News from the Surface

"To be more specific, I'll be attacking the Juggernaut first and cast a weakening spell on it. However, for me to continue my weakening spell, I have to concentrate. It means that I won't be able to move within that duration." Kisuke explained.

"So I'll have to be the one to finish it off while it's weakened..." Ryuu muttered.

"Yep. So the plan is, we lure it to the 38th floor so that none or only a few monsters can join the fight. That way, you won't have to mind my condition as well, so you could focus better on your fight. Although I'll be weakening it, it'll still be a tough opponent for you and the chances of you dying are very high. Are you still going for it?"

Ryuu went silent once again, but this time, she only needed a few minutes before nodding and answering, "I'll do it."

She then looked towards the cave's exit and thought, 'It's terrifying... that's for sure. However, I can't keep hiding and escaping from my fear of it. In any case, whether I'm terrified of it or not, it doesn't really change anything if I'm not going to survive. I should at least take my revenge.'

Kisuke then stood up, "That's great. Then we should get going. The longer we wait, the stronger that thing gets."

"Wait! Are you sure you can move now!? That injury you took isn't a joke!" Ryuu also stood up in a panic.

"I've already told you, I'm quite sturdy so you don't have to worry. Heal yourself for one last time and move directly to the 38th floor without me."

"You're going alone!? That's too dangerous! I'm coming with you!"

But Ryuu's worried cries were only met with a flick on the forehead from Kisuke, "Ugh! What are you doing?"

"Were you really that scared that you forgot the Juggernaut's current state? Due to the modifications it made to its body, although it became stronger, it also became slower and its maneuverability was significantly reduced. If it was in its former form, I might have a hard time, but in this case, I'm confident to dodge all of its attacks with ease if I don't attack back."

Thinking about it, Ryuu also understood this, however, she still couldn't help but worry, "...But... Even if that's the case..."

After all the practice he had done, most of the spells he knew were already available for him to use, albeit, with a few hiccups here and there, but that could be remedied by a bit more practice. Putting his hand on Ryuu's head, Kisuke started patting her while using the spell he used to calm Koneko's soul last time, which also indirectly calms the mind, "I'll be fine. I'm not that easy to kill, you see. You should focus on your role more if you're that worried about me."

Ryuu wanted to say something back, but after a few seconds of patting, she looked down and stayed quiet. In a normal scenario, she would have slapped away the hand patting her head even if it's Kisuke because it's just plain rude for her and it's not something she's comfortable with.

However, the strange feeling of comfort and calmness she felt stopped her from taking any actions against it, and Ryuu inadvertently got lost in time as she savored those feelings.

So when Kisuke took back his hand, Ryuu immediately looked up and unconsciously let out a voice of regret, "Ah..."

"Hmm? What's wrong?" asked Kisuke as he was about to leave.

Ryuu realized what just happened and immediately looked away with a slight blush on her face, "I-It's nothing!"

Seeing that, Kisuke just shrugged his shoulders and started leaving. But before he completely exited the cave, Ryuu raised her voice, "Be careful! Make sure you come back. If within two hours you still haven't arrived, I'll run back to you."

Waving his hand, Kisuke replied, "Got it. Get yourself ready. It won't be easy."

It didn't take long for Kisuke to hear Ryuu's rapid footsteps as they went their separate ways. But before they disappeared, he suddenly heard Ryuu say, "...After this, I will have my answer. Please listen to it."

Kisuke didn't say anything else and continued walking with a small smile of anticipation on his face. As he turned the corner, he suddenly disappeared from his spot, reappearing several tens of meters away before disappearing again.

It only took Kisuke a few minutes to arrive at the rampaging Juggernaut, and the former Dungeon's cleaner also looked at him with fury, before swiping its claws at him.

But unlike before, Kisuke had already got most of his abilities back in addition to his impossibly tough body. And with Ryuu not being with him, he didn't really have anything to hide anymore.

The Juggernaut thought that it was already about to hit Kisuke, but its target suddenly disappeared from its sight before it suddenly felt someone stepping on the top of its head, "Let's wait here for two hours, shall we?"

It was then that an invisible weight suddenly pressed down on it, instantly pinning it to the ground without any chance of retaliation. The Juggernaut tried its best to move, but it couldn't even twitch the tip of its tail nor open its mouth to let out a roar. For the first time, fear set into one of the overlord existences in the Dungeon, "Now then, in the meantime, let's see what's happening on the surface."

Finally being able to use his storage, Kisuke took out the orb that is used to contact Serafall and after a few seconds of connecting, Serafall answered, "Ki-tan~! It seems you're able to contact me now on your own~!"

Although Kisuke didn't explicitly tell Serafall what happened to him while he was in the Dizara region, the former Demon Lord could tell that something was up with him when she felt that Kuroka was the one who activated the orb before. Her guesses were only further verified when Kisuke teleported back using Kuroka's magic, "Yeah. I was finally able to sort things out on my side. What about on your side? Any exciting development?"

"It's nothing much, but the fate of the whole city will be decided soon. You should come and see things unfold with your own eyes. It looks pretty fun~"

Kisuke's mouth twitched and replied, "That's not 'nothing much'. They are risking their lives, you know?"

But Serafall just chuckled, "There's that, but not as much risk as you think. Sona-chan is doing her best to reduce the risk for everyone, you see?" Her smile then became gentle and mellow, "I'm really happy to see how much she improved these days, not just in strength, but in how she sees things thanks to the experiences that she can't normally have with her previous position. She is so much brighter than before~! Of course, that also holds true for the other girls, especially Akeno-chan and Irina-chan whom I spent most of my time with at later dates when we're in our previous world. They couldn't possibly have this kind of development under Rias-chan's leadership."

"With that said, I thank you for bringing them over here and also for bringing me here to see all of this~! I might have witnessed history in the making~!"

Kisuke shook his head, "Please don't be. I'm just doing what the situation calls for."

Serafall, however, only gave him a cheeky smile but didn't say anything in return regarding that, "By the way, it seems that Ophis-chan wants to get involved."

"Ho?"

"When I asked her why, she just said 'A crying Dragon'."