"What on earth has that kid been developing in Orario these past six months?"
That single thought filled Zeus's mind.
They had only been apart for half a year, yet Bell's direction of growth—and the speed of it—had completely surpassed everything Zeus had expected.
And the truth was, they had only seen a fraction of what he was really hiding.
"That kid isn't just at Lv.6. He even held back when he fought the Spirit Guardian."
Bell was only Lv.6, facing a genuine Lv.7 opponent, yet he still held back. Even so, he completely crushed the Lv.7 Spirit Guardian.
The whole thing felt unreal.
"He definitely held back. To preserve his full power, he used other Skills and his trump card. Judging by how relaxed he looked after the fight, he must have kept a lot in reserve. Those two Skills might've been used specifically so he could conserve strength."
Listening to Zeus, Hera began breaking down the first half of the fight as well.
Although it looked like Bell opened with his full power—as if that first strike had been prepared for a long time just to surprise the Spirit Guardian—everything after that was noticeably weaker.
But that "weakness" was only what it looked like. In truth, every strike after the first had been intentionally softened because of the Guardian's injuries. It was deliberate power restraint, pure and simple.
Hera couldn't imagine what kind of experiences Bell had gone through to make him hold back even in a life-or-death fight.
"What kind of past does this kid have, to still be conserving strength in a crucial battle?"
"Afraid of being ambushed?"
Bell had already taken a huge advantage just through his verbal probing and feints. Who knew the kid wasn't only taking advantage on the surface, but even keeping things in reserve tactically?
Looking at it that way, the Spirit and its Guardian were practically toys in Bell's hands.
"If that's the case, then the kid's actual power probably isn't much weaker than 'Silence' back in the day."
Zeus's expression twisted slightly at that thought.
Good grief. The aunt was a monster of that level, and now the nephew—without even reaching Lv.7—had already grown close to her strength. That kind of inherited talent was absurd.
But Hera thought for a moment and gave a slight shake of her head.
"I don't know exactly how strong Bell is, but he likely hasn't reached Alfia's peak yet."
She couldn't clearly define the gap, though.
Alfia's power back then came from the combination of several Skills working together.
Her ability to confront the "Empress" head-on had relied heavily on those Skills. Without them, matching that level of power would've been impossible.
And that was very similar to Bell's current situation.
How much of Bell's strength came from his own growth? How much came from layered Skills?
Without answering those questions, outsiders had no way to properly assess Bell's level.
For now, Hera could only conclude that Bell's strength was approaching Alfia's.
But even so, in her mind, Bell's natural talent already surpassed his aunt Alfia.
"But after killing two gods in a row, that kid's definitely caught the attention of the gods."
Hera was worried he might run into trouble because of it.
"That kid probably exposed that identity on purpose to draw the gods' attention, which is why he pushed things so far this time."
Zeus didn't think there was anything wrong with Bell. Exposing that identity now was clearly just to set up a target.
"He must be confident he can keep that exposed identity separate from his other one. Otherwise, he wouldn't have revealed that much in a situation like this."
"And with how cautious that kid usually is, would he really show his true hand so easily?"
"True."
Hera thought it over and found the reasoning sound.
Bell obviously knew there were gods watching him from behind the scenes this time. That was why he barely bothered to hide anything. It was clear he meant to set up a decoy.
And since he was setting up a decoy, he obviously wasn't doing it to make trouble for himself. The goal was to redirect the heat away from him...
"So after this incident, that kid will probably go completely low-key—so low-key that people won't even realize someone like him exists in Orario."
Zeus nodded in full agreement, though the scene they were watching now felt like a good point to pause.
"It's about time to wrap up."
"This operation accomplished everything perfectly: wiping out the Evilus, punishing their Familia God, and delivering a warning to those clueless idiots."
"But the most important thing is the chain of problems Bell triggered."
Each problem he'd exposed gave the gods a jolt.
The gods themselves were created by a higher-dimensional 'world,' a world that kept rebooting, and even that higher-dimensional world was showing signs of collapse.
These were topics that hit the gods hard.
Any one of them was enough to give the gods headaches—and to make them even more curious about the Genkai. Compared to fear, those lunatics were more eager to dig out whoever was responsible for bringing the "world" into existence.
Naturally, since all of this originated from Bell, the gods' scrutiny of him would only grow stronger.
Just as Zeus thought this projection was ending, the projection went dark. But the black screen didn't last long. The projection in front of Zeus and Hera didn't close; instead, the image brightened again, still fixed on Bell's back.
They saw Bell casually tear open space and step into a tunnel hidden between dimensions.
Spatial storms churned throughout the passage—one wrong step and he would be torn apart instantly.
Yet within that deadly corridor, a single path remained perfectly safe: the one Bell walked.
After passing through the treacherous spatial tunnel, he stepped out into a world filled with birdsong and blooming flowers.