He did not summon Alise.
He had to conserve his mana.
Because when it truly mattered, he needed to be able to summon Alfia.
That monster was his real trump card.
Alise was useful, but in this fight, she simply was not worth the cost.
Rather than waste mana bringing her out, he would keep it in reserve for emergencies.
The battle began.
First came the testing.
He needed to test this Black Goliath's speed, attack power, and defense.
Genichi had to get a concrete read on the gap between himself and this monster before he could decide on the next tactic.
The Black Goliath lowered its head, those deep-red eyes locking onto him.
Then it opened its mouth.
ROAR!
Not an ordinary bellow.
From that massive maw, an invisible blast of magic erupted like a cannon shot.
Genichi's pupils tightened.
He raised a hand, mana surging.
"Calm of the Soul."
Alfia's magic, a defensive technique capable of nullifying other magic.
An invisible barrier unfolded in front of him, blocking the incoming magic blast in its entirety.
The beam slammed into the barrier and melted away like snow under sunlight, unable to pierce it at all.
With the shield of silence held in front of him, Genichi charged straight at the Goliath.
One step, two steps, three.
In the blink of an eye, he was already at its feet.
He swung his blade hard into its lower leg.
CLANG!
A deafening impact like metal striking metal.
The blade bit in, but only barely split the surface of its black hide.
So hard.
Genichi's brows knitted.
The Black Goliath's skin was far tougher than he had expected.
And that muscle had an absurd elasticity, like it was made to resist being cut.
His blade sank in as if he were slicing waterlogged leather, and every inch deeper demanded tremendous force.
If he were not holding the blade forged by Tsubaki Corbrand…
If it were just ordinary beginner gear…
He probably would not even be able to scratch the Goliath's skin.
A chill ran through Genichi.
This Goliath's raw toughness was beyond his estimates.
One mistake, and he really would flip the fight.
ROAR!
The Goliath let out an enraged bellow.
It raised a massive palm and slammed down at Genichi.
The hand blotted out the light, like a mountain crashing down.
The shockwave howled, the sheer force trying to crush everything in its path.
An ordinary person would have frozen in terror under that pressure, then been flattened into paste.
But Genichi was not ordinary.
At the instant the giant palm fell, his body…
vanished.
Apparition.
Crack!
With the sharp pop of air splitting, Genichi disappeared from where he stood.
The Goliath's palm struck empty air, smashing into the ground.
The entire seventeenth floor shuddered. The earth spiderwebbed with裂 cracks, rubble bursting outward.
The next second…
Genichi appeared behind the Goliath.
More precisely, behind its neck.
He did not hesitate.
Both hands locked on the hilt, he drove the blade straight into the back of its neck with all his strength.
Steel tore into flesh, split hide, severed muscle, and plunged deep.
Then…
Genichi released the hilt and let gravity take him.
The blade remained embedded in the Goliath's neck. As Genichi dropped, it dragged along its back, ripping open a massive wound.
From the base of the neck all the way down to the waist.
Blood erupted like a fountain, spraying in a violent arc.
ROAR!!!
The Goliath screamed, a shriek of pure agony.
Its huge body thrashed wildly, arms flailing as it tried to seize the insect that dared to hurt it.
But Genichi had already landed.
He rolled with the impact, sprang up, and pulled distance.
Those pitch-black eyes stayed locked on the giant as it struggled.
The wound was deep.
Deeper than he had expected.
Blood still gushed, staining the Goliath's black skin a dark, ugly red.
Its massive frame began to sway.
But Genichi did not relax.
He knew this was only the beginning.
The Black Goliath would not fall so easily.
Sure enough…
The Goliath stopped thrashing.
Slowly, it turned around, those deep-red eyes fixing on him.
In that gaze, there was no longer simple rage.
There was killing intent.
Cold, pure, drowning killing intent.
Genichi faced it head-on, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"Come on," he murmured.
"Show me what else you've got."
ROAR!
The Goliath howled again.
This time, it did not stay planted and attack from where it stood.
It moved.
That enormous body surged forward at a speed completely mismatched to its size, charging straight at Genichi.
Each step made the ground quake.
Genichi's eyes sharpened. He pushed off and slipped to the side.
A giant palm grazed past him, the wind of it tearing at his clothes.
But he did not stop.
Even as he evaded, he slashed again, carving a fresh wound along the Goliath's arm.
One cut, two, three.
He flickered around the Goliath like a ghost, each strike opening a new gash.
But those wounds closed almost immediately.
The Black Goliath's regeneration far exceeded a normal Goliath's.
Cuts that should have kept bleeding sealed over at a visible pace. The blood stopped within seconds.
Genichi's brow tightened.
This would not work.
His attack tempo could not outpace its healing.
He needed a stronger hit.
He drew a deep breath, tightened his grip, and shifted tactics.
No more chasing multi-hit chip damage.
He would focus everything into one point.
The back of the neck.
That existing wound.
He lunged again. In the gap between the Goliath's attacks, he leapt onto its back and grabbed the hilt of the blade still buried in its neck.
Then he hauled down.
The edge tore open flesh again, ripping deeper into the same channel.
Blood burst out once more.
The Goliath shrieked and whipped its body violently, trying to fling him off.
Genichi clung to the hilt with a death grip.
Another cut.
Another.
And another.
The wound grew deeper, longer, uglier.
Finally— crack.
The blade reached bone.
Genichi's heart jumped.
But in the next instant, he was slammed by a violent shock.
The Goliath's palm smashed into him.
Genichi flew like a snapped kite, crashing into the distant wall with a brutal impact.
Pff— Blood sprayed from his mouth.
The chestplate over his heart had caved and warped completely.
Genichi staggered to his feet, wiping the blood from his lips.
He looked at the Goliath.
The giant was clutching the back of its neck, blood pouring between its fingers.
Its eyes held fury, pain, and a trace of wariness.
Genichi smiled.
"Scared?"
He murmured it like a promise.
"Good. You should be."
He tightened his grip on his blade and charged again.
The battle continued.
(End of Chapter)
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