Using the Hestia Knife, Hestia carefully cut her finger and allowed a single drop of blood to fall onto Belle's exposed back.
The moment it made contact...
Blue light flooded the secluded alleyway.
Inexplicable, holographic symbols bloomed into existence, ancient runes hovering over Belle's back as her falna responded.
The symbols shifted and rearranged themselves, reflecting the changes taking place within his body.
Hestia wiped the sweat from her brow as she focused, carefully updating Belle's status.
'A great increase in all her ability values...'
Under normal circumstances, the updated status would be imprinted onto a parchment.
But they didn't have one with them.
Neither Bell nor Hestia particularly cared.
What mattered was the result.
Belle inhaled sharply, eyes widening as a rush of warmth coursed through her body.
Her muscles felt lighter, her senses sharper... stronger.
Hestia watched her expression change and couldn't help but smile.
A small, contented smile.
'It was all worth it.'
Her thoughts drifted back to the hardship she had endured just to obtain that knife.
She remembered kneeling in a perfect dogeza for days on end, forehead pressed to the ground, begging Hephaestus... Orario's most prominent blacksmith... to craft a weapon for Belle.
"Why are you going so far?"
Even as her knees ached and her forehead burned red, Hestia had answered without hesitation.
"I want to help Bell."
"There is a dream she's chasing... a path full of thorns and hardship."
She had seen it the moment she witnessed firsthand how relentlessly Belle trained.
Beaten.
Bruised.
Battered.
Bones broken by her aunt's merciless training...
And yet Belle never relented.
At first, it had simply been a childish desire to become a hero.
But now, there was more.
There was a boy whose back she was chasing... a boy who, in Hestia's eyes, possessed potential she simply could not comprehend.
'He may be the chosen one who will come to fulfill the promised time...'
If that was true...
Then catching up to him might be even harder than becoming a hero.
Hestia knew it.
And somewhere deep down, she also knew that Bell would continue chasing forward even if she were fully aware of that fact.
"I'm a useless and poor Goddess who owns nothing."
Hestia had said quietly.
"Seeing her work so hard, knowing that the only thing I can provide is falna... I hated that."
"I want to help her in any way I can!"
Hephaestus had gone silent.
Then, slowly, she smiled.
"...Fine. I'll make your weapon."
She crossed her arms.
"But let's be clear... my services aren't free."
"You'll be paying."
And thus, the Hestia Knife was born.
A special weapon that could only be wielded by a member of the Hestia Familia.
A blade that would grow alongside its user.
It was also the day the Hestia Familia fell two hundred million valis into debt.
'Thank you, Hephaestus.'
Hestia's gaze returned to the present... to her only child standing before her now.
"Good luck, Belle," she said softly.
Belle nodded, gripping the Hestia Knife in one hand and her nameless dagger in the other...
"Thank you very much, Goddess."
Then, without hesitation, she turned and sprinted back into action.
...
"Tsk! What the hell is this thing?!"
Ouka of the Takemikazuchi Familia spat the words as he tightened his grip around the handle of his massive axe.
Everywhere he looked, the aftermath of the battle lay scattered across the street... injured adventurers sprawled across broken stone and overturned stalls.
Some groaned weakly. Others didn't move at all.
They had tried to fight back.
And they had been utterly crushed.
'What kind of trouble did we just step into...?'
His gaze returned to the unfamiliar monster looming at the center of the chaos.
A grotesque, towering plant-like abomination... its thick vines writhed like serpents, and its massive stalk pulsed as if it were alive and breathing.
Cold sweat ran down Ouka's temple.
This wasn't something they were prepared for.
He snapped his head to the side just in time to see Chigusa draw her bow, her hands trembling as she loosed an arrow.
The projectile flew true...
But the monster moved.
With an unnatural burst of speed, it twisted its body, the arrow slicing harmlessly through empty air. In the next instant, the ground cracked as the creature charged straight toward her.
"Chigusa!"
"Chigusa!"
Ouka roared her name as he raised his axe and lunged forward.
At the same time, Mikoto dropped her center of gravity and sprinted in, katana gleaming as she prepared to intercept.
They were too slow.
The monster suddenly accelerated, its massive head rearing back before slamming forward with brutal force.
BOOM!
"Argh!"
"Urgh!"
Ouka was sent flying through a stone wall, his body vanishing in a cloud of dust, while Mikoto was hurled across the street, crashing through a market stall in a spray of shattered wood.
'Too... strong...'
Mikoto coughed, blood spilling from her lips as she struggled to lift herself up.
Her vision blurred... but what she saw next made her blood run cold.
Chigusa was tangled in thick, thorn-covered vines, her body lifted off the ground as they tightened around her torso.
"Ahhh!"
Her scream tore through the air.
'Chigusa...!'
Mikoto forced her arms beneath her, muscles screaming in protest as she tried to stand.
'Stand up!'
She screamed at herself, teeth grinding as her legs shook beneath her weight.
But even as she struggled, she knew...
She wouldn't make it in time.
Chigusa's body convulsed as she coughed violently, blood spilling from her mouth.
A sickening crack echoed as the vines tightened further, the sound of ribs snapping under pressure.
"Everyone... I'm sorry..."
Chigusa's voice was barely more than a whisper, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Ouka, having dragged himself from the rubble, saw the scene and let out a broken scream as he clawed desperately at the ground.
"Nooo!"
It seemed an adventurer would fall today.
It seemed all hope was lost...
"Not on my watch!"
Shing!
A white flash cut through the battlefield.
In a single heartbeat, the vines binding Chigusa were severed, falling limp to the ground.
ROAR!
The plant monster shrieked in agony, its body thrashing violently as Belle Cranel landed between it and its prey... knees bent, stance firm, weapons drawn.
The Hestia Knife gleamed in one hand, a nameless dagger in the other.
"Chigusa!"
Ouka, Mikoto, and the remaining members of the Takemikazuchi Familia rushed forward.
Mikoto knelt beside Chigusa, placing two fingers against the side of her neck.
She closed her eyes, steadying her breath...
Then exhaled in relief.
"She's alive... just unconscious."
A collective sigh escaped them.
Their gazes shifted back toward Belle, eyes gleaming with gratitude.
There was no time for words.
No time for thanks.
The monster had already recovered.
With an enraged roar, it charged straight at them once more.
---
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