Greetings again beautiful humans! The second chapter came out a little earlier than scheduled as I suddenly felt the urge to write it today, though to be honest... the beginning is a bit awkward in structure. I also plan for the story to have a few arcs in it, which'll be quite the ride. Though, some of you might see some similarities with this fic and other fics, that's because I was heavily inspired by a few fan fictions, notably Heroes by author The Four Crosses, I highly recommend reading that story as it's an interesting one. That being said, I'll try to keep the story as original and interesting as I possibly can, but I can't promise that I won't derive inspiration from other stories. Anyway, have a nice read... or not, depends if you like the chapter or not, please feel free to criticize the work constructively so as to help improve its quality.
I do not own Danmachi
Chapter II: Exposure Therapy
Another day for Orario, the sun was gradually rising beyond the horizon, signaling many to wake up and begin their daily activities, the sun-kissed streets of Orario slowly got busier and busier as the day went on, and within those streets, a young adventurer with white hair ran towards the tallest structure of Orario, the Tower of Babel, where the dungeon entrance rests on the tower's base. Weapon in hand, armor and potions on his person and ready to go adventuring again, planning to go down as far as the thirty-fifth floor.
Slowing to a jog as he approaches the guild, he was greeted by Eina
"Good morning Bell-kun!"
She was surprised to see him this early as he usually went to the dungeon a little bit before noon
"Good morning Eina-san!"
He replied with a goofy smile
"What floor do you plan on heading to today?"
She inquired, which made him hesitate to tell her
"...the thirty-fifth floor..."
Her eyes widen at this
"WHAT?!"
Her outburst caused a few people to turn their attention towards them
"I-it's not a problem Eina-san! I'm a level five now remember?"
He tried to reassure her which failed
"You do realize that the monsters from the thirtieth floor onwards are vastly stronger than the monsters on the upper floors right?!"
She was nearly hyperventilating at what Bell said
'Oh, I know that alright...'
His mind drifts back to the events on his familia's failed expedition, everything he saw, felt, heard and thought all rushing back to him in waves, the framing of murder on Ryu, the encounter with Jura, the fight with the Juggernaut, their descent into the thirty-seventh floor, their feeling of hopelessness during their journey to get back to the surface, Bell had to admit that it left a huge impact on him and his trauma may never fully heal, but he realized that he had to move past this in order to get stronger, his trauma was deep, but it was overshadowed by his will to get stronger and further.
"Yes, I'm aware Eina-san, that's why I'll be even more careful than I've ever been before"
Eina didn't look too convinced, but eventually let out a sigh of defeat
After their expedition, the Guild wanted a report on the expedition's outcome, they gave detailed reports of what they encountered, yet they left out the part on the team's battle against an irregular Amphisbaena, Bell and Ryu being trapped down the thirty-seventh floor, and the Juggernaut, courtesy of Ouranos.
"Just promise me you'll be careful and immediately come back if things get hairy"
Bell gave her a smile, a smile she all too loved
"Of course Eina-san! I'll always come back to you!"
The attack was super effective
*Eina.exe has stopped responding*
Smoke was coming out of her ears as everything from her neck up became the color of a tomato, eavesdropping from the corner, a guild receptionist with pink hair smirked to herself in an amused manner, she would definitely tease her co-worker about it.
He might need to watch what he says a little more carefully, as he has the ability to unknowingly capture the hearts of fair maidens, a dangerous ability indeed.
"A-as l-long as y-you...*ahem*... understand"
After a full minute of making tomatoes insecure about their color, she finally managed to recompose herself and reply to his earnest statement.
"Of course! I'll be going now Eina-san! I'll see you in the afternoon!"
"Y-yes, please keep safe Bell..."
She timidly replied to his shrinking figure as he headed into the dungeon, she kept her longing gaze at him until he was out of sight
"Please come back to me..."
She softly spoke to herself
"Oho? He's quite the lady-killer no?"
Her co-worker's comment made her jump out of her skin
"WHA- Misha!"
Breezing through the first twenty-seven floors, Bell took a quick rest at the safe point within floor twenty-eight, deciding to have an early lunch, his level five status enabled him to speed past the monsters, slaughtering any who cross his path regardless of the kind allowing him to farm monster crystals really quickly, regular level five adventurers would start struggling on the twenty fifth floor, especially with the upper-class monsters, but Bell was no regular level five, his ability to surpass the 'S999 attribute limit' makes him currently comparable to a low level six. At this rate, he could find the thirty-fifth floor boring and go even further.
'I feel like I can go further than the thirty-fifth floor, the monsters here at the upper-levels are getting boring'
He began to down his lunch, good thing it wasn't from Syr this time, or he wouldn't have had the energy to go any further
Taking the first bite, his eyes lit up
"Delicious~!!!"
A peaceful lunch later, he continued down his journey towards the thirty-fifth floor, the further he went down, the larger the floors got and the longer it took to get to the next floor.
Taking in the new sights around him as it was his first time intentionally going deeper than the twenty-seventh floor, though none of it was unfamiliar to the adventurer, as Eina had drilled into him information from the twenty-eight down to floor forty shortly after their expedition, Bell had asked her to tell him about the lower floors in order to be better prepared for any unforeseen incidents, but kept his true reason for curiosity to himself, convinced that he was eager to learn in advance, Eina happily obliged, drilling as much information into his head as she could, from the most important aspects of each floors down to the most minute of details.
"Hyah!"
At the thirty-third floor, sounds of battle could be heard as a certain Bell Cranel was engaged with three violas, normally one or two wouldn't be a problem, but three violas at once are nothing to sneeze at, circling around him attempting to find an opening, the two Violas behind him jumped towards him with predatory enthusiasm while engaged in battle with the one in front of him.
'Their ability to strategize is concerning, but it's nothing I can't handle'
Jumping out of the way at nigh-imperceptible speeds thanks to his new status, he braced himself on the dungeon ceiling, jumping with all of the strength in his legs, he sped like a bullet towards a lone viola, slicing its arms cleanly off
Quickly turning around to face the armless beast, he raised an arm
"FIREBOLT!"
A beam of white, searing hot fire burst forth from his palm at the speed of a railgun and the strength of a high-yield explosive, obliterating the viola and its surroundings.
The other two were collateral damage of the explosion, cooked alive by the unbearable heat
Wasting no time, Bell made quick work of them
'Damn... I'm still not quite used to the new strength of my firebolt'
Taking the violas' monster stone, he made his way further down towards the entrance of the thirty-fourth floor
Because of all the action, he failed to notice a robed figure by a dark corner
"He's a strong one... let's keep an eye on him for now"
The figure retreated in the darkness
There he was, the thirty-fifth floor, he had left the twenty-eight floor around three and a half hours ago, fighting his way down, he could now see just how much of a difference there was between the upper-floor monsters and the monsters in the deep floors, while nothing he couldn't handle was thrown his way, he was beginning to feel fatigued and had half a mind to come back to the surface, but his inner, more youthful side that craved adventure just had to override his rational thinking and pressed him to go just a little bit further.
'Fine, I'll try and get to the safety point we found at the thirty-seventh floor, I'll try to map it out'
While he wasn't thrilled about the idea of going back down to the thirty-seventh floor, he was now confident about his new status and could now take on most of the monsters there.
"It's a good thing Udaeus was taken care of some time ago, or I would be in a pickle..."
Deciding to press further, he fought his way down to the entrance of the thirty-seventh floor, where he hesitated for a moment, his trauma springing back to haunt him more than ever, he grit his teeth to try and will himself to proceed further. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to run away right this instant, but he resisted that temptation as much as he possibly could, reasoning to himself that he needed to do this now, lest he may never be able to overcome his fears and might prove to be to petrified of the deep floors to be of any use to their future expeditions.
'If... if I don't do this now... then when...?'
Despite trying to rile himself up to proceed, he was still breathing heavily
"Hah... calm down Bell... hah... you're a level five now... significantly stronger than the time you and Ryu-san got stuck here... hah... you can handle this... hah... "
Taking a few more deep breaths, he very reluctantly stepped into the White Palace and was immediately greeted by its inhabitants
A herd of skull-sheep that were grazing around the area saw him and locked their gazes at the still adventurer, the atmosphere around them was getting heavier.
Acting on instinct and quickly unsheathing the Hestia Knife, he got into a defensive position, his breathing heavy from the fear and trauma these creatures inflicted on him on his first encounter returning back to him
"You caught me off guard the first time, but now all of you won't be enough to stop me"
That simple sentence was filled with hubris, yet gave him a much needed confidence boost lest he drown in his fear and make a run for it
Both parties waited, none making a move, the tension was palpable...
'Are they perhaps waiting for me to make the first move?"
Bell thought, gripping the knife in a reverse grip, ready to slash them to ribbons the second they make a move
Then it happened
Three out of the seven skull-sheep sped towards him, he previously barely would've just been able to react to the skull-sheep's speed at a level four, but now that he was a level stronger, he had plenty of time to react before the skull-sheep reached him, deciding to use this to his advantage, he met them midpoint, which startled the skull-sheep as they weren't expecting their prey to respond in kind to their dash, wasting little time, Bell hacked at the poor monsters, making quick work of the three, though he didn't come out of the altercation unscathed as one of the three skull-sheep managed to get his forearm, then was immediately impaled at its forehead with the Hestia Knife, turning it to ash.
"Hah... hah... see? no problem"
Slightly out of breath, Bell celebrated this small win deciding to count his blessings
Seeing how easily their brethren had been taken care of, the remaining skull-sheep retreated into the darkness, their red-glowing eyes ominously glaring at Bell as they receded into the abyss
"Hm... guess they're smarter than I gave them credit for..."
Before he could proceed any further, a large group of Spartoi suddenly made their presence known and surrounded Bell, intent on stopping him then and there, they numbered at around twenty or thirty, which was utterly unfair... for them
Bell quickly scanned his surroundings and saw no gap in between any of the monsters to escape, he then started to charge his argonaut skill, noticing this, a handful of Spartoi charged at him from many directions, certain that he wouldn't be able to take them all at once, jumped towards two Spartoi behind him which caught them off guard for a second, that second would prove crucial as he was able to land a finishing blow to one before twisting his upper body to hack at the other monster, killing it instantly.
Ten seconds in, the charge was still much too weak to be released, he had to buy more time
More Spartoi tried their luck, one went up to Bell and tried to grab him, only to fail as Bell rolled to the side and went for a killing strike, however he got cut by one to his left, which earned it Bell's retribution, suddenly six at once tried to apprehend him, seeing this, he jumped as high as he can, he then landed on a Spartoi then proceeded to stab it in the face, eliminating it
Twenty seconds in, nowhere near enough, at this point he might get overrun before he could sufficiently charge it
'I need more time!'
Two Spartoi from either side lunged at him, Bell dodged to the side, which made both of them collide with one another, seizing the opportunity, he cut them both down with a swift sideways slash, five more jumped him, deciding to showcase a bit of his true speed, he vanished from the Spartoi's collective sights, he reappeared behind the enemy lines hacking and slashing as many as he could, he was able to take out around twelve Spartoi, yet no matter how many he strike down, more kept on coming
Thirty seconds in, halfway there...
'I just needed to hold on for another thirty seconds, then I can release it on these god forsaken sorry excuses of halloween decorations'
His little stunt caused disorder, with the Spartoi scattering to avoid getting struck down, he broke free from their siege
The Spartoi then regrouped and charged straight at him, attempting to overwhelm him with numbers...
Bell met them half-way and tore through their ranks, taking out nine more of them, but he didn't get away unscathed, he had a few cuts from some lucky hits but it was just a few shallow cuts and a few bruises here and there
'Hmmm... looks like my top speed isn't enough to get away unscathed'
His heart was beating like crazy at this point, not from fear but from excitement, even though Bell was in a situation that most would find themselves horrified to be in, he embraced the challenge with vigor
Fourty seconds in, just a little bit more...
A few Spartoi managed to grab Bell and rough him up, but he managed to break free of their grasp and deliver a mean right hook to one of them, knocking it towards a few more Spartoi, buying him some time to take a few steps back to catch his breath.
At this point Bell's armor had been dented a bit and his shirt was ripped in a few places, his forearm, hands and legs littered with scratches, bruises and abrasions, his face had been dusted and abraded, and he was bleeding from multiple cuts.
'Damn... no matter how many I slay, more keep rushing back in... at this rate, I'll get overrun!'
Panting heavily, he rushed towards a trio and decimated them, but was caught off guard when two Spartoi grabbed both of his arms and two more went up in front of him, ready to smite him down. He broke free of the enemy's grasp by kicking himself off of one Spartoi in front of him, knocking himself and both monsters down to the ground, but he recovered quickly and went for a stab at both Spartoi beside him, but was quickly tackled by one of them, which he quickly dealt with after both landed unceremoniously on the ground a few feet away
Fifty seconds in... the final stretch, he just had to hold on for ten more seconds
The brilliant white glow started to spread from his hand to the span of his entire arm, giving the dark hallways a faint glow, the Spartoi were intelligent enough to realize that things were starting to get bad, so they decided that enough was enough and all remaining Spartoi rushed him.
He turned away and ran, intent on not getting overrun within the last few seconds
'Damn! They were hiding their true speed!'
Bell was some meters ahead of the horde of bloodthirsty Spartoi, but they were gaining ground steadily, any more and he'll be done for
'Crap! Run faster!'
Pushing as fast as his legs can currently go, he kicked up a trail of dust behind him with his speed, which did nothing to deter the enemy which also picked up their pace.
The Spartoi were faster than ever, covering more and more distance until their target was just an arm's length away, bony arms outstretched, intent on shredding the adventurer to ribbons once the get ahold of him.
'One minute has passed!'
His arm was now encompassed in a fiery white glow
Wasting no time, he spun around with an arm outstretched, palm point-blank of a Spartoi's skull
"Firebolt!"
Then everything went up in flames
The intensity of the attack was stronger than expected and a blinding white light shone throughout the area, it remained blindingly luminous for about five seconds before the area darkened again and became eerily quiet.
The group of Spartoi that was chasing Bell moments prior were nowhere to be seen, only molten rock and blackened ashes remained
The sheer force of the attack knocked him off a few steps back
Bell was in awe
'Holy crap! So this is how strong a level five is...'
Recovering from his awe, he took a health potion, uncorked it and drank its contents, which healed all of his injuries and restored his mind.
Still breathless, he couldn't fight a smile forming on his mouth for his feat
'I managed to survive a relentless onslaught of Spartoi for a full minute and come out on top... woah!'
After catching his breath, he continued along the main path, remembering which path to take despite the pathway branch off into endless possible paths that may or may not lead to an untimely death, or a dead-end, he made his way towards the rubble of what was once The Coliseum, along the way a few more skull-sheep, Spartoi and also some barbarians picked a fight with him, which they quickly lost. Arriving at the familiar overpass, the ruins of what was once a cesspool of certain death came into vision, for some reason... the Coliseum was still in rubbles, but he certainly wasn't complaining.
"Hmmm... the dungeon hasn't repaired it... that's weird"
Walking through the rubble, he slipped into the small hole he and Ryu fell into after his little stunt, and after a bit of walking he finally reached the familiar, welcoming stream of water that emitted a comforting glow, seemingly inviting Bell into its reposeful currents, a far cry from the unwelcoming and malevolent ambiance of the White Palace.
Taking a big scoop of water with both hands, he brought the rejuvenating liquid to his lips then drank it, sighing in content
'Ahhh... see? this wasn't so bad"
Though he was still traumatized by the lower floors and its dangers, exposing himself to it little by little may help to assuage his fears.
'Maybe next time I'll fight Udaeus, with some assistance of course...'
Bell had decided that after a bit of rest, he would start heading back to the surface. Opening his water container and scooping up some water from the stream for the journey ahead, he put it aside as he leaned against a nearby wall and closed his eyes for a quick nap, but after making sure to damage the walls around him first just to be safe.
It's fine... you'll be fine, it's just a quick nap'
Despite his brain pleading him to stay conscious just in case, his sleepiness eventually won out and he slumped against the damaged walls of the dungeon for some blissful shuteye.
The trip back to the surface was relatively smooth, after leaving the safe point under the coliseum on the thirty-seventh floor, he got attacked by a few barbarians which he made quick work of, and also 'tamed' a few skull-sheep along his way, fighting his way back down to the eighteenth floor, he made a stop at Riviera for a small meal to fill his stomach, monster hunting sure made him hungry.
"Oi Rabbit's Foot! Where'd you come from looking a bit beat up like that?"
Bors Elder, a muscular man with an eyepatch greeted him
Bell perked up at seeing the man
"Bors-san! I just got back from the thirty-seventh floor"
Bell replied with a sheepish grin to which Bors' eye widened
"By yerself? I don't see anyone with ya"
Bors followed up to which Bell nodded
"Yep, had to say I was a little uneasy at first, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle haha"
His reply made Bors sweatdrop
"Damn kid... yer quite something ain't ya?"
"Just doing my best, anyway... could you recommend me a good place to eat here in Riviera Bors-san? all that monster hunting made me really hungry..."
and his stomach decided to add to his statement by letting out a loud growl
"Haha! Well I know a great place that sells great food here! The smell of their food'll make ya salivate like a rabid dog"
Bell chuckled at this
"Alright, lead the way"
Bors led him to a pub called The Mistress of Plenitude, which seemed a bit too familiar
Entering the pub, the smell of food immediately invaded his nostrils, coupled with his empty and demanding stomach, made him drool in anticipation.
Noticing his reaction, Bors chuckled, pleased with himself
"Told ya'd salivate like a rabid dog"
Both made their way towards the counter, a muscular woman that looked a bit familiar to a certain dwarf appeared
"Hey there Maria! The du jour special for the kid would ya?"
The large dwarf nodded as Bors took a seat by the counter
"You new here kid?"
She addressed him in a low tenor voice, to which he nodded at her
"Yep, haven't been to your pub before, gotta say... it looks like a certain pub back at the surface"
Both the woman and Bors chuckled at his response
"I get that a lot, I'm actually good friends with Mia Grande believe it or not"
The large woman replied with a shit-eating grin
Bell's eyes widened at her revalation
"I'll be sure to tell her that I met you miss...?"
"Maria Alta at your service! Nice to meet you dear customer"
She smiled a welcoming smile at Bell, pointing a thumb to herself, she introduced herself
Bell nodded at her, quickly introducing himself in return
A bit later, Maria came back with a steaming, juicy piece of steak garnished with rosemary bathed in sauce on a wooden plate, which made him salivate uncontrollably, earning a large smirk from Bors and Maria
"Told ya this place's the best pub in Rivira!"
Maria nodded in agreement
"Eat up kid!"
After a hearty meal, he bid farewell to both Bors and Maria, leaving the eighteenth-floor to begin his way back up to the surface and turn in his bounty and head back home.
Breaking into a jog, he quickly made quick work of any monsters who stood in his way, greeting fellow adventurers that he came across, Bell reached the surface in just an hour.
Eina was by the counter finalizing some paperwork, and about to call it a day when she heard a familiar voice call her name
"Good afternoon Eina-san! I'm back!"
Her head immediately snapped up to meet the one who addressed her, and this resulted in her locking her emerald irises with Bell's ruby colored ones.
"B-Bell!"
She stood up in surprise, sparing the white-haired adventurer an angry and questioning look, which made him tense up, scanning him from head to toe, her frown deepened.
"Where have you been Bell? Do you have any idea just how worried I was for you?! You look like you've seen better days!"
She pried, which made the adventurer sweatdrop
"...Please don't get mad Eina-san..."
He started, which intensified her glare at his being
"And pray tell, why shouldn't I get mad Bell?"
She said that in a calm tone, which sent waves of fear through him
Sighing deeply, he started to give her his report
After his explanation, to say that she was displeased was not doing it any justice... she was absolutely livid.
"How could you go even further than your intended goal Bell?! You shouldn't have pushed yourself to go deeper even if you found the enemies quite inadequate!"
She wasn't shouting at him, but her gaze terrified him much more than the White Palace.
"I know... and I'm truly sorry again, I just wanted to see just how far I could go"
His reply was getting quieter and quieter
Seeing him in such a sorry state, she couldn't help but sigh in frustration and disbelief
"I know that you're much stronger than before Bell, and you can probably handle whatever's thrown at your way, as you always had, but please don't actively try to but yourself in such dangerous situations, no matter how sure you are of your strength, you're growing at a terrifying rate yet you are still a rookie adventurer with less than half a year of experience, I fear that discrepancy in your strength and skills might put you in danger... I... I can't have that Bell!"
Her eyes were starting to get bleary, to which Bell felt even more remorseful, trying to ease her nerves, he gave her a smile
"Remember what I said in the morning Eina-san? I mean it with every fiber of my being"
She looked confused for a few seconds before her eyes widened a bit in realization, her cheeks started to gain a pinkish hue
"I promise, no matter what happens, or what gets thrown in my way, I'll come back"
She looked a bit unmoved by his words, but eventually nodded with a sigh.
"I know you're more than capable, just please... try to not be in such a rush and endanger yourself unnecessarily, you might force me to age faster due to stress..."
She joked, which did lighten the atmosphere
"I'll try not to be too reckless then... haha"
After their little interaction, Bell went off to exchange all the drop items he got for valis, which amounted to quite the amount, enough to pay off a generous amount of the debt for the Hestia Knife and take care of the Familia expenses for three months.
Making his way back to the Hearth Mansion, Bell walked on the streets of Orario as the sun was slowly setting down, dusk came and painted the land with a beautiful orangish-red hue as if it was a canvas, the late afternoon sunlight was warm and pleasant on the skin.
'Perhaps I'll go get something to eat...'
Making his way towards a certain stall that sells potato snacks, Bell bought one and bit into it, humming in delight as he savored its rich flavor.
"Ah, Mr. Cranel"
His eyelids snap open at the voice that called out his name
"Ryu-san! Good afternoon!"
He greeted the light-green haired elf wearing a pub uniform
"Came back from the dungeon recently?"
Seeing as his armor had seen better days, Ryu decided to start a conversation, he nodded as a reply to her question.
"Mm! I just got back a little while ago"
"What floor did you go down to?"
He froze
'Should I tell her...?'
He was having an internal battle at the moment, one part of him saw no harm in telling her, but the other was scared of worrying her unnecessarily with the anecdote of his little adventure earlier
Seeing as she was expecting an answer, very reluctantly, I replied...
"The thirty-seventh..."
She stood unnervingly still, not even visibly breathing, her eyes went wide in horror and worry for the boy
"Bell... please explain to me what in the heavens you were thinking of going back down there? and alone I assume..."
She spoke in an unusually calm voice, far too calm than her usual tone
Bell was sweating bullets, attempting to think of a good enough explaination as to why he would willingly go back to such a nightmarish place.
"I'm going to be honest with you Ryu-san... I wanted to get over my fear of the lower floors, and what better way to do that than exposure?"
Ryu didn't seem all too convinced by this, so he kept going
"I realized that I will have to eventually go down there in the future, so I decided to take care of that now... my will to get stronger overshadows my fear"
Ryu closed her eyes, as if contemplating Bell's answer
A little while later she opened her eyes and stared at him
"Bell"
'Uh oh, she dropped formalities... she's definitely angry now...'
"While I can't say I approve of going back down there so soon after that little incident... I guess all I can do is support you and teach you about the lower floors to the best of my abilities"
While this was not what Bell was expecting her to say, it definitely brought a smile to his face
"If you'd help me!"
"On one condition..."
Ryu trailed off, which piqued his curiosity
"Anything"
He replied
"Take me with you when you decide to go back down there... I won't be reassured until I see for myself that you can handle it, and someone has to watch your back down there..."
At the end of her declaration, a smile grew on her face and her cheeks dusted pink, which also happened with Bell
"Of course! I'll be glad to have you sensei!"
Her face exploded in crimson at his double entrende
Knossos, an underground artificial labyrinth that connects to the dungeon, which serves as an alternate entrance to it, the other end of the labyrinth leads to Daedalus Street of Orario. The artificial labyrinth was constructed by Daedalus, who was utterly fascinated with the dungeon, while he did not live to see its completion, his work is continued by his descendants through a blood curse, which forces them to continue the ever expanding labyrinth. Inside the structure, a certain Evilus' lair can be found, and within a room inside the aforementioned lair, three figures; one god and two mortals, discussed their daily observations
"I say we kill the kid before he becomes a threat to us..."
A pink haired woman with a very revealing set of clothes spoke out
"Don't be stupid Valletta! We must observe the child for now, he might be of some use to us in the future..."
The god of death; Thanatos, spoke
The woman addressed as Valletta snarled at the deity
"You're being paranoid Thanatos! We can kill him no problem and no one will care or even notice!"
The god of death's scowl darkened
"I agree with Thanatos-sama..."
A figure spoke up, she had red-hair and a deep, perpetual scowl on her face
"Rabbit's Foot... he's quite the talk of the town for leveling up so quickly in such a short amount of time, we would risk drawing the entire town's attention to us if we kill him"
She spoke in a matter-of-fact manner, which agitated Valletta as she clicked her tongue
"I concur, Revis... Rabbit's Foot is of no concern to our plans for now, but if he does become a problem, you're free to kill him"
Both nodded at his words, one had a deep scowl while the other a twisted grin on her face
"Now we're talking!"
Valletta excitedly exclaimed, which made Revis sigh
"On to another matter... I overheard from a few adventurers from the upper floors that the Loki Familia's next expedition is supposedly two weeks from now"
On this little tidbit, both Thanatos and Valletta went wide eyed
"Then there's no time to lose! We must make the necessary preparations... we'll lay out a huge ambush that'll at the very least, significantly reduce their numbers, and you both will swoop in for the kill"
The god of death urgently announced, then all three hurriedly excused themselves to begin their preparations
'Enyo... I hope things are going well on your part'
-Fin-
Welp, another chapter done... I'll probably start writing the next chapter since I still have some energy left, but I'll probably release it at a later date so as to keep the suspense going teehee~, I have a general idea of where I want the story to go, but I'm still working on the details, so there might be some inconsistencies here and there, also I'll probably be quite busy this week so I expect the next chapter to be finalized and released a bit late, or I might release it early again if I find the time to finalize it. Again, please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments so as to improve the quality of the story, any feedback is greatly appreciated, keeps the motivation high... Author-kun signing off!