After a long while, the power of death dissipated, and a naked figure emerged from within.
Faintly, one could make out the original appearance of Bell, but she now seemed even more delicate and beautiful. This was not surprising, as Bell had always been a femboy even when dressed as a man. Now, with her female form restored, her appearance leaned more towards the feminine.
Her long white hair cascaded down her shoulders, her petite figure was endearing, and her innocent countenance still resembled that of a white rabbit.
When Athena's gaze met Bell's line of sight, her heart skipped a beat.
Hatred! Endless hatred! It was as if it was about to overflow!
Her ruby-like, crystalline eyes had turned into a gloomy, dark red.
Just when she had finally found someone to admire, just when she had finally caught up to that person's footsteps, the two joys had merged to produce double the delight.
But why had things turned out this way? Why did she have to kill me? What had I done wrong?
Ah~since it wasn't my fault, then it must be the world's fault. If that's the case, then I shall kill them all, kill them all!
"Hmm~not bad, a very perfect work of art."
Athena examined Bell's naked, delicate figure as if appreciating an art piece.
"Goddess, be careful!"
Libra warned loudly, immediately standing in front of Athena, shielding her.
The originally statue-like Bell suddenly had her eyes filled with murderous intent, and she viciously swiped at Athena with her claws.
Creaking, creaking!
Fortunately, Libra's defense was timely, and at the last moment, Bell's claws grabbed onto Libra's shield.
The flesh and blood claws meeting the shield produced an ear-piercing metallic scraping sound, like a sharp object scratching a chalkboard, making one dizzy.
"Kill! I'll kill you!!!"
Bell's face was contorted, veins bulging at the corners of her eyes, as she frantically swiped her claws at Libra.
Her originally short nails had suddenly extended to a bone-chilling degree.
If the previous Bell was like a docile white rabbit, then the Bell revived with resentment was like a crazed, blood-thirsty white wolf.
Facing Bell's frenzied attacks, Libra remained as steadfast as a mountain, using exquisite techniques to neutralize Bell's attacks one by one.
However, it was obvious that her companions would not just stand by and watch.
"Little one, calm down."
The tall and slender Taurus grabbed Bell's shoulders from behind.
"This... this one has such great strength!"
The moment Taurus grasped Bell's shoulders, she immediately felt that something was off.
Her strength was the greatest among the Athena Familia, but even so, she still felt like she couldn't quite hold onto Bell.
Fortunately, she had her companions by her side.
Libra seized the opportunity, stepping forward and forcefully shoving with her shield.
Bell was immediately sandwiched tightly between Libra and Taurus.
The seemingly erotic pose was filled with danger.
Reaching this point, Bell not only did not give up her attacks but became even more frenzied, using not only her hands but even opening her mouth to reveal her sharp canine teeth.
It was clear that if she had the chance, she would bite down without mercy.
Fortunately, they had rich combat experience and seamless coordination, while Bell was now like a wild beast that had lost its mind. Every time she exerted her strength, she was skillfully restrained by the two, keeping her trapped in the middle and unable to move.
Deprived of space to move, and her strength not quite at the level of the supernatural, Bell was ultimately powerless to break free. No matter how sharp her claws and fangs were, she was just a wild beast trapped in a cage.
At this moment, Virgo's magic incantation was nearing completion.
Accompanied by a chant-like melody, a series of multicolored light rings wrapped around Bell, firmly binding her.
Libra and Taurus finally let out a sigh of relief, slowly releasing Bell.
Without support, and with her limbs bound, Bell could only sway her head back and forth while still struggling.
Seeing Bell who had completely lost her sanity, like a wild beast, Athena couldn't help but furrow her brows.
"This is completely a wild beast, so inelegant! So unattractive!"
"Haha, don't be in a hurry."
Hades, who had been a bystander for a long time, laughed out loud, his face bearing an expression as if he was appreciating his masterpiece as he looked at Bell on the ground.
"Normally, after becoming a denizen of the underworld, emotions, desires, and other impurities would gradually disappear, and this is no exception even for a half-dead. Time will cleanse away all impurities. But she is different!"
Whether it was an illusion or not, Athena felt Hades' gaze had become heated.
Out of curiosity, she casually asked, "How is she different?"
"She has surpassed the limits of the dead! Her future will be more magnificent!"
"Zeus has truly created a perfect work of art, and with our divine powers combined, she will certainly exceed the imagination of all of us!"
Hades, as if unable to suppress his joy any longer, raised his hands towards the sky and let out a loud shout. He looked like a crazed artist.
"Is that so."
Athena's response was quite cold. To her, as long as a pawn was useful, its appearance was naturally better, but if a pawn wanted to jump out of the chessboard and exceed control, well, it would be better to destroy it.
Hades looked at Athena with a contemptuous gaze, as if he was looking at a nouveau riche who didn't understand art.
This gaze inadvertently caused a hint of irritation to rise in Athena.
"Then what is her current state?"
Seemingly too lazy to discuss 'art' with her who didn't understand, Hades said in a somewhat disinterested manner:
"It's just that the memories of when she was a living being are conflicting with the body of the deceased, causing some confusion. It will be fine soon."
As Hades spoke, Bell gradually stopped struggling.
After a while, a cold, hoarse voice was heard.
"Who am I? Where am I? And who are you?"
Just from the voice, one could feel the endless resentment and murderous intent of the speaker, like a dagger wrapped in random cloth, ready to strike a fatal blow at any moment.
Athena stepped forward, and Libra immediately warned in a low voice, "Goddess, be careful."
At the same time, she closely followed behind Athena, completely enveloping her within her protective range.
Athena waved her hand unconcernedly, and then her gaze turned cold as she looked down at Bell.
"Do you remember how you died?"
The kind reminder from Athena immediately caused Bell's emotions to become agitated again, her body starting to struggle slightly, and her expression constantly changing.
Seeing this, Athena's face revealed a satisfied smile.
This important pawn was now in her hands.
...
Today the weather was fine, but the entire Orario seemed to be shrouded in an atmosphere of panic.
A major event had occurred.
In the morning, as some shopkeepers in the familia district were preparing to open their doors for business, the sight that greeted them left them utterly terrified, to the point of soiling their pants.
Outside the gates of the Ishtar Familia territory stood a small-scale pyramid neatly stacked with over a hundred severed heads!
At the same time, several rows of temporary wooden poles had dozens of headless corpses impaled on them.
The thousands of square meters of marble floor were completely covered in a thick layer of blood, which seemed not yet fully dried and was slowly spreading outwards, like a monstrous beast that had consumed countless lives.
This was hell.
Everyone who witnessed this scene couldn't help but have this thought.
Looking up, in the center of the gate, the Familia's main deity, a goddess of beauty second only to Freya, Ishtar, was hung there, her lifeless body swaying in the morning breeze like a flag.
Ishtar was wearing her beloved white gossamer, on which nine large characters were written in her blood:
"Those who attacked my people shall be slain even if he is a god!!"
To the people earning a living on Pleasure Street, the Ishtar Familia was the underground ruler of the street, and the goddess Ishtar was the underground queen.
Now, this powerful figure with a dual identity as both a queen and a goddess had died a gruesome death on the spot, along with the entire Ishtar Familia being wiped out.
Orario was about to be shaken to its core!
Anyone with even a little bit of brainpower could recognize this.
In this entire twisted world, whether they were ordinary people or adventurers, the common perception of the gods was that they were lofty and supreme. Although they couldn't be considered completely inviolable, after all, even among the gods there were foolish ones, one thing was undeniable.
The weakest of the gods was still stronger than the mightiest of adventurers or even ancient heroes!
Normally it would be fine, but the moment their lives were truly threatened, the gods would unhesitatingly break their seals and crush the mortal daring to offend them like ants.
Throughout the long history of mortals, there had been those with the audacious ambition to directly control the gods, but without exception, they were all utterly destroyed by the unleashed gods.
To mortals, the gods are invincible.
However, this common sense, this truth, has now been shattered.
The lofty goddess has been slaughtered like a stray dog.
One can imagine how the gods will react.
Just like humans facing ants, normally they could casually crush them, but suddenly there appears a highly venomous army ant that can truly threaten their precious eternal lives.
Their first reaction would then be to attack! Attack with full force! Attack without holding back!
They absolutely cannot allow this threat to their eternal lives to live!
Of course, Ryou's ruthless methods will also deter some of the gods whose determination is not firm enough.
After all, they possess near-eternal lives, so why would they want to fight to the death with this insignificant and lowly mortal?
The lives of the gods are very precious. As long as Ryou doesn't come knocking on their door, they will simply pretend not to have seen anything.
After all, the longer one lives and enjoys, the more they will develop this ostrich mentality.
This is why Ryou was so determined to use such cruel methods - partly to vent his resentment, and partly to divide the gods.
Just last night, after Ishtar Rin left, he and Atalanta worked through the night to set up the stage.
Atalanta Alter expressed, "Master, your creativity is not bad, next time keep working hard~"
Then she set it up with even more enthusiasm than Ryou, catching him by surprise.
As for Ishtar, Ryou had originally left her alive in a very malicious way, letting her become a slaves, a fate worse than death.
But Scathach's words of persuasion stopped him.
Which force, or even which god, would dare to risk the wrath of the gods by sheltering Ishtar at this time?
Moreover, leaving Ishtar alive might even send the wrong signal to the gods.
As a mortal, Ryou ultimately did not dare to truly make a move against the gods.
If that's the case, then he might as well just kill her.
So he unhesitatingly and mercilessly killed Ishtar.
When he had finished dealing with Ishtar's body and hung it on the gate, a strange thought suddenly popped up in his mind.
It's said that Scathach also enjoys decorating the fences outside her castle with the corpses of her enemies, including powerful gods and heroes.
So this must be a hereditary hobby.
After taking care of everything, he returned to the hotel and headed straight for the dungeon.
The cannon fodder who were used as pawns have been dealt with, so naturally it's time for the mastermind.
Although he still can't get a hold of Athena, Ryou doesn't mind using her familia to recoup some of his losses first.
ButRyou, whose mind was full of ways to torture the three captives, didn't notice a worried gaze intently watching his hurried back...
Creak!
With a light sound, the iron door leading underground was opened, revealing rows of neatly arranged shelves to his eyes.
After all, the Gudako Hotel had a hotel-style layout, so there was naturally no real dungeon built; this dungeon was completely converted from an underground storage room.
There was no one guarding the dungeon. To prevent them from escaping, he had Medea Lily concoct some muscle relaxant-like drugs to weaken their limbs.
Of course, the drugs concocted by Medea Lily, an ancient witch apprenticed to the Goddess of Magic Hecate, were far more potent than ordinary muscle relaxants.
These three originally superhuman Lv.7 adventurers, comparable to Servants, were now weaker than an ordinary young girl.
Passing through the shelves, three figures chained to the wall came into view—Leo, Cancer, and Aquarius.
The three had been idly chatting, but upon hearing Ryou's footsteps, they immediately clamped their eyes and mouths shut.
Facing their non-violent and uncooperative attitude, he instead revealed a bloodthirsty, gleeful smile.
Why do those skilled at interrogation often have a bit of a twisted psychology?
It's because they've encountered too many stubborn captives who refuse to talk.
Imagine if the interrogator encountered a wimp who spilled everything before even being tortured; it would just make the whole thing feel utterly tasteless.
On the contrary, if the captive is unyielding and principled, it will stimulate the interrogator's latent sadistic desires, making them exhilarated.
Little did they know, the more they displayed their resolute resistance, the more it would evoke Ryou's vengeful satisfaction.