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.
38: Growing Alliance
=Hearth Manor, a week after the duel=
"I still can't believe we haven't come up with a name" Bell said, slightly exasperated
"It doesn't help that you used about 3 decades worth of your good naming abilities on your twin swords" Elora snickered his way as Bell gave her a good hearted glare.
"Come on, I'm not that bad, am I?" He looked around, Bache giving him a 'really?' look while the others simply raised one of their eyebrows.
"Dad, you're the worst. I'm so glad that Mom named us and not you" Aralaya laughed as Adrienne whispered something in her ear, causing the two to giggle.
"Fine… but still, we need a new name for the manor. We can't keep calling it the Hearth manor. It brings back a lot of memories and… well, I want to create new ones" Bell explained as Erebus nodded, his gaze soft in understanding.
"Don't you want to remember?" Bache asked as Bell nodded.
"Oh, definitely, but having a constant reminder is a bit much. Honestly, I don't think anything will get me to forget the Hestia Familia. Those times are a part of me and nothing is going to change that, but there is no point in only looking back too much. All it does is turn a blind eye to the future" Bell said as Elora smirked.
"Erebus gave you that one didn't he?" She asked as Bell was about to retort before he saw the look Erebus threw at him, the soft one gone, causing him to sigh.
"Alright, yeah, he did, but he has a point" At that, everyone could agree.
"Well…" Erebus began, getting everyone's attention "I've been thinking after you did talk to me. How about the name 'Archian Manor'? In the language of the gods, 'Archian' literally translates to New Beginnings, while in some languages in Gekai, it means 'Not Forgotten'" Erebus supplied as Bell thought about it.
"It does roll off the tongue" Jannor supplied as his other half nodded along, agreeing.
"The meaning does fit too" Bache put in.
"I think it's good" Elora nodded as Bell smiled.
"I'll take anything at this point. Nothing is worse than dad's" Adrienne agreed while teasing Bell.
"Apollyon, what about you?" Erebus asked as he already saw the answer on his face.
"Yeah… the meaning is perfect" He answered as everyone smiled.
"See, It was easy when you didn't give the names" Bell instantly threw a glare at Adrienne's words, causing the girl to jump back, laughing at the intensity of it.
"Anyway, Apollyon, what now? Our original plan had gone haywire, so what's our next move?" Bache asked as Bell sighed. He really didn't like having them call him by his alias, but it was a necessary safeguard. If Freya started watching him the moment his name was spoken, things would fall apart pretty fast. It was a necessary precaution, no matter how low the chance of it happening was.
"Well… We are allied with the Loki Familia now. That does give us more options" He began as Elora nodded.
"That it does, how about having the children explore the dungeon while we do our thing?" Bell looked at her before nodding.
"That's a good idea. How do you all feel about that?" He asked as he directed his gaze back at the kids.
"Well, I'd like to get stronger so yeah, I'm up for it" Adrienne smiled at the thought, she still had her goal in mind since the beginning.
"Definitely, I'd like to get stronger too. Me and Aralaya here are close to leveling up. Might as well try to reach the next stage" Jannor added as Aralaya nodded along.
"Okay, then you can all do that. Me and Elora will get you a guide of the floors we know of so you can study up on it. Meanwhile, Bache, Elora, why don't you begin earning more trust with the Loki familia? Better safe than sorry" The two nodded before Bache chuckled.
"Sure, I'll earn some brownie points for us. Doesn't mean I'll like it" Bell didn't know if he should feel happy about that.
"What about you?" Erebus asked as Bell grinned under the mask
"I'm going to have a chat with a few old friends"
=Twilight Manor=
Fiona sweatdropped as she narrowly dodged the incoming thrust from her fathers spear, her entire body aching from the intense training session.
Finn easily parried her counter attack, twisting his spear so that the attack swung far away from his small body before swiftly ducking under her legs, grabbing one before pushing them roughly, causing the girl to be thrust face first into the ground.
"Ouch…" She murmured as she got on her knees, her face covered in dirt.
"Your guard on your upper body has become impeccable, but you must not forget your legs. Monsters typically don't go for that area, but if you fight adventurers, they will go for them the moment they notice" Fiona nodded as she dusted herself off, quickly wiping her face before turning back towards him.
"Hey, dad. When will I meet the Themis Familia? You promised me days ago!" Finn chuckled at her question before shaking his head at her impatience.
"Don't worry, you will meet them, but it would be impolite to simply barge in unannounced. Why do you want to meet them so badly?" he asked as she looked down, a blush spreading across her face in embarrassment.
"Well… I heard that their captain… Ehmmm-"
"Apollyon" Finn supplied as she nodded.
"Yes, Apollyon is known as a hero outside Orario! I've only read about Heroes in books, it would be really cool if I could meet a real one!" Fiona said, her excitement at the possibility growing with each word.
"I understand your excitement, and you'll get to meet him soon. Though, that's for later, and right now you need to focus on your training" Finn replied with a smirk and an earned groan from his daughter.
"After you've recovered you'll head to the dungeon with some others to get them used to it as well, with the exception of going no lower than the fifth floor" Finn gave the order as her captain, rather than her father.
A sturn "Yes Sir" was the given reply.
Finn and Fiona would continue to train for the rest of the day, Father and daughter, their bonds growing stronger.
A thought still etched into Finn's mind as they fought, even to this day still, his daughter's hair glowing and Loki stating that it felt like Hestia. He didn't wish her hardships, though that contradicts the lifestyle of an adventurer. The thought still worries him, "What does this mean, and why my daughter?".
=The next day, Entrance of Babel=
"Alright guys, you've all been geared up and Fiona will be accompanying you as support if you need it. You are not allowed to go past the 5th floor" Finn ordered.
"Understood" The team of 4 young adventurers said in unison. In this expedition Fiona is acting as a type of support and guide for the first few floors. This was both a test for Fiona and a trial run for the newer members of the Loki familia.
"Alright then, I wish you all good luck and a safe journey" Finn said.
As the group faded into the tower and checked their gear as they went in, Finn's thumb kept throbbing; it had been throbbing the past few days as the group was getting prepared to go into the dungeon. Something was off and Finn did not like it, but he also thought it could just be him as a father and not just as a captain of Loki.
'Let's hope that I'm just being paranoid' Finn thought as he calmed himself down. He had confidence in his daughter as she had come a long way since her first training session, since her first descent into the dungeon.
She had earned his trust, not as his daughter, but as a member of his familia. Time and time again, she had returned from the dungeon with a smile on her face, although not every time had been a merry ride. On very rare occasions, only two until now, had she returned somber.
That had been the times they had lost someone to the dungeon, a rarity at this point in the familia, but something that happened nonetheless.
Today was different though, Fiona was a level 3, and they were not moving past the very top of the upper floors. The ones that she was supporting and guiding down were three young adventurers that had joined the Loki Familia.
They had shown talent and potential, but were still… 'raw' in a sense. They were inexperienced, and the best way to give them experience, is to first hand go down themselves with a watchful eye to make sure any mistakes don't get lethal.
That was Fiona's job. She mainly will act as a support, carrying some supplies, not much mind you since it's not a deep dive. The pack was large for one reason though. They were planning to stay for at least 24 hours. The Loki familia's requirement from the guild to partake in a large scale expedition was expected at any moment. In fact, Finn was half expecting to find a guild employee to walk up to him the moment the group departed.
Alas, that fact caused the abnormal handling of rookies. Normally, they dive in for half a day before repeating the next one to slowly build up experience, but with them soon having to prepare for an expedition, they won't have any time. By the time they will have to depart and leave the level 1's behind, they would have to be ready to dive on their own without a watchful eye.
A small sense of relief at this point is the alliance he had forged with Themis Familia. In the worst case scenario, he could ask if they could help out. Of course, he was prepared to compensate and would rather not resort to that, but it was better than no alternative at all.
"Yes! Alright, Dad. We're heading out!" Finn blinked out of his thoughts before smiling and nodding.
"Good luck and keep them safe!" Fiona smiled and nodded at his words before leaving, the 3 newbie adventurers following along.
'Well… better get back to work' Finn thought with a sigh, before turning back around, heading towards the manor but not before giving a glance down the street, worry clear in his eyes.
'Why am I worrying, it's only the top floor. What could possibly happen there?'
=Dungeon, Floor 8=
"Is it only me, or isn't this a little too easy?" Jannor asked as he looked around at the magic stones laying around.
"Well, we are level 3 so…" Aralaya smiled as Adrienne shook her head.
"Dad did say that we shouldn't get overconfident though. 'Great way to get killed'" She said the last part in a mimicked voice of Bell causing the twins to laugh.
"That does sound like something dad would say" The three smiled as another killer ant was born through the dungeon walls.
"Wow, they really don't let up. I thought that Mom and dad weren't serious about that" Jannor muttered as he crushed its head with his staff, not allowing it to even touch the ground once.
"I want to see the thing that dad fought though, didn't he say it was a giant?" Adrianne asked.
"Yeah I'd like to see if we could take it on ourselves, though isn't it supposed to be very strong?" Aralaya followed up.
"That it is" Jonnor said after blowing another ant's head off, "Though I think that we're more or less monsters ourselves compared to the average adventurer"
"True" His sisters said in unison.
"At any rate, we need to keep moving. We've got one more passage before we're finished for the day, and I want to head back and get into that bathhouse dad finished" Aralaya turned, holding a killer ant underfoot before smashing it. "I need it…"
=Floor 3=
"WATCH OUT BEHIND YOU!" Fiona yelled out trying to save her ally, but it was too late she had taken the monster's attack to her back, Fiona being too late to help her comrade.
Fiona was already grabbing a healing potion as she returned the favor to the monster that hurt her ally when she heard a pained cry coming from behind her.
'Why? Why is this happening, why would they do that?' Fiona's thoughts racing in her head as she's trying to save her familia members she was placed in charge of.
"It doesn't matter, as long as we make it out whole and with our lives, we can do what needs to be done later" She said aloud, trying to get her thoughts together and formulate a plan.
"Rimma, you alright?" Fiona asked after she got the healing potion in her friend's mouth, ignoring the horrific sight in front of her.
Rimma, a young elf, remained unresponsive, blood leaking from her back and forehead onto the ground, pooling on the ground.
'NO NO NO! Not you too!' Tears started to form in her eyes but they were quickly wiped away.
She turned to the ongoing struggle behind her.
"SERRIN, I'M ON MY WAY JUST HOLD OUT!" Fiona yelled.
"Yes Ma'am!" He replied, normally it would be a sarcastic remark as he would joke that Fiona was too bossy, was now a strained and hoarse cry.
Fiona made her way through an amount of monsters that shouldn't be possible for the third floor, but sadly, this was the case.
'I can't believe those cowards pass paraded us!' Fiona thought, her rage ever increased, possibly busting a few visible blood vessels on the side of her head.
Fiona mowed through a small horde of goblins, killer ants, and kobolds. Barely making a dent in their numbers, nonetheless, progress was made and she made it to Serrin.
"This is ridiculous…" He said "I've heard of this type of situation before, but my word" Fiona nodded. That wasn't even the worst part, normally, her status as a level 3 would be enough to handle any pass parade on the upper floors… the issue was that she couldn't fight them fast enough. There were just too many of them!
"At any rate we need to get out, but I'm pretty sure, it's just you, and me. Terra didn't make it…" She paused, tears started to fill her eyes. "And Rimma too" Serrin finished, there were no tears in his eyes, but the sadness was evident, he cared for her a lot.
"Fiona, now's not the time, we need to focus on getting out" Serrin placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Aren't the roles supposed to be switched here?" Fiona asked.
They continued their talk, battling the monsters of this forsaken place. As they continued their fight Serrin let out a sigh and turned to Fiona.
Serrin let out a soft laugh "This may be a dark moment but we aren't always meant to to be the strongest, let me cover for you" Serrin said.
'What do you mean?" Fiona asked.
"Run, I'll draw them, some will still give chase, but hopefully you can get away" He smiled. "I was going to ask Rimma for a date after this, and she even confessed to me as well, but as you can tell, she's dead, and I don't want to spend any time without her" Serrin's eyes now tearing up.
Serrin was in his 20s and Rimma had been similar in age.
"Why would I run!? If it's anyone, it should be you!" She exclaimed with vigor as she cut a war shadow in half.
"Please Fiona…" He begged as she shook her head vehemently, her eyes burning with passion as she tried her hardest to fight harder.
"I-" She kicked a goblin who tried to sneak behind Serrin in the head, cracking it's skull "NOT-" She thrust her sword over his shoulder, saving him from another war shadow as she felt her body complain at her pushing herself "LEAVING YOU!" She finally got out the last part as she stood in front of him, the monster parade still considerably large in number.
"Fiona… you know that there are too many of them. Power has its limits, your dad warned us that even the strongest can be pushed back with pure numbers. Even if you fight… some will slip through and I already lost too much blood to keep fighting" His voice grunting at the end as he felt his vision begin to spin.
"Doesn't mean I won't try" She growled back, the monsters finally bouncing as she desperately began fighting, trying to get all attention towards her.
She felt helpless as she noticed some ignored her and headed straight for Serrin, who was now on his knees, swaying back and forth.
In a panic, she used her only combat skill in her arsenal. All of a sudden her entire presence seemed to disappear from the dungeon, her speed shooting up exponentially before dashing towards the monsters, catching them halfway towards their targets.
She violently kicked two away before throwing her shortsword straight at a Kobold who had reached its target, piercing its chest.
As the monster disappeared, three obsidian claws were thrown forward through the dust as Fiona's eyes widened and heart stopped.
Without thinking, she slammed her feet on the ground and pushed off as hard as she could, shooting off like a rocket right into Serrin's side, knocking him out of the way before they landed with a thud against the wall.
They were at a dead end, monsters closing in as she pushed herself up, reaching for her sword before realizing it was on the ground, where all the monsters were.
With widened eyes, she backed up before wrapping her arms protectively around Serrin.
"What are you doing…" He croaked out as she let a few tears fall.
"I can take a few hits… you can't" She reasoned as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"B-but you'll die eventually!" His voice growing panicked as she nodded.
"What better way is there to go… than protecting your family?" She smiled down at him as her senses told her that the monsters were pouncing, closing her eyes she waited for the pain to begin.
'Any moment now' She thought as she waited… and waited. After a moment, she realised something was wrong. She gathered her courage and peeked up behind her, only to witness a half elf boy with snow white hair completely decimate the monster's that had been pouncing at her.
Beside him was a half elf girl with weird looking staff… or was it a sword moved and sliced her opponents with ease. Lastly, there was an amazoness just diving in like a madwoman with her shortsword.
She was hypnotized by their seamless teamwork, constantly watching each other's back, trusting each other without a second thought.
"Adrienne, Aralaya, you got this?" The half-elf boy asked as the two nodded. He smiled before turning around and walked up to the two before getting down to one knee.
"Hey. A-are you alright?" He asked, stuttering a little with an awkward smile. Fiona just sat there and stared into those ruby red eyes, completely mesmerized by them as her heart skipped a beat.
"Y-yeah…" She whispered, barely audible as the boy let out a sigh of relief before he tilted his head and looked over her shoulder. That seemed to wake her up as she turned around quickly and looked Serrin over.
"God, Serrin. Are you alright?" She asked as he gave her a weak smile.
"Yeah… just… tired" He clearly struggled with getting the words out as he laid back against the wall. Fiona quickly scoured her equipment, looking for her potion before her hand landed on where it should be.
'Shit… I already used it' She cursed in her head. She gave it to Rimma…
"We're done here Jannor! Do you need help?" The boy turned around at the voice of his twin before nodding.
"Yeah, an adventurer needs your help" Her eyes hardened as she assessed the damage.
"Alright, give me some space" Fiona and the boy quickly moved to the side as she got down on her knees and held her hand over his largest wound before closing her eyes.
"Body worn and tired, mend thy self, be made whole, and rise again" She chanted before a warm green glow enveloped Serrin as the bleeding seemed to stop, wounds slowly closing.
Fiona collapsed on the ground in relief at the wounds closing before covering her face with her hands. She had completely failed, her dad had trusted her with the lives of their newest members, and now the only one left alive is Serrin.
"Hey, it's alright. He's going to make it" The boy's voice interrupted her self deprecation as she looked up, her blue eyes puffed and reddened from her tears.
"Yes… but we lost two others…" She muttered as he nodded, a grim look washing over his face.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You wouldn't mind me taking a look at them?" She thought about it for a second before shaking her head. What would it hurt? He stood up and walked past all the dust and magic stones on the floor, first approaching Terra who he leaned down in front and put his fingers on Terra's pulse point. He stayed like that for a minute before shaking his head, closing Terra's eyes as Fiona's mood dropped a little, even if she already knew the answer to his test.
She kept her eyes on him as he approached Rimma before halting suddenly. He quickly got on the ground and did the same thing, checking the pulse but also held his hand in front of her mouth.
"We've got a pulse!" He called out, Fiona practically shooting up in surprise. Aralaya seemed to instantly react as she canceled her spell, already having healed enough.
"How strong is the pulse? Aralaya asked as she pulled Rimma on her side.
"Weak, barely strong enough for me to feel it" Aralaya nodded before sitting down and chanted her spell again.
"Hey, what Familia are you from?" Fiona blinked as she turned to Adrienne who had somehow sneaked up beside her.
"Oh, Loki familia" She answered as both Jannor and Adrienne blinked.
"Oh, really? We're from Themis Familia" Adrienne smiled back after a moment as it was Fiona's turn to grow wide eyed.
"Themis Familia? As in Apollyon's familia?" The two turned around as Serrin had gotten back on his feet and weakly walked up to the two.
"Woah, easy there. We healed you, but you still lost a lot of blood" Jannor warned as he put his arm over his shoulder. Serrin nodded before silently asking the same question before Jannor nodded.
"Wow… we've been allies for a week, and you already saved our bacon. Guess the Captain's made the right choice" He smiled before he looked down at Aralaya, completely focused with her spell as his eyes widened.
"What is she doing?" He asked warily as he didn't want to get his hope up.
"Healing her. The elf lost a lot of blood, but there is a pulse. My sister's magic is strong so I have no doubt that she'll make it" Jannor's words made Serrin tear up as he moved forward, out of his arms and collapsed in front of Rimma's unconscious body before he began letting tears of relief flow down his face.
Everyone stayed like that for a moment, waiting for Aralaya to finish her spell before Adrienne turned back towards Fiona, a serious expression on her face.
"We never asked… but what happened? We're still new to the dungeon, but mom and dad said that monsters only show up in that number in the lower floors, but never this close to the surface" Fiona nodded.
"You're right… Some adventurers probably took on more than they could chew and ran, drawing every monster on floors 6 to here along with them as they passed them by. Eventually, they ran into us and just… sicked them on us before running away" Adrienne growled at that. What kind of heartless bastards did that?
"Well, they are going to be in for a surprise when we get back up. What they did has to be illegal so we just have to report them to the guild" Fiona nodded at Jannors suggestion. It wouldn't be hard to get them punished for their actions. When returning to the surface, they have to turn in their magic stones, and she knows what they look like.
"Yeah…" She muttered as she looked at her hands. She just hoped her dad wouldn't be too disappointed in her after this.
"I'm done. You said you're from Loki familia?" Aralaya stood up as Fiona turned towards her and nodded.
"Alright, good. Let's get her to your home. Jannor… can you carry the deceased?" She asked, her eyes looking sadly at the boy in question as he wordlessly turned and picked up the corpse of Fiona's party member before heading towards the surface.
=The Guild=
Bell wondered why the hallway underneath the guild was so long? Why make it this way? What's the purpose?
Currently, he had snuck past the guild staff and headed down towards Ouranos' chambers while Elora and Bache were headed towards Twilight Manor. He knows one of them should probably have stayed behind to protect Erebus but the god himself had said it was just a bother.
Bell just knew it was going to be the death of himself one of these days. As he approached the big doors at the end of the hallway, he mentally prepared himself. Personally, he had never actually met Ouranos and he was one of the few that actually knew he was Apollyon… most likely at least. He was working with Hermes who definitely knows he's Apollyon through Asfi.
Bell approached the doors reaching out before pushing them open. The chamber was dark, the only source of light being extravagantly gold tinted lanterns leading up to his podium.
The god's blue eyes flicked from the robed skeleton to his left and onto him, the blue orbs telling him to approach.
Bell had no reason to refuse as he walked forward until he was at the bottom of his podium before the two just stared into each other's eyes for a minute.
"It's been a while, Ouranos" Bell said loud and clear with a slight smile under the mask, the god motioning his hands before the doors in the back closed heavily.
"That it had, Bell Cranel. It seems you have come a long way, outside Orario as well. The things I've heard are… impressive" Bell nodded at the gods words before turning to Fels-
"It's good to see you Fels, how have you been?"
"Quite alright Bell Cranel though the years have been quite hard for the Xenos" Fels's voice sounded somewhat troubled at the words. Being an intermediary like him to a species everyone but them wanted dead was… difficult.
"I know, I spoke with them. Have to say, Wiene being a leader now was surprising, can't believe that cute little girl grew up that much" Fels chuckled at his words, agreeing with them too.
"That she has"
"My apologies, but pleasantries aside, what do we owe the pleasure of this meeting?" Ouranos gruffly cut in the conversation as the two shifted in his direction.
"Well, I honestly came for answers. Fifteen years ago, I was banished from Orario, but there are a lot of holes in between that no matter how much I have tried to figure them out, just makes no sense" Bell began as he noticed Fels nod in agreement.
"So, I wanted to ask you for your verdict of what happened" Ouranos grunted at the request as he nodded.
"We have our suspicions. At the time, the public opinion was too sporadic, almost as if t-"
"They were coerced, I figured that out over the years. The issue I'm having is why" The room went silent for a minute before Ouranos nodded as Fels walked forward a few steps, catching Bell's attention..
"From what we could gather, the people were in a sort of trance. When asked why they changed their minds, everyone's answers were similar in nature. To them, they felt a surge of anger and hatred towards you and your accused actions that they just wanted you gone, almost as if they were in a trance. Li-"
"Like a charm" Bell muttered out as Fels nodded. Bell knew very well the effects charms have on people. He had seen first hand back with Ishtar and rarely with Freya familia's members. When a person is under a charm, they are the definition of fanatical.
"Correct. So we came to the conclusion that it was the act of a goddess of beauty"
"Goddess of beauty? The only one in Orario is Freya… but that makes no sense" Bell's words rang through for obvious reason as Ouranos piped in.
"Indeed. She's quite fanatical about you, believing you're her destined Odr.. It's quite the shame that he won't be found for a while though…" Fels seemed to balch in shock at Ouranos', the god known for his stoic nature and no-bullshit attitude, seemingly joking.
Bell chuckled slightly before nodding
"Yeah… Fat chance of that. I'm happily married with three children. I think I'm good"
"Congratulations by the way" Fels bowed slightly as Bell smiled under his mask.
"Thank you. Regardless, back on topic, if it's not Freya, then who?" Fels shook his head in frustration at the thought of the elusive goddess, her having been somewhat of a headache for Fels in his investigation.
"We do not know. The only things we know for certain is that it's a goddess of beauty, and that they aren't known in the localized area" Fels said, bringing his hand up to his chin in a thoughtful manner.
"So… nothing. You've got nothing on her?" Fels slowly nodded as Bell sighed out.
"Well, I at least got somewhere. Thank you Fels, Ouranos although I do have to leave. My wife and Bache are waiting at Twilight Manor" Bell said before bowing slightly in goodbyes, turning around and began walking.
"Oh, by the way…" Bell stopped abruptly before looking over his shoulders as the two looked back in question "Do you know anything about an intelligent Vouivre with an army?" The question threw the two for a loop as both looked at each other.
"No, can't say that we do. Have you encountered such a being?" Fels responded as Bell nodded.
"Yes, she said she was a leader of a country called Einhente. I fought one of her soldiers, and he's strong. Probably around level 7" Fels took a step back as Ouranos' eyes widened.
"Is that so? That's quite worrying… Did she have a name?" Ouranos asked as Bell scratched his chin in thought.
"Ehm… it was something complicated. Diaga something Kita, I think…" He drew out the last word as he tried to remember, completely missing Ouranos' fists clenching the armrests of his throne "I'll try to remember if I meet her again. Other than that, there's nothing. Again, thank you for your help" Bell finished before nodding back at them and exiting the room, leaving the two alone.
"Ouranos-sama… do you know who this mystery 'Vouivre' is?" Fels asked as his eyes were focused on the god's hands.
"Dhiaga Mahal Kita. I do know who she is" He answered as Fels nodded "And she may be one of the most dangerous threat we have ever faced, and the fallout of her and her brother's inevitable fight might just be the end of this world" Ouranos said.
"Brother?" Fels asked.
=Twilight Manor, 1 hour earlier=
"I am so not looking forward to this" Bache complained slightly as they walked down the northern main street headed straight for Twilight Manor.
"Do you think I am? After what they did to my husband?" Elora threw back with a slight hiss. They both knew that they would eventually have to interact with the Loki familia, but not actually build a relationship with them.
Both had pent up anger towards the members of the Loki familia… well at least the ones there 15 years ago, so building a relationship with those very people was something that was hard to swallow.
"No, of course not… it's just…" Bache stopped her words as Elora looked at her and nodded.
"I know" Was all she said as the two smiled at each other before turning and attentively looking at the towering mansion that they were closing in on.
Once they reached the gates, the guards looked at the two with worry at seeing the two first class adventurers at their gates.
"Ehm… Ma'am, can we help you?" One of the guards asked, Elora turning to him quickly before putting on a lighthearted smile.
"Hello, I'm here to visit. I'm the Vice-Captain of the Themis Familia, Thúl." The two gulped slightly before the second guard headed on inside, most likely to inform Finn of their arrival.
After a minute or so of the guard sweating from nervousness, the second one came back before opening the gates.
"Come on inside, Riveria-sama is on her way down" gave a slight nod as Bache just ignored the two, walking inside next to the elf.
As two women walked down through the gateway and towards the main entrance of the manor, they were the main attraction of people's attention, either by curiosity, or plain old fashioned googly eyes pinned on two extremely attractive women.
As they approached the door they swung open, revealing Tiona and Riveria standing there. Riveria's face, stoic as always, and Tiona's never ending giddy smile and bounce.
"Hello Auntie, Tiona" Elora said with a smile and nod.
"Hello Elora" They said in unison.
Both turned to Bache who was slightly offset from Elora, but to Bache's surprise Tiona shot out of the door and hugged Bache.
"It's good to see you in calmer circumstances Bache" Tiona said while Bache was slowly returning the hug.
"Yes, yes it is…" Bache said with a smile.
"Ahem" Riveria cleared her throat, "We should come inside before more people start staring at us" She stated, everyone now noticing the growing crowd behind them.
"Agreed" Elora said as the group headed inside as Riveria and Tiona led them through the confusing halls that seemed to intertwine in confusing ways.
"How do you even navigate this place? It's like a maze" Bache muttered as she looked around, clearly baffled at the setup of the manor.
"Oh, it's not hard at all! It takes time, Tione once got frustrated and broke down walls to get to where she wanted. Finn did not like that at all" Tiona grinned as Bache chuckled slightly. That was basically the worst punishment for her, though she could understand her. Just imagining trying to find her way in this place makes her go numb.
"Tiona is right, eventually we learned the layout of our home. Now, if I may ask, is there a purpose to your visit?" Riverias eyes locked onto Eloras who shrugged.
"Oh, do I need a reason to visit my aunt and her family?" She asked as Tiona giggled and Bache smirked.
"I suppose not. Has anything interesting happened in the last week?" Elora shook her head as an answer while Bache hummed.
"Not really interesting. Only some training and getting used to our new home" Bache muttered, forgoing from mentioning Bell having the easiest time since he once lived there.
"Ah, I have forgotten to ask, but why that particular mansion? Why go through the trouble of rebuilding it instead of simply purchasing an already standing one?" Riveria's question made both of them blink before sighing out.
"You know who my husband met on our travels. It was a favour to him, a way to preserve what once was" Was all Elora said as Bache nodded, Riveria frowning slightly while Tiona just looked around, confused.
"Ehm… who?" Bache huffed in amusement at the question. Of course Riveria and Ais hadn't said anything.
"Bell Cranel" At the mention of the boy, Tiona's eyes lit up with a wide grin.
"Argonaut-kun!? You guys met him? Great, I'm really glad he didn't kick the bucket. He was really fun hehe" She giggled at the end as Riveria sighed and pinched her nose while Elora and Bache looked at her with a mixture of confusion and amusement.
"Ignore her, she tends to be excitable. You should know all about that Bache, shouldn't you?" The amazon nodded at the high-elf's question before they turned and entered a room.
It was a relatively spacy one with two adjacent sofa's with some bookcases on the walls and a table at the center. It seemed to be a room specifically used to mingle which made sense for the context.
"Take a seat. I'll get us some tea" Riveria requested as she exited the room, leaving the three alone.
"So…" Tiona began before pausing, her smile diminishing as the silence drew on "was he doing okay? Argonaut-kun?" Her green eyes peeked up with worry as Elora and Bache looked at her, trying to gauge where she was getting at.
"Well… I can't say he was the happiest person I met. What happened here in Orario was… it hit him hard" Elora's eyes grew sad at the mention, flashes of Bell waking up sweating in the middle of the night, how she had to calm him down as he cried into her shoulder. The fierce protectiveness she felt towards him at those moments and the burning anger towards those responsible.
"Oh… did he… at least seem alright?" She pushed on as Elora sighed as Bache only kept staring at the amazoness across from her.
"He seemed to be managing, but our interaction wasn't really long so it's hard to tell" she lied through her teeth. It felt wrong and dirty to lie so… blatantly, but it had to be done.
The room grew quiet for a minute as Tiona turned to the window and stared out of it, her face morphed into a combination of what Elora thought was Regret, but it was really hard to tell.
"I feel bad, you know. I wanted to help him, but at the time… I felt… powerless. Argonaut-kun tried to tell us he didn't do it but… we didn't listen. We didn't give him a chance" She uttered in a voice laced with sorrow.
"Then things just got worse. The people began calling for his head and… Finn sent him to that prison" The words grew quieter as she continued.
"All I've wanted to say to him for so long is… that I'm sorry. Even if he doesn't forgive me, I just wanted him to know" Tiona sighed out as she closed her eyes, oblivious to the widened eyes of the two women listening to her words.
She hadn't really had a very close relationship with Bell, but the few moments they had interacted, he didn't seem put off by her antics and that had been a relief to her. Most people always seemed exasperated with her, Ais only gave her light smiles but didn't seem to be interested in her enthusiasm. The only ones she could say she could actually feel like they wanted her to be herself was Fiona and her sister.
But before Fiona, there was only her sister, and most of the time she was always so focused on Finn that she had practically forgotten about her half the time. Then Bell had come along, at first he had seemed to want nothing to do with her and had been somewhat dejected. When she had asked Welf about it, he had simply said that he was the most awkward guy when it comes to girls, that he never knew how to act and naturally backed away in order to seem polite.
It had reassured her, and after some random interactions on the streets or in the dungeon, she could say that he had in a way, become a friend.
'If only we had given him a chance…' She thought sadly before opening her eyes, meeting Baches' sand colored ones head on.
"Tiona… I can't speak for him, but having met him once, I can say that if he heard those words…" Bache led off with a slight smile before Elora nodded.
"He would forgive you" Elora finished for her as Tiona's eyes widened before she shook her head.
"I- I can't believe that. I can only believe that if I hear Argonaut-kun say that himself" The two nodded in understanding before turning to the door, feeling the rapidly approaching footsteps.
A second later, Tiona did the same and low and behold, the door swung open revealing Anakitty looking concerned as she looked at the inhabitants of the room.
"Tiona, Fiona just returned with members of Themis Familia-" both Bache and Elora snapped their heads to each other in worry before quickly standing up.
"What happened!?"
"Are they alright!?" Both said simultaneously as Anakitty looked at them finally registering who they were.
"Yes, it's the other's I'm worried about" She motioned for Tiona to follow as Tiona did the same for Elora and Bache who didn't hesitate for even a second.
They rushed through the hallways until they arrived outside a room where some other Familia members were starting to crowd the doorway.
Elora practically shoved her way through the crowd before stopping and breathing a sigh of relief as her amber eyes met her children's.
"Mom? Auntie?" Adrienne asked as she looked at them, catching Jannor's attention as well.
"Thank god you're alright. What happened?" She asked frantically as Bache and Tiona managed to squeeze through the crowd.
"Some adventurers they encountered pass-paraded my familia's party" Finn looked up from a makeshift medical table where Rimma laid with Riveria and Aralaya both using healing magic to increase efficiency.
"I do believe I owe you my gratitude. Your children save my daughter and members of my familia" His voice addressed both Elora and Bache who nodded before turning back to Adrienne and Jannor, knowing that it was better to let Aralaya focus on her task at hand.
"Are you two alright? No wounds?" She asked as they shook their heads, much to the elf's relief. Meanwhile, Tiona had walked up to Fiona who had instantly let go of Ais and hugged her too. The body of a young human laid there, lifeless, Elora walked up to the young girl's body and looked down on her with a sad face.
"What was her name?" Elora asked, Finn turned to her and said "Terra" her voice trailing.
"A shame" Elora said. Knowing that this was someone's daughter, friend, family or love interest.
"Are you ok?" Elora turned to Fiona. The girl peeked up from Tiona's comforting arms before taking deep breaths.
"Not right now, but I will be…" Elora nodded at that.
"I understand, It's never easy to lose someone you care about. I know that very well" No one said a word as most knew about the fate of the Hecate Familia.
"It's weird… I have wanted to meet you all for quite a while now… and it happened like this" Fiona muttered as she winced at the sight of Terra's body.
"I too wished it would have been under better circumstances. Though I wonder. Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked as Fiona shook her head before taking a careful look around, not really having cared much for who else was there after she began hugging Tiona.
"Where is Apollyon?" She asked as Elora looked at Bache awkwardly.
"He had something to do. We can ask him to visit if you'd like?" Bache cut in as Elora snapped her head at her a little too fast.
"I'd like that" was her answer before turning towards where Rimma lay, Riveria and Aralaya having stopped healing, figuring that any more won't help.
"Thankfully she's going to be fine. I don't know when she'll wake up but if i had to guess, not any longer than a day" The high elf said, mainly to her familia.
"I know that Finn already said it, but thank you" She turned to Aralaya before her eyes shifted to Adrienne and Jannor, nodding at them "If not for you, I don't know what would have happened"
"Oh, d-don't mention it. Happy to help" Jannor laughed awkwardly at the end, clearly flustered as Adrienne nudged him roughly while Aralaya rolled her eyes.
"Even if it was said so… ineloquently, he is right grandaunt. We're happy to help wherever anyone needs us" Aralaya smiled as Riveria returned the gesture.
Elora felt pride fill her heart at her words as she saw that spark of unquestioning heroism she had undoubtedly inherited from Bell. It was the part that she had always wanted them to have, and she couldn't be happier that they had that part of him in them.
"That is awfully admirable of you. I'm glad that at least a branch of my family has their heart in the right place" Elora nearly scoffed at that but contained herself as Ais looked between the two in a confused manner.
"Now, I do think that we will head home. Let you all grieve a little" Elora said as Bache and the children nodded while Finn and the others nodded, understanding where she was coming from.
"Thank you for the consideration" Was all Finn said before they left, leaving the familia to handle the situation they were left in.
=Einhente=
Kita sat in her quarters, looking at herself in the mirror, her blue eyes staring back at themselves. The last 3 years had been long and arduous for her and her people. Her brother had truly not made it easy for her with his fluctuating activity.
His random bouts of leaving his nest, something he hadn't done for over 25 years. It wasn't until recently she had found out that the 'Anomaly' had encountered him.
She closed her eyes as she sighed out at the thought of that human. She had her best people find out everything about him in order for her to make a choice.
She had been dead serious when she had said that they had only two choices. Work with him or kill him, and she had wanted to come to a decision as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the information about him wasn't exactly scarce, being a known persona around the world at this point.
It was what was before that had given her trouble. It had taken her 3 years to find out about his time before 'Apollyon' or 'The Royal Executioner'. It had taken her all that time to get his name, and with it, the rest of his story.
'Bell Cranel' She thought as she sighed. On the surface, he seemed unordinary for the first 14 years of his life. Just a farmer's son, living in a country village doing what they do best. Farming.
That all changed when his grandfather died. How it had been the spark to make his march to Orario and become an adventurer.
From the records her people had copied, his first 2 weeks in the dungeon were… Well, ordinary is one word for it. Slow progress, no unusual events, but then the 'Minotaur Incident' first of many happened.
It was here Kita had come to the conclusion that things changed. All of a sudden, his growth went from a snail's pace to explosive leaps. From what she had estimated to be at least a 2 year level up span, became that of a single month.
There was only one explanation. A skill, one so rare that even in 1000 years, it had never happened before.
The rest of the information was a blur of activity. The monsterphilia, The Minotaur, The 18th Floor incident, The Wargame, Ishtar and finally the Xenos. Last of which wasn't quite hard to figure out for her.
"Milady?" Kita's eyes opened as they shifted to the side, locking eyes with her most trusted confidant.
"Milia. Do you have a report?" She asked lightly as she nodded.
"Yes, our scouts have returned. Apollyon has returned to Orario" Her words made Kita shake her head. That complicated things a bit.
"Milady, if I may ask. Have you come to a conclusion? People are starting to wonder why you are obsessed with one single human" Oh she already knew how her people were talking about her supposed 'Obsession'. If only they knew the importance of it.
"Yes… I think I have sifted through the information long enough" She stood up and walked over to the window and looked out, seeing the city spread out across her eyes.
"Killing him… might do more harm than good" Milia seemed to frown at that.
"But Milady? Isn't he a threat to everything we have worked for? The war is coming, and it's so close now that we can't redo the calculations, even if every single one of our people helped out" she tried to reason as Kita shook her head before looking back over her shoulder.
"No, we can't. But from what I have been able to deduce, it won't spread. His… abnormality seems to be unique to him. From the reports, the only logical conclusion is a rare skill, one so rare that it hasn't happened once in the last 1000 years, until him. The chances of another one is so spectacularly unlikely, it's not even worth considering" Milia was about to open her mouth before Kita threw her a sharp glare.
"And don't… think that I do not see that your judgement of him is clouded by your views of mortals, so I think I'll go with my logical reasoning over your emotional reactions, no offence" Kita finished as Milia flinched, unable to say that she was wrong.
"Okay… so how do we approach him?" She asked as Kita frowned.
"We have to be patient. With him back in Orario, it will be spectacularly difficult to get in touch with him" In fact, they can't even enter the city with so many gods and high leveled mortals around. It would be like putting a sign on her forehead screaming 'Monster here, come and fight me'.
Only reason they had been able to get so much information on Bell Cranel had been because of the Public documents about him that every guild office, in and out of Orario has.
"In other words, do we play the waiting game?" Milia asked as Kita nodded.
"Yes. This war will include the entire world, will be drawn into this conflict, and people will be in danger even before it truly begins. When it does, he won't be able to stop himself from leaving and helping them. That… is when we act"
Yay, finally chapter 38 is done! Took a while but it's here. Anyway, I do hope you enjoyed it and don't completely hate me at this point.
I also wanted to adress the supposed 'Plot Holes' that had been mentioned by someone I shall not name. This is a Fanfiction, not a professional story. There is bound to be an inconsistency in one or two places that has escaped mine and Viceroy's attention, and I am fine with people bringing them up and criticising me for them. It's natural for my growth as a writer to read criticism in order to improve myself, and for that, I am thankful.
What I am not alright with, is people complaing and bashing the writer without a single shred of constructive criticism for improvement for a plot point they clearly haven't even truly read and only skimmed without really understanding the situation, reasons or motivations of the characters at that point in the story.
I find that kind of behaviour unacceptable as it does not help the writer improve their writing or storytelling skills. It only serves to make them feel bad and may actually cause some writers to quit. I, for one, can handle it so I'm fine with it. I can see when someone hasn't read the chapter or anything up to that point, but there are those that can't and that behaviour can truly hurt them deeply. If you are a person who has done this, please think about what you're doing before you do it, as it can really have negative consequences not only for the writer, but also for the readers who might lose a story they liked because you decided you had a right to hurt someone else.
I also wanted to thank KneeOil for saying what I couldn't at the time and bringing up all the relevant points to the bashing I got. It had honestly made my day and I hadn't been able to get rid of my smile after reading the review.
Anyhow, I have taken up enough of your time so I'll begin wrapping up and get into the reviews :)
Zasun:Glad to have you back! Your story and Hero's are the ones I live for. I get antsy if they aren't updated for too long!
It was a real pleasure to just have Allen get absolutely dunked on, as well as everyone seeing Bell wasn't even trying. The Alfia connection is good too.
It's refreshing seeing the Loki familia recognize that Bell shouldn't be messed with, and I'm curious to see how their "alliance" works out. Who will use who?
I'm anxious for the reveal though. I initially thought this chapter would have Allen destroyed then Ottar would challenge him to a fight simply to see how strong they both are and Bell would lose his mask somewhere in there or have to use Argonaut. But this build up is killing me! I'm so excited!
Keep up the amazing work and I hope to read another chapter soon!
Author: Thank you for the kind words and I'm glad I could surprise. Trust me, the buildup is for a reason and I can only hope you won't be disappointed.
Guest: Wow you're really writing Finn to be a manipulative user. Almost every other thought he has is "this could be useful" or "we can use him". What a prick. I get that he's a leader and does what's best for his people and his goals but he's a terrible person and a cunt
Author: Well, that is kind of what we have been going for. Finn originally would do anything to get even a single step closer to his goal of 'Reviving the Pallum race'. In this timeline, he never really got the kick that influenced him to change. He still has changed slightly with his way of thinking, but he's still just as determined for his goal as before.
Scionofwyrms:Surprised Anya didn't dump a drink on Bell or something for beating on her brother
Author: This made me laugh and yes, she cares for her brother a lot, but she knows when he deserves a beating.
AngryHenry:When will bell find out hestai potentially reincarnated as Fiona?
Author: I know you won't like my answer but… In due time
Pownbattle:Lovely jovely. Always looking forward to updates to this story.
Simple question: have you stated the overall levels of Freya Familia? I only really remember Ottar being level 8 and Allen presumably being level 7. I'm curious as to what the Gulliver brothers, Hedin, and Hogni's levels are (alongside the other named Freya Familia members).
Author: Well, if you or anyones curious, here they are.
Ottar: High Level 8
Allen: Mid Level 7
Hogni: Low Level 7
Hedin: Low Level 7
Gulliver Brothers: High Level 6
Horn: High Level 4
Tammuz Belili: High level 5
Vanir: High level 5
That's everyone I'll mention :)
Stevenpiskunov2: The only way I see that Freya's charm not working would be maybe the mask Bell is wearing. It's made with materials that literally no one else has in anything made and said materials are pretty rare and powerful so I could see being immune to charms being a side effect of the mask that and Liaris Freeze is still there even though its not activated doesn't mean it's all gone
Author: I will say what I have said before, If you really look into it, you will figure it out. That's all I'll give since I don't want to spoil it.
Vetse:I have to say that it's one of the best fics I have read, I mean I've been a fan of Danmachi for as long as I can remember and fics have helped in the wait between LN volumes, but I've been reading this simply because it's so good, not because I didn't want to go crazy while waiting. I started when the fic had like 4-5 chapters and it only got better from there, with every chapter being more and more enjoyable, better written and so on. The plot itself hasn't let me down, instead it sucks me in more all the time, it completely doesn't follow the LN while being extremely well written, which not only shows the ability to write the author possesses but also that he puts a lot of work in the story, a lot of planning and that he listens to readers thoughts (for all of the above I would like to sincerely thank him for). Of course the fic has its faults and not everybody will like it (let's be real there are always people like that, that get discouraged from reading by the smallest mistakes) but I personally think it's great.
Finally gathered the courage to leave a review (I was so stressed), and man I wrote SO much, but that's just how much I like it and how grateful people like I feel for the work you are putting in it.
I hope the mean and rude reviews that aren't even constructive critisism some people (that are also just mean) leave won't discourage you.
Author: Man, I read this and honestly teared up. Me and Viceroy have planned this story as meticulously as we can. To know that you enjoy it that much really means a lot so thank you. We are determined to finish the story so don't worry about us dropping it, it won't happen unless something really bad happens, but don't count on that xD.
Extra note, don't feel bad about reviewing. I honestly loved reading what you thought of the story
Anyway, that's it for the reviews and the chapter as a whole. I do hope I see you all next time and have a great time!