35 Chapter 29: Orion

Malevolent.

Such was the only word the goddess could use to describe what she saw...she could barely even think enough at that point to come up with such a word though.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎...

An otherworldly sound and glow took over her remaining senses...she was too tired now to do anything about it...too tired to run...too tired to fight... too tired to even cry in mourning...

"..."

It all happened in a blur...she was carried by the Gray Ghost as she began trapping herself in memories...reminiscing on days when she didn't disdain the effect her presence had on the people she loved...

"..."

Gray Ghost neared the pillar whereby they delved deeper into the cavern...he had gained a significant gap between himself and Antares...the pillar of stone they had descended with his swords...it was nearing view...

'Are they...still alive?...'

Artemis thought as she looked around her surroundings ever so briefly.

Flames. Dust. Rubble.

That was all she could see.

Hope was within reach...her children called out to her as they waited by the pillar...the Gray Ghost comforted her with gentle words...her rapture with the past was slowly being undone...

But...

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!!!

Reality was a cruel mistress...

𝘽 𝙒 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈

The gap Gray Ghost had made against Antares was broken in an instant.

The great monster simply tore down the walls that hindered its pursuit with sheer magical force.

Rays of destruction began to sweep across the area...none were spared from despair.

The screams...she can still hear them so clearly...pain...anguish...the singular light that had appeared in her eyes was diminished in an instant.

'Ten thousand years of laughter and love?...how can such a thing...be allowed in such a cruel world?...'

Explosions and heat were all she felt...but her vision of the world devolved into a haze...

"I'll be with you all the way..."

But in such chaos...he just smiled...Gray Ghost...just kept on smiling...

'Is he a fool?...a clown who can only...he...'

Artemis wished to lambast the man she admired for such behavior...but she couldn't bring herself to do such a thing...

'How can I...after he...'

The goddess' empty face...began to moisten with tears...

The embrace he continued to give her...despite bearing the attack that was aimed only at her...for her divinity...Gray Ghost chose to defend her regardless.

'You could've just sacrificed me...that way all of you could escape...I've lived plenty long enough you know?...my life...should have caused all this...it wasn't worth it...'

Artemis recalled the last images of him she saw.

Burning...he burned brightly...but his smile never seemed to fade...

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!

Antares loomed over Artemis...its scarlet veins radiating with energy...the crystal on its chest began to morph open...like the mouth of a predator that was about to devour its prey.

Artemis didn't think much of what was about to happen. She knew what would happen to her...Gray Ghost emphasized how this current event was to be avoided at all costs...

'Antares will now be able to use my Arcanum...and it will be able to use it to strike terror and fear across the world...'

'Even when I have given up...I still only cause trouble for others...'

Now the blood of millions will stain her legacy. The bow of heaven. The majestic moon which soared high above the sky...will now be dyed a deep crimson...the lives of innocents dyeing it so red.

Even when she faced the end of her life...

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!!!

The visage of his smile...continued to comfort her.

...

..

.

"Move..."

Bell thought to himself as he tried in vain to get his body to move...

"I SAID MOVE DAMN IT!-'

Bell began to lash out at his surroundings.

𝙎𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙃

His fist collided with the floor of white sand...he was currently present in his reality marble.

Bell quickly concluded he was currently unconscious, but still alive.

He clearly remembered how he moved to shield Artemis and the huntresses from the magic of Antares.

"I projected numerous swords to shield them...I was able to briefly make out the breathing of some of them...I even saw Artemis...but her eyes...they were devoid of life..."

Bell could only catch a few glimpses of the aftermath before he fell unconscious. Moving to his reality marble in the process.

"My mind is still functioning...but my body... it's failing to keep up..."

Bell had tried for quite some time now to force himself awake from his reality...but each effort proved to simply be an act of futility.

"I did everything I could...and it's still not enough...am I...just not destined to take over as the protagonist..."

Bell began to doubt all the progress he had made so far...every choice...every action...he felt as if it were nothing more than his delusions of grandeur...something only a prideful reincarnator could think about.

But he immediately tried stopping those thoughts upon its inception.

He couldn't just wallow in self-pity again. Lives were on the line. The world could even be at risk. In front of all of that...how can his emotions dictate this situation.

"Think...think...how do I wake myself up...the only worthwhile thing you did in your past life was read, you bastard...so start using that to find a way!"

Bell began to admonish himself as he began searching through his memories...of danmachi..of fate...of every story he had accumulated throughout his years of lonely reading.

"I don't have any dream-related abilities...maybe if I stab myself like Tanjiro?..."

Bell considered that immense pain could be the answer to waking up...but Bell's mental landscape refused to accept such an action...all his swords would simply phase through him...

"Damn it..."

Bell began to hold his head in frustration.

"Think...think..."

His knowledge of stories was the only thing he could proudly claim as his own achievement. An achievement he made with no divine assistance nor fate aligning for him.

But his only merit...was now failing to rise to the occasion.

Countless stories flew through Bell's mind at that moment. Considering the methodologies and systems set in place for each one. Combing through them all in hopes for a solution...but...there was none to be found...

"No...I'm sure there is one...I just can't find it..."

Bell admonished himself.

Grasping at the sand with frustration...he couldn't find an answer or formulate a plan...

"I'm a really shitty reincarnator...the main advantage we have is our omnipresent knowledge of most events and facts of a world...but when it counts...I can't even rely on my natural advantage..."

Bell realized that nothing he had done...was befitting of a protagonist of a story...

"I'm not a naive and innocent youth who stubbornly believes in his values...I'm not some sort of genius who can somehow predict my enemy's next move...I'm not an innovator who can push advancements in numerous fields...hell...a scummy protagonist at least has the boon of being able to outwit most people..."

"But me?...everything I am...everything I achieved... it's nothing more than borrowed ideals and ideas..."

His powers? His idea for an alter-ego? His vision? His moral compass?

All of them...merely half-assed recreations of the stories he read.

"At least Emiya's beliefs were grown from genuine experience...my clinging on to a hero of justice...its nothing more than my decision to achieve the best ending..."

He was worse than a fake...he was a rip-off...merely copying others for the sake of copying...in a deluded sense of responsibility as a reincarnator...

"But..."

Although his ideals...his path...though it was nothing more than a sham...a hoax formed through the mind of a reader...who desperately wanted to be part of something bigger...

"Even though it's nothing more than my selfish desire..."

Wanted to bask in the spotlight...to attain the same spot as the character he so admired...the dream of an observer who thought of a life of grandeur beyond his capability.

"Even if...this is nothing more...than my perverted desire to become a protagonist..."

Bell would simply accept his lot in life.

"I still...want to keep moving forward..."

Even if he were shamed for it...even if he became a laughing stock for all the people he admired to gawk at...

"The smiles the characters I loved showed me...I want them...all for myself..."

He would selfishly continue to struggle in vain...

"I'll keep working in futility...I've reached rock bottom once...what does it matter if I fall from grace..."

The determination of a man so obsessed with his ideal life...pages upon pages...binder upon binder...forming a mountain of words around him...immersing himself in numerous worlds...in a desperate search to fill the void in his heart...to fill the hold where his desire lay.

"I'll cry...I'll bleed...I'll regret...I'll experience so much pain that it can twist my heart into an unreturning mess..."

The world around him began to react to his desires...the hill of sand he kneeled upon began to be set alight...forging...and forging...it never ended...it never stopped...

The creation of a pillar of swords.

"It will be the most unsightly mess...I'll scream and desperately cling onto this life of mine...to fulfill all the dreams I conjured...to experience everything I wanted to experience..."

The pillar or swords began to pierce through Bell's legs. His blood flowed through the creation. His essence burned as the pillar continued to be set alight. The creation of the mental forge never ceased.

"If a protagonist can reach his goal in a single step..."

𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦

"Then I'll do everything to match their stride...even if takes a million times the effort...I'll desperately cling on..."

𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦

"It's all I was born to do...and all that I am able to do..."

𝘤 𝘳 𝘢 𝘤 𝘬 𝘭 𝘦

"heh...Argonaut and Emiya are known for this thing too...does this make me a protagonist now?..."

Bell snickered at what he was about to do...something he realized that he failed as a part of every protagonist's journey in a story.

"Maybe it's because I'm a reincarnator...but I tended to plan out everything...making sure everything is done more efficiently..."

Bell watched his hand as the world around him slowly began to be enveloped in a mist. His tower of sword breaking through the sky...the air seemed to make his thoughts more clear.

"It's something that makes every reader frustrated and captivated at the same time... can't surmount a challenge?"

Fire. Dust. Steel.

Such were the only things that filled Bell's mind at that moment.

The aching of his body in reality slowly began to awaken through his senses.

"Then simply struggle. Even if you end up covering your opponent in disgusting tears of frustration."

There was no more hesitation.

Even if he becomes nothing but a lie...if it would allow him to achieve the ending he wanted to see.

"Even if your body breaks in the process. Continue to struggle with everything you have."

It will be more than worth it.

...

..

.

'Shit...everything hurts...'

Bell awoke from his reality marble. The pain in his body struck his senses immediately...he was never put in such pain before.

'At least with the Goliath...I was somewhat unconscious...damn this hurts...'

Even during his intense training in childhood where he would shred all of his muscles to simply grow them back stronger...the burning pain in his back...the feeling of blood loss around his body...the aching pain throughout his muscles...the sensation would've put any other person into shock immediately...

'Artemis... where...Artemis?...'

But Bell didn't dwell much on his suffering. He simply began to push his body as much as he could to observe what was happening.

He was lying face flat on the ground. He used his trembling arms to gather information, but his head was only able to catch a small glimpse...but that small glimpse was all he needed.

'Artemis...Antares...is about to devour Artemis...'

Bell lamented that this entire situation led to this point...but he simply focused on trying to reach her...he can lament in depression all he wants once he saved her...

'I can reach her...but it'll be hard...it'll be excruciatingly painful...'

Bell attempted to quietly cast 「Reinforce」on his body...but as his mind flowed through the magic circuits constructed along his body...

"GH!-"

Immense pain began to echo throughout his senses.

'My body did turn hot whenever I used reinforcement or my magic circuits...but this is more like roasting my body on the sun!-'

Bell's mouth began to foam underneath his mask. His body was going haywire trying to withstand the amount of pain he was experiencing.

He doubted his nerves were even capable of expressing such pain naturally.

'Maybe it's affecting my soul as well?...that would be interesting...'

Excruciating it was...Bell didn't stop...he couldn't...he refused to even entertain the idea.

'Come on Bell...you're blessed with Emiya's powers...every faker knows...you aren't a true hero of wrought iron-'

Mind began to circulate more and more throughout Bell's body. His magic circuits penetrated deeper and deeper into his body. Burning. Forging his body from the inside out. His nerves were beginning to burn alongside his magic circuits.

'-Unless you bring your body to the point of structural collapse!-'

Beneath Bell's armor which somehow managed to continue manifesting itself as a projection, Bell's body began to spark alight with blue energy.

His magic circuits began glowing with a radiance that emanated danger. The orderly circuits began to be messed up with the appearance of fluid lines...his natural nerves beginning to convert themselves into additional circuits...his once orderly composition...was now turned into a mess.

For his goals...he would bastardize his body to the point of it no longer being recognizable.

Antares slowly began to approach Artemis. The goddess seemed to resign herself to her fate...but Bell wouldn't allow it.

'My muscles may end up exploding like Deku's for all I know...but if it means I can reach Artemis...'

Bell's legs began to burst with energy.

Though he posed his thoughts as a question....his answer was more than clear.

「𝙍 𝙀 𝙄 𝙉 𝙁 𝙊 𝙍 𝘾 𝙀」

In an instant, Bell's body turned into a blur.

A great gust of wind filled the cavern of flames and rubble.

Antares was dazed by the sudden phenomenon.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎?!-

It turned towards where the blur had landed...a figure of gray color...a cloak floating in the wind as he rested the goddess in his arms onto the ground...a figure the monster despised.

𝙘 𝙧 𝙖 𝙘 𝙠 𝙡 𝙚

Sparks of lightning ran all over his body. Antares felt a faint voice trying to reach him...as if it were warning the monster...that his opponent...was fated to deal with an opponent such as itself.

Antares ignored the call. Gaia watched as one of its greater creations...fell victim to the fate that was ingrained in Bell's soul...the reincarnation of the first great monster slayer...

"..."

Artemis stood blankly at the Gray Ghost. Her emotions were too broken at this point to get a reaction roused from her, but Bell simply treated her just as normally as before.

"Why the long face, Lady Artemis?...didn't I promise...that I would be with you all the way?"

Bell's words reached Artemis...but the goddess simply continued to stare blankly into his eyes.

"...I know...I failed to keep this from being a disaster...I'm not even sure if all the huntresses turned out all right...I did my best to defend them with my swords...but doing my best isn't an excuse for failure..."

Bell spoke in melancholy towards the emotionless goddess who resembled how she was like at her inception.

Unfeeling. Uncaring. A base state of her authorities.

But Bell continued speaking to her nonetheless. Even if it was in futility, Bell would happily continue to work for an impossibility.

"You can punish me, however, you want to later...you can torture me...end my life and subject my soul to purgatory...I'll accept it all...all I ask...is that you believe in me...one more time..."

Artemis looked upon the Gray Ghost at that moment.

No words could come out of her mouth...no thoughts could be processed...but her emotions rang true.

𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘱

Bell felt his cloak suddenly tighten...Artemis' face remained as expressionless as before...but her hands grasped at his cloak desperately...Bell could recognize the desperation that was silently conveyed...he too grasped desperately as she did before.

Bell's mask which broke off to show his mouth began to project itself back into completion, but the goddess could feel it...despite how hidden it was...she couldn't help but feel it was there...a wide smile.

"Thank you...this time, I promise to save you all properly"

Bell placed her hand above Artemis' head...the warmth it conveyed brought a singular trace of life back into her eyes...she was now learning what it meant...to undergo the turmoil of life...with a partner by her side.

"Hey, Antares. Sorry to keep you waiting. The hero needs his time for character development after all"

Bell got up and began to slowly approach Antares, his body was on the verge of collapsing in on itself, but his demeanor conveyed no such emotion.

He had hidden his pain and suffering under the joy of being able to take the spotlight. He was now not going to hide behind some veneer of a calculating reincarnator... he was now going to simply struggle as much as he can to continue to take the stage in this second life of his.

'I don't have enough mind to simply fight the usual way that I do... no more projecting numerous blades to gain an advantage...so I'll bet it all on the highest quality projections I can conjure...'

It was do or die, so now...Bell won't hold back from destroying his own body to advance his skills...something he didn't do out of fear of debilitating himself for the future.

'Recall it..the greatest traces you can remember from your fight with the Goliath...that connection you had to a possible outcome of my path...remember it clearly'

Unlimited Blade Works began to scour through Bell's memories. His recollections of the fight were beyond hazy... but there was a single moment he could recall.

"gh-..."

Bell could feel his mind and nerves begin to burn even hotter as he tried to reach where he wasn't supposed to be...he was forcing himself to improve at a rapid pace in so short a time.

'HAHAHAHA...you think some suffering is going to stop me?... I spent my entire past life and three years of my new life as a depressed kid who only found solace in reading whatever books he can get...my obsession to become a protagonist... it's nearing insanity you know?'

Bell quietly laughed to himself as his eyes began to bleed...his vision wasn't looking towards Antares...it was looking at a distant world that only he can live in...the white sands of his reality marble began to burn as plumes of blue flames began to erupt all throughout.

The world of infinite sword creation was now utilizing all its capabilities to forge a set of blades it would be allowed to forge...using whatever mind he had...and his own body as the materials for its construction...a pair of married blades...bastardization of the already bastardized projection from his memories...

'The form is complete...manufacturing processes reaching critical...applying...enchantment process...'

Bell's mind began to hone in on a singular pair of his chained swords that were distinct enough to be recognized in his memories...a singular pair constructed in his wild flurry of sword barrages...it was by no measure impressive...but for Bell...

'It's more than enough'

The sword was now forged within his mental world...the reality marble then began to coat the swords in a blue haze...seeping his mind into its structure...a half-assed attempt at the Danmachi world's enchantment system...but an enchantment nonetheless.

[Unbreaking]

An enchantment that would allow the structure to become more durable.

[Resonance]

An enchantment that would allow a weapon to grow stronger in pairs.

「Trace...on」

Two great spheres of blue light began to manifest themselves into Bell's hands...the pain was excruciating...but it was proof that Bell's sacrifices were bearing fruit

𝙯𝙯𝙯𝙯𝙝𝙝𝙝𝙝𝙝𝙝𝙝

Remnant sparks of his mind and magic circuits began to appear across his body...in his hands...were two swords of Chinese design...but they were too half-assed for Bell to call them by their original names.

'It really is disgusting...the products of my desperation...it holds none of the appeals of the originals...but it will make due'

Bell entered into a stance with his two short blades. They were devoid of color. Simply being constructed out of shades of gray. A carbon copy that reproduced none of the soul nor experience of the original.

A sword that was created not out of necessity...but out of desperation.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎...

Antares began to growl lowly as he witnessed Bell enter a stance...it was time for a proper rematch between the two...

'No more counter-guardian shenanigans...just a duel between me and this fucked up looking scorpion...'

Bell thought to himself a joke in order to lighten the pressure he was currently feeling...realizing his behavior...he resolved himself to finally start utilizing his privileges as Bell Cranel.

'All this time... I've been fighting like Emiya...looks like it's time to start using my true origin in this world... let's see if I can be just as good of a foolish hero as him...Argonaut'

No more unique magecraft...no more hiding in the shadows...

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!!!

Simply struggle...utilizing the natural agility and speed his body was born with...

"MY NAME IS GRAY GHOST. AND I ANNOUNCE TO THE WORLD, WITH THE HEAVENS AS MY WITNESS. WATCH ME AS I STRUGGLE IN FUTILITY. ENTERTAIN YOURSELVES WITH MY COMEDIC ATTEMPT AT PLAYING THE HERO...I WILL SIMPLY USE ALL YOUR JEERS AND CHEERS-"

Bell's body began to crackle with lightning.

His nerves burned...his body screamed...his blades were on the brink of collapse...this was everything he currently was...this was everything he will ever be...he will lay it all bare at this moment...

"AND ACHIEVE THE SHINING RADIANCE OF VICTORY!"

The rebirth of the beginning.

Bell's set off on an adventure once more.

...

..

.

𝙕𝙕𝙕𝙕𝙕𝙃𝙃𝙃𝙃𝙃𝙃𝙃𝙃

𝙘 𝙧 𝙖 𝙘 𝙠 𝙡 𝙚

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!!!

𝘽 𝙒 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈

The battle raged fiercely between the two.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!!!

Antares shout out immense blasts of magic all throughout the room. Smashing the cavern at every chance with its claws and tail...but Bell proved too quick for the beast to reach.

𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩

Bell closed in on Antares in an instant. Leaving behind a trail of sword strikes all throughout its body...it was nothing more than a distraction for his main target...

'CUT IT THROUGH'

𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙝

Bell fell upon the crystal in an instant and began to release a flurry of blows against the monster's core.

'My swords weren't constructed with sharpness in mind...only durability...so I'll make up the difference with a sheer number of strikes incurred!-'

But as Bell was releasing a storm of sword strikes, he saw the tail of Antares begin to cover his body with its shadow.

"...-?!"

Bell immediately leaped off of Antares in an instant, sparks crackling as he did.

In an instant, he was gone.

𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙝

Antares smashed itself with its own tail with a violent release of strength. Bell had been playing the monster like a fiddle. Utilizing all of his fighting experience to gain whatever advantage he could...but...

"..."

Antares still stood firm. No matter how many strikes he dealt...no matter how many times he led the monster to hurt itself in confusion...Antares simply continued to hold on.

'Damn it...no more doubting...just simply...'

𝙯𝙯𝙯𝙯𝙝𝙝𝙝𝙝𝙝𝙝𝙝

'Put more power into the next exchange!'

Bell pushed his broken body even further...he was approaching the point of no return...if he continued...his body would be left in shambles. Even he didn't know how long it would take for his body to recover from Avalon...if it even could in the first place.

'Emiya broke his body and was able to nearly stop a great war by himself...Argonaut let the lightning of his spirit sword seep into his nerves and muscles to get stronger in a short time...you can do it too...no matter how half-assed...just simply continue to break while holding onto a singular fragment...'

'So long as a single fragment of my being remains...I can continue fighting...'

Bell's eyes began to radiate pressure...an obsession with taking down the opponent in front of him.

It was no product of divine intervention or a deus ex machina...simply the act of an obsessed boy who loved heroes too much.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH-"

「𝙍 𝙀 𝙄 𝙉 𝙁 𝙊 𝙍 𝘾 𝙀」

His body was scalding...his blood boiling...

「𝙍 𝙀 𝙄 𝙉 𝙁 𝙊 𝙍 𝘾 𝙀」

Bell saw his body as a single sword...so why not use his techniques on his own body?...

「𝙍 𝙀 𝙄 𝙉 𝙁 𝙊 𝙍 𝘾 𝙀」

He brought his projected swords to a theoretical breaking point that maximized potential destructive power...so he will do the same for his own body.

「𝙍 𝙀 𝙄 𝙉 𝙁 𝙊 𝙍 𝘾 𝙀」

Another bastardized technique. Far less elegant than the faint memories he had with the Goliath. But once again...it was enough for Bell.

「𝙏 𝙍 𝘼 𝘾 𝙀: 𝙊 𝙑 𝙀 𝙍 𝙀 𝘿 𝙂 𝙀」

Bell flashed with numerous sparks around his body. He screamed in anguish. He shouted in misery. But his eyes...didn't speak of defeat.

"A N T A R E S ! ! ! ! !-"

Bell lowered his body to the ground...and blurred into a flash of lightning.

He was descending upon Antares in an instant.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎???!!!

'My body will break...nothing like the slow shattering I was experiencing...my arm will definitely be shredded...but I can now reach that bastard..'

His eyes began to glow in brightly as he neared the monster's crystal.

'Its no hero's strike...but it sure as hell will rival one!-'

Bell raised his right arm high into the sky...his bones...his nerves...his magic circuits...his blade...this was the pinnacle he can currently achieve.

Blue lightning of pure magic rang throughout...a bell tolling the coming strike

𝘿𝙄𝙉𝙂...𝘿𝙄𝙉𝙂...𝘿𝙄𝙉𝙂...

'Again...CUT IT THROUGH!!!'

𝙎 𝙇 𝘼 𝙎 𝙃

An intense light covered the room as the sword made contact.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!!!-

Antares screamed in immense pain. That strike...it was the most excruciating attack the monster had ever felt.

Its body...was cut in half...its crystal was severely damaged...but still remains firm...

𝘾 𝙍 𝘼 𝙎 𝙃

Bell's body crashed and collapsed against a nearby wall of the cavern. The sheer force of his attack blew him away immensely.

"ha...ha....kh- URGH-"

Blood began to drip down Bell's mask in great volume...he was desperately trying to gather breath.

'My legs...and my right arms...they're shredded...'

Bell felt a loss of sensation in his legs and right arm...they were completely destroyed.

His bones shattered upon use. His muscle fibers were torn to smithereens. By all measures and definitions...he willingly crippled himself to achieve what he did...but he didn't care.

'Move...'

Bell had a job to finish...his opponent was still standing...and his eyes were still alive...

'MOVE DAMN IT!-'

Bell's vision began to turn into static on his left side. He attempted to project one more sword...but he couldn't see it...he could no longer reach his reality marble...

"...ha...haha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHA...So I even pushed you beyond your limits, Unlimited Blade Works?...sorry being such a shitty user...you were quite beautiful as well...no doubt wasted on me..."

Bell began to apologize to his inner world. He didn't know if it was even sentient. He could only faintly remember how it would sometimes work independently of its user...but nonetheless...he desecrated such a beautiful reality marble for his own selfishness.

"I hope you don't hold it against me...but I don't regret doing it...even if it means I become nothing more than a crippled reincarnator who lost his powers..."

Bell's magic circuits began to spur once more...the burning pain was little more than a faint tickle to him at this point.

"But I have people to save...someone whose fate I want to desperately change...maybe Im no longer needed in this world?... Lili is growing quite strong...faster than even me...Welf will no doubt create something that would put my swords to shame...Asfi...she's already doing wonderful with my suggestions"

Bell began to reminisce on all he had done so far with his new life.

"Naaza will certainly grow to be a brewer rivaling Airmid...I know it's within her...I wonder what happened to that wolf-girl and blue-haired kid?...they seemed quite familiar..."

"Hephaestus...I wonder if she will forge a masterpiece sword like in Aedes Vesta?... I really wanted to forge with her..."

"Eina will be fine...even if I never return...I'm sure she will continue believing I'm alright...it hurts that I will break her heart once more...but she's stronger than that...she continued to be the stubborn caring mother of the guild after all..."

Bell was now simply speaking to himself...his pain causing him to become delirious...but his eyes continued to focus on his goal.

"Grandpa...no doubt he has big plans in store...he doesn't admit it...but the old man has a grudge with the black dragon he intends to follow through..."

"Aunt Idyia...still don't know what her deal is...but I feel as though...the village is beyond safe so long as she remains there..."

"Medea...I hope...you get a good husband in this world...not one that treats you like shit like Jason...your brother will watch over you if this is the end of me...so please...live happily..."

Bell gasped for air. It was as if he was making peace with all of his attachments...there were too many to list...so little breath he could use to announce them all.

'Ryu...Anya...Lunoire...Chloe...May...Mia...Artemis...Lante...Arethusa...Atalante...'

'I wasn't able to meet people like the Loki familia...or the Xenos...the Takemikazuchi familia... Haruhime...Hestia...'

There was so much he hadn't accomplished...so much left he had to do...but he didn't feel the anguish of regret...

He simply cried...and smiled widely at how blessed he was...

"Damn...𝘩𝘪𝘤...I really am blessed...so many beautiful people...𝘩𝘪𝘤...and I got to be a part of their lives..."

If Antares lived...the people he cared about will immediately be plunged into despair...so even if it was his end...he couldn't simply leave without taking down the opponent before him.

His road was a path born through fire and blood...one that didn't guarantee success...and threatened a looming despair...but he walked on it with a smile...for this was his destiny.

A reader who loved the world too much. A child who wished to save it beyond his capability.

『𝙏 𝙍 𝘼 𝘾 𝙀 𝙊 𝙉』

Bell's magic circuits began to burn alive.

He wasn't going to project another sword...he still had the remaining blade on his left hand...he was instead...going to forge his broken limbs back into working.

'Remember the structure...your bones...your muscle fibers...your nerves can simply be ignored for now...practicality goes first...'

But Bell simply couldn't...he screamed in anguish as he attempted to fix his legs...but he simply didn't possess enough material to project a new set of bones and muscles to walk once more...

"ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH"

...

..

.

All around Bell and Antares...Artemis watched the scene with raptured attention...

'Please...please stop....'

She could no longer remain emotionless in the face of such suffering...the pain he experienced...it was something the goddess couldn't even begin to understand...but she could get a glimpse of it...

'His soul... it's breaking...'

The colors of Bell's soul were distorting into an unrecognizable mess...Artemis could no longer see color... or nature...it simply existed...as it slowly collapsed in on itself...

'Move...MOVE AND HELP HIM DAMN IT!-'

Artemis cursed her body to tend to the fallen warrior...to aid him...to tell him it was enough...to tell him to stop his pointless struggle.

He was crippled. He was broken. He would never fight another day in his life...but...

'I can't...when his eyes burn so brightly...how can I selfishly end it...'

Artemis hated it...hated how...in spite of all the suffering she was witnessing...she couldn't help but feel excited at Bell's struggle.

It was a miracle beyond the comprehension of the divine. A will that tore against fate and destiny...to arrive at a place awaiting their arrival.

She didn't know why...she didn't know how she came to this conclusion...but the goddess felt that the warrior didn't ask for sympathy...nor aid...he was asking for witnesses. For someone to remember his valor...as he burned the last vestige flames of his life brightly...

"I'm watching...I'm watching, Gray...so don't worry...I will engrave this moment into my soul..."

Artemis spoke softly as she fought against the tears streaming down her face.

"I'm watching! Gray!"

And the goddess wasn't alone in witnessing Bell's adventure.

Arethusa...Lante...Atalante...all of the huntresses were soon rising from their slumber...

"..."

They all watched with bated breath. They were just as remorseful for the excitement they felt...seeing their savior crumble into pieces.

'He blocked that massive strike that nearly wiped our entire force...even then...he continued to fight Antares...making sure his attacks and the rubble from it never reach us...'

Arethusa thought to herself.

She was one of the first huntresses to regain consciousness. She witnessed how Bell would divert his path between attacks to strike at any falling debris that might've injured the familia...how he would fight in disadvantageous positions to simply move the fight away from them...

Gratitude...admiration...words alone couldn't be described what she was feeling at that moment...

But undoubtedly...she reached a single conclusion about Bell...

"Gray...you're definitely a hero..."

She wanted desperately to aid him...to stand by his side...but her body refused to heed her command...so did those of the conscious huntresses.

Feeling the helplessness of their own limit...made them appreciate even more...the struggles Bell currently faced.

'I'm watching Gray...we're all watching...'

The heavens didn't pay heed to the crumbling warrior...the world simply laughed at his affliction...but even if he had no one there to remember it in their hearts...he would still choose to move forward.

...

..

.

Bell continued to try in desperation to find a way to make his legs move once more...but he couldn't project new bones and muscle fibers onto his body...

"ha...ha...ha...I should have expected that...organic matter is too far from the concept of a sword...it would take an enormous amount of mind to even think of projecting such a thing..."

Bell was frustrated...just a few more steps...a few steps...and he could end it all.

His mind tunnel-visioned to Antares who simply continued to rest and regenerate himself back to normal.

He looked at Antares, and Antares looked at Bell. But Bell wasn't the one who blinked...it was Antares.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!!!-

The monster began to scream and flail in fear. It desperately wanted to climb onto the pillar that led to the upper levels of the cavern...it didn't matter where it was...Antares simply wanted to leave.

The blueish-white light that flashed in his eyes...it scarred Antares with the concept of fear...even though it could see Bell was crippled...the possibility of seeing that flash once more...it terrified the monster.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!!!-

Bell simply watched in silence as Antares continued to struggle whilst regenerating...the scene didn't cause Bell to laugh at the absurdity of it all...or anger at how the beast wanted to run away after everything he did and would've done...no...Bell only felt a single urge...

'I can defeat him...'

Antares was at the end of its rope...if Bell could just move...he can finish it...if he can move...move...move...

"MOVE!-"

Bell unconsciously began to move his legs to approach Antares...he didn't project any bones...he simply constructed and began to project an endless number of threads that wrapped around his broken legs..threads...made of swords...

"GH-"

Bell winced in pain as he his eyes began to bleed...his vision on his left side became nothing but darkness...he was eating away at his remaining senses and organs to construct the projecting he needed.

'It burns...it hurts...I really am going to break...'

This was his last spurt...after this...he didn't know what awaited him...

𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱...𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱...𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱...𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱...

Bell lifted himself weakly off of the mess of rumble he slumped over...and began to walk towards Antares...

"Damn-"

𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩

Bell fell to the ground numerous times as he approached the healing monster...his attempt at an artificial Avalon healing was beyond messy. Walking with his current legs was like walking with twigs.

They broke at any moment, and they didn't provide any stability...it was as if he was a toddler learning to walk...

It hurt...it was degrading...it was a pitiful display of frustrating desperation...but Bell couldn't be happier.

'It can reach...my sword can...reach...'

He stabbed his left arm into the ground, using the sword that was fighting to be maintained to pull himself forward.

When he couldn't push himself any further...he forced the thread of swords to start forming around his right arm as well...using it to lift himself off the ground once more...

𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱...𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱...𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱...𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱...

He was breaking...but his eyes...burned the brightest they ever had.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎???!!!-

Antares feared the color of his eyes...that glow...it was the sign that its demise was coming.

𝘽 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙈

Antares began to move away as Bell approached...its regeneration was nearly complete...but it wasn't ready yet to climb the pillar...it began to desperately do so...using its legs and claws as support...

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!!

Antares began shouting loudly as it clawed its way to begin escaping.

Seeing the sight, Bell couldn't help but become filled with rage...this wasn't the fight he wanted...

"COME BACK HERE YOU SCORPION FUCK!- FIGHT ME!- ARENT YOU A GREAT MONSTER?! SO STOP RUNNING AND FIGHT ME, YOU COWARD!-"

But Antares simply didn't reply to Bell's anger. Debris fell down as the monster continued to climb, the rocks threatened to strike Bell, so he immediately dodged them as he tumbled into the ground.

𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩

But Bell didn't wallow in the pain of his fall for long. He quickly turned his head to the sight of the fleeing Antares...he once more began to look through his mind...any answer...any way...he can bring down that damned monster along with him.

"Think...think...think...think!-"

Bell's remaining working eye only saw the scorpion. He was so focused on felling the monster, that he didn't realize the Artemis familia was watching him this entire time...he simply wanted to complete his goal...no matter what...

"..."

Artemis watched the desperation in Bell's actions...this wasn't how this was supposed to go...for all his sacrifice...for all his valor...it couldn't...

'It can't...it can't end just like this...'

Her wish...to see her companion see this battle through...it began to reform Artemis' essence...

'Gray Ghost cant be my Orion...I am undeserving of love...if my identity forces me to choose such options...to act as such...in spite of everything I witnessed!...'

Artemis' hair began to flutter with a divine aura. She was beginning to change...to enact a miracle...for the sake of this lonely adventurer.

'If being a goddess of the moon makes me abandon Gray to an end of regrets...THEN I WOULD GIVE UP MY IDENTITY AS ARTEMIS ALTOGETHER-'

The unfeeling goddess' heart spurred...her love manifested once more...

"G R R R R A A A A A A Y Y Y Y YY!!!-"

Artemis shouted at the top of her lungs. The sound reached Bell's mind, even as he solely focused on the escaping Antares.

𝙘 𝙧 𝙖 𝙨 𝙝

Bell waited for a few seconds for the dust to clear...and there it stood...an arrow of the moon...firmly planted onto the ground.

"...this is..."

Bell turned to where the arrow originated from...in an instant...she locked eyes with Artemis...and not just her...all the huntresses...they were looking back at him...watching...remembering...searing this moment into their very souls.

"...Artemis?..."

Bell weakly called out to the goddess. His concern superseded his current situation. Tears flowed down her face. Her blood dripped with divine blood...her anger causing her grip to dig onto her skin.

There were so many words that had to be said between the two...but the goddess only spoke of one thing...

"SHOOT ANTARES DOWN. ORION!!!"

"..."

A gentle breeze flew through Bell's body...he could barely feel it...his nerves were damaged to the point that numbness was all he could feel...but those words...

"BRING THAT BASTARD DOWN. ORION!!!"

Arethusa began to shout after her goddess. She knew very well the significance that name held for her goddess...hearing her so passionately shout...seeing her friend so desperately fight...how could she continue to be quiet.

"YOU CAN DO IT ORION!!!"

Lante shouted as she grasped her chest, tears and blood flowed down her face.

"THAT MONSTER HAS NOTHING ON YOU ORION!!!"

Atalante shouted as she bled throughout her body...the coldness she felt couldn't hinder her words to be announced.

Shouts from every corner...cheers...encouragement...he wasn't alone.

"ORION!!!"

Bell could feel naught but a numbing sensation as his body broke down...but he felt it...a warmth...knowing it wasn't for nothing...seeing it bear fruit...it was enough for Bell to begin feeling once more...

'Damn it...and I was one of those people that clowned on the power of friendship...'

Bell could only laugh as tears began to fall down his face as well...he was the one that called his fight a comedy...why did he take it so seriously then...

"ha...haha...that's right...Argonaut did say...that one who cannot smile themselves...cannot possibly bring smiles onto others..."

Bell slowly approached the spear...as the arrow began to sense his presence...a crystal of ice began to form around it...

'This...must be the test...to determine if someone can wield the Orion arrow...'

The crystalline formation was beautiful...a deep shade of blue...just like the color of the goddess' eyes with whom the arrow originated.

𝘤 𝘭 𝘢 𝘴 𝘱

"Orion arrow...I know I'm not the pure soul spoken of upon your inception...I'm a hypocrite...a fake...a sinner...who disguises their vile acts under the mask of justice and the greater good..."

Bell tightened his grip on the arrow...the sword he had held faded into nothing...as his hand began to hold the arrow...he began to see its structure...

"But I need your help...your goddess...her children...they don't deserve to die here...their journey doesn't have to end here...just cause some bastards in Evilus decided to awaken Antares for their own pleasure..."

Bell's structural grasp couldn't see through the divine...but the divine arrow opened itself to Bell's mind...as Unlimited Blade Works began to crumble...a single plume of blue flames awakened...the great black sphere that soared over the reality marble began to shine brightly.

"I'll burn my life...my body...my soul...so allow me to wield you...to strike down the enemy in front of me...ALLOW ME TO BECOME ORION!-"

𝙘 𝙧 𝙖 𝙘 𝙠

The crystal which entrapped the arrow began to violently crack and break. Bell now held the arrow freely in his hands...runes of a foreign language began to speak to him...to communicate with his mind...the language of the gods...

"..."

Bell began to understand the arrow...quickly...deeply...to the point that he felt that he was one with it...

𝙛 𝙪 𝙪 𝙪 𝙪 𝙪

The arrow began to brighten with energy...Bell understood it deeply...he can now do it...a decisive blow...one that surpassed the original Bell's in the movie...

"...haa..."

Bell gathered breath as he trained his eyes on Antares...the monster was now staring at him at the ceiling of the opening above...its crimson eyes conveyed its fear...Antares knew...its predator was honing his fang.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎???!!!-

𝘽 𝙒 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈

Antares began to gather all its remaining magical energy...if it couldn't strike down Bell with this last shot...it would be the end for the great monster...

"HA- so now you want to settle this fight?...that's fine by me...two opponents striking each other with all they got...nothing is more like a fairy tale than such a climax!-"

Bell carried the arrow in his mouth, biting down on it. As he did so...he raised his arm high into the air...the fabric of his armor was torn and shredded to pieces...appearing like a shroud a hero of justice wore.

His magic circuits ran across his arms...the intensity of magic...the potency of his mind...nothing can stop him now...

『𝙏 𝙍 𝘼 𝘾 𝙀 𝙊 𝙉』

Nameless bow...a bow utilized by the hero of wrought iron...a weapon Bell rarely called upon after his days in the village...but now was the best time for it to shine...

'...damn...is it really the fate of Argonaut and his reincarnations to go blind in battle...I had to sacrifice my remaining eye for that one...'

Bell lost complete sight of his vision...his body held no more material for another projection...unless he gave up absolutely everything else besides his life...

'I gave up my touch...my smell...my hearing...my taste...my vision...hell...I even sacrificed my voice...'

The world was absolute darkness for Bell now...whether he was alive or dead, he honestly couldn't tell.

But he felt it...the hopes and wishes...the malice...it all rang clear for Bell...

'More...just one more...'

Bell tightened his grip on his bow...and began to fill his right arm with the remaining mind he had...

'I can't project another set of strings...so I'll simply pump it full of mind...and redirect the mind itself to control my arm...'

Bell's movements were stiff and awkward...but they were enough...more than enough...'

𝙘 𝙧 𝙚 𝙚 𝙖 𝙖 𝙠 𝙠

The bow began to strain as it was pulled.

The Orion arrow was now nocked into the bow.

Bell's hands and arms trembled. His legs were kneeling and appeared as if they would collapse at any moment...down on the ground he was...but heavenward he looked.

His eyes no longer saw...but his gaze pierced through Antares...

𝙑 𝙒 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈

The Orion arrow began to display runes all across its structure, and a small of magic began circling around the tip.

Bell could've fired at this moment...but it wasn't enough...it wasn't enough for him...

'One more...just...one more...'

He thought to himself...as if he were pleading with his body...to continue holding on...until he could achieve the pinnacle he wanted to reach this very moment.

'I need to enhance the arrow...the Orion arrow already showed its structure to my mind...I simply need more mind...'

Bell knew he had more mind left in him...but the remaining reservoirs were centered around his soul...he experimented many times before...but he could never call upon this source of mind.

'Perhaps it's needed to maintain the structure of the soul?...not important...all I need to know is...I need to call upon it to finish off Antares'

Bell was only able to read a few beginner books on the concept of magic and mind...and the first passage described the channeling of magic as a request.

'A request of the blessing...a request of the spirit...a request of the body...no matter the source...magic is simply a request of energy...of mind...to take on a given form...'

In other words...

'A chant...a chant is needed to call upon mind efficiently...'

Bell was able to make due for so long due to his magecraft not needing much of a chant. His magecraft was second nature to him...but to accomplish what he needed...he needed to request his mind beyond a simple word.

'I know a chant...the chant of Emiya...but the ten-count aria is supposed to correlate with an individual user's experience...I don't know whether copying it will convey the same effects...'

'Even if I did perform the chant...will it still take effect...when my voice is now gone?...'

Bell pondered about his predicament...but then he remembered...

'... it's a prayer...the chant...is based on a prayer...'

Memories began filling Bell's head as he reached his answer.

'If all the religious imagery in the stories I have read have taught me anything... it's that-

Bell tightened his grip on the arrow...the end was now near.

'-a prayer...needs not one's voice...but one's solemn intention'

So in silence...Bell invoked...

『I am the bone of my sword』

Bell's soul began to burn brightly as a violent blue mist began to take over him.

『Steel is my body...and fire is my blood...』

His inner world...the world inside his mind...broken as it was...

『I have created...over a thousand blades in futility...』

It began to take shape once more in response to Bell's prayer...

『Uknown to fate...nor known to destiny...』

The Orion arrow shed its skin of blue...radiating a golden brilliance that illuminated the dark burning cavern...

『Have withstood pain to create many weapons...』

This would no doubt spell the end...this would no doubt break him...

『In pursuit...of an impossible dream...』

But he continued to pray...without regrets...without remorse...for this was his only path...his body breaking...his soul on the verge of collapse...

『So as I pray』

His arrow flew true.

『𝘽 𝙍 𝙊 𝙆 𝙀 𝙉 𝙋 𝙃 𝘼 𝙉 𝙏 𝘼 𝙎 𝙈』

Numerous rings of godly ruins spun violently all across Bell...it wasn't of his own merit...it was a product of the arrow he held...but for a moment...

Bell breached into the territory of the divine.

𝙏 𝙒 𝙄 𝙄 𝙄 𝙄 𝙄 𝙄 𝙉 𝙉 𝙉 𝙉 𝙉 𝙉 𝙉 𝙂 𝙂 𝙂 𝙂 𝙂 𝙂 𝙂

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!!!-

𝙑 𝙒 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈 𝙈

The arrow and the beam of magic collided. Antares desperately poured every ounce of mind into its last attack...but...the arrow never for a moment...was hindered as it neared its target.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎???!!!---

𝘽 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙈

The arrow made contact with Antares' crystal...but the monster wouldn't allow itself to fall so easily. Utilizing all its remaining mind to bolster the defenses of its crystal.

𝘾 𝙍 𝘼 𝘾 𝙆 𝘾 𝙍 𝘼 𝘾 𝙆 𝘾 𝙍 𝘼 𝘾 𝙆 𝘾 𝙍 𝘼 𝘾 𝙆

The ceiling cracked as the arrow continued to fly upwards, pushing Antares along with it as it continued to bore a hole through the cavern.

The monster screamed in desperation, in fear. It couldn't end like this. It just couldn't.

The light blinded all of its senses. Only the sensation of the arrow's radiance and the feeling of its life fading as the crystal continued to break were all that Antares knew at this moment.

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎!!!-

For a moment it began to hear the voice of little children began to speak to it...the voices of the spirits it consumed long...long ago...

'Burn up and be put to rest foul monster...for as it was your destiny to ravage the lands of the innocent...so too was it your fate to be felled by the hunter Orion...so accept your lot...and let your ash return to the planet once more...'

∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎∎...

The great monster heeded the voice of the spirits...its sensations began to falter as its crystal began to crack...

𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠

Unknown to the great beast...its body was now flying high into the sky...nearly reaching the final frontier of the planet...

𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠

As it burned...it wished to lay proof of its existence...

𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠

So instead of ash returning to ash...

𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠

It chose to do something else instead...

𝘽 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙊 𝙈

...

..

.

In a nearby forest, bordering on the territory of the Dragon Valley, Freya wandered the wilderness alongside her familia.

"Lady Freya...would you not want to consider riding upon Allen?...it might desecrate your existence to walk on such...filthy ground..."

Hedin spoke with concern for his goddess. Seeing Freya walk on the dirt and mud irked him immensely.

But the goddess wasn't having any of it.

"Hedin. I appreciate your concern, but I have long traveled across this continent long before you were even born. I would appreciate it if you would not treat me like some sort of treasure to be locked in a cage"

Freya spoke as she gave a cold gaze to the elf magician.

Feeling a chill running down his spine, Hedin immediately complied.

"My apologies, Lady Freya! It wasn't my intention to think as such"

Seeing the elf profusely beg for forgiveness, Freya could only sigh. She appreciated her children's concern for her...but it was troubling knowing the desires they all had for her...save for people like Ottar and Mia...perhaps even Anya.

"It's alright Hedin...just do your best not to repeat that mistake..."

Hearing that he was forgiven, Hedine ecstatically replied.

"As you wish! Lady Freya!"

Though Hedin appeared to be happy...in his mind...and those of the other executives except for Ottar. They began to notice the changes occurring within their goddess.

'Normally, Lady Freya would just comply with such requests...but ever since...𝘩𝘦 arrived...Lady Freya has been acting more...conservative...'

Though the elf's observation would be met with confusion by people who didn't know Freya much.

The goddess still wore rather revealing clothes that accentuated her figure.

Composed herself so as to gather admiration for her appearance.

She even speaks in a seductive voice to her familia...

But their operations to handle Freya's one-time flings...her decreased visiting of people whom she can gather information from at night...even instances of Freya playfully flirting with others...

'They've all been decreasing...'

It was a rather joyful development for the executives of the Freya familia...but her playful lust was instead focused on a singular target instead of diminishing altogether...

'It's now been focusing on Bell Cranel...'

The goddess recently took more to solo action rather than visiting another's bed chambers...Hedin also heard of Ottar having to go around Orario commissioning body pillows of the boy for the goddess...something that started a rumor regarding Ottar being a homosexual for a pretty boy...

The situation as a whole was very frustrating for them all...it wasn't easy to see the woman of your admiration be in love with another after all.

"..."

Allen Fromel, who usually had a scowl on his face, now appeared to be a bit sad.

His title of 「Vana Freya: Chariot of Freya」was, not simply one produced due to his unique skill set as an adventurer...but because the goddess had taken to riding on his back whenever she explored the outside world as Syr.

Seeing that those moments were the rare instances he was allowed skinship with the goddess...he fell into a depression...

"...𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩..."

Ottar couldn't help but quietly sigh as he watched his familia mates lust over their goddess like a bunch of dogs in heat.

'She raised you all into what you are...broke you away from the pains of this world...and the only thought you have is how you could bed her...'

Ottar was furious...but held it in. He knew deep down that they would never go so far. Their loyalty as servants would always trump their personal feelings of romance...most of the time.

'The best way to resolve this is for Bell Cranel to beat them to a pulp...only strength and capability is recognized in the familia after all...'

Though Ottar did imagine this scenario for the sake of her goddess being able to court the vigilante without protest...in truth...there was something more to it...

'I wonder how strong you can become...Bell Cranel...'

A flame that long died inside「King」 began to spark alive once more...his passion for battle...

Ignoring all of the happenings of her children. Freya looked to the sky in contemplation...

'I saw the moon flicker a while ago...so something is happening with Artemis...her divine aura...I can feel it...'

Freya had long tracked the recent major familias in the area. Those being Artemis and Aphrodite.

'Aphrodite has caught her eye on my Odr...I would've liked nothing more than to wipe her out in that instant...but her familia is too troublesome to deal with...even for me...'

Though the goddess of beauty was generally a goofball, Freya knew just how systematically cunning she could be.

'She almost sparked an entire war in heaven by splitting apart a group of gossiping goddesses...all because they insulted Artemis and Hestia'

Freya now ruled over the world as the goddess of the strongest familia...but she hasn't reached the point of abusing her power like the goddess she despised.

'I won't become like Hera...unless Bell falls fervently in love with someone else...depending on what happens...I might just enact my plan to get my way...'

The goddess fell deeply in love with Bell. At a much faster rate than the original ever did.

His speed of development. The magnitude of his acts. The sheer spectacle of his hidden identity.

'Ahh~...calm down Freya...you wouldn't want to cause an incident in front of your children...'

Freya calmed her breath...something had almost become unbearably moist...

'Next is Artemis...last I've heard she wasn't one for romance...but she too had a fated lover...Orion was it called?... Odr sounds much better...'

Freya thought in a small fit of jealousy.

It wasn't uncommon for gods and goddesses to have prophesized lovers. Aphrodite had the prophecy of her Adonis. But the prophesized lovers varied in scale between each deity...for Freya, her Odr would gift her freedom...for Artemis, her Orion would gift her passion.

That's why she felt defensive around Artemis...her prophesized lover was just as tangential to her existence as Freya's.

'But it should be fine...Artemis doesn't really care for love anyway...that's the reason why she hasn't journeyed in search of her Orion...so it should be okay...it should be...should...be...'

Freya began to feel as if...her thoughts didn't portray reality accurately enough.

"...tsk..."

Freya began to loathe why her Odr had to be such an attractive partner...

'I'm proud...more than proud my Odr is so desirable...but the thought that I'm not alone in the pursuit of his affection... it annoys me...'

Freya was aware of some of her competition. Fellow goddesses, mortals, even her own friend, and coworker...

'Love...really is troublesome...but the chase is what makes it all worth it in the end...'

Freya resigned herself to reality. She began to move on from her annoying thoughts by imagining Bell cooking for her at her home at the top of Babel.

She had received the cooked meal Bell had prepared for the Host's waitresses from Horn.

She reserved the entire garden and even commissioned Orario's best orchestra to serenade her as she consumed the meal under the night sky.

'Ahhh~ It was such bliss'

In her entire time in Tenkai...that night was one of the best she had ever experienced...even trumping all of her sexual encounters.

'I never knew food could cause an orgasm...I wonder how much better our first night together will be, my dear Bell...'

But in that instant, Freya's thoughts were cut off.

A brilliant light flew high into the sky...its radiance catching anyone's attention immediately.

"EXECUTIVES! DEFENSIVE PERIMETER AROUND LADY FREYA!"

"YES!"

Not a second too soon, Ottar and the familia executives formed a defensive formation around the goddess to protect her from any possible threats.

'The sheer power of that attack...how is that even possible...'

Ottar thought as he analyzed the light that flew into the sky...he was sure he would be able to recreate such intensity with his skills...so as much as he was concerned about the safety of Freya...

'I want to fight it...'

The beast-man couldn't deny his nature.

"..."

Though Ottar saw the light as a challenge, and the executives as a threat, Freya knew what it was in an instant...

"Bell..."

Freya's mumblings caught the attention of the familia...they wondered how exactly was that vigilante connected to such a powerful attack...he was just some kid without falna!

"His soul...a part of his soul is engraved into that light...that...arrow..."

Freya soon connected the dots...she recognized the arrow as a possession of Artemis...she knew...

'So my Odr is her Orion as well...'

Freya's eyes narrowed...but her concern for Bell took precedence.

'That attack...possessed a potent chunk of mind that surrounds a mortal's soul...if given enough training one can utilize it...but has he reached that point? and so soon?...'

Freya witnessed the magic produced from the mind of the soul. It was a technique the high elves and a certain presumed extinct elf lineage practiced in the olden days.

She knew her Odr was talented...but the only high elves that practiced the technique were hundreds of years old...so Freya concluded...

"He didn't master it...he did it out of desperation!-"

Freya knew. Bell was in serious mortal danger.

"Ottar! Utilize your skills and carry me to the location of that arrow! Immediately! Everyone else! Do your best to keep up!"

Seeing the urgency in their goddess' voice. The familia immediately complied.

"As you wish, Lady Freya!"

The world immediately became a blur to Freya. She was now being held in the arms of Ottar.

Though Allen would generally have the higher ability in speed, if Ottar were to make use of his skills and magic, he would easily crush Allen.

As the goddess began to worry incessantly if she will be able to arrive by Bell's side before it was too late...the arrow burst in a brilliant explosion.

Producing a scene that was never seen before in the entire continent.

"Ottar...stop for a moment..."

Hearing his goddess' command, he complied.

He slowed down atop a hill that overlooked the wide forest. Looking towards where his goddess was looking at...Ottar too was captured by the sight...

"The stars...they're...falling?..."

Antares...at the last moment of his life...violently combusted itself to create this scenery...

Traces of its body flew across the sky brightly...shining brilliantly in different colors...all the while it slowly turned into ash.

This was its last action...a reminder that the great monster existed and roamed the lands...

The lights traced the sky beautifully...it was as if a net of starlight was being placed upon the planet at that moment...

"...you really are a miracle worker...arent you Bell"

Freya laughed lightly to herself as she continued to watch the spectacle. This scene...she knew the potential it showed within Bell...everywhere he went...grand anomalies would take place...the road he walked...was a road of miracles.

'Even if you pass...I know it to be true...you really are my Odr...'

Seeing how high the lights soared...it echoed deeply into Freya's being... beyond her worldly desires and attachment...it reached a small girl of snow white hair...who knew naught of avarice...who knew naught of deceit...only the wonders of love...as she played idly in a cage.

'I know...you'll somehow...be able to reach her...'

Freya grasped her chest tightly...before taking a small breath, regaining herself from the panic she felt.

'If you pass...I'll simply end myself and claim you for my own in Tenkai...if you live...I'll continue to watch over you...my dear...dear key...'

"Ottar...would you mind traversing more slowly...and across the tree tops if you could?... I wish to appreciate the night sky my beloved has painted..."

Ottar immediately complied. He too believed it was a beautiful night, for a man who cared for naught except for his strength and his goddess.

"As you wish, Lady Freya..."

He would have to walk slowly anyways...there was quite a distance between himself and the familia executives at this moment.

In a good mood, and with the executives not present...Freya called out to Ottar.

"I don't mind you calling me mother right now... it's just the two of us...and I'm in quite the good mood after all..."

"-?!"

Ottar was stunned by the comment from Freya...but the goddess knew that her current captain was different. He didn't seek her for her body...he sought after her as a parental figure.

Though she didn't allow him to express it much, due to the problems it might incur among her more jealous children...but she did enjoy it whenever the two were alone and in a good mood.

"As you wish...mother..."

Seeing the beast man act so bashfully despite his size and age, Freya couldn't help but giggle to herself.

'No matter how old you become...you're still that adorable and awkward child...'

"Tell me about your day Ottar. Your mother was quite busy, so I want to catch up with what you've been doing"

"...well...there appears some rumors started circulating after you gave me one of your orders, mother..."

"Oh?~ Do tell~"

Outside of Bell's awareness...he had helped people beyond his reach...his desire extending forth beyond the limits of physicality.

As the mother and son walked together under the stars...bearing to each other only the truth...and nothing else

...

..

.

"Gray!"

Artemis called out to Bell in a panic. The light and wind of his shot subsided, and the goddess watched in horror as she witnessed what had become of the vigilante.

"No...no...no...no..."

Artemis began to run her fingers across Bell's body. Tearing off his cloak to gain a better visual of what his condition currently was.

"...Gray..."

It pained Artemis as she saw what happened...dried blood all throughout...his limbs distorted...his skin either black from burning or dark purple from sheer trauma.

Cut that number in the thousands all throughout...what made it worse...

"...haa...haa....haa...haa.."

Was his weak and coarse breathing...it seemed as if his throat was burned to a crisp as well...he couldn't even scream in pain if he wanted to...

"Gray...you didn't...have to go...so far..."

Gray Ghost had only known about her and her familia for only half a month...but though the time was short...the memories they shared...they were immense with emotional connection...so though she wanted to refuse Bell going so far...she couldn't lie...

"But thank you...for never giving up on us...thank you...thank you so much..."

Tears dropped onto Gray Ghost's chest as Artemis began to cry a river...the huntresses couldn't do much but watch in sadness.

They couldn't observe much of his injuries...but they knew...none of the potions they carried exhibited enough healing properties to treat him.

Only something on the level of an elixir could have an effect...even then...no one knew if it could heal...such damage.

Artemis cried out in agony as they were covered in the moonlight. The hole Bell had created perfectly aligned with the soaring celestial body.

The huntresses silently joined their goddess in mourning...it was soon to come...they couldn't do anything...their friend would soon die...

'The blood on his ears and eyes...can he not even hear or see anymore?'

Artemis thought as she cried. Seeing the trails of blood that were leaking through Bell's mask.

She couldn't stand it...

"This child...has been nothing but the kindest and most understanding person I have met...why...why must be the one to suffer so much?!-"

Artemis continued to hold Bell tightly in her arms...but in that instant...

"...?"

She felt a sensation on her cheek.

"What..."

Artemis and her huntresses' eye's widened as they witnessed what was taking place.

"Those strings...they're like the ones from before..."

Artemis immediately recalled where they first encountered the Gray Ghost...the strings they saw...

"They healed him!-"

Artemis saw a flicker of hope appear for her Orion. It wasn't over for him yet.

The strings began to emerge throughout his body...they began to remove a series of burnt strings similar to itself...the strings Bell had projected to allow his body to continue fighting beyond breaking.

"They're working but...they seem to be...struggling..."

Artemis watched as the strings coiled and uncoiled themselves throughout Bell's body...it was like whatever form they took...it simply wasn't enough...soon...the strings began to approach Artemis.

"They're...intelligent?..."

The strings began to circulate all throughout her body. As if they were trying to communicate with her...

"Do you...need my help?"

Artemis called out to the string...and they began to violently shake. A confirmation of her question.

The goddess didn't hesitate. She didn't question how the strings worked nor how they appeared. Artemis knew they were trying to help the Gray Ghost, and she will do her best to assist.

"What do you need? I'll do anything!"

The huntresses simply continued to watch in silence. Their suspicion was reaching an all-time high...but they too were drawn in by the possibility of the Gray Ghost being able to live once more.

"What are you?..."

Artemis watched in confusion as the strings caressed her arms...but then in an instant...they inserted under her skin.

"Gh!-"

"Lady Artemis!"

Arethusa immediately acted upon seeing her goddess flinch in pain, but Artemis stopped her.

"I'm alright Arethusa! I'm alright..."

Hearing her goddess' orders, the familia captain stopped. Instead continuing to watch anxiously as the scene unfolded.

Artemis began closing her eyes and briefly nodding...as if...she were communicating with the strings themselves...

"...alright...I understand..."

The huntresses began to watch in seriousness once more. Artemis had finally come to a decision with the strings.

The strings removed themselves from Artemis' skin. No blood was drawn from the site of insertion, not even a hole to indicate its actions.

Artemis closed her eyes as she gathered her breath...invoking the summoning of her divine construct...

"Come...Orion..."

A flash of light appeared in her hands at that moment, the arrow that Bell had shot...it was now in her hands.

The golden light was fading over time. The runes were slowly sealing themselves once more. The arrow was being put back to rest.

"Will this...be enough?..."

Artemis spoke as she handed the arrow to the strings, who quickly took the arrow and began working on it.

"..."

The crowd watched in amazement at what was happening.

Magic circuits began to spring back into action across Bell's weak body. The activation caused his body to shake in pain, causing the strings to work even faster as if they didn't want to harm the vigilante any further.

"Its...beautiful..."

The divine arrow that was linked to Artemis' soul...it began to unravel itself...forming a hazy blue mist that the strings seemed to be proficient at manipulating.

Crackling sparks of energy occurred within the hazy mist...like a thundercloud had taken form above the Gray Ghost's body.

The string seemed to have separated the parts of the arrow that remained in a golden hue from those in the arrow's original blue hue.

Then it happened quickly...the dismantling seemed to have been the long part...because the strings began to move even faster.

"Its taking shape again..."

The mist began to solidify more and more as seconds began to fly by.

Soon...the arrow's new form was shown to the goddess...

"It's...a scabbard?..."

Artemis didn't know what to say of it besides...that it was a beautiful piece of art.

She could recognize the shape as a scabbard...but Artemis still felt the connection of the arrow inside of it...it was as if it was altered.

"How will this...help Gray?..."

In responding to her questions, the strings began to lower the blue and gold scabbard onto the Gray Ghost's body.

As soon as it made contact, numerous magic circuits burned into activeness. But unlike the pain it caused him before...there was no violent shaking upon its showing.

"..."

The scabbard slowly began to descend into the Gray Ghost's body. Disappearing completely after a while.

Then...the miracle took place.

『True Manifestation』

「Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia」

Gray Ghost's body began to light up in a symphony of white radiance.

The strings that numbered so few now appeared en masse in large clusters. Violently scouring the body to deal with whatever issues had occurred.

His breathing began to become more full and orderly.

The numerous stains of dried blood began to be washed away.

The broken and bruised limbs began to regain their healthy color and form.

"..."

In a moment...Gray Ghost was brought from the brink of death back into the land of the living.

"..."

Artemis simply stood in shocked silence...

"..."

And so did her huntresses...

"..."

Artemis knew he wasn't completely healed yet...the string merely handled the most life-threatening parts before disappearing into the air. As if it wasn't allowed to manifest in reality for too long.

"Thanks the gods..."

Artemis began to cry...cry profusely as she embraced the vigilante tightly in her arms...

"Thank you...whoever watches over this kind soul...thank you...thank you..."

The Artemis familia began to cry alongside her, wearing wide smiles as they did.

'ugh...where...am...I?...'

Bell soon regained consciousness...but he soon felt that he couldn't sense anything.

Avalon had taken care of his more serious injuries, but the repairing of his nerves and soul would take a more substantial amount of time...months...maybe close to a year...not that Bell realized this at the moment.

'So I'm dead huh...I'm oddly fine with this...'

Bell had presumed he was now in the afterlife.

'So this is what awaits us after death? Just a black void?...gotta say...I'm severely disappointed...'

But before he started to review the underworld, he began hearing a voice in his head.

'Thank the gods...my Orion...you're safe...my dear...dear Orion...'

He recognized the voice in an instant.

'Artemis?...'

Bell immediately began to ponder what this could mean.

'Freya did mention how she would go back to Tenkai to care for the original Bell if he ever died... don't tell me...Artemis returned to Tenkai for me?!-'

Bell couldn't believe it...in one part he was worried that would've meant for her familia members...but on the other hand...

'Being taken care of by a beautiful goddess like her for thousands of years after his death...I wouldn't oppose it-'

Assuming he was now dead...he thought it was now time that he can enjoy the world of romance for himself.

'I was able to wield the arrow...so I must be her Orion right?...dating Artemis...I can get used to this'

Before Bell began wondering if there was a way to kiss a goddess as a dead soul, his dreams of retiring with a beautiful moon goddess wife were shattered as he began to hear other voices besides Artemis'.

'Are those...Arethusa...and Lante?...'

Bell was able to distinguish Artemis talking to her captain and vice-captain. Before he assumed that they had died alongside him, his vision began to open up once more.

"-?!"

"..."

Bell recognized where he was...

"Unlimited Blade Works..."

His reality marble. It was hazy in some parts...appearing as if it were being repaired...but the moment he saw the familiar black sphere and white sand...Bell realized the truth of the situation.

"I'm just unconscious"

Bell fell onto the ground upon the realization.

"THANK THE GODS I'M ALIVE-"

He was very relieved he was able to survive. Though he acted nonchalant, he was quite regretful about dying so young in his second life.

"Though I'm glad to be alive...I won't lie...I was looking forward to married life with Artemis for a bit...maybe...a lot...a lot a lot... a lot a lot alot-"

Bell began to sigh as his balls turned blue once more.

"Looks like I'm staying a virgin until I become a first-class adventurer..."

Though Bell was blue balled. He comforted himself in the fact that at least he was desired by attractive women.

"Then I'll just be wanking it to Hestia and Freya again for a while...I might add in Artemis after this entire incident..."

Bell began to reveal his degenerate side. A side every person possessed if bereft of responsibility or duties to attend to.

But before he could continue that train of thought any longer.

Artemis called out to him.

"Gray?..."

"?!- Artemis?!"

Bell was shocked. Until this point, no one had been able to breach his reality marble.

'Is it because she's a goddess?...'

But before Bell became even more confused, Artemis spoke out to him. The strings had told her what to say if such a thing were to occur.

"Don't panic, Gray! I'm just speaking to you through your mind!"

Bell simply became more confused. Artemis' answer didn't clear up anything.

"Speaking through my mind?...you're able to use telepathy, Lady Artemis?"

To which the goddess replied, with more information about what has happened.

"No. I'm only able to do this...because my arrow is now a part of you...I used it to heal your body..."

Artemis spoke in a rather hesitant tone. The string told the goddess to never mention their involvement and to act as if it was her idea to attach the divine arrow to Bell's body.

The goddess complied...but she found it quite hard to lie to Bell...especially since he was her Orion.

"You...used the arrow to heal me?..."

Bell fell into thought at what this could possibly mean. This was a piece of information about the world of Danmachi he never knew about.

'I know divine artifacts possess numerous properties...the flames of heaven being both a tool of healing and destruction...so maybe the Orion arrow possesses similar qualities?...'

Bell recalled how moonlight was believed to have regenerative properties in various fantasy books and in the historical records of alchemy in his past life. So it wasn't much of a stretch for Bell to make.

"Yeah...so now...we will be able to talk to each other telepathically if we're nearby...if we're too far away...we can just know if the other person is safe or in danger"

Artemis spoke to Bell. Bell could detect some hints of panic in her voice...but he simply chalked that up to the goddess calming down after the entire fight.

"I see...so we're now connected, Lady Artemis?..."

Bell said to the goddess. Immediately regretting his choice of words after he had just said it.

...

..

.

"..."

In the real world, Artemis began blushing profusely after what Bell had said.

The huntresses became confused as their goddess began to redden after staring at the presumed unconscious Gray Ghost.

"Lady Artemis...you alright?"

Atalante spoke up, concerned as to what was happening to the goddess.

"-! I'm fine! Don't worry about me- HAHAHA~"

The huntresses began to simply accept what Artemis said. Choosing to focus more on recovering and exiting the Elsos ruins.

But Lante...the more perverted among the huntresses, watched with suspicion her goddess.

'Lady Artemis...you shouldn't develop a sleeping partner kink...'

Unaware that her image of a goddess of chastity was being ruined, Artemis began to ponder on the reality of what Bell had said to her.

'So I and Gray are now connected...deeper than a bond of blood or of love...its a bond of souls...me and Orion...connected through the soul...hehe~'

The mostly innocent goddess began to fantasize about the situation she was now in. Ignoring the fact the Bell was the human equivalent of a wet noodle just moments prior.

Artemis looked upon the Gray Ghost...she didn't know what lay beneath his mask...she didn't know what sort of life he had lived until now...but she was sure...her relationship with her Orion was only beginning.

Bell was sitting in his reality marble waiting for Artemis' reply, but her voice soon rang clear across his mind...along with a certain sensation.

"Yeah. I guess we are...does this makes us...soul mates, Gray?"

"?!-"

Bell immediately blanked out...he didn't know how to respond...but Artemis simply continued from her previous statement. Not caring what Bell's answer to the previous answer was...the goddess knew fully well the answer to it.

"I look forward to getting to know you more...Gray"

'Is this a confession?... Artemis was quite straightforward in the movie...so until she confirms it...I'll just leave our relationship as...more than friends...'

"Yeah...I look forward to it too...Lady Artemis"

Bell replied as he began to feel with heat and touch of the goddess...he knew it wasn't because his nerves were suddenly repaired back to full capacity...it was because...

'Sensations are shared through our connection...this...could be quite lewd...'

But Bell simply stored that thought of his in an ever-growing bucket list of stuff he wanted to experiment with for a later time.

For now...he simply enjoyed the feeling of a companion by his side...happy that he was able to create a happy ending.

...

..

.

AN:

Thank you for reading this chapter!

13k words...yeah...I did the right decision by splitting this fight into 2 chapters HAHAHA.

This will be the end of the Artemis arc, and we will be moving to Altena next after one more chapter.

I'm planning on writing some side chapters as well. A catch-up story on Lili as an adventurer, alongside Welf. And another R18 chapter. A lime as it was described last time...as you can guess, my favorite tag is solo action HAHAHA.

I plan on writing actual lemons. But it will be further down the line.

Onto the announcement, I talked about the last chapter...can someone please give me a summary of the high school dxd light novels?-

I was putting that fanfic on hiatus until I was able to finish reading all of the light novels. But my pace of reading, coupled with my workload has proved to be rather inefficient.

I want to be able to write the fanfic, so I want to ask if any of you will be able to send me a summary of each volume. I believe I can fill in the blanks by reading the wiki and skimming the light novels after that.

Fen#8256, this is my discord. I hope you will be able to help me with this.

That will be all. Thank you for reading, and I hope you look forward to the next chapter. Have a nice day!