"The Evilus being behind every misdeed… that's not wrong."
Hephaestus didn't find that strange. After so many years, she knew perfectly well how those people operated.
"But I don't think what happened with Astrea's child was an organized action from within their faction."
"Agreed. They've already lost the Spirits' support and barely trust them anymore. At a time like this, they wouldn't dare stir up big trouble on their own."
Loki also didn't believe it was an internal operation. The method used seemed far too clumsy—more like the work of an individual.
The way they lured Astrea's Familia was crude and blatant, practically announcing their own location. That might have worked years ago, but now it was nothing short of suicide.
What's Orario like these days?
Anyone foolish enough to reveal themselves as part of the Evilus or expose their base of operations would be torn apart by mobs on sight.
Hunting Evilus members in Orario wasn't just a solo job anymore—groups of adventurers were forming teams specifically for that purpose. After all, there's a big difference between the bounty for a corpse and one for a live capture.
Right now, Orario was overflowing with martial zeal.
If they could gang up, no one would ever bother with a one-on-one fight.
Freya, having regained her calm and graceful composure, brought the discussion to a close.
"All right, all right. How long are you three planning to keep talking about the Evilus?"
"The topic now isn't the Evilus—it's Bell."
The three goddesses turned their eyes toward Bell in unison, exchanging a silent nod.
As gods, their safety was guaranteed as long as they stayed in this house. But when it came to breaking the Evilus' schemes and disrupting their operations, that responsibility fell largely to Bell.
Yes—it all depended on Bell now.
Their children could fight against the Evilus' forces, but the foundation of that faction still lay with the gods themselves. And the only one capable of confronting a god… was Bell.
The divine pressure that emanated from gods was something no adventurer could withstand. Not one of them.
But Bell was different.
As the bearer of the "Godslayer" trait, he was unique.
He wasn't affected by divine pressure and could even inflict direct harm upon the gods.
So while their children could fight the main combat forces of the Evilus, Bell's role was to strike directly at their core.
"Bell, time to update your status~~!"
Since everything hinged on him, Hestia sprang to her feet immediately.
Other things could wait—but his status update couldn't.
[Name: Bell Cranel
Lv.5 → Lv.6
Development Abilities:
· Stealth: B → A
· Cognition: D → B
· Spatial Awareness: E → C
· Godslayer: I → F
Attributes:
· Strength: I0 → ??? 1999
· Endurance: I0 → ??? 2201
· Dexterity: I0 → ??? 1999
· Agility: I0 → ??? 1999
· Magic: I0 → ??? 2237
Magic:
"Four-Dimensional Space":
· Storage
"Lightning Command":
· Quick-Cast Offensive Magic
· Manipulates Lightning
Skills:
"Personal Training":
· Early Growth
· Double Experience from Fighting Strong Enemies
"Heaven's Luck":
· High Luck
"The Poor Man's Desire":
· Power Accumulation
"Seven Deadly Sins":
· Pride
· Envy
· Greed
· Gluttony]
That kind of growth potential could make even goddesses tear up.
His improvement was already beyond normal limits—so great that even two full level-ups from other adventurers couldn't compare to the growth Bell achieved with just one.
"This kind of growth potential... it's not just his stats—even his Development Abilities grow like this..."
Having seen countless exceptional children over the years, Freya had to admit—this was the first time she'd ever seen anything like it. The shock even made her lose her composure for a moment.
Now she finally understood why Bell's growth was so fast.
The "Early Bloomer" skill accelerated one's development and even doubled the experience gained when facing powerful foes. Under those conditions, how could his growth not be absurdly fast?
"Not only are his ability scores and skills remarkable, even the growth rate of his Development Abilities defies reason."
Development Abilities progressed entirely differently from basic stats. Normally, they advanced much slower—even the most common ones, like "Abnormal Resistance," rarely reached rank D. Yet Bell's highest Development Ability was A, and even his lowest—"Godslayer," the newest one—had already reached F.
"So Bell's Early Bloomer must be influencing his Development Abilities too."
Truly remarkable...
Freya sighed, both amazed and quietly admiring Bell's exceptional nature.
Even without Zeus or Hera's influence, Bell would still have been extraordinary in his own right.
The only reason his true strength remained unnoticed was his personality. That boy hated standing in the spotlight—he preferred to strike when no one saw it coming.
'How did that old bastard Zeus manage to raise Bell into something like this?'
Freya couldn't help but curse Zeus inwardly.
"Bell, you're ready to level up."
At Hestia's words, Bell nodded slightly. The Juggernaut had indeed been a worthy challenge—enough to serve as the key for his advancement.
"Then let's do it."
"Right!"
Hestia got to work, more energetic than usual. Fortunately, the leveling process for a Familia God wasn't overly complicated—it simply depended on whether the child met the requirements.
Soon, Bell's maxed-out ability scores reset to zero, converting all his accumulated growth into life energy. His level rose from Lv.5 to Lv.6.
Then came the usual step—choosing a new Development Ability.
This time, the list was even longer than before. There were so many options that even Hestia had trouble scanning through them all.
Most adventurers had maybe seven or eight choices, but Bell's list filled more than three full lines.
Nearly every rare and common Development Ability in all of Orario appeared among his options.
Even high-tier abilities like "Mystery" were available—a selection so dazzling it could blind anyone looking at it.
But Hestia wasn't just any god.
For her, the ordinary abilities weren't even worth considering. A child's Development Ability determined their true potential, and the only ones that mattered to her were the rare and special ones.
"Bell, this time your options are 'Soul,' 'Destruction,' and 'Time.'"
All three were exceedingly rare—Development Abilities that had never appeared on any adventurer before.
Faced with these choices, Bell fell into deep thought.