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
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.
10: Recurrence
Normal POV
=Twilight Manor, Finn's office, 1 day before the Xenos escaped=
"Raul! You will guard the south east with your assigned group, Annakitty has the northeast!" Finn was barking out orders as they were preparing for the Monsters' attempt for escape.
'The activity from the monsters have increased during the last couple of days according to the scouts. They have been hiding for almost an entire month. Now, without Bell Cranel and the Hestia Familia around anymore' Finn thought as Raul and Anakitty left to assume their posts. The other locations of the knossos entrances they had found were guarded by Gareth, Bete, Tione and Tiona. He would have to inform Gareth once he returns, if he comes back in time. As a Precaution, there was also a central tower they could regroup by in case the monsters defy expectation and go for an unknown entrance.
Finn sighed as he closed his eyes. He had planned the operation long enough for now. Thinking about something too hard and too long will only halt one's progress, he had learnt that the hard way.
A knock echoed from the door and Finn beckoned the person on the other side in. The door opened to reveal Gareth.
"Gareth, you're back from Kauhea Forbande? What happened to make it take nearly two and half weeks to get the information?" Finn asked.
"The bodies were almost unrecognizable. Either charred, or crushed almost to the point of them never being identified. It took a while to get it all so we helped out. Would have taken much longer if it weren't for us helpin'em" Gareth explained as Finn took in the information.
"Alright, so what were the results?" He asked, noticing that Riveria and Ais, who was in the room alongside the top executives, seemed especially interested in the information.
"Well, the tower collapsed to the side which indicated a focused explosion in one direction. From the debris and where the damage began. Whoever did it, came from inside Kauhea Forbande, not outside" That was alarming. Most of the felons inside Kauhea Forbande were ones with only a level 2 status, which was stripped. There were others with a higher status, the highest one being a level 5, but they were rare. The ban of any god entering the prison made sure that they never got their status back.
"Hmm… Then how did they do it? They shouldn't have had a status…" Finn muttered which Gareth nodded at before pulling out a piece of paper.
"Well, after a little over 2 weeks, we managed to identify all the corpses that were charred or crushed underneath the rubble. It seems only inmates from Cell Block A were involved in an attempted escape but everyone but 3 inmates are accounted for. The rest are bodies of guards" Gareth said as he reread the information. Finn made a 'hmm' noise as he contemplated the information.
'If everyone but 3 inmates were accounted for in the rubble, it means one of the three must be the culprit' Finn thought before looking back at Gareth.
"Who were the three?" he asked as Gareth looked down.
"The first is an inmate named Hayden Mishivona. Found guilty of repeated drug dealing, mainly a drug known as 'Tod Shade' but he also dealt with other substances. Says he had no status prior to being sent to Kauhea Forbande" Gareth mentioned the first as Finn copied down all the necessary information.
"The second person was Poh Anphion. Found guilty of serial-murder in multiple countries, each country counting over 30 deaths in those respective country, adding up to a total over one hundred. Also had no status prior to arriving in Kauhea Forbande" Finn frowned at that. At least they now knew it could only be the final person on the list
"The final one…" Gareth closed his eyes and sighed, leaving a long pause as Finn got a really bad feeling.
"Bell Cranel" That name caused shockwaves to flow through the room. Ais completely froze, Riveria went rigid in surprise and Finn fell back into his chair, covering his face as he groaned loudly.
"I know I don't have to mention the details, but I will anyway. He was found guilty of endangering the public and murdering 17 adventurers without mercy. He had a level 3 status which was achieved in 5 months time before arriving in Kauhea Forbande" Gareth finished, putting the paper down and sighing deeply.
"Well… Y'all know who's our primary suspect, right?" He asked. Finn uncovered his hands, before nodding, staring up into the ceiling.
'How did he regain his status?' Finn pondered over the possibilities, and no matter how he thought of it, he couldn't find anything logical. The only thing he could think of is that a god was imprisoned inside the prison but that was ludicrous. What idiot would imprison a god in a prison where gods are not allowed?
Finn's thumb throbbed, but he promptly ignored it. The only thing he knew is that they had to find the boy.
"Gareth. Were there any witnesses to what happened after?" Finn asked Gareth, who shook his head.
"No… but, there was a report that the boy visited a village of Agris near the Shreme old castle where he fought in the wargame" Finn peeked up at him, motioning for him to continue.
"Apparently, he took care of a sand worm outside the city… and according to the reports, the worm had been smuggled out of the dungeon" Riveria's head snapped to Finn in surprise.
"The boy defeated a sand worm from the dungeon? That's a level 4 monster!" She said as Finn sighed.
"Hmm… It would be reasonable to say that Bell Cranel is now a level 4, correct?" Finn asked, looking at Riveria who nodded
"Aye, if he defeated a sand worm, it means that he either learned some new fancy magic, or he has gotten strong enough to fight one" Finn looked at Ais, noticing her not saying anything
"What do you think, Ais?" Said girl looked at Finn with sad eyes.
"He has always reached beyond my expectations. I would agree with what you're saying" She said simply in a voice that hurt the three other executives with the amount of sadness in it.
"Alright. I'm sorry for asking this of you Ais, but you need to prepare yourself to fight him. He's an escapee and a criminal to the world, and we will be called out to hunt him down after the monsters are handled" He explained as Ais nodded, conflict now clear in her eyes.
"I will try, Finn" She said before getting up and walking out of the room. All executives looked at her retreating form with a sullen look. They just hoped she would get through this.
=The Far East, Tanjouno Estate=
A spear thrust through the air, before stopping abruptly and was pulled back and twirled around to find an optimal position to thrust it again. For 2 months, Bell had been working on his skills with the Spear and longsword he had been given .
During that time, he had managed to gain enough technique with the spear to feel good with it. It almost felt like a natural extension of his own arm after training with it for these months.
Bell thrust the spear out, before twirling it in a perfect move, to swipe the feet of his imaginary opponent with the backside of the spear. The next second, bel slashed the spear through the body of the imaginary fallen opponent before finally relaxing.
"Hah… that was a good session" Bell muttered as he efficiently got the spear onto his back with one slick motion. Bell chuckled at how similar the move was to 'Braver's' one.
He would have loved to test his skills against Bache, but unfortunately, she had been very adamant about not exerting herself, even if he could see that she was itching to fight. Her desire to not risk the child, outweighing her desire for battle. Speaking of changes, Bell had also nodded that he had gotten taller, his hair was longer and his muscles were more defined. He is officially 15 years old now, his birthday recently passed 2 weeks ago.
It was weird, before Bache was taller than him, but now he was slightly taller than her, barely noticeable, but it was there. When he noticed that his hair got longer, it became utterly unbearable. It constantly got in the way, and kept hitting his eyes, making him close them which was not a good thing at all.
In the end, Bell decided to pull the hair back into a miniature pony tail. It was long enough to do that at this point. Erebus had even commented, saying that he looked more and more like a grown Rabbit instead of a Baby Rabbit which had somehow made its way to even the empress. It was almost like an inside joke at this point.
Bell smiled before heading inside. There was one thing that did irritate him though for the last week. He wasn't getting stronger anymore. All of his stats had been maxed out in two months and he can't rise any higher.
It was almost like an invisible itch that he couldn't reach or even knew how to scratch. It had taken Erebus to point out that he was so used to constantly growing stronger because of Liaris Freeze, but now that he all of a sudden hit a wall and didn't grow at all, it broke the chain he was so used to.
It was like an addict getting stripped from his supply. Just much more mild and controlled. Apart from that, during the two months, the country had somewhat stabilized. Less people were living on the streets, even fewer were starving. Diseases were less prominent as Bell had fought back against any attempt to disturb the health of the general public.
Out of all the noble houses, only Sanjouno, Gojouno and Tanjouno were still standing. The rest had been put behind bars, and the Empress had given her thanks, more times than Bell could handle. It almost seemed as if the country was getting back on its feet. The only issue is 'The Black Kyotes' who were still causing trouble. It was the last obstacle remaining and would be the most difficult.
During the months, the intelligence they had on the Nobles and Criminal Organizations had increased in size massively. Apparently, the supposed level 4 was part of 'The Black Kyotes' and wasn't level 4 at all. He had been hiding his strength and was a level 5.
Another piece of information they had found was that the patron god that was giving them the falna was Fujin, a god of wind and was aided by his brother, Raijin, a god of lightning, thunder and storms. The two together have always caused mayhem in heaven, seaking anyway to destroy things.
Bell was brought out of his thoughts as he walked inside and was called upon almost immediately by Asuka.
"Bell! There is a situation!" Bell instantly went alert.
"What is it?" He asked instantly as Asuka handed Bell a paper. He grabbed it and read it over as his eyes opened.
"Are you serious!? They're calling me out?" Bell asked as Asuka nodded.
"Apparently they want to test your strength. You, against their strongest. The first tier member of 'The Black Kyotes'" Bell nodded as he folded the paper and put it down on the counter.
"Bell, you can't. He's level 5, which means you can't win" Asuka said before Bell looked down, remembering how some people thought the same thing only mere 8 months ago when he was going up against Hyakinthos.
"I have done it before. I've defeated someone of a higher level than me" She looked at Bell surprised.
"You have?" Bell nodded before giving her the gist of what he did. Telling her that he defeated a level 3 as a level 2.
"I have to do this, Asuka. It's a chance to finish this. They are putting the person that is blocking all of our recent advances, right in my path. They are hoping that he can take me out most likely, but I won't let that happen" Asuka looked down for a second before nodding.
"Alright Bell, but at least ask mother to surround the area with her soldiers during the fight. We don't want anyone escaping" Bell contemplated for a second before nodding.
"Doesn't sound like a half bad idea. I'll do that, now I need to get ready. Let me go grab the knives and the longsword. I want to be as prepared as possible" Bell said as Asuka nodded.
He quickly ran up the stairs and got himself geared. The longsword, peeking up from his left shoulder and spear on his right, high quality knives were strapped on his sides, partially covered with jetblack metallic armor, which was similar to the pyonkichi armor, but covered a little more of his chest and also extended down further, halfway down his abs.
Once done, Bell rushed out of the Estate, heading straight for the Yume Palace.
=2 Hours later=
Bell walked through the woods, heading in a singular direction as he peeked down at the map that was attached to the back of the challenge. When he had taken a good look at it, he had quickly realized that the place that the Black Kyotes had chosen was very inaccessible.
Almost like a trap. It was located in between a small canyon shortly outside the city and through the woods.
Bell peeked to his right, seeing a couple of the Empress personal guards which were wearing elite armor, moving past him. After he had relayed the information to the Empress, she had, similar to him, seen the opportunity to take a leap towards the end of this conflict.
Her and Amaterasu had made a plan within an hour that seemed plausible, but it heavily relied on Bell holding the level 5 off long enough. Amaterasu had really been unsure about the plan at first, but after Bell had given her reassurances that he would hold him off for as long as he could so that they could get into position and prepare the traps.
As the man disappeared out of Bell's sight, but not his senses, he mentally commented about the armor he was wearing. It was a very intimidating armor set that fully covered the body in a very Far Eastern design with red as it's primary color and gold outlining around it.
Bell shook himself out of the thoughts as he looked up. In front of him was where the canyon started. It was a straight path forward, with one entrance, and one exit. A group of regular guards alongside some elite ones were securing the exit, while another group was climbing to the top of the canyon to get behind the enemy.
Bell walked forward towards one of the elite guards which he guessed was their version of a 'captain'. After all, he was barking orders around and forcing order within groups.
"Excuse me, are you the leader?" The man in the elite armor looked back at Bell before nodding.
"Yes, I am Rigun-tai-i Hiroto Suzuki. You must be Bell, correct?" Bell nodded, guessing that this 'Rigun-tai-i' was the Far Eastern equivalent for Captain.
"Yes, is there anything I can do to help?" Bell asked as Hiroto shook his head.
"Unfortunately not. We are just waiting an extra 15 minutes for the others to get to the other side. Once that is done, the rest is up to you" Bell nodded, as he checked his weapons. His spear was in peak condition like his knives and longsword. He had potions for extreme situations and the armor was strong enough to protect him somewhat from the attacks from a level 5, but won't hold out long.
"Here" Hiroto held out an item Bell didn't recognize. He took it and inspected it before tilting his head in confusion.
"Eh… I don't know what this does?" Bell said before looking at the captain.
"You swallow it. It's an item that boosts your stamina" Bell thought about it for a second before shrugging and swallowing it. His abnormal resistance had gone up a lot recently because of Bache's poison magic. It was already in E, though it seems it won't increase anymore as Bache's poison isn't strong enough anymore to affect him, so if it's poison, he should be fine.
Once he swallowed it, Bell headed towards the entrance to the canyon and waited. Minutes passed as his mind sifted through all of the possible ways the battle could go. Eventually, he got the signal from Hiroto to enter, and that he did.
He walked forward calmly, trusting his enhanced senses to detect any abnormal movements around him. The canyon was as one would expect. Wide, yet compact. Wide enough to have a battle, but not enough for a full scale assault.
Bell's eyes snapped to his right, spotting a person standing there, looking at him with a grin.
"He's here… That idiot" He heard the man say, thinking he couldn't hear him. A couple of responses came from behind him, hidden behind rocks.
Bell knew he was practically already surrounded, but none of the people currently around him was beyond level 2. Most were in fact only level 1, meaning his opponent was further down the canyon.
He kept walking before he arrived in a sort of a ring opening within the canyon. Like someone had dug the entire place out, but very unevenly. A natural phenomenon that was rare to see.
At the center of the opening stood a man that could only be described with the word, Arrogant.
His smirk of confidence was completely condescending and aimed at Bell. He wore relatively light armor with a tank top underneath. His brown pants covered his entire legs and he was holding an extravagant purple colored wavy sword.
"So… you've accepted. You think you can best me, A level 5? What level are you? 3?" He asked which caused Bell's eyebrows to quirk. Did he seriously not know? Well, he had not really done anything to show any more strength than that, so it was expected.
"I have no reason to answer you" Bell said as he pulled out his spear and positioned it behind his back.
"Ah… you're a man of action? I can get behind that, but first. What's your name? I like to remember my prey" Bell shook his head before deciding to indulge him.
"Bell… yours?" It was one of the most tightly guarded secrets of the Black Kyotes. No one knew the name of the man. He didn't even have an Alias and was simply called the Ace of the Black Kyotes.
"Railan. Now, Bell. Let's finish this" He said with a shit eating grin as cheers rang around as it seemed most of the Black Kyotes were present. Bell looked around for a second before locking eyes on two people that were almost infamous. The two leaders of the Black Kyotes. Bell smiled at that before turning his eyes back at the man, before his eyes widened as he tilted his head to the side and brought the shaft of the sper in front of his neck only for the noise of clashing blades entered his ears.
Railan had attacked him while he was looking at the leaders, nearly causing Bell's death. He reprimanded himself at his lack of attention before twisting the spear in a manner that forced Railan's sword to be pushed onto the ground before he twirled it and hit him across the face with the rear end of it.
"Tsk… You're faster than I thought. Guess I gotta take you seriously" He muttered before speeding up his movements and launched an assault on Bell.
The spear kept deflecting most of the blows and the ones he missed were dodged by Bell narrowly. Bell had power enough to match a mid level 5 with ease, but it was clear that Railan wasn't a mid level 5. He must have been a level 5 for a very long time, leading to him reaching the limit of his status.
Bell tried to make space between him and his opponent as he swiped the ground, sending a mixture of sand and dirt all around them in an attempt to temporarily block visual. He took the opportunity to jump back and switch to a thrusting position.
The next second, a knife flew through the dust cloud formed from the sand and dirt, gracing Bell's cheek as blood was drawn.
Railan jumped forward before expertly twirling his sword around and hitting Bell at different angles, making it near impossible to dodge and block every single one.
He kept looking for an opening as Bell kept blocking his attacks before Bell slid under his sword, put the spear on his back and pulled a knife which graced his hip as he narrowly avoided the unexpected attack.
'A spear isn't good in a battle where the enemy is so close. Better use my knives and longsword instead' Bell thought before drawing one knife and his longsword, easily able to hold the sword in one hand.
Bell ran forward and started to clash blades with Railan, letting his blade slide down to the side as he used his knife for a second attack that was unblockable because of his sword's predicament.
To most it would seem that Bell had gotten the upper hand within the battle which confused a great deal of the spectators, but in fact, he was barely hanging on. Most of his spear and longsword skills were self-taught, meaning that the moves were mostly unfamiliar to his opponent.
But it was becoming clear to Bell that Railan was getting the hang of his technique. Bell set out with a new goal in mind as he put back his knife and pulled out his spear, and blocked the next downwards cut from Railan with an X guard, before twisting the X shape in the opposite way and thrust downwards with all his might, forcing both the sword and spear deep into the ground.
At that moment, Bell was hit with a spinning hook kick, which sent him flying backwards, back hitting a rock, breaking it in half as he rolled on the ground.
Kailan grabbed the hilt of his blade and pulled, only to be met with an unexpected resistance. When he looked down, he noticed what had happened. Bell had trapped his wavy blade in between the X shaped formation his spear and longsword were in. He couldn't pull it out unless he took one of his weapons out too.
He was about to pull the spear out but before he could, Bell had already gotten back on his feet and pushed forward towards Railan who now pulled out a spare dagger.
His attacks were met with a dual assault as Bell used his only two remaining weapons, and the ones he's most skilled with, his knives.
Bell kept pushing, feeling that the man in front of him was on his last legs, before… wait… he was being overpowered all of a sudden.
Bell felt confused, his opponent all of a sudden got a strength boost. His attacks sent vibrations of pain through his arms as he blocked them and even… chirped at his weapons?
He jumped back and looked at his knives. The weapons had all of a sudden gotten much worse for the wear,
'Don't tell me…' Bell's thoughts began as he realized what was going on. He had heard of a similar skill from many adventurers. Something that was quite common, but could be a game changer during combat.
'A skill' He finished. A skill is definitely what's going on here. Bell had intentionally not used any of his as he wants to challenge himself as much as possible. Only if he feels like he has absolutely no other choice will he use Argonaut or Scourge.
'The skill he has probably increases his strength, but in what situation? When did it activate, think Bell, Think!' Bell was reprimanding himself at his useless brain for a second before it hit him.
'He was being put in an unfavourable position. Perhaps it raises his attack power when he's losing?' Bell concluded more in a questioning tone in his head rather than a convinced one.
Bell desperately looked around as he searched for something to do as his opponent started sprinting towards Bell.
'Something! I have to do somethi-Ah!' He thought as he locked eyes on something behind him. 'That's it!' Bell thought as he jumped back on his hands and kicked up, just like he did with Hyakinthos, his feet almost making contact as his opponent tried to fix his stance.
Instead of trying to finish it, he jumped back and ran towards the weapons locked in the ground before quickly pulling them up before lodging the tip of his spear underneath the purple blade, flicking it with all his might, sending it flying above the canyon before landing on the upper levels of the area.
The next second, Bell lowered himself before rushing his opponent with only his spear in hand, already having sheathed his longsword. He pushed his hold of his spear further up, decreasing his range, but effectively making it better for close combat.
Bell twirled his spear, faking that he was going to thrust, but instead changed direction and swiped the sand, sending it into Railan's face. He was about to thrust the spear into his side, before his eyes widened.
He had caught the tip of the spear with his hand, clearly bleeding now, before he ripped it out of Bell's hand. Bell, still being caught off guard, was thrust with the back of the spear in his abdomen, making him vomit out his stomach as he fell to the ground.
Bell was about to get up but before he could react or do anything, a fist flew straight into his face, sending him down into the ground.
'Do I really have to use that…? Am I really so weak and useless with weapons that I can't even win without skills…?' Bell thought bitterly, about to activate scourge. The aura started to seep out of him, making his opponents eyes widen.
Railain hurried up, turning the spear around before thrusting down towards Bell's head-
*BOOM*
The ground shook, sending the spears path to the side and into the ground, gracing Bell's check, making a second mark, right under the first one.
The Aura disappeared as Bell looked up confused for a second, before he smiled.
'I held out long enough' He thought as he stared at the guards rushing in with shields as crowd control. They were overwhelming them.
"You little…" He heard Railain seeth with venom as he turned towards Bell, aiming his knife at him before something hit his shoulder, making him flinch and drop Bell's spear.
Bell turned around, seeing the captain, Hiroto holding some kind of oversized bow, clearly having just shot.
Bell forced himself up on his feet as he stared forward at Railain who was now positively reeking of anger and frustration.
"Not only were you much harder to beat than I thought… You even did this… I swear, I'm gonna-" He stopped as he made a 'tsk' sound.
Bell felt the increase in presence behind him. It was clearly the guards, and Railain knew he couldn't take out the guards, and fight Bell at the same time.
"DABI! BADALL!" He screamed and seconds later, small black balls fell on the ground and exploded in a sea of smoke.
Bell coughed as he looked around, before he pulled his hand up and aimed it at the ground where Railan had stood.
"FIREBOLT!" he screamed as the bolt of lightning and fire flew down and blew up on impact of the ground, sending the smoke flying away.
Bell looked around, before he noticed Railan, already up above the canyon, holding a person before setting them down.
Bell's eyes widened at the mask the person was wearing.
'Don't tell me… His patron god… Fujin!' Bell thought not having even noticed the gods' presence within the canyon.
Behind those two were a small group of Black Kyotes, most likely the highest levels, staring down at the scene. After a second, the group walked aways as Bell internally cursed at himself in the least colorful way possible.
He was brought out of the self deprecating thoughts as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked around, before seeing the captain, smiling at Bell before motioning around the area.
Bell did so and saw that apart from that one group, everyone else was arrested, including the two leaders of the entire organization.
"Don't think less of your actions because a small group got away, even if the most dangerous one was with them" Hiriot said, and was clearly about to continue before Bell noticed the empress herself walk into the canyon with two of her personal guards by her side.
Bell walked towards her before bowing slightly, giving her a 'Your Majesty' before she told him to act casually.
"Bell… I have no idea how I, or the people could ever thank you. The two leaders" She looked at the two in question "Have been captured among what I can gather is the majority of the Black Wolves. Because of you, the country I have sworn to serve, protect and build is finally getting back on its feet after nearly a hundred years" She said with a smile.
"No need to thank me, your majesty. I was simply doing what was right" Bell said, smiling slightly back, but couldn't get that bad feeling out of his gut. His intuition told him this was not over. That something worse was coming, and soon. Bell shook his head, his head, ignoring the intuition that was screaming at him.
"What you deem to be right, Bell, is more than I have seen anyone do, asking for nothing in return" She said. Bell was about to retort before she put a finger on his lips, giving him a smirk, knowing what he was about to say.
"Don't count the spear or the armor in. Anything I have given for you as a reward out of my need to compensate you does not count as you never asked for it as payment" Bell shut his mouth, realizing he hasn't asked for anything unless she had practically forced him to.
Bell sighed before looking back at where Railan and his group had been. Quickly thinking back upon what that intuition could be for. His Luck stat wasn't burning him like it did with Hestia or when people tried to swindle him, but it didn't do so in order to warn him of Kali's plot either. The Development Ability could be really selective with when to make itself known.
"Is something the matter, Bell?" He was brought back by Takara as he contemplated how to answer.
"I… I just have a bad feeling…" Bell said before he noticed her walking up beside him, looking up at the same spot he was.
"I have learnt after working with you for a little over 2 months, that your gut feelings are more accurate than most intel. Trust it, it will serve you well" Bell contemplated her words, knowing it was true. After all, they had gathered false intel a month ago about a meeting between the Panjouno family and the Cobalt Vipers that turned out to be a trap.
They basically tried to level an entire building on top of their heads. Only reason they made it out was because of pure dumb luck. Bell once again blessed himself for choosing 'Luck' after getting to level 2. Eina and Hestia had been right, he really had needed that Development ability in more ways than one.
"Maybe… I don't know. If something comes of this feeling, then I will trust it from then on" Bell said as Takara nodded
"It's your choice. I have no say in the matter, and may only give advice" She smiled before motioning for him to follow.
"Do you mind helping me with some of the cleanup?" She asked as Bell nodded. He saw no reason to refuse.
"Of course" he responded before smiling at him.
"Thank you, Bell" She said before leading him towards a group of guards.
"Guards! I am putting you all in direct command of this man beside me. He will oversee the cleanup and Hiriko will oversee the transportations of prisoners! Treat him as you would treat Royalty!" She called out, her tone changing completely to an authoritative one as Bell did a complete 180, gawking at her.
"R-r-royalty!?" He exclaimed as he started to stutter incomprehensible words.
"Yes, you have earned the honor of it after all. I only ask that you make sure all the scattered equipment around is salvaged and brought back with you. Some of it may be of use and an increase in our armor without paying anything won't hurt" Bell was still stuck in his stupor as he tried to get his words out.
"But… But… I don't know how to lead!" He said as she looked over her shoulder, smirking at him before chuckling.
"Trust your intuition Bell. As I said, it will serve you well, more than you can imagine" Bell could do nothing but stare as she walked away, towards Hiriko, barking orders at anyone out of line.
Bell decided to shake his head and do as she said. It was his best choice right now.
"Eh… Everyone, start searching around the elevated rocks around the fighting area in the center! That's where they were standing and cheering before everyone arrived. Once you're done, leave what you found with… this man here, who will oversee and sort all the collected items. Also, help anyone around that still isn't finished once you're done" Bell said, his voice clearly not used to leading people, making the guards look at each other before nodding. They were told to treat him like Royalty, it would be the same as if it was Asuka when she was younger.
""Yes Sir!"" A chorus of acknowledgements at the order was heard before they split up, doing as they were told
Takara looked back at Bell, smiling at his first attempt at leading people. It wasn't really bad for a first timer. Most would be lost for what to say, at least he was able to get out a clear order of what to do, and was alert enough to assign someone to oversee the items and sort them.
'He has potential' She thought to herself before turning around, a sad thought coming to her. What would he do once this was all finished? Would he leave? Would their connection to such a wonderful ally be severed?
'Perhaps… I make him a Royal Executioner? They are free to come and go from the country whenever they please. The only obligation they have is to protect the country in its most trying times such as against a national level threat… no, I already appointed my 3 Royal executioners for my time as Empress, after all, according to law, every empress or emperor could only bestow the title of Royal Executioner to 3 people' She thought, as she pondered about what to do to make sure they didn't lose an ally such as him.
Things were that way to make sure that the leaders didn't pointlessly give the role to people that didn't deserve it. They were meant to be the best of the best, and Bell matched that description to the letter.
She lightly gasped as she realized something, before smiling. A plan formed in her head as she realized one way to make it work. She walked off, intending on making her hope a reality.
=Right outside the Canyon, 2 hours later=
Asuka was positively exhausted. She had run longer than she thought possible, only one person in mind as her goal to reach. Her lungs positively burned with what felt like lava, filling them and melting them at an excruciatingly slow pace. Her muscles ached so much she felt like her body was about to completely shut down and collapse.
She needed to find Bell and warn him of what was happening.
30 minutes earlier, nothing had been wrong. Everything had gone perfectly in fact. She had undergone one of her last lessons upon politics and diplomacy that she was receiving since, having been complimented by her teacher very much for her recent progress, mainly because of her leading role in the operation with Bell.
It had taught her so much that her teacher felt that she couldn't teach her anything more, which had sent giddy chills down her spine as she almost screamed out in delight. Bell had caused such an effect in her growth as a leader. He had given her some advice he had learnt from somewhere she didn't know, most likely from being an adventurer, which she desperately needed.
She had remembered him telling her to pay attention to the information, to use her brain, which he himself had said he lacked to assert the situation and form a plan. To use all the tools at her disposal to achieve her goals.
When he had mentioned his lack of smarts, she had wanted to disagree, but he had vehemently told her that it was true. His lack of tactical knowledge was his biggest fault. He just wasn't made for it. He had told her a tale of how someone he was close to, something he called a supporter, had taken that role for him, helping him learn and become good enough to fight alone, but still lacking. It was then she understood the meaning of the talk, hidden in his words, wanting to make her realize it herself.
Understand your own weaknesses and compliment them with either someone to fill that role, or fix it yourself
That was the lesson he was trying to give her. Something he clearly had learnt the hard way, and he was teaching her that very lesson.
After that talk, she admired Bell even more, which she had previously thought of as impossible. Before, she had admired him as a reliable person. Someone she could trust to assist her.
But after two months of him laughing with her, planning with her, teaching her different lessons based upon his own experiences, that admiration had skyrocketed in the form of love.
Not the romantic one, but the familial one. He was like a brother she never had, and never knew she desired. She hadn't even noticed that something had been missing until she had felt that way.
Now, she couldn't imagine a world where he wasn't in it. A world where she couldn't rely on him to cheer her up, or to help her when she's struggling.
It was this reason her first instinct had been to seek out him, and not her mother after she had left the Estate and noticed what was happening.
Everything had been normal, as she was going to simply go out to shop for some groceries after Eiko had requested it, when she had heard a commotion. Marching down the street where a group of Black Kyotes, worse for the wear and clearly pissed as hell.
She had quickly hid in a nearby alley as they walked past, glad that the man in front which she figured was the level 5 because of the sheer strength emanating in an aura anyone could feel. An Aura she was used to around Bell.
They had without a shred of hesitation, smashed through the estate gate and marched inside as she had started to hear the clashing of blades, most likely the guards who stood no chance.
Her eyes watered as she realized what was happening. They were most likely pissed as the duel had not gone to plan, which made her sigh in relief internally at the indirect confirmation that Bell was alright.
One second later, she took a step back before breaking out in a full blown sprint.
That led her here, running through the canyon towards where Bell was supposed to be. She had seen the map, and she had a good memory. It wasn't hard to remember where it was. It was the only canyon around after all, somewhat out of place within the lush landscape normally was.
"GAH!" She cried out as she felt her legs contort in pain as she fell to the ground, face first before grabbing her nose.
She looked down, before understanding what had happened. She had pulled a muscle from overexerting it to that point. Her leg would most likely not be usable for the next week.
"Asuka?" She heard a voice behind her that was all too recognizable. Her head snapped back as she noticed her mother, standing there with half of a battalion of guards behind her, two of her personal ones at her side.
Her mother rushed forward before inspecting her daughter for any injuries, only seeing the one on her nose from the fall.
"Mother…!" She got out between her pants. The state she was in didn't stop her from trying to get the words out of her.
"Breathe, daughter, breathe. Once you calm down enough, say what you were going to say" Takara said as her daughter did so. She used a technique Bache had taught her and Adrienne, helping her get the air her body desperately needed.
"The estate… It's under siege… by The Black Kyotes" Asuka said as she had gotten her breath back, causing her mothers eyes to widen
"God damn it… He was right…!" Takara muttered before standing up, pointing at one person.
"You! Drop everything and relay the information to Bell, NOW!" The guard shivered under her gaze as he dropped his weapons and ran with all his might.
The empress looked at Hiroto before nodding at him.
"Alright men! I want you all to split up in two separate squads! Squad one will take the prisoners to the original destination. Squad two will follow me, we will secure the Tanjouno estate! They have been too valuable during this crisis, and we cannot fail them now!" He screamed out as he was drowned in cheers from the guards. The Tanjouno house and Bell had basically become legendary within the guard and military regiments. Having the chance at paying them back for their help was something no one wanted to miss out on.
"Alright then men, just as in training! MOVE OUT!" He called out as he marched forward, splitting up in two squads, making a clear line between the two. One of the royal guards picked Asuka up and carried her since she couldn't really walk in her current state. Her mother came forward and smiled at her daughter.
"I am really proud of you, my wonderful daughter. You have exceeded my expectations more than I could even hope" She said in praise as Asuka couldn't help but blush a deep scarlet as she smiled.
"It wasn't all me. Bell has taught me many things my teacher didn't" she said, remembering how he's helped her.
"Oh? How about you tell me about it on the way back?" Asuka nodded as they walked away, unaware of the tragedy to come.
=Back with Bell=
"Bell!" He heard someone call out as he turned around. The scavenging had gone on quite well. Better than he had expected as they had salvaged some high quality swords, spears, knives and even some magic items that were rare.
Bell noticed that the man that had called out to him was a guard who was panting as he reached Bell.
"Hey, calm down" Bell said as he grabbed the man, holding him up as he panted, trying to catch his breath.
"..:Estate" He said as Bell frowned, his gut making a flip, telling him this wasn't good.
"What was that? I didn't quite catch that" Bell said before the guard looked up at him.
"The remaining Black Kyotes attacked the Sanjouno estate" Bell's eyes widened as he stomach flipped multiple times. He should have listened to the empress. She had told him to trust his intuition and gut, and it turned out they were right.
Bell was about to sprint away before he realized something. He couldn't really leave without assigning someone the role to oversee everything. He turned to the guard before giving him a determined look.
"I have to go. You will take charge here. You should know what to do!" Bell said as the man's eyes widened. The man overseeing the stockpile heard him and nodded at the man.
Before the guard could say anything, Bell had disappeared out of sight, running down the canyon as fast as he could. There was no time to waste, as long as his falna was on his back, it meant that at least Erebus was safe. Bache should be able to defend somewhat, but with her pregnancy, she would have more trouble than usual, especially against Railan. He had seen him pick up his sword before walking off.
He was quickly reaching the exit of the mansion, spotting the group that had walked off, preparing to split up. He noticed Asuka, being held in one of the guards arms, smiling lightly at her safety before running past, not wasting time there as he had one goal in mind.
"Woah!" He heard a guard yell, causing him to look back, seeing the surprised looks on people's faces. All except for the empress and Asuka, who were looking in Bell's direction as he quickly disappeared within the woods.
"Good luck, Bell" He heard Asuka say. It was quiet in his ears because of the distance he had made, but he still heard it, and mentally promised her to save them.
Once he reached the city, he sprinted through the main street, easily weaving his way through the crowded street as he heard complaints from people behind him after he passed them. He ignored them as he got closer and closer to his destination, before he stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening at the horizon over the buildings.
'Smoke…?' He thought before realizing something that sent a cold chill down his spine.
It was coming from the Tanjouno Estate
Bell ran forward faster than before, instantly activating his scourge, ignoring the potential consequences for the people around. They might get scared but they will not be hurt.
His speed instantly increased dramatically as he reached the estate faster than he thought.
He jumped over the wall, before seeing Bache, beating down one person carefully so as not to overexert herself. By her side were… potions?
A person tried to sneak up to her, and he clearly saw that she was about to grab him, but Bell landed beside the man, grabbing his head and slamming it into the ground.
"Bell!" He heard Bache call out as she backed up to him.
"Bache! Where is Erebus? Where are Adrienne and Eiko!?" He asked frantically as Bache pointed towards the small house.
"Erebus is in there. They beat him quite badly, but he will be fine. Eiko was not in the house according to Erebus but… I…" She looked down sadly.
"I don't know where Adrienne is. She was in the estate but I couldn't find her" Bache seemed like she was about to break down. Normally, Bell would have tried to console her, even with him still trying to figure out a way to truly forgive her, but he was all too consumed by the worst possible scenario.
He ran inside the house, searching every single room from top to bottom, looking around for any sign of Adrienne. He frantically searched in every hiding spot he could think of, but to no avail. After 45 minutes had passed, the other guards that had been led by Hiroto had arrived and Bell had searched every nook and cranny multiple times.
Bell was wobbling, as his mind was reeling. The Psych Development ability stabilizes his mental state, but does nothing to alleviate his dismay and fear for what could have happened to Adrienne. What they would do. One thing he had learnt in the last 5 months was that bad people would do what you could never think of.
Bell fell back on his back as he grabbed his hair, the tips hiding the top of his face as his teeth grinded against each other and his lips quivered. Bell turned to the side, seeing Bache just sitting there, staring at her hand as if they had wronged her in some way. Bell could understand. She had let Adrienne close, the first person since her sister, and now she could be alive, dead or worse.
Bell couldn't help but think about the outcome of the mission today. They had won… but at the same time lost. The enemy had lost most of their forces, but they had lost a big portion of their morale.
"Bache! Bell!" He looked up, seeing Eiko rushing in from the broken gates. She leaned down by Bache first as she was the closest.
"What happened!?" She asked after seeing our condition.
"Adrienne…" Bache started sadly as Eiko shook her head, taking a step back.
"She was…"
"No… No…" Eiko grabbed her hair as she started pacing, eyes wide.
"She was taken… We were too late" Bell finished for Bache, now sitting up, looking down in his lap in despair
"THEN WE NEED TO GET HER BACK!" Eiko screamed out as Bell nodded.
"I know, but we don't know where to start. They won't go back to any of their old hideouts since we will learn everything from the ones we captured, which puts them… right about anywhere" Bell explained as Eiko started disbelieving at Bell.
"Then what do we do...?" She asked as hope started to dwindle in her voice. Bell grabbed his wrist, not trusting to not break anything else he grabbed and forced himself to calm down and accept the current situation, his development ability helping tremendously with it.
After a couple of minutes, Bell accepted the situation, and stood up as his eyes contorted in an emotion he hadn't felt this strong since Ikelos Familia.
Anger
"I'm going out" He said simply as he grabbed his spear and walked towards the gate.
"Woah! What do you mean?" Eiko asked, Bache also looking up at him.
"I'm going to search for them, no matter how long it takes, and I am going to make them pay. No one… No one threatens my family!" He said, voice going a chill of cold no one had heard out of his mouth.
"Bell…" Eiko tried to get out but before she could do anything, scourge was used and he disappeared, picking up a couple of potions from Bache's bag.
'Hold on, Adrienne. I'm coming' was Bell's last thought before he succumbed to his mission, making an oath to not stop until they had paid, and Adrienne was safe.
=On top Yume Castle=
Bell was looking around the city wíth rings under his eyes. He was positively tired as he has been looking around the city non stop and acted as a guardian angel for the last 3 days. He hasn't gotten a wink of sleep and hasn't relaxed since the night before the challenge.
He has slowly been making progress about where Railan had taken Adrienne, and alongside that, he had taken care of countless small groups of bandits during that time. He had homed into a specific set of houses in the residential district that were unhoused according to the empress.
Speaking of her, she and basically everyone else had tried to get him to rest to no avail, not even Erebus had been able to calm him down, the person who knew him the best. It was clear he was overexerting himself, even with his status. His stamina was impressive, but it wasn't infinite. Bell begrudgingly knew that too and knew he couldn't keep this up, but he refused to give up.
The leads he had gotten was from two out of the remaining 10 escaped Black Kyotes members he had gotten his hands on. Even in his state, he wasn't consumed by his anger enough to actually do something he would regret. He only left them in a state that made sure no resistance would come when the guards arrived.
Bell stared down at the buildings that Adrienne most likely were at, before leaning towards the edge of the tower he was on. He let himself fall as he slowly leaned himself closer to the building before pushing himself off of it.
Slowing his descent and propelling him towards his desired destination. He couldn't fly, but he at least could do this to make the trip faster. He landed on one of the roofs, rolling before springing between rooftops, having grown accustomed to freerunning in this type of environment during these days.
Once he reached the apartment complex, he pulled out his spear and one knife. He wasn't holding back this time. He was going in with everything he had… maybe not Argonaut, but everything else.
Bell closed his eyes as he walked on the roof of one of the buildings. Listening for anything abnormal. After he didn't notice anything, he moved to the next one, then the next, and the next.
Eventually he picked up on something. It sounded like a voice he recognized. Someone he had met during his duel. Railan.
'Got you' Bell thought as he dropped to the ground, scaring a group.
"Sorry, I'm gonna ask you all to get out of here and warn anyone within the building to do the same. Things might get bad soon and I don't want to hurt anyone" He said, his face not looking at her as he looked at the door to the basement.
The people seeing this was no joke, they did just that. Soon, the area was pulled into a full blown panic as people evacuated, the story being twisted as it was told between people.
Bell ignored it and walked down into the basement. He could hear some people talking, one voice he recognized as his anger rose again. He clenched his spear and knife hard before kicking the door so hard it was rendered into splinters as the men stood up.
'Railan's not here? Most likely in another room' Bell thought as he walked inside, the men surrounding him before rushing him at the same time.
Bell sheathed his weapons before rushing one of the men, smashing his fist into his gut, sending him flying back into a table, making a lot of noise.
Next second, Bell had done the same to the other 6 people around, all of them ending up in varying places, either cracking the wall slightly, or stuck different objects.
"THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?" Bell's aura instantly exploded with the red intimidating aura of his skill at the sound of the man's noise. He peeked over his shoulder, looking down with his eyes partially covered by his hair.
To Railan, Bell looked like shit, but he could feel the difference in his aura almost instantly as he quickly got his sword ready at the threat.
"You…" Bell began in a chilling voice "You attacked my home. You hurt my god and you took someone I see as family" His voice growing higher pitched as his anger started to consume his whole being. A flame being lit in his core, pitch black in color as it started to rage on.
If Ais had seen him now, she would have looked on in despair at the sight of the very thing she despised about herself being born within the one that was so pure.
Bell turned around and looked up, straight at Railan with a look that was so cold that it could freeze a desert over.
"You took everything from me…" Railain got out as he tried his best to endure the mental attack.
"Let's finish this…" Bell said as he pulled his knife and spear before rushing forward. As he thrust his spear as hard as he could, as the spear was narrowly deflected as he saw Railan flinched at the speed.
"Wha!?" He exclaimed. His speed was unrecognizable. It had leaped in power so much that he was completely overpowering him. Before they were matched, but this was as if he had leveled up and progressed months worth of progress within 3 days.
Bell didn't give Railan the time to do anything as Bell was reveling in the power the skill gave him. Someone that was so hard to fight earlier was easily being pushed back into a corner now. His opponent's skill had already been activated, but it wasn't enough. Bell thrust his spear harder this time and felt it break skin and flesh as Railan made a pained noise.
"GAH!" He screamed before Bell pulled the spear out before jumping into the air, kicking him back into the room that he came out of.
"Railan!?" He heard the voice of a person muffled by a mask. Bell walked into the room, seeing the person he knew was Railan's god, and one more person wearing a different mask.
'Raijin' Bell thought simply before aiming his spear at them in a warning to not interfere.
Bell thrust his spear into Railan's leg, sinking it through the entire leg and into the floor. Bell straddled the man before grabbing his chin and getting up close to his face.
"This… is payback" He said coldly before he started punching him, again and again. Over and over as he felt bones break underneath his fist. He barely picked up on the noises around him as he heard the gurgling front man underneath.
He pulled out one of his knives, and aimed it at Railan's heart, before thrusting it down with all his might-
An image of golden locks, standing in front of him, eyes looked down with a disappointed scowl and he froze. His strike stopped just as it broke skin, only trickling blood slightly, but not doing any real damage.
The black flame dissipated and disappeared as he looked down on the man underneath him in horror.
He had almost done the same thing again… he had almost mindlessly slaughtered somebody.
Bell jumped off and crawled back as Railan grabbed his sides, leaning to the side, letting the blood that had been filling his mouth and throat flow out onto the floor.
Bell stared at his hands and was shaking.
'I had almost killed someone again… I had almost made the same mistake that had made Ais disappointed again…' Bell shivered at that. Mentally berating himself for getting consumed with anger. He looked up at the two gods who looked at Bell in surprise.
"Thank… Thank you for sparing him…" Fujin said through his mask as Bell shook his head.
"He's still going to jail… but I… I can't. I can't kill him. It isn't me" he said as he stood up.
Bell was about to walk over to the gods to ask where Adrienne was before his senses picked up on someone else in the room. Something he didn't pick up on in his anger consumed state.
He turned around and stared in horror at what he was seeing. Adrienne was in a chair, tied up with a rope around her mouth. She was bleeding profusely and was frighteningly pale.
Bell rushed forward towards her as he took the rope out of her mouth. The moment he did, she coughed up blood which scared Bell badly.
Once he got her free, she instantly collapsed into his arms as he opened groggily.
"Mr…...Bell…" She said in a quiet voice and smiled slightly.
"Adrienne. Hold on, drink this!" Bell pulled out a potion as he tried to feed her it but she refused.
"Don't… Potions don't recover blood" She said, her message clear. Bell's eyes widened as he started shaking his head frantically, tears starting to threaten to fall.
"No…" He said as he truly realized what she meant. She had lost too much blood. There was no saving her.
"Sorry…" She said as Bell shook his head, tears started to fall as his heart clenched hard.
"Please… Please don't leave me… I… I can't. I just ca-" He was cut off as his voice failed him, a lump in his throat making itself known as he sobbed.
"Tell Bache… I love her… she… she was… like a mother… to me… You… a father" Bell's tears streamed down as he heard a group of people walking into the room. He noticed that one was someone familiar.
"Be- Oh no" He heard the voice of Asuka as Bell cried. He looked down at Adrienne, seeing her eyes blank, unchanging as his face contorted in pain as-
"No… NOOO… PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS ADRIENNE! SAY SOMETHING PLEASE!" Bell wailed out as he shook her, before he leaned forward with his head on her chest, tears staining her blood stained clothes as he cried into her deceased form.
Asuka fell to the ground in front of Bell, tears falling down her eyes as well as she closed her eyes, her face contorting in pain before reaching out, and closing her eyes.
"Yasuraka ni, watashi no imōto" She said sadly before embracing Bell and Adrienne's form, crying as their wails continued through the night.
That's the chapter and man do I feel depressed writing this. Let's hope Bell keeps it together after this! For anyone wondering, the thing Asuka translates to 'Rest in peace, my sister'.
Anyway, I hope to see you all next time!