Gadra's request for an audience with the Emperor had been granted at last.
He walked calmly, but weight pressed on his chest like a stone. He had one final duty—one last warning to deliver. Whether Emperor Rudra would listen, he did not know.
But he had to try.
"His Imperial Majesty is expecting you," the attendant said.
Gadra nodded and followed her down the polished atrium corridor.
As he stepped into the open walkway, the sight of the eternal cherry blossoms greeted him—petals drifting gently in the wind, trees forever frozen in full bloom.
"So beautiful as always," Gadra murmured.
"Though the visitors from Japan never liked these blossoms. To them, beauty lives in impermanence—'wabi-sabi,' was it? Beauty in destruction. Cherry blossoms are loved because they fall."
He chuckled softly.
"Isn't that right, Kondou-dono?"
"…."
A man stepped out from behind a tree—sharp, merciless, and composed.
First Lieutenant Kondou, the Empire's silent executioner.
"I thought I'd hidden my presence well," Kondou said.
"You did," Gadra admitted, gripping his cane. "I only felt… a sense of foreboding."
The attendant vanished without a trace—she had never been meant to stay.
Kondou took a step forward.
"I can't let you meet His Imperial Majesty."
"Why?" Gadra demanded.
"I don't intend to give you a reason. You don't need to know."
He raised a polished, black Nambu pistol—
the same weapon brought from another world.
"You intend to kill me?" Gadra's eyes narrowed.
He watched Kondou's finger carefully.
No twitch. No pressure on the trigger.
That was when the pain struck him.
A hot, blinding spike tore through his chest—from behind.
Gadra gasped and fell to his knees, breath fleeing him.
No gunshot.
No muzzle flash.
And the wound wasn't from a bullet.
"…a blade…" he whispered, realizing too late.
Someone else had stabbed him.
Behind him, a second figure stepped into view—a presence faint yet familiar, a voice Gadra recognized but could not place.
"Why did you interfere?" Kondou asked.
"Because this man is dangerous," the second figure replied calmly.
"If we let this traitor live, he would hinder the next reign of His Imperial Majesty."
The voice echoed strangely in Gadra's fading mind.
He knew that voice—but in his near-death haze, it felt distorted, misplaced.
"But… he was still His Majesty's friend…" Kondou muttered.
Their voices grew distant.
Muffled.
Gadra's limbs went cold.
His vision blurred into drifting petals.
So this is my punishment… for betraying Rudra…
He could feel darkness closing in.
But Gadra, old as he was, had never been a fool.
With the last fragment of his fading consciousness, he activated the spell he had prepared—
a desperate contingency.
His final gamble.
And then…
Gadra collapsed among the eternal blossoms, losing consciousness completely.
After sending Gadra to the Empire, it was time to deal with something far more immediate—an interrogation.
Not of Shinji, nor any of his group.
But Ramiris.
The fairy had been suspicious from the moment she opened her mouth earlier. And Atem, King of Games and Sovereign of Eterna, did not ignore suspicious behavior—especially inside his labyrinth.
"What? I'm not hiding anything!" Ramiris squeaked.
Atem crossed his arms, golden eyes narrowing. His presence alone made the air heavy.
Ramiris immediately began sweating, fidgeting like a child caught stealing treasure.
Atem leaned forward slightly.
"Ramiris," he said, voice deep and authoritative, "you know very well I do not tolerate lies."
Her wings stiffened.
"No more cake… ever again."
That was it.
Ramiris panicked like a soldier facing divine judgment.
"W-wait! I'll talk! I'll talk! Just don't take away the cake, Captain!"
Captain? Atem ignored it. He had heard stranger titles in his past life as Pharaoh.
"Good," Atem said. "Now answer."
He began.
"Adalmann performed far better than expected. That's fine. But Albert… him pushing back Shinji and the others alone? And a death dragon appearing out of nowhere?" Atem's eyes sharpened. "Explain all of it."
Albert was no ordinary monster anymore. He had evolved into a Death Paladin—Special A rank. Before evolving, he had clashed evenly with Hakuro. Now, his power was far beyond what Atem had assigned him for dungeon balance.
"T-that's because Albert has been teaching that knight Arnaud!" Ramiris blurted. "And he wanted to test his strength again in the lower floors!"
Atem raised a hand.
"Stop."
He stared at her with a stern expression that made Ramiris instinctively shut her mouth.
"Albert teaching Arnaud?" Atem repeated. "Arnaud is the captain of the Holy Knight Order. He should surpass Albert in technique. Why is Albert training him?"
Ramiris nodded rapidly.
"You see! After Arnaud and his team got scolded by Hinata, they challenged the Dungeon again! They cleared floor 70 because the Demon Colossus was still being built."
"Then?" Atem pressed.
"They got their butts handed to them, of course!" Ramiris said proudly.
"Gahahahaha! They cried and ran away!" Veldora added, puffing out his chest.
Atem's expression remained flat, but Solarys whispered in his mind:
«Report: Their battle data has been archived.»
Excellent, Atem thought. I will review it later.
"For now," Atem said aloud, "how far did Arnaud's group go?"
"They reached the dragon chambers," Ramiris answered. "Floors 96 to 99!"
"Hmm…"
The terrain effects there could crush any human. Even seasoned knights.
Ramiris continued, "They got crushed the moment they met the next boss. It was glorious!"
Atem's eyebrow twitched.
"The next boss? What do you mean?"
"Eh? What do YOU mean?" Ramiris shot back.
"Arnaud is one of the Ten Great Saints," Atem reminded her. "He fought against Clayman. Even an ex-Demon Lord."
Then Atem froze mid-sentence.
Now that he thought about it…
Adalmann and Albert together could probably defeat Clayman's awakened form. Add a death dragon, and it wasn't even a contest.
Ramiris tried to avoid his gaze.
"Well… uh…"
Atem frowned.
The 80th floor's guardian should have been Zegion.
Unless—
"…Did he finish his metamorphosis?" Atem asked quietly.
Ramiris flinched.
Veldora burst out:
"My disciple Zegion has completed his evolution! He is now the perfect warrior! He has inherited my divine killing arts!"
Atem stared at him.
"…You taught an insect your 'Veldora Style Killing Arts™'?"
"Indeed!" Veldora said proudly. "And Arnaud's group was not even worthy to face him! They were defeated on Floor 79—by Apito!"
Atem exhaled slowly.
Apito—the Queen Wasp. Ultra-high speed. Venom lethal enough to paralyze even Advanced A-rankers. A true nightmare for sword-wielding knights.
Atem could already imagine it:
Arnaud and his team crying
running
screaming
being stung repeatedly…
I should not laugh. Atem thought.
But he nearly did.
"You should've told me," Atem said, tone sharp.
"You knew I was busy handling Eterna's affairs."
"Hey hey! It wasn't just me!" Ramiris insisted. "It was Mentor's fault too!"
"Traitor!" Veldora roared.
"Because you tried to act innocent!" Ramiris shot back.
Atem rubbed his temples.
He had clearly been played. By both of them.
Leaving things in their hands was a mistake.
But one question remained.
"Ramiris," Atem said, voice calm but dangerous, "what do you mean by training Zegion?"
Zegion was an insect-type monster.
Unless…
Atem's eyes narrowed.
"He evolved into a humanoid form, didn't he?"
"Kukuku… so you finally realized!" Veldora said triumphantly. "I hid it from you to make things more entertaining!"
Atem did not entertain him.
"Solarys," he commanded.
«Acknowledged.»
Solarys projected the recording.
Atem watched Zegion's new form—slender, humanoid, radiating power so dense it shook the image.
He looked like Razul, the monster Shion had once fought in Lubelius. Strong. Fast. Refined.
A perfect warrior.
His mutation had granted him access to techniques impossible for his old form.
And Apito—she too had evolved into a humanoid shape, graceful and deadly.
Hinata had been training her directly. Atem should have noticed sooner.
Apito and Zegion had been sparring together, sharpening their skills far beyond what the Dungeon's balance ever intended.
Atem folded his arms again.
These two…
had become monsters among monsters.