∆∆∆∆
Yuuya finally burst through the final cavern entrance, his boots skidding on the grass of the Under Resort.
The sky of the 18th floor—usually a serene, glowing canopy—was choked with black smoke and dust. To top it all off, the lighting is all red. It was as if the dungeon itself is enraged by the existence of a god in its domain.
In the center of the forest, the Black Goliath was a towering monolith of obsidian flesh and primal rage, its roar literally shaking the leaves off the trees.
[Found them! North-east, near the central clearing. I'm picking up two divine signatures and one very concussed Little Rookie. Follow the smell of desperation and bad decisions!]
"I see them!" Yuuya wheezed, his lungs feeling like they were filled with hot sand.
He ignored the chaos of the smaller adventurers fleeing the scene and sprinted toward the trees. There, he saw a familiar mop of white hair lying flat on the ground. Hestia was weeping, Lili was frantic, and Hermes was standing over Bell, waving his arms and giving a grand, sweeping speech about "heroes" and "destiny" that was being completely ignored by the laws of physics. Even Ryuu and Asfi were there.
It was the aftermath of a lack of a better term, bitch slapped or smacked by the Goliath.
Yuuya skidded to a halt, his battered armor clanking as he dropped to one knee beside his brother in arms. He looked like he'd been chewed up by a dragon and spat out into a rock tumbler.
"Bell?" Yuuya gasped, checking the kid for missing limbs. "Bell, talk to me. Is your soul still in your body?"
Bell's eyes were swirling like marbles. He was staring straight up at the smoke filled ceiling, his mouth slightly agape.
"Bell-kun! You have to get up!" Hestia wailed, clutching his hand. "The hero's journey isn't over! Yuuya is here! Look!"
Meanwhile, from Bell's point of view, they aren't the people he knows. In his vision, they were a bunch masked people.
Bell is so concussed that in his point of view, Hermes motivational speech isn't a speech. To him, Hermes's speech is telling him that they took one of his kidneys.
While Hestia in his point of view is telling him that they also took his gallbladder because it was about to rupture.
And now, in his vision once again, they are telling him to thank them for doing that "life saving" operation.
"Pu... Put it... Put it back..." Groaned Bell painfully, his eyes dazed.
"...what? Put back what?" Said Yuuya confusingly, examining the boy to see if he's indeed lacking something.
"Ah, this will take forever at this point. The boy is hallucinating." Said Yuuya as he face palmed. "BELL!"
Yuuya's shout finally snapped Bell back to reality.
"Yuuya-bro?" Bell whispered, his voice sounding like he was talking through a mouthful of cotton candy. "Is that you? Why do you have... three heads? Are you the new boss?"
"I only have one head, Bell. The other two stayed on the 27th floor." Yuuya grunted, grabbing Bell's shoulder. He gave him a light shake. "Come on, kid. We've got a giant obsidian problem to solve. Get your head out of the gutter."
Bell blinked slowly, his gaze drifting toward the dirt.
"Well... my head isn't in the gutter. It's mostly in the rock... and some soil... I think I tasted a worm."
Yuuya paused. He looked at Bell's dazed expression, then at the massive, screaming monster currently trying to stomp adventurers into a pancake a hundred yards away. The sheer absurdity of the moment cracked his composure for a bit.
"Pfft—" Yuuya let out a sharp, involuntary snort. "Damn, Bell. You good?"
"I'm great." Bell slurred, giving a very weak, very shaky thumb up. "Except for the part where the big guy smacked me so hard my teeth are in the back of my head now. I think... yeah, I think I can feel a molar behind my left ear. Is that supposed to happen? Is that a Level 2 thing?"
[Yep, totally hammered.]
Yuuya sighed, though he was still grinning through his exhaustion. He reached out and hauled Bell into a sitting position.
"No, Bell. Teeth belong in the front. Usually."
"Oh. Good to know," Bell said, his head lolling to the side as he watched the Black Goliath unleash a shockwave that sent a group of adventurers flying. "Hey, Yuuya-bro? Why is that big tree moving? And why is it so angry at the sky?"
"That not a tree Bell, that's the black Goliath that turned you into... Now..."
Yuuya stood tall, the weight of the air on the 18th floor pressing against his battered armor. He knew this script—or at least, he knew how it was supposed to go. But as he looked at the Black Goliath, he realized that his presence had shifted the scales again.
Judging by the looks of it, the obsidian giant wasn't just a Level 5 threat; it was pulsing with a dark, energy intensity that screamed Level 6, just like what he had predicted.
He reached down and hauled Bell to his feet, grabbing the boy by his collar to make sure his dizzy eyes stayed focused.
"Bell, listen to me." Yuuya said, his voice cutting through the roar of the monster and the screams of fleeing adventurers. "That thing is regenerating faster than we can cut it. There is only one way this ends: you."
"M-me?" Bell blinked, finally regaining some semblance of gravity. "But Yuuya-bro, I can barely stand, and my teeth are still..."
"Forget your teeth! Use that feeling—the fire in your soul." Yuuya commanded, pointing toward the obsidian titan. "I need you to charge Argonaut. Not for ten seconds. Not for twenty. I need a full, three-minute charge. I don't care if your hand feels like it's melting off."
Bell looked at the Goliath, then back at Yuuya's shredded armor. He saw the blood and the dust on his friend and felt the weight of the moment. The Little Rookie facade vanished, replaced by the sharp, focused gaze of a boy who had looked a Minotaur in the eye.
"Three minutes. I can do that."
"Good. You'll be using that." Said Yuuya as he pointed towards an object covered in cloth with the emblem of the Loki familia.
Lili unwrapped it, revealing a sword-like object. It's the drop item Ais got from defeating Udaeus.
"Here's the rugged explanation of the plan. Me, Ryuu, Asfi, Mikoto, and Welf will do our best to buy you time. Also, when you guys see a gigantic silver bell manifest on top of me, immediately get away as far as possible or atleast be a hundred meters away from me." Said Yuuya as he then turned towards Asfi. "Ms. Asfi, when I unleased my spell, I'll be immediately be on mind down. I'm entrusting my fate into you."
Asfi nodded despite being taken a bit aback.
They were rightfully confused and bit suspicious of Yuuya's statement. The latter mostly on Ryuu because the descriptions of his spell is too similar to that woman.
'Don't tell me... That spell too? He had that spell of hers too? Just how in the world...' Thought Ryuu as she stared at Yuuya.
They were also confused as to what did he go through before meeting them to ask Asfi to catch him after unleashing his spell.
But now is not the time to ask questions and hesitate.
"Protect the kid! Don't let a single pebble touch him while he's charging!" Yuuya declared as he got up and turned his back on them.
Just as he was about to take a step, Bell spoke, his voice lingering with hesitation.
How can you blame him, he just used an Argonaut fused firebolt earlier and it did absolutely nothing to the Goliath.
"But..." Muttered Bell. "What if it wasn't enough...?"
Yuuya stopped in his tracks. He then slowly turned his gaze back into a side glance to look at them.
He then gave them a small smirk.
"Don't worry. I'll make it enough. Because after all, this is my responsibility. My duty." He said as he turned his gaze back forward.
"Duty? Responsibility?" Asked Bell confusingly.
Yuuya also felt responsible for this developments. If he isn't here, then the black Goliath would be something that Bell and the others can overcome on their own.
But because of him, they needed extra help. So he decided, he'll be that help that they need. He will take on that duty, and make sure nothing happens to them.
"Yeah... My duty. I'm bound by duty and responsibility to bring us all into victory and most importantly... Bring us all back home in one piece." Said Yuuya as he started walking towards the Black Goliath's direction. Leaving behind the confused group.
Bell didn't ask anymore. He just gripped the sword and started walking after Yuuya.
As Yuuya walked towards the Goliath, he entered < Limit Off > once more. Feeling the rush of strength in his physique as well as the soreness it causes.
"Well then... Let's dance one more time you overgrown savage." Said Yuuya to the Goliath as he drew his sword and dashed towards it.
[You're a total nutjob Yuuya. Unbelievable, your remaining mana is at 900 and casting a Genos Angelus cost 1500 mana. Not only will you collapse after that, the output would also be reduced. It wouldn't be as strong as the one you used against the Amphisbaena.]
'Its fine.' Yuuya replied. 'I don't need to finish it off. I only need to injure it and buy Bell enough time. If dropping a bell tower on this thing's head is gonna do that, then I'll do it no questions asked."
A few feet away from his back, Bell stands defiantly. His hands on the grip of the sword of Udaeus drop.
He recalls what Yuuya said about duty and responsibility. Above all of them, his promise to Alfia once more—his primary motivation and driving force. Which also made Bell recall his grandfather's words.
"Let your yournings burn. Roar out your wishes."
'My wish is... To stand beside Ais Wallenstein as equal. But...' Thought Bell as he closed his eyes. 'My true wish that I yearn and roar for, is to become the hero I promised her I would be.'
With that, Bell entered Limit Off as well. Together with the charge of his skill Argonaut, the sound of a tollimg bell was heard.
GONG-GONG-GONG
It was the sound of grand bell.
It catches the attention of the Black Goliath as it turned around to see the source of sound. It roared and opened its mouth, intending to blast Bell.
Yuuya seeing this, launched himself forward. He didn't have the speed he had against the Amphisbaena, but he had the experience.
As the Goliath unleashed a devastating roar blast, Yuuya countered using Satanas Verion, neutralizing or cancelling the attack and overpowering it, hitting the Goliath and momentarily distracting it.
"Ryuu! You and I would go for it!" Yuuya commanded. "We keep it distracted!"
Ryuu blurred past him, her sword drawn and ready while speaking. But she isn't talking to Yuuya, she was chanting for her spell Luminous Wind.
The Goliath then swung a fist the size of a carriage, intending to eliminate Yuuya first.
Yuuya met it head on, his katana parrying the obsidian knuckles with a shower of sparks. The shockwave traveled through Yuuya's boots, cracking the very bedrock of the 18th floor.
Yuuya then leaped and used its entire arm as a foot hold. He then sliced a deep gouge into the monster's bicep. The wound bled black smoke, but almost instantly, the obsidian flesh began to knit back together.
'Regeneration is too fast.' Yuuya said in his mind, landing in a crouch. He looked back over his shoulder. Bell was standing firm, he was starting to be enveloped in white. The sign of his skill.
'30 seconds down. A whole lot more to go." Yuuya thought, his eyes narrowing as the Goliath roared in fury. 'It's time.'
•Blessing of the root of evil, curse of birth...•
With a burst of speed, Yuuya dashed towards the goliath, joining Ryuu in her assault as they pepper it with wounds.
However, even with their combined effort, the Goliath—sensing the chime of Bell's Argonaut growing louder—simply continues to march towards Bell's position.
"It's ignoring us!" Asfi yelled. "It's going straight for the boy!"
Yuuya didn't flinch, he just continues on his chanting, trusting the flow of events that he knows.
•My original sin that devoured half of my body... there is no purification...•
The Goliath pivoted, its massive legs crushing the ground as it prepared to leap toward the position where Bell stood.
Seeing this, Asfi immediately activated the magic in her boots that allowed her to fly. She fly towards it face and throws explosives at its eyes.
The reaction is immediate, the Goliath didn't follow with its plan as it roared in agony, clutching its eye as its vision is temporarily out of commission.
The timing is perfect too, as Ryuu just finished her chant. Sensing this, Yuuya immediately moved away from the Goliath.
•Carry the light of stardust and hit my enemy—•
•LUMINOUS WIND!•
Multiple green orbs then started exploding all over it's body. Making the Goliath roar in agony.
During the chaos, out of anger, it swung one of its hands which hits Asfi who was flying around.
Just in time, Ryuu's spell has stopped and she was grabbed by the Goliath. The crushing grip intending to turn her into a bloody mess makes Ryuu scream in pain.
But before the Goliath could kill her, Mikoto also have finished her chant.
•Descend from the heavens and rule the earth! War God Strike—•
•Futsunomitama!•
A massive, dark purple light descended from the sky towards the ground the Goliath is standing in.
Simultaneously, when the light touches the ground, a magic circle appeared. Causing the light the expand and become a dome.
Inside it, the gravity is intensified several fold. Instantly restricting the Goliath from its movement.
The sudden, crushing force makes it lose its grip on Ryuu, freeing her from its clutches.
Seeing the opening, Yuuya continues on his chant. Not intending to waste any single second.
•The resonance of this heavenly sound is my sin... the trumpet of gods, the lyre of spirits...•
As he reaches halfway through the chant again, a silver grey bell manifests above his head once more.
[Just a little bit more, Bell is near into finishing his charge.]
Mikoto's magic didn't last for long as the Goliath breaks through. Perhaps because it was stronger than usual, it took the Goliath less time to break free.
Still, it was just on time as Welf arrived. Carrying his magic sword.
"OUT OF THE WAY!!!" Shout Welf as he leaped with all his might.
When he is near enough from it, Welf swung his sword.
"Fire Moon!"
The blast instantly sent Welf back. At the same time, in an instant, a torrent of fire envelops the entirety of the Goliath. The fire then expanded more and more until it appeared like a moon as it incinerated the monster.
Eventually, the fire subsided just enough for them to see the Goliath. It was still alive, burning and wounded but unmistakably alive.
Bell on the other hand still needs thirty more seconds before his charge is completed.
But as we always know, that doesn't matter.
[That's your cue. Go.]
Yuuya leaped towards the Goliath, landing on its neck. The leftover flame from Welf's attack burning him and causing him intense pain.
Yet, Yuuya didn't retreat. He gritted his teeth, gripped Kurotsuki so hard his knuckles turned white, and drive the dark blade in its neck. Not to kill it, but to anchor himself to the monster.
Below them, Bell is now enveloped in white light from head to toe. A sign that his Argonaut is near completion but still needs a little more time.
And Yuuya will exactly provide that time.
•The melody of light, that is, the mark of my sins... Loved by the miniature garden, my destiny is shattered. I hate you.•
Yuuya's vision is blurring. His whole body is aching. He hadn't had a single rest ever since his fight with the Amphisbaena.
He is literally beyond exhaustion. To top it all off, he was trying his best not to fall down as the lingering flame from Welf's attack burns and sears him alive.
Still, he didn't stop his chant. As the silver gray bell now appears like a solid object.
Seeing the bell that Yuuya warned them about, Asfi, Ryuu, and Welf immediately retreated. Yuuya didn't explain much other than get away from him for at least one hundred meters when they saw it.
Which only means one thing. That his magic doesn't distinguish between monster and ally. Staying near him would be risking getting caught in his spell.
And they are not willing to find out how that would look.
While they were retreating, Ryuu's breath was hitching. Not from the physical exertion but because of a certain memory.
The silver-grey radiance, the hollow pressure in the air, the rhythmic, cursed cadence of the chant—it was exactly like seven years ago.
Because she was there and she witnessed that spell personally on the same floor they were currently in.
'That magic...' Ryuu's gulped, while she looks back at the silver glow. 'The bell of the End. Alfia? No... it's him. Just what you really Yuuya Mitsukuji...'
The Goliath finally noticed Yuuya on its neck. It raised one of its hand, intending to crush Yuuya into a bloody smear like a mosquito.
But it was too late. Yuuya has finished his chant.
•The compensation is here. Destroy everything with the proof of my sin. Cry, holy bell tower!•
•GENOS ANGELUS!•
The bell swayed.
GONG
For a moment, there were two chiming of a bell that overlapped on that floor. One is from Bell and one is from Yuuya.
Yet, the latter isn't a sound of hope or victory. It was the sound of utter, undiscriminating annihilation.
The first toll didn't just sound; it erased. A shockwave erupted from the bell, centered point blank on the Goliath's head. Followed by another, and then another.
GONG-GONG-GONG
For ten seconds, the tolling of the end didn't stop.
The roar blast that the Goliath intended to release as a desperate attempt to counter attack, was swallowed whole by the superior frequency of the bell.
The ground beneath the monster didn't just crack; the soil and rock were pulverized into powder, creating a massive, perfectly circular crater.
The shockwave hit the Goliath like a physical hammer from the heavens. It's obsidian skin was stripped away in layers, flying off as black ash. The monster's roar turned into a silent, agonizing gape as its vocal cords and jaw were shredded.
Then finally, the tolling stopped and the bell have disappeared into thin air. Yuuya is knocked out cold from the mind down as he falls towards the ground, falling from the sky like a bird with broken wings
True to her promise, Asfi, already moving before he even reached the apex, blurred through the air. She caught him and immediately flew off just as the dust began to settle, revealing the horror.
The Black Goliath was still standing, but it was a ruin. The top third of its body was a raw, smoking mess of exposed meat and shattered obsidian, its regeneration struggling to recover from the damage of the spell that had just tried to delete its existence.
It was broken. It was staggered. The crater where it stood was a nightmare of rising steam and dust. The monster was a hollowed out wreck; its massive jaw hung by a single strand of blackened muscle, and it was even missing half of its head.
It was so injured from Yuuya's spell, that there is no other way to describe the extent of its injury other than horrific.
But even with half its head missing, the Level 6 monstrosity was a product of the Dungeon's pure hatred. Its remaining eye, cracked and bleeding fluid, fixed on the white haired boy standing at the edge of the destruction. It tried to let out one last howl, but only a wet, gurgling sound escaped its shredded throat.
Asfi landed roughly on the outskirts, her knees buckling as she cradled the unconscious Yuuya. Hestia and Lili rushed toward them, their eyes darting between Yuuya's pale face and the glowing sun that was Bell.
"Big brother Yuuya did it..." Bell's voice was surprisingly calm, though his hand was shaking not from the sheer pressure of the mana he was holding, but the responsibility he now holds.
The white light surrounding him was so intense it was blinding, a three minute Argonaut charge that felt like it was pulling the very air out of the room as the light also envelops the sword he is holding.
The Argonaut had finally reached its crescendo.
"He gave me the opening. I won't waste it."
Bell dashed forward with determination. Even after Yuuya's bell has finished it's chime, his own bell continued to rung in its place.
Behind every step he took, carries a memory behind it. Everything he has experienced, every moment he spent with Hestia, Yuuya, Welf, Lili, Eina, and many other important figures in his life were there. As if they were his legs, pushing and propelling him to go forward.
Bell finally reached the Goliath, stopping only a few feet away from it, there he stands in front of its severely injured, to the point of unable to move state. As it cannot do anything now but watch as Bell prepares his attack that would result in its demise.
But for Bell, it was different. He can feel it. He can feel their presence on him. On his left shoulder, the hand of his uncle that always feeds him delicious foods and gives him the best advices in life that he could ever ask for.
On his right shoulder, the hand of his grandfather who always tells him the hero stories he never fail to be amazed upon and took inspiration on.
But most importantly, he can feel her. He can feel his mother. He can feel Alfia's pair of warm, soft, and tender hands over his. Making him feel an overwhelming sense of peace and clarity.
He is not alone. In this very moment, the three biggest figures on his life was present. As if they were guiding him, steadying him for his heroic strike.
It was as if they were saying "Go, Bell. Do not hesitate. I, we, all believe in you."
And with that, Bell roared and swung his sword. Unleashing a Limit Off buffed, fully charged Argonaut to the already injured Goliath.
For a moment, the entire floor was enveloped in bright, blinding white. Swallowing everything as if the very sun itself manifested on the 18th floor.
The Goliath in its current state, didn't stand a chance. It was instantly vaporized. When everything calms down, there was nothing left from the Goliath, not even ash.
As it was now gone, leaving no trace of its existence in the crater it formerly stands on as the angry, red light of the 18th floor returned back to normal.
Bell stood at the precipice of the crater, the Udaeus sword shattered into pieces at his hands.
He took one shuddering breath, his body shaking from the fatigue. Yet, he didn't fall but instead, raise his fist into air. Signaling they have won and the battle is over.
And they had won.
Immediately, cheers and shout from every adventurers present at that time erupted.
The battle is over and they are alive.
Asfi laid Yuuya down on a patch of soft grass, Hestia immediately hovering over him with tears in her eyes. The Argentum Vox was alive, her first child and familia member is alive, but he is exhausted—a deep, total mind down that would likely keep him under until the next day.
"Good job Yuuya. You've done well. Oh you've done so well my child. You can take a rest now, we got it from here." Said Hestia as tears stream down her face as she hugs Yuuya. Relieved that everything has turned out fine.
The battle is truly over and they get to live the see the light of another day.
∆∆∆∆
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Meanwhile, somewhere deep beyond the dungeon, deeper than any adventurer of the current era has reached, lays a secret waiting to be discovered.
Or rather, perhaps I should say... Remembered?
##th Floor.
The floor is eerily silent except for the groans of the monsters on this floor. Abominations that are beyond any adventurers mind dwell in every corner.
On this floor, adventuring should be the least of your priorities and concern. On this place, survival is everything. The rate in which monsters spawn on this floor is almost comparable to that on the 37th floor colosseum. Monsters whose strength, rivals that of a first class adventurers swarms every corner.
But that wasn't its biggest secret.
In this floor, there exists a life that isn't from a monster or the dungeon itself, but from a person.
It's been there for who knows how long.
And more than anything, it was pleading.
'Please... Yuuya please come back... Where are you...' Its consciousness screamed, begging for the return of a certain person.
"Please... You promised you'll come back... How much longer... Do I need to wait...?"
It has been uttering those words over and over again for a very, very long time. But one thing is for sure, it has been there for so long, its mind or mental state was so deprived from any contact, that it was on the brink of collapsing.
And currently, the only thing keeping it's sanity from completely breaking; is the name and promise of one person.
"Please don't forget me Yuuya..."
"Yuuya... Please... Come back..."
"I beg of you..."
"Please..."
"Come back..."
∆∆∆∆
TBC.
End of Season 1.