592A/N
Aye! How's the weekend goin? Hopefully pretty well!
Alright, I said 'Saturday Night', and technically it's Sunday morning now where I am, so my apologies to you all.
Anyway, I made sure to put some good effort into this one, I do hope it's at the very least enjoyable, and I really hope I managed to describe everything in enough detail to accurately portray what was in my head while not overwhelming or spewing words pointlessly onto the page.
But, enough from me, storytime!
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6,889 Words in total.
There was a soft flicker as the pyre burned.
They were on Floor Twelve now.
The four sat around a small burning pile of wood collected from a decrepit goblin camp, within it were the life's work of these monsters, all turned to ash in minutes.
All around them was a thick white fog as they traveled around the brim of a larger cavern, the center filled with a forest of white, leafless trees much taller and broader than the two floors above. Monsters avoided the group down here, Ais' Falna saw to that as a Level Six, though the knocking of some unseen monster kept echoing off the trees far and away like woodpeckers back on the surface.
For the three girls, Ais, Lefiya, and Alicia, this floor was far from worrisome, they didn't even give a second glance to the monsters or the floor itself, but Bell had reminded them of days long ago.
Bell initially spotted the small construction tucked away in a nook of the outer wall on their way past; it was considered good manners to destroy encampments whenever you came across one. For the other three this was nothing short of trivial work that was far behind them, they couldn't even remember the last time they'd spent this long on a floor this high in the dungeon.
But after years of thinking of Floor Eighteen as the big first checkpoint on the way to actual dives, Floor Twelve seemed barely more dangerous than the surface.
Bell was searching around now that the majority of the camp was piled up and in flames, pulling up chunks of wood that had been stuck in the ground and tossing them in the fire, occasionally finding fragments of magic crystals no larger than those of a Floor One goblin in the dirt. Of course, they weren't from so high above, they had been larger once and food for the now dispatched inhabitants of this camp, teeth marks scarring the crystals, so he threw them into the fire as well.
By now, the flames sparkled an almost pure white from the crystals he'd already thrown in.
The three girls sat on a large rock near the fire. Ais was on the ground watching the fire sparkle, arms around her knees pulled in toward her chest The elves sat up on the rock, Lefiya upright with her hands on the rock to prop up and lean, while Alicia was decompressing her back by laying upside-down along the slope of the rock.
"It's just so gross…" Lefiya droned yet again.
Bell grumbled with a smile. "Goblin doesn't, hasn't, nor is supposed to smell good. A level four ought to know that by now."
"Yeah yeah- More stories please!" Lefiya easily brushed the here-and-now off, Bell had let a short story of his slip earlier and now Lefiya and the other girls had become rather enthralled in the tales. Generally, Bell didn't go around telling stories of his past adventures, especially the sort they wanted to hear about. Unfortunately for him, these three seemed to like them, and Ais seemed to finally be letting go of his misadventure last night as she listened.
Bell huffed, stopping as he held another large chunk of wood in hand a pace or two away from the fire, trying to think of things they'd even care about. "You're asking a lot, you know. Most of this hasn't even been recorded before, probably will get lost to time I'm sure."
Alicia chipped in. "Then why don't you record it?"
"Hm?" He tossed the wood chunk in, shifting the fire and sending embers up.
"Write it down, I'm sure you know how. Your handwriting is good enough, I've seen your graded papers in the library when Lady Riveria wasn't looking. Why don't you?"
"I have before, just not everything… Some stuff is best left to disappear. But I've written a fair few things down over time, they're out there, somewhere, I'm sure." He reminisced. Fond memories crossed him of resting for a few months, regaling a group of scholars in the Imperial capital back in those days with tales of Heroes they'd never even heard of before. In the days before then, recording down hero stories was hardly a priority and thus were mostly retold by tongue; he was likely responsible for some of the oldest hero stories in existence being known today.
"Could we have heard of any before? Think any of your stories made it into a hero book or two?" Lefiya quirked her head in question.
Bell smiled with a hum. "Not likely, mine are more or less trivial compared to the larger tales of heroes slaying beasts, and rescuing maidens from towers. I'm far less interesting than you all give me credit for."
Ais rolled her eyes with a smile, Bell was a terrible liar, but she could spot how he slipped them in with truths. He did feel his personal stories weren't all that special, but the man was packed to the brim with more knowledge than any sane person should.
He could fill a library, she was sure of it. And if all went well, Auntie Riveria will probably help him do so soon enough… probably.
Alicia swung her arms up, straightening to sit up with the momentum. "What about Orario, the battle?"
Bell's eyes darted to her with his smile dropping just a bit, Lefiya was intrigued, but Ais was doing everything to hide her sudden infatuation, hanging onto every word he'd soon utter about him and her father's grandest quest together.
The man paused in thought for a moment. "Well, that's a rather long story, we'll be back on the surface before I can tell you everything that happened."
Lefiya commented. "Three days had that much to tell?"
Bell smirked. "Fine, just some cliff-notes though, it honestly wasn't as grand and amazing as you've probably read."
The fire started to die down.
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A fair part of the morning was gone by the time they finally reached the surface, Bell had to tone down his details in case someone were peeping in on their conversation, so he kept to the lighter details.
When they finally stepped out into the light atop the staircase that led up to the dungeon's entrance, Bell couldn't help pausing to take the sight in.
He could see the wall in the distance, towering high above the city. Then the unnaturally flat landscape within it, all the way to the plaza surrounding Babel and the dungeon. Babel had a wide berth from itself to the city surrounding it, nothing but paved walkways and stretches of empty flower beds and barren trees that had dropped all but the last leaves of the season.
The three girls had been ahead of him and didn't stop, Bell soon started down the stairs after them, but his mind was elsewhere after telling that last story.
In reality, the battle took place across seven days, not three.
That was something about the battle that had been lost to time, a millennium or retellings can muddle details like that.
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They arrived in the morning of the first day.
A full cohort of men was being led by Albert with Bell at his side, preparing by establishing a camp and laying out the foundations for what would potentially be the final days of monsters ruling the surface of their world. The entire force worked under the sun's light till it burned out, left with the dim light of a near new moon once they finished, no more than just under a league west from where the dungeon must have been.
While camp had been merry that evening, full of mustering courage and talks of grandeur, no such moral would last. At least, not in full.
Near midnight, the beasts were upon them.
At first a few men around the outskirts of the camp began to get dragged off out of nowhere as though the darkness itself were stealing them away. The alarm was sounded, but before everyone could get up and equipped, a torch was lit and thrown out into the grounds beyond the camp's edge near the final of such abductions.
The torch, thrown with enough force to carry it tens of dozens of meters, passed by the monsters and burned their bodies with its light making them cry out in pain. The sight of nearly a hundred War Shadows as they screeched in the night unnerved the men who'd been there to see it.
The shadows surged through the south of their camp, tearing through tents and wagons to attack anything that dared breath in their hunting grounds. There had been chaos, screams and cries from the mercenaries, the camp shortly afterward washed over with the heavy scent of blood.
In an age before the gods' descent, and the gift of Falna, numbers and knowledge were their strongest advantage.
They were outnumbered at first, but not for long after the cries of battle began. Dozens more torches were lit, men who were awakened from freshly warmed beds now forced to fight in the dark against the dark. Oil was in short supply before the bulk of their forces would arrive, but they did what they could. Rags were soaked in the black and brown liquids and wrapped around spears, bonfires igniting all across camp.
The few beastmen and elves of strong magic used their abilities to attack with far more efficiency than the spearmen. The fighting was very push and pull, the shadows jabbing their talons into the grounds and sweeping dirt over the camp's fires, the men retreating as they fought until they could deal enough of a blow to recover and push back to reignite the fires.
Over and over, they fought to keep the dark at bay that swarmed around them in a feeding frenzy, picking off one man after another. It wasn't until the first signs of daylight that the shadows cried out together like a pack of wolves, and disappeared into the wilderness. Leaving as though they'd never been there in the first place, not even a trail being left as their bodies disappeared into what of the dark night was left.
They survived with casualties totaling nearly a full centuria before the first assault had even taken place.
The majority of the wood supply had been burned, most men were sleep-deprived. But they had help, the rest of the force arrived at camp by midday at nearly four-thousand men to pick up the tab and give them a rest. A sight to behold, never had even Bell seen so many men in the same sort of armor, by modern Orarian standards it was shabby and outdated, but in those days the imperial armor with its metal strips held tight by leather straps seemed amazing, especially in such quantity.
The following would be a day of preparation, stockpiling resources and building rudimentary defenses. Small scouting groups being sent deeper into the uncharted lands to hopefully give them an edge for tomorrow's battle.
Come night while many of the new arrivals slept fine under the completely new moon, many belonging to the original cohort struggled to fall asleep.
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The first attack on the third day was meant to test the strength of the monsters, but they quickly bit off more than they could chew.
Orario in those times wasn't yet a fully explored region, the very ground they had laid camp, shared merriment, and bled over, was fresh virgin grounds that no man woman nor child had ever set foot. Simply, there was no telling what exactly lay across the near league of distance they had to fight through to reach the dungeon's mouth.
Even then, that was only if the calculated location was accurate. The life's work of scholars and even several spirits now stood to be tested.
Most of the men in the overall fighting force traveled by foot, but the same countries that had outfitted Albert's mercenaries sent several commanders and generals to render the hero aid, they too were forced to dismount horses and lead from the ground amidst the terrible conditions. They found themselves in a swamp that was bitter, green, and filled to the brim with wicked miasma that only a few gifted mages could properly tell apart from the muggy air. Bell among them.
They moved forward into the swamps, sticking to high grounds as the environment quickly turned against them. The beasts could sense the unfamiliar and unwelcomed newcomers, everything from Killer Ants to Orcs poured out from any unsuspecting nook and cranny of the swamp.
Hours passed without as much as an unearned blink for most on the front line.
The swamp was a vile place.
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The fourth day was worse.
A swarm of attacking monsters came upon the bulk of their forces when treading water, attempting to cross and reach deeper into the swamp, evening now setting over them after so long fighting.
Blood stained the waters and moss of the swamp, the wretched scent of iron hung in the air with bitter indifference as bodies floated like deceptive islands amidst a sea of tainted waters.
The monsters were far greater in numbers but with no organization, hoards of goblins and hobgoblins were attacking at any given time. The mercenary force's formations were effective but themselves limited by the harsh and wet environment. Men were more often struck down by the mud than an enemy assault, shield formations forcing the goblins back as spearmen warded the green and malnourished-looking things off through the gaps.
Albert and Bell had their hands full charging up and down the lines to deal with the bigger threats this hellish place threw at the men, arriving wherever hobgoblins or frog shooters were sighted, dispatching them as best they could with minimal difficulty. The exception being a few excellent occasions the regular soldiers had managed through sheer fearless ambition, only bolstering their will to battle on.
The hours wore down the sun overhead just the same as it did the men, and soon they had to pull back for the night.
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The fifth day.
A force of Elves arrived at their camp, some three hundred strong with mages and warriors alike, sent by the Alf Forest itself.
Bell, and later he would learn Albert too, didn't particularly like the elven leader, a rather self-righteous and arrogant young man. He was someone who'd never himself been in a proper fight, and the existing command structure amongst Albert's men unanimously despised him.
But, they had far bigger worries ahead.
Again, the men were ambushed on their way to the dungeon.
Dungeon lizards had nested in an area they'd unknowingly marched straight under, the mercenaries hadn't realized that until far too late, their formations which were the lifeblood of their success so far were in shambles as the beasts dropped down on any unsuspecting fighter they could from the trees overhead.
The chaos was far from what the Elven leader was expecting, completely taken aback, only further blindsided as his mages were swarmed by 'bad bats' after attempting to retreat to casting range.
As monsters piled on, the hours ticked by, everyone gradually became exhausted.
They had to pull back again for a third day straight, the still waters yet again bloody. Old corpses unable to be retrieved in yesterday's chaos now missing limbs and flesh across their bodies, even rotting after only a day in the monster-infested swamp, now hazards themselves to the fighting force.
The casualties only mounted with no progress made. Not a single step. The elves, especially having arrived with large egos, were hurt by this day of defeat.
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The night of day six.
.
There was a haze over the entire forest, red gleaming and dense.
Bell was tired but forced his legs and ran, slipping every so often but fairing better than those few mercenaries who followed close behind. The Snow Elf was lost, but he had no choice but to keep going.
The swamp was frozen solid by magic from the elves, the Alf Forest mages having given up their protests from the last day about harming the ecosystem of such an important place in the world. The desperate elves had even set the tree canopy ablaze during the earlier retreat that day, their second major defeat in this venture toward locating the dungeon of Orario.
Now, a crescent moon hung over their bleeding men's heads tonight, like death's blade hovering over them.
Everything was red.
The swamp water and algae had turned blood red, the canopy above was ablaze, the heat turning the air to steam and mist.
Eventually, Bell had to try and do something about his lack of direction, he couldn't see where he was going and nothing was coming of it. The desperate elf scaled up a fallen tree, its trunk a bit taller than himself as it lay there on its side, bark coated in a mesh of roots and vines. He stopped and caught his breath, looking frantically in every direction, but couldn't see more than the dozen meters ahead that he could down where he'd been. Bell jumped down on the other side, the thinning ice cracking under his boots as he did, water seeping up from below, yet he didn't stop for a moment.
Everything was red as the sounds of a forest fire and shattering ice filled the swamp, the oppressive heat making the patch of ice he crossed seem to go on indefinitely, bodies that had been floating in the water, human and otherwise, now frozen and showing within the ice, his only sign of recognizable progression.
Bell ran.
He could hear the sound of his men behind trying to keep up, but he caught the sound of battle up ahead. His heart froze for a moment with hope. He pushed on, and eventually, Bell spotted silhouettes in the haze.
Everything had been going wrong today, the mission was failing, and the battles seemed more hopeless each day.
And yet… as he closed the distance…
Bell passed a monster corpse, then another, over a dozen- hundreds.
When Bell reached him, Albert was alone treading water atop the ice.
The man was soaked in sweat, his armor was all but burned black, and his cloak was gone, ripped from his shoulders. The man's sword wasn't straight anymore, it was chipped and warped from the monsters endlessly berating its wielder.
The only resolve that could compare to the resilient metal was within the man whose hand guided its lethal verdict.
The monsters- goblins, dungeon lizards, frog shooters, orcs- kept coming... The beasts rushed endlessly, and Albert cut them down time and time again like a man possessed as he marched deeper and deeper toward the dungeon.
It made Bell stall for a moment, looking like something beyond his range, genuinely frightening him.
He knew that Albert refused to give up, to go home to his wife without victory over these monsters that had long terrorized the people of Genkai. It was a desperate lust for victory that pushed Albert to these lengths, ones so far beyond Bell or any man who too did not have what he had envisioned for himself, for his family.
He refused to let his firstborn enter a world where they'd live afraid of monsters.
He would die trying if need be.
That's why Bell had to be here, Albert's limiter, Aria had begged him to protect her husband.
Bell got himself moving again and ran.
Passing by more monster corpses than he would ever bother to count, Bell jumped at Albert and latched onto the crazed man. The mercenaries at Bell's back arrived as monsters began rushing the two, there were dozens of men with shields, spears, and swords, far more than the elf remembered having at his aid. They were safe, if only for a short time.
Bell held tight to both of Albert's shoulders and looked the man of black hair straight in his eyes. The hero of the coming hour seemed almost hollow, his eyes were empty, without life as bags formed below each, his body seemed to tremble. Bell felt that if he let go of Albert, some stomach-churning feeling, that this man would turn to powder and disappear into the wind.
He couldn't let that happen.
"We're pulling back."
For the first time, Bell saw a flash of life in his dark eyes. It wasn't confusion, hatred, or even happiness. Albert stared at Bell as though he had never known him, full of droning contempt and disgust.
It was the fault of over five days of battle, five days of hell, five days of bitter failure.
Albert was exhausted beyond his limits. "No-"
Bell didn't hesitate a moment before striking his palm across Albert's cheek, not holding back. Albert stumbled back and slipped down onto one knee on the red ice. Bell lurched forward and seemed as though a giant in comparison while he loomed over the man, grabbing an iron-tight grip over his armor's collar to pull Albert's attention to Bell, and only Bell.
"This ends tomorrow. No sooner. No later."
It was the first time Bell in years had seen defeat appear on the hero's face.
Bell grabbed his friend under each arm and began dragging him, effectively carrying Albert back where he'd come from before, ordering a retreat to the men who'd valiantly defended the unfolding scene.
They eventually would make it back to camp, Albert covered in a cloak as to disguise him so the men of his army wouldn't see their leader in such a worn state.
.
.
.
Bell had marched himself some ways out of camp alone in the dead of night. Albert was safe for now and being kept in a private tent to rest under guard, this was the Snow Elf's one chance to sneak out.
He stood atop a small but high knoll a long way from camp in the direction toward the dungeon, dropping by his feet a pouch that landed with a thud, as though full of sand.
As his sweaty and dirt-stained hair clung to the back of his neck on this night, turning morning, Bell could look out and see everything before him. The entire swamp, burning and reduced to steam and charred woods.
It glowed in the night, yet another sight he'd not seen before in his life during this battle turned campaign.
After taking it all in, knowing what was to come if he hesitated now, he pulled a thin and valuable leather binding from his right hand that left a mark in ash across his palm. Bell stared at the folded-over cover, locked in place by thin twine, before unwrapping it carefully, its innards loose and clean except for the edges that were exposed at the tops and bottoms even when bound.
Bell slowly scanned the pages, his arms trembling.
He knew this wouldn't kill him, but he was still scared regardless.
'Inanis Le- Dark Matt- String of-' He skimmed before landing on the one he'd use.
He whispered to no one. "Expuls Ralanta." As he found the right page.
Bell read the texts, forcing himself to read back after skipping lines unconsciously. If we were going to do something so reckless as this, there was no room for error.
He stood alone over a patch of dirt on the peak of this knole, taking the sword at his hip into hand, and pressing his right palm to its blade. He hesitated, even after promising himself not to, and forced his hand against it to create a deep laceration.
He lowered onto a knee and began copying what he'd seen in his notes.
Of the few spells he had that required external conditions, this was one he didn't care for, it was far too dangerous for how little it cost a person to cast.
Depending on the results here, he may destroy the notes he had on it, the last of their kind.
Hieroglyphs he didn't even know the meanings of were drawn out in both blood and a substance created from salt and ground lotus root he'd had in the pouch dropped onto the ground earlier, his cut palm stinging every time he moved so much as a knuckle. No more than a few minutes passed, and the preparation was complete.
Bell stood within the center of these… symbols.
He took a glance toward the swamp once more, red and evil-looking as it was, and a glance back toward the camp, merely a glow in the distance from the knoll.
He had to take a deep breath, his hand hurt, he focused on that to keep calm. Then began muttering the words he didn't know the meanings of, his heart pounding, hand throbbing.
"Sislaf vit humplionicaned untranard gawklorimp homeabrang pirend rendann ku dermerprection chanving nessinfulleter-"
The world became blurry to Bell, his trembling ceased.
A red hue rose up and slowly became pink, the light wasn't overwhelming, but it spread over the knoll like a light rainfall easing through the air surrounding the snow elf on his purch.
"-fe proptimatires morior creably eraow keneyamatutors dima-"
Bell felt his emotions wash, his lips ran away with themselves, spouting the spell without remorse or weary that had once laced them before.
"-itifactrones strahes ohty prection wibix pentwist pairredmons regodfres stally raez narhale-"
He felt a sudden weakness coat him from the inside out, as though he were withering suddenly.
The sky, black as it could be, brightened, yet the moon disappeared from the heavens above.
"-headatist nida jions wulk…"
Bell felt out of breath, but forcing it out, the spell was released into the world.
Gently, the empty sky seemed to sink from above, almost like how clouds form whirlwinds, directly over the glowing hell that had once been a swamp.
"-a-anthane, Expuls Ralanta…"
Bell dropped to the ground in an instant, the weight of his anxiety smashed into him like a stampeding horse, gasping for breath as flashes of pain swept his chest with every inhale. His body started its long payment toward the spell's toll.
The sky around the swamp turned a deep, unnatural blue, not blinding but glowing like cooled magma.
The sky itself touched down and spread as though melting glass laying itself down upon the earth below, the world bursting into flames around the spell's edge of an equal blue to its glistening surface, seeming to bleed out a purple hue randomly in accent as it washed impurities away from the world.
Bell didn't pay attention to himself in that moment, but his fingernails bled and teeth throbbed with every heartbeat, shaking uncontrollably as his chest and gut ceased with stinging pains everywhere. This was likely the only time he would ever use such a spell, he wanted to at least see it.
The embers rose around the whirlwind faster than the eye could track, forming a jacket of red and gold glimmers. The spell seemed to reach for miles in every direction, burning it away without discriminating. He himself felt the heat arrive to the forests and knoll, sweeping through the woodlands that surrounded the swamp like a tsunami, magic itself pungent and dancing in the rapid winds all around him.
It spilled out into the forests, hills, and flatland beyond the swampy bog, but after minutes of etching away at the life within the lands beyond, the spell gave way, retreating back toward its center like a glass blower retreating their blowpipe, still taking the shape of the land as it rolled backward, but slowly reforming into the sky he'd known before this.
As it was nearly back up above, flush with the rest of the night sky, the swamp Albert and his men had fought so hard for without reward nor vindication was now barren and flattened. It glowed the spell's same unnatural blue as fires raged across the field of ash and glassed earth.
Then, an ear-shattering cry rang out, a terrible sound that Bell felt through his entire aching body.
It was not unlike the sound of an icecap shattering and fracturing, echoing for dozens of leagues in every direction.
Then it started to collapse, the entire scorched swamp, caving into the upper levels of the dungeon. It sank into the first floor, then a wider area dropped down into the second, each time getting louder and shaking the earth more.
The land was too weak now to sustain itself, breaking apart as the air within the swamp was more so scorching dust and glowing embers. The dungeon was a furnace from the top down, its tunnels collapsed or filled with fire far hotter than any monster could survive.
Yet, the collapse eventually stopped, but far too quickly to be natural… It was as though the world below had begun latching onto those floor's segments and refusing to let them drop further, an eerie and sinister feeling swept the land for a moment, before, as Bell was about to finally give in and pass out, he could see the dungeon from bellow begin grabbing the fallen earth and reforming the land into what it had once been.
Bell's eyes were heavy and grainy, feeling like he'd walked through a sandstorm.
He passed out in the hot night air.
.
.
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Bell had awoken there alone atop the knoll.
He felt weak still, but he managed a glance toward the swamp. His eyes narrowed at the sight that replaced it.
Under a late morning sun, he saw a field stained black, fresh ash and blood soaking the field as far as the eye could see. Spells went up and crashed down like meteors upon the swarm of monsters, it was surreal.
Bell staggered to his feet, feeling their ache, then soon feeling the pain within himself extended to every inch of his body.
He was late, he needed to get there fast, lest he let Albert fight alone at the head of that army of mercenaries. Not to mention what Aria would do if Albert told her their ever-loyal elf skipped out on the last day while Albert broke his back fighting…
.
It was easily past noon now.
Bell was running, his ankle hurt like hell but the man pushed through it.
The bodies just seemed to pile up everywhere, mostly beasts, but Albert's forces were dwindling fast too. In a testament to their efforts, Bell's drawn sword had yet to taste even a drop of monster blood most of the way toward the dungeon as he chased the army down.
He was nearing the front, hundreds of wounded lay behind him as the Snow Elf finally approached, passing up mage groups and archery batteries in the process.
Finally, Bell found his friend.
He seemed alone near the front, fallen to his knees.
Bell stumbled and caught himself, but he couldn't take his eyes away from the sight, a man stained by sweat and blood hunched over in exhaustion.
He put everything into his legs and ran. Bell dropped to his side, a hand on Albert's back. "Al?! Are you hurt?!"
"...Bell?" He called weakly.
"Get up! We need to keep moving!" Bell grabbed him from beneath his arm, dropping his own weapon to do so.
Magic was crashing down all around as swarms of monsters poured forth from the dungeon's entrance. For the first time, they knew where it was, it was actually in reach. All around them, mercenaries and monsters clashed, Alberts's forces not falling before downing at least three for their efforts each.
Bell fell to the ground, dragged there by Albert as the man's body betrayed him.
"Al?! Al Get up, we need you!" Bell filled with panic.
"I-I can't keep-" Albert was exhausted as the battle raged forth, not only entering a sixth hour of this day, but their seventh day total.
"You can! You're the chosen hero of the wind!" He glanced up to men who were fighting not even fifty yards from them."We're almost there, just a little longer!" Bell saw those around begin noticing Albert's condition, some preparing to retreat.
These weren't the same sort of monsters encountered in days prior, these things were from lower, beyond the tenth floor as future scholars would note. Bell had managed to wipe out everything out on the upper floors because of the collapse last night, but now was not time for study.
"But-" Albert faltered further.
Bell grabbed the back of his hair, the man wincing in pain. "I refuse to tell Aria you died here!"
Bell's stomach dropped, watching as Albert's eyes opened, darker than he'd ever seen them on this man.
Bell screamed out, playing into Albert's fears, forcing his will to fight rage once more. "YOU HAVE YOUR WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF YOU, DO YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR CHILD OR NOT?!"
Albert heaved and forced breath back down into his lungs, dragging himself up, Bell letting go as the man took his first steps toward the end of this hell they'd all willingly ventured into.
Bell trailed just behind as the three girls went north along the main streets of Orario.
A glance upward, the sky was bright and gray with heavy clouds that cut off Babel far from its peak, from there trailing off as far beyond the outer wall as one could see from the street. Like last evening, his breath fogged in the air ahead of himself.
The streets were lively for normal this time of day. Passing by a small crop of stalls along the way, the girls wanted food. Ais slowed and grabbed Bell by the arm, all but dragging him by force to the stall.
Bell flinched internally at what they'd picked, not that he should be surprised. Jagamarukun.
Ais ordered her usual. "Two fried potatoes with red bean cream. With extra cream, and double extra beans."
Hearing her normal order brought a small smile to Bell as the two elves relayed their own. Before long, it was his turn.
Him and the woman behind the cart met eyes, the other girls looked at him too.
But he just stood there, stumped.
He tried to think, but, nothing came to mind. He realized, shortly, that Hestia had always been the one to bring these home, he'd never actually ordered one himself.
It had already been awkward enough, so he ordered quickly. "I'll have what she's having." Bell referenced toward Ais.
The three Loki Familia girls shared a glance but paid it no mind.
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Some time later, they arrived at the front gate of the Twilight Manor.
Bell stopped just short of crossing the threshold into the property of Loki Familia's home. He had an eerie feeling, a gnawing sensation in the side of his head.
He forced himself to keep his eyes forward and not hunt for those that scouted him so intensely from above. Meanwhile, Lefiya and Alicia not-so-subtly dragged him forward by clinging to his sleeves, the lone man sensing… danger.
Before long, the girls were marching him in and straight to the stairway.
As it would happen, someone was headed down at that same time.
They continued marching up past Finn on his way down with the company of Gareth by his side. Bell and Finn met eyes for a moment as they passed, the Snow Elf could almost reach out and feel the annoyance radiating off the prum.
They all parted ways and moved past, headed away from one another on the stairs. Everything seemed fine for a moment, till Finn got to the bottom. The short blonde turned back and watched Bell as he and the Dwarf at his side continued on toward the front door.
Neither the prum nor dwarf wanted to be here when it all started…. Just in case.
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The three by now were all but carrying Bell along.
The man was brandishing something of a nervous grin as they not-so-subtly dragged him off toward the library.
They turned down the final stretch, and the two elves stopping at the beginning of the hall while Ais kept dragging him by the arm. Looking ahead, Loki was waiting by the library door, standing rather suspiciously just outside with a smirk.
She waved as they neared. "Yoohoo~ Been a while, aye, Bell!"
Bell felt a shiver run down his spine. This was far worse than he had thought.
They arrived to Loki, Ais seemingly handing him off to the goddess and venturing further to hold down the opposite end of the hall, the Snow Elf was breaking out in a nervous sweat now.
Loki tilted her head with a smile. "Big shot reeeeeeally thought he could duck out from this one and hide in the dungeon, didn' he?"
He was too busy staring at the door to react.
Bell took stock of the situation for a moment.
Looking each way, Alicia and Lefiya were to his left, Ais to the right, all about ten meters away so they'd see him coming. The sun was to his back, his shadow on the door ahead, so they likely were seeing that he was here from underneath.
So…
Where was he going to run…
He felt like a caged animal, as sweat started to dampen his cloak's collar.
Maybe… he should just face this… Yeah, that might work?
Then the door handle started to turn, his heart stopped. It was as though his mind was collapsing in on itself as he saw what lay within.
Riveria had opened the door with a wide smile, then behind her, at the table a short ways back, sat Eina and Ryuu watching with equally wide smiles.
Nope.
Bell was not going to be able to face this.
He was going to run.
Riveria saw it in his eyes, a look she'd seen the first time they met in the dungeon, her having just killed the Minotaur that was rushing him. As instinct kicked in, adrenalin made everything seem slower.
Bell starting from an intense nervous expression, simply laxed his shoulders and smiled.
Riveria lunged out and tried to grab his cloak like a snake aiming to bite.
Loki dodged away to the side, as Bell forced against the ground with all his might as each leg twisted, dropping his shoulders further away.
As she reached, her fingers grazed his cloak, the high elf missing him by just beyond the tips of her fingers, hand clenching into a tight ball after brushing against the fabric. She clenched her teeth as the moment sunk in.
Bell's fingers pressed to the floor, giving him a third point of contact as he started toward the best of his three options. Those being into the library, toward Ais, and toward the elf girls. Though not to be slanderous toward their abilities… One was a swordswoman, and the other two were mages too close to cast any spells.
He took his chances with the elves.
Riveria again reached with her second hand now, but Bell closed the distance and forced Loki to become a part of this, grabbing her by the arm and tossing the goddess into Riveria, topping them over as Riveria was already off balance.
Bell started moving, but as Alicia and Lefiya readied themselves, it was ultimately pointless.
At the last second, while Ais was booking it down the hall after him, Ryuu and Eina popped out to try and see what was happening, as Riveria clambered back to her feet behind him…
Bell turned on a dime.
Alicia and Lefiya had braced for nothing, as Bell jumped clear through the window right in front of them all, planting his right foot and full-sending his momentum toward the pane of glass.
In a flash, everyone's clambering to capture Bell suddenly washed away, watching as Bell jumped clean through a sixth-story window.
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Bell was outside now.
For the past few decades, he'd been in the south, warmer temps had gotten him acclimated to a lot of things, namely the food, but Orario was far from lacking in that department thankfully.
However, one thing he hadn't seen in easily a decade or more now…
Snowfall…
Bell held out his palm, landing on it, a large snowflake, one of countless that fell around him over the Twilight Manner.
How... nostalgic…
Bell smiled genuinely at the small little formation of crystals.
He looked over his shoulder after a moment, and before him, all six people who'd been after him a short moment ago, stared at him with saucers for eyes.
Bell Cranel had not fallen the six-stories, or really, four-stories down atop the lower roof of the manor. Instead, he floated in a lounged manner a few feet away from the windowsill just out of reach.
He was met with an overwhelmingly shocked and startled-looking bunch, though he seemed none the wiser as to why, looking back with an expression of confusion.
Ryuu had been the first to utter even a single word. "B-Bell, how ar-"
Then he cut her off. "...Oh." As his own eyes began to widen.
His own shock within that short phrase caught them all off guard, making them jump back to reality.
"Wh-What?! How-?!" Riveria cried out.
He all too calmly responded. "This spell only lasts for ten-"
Bell dropped like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Fun Facts!
1. Bell once owned a small grape vineyard rewarded to him by a quest, he has since sold it off several hundred years ago, and it is now owned by a distant branch of the Demeter Familia that operates beyond Orario to specifically diversify their product with regionally exclusive crops that can't be grown in Orairo's climate.
2. A significant amount of this entire fanfic has been written while listening to the song 'Achilles Come Down', by the band 'Gang of Youths'. Otherwise, I often listen to rain sounds or general calm 'vibe' playlists, though I usually listen to the anime's theme for the Hostess of Fertility when writing scenes that take place there.
3. I have not seen season 4 or beyond of the Anime adaptation of Danmachi, nor have I read any of the Light Novels or Manga series, I have no idea what happens beyond the Xenos arc. (No, I am not lying, I swear.)
A/N
Aaaaaye! You made it to the end!
Hopefully it was enjoyable, I'm gonna have a heck of a time managing to write the scene following that ending up… I really set myself up with some work, heh.
I know people haven't cared for long scenes in the past, but hopefully this one was good enough to get over that bar. I rather enjoyed writing this one, though it's been sitting unedited in my files for a while longer than I'm proud to admit.
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I have discovered the series 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End' since writing the previous chapter. I would like to recommend it to anyone who cares to try it. It is eerily similar to what I had always envisioned for this version of Bell in this fanfic, and it boggles my mind I'd never encountered the series before now.
(Yes, the part with Bell floating at the end is inspired by the flight magic in 'Frieren', I really really really like how magic is handled in that series)
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Oh! And I am fairly proud to announce a milestone for this fic! I have as of this chapter passed Tolkien's 'The Two Towers' (156,198 words) for word count as I crest the 160k word mark!
I believe I missed the milestone for 'The Return of the King' and 'The Hobbit' some time ago unfortunately, but I've been looking forward to these several benchmarks for some time!
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Well, that's all for this time, I hope the next wait isn't nearly so long! I do apologize immensely for making you all wait so long.
Please take care and enjoy your weekend! See you next time!