By publicly slaying the deity of Evilus, he established an adversarial relationship with them, ensuring they would never suspect him of being 'Enyo.' The same reasoning applied to the Guild as well.
Yet his status as a well-known figure in both factions gave him plenty of room to maneuver. After eliminating the current leader of Evilus, he could legitimately assume control of the organization himself. Bell believed that only after reaching that point would Dionysus officially begin his plan to destroy Orario.
Hiding his true identity while maintaining contact with Evilus was likely his way of keeping his standing with both Evilus and the Guild. In the end, his plan was probably to play both sides—to consume everything from both ends.
On one hand, he sought to plunge the surface into chaos. On the other, he aimed to eradicate even the deities of Evilus.
His mind must be broken. If Dionysus truly intended to carry out such a plan, Bell could only describe the god as 'mentally unstable.'
If Bell could see through such a scheme, how could the goddesses present fail to grasp it as well?
"Hmph, that bastard is truly insane."
Loki, unusually, hit the nail on the head.
"Completely mad."
Freya agreed with Loki. Dionysus's actions indeed left little to distinguish him from a lunatic.
"Dionysus... is it really not due to the influence of the 'Seven Deadly Sins'?"
Bell gave the harshest response to Hestia's faint hope, shaking his head.
"Unfortunately, the 'Seven Deadly Sins' that exist externally have only shown the most severe effect on Hephaestus—the symptoms on her face. 'Lust' and 'Sloth' didn't bring any further harm to Freya or Loki, and naturally, 'Wrath' is the same."
"Only the 'Seven Deadly Sins' I've reclaimed can affect the gods."
The greatest destruction caused by the external 'Seven Deadly Sins' was merely making the Captain of the Ikelos Familia even more deranged. Beyond that, their influence was truly minimal.
However, once he had reclaimed the 'Seven Deadly Sins' that had been residing within others, even the power leaking from his own thoughts alone was enough to seriously affect the gods.
Therefore, the true impact of the 'Seven Deadly Sins' on the gods was far less than most imagined.
Bell didn't say outright that everything Dionysus had done came purely from his own will, but Hestia understood his meaning clearly enough.
"Hestia, you don't need to think too much about Dionysus's affairs."
Seeing the discomfort on Bell's face, Hephaestus began gently advising Hestia. Among them, Hestia's influence on Bell was the strongest—if she voiced any objections, Bell might very well alter his plans.
"Mm."
Hestia nodded gloomily. Though she felt disheartened about Dionysus's situation, she refrained from interfering with Bell's next course of action.
Once Hestia set aside her thoughts, Bell chose not to continue discussing the topic any further.
It was precisely because of Dionysus's plan that Evilus had become increasingly radical. They no longer followed his original course of action, instead shifting their focus toward sheer numbers. Bell believed Evilus was now preparing to mass-produce Level 5 combatants. As long as they had enough numbers and spread their forces wide enough, they might still stand a chance at victory.
"However, this approach carries two serious problems."
Bell paused, and the two goddesses present immediately understood where the issue lay.
"My three newly ascended children, and the 'King' within Freya's Familia. Even if my three have only just reached Level 7, Level 7 is still Level 7. Mere quantity won't make much of a difference."
"But…"
"Our familias take the elite route. We don't have many core members. If Evilus spreads its forces too thin, we'll be forced into a disadvantage."
Loki's unfinished thought was picked up by Freya.
If Evilus chose to disperse all its members, then the core members of both familias would inevitably face being split apart. Once that happened, a chain of problems would follow.
Lower-level members would end up being blown apart by waves of suicide soldiers with no fear of death. After all, Evilus was a group of maniacs—the kind who'd grab flaming stones and charge in for suicidal close-range attacks.
Once those casualties started piling up, they would spread until even the strongest fighters were injured. It was a tactic that didn't fear death, only failure to kill. Once Evilus played that card, any familia would suffer.
Adventurers with weaker strength or little battle experience could easily be shaken by those reckless, face-to-face suicide attacks.
"Therefore, we must keep the battlefield outside of Orario."
If the battle spilled into Orario, the situation would become unmanageable. The battlefield had to be kept beyond the city.
The only solution Bell could think of was to limit the scope of battle. If they could move the fight outside Orario, the chances of the battlefield scattering would be greatly reduced.
"If we shift the battlefield beyond Orario, the issue of scattered combat can be resolved."
The goddesses all understood the logic in Bell's words, but another problem immediately arose.
"The key question is—how do we move the battlefield?"
Relocating the battlefield could solve the fragmentation problem, but the act of relocation itself was the challenge.
"Evilus operates from the shadows and currently holds the initiative in this war. Getting them to willingly move the battlefield is practically impossible."
That much was obvious.
No one would abandon their advantage just to put themselves in a weaker position. Evilus weren't fools.
Bell was fully aware of this. Shifting the battlefield would be difficult—but not entirely impossible.
"Since Evilus won't move on their own, we have to take the initiative and find a way to reach their base. They're devoting everything to their preparations right now, concentrating all their forces in one place. That location would make the most suitable battlefield."
"To enhance their power, they'll undoubtedly rely on the 'Fetus,' and its growth requires both time and energy to mature. That means right now is when they're most active—and when they'll inevitably expose themselves."
"If we can seize this opportunity and mark their coordinates, then I believe we can take the initiative in this war."