Following the confusion and momentary vertigo, I immediately start analyzing my surroundings.
It seems that the goddess was true to her word in regard to my senses being enhanced.
Even though I was more than 100 meters away, from the devastated corpses of what I assumed to be Evilus to the shaking eyes of a golden-haired girl, I could see everything with immense detail.
Weird… even seeing the blood, bones, and viscera that scattered the area around the corpses, I did not falter nor feel nauseous.
Did that have to do with my senses being enhanced?
Something like my 'mental strength' being boosted?
Or maybe I was just a sociopath…
Oh well!
My eyes darting to the side, I watch a giant skeleton-like monster, looking like the mix between a dragon and a dog.
That must be the Juggernaut.
It was looming over the group of girls as it hung on a giant tree.
Those girls… they must be the Astraea Familia, right?
Jeez… I really was dropped right into the action, huh?
But luckily, they all seemed scared rather than angered or saddened, so I don't think anyone had died yet.
The Juggernaut suddenly moves, and the world slows to a crawl as I see its extended claws advance toward two young girls.
A brown-haired girl holding a bow and a shorter girl, also with brown hair, standing protectively in front of her with a shield raised.
But I knew… the shield would mean nothing against the coming disaster.
Okay, calm my nerves.
It's time to do this, Sirius.
Let loose, save the girls, and look cool while doing so!
I step forward, hoping that the power I was given will activate automatically to reach them in time.
Thankfully, I have no reason to worry, as the next instant, I'm standing in front of the girls.
Holy fuck fast!
With my enhanced senses, I was able to view the Juggernaut's attack in slow motion, yet I could hardly notice the time during my movement.
…Did this really have to be temporary?
I then watch as the claws move toward me.
That Goddess… she said I had invincibility too, right?
I wonder what happens when I'm hit.
Would I get pushed back?
Would I completely stop the attack?
I should know this before I try to defeat this guy, so instead of trying to dodge, I wait as the claws inch their way toward me.
The moment of impact arrives, and to my immense joy its entire 'paw', claws and all, is immediately destroyed.
Reduced to atoms.
The creature then cries in pain with an ear-piercing, nauseating screech and backs away as the world returns to normal speed.
The Astraea Familia are stunned at my appearance and the speed of the attack, simply standing there in shock.
"Get out of here! I'll handle this!" I yell at them, breaking them out of their shock.
They begin to slowly back away, as I notice the Juggernaut's claws begin to regenerate.
They listened to me… good.
This fight would be much more simple with just me.
Being invincible with immense strength, I could likely one-shot it if I had the perfect opportunity, and even without a perfect shot, I could beat it.
What would be troublesome, on the other hand, would be defending the Astraea Familia.
I can't exactly attack and defend at the same time, and if I go for the one-shot kill and it doesn't work, and the Juggernaut makes use of the opportunity… I could have their deaths on my hands.
The goddess said I will have this power until the Juggernaut is dead, so I'm in no rush.
I just need to get them out of here and finish the job before an accident happens.
"Everyone retreat!" One of them shouts.
A beautiful redhead, with a sharp nose and piercing green eyes.
"Hey, you! Are you sure you don't need any help?" She then asks me, her eyes shining with worry.
A beautiful redhead… and one who could take command of the Astraea Familia so easily…
This must be the captain, Alise Lovell.
Man, she's pretty.
But admiring time was for later, Sirius!
I had to fuck this thing up!
I quickly return to watching the movements of the Juggernaut before responding.
"I'm sure. I can absolutely kill it. I'm only worried about it killing one of you girls before I can finish the job." I say with calmness surprising even me.
"Oh, and be especially careful of its tail." I add.
The Juggernaut crouches down, readying itself for another attack as time slows down to a crawl once again.
I can only hope she trusts my words, now I had to focus on this thing.
It is a terrifying monster, but a monster driven by the instinct to kill, even more so than most, according to the story.
And while I was by no means a martial artist, I knew that being driven to attack like a wild dog made it predictable.
So I shouldn't have to worry about feints or anything like that, and I couldn't do those either, so I just had to beat it in a straight-up slugfest.
That should be easy with these powers, right?
But still, with this time on my hands, I should at least try to form a plan depending on what it does.
…Alright, got it.
If it tries to attack the Astraea Familia, I would meet it halfway to take the fight away from the retreating girls.
If it strikes with its tail, on the other hand, it would be game over for the big guy.
I would simply destroy its tail and then it no longer has a viable ranged attack, so I can then pummel it to death and we go home, happy and alive, hurray!
As my train of thought comes to an end, the Juggernaut launches itself toward the group retreating behind me.
Unfortunately, it chose the more troublesome option option.
Without taking a moment to hesitate, I leap forward in order to intercept it, my eyes honed in on its tail, ensuring that it doesn't try to attack at range.
I couldn't let that happen.
Even with my warning, I had a feeling they were still underestimating the power of this monster.
Unfortunately, there is no time to explain further, and the best way to make them understand would be to have one of them killed, which would be unacceptable.
So they'd just have to wallow in their ignorance.
Its claws extending outward once more, I meet its attack with one of my own, in the form of a punch.
No technique, just human instinct.
But thanks to my little present, the effects were tremendous.
A shockwave cracks through the air as the monster is sent flying backwards, its claws decimated once more.
Landing on the ground, I take a single step before fumbling forward, clutching my chest all the while.
What?
What was this!?
It felt as if my ears were burning, and I felt an indescribable emptiness resonating from my chest.
The pain passes in the next moment, and the emptiness transforms into a mixed feeling of hunger, muscle strain, and drowsiness.
That is… not good.
Didn't the Goddess say that the power would last until the Juggernaut was killed?
Then again… she didn't say anything about not having a backlash.
It seems this fight won't be as simple as I thought, huh?
Even if that feeling comes back, I'll just have to grit my teeth and bear with it.
Looking back at the Astraea Familia, I can see shocked and worried looks coming from three girls.
Those being Alise, a black-haired Eastern beauty I can only assume is Kaguya, and the most beautiful person I had ever seen.
Although… judging from those pointed ears, it would be more accurate to call her the most beautiful Elf I had ever seen.
She rivalled even the Goddess in her 'mortal form', with long flowing golden hair, deep sky blue eyes, a cute button nose-.
Ahem!
Anyway… that must be Ryuu.
This was not great, I didn't want them to see a single moment of weakness.
After all, the great Familia of Justice wouldn't sit back and have someone get hurt while fighting their battle.
But if they returned to help me, it would only make things worse.
A strike from the Juggernaut's whip-like tail interrupts my thoughts, making me instinctively dodge despite my immortality.
Or maybe it was better to dodge if I could?
I didn't know if it drained my 'stamina' for this power, after all.
Either way, I grab the tail that was embedded into the ground and crush it within my hand, removing the most dangerous weapon of the monster.
Bending my legs into a crouch, as I'm about to jump up and deal the final hit and put this thing down for good, a barrage of orbs of wind and a wave of fire impact the Juggernaut.
The combination of Alise and Ryuu's magic, able to bring Alfia the Silence to her knees, an ultimate attack meant to bring the Juggernaut down in one fell swoop.
…That is until it's reflected towards their fellow Familia members.
I grit my teeth and launch myself back towards the Familia, appearing in front of them in an instant and blocking the reflected magic with my body.
A giant explosion of red and green clouds my vision.
Although unharmed, the blast launches me toward the Juggernaut, my arms flailing in the air as I try to right myself.
Unfortunately, flying was not part of my gifted powers, so I could only pray that the Juggernaut focused on me rather than the shocked Astraea Familia.
Fuck… aren't you guys supposed to be battle-hardened veterans by now!?
You're messing up my flow!?
Luckily, my wish comes true, as the Juggernaut takes my seemingly defenceless body as a target for its wrath, slamming both claws down on me and destroying them instantly.
…It seems that intelligence is not part of the powers granted to the dungeon's security mechanism.
But that was only to my benefit, so I was definitely not complaining.
Once I land, the pain returns once more, but much worse this time, bringing me to my knees as a searing headache is added to the list of symptoms.
The pain is nearly unbearable, leaving me near-motionless.
Dammit, I have to finish this quick while it can't move with both front claws destroyed and before the pain becomes too much!
Heeding my own advice, I quickly launch at the monster from a crouched position, striking its head the next moment, blasting it to bits.
Seeing that the Juggernaut has not turned to ash, it seems that I need to continue attacking.
Ignoring the pain, I grab hold of its spine and hit its body with all my might.
And again.
And again.
I keep smashing it until finally… I deal the killing blow.
The mangled Juggernaut bursts into ash, causing me to fall to the ground.
As I crumpled to the ground, I felt the power leave my body, leaving me with a complex feeling of weakness and freedom.
A moment later, the lingering feelings of pain drift away as my mind turns toward the gentle embrace of unconsciousness, the last thing entering my vision being a couple of cute girls running toward me.
—-- Alise POV —--
As soon as the terrifying monster disintegrated into ash and the adventurer- no, our saviour, collapsed, Ryuu and I sped towards him while Lyra and Kaguya gathered our other members.
They were all tired from fighting the Rudras Familia before the dungeon began… screaming.
A terrible screech that sent chills down our spines.
Before we could process what had happened, the monster spawned before killing all of the Evilus members in the next moment.
It was swift, merciless… the incarnation of death and destruction.
Just remembering the feeling of pure terror causes my hand to clench.
While I was still in a daze, the creature swung at Asta and Noin.
It pains me to know that they would have been killed if not for the strangers' interference.
Noin was not a melee fighter, and as a level 4 had no chance of surviving the attack.
And from how the claws tore through the dirt like nothing, I'm sure that Asta, even with her shield, would fare no better.
The monster had immense speed and power and seemed to be able to reflect magic, without him saving us… I'm unsure how many of us would survive, if any.
Such a close brush with death… we hadn't had that since the Great Feud.
The unknown adventurer… he said he could kill it without our help and that we would only hinder him, and I initially followed his direction and trusted in the man who blocked such a terrifying strike with his own body.
But… when I saw him in pain… gripping his chest and keeling over… I needed to do something.
Rather, I thought I needed to do something.
Ryuu had the same idea, thus we combined my fire magic, Agaris Alvesynth with Ryuu's Luminous Wind, creating our Familia's ultimate move, born during the Great Feud.
With both of us being level 4s with S-ranked magic stats, it's an extremely powerful attack.
And it struck true.
It should have been the end of the fight right there, but instead of dealing the final blow, it was reflected back to us.
With both me and Ryuu putting as much mind as possible into the attack, we were helpless to stop its backlash.
But yet again, the man returned and saved us, and ended up being struck by our magic.
If I had ended up killing my own family… I would never forgive myself.
In that fight, we were helpless.
No, scratch that, we were less than helpless… we were a hindrance.
That is why both me and Ryuu were rushing towards him with expressions laced with guilt and worry.
Who knew our cute, stoic Elf could wear such an expression for someone outside the Familia?
Once we reached him, we checked for a pulse and breath, and thankfully, he was still alive.
He had no physical injuries, at least from what I could see, yet he was unconscious, with a trail of blood running down his nose and mouth.
It almost looked like a mind down, but way more extreme.
How odd.
Wonder if there was a hidden injury, I pat down his clothes and tear off his shirt, revealing an impressive torso laced with taught muscles, yet devoid of scars.
Another oddity, as for an adventurer of his strength, he should have at least one sign of his experience.
As I examined his body for an injury my hands were stopped, grabbed by a blushing Ryuu who was trying to look anywhere but the half-naked man lying on the ground.
"W-w-what are you doing Alise! T-that's improper!" She stammers out.
Seriously?
In this situation?
She had seen more than her fair share of 'improper' things by being the protector of the city, so she should definitely be used to it by now.
Unless…
Was this a chance to tease?
"Relax Ryuu, I'm checking for injuries, did you think I was doing something else? You lewd Elf."
Ryuu blushes even further, mouth opening and closing without any sound leaking out.
It was a chance to tease!
Before I could go further, the man below choked after breathing in his own blood.
Oh, shit.
We were playing around too much.
"Let's get him on his side. It wouldn't be funny if he drowned in his own blood after taking down that thing." I say to her.
Luckily, any trace of embarrassment leaves the Elf's face as Ryuu looks back with a serious expression and does as I ask.
Having ensured the life of our saviour, we both use the chance to take a closer look at him.
He seemed to be around our age and was a little taller than me, likely being able to look over my head.
And his face… it could only be described as the perfect fusion between handsome masculinity and effeminately pretty.
Gah!
B-But I was still more beautiful!
Yeah, definitely!
Anyways, his hair was medium-length silver with a slight blueish tint, messily strewn about his forehead and barely covering adorably small ears, and from what I could see when he was awake, he had bright blue eyes.
Overall, even with a city littered with divine and God-blessed appearances, this guy was extremely charming, an absolute sight for sore eyes.
Looking over at Ryuu who was intensely staring at his face with wide eyes, I find myself slightly amazed.
It seemed that his charm was able to break through even the most unflappable of characters, like our stoic Elf here.
"You can stare at him later, Ryuu."
Her cheeks start glowing at my words.
How cute.
"It seems like he had a serious mind down so he only needs rest, but we can always check with Maryuu or call in another healer." I finish.
Ryuu jumps and frantically backs away from the guy while stammering out a response.
Ah, I very much like this cute side of Ryuu.
It's normally really hard to bring it out.
"N-no! It wasn't like that!" She finally says.
Sure it wasn't, you little liar.
"I-It's just… he looks our age, right? And to be that powerful… How have we never even heard of him? That power was at least a level 6, maybe even a level 7. We should definitely know of him if he's from Orario." She says.
Ah, thinking again, that is absolutely true.
How has this guy not become famous with such strength, and being so young too?
Hmm… I have a feeling this guy isn't a simple adventurer.
"You're right. We'll take him to the Stardust Garden and give him a room to rest in until he wakes. Although I hate to distrust our rescuer, Astraea would be able to detect any lies, so it's best to be safe." I say.
We wouldn't want Evilus infecting this city again, after all.
Especially when we're so close to rooting them out for good.
Ryuu nods as I take the guy onto my back.
He's quite light, isn't he?
"Alright, let's get going! I'll take him home, so I want you to grab Lyra or Kaguya and relay the situation to the guild and Ganesha Familia. It seems Evilus still has some people hiding in Orario. Hopefully, their corpses will give us some info." I say to Ryuu.
Like that, we regrouped with the rest of the girls and began our trek back to the surface.
The other girls were caught more than once taking a quick peek at the guy on my back, especially Noin and Asta.
Oho? He's already quite popular, isn't he?