Rayleigh noticed a subtle discrepancy.
Alfia was holding back.
At first, he harbored doubts. However, her choice to evade Ardee's trident rather than nullify it with Silentium Eden proved she had spared Ais.
She continued to play the role of the Necessary Evil, using the battlefield as a brutal training ground for the next generation.
A guttural roar echoed from the depths.
Moments later, a figure retreated into the cavern, flanked by a surviving Evilus escort.
It was the architect of this nightmare.
Erebus.
"It seems our guests have finally arrived," Erebus announced, flashing a grand smile. "Just as promised, this God brings you the End."
Following his theatrical introduction, a colossal beast breached the surface.
Pitch-black and seething with chaotic energy, the monster let out a roar that chilled the blood of every Adventurer present.
Alise stared at the towering abomination.
"What's that?"
"A winged snake... no, is that a dragon?!"
"Ugh, it is repulsive. With a body that massive, it can still maintain flight?"
The Astraea Captain voiced her complaints without missing a beat.
Erebus spread his arms. "This is a beast summoned by mt divine brethen, It's the raw malice nurtured by the Dungeon, drawn to the surface through a God's Arcanum. Let's call it... the Greatest Evil. Now then, heroes of Orario! Struggle to your heart's content!"
Erebus's impassioned speech made Rayleigh unable to stop himself from wondering just how many times the god had rehearsed in private to make acting cool look so natural.
A golden blur launched toward the beast.
Of everyone present, only Rayleigh reacted in time.
More precisely, he had already known Ais would have an extreme reaction.
Using Shunpo, Rayleigh appeared beside Ais and scooped up her petite body with one hand, pinning her under his arm.
Ais fought against his grip with animalistic ferocity, her eyes locked onto the Greatest Evil.
"Rayleigh, let go of me! I want to fight! I want to kill that thing!"
When her struggle proved fruitless, Ais seemed to recover a trace of reason.
"Ais!" Riveria sprinted over, her face pale with worry. "Don't act on impulse! Suppress the urge—do not let it take the reins!"
Ais's rare Skill, Avenger, was born directly from her bottomless hatred for monsters.
Against Dungeon spawns, it provided a staggering boost to all her core stats, granting her the lethal edge to fell opponents above her Level.
It reigned as a super Skill with very few equals in the Lower World.
And against dragon-type enemies, it had an additional special bonus.
In practical terms, facing a dragon artificially boosted Ais's combat output by two entire Levels.
However, this power carried a heavy toll.
It dragged the darkness lurking in Ais's heart to the surface. If she surrendered to the hatred, she would lose her mind.
And once she completely lost her reason, she would never recover again.
She would become a mindless berserker, fighting on without end.
It was a fate worse than death.
Fearing this exact scenario, Riveria rarely let Ais out of her sight.
She acted as a protective guardian, earning the affectionate, albeit teasing, moniker of "Mama Riveria" from her Familia peers.
"Ais, breathe. Control the anger, don't let it control you," Rayleigh urged her.
His words fell on deaf ears.
She thrashed in his hold, desperate to close the distance.
Faced with that evil dragon, it was as if some power inside Ais was driving her, making her desperate to defeat it.
Rayleigh soon realized a grim fact.
Despite boasting a higher Level, Ais's raw physical strength was overpowering his grip.
Fueled by Avenger, her augmented Strength stat surpassed his S-rank rating.
"Tempest!" Ais called upon the wind.
A violent gale erupted, breaking Rayleigh's restraint.
She launched herself toward the Greatest Evil like a fired bullet.
Amplified by the Ariel enchantment, she closed the gap in a heartbeat. The rapier blade of Gonryōmaru crackled with jagged lightning.
Boom!
A peal of thunder shattered the air.
The Greatest Evil unleashed a shriek of pain, the Level 2 Sword Princess had manage to wound it!
'That was way too absurd.'
'So this is the true weight of a specialized Skill?' Rayleigh lacked any equivalent trait, leaving him blind to that specific thrill.
Ais's anti-dragon modifier, paired with his knowledge of a certain rabbit's future anti-minotaur feat, proved that conditional Skills hit far harder than standard Falna stats implied.
Across the battlefield, Gareth and the Astraea vanguard maintained a high-tempo assault against Alfia.
During a brief lull in the crossfire, the white-haired woman shifted her gaze.
"What are you staring at? Are you not needed over there?" she asked Rayleigh.
Rayleigh caught the hidden meaning behind her cold dismissal.
He would leave the girls to receive a harsh, necessary lesson from their legendary senpai for now.
As for him—it was time to hunt a dragon.
Rayleigh offered a knowing smirk.
He bounded across the scorched earth, arriving beside Riveria just as Ais prepared another strike.
"Bankai!"
Two massive rows of giant swords breached the soil behind him.
"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
He commanded the tidal wave of pink blades to crash over the Greatest Evil.
Despite its colossal size, the dragon struggled against the relentless, shredding swarm.
But the beast retaliated.
A concentrated beam of superheated energy tore through the floral storm. It tracked straight toward Rayleigh, Riveria, and Ais, who stood aligned in its crosshairs.
It was the same devastating breath attack that had melted the bedrock between the floors!
Riveria's eyes widened as she lacked the time to chant a proper shield.
"Bakudō #81: Dankū!" Rayleigh shouted.
Three towering, transparent barriers materialized in the air before them.
The dragon's breath slammed into the spectral walls.
The immense kinetic force and blistering heat dispersed across the surface, failing to breach the defensive line.
Rayleigh exhaled a heavy breath.
Executing a Kidō spell in the eighties without an incantation taxed his reserves. Yet, true to its reputation, Dankū held firm against the attack!
"This is... defensive Magic?" Riveria stared at the rippling barrier.
The defensive power of that spell was actually enough to withstand an attack from the Greatest Evil.
From her estimation, this monster's has the strength of a Level 6 adventurer.
Rayleigh was a mere Level 3.
Did a Zanpakutō's Bankai really amplify magic power that much?
And besides, up to this point, just how many different abilities had this boy already displayed?
Chantless spells, elite swordsmanship, high-speed footwork, and absolute defense.
This was not something an ordinary person could achieve.
Shaking off her shock, the High Elf checked her flank.
"Young man, are you alright?"
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