Bam! A six-armed demon groaned as something slammed it against the ground. The demon tried to stand up, but a boot stomped its head, keeping it pinned in place.
"Relax, I'm not here to fight." Kashi grinned as he looked at the angry demons that surrounded him. "I'm going to kill the vampire for you. Just stay out of my way."
The demons warily appraised the terrifying draconian. Once upon a time, these demons would have attacked Kashi without regard for their lives. Unfortunately, most of their hellish instincts had eroded due to fear. After battling the vampire for so long, they now wished to preserve their lives above all else.
Kashi smiled when he noticed their apprehension. He put his hands in his pockets and then confidently strode through their midst. Strangely, the demons parted like the Red Sea, giving him free access. They then followed behind, strangely attracted to the destructive pressure oozing off the draconian.
Kashi noticed the demons' odd behavior, but did not react to it. Razznik had fought and lived with countless demons so he was used to their peculiarities. He quickly made his way through the channels until the demons removed the blockade to the vampire's lair. Kashi walked into the vampire's lair to see a grinning middle-aged man.
The vampire had just feasted on the dungeon core's latest tributes, and was thus bursting with plentiful energy. The Vampire Duke sinisterly laughed as he pointed at the draconian. "Finally! Taste my pow—urk!"
The vampire's eyes widened in shock when he realized he was looking up at the draconian's head. "Wait. What happened?"
"Sorry, but I'm sort of on a time limit." Kashi nonchalantly burned the head in his hand, and then sent a fireball to incinerate the rest of the corpse.
Kashi then turned his attention to the dungeon core. Like the floor above, he jumped and then absorbed the core into Orez. Immediately, he received a prompt.
[Demon Dungeon Core Detected.]
[This Dungeon Core summons Demons and Devils from the Netherrealm. Due to their hellish nature, Demons from this dungeon core will instinctively seek out and destroy civilizations. It is advised you place this core in a remote location.
Note: Demons from this Dungeon Core cannot be tamed.]
Kashi turned off the prompt, and then turned his attention to the ground. He pushed the soil aside with Earth Control, revealing a chest buried six feet beneath the ground.
Kashi did not even glance at the treasure chest before tossing it into Orez. Right now, Kashi did not need weapons or artifacts. The only items that interested him were those that could raise his base strength. To that end, the next floor was much more enticing.
[You Have Leveled Up x4]
"Hm?" Kashi glanced at the sudden prompt with raised brows. It seemed Hektor had completed his mission. Sure enough, he soon felt Drixlia's presence on the Hell Floor.
Gugugugu~ Around the same time, a section of the chamber's walls parted to reveal a stone bridge that stretched over the sea of flames.
Eleven similar bridges appeared at the other channels, all leading to a joint platform.
Brrackt! Kashi turned around as a mass of lightning and electricity appeared by his side. The lightning dispersed to reveal the proud Drixlia, with Hektor seated atop it with a slightly flushed complexion. It was apparent that the young man had pulled out his inner reserves to complete his mission in a timely order.
Kashi was not blind to the light in Hektor's eyes. He raised his thumb and said, "Nice job. You were brilliant! You guys saved me a lot of work."
"Heh," Hektor revealed a goofy smile as he rubbed his nose. "I had to complete at least this much, right? Drix did most of the work though." Hektor patted the kirin's flank and then gently dismounted.
Suddenly, Hektor's eyes widened in panic as the familiar weight on his shoulders suddenly disappeared. To his horror, he saw Rex charging right at Kashi! "Rex, stop!"
Kashi's brow perked with interest as he glanced at a seemingly empty space in front of him. "What's the matter? You can't contain yourself anymore?"
'Grriaa!' A growl akin to a kitten's squealed as the small, white dragon became visible. Rex glared at Kashi with its best threatening gaze as he familiarized himself with Kashi's scent. Previously, Kashi's dragon scent was thin, so Rex was content to keep his distance. This time, however, Kashi's draconic aura was so thick that it presented a threat to the dragon cub.
Dragons were notoriously territorial beings. There was no way a Divine Dragon like Rex would feel comfortable with another dragon in its territory. Especially so when a mere Elder Dragon treated its partner like a subordinate.
So, following his instincts, Rex immediately tried to subdue Kashi using his bloodline. It did not matter that he was still a cub. Elder Dragons would always bow to Divine Dragons...
Or so Rex thought. On this day, Kashi taught Rex a valuable lesson.
"Don't you think you're biting off more than you can chew?"
Rex trembled as an intense chill assaulted his bones. Suddenly, Kashi resembled a 100-meters-tall demon. An intense deathly aura enveloped the young dragon, causing his wings to slightly falter. Strangely, however, despite his intense fear, Rex did not back off. He continued to look into Kashi's eyes, with unwilling challenge.
This was Rex's innate pride. A Divine Dragon would never bow to a lower being, even if it cost their life. Just then, Kashi raised his right arm. Rex instinctively flinched and curled up slightly, as if shrinking into itself. Both Rex and Hektor held their breaths as the hand reached towards Rex. To the partners, this was the longest second of their lives!
Puff...
Rex trembled in shock when Kashi's palm softly landed on his head. He looked up and saw that Kashi had rescinded his threatening aura. The draconian's lips spread, revealing a toothy grin as he observed the little dragon.
"Heh. You're pretty brave. You must take after your mother." Kashi chuckled, and then said before Hektor could ask the burning question, "Don't bother. You'll find out soon enough." He then patted Rex's head and gave a soft warning. "Your bloodline is powerful, but don't try to subdue intelligent creatures with it. With intelligence comes pride, and with pride comes defiance. An intelligent creature would rather kill you now that you're young than obey its instincts to bow. Wait until you have the strength to back up your bloodline. Then, nothing will be able to stop you."
Rex blinked in confusion as he looked at Kashi. Perhaps it was because Kashi lost his threatening aura, but Rex suddenly felt a welcoming familiarity. The little dragon flapped his wings, perched on Kashi's head and played with the draconian's horns.
"You'll soon grow yours." Kashi chuckled, but let Rex be. He then turned to Drixlia and said, "Thanks Drix. Go rest for a bit. We won't be needing you on the next couple of floors." Kashi returned Drix to Orez, and then turned to the demons who were staring at him with fear and trepidation.
Kashi's lips curled like a devil's as he proposed, "Do you want to live here, or do you seek freedom? Before you answer, know this. If you choose freedom, you shall serve me until you perish. I can promise not to abuse this privilege, but we all know that is meaningless. The only question is: Is your freedom worth the risk?"
"Freedom?" An aged devil warily approached the draconian. "You can free us?"
"Ah. Yes, I can. I will task you with maintaining some dungeons in my world. You might have to slay some demons and devils to prevent the dungeon from overflowing." Kashi confidently smiled as he looked at the demons. "But, I doubt that will be a problem for you all, right?"
'Ah. Someone's about to get scammed.' Hektor looked away from Kashi's evil smile. No one met a good end after being on the receiving end of that smile.
Kashi, meanwhile, said as he opened a portal to Orez. "Make up your minds quickly. I can only take demons from one channel. If you refuse, I'll just go to the next channel."
"W-wait!" the aged devil panicked when the portal began to close. If he had time to think, he might have refused, but his devilish nature could never permit some other devils to profit from his loss. "We-we'll go. We'll do as you say."
"Good. Ah, for your sake, do not resist when you go in." Kashi's grin was akin to a grim reaper's scythe as he warned the demons. "You'll die."
The aged devil swallowed hard, but ultimately stepped into the portal. Once he was through, he appeared in a hot volcanic region. He'd barely taken in the blue sky when a terrifying pressure lock onto his soul, attempting to force obedience. The aged devil instinctively wanted to resist, but a terrifying centaur appeared before it and pointed a spear.
Drixali glared at the puny lifeform that dared threaten his god. "Resist if you dare."
The aged devil instantly gave up all thoughts of resistance. He finally realized Kashi was so confident. If he resisted, this lifeform would easily wipe him out. Following his surrender, several dozen demons and devils poured through the portal. Under Drixali's glare, they all surrendered without fail, allowing Orez to brand their souls.
Meanwhile, back at Oni Hill, Kashi wiped his hands after closing the portal. "That's that done with." He had officially completed all objectives on the Hell Floor.
"That... how did you do that?"
"Oh, yeah. You weren't around when Orez grew." Kashi smiled, and then explained how Orez functioned to Hektor as they walked to the final platform.
Hektor's eyes widened as he listened to Kashi. Why did it seem like Kashi only pulled farther away? At this rate, would he ever qualify to be Kashi's sword?
"Don't underestimate what it means to be a Divine Dragon's Dragoon." Kashi sensed the young man's faltering confidence and said with an enigmatic smile, "If I'm not careful, you two will easily blow past me."
"Really?"
"Oi, oi. Your greed is showing. Do you really want to beat me that much?"
"No, that's not it! I—"
"But then again, only with that kind of determination can you surpass your limits." Kashi chuckled and said as he pointed at the ceiling. "Forget about the sky. You should always aim for the stars. The best goals are those that are infinitely out of reach."
Hektor's fists trembled as he grasped his right arm. "Infinite? Then is it okay if I put you as my goal?"
"Me?" Kashi chuckled and shook his head. "Who knows how long I'll be around? I'm a mere hume at the end of the day. For your target... why don't you take Razznik? Now, that is the true definition of infinity." Kashi paused and then added with a playful tone, "Though we're precisely trying to stop that infinity right now."
Surprisingly, Hektor shook his head. "No." His brows furrowed as he recalled the Sword Spirit. "I'm stupid, so I can only understand the sky I can see. I can't even picture what the stars are like. My sky might not be as high as the stars, but what if it continues to grow until it swallows all the stars?" Hektor turned to Kashi with a determined gaze. "My sky started small, but it will keep growing until it swallows every star in the sky. That is the infinity I choose to follow. Is that a problem?"
Kashi let out an embarrassed chuckle. "For clarification, I'm the sky in your allegory?"
"Of course!"
"This is why they say muscle-brains are—" Kashi sighed as he released a resigned laughter. Kashi felt a headache coming on as he thought of Shokō, Syèl, Hektor, Zuri, and the rest. These bastards kept pressuring him. He did not dare relax with these monsters breathing down his neck. His pride as their guildmaster would never let him be weaker than those monsters.
Eventually, Kashi shrugged and then said, "Do as you like. I'll just have to keep growing so you never reach the sky."
"That's more than enough." Hektor revealed a goofy grin as they stepped onto the final platform.
Predictably, everyone had already gathered ahead. Brilith and Sonic in particular looked at Kashi with expectant gazes. Any fool could tell that Kashi knew a lot about Oni Hill at this point. They did not want to lose any members, so they patiently awaited his briefing.
Kashi, for his part, did not waste time with sophistry. "The next floor is the Heaven Floor. After the Heaven floor, we'll face the seven deadly sins floors. Only after that will we face the final Judgment Floor."
Kashi walked toward the gigantic door that slowly appeared at the opposite end of the platform. "The Heaven floor is a bit different from these last two. It is located in a realm with disastrous winds that can tear iron to shreds. There are nine floating islands on this floor, populated by avionic beastkin."
"Avians!?" Sonic's eyes widened with shock. "But there's none in Destia."
Kashi nodded. "They were very scarce even in King's Journey because their habitat is too unique." He paused and then added with a wry grin. "It doesn't help that they are a bit too proud. They view wingless humes as lesser being consigned to the ground. Interactions with their kind is truly very rare."
"What does that have to do with the next floor?" Brilith promptly brought the duo back on topic.
Kashi nodded. "The islands are arranged like a tower, with each island connected to the next through specially designed wind tunnels that connect the islands. Without those wind tunnels, it's next to impossible to travel between the islands. The atmospheric winds will slice you to pieces if you dare enter."
Sonic frowned. "I don't like where this is going."
"The dungeon cores all situated on the highest island. We need to somehow travel through the tunnels, reach the top and destroy the dungeon cores before we can pass. Because we are going to a sin floor, we'll automatically get transported no matter where we may be once we successfully destroy the dungeon cores."
"What's the catch?"
"The avians can close the tunnels if they wish. So, we have to carefully consider our approach. Do we slaughter and force them to keep the tunnels open, do we woo them over to our side, or do we try to sneak our way through? We need to decide before we climb, 'cause one person can ruin the entire test for the rest of us."
"Damn that Razznik bastard! What kind of sadistic test is this!?"
Kashi ignored the big lug screaming from Silver Spear's ranks, and instead, turned to Brilith and Sonic. "So, what's it going to be? Slaughter, Charisma, or Stealth?"