Hello good people. Welcome back and thank you again for reading. Before we begin, I just wanted to take and moment and show my appreciation for everyone who reviews as the kind words are appreciated and the criticisms often make this work better, so thank you. On that note, I'm going to reply to a few reviews as I want to make sure they know that I am listening.
So derethl2 provided two valid points, the first being Bell and Achilles confronting Freya. They rightfully pointed out that despite saying they were "going to do the smart thing" they immediately went to confront Freya and her familia which, naturally, is not very smart. Once more, my excuse-not-really-an-excuse, is that the two of them were angry and thus, irrational. That's cheap and not good writing, and so I apologize. I'd like to think it makes some sense given that, both here and in the actual canon, we do see their respective tempers, especially with regards to friends and familia. That said, it still should have been handled better.
Their second point was about Hestia's reaction, i.e. not the public humiliation against Achilles and Bell and also letting everyone partake. Both derethl2 and Drake Atlas pointed this out as coming across as out of character for Hestia and so it's certainly important that I mention it. On this count I do see their point as it does come off as outlandish but, given Hestia's personality, I don't think it's completely out of the question for her to punish them this way given the extremity of their offense with the lying and endangering themselves. Still, it is fair to say that it was a bit much and for me to throw comedy into what was supposed to be a serious scene was subpar on my part and so I again apologize. I also, once more, vow to do better.
Drake Atlas and a few others also mentioned Haruhime being a bit out of character, which, to be perfectly honest, she kind of was. My hope was that it came off as more of a 'finding her voice/inner strength' moment given that it was, in a way, a defense of Bell, but I certainly see everyone's point.
Finally was, I just write's review. Once more I must apologize for my lack of Spanish skills and that Google translate does not provide the level of help I wish it would. On that note though, I do want to thank you for the review and the information you gave me regarding what apparently is the Freya side story, which I have been excited to read. However, there is one point that I would like to address, that being, if indeed the story suggests that Zeus and Hera familia had a level 8 and 9 respectively in their familias before their fall...er...well...I'm gonna have to ignore that. Not only because that seems bonkers to me given that the level 6s of Loki familia are called 'monsters' and Ottar, 'the King' is a level 7 as of me writing this, but because the idea that we've already had level 8s and 9s in this universe, and within living memory for many seems...odd to me. I mean, if they had adventurers that powerful, why did they not make it further than level 59 of the Dungeon? A level 9 could have probably reached that level single-handedly. Added onto the fact that the canon of this story has Achilles being the first level 7 in history and the idea of the level 10 theory hiding in the background and...well...I'm going to pretend I didn't see that the sake of this story. Sorry.
Now, with all those apologies and that promise, I think it's about time to get to the actual story. Let's see how Bell's doing after Haruhime's confession.
I do not own Danmachi
Bell had not slept. He couldn't. His mind was far too restless trying to comprehend everything that had happened recently. The Xenos that had attacked his father. Enyo and Revis. Freya and Miach familia. And finally, the one topic that had received the overwhelming majority of his thoughts. Haruhime and her confession.
"What do I do?" he asked himself once more, not knowing how many times he had asked that question now. "How do I answer her? I can't just leave it. But I love Aiz. Can I say that? Wouldn't that hurt her? I don't want to hurt her. But…"
All these thoughts hurt him and he groaned as he grabbed his head. When he dropped his hands he noticed that the sun had risen and was peaking through his blinds, causing him to groan as he realized he had not slept the entire night.
"I'm going to feel that today."
Getting up, he decided to at least change his clothes before heading downstairs to get breakfast, hoping that some food in his stomach would help him, or at least distract his overworked mind.
He opened his door and immediately froze as none other than Haruhime was standing before him.
"M-Morning, Bell-sama," she greeted, her usual shyness having returned after realizing the night previous everything she had said and done.
"Have...have you been out her long?" he asked, not knowing what else to say.
She shook her head.
"O-Only a few minutes. I wanted to ask a favor."
"Um," his mind began to bounce around as it wondered what favor she could be asking after what she had confessed only a few hours before.
"I wanted to ask you not to reveal what happened between Ottar, Freya, and I," she requested.
"What?" he asked, more than a little shocked. "Why?"
"Because everyone is already so afraid. With everything that's happened the fear of a war in the streets is on everyone's mind and this will only make it worse. Also," she looked uncomfortable saying this next part, as if she didn't want to hurt someone. "Though I care a great deal for Achilles, he does have...a bit of a temper. If he finds out about this I'm not sure any of us could restrain him."
Bell had to admit to himself that she had a point, especially about his father. He was not the most patient man, and this would unquestionably set him off. However, the recent events with Hestia were also present in his mind and he could not readily accept her line of thinking.
"I understand why you're asking me this, Haruhime. But we all promised not to lie to each other or hold secrets. I just did that and you saw how that ended." She knew he would bring this up and she had no way of countering. "I still feel guilty about lying to you all and I don't want that eating away at you like it does me, and I certainly don't want you punished if it's ever discovered that you kept it a secret. And, now that I think about it, I suspect that getting to you was Freya's plan all along. Keep Dad and I distracted while she got to you. If that's the case, we really need to tell the others."
Haruhime's head dropped as she knew she had lost the argument.
"I understand, Bell-sama. I just...I just didn't want everyone to be afraid or angry anymore. I just...wanted everyone to be happy."
That broke Bell's heart. She wasn't keeping a secret or lying out of anger like he was, nor was it quite the same as the reason Hestia had kept his skill a secret. Both were done out of fear, but Haruhime's reason was tinged with affection, caring, and love. She just wanted everyone to be alright.
His own head fell as he realized that, without even meaning to, she had won his silence.
"Fine," he said, catching her attention. "I won't tell." Her eyes lit up. "But," he quickly added. "You should."
The smile that was forming on her lips stopped in its tracks, but the relief in her eyes was still there.
"I...I will try to find a moment to tell them. Hopefully when they're calm."
Bell sighed and nodded. He hated that he was now involved in this secret and suspected some sort of punishment for it the future, but right now, he couldn't stomach forcing the issue. He was too tired, too confused, and, with a rumble of his stomach he realized, too hungry.
Haruhime smiled softly.
"Let's go have breakfast, Bell-sama."
The two made their way downstairs where the others were already eating. Achilles was the first to notice them, and was prepared to give them both his usual greeting when he noticed the dark circles under Bell's eyes.
"Are you alright, Bell?" he asked.
Knowing precisely what his father meant, he did his best to smile.
"I couldn't get much sleep. A had a lot on my mind."
Achilles looked at him curiously with that curiosity only increasing when he noticed the guilty look on Haruhime's face.
"I see. Well, I can certainly understand that. Hopefully some food will do you some good."
Bell nodded.
"I hope so."
No one failed to notice the way he said that, nor the sluggish way he moved about with distant eyes. Concerned eyes met each other as they all wondered what was weighing so heavily on their captain's mind. All except Haruhime who felt the guilt build within her.
Their anxiety only grew as Bell silently ate, not sparing any of them his usual morning greetings or cheerful banter. Finally, when they were all about to explode with concern, he spoke.
"I'm going to go for a walk, to clear my head, if that's alright," he said to no one in particular.
This statement only served to amplify their anxiety and concern as numerous problems arose.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Bell-kun," Hestia stated. "With Freya lurking about it would be dangerous to go out by yourself."
"Yeah. We trust you Bell, we really do. We know that confrontation you had with Freya was just anger getting the best of you, but we want you to be safe, and going out by yourself would just invite trouble," Welf said.
Ryuu and Lili nodded.
"Why don't you take Achilles-dono with you? I'm sure you could talk to him about what's bothering you and that way you'll be safe," Mikoto suggested.
The others seemed to like this idea, but Achilles kept his eyes on his son, meaning he did not fail to notice the way his knuckles turned ever more white.
"That sounds like a good idea. So, Achilles-kun, would you watch over my Bell-kun for me? Just no getting into any more fights like last time," Hestia said, doing her best to make it come off as a joke.
"No."
Everyone, including Bell, turned to Achilles.
"He needs time alone," he said. "Me being there won't allow him to properly address whatever's bothering him right now. I would know, I've been in the same position countless times."
Bell's ideas widen a tad as he realized his father had understood him perfectly.
"But...but," Hestia tried.
"He'll have to be careful," Achilles continued, answering her unspoken question. "He'll have to keep his eyes and ears open, and it would be wise for him to avoid the Dungeon, but he's not going to be able to clear his head, and therefore feel like his normal self until he can properly address whatever is bothering him. So, unfortunately, we're going to have to swallow this one."
No one looked keen on doing that. Indeed, Lili seemed utterly opposed to that idea, likely due to what happened the last time she let Bell out of her sight. Still, the moment they saw Bell's desperate eyes staring at them, pleading with them to allow him this, they felt themselves cracking.
"Oooh, fine," Hestia relented. "But you are to be safe, do you hear me! You are to do nothing stupid! You are to go for a walk and that's it!" she declared.
Bell, now giving them the first true smile of that morning, nodded.
"Yes, Hestia-sama!" he replied.
"Grrr," the goddess tried to be angry, but seeing his smile made that effectively impossible. "Go on then, but I expect you to come back with a clear head and a smile. No more moping!" she added.
"I promise!" he proclaimed, before quickly cleaning his plate, putting away his dishes and telling them goodbye.
"Are you sure that was wise, Achilles-kun?" Hestia asked, with everyone else turning towards him as well.
"Well, it wasn't the intelligent thing to do," Achilles admitted, immediately earning a growl from Lili and a glare from Ryuu. "But, Bell needs this. Ever since he's come to this city he's had an ever increasing burden on his shoulders, and increasing less time to think on those things being placed upon him. Lest we forget, he's not yet even fifteen. He's the youngest one of us here," that reminder hit each member profoundly and a sinking feeling entered their guts. "Yet he is weighed down by more than any of us I think. He needs this. He needs time. To reflect. To breathe. To be a kid again. So, to answer your question, Hestia, yes, this is wise. One of the wisest things I, or any of us, is ever likely to do."
A sense of relief filled Bell. He hadn't expected them to allow him to go off on his own, but he was incredibly grateful that they had. The thoughts still weighed heavily on his mind, but even just the chance to try and address them made them weigh a bit less on his psyche.
He began his trek through the city, paying just enough attention to not run into anyone or return a call of greeting, but otherwise he was lost to the world as his mind began to try and work its way through the problems presented before him.
He decided to go in order of chronology, and so the Xenos attack was the first.
"Why did they attack? Did something happen? We had planned to ask Hestia to send a message to Lyd and the others through Fels, but we got distracted with everything that happened."
He quickly decided that he would ask Hestia about it later and hopefully they could get to the bottom of the issue and prevent anyone else from getting hurt.
Satisfied, at least for the moment, on that issue, he moved on the next. Enyo and Revis.
"That Enyo person mentioned the special items that the Zeus and Hera familia hid away. How did he know about them? Did someone tell him? No, that can't be, Dad said all the captains were sworn to secrecy. Hmmm."
He continued to walk along, his mind trying to put together how Enyo could have known. However he soon found he could not answer that and, in the end, it didn't truly matter. What did was that this Enyo did know and that he planned to bring about 'the end'.
"We'll have to confront him in the future, that's for certain. Which means," he pictured Revis in his head, his brow furrowing and his eyes turning cold. "We'll be seeing her again too," his fists tightened. "I will not allow her to hurt Aiz."
That promise ended that issue, but at the same time brought up the final two. Freya and Haruhime.
"Both of them claim to love me but…," he felt his mind clouding. "How? Why? Haruhime says she loves me for who I am but who is that? Who does she see when she looks at me?" He wasn't being cynical, he simply wasn't sure how he was viewed by others, namely the girl who had now confessed her love to him. "And what does this mean for the future? I love Aiz, but I can't just let Haruhime's feelings go unanswered, I mean…" he began to think back to everything they had gone through together and a small smile came to his face. "She's really quite wonderful. So kind and patient. Her knowledge and love of hero stories is so profound, and the way her eyes light up when she talks about them...the way her eyes light up when she smiles."
As much as he hated to admit it, feeling like it was some sort of betrayal of Aiz, Bell could imagine himself falling in love with Haruhime. Had his heart not already belonged to another, he may very well already have.
That, however, made things even worse as he honestly didn't know how to respond to her. He did love Aiz, that was unquestionable, but simply shutting Haruhime down felt wrong. Dishonest.
And then there was Freya.
Bell did not, for the life of him, understand Freya. Like Haruhime she claimed to love him, even going so far to effectively kidnap the renard in order to try and figure out what the young woman had that she, the immortal goddess of beauty, did not. Yet the idea of Freya loving him seemed so much different than the idea of Haruhime loving him, and his own love for Aiz. It was like it was on an entirely different planes of existence. And, to make matters more confusing, she claimed she was in love with his father.
"Can you even be in love with two people at the same time? I know she's a goddess, but are their rules so different?" he thought back to what his grandfather used to tell him about making a harem. "I suppose I used to think about that. About coming to Orario and building my own harem," his cheeks began to burn. "But then I met Aiz and all I wanted was her. But," he began to paint a picture in his mind. "Would it…?" it became clearer and clearer until a solid painting of him, Aiz, and Haruhime, standing together, all smiling with bliss radiating off of them, stood proudly in his mind. "Be wrong if that happened?"
The moment he asked that question his face burned with a frightful intensity and he actually had to stop and cover his face, catching the eye of a few passerbys.
"I can't believe I just thought that!" he screamed internally.
He quickly shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. Unfortunately that didn't seem to help so he decided to simply get back to walking, hoping that would both clear his head and actually allow him to solve the issue.
After a few minutes his mind calmed down and he continued to contemplate the issue at hand.
"Okay," he thought, stopping for the moment. "I know I'm in love with Aiz...apparently everyone knows that at this point," he added with a bit of embarrassment. "But I can't just leave Haruhime's feelings unanswered. That would be unfair and cowardly. So, I'll tell her the truth. That I'm in love with Aiz and going to go after her. But," he paused. "She already knows that and she said she would fight for me anyway. Do I tell her not to?" he instantly knew the answer. "No. No I won't tell her that. I could never tell her that. After all the attempts of others to turn me away from Aiz and what I said to Riveria, I can't tell her not to try, even if it's unlikely we'll be together. Then again," he smiled. "Most would say my situation is unlikely."
Bell's smile grew, but not only for the reason that he was willing to consciously accept; for, hidden within his mind, and not as deep as he would try and portray, he rather liked the idea of Haruhime trying to win his heart and wondered, oh so silently in the back of his mind, what would happen if she succeeded.
"Alright," he mentally declared, feeling some of the weight lift off his shoulders. "I have a plan for Haruhime. It's not exactly perfect, but it's a start. Now time to turn to Freya."
He found himself stopping again.
"But what do I do?"
He honestly wasn't sure how to proceed with the goddess of beauty. Part of him was fiercely angry at her for what she'd done. How she'd hurt and manipulated those close to him, most notably his father, and he wasn't willing to set aside his suspicions about her role in the attack on Miach familia. However, the more he thought about her, the more he found that the situation was more complicated than he wished.
"She destroyed Ishtar familia for me. Because I had been kidnapped. If she hadn't done that I might not have been able to rescue Haruhime as the whole familia would have been against me. And then there's what Dad said," he thought back to the conversation he had with his now father figure about Freya. It seemed like a lifetime ago, even if it was in actuality, less than a month.
"You need to understand, Bell, Freya in extraordinarily beautiful, and I don't just mean physically. She's clever. Determined. She has knowledge about things you can't even imagine. Talking to her is one of the greatest pleasures you can ever have. It's like she's talking directly to your soul. No, it's more like she's singing. Singing to your very being. But above all else, she's mysterious. Her eyes pull you in by presenting you a question you can never put into words, but that you know, deep down in your heart and soul that, if you can find the answer, you'll be apart of something more beautiful and wonderful than you could ever have imagined on your own. It's for all those reasons I fell in love with Freya."
His father really was in love with Freya and, worse yet for poor Bell, he made it sound wonderful.
"She's not evil. It's not that simple. But then...what is she? Possessive? Obsessive? Driven? Loving?" he thought back to the party and her explanation as to why she had used her Charm on his father. The fire that burned in his father's soul had very much been snuffed out, and yet...she had not been lying when she said that the pain was gone as well. As much as Bell hated to admit it, even to himself, his father's pain, the pain Bell saw every time he looked into the older man's eyes, was not there when she Charmed him, just a dull look of euphoria.
Bell's fist bled white as his mind tried to make sense of all this information, but simply could not.
"This isn't working. I can't figure this out by myself."
Realization suddenly hit him.
"Maybe I don't have to. There are a few people that could tell me more about Freya who might just be willing to answer my questions."
It was not a sure thing, but it was better than nothing. So, that in mind, he turned in the direction of what he hoped would be answers.
Syr and the other waitresses worked to make sure everything was ready for that night when the door suddenly opened.
The gray-haired young woman looked up, prepared to politely inform the individual they were not open when she recognized who it was.
"Bell!" she cried out happily. This caught the other waitresses attention and they immediately looked up.
"Hi Syr," Bell replied, doing his best to be cheerful.
Naturally, Syr and the others noticed.
"Is there something wrong, Bell?" she asked.
Bell sighed, but before he could answer, Mia appeared.
"Why aren't you girls working?"
She then took notice of Bell and the serious look on his face.
"Hey kid. What're you doing here?" she asked.
Bell took a deep breath.
"I've come all this way, no backing out now."
"I wanted to ask you all some questions."
That caught their attention, though it did not take long for Mia to figure out what was likely to come next.
"Alright," she replied, knowing this was too serious for her to brush off. Besides, she had a soft spot for the kid. "Ask away."
Bell looked her directly in the eyes, his gaze firm and unwavering.
"My dad told me that you were the former captain of the Freya familia and that there is at least one person here who still works for her. Is that true?"
The waitresses tensed, none more so than Syr whose eyes widened in fear. Mia, however, was unshaken.
"Yes. To both."
If Bell was displeased by this information, he did not show it.
"Then," he continued calmly. "I'd like you to tell me everything that you told her or did for her in connection to me. I suspect that you had a role to play in the destruction of Ishtar familia, so we don't need to discuss that."
That caught Mia's attention, as well as the increased shock of the girls.
"You know about that?" the ex-captain asked.
"Freya told my dad who told me."
Mia nodded.
"Alright. Not like she ever told me that I couldn't tell ya. Though before I do, mind telling me why you want to know?"
Bell's eyes finally fell.
"I'm trying to understand her. Trying to understand why she's focused on me. What precisely she wants from me. What," he looked up. "What I am to her."
Mia crossed her arms.
"I think she's been pretty clear with what she wants from ya," she said. Bell's eyes hardened at that, causing her to sigh. "Sorry, but truth is there are times even I don't understand her. Plenty of times in fact. Freya likes to keep an air of mystery about her."
"I've noticed," Bell replied.
"Sorry I can't tell you more. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that Freya never gives up on what she wants and she has never failed to get it."
"She doesn't have my dad," Bell countered.
"He's not dead is he?" Mia immediately stated. "As long as he's still around the game is still on."
Bell barely restrained a growl at the word 'game'.
"So, what have you done for her?" he pressed.
"You remember that grimoire?" she asked, not failing to take notice his change in attitude.
"Yes."
"That was from Freya."
Bell's eyes widened a bit though, after a moment, he figured he should not have been so surprised. He had felt Freya's eyes on him for some time, if she had fallen for him since at least the first time he felt her gaze then giving him something like that wasn't out of the question, especially given what he already knew about her.
"Alright," he said after a moment. "What else?"
Mia's eyes turned away from him. Following her eyes, he found Syr fidgeting next to him.
"Do you remember that necklace I gave you? Right before the War Game with Apollo familia?"
He nodded.
"That wasn't just a simple necklace. It was actually a protection charm that Freya had me give to you. It protected you from Hyakinthos's Aro Zephyros," she explained.
That surprised Bell far more than the previous revelation.
"If that's true then I might not have won the War Game without Freya's help."
That put the goddess in a new light, but not nearly enough of one to completely change his mind about her, and it certainly did not help his confusion.
"Anything else?" he asked.
Syr's nervous suddenly grew to the point she was practically shaking.
"W-Well, you already know about Ishtar…"
"Syr."
The girl snapped her head to the young man.
"Please be honest with me," he asked gently.
She could not say no to that. She just hoped he would not hate her.
"I knew what Freya was planning with regards to the party," she confessed.*
Things fell silent for a moment, and everyone, including Mia, waited in tense anticipation for Bell's response.
"I see," he finally said.
His tone was cold, something which none of them had ever heard and now, wished they never had.
"Bell," Syr tried, her voice shaking terribly. "Please...I…"
A hand on her head stopped her.
He sighed.
"Thank you for telling me," he gave her a small smile. "I appreciate the honesty."
It was very clear that Bell held some level of animosity at the moment, but this small act gave them all, especially Syr, hope that he would not come to hate them.
"Bell," the young woman said.
"Sorry to take your time," he said suddenly. "Thank you for the information. You've given me a lot to think about."
"Bell," Syr tried once more, only for Mia to grab her shoulder and shake her head.
"No problem Cranel-san," Mia said. "If you ever want to talk again, you know where to find us."
Bell nodded.
"Thanks."
With that the Rabbit Foot left the Hostess of Fertility, leaving behind a set of anxious women who were now quite unsure of what the future held for them and the young man.
Bell continued his walk, his mind processing what he had learned. On one hand, if not for Freya it was certain that he would not have gotten as far as he had, he might have even lost Hestia if not for her intervention. On the other hand, she had manipulated and hurt the people he cared about and he suspected that there was still more he was unaware of. All of this did nothing to ease his mind. In fact, it seemed even more confused than before.
"Gah," he grabbed his head. "This isn't working. I need something to distract me or I'll never be able to work through this. But what can I do?"
The answer came almost immediately.
He turned his head, his eyes catching the most noteworthy structure in Orario.
"The Dungeon."
Nothing cleared his head like fighting in the Dungeon. He had to be focused there, his life depended on it. Traversing a few floors could be just the thing to clear his mind.
"But," a sinking feeling filled his stomach. "I told everyone I'd be careful. The Dungeon could be the perfect place for an ambush."
He felt himself being torn apart. He wanted to be as safe as possible, and his father had specifically warned him away from the Dungeon, but he needed to clear his head. To find the answers to these questions plaguing his mind.
"Please forgive me, everyone, I promise to be at 100% when I come back."
With that, he headed towards the Dungeon.
"Aaaah!"
Bell torn through another monster, his breathing showing almost no signs of becoming labored even after going at if for over an hour. One of the positives of being a level four, he supposed.
Luckily, the fighting also seemed to be clearly his mind and he felt the fog that was drowning him earlier begin to recede.
"Okay, my mind is clearing, at least somewhat. Maybe I can start to work through this now."
That's what he hoped, but the more his mind tried valiantly to come up with a solid answer as to how precisely he should think of Freya, the more he found that no answer of any kind could be found.
"Haah," he let out. "Even now I just don't know what to think. It's never been this hard before. The closest I've come to things being this complex was-," his eyes widened for a moment, before he smiled. "Was with Haruhime, "a sudden burst of confidence filled him as the memories of what transpired with her and Ishtar familia came to mind. "But if I can make a decision with her, I can definitely figure out what to do now."
Fortune at that moment, however, decided to throw an interesting curve ball at Bell, as if to say, 'Oh? Then let's see what you do with this?'
"Bell Cranel."
His heart stopped.
"No way."
He turned his head only to discover none other then the goddess of beauty's own captain was standing only a few paces away.
"Ottar," he said, his voice shaking.
The Freya captain also seemed surprised to have suddenly stumbled upon his fellow captain, or at least as surprised as his stoic features would allow.
"What are you doing here?" Bell asked.
"I could ask you the same thing," Ottar countered. "I imagine that Achilles would not be keen on the idea of you being out by yourself after recent events."
"He wasn't," Bell admitted, taking a step back. "But you haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?" he stared nervously at the level seven. "Did Freya send you?"
Ottar's answer was calm and to the point.
"No."
Bell blinked.
"She...didn't send you?"
"No. My lady did not send me. I am simply going down into the Dungeon like any other adventurer."
"But you're not any other adventurer," Bell pointed out mentally.
"Then...you won't mind if I make my way back up, will you?"
Again, Ottar answered with his famous stoicism.
"No."
The larger captain even moved out of the way to allow him through.
Bell was frozen for a moment, knowing full well he couldn't completely trust the older man, yet relieved that not only did he appear to be letting him through, but also that he sensed no hostile intentions from the man.
"Thank you," Bell said.
He quickly strode up to Ottar, his eyes trained on him the entire time, not that the boaz seemed to care in anyway. Bell's heart was practically pounding out of his chest as he finally passed the King and continued a few more paces.
"Thank you," he repeated.
"Of course," Ottar replied, turning around to continue his own journey.
That should have been the end of it. Bell should have been ecstatic that no fight between him and Ottar had occurred and that he could return to his familia unscratched. That's how it should have gone, but the moment Bell took a step away from Ottar he stopped as one thought came to his mind, or more accurately, one question.
"Ottar!"
The captain stopped, turning back to the young man who was now facing him, his fists clenched and a look of apprehension about him.
"Yes?" the boaz asked, his hand reaching for his weapon. He did not fear the boy, far from it. His growth may have been extraordinary, but he was still far from being a threat. No, he reached for his sword because it appeared that the young captain might be itching for a fight and, should that be the case, this would be a prime opportunity to retrieve the boy for his mistress.
"Why does Freya love me?"
There were very few times one would have the opportunity to see genuine surprise on Ottar's face but, had anyone else been there to witness this strange turn of events, they would have seen just that.
"What?" he asked.
"Why does Freya love me? I have tried, desperately to understand but I just can't," Bell asked, his voice clearly revealing his confusion and borderline desperation.
Ottar stared down at the boy for a moment, processing what the young man had said as well as the clear need for answers he was displaying.
"Hm. Perhaps if he understands he won't be so resistant to her. Also," he focused on Bell's eyes. Normally they held a deep seated strength, a testament to the power of his being, but now they were shaky. Confused. "That will not do."
"You gained my lady's affections when she discovered you and your aura. As she described it, your aura is both clear and shines brightly."
"But we hadn't even met before. Let alone knew each other!" Bell threw back.
"Did you know the Sword Princess when you fell in love with her?"
Bell's eyes widened before his head dropped. The King had gotten him there.
"No," he admitted. "But she saved me. She helped me when she didn't need to. Freya and I hadn't even interacted when you say she grew feelings for me. And I don't understand why," he looked back at Ottar. "You say that it's because of my aura. I don't know what that means and there's much I don't know or understand about the gods and goddesses, but what I do know was that I was a no one. A boy from a farming village in the middle of nowhere. A foolish child with dreams of being a hero. Of winning the hearts of beautiful girls with acts of bravery. But those were just childish dreams. Delusions. I didn't need to be a hero, I just wanted to live my life."
Ottar's response was instantaneous.
"That's a lie."
Bell was confused.
"What? I didn't lie."
"But you did," Ottar continued. "When you said you didn't need to be a hero. That's a lie. You do need to be a hero, Bell Cranel. Everything you've done up to now proves that."
Bell was floored. Out of everything he expected of the boaz before him, a statement on his nature was not amongst those expectations.
"I...I haven't always done the right thing," he tried to deflect.
"I know of no such time where you did not. Have you not always protected your friends and familia? Have you not always jumped into fights when others were in trouble?"
This conversation was getting more and more crazy as each second passed, and this was only made worse by the fact that Bell felt the need to argue with his fellow captain.
"I almost didn't with Haruhime."
"But you did. Despite the risks involved you could not simply leave her to her fate. In doing so you not only saved her but, if I'm not mistaken, you also saved my familia a great deal of trouble. For that, I thank you."
The craziness jumped another level at that, and yet, Bell was not done.
"I attacked Loki familia because I wanted to claim the reward from a rare monster!"
"Were you not trying to protect the Xenos?"
"Wha-...you know?" Bell asked, shocked to his core.
"My goddess was informed," Ottar replied stoically.
Bell was lost for words. A part of him still wanted to deny what Ottar had said, though he could not for the life of him explain why.
"Bell Cranel."
The young rabbit turned back to the older captain only to find him suddenly right before him.
"You need to be a hero," he repeated, an almost undetectable softness in his voice. "Just as I need to be an adventurer. Nothing else would have done for me, and I know that nothing else would have done for you. That's why you have earned my lady's heart. Because she could see that within you. Because nothing else would do but someone of your quality. You may not trust her now, and at the moment you may think you love another, but rest assured, my lady does love you and one day you will understand just how great her love is."
Bell was absolutely flabbergasted. How could he not be, with everything that the King of Orario had just told him?
"I-."
Ottar held up his hand.
"You do not need to reply, simply think on what I have said."
With that, the level seven turned around and began walking away.
"Ottar!"
He stopped again and turned around.
"Yes?"
For the second time that day, Ottar found himself genuinely surprised as the object of his lady's affections bowed before him.
"Thank you. You have given me quite a lot to think about, but I think I understand Freya a bit more now," Bell stood up. "I still can't trust her. Not after all she's done. However," he looked directly into Ottar's eyes. "You can tell her that should she be able to win my trust I wouldn't be opposed to speaking with her and getting to know her better."
Yet another rare event happened as a smile grew on Ottar's lips.
"I shall inform her."
"Thank you," Bell replied, a smile of his own appearing. "Goodbye," he finished, giving a quick wave before disappearing into the Dungeon.
"He's growing," the boaz said to himself. "My lady will be most pleased."
The weight he had felt when he had left home was gone and relief filled him to bursting point.
"To think that Ottar would be the one that would help me," he mused, beaming. "But as long as I can return home at my best it doesn't really matter, I suppose. I know what I need to do with regards to the Xenos, Enyo and Revis, and with Haruhime. And now I better understand Freya. I still can't trust her, but now I understand that she's not evil, which I suppose is a weight off my shoulders, even if I can't approve of her methods."
Hearthfire Manor appeared before him, causing his smile to grow even larger and he all but ran home, eager to see his familia.
He rushed through the gate and opened the front door.
"Hestia-sama! Everyone! I'm back!" he called.
The sound of feet moving towards him caught his attention and a moment later Haruhime appeared, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but where she currently was.
"Haruhime? What's wrong?"
"W-We have a guest, Bell-sama," she replied.
Her fear was beyond self-evident and Bell felt himself reaching for his knife.
"Are...are they in there?" he asked, looking towards the adjacent room.
"Y-Yes. As is everyone else," she answered.
"Alright," he said, still very uneasy with her tone.
The two made their way into the room and the moment he entered, Bell understood why Haruhime was so nervous as he was met with the sight of someone he had hoped never to see again.
"Gek gek gek. Long time no see, rabbit."
Bell's skin crawled as he was met with the sight of none other than the former captain of the Ishtar familia.
"Phryne," he said.
"What, that's all I get after all the fun we had together?" she said licking her lips.
The rest of Hestia familia tensed at the way she said that, with Hestia, Lili, and Ryuu all looking nauseous at the suggestiveness. Achilles, meanwhile, seemed outwardly calm, but if one were to look at his eyes, they would see a fire that look ready to turn the frog woman to ash.
"What...what are you doing here?" Bell asked.
The giant toad pulled out a piece of paper and started waving it around.
"I heard your familia was looking for new members, and I thought I'd join, gek gek gek."
If he had the ability to, Bell would have jumped out of his skin at that moment.
"The decision of whether or not you will become a member rests in the hands of Hestia and her familia," Achilles stated firmly.
"What's there to decide?" Phryne asked. "I'm a level five, looking for a new home, and you guys need strong adventurers in order to fight that bitch, Freya," she stated. "Besides," she suddenly got up and went over to Achilles where she then proceeded to grind herself on him. "Strong men like you need strong women. Not little twigs like these dogs."
Each woman took extreme offense that, except for Haruhime who simply hid behind Bell.
"Who are you calling a dog?!" Hestia screamed.
"Everyone's a dog compared to my beauty," Phryne said with complete seriousness, almost making Welf heave.
"Phryne Jamil."
Everyone turned to Achilles who was staring down at the creature that was far too close to him at the moment. Everyone could tell he was now unquestionably in a bad mood as the rage and disgust mixed inside him, though it appeared the Phryne herself did not notice.
"Yes, handsome," she said, giving him what one could only call the single ugliest flirtatious face to ever have existed.
"We will seriously take your application in consideration, but we do need time to discuss it. So, if you would be kind enough to come back, say tomorrow morning, we'd all, myself included, would greatly appreciate it."
"Ya can't decide now?" she asked bitterly.
"Adding someone of your caliber to any familia takes careful deliberation," he explained. "Simply throwing you in with everyone else wouldn't do."
For those that knew Achilles, like the Hestia familia, it was very clear what he was saying, 'Get out of here before I cut you in half you utterly vile abomination!'. However, in the prideful, lustful mind of the toad before him, it came off as a compliment.
"I suppose you're right," she said flirtatiously. "Can't just throw me in with the rest of them. Alright, tomorrow then," she said, making her leave. "See you tomorrow, rabbit," she said to Bell, giving him a much unwanted smack on the ass before she left.
Hestia, Lili, and Ryuu were glowering and looked ready to tear the retreating woman apart with their teeth. Mikoto and Welf were not doing much better, both looking ready to empty their stomachs. Haruhime and Bell were in a worse state, as both were mortified to their cores at the sudden reappearance of the former captain of the Ishtar familia.
"Hestia-sama."
Everyone turned their attention back to Achilles who they all discovered was in a state that encompassed all three groups. Enraged. Disgusted. And at least somewhat terrified, likely due to the handling he just had.
"May I humble request that I be allowed to smoke inside at the moment?" he asked.
Hestia had made a rule about Achilles's smoking habit, making him promise to always do it outside, but given the situation, she was more than willing to overlook that rule at the moment.
"You may."
"Thank you," Achilles pulled out his pipe and quickly lit it before placing it in his mouth and beginning to inhale the smoke. Everyone allowed him a minute or so to calm down, which he greatly appreciated, before he finally spoke again. "So I take it that this particular application is a no."
"Is that even a question?" Welf asked.
"That disgusting, vile, ugly, toad will never be a part of this familia!" Hestia declared, going off like a volcano.
"Never!" Lili threw in for good measure.
Everyone seemed to relax at this, none more so than Bell and Haruhime, which did not go unnoticed by Achilles.
"Bell. Haruhime."
The two turned to him.
"Yes Achilles?/Yeah Dad?"
"You two seemed even more affected than the rest of us. I know you two have the lengthiest past with her, but something's telling me that there's more that we don't know."
The shocked looks on their faces confirmed Achilles's intuition.
"Bell-kun?" Hestia called out.
Bell turned to her, then to his familia who all looked at him with curious, gentle eyes.
"I-I-," he stammered.
He suddenly felt a hand wrap around his. He turned and found Haruhime looking directly at him.
"Tell them, Bell-sama. They can help unburden you."
"Haruhime."
Everyone watched the two silently, unsure of what they were seeing, but willing to let whatever was happening transpire without interruption. Finally, after gaining the needed strength from Haruhime, Bell returned his gaze to them.
"Remember what I told all of you about my capture and Haruhime's rescue?" A few nods and calls of 'yeah' answered him. "Well...none of that was a lie. I told you the truth...but I didn't tell you all of it."
Everyone shared a look.
"Alright Bell. I think you have our attention," Achilles said.
A few hours had passed since Phryne's departure from the Hestia familia home, and night had fallen over Orario. Riveria, naturally unaware of the trouble at Hearthfire Manor, was making her way to the dining room for dinner when she came across Gareth and Finn.
"Evening," she greeted.
"Evening, love bird," Finn teased.
Riveria pinched her nose.
"Is this going to be a thing from now on?"
"Just until I make up for the last twenty or so years of teasing," the prum captain replied.
Gareth chuckled.
"He might be willing to ease up if you confess," the dwarf suggested.
"No, that'll only make it worse," the prum admitted. "If those two actually get together I'm going to tease them for the rest of their lives."
"You're not making me want to pursue this, Finn," Riveria stated, pinching harder.
"Pursue what?"
The three turned to find Tiona, Tione, Aiz, Bete, and Lefiya all approaching them.
"Did you find some rare monster in the Dungeon?" Tiona asked excitedly.
"No...uh," Riveria tried, not sure how to answer.
"Yes Riveria, why don't you tell them what it is you want to pursue," Finn said with a devilish smile.
She glared down at him.
"I will get you for this."
Everything stopped when a burst of light suddenly filled the room.
"What the-?" Tione said.
Riveria rushed to the window and her eyes widened as she saw a bolt of blue lightning shooting up into the sky from the Pleasure District.
"That's not good," Finn said from beside her. "If he's shooting up lightning that means he's really mad," he turned back to his familia. "Change of plans everyone, we're heading to the Pleasure District immediately!"
"Right!" everyone cried, before quickly running off to gather their gear.
"What do you think set him off?" Finn asked Riveria.
"I'm not sure," she replied, looking at the now darkened skies that now crackled with unnatural light. "And in all honesty, I'm not sure I want to find out."
Bell had finished the story of what had happened between him, Phryne, and Haruhime, and his familia was beyond distressed.
Everywhere he looked he saw the wide, horrified eyes of those he considered his family. Mikoto and Welf looked like part of them had died and things were even worse when he turned to Ryuu. The elf looked both devastated at what had happened to him, and like a vengeful goddess with what had almost happened to him. It was both heartbreaking and terrifying.
He turned towards Lili and Hestia, not sure if his heart could take what he would see there, only to find himself suddenly engulfed in two pairs of arms.
"Bell-kun/Bell-sama!" the two cried out as they hugged him tightly, tears in their eyes.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Bell-kun! I should have protected you!"
"I should have been there! I should have rescued you, Bell-sama!"
Their desperate, aching words, tore at Bell's heart as he felt responsible for making them cry.
"Please...p-please don't cry," he said, tears starting to come to his eyes. "It's not your fault. I-I should have been s-stronger."
"No!" Hestia suddenly pulled away and took his face in her hands. "You did nothing wrong! Nothing! Do you hear me? You have been so brave and so strong for so long. To have had something so horrible happen to you and to have been bearing it for so long," tears returned to her eyes. "We will never let that happen to you again!"
"That's right," Welf declared. "No one's ever touching my little brother again."
"Not so long as I live," Mikoto added.
Ryuu did not make a verbal response, instead making her way over to Bell and hugging him alongside the other two. No jealousy was had at that moment for comforting their Bell was far more important.
Haruhime stood off to the side, smiling tearfully at the support Bell was given, happy that he would not face this burden alone. However, after a few moments of taking in the scene before her, she began to notice an odd, crackling sound.
Not long after the renard had taken notice of the noise, the others began to hear it as well. Soon enough, they all turned to the sound, and found their blood running cold.
Pale blue lightning danced along Achille's body, crackling menacingly as it demanded a target for its rage. His eyes were gone, replaced by bolts of electric blue.
"Haruhime," he said suddenly.
"Y-Yes?!"
He turned to her with his eyes of light.
"You have earned more good will today than I can ever repay. For protecting my son in more ways than one before I ever got the chance to, I thank you and pledge my life to yours."
"T-That's not necessary," she said.
"But it is," he stated. "I can't ever fully repay you, but I will try, until my dying day," he turned to the rest of them "That goes for the rest of you as well. Your support for my son means more to me than I can ever put into words, so please know, you have my eternal gratitude."
With that, he began to walk towards the exit.
"Where are you going Dad?"
"I'm going to destroy the Pleasure District."
That instantly set off alarm bells.
"Wait! Dad!" Bell got up to stop his father. "That's completely unnecessary!"
"On the contrary, not only did they allow that to happen to you, but the culture of that place fostered a creature like that toad. She might even be hiding there now," his eyes somehow got even more enraged. "They must be punished."
"Dad. Please."
Hearing the pleading tone of his son, Achilles paused. After a moment, he took a deep breath and the lightning that surrounded him slowly began to fade away.
"Fine, I won't destroy them, but I'm still going to have a talk with them."
"Then I'll come with you."
"That won't be necessary."
"Someone has to restrain you," Bell countered.
Achilles sighed even more heavily.
"Fine," he relented.
"Good," Bell said with a nod. "Hestia-sama, it looks like we'll be gone for a little while."
"Alright, Bell-kun," the goddess said before her eyes turned to his father. Achilles-kun."
"Yes?" the ex-captain asked.
"Make sure you punish them properly."
"Hestia-sama?!" Bell cried.
"Understood," the captain responded immediately.
"Dad!"
"Sorry Bell, now it's the goddess's order."
"You two! No destroying the Pleasure District! We're just going to talk!"
"We'll see," the ex-captain stated.
Achilles and Bell made their way through the darkening streets of the city towards the Pleasure District.
Achilles's mood was evident to everyone they passed, if not from his cold eyes, than by the bone-crushing grip that he currently had on his sword.
Finally, the two arrived before the gates of the district.
Normally the girls there would have been thrilled to see the two male adventurers, but taking note of Achilles's fierce look and Bell's obvious attempts to restrain them, they tensed.
"Halt!" one of them cried as they both put their weapons in the two men's path. "What business do you have in the Pleasure District?"
Achilles's reply came in one, soul freezing word.
"Move."
The girls, now frightened to the point of shaking, could do little more than move their weapons out of the way and let him passed.
Once the Olympian stormed passed, Bell's went up to the two girls and bowed.
"I'm terribly sorry about him, he's just really angry at the moment. I hope you two can forgive him."
"What...what happened?" the other guard asked.
Bell fidgeted for a moment before answering.
"He found out about what happened with Phryne."
The two grimaced as a shiver went up his spine.
"We're so dead," the first guard said.
"Don't worry," Bell quickly said. "I'm here to keep him restrained, and he said he wouldn't destroy anything."
"Well then," the second guard jumped in. "You best go catch up with him because I don't think anyone else can stop him."
"Right!" he responded, following after his father. "I'm sorry again!"
Bell caught up to Achilles to find the man in an even worse mood.
"Too many people," Achilles growled as he glared at the crowd before him.
Bell sighed in relief. While the crowds were obviously aggravating his father, they would force him to take more time to get to his destination, which appeared to be Belit Babili. After all, it was not like Achilles would use force on a crowd of complete strangers.
That was what Bell thought. He was wrong.
Pulling out his sword, which instantly caught the attention of everyone around them, Achilles smashed the blade against the ground, causing a terrible clang to go up, instantly catching the attention of everyone in a block radius.
"Move," he said.
Instantly the crowd parted and Achilles continue, his sword scraping against the ground the whole time, sending up sparks and a horrid noise that let everyone know of his coming.
"Dad," Bell groaned before following after him.
The two travelled through the entire Pleasure District in this manner, the crowded streets parting the moment they heard the terrible scraping sound of Achilles's approach. Finally, the two arrived at Belit Babili where they discovered not only Aisha waiting for them, but an entire army of armed to the teeth ladies of the night with nervous looks on their faces.
"Achilles-san. Bell-kun," Aisha greeted, trying her best to sound calm. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"
Bell jumped in before his father exploded, hoping he could explain the situation in such a way that no one got hurt.
"Well you see, today-."
"Phryne Jamil," Achilles stated.
Instantly Aisha and the others understood and their nervous sweats turned into rivers of fear.
"I-I see," Aisha replied.
"So you are aware of what happened?" Achilles asked, his eyes turning so menacing that Aisha's knees began to shake.
"Y-Yes. Ishtar ordered us to capture Bell unharmed. Phryne, being the disgusting glutton she is, decided to disobey those orders and take him for herself," she explained.
"Did you search for him?" Achilles's asked, his voice sounding more monstrous than any creature in the Dungeon.
"We did, but could not find him. Phryne has a hideout somewhere none of us know about."
"Haruhime knows."
That surprised Aisha.
"Does she? Well...that's good, else-," she cut herself off, realizing where this would lead, and worse yet, how Achilles would react.
"Else the giant fucking toad would have raped and murdered my boy. Is that what you were going to say?" Achilles asked.
The power and terror-inducing tone within his voice was too much for some of the nearby girls, who actually fell to their knees. Aisha held on, but just barely.
Luckily for them, Bell decided he had stayed on the sidelines long enough.
"Dad, stop. It's not their fault," he said.
"They attacked and kidnapped you with the intent of handing you over to their goddess to be Charmed, then lost you to the ugliest woman this city has ever seen. How is this not their fault?"
"Dad, please. Aisha has helped more than you know. If it wasn't for her, not only would Haruhime not have been saved, but I wouldn't have even met her."
Achilles stared down at his boy. He knew Bell would not lie, but the young man could still be deceived. However, seeing the strength behind his son's eyes, he knew that was not the case.
"Is that so?"
"It is so," Bell replied firmly.
Achilles let out what sounded like a mix of a sigh and a growl.
"Very well. Aisha," he turned back to the level four. "You will never allow Phryne back into the Pleasure District. You will shun her and cast her out, am I understood?"
Aisha, realizing that disaster had been averted, allowed herself a smile and nodded.
"Yes. She wasn't a friend to us even when we were a part of the same familia. Now, if that toad shows her disgusting face here, we'll be giving her a welcome she deserves."
"Good," Achilles said. "Also, Bell's lessons with you are hereby terminated."
"Dad, that's not necessary," Bell said. While the lessons did embarrass him terribly, they had been beneficial, beyond even their intended purpose.
"I understand," Aisha replied, with a small hint of disappointment in her voice.
"Good," Achilles repeated. "Now," he took a deep breath. "You all might want to back up."
Confused, everyone nonetheless did as requested. Once they had, Achilles raised his sword straight to the sky and, to the shock of everyone there, shot a bolt of lightning into the sky.
Everyone had to cover their eyes as blinding light, brighter than the strongest summer sun, filled the area.
"Holy shit," Sharay said, squinting towards the source of the light. "What is this guy?"
"Something beyond us," Aisha said as she aimed her gaze towards the sky and watched in awe and horror as the sky darkened with clouds, the sound of thunder began to boom, and suddenly a bolt of lightning raced out of the clouds and struck the top of Belit Babili.
A series of startled cries erupted as debris crashed into the ground.
"There," Achilles said the moment the lightning disappeared. "Now I'm calm. Come on Bell, let's go home"
The former captain then turned and began to walk away.
" R-Right!" Bell replied. Before he could get far however, he turned back to Aisha and the others and bowed. "I'm terribly sorry for this!"
"Don't be. I suspect if it wasn't for you we wouldn't all still be here," Aisha said.
"Please don't say things like that Aisha-san."
She smiled and dared to affectionately stroke his hair.
"Your father is very protective of you. It's understandable why he reacted like he did. I'm sure there are many fathers out there who wish they could do the same when something happened to their child. We should all be so lucky to have such a father."
"Aisha-san."
"Go on. Don't want to keep your father waiting."
"R-Right," he turned to leave again only to surprise everyone when he suddenly hugged Aisha. "Thank you."
Though she was initially surprised, Aisha soon found her surprise fading as content affection took its place and she returned the hug.
"You're very welcome."
The two finally parted and Bell ran after his father, while Aisha watched silently, her hand soon finding itself placed above her heart.
"A pity he won't be coming back seeing as I'm now officially smitten for him."
Bell and Achilles made it out of the Pleasure District in record time courtesy of everyone being terrified of Achilles and avoiding him like the plague. Not that he minded. The same could not be said of Bell who was both embarrassed and hoping that they would not get in trouble for what happened.
"Achilles!"
The Loki familia suddenly appeared before the two captains.
"Evening, Finn. What are you doing here?" the ex-captain asked.
"I could ask you the same thing," Finn shot back. "What was that lightning we saw."
"Oh. That. Well, I just learned some...unfortunate information."
No one failed to notice the rage that entered his eyes at that, however it was Finn who noticed how uncomfortable Bell suddenly became.
"Bell-san." Bell shot his eyes to the prum captain. "Can you be a little more specific?"
Bell's discomfort increased noticeable as everyone turned to him, only for Achilles to place himself between the young man and the Loki familia.
"He has nothing to say to you," Achilles said, his tone clearly warning Finn off from his current path.
"I believe that would be for Bell to decide," Finn pushed back.
"Bell-san," Riveria said, hoping to prevent things from getting too tense. "Did something happen?" she asked gently.
Bell's fidgeting returned. In fact, when compared to earlier, it was even worse and it did not take long for Achilles to figure out why.
"He thinks that Aiz will think less of him."
"Bell," he called out, his own voice now taking on a gentle tone. "You don't need to tell them. They have no right to this information."
Bell smiled sadly at him.
"It's okay. I don't want it to rule over me," he said, doing his best to sound convincing.
"You say that, but you're practically shaking," Achilles thought.
Even so, he took a step back and let his son proceed.
"It...all started when Phryne Jamil showed up at our home today," Bell began.
Bell completed his story and found the entire Loki familia was in a state of shocked disgust.
"Bell-san," Riveria said, now understanding why Achilles had tried to stop them and feeling terribly guilty that she had pushed him.
"That's abhorrent," Finn said, his fists clenched.
"Indeed," Gareth said going up to Bell. "No one should have to face that, especially not one so young and good-hearted," he grabbed Bell's shoulder and giving him a reassuring squeeze. "You're very strong, Bell Cranel."
Bell, unable to muster any words, bowed to show his gratitude.
"Tsk, nasty freaking toad," Bete growled.
"I can't believe there are Amazons like that! When I get my hands on her I'm gonna tear her a new one," Tiona declared.
"Save some for me," Tione said.
"That's so awful, I can't believe someone would do that," Lefiya said. "Things like that shouldn't happen, should they Aiz-san."
The silence that met her question garnered everyone's attention.
All eyes turned to Aiz who, it was now noted, had remained unnaturally silent during the whole ordeal.
"Aiz-san?" Lefiya repeated.
Still the girl remained quiet and did not even move so much as an inch.
"Aiz?" Riveria tried, a touch of apprehension climbing up her spine.
Still nothing.
Fear began to enter Bell's heart as he began to suspect the worse.
"I-I swear n-nothing happened!" he suddenly cried out. "S-She was going to use an a-aphrodisiac, b-but Haruhime rescued me before she could. N-Nothing happened. W-We d-d-didn't…"
The poor boy looked ready to vomit and Achilles knew it was not just because he was reliving the experience.
"He's trying to convince her that he's still innocent. He's afraid she'll view him as tainted."
He was not the only one to recognize this as Riveria understood as well and felt her heart breaking because of it.
"Bell."
Yet still, Aiz remained silent, doing nothing more than meeting Bell's gaze.
"A-Aiz-san," he tried once more.
And then, Aiz did the single worst thing she could have at that moment. She turned and jumped away into the night. Leaving them all, her familia, Achilles, and most importantly, Bell, all behind.
The devastation that filled Bell's face would have brought the most heartless to their knees. The unrestrained, relentless barrage of pain that encompassed him at that moment could never accurately be portrayed in words, it could only be seen, and all those who were currently baring witness to his agony wished to the heavens that they had never had to see such misery.
Suddenly though, a zapping sound rang through the air and Bell's eyes, so full of pain a moment before, rolled up into his head as he fell limp.
None of the Loki familia had time to react before Achilles grabbed his boy and lifted him into his arms. It was then they saw Achilles and the sight that was before them would give them all nightmares for years to come.
Face scrunched in an inhumanly terrible form, eyes of blue lightning that seemed to somehow consume the light around them, veins pumping boiling blood causing steam to roll off his skin, and teeth bared like a dragon, Achilles was the true visage of ungodly rage.
"Riveria," he called out, his voice some sort of unnatural mixture of a growl and a roar. "She'd better have a damn good reason for doing that or else, I swear on the bones of my familia, she...will...wish...I was the Dragon," he warned.
His threat hanging above their heads like a sword, Achilles activated Lightning Steps and shot off for home.
Everyone but Finn, Gareth, and Riveria suddenly fell to the ground, their strength evaporated in the face of the fury of the Olympian.
"Aiz, please, please tell me you had a very good reason for doing what you just did," Riveria prayed.
Phryne growled as she forced her way into her room.
"Bunch of weaklings," she said as she slammed the door behind her. "No way they could satisfy me."
A vicious smile suddenly grew on her lips.
"But soon I won't need to scrounge around with such worms, I'll have permanent access to two real men," she said licking her lips.
The thought of having Achilles and Bell caused a tingle to pass through her body. True, she was still mad at the rabbit for marring her face, but he could make up for that with a few romps in the hay, especially now that he was a level four.
"This is going to be great. To have both of them. Hell, maybe I'll allow them to take me at the same time, that'll make for a hell of a night!"
She began laughing only to stop when her door suddenly burst open.
"Whaa?!"
She turned and found her shock immediately turned to anger as she saw who was before her.
"What do you want Sword Princess?!" she demanded.
"You hurt someone I care about very much and now," she pulled out her sword, eyes glaring fiercely at the creature before her. "You are going to pay for that."
Finished! Wooh, sorry that took so long guys, I honestly thought this chapter was going to be shorter. Well, I guess it is what it is, and hopefully you guys don't mind another long one. Hopefully it also didn't come across as too jumpy for you all either., especially the Freya parts. I'm really trying my best to understand her character and write her properly, but she's not an easy character to pinpoint. At best, I can call her a chaotic neutral, but that only gets me so far. As such I'm really working to better format her character and get to the real heart of what makes her who she is. I really try my best in these circumstances, but sometimes I just don't get things right. Anyway, all that said, I do hope you enjoyed this, the final chapter of this year, and of this decade. Whew, can't believe the 10s are done. Well, here's to an even better year and greater decade! I'll see you guys when the calendar changes so, until then, bye for now and Happy New Year!
P.S.
*I wasn't sure if Syr was aware of Freya's role in the Silverback and Minotaur incidents. The anime suggests she might know something, especially with the Minotaur incident, but I wasn't willing to say that it was for sure, so I let it be.