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.
61: Destined Rivals
=The 58th floor=
Bell felt completely out of place as he'd been reduced to the role of a luggage carrier. The entire party were in the frontlines while he was standing behind Lili who looked strange without her borderline characteristic backpack while acting like a commander.
He wasn't complaining about the luggage, don't get him wrong, but he was so used to always being up front and into the fray wherever danger arrives that it was kind of difficult to just watch as everyone fought their way through the horde of Valgang Dragons.
After their departure from the 64th floor, Elora had practically strapped the backpack to him without giving him a choice, saying something along the lines of:
"If you're insistent on fighting Asterius, then you're not fighting at all at any other time or I swear to god…"
The words had promised him pain if he dared defy them and it had been much easier back in the Glacier Territory.
He was more occupied with keeping himself warm with his clothes and armor torn and bent. They probably needed to bring spares for the next expedition. Because let him say it, the cold sucks without protection.
Now with a temperature that felt natural to him, his entire focus was on the battle, watching as Jannor, Adrienne and Aralaya were pincer attacking one dragon. Normally, Aralaya would use her magic, but it was clear she was trying to push her other stats at the moment which was probably for the best. Her magic was already at the peak of S.
As for the rest… Well, they were not having as much trouble. Mikoto was handling one valgang dragon after another, Welf keeping some at bay so as to not overwhelm them with numbers with his sword. Bache and Elora were handling a group on their own, but the thing that intrigued him the most was without a doubt Asterius.
His primal way of fighting sent shivers down his spine as he watched the Bull ram head first into a dragon's chest before flinging it hard to the side, flying through the air like a bullet as it slammed through multiple monsters on the way, killing them all.
Heck, his strength was clearly so high he could do that easily enough to not even require much strain. He seemed to have just casually thrown his head to the side.
That would without a doubt be a problem during their duel. The strength was beyond monstrous and honestly tickling the barrier between monster and great quest if not already breaching it.
Another thing he noticed was that where Asterius was strong, he wasn't exactly the fastest. Bell could tell that he himself was faster than the Bull, probably more dexterous as well, but the endurance would without a doubt be higher.
It would be a battle he couldn't rely on brute strength. He'd have to commit to everything he has in order to stand a chance at winning. Every technique, option or the like. It didn't matter how underhanded, he'd pull it all.
Asterius wanted a rematch of a primal battle they had back all those years ago, then he'd give it in full, and maybe even more.
"Bell-sama, we're moving!" Bell blinked as he snapped back to reality. As he had been lost in thought, the group had finished and right at the moment were getting ready to continue their ascension to the 50th floor.
Bell quickly straightened the backpack on his back before they moved, Asterius at the front with Elora and Bache right behind the big bull.
Mikoto at the center with Welf and Adrienne beside her.
He was at the very back with Lili, Aralaya and Haruhime while Let and Wiene were moving between positions. Rey flew slightly above them, using her echolocation frequently so as to not have any monsters sneak up on them.
As they moved the group weaved through the maze-like structure of the dragon's crucible, Bell couldn't help but note how much quieter it was now than it was before. When they'd first come back up from the glacier territory, they hadn't really cleared the entire 58th floor of the valgang dragons, forcing them to move quicker as the remaining ones locked onto them.
Now, with all of them dead on top of Asterius' environmental destruction of the floor had basically reduced that pressure to zero.
It was almost refreshing, but it left his body twitching. He felt as if every moment, something would jump out at him and attack.
Each and every time it happened, he had to forcefully calm himself down as he clenched his fists.
After all, he had somewhat expected this. Being down in an unforgivable place like the dungeon's deep floors for however long he was there (he mentally reminded himself to ask the others how long), he was bound to have issues reverting back from the mentality he was forced to adopt during his time there.
Without even having to look, he felt a pair of eyes look at him as he peeked up, meeting Rei's blue ones, looking at him in worry.
Slowly descending down towards him, she landed gracefully as she began walking forward beside him.
"Is everything alright, Bell?" The question was laced with a thick tint of worry, giving him the feeling that denying anything would be for naught.
"It's just… I've been alone for so long now… fighting and surviving at every turn with monsters ambushing me all the time…" He admitted slightly as he gave her a weak smile.
"I just can't seem to calm myself." Looking down at his own open palm, shaking slightly, he frowned as it closed shut, squeezing as Rei looked at him in contemplation.
"It's understandable Bell. What you went through down there was… well, I can't say that I can relate. I've never been that far down in the dungeon. Only Asterius dives that deep, so I have no clue what to really expect apart from the stories he brings back." She admitted as Bell hummed.
"It's… it's hell. It constantly felt like my skin was burning, the monsters used poison to try to paralyze me, camouflage themselves with the environment, and attacked in massive groups… it was never ending. At the end, I was so out of it that I had no idea why I was even there…" Rei flinched slightly at the prospect of going through something like that.
"If I can ask… How long was I down there?" He asked as Rei blinked at him before realizing that it must have been really hard to keep track of time. Sure, the dungeon gets darker and brighter depending on the time of day, but in such a position as he was, it was very easy to lose one's sense of time as he had much more pressing matters to attend to.
"Five days." Those words caused him to almost trip as he balked at her.
"Five-!? Are you serious!?" He asked as she nodded. He looked to the side before cursing, he had managed to count to two days, maybe three but… five!? That meant that they entered the dungeon close to two weeks ago.
"Yes, how long did you think you were down there?" She asked, cocking her head to the side, one eyebrow raising as Bell groaned.
"I don't know, two days? Three at most. But five!? Guess I really was out of it." Bell muttered the last part as Rei's eyes softened, pity welling up in her chest as she hesitated for a moment before putting her feathers around his shoulder.
"As I said, I can't say that I can understand what it felt like, but I do know that it must have been horrible. For what it's worth, I'm here if you need someone to talk to or vent to." She offered and Bell smiled softly at her.
"Thanks Rei… you're a good friend." The two smiled at each other for a moment before turning forward, continuing on their path towards the safety of the 50th floor.
=The Far East=
Asuka felt as if the last week or so had passed in a blur. The preparations for her departure towards Orario had progressed at a speed that no one could have expected.
Even her mother had been beyond surprised at how quickly it progressed. In truth, it could be attributed to two things. One being that Eiko had assisted with providing a plethora of supplies that she and the Tanjouno household had stocked up.
After all, they were the most prominent noble family in the far east excluding the royal one due to their heavy involvement in the stabilization of the country alongside a certain national hero.
She had provided Asuka with enough food for the trip alongside three carriages that looked inconspicuous. It had saved her time to source new ones and gather food as most of the supplies the royal family had was spent on feeding the homeless and impoverished as they fought to lower it.
The thought made Asuka's mood plummet. Even after everything that Bell had done… Even after 15 years of the Far East stabilizing, the homelessness and poverty were still the largest issues present. After all, making sure that the criminals couldn't influence the country or the populace did a lot. 78% was a big change, one that was never seen before in such a rapid timeframe in any country on the continent.
But that only accounted for children in poverty. If you put every citizen from infant to elderly into the equation… the number was closer to the 50% mark. Don't get her wrong, it was still amazing, but the remaining 50% was a real issue that they had barely been able to scratch.
Turns out it's a lot harder to help them when the issues aren't as obvious and straightforward to alleviate. Economy, state of the market, job demands among many more issues were the reasons for why such a large portion of the population was in poverty or homeless.
'After 15 years… it's only dropped by 5%...' She thought bitterly as she combed her hair, looking out the window of her room where down below, three members of the 'Hidden Ones' were waiting.
That was the second reason the progress had gone so fast. Most of the time she accounted for preparations was actually the time waiting for them to arrive.
Turned out three of them were on a mission nearby and had just finished it. They'd arrived in the matter of a few days meaning in under a week, she was ready to depart.
The journey would still take two months, but it still meant she'd get there faster. To see her friends… the people that were like a second family.
A soft smile spread on her face as she looked at her intricate royal far eastern clothing. Reaching up to her hair, she curled her fingers through it as she weaved it into a bun fit for traveling.
After a few moments, she nodded before turning to the door. Opening and walking through it, she couldn't help but grow excited for when the next two months were up.
=The 50th Floor, 4 hours later=
As the group reached the safe zone, it didn't take long for them to set up camp. Asterius and Bell had agreed to not fight until everyone was ready after some much needed convincing from Elora.
Bell had grumbled at first, feeling an itch to fight that wouldn't go away but her arguments were sound. For one, having a camp setup would allow swift treatment of the inevitable wounds both would get from the fight. It wasn't a matter of if, but when.
Bell was about to cave to just that, but the elf had continued and mentioned that they'd want to be a safe distance away to watch over the fight as she was certain that the two of them would cause so much mayhem that the floor wouldn't recover for weeks to come.
(She silently prayed that, "that", calamity won't spawn again… please have a possible spawn timer…)
Lastly, she'd argued that Welf needed to repair his armor. He'd gotten some of it done back in on the 64th floor, but the extreme cold had made it damn near impossible to keep a fire lit, let alone a makeshift forge.
That led them to their current predicament, Bell and Asterius, pacing around the camp anxiously, pent up about the fight to come, both wanting to get it started but not being allowed to.
It didn't help that Bache and Elora were eyeing the two like hawks with the rest sparing them warning glances.
'Just a little while longer' Bell chanted in his head as he felt Elora's gaze fixated on the back of his head.
What more did they even need to do? They'd gotten the camp up and running, it was far away from any good spots to fight and safe from any harm… well, mostly safe. You never know.
They even finished the last part of their mission by fetching the last cadmus drops that had fallen from the ceiling while they were away.
"Bell" His white hair waved in the air as he turned towards the deep voice of Asterius, the two staring at each other as Bell nodded at him.
"Asterius… restless I see." He said as the bull nodded as he waved his hand towards him, as if to tell him 'you too'.
"Yeah… It can't be long now. Most of the stuff they had to do is done…" Bell said while glancing towards Elora's direction as their eyes met.
She threw him a small smile before nodding. The action spoke enough as she turned towards Bache with yet another nod.
"EVERYONE! IT'S TIME!" The amazon screamed out as shuffling around the camp could be heard and the flapping of feathers sounded.
Within moments, everyone had arrived with nervous glances, not really knowing if what's to come would be good or bad. Probably bad. Very Bad.
"Bell, remember our promise. This one fight, then no more until after we return to the surface." Elora said, no argument left in her statement as Bell sweatdropped. No way in hell he's breaking that promise.
In response, he nodded before the elf looked deeply into his eyes, practically shoving her face as close as she could without initiating a kiss.
For a moment, he thought she'd actually threaten him to keep the promise before she relented, leaning back with a sigh.
"Just stay safe." She said before handing the sword she borrowed back to him, knowing he'd need it. As soon as Bell grabbed it, she turned towards Asterius, eyes sharpening.
"And you, no killing. Got it? Or I swear to god." Bell almost guffawed at her words. Most, if maybe everyone but her and maybe Bache would ever dare talk like that to the Bull. His figure being menacing enough without the aura that surrounded him.
The Bull nodded with a slight smile on the side of his mouth. He was happy that his rival had people that cared so deeply for him.
Like he did with the Xenos. He knew that if he ever happened to get into trouble he couldn't solve with his fist, however unlikely it was (according to himself), they'd be there to help in whatever way possible
"I gave you my word as a warrior. I shall make sure no lethal blows are exchanged." He responded with a nod, Elora nodding back before walking back to the rest of the group.
Waiting for her to get back, the two combatants looked at one another, Bell giving him a light smile.
"Demanding, isn't she?" He asked as the Bull let out the sound which he assumed to be a laugh.
"Indeed, though just in the right way. She is a worthy mate." Bell sputtered as his face reddened slightly as he stared at him in surprise.
"You have no tact, do you?" The only answer he got was Asterius' equivalent to a raised eyebrow and a tilt to his head.
Sighing, Bell walked further through the clearing, getting quite a distance between him and the group.
Understanding the action's purpose, Asterius imitated it but opposite of his opponent as the two got ready.
"Whenever you two are ready!?" The two heard the shout of Bache as they got into a battle ready stance.
Bell couldn't help but feel his heart begin hammering against his ribcage, the adrenaline start pumping as his body recognized the scenario as fight and flight, the adrenaline pumping its way through his system.
The effects were instantaneous, his vision cleared, thoughts sharpened as he began analyzing his opponent, Asteirus doing the same as he pulled out his sword from the sheath on his back.
"I have waited so long for this moment…" The Bull said, staring into Bell's red eyes.
"To have my rematch… so… let's make sure it's a battle of the ages." Bell simply grinned at his words with a nod.
"Right, on three."
"One…" Bell began, readying the sword Elora gave back in his right hand.
"Two…" Asterius continued, pulling his body forward as if he planned to charge him head first.
"THREE!" The two shot forward, the ground shaking as the two blades clashed with the sound reverberating across the dungeon loud enough to shake the entire forest.
A split moment later, the resulting shockwave of the two colossal forces meeting one another blew apart everything around them, the ground cracking as Bell's left leg strained under the pressure of Asterius' bulging muscles, slowly losing ground as realization set in.
For the first time in a while, someone was actually overpowering him in pure force. Reacting to the change in situation, he let his knee bend as he pushed himself to the side while tilting the sword quickly so that the force Asteirus applied drew the blade downwards along the path Bell guided it towards.
Slamming into the ground, Bell moved to deliver a roundhouse kick only to meet a faceful of bull head smashing into his forehead with a loud boom, sending him into the ground hard, causing the world to spin for a moment.
His intuition screamed at him to move and trusting his gut, he forcefully kicked the ground, sending him flying backwards as he corrected his position before blinking away the dizziness.
When he thought to himself that the Bull was strong, he didn't actually thing he was strong enough to physically overpower him like that.
It was a feat he hadn't seen anyone do for a very long time… not since he was a level 4 and that was almost 15 years ago.
A determined look took its place on his skin as Asterius charged.
Taking one quick step forward, he slid across the ground, quickly pulling his dagger and practically shoved it into his hide as an enormous amount of resistance met him, yet still able pierce and embed the blade into the Bull's ankle as he grunted in pain.
'Good, movement somewhat restricted' Bell thought, kicking himself into the air, repeating the action again, slamming into Asterius' chest like a meteor… wait, chest?
Bell's eyes widened as he felt the Bull grip his ankle, slamming him into the ground before letting go and sending a thundering kick into his gut sending him flying across the floor so fast that he barely even realized he impacted the other side of the floor's wall until after it happened.
God damnit, how strong is this Bull!?
Peeling himself from the wall, Bell took notice of the inbound explosions of trees making its way towards him.
Grinning ever so slightly, Bell launched himself leaving a dust cloud on the wall in his wake. Slight booms echoed through the floor, from Bell launching himself at speeds most would never be able to comprehend towards the thunderous crashes of Asterius' approach until the two collided once more.
Blow after blow was thrown, Bell putting in a slice or two everytime Asterius missed his mark, on the other hand, Asterius when he did land a hit it would result in the sonic boom of Bell bouncing off the ground like a stone off water or blasting off again into the air.
As mighty as a sight it was to behold from a distance, because of the everchanging fight that it was they made their way back to the camp, or close enough to be in view, both panting from the strains of their short battle, Bell still not fully recovered from his wounds, and Asterius from leading the charge as the vanguard multiple floors in a row.
Despite their clear straining forms, the two knew for a fact that the battle had simply just begun.
'I need to conserve more energy.' Bell thought, chastising himself for pushing himself so hard so quickly.
Changing his strategy, Bell waited for the Bull to make its move, the two slowly circling around each other.
Back at camp, overlooking the two combatants seemingly just walking in circles, the silence was intense. Seeing Bell fly off into the air like that was not a sight any of them liked seeing at all, but likewise, Asterius clearly had received many hits in return.
Elora bit her lip as Asterius made his move, his massive sword slamming into the ground, a giant dust cloud in its wake as more and more blows were traded.
"Hm… he changed his stance." Bache commented as her eyes narrowed. The group glanced towards the amazon, Rei raising an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" Rei asked.
"He's about to change weapons" Bache said, as Rei turned to look, sure enough, he was swapping weapons.
"But what does his weapons and stance have to do with anything?" Rei asked.
Bache turned to her and simply said, "Everything, his spear is his heavier weapon, his swords are more of a middle ground, and his daggers are for speed. When you think about it though.. Well never mind just watch" Bache finished with a grin.
During Bache's explanation, Bell was putting his swords away and reaching for his hips…for his daggers. Asterius seemed to notice this and let out a joyous roar.
"Going back to how we first fought, are we, but you have different knives, where's the one you used in our last battle?" Asterius asked.
"Long and sad story. Short? I'm no longer in possession of or able to use it anymore" Bell said.
"A shame" Asterius returned.
"Indeed it is" Bell said, a solemn tone following his words though the air. Though Bell agreed, he did kind of feel like the universe had to balance things out a bit. Him using two divine weapons was a bit much. Didn't change the fact that the knife was attached to a lot of good memories.
After a slight pause they stared at each other for a minute to scan the other for any actions, even micro in scale, but strangely enough it was Bell who made the first move, Asterius was caught off guard by the speed in which Bell had launched himself.
In a split second Asterius had received several cuts, and when he'd lash out, it would only be met by the company of the wind and air.
The Bull's eyes widened for a second at the sheer speed of his opponent, far faster than he had ever seen anything go at once.
The shock slowly morphed into excitement as his heart began bursting at its seams in anticipation.
This was exactly how he wanted it… a worthy battle, no, rematch with his rival. The one that beat him all those years ago. The one who fought with speed and dexterity to overpower endurance and strength.
Reinvigorated from Bell's burst of speed, the Bull lifted one foot as Bell's blur of movement in his eyes shot past Asterius' field of vision, a cut under his eye making itself known before stomping down as hard as he could, the environment cracking before bursting up from the ground, shaking the floor and walls across multiple floors.
Not expecting the sheer destructive force of the attack, Bell was launching into the air as the ground burst upwards.
Trying to position himself in a way that allowed him to shoot away from the Bull, he was unable to realize as a rock was sent flying into him at astronomical speeds as Asterius had kicked it straight into him.
For a moment, Bell felt as if he would vomit his innards out as he felt a few bones break. It's almost as if the previous hits from the Bull hadn't actually carried the full amount of power he possessed.
Snapping himself out of it, he charged argonaut in an instant charge and punched the air in front of him, narrowly dodging Asterius' punch.
After a moment of balancing himself in the air, he skid across the ground before coming to a stop only to be met with the giant form of his opponent already in front of him, charging head first into his chest, forcing the air out of Bell's lungs.
Ramming his white hair opponent through multiple layers of forests, rocks and cliffs, Asterius grabbed ahold of Bell's leg before slamming him into the ground as hard as he could, content with the knowledge that he could take it, only if just barley.
Up at the camp, everyone was staring in varying expressions. Awe in the sheer destructive capability the Bull had.
Worry for how brutal he was against Bell… and lastly, uncertainty, not knowing if they should interfere or not, seeing the boy being thrown around like a ping pong ball.
It took Bache grabbing Elora's wrist to stop her from jumping forward as the Elf looked back at the Amazon.
The chocolate skinned woman just shook her head, a serious expression on her face that conveyed the mistake she had been about to make.
Biting her lip harder to suppress her worry and fear, Elora glanced back at the battle, Bell having gotten free from Asterius' grip and firing multiple firebolts at Asterius' black fur, forcing him back a few steps at the strength of the no chant magic.
Her heart hammered as Bell parried his opponent's sword, guiding it into the ground as he dexterously slid under his legs, cutting the back of his foot, forcing the Bull onto its knees at the sudden change in control on the leg.
Activating scourge and an instant charge argonaut in his right leg, Bell flipped before slamming it straight down between its horns as Asterius' grit his teeth from the force that sent its head into the ground hard and fast as blood began staining it's forehead and dripping down the side of Asterius' head.
Elora felt a bit better, seeing Bell giving wounds back to his opponent, the two clearly already worse for wear and the fight hadn't been going on longer than ten minutes at this point.
Jannor winced reflexively as Asterius parried Bell's dagger with his horn, twisting it so that it flew out of his grasp before sending a kick into the side of his head, sending him flying through the forest, leaving a dust cloud in his wake.
"That… might give him a concussion…" Aralaya muttered as her two siblings could do nothing but nod in agreement.
"I knew this would be brutal but…" Wiene whispered as another part of the forest practically blew up from the two's fighting.
"Isn't this a bit too much?" She finished.
Bell's eyes traced Asterius' movements, narrowly bending his back as the Bull's sword flew right past him, a millimeter away from hitting him.
Rolling away, his hand aimed upwards with flames forming within his palm right as Asterius' looked down.
"Firebolt!" The powerful flame impacted straight into Asterius' left eye before he could react.
Twisting upwards to his feet, Bell rolled forward, sliding the knife across the bull's fur covering his hip between his armor, drawing some blood.
Almost quicker than he could react, Asterius threw his arm alongside his entire body straight towards him, slamming the two into the ground as Bell guffawed, now locked between in his vice grip.
Asterius began squeezing him as the white haired man struggled in his grip, before his hand began to shine a soft white alongside scourge.
Slamming his fist into the Bull's face seemed to finally and truly send him flying backwards throughout the environment, freeing the struggling adventurer.
Bell touched his chest for a moment, looking down as he felt the familiar feeling of a few broken ribs with blood slowly dripping down his mouth.
A soft chuckle escaped his mouth as the noise of Asterius throwing rubble left and right on his way back towards Bell.
How many times was he gonna break his ribs during this expedition? What was it now? The third time… maybe more since he lost count.
It just spoke volumes of the difference in danger the dungeon possessed. Outside, the chance of him ever breaking a bone was… well, it was minimal enough that the only times it happened was when he leveled up.
Oh well, it'd just stack his endurance so he isn't really complaining in the long run. Spitting the blood built up in his mouth onto the ground as a patchwork to breathe slightly better, he narrowly dodged Asteirus' bullrush, wincing at the pain the movement gave him to his ribs.
He really needed to build up his endurance and improve strong body. Shaking off the pain, he launched himself towards his opponent, meeting him halfway as the Bull's giant of a sword came down straight towards him as he redirected the blow with his knife before charging up Argonaut in an instant charge alongside scourge and slamming his left fist straight into the Asterius' nose, as it sent him spiraling back a few steps.
A moment later, the two re-engaged as the larger of the two combatants continuously and wildly tried to hit his opponent as Bell expertly weaved between the attacks, bending his limbs in unnatural ways.
If the sheer destructive force Asterius inflicted on the environment didn't cover them in a thick dust cloud and spread rubble everywhere, one would have been transfixed by the dance of opposites between the two.
Growing more and more frustrated, the Bull roared out before sheathing his blade and raising both his fists and connecting them, smashing them into the ground as hard as he could, the blowback of it all, forcing Bell to jump back in surprise.
He peeked at his glowing hand for a second before looking back as Asterius seemed to be doing something on the ground.
'Twenty seconds… still got some time to burn for the charge' He thought to himself right as his eyes widened as the ground rumbled and cracked before it was pushed upwards, causing his balance to wane before it was completely flipped over and smashed him against the floor.
Bell was really starting to think the Bull had no limit to his strength as he activated scourge and pushed upwards, his muscles straining before finally managing to push the practical mountain that he'd been put under.
The moment he moved to get up, Asterius was already on top of him, locking him in place as his knees blocked Bell from getting up before the Bull's fist cocked backwards before being sent straight down as Bell cracked his head to the side as the ground exploded from the force.
Back with the others, it was basically impossible to follow what was going on. The two were moving from one end of the floor on a regular basis and they had no idea where they were at the moment. The fighting had covered most of the floor in a giant cloud of smoke as the group had begun to fear the spawning of the Calamity once again.
This level of power was just unreal. Sure, Bache and Elora had done something similar, but that was with the most powerful combination of their power they had. The two were doing this on their own, each hit shaking the floor the same way their joint attack had done on its own.
It was honestly terrifying to witness. As the ground shook more and more, Elora and Bache looked towards the source of it all where more dust was being ejected from.
"They are in the northern part of the floor." Bache commented as the group nodded.
"Should we stop them? They might spawn that thing again." Elora asked as she looked out at the battlefield in worry.
"I don't think we can stop them." Rei chimed in as the group understood where she came from.
Elora seemed like she wanted to say something more before a loud boom echoed across the floor as a figure flew high up and flew straight into the roof as it caved, completely, sand sifting down from the desert above as it began covering the ground below.
Shortly after, a second figure leaped upwards and disappeared above.
"Did… Did they just go up to the floor?" Wiene asked as the group stared at the hole a good minute before the two came back down again, wrestling in the air before the larger of the two twisted after grabbing his opponent's leg before throwing him straight down into the ground, shaking the floor once more.
Back with Bell, he felt like everything hurt. He had managed to get that one Argonaut punch in and followed Asterius up, but he'd promptly been sent back down and hard.
He could barely feel his limbs respond as he slowly got up on his legs, the two appendages shaking as he pulled out his spear before he fell to one knee, eyes widening as he stared down at his legs.
'Am… Am I going to lose?' He thought to himself as his heart froze over.
No… he can't lose here… he didn't want to lose. He couldn't lose. His heart just would not have it any other way as it thawed out, replaced with a burning passion born from a primal desire for victory. Every second of weakness only fueled the flame as he pushed onwards, onto his feet again as his eyes burned holes into his opponents form, now recovered and looking at him with a large smile.
"It has been an honor to reenact this rematch, Bell Cranel. Now, let us decide who is the victor of this bout. Show me the results of that fire in your eyes." He huffed out as Bell's eyes hardened with iron-clad resolve.
Aiming his hand at the tip of it, he uttered his first magic as the flames enveloped the divine spear.
As the Bull moved to attack once more, Bell narrowly dodged it, flipping and bending between attacks as he dual-charged, essentially splitting his mind in two and letting his body's ingrained muscle memory trained for a decade and a half to avoid all attacks.
As seconds passed and the Bull's attacks intensified, a loud gong exploded out across the entire floor, reverberating from the noise as Asterius eyes reflected bewilderment for but a second before resuming his assault.
Wiene looked around with Rei and Let, wondering what that admittedly, beautiful and inspiring noise was, like a grand bell of sorts.
"That's loud! Way louder than I've ever heard from his skill!" Adrienne jumped up with a wild grin as both Elora and Bache's eyes were wide as saucers alongside the other's.
Mikoto remembered this gong, dinging again and again, louder each time as it shook one to their core. The very thing that gave her strength against the Black Goliath all those years ago.
Welf too reminisced alongside Lili from that time, the Smith reminded of the time he let go of his pride and watched a literal miracle happen. Lili remembered watching in awe at the enormous glow surrounding Bell as he charged towards that abnormal monster rex.
"It's just like back then…" Mikoto mumbled as everyone turned to her apart from the ones that knew what she meant.
"What?"
"We once fought an abnormal black goliath that spawned on the 18th. Bell-dono finished it in one blow, an attack that followed the grand bell we hear now… an attack that surpassed anything I've seen to date." Elora's mind homed into a certain occurrence she had read and heard of in passing.
Limit break was one thing… but Limit off? It was ludicrous! Limit break alone was extremely rare, but Limit off was a miracle in and of itself. The only people who have ever been recorded undergoing such events were the heroes of old and Alfia, the Silence.
No one knew what the activation requirements were and it was so vague that the description was limited to 'An attack, breaking all logic and limits'.
But the one thing none of them knew, was there was one component that was required without a skill like Alfia's skill, Gif Blessing, was an unyielding desire that burns throughout every fiber of one's being in a single minded pursuit towards one goal. A lashing out of one's desires in the most pure form that forced the soul to temporarily inflate many times over.
Asterius watched in both curiosity and glee as his opponents avoided another of his mighty blows, his red eyes practically glowing through the white light that painted him and his entire outfit the same color, slowly spreading out into the blade before the flames themselves turned a mixture of molten red and white.
All of a sudden, every single sense he had exploded into a panicked frenzy as the spear twirled into a throwing position, his opponent leaping back and positioning himself before he could react.
A spin off from his Argo Vesta, a spear of light, destined to travel through darkness as he cocked his arm back before shooting it forward in a blur, as the spear exploded from his hand, the blowback from the sheer power, blowing apart the floor behind him as Elora and the others held on for dear life as the spear soared towards its intended target.
Grinning, Asterius' brought out his trump card as his feet slammed into the ground before getting down on both knees in a charging position, a slight black glow emanating around his horns like black and red flames before shooting forward and meeting the attack head on.
As the projectile collided with the Bull's horns everything was enveloped in a mixture of white, red and black, Bell holding onto the ground, digging both his feet and hands as deep as he could and hoping the ground didn't come loose.
Back at camp, the tents were shaking wildly, some poles came loose and were sent flying away.
"THIS IS CRAZY! HAHAHA!" Adrienne laughed in glee as she held onto her mother, who in turn held onto anything she could as they fluttered violently. The others weren't doing much better, especially Ray who's wings picked up the wind and sent her spiraling through the sky, smashing into the roof where her talons held on as she screamed out of instinct.
After a moment, the light dimmed before the wind stopped. The dust clouds gone apart from where the explosion had happened, revealing Bell on the ground, breathing heavily as he looked onwards towards where his opponent should be.
'Was… that overkill?' he thought for a split second before the spear flew straight back through the cloud, followed by Asterius, one horn cracked with his entire body bleeding before he slammed face first into Bell who stood up out of shock.
The force, sent all the air out of his lungs alongside some blood before being rammed through the debris around the floor again and again, bones breaking as he felt as if he was going to black out.
Suddenly, Asterius' stopped, grabbing his leg before slamming him into the ground, bouncing up before the same black flames enveloped the Bull's leg, smashing it into Bell's chin as he was sent flying straight into the cliffside where Elora and the others had been standing on shakily.
"BELL!"
"DAD!"
Everyone called out as Bell laid there, his limbs unresponsive as his armor was completely thrashed. His strength, gone as his mind slowly caught up on his situation.
"It seems as if you can't continue… This one is my victory…" Asterius called out, limping towards him as Bell's eyes just stared up into roof that was once a brilliant array of colors born from crystals, but now a testament to the destruction they'd weaved.
'I lost…' the thought came as it broke the emotions he was feeling out as his face contorted into grief as he managed to shakily put his arms up on his eyes, teeth clenched as his lips shook.
He lost…
He could vaguely hear the voices of his companions calling out to him, getting closer but all that mattered to him at the moment was the fact that he lost… that he failed to achieve his desire.
"You…" Asterius began talking before falling down onto one of his knees. Peeking between his arms at the Bull, his tears leaking down his face, he now noticed the sorry state he was in.
The Bull's armor was basically useless, his fur charred and gone in a lot of places, one of his horns cracked and threatening to fall off with one eye bleeding with blood practically running down his body from his various wounds.
"You almost… defeated me again… you truly… are a worthy rival… May our next match be just as exhilarating as this one." Asterius finished what he wanted to say with a grin, Bell's tears stopping as he felt moved by his rival's words.
He had lost… but he had also done considerable damage to his opponent. To the point that he was having difficulty standing, not that he himself could even attempt it at the moment.
Letting his arms fall back down, revealing his puffed red eyes before he nodded at his adversary.
"Yeah… Let's make sure it is." His voice was so raspy he nearly flinched from the sound of it, but at the bottom of his heart, his desire to grow stronger grew even larger, feeding off of the sense of loss as his goals expanded.
He wanted to grow stronger, not only to redeem himself and to make sure his family is safe… but also to win against Asterius…
At that moment, that desire cemented itself in his heart as the rest of the group finally arrived around him, showering him in worry and question before healing him.
The battle was over… now… now they'd rest before returning to the surface. Their eventful expedition, finally coming to an end.
=Einhente=
Kita stood within one of the parlors in her home, pouring down a drink that she didn't care enough for to name. Last night she'd been contacted by… them, again.
It was becoming more and more of a problem that was occurring much more frequently. How long has she been alive now? Over three thousand years at the very least. Time passage in larger numbers tends to blend together without accurate counting of dates and years passed.
That was only recently implemented… well, recently to her which is a couple hundred years ago.
It's honestly fascinating how time perception becomes so distorted the longer you live. In a way, she did not envy the gods for this trait at all.
Taking her drink and walking out onto her balcony, she leaned forward on the railing as she took a sip. The sunset truly made the city look majestic from her position, the buildings reaching tall with the buzz of activity on the streets met with the slightly clouded sunset coloring the rooftops and roads.
Drifting her eyes downwards, she reminisced about the forced contact with her quote unquote 'Mothers'. The beings at the bottom of the fortress are known as the dungeon to the mortals. Back during her time as one of the four great calamities, she'd been nothing but a mindless puppet, following whatever her creator's preached without a second thought.
A bitter taste entered her mouth at the reminder of that time. It had honestly been a dark and lonely time, filled with nothing but death and destruction. Loneliness and crushed hopes.
If not for the Mercenary hero, she most likely would never have snapped out of it and remained on that path to this day.
It was a debt she could not easily pay, one that she now owed to the man's daughter, Ais Wallenstein, better known as the Sword Princess. She honestly found the woman pitiable. A child, robbed of her parents by her brother, sent into the timestream by her own mother only to be spat out in a random timeframe.
It could have been far into the past, before the dungeon was even created or so far into the future that not even the gods would live to see her again.
It was a stroke of luck she had exited exactly a thousand years into the future, a whim of fate she supposed.
But her obsession with Oldurin was something she worried about. A path of vengeance was set for her that would only lead to the deaths of all she loved, one she hoped she'd stray from whether she decides it on her own, or someone forces her off that path.
Her brother on the other hand, held no positive opinion of. He was nothing but arrogant, annoying and a pain in the ass. Out of all of her siblings, he was the one she disliked the most, always looking down on the rest of us like mere ants, even with her being powerful enough to at least inflict some form of damage on him, even if only scratches.
When the Mercenary hero had inflicted a wound that nearly blinded her brother and destroyed one of his eyes permanently, she'd laughed in a mixture of astonishment and mirth at her brother finally getting a slight taste of mortality, one he oh so desperately needed.
Unfortunately, it didn't improve his demeanor at all, it in fact only made it worse. The next few years after the wound, he had been rampaging like never before, decimating city after city of what remained of the continent, leaving what the mortals now call home as a poor imitation of the sheer size of it all.
Thankfully, over time, the forests healed and animals returned thanks to a deity sacrificing their ability to stay in Gekai to bring new life into the lands, one not dependent on spirit steel.
Her head began to ache as the Vouivre flinched, dropping the glass down the balcony as she clutched her forehead.
'I have to say, my child, you are truly remarkable in your stubbornness. Resisting your nature, what you want deep down. How long do you plan to enact this pitiful rebellion?'
The voice's had gotten louder and louder, now even invading her during the hours of the day, deciding to invade her at unpredictable times.
'I have no intention of returning to the thing I was. You all can go and burn for all I care' She hissed within her mind as raspy chuckles from her creators echoed as if spoked right in her ear, making her flinch.
'A little fire hardly bothers us, you should know that better than most. Only the despicable gods have any semblance of power apart from our children. If only they weren't so rebellious.'
Its voice rumbled all around her within her perspective, her face paling as she felt all power drain from her, forcing her to her knees.
'You, Kita, our child, made to destroy without being seen, going against your intended purpose. Ouldrin, the king of the skies, raining down flames on the pathetic mortals of this realm. You both have a grand purpose… return to it… or face the consequences.'
Her limbs shook as the voice exploded out, hurting her ears and blood leaked from them alongside her nose, dripping onto the marbled floor of the balcony before their presence disappeared, leaving her alone to recollect herself.
The threats had become much more common as of late. It was something she figured came from them feeling desperate to reinitiate her into their ranks before the promised time that was so close.
Closing her eyes and taking deep breaths, she listened to the wind to calm herself down as her thundering heart slowed down before she opened her eyes, the blue irises calmer and more collected before she stood back up on shaky legs.
She longed for the time she was finally free from their influence, for when they were finally gone from existence, so long as the Anomaly agreed to do what she wanted him to.
There was always a chance he wouldn't but the chances of him agreeing were much higher due to it being beneficial to both her, her people, himself and the rest of the world.
Killing her immortal creators and Oldurin was necessary for peace between all races and creatures, even monsters like her, even if it'd take a long time.
Weakly limping back into her home, she offhandedly grabbed some tissues and wiped away at her nose and ears, staining the fabric with her blood.
Normally, it'd just disintegrate after a while, but she and the rest of her siblings were monsters without magic stones. Their blood did not disintegrate, their power their own and not supplied from a concentrated source.
It had its perks, but cleaning up her own blood was not one of them.
A knock echoed throughout the room as Kita glanced at the door, sensing her Milia behind the door.
"Come in." The Harpy walked inside, closing the doors before her eyes locked with hers before widening.
"M'lady! What happened!?" She asked as she quickly moved up to her, checking her face over for any lasting damage.
"Do not fret, it was just my mother again… their invasion of my mind is without a doubt becoming an issue if they can affect me to this degree to make me feel ill and weak." The mention of that made Milia pale as she leaned back, looking into her friend's eyes.
"Are you sure?" She asked as Kita nodded, making the harpy involuntarily chirp and growl angrily.
"To think they even have such influence over your power from so far away. The great hole is months away from her, nearing half a year." She said, Kita nodding in agreement.
"Agreed, it goes beyond what I predicted, but there isn't much anyone can do. We all knew I wouldn't have a role on the front lines until the influence could be naturalized."
"Yes, but still. How powerful are the Keepers?" she asked, Kita suppressing a scoff at the mention of their true identification.
"The Keepers are as powerful as the gods if not more so, you know that already. The gods may seem infallible and idiotic, but their power when not held back is something to behold. I've only witnessed it once before said deity was forced back to Tenkai, but it left its mark on the eastern coast of the valley of dragons. In fact, it was what sprang life back into these lands, growing plants and birthing animals that spread across these desolate parts."
"Right, I forgot. But if they have that kind of power, then the mortal… Bell Cranel has to grow. He may be abnormal-"
"But he isn't strong enough to face them just yet." She finished the harpy's sentence for her. Looking down, Kita could only hope that he'd grow fast enough to reach heights far enough to challenge her mother's by the time the promised time rolls around.
=The Empire, Ptytas Virsuje, Military Quarters=
Kaius leaned over the map of the known continent, notes laying about as certain spots on the map were highlighted. They'd done a background check on Bell Cranel's actions in the last 15 years.
The first year was a bit split, moving around a lot, mainly between The Far East and Telskyura. But it wasn't until around a year after his banishment that a pattern began to emerge.
The sightings of Bell Cranel in his varying aliases such as 'The Masked Mercenary' and 'The Royal Executioner' converged more densely west of Orario. Looking over the multitude of circled 'hotspots' of activity, Kaius couldn't help but think on what he'd had to mull over since he'd found out about the boy's abnormal status.
If it was to the point that he believed it to be, then this could easily turn ugly, and fast. Just fighting Zald alone before he got sick, even at his own current level would be borderline suicide.
Alfia was even worse, her magic made her virtually untouchable, able to weaponize sound into explosions that not only hurt like living hell, but could be fired off one after another, again and again with a single word.
And that's not all… the icing on the cake was that she was always holding back by 'containing' her sound. It was truly a testament of her magical might.
If Albert Waldstein was the strongest physical combatant to have ever lived, then Alfia was easily the strongest magically inclined combatant.
If Bell Cranel was like Zald and Alfia, and god forbid, a mixture of both, then he feared that he might actually lose people, something that hadn't happened since his bout with Ottar.
"I see you're busy studying our next prey." His gaze shifted up, meeting that of Varede's ice cold blue.
"Yes, the main activity lies straight west of Orario… I only have to triangulate a location to get what we need." He didn't have to explain what he meant as the woman knew how Kaius fought inside and out on top of how he thinks.
After all, they'd been fighting side by side for the past 25 years. She walked up to the table and inspected the map.
"What's your verdict on the prey? Strategy?" A humm escaped Kais mouth as he heard the unspoken question.
Would she need to use her trump card?
"You will most likely have to use your curse magic. By the sounds of the boy's exploits, he may be level 7, but he might actually be stronger than both me and Ottar. By my estimates of his feats alone, he'd be around peak level 8 in raw power at bare minimum but I expect it to be more." He answered as Varede's eyes looked unto him, widening a tiny fraction in shock.
"That much? When Kami-sama mentioned that his status was abnormal, I thought maybe just a bit too strong for his level…" Her gaze narrowed into a calculative one, staring down at the map.
"Right, I sometimes forget that you all never had to witness the absurd power Zald and Alfia held. The two were the reason our families were called complete monsters. They alone could probably destroy Orario with ease in their prime, and they were the ones to commit the finishing blows to both the Behemoth and Leviathan, the latter being one-shotted by Alfia." At that, the usually stoic woman sputtered at the information of a great calamity being killed in a single blow.
"Lord… If the boy is like that, then I'll happily use my curse magic on him."
"Good, because I think I just finalized our plan." He moved, pulling out a knife from his side and slamming it into the table.
"We'll strike here first, before moving on. Once done, he should come to us, where we will be waiting for him." Inspecting where he was pointing, a slight smirk spread on Varede smirked slightly before nodding.
"Alright, I'll mobilize the troops and inform Kami-sama… after all, she wants to be there to see the expression on his face." She said before heading out of the room.
Sighing, Kaius sat back down in the chair before leaning back. He honestly felt just a tiny bit bad for the boy. His entire life had been despair after despair. Losing family after family. At least he won't live to lose any more.
Not that it truly matters to him. He never liked Zald that much, and especially Alfia. Honestly, the tiny bit of pity he held for the boy was completely overpowered by his hate for the woman.
It would feel good to put an end to her ever so precious sister's son. An irony, really. In a different world, they might have fought side by side, but in this one… they were destined to clash.
And he would make sure that he was the one that came out on top.
Aaaaaand done! Chapter 61, finally completed. This took a lot longer than expected due to a mixture of family business and us generally being lazy. Anyhow, a bit was revealed this chapter, Asterius comes out on top by a hairstand, Elora and everyone acting overprotective with Kita having a short conversation with her mothers and Kaius planning his actions against Bell.
Things are heating up a bit as the story will pick up a lot soon.
We also want to announce the start of a mini-spinoff series of TFA called 'The Fallen Argonaut - Side Stories. That incorporates one-shot-like stories taking place in The Fallen Argonaut universe that give a bit of background to events mentioned in the main story. The first chapter of it will be released side by side with this chapter, titled 'Shenanigans in Hylas Village', depicting the event Bell mentioned about him and Elora in chapter 36.
Do take into account that these chapters in this story will be quite short, since it's a spin-off and we don't really have the time or energy to plan out long chapters for it on top of everything else.
Anyway, without further ado, let's get right into the reviews.
NinjaFang1331: Wonderful chapter and Bell being rescued. I have to admit that I forgot that Bell and Asterius have not fought yet. So Bell gets rescued and the first thing he wants to do is fight his new destined rival. Oh Bell Bell Bell what are we going to do with you. :-P
Author: Hehe, Bell is a bit of a battle junkie, isn't he? Though we hope the fight lived up to expectations :)
SentinalSlice: I didn't realize that Bell never fought Asterius for the second time back when he was kicked out. For some reason I assumed the damage that people were mad at him over was from his fight with him. Now everything makes a lot more sense, especially why Asterius didn't know Bell's name.
Author: Really? Guess we'll have to take a look at older chapters and make it more clear somehow, hehe.
Mairsarmy321: Hahahahaha just laughed when I saw the comments at the chapter below regarding myself.
Can you blame me for being an Aiz x Bell fan :D :D.
Anyways amazing chapter as always and i cannot wait for the next one :D
Author: Yeah, but you are without a doubt the most vocal one xD. I won't spoil anything, but we do have plans for Ais (and for those wondering about Ryuu, we won't just leave her story unfinished ;D)
Stevenpiskunov2: First I want to say congrats on 1k reviews, I forgot to say that last chapter and Happy chapter 60! It's amazing that this story has progressed so much. I remember when the very first chapters came out and being really interested and correct me if I am wrong but didn't you guys stop after lil chapter 3 for a good long while before continuing this story again? Even then its still one of my favorite fanfics to this day. Its really good to read when doing my 4 college classes. Technically 5 as I am taking my cousin's math class for him. Math Statistics is so boring lol.
Another thing if you don't mind, we know that even in the original story Bell always wanted to become a hero and his skill that allows him to level up really fast allows him to do just that. Say instead of getting that skill he instead got an ability that allowed him to turn into some sort of monster say like the Juggernaut for example (was first thing that came to my mind) which is again a very powerful creature and him being able to turn into that would make him really strong too. But even if people knew that it was him and that was part of his magic do you think people would accept him or continue to fear him which in turn would then make them just not see him as a hero?
Author: Yeah, it feels kind of insane slowly posting and watching the story's length grow from that measly 12k to the now whopping 530k words story if I'm not mistaken. It's been quite the journey, and we've still got quite a bit to go until the culmination of the story, and even then, there will be another story starting shortly after, namely 'The Progeny of Talent'.
So you've got a lot to look forward to in the future from me and Chalister ;)
About the story with Bell turning into a monster… might I interest you in a really good one called 'Heroes' by a user called 'The Four Crosses'. It's actually really good. A little too far off from canon for me sometimes, but still really enjoyable. The writer is really talented.
Jigjigtulio69: so what's up? i thought gods can detect lies? Hayss (what?) first chap and there's a big flaw? So why Hestia didn't use her arcanum or something? Haysst (again… what?) I don't even know if i want to continue ready this
Author: I swear, every other chapter there is a review mentioning this. And We'll say it time and time again.
'IT'S A PLOT POINT! NOT PLOT HOLE!'
Eh, why am I even saying this here, they most likely won't ever read it. Oh well, onto the next review!
Carlos29: This story left me speechless, it's really phenomenal; I want to congratulate you both for such a great literary creation; I apologize if there are grammatical errors because my native language is Spanish and I have been able to enjoy your story through the google translator.
Author: Thank you so much, it somehow always still surprises me with how much positive feedback we receive from this story. It admittedly had a weak beginning, but definitely picked up later.
Hearing that you see it as a 'great literary creation' feels like a stretch. I can't really see this story as that great no matter what as every time I re-read it to spell-check, I always find new flaws or spelling mistakes I never noticed before.
It is without a doubt not a perfect story and it has its weak points, but it is still a pride for the both of us.
Thank you.
That's it for the reviews! As always, we hope to see you next time!