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

Bell didn't choose to leave the City of Rivira immediately.

At this stage, he wasn't supposed to be watching the show or helping others with their problems—he should've been finding a place in Rivira to establish a stable base for himself.

So after departing, Bell selected a spot within the green crystal clusters along the city's edge—technically part of the 18th floor's wall.

Using Runes, he carved out a cavity in the crystal, then accelerated the growth of a Spirit Tree inside. With that, he successfully created a hidden personal space within the wall, one that would be hard for any Adventurer to discover.

He also set up barriers across the outer crystal wall to prevent visibility from the outside.

Next came the spatial anchor.

If the target location was visible, he didn't need to set coordinates. But when teleporting to a place beyond line of sight, the safest method was to lock in stable coordinates to avoid mishaps during transit.

"...That should do it."

Version 1.0 of his emergency spatial anchor—functional, at least.

"As long as it works for now. I'll upgrade it later."

With the anchor complete, Bell took out the "Corrupted Spirit's Fetus."

The "visual capture device" was turned off, so he could study it freely.

"As expected of an egg produced by a Lv.8 creature."

Even sealed with Runes, the fetus's consciousness remained faintly active.

"Looks like these leftover eggs are actually fragments or clones of the Corrupted Spirit, still containing parts of its awareness and power."

"But since their power originates from the Corrupted Spirit itself, no matter how much energy the egg absorbs, it can't evolve past Lv.8. That's... not great."

What Bell needed was for the Corrupted Spirit to reach Lv.8, otherwise he'd never be able to elevate the three Lv.6 members of the Loki Familia to Lv.7—let alone disrupt Ottar's dominance over Orario.

If the Corrupted Spirit couldn't break into the Lv.8 tier, then the whole plan would be at risk.

"If I use self-destruction and madness as the cost... would it be possible to push the Corrupted Spirit up one level?"

He considered forcibly enhancing its abilities by sacrificing its sanity and remaining lifespan.

It sounded extreme, but Bell found the method plausible.

In this world, one law never changed: equivalent exchange.

Trading permanent existence for a brief moment of Lv.8 power—just long enough to tip the scales.

"Maybe I should experiment on a few worthless monsters first, see if it's viable to temporarily boost their strength..."

As he continued examining the "Corrupted Spirit's Fetus," he noted its incredible vitality—but more striking was its overwhelming desire.

"Fitting for a spirit in its reversed state. The greater its love for humans once was, the greater its hatred now."

"A once-pure spirit, now twisted into a spirit of craving."

"How ironic."

Bell wasn't surprised. Love and hate were always connected. In this case, the Corrupted Spirit had undergone a literal transformation—a reversal triggered by being devoured by monsters.

Still, having desires wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

The stronger the desire, the easier it is to control.

If the Corrupted Spirit held a grudge against Orario, then manipulating it would be far simpler.

After all, revenge demands power. The Corrupted Spirit likely wouldn't refuse such an offer.

With that thought, Bell broke the seal.

Inside the jewel, the fetus slowly opened its eyes.

"Oh? Done pretending to sleep?"

Its wide, bulging eyes brimmed with nothing but pure, unfiltered malice.

Bell didn't hesitate. He used Runes to immediately restrain its movements.

"You're a good test subject. But I still need to return you, so don't make too much noise."

The fetus seemed to understand. Its mouth opened as if to cry out, almost like it was protesting something.

Bell ignored it completely.

First, because he couldn't understand what it was trying to say.

Second, because even if he did understand, it wouldn't have changed his actions.

This was just a fragment of the Corrupted Spirit. Resistance? From something that wasn't even fully physical? That was meaningless.

"Let's start by making you a little more obedient."

A Rune flared as it was etched into the fetus's forehead through the crystal surface.

"..."

Its mouth opened wide, but no sound came out. Still, the look of agony twisted across its face made it clear how much the branding hurt.

To forcibly brand a Corrupted Spirit that loathed humanity with a mark of servitude—transferring all control over its actions to someone else—was nothing short of humiliation.

But it had no way to resist. It had power, but no agency.

Slowly, Bell succeeded in fully subjugating the fetus's will.

But he frowned.

'This kind of one-sided mark isn't enough. I've got control, sure, but I don't need this much of it.'

He didn't want to have to manually control the Corrupted Spirit during combat.

External control in a fight would kill flexibility.

More importantly, if Bell tried to micromanage its movements mid-battle, he was afraid his own tactics would end up wiping out the entire Loki Familia.

So the Corrupted Spirit needed to fight on its own.

All Bell required was for it to reach Lv.8, apply some restraint in its strength output, and self-destruct at the right moment.

At this rate, he still had more experimentation to do.

"I need to tweak it further. Maybe indirect control through desire would work better."

Glancing at the fetus, Bell casually released the brand.

The moment it was freed, the fetus let out a silent but furious scream, its mouth stretching open wide.

"Don't get so worked up. Soon, that'll stop happening too."

"I really need to stabilize its emotions. The reversed spirit's personality is way too volatile."

This time, he engraved two Runes onto its forehead.

"Still not right. It's not resisting me much anymore, but now it's lost all rationality."

He tried again.

"This time, it kept its reasoning—and its hatred for humanity and Orario—but it's way too unhinged."

Again.

"Better control over its madness, but now it's too dull. It can't manage its power usage properly."

And so, Bell began a series of trial-and-error adjustments.

It was brutal on the fetus.

The material wasn't renewable. Each failed iteration meant it had to go through the pain of branding all over again.

But Bell was confident it could handle it. Every time it bared its teeth and snarled at him, it was proof—it could still endure.

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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