Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

When Hestia saw the full scene of monsters slaughtering civilians, it was the first time she felt true hatred for the Evilus deep in her heart.

But Bell had already given her enough of an analysis to make her clearly understand the need to act cautiously right now. So Hestia restrained her emotions, not allowing anger to override her reason.

Even so, she couldn't bear to keep watching.

"Bell-kun."

"I understand, Goddess-sama."

Bell remained calm in the face of such a scene. Whether here or in the past, as long as there were people, scenes like this would inevitably appear. That's why humans could never fully comprehend those gods with broken minds. What they needed was to always harbor the deepest malice toward such gods.

Six Runic Letters formed a circle, and the space within slowly transformed into the plaza they had seen earlier through Rune Magic. A link was established between the two spaces. At that moment, Bell could have reached out and pulled the little girl lying on the ground to his side—but he didn't.

Instead, he reached into the other circle and inscribed a rune around the trembling girl. Not only did it form a barrier around her, but it also erased her presence entirely.

Once everything was done, Bell withdrew his hand, and the distorted space returned to normal.

"Return the world to chaos... Is this the Genkai they want to see?"

Hestia couldn't understand why the gods would want to return such a beautiful Genkai to chaos. Perhaps, at their core, she and those gods were simply not the same kind. She truly couldn't comprehend their actions.

"Goddess-sama, please don't try to understand the behavior of madmen. A madman's logic is different from a normal person's. If you try to see things from their perspective, you'll become a madman yourself."

Bell gently reminded her not to delve too deeply into the minds of evil gods, but Hestia felt powerless. She knew there were gods in Tenkai who constantly dreamed of doing something grand, but she never imagined their actions would wreak such havoc in the Genkai.

"Bell-kun, why are they doing this?"

"Goddess-sama, maybe it's what they believe is right—as gods."

"Right? How can any of this be right!"

Hestia couldn't believe that such actions could be called right. If this was considered "right," then what kind of twisted concept was that word supposed to represent?

As a human, Bell naturally couldn't understand such behavior. But he did know that this malice might very well be what those gods believed to be just.

It wasn't that their thoughts were inherently twisted—but that what they believed in was fundamentally different.

"Goddess-sama, I think it has to do with the meaning behind a god's existence. Every god bears a different mission, meaning each one has their own purpose. So what is the purpose of a god of war? Of a god of death?"

"War and death... Bell-kun, are you saying they think that's their purpose?"

"Yes."

Hestia instantly understood what he meant—and why the Evilus existed. Those gods believed that fulfilling such roles defined their existence, so they created the Evilus.

But to Hestia, that answer was laughable. To prove their own meaning, they dismissed the meaning of the children of Genkai? If this was what the existence of gods amounted to, then gods truly were a bunch of twisted bastards!

Right then, Hestia saw just how dangerous those twisted bastards really were.

And so, at that moment, Hestia made a decision.

"Bell-kun, if you come across those gods, don't let them stay in Genkai and continue hurting other children."

Hestia couldn't change what had already happened—but anything that could still be prevented must be. She no longer saw her former peers as gods who had any right to remain in Genkai. Those who had twisted the meaning of their own existence should be sent back to Tenkai immediately.

"Leave it to me, Goddess-sama."

A cold glint flashed in Bell's eyes. He had never once thought that killing a god with his own hands was going too far. He was an atheist, after all. He would only show respect to gods who deserved it. As for those damned gods—he would personally end them.

At the same time, a thought emerged in his mind.

'Maybe it's not about banishing them. Maybe I should strip them of everything they once took pride in.'

During his time living in Orario, Bell had come to understand the nature of authority—an extraordinary kind of magic he possessed, one that was even defined as a divine power. It was a privilege granted to gods by the world itself, granting them complete control within that domain.

This so-called authority could be seen as a divine right—or perhaps the very meaning of each god's existence.

That's why authority couldn't simply be taken away. To do so would mean erasing everything that made a god who they were.

This was exactly why Hestia and Hephaestus had been so shocked when Bell awakened "Lightning Command." That kind of power wasn't supposed to exist in a child of Genkai.

But under normal circumstances, it was impossible to strip a god of their authority. Still, what if he made the right preparations?

'Maybe Runes can do it.'

Yes, Runes—born from the world itself—might actually make it possible.

Runes were already close to authority in nature. Though it functioned through complex mechanisms and merely simulated the earliest form of divine authority, that was what made it so versatile. With enough preparation, maybe such runes could also strip authority from the gods.

It was a thought that was undoubtedly heretical—but if it were aimed at gods wreaking havoc in Genkai, that was an entirely different matter.

Still, for now, this idea remained only in Bell's mind. If he truly wanted to carry it out, he would need the approval of Goddess-sama and Hephaestus-sama. The consequences were far too great to ignore.

And if they did give their permission, he'd have to start planning for everything that came after. Maybe it was time to begin studying the possibility of applying Runes to that purpose.

After all... what if it really worked?