Suddenly, a large number of fully armed Adventurers surged from the passage leading to the 18th Floor.
They had been on high alert, but the sight before the Wall of Sighs left them frozen in shock.
"Hey, someone's actually fighting the Floor Boss!"
"You're right! And it looks like Goliath is almost done for!"
"Which Familia are they from?"
"There... there are only six of them."
"Six people challenging a Floor Boss?"
Seeing the army of Adventurers pouring from the 18th Floor, Finn smiled.
"Those must be the Adventurers from Rivira."
Ais, having been an Adventurer for just over a year, wasn't familiar with this.
Finn began to explain.
"Whether Adventurers can enter the Safe Floor directly impacts the economy of Rivira. Combined with the rewards from defeating a Floor Boss, the town calculates the boss's respawn cycle and organizes subjugation parties."
"Lately, their intelligence has been accurate. They must have known no Familias were planning expeditions, so they assumed the Floor Boss would be left unchallenged."
"They just never expected a team like this to show up."
Listening to Finn's explanation, Ais nodded, but her gaze remained fixed on the battlefield.
Her fists were clenched tightly, her nails digging into her palms.
'So strong. These people... every one of them is incredible.'
Seeing the crowd of Adventurers, Rayleigh decided to finish off the Floor Boss to prevent any complications.
He retracted Senbonzakura's blades, returning the sword to its original form.
He reversed his grip, holding the blade vertically, the tip pointing toward the ground.
"Everyone, get back."
At Rayleigh's warning, Alise and Ryuu retreated.
He glanced at the confused girls, then at the Loki Familia and the Rivira contingent.
"This is a fine stage. I'll show you the true power of a Zanpakuto!"
Alise asked in confusion, "True power?"
Kaguya echoed, "What do you mean?"
Ryuu murmured, "Does that mean the sword's full power hasn't been unleashed yet?"
Ardi, who had been with her Zanpakuto the longest, realized something as she looked at Rayleigh with anticipation.
'Could it be... I'm finally going to see that?'
Everyone's eyes focused on Rayleigh.
The next moment, he did something that baffled them all.
He let go of the sword's hilt.
Senbonzakura fell.
The moment its blade touched the ground, it sank into the earth as if plunging into water.
As the sword submerged, Rayleigh's spiritual pressure erupted!
The terrifying pressure enveloped the battlefield!
The first to bear the brunt were Alise and the girls standing nearby.
They felt a crushing weight press down on their chests. Their shoulders ached, and their bones and muscles groaned under the immense pressure.
Lyra, who was also Level 2 like Rayleigh, collapsed to the ground, her pupils dilating as cold sweat beaded across her skin.
The Adventurers from Rivira fared worse.
Many dropped to their knees or fell flat on their faces, unable to stand.
"What's happening?!"
"This pressure..."
"It's hard to breathe!"
"Is it the Floor Boss's Skill?!"
"No, it's that kid! It started after he dropped his sword. Is this Magic?"
"I don't understand."
Feeling his spiritual pressure surge, Rayleigh explained, "Bankai is the second stage of a Zanpakuto's release—its final form, the only state that unleashes its true power."
"Only a handful of people can ever master Bankai. Once achieved, their combat power becomes five to ten times that of their Shikai!"
'Ten... ten times?'
Hearing the description, the Zanpakuto wielders stared with wide shocked eyes.
At their current level, simply releasing their Zanpakuto made them unbeatable against opponents of the same rank.
If their power multiplied by ten... it was unimaginable!
Even more stunned were the members of the Loki Familia.
"Impossible! Ten times?! And that's on top of releasing that weapon?"
Even Riveria couldn't remain calm.
But Finn didn't question it since the proof was right before their eyes.
"Witness this... This is..."
"Bankai!"
"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"
As Rayleigh uttered the name of his Bankai, two rows of colossal blades rose from the ground beside him.
Then, the blades scattered, transforming into a sea of sakura petals.
Countless blades converged.
Rayleigh controlled them with a gesture, his index and middle fingers held together, and swept them toward the giant.
A colossal slash that seemed to span the world arrived in an instant!
Goliath was sliced in half at the waist by a single strike!
Having lost its sight, the giant's face showed pain and deep confusion.
It couldn't feel its lower body.
It had no idea what had happened.
It only felt the world spinning.
Rayleigh raised his hand, manipulating the sakura-colored slashes. They split into several streams, rose into the air and converged again.
A waterfall of sakura petals poured down like a river from the heavens!
The giant's body was submerged in the deadly sea of blossoms, vanishing without a trace.
After maintaining this for several seconds, Rayleigh clenched his fist.
The sky-filling sakura petals scattered. Only a small portion returned to him, reforming into an ordinary blade as he sheathed his sword.
Suddenly, a jet of blood spurted from Rayleigh's arm.
His blood vessels had bulged and ruptured.
"The spiritual pressure of Bankai... is still too much for my current body to handle."
Rayleigh used Kaidō to stop the bleeding.
The girls watched as the sakura petals faded, revealing a battlefield where the giant had vanished.
In its place, only a massive Magic Stone remained.
Floor Boss Magic Stones were extremely valuable.
Depending on its condition, Goliath's Magic Stone could be worth anywhere from four to six million Valis.
"What a pity, no drop items huh?" Rayleigh sighed.
He'd heard that Goliath's hide was a rare material for crafting armor, with very little in circulation.
If it had been a Black Goliath born from an Irregularity, the dropped Black Goliath Hide would be a superior material—enough to craft armor capable of withstanding Level 5 attacks.
As for the conditions required for a Black Goliath to spawn, Rayleigh knew them.
If the Dungeon became aware of a God within its depths, it would create an assassin specifically to hunt that God down.
However, this method wasn't foolproof.
The Dungeon was a living entity, likely possessing some degree of consciousness.
Even if a Black Goliath had appeared in the story he knew, the real world carried deeper risks.
That Black Goliath had been born because Hestia unleashed her Arcanum.
But if someone other than Hestia unleashed their Arcanum, the specific conditions would change.
It could spawn a monster weaker than the Black Goliath, or perhaps an even more terrifying one.
Like the juggernaut for example.
Trying to exploit this kind of trick involved too many uncertainties.
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