—Heavenly Radiance.
This was the name Eiji had given to this technique.
If Lightning Flash was a move that surpassed an opponent's limits, then Heavenly Radiance was a move that surpassed his own.
Dual swords thrown simultaneously.
Dual swords accelerated simultaneously.
Making one sword faster than the other, then making the other sword faster than the first.
In other words—infinite spiral acceleration!
Like exploiting a glitch, the swords continuously outsped each other, achieving an endless cycle of acceleration, truly becoming infinite acceleration!
This infinite acceleration wouldn't stop until Eiji's mana was completely drained.
Because the process of infinite acceleration was completed in an instant, even if Eiji wanted to stop it, he couldn't. He could only watch helplessly as his ability drained his mana dry, pushing his spirit to its limits until exhaustion forced him into unconsciousness.
In comparison, as his physical stamina and mana grew stronger, the aftereffects of Lightning Flash had almost disappeared—his body could now withstand supersonic speeds. But the backlash from Heavenly Radiance was permanent.
No matter how much mana Eiji possessed, infinite acceleration would instantly drain every last drop.
Even if his mana were to grow a hundred times greater than Stella's in the future, unconsciousness would still be inevitable—utterly unavoidable.
But in exchange, the power of this technique was unimaginable.
Since it consumed all his mana, it essentially converted every ounce of it into fuel, pushing the speed of the dual swords to their absolute limit.
When he had used this move against the Demi Spirit, he had no idea how fast the swords had ultimately reached. He estimated it must have approached ten times the speed of sound.
And as his mana continued to grow in the future, the power of this technique would only increase!
But since using it guaranteed unconsciousness, it remained a technique he couldn't wield lightly.
...
When he woke again, the ceiling above him was made of white fabric, and faint rustling sounds reached his ears.
"Eiji, you're awake!"
Not long after opening his eyes, Tiona's annoyingly loud voice rang out.
"This is… inside a tent?"
Eiji sat up on the bed, scanning his surroundings.
"Yep! We're back on the 50th floor now!"
Tiona gave a thumbs-up, pointing at herself with a proud grin.
"I was the one who carried you back!"
"Oh, great job."
"Ehehe!"
Accepting Eiji's half-hearted praise, Tiona broke into a silly smile.
"My head hurts… How long was I out?"
Eiji rubbed his temples, still feeling groggy.
His body felt sluggish, utterly unwilling to move.
"A full day and night!"
Tiona quickly answered. "And that's with Finn ordering a ton of mind-recovery potions to be fed to you."
Damn.
The backlash was no joke.
Even with a large number of potions, he'd been unconscious for a full day. Without them, he might have slept for three days—maybe even five!
Infinite acceleration really wasn't something meant for humans.
Eiji shuddered.
"Never use this move unless you have comrades you can fully trust!"
He warned himself inwardly, vowing to be more cautious in the future.
"By the way, I must have looked pretty cool yesterday, right?"
"Uh... yeah, you did."
Tiona blinked in surprise.
Judging by Eiji's expression—humble yet smug—he probably thought he'd passed out standing up, which would indeed be cool... She ultimately decided not to mention how he'd been sent flying like a ragdoll, bouncing several times on the ground afterward.
To be fair, he had been cool right up until the moment he was blown away.
Whether he remained cool after that was a matter of opinion.
Though he really didn't feel like moving, lying around would only make him more exhausted.
Eiji patted his cheeks, shaking off his world-weary lethargy, and decisively got out of bed.
"Who changed my clothes?"
"Hehe, that was me!"
Tiona flashed a radiant grin.
"...What did you do?"
"Not much. Everyone was watching, after all."
Tiona sighed with regret.
Her bright eyes kept drifting downward, her gaze growing increasingly ravenous.
Amazons were an open-minded race. When they encountered a male they fancied, their sudden bursts of passion could overwhelm ordinary people.
The Hiryute sisters were relatively more reserved, but that was only because they'd never met someone who truly caught their interest.
For reference on how Amazons behaved after finding their beloved, one only needed to look at Tione—her fervor left Finn thoroughly unnerved. If not for his careful defenses, dozens of incidents per day wouldn't be out of the question.
Eiji had every reason to suspect that if no one had been watching last night, his virtue would have been thoroughly compromised!
Wait a second.
"How many people peeked while I was being changed?"
"No, no, everyone stayed outside."
That was a relief.
He didn't mind if Ais and the others saw, but being ogled by Bete or Gareth would have been downright weird.
Once out of bed, Eiji stepped out of the tent.
Before him stretched the gray rocky ceiling of the 50th floor, where members of Loki Familia and Hephaestus Familia's blacksmiths mingled, chatting and laughing.
"Oh, Eiji, you're awake?"
"We heard you were super active this time, right?"
"Solved a problem no one else could handle?"
People along the way greeted him warmly, their eyes alight with admiration.
The Loki Familia had long grown accustomed to his feats that defied common sense.
But thanks to him, they'd successfully conquered the unexplored territory this time, surpassing all predecessors. Their names would surely resonate throughout Orario—perhaps even the entire world!
"How are you feeling?"
After wandering around the camp for a while, Eiji turned a corner and ran into the elven royalty.
Though her attire remained immaculate, her emerald-green robe now bore numerous holes. Yet, fastidious as elves were about cleanliness, she stubbornly refused to change it.
"Riveria, are you okay?"
Eiji stared at the elven princess in shock.
During that battle, Riveria had been the first to be blasted away. Caught in the wave of flames, she hadn't received the group defense buff Eiji later bestowed.
"I'm fine."
Riveria pointed to her robe.
"This is the sacred garb of the elves, with exceptional magic resistance. I only sustained minor injuries. Two more hits, though, and I might not have made it."
Ah, that explained it.
In that case, we should be grateful the enemy was a mage-type monster. If it had been a warrior-type, this holy robe wouldn't have been able to block the attacks, and Riveria might have really been done for.
However, being hit head-on by a super-long chant magic from a corrupted spirit clone of at least Level 7 had still caused significant damage to the robe. Riveria's expression darkened considerably.
Who knew how much effort it would take to repair it later? In a daze, one could almost hear the sound of money flowing away like water.
The pain was so intense it felt suffocating.
"Good timing that you're awake. Finn plans to hold an executive meeting—you two should come as well."
Seeing that Eiji didn't seem seriously injured, Riveria relaxed slightly before turning to the matter at hand.
"Alright, let's go then."
Eiji nodded in understanding.
The three of them walked side by side toward the largest tent at the center of the camp.