"Boom!"
The shattering of the crystal exposed the imprisoned Artemis directly to the open air.
Whether it was due to the divine garments' inherent protection or because Artemis had used her last trace of divinity to shield herself during the moment of being consumed, most of her clothes remained intact.
Yet Bell, with his keen eyesight, noticed traces of viscous slime clinging to the edges of her garments.
'It seems Antares's devouring of Artemis really reached the final stage. Did I bring the Sword Princess here too quickly?'
Bell remembered that the ending of this tale had never been a happy one. Yet now, Artemis still had a chance to be saved. Perhaps the time he had saved earlier had truly made a difference.
His gaze shifted to Ais.
'Truly worthy of the Sword Princess. To think that even in the very last moment, sheer willpower could drive her sword to complete the final strike.'
Had Ais paused for even a single breath, she wouldn't have had the chance to shatter the crystal or crush Antares head-on in her condition.
Yet even under such extreme pressure, she had endured—pushing her body and magic past their limits to seize the chance to destroy the crystal.
'But it came with a heavy price.'
"Huff... huff..."
Her breathing was rough, like a bellows forcing air into her lungs to relieve the flush in her face.
Her sword had already fallen to the ground.
At this point, all Ais could do was stand. She no longer had the strength to move even a finger.
But suddenly, a sharp sound cut through the air beside her.
Danger!
Ais could feel the sound was aimed straight at her, yet every muscle in her body trembled. She could only stand there, unable to react.
The next instant, the piercing noise abruptly stopped, replaced by Bell's voice in her ear.
"You're tougher than I imagined."
The inner power of a Level 8 wasn't something a Level 6 could easily challenge, even if that Level 8 could only exert thirty percent of its strength.
Of course, Bell didn't fall into that category.
At that moment, the regenerated tail's sharpest and most dangerous stinger was effortlessly caught in Bell's hand.
Perhaps Antares had gained a massive boost in strength from devouring divine power, but its greatest flaw lay in the fact that it hadn't fully absorbed it.
Half-finished beings are often the most dangerous.
Now, Antares was trapped in precisely that state—no longer a mere monster, yet not fully transformed either. It was stuck in a precarious, incomplete form.
In its attempt to consume divine power and break its seal, it had poured all of its Magic Stone's energy into suppressing a god. But that choice was a gamble. If the crystal shattered before the divine power was completely absorbed, it would be as if its very core—the Magic Stone itself—were destroyed.
Normally, a monster would turn to ash and die instantly. But Antares had already taken that critical step beyond ordinary monsters. So even with its core crystal shattered, it could still barely cling to life.
This struggle for life was nothing more than a pitiful extension of existence—a dog's life at best. The core of a monster was its Magic Stone. The only reason Antares could still live after losing its core was because of the divine protection that lingered within it. But that didn't mean it could go on as before. It was surviving by sacrificing everything it had.
"ROAR!!!"
Antares was still bellowing, its fury burning endlessly, yet it couldn't tear its tail spike free from the grip of the small figure before it.
'Its power is fading.'
Bell could clearly sense Antares's strength rapidly draining away. That last attack must have been its limit.
'Not only its strength but even its soul is starting to collapse. As expected, seizing divine power isn't something one can do lightly. Fail halfway, and you lose everything.'
The act of devouring divine power was rare, but it was never without risk. Failure, as seen now, was the ultimate punishment.
Antares, once possessing everything, was now losing it all—the power to devour divinity, and even its own existence.
'How ironic. Who would've thought the easiest way to defeat Antares was to strike when it began absorbing divine power?'
There was no need for sympathy. Every gain demanded a price. Having chosen to devour a god, Antares had to accept the consequences that followed.
Bell watched the creature's soul rank plummet and lost all interest in studying it further.
A living Antares might have held some research value, but a dying one had none.
"Gluttony."
In an instant, purple-black marks spread across the massive body of Antares.
"Wuuuuu!!!"
The combination of Hydra Venom and Gluttony instantly stripped it of resistance.
For the record, Hydra Venom is a special toxin that inflicts absolute damage upon the soul. Those targeted by it rarely survive unscathed.
Naturally, this Antares was no exception.
But before the poison fully took hold, Bell still needed to pull the goddess Artemis free from the ground.
Casting a glance at Artemis, whose body lay half-buried within Antares's flesh, Bell waved his hand. Countless runes flared into existence, wrapping the unconscious goddess's upper body in a cocoon of light. The cocoon squeezed and pressed against the lower half still fused to the crystal embedded in Antares's body.
Antares thrashed violently in resistance, but it couldn't stop Bell. It could only watch helplessly as the god it had devoured was taken away.
"Ugh..."
The moment Artemis was freed, Antares's massive frame finally succumbed to the Hydra Venom's corrosion. Its body collapsed with a thunderous crash, shaking the entire floor beneath them.
Bell frowned slightly and glanced downward before hastening his movements, working faster to extract Artemis completely.
The tremors caused a chain reaction, sending Ais—already too weak to keep her balance—toppling to the ground.
With a flick of his other hand, Bell summoned a gust of wind that gently lifted Ais and brought her to his side.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
Though her body remained weak, Ais still managed a firm response.
Bell gave a brief nod and focused once more, accelerating the extraction of the goddess Artemis.
...