Danmachi ( Fanfiction Volume 18 )

The Real dungeon "4"

In a wide dark room inside the xenos tower , 4 silhouettes could be noticed resting on their knees

, 3 of them where white furry bears with human like faces and bear ears , their clothes which were an animal skin covered only the lower Area of their bodies .

Two of the xenos were looking at the young adventurer , trying to find the right words to answer his question. Its been so long that any adventurer came to their village and even longer since one was amicable enough to start a conversation with them instead of attacking them just like did to other monsters. The kid sitting facing them didn't have fear nor surprise that he was talking to what humans considered monsters which posed more question in the elders heads.

"fine , but first , can I ask you something young adventurer ?" the elder broke the silence finally

Bell eyes widened a little as he didn't expect the elder to reply with a question after taking this much of time

" sure , ask " bell replied

" What do you think about dungeon above ? whats the purpose of it ?"the elder asked

Bell stiffened , indeed this question never really get to his mind before , even after encountering the xenos , he didn't think about what was the purpose of the dungeon from creating them.

" I really don't know much about the dungeon history , all I know was that it's a place where monster spawns constantly , it can interact with anyone which is not created by it and its forbidden to enter by gods " bell said

Silence again , the elders took time comprehending bell's answer , while Xand was sitting frozen still like sculpture the whole time

" hmmmm , well your answer is not wrong , however its also not correct " the first elder spoke

" you answered us with just the knowledge you had about the dungeon , it is understandable , only few beings and gods really know the old history of the dungeon" the 2nd elder spoke too

The first elder took a long sigh

"this place and the dungeon you know didn't really exist thousands of years ago , our ancestors used to live on the surface of the world side by side with all other races , humans , elves , spirits and dwarves and many others , it was not just us , there used to be many other races , you encountered the griffins and the scorpions on your way here , they were never like that , they used to live in harmony with nature " with a nostalgic voice like , he kept telling his story

"however one day , everything changed , Gaia the goddess of nature and life and also our deity rebelled on the other gods ,in her attempt to seize a power she never should have , she was corrupted and became a fallen god , a big war occurred on the land , the Corruption of Gaia didn't only affect her , but also us , the monsters race went berserk , the old strong beings went on a rampage on all other race " ,with every word the elder said with a horrific expression on his face , he gulped few times as he didn't expect things to be this bad . " I remember my parents speaking about those times too , I thought it was just a story to make go to sleep " Faenur spoke in a sad tone

The elder continue after rising his head , now looking directly into bell's eyes " many races were annihilated , humans and others were on brink of extinctions , however the other gods stepped , them alongside their chosen champions managed to Beat Gaia and seal her down , however before they did , they sent all our races down here along side Hades who chose to look over us who were banished from the surface , He used his power to make this place for us to live , there are many floors down here , with different environment suitable for different races , it was a last effort to save us from the retaliations of the those who survived the massacre and also to prevent another one from occurring , after we were sealed here , the other ancient monsters were also sealed using the spirit powers then Gaia was sealed , she kept a promise to the other gods , that she will return one day and she will make a world for her children , this is our story , young adventurer , the story our grandfathers passed to us from generation to generation and we passed to our descendants too "

Silence , only the sound of heavy breathing could be heard from the side of bell. The story was totally outside his expectations , a god corrupted and rebelling leading to such a massacre , For what ?

He wanted to scream and shout and say that the monster race didn't deserve this treatment but he couldn't however the elders understood the expressions of his face

" you don't have to force yourself , we really appreciate your sympathy young adventurer , however this life is ours to live ,on the surface or here , this is also our home , so you don't have to feel bad about something you weren't part of " the elder spoke and for the first time bell could see a smile on his face

" what about the xenos ? they are monsters like you made from the dungeon , they were passive and they are my friends , they never attack anyone they have a home in the upper floor " bell asked , his curiosity grew now that he felt calmer

" Xenos ,huh , I cant really give you an answer , I can only say my theory . the Goddess Gaia was exhausted now . She no longer relied on the corrupted power she used to have , that's why those Xenos were born " the elder spoke

The idea did made sense in bells mind , after all most monsters were born in frenzy state just like the elder talked about in the old war. If her powers were exhausted then that explains why weine could remember some fragments of her past as the corruption no longer took effect of her .

Faenur joined the elder side and agreed with his theory too.

After more discussion with the elders , bell decided he had satisfied his curiosity

" thank you , for sharing your history and for everything " bell said but suddenly Faenur interrupted him " ask him about Hades , he said he was still down here !"

Bell didn't waste the time ;" you mentioned that the god Hades chose to stay here ?"

" yes , that's what our ancestors said to us , but where ? who knows , we only know that there is a path leading to the lower areas , we can lead you there , however " the elder stopped

As the second elder continued " there is a guardian there , not many of the adventurer who passed by here managed to defeat it , it is a measure left to separate floors , I don't recommend you to fight it now , not with your current strength " the 2nd elder spoke and both of them shook their heads 

" Very well , thank you again , I ll excuse myself now" bell bowed his head slowly and he stood up

" feel free to stay here as much as you want young one " the elder spoke with a smile on his face again

It reminded bell with the way his grandfather used to smile , he felt a change of winds in his heart , he wanted to get stronger , but for more reasons now than ever

 ----Greetings ,  Author with you , hope you are  all doing good , I wanted to inform you that the Arc of Bell adventure in the Real dungeon will stop here as it took  longer  than I expected , so I am going back to  the main course of the story and the usual timeline , however don't worry you will have another chance to discover the the real dungeon secrets with more details  because it is needed in the main quest ---  Stay safe! 

PS : if Algeria wins the match tomorrow i will drop 2 chapters !