Amazons surrounded him from all sides, though not a hint of hostility radiated from them. Instead, they watched him with expressions ranging from fear to outright terror. A few—the ones whose survival instincts had already short-circuited—stared with something closer to worship. Or hunger.
Bell sat on Ishtar's back, using the goddess as a makeshift chair. Beneath him, Ishtar plastered on her most grateful smile, glancing back over her shoulder. Her sheer terror of him enforced absolute obedience.
"Squirm less." Bell said casually, taking in his surroundings.
"Yes, sir. I just can't help myself when you use me like this." Ishtar purred, attempting to be coy.
"Does furniture talk?"
That shut her mouth instantly.
Bell ignored the goddess beneath him. His gaze swept over Haruhime, standing nervously amongst the Amazons, before landing on Phryne. That massive toad remained frozen at her earlier spot, not even daring to twitch.
He looked back down at the deity under him.
"Ishtar... Do you know why you and your Familia are still alive, when I could have massacred you all like roaches?"
She kept her mouth sealed.
Bell continued.
"Simple, actually. You have some connections with Evilus, right? I want them." He rested his cheek against his knuckles.
"More importantly, I want you to wage a discreet war against..." Ishtar's eyes widened at his words, waiting for him to continue.
"The Guild's eyes and ears." His voice echoed across the area, making quite a few Amazons freeze in shock.
"Hermes Familia."
The shock in Ishtar's eyes deepened. This was absolute suicide.
Targeting the Hermes Familia meant targeting the Guild. Targeting the Guild meant declaring war on all of Orario.
Even if her original plan had succeeded, she would have only had the confidence to oppose the Freya Familia.
Now... he was ordering her to indirectly go against the entire city? It was madness.
When she had dealt with Evilus, it had always been strictly under the table, completely hidden from the Guild.
However... if she targeted Hermes, it would be equivalent to declaring war on every Familia across Orario.
Yet... Bell did not care.
"You'll do it, right?" His voice turned staticky by the end. Beneath him, Ishtar felt a chill run down her spine—a single wrong move, and it would be the end of her.
"Yes, yes! We will follow your instructions without fail." Ishtar choked out, her smile looking worse than a cry.
"Besides, I'm not telling you to attack the Hermes Familia out in open. Rather... I want you to gather information on their members. Where they go, what they do—just keep an eye on them." He knew exactly how to make a goddess like Ishtar useful.
"As for the killing part? I'll handle that myself." His tone was entirely carefree, as if he were discussing a casual stroll.
He paused for a moment.
"...And who knows. Maybe someday... I'll help you replace the Freya Familia, if I'm in the mood."
Ishtar's eyes lit up imperceptibly at those words. Her back arched unconsciously, trying to provide him with a more comfortable seat as she played the role of a premium chair.
And as an extra assurance... [Soul Reap] stirred awake from within him. His shadow stretched across the floor behind him, countless crimson eyes opening from within.
Everyone felt horror freeze them at the sight.
Bell continued nonetheless.
His shadow divided into countless fragments, a singular glowing orb nestled within each piece. These parts floated over to the people present, crawling up their bodies before dissolving into them.
A blood-red eye emerged at different body parts of every single person present for an instant, then faded away.
Bell's eyes remained calm as he spoke, the amazons near him examining themselves with terrified expressions.
"Now... If any one of you betrays me, I'll know, and I'll kill you instantly." His words chilled them to their core.
But he was not finished.
Phryne's eyes darted toward the exit. Just a fraction of a second, just an instinct—the primal urge of a cornered animal to run.
Bell's fingers snapped.
That toad didn't even get a chance to scream before a blood-red eye opened between her brow.
BOOOM!
Her head exploded in blood and gore.
"See... a live example. If you all don't want your heads bursting like watermelons, I suggest you know your places." He spoke without a change in expression, his voice not loud but rumbling like thunder in everyone's ears.
Silence fell.
Even Haruhime dared not let a peep out, scared and uncertain of Bell now.
Sun had already fallen behind the horizon by now, night already covering the sky.
He got up from Ishtar's back after letting the tense silence linger for some time.
"Get me the locations of at least a dozen members of the Hermes Familia by midnight. After all... You all wouldn't want to see my displeasure, right? Trust me... It's far scarier than what you've currently experienced." Wind carried his words.
"Yes, yes... We'll have it ready by midnight. I'll make sure of it." Ishtar replied in a heartbeat, feeling tremendous relief at his impending departure.
"What are you waiting around for, Little Fox? Let's go." Bell spoke while walking away.
Haruhime's mouth opened, then closed. She looked at the red smear where Phryne's head had been. She looked at the Amazons, poking at their own skin where crimson eyes had vanished. She then looked at Ishtar, still on the ground, smile frozen in place.
Her legs moved before her mind caught up, falling into step behind him.
She didn't say a word. But she stayed close enough that their shadows nearly touched.
As Bell stepped away, his image began to violently slip from the Amazons' minds.
His height fluctuated in their memories. His features blurred into static. His very presence warped into something their mortal brains simply could not comprehend.
They simply forgot who he was.
Bell walked away without pause.
Ishtar, as a goddess, was not affected.
She asked one last question, even as she felt her teeth chatter in fear.
"W-Who are you?"
...
"Me?"
He kept walking.
"Does it matter?"
...
..
.
***
[300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
[8 chapters ahead on P@tr3on = [email protected]/Not_Aaryan]
...
[Authors Thoughts]
Thank you everyone for your continued support across my first month on P@tr3on. I honestly didn't expect so much support. I appreciate it more than any words can convey.
I'll continue churning out more chapters in the next month. Hope to continue seeing you all every step of the way until this story's very end.
...
Don't worry, Ishtar is going straight to heaven after Bell has squeezed her dry for all her worth.
...
[Soul Reap]: A part of [Asura Soul Reaping]. Used to reap souls and devour them for a temporary increase in strength with madness as a consequence. It can be used in reverse to plant a fragment of the practitioners soul into another being, protecting or killing them with a mere gesture afterwards.