"Is this the end?" Arthur panted, his breath ragged as he reached the last door of the dungeon.
"This is the final trial."
However, the small child beside him revealed the harsh truth to Arthur. There was still sothing left.
Hearing the voice, Arthur lifted his head and glared at the child, but the child rely crossed their arms, wearing a neutral expression.
"You should know by now. This is a dungeon. And at the end of it, sothing waits."
What awaits at the end of the dungeon? The master of the dungeon. Is it the sa here?
"...Damn it. Can’t I just ignore the procedures for once!?"
"You’ll have to repeat what I said... Just go inside! Now!"
Hearing the child’s urgent voice, Arthur suppressed his racing heart and turned his head.
The thick, black darkness spread like a crashing wave, quickly taking control of the dungeon.
Damn it. Did it just stop for a mont? If I stay like this, I’ll be swallowed by the darkness, he thought, hurriedly reaching for the boss room’s door, but before entering, he asked one last question.
"Just in case... what’s inside?"
"Your nightmare awaits you! Don’t falter! That’s all you need to do!"
With the desperate voice fading behind him, Arthur stepped into the dungeon’s final room, only to let out a hollow laugh.
The interior was a stark contrast to the dungeon’s nacing appearance.
The adow was full of life, as if it had welcod the spring.
The sky, a brilliant blue with scattered clouds, was so beautiful it could only be described as refreshing.
And standing before him, smiling, was a woman dressed in lively clothes, matching the vibrant scenery around her.
"Welco, Arthur."
His nightmare, holding a teacup, greeted him.
The hairs on his skin stood on end.
His back went cold.
The instinctive warning echoed in his mind.
Everything was telling him.
That Luca was very dangerous right now.
His response was simple.
Why even ask such an obvious question! Anyone can see that she’s dangerous! Even if I put a five-year-old in front of that, they’d cry instantly!
"Shall we start light?"
The mont Luca’s foot left the ground, Arthur began thinking.
How should I block the massive sword descending from above? It may look like a simple downward slash, but judging by his arm movents and Luca’s steps, this is a trap.
Is he aiming for to panic and freeze so he can strike sideways? Reading the opponent's intentions, Arthur adjusted his shield to counter.
Luca’s movents didn’t deviate from his prediction. It was a straightforward downward slash, and then he waited for the follow-up.
The timing for raising the shield was perfect.
With a successful parry, the impact wasn’t too strong.
BAM!
The mont the shield clashed with the sword, an explosion-like sound filled the air, followed by a sharp pain shooting up Arthur’s arm.
"Truly... your shield skills are remarkable."
Ignoring Luca’s nonchalant words, Arthur clenched his teeth. Even though he succeeded in the parry, the shock was still significant.
Not only did his physique seem to have changed, but his physical abilities were clearly enhanced too.
"Shall we continue?"
Luca’s movents, swinging his massive sword with clean precision, were reminiscent of soone who had wielded it for years.
‘I can manage.’
However, the shock coming from his sword was manageable.
Though threatening, it wasn’t nearly as strong as Rasha or Benedict’s level.
Which ans I can block it.
Being used to facing large swords helped as well.
In the many duels with Alrn’s knights, large weapons like that were a frequent challenge.
I close the distance so the weapon can’t swing widely and use its length to its advantage.
I continuously interrupt his attempts to create distance.
As I moved, using combat logic built through nurous duels, suddenly Luca’s whole body turned into darkness.
Caught off guard by the phenonon, I hurriedly raised my shield when an axe blade shot out of the darkness.
"...Ugh!"
The blow aid to split in half, hitting my shield with such force it sent a shockwave through my whole body.
I gritted my teeth, tasting the blood leaking from my lips as I faced Luca’s twisted gaze.
"Now you’re not talking back? Is it hard to keep up with ?"
Luca, still grinning, once again stepped forward with renewed fury. His intense focus made hesitate for a mont, but instead of replying, I swung my mace at him.
I didn’t want to admit it, but Luca’s words had a strong possibility of being true.
Agraga, that damn bastard, must’ve targeted alone.
There’s no way he didn’t influence everything around here.
Damn it. If I want to check on the situation above, I have to get rid of Luca, that perverted bastard.
"How does it feel when the roles are reversed? Are you getting angry?"
That crazy bastard knows exactly when I’m desperate and is dragging this out.
I keep provoking him, hoping to get a mont, while Freya’s surprise attack wounds him, but all of it is nullified by the Void’s power.
Ugh! Damn it!
Is there no way out?!
Think, you idiot!
Why can’t I think of anything with all the academy’s rotten sches to guide ?!
"Do you have the luxury to think about other things?"
As I parried Luca’s attack again, I noticed sothing strange about the energy flowing through his strike.
The power he wielded wasn’t just the Void’s power.
There was sothing else, Agraga’s power mixed in.
Thinking about it, it didn’t make sense that Luca, who hadn’t sacrificed anything to the Void God, could wield its power.
Wait.
Hold on.
If I use this to my advantage...
Suddenly, a realization struck , and my eyes widened.
It’s possible.
It’s totally possible.
At the end of that thought, I found myself unconsciously smiling.
If soone asked who the strongest being on the continent is, everyone would give a different answer.
Everyone’s values and strengths differ, so it’s understandable.
However, if you asked which species is the strongest, everyone would answer the sa.
Dragons.
Massive wings that could blanket the sky.
Claws that pierce the lake’s surface with the sa ease as mythical tal.
Scales that make even lava feel warm, imnse magical power that could make even grand mages kneel, and flas that could burn everything in the world.
The privilege of the dragon species is sothing other beings could only dream of achieving through extraordinary talent and effort.
No one would deny that dragons are the strongest species.
"The master of purity has sent down his fangs!"
Under the youthful voice of the Apostle, Uden tightened her eyes.
A full-grown dragon was already a terrifying disaster, but a dragon strengthened by the Void’s power approaching? That’s sothing no one could handle.
"I... Is that an illusion?"
"No, Saint. Can’t you feel it? The imnse power inside."
A being with power equal to that cannot be an illusion. Even if it were, it would be more terrifying than the real thing.
Uden spoke firmly, and Faebi bit her lip.
"Lady Partan. The magic circle..."
"...I’m sorry."
Turning her head, Uden saw the magic circle had turned black and chuckled bitterly.
Did the darkness spreading just now influence this too?
That damned Alrn brat, what the hell is she planning? This is really frustrating.
"Run, both of you."
"...Huh?"
"I can’t handle this on my own."
Uden had defeated nurous strong enemies after becoming the Sword Saint. Among them were those with dragon blood.
So Uden thought that if it were just a normal dragon, she could sohow deal with it.
But this one was enhanced by the Void’s power, and once the divine territory fades, she would have to fight not just the dragon, but also the Void Followers.
In the process, they would wear down, and the enemies would only grow stronger. How could they defeat such a thing?
Better to die alone.
"It’s not possible! Sword Saint!"
"Yes, we’ll stay until the end!"
"If you have ti for nonsense, just go already! Now!"
"Hahaha! What a tear-jerking sight!"
As the Void Apostle laughed maniacally, Uden’s sharp senses detected a tiny shift.
The energy that had wrapped around the dragon just monts ago seed to flow downward.
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