Before embarking on the plan known as "Necessary Evil," Erebus had already thoroughly investigated the intelligence on Orario.
Since the execution of the plan would involve immense stakes and cost many lives, the results of the investigation would serve as the final deciding factor on whether to proceed.
However, among all that intelligence, there was absolutely no information about this boy.
As unbelievable as it was, this could only mean one thing: this boy had arrived in Orario less than a year ago, and in that short time, he had already reached his current level of strength.
Erebus was genuinely astonished.
He didn't believe this boy was a genius with the makings of a hero, yet what he had accomplished was something even true heroes would find difficult to achieve.
"Vito, can you still move?" Erebus asked his fallen Familia member.
The only response was Vito's heavy, labored breathing, for his condition was extremely dire.
A deep hole had been torn through his chest, revealing his shattered ribs and the beating heart within.
That, he was still alive at all was solely due to the superhuman endurance of a Level 4.
He was completely immobilized, unable to even open his mouth to properly respond to his God.
And this horrific injury had been inflicted by a mere Level 3 Adventurer, completely bare-handed at that.
Watching Rayleigh who's now resembled a God of War, both the Adventurers of Orario and the members of Evilus were deeply shaken.
The greater the gap in levels, the more profoundly experienced Adventurers understood exactly what had just happened.
"Look at the emblem on that boy's clothes—it's the Hephaestus Familia's crest!"
"What?!"
"So he's a blacksmith?!"
"A second Cyclops is about to emerge in the city!"
Seeing that the morale of the two sides was on completely different levels, Erebus grew deeply irritated.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be!
He wasn't supposed to give those people hope!
What he wanted was to plunge Orario into sheer despair, only for the Adventurers he had chosen to step up and shatter that despair.
Not like this!
If Evilus was completely suppressed instead, his dark plan could not proceed.
'So, sorry mortals, but I must crush your hopes right now.'
"Adventurers, you don't actually think you've won, do you?" Erebus taunted, his voice carrying clearly over the battlefield.
"Huh?"
"Isn't that the case?"
"That narrow-eyed guy has already been defeated, and we easily have the numbers advantage."
"Instead of talking like that, you should be prepared to surrender!"
The Adventurers confidently rolled up their sleeves, completely ready for action.
In their eyes, the situation had completely tilted in their favor.
The Level 4 was likely the enemy's main commander. Without their commander, the rest of the evilus were nothing but a disorganized mob.
Erebus's gaze turned frigid.
"No. What comes next is true despair." He raised his voice and commanded, "Wipe them out!"
Clang!
A terrifying pressure flew over from another street, instantly sweeping away over a dozen buildings along its destructive path.
Faced with this exaggerated pressure, Rayleigh used Shunpo to quickly appear in front of the girls of the Astraea Familia.
He shouted, "Everyone, counterattack together!!!"
In an instant, Alise, Kaguya, Ryuu, Lyra, and the other girls all sprang into focused action.
"Burn, Engetsu!"
"Destroy, Daienkai!"
"Growl, Haineko!"
"Flower wind riot, flower God roar! Heavenly wind riot, heavenly demon sneer! Katen Kyōkotsu!"
Rayleigh also drew Senbonzakura and quickly released its Shikai.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura!"
Thousands of glowing blades gathered tightly together, forming a massive, cherry-colored greatsword.
Several Zanpakuto released their Shikai simultaneously as their combined attacks all landed heavily on the oncoming shockwave.
However, the very moment they made contact, all the attacks were effortlessly deflected, rendered completely meaningless.
They couldn't even manage to reduce the raw power of the shockwave.
'This is too exaggerated. What the hell is this?'
Normally, a Shinigami needed to gather their spiritual power, coat the blade completely with Reiatsu, and combine it with high-speed slashes to successfully produce sword slash.
Yet the one who unleashed this massive shockwave relied purely on brute physical force!
This wasn't a move an ordinary human could ever hope to use.
'Alfia… It probably wasn't her.'
Though she was a monster of talent, able to flawlessly master grandmaster-level swordsmanship with just a single glance, she couldn't replicate raw physical strength along with it.
The only one truly capable of such a monstrous feat would be that specific person!
"Gluttony" Zald.
Boom!
A massive sword aura swept violently through the area, instantly overwhelming the gathered Adventurers of Orario.
"Arghhhhh!!!"
Screams of pain filled the dusty air.
Rayleigh and the others were also sent flying by the heavy impact, crashing into stone walls or slamming hard into the ground.
"Cough."
The intense impact forced most of the air directly from Rayleigh's lungs, leaving him feeling dizzy and disoriented.
Covering his eyes, his body swayed a few times before he barely managed to stand back up on his feet.
Clank. Clank.
The heavy sound of metal armor echoed.
"Oh? There's still someone standing?" Zald, clad entirely in full black armor, remarked with a hint of slight surprise.
"Tch."
"How dare you look down on us!" Kaguya gritted her teeth in deep frustration.
Beside her, Ryuu also stood back up. Next was Alise. Bright flames coiled tightly around her body as she had already activated her powerful flame-enchantment Magic.
Thanks to her quick reaction, her physical condition hadn't been noticeably affected by the blast.
Seeing more people standing than he initially expected, Zald turned his head to Erebus.
"What should we do with them?"
A smile formed on Erebus's face once again as he was now full of confidence.
"Let them taste despair."
Hearing his words, Zald revealed a highly ferocious grin.
He took a heavy step forward.
But the ground beneath his feet felt unusually soft.
'Hm?' His gaze lowered to the earth.
In an instant, countless cherry blossom petals burst violently from the ground, swarming and entirely enveloping Zald.
Faced with the cutting onslaught of thousands of sharp blades, Zald merely raised an arm to shield his eyes.
"An intriguing technique. Its raw power is enough to threaten a Level 5 Adventurer." Zald offered an unsparing evaluation and even casually praised it.
But Rayleigh wasn't pleased with the result.
Senbonzakura's blades had all been harmlessly deflected by Zald physical defense.
Even the sensitive areas not covered by his thick armor, such as his ears and face, couldn't be cut by the petals.
"Hah!" Zald raised the heavy greatsword in his hand and swung it brutally toward the ground.
Boom!!!
The violent tremor and explosive sound made it incredibly hard to believe this was merely the result of a casual, one-handed swing.
The explosive shockwave effortlessly scattered Senbonzakura's swarming blades.
But this brief distraction gave Rayleigh enough time to prepare his next strategic move.
"Bakudō Sixty-One: Rikujōkōrō!"
Six bright golden light fragments swiftly materialized around Zald, simultaneously shooting directly toward his body.
Faced with the binding Bakudō, that monster simply clenched his massive fist and physically shattered three of the six light fragments with a single, powerful swing of his arm!
The remaining three fragments struck him squarely, but their overall effectiveness was greatly reduced.
It was completely clear from how he could still stride forward without much issue.
Suddenly, Kaguya emerged silently from Zald's shadow as her curved blade thrust straight toward the back of his heart!
"An immature tactic. It won't work on me."
As if he had perfectly anticipated the sneak attack, Zald turned and casually grabbed Katen Kyōkotsu directly with his bare hand!
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