Preparing for the promotion ceremony actually wasn't very complicated.
Although it was an important ritual, the key lay only in how quickly one could accept the power involved. As long as he prepared the rituals for "Stabilization," "Acceptance," and "Fusion," it would be enough.
This was arguably one of the simplest rituals. Even without Runes, one could buy a copy of "Detailed Explanation of Ritual Magic" from any magic bookstore in Orario and follow it well enough to recreate it.
In ancient times, this ritual had been considered a kind of "sacrifice."
Most of the time, it served as an offering process dedicated to a particular life.
As for the sacrificial offering, that depended on one's level of devotion.
But since this ritual involved only himself—offering himself to himself—the so-called offering was irrelevant. He simply needed to prepare the ceremonial space for Ritual 180.
The magic circle required magic power. That part couldn't be omitted.
After drawing a standardized magic circle in one section of the living room, Bell placed several Magic Stones around it.
During the preparations, Bell couldn't help but clench his fists.
'This really is embarrassing.'
Back when he still possessed overwhelming magic power, these preparations would have taken minutes. Now, he had to go through all these steps. He couldn't help missing those omnipotent days.
But Bell quickly shoved that sentiment aside.
Magic was a symbol of convenience, but also a symbol of strength. Wasn't he the one who chose to abandon that convenience?
Fortunately, even though most of his power had been sealed, his body was still his own. The physical impact wasn't too severe—he could still lift heavy things.
It took Bell half an hour to complete the ritual magic, carving Runes into the ground.
Once he placed the Magic Stones around the runes, the ceremonial magic circle activated.
"This will be the last time."
Bell let out a quiet breath after finishing everything. The magic circle he created this time looked terrible, but it was also the first time he had ever constructed one in this way.
His feelings were complicated. He stood up, stepped into the circle, and sat down at its center.
Once someone entered, the Magic Stone-powered circle activated automatically.
Bell spread his hands, manifesting the already-formed "sphere" before him once again.
This time, the sphere was no longer the simple black-and-white construct it had once been. The black and white still existed within it, but its appearance no longer radiated any aura at all—so ordinary that almost no one could notice it.
As Bell sat down, the five goddesses appeared around him. He noticed that none of their gazes registered the sphere he held.
'You can't see it?'
That surprised him a little. But given how unusual the sphere was, it wasn't strange that others might be unable to perceive it.
Or perhaps the sphere required special conditions to be observed.
'Special...?'
Bell pressed his lips together. Lately, it seemed the word "special" kept attaching itself to him. He didn't acknowledge it, but he couldn't really argue against it either.
He shook his head. Whether he was special or not didn't require anyone else's acknowledgment. As long as he understood it, that was enough.
He didn't need others to recognize him.
What he needed was for the insecure version of himself to accept it.
Bell looked warmly at the five goddesses standing around him. Since his rebirth, these were the people he valued most. Aside from that old man and the villagers, they were his ties to this world.
'I'm not going to die here.'
'I'll marry them all—every last one. I won't hand any of them over to anyone else!'
That pure desire and ambition shone with unmistakable Pride.
But it was a pride born from longing for the future—yearning for hope.
Conflicting emotions overlapped perfectly.
"I'll probably be unconscious for the next few days. I'll have to trouble you all with everything else."
"When I wake up again, I absolutely expect to see all of your sleepy morning faces."
His bold declaration made every goddess flush red. They knew exactly what it meant to "see everyone's waking faces"—and yet this idiot Bell actually dared to think such things!
At that moment, Bell summoned the "Type-Moon System." Following the prompt, he severed his final connection to the system and destroyed the Runes.
Before Bell could even process the feeling of losing everything, the sphere—having sensed Bell was now devoid of all "Heretical Power"—sank sharply and plunged into his body instantly.
"!!!"
In the next instant, an unimaginably vast force exploded from within Bell.
The torrent of energy nearly shattered the space around him.
A flood of power, like the mass of an entire world, poured into Bell alone, bathing his body in energy capable of destroying a world.
Instead of tearing Bell apart, that near-world-ending force formed a cocoon of light around him.
The torrent shook the entire space as if it might collapse.
Even the five goddesses, though mentally prepared, lost all traces of the flustered blushes they'd shown moments ago. Their expressions turned stiff with shock.
No one could stay calm after witnessing a world-breaking tide of power unfolding before their eyes.
"This energy is insane. Just standing near it feels like the seals on my body are about to be blown open."
Loki pinched her own stiff face, then froze as she realized the divine seals within her were nearly shattered by the leaking energy. It was beyond anything imaginable.
"I knew Bell's situation would be outrageous, but I never thought it'd be to this extent."
"Mm. This torrent of energy is truly overwhelming."
Only now did Freya fully understand what Bell's greatest hidden trump card was.
The Falna System—and everything Bell had concealed until now—couldn't compare to this.
"Now I finally understand why that 'World' chose to invest in Bell. If I had seen a trump card like this beforehand, I wouldn't have been able to resist investing either."
Freya's words carried a hint of practicality, but no one could disagree.