Isagi and the Pale King both disappeared.
The girls were all stunned for a moment. Immediately following that, it was Ryuu who reacted first, gathering everyone to the Fog Gate just as they had agreed beforehand.
"[The Phase 2 Pale King will definitely have new mechanics. Continue fighting if you can, but if something incomprehensible happens, retreat immediately!]"
This was an agreement Isagi had made with the girls earlier.
And so...
After a long while, when the hazy Fog Gate turned into a light gray color indicating departure was possible, the girls immediately passed through it to the outside.
They happened to see Isagi reviving in front of the Land Temple to the side.
The young man's expression was somewhat grimacing, as if his whole body was aching faintly. He had experienced the intensity of the First-Class Armament, [Wolf's Feast], forged by Cecil even more profoundly just now, inside the Pale King's "1v1 Real Man's Domain".
Even if his body was pierced, his hands and feet broken, and even his heart torn apart—it was as if his health was locked.
The spikes extending from the interior of the armor forcibly supported his body to continue fighting.
Holy crap!
The pain was genuinely painful. He even had to actively cancel the "Transformation" in the end to successfully die.
Isagi estimated that this thing was the type of gadget where you either get completely destroyed, or you're forcibly kept alive to fight to the bitter end.
That's quite spirited!
Leaving that aside for now, Isagi, having met up with the girls outside the Boss Room again, briefly recounted the situation just now.
Now, the problem had become complicated...
"You guys wait here for a moment."
As Isagi spoke, he walked alone behind the Fog Gate again. Not long after, he turned into a golden hair and drifted out, reviving in front of the Land Temple.
Good news.
The Dungeon was merciful; the Pale King inside was directly in Phase 2, so he didn't have to fight it all over again.
Bad news.
As soon as he entered, he was pulled into that "1v1 Real Man's Domain". From the current situation, it seemed he could only crusade against the next BOSS alone.
"Then... should we go back first?"
Suddenly relaxing, the exhaustion brought by the battle just now made Heith feel incomparably heavy all at once.
As a Healer, the girl actually couldn't keep up with the rhythm of the young man and the others at all just now. She didn't have much to do; mainly, she was constantly chanting healing magic to keep the "Continuous Healing" on Tiona uninterrupted.
Aside from that, most of the time, she was just being dragged around flying by the young man and the girls using grappling hooks.
What on earth was that situation?!
After truly participating in such high-intensity combat, Heith only felt it was inconceivable. Even with her experience as an adventurer, trying to forcibly keep up with Isagi and the others' combat rhythm felt incredibly difficult.
Let alone that exaggeratedly strong monster.
It was clearly a Goblin! Yet its speed was so fast she couldn't even see it clearly. If not for Isagi and the others' cover, Heith was certain that if she faced that guy alone, she would definitely be instantly killed.
What the hell?!
Not to mention those weird and bizarre "Magic" and "Skills" it possessed.
What does it mean that looking it in the eye face-to-face for a few seconds causes death? What does it mean that touching the short sword in its hand also brings a high probability of death?
How exactly can one person crusade against a guy like that?!
It's simply impossible, right?
Actually, based on Isagi's experience just now, the Phase 2 Pale King's ability stats had risen across the board, and it had gained many flashy moves. It was absolutely not like Phase 1, that guy who simply swung a short sword accompanied by simple punches and kicks.
It was just that the girls hadn't seen it.
So, should they follow Miss Heith's suggestion and go back to plan at length?
"No, you guys wait for me here for a while."
After leveling up, the number of times he could resurrect per day had increased to four. He had consumed two just now, so he still had two chances left.
Isagi wanted to try again.
Switching his Character Card, as the Land Temple transformed into a Ghost Buddha holding a spectral flame.
"Transform."
The pitch-black giant wolf armor emerged from the young man's body once again. However, in many places, large and small gaps still remained, within which black threads were constantly pulling, slowly self-repairing into shape.
Under the girls' gaze, Isagi silently walked into the Fog Gate once more.
Subsequently, this [Throne Room] filled with pale mist quieted down again.
"Can Isagi really win? Looking at the current situation, wouldn't it be better to wait until he levels up to Level 5 to kill this guy? Or even Level 6? Once there's a level advantage, the battle will become much easier, right?"
"That's true..."
"Right? Anyway, whether we beat this guy or not doesn't affect our continued exploration downwards. How about we go adventure in the Middle Floors first, and come back to deal with it after leveling up!"
Sitting down on the ground crisply, Tiona shook her head loosely, also recovering from the tense and exciting battle just now. Unlike her sister who would always get carried away by anger, Tiona was actually quite a calm fellow.
Thinking about it carefully now and analyzing it, the girl also felt that challenging the [Pale King] alone with the strength of a Level 4 was simply too difficult.
Lefiya was echoing her sentiments too.
As a Mage, there was absolutely no possibility for the girl to face that kind of monster alone. or rather, it was unlikely for a Mage to face such a high-speed enemy alone. Even a powerful Mage like Lady Riveria would be the same...
"The key point lies in speed!"
The idiot Tiona possessed considerable talent and intuition solely when it came to combat.
"If one can be even faster than that guy, the battle will become easier and simpler."
"Mmm..."
Ryuu nodded, agreeing with the Amazon girl's statement.
Although her career of revenge over the past year or so meant she had hardly fought against powerful opponents, she was, after all, the genius girl who once stood shoulder to shoulder with the [Sword Princess] Ais in the city.
Ever since she first saw the battle between Isagi and the Goblin King, Ryuu had imagined battling the opponent countless times in her mind.
The key point was indeed [Speed].
Cannot touch the monster's weapon means every strike must be so fast that it cannot react at all, or instantly circling to a blind spot where it cannot defend—regardless of the former or the latter, being faster than the opponent is an inevitable prerequisite.
What's more, there is that "Rule" where one cannot appear before its eyes.
In a one-on-one situation, one needs to circle behind it at all times, while also having the ability to actively distance oneself from it.
Tiona was right. To defeat the Pale King alone, one must be faster than the opponent. At the very least, one must be evenly matched!
Can Isagi do it?
Based on the battle just now, Ryuu felt that the young man could barely keep up with the Pale King's speed while wearing [Wolf's Feast].
So he still can't do it, right...
As a Level 5 adventurer, and the [Gale] famous for speed at that, going by the battle just now, she didn't have the confidence to be faster than the Pale King.
Combat isn't running.
Although they said that, once hands were truly exchanged, it definitely wouldn't be a pure comparison of "Speed" stats, but something more comprehensive...
Compared to "That Monster," the Pale King is undoubtedly stronger, right?
Or are they about the same?
Will she and Isagi encounter "That Monster" in the future too?
In a moment of distraction, Ryuu suddenly felt her heart tremble a bit—that was the pain and fear brought by the nightmare that still hadn't been dispelled.
"..."
Her breathing gradually became coarse. Ryuu realized she still hadn't truly prepared to become an adventurer.
She... was afraid.
[But Isagi won't be.]
Yes, the young man wasn't like her; facing powerful monsters, he would only feel excitement.
"So, we can go back soon, right?"
Heith spoke from the side, her face full of the "It's finally over, I can get off work" expression of a weary laborer.
But in fact, her inner thoughts at this moment were much more complicated.
Having had previous adventuring experiences with the young man, she had more or less accepted the reality that the Dungeon had undergone tremendous changes.
So since just now, Heith had been thinking: if that powerful Goblin just now were replaced by those annoying guys from her own Familia, could they—
The Level 5 [Flame Gold Four Warriors], the Gulliver Brothers, definitely couldn't. Those guys claimed that the four of them together were comparable to a Level 6, but the monster just now forced a duel! If they went up one by one, they were just ordinary Level 5s, definitely no match for it, right?
Aside from them, guys below Level 5 didn't even need to be considered.
Then, in the end, only people of the level of Allen, Hedin, Hogni, and Captain Ottar could win, right?
?!!!
Was she actually fighting a guy comparable to those "Monsters" just now?!
Thinking of this, Heith finally had a bit of a realistic sensation, more or less.
Then, the look in her eyes as she looked at Ryuu and the others was even more filled with some kind of emotion shocked to the point of being unparalleled...
Ah, no.
Compared to the girls, the young man just now was the real "Monster".
Didn't he just level up to Level 4!
Everyone is a Level 4, so why is the gap so big... Could it be that she really has no talent as an adventurer...
Heith blinked, recalling the appearance of Isagi and Ryuu fighting the [Pale King] she saw just now, feeling increasingly incredulous.
Is this a "Genius"?
Or the "Hero" that the gods always talk about?
Just like those guys from the Zeus and Hera Familias back then?
Or perhaps...
But saying is one thing; Heith still felt that the young man would probably come out of the Fog Gate very soon.
Although theoretically speaking, it's normal for adventurers to defeat monsters above their level, that Goblin King inside isn't any normal monster at all, right?!
Even ordinary Level 5 adventurers would likely not be its match!!
The gap in levels is difficult to surmount no matter what.
However.
Time passed minute by minute and second by second, even inexplicably making the girls waiting outside the Fog Gate feel that it was becoming somewhat long.
A long, long, long time—
And the more it was so, the more nervous the girls' hearts became instead.
[No way?]
Everyone thought so.
The longer the young man stayed inside, the more it proved that he could really defeat the opponent.
Pacing back and forth repeatedly; chatting with each other to kill time as quickly as possible; Lefiya even regretted not bringing pots and pans to set up camp temporarily and make something to eat.
She wasn't hungry.
She just wanted to find something to do, because they had really waited for too long, making everyone become a bit entranced. Checking the time, seven or eight hours had already passed since Isagi walked into the Fog Gate alone just now.
Had it been that long?!
The girls only felt it was inconceivable. Counting it like this, the young man had already been fighting the Pale King inside for a whole night!!
That's too exaggerated, right?
And it was exactly at this moment, finally—
The Fog Gate disappeared abruptly, causing everyone to be stunned.
Subsequently, the young man wearing pitch-black armor slowly walked out from within as the victor...
...
Within the city, the light of dawn broke.
Astrea, who hadn't slept much all night, felt that the "Falna" of her Familia's children deep in her heart was still present. While breathing a sigh of relief in her heart, she got up early as usual and made breakfast.
Then, she came to the courtyard and began to tend to the planted flowers and vegetables.
The originally quite desolate garden, after months of the Goddess's efforts, had now recovered a few traces of its former lush and green shadow.
It was just that.
Different from before, in the corner, a small Golden Tree was emitting a gentle light under the cold morning sun of early winter.
The Goddess of Justice walked up to it, still wondering what exactly this thing was.
It was planted by Isagi not long ago after leveling up, but she didn't know how to take care of this little fellow at all...
____
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