'Syr?'
Watching the girl run off like a nimble little rabbit, Rayleigh felt a slight chill.
In fact, he felt a bit uneasy and apprehensive inside.
Syr, the waitress from The Hostess of Fertility?
Wasn't that the Goddess of Beauty, Freya, herself?!
The most terrifying Goddess in all of Orario—no, in all of heaven!
"Gulp."
Was this a coincidence? ... It must be.
This Goddess was most fond of the brilliance of souls, a trait he surely didn't possess.
Someone like him definitely wouldn't have a pure, flawless soul, so he shouldn't attract her interest.
The Goddess of Beauty, Freya, was born with the ability to see souls and the power to charm.
She could see directly through a person's appearance or exterior to the true color of their soul.
The purer the soul, the more radiant it shone.
Thus, the pure-hearted white rabbit became the prey of the Goddess Freya. She would take all the children she favored into her hands—a very greedy Goddess of with a collection kink indeed.
As the Goddess of Beauty, she was born with the ability to charm anyone and could obtain all the love in the world.
Even the Gods weren't an exception.
She was cunning, with great leadership skills and charisma, yet she was also a kind-hearted deity in her own way.
But she also had a dark side that would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.
In other words, she was extremely dangerous!
He hoped this brief encounter wouldn't spark any interest in him from this Goddess… but most likely it wouldn't.
Her favorite was the white rabbit and Ryuu—those two were completely different from him.
His soul was probably quite murky.
Even as a Shinigami, he couldn't see his own soul.
Was this a case of "the doctor cannot heal himself," or was he simply "unable to see the forest for the trees"?
Looking at the several Evilus members he had just dealt with, Rayleigh swung his blade, completely severing the tendons in their limbs to ensure they had absolutely no means of recovery.
Just then, the military police arrived and the one leading them was Ardi.
The girl, after seeing Rayleigh, immediately ran over happily. "Rayleigh! Thank goodness, you're okay."
Rayleigh's heart stirred when he sees her.
As the girl ran toward him, he suddenly reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her right into his embrace.
Then, he wrapped his left arm securely around her.
She was alive!
Ardi was alive!
He had changed her fate! He had changed the tragedy that originally awaited the girl.
Now, Ardi stood right before him, completely safe and sound.
The girl, tightly embraced, felt the warmth and heartbeat of the man and froze, as stiff as a block of wood.
Except this block of wood was a bit warm, so warm that steam practically seemed to rise from the top of her head.
"R-Rayleigh?" Ardi stammered.
The members of the Ganesha Familia standing nearby gritted their teeth in deep frustration.
What the hell? Ardi was their precious angel!
The idol beauty of the Ganesha Familia! How dare this guy hug her!
Damn it! Why didn't Ardi push him away?!
It should be me not him!
"Um, this is really embarrassing… a lot of people are watching us… could you let me go…?" Ardi pressed her lips close to the boy's ear and whispered in a pleading, almost coquettish tone.
Did her voice carry a slight hint of reluctance? Rayleigh felt a tingling sensation all over his body, as if he had been struck by electricity, and he suddenly snapped back to reality.
He quickly released his hold and took a polite step back.
"Ah, sorry, I was just really worried about you. Seeing you safe made me a bit too happy," Rayleigh explained sincerely.
If Ardi can be saved, then Alise, Kaguya, Lyra, Noin, and Leiyana can also be saved.
Their deaths weren't predetermined by fate, but because someone actively harmed them.
Then all he need to do is eliminate all those perpetrators!
"Then I'll leave these guys to you. We'll meet again later, Ardi."
"Huh? Ah! Yes, okay, see you later..."
Perhaps because of what had just happened, the girl seemed a bit afraid to look at him directly.
Her reply was as faint as a mosquito's hum.
In short, she was incredibly adorable!
Rayleigh took a deep breath to calm his inner restlessness, picked up his large hammer and left the scene.
...
Central Plaza.
A large number of injured Adventurers were receiving treatment. The vast space, which could easily accommodate tens of thousands of people, was now packed to the brim.
Moreover, the atmosphere was filled with a heavy sense of despair, with exhaustion and pure confusion etched on everyone's faces.
A petite figure moved tirelessly among the wounded. She proudly bore the emblem of the Dian Cecht Familia. Judging by her youthful appearance, she was probably only eleven or twelve years old.
Her delicate face were as pretty as a doll's, yet her gaze was incredibly firm.
She showed absolutely no hesitation even in such a stifling bloody environment.
"It's almost like... looking at a saint!"
"Airmid-chan, over here, please."
'Airmid? So that child is "Dea Saint" Airmid Teasanare.'
'She should only be Level 1 right now.'
'What an impressive display of Healing Magic. Truly worthy of being called the "Dea Saint," the city's absolute top healer seven years from now.'
'She was already living up to the name of one of Orario's three great cheater!.'
But she hasn't fully grown yet, she must be pushing herself way too hard right now...
He thought to himself, 'Just hold on a little longer.'
...
After returning to the familia base, Rayleigh immediately sought out Hephaestus.
After so many intense battles, he could feel that his latent potential had been fully awakened.
The vessel was now completely full and now it was time to elevate the vessel.
When Rayleigh found Hephaestus and explained this, the Goddess of Blacksmithing was visibly taken aback.
Moments later, she showed a look of understanding—or perhaps resignation.
She simply gave up thinking about how impossible it seemed.
She updated Rayleigh's status.
The flickering characters in the Level column magically changed from 2 to 3.
In an instant, all his abilities, which had nearly reached their limits, along with the vessel itself, transformed into hidden potential and perfectly merged into his body.
"Congratulations on successfully advancing to Level 3," Hephaestus said, deciding she wouldn't be surprised by him anymore.
A child from the Lower World, a mere human who had traveled thousands of miles to reach this city, had managed to level up to Level 2 and Level 3 within a single year of receiving her Falna!
This was an achievement grand enough to be permanently recorded in Orario's history.
Rayleigh now found himself in a very peculiar state.
He could clearly feel that after leveling up to Level 3, the Reiatsu within his body had undergone another fundamental change.
Just like when he reached Level 2, not only had controlling his Reiatsu become much easier, but the Reiatsu itself had undergone a massive qualitative transformation.
This was Level 3!
Though it was still just a gut feeling, Rayleigh believed he could now safely use Kido spells up to the 80th level now.
And then there was his brand new Development Ability.
Spirit Healing.
The effect of this ability was automatic mind regeneration, regenerating mind at a small rate after magic use, or for Rayleigh case, Reiatsu.
It was highly likely that the repeated instances of mind depletion he had experienced had directly triggered the exact conditions for this Development Ability to manifest.
Taking the imprinted paper from Hephaestus, his current status was now—
[Name]: Rayleigh
[Level]: Lv2 → Lv3
[Status]:
Strength: I0
Endurance: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
[Development Abilities]:
Blacksmith
Spirit Healing
[Magic]:
Way of Destruction (Hadō)
Way of Binding (Bakudō)
Way of Healing (Kaidō)
[Skills]: Soul Blade (Zanpakuto)
[Possessions]:
Senbonzakura
Ruri'iro Kujaku
Sakanade