Danmachi: Reincarnation of Talent

10k Special Chapter 12: Forge Ahead

Back in Stardust Garden, the whole atmosphere inside was gloomy to put it lightly. Not only Bell, Astraea had lost many of her children to the remains of Evilus. Thankfully the Loki familia was able to eliminate the remaining executives of Evilus. Still, the only ones who remained were Alise, Kaguya, Lyra, Neze, Iska, Ryuu and Ardi. After healing Neze and Iska who were unconscious, they were told of what happened to everyone, and they each took it differently. Neze was a bawling mess at hearing many of her sisters in arms dying to that monster as well as Bell. Iska was furious over the loss as well and wanted to take out her frustrations on the dungeon, but Astraea forbid it for now so she and Kaguya would spar for now. Ryuu and Ardi both mourned their losses with Ardi crying on her should at losing more of her family. Though, Alise had it worst, she was the one who made the hard call to have Bell help them stop the monster from rampaging further. The plan worked and many potential lives were saved, but the young boy would lose his life in exchange. Her cheerful attitude all but vanished and she spent most of her time trying to punish herself. She had already asked Hera about what she wanted from her.

Alise: I will take on any punishment you wish.

The goddess wanted so badly to do just that. All the things she could do as punishment for this girl condemning her dear grandson, but she couldn't. Zeus helped a bit to talk her out of it, but she knew that it wouldn't do any good regardless. The damage had been done and she had already lost so much as captain of her familia. She decided on a different punishment for her.

Hera: Then, you will go with Alfia. Dealing with her anger will be punishment enough.

With that, the redhead bowed and left to find the woman in question. As she did, Hera sobbed quietly again as Zeus did his best to comfort her.

Zeus: She's already lost so much, is it worth doing all this? It's my fault Bell went out there. If I had just kept my mouth shut, he wouldn't have rushed out to save them.

Hera wanted to agree with him, but she knew her grandson was smarter than that, Alfia had made sure of it. She just shook her head at him.

Hera: No, he already heard Astraea.

Zeus: Still...

Hera: No, there's no point in trying to find a person to blame. Evilus was at fault, they took them away from us.

Zeus: It's a good thing that Alfia and Zald took care of them. Now their threat is gone.
.
.
With Alfia and Zald...
.
.
To say that Alfia disliked Alise at this point was an understatement. She was the one who allowed the boy to fight, and she was the one who lead him to lose his life against the monster. As such, Alfia gave punishment bit by bit in training.

Alfia: That will do for today, you can leave.

Alise: O-Okay...

After taking her beating/training, she and the others left the woman alone to tend to their wounds. Alfia herself was still mourning the loss of her nephew. She did everything she could, but he still lost his life. She blamed herself since his heroic desires were near impossible to quell. She went to sit and imagine all the things she'd do to protect him if he was alive somehow. She would start with having his falna removed, then possibly leaving the city. However, this would be nothing but fantasy at this point. Her grief was immeasurable so Zald and the others spent their time trying their best to comfort her.
.
.
.
With the Loki Familia...
.
.
.
Finn was satisfied with a complete mission. The final remnants of Evilus were gone and now they could celebrate, at least that's what they thought. Upon hearing what happened to the Astraea familia and Bell, Finn and the others lost all the joy of ending Evilus. A younger familia and a child were sacrificed, and that was a trade that they could hardly bear. Riveria and Gareth felt horrible knowing what happened to them. Ais was doing the worst out of them. She and Bell were already friends, but with all the time they spent together, she felt that they were a little more. Riveria had spent many nights with the girl after she cried endlessly from hearing about her friend's death. Bell would be another to add on the list of important people she's lost and her doll persona soon reappeared.