The Fallen Argonaut
Rated; M (Blood/Gore)
Disclaimer; I do not own Danmachi or anything created by the author Fujino Ōmori, all rights go to him.
Authors: Eli-er01 ViceroyChalister
Patreon: Elier01
Chapters 79 (The Sundering) and Chapter 80 (Breath's and Undertakings) are already available on my Patreon
Summary: The will of a hero is strong, yet unwavering but all good things must come to an end, even at the cost of one's Heroic Will. Imprisoned and blamed for a crime he hadn't committed, Bell seeks a way out of his predicament so that he can live without fear of being hunted by the people he once looked up to.
78: Kolsai Alne
=Central Front, Sirimon Castle=
Gareth grunted as his opponent slammed his hammer into the ground with enough force to completely shatter and cave in the ground, the shockwave alone enough to push his body skidding backward.
The old dwarf could tell that Tione was having difficulties moving properly, her broken bone holding her back as they made it uncomfortable simply turning her shoulder.
Their opponent on the other hand has proven to be quite tricky to deal with. While his aura signified level six at best, it was clear that his weapon was enhancing him and his blows.
The amount of times he'd managed to land a blow on him should have been enough to knock him out, or even kill him, but all it had done was dent his full-body armor.
Tione shot around their target, the two of them now positioned in a perfect pincer movement as Gareth gripped his axe tightly.
"Ogalthr, bloth avor kin, zarathag kjol hrenga" Gareth chanted as his axe gained a brownish golden glow to it. He didn't use the magic often, in fact, it had been nearly a year since he'd last used it.
"Jrogor ogalthr, vjold knab. Earth Raid" The glow intensified as he brought the axe upwards as their opponent moved to counteract with a blow of his own, though before he could truly do anything, Tione smashed into his left leg, forcing him onto his knees momentarily right as Gareth brought his axe down with a resounding smash.
The ground shook for a split second before the very material of the earth shifted and transformed, arching towards their opponent at terrifying speeds before enveloping, smashing, and attempting to pierce him with a myriad of differing shapes.
Spikes, blocks, cracks, everything from every direction pummeled into him, sending him flying around like a ping pong ball before a final, large bluster shot up, shattering against his chest piece, resulting in a loud ear-shattering sound as he was sent flying into the air.
Gareth for his part panted, his eyebrow twitching at the backlash of his magic. While most magic didn't have it apart from mind usage, his was a bit unique.
No matter how much he attempts to empower the spell, his mind usage never increases. It's always been almost negligent, no, instead it takes its toll on the body, similarly to how a skill could.
His specifically, took a toll on every muscle fiber he had, and straining the magic to its limits, not only nearly paralyzes him but also sends him into a state of immense pain that was mind-numbing.
This was the reason he never used it, simply because it was impractical unless the circumstances lined up damn near perfectly.
"G-get him-... L-lass!" Gareth ground out with immense effort as Tione nodded, rolling her arm around, wincing slightly but leaped upwards nonetheless, shattering the ground partly underneath her.
Quickly, her trajectory caught up to the man in the air who seemed to have had all the air in his lungs quite literally, pushed out of him and looked to be in a daze.
Without hesitation, her pelvis shifted upwards at an inhuman angle before slamming down against the back of his neck, completely reversing his momentum, and giving it a boost down towards the ground.
In contrast, Tione's leg was shot backward slightly from the backlash, but recovered in an instant, using the momentum of it to reposition herself and kick off the air towards the ground, her fist connecting to the man's stomach as the ground beneath cracked and bent inwards as the two forces of both his impact and her subsequent attack combined in tandem, cratering the entire area as the amazon gritted her teeth as one of her broken bones rattled, sending waves of searing pain up her arm.
Moments passed as she slowly, but surely shook it off, stumbling backward slightly, but remained prepared for another attack, because for hell's sake, the man was still moving…
Tione wanted to scream as he got up to his feet, and she mentally cursed artifacts. They were really unfair… and now she envied Bete for his magic a bit… just a teeny tiny bit.
'Shit' She muttered, not really liking that fact.
"Ugh, you're stronger than I imagined, Jormungand… Elgram" The man's voice sounded for the first time, his voice deep and gruff, muffled against his full covering helmet.
"Yeah? Well, play fair, jackass!" She growled out as she got back into her fighting stance right as he brought his hammer onto his shoulder.
"With Orario and it's Terata? Fair was never an option, nor something one considers in war, Jormungand… now-" His voice stopped for a moment as he slowly brought his hammer higher.
"-Prepare yourself. I will not show you what this artifact can do"
"Wai-!" Tione tried to call out but to no avail, as the hammer glowed before it began its descent-
"LIL RAFAGA!" Like a speeding bullet with a trail of green wind shot past her and its tip connected to the underside of the hammer, stopping it in its track for a split second. For that short time, it was as if everything froze, the air vibrating with unreleased tension as the pebbles, dirt, and small objects on the ground clattered before the world caught up, sending everything crashing down before once more, was sent flying as the resulting shockwave of the two powerful attacks met completely destroyed everything, putting all the destruction up to that point to shame.
Tione couldn't hold on longer than a second before she was sent careening backward alongside all the debris, Gareth not far behind while Ais stood her ground, grunting slightly under the strain as the man stared her down, but through the slits for his eyes, she could see one emotion she was very familiar with.
Shock.
That shock turned to anger very quickly, as he seemed to strain his muscles to hold on as well until the two relented. Their arms flew backward at the same time, and they clutched their respective weapons tightly so as not to drop them.
Skidding backward with her feet almost dancing, she recovered far quicker than the empiric man, using her wind as a propellant and shot in his direction, and thrust her blade forward with determination.
In a surprising show of intuition, his shoulder tilted to the side just in time for her to just nick his arm, her enhanced attack nicking away a tiny amount from the surface of his armor before she spun around expertly, delivering blow after blow from every which angle in just the way she preferred doing.
It was her specialty, an almost ethereal dance of speed and power, but one thing that was different, was just where she was attacking, and her timing.
She still remembered her encounter with the black minotaur, all those years ago. Looking back, knowing what she did now, she knew what she did wrong.
With a feint, followed up with a complete shift in her attack angle, she managed to weave the tip of her blade between a piece of his belt and midsection before cutting it in half, sending it, and all its supplies clattering to the uneven and shattered ground, some of it shattering.
Her issue back then, was that she had fought everything the same way, intelligent or not.
Her battle with Bell in the arena had shown just how much she'd lacked in her ability to combat intelligent beings. Beings that wouldn't just mindlessly attack her in hopes of something connecting, but instead use tricks to confuse her or with the simple purpose of slowing her down.
She gave him no time to think on it, propelling her wind just as she dived down and under his field of view, shooting her back and over her, and as he snapped his head back, her leg connected to the top of his head, sending his careening backward and nearly collapsing from the whiplash.
And her most recent encounter with him had forced her to finally come to terms with that power alone, wouldn't win her everything. She had plenty of it in spades, but what did she truly have that someone like Bell didn't?
Her wind?
She used it again, enveloping herself in it, guiding it to press everything to the side as the man angrily swung his hammer at full force, sending debris and enormous wind pressure against her, only for it to be deflected by her brilliant use of magic.
Yes, it was powerful, but when had she really used it as anything but a speed, power, and mobility enhancement? When had she used it differently to give her slight advantages over her opponent?
Using a small partition of the wind, focusing hard, she pressed it against the ground as the wind pressure began to die down, spreading it out before manipulating it upwards, pulling any debris it enveloped up.
'Technique is just as, if not more important than status'
She's taken that as sword technique and nothing else… now, as she was trying to focus on using every tool at her disposal in less meaningful ways, she noticed the difference in spades.
Sending the debris forward before following right behind it, the man used his arms to cover part of his torse and face, blocking his view so just when it all passed, her sword pushed into his abdomen, her powerful wind piercing the material both Tione and Gareth were unable to, with relative ease, embedding the blade inside of him right coating the part that stuck out of his back red in his blood.
Every weaker attack that would normally be insignificant, if used correctly, could become a real threat.
It was what Bell had taught her inadvertently in the way he fought. He relied a lot on his overwhelming power, yes. But she'd caught glimpses at times he'd commit to these tiny actions to give him small advantages, ones that easily gave him leverage enough to turn the tide as quickly as one blinks.
Ais couldn't help but smile slightly as the two stood there, frozen as the man coughed up some blood inside his helmet.
"T-This… You are… nothing like you're supposed to be… Keki" He grunted as she, with a swift flick of her wrist, twisted the blade before using a tiny amount of wind to slice out horizontally and right her position a few feet back.
"I was taught by the best…" That was all she responded with before her wind refocused around her as he got back into an attack position.
An attack like that wouldn't put someone of his strength out of commission… but it meant he was bleeding heavily.
Another advantage.
Heavily, and with a loud grunt, he propelled his hammer towards her right as she shot to the side faster than it traveled, weaving herself around him right as it hit the ground, shattering everything in the area once more and digging the crater around them even deeper, apart from behind him.
"Every time you attack… you are fine" Ais spoke, as if paying attention to a piece of information.
With a scream this time, he whirled around, swinging his hammer in a horizontal arch, missing her by a millimeter, only for the resulting wind pressure to once more travel around her.
"Wind won't work on me" She told him matter of factly, her face relaxed before she disappeared out of his view once more, only this time, searing pain followed again, this time from his wrist as his grip on his artifact weakened right before it was ripped out of his hand, clattering to the side with a loud slam.
Looking down, where his hand should be, was only regular spurts of blood coming from his wrist… and on the ground laid an armored fist.
Clenching his wrist and squeezing to stop the blood flow, he looked up with the tip of a sword aimed right against the armor on his throat, which clearly wouldn't protect against her.
"Surrender" Her words weren't a suggestion, they were more akin to an order as she tilted her head to the side, waiting for him to follow through with her demand.
Slowly, he moved his hands up to his helmet, undoing some bindings before pulling it off, revealing his blonde hair, black eyes, and scarred cheek.
"Non deditionem, Terata" He spoke in a language she didn't recognize, but she did recognize his last words.
Too distracted by that word, she nearly gasped as he intentionally shot forward, impaling himself on her blade as blood flooded his throat and ran down his mouth.
"Y-you're-... -ate…. We…. won. Va-ede…is…-one" Slowly, his body began going limp before he slowly slid back off the blade and onto the ground as Ais could only stare in both shock and confusion.
His garbled words made almost no sense, but she could piece most of it together as she mouthed it, tasting the words in her mouth.
She frowned hard as her head turned to the side. She could hear Tione calling out to her from perhaps twenty meters away, but the sound of any battle did not enter her ears. That meant one thing.
The battle for the fort was won… but all she was left with, was questions.
What… was done?
=Southern Front, Two Hours Later=
Bache sat inside the room inside the fort's main building alongside Riveria and Lili. The three were waiting for the oculus to receive the call from Finn as they'd been notified that Gareth's front had finished as well with success about an hour ago.
For them though the last two had been spent getting settled and salvaging what they could, while Lili and Riveria had gone to inspect the corpse only to find nothing. Just the dead people, but no monster.
Otherwise, with the settling in and preparations for repairs being made, they'd barley had any time to rest, though Bache had found a nice room to take for the next day, so she was content.
The occupants of the room roused in their chairs only slightly as the oculus began to shift slightly before Finn's voice came through.
"Taliye, Gareth?" He spoke, checking that it had all connected as it should.
"Aye, Finn" Gareth answered simply.
"Lili is here, Braver, and both Veregina and Nine-hell as well" Lili spoke up right after while glancing at both Bache and Riveria at the same time.
"Splendid. Now, I understand all of you are tired and want to get rest, but we should share intel as swiftly as possible. Have there been any new developments since the last time we spoke?" Finn asked.
"Aye. We've begun preparations to repair the fort. Like yourself, we had an encounter with an artifact, and this one was quite destructive" Gareth reported as Finn hummed.
"I see. Can you describe it for me?"
"Simply put, a giant hammer that nearly dwarfed a man the size of Mia, that amplified all attacks and appeared to protect the user from attacks" Bache almost snorted at the words, as the mental image was comical. Mia, which she figured was Mia Grande in this instance, was practically a giant, despite her dwarven heritage. To have something dwarf someone of her size was… funny to her.
"That sounds like Muknir. It's an artifact that's thought to have been created during the age of heroes through masterful enchanters. Have you secured it?"
"Aye, deep inside the fort and protected constantly. The thing was nasty to deal with, though Ais seemed like a perfect counter"
"Good. That way if it falls into the enemy's hands in the worst-case scenario, we know she can deal with it."
"Lili agrees, while we did not encounter an artifact, any taken out of the equation is a victory in itself" Lili spoke as Riveria nodded along with her word in agreement. Bache smiled a bit as well.
"Indeed. Anything else?"
"Aye. Ais mentioned something that's buggin' me. The one that used… Muknir, told Ais that we were too late and had lost. Somethin' about Varede being done with something"
"That's worrying, we already established that whatever she's doing will most likely not yield any beneficial result" Riveria's words were met with agreeing sounds all around.
"Correct, so it's imperative that we keep our eyes and ears open at all times. If what was stated is true, it means that whatever storm Kaius has been planning for with Varede, is about to be upon us" The prum captain let the words linger for a bit before continuing.
"Now, Taliye, anything new from your side?"
"Nothing much though… Bache-sama did report about a strange occurrence but when we arrived, what she stated at the time did not match up with what we found"
"Oh? How so?"
"Lili does not know. All she does, is what Bache has stated. Apparently she stumbled across both Empiric forces and our own, killed by a monster" There was silence from the other line for a long moment before Finn's voice came back through, far more serious than before.
"Veregina, describe it to me" And who was she to deny him? Shrugging, she began speaking without a beat.
"It was weird, definitely not any monster I've seen. It was grey and decayed but it looked almost like some disfigured human with its bones pulled in every direction"
"Any other defining characteristics? Claws, fangs?"
"Yeah, it had five claws per hand…" She answered before frowning. "You know the strangest part? Despite it having killed a dozen people or so, it didn't have a single damn wound. It was spotless, as if it just… dropped dead"
…
"Concerning. And there was no evidence of it when you investigated, Taliye?"
"No, Lili and Nine-hell found nothing at the scene but the corpses of everyone else"
"Nothing at all… huh…?" Finn muttered as Riveria's ears twitched, and she seemed to realize something.
"How did I not- no magic stone…" She breathed out as Lili blinked while Bache tilted her head.
"Correct. A magic stone shatters and the body turns to dust… but the shattered pieces always remain" Finn's words seemed to click in place for Lili as she continued his train of thought.
"So it wasn't a monster…" She spoke thoughtfully.
"Then what the hell was it?" Bache spoke as well, confused as the rest of them.
"We aren't sure, lass. Oy, Finn, could this be part of this storm from Kaius?"
"Maybe… likely perhaps, but still uncertain. Your thoughts, Taliye?" Lili breathed in for a second as he spoke her mind.
"Lili believes that the situation is too convenient not to suspect it. Supposedly Varede has accomplished her goal, and we happen to encounter this… enigma"
"Your verdict is?" Finn pushed as everyone remained silent. It was obvious he was testing her.
"The likelihood is high this is the result of their efforts. Whatever that thing was that Bache-sama found, it was most likely created by Varede"
"Then we are in agreement. You stated it was decayed. That suggests a limited lifespan or a significant lethal weakness that it encountered. Keep an eye out on anything that it avoids if you encounter it, and report any findings immediately. This takes precedence as we are in uncharted territory here. Don't engage them alone, and always stay vigilant"
"Understood" Riveria answered back, followed by Gareth.
There were a few more minor details that were discussed, mainly details on priorities outside the current situation, but within an hour, the meeting ended, leaving everyone to enjoy some well-earned rest.
=Risha Forest=
Bell growled as he forced his palms open. Nakul's laughing voice grated at his ears. It was like his boy refused to move unless he practically screamed at it.
As the assassins began to move Bell cursed as he knew this would hurt. Waiting for just the right moment while charging Argonaut in his open palm, he continued to wait… until they were close enough.
His other hand reached out weakly and grabbed hold of something strapped to his hip. Well… first time using this in a long time.
With a resounding crack, he squeezed hard, shattering the object resulting in a violent explosion that absorbed his argonaut before wrapping itself around him, the crackling energy enveloping him and bursting outwards as anyone too close was immediately bombarded with lightning, sending them flying backwards at blurring speeds as he heart cracks of their bodies impacting the sides of the coves, followed by falling rocks as a result.
"Hoh? That's new. Didn't know you had a catalyst magic too!" Nakul called out as Bell blinked, his eyebrows furrowing for a split second.
'Too?' He wondered silently.
"Sir! We can't get close, and anything we fire at him gets deflected!" One of the assassins called out as Bell glanced in that direction, seeing a dart being fired in his direction, only for the protective coating around him to incinerate it the moment it came into range.
"That's a problem… and it's a catalyst magic so no mind power…" Nakul spoke once more before he materialized on the ground out of seemingly nowhere. Bell narrowed his eyes as he focused all senses on him.
How did he move from one spot to another without a noise or any evidence? What was the trick to it?
"Oh well, it's catalyst magic. It has a duration. We just have to wait it out" Nakul smirked as the others around him nodded before turning their attention back to Bell.
Gritting his teeth, he berated himself mentally for getting into this stalemate. Once more, he'd wandered into a trap knowingly, thinking he'd be able to handle it without issue… god, he thought he'd learned from last time.
He'd promised… swore! Never. Again!
Now he was stuck here, barely able to move. The rest of his Storm Crystals were inside one of his pouches, but he didn't have the time, or capability at the moment to dig through it to get the right item.
No… he needed a different solution.
… he needed the poison out of his blood. It might not affect his body and his status may slow down its progress, but it didn't mean it wasn't in him.
God damn it, this would hurt…
Weakly, his hand scraped across the dirt, drawing lines as he pulled his arm back and up. His first attempt only resulted in it flopping uselessly back onto the ground, only serving to irritate him as he repeatedly attempted it multiple times to varying degrees of success.
Meanwhile, he made sure not to take his eyes off of Nakul for more than a moment. He was pacing back and forth, staring intently at him with a confident smirk on him, as if he had won.
It grated at his nerves, but he took measured breaths, the only thing not affected by the poison more than the initial uneven breathing.
Finally, though, he managed to get his hand onto his throat as he saw Nakul opening his mouth to taunt him.
Whatever was going to exit his mouth at that exact moment, he would never know, because they died on his tongue the moment Bell intentionally ripped the side of his throat open as blood began streaming down his body.
He'd missed his Pharanyx and only ripped off the skin and a vein. His body could handle plenty of blood loss, and the only blood going missing was the one that already delivered oxygen to his brain.
Even then though, he knew that if this didn't work, he was a dead man.
Not that he wasn't either way.
Nakul seemed to have snapped out of his shock because he burst out laughing almost in a maniacal manner.
"Have you actually given up, Bell? I thought you were tougher than that!" He taunted as Bell resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he experimentally flexed his hand.
'Good… It was easier.' He noted that he also felt a small bit of sluggishness in his body as a result of the blood loss. It wasn't an insignificant amount, there had already begun pooling a large amount underneath him as the vein in one's throat it a big one.
Finally, as a minute passed, he began feeling his body better… and he began dreading the part he had to do now. It was going to hurt like absolute hell, far more than the actual act of ripping his own throat open did.
Placing his hand on his throat once more over the open wound, he closed his eyes as the crackling lightning continued protecting him.
"Firebolt…" He whispered, and for that second, his entire world was enveloped in pain. The nerves in his throat screamed at him as he grit his teeth tightly and suppressed a scream but didn't let up.
Eventually, though, he let up the magic before opening his eyes with a deep breath despite the lingering searing pain and stared up at Nakul, his throat cauterized and scarred slightly, but that'd go away with time.
"You know, Nakul… The issue with poison against high leveled adventurers…" Bell spoke as he got to his feet flexing his hand once more, this time far more fluidly, but the difficulty was still there…
Good enough.
"We don't stay down for long" He answered before he picked up his sword and twirled it in his hand.
"Now… are you ready to die?"
"..." Nakul was silent for a long moment as Bell's sight remained fixed on the man who let out a deep sigh.
"Alright, fun's over. Kill him"
"But sir-"
"What did I say? Kill him. Doesn't matter how!"
Bell didn't waste a second as he shot forward, sliding underneath one of the assassin's legs before kicking off the ground and spinning in a quick circle, his sword following the arch fluidly as he felt it cut through their throat like butter.
His hearing picked up something whizzing through the air and reacting quickly, his neck both turned while his free hand shot up, pushing the object out of the way just enough to miss him before his toes touched the ground, giving him leeway to shoot off from his position, leaving only an afterimage for a split second.
Bell grunted slightly as his head spun a bit from the sudden shift in speed, silently cursing a bit as he wobbled on as he moved. It was as if he couldn't think for that small time frame, his entire vision gaining these spots in it.
Did… did his blood loss affect how much power he could use safely? Damn it, that'd actually make sense.
His brain isn't getting all the blood it needs, since he lost a lot. Enough to cause any normal person to at least fall unconscious.
Okay… he just needed to keep it at a level pace. It wouldn't really change things with- no, don't think like that.
He ducked under a dart, making sure to keep a good distance from it before he shot off towards its origin.
He'd already underestimated Nakul, he shouldn't underestimate anyone else, no matter how weak they may seem to him.
After all… he was once weak too. How many opponents stronger than him had he taken down before now?
No, he couldn't grow arrogant. Complacency is the downfall of those at the top… Zeus and Hera were perfect examples of this, as much as he loathes to think on it…
Bell hissed as something sharp embedded itself into his arm. Quickly he threw himself to the ground sloppily while ripping it out, before halfway through his roll, his arm shot out, throwing it straight to where he knew at least someone was.
He was quickly rewarded with a scream followed by a thud, signifying the person falling out of the tree they'd been attempting to hide in.
He needed to focus. Correcting his own balance as he got back to his feet, he ducked, dodged, and deflected projectiles he had to while trying to avoid as many traps as he could, but with everything happening as fast as it was, he was bound to trigger a few of them.
Adamantium spikes, makeshift exploding tripwires using Kaenseki among other contraptions fired off one after another as every single attack tore into him, tiring him out more and more as he continued to dispatch assassin after assassin.
There seemed to be no end to them, and he could feel his stamina holding on desperately, but by a hair's breadth.
As he continued on, he blinked as he realized something… the object that had impaled his arm…
He glanced down at himself right as he ducked under a torrent of flames, noticing that the lightning around him was waning. Damn it… Legacy's Rebirth was useful, but it didn't really help raise his magic stat effectively due to it not needing any mind to keep steady. The only mind usage was if he wanted to use it offensively.
Oh well, guess what he's doing isn't working anyway.
Refocusing, his free hand began to glow as he flipped over a soaring arrow that lodged itself violently into the ground before quickly using his momentum to throw his sword in a straight arch, impaling straight through one of the archers before embedding itself into the skull of another behind them.
As he landed, Bell sensed something coming straight at him and pulled out a piece of the ground and used it to block the projectile. A good move, given that at impact, it exploded in an explosion, rendering the ground he'd used to tiny fragments as he turned his head swiftly so as not to get any of it in his eyes.
"So… you learned." Nakul's voice sounded a bit impressed but nonetheless annoyed as Bell's eyes narrowed, while keeping his focus on his skill.
He shouldn't give him the satisfaction of a response, so remaining silent he shot forward once more, ignoring the aching sensation in his legs in favor of deflecting another arrow with the tip of the spear, spinning it around and over his shoulder to block another projectile.
He swore, there semed to be no end to them, as he jumped and turned around before aiming his hand forward with a small smirk as he spotted Nakul right in the path as Scourge exploded.
"Firebolt!" With the added boost of both Argonaut and Scourge, the flames engulfed practically everything in sight that was in front of him as screams of terror could be heard quietly over the roaring sound of flames and explosions. Kaenseki traps being set off from the flames, only adding to the destruction.
While all of that was going on, the backlash from the magic sent Bell flying back like a rocket, which wasn't that far off of an analogy, given the amount of flames that burst from his hand and at which speeds.
In a split second, his back rammed into the side of the cove, shattering the entire rocky structure alongside all the vines as the water from the waterfall splashed and flew everywhere, dousing nearby fires and embedding him deep inside with a heavy groan.
Okay… that hurt… and his head was spinning… but he couldn't stop… he… had to keep going.
With a shaking hand, he pushed himself out of the hole as he wobbled on his feet for a second, Bell looked up as he laid eyes on the once beautiful cove, rendered to ash and flames.
He honestly felt a bit bad, but… he didn't regret it. Even with the sound of cries and the smell of burning flesh.
The next thing Bell saw, was a fist materializing to his side as his eyes darted in that direction, and in slow motion, he perceived it as it rammed itself into his chin. Due to his weakened state, he was unable to react or try to mitigate it in any way properly and was promptly sent soaring to the side, smashing against a fallen rock, shattering it into a million pieces before he bounced two times on the ground.
Coming to a stop, Bell with shaking limbs got up onto his feet once more, stumbling for a second before righting himself, and locking eyes with Nakul who looked positively livid.
"You're a real pain in the ass, you know that, Cranel?" He growled as Bell resisted the urge to shrug.
"What can I say… It's a talent" God, why'd Erebus' sarcasm have to come out now? For a long moment, Nakul just stared before he saw the jaw muscles tighten.
"Well… you look like you'll fall over any minute, so I'll take great pleasure in telling Kaius I finished his job for him" The master Assassin stated before he drew two short swords and darted towards Bell.
'Give me a break!' Bell thought as the two's blades clashed, eliciting sparks that helped illuminate the area even more.
=Northern Front=
Finn sighed as he tapped his pen against a blank piece of paper for the hundredth time in the last couple of minutes. He was getting really tired of handling paperwork. Nothing unusual, but as much as it can be therapeutic after a day of handling shenanigans, it did get old quite quickly.
Normally, he'd be able to handle it, but he didn't have readily available access to someone to banter with, such as Riveria or Gareth. Tione too to be honest, even if she could be quite distracting due to how she acted when they were in private.
Raking his eyes over the words on the paper once more, he quietly tried to sort them in his head. It was a simple formal confirmation of the supplies to be delivered by noon the next day, sent forward in advance to ascertain payment could be received once they returned.
Normally, given that the guild had given them access to their coffers for usage strictly towards the war effort, they were unable to in this instance. This was a request for weapons repair, specifically for the boots of one Bete Loga, which had shattered in their assault.
While it wouldn't break their coffers, it wasn't anything cheap. He'd get Bete to pay for it, but they broke on his orders to do something he loathed doing, so he felt obligated to pay for it this time.
Shaking his head, he put his pen down against the paper and began writing down the information required before signing it, and pulling the parchment off of the pile, putting it into the growing one on the side consisting of the finished documents.
At least there were only around twenty or so left out of the original hundred and twenty-two, but he could really use a break…
…
Okay, yes, that did indeed sound quite great, and making a decision, he put the pen down before getting out of the chair.
Most of the papers needed to be done by morning and it was- the prum glanced at the clock before smiling slightly. It was nine-thirty at night, meaning he had plenty of time to get some fresh air before finishing the rest.
Moving out of the room and down the hall, he greeted those who greeted him as he headed down through the fort before exiting. He was met with adventurers working on repairing the buildings and ground, with new walls being constructed to reinforce the defenses.
Smiling a bit proudly at the progress they'd made in such a short time, he walked down the street, asking a few people for reports where he felt it was required before finally arriving at the spot he had been heading for.
It was a bit similar to Ais' in Orario, which he found to be quite amusing. It was at the top of one of the completed sections of the new wall, looking over to the east, and towards Orario. While the sun had already set, the night sky was dazzling here due to the lack of light. There weren't any buildings in the vicinity to taint the stars, giving an unimpeded and dazzling sight above.
He could see the nebulas and star clusters intermingling with one another, some blinking slightly or burning brightly enough to dim some of the weaker ones around it.
It all melded together to captivate him in its ethereal beauty and he couldn't help but let his expression soften as he just stared, enjoying it all.
It was nice to just… be. To stand there and let all the tension and stress seep out of his shoulders as he relaxed. He knew he needed it, but feeling the relief he felt now, he had underestimated just how prudent that need was.
Despite that, he couldn't help but muse on all that needed to be done and handled. The repairs were a task and two more on their own. The paperwork from it added up to over half of what he had to do today alone. Then there was making sure the supply routes were properly handled and prepared, alongside negotiations of prices. On top of that, he had to worry about their next move, and the developments on the other fronts on a long-term basis, which was vastly different to what he had been doing in the Knossos.
One could handle overwhelming amounts of stress and information in short bursts but dragged out, it quickly overwhelms you. It was precisely why he'd chosen to split his duties with the others.
While he worked with both Gareth and Taliye, he merely kept himself updated on their fronts, leaving all the planning of attacks and strategies to them.
Thinking of the prum, Finn smiled slightly. She'd surprised him a bit. Riveria had informed him of her verdict of the young woman, stating her strengths and weaknesses, and she couldn't have been closer to the mark even if she'd tried. The young prum commander was capable, smart, and intuitive. But also hesitant.
During their first skirmish, Riveria had stated that she'd overlooked quite a few opportunities to gain a better hand, which she'd attributed to her not wanting to commit to anything too cruel. This was a sentiment that might be good at times, but when at war, where the lives of your comrades and family are at stake, that kind of hesitance could turn into a weakness very easily if the enemy capitalizes on it.
While there are definitely limits, Liliruca Arde stopped not even close to them.
But in their second battle, she'd surprised Riveria, resorting to quite literally bombing half the fort with an explosion large enough to shake the ground for miles. They'd even felt the rumble from here.
'It appears Riveria's words have helped her grow' Finn mused with a smile as he leaned on the stone, looking up at the sky.
…
His eyebrows shifted as he spotted something in his peripherals. Turning his head down and squinting his eyes, he spotted movement far in the distance, heading towards them from Orario's direction.
One person if he had to guess from the little he could see. It was a long way from their current position, far enough that if not for his enhanced sight from both his status and race, he'd not have noticed.
Oh well, given where they were coming from, they were definitely not an enemy.
…
"No, I shouldn't" He muttered as he turned around to leave, figuring he'd spent long enough relaxing but something stopped for a moment before sighing. Shaking his head, a small smirk took its place on his face as he turned back around. He figured that whoever they were, he'd have to deal with it either way.
Tucking himself in a comfortable position he waited, closing his eyes and enjoying the breeze once more, as he silently contemplated whatever this may lead to.
=Risha Forest=
As their blades clashed, it became incredibly clear to both Bell and Nakul that while weakened due to the remaining dredges of the poison effect combined with Bell's lack of proper rest, Nakul might be able to match his speed to a degree, but Bell's sheer strength overpowered any blade lock they made.
The moment their blades clashed, it was like a mountain had rammed into Nakul's arms all at once as he felt a shockwave travel through his body, his bones rattling violently before falling into a steady shaking that pushed him back.
Thinking quickly, Nakul shifted his blade upwards, changing the angle as Bell's blade slid along the edge of his weapon before the assassin twirled his weapon around into a reverse grip and thrust downwards-
He blinked as the tip of his weapon was suddenly intercepted by the tip of a knife held in Bell's other arm before the white-haired warrior flipped, sending a roundhouse kick right towards Nakul's chin which he dodged narrowly enough for it to grace him, sending his head to the side as if punched before Nakul leaped back to create some distance.
Bell, sensing the shift in momentum, didn't want to leave a single moment more than necessary for his opponent to regain his bearings and quickly corrected his positioning and shot towards the assassin in hot pursuit and thrusting his swords down onto Nakul's once more as the ground shattered underneath the pressure, pushing the reconnaissance master down onto his knees.
Bell for his part moved to take advantage of his position, moving his knife before slamming upwards hard enough to send Nakul's arm upward, and as he went in for a horizontal slash to finish the job, the one hand his opponent had, opened slightly between his hold of one of his sword before throwing something held between the fingers, intercepting the sideways arch of Bell's sword.
Bell's red eyes widened as his blade split the object in half as he recognized it, and also witnessed Nakul disappear into a mist again.
In that split moment before the next thing happened, as the spark from the item Bell had cut began to form, igniting it from within, he spotted shards of something in Nakul's other hand.
'Is tha-'
His thought was interrupted quite rudely by the resulting point-blank explosion. With barely enough time, of his arms snapped up to shield his eyes as he leapt back as a result of the force before shaking his head.
'Right… he fights dirty' Bell internally growled as he reminded himself of that fact. He wasn't used to tricky opponents like this.
Snapping his eyes around in an attempt to locate Nakul, he frowned as he realized that the assassin was gone…. No, biding his time.
His presence was still here, just… scattered? It was a strange feeling, but that was the most apt description.
Taking a step forward as he remained on guard, he looked around for any sign of movement-
His arm shot around quickly and as his body fully turned around with it, he saw Nakul's head lean back under Bell's arm, clearly surprised for a moment before quickly recovering, rolling on the ground, and flipping onto his feet as a medium-pitched sound entered his ear-
Medium-pitched sound?
Glancing down as the god-awful smell entered his nostrils, he noticed a ball releasing some kind of gas, causing him to recoil and nearly dry-heave.
Stumbling backward quickly, Bell's senses attempted to alert him to an incoming projectile, but just at that moment, another wave of nausea washed over him, causing his vision to spin for a split moment, just enough for it to slam into his lower leg, embedding itself into it slightly before a small explosion came from it as he gritted his teeth from the pain.
Damn it, a strong body may help strengthen his resilience and toughness on the inside, but whatever that is eats away at it.
It was as if it was made to take down-
'Of course' Bell realized that was just it as he frowned down at the hole in his leg. Looking back up in time to see Nakul slowly dissipate into a mist again with those shards clattering down onto the ground again, small enough to barely be noticeable, but just enough for one to see if they paid attention. His expression was focused, his smirk nowhere to be seen.
Nakul was someone who overprepared for everything… and how long had they known they'd be fighting him? Two weeks? A few days? They'd expected him to die in Anfesera, meaning these tools were made with the express purpose of taking down Orario's next strongest threat.
Ottar.
The man with the supposed 'Perfect Defense'. A tool to break through even that… Bell smirked slightly as he realized a small hole in the assassin's plans. Sheathing his sword, he reached back, drew his spear, and started charging Argonaut in said spear hand as he redoubled his efforts into scourge.
Seven minutes… That is all he needs, and it might actually be incredibly overkill, even if he could do another in technicality… but he wanted to make sure.
Raising his knife, he took a deep breath, centering himself and forcing himself to calm down, and push past the pain… and as his eyes opened once more, he shot forward towards the most concentrated location of the presence around him.
It didn't take more than a split second for him to reach it as he saw a more clustered amount of mist before kicking the air hard, the wind pressure completely engulfing and shattering the ground, taking anything and everything with it, including said mist.
The moment he landed, he shot away in the opposite direction of his kick, towards where a large hole was in the walls of the cove, opening it up to the rest of the forest which had been decimated in that direction.
"Get back here, Cranel!" Bell heard Nakul scream out as he rolled forward and under an attack that seemed to come out of nowhere, before halfway through, pushed forward off the ground and while upside down, sent a firebolt towards the assassin as he recoiled heavily from it, almost as if scared of it.
For a split second, Bell wondered if whatever he'd done earlier had left a strong mark, but as he noticed how Nakul seemed to avoid the flames altogether, he frowned a bit before refocusing.
'Forty seconds. Now'.
"Firebolt…" He whispered as the resulting flames began enveloping the spear, dancing around its shaft and illuminating the hieroglyphs engraved along its length. In a bright white light that mixed perfectly with the orange of the flames.
"Mandu Tenebre!" Bell quickly turned his as much of his attention towards Nakul at the sound of the spell as he could without interrupting his focus, but he had no time to think before his world seemed to be enveloped in a sea of pure darkness.
He couldn't see… couldn't smell-
Bell nearly lost focus as he felt something pierce his shoulder as he moved randomly, digging itself slightly into it as Bell instinctively reached and grabbed whatever it was and pulled it out before throwing it away hard.
…
Wait… he felt that.
Bell once more closed his eyes as he used his sense of touch, remembering his time down in the Scorched hell. Something shifted behind him as he tilted his body enough for it to pass harmlessly past him while his free hand shot up and grabbed hold of it roughly.
Not wanting to let go of what he figured was Nakul's sword, quickly pulled and threw him over his head like a ragdoll in an arch, slamming him into the ground as he felt the tremors from the result.
Suddenly, his vision cleared as he took in the sight of Nakul spitting up blood just in time before he fumbled with something on his belt-
Bell saw how his hand squeezed shut as something shattered if the sound he heard next was anything to go by. Nakul instantly began to disperse into a mist once more, disappearing.
…
…
'Catalyst magic…' Bell concluded as the dots aligned for him. There was no other explanation that he could think of. Now, how to counter it… first off, he needed to find out what it was Nakul was using.
Catalyst items always used some item that contained some form of element, or magically reactive substance. Something akin to Bell's storm crystals which were made through Mystery, or Essence of the sacred tree which was highly magical in and of itself.
Narrowing his eyes as his back lowered slightly as his intuition began to flare, he shifted to the side before twirling the spear a hundred and eighty degrees, intercepting another incoming projectile with the butt of the weapon, sending it flying away before exploding harmlessly.
He's getting predictable.
Narrowing his eyes as he went back and thought about his previous attacks, a bomb was followed by-
Bell flipped, a dart whizzing right under him as he carefully snatched it out of the air before landing on his feet.
Nakul, from everything that had happened so far clearly relied on tricks on stronger opponents to weaken them to his level or below. While it would work on most-
Lowering himself, his hand shot upwards as his mind flared. His lips moved in tandem as a firebolt was hurled upwards. As it passed the mist, the black dusty substance almost seemed to rush away in fear. The pieces it connected with clumped together violently before falling back down to the ground.
'Sensitive to heat…' Bell noted.
His tricks would work on most people, but one thing Bell had honed was his talent for growth—more specifically, his incredible learning capacity. What took others months to master took him days. What took years for anyone else to learn, he absorbed in months.
Pattern recognition was one of the concepts to which his capacity applied. Having honed it for so long, he was essentially able to read an opponent far faster than should be possible.
Nowhere near the monstrous talent as Alfia, from what Erebus had described, but something akin to it.
Every time he thought about it, he couldn't help but muse on the fact that despite him being her talentless sister's child (Bless his mother), he held aspects of Alfia in him as well.
Glancing down at his spear, in the lull between attacks, he noted the tone shift of the fire, how parts of it had turned white and were spreading to the rest.
'One minute, twenty-three seconds' He counted before he dodged to the side of a blade that materialized behind him, attempting to take his head off before dissipating once more.
Bell's eye twitched as his world spun for a moment before he pushed it to the side. The remaining effects of the poison he wasn't able to get out were definitely getting worse.
Bell fighting with Nakul while the poison was still in his system wasn't helping things either.
Again and again, Nakul tried different attacks, attempting to combine them into different combinations, but for every attack that came close, the next failed even to surprise Bell.
Time ticked by, second by second as one and a half minutes turned to three… then four as the two combatants weaved and decimated the battlefield in combinations of attacks. Explosions, firebolts, and ground-shaking attacks one after another, slowly began to make the entire geography around them damn near unrecognizable.
As the six-minute mark passed, Bell began to prepare himself. The flames, now an intensely bright pure white, almost seemed to be overflowing with raw power as the hieroglyphs began dancing in a myriad of different colors.
It was the first time he's ever charged so much for this attack, and despite Bell's determination, he was almost scared of the aftermath.
He remembered what had happened back in Antares' tomb. The way the spear had carved its way through the ground and far into the sky with ease without the use of additional skills. How when he'd fought Asterius, it'd annihilated almost the entire 50th floor with the use of Argo Vesta, even with the bull taking most of the destructive capacity of the attack.
What kind of destruction would it cause without such circumstances…?
Bell asked himself that question for a split moment between attacks in Nakul's barrage before steeling his gaze back towards where the mist of his opponent was at its most dense.
Enough reminiscing- He tilted his head, smacking a wrist away as it materialized and sending the bomb in its hands flying away to the sides.
Seven minutes-
Twirling his spear as the golden white flames glowed brightly in pure white, he pointed the spear down as his scourge exploded out of him. He knew this was going to hurt, heck, probably break his bones if anything, but if it meant taking Nakul out… then he'd gladly make that sacrifice.
'Here goes nothing' And with that thought, the spear moved.
=Northern Front=
Finn had moved outside the city gates as he stood there with his spear, watching as the figure, which now that they were close enough to hear him if he talked, was a very familiar elf.
He'd have to have been the most unobservant person in Gekai not to recognize the woman who served dishes in the Tavern their goddess loved so much given how much they ate there. No- he'd have to have memory issues not to recognize that blonde hair and those sharp eyes.
Finn was anything but stupid, and for as long as he'd spent dining at the hostess of fertility, he had known for nearly all that time just what kind of waitresses worked there. The place had seemed to have a habit of picking up strays with some impressive strength. Strays that had dark pasts.
Lunoire Faust, born a native of the empire and eventually became a bounty hunter and grew to a level 4 known as Faust.
Chloe Rollo, born to unknown parents, was a level four former assassin who failed only one mission known to date, that being Shakti Varma. Her nickname had been Rollo.
Anya Fromel had been the easiest to research—a former member of the Freya Familia and sister to Vana Freya, Allen Fromel. Having partially left the familia, she began working as the hostess of fertility.
And lastly, Ryuu Lion. She too, had not been hard to figure out. The last living member of the Astraea Familia, the Gale Wind, who had single handily slaughtered the Rudra Familia and any and all associated, known or potential, it hadn't mattered.
As Finn watched the elf woman having slowed down to a walking pace as she stared at him, he wondered what she would want here. Last time he checked, she wanted nothing but to live out her days peacefully in that tavern, and he'd let her, given that she'd been instrumental- no, indispensable in the collapse of Evilus at the time. She'd deserved her rest, and as long as the public didn't know of her identity, he'd leave her ber.
…
"Gale Wind" Finn spoke after a pause in his thoughts as the elf finally came to a halt in front of him. "You do realize this is a military stronghold for Orario at the moment?" He asked, tilting his head with a smile.
The elf nodded after a moment before sighing.
"I do…" She stated before hesitating. Finn simply waited patiently as she seemed to gather her words. Her mouth moved as no words came out before she finally seemed to gather up the courage to say what was on her mind.
"I am in need of help" That only served to make the prum tilt his head a bit more to the side as he chuckled.
"That… is quite precarious. As you may be able to tell by the state of the fort, we are quite busy at the moment, so we aren't the most capable of help at the moment. We are also on an officially sanctioned Guild Order to combat the empire"
"I understand, though you misunderstand. I need help to bring back a friend…" Ryuu bit her lips as she desperately tried to find something to convince the Prum. She knew that she alone would not be able to accomplish what she wanted to do…
This… This was her only option.
"It Bell- " She corrected herself as she spoke his name- "He is destroying himself and… I want to help bring him to his senses… but I can't do it alone-" She stopped as Finn hummed, his expression turning more serious as he looked down, one hand going up to touch his chin in thought.
"Is that so…" He mumbled. He knew the two were friends, which was a given as he'd seen the two interact before. It was rare for the elf to genuinely smile, and having seen her do just that in his presence in the past two months or so, and even fifteen years ago, made it an indisputable fact that the two of them weren't mere acquaintances.
"Yes. Be- is a level eight-"
"He leveled up?" Finn cut her off, blinking as she stopped before nodding. "He has… and as he is now, not even Ottar would be able to defeat him alone" Ryuu stated as if it was an indisputable fact. Finn too, understood why she'd view it that way. Bell Cranel was far more powerful than he should be, and as a level eight now-
It's like that time all over again.
He remembered the helplessness they'd felt under the boot of the Zeus and Hera familias. Their raw unmatched power sent shivers down their spines by their mere presence.
"I understand your desire to help a friend, but what is it that I get out of it exactly? As far as I can see, I'd be using resources on an endeavor that'd give virtually no benefits to myself" Finn looked up and he put on a smile right as Ryuu stiffened for a moment before relaxing.
"His family is taking part in the war… and I believe if he was in his right mind… he'd do anything to protect them-" She knew that was true, she knew that Bell cared for family far deeper than anyone else.
After all… he hadn't even met any of his born family, so that was a given.
"Hmm… I suppose that is quite a large incentive. The potential of the assistance from a level eight- no, it would more or less confirmed. Themis familia is one of the three familias at the front of the war, they have their own order from the guild to participate" Finn's mind was traveling down multiple roads as he calculated the risks and potential losses or benefits from going through with what the Gale Wind was requesting.
…
"Tell me before I decide, how is it you believe you can accomplish this?" He asked as he bore into Ryuu's gaze in a calculating manner.
…
"To talk to him-... or defeat him…" She stated as Finn blinked at the last one.
"Defeat him? Did you not just state that Ottar would not be able to defeat him?" Finn countered her answer.
Ryuu for her part didn't so much as hesitate as she nodded.
"Alone, yes… but if everyone combined forces… Loki and Freya familia alongside Members of Themis familia that are here…" She stops as she lets Finn absorb those words.
It wasn't a bad plan per se. While the age of the gods was quality over quantity, if there was a quantity alongside a certain level of quality, it could overpower a single higher-quality adventurer, as much as admitting to himself that Bell Cranel was of higher quality than any of them left a bitter taste in his mouth.
If they succeed, his direct assistance would be indispensable. He alone had disrupted their entire information and supply network, and slaughtered large amounts of their soldiers, alongside a large number of their first-class forces.
If they had his help…
As he really thought about it, Finn let out a deep sigh.
"...as you wish" Finn answered and it took a moment for the answer to really sink in for Ryuu, but as it did, her shoulder eased up, letting go of the stiffness that had invaded her entire stance as she'd waited in bated breath.
"Thank you…" She whispered, her voice lighter as she couldn't help but smile.
"Come, I need to inform those that will help… and I believe you should be there as well"
"I- of co-" Whatever Ryuu was about to say was cut off as the ground around them shook as the sky lit up brighter as if it was day for a few moments. The two of them wobbled slightly as the walls themselves rattled as if something had shaken the continent deep enough to affect the tectonic plates.
The shaking persisted for a few moments before slowly subsiding, leaving the two standing there in confusion as they glanced at each other, silently asking if they knew what had just happened.
Neither did… and honestly, they were a bit worried to find out.
=Orario, Archian Manor=
As Erebus sat there with his book in hand, Astraea sitting close by as she herself was smiling down at a parchment, the entirety of Orario seemed to shake momentarily, causing every piece of furniture and the entire manor to rattle as small, tiny pieces of dust falling from the top of the furnishings which were all illuminated by a white light in the distance.
Astraea for her part, seemed to blink, not having moved an inch as she'd waited it out before glancing out the window, blinking again as she spotted a few people on the streets hugging the walls and some on the ground.
That's when she saw it. In the distance towards the east where if one looked close enough, they'd be able to see the Alf mountains. To the left of them from their perspective, an enormous cloud had risen from the ground, pieces of it lighting up white at times as she stared at it, blinking.
"Erebus…" She muttered as the god looked to where the cloud was as he just stared at it "Was that…?" She continued before looking back at him, slightly in shock.
"Most likely. He's the only one I know of who can reach that kind of power with the right combinations" The god answered as the goddess of Justice looked back, her complexion turning a bit paler at the information.
She was beginning to see just why Erebus believed what he did.
=Risha Forest=
Bell grits his teeth as he pushes out all the strength he can in his weakened state, slamming the spear down into the ground, and embedding it as the sound of the air momentarily freezing stayed for a split second before the ground exploded in an inferno of fire, spreading wide and far, as Bell's arm shattered, yet despite it, he held on as the white light enveloped everything alongside the flames which attempted to brun even him.
From the distance, an enormous explosion that rocked and shook the ground violently was viewed nearly across an enormous amount of distance. An explosion of white flames that slowly flickered out with time which illuminated everything within reach, painting the landscape white as Bell himself lost his footing on the ground as it seemed to finally catch up with the amount of force put onto it and disintegrated.
What followed was him being sent flying down into the ground hard enough for him to completely lose his sense of surroundings as all the air was pushed out of him, bones breaking even further than his shattered arm while his skin became slightly singed, but stayed relatively protected due to his skill.
Eventually, though, the force subsided, leaving him lying there as he groaned softly, his entire body hurting from the attack.
Despite having just used an enormous amount of mind and stamina, he somehow still felt strong enough to get up. Pushing himself onto his feet with his non-shattered arm, he grabbed his spear and took a look around before his eyes widened.
Destruction… that was all he was surrounded by. Where previously, the landscape had been singed and burned with pieces of the ground shattered or in tatters, there was just… nothing.
Around him was nothing but a wasteland as he was standing near the center of a crater far and wide enough that he knew it was a few kilometers in each direction to reach the edge of the just the crater.
A disbelieving laugh escaped him which he regretted immediately as his ribs ached.
'Not the ribs…' He thought as he internally laughed at his luck. Why was it always the ribs? Dropping that thought, he glanced around once more, taking in the sight again, he shook his head.
There was no way anyone, or anything survived that. He'd eat hi-
*Cough*
Bell blinked as his head whipped to the side to see something he could not explain.
There, buried against the ground lay the very person he'd just been fighting, his legs gone, one hand nowhere to be seen with his eye, alongside his entire left side having been burnt to a crisp.
Bell was so surprised, that he didn't even realize how close to death the assassin was, his breath shallow, desperately gulping up every ounce of air his damaged lungs could drink up. It was honestly a pitiable sight.
Nakul, a level seven being reduced to such a state-
Bell froze at that thought as he thought of the Zeus and Hera familia… was…
Was this what it experienced?
He thought, his heart hammering at the thought. Was this what it saw as it destroyed their familias, reducing level sevens, eights, and even a level nine to pitiable states?
Bell felt powerful… invincible even in some ways… yet… he felt… hollow at the thought- no… he felt horrified.
And at that moment, he couldn't help but feel fear at what he was capable of. Level sevens were akin to demi-gods to some people, capable of shaking the ground for kilometers with just their regular punches alone.
Bell gulped as he looked down at his shattered arm, then at his still functioning hand, his expression tensing before he squeezed his fist. He'd have to be careful from now on… if this wasn't even his ultimate attack at an eight-minute Argo Vesta… then…
He really needed to watch how much force he put into his attacks. At the moment, he needed to gain better control of his power… but that- He glanced at Nakul, his expression morphing back into a cold one- could wait.
Limping over, Bell gripped his spear as he eventually arrived, towering over the figure on the ground who with strength he, turned his head to look at him.
"You- you… monster…" He coughed out as Bell just stared. He agreed in a way… right now he felt like a monster, but he didn't so much as flinch in his staredown.
"Come on… do it- pr-" He was cut off as the spear slammed into his chest and through his heart, blood spewing out of the assassin's mouth as Bell looked on as his eyes slowly dimmed until the very essence of life waned from his gaze.
For a long moment, Bell just stood there before he pulled the spear out of his chest, holstering it on his back before turning, limping away leaving the body to rot with the rest in the wasteland.
For a moment, Bell stopped as a stray thought came to him.
He hoped that the girl Nakul had used got away… he really hoped so… but his heart grew heavy with guilt as he couldn't help but realize that she wouldn't have gotten far enough away to completely avoid it.
He squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth. His power had done that… hadn't it? It may have caused an innocent to die… he… he might have killed her. A child who barley had the time to experience life.
His throat clogged as his fists clenched, the fear he'd felt towards himself grew with the realization before he continued walking.
It was something he'd have to live with, as difficult as that would be.
'Just another name on the long list' was his last thought before he continued walking away, body broken and bruised. He had to get home… he needed to be healed.
Pushing all thoughts away, he headed towards his goal, and not daring to think on anything else, lest the weight of his sins would crush him instead.
That's chapter 78! I apologize for this being an entire month late. Honestly, that was… uncouth of me, but it is dropping alongside chapter 79 and a chapter of Freiheit Aus Dem Käfig. Anyway, a few things happened in this chapter, and things are about to get interesting… I hope so, hehe.
There isn't much of anything else to say, but I'd like to put some story statistics here, mainly for myself to keep track of and to allow everyone to see. The Fallen Argonaut is sitting at 696 689 words prior to this chapter's release on while on Archive, it's 640 532 words long. The difference is mainly post-chapter comments for all 75 chapters currently (as of the time writing this), so Archive is without a doubt the real length of the story.
In total, the story has over 640 thousand views (holy crap!) which is flabbergasting. Never would I have imagined that this story would reach such a point, but here we are.
Currently, the average chapter length is sitting around 11k words with some being 12k and others 10k. A respectable length, but could be longer (my past self would be horrified). Any time I mention it to someone, they either gasp or look at me in disbelief. It's not that long, is it?
Anyhow, that's about it for the story status, so I won't drag you on any longer, and instead get right into the reviews.
Fallendemon248: So here's the thing after the events of Bell's home village and Elora's death and resurrection? And all the other crazy stuff you'd think Bell would learn not to charge in or at least to have backup at waiting nearby. But doesn't it seem like things are going a little too well for Nakul? Almost like someone is holding back and hopes he gets captured. Kinda sus... or maybe I'm overestimating Bell and underestimating Nakul. But like a great god of thunder once said "Well, sometimes you have to get captured just to get a straight answer out of something." I hope to see Ryuu rescue her man next chapter lol I can't get over that also Erebus and Astrea's interactions are hilarious
Author: I'd say it's neither. While Bell is powerful, he isn't invincible. Even with his immense spatial awareness and power, he can still be overwhelmed in the right circumstances. Nakul by his nature is crafty and manipulative. He uses every advantage he can get for himself, no matter the tricks he has to use. Traps, poisons, you name it. He uses it to level the playing field for him to maximize his chances of victory, and while Bell would without a doubt wipe the floor with Nakul one one-on-one at full capacity, he is not alone here, and Bell has to focus on multiple people at once, which buys Nakul much needed time to act the way he wants.
About Ryuu, well… you'll just have to wait and see, but it isn't this chapter… obviously xD.
Ninjafan1331: Bell, an old ally is coming to find you and her name is Ryuu…are you trying to attract another elf into your supposed growing harem.
Like what you did with Fiona and Jannor. Two peas in a pod those two. Lol
Author: Hehe… hehehe… *sweatdropps*
That is it for the reviews. While only two, I am still thankful for all of them (Pix25's 'nice one' as well, thank you). Now, with all that out of the way, I wish you all happy readings, and to see you next time!