"Lately… I wonder what's been weighing on Lord Seiichi's mind."
"Even though he hasn't shown it these past few days, we've been by his side for so long… ever since we were children. How could we not notice?"
In a quiet courtyard, the White-Robed Envoy took a slow drink of cloudy liquor before speaking again to the Black-Robed Envoy beside him.
"Seeing Lord Seiichi like this… troubled… it pains me."
"Back then, he saved us from the chaos of war… raised us to who we are today. And yet, we haven't been able to do anything for him in return."
"…Maybe it's presumptuous for us to ask. But if there's anyone he could confide in…"
"It would be us."
The Black-Robed Envoy nodded silently.
"…Mm."
"The Sect Master has lived through so many cycles of reincarnation. What hasn't he seen?"
"For something to shake him like this… it's not about a woman."
"Could it be related to… Reincarnation?"
The White-Robed Envoy refilled his cup.
"You mean…"
"…Sigh. Whether Lord Seiichi can still reincarnate or not, I'll follow him to the end."
"It has nothing to do with Reincarnation."
The Black-Robed Envoy nodded again.
"…Same here. Even if he can no longer reincarnate… he's still the same to me."
…
BOOM—!
A colossal tree was severed clean at its roots!
Kanzaki Rei hovered in the sky, gripping the Voidstar Ring Spear, letting out a slow breath.
…Good.
Even though this tree-type monster had reached Tier 7, it still followed the known biological patterns of arboreal monsters.
Same weaknesses.
Looks like knowledge really does matter.
Using his brain saved far more effort than brute force ever could.
He spun the spear once.
Behind him—
Towering trees, their trunks flowing with blood-red, gem-like sap, stood like silent monuments.
Roughly 50,000 souls were enough to sacrifice—
To channel "Extremity" → "Origin" penetration, driving power directly into the tree's core before detonating it from within.
Its defenses were tougher than expected.
If attacked from the outside—
Most of the damage would be neutralized.
Not just half—
Possibly over 90% of force, impact, and blunt damage would be dissipated.
Only slashing and piercing attacks were somewhat effective.
But even then—
Only slightly.
As expected of Tier 7 monsters.
Even these outer "fodder" trees required real effort to kill.
After clearing out over a dozen trees and carving out a relatively clean area—
Kanzaki Rei returned to the dungeon entrance.
He stopped beside a faint trace of light.
Lowering himself, he reached out and touched it.
The moment his fingers made contact—
A searing pain surged through his flesh.
Sharper than any blade.
He watched as his fingers were destroyed—
Then regenerated—
Over and over again.
A liquid-like trace of light clung to his skin.
Even as his body regenerated—
The mark remained.
Worse—
It began to seep inward.
Like molten iron burrowing into his flesh.
…Tch.
What a domineering attack.
Even residual energy carried this level of damage?
Shk—!
Without hesitation—
Kanzaki Rei severed his own arm.
The detached limb fell to the ground—
The light continued to burrow deeper into it.
Cut off from his body—
It lost its regenerative capability.
Within moments—
It was incinerated by the light.
Burned away like sacred fire.
Upon contact—
He had already analyzed the information.
"Permanent burn. Adhesion. Holy attribute. Purification. Cleaving. Total incineration."
"Creator: Blade of Judgement — Purifying Flame."
"A weapon granted by Aurelia… once wielded by Tsukiyo…"
"…A Divine Artifact?"
A Divine Artifact…
He had barely heard of such things.
The name alone gave some idea—
But in actual records?
Almost never mentioned.
Churches possessed Sacred Relics—
Items far surpassing ordinary treasures.
What he had obtained from Jade Order before…
Was roughly equivalent to Tier 7 equipment with special blessings.
Tier 7—
Was already near the peak of what most regions could access.
Because—
True Tier 8 items were extraordinarily rare.
Even Tier 8 dungeons were almost unheard of.
Let alone equipment or materials.
Especially in remote regions like the Misar Archipelago.
So Tier 7 was effectively the ceiling.
As for Tier 8 Sacred Relics—
Those might only exist at central headquarters of entire oceanic regions.
But Divine Artifacts?
Nothing dared call itself that.
If his life here were a novel—
Even by Chapter 243—
No credible scholar or text had ever mentioned "Divine Artifacts."
"…Sounds ridiculously powerful."
"I wonder if I'll ever get my hands on it."
A flicker of greed surfaced—
Then quickly turned into caution.
"…Better not get killed instead."
"The wielder's name… Yelia."
He recalled the girl he had observed—
White hair. Golden eyes. Divine presence.
"So she's the only one here who actually injured these monsters."
His perception swept across the dungeon.
Residual traces lingered—
Faint imprints of battle techniques,Scattered magical signatures.
Though mostly dissipated—
He still caught fragments.
Scenes began to reconstruct in his mind.
"Initial probe team… likely Atlante City's defense force."
"They were heavily injured and retreated."
"Then came the second group…"
"The Holy Light Church."
"…Only three people entered?"
"And only one of them fought."
He plucked a mote of light from the air.
Pure.
Untainted.
It transformed into a droplet of radiant mana in his palm.
"So this is her mana signature… got it."
"…Not a pure mage."
His gaze swept again.
"The spell she used…"
"'Heaven's Purging Judgment'… a Light-element forbidden spell."
"Figures."
"She also uses defensive Light constructs."
…I'll need countermeasures against Light.
And besides Yelia—
That mysterious man from the Luck Church…
Needs investigation too.
A wielder of Luck—
That's always troublesome.
The two types of enemies Kanzaki Rei disliked most:
Diviners—
And Luck-based opponents.
Enemies you could fight head-on?
No problem.
There was always a solution.
But Luck?
Luck bent reality.
It made fights… irritating.
He turned his gaze deeper into the dungeon.
No idea how far it extended.
Even with a 20,000 km perception radius—
No end in sight.
Since reaching Tier 6—
The Nest domains had grown increasingly vast.
The Tier 6 Nest had measurable boundaries—
According to Iz—
Roughly spanning the distance between the Rylan Continent and the Tengal Continent.
But this Tier 7 Nest?
It felt… endless.
Still—
The core entity's location was clear.
"…First things first. Clear the dungeon."
His dungeon.
His responsibility.
Leaving a disaster behind wasn't his style.
Boom—!
Kanzaki Rei transformed into a streak of white light—
Shooting upward!
In mere moments—
He pierced through over 8,000 kilometers—
Reaching the canopy's peak.
Below him—
An endless sea of treetops stretched like clouds.
Above—
A moon hung in the sky.
Not red—
But a deep, eerie green.
Just looking at it—
Made his body feel like it might sprout into a tree.
But—
No danger signal.
Just an instinctive sensation.
Not real.
He wouldn't actually transform.
Suspended in the sky—
He struck.
With blinding speed—
He descended!
"Invincible Flow — Sixth Form: Deliberate Heavenfall!"
"Power Burst — Sky Severance!"
[Blade Secret]
WHOOSH—!
BOOM—!
A streak of light carved down from sky to earth!
Unstoppable.
Before—
He lacked the strength to execute enhanced Invincible Flow techniques.
Now—
He finally could.
As the strike fell—
Countless vines lashed toward him.
Blood-red leaves shot like blades.
Sonic roars burst from openings in the tree trunks.
All—
Swept aside.
The shockwave blasted everything away!
No leaf touched him.
Vines shattered.
Even sound waves—
Were torn apart.
Though the spear only penetrated one meter—
The resulting blade energy—
Split the entire tree in two!
BOOM!
Kanzaki Rei landed.
Spinning the spear, resting it behind him.
Before him—
A bisected titan.
"…So this is Akagi's Invincible Flow."
"With enough strength… techniques amplify it hundreds of times over."
But—
The requirement was absurd.
A soul was extracted—
Becoming a new undead tree behind him.
Interesting…
Small creatures like rabbits and ants had no souls—
Yet dungeon trees did.
Each one—
Capable of destroying entire landmasses.
By classification—
Were these "Continent-level" entities?
Though—
Other Tier 7 Ascended could likely defeat them.
Perhaps closer to Nation-level or King-class, by Loren's system.
He recalled a warrior—
Rugal, stationed at Atlante City.
In simulations—
That man could handle these monsters.
Kanzaki Rei continued deeper.
The red hues faded—
From crimson—
To pink—
To pure white.
Behind him—
The forest of undead trees grew.
Further in—
The trees became smaller.
Weaker.
After slaying over fifty—
He reached a pristine white domain.
And there—
He saw it.
A pure white tree—
Radiating halos—
Connecting heaven and earth.