Loki laughed, a dark grin on her face. "Those idiots think Bell is murdering them one by one."
Finn nodded. "It's cunning. Malicious. And something that requires a very deep understanding of ruling through fear and domination."
Ais finally spoke up. "A monster."
Loki glanced over. "What was that, Ais?"
Ais kept staring at Bell and said, "He's a monster. Watch how he fights. Those sword slashes, those attacks... they are designed to fight humans. Efficiency distilled to killing a human as fast as possible."
Silence.
Finn's eyes widened and he quickly watched the battle again.
Riveria frowned, her eyes observing Bell as well.
Gareth went quiet.
Loki paused and glanced over at Tione and Tiona.
The Amazoness twins had grown up in a brutal environment. If anyone would be able to tell the difference, it was them.
"Tione? Tiona?"
Tione was quiet. Then she said, "Ais is right. That fighting style... it isn't for monsters. It's... like in Telskyura. Brutal efficiency."
Hearing that, Loki pursed her lips.
Finn slowly said, "Lady Loki."
"Yeah?"
Finn glanced over and lowered his thumb. "You asked what would happen if Bell fought us, yes?"
"...Yeah. And your thoughts?"
Finn stared at the battlefield and said, "...In a 'fair' fight, we would win. My intuition is telling me that Bell isn't someone who will go all out against people who are not completely his enemies. Even now..." He nodded towards the display. "...He is holding back. No, he made it impossible to NOT hold back. Because Tione is correct. Bell does not know how to NOT kill in an attack."
Loki was silent. Her eyes shifted back towards the battlefield, watching Bell closely.
A warrior screamed and rushed towards Bell.
Bell closed the gap in an instant, pierced his blade through the warrior's heart, pivoted on his heel while grabbing the man's neck, tossed him off the bridge, and then swung his sword one more time at the warrior's neck as the man toppled off the bridge into the water.
An instinctive action. A confirmation attack without looking back before already moving onto the next.
To the casual onlooker, it seemed like just disabling blows. Means to remove fighters from the equation.
'But Finn is right.'
Loki thought back to when Ais had attacked Bell out of the blue. How EASILY he had stolen Ais's blade and left her defenseless.
How he could have cleaved her neck in that single moment if he hadn't instinctively grabbed Hestia instead, suppressing a reflexive counter.
Loki let out a helpless laugh and said, "No wonder Freya is disbanding her familia..."
"What?!" Finn's shocked response.
"Pardon?!" Riveria exclaiming with a gasp.
"L-Lady Loki?! What was that?" Gareth stammering in surprise.
And Loki's other children had looked over at her as well.
Loki blinked and then said, "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you that, huh? But yeah, in a few months, we'll be running the show in Orario."
Finn groaned. "Lady Loki... PLEASE give more notice to me about these sorts of events..."
===
Freya absently presided over her familia's daily training duels, watching as the Einherjar fought in the large garden within their manor to the brink of death before being healed by the Andhrimnir medical team.
Although on the surface, she appeared to be attentive, in reality...
*Lady Freya?! Lord Bell is insane! He's fighting a thousand to one and winning! With no Falna! And he hasn't been injured!*
Freya sipped on a glass of wine.
'Yes... that sounds like him. My Odr IS quite impressive.'
*No, Lady Freya. You don't understand... here!*
Horn shared her vision with Freya.
And then Freya saw it.
Although a bit difficult to assess what was going on because of how far Horn was from the battlefield... it seemed like she had chosen to not stay with the Hestia Familia, but instead stand in a spectator area.
But regardless, although a bit rough, it was enough to see what was going on.
And what Freya saw made her heart skip a beat.
She was already deeply in love with Bell. That was no doubt. She fell for his kind nature, sincere love, and devotion towards his family. And while she knew he was skilled and had strong abilities, she never really got a first hand look at it.
But she did now.
And what she saw...
Freya instinctively swallowed, feeling hot. The instinctive urge to possess a heroic soul came back, but different. Not to collect a soul, but to make Bell hers. Because...
'Bell, you magnificent man you...!'
Alfia was a monster of talent. That was undeniable.
But she was a monster that fought monsters. Her strength, magic, and abilities were all tailored towards slaying the monsters that roamed in the dungeons. Even when she had been with Evilus to confront Orario's forces, she had used overwhelming strength and might.
Not Bell.
No.
Where Alfia overwhelmed, Bell EXECUTED.
Pure economy of motion. Every step flowing into the next. Each, a lethal blow held at bay only because of the weapon he used forbidding him from dealing death. Skill so polished it seemed a fact of nature instead of human technique...
If Freya didn't know for certain that Bell was already hers, that he had chosen to love her, that she needn't worry about him NOT choosing her...
She would have charmed all of Orario then and there to have him.
He was THAT outstanding.
A level of martial prowess that didn't showcase war, but pure lethality. Techniques honed SPECIFICALLY to kill humans. Not monsters, but humans.
...And techniques that must have been honed in preparation to win Freya's hand properly.
Monsters didn't require such masterful control and precision. No, brute force and equipment was enough.
But THIS.
The smooth motion that slid between hundreds of bodies in the narrowest gaps, leaving gasping and unconscious adventurers with every step. The sheen of sweat across his body that left his clothes clinging to his honed muscles. The sheer AUDACITY to fight them all without proper armor, only a plain black shirt and pants. Just to prove that they hadn't dealt a single blow on him.
"Hnngh... You terrible, terrible, terrible tease...!"
Freya downed her glass of wine and quickly poured herself another.
But even that act didn't calm her down.
Freya wanted him.
She wanted Bell BAD.
Freya already loved him. She had already given him her heart.
But now her body was screaming to be his too, flushed red with heat and raw desire.
...Of course, she didn't realize it.
And so, the einherjar below who looked up at their goddess and saw her gazing off into space, biting her lips, and looking VERY much filled with raw lust...
They fought even harder on her behalf, not knowing that they had already lost the object of their desires long ago.
*L-Lady Freya... Hngh~ S-Stop! P-Please! These feelings... hah... I cna't... I-I-I'm in public!*
'Sorry, Horn. It's just...' Freya laughed and licked her lips. "My man is too sexy..."
Ottar, who was standing beside Freya as always, let out a low chuckle. "...Should I take over supervision, Lady Freya?"
Freya quickly nodded and set her wine glass down. "Be a dear, Ottar. I have to... relieve myself."
*Lady Freya! No! Please! Mercy! At least stop sharing the connecti- HNNGH?! Ahn~ N-No!*
Freya quickly ran off towards her chambers, hand already tugging at her blouse. "Sorry, Horn, dear. But a woman has to do what a woman has to do..."