Synopsis |
Volume 10[]
Intermission: Notes of Obsession[]
A long time ago, there was once a man known for his skills, one of his most well known works being the Babel. However, as he was exploring the dungeon one day, he became captivated by the complicated and beautiful design of the dungeon, declaring that he would one day build something that would surpass both man and the Gods. He toiled for days on this, not even caring what happened to his own body, though eventually his dreams were crushed by the end of his life. Years later, Dix read the words of that man as he waited for the others to finish their preparations. Once they were finished, he threw the journal onto the sofa, gathering his companions to take a look at the finished product. He then commented that the man's words of "be true to what you seek" were correct and laughed.
Chapter 6: Before the Storm[]
Two days after returning from the dungeon, Bell woke up and remembered that Wiene was no longer in his room, noticing how different everything seemed without her around. Making his way to the kitchen, he was greeted by his fellow Familia members, further noticing that they also seemed to be different than usual just like himself. Breakfast that morning was silent, with Bell deciding to go to the dungeon for a short while.
On his way to the dungeon, Bell met Syr at the Hostess of Fertility, and tried to refuse her lunch that day since he was only going to be there for a short while. Seeing that he was depressed, she cast a good luck charm on him, explaining that she often used it on the orphans at Maria's Orphanage. As he left, Anya complained that they would have to eat Syr's lunch since he didn't take it, while Chloe and Lunoire noticed that Bell seemed to be depressed. Lunoire then turned around and asked Ryuu if she was concerned for him, with Ryuu answering that she was while staring at Bell's slowly disappearing back.
Around the same time that Bell left for the dungeon, Hestia made her way to her own destination, arriving at the Ganesha Familia, intent on speaking with Ganesha about the recent developments. The guards authorized her entry, telling her that Ganesha was in the back garden, and allowed her to head there herself. Arriving at the garden, she was impressed at the various monsters around her, almost forgetting her original purpose of meeting Ganesha. She watched as Ganesha tried to tame an Infant Dragon to no avail, forcing his Familia members to save him. He then discussed the Xenos situation with Hestia, revealing that he himself had also been surprised to learn of the existence of the intelligent monsters, and declared that he would help them in their wish if that was what they desired. After hearing his words, Hestia thought that he was cool for the first time.
At the Hermes Familia home, Hermes and Asfi discussed the results of their latest mission, with Asfi apologizing for their failure. Their mission involved tailing the Ikelos Familia members who were tailing the Hestia Familia members who had been on their mission that they received from the Guild. While they had some success at the beginning, the Ikelos Familia realized that they were being tailed partway through, resulting in them running from the Hermes Familia. Hermes asked Asfi what she thought of the Ikelos Familia, to which she answered that she didn't trust any of them, particularly Dix, a man known for slaughtering monsters, earning him the alias of Hazer. Concerned with the whole situation, Hermes ordered Asfi to keep watch on at Rivira, warning her that the Ikelos Familia would definitely strike sometime soon.
Chapter 7: The King of Atrocity[]
Days after their meeting with Bell, the Xenos split up to journey to another village, and Wiene grouped with Ranye, Fear, Four, Cliff, and Aude. While the group traveled through the dungeon, everyone except for Ranye cheered Wiene up, as Ranye was a part of the Xenos that didn't trust the Humans. Soon after, Wiene heard the sound of a Xenos crying for help, causing the rest of her group to head in the direction she specified. The rest of the group soon heard the cries, and upon arriving at the room with the entrance to the next floor, they saw a Harpy Xenos crucified on a tree. Realizing too late that it was a trap, there was nothing the Xenos could do as the Ikelos Familia revealed themselves, blocking off the exits to the room. Aude tried to attack Dix but was bifurcated in one strike by Gran.
Both sides then fought it out, however the Xenos began to be pressured due to the Ikelos Familia's fighting style, though Four's brute strength allowed them to hold out for a while. Annoyed by his fellow Familia members' complaints, Dix himself moved to kill Four, easily parrying his blow and stabbing through him from behind. With their strongest member gone, the remaining Xenos couldn't fight back, and Fear and Wiene were quickly knocked out. Knowing that she was defeated, Ranye tried to leave an invisible thread for the others, however Dix saw through her ploy, cutting the thread, then ordered the others to kill her. Three members reasoned with him to let them have fun with her before killing her, which he allowed. Ranye fought back by spitting corroding poison at them, then crushed her own magic stone after being stabbed, ultimately killing herself before they could violate her. Gathering up the remaining Xenos, the Ikelos Familia left before they ran into any trouble. Hours later, Gros and several others arrived to witness the aftermath, having seen and heard the whole incident through a magic stone.
At the dungeon, Bell stayed in the upper floors, testing himself to see if he could still kill monsters after meeting the Xenos. Seeing that he was able to, Bell decided to leave the dungeon, only to meet Ais on the staircase leading out.
After watching Bell and Ais leave Babel through the Occulus, Fels discussed the Xenos situation with Ouranos, noting that they didn't seem to be using the tower to transport the Xenos. Fels came to the conclusion that they were using the other entrance to do so, causing Ouranos to ask him about their status, and Fels informed him soon after that the connection with Lyd's crystal had been lost.
A while after the incident with the Ikelos Familia, Gros had the other Xenos assemble for an emergency meeting, informing them of what happened to Ranye's group and breaking their communication stone with Fels in the process. Many of the Xenos, including those in Lyd's group, were infuriated by the news, unable to bear the treatment they received from the Humans any longer. Lyd tried to reason with him but was talked down, causing Gros to leave with most of the Xenos. Giving in to his anger, Lyd ordered the remaining Xenos to come with him, and ordered Arles to fetch "him" from the village they had originally planned to go to.
Under Hermes orders, Falgar, along with several other Hermes Familia members, kept watch in Rivira for any members of the Ikelos Familia. Upon seeing three Ikelos Familia members, one of his companions notified him of their presence, and the whole group moved to follow them. Across the city, an adventurer arrived at Bors' house in Rivira, informing him that there was a commotion with monsters. Once outside, the adventurer pointed toward the entrance to the 19th Floor, where Bors saw the source of the commotion the adventurer was referring to.
Bell and Ais headed outside, where he asked her what she would do if she met monsters that had a reason to live, to which she told him that she would kill them if they made others cry. He was shocked by her answer, but before he could continue he heard the sound of bells from the direction of the Guild, also hearing an announcement through a loudspeaker that Rivira had been destroyed by armed monsters.
Chapter 8: Turbulent City[]
Hearing of the attack on Rivira, the Guild was in an uproar, with everyone busy treating the wounded with the help of healers or organizing the information they received. Bors and the other residents had escaped to the Guild, where they were treated for their injuries while he informed the Guild employees of the attack. Eina asked Rehmer why she was told to change her announcement, to which he answered the order came from above, though based on Royman's attitude it most likely came straight from Ouranos himself. Royman himself visited Ouranos in his chamber, demanding to know why the announcement was changed, which Ouranos calmly responded to logically, pointing out that his "prayer" hadn't been broken. He then reaffirmed his earlier decision to leave things to the Ganesha Familia, ordering Royman to relay his orders to them. Once he left, Ouranos and Fels discussed the situation, coming to a conclusion that the Ikelos Familia must've done something. After ordering Fels to send messages to their allies, Ouranos also ordered him to add Bell into the mission, as he wanted to test him to see what kind of person he was.
Arriving at the Guild moments later, Bell and Ais both saw that it was full of people that had escaped from Rivira. Bell quickly found Eina and learned that an army of armed monsters led by a Gargoyle had attacked Rivira, with Eina informing them that the Ganesha Familia was tasked with the problem, asking Ais to stand by at her Familia's home. Accepting her request, Ais left to return to her Familia, leaving him alone with Eina. Bell tried to leave but was stopped by Eina after Misha whispered something to her.
At the Miach Familia home, Naaza, Daphne, and Cassandra were confused about the whole situation, with Daphne wondering if they would be forced to help, to which Naaza told her that it wouldn't happen since they were weak, completely ignoring Cassandra's point that all three of them were Level 2. Cassandra tried telling Daphne about a black beast she saw in a dream, though unfortunately she brushed it off as nonsense, and the three prepared to leave to gather information. Miach walked over to the door as he listened to their conversation, coming to the conclusion that the whole incident revolved around the Xenos and Wiene.
Worried about the whole situation from the news he had heard, Takemikazuchi was relieved when he heard the sound of his Familia returning. Ouka reported that the Ganesha Familia was ordering adventurers to leave the dungeon, and Chigusa added that things were in chaos. Once he heard their report, Takemikazuchi told them that they were going to head out to the city in order to calm the people, and all members of the Takemikazuchi Familia left immediately.
At the Hephaestus Familia north west Orario branch store, Tsubaki asked Hephaestus what they should do, causing Hephaestus to tell her to listen to the Guild's order for the time being. Tsubaki then suggested to gather all members of the Familia, which her Goddess agreed to, and she immediately left to take care of it. After she watched her leave, Hephaestus turned her attention back to the people outside, narrowing her eyes as she recalled the information she had received.
After news of the attack on Rivira spread, the members of the Ganesha Familia were busy taking care of the various orders given to them, such as sealing Babel so no one could enter. As Ganesha stood watching his Familia members work, an owl landed on his arm, and he quickly removed the note attached to its leg. He then read the note while the owl flew off.
After leaving Babel, Freya returned to the Freya Familia home, where her Familia members were already assembled, waiting to receive orders. Allen informed her of the situation, causing her to question why they were being ordered to guard the city, wondering if it was a matter of trust, then remarked that it seemed like Ouranos was trying to keep them away from something, guessing his intentions correctly. Freya decided to listen to his orders for now, commenting that she would have them get rid of her penalty for destroying the Entertainment District, and ordered her Familia members to take over guard duty at the city gates. Once her Familia members left, Freya announced that she would return to her room in Babel, and after Allen pointed out that the Ganesha Familia had already sealed the entrance, she simply stated that she would "ask" them to secretly let her through. He offered to escort her back to the tower but she refused his offer, leaving him with a smile instead.
Later on at the Loki Familia home, an irate Bete complained loudly about the current situation, wondering why they weren't the ones in the dungeon instead of the Ganesha Familia. Tiona agreed once she told him off for being loud, asking why this irregular was different than the other ones. The executives discussed it for a while, with Riveria suggesting that they might be strengthened species monsters, causing Bete to point out that he was right, earning him another reprimand, this time from Gareth. All members present agreed that the Guild's actions in controlling information was suspicious, and Finn added that it wouldn't end that easily, to which Loki agreed.
While sitting on a tall building, Ikelos laughed as he surveyed the area, pleased that the whole thing was getting interesting following the attack on Rivira.
The members of the Hestia Familia were all assembled at their home, confused about the whole situation, since they knew about the Xenos. Hestia theorized that the whole situation had something to do with the hunters targeting the Xenos, prompting Haruhime to question what would happen to the monsters if they were really behind the attack, to which Lili answered by saying that some sort of conclusion would be reached. At that moment, Mikoto headed to the door after hearing the bell, returning moments later with a note from the Guild. While everyone wasn't surprised by the news, they were shocked when Hestia read the hidden message from Ouranos, causing everyone to be concerned about Bell. Leaving their home in a hurry, the members of the Hestia Familia forgot to lock the door on their way out.
Heading to the room specified by Eina, Bell was surprised to find Fels there, who quickly led him into the hidden tunnel known only to him and Ouranos. He explained the situation to him, further adding that the Xenos hadn't moved from Rivira for some reason, and revealed that he was going to be a member of the advance team led by the Ganesha Familia. Bell accepted his request and Fels thanked him for his assistance.
Hermes had Asfi report on the situation, with her revealing that Falgar's party had received heavy injuries from the attack, though they had been treated but were still unconscious. He then expressed his disapproval of Bell being added to the advance party, revealing that while he liked to test him, this situation wasn't a place to do it, as one wrong move would spell disaster. Letting his thoughts out, he ordered Asfi to head to the 18th Floor separate from the Ganesha Familia, also adding for her to contact Aisha.
Aisha visited Ryuu at the Hostess of Fertility in order to inform her of the details. While Anya and Chloe were worried that Ryuu had gotten herself into some trouble, the Amazoness led her outside, where she revealed all of the information she'd been given. When Ryuu wondered why she was being told this, Aisha brought Bell's name up, and explained that she had joined the Hermes Familia. She further revealed that the Ikelos Familia might be connected to Evilus, a group Ryuu had fought with a number of times as a member of the Astraea Familia. Ryuu accepted her request but then became curious as to why Aisha was doing all of this for Bell, prompting her to mention that she had a debt she owed to him. Not entirely convinced, Ryuu asked if that was really all there was, causing Aisha to dodge her question. Both women then left to prepare for the trip to help Bell.
In the Hostess of Fertility's storeroom, Mia and Syr had been listening in on Ryuu and Aisha's conversation, and while both adventurers had noticed Syr's presence, they had been unaware of Mia's presence, which was also helped by the fact that Anya and the others were still in an uproar about the whole situation. Mia wasn't surprised by Ryuu's decision, stating that it was impossible for her to be an employee as she couldn't cook, wasn't sociable, tended to be soft to her friends, and had a justice mindset. She then instructed Syr to tell Ryuu to leave the Hostess of Fertility if she had a place she wanted to go to, not really liking the idea of having her around if she wasn't going to do her job properly, and agreed to look the other way on Ryuu's actions once again. As Syr thanked her for her help, Mia told her to work three times harder to cover Ryuu's duties, causing her smile to become drawn.
Later that day, Gran hurried to where Dix was, informing him that the city was in an uproar over armed monsters attacking Rivira. In contrast to the worried Gran, Dix was calm throughout the entire explanation, pleased at the fact that there seemed to be monsters that were stronger than they expected there to be. Noting that Ikelos still hadn't come back, Dix wondered what to do, turning his attention to the unconscious Wiene.
At Babel, Ilta Farna expressed her disbelief of the order to tame the monsters that attacked Rivira, with Modaka explaining that it was written in a secret message from the Guild given to him by Ganesha himself. Ibri tried to calm her down, getting excited himself, causing Ilta to tell him that he wasn't coming with them. Eventually, Ilta was forced to calm down by Shakti, who ordered all Familia members present to obey Ganesha's orders. Bell, who was a part of the team disguised as a supporter, was amazed by the sight, and was advised by Modaka to not attract attention, especially from Ilta. While invisible due to a magic item, Fels remarked that Ganesha was doing his job properly, then informed Bell that he was going to go on ahead once Shakti ordered everyone to proceed into the tower.
Before Bell could leave with the Ganesha Familia to Rivira, he heard the members of the Hestia Familia call his name. Turning to look, he saw them appear from the crowd. He silenced them with a willful gaze, asking for their approval to go with the party, which he received from Hestia. Off to the side, Asfi was surprised to see that Ryuu was coming with them, nonetheless she still handed her a Hades Hat to turn herself invisible, quickly chasing after the Ganesha Familia soon after.
Chapter 9: Dreams of the Beasts[]
On the 18th Floor, Gros was busy interrogating one of the members of the Ikelos Familia, whose legs he had crushed to make sure he didn't escape. At first the member tried to lie his way out, however he was backed into a corner when the Gargoyle revealed that he had the scent of Ranye's poison on him, causing him to give up and tell the Xenos that there was no way they would reach it even if he revealed the location of their base. Angered by his response, Gros destroyed his shoulder, forcing him to tell him about a secret door on the eastern side of the forest on the 18th Floor, once again saying that they wouldn't be able to reach it. Gros immediately let go of the man and ordered the Xenos to head to the place specified. Before he could fly there himself, a Xenos notified him of the arrival of adventurers from the 17th Floor.
Arriving on the 18th Floor, the group saw the ruins of Rivira, and Ilta directed everyone's attention to the flying Xenos who were on their way to the eastern side of the floor. Shakti ordered Modaka to take a handful of people to Rivira while she would take everyone else to the forest to follow the armed monsters. Upon reaching the forest, Shakti's group was shocked to see the Xenos fighting monsters, though they quickly prepared to tame them.
Inside a bush overlooking the battle, Ryuu, Asfi, and Aisha analyzed the situation, with Ryuu commenting that the Xenos were used to battle, noting that the Lizardman, Harpy, and Gargoyle seemed to be the strongest out of all of them. Asfi ordered the other two to not join the battle, however both ignored her words, leaving to join the battle after dumping the Hades Hats they had been wearing, causing an annoyed Asfi to recover the items. With Ryuu and Aisha's assistance, Shakti's group began to fight back. A little ways away, as Bell was fighting a Lamia, his hood was ripped off, revealed his appearance to everyone around. Immediately, Lyd set his sights on him, demanding to know why he was there, all the while removing him from the battle.
While the others fought the Xenos, Fels tried to reason with Gros, with the Gargoyle telling him that they would comply if Fels had Shakti's group withdraw. Seeing that he couldn't, Gros referred to him as one of them, then ordered the Xenos to help him locate the entrance while leaving Ray and a group behind to keep Shakti's group busy.
Outside the battle, Lyd questioned Bell, then confirmed that the Xenos had destroyed Rivira. Bell was horrified to learn that Wiene had been kidnapped, however Lyd refused his help, stating that this was their problem and that Bell would be finished if they were seen together. When Bell refused to leave, Lyd rejected his help and was stopped by an attack from Ryuu, which he took advantage of to retreat. Ryuu tried to escort Bell back to the group, which Bell refused, and when she suggested for him to return to the surface, he once again refused, causing her to let him do as he pleased, though she promised she would chase after him once she finished helping Shakti's group. She then handed him a pouch filled with items, with him thanking her for them, then separated to continue with their jobs.
As Shakti's group and the Xenos fought outside, Gran reported to Dix that the monsters were approaching their base, prompting Dix to realize that Baloy had revealed everything, and expressed his desire to kill him himself, though he quickly changed his mind as he knew Baloy was probably dead already. He then threw Gran an item, ordering him to open the door for the Xenos, explaining that it would be a pain to have the Ganesha Familia be suspicious.
Making his way through the forest, Bell met up with Fels, and the two made their way to the eastern side to search for the Ikelos Familia base. As he neared the wall, the orb in the item pouch got warmer, leading him to a wall face, which Fels soon destroyed to reveal a passageway leading into the dungeon wall. Traveling down the passageway, the two eventually reached a door made of orichalcum, opening it with the orb they had.
While Bell was off in the dungeon with the Ganesha Familia, the rest of the Hestia Familia was disappointed that they couldn't be of any use, and ultimately decided to try and find the Ikelos Familia base. After thinking about where the base could be, Lili had an idea, telling the others to head to the Soma Familia home. Soma greeted them and agreed to their request once Lili told him, ordering the new captain Chandra to take them to the storehouse. Upon reaching the storehouse, they were greeted by Zanis' voice, the person himself locked in a cell. Zanis was surprised to see Lili, asking her if she came to laugh at him. Lili ignored him, demanding to know about what he meant by his words while she was imprisoned, and he told her to go search Daedalus Street. Learning what they wanted to know, the Hestia Familia left to head to the Daedalus Street.
As the two walked through the labyrinth, Fels told Bell everything he knew about Daedalus, including the fact that he was one of the few people to receive a falna from Ouranos. He theorized that the man made labyrinth was connected to the Daedalus Street and outside of the city, though he was puzzled about how Daedalus was able to create something this large on his own, nonetheless he was excited to have finally found the Ikelos Familia's base.
Hermes located Ikelos on a tower near the center of the Daedalus Street, who had been disguising his location through sporadic bursts of his divine power. Ikelos was impressed that Hermes found him as he didn't think he'd be backed into a corner and agreed to tell him anything he wanted to know as a reward.
Making their way through the labyrinth, the Xenos ended up in a large room with many cages, all of them occupied by Xenos. While the Xenos began destroying the cages, Lyd asked Fear on the whereabouts of Wiene, to which she answered by telling him that she was taken to a room past the one they were in. However, before they could go any further, Dix appeared, admitting that he was the one who kidnapped them. The other Ikelos Familia members soon appeared, completely surrounding the Xenos, but at that moment Bell and Fels arrived, completely surprising everyone present, causing Dix to accuse Gran of forgetting to shut the door. Fels began interrogating Dix on how he was able to enter the labyrinth, prompting him to remove his goggles to show them his left eye, which had a D shape on it, and he revealed that he was Daedalus' descendant. He further explained that the eye acted as a key to enter the Man Made Labyrinth Knossos, which was the project that Daedalus left to future generations.
Continuing on with his explanation, Dix revealed that the descendants of Daedalus had been working on Knossos for a thousand years, yet only managed to reach the middle floors. This led Fels to realize that the reason the Ikelos Familia were rumored to be connected to Evilus was to obtain manpower and supplies, and with Evilus gone, they had been resorting to selling Xenos for money, which Dix confirmed was the case in the beginning. At this point the Xenos reached their limit and began to attack, causing Dix to sacrifice one of his underlings to test their strength, and upon seeing their strength he decided to not hold back, unleashing his curse Phobetor Daedalus on everyone near him. Recognizing his attack as a curse, Fels ordered Bell to hide behind him, and he hurried behind as ordered while carrying a Goblin and Fear with him.
Everyone hit by the curse lost their minds, making them go out of control, which Dix used to his advantage by having them kill Bell and the others instead. Bell and the others were overwhelmed by the attacks from the Xenos, especially since they were unable to kill them since they were their allies. Seeing that fighting the out of control Xenos wouldn't get anywhere, Fels ordered Bell to defeat Dix, revealing that defeating the caster would cancel out the curse. Dix tried to intimidate the boy by mentioning that he was Level 5, however Fels revealed that all curses required a cost from the user, and that Dix was most likely under its effects.
As Bell began fighting Dix, Fels ordered the Goblin and Fear to bring help, giving them the Daedalus Orb to open the door. Once he saw them leave, Fels began fighting the remaining hunters, using a combination of his magic items and his own status, which was at Level 4. However, the Level 4 members of the Ikelos Familia led by Gran began to group against him, causing him to fight for his life. On the other side of the room, Dix was impressed by Bell's speed, deciding to reveal the cost of his curse to him, which was that his status would drop for a certain amount of time after usage. Dix played with Bell for a little while until he became bored, at which point he began piling attack after attack on him, even using a cursed spear that left unhealable wounds on others unless the curse was dispelled.
Learning that the Barbarian he had previously encountered was a result of the Ikelos Familia, Bell asked Dix why he kept on hurting the Xenos, prompting Dix to reveal that it was all to dampen the effect his blood had on him to force him into finishing Knossos, revealing to the boy that he hated the dungeon and wished for it to disappear. Disgusted by his attitude, Bell was amazed that Dix was doing everything just for something like that, causing Dix to demand that Bell take his words back.
Back at the battlefield, Asfi was horrified the scene in front of her, all members other than Ryuu and Aisha annihilated by the Black Minotaur Xenos. The three of them proceeded to fight the Minotaur, though Aisha and Asfi were quickly defeated by the monster, leaving Ryuu to fight the Xenos on her own. While fighting the Xenos, Ryuu felt that the Minotaur was simply trying to prove that it was the strongest, having an intense desire to win. After a while, just as it was about to bring its double bladed axe on her, the Xenos heard the cry of a monster from within the forest, ignoring her and leaving her behind to join it.
Seeing that Bell wasn't going to forgive him, Dix told him both of them were similar in a way in that they killed monsters to earn money. Bell didn't try to prove him wrong, instead pointing out that the Xenos could talk just like Humans could, causing Dix to come up with an idea. He led him to a room past the large room where Wiene was kept, then asked him what would happen if the stone on her forehead was removed. Ignoring Bell and Wiene's pleas, Dix removed the stone from her forehead, her body immediately beginning to return to its original form, enlarging to a total size of seven meters. Wiene, now out of control, attacked Bell, the force of the attack sending him all the way back to the large room. As everyone else in the room was shocked at Wiene's appearance, Dix arrived moments later, telling Bell to forget about being nice about monsters.
Ignoring his words, Bell attempted to approach Wiene, who he realized was searching for him even after reverting to her original form. Despite being rejected multiple times, he continued to approach her, eventually succeeding in getting her to cry, although the fear caused her to reject him again. Unimpressed by Bell's actions, Dix began attacking him again, claiming that he should've cut its stomach open with the Hestia Knife. Bell rejected Dix's words, saying that a cry for help was all he needed to help someone, causing Dix to label him a hypocrite and a bat instead of a rabbit. However, before he could kill Bell, Lyd attacked Dix from behind, his mind clear of the curse thanks to Bell's words. The two began to overwhelm Dix, with Bell beginning to charge up Argonaut, and he unleashed a 20 second Argonaut strike straight to Dix's chest, sending him flying, effectively releasing those affected from the curse.
However, Bell soon realized that his Argonaut strike hadn't broken the curse, but rather Dix had intentionally released the curse himself to withstand the attack. Just as he feared, Dix soon got back up, though Bell's attack did do tremendous damage to his body. Slowly backing away from an advancing Bell and Lyd, Dix used the stone he took from Wiene's forehead as a shield, throwing it down a vertical hole that was still under construction, and used the distraction to cast his curse on Wiene. He then sent her through a passageway leading out to the surface, explaining to the others that she was currently chasing after an illusion of Bell Cranel, telling them that a monster like Wiene on the surface would definitely be killed. Dix himself escaped through a different passageway which he shut before Gros could reach him.
After asking for Wiene's stone, Bell chased her up the stairs, with Fels following him soon after. At that moment Ray and the other Xenos joined them, prompting the Xenos to discuss their next course of action, eventually coming to an agreement to help Bell save Wiene, leaving behind their only key for the Minotaur Xenos.
After the rest of the Ikelos Familia was destroyed, Gran escaped from the room, his reason gone after everything that had happened, intent on getting revenge on Bell and the Xenos. Elsewhere, escaping through the various passageways in Knossos, Dix cursed both Bell and the Xenos, claiming that he would exact revenge on him for all the damage they've caused. However, at that moment, he felt a chill run down his spine. A Black Minotaur Xenos appeared in front of him in the passageway, and before he could cast Phobetor Daedalus, the Xenos killed him in one hit with its axe.
As Bell and Fels ran up the stairs after Wiene, Fels healed him with Dia Panakeia, completely restoring his body to perfect condition. With his body healed, Bell was able to go at full speed, which was fast enough to cause Fels to unconsciously use the language of the Gods. Remembering that there wasn't any time to lose, Fels continued after him.
Later that afternoon, the Hestia Familia searched through the Daedalus Street, however the complex design of the area hindered their efforts. As Hestia remarked that she didn't have fond memories of the place, everyone in the group heard screams, causing them to investigate, and upon arriving at the scene they saw a monster which Lili quickly identified as a Vouivre, leading the others to realize that it was Wiene. Bell soon arrived to deal with her, however before he could do anything, the members of the Loki Familia arrived, forcing him to come to a decision on what he wanted to do. To everyone's shock, Bell chose to fight against them, using Firebolt to try and keep them at bay, much to Ikelos' delight and Hermes' dismay, prompting Hermes to call him a fool.
Chapter 10: Fool[]
Finn ordered the Loki Familia to ignore him, not caring to put up with his actions, though they were blocked by the Xenos that appeared to protect them. Fels, surprised by their appearance, decided to help the Xenos after hearing Ray's resolve.
As the battle began, Finn ordered the Loki Familia to capture as many Xenos as they could alive, as he had something he wanted to ascertain. Leaving the fighting to most of the members, he ordered Riveria to put up a barrier, Gareth to put up a net, and Ais to stand by. Ais was dissatisfied with her orders but he explained that it was just a precaution. The members of the Loki Familia quickly began subduing the Xenos, forcing Fels to bring out the Golem he had been keeping in the sewers since the incident during the Monster Feria. To his horror, Tiona easily bifurcated it using Urga, however he couldn't rest for long as Gareth appeared behind him, intent on capturing him under Finn's orders.
At the edge of the battle, Welf tried to go and help Bell, however Lili stopped him, fearing what would happen to the Hestia Familia. Hestia heard their argument and told them to go, mentioning that she would take all the blame for it by claiming that she forced her own Familia to help the monsters all for entertainment purposes. Before they could do anything, Asterius appeared, knocking many of the adventurers in the area unconscious with its howl, then proceeded to fight a serious Tione, easily withstanding her anger powered attacks.
As Ottar watched the battle unfold below in the Daedalus Street from Freya's room in Babel, Freya asked him if he recognized the Minotaur, to which he couldn't find the proper words to answer with, though he was certain the Minotaur in question was the one he had trained for Bell. Turning her attention to Horn, she asked her if the adventurers she sent to the dungeon had reported back, and when she learned that they hadn't, she ordered them to try and chase Wiene.
Just as Gareth was about to capture Fels, Ikelos appeared on the same roof, claiming that he was the one behind everything that was happening. Gareth wasn't sure of his words but nonetheless captured him instead, allowing the magus to escape down to the alley below where Hermes was waiting with Lulune. The God asked the magus to help Bell, pointing out that the Loki Familia wasn't going to kill the Xenos, causing him to accept, and he gave Hermes a couple black balls before he left, which he gave to Lulune.
Despite its powerful attacks, the Black Minotaur Xenos was beginning to be pressured by the combined attacks of the whole Loki Familia, forcing him to bring out a second weapon to turn the tides in his favor. Welf immediately recognized the weapon as a magic sword and ordered everyone to retreat. A blast of electricity was released from the magic sword, and even though Bete managed to absorb a lot of the magic through his boots, it was still capable of making the Loki Familia adventurers unable to continue fighting. Seeing this, Ais joined the battle, cutting off Asterius' arm with a surprise attack using Ariel. The two began fighting until Asterius managed to overpower Ais, at which point Finn and Gareth joined the battle, forcing Lulune to use the black balls to create a smokescreen. Using the smokescreen as a cover, Ray used her supersonic attack to allow Asterius to escape with his severed arm, and Lyd set the surrounding on fire to distract the Loki Familia, escaping with the others soon after.
Bell ran through the Entertainment District, realizing that Finn's spear had caused Wiene to remember what Dix did to her, as he also had a spear. Other adventurers arrived to fight Wiene with him but they were shocked when Bell began casting Firebolt at them, causing them to curse him. Eventually, Wiene was led to an open area within the Entertainment District where mages attacked her with magic from all sides. Ignoring an adventurer's warning, Bell rushed into the area just as the mages cast their magic, braving his way through the attack to reach Wiene, only to despair moments later as an insane Gran threw Dix's spear and killed her. This incurred the wrath of Gros and the other Xenos who immediately killed him, then turned their attention to the other adventurers to keep them away from Bell and Wiene, who by that time had fallen down into the sewers as the ground had caved in.
Bell continued to despair in the sewers, as despite returning the stone to its former place on her forehead, it didn't stop Wiene's death. However, soon after Wiene's death, a white magic circle appeared under her ashes, and upon turning around Bell saw Fels standing there. The magus was successful in resurrecting Wiene through Dia Orpheus.
Up above, Ais and Riveria reported to Finn that they couldn't fully explore the sewers as a section had collapsed, though they found blood and the ash remains of a monster. The Pallum was satisfied with their report for the time being and began issuing orders to the members of the Loki Familia.
Soon after, Bell and Fels discussed the current situation, causing Bell to tell Fels that Dix had called him a hypocrite, to which Fels replied by saying that hypocrites had the right to become a hero. Bell remembered the words his grandfather had told him, that despite not being proud of their own achievements or continuing to be in doubt, one should never have any regrets about it.
Epilogue: The Decision's Cost[]
Returning to the Daedalus Street soon after, Bell was horrified by the damage he saw, and as the others noticed his presence, they began giving him snide remarks or insulting him outright. Turning his attention elsewhere, he noticed the members of his Familia, Ais and the Loki Familia, and the Guild members. Eina asked him whether the rumors about him were true, and when he confirmed it, she refused to believe them, crying while hugging him.
The following morning, Ikelos was forced to leave Orario, exiled forever from the city as a result of his Familia's doings. With all of his possessions seized by the Guild, he was forced to leave with only what he had on him, and was sent off by Ganesha and his Familia. Before he left, he turned back to the city, remarking that he was jealous of Hermes being able to what see what would happen next.
The same morning, Hermes met with Ouranos and gave his report, mentioning that the Guild was mostly able to escape the citizen's anger by having Ikelos take the blame and that the people didn't notice that the Xenos were intellectual monsters. However, both Gods knew that it wasn't over as the Xenos were still in hiding across the city, unable to go back to the dungeon since all entrances were currently sealed by the Guild. Using the current situation, Hermes asked Ouranos to help him restore Bell's reputation, revealing to the older God that the boy was connected to Zeus, causing him to be shocked. Hermes asked him again for his assistance and Ouranos agreed. That night, Asterius rested in an abandoned building on the outskirts of Orario, still searching for something.
[]
|