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Danmachi : as Uncle Bell

One adventurer, little more than an artifact of an era long since left behind by the Center of the World, returns to the fore and changes the course of history for the Dungeon City. The ripples from these changes bring about a new future for our heroes and their world as they confront monsters of all shapes and appearances. This relic of an adventurer and one of those ripples- a woman who survives what she ought not have- make their return to Orario shortly after a disaster and miraculous escape by Rabbit Foot and Gale Wind from the Deep Levels...

The_Creator223 · อะนิเมะ&มังงะ
Not enough ratings
46 Chs

kyokuto

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Kyokutō

Allen shot off without a word, forcing Bell into the second place as he desperately tried to keep the pace. Having both memorized the way, they went without paying any mind to the monsters aside from avoiding them. They had donned salamander wool, sweating profusely after emerging from the jungle and into the 60th floor, and the Glazier Zone greeted them. All the way down, he didn't ease his speed or speak a word, and Bell had no choice but to keep up with him or be left alone far below his comfort in the Dungeon.

After hours of running through the freeze, they finally arrived on the 65th floor, and the relief Bell felt was great enough that he collapsed as soon as he had dropped the pack of supplies to the ground. By the time he recovered, Allen was already scowling at the entrance back to the 64th floor, and Bell thought to at least talk with the others, but quickly discovered why Allen seemed sour.

"Mr. Finn, everyone?"

"Hello Bell" Riveria greeted him, but he could see that everyone, even Ottar, was tired and dispirited, "Our thanks to you and Allen for bringing us supplies"

"It's no problem!" he waved his hands, but calmed down quickly, "but, what's wrong?"

This time Finn answered him, "Our task is quite daunting, to say the least. We didn't expect anything less, but still…"

"The Rex of the 66th floor is strong" is all Ottar said.

"Aye, fast, too" Gareth grumbled, "and we ain't used to fighting without our Familia as support; s'not easy to do even without fighting a new Floor Boss"

Silenced by the heaviness of hearing the top adventurers of Orario admit their difficulty, but he quickly resolved himself; after all, he had faced disaster with Ryu against the Juggernaut, and being dumped into the 37th floor with no experience.

"Then the race is on" he said, seeing their attention focus on him, he smiled, "I mean the race is on to see who completes their tasks first; you don't want us to get all of our stones and come down here without having killed that monster Rex at least once, right?" In an instant, he saw the fire rekindle in their eyes, beginning with Ottar and Finn.

"Well, when you put it that way…"

"Above all, I cannot allow Allen to kill it before I can" Ottar nodded, earning an offended shout from the man in question.

"Well, we won't be wasting any time, so good luck!" Bell shouted, and in reverse to the way down, he took advantage of Allen's anger and ran past him.

He looked back as Bell ran by, "That little shit!" before taking off without another word.

Meanwhile, many floors above them, Aisha Belka was thinking hard and planning, given the rest time that they had little else to do with.

Aedan made way to the Far East much faster than would normally be accomplished, given that he chose to swim over chartering a boat.

'Thankfully the satchel is waterproof'

His arrival was unhampered, but he took note of the oddly high number of monsters in both the waters around the archipelago nation, as well as those on the land, too. Using speed to his advantage, he navigated around the nation quickly to take in as much information as he could, giving context to what Fels had told him.

It was worse than he thought.

He should have guessed given the number of refugees in Orario from the Far East, but he had chalked that up to the nature of the city itself, rather than the poor conditions of their homeland. Unlike the united yet brutal realm of Telskyura, or the disparate but peaceful Dizara Region, the Far East was totally embroiled in self-destructive conflict, while under a surprisingly strong monster threat. These two problems led to the issues of famine and disease that seemed to plague the people; truly, all the problems were intertwined with one another.

'This will take some work…' making a decision, he first needed to know the persons of interest, and so Haroeris got to work.

Bell and Allen returned to the 50th floor in even better time than their trip down, even having to dash up through a fully populated Dragon's Vase. After resting, they joined the others in another dive to fight the dragons, and after another break, Bell left to go above this time. He got by Balor with little issue, and continued without pausing until he reached the next safety zone on the 39th floor.

Discretely, he took out an oculus from a separate pack from his void satchel, "Fels, are you there?" and waited a moment.

"… Bell, yes, I'm here; is there something I can do for you?"

"I'm on the 39th floor right now; is there a way for me to go to the network of hidden villages from here quickly? I wanted to contact the Xenos, and mention the task that Aedan came up with for them"

"Ah yes, he put that plan into his letter… I believe that there is a false wall in the tunnel beneath the Coliseum. Apparently, Asterius mentioned that to Ray, and I believe you know about that tunnel as well. I'm afraid you'll need to use your senses and find the entrance yourself, but that path breaks into the whole network of villages that they have access to"

Bell sighed in relief; even that much saved him a good deal of danger to travel through; the dungeon was still deadly to him, after all. It didn't matter if he had already slain Udaeus, or if he had traveled to the 65th floor; it was still the Dungeon, "Thank you so much, Mr. Fels, that helps a lot"

"Of course, Bell; when you have a chance, contact me after you meet them and let me know how it goes. Godspeed"

Letting the device go quiet, Bell enjoyed a bit more of a rest before rushing past the next floor and Udaeus, making his way for the Coliseum room.

Progress had slowed quite a lot.

Having advanced to the 30th floor, their work was still going well, all things considered. Their reinforcements had helped tremendously, but from the 30th floor onward, those under level 3 could no longer even really harm the monsters they faced, only distract them or support the others. Still, they worked well enough that they were safely able to continue their progress steadily. In fact, they were approaching the completion of the mapping portion of the 30th floor when Bell came upon them, all smiles, lifting their spirits and meeting the new faces.

"Master Bell!" Lili had been the first to spot him. He dashed to their position and helped quickly eradicate the remaining monsters that were threatening them for the moment, though her shout caused no small number of people to take notice of his arrival, with Aisha taking a shine to her eye and Lefiya almost tripping over thin air.

"Hello everyone, looks like things are going pretty well"

Welf walked over and put him in a headlock, "Says you, this is actually pretty hard, ya know!? We know you got your own hands full, too, but still…"

"You've nearly finished the floor though, right? That's great!"

"Well" Aisha sauntered up to him, drawing her finger to his chin even as Welf held him still, "We still have quite a few stones to collect, Captain" she purred at the end, sending pleasant chills up his spine. In an instant, he flew out of Welf's grip and out of Aisha's reach as she pouted playfully. Introductions were had between him and the others Amazons who were now looking at him appraisingly- seeing Aisha's display- and he greeted Uskari and Lidari, thanking them for coming.

Outside his periphery, Lili and Lefiya happened to be standing next to each other, unknowingly looking at the Amazons of Telskyura eyeing Bell up, and adopting the same ticked off scowl; both took a step forward, accidentally bumping into each other slightly, and at last noticed the other. Both had the decency to blush and look away at how overbearing they were being, and Lefiya walked off before the pallum could comment on what she was doing.

'Miss Haruhime is already having misconceptions about the situation, no need to fuel more assumptions within the rest of that rabbit's Familia!'

Out of both of their notice, Haruhime had simply approached Bell to join Aisha in speaking with him, while Welf watched everything unfold from the sidelines.

"Wonder if I can get the old guy and his aunt to help things move along; at this rate, something bad could happen…" he rubbed his chin, mumbling to himself.

"Master Bell, thank you for coming to assist us; is everything going well with the other teams' assignments?"

"Ah, well… more or less, Haruhime. Ours could do with working together better, and the lowest group has been having slow progress. I'd actually say you guys are getting along the best so far"

"Good as that is to hear, I'm more curious about how long you'll be staying with us, Lucky Rabbit" Aisha slid up to Bell, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Laughing, he scratched his cheek, "Well, I'll stay with you all until the next floor is finished with the mapping portion. Once you guys get to the end of the 31st, I'll go back down to the 50th to join the others with more supplies" So it was. With Bell, a first class adventurer, and their clean teamwork, the group made short work of the remainder of their floor and advanced quickly down the 31st. When the end was near, Bell left after they returned to their camp on the 28th to head back to the surface, and made it up in record time. In short order, he made a withdrawal for enough funds to purchase supplies, then went home to empty the void satchel.

"Welcome home, Bell" the one to greet him was Alfia, who took him in for a short rest, "Goddesses Kali, Bheara, this is our captain, Bell Cranel"

"I'm home, Auntie Alfia!" Now aware of the presence of other divines, Bell greeted them properly as he flustered a bit, "I-it's very nice to meet you, Goddess Kali, and to see you again Goddess Bheara!"

"Hello, Bell"

"Hmmm… he is cute, I suppose"

"Please do what you must, but rest a bit first, Bell; any news?"

He glanced back at the older woman, "Well, Finn and the others are having some trouble with the floor boss, but everyone is else progressing pretty well"

"Unsurprising, it is powerful; even though Horus was able to slay it alone, I suspect it wasn't the first time he had seen or confronted it. Go on ahead, Bell" leaving the conversation at that, he left for his room. Once he had emptied the satchel, he rested, planning to see his own goddess before leaving to get the supplies and head back into the Dungeon.

Aedan had quite a hard time in the east.

He had learned of the names and most of the locations of any persons who he might try to recruit, but most weren't very receptive, and one was a devil to find. Despite the infighting in the country, he had been unanimously turned away by all he spoke to given that the land would still be endangered in their absence even if the violence was brought to a halt. Monster would still roam, diseases spread, and food remain scarce.

Oda Nobunaga- the hand of the Empress and captain of the Amaterasu Familia- summed up the thoughts of all whom he tried to convince, "Gold cannot conjure food, nor cure the disease, nor keep the monsters at bay. Were none of these troubling my homeland, I would gladly join you to slay that menace of the north" though his words were more eloquent, the others all echoed the sentiment of the renard. Valmathra Makunoichi and June Kirihara- both rebel leaders- had similar devotions to their people; Ippo Shirahama and Miyuki Yamamoto- the Empress in Waiting- were of a similar mind, and he had yet to speak with the wandering Sword Saint: Miyamoto Musashi.

So he had decided: solving the issues of the land as he could would get him whatever support he would have; from there, his investigations began.

The place to start had been obvious, as it was the main catalyst of the other issues facing the country: the monster threat. It was strange that such a number of monsters so relatively strong were even present outside of the Dungeon at all. Aside from the Monster Kings and the Harbingers, they were perhaps the strongest monsters on the surface he had known of- discounting the Dragon Valley itself- and his investigation uncovered why. High in the snow-capped peaks of the mountains of the Far East, he found an ancient cairn which had- at one point- served as a nest.

"So, you lived here some time ago, and your taint remains even now" he muttered to himself. It wasn't clear whether it was before the time of the gods, or even before Albert fought it, but it was plain to see once he found it that this place had once been a resting grounds for the One-Eyed Black Dragon. The leftover energy from that time was enough- even many centuries later- to continue causing such problems. Taking his discovery, he rushed back to the court of the Empress and expressed it there.

"It is good to know the source, and you have our thanks for that, but what good will knowing now do us?" Oda asked him, "Unless we can leverage this knowledge to free us from the threat of the monsters, it serves us not"

"Then I have a proposal: I will cleanse the site of the Dragon's taint, and then I will have your aid, and all the rest that I can find in these lands after I assist you in eradicating the monster menace; if you wish, I can even work to craft some medicine and harvest some of the sea's bounty to ease the suffering of your people" he could see the clear surprise his words caused, but it took some moments for the response to come.

"That would be most beneficent, and agreeable, but is it truly possible?" the goddess Amaterasu herself asked him.

"It will be done at once, as my preparations are not many. I will cleanse the land, and only ask that you aid me in killing the monster that caused you these troubles in the first place" he left instantly, and went back to the ancient nest. He set to work immediately, placing a clay figure of an impressive dragon with one eye gouged- a thing he had crafted himself- with the name of the monster written upon it in red letters.

Holding a sheet of parchment with the same figure illustrated in black ink, its name written out in green, he spoke the magic,

"Ankh: I have overthrown all the enemies of Osiris from all their seats in every place where they are. See, their names written on their breasts, having been made of wax, and also bound with bonds of black rope. Spit upon them! To be trampled with the left foot, to be fallen with the spear and blade; to be placed on the fire in the melting-furnace of the copper-smiths ... It is a burning in a fire of bryony. Its ashes are placed in a pot of refuse, which is pressed firmly into a unique flame!"

Glowing as if overcome with Arcanum, the paper, figure, and the very ground upon which he stood began to vibrate ethereally with magical energy. Then, as though a stone being reduced to dust in a great, rapid decay, the aged taint of the dragon ebbed from the land, while the figure and parchment both dissolved into dust and dispersed.

Aedan- and for the first time in many centuries, the whole lands of the Far East- breathed a sigh of free, clean air. Then he girded himself, before blasting away from the site, straining his body to its limits as he slaughtered all of the remaining monsters swarming the land that he could find.

It was after killing a lone orc that he sensed a powerful presence come upon him, "So you're what was causing that fuss" the stranger looked scruffy, almost like a vagabond, but his demeanor, twin sheathed blades, and the strength that Haroeris could feel gave him away.

"You are the Sword Saint, yes? Miyamoto Musashi"

"That I am; who might you be?"

"Haroeris, of Orario; I have come seeking aid to slay the Black Dragon, and through helping the people of your land I have been promised it. What about yourself; would you be willing to aid me on my quest?"

"Haroeris, hm? The Monster King has been quiet since the last party of hero adventurers failed to kill it; you think it will stir up trouble again soon?"

"Yes, and we mean to stop it"

Musashi closed his eyes and breathed evenly through his nose while Aedan observed him. After a moment, his eyes opened, "Alright, I'll come along then" that was all that was shared between them before Aedan nodded.

"Good, do you know the way to Orario?"

"Who doesn't? I can make my way there if you need me to"

"Yes, I will still be some time before I can return; I will send the others of the Far East to join you as soon as I can. Until then, go to Orario and tell the guards that you are there to aid Hestia Familia in their quest, then make your way to a residence called the Hearthfire Manor. Your god or goddess can stay there, and a woman named Alfia will tell you what you need to know for the time being"

"No need, my god Susanoo will not leave this land, but given my mission, I can convert to your familia, even if temporarily. Hestia Familia, correct? I will be on my way then" the man left without another word, and Horus sighed with a smile.

"I guess even if the others go back on their word, it wasn't a totally wasted trip"

Shifting himself back to work without rest, he killed another 2,000 monsters over the course of two days, before diving once more into the waters around the islands and pulling in as much sea life as he reasonably could without decimating the ecosystems, and donating the hauls to representatives of the Empress in local fish markets. Finally, he set himself up in the palace itself, and took advantage of the Imperial resources to craft the best medicine he could at a blazing pace. He did not allow himself to rest until he had created 1,000 batches of medicine, which allowed the Imperial family to distribute well over 50,000 doses of it across the land, while setting their best apothecaries to work in an effort to replicate the recipe after seeing the good results it produced.

Finally, for the first time during his journey, Haroeris took rest.

After he woke, he was taken by a beautiful pair of maids to Oda, both with snow-white hair, a renard and cat person.

"Master Haroeris, it pleases me to see you rested"

"Of course, I am glad that I could be of aid to your land and people"

"For the first time in generations, the people of these lands have reprieve from their suffering" the man approached him, pulling him into a hug from a handshake, "You will have all the aid you can ask for, such that I can give it"

The man was honorable and true to his word, luckily for him.

In the end, he sent a large party on the way to Orario on the heels of the Sword Saint: Oda himself, the Empress-to-be Miyuki, Ippo Shirahama, and both rebel leaders June and Valmathra joined as well, making the total number from the Far East six people. They left behind Kentaro Kamagawa and Ayumi Gojouno to handle the affairs in the absence of the others; needless to say that the civil conflict had- for the moment- been halted by the stability and hope for recovery in the land. Turning his eyes to the west once the details were set, Aedan smiled to himself.

'That means I'm free to make my way to Altena now'