Ch 19: Climax (1)
ENJOY!!
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“So that’s his decision? I expected no less...”
Over on the northern side of the Red-light district, Hermes could be seen standing, donning his favorite hate and a sharp but amused look in his eyes. He could see pretty much everything taking place down there but never interfered.
He wanted to know the decision the boy would make and indeed, what happened was just what he thought. The boy was compassionate and more than anything, determined to fulfill his goal whatever that might be.
This sort of thinking could only be seen among two types of people. One famous for their devilry and one famous for their heroism and the boy down there was the latter of the two.
“They’ve come!”
As he was focused on happenings taking place there, Asfi who stood right behind him spoke up. She was looking in a different direction using her binoculars. From there, she could see several silhouettes coming to the front gate and bickering with the gatekeepers.
“Now let’s see what you’re made of!”
Hearing Asfi, Hermes too turned around looking in the same direction. Bell had already shown him what he wanted to see and now it was time for the other one.
The argument there seemed intense, but it all changed. Suddenly the man he was waiting for stepped forward and then… everything trembled.
“This?!”
What exactly was going on here?
Asfi couldn’t help but call out. She couldn’t even close her mouth in pure astonishment. What just happened in front of her was just too incredible.
Amazoness who were keeping watch everywhere fell all at once. So many of them just lost consciousness suddenly and lay on the ground, motionless.
This was too bizarre and something she had never seen or experienced before, and all this happened after that sudden burst of pure power. She didn’t know what that power was, but it was too formidable to be comprehended and too striking to be defined in mere words.
There was only one thing that came to mind, one word that might explain it all ‘INCOMPREHENSIBLE’ and that was it.
That said, although she didn’t know what it was, she very clearly knew where it came from.
It was ‘that’ man. She saw it all with her own eyes but still couldn’t believe it. Could one man hold such power and such might?
She felt ‘something’. It wasn’t a very clear feeling that came from her very soul, but it existed and affected her.
Perhaps it was fear or dread or maybe awe. Whatever might be the case, she knew one thing. That man couldn’t be messed with under any circumstances.
Thinking till here, she turned to Hermes who had turned silent after witnessing this event.
She called out to him, “Herm-”, only to be stopped midway.
“Hehe…”
Hermes let out a faint chuckle as if laughing at himself.
He had made such an elaborate plan and was so nervous if it would come to be and yet now said plan seemed to have turned into a joke.
The reason for doing all this was very simple, to test Bell’s resolve as well as Zoro’s power. He had heard much about his abilities from both outside and inside but never witnessed them first-hand. According to his plan, Ishtar would go after Bell which should prompt Hestia Familia and allies to come knocking on their doors, beginning their fight but he never once believed for them to be successful in this endeavor.
He knew more than anyone how powerful she was. Disregarding everything, she had more than a hundred lvl 3’s with about a dozen lvl 4’s and even a lvl 5.
This was not something just anyone could deal with. After all, Ishtar familia was ranked amongst the top 10 B-class familias and the top 30 among all familias in Orario presently in terms of strength. That said, if one were to talk about pure influence then Ishtar Familia was definitely among the top 5 most influential familias from a global perspective.
She held a lot of power, which was why Hermes wanted to involve Freya in the mix, which should take care of all the other stuff such as ‘destruction’.
But now, it was all chaos. Just one man turned the tide.
One man took out the quantitative advantage of Ishtar Familia. From where he stood, almost if not all of lvl 3’s from Ishtar familia were gone.
This was faar beyond his expectations but…
“Hahahaha! GREAT! WONDERFUL!! Hahahaha…”
… he laughed. He laughed his heart out…
Nothing could be better if Ishtar could be taken out without Freya’s interference in the matter.
On the other hand,
Ishtar was stupefied seeing all that was transpiring. She stood on her balcony, taking in all the view of the outside and what she saw stunned her.
Her prized warriors, each of whom she had spent so much time and effort grooming lay there, unconscious.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!”
It was hard for her to swallow this. She was preparing for war against Freya and tonight was the first step about to be taken and yet she was attacked.
How did this happen? She couldn’t be certain, but that purple radiance was related to it, and as for what it was, perhaps a sort of skill she had never heard of before.
Regardless, the main question was, who would dare to attack her?
It didn’t take long for her to figure that out since she could hear the music of various kinds being played all at once in perfect harmony. Disregarding the tune, she could see the destruction that was happening due to said music.
“HESTIA FAMILIA!”
She gritted her teeth while mentioning that name. They were the only ones she knew of who had such battle patterns and abilities. Normally, she wouldn’t put them in her mind but… if this indeed was done by them then she was in trouble.
He turned to her trusted aid, “Tammuz, go and mobilize all those who can still fight except for Aisha and Phryne, and follow me. I’m going to meet Hestia!”, Someone needed to look over the ceremony that was taking place and Aisha along with Phryne was her best choices.
Hearing her, Tammuz deliberated a bit before speaking, “But your security…”
“They won’t dare harm me. Go!”
Since things had reached this stage, there could only be one end. Either both Familias would duke it out OR she could pacify the situation, stopping it from getting worse through negotiation.
In case said negotiation failed and war happened, she still had some certainty. After all, from what she could see, only lvl 3’s were affected by whatever took place and she still had about a dozen lvl 4’s and even her captain remaining.
While she was still thinking so, another tremor tore through the ground and the sky. This one was a bit different from before but…
“DAMN HER!! SO, SHE JUST WANTS TO DESTROY ME!”
…several buildings all over came down in heaps of dust. Powerful sonic vibrations were spreading and wrecking everything apart. The beautiful buildings that had been built with an insane amount of money and time started converted into mere rubble. This alone did a huge amount of damage to her pockets and also conveyed a message.
The meaning here was quite obvious. They didn’t just come to free Bell, no. They came to level her place which also meant, there was no room for negotiations from the get-go…
OVER ON THE HANGING GARDEN…
This was the highest place in the Red-light district and had been prepared as a new brothel building when in actuality, the real purpose of this was something else. Several amazoness could be seen walking here and there, barefooted. There were about a dozen of them, each one being lvl 4. This was the gathering of all the strongest individuals in Ishtar Familia who was present here for a certain ritual. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that this ritual was a much-anticipated one by the entirety of Ishtar Familia, save for a certain amazoness.
“Still sullen, aye Aisha?”
“Shut up!”
“Ooooh so scary ~”
Several amazoness could be seen talking to Aisha who was the only one in here with gloom written all over. She was the only one who didn’t want this ritual to take place and had tried to stop it through various means but to no avail. What could she alone do when everyone else was pumped up for its success?
Perhaps that man could have stopped it but… she knew he wouldn’t escape. Not only that, but he too would also become Ishtar’s plaything as everyone else had.
‘Perhaps it’s better this way…’, She thought while looking at the only one she considered a family.
It was Haruhime. She sat there, on an altar while chained up. Today was the day she was going to be sacrificed. She was about to die but her expression was peaceful. There wasn’t even a hint of fear or objection neither was there hate or confusion.
She knew this was bound to happen for a very long time and had tried to run away again and again with some help but to no avail. She ALWAYS felt anger and hatred for Ishtar and sadness for herself. Several negative emotions were hidden deep in her heart and truthfully, she didn’t want to die. Not with all this negativity at least but now she was calm and collected.
She had seen light in this darkness. That light made up a very small part of her life but took it all away. His words gave her warmth like never before and showed her a world she had never imagined.
Although small, that time was the best of her short life, and she would never forget that even till her last breadth. She looked up at the moon which was emerging and showring its light on her and the rest of the world. By the time this moon reached its highest and the reflected light from the Altar turned red from the blue would be the time that marked her end.
…
It all started when Ishtar gave her falna to Haruhime. Initially, there was no difference when compared to others but something in her status caught Ishtar’s eye. It was a certain magic, the description of which was eye-blinding. It could allow Haruhime to level someone up for a certain period.
Sure, this increase in power was temporary, but it was still a HUGE bonus for anyone being afflicted by it. In the beginning, Ishtar was just happy but once she conducted a bit more research, the result went beyond her imagination, and she was exhilarated. According to said research, very rarely did a Renard born, in a certain tribe, held such power.
Ability to enhance someone beyond their present lvl. Another thing she found out was the presence of a killing stone and a certain ritual. The information about these two things was obtained through demonic books which were for all senses and purposes banned, both here and there. It was forbidden to learn that knowledge for clear reasons.
Still, she in her jealousy lost her mind and learned it. According to said knowledge, ANY Renard born with this magic can give that ‘power boost’ to ‘multiple individuals at the same time, and said power boost would even be permanent but at a price.
Said price being her very life.
Haruhime was part of her familia, her family of sorts, and yet she didn’t even think twice before deciding to do the ritual. Still, she planned to do it near when she was finally going to engage Freya, but she was forced to forfeit that plan due to certain conditions associated with this ritual like the Renard being of no more than a certain age and her body being pure and untouched. Now she was conducting this ritual but only out of necessity. She had no plans to attack or fight Freya ‘yet’ since her trump cards were both gone.
Regardless, the specifics of the ritual were thus. Haruhime had to be sacrificed in light of a full moon with a weapon that had a killing stone embedded into it. This would store her power in said killing stone the shards of which then could be used to level someone up permanently.
That said, there were some very clear consequences of performing this ritual which Ishtar had hidden from everyone…
…
It didn’t take long, and the time came soon after. The altar flashed a brilliant crimson sphere of light, forcing everyone present to shut their eyes. By the time they opened, what met their gaze left everyone speechless.
There were no words since the scene in front of them was just too beautiful. A dazzling altar with a beauty of incomparable proportions sat inside, bound in chains while a drop of tear-streaked her un-blemish face like a jewel traveling its way down.
“She’s truly a beauty. How unfortunate”
Amazons who were known for their warring attitudes couldn’t help but be marveled. Even they had no choice but to praise her despite it not being in their nature.
“Gegegege… get it over with!”, While other amazoness stood there, watching, their captain Phryne came forward with a dagger in hand. A fist-size, bloodred crystal could be seen attached to the end of the hilt of this ceremonial weapon.
Soon, this dagger would take her life. She closed her eyes, shook her head, and looked up at the full moon in all its glory and splendor and reminiscent of the past few days. All the wonderful memories she’d made, meeting that boy and spending time with him. It was all like a dream come true.
Remembering all those beautiful events, she finally closed her eyes as a light smile decorated her lips.
“What the”
A unified gasp reached her ears a moment later. She opened her eyes only to see her executioners in a daze with some even falling to their knees, struggling against something.
Looking around, what met her eyes was an alluring purple radiance that conveyed intense pressure along with a powerful rumble, but only for a moment. The alter she was bound to almost fell apart and some amazoness who were on their knees fell to the ground but stood up a moment later.
Pin-drop silence covered the garden as if someone had pushed a stop button. Sometime later, someone murmured, “What was that?”
It wasn’t loud but enough to reach everyone’s ears.
Aisha on the other hand went toward a corner to see what had transpired down below and what greeted her was a total mess. All amazons at or below lvl 3 had fallen to the ground while several expensive buildings were falling apart near the entrance of the district.
It wasn’t difficult to know what happened.
“We’re attacked”, she whispered and informed everyone behind.
Hearing her, everyone was stupefied.
“WHAT!!”
“Stop joking. Who would dare attack us?”
They weren’t just some run-of-a-mil familia but rather a very powerful and influential organization. They could never even imagine someone having the thoughts of engaging them, well maybe except for a few monstrosities but why would they…
“Is it… Freya?”
“Don’t know but we need to head down there. Let’s stop the ritual and get everything under control first”
Although she couldn’t be certain, Aisha had an inkling of it not being Freya. First of all, she had never heard of Freya Familia possessing that power felt before and secondly, if it was Freya then the amount of destruction would have accumulated to an insane degree even within such a short period.
But if not Freya then who?
She really couldn’t think of anyone but whoever it was, she was thankful. Perhaps Haruhime could be saved or at least she could get some more time.
“No need!”
Phryne spoke up, destroying her dreams. “All of you, head down there. I’ll be there shortly”, she had a hideous smile on her face while looking at Haruhime.
Seeing this, Aisha interjected “I’ll stay” her tone was resolute but also somewhat forlorn as if she had given up.
Hearing her, Phryne turned over and spoke condescendingly, “Did you not hear what I said?”
“I did but… I won’t allow you to torture her”
This was a declaration. Aisha was very aware of what Phryne would do if left alone with Haruhime. Phryne had a huge physique and looked like a toad but still thought of herself as more beautiful than anyone. This wasn’t because of anything except for the inferiority complex. To hide that, she used force, especially against those of other races. Her discrimination and forceful nature would be amplified the more beautiful the other girl was.
For that reason, she hated Haruhime but couldn’t touch her due to Ishtar. But now was different. Haruhime was about to die so what did it matter if she roughed her up a bit before killing her?
Aisha didn’t want that to happen. If Haruhime couldn’t be saved, then so be it but at least she would make sure that her death would be peaceful.
Hearing her answer which contained not even an ounce of fear, Phryne’s face contorted in fury and disgust. “You think you can stop ME! Seems you need to relearn your lesson from all that time ago”
Aisha was the first one to oppose Ishtar when the matter of Haruhime being a sacrificial pawn was revealed. She tried to let her run away several times and eventually got caught once.
Even now, she shuddered thinking of the tortures she had to go through due to that matter. It was unspeakable and unexplainable. From that day onwards, even though she still loved Haruhime and even tried to let her escape to live a better life, but she never went beyond the limit.
Perhaps that was the reason why she was still stuck in lvl 4. She was by far the strongest individual after Phryne in Ishtar Familia and had completed the conditions to lvl up and yet, just couldn’t and she had an inkling of the reason. It was a barrier and she felt as though she could never reach lvl 5 unless her wish regarding Haruhime’s freedom was fulfilled which would never happen so long as Ishtar existed and so long as Ishtar Familia existed and so long as her jealousy existed.
Still, despite hearing that threatening tone, Aisha didn’t back off and looked straight into her eyes. This was one time she wouldn’t back down.
Seeing that unwavering gaze and sensing that determination, Phryne finally gave up “Tch fine. Whatever but… DO NOT TRY ANYTHING FUNNY!”
She wanted to teach Aisha a lesson but that would have to wait.
By now, everyone had left except for these three. It was high time to perform the ritual and so without any further ado, Phryne licked the dagger and went towards Haruhime. Her expression was unsightly as if she couldn’t wait to plunge it into her heart.
Just as Phryne took another step, “How long are you going to wait?”, Aisha who was standing right behind her raised her head and screamed in a thunderous voice.
Hearing this, Phryne turned back looking at her in bewilderment. Whom was she talking to?
The answer was a silhouette that suddenly shot out from the pillars surrounding the altar. He reached here at about the same time as everyone stood in a daze after that tremble. He saw it all, Aisha talking to them and then all amazons leaving as fast as possible to counter whatever had attacked their familia. He thought he hid brilliantly but it seemed someone had still managed to either see him or perhaps sense him. Regardless, he was glad to have reached in time and was also thankful to Zoro for what he did. If not for that burst of conquerors Haki, then perhaps Haruhime would have died before e he even reached here.
As soon as he appeared, Aisha took a sigh of relief. She wasn’t certain of his presence. It’s just her instincts that told her of someone’s presence after all the amazons had left and she could only attribute said presence to someone, not part of this familia since why would someone like that hide here and not join other amazons in their battle against the invader? It seemed her hunch was correct, and she was glad. It’s just that she didn’t know how he managed to evade Ishtar.
Regardless, she saw him moving in a blur motion towards Phryne who was caught off-guard by his sudden appearance and instinctively used the ceremonial dagger to attack him which turned out to be a mistake.
Bell jumped upwards, dodging her counterattack while dealing his attack…
(Fire Bolt!!)
…right on the hilt of the blade. Thunderous Roaring flames engulfed the killing stone, breaking it apart into several pieces.
He landed right behind Phryne who stood there, motionlessly looking at the bits and pieces of said stone.
“YOU SH*****T!!”
It didn’t take long before her furious roar impacted the heavens. She turned around with blazing eyes as if to devour him whole. This ceremony was something she had given her all mind to. This was an opportunity for her to get and make that amazing power her own permanently but now it was all gone.
The sheer power in her roar made his blood run cold. That furious glare was enough to kill any man alive and yet he stood his ground. Even as the grinding noise of her teeth reached his ears, he stood there with a gaze filled with unwavering resolve.
Today he had the chance to run away and leave but he didn’t do so. He chose the other path, one difficult to tread on and if not careful, the strongest of men could fall easily. The reason he chose a difficult road was, to save Haruhime and that was it. Whatever the result, he could care about that at a later date.
Eyes on Phryne, he stood in a battle pose, ready to strike and counter anytime but what he was expecting never came. Phryne just stood there, looking at him with pure hatred and unwillingness but she didn’t attack. She just looked at him and finally spoke…
“What was the point? Do you think you saved her? Wrong. Very wrong. All you did was delay the inevitable. We still have time, and we can acquire one more.”
Speaking till here, she glanced at him with a gloating expression…
“You achieved NOTHING”
She wanted him to give up. She wanted him to despair that no matter what, he could never accomplish this, and what she said wasn’t wrong either. Sure, they were urgent but there was still some time. Although said time was EXTREMELY limited, Bell shouldn’t know that. By telling him and proving to him that all he did was a waste of effort, she was trying to get him down and show her his weak self but…
“Maybe but… that is enough for me”
… his answer stupefied her. He still had that glare, that brilliancy which she hated above all else. This positive attitude was like poison to her.
This answer also surprised Aisha who didn’t expect this. She too thought that even if not despair, he would at least be a bit down hearing that, but his attitude was faar off from that. She looked at Haruhime who also seemed surprised by his answer. Yes, she had contacted him and was quite fond of him but that didn’t mean she understood him. From her perspective, no one would ever come to save her. At least not when the behemoth trying to kill her was Ishtar Familia. Saving her was the same as declaring an all-out war against Ishtar Familia and from what she knew, Hestia Familia nor Bell could take that. It was an impossibility within an impossibility.
And more than anything, she didn’t want him to fight here and get hurt. He was someone very much precious to her and someone she would NEVER want to be destroyed due to her and so she contacted her eyes with her and spoke…
“Master Carnell…”
Her hands came together in front of her chest, with a range of several emotions passing through her heart.
“Please don’t get yourself involved in all this…”
“…”
“I’m fine where I am and I’ve long since accepted my fate so… please let me be”
Her voice trembled out of fear for him. She knew Ishtar wouldn’t just let this be, so it was better for him to leave now than later. If she died, then that was that. Sure, she didn’t want to die but more than that, she didn’t want to get him involved in this mess.
Hearing her, Aisha’s heart tightened and so did Bell’s. What he hated most was when people gave up or when they were forced to say or do what they didn’t want to. He kept his mouth shut out of consideration but seeing she had finished; He gave his answer…
“I love heroes more than anything. They’re brave and strong and can do what others perceive to be impossible.”
“Huh…”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know someone who would do whatever he felt like, but he too has a code. He never said anything about it but… he always does what he feels was the right thing to do without caring for consequences”
“What are you-”
“I want to be just like him, to be a hero and I know that if I stepped back here then…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“I would no longer have the right to go for it. I came here to save you and I will do it regardless of what anyone says because that for me is the right thing to do.”
There was a kind of light in his pupils which attracted everyone. His voice filled with vigor, and he declared his stance. It didn’t matter if she wanted him to save her or not, he would do so regardless.
That was who Bell Cranel was.
“Gegegege! A hero you say! What a childish dream”
Right this instant, Phryne laughed in contempt towards him. This dream of his felt like a joke to her.
Still, she stopped playing tricks. Other than the fact she was extremely terrible at this stuff of mind games, it didn’t seem as though he would be dejected so, she would do what she was best at…
“DIE!!”
…and so, she did. Without batting an eye, she threw a punch straight toward his face. Her speed was such that even Bell found it hard to counter and so he sidestepped and jumped back. There was no doubt that if that punch had made contact, he would be dead right there. Just the air coming off of from around the fist was enough to injure him.
‘She’s strong!’
He had felt this feeling again and again. Every encounter with her led to his defeat in a very short time and so he decided not to face her head-on but rather use what he was best at.
And so, he began his assault…
(Fire Bolt! Fire Bolt! Fire Bolt...)
…starting with his magic. Its destructive power was low, but it could be cast in succession. If not quality, then he would overwhelm her with quantity.
Seeing a barrage of electric bolts of flames coming over, she laughed and plunged into them.
Wham! Wham! Wham! –
Each of her punches caused the surrounding air to scatter and destroyed all the balls of roaring flames. Just her fists alone were enough to overwhelm his magic.
“Is that all you got!”
She came out, unscathed from his bombardment. Seeing this display of power surprised him but he wasn’t shocked. She was a genuine lvl 5 and probably up on the ladder even within said lvl along with that physique. It was normal for her to possess such strength. What he was surprised over was another fact, ‘I’m faar away from him…’, it was the fact of his captain having dealt with her. From what he knew, Zoro had beaten her half to death, and that too only at lvl 2. This was beyond his comprehension but now wasn’t the time to think about all that. He wasn’t here to compare himself to others or to even fight.
There was only one purpose. Get Haruhime out of here and then join others.
Phryne spoke once again in a ridiculing tone, “I don’t plan to play around so…” and unsheathed her battle-axe from her back. With this, she was truly ready to fight and ready to kill.
Bell’s muscles tightened seeing her getting serious. He could feel it. An aura of pure might oozed out from her. Her demeanor changed entirely with her weapon. It was like the saying went, a warrior with his weapon was different from a warrior without. She was the perfect example of that.
Coupled with that physique, she looked quite a monster in both figurative and literal senses.
“RRAAAAAA…!”
She dashed towards him like a raging Bull and covered a distance of a few meters in an instant. Bell had no time to dodge this time around and so he brought his knives forward and in the next instance…
CLANG-
…grand battle-ax and the knives collided in an explosion of sparks.
“…!”
His feet left the ground at the impact, and he was thrown skywards. Bell felt as if both of his arms had gone numb. That was a powerful clash, but he lost it. He maneuvered his body in mid-air and landed on the ground safely.
Before he could get his posture straight, the battle axe flashed in front of his eyes once again along with an angry tone.
“Since you want to save her then DIIEEE!”
She was angry at the fact that Bell manage to block her attack. First that captain of his and now this! She just couldn’t take it and took all her anger on the boy.
Swish-
This time the battle-axe hit the empty air as Bell barely but surely manage to duck on time and dodged that deadly attack but…
Wham! –
…he immediately brought his arms up to block the follow-up attack which once again threw him up in the air. It was a kick, a very powerful one which he managed to block but almost broke his arms in doing so.
Seeing him in the air, Phryne didn’t wait and went after him. Without even giving him the chance to land, she launched another barrage of attacks. Bell, who was still up in the air, flipped over and once again blocked her attack with his knives but the force of the impact hurled him in the back, almost throwing him over the hanging garden.
He once again landed on the ground and continued his battle against Phryne. Well, it was more of a one-sided beatdown than a battle but still, he did manage to land a few attacks after parrying hers but to no avail. The difference in stats was just too high. Even if he wanted to make it up with his techniques, the other party had a lot of experience under her belt.
She drove Bell back with each barrage until they reached the other edge of the hanging garden. Bell was constantly changing his directions to not be thrown over. Their battle left several marks on the ground amid sharp clashes and showers of sparks. At this rate, they would soon destroy even the altar this ceremony was based upon.
Aisha was just standing watching it all happen. She didn’t interfere to help Bell defend or to help Phryne finish him off. Amid the battle, she went up to Haruhime on the altar and stood guard. Haruhime tried to open her mouth to say something multiple times and kept quiet in the end. She naturally wanted to help Bell, but her magic had limitations. There was no guarantee that he would win even with her magic and if he couldn’t finish it off within a certain amount of time then it would be all over.
She couldn’t ask Aisha either since she was already doing them a favor by not taking Phryne’s side.
Suddenly that intense battle came to a halt and both sides just stood there, facing each other.
“You’re not bad!”
Phryne finally stopped her assault but looked at him in amusement. He indeed wasn’t bad, but he was also no match for her. Still, his potential was off the roof.
“Why not become my man”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
She gave him an offer that left everyone there stupefied. What did she mean by that?
Not paying attention to their confusion, she kept on boasting, “You won’t find anyone as beautiful as me in the entire world. Not even those celestials are my match and…”
Seeing her go on and on about her so-called ‘beauty’ put him in a conundrum but thanks to that he was given time to prepare his attack. He wanted to end this fast and join up with others. Even from here, he could sense that combat taking place down there but how to deal with her?
Simple. He decided to use an old trick. If it worked, then either she would be one-shotted or at least no longer be able to become a hindrance. It would also tell others of his approximate location.
And so, with one hand behind his back and one in front, he waited and waited until small chimes grew louder and louder until they could be heard over a few meters of distance.
“Hm! What’s that?”
The sound finally reached her, bringing her out of that stupor. She had been talking non-stop, describing her beauty for about a minute now and he was charging up his attack for the same amount of time.
Not long after, she finally yelled out loud…
“So, you would rather go the haaarrddd waaaaaaaaaay?!”
The reality that she had pretty much been ignored all this time hit her hard, right on the sore spot which infuriated her. How dare he schemes against her when he should have been mesmerized by her beauty and her voice.
If he wasn’t then she would make him through force.
Seeing her once again coming after him in raging Fury, Bell jumped up, bringing his left arm ahead. It was glowing with pure white light. It looked exceptionally warm and nourishing but only he knew the kind of destructive force hidden within and so without further ado, he yelled at the top of his lungs…
(Fire Boltttttttt!!!)
… a single attack with a single target and this time it roared. The flames coming out were of huge proportions and contained enough heat to warm up the surrounding cold night. If looked at from afar, it would seem like a small sun shooting over.
Seeing this, Phryne finally felt a threat. Even if she didn’t die, this attack would put her in the same condition as before, and again it would be done by the same familia.
She contained her momentum and used it to jump upwards in a different direction. A moment after…
BAANG!!
…the place she stood at disappeared with a loud bang as roaring flames and heat destroyed everything in the vicinity including the very air itself.
It got hard to breathe but his attack failed. Her instant reaction saved her from a terrible fate.
“Gegegege… it’s oveeerrrrr!”
While still in the air, she laughed happily. That attack must have taken a lot out of him so it should be easier to take him down. This battle had already been won by her.
Seeing her laugh, Bell didn’t show fear. Instead, he looked downwards and then at her, “Is that so!”
This nonchalant attitude of his got on her nerves. She had already won so why was he still so calm and relaxed?
She got her answer after looking down. There was nothing there. Her place of landing had disappeared, and she fell to the bottom.
“Daamn youuuuuuuuuu!!”
And with that, it had ended. Phryne could certainly come back up but that would take time. On top of that, there was a much higher possibility that she won’t and would rather go down to face her old nemesis if for nothing than to avenge that humiliation.
Bell landed on the ground and fell to his knees right away. Today had taken a lot out of him. First, he was forced to use argonaut back there and now here. A lot of his mind had been consumed to charge and make those attacks but still, he didn’t give up.
Once again, he stood up facing Aisha this time around. No matter what her feelings might be, she was still part of Ishtar Familia and due to that had certain responsibilities to fulfill one of them being, to take out the invaders.
Seeing him looking at her in this manner, Aisha was amused.
“Don’t even try. You’re strong, much stronger than even many lvl 4’s but… you’re in no condition to fight”
She was right about that and everyone there realized that. After waiting for a bit, she spoke once again,
“Still, I would like to fight you at your peak so… take it”
With that said, she threw a bottle towards him filled with some sort of liquid. It was a mind potion seeing which he was surprised.
“Why are you…?”
“You want to save her, right? Then come. I am your hurdle and treat me like one. Let’s see if you have the ability”
This was a declaration of war, one which he happily accepted…
…………………………………
Loud noises could be heard in the vicinity with several individuals moving about, fighting each other.
The number of individuals fighting wasn’t many but each of them was more destructive than the other. Leo, Suu, Ouka, Mikoto, Daphne, Cassandra, and everyone else were fighting one of lvl 4 amazoness warriors. It was one versus many and yet the battle seemed almost to be tied with neither side being able to take any advantage of the other.
In the beginning when it all started and Zoro astonishingly took out the entirety of Ishtar’s forces, everyone had thought it was over but were denied by Zoro. According to him, his conqueror Haki was strong but there was a limitation of being only able to take out those with weak wills and strength. That meant that anyone a level above him so long as they had a strong disposition would be able to resist. That said, even those with weak strength but incomparable strong will would also be able to resist so long as he didn’t specifically target them. Everyone else would be wasted and his words were true.
Not long after, several lvl 4 amazoness, eight to be exact, came running over to destroy them but Zoro intervened and once again did something incredible. He singlehandedly fought all of them and defeated three in almost no time. Each of these three got severe sword injuries and was out while the other five managed to make some distance between them. That and coupled with the fact that Zoro didn’t seem interested in fighting them allowed them to escape that disaster.
Afterward, he left along with Hestia with their goal being Bell and Ishtar respectively. They didn’t just come here to save Bell, No. They came here to end it once and for all.
Regardless, even though amazoness were shocked at his display of power and feared him but still, they had a duty to fulfill, and they wouldn’t run away. It wasn’t in their nature, so they continued their assault after Zoro departed. This forced the remaining group to split up since taking on the remaining lvl 4 amazoness all at once was too demanding of a task. Their split forced amazoness to split as well.
There were in total two parties. One, ‘Orchestra’, led by Karl, and the remaining one led by none other than Naaza. Yes, she also came over after hearing of what had happened to Bell. Even though she feared dungeons and monsters, that didn’t mean she feared fights in general especially not against non-monsters.
As for Amazoness, three went after Orchestra and two after their party. One of them was taken over by Naaza while the other one was to be handled by the remaining people.
Despite a clear advantage in numbers, it was still a very tough fight. Ouka, Daphne, and Cassandra served as vanguards, being lvl 3’s, and yet, they were forced on the defensive by her continued assault.
Still, they managed to hold on with the help from everyone else from their familias. Lvl 1’s and 2’s, although didn’t participate directly but served as perfect supporters and assisted the three vanguards with arrows and whatnot from the shadows. These things wouldn’t necessarily injure her but still, the sheer quantity of sneak attacks was enough to distract her.
The fight against a single lvl 4 amazoness turned out to be tougher than they could have predicted. Despite the sheer number of combinations and variety of skills and magics having been utilized, they were still in bad shape. Their battle could be considered to have been very intense, but it ended relatively fast after Mikoto, and Cassandra used their magics in conjunction with everyone else bombarding said amazoness with skills and weapons from all around. That said, All of them without exception got injuries while the three vanguards could even be considered to be half dead but still, they held out and eventually managed to take her down.
The price they paid was a very steep one and these injuries wouldn’t heal with just potions alone. Still, this was a very great experience for them. With this, they were able to find out the true difference that existed between levels and classes and they could have considered having been enlightened.
Except for freaks like Zoro, Bell, Aiz, and Ottar, none could jump ranks to defeat their opponent. At least not when there was a clear difference in ‘class’ between them.
On the other hand, the battle between Naaza and Samira ended with a mutual defeat. Even though Naaza was also lvl 4 like Samira but there was a huge difference between them which originated from their activities past few years. While Naaza had given up all fights and never ventured into the dungeon, Samira was the complete opposite. She experienced battle on an almost daily basis so they weren’t on equal footing.
Naaza fell into a disadvantage right after the beginning but due to her stats managed to hold on for quite a bit. Still, she got thrown over around their battlefield, accumulating injuries over injuries making her quite miserable. Once she was no longer capable of battle, Samira came forward to finish it off and let her guard down, something Naaza had been waiting for. She immediately played her trump card, a magic sword. She had bought it in her adventuring days but was forced to retire before she could even use it so it was just left in her room, untouched throughout all these years. So, she brought it along to be used in an emergency, a decision well worth it.
Getting struck by the magic sword at point blank knocked her out instantaneously. But since it exploded so near, Naaza’s injuries got even worse prompting her to fall alone.
This way, the battle on this end finished fast but all combatants were also gone.
…………………………………
THE END!
So, this chap is also over. I had thought right, in the beginning, to end Ishtar Familia’s arc by the 20th chapter and it did take 20 chapters (counting the next one). Honestly, I’m a bit surprised by my accuracy.
Anyway, let me make it clear. The reason ‘Zoro’ isn’t directly present during this and the previous chapter was to give Bell his time to shine. This was his arc just like how Melen city belonged to Zoro. That said, Zoro did get his time to shine even without appearing so… can’t say I didn’t focus on him.
Other than that, as can be seen, the fights, in the end, were just a summary of how they ended and that was the point.
Through Zoro fighting and instantly defeating those lvl 4 amazoness, I wanted to show how an overwhelming power could destroy a group regardless of what their lvl might be. So, the motif was ‘difference’.
On the other end through Naaza’s group, I wanted to show how a much stronger opponent could be defeated through timing and coordination. So, the motif was ‘group work’.
The third battle between Naaza and Amazoness was there to show how one’s overconfidence and small mistakes could be exploited and how a won battle could easily be lost. The motif was ‘awareness’.
Now, why am I explaining fights which didn’t even occur in a general sense? Well, I’m going to use these tropes later so it’s better to put the foundations down.
As for why I didn’t focus on their battle, well it was because I want to give each of them their own time to shine in an individual battle where they could use all the tricks they have. Also, to work on their character development along with their interactions.
That was it.
The next chap would be the ending and beginning of a new arc which would be focused on Zoro more than Bell (Perhaps).
By the way, I’m thinking of introducing a tournament arc in the story. Not exactly a new idea but it works and so…
And again, if you have any ideas to share, go ahead.
Next week then!
REGARDS!