Once Senzo arrived at the top of the staircase, his eyes widened in shock.
There was nothing except a single ridiculously long corridor, and to make things worse, there was not a single light in sight.
He couldn't let his guard down; it seemed like the higher he went, the harder this dungeon would be.
I can't sense any living beings, though.
"Death, what do you think?" Senzo inquired, but he didn't dare relax his guard for a moment.
The small skeleton didn't turn around as he kept staring into the darkness. "This place is very dangerous."
"?!?"
Senzo and the other three suddenly felt shivers run down their spines upon hearing Death's declaration.
If even he says that this place must be a nightmare.
And the worst part was that he had to rush through it to save Emi and the others.
"So what's the plan?" Senzo asked, ready for anything this corridor would throw at him.
Death scratched his chin a couple times while he kept staring into the pitch-black corridor.
"War, you know what to do." He ordered, and without even needing to say anything else, the four horsemen surrounded Senzo.
With War in front, Pest and Famine on his flanks, and Death behind him, seeing this, Senzo heaved a sigh of relief.
Like this he would be able to support wherever necessary, and they could protect him from any monsters.
A moment later hundreds of spectral warriors appeared in front of War while he was waving the spectral banner.
"Go forth, my warriors! And pave the way for our master!" he declared, holding his red greatsword in one hand and the banner in the other.
Without a word the warriors rushed into the corridor; the four horsemen and Senzo kept their eyes glued to all of them to see if anything would happen.
"..."
But even after the warriors went so far ahead that Senzo could only perceive them through vectors, nothing happened.
No ambushes or traps were triggered; it was like this corridor was just creepy but not dangerous at all.
Impossible!
Senzo refused to believe that was the case but couldn't really think of any other ways to trigger the traps or lure out the monsters.
No, I can do that!
But while he was contemplating if he should just go in surrounded by the four of them, a sudden idea hit him.
Five illusions appeared in front of them—perfect copies of Senzo and the four horsemen in formation.
"I'll conceal us and let that illusion take the lead," he whispered, while still keeping an eye on the warriors that had kept running through the corridor.
The four horsemen all gave a nod, and only then did they finally start moving ever so slowly.
First the illusion Senzo had created, and only after making sure everything was safe did they also go.
Weird, nothing is actually happening?
It felt almost surreal; this looked like a prime spot to put traps and ambushes, but instead there was nothing.
Just a single long corridor that seemed to stretch for hundreds of meters.
"Do we keep going at this pace? Or should we speed up?" Senzo asked.
"Let's wait a little longer; this thing is ridiculously long, so I would say we speed up after the halfway point if nothing happens before that." Death proposed, scratching his bony chin.
"Sounds good," Famine added.
Pest and War both nodded their heads as well; seeing them all agree so fast for once was a little strange for Senzo, but it made sense.
"Okay, let's go with that plan then. But we'll have to make up for the lost time on the other floors."
"Understood," the four of them replied in unison.
Like that, time slowly passed as the illusion with the real thing behind it slowly made its way through the corridor.
And while Senzo kept a close eye on the warriors that had rushed out before them, this second floor became more and more bizarre.
Not only was every single one still unharmed and the corridor still the exact same, but also they hadn't encountered any enemies.
Is it a simple floor? Or what?
He wanted nothing more than to just rush through it at the moment, but the weird shadow-like creature on the first floor stopped him.
This corridor was the perfect place for these little bastards to appear after all, and they were so cunning, always waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Senzo's eyes kept darting around from the ceiling to the floor and then to the right and left walls. Making sure he wouldn't miss a single thing.
"Should I just blow the walls and roof away?" he muttered, scratching his cheek.
"That might not be a bad idea, you know. It gives us more space to move around in. And for those, if there are any weird creatures like the ones on the first floor, more space is always welcome." Death said, while also looking around.
The other three also nodded their heads in agreement; if a fight were to break out here, having the space to properly fight could be crucial.
"Alright, let's stop going forward for a bit. I'll give us some more breathing room." Senzo said casually, and the next moment, with a simple wave of his arm, everything except the floor was blown to smithereens.
But what they saw after that wasn't any better; instead of any new rooms or anything, it was just a pitch-black void.
"I'll have to research these dungeons thoroughly." He muttered, It was extremely strange this building should have been his apartment where he was currently living.
But instead of any rooms or even a floor, there was nothing.
"Send one of the spectral warriors in there." Senzo ordered.
Death couldn't help but look at Senzo for a moment before he went back to staring at this weird void.
"That's a pretty good idea, you know," War replied.
A single spectral warrior appeared in front of him, and without hesitation, it jumped from the floor straight into the void.
"By the way, War. How does that spectral banner work? Can you just recall them from any distance, or are there any restrictions?"
War looked at Senzo momentarily stunned, but quickly regained his composure.
"Heh, I'm liking you more and more, master," he said, with a smirk.
"You can recall them from a very long distance; while I don't know the exact number, it shouldn't be a problem if they were in the next city. As for any other restrictions, I'm not too sure, to be honest."
"Huh?"
"Well, I've never really thought about that, you know. Nor have I ever pushed the limits of this thing." War explained while waving the banner in his hand from left to right.
"I see."
Found another thing I'll have to make some time for...