"Hmph, you old geezer. Those dark circles on your face are the perfect payback for lying to me."
Seeing the panda-like bruises on the old man's face, Bell immediately went straight for the sarcasm.
"You even tried to tell me you were chased by a bear and fell off a cliff?"
"I knew there was no way you'd croak that easily, you old fool!"
The lecherous old man who faked his own death looked a bit awkward now.
Back then, Zeus had deliberately erased every possible retreat Bell could fall back on—making sure the boy had nowhere to run. That was why Zeus completely severed that so-called "leeway."
It had been a ruthless move, cutting off Bell's escape route entirely while also freeing Zeus himself from future obligations.
After all, the dead don't need to be remembered.
Originally, the plan was quite solid. Unfortunately, Zeus misjudged how unpredictable Bell—the variable—would be.
Who could have guessed Bell would grow so quickly? In only half a year, he had risen to Lv.7.
Who could have expected his overly cautious nature? Even while growing stronger, he kept himself hidden, never revealing his true identity—not even after reaching Lv.7.
And who could have foreseen that Bell would learn secrets and revelations that not even the gods knew?
That alone forced Zeus and the others who'd left Orario to hurry back.
If they hadn't returned when they did, Zeus genuinely doubted whether Orario would survive—if a god laid a hand on Hestia, the city might very well end up a dead ruin.
But returning under these circumstances also meant stepping directly into the pit he'd dug for himself half a year ago.
"Uh… ahaha…"
Faced with this situation, even someone with Zeus's thick skin could only laugh awkwardly.
Seeing Zeus reduced to such a pitiful state, Hera shot the lecherous old man an irritated glare.
"Bell, that lecher's situation isn't the point right now. Set the old man aside."
After ridiculing Zeus's fake-death stunt, Bell no longer bothered looking at the old man who loved playing dead.
"So, what exactly is the point? Is it about your sudden return?"
"That's not the point either."
Hera shook her head and fixed Bell with a piercing gaze.
"The point is you."
"Even if I'm not as strong as this old geezer or Ouranos, just now I sensed something unusual about you."
"…"
Bell fell silent. He hadn't expected this. His concealment techniques were exceptional, and his Development Ability had already reached its limit. Yet somehow, Hera had caught on.
"Is it a strength issue? Or something to do with gods?"
Hera frowned slightly at Bell's speculation, but she couldn't deny it on the spot. She herself wasn't sure whether it was related to the divine.
"I can't guarantee that."
"Your presence was perfectly hidden earlier—not a trace of your aura leaked. But that strange, terrifying sensation made my instincts flare instantly. Since my birth as a god, this is the first time I've ever felt something like that."
"...Is that so?"
Bell hadn't expected that to be the cause. It was definitely something he needed to pay attention to.
"Your feeling is correct, Goddess Hera."
As he spoke, Bell spread his hands, revealing the black-and-white mist he had kept hidden, along with the sphere forming at its center.
"!?"
Hera's expression tightened. Her divine senses were blaring like frantic alarms, warning her—almost screaming—not to approach that sphere.
And it wasn't only Hera. Even Zeus could feel how ominous the thing was. His instincts hammered in his mind: Leave now.This thing is dangerous. And that sensation only grew stronger by the second.
"What… is this?"
Hera could barely comprehend what she was looking at.
"An unidentifiable cluster… It emits a completely alien aura. Just sensing it makes your skin crawl."
Zeus couldn't help voicing his own reaction, hoping Hera would grasp just how dangerous this condensed mass was.
"Hestia and the others felt something similar—along with a strong instinctive fear."
After showing it briefly, Bell withdrew the mist and the sphere.
"They all sensed a powerful threat coming from this. Any god who sees it will inevitably feel panic."
"But even as the one who created it… I still don't really understand what it is."
To avoid misunderstanding, Bell laid out his thoughts clearly.
Hera and Zeus both believed him without doubt.
If even gods couldn't comprehend it, then Bell—its creator—might not know its true nature either.
But as ancient gods, Hera and Zeus had a possible theory.
"If the creator doesn't understand it, then most likely… this thing must be created by your own hands."
Bell understood what Hera meant, and he nodded.
"We actually considered that possibility before."
"The first person I thought of was my mother. But I have this strange feeling… Like my mother wasn't the one behind all of this. Rather… she might be the one who wanted this day to come."
Hera rested her chin on her hand, thinking for a moment before asking seriously:
"That truly was your first instinct, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"Then your instinct might very well be correct."
Though Bell called it nothing more than a feeling, Hera suddenly realized that his intuition might be the real answer.
"Think about it—the 'World' wants Bell to become the one who reforms it. It even intervened personally. So why not simply give Bell better conditions from the start?"
This sudden statement made both Bell and Zeus react instantly.
"I see. If the 'World' wanted Bell to guide the world's transformation, then granting him stronger conditions from the beginning would have been enough. But it didn't."
"That can't be due to something shallow like 'bored play.' It must be because certain conditions are required."
Zeus now understood.
The sphere Bell had created… was likely the true key.