Bell vs. Ais

With a 1 hour lunch declared, Hestia immediately updated Bell in the dressing area. She was quite pleased, as Bell reached ~80% into level 5 with the long battle. After they rejoined their friends, everyone had a chance to relax and enjoy more pies from the Hostess.

Hestia "This is the last battle and the most important battle"

Hestia "Bell, you need to focus on the fight and don't think about Ais your idol"

Lili teased "Bell-sama, think with your brain, not the other organ"

Shocked Haruhime "OMG"

Lili "Guess the fox is not that innocent...", making Haruhime blush.

Serious Bell "I understand"

In the Loki corner, Loki tried hard to get everyone refocused after the Bete spanking. This was the last chance before the tournament decides which goddesses becomes the slave for the week. Loki could see that everyone liked Bell, but she had to remind them what would happen to their goddess if they lose.

Finn "Yes, losing will be bad for our reputation in Orario. However, honestly, everyone in Orario cannot help but be impressed by a level 5 underdog defeating 3 x level 6 in a row. I am actually more worried about our reputation relative to the Freya Familia at this point"

Riveria "Yes, the ascendance of the Hestia familia and Bell Cranel appears inevitable. This is their coming out party at our expense. I also would worry more about the public opinion of our familia versus the Freya Familia. While Bell appears to be the present and future hero, their familia is very small with only 2 1st class adventurers."

Gareth "I agree. The Hestia Familia has become the sweetheart that is also the swing power in Orario. They are now the clear number 3 in importance. The Ganesha familia has 10 1st class adventurers, but I would say the Hestia Familia and Bell Cranel in particular are now more important to the future."

Loki "Everyone can see now Bell Cranel will soon become the 2nd most powerful person and possibly even surpassing Ottar in a few months"

Loki "Ais, please try your best. Bell is strong but you have ariel."

Riveria "Yes Ais, assuming that wind sword is still functional, you have already shown that your magic can overcome its power. You should assume that Bell will be using that sword though"

Ais "I will try my best"

In the luxury booth, Freya and Ottar enjoyed an amazing 1st rate meal and toasted their success. They have shaped the battle, shaped the warrior, trained the warrior, taught the warrior, equipped the warrior. They have put Bell in the best position to win, and now they would simply sit and enjoy the battle. They understood all the potential impact in terms of their familia's standing in Orario, as well as potential alliances. However, this was the time to enjoy a historic battle, and leave the rest for later.

After the hour passed, it was time. Bell and Ais went to the field. Bell had his dual daggers, while Ais had Desperate. Ais was surprised that Bell did not have the wind magic sword...

Ibri "Ladies and Gentlemen, it has come to this. The last battle will decide the fate of the 2 goddesses. If you want to place a bet, this is your last chance."

Before Ibri started the fight, Ais whispered something to Bell.

Embarrassed Ais "Winner gives loser a lap pillow"

Blushing Bell "Agreed"

The battle then proceeded upon Ibri's command.

While Ais understood Bell was fighting like an advanced level 6, he was an advanced level 3 the last time when they fought over Weine. When it came to Bell, that few weeks may as well be an eternity. But this was still difficult for Ais to accept as they sparred carefully to feel each other out.

From the beginning, Bell was noticeably stronger. Furthermore, Bell was quicker and more agile. Both however were careful, and neither used their magic.

Five minutes into the sparring, Bell was already starting to push Ais, which silenced the audience. As Bell continued to push Ais, she realized that she needed to change her plan. It was time to use Ariel if she was going to have a chance.

However, using Ariel was something she dreaded, as it was dangerous. She did not want to hurt or, god forbid, kill Bell by mistake. However, she also remembered that she made a promise to someone to use Ariel if it became necessary. As Bell continued to push her, she finally relented and said 'tempest'.

With Ariel activated, she gained a great deal of power and speed. Ais still wanted to carefully control her use of the power and to prevent unnecessary injury. Thus she simply used it as her wind armor as well as a means to increase her strength and speed.

With the power boost, the fighting was more even. To her surprise, Bell was able to keep up with her power and her speed. She could not understand where he got this fighting ability from. There was almost no one who could have prepared him for this, and he was not even using his special technique. She was not sure that the senior Loki executives could actually have matched her speed in Ariel. How could Bell be so strong!

Almost no one in the audience has ever seen ariel in action, and Ais' raging whirlwind was shocking to them. For those in the Loki Familia who have seen ariel in action, the results were even more shocking. Indeed, Bell was matching Ais in speed and strength while she was using her trump card and Bell was not! Could Bell have actually surpassed Ais?

The battle continued unabated for 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. With limited magic stats, the continued use of Ariel was wearing down Ais. However, Bell continued to fight with no loss in efficiency. Having seen how Bell fought against Fin and Bete, Ais knew that she would have to escalate the fight If she wanted to win. She knew that meant Lil Rafaga, which is extremely dangerous. She did not want to hurt Bell badly but it appears that Bell was on a different level now.

As Ais considered her situation, she was weakening, slowing down and losing strength. Bell actually started to push her back slightly even with Ariel. Realizing that she could lose soon, she decided she had to keep her solemn promise. Thus, she put quite a bit of distance between herself and Bell, and started to gather her wind strength for her finishing move.

Bell's body also sensed the critical moment was coming, as white particles had been forming around him for some time. As Ais launched Lil Rafaga, Bell used the wind magic dagger to launch a wind attack with about 2 minutes of argonaut charge.

The result was staggering, as if 2 opposing tornadoes slammed right into each other. Bell's argonaut charged wind attack broke through Ais' Lil Rafaga! The force was so severe that it shut down Ariel and knocked Ais out of the sky!

Loki "OH NO"

Seeing Ais plummet, Lefiya, Tiona, Tione, Riveria, Finn, Gareth and Bete all immediately ran towards Ais. But they were too far away.

Hestia "OMG"

Lefiya was watching helplessly while tears fell.

The entire colosseum was horrified.

Ibri was speechless.

Seeing that Ais was falling completely out of control, Bell realized that she was probably knocked unconscious. As everyone screamed in horror, Bell ran as fast as he could with a large cloud of white particles all around him. The atmosphere was surreal as the grand bell tolled during those few precious seconds. As Ais was about to slam into the ground, Bell launched himself towards the falling Ais as if rocket propelled by argonaut power.

At the last possible moment, Bell caught the falling princess and cradled her in his arms. Bell also used his body to shield and cushion Ais from her fall. Despite Bell's best efforts, there was a loud thud, bone crunching sounds and a huge cloud of dust...