Chapter 76 – Challenge Apollo! The Second Confrontation with a God!
In Orario's coliseum.
Bell had completely defeated the captain of the Apollo Familia, a Level 3 adventurer, Hyacinthos.
The moment this happened, the entire venue fell into a deathly silence. Everyone looked at each other, unable to utter a word for a long while.
Only after quite some time did a sparse clapping begin to echo through the coliseum, and it quickly spread at an astonishing speed, soon erupting into thunderous applause across the entire arena.
"Ohhhh! That was amazing!!"
"He beat a Level 3 adventurer! A win across levels—am I dreaming?!"
"What's the name of that boy? I've never seen such an astonishing duel before!"
"I think... his name is... Bell Cranel?"
"Bell Cranel! Bell Cranel! Bell Cranel!"
The cheers inside the Orario coliseum rose like a tidal wave, their fierce cries soaring into the sky. Praise and admiration poured in from both mortals and gods, and conversations about this shocking battle reverberated throughout the city.
As the adjudicating god, Ganesha also loudly proclaimed:
"The battle is over~~~~! What an unexpected result! A huge upset! Let's all congratulate the victor of this war game—Hestia Familia!"
"Hestia!" "Hestia!" "Hestia!!!"
Led by Ganesha, the audience broke out into chants.
The roaring voices overwhelmed the arena like a stormy sea and even spilled out, affecting buildings throughout Orario.
In fact, the commotion within the city of Orario was no less intense than in the coliseum.
In various taverns, many people had privately run gambling operations, and the results were now in.
Adventurers who had bet on the Apollo Familia and suffered defeat let out earth-shattering wails.
Meanwhile, the very few who won were in disbelief over their fortune.
"I won."
By comparison, Yamato Mikoto from the Takemikazuchi Familia remained incredibly calm. As if she had already foreseen the result, she quietly collected her winnings—enough money to repay all her debts in one go.
Just as she was about to leave, she noticed another woman beside her who had also earned a massive windfall.
"I remember you… Miss Naaza from the Miach Familia?"
As an adventurer, Mikoto often went to the alchemy district to buy potions, so she naturally recognized the manager of the Azure Pharmacy.
"From the Takemikazuchi Familia, huh?"
The dog-eared girl Naaza gave Mikoto a glance, smiled slightly, and showed off her own hefty gains. "Honestly, I didn't expect to win, but I bet everything I had just to support that guy. I never thought we'd really win. This should greatly ease the financial strain on my familia."
"That guy… You mean Bell?"
Mikoto instinctively assumed Naaza had supported Bell and thus participated in what seemed like a surefire losing gamble.
But Naaza shook her head and, with a look as if she saw through Mikoto, quietly said: "You should understand better than I do why this battle was won. We bet everything because we believe in that guy, in the potential of Emiya. Isn't that right?"
Mikoto was momentarily stunned by Naaza's words.
Then she smiled knowingly. The two exchanged a brief look and each left the tavern.
Looks like I'll have to buy potions at the Azure Pharmacy more often from now on, Mikoto thought, silently heading back toward the Takemikazuchi Familia.
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VIP Seats of the Coliseum
"He… actually won…"
Bete muttered in disbelief.
He stared blankly at Bell, who remained frozen on the battlefield, as if he couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
That boy's back, even now unmoving, questioned something deep within him.
When… when would he himself be able to fight a Level 3 adventurer?
No—when would he even dare to face an opponent stronger than himself in a fair fight?
Thinking that, Bete's face and body flushed red, heat surging from his core, spreading a burning shame and frustration through every fiber of his being.
The boy he once thought of as a weak little bug had unknowingly grown, transformed, and reached a level that even shook him to the core.
Bete's heart couldn't help but grow restless.
He didn't even want to stay at the scene anymore—he hurriedly left the coliseum.
"Bete!!"
Vice-captain Riveria tried to stop him.
But Captain Finn shook his head and said, "Don't worry about him. This is a bottleneck Bete was destined to face, given his personality. But… encountering a bottleneck at a time like this is actually a rare opportunity. It might be his chance to break through to Level 6."
Finn glanced at Ais beside him as he spoke.
He still remembered—Ais had broken through to Level 6 after witnessing the existence of the Sword Demon, a monster so far beyond comprehension that it forced her to surpass her past self in order to grow.
If Bell's impact on Bete was strong enough, he might also break through and evolve further.
"Can't believe he actually won."
"That kid couldn't even beat a Minotaur not long ago, right?"
"Where did he get that magic sword? Even the top smiths in the Hephaestus Familia might not be able to forge something like that!"
"This was truly a feast for the eyes."
Unlike Bete, the rest of the Loki Familia weren't deeply shaken by Bell's victory. They were simply impressed by the young man's triumph and admired his growth and determination.
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Meanwhile, in a far corner of the VIP seats
Ais Wallenstein, the Sword Princess, stared intently at Bell on the battlefield, as though trying to see through him entirely.
In her eyes, the person standing there wasn't just Bell Cranel. In fact, she didn't even see the battle as a fight between Bell and Hyacinthos.
As a true swordswoman, she understood better than anyone the true nature of the battle and where the victory had come from.
"Sword Demon, I will find you."
The golden eyes of the girl were as sharp as blades, locking firmly onto her target.
She chose not to approach Bell at that moment. Instead, she planned to wait for the right opportunity—to further investigate the truth behind the Sword Demon within the Hestia Familia.
She believed she could find what she was searching for within that familia.
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At the Tower of Babel, where the gods gather
"How… how could this be…! There must be some kind of mistake!"
Apollo stood alone, pale-faced and dazed.
The sight of Hyacinthos lying on the ground in the center of the arena had shocked him deeply. No matter how many times he blinked, the scene before him didn't change one bit—he could not escape reality.
So stunned was he that the laurel crown on his head even fell off without him noticing.
"Hmph, Apollo! I won!"
Hestia stood tall and proud, striding up to Apollo with a triumphant air.
Faced with this god who looked like a little girl, Apollo normally wouldn't be shaken—there was no way he'd be swayed by someone like her.
Yet for some reason, at that moment, as he looked at her, he felt a chill run down his spine—pure terror coursed through his entire body.
So much so that he didn't dare linger another second. In a panic, he fled the Tower of Babel.
"What's with him?" Hestia asked, confused by Apollo's reaction.
The other gods were also baffled by Apollo's behavior and looked at each other in puzzlement.
"By the way, Hestia, what were the terms of the war game you signed with Apollo?" one god nearby asked. "I remember if Apollo Familia won, they'd get to take that Bell kid from your familia. But if your Hestia Familia won—what was the condition then?"
"Uhhh…"
Hestia found herself speechless.
As the goddess of her familia, she couldn't exactly admit that she herself didn't even know what the victory conditions of the war game were.
Because Shirou didn't want the Hestia Familia to be too deeply involved, he hadn't explained many details to them.
As a result, even Hestia didn't know why the war game had happened or what was at stake.
With no other choice, Hestia defaulted to bluffing—pretending she knew everything, putting on a confident front to stop the other gods from prying further.
Meanwhile, Loki and Freya exchanged a knowing glance and, without saying a word, got up and quietly left the bustling Tower of Babel.
Orario's largest casino
While the entire city was in an uproar over the shocking events at the coliseum and people were excited by Bell Cranel's stunning reversal, the casino area seemed particularly deserted. For nearly the entire day, hardly anyone passed by.
Until late in the afternoon, when Shirou's figure appeared at the casino entrance—finally, the casino welcomed its first guest.
However, Shirou did not enter immediately. He waited outside for a while.
Before long, two female figures slowly approached from the end of the road.
Undoubtedly, they were the gods of the strongest familias—Loki and Freya—here to witness the bet between mortal and god.
"Tch tch, so that kid of yours really did beat Hyacinthos, huh," Loki said as she threw an arm over Shirou's shoulder, grinning. "Still, I believed you could win from the start. After all, with your personality, there's no way you'd agree to such a crazy wager without being certain of your chances."
"Hehe, funny—didn't you totally curse Shirou out before?" Freya said, exposing her with a smile. "You didn't trust him at all back then."
"T-That was just an act!" Loki glared at Freya. "To fool the enemy, you must first fool yourself."
"Let's go with that," Freya chuckled, clearly not planning to argue.
"Isn't it risky for you both to come here like this?" Shirou asked with some concern. "This is Apollo Familia territory. Without guards, wouldn't that be dangerous?"
Even though gods possess power beyond mortals, they are forbidden from using divine power in the lower world—or else they would be sent back to the heavens.
Without their powers, gods are just as vulnerable as mortals, even more so than blessed adventurers.
"Relax, isn't Emiya Shirou here?" Loki laughed.
"Oh, please. I'm just a Level 2—I can't protect you."
Shirou had no intention of revealing his true strength and played the part of the powerless.
Loki and Freya simply smiled knowingly and didn't press him.
"Relax. As long as Freya's here, it'll be fine," Loki waved it off. "No number of adventurers could possibly take her on."
"Because of Lady Freya's divine authority, right?"
"That's right."
Loki nodded.
Shirou glanced at Freya, who had remained calm and silent the whole time. He had heard rumors about the goddess of beauty—he knew she was suspected of possessing the divine authority of Charm.
It was said that Freya's charm was irresistible even to top-tier adventurers. Among all the gods in the lower world, her power was one of the strongest.
That's why the Freya Familia had become the strongest.
"All right, let's not stand around chatting." Freya smiled and shook her head as she saw Shirou watching her. "Isn't today about your gamble with Apollo?"
"That's true," Loki said, casting a deep glance at Shirou. "Though I don't think you'd have come here without being sure of yourself, let me remind you—Apollo's divine authority isn't to be taken lightly."
"Don't worry. I'll win."
Just like how he was confident in Bell's victory before, Shirou came here today with absolute certainty that he would defeat Apollo.
Even if Apollo possessed the divine authority of Good Fortune, Shirou would use all his strength to defeat him and wipe out the darkness in Orario!