Floor 5,000—-
Inside Cerberus's den, Gakuto and Mizuki were busy attacking the beast while Rika put her hand to one of the door's buttons.
〈Challenge Activated: Door of Rage.〉
"Ooh, what'd you do, Rika?" Rei asked.
"I don't know!"
Cerberus knocked Gakuto and Mizuki off, and a red glow appeared around Rika and Gakuto's bodies.
〈*2* Marked Targets. Survive Cerberus's *Rampage* to unlock the Door of Rage.〉
Cerberus turned his head toward Rika and Typhon, who immediately ran behind her.
"Umm…" Rika worried. "What's he doing?"
"About to attack you!" Typhon replied. "Defend me, human!"
The dog charged at Rika, who threw herself out of the way. Typhon did the same, and Cerberus opened one of his mouths, firing a plume of flame at them.
"Hold on, Rika!" Rei called out.
She fired a moon blast at the dog, which bounced off his skin. "It didn't work!"
Cerberus grew larger as fire coated his body, and he roared loud enough to shake the room.
"Watch out!" Gakuto ordered.
He charged into the dog, slamming him with his helmet and sending both of them crashing into the wall.
BOOM.
Once the dust cleared, the group watched as Cerberus had Gakuto's helmet in his jaws, cracking it little by little.
"This thing's not calming down!" Gakuto shouted.
"H—hang on, sir!"
Rika put her hands together. "Please work, please work! Jugen-Kaiseisha: Chiyu no Shirushi!"
〈Sigil Created: Siphon.〉
"Got it! Thank goodness!"
Cerberus noticed the sigil in her hands and tossed Gakuto aside, staring at Rika with a red glint in his eyes.
"Girl, do something…" Typhon demanded. "Do something NOW!"
"RAHHHH!"
All three heads opened their mouths, firing a powerful blast of fire that struck Rika in the chest, sending her flying back.
〈Sigil: Activated.〉
The blast repelled and struck the left side of the dog's head, stunning him as Rei caught Rika. "Rika! Are you okay?"
"Y…yeah…that hurt a lot more than it was supposed to…"
She noticed the damage to her armor. "Oh, come on! I thought this was supposed to be tough stuff!"
Taking advantage of the dog's stunned state, Gakuto rammed his head into him, causing him to fall to the floor.
Cerberus tried to get up, but once he did, he got a tad bit smaller.
〈Challenge Complete. Door Unlocked.〉
The Door of Rage unlocked, revealing a dog-shaped totem. Mizuki quickly grabbed it, and it shifted into a sigil that struck the left head.
"GRRR!"
The head wobbled and growled before collapsing, unconscious. The other two heads briefly looked at it before firing blasts of flame in every direction.
"We got one!" Rika cheered.
"Good work, now we get the other two!" Gakuto told her.
Cerberus tried to whack him with his tail, but Gakuto deflected with his helmet. Rei swung a moon crest at the dog's side, causing a small gash.
"My powers work again!"
She wound up for another attack, but Cerberus bit the crest in two. "Oops! Maybe not…"
Rika sprinted over to the nearest door and pressed the button.
〈Challenge Activated: Door of Hunger.〉
Large pieces of meat began to float around the room, as Cerberus shifted between them and the group.
〈Feed Cerberus all *12* Pieces of Meat. Only *Targeted* Party Member can do so.〉
Mizuki's body lit up with a red glow.
"Looks like it's your turn, Mizuki!" Gakuto noted.
"It seems so," she replied.
Cerberus fired a beam at her, but Rei matched it with her own beam, causing crimson plasma to fire and stun him.
〈Reaction Triggered.〉
Taking advantage, Mizuki quickly grabbed a piece of meat and threw it into one of the dog's open mouths, and he swallowed it.
〈Food: 1/12〉
Gakuto pumped his fist. "Nice! Just gotta nab the other eleven!"
Mizuki threw another piece of meat at him, but Cerberus batted it away with his paw before lunging at Mizuki.
"Jugen-Sōunsha: Cursed Transmission!"
His claws scratched the wall behind her head as she disappeared and reappeared behind him, grabbing his collar and pulling on it. Cerberus trashed and shook her off, as she collected two more pieces of meat.
"Come, dog," she whispered. "I know you are hungry."
Cerberus slowly paced around her, looking from the meat to her body. "Take the food, creature."
Suddenly, Cerberus lunged at her, biting her arm, but she gritted her teeth and shoved the other two pieces of meat into his other mouth.
〈Food: 3/12〉
The dog pulled away, bumping into the wall, as Rika came over. "Hold on, Miss Mizuki! I can heal you!"
Mizuki held up a hand. "Don't. Save your strength—-"
She pulled Rika out of the way as Cerberus charged past them, staring at her bleeding arm. "Still intact. I'll hold."
"Are you sure?"
Mizuki nodded. "I've experienced worse."
Cerberus jumped onto the wall, using his claws to slide down toward the girls, and Mizuki quickly scooped up five pieces of meat, backing away as the dog approached.
"I need an opening."
"You got one!" Gakuto assured. "Girls, mind lending me a hand?"
"With what?" Rika asked.
"Sure!" Rei agreed.
"Try keeping him still! Then I can bash him right in his grill! Or grills. You know what I mean!"
"On it!" they said.
Rika threw a piece of meat at the dog. "Hey! Over here!"
Cerberus turned around, puffing with anger and slowly walking toward Rika while his head stretched out. "Hey, Rei? Do your thing! Rei?"
Cerberus snapped at Rika, making her yelp and jump back. As soon as she did, a forcefield appeared around him.
"Jugen-Mahōshi: Gekkō no Gokō!"
Rika breathed a sigh of relief. "What took you so long?"
Rei innocently put her hands behind her back. "I wanted to make sure I didn't trap you too!"
Gakuto got into a running stance. "Okay, now drop it!"
Once the forcefield dropped, Gakuto headbutted the dog with all his strength, slamming him into the ground. "You're up, Mizuki!"
Mizuki wasted no time flipping over Cerberus and forcing the meat into his mouth.
〈Food: 8/12〉
The meat began moving around in the air as Cerberus leapt onto the wall, firing ranged blasts from his position.
"Every stage just gets harder, huh?" Gakuto sighed. "Well, girls, time to get it done!"
Rei formed a shield around them as Cerberus rapidly fired flame blasts, slowly moving the group toward the racing meat.
"They're so fast!"
"They need to be slowed," Mizuki realized. "Everyone, stand back."
She knelt on the ground, closing her eyes as the dog curiously watched. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Dōryoku Kyūshū!"
Crackling energy erupted from around her, slowing down everyone's movements. "Now! Drop the shield!"
The moment Rei did so, Mizuki began collecting the final pieces of meat, almost in slow motion.
"Dinner time," she said.
Using her speed, she quickly ran along the wall as Cerberus tried to fend her off, the attacks moving more slowly than before. With one final jump, she clung onto his back.
"Eat…this…!"
She tossed the meat into the air, before kicking it into his mouth.
〈Food: 12/12〉
〈Challenge Complete. Door Unlocked.〉
Both she and the dog hit the ground as the door opened. Rika hurried to grab it, picking up the totem as Cerberus loomed over Mizuki.
"Hurry…hurry…!"
She squeezed it, and it turned into a sigil, striking the head on the right and incapacitating it.
Gakuto dragged Mizuki away. "Some skill you showed there! If only you weren't so quiet, you'd probably be near the top!"
"I decline," she stated.
"Meh! I'm sure you'll change your mind!"
The middle head turned to stare at them as Rika triggered the final door.
〈Challenge Activated: Door of Silence.〉
Chains quickly emerged and restrained Rika, Gakuto, and Mizuki, to their shock.
"Hmm?" Rei questioned.
A key appeared on Cerberus's neck.
〈*Targeted* Member must retrieve the key without making any noise.〉
"What—-?" Rei gasped, before covering her mouth.
"You got this, Rei!" Rika shouted. "But please take your time!"
Rei began to tiptoe over to Cerberus, who eyed her with a wary look on his face.
"He's a good dog," Rei thought to herself. "He won't bite me…"
The other three watched as she got within striking distance, and as she reached for the key, Cerberus batted her away before jumping to the other side of the room.
"Ow…" Rei murmured, before quickly closing her mouth.
Cerberus began firing flames at her from his mouth, forcing her to crawl underneath the beams.
"Focus, Rei," Rika pleaded, silently. "Focus!"
Rei rolled away from another beam, throwing out her hand as quietly as she could and mouthing the words:
"Jugen-Mahōshi: Gekkō no Gokō!"
A shield formed around the dog, causing him to bang on it and crack it piece by piece as Rei crawled over to him.
Once Rei got close to the shield, Cerberus broke free, biting into her shoulder as she winced, but she kept quiet, reaching for the key as Cerberus tried to pull away.
"Almost…got it!" she thought.
She fired a moon blast at the dog, blinding it temporarily, and with one final tug, she ripped off the key.
〈Challenge Complete. Door Unlocked.〉
Rei quickly got up, grabbing the totem and crushing it in hand, which formed a sigil that took down the last head, causing the dog to slump to the ground.
〈Time Remaining: 0:12〉
〈Trial Complete.〉
The chains released the others, and they clattered to the floor.
"Phew," Rika said, dizzy. "You did amazing, Rei!"
"Yeah, excellent work, little lady!" Gakuto complimented.
"Solid enough," Mizuki added.
Rei scratched her head. "Oh! Thanks!"
Typhon crawled from out of the shadows. "Yes, yes, we all survived, hooray. Good thing the dog is tamed, I did not want to be its next meal."
They all stared at the cat, and Rika placed her hands on her hips. "You're the boss of this dungeon and you've been no help at all! Are you trying to sabotage us?"
"Uh no? Girl, I don't know if you noticed, but I am an ANIMAL."
"Ugh, forget it. What's next?"
Asmodeus suddenly appeared, clapping. "You all live. Not bad for an entry test."
"So, is the next test easier?" Gakuto asked. "Or do we gotta pummel some more dogs?"
"You will have to wait," Asmodeus told them. "The Trial of the Norse has begun."
Floor 5,001—
Omariro entered through the gate, with Yuka and Sōshin's bodies floating behind him.
"Hmm. Not right."
Emeru hopped through, still in blob form, and she immediately gasped.
"Oh no! What the hell did you guys do?"
Omariro turned to look at her, and she immediately yelped.
"Gah, sorry! I mean, not you specifically, like, your group! Anyway, this is one of the Three Trials by Fire: the Norse Trial! You'd have to break a serious dungeon rule to trigger this, and we didn't break any!"
In front of them was a cold, jagged mountainside, with a village built into it and a kingdom in the near distance.
A female soldier with wings caught sight of them, and she pointed her blade at Omariro. "Halt. You. Special guest."
"Woman speak clear."
"We've been waiting for you. Welcome to Floor 5,001, or like we call it—-Asgard."
She flew into the air, motioning to Omariro. "Follow me. The Aesir wait."
Omariro watched her fly off before using his stick and walking behind her.
"Don't leave me to die!" Emeru begged.
"Come, slime."
Emeru hopped behind Omariro as he walked across the bridge leading toward the kingdom. Large men and women with toned physiques and tattoos watched as he walked, bowing strangely.
"Hmm…"
Once Omariro arrived at the door, the soldier held it open, and he walked inside, where an elderly bald man with an eyepatch was waiting for him.
"Wonderful," the man clapped. "You've arrived."
He stood up, walking down. "My name's Odin, King of the Aesir. And as for you…"
He pointed his spear at him. "We're here to put you through the most dangerous tests known to man, and see if you'll survive, Legendary Kaitansha."
The door shut behind Omariro, and Odin tapped his spear on the ground, causing a glowing light to envelop them.
"Let us begin."
——