Hello everyone and welcome back!
So, it appears I surprised quite a few of you with our unexpected new arrival at the end of the previous chapter. Don't worry, that will be explained in time alongside the other mysteries I've teased throughout the story.
Things have also properly heated up with the Expedition having already suffered its first casualties with the potential for more looming over everyone's heads. However, all is not lost and the war against the Evilus is far from over! That said, it's time to delve into the story and see what else awaits us.
I do not own Danmachi
"A-Auntie," Bell said, unable to believe his eyes.
"Auntie?" Enyo questioned before his eyes shifted between Bell and Alfia, only for those eyes to widen as the pieces started to fall into place. "My my, isn't this an interesting development."
"Auntie," Bell continued, not even hearing Enyo nor the other Evilus as they either picked up their screaming bodies or rushed into the room, weapons in hand. "H-How? How are you here? You're supposed to be dead."
Alfia did not reply, her cold eyes only stared down at him.
"Aunt Alfia?" he called.
"I'm sorry to say," Enyo called, grabbing Bell's attention, "that if you're expecting a heartfelt reunion, that's likely not going to happen."
Remembering where he was and who was all around him, Bell's pupils immediately morphed back into slits.
"What have you done to her?" he demanded.
"Done to her?" Enyo questioned. "Why I rescued her, of course. I found our dear, not-so departed Alfia deep within the Dungeon in a coma. It took a great deal of time and effort to wake her from her slumber, but through my tireless efforts, here she stands."
"She shouldn't be with you. She should be on the surface with us," Bell growled.
"So that she can be executed?" Enyo questioned. "No no no, she's right where she should be. With her fellow Evilus."
"She is not Evilus!" the White Dragon roared as his claws, fangs, and scales returned.
"Gospel."
Once more, powerful magic slammed into Bell, sending him crashing into the wall. The other, lesser Evilus of Thanatos's familia, took this as their opportunity to subdue their prisoner once again and rushed in to capture him, but their error became apparent almost immediately as the rage powered young captain tore them to pieces within moments, leaving their wrecked and bleeding bodies for their terrified comrades to collect.
"Aunt Alfia, it's me! It's Bell!" he called desperately, his voice holding none of the malevolence of his dragonic form, only the desperation of a boy trying to reach a loved one.
Yet she did not so much as twitch upon hearing his voice, she simply continued to stare at him.
Why isn't she responding? She has to know it's me, right?! he screamed in his mind.
It was then that he noticed something different about her.
She never wore a tiara. The only jewelry I remember seeing her wear was her necklace.
He focused on the tiara and after a few seconds, realized that the stone within it looked just like stones of the monsters the Evilus used.
That's it!
Not even thinking for a second, he rushed at his aunt.
"Gospel."
The attack hit him once again, rattling his skeleton and filling him with terrible pain as it sent him back, however, he was prepared for it this time, and managed to stop himself quickly and continue his attack.
Bell reached his beloved aunt and threw a punch towards the tiara's stone with all his strength.
"Lugio."
The very air seemed to explode before his face and he was sent flying once again with a cry.
"Hahaha, this is fun to watch," Enyo reveled.
"Shouldn't we stop them?" Thanatos asked nervously. "They're going to destroy the whole floor at this rate."
"No need to worry. Our dear guest is in a weakened state whereas Alfia has never been stronger. Isn't that right, my dear?"
Alfia did not reply, she just kept staring at where Bell had flown.
Bell picked himself up again and spat out a wad of blood.
This isn't working, I need to try something else, he thought as he began to brainstorm, I'll try summoning Wrath of the Dragon again, he decided, only to quickly stop, but she's already resisted that, and when I was at full strength, his fists tightened. Then what? What can I do?
"A golden power from my golden princess," suddenly echoed in his mind.
Bell's eyes widened.
That's right. I'm not out of options, he focused on his aunt. Focus. Try and remember how you felt when you fought Lancelot. Focus. Focus.
Enyo grew disappointed at the Hestia's captain suddenly silence and sighed.
"I guess I expected too much. There's only so much someone can do against The Monster of Talent, especially when they've been tortured for days on end."
"I'm not done."
Enyo and all the Evilus focused back on him.
"I'm far from done," Bell said as his eyes began to glow and gold began to flow through his veins."
"What is that?! What is he doing?!" Thanatos cried, backing away.
"I don't know, but it's marvelous!" Enyo cried, before turning back to Alfia. "Well go get him my dear."
This time, she responded by lifting her hands.
Focus on what I want to achieve, Bell thought as he got ready.
"Gospel."
Once more, the great adventurer's power slammed into him with enough force to make the Dungeon quake, but he took the beating like a champion of old before turning his golden eyes back to his aunt.
"My turn."
He rushed forward at insane speeds, closing the distance between him and The Monster of Talent in an instance.
"Lugio."
Another explosion rocked the room, sending most of the Evilus diving for cover. However, to the shock of all, Bell immediately appeared through the spell, a shining fist that rang with the song of heroes raised high.
"RAAAAAAAA!"
He slammed his fist down upon the stone of the tiara, shattering it and sending Alfia flying across the room.
As the Evilus stared in shock, Bell did his best to catch his breath as the golden power of Indomitable Will retreated.
"Told you it wasn't over," he shot at Enyo.
To his shock though, Enyo burst out laughing.
"Indeed you did, Bell Cranel! Indeed you did! I should have known better than to underestimate you! Well done! Well done indeed!" the Evilus leader proclaimed as he began to clap.
The sound of Alfia slowly picking herself up turned their attention.
"Ah yes, before we continued," Enyo said as he strode over to Alfia.
Alfia shook her head.
"What…what's going on? Where…where am I?" she asked as looked around her, her eyes eventually landing on an extremely familiar face. "B-Bell?"
"Auntie!" he cried out, his eyes filled with joyful tears.
"What's going on? Where are we? And why do you look so-?"
"Pardon my intrusion," Enyo cut in as he suddenly grabbed her head and, before either she or Bell could stop him, placed a new monster stone in her tiara. Instantly, the light in her eyes darkened and her confusion evaporated, replaced with cold nothingness.
"No!" Bell cried as he tried to rush forward, only for Ein and Revis to tackle him to the ground and pin him.
"You are quite clever, Bell. Figuring out the means of control so quickly. Alfia, as you can probably guess, was a bit resistant to the idea of joining us. Luckily, whatever happened to her over these last few years made her more open to alternative methods of keeping her in line," Enyo explained.
"You're controlling her!" Bell roared.
"Yes," Enyo admitted quickly, "I mean…wouldn't you in my shoes?"
Bell growled and fought to get the two Evilus women off of him, but to no avail as he was far too weak after the fight with his aunt to force them off.
"Now," Enyo clapped his hands, "I think it's time we restrain you again, though we'll have to find a new part of the base to hold you given," he gestured to the destruction around them, "but that's of little consequence. We will need more restraints, clearly. Many more, given your proclivity for overcoming obstacles sent against you."
"It won't matter. No matter what you do or how you restrain me, I won't give up, I won't break, and I will get out of here!" Bell vowed.
He could feel Enyo smile under his mask.
"I shall delight in testing that vow, Bell Cranel. And I will test it even more thoroughly than I did before. That is my promise."
The Expedition made its way further down into the Dungeon in near silence, with only quick whispers passing along the ranks.
The reason for the quiet and the whispers was the same, their new, Dungeon-dwelling companions.
"Maybe it would be best if we-" Lyd tried to say.
"Don't even try it, Scaly," Bete cut in, "you're staying with us and if the retarded bastards behind us don't like it," he lifted his head, "they can shove it up their asses!"
The whispers immediately died and those who had been whispering retreated a few paces back.
"Bete, they have every right to be uncomfortable with this," Finn chastised.
"No one has the right to be fucking retarded," Bete shot back, "and denying help when we've already lost people is really fucking retarded."
Finn sighed, but let it be.
"Let's change the subject," Achilles interjected, turning to Lyd, "can we expect Asterios to join us?"
Lyd and Ray nodded.
"We sent a message to him and I can't imagine him staying out of this. However there's no telling where exactly we'll meet up with him," Lyd answered.
"Good, having someone that strong will greatly help."
"Which one is Asterios?" Tiona asked curiously.
"He's the big black bull you guys fought," Ray informed her.
"Wait? He's going to join us? Sweet!" Tiona cried.
The Xenos and many of her own familia were surprised by the excited reaction.
"You're…not mad about your previous fight?" Ray questioned.
"No. Why would I be? That fight was awesome! He managed to take on all of us and survive. If anything, I want a rematch!"
The Xenos, getting over their surprise, smiled.
"I'm sure he would be happy to oblige," Ray informed her.
"Awesome! Though, now that I think about it, his fight with Bell was even more awesome!"
"Please don't remind me of that," Achilles requested, sighing heavily.
"Why?" Riveria asked.
"Apparently Bell and Asterios are rivals. According to what Bell and the others told me, Asterios was the red minotaur he fought to become a level 2 and reincarnated as the Irregular he is now." That surprised the Loki familia. "And even after his rebirth, he remembered Bell and sought him out. His fight with Bell on the surface was the tie-maker, meaning that they need one, final battle between them to decide who's really the greater warrior."
"Oh," Riveria said, understanding what that meant.
A mist of anxiety passed over them as the realization that, even should they gain victory over the Evilus, the challenges would just keep coming, sank in. However, it was not permitted to sink deep as an abrasive voice called out again.
"There's no point worrying if the Rabbit will beat the Big Cow until we save his stupid ass!" Bete bellowed.
Surprising as it was, that actually eased some of the worry floating above them and allowed their smiles to return.
"Aw, the Bete's worried about Bell!" Tiona cried.
"How the fuck did you come to that?!"
The others laughed as Tiona continued to tease him and he continued to deny any concern as loudly as possible.
The Expedition reached the safety point on Floor 28 and made camp. Naturally, the Xenos separated themselves from the rest of the Expedition, but that did not mean they stayed alone as the Hestia familia set-up right beside them, with the Mania, Hades, and even Hermes familia quickly joining them.
"You guys don't need to stick with us, especially not if it complicates things for you," Ray said.
"We want to stick with you, and even if we didn't," Welf turned, "I don't think it's physically possible to separate Haruhime and Wiene right now."
They all turned and smiled as Wiene snuggled up to Haruhime beside the fire. The young monster girl had stayed by the renard's side since joining the Expedition and the fox girl had done her best to soothe her worries about Bell and make her smile.
"I suppose you have a point," Ray smiled.
"Dinner's almost ready!" Mikoto called.
"Great! I'm starving!" Lyd cried as he and the others rushed over to her.
"Manners! Manners!" Ray cried and she rushed over to get the other Xenos in line.
Achilles watched the whole scene in silence, before chuckling and shaking his head.
"It's quite the scene, isn't it?" Riveria said, joining his side.
"It is," he replied as he took her hand, "and one I never expected to see."
"It could be worse. At least we know they're weak to good cooking," Finn joked as he and the rest of the Loki familia joined them.
"To be fair, Mikoto is an excellent cook. I'm sure Takemikazuchi will be a very happy man," Achilles responded, making sure to say the last part loud enough for the Easterling to hear.
"Achilles-dono!" she whined.
They chuckled.
"Come on, let's eat," Achilles said.
"Mind if we join you?"
They turned again, finding five familiar faces behind them.
"Are you sure?" Achilles asked as his eyes moved over his old comrades.
"We're sure," Galadriel answered with a soft smile.
Achilles nodded.
"Alright. Let's go get around the fire."
The familias, along with the Xenos all sat around the fire and began to chow down.
"This is great!" Lyd cried as he began to inhale his food.
"It is really good," Patroclus agreed.
"Mhmm. Well done, Mikoto-san," Imilce complimented.
The girl's face was on fire at this point.
"Y-You're all…very welcome."
Not everyone was in such high spirits though as a certain, stone-faced winged beast eyed the Zeus and Hera familia suspiciously.
"You all seem very accepting of us," Gros said, his eyes boring down upon the veterans.
Everything stopped.
"Then we are evidently very good actors," Dido responded, just as coldly as the Xenos, "as I can assure you that we are just barely able to tolerate your very existence."
"Dido!" Imilce cried.
"What Dido means to say is," Galadriel jumped in, "that we did learn about your existence before the Expedition, as well as what transpired on the surface, but we are, admittedly, still somewhat uncomfortable with the knowledge of you, especially after learning about what…who else…is also a Xenos."
A cold pressure fell on all of them.
"What does she mean by that?" Ray asked.
"The One-Eyed Black Dragon is also a Xenos," Achilles answered, his fists clenched tight enough to bend steel, "I suspect he is the first, given how long he's been around."
"T-The King is also one of us?" Lyd asked, as his and the other Xenos' eyes widened.
"'King'?" Dido repeated, her eyes narrowing.
Things were quiet for a moment as Lyd realized his mistake, but soon also realized he had to explain.
"As I told Achilles a while back, there's a part of all us Xenos that recognizes that there's someone much bigger, stronger, and meaner than us out there. We know that he's the top dog of us all. That we're all small and pathetic compared to him. That he is, in a sense, the King of Monsters."
No one liked the sound of that and Dido's hand fell to her weapon as she asked her next question.
"Does that mean that if it…if he were to appear, that you would side with him against us?"
The Xenos froze and that reaction immediately made many of the adventurers instinctively reach for their weapons, including Ais.
"W-Well…I…" Lyd tried to reply.
Dido glared and got ready to jump to her feet.
"Of course not!"
Everyone's head shot around as Wiene stood tall before them all.
"If that big jerk told us to fight all of you, we'd tell him to shove his tail where the sun don't shine!" the vouivre declared.
"Wiene!" Haruhime and Ray cried.
"We won't turn on our friends and family for anyone, and certainly not for that…that…asshole!"
"WIENE!" Haruhime cried again as she reached up and covered the dragon girl's mouth, shocked as any mother would be the first time she heard her child curse.
It was all so childish, ridiculous, and cute. In other words, it was too much for the adventurers to restrain themselves.
Everyone burst out laughing, even Dido, for all her previous rage and fear, couldn't help but stare at Wiene with a bewildered look of amusement.
The Xenos, meanwhile, just watched the adventurers lose their collective shit, wondering what was happening.
"Well…" Gareth wiped his eyes, "looks like we have nothing to worry about."
"Quite," Riveria agreed as she tried her best to take deep breaths.
"Who…hooo…who taught Wiene how to curse?" Welf asked as he held his stomach.
"Lyyydddd," Ray growled, turning to the lizardman who began to sweat.
"I'm sorry! It slipped out the first time!"
"First time?!" Haruhime roared, her tail swishing back and forth angrily.
Unfortunately for the barely recovered adventurers, seeing Haruhime's adorable rage and Lyd cowering before the siren and renard was too much for them and they burst out laughing again.
It took over five minutes for everyone to calm down enough for things to continue and by then, many stomachs were positively aching.
"Well, at least we know that, as long as Wiene's around to keep them in line, we have nothing to fear," Achilles said with a big smile.
"Quite right," Geneve said, her cheeks aching.
"Quite right my ass."
Once more they all turned, and immediately lost their smiles.
"You all really have lost your minds," Argana spat while Bache stood silently behind her, "acting like friends with fucking monsters," she literally spat after this. "I've never seen something so disgusting and insane."
"Eat shit, you bitch!" Tione screamed, jumping to her feet.
"You wanna fight you traitorous bitch?" Argana shot back, getting in a fighting position.
"Enough," Achilles as he rose, "you've said your piece, Argana, and we understand your position, but whether you like it or not, these are your allies now, as well as our friends. Now, you can bite your tongue and allow them to fight alongside you, increasing your chances of surviving this expedition and gaining some sort of reward or, you can be extremely stupid and pick a fight with all of us," he gestured towards everyone, "which will include a rematch with me, but without the restraints of a tournament."
As disgusted as she was, Argana knew how that would end.
"Handsome, you get me all hot and bothered, but your defense of those…things, makes me dryer than the Kaios desert."
"Noted," he replied calmly.
She stared into his eyes for a few more moments before huffing and flipping her hair.
"Fine. Have fun with your little pets. But when you finally snap out of your stupor, you can come join me in my tent."
Riveria looked ready to boil her blood at that, but could do little as the Amazon strode off, though it was quickly noted she did so alone.
"You're not joining her?" Ais questioned, her suspicious eyes actively attempting to set the other Amazon sister on fire.
"No," Bache answered.
"Why not?" Asfi questioned, suspicious as well, though nowhere near as much as Ais.
"I learned a long time ago what real monsters look like," she replied, "and it's not scales, or wings, or having skin of stone that makes a monster," she turned to the Xenos, "it's monstrous actions. That being the case, in comparison to my sister, and even me, you all are downright pleasant."
Everyone, especially the Xenos, were quite stunned at the statement, having not expected such a philosophical response.
"Well then, would you care to join us?" Uriel asked. "Assuming no one is against that?"
She looked around and most seemed willing. The notable exception was, of course, Ais who was not at all keen on having the woman who tried to claim Bell in the middle of a library sit next to her at dinner, however, she also recognized that it took a great deal of bravery for Bache to be there and so sighed and nodded.
Bache smiled underneath her mask.
"I'd like that."
"Mind if we join as well?"
Achilles and a few others were getting tired of all the head turning, but any complaint they had died when they saw Mia and the waitresses a few paces away.
"A-Are you all sure?" Ryuu asked.
"We are," Mia replied.
"You're not forcing yourselves?" the elf pressed.
"Have I ever forced myself to do something I didn't actually want to do in all the years you worked for me?" the matron of the Hostess of Fertility asked. Ryuu smiled and shook her head. "There's your answer. Now skootch over, you lot have made that poor girl cook for all you ungrateful brats for long enough," she continued, before taking over the roll of cook from Mikoto as the waitresses quickly joined the pack, with Anya beginning to question the Xenos while Lunoire and Chloe cooed over Wiene.
Looks like things will be alright, Riveria thought as she watched everyone interact, noting that even Bete was allowing himself the tiniest of smiles.
They had finally reached the White Palace of Floor 37. By this point, the more experienced adventurers took the lead, with the lower levels standing behind, tightly packed, but ready to assist.
"I'll deal with Udaeus," Achilles said, pulling out his sword.
"We'll deal with it together," Riveria replied.
"Actually…would you mind if we dealt with him?"
They all turned to Lyd and the Xenos.
"Why do you want to fight it?" Lili asked.
"'Want' isn't exactly the right word, Liliuchi," Lyd returned, "it's more that I think we should."
"Should?" she and the others repeated.
"We want to prove that we're on your side and how useful we can be," he explained.
"Lyd-san, we know you're on our side," Haruhime assured him.
"The guys back there don't," he gestured behind them, "and I don't blame them. We are monsters after all. So please, let us prove ourselves to them and show what we're capable of."
The adventurers looked amongst themselves, wondering what they should do. They knew that Lyd and the Xenos had a point about the other members of the Expedition, but they didn't want them unnecessarily risking themselves in what might very well be a vain hope of approval.
"Please," Ray pleaded as she and other Xenos stepped forward and bowed, "give us this chance."
That decided it. As reluctant as they all were, they couldn't deny such a heartfelt request.
"Alright," Finn permitted.
The Xenos raised their heads and smiled.
"Thank you," Ray said.
"I'm not sure you should be thanking me for allowing you to take on a Dungeon Rex," he replied with a chuckle.
"Even so."
"I guess we'll leave you to it," Welf said.
"We'll kick his butt for sure, just watch!" Lyd declared, flexing his arm.
"You'd better. Lili is not telling Bell-sama that any of you died!" the prum vowed.
"And you won't have to," Gros promised back.
The adventurers parted from the Xenos, taking the weaker, non-combatant monsters with them, before telling the Expedition to retreat.
"Why the fuck are we retreating?" Argana demanded.
"The Xenos want to prove their good intentions and so will take on the Dungeon Rex themselves," Riveria explained firmly, having had quite enough of the Amazon.
"Fuck that! That won't prove shit and I'm not losing out on a great fight so that some monsters can try and prove they won't eat me!"
She took a step forward only for a foot to come flying right at her face and stop a mere inch from her nose.
"You're staying right there, bitch," Bete growled.
She turned and glared at the werewolf.
"You gonna try and stop me, puppy?"
"Do I need to repeat what I said last night?" Achilles asked, stepping forward, alongside the other adventurers.
Argana quickly found herself surrounded, and cursed.
"Fine. Let the monsters kill each other. It should be entertaining enough to watch those freaks die."
"They won't die!" Wiene cried.
Argana, her eyes an inferno of contempt stared down at the little dragon girl.
"Yes they will. Maybe it won't be here, but one day, some other monster or some adventurer will come and reduce them to dust. And guess what? The same thing will happen to you, little dragon bit-"
SLAP!
Haruhime had thrown everything she had into the slap, but it had barely moved the Kali captain a millimeter at the cost of a now aching hand.
"Don't you ever say that to her again to her you…you…bitch!"
The Hestia familia and company blinked.
Did Haruhime just curse? They all thought, wondering if they had all gone crazy for a moment.
Argana glared at Haruhime and though she had barely even felt the strike, was ready to tear the renard's tail off, but she soon remembered who this girl was and, more importantly, who her great protector was, and thus restrained herself.
"I'm only speaking the truth, fur ball. The day will come when you and your other monster-loving freaks aren't there to protect her or a strong adventurer cuts through her friends over there and rips her stone from her. Curse, slap, and cry all you want, that is the truth."
Argana turned and strode off, leaving Haruhime to glare at her back.
With the Amazon gone, the sun princess immediately turned and went back to Wiene and hugged her.
"She's wrong. That will never happen. I promise."
Wiene would have been lying had she said the mean lady's words didn't affect her, but all sadness and fear immediately burned away the moment Haruhime's warm arms wrapped around her.
"Thank you, Mama."
Haruhime's face burst into scarlet.
"M-M-Mama?!"
While Haruhime was being awoken from her stupor, Lyd, Ray, Gros, and the other Xenos prepared for battle.
"Are you all sure about this? I wouldn't blame you if you guys wanted to back out," Lyd commented.
"Don't even try, Lyd. We're just as sure as you are," Ray threw back.
He scratched the back of his neck.
"Just wanted to be sure."
"Enough talking. The longer we take, the longer Mister Bell has to suffer," Let reminded them.
Instantly, they were all completely serious.
"Let's go," Lyd ordered.
The Xenos strode forward into Udaeus's domain, knowing he would appear once they did.
They were not disappointed as within seconds, the ground began to break and a giant black skeleton rose from the White Palace, its red eyes soon finding its opponents before unleashing a mighty howl.
"He's quite obnoxious isn't he?" Ray asked.
"Yeah, so let's silence him quickly," Lyd responded as he raised his sword above his head. "Charge!"
"RAAAAAA!" The Xenos cried as they rushed the Rex from all sides, including from the air.
Udaeus, seeing his enemies rushing towards him, slammed his hand down on the ground, sending black spikes shooting at them.
"Dodge!" Lyd cried as he and the others all moved out of the way of the attempt to impale them.
"Too bad you can't bring those spikes up here!" Ray cried as she swooped in and smashed her bird feet against the boss's skull.
Udaeus cried out as his head was thrown backwards, but he quickly recovered and swiped at Ray, who quickly dodged and weaved out of the way.
"Don't forget us, big guy!" Lyd cried as he and the others closed in.
The Lizardman, Gros, and Let all aimed for the stone in the Rex's chest, but Udaeus quickly realized this and swiped at them with his arm.
Gros and Let managed to get out of the way quickly enough, but Lyd, who was in the lead, couldn't and so found himself struck by the powerful blow and sent hurtling towards the Dungeon wall.
"Lyd!" Wiene cried.
"You bastard!" Ray cried as she dove in again, the other Xenos quickly joining her as they rushed in to punish the monster boss.
Meanwhile, Lyd slowly picked himself back up, groaning as he did so.
"I guess I should have expected a Rex to be able to hit hard, but geez," he said as he lifted his gaze, finding that the others, for all their strength and numbers, were having trouble with the boss. "Come on Lyd, stop complaining and get back into the fight!"
The lizardman rushed forward to rejoin the fight at either the exact right or the exact wrong time.
Udaeus, realizing it was fighting a losing battle, decided to go all out, quickly battering aside its attackers before bringing forth its black sword.
"It does have a sword now," Achilles said, uncomfortable with the visual confirmation.
"Bring him down before he can charge up!" Lyd cried.
The Xenos attacked in unison with Ray smashing against Udaeus's skull from the back while the others charged from the front.
"Take this!" Gros bellowed as he threw a claw into the boss's left shoulder joint.
The Rex's left arm fell to the ground with a great crash, but this was not enough to stop the mighty monster which raised its sword high above its head with its remaining arm and charged up its dark power.
"Here we go," Argana smirked.
You aren't going to have a tongue by the end of this expedition if you keep spouting things like that, girl! Riveria swore.
With a roar, Udaeus swung his sword down, aiming for the center of the Xenos's formation.
"Take cover!" Lyd cried.
The Xenos did their best, but there was too little time and too few spaces to take cover and so when the Monster Rex's sword crashed into the ground and sent forth a way of terrible power, many found themselves being flung across the Dungeon floor.
Among those hit by the attack was Ray, who was struck by the tremendous wind of the strike, sending her crashing into the roof of the Dungeon.
"Gaah!" she cried as blood shot from her mouth.
Injured as she was, the siren couldn't stop herself from falling and could only listen as Lyd and the others called out desperately to her before she crashed into the ground.
"Ray!" Wiene cried as she tried to force herself from Haruhime's arms.
"Fuck this," Achilles said as he pulled out Dragonsbane.
"It's not over yet, Achilles," Riveria stated, grabbing his arm.
"I'm not going to let them die."
"You're not, you're giving them a chance to overcome. They're strong, Achilles. Trust in their strength," she requested.
He growled, but relented, though he kept his sword at the ready.
Ray groaned as she slowly looked up.
"Lucky…bastard," she cursed at the floor boss.
As if he heard her insult and took offense, Udaeus turned his red eyes to her before lifting his sword again.
"Shit! Ray, get out of there!" Lyd cried.
She tried to pick herself up, but her body was too battered for her to do so nearly quickly enough and she could only watch as Udaeus brought his sword down again.
"Ray!" Lyd and the others cried.
Guess this is the end, Ray thought as the sword closed in.
"NOOOOOO!"
Before she could even blink, Ray felt herself being dragged out of the way of the sword and halfway across the White Palace as the Rex's sword crashed behind her.
The floor fell silent as even Udaeus seemed confused by what had just happened. It was only as the dust cleared that they discovered what happened.
"Wha?" Ray looked down, finding a familiar, tiny body on top of her, only there was an unexpected addition to said body. "Wiene! Your wings!"
The dragon girl looked up and turned her relieved, but confused eyes to her back and found, to her shock, her wings had grown back and were now resting majestically on her back.
"Huh?" was all she could muster.
The confusion of the moment was prevented from being resolved as Udaeus, enraged at having been denied its kill, howled and turned its body towards them, raising the sword to strike them down.
"I don't think so, you bastard!" Lyd roared as he, Gros, and Let all attacked him again, with Gros cracking his skull, Let destroying the joint of his right arm, and Lyd smashing his way into the boss's ribcage and plunging his sword into Rex's magic stone, causing Udaeus to burst into dust.
"T-They did it," Wiene said, still trying to regain control of her bearings.
"Yes they did," Ray with a smile, "and you saved me."
Wiene turned back to her and upon seeing the siren's smiling face, burst into a bright smile and hugged the older Xenos tightly.
"Ow ow, easy there Wiene, I'm still hurt you know."
"Oh! I'm sorry!"
Ray chuckled.
"It's okay. Now, let's go back to the others."
Ray and Wiene picked themselves up, though the dragon girl had to help the siren, and began to make their way to the others, who were rushing to meet them.
"Are you alright Ray?" Lyd asked.
"I'll live, don't worry," she replied with a smile.
"Wiene, that was amazing!" Fear cried, flying over to join the others.
"It was quite impressive," Achilles agreed, appearing amongst them before turning and handing Ray a vial. "This should help."
"Thank you," she replied as she took and drank the potion.
"Wiene!"
The vouivre turned just in time for Haruhime to throw her arms around her again.
"You scared me! You scared me so much!" the motherly renard cried as she hugged her surrogate daughter as tightly as she could.
"I-I'm sorry," Wiene replied as her own eyes filled with tears.
"We're not mad at you, Wiene, we were just very scared for you," Mikoto reassured her.
"Speak for yourself, Lili's plenty mad! You shouldn't have risked yourself like that! What would we have told Bell-sama if you were hurt!" Lili cried.
This only brought more tears as Wiene hugged Haruhime tighter and apologized again and again.
"Easy there, Lil' Lili, she was just saving her friend. Bell would be proud of her," Welf said.
"Even so..." Lili pouted, "Lili was scared too."
"I'm sorry, Lili," Wiene apologized, her teary, innocent eyes immediately shattering Lili's pout and earning a pat on the head from the prum, earning a smile from the dragon girl.
If this doesn't convince the others that they don't need to fear the Xenos, they truly have black hearts, Gareth thought as he turned his head just enough to look back at the Expedition, which watched everything with wide eyes filled, not with fear, but confusion and realization.
"We should get you all patched up before we continue on," Finn stated once things had calmed down.
"I'm not about to disagree with that," Lyd said with a laugh.
Wiene finally parted from a red-eyed, but smiling Haruhime, only to freeze when she saw Ais.
Instantly, the tears were back, alarming all, including the Sword Princess herself.
"I-I-I'm sorry my wings came back!" Wiene cried. "I s-swear I didn't mean to make them come back! I-I-I just w-wanted to s-save Ray!"
No one but Ais understood what was going on as neither she, nor Bell, had ever revealed what precisely had happened during their confrontation. As such, they all looked back and forth between the two with great concern.
She thinks I'm angry at her for regaining her wings, Ais thought as her fist clenched.
"I-I'm sorry! I-I'm sorry! I swear I won't hurt anyone! I swea-!"
Wiene stopped when she felt a soft hand on her head.
"I know you won't, Wiene," Ais said softly, "that's not who you are."
Wiene lifted her head and her tearful eyes met Ais's golden spheres.
"Y-You believe me?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Ais nodded.
"I know now that you're not a monster. You're just a girl. A good girl with a good heart."
Wiene's eyes filled with tears again, only now they were tears of relief and joy as she threw herself into Ais's chest.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she cried over and over again.
Ais smiled and gently stroked her hair as she cried.
The others still had no idea what was going on, but after a few quick looks amongst themselves, they decided it didn't truly matter as long as their girls were okay.
Things had been painfully silent for the last week amongst the three of them. Ever since Hera had refused to let them go to Bell.
I get why she's so adamantly against it, it is dangerous after all, but, his eyes turned to the cold and silent Aria who made dinner without so much as a squeak, it doesn't mean I agree.
"Dido's letter does say that Bell is dangerously strong and that he's growing at an insane pace, but she has not mentioned anything that could explain what you felt," Hera said towards Aria.
The Wind Spirit made no reply, only continued cooking.
"Will you stop being childish? You know why I said no, and deep down, you know I'm right."
Aria shot around, her golden eyes shining with anger.
"He needs me," she hissed.
"He has his own familia and plenty of support, at least from what Dido has said. He doesn't need you and even if he did, we cannot risk you two meeting due to the Dragon."
"Fuck the Dragon!" Aria cried.
"Stop being a petulant child!" Hera screamed back.
Zeus sighed and decided to go outside for a few minutes while they argued.
However, a black portal suddenly opened before him, stopping both him and the argument.
Isn't that…?
A black hawk suddenly appeared through the portal and landed on Zeus's quickly outstretched arm.
"Isn't that Hades's messenger hawk?" Aria asked, recognizing the creature.
"It is, and if he's sending me a message like this it must be serious," Zeus said, his voice like stone as he removed the message from the bird and began to read.
"What does it say?" Hera questioned.
Zeus did not respond to her, he only began to shake as he gripped the letter so tightly it began to crumple in his hand.
"Zeus? What is it?" Aria asked, now filled with worry.
He looked up, his eyes a pit of dread and rage.
"Bell's been captured and taken into the Dungeon by a group of Evilus."
Both women's eyes widened to inhuman proportions.
"WHAT?!" Aria cried as her heart was ripped from her chest.
"Hades says that a group of Evilus attacked Orario the day before he sent this letter, during which time a member of the Evilus captured him and took him into the Dungeon," the god explained even as the letter crumbled even further in his shaking hands.
"Why?" Hera questioned, "what could they want with the boy? They surely don't know his origins."
"I don't care why!" Aria roared, "we need to get him back!"
"Get him-?" Hera tried to question the spirit, only to watch as Aria turned away and began packing a bag, "what are you doing?"
"I'm going to save my son!"
"No! We talked about this Aria! We literally just talked about this! You cannot go to him! No matter what! That damnable beast will know the moment you two are together and that will be too tempting a target to ignore!"
As this was all happening, Zeus said not a word. However, that was not the same as being silent, for indeed, a noise was originating from him and growing louder. The sound of crackling, accompanied by an ever brighter and ominous glow.
"My son is alone in the Dungeon, Hera! Alone with Evilus who will…!" she swallowed as tears filled her eyes, "who will do who knows what to him! I'm going to Orario, Dragon or not!"
"No! No you will not! I absolutely forbid it!" Hera declared.
"YOU FORBID IT?!"
The two divine women spun around and froze at the sight before them.
Zeus had activated his Arcanum as his wrath flowed over them like the waves of stormy seas, and his lightning danced across his skin like malevolent serpents. Even his eyes were gone, replaced by shining beacons of terror-inducing power.
"You think you can forbid me from rescuing my grandson!" the King of Olympus roared.
Hera and Zeus had had many arguments over their millennia together, 90% of which she won. However, those other 10% were situations like this. Situations where her husband's fury was so great that it did not matter what argument she made, what promises she swore, or even what feminine wiles she attempted, nothing would placate him but utter capitulation. Thus, with the greatest of reluctance, she bowed her head and sighed.
"I…would never do that," she finally managed, quietly and submissively, "I just…"
"Just…what?" Aria demanded as she took her place next to Zeus as her wind began to threateningly whirl around her. "Because it sounded an awful lot like you were trying to stop us from getting Bell back."
"I just want us to not jeopardize our mission. If we head to Orario, he will know that all of us, Bell included, are together. However," she quickly added, seeing their scornful eyes, "I will concede to going to Orario, if…Bell is indeed in danger."
"What is this?" Zeus held up the letter, "if not proof of that?"
"Proof that he was, at that moment in danger," Hera replied, still as gently as possible, earning growls from both her husband and Aria for all the good it did her. "It's undoubtedly the case that some force has been gathered to defeat the Evilus and rescue Bell. By the time we get there, which will take weeks, if not months, he will likely already be rescued, meaning we risked catching the attention of that infernal beast for nothing."
"And if Bell isn't rescued?! What then?! We'll have wasted time while he's being held by those monsters! Tortured and…and possibly-" Aria couldn't finish.
"Have faith, Aria," Hera pleaded.
"That's rich coming from you," Zeus spat.
That hurt her, she could not deny that. For all his foolishness and indiscrepancies, Hera did love her husband, and he loved her, so hearing him speak to her like that, so contemptuously, was not something she took easily.
"Y-You're right," she agreed, "but please, listen to me. Let us not risk everything until we are sure we have to. Who knows, by now, Bell might be safe and sound and we'll receive a letter from Hades telling of a quick and daring rescue."
"And if he's not?"
"If he's not," the goddess took a deep breath, "then I give you two full permission to completely obliterate the Dungeon to get him back."
Aria, now in control of herself again, or as in control as she could be in the situation, was willing to accept this, though just barely, and so turned to her partner to see what he would do.
Zeus, his lightning crackling and small booms of thunder echoing from his godly heart, took the few steps forward needed to be eye-to-eye with his wife.
"If anything's happened to my grandson, I'll create a storm so powerful it'll destroy the whole damn world," he vowed.
End.
Down and down we go. Further into the belly of the beast as the forces of the world begin to truly stir and move.
Anyway, enough of my dramatics! Sorry you guys had to wait so long for a shorter chapter, but this was an unplanned chapter so I had to start from scratch and I've been working a lot on my second book recently as well. I hope you can forgive me.
Regardless, please tell me what you think. Love it. Hate it. Share your thoughts with me in the reviews.
Quick note before I go, a lot of you guys have asked about everyone's stats, so I'll try and get around to that, but I'll have to think about precisely how much everyone's grown and what their stats should be. That said, I have heard you and will work on it. I will also say I'm sorry for the timeline changes. I am somewhat familiar with what happens in Sword Oratoria and have integrated what I knew into the story, but as noted, it's a bit of a mess. So, I'm sorry for that, I just thought things like Line's death would add some drama and character moments/growth to the story, that's why they were brought in.
With all that said, I will bid you all a fine farewell and a very Happy Valetine's Day.