Bell Cranel always dreamed of becoming a hero, but reality proved far crueler than his fantasies. Left humiliated and on the brink of death after a fateful encounter with a Minotaur and the adventurer Ais, something deep within him awakens-a power u...
In a move that he was too slow to react to, he was sent into a door of a building. The door broke and he fell onto his back. This was also the last straw for his sword, it was wearing down, and the tip cracked and crumbled. His sword was no longer sharp.
"Damn it..."
The Kasaka lunged again, its fangs aimed for his head.
Bell dodged left, narrowly avoiding the strike. He felt the venom's heat as it splattered against the stone behind him, hissing on contact. His foot twisted, and before he could recover, the Kasaka's tail came whipping around.
Bell barely crossed his arms before it slammed into him.
He was sent flying through another building, skidding across the ground.
His arms ached. His body felt heavy. But he still stood back up.
His breaths were ragged, but his mind was clear.
This was it.
He would not run.
Bell forced his tired body forward. He could feel it—his strength, his agility, his instincts—all sharpening with every battle.
He clenched his weapon.
No more hesitation.
The Kasaka hissed and lunged.
Bell charged forward.
He swiped and wacked. His broken sword did nothing against the tough scales of the beast. Kasaka moved, its tail slammed against Bell, knocking him down onto his knees. He started to doubt himself. "Am I not strong enough?"
He stood up once Kasaka attacked once more. The face of his sword blocked against the fangs of the giant snake. The image of Hestia invaded his mind. His Goddess, the one that accepted and took him in when nobody else would. And then Ais herself, he wanted to become strong. Strong for them. And maybe, in the future, it would be him protecting Ais from danger.
He roared in fristation. The tail of the snake wacked against him once more. He stumbled and fell to his knees. His body was trembling, panting, huffing. He told himself something he had been repeating for however long he had been in here.
"I need to become stronger."
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SWOOSH
Kasaka flung toward him, fangs bared. He lunged into the air and his sword screeched against the scales. Bell was slipping, deciding to grab the scales. He was just strong enough to crack the protective layer.
CRACK
He poured everything into strength.
"DIE!"
CRUSH
Bell collapsed onto his back, chest rising and falling in ragged breaths. His body ached all over, his muscles screaming in protest after the brutal fight. The remains of Kasaka's massive body lay still beside him, its once-impenetrable scales now shattered and crumbling.
