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Chapter 326: Childe VS Warlord
"I should have known. With floor collapses of that magnitude, it was only a matter of time before you showed up."
As she unleashed a tempest of relentless attacks, Alise carefully appraised the monster before her—the very creature that would be seared into her memory for eternity.
"But... why do you look so pathetic? Who beat you up like this?"
The Juggernaut in front of her was identical to the one her Familia had faced all those years ago. Except... it was in a miserable state. It was practically half-dead, its magic-reflecting armor cracked and in tatters.
Ais was just stepping forward to assist.
But at that exact moment, another figure plummeted through the massive crater in the ceiling, descending from the sky above.
It was a silhouette completely wreathed in roaring flames, crashing down like a falling meteor.
The crimson greatsword in his hands was engulfed in scorching fire hot enough to melt steel. With the devastating force of a thunderbolt, he brought the blade crashing down.
Sensing the terrifying aura radiating from the strike, Alise didn't hesitate. She executed a massive leap, instantly retreating from the impact zone.
The Juggernaut, however, was not so lucky.
The burning crimson greatsword struck its skull dead-on.
In a fraction of a second, the horrifying sword aura shredded what little remained of its armor. The flames clung to it like a bone-deep curse, vaporizing its flesh on contact.
The Juggernaut unleashed an agonizing, ear-piercing shriek filled with pain and defiance.
Its enormous body was completely engulfed by the terrifying inferno. It thrashed and rolled frantically on the ground, but nothing could extinguish the hellfire consuming it.
Finally, amidst its violent struggles, the massive beast was burned alive, reduced entirely to ash.
Carried down by Asfi, Ryuu landed lightly on the ground.
The first thing her eyes locked onto was the roaring blaze just a short distance away, and the Juggernaut howling and writhing within it until it slowly crumbled into flying dust.
A sudden, incredibly complex surge of emotions washed over her.
It had been nearly five years.
For almost five agonizing years, this monster had haunted her like an inescapable nightmare. This was the source of all her pain, the root of the crushing guilt she carried... and now, right before her eyes, it had been completely eradicated.
There was no thrill of personal vengeance, nor the profound relief of a settled grudge.
Instead, there was only an indescribable, overwhelming emptiness.
Then, her gaze wandered aimlessly across the battlefield. Suddenly, she stopped. She saw a girl with a dazzling red ponytail standing a short distance away, staring at Aiden in sheer shock.
In that instant, Ryuu's entire world ground to a halt.
Her body froze entirely.
Her beautiful emerald eyes widened to their absolute limits, swirling with an emotion that words could never describe. Her lips moved unconsciously, letting out a faint, dream-like murmur that even she couldn't hear.
On the other side of the cavern, Alise was still reeling from Aiden's earth-shattering entrance.
She wasn't particularly angry that her prey had been stolen. It was just that seeing Aiden immediately brought back memories of their previous, heart-to-heart battle.
However, her attention was quickly stolen by the new arrival in green, who was currently staring at her as if she had just seen a ghost.
"Yo! Long time no see, Ryuu."
Alise raised a hand, her face instantly blooming into her signature, sun-bright smile as she cheerfully greeted her old friend.
"Alise?!"
Beside her, Asfi's eyes went wide. Behind her glasses, her blue eyes were filled with incomprehensible shock.
"So this is how it is..."
Hermes had also spotted Alise and instantly recognized her. He slowly pulled down the brim of his hat, the deep shadows hiding the suspicion and intense curiosity in his eyes.
"What exactly... are you trying to do, Dungeon...?"
"Alise... is... is it really... you?"
Ryuu's voice trembled violently.
Two streams of scalding tears—tears she thought had long since run dry—spilled uncontrollably from her eyes, tracing down her cheeks.
"Yeah, of course it's me, Ryuu."
Alise opened her arms. The smile on her face was as radiant as ever, but her own eyes had unconsciously reddened. "What's wrong? Aren't you going to give me a hug after all this time?"
The next second.
A blur of green rushed forward like a gale. Carrying five years of agonizing longing, sorrow, and the surreal, overwhelming ecstasy of a miracle, Ryuu crashed violently into Alise's embrace.
Choosing not to interrupt the reunion of the two best friends, Aiden withdrew the Godslayer: Surtr back into his body and turned toward Ais and Riveria.
"Ais, Miss Riveria. I'm so glad you're both safe."
"Aiden... what is going on here?"
Seeing that the Aiden before her was the real deal, Riveria finally let out a sigh of relief. But immediately after, an even greater wave of questions flooded her mind.
"I came down here with the Freya Familia's Warlord. Lefiya is here too," Aiden explained concisely. "But we ran into an unexpected situation on the way, so I temporarily split from the group."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward the cavern tunnel leading outside.
The earth-shaking shockwaves rolling in from the distance allowed him to instantly assess the current situation.
"Hahahaha! I knew my instincts were right. Waiting here was the perfect choice!"
Childe's maniacal laughter echoed across the thoroughly devastated 28th Floor.
The Foul Legacy: The Devouring Deep armor encasing his body emitted an ominous, booming hum. Deep violet lightning intertwined with rising mists of abyssal blue water, making him look like a demon god marching straight out of the abyss.
In the very next second, his and Ottar's silhouettes transformed into two streaks of light moving far too fast for the naked eye, violently colliding once more.
It was a clash of pure, unreasonable strength against absolute technique.
Ottar, universally recognized as the strongest man in the city, swung his sword with a simplicity that bordered on the mundane. There were no wasted movements, no flashy visual effects—only absolute, hyper-condensed physical power.
The greatsword in his hands was steady, heavy, and utterly indestructible.
Childe, on the other hand, represented the complete opposite extreme. In terms of raw strength, he was outmatched. But when it came to technique and weapon mastery, he stood high above Ottar.
The hydro blades in his hands shifted constantly. One moment, they were light, agile twin daggers whipping up a raging storm around Ottar; the next, they surged into a heavy, lightning-wreathed halberd that clashed head-on against the black greatsword with enough force to split mountains.
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