Howdy howdy y'all!!! It's good to be back and writing again after a hiatus, changes in this story will start with this certain chapter, while I will keep the events in this chapter mostly the same, there will be a few changes, but nothing major, so I'll leave it at that for now. Please don't hesitate to point out any inconsistencies, mistakes, or other problems you have with the story, I would like to hear your suggestions as to how I can improve it more. Now that that's out of the way, enjoy the chapter!

I do not own Danmachi

Chapter V: Sparring Session

The painful sound of metal scraping against metal could be heard along the walls of Orario early in the morning, Bell and Ais' spar had begun, with neither gaining ground against the other, both letting loose wanton, relentless attacks that sent shockwaves around and through them. Bete, alongside Lefiya, watched in awe at the spectacular display of the battle prowess of two level sixes, with their surroundings accumulating damage as their dance became more and more ferocious.

"Woah... that human is actually keeping up with Ais-san... I don't believe it!"

Lefiya was in awe, while her level four senses weren't astute enough to pick up most of their battle, she was able to witness a fair amount of it, she noticed that their movements were as graceful as a dance, their bodies seemed to be flowing together to an imperceptible rhythm.

"His movements are just like Ais'"

Bete said, catching Lefiya's attention

"Well... Ais-san did train him for a while..."

Lefiya droned out, but her attention was brought back by a loud thud

Ais went for a kick to Bell's side but was blocked at the last second by both of his arms, which surprised her

'He saw that one?!'

She saw Bell smirk at her before he grabbed her leg and spun her around by her leg a few times in an attempt to disorient her before he was stopped by her other, free leg striking his face from his blind spot.

With Bell letting out a groan of pain from the blow he received, she managed to free herself from his grasp, landing a few paces away from him. Bell wiped some blood off of his mouth and spat it out onto the floor, seeing that she might have gone a bit too far, she asked worriedly

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to kick you so hard"

Bell just smiled his signature smile at her

"It's alright, it's just a spar anyway..."

Then Ais noticed something

"Usually, with a hit as powerful as that... you'd be knocked out..."

Her observation surprised him as he thought about it

"Hmm... you're right, Man! To think I'm a level six now!"

A dumb smile crept up his face

"Ais-san, if you don't mind... I'd like to test out the extent of my new abilities as a level six"

This surprised her, then her surprise turned into a cute pout

"Don't hold back on me, Bell, you meanie!"

Seeing her indignant pout directed at him made him chuckle a bit

"Here I come, Ais-san!"

After the last syllable was uttered, he reappeared right in front of her with such speed that it was imperceptible even for her

"Wha-"

Literally with only milliseconds to react, she blocked a powerful right hook aimed at her abdomen, with the sheer force of the blow pushing her some steps back from her opponent, thankfully she managed to brace herself at the last moment lest she'd been sent flying by the force of the blow

The two spectators of the battle were in utter disbelief at what they had just witnessed, one of the most powerful members of Loki Familia was caught off guard and pushed back by a rookie adventurer? It was simply impossible.

"He caught Ais-san off guard?!"

Lefiya's mouth fell open in disbelief

Bete was now actually starting to sweat a bit

"I couldn't see him either! Damn rabbit was holding back a lot apparently!"

Lefiya's head snapped towards the direction of the werewolf

"Really?!"

The werewolf solemnly nodded

"As things are now... he's stronger than Ais"

Lefiya couldn't believe it... didn't want to believe it

"What th-?"

She couldn't even finish her exclamation before Bell vanished from her sight again, only to reappear behind her, pivoting his lower body as fast as he could, he unleashed a devastating kick that Ais couldn't evade, so had resorted to blocking instead

The sheer force of the kick was enough to bruise her arms and send her stumbling a few paces back, had she been any weaker than she was now, she might have broken both of her arms

'He's too fast!!!'

She couldn't afford to tank any more hits from the white-haired adventurer, so she was forced to activate her trump card

"Tempest!"

A green aura, likened to that of a gust of wind enveloped her body, significantly boosting her speed and reaction time

Bell wasted no time to prevent her from gaining the advantage, with all of his speed, he dashed straight at the unmoving sword princess, this difference this time is that she was able to react in time

Narrowly evading a straight tackle from the white-haired adventurer, she went for a chop to his neck to knock him out, but her hand was caught by said adventurer, who pulled on it to close the distance between them

Then he rudely acquainted her forehead with his own in a powerful head-butt which disoriented her, giving Bell just enough time to follow up with a swift slug straight at her abdomen, to which she received full-force

Unable to cry out in pain due to having the wind getting knocked out of her lungs, her body went limp as she lost consciousness then and there

Her unconscious body was sent rocketing, to prevent her from sustaining even more injuries than he needed to inflict, he sprinted after her and caught her limp body just before she hit the ground

"AIS-SAN!!!"

Lefiya ran towards the both of them, with Bete limping behind her in utter disbelief at what had just happened, distraught upon seeing her comrade's limp figure, fearing the worst, she sent a glare cold enough to freeze even the hottest flame solid.

"Lay her down!"

As quickly as he could, he laid her body down on the floor

"Damn... you could've held back rabbit!"

Bete scowled at him as the albino's shoulders slumped and his gaze fell to the floor, wracked with guilt that he may have gotten carried away

"I-I'm so sorry... I might have gotten carried away..."

Bell went for a perfect ninety-degree bow, but the livid elf wasn't having any of it

"C-Carried away?! You're a savage!!!"

She then started to chant her healing magic, but before she could heal him, he sat down on the floor and gently brought up her head onto his lap, which greatly confused Bete, but angered Lefiya even more

"W-W-What are you doing?!?!"

Lefiya was fuming as her glare intensified while Bete merely raised an eyebrow at the odd sight

"Well... every time we fought, she'd knock me out, again and again, every time, and I'd always wake up to her giving me a lap pillow, so I figured this time I'd do the same to her"

Bell explained to the both of them

Lefiya wasn't happy while Bete held back a snort

'A-Ais-san has been giving him lap pillows every time they trained?! I've lost before the battle even begun!'

Lefiya quietly sulked while she proceeded to heal Ais' injuries, the bruises on her forearm were now gone, along with some abrasions and scrapes

After a few more moments, she slowly began to regain consciousness, Lefiya's healing magic had sped up her recovery

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, then she saw the bright sky, but two figures were obstructing her vision

"F-Father...?"

She weakly asked, which almost made Bell chuckle at the memory

"I'm sorry... but I'm not your father..." (A.N.: He's her daddy ;) )

He chuckled to himself as he played with her golden locks as her cheeks gained heat, she immediately stood up but then felt woozy with vertigo hitting her from standing up too fast

"A-AIS SAN!!! I was so worried!"

Lefiya sobbed while clutching the bottom part of her suit

"What... happened?"

Still recovering from the vertigo, she inquired as her memory had yet to return to her

"Tch! Bunny boy here knocked you out cold and gave you a lap pillow!"

Bete turned to the side, facing away from them

Ais' eyes widened as her head snapped back to face Bell

"Y-you... managed to knock me out...?"

Bell slowly nodded at her

Ais was in disbelief

"I... I don't understand..."

Seeing her in such a distraught state, Bell immediately began apologizing

"I-I'm sorry for getting carried away! I won't do it again!"

He immediately stood up and bowed down at her, much to her confusion

"It's fine, Bell"

Her words made his head snap back up to face her

"I just can't believe that you'd finally managed to become stronger than me... but it was bound to happen sooner or later with how fast you're growing..."

She admitted dejectedly, much to the shock of Bell and Lefiya

"N-No! Ais-san is much more powerful and capable than he is!"

Lefiya was also in disbelief, but Ais came to terms with her defeat, she held out a dainty hand toward the elf, signaling for her to stop

"Lefiya... I'm not angry... I just need some time to think..."

She slowly disentangled herself from her grasp and walked toward the edge of the wall to peer out into the bustling city, deep in thought

"Tch! You've gone and broken her bunny boy!"

Bete scowled at the white-haired adventurer, who also looked lost in thought

'Is she... disappointed in herself?'

"Bell Cranel"

He snapped back to the present at the sound of his name being addressed

"I challenge you"

Lefiya had a fierce fire burning in her eyes, an unquenchable conflagration that consumed all rational thought

Bell quickly registered what she said, before blinking a few times

"L-Lefiya-san?"

Her fierce look got fiercer if that was even possible

"I'll fight you to regain Ais-san's pride! I won't hold back at all!"

The elf exclaimed, taking up a stance

Bell quickly composed himself and did the same

"I-I'm not sure about this, Lefiya-san, c-can we talk about this?"

Instead of answering him, she started chanting at a much faster rate than she normally did

"Let loose a ray of light from the bow made of sacred wood, master archer!"

He stood there unmoving, closely watching her and intent on dodging whatever attack she'd throw at him

"Shoot thy foe, fairy sniper, fire an arrow that won't miss... Arc's Ray!!!"

The magical power that surrounded her petite frame concentrated at the edge of her staff, into one incredibly dense, minuscule point, then as if it were a perforated dam, exploded with such force that even she was surprised by the sheer magnitude of her attack. The inexorable, wanton blast's sole target was Bell

The albino was caught off guard by the sheer amount of magical power the blast held, but tried to dodge the attack directed at him, just before the blast would hit him head-on, he evaded to the side as the blast seemingly shot off into the distance, but what he didn't expect was for the blast to reorient itself straight toward him once again

Bell's eyes widened as he pushed himself off the parapet with all the speed his new level six status granted him, in a vain attempt to try and outrun the blast

'If that blast hits, this entire section of the wall will be reduced to rubble!'

Seeing no other option, he forced himself into the air as high as he could and met the blast head-on whilst suspended in the air

The blast produced a blast large enough to alarm everybody, especially the Ganesha Familia, Shakti, the captain of the Familia, rushed towards the source, which was some distance away, even with her speed

"It hit!"

Lefiya heaved in a breath at her successful attack, Ais was shocked at just how much mind she put into the attack

"Lefiya! That's going too far!!!"

Ais walked up to the elf, who looked surprised at her idol's outburst

"That crossed the line, you dumb elf!!"

Even Bete exploded at her, sensing that she may have gotten carried away, she panicked

The smoke cloud began to clear, as Bell's body appeared, falling freely as there was nothing to impede it

Ais reacted hastily, jumping up and receiving his unconscious form into her arms, Lefiya and Bete followed behind her and saw the extent of the damage the elf had caused

His body had been burned quite badly, little of his shirt remained and his armor was melted, Ais immediately removed his armor from his body

Witnessing the state of the boy, Lefiya was in pure horror

"I... I-I d-didn't m-mean..."

With extreme guilt assailing the poor elf, she sped off, hastily descending the wall in tears

"Hey! Where the hell are you going?!"

Bete shouted at the hastily retreating form of the elf but did not chase after her

Ais hurriedly grabbed a recovery potion from her leg strap, uncorked it, and handed it to the now conscious and in-pain Bell Cranel who accepted it with gratitude, downing it in one gulp

"Sorry about Lefiya, she's kind of... overprotective for some reason..."

Ais apologized on her friend's behalf

"N-no, it's fine... it's my fault I got carried away with our spar anyway..."

He nervously deflected her apology

"Loki Familia and Bell Cranel?!"

Shakti had breathlessly arrived at the scene, a few of her fellow familia members were catching up to her but were still some distance behind her

""Shakti!""

"H-hello Shakti-san..."

All three adventurers acknowledged her, with varying levels of emotion

"Would you guys mind explaining to me why there was a large explosion in the sky earlier?"

Agitated at the three headaches of adventurers in front of her, she inquired impatiently

A now, fully healed Bell, who felt partially responsible, immediately responded to her

"I-It was my fault Shakti-san! We were training and things got out of hand because of me!"

As if he had practiced the motion a million times before, the boy slid into a perfect ninety-degree angled bow, making Shakti raise an eyebrow

"You're going to have to be more detailed than that, Bell Cranel"

Shakti reprimanded him for his vague answer

Bete, annoyed at the interrogation finally barked out the answer she wanted

"Tch! The brat here fought Ais, beat the crap out of her then that damn Lefiya had to get all butthurt about it, challenged him to a fight to return the favor, then recklessly decided to shoot a beam straight at him, and the rest is history!"

Shakti went wide-eyed at the werewolf's response, did she just hear him right? The Sword Princess, a veteran adventurer with years of experience behind her, was soundly defeated by a rookie with less than a year of experience?! It was honestly an incredibly outlandish tale, but with these two from Loki Familia vouching for him and with his crazy growth these previous months ever since he first became an adventurer, she slowly accepted the possibility.

"Right... anyway, I'll have to have a word with both Loki-sama and Hestia-sama about this disturbance..."

Hearing her, all three adventurers sighed

...

Lefiya stormed through the streets of Orario with tears in her eyes, her destination the Twilight Manor, and more specifically, her room. Passing by the guards situated by the gate, she didn't even bother to acknowledge their presence as she sped into the manor, through the lengthy vestibule connecting the main living quarters from the dormitories, and into her shared room which she had to herself for now much to her gratitude. From an outside perspective, it wouldn't be exactly an exaggeration to say that a whirlwind had passed through the streets of Orario and invaded the Twilight Manor

Clutching her pillow as if it were her lifeline, the elf buried her tear-stained face into the pillow and quietly sobbed, she would not recover enough to be at least functional until the following morning, but would still be dejected about the matter for about a week later, with her fellow Familia members asking if she was okay, with Ais and Loki specifically looking after her to make sure she's okay

One week later...

Finally, the day of the long-awaited Loki Familia's expedition has arrived. The sun had yet to show itself, and the streets of Orario were still dark, but at the base of Babel, a large group of adventurers and civilians crowded the area. The Loki Familia plus one had enough supplies to last them around two weeks at the very least, as a dive to such depths will surely require generous preparations. Amidst the sea of adventurers, many were talking to one another, and even more were yawning, quite grumpy that the expedition had to start so early in the morning, a certain white-haired adventurer felt out of place as he didn't know many people within the Familia, luckily the Hestia Familia members came to see him off

"Take care of yourself always Bell-sama"

Haruhime smiled at her familia's captain, which he returned in kind

"I will! I'll be extra vigilant!"

"Always remember to eat well and stay alert always, Bell-kun!"

The petite goddess doted, like a loving and concerned mother for her child, which Bell found quite endearing about her

"Of course, Goddess!"

Mikoto smiled at her fellow familia member

"Keep safe always, Bell-dono! Do share with us some delightful stories when you return"

He flashed a grin at the far-eastern warrior

"Thank you Mikoto-san! I will!"

Welf then walked up towards Bell and proceeded to wrap an arm around Bell's shoulders in a brotherly embrace

"You better bring me back some extra rare monster drops Bell!"

The white-haired adventurer smiled at the red-haired blacksmith and nodded

"Sure sure, you anvil for brains!"

"Hey!"

Both guys had a hearty laugh at their banter

"Everybody gather around! We move out in five!"

The captain of the Loki Familia exclaimed as the members of the Loki Familia cluttered around the prum that was standing on a soapbox

"Well... that's my cue, I'll be going now... see you guys soon!"

He waved them goodbye as he walked towards the crowd

"Oho... nice to meet you again so soon Bell Cranel!"

A tall-tanned woman with an eyepatch approached him

"Oh! Tsubaki-san! Good morning!"

He warmly greeted the blacksmith, as she smiled at him

"Mornin' to you too! How've you been holding up? I heard you're a fresh level six now"

She asked him as he laughed awkwardly

"Ahaha... yes, I just leveled up the night before yesterday, still getting used to my new abilities, though"

She nodded her head at his reply, having mixed reactions

"Well... know that I'm genuinely happy for you, but I can't deny that I'm pretty jealous of your crazy fast growth"

She sighed, then a smile suddenly appeared on her face

"Oh... did Welfy boy make your armor?"

He blinked a few times before he registered her words

"Oh! uhm... yes, Welf's been my personal smith for some time, I fully trust in his abilities!"

He replied with a fierce resolve in his eyes, which surprised the blacksmith

"Well then, may I ask that I take a look at your armor when we arrive at Riviera? I'll make improvements upon it if you'll let me that is"

She offered as he thought about it for a little bit, before nodding his approval at her

"Yes please!"

Then they went their separate ways, Bell went up to the executives of the Loki Familia, as they were the people he was most familiar with within the Familia

"Argonaut-kun! Good morning!"

Tiona enthusiastically greeted the male adventurer as he made his way towards them

"Tiona-san! Tione-san! Good morning!"

He returned the greeting

"How are you holding up?"

Tione asked him

"I'm super excited about this... it'll be my first expedition to the deep floors, also to unknown territory! I can't help but feel restless!"

He replied with a giddy attitude, which made both sisters giggle

"I'm excited too, Argonaut-kun! I can't wait to fight some monsters!"

Tiona reciprocated his enthusiasm, which caused her sister to sigh

"You better not get reckless again you muscle head, if you anger Captain, I'll deal with you myself..."

Tione showed her sister a sinister smile, much to the other's indignation

"What?! It was one time I messed up with the Cadmus!"

She shot back, which caused them to argue back and forth, much to Bell's confusion and uneasiness

'Yeah... I think I'll leave these two for now...'

He kept walking ahead, leaving the two Barbera in whatever it was they were doing... seeing two familiar faces, he approached both of them

"Ais-san! Lefiya-san! Good morning to you two!"

Both girls perked up at their name being called by the white-haired adventurer

"Good morning Bell"

Ais immediately returned his greeting, while the elf fidgeted, still feeling guilty after the training session a week ago, but still feeling much better, she couldn't force herself to look him in the eye though.

"G-G-Good morning... Bell Cranel"

She managed to respond to his greeting, she had talked about the matter with Ais and Loki a few days ago when she finally opened up, they urged her to go apologize to the boy, especially Ais, but the elf still felt conflicted, she was still feeling indignant about Bell taking things too far with his and Ais' spar, she wanted to apologize to him, she just needed to muster the courage and to find the right time to do so.

Luckily, the awkward tension between them was broken by Finn Diemne himself, propped up on top of a soapbox to elevate his short stature to make himself visible to all, his voice, befitting of the Captain of one of the strongest Familias in Orario, bellowed.

"Good morning to all! As you know, this is the long-awaited Loki Familia expedition down beyond the sixty-first floor! We have only been able to thoroughly map out and familiarize ourselves up until said floor, but that will change starting today! We will be pushing ourselves even further, stretching ourselves even thinner, to go even deeper down the dungeon. The farthest down anybody had been able to go into the dungeon was the Zeus and Hera Familia, reaching down to the seventy-first floor, unfortunately, they refused to divulge any information about what they have found down there so it is still considered unchartered territory! Think about what we could find down there, new sights, new monsters and new riches! We may not be able to achieve such a feat yet, but I am confident that if everybody pushes themselves as much as they can, we will be able to match both the Zeus and Hera Familia in their prime! And before anybody starts thinking that these are just some empty words with no real weight to them, think about just how far we have come as a Familia, we have been able to achieve many things that others would deem too difficult! We have been able to overcome many a great foe! We are one of the strongest Families in Orario! Have some pride will you lot?!"

Everybody roared at the prum captain's impromptu speech, spirits and motivation were at an all-time high with his words

"Loki Familia!"

One by one, more and more started to chant, until the group all started to collectively chant

Bell stood in awe, profoundly impressed by the blonde prum's words

'Woah... so that's what a true leader is like!'

Then, just as the rays from the sun had started to shine from beyond the horizon, the first battalion moved forward into the dungeon

"First battalion! Onward!"

-Fin-

I gotta admit, the way I wrote the sparring session seemed a bit dull, but I'll save all the action for the next few chapters, you guys can count on it hehe, the next few chapters will cover the Loki Familia expedition and how a certain Bell Cranel will fare in it, will he fail to meet the Loki Familia's expectations? or will he surpass them? Find out in the next episode of Dragon Ba- Oh wait, wrong series, *ehem* Find out in the next chapter of this story!

And with that said, I humbly wish you a good rest of the day!