Danmachi ( Fanfiction Volume 18 )

Unexpected development :"1"

Floor 28 safe zone wasn't that big compared to the previous one .A giant spiderweb of tunnels connected to one floor in an out of it . large platforms elevated on each side. Overall it was less lively as there was barely any plants growing around . monster didn't roam around much here as it was a transitioning zone between 2 different ecosystems .So monsters which lived in water city couldn't be noticed here . It was a weird situation the two amazons found themselves in , as they walked in behind the black cloaked adventurer. They ve noticed the symbol on his cloak , but they didn't give more than a curious gaze . they haven't been in Orario that long to know the history of other familias. Also their mind was more focused on how he could navigate into the dungeon this well while blindfolded .

Tioné got closer to her sister and whispered :" hey , remind me why are we following this guy again ?"

Events escalated really quickly after their first encounter with this individual.Tiona wanted nothing more than take her sister and leave from his sight. Surprisingly the guy behavior wasn't actually that bad as he invited them to a long talk , he asked many things about why they ended up there , however Tiona instinct told her that he wouldn't accept a No as a reply . he also asked things about Orario's familias which for the Amazons sounded weird because he could ve asked people around in the city for these informations . to his defence the white hair individual said that he doesn't have many friends.

So he ended up offering them a some help , and what a kind of help . He challenged them into a duel of 2 versus 1 .

Now as they stepped on a relatively large platform Tiona and tione stopped walking and looked at their weird companion

Bell said :" here we are " as he turned around he started by removing his cloak , and putting his sword down.

Tiona and tione still vividly remember that the guy in front of them had a well built body and his equipments were really quit high quality just by one glance , they couldn't help but feel a little inferior to him.

Bell noticed that they were dazed so he decided to interrupt their thoughts before they roam too far from their duel. " So are you two ready ?" He asked while stretching his muscles a little.

Tiona grabbed her weapon then kept looking between him and the sword he putted on the floor, " aren't you going to use your weapon ?" She asked

Bell held his hand in front , as to excuse himself :"well it's a just a duel , I also want to test myself , you guys said that you weren't able to rank much of stats for a while ? did you try to change your fighting styles ? like remove weapons? Or use different one , dungeon wont give you any comfortable journeys , so relying heavily on weapons will slow down your progress as you grow bad habits "

He kept explaining things about how adventurers would evolve when they found themselves in a hard situation and they need to fight stronger foes. Which to Tione brain was alittle too much , however Tiona followed every word he said. Finally they settled up on a fight of bare hands.

:" alright , come at me whenever you are ready " Bell said.

The two sisters didn't waste anytime and pushed forward , cracking the platform under the pressure of their feet . they runed so fast , that it would be hard for any high tier adventurer to follow their movements. However to bell's eyes they were slow , too slow that he didn't even want to bother moving from his place.

Tiona and Tioné didn't take much from his calm attitude and launched their strikes first. To their surprise , he kept standing there and at the last moment they found their momentum broken and their fists were being held by his hands from each side.

Tione was the first to react :" no way !" then she felt that pressure again , that freezing atmosphere like a huge monster was eyeing her , a bloodthirst so deep that made her spine shiver , it's been so many years that she hasn't experienced it , it reminded her of the days where they lived in kali familia.

Tiona jumped backward instantly when she felt the pressure , she took a defensive posture and waited for an attack that never came. She looked back at her sister , and realized that she was shaking from time to time , " Tione! What did you do to her? " she roared , however bell didn't give her more than a curious expression :" me ? nothing , I thought maybe I can push little more "

Tiona and Tione where trained in kali familia to kill their own kind to survive and grow stronger , there wasn't monsters around so the only way to grow was battle royals in the arena. Bloodthirsty amazons tearing each others throats , that was the joy the goddess kali. It took Tiona and Tione long time to recover from their old habits when they first joined loki familia , they only trusted each other.. So now , they were feeling threatened , just like those old years , they can feel that the individual they were facing them can kill them at any moment and that thought made tiona even shiver more ( why ? why did we come here ? this guy is clearly strong , far stronger than even Finn and the others ) , However Bell never let her continue in her thoughts as he disappeared from her line of sight and the next moment a sharp pain stroke her stomach as she went flying backwards

:" Tiona!" Tione screamed , however she was unable to move her legs .

" what? I thought you already gave up ?" bell asked , " if you want to grow stronger you need to face the fear lurking in your body " as he turned his back to her he walked towards tiona who was coughing on the floor . however Tione roared from the back:" bastard!" he could see a trial of her blood from her fist as she probably dug her nails in her hand to recover from her state of mind , using pain. Her expression made Bell smile for some reason , his mind set changed a lot from the past , most of his naiveness was gone , and he enjoyed whenever there was a good opponent facing him so he can fight to his limits , that's what true adventurers do. He smiled to the advancing Tione , she was  obviously in berserk mode and he could sense another magic ability binding him .

" now you are getting serious "