The Second Son of The Marquis Runs Away from Home ~ Lacking Talent, He Abandons Everything and Becomes an Adventurer ~ - 184

Chapter 184: The One Who Shatters the Balance

“Haaah!”

As I cleaved the final angel, it transformed into a magic stone. With each floor we ascended, the number of angels increased, making things more troublesome, but we had finally reached the ninth floor.

Taking a breather after picking up the magic stone, and seeing that Aria and the others were visibly tired, we decided to take a short rest.

“We finally made it…”

“Yeah…”

Responding while looking at the stairs leading forward, we progressed based on observations and deductions, following the hints from the door.

However, there were a few traps along the way. From prohibitions on specific spells to suddenly being forced to use magic, we broke the rules twice.

But now, we only had the mid-boss left to deal with.

With everyone’s breath steadied, we climbed the stairs. After a while, we spotted a particularly large door. As we approached, we saw ancient characters and a statue of an angel with a sword and scales engraved on the door.

“He who holds the scales of sin and judgment, the interpreter of heaven who measures and executes judgment. He is the gatekeeper named Balancius.”

As I read the inscription aloud, Aria and the others stared at the door intently. I voiced what I had been thinking.

“The ‘sins committed’ clearly refer to the rules we broke below, right…?”

“Yes, and Balancius is a renowned angel listed in the primary scriptures of the Orthodox Church, just like my True Tear.”

I knew about Balancius. He was a higher-ranking angel tasked with guarding the gates of heaven, measuring one’s qualifications to pass through the gate with scales.

“…It wouldn’t be strange for him to be our opponent.”

We broke three rules. By the time we reached the fortieth floor, the mid-bosses should be stronger than those below… and now they were further enhanced.

But on the other hand, it meant we wouldn’t have to fight at full strength, and we could infer the nature of the enhancements from the rules we broke.

As I reached for the door and it creaked open slightly, I sensed something amiss in the air leaking out. Then, I heard sounds of commotion.

“Is someone fighting…?”

Had another group of adventurers preceded us? Even if we had met Elford, it was impossible for the mid-boss to reappear in such a short time.

Was there someone like Blastpain here? If so, he should have known about their existence, and it wouldn’t be strange for him to mention it.

Various thoughts raced through my mind in an instant. But as I stopped thinking and opened the door, the truth became apparent.

In the center of a hall reminiscent of a decrepit courtroom, a giant angel with half of its wings torn and covered in wounds was facing off against a man. Balancius swung his sword at the man, who wielded thunder magic.

“Roaring Thunder Rain!”

Immediately after the scales tilted, the man unleashed advanced thunder magic at Balancius. Despite being directly hit this time, Balancius, already affected by previous damage, let out a groan of agony. However, as the scales tilted again, the attacking thunder disappeared.

In that moment, the man closed the distance and severed Balancius’s arm holding the scales. Then, he thrust his sword into Balancius’s temple, and with a swift motion, twisted his head using both arms.

With a dull sound of bones breaking, Balancius’s head twisted at an unnatural angle, and he fell to his knees, his massive body collapsing into a magic stone on the floor.

“…We’ve come this far.”

With Balancius defeated and without a hint of exhaustion, Lowd informed us…