〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 1,322.〉
WHOOSH.
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 1,378.〉
BOOM.
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 1,399.〉
BANG.
"And with that, Shinkaidan has now taken second place!"
〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 1,400.〉
Shinkaidan landed in a large metropolitan city, where cars were flying, and neon signs flickered across the area.
"Whoa," Zaria gasped. "Is this a 2099 video game?"
"It's like a tech heaven!" Han gawked.
"I wonder if they have a streamer convention," Rika remarked. "That'd be dope!"
Rei began humming to herself when, suddenly, a car engine revved, catching them all off guard.
"Vroom, vroom!"
Han stared at the car. "Did we seriously have to bring…that?"
"Hi!" Sōshin greeted. "I'm Sōshin!"
"Yeah, I've heard. Like 150 times now."
Rika nudged him. "Hey, we promised to let him tag along, so be nice!"
"Who's we? I didn't promise a damn thing."
"Where are we going, friends?" Sōshin interrupted.
The group turned their attention to Omariro, who began walking away.
"What do you need us to do, sir?" Rika asked.
"Can we assist with anything?" Han questioned.
"Whatever you need, we've got it!" Zaria assured.
"Me too!" Rei interjected.
Omariro continued walking, causing the kids to share a look.
"Oh," Zaria noticed, deflated. "He's still mad at us."
"More like disappointed," Han corrected. "For a man like him, having to carry us losers must feel like such a burden."
"I wish there was something we could do," Rika admitted. "This is all our fault…now he won't even let us clear the commissions with him…"
"Maybe we could try to cheer him up?" Rei proposed.
"How?" Zaria wondered.
Rei pointed to a nearby fast-food joint. "Food! Who doesn't like food?"
Rika checked her pockets.
"I don't have much on me."
"Me neither," Han added.
"We can make something work," Zaria insisted. "Sir, wait up!"
Omariro paused as Zaria caught up, holding his arm. "Can we make a quick pit stop?"
"Hmph."
"Just one! It'll be fast! I promise!"
Rika slid next to her. "You won't have to do anything! We swear!"
Rei jumped on his back. "Pretty please with cherries on top, Mr. Omariro?"
Omariro remained silent for a long moment. "Girls persistent. Fine."
Han narrowed his eyes. "Man, what kinda powers do women have?"
Sōshin revved his engine behind Han.
"Gah! Would you STOP THAT?"
"Wanna go on a ride, Friend Han?"
"No! No, I do not!"
Zaria pointed to the fast-food store. "There, sir. Follow us!"
The girls hurried Omariro over to the store, and Han followed after them. Sōshin attempted to drive up to the door, but Han stopped him.
"Uh, that car won't fit in here."
"I know! Take me out!"
"Take…you out?"
"Yeah! The phone! My new body!"
"Oh, so help me…"
Han reluctantly grabbed the phone out of the car and took Sōshin into the restaurant.
〈Entry Detected: Bakkī no Shakunetsu Byuffe.〉
Inside was a crowd of halflings, both serving food and sitting at tables, eating. As soon as they entered, a well-dressed halfling approached them, bowing.
"Welcome in, hunters! What can we do for you?"
Rika wrapped an arm around Omariro's shoulders. "We just wanna give our master a break, that's all!"
"Mhm!" Zaria agreed.
"Nice, nice! At Bakkī's, we have the perfect items tailored to your taste! Can I interest you in some Bakkī Wine, perhaps?"
He held up a fine white bottle to Omariro's face, and Omariro batted it aside with his staff.
"Cheap beer."
"Hey! That cost us a fortune, you know!"
The kids immediately turned red.
"Umm," Zaria interrupted. "You got any free seats, or…?"
"Y—yeah!" Rika added. "I think we should look at your menu!"
The halfling pointed to a booth a few rows down. "Right there. And please, try not to spill any more wine."
"We'll…try our best," Han replied.
The group walked over to the free booth. Rika and Zaria sat on one side, while Rei and Han sat on the other. Omariro watched as they did so, a distant look on his face.
"Wanna sit on our side, sir?" Zaria offered.
"No, no, you should sit here," Han insisted. "Away from those…creatures."
"Excuse you?"
Omariro looked between the groups, a sudden familiarity crossing his eyes.
"Kinshi-Kaidan…"
"What was that, sir?" Zaria asked.
"Ignore. Make room, girl."
Zaria's face lit up as Omariro sat down between her and Rika. Rika tried to hide her excitement.
"Well, now that we're all seated, what should we eat?"
An eccentric halfling popped up out of nowhere, holding a pair of menus. "Greetings, humans! I'm Bakkī! As you probably can tell, this is my shop!"
"That was pretty obvious," Han muttered.
Bakkī handed them the menus, and Zaria showed Omariro hers. "Look at this, sir! Doesn't this stuff look fire?"
"Girl pick what she want."
"Don't you wanna eat too?"
"Not needed."
"Sir, you have to eat," Han pointed out.
"Can I pick something for you?" Rika offered. "Hmm, do they have anything…exquisite?"
She leaned in closer, showing him a picture of a large steak. "How about this?"
"If that's what girl want."
Zaria showed the steak to Bakkī. "We'll take five of these, thanks!"
"Five Bakkī Steaks? Perfect! Coming right up!"
"Wait," Han protested. "I didn't agree——!"
Rika put a finger to her lips. "Shhh!"
Bakkī left, and in under a minute, he was back with five trays.
"Ooh!" Rei commented. "That was fast!"
"Of course! Here at Bakkī's, we come prepared for every type of customer! And here are your drinks!"
Another worker came over, serving the group glasses of a bubbling liquid.
Rika poked at it. "What's this?"
"Our special sparkling soda! We hope you enjoy."
"Poison," Omariro muttered.
Zaria shrugged and chugged it down. Rika slapped her forehead. "Geez, you couldn't at least sip it to make sure it wasn't tampered with?"
"That is me sipping it."
Han opened the tray containing his steak, and he held it to Rei. "Smell this. Is it fresh?"
"Hmm…seems fine enough to me!"
Han took a bite. "Mmm, that's pretty legit!"
As the kids dug into their food, they noticed Omariro sitting quietly, deep in thought.
"Psst," Zaria whispered. "I don't think this is working."
"Should we try something else?" Rika suggested. "How about a game? We could play 'Never Have I Ever,' or '21 Questions!'"
Zaria turned to Omariro. "Ooh, here's a question for you, Sir! Which of us kids is your favorite!"
They all eagerly awaited his answer, but he simply opened his eyes.
"Finish food."
"Aww…" they groaned.
"Guess that means me!" Zaria declared.
Rika lifted Omariro's plate to his mouth. "Umm, you aren't going to eat this, sir?"
Omariro stood up, catching her off guard. "Back soon. Going for walk."
"Oh…okay."
They watched as he left, heading out the door.
"I get the sense he doesn't want us anymore," Zaria said.
"It's…it's not like he needs us," Rika replied, wiping a tear from her eye. "Anything we can do, he can do ten times better."
"C'mon, girls," Han stated. "Maybe he just has a lot on his plate. After all, if he didn't want us around, he'd just kick us out at one of those save spots."
"Is there anything we can do to prove ourselves to Mr. Omariro?" Rei asked.
The kids all shook their heads.
"I don't know," Zaria said. "We're just not strong enough. We're nothing like him."
Rika looked out the window as Omariro formed his blade, staring at it. "He's perfect…and we're all just a bunch of runaways. A burden…"
She pointed to herself. "Just look at me. My parents don't even want me."
"At least you have parents," Zaria said. "I got my mom killed, and my dad…abandoned me."
"Well," Han shrugged. "I know my parents disapprove of what I'm doing. Mr. Nyugawa is the only one I can count on. Otherwise, they'll just turn me into a doctor or surgeon or some other stupid crap."
Rika turned to Rei. "Do you have parents, Rei?"
"I don't…remember," she answered. "It's…been…a long time."
"How old are you?" Zaria wondered.
"I don't know that either."
"What about you, Sōshin?" Rika continued. "Do you have parents?"
"Yep! They're waiting for me across the sea!"
"Wait, what?"
"Soon, I'll bring friends to find them!"
"Across the sea? Like, the ocean?"
"Yeah!"
"Wait," Han realized. "That thing used to be a person?"
"Don't call him that," Rika whispered. "He doesn't like being referred to as a thing."
"Sure am!" Sōshin confirmed. "My body's waiting for me!"
"Body…?"
"Also, look outside! Friend Omariro made some new friends!"
The kids turned their attention to the streets, where they could spot a bunch of figures in hunting coats and masks spying on Omariro. Their gear glowed with sigils attached to their coats.
"That can't be good," Zaria realized. "We should probs go."
They all quickly got up and left just as Bakkī came back.
"Hey, where are you guys going! You didn't pay yet! And you didn't even try the dessert!"
"Sorry!" Rika shouted. "Business to handle!"
Outside, a sniper rifle locked onto Omariro's head.
"Locked on the target, Boss. Orders?"
A female voice replied. "Bring him in. Alive."
"As you command."
Omariro continued to examine his sword, seemingly oblivious. Another hunter pointed a net gun at Omariro.
"You'll make a fine prey."
He fired the net, but Omariro slashed it without looking.
"Show yourself."
In response, a large army of masked hunters dropped from the rooftops, filling the streets.
"Hmm. Not Dōkkodan or dungeon creature. Who?"
Another net shot out from behind him, and Omariro sliced it without even looking.
"A true hunter doesn't expose its origins," one remarked. "We've been studying you for a while, Nyugawa. This dungeon's been our home for a while now, ever since our boss killed the Raid Boss of this dump."
Omariro narrowed his eyes. "Hmph. What boss?"
"You'll meet her when the time suits you. Hunters! Strike!"
The hunters all swarmed Omariro as the sniper pressed his radio. "I believe you'll want to see this one in person, Boss."
"Hold, hunter," the voice replied. "I have other prey as well."
Meanwhile, Floor 566—-
"The hell are we so far behind for? You idiots must want to look like losers on live TV."
Kōichi watched as his group collected bundles of crops while a timer ran.
〈Time Remaining: 0:45〉
"Less than a minute, morons. Move it or lose it."
As they quickly hurried to collect more crops, a band of hunters suddenly appeared.
"The hell—-?"
"Kaidanchō Kamishiro," one announced. "You've been chosen as prey."
With a snap of his fingers, a hunter tossed a sigil near Kōichi's feet.
〈Teleportation: Activated.〉
Before he could retaliate, his body shook, carrying him away.
Floor 10,000—-
Kōichi landed inside a dusty cell, and the sounds of fighting could be heard above him.
"Great," Kōichi remarked. "The Director add some new entertainment crap to the game or what?"
Suddenly, the cell began to rise like an elevator, dragging Kōichi upwards.
"What now…?"
Once the elevator stopped, Kōichi noticed himself in a gladiator-style arena, where tons of hunters filled the seats. Above, in a throne made of fur, sat a large woman in a bear's coat.
"There you are, Kaidanchō," she noticed. "Let him out!"
Kōichi walked out of the cage as the bars lifted, and the hunters began cheering and roaring as he looked around.
"Some commission this is," Kōichi remarked. "What, do you expect me to fight a dragon or something?"
"Even better," the woman laughed. "Let out the other prey!"
The other side gate opened, and as Kōichi waited for the challenger to come out, he suddenly gasped.
"No way…"
With a streak of orange, the opponent leapt out.
"Gakuto?"
Gakuto waved. "Hey there, kid! Seems this strange lady's got you roped in this, too, huh?"
The woman stood up. "I wonder which one of you Kaidanchō will be worthy of facing me. Fight to the death, or both of you will meet your ends!"
A UI above them popped up.
〈New Commission: Only *One* Can Remain…〉
"Ahh, shit," Kōichi realized. "Gotta kick your ass on live TV."
Gakuto chuckled, his head forming a horned helmet. "You wish! Put 'em up, soldier!"
——-