2 Enter the Not so Rookie Adventurer
'This has to be the most boring part of my job.'
That was the thought of one particular guard that kept watch of the Gates leading down into the Labyrinth beneath Orario. He, like many that worked for the Guild which governed over the
Labyrinth's affairs, was one of the few that instead of taking up a job for being a receptionist or working as an appraiser of magic stones or drop items from the monster's below instead chose
another position. That being the Guild's Enforcer's, which was in reality glorified Guards that kept watch on those going in and out of the Labyrinth.
And the position sucked royally.
No matter how much his colleagues tried to say it was a fine position, it just wasn't. There was no excitement to be had in being a glorified watchman. The only thing Guards really did was stand
around day and night watching Adventurer's go in and out, it was more like you were a statue then anything else. Hell the majority of adventurer's didn't even go into the dungeon so late at night
and usually just went in at the start of morning or during midday.
The official duty of a Guard had a varied amount of duties: The first was to regulate adventurer's wanting to go into the Labyrinth. Making sure they had certified documentation to go inside before
letting them on by. The second was to be a lookout on any adventurer's that were too obviously ill-equipped to go into the dungeon, and to save them from a early grave persuade them to go back.
Or if there were any adventurer's to come out on death's door and get them medical attention as quickly as they could. The third and most important duty was to keep an eye on the entrance to the
Labyrinth and be aware of any monster sightings which if there were they were to send an alarm straight back to the Guild HQ to warn them. But it just didn't happen since the Babel tower that was
built ontop of the Labyrinth served as a means to keep watch on the monster's that could potentially escape and warn the combat Familia's in Orario.
To date there have only been a few monster's that have escaped, but they were either quickly destroyed before they spread into the city of Orario. Or those that did escape have stretched to the far
corners of the world by now, and they were some of the most legendary ones in ancient history.
Still this did little to detract this particular guard's annoyance. It was reaching early morning and there had been no sign of an adventurer coming in and none coming out. Which left him to stand
guard and just...stand there.
Doing nothing for the entire night.
'I swear nothing ever exciting ever happens in this position, but I suppose it's better then dealing with those Soma familia nut jobs at HQ.' with that thought firmly in his mind, the guard stood there
for a few more minutes just burning time away by looking up at the sky.
That is until the ground started to shake...
''W-what the fuck?!'' alarmed the guard stopped and stumbled as the ground beneath his feet quaked for a moment before stopping then it happened again. It was small quakes happening in
second intervals, but it was enough to alarm the guard as he cast his gaze to where he heard the sound of the quakes coming from. It was as if goliath was walking toward him, but when he looked
toward the entrance into the Labyrinth he was stricken in place by what he saw coming out of the darkness.
It was a man, possibly a younger man by his physical stature to which he figured was around 5,10 though that was a rough estimate. His entire body was covered by a long tattered black cloak with
a hood that covered his head, though strangely there were two pointed ends coming up from underneath the hood. Anything that was possibly underneath that cloak was well hidden to his eyes as
the cloak just covered the entire upper and mid part of his body while it reached down to his ankles. The cloak itself seemed to have seen much better days as it was tattered and torn in specific
places. It almost seemed like it had been through an inferno of sorts. But when the young man came out of the entrance the guard finally saw his face.
'By the Gods...it's him!'
His body broke out in a cold sweat as his eyes looked upon the masked visage of what was possibly his worth nightmare come to life. It was a plain white mask resembling a human's skull with a
grinning expression, the only detail on the mask was two red marks went down the sides of the mask. But then the guards eyes met the eyes behind the slit eye holes of the mask, and what
greeted him was possibly the most terrifying pair of eyes he had ever seen.
It lasted only a second, but what he saw was two orbs that seemed to be like smoldering embers, darker then blood, but more unholy then even the eyes of a dragon. They were the eyes of
something else, something beyond his understanding. They were the eyes of a demon, the eyes of a...a...
"Diablo..." he muttered under his breath, the terror in his voice was thick as he watched the man walk past him without a second thought, and for a moment his eyes caught sight of what the man
was carrying on his back. And if possible his nervousness evolved into a complete meltdown, the poor guard went into a nervous break down as he saw the reason as to why the ground was shaking
under his feet.
Because the cloaked adventurer was carrying a giant dragon's horn 10 times his size, it was a monstrous thing, possibly as tall as one of the buildings in Orario. It curled upwards slightly, but the
entire thing was jet black, a rare type of dragon's horn that only those of Elder Dragons or above had.
And the adventurer was carrying the monstrosity around as if it weighed absolutely nothing.
The poor guard wouldn't realize it until later that he had blacked out on the spot.
''You never cease to amaze to me, you know that?'' spoke a rather seemingly normal old man garbed in fancy yellow and purple attire with a violet cape wrapped around his shoulders which was
clipped together by a gold insignia that matched the Guild's Crest. He had long white hair and a wrinkled face that held a slightly appreciative expression. But contrary to his old appearance, his wise
and sharp black orbs looked directly across into a pair of crimson orbs that radiated the same amount of power as the old man had in wisdom.
''I never fail a request no matter how difficult it may seem. I thought after all this time you would know this by now, Ouranos-san.'' what came out was a garbled voice of what would
be a young man. But the mask muffled his voice into one that was deep and unrecognizable to most, but to the old man he knew all to well who the man behind the mask was.
Ouranos, God of the Sky and Head of the Guild situated in Orario, simply allowed a small quirk from the corner of his lips which was his way of smirking before it turned back into his ever present
stoic expression. ''True enough.'' then his eyes trailed from the young man and to the dragon's horn between them which was infront of the Guild HQ. Letting out a small sigh, he took his hand and
ran it over the length of giant bone object.
''Hm, impressive, from what I can feel from this the dragon you fought, the one called Roku was an older one of it's species. An elder from the colorization of the Horn no doubt about that, and from
the small amount of heat still coming off it, I wager it was an Ember Dragon, been a long time since I've last seen one of those.'' the old God rambled on as he appraised the horn before giving a
nod to himself while the masked adventurer stood by and watched silently.
Standing up he straightened himself out before turning his gaze on the cloaked young man. ''Very good, I'll have this further appraised and have Hephaestus come pick it up. I wager she'll be
ecstatic to have this for her work. Now, as for the matter of your payment..'' he questioned though the man spoke up in regards to that.
''Just the usual old man, funnel the funds to my account." he said causing the God to close his eyes before he shook his head in what seemed like exasperation. But he was used to this, the
young man was always a stickler when it came to his money so he had the vast majority he saved up locked away in the Orario Bank in the deepest part of it's vaults.
''I see, well go on ahead and get some rest and once again a job well done, Diablo.'' he said with a small trickle of amusement, it was almost no-existent but it was there, the amusement he had
played across his eyes as he watched the young man flinch at the name. But the adventurer remained silent as he turned around and walked away while Ouranos watched him go and as he vanished
from his eyes, a figure melded out from the darkness by the wall behind Ouranos.
The God didn't flinch though as he addressed the black specter behind him with all the impassive expression he was known for. ''Anything to report?''
The entity of ebony shifted in it's posture before replying to him. "She has made a few attempts to break the barrier around the young man, but so far my magic holds. She has learned nothing
substantial so far, but it's only a matter of time until she breaks it. When it does it will be out of my hands." the creature responded causing the God to close his eyes before giving a small nod.
Acknowledging the answer he was given as satisfactory before he gave a small hum of disinterest.
''Well, do not worry then. It's held for all these years and it was bound time for it to break so when it does the boy can deal with her shenanigans. My debt to Hestia was paid when I had you put in
on the boy and when it runs out, it'll be up to him to deal with it.'' he said to which the shadowy humanoid tilted it's head slightly as if questioning it's master's words.
"Not that I'm questioning his ability, but that woman is as sly as a fox and as dangerous as a snake, do you believe he can take care of her if the time comes?'' the entity questioned causing
Ouranos to raise an eyebrow before looking at the figure with an almost curious glint on his old eyes.
''The boy's had to live with that firecracker Hestia for 8 year's now. If he can keep her docile then that woman will be simple for him, but I'm more curious as to your interest in the subject. I didn't
take you to be worried about the boy, Fels.'' the unasked question spoken from his lips was left unattended for a moment as the specter remained silent. That is until it finally found the right words
to reply in kind to it's master.
"It's not that I'm worried about him, he has proven his skill enough for me to actually wager he knows more about the Labyrinth then anyone on the lower world. I just find him interesting,
Ouranos-sama, I'm sure you've felt it as well from dealing with him for so long. The kind of presence he gives off is too unnatural to be human or even apart of the other races, and his power has
reached the point that it is well beyond our scope now. So, my lord, it's not that I'm worried about him but more to the fact I am interested in exactly what he is.'' the figure stated causing the God
frown before giving a small nod.
''I see, I understand now. But he has his secrets as do we all and I will not behave like the rest of my kind that's gone stir crazy over his existence. He's done nothing to scorn me and has proven
worthy of one to have my utmost respect, besides it will prove unwise to cross him at this point now.'' he said as his eyes trailed toward the dragon horn beside him, as if that explained his
reasoning and the figure upon seeing it only shifted it's head in acknowledgment.
''….That is most wise, Ouranos-sama.''
There was only three words that could describe what he was feeling like at the moment.
He was exhausted...
'Then again that's the risks of fighting an Elder Dragon alone and taking back it's horn all the way back up from the 69th floor.' he sighed for a moment as the exhaustion began to wear down on
him.
The cloaked adventurer made his way back to the abandoned church in the outer districts of Orario and fumbled his way inside after making sure no one had followed him. His body was slump as he
made his way forward before taking a right and opening the door to the right of the podium stand. It showed a staircase that led downwards, going down it he could feel the homey atmosphere of
his and Hestia's home begin to encompass his worn out body.
Finally he made it to another door and opened it revealing his and Hestia's small like abode. It was spartan for the most part; consisting of a tall dresser to his left, a small chest situated to the right
of the wall near the door, his worn out couch and a coffee table. And the queen sized bed at the left which was adjacent to the window to the right of the room. There was four candle stands that
were left lit which made him see a sight that made him lighten up as he walked in.
'Beautiful.' that's all he could think to describe the beautiful female before his eyes, he looked upon his Goddess that lay asleep peacefully in bed. Hestia had the appearance of a teenager with such
a small body, but the contradictory to that was robust bosom and wide hips which said otherwise. However, he saw a beauty that lay beyond the flesh of the body, what he saw every time he looked
at the black haired blue eyed Goddess was a beautiful, innocent soul that he swore to protect till his dying breath.
He remembered that, it was a promise he made to her after half a year of being with Hestia. At that time, he had been a lost little boy with no other direction then to keep throwing himself into the
Labyrinth in hopes he would get stronger. It was foolish and suicidal, but it was all he had at the time. Yet Hestia had come into his life shortly after and offered him a hand of support, a hand filled
with all the compassion he hadn't expected from a complete stranger. Yet it had been enough to push away his sorrow and the darkness that feasted upon his mental state at the time. And for that,
he couldn't repay which is why he swore to always be at her side whenever she needed it.
However he never expected himself to fall for her in the process...
'But I suppose I had fallen for her the moment I met her, she is the light within my soul.' he thought as he looked upon Hestia from the foot of the bed. His feelings for her were simple in theory,
but the concept of a potential relationship between himself and Hestia, a Goddess, had always weighed hard on his mind. It wasn't the fact that he was afraid if she denied him, he had long since
accepted that potential outcome. And he certainly wasn't worried about the repercussions if it reached the other Gods ears. No he'd stand at her side and have his knife at their throats the moment
they so much as threatened her safety.
No he was worried about his own feelings for not just her, but for others that had come into his life, for the few that had become more sparks of light that kept his soul alive. For the few friends he
had made in Orario which he could count on just his two hands, a few he had come to gain similar feelings he had for Hestia, maybe not as strong, but they were there regardless.
'I guess that makes me more of a scumbag then anything else if I'm having feelings for more than one woman...' giving a sigh he kicked off his boots before he started removing his cloak and
mask, his hair left unrestrained by his hood came down past his shoulders. It was the brightest white one would ever see, unlike the silver hair one would have as they grew older his was just pure
white. In his youth it had a certain wave to it and it had reached his to neckline, but as he grew and with his career as an adventurer taking up the majority of his time he had just let it grow out. It
now had a slight spike to it as fell around his shoulders in a spiky mess while at the top most of his hair remained straight. A few bangs fell around his red eyes while the rest covered his ears.
His face had lost most of the baby fat that once plagued him as a child and replacing it was a firm visage. A strong jawline matched with his sharp crimson red eyes. It was, in the words of his
Goddess, the face of a heartbreaker not that he really understood what she meant by that. However the most unusual aspect of the young man was possible the most strange and his deepest
secret.
He only needed to look in the mirror to see, coming out his skull and popping out from his hair was a dual pair of sharp crimson horns. Just seeing them made him frown as he reached up and felt
the tip only to wince when he felt the tip pierce his flesh at the tiniest amount of pressure.
'They seemed to have grown last I checked.' he wasn't exactly proud of this change in his physical appearance as it only solidified his own opinion that he wasn't human. Hell, he wasn't even apart
of the other races among the lower world because as far as he knew there was not race that grew out horns like this. It only made him feel more troubled as to what he was exactly, an unease
that's been building up ever since his Grandfather helped unlock his natural born power so long ago.
Thankfully, he had a method to fixing this...
Moving his hands together, Bell let out a sigh before he bit his thumb before touching each of his fingers on his right hand before placing his palm over his chest, particularly over his heart. Then he
let out a small word for the spell he had created to deal with this physical change in himself.
'Sealing sequence begin: 1st Gate locked, 2nd Gate locked, 3rd Gate locked, 4th Gate locked, 5th Gate locked, 6th gate locked, 7th Gate locked, 8th gate locked, 9th Gate locked, 10th Gate locked.
Beginning seal matrix over the soul...Complete. Perfect sealing synchronization a success. Sealing process begin!' and before his eyes a dim blue light encompassed his body. It burned bright before
it flickered and dimmed moments later revealing a severely changed Bell.
He had shrunk from his 5,10 height, now he stood at a 5,5. His shoulder-length white hair was now at his neckline and had the wave to it from his youth along his face having some baby fat, but not
as much as he once did. But the most important change in his opinion was the horns were gone. Seeing that made him let out a sigh of relief, that was a technique he created in secret, even from
Hestia. It manipulated the falna bestowed upon him by his Goddess; it acted as a chain seal which locked away the majority of his power and in the process the physical changes he underwent as he
grew stronger.
Now he simply had the appearance of Bell Ōtsutsuki, the Rookie Adventurer most of Orario and his friends besides Hestia knew him as. Having the appearance of an unassuming young boy with little
experience as an adventurer proved to be a great asset as it made the majority underestimate him. Well besides those few that could read underneath his actions or those even more rare few that
knew his secret identity.
'Now time for bed...' stumbling around he ignored his couch as he simply didn't want to waste the extra effort to make those 3 small steps and simply fell into Hestia's bed and crawled into the other
side of the headboard. Turning his body so he could see his Goddess, he wrapped his arms around her small body and pulled her close. Without thinking at this point, he laid his head atop hers and
then, only then did he allow himself the luxury to close his eyes as he knew what awaited him was the ever present nightmare every time he fell asleep.
Thankfully, Hestia's warmth staved off the ever growing darkness, if only for a little bit.
''...Bell-kuuuunnn~''
The voice of an angel reverberated through his ears, calming him even more as he snuggled more into the mattress. His face melded into the pillow as his arms circled closer around the other warm
pillow that was squirming around in his arms ever so slightly. Strange.
''Ah...mmm Beeelll-kun...wakey wakey~''
Strangely, the voice reminded him of his Goddess, which began to prod him and yet he couldn't find the strength to move from his personal Heaven. Strangely, his warm pillow was squirming a bit
more and to stop it from escaping he took of it with his left hand grabbing a firm hold of it's fluffy...soft...squishy substance? Wait a moment.
"A-ah B-bell-kun! Aaahh Mmmm~''
From the sound of moaning, Bell felt a cold sense of dread go down his spine and he prayed, he prayed to all the Gods and Goddesses that he wasn't doing what he thought he was doing. Finally he
worked the courage to creak his eyes open only to see the face of Hestia with her eyes closed while her face was twisted in an odd expression of pleasure. Her breathing was labored and her whole
face was flushed a dark crimson which only intensified Bell's own dread. Finally he felt for his hands only to see Hestia twitch as his left hand grasped hold of her left butt check felt only through the
fabric of her panties. Then he felt for his right hand only for him to feel his fingers sink into her right breast.
Oh...
Oh...
Oh no...
He made the mistake to try and retract his hands while his eyes traveled back to Hestia only to see her blue eyes staring into his red ones with an odd sense of disappointment, but more then that
she was a bit flustered from his touchy feely episode. He froze as she finally worked her hands to grasp his face making him stare hard into her flustered red face and pouting blue eyes.
''You're gonna take responsibility for that, Bell-kun. You touched me in so many ways that I was almost afraid you would ravage me in your sleep. Oh yes you're gonna take responsibility for this,
Bell-kuuuunnn~'' she said in a sing-song of a voice which carried a hint of mischief. Then she closed in onto his face and gave a small kiss to his forehead, which lasted for a second longer then
usual, before she pulled away allowing her to see a sight that made her calm exterior break into a fit of hysteria.
Bell's face resembled a tomato at this point from how crimson it was, his slacked jaw was moving up and down trying, desperately trying to make words. But nothing came up, but the sheer
embarrassment of what he did to his Goddess.
It was an awkward hour later for Bell before he and Hestia had made their way outside their humble little abode before they made their way into Orario. The Goddess skipped on happily whistling a
jolly tune while Bell walked beside her with his face still buried in his hands. The embarrassment from before still very fresh in the young mans mind. It wasn't like he didn't enjoy it because he did,
some small part of his mind relished the feeling, but the majority of his mind was just burning in embarrassment from Hestia's words of what he did.
He hadn't been completely conscious of his actions at the time so he really wasn't sure of what he had done at the time which made the entire situation all the more troublesome for him!
''Alright, this is where we split, Bell-kun!'' Hestia's voice broke him from his state for a moment to which he looked at her and for a moment he took in her appearance. She had a part time job with
her friend Hephaestus that she's been apart of ever since she helped the Goddess of smithing forge his weapon 8 year's ago. She was wearing brown dress shoes and white stockings that reached
her thighs. A red and white uniform that Hephaestus made her wear to draw in more customers, and seeing as it reached a few inches below her waist he could see why. Her hair was as always tied
up in two long twin-tails which were held together by her usual white and blue hair ornaments which had two bell like ornaments tied together with it also. Overall, despite her small stature, Hestia
was still a beautiful young woman, one of the most beautiful he has ever seen.
But that didn't mean he would allow other men to look at her that way let alone touch her unless they wanted to lose their eyes and arms...and legs...and their penis, just for good measure.
Sighing, Bell finally pushed away his embarrassment from before and offered a smile to Hestia. ''Alright and remember don't work too hard okay?'' he said causing her to smile just a bit more before
she took hold of his shoulders causing him to blink before she stood on her tip toes. Then she leaned in and kiss him on the cheek before back away with a small flush on her cheeks.
''You worry too much Bell-kun, now I'll see you later tonight!'' with a wave she ran off leaving Bell in the middle of the street with many civilians of Orario who had seen the interaction either
smirking or just gushing at what they saw to be so cute, the females obviously.
Touching the spot where Hestia had kissed him he still felt the phantom sensation which caused a small smile of his own to form, then Bell took in a breath of fresh air before he turned around and
with an extra step made way towards the Guild for his annual quest for the day.
This was how he supported himself and Hestia, which was through his double adventurous activities. In the day he worked as the Rookie Adventurer Bell that the majority of the Guild to come to
know him as. He would go in the first few levels of the dungeon just to rake in magic stones and take on a quest for a specific item needed in those floors. While in the night, he took on his other
persona and further explored the deeper floors of the Labyrinth on his own. Utilizing his skills to make himself stronger and cultivating the varies of Magic cores he gets from the monster's he kills.
Very rarely he took on quests when he went exploring the dungeon's deeper levels, the one he took the night before had been truly out of the kindness of his heart as he had a somewhat good
friendship with Hephaestus even though she didn't know who he really was under the mask. She was a close friend of his Goddess, and one that he could trust to take care of her when he wasn't
around. Well that and he knew she made equipment that was bar none, and he was interested to see what she could make with a material she hadn't handled before.
Finally, Bell came in sight of the Guild and he stopped to look himself over. As this persona in the day he took the appearance of any Rookie Adventurer that could barely afford the most modest of
equipment. Which was why he wore simple attire consisting of: a black t-shirt that was tucked in, black pants with a brown leather belt around his waist, while the pant legs were tucked into his shin
high light brown boots. Over this he wore a simple sandy brown leather jacket with a black diagonal stripe going down his right shoulder. The only unusual thing about him was the black knife
sheathed on his left hip.
He didn't care if anyone questioned why he had such a fancy looking knife for a Rookie Adventurer, this had been a gift given to him by Hestia 8 year's ago and it had been his weapon of choice
since that day. He'd sooner take his own life then to simply use another weapon just for conveniences sake.
''Alright every thing seems to be in order, time to go see Eina-san and see if there is quests on the board.'' with his mind set, Bell went on ahead however as he got closer he began to take notice of
a large crowd building up around the Guild entrance. Being just a tad bit curious he got closer, and began to slip in unnoticed all the while he heard the crowd of adventurer's and civilians of Orario
whispering in awe amongst themselves.
"I can't believe it..."
"That's...is that what I think it is?!''
"He did it again...that maniac actually did it again!"
"To think he actually came here...with that thing over his shoulder. How the bloody hell strong is the guy!"
Hearing the whispers made Bell became almost aware of the situation, but to fully sate it he got through the crowd to see what was so amazing and what he saw only made him internally slump his
shoulders. Because before them was the very exact same horn he had ripped off the corpse of Roku last night and carried back up from the Labyrinth and into Orario. And from some of the
comments the guard at the entrance must have seen him and spread the rumor into the city.
Great just what he needed, more publicity!
Although, Bell did smile amusingly when he saw Hephaestus, the Goddess of the Smith herself, hugging the giant horn with an almost lovestruck expression on her face. That woman sure loved her
rare materials.
Finally he tore his gaze from the sight and began making his way to the quest board and once he found something pretty simple he took it off and made his way to the reception desk. There he
found his one of his few rare friends in Orario and his personal adviser.
''Eina-chan!'' he called out as he came up to her desk and he watched as the half elf half human young woman jolted from her work and spun around to look at him. Her appearance was very
beautiful in his own humble opinion, she had straight shoulder-length brown hair and emerald orbs that in the sunlight glinted like true emeralds. She had a slim, but mature physique of a growing
woman with wide hips, long legs and a moderate sized bosom. She had a naturally born fair complexion that was just a tad darker then Hestia's own. She was dressed in the standard black and
white Guild uniform for all employee's that worked inside the HQ, but it did nothing to detract her natural beauty to him.
However her expression was clearly worked as her glasses were slid down to the bridge of her nose and her hair was a tad bit frazzled, but over all Bell was left a bit speechless as he looked at her
again.
Eina Tulle, age 19 was someone he'd known since he was 9 year's old, she was still learning to be a employee at the Guild at the time when he was adventuring. She became his first friend outside
of Hestia and after awhile he hit it off with her despite her being 4 year's his senior in terms of age. Of course she knew nothing of his other persona and he preferred it to be kept that way for as
long as possible, but outside of that she was made to be his personal adviser due to their close relationship with one another.
''Ah Bell-kun! Here for another quest again I see?'' she questioned eyeing the request paper in his hand to which he gave a small grin before handing it for her stamp of approval.
''Yup! The rewards nice and it'll help pay for some expenses that have been getting stressful as of late.'' he said which she nodded knowingly, she understood his plight as he was the only member of
the Hestia Familia it fell on him to support himself and Hestia. While it was only the two of them, it was difficult for such a young adventurer like Bell to handle. Still he'd proven to hr he could handle
the responsibility for the past few years which only made her respect for him grow.
And a well hidden admiration for his all his efforts, but that was besides the point.
''Hm, so it's for the Ganesha Familia. Collect 100 pounds of Kobold meat, I see it must be in preparation for the Monsterphilia this year.'' she said while giving it a stamp. Kobold's were low level
species of monsters that resided in the first few floors of the dungeon. While weak they could be dangerous to new adventurers when in a pack, but Bell had proven to her long ago that he could
handle himself very well in the first few upper floors.
At the mention of the Monsterphilia, Bell quirked an eyebrow, he knew of the festival but didn't see the interest in it. You only watched the tamers of the Ganesha Familia play a show for the crowd
and tame wild monsters in the stadium when in fact they were already beaten and trained in the dungeon beforehand. It was all a show, an act and he found no interest in such an act.
He killed monsters for a living, the only kind of monster he wanted to see was a dead one.
''Well here you go, and be safe out there Bell-kun, alright?'' she said giving him a hard stare as she handing him back his request paper. Now either under this persona or the other, he simply could
not handle that expression she gave him. It was that kind of look that just knew you'd get in trouble regardless of being careful. It was a look that just showed how much she really knew him and
she knew he could be quite reckless at times.
''Yeah I got it by the way before I leave, what's with all the ruckus? And why do you seem so overworked, Eina-chan?'' he questioned, while he didn't care all that much for the ruckus behind him he
was worried about the health for the young woman. She was one his precious few friends he had in Orario and he'd be damned to see her be worked to the bare bone like this.
Eina for her part gave him a weird look before letting out a sigh, leaning forward she put her face in her hands and just tore her gaze to the center of the room where Hephaestus was having
members of her familia begin taking the giant dragon horn off. ''Well, it would seem the infamous Diablo took in a special request for Hephaestus-sama made the night before and went off to
complete it. It was said he returned early this morning with that monstrosity. '' she said pointing at the giant dragon horn the familia was struggling to get through the door let alone pick up.
''From what I know of the request, it was made specifically for him as it was made to kill an Elder Dragon, the third of the five strongest class types of the Dragons, if you didn't know Bell-kun. It
was to attain an Elder's dragon horn which is said to immensely outweigh it's value in Vali as it's value for materials used in crafting is akin to being legendary in of itself. Though this is the first time
I've seen one, I'm surprised it's not damaged the room from how much the thing must weigh.'' she said causing Bell to chuckle slightly, but due to his lack of interest he never saw Eina catch his
slightly bored expression, but said nothing of it.
''Diablo-san just keeps doing the impossible, doesn't he?'' he said causing Eina to let out a laugh at that.
''That's putting it very very mildly, Bell-kun!'' she said so sweetly to which Bell shook his head at, but still he took a moment to think on the name given to him, the alias he was branded with and
was known by throughout Orario.
Diablo had been the name he was branded with by the Gods and Goddesses long ago when he first created his split persona when he turned 9. By that time he was growing far too powerful far to
quickly for his own good. The Realis Phrase ability ultimately sped up his growth to dangerous degrees, enough so that he was worried he would attract the wrong attention, not for himself, but for
those he cared for.
Namely Hestia and Eina at the time, but that list grew to a few others and because of that he underwent the persona change to protect them. Since then, he was branded under that alias because of
his sudden rise to power and the amount of deeds he had accomplished during the start of his career. He was a sole existence that invaded the Labyrinth on his own and came out successful in
exploring the most dangerous levels that to this day were now being officially explored by the Loki Familia. He was the one who provided roughly drawn maps of the deeper floors, the very same
maps that the Loki Familia used in their monthly expeditions.
It was ironic really, he hadn't been branded that name until he had killed what was possibly one his most dangerous battles to date. He had nearly died that day and had the scars to prove it, he had
been 9 year's old, and he had battled with the floor boss of the 59th floor. It was an ancient being, a Dragon, King class but one that had fallen from the grace of it's Dragon kind for eating the
corpses of it's brethren to gather power so it could reach the domain of the Gods. The God of the Dragons, Bahamut, from the story had battled with the dragon and stripped it of it's scales and
ripped it's lower body in half and sealed the upper half into the Labyrinth since the dragon refused to die even under such injuries.
For a moment Bell reached toward his abdomen where he felt a phantom pain thrum through his body while his eyes narrowed at where he thought went to.
'Seath...Seath the Scalelesss' he remembered that monstrosity, it nearly tore him in half and sent him tumbling to death's door more then a few times during the battle. Still he miraculously
survived the encounter and ripped out the Dragon's cold corrupted heart from its corpse and brought it back as a trophy. That had been the day, from what he heard from Hestia, the God's and
Goddesses held an immediate meeting to discuss what he had done. Cause he had essentially done what no other Adventurer had ever done before. He had essentially killed what a God could not
and that was not something you couldn't ignore.
That was the day he was given the one alias he didn't expect to be put under, he aspired to be a Hero to those he called his friends, but that day he was ironically named Diablo, the castillian word
for the God's greatest enemy.
The Devil.
Oh the irony still hurt to this very day.
Because of that, Bell held suspicions for the other deities, they had to be suspicious of him to name him the one thing that the God's themselves abhorred as the greatest enemy against a deity.
However, what came next was the infamy that was his reputation as Diablo, he essentially became a living legend talked about amongst other Adventurer's. A made up story for parents to tell their
children about at night, of his overly dramatized battle with Seath for one. He essentially became something akin to what most adventurer's aimed to become.
A Legend, one whose name was etched into the history books and would be remembered for centuries to come.
Thing was, he didn't care about that.
He was interested in one thing and that was to become a Hero to those that accepted him, to his friends that cared for him, that loved him for who he was. His original dream to be a Hero to the
world was long since abolished by his own foolishness and in it's place, he dreamed to become a Hero to those of his friends. If he could keep them safe, then that was all that really mattered to him
because they in turn were the ones who saved him, from himself.
Shaking his head from his thoughts, he looked at Eina who was eyeing him weirdly for a moment and he soon let out a chuckle. ''Sorry, I got caught up in my thoughts, anyway why do you look so
overworked?'' he asked to which the half-breed let out another sigh.
''It's just the Soma Familia, they've been getting rowdy as a late, more then usual and they've been pressuring the Guild for sometime now. They've been hounding our appraisers and calling the
Guild all sorts of insults and while that's not all that concerning there have been reports of them harassing our employee's! I swear sometimes I just want to smash them upside the head!'' she said
slamming her hand into the desk which to his slight surprise made it crack all the way down the middle, take notice the desk was made of pure refined granite.
Gulping, Bell took notice Eina's expression and his face softened, but inwardly he scowled as he thought about ways to help her with the situation.
'I can't outright kill any Soma familia members, that's just needless and mostly unwanted attention, but I can't let them keep harassing Eina. Maybe I should speak to Hestia about them, but for
now.' thinking to himself, bell nodded before he took hold of Eina's hands in his own. The action caused to blink in surprise before she looked up to see his beautiful crimson eyes staring back at her
with a enthusiasm.
''Eina, go out with me.'' he said, blunt and to the point causing her blink, then twice...three times...and a fourth for good measure.
Then her face erupted into such a beautiful shade of crimson that nearby workers were afraid her head would combust from the sheer heat coming off her face. Her mouth turned into a shake smile
as she repeated Bell's words again and again inside her head trying in someway to find out why of all things Bell would say that to her. Not that she was against going on a date with him or
anything! It was just...
''B-but Bell-kun what about our age gap a-and would you r-r-really want to go out with s-someone like me. I-I mean you have Hestia-sama and-and!'' the poor woman stammered as Bell just tilted
his head to the side, not exactly realizing what she implying, but spoke anyway.
''I don't see how our age has anything to do with this, I've known you for quite sometime and I know you're an incredible woman and a good person at heart. Hestia may seem ill-tempered, but she
recognizes you as one of my friends so she doesn't mind.'' he explained, but to the poor woman's mind it only increased her misunderstanding of the entire situation at hand. Her blush darkened to
such a degree that Bell was beginning to worry for her health.
''B-b-b-but...I-I-I-I...Y-y-y-you...ah...ahh...aaaahh~'' she lost it, she fainted dead into Bell's arms causing the poor young man to straight out panic.
''Ah! Eina-chan! Are you alright! Crap crap crap, are you okay?!'' he asked but she remained unresponsive, but thankfully another one of the staff came up to him.
''Give her to me Bell-san, I'll be sure she gets taken care of. '' hearing this Bell looked to see it was another young woman that was around Eina's age. She had pink hair and pink eyes and wore the
same uniform as Eina. Then his eyes lit up with recognition as he realized who the woman was and he sighed in relief as he put Eina in the woman's arms.
''Thanks a bunch, Misha, and would you mind telling her that I just wanted to see if she would meet me at the Hostess of Fertility tonight? She needs some rest, and I'd like to buy her dinner you
see.'' he said causing Misha's eyes to widen briefly before she let out a small chuckle, amusement dancing across her eyes as she peered down at the face of her friend. Realizing that Eina had
completely misunderstood what Bell's was going to say.
Oh she was going to tease the hell out of her after this!
Smiling at the white haired young man that was Eina's very very close friend, that was a boy, who was most certainly not in Eina's exact words her boyfriend, he was just her friend...that was a boy.
The thought alone made Misha internally giggle before she gave him an affirmative nod.
''No worries, you can count on me!'' she said with a grin causing Bell to sigh in relief and with another thank you he high-tailed it out of there.
Time to get the daily request done!
Something simple, surely nothing surprising would arise from this...right?
Don't count on it...
