The small tachi was like a fallen leaf drifting in the wind.
The crimson glint vanished in a flash, always causing the lizard mount beneath the Goblin General to bloom with sticky flowers of blood.
Swordsmen from the Far East are often exceptionally fierce in their struggles; even in sparring, they fight with their lives on the line. The weapons they use are no different.
It is as the saying goes—
[Honor in death, shame in life.]
The small tachi [Futaba], gifted to Ryuu by Kaguya, exists in a league of its own regarding 'sharpness,' even among Second-Class Armaments.
However.
Apart from this, this pair of weapons has no other merits.
It is the extreme philosophy of the Far East passed down in a continuous line.
Because the small tachi is short, akin to a dagger, it is better suited for piercing organs rather than severing limbs or beheading.
Ryuu recalled the sword techniques taught to her by that friend as beautiful as a flower. Simultaneously, she ceaselessly thrust the twin blades in her hands into the lizard's body, then sliced and withdrew.
Bringing out large swathes of flesh and blood, she rendered the lizard's pitch-black anti-magic scales into scattered tatters.
It was hard to say if there was any special 'hatred' involved.
Isagi had noticed it.
Whether it was Ryuu-senpai or Lefiya before her, whenever they encountered these monsters capable of 'Magic Reflection,' they would show immense distaste toward them.
On the other side.
Ais was locked in a fierce battle with the Goblin General.
Relying entirely on brute force!
The golden-haired girl swung her longsword, crashing against the iron hammer radiating thunder, setting off countless brilliant sparks. While suppressing the opponent's attacks, Ais was also able to find opportunities to leave wound after wound on the BOSS's body.
Especially after the mount lizard was completely pinned down by Ryuu, Ais took to the fight like a fish in water.
The coordination between the two girls was inexplicably tacit; this was likely the inherent 'strength' of veteran adventurers.
At this moment.
One held the title [Gale];
One used the enchantment magic [Ariel];
It even gave one the illusion that two ceaseless streaks of deep green wind were haunting the battlefield.
Mmm.
Isagi was indeed somewhat 'leisurely' at this moment.
Because Ryuu-senpai and Ais were both experts in close combat, the Goblin General before them didn't have the chance to pay attention to him for a while.
It felt a little good.
When fighting the Veteran General before, facing the BOSS in melee combat alone was truly more than just stressful.
After all, this guy was the type to engage in mixed doubles with its mount.
Later, having Filvis's help made it feel much easier, and now, it was the easiest of the easy.
Thus.
This allowed Isagi to hold his [Blade of Ten Thousand Bones] and activate its Battle Art, 'Declaration of Death'.
When he was farming Ability Scores in the Colosseum before, he had actually used this Battle Art many times, so he could be considered proficient with it now.
[One sees the 'Death Lines' existing on the opponent's body. If cut, it deals massive additional damage.]
It was similar to a critical hit.
But stronger than a critical hit. Because reality is not a game, accompanied by the body suffering instant heavy trauma and massive blood loss, the enemy will definitely be injured, thereby affecting their original combat capability.
But because of this, mastering this Battle Art completely is also very difficult.
Because—
A wisp of a deep crimson line protruded slightly from the side of the Goblin General's abdomen, looking just like a stray thread accidentally poking out of clothes.
Holding the pitch-black long blade, Isagi slashed along its existence without hesitation.
The instant he touched it.
The deep crimson line began to extend, constantly moving forward, like a winding, meandering stream, or perhaps like chaotic, irregular roots.
As he thrust deeper along it.
Suddenly!
The Goblin General, originally entangled by Ryuu and Ais, suddenly attacked him madly as if going berserk.
It also sensed the threat!
The icy chill and fear welling up from the depths of its heart made it disregard everything else just to stop his blade.
But.
The girls would also stop its counterattack.
The longsword once again intercepted the smashing Thunder Hammer, while the twin blades simultaneously stabbed into the lizard's neck, bringing its fierce forward lunge to an abrupt halt.
The contest between immense forces lasted only an instant, but that instant was enough.
Isagi held the long blade, accurately sinking it into the depths along that deep crimson line. Without any obstruction, he cleaved through the Goblin General's thick armor, cutting into its robust body, and then—
"Pfft"!
The fountain of blood exploding from the side of the monster's waist startled both Ryuu and Ais beside him.
What the hell?
Isn't this amount of bleeding too exaggerated?!
For the first time, the Goblin General, who had been constantly charging and thrashing, retreated.
The lizard beneath it leaped backward, wanting to open distance from the three, but was that even possible?!
The boy and the girls quickly chased forward.
At the same time, Isagi used the Battle Art 'Declaration of Death' again, and this time the target was the big lizard before his eyes!
The pitch-black long blade was like ink.
Once again, it slashed into the lizard's head in an instant.
In the perspective of Ais and Ryuu.
Isagi first stood in place and 'paused' for a moment, then swung the long blade. Immediately after, a crimson fountain of blood exploded from the direction of the lizard's eye on its massive head, causing it to roar madly.
The cheek on one side of its head, including the eye, was sliced off by Isagi in a single stroke. It was simply incredible.
But for Isagi.
All of this was not so relaxed and freehand.
Because he had to focus entirely, making the long blade in his hand advance along that deep crimson 'Death Line'. It could be neither fast nor slow, nor could it deviate by even a hair's breadth.
Until finally, he had to withdraw the blade the instant it stopped, hitting that 'rhythm point' perfectly to successfully cause the opponent to burst with blood.
If a problem occurred, the Battle Art would, of course, be wasted.
And he himself...
"Phew."
Isagi retreated slightly, feeling his brain and thoughts becoming somewhat dazed.
His vision also tilted slightly as if everything was falling a little to the side.
This was a sign of insufficient Mind.
Isagi quickly drank a recovery potion. Only then did he feel his brain, which originally felt like it had been hollowed out by something, temporarily 'stabilize'.
The Mind consumption of the 'Declaration of Death' Battle Art was extremely high.
He had tried it; in a full state, he could release it at most four times before emptying all his Mind.
Sigh.
To put it bluntly, it was a high-risk, high-reward skill for experts.
Success allows you to burst the opponent's health; failure consumes a lot of 'combat resources' all at once.
Whether it's worth it depends entirely on one's own mechanics.
And at least.
Right now, it was worth it.
"Isagi, fall back quickly!"
Suffering two heavy blows in succession, coupled with Ryuu and Ais—two girls seizing the opportunity to output damage crazily at the same time—it was no surprise that the BOSS before them entered Phase Two.
Again, the lizard beneath it suddenly jumped up on the spot, and then bloomed with incomparably dazzling thunder light!
Seeing this scene.
Ryuu and Ais subconsciously prepared to quickly distance themselves from the Goblin General before them.
Hmm...
According to Isagi's experience, running was useless.
Looking at that lightning ball condensing together, erupting with incomparably piercing brightness like a massive sun, flickering with deep purple and brilliant gold light.
The boy realized it.
When it smashes down in a moment, the entire pit likely won't be able to avoid it.
So...
"Fly up, Miss Ais!"
While Isagi shouted that, he had already scooped up the confused Ryuu-senpai. Skillfully, his right arm encircled the Elf girl's slender, soft waist, and the [Shinobi Prosthetic] on his left hand fired a grappling hook, instantly latching onto the old plank road above the pit.
The golden-haired girl's speed was fast.
At the same time she heard his voice, she had already ascended. Although she didn't know why, this was absolute trust in a companion.
And—
Ais looked back towards the direction of Isagi and Ryuu, only to find the boy following closely behind, using the grappling hook to climb constantly upwards.
Although his speed definitely couldn't match hers, it was enough.
At least.
They had already left the massive 'Lightning Ball' spinning endlessly in mid-air after leaping high below them far behind.
Subsequently, Ais and Ryuu both saw it.
From the bottom of the deep pit, a boundless, piercing light surged wildly.
"!"
Just as Isagi predicted, the heavily crashing Lightning Ball covered almost every area at the bottom of the deep pit.
Simultaneously, it continued to diffuse and spread upwards!
That massive pillar of light shot into the sky, accompanied by countless currents of electricity surging as it pressed straight toward the three.
Like a rain of lightning snakes exploding from the bottom up.
Ais dodged continuously back and forth in mid-air. Compared to her, Isagi was actually somewhat more relaxed.
He did not use [Lightning Return].
Isagi simply told his Familia senior to hug his neck tightly. This way, he could free up his right hand, then swing the [Blade of Ten Thousand Bones], using the second characteristic ability it possessed: 'Cursed Blade · Devour Skill'.
The pitch-black blade edge collided with the lightning light where gold and deep purple converged.
Then, the latter was accurately and silently dissolved. Simultaneously, as bolt after bolt of lightning vanished, the long blade in Isagi's hand gradually bloomed with a piercing, brilliant light.
After a precise parry comes a charged heavy strike.
Almost by tacit understanding.
Borrowing the intense momentum naturally accompanying the descent from above, the girls also knew that this was a good opportunity to unleash a 'burst'!
Thus—
Gale winds surged, converging at the tiny tip of the golden-haired girl's sword, constantly spinning, spinning, spinning, until she was completely wrapped within.
The wind seemed to stop right there.
Ais took the lead, falling from the sky at extreme speed just like that.
After that incomparably piercing thunder light completely vanished, the girl smashed down ferociously at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
The [Desperate], personally forged by the God Goibniu, which had sacrificed various attributes completely in exchange for the 'Indestructible' characteristic, erupted with a hum of unbearable strain.
Wrapped in the gale, the blade body trembled and wailed. Finally, it landed on the lizard head that was raised high, mouth wide open, intending to spit out brilliant golden lightning.
"BOOM"!!
Compression, deformation. Even the pale stone ground cracked and shattered instantly.
This was Ais's Special Technique.
Condensing all attack and destructive power onto a single point of the sword tip, and releasing it the instant it touches the opponent. Its name is—
[Lil Rafaga].
If it were an ordinary weapon, even a First-Class Armament might instantly shatter during the process due to the inability to withstand the violent force applied.
This was also the reason why the girl favored [Desperate]; under her powerful strength, weapons were simply too easily broken.
Thus.
The Goblin General's mount went offline instantly. Its upper body, including the head, directly shattered into a sky-filling rain of blood and mashed meat. It looked as dead as it could possibly be.
In response, while the Goblin General raised the Thunder Hammer high, erupting with deep purple lightning to restrain and pull the girl's body over, the golden lightning spear grasped in its other hand was also swung toward Ais simultaneously.
Clearly, after entering Phase Two, the BOSS had gained new abilities.
Because what followed was a sky filled with countless deep green spheres of light.
"[Luminous Wind]!"
The Elf girl, who had been chanting magic and gathering spheres of light around herself all along, hadn't forgotten to continue chanting even when she was carried up the pit by Isagi just now. It could be considered a 'hint' taken from the magic of her Familia junior (Lefiya) earlier.
Ryuu certainly knew.
Her magic could smash down all the light spheres at once to cause instant burst damage. Ais prioritizing the killing of the lizard that reflected magic was precisely to create such an opportunity for Ryuu.
No words were needed. This was coordination formed almost by instinct; veteran adventurers indeed shared a spiritual connection and knew very well how to help each other.
Thus.
Tens, hundreds of light spheres fell like rain, swallowing the already broken body of the Goblin General.
And amidst this blinding light.
Isagi, who had similarly descended from the sky, once again accurately found that wisp of deep crimson 'Death Line'.
'Declaration of Death'.
The [Blade of Ten Thousand Bones], shining with light, drew a brilliant streak, following that deep crimson Death Line forward, forward, forward!
Because it had suffered heavy trauma at this moment.
The 'Death Line' on its body also became incomparably long. Until finally stopping, Isagi drew the blade in that instant.
The Goblin Veteran's body cracked silently. Simultaneously, amidst the fountain of blood spurting out, the Magic Stone exposed from within the flesh was radiating high-purity light.
"Ah..."
The Magic Stone was casually extracted by Ryuu-senpai.
With that.
The Goblin General and the lizard beneath it both turned into ash and vanished.
Subsequently, that heavy Thunder Hammer, which always flashed with deep purple lightning from time to time, was left on the ground along with two other drop items.
I actually made this equipment drop, huh.
[Double Thunder Hammer: An iron hammer entwined with two types of lightning, capable of emitting tractive Purple Lightning or explosive Golden Lightning.
The Dungeon has no light, nor does it have seasons or a sky. But the Goblins living on the savage edges, from time to time, can occasionally hear bursts of thunder coming from above.
This is a power accidentally mastered by a certain powerful Goblin before the arrival of the Pale.
Unable to be inherited, unable to be spoken of. Ultimately, it will only perish with its death.
Battle Art: Thunder Flash
· Light Attribute
· Switchable Forms
· Purple Lightning can forcibly pull surrounding enemies toward oneself.
· Golden Lightning can cause damage to surrounding enemies through hammer strike explosions.
(The Goblin simply does not know what 'Thunder' is. It merely gained inspiration from the special power it could erupt with after encountering a mutated lizard.
Perhaps, apart from its appearance, this cannot be called a 'Lightning Strike' at all.)]
Isagi sat on the ground, looking at the iron hammer in his hand, thinking that it didn't even come with the 'Paralysis' abnormality, and it also said 'Light Attribute' instead of 'Thunder Attribute'. It was really a bit speechless...
A few days passed.
The golden sun rose brilliantly from the surface of the sea.
Outside the city, in the port capital of Melen, inside an inn within the town, the red-haired deity received a Guild message from her Familia children just after waking up.
After several days of investigation.
It was confirmed that the god swallowed by the Dungeon was 'Rudra'. Thus, it was naturally characterized as [Gale]'s revenge.
Externally, it was also stated that the survivor of the former Astrea Familia launched an attack on the Dark God's Familia located in the Dungeon, ultimately leading to God Rudra being swallowed by the Dungeon.
The Guild clearly breathed a sigh of relief.
As for Loki, Isagi's face naturally surfaced in her mind instantly.
That child, honestly.
In just a few short months, this is already the second one.
Where on earth did Astrea find such a child? Sigh, it really makes a god envious~
Especially.
When Loki left the room and subsequently saw the noisy Amazon girl in the inn's backyard, as well as the werewolf youth fighting her.
Both were Lv.4 adventurers, yet the battle appeared somewhat one-sided.
Even though.
Tiona had clearly just leveled up to Lv.4 not long ago, while the werewolf Bete had upgraded to Lv.4 as early as a year ago.
"Hmph hmph hmph~ Waste Wolf, let's see you laugh at me and my sister every day! Useless guy!! So what if you participated in the expedition? Sure enough, you're just a rookie!!"
The girl's words were merciless.
That was because, after she and her sister joined the Familia last year, they were mocked quite a bit by Bete due to their lower levels.
The werewolf youth had that kind of personality, always dismissive of the weak.
Although Loki knew.
He held no malice, he simply believed that weak guys would die easily when facing powerful monsters, so he used harsh words to make them give up beforehand.
He's quite a twisted fellow.
Loki shook her head, not paying much mind to her child's 'personality problems'.
Instead, she was thinking about another matter—
Tiona's strength was undoubtedly due to participating in the boy's adventures. Judging from the current situation, after the boy enters the Dungeon, he changes a part of its terrain and spawns powerful special monsters within.
So, to enter it, one doesn't necessarily have to team up with him, right?
The red-haired goddess was naturally worried about her own children's safety, so she hadn't informed the others in the Familia yet. Currently, only a few people like Riveria and Alicia knew.
But as one of the strongest exploration Familias in the city, whether it was Loki or her Familia's children, they naturally all possessed considerable resolve.
Adventurers are guys who could die at any time.
[They will definitely all go.]
Loki could imagine the reactions of Finn, Gareth, and Bete once they learned of this matter.
Even—
[If that bunch from Freya finds out, there's no need to think about it...]
Those fierce warriors who revered their goddess incomparably would not let go of such a good opportunity to temper themselves.
The two Familias were already competing with each other to subjugate the Monster Rex of the Deep Floors.
When the time comes.
They will definitely head to that [Dungeon] which has mutated due to the boy's skill, unwilling to fall behind anyone, right...
___
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