Ais looked up to see her teacher's right hand glow, followed by a bell tolling across the entire space.
"Bang!"
With that single toll, Bell's aura surged.
Albert's body still hadn't fully recovered. His right shoulder had been severed, and the entire left half of his body blown apart by Ais's mini-hurricane. Even with regeneration, it would take time to heal.
But compared to Albert's recovery speed, Bell's Accumulate Power was much faster.
Within just three minutes, Albert's body had completely regenerated.
And at the same moment, Bell had finished gathering power. The instant Albert moved, Bell drew his blade.
Time seemed to freeze as the blade's flash crossed the space.
"Crack!"
Space itself twisted.
Like sheets of glass, entire sections fractured cleanly—an astonishing sight.
At the center of the collapse, Bell had already sheathed his blade back into four-dimensional space.
Albert and Aria's bodies shattered the moment Bell put his sword away. As the space cracked, their bodies broke apart along with it.
This time, there was no regeneration. Instead, their bodies slowly crumbled into ash.
Bell flung out two chains, catching both souls just before they could dissipate completely.
"Captured."
Once a soul leaves its body, it quickly fades.
A soul is a type of energy; without a vessel, it disperses and becomes part of the world.
To encounter it again, one must wait for the world to absorb that energy and allow it to take shape elsewhere—
reincarnation.
But if a soul is caught right before it dissolves and provided with a proper vessel, it can continue to exist.
That was exactly what Bell was doing.
He examined the souls carefully.
"Hm. Looks like their separation strategy worked well."
Splitting the body and soul, abandoning the flesh entirely—this method had proven quite effective.
Throughout the rescue, Bell's greatest fear had been contamination or corruption of Ais's parents' souls.
If that had happened, things would've become very troublesome.
Unless all traces of corruption were removed, putting the soul into a vessel would only accelerate the Dungeon's erosion.
Bell then checked his own condition.
He slowly clenched his hand.
'The feeling of breaking through is getting stronger… I almost felt like I could advance at any moment just now.'
'The closer I get, the more intense it becomes.'
"Phew…"
At last, Bell could relax.
His three-month goal had been achieved smoothly. Next came the advance to Lv.9, followed by the period of stabilization and growth after the breakthrough.
Only two months remained—tight, but manageable.
Compared to the previous three months, these next two wouldn't be nearly as tense.
"Teacher."
Having finally caught her breath, Ais pushed herself upright. Exhaustion still lingered on her face.
Fighting a high-level Adventurer drained far more effort than she'd expected.
There were simply too many details to track and judge.
What she needed now was rest.
"Mm. You did well this time, Ais."
Bell praised her without holding back. As his first and only student, her performance had been excellent.
"Facing an opponent clearly stronger than you, you chose to attack with everything you had, seizing the first-move advantage. The moment you severed your father's right arm, you had already claimed victory."
"And afterward, you pushed past your limits. By sacrificing your own arm to deliver your father his first death, you achieved transcendence."
The first was victory.
The second was transcendence.
Bell spared no praise. "Victory" and "transcendence" were his acknowledgment of Ais's growth.
"And now, it's time for your reward."
"I'll keep my promise. Tomorrow, go find Loki-sama. She'll bring you here."
"For today, just go home and rest."
"Teacher, I'm not that tired."
The moment she heard things were being pushed to tomorrow, Ais suddenly didn't feel tired at all.
Her answer earned her a firm flick to the forehead.
"You are tired."
"And also—did you think this kind of work could be finished quickly?"
Ais clutched her forehead, slumping like a scolded puppy.
But she knew Bell was right. Transferring her parents' souls into new bodies wasn't something simple. Even if she didn't feel tired now, the process itself would still take until tomorrow.
She understood it rationally—emotionally, she refused to accept it.
"Hmph…"
Bell sighed helplessly at her reaction. Soul-to-body integration required time; she was simply too impatient.
"Ais, I know you're anxious, but don't rush."
"This isn't a task that can be completed easily. Even under ideal conditions, it takes at least one or two days. Even the examination alone takes one or two days."
"So don't think about it today. Understood?"
"…I understand…"
Seeing he wouldn't give an inch, Ais could only accept it with reluctant obedience.
There was nothing else she could do. Time couldn't be conjured from nothing.
With a snap of his fingers, Bell opened a tunnel leading back to the familia.
"Go home. Come again tomorrow."
Ais took a deep breath, suppressing her anticipation. For now, she had to go home.
"Then I'll leave first, Teacher."
She stepped into the spatial tunnel.
Once he sent his student off, Bell relaxed. The projection vanished, and he let out a slow breath.
"Good thing they severed their souls from their bodies. Otherwise, this wouldn't have gone nearly as smoothly."
Bell shook his head. Even he felt tired now.
Battles requiring such constant focus were exhausting.
"I should head home and rest, too."