Chapter 3

The addition of Eleanor did little to slow down their progress.

Monsters were hardly treated as a threat and were immediately cut down should they so much as think to block their path. They pressed on, resting as sparingly as possible.

As Haring would put it, this was a party of “idiots rushin’ to their death.” But insults wouldn’t make Yuri rest. Every scene his eyes took in was so new, so fresh; he was driven by a strong desire to see what lay beyond every next bend.

And—

“Floor fifty! We did it!” Yuri roared.

The transfer gate put them on the ledge of a craggy mountain. A steep drop behind them, a cliff in front, and a winding path on both sides...

“It’s floor fifty, Mr. Haring! I was counting, there’s no way I’m wrong!”

Haring delivered a forceful whack to Yuri’s head to curb his enthusiasm. “Shut it, fool! Make too much noise and the monsters will rush in! Good grief... These floors ain’t so rare to me or any—”

“Whoooah!! So this is legendary land from book Ninja x Samurai! Where specters run rampant, the peerless world of darkness—and its name is Neo-Saitama!”

“Why is that the only thing you can say clearly, bloody weeb elf!?”

Just like Yuri, Eleanor’s excitement had peaked, and as she energetically cried out, she was similarly whacked.

“Ow... Haring harsh...”

“You know...it’s just you, Mr. Haring. You’re the only one who kept insisting we needed to take a break.”

“If you don’t rest your body, it won’t move right when you need it to. And listen here, you damn brats, if you had anyone else as your guide, you’d have left them in the dust ages ago.”

Haring said this not only to Yuri but to Eleanor as well. Eleanor had kept up with them without ever initiating a break herself.

Normally, an elf’s physical capabilities ranked relatively low among the eight tribes. They were physically even weaker than humans, but living in lands filled with forests made them extremely nimble.

Their vision and hearing were both excellent. This allowed them to easily snipe from afar or take covert action. Add in some proficiency in magic and they were a tribe highly suited for the backline. At least, that was what Yuri remembered hearing from Fram.

Eleanor’s sharp movements fit the bill perfectly, and by weaving in some rather unique techniques of her own, she kept her stamina expenditure to the bare minimum.

“As expected of Ms. Eleanor! You’re not a Ninja Elf for nothing!!”

“Hmhmm! You flatter me!”

“...Well, appearance and language barrier aside, she is a Gold Rank.” Haring sighed, rather tired out by their exchange, and lifted his head. “Ah, whatever. Now that we’re in the deeper levels, we’re shiftin’ over to harvestin’ duty. I know what herbs the brat needs, but elf, what do you need for your weapon?”

“Err... Blacksmith said I need this!”

Eleanor took out a note, and Haring gave it a good look-over.

“Fermatite, sky-eye, blood-seal stone...you’ll have to mine for them.”

“I-Is hard?”

“Not hard, but you’ll need patience and luck. You don’t even have the tools, do you?”

“Do not!”

“Shut it, that’s nothin’ to be proud of. Calm your tits.”

Slapping Eleanor’s note against her forehead, Haring scratched his head in thought.

“Brat, your herbs can wait. Let her get her ores.”

“I don’t mind whatsoever, but is there anything I can help with?”

“Do whatever you want. My job was to guide you to the depths, and watch you. What you do here ain’t none of my business.”

“Rather, Mr. Haring, you’re no longer against helping her out, I see.”

“We’ve already come all the way here... Rather than you lot wastin’ time searchin’ in the dark, it’ll be much more efficient if I throw in a hand,” he awkwardly replied before staring at the rockface of the cliff. He placed his right hand against the bare rock, and soon pebbles began to gather around it.

Only his right hand was covered—Haring himself didn’t change.

“Oh...is that also Dragonification? You can selectively change only a portion of your body?”

“You’re supposed to be a mix-blood. Are you saying you didn’t know?”

“Ahaha... I definitely have some dragon in me, but I’ve only ever used it to strengthen my bones.”

“Well yeah, that’s the Dragon Tribe’s steel bones trait. It’s somethin’ any dragonkin has, nothing special. The power we invoke with Dragonification is like the Beast Tribe, in that it’s related to our ancestors.”

“My father did his best to get together the names and subspecies of the people I supposedly take after, but the documents were all so old, I really don’t know anything about the details...”

“Well then, try sayin’ the name. I might know a thing or two.”

“Err, I’m getting the feeling the name was Nidhöggr.”

The moment he repeated the name he heard from his father, Haring looked at him dubiously.

“...That ain’t much of a name, more of a description really.”

“You know about it, Mr. Haring?”

“That word you used is ancient dragonic. The language ain’t around no more, but the village I’m from carried on this old-ass religion, so we used a bit of it in ceremonies from time to time.”

Haring made a bitter expression. He must not have had very good memories of his homeland.

“Eater of corpses, stealer of branches—that’s what it means,” Haring said before painstakingly scratching his head. “But even if I know what it means, I don’t know what powers that gives you.”

“Yes, that really isn’t too clear...”

“The documents you’re talking about probably come from the legends and ceremonies of a village where he’s deified. I’m assumin’ they’re in ancient dragonic too. If you get the chance, bring ’em to me, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Oh? Is that alright?”

“Not for free, of course. I’ll do any job for a price.”

Seeing Haring’s smug grin, Yuri couldn’t help but return a wry smile of his own.

Haring turned back to the rocks, determining there wasn’t anything else he could do on the matter, and returned to describing Dragonification.

“Don’t know about what you’ve got, but Dragonification is something like a magic exercised by the dragon blood running through our veins. In human terms, it’s a form of alchemy. You manipulate the four basic elements to wear a new substance, alter it, and reform it,” Haring explained, showing his transformed right hand. “What you can manipulate changes based on blood. Those folks with fire dragon blood use fire, and water dragons can turn their whole bodies into water. It’s earth, in my case...sand, to be more precise.”

“Really? It’s not stone?”

“Stone is an amalgamation of minerals. Gather up sand, harden it, and you get stone. Carefully select out the iron sand, and you can get iron. Gather up silica sand, you can even make crystal. But carefully selectin’ out the right sand takes way too much time; it slows down the Dragonification. That’s why I usually just use what’s lying around.”

“Hmm...it’s surprisingly versatile.”

Keeping a close watch on Haring’s arm, Yuri ruminated over his words to further his knowledge. Understanding the Tribe Skills he had inherited was an absolute necessity if he wanted to use Tribal Armament.

To duelists, Tribe Skills were the core of their strategy. They were abilities that could completely turn the tides of battles, so without these opportunities, he couldn’t ask for the details on them.

“Come to think of it, and this is a little late...but are you sure you should tell me about your Tribe Skill?”

“Tsk... A bit late for that. I’ve already lost to you. What’s the harm in teachin’ you about a losin’ strategy? Just means I need to find something new.”

As if he had recalled his defeat, Haring began taking out his frustration by punching the rockface. From his usual crude speech and the image of him as a giant stone dragon, it was easy to misunderstand, but he apparently put quite a bit of thought into battle.

“Hey, quit slackin’. Start shatterin’ rock. Weeb elf, hold the fragments up to the sun. See anythin’ that shines funny, you report it to me.”

“Got it! I’ll do my best punching the wall!”

“Sir, yes sir!”

As Eleanor began holding small fragments up to the sun, Yuri imitated Haring and looked at the wall.

“...!!”

He lunged forward, he smacked it with all his might...but not only did he fail to open a hole, he didn’t crumble it in the slightest. If that wasn’t enough, the sensation from his fist seemed off, somehow.

Appearance-wise, it was like any other rocky cliff, but it didn’t feel like punching hard rock or steel. It was as if some invisible substance had rejected his fist.

“How is it? Not as easy as it looks, eh?”

“Right. I feel like I’m being repelled.”

“Thought so. You ever heard of mana veins?”

“Umm...that’s the mana that flows through the ground, right?”

“Right. Out here in the depths, the mana veins are larger, thicker than anywhere else. That’s what makes the monsters bigger and stronger, and plants that feed off of mana-filled water have all sortsa benefits,” Haring said, showing off a fragment he had broken off.

“The rocks are the same. The earth keeps sucking up mana, so the mineral deposits get coated in the stuff and become stronger against physical trauma. When it crystallizes, you get ores with magical properties...in short, what weeb elf is searching for.”

“So we’re already at the right place!”

“Yeah. When it’s this hard, we should smack right into a vein just randomly diggin’ around,” Haring replied before getting right back to work. “Well, there’s a trick to what I’m doin’ here. It ain’t a feat anyone can pick up, and if you think you can’t do it, you can just help sort.”

“No—I think I’ve got the idea.” Rejecting Haring’s proposal, Yuri swung his arm like a hammer—and made a cracking, snapping sound upon impact. Minuscule fragments chipped away from the surface.

“You coat your fist with mana to repel the mana from the cliff... Am I doing it right?”

“Not bad at all. How did you notice?”

“The sound your punches make is different. The reason you used Dragonification on your right hand was to wear the same mana as the earth here, right?”

“You got it. The mana here disperses physical force, so if you hit it with the same mana—the flow goes all out of whack, and your attack gets through.”

Yuri required no further prompting to punch the rocks again. As a result, he finally managed to open a small divot, but...

“Oww... It kinda really, really hurts!”

“Why do you look happy about that? You a masochist or somethin’?”

“At least say I’m feeling delighted by a brand-new sensation!”

“It ain’t brand new or anythin’. If your force ain’t gettin’ dispersed, you’re just back to punchin’ rock with your bare hands. You Human Tribe are feeble compared to us dragons, so if you hit it normally, of course, it’s gonna hurt,” the dragon pointed out in a tired tone. The fact that Haring, who was similarly punching rock, came out completely unscathed really stood as a testament to the sturdiness of the Dragon Tribe.

“It’s because you’re just focusin’ mana. Back when you fought the Beheader, you used multiple Tribe Skills, didn’t you? Try doin’ it like that.”

“Got it! But...you’re pretty knowledgeable about that battle.”

Haring seemed to know about his fight with Elias in detail, so he’d asked on reflex...but the dragon’s face was quick to sour, as if to say he had messed up.

“...Anyone who’s got an eye on you’s seen the broadcast at least once. That’s just how much of a threat your Tribal Armament is, and you’re a person of interest in the Babel Roulette—”

“Meaning, Mr. Haring, you’ve got an eye on me, I see!”

“Shut up, stay away!”

He kicked Yuri away as he tried to approach and backed off.

“You do the rest on your own, brat. I’m gonna take a nap.”

“Eeeh!? Doesn’t that sound kinda unfair!?”

“I told you I ain’t gonna do nothin’ once we reach the depths. You’re the one who picked up the elf, so you do somethin’ about it.”

Finding a random rock to lean against, Haring closed his eyes.

But Yuri turned back to the cliff without a word. The sensation of wearing mana like clothing. The sensation of an impact his body was supposed to receive dispersing instead. They were both...similar to when his brain’s limits remained undone.

He still hadn’t grasped precisely what it was.

“In that case—I’ll just repeat it until I get it!!”

To ascertain the uncertainty, Yuri swung his fists again.

◇

When Haring opened his eyes, the sun had already slipped past the center of the sky. They had arrived on floor fifty early that morning, and with that in mind, he had evidently fallen into a far deeper sleep than he’d expected. He shook his head to snap his mind to attention, when he heard a cheerful call from Eleanor.

“Oh, Haring up!”

Eleanor had made quite some progress in sorting. There were a number of rubble piles around where she sat on the ground.

“Wazzat... If you finished, you coulda woken me up.”

“When I try wake you, Yuri stop me! You were looking out for us all way here, so he says you rest for now.”

Sure enough, he’d had to keep an eye on both of them along the way, and he had been keeping alert to make sure no other duelists were around, so he was more worn out than usual. That must have been why he slept so soundly, but...he didn’t expect Yuri to notice something like that.

“...Damn brat. Too tactful for his own good.” He cursed at someone who wasn’t around and scratched up his hair. “So where is he?”

“Yuri? He probably still in there.”

Haring looked in the direction Eleanor pointed and lost his words. The rockface had barely been dented that morning, and now it had become a hole so deep he couldn’t see the end. Even now, destructive popping sounds could be heard echoing from its depths.

“...Has he been doin’ that this whole time?”

“Yuri do it the whole time. Doesn’t answer when I call, just keeps hitting and hitting wall.”

Just as Eleanor finished speaking, the destructive noises abruptly came to a halt. They were soon replaced by the footsteps of someone running.

“Ms. Eleanor! I brought more rubble!”

Carrying the debris from the tunnel in two arms, he let it clatter down in front of the entrance.

“Alright, I’m off again!”

“No you ain’t.” Haring grasped him by the neck before he could disappear.

“Mr. Haring. Did you sleep well?”

“Thanks to you. We’re workin’ on rotation from now on.”

“Oh no, I can still keep going!”

Yuri’s muddy, grimy face furled into a smile. But...his right hand was already in tatters. After hitting it into the wall so many times, its surface was worn out, bleeding all over. Likely from fragments that broke off more forcefully, there was an innumerable amount of scratches and scrapes running down his arm as well.

He had simply given his undivided attention to punching a wall. He would keep pressing forward until he was satisfied.

“...I see. No wonder they’re so overprotective of you.”

“Hmm? What are you talking about?”

“Nothin’, nothin’. Anyway, that’s it for today. You already got enough. We’ll all start sortin’ out the magic ores.”

After lightly tapping Yuri on the head, Haring turned back to Eleanor.

“Elf, show me the rocks you picked out. I’ll appraise them for you... But before that, throw away the useless scrap. Wouldn’t want them mixed in.”

Haring frowned, seeing that she had sifted through a small mountain. But Eleanor tilted her head with a blank look on her face.

“No, not useless scrap. This what pick out.”

“What? It’s hard to tell with that accent ’a yours.”

“Err, umm...this! These are one that glow!” She flapped her hands, gesturing at the mountain, doing her best to explain.

Haring furrowed his brow. He picked up one of the rocks and tried holding it up to the sun. When it basked in the sun’s rays, it filled with the glow of mana, which rippled across its surface like a surging tide. This was undoubtedly the sort of ore Eleanor was looking for, but...

“This...ain’t on the level of fermatite and sky-eye. Rouge-redstone, heavy crystal, scarletite, spring-jade...there are even stones here I’ve never seen before.”

“And they’re all pretty big too!”

“I-Is big discovery!?”

Yuri and Eleanor’s expressions lit up as they looked at the pile of raw ores. But Haring’s expression was gradually growing grimmer.

“Sure, it’s a mountain of treasure, but...this ain’t right.”

“Hmm? Is it that incredible?”

“Wrong. I’m sayin’ it’s impossible for there to be so much ore left untouched.”

As magic ores were only generated in lands rich with mana, they could only be produced in the deeper levels of the dungeons. They were consequently rare and valuable, enough so that at times duels would break out over ownership rights.

“Sure, we’re in the deeper levels, but we’re still at floor fifty. This is the sorta place seasoned explorers will come just for a light stroll, and even the lower ranks can make it here easy, so long as they got a guide like me. The valuable materials should all be stripped away.”

“In that case...were we coincidentally warped somewhere no one’s been before?”

“Granted, we entered right after the warp points shifted. There’s a chance we’re just lucky...but that doesn’t explain this one.”

Picking out one of the stones, he held it up high for all to see. Black, so dark it sucked in even the light around it...it was as if the rock was an embodiment of darkness itself.

“Witching Stone... This one only forms on floor ninety and up.”

“F-Floor ninety...that’s practically the very bottom, isn’t it!?”

“That’s why I’m tellin’ you it’s impossible. This thing is sayin’ impossible things too.”

After tampering with his Proof, the three of them confirmed what it said.

Current Floor: ____ ___ [Helden].

The space where it should have displayed a floor number was left ominously blank. Next to this emptiness was a series of bizarre characters from some language Yuri couldn’t decipher.

“Any of you know what that says?”

“What could it be... I think I’ve seen that script in my father’s books.”

“This probably letters no longer used! Friend who gave me book, high elf who loves collect ancient document! Similar to what saw there!” Eleanor stared hard at the letters, but eventually dropped her shoulders disappointedly. “But cannot read...”

“That ain’t a problem. The problem is that our situation is impossible.”

Haring lightly poked Eleanor’s head before standing and looking behind. The transfer gate they used to reach the depths... As long as they passed through it, they would be able to return to the forty-ninth floor.

“We’re goin’ back this instant. No need to overstay our welc—”

The moment Haring was about to instruct them, the area surrounding the gate was blown away with a thunderous roar.

“...Voice, voice, beast?”

Words like an incoherent ramble pierced through the gale of dust.

“Nay...no beast. Only mortal, mortal.”

The three of them had fallen silent. At the site of the blast stood a single man. A giant. His scar-ridden physique far surpassed Haring’s large build.

“Mortal, mortal...mortals made it here.”

A face covered in an iron mask turned in their direction. A large spear with a golden glimmer leaned against each shoulder. A pair of decaying wings swayed like a cape on his back.

“Making it here...makes them duelists.”

The moment he heard those words, Haring grabbed his two companions and jumped down the cliff below.

“Dragonification!!”

Before hitting the ground, he gathered sand from the bare rock below him and used it to form a body. But the one he formed this time wasn’t as large as the one he made before. He made it just hard enough to endure the fall.

He had to omit anything unnecessary; otherwise, they would never get away from that man.

“Mr. Haring!? What’s wrong!?”

“Why we run from that person!?”

“Shut up! I’ll explain later, let me concentrate!”

Throwing the two of them onto his back, Haring slid down the steep slope, scraping away rock on the way down. He needed to create as much distance from that man as possible.

Bounding off and correcting his posture mid-air, he lifted his head to get one last look at the one on the cliffs. Just one look at the man readying his spears had him instinctively taking the next leap.

“Divine Might—Might of the Sacred Tree Meliades.”

No matter how calmly the words were uttered, they entered the ear like a cursed proclamation of death.

“No, no duelists here...only a fool doth present his back in battle.”

All manner of emotion mingling with his voice, the large man brandished his twin spears.

“May the fools receive—the retribution of the Morning Star.”

With his sing-song words, the man swung both spears towards his feet, and everything in sight was plastered over in a blinding red light.

The ledge he stood on had been sliced cleanly through without a sound. Only a few seconds later did it rumble and collapse as if finally remembering the law of gravity.

Gazing up in awe at the sight, Haring grabbed Yuri and Eleanor off his back and let his earthen outer body shatter to break their fall.

“—Oi! You guys better not be injured! Speak up!”

“W-We’re alright! More importantly, who is that guy!?” Yuri asked, staring at the man standing tall above the cliffs.

“That man’s a duelist like us!”

“A duelist... He is!?”

“You didn’t see? He had a Proof on his left arm, didn’t he!?”

The scarlet Proof visible on his left arm. It was precisely because he saw it that Haring chose to run faster than anyone. He knew the rumors about this dungeon.

“The reason even Adamant Duelists don’t try going to the very bottom of this place...is ’cuz no matter what happens, they don’t wanna have a run-in with that monster!”

An entity even highly-skilled duelists detested the thought of locking blades with. The monster who walked the dungeon’s depths.

“That thing there is the God of Destruction, Wallis Grigor...a bloody crazy angel who holes up at the bottom, going around killin’ beast and duelist alike, and—” Hesitant as he was, Haring spelled out a painful truth, “He’s Orichalcum Rank...he’s in the top ten.”

◇

Haring’s quick judgment had allowed them to successfully escape from the Destruction God Wallis. However, they were still in quite a predicament.

“Tsk... The return to city feature’s busted...”

After undoing his Dragonification and fiddling with his Proof, Haring kicked the ground in irritation. Yuri also tried to activate the teleport feature, but the screen didn’t display anything at all.

“No good here... How about you, Ms. Eleanor?”

“Gnn...no good...”

Eleanor’s ears slumped, a dark shadow across her face.

“Goddammit... Not only were we blasted off to who knows where, it just had to be with the Destruction God... No matter how you slice it, this just ain’t right!”

With no other outlet, Haring smacked the trunk of a large nearby tree to let off his anger.

“But he’s a duelist too, isn’t he? Then if we talk it out—”

“Hah!? You wanna have a chat with that monster!? I don’t think you’ll get anythin’ outta the sorta madman who fires off his Divine Might the moment he sees us.”

To initiate an attack before a duel began was unbecoming of a Duelist. No matter how one was swept away by emotion, no matter the circumstance, all matters were to be resolved through dueling.

And yet the actions of Destruction God Wallis seemed to run contrary to that.

“He’s a battle-crazed lunatic who attacks with no distinction between wild beast and duelist. He’s killed more than a duelist or two in his time.”

“If he’s that dangerous, shouldn’t the city have done something about him?”

“Yeah, I wish.” Haring spoke of Wallis with a loathsome look on his face. “The survivors have gone directly to HQ to demand some action, but...as a result of a discussion among the Administrators, it was deemed inappropriate to penalize him.”

“He’s killed people, and it still didn’t work out?”

“Well, for starters, events in the dungeons are technically out of city bounds, but the thing is, he always properly flashes his Proof before he attacks. He clearly shows his will to hold a duel, then it’s the victims who run away...so Wallis’s actions have been written off as ‘excessive provocations.’”

So said Haring, but it was hard to believe the attack that man had unleashed had been merely a means to rile them up. He had gone so far as to use the Angel Tribe’s Tribe Skill Divine Might. He had undoubtedly swung with ill intent.

“For argument’s sake, he can now only enter the duel city with the supervision of a city-sanctioned guardian, and he receives periodic audits. He has gotten some restrictions, but...if he never leaves the dungeon to begin with, the constraints don’t mean shit.”

“Then how does he maintain his ranking?”

“He can still maintain his rate. I mean...his turf is the dungeon’s bottom levels. The rate gained from monsters goes up the further in you go.”

The monsters they had slain along the way barely gave anything. But the rate earned from a monster corresponded with its strength. While the ones around the entrance could net one to five points, that number had increased to close to a hundred on the floor just before this one.

If he kept hunting around the lowest level, it would be possible to earn a considerable amount of rate.

“And that guy hunts without rest, night and day. He goes up against the sort of monsters other duelists have to join hands to defeat, and he kills a ridiculous number of them alone... That’s how he keeps his seat as an Orichalcum Rank Duelist.”

“But duelists have a five-duels-per-month quota to fill. If he stays in the dungeon, and everyone avoids him, there’s no way he can fulfill it, right?”

“Hell if I know. Maybe people challenge him to see if he’s all he’s cracked up to be, and rumor has it he duels other Orichalcum regularly. Ask him if you want, but I doubt he’ll hold a proper conversation.”

Leaning his back against the tree, Haring let out a terribly deep sigh.

“More importantly...the problem is how we’re supposed to return to Babel.”

With a side glance at his malfunctioning Proof, Haring began putting the situation in order.

“If the return function ain’t workin’, we can’t get away from Wallis right now. The only thing comin’ to mind is the warp we used to get here from the previous floor...”

“Err, can’t just run around until bad man goes away?”

Eleanor timidly raised her hand, but Haring immediately shook his head.

“Can’t. The dungeon warps change every seven days. If we enter the gate after that, it’s possible we’ll end up right before the bottom...I’m assumin’ floor ninety-nine. If something’s malfunctionin’, now’s our last chance to get back to floor forty-nine.”

Four days had gone by since Yuri entered the dungeon. They had three days left to return to where they were before.

“I don’t even know if this busted Proof can still move us between floors, but at this rate, we’ll have to run not just from that monster but from the wild monsters that live in these parts, too. Long story short, it’s all gone to hell.”

As they were now, it would be quite difficult just to take on the wildlife on the bottom floor. It was nearly impossible to even consider taking on Wallis, who could slay those monsters on his own. Should they run for their lives, they would have to make their escape within three days.

“Let’s try fighting Mr. Wallace.”

The moment Yuri said this, Haring’s eyes opened wide.

“Are you stupid!? You wanna go and get killed!?”

“It will be fine. He changed his Proof to duel mode the moment he saw us. That means he has the will to duel, and if we challenge him, we should be sent off to the Field.”

“Tsk... So what if you can duel him? You think you can win?”

“No, I can’t. At the moment, I have no way of winning.”

The air Wallis wore was so peculiar even Yuri could say that with certainty. He had a presence to him, the overwhelming air of strength that would not permit one to so much as think of fighting and winning. Not that Yuri wanted to accept it.

“The thing is—no matter who my opponent is, I get the desire to beat them.” He quietly spoke his mind. By the time he realized it, he had already lifted the corners of his lips. “If I aim to be the strongest, I’ll eventually have to defeat people like him. That’s why I can’t pull back, and I want to give it my all.”

He couldn’t stop laughing when there was such a strong foe before his eyes. He couldn’t consider running away.

“Because I like fighting strong people—even more than Mr. Wallis.”

Haring didn’t know what to say, seeing Yuri say that with such childish glee. He and Eleanor had fought in a far greater number of duels and had a far greater understanding of the strength of one with an Orichalcum Proof.

None of that mattered to Yuri. The stronger his opponent was—the more his blood throbbed. The blood flowing through his veins cried out, demanding war.

“When the duel begins, we’ll be transferred to the field. Once that happens, the two of you can get through without danger, and safely return to the transfer gate.”

“B-But what happens to Yuri!?”

Eleanor’s brow dropped in concern, while Haring’s furrowed into a deep wrinkle as he shook his head.

“...Won’t cut it. Sure, we might get out safe and sound, but there’s no guaranteein’ your safety.”

“I’ll be just fine! Dying in battle is my lifelong ambition!”

“Shut up, don’t kill yourself off like that. I accepted a request to get you back in one piece. If I use you as bait and run, those idiots will—” Haring suddenly cut himself off. He put a hand to his chin and thought for a second. “...Weeb elf, are you good at outrunning monsters?”

“Running, hiding, essence of ninja! Thinking needed against duelist, but with beasts, won’t be caught no matter what!”

She must have been considerably confident, answering with such vigor. Hearing that...Haring smiled.

“Oi, brat, you wanna win against Wallis?”

“Of course, I want to win!”

“Then you’re gonna lose.”

“Eh? Umm...what do you mean?” Yuri quizzically replied, and Haring’s smile widened menacingly.

“I’m talkin’ about losin’ the duel, but winnin’ the battle. You don’t lose your nerve against Wallis, so you’re the only one who can buy time. The elf can run away from any number of monsters. And I’m knowledgeable about all the monsters in these parts.”

Haring turned to face the two of them.

“The three of us—we’re going to knock some sense into that bastard.”

◇

After getting a general outline from Haring, the three of them headed to their stations. Yuri’s position...was where they first disembarked on that floor. A cliff half-destroyed by Wallis’s might.

“Hmm...that was pretty rough.”

It was quite a long climb to the summit, and Yuri had to wipe a substantial amount of sweat from his brow.

Wallis was nowhere to be seen, and yet...his peculiar air remained strong, as if his aura seized hold of everything within the dungeon’s walls.

According to Haring, Wallis hadn’t lost his intelligence or rationality. The fact that he recognized them as duelists and changed the mode of his Proof made that clear. For that reason, there was a high chance he was lurking around the gate, knowing there was a possibility they would use it to run.

“...Jumping in right now would be pretty easy...”

A little further down, a pale, incandescent swirl hovered, suspended in the air. For this moment alone, Yuri would be able to jump into the gate.

But then the other two wouldn’t be able to get away. More than anything—

“To run with my back turned is an embarrassment for a duelist!” He psyched himself up and took in a deep breath before he wrung out as much power as he could, and screamed Wallis’s name.

“Mister Wallis!! Come out and play!!”

Soon after came a sound like a whip through the air.

“...Voice, voice, name, calling my name.”

A presence so thick it made the air hard to breathe.

“Calling my name...a duelist.”

And...with a flap of his rotting wings, the God of Destruction, Wallis, descended before his eyes. Thanks to the iron mask, it was impossible to see his expression, but Yuri understood what he felt all too well.

“Yes! I’m a duelist, and my name is Yuri Eniastar!” He drew his black sword with a smile and faced the overwhelming strength before him. “I challenge you to a duel!”

The instant he raised his green Proof, a rush of static noise flashed across his field of vision. The surrounding scenery faded to shades of sepia as he was transported to a world set in a separate phase.

The change came to Wallis shortly after.

“Duel, duel, the conflict I seek...” As he gripped his twin spears, the bulging muscles of both his arms swelled as if to burst. “...To fight...the strong who dare challenge me!”

His fighting spirit soared, and he swung a spear backed by monstrous brute strength, but—

“Way too slow,” Yuri muttered to himself, dashing into Wallis’s midst. He was used to fighting opponents larger than himself.

Yuri was small, even by human standards, and it was absurd to claim he had a good physique. That was precisely what let him move with an advantage against larger builds. He was small enough to completely hide in an enemy’s blind spot, there were no movements restricted from him by excess muscle, and it took less time to return a swung weapon to stance. Those factors allowed him to somewhat overcome a weight disadvantage. They were skills he fostered before coming to the city, and now he had what he didn’t have before: the experience of fighting the truly strong. No matter how strong his opponent was, he could press forward without faltering.

“Mr. Elias was a lot faster than that!” Yuri used the force of his leap to thrust a knee into the giant’s wide-open solar plexus.

Unfortunately...

“Might of the Sacred Tree Meliades.”

He didn’t feel the right sort of impact from his knee.

One of the spears Wallis had been gripping only a moment ago had changed shape into a massive, round shield.

“Push.”

With that short utterance, the shield smashed Yuri’s diminutive frame into the hard ground.

“Ts—ah!!”

He felt his body crushed to pieces, felt the intense pain of his internal organs rupturing, stealing his consciousness away. But seeing Wallis raise the shield high for another blow, he grit his teeth.

“...Lunar Cycle!”

He wrung out a voice to snap himself back and quickly restored the wounds across his body. He rolled along the ground before he could feel any relief from the pain.

The shield came down where he had been a moment before, the impact forming a circular crater and kicking up the pulverized rock into a cloud of dust.

“Tss... Power-wise, you’re quite a bit over Mr. Elias...!!”

Taking more distance, Yuri whipped his quivering legs back into shape. But Wallis remained there, unmoving, still in the same pose from when he smashed down his shield.

“...Shield, shield. So long since I used the shield.”

He stared at the shield in his right hand, muttering to the world at large, like the ravings of a madman.

“Nay, you stand before me...not as the strong. You are a weakling who will never land a strike upon me.”

Wallis slowly stood—a terrible chill raced down Yuri’s spine.

“But...you are a weakling who does not fear...does not fall.”

His voice had changed; it was no longer an unorganized ramble. This was the voice of a man who had found exultation in the fight.

“You are...the strong that I seek!”

Wallis was definitely smiling behind his mask.

“I thirst... I hunger... Show me... Show me, a glimpse of true strength...!!”

The spear in his left hand glowed with a furious light. The same red flash that had, in one swing, collapsed a magnificent cliff.

“Spear of the Morning Star!!”

The next instant, Yuri’s sight was covered in red. The immense torrent of energy flooding out of Wallis’s weapon... Death would be unavoidable if he took any attacks head-on.

That was why he needed to create a possibility. Should he do nothing, nothing would change. In order to avoid the absolute death coming for him—

“Hardened Hoof!”

Yuri unleashed his right arm at the light. He scraped together a stream of power within and released all he could muster.

His body burned up. He could feel the haunting sensation as the life within him seeped away—and in the midst of it, the red light filling up his eyes was finally fended off.

“...Looks like everything’s worth a go.”

White smoke rising from all over his body, Yuri’s mouth curled into a smile. His right hand still maintained its original shape. The skin was torn away here and there where he had taken the light, but his bones weren’t broken.

Technique alone wasn’t enough to stifle the recoil of Hardened Hoof. Learning from the stones he hit away at, Yuri had used his own mana to disperse the impact and let it escape outside his body.

“Look...I didn’t fall, Mr. Wallis.”

He continued to point his thrust-out fist at the man before his eyes.

“If you want to take me down...you’ll have to get serious!” Yuri proudly declared.

Wallis responded by plunging the point of his spear into the ground.

“Good, good. Goodgoodgoodgoodgood. How long since any besides my friend haven’t fallen!”

When he threw aside his round shield, another large spear generated in his hand.

“All that lies at the end of strife...take it upon yourself and perish...”

Wallis’s fighting spirit spread out to the high heavens, distorting the air around him.

But Yuri had nothing left. He had largely depleted the mana in his body to erase the recoil of Tribal Armament. Blocking that blow had left him running on fumes, and by this point, he couldn’t even heal himself anymore.

Given time, he could recover mana, but Wallis wouldn’t give that to him. Yuri couldn’t avoid defeat. But he could fulfill his objective.

“Truth be told, I wanted to give it my all against you.” Yuri offered his opponent an apologetic laugh. “But this isn’t my fight alone. To let the other two get away—”

Yuri lowered his head.

“—I, Yuri Eniastar, forfeit this battle.”

His declaration brought color back to the scenery. The rocks and earth crumbled in battle regained their shape upon his return to reality.

The unforeseen conclusion caused Wallis to freeze. He had stopped.

“—Fufu. Mission complete!”

Eleanor’s cheerful voice resounded from nowhere in particular, after which a stampede of monsters knocked the large Wallis off his feet.

Large wolves, easily over ten meters from head to tail. And not just one of them; an entire pack of the gargantuan beasts closed in like a wave, chasing the blown-off body of Wallis on his tumble down the cliff.

“On your feet, brat! No dazing out!”

Haring cried out from his spot near the gate, and Yuri turned and ran.

“Everythin’ checks out! The warp’s workin’ fine! Hurry and switch your Proof to dungeon mode!”

“On it! You’re here too, right, Ms. Eleanor!?”

“Yep, yep. I back!”

Having climbed back from the edge of the cliff, Eleanor popped her head over the ledge.

Haring had proposed a way to remove Wallis from the picture. Even if the man was a high-ranking duelist, he would still have difficulties going up against multiple monsters. It was impossible to influence the real world from the Field. And that was precisely why Yuri had to duel him.

Making sure he didn’t notice Eleanor running around with an attractant, riling up monsters, making sure he couldn’t lay a hand on Haring as he inspected the gate, Yuri became bait and lured him into the Field.

“...Umm, he’s not dead, is he?”

“Like I care! Considering the stuff he’s got up to, even if he does die, he’s just reaping what he—!”

Before he could finish, he was cut off by a scream from below. It wasn’t the scream of any human. The bitter death throes and howls of beasts overlapped.

“...He really is a monster!!”

“Ohno, ohno... Poor monsters, I so sorry...!!”

As the two hurriedly made off for the gate, Yuri found himself stopping.

“Mr. Wallis! I’ll be back to fight you again!”

He threw out his voice to the bottom of the cliff.

“And next time...I’ll win for sure!” Yuri happily informed him, eagerly awaiting his fated battle.

◇

Some time passed after Yuri’s party had left the floor. The pale transfer gate had disappeared along with them, but it wasn’t long before it manifested once more.

“Aah, here we are, here we are. It sure is convenient to have a shortcut to the bottom floor.”

Her languid voice echoing, Mirka gave her black wings a flap as she descended to the mountain road below. She restlessly looked around but found who she was looking for soon enough.

“Hello there... You’re in quite a situation, I see.”

Mirka grimaced upon seeing him sitting before a mountain of mangled beast corpses, the ground around stained red and black. The large man, the artist behind the travesty, was coated in a layer of discolored dark blood.

Finally noticing his visitor, the man slowly lifted his head.

“...A voice, a voice. A voice of a friend.”

“Yes, yes, it’s your friend Mirka,” Mirka called out, her tone no different than usual. But Wallis didn’t move. He didn’t direct hostility toward her as he had with Yuri.

“But man, leave it to Haring to think up some nasty plots. If he weren’t up against you, he would have been strictly punished and banned from the dungeons for that one.”

“Nay, nay. But a trifle. The beasts are not enough to wound me.”

Just as he said, Wallis didn’t harbor a single injury. Having slain beasts that would usually require a moderate-sized team to kill, he did not even feel proud of the accomplishment.

For the Destruction God Wallis Grigor understood this was nothing to be proud of. He understood this was not the battle duelists longed for.

“Truth be told, I wanted to let you fight him to a conclusion. But not only was Haring more enthusiastic than expected, there was an irregular kid with them too, so please don’t be angry.”

“Nay, nay. I feel no anger, it is refreshing.” He spoke on in a muffled voice, “So long...since a battlefield where my heart did dance so. I haven’t felt it with any besides we who stand at the summit, not for a long time now.”

“Mnn, it’s hard to understand with the way you talk, can you keep it simple?”

“Good kid.”

“Oh, that’s simple enough.”

And as she giggled, Wallis quietly muttered to himself.

“He said he would fight me again.” His body quivered as he stared at his hand. “He said he would beat me.”

He clenched his hand hard enough to make a sound, and his shaking ceased.

“I—wish to cross spears with him once more.”

Thanks to the mask covering his face, it was impossible to see his expression. But...there was no doubt he was smiling.

“Good grief, am I not enough for you?”

“Nay, nay. Fighting you is no fight, it is a one-sided massacre.”

“That’s a harsh way to put it. But you are my only friend who goes along with my little games, so I’ve brought you a bit of good news,” Mirka announced, and operated her own Proof. The screen she brought up was transferred to Wallis’s Proof as well.

“Question, question. What is this?”

“It’s an invitation to the Babel Roulette.”

Seeing Wallis cock his head, Mirka lifted the corners of her lips. “Do you wish to fight him...Yuri Eniastar again?”

“Wish, wish. A battle is what I seek.”

“Good reply. In that case, why not come out and play? It’s been a long time.” Her violet eyes glimmered while her black wings spread wide. “Let’s teach the other duelists what it truly means to be the strongest.”

◇

Passing through the warp successfully deposited them onto the forty-ninth floor. The party of three immediately collapsed onto the ground.

“Aah... Shit, I seriously can’t believe I’m not dead...”

“So scary, being chased by wolves...”

“I wanted to fight Mr. Wallis to a conclusion...”

Each with their own take on the matter, they all offered a unanimous heavy sigh.

“Erk... Lost all ores worked hard to get...”

“Come to think of it, Mr. Wallis did blow them all away... I was supposed to harvest herbs for Mr. Elias, but in the end, I didn’t manage to get anything...”

While the transfer gate somehow remained intact, if they chose to return to that incomprehensible floor for their harvest, their efforts would all have been for nothing.

A duet of sighs was followed by a loud thud. Yuri and Eleanor turned to see a large cloth bag placed before them.

“Here, weeb elf. Are these the stones you were looking for?”

“Serious? Thank you?”

“And next up, this is for you, brat. You make sure the herbs are preserved right.”

“Y-Yes, of course! But...Mr. Haring, when did you pull it off?”

“Went around pickin’ them up while you were fightin’. I ain’t gonna let all our life-threatenin’ effort go to waste. Not on my watch.”

Bag after bag rolled out of his storage. Of course, he had taken his share as well.

“I knew you had it in you, Mr. Haring! Your pettiness saved us all!”

“Haring a wonderful looter!”

“I’ll shove your ungrateful asses back into the gate.” Despite his cursing, Haring had been infected by their smiles. “Anyway, that’s one thing off the table. The brat still has time to go, but with things bein’ the way they are, no one can complain if we return now.”

“Eh? We’re going back?”

“Shut it. I’m gettin’ the hell out, and I’m doin’ it now. It was a shady job to begin with; yep, I’m gonna go complain to my client and have her pay in full.”

As Haring stood, Yuri hurriedly grabbed him by the arm. “P-Please wait! Umm—right, take this!” He quickly fiddled with his Proof and transferred a message to Haring’s Proof.

Haring slowly, dubiously took a look at what he’d received. “...Your contact info, and an application to the team?”

“Yes! As long as I send the application, Ms. Mirka told me you can accept or reject it whenever you want!”

“Ah, me too! Give Yuri and Haring contact information!!” Eleanor frantically operated her Proof and transferred her contact info over to the two of them.

However, the matter of the application seemed to still weigh heavily over Haring, and he continued making a bitter expression.

“...I told you, I don’t feel like joinin’ in.”

“But I had a lot of fun with you, you know!” Yuri grinned wide, recalling the moments that had led to this day. “Putting our heads together, having everyone fulfill a given duty was a blast! You’re the one who taught me that, Mr. Haring!” he declared, staring straight at the dragon.

Putting in as much sincerity as he could, Yuri reached out his hand.

“Please, oh please—won’t you fight by our side!?”

He received no response. Haring was left staring at the hand in surprise. And—

“...Oh, what’s this now? Is that a familiar face I see?”

They heard a voice, seemingly from nowhere at all. Eventually, a number of men appeared from the shadows of the thicket.

“How long’s it been...Haring?”

Blond hair in a fashionable undercut. A flashy outfit and sunglasses. A Demon Tribe man. The men waiting behind him shared the black bat-like wings of the Demon Tribe growing from their backs.

The sight of these newcomers warped Haring’s already bitter face into a blatant grimace.

“Tsk... Why’d we have to run into this piece of shit here?”

“Hey, hey, heeey! Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh? Yes, piece of shit’s too much. We used to hang out all the time, didn’t we?”

When the demon man’s eyes were about to turn to Yuri, Haring took a step forward. “...This is the brat my client has me lookin’ after. You ain’t layin’ a finger on him.”

“Client? Oh, you always were such a hard worker! Now I remember! I had a right laugh when I saw you so desperate to earn money you fell through the ranks.” On the flashy man’s signal, his tag-alongs burst into tasteless, exaggerated laughter.

The usual Haring would be at their throats, screaming, when anyone sneered at him, but now he was quiet and meek as a whipped dog.

“Well, I suppose that’s none of my business. Just leave that bag behind, and you won’t hear another word out of me. How’s that sound?”

“...What?”

“I’m talking about that sack you have on you. I mean, you’re going to trade it in for money, and where’s that money going to go, eh? Then having me collect it directly should save you some trouble,” he said, pointing at the sack Haring had taken out of his Proof.

He would never usually accept such a request. And yet...Haring was quick to violently toss his sack at the men.

“...They’re from near the bottom of this godforsaken place. You’d better price them right.”

“Wow, looks like someone’s understanding. But—that’s not all, is it?” said the sunglassed man, looking at the bags by Yuri and Eleanor’s feet.

It was there that Haring finally showed some backbone. “The brats collected those on their own. I’ve got no claim on them.”

“What’s that have to do with it? If they’re going around with you, then obviously that belongs to me.”

After the man had unveiled such an illogical stream of logic, one of the people behind him grabbed Eleanor’s sack.

“No! What you doing!?”

“Shut yer yap! This belongs to Mr. Navie!” the follower replied—all the while pulling a knife from his bosom. Immediately after, Eleanor let out a short scream. The tip grazed her pale neck, leaving a thin line of red liquid in its wake.

“Hey, hey, heeey...don’t be violent with Haring’s friends, eh? She looks so scared, she’s going to wet herself. How about a little tact?”

“...If you don’t cut that out—”

The moment Haring was about to grab the follower, he was stopped by an ominous snap. This was followed—a second later—by the sound of the knife hitting the ground, and the man who had thrust it out looked down at his hand where the knife was supposed to be. An arm dented in the center, and bent where it shouldn’t be.

The pain struck him as soon as he connected the dots, and he collapsed to the ground.

“Ee...m-my arm! It’s...it’s...”

“Well, what’s wrong with it?” asked Yuri as he held up his sack, looking down at the flustered man. “I was just trying to hand my bag over... Why, you’re the one who asked for it,” he chuckled, jostling the bag around playfully.

Unrest spread among his men, and the demon in sunglasses calmly looked at Yuri.

“Well aren’t you special... What’s your deal, kid?”

“That’s what I should be asking you. We obtained these materials in the dungeon, so if you want them so badly, shouldn’t we have a duel?”

“A duel...? Now that’s the craziest thing I’ve heard all day.” After raising a laugh that was like sandpaper to the ears, the man held out his left arm. “You mean—you want to fight me? The great and mighty Navie?”

Navie brandished his arm, waving it around as if to taunt him. The Proof that accompanied it was set with the glimmer of a purple gemstone. The same rank as Elias: Adamant.

“Yes, I’m surprised mix-blood trash like you has the sheer gall to blather such nonsense as dueling me. Even Haring over there knows better, eh?”

While Navie laughed hard enough his cheeks were on the verge of tearing, Yuri felt something clasp his shoulder.

“...Give it a rest, brat. Unlike the Beheader, this guy doesn’t fight fair,” Haring quietly warned him, looking him straight in the eye.

But Yuri returned a wry smile, brushing off Haring’s hand.

“I suppose you’re right. He definitely doesn’t look like the decent sort, but...”

Yuri reached out and grabbed Navie’s left arm. He glared at the man, putting power into his grip.

“From what I’ve heard so far, I find you extremely unpleasant. It isn’t just your attitude, I can’t forgive that you’ve wounded Ms. Eleanor. The way you look down on Mr. Haring is rather irritating.”

As he clenched harder, a creaking, jarring sound began to come from the arm.

“Pull a weapon, and we won’t be joking and jeering no more... That’s what Mr. Haring taught me. What I’m trying to say is, if you want to fight, get to it already—Mr. Piece of Shit.”

Yuri glared at Navie, making no attempts to conceal his rage. All the while, Navie kept a calm watch over him. Eventually, he forcefully swung off Yuri’s hand.

“I see...the rumors were true. He really is an interesting kid.” Navie spat the words before turning on his heels. “Hey, you lot, I’ve lost interest. We’re leaving.”

“S-Sure...but, we’ll need to carry—”

Right after one of his tag-alongs pointed out the man with the broken arm, the fallen man’s face was covered in pitch blackness. As he was shrouded with a darkness that seemed to wriggle like a living being, he began to thrash and writhe, without a sound escaping his mouth.

“I said we’re leaving... That means no more fooling around.”

The man on the ground was now violently convulsing, but the darkness covering his face showed no signs of fading away. Finally, when he had soiled himself and his body had stopped moving entirely...the void dissipated, swirling up in the direction of Navie’s hand.

“You fool! You got done in by a pipsqueak! Someone carry off that idiot!”

“Eeep! Y-Yes sir!” In accordance with Navie’s order, the unconscious man was lifted, taking care to guard his broken arm.

Before they left, Navie flashed his red tongue as he turned.

“I’ll have a fun game planned for you, mix-blood.”

At the end of his words, Navie and his men were enveloped in a pale light. Once they were completely gone, Yuri picked up the sack that had been left on the ground.

“Here, Mr. Haring. It’s your share.”

“...Tsk, don’t need it. You keep it.”

“I won’t. Please take it.” He continued obstinately thrusting the bag out at Haring. “This is the proof of our efforts, and a precious reminder of the time the three of us spent together. That’s why you’re the only person who can take this bag.”

Haring gave in, slowly reaching out toward the bag.

Once he confirmed that Haring had received it, Yuri turned to Eleanor, who was crouched on the floor. “Are you alright, Ms. Eleanor?”

“Yes! I perfectly fine!”

“But there was blood coming from—”

After saying that, Yuri realized something was off. There was no wound where the tip of the knife had grazed her.

Eleanor proudly puffed her chest. “Fufu—this is secret ninja art, startle enemy with fake blood technique!”

“You mean you were acting!?”

“Use blood bag to startle enemy, and in moment of surprise, cut them straight in two!”

“No, we’re the ones who were startled here!”

In the midst of that exchange—Yuri suddenly heard a laugh. He glanced to see Haring covering his face, his body shaking.

“Good grief...guess I’m the idiot for gettin’ all worked up,” Haring said, and lightly patted the two of them on the head. “I’m returnin’. There’s a chance they set up an ambush in the purgatory district to settle the score, so you two wait a bit before goin’ back.”

After operating his Proof, his body was clad in a pale light.

“Thank you, Brat.”

And, with such waning words, Haring was gone.

◇

When Yuri and Eleanor returned to the purgatory district, the duel city was already dyed in the shades of sunset. They could see duelists presumably returning from the dungeons around, bragging about the day’s harvests and telling tall tales of fighting off all manner of beasts.

“Really! Really, thank you, thank you!” Once again, Eleanor lowered her head. “Thanks to Yuri and Haring, Tenebre not have to angry!”

Before parting, Eleanor hugged him and ruffled up his hair. “Was fun, so fun want to go to dungeon again, the three of us! Next time, can take my comrades too!!” She smiled wide and left to return to her team.

Yuri saw her off before racing down the duel city streets that already felt so nostalgic to him. He reached the apartment where the other two were waiting and threw open the door.

“I’m back!”

He heard frantic footsteps from the depths of the room.

“Y-Yuri! You’re back early!”

“Yes, there was a slight change of plans... Wait, Fram, what are you doing?”

Though she was usually composed and subdued, Fram was in a rare fidgety panic.

“Big trouble! Because of you, Athena’s in a huge—”

“C-Calm down! What’s wrong with Athena?”

“She’s kinda about to drop dead, seriously!”

“Seriously, what happened!?”

Yuri raced after Fram into the living room—and there, he came upon a silver ball of fluff. A perfectly round hairball was enshrined smack dab in the middle of the room.

“...Umm, this is Athena, right?”

“Right... I thought it was a little strange yesterday when she started muttering, ‘Yuri isn’t here today... Yuri hasn’t come back...’ with empty eyes, but when I got back from work, she was in this state!”

“You probably should have been concerned yesterday!”

Stepping past a shook-up Fram, Yuri approached the silver furball. “Err... Athena?”

The shaggy sphere shook. “Yuri... Why do I hear Yuri’s voice...”

“That’s, well, because I’m speaking?”

“Waaah... I’m finally starting to hallucinate...!!”

“I’m not a delusion! Hey, how about you move your tail and see!?”

When he brushed aside her scraggly tail, he was met by Athena’s lifeless face. She slowly turned towards him, and the moment he was fully in her sight, the light returned to her eyes.

“Yaaaaaay! It’s Yuri, it’s Yuri!!”

“Whoah!? Wait, I haven’t unloaded my things yet!”

Fram let out a sigh loaded with ample fatigue. “...Is it just me, or is she gradually going from fox to dog...?”

Athena had already cast aside her deep rut, and she readily jumped at Yuri like her life depended on it.

“But why is Yuri here?”

“It’s a long story, but quite a few things happened, and I had to come back early...”

“Well, s’long as you’re back, who cares!”

“You recovered incredibly fast!”

“I can ask why you’re back later! There’s something more important now!”

Making a bit of distance from Yuri, Athena stuck out her finger. “Yuri, you smell funny...” she declared.

“Fram, I think I’m going to cry.”

Fram approached his neck, and took a good sniff. “If you need a chest to cry on, feel free to use mine. But...you definitely do smell a bit. And you’re pretty dirty.”

But this was as to be expected; Yuri had devoted all his time save for sleeping and eating to advancing in the dungeon. There were rivers along the way, but he only used them to replenish his water supply and never to wash.

“Athena, prepare the bath.”

“Roger!”

“Eh? But I need to deliver the herbs to Mr. Elias—”

“He’s running an eating establishment there. I’m sure you’ll make him angry if you go as you are now. Don’t forget, you returned before the assigned day, so there’s no problem if you take your time.”

With Fram pushing him on the back, he was ultimately shoved into the bathroom.

Once the bath was prepared...

“Aight, your Big Sis is going to make you squeaky clean!”

“Yes. Just leave it to her.”

“...Umm, why are the two of you still here?”

Seeing the two girls stick around as if this was where they were supposed to be, Yuri didn’t quite know what to say.

“You just got back from the dungeon, I need to look over your injuries. You seem like the type who would just ignore minor wounds, and I get the feeling you’d keep them hidden.”

“I just want to wash Yuri!”

“I kinda understand the reason, but...” Still in his undergarments, Yuri awkwardly curled up.

They had both changed into clothes they were fine with getting wet: Athena in the tank top and shorts she used as pajamas, and Fram in a light camisole.

Given how they essentially lived together, he had plenty of opportunities to see them like this, but when put up close, he was troubled as to where to rest his eyes.

“I-I really do think I should wash myself!”

“If you reject her here, Athena will become the furball freak again.”

“Is that supposed to be a threat...!?”

“Of course it is... Athena was feeling lonely, not being able to see you. Just let her do what she wants today,” Fram whispered, pointing at the girl behind them who was humming a merry tune as she readied a sponge with soap. Athena’s tail was wagging with such overwhelming fervor it looked as if it would snap in two.

“Are you so heartless, you’d make a fluffball of her after seeing her like that?”

“......Fine, I’ll let her wash me.”

“Good boy. I’m glad you’re so kind.”

He felt like he was being cheated as Fram patted him on the head.

Soon, Athena returned to rub a sudsy sponge against his back. “There we go... Are you okay, Yuri? Does it hurt?”

“Oh, no, you’re putting in just the right amount of force. It feels nice.”

“...You’ve gotten yourself quite injured again. Your right hand is in tatters.”

“Err... Yes, I’m sorry.”

As Athena stuck fast to him, washing his back, Fram crouched down beside him, prodding her small fingers at his wounds. How very unsettling.

“C-Come to think of it, all sorts of things happened in the dungeon!”

Yuri began telling a story to distract himself. About how he met a somewhat bizarre elf girl named Eleanor. About how Haring was surprisingly knowledgeable. How he learned about Dragonification, and thought up a possible new application for his Tribal Armament. How the three of them stood against the Orichalcum Rank Wallis together.

It had only been a few days, but once he started talking, he felt he could go on forever.

“Hey, Yuri...when you were in the dungeon...did you have fun?” Athena abruptly asked as he was delightedly talking away. She seemed somewhat different from normal, taking him momentarily by surprise, but—

“Yes! It was really fun!”

So much had happened the past few days, and it had all been a blast. Not only did he get to know Haring better, he made a new friend in Eleanor and learned the fun of fighting alongside other people. Sure, there was danger, and a somewhat unpleasant conclusion...but he had spent more than enough fulfilling time to compensate.

“I see. So he...did keep his promise.” Athena offered a soft smile.

“...Athena?”

“Mnnn, it’s nothing. Big Sis was just relieved,” she said, embracing Yuri’s head. After which...she violently rubbed his hair all around. “But. You. Know! I was really really lonely, you hear!”

“Wah, wai—!? Soap!? There’s soap in my eyes!”

“Ah, what are you doing, Athena... You got me covered in suds too.”

Thanks to Athena’s forceful scrubbing, Fram was caught in the aftermath and covered in a thick layer of soapy foam.

“If I get out to change, I’ll end up staining the room.”

“Righty-ho, then let’s just get in the bath like this!”

Right before Athena could slip off her tank top, Yuri frantically held her back. “Please wait! I’m still here, you know!”

“Huh? I don’t really mind,” said Athena.

“Then I’ll pretend not to care too,” Fram concurred.

“Why are you playing along with her crazy antics?”

“Because it’s fun to see how you react.”

Yuri reflexively closed his eyes as the two of them stripped off what little clothes they had on. And in the end, the three of them ended up in the bath together.

“Hwah... Nice and warm.”

“Yuri, how long are you going to keep your eyes shut?”

“Probably until the two of you are out...”

“Say what!? You hate being with Big Sis that much!?”

“Athena, you definitely can’t hug me right now!”

“I’ll say this for your sake, Yuri, but both me and Athena are incredibly soft.”

“What sort of information is that!? Hey, wait. I feel something strange on my back—”

“Oh, that’s my tail.”

“I was wondering what was slopping around like that!”

“Dear, dear, what’s poor Yuri to do?”

As the two of them made a ruckus splashing around, Fram hummed a spirited tune.

But Yuri loved these boisterous, fun days. He would never have been able to take in these spectacles if he hadn’t set out to be a duelist. He would never have been able to enter the circle.

It wasn’t just Athena and Fram. Yuri was proud to meet, fight, and live alongside every duelist in this city. There was not a moment he regretted. That is—until the next day, when he heard Haring had been arrested.