Floor 10,000—-
〈Commission Accepted: Only One Can Remain. Tier: 3.〉
"Would be pretty nice," Kōichi remarked. "If I didn't have to face you, you overgrown shit."
"Likewise!" Gakuto replied. "But the huntress wants a show. How about we give her one?"
"Seriously? You know that bitch is shady."
"Maybe so, but I can tell she's strong! And besides, I've gotta get revenge for that insult you spat at me!"
"Here we go again," Kōichi sighed, getting into a fighting stance. "Try to keep up."
The huntress watched them. "I've had the pleasure of slaughtering many of your folk. Maybe you two will be different. Go on, show me what *Kaidanchō* can do!"
〈Begin.〉
Gakuto threw his head up. "Jugen-Tōshi: Shakunetsu Kabuto!"
With a gruff, Gakuto charged toward Kōichi, who leapt over him and held out his hand.
"Jugen-Kōbisha: Noroi no Fūin!"
A large diamond portal opened, and Gakuto went flying through it. Kōichi threw out his hand again, and Gakuto popped out of another portal, slamming into a nearby wall. His helmet disappeared.
"Incredible!" the huntress remarked. "That is what I like to see! Show more! Demonstrate what you are capable of!"
"Cheap trick, kid!" Gakuto shouted.
"I'm full of them."
Gakuto slammed the ground, reforming his helmet before rolling into a ball at hyper-speeds.
"Jugen-Tōshi: Shakunetsu Shissō!"
He dashed across the arena, slamming into walls and knocking Kōichi back.
"Damn," Kōichi thought. "For such a big bastard, he's fast!"
Gakuto jumped up, his head slamming the ground and causing massive shockwaves.
"YES!" the huntress cheered.
Kōichi quickly jumped over to the wall, hanging onto one of the rocks. "Hmm."
As Gakuto rolled toward him again, he quickly clenched a fist. "Jugen-Kōbisha: Fūin no Ami!"
A large black web sprouted from Kōichi's hands, and it blocked Gakuto's charge, sending him sliding back.
"Too heavy a head on your shoulders, eh?" Kōichi taunted.
"Heh," Gakuto replied. "Use up all your tricks!"
"Still got one more," Kōichi admitted, jumping off the wall just as Gakuto slammed into it. "Jugen-Kōbisha: Wana-ito no Jūshi!"
A tripwire gun appeared in Kōichi's hands, and he fired the wire at Gakuto, which wrapped around his body. Gakuto struggled against the cables before spinning rapidly and eventually reforming his ball, dragging Kōichi along with him.
"Slow down, you big oaf!"
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The two collided into the walls as rubble began to fall, and the huntress clapped.
"Excellent! Kagetō, bring me some more lion's meat! I knew this would be a delight!"
She looked at a feed of Omariro, Yuka, and Atsushi. "And the real prey hasn't even shown up yet..."
Meanwhile, Gakuto shook off Kōichi, who kicked himself up and fired another net from his hand, which Gakuto evaded.
"Missed!"
"Pff. I'll just shoot it again!"
He used the same move, which caught Gakuto's legs. Gakuto slammed the ground with his helmet, but the net repelled it, causing him to fly into a wall.
BOOM.
Before the dust could clear, rocks came flying out and nearly hit Kōichi in the head, and he noticed Gakuto tossing rocks in the air and smacking them with his helmet.
"Does that guy's noggin ever run out of uses?"
An announcement rang through the arena.
"Ahem, Kaidans, it seems some unexpected guests have crashed the event!"
"The director?" Kōichi noted. "His timing really sucks!"
"It's nothing to be concerned about!" Hayate continued. "Just keep doing what you're doing, and from there, we'll resume the Tournament as normal!"
Gakuto and Kōichi sized each other up.
"Still energized, you big brute?"
"Never felt better!"
And at the same time, the two charged at each other.
Floor 9,999—-
Kaoru found herself in a hunter's mansion, walking around the hallways.
"Hmm, hello? Where's my group? Guys? You there?"
Suddenly, she heard Hayate's voice ring out, and she stopped.
"The Tournament's been hijacked? Man, just when I started to do well!"
A feed popped up in front of her, showcasing Kōichi and Gakuto fighting. "Whoa! The Director wasn't kidding!"
A UI took its place soon after.
〈Commission: Reach the Final Floor. Tier: 2〉
"Final floor? Where the guys are fighting? Hmm. Can't waste this opportunity to reach Floor 10,000! So I'm in!"
She looked around the mansion. "But...where do I start?"
She noticed a waypoint in front of her.
〈Waypoint: 150m〉
"Behind that large door? Okay!"
Kaoru pushed open the door, where she found a group of hunters drinking and partying in a lounge, with two large lions guarding a door behind them.
The moment they all turned towards the door, a figure zipped by and pulled Karou into cover behind a cabinet.
"Huh—-?"
"Shh."
A brute walked through the doors, looking around. "Probably the damn wind again. I hate these dungeons."
He turned around, beer in hand. Kaoru looked beside her.
"Mizuki?"
"Mhm."
"How'd you get here?"
"Same as you. Hunters."
"Are they like...kidnapping us all, or something?"
"I don't know."
"What should we do?"
"Cross over to that door. That's the exit."
Kaoru peeked around the corner, noticing the two lions wrestling by the door. "Those are some big kittens!"
"Sure are. We'll need to be fast and quiet."
Mizuki bent down. "Grab on."
"Um, this is gonna look super awkward, because I'm taller than you! And older!"
"I'm faster. Get on."
Kaoru reluctantly got on her back as Mizuki quickly zipped onto a chandelier above the lounge.
"This thing won't hold," Mizuki told her. "As soon as those lions move, I'll zip us across."
"How do we get them to move?"
Mizuki reached into her pocket, pulling out a coin. She tossed it a few feet away from the lions, catching their attention and causing them to run after it.
"Hold on."
She quickly zipped over to the door, speeding through it in the blink of an eye.
"Done."
"Um, Mizuki..."
Karou tugged on Mizuki's arm, and when she turned around, she noticed a large brute waiting for them.
"Nice work, girls. You'll make great prey for the Huntress."
With a whack of his club, he knocked them both out with one strike.
"4 down, 3 to go."
Meanwhile—-
Gakuto and Kōichi continued their clash, the arena shaking with every attack. The Huntress watched with glee.
"Keep up the pressure! Do not hold back!"
Gakuto slammed his head into the ground, causing it to shake. Kōichi fired his tripwire gun into the wall, using it to pull himself to safety.
"That little one is agile, creative, and swift," the Huntress remarked. "Just like a true huntress."
She shifted her attention to Gakuto. "The big one, however..."
She watched as Gakuto smashed the wall where Kōichi was, forcing him to move.
"...like a raging bull. He may yet be the one!"
Gakuto watched as Kōichi used his gun to maneuver around the arena, and he ripped his helmet off his head, which began to blaze.
"Jugen-Tōshi: Shakunetsu Kabuto Nage!"
He flung his helmet as hard as he could, and it hit the wall Kōichi anchored himself to, exploding with a powerful burst.
"YES!" the Huntress cheered, her hunters roaring as loudly as her.
Kōichi rolled over and recovered just enough to fire his net as Gakuto dashed into it. As soon as it deflected his attack, Kōichi used his tripwire gun to pull Gakuto into another wall.
BOOM.
"You both show great skill," the Huntress commended. "But you still hold back. May I inform you that the winner of this fight will earn their team 800 points in this...tournament? It'll be enough for either of you to take first place!"
"800 points?" Kōichi thought.
"That's enough for me to take a nice and comfy lead!" Gakuto realized.
"Sorry, big oaf, but you can't have those points."
"We shall see!"
Gakuto slammed into Kōichi, causing him to drop, but he responded with a seal, sending Gakuto a few meters back. Gakuto took off his helmet and tossed it at Kōichi, but Kōichi formed a net, making it bounce back and strike Gakuto.
"Ugh..."
"Ready to give up, oaf?"
"Never!"
The Huntress stood up, rubbing her chin. "Let's make this more interesting, shall we?"
She picked up a skull from her seat and whispered a few words into it.
"By the fury of the jungle..."
And sure enough, a UI popped over their heads.
〈Rule: Fury of the Jungle. Shifting Terrain...〉
The arena shifted into that of a jungle, with vines, trees, and rivers, as the Huntress grinned.
"Perfect. Now we shall see who is the true predator."
〈Domain Effect: Slithering Serpent. Description: Remaining visible for more than *4s* will result in a *Serpent Attack.*〉
"Take notes, warriors," the Huntress warned. "If I see you more than four seconds, it will be grim indeed."
Kōichi quickly grappled into the leaves of a tree, while Gakuto ducked into some nearby bushes.
"Ridiculous," Kōichi remarked. "Now she's got us playing hide and seek while fighting for our lives. What, do we gotta play tag next?"
He slapped himself. "Best not to give her ideas. Now where's that musclehead...?"
He scanned the area, but there was no sign of Gakuto. "He's not that big, he shouldn't be able to——"
BOOM.
With a mighty blow, the tree holding Kōichi up began to shake and fall over, forcing him to jump to the next and dive into its leaves.
"A sneak attack? How can his big ass move so quietly?"
Kōichi noticed Gakuto's helmet lying near the fallen tree. "Of course! I forgot he isn't as stupid as he looks. Well, two can play at that game."
He fired his tripwire into a nearby tree, tugging it and making it shake. Sure enough, Gakuto threw his helmet at it, and Kōichi noticed the direction.
"To the left...gotcha!"
He fired the wire into a pile of bushes, dragging Gakuto out and leaping down to kick him.
"Ow!"
Quick as a viper, Kōichi rolled away as Gakuto threw himself into the river.
"I'll get you next time, kid!"
The Huntress watched as the two disappeared, and her right hand, Kagetō, returned with a plate of meat. "Huntress. We've captured two of the female Kaidanchō. The quiet one and the talkative one."
"Excellent," she replied. "Bring them. If nothing more, we'll use them as bait to draw the rest here."
"Shall we send hunters after the Ice and Stone Kaidanchōs, Huntress?"
"Yes. And be sure to bring an extra-large team for the Legendary Kaidanchō, as they call him."
"Understood."
The Huntress took a bite of her food as she narrowed her eyes. "I can still see you, little one! Better disappear!"
In response, Kōichi grappled up a tree, the same tree Gakuto charged into soon after, bringing it down.
"Face me, kid!"
"I'd rather not."
With a tug of his wire, he brought down another tree, and he used his net to push Gakuto into it, knocking him over.
"Sneaky, but you're open!"
He grabbed the wire, pulling Kōichi down.
〈Warning! Slithering Serpent will trigger in: 2s〉
The two began to fight hand-to-hand, and sure enough, a glowing green snake struck them, knocking both over.
"Ugh..." Kōichi groaned, struggling to stand. "She wasn't kidding."
"Nah..." Gakuto agreed. "But if you've still got fight left in you, let's finish this right now!"
They both squared up, running sluggishly towards the other. Gakuto prepared to headbutt Kōichi, but Kōichi quickly pulled out a seal.
"I win, oaf!"
The seal trapped Gakuto, and Kōichi freed him right above a tree, causing him to crash into a multitude of branches before he hit the ground.
"Ow...yeah, you got it."
〈Winner: Kōichi Kamishiro. Eikaidan Point Total: 1,100〉
The Huntress and her hunters stood up, clapping. "Now, finish off your opponent!"
Kōichi looked between her and Gakuto.
"Nah. I'm good."
She paused, clearly offended. "Excuse me? What kind of battle do you think this is?"
"Sorry, not sorry. Kaidanchō don't kill each other."
He helped Gakuto up. "But we do kick each other's asses. Now he'll have to hold this loss for the rest of his life."
"The terrain benefited you," Gakuto groaned.
The hunters all drew their weapons, but the Huntress stopped them, jumping over the edge and landing in the arena.
"Uh-oh," Gakuto realized. "Looks like you've pissed her off."
"Well, I do piss off a lot of women."
She seemed to grow with every step, revealing a tall, muscular woman.
"Your loyalty to each other is commendable, but here, in the wild, there is only one rule."
A pair of knives formed in her hands, and her eye began to glow deep green.
"Kill, or BE killed!"
——