"Under the ability of Ruri'iro Kujaku, Vito felt his strength draining away. He wanted to make one final explosive effort to break free before his energy was completely exhausted, but the rate at which he gathered strength was slower than the rate at which it was being absorbed.
Having lost too much power, Vito knelt on one knee with a trembling limbs.
Seeing him nearly incapacitated, Rayleigh finally released his Shikai. But he added two more Bakudō spells for good measure.
"Got you!" Alise said indignantly as she tied Vito up. "Look at what you've done! Because of you, how many Adventurers have died?"
Faced with the girl's accusation, Vito's response was actually an amused laughter.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"That's right, I did it. But it's not enough yet. I never expected you to have such strength. I admit i lost. I never thought I'd be defeated by the likes of you."
Battles against monsters and battles against Adventurers are completely different.
If they possess special Skills or Magic, Adventurers aren't without the chance to defeat monsters above their level.
A certain golden-haired elf could unleash firepower equivalent to Level 5 while still at Level 3.
By Level 4, she could even serve as the main force in the Deep Floors.
This same person even achieved the feat of stabbing a Level 7 monster to death with a single strike.
Ais was the same.
At Level 3, she could use her Skills and Magic to fight dragon species with potential abilities of Level 5.
Monsters' intelligence is far inferior to that of Adventurers.
For Adventurers to defeat monsters, besides strength, they also need wisdom and information.
But in battles between people, there are even more factors.
First are stats.
Even among Adventurers of the same Level, differences in stats can make a battle completely one-sided.
For example, the city's most terrifying "Mistress," the small giant Mia Grand, Level 6.
She knocked out an Amazon warrior from the Kali Familia, who's also a Level 6 like her, with a single punch.
And that was when she was holding back.
So in battles between Adventurers, stats are the decisive difference.
Then come Skills.
Finally, Magic.
In battles between people, Magic rarely has a chance to be cast, especially in evenly matched struggles—opportunities to use Magic are few.
Magic is a powerful weapon, but also a huge vulnerability.
That's why rapid-fire Magic, which is less effective against monsters, works surprisingly well in multi-person battles.
For a peak Level 4 to lose to a Level 3 party, and to lose so completely, only means one thing.
"You lot are monsters."
Though captured, Vito showed no panic at all and even taunted Rayleigh and the others.
Judging by his arrogant attitude, even though he said he lost, he probably didn't really believe it in his heart.
Rayleigh knew why he could still act this way.
It was simple.
Because the Evilus hadn't lost yet.
Even if he was captured, it wouldn't have much impact on the plan.
Because the most crucial aspects of this battle weren't the mid-level combatants, but the number of cannon fodder and the quality of the highest-level fighters.
"To call pure, noble, and cute girls like us a monsters—you really have no taste," Alise shook her head, feeling helpless about Vito's poor judgment.
Ardi joined in the fun too. "Yeah, I naturally don't need to say much—I'm absolutely very cute! Alise and Kaguya are also very beautiful. But if we're talking about the best, it's definitely Ryuu. Hey, Ryuu, how about sleeping together for old times' sake? Let me hold you!"
"I refuse," Ryuu replied coldly.
Ardi looked hurt.
Seeing this, Alise said smugly, "Hehe, I slept hugging Ryuu last night. That smooth body oh her, slurp noice!"
"ALICE!" Ryuu blushed upon hearing Alise describe her body and covered the red-haired girl's mouth.
Then, she glanced nervously at Rayleigh.
At that moment, Rayleigh was intently focusing on the curves of the Elf girl, looking serious.
Ryuu was only fourteen this year.
For her age, her body development was undeniably good.
Where it should be full, it was full, where it should be slim, it was slim.
The key was her pinkish translucent skin, it was like a work of art.
Unfortunately.
It seemed this body had reached its limit.
Why?
Because in Rayleigh's memory, this clumsy Elf lady's figure hadn't changed much by the time she was twenty-one.
No.
If there were any changes, rather than growing, it had regressed!
Seven years later, Ryuu didn't even need a bra—a simple tank top was enough for her!
But now, it seemed she still had potential.
'Could it be that she shrank due to poor nutrition while hunting down the Evilus?'
'Wait.'
Except for the Pallum Lyra.
It seemed the entire Astraea Familia was quite.... well-endowed?
No wonder Kaguya and Ryuu were always at odds—it was a case of jealousy!
...
Rayleigh realized he had uncovered a shocking secret.
After bringing Vito back to the surface, Shakti arrived with members of the Ganesha Familia to take him into custody.
Rayleigh didn't feel much sympathy for Vito, whose fate had been harsh and who had strayed down the wrong path due to his innate flaws.
Because many unfortunate people had persevered, treating the world kindly even when it wasn't kind to them.
They were different from so-called "saints."
They were truly noble people.
While it wasn't impossible to understand why someone might turn to darkness, the actions they took after doing so determined the outcome they would ultimately face.
Vito had already killed many people. Among them, not just enemies, but more often, innocents.
Vito, who had killed innocent people, deserved no sympathy, no matter how severe his punishment.
...
However.
On the very night Vito was imprisoned.
The prison was attacked by unknown assailants, and Vito was rescued, all the Adventurers present were instantly defeated...
That wasn't entirely accurate.
They had all lost their ability to fight, falling unconscious one after another.
The attacker didn't finish them off somehow.
After destroying the prison and taking Vito, they did nothing else.
The problem was the destroyed wall.
It was an ultra-strong protective barrier made of alloy, not something easily broken. Yet, there were no traces of Magic left at the scene.
Only a large hole remained.
A hole blasted open by brute force.
When he heard this information, Rayleigh immediately guessed the identity of the culprit.
Zald of the Zeus Familia.
Level 7.
Aside from Ottar, only Zald could pull off such an outrageous feat.
If it were the Ottar from before, he would have been instantly defeated by Zald.
Even if Zald held back, he would have had to be extremely careful to avoid accidentally killing Ottar.
The strongest Adventurer in Orario seemed as weak as a child compared to him.
Even Behemoth, one of the Three Great Quests, had been torn apart by him.
And the name "Gluttony" came from his terrifying Skill.
[Deus Ambrosia]
It could convert food into stats.
The things he ate... The stronger the target, the more the stats increased, and it was a permanent increase!
Simply put, eating makes you stronger!
If he were at his peak and had the will, he might even be able to conquer the Dungeon alone!