Hello good people, and welcome back. Well, the fight between Bell, Marius, Anya, Bache, and Argana is upon us, along with a few surprises, so let's not waste any time and get right into it.

I do not own Danmachi

Goibniu hammered away at the breastplate before him for a few more strikes before stopping to inspect the piece of armor. The god nodded in satisfaction and moved the armor to a nearby table where he laid it down with the respect that such a well-crafted piece deserved.

"It's rare for you to come to my workshop, Ottar. Don't you and the rest of the Freya familia tend to go to Brokkr?" he asked as he slowly turned his eyes to the boaz.

"My request must be done with the utmost secrecy," the Freya captain replied, putting down a huge chest that looked as heavy as a mountain. "And it must be done quickly," he dropped a preposterously large bag of valis before the deity.

Goibniu eyed the chest, ignoring the payment, before slowly walking to said chest and opening it.

"The armor you used during the tournament?" he questioned.

"Yes. It must be reinforced against all the means of attack it failed against during that fight," Ottar explained.

"Meaning you mean to fight the same opponent as last time and that he has grown stronger?" the smith lifted his head and met the mortal's eyes.

The boaz's eyes darkened, warning the god away from further questioning, but Goibniu remained calm and unaffected.

"Yes," the captain finally answered.

The smith nodded.

"Meaning I risk Freya's ire for this work," he stated, closing the chest, turning, and walking over to his smithy.

Ottar's fist tightened as he contemplated bribing or threatening the god into compliance, before Goibniu spoke again.

"Were you the Sword Princess or any other member of that smith's bane known at the Loki familia, I would tell you to leave, however," he turned back to Ottar, "you are not, and, truth be told," he grew the smallest of smiles, "I'm curious to see if I can create a piece of armor that that neither Hephaestus's knife nor that boy's claws can tear through."

It was decided that the fight would take place four days after Marius's arrival so as to give Bell enough time to heal from his fight with Asterius as well as give Marius and the others enough time to train or pull out, if they wished.

Each of the adventurers had gone their separate ways, Bell to visit healers and doctors to speed up his recovery, while his opponents headed out to equip themselves and train.

"Raaa!"

The adventurer, some low-life from one of the less reputable familias, swung at Bache with his one-handed ax, only for her to dodge, then kick him in the stomach so hard, he went flying into the nearby brick wall, shattering its face and his bones in the process.

The other adventurers, all equally as irreputable, shared looks before deciding to attack the amazon in force. However, they fared no better and soon, a group of no less than 30 low and mid-tier adventurers were groaning in pain in the courtyard that the Kali captain had summoned them to with the promise of a large payment should they prove able to defeat her.

I didn't even work up a sweat, Bache thought as she looked down in disappointment at her defeated training dummies. I should have just gone into the Dungeon, that would have been a better use of my time.

"So ya going to kill them or what?"

Bache turned and found her sister leaning against a nearby wall, her cold eyes staring with thinly-veiled contempt.

"There's no need for that, besides, I doubt the Guild would simply overlook 30 dead adventurers," the scarfed sister replied.

"Who the fuck cares what the Guild has to say?" Argana demanded as she strode over to one of the downed adventurers and placed her foot on his throat. "The strong take what they want, the weak suffer what they must," she stated with sadistic glee as she pressed down.

"Enough Argana."

Argana turned to her sister and glared as she bared her teeth.

"Your softness disgusts me," she snarled as she released the terrified man and stormed over to Bache. "You're nothing but a bitch in heat now, wanting that toothless dragon to mount you."

"Every amazon seeks a strong man to have children with. It's in our blood. And I've found mine," Bache shot back.

"No. You aren't some lioness who found her prey, you're a silly little girl who's found her 'hero'."

Suddenly, before Bache could react, Argana grabbed her throat and began to squeeze.

"You've deluded yourself into thinking that man can save you. Save you from Telskyura. From Kali. From me. From your own sins," she hissed as she leaned closer. "Well he can't. You can't run from the past, me, or all the terrible things you've done and he can't wash away all the blood you've spilt. That you, once upon a time, enjoyed spilling."

Bache, partly in desperation, partly as a refutation, grabbed Argana's throat.

"I…never enjoyed it," she growled as best as she could with her sister's hand still gripping her throat.

Argana, after getting over her surprise, chuckled darkly.

"You can try to lie to yourself, but it won't spare you from the truth. You're not Tione or Tiona. You're not as pathetically sweet as them. You've taken life, dear sister, and I've seen how you reveled in your victories in the past. How you laughed."

Bache's grip around Argana's throat weakened as her eyes widened, which was more than enough of an opening for her sister, who shot forward, smashing Bache into the wall of a nearby building as both hands came up to strangle the masked amazon.

"You'd best hope that toothless dragon of yours manages to pull off a win against us or else I really will strangle the life out of you," Argana vowed before she let go of Bache's throat.

Bache slid down the wall as she began coughing violently.

Argana didn't care and turned away, but had only taken a few steps before she stopped.

"If I get even a single hint that you're holding back during the fight with that white-haired brat, I don't care what deal's been made or who tries to protect you, I'll kill you," she threatened over her shoulder before striding out of the courtyard.

Bache slowly rose to her feet, fists clenched hard enough to shatter marble.

"Very well, sister, I'll fight with everything I have, but if I know Bell at all, I know that he'll still manage to gain victory, regardless."

"Raaaa!"

Anya tore through a small horde of Almiraj before turning on a group of Hellhounds and slicing them to pieces.

"Come on! Is that all you can do?! I killed twelve times this on the 60th floor! Come and fight me you bastaaaards!"

The catgirl continued her slaughter until, at last, everything on the fifteenth floor was destroyed and a treasure trove of glittering soul stones surrounded her.

"Even Rakia's craziest fighters would find you ferocious."

Anya spun around to discover Marius behind her.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

He raised his sword.

"To train. Just like you."

She growled.

"You could have done that without following me," she hissed as she began strolling off.

"Then I wouldn't have been able to find out whether or not my hunch was correct," he replied calmly.

Anya's suspicious eyes turned back to him.

"What hunch?"

"That we're both fighting Bell Cranel for the same reason."

"It is not the same reason! You lost your shithead god, who I hear you didn't even like, but I lost my brother!" she screamed.

"Who, from what I hear, didn't treat you very well."

Anya was at his throat in an instant, spearpoint ready to pierce his jugular.

"I would choose my next words very carefully."

Marius stared into her eyes with an unnerving calm before sighing and slowly backing away before heading over to a rock where he sat down.

"It's awful, isn't it?" he asked. "Feeling the need to fight for someone even though you are opposed to so much of who they were."

"I was not opposed to my brother! I loved him!"

"But he wasn't kind, was he?" Marius shot back, his eyes knowing and sympathetic.

Anya gnashed her teeth as angry tears forced her to look away.

"Allen…my brother…he was finally turning around. At least…I hoped he was. He was always a bit mean, but I never blamed him for that. We suffered a lot when we were young."

"Anger rarely comes from nowhere," the Rakian prince replied empathetically.

"I…I really thought we could be a family again. That, despite me being so weak, he would come to visit me at the restaurant. He'd complain about me the entire time until Mama told him to shut it, and I'd laugh, and everything would be alright," she continued, a soft smile playing across her face for a brief moment before the horrible, mutilated image of her brother's body reappeared in mind, making her clench her eyes shut as her fist tightened around her spear. "But now that will never happen. Because Bell killed him."

The Dungeon fell painfully silent as Marius watched the conflicted catgirl, who seemed almost to forget he was there, as she fell into her pain.

"Well then," he stated, startling her back to reality as he rose to his feet. "We should get back to training," he continued as he pulled out his sword.

The fourth day arrived and with it, the fork in the road that would determine whether Bell Cranel would be forgiven his transgressions and move forward into a brighter future or if the Hestia familia would move into the dark future where the only thing that remained of their captain was a tombstone.

The fighters had gathered at the Coliseum, which had been cleared and blocked off by the Ganesha familia for the purpose of the upcoming fight.

"We've ensured that no one will disturb you. If anyone asks what's going on, we will simply tell them that a few familia are using the Coliseum for training," Shakti explained.

"That won't stop rumors from flying," Loki noted.

"But it'll at least provide a valid explanation for anyone asking too many questions," Hestia replied before turning back to the Ganesha captain. "Thank you, Shakti-kun. Tell Ganesha thank you as well," the goddess gratefully continued, receiving a bow from the captain before turning to her own. "Are you really sure about this, Bell-kun?"

"Yeah," he replied as he checked his armor. "I don't know Marius as well as Welf does," he turned to his surrogate older brother, "but he doesn't seem like a bad person, just someone who takes his responsibilities seriously, which I understand. More importantly," he took a deep breath, "Anya needs this. If I can ever hope to receive her forgiveness, she needs to let out her anger," he put on his best smile, "besides, this also gives us the chance of getting a new member with Bache, so there's lots of benefits to this fight."

And one really horrible potential negative, Hestia thought alongside the rest of her familia.

"Alright, if you're sure…but," she grabbed his arm, "please be careful Bell. I know you want to help people, but that doesn't always mean you need to put yourself in danger. Sometimes, it really is best to do nothing and let time do its work."

Bell nodded though she could tell that he didn't fully believe her.

I just hope that his disbelief doesn't result in him getting hurt in a way that he can't recover from.

She let go of his arm and he, the Hestia familia, and their friends and allies, entered the Coliseum.

Bell's challengers were already there, each decked out in their best weapons and armor, or in Argana and Bache's cases, stretching in preparation.

Anya, for her part, only glared as Bell and the others approached.

"Good morning everyone, and thank you all for coming," Bell greeted.

"What kind of stupid pervert thanks people for coming to kick his ass?" Argana asked as she smiled sadistically at Bell.

"You would do well not to underestimate my son," Achilles warned, his voice low and commanding.

"I suppose you're right handsome, I did see what he could do when he goes full monster on someone," she dark-skinned woman replied before she turned her vicious smile towards Anya, "that's why you're here after all, right?"

Anya's hand tightened around her spear as her body began to shake with all the emotions she was barely restraining.

"Silence yourself, girl, or I will negate this entire fight and simply Charm all of you into submission," Freya warned, her rage boiling over at seeing Anya's reaction.

"The other gods won't like that," Kali stated, stepping forward, "and unlike me, you need the approval of the others, Freya-chan."

Freya stepped towards the masked goddess.

"Try me."

"Stop." Everyone turned to Bell. "Please," he added. "This fight is meant to end bad feelings, not create more."

"Fights rarely make people like each other kiddo," Kali pointed out before smiling, "but I did come here to see a fight so," she turned to Argana, "leave the smack talk to the battle. I'm sure you've got some insults for dragon boy here that'll get under his skin."

Argana's bloodthirsty smile grew.

"I expect him to be crying by the end."

Bell met her homicidal gaze and, as if to say "Want to bet?" his draconic eyes boring into her.

This might be even more fun than I thought, Kali thought, licking her lips.

"Then let's get started," she said, striding off towards the stands.

"Good luck Bell," Finn said seriously.

"Thanks," Bell replied.

"Don't lose, rabbit," Bete added, patting him on the back.

"He won't," Ais stated, earning a soft smile and kiss from her lover.

"Thank you, Ais, for always believing in me."

"You don't have to thank me for that. I will always believe in you," she assured him, earning another kiss from Bell before they finally parted.

Nearby, Achilles watched the exchange with worried eyes.

But does she believe in him? Or is that belief the very problem? He asked himself as he thought about their previous conversation. He turned his gaze to the young woman. Does she believe in him so much she forgot to believe in herself?

He didn't know the answer and that open question did not sit well with him at all.

Asfi and Hermes watched from the seats as the fighters took up their positions in the sands below.

"I'm curious," she suddenly began, "why you haven't requested that this fight also be shown to the whole city."

"You're smart enough to know the answer to that, Asfi," the god replied, his voice playful, but his eyes hard. "If everyone sees Marius fighting Bell, they'll wonder why, which will naturally lead in only one direction."

Asfi's frown deepened.

"Ares."

"Precisely. There's really only one reason Marius would want to fight dear Bell, and if people start talking about Ares and Rakia again all Bell's and my hard work will be for naught."

"Word is still likely to get out."

"Eventually, but it will be piecemeal and more moldable. By the time the public really knows about it, I'll have a story that will thoroughly explain his presence."

Or his sudden disappearance, Asfi added.

"Wait," she snapped back to reality and looked at her god. "Is that Goibniu?" he asked as he squinted. Asfi turned and looked to where he was squinting and, to her surprise, he was right. The smith god was heading over to the other deities and the mortal onlookers, all of whom seemed surprised to see him. "Why is he here? He doesn't have a vested interest in this matter."

Asfi would have shrugged had not a distant rumble sent a tingle down her spine. She turned back to the arena where, to her shock, a new imposing figure was walking towards Bell.

"Well now," Hermes smiled as his eyes fell on the newest arrival and, "this is an interesting development."

"This fight has been sanctioned by the Guild and with the added authority of the Ganesha familia," Shakti began, "that means, no killing," she stated forcefully. "You will treat this like you would a tournament fight and aim only to incapacitate, knock out, or force your opponent to surrender, nothing more."

"You've clearly never been to Telskyura, sweetheart, tournament fights always end in killings," Argana explained with cruelty dripping from her words.

Tione's hands squeezed into fists, but both Finn and Tiona grabbed her hands and squeezed them to help calm her down.

"We are not in Telskyura, we are in Orario and you will follow our rules, am I understood?" Shakti questioned.

"We'll see," the Kali captain responded with irritating casualness.

"Shakti," Bell cut in, "it'll be alright," he assured her.

The Ganesha captain sighed.

"Very well, then-"

The ground suddenly began to shake, not like an earthquake, but like something very large and very powerful was heading their way.

All the combatants and all the onlookers turned and found, to their shock, none other than Ottar, decked out in his new and improved armor, approaching the center of the arena.

"Ottar? What are you doing here?" Shakti questioned.

"I am here to join the fight," he explained, his eyes turned towards Bell, "against the captain of the Hestia familia."

"WHAT?!"

All eyes shot towards Freya. The goddess looked like her very heart had been stolen from her chest. So heart wrenching was the sight and so terrible the cry, that none could move even as she ran from the stands and straight towards her captain.

"Ottar!" she screamed as she ran towards her captain. "What in Heaven's name are you doing?!"

"I…am doing what I must, Freya-sama," he answered, though only with great pain.

"What. You. Must?"

She suddenly grabbed his face and pulled him down so her glowing eyes held his like a vice.

"What you must do right now, is march right back home and wait for me as I figure out how I'm going to pu-!"

"Freya!" Bell cried as he grabbed her arm, forcing her to spin around and meet his eyes. "Please! Let him explain."

Stunned, Freya tried to argue.

"B-But-"

"Please."

Fists tight and eyes filled with anger and confusion, Freya growled before turning back to her captain.

"Explain yourself! NOW!"

Ottar slowly rose to his full height and, after meeting the mess of emotions in his goddess's eyes, turned towards Bell.

"Bell Cranel, you have earned my lady's affection, yet, despite that highest of gifts, you have pushed her to the side. Disregarded her feelings for you and left her alone. Worse, you insulted her, fought us, her children, and yet still have the audacity to ask her for favors. Training. Protection. Whenever you are not strong enough, you come to us or the Loki familia, which is yet another slight against her. You ignore her love and side with her rival, preferring that trickster to my goddess," Ottar's eyes hardened and the air around him grew colder. "And now, at your hands, you have taken the life of my vice-captain. My ally. And for all his faults, my friend. Perhaps I could have accepted that if I truly believed that it was only due to Dionysus's control that you did such, but I know that is not the case," he took a step forward so that he was right before Bell, forcing the young man to look up. "You hated Allen. You wished him gone. Though you may have never spoken the words, I could see it. Every time you saw him, you held nothing but loathing for him. That is why I know it was not just because of Dionysus's crown that you killed Allen, but because you wanted him gone," he let that accusation suspend in the air like a guillotine. "That is intolerable to me. That is why I must fight you."

"O-Ottar," Freya whispered, unsure of what else she could say.

Bell, however, knew exactly what he needed to say.

"Freya-sama. Let him fight. He needs it too."

"But-!"

"It'll be alright. I was actually still antsy about everyone's chances even with Bache and Argana joining the fight." The latter sister growled at the perceived insult. "Now, I won't have to worry."

Freya wanted to say no. She wasn't sure she'd ever wanted to deny a request more in her entire life.

I would rather say yes to Hera demanding that I kiss her feet, she thought as her body shook, but…I can't. I can't say no to both of them.

"V…Very well," she conceded, but before either Bell or Ottar could thank her, she spun around and pointed a finger at her captain's face. "But we are having a loooong conversation when we get home, child! Do you hear me?!"

Beneath his helmet, Ottar smiled.

"Yes my lady."

Freya growled then, with a wave of her hand, stormed off.

"You can continue, Shakti-san," Bell informed her.

"I'm not sure I want to," the azure woman replied before sighing, "but I guess it's not up to me. Take your positions."

The fighters moved to opposite ends of the arena as the Ganesha and Loki familia began setting up the forcefield around the arena, Riveria joining their ranks the moment it became clear that Ottar would be participating.

"Are we seriously allowing this?!" Lili cried.

"Argana and Bache we could accept, but Ottar is too far!" Ryuu joined.

"Do either of you want to try telling Bell that?" Achilles asked, turning towards his familia members. "We all know that he's simply going to tell us to allow Ottar to fight. It doesn't matter how much we don't like it, as long as he feels it's necessary, he'll resist any attempt from us to interfere."

The two young ladies growled and snarled, but ultimately backed down, knowing that this would be exactly how any conversation with their exceedingly foolish captain would go.

Achilles was suddenly pulled by his hair down so that he met the heterochromiac glare of Alfia.

"Do you really think I can't force this fight to end? That I fear Ottar or that I can't compel my nephew, who never disobeyed me before to do what I command?" she hissed.

Achilles's calm, electric blue eyes bore into hers for a few tense seconds before he replied.

"He's not a child anymore, Alfia, and should you try to command him to do anything, you'll find him much more resistant than he was when he was a boy. I'm his father and even I can't command him out of doing something he feels is necessary, I am willing to bet good money that you won't have any more success."

Alfia turned back to her nephew, anger and desperation mixing until it nearly drove her insane.

"Every injury he suffers at Ottar's hands, I will do to you," she swore, "and should any of his injuries be permanent I will carve your liver out with a rusty spoon, sauté it, and eat in front of your eyes before washing it down with my favorite wine!"

She shoved his head back as Achilles rubbed his scalp.

"That will probably still be more appetizing than the birthday cake Briseis made," he joked, earning a death glare that would have made the Goliath flee in terror.

"Did you set this up?" Asfi questioned.

"Not at all," Hermes replied as he bounced in his seat, "this is just one of those wonderful little moments where you mortals do something outrageous and unexpected," he turned to her, beaming, "which is why we love living down here. Nothing so unpredictable would occur in Heaven. Only mortals can do something so out of left field."

And no matter what we do, it's always for your entertainment, Asfi thought scornfully.

Bell stood in his gleaming Mk-VI armor awaiting Shakti to give the signal.

"Are the combatants ready?!" the Ganesha captain called.

"Ready," Marius called.

"I'm ready," Bache joined.

Ottar nodded.

"Let's get going already!" Argana demanded.

"Wait!" Anya cried, surprising everyone.

"What? Having second thoughts, kitten?" Argana questioned, sneering at the catgirl.

For a brief moment, Freya, the Hestia familia, and those in the stands all felt a rush of hope, only for it to be immediately cut down by the waitress's response.

"No," Anya replied coldly before striding forward and pointing her spear at Bell. "Transform," she demanded.

Bell blinked.

"What?"

"Transform into that…monster that killed my brother," she commanded as harshly as she could. "I will not let you use your…human body to try and raise doubt in my heart over your guilt. Transform. Now!"

Alfia growled.

"'Human body', she calls it. As if that skill is his true form."

"She's hurting," Ryuu defended, even if she found the part of her that loved Bell wanting to force Anya to apologize.

"And that gives her the right to both attack and degrade my nephew?" the white-haired woman shot back.

"No, but it is the reason that Bell asked that she be allowed to participate in this fight, and if you respect his wishes even half as much as you love him, you'll accept this fight."

The fire in Alfia's eyes, which was already barely contained by that very love, rose into a volcanic fury.

"Do not dare use my affection for my nephew against me, girl, especially when you hypocritically defend your feline friend while making your own complaints about Ottar."

"That's…different," the elf replied pathetically.

"Oh? And how's that?"

"Anya won't hurt him, not really. Ottar can and will."

Alfia snorted.

"I like you, elf, but perhaps I should reconsider given how stupid you clearly are. Either that or because you are willfully lying to yourself," she turned back to the arena. "Ottar will hurt Bell, there's no doubt about that, but I have little to no fear that he'll try and kill Bell. Something I cannot say with regards to the vengeful feline."

Ryuu turned hers towards her friend.

Please Anya…please…don't.

Bell's scarlet eyes held Anya's brown ones for a few tense moments before he replied.

"If that's what you need."

Taking a deep breath, Bell began to flood his mind with hateful images.

Dionysus smiling. Dix torturing the Xenos. Athena's experiments. Ares's war. Tiamat attacking Orario…Allen threatening Hestia.

With each memory, his wrath grew and brought forth more and more of his terrible, serpentine form.

First came his pale, bone-white scales. Then his claws. Then his terror-inspiring horns, which jutted back like bloodthirsty pikes. Next came his tail, which luckily, due to the new design of his armor, merely ripped his clothing and did not damage the armor, not that it was truly necessary now that his whole body was armored. Lastly came the forked-tongue and knife-like teeth, ready to tear flesh from bone.

Bell opened his eyes, the fiery slits burning with controlled fury.

"Better?" he asked Anya.

She was shaking too badly to respond immediately, as were several others in the crowd, but finally managed a nod.

"Yes," she turned to Shakti. "We can begin."

"Heaven help us then," the captain responded, raising her hand. "Three," the whole world seemed to tense. "Two," the watchers stopped breathing. "One."

I hope you all get what you need from this fight, Bell wished.

"Begin!"

Shakti retreated as quickly as she could from the arena, but even her level five speed was not enough to spare her as Bell shot forward to meet his foes.

His opponents rushed to meet him, with Ottar naturally being in the lead with his level 8 status, though Argana, in her eagerness, was not far behind.

Ottar raised his ludicrously sized greatsword –newly honed by Goibinu's skill– above his head as easily as a paperweight and brought it down upon his serpent-like foe with the force of a descending meteor. However Bell, his strength augmented by his skill, readily parried the blow, sending the greatsword crashing into the sands below, causing a pillar of debris to shoot up like a geyser. This debris briefly stopped Argana from attacking, giving Bell the chance to counter-attack the boaz, which he did by lashing out with Hakugen.

The knife aimed for the Freya captain's neck, but despite his size and the enormous weight of his armor, Ottar quickly pulled back, saving himself from the slash and opening the way for Argana to join the fray.

The amazon, smiling savagely and with the love of battle pumping through her veins, shot a fist towards Bell's reformed skull. However, just as Ottar had, he easily pulled back, but unlike the boaz, he managed to quickly lash out, back fisting the Kali captain across the arena.

Bell was not about to celebrate this minor victory though, for he sensed that the second Kali captain was now beyond him and reading a kick that could bring down a small building.

Coiling up his tail, the Hestia captain prevented Bache's attack by thrusting his fifth limb out at her head, causing her eyes to widen and forcing her to throw her body backwards in order to prevent her skull from being impaled.

Ottar was not idle during all this and raised his blade again, bringing it down once more only this time, Bell, focused as he was upon Bache, could only block the titanic sword with his own blades.

"Grrr," Bell growled as his knees buckled under the blow. He quickly gathered his strength and pushed up with all his might, sending Ottar's sword and the captain himself, backwards. However, it instantly became apparent that the boarman was only trying to hold the Hestia captain, as both Anya and Marius finally entered the fight, each aiming their weapon straight for Bell's torso.

"Raaaaa!" Anya cried as she thrust her spear towards Bell's exposed stomach while Marius did the same with his sword.

The weapons struck home, however, to the attackers' shock, the blades simply bounced off his abdomen, proving that his scales were not simply for show.

Growling again, Bell jumped backwards onto his tail and, using it to hold himself up, he kicked both his attackers away, sending them shooting across the arena and into the magical barrier that restrained their battle.

Riveria tensed as the two bodies smashed into the barrier.

"Bete, run back home and bring as many mages as you can find, we're going to need them!" she ordered.

"Shit," the werewolf growled as he stood and shot off towards the Twilight Manor.

Shit indeed, Riveria agreed as she poured more of her magic into the barrier.

Marius fell like a discarded sack of potatoes into the sands of the arena, his whole body groaning in pain as he slowly pushed himself off the ground.

"Ugh," he looked up and was rewarded with a blast of wind and sand as Bell and Ottar's blows struck each other.

These people are beyond mortality, he thought as he watched Argana and Bache join the battle against the dragon adventurer.

"I knew this was a bad idea," he joked to himself.

The sound of gasping made him look to the side where he found his incidental ally picking herself up, spear grasped tightly in her shaking hand.

"It might be best if we stay out of this fight," he called to her, "we're completely outmatched here."

"I don't care!" she screamed, not even looking his way. "I told you back in the Dungeon, he killed my brother! I have to…I need to…" her eyes fell and even from where he stood, Marius could see the mess of emotions playing across her features.

There's more going on here than just pure revenge. She says she wants to avenge her brother, but she seems even more reluctant to do that than I am to try and avenge Ares.

That made him pity, who seemed far too young to him to feel such desperate confusion even more than before.

Very well then.

Rising fully to his feet, he raised his sword and called to Anya again.

"Then what are we waiting for? We didn't come here to simply sit by while the others fought our foe, did we?"

Anya finally turned to him, surprise now overshadowing her other feelings. Seeing his steady, understanding gaze, she felt her strength return and nodded.

Together, they turned back to Bell, who had just batted away the two amazon sisters and charged.

Bell spun around Ottar's strike, saving himself from the flesh-rending blow. He ignored the wave of sand that washed over him so that he could lash out with his tail against the Kalif sisters who were charging towards his back. Neither could do more than raise their arms to block the attack and both soon found themselves flying across the arena as his whip-like appendage struck them with agonizing force.

Bell was immediately brought back into the fight as a golden spear shot towards his horned skull, forcing him to pull back in order to prevent it from striking him.

His head shot around and found Anya rushing towards him. The catgirl jumped and aimed a flying kick towards his head. He prepared to counter-attack, only for Ottar to reappear behind him and, before the Red Dawn could stop him, smashed his greatsword into his opponent's back. Bell was shot across the arena, straight at Anya's outstretched foot, which crashed into his forehead, sending him tumbling backwards even as he continued bounding across the sand.

The draconic captain finally stopped bouncing and landed on his back, growling in pain and rage. This only worsened when Marius appeared high above him, sword aimed for Bell's torso.

The captain of the Hestia familia did not even dodge the attack, allowing Marius to plunge his sword down at his chest, only for the sword to once again scratch harmlessly against the white scales. Bell's tail then made its reappearance, wrapping around Marius's leg and throwing him to the side.

Bell slowly got up, but before he could fully rise up, Argana reappeared and kicked the back of his skull, sending him soaring again, this time towards Bache, who clotheslined him right back down into the sands. She then raised her leg high above her head, intent on cracking his scales with a devastating blow to the chest. That plan ended the moment Bell opened his maw.

"Firebolt!" he roared as he shot his magic straight at her, hitting her in the chest.

As Bache stumbled backwards, Bell pushed off the ground, rising all the way back to his feet so he could grab the ill-prepared amazon by her head and throw her across the arena. The Kali captain flew until she smashed into the magical barrier, stunning the mages holding it up.

I really need you to get back here, Bete, Riveria mentally hissed as she poured even more mind into the shield.

With Bache temporarily out of the way, Bell shifted his attention back to the other amazon warrior who was now aiming a kick towards his head.

Quick as lightning, Bell's bone-white tail shot up and block the kick's path, shocking Argana, before it wrapped around her outstretched limb and began to repeatedly pound her into the sands before tossing her to the side as Ottar reappeared, aiming his ludicrously sized blade at Bell's neck.

Throwing himself back again, he saved himself from the possibility of decapitation, though the gust of wind the blade created made Bell's knees creak as it tried to force him to the ground.

The moment the Hestia captain straightened, Anya's spear gabbed him in the temple, failing to break his scales, but succeeding in knocking his head to the side where Marius's sword did the same as it crashed against his chin, causing the Red Dawn to continue spinning around, much to his irritation.

"Firebolt!" Bell cried, holding out both palms as he blasted the two level fours away.

"Raaaa!" Ottar bellowed as he swung with all his terrible might into Bell's lower back, sending the draconic adventurer skyward.

The Red Dawn growled as the wind rushed past his ears.

I need to knock out a few of them so that I can better focus on Ottar.

Unleashing his wings, Bell corrected himself in the air, turned and, finding his targets, shot back down like a bird of prey.

Marius only had enough time to widen his eyes before Bell's clawed hand grabbed his head and began dragging him along towards the nearby catgirl.

"Anya!" Ottar roared, charging forward, his level 8 speed allowing him to just barely intercept Bell who dodged out of the way of the boaz's massive body, saving the terrified waitress from the pale claws of her enemy.

Though he had failed to capture his second target, Bell managed to hold onto Marius and, not about to lose what initiative he'd gained, shot towards the Coliseum wall.

He slammed Marius into the wall, cracking the stone and the barrier. The Rakia prince spat up a wad of blood. Bell flinched as, despite his enraged state, he still had enough control to remember that his goal was not maiming or killing. This in mind, he quickly punched Marius in the face, knocking the former Ares vice-captain out and reducing Bell's opponents to four.

Suddenly, someone grabbed the Hestia captain by the back of his skull and shoved it into the stone of the arena, further breaking the stone and cracking the barely repaired barrier.

Two pairs of hands and feet then began to wail on his back, cracking his scales and making his muscles and bones groan. That was bad enough, but it got worse when one pair of hands, undoubtedly Argana's, gripped one of his wings and ripped it apart, breaking bone and causing boiling blood to spurt everywhere.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAR!" Bell screamed before he began to wildly lash out with his tail.

The two twins retreated, allowing Bell to pull his wings back into his body and spin around, eyes screaming contempt and murder as his restraint fell away due to the pain inflicted upon him.

"Oooh, looks like we made your lizardman mad, Bache," Argana mocked as she eyed her sister and Bell.

The White Dragon flexed his claws as he prepared to make the Kali captain pay for both the injury and the mockery. However, before he could, Argana rushed him, eager to inflict more pain upon her prey.

"Let's see if I can make you scream!" Argana cried as she threw a fist at his skull, only for him to parry the strike then cut her from her left hip to right shoulder with the Hestia knife.

Bache tried to intervene by shooting a kick straight towards his gut, but he simply caught that in his left hand. He then twisted the ankle, revealing her tanned calf, which he stabbed with the Hestia knife, making her cry out.

His two opponents still reeling, Bell shot forward, straight through the space between them, opening up their waists with his dual knives, before he jumped, spun in the air, and brought his armored foot to Argana's temple.

The blow would have been enough to knock off a level 4 or lower's head, or worse, splatter it like a thrown jar of jam, but it proved only strong enough to knock out the more sadistic Kalif sister before she smashed into her twin.

Knowing that Bache wasn't fully dealt with, Bell prepared to move against her, only for Ottar and Anya to renew their assault against him.

"Charge of Mortality!" Ottar roared as he brought his glowing greatsword down onto Bell.

The Hestia captain had only enough time to bring up his knives before the now crimson sword made contact with an explosion of wind.

"Ugh," Bell groaned as his knees buckled and his arms began to shake.

Before he could move to counter-attack, Anya struck, stabbing, beating, and doing all she could to penetrate and crack his scales, though she had little success. Even so, the attacks were wearing him down and a well-placed blow to the back of his knees forced him down and nearly allowed the Freya captain to overcome him.

The draconic adventurer growled and prepared to thrust his tail straight through boaz's knee, only to be shocked when the newly returned Bache latched onto his tail, holding it down.

He tried shaking her off, but despite her injuries, she held firm and even occasionally punched the long appendage, cracking his scale and sending a small wave of pain through his body.

So intent was he on getting the amazon off his tail, that he didn't notice Anya place herself behind Ottar and aim her spear at the one soft spot on his hardened body. His eye.

"They're actually managing to restrain him," Ajax stated, more than a little shocked.

"He's holding back so he doesn't do any real damage," Finn commented.

"Well he should cease doing that immediately. These…imbeciles…challenged him. They knew what they were getting into," Alfia snarled.

"You and I both know full-well that Bell would never forgive himself if he truly hurt or…worse yet…killed any of them. I could tell, even from here, that he flinched at the damage he did to Marius. He can't fight any harder without severely risking their health and his control," Achilles growled, his voice growing darker as he glared at her.

She glared right back.

"Need I remind you that it was you who conceded to allow this fight, not I? Had things gone as I wished them to, there would be no risk of injury or loss of control."

"Need I remind you that this is what Bell wants and this is how he wants to fight it, meaning you should keep your opinions to yourself."

The two glared at each other until Mania, appearing suddenly behind them, tugged on their ears hard enough to bend them both in half.

"Aaah!" Alfia screamed.

"Aaah! Mom!" Achilles added.

"Stop fighting this instant. You two are acting more like children than the youngsters here, something which you especially should not be doing after all our anger management sessions, Achilles," the goddess chastised.

"But…Bell-"

"Doesn't need you to defend him on this matter," she cut him off. "Nor does he need your opinions on his choices, missy," Mania stated, turning to the white-haired woman in her grasp. "None of us are happy about this situation, but you two fighting doesn't make it any better, does it?"

The two didn't answer.

"Does. It?"

"No," they both agreed.

"Good," Mania let go of their ears. "Now, you two will sit and watch in silence until the fight is over. Understood?"

The two nodded and turned back to the fight, but neither they, nor the others watching liked what they saw.

Bell finally caught sight of Anya just a moment before she thrust her spear at his eye.

Time slowed down as the tip drew ever closer to his slitted gaze, the one place she could attack that would score her a mortal blow.

No! I won't die today!

Acting on pure instinct, Bell turned his head, not enough to get away from the spear, but enough to where he could catch it in his mouth.

Anya's eyes widened as her weapon was caught in the growling jaws of her enemy, who centered his fearsome eyes into hers.

She tried to pull the spear free from his maw, but he wouldn't let it go and only growled louder as his dagger-like teeth scraped against the metal.

Desperate and enraged, Anya began to twist and shift the spear, failing to free it, but managing to cut the inside of his mouth, causing droplets of blood to begin flowing down the blade of the spear and onto the sand below.

That's how you want to play it? Fine!

Bending her knees, Anya pushed forward with all her strength, shoving the spear another inch into Bell's mouth so that tip now tickled his tonsils and threatened to break into his cranium.

As this was all going on, Ottar was still pressing down on Bell's knives, holding him in place while Bache did the same with his tail.

Having had enough of his own passivity, the Freya captain began to knee Bell's ribcage, breaking scales and ribs, making the young man groan and allowing Anya's spear to slip further into his mouth.

No! I..ugh! He grunted as Ottar's knee struck him again and he felt Anya's spear break the skin at the back of his mouth, filling it with even more of his blood. I will not die today! Everyone is waiting for me! I promised them! I promised Ais! I'm not dying today!

RING

Anya, Bache, and Ottar's eyes widened as the familiar ringing filled their ears. Worse yet, not a moment later, a familiar golden glow began to descend from Bell's eyes down his body.

RING

Anya tried shoving the spear further, but now the weapon truly would not budge. At the same time, Bell began pushing back against Ottar's greatsword, slowly rising to his feet. Bache, likewise found herself being lifted off the ground by the now glowing tail. Before she could even blink, she was suddenly tossed high in the air, freeing the fifth limb.

RING

"Mmwy tuerrn," Bell snarled before his golden jaw clamped down on Anya's golden spear, shattering the tip.

As the catgirl's eyes widened, Bell let loose a roar that shook the Coliseum and forced Ottar's sword back.

"Fire-!" Bell inhaled.

RING

"BOLT!"

A stream of white gold shot from Bell's jaw, hitting Ottar deadcenter in the breastplate, melting the metal and sending the Freya captain soaring across the arena and into the barrier, which obliterated under the weight of Bell's onslaught.

"Aaaah!" several mages screamed as the Ottar crashed into the barrier, shattering it.

Several of the magic users collapsed, having used up all their mind.

"Damn it! Get the barrier back up! Now!" Riveria cried.

"We can't! We don't have enough mages!" a Ganesha member cried.

"Shit!" the High elf cursed.

"The fuck?"

She turned and found, to her immense relief, Bete and the mage reinforcements behind her.

"The hell happened?" the werewolf asked.

"Bell hit Ottar with the same power that he used to hold off Tiamat, though undoubtedly weaker. I need these mages to set up a new barrier, right now."

"It might not be enough," Finn joined. "If Bell let's loose another attack like that, the few mages we have left won't be able to hold him back."

Before Riveria or anyone else could freak out more, Hestia rose from her seat.

"It'll be alright," she said.

"How can you be so calm right now, Hestia-sama?" Lili questioned with confusion.

"In case you all forgot, this is effectively a friendly spar and, unlike the tournament, Bell's not lost control," the goddess replied as she turned Achilles. "Achilles-kun, would you mind taking me out the Bell?"

Understanding what she was thinking, he nodded and gently picked her up before shooting over to Bell.

Bell closed his jaw, ending his attack. In the distance, he could see Ottar pressed against the arena wall.

He's hurt, but he's not done, he recognized.

His attention was turned away from the Freya captain by the sound of Bache returning to earth. Lifting his head, he waited for her to be within rage and grabbed her with his tail.

The amazon seemed stunned at the save when he pulled her towards him, only for the Hestia captain to knock her out with a bone-cracking punch.

"I'm sorry Bache. In some ways you're the one I wanted to fight the least today," he said as he gently laid her down.

His eyes then finally returned to Anya, who looked truly and soul-shakingly terrified.

His heart squeezed tightly.

I wanted her to get her anger out, not to trade it for fear, he thought sadly.

He slowly began to pull his draconic traits back in.

"Anya-" he began.

"Bell!"

He turned and, to his surprise, found Hestia being carried towards him by Achilles.

"What are you doing, Hestia? We're still fighting."

"That's why I'm here. We need to call a time-out for a moment. Let's say…ten minutes," she replied.

"Huh?"

"You broke the barrier around the arena with that shot at Ottar," Achilles explained. "The mages need time to put it back up."

"Oh," Bell responded in understanding. "Um…yeah that's fine. If Ottar and Anya are okay with it," he turned to the catgirl.

Anya stared at him in disbelief.

How…how can he be so controlled? She asked herself as she stared into his scarlet eyes. They were still draconic slits, evidently they would always be, courtesy of Dionysus's evil machine, but despite that fact they didn't appear fearsome or monstrous at the moment. They appeared almost…Innocent.

"Anya?"

She blinked and, startled and confused as she was, she quickly nodded.

"Yeah that's…fine. I can wait."

Bell smiled at her then turned to Achilles who headed over to inform Ottar what was going on.

The Ganesha familia took the opportunity to remove all the unconscious combatants, leaving only Bell, Ottar, and Anya.

The catgirl watched Bell as he talked to a fussy Hestia and a less fussy, but equally worried Achilles, who was trying to tell his son some tactics to use against the boaz across the arena.

He really looks so gentle right now. Nothing like- flashes of the White Dragon that devoured her brother filled her head so vividly that she could actually see it all playing out before her again.

No, her fist tightened once more upon her broken spear. He's still the same monster that killed Allen, no matter what he looks like now and even if…Dionysus made him do it.

The last part was thought without conviction, but she cast aside her ever-increasing doubt as Shakti headed out on the sands.

"Riveria and the other mages have repaired and reinforced the shield. You can now continue your fight, though I will ask that you try and restrain yourselves so as not to risk the safety of those in the arena."

"We'll do that," Bell assured her before giving Achilles and Hestia a reassuring smile and retaking his position before his two remaining opponents.

Across the arena, Anya and Ottar did the same.

"Our only hope of victory is together," Ottar stated.

"I know that," Anya replied, her eyes not moving from Bell.

A shadow suddenly appeared over her, forcing her to finally turn her gaze away from her target of vengeance to the giant man looming over her.

"The only way we can defeat him is if we are perfectly in-tune with each other, just like the days before you left Folksvangr. In order for us to achieve that, you must set aside your wrath and focus solely on me and on victory."

"That doesn't make any sense," she hissed. "I want victory because of my anger. Because I want revenge on him."

"Your wrath is a distraction, just as mine was in previous fights I've had with Achilles. Against such opponents, we cannot afford distractions. We must be tied together in mind and in body. We must know what the other needs before either of us even knows. You must be ready the moment I create an opening and I must be ready the moment you strike. If we are distracted for even a moment, we will lose."

Anya growled.

"I get it alright! I'll give this fight all my-!"

A shockingly soft hand rested on top of her head.

"Anya," Ottar whispered. "I know you need this fight, as do I, but I don't want to lose another member of my familia due to the fires of wrath. Please…for me…put aside your anger and focus only on gaining victory with me."

Anya had never seen or heard her captain plead so gently, yet so desperately about anything. Hell, she didn't know he could plead.

"O-Okay," she agreed and, surprisingly, she meant it as the fires of her rage cooled.

"Thank you. Now," Ottar turned back to the confused but expectant Shakti and Bell, "we're ready."

Shakti nodded and raised her hand.

"Three. Two. One. Begin!"

The three adventurers charged each other once more as their respective friends and familia watched on with worry, hoping, despite all the pain, bloodshed, and wrath, that things would end well.

Bell shot towards Anya, knowing that, to fight Ottar properly, he needed to focus all his attention on the Freya captain. However, to his surprise, the two moved together as if they shared one mind, never straying far from each other's side so when Bell attempted to attack the catgirl, the boaz quickly forced him to duck with a swing that would have leveled half a forest.

Immediately, even before Bell could correct himself, Anya attacked, battering the back of his skull with her spear's shaft, sending him shooting back up. Before he could respond to that assault, Ottar's hand reached back and grabbed his opponent's horn.

Suddenly, Bell was lifted off the ground as he was twirled twice around the giant man before being thrown, full-force, into the reinforced magic barrier.

"Gah!" the Hestia captain gasped as the air was forced from his lungs. Even then, the assault did not end as before he could even blink, Anya's spear crashed into the very center of his forehead, the broken spearpoint failing to pierce his scales, but succeeding in knocking his head back into the arena wall.

By the time he managed to refocus on his foes, Ottar was already upon him, swinging his ludicrous greatsword straight for Bell's neck.

The Red Dawn was far from defeated however and managed to bring his knives up to block the blow, though he did find himself being dragged across the sand as Ottar's insane strength forced him back.

Having had enough of being on the defensive, Bell's bone white tail wrapped itself around Ottar's leg and pulled, freeing Bell from the boaz's weapon and temporarily disposing of the Freya captain as he was thrown across the arena.

Now where's-!

Before the Hestia captain could even finish his thought, Anya jumped onto his back and crashed her spear's shaft against his throat. She then used her flexibility and momentum to fling herself backwards, sending Bell rolling through the air until he landed on the sands behind them.

Bell was more annoyed than damaged by the attack and quickly corrected himself. Finding the catgirl close, he charged, the Hestia Knife and Hakugen ready to cut her to pieces and force her out of the fight, only for the High King to reappear, his sword glowing bloody red as he met Bell's ill-prepared attack head-on.

Once more, the Red Dawn brought up his knives to block, but the power behind Ottar's attack was even greater than before and even with the Wrath of the Dragon pumping through his veins, Bell could not manage to stop himself from being lifted from the ground and shooting backwards with the speed and power of a falling star.

Crashing into the barrier once more, but far harder than last time, Bell spat up a wad of blood, growling in pain as the scales on his back cracked. The pain, however, increased his rage and his eyes soon centered back on his enemy, who was rushing forward to keep the draconic adventurer on the back foot.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAR!" the monstrous adventurer unleashed, shaking the Coliseum and forcing the onlookers to cover their ears, as he rushed to meet Ottar.

The two met in the blink of an eye, their inhuman speed allowing them to cross the entire arena in an instant.

Bell readied his knives and, once his prey was close enough, aimed them for the boaz's armored gut, intent on plunging them as deep as possible.

SCREECH!

To his shock, his two knives were not blocked or parried by the captain of the Freya familia, instead, Ottar had allowed Bell to plunge both weapons straight into his armored abdomen. More shockingly, the thick armor, partially melted though it was, actually managed to mostly hold back both the great craftwork of the blades and Bell's reinforced strength. Even the Hestia Knife could just barely get through the thick armor and find flesh which, against the tower of power that was the High King, was certainly nothing to celebrate.

Bell only just managed to look up in shock at his enemy, before the boaz grabbed the back of his head and smashed their skulls together, denting the Freya's captain helm and smashing Bell's scales.

As Bell's world spun with pain, Ottar, sending aside his own dizziness as best he could, brought his greatsword down on Bell's arms, cracking more scales and forcing Bell to release his knives. Then, to the shock of all, the Freya captain discarded his sword and began to pummel the Hestia captain in a manner not at all dissimilar to the pulverizing that Asterius had given him only a few days earlier.

When Bell was properly tenderized and his scales were broken at his feet, Ottar pulled back, then shot his most devastating punch straight into the young man's face, sending him flying across the arena and into its walls with a resounding "BOOM!"

Everything hurt. Every corner of his body, just like it had with Asterios.

"Ugh," Bell groaned, as he fell into the sand with a dull thud while blood poured from his shattered nose.

This is a pathetic display, son, an increasingly familiar voice echoed in his mind.

Who are you? What do you want and why are you calling me 'son'?

Because that is what you are. You are my hatchling. My progeny.

Hatchling?

As for what I want, that's simple, the voice ignored his question, I want you to become stronger. So strong these traitorous whelps will fall before you like ants to a hurricane. Yet here you lay, on the verge of defeat because you refuse to use your full power. The power I gave you.

Bell growled.

Good. Use that anger. Let it fill you to bursting point, then unleash-

Shut up.

The voice fell silent for a moment.

What did you say?

I told you to shut up. I don't know who you are, why you claim that I'm your son, or how you got into my head, but I won't let wrath consume me ever again.

Wrath is who you are, Typhon. It's what you are, just as I am the vengeance of the ones who truly own this world.

I have no idea what you're talking about and I don't care. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a fight I need to finish my way.

Don't you dare try to ignore me, Typhon! I am your father. Your progenitor! You will listen to my commands! Typhon! Tyhpon! TYHPON!

My name is Bell, the young man threw back before pushing the voice out of his head.

Putting aside the argument he just had in his head and all the possible implications of it, Bell rose to his feet, bloody and battered, as well as confused that he hadn't been attacked yet. The reason for that was revealed when he discovered Anya holding onto Ottar's sword as he spun around until, at last, he flung the young woman straight at Bell.

Well that's not something you see everything, Bell joked to himself a split second before Anya's broken spear shoved through his chest.

Anya growled as she tried to force the spear even further through her enemy's left lung, having missed his heart. However, the broken point as well as his body's durability made that extremely difficult.

"Die," she hissed. "Die. Why won't you just die?!"

"Because...I have too much to live for."

Her brown eyes shot up to meet his scarlet ones and found the young man surprisingly calm for someone with a spear in their chest and blood pouring down their face.

"I have people that are waiting for me...and goals I need to reach," he continued calmly, even as he fought for breath.

"So did Allen! He had me and his familia waiting for him and goals he wanted to accomplish, yet you killed him! Why?! Why did you focus on him so much?! Why did you kill my brother!"

"Because I hated him," Bell confessed, shocking her. "Ottar was right, I really did hold him in contempt and that's why, even when I was under Dionysus's control, I targeted him."

Around the arena, the onlookers were shocked at the confession, none more so than Freya's, whose heart felt like it was being crushed under a boulder.

"I hated him since the day he threatened Hestia, and I hated him all the more when he nearly killed my father. Every time I saw him, I felt anger deep in my soul. He was arrogant, vicious, cruel, and didn't know when to shut the fuck up," he finished with a draconic growl.

"H-How...How dare you!" Anya screamed as she tried shoving the spear further into him.

"I dare because you asked me why," Bell answered, his voice returning to normal. "I dare because you needed that truth, and I don't regret saying it. Allen was one of the most vicious, arrogant, and detestable people I've ever met," he continued.

"SHUT UP!" Anya demanded as angry tears streamed down her face.

"That being said," Bell's hand softly grabbed hers, causing the young woman to freeze. "It's not true that I wanted to kill him. I didn't and I am so sorry that I did, Anya. Not because he wasn't a bastard, but because of you. If there's one thing Allen did right, if there was one thing that redeemed him and makes me wish that he had lived, it was that he protected you."

The tears continued to pour down Anya's face, but they were no longer tears of wrath, but those of unrestrained mourning.

The poor young woman was so overcome with grief that she let go of her spear and hugged the pinned and bleeding form of her friend-turned-enemy-turned-comforter.

"That's it, let it all out Anya. Let it all out," Bell whispered as he stroked her hair.

His eyes turned away from the crying woman in his arms to focus on the figure of Ottar.

"I surrender. Victory is...yours," Bell told his opponent.

Ottar nodded and signaled for Shakti to call the match and send in the healers, which the Ganesha captain readily did while all the onlookers sighed in relief.

Thank Heaven. Thank Heaven, Freya repeated as the boulder on her heart and the stress finally lifted from her.

Suddenly, her legs gave out from under her as the last of the strength she had been holding onto, evaporated.

"Freya-sam-!"

Before she could hit the ground though, a familiar pair of strong arms caught her.

"Easy there, Freya," Achilles gently said, lifting her up as she stared up into his eyes.

Those eyes, her heart warmed, he does still care.

"Thank you, Achilles," she whispered.

"Are you disappointed that he lost?" Asfi asked.

"Not in the least, my dear Asfi-chan, especially since I would hardly consider this a loss," Hermes replied with a smile. "Bell wasn't using his full power and even then managed to defeat several high-ranking adventurers. More importantly he managed to earn poor Anya-chan's forgiveness and in a very flashing way, almost as if he was trying to write his hoeric tale himself."

Asfi's frown deepened but even she could not deny that things had ended about as well as anyone could hope.

Which won't always be the case.

It took three days for the healers to give the adventurers the all-clear, though even then Bell had been forbidden by half his familia and Alfia from any sort of fight, adventure, or friendly scuffle for the next month.

"I am sorry for all the trouble I've caused you, Bell," Anya apologized again, outside the Hearthfire Manor.

"Please Anya, stop apologizing. I neither want nor deserve an apology," Bell assured her, ignoring the angry mumbling from his aunt behind him.

Anya nodded, though she could not meet his gaze.

"I do hope, however, that one day you and I can be friends again," he continued.

Slowly, her eyes rose and she nodded.

"One day."

He smiled and with a final farewell tothe waitress, as well as Freya and Ottar, the Freya familia departed.

"Thank Heaven that's all over with, the sappiness was threatening to choke me."

All eyes turned to Kali, who looked pleased by their glares and contemptuous looks.

"Why are you here again?" Mania demanded.

"Well, I just wanted to inform lizard breath here that we're headed back to Telskyura and since he lost the fight, I'll be taking Bache with me."

Bache's head fell while Argana, eyes screaming with bloodlust, looked ready to eat her sibling.

"Now hold on just a minute," Loki cut in. "The deal was for bunny boy to defeat your captains, which I seem to recall he did."

Kali and Argana lost their smiles.

"But he lost the fight, meaning I keep Bache," her fellow goddess shot back.

"He only lost the fight because Ottar, who wasn't part of the original agreement, interfered. Had piggy not joined, there's no doubt fluff butt would have won," the trickster threw back.

"So what? It's not my fault that there was interference. The fight changed, but the deal remains the same."

"Oh, is that how you want to play it?" Loki asked as she leaned down to Kali's height. "Then you won't mind if I change the deal a little bit? That would only be fair, right?"

The Loki familia stepped forward and were quickly joined by the Hestia, Zeus, Hera, Mania, and Hades familia.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be," Loki warned.

Kali glared for a moment before sighing.

"Fine. Argana was going to kill her anyway the moment we got home, so I was going to lose her regardless."

Bache's eyes lit up as Argana's filled with rage.

"Hey now wait a minute!" the Kali captain roared, only for Tione, Tiona, and Galadriel to block her path.

"You lost Argana, just accept it and shut up," Tione snarled.

Argana looked ready to fight, but was stopped when Galadriel's hand grabbed her throat.

"Don't be stupid Argana, you're not going to win this and I'd rather not lose both my captains today," Kali called.

Growling, Argana glared at everyone around her for a few seconds before finally turning back to her sister.

"You got lucky, Bache, but luck runs out, and when yours does, I'll be right there waiting for you."

"And we'll be right there to stop you," Bell announced as he placed himself next to Bache. "After all, she's a member of the Hestia familia now."

Bache eyed the young captain adoringly, much to the chagrin of many ladies there.

"Not yet she's not, we still need to do the damn transfer," Kali stated.

Everyone headed back inside and a short time later, Bache became the newest member of the Hestia familia.

"There. Now, seeing as I have no more business in this city, it's time for us to head home. Argana," Kali called, her now solo captain giving everyone present one final death glare before finally departing in a huff.

"Finally," Tione seethed before Finn's gentle hand took hers, pulling her instantly out of her anger.

"That just leaves our other 'new member'," Welf stated, turning everyone's attention to the blonde man off to the side.

"I was wondering when you'd get back to me," Marius joked, though his tone was completely serious. "I know it doesn't mean much, but I would like to offer you my apologies, Bell Cranel for the trouble I've caused you."

"I accept your apology, Marius, though I'm not sure it's completely necessary, both because of what I did and because you had the noblest intentions."

"Noblest intentions my foot," Alfia hissed.

"Even so, I added to an already stressful situation and for that, I'm sorry."

"What will you do now that you're no longer under Ares's thumb?" Welf questioned, his eyes still a bit suspicious.

"That's easy, I'll finally become an adventurer, just like I wanted, though I might have a bit of difficulty finding a familia given I now have your blessing, Hestia-sama."

"That will make things a bit awkward, to say the least," the goddess replied.

"Not if he becomes a member of our familia."

All eyes shot towards Bell.

"I beg your pardon?" Alfia demanded.

"He can become a member of the Hestia familia. That would certainly prevent any awkwardness," Bell responded casually.

"Bell…he's the prince of Rakia. He was Ares's right hand man and fought in his wars," Welf pointed out.

"He was and he did, but I don't think any of that's what he wanted to do or who he wanted to be," his little brother replied as he turned to Marius. "I remember how you apologized after Hestia's kidnapping. You seemed so ashamed back then. Not for failing, but because of what Ares did."

Marius sighed.

"I never supported Ares's wars and I had hoped that after the loss of the Crozzo magic weapons, things would calm down, but, as you know, that didn't happen. Truth be told, I'm somewhat glad Ares is gone, not only for the freedom I now have, or because I don't have to clean up his messes, but because, without him, the world is a more peaceful place. Even now, new deities are moving into Rakia to fill the power vacuum and stabilize the country. Maybe there will be conflict in the future, but I honestly can't see it being worse than what Ares unleashed."

Bell nodded, then turned to Mania.

"I won't allow him in if you're against it, baa-chan."

The goddess stared into her grandson's eyes, taking in their ruby splendor, before shifting her gaze to Marius.

"You know who I am?" she asked.

"I do, Mania-sama."

"You know what I'm capable of?"

"I do."

"You know that, should you try anything like what you did with my grandson again, the curses I'll inflict upon you will be horrible beyond imagination?"

"I do."

"In that case," she turned back to Bell and smiled, "I think he'll make a good addition."

Bell nodded, then turned back to Welf.

"The same applies to you, Welf. If you're really against him joining, we won't have him."

The smith sighed and scratched his head.

"I don't trust him, partly because of Rakia, partly because of that stupid challenge, but…" he looked at Marius, "I can't say you were wrong with your assessment, Bell. I do know that you did what you could to restrain Ares. You called out his bullshit more than anyone and I remember how you always wanted to be an adventurer, not his lieutenant. It'll take a while to trust you, but…" he smiled, "it would be nice to have more guys in the familia."

Marius smiled as a few people laughed.

"It looks like we have a decision," Achilles stated.

"Hey! Don't we get a say in this?!" Lili demanded as she gestured towards the other members of the familia.

"Are you really that opposed to adding another member to the familia? One who's a level four and a man, meaning no risk of more competition?" the Father On High asked.

"Don't use that last part as a reason to add him!" Lili bellowed, earning a few more laughs.

"If Welf-dono is alright with it, so am I," Mikoto stated.

"I'll be keeping my eyes on him, but I can accept it," Ryuu added.

"The more the merrier," Haruhime joined.

"Grrrrr," Lili growled before throwing up her hands. "Fine! Lili can accept this too, but she swears she'll use all of you as target practice if something goes wrong!"

Bell smiled then turned to Marius and Bache.

"Welcome to the Hestia familia you two."

Okie dokie, finally done.

Well, there you have it folks, Anya and Bell have finally reconciled, even if things are a bit awkward, and we have two new members of the Hestia familia! They're getting stronger each day!

That said, with this done, I think I can finally say we're really entering the "Calm Before the Storm" section as, from now on, romance and relationships will be the centerpoint, with a few bouts of training and plotting being mixed in.

I know chapters have been slow in coming out lately, but most of my focus has been on finishing my second book. The goal is still to have it completely finished and out by the end of the year. To that end, I've been spending entire days in the library, hoping the atmosphere will be conducive to productivity. Once that's done, more of my focus will be on this story, I promise.

Anyway, my usual excuses aside, please tell me what you think. Did you enjoy the fight and Ottar's surprise entrance? Do you still think Achilles's fatherly role is cringe? Share it all in the reviews.

With that, I bid you all a fine farewell and hope your July is A LOT cooler than mine. So, until next time, stay cool and bye for now.