The influence of the Dungeon is limited.
Just as a [Juggernaut] would never appear in the Upper Floors no matter what, it is only in the deeper layers that the Dungeon's power holds significant sway. This might be due to the [Covenant] of the Gods, or perhaps because of the day-and-night prayers of the Great God Ouranos.
Therefore.
At this moment, in order to strengthen the Pale King, the Dungeon committed a sort of "foul." It gathered all the power from every region of the Upper Floors and shoved it all, in one go, into the Boss's body.
In the end—
It wasn't as simple as becoming stronger or gaining a higher Level. The power of the Upper Floors is finite; no matter what, the Pale King here could not exceed Level 5. So, as if the Dungeon had learned to be clever, it simply used the remaining power to grant this Goblin King new abilities.
"?"
Right before Isagi's eyes, the original Pale King vanished.
The tall and upright Goblin transformed into a fleeting glimmer within the white mist. In the blink of an eye, it lost all sound and presence. It could not be seen, could not be felt, and could not be heard—
Isagi concentrated fully, paying attention to every movement around him. Until the next instant.
He didn't have to wait long. Very suddenly, that pale light flashed again, just like a distant peel of thunder that abruptly lights up and quickly vanishes during a storm. The Pale King appeared above and behind him, wielding the long sword in its hand and slashing down with clean, crisp efficiency.
The distance was incomprehensibly close.
But relying on his body's instincts, and the forceful twisting of his body provided by [Wolf's Repast]—even to the point of tearing his own flesh and blood—he barely managed to dodge this strike at an extremely unreasonable angle.
But in the next second, the Pale King's figure silently vanished again. Immediately following that, it appeared suddenly once more from another side not far away, launching an attack.
Incessant and endless.
From here to there, from Point A to Point B. Attack, vanish, appear. Cycling back and forth without stopping.
What kind of pale flash is this?!
This transformation, which was hard to even complain about in the moment, caught Isagi somewhat off guard. Although he knew the Pale King might have a second phase, wasn't this second phase a bit too ridiculous?!
It was even... a complete patchwork job!
Don't tell me the Pale King originally had this kind of ability!! It was never mentioned in the original plot, alright? The Dungeon definitely added this on the fly. Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!!
The situation reversed instantly. Isagi, who had originally controlled the rhythm of the battle, was reduced to passively taking a beating in the blink of an eye.
There was no helping it. This was no longer a question of speed; he simply didn't know when the opponent would vanish or when it would appear. Although theoretically speaking, one could react the instant it appeared, or simply predict its appearance location, that was only theory. In reality, doing such a thing was basically impossible, right?!
Aside from that, there was actually another method.
That was to launch an attack at the opponent the very instant it attacked him. After all, no matter what kind of "Flash" it was, it had to touch him with its weapon to cause damage. Meanwhile, he would also gain the opportunity to hurt it. This exchange is always equal.
But the trouble was undeniable.
If he got chopped, he would be inflicted with a status ailment. Although a single hit wouldn't fill up his "Abnormal Status Bar," he would need to wait for it to recover. In that case, the battle would turn into a war of attrition again. And it would develop in a direction completely disadvantageous to him!
So—should he retreat?
The time available for him to think was very, very short, because dodging the Pale King's attacks every time was an incredibly difficult task. He was relying entirely on the armor of [Wolf's Repast] to barely dodge the opponent's sudden attacks at the limit each time.
Furthermore, Isagi understood very well right now that he was only able to fight the Pale King like this thanks to the bonuses of being a "Shura."
Having transformed into a Shura following the massive slaughter of monsters earlier, what he gained was not just a comprehensive numerical bonus, but also that indescribable "coldness" he felt right now.
The "Realm" that previously only flashed by fleetingly during battle and couldn't be maintained for long was now being used by him at every moment, as if it were innate.
If a small accident occurred and he was killed by the Pale King, losing this life and dissolving the Shura state, the difficulty and pressure of the battle would rise to a whole new level! Under these circumstances, retreating was the only option, right?
After all, in the current situation, it was equivalent to him really only having one life. Because he was too calm, he generated such a thought. But the moment it emerged from his heart, it was immediately denied.
No!
Dodging again, evading that pale flash that quietly passed in an instant, Isagi took a deep breath. What came to his mind was that there was still another possibility for victory. He still had a way!
Because of the extreme calm brought by that mechanical, icy sensation, he thought of the only method. It was difficult, but difficult did not mean impossible. In that case, the problem was simple.
Isagi sheathed the weapon in his hand and instead just stood in place.
The Pale King vanished again. Perhaps it would appear in the next second, or maybe only after several seconds. The timing was completely uncertain—this was obviously a deliberate mechanism, using randomness to make prediction impossible.
In this situation, there could only be extreme reaction!
Suddenly, the Goblin King appeared from a blind spot in his vision, wielding the long sword in its hand again and slashing down toward him. That speed was unbelievably fast. Trying to confirm and react with the naked eye was almost impossible; he could only use his body—use that "perception" of killing intent and danger, completely uncertain yet undeniably real—to confirm it.
The instant that pale, sharp blade edge was about to touch his body... With the smallest margin, he twisted his torso to evade, barely letting his body pass right against that cold, sharp edge filled with killing intent.
At the same time, his hand had already drawn the "Magic Staff" that Riveria and the others had spent a huge fortune to forge for him—the Long Katana, [Moonveil].
What Isagi did at this moment was very simple: attack while dodging.
The azure blade-light slashed out at the same instant the Pale King approached him. That attack, condensed from pure Magic, transformed into a crescent-like radiance. In the blink of an eye, it smashed against the beautiful sky-blue armor.
A line of blood burst forth. Beneath the armor seeped the viscous, deep purple blood characteristic of Goblins.
Very good. He could do it!
Isagi's heart remained as calm as a still lake. Next, it was just back to the rhythm he was familiar with before. That is, just repeat what he just did "once more."
"How is that possible?"
Inside Goddess Freya's divine chamber, aside from Hedin, the other executives had also arrived: Hogni, Allen, and the Captain, who was also currently the City's Strongest Adventurer, [The Warlord] Ottar.
The tall and robust Boarman furrowed his brows. He stared firmly at the battle between the "two monsters" inside the Divine Mirror.
At this moment, Isagi's appearance could hardly be called human. With a height definitely exceeding four or five meters, twisted, colossal, and incomparably sharp, he looked like a pitch-black steel giant wolf covered in needle-like spikes. Compared to him, the Goblin, who was also tall and heroic in armor, looked more like the adventurer.
Ottar and the others confirmed completely that the [Pale King] before their eyes was the very Goblin they had encountered in the Deep Floors upon returning from their expedition.
Identical. Over two meters tall, extraordinarily heroic. Even wearing only tattered cloth clothes, it gave off a feeling of incomparable righteousness. There could be no mistake; it was it!
But what everyone found hard to understand—and realized following Heith's arrival—was that the [Pale King] before them seemed to not be the same one they had encountered. Because it lacked a special ability—
[The curse where, if one appears within its line of sight for a certain time or is touched by the opponent's weapon, a part of the body will directly undergo "Necrosis" and become unusable.]
It wasn't there. The battle earlier hadn't encountered such a characteristic at all.
So when Isagi was fighting it just now, Hedin, Ottar, and the others were a bit puzzled as to why the boy kept dodging and didn't even try to parry the Pale King's long sword. It couldn't be that he was imposing a restriction on himself to conduct some kind of "high-difficulty training," could it?!
It wasn't until Heith's explanation that everyone's doubts were cleared. And what was even more incomprehensible was the brand-new ability the Pale King displayed right now: that sudden vanishing and appearing, the incessant and endless "Flash" attacks.
Pair that with its unsolvable "Pale Curse," and it was simply a fellow troublesome to the extreme. Even if it was only Level 5. If they couldn't end the battle quickly...
[Will I win?]
The dependents of the Goddess of Beauty—who were also the strongest adventurers in the City right now—couldn't help but ask this question in their hearts. They were confident, perhaps even conceited, but a person cannot deceive themselves. That was a questioning that came from the depths of their souls' instincts.
Most importantly, that Goblin they encountered in the Deep Floors back then hadn't displayed such an ability. On the contrary, it had simply used the most ordinary stance, wielding its long sword to fight them. This was also why Hedin had kept saying before that it didn't resemble a monster.
Because its attacks weren't like those of the monsters in the Dungeon—purely coming with the intent to kill adventurers. Instead, it seemed to be testing something, or perhaps to hone itself, that it launched attacks at them.
Incomprehensible. Do monsters have such thoughts too?
And precisely because of this, the warriors of the Goddess of Beauty present felt quite complex emotions in their hearts. Because against that "Goblin" which didn't even have that special curse ability back then, they had only been forced back. And it was only after Ottar stepped in and attacked it that it retreated.
They hadn't defeated it; they were even suppressed by the opponent at one point. And such a guy wasn't even in its "Complete Form"? In fact, one could say it hadn't used its true strength at all?!
Only Freya, at this moment, became more interested in the boy inside the Divine Mirror.
"Do you see?" The Goddess spoke gracefully to her dependent children beside her. "It is only such an enemy that can cultivate such an adventurer."
"Without natural enemies, the claws and teeth of a beast will become dull and powerless. Conversely, the hunter can only grow to a certain degree depending on what kind of enemy they have."
The Goddess's words weren't hard to understand. Even for Ottar, what surfaced in his heart at this moment was still that magnificent figure standing amidst the long streets of the nearly destroyed city years ago, backed by countless ruins and a sky burning with fire.
That swordsman wielding a greatsword. The current him was also Level 7.
But... [Will I win?]
Ottar asked himself this again in his heart. [Gluttony] Zard. The remnant of the Zeus Familia who had once joined the Dark Familia side with Alfia during the Great Feud, coming to the City to give the junior adventurers a "Trial."
Ottar had leveled up to Level 7 with the [Excelia] of "defeating the opponent alone" back then. But only he understood. The Zard of that time was not the "true" Zard at all.
Let alone his past self, even now—at this very moment—facing this guy who had once devoured the flesh of the [Land King · Behemoth] and slain it... Did he have a chance of winning?
The difference was vast.
Compared to the Zeus and Hera Familia, who had completed two Great Quests and subjugated both the Land King and the Ruler of the Sea, the current Loki and Freya Familias—similarly the strongest in the City—were still far, far behind. This was something everyone knew well.
But precisely because of this, they had to stride forward. They had to continue becoming stronger. Because precisely due to the existence of those bastard guys, everyone knew that their current selves were so small, and they had not yet reached their limits.
However, those guys who once rampaged through the City lawlessly were already gone. No matter how he chased, they only existed within his memories. Therefore, he would lose a certain "sense of reality."
Ottar had always thought about challenging the Monster Rex Balor on the 49th Floor alone, thinking that if he could do such a thing, he would become even stronger than before.
Why? Because there were no other viable targets.
The Floor Boss located in the [Great Wilderness] on the 49th Floor was the strongest known monster. Of course, they now also knew that on the even deeper 60th Floor, there was a guy named the Corrupted Spirit.
But now, everything was different. Seeing its existence tangibly was far more real than hearing rumors before.
So, watching Isagi's battle with the Pale King in the Divine Mirror right now, the only thing Ottar and the Freya Familia adventurers could think of was:
This Goblin is a monster of the "Upper Floors." It is an existence of the 12th Floor. And just like that, it was enough to make them generate the doubt of "Will I win?" from their hearts. That was an incomparably real, uncertain reaction.
"This is even more interesting than expected—" The Goddess also felt she had miscalculated. She hadn't originally thought the boy's Dungeon would become so interesting.
Sure enough. Even a Deity could not imagine things they had never seen or heard of. Is this the "Possibility" of the children?
Freya recognized the level of interest in this word once again. Especially since, just at this moment, the battle in the Divine Mirror also ended.
Isagi won.
For some reason, looking at the monster falling in the mirror and the boy standing before it, Heith inexplicably felt a certain sense of "Pride"—
[This is my teammate!]
The woman thought this, inexplicably feeling a sense of, "We really are amazing!"
____
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