Hey, I am back! And we are here with the official first chapter of Season 4!

Arturwho, I didn't realize Heroic Myth was abandoned. I thought it just took him ages to update it. But yes, that one is a very good Danmachi X Fate fanfic.

AnimeFan13579, that is an interesting idea with the elevator to safety points. Especially now Bell has full control over it.

nbjdawe2001, Asclepius is a very good guess, considering the Juggernaut will kill a lot of people. Technically, Bell already has Galahad, so he does have Mash in a sense. And to be fair, Finn has always been a mix of a realist and idealist, so him sounding chuunibyou is very in character for him imo.

gabriel. , thanks.

Arosiris, glad you liked the Ryuu and Syr moments so far. I'm leaning towards Ryuu alone for now, still trying to figure out how to incorporate the Freya familia arc into this. But we'll see.

Anyways, here's the newest chapter. Enjoy.

XXX

A few days later, Bell was back in the Hostess working as Bella.

The white haired 'girl' was now on dish-washing duty as punishment for ditching her duties the past few days.

Mia yelled from the other side of the kitchen, "MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EVERY SINGLE PLATE SQUEAKY CLEAN! I WANT THE LIGHT TO REFLECT OFF OF THE PLATES!"

Bella sighed as she scrubbed the plates with soap, "Yes, Mama Mia!"

She could literally hear her fellow waitresses laughing at her from outside the kitchen.

The white haired waitress just shook her head as she continued working.

But as she did, Mia spoke up, "Bella, is everything okay?"

Bella blinked and looked at the dwarf, "Huh?"

The dwarf glanced at her before she continued tossing the wok, "I know a majority of Orario are okay with you now, and the Ikelos Familia wasn't the most well liked familia. But there might be some people holding that against you."

The white haired girl smiled, "You don't have to worry there. My Familia's doing fine. Plus, I have you guys to help me if things get bad."

Mia snorted, "Don't count on it. We'll charge you or take it off your pay the next time something like this happens."

Bella chuckled, "I hope I'll get the staff discount then."

The dwarf just chuckled again, "Get back to work, those dishes won't clean themselves."

The Heir to the Throne of Heroes laughed, "Yes, ma'am!"

A short while later, Bell was in his room upstairs of the Hostess, taking off his waitress uniform as he undid d'Eon's Noble Phantasm.

The boy put on his shirt as he shoved 'her' underwear and dress into a laundry basket.

But before he could finish up, he heard a knock on his door.

"Bell, are you there?"

Ryuu's voice reached his ears, and Bell yelled back, "Yeah, come in!"

The elf opened the door and walked in, still dressed in her uniform.

The boy covered up the laundry basket, "What's wrong, Ryuu-san?"

Ryuu looked around the room, "Nothing, I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Bell turned to look at her, "What do you mean?"

The elf sat down on the bed, "The Loki Familia… surely… surely you can't help but hold a grudge, right?"

The boy fell silent, before he nodded, "Yeah, I did."

Ryuu looked down, "I see-"

"In the beginning when everything started at least, but not anymore."

Bell cut her off, and the elf's eyes widened in surprise, "Huh?"

The boy smiled, "Everything is done and dealt with, so we're good now."

Ryuu gaped, "But they tried to kill the Xenos! They…"

Bell nodded, "I know, but I also understand where they're coming from. In the end, I'd say it's just a very exaggerated misunderstanding."

The elf sighed, "You're strong, Bell."

The boy raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak more, Ryuu stood up, "But it's good to know you're doing alright. I… Syr was worried."

The elf turned and gave him a small smile, "I'll be retreating for the night. Get home safe, okay?"

Bell nodded in response, "Yeah, thank you. Rest well, Ryuu-san."

Ryuu nodded and closed the door behind her.

(Linebreak)

That night, back at the Hearth Mansion, Bell laid on Hestia's bed with his shirt off, with Hestia on his back.

The goddess smiled as finished updating his status, "Congratulations, Bell-kun. You're a Level 4 now."

Bell nodded, not too surprised anymore, "Great, thank you, Hestia-sama."

Hestia got off his back and handed him the parchment that held his status details.

Bell Cranel

Level 4

STR: I0

END: I0

DEX: I0

AGI: I0

MAG: I0

Magic:

Heir to the Throne

Description: The ability to inherit the powers of legendary heroes from the Throne of Heroes. User needs to form a contract and connection with the Heroic Spirit first before using their abilities. Once a connection is formed, the abilities can be used with just the last sentence of the full chant.

Chant:

I am thou, thou art I.

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

Thy body shall serve under mine will, and mine fate shall be thy sword.

Let an oath be sworn here. I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven. I shall dispose of all evils of all of Hell.

If thou dost acceded to this will and reason, then answer my call.

Come forth from the rings of restraint, o' Protector of the Balances.

Load: [Blank]

Currently unlocked spirits: Heracles, EMIYA, Sakata Kintoki, Ushiwakamaru, Taira no Kagekiyo. David, Chevalier d'Eon, Atalanta, Zhuge Liang, Gilgamesh, Orion, Achilles, Penthesilea, Hessian, Lobo, Galahad, Lancelot, Theseus, Asterios

Should a Heroic Spirit be one of madness or tainted, the following chant must be added after the 4th line:

Thou shall let chaos blind thine eyes, and I, he who doth hold thy chains

Noble Phantasms

Description: Once user has established connection to a Heroic Spirit and is in use, user can use the crystallization of the spirit's legend. A crystalization usually involves utilizing a spirit's ultimate technique or a conceptualized version of their greatest achievement.

Chant

Set: [Blank]

Desire for the Throne.

Description: As long as the user desires to become a hero, growth of stats will increase exponentially. Effect increases by intensity of determination and desire to become a hero.

Development skills:

Luck.

Bell hummed as he gave the parchment a quick read, "Not that much different from before, huh?"

Hestia giggled, "If you ignore the massive list of Heroic Spirits you have now, then yes."

The boy nodded, "True."

Knowing the abilities each and every Heroic Spirit gave him, he didn't really have a need for any of the conventional abilities or skills that came from the Falnas.

The goddess smiled, but before she asked again, "Bell-kun, I have to ask."

Bell glanced at her curiously, "Yes?"

Hestia's smile strained ever so slightly, "Are the memories you inherit, are they… are they affecting you?"

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Not really, no."

The goddess sighed, "I see… It's just, I'm afraid, that those powers will turn into something you're not."

Bell fell silent, "... I see…"

It did make sense, the boy realized that he tended to pick up some habits from the Heroic Spirits he inherited.

Hestia shook her head, before putting on a smile again, "But I might be just overthinking it!"

Bell looked at her, "Hestia-sama…"

The goddess smiled, "Now I'll have to get you out of the room, Daphne-kun and Cassandra-kun want to update their status too, and I don't think they'll appreciate you being here for it."

The boy chuckled, "Alright, I'll get out of the way."

Bell closed the door behind him, and he saw Cassandra and Daphne waiting.

The redhead smiled, "How'd it go?"

The boy grinned, "You're looking at a new Level 4."

Cassandra's eyes widened in surprise, "Congratulations!"

Bell giggled, "Thank you, now I believe it's your turn."

Daphne snorted, "Only you can level up so easily in such a short amount of time."

The boy laughed, "I'll take that as a compliment then."

Bell pointed at the door behind him, "Now it's your turn, Hestia-sama is expecting you two."

The redhead smiled, "Thank you, Bell."

The boy just waved as he walked off, "I'll go get dinner ready, come to the dining room when you're ready."

Cassandra smiled, "Thank you."

Daphne chuckled, "Alright, let's go see our goddess."

(Linebreak)

The next day, Bell sat in the living room with most of his Familia.

The door opened as Mikoto and Haruhime walked in.

The boy nodded in satisfaction, "Everyone is here, good."

The renard asked, "Cranel-sama, why did you get everyone to gather around?"

Aisha snorted, "Must be something important, right?"

Welf nodded, "He wouldn't tell us too."

Bell smiled, "A while back, Finn-san and Ottar-san suggested we hit the Lower Floors."

Lili gaped, "Wait, you don't mean to say-"

Bell nodded, "Yeah, what they told me made sense, so I'm thinking it's about time we went there."

Daphne hummed, "I see… I mean I don't doubt our ability, we should be able to reach even the middle parts of the Lower Floors if we include members from the Ishtar Familia."

The boy spoke up again, "Actually, I was thinking to do it with just us, like, only the Hestia Familia."

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Well, that'd be a bit hard, but not impossible, considering we have four Level 3s now."

Bell blinked in surprise, "Four?"

Daphne grinned as she wrapped her arm around Cassandra's shoulders, "Yep! Cassandra and I just got to Level 3 last night!"

Lili exclaimed, "That's wonderful! Congratulations, Daphne-sama, Cassandra-sama!"

The healer blushed in embarrassment, "T-thank you…"

Aisha chuckled, "But you have one part wrong there, Daphne."

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

The Amazoness jabbed a finger at Bell, "We don't have four Level 3s. We have two Level 3s, and two Level 4s."

Daphne gaped, "... What?"

Bell smiled sheepishly, "Yep, Aisha-san and I got to Level 4 last night."

The redhead snapped her head to Hestia, who was sitting with Artemis, "Why didn't you tell us?!"

The goddess of the hunt tried her best to not laugh as Hestia giggled, "You didn't ask."

Artemis chuckled, "And look, it's your fault for jumping to conclusions so quickly."

Daphne palmed her face with embarrassment, "By the gods… I want to die now."

Everyone laughed, before Artemis spoke again, "But back to the topic, we have two Level 4s and 3s each, and Mikoto and Welf are still Level 2s, and then we have two Level 1s."

Aisha nodded, "I'd say we have a pretty solid lineup."

Bell nodded in agreement, "I agree. So the question is how far do we want to go."

Mikoto sat back, "Well, I honestly have no idea what the Lower Floors are like, so I'll leave that to the rest of you."

Haruhime smiled awkwardly, "Mikoto-chan…"

The captain of their Familia chuckled, "Don't stress it. Honestly, I'm thinking of aiming for the 27th Floor for now. We can then decide if we want to push forward once we reach there."

Lili spoke up, "In that case we'll need to be ready with our supplies and equipment. Bell-sama aside, I don't think our current equipment will cut it."

Welf grinned, "Then I'll just have to fix that, won't I?"

Aisha grinned, "Oh, are we all getting upgrades?"

The blacksmith smirked, "You bet."

The redhead looked at Bell, "We won't be heading off anytime soon, right?"

The boy nodded, "Of course. I'd say in a week's time, that's enough for us to prepare, right?"

Welf nodded, "That's more than enough for me."

Lili hummed, "That's more than enough time for Lili to figure out what we'll need too."

The prum looked at Daphne and Cassandra, "Daphne-sama, Cassandra-sama, can I get the two of you to help me?"

The pair nodded, the red haired woman smiling, "Of course."

Bell nodded, "I'll have to get Eina-san and see if we're missing anything we need to know."

Hestia smiled, "Then I guess that settles it. We'll have our first actual expedition in a week's time."

Welf looked at Mikoto, "Mikoto, what about you?"

The Eastern girl looked down, before she nodded to herself, "I think I'll go to Takemikazuchi-sama for training. As I am now, I'll only hold everyone back."

Bell nodded, "Alright, then that means everyone has something to do."

Everyone nodded, and Hestia smiled, "Excellent then! Let's get to it, shall we?"

Everyone started to leave the room, but before Bell could, Welf called out, "Hey Bell, got a minute?"

The white haired boy glanced at his friend, "Yeah?"

The blacksmith took a deep breath, "You mind lending me some of your weapons and armors?"

Bell blinked in surprise, "What for?"

Welf looked like he'd eaten something sour, "... I hate to admit it, but I'm still not quite up to par. I was hoping to see if I could study some of the equipment you have in your armory? Treasury?"

The boy smiled, "Sure, definitely. I'll come by later and we can have a look, sound good?"

The blacksmith smiled back, "That'd be great, thanks man."

(Linebreak)

Later that afternoon, Bell walked into the Hostess of Fertility.

Anya exclaimed when she saw her, "Bell-nya!"

The boy smiled, "Anya, how's today been? Been busy?"

Chloe walked past them as she carried a stack of plates, "Not too busy, not quiet either. Just the same-nya."

Anya asked, "What are you doing here-nya?"

Bell smiled, "I'm looking for Mama Mia, I'm going on an expedition, so I'll need a few days off."

Lunoire, who had been rearranging the tables, asked in surprise, "Already?"

The boy chuckled, "Yep."

"An expedition, huh? How far are you planning to go?"

Ryuu's voice reached his ears, and Bell turned to see the elf and Syr walking in.

Syr smiled, "Hello, Bell."

The boy greeted back, "Ryuu-san, Syr-san."

He looked at Ryuu, "We're planning to go to the 27th floor for now. Then we'll see if we can go further from there."

The elf fell silent for a while, "I see… That's good to hear."

Bell grinned, "Oh, and I have more news too."

That got everyone's attention, and Syr asked, "What is it?"

The boy walked further into the restaurant and turned so he could face everyone, "I'm a Level 4 now."

Silence befell upon them for a while, before Anya pointed at Bell, "Impossible-nya! You haven't even been at this for a year-nya!"

Chloe grumbled, "Now he's gone even further-nya. How is this fair-nya?"

Bell smiled awkwardly as the two cat people lost their shit.

Ryuu shook her head in exasperation, before she smiled at Bell, "Congratulations, Bell. I'm happy for you."

The boy's smile widened, "Thank you, Ryuu-san. I'm finally on the same Level as you now, yeah?"

The elf snorted with a small smile, "Only on paper."

Syr giggled, "Now now, let Bell have his moment."

Ryuu shook her head, "No, I'm saying Bell has gone past my level now. Honestly, he already has a while ago."

Bell blinked in surprise, "Surely you must be joking."

The elf smiled, "You think too highly of me. I could never have beaten the War Princess as I am now, and definitely not that black minotaur Xenos you fought."

The boy fell silent, and he realized it was true.

Syr beamed, "That's amazing to hear, Bell-san!"

Bell smiled softly, "Yeah, I guess it is."

"What's the ruckus now?"

Everyone turned to see Mia walking into the establishment, and Bell spoke again, "Ah, Mama Mia!"

Anya exclaimed, "Bell-nya is a Level 4 now-nya!"

The dwarf raised an eyebrow, "Really now?"

Bell nodded, "Yes, I just ranked up today."

Mia smirked, "Color me impressed then. Pretty sure that means you've broken another record."

The boy smiled sheepishly, "Thank you, Mama Mia."

The dwarf walked past them towards the kitchen, "So, did you just drop by to tell everyone about your Level up?"

Bell quickly remembered why he was here, "Ah right, I wanted to let you know I'll be going on an expedition, so I'll need a few days off."

Mia hummed, "Already? Well, considering where you're at, I can't say I wasn't expecting it."

The dwarf nodded, "Alright, just make sure you get back in one piece."

The boy smiled, "Thank you, Mama Mia."

Mia waved it off, "Don't sweat it, you'll be doing more shifts when you get back to make up for it anyways."

Bell laughed, "Will do. I'll get going then, I still need to see Eina-san to see if I'm missing anything for the Lower Floors."

With that said, the boy left the Hostess, leaving the women to continue their work.

As they prepared to open shop, Ryuu paused as she remembered her conversation with Bell the previous night.

The elf tightened her grip on the chair she was holding, and it cracked under her grip.

(Linebreak)

A few days later, Bell stood in Welf's forge.

The blacksmith brought a sheathed knife wrapped around a piece of cloth.

Bell's eyes gleamed with interest and curiosity, "Woah, is this…?"

Welf grinned with pride, "My latest, and to be honest, my best work so far. This is my current answer to the knife Lady Hephaestus made for you."

The white haired boy unsheathed the knife, revealing a light silvery blue blade, "Woah…"

The blacksmith's grin widened, "I'm glad if you're reacting that way."

Bell studied the knife, "What is it called?"

Welf leaned on a desk, "I call it the Hakugen, I made it with a unicorn's horn."

The boy gave it a few swings, "It's very light, I like it."

The redhead laughed lightly, "Glad to hear it! I took inspiration from Kanshou and Bakuya, I doubt it'll be a worthy match for your other knife though."

Bell chuckled, "It's perfect. Thank you."

Welf grinned, "Excellent. Now I still need to finish up some other pieces of equipment, Daphne and Aisha both wanted a new sword, but I wanted to finish yours first before I moved on to theirs."

The boy smiled slightly, "You didn't have to, Welf."

The blacksmith waved it off, "I'm your contracted blacksmith first, remember? Besides, I'm the one making them, I should get to choose."

Bell nodded in agreement, "I suppose so."

Welf walked to his forge and grabbed his hammer, "Alright, let's get to it then."

But before he could start the fire, Bell got an idea, "Actually, Welf. I have an idea I want to try."

The blacksmith turned to glance at the boy, only for him to see the white haired boy with his eyes closed.

With Bell, he focused and reached deep within and out towards his back.

He wasn't sure if he could do it, but now that he was stronger and could contract different spirits like Hessian, the boy wanted to try.

He had already contracted EMIYA, so a connection was already there.

Bell breathed in and out slowly, remembering the tales of a blacksmith from Kuwana.

A blacksmith that devoted his entire life to making swords.

Then, time stopped.

"Quite the pretentious heir we have here, huh?"

Bell's lips curved upwards as he felt the connection form, "And you responded anyway."

"Hmph, at this stage, there's honestly no point refusing. It won't be long before you're ready for all of us anyways."

The boy blinked in confusion, "I'm sorry, what do you-"

"Alright, that's enough chatter. Let's get this over with. I'd rather you use our powers and knowledge rather than let that greenhorn do everything. I am thou, and thou art I."

Bell blinked as time quickly resumed for him, his lips moving almost on its own as he finished the chant in no time, "Load: Senji Muramasa."

A hammer appeared in his hands, as Bell felt the powers of Senji Muramasa enter his body.

Welf's eyes widened, "Bell, what are you-"

The boy smiled, "If you don't mind me butting in, I can give you a hand."

The blacksmith sighed, "And here I was hoping the forge was something I could keep for myself. Really should've seen this coming."

Bell giggled, "Hey, I won't take away your place. I'll only still use your work, but you're short on time, aren't you? You also need to prepare magic swords too."

Welf grimaced, "You're not wrong."

He sighed, "Alright, I'll take it. Let me grab a spare anvil for you."

The redhead grabbed an anvil from a shelf and set it on a wooden block, "There, you can handle Aisha and Daphne's swords, yeah?"

Bell nodded, "Yeah, I should be fine."

Welf nodded, "You probably don't need it, but let me know if you need help."

The white haired boy nodded as they started hammering away.

The moment they started swinging, Welf froze as he heard the clangs from Bell's swings.

Taking a deep breath, the blacksmith quickly went back to work.

At the end of the day, Welf stared at their handiwork.

The redhead had finished the remaining pieces for a new version of Bell's armor and two magic swords, whilst Bell had forged finished the two swords for Aisha and Daphne.

Welf stared at the two swords with a blank face, and they were without a doubt better than what he could do.

He sighed, "I give up. I might as well retire now."

Bell smiled awkwardly, "L-look, I sort of cheated with Muramasa's memories, so-"

Welf chuckled, "I know, and I was joking. I knew you'd have a blacksmith somewhere in that list of heroes you have."

The redhead smacked the boy on the back, "But in all honesty, this is actually good for me. Gives me a bit of a guide to see what I can aim for next."

Bell nodded, "If you say so."

Welf snorted, "Now help me clean up."

The white haired rabbit giggled, "Alright, alright."

Later that night, Bell sat in the living room with the rest of his Familia members.

Welf asked, "So, what was the big fuss that you wanted everyone to gather around?"

Aisha grinned, "You remember how we have two Level 4s and two Level 3s for our expedition?"

Bell nodded, "Yeah?"

Daphne had a big smile on her face, "We can bring those numbers up now."

Lili's eyes widened as she quickly noticed the growing blush on Haruhime's face, "Wait."

The Amazoness smirked, "I had Haruhime learn new magic with a grimoire, and she can cast her Level Boost on up to five people now."

Welf marveled, "Shit! That's great!"

Mikoto nodded, "So we have more options now, if Bell-dono needs to rest, we can have Haruhime-dono boost Aisha-dono, Daphne-dono, myself and Welf-dono to even the numbers."

Bell nodded, "That's true. And if the situation calls for it, she can even boost myself."

Hestia spoke up, "Actually, I advise against Haruhime giving you a Level Boost, Bell-kun."

Everyone looked at the goddess in confusion, and Lili asked, "Why not?"

Artemis quickly understood, "Ah, I get it. Bell, you remember when you defeated Antares?"

Bell nodded, "Yeah. Why?"

The goddess of the hunt continued, "You used a huge number of Heroic Spirits, and the strain was too much to the point you were out for days."

The boy nodded in understanding, "I see, you're worried if we cast a Level Boost on me while I have different Heroic Spirits equipped, the power might be too much."

Hestia nodded, "Exactly. Haruhime-kun's Level Boost will push your Level to the next level, and I honestly don't want to risk it."

Bell nodded, "That's fair. We'll keep the Level Boost to everyone else in case we need to even the field then."

Daphne hummed, "But it still doesn't change things too much."

Aisha nodded, "Bell has his own form of Level Boost, in a way. So we can keep Haruhime's Level Boost for everyone else, boosting just 4 will also help reduce the drain on her mind."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Bell smiled, "Alright, we'll be leaving in two days. I'll be helping Welf finish up our new equipment, so I want everyone to get enough rest."

Everyone nodded, before Daphne asked, "Wait, when did you learn how to work in a forge?"

The boy smiled, "Today, I inherited Senji Muramasa's powers."

Hestia sighed, "Another big name."

Artemis laughed softly, "Well, Bell's getting stronger by the day. We shouldn't be surprised."

Lili asked, "Is this new hero that big of a deal?"

The goddess of the hearth sighed again, "Oh yeah, Senji Muramasa is one of the most well known blacksmiths in the East. He's also known to forge demon swords."

Everyone took that in, and Welf furrowed his brows, "Demon swords?"

Bell nodded, "Muramasa wanted to forge the strongest sword in existence, a sword that can cut anything, even fate, destiny and karma."

Mikoto was flabbergasted, "Are those even things you can cut?"

The boy smiled, "Technically it is doable. His Noble Phantasm is a realization of his ideals, so if I really wanted to, I can do it now."

Aisha palmed his face, "And you drop that on us out of nowhere. By the gods…"

Bell laughed as everyone nodded in agreement, and Hestia chuckled, "Alright alright, we can grill him later. I think it's about time we all rest for the night."

(Linebreak)

The next day, after Bell had finished helping Welf in the morning, all that was left was Welf's magic swords.

Now, the boy was walking along the streets with Lefiya, Bete and Tiona.

The elf gaped, "Y-y-you! YOU'RE A LEVEL 4?!"

Bell smiled and nodded, "Yep."

Bete cackled, "Guess the rabbit's gone ahead of you, you dumb elf."

Tione beamed, "That's amazing, Argonaut-kun!"

The boy smiled, "Thank you, Tiona-san."

The werewolf looked at Bell, "So rabbit, what's this about you going on an expedition?"

Bell responded, "Finn-san and Ottar-san suggested I should try and tackle the Lower Floors, and now that I'm a Level 4, I thought it was time we try going deeper."

Lefiya sighed to herself, "Already?"

Tiona giggled, "Why are you jealous, Lefiya? You've gone further down, right?"

The elf frowned, "But not like him. Bell will be leading his party, he's basically the strongest member in his team."

Bete scoffed, "So you do get it. The rabbit will have to take care of his weakling teammates, he won't have anyone to rely on. They will rely on him."

The werewolf looked at the elf, "That's not something you can do now, you shitty elf."

Bell smiled in exasperation, "That's taking it a bit too far, Bete-san. Besides, Lefiya's a mage. Her role is very different, but I'm sure she can manage it if she wants to."

Bete just scoffed, and Lefiya smiled at Bell, "Look, I know my limits, so you don't really have to sugarcoat it."

Bete clicked his teeth, before he punched Bell on the shoulder, "Anyways, you shitty rabbit! When are you giving me a rematch?"

Bell rubbed his shoulder, "Pardon?"

The werewolf glared at him halfheartedly, "I heard you gave Ais a pretty harsh beating, I want to see if it's true."

The boy smiled softly, "Maybe when I get back. We can have a go."

He asked again, "Speaking of that, how's Ais-san doing? I haven't seen her for a while after all that."

Lefiya fell silent, and so did Bete.

Tiona hmph'd as she folded her arms, "Ais has been annoyed? Angry? Not sure how to describe it, but she's been hitting the dungeon alone so much that even Riveria is annoyed."

Bell looked down, "I see…"

The elf looked down, "Ais-san… She's well… She didn't take well to what happened with the Xenos."

The boy sighed, "I see, I guess I can't really blame her."

Lefiya looked at him, "Speaking of which, how are the Xenos anyway?"

Bete clicked his teeth, "Idiot, don't bring that up in public!"

The elf caught herself, "S-sorry!"

Bell chuckled, "It's fine. The Guild's made sure no one aside from us knows about them, right?"

Tiona nodded, "True true."

The white haired boy looked forward, "To answer your question, they're fine. They're mapping out Knossos at the moment."

Bete raised an eyebrow, "Knossos?"

Bell nodded, "I can use Asterios' powers and take control of the labyrinth, but I won't be there every time. So they're mapping it out for future use. They might even use it as their hideout for now."

Lefiya nodded in understanding, "I see… That's good, that'll prevent adventurers from killing them by accident."

The other three nodded in agreement, and Bete scoffed again, "Whatever, as long as they don't cause trouble."

Tione giggled, "That's rich coming from you."

The werewolf growled, "You wanna fight?!"

The Amazoness grinned, "Oh you're on!"

Lefiya looked tired, "Please don't."

Bell just laughed as they continued walking, until they reached the Twilight Mansion.

The boy smiled, "It was a nice catch up, not sure how long we'll be in there, so I'll see you all when I get back."

Lefiya smiled, "Good luck, and stay safe."

Bete smirked, "I'll be waiting for that rematch, rabbit."

Tiona grinned, "Have fun!"

Bell chuckled, "Thanks, I'll see yall around."

He waved as the three entered their home, and Bell turned to go home.

(Linebreak)

The next day, everyone in the Hestia Familia gathered at the front of their door.

Hestia and Artemis stood at the door, looking over the six members of their Familia.

Hestia blinked, "Six? Wait, where are Daphne-kun and Cassandra-kun?"

"Move your ass! We're late!"

"Gughhhh!"

The voices of said members reached their ears, and everyone turned to see the pair at the door.

Bell smiled, "Overslept?"

Daphne sighed, "This idiot here suddenly doesn't want to go on the expedition anymore."

Cassandra looked down, "Bell-san, c-can we, I don't know… cancel or postpone the expedition?"

Bell raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

The healer tightened her grip on her staff, "I had a dream… This disgusting green moss was swallowing up everyone!"

The boy's lips thinned, "I see… You had another vision."

Cassandra nodded, "I haven't had one like this in ages! So please!"

Aisha cut her off, "Everyone knows we'll run into some form of trouble when we get past the middle floors. That's the point of adventuring, no?"

Daphne nodded, "Exactly."

Bell folded his arms, "But hey, I don't want to brush her off. So we'll just have to be really careful with green stuff as we go down then."

Lili sighed, "Lili thinks you take her too seriously, Bell-sama."

Welf laughed, "Well, I think we'll be fine."

The Amazoness looked at the blacksmith, "Speaking of which, you're really keeping the rest of us waiting, huh?"

Aisha glanced at the bundle of swords at his side.

Welf glanced down, "Ah, yeah, I was waiting for Daphne to show up before we gave these out."

He pulled up a giant sword, similar to the one Aisha used to wield, "Well, I mean, Bell made the ones for you and Daphne, so I don't really have any right to talk."

Aisha raised an eyebrow and took it, "By the gods, I know someone said it before, but is there anything you can't do?"

Bell simply grinned as the Amazoness gave the sword a few swings.

The Antianeira nodded in satisfaction, "It's very balanced, heavy enough too. I like it."

Daphne took her new sword, a rapier similar to her old one, "Oh? This is a very good sword."

Bell smiled, "Thank you. It's not exactly a Muramasa sword, but it's close enough."

Welf handed Mikoto a new tachi, "And this is yours, a tad bit longer than the one you had before, sturdier too, but it shouldn't be any heavier."

Mikoto marveled at the new sword, "What is it called?"

The blacksmith folded his arm, "Well, I wasn't really sure what to call it. I'm torn between Shimajirou and Kotetsu."

The samurai immediately answered, "Kotetsu. Let's call it Kotetsu."

Welf smiled, "Alright, Kotetsu it is then."

Hestia cleared her throat, "Alright, now if everyone is ready."

Everyone turned her attention to their goddess, and the twin tailed goddess smiled, "This will be the first official expedition for our Familia. Your goal is the 27th floor, and potentially reach the 28th floor's safety point."

Hestia looked at every one of her Children, "You've all grown strong, very strong. No doubt you will find challenges awaiting you in the dungeon, but I believe you will all overcome them and come back stronger."

The goddess of the hearth smiled again, "Honestly, that's about it. Good luck."

Everyone nodded, and Bell turned around for the door, "Alright, let's get going, shall we?"

The Hestia Familia roared in agreement, and they left the Hearth Mansion for the dungeon.

XXX

So that's a wrap. I had intended to have this chapter reach the part where they encounter the Moss Huge, but it went on longer than I expected, so I split it up here.

Anyways, read and review please. Until next time.