard to breath.
Once he reached the manor, he closed the door and leaned on it before gliding down into a sitting position.
One of his hands rose up to his face, realising that he was hyperventilating, altough not from the running.
After a few seconds, small whimpers started coming from his throat, attracting the attention of a certain goddess who happened to walk by. She peeked down from the top of the stairs, quickly spotting the collapsed Bell, whimpering and looking almost pathetic.
She quickly sprinted down the stairs, worried beyond what she thought possible.
"Bell-kun! What's wrong?" Bell looked up with wide eyes, frantically looking around for ways of escape. He didn't want his goddess to see him like this, looking like he was broken, but to no avail.
"Bell-kun… What happened out there?" She asked calmly with a small and worried voice that made Bell feel bad.
"They… Everything they say… it just hurts… it hurts so much…" He whimpered trying to withhold his tears.
"It's alright Bell-kun. No matter what happens, I am always here for you. I think that goes for the rest of the familia too" Bell nodded, still trying to keep the tears at bay
"I met the children… the ones at the orphanage" Hestia flinched at that. She had been there a day earlier and overheard them saying some nasty things about Bell. She just hoped that they sugar coated it.
"What did they say?" She asked. Bell's voice hitched at the question as he closed his eyes, flinching.
"That I was nothing to them…" He whispered, almost so quiet that Hestia did not hear it, but she did, whether she wanted to or not. Frowning, she almost stormed out of the manor to have a stern talking to with those kids. Bell had been close to the children, always playing with them, being there for them and generally acting like a big brother. For him to lose that...
"Things just keep getting worse…" Hestia hissed out. Bell didn't hear it since he was focusing everything on keeping his composure. The blue eyes goddess looked at Bell as her face fell slightly, softening expressions from her angry one at the sight. He really looked miserable, ready to cry.
"Bell, you know that you don't have to hold your emotions in with me right? I am your goddess, someone you should be able to talk to, share things with, so please. If you need to cry, then don't be afraid to do it. I won't judge" Bell couldn't hold it anymore as the dam broke, tears flowing down his face.
Hestia hugged Bell with all of her might as he reluctantly wrapped his arms around her lithe body, clenching on her dress as if his life depended on it.
She frowned as all she could feel was sadness for the pain Bell was going through, and borderline hatred for the rest of Orario for being responsible for that pain.
It didn't take long until she guided him towards one of the closest rooms with a sofa, wanting to be more comfortable instead of sitting on the ground. They stayed like that for what felt like hours but it was only a few short minutes before the doors opened, gasps resounding throughout the room.
""Bell-sama!""
"Bell"
"Bell-dono!" The familiar voices of his friends could be heard as he looked up with puffy eyes. There were his friends, the only people he could lean on at the moment if he so desired it.
"Everyone…" Bell whispered before forcing himself up, forcing his feelings down.
"Bell… Are you alright man?" Welf asked anxiously. Bell began a nod but stopped half way, making it look like he was contemplating it.
"No… But I think I will be with time. As long as I have everyone" smiles spread across the faces of his familia.
"Don't worry, we are here for you, we just have to wait all of this out. Eventually everyone will forget most of it Bell-sama" Lili said with a smile as she walked up to him and grabbed his hand with both of hers.
"Thanks Lili...Everyone" Bell responded with a smile before he went out into the backyard with his weapon of choice, that being his prized knife. He didn't have his Ushiwakamarunishiki since he lost it in the Knossos, but he at least had the spare one made from the smaller half of the Minotaur horn, the Ushiwakamaru.
He closed his eyes, and imagined the toughest opponent he can imagine. The image of Ais came before him, standing in a battle position. His many training sessions with her has allowed him to memorize her fighting style, allowing him to have a phantom battle with her in his mind.
It may not be perfect, but it's still good enough to pose a challenge, and allow himself to improve and memorize new techniques that help him in his time of need.
As Bell took his stance, eyes still closed, The Phantom Ais sprung forward like a missile. Already right in front of him, Bell leaned back, narrowly avoiding her blade, before doing a backflip and jumping further back to create distance.
Once he landed, he ran straight back with all his might, jumping over her blade before using his feet to try to kick her in the face, but missing as she dodged.
The look on Ais' face when I protected Wiene
Bell flinched at the thought, almost getting himself slashed by The Phantom Ais, but dodging, but not without feeling the blade run across his skin in his mind.
'That was close' He thought, as he continued training, dodging, counterattacking, parrying etc.
'If a monster makes someone cry, I will cut them down'
'You are nothing to us!'
Bell flinched again at the comments from his idol and the orphaned children. The flinch hit harder this time, allowing Phantom Ais to pierce his heart with her blade, making him slump to the floor, sighing and putting a hand on his face, anguish clear on it.
"Guess this isn't a good time to train, huh. I'm really pathetic, aren't I?" Bell asked in a self deprecating voice.
He breathed in and out, slowly but surely to calm his nerves
*Slap* 'I don't believe it'
'I could never believe that!'
Bell calmed down. The feeling of Eina crying yet hugging him with so much care calmed him down as his eyes softened as tears started leaking.
'At least I have someone outside my familia' He thought as he just sat there as the rest of the Familia looked down from the balcony.
"Should we really leave Bell-dono like that?" Mikoto asked with worry.
"There isn't much else we can do. We have given him reassurance that he has people on his side, people who trust him. That is all we can do, the rest is up to him" Hestia said, having one of her rare moments of maturity which showcased her real age.
Welf nodded as he grimaced at seeing his best friend crying to himself
"Yeah, but it doesn't mean it hurts less to see him like this" He said, gaining nods from the others.
"How… How about we go in and make some food? Bell-sama would appreciate that" Haruhime asked as the others nodded after a second, knowing how much a good meal can improve ones mood. Deciding it was worth a try, they all began piling inside balcony's doorway.
Hestia peeked backwards towards Bell with worry, not wanting to leave him there, but knowing that nothing would help.
"Bell… Please… Please, you have to get through this" She whispered to no one in particular before following the others to the kitchen.
=The Twilight Manor=
"What the hell was that bunny brat thinking standing in front of that monster!?" Bete complained as he smashed the wall to his left.
"Guys, he must have had a reason for doing it, right?" Tiona tried to support Bell but none would have it
"Yeah, because the damn kid has a monster fetish!" Tione lashed out, furious at the boy.
"It makes no sense… The boy we saw there was not the Bell Cranel I know. He seemed… Conflicted somehow" Finn said with a thoughtful expression sitting in his chair.
The room was filled with every member of the familia that was level 5 or above alongside their goddess, Loki.
"You're right, the kid always had some spunk in 'im, but he was different there. He looked distraught about something" Gareth said, getting a nod from Riveria.
"Indeed, What do you think Ais? You're awfully quiet and you know the boy the best" Riveria pointed a glance in Ais' direction. She looked away before opening her mouth
"He… He was different. The way he looked at us… at me was… It was almost as if everything in front of him shattered into pieces" She said quietly, contemplating something.
"Do you have any idea why he might have acted so differently?" Ais pondered the question for a moment before a certain encounter with the boy came to the mind.
"I did encounter him a couple of days ago at the base floor of the dungeon" This intrigued Finn
"Why say this all of a sudden? Did he act differently?" Ais nodded at his question
"Yes, he seemed… depressed, put down. Nothing like the person I knew him as. He asked me a question that startled me" Finn nodded and motioned for her to continue. By now, what she was saying had caught the attention of everyone, even Bete.
"He asked me 'If monsters had a reason to live, if they had emotions that were no different from ours, what would I do?" Finn's eyes widened at the question. It was a question that went against everything they knew about blasted creatures.
"Could it be… Has he encountered a monster that… possesses those qualities?" Finn asked, mainly towards Riveria.
"It seems possible. It would explain his inner turmoil and the way he protected that monster… was it a harpy?"
"Hmm, I can't quite say. It was without a doubt a rare one. That's besides the point, if Bell Cranel has encountered a monster that possesses emotions and intelligence, then that would be critical information that he is sitting on" Everyone nodded
"Do not interact with Bell Cranel unless necessary and look for any, and all signs of intelligent monsters" Everyone nodded again, memorizing the order before leaving.
Finn slumped back in his chair with Riveria and Gareth in theirs respectively. He looked up only to notice that Ais was frozen at the door, clearly wanting to ask something.
"What's wrong Ais?" He asked
"If Bell has encountered such a monster… What would happen to him?" Finn contemplated it before sighing.
"Well… since he is sitting on such important information without sharing, as well as his actions resulted in a large number of deaths and critical injuries to civilians, he would most likely be detained and tried for attempted murder" Ais flinched at that before steeling herself.
"Okay" She simply said before leaving, but only for the others to notice that her eyes seemed darker than before. Almost as if the Black flame was raging stronger than ever.
=Hearth Mansion, Next day=
"Bell, we found an easy request outside of Orario that pays well, and because it's outside the city limits, recent events won't stop you from coming!" Bell perked up from his food, eyes lighting up slightly towards Welf's news
"What's the request?"
"A village is experiencing monster troubles. It's kind of far away so it will take a day or two to get there, but we can have Hestia and ask some of the Takemikazuchi familias children to guard the mansion while we are gone" Bell thought for a second before nodding.
"Yeah, I could really use the getaway" The others who had carefully kept track of the conversation lit up with enthusiasm at hearing his answer. Hestia stood up immediately as she opened her mouth.
"I will go and ask Take for some help! You can all prepare to leave… oh, and have fun!" She left faster than seemed possible before the others engaged in idle chatter.
After they finished eating, they got ready before heading out towards the gates of Orario after quickly picking up the quest with some adventurers glaring daggers at Bell.
Once they were at the gate, they hired a carriage to take them to the village north west of Orario.
As the carriage moved towards its destination, Bell couldn't get rid of the bad feeling that had sunk into his gut. His back stung a little but he ignored it as he decided to follow the conversation everyone else was having.
"What's the village called again?" Welf asked Lili who had found and picked the quest.
"Oh, the village is called Anfesera. It's a village right outside 'The forest of the damned' hence the reason it's so far away" A shirek could be heard from Mikoto and Haruhime at the mention of that particular location.
"FOREST OF THE DAMNED!? Why the hell are we going there!?" Welf exclaimed as Bell became confused
"Ehh… Guys? What's the 'Forest of the damned'?" He asked curiously as Welf just looked gobsmacked at his best friend's lack of knowledge.
"You seriously never heard of it? It popped up 15 years ago after the one eyed dragon left it's resting place in that forest. Apparently, the forest spawns monsters like it's an extra limb of the dungeon. Though these monsters only get to a maximum of level 2 monsters with the strongest being a minotaur, it's still a death sentence for anyone that's under level 2" Bell nodded at that
"So basically, it's like a dungeon floor, but on the surface and with a wide variety of monster strength spawning there, not limited to one level?" Everyone nodded at Bell as he seemed to have understood the general idea of the entire monster forest thing.
"But why would a village be built outside of the forest? Isn't that really dangerous?" Lili nodded
"Lili agrees, but that village is only for people who want to fight monsters. The people there are those that don't want the gods blessing, but need stronger enemies to polish their skills. It's basically a warrior village, but for them to ask for help. Wonder what has happened?" Lili pondered before looking down on the parchment where the request was written down.
"Wait, doesn't it say on the request?" Welf asked irritating Lili
"Lili already knows that! Lili is checking the parchment now!" The two started bickering as Bell chuckled and leaned back and tried to force the burning on his back to stop.
It has been nagging him for some time now and it's really starting to get on his nerves. He reached back to trace where the pain was but before he could do that-
"Bell-sama, is something wrong?" He lowered his head to look straight into Haruhimes eyes, looking worridley at him.
"Heh, Yes Haruhime, I'm alright. My back is just itching, that's all" She seemed skeptical at that
"It seems to be more than a simple itch Bell-sama. You've flinched a lot in the last hour or two" Bell closed his eyes and flinched loudly, making Lili and Welf stop their bickering to look at Bell, as well as Mikoto paying more attention.
"It's just… I've just had a bad feeling both in by gut and my back" Welf chuckled at him.
"Come on man, chill out. We took this request to get a break so let's enjoy it" Bell smiled before nodding
"Right!"
Conversation started up once again, as hours started passing by. Eventually, they stopped to set up camp near a river, Bell and Lili went hunting for food, catching a deer and a rabbit ironically. During all this time, the pain on his back only got worse.
=Somewhere outside Orario=
"And he screamed 'FIREBOLT!' for the last time before the Minotaur exploded!" Lili exclaimed as she finished her story of Bell's first adventure.
"Damn man, that sounds like it was an awesome fight" Bell praised as he wrapped one arm around Bell's shoulders.
"Yeah, most of it is a blur for me since I was kinda out of it. I barely remember how I moved, the only thought in my mind was to achieve victory, to defeat the roadblock in front of me. My body did the rest" Welf laughed as Bell chuckled slightly before wincing.
The pain was getting utterly unbearable. The steadily growing pain had gotten so intense that he was flinching more often that he was not. After Welf had stopped laughing, Bell carefully got out of his hold and rose up
"Sorry guys, I'm getting kind of tired so I'm tucking in for the night" Everyone nodded and gave him their wish for a good night. He entered his tent and got his sleeping bag ready.
He really needed some sleep to get his mind off of this damn pain. Once he laid down and closed his eyes, he tried his best not to think of the Xenos, how he had sacrificed his reputation for them. Not that he regrets it, they were asking for help. Pleading for it, there was no way he wasn't going to answer.
But the thing Fels said to him at the end
'I to whom only bones and regrets remain, I say this to you. Be a fool.'
His message was clear, It's better to be a fool because only they have the qualities of being a hero. Being a Hero is the act of being foolish, because most people see foolishness as risking their lives for something they won't gain anything, which is exactly what a hero does.
Only a fool risks their life for someone with nothing to give in return
Bell smiled slightly at that thought, knowing that would mean he was a hero. He quickly flinched as the pain lingering on his back got to him
"Ah, this feels nice" He heard Welf behind him. Bell hadn't even noticed him enter. Guess they were going to sleep.
Quickly the camp quieted down to the point of the only noise one could hear was nature around them and the occasional carriage that was traveling during the night.
Minutes felt like hours to Bell as the pain seemed to have a never ending fuel source.
At that exact thought, the pain multiplied to an explosive degree. He sprung up and grabbed the source of the pain on his back, quickly realising with a surge of fear.
It's coming from his Luck
This started when he left Orario, so it's obviously a warning of something inside Orario. Is it warning of the public's bad view of him?
At the thought, the ability surged with a quick but sharp wave of pain that told Bell he was wrong. He could swear the ability had a damn mind of its own sometimes.
Bell kept running through scenario after scenario, trying to find something that lessened the pain.
Hestia is in danger?
He thought in a questioning manner as the pain on his back nearly disappeared at the thought. His heart dropped, before completely stopping for but a second. The next, he sprung up and grabbed his armor and blades as quick as possible before leaving the tent. He looked around, finding the carriage, but deciding on leaving it since he would be faster on foot and the driver needed it. He quickly and messily wrote a note, telling everyone where he went before he took off like a rocket towards Orario.
He ran, and ran, and ran. Faster than he thought he could as his legs wouldn't stop moving no matter how much it hurt, not that he wanted them to. It would take around one to two hours to reach Orario at this speed. Bell just hoped he would be fast enough.
I really am a fool
=Orario, Hearth Mansion=
Hestia was making some food for herself, being used to making Jagamarukun, she had made a whole stack of them for the guests that should arrive in an hour or so. Takemikazuchi would lend his captain and Chigusa for the night as guards so they have already slept early to be able to stay up all night.
As she was putting the jagamarukuns onto the table, she heard a loud crack coming from the front door. She sighed, thinking that Ouka and Chigusa were early, and had knocked a little too hard, she headed out to investigate. As she reached the main door, she groaned.
"Ouka! Chigusa! Why the hell did you break the door?" She screamed out as she walked up to it.
"Who said it was them?" She snapped her head around at the gruff voice, and for a split second saw a man with goggles on his head, Black hair, red bloodshot eyes and a missing arm that looked recently cut off before the back end of a spear hit her in the head, making the entire world go black
=Orario's gates, 1 hour later=
Bell was stopped at the gates of Orario as the guards recognized him, blocking his path and glaring daggers at him.
"Why should we let in a traitor like you?" Bell flinched before strengthening his resolve. This is no time to succumb to the ridicule.
"My goddess is in danger right now! Do you want to be responsible for the death of her?" he practically screamed as they laughed
"Oh, and how would you know that? Weren't you too busy having fun with your monsters?" Bell's face started going red like a tomato in fury and gained the urge to lash out before-
*BOOM*
The ground shook for a second, throwing the guards off balance and onto the ground. Bell peeked up towards the noise of the explosion, only to see a large mass of smoke rising.
Rising from his home's direction
Bell panicked, running forward with all of his might towards his home, ignoring all the people that glared daggers at him, or even blaming him for the event.
Once he reached his home, he froze. The mansion that he had come to love and adore as his home… it was lit up in flames, the left half where all of their belongings had been blown to smithers.
"KAMI-SAMA!" he howled in worry as he jumped over the gate, rushing towards the building. He was mentally scolding his magic for not being a water type right now before rushing inside the building.
"KAMI-SAMA! WHERE ARE YOU!?" He screamed, hoping to hear her voice somewhere, even if it was just a groan.
Bell ran forward, through the building that was on fire, looking everywhere. In the kitchen, he found some freshly made jagamarukun, making his eyes wet slightly before ignoring it and looking somewhere else.
Eventually, when he entered the meeting room. He found her, bleeding from the top of her head, and tied to a chair.
He ran forward trying to free her, before he was hit on top of his head from behind and injected with something.
He looked to his arm before behind him, only to see a familiar face of someone he had recently fought, and believed dead.
"Dix…" Was Bell's last words before he passed out, the last sight being the man grinning like a mad man.
=Daedalus Street, Unknown building=
"Ughhh… Kami-sama" A groan escaped out of Bell's mouth. His head felt like someone had thrown the damn goliath on it.
"Be…Wak…" A faint voice entered his ears. He tried to move but quickly realised that his body wouldn't respond. The most he could get was a tiny nearly unnoticeable twitch.
"Bell...Wak...up!" The voice became clearer. He could recognize the sound of it but couldn't exactly place who it was. Everything was so groggy, he was so tired.
"Bell-kun, Wake up! Please!" His senses started to finally return to full, his body reacting more prominently than a few seconds ago. He raised his head slowly from the slumped up position, peering around himself to take in where he was.
He couldn't recognize anything around himself, the room was dull and disgusting. Leftover food was thrown in the corner, stains littered the walls and the smell of shit was too prominent in the air. Where the hell was he? How did he get here?
"Bell-kun! Look at me! Are you alright?" Bell looked up at the voice to see his goddess, tied up, dress ruined, blood dripping from her head and a slap mark on her cheek.
"Kami-sama… What happened to you?" Bell asked groggily, looking at her with sleepy but concerned eyes.
"Don't worry about that, we need to get out of here. These men really want you dead!" At that, everything hit Bell like a truck. The Xenos, the ridicule, the request… and Dix!
"Dix… That… That asshole! He was alive" Bell exclaimed with a gasp.
"Wow, you really dislike that guy don't you?" Hestia commented, eyes widened slightly at the curse. Bell nodded as he looked around before turning his gaze upwards to where his hands were tied in some kind of cuff he has never seen before. They were glowing red, almost as if it was a magic item there.
Bell ignored it and aimed his hands towards the wall with some surprising dexterity before
"Firebolt" He said… but nothing.
"Huh? FIREBOLT!" Still nothing. He was about to try again before the door opened, revealing the man himself, Dix.
"You can stop trying that. That gem is a magic item that locks any and all magic, no matter the type" Dix pulled a chair from the corner, positioning it to the side of Bell and Hestia before taking a seat. He looked down before looking up at Bell with a grim expression
"I gotta say Little Rookie, I'm astonished with your accomplishments. You have single handedly screwed over my entire operation that was years in the making within a couple of days" He said as fury took over his face.
"An operation that has taken nearly half my life to get to the point that it was at! And you FUCKING RUINED IT ALL!" He screamed as he rose and kicked Bell in the face, sending him flying into the wall at the opposite side of the room, ripping the chain that was attached to his cuff out of the wall.
"BELL-KUN!"
"Damn, gotta keep my cool. Don't want you to die too quickly, now do we? That would ruin all the fun"
Bell peeked up at Dix, his jaw slightly dislocated before he used his cuffed hands to pull it into place.
"You're insane Dix. You do realise that you not only kidnapped a goddess and her familias captain, but you also blew up our mansion! The entire city will be looking for us, turning it upside down" Dix smiled.
"Don't worry, I don't plan to live much longer, after all, this wound" he pointed towards his arm "And this" He lifted his shirt to reveal his chest caved in from the colossal punch Bell gave him in the knossos "have made sure I'm going to die" He walked up to Hestia and grabbed her chin before making her look at him.
"And I intend to repay you, and your goddess for that" He threw her face roughly to the side, rewarded by a yelp from her.
"Why do you have to drag her into this?" Bell asked angrily
"Oh, just torturing you and killing you wouldn't be fun. I got to make sure you suffer in every way possible, physically, and psychologically. BOYS!" The door to the room opened, revealing another 6 men that Bell didn't recognize.
"Beat the shit out of the kid. As for the goddess… do as you please with her" he finished before walking to the side of the room with a smirk as he looked at Bell's frightened eyes.
Bell forced himself up and stood in front of Hestia, intending to guard her. One man sent a punch towards Bell, who dodged and kicked him in the face before another grabbed his hands and forced them up above his head. A third man grabbed his legs and held them in place, locking him on the wall, open for any and all attacks.
"Now this will be fun…hehe" one man said as he grabbed a pipe from the ground before smashing it into Bell's gut, making him lose his breath, unable to scream in pain.
The man didn't let up as he continuously, and brutally hit him over and over, not stopping for a single second
"It's fun, ain't it Little Rookie. It sure is for me!" Dix exclaimed before laughing
"Oy, why aren't any of you boys doing anything to goddess Hestia? She's up for the taking!" The 3 free men chuckled at that before making cooing noises, before closing in on Hestia, who tried to squirm away, screaming for them to stay back.
Bell saw this and tried his best to get free. His strength as a level 3 made sure he got free of the man's grip, grabbing the pipe before it hit him and yanking it out of the man's grip. Using it as a weapon, he managed to create an opening by smashing it into one of the guys head, before rushing towards his goddess.
He jumped and kicked one of the 3 men surrounding her before hitting the other 2 on the head hard enough to knock them out.
Before he could continue, his face hit the floor with a loud crack as he peeked up in his peripheral view, seeing Dix smiling down at him.
"Now, now, be a good boy and watch them use her" Bell's eyes widened as Hestia's screams started again.
"NOO! STOP!" She screamed as one man started groping her breasts and fondling them hard.
Another forced her legs to spread open wide as he started working to get rid of her undergarments.
Bell struggled as hard as he could, he couldn't fathom what was happening before his eyes, he couldn't let this happen. It was his job to protect his goddess.
As they continued the last man grabbed her face, licking her face as she screamed again, which the man shut up by forcefully kissing her.
Bell broke, a loud ringing started emanating all around them, loud enough for the room to shake.
Dix looked around before looking down, noticing that Bell had glowing particles around him.
"Oy, how the hell are you using magic? That item blocks all and any magic!" He exclaimed, reaching to knock him out.
"GET THE HELL OFF ME!" Bell screamed at the top of his lungs as he sprung up hard, sending dix through the roof and a shockwave around him knocking everyone into the wall, including Hestia.
The cuffs broke with the force exerted, allowing Bell to move. His vision had gone completely red, the only thing that mattered in front of him, protecting his goddess, no matter what.
One man pulled a sword and went to slash at Bell, whom simply dodged around him and grabbed the side of his head and with as much force as he could muster, he snapped it so hard, his head was flipped around, looking backwards as the man's eyes went up into his skull before collapsing.
"He.. HE FUCKING KILLED DRAKE!" Another man screamed as Bell took up the sword. The door smashed open, revealing a multitude of other remaining Ikelos familia members within the building.
The thugs rushed Bell, trying to hit him with anything they've got, but Bell's speed was just too much. He kept dodging, cutting and slicing them to pieces. One fell after another as blood was painted on the ground, walls and over Bell's entire body.
Hestia who had gotten out of the broken chair looked in horror at what Bell was doing.
"BELL-KUN, STOP!" she screamed, but it fell on deaf ears. He just continued to hit them as his hand started glowing again. To Bell, there was no holding back, if he did, then his goddess would be sent back to heaven, or suffer a worse fate worse than death.
"THIS KID IS A GODDAMN MONSTER!" One of them screamed
He pushed through them, nearly relishing the feeling of their flesh being cut by his blade, the blood splattered on his face.
Once his charge had reached a minute and a half, he aimed his arm forward and screamed
"FIREBOLT!" The flames swallowed everyone as screams could be heard before a large explosion was heard, the building completely caved in on them.
After the rumbling of falling debris stopped, Bell pushed debris off of him before looking around, before looking at his hands.
He started shaking as he realised what he had done. He slowly looked around, seeing arms, legs, bodies, even a couple of heads laying around. The scene was that of a nightmare.
"Bell…" He heard the small voice of Hestia. Bell turned around only to see Dix, bleeding all over and looking like a corpse walking, holding a blade to Hestia's throat.
"Heh, well done… but I win" Was all he said before his arm started moving.
The world stopped for Bell, his legs sprung forwards as his arm stretched out towards Hestia.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" He screamed as Blood was spewed all over the debris to the side, Hestia falling limp to the floor as Dix laughed before Bell, who grabbed the knife in Dix's hand and forced it into his heart, making him cough up blood before addressing Bell.
"Have fun with the curse… Little Rookie" He said with a wink, before closing his eyes, falling backwards, lifeless.
Bell's eyes widened before he turned around to Hestia, slowly moving towards her limp body before it became surrounded by light as he felt the blessing on his back disappear.
The light of a god returning to heaven was released, the rules of Gekai had been broken, Hestia's arcanum had been used to try to heal her, but something was off. The light towards the heavens was… flickering, twitching from side to side before it stopped.
Bell looked horrible, his entire body was drenched in blood, shaking in disbelief of what had just occurred. His status completely left him as he felt heavier than he had ever remembered feeling. Like a mountain had been put on his shoulder. He stared up into the sky, tears in his eyes before a voice came from behind him
"Argonaut-kun?" He heard as he froze, the only person who called him that was…
"Bell…?" Bell's heart stopped. Trying to force her to disappear, the newly arrivals walked past Bell, giving him a clear view of who they were
The Loki Familia
He felt hands grip his arms before putting them on his back before something metallic was put on his wrist.
"I'm sorry , but with your recent action when monsters attacked the surface and now this, you are under arrest for serial-murder and endangering the populus… alongside potential murder of a goddess" he heard Finn Deimes voice
"WHAT!? I DIDN'T KILL HER!" Bell screamed. For the third time this night, he was hit hard on the head, knocking him out. The last thing he saw… was a disappointed, and sad look on Ais' face
=Loki Familia Cellars=
"Are you one hundred percent sure? If we are just a little off here, we will be sentencing an innocent boy to lifetime in the worst jail known to man!" A young half elf guild advisor asked the Loki familia captain.
"Indeed, we arrived on the scene and found surrounded by corpses and dismembered body parts covered in blood and holding a knife which the circumference matches that of the cut on her throat" Eina sighed
"I just don't see his motive. Why would he kill his own goddess within a building that's owned by a foreign familia? It just doesn't add up" Finn nodded at the statement as that much was true
"Indeed, but as you should know better than me, the public is in outrage. They want him gone, forever and if we don't do something soon, they will soon start screaming for his head. They would already be doing that if we hadn't managed to hide the fact that Hestia perished there and came up with a cover story" Eina flinched at that, she didn't want to see Bell die and what 'Braver' said was very true. This entire morning the guild office had been jam packed with civilians and adventurers alike demanding to know when The Little Rookie would be sentenced.
Finn walked to the side and opened a side drawer, pulling out a paper, neatly packed and put into a classification.
"Is this…" Finn nodded at her unfinished question
"Indeed. It is the finished paper on Bell Cranel's sentence. Lifetime in Kauhea Forbande, and forced labor while inside the prison. Don't worry, this is a very light punishment for the accused crimes. Normally a person would be sentenced to death but because of the cover story, we managed to lighten it up a lot" Eina sighed heavily
"Fine, Bell will serve life in Kauhea Forbande and do forced labor there. It's only a little better than execution" She gave up reluctantly before finally leaving, heading towards the guild office to give the announcement of Bell Cranels sentence to jail for life.
=Far outside Orario=
"Ugh… Why do I keep waking up like this?" Bell asked no one in particular as he tried to move only to realise he was cuffed again.
"Seriously? What the hell happened now?" his question was answered by someone, making him jump in surprise
"Sentenced to life, Little Rookie" Bell looked up to see 4 men, armed to the teeth with armor that looked like it was made of adamantium.
"What do you mean?" He had been sentenced to life without his knowing?
"Don't act like you don't know. You killed an entire familia, Loki's children even caught you in the act" Bell was flabbergasted, he was only protecting himself, although quite violently, but still self-defence.
"Hey, they attacked me and my goddess," Bell said, having the entire ordeal was quite hazy.
"You mean goddess Hestia that mysteriously perished? Yeah, don't believe ya"
'Perished? What...No… did I… Fail?' Bell thought as his face fell, looking down on the ground as his world shattered. Memories of the Loki familia being there and Ais' look of disappointment lingering on his mind as they made themselves known.
The only thing he had perceived before sulking was that he was in a thickly armored carriage, most likely for high priority criminals. They were taking him somewhere, which meant he was going to prison.
Bell pondered about it for a second before the carriage stopped, two of the guards pulled him roughly and threw him out of the carriage. Bell dusted himself off, noticing that he was bleeding from just that, sending a reality check right through him.
'She really is gone…'
The guard pulled him up and pushed him forward before motioning for him to continue forward.
They were in a small canyon with a gate that was opened. Once they were through, an enormous building was revealed making Bell gasp at its size
It's almost as big as Babel!
"Where is this?" Bell asked out loud, having never heard of a prison like this
"Welcome to the Dreadful Curse for the rest of your life, Kauhea Forbande, worst prison in all of Gekai"
That's the first chapter for a new story! I hope to hear what you think about the prospect of it! I will also release the next Heroic Will chapter tomorrow (November 23rd 2020).
I would also like to apologize for my absence. Something went wrong and I couldn't publish anything on fanfiction, but I plan on continuing now that it's fixed!
Anyway, I hope that I see you all next time!