"Uh… wow…"
Staring at the Juggernaut—boxed in by the Bladed Legion and chopped into thousands of chunks of every size—Alise and the others just… froze.
A monster that could've wiped their entire team in a heartbeat had looked completely helpless in Takumi's hands.
That whiplash hit hard and with it their awe for him only deepened.
Just one of his summons had done this. No wonder he'd beaten Zald in a straight fight—he really was that kind of hero.
Noin, Ryana, and a bunch of the other girls were practically sparkling-eyed now.
Especially Noin, who'd just escaped death by a hair's breadth—she looked like she might throw herself at him on the spot.
Takumi glanced at the rows of affection values creeping toward 100, then calmly looked away like nothing happened.
Ding!
[Randomly plundered trait: Carnivore Regeneration (Blue)]
[Carnivore Regeneration (Blue): By devouring flesh, you can rapidly repair your injuries.]
"…Not that useful," Takumi muttered. "Whatever. Permanently fuse it."
It wasn't amazing, but Takumi had fully embraced his inner loot goblin. He wasn't about to throw anything away.
He waved a hand.
Countless cell-spores—too small for human eyes—scattered across the Juggernaut's remains, instantly absorbing and digesting them.
To everyone else, the corpse simply… vanished into ash.
As the spores returned to him, a rich surge of vitality flooded back—his strength ticking upward ever so slightly.
At the same time, the Juggernaut's genetic sequence unfolded before his mind.
"Shell genes—cut. Reverse-joint structure—cut…"
He stripped out the useless parts and merged what mattered into his own sequence.
Ding!
[Gained trait: Anti-Magic Barrier (Purple), Ultra High-Speed (Blue)]
[Anti-Magic Barrier (Purple): You can deploy a barrier that reflects an opponent's offensive magic. If detonated from inside, the barrier collapses.]
[Ultra High-Speed (Blue): Your speed is absurd—dozens of times faster than others.]
"The Juggernaut's real threat is its built-in Anti-Magic Barrier," Takumi said, voice casual—like he was lecturing on a common pest. "It's basically a glass cannon: thin defenses, specialized speed and power. But once you can't restrain it with magic, its strengths get amplified to a disgusting degree."
Feeling the new power coursing through him, Takumi's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
This Anti-Magic Barrier trait was pure bullshit—in the best way.
And paired with his Limitless…
"Magic immunity and physical immunity. If Anti-Magic Barrier evolves far enough to reflect even spatial magic…"
Even Takumi clicked his tongue at how unfair that sounded. A double-layered wall that would make anyone despair.
While Takumi was enjoying his new toys, Alise and the others surged forward.
With the Juggernaut no longer hanging over them, the remaining Rudra Familia members were quickly captured.
There weren't many left—half-dead, terrified, and totally broken.
Alise raised her sword, brimming with righteous momentum as she faced the black-clad lackeys kneeling before her.
"Evilus's remnants—your ending is here! I'm taking you back to face the judgment of justice!"
Watching Alise get fired up, Kaguya walked past her without even slowing down.
"Quit the speech. We should interrogate them first."
"Yeah," Lyra snapped, eyes sharp with fury. "They didn't plant that much Firestone for fun. There's definitely something bigger."
This time, even Ryuu's gaze was cold—barely restrained anger simmering underneath.
"Talk. Now. Tell us everything you know."
Under the pressure of a circle of furious women (and the memory of what Takumi had just done), the remaining thugs cracked immediately and spilled everything.
And the moment the truth came out—everyone's faces changed.
"Finn from Loki Familia analyzed it before," Alise said, voice tight. "When the Evilus launched their all-out attack on Orario… Firestones and Zald alone didn't feel like the whole plan. It was too crude for something they'd been plotting for years…"
Her eyes widened.
"I can't believe it… they were planning to use the Dungeon, too."
Kaguya's expression hardened like ice.
Now they understood.
Back when the Evilus launched their assault, they'd been preparing to trigger a Dungeon Rampage—to wipe Orario out completely.
And now that the first attack had failed, they were moving on the backup plan immediately.
Rudra Familia wasn't the only group involved.
Other Evilus remnants had infiltrated different floors of the Dungeon—planting Firestone to destroy entire sections of the labyrinth and force the Dungeon into a frenzy.
Then, riding the chaos, they planned to drag Orario back into darkness.
"This is unforgivable!" Alise clenched her fist so hard her knuckles went white. She looked like she wanted to execute the kneeling thugs right there.
"The worst part," Takumi said quietly, "is that even the remnants don't really understand what kind of disaster they're provoking. They're insane."
The Juggernaut's sudden appearance had clearly gone beyond Rudra Familia's expectations.
But it also proved something terrifying: Their plan was working.
And when you light the fuse without knowing what's at the end of it, the destruction can spiral into something unimaginable.
"They're not human," Lyra hissed. "They're animals."
Ryuu—usually composed, usually controlled—finally snapped.
"These people are filth."
Her voice was sharp enough to cut.
Even Ryuu had started talking like this now—recent events had pushed her closer and closer to the edge.
She didn't want to watch anyone else die in front of her. Didn't want to see another future built on bodies.
Kaguya grabbed Ryuu's hand, squeezing lightly.
"Don't," she muttered. "Don't start talking like me, you useless elf…"
Kaguya sounded irritated, but there was something protective in it too—like she was trying to pull Ryuu back before she crossed a line she couldn't uncross.
Ryuu took a breath and forced her emotions down.
Then she noticed Takumi watching her with a weird expression.
Her cheeks warmed instantly and she lowered her gaze, embarrassed.
She'd lost control. And she'd done it right in front of him.
It's their fault, Ryuu told herself, anger twisting again. All of this is their fault.
And honestly?
It was.