"Where's the Silence? Where's the Silence from the Hera Familia!?"
Orario's adventurers cried out on the verge of collapse.
What faintly came back was only: "The Silence is on another battlefield and can't make it here for a while."
The next moment, the rushing Gareth and Riveria also arrived on the field—only to be defeated even faster than Ottar, both instantly one-shot by Zald.
For a time, the morale of Orario's adventurers hit the breaking point.
Ais, Alise and the others wanted to step in, but those beside them held them back.
"The vanguard—the first string—already lost… If we go up there, we're just throwing our lives away!"
Lyra's voice carried a sting, but it was a truth none of them could shake.
Just then, in the empty center of the field, a figure appeared—walking toward Zald one step at a time, unhurried.
"Is that… Takumi-san?!"
Ryuu, Kaguya, and the others staring toward the battlefield let out a gasp.
Zald, the black greatsword slung over his shoulder, glanced at the newcomer; a trace of relief crossed his face. But the corners of his mouth curled high in a mocking grin.
"Another brat? Do you have the mettle to measure up to the last one?"
"Don't lump me in with them, Gluttony. If you're my enemy, you're the one who ought to weigh your own measure."
Takumi's calm voice rolled across the battlefield; when it reached Zald's ears, his smile tightened and vanished.
"How outrageously arrogant. Then let's see which of us is the beast that feasts on the flesh of the strong!!"
Zald rang the black greatsword; the heavy blade rose overhead like a vow to the sky.
Atop the white spire of Babel, the goddess of beauty, Freya, narrowed silver eyes at the field.
"Cross this trial, Takumi. A baptism by the strongest—fight with the world's fate on the line!!"
Under divine gaze, the clash snapped to life.
Zald braced his sword and stamped; in an instant the ground dented and collapsed. Takumi, bare-handed, didn't draw a weapon—he stepped in with nothing but his fists.
"Facing me with just your fists—how arrogant, brat!!!"
Muscles surging, Zald heaved the greatsword down; the impact shook heaven and earth.
Takumi didn't answer. He simply clenched his fist; muscle fibers twisted like wound steel cable, erupting with unimaginable force.
BOOOOM!!
Fist and blade smashed together, the detonation thundering across the labyrinth city!!
The unbroken peal of ringing metal made the air itself shudder like a dragonfire blast. Even on the far side of the city, adventurers could feel the ground tremble.
"Just the shock of their clash is shaking the city—are they kidding!?"
Watching the duel at center field, the newly wounded Riveria held her breath to give her verdict. Even the aftershocks from those two left this Level 6 unqualified to approach.
The werewolf Bete, reduced to a pawn on the fringes, had disbelief written across his face.
"Why can that damn brat… fight Gluttony… this is just—"
Every frame before his eyes smashed his worldview. If he stepped into that for half a second, he'd be ripped to pieces.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—!
Through the barrage of blasts, the two bulldozed forward, grinding streets to rubble. Ravaging shockwaves planed buildings flat like reeds.
In the thick of it, a smile rose on Takumi's face.
"Ha ha ha—this is living!!"
The body he'd tempered with gravity magic was finally being used in battle. He no longer had to hold back to avoid tearing this paper-thin world to shreds. With every swing, he could go all out.
Zald's own face had lost every trace of a smile; sweat darkened his brow. That black greatsword had always let him reap lives with a simple swing. This time, he was forced to lean on technique—minute tremors of the blade, footwork shaving off force wherever possible. The cratered earth and shattered buildings within a hundred meters testified to where he bled the impact.
If he took those hits head-on, his flesh wouldn't bear it—he'd collapse from the inside out.
Catching a split-second stiffening in Takumi's posture, he slashed and carved a wound, then used the recoil to skid back several meters for air.
Takumi glanced at the cut across his abdomen and stroked it with a fingertip.
Zald, panting hard, spoke up right then.
"Hff… Brat, if that's all you've got, you're still not my match!!"
It sounded good coming out—but watching that wound seal in under half a second, he couldn't help cursing monster in his heart. That freakish regeneration put any floor boss to shame a hundred times over. Worse, he could feel it—Takumi was getting stronger as they fought.
Faced with the jab, Takumi rolled his shoulders and exhaled a long breath. "Haven't moved like this in a while. After a warm-up, I'm finally settling in."
"What are you talking about?" Zald's face twitched—he genuinely didn't follow.
Takumi didn't reply. He simply guided power through every inch of his body, letting it flow. In the short term his physique and might had spiked, and he'd barely truly fought. Up to now, he hadn't been fully in sync with himself. After that warm-up—now he was.
"[Beastforce—Afterimage]!"
Takumi's body blurred—dozens of afterimages flickered from the spot, streaking in from every side.
No time to think—Zald swept the greatsword in a cross-cut.
Whoosh—!
Humming blade-wind sheared through several phantoms, shredding them. Three images remained, diving from front, rear, and left.
"Which direction is real…?" Zald's eyes whipped, catching the tiniest pulse of mana. "Behind!"
He whipped around and his greatsword fell.
Shing—!
Black light ripped past and burst the afterimage behind him.
Fooled! The thought flashed—and he felt wind knife in from the rear.
"[Beastforce—Serpent Bite]!"
Takumi's wrist flicked in, sinuous as a constrictor, snapping around Zald's neck. Fingers that could rend steel bit into flesh.
"[Afterglow]!"
No time to hesitate, no care for the spreading damage—Zald triggered his skill on the spot. Stamina and mana burned like kindling, swelling into a raging aura that sheeted over his frame. Strength, speed, endurance—everything spiked at once. Riding that sudden surge, he blasted Takumi's hands off his throat and whipped the greatsword back toward Takumi's waist.
But just then Takumi's heart thumped, blood pumping hard to pack every fiber.
"[Beastforce—Iron Body]!"
A steel sheen washed over his skin. The edge struck and spat a fan of sparks.
KLANG!!
The blast hurled Takumi back a few meters—he landed steady. Shock shuddered up Zald's arms; the greatsword's vibration shattered his right palm.
....
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