???——
Rika landed on a hard chunk of rock, rubbing the side of her head. As she stood up gingerly, she noticed Omariro standing at the edge, gazing out at the vast sky below.
"Master?" Rika questioned. "Are you okay? Where are we?"
"Sky domain," Omariro explained. "Others split. Must find."
Rika walked over to him, peering down before quickly jumping into Omariro's arms. "Ahh! Where's the ground?"
"No ground," he told her. "Fall will be endless."
〈Rule: Use the *Winds.*〉
Another rock was far in the distance as the rock beneath Rika and Omariro began to crumble, with Rika holding on tight as Omariro held her up.
"Girl must hold. Jump coming."
"Wait, Master, I'm not ready—-!"
A wind current rose from the ground, and Omariro jumped into it as Rika screamed, floating his way to the next rock. Rika shivered in his arms as he set her down.
"Is this gonna be every floor?" Rika worried. "I think I might throw up…"
Another rock rose from the clouds as the current one broke apart, with Omariro taking Rika and using the wind to maneuver to the next rock. Rika dropped to the ground, throwing up over the side.
She got up, wiping her mouth and gripping onto Omariro. "Sir, what now?"
Three wind tunnels appeared, guiding the two to three large rock islands.
〈Collect the *3* Thunder Sigils.〉
Omariro took Rika and dragged her to the leftmost island, zipping through the tunnel like a bullet while Rika dipped her head into his chest. The two landed, and there was a sigil stationed in the center of the palm tree.
Rika attempted to reach out and touch it, but an electric barrier formed, shocking her and causing her to pull her hand back. "Ow! Why me?"
Omariro analyzed the barrier, and he noticed there were several elemental symbols stationed across the barrier. Rika read them out. "Sea, Sky, Sea, Fire, Light, Dark? Master, what do these mean?"
"Beasts," Omariro pointed out.
"But there's only three, right?"
Omariro didn't respond, simply putting a hand on Rika's head. "Question for later date. Must solve puzzle."
"There he goes again," Rika thought. "Does he think I'm too soft? No, Rika! Now's not the time to have doubts! Come on, I've gotta solve this!"
She turned to the puzzle. "I can handle this, Master. I promise!"
"Girl do her best."
Rika touched the Sea symbol, noticing it dragged along with her finger. After moving it for a bit, she pressed it to the Sky symbol, and an electric shock shot up her arm. "Ow!"
She rubbed her arm as the puzzle reset, looking it over intensely. "Okay, think, Rika. I can't force this like Zaria would."
Her eyes turned towards the Light symbol. "Huh. That's easy. Light beats Dark."
She placed the Light Symbol over the dark, and the Dark symbol disappeared with a flash of lightning.
"One down, five to go."
Rika paused for just a moment before dragging the Fire symbol to the Water one. "Fire beats Water, right?"
The barrier shocked her, and the symbols reset once again. "Come on! Fire always beats Water! Okay, whatever!"
She repeated the same motion for Light and Dark, before dragging the Water symbol over to the Fire one. Sure enough, the Fire symbol disappeared. Rika moved the Wind symbol over the Water one, but she got shocked once again.
"If Wind doesn't scatter Water, then what am I missing here?"
She took a step back, redoing her previous symbols before taking a deep breath and placing the Earth symbol over the Water. The Water symbol disappeared. "Yes! Got it."
All that remained were the Light, Earth, and Sky symbols. Rika studied them for a few moments, before dragging the Sky symbol over the Light. It disappeared.
"Sky and Earth…so, only one can remain? Air or ground…"
She noticed Omariro's gaze on her, and she deliberated for a bit before dragging the Sky symbol over the Earth symbol, and the Earth symbol disappeared. The entire barrier shook before shattering into pieces, causing the sigil to fall to the ground.
"Yes! I did it, Master! I did it!"
Omariro put a hand on her head, and Rika blushed. "Girl did well. Grab Sigil."
"R—right!"
She picked it up as a wind tunnel led to the next island. Omariro and Rika landed gracefully as the next Sigil was floating in mid-air a few dozen feet away from the island.
Various slimes began floating in mid-air as a strange totem appeared before Rika's hands.
〈Destroy all Slimes. Time Remaining: 1:30〉
Rika touched the totem, and with a surge of energy, it began rapidly firing thunderbolts. She struggled to hold it up, firing at the slimes. Bit by bit, they exploded on contact.
"Is this like a shooter game?" Rika questioned. "Sheesh. Please don't tell Emeru, Master!"
Omariro watched as she cleared the slimes, and once the last of the slimes was destroyed, more appeared to take their places, moving around in circles.
Rika attempted to destroy them all, but with every defeated slime, the others sped up more and more. Once Rika managed to destroy them all, a final wave appeared, this time with each making efforts to strike her with goo.
〈Time Remaining: 0:14〉
"Shit!"
Three slimes charged up a massive amount of goo, but Omariro used his arrows to interrupt them, allowing Rika to finish them off just as time expired.
"Master…" she said. "I didn't mean to trouble you…"
"Girl must not overexert herself," he warned. "Must manage what she can and cannot do."
The sigil floated toward the island, and Rika grabbed it. "I know, I know. I just really want to show you what I can do! I'm not just some background girl!"
The wind tunnel appeared as Omariro grabbed her. "Doubts are unnecessary. Come, last sigils await."
They flew to the final island, which was bigger than the previous two. A large cataclysm was in the center, with a deep hole stretching to parts unknown.
"Where's the sigil?" Rika asked.
A thunderous humanoid creature emerged from the ground, using its wings to support itself. He held a glowing blade coated with lightning pointed at Rika and Omariro.
"Hmm?" the creature noted. "The God-King."
Rika nudged Omariro. "Sir, what does that mean? Who is he? Another escort?"
The Escort analyzed Omariro. "Why do you wear that old man shell? What brings you back here after all these years?"
"Ziz," Omariro replied.
"Ziz does not take additional visitors at this time," the Escort stated. "You may advance, but your companion here must leave at once."
"Girl will stay," Omariro assured. "Conversation over."
The Escort slashed the air, causing thunder to strike the ground near Rika's feet, and she wrapped her arms around Omariro, terrified.
"Is that so?" the Escort mocked. "Well, since you are the God-King, I'll allow an exception, under one condition."
"Hmm?"
The Escort shifted into a samurai form, his blade growing into a long katana. "Defeat me and claim the final sigil."
Omariro formed his blade, but a thunder barrier formed, separating him from the other two.
"Not you. Wouldn't be fair. Your student. You're a mentor, no? Then mentor."
Rika looked between Omariro and the Escort, her nerves shaking. "Master? Erm, what do I do?"
"Calm, girl," Omariro ordered. "Show no fear."
The Escort gripped his blade.
〈Overseer of the Sky Dungeon—-Shinnosuke. Level: 77,000〉
"Gah! He's too strong, Master! I can't do this! I can't!"
Shinnosuke got into a low stance and cut the air, forming a powerful slash of thunder that nearly took Rika's head off.
Rika backed away to the edge of the barrier, but it shocked her, forcing her back in. Shinnosuke dashed forward, his blade ready to run through Rika's skull.
"Girl must duck!"
Rika quickly took the advice, and Shinnosuke's blade touched the barrier instead, delivering a shock to his arm.
He held firm and pulled his blade back. Omariro watched his stance before addressing Rika. "Up, girl!"
Rika jumped over the downward slash, rolling to the other side and scooting away, her heart racing. She clasped her hands together. "Okay, I need a miracle here! Jugen-Kaiseisha: Chiyu no Shirushi!"
〈Sigil Created: Iron Skin.〉
She crushed it just as Shinnosuke sent a wave of thunder at her, but she resisted it, unharmed. "Master? What now?"
"Must disarm! Go!"
Just as Shinnosuke attempted to slice her, Rika held onto the blade, gripping the top and pulling it. Shinnosuke yanked it from her, smacking her with the hilt.
"Such a disappointment to the God-King's legacy," Shinnosuke mocked. "You have no spine at all, child."
〈Domain Effect: Winds of Change. Use the surrounding *Winds* to change your position on the battlefield.〉
Various wind currents burst from the ground like geysers, and Omariro tapped his staff on the ground. "Girl must use terrain. Gain advantage."
Shinnosuke's blade grazed against Rika's shoulder, managing to cut it. "Crap, it wore off!"
She zipped over to the nearest current, and with a violent burst of wind, she disappeared. Shinnosuke looked around for her, only to find her jumping onto his back from behind.
"Get off, wretch!"
She slapped his sword arm, but he kept his fingers on the blade and tried to stab her, but Rika jumped off and he only managed to stab himself.
〈Boss HP: 100% → 80%〉
Rika backed up, noticing Shinnosuke ripping out his blade.
"He can hurt himself?" she realized. "That's the key!"
Omariro carefully watched as Shinnosuke cut Rika's arm off, forcing her to heal herself as she grimaced. She threw herself into another wind current, vanishing from sight.
The Escort closed his eyes and listened for any trace of Rika, and he caught a glimpse of her above him, driving his blade into her chest.
〈Sigil Activated.〉
The strike rebounded back onto her as Rika gingerly grabbed her chest.
〈Boss HP: 80% → 50%〉
"What black magic was that, wretch?"
He noticed the sigil in her hands, and a thought immediately clicked in his mind. "She used that wind as a cover to form another sigil? But which?"
Rika charged at him as he attacked again, only to slash out one of his own eyes.
〈Boss HP: 50% → 30%〉
"I see," Shinnosuke noted. "A sigil that reverses damage onto the attacker. Well, there's only one way to deal with that."
Birds made of lightning formed from a snap of Shinnosuke's fingers, and they swooped toward Rika, pecking at her hair and delivering repeated shocks to her body. As each bird disappeared, another one came.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"
"Switch strategy," Omariro told her. "Girl must adapt to all situations."
"But how, Master?"
"Use enemy against enemy."
Rika looked between the birds and Shinnosuke, before jumping onto the latter, allowing the birds to shock him in the process.
〈Boss HP: 30% → 20% → 15%〉
He backhanded Rika into the ground as her sigil wore off, raising his blade high and slashing down hard enough to sever the island.
Rika jumped into the wind current nearby as he sliced part of her leg, and thunder erupted as the two sides began to drift apart.
"Come out, child!"
Lightning rippled across the land as he swung his sword again and again, but this time, Rika appeared right in front of him, catching him off guard.
"Huh—-?"
Taking advantage of his hesitation, she kicked the blade out of his hands and stabbed him with it.
〈Boss HP: 15% → 0%〉
A powerful shockwave burst from his body, and he reverted to his original Escort form as the island reattached itself.
〈Challenge Completed.〉
The barrier disappeared, and Rika quickly rushed over to hug Omariro. "Master! Thank you! I beat him!"
"Girl proved worth," Omariro replied.
Shinnosuke floated above them. "She did…adequate. Though I could have blasted her to a golden paste anytime."
"What?" Rika questioned.
A golden bridge formed, leading to the next gate. "Follow me, God-King. Bring the extra with you. The path to the Sky Beast is a long one."
"Others inside," Omariro stated. "Must find."
"Don't worry one bit," Shinnosuke informed him. "They've already been taken by the King of Beasts."
Meanwhile—-
Zaria woke up, trapped in a golden cage hanging from the ceiling. Next to her were Nonoka, Sōshin, and Rei, all of whom were in cages as well.
A low, rumbling voice cut through the air.
"It would seem thou art awake."
Zaria followed the sound of the voice, and she came face to face with a pair of glowing golden eyes.
——