「 27 」

4 years later.

At present Ari Bright Sharon has just returned from her assignment on the 12th Floor to the 4th Army Corp Headquarters. Of course the journey took a very long time because unlike when departing, Sharon returned by using the conventional method, namely through the Middle Area of the Tower.

For tower residents, especially a Ranker it seems 4 years is a very short time, given the average age of a Ranker is 1000 years.

As usual, Sharon's expression was stoic, she was currently walking to the head office to report.

Suddenly a light blue haired man came out of one of the rooms. Looking at Sharon, the man's face looked shocked before greeting her.

"You're back, Lady Sharon."

The man is the vice-commander of the first division, Khul Nissam Kay.

"Nissam, huh... Is Mr. Kallavan inside?" Sharon asked, stopping for a moment.

"Ah, Mr. Kallavan just left a few months ago, I don't know where he went, but Mr. Elpathion was inside."

" Oh, I see. "

Sharon then immediately entered the room leaving Nissam who only put on a confused face before he left.

Meanwhile, after Sharon entered the room, she was welcomed by a very tall man, with grey and blue, exoskeleton-like skin. He also has wide horns protruding laterally from his head and a tail. The man is Vice-Commander of 4th Army Corp, Elpathion.

"Ari Bright Sharon came to report."

Sharon is formal when talking to Elpathion. After chatting for a while, Sharon then started reporting everything she needed to report about the incident on the 12th Floor.

"That's all I can report, sir. No doubt, it looks like FUG was also involved in this incident," Sharon said.

"FUG huh ... then what about Mai Macseth?" Elpathion asked.

"She managed to escape.," Sharon said without hesitation. What she said was not a complete lie, only Sharon did not mention the reason why Mai could escape, namely Kira.

"And you let her run away just like that?" Elpathion said with a sharp look. Before, Sharon had said that Superbomb was destroyed and she could not take it to headquarters and now Sharon said that she let a rebel escape.

"Yes sir, that is my fault entirely," Sharon nodded.

"First you failed to bring Superbomb, and the second you let the rebels escape? Did you realize the mistake you made?"

"Of course, sir." Sharon kept a stoic face.

"If Mr. Kallavan knows this, then you will surely receive a very severe punishment, Miss Sharon," Elpathion said, rising from his chair while glancing at the window.

"I'm ready to accept the consequences."

Seeing Sharon's obedience, Elpathion narrowed slightly suspiciously.

"Well, since Mr. Kallavan is not here,I will take responsibility for giving you punishment for the failure of your mission.."

Sharon just kept quiet and listened to Elpathion's words.

"Starting today, your position as First Division Commander will be revoked. You will be demoted to an ordinary member until you can prove your credibility again."

Hearing that, Sharon widened her eyes. She was surprised because the punishment given by Elpathion was very light considering the failure she had made.

"What's the matter? Do you not like my decision, Miss Sharon?" Said Elpathion with a serious expression.

"No ... it's just that, I think the punsihment will be more severe," Sharon said.

"Well, to be honest, the failure of the mission this time was beyond my expectations. Mr. Kallavan also must have understood, he sent you alone to the 12th Floor because of the outstanding performance you have given so far."

Sharon only put on a stoic face when she heard Elpathion's words.

"Well, let's just say this punishment is just a formality, I don't want 4th Army Corp to lose valuable assets like you Miss Sharon, I think Mr. Kallavan will agree with me, too" Elpathion said.

Hearing that, Sharon looked down slightly.

"Thank you for your generosity, sir."

"Then you may go."

After that, Sharon came out of the room and left Elpathion who was standing alone in his place before. Then, he brought up his pocket and was seen calling someone.

"Follow her, don't let her realize ... report to me if there are suspicious movements. She must have hidden something from me before."

After giving a brief order, Elpathion immediately closed his call and returned to his seat

***

[Floor 27 | The Floor of Archipelago]

Floor of Archipelago, as the name suggests, is very famous for the beauty of the sea. Is a group of small islands that float above the sea.

On one of the islands on the Floor of Archipelago, currently Kira and Mai are relaxing at one of the seaside resorts.

Actually, they were currently carrying out the ascension test to the 28th floor, but because the test was felt to be easy, only Rea, Ran, and Franz were sent to complete it.

The test given by the 27th floor Administrator Test to them was to capture the Giant Black Eel King who lived around the coastline.

Wearing only black shorts and sunglasses, Kira is seen lounging under an umbrella accompanied by Mai beside him in a bikini, accentuating her perfect body charm.

* Slurp *

Seeing Kira sipping orange juice, Mai made a strange face.

"Mr. Kira, you don't usually drink anything other than coffee."

"Well, this is not the right time to drink it, you know ... so what do you want to talk to me about?"

"This is about Apocrypha."

Mai's words caught Kira's attention, it has been 4 years since he lemt Apocrypha to Mai for research, and as he instructed, if Apocrypha could be useful, Mai had to report it to Kira.

"Have you found its origin?" Asked Kira.

Hearing that, Mai nodded.

"Yes, and this is actually quite surprising."

Kira slightly raised his eyebrows at Mai's words. Mai then returns to her speech.

"I have read something that indicates the existence of a multi-dimensional creature that travels from one universe to another using their special aspects."

Mai then resumed while showing a picture to Kira.

"In one of the books my father brought from outside the tower, the creature has a morphology that is similar to reptiles, has a large body, and a very frightening strength. Their existence is considered a myth for some people, but not a few people who believe it."

"Even my father never saw it directly, the creature is a symbol of disaster and the Apocalypse for a world, bearer of destruction feared by any creature, creatures that stand above all races in the Universe ... they are called Mystical Dragons."

Hearing Mai's words, Kira made a confused face, he had heard about dragons before, even though it was just a legend in his old world, but the existence of Dragons was quite believed by many people.

Even many legendary stories that tell about the dragon in it.

"Then what does that have to do with Apocrypha?" Asked Kira.

"I said that before, right, Apocrypha has a structure similar to an endoskeleton?"

Hearing Mai's words, Kira nodded.

"After conducting in-depth research, and comparing with endoskeletons from one type of reptile race in the tower, namely Coatl, I can conclude that Apocrypha is an endoskeletal fragment of a creature with similar body characteristics to that, the Dragon," Mai said.

"Then why can you conclude that it is an endoskeleton of a dragon?" Kira asked, of course he was confused as to why Mai came to the conclusion that Apocrypha was part of a Dragon.

"The part of the bone that has similarities with Apocrypha, is one of the smallest parts in the body of Coatl, which is the smallest part in the structure of the spine. The maximum length is only about 0.5 cm, and when compared to Apocrypha, the size is too small."

Mai then handed over a paper that had an image of a size comparison between Apocrypha and Coatl bones.

"The average length of the spine of an adult Coatl is 5 meters. If we calculate by comparing the size of Apocrypha with the smallest bone in Coatl, then the estimated length of the spine of creatures that have Apocrypha in their spine is about 12 KM."

Hearing Mai's words, Kira fell open.

" What!? "

"Therefore, I conclude that Apocrypha is a spinal fragment of a dragon, because no other type of reptile has such a large body. In addition, in the book carried by my father also explained that a dragon can cover a city with its wings, although that's a bit exaggerated. "

Hearing the explanation from Mai, Kira scratched his head and thought.

'Oi, Oi, really? A dragon? Apocrypha are fragments of the spine of a dragon? '

After returning to calm his mind, Kira then glanced towards Mai.

"Then, even if it's a piece of a dragon's bone, it doesn't change anything, after all a bone is still a bone," Kira said.

"Well, actually Apocrypha is not the bone of an ordinary dragon but a mystical dragon. As I said 4 years ago, Apocrypha has a soul that sleeps in it, that soul is probably the soul of the Mystical Dragon that has Apocrypha."

Hearing that, Kira made a confused face and asked Mai.

"Is that possible? I mean move his own soul to a container like that? How can he still survive until now?"

Hearing that, Mai nodded.

"That's possible, because the Mystical Dragon is a natural Axis."

"Axis you say?" Kira was very surprised when he heard Mai's words.

a year ago, Mai had explained about Phantaminium which is the No. 1 Ranker in the Tower. At that time, Mai also explained to Kira about the existence of an Axis in the universe.

Axis or Axis User is an existence that can regulate reality itself. Their strength is very mysterious, but it is said that even the weakest Axis can defeat the strongest Non-Axis because of their uniqueness.

"That's right, I was also very surprised at first, but if Apocrypha is part of the Mystical Dragon, then that makes sense.They are said to be the strongest race not without reason. "

Kira seemed to think for a while before returning to speak.

"But, if his soul is inside Apocrypha, doesn't that mean the original body is dead?"

"I also think that way, I suspect, this mystical dragon in Apocrypha was killed when he faced an Axis who was stronger than him, but at the last moment, he managed to transfer his soul to a container strong enough to accommodate an Axis like him , which is nothing but a fragment of his spine. "

After hearing the explanation from Mai, everything makes sense now. After a pause Kira then smiled towards Mai and patted her shoulder.

"Good Job Mai, you really are great," said Kira, hearing the sincere praise uttered by Kira, giving a new feeling to Mai.

Her expressionless face turned red, and her body became tense. It's not a feeling of shame or anything, it's a pure happiness that she haven't felt for a long time, which is a feeling of being relied on by someone close to her.

The same feeling she felt when her father praised her because she had completed her first weapon. That was the only thing Mai wanted from her father, a very simple wish.

After hearing Kira's words, Mai looked down and made her face covered by her hair, she could only be silent and tried to hold the happiness that was bubbling up in her heart right now.

After calming herself, Mai's expression returned to normal and she said to Kira.

"Besides that, Mr. Kira, do you plan to take part in the Workshop battle which will start in 2 years?" Mai asked, switching the subject.

Hearing Mai's words, Kira who was thinking about something then nodded and said.

"Of course, Po Bidau Gustang might have been there at that time, so I can't pass up this golden opportunity just like that."

Hearing that, Mai nodded because she also thought the same thing as Kira. Then, Kira was again seen thinking about something.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Kira?" Mai asked.

"Ah, no, it's just that I'm thinking about something about Apocrypha, you said before that the soul inside Apocrypha is an Axis from outside the tower right?"

Mai nodded, Kira then continued.

"In that case, he might just know how to get out of the tower ... how can I communicate with him?"

"There is only one way, which is to implant Apocrypha into your body."

Hearing that, Kira returned to making a strange face, and said.

"Geh, Again that way ... although I have to admit, I'm quite tempted by the increased power that occurs if Apocrypha is implanted into my body, but didn't you say before that there might be side effects?"

"Yes, if your body cannot accommodate the existence of the Mystical Dragon that is in Apocrypha, then your body will be destroyed and your soul will disappear, of course that is the worst possibility, there are still many other side effects that may occur in your body and soul."

Admittedly, Kira was shivering when listening to Mai's explanation. He really wants to get stronger, but if the risk is death, then Kira has the right to doubt.

When the atmosphere became quiet, suddenly a dazzling golden light appeared, and a very loud explosion came from the ocean in front of them.

* boom *

Hearing that, both Kira and Mai became alert. The sound made a very powerful explosion wave and even created high waves to the offshore where Kira and Mai are.

"What's that?" Muttered Mai.

When the waves were about to sweep the two of them, the waves were suddenly restrained and reflected back.

"Who is the fool who did this," said Kira with an annoyed face.

Kira then strengthened his sight to see more clearly from a distance. He then saw a man floating in the distance while holding a black object in his hand.

The man has a muscular body, and is seen wearing a white hat. But what caught Kira's most attention was the tattoo on his back, which had a picture of a white winged tree, and a tattoo that reads ...

"... Mazino."