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.
50: Balor, The Piercing Eye
=Dungeon, Floor 49=
Without so much as a warning, the battle had started as the group came face first with the horde of monsters while Bell leaped past them, heading forward on the path leading towards his foe, Balor.
Some monsters littered the field but for the most part it was completely empty mesa like landscape.
The shrill scream from Balor sounded again as he saw it hunch over and the same flash as before appeared over the horizon.
The instant the flash of light flew towards him, Bell jumped to the side only for a second one to impact him straight in his chest, sending him flying several meters back before skidding to a halt.
"Damnit" He muttered as he knew he was at a disadvantage now. He grabbed his injured arm and snapped it back into place, wincing at the pain before getting back on his feet, ignoring the aching from his chest.
'Broken rib?' He reasoned. The monster rex seemed to be observing him from what he could see… was it analyzing his movements? Alfia and Zald only said so much about the monster rexes, giving the basic details as in what its attacks are and what it looked like but… this behavior is like nothing in the dungeon before it.
'It's adapting to us frighteningly quick' he concluded before considering taking one of his potions on his belt.
After a split second, he reasoned it was for the better that he forgo using one. The ones he has are all high potions so they could theoretically help reattach limbs if it was just severed but only in extremely specific scenarios. A mere broken rib was not worth taking one.
"Mouuu!" A couple of stray Fomoir's launched themselves at him with their clubs held high. Without so much as a second thought, he caught one of their clubs while sidestepping another attack.
Before they could react, he stomped the attacker's club into bits before pulling the other's weapon out of its grip before shoving it through its chest, killing it.
The second attacker was quickly sent flying with a roundhouse kick.
Looking back, Bell saw everyone else fighting the main gathering of monsters. These monsters were level 4 in strength but Jannor and Aralaya should have more than good enough stats to fight them. Everyone else was either level 4 or higher so he wasn't really scared for them that much.
The main issue was Balor. With its long range and pattern recognition capabilities, it makes the monster beyond a pain. No wonder Ottar couldn't beat it alone, even Bell doesn't know if he could do this solo at his current power which should realistically surpass that of Ottar's at peak level 7. It's not a fight for one warrior, even if they are overleveled.
Thankfully, half of the battle is handled by his party, so his focus can go entirely towards Balor.
'Alright, think… It analyzes our movements, so what's the best course of action?' Bell tried to formulate a plan of action as the monster rex shot another beam at him.
This time, he narrowly dodged it while keeping an eye forwards, dodging the next shot as well before regaining his bearing.
Formulating an acceptable plan of action, he sprung forth on the long landscape towards his foe.
As monsters tried to block his path, he used his right sword, Katua to slice them apart, monsters being cleaved in half as he kept shooting forward.
Another flash appeared over the horizon before the light flew straight for him.
"NOW OR NEVER!" Bell shouted as he cut the light downwards only for it to explode in head once again, sending his arm flying upwards uselessly as his wrist broke, making him flinch.
"Shit! So it's not magic based…" He muttered as his brain stored the information. It's valuable to know, meaning that the magic properties of his armor and sword are useless against it.
'It's warm though… I can even feel the head from the blast in my armor and clothing, both protecting me from the environment' Bell reasoned as he sheathed Katua and pulled out one of his daggers into his uninjured hand.
Shooting forwards again, Bell used scourge to its fullest potential to enhance his senses to their limit, analyzing every single movement on the large beast that's slowly getting larger.
A rumbling was felt around him as Bell frowned before his eyes widened. His gut told him to move, and the moment he jumped to the side, a sandworm's entire mouth shot up from beneath where he had been running.
'God I love you Intuition' Bell praised his development ability before ignoring the monster and heading straight towards Balor once again.
The shriek from the monster rex was heard before the light shone again. As the attack got closer, with his enhanced senses from his skill, he easily dodged each and every one of the four it sent towards him before continuing onwards.
'That's better' He thought to himself as the beast's noises became louder.
Bell prepared himself, focusing on the rays of light that were going to inevitably come… only for the attack to shoot rapidly towards the roof. Easily 20 shots were fired as Bell kept running, tilting his head in confusion at its action.
'What is it-' It took him a second before he realized its intent.
'Don't tell me! Shit!' He skidded to a halt before shooting to the side, only for the attacks to bombard the area he had unwittingly ran straight into.
"GAH!" Bell screamed out as his left leg and right arm were completely rendered useless while the area was filled with smoke.
"Guess a potion would be good now…" He reached for his waist and grabbed one of the vials, gulping it down in a single gulp, feeling his bones mend back together.
Getting back on his feet, he tightened the grip on his knife before using the smoke's cover to his advantage, he began charging Argonaut in his left hand before shooting forward.
Balor let out a confused shriek as the sight of the opponent it thought had been annihilated. In its perspective, that attack it used should have been more than enough to take the human down but somehow they survived.
Screeching, it hunched over and prepared another shot only for it to realize that it used too much power. It had to wait for it to recharge.
Grumbling, it took a few steps back before laying itself low to the ground, trying to make itself as small and inconspicuous as its large form would allow it.
Bell on the other hand stared at its actions while running in a calculating manner.
'Doesn't it have enough energy to attack? My guess it's attacks need to recharge' Bell reasoned before jumping over a sand scorpion with a summersault, simultaneously kicking a Vulture Hunter in its face, killing it before landing and continuing his path.
'Nearly there!' He encouraged himself as he could make out the details of the monster rex now. It was large with two arms that held it upright. Scales covering its whole body while it's black head being similar to that of a dragon, only with it's two eyes above each other at the center of it's head.
It was actually very menacing looking, especially with the bony spike like protrusions on its forearms and lower body.
The strange part though was that it had no legs. It was an upper body with centipede-like bony legs moving it around.
Feeling threatened by Bell's proximity, Balor used the energy it had stored up while charging in one go, aiming it towards Bell as it shrieked, almost like it was telling him to die.
Pulling his left hand up the moment the attack left Balor's eye, Bell uttered one single word.
"Firebolt!" Torrents of flames shot forward, battling it out against the light before it exploded violently. A split second later, Bell's firebolt shot past the smoke and hit Balor in the chest head on.
'No effect!?' Bell's eyes widened as the flames seemed to just die off against its skin.
'Is it immune to flame attacks?' Bell cursed as he sheathed his knife and pulled out his spear, stopping right in front of the monster rex.
Balor got up, standing tall before hovering over him almost as if glaring down at him in the most intimidating manner it could muster.
"Well… aren't you one ugly bastard?" He muttered sarcastically, preparing himself for the battle to come.
=With the rest of the party=
"God damn it, there is no end to them!" Adrienne complained as sweat glistened her entire body while dodging under an attack from a Fomoire before cutting the magic stone cleanly with a single thrust.
"No kidding!" Jannor panted "They just" He jumped over a sand scorpions stinger before crushing it's head with his staff "keep coming" he finished.
"This is the dungeon! We kill them now, but they are still spawning… Look over at the left wall!" Elora called out as the two glanced at it when they felt they could. Just as mentioned, monsters were spawning and heading straight towards them.
"Oh that isn't even fair!" Jannor complained.
"Well, the dungeon doesn't play fair. Aralaya-sama! Can you use the most destructive element to destroy the wall?" Lili chimed in as the half-elf glanced at her and nodded.
She swiftly cut a Desert Lizard's head off before turning her weapon around for its staff half.
"Elemental spirits, I call upon you, lend me your power, and remove those before me. Thunder Strike!" She aimed her staff towards the wall where the monsters were spawning, shooting the thunder towards it. The resulting damage left a decently sized hole in the mostly pure adamantite before she turned back to Lili.
"Why did you want me to do that?" She asked as Lili smiled.
"Hey! Didn't Elora teach all of us?" Bache asked as her kick sent a fomoire through a dozen others, infecting them with her poison "The dungeon prioritizes regenerating itself over spawning monsters. By destroying the wall, the monsters stop spawning in the area!" Bache told her as Aralaya chided herself for not remembering that.
Elora on the other hand felt proud that Bache had picked up on that in their studies to prepare them for the expedition.
She didn't really feel disappointed in Aralaya since she was normally a model student, but even the most studious and well gifted can make mistakes.
"Guys! Less talking, more fighting!" Welf complained as he felt sweat drip down his forehead from extended usage of his magic swords.
"Mikoto-sama! Your magic!" Lili called out as the samurai nodded.
"I respectfully speak to you, my war god that can break through anything, lead me from the precious heavens" She began chanting while cleaving her way through the enemies
"Haruhime-sama! You too! With the wall damaged, the enemies are losing numbers. It's our chance to break through!" The Renard nodded, having waited for her moment to shine.
She took a step forward before preparing herself.
"Kokone. Beloved snow. Beloved crimson. Beloved white light. Please let me be beside you -this love I have found at the end of two thousand nights." Haruhime began her chant as well.
"Jannor, Adrienne, Bache and Elora-sama. Do anything you have to. Don't let any monsters reach Mikoto or Haruhime-sama!" She ordered as they nodded.
Bache instantly put as much mind into her magic as possible, enough to burn any flesh off of any creature the poison so much as touched.
"AHHHH!" They rallied as they held the enemies back with flurries of attacks and parries.
"Descend from heaven, rule the earth - Shinbu tousei. Futsunomitama!' Mikoto planted herself right in between the rearguard and front line.
"Use it to split the monsters in half!" She called out as her magic materialized on the perfect spot. The gravity field completely crushed the monsters caught in it, killing them with ease from the sheer pressure while simultaneously doing what Lili asked, splitting them in half.
"Bache and Adrienne-sama! Take care of the right group! Elora, Jannor and Aralaya-sama! You take care of the left one!" She commanded while firing off a barrage of arrows, hitting a few stragglers in the back.
'All Lili has to do is to box them in. Once Haruhime-sama finishes her spell, everyone will finish them off' She mentally reminded herself of her plan. It was simple, yet effective against monsters such as these.
"Lili-dono… sand worm… under you" Mikoto grunted as she felt the backlash from holding her magic.
Without thinking, Lili jumped back, opening her mouth-
"Your wound is mine. My wound is mine" Her body transformed into that of an Almiraj, making her just small enough for the sandworm's attack to miss her.
She hadn't even noticed the rumbling. She mentally thanked Mikoto before aiming her crossbow with her rabbit hands before shooting rapidly.
The arrows impacted at specific key places, immobilizing it as the muscles failed to respond.
'After all, every snake like monsters have a similar muscle structure' Lili smirked
"Echoing message of midnight" Her body returned to its natural state as the sandworm writhed and tried to get back under the ground but failed in its endeavors.
Without thinking about it, Lili kept firing arrows, this time straight at its head. Firstly, blinding it as it shot forward before swiping the area with its entire body only for Lili to jump over it.
"That… won't work on Lili" She screamed at the same time as she kicked it in the stomach hard enough to make it scream. She was level 4 after all.
Aiming her crossbow, she fired off a single final arrow, piercing its skull before it halted, flopping onto the rocky ground with a loud crash.
The next moments it turned to dust while Lili simply walked back to her position and inspected what she had missed on the battlefield.
So far, the monsters seemed to have been reduced in number by at least half…
"Oh, Tails of the auspicious beast, consume all, grant all wishes - Uchide No Kozuchi!" Haruhime finished her spell as the magic filled her 8 tails.
"Haruhime-sama, give it to everyone at the front line!" She ordered.
"Dance!" The magic swirled over everyones head before shooting down, empowering them all.
"UAHHHHHHH!" They rallied once again before shooting off with more power than before, demolishing their enemies.
Bache infused as much poison as she could into her two fists before smashing them together, aiming forward only for the liquid to spurt out towards the monsters from the force.
Without any delay, Adrienne shot past her as he short sword cleaved through multiple enemies before-
"Steel is my body, Fire is my blood! Thymos Colasis!" Gaining even more power, she practically mowed through the enemies as Bache joined her, quite enjoying the mother daughter amazonian type bonding… in a sense.
On the other half of the split up battlefield, Elora's enhanced speed and senses added onto Jannor's and Aralaya's impeccable teamwork mowed through the monsters.
As the battle quickly clearly favored one side, the monsters began trying to retreat, only inadvertently making it easier for everyone to finish them off as they turned their backs on their opponents.
Letting her magic go, Mikoto jumped forward and with extreme precision, thrust her sword into the sand in front of Elora.
A muffled scream was heard before the red sand caved in, revealing that a sandworm had tried to surprise attack the elf.
"Thanks" She winked at Mikoto before jumping over the hole end, proceeding to chant her magic.
"Through the protection of the forest, power flows through me. May the call of the wind show us the way. It cuts down the enemies, who stand before me. Secatus Veti!" She aimed her sword as everyone jumped back.
The remaining enemies were completely annihilated from the large scale magic. Once she landed, Elora shot out a breath of air to get rid of the stray strand of hair covering her eye.
"That was fun" She chuckled before turning around, everyone smiling at her as-
"SCREEEEEEEEEEEE" The high pitch screech that completely shook the entire floor reverberated around them as they all turned towards where it originated.
Far in the back of the floor, a large monster was smashing around the ground, ripping rocks and anything it could while seemingly smashing it back down at random.
"Bell…" She mumbled as she wanted to do nothing but run straight towards where he was fighting.
"Don't" Bache said, grabbing her arm "He's got this" She reasoned as they saw a speck leap into the monster rex's face before Balor's head was reeling backwards from the force of the attack the speck gave it.
"You're right… we just got to keep the monsters away from him…" She tried to calm herself down. Even knowing how strong he is, she couldn't help but want to protect him. It was only natural for the one you love.
"Come on, monsters are about to start spawning again. Let's regroup and resupply" Bache reasoned as Elora nodded.
"Alright… good luck, Bell" She muttered the last part more like a prayer than a blessing.
=With Bell=
The moment Bell's fist impacted Balor's face, Bell's eyes widened. He hadn't even used scourge or anything like that yet it had enough force to completely overwhelm that large of a monster rex with ease?
'I know I'm strong, but not that strong' He thought as Balor tried to balance himself after the punch, almost failing and toppling over.
Once he landed, Bell traced his back with his free hand where he felt the skill slot that was active. His most recent one.
'Dragon's bane? So this monster classifies as a draconic type monster huh? Good to know!' He smirked as he shot forward, enjoying the feeling of his severely heightened senses.
Skills that enhance basic abilities in specific scenarios or against certain enemies share something in common. The points it gives are all based on the current baseline for the level they are at. Meaning, he basically just gained 1000 points at level 7 for free.
It was almost like multiplying his power by half.
Balor grumbled before screeching again, grabbing and pulling out more rocks from the dungeon floor before chugging them at him.
Bell instantly dodged it with ease, before another rock impacted the ground in front of him. He should have been able to react to that…
"Damn it… not this crap again" He mumbled. The skill basically adds a level up to him, so in other words, his body is not in sync with his mind.
'What a pain' He thought bitterly as he stopped in his tracks, straightened his back and put himself in a throwing position. The next second, he launched his spear straight towards Balor's head.
The monster rex just barely managed to get out of the way as the spear crashed into the roof of the dungeon.
It's faster than he had originally thought. Those tiny bone-like legs it has are actually making it faster than it would normally be for its size.
Bell was about to recall the spear before deciding to leave it for now. There was no point, his swords would be better for this battle if it's a draconic type monster.
After all, spears are made to thrust and slashin attacks aren't its expertise. Swords on the other hand excel at slashing attacks, which is perfect against scaled creatures like this at the right angle.
That, and if he puts in a nice punch before… He launched forward and quickly hit Balor's left part of its lower half, cracking the scales around the area of his attacks.
Swiftly pulling out his sword and slashing where he hit, the cracked scales were cleaved in half as the sword cut through the flesh.
Balor screamed as its hand swiped the area, forcing Bell to retreat before its eye lit up.
Before he even landed, the reptilian shot its beam of light at full power, straight into Bell as he put up his arms as a guard.
His body launched into the ground hard as the beam continued to shoot into him relentlessly as he could barely hear it screech loudly.
'Gotta… hold it!' He mumbled, feeling the impact on his arms. After a moment, it began to lighten as Bell charged argonaut in his legs in an instant charge and shot to the side in a burst of speed.
Suddenly appearing in another location to the Monster rex, Bell stared at it with a frown. His arms were broken again.
Painfully, he reached for his belt, feeling it for a potion only to realize that the attack had literally shattered the vials on his belt but one that had been out of harm's way.
'Great… guess I can't be reckless anymore' Bell thought before sighing, gulping the potion down.
He already got these things patterns down to a tee.
The moment his arms healed, Bell pulled out one sword before smiling. Before Balor could react, Bell was gone and impacted into its chest with extreme force before it was slashed, blood spilling from the wound but not quite deep enough to hit its magic stone.
Before it could react, another it was felt on its back before the same thing happened again.
Over and over, Bell used instant argonaut charges on his feet to launch himself in different directions, even if he was in the air to completely disorient his opponent.
It wasn't like a hit and run attack, it was a complete mad rush that blinded his enemy with a blur of red and white mixed with black.
It was completely overwhelming Balor as it began to panic. Without thinking, it charged all it had into its eyes and in a mad attempt to stop its opponent, it randomly shot its attacks in every direction around itself almost as if it was hoping that one of the stray beams would hit its intended target.
Bell, having been using instant charge after instant charge, nearly shot himself straight into the path of one of the attacks, only to narrowly dodge it, his side grazing the heat of the blast before he let his body shoot away from the monster rex, landing on the ground about 50 meters away.
Looking up at his opponent and surveying the damage dealt, Bell smiled slightly as it seemed to struggle to move effectively.
'Good, blood loss is taking its toll' Bell thought. It was a rather simplistic strategy, especially against a monster rex that has enough blood to bleed a river without dying.
Baor turned around and glared at Bell, screaming out once again as its eye glowed, power coursing into it in its rage.
'Good, keep firing that beam at me…' He silently thought to himself as he got down low, charging argonaut in his left foot before dashing in that direction with his right one.
Trying to correct its aim, Balor sharply turned right and fired, only for Bell to kick the air with his left foot, propelling himself suddenly in the opposite direction, making the blast miss completely.
"Ouuuuuuuuu" It groaned as it tried to use another blast only for its arms to begin shaking. Without so much a second to regain its composure, Bell shot forward , vaulting straight into its elbow, kicking it with as much power he could muster.
He was rewarded with a satisfying crack as the bones in its arms completely shattered and it shifted into an unnatural angle.
The next moment, Balor let out an ear shattering cry of pain as its balance was somewhat lost, toppling it to the side.
With its head more easily accessible, Bell smirked as he got up close and personal, Lunastus now pulled out as he stared into its eyes, determination in his eyes as he leaped.
He used his mind power as the sword lit up, Argonaut enhancing the blow.
Balor's two red eyes stared in horror as the sword came down towards its throat. It quickly used its remaining good arm and used all of its power and thrust its palm straight into Bell, the sword's tip going through it before Balor thrust it into the ground with a loud bang.
Bell guwaffed in surprise as he felt some bones break and blood fill part of his lung.
'God damn it…' He thought as he instant charged his fist before smashing it against Balor's black scaled one, sending it reeling into the sky from the force.
Getting onto his knees, he spat blood onto the ground as he clutched his chest, feeling the internal wound bleeding and refilling his lung.
Looking back up at the monster, his glare intensified as Balor slowly managed to get back its balance by adjusting its equilibrium.
"Fine… Have it your way" Bell muttered as he shot forward, ignoring the searing pain. Balor responded in kind, slowly, yet powerfully swiping it's arm once again to hit Bell back, only for him to let himself slide across the ground low enough to squeeze under the tiny gap between the attack and the ground, and pulled up his hand as he positioned his hand upwards towards its chest.
"Now… just die" Bell muttered as Balor blinked in confusion as nothing seemed to happen until he heard a strange noise.
Before it could even turn around, something impacted its back, going straight through it and into its opponents hands.
It froze as all its power left it… looking down where the object had gone through it, the monster rex realized what had happened.
Its magic stone had shattered at its center
"Guess you forgot about this thing, didnt you?" Bell said, not smiling at all as he seemed to just stared with a hardened gaze, cuts on his face and blood flowing out of his mouth. In his hand, the spear of Orion glinted against the artificial light of the dungeon before Balor exploded in a sea of dust.
Bell closed his eyes as he coughed up some blood and sighed in relief. No wonder Ottar couldn't defeat Balor alone at level 7. This thing was beyond difficult to either predict or handle. Add the hordes of monsters and Bell was skeptical he would come out on top at all.
He still didn't
And it unnerved him. Opening his eyes, Bell stared at the darkened magic stone, no power left in it as it had shattered and broken, its power having left it at that moment.
What caught his attention was not the magic stone though, or the large amount of dust, but the drop item that lay to the side, a clear contrast in color to the sun-kissed yellow of the mesa surrounding him.
A large black scale that was the size of Bell's lower body. It was about half the size of the Black Dragon's scales he had seen in Edas village and held nowhere near the same amount of power… but if Bell had seen from the fight, he wanted to make sure of one of its properties.
Limping over towards it, ignoring the physical and mental strain it took, he lifted his arm and fired a firebolt at it.
"Huh…." He muttered as the flame resistant aspect of the material was confirmed "Guess Welf can use th-" He stopped as he began coughing, blood staining his arm which covered his mouth.
"Bell!" He heard the shout of his wife as he wiped his mouth and turned around.
Elora and everyone were jogging up to him, having dealt with the monsters.
"We're done with the monsters… and I see Balor's dead. Should we hea- Bell? Are you alright?" She asked, concern and a hint of panic making its way onto her face as she shot forward next to him before he could react.
'Oh… guess I'm more hurt than I thought if I didn't see that' Bell thought to himself bitterly.
"Yeah… I'm just gonna… lay right over he…re" He trailed off as his eyes rolled up into his forehead and he collapsed forward, right into her arms.
"Bell!"
"""Dad!"""
""Bell-sama!""
"Bell-dono!" Everyone called out as they all instantly began surrounding him.
Bell's vision was black as he heard their voices, but after a moment, they blurred together before his entire world stopped working.
=5 hours later=
Bell groaned as he felt an intense pain fill every fiber of his being, originating inside the right side of his chest.
He moved to try to feel the supposed wound, only for his arm to freeze as another wave of searing pain froze his limbs.
"What… the?" He mumbled, his voice extremely hoarse as he slowly opened his eyes.
He was met with a ceiling of white cloth. Frowning, he managed to tilt his head slightly to the side before realizing his predicament.
'A tent? Why am I in a tent?' He thought curiously before the events of the battle smashed into his skull all at once.
Right, one of his ribs most likely broke, puncturing his lung deeply enough to fill it with blood. For anyone below level 3, that'd be a lethal wound. For anyone below level 6, it would be the end of whatever fight they were having. For him, it slowly weakened him as his body not only had not gotten enough air through the lungs, but also not enough blood as a large portion flowed into the lungs themselves.
"Great…" he muttered as he got his elbows in a position before pushing himself up into a seated one, almost buckling from the sheer pain of the action.
The adrenaline of the battle was over and now his body was feeling all the backlash from it all. Bell slowly unbuttoned his shirt, glad that his armor was not on him at the moment.
The moment the shirt came off, he nearly flinched at his appearance. His entire torso was basically covered with bandages, clearly having been changed a few times judging by the freshness of the bandages by the age of the few visible wounds.
He sighed and relaxed, knowing that if he was in a tent, that meant he was safe for the moment… or at least as safe as one can be in the dungeon.
He put his left hand over his right side before pushing himself onto his feet, slowly making sure not to aggravate any wounds before limping towards the tent entrance, his hands squeezing between the gap.
The moment he pulled the two cloth's apart, he squinted at the sudden light that invaded his eyes before green grass and gray colored trees were spread across him bound the hill the camp was situated on.
"50th… floor?" He mumbled as he took in the scenery. He knew what this floor looked like from some illustrations or descriptions but… despite its normally seemingly similar look to the 18th, it was starkly different in not only color, but also atmosphere.
Where the 18th floor is warm, cozy with a few lakes alongside lush green scenery. The 50th floor was much more humid, the air a little hotter with the green toned down significantly. The trees were taller, more taiga like in appearance, almost as if preparing for the floors below.
The Glacier Territory specifically.
After a moment, he limped out into the camp, before walking around another tent, revealing the rest of the group, huddled around a fire with a few bowls of food.
"Hey, can I have some?" Bell asked as all of their heads shot up, Elora's entire body seemingly shooting up so far he'd be worried for her impacting the roof.
"Bell!" She shouted before anyone else could and launched herself at him, crushing him in a hug as he instantly groaned out loudly.
"Ow ow ow ow ow that hurts Elora!" He complained as she instantly shrieked and let go, her face filled with guilt as her eyes trailed over his body to see if she opened any wounds.
"Dad! You shouldn't be up. Your wounds were severe, we were lucky to heal you in time. Any longer and you might not have made it" Aralaya said, clearly being beyond upset about it as he could see the fear in every millimeter of her facial features.
"How long was I out?" he asked.
"5 hours, nearly 6" Bache asked, smiling and nodding at him, clearly not as concerned.
"Then I should be fine. Level 7's heal fast enough that if we don't die within three hours from our wounds… we won't" He reasoned as the half elf gave him a pout.
"Still doesn't change the fact you don't need to be up though" Aralaya said, crossing her arms.
"She's got you there, Bell" Welf smirked over his shoulder, raising a bowl towards him. Bell walked up to him and happily took the stew before taking a seat.
Without hesitation, he ate it, relishing in the feeling of eating. That fight had really taken a lot of energy out of him. Using so many instant charge Argonaut's, his sword's unique ability which by the way, was maybe not that good of an idea. Add that along all the wounds he had taken as well as that potions drain stamina to heal wounds.
Yeah, no wonder he was hungry.
"It's good to see you awake though. When you collapsed with blood coming from your mouth, we all got really worried" Bache chimed in as Bell turned to her before glancing at everyone else.
His eyes trailed down towards the bowl in his hand before they shifted back to his bandages. Lightly touching them, he frowned.
"Yeah… Balor was different from any monster I've fought before. It wasn't really… mindless. It adapted to my strategies… guess that's just one way the dungeon changes the deeper you go" Bell said as everyone gave each other a look, a foreboding feeling washing over the camp.
What can possibly lie in the depths below?
It was the question that was prevalent in all of their minds as Bell moved to take another sip from the stew.
"Yeah, well we're staying here for a while though. You need to heal properly and we also have to collect fifteen cadmus drops from the floor. They are a rare drop after all" Jannor chimed in.
"Jannor-dono is correct. From what I've heard, they are only when those crystal dumplings on the roof grow too large and drop to the floor, similar to crystal drops, only they hold magical properties instead of nutritious ones" Mikoto said as Elora nodded.
"You know your stuff Mikoto, Cadmus drops are often used in high class stones for a mage's staff. Most first-class mages have used a cadmus drop in their weapon. Of course, there are exceptions such as Riveria's Magna Alf's which is said to hold nine magic treasure stones in its head instead" Elora informed as Bell smiled at the conversation.
As they continued talking, Bell couldn't help but glance out into the forest with this ominous feeling in his gut. It was almost as if it was trying to tell him something… that something was out there.
His eyes glanced over the relatively bright scenery that was slowly getting darker by the minute, signifying the coming of nighttime.
After a moment of nothing of notice, Bell turned back, but kept hís senses sharp for any changes around them. Everyone else seemed oblivious, even Bache who should in theory be the most sensitive here at the moment apart from him.
"Hey, dad" Bell blinked as his gaze shifted towards the source of the voice, coming eye to eye with Adrienne.
"Yeah?" He asked, putting on a smile.
"Does it still hurt?" She asked as she lightly pointed at his wounds. Bell looked down before muttering something while shaking his head.
"Yeah, it kind of does. That's given though with my rib having punctured my lung. It'll heal, don't worry" Adrienne still seemed skeptical, but decided to trust his words.
As time passed and they all eventually cleaned up and went back to sleep, Bell laid in his and Elora's tent, the elf clearly being more careful and not engulfing his chest with his arm and instead only gripping his arm.
His head turned to the side opposite of his wife and frowned. He should sleep, he knows that but… that feeling was still there. That feeling that told him that something bad was out there, like he was being watched. Though it wasn't like Freya, yet it still felt…. Divine yet different.
Moments passed before he decided to close his eyes, deciding that maybe his gut feeling may just be wrong for once.
It didn't take long for sleep to claim him, just missing the slight roar echoing quietly across the floor.
=The Far East=
Inside the royal Yume palace, Asuka sat in her bedroom while staring out of her giant window she found just a tad overkill.
How long had she been empress now? Over a decade she believes if her perception of time hasn't been warped by the sheer pressure this title holds.
It was funny how time has passed so fast. After all, she was only sixteen years old when she took the responsibility of the throne from her mother. She was twenty seven years of age now.
It felt so fast… so… meaningful yet meaningless at the same time. It was a weird feeling, knowing you've done something with the life you've had so far and feeling like you should have done more.
After all, the country was statistically, in the best state it has ever been. The security of the country had never been better, the financial situation with its trading with Orario, Rakia and surprisingly Telskyura of all places making sure they kept up not only international relations, but also contributed to the worldwide economy.
That wasn't even getting into the amount of food they are producing now without it being swindled and used by criminals. This year's harvest had been lucrative, so much so that they had more than they knew what to do with.
Thankfully, she had managed to strike a deal with Orario to sell a large portion of the leftover yield to them.
It was for the best too since it would help Bell as well.
Speaking of the man, she had heard so much about him in the past month now. Not only had he returned to Orario as Apollyon, but also had put the city in a ruckus at the sudden appearance of a new S-class familia.
She found it funny that they called themselves the 'Themis Familia', the brother of the actual deity they serve under.
She also found out a few days after it had happened that Bell had been revealed to Orario. At first, she wanted to come to their aid but… her logical thinking got the better of her, and it was for the best. After all, she came to the same conclusion that Orario seems to have begrudgingly has as well.
His connections are too wide
They can't effectively do anything as he's the national hero of two of the current world powers and as far as they know, thanks to Bache, might even have three due to her previous allegiances to Telskyura.
They can't afford to risk a threeway war, even if they are the most powerful central power in the world.
A knock made her turn towards the door before telling whoever it was they could come in.
As the door opened, her mother walked in with a smile as Asuka returned it and walked around her bed and gave her a hug.
"Mother! You're back!" She asked as the woman chuckled into the hug before nodding.
"That I am. I came as soon as I received your letter" The former empress said as Asuka nodded.
"Ah, of course…. And?" The question was instantly answered with a nodd, making the current empress smile wide.
"Of course I can, my daughter. Age may be starting to take its toll, but I am not old just yet" She said cheekily as Asuka smirked.
"Oh, you know as good as I do that you're almost there" The older Yume scoffed with a fond smiled before letting go of her daughter.
"Anyhow, I understand why you requested it. Bell Cranel will need all the help he can get, especially if he's seeking out those that wronged him, though I must ask. How do you intend to help him" She asked as Asuka frowned.
"Simple, I won't be going alone. I'll bring along some of 'The Hidden Ones'" Takara's eyes instantly widened in shock as it was not mentioned in the letter for a good reason. After all, their order was such a secret only the Empress and Amaterasu herself are privy to their existence at all.
They were the best of the best the Far East had to offer in terms of their unique prowess. Not in fighting, but information gathering.
They are assassins and information gatherers. If the royal records only accessible by the goddess and the empress are to be trusted, they are even more proficient at their jobs than Hermes familia is… but there are so few of them they have never before operated outside of the Far East.
"Are you sure, my daughter? The Hidden Ones are no warriors, they won't be much for protection" She said with a hint of worry.
"Yes, Mother. After all, Bell and his family are more than enough as protection, but I'll bring along a few samurai as protection if you insist"
"Good, do that. Just promise me something if you plan on bringing the Hidden Ones" she asked as Asuka nodded.
"Make sure to find that deity. She is not deserving of her title" She said as Asuka frowned with determination.
'That goddess of beauty' Asuka thought somewhat bitterly. She too had beef with that goddess. She knew who Bell was and it was unfathomable why anyone would do something against him. He didn't have a mean bone in his body. At least not until after the deity had acted.
"Yes… but it will still take time to prepare to leave, then there is the time of the trip to take into account" Asuka said as she turned back towards the window.
"Yes, of course. In the meantime, I will assist you in your duties" Nodding, Asuka mentally thought about how long it would be.
'Preparing everything for the trip and for the three hidden ones to arrive… at most, a month. The trip itself? Nearly two months' She thought, knowing it would still be a while until she would see them again.
But alas, she would.
"Thank you mother… Now, it might be good for me to sleep. I want to get started early tomorrow" Asuka smiled as Takara nodded in agreement.
"That is for the better. Sleep well, I'll see you tomorrow" At that, she left the room as Asuka smiled and sat down, her nightgown glittering slightly in the moonlight.
'Only three months. Three months until I see them all again' Asuka smiled, looking out the window, determined to help the Cranel family in any way she could.
That's chapter 50! Balor making himself known to be a strong opponent and the return of Asuka to help!
Anyway, I don't really have much to say at the moment so I'll simply move onto the few reviews we got!
Zasun:I'm surprised Welf lost his mind at that amount of money. I'd say HIS goddess is likely the most wealthy out of every deity in Orario. The others make sense though, poor little Haruhime hahaha. I really loved the jungle paradise. Your own floors are very well done with monsters and descriptions! Also Bache straight up murdering that monster with its own claw was pretty badass. And I'm glad the relationship was brought up! All in all, the dungeon was solid. And it looks like someone found the way he's going to level up too! Maybe even Elora too. But that's not what really jumped out at me this chapter.
Kita. She had a lot of information to share this go around. "Five of them" and "unkillable". Something trapped in the dungeon that previously belonged in Tenkai? I love seeing more plot come to light! And her acknowledgment of Bell too! I'm excited to see how she recruits him. It's not like she can just stroll up to Orario and ask to see him (but if she did that would be AWESOME). The plot thickens!
Well done as always!
Author: Oh, Hephaestus sure is wealthy, but just because one woman is very wealthy doesn't mean he expected Bell to be extremely rich as well. I mean, if you knew Elon Musk, would you just shrug if one of your close friends came out of nowhere and told you they were probably as rich as him? Yeah, it'd be a surprise.
Trust me, there is more to the Jungle Paradise than what was mentioned.
Hmm… about this being Bell's level up feat… yeah, let's just say this is nothing compared to what's about to happen :/
Also, of course Kita knows of the spear of Orion. It's a legendary weapon that's made to kill the unkillable as everything needs to have an antithesis. Everything he gained from his time outside Orario is moving towards one single end goal. The skills, the power, the people, the connection and even the weapons.
Also… yeees, the Plot thickens, and it's about to thicken even more!
PINHEADLARRY0122:Mwahahahaha, I will never be silenced! I feel like y'all added the scene with kita to this chapter specifically because I was catching on and you guys couldn't hide it anymore. I could've been right and all you guys would've had to do was ignore my response but you still chose to respond, inevitably exposing your plans.
The idea just came to my head when I remembered your other story, still waiting for that to update even though you said you wanted to finish this one first. You had a corrupt god, I think it was calling to bell in your final chapter to challenge him before you went on hiatus.
P.S. Don't worry about a release date, your health should come before the story. Get better and come back to it when you feel the time is right.
P.P.S. I shall not comment for another 20 chapters to lure you into a false sense of security before I come back to expose more of your secrets. Mwahahahaha!
Author: Well, kind of yes and no. You were on the right track, I'll give you that, but not completely correct. Yes, the gods know exactly what lies below, but are not wanting to share xD.
Also, it was a corrupted spirit Du'an that's at the end of the dungeon in Heroic Will. Here, it's something else.
I am feeling better too btw, the only thing that remains is my cough so I'm good now so the release schedule shouldn't be too long :)
P.S. Don't you dare! I will ban you, you hear me! BAN YOU!
NotRimuru:The fact you felt the urge to mention that they'll have to fight Udaeus on the way back terrifies me as I get the feeling something very bad is going to happen in that encounter. I really do love the little details that seem to be slowly setting up something real bad (which is inevitable) and the longer you take to get to the 'not very fun event', the more anxiety I get. A tier storytelling
Author: Hehehe, I don't think Udaeus is who you have to worry about…
…
Anyway, we try to add details whenever we can and hide them to the best of our ability. Of course, there comes points where we have to be blunt with it, but it's there if you really look.
P.S. Thanks for the storytelling compliment!
That's it for the review! As usual I hope to see you all next time!
A message from ViceroyChalister:
Because this is the 50th chapter I will divulge some information.
I would like to remind everyone that any OC names have a meaning, every place that is not canonical, has a meaning. There are a ton of clues that we've added through the story, ver small ones, but there nonetheless. Pay attention to the responses and most of all, Beware the Harbinger.