"Hahahaha!"
Seeing this, the Spirit's earlier frustration vanished, replaced by wild laughter.
"Idiot! I may not dare project my soul down here, but so what? You're dying today!"
"My children, tear him apart!"
The soldiers who had burst from their membranes straightened their bodies, but instead of following the Spirit's command, they dropped to one knee before Bell.
"Eh?"
The Spirit froze, completely stunned.
And it wasn't just her—every god and mortal in Orario was left speechless.
As the 'Spirit Soldiers' knelt in reverence, Bell's figure flickered and appeared behind Revis.
A moment later, his voice rang through all of Orario.
"I was just keeping you talking. You didn't actually think I was waiting for you, did you?"
A flash of cold light streaked across everyone's vision.
"!?"
Revis, her body still under the Spirit's control, instantly felt the biting chill and the cold steel at her skin.
Her neck!?
Just like the last ambush!
In that instant, she understood. The person who had ambushed her before and severed her arm was this man.
"This time is different!"
Revis roared uncontrollably, both hands snapping up to seize the blade already nearing her throat.
"Ssshh!"
Her fingers scraped against the edge, sparks flying, yet the blade still pierced her palms and slashed toward her neck.
'So heavy!'
This strike was nothing like the previous one. The weight behind it was overwhelming, far beyond her expectations. Her body had been modified, strengthened by devouring Magic Stones; she was far tougher than before. Ordinary first-class weapons could barely harm her now.
Yet the result was the same.
'Damn it!?'
Revis clenched her teeth and forced her full strength into pushing the blade aside, her neck straining backward in a desperate attempt to evade it.
"Shh!"
An arm, along with part of her shoulder, crashed heavily to the ground.
Losing a limb was a grievous wound—but her neck survived.
Bell looked at Revis, twisted into an awkward posture, momentarily surprised and not immediately following up with another attack.
That brief pause was enough. Revis clutched her left shoulder and retreated rapidly.
"Ha… ha…"
That moment had been absolutely terrifying for her. Even now, she felt as if Death's scythe had already grazed her throat.
The threat this man posed was several times worse than during their last encounter.
Back then, she had been caught by a sneak attack, gravely injured only because he used a special Magic to close the distance infinitely fast.
But this time, he seized the moment purely with speed. The force was greater, the blade sharper—completely different from before.
The danger he posed now eclipsed the last encounter entirely.
Looking at Revis' miserable state, Bell shook his head slightly, then returned the blade to his four-dimensional space.
"The same attack managed to cripple you again. Looks like the Spirit's standards aren't that high after all—after all this time, all it did was make your body a bit tougher than before."
"But I'll give you this: you've improved since last time."
"After what happened, the Spirit must've given you the 'Regeneration' ability, right?"
"Fixing a severed arm shouldn't be much trouble now."
Revis instinctively grabbed at her missing left shoulder.
The bleeding had been forcibly stopped, but the pain still burned into her nerves, reminding her that if she slipped up even once, the next cut would take her head.
As for regeneration—she really had been given that power. To accept it, her entire body structure had been altered: instead of tiny Magic Stones scattered throughout her limbs to reinforce them, they had been moved to the center like an ordinary monster's core.
Only that setup could let regeneration function properly. Otherwise, regrowing an arm would be nearly impossible.
When the Spirit's Guardian fell silent, Bell didn't push further. He simply turned to look at the "Spirit Soldiers" behind him.
"Spirit, do you know why I planned this whole assault?"
This time, the Spirit merely shifted her gaze to Revis, forcing her mouth to speak its venom.
"Isn't this just dogs fighting dogs, above and below?"
Bell couldn't help but laugh.
"Dogs fighting… calling a god a dog? You really are bold."
"Well, I agree it's dogs fighting, but you still need to sort out the hierarchy."
"I don't treat Loki-sama like a dog. She's an important business partner. If I called her a dog, wouldn't that make me a dog for doing business with her?"
Deep in the lower floors, the Spirit's expression twitched violently.
You just called me bold? You've got even more nerve!
As Bell spoke, flesh buds began sprouting from Revis's left shoulder, her arm rapidly regenerating.
Yet Bell kept his back turned, acting as if he hadn't noticed at all.
Both Revis and the Spirit found that strange.
"The first purpose of this operation was to force Evilus's fighting space into the hidden floors. My Lord still doesn't want to see Orario drowned in blood."
"That's the first reason."
"The second is that we need to kill the target god here in the Dungeon. They're the leaders of Evilus—if we don't erase them completely, trouble will keep growing."
"And the third is the growth of the 'Sword Princess.' I have my own plans, and those plans require the Sword Princess to reach at least the peak of Lv.7. But her growth is far slower than I expected, so she needs a little help."
Bell raised his hand slightly, pointing toward the Spirit Soldiers.
"So, I'm honestly grateful for Evilus's hard work."
"You've so diligently cultivated these precious 'materials' for me. They'll serve perfectly as part of the Sword Princess's nourishment."
"And the fourth reason is naturally the Excelia I need."
In that instant, Revis's entire body tightened.
Her left arm had fully regenerated. Murderous intent flared in her eyes as she lunged forward, driving a punch straight toward the back of Bell's heart.