Danmachi: My Adventure With a High Fairy Queen, Vol. 1

The Wellspring of Power

Bell and Riveria stood aghast, their eyes wide with horror, at the grotesque, pulsating mass of barbed tentacles that had stolen the form of the renowned adventurer Asfi Al Andromeda. The brave and cunning ex-member of the Perseus familia was now unrecognizable, her body warped and twisted into a nightmarish abomination. It was clear that she had become nothing more than a puppet of the Dark Mother, Medusa, her will and identity subsumed by the malevolent power of the Queen of Monsters. The sight was a chilling reminder of the depths of Medusa's cruelty and the terrible fate that awaited those who dared to oppose her.

"Stand aside, Bell," Riveria said as she gripped his shoulder. "I'm going to use my chant connection, so keep her occupied whilst I—"

"I would rethink that, Nine Hell, if you at all care about Andromeda's memory," the monstrous aberration said in a nefarious inflexion. "When I said Asfi Al Andromeda ceased to exist, that was not entirely true. Part of her lives on within me. If you use your protracted chant, you'll obliterate what's left of her along with me."

""!!!"" Bell and Riveria both gasped in unison, their eyes widening with shock and horror. Riveria then quickly regained her composure, her face settling into a grim expression. Ever the hard-headed pragmatist and realist, she knew they couldn't afford to let their emotions overwhelm them in this dire situation.

"Then I will do as I must. For the sake of Andromeda, and for the sake of the lower world, I will free Andromeda by destroying her if I have to."

"No!" Bell protested vehemently, both of his hands gripping Riveria's in a desperate plea. "That isn't the answer! There must be another way, a path we haven't considered yet!"

"I'm so sorry Bell," she replied solemnly, her eyes meeting his, concealing the immense guilt that threatened to overwhelm her. "We all have to make tough decisions sometimes. When you're caught between a rock and a hard place, backed into a corner with no easy way out, you have to steel your resolve and do what must be done, no matter how much it hurts."

"To hell with all that!!!" Bell shouted. "Why must the choice always be between bad and worse? How could I call myself a hero if I can't even save one damsel in distress? This is Asfi we're talking about!"

"Listen to me, Bell Cranel," she said with a resolve as strong as iron, "Asfi Al Andromeda is already dead, and nothing can change that. Nothing can bring her back. That is just a fact of life."

"If we can't change all of that, then what are we even fighting for?"

"!!"

"Medusa will win if you keep going down the path of cold pragmatism! You'll end up just like her!"

Riveria was stunned into silence. Bell had challenged the very core of her beliefs. Even worse, he was right. No good could come out of Riveria's hard-headed pragmatism. She would be dancing to Medusa's tune.

"Then what would you have me do? Do you think I wanted things this way?" Riveria asked bitterly. "You mustn't think of that thing over there as your friend. Andromeda is beyond saving."

"You don't know that," Bell replied. "I've had enough of always assuming the worst case scenario. That's what led us here in the first place. It's time to stop assuming that there's nothing left of Asfi within that creature. That's her in there! We don't have to fight! We can still save her!"

"..."

Riveria didn't have an answer for that. To her, Asfi was already long dead, and that was that. The creature before them was nothing more than a twisted abomination wearing her friend's face. It pained Riveria deeply to accept this harsh truth, but she knew in her heart that the real Asfi was gone forever, consumed by Medusa's dark magic.