Kitakyushu, Japan—-
Large crowds of civilians gathered beside the streets of Kitakyushu as dozens of vans drove in a hurry to Ishida Station, with news helicopters following them.
"Breaking News! It seems most of the Kaitansha are planning to enter the Kitakyushu Dungeon! Is it really worth the risk after the disaster Kagoshima was?"
The news reporters noticed a giant limo trailing the vans, with a distinctly familiar face residing inside. "Is that...the Director? Not only that, it seems the Vice Director is beside him!"
The cars drove for a while longer, dealing with bumps, turns, and the occasional civilians in the road, before they all finally arrived at Ishida Station.
The moment they all parked, Hayate stepped out, looking around. There was a small vending machine nearby, and he held out his hand to touch it.
〈Scanning...〉
The entire station began to shake, and the building sank below ground, replaced by an extremely large dungeon gate glowing golden.
"Kitakyushu," Hayate muttered. "A dungeon which has claimed countless of our own."
Marin stood beside him. "I still don't believe we should send our forces inside. We may as well just be killing them ourselves."
"Relax, Marin," Hayate assured her. "Faith is one of the strongest elements a Kaitansha can have. If you don't have faith, you have nothing."
"I get it. But blind faith gets us nowhere."
One by one, Kaitansha stepped outside of the vans, followed by their Kaidanchō. Atsushi, Yuka, Gakuto, Kōichi, Kaoru, and Mizuki all exited. Hayate turned around to greet them.
"I'm glad you could make it on time," Hayate remarked. "It's not often I can have you all in one place."
"It's also not often you step into the fray yourself, Director," Yuka noted. "Shouldn't you be back in HQ?"
"The Civil War has taught me a lesson," he explained. "That I am no good as your Director if I stand by and let Kaitansha die on my behalf."
"I admire your courage, Director," Atsushi complimented. "But this Dungeon is no place for you to prove your honor."
"Yeah, not too big on the Head of Kaitansha HQ jumping into Kitakyushu," Kōichi agreed. "But, none of us can overrule your decision, so..."
"Come now, do you all not think I'm capable?" Hayate chuckled. "Surely capturing those two Dōkkodan fools wasn't enough for you?"
Kaoru clapped her hands together. "I believe in you, Director! We can use all the help we can get!"
"Why thank you, Kaoru. Speaking of help, I believe we're missing one more Division..."
Almost as if in response, Omariro teleported in, with the kids landing behind him. He had a walker, slowly gathering with the rest of the Kaidanchō.
"The hell?" Kōichi questioned.
"Nyugawa?" Atsushi realized. "You've gotten..."
"Younger!" Kaoru gasped. "Wow, Mr. Nyugawa, you're looking spectacular!"
Mizuki remained quiet, but she briefly turned her head to giggle before resuming her emotionless gaze.
"Staring," Omariro noted. "Must stop."
"Ahem," Hayate interrupted, clearing his throat. "It's a pleasure you can join us, Omariro. But I must ask, why do you look like you're barely over eighteen?"
"Age is complex," Omariro replied. "And is curse on the body."
"Wouldn't call it much of a curse," Yuka teased.
Omariro silenced her with a sharp look before turning to the dungeon gate. "Dungeon."
Zaria stared at the gate, gawking. "Wait, that's it? It's so huge! We're gonna go in there and kick some serious ass, right, Master?"
"Hmm."
Hayate turned toward all the gathered Kaitansha. "Everyone, this may very well be the greatest challenge you'll ever face in your days as Kaitansha! Thus I must advise that you move with extreme caution, and don't leave anyone behind!"
"Yes, sir!" the Kaitansha replied.
The gate flickered briefly, catching Hayate's attention. "I can feel it closing already. "Everyone! Now or never!"
Hayate rushed into the gate, and everyone save for Shinkaidan rushed in after him. Omariro made his way over to the front of the gate, briefly pausing.
"Kids must work together," he warned. "Will not be safe."
"Got it, sir!" Zaria nodded.
Omariro entered the gate, and his students followed behind him.
???—-
〈Entry Detected——Floor Level: 1.〉
〈Selecting Path A's Party...〉
〈Selected: *Omariro Nyugawa.*〉
Omariro landed on a spiraling platform, with a void-like space surrounding him. In front of him was a floating bridge, leading to the next platform.
He used his walker to navigate himself to the next platform, jumping into the air and teleporting himself when the bridge started cracking.
The moment he reached the platform, the bridge fell into the void, and a UI appeared, illuminating the entire area.
〈Rule: *Survive.*〉
〈Wave *1*: Cursed Samurai. Level: 40,000〉
Almost in the blink of an eye, four large samurai spawned in, holding blades the size of pythons and surrounding Omariro.
"Nyugawa?" one realized.
"We've gotten Nyugawa!" another chuckled. "Perfect!"
"We shall slay him in the name of the Endless!"
〈Domain Effect: Way of the Samurai. All *Samurai* can deflect any melee attacks.〉
The first one swung his katana at Omariro's head, which caused the old man to instantly form his blade and block. The samurai knocked the blade out of Omariro's hands, but Omariro teleported into the air and formed his bow.
"Jugen-Mahōshi: Ten'yokukyū-Tenfold!"
A large arrow rained down, obliterating the samurai. The others stood in place, stunned.
"No, Brother!"
"Kill the old bat!"
Two of the remaining samurai rushed Omariro, but Omariro ducked under their blades and slid to the other side. "Jugen-Metsusha: Jigen Danretsu!"
A slash cleaved them in two, causing both of them to fall apart and disappear. The final samurai held up his blade. "They were right about you. You're a freak—-a monster. You must be slain, for the good of the dungeons!"
He charged up a powerful slash before aiming straight for Omariro's head, but Omariro stayed calm, closing his eyes. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Zennō Hanten."
BOOM.
The attack bounced back toward the samurai, knocking him off the platform and sending him flying into the darkness. Omariro looked up, where another UI was waiting for him.
〈Wave Complete.〉
A waypoint emerged, directing him to a faraway island in the distance. Chunks of floating rocks were scattered in the way, and Omariro looked down at the drop before jumping off, teleporting onto the rocks bit by bit.
With one final motion, he landed on the island, which was covered with withered trees, dense bushes, and lakes filled with black water. Omariro slowly walked forward, when he heard a voice behind him.
"No frigging way! Is that Omariro Nyugawa? Like, THE Omariro Nyugawa?"
Omariro slightly turned his head, noticing a brown-skinned boy with headphones on, black shades, and wearing a Kaitansha outfit. The boy immediately waved.
"Boy," Omariro noted. "No place for boy."
The boy nervously chuckled. "Eh, yeah, I'm tots not really supposed to be here. See, my name's Isamu Shidō. I'm from Naraku-Kaidan."
Omariro continued walking as Isamu rushed to catch up. "So, Mr. Nyugawa! Did my Kaidanchō send you in here to save my ass?"
"No."
"Aww, man. Well, I'm sure you're dying to hear about how a wimp like me ended up in this joint, no?"
"No."
"So there I was, back in Kagoshima. I was running from the Huntress, you know? She caught me, beat the everlasting crap outta me, and then when I mouthed off to her, she sent me here as a 'punishment.' You totally bashed her face in, right?"
Omariro ignored him.
"Eh, heh, any way out of this place, Mr. Nyugawa?"
"Boy must prove worth. Eyes sharp."
"Oh, trust me, my eyes are as sharp as an owl's—-!"
A spiked club flew toward Isamu's head, and Omariro slashed it into pieces with one swing of his blade. The boy jumped back. "Whoa! The hell was that?"
Three green giants landed on the island, holding enormous weapons that dwarfed the size of the two Kaitansha.
"Trolls," Omariro realized.
"Wait, those giant bastards are real? Momma used to tell me not to stay up too late because they'd snatch me in my sleep!"
〈Wave *2*: Trolls of the Lost Forest. Level: 60,000〉
Isamu pulled down his shades. "Level 60,000? The hell? We're only on floor one! I ain't even a Prime Level Kaitansha yet!"
The largest troll knelt. "Nyugawa. Survivor of the dead kingdom..."
Then the second knelt beside him. "Rebel to the dungeons' hierarchy...."
The final one took his place as well. "Villain to all who serve the Endless."
At once, they spoke. "We shall end your existence."
The first one raised his club high and brought it down, nearly crushing both Omariro and Isamu, but the former kept it at bay with his forearm.
"Man, Mr. Nyugawa!" Isamu gasped. "You've got serious muscles!"
The second troll stomped the ground, causing Isamu to fall over and Omariro to slide back. Omariro snapped his fingers. "Jugen-Kōbisha: Kamigami no Kōsoku!"
Golden whips attached themselves to the trolls, restraining them in place as they struggled. The three tugged against the bindings, while Omariro fired arrows into their skulls.
Surprisingly, they withstood the attacks and freed themselves.
"Boy has power," Omariro noted. "Must use."
"Right! Uh, I can drop a rad beat for you if that's what you'd like?"
The swing of a club interrupted him, forcing Omariro to step in and slice it into pieces. "Boy must make haste!"
"Okay! Jugen-Kōbisha: Hippu Hoppu Būmubokkusu!"
A large boombox formed, unleashing a powerful musical rap sound that kept the trolls anchored in place, holding their ears. A DJ mixing pad formed in front of Isamu, and he began mixing music.
"How's this, Mr. Nyugawa? Too high? Too low? Just right?"
The trolls attempted to move, but the music kept them trapped in place, forcing them to one knee.
"Make it stop!" one moaned.
"Smash it!" another demanded. "Toss it over! Do something!"
"Attack the boy!" the last insisted. "He's the cause!"
Omariro took advantage and sliced all of the trolls into pieces just as the boombox disappeared. Isamu put his shades back on. "Pretty cool, right, Mr. Nyugawa?"
"Boy did adequate."
"What does adequate mean?"
The UI popped up.
〈Wave Complete.〉
"Sheesh, glad you're here, Mister," Isamu stated, relieved. "I've been stuck in this place for months with no way of escaping. Had to drink that black water and eat whatever crap I can find around here."
He made a vomiting noise. "But did Kaidanchō Sunahara come with you? Or Nonoka? Or any of my peoples?"
"Dungeon has split," Omariro informed him. "Separate parties take separate paths."
"Oh, okay. Got you. Got you. So...what do we do now? Because it doesn't look like any more bridges are gonna show up."
"Must wait."
Sure enough, a UI appeared.
〈Results 1/3 Processed. Waiting...〉
"Dang," Isamu groaned. "I hate waiting. Really burns my vibe."
Elsewhere—-
Zaria landed atop a rocky platform, surrounded by snowy mountains and a cloudy sky.
"Looks like Mt. Everest," she noted. "Master! Rika? Nonoka? Rei? Sōshin?"
As she called out, she noticed a familiar figure standing there, examining his wrists.
"Oh. Han."
Han didn't seem to hear her, frantically shaking his wrists. "Damn you. Damn you. Damn YOU! Why'd that woman lie to me? There's no chance of my Jugen coming back..."
Zaria reluctantly walked over to him, slapping him in the face. "Ow!"
"Stop crying, you idiot," she hissed. "We're in a life-or-death dungeon right now, and you're worried about your little cube?"
"It's not just a little cube, and just go on without me. There's no point in trying to clear this with no Jugen."
"So, you're even more pathetic than I thought. Looks like you'll never be my 'brother' again."
"Huh?"
Zaria grunting, turning around in a fury, but she noticed Shino, Bakuō, and Baruto standing in the middle, all equally confused.
"Huh," Shino wondered. "Is this it?"
"I—I think so!" Bakuō replied.
"Snow..." Baruto muttered. "So much snow..."
"Don't focus on the snow, dummy!" Shino exclaimed. "We've gotta stay ready!"
"Hey, you guys!" Zaria greeted. "Feels good to have some actual help here!"
Shino looked up. "Zaria! Wow, what a..."
She noticed Han standing behind her.
"...coincidence."
——