"Rankle the Seas and Heavens!" Ardi murmured the release incantation of her Zanpakuto.
The blade instantly transformed into a stunning trident. "Nejibana!"
"Twisting Flower, Breaking Wave!"
A water-colored slash, several meters long, flew straight toward the leader of the Evilus.
Upon seeing this massive attack, the leader's expression changed completely.
'What's this!? A Magic Sword?' he thought in a panic. 'To use such a precious consumable item without hesitation right from the start—is this girl insane!? Could it be... she was someone I wronged in the past, and I just forgot about them?'
The leader lowered his center of gravity, intending to leap into the air to avoid the horizontal slash.
However, he changed his mind in a split second. Instead, he thrust his palm into the ground, tore up a massive chunk of earth, and ducked beneath it for cover.
"Damn you, why are you attacking me so suddenly! You make me look so pathetic!"
Boom!
The water severed his path of retreat along the small dirt trail.
The leader stood up from the pit with a grim expression, his face twitching with sheer anger. He glanced at the waists of the group standing before him, and his heart burned with rage.
'Are those all Magic Swords? Is this really necessary?'
The intel about the 'Adventurer Hunters' was leaked by them on purpose, but they never expected Orario to react with such overwhelming force.
Even for him, being targeted by so many Magic Swords at once was highly stressful.
"I must say, are you all not being a bit too rude? Attacking without even introducing yourselves—how barbaric." The leader chuckled.
Then he continued, "Forget it. I'm a polite person, so let me introduce myself. I am Vito. And who might you be?"
"He does not seem to be carrying any Flame Rocks," Ryuu whispered.
Rayleigh nodded.
He was not looking at the opponent, instead, his mind was racing.
'Vito, huh. If I remember right, he is a member of the Erebus Familia. Nicknamed "Faceless." This person is dangerous, as he was born with an incomplete soul. The colors in his eyes are only shades of gray. The only original color he can see is the bright red of blood. A tragic and pitiful person.'
These thoughts flashed through Rayleigh's mind before he ignored the question entirely and cast a sequence of binding spells at the opponent.
"Bakudō Four: Hainawa. Bakudō Nine: Hōrin. Bakudō Thirty: Shitotsu Sansen!"
Two ropes of bright light shot forward, firmly binding the enemy's waist and feet.
These low-level Kidō spells would usually have reduced binding power when used against a higher-level opponent, unless the target was weak in both strength and magic attributes.
Because of this, the first two spells were merely meant to restrict his movements.
Their true purpose was to make Shitotsu Sansen easier to land.
"What is this now!" Bound by the light ropes, Vito found that he could not break free easily.
Following right behind the ropes, three golden triangles struck his shoulders and abdomen like heavy nails, pinning him to the ground.
Vito's eyes widened in surprise, but he felt no physical pain.
'Hmm? No wounds, no bleeding... but I can't move. Is this a binding-type Magic?' Vito analyzed the situation in his head.
'Like this kind of thing can hold me!'
Vito tensed his muscles, the veins visible on his forehead.
The monstrous strength of a Level 4 Adventurer pushed back, cracking the earth beneath him.
Crack.
The golden triangles fractured with spreading lines, looking as if they would shatter at a mere touch.
At that exact moment, Kaguya appeared silently behind Vito as she swung her released Katen Kyōkotsu at his back.
"Irooni! Black!"
Swish!
"Tch." Vito gritted his teeth and endured the heavy strike, a deep gash opening wide on his back.
"Arggggh!!!"
He shuddered with exertion, breaking free from the golden triangles of Shitotsu Sansen.
Without missing a beat, he turned and launched a fierce kick toward Kaguya.
Kaguya slipped smoothly into the shadows, completely avoiding the attack.
Vito frowned in frustration. 'Who are these people with all these strange moves? Judging by their stats, they should be only Level 3. Yet they have pushed me, a peak Level 4, to this point.'
Vito picked up his sword from the ground.
He glanced at his blocked retreat and the path sealed off by Rayleigh and the others, feeling a drop of cold sweat drip down his face.
"Since you all looking to die, I will grant your wish!"
Vito shot forward like a cannonball.
He reached Ardi in the blink of an eye and swung his sword down.
Ardi blocked the strike with the long handle of her trident, but the immense force from his sword sent her sliding backward across the ground for several meters.
Ryuu and Alise drew their weapons to counterattack.
One slashed from behind, while the other thrust upward from below. Vito used his sword to block Alise's frontal strike. Using that momentum, he executed a sweeping kick to strike Ryuu's wrist, neutralizing the dual attack.
He dodged to the side to create space.
But a heavy hand pressed down on his shoulder!
Vito was startled. Scanning his field of vision, he realized only one person had disappeared from where they should have been standing.
It was Rayleigh.
'This kid, can he keep up with me? No. This speed is even faster than mine. Is it the effect of some special Skill?'
Rayleigh pressed down on Vito's shoulder with one hand.
His right hand formed a claw, gathering spiritual energy, and launched a targeted strike at him!
The claw strike hit Vito squarely in the back. The sheer impact tore through his dark clothing, leaving a perfect circular hole in the fabric.
Vito grunted in pain.
He spin around, throwing a desperate punch straight at Rayleigh's face.
"Bakudō Eight: Seki."
Rayleigh overlapped his hands, forming a spherical mass of spiritual energy on the back of his hand.
He used the resulting repulsive force to block the incoming punch.
This strange feeling of his force being repelled gave Vito the unsettling sensation of punching solid rubber or deep water.
Seizing the open opportunity, Rayleigh separated his hands.
He extended a finger, raising his thumb like the hammer of a pistol, and aimed it right at Vito's face.
"Hadō One: Shō!"
The invisible shockwave emitted from his fingertip was incredibly fast.
At this point-blank distance, even a Level 4 Adventurer could not react in time.
For Vito, it felt like being hit in the face with a small heavy hammer, bringing a soreness to his fragile nose.
But Vito stubbornly endured the pain. He did not stagger backward, managing to stand his ground firmly.
Refusing to back down, he swung his sword at Rayleigh.
Rayleigh did not bother to dodge.
Just as the sharp blade was about to land on his head, a flaming sword and a sturdy trident crossed paths from both sides, blocking Vito's desperate attack!
"Hello, I'm Frieza. It's a pleasure to meet you." Rayleigh's calm words startled Vito.
Just as the Evilus leader was about to respond to the bizarre introduction, Rayleigh gripped the hilt of his own weapon.
Seeing the young man about to draw his sword, Vito's expression changed drastically.
He swallowed his words, almost biting his own tongue in the process. He leaped backward without hesitation, creating a safe distance between them.
As soon as he steadied himself on the ground, he noticed the loose dust at his feet beginning to move.
A strong wind rose from beneath him, enveloping his body entirely.
He covered his mouth and nose and closed his eyes, but numerous small, stinging cuts began to appear all over his body!
'This wind! It is as sharp as flying shards of glass!' Vito thought in panic.
"Tch, how despicable!"
As soon as Vito's angry complaint left his lips, Rayleigh's calm voice echoed right from behind him.
"I never thought I would be called despicable by a member of the Evilus. Could it be that Vito-san is much more pure-hearted than I imagined?"
Rayleigh drew his sword from its scabbard.
"Tear in Frenzy, Ruri'iro Kujaku!"
Shining, lapis-colored vines wrapped around Vito's body.
They started from his neck, then coiled around his waist, hands, and feet, beginning to rapidly drain his energy and life force.
Even when facing a top-tier Level 4 Adventurer, the group had managed to achieve complete suppression with ease.
The individual strength of each member of the team was no longer what it used to be!
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