[Ittou Rasestu] deactivated.
Bell walked away from the maw, his steps casual as residual golden particles rose behind him, spreading skyward like a flower blooming mid-air.
Alfia released Lyd's tail, and he surged forward, sprinting without a care for anything else, his heels digging into soil, skidding to a halt just before Bell.
But his chin was tilted upward, and reflected in his slit pupils was a formation of golden flakes etched across the sky.
"Bell-chi! Bell-chi! Is that what a firework looks like!?" Lyd asked, jabbing a finger at it. His tail flapped behind him, kicking up a cloud of dust that scattered meters away.
Turning on his heel, Bell nodded despite everything being monochrome for him. "I promised to show you, didn't I? Can't exactly forget a promise like that."
"You remembered!? You're the best, Bell-chi! Hahaha!" Lyd's tail slithered up of its own accord, draping across Bell's shoulder as his claws reached for the amber particles shining in sunlight.
Bell's fingers twitched, jerking toward the tail before he forced them to relax, leaving his arms hanging at his sides. Just this once... Next time, I'm kicking your ass if that tail comes anywhere near me.
The sound of air shifting made him tilt his head to the side. Alfia planted herself on his other flank, glancing upward with a flat gaze. That flower of golden flakes was just another shade of gray to her too, though its light still stretched her shadow out behind her.
She glanced at him and then toward the firework, her lips moving imperceptibly. "Show-off..."
Shoulders twitching, Bell tried to act natural, as if he hadn't heard her whisper at all. Though they both knew he had.
"Where is everyone!? Look! Look!" Lyd shouted, sweeping his gaze across the area. One claw pointed overhead while the other beckoned others over.
Gros heard the commotion as he dragged himself out from the rubble of that building he had crashed into. His stone wings went rigid after a single glance upward.
He flapped his wings twice, his feet hovering an inch above ground, gray tail curling around his leg.
"Hmph. The magic stones' light underground is dimmer and easier on the eyes. This is too bright."
Despite his words, Gros' eyes remained locked on that firework, his skin awash with a golden radiance.
Some distance away, Laura slithered out from a gap between two collapsed buildings, her scales grinding against cracked tiles and shattered concrete. Then, she looked up at the golden flower. "Mm. So romantic. Who's the lucky girl you did this for, Bell?"
Her voice carried over to them before she even arrived and Lyd pumped up his fists at her words. "It's not for a girl! Bell-chi did it for me! It was a promise!"
"Oh... For Lyd." Laura pointed one finger at Lyd and another at Bell, then poked their tips together. "My, my~ Bell, you've got quite a romantic heart. Didn't even leave Lyd out of it."
Bell staggered, his lips twitching. Lyd opened his mouth to protest.
"Hey, we're best—"
A swift kick from Bell sent Lyd flying sideways, along with the tail that had begun to writhe across his shoulders.
"Ahhh! Bell-chi, why!?" Lyd traced an arc through the air, sailing straight toward Four, who was pushing the debris of a building aside to clear a path toward them.
"Huh? Lyd, why are you flying?" Four was just bringing a hand up to rub his scalp when Lyd slammed headfirst into the Fomoire's chest, both of them barreling away in a tangle of fur and scales.
Bell brought his heel down, and his legs gave out beneath him. His body fell backward, spine hitting the devastated ground.
"Oof... I just want to go home now. Take a hot bath, eat some good food, and then fall into deep sleep in a soft lap."
Alfia crouched beside him, gazing down. Her hair spilled across his face, tickling him slightly.
"You still need more training."
Ignoring her words, Bell closed his eyes and asked in Laura's direction, "You took those children away and left them somewhere safe?"
"Yeah, we did. Though we couldn't make it back in time, you won't blame us, right?" Circling around them twice, Laura slid to his other side.
"Blame? You did more than what I thought you all would as Xenos." Bell opened a single eye and nodded at her.
"Oh... Oh! Bell, are you trying to hit on me?" A smirk spread across Laura's face, and she wagged a single finger at him. "You'll have to work harder than that if you want me to consider it."
Alfia didn't say anything, but her fist came up, flicking in the Lamia's direction. Tiles exploded just to the right of Laura, carving a trench behind her for meters before blasting a building four streets away into a shower of mortar and pulverized bricks.
Laura remained frozen in place five long seconds after, only her head turning mechanically to take in the destruction.
Then, she snapped back around, waving her hands frantically as she slithered away. "I was just joking! Joking, alright? Geez, your aunt is so ferocious, Bell."
What was he supposed to say? That Alfia disliked anything frisky and would choke-slam him if he tried anything in front of her?
Her fingers moving to grab Hestia's ribbon tying his bun, Alfia added another cross to it, tightening the knot before his ribbon could come loose.
He stayed still, and some time passed like that.
"So... I've been meaning to ask, where is Wiene? Did you all leave her with the other Xenos?" Bell's eyes drifted open as he sat up cross-legged on the ground, sweeping his gaze around.
Lyd and Four were shuffling back while supporting each other. Gros was beating his wings, body hovering closer, and Laura was already beside him.
All the Xenos heard him and went rigid. Lyd's tail traced wild circles in the air, his claws digging into Four's side where they supported each other.
Laura tugged at her hair, sharp nails raking through it. "She was right with us when we started racing toward the impacts."
Landing ahead of them, Gros hunched his back forward into a predator's stance. "Wasn't that little brat with you, Lyd?"
Lyd sprinted back to them, Four right behind him.
"Yeah, Wiene was right beside me the whole time, I thought she would keep up, so I focused ahead. She might've gotten separated from us while we were maneuvering through those collapsing buildings and detonating streets."
Lyd curled his hands into tight fists, and his heel punched the ground, sinking it into a shallow crater.
"Don't worry too much. She'll be somewhere around here, we just need to search for her." Bell got to his feet, and the world tilted, every shape stretching at their edges, their outlines bleeding into one another.
"Bell-chi!" "Bell." "Human."
His legs buckled. A gloved hand caught his back. Two tails, one gray and one serpentine, wrapped around his arms, holding him steady. A third, red-scaled tail coiled around his waist, and a club slammed into the ground behind him, physically walling off his fall.
"It's just some weakness from using my skill. I'm fine." Bell shook his head, everything snapping back into focus.
"Let's go and get Wiene back first."
A pause.
"And hopefully get some well-deserved rest after that."
...
..
.
[Author's Thoughts]
Yes, If you can guess where this is going then that is exactly where this is going. You can't get rest now Bell. You still have a showdown with others after all. Let's see, can the wheel do it?
Can it?
Anyway... A fate chapter is coming later, stay tuned.
Have a good day, everyone!