Danmachi: The Grand Reaper

Prologue: #1 Grandpa in Hell

Things were business as usual. Souls enter for judging. Here in Tartarus, all souls come down to be judged. The consciousness of each soul is separated so the consciousness stays in the afterlife while the soul is reincarnated. Then was the matter of putting that consciousness somewhere. Either Heaven or they stay down here based on the Karma they gained in life. The one who oversees this all is none other than Hades.

Hades: (It's been nothing but heroes
Why is it there is an influx of good souls all of a sudden?)

He would have this question answered when he heard Zeus calling for him.

Zeus: Brother!

Hades: Zeus? Why urge to talk after all this time. I'm not complaining but this is a surprise.

Zeus: I'm sorry, but there's no time for pleasantries. I'm coming down to see you soon.

Hades: Wait wha-

He was cut off by the doors opening revealing his brother and a small baby in his arms. Hades got up from his desk to talk to his brother.

Hades: Well, what is it you want? Something to do with this child?

Zeus: Yes, I want you the take care of this child for me.

Hades: But why me? I'm not exactly known for my parenting and I'm quite busy being the master of the underworld.

Zeus: Yes, well I'm pressed for time and you're the only one I can trust right now.

Hades: Okay then, what's the child's name?

Zeus: His name is Bell Cranel. He's the last legacy of my familia.

Hades: Last? You lead the greatest familia in the lower world. What happened?

Zeus: The Black Dragon happened. They and Hera's were wiped out.

Hades: I'm... sorry to hear that.

Zeus: Thank you. Now, what do you say? Will you do this for me?

Hades: I can't make any guarantees, but I will do my best.

Zeus: Thank you, now I need to go. I have to hold the dragon back with my powers lest it go on a rampage.

With that, Zeus left the child with Hades. Now Hades had to figure out how to raise this baby.

Hades: Lucifer!

Lucifer: You called, my lord?

Hades: This child, I was requested by my brother to help raise it. I'm quite busy so you and the others are tasked to look after him.

Lucifer: A simple task. What's his name?

Hades: His name is Bell Cranel.

With that, Lucifer brought him to the other demons in Hades' Manor to see the boy. They hadn't seen human down here in many centuries. At least, one that was alive and a child no less. They knew they had an interesting future ahead of them.

6 years passed since Bell arrived in Tartarus. Right now, he was undergoing  training with Lucifer supervising him.

Lucifer: Yes, that's the way Bell. Your control of hellfire is remarkable.

Bell: Hehe, thanks Uncle.

The small boy was smiling brightly as his praise. He always worked hard to make Lucifer proud. The demon began to see Bell like a nephew of his own. Knowing how harsh it was outside the castle, he took it upon himself to train the boy in combat. Right now, Bell was hitting targets with his hellfire. Lucifer was unsure if Bell could wield it safely. So first, he trained Bell as a reaper. At four years old, Bell had completed his initial training as a reaper. Hades was surprised a human had survived and even completed the training. Throughout the training, Bell had quickly grown on all the demons in the castle, Hades included. Bell had begun to call Hades his grandpa and Hades was more than happy to make Bell his grandson.

When Bell turned 11, his training increased and he grew by leaps and bounds. He could take on many beasts outside the castle. He and the demon army general, Kaiser, would go out to hunt them whenever they could. Kaiser enjoyed training the boy. Bell picked up all his tricks in a short time which allowed him to train in more advanced combat. With Lucifer, he was already considered a fully fledged reaper when he was 9.

3 more years passed. When Bell was 12, Lucifer and Hades approved Bell's training as a Grand Reaper. They were nervous that the boy couldn't handle the mental strain of the training. Understanding and accepting the traits of life and death were too much for the normal human. When he was learning, Bell's young age allowed him to accept the reasons for why death and life worked the way they did. He did question them at first, but was able to come to terms with it all and his training went smoothly. Bell currently was going through the hardest test yet, reform body from only the view of the soul. With his reaper powers, Bell could see the original body of any soul, now he just had to make a body to match it. It was a difficult road, but Bell succeeded. A proper body had formed before him.

Bell: Yes! I did it!

Lucifer: Well done, Bell. Outstanding work as always.

He patted the boy's head as they finished his training for the day. Bell was the youngest Grand Reaper ever at 14 years old. They went to eat dinner to celebrate the boy's success.

Hades: To Bell's ascension as a Grand Reaper!

Everyone: Cheers!!!

They all started to eat and at the same time, the remembered the small baby that came in all those years ago.

Kaiser: You've worked hard for this Bell, raise your head high boy.

Bell: Thank you sir.

Lucifer: He's right, Bell. The last Grand Reaper appeared over 40,000 years ago. We've never had one since then.

Bell: Wow!

Hades: He's right and now that your training is finished, you can leave your reaper duties down here behind to live in the lower world.

Bell: Now I can go up and live with other humans right?

Hades: That's right. With your strength, you can handle just about anything there. You can pack your things in your dimensional storage then leave in the morning.

Bell: Right!

And so, Bell packed his things. He kept his reaper clothes, normal clothes, some food and his Grand Reaper blade. This sword was special as it could morph into a more powerful scythe when exposed to the user's blood.

Morning came and Bell was ready to leave.

Bell: Thank you all for everything.

Lucifer: Don't mention it. You've been looking forward to going since your were small.

Hades: Just be sure to take care of yourself
I don't want to judge you anytime soon.

He said this smiling while patting the boy's head goodbye. The rest of them said their good byes and Bell left for his old home in the lower world outside Tartarus.

AN: Just a short prologue before Bell goes to see Zeus. Let me know your thoughts about this. I'll see you guys in the next chapter.