Today was a day of excitement for the Gods. The day of Denatus, where the Gods would meet and choose names for their children who levelled up. On such day, Loki was drunk asleep. "Wake up Loki," Riveria tried shaking Loki up to no avail. She was there hugging her bottle of wine. Riveria sighed as she was getting more and more angry, she silently started chanting Fusillade Fallrica. Soon there was a loud explosion in Loki's room as a few peopl outside just sighed.
Minutes later, Loki came limping down the stairs and sat with the executives. "You don't look so good Loki, are you alright?" Bell asked with a smirk. "zip it," was all he got back. She grumbled and ate breakfast while at the table, "Loki mind doing me a favour?" Bell asked and Loki just looked up at him, it was rare for Bell to ask for a favour. Since usually he would do everything he needed by himself. "In the denatus, can you not allow anyone to change my name to The White Death, I swear to you, who ever decides to name me that, I will go and destroy their familia overnight," he said as a few gulped in fear. "uhuh, and what do I get out of this? I am kind of ticked off with the way I was awoken today so yer gonna need more than that to convince me," she said clearly wanting something back from Bell. Bell just sighed, "I'll buy your drinks for tonight at the hostess," as Loki grinned.
The Denatus
"now let's get this denatus started," Ouranos said with authority. "First, the obvious topic, the recent increased activity of Evilus and their chase a specific adventurer," Hermes said waiting for any questions or for anyone to carry it on. "Uh, yeah about that. I would say that you leave it to Bell since he's becoming a magnet for them, but it's hard for him to deal with all of them, so I'll ask for official intervention as well," Loki pointed out as others nodded. However, she had more to say, "oh yeah also, Freya, I expect full compensation from you. Because, of your desire to finger yourself for one more second, you endangered Bell, you sent Ottar to stop my executives and he could've died," she said with anger in her voice. A few other Gods surprised. Freya just nodded as she thought 'oh Loki, the next time you come to the pub, i'll water down all your drinks'
They discussed back and a bit before coming to the main event. "Now let's get on with the names," Ouranos declared as every God got a bit more energy. There were ridiculous names amongst serious ones like "dixie normus," or "bouncy girl," but then came the main character of the denatus. The white rabbit that attracted everyone until, Loki spoke up. "oya, this one is a bit outdated," she said to the confusion of other Gods but soon they became pale.
"d-don't tell me," some stated as Hermes continued "he's done it again hasn't he?" and all Loki did was nod, "he became a level 6 just before his trial," she said earning a gasp from the other Gods and even a choke from Ouranos. "w-well, cough, let's give him a fitting name," as someone said the obvious one. "how about white death like he calls himself." "Yeah you could do that, but from what I heard this morning, he will kill your entire familia overnight," she finished as the others shuddered. Freya then spoke up, "how about Freya's Odr," she suggested as Loki looked at her. "Even if he doesn't attack, I will send my entire familia to yours," causing people to start thinking again. "h-how about dark prince," Takemikazuchi referred. "We all saw his dark magic against Evilus, I would say it's quite fitting," he concluded as the others nodded.
Meanwhile, at the Twilight Manor
Bell was practicing against his shadow. He hadn't quite fully recovered yet, but he could still train just fine. Ais walking into the training grounds. "do you want to spar?" she asked without even a greeting. "Good morning to you too Ais, but sure let me take off my shirt though, I am drenched in sweat," he said as he walked off. Ais now noticed that it was impolite to just ask for a spar without even greeting him.
She saw for the first time all of Bell's scars. They hadn't been healed and it was too late for that anyways. They didn't need to discuss rules, they have done this countless times before. Use actual weapons, magic allowed but no fatal hits. Simple.
They started fighting, Bell with his twin swords and Ais with her desperate. Ais quickly noticed something. "y-you've levelled up," she said in shock, he had becoming the same level as her within a year. Bell just smirked and lunged in. As they fought, quite the crowd had gathered, all interested to see who would win and how the fight went.
Meanwhile Riveria's POV
Today was one of Riveria's exceptional days off. She had basically nothing to do, and she was making her way to the library to read like she always does but something caught her eye through the window. A crowd gathered at the training grounds.
She went down to the training ground as she saw a few of the females in the familia basically drooling. She looked on to see Bell fighting Ais, shirtless. The sweat elevating his chiselled body. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks but she was more curious as to see how the battle went. They were fairly matched but seemed that Bell's speed had a slight upper hand. Ais realising this was going nowhere, "TEMPEST," she said as she started moving faster and hitting harder. It was now Bell being pushed back, but he wouldn't go down as easily. He started chanting while dodging, "REINHERIAR," he said as lightning gathered with him and he started moving much faster.
The battle was yet again in a stalement. Bell's speed could take over Ais, but Ais was packing more of a punch. But it had been obvious to see the skill. While, Ais was using her experience of years of fighting, Bell was a mirage of her. He was taught by her, he was moving almost just like her, but faster and with magic.
Soon an idea struck Bell. He smirked as he pretended to make a misstep to draw her in, but he actually threw a knife in the air. Ais seeing opportunity, "Lil Rafarga," she said she was about to thrust in to incapacitate him for the rest of the fight. To her shock, as she was about to hit Bell, she heard "Ianuae Magicae," and he disappear. Seemingly, teleporting, her eyes shot straight up but it was too late, he guided his swords as he spun and landed a clean hit with the back of his blades on her shoulders, hurting them pretty bad.
The match was over, the winner was Bell. "Y-you could teleport?" Ais said in disbelief as she recovered from the pain. Bell simply stuck out his tongue and helped Ais stand back up. Walking up to Riveria, "hey Riv, I told you, you'll fall in love if you stare too much," he smirked as Riv looked down to the ground with a slight blush. The smirk vanishing however, "I'll need to take a shower for now, can you come, I need to talk a bit with you." he whispered to her ears.
She could feel his breath on her ears as they twitched cutely and Bell regained his smirk. He walked off leaving a very embarrassed Riveria and a confused crowd.
Later in Bell's room
Bell got out of the shower and there was Riveria sitting on his desk. A slight blush on her cheeks. "do you not like decorating your room?" She asked seeing that Bell's room was a little plain. "I never really got around to it, I only come back here to sleep after all so," Bell reasoned as he slipped on a shirt. "Riveria... I am sorry," he said as he bowed and Riveria's eyes widened. "W-what are you apologising for?" she asked. "It seems that I put you in a lot of worry, I am sorry for not being considerate of your feelings," he said sounding genuinely apologetic. Riveria's eyes softened a little. "Do... do you know just how worrisome it was," she started venting, "You come back home beaten into pieces. Do you know how betrayed I felt, then you go off for 3 weeks straight. No responses or anything, you apparently use cursed weapons and then get hunted by Evilus," she started to tear up a little, "you always act by yourself. I want to be relied on as well you know, everyone keeps worrying of the number of secrets you keep, there's not a single day I wake up and think that you might disappear forever," she started to cry a little.
Bell felt heartbroken, here was someone everyone looked up to. They all put her up on the top, idolised her but no one realised her loneliness. She paved the path for herself, so far away from home, Bell respected that. Her determination that carried her to this point. To see her appear so... vulnerable, tore him apart. He goes in and hugs her tightly, even though he knows he shouldn't.
Riveria's eyes widen a bit. He was touching her, but she was fine with it. If it was him she was alright, "it's alright Riveria, I am not going anywhere now, I am gonna stay by your side," he whispered as she hugged him back. His hold tightening, they stay in the position for a little while. Basking in the warmth of one another, finding peace within it. Pullling apart they looked at each other's eyes.
To Bell, the green eyes were so warm. Filled with love and a comfort that he was seeking. It held worry and glistened with the tears, a vulnerability behind a strong front that she broke in front of him. To Riveria, the rubellite eyes shone with brilliance. Exuding strength, but also hiding a weakness. The lonesome weakness that eats him up, but he lets it show to her. He exposes his weakness to her, feeling the comfort within her hold.
"Well... how about to make it up to you, we go out for lunch, it's on me," Bell stammered out. He was blushing a tinge of red dusted Riveria's cheeks as she got to see the innocent rabbit that he once was. "t-that would be wonderful, I'll go get dressed, let's meet in h-half an hour," she said blushing equally as much. The lacking feeling of his hold bringing a sense of desire. For him to hold her, she felt safe. Safe enough to drop her guard.
She left to go get dressed. While, Bell decided to wear something new for once.
Minutes later
Bell had finished dressing. He wore a rare white sleeveless shirt with a loose blue cardigan over it. You could see a scar on neck but he didn't hide it. His black jeans with a pair of black boots. This time he also wore accessories. He had a necklace of a flame on, and wore a silver bracelet with patterns on it and a pitch black ring on his index finger.
( may seem like a strange outfit for him, but couldn't think of anything so I just described what I wore today sooo)
Never had he thought that the perverted lessons of his grandpa would help him now but it turned out it would now. He went early, as you can never be late if you're early. he went down the stairs as Tione spotted him, "oh, Bell-kun, you're all dressed up, are you going somewhere?" a few people looked around to see him. Scratching his cheeks, "uh, yeah I got a date," he said which caused people to have various reactions. Tiona's mouth hung open, Finn and Gareth gave a knowing grin. Ais spilt her drink and Lefiya just looked shocked. Bete... acted like he didn't care.
Meanwhile Riveria's POV
"Seriously is this all I have," she said as she looked in her closet. All dull and green clothes. 'I need to go shopping with the other girls later' she thought. Then she spotted something. "Oh this looks like it has a bit of potential," she said as she grabbed a white one piece. It covered her arms loosely and brought out her womanly features more. It was perfect balance between cute and refined. She did her hair up, and wore a pair of white elevated heels. (Not high heels, Idk what they're called)
She walked down the stairs and all the people just stared at her. "I-I am going out for l-lunch," she said as she quickly walked past. Finn and Gareth's wide grins and knowing looks reappeared. Lefiya connected the dots and almost fainted while, Ais was shocked that Riveria could even look that casual. Bete looks as if he saw someone swallow an elephant. 'What other changes can you bring Bell?' Finn thought, happy that his friend is finally getting some romance.
At the gates Bell was waiting for Riveria and then she walked out the manor. As the members nearby just stared in shock and some even blushed, including Bell. "y-you look very pretty Riv," Bell said while, blushing a bit. Riveria blushed hard in response, "t-thanks," she said as they both awkwardly just looked at each other. "W-well let's get going, I wanna go to the guild first, I need to see if my alias has changed," Bell said recovering while, Riveria only nodded and the two left. Needless to say, the guards were confused that day.
On the way to the Guild, the pair were very comfortable. They were relaxed and Riveria was talking with Bell exchanging stories and laughing about ridiculous things. Oblivious to the strange looks they were getting the two walked as if in their own world.
At the guild
Chaos was everywhere. The bulletin board was hoarded by onlookers why a half elf was busy cursing a rabbit and running around with documents. Soon the couple appeared. A few stopped at the appearance of two high level adventurers, especially the rabbit human, who was too busy talking to his elf partner. "Unluckily for them, the aforementioned half elf noticed the white haired man. "BELL KUN," she screamed out, giving off a murderous look. The entire guild became silenced by his appearance. "HOW MUCH WORK WILL YOU GIVE ME BEFORE YOU'RE SATISFIED HUH?" Eina asked whilst she shook Bell quite violently. Obviously being a level 6 this didn't even faze Bell. "uhh sorry Eina, but I already got my hands full of elves right now," he said as he pointed to Riveria. Now the focus was on her. People blushed, some elves were enraged, Riveria blushed and Bell? Bell walked right to the bulletin board not giving a fu-.
He froze once he saw his piece of article. He couldn't miss it since it was the biggest.
The breaker of records, the new "Dark Prince"
Bell Cranel levelled up to 6. When will this boy stop rising to the top.
Bell didn't know if he should be happy or mad at the name. "D-dark Pr-prince?" Riveria stifled a giggle but failed as she went into full laughter. Many shocked at how freely she was acting. It wasn't crude, but it was a simple laugh. Bell started shaking with rage but soon all he could do was sigh in defeat. He didn't even wait, he just walked out of guild as Riveria followed along. He turned and smiled at Riveria. It was the first time he saw her laugh so openly.
Suddenly he felt an all too familiar gaze from high up. He turned to face right at her, "what's wrong Bell?" Riveria asked puzzled at how he suddenly craned his neck. Bell smirked "she's watching us..." he just said before he started pulling random faces. It made Riveria giggle lightly but everyone just stared at him like he finally went crazy.
Atop of Babel
Freya POV
"That CHEEKY boy," she said as her wine glass cracked. She was jealous beforehand when she saw both Bell and Riveria's soul blaze brighter when they were together, jealousy overtook her but she must bide her time. If she took out Riveria now, Bell's dark half would take over. His transparent pure side would disappear. But even she desired some loving, she wanted his affection but instead he gave her random poses to take the piss out of her.
Back to Bell
"well I don't know about you, but I am hungry and I heard there is a nice restaurant that recently opened shall we go there?" bell suggested as Riveria nodded and htey carried on their way to the place. It was on the edge, it even had a large garden in it where people could eat.
At the restaurant
"Hello welcome to Dark Horse, how may I-" she cut herself off as she looked at who arrived. "A-ARE Y-YOU PERHAPS THE DARK PRINCE AND NINE HELL?" she asked as she basically shoved herself in between them. "uhh hello, it's nice to meet you too, umm.." Bell said while backing away a bit. ""Sariel, my name Sariel Diens," she clarified while looking like a ball of sunshine. "Thank you Sariel, can e have you best table in the garden, any price is fine," Bell said as Riveria was about to speak up but he stopped her, "it's fine, I want to have lunch somewhere nice," he said but clearly he did it for Riveria. The excited girl guided them to the table. Obviously, throughout the entire way people stared at the couple making Riveria blush a little and Bell smirk at Riveria's reaction.
Bell ordered a spaghetti while, Riveria ordered an elven dish. "You know Riveria, you know a lot more about me than I know about you, how about you tell me somethings?" Bell asked genuinely interested. "oh, I guess I never told you huh. I am the elven princess of the Elven Kingdom, I left home because I was sick and tired of being caged and protected like some fragile bird. Also I didn't want to get married to someone I didn't love," she described in a very brief version. "And don't say I know much about you, all I know is that you got saved by Ais and what happened after you became a level 2," she pointed out. Bell seemed to think for a second, "well, I grew up with my grandpa, he took me in when my parents died although I don't know who they are," he continued, "my grandpa was caring and wrote the hero stories he told me, after listening to them so many times, I fell in love with heroes. Part of the reason I came here was because of my desire to become a hero." Riveria pondered for a second, "wait did you say your grandfather wrote the stories he read you?" she was surprised. "Yeah, and I think the versions he told me is more credible," he said assuring it.
"What makes you so sure?" she was confused as to why the different version of stories he heard was more accurate, "well you see my grandpa always gave off this really weird vibe but I never really understood. After I came to Orario it all became clear, he was a God," he clarified to the shock of Riveria. "An old God, that' why I trusted his versions better," he finished. Riveria was astonished, to be able to tell apart a God's aura without a falna. The food arrived and it was Sariel again.
"h-h-here you go," she said as she put down the food, "umm... i-if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here," Sariel asked. Of course she was curious, the very famous dark prince and Loki executive came to lunch, she knew she would brag later to all the people that they were served by her. Riveria was about to speak but Bell cut her off, "we're on a date," he said with a grin, as both Sariel and Riveria were shocked. Riveria started blushing but didn't say no. "o-oh, sorry for disturbing you then, but if I-I-I may, can I have your autographs please?" She stuttered out. Bell smiled and nodded and gave her his signature. (For those who are curious, it's a drawn flame with Bell written in the middle of it) Sariel went off all giddy at having this precious object in her collection.
After lunch
"Well that was good, but I don't want it to end yet, should we walk around town for a bit?" Bell said as he stretched. Riveria thought for a second. She enjoyed the day too, being with him was just... easy. She could let loose and really be herself with him, she felt at home. 'hold on, at home? What kind of weird thought is that Riveria?' she said as she racked her brain but ultimately agreed.
They walked around for a second, going through the markets, Bell seemed to stop for a second at a shop with accessories. Riveria looked around at stopped when she saw a beautiful rabbit shaped necklace with a red gem as its eyes. She thought it looked cute and this was not missed by Bell. "do you like it?" he asked as Riveria turned to him but he didn't wait for a response. He bought the necklace. "B-Bell you didn't have to," she stuttered out.
"I wanted to, I told you, I will always be by your side," he said well aware that the rabbit reminds her of him. He gave the brightest smile he can muster as Riveria's heart started racing. 'This burning feeling in my chest. Ugh, control it Riveria, you aren't a school girl' she thought but failed as Bell put the necklace on her, his face coming closer than ever before. She almost wanted to push her lips against his. It was tempting but she restrained herself.
Little did she know, Bell was darn serious. He finally had someone he cared about again, he wasn't about to lose her again, so he put a mark on her necklace. So that he could teleport to her whenever needed. They made their way back as it was becoming evening. Bell turned to Riveria, "I had a lot of fun today, we should go out again" he said with a smile as Riveria blushed a little, "I-I also had fun," she said. Bell smirked at her clumsiness. Bell went in for a hug. He could feel Riveria's heart race against his chest, her ears grazing against his soft white hair. Riveria put her arms around as well, hugging him back as the heat rose in her cheeks.
Bell and Riveria went into the manor and went into the hall where everyone was.
"my Riveria, that's a pretty dress you're wearing," Loki commented. She tried to come and cop a feel, but Bell stopped her hand. "she's an elf you know," Bell just said with a smile that threatened to break her spine. "oh Bell, so quick on the defence," Finn said with a smirk. Riveria blushed but Bell just looked up with a smile that basically said ' don't fuck with me right now' "oh that's not it. I go to the guild and I find a certain Goddess of ours, has allowed my name to be changed into something ridiculous," Bell said still keeping the smile. Loki started sweating, "w-what? I kept my end of the deal, you weren't named White death," she stammered out before Bell grabbed her by the cheeks and lifted her. "Yeah, but the price I had to pay was to be called 'the Dark Prince'" he said with anger coming straight out. The others just looked at him, as someone was aobt to smile, Bell threw a knife at the table. "anyone even get out a smile, I'll teleport you to Telskyura and leave you to be drained by the amazons," he said making everyone gulp. He then looked back at Loki, "you kept your half of the deal but messed up, so I'll do the same," he grinned as Loki was literally taking a bath in sweat, "I'll buy you drinks, but they'll all be watered down," he said as he dragged her out. Some people say that you could hear Loki's scream resonate in every corner of the house.
"well that certainly was scary," Finn said, even he started sweating a bit. The room fell silent, even the lower level warriors didn't say a word. "well, Riveria hw did your date go?" Tione asked hoping to brighten the atmosphere. It worked... kinda. Riveria started blushing as the other members just gawked at her in surprise. While she started describing the date, Bell had taken Loki and teleported to the Hostess.
At the Hostess
Everything was going as always, however, all of a sudden a flash appeared in the room. The adventurer waitresses took an attack position and Mama Mia was also ready to kill something when they saw white hair. "yo," Bell said as he appeared carrying Loki. "B-Bell?" Syr said as he winked at her. She blushed a little. "Hey Mama Mia, didn't mean to scare people just brought Loki fill my half of the promise," he said as he sat down at a table for 2. "y-you can teleport brat?" Mama Mia asked, and all Bell did was nod. "Now then, I promised to pay for her drinks, bring some ale for me and her," he told Syr who just nodded and went out back. Moments later, Ryuu came out carrying a tray of drinks. "hello, Cranel san," she said with a small smile, which was not missed by Bell. The other customers a bit wary of bell who just popped out of nowhere. "hello Ryuu, bringing the drinks thanks," he said with a smile. She put down the drinks and sat down, "mama gave me a few minutes to fully thank you," she said. "Thanks for what?" Loki asked confused. Bell decided to make the best of this. He stood up and cleared his throat really loudly to gather everyone's attention. The pub was now silent. "Mama Mia, I'll like to buy a round for everyone in this pub right now, as a celebration for the clearance of Ryuu's bounty," he said as a few people remained confused. "WAIT DON'T TELL ME, SHE'S THE GALE WIND," Loki screamed out. Bell just smiled, "exactly. I know her reasons for doing whatever she did, so in any case cheers," as the pub erupted some in cheers, others is horrific realisation that Gale Wind was literally under the noses all this time.
Ryuu could only blush in slight embarrassment. Everyone started drinking. There were drinking competitions going off as Bell versed several people but came out on top thanks to his abnormal resistance. Safe to say, his development abilities went up quite a lot that day. "the total is 900k valis," Mama Mia said pleased to do business. A slightly drunk Bell pulled out the money and paid for it. But the night was not over for Bell and Loki.
They later went to a nearby casino. Where Bell truly shined on the roulette. Every time Bell went "all in," and bet on only a single number. He won so many times that the owner of the casino was alerted and he had to come to see Bell wasn't cheating. "Mr Dark Prince, while I understand that you aren't cheating, you'll run me into the ground so please the premises," the owner told a very drunk Bell. "for tonight?" he looked at the owner, "no, forever, we'll send your winnings to the Twilight Manor later," he clarified as they were escorted out. "Yay, more money= more booze," a drunken Loki said as they effectively crawled back home.
Meanwhile At The Twilight Manor
"This is becoming too much of a reoccuring thing," Riveria said as Finn just sighed in disappointment. Suddenly, they all hear a loud thud outside the door. "W-what was that?" Finn said as they both open the door. "Hello, Braver and Nine Hells, I am here to deliver your... baggage," they looked at a wasted Bell and Loki on a pile. "Also, when the dark prince does come back to rationality please do tell him that he is now banned from my casino, forever, the winnings are right here?" he said as he pointed at a large chest. Finn and Riveria started sweating profusely, "h-how much is there?" Finn asked curious, maybe a bit concerned too. "there is a grand total of 9.38 million valis, now if I may, I have to leave and make up for the losses I just suffered," the casino owner said as he slipped off leaving a shit load of money and a very wasted Bell and Riveria.
"One more round, in the name of Ryuu," Bell said in his sleep, as a cross appeared on Riveria's forehead. "How the hell did he make so much damn money in just one night, he made more than he did when he came back from the trip he went on." Finn could only sigh ' just how much more talent are you hiding from us?' he thought as a smile crept on his face.
In a few hours it was morning, around 7am.
Bell woke up with a great pain in head. "ugh, why the hell did I have to go and get wasted like that?" he said, pissed off at his own stupidity. He looked around to see a large chest in the middle of the room. 'where the hell did this come from?' he thought as he opened the chest. A blinding array of valis, with a note on top of it all saying:
9.38 million valis, Casino winnings for the Dark Prince
P.S: you are hereby banned from the casino
Bell just stared as if he saw pigs fly. 'what the fu-' he was cut off by his stomach growling.
He decided food deserved more so he left his room. As he was making his way down, he spotted the familia members and a very obviously hurt Loki. 'ah she's feeling the same as me' he thought with a small smile which was torn away by a spasm of pain in his head. "morning Argonaut-kun," Tiona said still cheerful as ever. The others head turned to face him. "morning," he said as he walked and got some coffee and food. He went down to table and slammed his head into it. "oof, I guess you aren't having it much better than me are ya?" Loki said, feeling the pain as well. "That... was the last time, I am gonna promise you drinks," he said his voice muffled by the table but still audible enough. "Tch, such a lightweight," Bete growled.
"sorry, I ain't in the mood for your shit puppy," Bell said back to Bete. "What did you say, you shitty rabbit?" Bete asked pissed off. Bell just barely lifted his head and glared at him. "pipe down, I'll throw you a toy later," he said not bothered to deal with Bete. As Bete was about to leap on to him, Riveria intercepted, "leave him for now Bete. He just got banned from the casino, I am sure he isn't that happy," she defended Bell. "Haah, the fuck are you on about you hag, why did he even get banned?" Bete asked insulting Riveria. "He went on an abnormal winning streak, and won 9.38 million valis straight," Finn sighed as Bete just looked shock. Bell started chuckling, "oh yeah, I remember vaguely just saying all in everytime and winning back to back," he said finally looking up and drinking a bit of his coffee.
"ew, how can you even drink black," Tiona said slightly disturbed by how he just chugged something so bitter. "it's freaking delicious and the best thing for hangovers," Bell said defending his boy, coffee.
"ah, right I forgot to say Bell, we have decided on our next expedition," Finn said notifying Bell. "Hmm that's great, so am I supposed to go too," Bell asked. "unfortunately, we haven't ever considered putting you in the formation so you can't this time," Finn said Bete grinned. "we will be better off without this rabbit anyways," Bete spoke back triumphantly.
"you can do something else in the meanwhile though, what do you say training some of the lower level adventurers?" Riveria suggested. As Bell pondered for a second he figured "why not, I'll try." Riveria smiled. "so when are you guys leaving?" Bell asked Finn, "in about 3 days," Bell just nodded. "well I am sorely out of practice, has the goliath respawned yet, Might as well toy with it a bit," Bell said as he stretched. Finn confirmed that it has respawned today. So Bell put on his armor which suddenly felt a bit more tight and got his swords as he was about to leave. "Hold on, did ya suddenly get bigger?" Gareth asked as the others looked at him. "I think so, my armor is suddenly tighter. Hold on Riveria let me measure my height with you," he said as Riveria complied. It was obvious then, now that Bell was standing straight he was a lot taller than before, at least a few centimeters. "how the hell did you grow taller by that much overnight?" Riveria asked as he was now taller than her. Bell was shocked and all he could do was shrug, "guess becoming level 6 has its benefits," he says carelessly, as the other level 6s just looked at him and his obvious crap. 'Great now I have to go buy new clothes' he thought. He left and decided to walk around a bit, before having to go to Rochelle to get his armor refitted. He walked around and people as always stared at him some in admiration, others in fear. He couldn't care though.
Bell called himself the hypocrite, he knew had 2 sides so he would gladly welcome 2 different reactions. He noticed he was nearing the gate to leave Orario. He saw Shakti and a few ganesha familia members. "morning Shakti san," Bell said as he waved his hand. Shakti turned around to see a white rabbit approaching and her eyes softened a bit. "Good Morning to you too Bell Cranel, d-did you grow taller?" she said with a small smile. "No need to be so stiff, just call me Bell. But yeah it seems I hit a growth spurt," he said with a smile. "well, try not to get in too much trouble then," Shakti snorted.
"I am telling you old man, your pass has expired so you need to pay a fee," Bell could hear one of the guards shouting. He turned to see an old man and a teen girl shorter than him. "hey what's going on?" Bell interfered as Shakti tried to stop him but couldn't. "Haah?" The guard said turning around but he turned pale after seeing who it is, "o-oh Dark Prince, my apologies, it's just these people needed to pay a fee to enter since their pass expired but they say they can't," the guard said pointing at the old man.
The old man wasn't short, he was rather tall just about Bell's height now., he actually exuded more strength than a normal unblessed old man would. "And we keep telling you, the price you ask for is something we don't have yet," The old man growled back. As the guard was about to argue back Bell cut in. "How much are you asking?" he asked to the guard who looked confused. "since he is here to trade, he needs to pay 12,000 valis," the guard said. Bell took out his bag and handed the man 12k valis on the spot as the old man and teen just looked at him in shock. "Here, I'll pay for them, let them pass," Bell said as the guard just looked baffed.
"w-why would you suddenly pay for us?" the girl spoke up. Bell looked at him and just smiled gently, "you are from outside Orario right? You two remind me a lot of my grandfather and I, although he never came to Orario, I felt nostalgic so I decided to help out," Bell said as he gave her another bright smile. The girl started blushing before Bell turned to Shakti. "Shakti san, although it isn't my place to interfere, I do believe you should decrease the price to pay. Since these people come from outside Orario, it really is hard to just give up that kind of money," he suggested. Shakti nodded, "fine, I'll suggest it to Ganesha sama. Never knew to be a benevolent one though Bell," she said smiling at him. "eh? I just felt like it, well either way work hard in Orario," Bell said giving another smile.
"u-umm, may I ask your name?" the girl asked nervously. Bell looked at her, "Bell. Bell Cranel," he finished but Shakti had to say more. "He is the ever so rumoured Dark Prince," she said with a smirk. Bell just glared at her for a second before sighing, "well either way, if you need something, you can come to the Twilight Manor and ask for me," he told the old man and teen girl.
"Well then, I have to go get my armor refitted, see you later," he said as he walked off to go to Wolke 9.
As Bell approached the Wolke 9, he noticed a rather large crowd. At first he was on edge since Rochelle might've been attacked but soon he saw that they were in an orderly fashion.
He shrugged and was about to walk past the line before someone shouted, "hey you, can't you see there is a line here?" an angry man shouted out. Bell turned back and saw the man and several others grow pale, "oh my apologies, I just came to see my blacksmith for a second," Bell said kindly but the man just shuffled backwards.
He went in to see Rochelle busy with people placing orders. "Ummm... am I interrupting something?" Bel asked knocking on the door bringing everyone's attention to him. "h-hello Bell, or should I call you Dark Prince now," Rochelle smirked as Bell shuddered. "Your funeral, so uh, what's going on here?" Bell asked inquisitively. "After your... performance, everyone thought it was because of the weapons so now I am busy rejecting a damn load of requests for weapons," Rochelle sighed still with her stoic face. "Well why don't you accept some?" Bell asked. Rochelle just gave him a look that he is crazy, "my weapons are cursed, only a madman would use them?" she said. "Hey, I use them," Bell innocently said. "Like I said, only a madman," she reiterated. "gotcha," he turned around to the line, "sorry guys, y'all heard the boss," Bell said as a few people groaned but none spoke against a level 6.
As the people left, the final one left and the door closed Bell turned serious facing Rochelle. "are you alright? How long have they been there for?" Bell asked cryptically. Rochelle seemed to get it though, "I don't know, maybe a couple weeks. They just stay there but never attack." Bell seemed to think a bit before cracking a smile, "sorry Rochelle, it seems I put up a double edged sword against your neck," he said as Rochelle looked at him confused, "whatever it is, it's you. I'll put my faith in you," Rochelle smiled, "well on another note, why are you so damn tall all of a sudden?" she asked standing and seeing how he was at least 3 inches taller. "uhhh... I really don't know, I literally woke up rich and taller." Bell scratched the back of his head. Rochelle looked at him confused before realisation dawned upon her, "d-don't tell me, you being banned from the casino is true?" she said in disbelief. Bell just nodded.
"So ummm, can you refit my armor?" Bell asked as Rochelle nodded. "alright then, I'll just go any fight the goliath," Bell said. "wait, you're going without armor?" Riveria asked worried.
"it'll be fine, I am level 6 so it should be good enough," Bell said stretching, "do you want any Goliath drops?"
"if you're lucky enough, sure I'll be able to reinforce the armor," Rochelle said. Under normal circumstances people would be doubtful but seeing that Bell gets a drop item, every boss he fights, she was pretty sure he could bring something back.
While Bell was on his way to the dungeon.
"Oh it's the trial onii chan," a boy said out loud as Bell turned to see the boy who he saved from Phryne. "Oh if it isn't you, good morning madam. How are you?" he bowed to the lady who reciprocated. Crouching down to the boy, he pat his head, "how are you doing?" he asked gently. "I am doing fine, you kept your promise of not going anywhere, I brag to my friends that I know the Dark Prince," he said joyfully. Bell realised something, "oh right talking about promises, didn't I offer you some ice cream, well today's a pretty hot day, what do you say?" he asked as the boy started getting even more giddy. He looked to his mum with puppy eyes as she sighed in defeat. "Let's go and get you some ice cream, I hope you don't mind me interrupting your day madam," he apologised to the mother.
"i-it's no problem, you did save my son, b-but if it isn't much to ask, can I have your autograph," she asked as she blushed a little. With Bell's growth spurt, he sort of became more handsome than just cute, he's slightly above average height now and almost every girl on the streets would blush by looking at him. He took them to get ice cream and gave the mother his autograph, ' dang a lot of people are asking for my autograph nowadays,' he thought as he headed of to the dungeon.
At the 17th floor
"O-o-ok guys, relax it's our first time beating the g-goliath, we can do it," a shaky and obviously nervous man said. "Leyon, you need to relax the most out of all of us," a catgirl smirked. The other 8 people all just laughed, at least it helped them calm their nerves. "We may be a bunch of level 2s and 1s, but if we work together we can beat that thing, let's go captain," a bald swordman shouted as the rest cheered.
The goliath had just spawned, "g-get into position everybody," The man named Leyon instructed as everyone fell into formation. The mages were chanting as the middle guards were defending them. The tanks were attempting to block the hits but some were failing as they got blown off. The frontline attacked the smaller monsters first as it would hinder the tanks but evidently it wasn't going well. The two healers of the group clearly had their hands full.
"S-stay c-calm everybody, we can still get this," Leyon encouraged everyone as got back up to fight yet again. The goliath seemed strong, much stronger than it was rumoured to be. It's swipes had blown the tanks all to one side as the rear guard were left vulnerable to the smaller monsters. The mages finishing chanting launched fvarious attack spells, but it didn't work as planned. The blows weren't strong enough to fully incapacitate the goliath. The situation was clearly bleak, "w-w-we're gonna die!," a man screamed as he fell to his knees. "Run to the 18th floor," Leyon instructed but a boulder had blocked the entrance of it. "A-are we doomed to die, after everything we've done?"
Meanwhile Bell was speeding through the floors
"Hmmm... I wonder if anyone has already started fighting it," he carelessly thought as he approached the 18th floor entrance. Hearing the sound of battle, "ah darn, I guess I can't interfere now," he said aloud. But then he heard "we're gonna die!" as he changed his mind, 'looks like I have no choice but to interfere'
Back to the Leyon's POV
Damn it, if only I planned better. As Leyon charged to his death trying to buy even a second more to allow someone else from his party to escape, he braced himself to be hit. "Very brave and noble, but idiotic," he heard.
"huh?" he opened his eyes to see a patch of white hair. It was Bell. "who the hell is he? and who dives in without armor?" another person commented but he didn't care. Bell drew his black and white swords as he cut cleanly through the goliath's arm.
"ROOAAAARRR," the goliath cried out in pain. "tch, just shut up, you're so damn loud," Bell stated as he started moving faster than the adventurer's could see. "I can't even see him, what level is he?" as Bell ran streaked cuts all over the Goliath's body. It continued to roar in pain. "hmmm... let's try some magic, hey whoever can move, if you guys buy me 20 seconds, the magic stone is yours," Bell announced. "No way, that guy is just gonna offer the magic stone, just like that," another person said in disbelief.
Leyon recollecting himself, "if it's 20 seconds we can do it," he announced as a few looked at him, "the goliath is really badly hurt, we can at least learn from this," he said as a few others nodded. Bell smiled, 'this one's a nice leader, hmm... since when did I become so arrogant?' he wondered.
Pulling back, and not moving too damn fast some people finally got to see his face. "alright give me a few seconds," he fell back as the frontliners tried to slow down the goliath as much as possible. Bell started concentrating for a few seconds and chant. "destroy and devour, spread like poison, embody the dark," he chanted, "move away now," he said as the others fell back," Dark Refraction," a pure black arrow shot out. It pierced the head of the goliath and spread down to its shoulders. Effectively killing the goliath.
The others just stared in awe. "yeah, It seems I am fully healed," Bell thought aloud, he went and next to the massive magic stone there was a Goliath tooth. "As I promised the magic stone is yours, but would you mind if I kept the tooth?" Bell asked breaking everyone out of their trance. "uh, yeah that's fine, but who are you?" Leyon asked absolutely terrified.
"Me? it's nice to meet you, My name is Bell Cranel," he said as he held out his hand. Realisation dawned upon them. Pure white hair, red eyes. "t-t-the Dark Prince?!" Leyon screamed. "Well either way, I got some tips if you lot wanna listen," Bell said attracting their attention. "From what I saw, tanks, you're not grounded enough, you need to stay more solid. Also choose your battles, just because you're supposed to take the most damage doesn't mean you take all the damage." Bell pointed at the tanks who just looked down in defeat. "Frontliners, focus on timing your hits, your job is to take the opponent out. If you can't you need to tactically stall it until the mages can fire spells off," he continued," mid guard your job isn't to stay in the middle but rather to deal with the minions and make sure you protect the mages, and speaking of mages. Don't lose concentration, forget that there are people getting hurt, magic depends on your focus, if you get distracted, it'll only lengthen the battle. Healers don't leave yourselves wide open, you need to either defend yourself or have someone who defend at all times." He started pointing all their flaws from the tiny snippet that he saw.
"You might not like it since its coming from someone younger than you, but when faced with death, our ages don't matter. Take it well and fight to protect yourselves, trust each other." he encouraged everyone. Safe to say, there were some flames lit in people's hearts that day.
Bell finishing his feedback received a bow of thanks from people as he just went back up to the surface.
Heading back to Wolke 9
Bell walks in to see Rochelle finishing up the paintjob on the armor. "so how did it go?" she asked without turning around. "eh, well I went down, saw another party struggling against it, saved them gave pointers and left with the goliath tooth," he said in sequence. Rochelle just smirked ever so slightly, "someone's arrogant," she said with her usual tone. "well, I prefer to call it confidence," Bell chuckled.
Bell tried on the new armor. It felt a better fit, it wasn't tight anymore and it seemed to truly represent his Dark Prince nickname with the matte black armor. "thanks how much is it?" he asked before Rochelle turned to him, "I am contracted to you, I don't need it. But if you're offering pay, that tooth would do marvels," she said with a small smile, Bell just threw her the tooth which she caught.
Leaving Wolke 9, he decided it was time to head home for the night. But beforehand, he bought some spare clothes really quick since his random growth just made all his clothes tighter.
As he walked in, "oh hello mr Dark Prince," he saw a lower level member bowing in greeting. "don't bow, we're in the same familia. Just call me Bell," he said while waving it off. He walked into the hall, "ohh.. Argonaut-kun arrived just in time for dinner," Tiona said all excited as ever. He just smiled in response, "good grief, watching you so excited all the time makes me tired," he said as he pat Tiona's head. She started blushing, "I-I think I like the taller Argonaut-kun better," she murmured feeling happy of being pat.
Bell walked along and grabbed some food and sat down on the table with the other executives.
"Bell what's up, you seem to be in a good mood today," Finn asked curious, "well yeah, I got over my headache and I even met the kid who I saved from Phryne, got him some ice cream, bascially today's has actually be a pretty normal day, how could I not be happy?" He summarised the day overall.
"it sounds like you would make a great father, now if we could just find you a wife," he said as Gareth and him looked at Riveria, who blushed at the thought of having kids.
They were about to start dinner when Finn made an announcement. The entire hall became silent as they all listened to him, "so in a couple of days, we are going on an expedition, our goal shall be the 60th floor, however, we recognised that the lower level adventurers won't be getting much practice so this time round, the one who will train you guys will be Bell Cranel," he announced as the entire hall just sat in silence, some in shock the others in obedience. "Bell a few words," as Bell nodded and stood up.
The eerie silence, people waiting in horror, this was going to decide their fates. Will it be hell or heaven, all is decided by him. Bell gave the most wicked grin he could muster much to the horror of everyone.
"I won't be going easy on any of you," that was enough to make the other adventurer's regret being born as they awaited the next few days powerlessly.
A/N: I am aware that there is an immense amount of SPaG issues, yeah, I'm working on those give me some time. Since, these chapters are old ones, from Fanfiction.net/ I am just bringing the chapters over to Wattpad but have been incredibly lazy with the copy and pasting.