Bang!
At the critical moment, Ais drew her rapier and parried above her head.
The two weapons were completely unequal in size, creating a contrast as stark as a needle against a heavy pillar. When the two collided, they made a crisp, metallic sound. Taking advantage of the reaction force from the collision, Ais shifted her position and skillfully dodged the heavy blow.
Boom!
The black sword struck the ground, its terrifying power shattering the earth and causing a strong tremor. The three people on Takumi's side were fine, but the three Kocho sisters and Haruhime further away were caught off guard, and they were all a little unsteady on their feet.
Let's talk about Ais.
She predicted the impact in advance and took off, perfectly avoiding the aftermath. Then she turned over in the air, landed on the black sword, and rushed toward Goliath again. This is one of the reasons why Floor Bosses are so difficult to deal with. Their size makes their attack range too long. Many melee fighters are stuck just trying to get within striking distance. When you consider that physical-focused adventurers account for more than 90% of the population, you can understand why a Floor Boss is a nightmare for most. It is a being that can often only be killed at a high cost, even with human-wave tactics. At the same time, this is why mages are so sought after. After all, to a magic user, the massive Floor Boss is just a giant living target.
Back to the battle.
Ais followed the length of the black sword and rushed toward Goliath, but Goliath would not sit still and wait for death. It waved the giant black sword again, attempting to throw Ais off.
"Wake up—Tempest!"
A light green wind swept around Ais, allowing her to glide through the air and continue her flight toward Goliath. But at that moment, the huge black sword slapped toward her horizontally. Goliath may not be very tall for a giant, but he was instinctive. Although Ais was gliding, she was an obvious target. It chose this attack method instinctively, preparing to swat down this "fly" that was scurrying around.
Seeing this, Tiona couldn't help but sweat for Ais and was ready to intervene at any moment. But she saw that Ais did not panic; she accelerated instead of retreating and rushed out of Goliath's attack range. At the same time, she seized the opportunity and thrust her sword into Goliath's swinging arm.
Poof!
A deep hole was instantly stabbed into Goliath's arm.
"Roar!!!"
Goliath screamed in pain, and with his left hand, he raised his palm and slapped at her. It was so fast that Ais, who had just landed on his right arm, almost couldn't react. Fortunately, she met the blow with her sword and used the reaction force to jump away. Everything happened so fast; it looked as if Ais had been blown away by the slap. However, she had also left the striking range and needed to close the distance again. Judging from the rhythm and her current state of ease, this was only a minor setback.
"Has she always been this reckless?" Takumi was amazed. This fighting style was far too bold.
"That is why we have such a headache," Riveria sighed helplessly. Ais was good at everything, but she was too prone to getting into trouble and was far too reckless.
"But it looks like it's probably only a matter of time before she takes down this Goliath," Takumi noted the wounds on Goliath's hands that were slowly regenerating. "However, if she doesn't have other powerful means of damage, I'm afraid it will be difficult for her to kill Goliath permanently."
"There is still a chance," Riveria retorted. Although she didn't support Ais's dangerous challenge, she couldn't speak ill of her own member in front of an outsider. Besides, this was just a Level 4 Goliath; how could a Level 5 like Ais not be able to solve it? She had asked Ais to practice with Goliath first to find flaws in her style so she could give her a proper lecture later.
"..."
Seeing that Riveria didn't understand his point, Takumi said no more and silently drew his sword.
"I'm just saying that I'm ready to take the kill."
As he spoke, he rushed out instantly before Riveria or Tiona could react. Give up this Goliath? How was that possible! Takumi was not the kind of person who lost his mind over a beautiful woman. Even Hestia had been rejected by him, let alone Ais. Although he admitted Ais was very cute, what was the use of cuteness? Could it bring him benefits?
"Wait! You!" Riveria reacted, but it was too late to stop him. She could only watch helplessly as Takumi went up to strike. Tiona reacted too, but she didn't stop him; she just watched with a smile, enjoying the chaos.
In the next moment, a light blue sword light flashed. With a "swish," Goliath's right hand was severed along with the giant black sword. This result left all the girls stunned.
"A slash... did a flying slash just fly out?" Tiona looked at Takumi, dumbfounded.
"There is no magic power fluctuation. Is this not magic, but a skill? Or did he do it with pure strength?" Riveria was also shocked. This phenomenon had never appeared in Orario. No matter how powerful Orario's melee adventurers were, they were limited to close combat. Flying slashes did not exist unless triggered by magic or specific skills. The best they could do was create wind pressure, but wind pressure did not create such a distinct, sharp, and lethal blade.
Kanae and the others were much calmer. In their world, flying slashes existed. What surprised them was the sheer scale of Takumi's power. Because Takumi rarely fought, they were only now learning his true strength.
"So strong! Is this the true strength of Master Takumi?"
"Amazing!"
As for Lefiya? She was completely stunned. It was simply too powerful to cut through everything with a single swing!
Ais was not stunned for long. Although she was surprised by Takumi's power, she was more confused. She looked at Takumi as he joined the fight. "As promised, I was the one fighting."
"I changed my mind," Takumi said shamelessly.
After finishing his words, he swung the blade with a backhand motion. A second flying slash appeared, and this time it directly severed Goliath's head. Without a head, even Goliath's regeneration was useless. The giant began to dissolve into ash, leaving behind only a massive magic stone and a piece of black hide.