Fourth floor of the Hidden Management Department.
The location of the main server room.
A black rabbit-ear bow swayed back and forth with the motion of Kurumi's head:
"Oh dear, it seems things have gotten a bit troublesome. Currently, it appears all invitation holders have lost contact at the same moment."
Standing beside Kurumi, Meer, the pink-haired girl wearing a naval cap, immediately looked over curiously, gazing at the densely packed flashing red dots on Kurumi's computer screen.
"They lost contact instantly? Was it spatial teleportation centred on the invitation letter?"
"It might be worse than that..."
As she spoke, Kurumi took a crisp from the packet beside her computer:
"Most likely, they were pulled into some kind of Abyss world."
"Well, although the Director and Miss Seto both have Emergency Escape Devices recorded, the others who got involved might not have preparations like ours."
Hearing this, Meer stroked her chin, her expression somewhat amused as she said:
"So that arrogant fellow from the Central Investigation Bureau's initial goal was to pull all invitation holders into that Abyss world?"
"Then it seems the key clue to the True Dragon Sorcerer Class should be in the Abyss world where Luo Shu is now?"
"Based on the current situation, that's most likely the case."
Kurumi lazily yawned, propping her cheek with one hand as she watched the screen display:
"All 1,127 surveillance targets have been pulled into that Abyss world."
"Considering the Director's initial speculation."
"A large number of sorcerers from different races might indeed be an important component of some advancement ritual."
"Considering this sorcerer is the so-called True Dragon..."
Hearing this, Meer's lips curled slightly, her smile playful as she said:
"In Eastern legends, they have antlers like a deer, head like a horse, eyes like a rabbit, neck like a snake, belly like a clam, scales like a fish, claws like an eagle, and palms like a tiger."
"The dragon is a fantasy creature born from gathering all animal characteristics."
"Considering this legend and the origin of the dragon concept in East Asia, the so-called True Dragon Sorcerer's advancement ritual likely involves gathering numerous races to obtain their talents and become the ultimate creature!"
"It seems Luo Shu's guess was probably correct!"
Hearing this, Kurumi crunched on her crisps calmly:
"So the people who received invitations this time have entered the incubation ground for nurturing True Dragons?"
"A super large-scale fighting arena. Good thing this is happening in an Abyss world. If this happened in Akihabara, both us and the Union would have massive headaches!!"
Hearing Kurumi's words, Meer nodded in agreement, casually taking some of Kurumi's private crisp stash as she ate and said:
"If our current speculation isn't wrong, then Miss Sun Seto, whom Luo Shu specifically brought along, should become a key part of the ritual."
"After all, she has the highest concentration of dragon species factors."
Kurumi reached for the crisps, felt around, and sighed helplessly after finding the bag empty, giving Meer a look:
"But we can't guarantee there isn't someone among the invitation recipients who's even closer to dragons."
Meer munched on a crisp noisily while smiling:
"Don't worry, if such a person appears, Luo Shu wouldn't let them retreat unscathed with the Class."
Seemingly annoyed that all her crisps were taken, Kurumi's sleepy face showed some resentment:
"But what if the worst-case scenario happens?"
To this, Meer simply smiled nonchalantly, her expression quite playful as she said:
"Even in the worst-case scenario, it would simply be Luo Shu and Sun Seto successfully escaping while everyone else dies in the Abyss world."
"That would be the worst outcome for everyone involved in the struggle for the True Dragon Legacy, but for the SDS, this ending might not necessarily be the worst."
"That's true as well."
Kurumi sighed, took out another bag of crisps, grabbed both sides, popped it open with a 'pop' sound, then said with complete calm:
"Somehow, I feel like that Abyss world is going to witness a major battle royale!"
At this moment, Meer stroked her chin and said with a mischievous smile:
"If I were that arrogant fool from the intelligence bureau, I'd probably be working very hard to impose restrictions on Luo Shu, wouldn't I?"
Hearing this, Kurumi said with complete composure:
"That's assuming they can actually manage it!"
...
The fiery red sky had a hue like blood.
Luo Shu raised his head, gazing up at the sky, his gaze seemingly piercing the crimson clouds to see the deeper scarlet 'walls' beyond.
Just as Luo Shu was watching the sky, Sun Seto, standing beside him, stared blankly at the red desert before them with her slightly naive-sounding voice and said:
"It seems we've been transported to an Abyss world. Under spiritual sight, the three flames representing essence, energy, and spirit have been shaking intensely, giving me a faint feeling of discomfort."
After saying this, Sun Seto glanced at Luo Shu and asked softly:
"And we got separated right after the attack without even finding the person who launched it...."
"Director, is this situation alright?"
"Completely alright."
Luo Shu smiled and delivered the following judgement:
"Originally, my purpose in deliberately engaging with the attacker was to forcibly clear the field and drive the rats hiding in the shadows out of their sewers."
"From the current results, this objective has most likely been achieved."
"So that's how it was?"
Sun Seto looked enlightened, then glanced at the uneven red earth around them, looking at the bright red rocks, and couldn't help but ask curiously:
"So, Director, what should we do next?"
"I haven't decided what to play yet."
Luo Shu said casually, but his gaze turned toward a red rock about 3 meters tall to the northeast.
"Little kitten hiding over there, how about you become my toy?"
Hearing such words, the girl hiding behind the rock helplessly raised her hands and stepped out from behind the rock.
"Though it's hard to believe when I say this now, I'm actually just a harmless, pitiful little kitten~"
As she said this, Kuroka did her best to put on an innocent and friendly expression, even making her black cat ears twitch cutely.
Beneath such actions, Kuroka's true self, hiding in the shadows, was urgently drawing a teleportation technique, trying to avoid Luo Shu, this dangerous figure who made demons feel threatened.
However, before Kuroka could complete the technique, Luo Shu examined her location and said with some amusement:
"A somewhat familiar scent... Ah, this should be the smell of a cat demon, right?"
As these words fell, Kuroka, who had been planning to escape, immediately stopped drawing the technique and, with a darkened face, stared fixedly at Luo Shu's face, forcing a smile as she said:
"This young man who's not to be trifled with, it seems you know who I am~"
Hearing these words, Luo Shu raised the corners of his mouth, slowly revealing a smile:
"You're Kuroka, right?"
"Koneko, that is, your younger sister Shirone, asked me to pass on a message."
"She said: 'She no longer needs something like an older sister.'"
As the words fell, an ink-black feral cat pounced forward with berserk fury!!