DanMachi: Annihilation Maker in DanMachi World!

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"'Lord of Illusions'... that's pretty damn flashy too. Anyone who doesn't know any better might mistake it for the title of a God," Hera grumbled.

Alfia and Meteria hadn't disclosed any information regarding the Divine Court to Hera, only recounting Lucian's stellar performance during the expedition. As a result, Hera didn't truly grasp the deeper meaning behind the title.

"I actually like it quite a bit," Lucian said, rubbing his chin. "But for public use, 'Illusionary Traveler' might be a bit better."

"Alright, I'll help you lock it in at the next Denatus," Hera nodded. "By the way, did you actually come here on official business?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it official business," Lucian replied. "I synthesized a completely new combat system, and I wanted to ask Alfia to help me test it out."

"A new system?" Hera was taken aback.

Because Lucian kept his life energy entirely suppressed while in his base state—constantly circulating and accumulating Hamon internally to temper his physical body—his aura appeared incredibly faint and unassuming on the surface.

Furthermore, the phrase "synthesized a completely new combat system" caused Hera's brain to short-circuit slightly.

It wasn't so much that she couldn't understand it; rather, it was simply too difficult to accept.

"Basically, you need a sparring partner, right?" The Empress jumped up, eager to fight. "How about me?"

"Sure, either of you is fine."

Seeing Lucian casually agree, Alfia stiffened slightly.

How did I hesitate for just a single second and end up getting beaten to the punch...? Alfia couldn't help but feel a twinge of chagrin.

The two walked out into the courtyard. Lucian's words had thoroughly piqued everyone's curiosity, and they all gathered around to watch.

"How are we doing this?" The Empress asked with keen interest. "By the way, are you going to use your Spirit Armament?"

"The Spirit Armament is a drastic enhancement state; it's an irregular combat mode," Lucian explained. "What I want to test today are physical martial techniques. They focus on an entirely different path than the Spirit Armament."

"I see..." The Empress nodded in understanding.

"Treat this strictly as a sparring test. Don't go all out," Lucian warned.

"Don't worry, I know how to hold back," The Empress laughed, cracking her knuckles.

"Then here I come—"

As Lucian murmured those words, a terrifying, suffocating pressure exploded from his body.

Golden energy continuously flickered across his skin. Natural energy perfectly synchronized with his Fighting Spirit, radiating an overwhelmingly dense aura of battle intent.

So-called 'Fighting Spirit' was the physical manifestation of one's bodily energy and sheer will to fight; it naturally created an invisible aura of intense pressure.

However, bolstered by his Life Sage Art, this invisible pressure had practically solidified into a physical substance, coiling thickly around Lucian's form.

The surface of his skin hardened completely, shimmering with a layer of faint golden light.

Hamon pulsed and sparked, occasionally arcing outward like miniature bolts of golden lightning.

"Life Sage Art."

Lucian tapped his foot lightly against the ground and lunged straight at the Empress.

Bam!

The Empress caught Lucian's fist. But in that exact same split second, her expression drastically changed. She immediately dispersed the kinetic force and hastily retreated backward.

"You've got sharp instincts," Lucian didn't press his attack, instead laughing softly.

"What in the world was that just now?" The Empress's face was a mixture of shock and lingering doubt.

That sudden, overwhelming spike of mortal danger had triggered every instinct in her body, forcing her to make an instantaneous decision to retreat.

If I had tried to tank that head-on... it felt like something terrible would have happened.

"If you had forcefully endured that strike using your Level 9 physical constitution, you would have temporarily lost all motor control over your arm," Lucian stated with profound implication. "If I don't actively help you realign your energy afterward, it's highly likely that the loss of control will become semi-permanent."

As for healers?

Healers could cure physical wounds and purge poisons, but they absolutely couldn't fix profound biological dysfunction caused by Senjutsu. Because Senjutsu specifically targeted the fundamental 'Ki of Life,' even back in the High School DxD universe, methods to heal it were extremely limited.

"Semi-permanent..." The Empress drew in a sharp breath upon hearing his words.

Because this was just a sparring session, she had the luxury of dodging.

If they were engaged in a genuine, head-on life-or-death battle, there was no way a dangerous technique like that could ever actually hit her.

But if he attacked her during a vulnerable moment in bed... she definitely wouldn't be able to block it.

If Lucian used a 'honey trap' assassination method, even a top-tier powerhouse of her caliber would likely die an incredibly miserable death.

"Is this... the physical manifestation of life energy?" Hera frowned deeply. "Doesn't utilizing this rapidly consume your lifespan?"

Hearing this, everyone present flinched in shock.

"It hasn't reached the point of burning through my lifespan," Lucian shook his head. "I'm manipulating the manifested life energy to generate internal ripples. It's an application of human bio-wave energy."

"In other words, by utilizing this life energy, your raw combat power can increase even further..." The Empress gulped nervously.

Is this really something a fresh Level 2 should be capable of?

However, remembering that Lucian could output upper-tier Level 7 power using his Spirit Armament back when he was only Level 1, this honestly wasn't that surprising anymore.

"Kid, you called this a new 'system'?" Hera narrowed her eyes. "Does that mean this is a 'technique' that can be taught and learned?"

"Not entirely," Lucian shook his head. "Just like how the Falna requires modifying a person's spiritual power, learning Life Sage Art has a strict prerequisite: the practitioner must be capable of 'manifesting life energy'."

If one couldn't physically manifest their life energy, no amount of talent would allow them to learn it.

It was an entire physiological system, not a simple martial technique.

However, Lucian's statement also proved a crucial point: he possessed a method for bodily modification, utilizing a spell matrix highly similar to a God's Falna.

Instantly, everyone's gaze toward Lucian turned incredibly fiery.

"Come on, let's keep going."

Ignoring their burning stares, Lucian immediately launched another offensive.

The Empress focused entirely on evading. She absolutely refused to let Lucian land a solid hit on her.

"Cloud Soaring."

Just as the Empress moved to dodge his next strike, Lucian executed a mid-air maneuver that completely defied human physics. His palm brushed lightly against her abdomen.

"Cough, cough..." In the next instant, the Empress's body suddenly jerked as an intense wave of discomfort washed over her, and she coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood.

"This is so bizarre. I don't feel like I took a heavy hit at all," The Empress muttered. Everyone watched in alarm as thick veins bulged across her forehead and her eyes became severely bloodshot.

Even though the actual physical impact was incredibly light, the resulting internal biological load was catastrophically high. She was instantly inflicted with a severe abnormal status condition.

Knowing beforehand that this kind of internal damage couldn't be healed through conventional means left everyone feeling a deep chill in their hearts.

"While Life Sage Art possesses methods for external kinetic blasts and direct internal physical destruction, its true application doesn't rely on raw, blunt-force trauma."

Lucian explained, "I completely scrambled your internal bodily functions, preventing your biological systems from operating normally. It indirectly inflicts damage comparable to a terminal, systemic illness."

The Empress's raw physical constitution was undeniably monstrous, but Life Sage Art dealt true damage that bypassed conventional defense. Because her 'HP bar' was incredibly thick, she wasn't killed in a single hit.

Her injuries weren't caused by the physical kinetic force of Lucian's strike; rather, they were caused by her scrambled bodily functions violently tearing each other apart from the inside.

If this were a normal, purely physical clash, Lucian—without using his Djinn Equip—wouldn't even be able to scratch the Empress's defenses. Her physical durability and magic resistance were absurdly high.

"I suppose I finally understand exactly how Alfia and Zald felt," The Empress remarked, completely unfazed by her current injuries.

The physical damage itself wasn't severe. If it were a normal injury, it would naturally heal itself in no time. But if this dysfunction was semi-permanent, it would be an agonizing, never-ending torture.

"Let's go again. This time, I won't scramble your bodily functions. I'll test out the external blasts and internal physical destruction."

Lucian shifted his combat stance and thrust his palm forward.

Just as he promised, the suffocating sense of mortal danger vanished. The Empress hesitated for a fraction of a second before choosing to block the strike head-on.

BOOM!

A terrifying shockwave erupted the instant they clashed. The extreme explosive kinetic force violently shook the surrounding air.

This specific attack was purely physical. By discharging his energy outward, he had formed a powerful kinetic blast, outputting physical strength equivalent to a Level 5 adventurer.

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