Chapter 156 This is No Monster, It is a God!

Roland stared at the revived Ouma Mana, remaining silent for a moment as he sensed her condition. This was the first time Roland had witnessed a complete resurrection that resulted in an enhanced Spirit Bond.

He could only conclude that the body of a fallen fairy, combined with the unique nature of the dungeon, was indeed exceptionally well-suited for a Spirit Bond that inherently carried a resurrection ritual.

When Ouma Mana cast her gaze toward him, Roland felt a long-absent sense of oppression.

The profound and turbulent aura, vast as the ocean, clearly told Roland that this was not an enemy he could easily deal with.

Had it not been for Roland's own divine power that restrained things like viruses, if the Apocalypse Virus had truly invaded his body and Ouma Mana had exploited his psychological vulnerabilities, his chances of winning would have been exceedingly slim.

Ouma Mana certainly could not defeat him, but ending up in a state akin to the ICU—just like the Dragon Lord—would be no different from failure.

Once stripped of her mental-attack specialization, Ouma Mana's threat to Roland dropped significantly. No matter how many Void weapons she utilized, Roland had the confidence to overcome her. Although, under normal circumstances, it would likely take days of grueling combat, the situation had completely reversed now that she had absorbed such a massive amount of the evils of this world, combined with Adam's authority.

Far from being a threat, Ouma Mana would instead become a reliable and complementary asset.

Seeing Roland's expressionless face, the smile on the white-robed man's face grew increasingly ferocious.

"Hero of the Sword, engrave the scene before you firmly into your mind! This shall be the end of the Apocalypse! Even if true deities were present here, they could not alter this outcome!"

"That is her, not you, trash. When it comes to authority, as Adam, no matter how I look at it, I outrank you."

The ecstatic, maniacal smile on the white-robed man's face froze instantly. He looked unnaturally at Ouma Mana, only to find that after glancing at Roland, she showed no intention of attacking whatsoever, instead beginning to dance a solitary waltz.

Beneath the evening gown that exposed her fair skin and curving silhouette, a pair of lustrous, slender, and straight legs stepped forward of their own accord.

On her dainty, exquisite feet, she wore high heels formed from purple crystal flowers.

Ouma Mana lightly lifted her foot and slowly lowered it. The opening and closing of her dance steps displayed the pleasing and graceful lines to their absolute limit. Within the thin crystal dance shoes, her small and delicate arches were faintly visible, making one instinctively yearn to stroke them gently.

Every place where the heels of her dance shoes landed caused a purple crystal flower to slowly bloom.

Roland knew clearly that this represented the prelude to the end of the world.

The blooming of each crystal flower signified that every infected individual in a certain country, or even a certain city, had been completely eroded, turning it into a dead city with only a handful of living souls.

Amidst this reenactment of myth, resembling the supreme Hindu deity Shiva, Roland quietly admired the breathtakingly beautiful maiden.

Though he was reluctant to admit it, she suited his tastes very well, especially aligning with the nature of the Beast of the Sixth. Within this intoxicating dance, amidst the fading of lives, the human-evil nature suppressed by his status began to stir restlessly, urging Roland to join the dance.

Seemingly sensing Roland's emotions, Roland locked gazes with Ouma Mana's crimson pupils.

In the next breath, the maiden extended her white hand toward him.

——This was an invitation.

Despite possessing a charming face, in the face of this outrageous atrocity, it was hard for anyone to be moved by that beauty. Yet at this moment, gazing into those red pupils filled with violence and murderous intent, a spiraling emotion of joy and cruelty was reflected within them.

In the gaze Ouma Mana cast toward Roland, there was undisguised affection and delight.

She was a monster that would destroy all humanity, the Virus Queen sitting high above mankind, but before Roland, her gaze held only pure joy.

The Apocalypse Virus remained a living organism; upon completing her resurrection, her greatest instinct was reproduction, to seek out her mate.

And the one chosen by Eve was Adam; he would become the new king of the world.

In this world, the only one who could be chosen by the sublimated Ouma Mana was Roland alone.

Unless he displayed clear murderous intent toward Ouma Mana or intended to destroy the ritual of the Apocalypse Virus, Eve would never rebel against Adam.

However, such matters touching upon the truth were beyond the comprehension of the white-robed man. Seeing Ouma Mana not only refusing to attack but also showing favor to Roland, he let out a hysterical wail.

"Why! Queen, why?!"

Seeing that Roland had snatched away the qualification of Adam that rightfully belonged to him and thereby gained Ouma Mana's favor, the fire of jealousy in his heart brought tears of blood to the white-robed man.

He looked at Ouma Mana and cried out in despair.

"He didn't do anything at all! Whether it was taming magical beasts to hunt for magic stones to provide you with nutrients, spreading the Apocalypse Virus to prepare for the ritual, or even maintaining the River of Sighs to help you resurrect—all of this was my achievement!"

Hearing such exaggerated roaring, Ouma Mana turned her head slightly with a look of curiosity, gazed at the white-robed man, and tilted her head in confusion, failing to understand what he was shouting about.

The only impression this fellow gave her was that he posed no threat. Given her special nature, there was no need to deliberately kill him—that was all. Even turning her head this time was merely out of curiosity upon seeing a shrieking ant.

Yet, seeing Ouma Mana's action, the white-robed man thought his efforts had finally received a response. He pointed his remaining arm at himself and said with excitement.

"That's right, please reconsider carefully who is truly worthy of possessing Adam's power, and who in this world is qualified to be your mate!"

Hearing such a question, Ouma Mana did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second; she raised her fair finger and pointed at Roland.

The candidate for Adam needed to possess aptitude, an aptitude best manifested through the Void. Roland, who effortlessly bore the authority of Adam and possessed boundless spiritual power, was clearly an unassailable choice.

"Eh?"

Seeing Ouma Mana's decisive gesture, the white-robed man's expression stiffened abruptly. He had gone through untold hardships and sacrificed everything for Ouma Mana's resurrection, only to facilitate Roland, who already possessed everything?

"Why?!"

Biting his lower lip, the white-robed man let out a roar of bitter resentment.

"Clown, have you finished your performance?"

Seeing this scene, Roland asked calmly.

"When all is said and done, you still fail to understand one thing: a weakling without ability like you is not qualified to command Eve. The moment your superfluous ambition surfaced, you were already doomed to lose."

"It's all because of you! Hero of the Sword, if you just die..."

Having suffered a massive blow, the white-robed man could no longer endure it. He drew the short sword at his waist and charged toward Roland like a madman.

"Do you not like him?"

Just as electric arcs were beginning to brew in Roland's eyes, a soft voice sounded.

Both Roland and the white-robed man turned their heads in astonishment, looking at Ouma Mana who had suddenly spoken. The personality of the Virus Queen had recovered to the extent that she could converse?

Yet seeing the pink-haired beauty acting so intimately, Roland did nothing superfluous and simply replied according to his true feelings.

"Mm."

"Since you don't like him, let him die."

Having received Roland's reply, Ouma Mana pointed at the white-robed man in a quite brisk tone.

However, unlike her previous gesture when confirming his status, the finger she raised this time carried unequivocal murderous intent.

"No, no!"

The white-robed man, who had dared to raise his blade against Roland, did not even attempt to resist when he saw the goddess of his heart about to launch an attack.

The white-robed man had dared to strike at Roland because of his sheer ignorance; he had witnessed Roland's power but did not understand the true tier of his strength. Ouma Mana, however, was different. He had lurked for a long time for this plan and knew very well the power the Virus Queen possessed upon resurrection.

Killing him with just a single finger was not an expression of arrogance, but an absolute fact.

The white-robed man was not afraid of death, but he was unwilling to die at Ouma Mana's hands.

"Queen, please give me one more chance..."

"No, Adam does not like you."

Ouma Mana merely sealed the other's fate with an unquestionable tone.

She had countless ways to instantly kill him—such as releasing a pillar of Void light similar to the electric arcs of her gaze with Roland, or summoning a special Void weapon—yet she chose the most common method.

A sound resembling breaking glass echoed from within the white-robed man's body, a portent that allowed him to quickly understand the reality about to befall him.

"Que... Queen, my performance was so magnificent, you... you..."

Before he could finish his words, his face twisted in intense agony. Purple-black crystalline growths sprouted across the white-robed man's face, rapidly spreading in patches until they soon enveloped most of his head.

Yet this was not the end. Unable to even utter a miserable scream of pain, purple-black crystals grew like sharp spikes from his internal organs and flesh, piercing straight through his skin to cover his twisted and deformed body.

Anyone witnessing this sight would feel a chill rush straight to their brain.

More ruthlessly still, whether intentionally or out of indifference, Ouma Mana did not immediately destroy the white-robed man's magic stone as he transformed into a monster.

And without the magic stone being shattered, the white-robed man was forced to endure this cruel torture while waiting for death to arrive.

So, so painful...

Having had most of his body turned into crystals, the white-robed man stared at Ouma Mana and Roland with his remaining eye, feeling the suffocating sensation welling up from his chest. He wanted to spit out the bloody foam accumulated within, but even that was impossible, as his lungs and throat had long since turned into purple crystals.

"Are you satisfied?"

Witnessing this scene, Ouma Mana let out a silver-bell-like laugh, naturally looking up at Roland with her head tilted, like a child waiting for praise after getting a perfect score on an exam.

Clearly, from her outward appearance, she looked in every way like an ordinary girl acting spoiled. Yet paired with such a contrasting scene, Roland could not ignore the indifferent gleam within her gem-like bright red pupils.

Compared to Yoshikage Kira, the Dragon Lord, or Roland, beings like Ouma Mana were the true non-human monsters.

"Roland!"

Even the vanguard exploration team broke through the wall of monsters and called out to him.

Amidst such smooth developments, far from feeling relaxed, Roland instead furrowed his brow.

The second Spirit Bond—does it still have no intention of appearing?

Through the Key of All Spirits, Roland could sense her aura everywhere, yet he had yet to locate her specific host entity.

Wait, everywhere...

As if realizing something, Roland abruptly raised his head and looked at the stone cave around him, which was covered in purple crystals.

Dungeons are living entities—this is common knowledge in the world of DanMachi.

However, a Spirit Bond capable of using a dungeon—an unknown existence that required the joint efforts of the gods to seal—as a host far exceeded the breakthrough tier of trials. The Key of All Spirits shouldn't have been like this.

Yet just now, Roland suddenly thought of an incredible possibility.

During the previous monster stampede, the monsters below the fifty-ninth floor had not been subjected to this influence. In other words, this was not the overarching will of the dungeon, but a decision made by a single, specific floor.

Due to the unique nature of the seal, each floor of the dungeon tended to be relatively independent; the generated monsters and environments varied greatly. Each floor was equivalent to an organ of the dungeon, albeit with different functions.

Could it be that the fifty-ninth floor had rebelled against the collective will of the dungeon master and acted of its own accord?

Such an act of an organ awakening its own will and betraying the main body was as laughable as the Dragon Lord's divine power betraying him and shattering him to pieces.

Yet, given the actual fact that the Dragon Lord could be slain by talismans, it was entirely possible for a Spirit Bond to accomplish this as well.

Roland's expression gradually tightened. Without hesitation, he unleashed his power, raising the twin swords in his hand to slash toward the surrounding walls.

The majestic magical power transformed into ripples that distorted the atmosphere. Following the blade's edge, howling gales swept forth, stirring up a hazy, dim dust storm with the momentum of a shaking earth.

Roland deliberately increased his output for this strike, disregarding everything around him with the intention of directly destroying the entire fifty-ninth floor.

Faced with this swiftly approaching blade light that made even the atmosphere tremble, the entire fifty-ninth floor rapidly began to alter its posture, growing limbs and sprouting a face.

For a moment, aside from Roland and Ouma Mana standing upon the River of Sighs formed by purple crystals, the adventurers who had just broken through the obstacles plummeted straight down toward the sixtieth floor.

Roland released his grip on Aiz's Void, allowing her to regain her combat readiness so she wouldn't become a burden to her teammates.

Besides, facing a monster of this magnitude, Aiz's Void would play little role.

The sword light she and Estes had jointly slashed out just moments before had accomplished nothing; it had dissipated bizarrely before even spreading much of its aftermath.

Blocking this attack was a fortress composed of massive red polygons on the surface of the transforming fifty-ninth floor. It looked thin, yet facing Roland's attack, it didn't even tremble.

Indestructible.

This was Roland's first impression of this fortress. And when the entire fifty-ninth floor finished its transformation, what revealed itself before everyone was a white giant that made them forget they were falling and let out cries of horror.

It possessed humanoid limbs with arms spread out in a cruciform shape. Where its face should have been, specific facial features were absent, replaced only by a peculiar mark and seven eyes that radiated neither sorrow nor joy.

"A monster!"

Even without knowing the origin of this entity, the adventurers could not help but apply the label of monster to it.

Roland, however, had no intention of launching further attacks; he merely gazed with heavy eyes at the white giant looking down upon him.

Only the white-robed man, dissolving continuously in mid-air, corrected the adventurers' erroneous term before his complete demise.

——"This is no monster; it is a god!"