"That time, to escape from my grasp, it tore its own soul apart. Repairing souls isn't exactly my specialty, but in its condition, recovery would take time. And during that period, it would be at its weakest."
"It needs time to mend the missing pieces of its soul. At this stage, it will absolutely avoid any battle it can."
Bell had noticed this weakness long ago, and now was the perfect chance to use it.
This was a gamble—a wager that the Spirit would need protection while it recovered.
In that turbulent place deep within the dungeon, even the Corrupted Spirit was not truly part of the dungeon.
So it too would be subject to the dungeon's "greetings."
And the gap in its soul was the Spirit's greatest problem now.
After all, it had torn its own soul apart. Bell had heard the screams it let out in that process.
The pain itself was probably the least of its troubles. The real issue was its incompleteness.
Anxiety, panic, mental collapse, instability, even a rapid decline in power.
These were likely all afflictions the Spirit now faced.
At the same time, it still had to deal with the dungeon's "greetings."
If it no longer had the strength to resist, then it might truly become one of the monsters fully claimed by the dungeon.
That was why Bell chose to bet against the Spirit.
He bet it wouldn't dare gamble with its own safety!
"Bet it is."
Loki immediately grasped the situation, though her expression grew a little strange.
"You've got guts, kid. To make a wager in something involving Hermes? If he found out, he'd probably lose it."
Yet as she said this, the corners of Loki's lips curved slightly.
Bell noticed and clearly understood the mischievous side Loki kept hidden.
Most gods were like that—mischief seekers.
Bell had known this for a long time, and he also knew that Hermes, now caught in this game, was the biggest trickster of them all.
Bell understood the feeling well. He also liked watching chaos unfold—but only as a spectator, not as the one being toyed with.
"Loki-sama, could you please hide that smile of yours while we talk~?"
"!?"
Loki's face twitched, and she hurriedly covered her mouth.
But the faint curve at the corner of her lips refused to vanish, always giving her away.
So you do care about your image. Bell watched Loki-sama's reaction and couldn't help but feel a little impressed.
From the start, he had always seen Loki as a loud, shameless lecher. Who would have thought he'd see her trying to maintain her dignity?
Perhaps it was because Loki now stood side by side with Freya.
Bell chuckled and let the subject drop.
But Hestia and Hephaestus had already turned their eyes on Loki.
Before they could say anything, Bell picked up where he left off.
"In the coming days, the relationship between Evilus and the Spirits will grow rather ambiguous."
"The Spirits' Guardian has gone to protect them, leaving behind no point of contact with Evilus. And with the death of Ikelos, Evilus has no chance of striking at Orario. They'll definitely wait for the next opportunity—and that timing will be my chance."
When everything finally settled down, a quiet period arrived. But Bell found himself unable to rest.
My time to rest... He sighed over his lack of downtime, yet still forced himself to stay alert.
Then, turning his head, Bell froze.
He saw Hestia and Hephaestus glaring at Loki with a trace of hostility.
"What's wrong with you two?"
Bell knew relationships between goddesses were complicated, but had Loki done anything to provoke Hestia and Hephaestus?
"Nothing."
"Nothing."
Both goddesses quickly denied it, but Bell clearly noticed something strange in their eyes as they looked at Loki.
That guarded, wary look felt strangely familiar.
Wasn't this the same feeling he had toward Freya? Bell murmured to himself.
The odd realization made him glance back at Loki.
'No way, no way.'
Freya's reasons for setting her sights on him, Bell could understand. But Loki had no reason at all to do so.
'Loki's favorite is the Sword Princess. Could this lecher really have changed?'
He shook his head hard at the thought, refusing to accept such a possibility.
The absurd idea left him speechless at himself—how had he even come up with something so ridiculous?
Still, the notion tightened his chest, forcing him into reflection.
'Is this a side effect of my recent overconfidence?'
Bell gave his head a light shake, pushing away the nonsense.
'Ah, it's probably just because I haven't rested in a long while. That's why my thoughts keep spiraling into nonsense.'
'Looks like the plan to break through Level 6 will have to wait. At least until I've adjusted my condition.'
With that thought, a wave of fatigue washed over him.
He raised a hand to his forehead, fingers gently rubbing the corners of his eyes.
"...Sorry, I'm just a little tired."
Bell didn't hide his condition. With these two goddesses, he could conceal other matters, but not his physical state.
"Hm?"
That one sentence immediately drew Hestia and Hephaestus's attention back to him.
Looking closely, they saw faint bloodshot veins in the whites of his eyes.
"Bell, did you not rest properly yesterday?"
"...I had only just finished dealing with Ikelos yesterday, so I spent the night in my room reviewing the whole process. I also did some research on Ikelos's divine core."
So basically, he hadn't slept at all.
Hephaestus knew Bell's nature too well. If he said "review," it meant he had spent the entire night buried in research.
"You... I don't even know what to say to you."
Looking utterly exasperated, Hephaestus walked over and gave Bell a firm push on the back.
"Bell, go back to your room and get some proper rest now.
This time, no more reviews. Otherwise, Hestia and I will make sure you regret it tomorrow."
"...Got it."
Bell managed a wry smile, but he accepted their words.
His excessive excitement had left his mind worn down. What he needed now was rest—he couldn't keep forcing himself any longer.
...
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