Not Going All Out Yet?

"Clang!!!"

As the resounding clang of metal echoed across the mist-shrouded grassland, an intense battle, never before seen on this floor, instantly began and escalated to a fever pitch.

"Clang clang clang clang - clang one"

The platinum blade and the silver-white saber each produced a resounding hum that vibrated the air. In the blink of an eye, they clashed several times, sending dazzling sparks flying in every corner of the grassland, adding a touch of fiery red to the monotonous white landscape.

On one side was a boy clad in Giant Battle Suit, and on the other was a girl with flowing golden hair. As they entered a fierce battle, they unleashed their agility, moving with lightning speed across the entire grassland. Sometimes they chased each other, sometimes they collided, sometimes they crossed paths, and sometimes they lingered back and forth, making their figures seem like two dazzling streaks of light, colliding again and again in the unknown underground, creating a terrifying spectacle.

"Clang!!!"

The bell-like sound of impact rang out once again, sending Leo flying out of the center of the collision, hurtling through the air.

Enveloped in the wind, Ais shot out like an arrow, quickly catching up. Her silver military knife unleashed a continuous barrage of sword light, engulfing Leo like a storm.

"Clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang-!"

In his haste, Leo raised his sword to defend, the Starlight in his hand dancing in the air before him, deflecting each incoming sword strike and creating a series of clashing sounds.

Unfortunately, under Ais's relentless, storm-like slashes, Leo was quickly overwhelmed and was struck by several real blows.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"----

The slash that should have cut a bloody gash into Leo's body landed on his Giant Battle Suit, but instead struck as if it had hit some incredibly tough leather, producing only a muffled thud.

"Bang!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Leo leaped forward and kicked out, his foot landing heavily on the side of the Desperate that Ais had just slashed down, deflecting the sword.

"Shuashuashua--!

The next second, without hesitation, Leo thrust out three swords, turning the sword light into three streaks of light that cut through the wind, stabbing towards Ais's body in quick succession.

Although Ais wasn't equipped with powerful armor like the Giant Battle Suit, the wind swirling around her protected her, preventing the three sword beams from hitting her and instead deflecting them, rendering them completely ineffective.

The two engaged in a fierce battle, their swords clashing countless times, far exceeding the intensity of any previous sparring session. Anyone witnessing it would have felt that these two were serious and were giving their all to defeat each other.

However, despite this, neither of them could gain the upper hand, resulting in a stalemate.

In terms of strength, the two are currently evenly matched.

In terms of ability stats, Leo possesses extraordinary abilities beyond his current level, while Ais, with the added boost of extraordinary magic, is in no way weaker than him, making them appear to be evenly matched. Even if there is a difference, it won't be too significant.

In terms of combat skills, Ais possesses unparalleled swordsmanship honed over many years, making her undoubtedly stronger than Leo, who has only studied swordsmanship for less than two years. However, under Finn's guidance, Leo has also grasped the true essence of the art and has now forged his own path, making him no less formidable than Ais.

In terms of equipment, Leo is clearly superior to Ais. Both his Starlight Sword and Giant Battle Suit are of a higher level Ais's current Desperate and armor. However, Ais's [Ariel] can not only provide protection for herself but also enhance her weapon to increase its attack power, which puts her on par with Leo.

As a result, the two were strangely evenly matched in all aspects, turning the fierce battle into a tug-of-war where neither could gain the upper hand and defeat the other directly.

"Boom!"

At one point, Ais was slammed into the ground by a sword that Leo had swung down from mid-air. Even though Ais raised her sword to block, her feet still created a crater in the ground, sending pebbles and dust flying everywhere.

Ais blocked the attack firmly with both hands holding the sword. The blades rubbed together violently in front of her, sparks flying and blindingly bright.

"Bang!"

Ais didn't give Leo a chance to continue applying pressure. With a thought, the wind force around her exploded instantly, turning into a powerful shockwave that slammed into Leo and blew him away.

Then, Ais pushed off the ground, shattering the floor beneath her feet once more, and darted away amidst the rising wind and impact, catching up with Leo and slashing out with her silver saber.

The clanging of swords grew more intense and louder, sounding less like weapons clashing and more like two mountains crashing into each other.

The two fought from the sky to the ground, and then from the ground back into the air. Their figures crossed and separated countless times, chased and knocked each other away countless times. The flashing swords and shadows covered the entire misty grassland, leaving behind only sword marks and blades, quickly turning it into a scene of devastation.

At this moment, both boys and girls devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the battle, displaying all their skills and abilities, and weaving together this epic, mythical battle.

The platinum sword flashed, swift as lightning.

The silver blade flashed, wild and chaotic like a storm.

Fierce battle, fierce battle, and more fierce battle—

In such a fierce battle, the outcome will either be determined by one side revealing a weakness or by one side becoming exhausted first; otherwise, there is no third possibility of a winner being decided.

Realizing this, Leo and Ais showed no sign of stopping. Instead, they swung their weapons even faster and more fiercely, as if they were secretly competing, refusing to admit defeat, and stubbornly maintained this extremely intense sword fight.

Unfortunately, even the fiercest battles eventually come to an end, and it came sooner than Leo and Ais had imagined.

"Bang!!!"

The two exchanged sword strikes in mid-air, one hitting the other's Wind Armor and the other his Black Battle Suit, sending them both flying backward and crashing into the Dungeon wall almost simultaneously, shattering it into pieces.

When the rubble and dust settled, Leo and Ais appeared simultaneously in the pile of rubble below. They slowly got up, their bodies covered in dust, looking somewhat disheveled and messy.

"Whoosh----whoosh----"

Both of them were slightly out of breath, their chests rising and falling, clearly having expended a lot of energy.

During an expedition or a battle with monsters, the two would likely have already taken out their elixirs and drunk them to replenish their strength. However, in this battle, neither of them seemed inclined to use any elixirs. Instead, they raised their swords, pointed them at each other, and stared at each other with eyes as sharp as knives.

"Aren't you going to use it yet?"

Ais gazed at the familiar figure opposite her, a figure she had failed to defeat even with her full strength, and spoke with a complex expression.

"What to use?"

Leo took a moment to catch his breath, then smiled and asked, feigning ignorance.

"Magic." Ais didn't give Leo a chance to fool her, and said with an unprecedentedly serious expression, "You haven't used it yet."

That's right, Ais has already used all her skills, but Leo hasn't used his best magic yet.

You haven't given it your all yet.

Ais said those words with utmost seriousness.

Clearly, she wanted to see more than just Leo's close-combat skills; she wanted to see Leo at his full strength.

Even though Leo was already very strong in close combat, and even though she had used [Ariel] she still hadn't been able to defeat him, Ais, who knew Leo best, knew very well that compared to close combat, the man's true strength lay in magic.

[A Meteor Dance].

1. [Comet Pursuit]

[Prayer of the Twelve Zodiac Palaces].

These three so-called star-attribute magics, which have never appeared in the history of the Lower World, are the true foundation of Leo's existence and his most powerful force.

It was precisely because of this incredibly powerful magical ability that Leo was able to defeat Goliath, the floor master of level 4, at level 2, possess firepower comparable to level 5 at level 3, and even suppress the Corrupted Fairy single-handedly at level 5, repeatedly creating miracles.

It's fair to say that Leo who uses magic and Leo who doesn't are completely different people.

Just like Ais herself, without using [Ariel], she would at best be a top performer among those of the same level. But once she uses the additional magic [Ariel], she instantly gains the power to challenge opponents of a higher level. The difference between the two is simply incomparable.

Ais, who was fully aware of this, had always been on guard against Leo's magic.

Especially Leo's Third Magic, which has the power to turn the tide of a battle or even a war, she dared not be careless at all.

To some extent, the reason Finn openly acknowledged Leo as the strongest Loki Familia and stood up for him was because he had witnessed Leo's Third Magic.

Otherwise, based solely on the first two spells, Finn wouldn't have believed that none of the powerful members of the Familia would be a match for Leo.

After all, everyone has a couple of trump cards up their sleeve, right?

If they were truly going all out, every Level 1 adventurer of the Loki Clan could unleash terrifying combat power far exceeding their current level.

Tiona's [Berserk Rampage] increases her attack power based on the severity of her injuries, while [Great Heat Battle] increases all her stats when she is near death. Once she truly enters a desperate state, she will definitely be able to unleash power far exceeding that of an ordinary Lv.6.

Tione's [Wrathful Rampage] can also increase her attack power based on the severity of her injuries, and the angrier she is, the stronger the effect becomes. Her [Great Counterattack] can greatly increase her "Strength" parameter when she is near death. If she were to unleash her full power, which Lv.6 could withstand her?

Bete Loga possesses the ability to "Beastification." As long as the conditions are met, he can transform into Moonlit Fierce Wolf, with all his abilities increasing dramatically. At this time, he is even stronger than Ais when she uses [Ariel].

If even the young officers of these clans are like this, then it goes without saying that the three clan leaders— Finn, Riveria Ljos Alf, and Gareth— who have fought in Orario for decades, are even stronger than Bete Loga and the others if they were to unleash their full potential.

Finn, in particular, is widely recognized as second only to [The Brave] Ottar. He not only possesses what is arguably the strongest combat skill in all of Orario, but also has rather overpowered magic and abilities.

[Fierce Demonic Spear], a berserk magic, can greatly enhance all abilities, but will reduce judgment as fighting spirit surges. However, this one spell alone is enough to allow one to challenge opponents of higher levels.

[The Pallum's Truth] is a skill that greatly enhances the effects of magic and skills in adversity. If it can be triggered, even if [The Brave] Ottar comes, you can fight him with all your might.

With such magic and skills, Finn is simply a hero who can turn the tide time and time again in desperate situations, and a warrior who can repeatedly turn defeat into victory in adversity. If it weren't for the level difference, even [Brave] Ottar wouldn't dare say that he could defeat him.

For Finn to acknowledge Rio as the strongest member of the Familia, is it really enough that Leo's stats, comparable to a Level 7, are sufficient?

Of course not.

It was because of the extraordinary magic [Prayer of the Twelve Zodiac Palaces] that Leo was able to make Finn admit his inferiority, believing that no one in the entire Familia, including himself, could defeat Leo when he fully unleashed this magic.

No one who has witnessed this magic would refute it, not even someone as unwilling as Bete Loga.

Therefore, Ais waited, waiting for Leo to use magic.

Leo, however, hesitated to use it, forcing her to remind him.

Leo remained silent for a moment, then said something expressionless.

"Haven't you given it your all yet either?"

Upon hearing this, Ais was slightly taken aback.

"I have already----"

She wanted to say that she had given it her all.

But before she could finish speaking, Leo interrupted her.

"No, you didn't." Leo looked intently at Ais and said, "Isn't there still one skill you haven't used?"

Upon hearing this, Ais's expression froze instantly.

She certainly knew what Leo meant.

"[Avenger]."

Leo's voice drifted softly into Ais's ears.

"You haven't even used this power yet, which is even more powerful than your magic."

One sentence stirred up Ais's emotions.

[Avenger], this is indeed an extremely powerful force, powerful enough to burn Ais herself.

This is a symbol of the darkness within her heart, a power born from the deep hatred within her.

This is a dangerous force, and a force that has always been denied.

Now, Leo intends to let himself use it?

"Admittedly, this power is dangerous, but as I've said before, once you master it, you won't lose to anyone."

Leo stared straight at Ais, and as she was in a state of utter confusion, he spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Now, it's time for you to try and master this power."

19

No way.

"If you want to defeat that strange woman— Revis."