Danmachi: Unalloyed Blade Works

Fatal Battle

His body refused to obey him. No matter how much he screamed at his body to hurry up and move, it screamed in pain and begged him to not push himself even further. He tried not to stare at the gaping hole that the minotaur had gouged into his arm using its horn. It was the most painful thing he had ever experienced. He didn't even know it was possible to feel this much pain and not die instantly.

"Kh...gah!" Bell coughed. His body shook and trembled as he tried to reach for the knife he had dropped when the minotaur tossed him aside. 

But with this, he had surely bought enough time for Lily and Artoria to escape. The goal was never to defeat the beast before him. As long as he bought time, then-

Bell angrily slammed his fist into the ground and grinded his teeth together with a mixture of pain and anger. He was lying to himself. He wanted to win! More than anything, he wanted to take down the monster with his own strength. 

A sudden flash of wind caught Bell's attention. He glanced up to see a reassuring sight. His hero stood tall and proud in the face of such a powerful opponent. Just the sight of his back alone gave Bell more than enough confidence that everything was going to be alright. Bell's life was going to be saved once again by the one he idolized the most.

"Mura...masa?" Bell groaned.

"Yeah, it's me," the swordsmith replied. "You get yourself some rest while I take care of this thing."

But, was this alright? To be saved by the same person more than once? 

...No.

He couldn't allow himself to be saved once again. He would never catch up at this rate. More than anything, he wanted to push through the powerful storm and rush past him!

But most of all...

...He wanted to be a hero!

Using all of his strength, Bell pushed himself up and trudged through the powerful storm that Muramasa stood so calmly in. He reached out and grabbed onto Muramasa's sleeve. 

"STOOOOOOOOP!"

Bell didn't even notice the bright red light flash from his hand as Muramasa suddenly stopped in his tracks despite already having a sword in his hand.

"Dammit...!" Muramasa growled as his body trembled. "You used a Command Spell for something like this?!"

"I can't..." Bell mumbled. 

The white-haired adventurer slowly walked past Muramasa and picked up the dagger he had dropped, a baselard that Lily given him.

"...I can't let myself be saved again!" Bell cried out.

And with that, the aspiring hero stared down his opponent and charged into battle. All Muramasa could do was watch in silence as he watched his Master trade blows with a powerful opponent.

"What are you doing?" a soft voice asked from behind.

Muramasa glanced back to see Ais along with the rest of the Loki Familia approach him. He could see Riveria treat the injured Artoria and Lily with some kind of magic to the point where they had no visible damage part from the dried blood on their clothes. 

"...That boy is going to die." Ais continued.

"...He told me not to help. So I won't." Muramasa stated.

Ais was about to protest until she saw just how much Muramasa's arms were trembling. Even with a katana in his hand, Muramasa stayed still, though it looked like he was trapped in some kind of binding preventing him from taking action.

"Master Muramasa...please! Please save Master Bell!" Lily begged from behind.

"...I won't." Muramasa firmly declared.