"Damn, that's bold!"
The gods watched Bell's projected image in silence.
Just from listening to the exchange, there was far more information here than whatever Loki's children were dealing with against those ordinary cannon-fodder soldiers.
This nameless child had actually dared to stand up to the "Guardian of the Spirit," and even met the Spirit's projected gaze with unwavering defiance.
What shocked the gods even more was that woman—in truth, the Spirit itself. Aside from impotent fury, it could only glare, unable to utter a single word.
"This kid's met the Spirit before? And even made it back down?"
"Is a Spirit really that easy to deal with?"
As the mouthpieces and hands of the gods in Genkai, Spirits existed to help the children of Genkai conquer Dungeon. Because of that, their power was not to be underestimated.
Especially since Spirits excelled at Magic. Handling one was never easy.
A Spirit corrupted by filth should be even harder to fight than a normal one, yet this child had forced it to retreat.
The gods already viewed the child's appearance highly due to lineage and blood ties. They hadn't expected an even bigger surprise.
"It's not that simple. Every Spirit has unique abilities. Each one is stronger than any child of Genkai today. Back then, only the children of Zeus and Hera were even comparable."
The speaking god paused, then reached a conclusion.
"Hmm… maybe what appeared in front of that kid wasn't the Spirit's true form, but an avatar."
"An avatar, huh? That sounds possible."
Thinking of the "Spirit Fetus" they knew, that too was a form of avatar.
"If it was an avatar, then it makes sense."
"But even if it's just a Spirit's avatar, projecting its consciousness into it and confronting that child directly—and then losing—still isn't something any normal child could pull off."
The gods present possessed enough wisdom to judge the situation for what it was.
A Spirit's avatar was at minimum Lv.5. And if its full consciousness was projected into it, that meant the Spirit itself was fighting. In that case, the avatar's power could rise another tier.
Which meant the child had been facing at least a Lv.6 Spirit.
Forcing a Level 6 to back down was no easy thing.
Even among Orario's current adventurers, very few could ever push a Level 6 into a disadvantage.
"Then this child… he's not just the Level 4 Hermes mentioned. He's at least Level 5, isn't he?"
The gap between Level 4 and Level 5 was an entirely different concept.
"..."
The goddesses related to Bell said nothing, but their hands tightened.
They had spent the most time with Bell. They could feel him loosening up under the stares of so many gods.
They all knew the reason.
Bell was getting ready to completely separate this identity from his identity as a member of Hestia Familia, making others believe the rune engraver and he were two different people.
So they were all on edge.
If the people around them noticed anything wrong, it would be a disaster, and Bell would be the one taking the full hit.
All they could do now was hope everyone focused more on the identity Bell was presenting, rather than on the Rune Stone maker of Hestia Familia.
"Useless trash."
Bell wasn't mocking her. He was simply stating the truth.
And that honesty provoked her even more.
"Ah!!!"
The Spirit was about to explode.
If she weren't afraid her soul would end up permanently trapped inside her Guardian's body, she really would have projected her soul into it on the spot.
After roaring, she glared at the human before her, her stare sharp and threatening, but she still forced herself to stay calm.
She knew that losing her temper now meant falling right into his trap.
Even now, the fragment of her soul that had been torn away hadn't fully healed. The soul was one of the hardest things to recover.
"Tsk. Not projecting yourself over, huh."
The Spirit's temple throbbed deep within the lower floors. She knew exactly what this bastard was doing—baiting her into projecting her soul.
She took deep breaths, repeating to herself, 'Don't get angry, don't get angry, don't get angry!'
Her gaze drifted toward the soldiers behind him, still rapidly absorbing flesh and mutating. Her mood settled slightly.
"Hmph. So what if I don't project myself? My child will kill you here and now!"
"Pfft~"
Bell let out a short laugh, as if he'd just heard something hilarious.
"Your child? With just that Guardian of yours?"
"Well, I'll admit your Guardian got a lot stronger after your modifications."
"I remember five months ago, your Guardian ambushed the 'Sword Princess' on the 18th Floor. Back then she was only Lv.6, right?"
"Now… she's barely close to Lv.7. That's all the progress she made in five months? Not exactly impressive."
Sharp tongue.
The Spirit felt her blood pressure spike, anger rushing up her head.
'Don't get angry, don't get angry… why would I get angry at a walking corpse?'
Yet she still felt fury exploding inside her.
She wanted to tear this arrogant human into pieces, twist him into her toy, make him suffer without living or dying, forced to crawl under her orders in humiliation.
She inhaled deeply, forcing her attention back to the membranes.
"Rise!"
Her voice, carrying a strange magical resonance, passed through her Guardian and into every membrane in the chamber.
Thump! Thump!
Thump-thump-thump!
Each membrane started to pulse violently, the throbbing within them beating like living hearts.
A suffocating aura erupted from within.
Bloodthirsty, frenzied, deranged, and powerful.
That chaotic pressure revealed the strength of each Spirit Soldier.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Membranes burst open one after another. Soldiers—hybrids of humans and Spirit avatars—slid out and hit the floor.
Their eyes shone blood-red. Their forms were mostly human, yet parts of their bodies still carried monstrous traits.
These were the "Spirit Soldiers."