*BOOM!*
When a pitch-black lightning bolt, like a streak of dark silk, descended from the sky and struck the ground, even this land covered in green flesh was subjected to a devastating blast, forcibly blown apart into a massive crater.
Amid the billowing dust, shattered stones flew like bullets, clattering noisily through the air as the commotion echoed endlessly across the surroundings.
Ein, clad in a purple robe, continuously unleashed such lightning toward the space before her, to the point that one might suspect she was merely casting a fast attack magic like Firebolt.
What was more, the power of this magic was far from insignificant—it was more than enough to threaten a Level 7 adventurer, and even a Level 8 could not afford to ignore such attacks.
It was only natural, considering the lightning magic she wielded inherently carried a curse. Once struck by such cursed lightning, even a Level 8 powerhouse would find it extremely troublesome to deal with.
Honestly, the fact that she could unleash such attacks so casually already spoke volumes about Ein's strength.
There was no doubt that she was a Creature equivalent to Level 7, perhaps even surpassing the red-haired Creature, Revis, from before. Against such a formidable opponent, even if Ais or Finn and the others were present, they likely would not gain much of an advantage.
Unfortunately, the one standing here today was no ordinary individual.
*Swish!*
A flash of lightning suddenly shot out from the swirling dust and debris, slicing through space at astonishing speed and arriving before Ein in an instant.
"Tch!"
Ein clicked her tongue audibly and leapt sharply backward, retreating while extending her hand to release another pitch-black bolt of lightning.
*BANG!*
Her black lightning burst forth, only to be cleaved apart mid-flight by a sudden slash erupting from within the incoming lightning bolt, exploding violently on the spot.
Riezel, his entire body wrapped in lightning, maintained an exceptionally calm expression as he slightly raised the black sword in his hand.
In the very next moment, he cut through space like a streaking bolt of lightning, slashing directly toward Ein.
*Clang!*
Still in the middle of retreating, Ein realized that she could no longer evade the incoming slash and immediately threw a punch with her metal-gauntleted hand, striking the blade in an attempt to deflect it.
Yet the monstrous strength unique to a Creature, which had always served her well, failed to produce any effect at this moment.
Instead of being knocked away, the black sword shifted along the trajectory of the strike, sliding across the surface of the metal gauntlet before cutting toward her extended arm, sending a shower of sparks bursting from the gauntlet.
Ein's pupils shrank instantly.
Without the slightest hesitation, she tilted her head backward, narrowly avoiding the slash aimed at her face, the blade grazing past the tip of her nose before cutting through empty air.
*BANG!*
However, before Ein could even breathe a sigh of relief, a whip-like kick slammed heavily into her unguarded side, sending her entire body flying away without mercy.
"Gugh!"
Ein let out a strange cry as her entire body bounced and rolled across the ground like a ball for quite some distance.
"Firebolt."
Riezel pressed the attack without giving her even a moment to recover, directly firing thick bolts of flaming lightning toward the tumbling Ein and sweeping them across her position.
*BOOM!*
Like the black lightning before it, the flaming lightning blasted a massive crater into the ground upon impact.
However, unlike Ein's magic, the fast attack magic Riezel had learned from the original protagonist Bell carried no curse. Instead, it bore the attribute of fire, so when it struck the ground and exploded, roaring flames spread outward as well, instantly igniting the surrounding area.
"Firebolt."
"Firebolt."
"Firebolt."
Expressionless, Riezel continued to cast his magic, causing the flaming lightning to fire incessantly, just like the earlier black lightning.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Explosions rang out in rapid succession as thick bolts of flaming lightning struck the ground one after another, triggering repeated massive detonations while flames and shockwaves spread wildly in all directions.
Ein could only roll about in a disheveled manner, doing her utmost to evade the carpet-like bombardment, occasionally seizing brief opportunities to release black lightning and collide it against the incoming flaming bolts so that both exploded violently in midair.
By doing so, Ein managed to avoid the direct hits from Riezel's continuous magic barrage, not being struck by the flaming lightning even once.
*Swish!*
Seeing this, a cold glint flashed through Riezel's eyes as he suddenly stepped forward, his body wreathed in lightning while he once again darted toward Ein.
At some point, Hermit, wrapped in crackling lightning bolts, had already been raised high before being brought down heavily, slashing straight toward Ein, whose pupils contracted sharply.
*Clang!*
Ein had no choice but to repeat her previous tactic, throwing out another punch to block the incoming slash with her metal gauntlet, barely managing to deflect the strike.
In response, Riezel remained expressionless and continued swinging his blade, unleashing a violent storm of sharp slashes.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
Hermit's strikes fell incessantly like a torrential downpour, every blow colliding heavily against the metal gauntlets that Ein hastily raised to defend herself, producing sharp metallic clashes alongside bursts of sparks.
From this alone, it was evident that Ein's strength was indeed extraordinary. Even among Level 7s, she was likely a top-tier powerhouse, certainly not comparable to newly leveled individuals like Finn or Allen.
However…
*Crack—*
Without any warning, the metal gauntlet on one of her hands suddenly split apart.
"What?"
Ein was stunned.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
As though completely oblivious to everything else, Riezel continued his relentless assault, bringing down Hermit again and again while leaving countless marks across the gauntlet. Those accumulated marks finally reached a critical point, causing the gauntlet to fracture under the strain as cracks spread rapidly across its surface.
Ein was utterly shocked.
One had to know that the metal gauntlets she wore were no ordinary pieces of equipment. If placed on the market, their quality would undoubtedly rival first-class equipment. Yet now, those gauntlets—comparable to first-class equipment—were actually being split apart by Riezel's black sword.
"It's that sword!"
Ein finally noticed the weapon in Riezel's hand.
Seeing the black sword emitting a faint scorching heat together with a sacred aura, she immediately understood just how extraordinary it truly was.
Hermit, a weapon whose power clearly surpassed first-class weapons and possessed the potential to become a true divine sword, was far beyond what her gauntlets could possibly withstand.
*BANG!*
At last, one of the gauntlets, already covered in countless cracks, finally shattered completely. Fragments scattered through the air between Riezel and Ein, reflecting two completely different faces—one calm and indifferent, the other filled with shock and fury.
"Thunderclap and Flash!"
Riezel unleashed his ultimate slash without the slightest hesitation, transforming into a bolt of lightning.
*Swish!*
In an instant, the lightning-fast slash cleanly severed Ein's body, cutting her directly in two.
""Dio Thyrsos!""
Just as before, the bisected Ein suddenly split into two identical figures, both simultaneously releasing pitch-black lightning toward Riezel, the twin bolts converging upon him from either side.
"Sacrament - Wheel Mirror."
Unperturbed, Riezel calmly activated his magic, causing two rotating magic mirrors to appear around him.
*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
Before long, the two black lightning bolts were absorbed and reflected by the mirrors—not only did they fail to hit Riezel, they instead struck the two Eins directly.
""AAAAHHHHHHH!""
Both Eins let out agonized screams as black smoke continuously rose from their bodies under the direct hit of the cursed lightning.
"Firebolt."
Riezel raised both hands, and thick bolts of flaming lightning surged forth once more, preparing to burn the two Eins to ashes simultaneously.
""Become a shield, holy grail of crushing evil!""
At the critical moment, the two Eins—with black smoke rising from their bodies and their voices filled with pain—chanted their magic.
""Dio Grail!""
Two transparent magic barriers immediately appeared before the two Eins, blocking the incoming flaming lightning.
*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
Two more thunderous explosions rang out as the flaming lightning slammed into the magic barriers, generating violent shockwaves before ultimately being completely blocked.
""Huff… Huff…""
Only then did the two Eins gain a brief moment to catch their breath. They quickly distanced themselves from Riezel, and as soon as they stopped moving, they began panting heavily.
Now, their robes were partially scorched, their bodies continuously emitted black smoke, and the smell of burning flesh and blood dripped from beneath their masks, clearly revealing just how much pressure and damage they had endured during that brief exchange.
In contrast, Riezel remained completely unscathed, his demeanor calm and composed from beginning to end.
"Not bad."
Riezel even had the leisure to offer an evaluation.
"At the very least, compared to those two Creatures before, your overall capabilities are much higher."
He was naturally referring to Ein's repeated use of magic.
Revis and Olivas, after all, could not use magic, so they relied solely on their physical abilities as Creatures, engaging only in close-quarters combat, with extremely limited combat styles.
Ein, however, was different.
Not only was she not inferior to Revis and Olivas in terms of physical ability, but she could also wield multiple forms of magic.
"Well, all these magic spells must have awakened from your Falna, I assume?"
Unlike Revis and Olivas, Ein was not only a Creature, but also an adventurer who possessed a Falna.
On her back was engraved the Falna of Dionysus, meaning she possessed a status. Under those conditions, she had been transformed into a Creature by a Corrupted Spirit, thereby retaining the power she had as an adventurer.
Needless to say, this was most likely the reason her strength surpassed that of Revis and Olivas, making her the most powerful among the Creatures.
For Revis and Olivas, the only way to grow stronger was to hunt monsters and consume their magic stones.
Ein, on the other hand, after hunting monsters, could not only devour their magic stones to further increase her strength, but could also gain excelia, allowing her status to continue growing and even level up, which enabled her strength to easily surpass Revis and Olivas.
On top of that, she even possessed three different types of magic.
One was a lightning-attributed offensive magic.
One was a barrier-type magic capable of defending against attacks.
And the last was a duplication magic that allowed her to split into two completely independent bodies, which was why she could simultaneously unleash lightning attacks, erect defensive barriers, and even divide into two individuals at critical moments during battle.
In fact, this duplication magic that allowed her to split herself into two was an extremely rare magic that even Riezel had never seen before, nor heard of before.
However…
"Your duplication magic also has a flaw. When you split into two, your power is divided as well. Each individual becomes significantly weaker than when you were whole."
Riezel spoke calmly.
"Facing me in this state—whether you become two or twenty—it won't make any difference."
He raised his hand toward one of the Eins.
"Maximize Magic - Reality Slash."
With a quiet chant, a fatal slash capable of cutting through space flew forth, reaching one of the Eins in an instant.
"Dio Grail!"
At the same time, the targeted Ein hurriedly activated her barrier magic, creating a transparent shield in front of herself.
Unfortunately, the outcome had already been decided the moment she chose that response.
*Swish!*
Riezel's magic, capable of cutting through space itself with ease, sliced through the transparent barrier and, without losing any momentum, cleaved through Ein's waist, causing blood to gush out violently.
"Eh… AAAAHHHHHHH—!!!"
In that instant, she let out a shrill scream as her body was split once again into upper and lower halves, collapsing into a pool of blood.
"Dio Thyrsos!"
Witnessing that scene, the other Ein twisted her face beneath the mask and shouted as she activated her magic, releasing a violent surge of pitch-black lightning.
*Swish!*
In response, Riezel swung his blade at godlike speed, severing the black lightning in a single strike. Immediately afterward, he surged forward for the third time, appearing before Ein and delivering another slash.
"————"
In that moment, Ein's sense of danger exploded like a volcanic eruption.
With despair, she realized that Riezel's slash was far too sharp—there was no possible way she could block it this time.
After releasing his power to Level 7, the strength Riezel could now display had already begun to surpass conventional limits. Coupled with the reforging of Hermit, now a divine sword comparable in power to a World Item, every single one of his slashes had reached an extreme level of sharpness and lethality.
Now, with him wielding his blade through the techniques of Thunder Breathing, nearly every strike carried the essence of Thunderclap and Flash. At this point, his strength far surpassed what it had been when he had only just reached Level 7.
A Creature comparable to Level 7?
What did that even amount to now?
To deal with the current Riezel, even a Level 8 might barely suffice.
As a result, Ein's fate was already sealed.
*Pu-chi!*
Riezel's lightning-wreathed blade tore through Ein's skin—which was as tough as the Black Rhinos that roamed the 51st Floor of the Dungeon—and, for the final time, split her cleanly in two.
*Thud—*
Amid the violent spray of blood, the Creature known as Ein finally collapsed, reduced to two blood-soaked corpses.
Riezel watched the scene coldly, and after a long moment, he turned around and fixed his gaze upon the god standing before the 'black dragon.'
"Got any other tricks? Go ahead and use them."
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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