"You look a little surprised," Rayleigh mocked, a smug smirk on his face.
"That, my friend, is the Way of Onmitsu, Third of the Shihō: Utsusemi."
In that split second, he used his outer robe as a decoy, tricking the shadow into thinking it was Ais.
Because the attacker fell for it, he grabbed empty air.
"You little brat!" the shadow snarled, absolutely livid!
The next second, the guy closed the gap, making Rayleigh's pupils shrink.
Luckily, Rayleigh saw it coming.
A purple-glowing dagger flashed in the shadow's hand, slashing right for Rayleigh's face.
Rayleigh threw his hand up, basically offering the back of his hand to the razor-sharp blade.
'Heh, what an idiot.'
'Whether I chop your hand off first or just split your skull—it's all the same... Nani?!'
The poisoned dagger—a weapon the assassin trusted his life with—violently bounced off.
The guy's face, hidden in the dark, twisted in pure shock.
He was an inch away from a kill when some weird force knocked his blade completely off course!
'What's going on?'
He didn't just miss.... which mean..
"You little brat! What did you do?!"
Rayleigh gritted his teeth, his arm straining against the impact.
But seeing the assassin look so flustered made his day.
Hovering right over the back of his hand was a small dense sphere of spiritual power.
"Bakudō Number Eight: Seki."
That Kidō threw up a spiritual shield right on the back of his hand to violently repel physical attacks.
"It ends right here!"
Riveria charged in, swinging her staff like a spear.
But the shadow backed off with insane speed.
After putting some distance between them, another man popped out of the shadows right next to the assassin.
Rayleigh's gut dropped the second he saw the newcomer.
'This guy...'
'He's a God!'
...
"Tch." The shadow clicked his tongue and glanced at the man next to him.
"Sorry, Lord Thanatos. Looks like we can't take the girl after all."
"No matter how you slice it, going up against Nine Hell and expecting to walk away in one piece is impossible."
Even though the guy claimed he was backing off because of Riveria, Rayleigh could feel the assassin's glare burning a hole right through him.
Riveria just watched the God with a completely serious face.
Thanatos, the Evil God.
The Patron God of the Evilus.
'So he's targeting Ais now.'
Thanatos wore a tight smile. He was definitely annoyed about failing, but he was trying to keep up appearances.
"Looks like it," Thanatos said.
"Well, we'll have to pull back for now." He turned to leave.
Riveria didn't try to stop him.
You can't kill a God anyway, and she had two people to protect. Walking into a trap right now would be a disaster.
Before leaving, the shadow turned to Rayleigh.
"Hey, kid. What's your name?"
'Huh?' Rayleigh bristled. 'Is this guy targeting me now? Tch.'
"The name's Frieza. You got a problem with that, go spread it around and see what happens."
Rayleigh didn't expect himself to be such a troll.
The shadow froze, then ground his teeth in pure rage.
"Frieza, I'll remember you! Wash your neck and wait for me!"
With that threat, the shadow vanished with Thanatos in a blink.
'Ah... that felt good. Simple trash talk really is the best.'
Even though the chances were zero, Rayleigh really hoped that idiot would somehow run into the actual Frieza!
Riveria just stared at him.
Rayleigh noticed the High Elf giving him a weird look.
He cleared his throat.
"Look, even if he isn't Level 4 yet, he's pretty close. I'm just playing it safe."
Riveria took a deep breath but kept her mouth shut. She understood why he was being cautious.
'If only Ais could be this cunning...' Riveria thought. 'No, better not. She'd be a total nightmare to manage.'
"Ow, ow, ow!"
Rayleigh suddenly clutched his arm, wincing in pain.
Riveria finally noticed his arm was bent at a weird angle.
"You broke your arm?"
Rayleigh nodded.
'That guy had to be peak Level 3. Probably stuck there because he's missing a Great Feat.'
'How could a basic Bakudō Number Eight actually stop him? It couldn't. The only reason it worked was because he underestimated me. He didn't take the swing seriously at all.'
'He figured he could wipe me out with a casual flick of his wrist. It's the kind of mistake veterans make.'
'The Evilus treat killing like breathing, so they rely way too much on experience. Worked out great for me, though.'
"I'm sorry you got dragged into this," Riveria said. "We'll work with the Guild to wipe out the Thanatos Familia as fast as possible."
"And this isn't just an apology. You saved Ais.... i owe you two favors. Don't hesitate to ask for anything."
'Hmm? Anything...?' Rayleigh shook his head, clearing his mind of the gutter.
"Alright, I'll take those favors. Just don't try to back out later."
Riveria looked dead serious. "Of course. I swear it on the name of Loki and the Elven Royal Family."
"Sounds good to me."
Rayleigh got exactly what he wanted.
Even though he just put a target on his back from some Evilus lackey, he still came out way ahead!
"Let me heal that," Riveria said, crouching down.
Rayleigh waved her off.
"Don't worry about it," Rayleigh said. "I've got it."
While Riveria watched in shock, he cast Kaidō, knitting his fractured bones and cuts back together.
She had no idea he could use healing magic too.
This was Rayleigh's real goal: bumping up his value in the eyes of Orario's heavy hitters!
...
Once his arm was good enough to move, Rayleigh got up and followed Riveria back to the surface.
The High Elf carried Ais on her back, while Rayleigh hauled her staff.
This thing was no joke.
It was Magna Alfs, one of the five supreme staves, a legendary weapon given by a God.
Basically the best Magic Staff in the Lower World.
Magna Alfs, meaning "Great Elf," was built from the rarest materials.
Even if a warrior used it as a blunt polearm instead of a Mage casting spells, it would still be a First-Class weapon.
If you factored in the gems, this thing was probably worth over a billion Valis.
It was the most expensive weapon Rayleigh knew about—beating out a certain Boar's black greatsword and Bell Cranel cheat-tier Hestia Knife.
After making it back to the surface, Riveria told him she needed to get Ais back to the Loki Familia base, and they split up.
Before heading home, Rayleigh stopped by the Guild.
He cleared up the whole Dungeon ghost rumor and gave them the rundown on his run-in with the Evilus, and the Guild moved fast.
Having the Evil God Thanatos running his Familia down in the Dungeon was a massive threat, not just to the Guild, but to all of Orario.
The war between the Evilus and the major Familias had been going on for years.
Even though they were beat down right now, they were still crawling around in the shadows, waiting for their shot.
A final showdown between Orario and the Evilus was going to happen, and the clock was ticking.
In a war like that, Rayleigh's current combat power didn't mean much.
But he was a Blacksmith.
Forging Zanpakuto and letting those blades carve the path for him—that was how he played the game!
...
The next day, a Guild announcement sent shockwaves through the city:
The Loki Familia's Ais Wallenstein (7 years old) successfully leveled up to Lv. 2 in just one year!
Also, the Denatus—the Gods' assembly held every three months—was about to kick off.
---
Bonus Chapter for every 100 power stones!