Hey, again, it took me longer than I expected to finish this chapter. Been busy with work, having to deal with an incompetent intern at work, and also preparing for an English test due to visa reasons (which is a pain).

Guest, it'd be great if Haruoki does return to it. Honestly, I loved how he had the Heroic Spirits interact with Bell there.

Arturwho, thanks

Shinigami200, I understand if you mean having Bell use Muramasa's Tsumukari Muramasa in the same way FGO did. And you're right, Bell can't use the Reality Marble in that way. When Bell uses Muramasa, he doesn't use a Reality Marble, nor use Projection to summon his swords. Muramasa is a blacksmith, and basically all the swords he's forged are available to him. That is all.

In terms of his Noble Phantasm, rather than using a Reality Marble, Bell is simply materializing Muramasa's ideal sword. It's not the same Tsumukari Muramasa, but the end result is similar. Of course, if we want to strictly follow how Muramasa Shirou does it, then Bell Over-Loading EMIYA with Muramasa would probably meet those requirements, but even then EMIYA doesn't have the same mindset as younger Shirou.

AnimeFan13579, to be fair, the benefits of developmental abilities are already included in some of his Heroic Spirits. My understanding of the Falna here is that it helps the adventurer grow, enhancing their base powers and bringing them closer to godhood as their level increases.

Bell here, has a whole universe's worth of Heroic Spirits' powers at his beck and call, and as a Level 3-4, it's too much, so the Falna is instead holding them back for his body to adjust as his vessel grows. Giving him developmental abilities or skills will basically give him more power. As 2hupedia mentioned, it's basically a One for All situation.

Daemon of Wrath, yeah, no DAs for Bell, basically like I explained in my reply to AnimeFan13579 above. And yes, things are very shaky with Ais. It will explode at some point, just a matter of when. And you're right, Seasons 4 and 5 can potentially bring Beasts and Avengers out, but like I mentioned in one of my earlier chapters, those spirits would need Bell to be pushed to the brink of despair.

Using Freya is a possibility, but I am quite torn on that. Simply because Freya here cares too much for Bell, unless something happens, she probably won't follow canon. So how I incorporate season 5 is still up for debate.

As for the fight with the Moss Huge, well, you'll just have to read on.

nbjdawe2001, those questions are honestly interesting, considering Danmachi is a fantasy style universe. But Servants with modern weaponry should appear, but more so if they are innate, for example Billy the Kid or Nikola Tesla. Servant Universe Spirits are still something I am unsure of bringing in, so are Summer Servants. But Napoleon is definitely possible.

Unfortunately, no Jeanne D'arc or Castoria yet.

Romance is definitely something that we'll see soon, hint hint.

But again thanks for the reminder that this is Fanfiction. I am trying to keep the characters in character, but I am also allowed to explore more :^)

Axcel Allen, Welf and Mikoto are close to Level 3, just not yet. My take was that Daphne and Cassandra were more experienced since they were in the Apollo Familia before, and joining the Hestia Familia pushed them further than in the Miach Familia. Hence their earlier rank up.

Tomano, nah, his Falna is what it is. He won't get developmental abilities. He already has all those Heroic Spirits, to the point his body as a vessel cannot handle. So instead of giving more abilities and powers, the Falna is keeping it down so he doesn't explode.

Kingdark, I had intended there to be a timeskip with how long Bell and Lili worked together, I might have forgotten to fully flesh it out. But my bad...

ALPHA02FURY97, don't worry, the OEBD is definitely coming.

Megyusha, Kojiro will show up eventually. Just a matter of when.

2hupedia, you're right with many things here. Bell can't access all of their powers yet. His access increases steadily as he grows stronger, which is quite exponential with his skill. The Falna is basically always holding the powers back until he grows strong enough.

For your review on Chapter 11, that's still in Season 1, and Season 1 Bell is definitely stronger than canon Bell, but not too much, at least before the end at the Goliath fight. The dungeon also hates divinity, and Bell uses Heracles a lot there, so it definitely spawns stronger monsters for him.

And yes, Bell gets all of the memories from the Heroic Spirits, but at the same time, it's stored in his brain, but not to the point it overloads him.

And glad you like that Bell isn't a massive harem protagonist. I wanted this to be more of a one to two girl max sort of thing. Hence, Ryuu and Syr, and even then I am leaning heavily towards having Bell paired with Ryuu only. But glad you like his rivalry with Bete.

Guest, I haven't read LB7 yet, which is also why I am not bringing in any of those Servants in. But we have too many Servants as it is, I won't be able to bring everyone in hahaha.

Manh, technically being a Zi-O to the Throne of Heroes should've already been story breaking here, but somehow, it works, hopefully. But yes, Bell is basically what Zi-O is to the Kamen Riders.

Anyways, here's the newest chapter.

XXX

Bell and his Familia moved through the 19th floor, having gone past the first 18 floors in no time.

Now, the captain of the Hestia Familia held Arondight in his hands, dashing across the field as he took down hellhounds and Deadly Hornets.

Aisha and Daphne were staying closer to their group as they took down monsters that came near them as they advanced through the floor.

As for Mikoto and Welf, the two were with Haruhime, Cassandra and Lili, fending off the remainders that managed to get through, which was near zero.

The Amazoness snorted as she watched Bell tear through the monsters, "I know we've seen him fight before, but by the gods…"

Daphne nodded as she stabbed one of the Deadly Hornets, the corpse exploding as the magic stone dropped to the ground.

The redhead brandished her sword, "And he's gotten a few new ones too, that's the one he used to fight the War Princess, yea?"

Aisha nodded, "Supposedly, I can see how it'd happen too. That sword…"

It felt way different from the weapons he'd use before, and the way he moved was so much more refined.

As they moved forward, slaughtering any monster they came across, Lili realized the Deadly Hornets around them were suddenly increasing in their numbers quickly.

The prum looked around, and she quickly spotted a giant hive at a distance, "Bell-sama!"

The white haired boy turned to see Lili pointing at the hive, and he quickly understood, "Gotcha!"

Bell let Arondight go, the holy sword dispersing into blue particles of magical energy, "Load: Senji Muramasa."

A katana appeared in his hands, one of the many Muramasa demon swords he now had in his possession.

Flames danced around the blade as he held the blade down, both hands gripping the sword firmly.

Then, Bell swung the sword upwards, unleashing a huge wave of flames that instantly engulfed the hive and the hornets that were coming out of it.

Soon, the Hestia Familia regrouped as Lili and Haruhime picked up the magic stones.

Welf approached Bell, "Bell, about that katana you used just now."

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Katana? Oh, you mean the one I used with Muramasa?"

The blacksmith nodded, "Yeah. Was that one of those demon swords?"

Bell nodded, "Yeah, it was."

Welf hummed, "You said he was an Eastern blacksmith, and that he's crafted many of those swords."

The white haired boy nodded, "That's right."

The blacksmith furrowed his brows, "Just out of curiosity, can all of his swords use magic?"

Bell raised an eyebrow, but he answered nonetheless, "Not all of them, but many can."

The boy smiled slightly, "I know what you're trying to ask, Welf. To be fair, compared to my other Noble Phantasms, Muramasa's swords are closer to the magic swords you make."

Welf nodded, "I see."

Bell chanted, "Load: Senji Muramasa."

He brought out the same sword he had used before, "Here."

Welf took it and studied it, "It is very well crafted. But…"

Bell smiled, "Something feels off?"

The blacksmith nodded, "You mind if I take a look at this for a bit?"

The boy nodded, "Sure, knock yourself out."

Welf nodded gratefully, "Thank you."

With that said, the blacksmith walked to sit down nearby, running his fingers over the sword as he tried to figure out how it worked.

(Linebreak)

A short while later, the Hestia Familia were near the exit of the 24th floor and the entrance of the 25th floor.

Lili looked around as they reached a closed off room, "Okay, this should be a good spot for us to make camp."

No one objected as they got to work, whilst Daphne, Lili and Bell stood at a corner.

The redhead held a map of the 24th and 25th floor in her hands, "Okay, so as discussed, we'll camp here for the night, then at 6am tomorrow, we'll continue down."

Lili and Bell nodded, and the prum sighed, "Still, I can't believe we made it here in like, a day."

Daphne smiled, "That's because we didn't stop for a break and pushed through the first 18 floors in one go. We could only do that thanks to Bell and Aisha."

The boy chuckled, "Hey, if we didn't have the rest of you to take care of the magic stones and supplies, it'd take much longer."

The three watched as Mikoto and Aisha set up the tents and campfire, whilst Aisha carved into the dungeon floor and walls with a hammer and spike.

Bell looked back at the map, "Anyways, we'll enter the 25th floor tomorrow, then we'll try to scout out the entire floor before we go further down."

Daphne nodded, "Yeap."

Lili looked at Bell, "Bell-sama, do you want to challenge the Amphisbaena?"

The white haired boy raised an eyebrow, "The Amphisbaena? I don't mind, why?"

The prum sighed, "Because I honestly think with you and Aisha-sama, we stand a pretty good chance against that Monster Rex."

Daphne smiled dryly, "Oh yeah, definitely."

Bell chuckled, "Alright, we can keep going until we reach the 27th floor, then we will wait for the Amphisbaena to spawn and defeat it."

The redhead nodded, "Sounds like a plan then."

Lili giggled, "Let's hope we get the Dragon Liver from it."

The two taller adventurers shared a smile, before Mikoto's voice reached their ears, "Bell-dono! The fire is ready!"

Bell turned to see Mikoto by a campfire with a bunch of cooking equipment, and he smiled, "Gotcha, thanks!"

He jogged over to the campfire, "Alright, what do we have here?"

Mikoto brought out a slab of meat she'd gotten from Lili earlier, "We have some meat from the Infant Dragon we took down earlier, and some fruits from the 18th floor."

Bell had a forced smile on his face, "Dragon meat? Can't say I've got any experience cooking those, even with my memories from my Heroic Spirits."

Lili giggled, "Well, Bell-sama, there's a first for everything!"

The boy studied the slab of meat, and he nodded, "Alright, I think I've got an idea."

Bell chanted, "Load: Gilgamesh."

A golden portal appeared as the boy drew a high quality carving knife, "Let's make stroganoff with dragon meat."

A short moment later, the Hestia Familia sat around the campfire.

Aisha snorted with a smirk as they ate, "Never thought we'd have a hot meal like this in the dungeon of all places."

Haruhime smiled, "We never really did have anything like this back in the Ishtar Familia, did we?"

The Amazoness snorted, "Definitely not, and most of us rarely get enough to eat already, thanks that toad of a bitch."

Mikoto smiled, "Compared to what you had before, this would be a luxury."

Aisha nodded, "Oh yeah, definitely."

Bell chuckled, "Well, there's more to come in the future, so don't worry."

Cassandra looked at the big pot of meat, "Umm, are you sure we should be using that much water here?"

Daphne smiled, "It should be fine. We won't be short on water on the Lower Floors, and we can always rely on Bell if things get worse."

Bell smiled dryly, "What am I? A water dispenser now?"

Welf laughed, "A water dispenser with the highest quality in human history! Yes!"

Mikoto and Lili both giggled as Bell sighed in exasperation, "Keep laughing, I'll be making one less serving of dinner later."

Welf wisely stopped laughing and turned away, "... My bad."

Bell grinned, "Thought so."

Aisha chuckled, "And Cassandra, you don't have to worry. There won't be anything like stealing water between Familia members here."

Lili's eyes widened in understanding, "Ah, that was a thing in the Apollo Familia, wasn't it?"

Daphne sighed, "Unfortunately, yes. Honestly, I'm glad we're no longer with them."

Cassandra smiled, "Habits do die hard."

Welf snorted, "You'd think you'd be used to being spoiled in this Familia by now."

Aisha laughed lightly, "Oh don't worry, I definitely am."

Bell smiled in exasperation, "Keep talking, and I'll take a page out of the Soma Familia."

Lili pointed her spoon at Bell, "Don't you dare! If you want to start, you gotta count me in!"

Everyone just laughed as they continued their meal.

After a short while, Bell sat at the edge of their camp, keeping watch as everyone went to rest.

"B-Bell."

The boy turned to see Cassandra walking to him, "Cassandra? What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

The healer pursed her lips, "I… About my vision…"

Bell nodded, "Green moss, was it?"

Cassandra nodded, "I have a really bad feeling about tomorrow. So…"

The captain of the Hestia Familia looked back at the darkness that led further out to the dungeon, "I've been thinking about what it could mean. Green moss would make me think of Moss Huges, in terms of monsters at least."

The young woman looked at him, "But we haven't seen any Moss Huges, even in the higher floors."

Bell nodded, "And Moss Huges don't appear on the 25th to the 27th floors. So that makes me wonder what it could be."

Cassandra sighed, "What if the dungeon spits out moss that engulfs everyone?"

The boy chuckled, "I doubt it. But hey, anything can happen down here. So we'll have to be prepared."

The healer nodded, "And Bell… I actually had a second part to that vision."

Bell raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

Cassandra hesitated, before she spoke, "After the green moss swallowed everything, a bright flame followed and burned everything."

The boy blinked, "A bright flame?"

The young woman nodded, "I really don't know what that means. That's all I saw before I woke up. I just… I just didn't want anyone to get hurt on this expedition."

Bell smiled, "Thank you for letting me know. I can only imagine how much that weighed on your mind."

Cassandra smiled softly, "Daphne-chan still doesn't quite believe me, and I know everyone else just brushes it off."

The boy snorted, "If you really think about it, your visions thus far have been accurate. To some extent at least. I believe you."

The healer smiled genuinely, "Thank you, Bell."

Bell turned his focus to the entrance to the dungeon, "I'll think on it, and we'll do whatever we can to avoid the worst case scenario."

Cassandra nodded, "Thank you, really."

The boy did a shoo'ing action, "Now go to sleep, you need your rest."

The long haired girl smiled, "Thank you, and good night."

Bell smiled as she entered her tent, "Good night."

The boy turned his attention to the opening, and the night went by quickly as Aisha came out to swap with him.

(Linebreak)

The next morning, after a light breakfast, the Hestia Familia stood before a giant waterfall.

Welf whistled, "Damn, I knew it'd be big, but not like this!"

Aisha smirked, "The Great Falls. It stretches from the 25th to the 27th floor. You'll find the Amphisbaena there."

Bell nodded, "Allegedly, the bottom of the basin on the 27th floor has a waterway that leads out to Lolog Lake in Melen."

Mikoto blinked in confusion, "Wait, really? But wouldn't that let the monsters out?"

The boy nodded again, "Normally yes, but I believe after the Zeus Familia destroyed the Leviathan, they used the remains of the Leviathan and sealed up that waterway."

Lili nodded in understanding, "So it's like how Karm-san's village is."

Bell looked at the waterfalls, "That's right. Anyways, the Amphisbaena can travel between floors thanks to the waterfall, usually it stays on the 27th floor though."

Aisha nodded, "Which means we have some time to wander around."

Daphne grinned, "Let's get going then. Our supporter here's gonna die if she doesn't get her hands on any drop items soon."

Everyone laughed as Lili pouted, "Lili is not that bad."

Bell simply patted her head softly as they walked, "Alright, let's move. We'll explore every nook of this floor before we move on to the next!"

Everyone voiced their agreement before they made their way along the cliffs.

As they walked, Daphne commented, "By the gods, you really can't see the end of it, huh?"

Aisha nodded, "Yeah, it might only be three floors, but the size is unlike what you'd expect if you looked at the first five floors."

Lili looked at the map they'd brought, "We'll be going back into the standard labyrinth layout once we get through this, this is just the external I suppose."

Bell nodded, "That's right, there'll be some connected waterways too, but we probably won't see much of them."

As they walked, they soon neared the entrance to the cave, and Welf glanced back at the entrance, "By the gods, never really realized how big this place is."

Everyone followed his gaze, where they could see the entrance to the 25th floor was at.

Aisha snorted, "Yeah, and the size also screws up your perception of distance too."

Bell chuckled, "Come on, let's keep going. We'll be going back to the standard layout."

Everyone nodded and followed the Familia captain.

As they progressed through the labyrinth once more, Haruhime looked to their side, "I'm surprised, I didn't expect we'd have water ways like this in the dungeon."

Daphne nodded, "You wouldn't need to worry about getting a source of water on these floors."

The renard squatted down to take a closer look at the water, "But the current is quite violent huh?"

Aisha snorted, "Considering the water comes from a waterfall that goes through three to four dungeon floors, I'm not surprised."

The Amazoness yanked the renard back, "But stay away from the edge, please."

Haruhime yelped in surprise, "E-eh? Why?"

As if on cue, a Raider Fish leaped out of the water, jaws wide open ready to clamp down on its prey.

In the blink of an eye, two blades sliced through the monster, cutting it into three pieces before the Raider Fish exploded in a burst of ash.

Everyone turned to see Mikoto and Daphne with their swords drawn, and Aisha smirked, "Not bad."

The redhead brandished her sword before sheathing it, "Honestly, if it wasn't for the sword I doubt I would've reached it in time."

Aisha chuckled, "I know what you mean."

Mikoto nodded, "This new sword is very easy to handle, I must say."

Welf smiled dryly, "Good to hear."

Lili snorted, "That's good and all, but I suddenly feel the need to remind everyone about how much we actually spent for our new equipment for this expedition."

Everyone turned to the prum, as she started, "Since we're on the topic of new weapons, Welf-sama had procured new materials, not to mention our new equipment made with Undine cloths and Goliath Robes."

Lili gained a stern look, "So with that in mind, I'll have everyone put in enough work to get us enough money to cover our costs."

Everyone smiled in exasperation, and Aisha chuckled as she patted the prum on the head, "Oh don't you worry, on an expedition like this, you're guaranteed to earn more than enough to cover your costs."

Bell smiled, "And to be honest, I think the drops we got just from going down to the 19th floor should be enough."

Daphne nodded, "Agreed."

Welf grinned, "Besides, if we do end up not getting enough, Bell can use his treasures or whatever to make it even."

Lili pouted, "You're missing the point!"

Everyone just laughed as they continued walking.

As they did, Cassandra looked to the side, "Huh, I never really realized this before, but did the 25th floor have coral like that?"

Bell followed her line of sight, "Oh, Under Coral!"

Welf snapped his head over to them, "Did you just say Under Coral?!"

The boy nodded and he pointed at the other side of the river, "There, Eina-san showed me how they looked before. You can only find them in the Water City."

The blacksmith grinned widely, "Dude, we can make some pretty neat weapons with those!"

Lili furrowed her brows, "But it'll be hard to cross the water, and it's dangerous too with the currents."

Aisha smirked as she leaned down next to the prum's ear, "I hear Under Croal can fetch you a pretty hefty price, approximately three hundred thousand valis, possibly more if you know the right person."

Lili's eyes widened, gleaming with a greedy look, "Then we have to get it!"

The prum turned to Bell, "Bell-sama!"

The Amazoness chuckled to herself silently as she stood up, and she turned to see Haruhime giving her an exasperated expression.

Aisha grinned, "What?"

The renard just smiled and shook her head, "Nothing."

The group watched as Bell leaped across the river, using his knife to carefully cut the coral out.

Daphne shook her head, "By the gods, what is this… We have our Familia captain and arguably our strongest asset on material duty."

Mikoto smiled, "It can't be helped, we don't exactly have a scout, and Lili isn't as agile."

The prum grumbled, "Lili can hear you, you know?"

Welf chuckled, "Well, we're not exactly a normal Familia now, are we?"

In no time, Bell was back on the normal path, and he handed the bag with the Under Coral to Lili, "Here."

Lili gingerly took the bag and put it into her sack, "Three hundred thousand valis!"

Welf sighed, "And here I hoped I could make something good with that…"

Bell grinned and patted him on the back, "Don't worry, I saved some for you, it's in my treasury."

The blacksmith laughed, "My man!"

Mikoto sighed, "Men."

Aisha folded her arms, a small smirk on her face, "More like boys."

Cassandra giggled, "At least they're having fun."

Before anyone could continue, they heard a clicking sound from afar.

Aisha narrowed her eyes, "Guess it's about time."

Soon, a consortium of crabs came swarming at them from the front.

Daphne shivered, "What the fuck? They walk facing the front?!"

Aisha laughed softly, "Oh yeah, they do. It was creepy for me the first time too."

Bell chanted, "Load: Heracles."

The golden axe appeared in his hands, "Alright, let's go!"

(Linebreak)

An hour later, the Hestia Familia were walking through a normal cave, having swerved away from the waterways.

As they walked, Lili spoke up, "Bell-sama, we've progressed almost half of the main route for this floor. Should we have lunch before going deeper down?"

Bell nodded, "Sure, I don't mind."

Aisha narrowed her eyes as she looked forward, "Before we do that, everyone get ready."

The group turned to look into the darkness before them, and Welf asked, "Is it an adventurer?"

Bell nodded slowly, as he spotted a silhouette walking towards them, "Seems like it."

The figure soon walked into view, and everyone was surprised to see an elf with a stump for his left arm, stumbling towards them.

The captain of the Hestia Familia quickly recognized the elf, having seen him at the Guild frequently, "Luvis-san?!"

Aisha scowled, "Get ready, now!"

Just as the elf revealed himself, so did the monster behind him, a large green monster holding a club.

Luvis barely stayed on his feet, "H-help… p…please…"

That was all he could manage as he fell face first, and the Moss Huge reached out with its huge hands.

Bell grunted as he dashed forward, "Load: Achilles!"

Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē appeared in his hands as the boy thrusted the spear at the monster.

The Moss Huge quickly backed away to avoid the thrust, but Bell quickly gave chase.

The moment Bell closed in for a thrust yet again, the monster leaned to a side to the surprise of the boy.

The white rabbit widened his eyes in surprise when the Moss Huge suddenly swung its club, sending the boy flying backwards.

Bell took a breath as he let himself fly back, 'It read my attacks, and that speed and strength…'

It was nowhere near the likes of Asterius, but for a monster on the 25th floor, it was certainly out of the ordinary.

Bell planted both feet firmly on the ground, before he broke into a dash again.

But before he could attack, Luvis' voice reached his ears, "N-no! S-stop!"

The boy blinked and quickly skidded to a stop, and he was about to ask why.

He didn't need to, for the Moss Huge gave a loud roar, as multiple protrusions appeared all over its body.

Luvis forced out, "D-don't! GET HIT!"

That was the only warning Bell got before the Moss Huge unleashed a large barrage of seeds at him.

Bell narrowed his eyes, as he could easily see the bullets coming, and with Achilles' superior speed, he managed to dodge all of them.

Evidently, the Moss Huge noticed this, and it began to turn to face the rest of the Hestia Familia.

Bell's eyes widened as the barrage of seeds started to turn towards his Familia, and he could see the seeds punching holes through the walls and rock formations.

The boy swiftly dashed forward, placing himself between the Moss Huge and his Familia, "Overload: Galahad!"

The Around Round Shield appeared in his hands as he held it forward, the bullets striking the shield almost instantly.

Bell grunted as he chanted, "SET: LORD CAMELOT!"

The translucent white castle walls appeared, blocking the rain of bullets. It was an incomplete manifestation, but it was more than enough.

Soon, the barrage ended, and Bell released his shield, but as soon as he did, the Moss Huge was nowhere to be seen.

Welf frowned, "That monster… It ran?"

Bell let out a breath as he turned, "Is everyone okay?"

Aisha nodded, "Yeah, everyone's fine."

Lili sighed, "It's a good thing we had our Goliath Robes, that would've been a disaster if we didn't have them."

Luvis grunted as he looked at Bell, "T-that was good… W-we didn't have that sort of… sort of protection. All of us… we were hit."

Bell approached Luvis, who now laid on the ground with his head on Cassandra's lap, and he looked at the vines that were wrapped around his body.

The white rabbit asked, "What it did with those seeds, was that what did this to you?"

Luvis nodded painfully, "Y-yeah, everyone in my party."

The elf asked, "P-please… Little Hero, please, help my friends."

Aisha scowled, "Help? You mean to tell us you left your friends to die?"

Luvis grunted as he looked at the Amazoness, "N-no. I was the decoy, but it knew what we were doing… I couldn't… I couldn't do anything."

Bell looked at Cassandra, "Can you heal him?"

The healer shook her head, "I already tried, it only made it worse."

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Worse?"

Cassandra nodded, "It's likely these vines use his vitality to sustain themselves, the more we try to heal him…"

Bell nodded in understanding, "The more they grow."

The boy folded his arms, "That thing looked like a Moss Huge."

Mikoto asked, "But Moss Huges don't look like that or appear on this floor, do they?"

Aisha spoke up, "It's probably an abnormal type."

Welf asked, "Surely you'd have something that can treat this somewhere with those heroes of yours, right, Bell?"

Bell shook his head, "No, I'm not too sure. This isn't a disease, nor a curse. It's more like a parasite."

The boy fell silent, considering their options.

Lili sighed, "I know that look…."

The white haired rabbit blinked, "What look?"

Welf nodded in understanding, "Ahh, yeap, that look."

Bell blinked in confusion, "I don't follow."

Daphne smiled, "They mean that look you have when you set your mind to helping someone."

The prum folded her arms, "I was going to say it's too dangerous to keep going with that thing around, but…"

Bell shook his head, "Out of question, we know how strong that Moss Huge is now, and what it can do. I can't just leave Luvis-san and his party to die."

Lili massaged her temples, "Yep, I knew it…"

Aisha chuckled, "Hey, look at it this way. We could've left it here and gone up to the surface, but the Guild will eventually issue a quest to take that thing down anyways."

Daphne nodded, "And considering it's a Moss Huge, it's highly likely we can cure Luvis of those vines when we kill it."

Welf chuckled, "Guess that settles it, we're hunting that thing down then."

Mikoto nodded, "The problem is how do we track it down."

Luvis grunted, "N-no need. That t-thing will show u-up… again…"

Daphne raised an eyebrow, "How can you be so sure?"

The elf held up a pouch, "It… It was after this."

Bell took the pouch and opened it up, "Magic stones?!"

Luvis nodded painfully, "T-that's right."

Aisha frowned, "You mean to tell us that a monster is hunting down adventurers for their magic stones, that's ridiculous!"

The elf closed his eyes in an attempt to ignore the pain, "I-it is the truth."

Luvis took a painful breath, "T-that monster… attacked us out of nowhere… It took our magic stones… and ate it in front of us…"

The elf looked at Bell, "It was much… much smaller before… it… must have gotten… more magic stones."

The white haired rabbit nodded, quickly remembering how Lyd had told him they got stronger by eating magic stones.

Bell tightened the pouch, "I understand. We can make this work then."

Aisha raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Sounds like you've got a plan."

The boy nodded, "We know monsters can get stronger by eating magic stones. Lyd-san told us that before."

Welf blinked, "Oh, right, he did, didn't he?"

Bell nodded again, "So that Moss Huge must be doing the same."

Daphne folded her arms, "Except it's targeting adventurers for them."

The boy nodded in agreement, "That's right. We have two objectives here, one is to save Luvis-san's party, and the other is to take down that Moss Huge."

Lili asked, "How do we go about that?"

Bell looked at her, and he smiled, "We'll be using your bag, Lili."

The prum blinked, "Eh?"

Welf chuckled, "I see where this is going."

The boy explained, "We've got a decent amount of magic stones from our journey down here, and I can pick out a few items from my treasury that can emit similar magical signatures."

Lili gaped, "Wait wait wait!"

The prum glared at Bell, "We've got plenty of drop items in my bag! We can't just risk them all to lure that monster out!"

The boy smiled, "Don't worry, we won't. I'll have another bag out so we can store the magic items."

Luvis grunted, "N-no need… You don't need… much… Just the pouch we have… and whatever you have on you… Is more than enough."

Bell hummed, "Very well, you've faced it before. You'd know better."

The boy looked at everyone, "Alright, we'll start looking for Luvis-san's party, then after we make sure they're safe, we'll hunt the Moss Huge."

No one objected, and Luvis grunted again, "Thank you… Bell Cranel… and also, Dormul's party is on this floor too."

Bell raised an eyebrow, quickly remembering the dwarf that always seemed to argue with the elf in the Guild for Eina's attention.

The boy hummed, "Dormul-san… I see, they're here too."

Luvis nodded painfully, "We were here on the same mission, they should still be on this floor."

Bell closed his eyes, before he nodded, "Alright, then we'll add that to the list. We'll let them know about the Moss Huge if we see them."

The boy looked at the elf, "But if things get bad for my party, we're pulling out. Okay?"

Luvis nodded, "Fair… enough."

Bell looked at Welf, "Welf, can you carry him while we move?"

The blacksmith nodded, "Sure, I'll stay at the back in case anything gets past."

The captain nodded gratefully, "That'll be great."

Bell looked at Luvis again, "Do you remember where was the last place you saw your teammates?"

The elf nodded painfully as Welf helped him up, "Y-yeah, I can show you."

The white haired rabbit looked at everyone, "Alright, that settles it. Let's move out, and stay sharp."

(Linebreak)

A short while later, the Hestia Familia plus one walked through the dungeon at a slower pace, careful to watch for monsters.

As they did, Cassandra walked up to Bell, "Bell."

The white haired rabbit glanced at her, "Cassandra, what's up?"

The healer tightened her grip on her staff, "About my vision…"

Bell hummed, "Green moss, was it?"

He glanced back at Luvis' figure, studying the green vines, "I suppose that Moss Huge is it."

Cassandra nodded, "I think so too. It was fortunate we were prepared… or we would've ended up like that."

Bell nodded, "Which also makes me wonder, what the bright flame would be…"

The long haired girl nodded, "It could be anything."

The boy chuckled, "But on the bright side, we've got our Undine clothes, so in a way we're prepared too."

Cassandra hummed, "It'd be good if that were the case."

Bell let out a breath, "But I've also been thinking."

The older girl raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

The boy's look turned serious, "What if I try to draw out a Heroic Spirit whose element is predominantly related to flames?"

Cassandra's eyes widened, before she looked down, "I… I don't know. In the past, I could never change the outcome of my visions. If the bright flame in my visions meant a monster, then that monster will definitely show up."

Bell's eyes softened, "I see… Then I suppose it doesn't change anything, we'll just have to proceed carefully."

The healer nodded, "Thank you, Bell."

With that said, Cassandra returned to the back of the party, and Daphne sighed in exasperation but chose to kept silent.

Soon, they reached a split path, and Welf asked, "So, which way?"

Luvis looked at the left path, "T-the left…"

Aisha nodded, "Alright, left it is then."

The group went into the left path, and soon, they reached a large room.

Luvis' eyes widened when he saw two figures at the centre of the room, "Chariot! Lana!"

Welf asked, "Are those your friends?"

The elf nodded, "Yes, but… I don't see Aleck… He's not there!"

Daphne narrowed her eyes as she studied the room, "This is a pain…"

Aisha nodded, "You see it too, yeah?"

The redhead nodded, "It's a trap, a very obvious one too."

Haruhime blinked in confusion, "A trap?"

Bell nodded as he pointed to the waterways next to the two elves, "That's right, if we try to rescue them, monsters from the water will definitely come up for us."

Lili hummed, "But so far that Moss Huge is not here, if it's just Blue Crabs, we should be fine."

The prum looked at Mikoto, "Mikoto-sama, can you sense the Moss Huge nearby?"

The Eastern girl concentrated as she reached out with her senses, and she shook her head, "For now, no. But there's already too many monsters nearby, I'm not sure if it's hiding within those monsters."

Welf looked at Bell, "What do we do?"

The boy stared at the two elves at the centre of the room, and he could see them breathing heavily in pain, blood stains on the ground as if they had been dragged there.

The white haired boy answered, "We'll save them. We don't know where the Moss Huge is, so for all we know, it might not even be here."

Aisha hummed, "Very well, let's do it."

Lili asked, "So, Bell-sama and Aisha-sama will go in and rescue them, while the rest of us stay here?"

The Amazoness shook her head, "No, you're coming too."

The prum blinked, "Huh? Why?"

As if on cue, the wall cracked next to Haruhime, and a Blue Crab emerged, but before it could attack, Aisha's sword cleaved it in half.

The woman brandished her sword, "Cuz of that."

Lili nodded, "Alright, then we'll all push forward."

Aisha smirked and walked to stand beside Bell, "That settles it then, let's go."

Bell nodded, "Yeah. Load: Penthesilea."

The pair of spiked maces appeared in his hands, and they all charged into the room.

Lana grunted when she saw them, "N-no… D-don't!"

The moment Aisha and Bell got far enough from the group, the water on both sides of the path exploded, revealing not one, but two of the enhanced Moss Huges.

Daphne gasped, "There's two of them?!"

Bell grunted, "OVERLOAD: ACHILLES!"

The power of the Greek hero filled his body, as he dashed back in a burst of speed, swinging his maces as he did.

The two maces smashed into the two Moss Huges, sending them stumbling back into the water.

Bell landed on the ground, "Daphne! Mikoto! Get everyone away!"

The two swordswomen nodded and quickly started cutting down the Blue Crabs that attacked when the Moss Huges showed up.

Bell turned his focus on the two enhanced Moss Huges, each holding a club made from the crystals from the floor.

The boy let out a deep breath, before he dashed forward and swung the chained maces again.

This time, the Moss Huges dodged them and swung their clubs at him.

In response, Bell leaped into the air and spun, landing a number of vicious kicks that sent one of the Moss Huges skidding away.

Not missing beat, the boy continued spinning, swinging his chained maces as he landed on the ground, striking the second Moss Huge.

Bell took the opportunity to prepare himself, "Set…"

But before he could chant the name of his Noble Phantasm, the water behind him exploded, revealing a third Moss Huge.

Bell cursed, "A third one?!"

The third Moss Huge swung its club at him, and Bell rolled to a side to dodge the strike.

The three Moss Huges gathered, before it started to merge into one giant Moss Huge, their wooden frames merging.

At the same time, it also revealed two bodies, dropping to the ground once every bit of moss was absorbed into one body.

One of them was Aleck, while the other was another random adventurer.

Bell narrowed his eyes, "It used adventurers to create clones…"

The boy took a deep breath and dashed forward, swinging his maces as he closed in.

Just as before, the spiked balls struck the monster head one, but this time, Bell felt the difference.

Bell grunted as the Moss Huge swung its arms, and he raised his arms in time to block the strike, sending him back to the ground.

The monster quickly followed up with a stomp, but the boy was fast to roll out of the way.

The boy took a moment to calm down, 'It must have created clones to collect magic stones, and now that they're all back together, their strength has combined.'

Bell's eyes darted around, taking note of how his friends were doing, and fortunately, they were making a very good stand against the Blue Crabs whilst protecting the two elves.

The boy returned his focus to the monster, "Over-Load: Muramasa."

Cassandra's words rang in his mind, and it also made sense for the Moss Huge's weakness to be fire.

A Muramasa sword appeared in his hands, and he swung, unleashing a wave of flames.

The flames struck the monster head on, and it wailed in pain, but soon, the flames died down as the monster regenerated.

Bell narrowed his eyes, "So a Muramasa sword won't cut it."

The Moss Huge stomped on the ground, growling and backed away.

The boy summoned another Muramasa sword, "Oh no you don't!"

But before he could chase after the monster, he felt something grab his legs.

Bell's eyes widened as he looked down to see a vine wrapped around his legs, tethered to the ground, "Shit!"

He swung his sword to cut the vines, but he was a step too late, as the Moss Huge pulled him up using the vines.

Then, the monster leaped into the water, pulling Bell with him.

"BELL-SAMA!"

Lili's scream was the last thing he heard as the two crashed into the water, the rapid currents quickly pulling Bell and the Moss Huge away.

Bell growled as he quickly held his breath, swinging his swords to cut the vines off.

Summoning Achilles' spear in his hands, Bell swam forward to thrust at the Moss Huge.

Yet, to his surprise, the Moss Huge dodged the attack easily, before holding onto the rocks nearby.

The boy cursed, but not before throwing the spear like a harpoon, stabbing the Moss Huge in the shoulder.

Using the other sword he had in his hands, Bell quickly stabbed it into the walls next to him, stopping the water from pushing him any further.

But before he could swim to the surface, he found the Moss Huge suddenly in front of him, arms poised to strike.

That was all Bell saw before the Moss Huge punched him hard, loosening the sword in the walls at the same time.

The currents quickly pushed Bell back yet again, but before he could stabilize himself or counterattack, the boy noticed a light from behind him.

Against his better judgement, Bell looked back towards the light, and he quickly realized what it was, 'SHIT!'

Before he realized it, he was out of the water, and more importantly, falling from a waterfall.

XXX

That's the chapter. So the Moss Huge here is definitely stronger than canon, it was stated in canon that Moss Huges can create clones, which I was surprised the author didn't make use of that and made the situation worse.

So that's what I did here.

Again, I've been quite busy with life than I expected, so i don't know when the next chapter will be, but probably in 2025.

So, with that said, Merry Christmas everyone.

Read and review please. Until the next one.