Bell walked away from her, returning to his chair and leaving a frozen Freya behind, her worldview fractured.
Silence fell.
He brought his hood back up, his mind drifting to the earlier spectacle.
Normally, control of flames on that level would have been impossible for him. But his wheel had adapted during his fight with Juggernaut, and now his mana—his mind—had become highly volatile, needing his control to keep up.
What he'd shown Freya looked beautiful. It was ten times more deadly. A single slip in control and Freya's terrace would have been blown sky-high.
More power, less room for error.
A pair of footsteps broke him from his thoughts.
He glanced sideways.
Heith had returned with Haruhime. The Renard now looked fresh—less worn out than before. The blood that had streaked across her body and matted in her hair had been washed away by a hot bath.
Bell rose from his chair and walked over to Haruhime, scooping her up in his arms once again.
Her Renard ears twitched. He ignored her reaction and walked up to the very edge of Freya's terrace.
He glanced sideways at the still-dazed Freya and set his foot on the stone railing.
She snapped out of her stupor at his actions and looked toward him with a complex gaze.
"Bel—"
BOOM!
Air tore. She didn't get to finish her words before he vaulted over the railing, gone in an instant.
The shockwave even blew her silver hair back.
She was left there... uncertain.
...
..
.
Bell moved across Orario as if it were his own backyard. They reached the red light district in moments. From there, he moved straight for the Ishtar Familia's base.
Every Amazoness in his path parted unconsciously, feeling terrified yet not knowing why.
He didn't care. Instead, he set Haruhime down just before the main hall.
"Why do you keep your shoulders slouched? Puff your chest out and straighten your spine." Bell spoke while pushing her slackened shoulders back.
"Y-Yes sir." Haruhime was still a nervous wreck. She let Bell adjust her posture, feeling faint and lightheaded from the touch.
He pulled his hands back and walked inside, while Haruhime shuffled behind him like his shadow.
Ishtar was inside, compiling reports on Hermes Familia members, having mobilized all of her Familia.
She heard his footsteps and looked toward him. Her grip on the reports tightened as she approached, bearing an eerie resemblance to a trained dog.
"Sir, I have located all the Hermes Familia members we could within your allotted time." Ishtar spoke as though she had accomplished something monumental.
Bell took the report from her hands and gave her a once-over.
She understood instantly, bending over sideways like a human chair.
He then sat on her back, crossed one leg over the other, and opened the file.
"Hm? So few?" Bell paused.
"Sir, we could only gather this much information." Ishtar clarified quickly, trying to sound righteously justified for her underperformance.
Incompetent trash.
You're going straight to heaven after I've squeezed out every ounce of your worth.
Bell looked at Haruhime standing beside him with indifference and spoke.
"Little Fox, come here."
Haruhime complied, her fox tail swishing with a mix of uncertainty and nervousness.
"Now... slap Ishtar with your tail."
Both Haruhime and Ishtar froze. The Renard's tail stood on end while Ishtar's face twisted.
"NOW."
His voice snapped Haruhime out of her shock. Her hands trembled as she grabbed her tail and slowly touched Ishtar with it. Just a tap.
Ishtar looked back at Haruhime with a smug smile.
"Harder."
She snapped her tail at Ishtar with a little more force. Too light.
Ishtar's smile didn't waver.
"Even harder."
Her tail touched Ishtar's face once more. Still too light.
A scoff escaped Ishtar.
"Do you want me to leave you here?" His words sent her into a panic.
"NOO!"
Slap!
The sound of a slap echoed through the hall.
Ishtar's smug smile was wiped clean off her face.
Haruhime had smacked Ishtar's cheek with full force in her panic.
The goddess' face burned—but her dignity burned even more.
"Keep smacking her like that. Think of this trash beneath me as a drum. Keep going." Bell's words made Ishtar want to curse his entire bloodline.
Haruhime froze for a moment after that slap, looking between her own tail and Ishtar's reddening cheek.
Her tail tensed instinctively. Unbeknownst to her, a slightly sadistic expression flickered across her face for just an instant.
Ishtar could keep calm no longer. Her voice came out shrill.
"Haruhime, don't you dare—"
Smack!
"You lowly Ren—"
Thwack!
"I'll have you kill—"
Whap!
Ishtar couldn't bear it anymore. She tried to rise.
"Hm?"
The weight on her back multiplied a hundredfold. A mountain settled on her spine.
She was pinned.
Slap!
"You bast—"
Thwack!
"@#!!$$#@@$^—"
Whap!
"Wuu...Wuu—"
Thwack!
"Spare mee—"
Slap!
Bell glanced sideways as Haruhime kept slapping Ishtar like a child gifted a new toy.
He then looked down at Ishtar, whose cheeks had swollen like a pufferfish, all her elaborate makeup and mascara smeared across her face.
"Alright, Haruhime. Enough." Bell spoke, but Haruhime seemed not to hear—too lost in the joy of smacking Ishtar's cheeks.
Slap!
Slap!
Slap!
"Haruhime." His voice grew even colder.
"Oh! Oh." She snapped out of it. Then she looked at Ishtar's ruined cheeks and jumped back in horrified realization.
"I-I..." The Renard stared at her slightly red tail, feeling wretched for having done something so cruel.
Bell caught the guilt written across her face and spoke.
"It's fine. Ishtar can handle it, right?"
Ishtar choked, humiliated beyond words.
Too bullying. Too much bullying. She was a goddess for fuck's sake, why didn't they treat her as one?
Nonetheless, she still tried to scream.
"You bas—" Her surroundings dissolved into infinite darkness for a moment, countless blood-red eyes peering at her from every angle.
"What are you talking about, Haruhime? I am a goddess. This is nothing to me." Ishtar's words shifted faster than a chameleon changes color.
"See? It's nothing for her. Come on—give her one last goodbye slap."
Bastard! I curse you to die a horrifying death, you hooded menace!
Haruhime heard both of them, her eyes lighting up imperceptibly at the mention of a goodbye slap.
Her tail tensed.
Thwack!
Wuu...Wuu...Wuu...
...
..
.
***
[300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
[8 chapters ahead on P@tr3on = [email protected]/Not_Aaryan]
...
[Authors Thoughts]
Friends, I ask... Did we corrupt Haruhime, that innocent Renard?
...
Did you all like Haru-Haru till now or is she too tame for our Bell?
...
Keep supporting my friends, even a single like from you all gives me enough motivation to release nice chapters one after another. Oh! and have a nice day too.
I've nearly adapted to writing continuous chapters at a fast pace and it's thanks to all of you and...
Hail Mahoraga!
Clunk