"Get going, Anya," Bell calmly ordered, dodging a strike from the redheaded woman.

"Time to go," Anya said, grabbing Airmids hand and running.

"Huh, looks like you're the striker," Bell said, parrying the knives with his sword. He kicked the woman in the stomach and watched as she skidded back, holding her stomach as Bell pressed his advantage.

His sword was blocked by a giant shield held by the black-haired man. The man pushed Bell back while remaining in front of the striker.

"Get up and fight Amanda," the shield yelled.

"Fuck off, Ray," Amanda yelled as she lunged at Bell again.

He dodged the fire-infused daggers before tripping Amanda. He jumped back, avoiding a slam from Ray, then raised a wall to block the spell from the caster.

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Shakti jumped and threw her light spear at the caster, who dodged. The sentry swung their whip at Shakti, who easily dodged.

While the sentry and caster were not meant for close quarters, they were still trained soldiers and, as such, could fight in close quarters if needed.

The caster threw a fireball at Shakti, who promptly returned it to the sender. The fireball impacted the caster, who was sent flying into a tree.

The tree shattered upon impact and fell over, pinning the caster to the ground as it landed on their legs.

Shakti then threw one of her light spears into the sentry's leg before cracking the back of her real one against their face knocking them out.

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Bell expertly dodged the strikes from Amanda before tripping her and smashing the hilt of Dawn's Ballad against her head. The light from Amanda's eyes faded as she fell to the ground unconscious.

Ray stood there, his shield at the ready. While he was meant for defense, he still knew how to fight, even if his only weapon was a shield.

However, he didn't get the chance to as a bolt of lightning struck him in the back courtesy of Bell. Ray felt his muscles lock up and collapse to the ground, unable to move.

Bell promptly walked up and kicked him in the face knocking him unconscious.

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Bell looked over to Shakti, who had a worried look on her face.

"That was almost too easy," she said, looking at Bell.

Bell looked back at his unconscious enemies seeing their weapons scattered around them.

"I feel the same as well" Bell promptly looked around the forest, trying to see and hear if anything was out of place.

"We should restrain them before they wake up. We can take them back to Orario and interrogate them," Shakti said, using her light magic to bind the four Alacryians.

"We won't get much out of them. Their tunes prevent them from spilling any information that could be useful to us," Bell said, using his earth magic to lift the tree off the caster and drag him to the group of captured Alacryians.

Gathering them all in a circle, Shakti looked at Bell and spoke.

"From your information, it sounded like they'd be better fighters. Any guess as to why they were so easily beaten" She asked.

Bell thought for a moment before an idea came to his mind. "They're spies, not meant for combat, only information gathering. While yes, they're still trained soldiers, they're no match for active combatants like us," Bell explained.

It all made sense to him now. He had a sneaking suspicion that Agrona had his spies in Orario, but this just confirmed it. But spies have a handler that arranges for safe passage once their cover has been blown.

Could they have been trying to meet up with their handler, and if so, who were they? Does this also mean Agrona has his spies in Athens? Or is Athens secretly helping Agrona?

Would Hera know?

Based on what he remembered, his grandpa said Hera wouldn't help Agrona. But he also said she adored his mother but became bitter once she died. Could she be helping Agrona now that she's become more bitter? Was that how he was able to find him to kill Zeus? Or was that just Agrona finding him on his own without Hera's help?

Bell looked off in the direction of Athens. It was only a two-week trip to find the answers he wanted. He looked back to Shakti, who was staring at him.

"Let's get going. Airmid and Anya should be nearby," Bell said, using his water magic to create a giant hand to carry the Alacryians.

Shakti nodded as she walked alongside Bell to find Anya and Airmid.

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Following their tracks, Bell and Shakti found Airmid and Anya a few minutes later. Airmid was hiding inside a hollowed-out tree trunk while Anya stood guard out of sight.

Upon seeing the two with their prisoners, Anya breathed a sigh of relief as she tapped on the tree, letting Airmid know it was safe to come out.

Bell set the prisoners restrained down but let them out of the water, hand setting them down and propped against a tree.

Airmid seeing her savior, quickly ran to Bell and hugged him. Bell was a little caught off guard and didn't know what to do at first until Airmid spoke.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," she said as she began to cry.

Bell wrapped his arms around her and gave comforting pats on her back. "Shh, it's ok. You're safe now. There's no need to worry."

"I was so scared. They kept saying once they met up with their retainer, no one would ever see me again. They said I was going to Alacryia."

Alarm bells started ringing in Bell's head as he let go of Airmid and began looking around the woods. Shakti seeing Bell's alarm had her spear at the ready along with Anya.

"Did they say where they were meeting their retainer" Bell frantically asked, his eyes shooting from tree to tree?

Airmid sniffled and started to shake, seeing Bell's worry. "Where we were camped out. Said the retainer was meeting them there."

Bell already had Dawn's Ballad in hand, straining his eyes and ears to see or hear anything out of place. He felt the ground under his feet start to rumble, and when he looked at his prisoners, he saw black spikes impaling their bodies.

"Well, well. We meet again, Boy Wonder," Uto's raspy voice called out.

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Bell's head shot up to the tree where Uto sat perched atop a branch and looking down at him. Bell instinctively put Airmid behind him as he stared down the retainer.

"Oh, looks like you've gotten stronger and in such a short time too. You may very well be the second coming of Arthur," Uto mocked.

"I'm twice as strong as when I faced you last time, bastard," Bell spit out, feeling his anger starting to take hold.

"Two times zero is still zero," Uto replied, hopping off the tree branch and landing in front of the four.

He raised his hand and pointed his long fingernail at the four dead Alacryians. "Such useless spies blowing their cover all to kidnap the doll."

Uto then turned his gaze to Airmid, who felt like he was leering at her. "Well, I can see why they did it. Such a beauty wasted in that primitive city."

Uto then let out a sigh. "Well then, time to start."

Uto flicked his finger up, and a spike shot up from the ground. Bell tackled Airmid out of the way as Anya and Shakti dodged. Bell quickly got Airmid to her feet and handed her off to Anya. Bell didn't even say a word to Anya as she already took off running with Airmid in her arms.

Bell activated Realmheart feeling a boost in power before shooting fire from his feet to launch at Uto. Uto simply raised more spikes in front of him, causing Bell to dodge.

Bell landed with a roll and quickly shot to his feet. Using his dark magic, he sent slashes of it at Uto.

Uto raised more spikes to defend himself as he moved toward Bell. Only to be shoulder tackled by Shakti.

A spike shot up in front of Uto. He grabbed it and spun around before kicking Shakti in the face. Shakti flew back but was able to steady herself mid-air and began flying.

Thanks to Shakti being a white core, her mana circulation was so pure it gave her the ability of flight.

A dozen light spears appeared behind Shakti, which she sent at Uto. Uto raised his spikes and intercepted the spears but was struck in the back by lightning.

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"Ha, I see you've mastered your lighting, boy. Being able to use it with just your mind is impressive," Uto cheered.

Bell sent more lightning bolts at Uto, who dodged with ease.

Shakti was behind him, about to impale him through the back with her spear. But a spike from Uto stopped her.

Uto cracked his fist across Shakti's face. He shot up another spike, hoping to impale the blue-haired woman. But thanks to her ability to fly, she was able to avoid her death, only having a small scratch as a reminder.

Uto didn't seem to care; Shakti avoided her death. Instead, turning his attention back to Bell.

Uto sent more spikes toward Bell, who cut them in half with his sword and knife as he made his way to Uto.

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Uto let out a chuckle seeing Bell start to struggle with the spikes. "Having trouble, boy wonder? Your aunt didn't fuck you up too much, did she?" He taunted, noticing it made Bell angry.

Uto sent more spikes to overwhelm Bell, who was starting to fall back to try and get away.

But he couldn't seem to find a respite.

Every time he cut one spike, three more would appear in its place. Shakti sent her light spears to try and help, but it didn't do much. Bell used his lightning to destroy the ones he couldn't destroy with his blades.

Yet he was still being overwhelmed.

Until eventually, a dozen spears pierced his body all at once. They stabbed him in the arms, legs, chest, and even his brain. From the looks of it, Bell was dead.

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Shakti looked on in horror at Bell's lifeless body. His once vibrant red eyes were now lifeless and dull.

Uto just simply clicked his tongue. "Well shit, and here I was hoping he'd at least put up some fight. Oh well, guess that just leaves you then."

Uto turned his attention back to Shakti, who prepared herself. Uto looked her up and down, taking in every inch of her body.

He licked his lips. "Yes, you'll do nicely," he taunted.

Shakti felt her skin crawl before making a whip out of her light magic. She swung the whip at Uto, who let it wrap around his arm.

Shakti tried to pull him toward her but struggled as Uto's feet remained firmly planted on the ground. Yawning, he yanked his arm and caused Shakti to come towards him.

Shakti let go of the whip before throwing another light spear at Uto. It went through his leg, leaving a hole in his leg.

"Ah, that hurt bitch" Uto hissed in pain.

He raised his finger up and flicked it toward him. A spike shot out from the ground behind Shakti and impaled her through the leg.

Shakti yelled out in pain as her leg gave out from under her, and she fell to her knees. Uto walked up and kicked her, sending her flying through multiple trees.

He appeared next to her and grabbed her by the throat, choke slamming her to the ground. He then began to drag her across, all while a sadistic laugh left his lips.

Uto stopped dragging her and threw Shakti again. She slammed into a tree, and before she could get back up, a spike was embedded in her leg.

She yelled out in pain and tried to remove the spike using her magic. But two more spikes pinned her hands against the tree. Uto landed in front of her. Seeing her pinned and helpless made him smile in glee.

He crouched down in front of the crucified Shakti. His long fingernail traced down her face.

"Now, since I have you like this, we're gonna have some fun. Of course, it'll be painful for you being torn limb from limb, but your screams will be delightful," Uto mocked as he groped Shakti's chest.

"Hmm, not a bad size. Boy wonder might've liked these if he wasn't dead," Uto laughed.

Shakti tried to remain calm, but inside, she was freaking out. "No, I can't die. I still need to avenge Ardee."

Shakti tried to struggle but was stopped when Uto slammed her head against the tree. "Enough of that. The more you struggle, the more pain I'll cause."

Shakti whimpered as Uto grabbed her right leg and began pulling. He kept pulling and pulling, and Shakti felt as if she was about to lose her leg.

Uto suddenly stopped what he was doing. His head quickly shot around, almost as if he was looking for someone.

Shakti was confused as to why he stopped until she saw the familiar teal blade of Dawn's Ballad poking out of Uto's chest.

Uto coughed up blood as Bell lit Dawn's Ballad ablaze with his fire magic. He started to move the blade up diagonally, all while Uto grunted in pain.

Dawn's Ballad cut through Uto's skin like a hot knife through butter as Bell finished his cut. He had partly cut Uto in half as Uto's body was only keeping itself together at its bottom half.

Bell then drove his knife into Uto's throat. Using his lighting to make the blade longer, he swiped to the side and decapitated Uto's head clean from his shoulders.

Uto was dead before he even hit the ground. Bell panted as he turned off Realmheart and made his way to Shakti.

He quickly broke the spikes holding her down before handing her a few potions to heal herself with. Shakti looked at the boy, shocked but relieved nonetheless.

"I-I thought you were dead," she said, amazed at how Bell was still alive.

Bell offered an apologetic smile. "That was just an illusion. Uto wasn't someone we were gonna beat in a head-on battle. He almost beat Arthur and Slyvie in the war. So I used a little trickery to win," he explained.

Shakti nodded her head as Bell helped her to her feet. She wobbled for a moment before getting her balance. She took a step forward and nearly fell, but Bell caught her.

"Here, lean on me until we catch up with Airmid and Anya," Bell offered. Shakti was hesitant at first, but seeing that Bell was alive and didn't have a dozen spikes protruding from his body eased her worries.

The two began walking as Shakti leaned on Bell. It was a kind of comical sight, considering Shakti was half a foot taller than Bell.

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"Sorry, I let that happen to you. I needed Uto to think he had won before I made my move. I know he can be on the sadistic side," Bell apologized as the two moved through the woods.

Shakti was quiet for a second be she answered. "That's alright. I understand you know more about the Alacryians than anyone in Orario. It just wasn't a pleasant feeling being at his mercy."

"Trust me. I know the feeling. I'm just glad I was able to help before he started his sick torture," Bell said.

"How's your arm," Shakti asked.

Bell looked at his cast before answering. "Feels fine. Although I'm expecting to get chewed out by Airmid because I'm not supposed to be fighting," Bell joked.

Shakti let out a giggle. "Who knows, maybe she'll let you off the hook since you came to save her."

The two kept walking through the woods, following the tracks Anya and Airmid left in their rush. However, Bell felt as if Shakti was leaning on him more and more as they continued their journey.

After another 15 minutes of walking, the two reached the edge of the woods and saw Airmid and Anya resting on a merchant's wagon.

The two were filled with relief seeing Bell and Shakti stumble out of the woods and quickly rush to them. Bell helped Shakti sit down and asked Airmid to take a look at her.

Airmid crouched next to the slightly injured Shakti and found that she had no serious wounds. She looked up at Shakti, who signaled her to keep quiet about what she knew and pretend to keep examining her.

Bell turned to look at Anya. The two smiled at each other before Anya took Bell's lips into hers, catching him off guard.

Shakti and Airmid looked at the scene in shock and nervously laughed, not knowing what to do. Bell's brain had seemingly shut down as he didn't really know how to react.

Anya pulled back a playful smirk on her face as Bell felt his head spin.

Bell blinked and gathered his bearings before looking at Anya in surprise. He saw her blushing and nervously looking at him from time to time. Her tail was wagging erratically.

Bell just let out a small chuckle as he had a feeling Anya held some sort of feelings for him. But he just assumed it was because he was her hero, not that she loved him.

"Aisha is gonna have a field day with this, and so would Grandpa if he was still alive. Actually, come to think of it, I can hear him laughing from heaven now," Bell said, letting Anya know he accepted her feelings.

Anya let out a cute smile with her hands behind her back. But before anyone could congratulate the new couple, a new problem occurred.

"Bell?"

Bell turned around, and his eyes widened in shock. Rethusa had stumbled out through the woods. Her left eye was missing, as well as her right arm. Bell quickly ran up to her and caught her before she collapsed with Airmid at his side in an instant.

Bell quickly activated Realmheart pouring Aether into Rethusa's wounds. Airmid started chanting and activated her healing magic to try and stop the bleeding.

"Hey, you're ok, Rethusa. You're gonna be ok," Bell comforted as he focused Aether on her eye. Rethusa felt a warm tingly feeling spreading through her body as it began to heal.

"It…got…lady Artemis" Rethusa muttered.

Bell was confused. Something had Artemis?

"What has Artemis" Bell worriedly asked.

Rethusa coughed a little before answering.

"Antares"

Rethusa then passed out, her exhaustion finally taking over.

Well, another day, another chapter. Hoped you enjoyed the fight with Uto, and I hope I didn't downplay both Shakti and Bell. Sure, they're strong, but Uto is a lot stronger when he decides to try and not play with his food.

Cause if I remember right, I think when he and Arthur had their rematch, Arthur was a white core and nearly lost.

I won't spoil how he won, but like I said, he nearly beat Arthur in their rematch. Or no, it wasn't their rematch; it was their second meeting.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and now Anya's part of the harem. Two down and a lot more to go.