The crimson slash flashed past like a bolt of lightning.
The Dead End Butcher's strike, carrying enough force to crush anything in its path, froze mid-air.
A portion of its massive body, along with the weapon in its hand, was neatly and silently erased right down the middle by that slash of light, as if an invisible eraser had wiped it clean from existence.
Immediately after, its ruined torso violently exploded.
However, the battle wasn't over.
The mangled remains suddenly erupted in a blinding, purplish-blue radiance.
Countless fragments of flesh and metal frantically gathered and reconstructed around the corpse.
In mere seconds, an entirely new, even more hideous figure materialized.
The Dead End Butcher had entered its second phase.
It discarded the street sign. An extra pair of grotesque arms tore out from its back, transforming it into its Four-Armed Overlord Mode.
It unleashed an even more frenzied, enraged roar. All four sets of claws lit up with energy as a torrential downpour of lasers and shockwaves rained down upon Aiden.
Faced with a barrage capable of carpeting the entire arena, Aiden's expression remained perfectly composed.
He simply raised his sword once more.
The second Lumina Slash.
This crescent of crimson sword aura was far denser and more radiant than the last.
Like a blade of divine retribution that nothing could withstand, it effortlessly tore through the barrage of lasers and shockwaves. Then, under the monster's disbelieving gaze, it swept through its body once more.
Another silent annihilation.
Half of the second-phase Dead End Butcher's body, along with its tempestuous attacks, was completely wiped off the face of the world by the flash of sword light.
Yet, it still refused to give up.
It released a final, indignant wail of despair, burning up every last drop of its energy to initiate its ultimate and most powerful transformation.
The third phase.
This time, it was no longer a simple reconstruction, but a total sublimation.
A suffocatingly dense purple light enveloped it, giving birth to an even more gargantuan horror covered head-to-toe in razor-sharp bone spikes.
In its hand, it condensed a giant club made of pure energy, crackling with purple lightning.
The apocalyptic Feeding Form had begun.
But Aiden had completely lost interest.
He looked at the final form as it amassed world-ending energy and simply shook his head.
"It's over."
Gripping the hilt with both hands, he raised the longsword high above his head.
The third Lumina Slash.
This strike wasn't just pure light anymore; it was the flawless fusion of light and fire.
A golden halo, brilliant as a sun, wrapped around the crimson slash.
Like a descending sun, it crashed toward the Dead End Butcher with unstoppable momentum.
The Floor Boss's final form, along with the ultimate skill it had yet to release, was cleanly and decisively cleaved in two from head to toe by this fusion of light and fire.
The purple light instantly died out.
The massive body dissolved into a shower of light particles, fading away completely.
All that remained was a massive Magic Stone emitting an eerie purple glow, quietly floating in mid-air.
Three swords.
In just three strikes, the Floor Boss that had once pushed him beyond his limits had died three times over.
Aiden stood rooted to the spot, looking at his longsword—still wreathed in faint flames—feeling a hint of surprise himself.
He knew he would become stronger, but he hadn't expected that merely leveling up once, gaining one skill, and learning the Lumina Slash would create such a monumental chasm between his current and former strength.
So this is the Lumina Slash... Is this the power those heroes wielded? Cleaving mountains, severing city walls, parting the seas... it turns out it wasn't just a legend after all.
He walked forward, reached out, and touched the massive Magic Stone, activating the Intertwined Fate system to slowly absorb it.
With that done, he turned around, preparing to return to the surface.
He had achieved his objective for this trip; there was no need to delve any deeper.
He was strong now, yes, but nowhere near the point where he could simply ignore the Dungeon.
He wasn't a perpetual motion machine. He didn't have any skills or magic that could infinitely restore his durability. Soloing an expedition into the lower or deep floors was tantamount to suicide.
The monsters in the Dungeon were endless, but human stamina was finite.
The moment you grew tired, the moment you took a hit, the moment you exposed even a sliver of an opening, this living labyrinth would unhesitatingly dump its deepest malice right onto you.
However, the very instant Aiden turned to leave, his mind inexplicably wavered for a split second.
It was a bizarre sensation, as if an invisible hand had gently tugged his soul downward.
He subconsciously paused, shook his head, and looked in confusion toward the bottomless vertical pit leading to the 18th Floor.
What... was that?
He felt as though, in that deeper, darker abyss, something... was pulling at his soul.
The sensation was fleeting, so fast that he almost dismissed it as an illusion.
But Aiden knew it wasn't.
He stood quietly in place, gazing into the profound darkness for a long time.
Then, the corner of his mouth slowly curled into an intrigued smile.
"Interesting," he murmured softly.
He didn't linger any longer. Turning around, he strode away down the path he came from.
By the time Aiden returned to the Palais Mermonia from the Dungeon, night had already fallen.
He finished the hearty dinner Tifa Lockhart had prepared, skipped the girls' playful chatter in the living room, and headed straight back to his own room alone.
He closed the door, sealing away all the noise from the outside world.
Sitting cross-legged on the soft carpet, he closed his eyes, sinking his mind into a world only he could see.
A translucent interface glowing with faint starlight unfurled in his consciousness.
—The [Intertwined Fate] System.
In the center of the interface, the "Intertwined Fate" that represented summoning energy was now radiating an unprecedented, dazzling golden light.
After absorbing the boundless Magic Stone energy from the Goliath and the Dead End Butcher—two massive Floor Bosses—the system had finally fully recharged once more.
He could perform another summon.
Aiden's heart pounded uncontrollably in his chest.
Who would be the one to come to his side this time?
The system's existence was his greatest secret.
This secret was only known to him and the ones he had summoned: Furina, Robin, Tifa Lockhart, Jeanne d'Arc, and the others.
Even Daphne Lauros and Cassandra Illion, who joined the Familia later, knew absolutely nothing about it.
This wasn't out of distrust.
It was because there were some things that, once exposed to the light of day, wouldn't necessarily bring brightness; more often than not, they would invite a boundless darkness and greed capable of swallowing everything.
In this world where gods and mortals coexisted, the system's existence could not be easily revealed.
Therefore, he had to be extremely, utterly cautious.
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