Chapter 360

Chapter 363: The Pinnacle of Orario Today (Please Subscribe!)

A storm filled with the aura of death, leaving no gaps.

The flashes of blades and swords, nearly invisible to the naked eye, tore through the air effortlessly. A chilling light enveloped the center of the cavern, spreading recklessly around the two combatants.

The sound of steel clashing against steel was like a symphony, layer upon layer, growing faster and more intense, shaking the heart.

—Chopping each other.

To describe the situation in simpler terms, this word fits perfectly.

Izay and Ota were exchanging blows, their movements transcending common sense as they attempted to kill each other.

Fully unleashing his exceptional Ability Values accumulated thus far, Izay’s divine blessing behind him released heat as if it were burning. The deep blue star patterns had already covered his entire right arm at some point, the power of “Synchronization” and “Skills” working in tandem!

As the spear tip passed through the gap between the great sword and the boar man’s sturdy arm, the awakened “Evil-Repelling Spear” was surrounded by a glow, beginning to swirl with flames of an unusual color.

—”Magic Release”!

An explosion!

A strike containing scorching Starflame and fierce gales!

“Huh!?”

Ota, who had been wielding his sword with one hand throughout the previous battle, stiffened slightly and hastily raised his sword to defend!

The released spear clashed violently with the great sword!

“BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!”

The surrounding ground was ravaged, causing the entire cavern to shake.

The large-scale explosion of magic forced Ota to take a step back uncontrollably.

The “Magic Release” from earlier was indeed blocked, but the level of power from this attack clearly exceeded his expectations.

“This kind of strength… I see, so this is the key to your ability to fight above your rank all along!?”

Through the sword blade, Ota understood something about Izay’s abnormal Ability Value attributes.

Izay didn’t respond, instead accelerating his attack rhythm during this time.

It didn’t matter even if he didn’t say anything.

This trivial detail was utterly insignificant now.

Perhaps moved by that scorching energy, the man who had long stood at the top of Orario gradually became more absorbed in the battle. Gripping the great sword firmly with his broad hands, he began to respond with the blade.

He didn’t move a single step.

All incoming attacks were deflected.

Facing Izay’s relentless assault like a heavy rainstorm, Ota accurately and skillfully parried every blow with precision akin to threading a needle.

Despite wielding a great sword with only one hand, he showed no inconvenience due to the weapon’s size.

His surroundings had become an absolute domain, allowing Izay no chance to overstep.

(The pinnacle of Orario today…)

Immersed completely in the interplay of cold weapons, Izay silently acknowledged the gap between himself and his opponent.

Although he still held back somewhat in battle, so did the other party.

Evenly matched…

This was an objective assessment based on both having reservations.

But in terms of actual combat, the fact was… Ota seemed more at ease.

Relying solely on undisclosed techniques and experience, he had defended against all of Izay’s attacks.

Still having the leisure to marvel internally at Izay’s extraordinary Ability Value attributes, Ota swung his robust blade upward with a force that split the air!

This angle was extremely cunning, just like the attack during their first meeting when they “greeted” each other.

Through his well-trained intuition, Ota captured the position where Izay appeared after using Magic Flash almost instantly, and the great sword’s blade arrived simultaneously.

“～～～～！”

But the result was the same as their first encounter.

Perceiving the danger, Izay instantly returned to his pre-casting position and delivered a sweeping horizontal strike aimed at the boar man’s face.

“Useless! An attack of this level is too weak!!”

Placing his free arm horizontally between the spear and his face, Ota easily deflected the attack by cutting into the spear’s range with his arm.

In the next moment, the obsidian great sword followed closely behind!

“Clang!!!”

Izay blocked Ota’s attack with the Evil-Repelling Spear, but the contact between spear and sword lasted only an instant.

A tremendous force surged through his hands, and before he knew it, he was being forcibly pushed back like a breached dam.

“Izay!?”

At that exact moment, the blonde girl arrived at the cavern, searching for her companion and witnessing Izay being driven back.

Her confusion and incomprehension flickered momentarily, and Ais looked at Ota ahead with a gaze bordering on hostility.

But she didn’t rush forward to attack immediately; instead, she lightly tapped her toes and came to Izay’s side.

“Are you alright? Are you injured?”

Compared to fighting Ota, she cared more about Izay’s condition.

“Not really, nothing serious,” Izay replied softly to the girl’s concern.

In reality, neither he nor Ota had suffered any substantial harm despite their prolonged skirmish.

If there was anything to note about their states, it would be Izay’s maxed-out agility, employing extreme dodges and defenses to prevent Ota from landing a single hit on him.

Of course, the same applied to Ota.

At most, he took a slight disadvantage when he first dealt with the Magic Release, his armor burned away, yet his robust physique remained unharmed.

“【Sword Maiden】, huh…”

It was as if saying, “You’re here too.” A simple greeting.

Ota’s expression remained calm.

“【Brave One】… why did you attack Izay?”

Ais stared at the towering boar man, her snow-white wrist already resting on the hilt of her beloved sword.

“In the Dungeon, isn’t it reason enough for two powerful faction members who have opposed each other for years to meet one-on-one?”

Ota’s tone remained steady and serious in response to the question.

“Damn wild boar, what do you mean by ‘fight’!? Ah—!?”

Arriving at the cavern a step behind Ais, the wolf man raised his voice, amber eyes glaring with undisguised hostility.

“What’s going on here?”

Then Tiona noticed the adventurer impossible to ignore and exclaimed in surprise.

The top-tier adventurers gathered here one after another, separated by mere breaths.

“Ota? Why are you here?”

“…Finn.”

Hearing Finn greet him like an old friend, Ota quietly lowered his weapon.

The young top-tier adventurers remained cautious, but the disparity in strength decided everything. The boar warrior chose to accept reality and relaxed his battle stance.

He wasn’t someone stubborn to the extreme. With the main force of Loki Familia’s expedition team practically all gathered here, initiating another fight would be ridiculous unless he truly wanted to instigate a full-scale faction war with Loki Familia.

But that wasn’t the Goddess’s intent.

The Goddess cared only about the growth of that girl, and the directive given to him was merely this one task.

Such a sudden all-out war with Loki Familia certainly wasn’t what the Goddess wished to see.