After sending a Puppet out of the Alternate Dimension to check the surroundings and confirming that all the nearby Adventurers had already left, Tsuna finally stepped out himself. He brought out the remains of the shattered Stone Giant and the headless Spirit Embryo from before.
A slightly old-fashioned pocket watch appeared in Tsuna's hand. With a sharp click, he pressed its crown.
And then—something miraculous unfolded before his eyes.
The headless Spirit Embryo returned to its intact state. The scattered fragments of its body flew back into the thin, brittle Magic Stone that had drained it dry. The root-like tendrils entwining the Stone Giant began to dissolve, reverting into small seeds.
Everything moved in reverse, as though time itself had been rewound.
When he saw the fallen stones reform around the Stone Giant's body, Tsuna quietly vanished from the scene.
The Stone Giant stood there like an actor skipping frames, scanning its surroundings in confusion. It seemed to have forgotten entirely why it was there. After a long pause, it lumbered to the corner of the wall, compressing its massive body until it merged once more with the stone—hidden, silent, waiting.
Meanwhile, Tsuna returned to the Expedition team through his Puppet.
Finn Deimne noticed the Puppet at once. When it gave him a slight nod, Finn immediately understood that the problem had been resolved. He didn't ask for details. Right now, his focus was on guiding the team around the area where the Floor Boss, Udaeus, had appeared on Floor 37.
The Expedition team didn't always need to face every Floor Boss directly. When conditions allowed, they could simply bypass the boss's territory entirely.
Safe Zone, Floor 39.
"…"
The Adventurers who arrived there were covered in wounds. Compared to the fight on Floor 28, they looked utterly battered.
They dropped their weapons and sank to the ground almost in unison. What they needed now wasn't orders or strategy—just a moment to breathe.
Monsters in the Deep Floors were far stronger than anything in the middle levels. Even an ordinary Stone Giant required nearly ten people to handle it properly; otherwise, a single punch could send someone flying out of the fight—or worse.
"This is even more exhausting than I thought."
No one knew who said it, but everyone murmured in agreement.
"Yeah. Every one of those things is a pain to deal with. If my stats hadn't improved, I would've run out of stamina ages ago."
"Same here. I didn't really understand it before, but now I finally get it."
"I think… it's because we're not standing where we used to anymore."
That one comment made everyone pause—then laughter rippled through the group.
"Hahaha!"
"He's right. We've gotten stronger. We're not the ones in the back anymore—we're standing on the front lines now. We're not supporters. We're the ones actually fighting."
In the past, most of them hadn't been front-line fighters. They were supporters—responsible for stripping Magic Stones after the battle was over.
That job had never been easy, but compared to fighting the monsters head-on, it had been nothing. Now, after experiencing it firsthand, they truly understood the difference.
"By the way, compared to us, that guy Sawada is just ridiculously strong."
"No kidding. That Enhanced Species of a Stone Giant wasn't anything like the normal ones. One punch from it made the whole floor shake like an earthquake. If anyone took that hit, they'd be dead on the spot."
The Adventurers' chatter caught Finn's attention. Though he kept his expression calm, he listened carefully.
He'd felt the tremors earlier himself. During the battle, he'd ordered his Adventurers to pull back for safety, so he hadn't witnessed what happened. All he knew was that the fight had ended astonishingly fast.
"Hey, hey, explain it properly!"
At the mention of Tsuna's name, Tione appeared immediately, eyes wide and sparkling with curiosity.
Everyone in the Familia knew about Tione's "change of affection," so her interest wasn't exactly surprising.
"It was Sawada. He was playing with that Enhanced Stone Giant like it was nothing. The fight was over before we even realized it had started. He just used some kind of seed that grew into these roots—and those roots completely restrained and crushed the creature. It looked terrifying, but he handled it like it was child's play."
The Adventurer who told the story couldn't help sighing with admiration.
The creature had been more than twice the size of an ordinary Stone Giant, its destructive power several times greater—yet Sawada had defeated it effortlessly. Using seeds that sprouted into vines, he turned the monster into a towering tree covered in leaves of violet flame. It was both brimming with vitality and overflowing with death.
"Sawada used those seeds like magic. They sprouted instantly, wrapping the Stone Giant in seconds. The vines seemed to suck away its life force, and as they grew, those purple fire-leaves bloomed all over. It looked… almost beautiful. Like the monster died by its own hand."
The final scene of the Stone Giant's death was so breathtaking that no one present could forget it.
It was a beauty born from death—a radiant bloom at the very moment life withered away.
But after that awe came fear.
The image of such splendor born from death was haunting. That brilliance… was the brilliance of life being drained to nothing.
Yet even that fear soon gave way to admiration.
It was terrifying, yes—but if that power were their own, it would be an entirely different story.
"Still, Sawada's strength is just absurd. To deal with an Enhanced Species that easily… I honestly didn't think he was that strong."
Everyone silently agreed.
After all, none of them had ever seen Tsuna fight before. They only knew of his strange abilities, so they assumed his personal combat strength wasn't that high. But now they realized—his power wasn't just strange. It was overwhelming. His skills, his body, his presence—everything about him was beyond standard measure.
"Of course. He's always been like that."
Tione lifted her chin proudly, almost smug. Finn smiled faintly but added a quiet reminder.
"Remember—Tsunayoshi's true strength is classified information. You must be careful about that. His ability and his personal power cannot be equated, and we cannot allow the other Gods to think they can."
Every Adventurer nodded in understanding. Information about Tsunayoshi was highly confidential. The less that leaked to the outside world, the better. Keeping it all hidden was for everyone's sake.