"Apollo really is unlucky."
Though Bell knew Apollo was far from a good god, his level of misfortune was unparalleled among all the deities Bell had met.
Loki-sama had long considered Apollo the baseline for moral depravity.
That said, there were still plenty of people worse than him. In fact, compared to the vile scum standing before them now, Apollo almost looked respectable.
Of course, Bell wasn't saying Apollo deserved any praise.
It was just that, among the ranks of degenerates, Apollo at least counted as one of the more "ethical" ones—relatively speaking.
But these men in front of them? They had truly turned corruption into an art form. Not only did they abuse their power, they even partnered with Orario's street thugs to run elaborate honey traps.
Truly, the higher the rank, the bigger the scoundrel.
Just looking at their greedy, lust-filled gazes fixed on Syr—and then at the icy expression in Freya's eyes—Bell could already picture their inevitable fate.
"Fools blinded by desire," he murmured.
Of course, Bell had no intention of saving them. He found their behavior utterly revolting.
"Bell," Loki asked with a sly grin, "if someone were looking at Hestia with eyes like that, what would you do?"
"If it's a god I can't kill immediately," Bell replied evenly, "I'd usually make them part of Evilus—and then create the conditions for their own Familia to destroy itself from within."
"…Damn, that's brutal."
Even Loki couldn't help but applaud that response. Truly, even a demon would call Bell's methods demonic.
The Dark Faction was like a convenient garbage bin—one could dump any filth there at any time.
Still, she had to admit—it was the most efficient way to ruin a Familia.
"And what about these ones?" Freya asked with a faint, chilling smile as her gaze swept over the depraved men before them.
"For people like them, who have no backing to protect them," Bell said calmly, "I'd drive them into a deeper madness."
"Oh?" Freya's eyes gleamed with interest. "How so?"
"Through appetite."
"Appetite?" Loki blinked, momentarily thrown off.
"Yes," Bell continued. "The three fundamental human desires—hunger, sleep, and lust. Sleep symbolizes Sloth, and lust symbolizes Lust. Those two sins aren't within my reach. But Gluttony—the one tied to appetite—that's something I can control."
Freya's eyes widened slightly, a trace of realization crossing her face.
"The Seven Deadly Sins," Bell went on, "are the manifestations of human desire. When people maintain balance within themselves, it remains mere desire—and proper desire drives humanity forward. But once it crosses a threshold, that desire takes over, devouring reason itself."
Freya nodded slowly, comprehension dawning.
"Beasts," she said softly.
The difference between humans and beasts lies in reason.
But once appetite seizes control of a person's reason, they cease to be human—becoming nothing more than mindless animals.
"Isn't that a divine power?"
Loki immediately hit the key point.
"Maybe. But I haven't studied that aspect closely yet."
Bell couldn't say for certain whether the "Seven Deadly Sins" counted as divine powers.
"'Envy' was something I stripped from Hephaestus's face. That thing clung to her left cheek like a maggot gnawing at bone. If it were truly an Authority, Hephaestus would never have failed to notice it."
"That… makes sense."
But then again—
"The thing on Hephaestus's face, was it caused by that sin?"
"Yes."
"Then... it really doesn't seem like a divine power."
Even the strangest divine powers wouldn't be so obscure that a god couldn't recognize them.
Loki knew about Hephaestus's face. In fact, most gods in Tenkai did. Hephaestus had sought help from many deities there, yet not one of them had been able to heal it.
Hephaestus herself, along with several divine healers in Tenkai—there was no way they could all fail to see through a mere divine power.
Loki had already separated the concept of "Seven Deadly Sins" entirely from Authorities.
Freya frowned slightly.
"Not a divine power, yet it overlaps with the Lust I command."
That thought made her glance at herself, and realization flickered in her eyes.
"Bell, do I also carry something you need?"
"...Yes."
Loki was dumbfounded by how quickly Bell admitted it.
"Seriously?! You just admit that? Aren't you afraid that love-struck woman will use it to blackmail you?"
"...Do you really think Freya-sama wouldn't do it just because I stayed silent?"
Some things couldn't be avoided simply by refusing to speak.
Bell had already prepared himself long before this.
Earlier, when the two goddesses had wrapped their arms around him, he'd come into direct contact with their bodies—and in that instant, he'd clearly sensed the "Deadly Sins" hidden within them.
Loki-sama carried "Sloth."
Freya-sama carried "Lust."
The only remaining "Sin" whose location he didn't know was "Wrath."
But even if he learned where they all were, recovering them wouldn't be easy.
That was why Bell wasn't in a hurry to collect all seven. There would be time and opportunity later.
Freya smiled faintly upon realizing this.
'So that's part of the reason behind this child's attitude toward me.'
Value.
'For this child, forming connections must always come down to value.'
Everything else was fleeting—only value was real.
Freya's careful observation of Bell only deepened her conviction.
"These people's gazes are far too blatant."
Ryuu naturally noticed the lust in those men's eyes.
Though disgust churned within her, she kept her expression composed.
A few years ago, she would have drawn her blade without hesitation—but now, she suppressed that impulse.
"Please, enjoy."
A girl with long golden hair, dressed in a refined evening gown, approached with a faint smile and set a glass of wine before Ryuu.
"Thank you."
Ryuu's gaze swept briefly across the girl's face—the smile there was utterly devoid of life.
'What a hollow smile.'
Her eyes moved across the other girls in the room. Each one was a stunning beauty—sweet-faced, elegant, and shapely—but they all shared a single trait.
Their lips were curved in polite smiles, yet their eyes were completely dead.
...
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