DanMachi: Descent of a Tragedy

The pair, Azrael and Bell, made it to the 'Hostess of Fertility' just shortly after their earlier talk. Loud, jolly, drunken cheers were audible even from outside the establishment. The two entered, and the place was unsurprisingly very busy. The staff, all women, were running around with plates, drinks, and orders, not getting even a moment to breathe. Despite this, a silver-haired young lady calmly walked towards the table — where the two were seated. She wore the usual green staff uniform and held a small serving platter to her chest.

"You're that adventurer! You Came!" The silver-haired girl announced with an innocent smile in a high-pitched yet sweet voice. Her eyes then drifted towards Bell's side, towards Azrael specifically. Her eyes narrowed, and so did his. They held their gazes for what felt like hours to Bell but was truly just a few long seconds. "You brought a friend too? I'm glad!" She spoke, suddenly breaking their eye contact and returning to an innocent, much friendlier expression.

Crossing his arms, Azrael responded, "Mhm, indeed he did." His words were lacking emotion, enthusiasm, and compassion, but Bell had learnt from listening to him speaking that it was quite normal. "Is it alright with you?" He added on. Bell hadn't known Azrael long, so he couldn't be completely confident, but it seemed Azrael's words lacked the key components simply because he himself lacked them and not because he didn't care.

The silver-haired girl shook her head. "No, it's perfectly fine. I'm happy he brought a friend." Her smile softened as she spoke up once again, "Ah! I totally forgot to introduce myself!" She continued, visibly embarrassed by the mistake, clear from the subtle change in her body language, but she finished her introduction anyway. "My name is Syr Flover," she introduced with a slight bow.

Bell quickly responded, introducing himself right after her, "I'm Bell Cranel!" He said with his ever-present golden smile.

Azrael was last to introduce himself, seeming to leave a train of thought before he did his introduction. "I am Azazel." He introduced monotonously. Bell gave him a glance with an awkward expression, 'He only changed a few of the letters...' He thought so himself.

"Nice to finally meet you both!" From behind the counter of the establishment, Mia Grand, the owner of the establishment, called out to Syr, telling her to get back to work. She waved the two guests goodbye and ran off to take the orders of some customers. Azrael and Bell sat at the table for a while, speaking about trivial things, such as Azrael's wonderful disguise name... When, suddenly, Mama Mia slammed down an assortment of large dishes, all looking equally delicious. Azrael blankly watched Bell's shell-shocked expression as he mentally calculated the cost of the food.

Feeling a bit mischievous, he decided to speak up a bit, "Uhh, Bell, I kinda don't have money on me." Bell slowly turned towards him, trying to keep up a peaceful smile.

"Oh... That's perfectly fine... I'll cover it!" He said in a somewhat strained voice. Azrael's lip upturned into the slightest of a smirk. "I'll pay you back, I promise." He assured Bell, slightly lessening the pain of his wallet.

Magically, or by some witchcraft at least, Syr had managed to get away from her duties once again. "Well? Are you having fun?" She asked Bell teasingly, to which he let out an overwhelmed sigh, causing her to giggle a little before apologising. "I suppose I can count on getting paid well tonight, though." She attacked while he was at his lowest; the thought of the cost sent him right back into a state of shock.

Syr's gaze gently drifted away from Bell and onto the form of 'Azazel.' He was silently helping himself to a small platter of sushi. "What do you think of the food?" She asked, attempting to make small talk with the apathetic man. "It's good." He responded with a silent nod before taking a sip from his drink.

"And the alcohol too?" 'Azazel' nodded in confirmation, "I never really enjoyed the taste... but this is quite good, actually." His words formed a smile on Syr's face. "I'll be sure to tell Mama Mia your thoughts."

The two's conversation was cut short by the voice of a cat girl at the door, "Nya! The customers with reservations have arrived!" The girl 'Anya Fromel' pounced into the tavern, followed by the flat-chested goddess Loki and her familia. They were an intimidating bunch, silencing the tavern as they walked through towards their table.

Azrael's eyes widened slightly as he recognised the blonde-haired girl. He turned towards Bell, who had snapped out of his shock and immediately become captivated by the woman's appearance. Voices in the tavern broke out, detailing the 'divine' beauty of the sword princess... In any case, it was just making Bell even more captivated by her. What didn't help was her outfit. It was a tight, sleeveless, backless, white dress that accentuated her 'attributes.' Azrael once more turned to Bell and sighed as he spotted the noodles he had just eaten spilt all on the floor and around his mouth. His face was red as blood.

As Syr tried to revive Bell, the Loki familia took their seats and were immediately served a round of drinks and a feast worth of food. "Good work out there in the dungeon, everyone! Drink up!" She screamed with an almost psychotic grin before pushing her cup into the middle of the table for a toast.

The group drank round after round of drinks as Bell and Azrael attempted to finish the large amount of food they had been 'gifted.' As time passed, Azrael continued to notice Bell's constant glances towards Ais; they weren't perverted, of course, but he did believe it a bit much. 'He's free to do what he wants, though,' Azrael thought, shrugging it off.

That was, until a certain werewolf began to badmouth Bell. Bell had been admiring Ais the entire time, so he did not miss the clear mocking and insults thrown towards him. The werewolf drunkenly mocked him without even caring whether anyone heard it or not. While none of the other group members seemed to be entertaining the werewolf's behaviour, he continued to insult Bell, calling him 'trash' and 'weak.' Azrael turned to his side to see Bell shaking slightly; his hands were firmly placed on his lap, and his head was dropped in shame.

"A wimp who's weaker than you has no right to stand by your side." Those words sent Bell dashing out of the room in shame. Syr, along with Ais, quickly rushed out of the door to look down the street, but Bell was already gone.

The air in the tavern suddenly thickened, and unease spread throughout the people. "Hey Werewolf-Kun?" An irritated voice rang out from where the boy had dashed from. The entire Loki familia turned their gazes to the black-haired man seated beside an empty seat and half-eaten plate of spaghetti. "What do you think you're doing insulting a beginner for your own familia's mistake?" The man's words were clearly spoken, yet ice cold—they lacked any aspect of emotion. The werewolf visibly pounced towards the man in irritation while the rest of the familia all gave him similar glances of annoyance. They knew it was their mistake, but to put it so bluntly was insulting to them.

"Eh!? And who are you! You think your big why; don't you fight me!" The werewolf drunkenly screamed and scrambled as he was held back by the dwarf in the group. The entire tavern was watching the situation in awe. I mean, why wouldn't they? Someone stupid enough to insult the Loki familia was bound to be entertaining. The black-haired man glanced towards the group with gleaming golden eyes that pierced through their very beings. It was a gaze that had delivered death thousands of times; as adventurers, they could confirm that.

"I would appreciate it if you did not insult our familia. We understand our mistake, and Bete will be disciplined accordingly for mocking your friend." The short, blonde-haired man spoke up, trying to defuse the situation. Azrael hesitantly let out a sigh as he looked over the number of people within the tavern.

The suffocating air immediately vanished as Azrael let out a sigh, "I'm grateful, and I apologise for acting out of hand." He answered, the previous gleam from his eye nowhere to be seen now. Before the familia could speak to him any longer, he strode out of the tavern and towards where he believed Bell might be, the dungeon.

Little did Azrael know, his human disguise had just garnered the attention of a obsessive goddess... 

(A/N): Part 2 of Hostess of Fertility Complete! Clocking out at 3am. I just enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading!