Chapter 3: Descent to Desperation
The plan was simple.
Escort a small party of adventurers—Bell, Welf, and Lili—down to the 18th floor to gather rare materials and test new formations.
But the Dungeon was never simple.
The descent had gone smoothly at first. Welf's sword struck true, Lili's support and logistics worked in tandem, and Bell found himself adapting quickly to the rhythm Scythe had drilled into him. Parry. Shift. Counter. Move.
It was all going well—until the Floor Boss didn't die.
A mutated Goliath, taller and with a blackened core, descended upon them as they attempted to reach the rest zone. It had ignored a nearby Familia entirely and lunged at Bell's party with unnatural hatred.
"RUN!" Welf shouted, slashing in vain against the titan's hide.
They tried. But the 18th floor's maze was unforgiving. A dead end.
The Goliath raised its massive arm.
Bell stood in front of Lili and Welf, dagger raised.
He would not die here. He would not let them die.
Then the world ripped.
A slash of black energy, cold and absolute, sliced through the Goliath's arm.
The creature howled—but it was too late.
A second cut. A third. A fourth.
Then the Goliath's head toppled to the floor, and standing in the crimson spray, cloaked in shadows, stood Black Scythe.
"You're still too slow," he said.
Bell dropped to a knee, panting.
Scythe turned to him.
"Next time, don't wait for death to find you. Kill it first."
Then he vanished into the deeper corridors.
---
They made camp in the safe zone.
The next morning, as they prepared to ascend, a new party arrived—Makoto, Chigusa, and their god, Takemikazuchi.
Makoto approached Bell with eyes lowered.
"I must apologize," she said, bowing low. "That mutated Goliath was attracted by our failed enchantment experiment. You were caught in our storm."
Takemikazuchi, graceful yet solemn, mirrored her bow.
"I offer the apologies of my Familia. Had that man not appeared..."
Bell smiled softly.
"It's alright. We survived. That's enough."
Makoto hesitated.
"That man... is he your protector now?"
Bell paused.
"No. He's my teacher."
Makoto nodded. "Then you are lucky. To learn from death itself and return."
They left in silence.
And Bell's resolve grew stronger.
---