No banishment?
Even after that brutal kick, Ikelos was still dazed.
But Loki ignored his reaction, turning her attention to Bell instead.
"I want to watch this guy's execution later."
"..."
Bell's mouth twitched. He was pretty sure Loki lived just to cause trouble.
He had said it was fine to share truths in front of her—but that didn't mean he could do the same in front of Hermes.
Sure enough, Hermes perked up immediately, leaning in with open interest.
"Execution? Now that's something momentous. If Ikelos is executed, he'll be the first god ever to die. Not witnessing that would be a shame."
The truth was, Hermes had known for a long time that Ikelos's fate was sealed.
He'd already been certain back when Hestia and Hephaestus played dumb about it. Still, he understood why they had done so. After all, this was the power to kill a god—if the rest of the pantheon found out, Orario itself might be shaken to its core.
So Hermes played the part of uncertainty. Unless Bell brought it up himself, he wouldn't touch the matter.
But now Loki had said it aloud.
And since Loki had said it, there was no way Hermes was going to miss the chance to see it firsthand.
He made it sound official, but Bell wasn't fooled. He knew Hermes already understood much more than he let on.
Now even Hermes was tangled in this.
Bell couldn't help but doubt whether letting Loki-sama in on this had really been wise.
"Smack!"
While Bell was still mulling over the thought, Loki had already stepped off Ikelos, strolled over, and patted Bell on the shoulder.
"You don't need to be so cautious with everyone. Take Hermes—he knows more than most gods ever will. And besides, he's on our side. No need to keep everything sealed so tightly from him."
The reasoning was sound, but this approach clashed with Bell's entire way of doing things.
But what choice did he have now?
What had once been a thin veil of secrecy had been ripped apart entirely. How could he patch it back?
Bell sighed inwardly. Next time, he decided, he wouldn't bring along the unpredictable factor that was Loki-sama.
"...So, Loki-sama, next time I'm absolutely not taking you with me."
"Hehe~"
Loki's sly laugh said it all. As for "next time," that was another story altogether.
Bell shook his head in resignation, then turned his gaze back toward Ikelos lying on the ground. His steps came to an abrupt halt.
"!?"
Before Ikelos could react, the boy was already before him. Fingers curled into claws, Bell drove his hand straight into Ikelos's chest.
"AAAAAH!"
Ikelos felt five fingers tear through his flesh, piercing deep. The agony was unbearable—dozens of times worse than Loki's kick to the gut.
"First, let's put a collar on this unruly god."
Eerie script spread across Ikelos's skin, crawling outward until it covered his whole body.
And its effect—he felt it instantly.
"My divinity!? Why is it completely sealed!?"
The moment Ikelos realized his divine power was locked away, his face twisted with despair.
At last, he understood how grave his situation was. But it was already too late.
Loki and Hermes watched with amused interest as Ikelos flailed like a fool.
Panic overtook him. There was a vast difference between retaining even a shred of divine power and feeling none at all.
So long as he had some, he could have chosen the worst option—self-detonation. He could have destroyed his body, taken himself out of the game, and maybe dragged an enemy or two with him.
But now, with his divinity sealed, he couldn't even self-destruct.
He was nothing more than meat on the cutting board, flopping helplessly.
For once, Bell offered an explanation.
"Gods in Genkai are born with a strict seal placed on their bodies. That seal limits their power—an excuse, supposedly, that 'sealed gods have more fun'—a collar fitted on every deity."
"But in the past, that collar wasn't locked down fully. What I've done is force it shut with external power."
"I confirmed how this collar works by studying Hestia and Hephaestus. After some research, I realized that with a specific method, by infusing a certain force into a god's body, the collar's effect can be tightened."
A collar...?
Ikelos raised his head, stunned, staring at the boy. He understood the meaning of the words, but he never imagined he would hear the term "collar" from the mouth of a child of the lower world.
"What do you mean by a collar?"
"I believe I made myself quite clear, God Ikelos."
Bell's calm tone, as casual as if he were asking "What's for dinner tonight?", made Ikelos's rage explode instantly.
"You dare claim we gods have been collared!?"
"...Ah, so what angers you is my choice of words."
That gods wore collars was something every deity knew—it was the price of descending to the Genkai.
But seeing Ikelos's fury boil over, Bell realized the god wasn't ignorant of this fact. He was enraged because Bell had spoken it aloud so bluntly.
"Every god bears a collar—that is the cost of descending to the lower world. It's a collar willingly accepted by all deities, and the one who fastens it is none other than an existence no god can resist."
"You can't be serious. That seal is Ouranos's...!?"
Ikelos broke off mid-sentence, his face twisting unnaturally.
Because in that moment, he realized something was very wrong.
Ouranos might indeed possess tremendous power, but not even he could stand against the collective might of the gods.
Then why had they all accepted the collar in the first place?
That question led Ikelos to an even more terrifying thought.
...
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