A cold wind swept across the battlefield, and the black smoke gradually faded.
Reflected in the Cat People woman's dark pupils, the white-haired boy stood completely unharmed.
"He dodged it...?"
Endless shock slipped from Anakitty's lips.
Her eyes widened as she searched through the black mist that had yet to fully disperse, tracking the arrows' path. When she saw the broken remains scattered at the boy's feet, Anakitty immediately understood.
Bell Cranel had not dodged them by luck. He had blocked every one of them with his short blade.
The silver metal at the tips of the arrows had been completely blunted. Several sharp arrowheads had lost their fangs and lay scattered beside the boy.
How had he done it?
This time, Anakitty kept her shaken thoughts to herself, afraid of affecting the others' fighting spirit.
She was exceptionally clever. The fact that she had deliberately placed herself in the role of the [villain] to help the boy cut off unnecessary trouble was enough to show just how sharp she was.
There had been no flaws in her tactics, and everything had gone smoothly. When Elfy launched the fireballs, Alicia's arrows had not only been fired from the boy's blind spot, they had also been covered by the light and roar of the fireballs. There was no way he should have sensed them.
Had he predicted it beforehand?
If so, why hadn't he adjusted his position when he fired his Quick-Cast Magic? Dodging the arrows should have been the most reasonable choice.
Was it to show off his combat ability? No. From what she knew, Bell Cranel was not that kind of arrogant person.
Anakitty's thoughts were a complete mess.
What she did not know was that the boy's action just now had also come from a coincidence.
"..."
As the smoke cleared, Bell stood there politely, waiting for the Cat People girl to recover from her shock.
He had already gained something from that brief exchange.
Bell knew that Anakitty was very smart. She would definitely make full use of everyone's strengths and set up a complete strategy.
The moment Anakitty retreated and Elfy launched her fireballs, Bell had already predicted that Alicia would make a move.
It could have been Magic, or it could have been a long-range arrow. Judging from how well it could be hidden, the latter was more likely.
Bell had been on guard in advance. To defend against a sneak attack, he had originally planned to adjust his position and quickly move away.
He had experienced a similar situation when he fought Chloe, but back then, his only opponent had been Chloe, and there had been a certain amount of time between the smoke rising and Chloe's dagger attack.
This time was completely different. The moment the roar sounded, the arrows would likely come right after. Anakitty was exactly that clever. So rather than blocking in place, changing position was the best solution.
But the instant the flames collided and the arrows pierced through the smoke, Bell sensed something unusual.
"Careful."
The [Goddess's Blade] in his hand spoke.
It was not language in the way humans understood it, but an extremely faint tremor, like a butterfly beating its wings or a stream murmuring as it flowed. From anyone else's point of view, it would have seemed like nothing unusual at all.
Only Bell understood. [She] was warning him.
That pitch-black short blade seemed to have sensed the approaching threat and conveyed her words in her own way.
Metal and human.
Weapon and master.
[She] and the boy.
The [Goddess's Blade] crossed every barrier to deliver a warning to her companion.
In that brief instant, Bell's thoughts raced, and he could not help remembering Hephaestus's words.
"Bell Cranel, this divine weapon... she is alive."
When the red-haired goddess said those words, awe and joy rippled in her eyes.
Across the entire sweep of history, no weapon this extraordinary had ever been born. Faced with such an [unknown] existence, Hephaestus could barely suppress the excitement in her heart.
"Alive?"
Bell repeated the goddess's words in confusion.
"That's right. I don't mean the kind of debate people in the Lower World often have about whether plants are alive. I mean it literally. This weapon has her own soul, just like a human."
Hephaestus rested her gaze on the pitch-black short blade and patiently explained the weapon's nature.
There was one kind of existence in the world that was extremely similar to the Goddess's Blade as she was now.
[Ancient Spirits].
Before the Gods descended to the Lower World, monsters from the Dungeon poured out of the great hole, bringing endless disaster and suffering to humanity.
To drive back the monsters, some Gods sent Ancient Spirits to the Lower World to strengthen humanity's fighting power.
It was similar to Falna. Ancient Spirits could bestow blessings upon humans, or transform into weapons and lend their strength to those who fought with all they had.
The current Goddess's Blade was the same.
What made her different from the Ancient Spirits was that her power was still growing. She had not become a weapon in a complete form. Instead, like something newly born, she was absorbing the boy's [Excelia] and [Great Feats] while gradually approaching the power of an Ancient Spirit.
Their natures were similar, but their paths were completely opposite.
Strictly speaking, the Goddess's Blade did not belong to the category of Ancient Spirits. Whether in the Lower World or all of Heaven, she was a one-of-a-kind existence.
And the end of her path was a complete and utter [unknown].
"To be honest, even I don't know how far this weapon can grow. From what I can tell right now, she has only just obtained a [heart]. The bonds you share with the girls have woven together and become the medium that sustains her, granting her the memories you have built up until now."
Hephaestus looked at the short blade with a trace of respect and reverence in her eyes.
If one pursued the meaning behind the birth of a Goddess, and the existence they presided over represented that Goddess, then this Goddess's Blade was a Goddess born for the boy alone.
The [heart] had not been created by the girls' bonds. It had simply responded to those tangled emotions and taken Hephaestus's [Divine Power] for its own use.
That was also why, when the Forging Goddess first attempted to reforge the dagger, a part of herself had been consumed. In her eyes, this weapon surpassed Ancient Spirits. It was an existence infinitely close to a Goddess, but Gods could not grow, while the Goddess's Blade possessed limitless potential.
"To put it jokingly, once your level reaches a certain point, you might wake up one morning and find that this weapon has turned into a beautiful girl lying beside you."
As the topic drew to a close, Hephaestus's face was full of excitement.
"That feels like cheating, doesn't it? Now I'm even more motivated."
Bell accepted the joke with an open smile.
"Hehe. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of surprises this weapon will bring."
The conversation ended with Hephaestus's smile.
...
Bell drew his thoughts back. There was no doubt that this warning of danger was exactly the kind of surprise the goddess had spoken of.
To answer this miracle, Bell did not retreat. Instead, he stood his ground and listened to the voice of the [Goddess's Blade].
As the smoke rose, the boy danced together with the [Goddess's Blade] in his hand.
Beneath that beautiful crimson arc of light, every arrow, without exception, was cut down to the ground.
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