???—-
From an enclosed room, a shadowy female figure watched a feed of the Kagoshima Dungeon, showing Omariro, Rika, and Zaria clearing their respective floors.
"Progress…" the figure remarked. "All as the plan requires."
Rui entered the room, and the figure spun around in their chair. "Rui. What do you require this time?"
"Your blessing, Priestess. If you would be so kind."
She placed a hand under her chin. "For what?"
"The trap. With all the Kaidanchō deep in Kagoshima, we can now take advantage of this opportunity and shift the balance of power. We can release the barrier."
A pair of dark swirls erupted from the woman's hands as she stood up. "A sound idea. I'm coming with you."
"Are you sure? Nyugawa will be there."
"Good. The deeper he falls, the better."
With a snap of her fingers, the dark energy enveloped them, and they both disappeared.
Floor 1,201—-
〈Rule: Hold Your Breath.〉
Omariro, Sōshin, and Yuka all landed on a moon-like terrain, with an endless void surrounding them.
"Where are we, friends—?" Sōshin asked.
Immediately, he fell to the ground, coughing, and Omariro patted him on the back with his stick, which caused poisonous vapor to come out. Yuka noticed this and began signaling with sign language.
[We cannot speak. The air here is poisonous.]
Omariro nodded, pointing toward a space station-like building in the distance.
[Goal. Hurry. Breath won't hold long.]
Sōshin wiped his mouth and followed the two Kaidanchō as they traversed the terrain. Yuka noticed her body moving more slowly.
[The gravity is much thicker here. Every step feels like I'm dragging a truck along.]
Sōshin began to collapse, but Omariro picked him up and put him on his shoulder.
[Boy must hold. Goal in sight.]
The group continued trekking forward, and as Yuka's throat began to burn, she noticed a large bubble nearby.
[What could that be?]
She walked over to it and placed her hand inside.
〈Air Bubble 1/2: Claimed.〉
A rush of air shot out, filling the three's noses, and they all took a deep breath. Omariro placed Sōshin down, who felt his neck.
[I feel…better! Thanks, friends!]
Yuka watched as the last of the air disappeared into the void.
[Only one left. Manage your air wisely, people.]
Once they finally arrived at the building, the door opened, and they all collapsed inside, with the entrance shutting behind them.
"Friends!" Sōshin cheered. "I can talk now!"
Yuka got up. "It seems both the air and gravity are normal in here. But that doesn't make sense. Is this some ventilation chamber?"
Omariro pointed his stick forward. "Worse."
They noticed a large pile of unrecognizable corpses littering the building with a green-like goo coating them.
"My goodness," Yuka stated. "It appears they've been…eaten?"
Sōshin pointed to the walls. "There's drawings on the walls! They look like cartoon characters!"
"Not alone," Omariro warned. "Eyes sharp."
He pointed his stick at the door at the other end, and they all hurried toward it, an unsettling creaking noise echoing behind them.
Sōshin looked back. "I heard a noise, Friend Omariro!"
"Boy not dwell. Monster lurks."
They picked up the pace, arriving at the door. Yuka tried to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge. "Hmm? Locked? But there's no key!"
Unbeknownst to them, a greenish hand slowly lowered from above, and by the time Omariro turned around, it latched onto him, lifting him into the air.
"Omariro!" Yuka called out.
"Sir!" Sōshin worried.
A blob attached to the arm slowly descended, and with a horrific sound, it shifted into that of a young girl, with gooey green skin and a small green dress.
"Ooh," she remarked, her voice full of excitement. "What do we have here?"
Yuka quickly fired an ice eagle at her, but it simply absorbed into her skin, and she giggled.
"Hey, it's rude to interrupt, you know!"
Two more arms wrapped around Sōshin and Yuka as the girl brought Omariro closer. "Pretty old…short…long gray hair…bland expression, yep! You're him! That super-strong guy everyone down here's talking about!"
"Girl release group," Omariro ordered. "Or girl pays dues."
"Hehehe! Is that a threat?"
"Threats irrelevant."
She landed on the ground, bringing the three along with her. "Come! I've got something to show you!"
"What are you?" Yuka questioned. "You're no goblin."
"Nope!" she confirmed. "I'm a sticky, icky slime!"
"What's a slime?" Sōshin questioned.
"Goo creature," Omariro told him. "Girl body like jelly."
She put her hands on her hips. "Aren't you a smart one? You'll be perfect for my game!"
She dragged them into a room, where staircases led to a bunker below.
Underground—-
She tossed the three into a containment room, before shutting the door behind them and locking it. From the window to the other side, she waved, right before Yuka kicked it.
"Free us," Yuka demanded. "We have no time for your games."
The girl put her hands behind her back. "Aww, but I wanna see if the legend is true! It's been so boring down here with nothing but feeble humans and animals to munch on!"
"No Kaitansha has ventured in here," Yuka refuted. "None that I know of. So what could you possibly be eating?"
The girl put on a bright smile. "The Endless takes care of us! Such good care of us! It brings us all the meat and flesh we need!"
She gasped. "Oh, how rude of me! My name's Emeru! What's your names?"
"None of your business," Yuka scoffed.
"Sōshin!"
"Do not answer her!"
Emeru clapped. "Wonderful name! And I already know yours, Mr. Legend! It's Omariro! The rude woman…we'll just call her Ice Witch!"
"How ridiculous of you," Yuka replied. "Name-calling is beneath your species."
She put a finger to her lips. "Now, Mr. Omariro. Is it true you have every single Jugen Class? Because that's like, super rare!"
"Get to point, girl."
"Mmm. I just wanna put them to the test! First game's called—-Heavy Hitter!"
A green blob formed from the ceiling, and another and another, until a wave of slime replicas stood one in front of the other.
"The rules are simple," she explained. "Hit the first slime as hard as you can. Only use your fists! If you can get the force to destroy every single slime, you win! Ready? 3…2…1…"
Without hesitation, Omariro punched the first slime, sending it flying into the others and hitting the wall with a huge SPLAT.
Emeru stomped her feet. "Hey, damn it! I didn't say go!"
"Next, girl."
She folded her arms. "Whatever! You win, so I'll let it pass! Next up! We've got…Magical Mayhem! Use your Mahōshi class to hit all the moving targets! Miss, and more pop up! You've got 30 seconds! Good luck!"
Hands emerged from the roof, holding blobs of smile.
"Now go!"
Omariro formed his bow, firing arrows into the blobs one by one, stunning Emeru. "Whoa! You're good!"
She quickly sprang up. "Next we've got a game of Slime Tag! Don't let the slimes touch you, or you're out! That goes for your buddies too!"
She waved her hand. "Begin!"
Slime clones emerged, lunging for the group.
"Jugen-Sōunsha: Cursed Movement!"
Omariro quickly grabbed Sōshin and Yuka, teleporting around the room.
"Ooh, fast," Emeru whispered. "But how fast will you be when I do THIS?"
She clenched a fist, and the slimes began shifting into leopards, moving with even more ferocity.
Omariro quickly dodged them, flipping over the slimes, before rising into the air and clapping his hands.
"Jugen-Metsusha: Obliterate!"
With one clap, all the slimes disappeared, and Emeru began to stamp her feet. "Hey! Cheater! You were supposed to use your speed! Not destroy them!"
"Girl free group. Now."
"No! You're gonna go back in there, and you're gonna play the game properly—-!"
Omariro punched the door open, stepping out.
"Why didn't you just do that from the start?" Yuka asked.
"Girl's plan," Omariro said. "Wished to see."
Emeru backed up as Omariro approached her. "No, no, no, no! This wasn't how this was supposed to go! You—-!"
"Girl come with me."
Omariro held out his hand. "Jugen-Kōbisha: Forbidden Prison."
A large portal opened, dragging Emeru inside as she grabbed the ceiling.
"Stop this! I command you! My brother! You don't know who my brother is! Once he finds out about this, he'll kill you all! He'll tear each of you to shreds—-!"
The portal dragged her inside, closing behind her.
"Leaving her alive?" Yuka wondered. "She's dangerous."
"Slime has perks. Also good for back."
"I see…well. We should try that door now."
As they headed upstairs, unbeknownst to them, a green hand burst through the containment cell, and a raspy voice echoed.
"Sister…"
Above, the group hurried to the door, and Omariro bashed it open, causing them all to hold their breath.
[Totem close. Move!]
Sure enough, the totem was atop a large spaceship, which was preparing to take off.
Yuka fell to one knee, and Sōshin helped her up.
[Thank you.]
An air bubble floated past them, and Omariro quickly smacked it with his staff, causing air to fill their lungs as they chased after the spaceship, which began to fly away.
〈Air Bubble: 2/2.〉
[We're losing it!]
Yuka used all her strength to form an ice eagle as the ship rose into the air, and the group all got on as they pursued it.
Sōshin pressed his hand to the eagle, briefly opening his mouth. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Densō—Dai-ni Giyā!"
The eagle flew faster as Sōshin began coughing, and with a final burst of speed, it rose over the ship before breaking apart.
They all began to climb, heading for the totem, which began to wobble.
"Omariro!" Yuka called out, coughing. "Take my hand!"
She formed a batch of spider-legs, and once he grabbed one, she pulled him back and flung him toward the totem, which he touched.
〈Totem Seal Acquired. Level 1,202 Clearance Enabled.〉
The ship landed, and a gate formed in front of it. Omariro stood up, but when he looked back…
…he noticed both Yuka and Sōshin were out cold.
Meanwhile, Floor 10,000—-
Han quickly ran through the forest as the noises of death and destruction could be heard around him.
"Crap, crap! Stay alive, Han! You got this!"
A young Kaitansha boy fell in front of Han, and he quickly got up, rushing over and grabbing onto Han's shoulders. "Save me, save me please—-!"
"What? What's the matter?"
"They're coming! They're—-!"
A large lion tackled the boy into the bushes and Han could hear the sounds of eating as its master appeared nearby.
"Han…" Kohaku taunted. "Where are you?"
Han quickly dove into an opposite section of bushes as Kohaku passed. A Kaitansha approached her, holding an axe.
"You! You get away from me!" he demanded.
Kohaku stepped off her tiger, a smile on her face. "Bold, are we? Come, take the first strike!"
The boy trembled, but he gripped his weapon and slashed at Kohaku's chest, leaving a small scratch.
"Not even a flesh wound," she bragged. "Tsk. Disappointing."
Han watched in horror as her body began to shift, change, and grow.
"Oh. My. Go—-"
He closed his eyes as a sharp SLASH could be heard, and Kohaku's chilling laughter echoed.
"Come out, Han! Show me what your master has taught you, little prey!"
Han crawled away, navigating past leaves and thorns, when suddenly he bumped into a girl, who immediately got into a fighting stance.
"Gah! Jugen-Metsusha: Yubisaki Mekken—!"
"Wait, wait! I'm not a hunter!"
The girl paused, looking him up and down. "You! You're the Legend's student! The one she jacked!"
"Yeah, yeah. Who are you?"
She put her hands down. "My name's Shino. I'm one of Sōkaidan."
"Oh," Han realized. "Explains the guarded edge. How'd you get down here?"
"Snatched. Just like you. My brothers must be worried sick."
"Same with my group. I really let my master down."
"Well, Han. Maybe we should stick together. After all, this place is truly a kill-or-be-killed zone."
They heard Kohaku's footsteps in the distance, her voice more feral. "HAN!"
Han turned back to Shino, offering a hand. "Yeah…"
"…together."
——-