Floor 10,001——
Omariro casually landed on the ground, which was glowing with red-colored runes.
"Hmm. No more dungeon."
A voice cut through the air, and flames began to light amongst the darkness.
"Oh, no. We are still in the dungeon. Just not where you'd expect."
The room lit up to showcase a large coliseum, littered with glowing runes. The sky above was a crimson red.
〈*Hellsfloor*—-Grand Hunt Coliseum.〉
A female voice rang out.
"The true final floor," Kohaku remarked. "They say all dungeons have only 10,000 Floors. But the truth is, there's one beneath it. The Hellsfloor!"
Rabid creatures watched from above as Atsushi's centaur form rose to its full height before growing even taller.
"This is where the monsters in the dungeons come from! How fitting it should be that this is where I finally find the apex hunter! Now! Duel! Or! Die!"
As Omariro processed the environment, Atsushi lunged at him, faster than before, nearly crushing him with his mace.
BOOM.
Just in time, Omariro stepped back, but Atsushi tried to crush him underfoot, leading to him sliding back.
"Getting slow, old man! I told you, YOUR ERA IS DONE!"
A UI appeared over Atsushi's head.
〈Kaidanchō Atsushi Sunahara—-Level: 140,000〉
"Now, crumble into pieces!"
Atsushi slammed his mace on the ground, causing the entire arena to shake.
"Oh? It seems the Legendary Kaidanchō has been surpassed! Will you let this setback break you? Or will you respond?"
With a swing of his mace, Atsushi sent Omariro flying back. "Weak!"
Omariro watched Atsushi for a while, when suddenly, a tripwire fired, and Zaria and Rika slid down.
"Sir!" Zaria announced. "We're here to help!"
"Thanks for the boost, Han!" Rika shouted.
From up above, Han gave them a thumbs-up. "Be careful, women! You too, sir!"
Omariro turned toward them. "Foes dangerous. Girls leave."
Atsushi stared at the girls. "He's right, children. This scene will soon be bathed in your master's blood!"
"Yeah, right!" Zaria scoffed. "Sir, we can help!"
Rika nodded. "What do you need us to do?"
"Girls, move now!"
Atsushi slammed his mace down, separating the three. Zaria got up, tossing her spear and kicking it at Atsushi, but he easily deflected with his mace.
"Puny child. You think the power of friendship can defeat the top Kaidanchō?"
"No! I think *I* can!"
She formed another spear, but Atsushi caught and crushed it with ease. Rika dragged her out of the way just as he smashed the ground.
"Zaria! Don't act recklessly for once, PLEASE!"
Atsushi stomped the ground, which caused shockwaves that made it bounce again, and again, and again. As soon as he attempted to crush the girls underfoot, Omariro stood in front of them, holding back the foot.
"Girls evade. Now!"
Another foot came, splitting the ground and resulting in dust rising.
"The predator now becomes the prey!" Kohaku taunted. "Do not tell me you will disappoint, Nyugawa?"
Atsushi noticed the strain on Omariro's face. "Still holding back. Fine. Then I will show no mercy to you…"
He turned toward Zaria and Rika, who both tried to stand defiantly. "…or your kids!"
Zaria summoned her spear. "Bring it, rock——!"
BOOM.
With a strike of his mace, Zaria crashed to the ground, bloody and unconscious. Rika immediately rushed over to her.
"ZARIA!"
She cradled her head in her lap, desperately shaking her. "Come on, come on! Sir, she—she's not breathing!"
"Girl," Omariro realized, turning his back to Atsushi for just a second. And as soon as he did…
BOOM.
Atsushi smashed him with the mace, sending him flying into the wall.
"SIR!"
"Ooh," Kohaku remarked. "A ferocious strike! Well done, warrior!"
Rika began tearing up. "No, no, this can't be happening! This can't be happening! Please, please, someone!"
As her tears fell on Zaria, her body began to glow.
One week ago—-
"Begin."
Rei, Rika, Zaria, and Han were all in the dojo as Omariro watched, sipping coffee.
"Another duel?" Rika questioned. "Sir, I can't fight!"
"Girl doubtful. Erase doubt."
Zaria summoned her spear. "C'mon, Rika! I'll take it easy on you!"
"As if!"
Rei jumped back and forth. "Yay! Let's do this!"
Han waved them off. "Women. Just concede defeat already."
With a tap of Omariro's staff, the duel began. Rei immediately blasted all three with moonlight. "Oops! Too strong?"
Zaria got up, flinging her spear at Rei, who blocked with a shield of moonlight. "Ahh!"
She reflexively fired another blast of moonlight at Zaria, who rolled out of the way. Han summoned his cube.
"Cube: Scan for Solutions!"
[*11* Solutions Found.]
"Use all of them!"
A tripwire fired from his cube, followed by a net, and a bear trap. By the time he was done, Zaria and Rei were both tied up together on the floor.
"Ha. I win."
With a burst of leg power, Zaria broke free, tripping Han with a leg sweep. "Nope! I do!"
Rei summoned a bunch of moon crests, which sliced through her binds and held both Han and Zaria at the mercy of their tips. "Me! I'm the winner!"
Omariro tapped his staff on the ground. "Halt."
They all immediately did so. "Sir!"
"One not dueling."
He pointed his staff at Rika, who was standing there, an awkward look on her face. "Me…? No, sir, I was…just waiting for the right opportunity!"
"Come, girl."
Rika hung her head as she followed Omariro outside the dojo. Han lowered his voice and whispered to Zaria and Rei.
"Ooh, Rika's in trouble!"
Zaria elbowed him. "Ow!"
Omariro led Rika through the hallways until they reached a room at the far end of the mansion, which was locked. With a tap of his staff, the door opened, revealing a room full of artifacts, scrolls, and portraits.
"Sir," Rika stammered. "U—um, why did you bring me here?"
"Room is Jugen Archive. It teach girl lesson about her skills."
"What's there to learn, sir? You said I'm a protector, not a fighter, but how can I protect anything if I can't fight? The other three have skills that work in combat. I don't! I'm nothing like the rest of you, sir!"
"No. Girl is not."
Rika watched as Omariro grabbed a scroll before handing it to her. "Read."
"O—okay?"
She scanned through the paper, reading in her head.
"100 years ago, dungeons appeared…and so did the seven Jugen Class. Six of the seven were considered usable for combat, the last, Kaiseisha, were only considered support and rarely allowed inside dungeons."
Rika turned to Omariro. "See, sir. Even back then, still a useless class."
"Read."
"Until one day…a young girl from the Kaiseisha Class emerged with the power to resonate deeply with the mystical dungeon items called Sigils. By spreading her power around, the Kaiseisha Class quickly became the most attuned to Sigil Magic, allowing them to wield and harness the power of sigils more effectively."
She paused.
"I knew that, sir," she clarified. "But it still doesn't matter if I don't have a sigil to toss at someone."
"Finish scroll."
She resumed her place. "With the advancements in Jugen and a deeper understanding of it, it has come to attention that not only can Kaiseisha users draw out a sigil's full power, but after making enough contact with them, they can awaken a skill to create their own at will."
Rika dropped the scroll. "What?"
"Once girl finds her skill, girl's doubts will disappear like wind."
"But how much sigil power do I need to do that?" she asked.
"Not only sigil. Emotion. Once girl has drive. She will unlock it."
Rika handed him back the scroll. "Can you guide me?"
"Girl must guide herself. Girl will know when time comes."
He walked outside the room. "Come. Training."
She set the paper down. "Time comes? When on earth will I know that?"
Present Day—-
As Atsushi approached, Rika pulled out the glowing sigil from her pocket. "Wait, this is from Sunako!"
Atsushi raised his mace. "Surrender, girl. Or you'll all be exterminated."
Rika looked between Zaria and the rubble where Omariro was buried.
"NO."
With a squeeze, she crushed the sigil, and a wave of energy flooded her body.
"What's this?" Kohaku wondered. "That girl's got a different scent to her!"
A UI appeared above her head.
〈2nd *Kaiseisha* Skill unlocked: Chiyu no Shirushi. User can now create *5* healing-related sigils per 48 hours.〉
"I…I did it!"
Zaria coughed up some blood. "Rika…?"
"Oh, right! Jugen-Kaiseisha: Chiyu no Shirushi!"
〈Sigil Created: Vitality. Restore 90% of *Lifeforce* to all nearby party members. Charges: 1.〉
Rika crushed it, and a massive shockwave blasted Atsushi back, filling the area with a brilliant teal light. By the time the light disappeared, Zaria was on her knees, coughing.
"What the—? What happened?"
Rika pulled her into a hug. "It worked! You're okay!"
"Did…you do that?"
She held up the crushed sigil bits. "Yeah! I unlocked my second skill! I can make sigils now!"
"Wow, that's awesome! I knew you could do it! Told you that you weren't useless!"
As they hugged, they noticed the rubble where Omariro was trapped shifting, and Atsushi turned his focus to it.
"Sir!" they both realized.
As Atsushi reached his hand toward it, a large wave of golden energy erupted.
"Jugen-Henshōsha: Ōgonryū no Yoroi!"
BOOM.
Everyone watched in shock as a figure emerged from the rubble: long black dreadlocks, youthful skin, and a tall, toned physique. He had golden wings and golden armor on, with a golden crown atop his head.
"Young again…well done, Rika."
In an instant, the man appeared before the two, giving Rika a pat on the head.
"S…sir?" she questioned.
"Sir, you're…" Zaria realized.
"Super young!" Rika interrupted.
〈Prime Omariro Nyugawa—-Level: 250,000〉
"Impossible!" Atsushi shouted. "What deceitful magic is this?"
"I don't have long in this form," Omariro explained. "My memories will soon forget."
Zaria began shaking Rika, as they both looked at Omariro, their faces red. "What is it?"
"N—nothing!" Zaria assured. "You just…look amazing, that's all!"
"More than amazing…" Rika gushed.
"Hmm?"
"Sir, look out!"
Atsushi swung his mace at Omariro, but Omariro quickly formed a double-bladed glaive in his hand and launched it at Atsushi, sending him flying into the air.
"Tiny man."
When the dust settled, Atsushi noticed Nonoka was next to him. "Sir! You need to withdraw! The aura coming from that guy is scary! Like, inhuman scary!"
"No! Buff me further! A 900% boost!"
"That could cause permanent damage to you! Or worse, it could leave you stuck like that!"
"It doesn't matter! I will not dishonor my division! Buff me, Nonoka!"
With a reluctant nod, she used her powers, and Atsushi grew even taller. "We finish this now, Nyugawa!"
His mace's spikes extended, becoming even sharper. He threw his mace at Omariro, who blocked with one hand.
"Inadequate."
Atsushi slammed the ground, causing Omariro to drop the mace and fly into the air, slashing off his arm with one precise strike.
"My regeneration is slower," Atsushi noticed.
"I told you!" Nonoka replied. "You can't keep overexerting yourself!"
"That's fine! I'll just crush him without it!"
He grabbed his mace and slammed it repeatedly on the ground, causing the room to destabilize. Using his remaining arms, he formed more maces.
"My energy will run out soon," he thought. "But I will taste victory!"
From above, they could hear Kohaku's voice. "Ahh, now THIS is unexpected! Such strength! I must see it to the end! Fight! FIGHT!"
Atsushi began bashing the ground with his maces, causing earthquakes to ripple through the ground. Omariro quickly scooped up Rika and Zaria before flying off into the air again. Nonoka watched in awe.
"He's…superhuman…."
Atsushi threw a mace at the trio, but Omariro kicked it into the wall.
"Hold on tight," Omariro ordered.
"We will!" Rika replied, overly eager.
"Promise!" Zaria agreed, picking up one of Omariro's dreadlocks. "Wow, even his hair is smooth…!"
A dragon mask coated Omariro's face as Atsushi began unleashing devastating attacks at him, all of which he blocked with his glaive.
"Sunahara," Omariro remarked, as Atsushi bellowed loudly.
〈Changing Loadout to: *Ōgonryū*〉
"Taste the Fury of the Dragon!"
At the same time, their attacks met head-on.
BOOM.
——-