A night's rest restored Bell's spirit to full strength.
With his condition fully adjusted, he stepped away from the stone gate and entered the 80th floor.
The 80th floor, once resembling an endless ocean, had now been entirely replaced by a vast wasteland.
"No wonder all I could smell outside was the earthy scent of soil."
The former ocean had turned into a wasteland; it would be strange if there wasn't an earthy scent.
Bell's gaze shifted, locking onto the culprit responsible for transforming the ocean into a wasteland.
At the center of the barren land lay a massive beast.
Its entire body was covered in long, black-gray fur, with a tuft of red hair on its head and a pair of red horns sprouting from the center of it.
It exuded a wild, feral aura, standing over three meters tall, even while lying prone.
Sensing Bell's approach, the beast slowly opened its enormous eyes. In them burned the unmistakable gaze of a top-tier predator eyeing its prey.
Its massive jaws, revealing two sharp fangs, snapped open.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
The entire floor trembled beneath them, eerily reminiscent of the sensation Bell had felt in Gugalanna.
Its razor-sharp fangs glinted with a bitter, cold light. Even from a distance, Bell could smell the foul, blood-scented stench.
These unmistakable signs made Bell realize the identity of the beast before him.
"Behemoth."
"The King of the Earth… I see now. The Zeus and Hera familias were deceived by Mother."
"The true Behemoth would possess a god's authority. It couldn't possibly be killed so easily by mortals from the Genkai."
"So, the Behemoths the Zeus and Hera familias killed were merely Behemoths stripped of their divine authority."
A sly, mocking grin spread across Behemoth's face at Bell's words.
Bell understood—it was Behemoth mocking him.
He furrowed his brow slightly.
"BOOM!!!!"
Bell's fist slammed into Behemoth's face with devastating force, shattering its entire head into fragments.
But unfortunately...
"Sssss!"
The ground suddenly erupted with a flurry of earth spikes, aimed directly at Bell's body.
Seeing the spikes rise from the ground, Bell reacted instantly. His body retreated rapidly, pulling him to a safe distance in the blink of an eye.
However, the next moment, a chilling sensation surged from behind him. Accompanying it was a claw, carrying a bloody wind, that violently slashed into his lower back.
"Shhh!"
The immense force sent Bell flying backward. In mid-air, he noticed the spot where he had just shattered the beast's head.
'So that's it. It's a substitute.'
"Thud!"
Bell crashed into the ground with a forceful impact, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The searing pain in his lower back brought an immediate clarity to his mind.
"Sizzle!"
The wound on his back had already pierced to the bone, but the surrounding muscles began regenerating at an extraordinary rate.
In mere seconds—a timeframe that would be fatal to any ordinary adventurer—the gash closed completely. Even his shredded clothing had regenerated.
The entire process took only five seconds.
Bell slowly stood up.
"I see now. So it was the power of 'Earth' after all."
He had been wondering all along what kind of power the next Floor Boss would possess. Seeing Behemoth's actions made it clear.
"Who would have thought the most fundamental powers—Earth, Ocean, and Sky—would be saved for last."
"Now the other enemies I'll face are obvious: Leviathan, who wields the power of the Ocean, and that old acquaintance who controls the Sky."
Though his emotional outburst at the start had put him at a disadvantage, Bell now understood the enemies ahead and the types of authority they wielded.
But truthfully, Bell could already feel a headache coming on.
"Earth," "Ocean," and "Sky" were undoubtedly the world's most fundamental powers, and the three monsters holding them were all extremely troublesome.
"Earth" and "Ocean" alone were already enough of a challenge.
But what truly gave Bell a headache was the old acquaintance controlling the Sky. That one was far more difficult to deal with than either Behemoth or Leviathan.
"Bell!"
The moment Hestia saw Bell get knocked into the air, she leaped up from her seat.
"Calm down, shorty."
Loki had clenched her fists the instant Bell was struck, but she remained composed. Quickly, she grabbed Hestia, who was about to jump up.
"That kid won't go down that easily."
Just as Loki predicted, the fatal wound on Bell's body in the projection healed completely in mere seconds.
"Whew..."
Hestia let out a sigh of relief.
But this time, she felt her heart racing faster than usual, and even her legs felt weak despite her steady stance.
The scene had been far too intense.
Bell had always handled everything smoothly before—this was the first time he'd been injured. Then Bell's voice echoed across both worlds.
[I see now. So it was the power of 'Earth' after all.]
[Who would have guessed that the most crucial powers—'Earth,' 'Ocean,' and 'Sky'—would be saved for last?]
[So my next enemies are clear: Leviathan, who wields the power of 'Ocean,' and that old acquaintance who controls 'Sky.']
Holy crap!
Every god present felt a chill run down their spine.
Behemoth's appearance alone was enough to blind them, but now Behemoth also carried the power of 'Earth'? This was truly dangerous.
Zeus watched the projection, no longer smiling.
"This guy is truly cunning."
Hera's expression was equally grim.
"Indeed. This one is far more troublesome than the Behemoth we faced before. Not only is it larger, but it also possesses a considerable amount of intelligence. Otherwise, that young man wouldn't have been struck by Behemoth's provocation so easily."
It wasn't just Bell's reaction—it was that Behemoth was genuinely difficult to handle.
Monsters with divine authority and human-level intelligence were the ultimate challenge, and this Behemoth wielded one of the "Three Great Powers of Creation."
"Like Bell, it's skilled at provocation and even used a stand to boot. You can imagine how difficult this Behemoth is to deal with."
Zeus's brow furrowed deeply.
"Whether we can break through this stalemate now depends entirely on whether Bell can land a decisive blow on Behemoth."