Judas looked at Lili, a character from the show, sleeping on the floor, then at the adventurers who had partied with her and were similarly knocked out.
He snapped his fingers, and the unconscious Lili was carried by a gentle wind that rose through the massive sinkhole toward the surface.
It wasn't just her. Other adventurers—either passed out or too injured to move—were lifted away by his wind as well.
As for the ones who tormented Lili, Judas ignored them.
Since they didn't care about a person's life, why should he care about theirs?
"Thank goodness I was able to save her in time."
Liliruca Arde might not have been one of his favorite characters, but she was still an important side character in the anime.
He felt relieved. It would have left a bad taste in his mouth if he'd caused her death.
That was when his instincts began screaming at him.
'Something is coming.'
He could feel it faintly.
A great amount of malice directed straight at him.
"There's a significant amount of energy being gathered on the ninth floor."
The Dungeon had marked him as a target.
'It feels like an immune system preparing to get rid of a virus.'
Rumble
Screeech
The Dungeon trembled, collapsing its already devastated floors even further.
A low, guttural roar echoed through the labyrinth.
"Is that..."
His pupils shrank at the sight of the creature emerging from the shadows.
A monster born of the Dungeon's wrath. Its sleek, serpentine body gleamed like polished obsidian, its exoskeleton coiled with explosive potential.
Razor-sharp claws carved deep grooves into the stone floor as it moved with predatory grace, crimson eyes glowing like embers of hate.
'This monster... its different from the one I saw before.'
One glance was all it took.
This was no ordinary monster.
It was vengeance incarnate—a force summoned to punish those who defied the Dungeon's sacred balance.
The Juggernaut.
The Dungeon's ultimate enforcer.
Not mindless rage, but a harbinger of devastation.
And Judas was its prey.
Normally, the Juggernaut's potential varied depending on the floor it emerged from—the deeper the floor, the stronger the monster.
But this time, the Dungeon made an exception.
When dealing with Judas, it spared no expense in ensuring the virus was eliminated.
The result: an irregular Juggernaut, something far stronger than anything it had ever produced.
'Hate... hate you.'
The Dungeon was agitated.
'Scary... that thing is scary.'
'It has the stench of those hateful divine beings... but it's foreign.'
'An anomaly.'
The Dungeon's will echoed in the creature's mind.
'An otherworldly being that should not exist.'
'Kill... kill... kill.'
From the moment it was born, these whispers filled its head.
Its mother's desire was clear.
Eyes locked onto its prey.
The Juggernaut lunged forward, too swift for the eye to follow.
It weaved through the air with terrifying precision, each strike a death sentence, each motion a blur of calculated ferocity.
Judas didn't know this creature's name, but he knew it was a real threat.
'This one is much stronger.'
He flared his body with magical power, reinforcing himself with mana to the absolute limit of what his body could endure.
"It's fast!"
He gritted his teeth, barely dodging the Juggernaut's claws.
Blood dripped from his arm where the strike had grazed him.
It wasn't deep enough to cripple his arm, but it was still the first time he had been injured by an enemy since reincarnating.
『Heal』
The wound vanished without a trace.
'It's been a long time...'
An opponent worth taking seriously.
The Juggernaut was already upon him again.
Judas summoned a barrier, a sphere of energy surrounding him. The beast's massive jaws clamped down on it, dragging him along the ground and slamming him into the wall, leaving a massive crater.
Cracks spread across his barrier. His figure blurred just as it shattered, and Judas reappeared floating a short distance away.
"A beast born of the Dungeon's hatred... Let's see if you can withstand this."
His voice was steady despite the pounding in his chest.
『Infernal Barrage』
He raised his arm. A cascade of fireballs rained down, streaking toward the Juggernaut like meteors.
They exploded on contact—
—or so he thought.
To his shock, the fireballs bounced back at him, like balls rebounding off the ground. His own attack was being reflected.
The blasts struck his barrier, filling the chamber with crimson and gold explosions.
"Magic Reflection Armor? Tch... I should've known."
He frowned.
'No... let me test it out.'
He drew a glowing sigil in the air, its geometric patterns hovering before him.
Mana surged, pulled into the sigil like a vortex.
『Rune Magic: Arcane Cataclysm』
A blinding flash erupted, consuming the chamber in raw destructive force.
The Dungeon trembled. Stone cracked and fell as the spell disintegrated everything in its path.
A force like that, unleashed on the surface, could level a mountain range.
'Is it... smiling?'
For a moment, Judas thought he saw the Juggernaut's jaws curl upward.
The beast took the attack head-on.
The ground beneath it vanished, swallowed by the blast.
"Is it working?"
ROAR
The Juggernaut howled, shaking Judas to his bones.
"No way!"
"That armor won't break?"
Even that spell had been reflected.
He braced himself, stacking multiple defensive spells as the reflected energy crashed down.
The explosion rocked the Dungeon. The shockwave was felt all the way to the surface.
When the light faded, Judas stood panting, arms trembling.
'That was dangerous.'
Silence filled the chamber, broken only by falling debris.
Then came the growl.
The Juggernaut rose from the rubble, groggy but still standing.
A tiny crack marred its armored back.
So much power, for so little damage.
For anyone else, despair would have set in.
But Judas only smiled.
"Heh... I knew it. Your reflection isn't perfect."
He let out a weak laugh.
"For any other mage, you'd be a nightmare."
Glowing lines surfaced across his skin as he cracked his knuckles.
"But physical impact resulting from the magic spell still hurts you."
『Physical Boost』
『Sturdy Body』
『Strengthening Magic』
『Invigorate』
『Fortify』
One by one, he layered every physical enhancement spell he knew.
"Which means your weakness... is me."
The Juggernaut charged again, its speed incredible.
But Judas moved with it, glowing with power.
He dodged its claws and drove a kick straight into its skull, sending it crashing back a dozen meters.
'Fast, but predictable.'
His eyes locked on the crack in its head.
"Defeating you should give me plenty of excelia."
The Juggernaut roared, lunging again with even greater speed.
"Is this the ultimate weapon you've sent to kill me? Huh? You stupid Dungeon."
Judas laughed.
"You have no idea who you're messing with."
The beast's claws ripped into his chest, blood soaking his shirt. But he stood firm, defiance burning brighter than pain.
"Mark my words... one day."
He gripped the monster's tail, muscles surging with mana. With a heave, he swung it through the air and smashed it into the wall, leaving a jagged hole.
"I'll turn this Dungeon inside out, if it's the last thing I do."
The chamber thundered with the clash of will and power.
A battle that would end with either victory, or the collapse of the floor itself.
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