Floor 1,321—-
Han watched while Zan and Omariro unleashed devastating attacks toward one another. As he tried to take a step forward, his head suddenly grew heavy.
"Ugh…"
Omariro regrew his arms, but Zan fired more rifle rounds at him, and hunters surrounded him.
With a flash of his bow, he rained down arrows upon them all, driving them back with ease.
"Weak Kaitansha."
Zan threw a bomb at him, but Omariro deflected it with his blade. "You no Kaidanchō."
"How disrespectful," Zan remarked. "Are you looking down on me?"
Han stumbled over to Omariro's side. "Boy not ok."
"N..no, sir! I'm fine! Let's trap this prick!"
He held out his cube, but Zan erased it with a rifle round.
"Look at you. Almost like a father and son. It could make a grown man cry."
He laughed. "Who am I kidding?"
As he and Omariro prepared to attack each other again, a barrage of chains sprang from the ground, and Omariro's face immediately turned grim. "Boy, get back—-!"
BOOM.
Omariro blocked a wave of chains and grabbed Han as a shadowy lady, her form flickering, rose from below. As soon as he saw her, Zan took a knee. "M'lady."
"It is time to go, Zan."
Han noticed the statue in the woman's hands. "Sir! She's got the statue!"
Han quickly ran at her, reforming his cube. Omariro moved to stop him. "Boy, no!"
Not hearing him, Han tried to grab the statue, and the woman turned toward him with a curious glint in her eyes. "How amusing."
A spiked chain whistled toward him, but Omariro grabbed it and crushed it in his fist.
She paused as soon as she saw him, looking between him and Han. "So..."
Her purple eyes blazed. "This is the new company you keep. How far you have fallen, Legendary Kaitansha. How far you have fallen."
Omariro narrowed his eyes, and with a ripple of chains, she and Zan disappeared.
"We shall meet again…Master Nyugawa."
〈Commission: Failed.〉
Han stared at the ground. "No…we couldn't have failed…I thought the girls were on the statue! And…Mr. Nyugawa…did that person…know you?"
Omariro sipped a cup of coffee. "Answers best left unsaid, boy."
"Alright…but what now? What do we do?"
His head began to spin again, and he dropped to his knees. "Argh!"
Han slammed the ground. "Damn it!"
Omariro put a hand on his back. "Regroup. Go to next floor. Take break."
"A break? Sir, we need to win!"
Just then, Sōshin drove up, with a distraught Zaria, Rika, and Rei in the back seat. As soon as they got out, Rei helped Zaria over to Omariro, Rika following close behind.
"Mr. Nyugawa?" Zaria whimpered.
"Girl."
Zaria limped over to him, burying her face in his chest as she began to cry. "I'm so sorry…we—I lost! I failed you!"
〈7th Place: Shinkaidan. Points: 200 → 0. Tier 2 Commission: Failed. Points Have Been Deducted.〉
Rika wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm sorry too…I tried so hard but…I'm just…not a fighter. I let him run away with the statue…because I'm weak! I…I shouldn't be here."
Rei looked away. "Mr. Omariro…are you upset with us?"
They all looked at him, his face unreadable, and he wrapped an arm around them. "Hope not lost. Girls wipe tears. Next floor, repeat. Surpass. Win."
Zaria sniffed. "You're not mad?"
"No. Setback inevitable. Response to setback is not."
"But we're in last place…" Rika pointed out. "We just embarrassed your name on live TV…"
"TV…" Omariro replied. "Clear from your mind. Work must be done. Girls will prove themselves. Failure is forgiven."
They all collapsed into his arms. "Thank you, sir!"
Han pointed to the moving car. "Ahem, uh…what is that?"
Sōshin's face lit up on Rika's phone. "Hello, friend! I'm Sōshin! Rika, Zaria, and Moon-Girl's friend!"
"Uh…what?"
Meanwhile, Floor 1,931—-
"Shinkaidan has dropped to last place! They've failed their second commission!"
Atsushi noticed the scoreboard update. "Nyugawa failed? What a joke."
He turned towards the temple in the distance. "Let's take advantage of this window, men! Onward!"
"SIR!"
The Naraku-Kaidan members ran behind Atsushi as he hurried toward the temple, pushing past bushes and through trees until they reached the brown temple, where a hazelnut-haired human girl in jungle gear was standing, analyzing.
"Hmm," she commented. "Nope! Still too dangerous!"
"Little girl."
She yelped and turned around as Atsushi approached her. "Please, don't scare me like that!"
"Are you the client for this floor's commission?"
She paused. "Oh, that! Yeah! I need some help!"
"But…you're human, aren't you? You live here?"
She pointed to her ears, which were pointed. "Elf, actually. I just look more human than most."
"Odd…"
She turned back to the temple. "I need some help getting in here. Once I walked through the door, a fire trap nearly incinerated me! I could use some hunters to escort me as I look for the "Jugen-Ō no Hihō."
"Sounds like a profitable task," Atsushi remarked. "We'll accept."
〈Commission Accepted. Clear the *Jugen-King's Temple.* Tier: 3.〉
"Oh! Just one thing. Only two of you can come alongside me. Sorry…it's just the temple rules!"
She pointed to a sign pasted nearby.
〈Rules: Three entrants at a time. Jugen-Tōshi, Jugen-Metsusha, and Jugen-Kōbisha are not allowed. All members have 2 hours to clear the Temple, or they will be forever trapped inside.〉
"Straightforward, then," Atsushi commented. "Fine. We'll follow the rules. Nonoka!"
A black-haired girl with her hair braided in a ponytail stepped forward, hands in her pockets. "What?"
"You're with me. It's time I give you some high-risk tests."
"Yeah, sure."
He turned back to the elf. "And you? Your name?"
"Yuzuha Yasumori!" she replied. "But you can just drop the last name, hehe!"
"Alright. Yuzuha, Nonoka, inward! If we waste too much time, Nyugawa will catch up!"
"Nyugawa?" Yuzuha questioned.
"Some guy he treats as a rival," Nonoka. "I've never even seen him."
"Enough chatter!"
Atsushi walked to the temple entrance, and his feet found a pressure plate.
〈Checking Party Size: *3* Members. Access Granted.〉
The door slid upward, revealing a dark temple corridor, lined with vines. Atsushi turned back to his men. "Wait here. We won't be long."
He and the girls entered, and the door slammed behind them.
Temple—-
"Elf," Atsushi ordered. "What are your powers?"
"It's Yuzuha," she corrected. "And my people can use Jugen."
"That so? Then what Class are you?"
"Mahōshi. A nature type."
"Fitting for one like yourself."
"Is that a compliment, or an insult?"
Atsushi abruptly stopped, and in front of them was a large room, with eight marked runes floating before them.
"The next room is blocked," Atsushi noted. "This must be the first puzzle."
"A rune puzzle?" Yuzuha questioned. "What do they read?"
"Who cares," Nonoka sighed.
A UI floated over each of the runes.
〈Seimei no Jugen〉
A depiction of a baby being born.
〈Shi no Jugen〉
A picture of a family at a grave.
〈Kibō no Jugen〉
A picture of a hunter standing up to an ogre.
〈Kyōfu no Jugen〉
A picture of a group of kids running from a demon.
〈Han'ei no Jugen〉
A picture of a man basking in wealth.
〈Kōfuku no Jugen〉
A picture of a man and woman smiling at each other, holding hands.
〈Fukushū no Jugen〉
A picture of a masked individual, stabbing a picture of a man.
〈Kunan no Jugen〉
A picture of a beggar in robes.
"These must go to something," Atsushi thought. "But what?"
〈Complete the *Puzzle.*〉
The walls retracted to reveal eight rune-shaped holes, each with a different marking below them.
〈Toki no owari, soshite tamashii no yukue…〉
〈Sekai ni hikari o motarasu, densetsu no tanjō…〉
〈Zetsubō no dorei, yowaki mono no yowaki kokoro…〉
〈Subete ni tachimukau, eiyū no ishi…〉
〈Suramu no hinkon, soshite shimikonda mukyoka…〉
〈Kanashimi no namida, nokosareta tsuitō…〉
〈Mukashi no teki no yurushi no daki…〉
〈Subete no kusari o karuku uchikudaki, nani ga atte mo katsu chikara…〉
"More mess," Nonoka shrugged.
"Not mess," Atsushi corrected. "It appears to be a riddle. Eight runes, eight slots. We must match them to their owners."
"But where do we start?" Yuzuha asked.
Atsushi scanned the runes, remaining silent for a moment before turning to the slots. "Life. Death. Hope. Fear. Prosperity. Happiness. Vengeance. Hardships. Each line has a riddle that matches said rune."
Atsushi grabbed the Life Rune and placed it in the second slot. "Match them to their riddles!"
"Ah!" Yuzuha agreed. "Smart!"
She grabbed the Death and Hope Runes, placing them in the first and fourth slots respectively. Nonoka walked over and grabbed the Fear and Prosperity Runes.
"Hmm."
She placed Fear in the third slot, and Prosperity in the final slot.
Atsushi grabbed the Vengeance and Hardships Runes, placing the latter in the fifth spot, and holding onto the former. "Huh. This is odd. Nothing maps cleanly to this."
"Maybe place it and see what happens?" Yuzuha suggested.
He placed it inside, and a powerful shockwave erupted, knocking the girls back and nearly tripping Atsushi.
〈*7/8* Runes Are Incorrect. Attempts Remaining: 1.〉
"How could that be wrong?" Yuzuha gasped. "Was it that final rune? Is this place rigged?"
Nonoka stopped and looked around, reading the riddles again and noticing something.
"The Vengeance one is still there. All the others hit the floor. Maybe that's it."
"What are you suggesting?" Atsushi asked.
"How about instead of putting them in what they're supposed to go in, why not do the opposite?"
Atsushi's eyes sparked. "Ahh! Not a bad idea."
She grabbed the Fear Rune and placed it into the fourth slot, before taking the Hardships rune and placing it into the final slot. Atsushi watched her for a moment before grabbing the Life and Death runes, placing them into the first and second runes.
"Odd solution," Yuzuha remarked. "But okay!"
She picked up the Prosperity Rune and placed it into the fifth slot. The Happiness Rune lay next to her feet, and she placed it into the sixth spot.
"Now for Hope," Nonoka stated, grabbing it and placing it third. "Let's see if that works."
〈*8/8* Runes Are Correct. Granting Access…〉
The door opened, allowing them passage into the next room, which was a large bridge.
"Hopefully no more stupid puzzles," Nonoka muttered.
The entrance behind them shut closed.
〈Run.〉
The three looked up, where a massive metal ball dropped, rolling after the trio.
"Move!" Atsushi ordered.
They burst into a sprint as the ball kept pace, nearly crushing them.
"Can't we use Jugen to stop it?" Yuzuha suggested.
Atsushi transformed his arm into stone, punching the metal ball.
〈Error. Jugen Ineffective. Penalty: Increasing Size.〉
"Jugen only makes it worse! Keep going!"
The ball began to break the bridge, and Nonoka extended her hand out. "Atsushi, elf-girl, hold on!"
Her body began to glow yellow. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Noroi no Sukiru Kyōka!"
〈200% Buff to *All* Party Members.〉
"Good work!" Atsushi complimented. "Now hold tight!"
"For what—-?" Yuzuha asked.
Atsushi slammed his fists together. "Jugen-Henshōsha: Kokuyōseki Gōremu!"
Yuzuha and Nonoka watched as his body shifted into that of a massive black-skinned golem, and he grabbed them in his arms before sprinting across the bridge.
With every step he took, it further snapped.
"Y—you can turn into a GOLEM?" Yuzuha exclaimed.
"Pretty impressive, I'd say," Nonoka confirmed. "It's a reason he's the top Kaidanchō."
The remaining bridge in front of them began to snap.
"Crap! We're not going to make it!"
Atsushi began to charge faster, bending his knees and jumping into the air before landing on the other side as the ball fell into the chasm.
Yuzuha slid off his back. "Phew. We made it."
Atsushi shifted back to normal. "That's the easy part. As with any dungeon structure, it only gets harder the farther you go."
The entrance opened, revealing a horrific sight.
"As I thought."
On the ceiling, there were a bunch of dead Kaitansha hanging upside down, their necks tied by ropes. The floor below had spikes, and there was a mysterious girl in a tattered dress sitting atop a floating platform in the center.
"Oh? More Hunters?"
She slowly descended, her skin turning pale green. "Welcome in."
With a thrust of the hand, the door behind them shut.
"Let's play a game, shall we? A very fun one indeed.
The room began to grow dim.
〈Escape.〉
——