Kanzaki Rei—spoke with calm composure, his tone upright and unyielding:
"This is inside the city."
"You've made such a grand move, my friend… could it be that you intend to destroy the entire city?"
"And all these innocent lives… are they meant to be buried along with it?"
He spoke slowly, each word deliberate and forceful—righteous to the extreme.
Even Ansu was stunned.
How could an eight-year-old child be this shameless?
Kanzaki Rei had never revealed his full truth to Ansu. In her eyes, he really was just an eight-year-old boy.
And yet—
The one who supported destroying the entire city… was him.
The one now standing here with a face full of moral righteousness… was also him.
Still, the man before them…
He was clearly no ordinary opponent.
"Standing up for justice… huh."
"Heh. You managed to seal me for a moment earlier. You're no weakling."
"Fine. Then let me show you what that man is researching."
"He's developing a potion that can grant monsters intelligence."
"If he succeeds… have you ever considered what kind of change that would bring to this world?"
"Compared to us, monsters already possess innate advantages. Adventurers of the same level often struggle to defeat them alone. The only reason we've prevailed is because we have intelligence."
"But this man—his potion gives monsters sentience."
"They can think like humans!"
"Tell me… can you still allow him to live?"
So that was the cause and effect behind all this.
Behind Kanzaki Rei, a faceless man appeared—an Observer-type undead of Level 6. But now, its features had been blurred beyond recognition.
After advancing to a Level 5 Mage, Kanzaki Rei's perception range had expanded to ten thousand kilometers.
The leap from Level 4 to Level 5 was nothing short of a qualitative transformation.
His精神—his mind—had been vastly strengthened.
He paused.
That justification… was honestly more righteous than his own. Under normal circumstances, he would have simply said: Then kill him if you want.
But now…
Kanzaki Rei could see the currents of fate converging here. This was clearly a major branching point that would determine the direction of the world.
A decision had already formed in his mind.
"This is just a potion, right?"
"My master once told me—power itself isn't frightening. What's frightening is the one who wields it."
"I believe… a person shouldn't be sentenced to death simply for possessing a certain kind of power."
After thinking for a moment, he finally came up with a halfway decent excuse.
After all, protecting this man wasn't truly his intention. Finding a justification had taken some effort.
As those words fell—
The aura around Kanzaki Rei began to shift, growing sharper, more dominant.
One minute had already passed.
His body was now a thousand times stronger.
He felt as though he could shatter heaven and earth—his physical form invincible.
Across from him, the golden light in the man's eyes sharpened.
"You insist on stopping me?"
"Then it seems… you stand with the monsters."
The other party kept talking.
Which meant Kanzaki Rei had no reason to rush.
The longer this dragged on, the more advantageous it became for him.
He replied calmly, "No. I don't represent anyone—"
Buzz—
A warning surged through his perception!
In an instant, Kanzaki Rei vanished—
Only to reappear immediately the next moment.
No… I can't just dodge freely!
That idiot is still refining the potion. It's not enough to ensure I survive—I also have to make sure he doesn't die!
Troublesome…
So this is what it feels like to carry dead weight?
In a split second—
Centered on the dark castle, layer upon layer of barriers manifested both inside and out. At the same time, Kanzaki Rei seized control of the city's defensive restrictions!
Every protective measure was instantly redirected to shield the castle!
"Get lost!"
The moment he finished—
A terrifying force slammed into him!
A pair of claws crashed down!
Kanzaki Rei crossed his arms to block!
Claws?
BOOM!
A violent shockwave erupted!
The two collided in pure physical combat!
Arms crossed, he held his ground midair without retreating a single inch!
He had taken the blow head-on with his body alone!
Kanzaki Rei clearly felt the opponent's shock.
And in the instant of contact—
He obtained the opponent's information.
A Golden Dragon?
It was actually a dragon?
In his previous life, every film had its own interpretation of dragons.
In this world… dragons also existed.
At first, Kanzaki Rei had assumed dragons were just another type of monster—perhaps a higher-tier variant, like the many draconic subspecies.
But after researching them—
He learned the truth.
Dragons in this world were mythical beings.
Each dragon was unique—one of a kind.
Different types of dragons possessed entirely different innate talents.
Mirror Dragons, for example, could reflect all magic and were naturally immune to magical attacks.
And this one before him…
Was a Golden Dragon.
Its claws shimmered with radiant gold.
As their bodies collided, a devastating shockwave spread outward, flattening buildings across dozens of kilometers.
Just the residual wind pressure from their clash had obliterated entire districts.
Golden Dragons—
Their physical bodies were unrivaled. Their scales were nearly indestructible, immune to almost all external damage.
And their strength—
It was said that even a 6th-tier Golden Dragon could lift an entire continent.
And the one before him…
Was a 7th-tier Golden Dragon.
It had no other class—only "Golden Dragon."
Its level system followed that of monsters.
"I see… you're not human either, are you?" Kanzaki Rei sneered coldly, his tone dripping with mockery.
That earlier clash—
Though he had blocked it—
His entire body had been shattered internally.
Any normal person would have died instantly.
But as his organs were crushed—
They regenerated completely in the same instant.
There wasn't even a trace left of injury.
The Golden Dragon flew into a rage, raising its fists again:
"Die!"
Angry already?
This time, Kanzaki Rei didn't take it head-on.
Layer upon layer of barriers rose up.
Perfect. Let's test the 6th-tier magic I just learned.
Too bad there are so few 5th-tier spellbooks…
[Flawless Transmission (Sixth Tier) (LV: 501)][Physical Damage Reflection, Reinforced Rebound, Ultra-Reinforced Rebound, Toughness, Continuity, Shared Distribution, Stacked Transmission]
Shing—
Before the Golden Dragon, countless barriers overlapped like an interwoven web!
In an instant, they formed a spherical enclosure—like a mirrored orb—completely trapping the dragon inside!
BOOM!
The Golden Dragon struck again without hesitation!
It didn't care what the barrier did.
Something was in its way—
So it would crush it!
BOOM!
Golden claws slammed forward!
The barrier trembled violently—cracks spreading across its surface!
This was 6th-tier defensive magic!
And every layer shared the incoming damage!
There were tens of thousands of overlapping barriers!
And yet—
A single punch had already cracked them?
What monstrous physical power!
But—
At the moment of impact—
The Golden Dragon's body trembled!
The full force of its own attack had rebounded onto itself!
This wasn't ordinary 6th-tier magic.
This was a Level 501 6th-tier spell.
A height no ordinary mage could ever reach.
It had effectively taken its own punch head-on.
And the barrier—
Though cracked—
Repaired itself instantly.
Shock.
Endless shock filled the Golden Dragon's eyes.
"It seems… you can't even break my barrier."
Kanzaki Rei stood before it, unmoved.
Between them—
A fractured yet restored layer of defense.
The dragon's emotions surged violently.
Shock transformed into even deeper killing intent!
"ROAR!"
Its body expanded—
And from its back—
A pair of golden wings burst forth!
"Tricks and heresy!"
"All of it—heretical tricks!"
"Let this dragon shatter it with pure strength!"
Heretical tricks?
What nonsense are you talking about?
This is as orthodox as magic gets—pure, untainted magic.
If this counts as heresy…
Then I'll show you what real heresy looks like.
In Kanzaki Rei's right hand—
The Phantom Star Ring War Spear materialized.
With a single motion—
He infused it with a massive number of souls.
They said Golden Dragons were invincible in physical combat within the same tier.
Back in the 7th-tier dungeon, Izar and the others had encountered dragons.
Kanzaki Rei had always been curious—
Just how strong were dragons, really?
Could they defeat his Level 5 combat class—
Combined with twenty-three God-Tier talents?
"Invincible," they said.
But how strong did one have to be… to truly deserve that word?
This—
Was his first time facing a mythical creature with innate uniqueness.
This should qualify as a true powerhouse.
Perfect.
Let me test it.
Just how strong… have I become?
Is it enough—
For me to walk this world unchecked?