On the eve of the assault on Man-Made Dungeon Knossos, while many adventurers and civilians in Orario were still passionately discussing Riezel's level-up, the members participating in the upcoming assault—those who already knew what kind of harsh trial awaited them tomorrow night—were making their final preparations with mixed emotions: excitement, exhilaration, unease, and resolve.
And the same was true at the home of the Loki Familia.
Even though night had already fallen, Raul and Anakitty were still directing the members in the courtyard, moving crates filled with supplies to their designated locations.
From time to time, people from the Hephaestus Familia and the Dian Cecht Familia arrived as well, delivering the final batches of equipment and provisions to Twilight Manor.
Naturally, the First-Class Adventurers who had free time had also entered a state of preparation. Some were maintaining their weapons in their rooms, others were checking their physical condition, while some went down to the basement to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the amazonesses of Telskyura imprisoned there, treating it as a warm-up.
"Not a moment of rest, huh…"
While everyone bustled about with their pre-battle preparations, Riezel slowly walked through the corridors of Twilight Manor.
He had no particular destination, merely wandering around at will.
As for tomorrow's assault, there was nothing more he needed to say, nor anything left for him to prepare, since he had already done everything he could. What remained now depended on everyone else.
'After this battle, quite a few people in the familia should obtain high-rank excelia… or discover new magic and skills… or perhaps even ascend to an entirely new level…'
With that conviction in mind, Riezel did not involve himself in anyone's work and instead observed them like a bystander, quietly watching their efforts.
Eventually, as he walked, he arrived at the courtyard, and as expected, he saw that golden figure.
*Swish—Swish—Swish—!*
Ais, with her golden hair flowing freely, unleashed sharp flashes of sword light throughout the courtyard, producing a series of piercing sounds as her blade sliced through the air.
"Huuu... Haaa..."
As she swung her silver sword, Desperate, the girl steadily adjusted her breathing.
Following the guidance of a certain boy—someone who had, at some point, become inseparably close to her—she focused herself more deeply, refined her breathing, and drew in even greater amounts of oxygen.
*Whoosh—*
Gradually, a violent wind began to swirl around her body, as though she had once again activated the 'wind' inherited from the Great Spirit Aria.
Within the raging wind, Ais accelerated her slashes even further, the sharp cutting sounds growing louder and louder until she actually produced several wind blades out of thin air, slicing through the dust and soaring into the sky.
"...Hah."
Only after completing all of this did the golden-haired girl finally stop. Sheathed her sword while slowly calming her breathing.
"Riezel…"
Only then did she notice Riezel's arrival.
Seeing him standing quietly to the side and watching her, her lips parted slightly as she softly called out to him.
"Can't sleep?"
Riezel stepped forward, stopping in front of her, before gently smoothing the slightly disheveled bangs on her forehead.
Ais's pretty face immediately flushed red, yet she did not resist his actions in the slightest. Instead, there was even a faint hint of enjoyment in her expression.
After he finished smoothing her bangs, Ais spoke softly.
"I was just practicing a little... what do you think?"
"You mean your proficiency with Wind Breathing?" Riezel sighed lightly before smiling. "It's perfect. As expected, you have excellent compatibility with Wind Breathing."
After three months, Ais had already brought her use of Wind Breathing to the level of mastery.
Total Concentration - Constant—she had successfully mastered it.
Now, in terms of Wind Breathing, she would not lose to Shinazugawa Sanemi, the Wind Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps—she might have even surpassed him already.
Tokitou Muichirou, the Mist Hashira, had become a Hashira only two months after first picking up a sword, hailed as a once-in-a-generation prodigy in the history of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Yet Ais's comprehension speed with a Breathing Style had exceeded even Muichirou's—she had already perfected Wind Breathing more than a month ago and was now fully capable of standing on her own.
To put it bluntly, when it came to Wind Breathing, even Riezel could no longer match the current Ais.
It was only natural, given that he did not possess particularly high compatibility with Wind Breathing, since the Breathing Style truly suited to him was ultimately Sun Breathing, something that had already been proven the moment he first held a Nichirin Sword and caused its blade to turn black.
As a result, Riezel had not devoted much effort to Wind Breathing.
Even though he had learned nearly all of the Breathing Styles, the ones he truly used and valued were only Sun Breathing, Moon Breathing, and Thunder Breathing.
Because of that, he could state with certainty:
"Ais, there's basically nothing left for me to teach you about Wind Breathing."
"You've already surpassed me."
"With how strong you are right now, you could probably even go toe-to-toe with Finn and the others who just hit Level 7."
Yes.
Ais was now this strong.
To begin with, the magic she possessed, Ariel, was already an extraordinary enchantment. While still at the peak of Level 5, it had allowed her to challenge a Level 6-class Monster Rex, Udaeus, and ultimately achieve victory over it.
Now, after more than three months of effort, although she had not progressed very far within Level 6 itself, her complete mastery of Wind Breathing had brought about a qualitative leap in her combat ability.
Perhaps by relying on Ariel alone, she still could not challenge a Level 7 opponent across levels, but if she combined Wind Breathing with Ariel, maximizing its output while significantly reducing the magic's side effects through Wind Breathing, then she might already be capable of challenging Level 7 opponents across levels.
It had to be said—genius was still genius.
What others found unimaginable, Ais consistently managed to accomplish.
Although she was not quite like Riezel or Bell in terms of sheer abnormal growth, when compared to someone like Ottar, known as King, her potential and future prospects were by no means inferior.
However...
"...Even now, I'm still too weak."
Ais raised her head and looked at the moon and the countless stars hanging high in the night sky, unable to stop herself from speaking.
"In tomorrow's assault, I can only act as Riveria's assistant. I can't help you, and I can't play an important role the way you do."
Ais's words caused the atmosphere to become slightly heavy, but they were the truth.
When facing a terrifying existence like the Demi Spirits, the combat power of merely one or two Level 7s was no longer enough to determine the outcome.
Because of that, Ais was also under considerable pressure.
"If only I were strong enough… perhaps tomorrow's operation would go much more smoothly..."
Such a thought caused a faint sense of urgency to rise within Ais, who had always longed for strength.
She was someone who had once lost everything.
Her father had failed in his challenge against the Black Dragon.
Her mother had disappeared as well.
Now that she had finally gained a family once again, if she were to lose it all another time, she would undoubtedly break down completely.
For that reason, she felt restless and anxious because she no longer wanted to lose anything ever again.
"..."
Watching Ais silently gaze up at the bright moon, Riezel did not offer any words of comfort because he understood that this was her flaw.
She always believed that she was not strong enough.
She always felt that she had to become stronger.
It was as though, if she did not continue growing stronger, she would one day lose everything all over again and be powerless to stop it, which was why she labeled her actions as 'revenge' and relentlessly pushed herself forward.
Even though, in truth, she did not want to take up a sword, did not want to fight all by herself, but instead longed for a hero to appear and save her.
Yes, she was basically just like Haruhime.
Unfortunately, she was even more unfortunate than that renard.
At the very least, that renard had waited for her hero and had ultimately been saved.
But what about Ais?
Sadly, she had never waited for one, nor had she ever believed that someone like that would appear for her, so she could only take up a sword herself and continue walking forward alone.
Riezel could not say anything about that.
After all, he had arrived in this world at the wrong time.
By the time he came, she had already taken up a sword and had already become an outstanding swordswoman, someone who could stand on her own without relying on anyone else, so she no longer needed a hero to save her.
Hence, although he still could not become her hero, he could at least become her companion.
"…You want strength, don't you?"
Riezel fell silent for a moment, then suddenly took out a necklace from the storage space of the Dimensional Magic Cube.
"Ais."
He lightly tossed the necklace toward her.
"Hm...? What is this?"
Ais came back to her senses and instinctively caught it, her golden eyes immediately lowering toward the object now resting in her hand.
At a glance, she was instantly drawn to the necklace.
It had been forged from a special metal, its entire surface engraved with mysterious runes, along with intricate patterns formed from numerous miniature magic circles, outlining an indescribable fluctuation of magical energy.
A faint yet profound magical aura quietly flowed from it, making the necklace appear extraordinarily mysterious at first sight alone.
She examined it carefully, and after a while, her expression changed slightly because from the necklace, she could sense a subtle yet astonishing magical energy, which indicated that it was undoubtedly an ancient, mysterious, and powerful item.
It was indeed the case.
"It's called 'Tears of Eldo.' It's an ancient magic item I obtained from the tomb of a queen who inherited a hero's bloodline."
Riezel explained calmly, his tone remaining steady and composed from beginning to end.
"A queen who inherited a hero's bloodline…"
Ais felt something stir within her the moment she heard his explanation.
It couldn't be helped, since her father had also been a hero.
"You wanna get more power and use it to protect the people around you, right?" Riezel looked straight into her eyes as he spoke in a calm voice. "In that case, wear it. It only does one thing—it protects the wearer's mind and soul while keeping their mental state stable. With it, you'll be able to use that skill without holding back."
As he said that, his gaze sharpened slightly.
"Use your sealed skill—Avenger."
When that name entered her ears, Ais's heart trembled violently.
"Avenger…"
Ais softly murmured the name of that skill, her golden eyes visibly wavering as she slowly lowered her head.
At this moment, she looked exactly like a self-conscious girl whose deepest inner darkness had suddenly been exposed before others—someone who no longer dared to face the people around her.
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[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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