It had been stated before that although Argana and Bache did not possess extremely powerful skills like Tiona and Tione, both of them held magic with considerable effects, or more precisely, one of them possessed magic, while the other bore a curse.
Argana was the one who carried the curse called ’Kalima,’ also known as ’Blood Drain.’
It was a rare curse with a blood absorption effect, in which, as long as it consumed the blood of someone who had received a Falna, the user’s status would increase at the cost of a reduction in the END basic ability.
Each time it was used, Argana’s END would permanently decrease, and unless she developed it back up again, it could not be restored.
However, as a trade-off, Argana could continuously grow stronger during battle through the power of the curse—the more blood she consumed, the stronger she became. In theory, there was no upper limit—so long as she kept drinking blood, her status would continue to rise until the battle ended and the curse was lifted.
Using the blood of those who had received a Falna as a sacrifice in exchange for power was an ability that belonged solely to Argana.
Finn had been correct—this amazoness was not merely empowered by Uchide no Kozuchi but had also activated the curse of Kalima, growing stronger continuously in battle.
*Pu-chi!*
It was unclear whether she had realized that her ability had been seen through, but Argana suddenly intensified her assault. Her claw-like hands swept like blades, no longer seeking to seriously injure Riezel, but instead aiming to create wounds on Riezel’s body to draw out his blood.
Although Riezel’s hands were wrapped in wind and protected by sharp currents, the wind of Wind Breathing was far inferior in strength compared to the wind of Ariel. As a result, while he did not suffer serious injury, he was still inevitably cut by Argana’s sharp nails, leaving several bloodstreaks.
"Aah~"
Argana brought her blood-stained nails to her mouth and licked them clean with her long tongue, her body trembling slightly as she revealed an intoxicated expression.
"I didn’t expect your blood to taste this good..."
Argana was nearly becoming addicted to Riezel’s blood.
While she was indeed battle-hungry, she was not bloodthirsty, so consuming blood had always been merely a means to activate her curse and increase her power, not something she particularly enjoyed.
However, at this moment, she discovered that Riezel’s blood tasted like divine wine from the heavens, making her whole body heat up and filling her with a sense of intoxication. A surge of power far beyond anything she had experienced before erupted within her body, spreading through her limbs and bones and causing her entire body to tremble uncontrollably.
Because Kalima’s strength depended entirely on how much blood the user consumed, in the past, Argana had only gained considerable power by drinking large amounts of blood. If she consumed only a small amount, she would not gain much strength.
However, from the start of this battle until now, she had only consumed a mere dozen drops of Riezel’s blood, yet the power she gained far exceeded the norm, leaving her both puzzled and intoxicated.
Argana did not know that Riezel’s blood was not ordinary.
Due to the effect of Pioneer of the Sun, his body carried spirit characteristics and, in some respects, was even rarer and more noble than the bloodline of actual spirits.
Moreover, Riezel’s actual level had already reached Level 8, and at this level, he had gradually begun to transcend the category of ordinary beings.
It should be known that Falna was what granted those in the Lower World the possibility of evolution. Every level up for adventurers represented a form of sublimation, bringing their existence closer to that of the gods.
In other words, those who possessed a Falna, if they continued to level up, to sublimate, and to evolve, would eventually be able to transform into gods.
Under such circumstances, although Riezel, now at Level 8, had not yet reached the point of transforming into a god, his life level was already far higher than that of ordinary mortals.
Since Argana’s Kalima was a curse that increased power by consuming the blood of those with Falna, it naturally functioned better the stronger the target, the higher the level, the easier it was to trigger the curse’s effect.
With these two factors combined, Argana gained considerable power from consuming only a small amount of Riezel’s blood.
"It seems that after I take you back, I can’t just treat you as my mate... or the father of my children."
Argana’s eyes and expression had completely turned into those of a greedy predator.
"Your blood belongs to me as well."
As she spoke, Argana threw a punch from midair straight toward Riezel’s chest.
*BANG!*
With a dull impact, Riezel kicked out, blocking Argana’s powerful punch with the sole of his foot—the force sent both of them recoiling as they fell from midair amid surging gusts.
Seeing Argana’s gaze grow increasingly greedy and bloodthirsty, like that of a predator, Riezel’s expression turned cold.
"Haste."
Suddenly, Riezel chanted a magic, and a fleeting flash of magical energy appeared around his body.
In the next instant, Riezel moved.
*Swish!*
Like teleportation, Riezel burst forth with astonishing speed, flashing directly in front of Argana.
"Wha—!"
Argana’s expression changed drastically, and just as she was about to react, Riezel had already kicked out.
*BANG!*
Riezel’s high-speed kick exploded against Argana’s abdomen, sending her flying.
*BANG!**BANG!**BANG!*
Riezel pressed the advantage without pause as his figure flickered, chasing after Argana mid-flight and striking her shoulders, chest, and side with a rapid combination of punches, elbow strikes, and knee blows, causing her body to tremble violently under the barrage.
"Urgh! AAAAAAHHH—!"
Argana coughed up a mouthful of blood, then let out a scream.
Ignoring the continuous damage to her body, Argana swung her hands at Riezel, tearing through the air with two howling gusts aimed at his ribs.
"Sanctuary Protection."
Riezel did not even attempt to dodge as he directly chanted a defensive magic, and another flash of magical energy swept over his body.
*RIP!*
As a tearing sound like cloth being shredded resounded, the clothes at Riezel’s sides, along with part of his abdomen, were sliced apart by Argana’s sharp nails.
However, under the defensive enhancement of Sanctuary Protection and his exceptional END, this time Riezel was not injured by the nail attack—only faint white marks appeared along his ribs.
"What?"
Argana’s expression changed again and again.
"Power of Gaia."
Just then, Riezel calmly chanted another magic, then threw a punch straight at Argana as magical energy surged across his entire body, striking her chest head-on.
*BOOM!*
Now, it was no longer a dull impact but a thunderous explosion.
Power of Gaia.
It was a magic spell that enhanced one’s strength, and the degree of enhancement was not much inferior to Draconic Power, which granted strength comparable to that of dragons.
Consequently, when Riezel empowered himself with the Power of Gaia, his STR directly surpassed that of Gareth, who had already reached Level 7, unleashing an astonishing force.
"Argh!"
Argana immediately spat out a large mouthful of blood, and faintly, the sound of bones cracking could be heard from her chest as her entire body shot backward like a cannonball, ultimately crashing into the ground—the impact shook the earth violently and raised a mushroom-shaped cloud of dust.
"Argana!"
Seeing this, among the amazonesses of the Kali Familia, Bache could not help but cry out, while the cries of the other amazonesses also came to an abrupt halt.
"Huh?"
Kali narrowed her eyes.
"Alright!"
"We won!"
"As expected of Mr. Riezel!"
Among the spectators, the members of the Loki Familia burst into loud cheers, while those not from the Loki Familia watched as Riezel landed lightly, his face expressionless as he stared at the drifting dust ahead, and for a moment, they were unable to react.
It couldn’t be helped.
Because from the moment Riezel used magic to when he suddenly launched his attack and defeated Argana, the entire process had taken only a few short seconds.
In those few seconds, the two who had been evenly matched and fighting fiercely just moments ago had their superiority decided in an instant.
Needless to say, the situation had changed too quickly, making many people unable to keep up. Only those adventurers of higher level watched with grave expressions, their eyes filled with deep apprehension as they looked at the emotionless Riezel.
’...Is this the real power of Liberator?’
’He’s strong...’
’Is he really Level 6?’
’Seriously... that kinda strength just now already way surpassed Level 6, didn’t it?’
All these thoughts surfaced silently in their minds.
Of course, it was not only Riezel—the strength Argana had displayed also did not resemble that of a Level 6. Others might not have realized this clearly, but the six executives of the Freya Familia who were observing the battle from the shadows understood it all too well.
Hildrsleif and Dainsleif themselves were Level 6.
Once Bringar activated their coordination, their strength could rival Level 6, or even surpass ordinary Level 6 adventurers.
Hence, these individuals knew best what Level 6 strength should look like, and upon seeing both Riezel and Argana unleash power far beyond their current levels, their brows furrowed deeply.
"These two monsters aren’t right."
"That little monster from the Loki Familia was already abnormal, wasn’t he?"
"Putting him aside, what’s up with that snake woman from that barbarian country?"
"Could it be she can fight across levels, too?"
Bringar, the pallum quadruplets, spoke these four sentences in succession, as if sharing the same thought.
"...My destined rival, what do you think?"
Dainsleif, Hogni, glanced at his close friend and rival beside him as he asked.
"It was because of magic."
Hildrsleif, Hedin, immediately gave his answer.
Unlike Hogni, who was born of a race naturally adept at magic yet was exceptionally skilled in close-quarters combat, Hedin, though also a magic swordsman, excelled more in the use of magic.
His magical ability had even been evaluated by Riveria as surpassing hers in certain aspects. If he specialized fully as a pure mage, he would have been capable of competing with her for the title of Orario’s strongest mage.
Of course, after Riveria leveled up, he could no longer be compared to her, but still, in terms of understanding magic, aside from Riveria, no one in Orario knew it better than he did.
For this reason, Hedin immediately noticed that the reason Argana possessed combat power that crossed levels, just like Riezel, was not because she was a monster beyond imagination like him, but because of the power of that magic.
Even though it was somewhat unbelievable, and Hedin could not imagine what kind of magic could grant someone the ability to surpass an entire level, compared to believing that the amazoness was a monster like Riezel, he was more willing to believe in the possibilities brought by magic.
And Hedin was not the only one who saw through this, as the gods, whose thinking and insight far surpassed mortals, also noticed it.
"What exactly is that layer of light particles on that Telskyura’s girl?"
"Some kind of magic cast on her, perhaps?"
"A magic that lets someone surpass their level?"
"What is that? I want it so badly!"
Some of the gods’ eyes began to gleam.
Unaware of everyone’s thoughts, Riezel had already started walking forward, arriving before a shattered stone pit as the dust settled.
*Cough!* *Cough!*
Argana coughed up blood as she struggled to stand, countless fragments of stone rolling off her body.
Riezel watched this scene, still expressionless.
"You’re not the only one who can use magic," Riezel said calmly. "I told you before—you’re not my opponent."
Even without using a sword or magic, and while fighting at Level 6, Riezel already possessed the ability to rival an ordinary Level 7, not to mention when he used magic.
"Haha... Hahahaha..."
Hearing Riezel’s words, Argana was not angered but laughed instead, laughed with genuine delight.
"As expected, you’re strong."
As Argana spoke, there was only joy in her tone, no frustration.
"This is how it should be."
"This is exactly how it should be."
"Only someone stronger than me is worthy of being my mate."
Right after saying this, Argana suddenly dashed forward.
"But I haven’t lost yet!"
With a furious shout, Argana lunged straight at Riezel, unleashing a barrage of punches, knee strikes, elbow strikes, kicks, and clawing blows. Her limbs struck like a storm, using every part of her body, every form of hand-to-hand combat, and all of her strength, stirring the air and whipping up fierce gusts.
In response, a clear light flashed in Riezel’s eyes.
Relying on his exceptionally high AGI and the superhuman reflexes granted by the Fast Attack development ability, Riezel shifted his steps and flickered his figure several times, evading the incoming onslaught entirely.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHH—!!!"
Argana’s eyes were wide with fury, bloodshot, as she attacked Riezel as if possessed, unleashing countless afterimages of fists and legs that covered him from all directions.
*BANG!*
Riezel immediately threw a punch, colliding with Argana’s fist with an explosive sound, dispersing her attack and blasting her backward with tremendous force, then slipping through the countless shadows of fists and legs, closing in and driving his shoulder into her chest with a powerful strike.
*BOOM!*
Another thunderous crash sounded as Argana was sent flying again.
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
Before Argana could be flung away, Riezel grabbed her leg, swung her down violently, and slammed her into the ground. Right after, with his free hand, he unleashed punch after punch, beating her until she coughed up blood continuously, while the ground beneath her shattered into a deep crater.
"..."
Watching this extremely brutal scene, everyone present—including those from the Loki Familia—could not help but swallow nervously.
At this moment, Riezel became the embodiment of brutality and violence in everyone’s minds, and many silently resolved never to provoke him.
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next Chapters early at: /VALRRR]