The dungeon air was damp and laced with the faint scent of rot. Pale blue moss clung to jagged walls, glowing softly like veins of moonlight.
The Sovereign Legion had entered.
The first wave—E-Rank beasts—rushed at them with snarling jaws and twisted limbs. Wolf-like creatures with cracked bones and stone-plated hides.
Zairon stood still as the team spread out. Gareth led the vanguard with his greatsword cleaving a beast clean in two. Maruna's squad danced between shadows, striking with daggers and speed. Lena's healers moved methodically, supporting and patching up wounds.
Zairon simply watched.
"Hmph. Decent." He smirked. "Let's go deeper."
They pressed forward, slashing through clusters of monsters. The path narrowed, then widened again—into a craggy, open chasm where the air grew colder and the stone walls glowed with crimson veins.
And that's when the D-Rank monsters came.
Ten of them. Broad-shouldered ogres with molten skin and jagged bone clubs. They howled and charged.
Zairon cracked his neck. "Time to stretch a little."
He blinked forward, sword shimmering with energy. In three elegant slashes, two monsters fell with their heads flying into the dark. The Legion engaged as well—some with gritted teeth, others with wild joy. It was chaos, but it was progress.
Victory.
But deeper. Always deeper.
The chasm twisted down into a spiral ravine… and then opened up into a blood-soaked basin.
Dozens of glowing eyes stared back from the far side.
Hundreds of D-Rank monsters.
Zairon grinned. "Finally."
He turned to the approaching Legion, many of them panting, bloodied, but high on adrenaline. Gareth stepped beside him, his greatsword dragging across the ground.
"They're too many, my Lord."
Zairon raised a hand. "That's why I'm here."
He stepped forward.
The monsters roared and charged.
Zairon took a deep breath. Spiritual energy surged through his body, wrapping around his limbs, spiraling toward the blade in his hand like a cyclone.
He whispered, "Sovereign Slash."
The world slowed.
He swung.
The blade didn't just move—it screamed. A crescent of pure energy, glowing violet and white, erupted from the sword like a starburst. It carved through the dungeon with a sound like thunder and ripping heavens.
The shockwave blasted air, dust, and rock back in a tidal wave of force.
BOOOOM—!
The Legion had to shield their eyes.
When the dust settled…
Over sixty percent of the monsters had been annihilated. Their charred remains scattered like burnt leaves. Another thirty percent lay writhing, limbs missing, bleeding rivers of black ichor. The last few stood trembling, barely standing.
Zairon lowered his blade, breathing steady.
But his eyes narrowed.
"Tch. Should've been all of them."
He looked at his hand.
The sword trembled slightly from the energy it had released.
"So that's the limit of Sovereign Slash right now." His voice was low. "Unacceptable."
He turned toward the stunned Legion.
"This isn't the final version. This is just the beginning. One day..." his gaze sharpened, "it will wipe out an entire army in a single breath."
He sheathed his sword and walked forward, stepping over corpses.
"Remember this moment," he said to his Legion. "The first time you saw the sky break."