"The number of monsters that escaped is far fewer than I expected."
In truth, the corruption leaking out was far more severe than imagined—but the number of monsters spreading from the center was surprisingly low.
Each wave held only a few hundred, not even reaching a thousand. Pitifully few.
"Could it be that the main passageway... was sealed off?"
"Looks like Artemis's Familia made some final preparations."
This was likely their last measure.
They must have sealed the passage doors from within, trapping something far greater inside. By cutting off their own retreat, Artemis's Familia had stopped the monsters from breaking free.
But Bell could already imagine the price they must have paid for that.
As they continued forward, the two finally reached the edge of the island in the middle of the lake.
The black mist thick over the island made Ais furrow her brows.
"This place is worse... and it stinks."
"You can smell it?"
"Yeah."
"Then guess where those scorpions we ran into came from. How do you think they were born?"
Ais's eyes widened in realization. No wonder that foul stench outside kept getting carried in by the wind.
"The creature inside has been trying every possible way to escape, but there's a massive seal blocking its path."
"If we want to get in, we have to use the main entrance—which means opening the sealed gate. If we go in without preparation, once we enter, that thing's tentacles will start spreading outward."
Ais's face tensed immediately.
"Then what should we do?"
Bell shook his head slightly, signaling for the Sword Princess not to worry.
"What I hate most are unplanned actions and careless parts in a plan that invite disaster."
"To deal with the beast inside will take time. That means we have to restrain its tentacles from reaching outward."
As he spoke, Bell raised his hand and drew a Rune in the air.
"Keeping it under control won't be difficult."
For Bell, it wasn't. He could create alternate spaces after all. With that kind of experience, maintaining control here was relatively easy.
"Still, the longer we spend outside, the less time we'll have once we're in. So I'll keep the barrier simple."
"Sword Princess, get ready. Stay in peak condition before we face it. You won't have much time to act."
"I understand."
Ais immediately sat down cross-legged and took out some food from her waist pouch. She needed to prepare herself before the fight began.
If the battle time was short, she'd have to give everything from the start. If it dragged on too long, the result could quickly turn disastrous.
Meanwhile, Bell continued setting up the barrier—not a simple one, but one built with the structure of a simulated subspace.
He intended to make sure of one thing: whatever was inside would have absolutely no chance of escaping.
"This… this is what your child calls 'simple'?"
Through her divine sight, Artemis could clearly see that the entire ruin had been pulled completely inside the barrier—and that the barrier itself had been linked to an alternate dimension.
Realizing this, Artemis's eyes widened in disbelief.
This scale, this strength—it was far beyond even her own last-resort methods!
"Hmm~ For Bell, this is probably just routine work."
Hestia had seen Bell's overly cautious methods countless times. To her, something like this was nothing unusual.
"Well, that child's personality is just... cautious?"
Hephaestus's tone faltered, her expression twitching slightly, as if she herself wasn't sure that "cautious" was the right word.
"Why do you sound so uncertain?"
Artemis immediately caught the hesitation in Hephaestus's voice, unease creeping into her own. But the only response she got was a stiff smile and an awkward turn of the head.
"Why are you suddenly looking away!?"
In that instant, Artemis faintly realized there might be something very wrong with Hestia's child.
Freya, sitting nearby, only smiled quietly, offering no comment.
"That's just how that child is," Freya said lightly. "Simply put, he has an anxious temperament. He tends to approach everything with extreme caution."
"Artemis, what level do you think that child is now?"
"???"
Freya's question left Artemis completely lost. She couldn't believe that someone capable of entering the Stream of Light could possibly be of a low level.
But what kind of power would it take for a child from the lower world to reach that speed?
"I can't even guess."
"Then here's a hint," Freya said. "That child entered Orario and became an adventurer only half a year ago."
"Half a year???"
Artemis's eyes went wide as she turned to stare at Bell in the projection.
Even the most gifted child in her own Familia had needed more than two years just to break through to Level 2—yet Hestia's child had only been an adventurer for half a year?
"Could an ordinary child reach Level 2 in just half a year?"
No. That couldn't be right.
If he could enter the Stream of Light, there was no way he was only Level 2.
Artemis turned a doubtful gaze toward Freya.
"Freya, you're not joking with me, are you?"
Freya merely smiled, offering no answer.
But that silence was enough. Artemis understood—it wasn't a joke. It was the truth.
Half a year to reach such power...
Artemis felt like her mind was burning up.
She had witnessed many incredible things in her lifetime, but never anything like this.
In the projection, Bell had nearly completed the barrier. The air around it had begun to twist slightly—proof that the space inside had already transformed into a separate dimension. He wasn't leaving even the smallest angle unguarded.
"That guy… he's actually planning to capture that thing alive, isn't he?"
Loki's voice carried a note of incredulous amusement as she voiced what the others were thinking.
"...."
All three goddesses fell silent for a moment, struck speechless by how plausible that sounded.
The only one completely stunned by the idea was Artemis herself.
...
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