"I hate fighting battles I can't win. So I plan to advance one step further before standing in front of him. And honestly, after such a big leap, I need time to settle myself."
Bell already had his own strategy for conquering the Dungeon.
Even now, he knew that until he patched up the flaw created during his promotion, at best he'd only have a fifty-fifty chance against him. But when facing an enemy, one must always aim to hold the advantage. Did anyone really think such a gap could be fixed mid-battle?
At lower levels, sudden bursts of strength might occasionally compensate, but high-level battles often establish the balance of power before they even begin. Sometimes, victory or defeat is decided before the first strike.
Faced with this reality, Bell became even more cautious. Unless absolutely necessary, he minimized his actions. And even when forced to act, he preferred a single decisive strike over dragging a fight out.
So after returning, Bell had no intention of rushing through the Dungeon's full conquest in one trip. Rather than facing that thing head-on with even odds and trying to grow through an uncertain battle, he preferred to master his power beforehand—or better yet, ascend even higher—before confronting it.
When that moment came, he wouldn't be the challenger. That thing would.
…Though technically, that thing was the challenger. Bell quietly reminded himself. Which only made it all the more necessary to transcend before the fight—what if that thing suddenly erupted with unexpected power? Some things required caution.
"By the way… did you and my dear mother even pry into my thoughts?"
Shiki Ryougi shook her head slightly; she would never stoop to such tasteless behavior.
"I didn't. But your mother seems to have projected your thoughts through your bloodline connection."
She waved her hand and summoned a projection. It displayed Bell—his face completely blurred. His inner thoughts appeared below in written text.
…It really was you, Mother. Bell felt like a teenager whose mother kept opening his diary drawer every day with a spare key.
"Mother, don't display my inner thoughts. Otherwise, when I see you, I will definitely give your head a couple of solid whacks."
The screen flickered twice, erasing the displayed thoughts, and a new line appeared:
[Bad child, you actually dare think of hitting Mama's head!?]
Bell covered his twitching face with both hands.
"You started this. And now that I know you're projecting my thoughts, do you really think the thoughts you hear are still my actual thoughts?
"Who would allow their thoughts to be read after realizing they're being spied on? Are those even real thoughts anymore? Don't think I can't do something about it."
Blocking Mother from peeking at his "diary" was practically a basic survival skill. Bell didn't know if others could do it, but he certainly could. And afterward, he would absolutely give Mother two hard knocks on the head.
Mother clearly understood this just as well as he did. Thus, all she left on the projection were three sulking words:
[Bad child!!!]
The triple exclamation marks perfectly illustrated her mood.
But Bell didn't believe she was actually angry. She was probably on a couch somewhere, eating chips and watching the drama unfold like any other binge-watcher.
He ignored her reaction and took out the "Kuji Kanesada."
"Also, thank you for your support. This blade has been extremely helpful, especially at the beginning."
The perception of death infused within the blade was almost like fragments of Authority. It had helped Bell tremendously early on and granted him the foundation to understand death.
Shiki Ryougi glanced at her own sword and accepted it with a small smile.
"You don't need it anymore?"
"Yes. One weapon is enough for me. Other powers won't help me anymore—they'll only create unnecessary dependencies."
Though Bell was no longer affected by such drawbacks, the blade truly held no purpose for him now. His understanding of Authority was already deep enough; no external tool could reinforce it further. And more importantly, he shouldn't take on extra "colors" now.
He had only just managed to completely "bleach" himself through his ascension. Taking on any other influence now would only cause trouble.
"Then I'll look forward to your performance."
The word "performance" was deliberately emphasized.
Only someone who controlled the situation completely had the right to call another's actions a performance. For Shiki Ryougi, everything done by those below her was exactly that—a performance born from the gaps in strength, cognition, and essence.
And she had long grown tired of such predictable displays. Everything within her understanding held no expectation. Only a performance from someone on her level could interest her.
"Look forward to it…?"
Now how was Bell supposed to respond to that?
Understanding what the young lady meant only made him more self-conscious.
"It'll probably just be a terrible show. I imagine you'll be disappointed."
Shiki Ryougi naturally knew that. But she wasn't here to watch the battle itself—she wanted to see the flaw in Bell, the one that person had always criticized.
"The battle is only part of it. What I'm really looking forward to is whether you can fix that flaw in the end. And how you decide to act."
"…"
So you're just here to enjoy the spectacle, huh. Bell rolled his eyes, said nothing more, and turned to leave.