Only then did Levi breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, his expression shifted from its previous seriousness, and he spoke with a hint of a smile on his face.
"Alise, Gojouno, didn't you want to know what gave me the confidence to challenge the Twin-Headed Dragon alone?"
As he spoke, he had already retrieved Orion's Class Card from his inventory
and held it between his index and middle fingers.
Behind the boy, seeing Levi pull a card from his magic storage space, the two former members of the Astrea Familia couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
They were about to say something when, the very next second, they heard his chanting voice ring out beside their ears, sounding more indifferent than usual.
"—Limited Unfold."
Although they were deep within the Dungeon, at this very moment, a full moon suddenly appeared in the sky above where Levi stood.
Then, immaculate, unblemished moonlight cascaded down, converging in front of him to form a silver-white spear engraved with numerous sacred runes.
"Tri-star Amore Mio (The Goddess of the Moon's Arrow of Love - Love Arrow)!"
"..."
Levi, having summoned Artemis's Arrow, did not look back at his teammates.
Gripping the spear in his right hand, mana surged around him. In an instant, he activated "Mana Burst: Wrap" and dumped all 2,000 points of his temporarily acquired ability stats into Strength.
At the same moment, the Twin-Headed Dragon hovering over the massive lake in the distance obviously sensed something as well.
Its two dragon heads turned successively. Simultaneously, one of the heads opened its massive jaws and, without the slightest hesitation, spewed a breath of pale flame in Levi's direction.
If it were anyone else facing the Twin-Headed Dragon's magic-like attack, they would either have to tank it with high-quality fire-resistant items or choose to dodge.
But Levi, who already had nearly a hundred layers of shields stacked on him, didn't even change his expression.
"Hephaestus, I pray to you here, grant me the Goddess's protection!"
The phantom of the red-haired, one-eyed God of Smithing appeared within the Labyrinth in response to the pale-blonde boy's call, and in a split second, dissolved into motes of light that merged into his body.
Since this wasn't the first time they had seen such a spectacle, Alise and Gojouno Kaguya, standing a short distance behind, were surprised but could tentatively accept it... like hell they could!
Levi, didn't you say you were the lover of the goddess Hestia? How are you now able to call upon the protection of the goddess Hephaestus?
Oh, so your protection is wholesale.
As long as it's a goddess, they can become your power.
Alise and Gojouno Kaguya exchanged a glance. They weren't idiots; although they didn't know the activation conditions for the protection magic Levi had awakened, they reached a conclusion almost simultaneously.
"Let's wait a bit longer before we go see Lady Astrea."
"Yeah, I think so too."
Because Levi was fully immersed in the battle, he didn't notice the girls' whispers at all.
Of course, even if he had heard them, he wouldn't have cared in the slightest.
His biggest cheat had always been the pay-to-win system. As for "The Goddesses' Loving Protection," it was merely the icing on the cake.
Taking a direct hit from the Twin-Headed Dragon's flame breath, he only lost a few layers of shielding thanks to his considerable Fire Resistance.
He didn't sustain even the slightest injury anywhere on his body.
And just as the Twin-Headed Dragon finished spewing the pale flames and was about to close its mouth...
Levi, holding the spear, suddenly moved.
He took a step forward, twisting his body like the string of a longbow being drawn. The gauntlet on his right arm was strained to its limit by the sudden expansion of his muscles.
Blue veins bulged and became visible between the gaps of his plate armor. Combined with his beautiful, boyish face that was in no way inferior to a god's,
it actually caused the two Heroic Spirit girls standing nearby to stare in a daze.
Fortunately, the sound of Levi's voice in the next instant pulled them back to reality.
"This strike..."
He took another step, and his fully charged right hand made a throwing motion forward.
Almost simultaneously, a silver-white path of light appeared between the pale-blonde boy and the Twin-Headed Dragon.
It was so dazzling that even the lingering pale flames were split right down the middle.
Half a second later, Levi calmly uttered the rest of his sentence: "—Pierces the stars!"
As his voice fell.
In the distance, Amphisbaena, with most of its body hidden underwater, suddenly had a massive hole over five meters in diameter appear at the 'Y'-shaped junction connecting its two heads to its body, allowing one to see straight through to the other side.
The next second, under the girls' utterly shocked gazes, the Twin-Headed Dragon dissolved into black ash on the spot.
[Levi Bright]
[Lv.4 (0% -> 17.2%)]
As a Floor Boss, the Twin-Headed Dragon's potential ability was undoubtedly high. Even among the many Lv.5 monsters of the Deep Floors, due to its size and the terrain, it was considered quite a powerful existence.
But precisely because of this, seeing Levi easily one-shot it as a Second-Class Adventurer
caused both Alise and Gojouno Kaguya to fall into unparalleled confusion.
"Levi..."
The girl with the iaito hanging at her waist seemed to want to ask something, but didn't know how to start.
Then, she patted Alise's arm, signaling her to let go.
"There were two extra drops when the Twin-Headed Dragon died. Trouble you two to go pick them up."
Alise/Gojouno Kaguya: "..."
Although this was technically what they were supposed to do as mercenaries and supporters, hearing the boy's complete lack of chivalry, the favorable impression that had just risen in their hearts vanished in an instant.
Alise couldn't help but retort, "Levi, you looked really handsome one-shotting the Twin-Headed Dragon just now, but ordering us to get wet and pick up items is a great way to make girls hate you, you know~"
Levi glanced at them, his expression indifferent. "I have Hestia. That's enough."
Alise was much more straightforward. She walked up and wrapped her arm around the boy's neck, completely disregarding the fact that she was giving him an eyeful: "Levi, you guy, you really are an unimaginable monster!"
Levi's lips curved up at her words.
What a joke. He was an adventurer whose base combat power touched the fringes of Level 5, and he was holding a projection of the Moon Goddess's Artifact.
Coupled with the element of surprise, launching an unavoidable attack just as the Twin-Headed Dragon had exhausted its old strength and hadn't yet generated new strength...
If that failed to result in a one-shot kill, Levi would have to suspect that the item he pulled from the gacha pool had been watered down.
"Once we formally sign the employment contract, I'll provide you with some targeted enhancements as well."
Hearing his response, Alise's eyes lit up immediately. "Then it's a deal!"
Even Gojouno Kaguya showed a moved expression.
The two girls were former adventurers, after all, and had a considerable desire to become stronger.
Or rather, precisely because they had died once and been helpless against powerful monsters, Alise and Gojouno Kaguya hoped even more to gain the power to protect those around them.
Seeing that he had successfully roused the enthusiasm of the two Heroic Spirit girls, Levi nodded imperceptibly.
____
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