The holy light of judgment descended like divine thunder, an unrelenting beam capable of annihilating all enemies the caster deemed hostile.
It fell from the colossal golden magic circle with overwhelming force—brilliant, pure, and absolute. In an instant, everything was consumed by the blinding radiance.
And when the light finally faded...
Only the ruined remnants remained at the center of the cavern.
The once-mighty Udeaus, towering over ten meters tall, was now reduced to a broken pile of shattered bones. Nothing was left of the formidable Floor Boss but debris strewn across the earth. Amidst the scattered remains, a massive magic stone lay still, quietly glowing—proof that a Level 6-class monster had indeed been defeated here.
Su Mo stood calmly before the wreckage, looking satisfied with the results of the forbidden magic he'd just unleashed— [Fairy Law].
A super magic of legendary power. Even a Level 6 Floor Boss like Udeaus hadn't been able to withstand it for a second. Instant defeat. No resistance. No chance to retaliate.
Its power… was the real deal.
And more surprisingly—
"Huh… the mana cost wasn't that bad," Su Mo muttered, checking his internal reserves.
He had expected a far greater drain. After all, [Fairy Law] was a spell so powerful it could alter the tides of war.
Indeed, as with all forbidden magics, this one came with a price. If cast by someone without sufficient strength, it could inflict a terrifying curse upon the user: eternal life. That might sound like a blessing, but it was a twisted one.
The curse ensured that the more the caster cherished life, the more they would instinctively draw life away from others. It meant total isolation—no loved ones, no friends. A life of solitude, forever on the edge of draining the life force of those around you.
A cruel punishment for lacking power.
Fortunately, Su Mo had long since met the qualifications. In this world of Fairy Tail, he was already an S-Class Mage. Combined with the stat update and level-up he'd gained the night before, his magic reserves had grown substantially.
There was no danger of backlash now. His only concern had been the spell's mana consumption—and even that turned out manageable.
"Guess it's because there was only one target," he reasoned.
After all, [Fairy Law] targets all enemies the caster recognizes. The more numerous and powerful the enemies, the higher the mana cost. If the caster runs out of magic, the spell begins draining life force instead.
In the original Fairy Tail story, Makarov had used this very spell to obliterate nearly 70,000 enemies—at the cost of his own life.
One mere Floor Boss? A trivial target by comparison. Barely required any effort.
"Still," Su Mo murmured, "this spell probably wouldn't be enough to take down a full-strength god."
Perhaps it could finish off a wounded god—those Herectic Deities Who Defy the Divine Order. But against a complete, healthy god? Even a spell like [Fairy Law] might not be enough. Worse, it might even begin siphoning his own life.
"But if I cast it in my Ultraman Tiga form…"
Now that would be a different story. The combination could unleash truly cataclysmic force. He couldn't even imagine the scale of destruction.
Unfortunately, there just weren't any enemies around worthy of testing it on.
In Orario, where the gods were forbidden from taking action directly, Su Mo's normal strength was already overkill. Even the strongest adventurer in the city—Level 7 Ottar—wasn't enough of a threat to force him into his Ultra form, let alone compel him to combine it with a forbidden super magic.
Still, it was good to get a clear sense of his current battle capabilities. And now, having familiarized himself with the spell and confirmed its effects, Su Mo calmly collected the dropped magic stone and turned to leave.
It was best to return the way he came.
After all, if he cashed in this many magic stones at once, it might stir up unnecessary attention.
Taking all that into consideration, Su Mo decided not to exchange the magic stones at the Guild. Instead, he simply carried the entire bundle back home.
"Welcome back!"
The moment he stepped through the door, Hestia, who had clearly been anxiously waiting for his return, lit up with joy.
"Are you okay? You're not hurt, right?"
The petite goddess hurried over and began patting down his body, searching him for injuries as if afraid he might be hiding some wound and stubbornly refusing to admit it.
"There's nothing to worry about," Su Mo said, chuckling at her concern. "You know my stats better than anyone. Regular monsters aren't even a challenge for me. Besides, I didn't go too deep into the Dungeon, so you really don't need to be so worried."
Hearing that, Hestia finally let out a sigh of relief.
That's right.
Su Mo had never been the reckless type who acted tough just for the sake of it. Even back when he didn't want to go into the Dungeon at all, he'd discussed it openly with her instead of sneaking around. Given how cautious he usually was, he wouldn't do anything overly dangerous without a good reason.
With that in mind, Hestia managed to calm herself down—until her eyes fell on the bulging sack Su Mo had brought back.
"…What's this?"
She squinted, pulling out the oversized core buried inside the bundle—a massive magic stone gleaming with mana.
"And this is what you call 'not going too deep' into the Dungeon?" she asked, deadpan.
The loli goddess's expression darkened noticeably.
"Even monsters around Level 5 don't drop stones this big. And you're telling me this came from somewhere shallow?"
Her face puffed up in frustration as she crossed her arms, glaring at him through narrowed eyes. "It was your first day back in the Dungeon, and you already went as far as the floor where Level 6 monsters appear? That's reckless! What if something happened to you? What would I do then?!"
Even though Su Mo had returned safe and sound, Hestia couldn't help but vent her anxiety and fear.
Still, Su Mo was long familiar with how to deal with her.
A few soothing words, a gentle tone, and some light coaxing—and just like that, the upset goddess was smiling again, her mood flipped as quickly as it had turned dark.
Once he'd calmed her down, Su Mo closed his eyes.
With a single thought—
He returned to the Misty Space.