At a certain moment—
BOOM!!!
A deafening crash exploded through the ruined dungeon floor. Leon and the humanoid corrupted spirit clashed once again, their fierce collision blasting open a massive crater in the ground. Without resistance, the two were swallowed by the void below, tumbling into the depths, into a floor even deeper than the 21st.
In the surface world, the gods continued their silent watch. The battle between Leon and the corrupted spirit's avatar had utterly captivated them.
There was no impatience, no disinterest, only wide, shining eyes glued to their Divine Mirrors, breathless.
It had been far too long since they'd witnessed such a high-level, violent clash.
Deep within the underground altar, Ouranos stood still, his face cloaked in solemn silence.
Something was wrong, terribly wrong.
"What is the dungeon doing?" He murmured internally.
The destruction was no longer small-scale. It wasn't just cracks or broken walls. The entire floor had been shaved down like worn parchment, so thin it could tear apart with a flick. A hole had already formed, plunging into the abyss below. And yet…
No Juggernaut.
Not a single one had emerged.
Why?
During the previous Loki Familia expedition, the dungeon had responded swiftly, birthing a powerful Juggernaut to combat the invading forces and suppress the damage. And back then, the scale of destruction hadn't even come close to this.
So why now?
Why was the dungeon silent?
Why had it not responded?
This wasn't minor damage. It was floor-devouring, catastrophic, enough to threaten the very structural balance of the deep zones.
"…The dungeon isn't without reaction." Ouranos muttered, his gaze flickering with concern. "So then… what's stopping it?"
He couldn't understand.
Meanwhile, the gods weren't only paying attention to Leon's fight. With so many Divine Mirrors open already, adding a few more was of little consequence.
Take Loki, for example, she had seven Divine Mirrors projected before her, monitoring both Leon's battlefield and the chaos within the artificial labyrinth.
Her eyes darted back and forth. Then her gaze locked on something unexpected.
"Huh? What's going on with Finn and the others?" She blinked. "They're glowing…"
Indeed, in the image reflected through the Mirror, Finn, Bete, Gareth, Riveria, Alicia, and even Anakitty were all shrouded in radiant light, just like the Hestia Familia had been during the War Game against Apollo.
Loki frowned. "This again? Same glow as that little Familia before."
Her sharp instincts immediately picked up the change. It wasn't just visual. Their power had surged.
Even the weakest among them, stood firm. The others? They were going toe-to-toe with the demi spirit and pushing it back.
Finn had told her about the battle on the 59th floor. He'd admitted it took everything they had to slay just one demi spirit.
But now?
Now they were suppressing one.
That wasn't normal.
Her eyes narrowed. The glow wrapping around them… it had to be connected. And only one Familia was known for wielding that kind of divine amplification.
Hestia.
"Tch… So that's it. More of her trickery."
Still, as curious as she was about Finn and the others, Loki's attention shifted again, to a different trio entirely.
Ais, Tione, and Tiona.
Unlike Finn and the others, they weren't wrapped in glowing armor. No, what they bore were…
Wings.
Wings of divine light spread out behind their backs as they darted across the battlefield like holy warriors. Their battle style wasn't just aggressive. It was devastating.
The demi spirit they faced had no chance. It was being dismembered, torn apart by their relentless, synchronized assault.
"Ais-tan and the others… weren't even amped by Hestia's blessing." Loki muttered in disbelief. "Then how… how are they this strong?"
"This is already Level 7 combat power. They've never shown this before."
A grin tugged at her lips, followed by a sigh. "I'm gonna grill all three of them when they get back."
She chuckled faintly. "But at this rate, the artificial labyrinth battle will wrap up faster than Leon's."
"Those demi spirits are already in tatters."
"…As for Leon—" she paused, squinting at the boy's image on another Divine Mirror, "That brat's clearly using that powerful demi spirit as a grindstone."
"He could've crushed it a long time ago… but he's just sparring with it now."
Loki shook her head and leaned back. "Seriously, that kid…"
But of course, Leon knew none of this. He didn't know that his battle was being monitored by nearly half of Orario's divine population. He didn't know Loki had an array of mirrors showing both the artificial dungeon and his own bloodied arena.
None of that mattered to him. Right now, all he cared about was absorbing magic.
He had long since deactivated both Hyper Dying Will Mode and Tenseigan Mode, choosing instead to fight in his normal state.
And even so…
Even in that state…
He was still as powerful as Level 8.
Over ten minutes had passed since he started the magic-stealing brawl. And now, he had grown again. His magic had jumped two full levels. It now stood on par with his physical might, finally reaching the full standard of Level 8.
Just like the corrupted spirit, Leon had begun infusing his body and weapons with pure magic.
Flesh and magic power intertwined. But unlike the corrupted spirit, Leon's fighting skills were superior.
He was no longer just evenly matched. He was winning.
With every passing second, the advantage tilted further and further in his favor. His footwork was sharper. His swordplay cleaner. His magic—more efficient.
The corrupted spirit was losing ground, and fast.
'That's enough,' Leon thought to himself as he ducked a magical burst and countered with his own.
'The burning on my back is fading… that means my stats have stopped growing. The excelia is full.'
'My magic power… it's reached its current limit.'
'There's nothing left to gain.'
Leon had always been efficient at absorbing resources for growth and he'd just wrung his opponent dry.
Melee had stopped yielding anything new. Magic had been pushed to the extreme. It was time to end it.
With a flick of his fingers, Tenseigan Mode reactivated. His eyes shimmered with ethereal brilliance as the truth-seeking balls spun to life, gathering into his outstretched hand. They coalesced into a golden greatsword, its aura radiant and merciless.
Leon raised it.
And without hesitation—
SLASH!!!
The divine blade cleaved the very air itself. The corrupted spirit's body trembled under the weight of Leon's aura, completely locked in place.
Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.
In a blinding flash, the sword fell and the corrupted spirit was split cleanly in two, vanishing into ash.
Leon stepped forward and calmly plucked the magic stone from the remnants, tossing it into his system storage. He exhaled softly, satisfied.
But then—
From the depths of the Dungeon…
ROOOOOOOAAAAARRR!!!!
A piercing, hellish cry echoed upward, shaking the earth, the stone, and the very air itself.