At the bottom of the basin, Leon advanced slowly, as if taking a stroll rather than stepping into battle. His posture was relaxed, unhurried, entirely devoid of hostility. Yet, something about him must have struck a chord with the giant tree.
As Leon neared, the air tensed. With an eerie rustle, enormous roots, far thicker than before, some nearly as large as the trunk, suddenly burst from the ground, twisting and spiraling toward Leon like giant serpents, poised to crush and impale him.
Swish!
Leon's hand moved and the long sword at his waist flashed, a single arc of light slicing through the air. In an instant, the monstrous roots were cleaved into massive chunks, falling like shattered logs from the sky.
But it wasn't over. Emerald liquid began to pour from the dismembered wood, glistening in the dim light like living acid. The thick liquid surged in waves, threatening to drown Leon beneath its toxic embrace.
At the rim of the basin, everyone's faces turned grim.
"That green stuff...!"
The danger was obvious. The moment they saw the emerald fluid, they thought of venom. Others recalled the corrosive spit from the mutated worm monsters they'd fought earlier.
Regardless of what it truly was, they all knew, it was deadly.
Down below, Leon narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…Didn't expect that."
The roots from earlier hadn't contained anything like this. The sudden escalation took him by surprise but it wasn't enough to shake him.
On his shoulder, a soft rumble stirred. The Vongola Box at his waist quivered.
With a puff of flame, an orange-red burst erupted from it and landed gracefully on Leon's shoulder.
"Aahhh!" came the tiny, defiant roar.
A small figure cloaked in brilliant death flames let out a cry, and then—
Fwoooosh!
A pillar of fire shot into the sky, the intense heat vaporizing the emerald liquid instantly. In the blink of an eye, all the deadly fluid was turned to stone. Then, the fluid crumbled into harmless dust that scattered in the wind.
"Ahhh! It's Natsu!" Tiona squealed from the edge of the pit, jumping in place.
The moment she saw Natsu standing proudly on Leon's shoulder, her eyes sparkled with pure joy.
The other girls in the party chuckled warmly. Girls had no resistance to cute creatures.
Leon often brought Natsu out to play when they were together, and over time, the little lion had become something of a mascot. Everyone adored him.
Even Alise and the others, who only met Natsu after the expedition began, had become fast friends with the tiny creature.
At the bottom of the pit, Leon resumed his slow walk toward the tree.
More roots burst forth, each as thick and massive as before, each flailing wildly in a desperate attempt to stop him.
Yet Leon did not even change his expression. He swung his sword casually, easily cleaving through the incoming attacks. But amid this simplicity, a thought surfaced in Leon's mind.
'Hestia's sword really isn't keeping up anymore.'
He glanced at the blade in his hand, noting the subtle strain it now carried.
'I'll need to find a way to strengthen this weapon soon. Maybe after I take down this tree, I'll search for some good ore.'
His gaze shifted toward the massive tree ahead. Something felt off.
That last attack, it had been strong, yes, but not Ievel 8. At best, it was comparable to Ievel 7.
What's going on?
Leon frowned. His detection had clearly read Ievel 8. His shadow, though not suitable for visual data, was extremely accurate when it came to sensing aura. He knew what he had felt.
And yet…
This?
This couldn't be the full power of a level 8 being. Above, the others had similar doubts. They watched as Leon handled the tree's assault with ease, their expressions turning confused.
The power on display was potent, yes but nowhere near what they would expect from a level 8 monster. Even if the creature was conserving strength, the gap was noticeable.
As that doubt lingered in the air, a sudden tremor jolted the floor.
And then—
BOOOOM!!!
A deafening roar echoed throughout the entire 59th floor, shaking the very walls of the dungeon.
Down in the depths of the basin, Leon stood before the massive, towering tree, brows slightly furrowed. Something wasn't right.
He had been prepared to launch a devastating offensive, to tear the giant tree apart with overwhelming force, yet, just as he was about to move, a deep, thunderous sound rumbled through the air.
Boom.
The noise echoed like the tolling of a divine war drum, halting Leon's movement.
Then, two seconds later—
Boom.
Another deep beat resounded, followed quickly by a third.
Boom.
And a fourth.
Boom.
A fifth...
Leon's eyes narrowed, his sharp senses focusing. "The sound... it's coming from within the tree...!"
He listened carefully, standing still amid the tension, eyes closed for a moment as he sorted through the unnatural rhythm.
"This isn't just ambient noise or some random tremor." He murmured, opening his eyes again. "This... this sounds like a heartbeat."
The words left his mouth with quiet gravity.
"A tree... with a heartbeat? Does this thing have a heart?" He asked aloud, though his tone was doubtful.
Almost immediately, Leon shook his head and dismissed the notion. "No. That can't be it."
His voice dropped to a whisper. "This isn't the real body. Something... something is inside the tree."
Without delay, he activated both of his detection techniques, light veins and shadow, spreading them across the entirety of the giant tree, scanning every inch of it.
And just as the twin magics enveloped the colossus—
ROOOAARRRRR!!!
An earth-shattering roar exploded across the 59th floor like a tidal wave of sound.
The sheer volume rattled the walls of the dungeon. Up above, the others recoiled in pain, instinctively covering their ears.
"W-What the hell was that?!" Tiona winced, her face contorted from the sonic assault.
"No idea, but that wasn't the tree." Tione shouted back, her own expression strained as she resisted the force of the roar.
"That... that roar... it sounds like a dragon!" She growled.
Every single member of the party was similarly affected, expressions tense, ears ringing.
"It's a dragon." Finn's voice finally rang out through the cacophony, calm but heavy.
All eyes immediately turned toward the tree. And what they saw left them breathless. The previously intact trunk of the towering tree had ruptured, splitting open like an egg. From within the cracked core, two massive claws, black as obsidian, gripped the edges of the opening.
Moments later, not one, not two, but ten dragon heads, each dark and fierce, slowly emerged from the gap.
"T-This...!" Gareth stumbled forward a step, struggling to accept what he was seeing. "Don't tell me... this tree was just a shell?!"
Riveria's emerald eyes shrank to pinpricks. "That appearance… it can't be…"
"…The Black Dragon." She said.
Beside her, Ais' entire body tensed. Her hands clenched around the hilt of her sword, the golden wings of her angel bloodline appearing instinctively behind her. Her expression twisted in pain and fury, eyes locked onto the black dragon emerging from the shattered trunk.
The others were taken aback, not by the dragon, but by Ais'reaction. It was raw. Visceral.
A deep, unhealed scar had been torn open at the sight of that monstrosity.
Then the beast let out another roar, this one even louder than before, shaking the air like a hammer striking a drumhead.
The roar turned into an invisible shockwave that rippled through the air, cracking the ground and splitting the earth beneath Leon's feet.
BOOM—CRACK!
The stone beneath him exploded outward in a blast of force. Yet Leon remained perfectly still, unmoved.
Wings of radiant light shimmered into existence behind him, catching the wind. He rose calmly into the air, stepping into the void like it was solid ground.
The shockwave didn't just remain in the pit. It spread outward like a dome of destruction.
On the surface, Finn and the others braced themselves, faces grim.