The Panacea was already gone.
Genichi looked at Udaeus in the distance, a grave light flashing through his black eyes.
That gigantic skeletal monster had barely taken any real damage.
The arm he had cut off earlier had already completely regenerated.
The wounds he had carved into it with his blade had long since healed without a trace.
Its condition was almost no different from when the battle had first begun.
Meanwhile, Genichi was covered in injuries, more than half his magic power had been spent, the Panacea was gone, and he had only one last trump card left.
The damage he dealt would never outpace its recovery.
If this continued, he would only be worn down and killed.
But Genichi still had not given up.
Because he still had one final card.
Wrath.
One of the Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath.
Effect: Reflect the damage received back severalfold. The angrier he became, the higher the reflected damage multiplier.
From the start of the battle until now, he had been enduring Udaeus's attacks the whole time.
All the damage caused by those attacks had been silently accumulated by him.
Now, he could reflect all of that damage back at any moment.
In theory, if he could build up enough wrath, the reflected damage could even kill Udaeus in a single blow.
But there was one problem.
Genichi realized he could not get angry.
Even though he was covered in wounds, even though he had been driven into a corner, even though he was facing a monster that could kill him at any moment, he did not feel much anger toward Udaeus.
There was only calmness in those black eyes.
Absolute calmness.
Back in that world called 103, filled with vengeful spirits, he had long since learned how to stay calm on the edge of death.
Anger made people lose reason, lose judgment, and lose their chance to survive.
Anyone who could not stay calm and rational would have died hundreds of times over.
The reason he had survived until now was that very calmness.
But now, that calmness had become his obstacle instead.
If the multiplier from Wrath was not high enough, the reflected damage would not be enough to kill Udaeus.
Genichi fell silent.
He looked at Udaeus in the distance while his mind rapidly weighed the situation.
If he kept dragging this out, he would be the one who died.
If he used Wrath to reflect the damage, the multiplier was not enough. It would not kill the enemy.
In that case, only one final choice remained.
Genichi drew in a deep breath.
Then he began to chant.
"Heavenly Dominion, dominion over eternity..."
Magic power began to surge.
A trace of complicated emotion flashed through those black eyes.
He had not wanted to use this trump card.
Because using it meant admitting that he was not enough.
But now, this was the time he needed it.
Staying alive mattered more than anything.
"Heavenly Dominion... Alfia!"
The instant that final name left his lips, a figure slowly appeared out of the void.
Ash-gray hair. Heterochromatic eyes. A face of breathtaking beauty.
Alfia.
The strongest mage in Orario's history.
The monster who had once nearly destroyed the entire city.
Now, she stood right in front of Genichi.
After appearing, Alfia's pale violet eyes swept across the area before finally settling on him.
She took in his condition at a glance: covered in wounds, more than half his magic power gone, and in a pitiful state.
Then she looked at his opponent in the distance: Udaeus, the Floor Boss of the thirty-seventh floor, a Level 6-class monster.
Her brows drew together slightly.
"You challenged Udaeus alone?"
Her voice was cool, with the faintest trace of surprise.
"It seems I really do need to think more highly of you."
Genichi was breathing hard and paid no attention to her teasing.
He merely raised his head and looked at her.
There was no plea in those black eyes. Only an unquestionable command.
"Help me kill Udaeus."
That commanding tone made Alfia's brow crease faintly.
She was Alfia.
The strongest mage in Orario.
The woman who had once made countless people tremble in fear.
But very quickly, she understood what Genichi intended.
She thought of that child.
She remembered why she was standing here in the first place.
She drew in a quiet breath and suppressed the displeasure in her heart.
Then she let out a soft sigh.
"All right."
She did not look at Genichi again.
She simply turned and faced Udaeus in the distance.
That gigantic skeletal monster was staring at her with deadly intensity.
But Alfia did not give it time to react.
"Gospel."
Just one casual word.
Invisible sound waves condensed into a shell and blasted toward Udaeus.
It was absurdly fast.
Its power was terrifying.
Udaeus wanted to dodge, but the sound wave was too fast.
It wanted to defend itself, but the sound wave was too powerful.
Boom!
The sonic shell struck Udaeus squarely in the chest.
That was where its magic stone was located.
Its supposedly indestructible bones shattered outright under the vibration of the sound wave.
The magic stone hidden deep within that bone structure shattered as well.
Udaeus's body suddenly froze.
The glow in its crimson eye sockets rapidly faded.
And then, that gigantic skeletal monster collapsed with a thunderous crash.
One hit.
Just one hit.
Alfia lowered her hand and did not spare Udaeus another glance.
There was not the slightest ripple in her eyes, as if what she had just done was something utterly insignificant.
"Satisfied?"
Genichi said nothing.
He only stared at the fallen Udaeus in the distance, a complicated emotion passing through those black eyes.
So this was the power of Level 7?
No. Alfia might only have been Level 7 on paper, but her true strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Level 7.
She was the strongest mage in Orario's history.
The woman who had once nearly destroyed the entire city.
That was why she could kill Udaeus in a single strike.
But what about an ordinary Level 7?
What about Filvis Challia?
Could she do the same?
Genichi did not know.
But he did know one thing.
He still had a very long road to go before he reached that level.
From Level 4 to Level 5 was only the beginning.
From Level 5 to Level 6 was an even greater gap.
And from Level 6 to Level 7 was a chasm.
He took a deep breath and forced those thoughts back down.
Then he looked at Alfia.
"Thank you."
His voice was quiet, but sincere.
Alfia glanced at him and said nothing.
Her body was already beginning to turn transparent.
The summoning time was almost up.
"Next time..."
Her voice drifted over, carrying a faint, hard-to-place meaning.
"Don't make me kill trash like this for you again."
The moment those words fell, her figure disappeared completely.
Only Genichi remained, standing beside Udaeus's corpse.
He looked at the gigantic skeletal monster and stayed silent for a moment.
Then he turned and walked toward Alise.
"Help me collect the drops."
His voice was calm.
Alise looked at him, her deep blue eyes filled with complicated emotions.
But she said nothing.
She merely nodded and walked straight toward the skeletal corpse.
Genichi stayed where he was, gazing into the dim passageway in the distance.
In his mind, Alfia's strike replayed again and again.
A Level 6 Floor Boss, killed in one hit.
That was power.
That was the power he needed.
He tightened his grip on the blade in his hand, and an even hotter fire burned in those black eyes.
Someday...
He would reach that height as well.
(End of Chapter)
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