It was less a beam of light and more like a flash.
The entire process—from convergence to release—took only an instant and was over in the blink of an eye.
A trail extended from Noah's feet all the way to a point about six hundred meters ahead.
At the end of it stood Jura's figure.
Before him lay a shattered magic tool, clearly a last-ditch lifesaving tools—the kind only a first-class adventurer could possess.
Yet his upper body had been cleaved open, nearly split in two.
"Appraisal... Tch."
'Damn, it felt like a thousand needles were stabbing into my brain, its so painful!'
[Jura]
Condition: Near Death
Incapacitated
Unconscious
Time until death if left unattended: 1 minute 19 seconds
This was Noah's first time experiencing the feeling of being completely drained.
Because "Bloody Terminator" ruthlessly consumed all of the wielder's mind along with its own, this move was a true last resort move.
It could kill the opponent, but it could also end the user.
'With such a huge commotion, someone should have arrived by now... I really... can't hold on any longer.'
Noah's final act was to hide the hilt of Crimson Guardian in his clothes.
Even if a passing adventurer found and saved him, human greed was terrifying.
Fortunately, most people wouldn't recognize the sword's value, mistaking it for just a broken piece of weaponry.
His eyelids felt so heavy.
'Damn.'
...
Just as Noah collapsed, hurried footsteps echoed rapidly from the direction leading to the next floor.
"Hey, the noise stopped!"
"Not sure what happened, but it seems to be over."
"Hurry up!"
"If only Ryu were here—she's the fastest among us."
"Too bad we split up earlier to have her take the Floor Boss's drop items back to the city ahead of us."
"Hey, I can see something!"
"There's someone lying over there!"
The group that arrived on the scene consisted of girls with diverse appearances... and all of them are remarkably beautiful.
Among them, a red-haired girl seemed to be the leader, likely comrades from the same Familia.
Had Noah been conscious, he might have recognized her.
The red-haired girl was the future wielder of Crimson Guardian and captain of the Astrea Familia.
Alise Lovell.
Without hesitation, the girl knelt, disregarding the dirt and dust and lifted Noah up.
"These are symptoms of mind depletion. Neze, mind potion!"
"Right away."
Alicia wondered, 'Strange, why would a child like this be lying in the Dungeon? And judging by the devastation here, it looks like there was a battle between high-level adventurers, even involving a magic sword.'
Meanwhile, Gojouno Kaguya, another member of the Astrea Familia, spotted Jura near death six hundred meters away.
"Hey, Lyra, isn't this guy...!"
The girl called Lyra confirmed it, "Ah, no doubt about it. It's Jura, an executive of the Rudra Familia, the evilus!"
Alicia exclaimed, "This boy defeated Jura?"
Kaguya shook her head. "Probably not."
"Ah, right, what was I saying..."
"That's not what I meant," Kaguya said gravely.
"Not defeat... If Jura left alone, he'll die soon. So he actually killed Jura outright—not just defeated him."
'Ehhhh—?'
Lyra, being Level 4, was stunned.
Even she couldn't be certain of victory if facing this scum alone, yet this human kid who's shorter than her actually managed to defeat him?
"Tch, is this guy also a monster, just like that Sword Princess?"
Alise looked at the two fallen figures and said, "Let's take them back. This matter might be connected to the Hidden Plan of the Evilus. The justice of our Astraea Familia shall crush those evil schemes!"
The girl picked up Noah, then felt something hard hidden against the boy's chest, pressing uncomfortably against her.
She moved the boy's hand aside and immediately saw the object that would make her fall in love at first sight.
"Such a beautiful... sword hilt?"
'Huh? The blade is missing? Is it broken? Wow—what a pity.'
Alise took the sword hilt from the boy's hand and placed it in her backpack.
Of course, it wasn't to claim ownership of the item—she was just afraid it might get lost along the way.
As members of the Familia serving Astraea, the goddess of justice, the girls' sense of justice had been tested and refined long ago in that great war.
...
After the group returned to the surface, they brought Noah to the Guild.
"Ah, everyone from the Astraea Familia is back! Congratulations on your successful expedition... Wait, isn't that Noah!" Eina exclaimed in surprise.
Lyra crossed her arms behind her head and asked, "Oh? You know this kid? Which Familia does he belong to?"
"He's from the Hephaestus Familia..."
"Huh?"
"Nani?"
Everyone turned to look at the unconscious boy.
'This child is a blacksmith? Hehehe, since we saved him, can we make good use of this favor?'
Coincidentally, all their equipment had become worn out from the expedition, and repairs would cost a fortune.
'Let him repay with his body!'
Among them, only Alise fell into deep thought upon hearing Noah's name.
'Noah.'
That was the name engraved inside the sword hilt.
'So it was something he forged?'
For the first time, Alise finally felt the desire to form a contract with a blacksmith.
"By the way, what exactly happened?"
"Well, this is how it went..."
Alise recounted their experience to the Guild staff.
Due to their expedition, they had accepted a commission to defeat the Floor Boss, along with a request from the Hephaestus Familia to retrieve the Floor Boss's drop items.
After that, they sent Ryu, the fastest member of their Familia, back to the surface to deliver the goods, while the others rested on the 18th floor.
On their return journey, they heard a tremendous noise and roar, so they rushed over.
When they arrived at the scene, they witnessed what had happened earlier.
"Um..."
Eina was responsible for recording, but after hearing the whole story, she seemed to freeze up.
"Regarding the drop items, this Noah here was actually your client."
"Huh?"
"And also, he hasn't paid the commission fee."
"WHAAAATTT???"
"Instead, he accepted a request to forge a weapon for Miss Alise."
"EHHHHH!?"
The red-haired girl's eyes suddenly lit up, sparkling.
'Forge... a weapon for me?'
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