A Strange Orb
Kisuke and the girls clashed for a few more minutes before he started leading them to a certain weird contraption that he didn't want to touch.
The first one to fall to the contraption was Tiona as the ground below her suddenly disappeared and she fell, "Tiona!?" Tione shouted and immediately followed her.
Ais also stopped pursuing Kisuke and jumped after the Hiryute sisters before the ground closed again.
But before they disappeared from Kisuke's view, he got a glimpse of what was inside, 'A new type of monster? And those bones in the pond... An acidic pond? Well, they should be fine.'
He then decided to go to Ryuu's side to check on her. But when he was about to reach her, a big explosion suddenly occurred. Using Flash Step, he immediately arrived at the scene and saw a sizable crater. He also found Ryuu unhurt and another person in a black cloak escaping, 'Hmm? That is...'
Kisuke discreetly followed the cloaked figure until he reached a certain part of the 18th floor's wall, 'Is this the guy that Yoruichi told me about? The one with an incomplete soul? You really can't underestimate the magic of this world despite being so system-centric if they can do something like this... Even I wouldn't attempt something this dangerous.'
After seeing this for himself, Kisuke felt compelled to study the system of magic that the Falna bestows to people, 'If they can do something like this, then there might be dangerous magic which we can't ignore... Good thing that I came to this site today. This trip wasn't a waste.'
The cloaked person took out an orb with an eye engraved and a few seconds later, the wall split, allowing the cloaked person to enter through it, 'Hooh? So there's indeed a separate path aside from the one in Babel and it should be somewhere around Orario.'
Kisuke smiled and retreated. He didn't intend to reveal all the mysteries for his girls because it would be boring. Going back to Ryuu's side, he asked, "How is it?"
Ryuu became startled when Kisuke suddenly appeared beside her, "Please don't just suddenly call out to me... It's really bad when we're in the Dungeon."
"Ahaha, sorry about that. So? Did you find out something?"
Ryuu was curious about what Kisuke was doing here and what happened to the Loki Familia girls, but she chose to answer his question first, "Aside from their usual crazed attitude, I was only able to recover this."
Ryuu then handed an orb to Kisuke. It was the same kind of orb that the cloaked person was holding.
"Mind if I keep this?" Kisuke asked after inspecting it, 'If this is a key over there, then I should replicate it as much as possible~.'
Ryuu nodded her head, "Sure, but in exchange, please inform me if you discover any of these guys' activities."
"Got it." Kisuke put away the orb, "But please stop thinking about revenge too much. It gets tiring, after all. You can't enjoy the life which was given to you by your comrades otherwise." Without waiting for her reply, Kisuke turned around to walk away.
Ryuu was frozen until Kisuke disappeared from her sight. She was able to recall a certain someone thanks to him and with a smile, she muttered, "I'll remember that."
'I guess Lyra would have said the same thing if she were here.' After staring at the bright crystal for a few seconds, she went away to patrol the area for a few more hours before going back to the place where she was camping.
After Kisuke got back, he only had to wait for a few more seconds before the ground where the girls fell burst open, "Welcome back~."
However, the three girls didn't have the same happy expression as Kisuke, "We're going back to report first.", Tione muttered.
"I see. Then see you later~." Kisuke nodded in agreement before going away.
"Is it fine to let him get away?" Tiona asked.
"Reporting that monster to the Captain takes priority since it's related to the 59th-floor monster. That's fine with you, right, Ais?" Tione faced Ais.
After a few seconds of contemplation, Ais nodded, "We'll still have more than an hour to catch him. Let's go." She then started running towards the direction of the camp and the Hiryute sisters soon followed her.
.
.
.
It was already dark when Kisuke got back to their tent, "Had fun?" Yoruichi asked.
"Yep~. That was a good exercise. You should try it sometimes too. It'll push you to your limits~." Even though Kisuke's techniques, skills, and experience were far above the three girls, it was still really hard for him to fight them off using only the physical abilities of a Level 3-4. He had to constantly predict their movements and after one wrong move, he'd be captured.
Yoruichi chuckled and said, "You're right~. I should create a situation like that too~. By the way, did you find out anything new?"
"Yep." Kisuke tossed the orb towards Yoruichi before starting to prepare some tea.
"This is?" Yoruichi inspected the orb but couldn't figure out its use.
"Apparently, that's the key to another space beside the Dungeon."
"Hooh? Good catch. What do you plan to do with this now?"
"For starters, replicate it. As for what I'm going to do with the copies, maybe sell them to those in need or distribute them all over the place."
"Hmmm..." Yoruichi stared at the orb for a while before tossing it back to Kisuke, "Well, let's see how things unfold first."
"You're right." Kisuke took a sip from his tea to relax his tired mind.
"By the way, when the members of the Loki Familia heard that you peeped on their idols, they were out for your blood. But when they heard the news about Ais, Tiona, and Tione failing to catch you even after three hours, they backed down. It's hilarious that they are all trying to keep their pride while also letting you go."
"And what happened to the real perpetrator?"
"He got beaten up by Asfi and hanged outside after apologizing to everyone. Bell-kun, on the other hand, was forgiven because he was a 'victim' too."
"Yet they're still after my ass?"
"Who told you to become close to their Sword Princess and join their tea party?"
In answer to that, Kisuke just chuckled, "Well, if everyone is jealous, I can live with that~."
It was at that moment that both of them felt some people sneaking out of the camp, "That's probably Hermes and Asfi." Yoruichi then stood up, "I'll take a look at what they are up to."
"Good luck~. Be careful out there."
Yoruichi nodded at him and disappeared among the shadows after exiting the tent.
.
.
.
While Kisuke was taking care of their girls, Yoruichi returned more than an hour later, "Welcome back~. Want something to eat?"
"I'm craving for some sweets." Yoruichi sat down and Kisuke prepared what she asked for and some tea.
After taking a sip from her tea, Yoruichi muttered, "It seems Hermes is up to something interesting and nasty."
Kisuke didn't say anything and just waited for Yoruichi.
"Hermes and Asfi sneaked out and went to a certain pub in Rivira where they made contact with people who had a feud with Bell Cranel and his party in the past. It seems those people are not too happy that a newbie Level 2 managed to reach the 18th floor within just a few days of leveling up, when it took them almost a decade to do the same."
"Hermes then proposed to them a method to relieve their jealousy and teach Bell a 'lesson' by kidnapping one of his party members to lure him out and have a 'fair' duel. However, he also asked them to never hurt the person they'll be kidnapping or kill Bell. If they do so, Asfi will be hunting them down."
"I presume it'll happen once the Loki Familia has left? Even then, it'll be hard for them to do that." Kisuke asked.
"That's indeed the case, but Hermes gave their leader an interesting item that could make someone invisible, called 'Hades Head'."
"The 'Perseus', I see. If that's the case, kidnapping one or two people should be easy. Then Hermes' goal is most probably to test Bell Cranel."
"Then it's most probably due to him having a connection to Zeus and his Familia... Though his connection is only our speculation." Yoruichi added as she took a bite out of one of the cookies.
"I can confirm that tomorrow."
"You plan to watch it?"
"There's that, but I also want to warn him. If he can do something like this, our girls might fall for some trick concocted by him for the reason of wanting to test them."
Yoruichi could only smile at his words, "Don't you think that you're spoiling them too much?"
Kisuke chuckled and replied, "I came to like spoiling them~."
Yoruichi then set aside the table containing the snacks and tea and sat on Kisuke's lap, "But you can't reduce my spoiling time~."
Kisuke raised up a visual and sound barrier around the tent and smiled before giving her a kiss on the lips, "That's a given~."
================================================================================================================================================================================================
EDITORS
Alexander: Quite cruel, to simply leave them alone in the trap. Aside from that, finally some snu-snu. I need MORE LOVE in there. So, please make some date chapters, when they are back from the dungeon.
28th00: Absolutely not Kisuke's fault they have poor spatial awareness. Who just jumps into a giant pitfall monster's mouth? Kids, I'm telling you! On the other hand, Hermes is pulling the usual "Trial" bullshit that most gods love to do, for usually incredibly petty reasons, with no safety net? Wow. Asfi isn't a safety, she's a consequence after all. Didn't Kisuke do the same to the trio, but had… Medusa standing guard to defend? Her speed is actually damn near teleportation level, without flash step, without counting her mystic eyes of HAX, so she'd be a pretty legit safety net for them.