???——
A slightly older Omariro was busy pouring coffee into his cup, while a purple-haired girl in her late teens approached him, bringing him some mail.
"Here, Master," she said. "The Kaitansha have given you some letters."
Omariro turned around. "Rin. Burn them all."
She flipped through them. "As you wish, Master."
As Rin turned to leave, she briefly paused. "I meant to ask you, Sir, do you ever plan on getting married—-?"
Omariro held up a hand. "No."
"What if I was to—-?"
"No."
She sighed. "Hmph. Sir, you can't act all distant forever. Can't you at least tell us a story about yourself?"
"Story for you: Born one day. Became Kaitansha. Rose to Kaidnachō. The end."
He sipped his coffee. "Training later."
Rin put a hand on her hip, visibly annoyed. "Fine, fine. I'll burn these like you asked, sir."
She left, entering one of the hallways, where an older Ichika and Mirei were waiting.
"Still turned down?" Mirei asked.
Rin nodded. "He's so hyper-serious all the time. Even though we live in his home, it's like he's a stranger to us. Any way to get him to spend time with us?"
"Maybe we could suggest a trip?" Ichika suggested. "After all the work and effort the Master has been exerting, he deserves a chance to relax."
"Good luck with that," Mirei joked. "Sir's gonna kill us all before he takes a 'vacation' with us."
"We just need to convince him it's training-related," Rin suggested. "That'll jolt him."
"Jolt who, children?"
"Gah!"
They all jumped back, noticing Omariro standing behind them, and they immediately bowed. "Sir!"
"Girls gossiping in this hallway," Omariro noted. "Must think I'm foolish."
"N—no, not at all, sir!" Ichika stammered.
"We were just throwing out ideas!" Mirei clarified. "That's all!"
"Yep, we'd never try and trick you!" Rin assured.
Omariro picked up a staff. "To the dojo, all of you."
Dojo——
Omariro directed the girls inside the dojo, where five guys were already training, one of whom was an older Itsuki.
"Master!" Itsuki realized. "Good to see you, is anything on the agenda today?"
He noticed the girls. "Oh. Seems this might be a bad time. Did something happen?"
"Just trying to test the waters," Rin murmured.
Omariro tapped his staff. "Line up."
They all did so, with Itsuki in the middle. Omariro addressed them one by one, starting with the green-haired young man who was digging in his ear at the end. "Kaito."
Kaito immediately stopped. "Yes, Master?"
Omariro moved his eyes to the next boy, one with blue hair, in a monk-like prayer. "Naoya."
Naoya gave a polite bow. "Sir."
Then, a young man with flaming red hair and passionate eyes. Daigo."
"Ready for what you need, sir!"
His eyes passed over Itsuki. "Itsuki."
"I'm here, Master."
Then Mirei. "Mirei."
She placed a hand to her chest. "Anything you need, sir!"
"Ichika."
Ichika's face turned red. "Y—yes, Master?"
"Rin."
Rin closed her eyes. "You have my heart, sir."
And finally, he turned to the youngest in the room. "Shion."
Shion eagerly bowed. "Let me prove myself, sir!"
Omariro addressed the room. "All of you have aged. Young adults. Hunger has dimmed. Why?"
They all remained silent, awkward looks on their faces, before Itsuki stood up.
"We still want to be the greatest, sir," Itsuki stated. "It's just, with you as our inspiration and idol, we'd just prefer you be more hands-on with us."
Omariro tapped his staff on the ground. "Explain."
Ichika got up, nervously fiddling with her thumbs. "We want to be like…a family. I know we're in your Division, and stuff…but we want to experience you, sir, the real you."
Omariro looked around the room. "How many share this view?"
They all raised their hands.
"None of you understand who I truly am," Omariro warned. "You cannot handle the burden."
"We can, sir!" Mirei insisted. "We love you! We promise!"
"You can't. Do you know why this division is called Jukaidan?"
They all shook their heads.
"Let me show you."
Omariro held out his hand. "Jugen-Daraku: Bannō Kutsū no Noroi."
The air of the room shifted, causing dark armor to appear around Omariro's body, with crackling black energy emitting off of him. The kids all watched with shock, as Omariro's glowing black eyes bore into them from behind his mask.
"Jugen…Daraku?" Itsuki gasped. "What is that?"
"A curse upon the soul," Omariro explained. "Power comes not free, but with price."
With a wave of his hand, dark energy erupted, blowing up one of the training dummies nearby. As the stunned students looked on, Omariro shifted back.
"Children must not pry deep. Learn what you can. Avoid what you can't."
"Sir…" Ichika questioned. "How are you…cursed?"
"My history is complex," he told her. "You cannot handle it, girl."
Shion got to his feet. "Please, sir! Don't you trust us?"
"Yeah!" Daigo agreed. "Even if you harbor some weird curses, or Jugen, or whatever, you're still our Master!"
"Children naive," he sighed. "You will all learn."
He turned to leave. "Train alone today. Tomorrow I shall return."
He left, leaving the group alone.
"It seems we know even less about Master than we assumed," Naoya realized.
"That was so cool what he just did!" Kaito cheered. "I wanna do it too!"
"Idiot," Naoya scoffed. "You're not the Master."
Rin watched him exit the house. "You're all missing the point. He's carrying some burden. We need to figure out what, and ease it. Maybe that's why he's never let anyone close…"
"Rin's right!" Ichika agreed. "Our Master has helped us, so we need to help him!"
"Then it's settled," Itsuki determined. "We find the source of his curse, and we break it. We owe him one."
Unbeknownst to them, Omariro was listening in from a distance, a grim look on his face.
"Children…"
〈Error…Error…Tree Unstable.〉
Midgard—-
Omariro's upper body popped out of the tree as it began to wither and violently shake, stunning Thor and Emeru.
"It's never done that before!" Thor called out. "What did you see?"
"History," Omariro answered.
"Well, the history is revolting!"
More shockwaves erupted, tearing the ground apart. Thor quickly pointed to Emeru. "Slime! Use your powers and grab him!"
"Me? Why not you?"
"Because you can absorb some of the impact! It'll tear me to pieces if I get too close!"
"Some god you are!"
Emeru reached out and grabbed Omariro's shoulders with both her hands, using all her strength to tug him free. Slowly, his body began to separate from the tree, which only became more unstable as he split from it.
"Got him!"
Omariro landed on the ground, looking back at the tree. "Tree a hassle."
"Yeah, well, it's best we run!" Thor shouted.
With a burst of speed, he took off, with Omariro and Emeru following close behind. The shockwaves erupted deeper through Midgard, nearly striking Omariro.
They continued running through the snow until a glowing beam appeared, and Thor grabbed their arms. "Hold tight, mortals!"
They jumped into the beam, and it carried them away. Far, far away.
Back in Asgard, Odin was waiting, with a tall man in a helmet next to him. "Ahh, finally. You're back."
"Heimdall," Thor said, relieved. "Came just in time."
"I see that," Heimdall noted. "It seems the tree didn't react as expected."
"Sure as hell didn't."
Odin pointed his spear at Omariro. "You withstood the tree. Even with your status, surviving a tree that contains the most forbidden secrets in all of the dungeons is no easy feat."
"He didn't just withstand it, Dad," Thor corrected. "The tree almost seemed to try and 'steal' his knowledge."
"That's impossible! What could he know our tree already doesn't?"
Odin turned to Omariro, who simply walked past him. "Next."
He approached Yuka and Sōshin, who were both waiting, with blankets wrapped around them.
"You did pretty well back there," Yuka congratulated. "Mind telling me what you saw?"
"Things," Omariro told her. "Tree stopped before despair."
"So even the famous Yggdrasill can't get a ruse out of you. Tsk. Then I stand no chance."
"Woman does not."
After talking with Heimdall and Thor, Odin cleared his throat. "Well then. You passed the first. Now, we'll see about the second. Loki. You're up."
Loki approached Omariro, swaying her hips to the side. "Mmm. That's gonna be fun."
"Begin," Omariro ordered. "I take the boy."
"Yippie!" Sōshin cheered.
"Not so fast," Loki teased. "You gotta wait for the other groups to do their thing!"
"Hmm?"
"Pff, I feel bad for whoever got that Egyptian crap," Loki mocked. "They're in for a rough time."
Meanwhile—-
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 5,002〉
Zaria, Nonoka, and the Kaidanchō with them found themselves in a vast desert, with a large pyramid before them, houses surrounding it.
"Getting Déjà vu," Zaria recalled. "And how'd we end up so far down?"
"Whatever is going on, it's clearly non-linear, just like the Division Raid Tournament," Atsushi told her.
Kaoru began to clap. "Pyramids? I love pyramids!"
"Get a grip," Kōichi scoffed.
〈Rule: Complete the Trial.〉
"Trial…" Atsushi wondered. "What could it possibly be this time?"
"Dad, I don't like this," Nonoka told him.
"It'll be fine. Everyone keep moving. Don't let the sand claim you."
With Atsushi in front, the group advanced toward the pyramid, which was guarded by a mummy.
"Halt, mortals," the mummy ordered. "Why do I find you on my floor?"
"Ooh? Are we not welcome?" Kaoru asked.
"No. I wait for the one known as the Danjon no Hakaisha, but you call him Omariro Nyugawa."
The group all paused, sharing a look.
"What do you want with Nyugawa?" Atsushi asked.
"Yeah, explain why you're tryna set my master up!" Zaria demanded.
"Ugh, he's mine too," Nonoka scoffed.
"Not now, children," Atsushi hissed.
The mummy cracked his bones, glowing eyes staring at them. "Master? Oh. How funny. That is no Master. That's a conqueror."
Before they could respond, the mummy trapped them all in linen cloth, revealing his head, which was that of a jackal. "My name is Anubis. God of all Mummies."
"Gods?" Kōichi interrupted. "What is this, a fairytale?"
"You may not believe it, boy, but you've been around gods much longer than you think. Now then, since you are acquainted with the Danjon no Hakaisha, I shall give you one attempt to complete these trials."
The door behind him opened, revealing a dusty chamber with twelve doors all surrounding it.
〈Rule: Find the *Correct* Gate.〉
〈Time Remaining: 45:00〉
"May the desert bring you luck," Anubis said. "I shall be waiting in the next room."
The sand enveloped his body, causing him to disappear.
"Well, some 'guide' he is," Nonoka growled. "Dad, what's the plan?"
"We begin the trials," Atsushi replied. "Our comrades wait."
They all stepped deeper in, and the entrance closed shut behind them. Kōichi analyzed the room. "Great. A puzzle. Seems we aren't touching anything else till we figure it out."
Kaoru walked up to one of the doors, and a serpent in pharaoh clothing appeared. "Ahh! A snake!"
"Excuse you, woman," the serpent hissed. "I am a serpent deity, not a snake."
As Kaoru backed up, Atsushi approached the serpent. "Why do you stand before this door?"
"We all do," the serpent confirmed. "You must enter and find the correct gate. Only then will you get the key to advance to the next phase."
"So what's behind this one?"
"Let me show you."
〈Gate of Chaos: Unlocked.〉
"Set's dominion," the serpent informed them. "Good luck."
They entered the room, which appeared to be a barren chamber with a chest in the middle.
"Probably shouldn't touch that," Nonoka warned.
"No one was planning to, child," Atsushi grunted. "Everyone, look for anything resembling a key."
They spread out, surveying the room. After a few minutes, they regrouped at the front.
"Nothing," Nonoka shrugged.
"Yeah, no dice," Zaria added.
"Useless stones, but nothing of value," Kōichi complained.
"Maybe we should try the chest?" Kaoru proposed.
"Of course not," Atsushi shot down. "That thing is clearly an obvious—-!"
He turned toward the chest, which was now open. An avatar-like figure emerged, sporting a canine body and a large snout of a head.
"Foolish mortals. You should have chosen a different door. I am Set—-God of Chaos."
The room began to shake violently as the god laughed, with a thundering storm filling the room as everyone blacked out.
——-