〈Entry Detected—-Floor Level: 668.〉
Omariro dropped from a gate above, landing perfectly on a stone ledge that awaited him. Before him was a Greek-like courthouse, weathered and cracked. As Omariro walked forward, the kids fell through the gate.
"Gah!"
Omariro didn't even bother turning around, a tired look on his face. Zaria was the first one to get up. "What's the play, Master?"
Omariro ignored her, but a UI appeared.
〈Results Processed. Performance Level-Ups: Ready.〉
A sigil appeared in everyone's hand. Omariro and the kids looked at them, with Omariro tossing his aside.
"Wait," Rika questioned. "So is this like the Island? We squeeze these and we jump up?"
"I guess so," Nonoka shrugged.
Han examined his.
"Will it even work on me now?" Han thought. "Not exactly like I have my Jugen, so…"
One was inside Rei's hand, which was still unconscious on Baruto's back. After sharing a look, the kids all squeezed the sigils at once, and their bodies began to glow.
〈Level-Up! +5,000 Levels.〉
Each of them stared at their bodies, almost in awe, except for Han. "Huh. I don't feel any different. Figures."
Zaria flexed her arms. "Okay. That feels good. Maybe if we do like fifty more of these we'll finally hit where we need to be! Right, Master?"
Omariro walked inside the building, leaving the kids outside. Zaria's face fell. "Right…he doesn't like us anymore."
Rika gently took her arm in hand. "It's not that. He just doesn't remember us! We've gotta make him remember, no matter what!"
"How can we do that?" Nonoka wondered. "Master doesn't even remember his name. How can't he remember his own name?"
"What if it's not his name?" Baruto proposed.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"What? Just saying. This Rei girl's got another name, right?"
Rika nodded. "That creepy Mujinsha called her Zenovia, or something."
"So what if Mr. Nyugawa has another name too? I mean, the dude is old. Like, very."
Zaria rubbed her chin. "True. He does seem to remember certain stuff. Just not us."
"There's no point in debating this now!" Shino interrupted. "We've gotta catch up to Mr. Nyugawa before he leaves us!"
"Right!" Zaria agreed.
The kids all rushed into the courthouse, and as Han prepared to follow, he caught a faint glimpse of his cube just before it disappeared.
"Again? What the hell? Is this a trick?"
As he lingered on the cube, Baruto tapped him on the shoulder. "You coming? Because if not, I'll totally stay here too. Saves energy."
Han shook it off. "No, no. I'm coming."
Han and Baruto entered the courthouse behind the others, and the entrance slammed shut.
Courthouse—-
Omariro stepped foot into the courthouse and was instantly met with a long hallway, with doors on either side. The kids entered behind him just as a waypoint popped up, leading to the farthest door on the right.
〈Waypoint: 55m〉
He headed for the door, and they followed, with a faint noise of commotion evident from nearby. Once he arrived at the door, he grabbed the handle, holding up a hand.
"Children may die," Omariro warned. "Dance with fire only leads to burns."
Zaria stepped forward, firm. "We're not leaving you, Master."
Omariro looked her up and down.
"Girl brave. But foolish."
She summoned her spear. "You're right, Master. But it's my duty to fix this as your student and the cause of this mess. So,
I'm going."
"We all are," Rika corrected.
"Hmph," Omariro scoffed. "Strange children."
And with that, he opened the door…
Only to be met with a vast courtroom, seats filled with almost every form of monster: goblins, skeletons, spiders, orcs, oni, giants, golems, nymphs, and so forth. The moment the door opened, every head swiveled toward it, and they clapped when they saw Omariro.
"Destroyer! Destroyer! Destroyer!"
Omariro looked around, his face unchanging. A large dragon was sitting in the judge's seat, his eyes locked onto Omariro's. "Nyugawa."
"Dragon," Omariro noted. "Rare."
"Come in, Nyugawa. Bring your little ones too."
〈Rule: Prove Your Innocence.〉
The kids nervously walked past the sections as the dragon impatiently waited, a hand resting on his chin.
One of the goblins led them into a row of seats behind a defendant's table, and the dragon finally stood up.
〈Judge of the Guilty Sinners—-Akatsuki. Level: 300,000〉
"Oh my," Rika realized. "Level 300,000? Crap, if I wasn't scared already, I think I'm gonna vomit!"
Bakuō bit his fingernails. "No, no! If you vomit, I'll vomit! Why did I agree to come here? Why? Why? Why? Why?"
Shino shook both of them. "Calm down, you two! We've got Mr. Nyugawa here. Whether he knows who we are or not, he's still a hero. So, let's ride this out."
Akatsuki tapped his gavel on the desk. "I believe we shall begin. Omariro Nyugawa, please come to the stand."
Omariro gave the dragon a dismissive look. "Name not familiar."
"Then take the stand, God of Destruction. Come and face judgment for your sins."
Omariro took the stand without ceremony, and he noticed a small hermit on the other stand, wearing glasses far too big for his head.
"Greetings, people," the hermit introduced. "My name is Sōgen. As you may know, my older brother, Rui, is one of the esteemed Mujinsha Elite. Thus, for any new era monsters, I can explain in detail the horrific monster that stands before you."
Omariro narrowed his eyes.
"The modern era calls him 'Omariro Nyugawa.' We refer to him as the Destroyer, or the God of Destruction. We can never speak his true name, for it is a curse! A blight on all dungeon-kind!"
"Hermit lacks sense," Omariro noted. "Akin to brother."
Sōgen ignored him.
"Let us start from the beginning. Danjon Bankai. A lush, beautiful realm. It thrived for many centuries, until this traitor ruined it all."
He pointed a finger at Omariro. "Explain yourself, Destroyer! Explain how the fall of our civilization happened due to your actions!"
The kids watched Omariro intensely, who simply did nothing but blink. "Hermit is blind. Brother and allies ruined home. Must atone."
The entire courtroom went quiet.
"You—you'd blame the Mujinsha and the Endless for the destruction of Danjon Bankai?" Sōgen questioned. "Even now, thousands of years later?"
"Wait," Bakuō whispered. "He really is thousands of years old?"
"Shhh!" the girls ordered.
Omariro looked at Sōgen out of the corner of his eye. "Mujinsha greedy. Corrupt. Lack morals. Principle. Sense. Believes in superiority. Not humility."
His eyes grew fierce as he stared at the courtroom. "Destruction stems from obsession. Mujinsha are blight on all dungeon-kind."
The courtroom went silent, gasps echoing through the air. Akatsuki lifted an eyebrow as Sōgen's face turned red with anger.
"Lies! The lies you speak! If you're so innocent, where were you when it fell! When they fell?"
A UI flickered, showing the glowing silhouettes of six figures: a male with long black hair, glowing red, a female with golden hair, glowing golden, a male with yellow hair, glowing yellow, a female with teal hair, glowing light blue, a male with purple hair, glowing purple, and last but not least, a female with white hair, glowing white.
Omariro paused at the sight as Zaria tugged on his arm. "Sir, who are they?"
"Fallen nobles," Omariro told her. "Fates unfortunate."
Rika looked at the glowing white woman, her eyes shifting between her and Rei. "Wait, guys. That looks a lot like—-!"
Sōgen pointed directly to Omariro. "He has no answer. How convenient that he failed to save his people, despite being their ruler, no? Everything was burned to the ground, but somehow, he lived. The primary target!"
Chains rose from the ground, wrapping around Omariro.
"Master!" Zaria called out.
Sōgen turned to Akatsuki. "I believe it's clear that Nyugawa is guilty of the Destruction of Danjon Bankai. The epitome of destruction is standing before us. We should handle him here and now!"
Akatsuki turned toward Omariro. "Do you have anything to say in response?"
Omariro's eyes began to flash dark, unnerving the courtroom. "Release. Now."
Gossip began stirring from the crowd as Akatsuki tilted his head. "Hmm? Come again?"
"Release chains. Innocence need not be proven, for it was never in doubt. Home's destruction was oversight by me, but not the cause."
"So you say. Then do you have any witnesses to back this up? Can anyone here testify to Nyugawa's innocence?"
No response.
Sōgen pushed his glasses up. "As I thought. What good is a tale if you have no one else to tell it? Judge Akatsuki, I believe it's time to announce the verdict."
Akatsuki tapped his gavel on the desk. "Dungeon, judge the accused! Read us the verdict of Omariro Nyugawa, also known as the Destroyer!"
The room began to shake and rumble, before a UI appeared.
〈Verdict: Guilty.〉
The entire room cheered, and Sōgen gave a smug smile.
"Hmm," Omariro noted. "Bias."
"Take him away!" Akatsuki ordered. "And all of his little companions too!"
With a flash, Omariro and all of the kids disappeared.
Floor 10,001——
Neraziria guided Sōshin along the path to the castle, who was eagerly looking around and checking out the dying red plants, barren bushes, and the rushing rivers, which appeared to be made of a crimson red substance.
"Ooh!" Sōshin pointed. "Is that blood?"
"Not so," Neraziria corrected. "It's the Crimson River. It runs through the Hellsfloor, and gives birth to our fallen kin."
"What is the Hellsfloor?" Sōshin asked.
"It's a very, very old place," she explained. "The Domain of our Master. It's the origin floor for all dungeons, a connected realm that came into existence after the first dungeon realm fell."
Sōshin tilted his head. "Ooh! So this floor is the same for every dungeon?"
She nodded. "Smart one."
They continued walking along the path as Sōshin checked out the scenery, with large trees with withered branches scattered around, and various dragons flying in the air.
A few giant spiders prowled the ground, and one turned to look at Sōshin, but Neraziria held up a hand, stopping it in its tracks.
"Sorry," Neraziria apologized. "They're not used to being around humans. Let us keep moving."
Sōshin followed as they reached the gate to the castle ruins, and with a wave of her hand, the gate opened, revealing the darkness within.
"We just go in there?" Sōshin questioned.
"Yes," Neraziria replied. "Don't worry, nothing is going to bite you."
Sōshin walked into the darkness, and Neraziria followed. She used one hand, which glowed purple, to illuminate the area.
"Unfortunately, Rui won't be able to greet you," she lamented. "Busy with his parlor tricks, that one. And Emerald, you already know about him."
Once she lit up the room, Sōshin could see a dim corridor, which led to a door at the end. Neraziria took his hand and led him towards the door. "Come, now. Let's not dawdle."
They walked across the ruined tile until they reached the door, and Neraziria wasted no time pushing it open.
"Whoa!" Sōshin gasped.
Behind the door was a large grand hall, with 12 seats spread out across a table. Three of them were empty, while the other nine sat silhouetted monsters: a large Manticore, a slippery Naga, a sword-wielding Tengu, a silent Kitsune, a hungry Wendigo, a dismissive Nymph, a towering Giant, and a sleepy Fae, who was upside down in her seat.
Sōshin noticed Kijin in the center, his scythe in one hand. Neraziria brought Sōshin forward and took a bow. "Lord Kijin."
Kijin narrowed his eyes. "The boy. How much have you told him?"
"Not much," she admitted. "I know you'd rather us show instead of tell."
Kijin slowly stood up. "You understand well, Priestess. Sōshin, was it?"
"You! You're the one who attacked us! Who almost hurt my sister! Who hurt Rei! You're no friend!"
Kijin appeared before Sōshin in a blur, who remained firm as he stared the man down. "Your bravery is admirable. Or maybe it's just childish foolishness. Regardless, we will soon see."
Kijin snapped his fingers, and all of the seated figures stood up at once.
"Young child, I introduce you…to the Mujinsha Elite."
—-