To be completely honest, there was only one person in all of Orario who could actually handle Zald.
That person was Ottar.
Whether or not he could truly defeat Zald depended entirely on how far Ottar could unleash the power of Tenken.
That particular blade was highly compatible with Ottar's fighting style. But the time they had was still far too short. Only a few days had passed since he received the weapon. Even if he practiced Jinzen without a single moment of rest, rapid progress could not be realistically expected.
And the biggest trouble was not even that man.
It was the true monster of the era..... Alfia, the Silence!
She was the pure embodiment of talent, the most gifted Adventurer in the entire Lower World.
Her talent was overwhelming.
The Skill known as "Gif Blessings" allowed Alfia to remain in a constant state of Limit Off, but it came with severe and crippling side effects.
Not only did it cause self-poisoning, unpredictable paralysis, and various functional disorders, but it also inflicted permanent, irreversible damage to her body.
Moreover, she suffered from a terminal illness that even the Gods could not cure.
This genius—or rather, this unparalleled prodigy—was already nearing the very end of her life.
That was the reason why she had agreed to Erebus's invitation, willingly playing the tragic role of the so called Necessary Evil.
Skills originate directly from the soul.
What kind of Magic a person discovers or what Skills they manage to obtain is usually tied to their deepest personal desires.
The chant of a Magic spell is a text that deeply reflects the caster's inner heart.
In other words, Alfia's underlying problem actually stemmed from her soul. Even the Gods, who were unable to use their Arcanum in the Lower World, could not solve such a deep-rooted problem.
Even Airmid, the Dea Saint and one of Orario's greatest healers, was completely helpless in this regard.
In this aspect, the recently captured and quickly rescued Vito was exactly the same.
His inability to distinguish colors was not a physical defect at all, but rather a flaw rooted deeply within his soul.
Fortunately, Shinigami are the ultimate experts on the soul.
Kaidō is not merely a medical technique for repairing the physical body, but a profound method for healing the spirit itself.
Finding a way to save Alfia's life was the only realistic way to stop her rampage!
This exact same logic also applied to Zald.
That was why he had tried to follow Erebus when the God was disguised as Eren the other day—he had wanted to force those two powerhouses out into the open!
But after carefully assessing the high risks, he had given up on that idea.
Although it was hard to judge whether Erebus was truly a benevolent or an evil God, he was undoubtedly a master sophist.
Rayleigh had absolutely no confidence in winning a tricky battle of words against him.
It was much better to avoid confronting him directly. Fortunately, he already had some solid clues about where Alfia might be hiding.
...
After nightfall, Rayleigh arrived quietly at the desolate ruins located in the northwest district of the city.
Based entirely on the detailed information stored in his memory, he made his way directly to an abandoned church.
Standing outside the crumbling doors, he took a long, deep breath to steady his nerves.
What he was about to face was arguably the strongest Adventurer in the entire world.
Alfia, being an unmatched genius, had many unpredictable eccentricities. If he was not extremely careful with his words, getting severely beaten up would be a good outcome.
Of course, she probably would not go as far as to kill him.
Unlike the bloodthirsty madmen of the Evilus, Zald and Alfia had absolutely no interest in indiscriminate killing.
Having finally steeled himself mentally, Rayleigh raised his foot to step inside.
But at that exact moment, a cold voice sounded from directly behind him.
"To come here alone... it seems not everyone in Orario nowadays is completely useless."
'What?!' Rayleigh turned around instantly in shock.
Before he could even clearly see the person speaking, he felt a strange, invisible force hit him squarely in the chest.
The impact threw him effortlessly from the doorway all the way into the center of the abandoned church!
'Huh?'
He let out a soft cough as he landed.
The force was surprisingly gentle, deliberately not injuring him at all. Rayleigh lay on the floor beneath a broken Goddess statue for a brief moment, then rolled over and quickly stood up.
He looked at the figure approaching him calmly through the shadows, easily recognizing the elegant outline.
It was clearly a woman.
"Wait," Rayleigh spoke up quickly, hoping to dissuade her from attacking.
But the other party abruptly raised her bare hand without a single word.
It was too fast!
The movement was so incredibly fast that he did not even have time to utter another sound from his mouth.
Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted through the air.
The sheer sound of it sent violent chills straight down Rayleigh's spine!
'Was that sword.... pressure?' he wondered in panic. 'No. This was a pure physical phenomenon.'
Just waving her bare hand could produce such terrifying, destructive power!
Indeed, she truly was a monster.
Rayleigh exerted all of his physical and mental strength to perform Shunpo. Spiritual particles burst into dazzling, bright spiritual powers right beneath his feet.
Swish!
At the most critical moment, Rayleigh successfully dodged the invisible air cannon launched by the other party.
It was a violent flow of energy.
Or rather, it was a highly condensed air shock.
Thud!
The solid stone ground collapsed instantly into a deep crater where he had just been standing.
Rayleigh reappeared a short distance to the side. He looked at the smoking pit and swallowed hard, cold sweat dripping steadily down his forehead.
If he had actually been hit by that casual strike, although he would not die, he would definitely lose consciousness on the spot!
"ALFIA!" Rayleigh hurriedly called out her real name.
As he fully expected, the mysterious cloaked figure paused her aggressive movements upon hearing this boy actually uncover her true identity.
Rayleigh did not dare waste any more words and spoke directly to the point.
"I want to heal you! I want you to live, so please, just listen to what I have to say!"
After he finished speaking, the dusty abandoned church suddenly fell into a heavy suffocating silence.
Alfia figure were completely shrouded in a dark cloak as she looked at Rayleigh in genuine surprise.
But her sharp gaze and overall expression were not friendly in the slightest.
"Heal... me?" she repeated softly.
A terrifying, oppressive aura suddenly erupted outward from Alfia's body!
Rayleigh, being the first person to bear the brunt of the pressure, immediately felt as if he had been violently plunged into a bottomless, freezing abyss.
At this exact moment, the interior of the abandoned church felt like a terrifying isolated otherworld compared to the quiet city streets outside.
He could clearly feel that if he made even the slightest unnecessary movement, his body would be crushed instantly by her sheer presence.
"That's right, please don't abandon your own life," Rayleigh managed to say. "The grand plan of Erebus is certainly a good plan, but it is also a plan that severely underestimates the people of this city. Even without Erebus's cruel arrangements, we would still find a way to reverse our fate."
Rayleigh had absolutely no time to explain how he somehow knew all about Erebus plan.
The immense physical and mental pressure Alfia exerted on him far exceeded his wildest imagination, leaving him no room to even try and fabricate convincing lies.
All he could possibly do right now was strive to be genuine.
He had to try and move her frozen heart with nothing but truthful, sincere words.
Alfia narrowed her cold eyes slightly and spoke in a chilling tone, "You really know quite a lot."
Rayleigh forced a strained smile onto his face. "I'm very sorry, but I really can't tell you how I found out about it."
"It does not matter in the slightest. I'm not interested anyway," Alfia spoke indifferently.
Moreover, even upon hearing his bold claims about healing her terminal illness, she showed absolutely no emotional fluctuation on her face.
This was incredibly troublesome for him.
It meant she did not believe a single word that came out of his mouth.
Perhaps she was even secretly angered by his false hope.
"My name is Free-Rayleigh, My name's Rayleigh. I'm a blacksmith belonging to the Hephaestus Familia," he continued bravely.
"My unique ability is very special. It's a power that is closely connected to the soul itself."
Hearing this specific detail, Alfia finally showed a very slight, almost imperceptible change in her stoic expression.
But Rayleigh could not see it from his position.
"A skill that can actually interfere with the soul?" she questioned quietly.
"That's right."
As he spoke those words, Rayleigh slowly drew Senbonzakura from the sheath at his waist.
He looked down at the gleaming metal and spoke softly to the sword, "I'm counting on you for this."
Sensing Rayleigh's reckless thoughts, Senbonzakura's sharp blade trembled slightly in his grip, almost as if it were protesting his crazy idea.
Rayleigh sighed helplessly. "I'm sorry."
Without another moment of hesitation, he turned the weapon around, pointed the sharp blade directly at the center of his own palm, and stabbed it straight through his right hand!
Alfia's calm gaze trembled slightly at the sudden violent action.
She stared closely at the boy's hand, which was now fully pierced by the steel blade, and whispered in mild shock, "There is no physical wound on you?"
"Haha, that's not quite accurate, AHHHHHH!" Rayleigh's expression twisted sharply in obvious pain.
Even though there was no flowing blood, it was very clear that he was enduring a form of intense invisible agony.
He explained through gritted teeth, "This sword is called a Zanpakuto, it..."
It was the fourth zanpakuto he had ever forged.
For a genius like Alfia, simply seeing this bizarre phenomenon and hearing this brief piece of information was already more than enough.
Her brilliant mind immediately understood the mechanics behind this strange occurrence.
"Have you... just stabbed your own soul?" she asked.
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