Haruhime has specially be intro as a plot device to justify OEBD defeat or more as a ways to make it’s defeat a possibility because the current Orario wouldn’t be ready with the little time remaining. It’s already voiced Ottar & the others FF executives will rank very soon so with this spell they can probably play on the same league as Zeus & Hera (at least it’s confirmed they weren’t 1 shot).

There is also the fact this time they have the territorial advantage something that Zeus & Hera couldn’t have when they were invading Dragon Valley.

Another difference is the information, OEBD having be left without surveillance the entire millennium mean Zeus & Hera have make their battle plan with outdated information. Maybe in the information let by the survivors there is something that can be an exploitable weakness.

There is also the possibility of a Gimmick that simply prevented OEBD defeat by exemple he obtained Aria power by devoring her like Antares as done with Artemis. Doing so give him the same or a stronger version of Ais wind armor meaning he could only be damaged by something with equal power or superior. In that case depending of Bell level a suffisantly strong Argo Vesta could destroy the armor or Welf magic could conceal his protection by making it turn into an explosion.

As for Bell it’s not like he had ever a good mesure of Ais strength at most he had a base idea but the fact she had super powerful spell, rank up by solo Udeaus a level 6 monster & go 1 vs 1 against Asterius make very clear Ais is far above the fighting abilities of a simple level 6. Honestly as long Bell isn’t sure he can stand by Ais side on equal footing, LF will be working & Bell has a lot of self esteem issue so the only way for him that gain that certainty would be to defeat Ais in a all out fight.

There's enough hints that make me also believe Aria had some sort of Charm ability that the Dragon used as an extra cheat to easily wipe out his opponents. Between Realis Phrase being "instrumental" in taking out the Dragon (which I have to imagine is more beyond simply letting Bell get stronger faster), Bell gaining an ability that grants him a power boost when charmed, and Oomori mentioning that Zald and Alfia are immune to (at least Freya's) Charm.

So I'm thinking a major part of the fight will involve, Bell and Ais in particular, fighting to break Aria free, which will then significantly weaken the Dragon and make it far more of a fair fight with the rest of the Orario.

@Hurricane951

All of Freya's executives should be able to level up before the end of the series, given that they've been at their respective levels for many years and also, the few statuses we know of them clearly show that they're about to level up; so things would have:

1 level 8 (Ottar)

4 levels 7 (Mia, Hogni, Hedin and Allen)

4 levels 6 (the Gulliver brothers)

Which would give them a power at most equivalent to that of the Zeus family.

As for the Loki family together with Leon they would have:

1 level 9 presumably (Ais with Tempest-Avenger against dragons)

1 level 8 (Leon)

3 levels 7 (Finn, Gareth and Riveria)

3 levels 6 (Bete, Tiona and Tione)

A power at most equivalent to that of the Hera family.

So, all of them leveling up won't put them in the same league as the dragon, since they would have at most equivalent power to the one of who were easily defeated by him.

Could Haruhime make the difference? In theory yes, but there's a problem, Uchide no Kozuchi only lasts 20 minutes, so unless the dragon is going to fall in this tiny amount of time, it will take more than just Haruhime's magic.

What I'm getting at is that if they win just like that, then there would be a monumental abuse of plot armor, because it wouldn't make sense for the Zeus and Hera families to have lost easily if only that is all it took to defeat him.

Therefore, in order to not abuse plot armor, the dragon has to be weakened compared to the version it had during his crushing victory 15 years ago. The most popular theory about it is that he loses Aria's "power" thanks to Ais and that puts him at a level where the current forces could beat him.

About Bell, I agree with you, at most he will be level 7 by the end of the series and that is forcing the pace he has maintained until now. Which creates the uncertainty of why he would be indispensable in the victory when he would only be one more combatant and also far from being the strongest.

It is not because of Argonaut, a Hildis Vini of Ottar level 9 (level increase + beastization) would be as strong as a Argo Vesta of Bell level 7, in addition, Riveria's magic should be stronger than those of these 2.

I just remember now that Ryuu has Astraea Varmas and wonder how will this affect Haruhime? Take Kokonoe for example, will Ryuu make Haruhime being able to cast buff on more people because that is literally all the spell does? And about UnK, will Astraea Varmas increase the duration or the amount of status buff? Haruhime also has a skill to increase her magic effectiveness, and this skill can also be amplified by Astraea Varmas. With Astraea Varmas's effect depended on Ryuu level, I imagine the buff it gives on allies will be huge. This could be a game changer as Omori used to say something about Ardee's skill being important for the OEBD fight iirc.

For me I think haruhime would use her power to Welf, Mikoto, Aisha and her friends. Keeping them alive. But of course it depends on the situation. If the OEBD attacks Orario or if they send a squad to kill the dragon.

I think it's very difficult to kill an OEBD in 20 minutes.

that's why I'm not even counting on it. I prefer the idea that Bell gains a new ability.

@Leinad91 If Bell hits level 7, I would think his Argo Vesta would be significantly stronger than Ottar's Hildis Vini.

A low level 5 Bell's Argonaut was an even match for a high level 7 Ottar's Hildis Vini. I'm going to be assuming Bell's "Limit off" would be equivalent to Ottar's beastification. If this is the case let's look at the changes.

Ottar gains 1 level.

Bell gains 2 levels + all the stats involved and he presumably activates his Vanadis Tevere skill (it's the final fight surely it will be activated in some way).

If they were equal before, how could they possibly be equal now? Ottar's Hildis Vini may be a lot faster, but I can't see how it could be anywhere close to equaling Bell's Argo Vesta in sheer power.

@DingoDongo4

Bell would gain 2 levels and Ottar too, he would be level 8 and with beastization level 9 (presumably). You say that Bell would match the beastization by entering a "limit off" state but this state is not exclusive to Bell, if you are going to assume that Bell will use it why not assume it for Ottar as well?

You are also assuming that the boost that Bell will have as a level 7 will be much greater than the one he has now, mmm, due to all the uncertainties that there are regarding this subject I did not take it into account. I assumed that it would remain the same until Omori decides to either categorically declare that it has increased or explicitly demonstrate that it is so, but while that does not happen, it is better not to speculate on this magnitude.

Regarding Vanadis Tevere, yes, it is reasonable to assume that this will make Argo Vesta stronger than Hildis Vini, but so much so that this blow is a decisive factor? We'll have to wait and see how much power being under the charm gives him. I was also comparing Bell to Ottar in terms of what each can do on their own, not through the power due to others, though admittedly I didn't specify that.

@Leinad91

Ottar achieved level "8" power by being a maxed out level 7 with beastification. To me this is like how we've seen bell with his stats maxed out be able to contend with someone a level higher. As a low level 8 I don't think beastification would push him to a level 9 tier, just maybe a high level 8. This is speculation of course.

Correct me if I'm wrong but as far as I'm aware, Bell is only one of two adventurer's shown to have ever used a limit off. Speaking of which, has Bell even used limit off himself without Argonaut? The only other character that I'm aware of to ever show a limit off is Alfia, who did it via a skill and coincidentally is also the only other character to surpass the stat cap of 999.

The only two people shown to have ever used limit off could do so at will. If no one else has ever shown a limit off regardless of how dire the circumstances are, isn't that odd? Why should we assume they can do it at all? Why did the author make up a reason that Bell couldn't use his limit off at the start of the fight, if Ottar could just limit off to counter himself?

In regards to the final battle I think it makes sense to look at every possible tool that could be pulled out in regards to a character's full power. Which would also include Ryu's Astrae Varmas skill, which amplifies the skills of those who are in the same familia, so that would be another boost that Bell could get, but Ottar can't. (unless he joins the Hestia familia of course)

I see this as the way the author intends to have Bell play a decisive role without being the strongest adventurer individually. Skills like Vanadis Tevere or Ryu's Astrae Varmas combined with the fact Argonaut's full power takes too long for Bell to be able to use on his own.

Alternatively, maybe his presence will just serve to buff Ais like it did in her battle against Revis, and she will be the star of the show. Just like the beginning of the story, Bell being saved by Ais again, wouldn't that be funny? /s

@DingoDongo4

I used to think the same as you about boosts, because Omori was more conservative and respected the level difference more. However, skills that break the level difference have become quite common, even those that exceed more than 1 level. So, considering Omori's current tendency towards maximization, it is within reason that Ottar can level up with his beastization regardless of his status.

Regarding Limit Off, this is an inherent characteristic of the falna, anyone with one should be able to use it. If it were something specific to Bell, it would have manifested in his status as an ability, since the status includes all the abilities of the bearer. Although it is quite curious/questionable why we have not seen it in another person, such circumstance leads to confusion in this regard. Due to the great power of Ais' white wind with which she killed Revis, it has been speculated that she could have entered a state of Limit Off, of course, it is only a theory but it would make sense.

Regarding Bell's indispensability for the victory against the dragon, Omori's statement was misleading, he said that if Bell lost Liaris Freese the dragon would win. Liaris Freese serves to increase the level quickly, if losing this ability means defeat, it is equivalent to saying that if Bell does not reach the highest level of all, the dragon will win.

Some people thought that there was no need for Bell to become the most powerful because through Argonaut he would have the strongest attack to deal the decisive blow. I did not like this interpretation for the reasons I mentioned, if Ottar remained 2 levels above Bell they would have an equally powerful attack, and even if it were not so, there is also Riveria whose attack power is 2 levels above her real level; So for firepower they wouldn't fall short even without Bell.

Now, with all the new boosts that Omori has given Bell (Laurus Hildr, Vanadis Tevere and Astrae Varmas), added to his presumed level 7, they would surely make him the most powerful and therefore key to victory. But then Omori's statement fell short, it's not just a matter of Liaris Freese, it's the synergy that Bell will have with his multiple boosts that will make him indispensable.

This is exactly why I think the "Charm" theory makes the most sense. What is so special about Liaris Freese beyond its ability to make Bell stronger faster? It makes him immune to Charms. So if it really is instrumental in taking down the Dragon to the point that they'll lose if he doesn't have it, then it must be some direct counter to a power the Dragon can use.

Not to mention, Bell has also just gained the ability where he gets ANOTHER power boost if he's charmed, and since it might seem ridiculous to keep Freya on the sidelines close-by, the most logical narrative swerve would be for Bell to confront an enemy that could Charm him, which would instead basically Uno Reverse card back at them. And the Dragon doing this would fit that bill.