Chapter 74: Bell Draws the Blade! The Frenzy Triggered by the Demon Sword!
"Is that kid's movement a little strange?" "Judging purely by numbers, there's no way he's only Lv.1!" "Could he have leveled up in the past few days?"
The gods of the Babel Tower watched the battle in the arena with surprised expressions.
Especially when considering that Bell, in less than a few months, had upgraded from a rookie adventurer to Lv.2, it was truly shocking.
After all, the fastest upgrading sword maiden so far, Ais, took more than a year to reach Lv.2.
Bell's leveling speed could now be said to have set a record in Orario!
"He's really reached Lv.2? How can it be so fast?"
Apollo himself was surprised by the result and immediately looked at Hestia, finding no confusion on her face, which meant she fully understood this fact.
He then gritted his teeth and said, "Hestia, you've been hiding something, haven't you?"
"It's not exactly hiding," Hestia waved her hand. "Even if Bell reached Lv.2, there's still a gap compared to Lv.3 Hyacinthos. It would still be very difficult to win this battle."
"Hmph, that's true."
Apollo nodded. The reason he could still sit firmly here was that he was certain no matter how fast Bell leveled up, he couldn't defeat the outstanding Hyacinthos.
Of course, due to Bell's unexpected performance, the gods in Babel Tower finally started watching the fight seriously and gradually became eager for this duel.
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Special seats in the arena.
"That kid is Lv.2 now? This leveling speed is even faster than Ais, right?"
Finn looked at Bell's movements on the battlefield and instantly judged his level.
The other members of the Loki Familia also showed suspicion at Finn's words. After careful verification, they found Bell was indeed Lv.2.
Such an exaggerated leveling speed was quite impressive even for the Loki Familia.
Even Ais, who originally wasn't paying much attention to this fight, couldn't help but fix her gaze on the battlefield.
"In just a few months, he's reached Lv.2... Could that kid really catch up with Bete within five years?"
Riveria, vice-captain of the Loki Familia, couldn't help but speak, then subconsciously looked toward Bete's direction.
"What nonsense are you talking about, Riveria!" Bete naturally couldn't accept this and angrily said, "That tomato kid, forget five years—give him a hundred years, he won't even catch a hair on my leg! Stop having such silly illusions!"
"Even so, this leveling speed is way too abnormal."
The adventurers of the Loki Familia all showed doubtful expressions, very puzzled by Bell's power increase.
Compared to most people being shocked by Bell's strength itself, in a corner of the familia, Lefiya saw a shadow of Shirou behind Bell's rapid leveling.
She almost instinctively believed Bell's fast upgrade had to do with Shirou.
"Who exactly is that guy..."
The more Lefiya thought about Shirou, the more uneasy she felt inside. Her originally strong enthusiasm toward Ais unknowingly shifted a lot to him.
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While everyone was surprised, at the center of the battlefield:
Hyacinthos regained his footing after being kicked away by Bell.
At this moment, his cheeks were burning hot, almost scalding.
That was not only the pain caused by Bell's kick but also the indescribable shame of being kicked in the face by a weaker adventurer.
"Huff, huff...!!"
As the most loyal follower of the sun god Apollo, Hyacinthos could not accept that he represented the Apollo Familia and was humiliated in front of so many watchful eyes.
This fact shattered Hyacinthos's mental balance.
He gritted his teeth, his nearly boiling brain stopped thinking and had only one thought left:
Make this weak adventurer who humiliated him die!
Even if it violated the agreement with the god Apollo, he absolutely had to brutally kill this hateful Bell Cranel!
"Haahhh!!"
In an instant, Hyacinthos madly raised his sword, intending to chop the white-haired boy in front of him into minced meat at once.
But what Hyacinthos did not expect was that Bell Cranel, who had just been nearby, somehow vanished from his sight and left no trace of his presence.
"Damn! Where did he hide?!"
The arena was wide open and the space was limited, yet Hyacinthos couldn't find Bell's figure.
This strange fact made Hyacinthos think he was seeing ghosts.
His heart raced wildly, sweat poured all over, and he turned his body repeatedly, looking around but still saw no sign of Bell.
Just when he began to doubt himself, doubting if his senses were wrong, a white figure suddenly rushed out like a beast from the thick smoke on the battlefield.
"! ! !"
Feeling a strong killing intent from behind his head, Hyacinthos turned immediately, raised his sword, and successfully blocked Bell's strike!
"Ah!"
Sparks flew as the dagger and sword clashed fiercely.
"Of course, Lv.3 can't be easily ambushed..."
Bell's eyes showed slight disappointment when his attack was blocked.
He originally relied on Hassan's dagger to mask his aura, successfully disappearing from Hyacinthos's vision, and thought he could sneak attack and win in this situation, but the level gap made his plan impossible to succeed.
"Got you!"
After hitting Bell, Hyacinthos's face suddenly showed joy.
He was not afraid to face Bell directly because the absolute level difference allowed him to easily suppress Bell.
As long as Bell didn't disappear from his sight like before, Hyacinthos was sure he would win this battle.
"Die! Die!! Die!!! Hahaha, hahahaha!!"
Hyacinthos laughed arrogantly and wildly swung his sword at Bell.
Those successive strikes, relying only on brute strength but wielded with speed and power far exceeding Bell's, suppressed Bell completely and eventually sent him flying with a direct hit.
Bang!
Bell's body rolled on the ground for a while before struggling to stand, covered in many wounds from the clash.
Seeing this, the surrounding spectators shouted excitedly—not cheering, but thrilled by the intense fight fully exploding.
That's what the arena was about—spectators came here to witness the clash of swords, blood and bloodshed.
As long as the fight was fierce enough, the audience would be satisfied.
Of course, by now, the spectators no longer believed Bell could win; they mostly hoped the boy could hold on a little longer under Hyacinthos's hands so they could see an even fiercer fight.
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"Lord Bell!"
Seeing Bell's injured state, Lili couldn't help but cry out.
She then looked at Shirou worriedly and asked, "With such a strong opponent, can Lord Bell really win?"
"He will win."
Inside the sword, Shirou didn't respond much, just answered simply.
"..."
Lili didn't know what to say for Shirou's near-overtrust.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Bell stood up again but was immediately chased and struck by Hyacinthos repeatedly, quickly being pushed to the brink of the arena.
"Hahaha, worthless trash of the Hestia Familia, this miserable appearance suits you perfectly!"
Hyacinthos arrogantly pointed his sword at Bell's head.
He was already completely engulfed in the frenzy of the fierce fight, and his mind lost all calmness and reasoning.
So, Hyacinthos didn't realize that although he had been chasing Bell all along, Bell had never received any truly fatal wounds.
Also, the blood flowing from Bell's wounds did not drip on the ground but strangely flowed into a long sword wrapped in cloth on his back.
Huff—
With the sound of the long sword wrapped behind becoming more obvious, Bell's expression grew calmer.
He kept his mind perfectly rational and, now with no way to retreat, sheathed Hassan's dagger and slowly drew the long sword from behind, unwrapping the cloth.
When the cloth covering the entire long sword was removed, what was exposed before everyone was a pitch-black, terrifying long sword resembling sharp teeth.
The black sword's blade, after absorbing the blood flowing from Bell, emitted a strange temperature, as if the weapon itself came alive, radiating a nearly eerie glow.
"Hunt him, Hrunting!"
Bell tightly gripped the long sword and, according to the method Shirou had taught him, fully activated all the power of this weapon.
Boom!
In an instant, the Hrunting seemed to merge with Bell, the crimson light covering the blade and Bell's body completely, making his eyes glow blood red!
The Magic Sword seemed driven by Bell's blood, instantly granting him an exaggerated power he shouldn't have, greatly enhancing his abilities!
"What?!"
Seeing Bell's change, Hyacinthos showed a surprised expression.
What shocked him more was that Bell, who had been desperately fleeing like hunted prey, now actively charged at him like a beast making a desperate last stand.
However, Hyacinthos wasn't panicked at all. As a Lv.3 adventurer, he possessed a developed skill called [Hunter], allowing him to exert full strength in any situation and respond to any form of attack from prey.
He was sure that as long as Bell was pushed into a corner, this battle would be his victory.
"Die!"
Hyacinthos gathered all his strength into one strike, intending to tear Bell apart and give this boy who humiliated him the most miserable fate.
He swung his full-powered sword.
But what he never expected was that when his strike collided with Bell's pitch-black Magic Sword, the result was completely unexpected by him and all the spectators.
Boom!
The sword clash was not the one-sided domination by Hyacinthos as everyone expected.
On the contrary, Hyacinthos felt an indescribable terrifying power at the moment of collision, his mouth cracked open, and his pupils trembled!
"Impossible!?"
Hyacinthos found it absolutely unbelievable that the boy's power was almost on par with his, crossing the gulf between Lv.2 and Lv.3!
He couldn't believe he was blocked by a Lv.2 adventurer's attack.
Bell seemed to have already foreseen this result. At the moment Hyacinthos's attack swelled, Bell swung his long sword and launched an astonishing combo!
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The tide had completely reversed.
Bell not only had the ability to fight Hyacinthos but also suppressed him completely in a unilateral attack before Hyacinthos could react!
"Uwooooh!?"
This incredible scene instantly threw the entire arena into an uproar.
Adventurers, announcers, even gods—all were shocked.
The unexpected comeback ignited the excitement of the whole city; everyone clenched their fists, palms sweaty, immersed in the scene of the decisive battle.
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At the special seats:
"Hey hey hey, what's going on with that kid?" "Lv.2 can fight Lv.3?" "Am I dreaming?!" "That sword! It must be that sword in his hand that changed him!" "What kind of Magic Sword is that?!"
Riveria and other Loki Familia members widened their eyes, never expecting the battle to unfold like this, showing expressions of disbelief.
Most incredulous was Bete.
His gaze was almost fixed on Bell, fighting Hyacinthos, unable to imagine that just months ago, the boy was running away from the Minotaur, yet now had undergone such a huge transformation.
Correspondingly, Ais's gaze was also drawn to Bell.
But she wasn't focused on Bell's power—it was his movements.
Although it might be an illusion, she instinctively felt a familiar sensation from Bell's movements, a feeling she had only recently encountered.
"Sword Demon... That boy's swordsmanship looks a little like the Sword Demon's swordsmanship!"
Ais's eyes widened, never expecting a clue about the Sword Demon to suddenly appear. Her expression became extremely excited.
If it weren't for the arena erupting in a fierce, public battle, she probably would have rushed onto the battlefield to ask Bell about the Sword Demon's whereabouts!