'Looks like I'm the only one left.'
Bell figured Hestia and Hephaestus probably didn't want to see him face-to-face right now.
Well, he had to admit it—this whole 'Godslayer' thing was a lot bloodier than he'd imagined. The actual act of killing a god wasn't anything like what he'd pictured. The sheer amount of blood was on a whole different level.
To be honest, Bell himself felt awkward about it. He never expected to gain the power to slay gods in such a way. Just thinking about where this power came from... he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to say it out loud.
After all, it was just too personal.
'Hestia's probably so focused on my development abilities that she didn't even notice I picked up a new skill.'
[Name: Bell Cranel
Lv. 5
Development Abilities:
· Stealth: B
· Cognition: D
· Space: E
· Godslayer: I
Attributes:
· Strength: ??? 1999-I0
· Endurance: ??? 2185 → I0
· Dexterity: ??? 1999-I0
· Agility: ??? 1999-I0
· ???: 2207-I0
Magic:
'Four-Dimensional Space':
· Storage
'Lightning Command':
· Quick-Cast Magic
· Manipulates Lightning
Skills:
'Personal Training':
· Early Bloomer
· Double EXP against Strong Enemies
'Heaven's Luck':
· High Luck
'Poor Man's Desire':
· Power Accumulation
'Seven Deadly Sins':
· Pride]
'Pride... is that referring to me?'
The moment he saw the skill's name and read the description, Bell immediately thought of the two sins sealed within his Four-Dimensional Space—'Envy' and 'Greed.'
Since Envy and Greed were also among the Seven Deadly Sins, could they be directly tied to his skill? Bell couldn't help but make the connection.
Driven by that thought, he took out the 'Envy' and 'Greed' sealed inside.
As he expected, the moment they were unsealed, both reacted intensely to him.
The black mist that had always remained confined inside the bottles instantly clung to his hand—like it was yearning to return to its origin.
Was it because of that skill?
If he really was the embodiment of Pride, then why hadn't 'Envy' and 'Greed' reacted this way from the start? Bell couldn't help but wonder—but his thoughts suddenly came to a halt.
'Come to think of it, when I took "Envy" and "Greed," they didn't really resist. I thought it was because Runes had strong control, but now... it doesn't seem like that was the reason.'
'Envy' had been extracted from Hephaestus's face—half of which had twisted into a grotesque snarl in reaction to it. It was obvious even gods couldn't remove "Envy," nor did they seem to have the means to.
If "Envy" were really that troublesome, there's no way removing it would've gone so smoothly. Thinking about it from that angle, Bell figured "Envy" might have been connected to him from the very beginning.
When he took it back then, it didn't react like it did now—probably because he hadn't yet awakened the "Seven Deadly Sins" skill.
'Let's give it a try.'
Bell stared at the bottle sealing "Envy" in his hand. He layered on some Runes as insurance, then twisted the cap open.
The black mist inside burst out like a wild stallion breaking free. But it didn't flee—instead, it circled around him like a stray cat that had finally found its home. It gave Bell no time to react before diving straight into his body.
"!"
'The Runes didn't do anything?'
The enchantments he'd cast on himself were nearly identical to the seal on the bottle. And yet, while the bottle had held "Envy" in check, the mist had entered his body almost without resistance. Even Bell couldn't deny what that meant.
'So "Envy" really is strongly connected to me. That's why it let me pull it from Hephaestus's face, and why it willingly stayed in the bottle.'
'I never imagined it would be like this.'
The realization hit harder than he expected. Back then, he thought it was all thanks to his own effort. But now... it seemed there was more to it.
If he was right...
Bell looked at the other bottle in his hand.
"Come back too."
As soon as he spoke, "Greed" tore through its seal and slipped into his body, just like "Envy" had. The situation left Bell completely speechless.
'Should I be grateful they're so considerate of my feelings?'
Still, the more he thought about it, the stranger it all felt. But now that things had reached this point, there was no use dwelling on how odd it was. Rather than fixating on the weirdness of it all, it made more sense to figure out why this power remained external.
'Now that I think about it... "Envy" had already taken root in Hephaestus's face even before she descended to Genkai. Even if there is a connection to me, that timeline feels way too long.'
After pondering it for a while, Bell couldn't come up with any immediate answers. So he pulled out the secret notebook he kept in his Four-Dimensional Space and jotted the question down on a blank page.
The notebook contained a list of questions Bell considered important. Sometimes, he didn't have time to think them through on the spot, and he worried he'd forget if he didn't write them down.
And the matter of the "Seven Deadly Sins" was no small issue. Who knew what kind of unknowns were tied to it? No—more accurately, Bell was certain that what lay behind it involved entirely unfamiliar territory.
When it came to power, there was no such thing as inherently good or evil. The real question was whether something—or someone—powerful lurked behind it all.
It was something he had to keep a close eye on, just in case there was a massive trap waiting behind the scenes.
Even though Bell harbored deep suspicions about this power, that didn't stop him from wanting to understand how to use it.
Only by learning how it worked and where it came from could he begin to judge whether there was truly a problem behind it.
That said, he had just finished recovering from intense training, so for now, he wasn't going to stress over figuring out a new power. But once this break ended, he could start dedicating some time to exploring it.
On top of that, he also needed to further develop the "Godslayer" ability.
'So much to do,' Bell thought with a sigh.