All of the people here were powerhouses in their own right.
They might not rival the Loki or Freya familias, but they still stood at the top echelon of the city's hierarchy.
Yet despite their lofty status, every member of the Astraea Familia... and even Shakti herself... felt a chill run down their spines the moment they stepped into this warzone.
"A new monster?"
Shakti muttered, a bead of sweat sliding down her face.
"Look! Someone's fighting that thing!"
Lyra's trembling finger pointed ahead, where a lone figure clashed blow for blow against the very monster that haunted her nightmares.
"Who is that?"
Kaguya questioned, narrowing her eyes.
"Never seen him before, must be a new face."
Lyra replied, shaking her head.
"We have to help him!"
Alise exclaimed, stepping forward—only for Kaguya to grab her shoulder and hold her back.
"What are you doing? This isn't the time for hesitation!"
"Captain, I understand your feelings. But you know as well as I do... it's against the rules to steal another adventurer's target in the Dungeon."
"Target? Target?!"
Alise snapped, the usually cheery and narcissistic captain of justice spoke with her voice trembling with impatience.
"Don't joke with me, Kaguya! That THING is no target!"
"Captain... look closely."
Kaguya's tone was calm but firm.
She gestured toward Judas, who grinned from ear to ear as he battled the Juggernaut, the monster once hailed as the Dungeon's ultimate weapon.
"That boy... is having an adventure."
Her voice was low, steady.
"And besides... the scale of this battle is beyond us. We'd only get in the way."
Lyra spoke, her tone casual, though her mind was working furiously to assess the situation.
"It's suspicious. Someone that strong, yet we don't even know his name? There's a good chance he's tied to a secret organization... or maybe even Evilus."
Alise froze, torn between reason and impulse.
Her eyes lingered on Judas, then flicked back to Kaguya, who had already released her shoulder.
"Even so... we can't just stand here, if that boy falls then we will be its next target."
Shakti stepped between them, sighing as she pushed forward.
"If none of you will act, then I will."
Rumble
She froze mid-step. Her eyes widened as Judas hurled the Juggernaut into a wall with staggering force.
Standing at the center of the battlefield, Judas' chest heaved, blood soaking his clothes.
'Thanks to [The Blessing of the World Tree], I can recover from wounds very quickly without having to use healing magic.'
He had sensed the presence of other adventurers the moment they arrived, but his focus remained locked on the beast before him.
Dust rained down as the Juggernaut's massive body tore a hole in the wall.
The chamber grew silent save for the monster's labored breathing.
Then it roared. A sound so violent it shook the stone itself.
Alise and the others clenched their fists. That roar carried with it echoes of death—the anguished screams of their fallen comrades still vivid in their memories.
The Juggernaut staggered upright, blood oozing through cracks in its obsidian hide, its eyes glowing with an unrelenting, hateful hunger.
"You're still standing?"
Judas muttered, a grin creeping onto his bloodstained face.
He wiped his lips and narrowed his eyes, energy coiling in his body.
"I respect that."
The Juggernaut lunged. In an instant, its claws swept toward him.
Judas dodged the first strike by a hair. The second came faster, and this time, he countered—his knee slamming into the monster's ribs with a crack.
But the Juggernaut barely flinched.
"This isn't going to work," he grunted, retreating just in time as its tail lashed like a whip.
He rolled, sprung back to his feet, and glared at the beast. Sweat poured down his face.
"Take this."
Jagged earth projectiles shot from his hand, but the Juggernaut's hide reflected them effortlessly.
"Tch. It reflected even that?"
The monster lunged, snapping its jaws inches from his face. Judas ducked, slid beneath it, and swept its legs. The beast toppled, only to thrash back up.
Judas stomped its chest with a shockwave, but its claws raked across his side in retaliation.
Pain shot through his body, but he pressed forward, snarl etched across his lips.
"I'm not finished yet!"
Clinging to one of the Juggernaut's ridges, Judas climbed onto its back.
His right arm glowed, mana flooding it until the very air around him crackled with energy.
Shakti's eyes widened, she turned to Alise whose face was also in shock.
"That power..."
The heat seared her skin just from the aura alone.
"He's fighting like a force of nature."
Lyra gasped, struggling against the crushing pressure.
"Such overwhelming power."
Kaguya whispered, shielding her eyes from the blinding glow.
"This is what it looks like when someone fights without limits."
Kaguya's breath hitched.
"Why does this feel so familiar...?"
Her eyes snapped to Alise.
"Captain, what is it?"
Alise's voice trembled, her gaze locked on Judas' back.
"This power... this figure... there's no doubt. I can't believe it. It's him."
Shakti blinked in confusion, but Lyra and Kaguya froze, her words striking them like thunder.
"No way!"
『Wrath of the Celestial Titan』
Judas roared, unleashing his strike.
Lightning burst from his arm, molding into the shape of a celestial beast as it tore into the Juggernaut.
The chamber exploded with light. Stone and earth disintegrated into dust. Shockwaves rocked the ninth floor, rattling the Dungeon up and down its depths.
The Juggernaut convulsed under the storm, its body writhing in agony.
Judas poured every shred of his will into the attack, his roar drowned by thunder and crackling lightning.
But when the storm faded... the beast still stood.
Smoking. Bleeding. But alive.
"The Dungeon... it's feeding it."
Judas realized, his golden eyes narrowing as he sensed the endless tide of energy pouring into the Juggernaut.
Its wounds closed. Its body strengthened.
"The Dungeon really wants me dead," he spat, teeth clenched.
The Juggernaut snapped its jaws, thrashing to shake him loose.
"Shit..."
Judas muttered, barely holding on.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Lyra bit her nail as she watched anxiously.
"Even that wasn't enough?"
Shakti hissed.
Her composure cracked as she watched this battle unfold.
Kaguya's hand tightened around her weapon.
"Then... it's worse than I thought, I am having second thoughts, should we step in?"
"It's alright," Alise said, eyes blazing.
"Let's trust him. Just like last time."
Judas panted, blood dripping as the Juggernaut pressed harder, its power amplified.
Slash after slash forced him on the defensive, every dodge costing him more strength.
"It's getting faster."
His body bled from a dozen cuts. He had no time to heal.
"I have to change tactics."
The monster's gaping maw closed in to devour him.
『Smoke Bomb』
A cloud of black smoke erupted, shrouding the chamber.
The Juggernaut bit down... only to bite air.
ROAR!
It thrashed wildly, dispersing the smoke with violent gusts.
Dust and stone blasted through the air, but Judas was gone.
"Where did he go?" Lyra asked, scanning frantically.
The Juggernaut's eyes caught a hole in the ground, just human-sized. It leaned down to peer inside.
『Collapse』
A voice whispered in its ear... then the earth beneath its feet crumbled.
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