by Fujino Omori
A voice came from behind her. Cassandra, the only one left on the rooftop other than her, cautiously got her attention.
Cassandra shared a similar fate as hers. The two of them had stood by each other for a long time because of this connection. Daphne’s friend was standing still, fidgeting with her waist-length hair and looking up at her.
“Stop what?”
“Chasing after that boy…We mustn’t trap the rabbit.”
Daphne sighed at Cassandra’s mysterious warning.
“Another dream?”
Daphne asked even though she knew the answer. Cassandra’s eyes grew wider as she vigorously nodded up and down.
The long-haired girl was gifted with prophetic dreams. Unfortunately for her, no one ever took them seriously. That included Daphne.
Daphne believed that Cassandra’s almost random and thoughtless words were the result of her upper-class upbringing in the days before Apollo.
After all, all sheltered girls had dreams of their own as well as time to be lost in the curse of their “magical allure.” It was almost laughable.
“Cut the crap and let’s get moving.”
“Wh-why, why won’t you believe me?”
Daphne frowned. She didn’t want to put up with this now. But she knew if she didn’t at least ask, the girl would get even more annoying. Daphne cocked an eyebrow and looked at Cassandra.
“Fine. What did you see?”
“Errumm…A bloody rabbit jumped over the moon and swallowed the sun…”
Daphne laughed through her nose.
“Indeed. Dreams need to have a certain level of absurdity.”
“Daph!”
“Enough. After him.”
Daphne ran in the direction in which Bell had disappeared, with the still-muttering Cassandra close behind.
Central Park was located where all eight main streets met in the center of the city.
Welf, a brand-new greatsword over his shoulder, and Lilly, disguised in her werewolf form, stood beneath the imposing shadow of the white tower, Babel.
“…Isn’t he running a little late?”
“Yes, Lilly thinks so, too…Mr. Bell has never been this late, and would send a message if it were to happen.”
Welf and Lilly were fully prepared to reenter the Dungeon. Weapons sharpened and backpack full, they were waiting for Bell’s arrival.
Many parties of adventurers made their way through Central Park around them.
“Those weird blasts are still going off…Am I the only one with a bad feeling about this?” The man voiced his concerns as he tightened his grip.
“…”
Bell’s new knife was wrapped in a white cloth in Welf’s hands. Lilly remained silent.
They were waiting for Bell at Babel’s west gate, which directly faced West Main. The first explosion happened several minutes ago and had yet to stop. The sounds were unnatural, very similar to those created by Magic. Citizens and adventurers alike poured into Central Park from the main roads. The usually quiet and mundane park was coming alive with fear and panic. Lilly anxiously watched all of the people pouring in from West Main.
The crowd of people had grown to the point where they could hear snippets of conversations.
“Apollo’s men! They’re attacking someone, starting a war!”
“They’re after Hestia Familia—chasing after the Little Rookie!”
Lilly and Welf instantly locked eyes.
“Let’s move!”
“Right!”
The two didn’t stop to pick up more information from the traumatized citizens about the battle that had been raging since midmorning as they made their way through the crowd.
A moment later, they knew where they had to go when a flash of violet lightning appeared over the seventh block of the city.
“Has Lady Freya made a move?”
Two figures looked down from the roof of the tallest building situated close to North West Main, a little ways removed from the destructive game of cat and mouse.
Hermes surveyed the battlefield with great interest. He turned to face Asfi as soon as she joined him and she asked her question.
“No, Freya Familia is only observing the situation.”
“Is Lady Freya planning to stay out of this one?” Asfi adjusted her white cape as she spoke. Hermes brought his hand to his chin, muttering to himself in a soft voice.
The odds were stacked heavily against Bell. The boy was tasked with trying to escape as well as protect his goddess in the face of an all-out assault—he was outnumbered more than one hundred to one.
Whether Freya had a reason for staying put or she considered this some kind of a test for Bell, Hermes did not know.
His best guess was that she derived some kind of pleasure watching the ever-changing boy react to a challenging environment. She had done the same thing less than a week ago; he was there.
It wasn’t hard to picture Freya rejoicing in the boy’s “glow,” which was no doubt growing at this very moment.
“How should we proceed?”
“By taking it easy.”
Hermes’s eyes were back on the chase. He responded to Asfi’s question without looking at her.
“I’m the one and only Hermes, you know? I am and always will be an observer.”
He wanted to see Bell’s story unfold and follow it to the very end with his own eyes. The charming god looked back over his shoulder and grinned at his follower.
Asfi didn’t say anything, only sighed as she pictured the many problems she would have to solve in the near future.
“I need a better view. Asfi, help me out.”
“Yes, sir…”
The two of them jumped to the next rooftop, following the sounds of battle.
“Argonaut is on the run!”
Meanwhile, at Loki Familia’s home on the northern edge of the city…
Tiona had just returned from gathering information on the streets. Other members of the Familia gathered in the common room to listen to her report.
“Tiona, is that true…?”
“No doubt, Apollo Familia is running around in circles, trying to corner him!”
Aiz arrived in the room in time to hear the Amazonian girl’s first report. In turn, the girl relayed all the information she’d picked up in town.
The blond girl’s face was blank, but a small anxious twinge of worry filled her eyes as she looked off into the distance.
The dwarf, Gareth, and the elf, Reveria, sat on a sofa in the room and dissected the situation.
“Been a long time since this many people were fighting in the city.”
“Apollo Familia doesn’t appear to be concerned with the Guild’s punishment for their actions.”
The sound of footsteps belonging to other members of their Familia rained down from overhead. Everyone knew something big was happening outside.
“Speaking of which, where is Loki? Wasn’t she just here?”
Tiona’s twin sister, Tione, posed a new question for the group. Bete answered her with a very disinterested tone.
“Said there was somethin’ worth watchin’, already gone, the dunce…”
“…All gods have their vices.” She responded in kind.
“Aiz, don’t get any strange ideas.”
“Finn…”
Aiz had ignored the conversation going on around her and anxiously stood up from the sofa. Finn noticed and immediately stepped in front of her.
“The situation is completely different from the eighteenth floor. Please, do not try to aid Hestia Familia.”
The commander of Loki Familia stopped Aiz’s train of thought in its tracks.
Aiz was a high-ranking member of the Familia. She couldn’t strike out on her own. Loki Familia had no reason to assist Bell.
Worse, an attempt to do so would cause an even bigger problem. Should an influential group like Loki Familia become involved in the scuffle, the consequences could be catastrophic.
“I know this is diffi
cult, but Loki forbade us from interfering. We need to let things play out for now.”
“Okay…I understand.”
Finn’s penetrating gaze overtaking her from below, she lightly nodded at the prum.
Aiz walked over to the window as the commander issued more orders to other members of their group.
Looking past her reflection in the glass, Aiz watched the ominous black cloud spread over the city.
Bell ran as fast as he could.
Hestia firmly in his arms, he weaved his way through the backstreets in a desperate attempt to escape the net his enemies had set for him.
“Sorry!” he yelled as he jumped over a group of townspeople who hadn’t evacuated in time.
“Th-there’s more…?!”
Bell focused forward as soon as Hestia’s warning reached his ears.
Two of them stood at the end of the street—no detours, no escape.
Bell slowed down only enough to let the goddess safely out of his arms and onto the ground before drawing both knives and picking up speed again.
“?!”
“Uwah?!”
The two adventurers weren’t expecting Bell to attack. However, the boy charged at them with both blades flashing menacingly in his hands. He was on top of them before the adventurers could defend themselves. Targeting the joints and their armor, Bell made quick work of the would-be hunters.
Memories of his battles with well-armored killer ants in the Dungeon flashing through his mind, Bell reached out and took Hestia’s hand. The deity had done her best to keep up.
“I’m so sorry for…slowing you down…like this…Bell…!”
The young goddess was out of breath but forced an apology out of her throat. Bell squeezed Hestia’s hand as they ran together in an attempt to reassure her.
“This isn’t your fault, Goddess!”
One of the absolute laws of the land was that a mortal cannot kill a god. Only other gods had that ability.
Should the deity receive a life-threatening injury, their divine power would instantly activate and heal them completely. Unfortunately, activating Arcanum was against the rules of the gods themselves. They would be sent back to Tenkai as punishment.
Should Apollo capture Hestia and kill her, Bell would be left behind as a “free” adventurer, able to join any other Familia. If both of them were captured, Apollo would be able to use Hestia as a bargaining chip. Choose to join Apollo Familia and Hestia can remain on Earth; refuse and she’d be sent back to Tenkai and he’d be forced to join.
In any case, Bell could not let the hunters capture Hestia. He had to protect her and keep moving.
A lot of them are Level 2…but!
Bell hit a group of archers with Firebolt before they had a chance to release their arrows. Taking advantage of their surprise and injuries, Bell dashed in close and took out all three in the blink of an eye.
Bell could hold his own against Level 2 adventurers. He was confident he could take them one-on-one, and that he had the Agility advantage.
He could deal with them as long as he wasn’t pinned down from too many angles at once. A vague plan forming in his head, Bell found the angle where the enemy net was weakest and charged through. At last, there was hope.
“B-Bell, they can’t defend against your Magic. Isn’t that our best option? You can take them down one after the other!”
“No…well, I don’t want to use that if I can help it…”
Bell wanted to keep collateral damage to a minimum, especially since his Magic involved fire. The Western block of Orario was mostly a residential area. If he turned it into a sea of flames, there was no doubt in his mind he would be exiled from Orario no matter how things turned out. Of course, it was always an option in a pinch, but he couldn’t overdo it.
His Swift-Strike Magic gave him the ability to turn the tables at a moment’s notice, but he couldn’t count on it in the middle of the city.
“…?”
The hunters running on the rooftops had individual roles. Some doubled as lookouts and roadblocks to set up advantageous situations for the higher-level attackers.
The sea of enemies around him making Bell slightly dizzy, his ruby-red eyes noticed an emblem on one particular adventurer.
A crescent moon and a wineglass…?
It was not the emblem of the sun worn by members of Apollo Familia. This was another group entirely.
The small flicker of hope that had appeared was suddenly snuffed out. There was more than one enemy Familia?
Another flashback: the garden last night.
What he had seen from the balcony on the night of the Celebration…
Bell could see the two figures clearly in his mind. A moment later—
Thud! Something landed right behind him.
“—”
A menacing aura more powerful than anything he felt overtook him.
Ba-dam, ba-dam, ba-dam. His pulse echoed through his body.
Bell’s instincts instantly screamed, Don’t show your back to this one!
The boy’s head whipped around. The cold smile of a handsome man was waiting for him.
His battle cloth was mainly white. A longsword and a shortsword hung from his waist, their hilts sticking out of the white cape draped around his shoulders.
Apollo Familia’s field general, Hyacinthus, bent his knees into an aggressive stance.
“?!”
The man charged at the same time that Bell shoved Hestia into the opening of another side street.
His advance was too fast to follow. All Bell could see was a long rouge blade shining with flaming providence—a flamberge.
The boy managed to draw the Hestia Knife in time to intercept the blade, but the sheer force of impact knocked him off his feet.
“Bell?!”
Hyacinthus denied his opponent a chance to recover and charged forward.
Bell managed to catch a glimpse of the incoming weapon and rolled out of the way, barely dodging the tip of the blade as it hit the stone-paved street beneath him. Jumping back to his feet, Bell withdrew his other knife, Ushiwakamaru, from its sheath and rushed to counterattack.
Hestia’s screams echoed through the back alley as she watched the battle unfold. The two locked blades after only a few seconds of combat.
“I commend you for making it this far, Bell Cranell. I bestow you the honor of facing me—rejoice!”
“Dahh?!”
Hyacinthus spun out of the lock and went back on the offensive. Two knives and one longsword clashed over and over at high speed, sparks flying.
Hestia had fallen silent, her eyes trembling as her ears were overwhelmed by constant metallic echoes. Bell knew there was no escape from this enemy; he had no choice but to engage him head-to-head.
This particular backstreet was very long and narrow. Bell was continuously pressed deeper and deeper down the street in an effort to dodge the oncoming attacks. The true onslaught had begun.
“—”
Bell’s right arm was flung out of the way by the rouge blade’s vicious sweep. By instinct, the boy used that momentum to bring his left arm forward.
The two locked eyes, never blinking. Attacker and defender traded places back and forth instantaneously. Hyacinthus took an aggressive step forward, thrusting his blade directly toward Bell’s chest. The white-haired boy sidestepped just in time and knocked the sword away with one of his own weapons.
Or at least he thought he had. The tip of the sword suddenly connected with his still-outstretched arm. Blood spewed from the wound instantaneously.
“So that’s how it is. You win with speed.”
Hyacinthus’s grin made Bell’s eyes shake with fright.
Bell was wielding two knives, while his enemy had only one longsword. He should have had the advantage. But somehow every one of his strikes was either deflected or blocked outright. Hyacinthus moved as if he knew what was coming. None of Bell’s attacks were getting through.
He wasn’t fast enough to win t
his contest of Agility.
“?!”
Hyacinthus’s white cape suddenly flashed in front of the boy’s face. Bell’s reaction to the next attack was delayed by just enough to create an opening for attack.
The rouge blade arced through the air and came down hard from above. Bell crossed the blades of the Hestia Knife and Ushiwakamaru to stop the weapon just above his head.
The two knives pressed against the flamberge, and the combatants stared each other down through the cross they formed.
Click, click, click. The blades shook as their masters tried to press forward. However, the longsword was gaining ground despite Hyacinthus using only one hand.
“You can’t hold it against me for hating you, stealing Lord Apollo’s love as you have…but if that is his will, then I will personally force you into our glorious Familia.”
His Strength was overwhelming.
Bell saw his own fear reflected in the eyes of his smiling foe.
—Level 3.
Bell’s thoughts turned to the moment that they first met. The “fight” at the bar where he was unable to defend himself.
Bell pushed off the ground, focusing all of his strength into his arms and neck, and managed to force the rouge blade upward. Bell glared at his assailant.
“UHH____AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!”
Bell roared with all of his might as he knocked Hyacinthus’s weapon to the side.
The handsome man took a quick step back to gain some distance. Now was Bell’s chance and he wasn’t going to waste it.
Tensing up every muscle like a bowstring, he launched his body forward—an arrow yearning to hit its target.
“HAAAA!!”
Top speed.
The stone pavement shattered beneath his feet as Bell kicked off the ground. He poured everything he had into this one attack.
This Rabbit Rush, a double-bladed onslaught of high-speed slashes.
He engaged Hyacinthus with a merciless avalanche of strikes. A storm of sparks erupted around them.
“—Slow.”
However.
Hyacinthus didn’t flinch, still grinning.
“—”
Arcs of violet and crimson light continuously pummeled the handsome man.
Every single one of the countless strikes was blocked, just like before. Nothing got through his defense.