All members of the expedition team needed rest and treatment.
Whether it was Finn and the others or Riveria, they all needed time to recover.
For them, the 58th floor was the ideal place to rest for now. With the Dungeon's spawning halted temporarily, it was nothing short of a mercy.
Ais, walking at the rear, glanced back at the battlefield on the 59th floor before turning to catch up with the departing team.
She had a strange feeling, like she'd forgotten something.
But she couldn't recall what it was, so she let it go.
If she couldn't remember it, then it probably wasn't important anyway...
The image in the Guild's prayer room had frozen on a specific spot.
Perhaps during the battle, when the "Sword Princess" landed the final blow on the "Spirit," the impact had blown off the ornament hanging from her sword sheath, and the image had remained stuck on that frame ever since.
"It seems the 'Sword Princess' didn't notice."
Watching the expedition team leave the screen one by one without the image shifting, Hermes realized the "Sword Princess" hadn't noticed something had been lost.
"Ouranos, we've seen everything we needed to see. Can this gathering finally be considered over...?"
"Not yet, Hermes."
Hermes was about to leave, thinking everything worth watching had already been seen.
But Freya stopped him.
She was still gazing intently at the frozen image.
"The expedition part may be over, but that child's story isn't finished yet."
"That child... Freya, I don't think this expedition had anything to do with him."
"Really, Hermes? Is that what you truly believe?"
Hermes still wanted to defend Bell.
But Freya didn't buy it at all. Smiling, she continued her analysis:
"This was that child's first time joining an expedition. So tell me, would a child who's only Lv. 1 really need to take part in such a mission?"
Hermes had no answer. He knew full well this expedition had been orchestrated by that child and Loki.
"That child is cautious, prudent, and conservative. He never chooses anything unless he's certain. You should know that, Hermes."
At that, Hermes fell completely silent.
Indeed, he knew. That child was careful by nature. Aside from a few blunders when he first arrived in Orario, he'd always acted discreetly, never exposing himself to the gaze of the gods.
So with that kind of personality, he would never get involved in something without a clear reason or solid assurance.
Which meant—this expedition was highly suspicious.
As they spoke, a figure appeared on the screen.
The moment Freya saw the cloaked and hooded figure, her face broke into a radiant smile.
"Isn't that it?"
Hermes looked at the tightly cloaked figure on the screen and let out a wry smile.
Bell-kun, you really shouldn't have shown yourself...
...
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the situation, Bell returned to the center of the battlefield.
The "Spirit" clone could be left to the expedition team, but the soul fragment of the "Spirit" itself—he needed to retrieve that.
The "Spirit" was considered a god's avatar. Besides its overwhelming power, perhaps it also shared similarities on the level of the soul. Naturally, Bell couldn't ignore this unexpected gift.
The torn fragment of the soul might offer great insights into the nature of gods.
"The Spirit fetus is completely destroyed."
Bell confirmed the total annihilation of the "Spirit fetus."
Although being directly struck by the "Sword Princess's" magic in that situation left almost no chance of survival, as long as the chance wasn't zero, he had to stay vigilant.
Then came the matter of the "Spirit's" remaining soul.
An invisible thread extended from Bell's hand. With a slight tug, the shattered soul hidden beneath the ground—imperceptible to ordinary mortals—was drawn upward by the thread.
'The soul fragment is still largely intact. Looks like magic can't affect the soul.'
His Runes could interact with souls, but only because they imitated Authority. No matter how powerful regular magic was, it could only cause physical damage—it wasn't enough to affect a soul.
He casually processed the soul fragment.
Just as he was about to head back to the safe zone on the 50th floor, Bell suddenly stopped.
He felt an intense gaze on him—and it wasn't from Goddess-sama or Loki.
Following the direction of the gaze, Bell sharpened his vision several times over and quickly spotted something familiar.
'The ornament from the Sword Princess's sheath...'
His expression darkened. He hadn't noticed it at all until now.
'Five pairs of eyes. One of them... blazingly intense.'
That heat immediately made him think of one person.
Freya-sama!
The goddess whose beauty and grace were nothing short of divine.
For those in Genkai, man or woman, just one look was enough to fall under her spell.
But Bell didn't feel any such enchantment.
Though he could acknowledge Freya-sama's devil-like beauty, all he felt was admiration—and nothing more.
Of course, even that didn't change the fact that he went out of his way to avoid this goddess.
He hadn't forgotten just how obsessed this goddess was with "Bell Cranel."
Watching it happen to others was amusing—but when it happened to him, all he felt was cold sweat.
Wasn't this just full-on yandere?
Realizing what was happening, Bell quickly tried to suppress his presence.
But in that single instant, a sudden jolt struck his soul.
"!?"
It only lasted a moment.
"Finally, we meet."
That familiar voice made Bell freeze slightly.
He turned toward the sound—and saw Goddess Freya standing there with a smile, dressed in a flowing black gown.
"Freya-sama..."
"You really made it hard for me to find you."
There was no trace of disappointment in Freya's eyes—only amusement and delight.
Everyone had tried to block her, yet here she was, face-to-face with the child she sought.
"You're unbelievably persistent, Freya-sama."
Bell instinctively touched his face—but there was no mask. Glancing at his hand, even the gloves had vanished.
His eyes swept the surroundings. There was no sign of the 59th floor.
Instead, he stood in a strange, unfathomably deep place—mysterious and otherworldly.
Beside him stood a massive stone gate, like a barrier sealing off the depths beyond.
So—where was this place?
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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