As they promised, Aika and Koneko managed to hold off two of the Valgang Dragons until the rest were able to deal with theirs. Aika and Koneko could have killed the dragons, however, it would take a great amount of effort and energy for them to actually do it. Their current goal was to reach the 59th floor and not to kill these dragons. They had a feeling that they would be needing that extra energy later.
Of course, the situation wasn't that simple, as the Dungeon kept spawning Valgang Dragons. But instead of coming after them, the dragons became occupied and killed by the army of caterpillar monsters, which drowned them in acid and took their magic stones.
The group became even warier of the new species because they didn't have any idea what their goal was and neither did they expect that monsters in the Dungeon would be fighting each other.
Soon after the usual monsters were almost annihilated, the new species started escaping towards the 59th floor.
Thanks to their disappearance, the Valgang Dragons' number started increasing in number again, putting more pressure on the party.
But it wasn't long until the path to the 57th floor was blasted by Riveria's cold frost magic, "Wynn Filbulvetr!"
"!!!"
"Ais-san!"
"Riveria!"
"Captain!"
Finn's group had successfully reunited with Gareth's group, "It's too early to celebrate! Get rid of the remaining monsters first!" Finn shouted in a commanding tone.
Half an hour later, the Dungeon stopped spawning monsters and what was left on the 58th floor were hills of ashes and monster materials.
The party gathered near the entrance to the 59th floor. Lefiya ran towards her idol and hurriedly asked in a worried tone, "Are you alright, Ais-san!?"
"I'm fine... How about you guys?" Ais replied and asked.
"We're fine because of Gareth," Tione answered but she also looked towards Aika and Koneko. Gareth's group really didn't have any idea how to evaluate those two. "But also thanks to them.", she said. Tiona and the rest, however, wouldn't deny the big help they offered.
Finn's group's eyes were attracted to Aika and Koneko. Aika's nodachi disappeared and was replaced by two curved one-handed swords. They were also confused about her changed attire and why she would do that in the middle of an intense fight.
The strange thing that was emitting white flames behind Koneko also attracted their attention but they didn't know what to think of it.
Similarly, Gareth's group's attention went towards Sona who was holding a crystal blue halberd while currently riding on water. Both groups didn't think that all three of them were too weird.
Riveria knew that the young ones wouldn't be able to hold themselves back and question them about everything, which would be quite rude. So instead, she steered the conversation forward, "Our party was split in two but we still managed to clear out the 58th floor..."
Bete immediately understood Riveria's intention and sighed before making a smug face, "Heh! It's not our first time here after all."
With a smirk, Tiona added, "You were out of breath just a moment ago."
"That was you!"
"What!?"
Thanks to the two of them bickering, the mood lightened up slightly, but Tione noticed Finn's furrowed brows as he looked towards the stairs leading to the 59th floor, "Captain? Is something wrong?"
"According to the records left behind by the city's former strongest Familia, the Zeus Familia, the 59th floor is known as the glacier territory. The glacial currents make it hard to move around, and the extreme cold slows the body's movements down..." Finn removed the glove on his right hand and placed his hand over the entrance.
"The cold is said to be enough to freeze the movements of a first-class Adventurer. In that case, why aren't we feeling the coldness when we're close at hand?" Everyone from the group became nervous. After all, any changes in the Dungeon lead to an unknown danger that wouldn't be recorded anywhere.
"Are you saying that something is up?" Tione asked.
"I don't know but it's hard to believe that the Zeus Familia was exaggerating."
Ais then recalled the red-tamers' words regarding the 59th floor, 'Aria, go to the 59th floor. It's interesting down there right now. You'll find out what you want to know.'
"C-Captain... What should we do?" Raul asked as it wouldn't be strange to end the expedition right here.
But Finn was adamant about figuring out what was going on and so he commanded, "Forget about the Salamander Wool. Everyone, check over your supplies. We'll head down in an hour."
After removing the water below her, Sona suddenly raised her hand and said, "Could you make that two? Aika and Koneko would need that time to recover."
"Are you out of magic potions? You can use mine." Lefiya offered since it was thanks to those two that the pressure on them wasn't so much back then.
Sona smiled at her and shook her head, "Thank you, but magic potions won't do anything to help them to recover."
"What do you mean?" Lefiya asked in confusion. But before she could get any answer, Aika's Zanpakuto returned to its sealed form, a nodachi, along with her attire returning to normal.
Finn's group was very shocked at her sudden transformation, but the most shocked out of decorum was Tsubaki, who was busying herself with picking up loot from the Valgang Dragons and taking care not to ask questions. She shouted, "W-what was that!?", as she couldn't take it anymore when she saw a sword which suddenly changed its form and ran to her side to inspect it.
Aika was startled at her big voice and glowing eyes, "Uhhmm... A special feature?"
They knew that they wouldn't get any clear answers so Finn just declared, "Okay. After two hours, we'll move out. In the meantime, Tsubaki-san, please do some quick maintenance on our weapons."
.
.
.
On the surface, Kisuke was handing out the rest of the Sacred Gears to the group.
Kuroka received a blood-red whip sword. Each section of the blade was about two inches long and instead of a cord, the sections were connected through Kuroka's black flames.
Unlike any other whip sword with a fixed number of sections, Kuroka's Sacred Gear could generate countless amounts so it could technically extend forever. Of course, that would only be possible if she had enough energy to do that.
Although it was easier to control each section with a cord of her black flames, another feature was that the black flames could separate the sections entirely, forming as many forms, like shields, as the user likes. So it wasn't just an offensive weapon, but a versatile tool that could respond to many scenarios.
Lastly, it was paired with Koneko's jetpack so that it could absorb excess energy from it, increasing its firepower to another level. When Kuroka heard about it, she jumped into Kisuke's arms and rained kisses on him. She was very happy that her Sacred Gear was paired with her sister's.
Next was Medusa's Sacred Gear, a set composed of her Immortal Slaying Harpe, Chains, and Daggers. Contrary to the first ones, it didn't have any extra features as its goal was to solidify the concept within Medusa's weapons by giving them a proper physical form. Aside from that, the Sacred Gear that Kisuke made for her had a strong stabilizing effect on her magic body and soul, increasing the compatibility of it with each other.
Also, thanks to this effect, something unexpected occurred. Well, maybe Kisuke expected it, the two souls within Medusa's weakened Divine Core strengthened considerably and some minute activity could be felt from them.
With tears of happiness running down her face, she ran into Kisuke's arm and started thanking him while the latter patted her head with a gentle smile on his face. Medusa also wanted to rain kisses on him but she didn't have the courage to do so in front of the Main Wife.
Lastly, Kisuke handed a kodachi to Yoruichi, which would serve as her Sacred Gear and her Zanpakuto.
Yoruichi first took a deep breath before grabbing the kodachi. But before she could drop her blood on it, a white light suddenly emerged from her forehead and hit the kodachi. Yoruichi froze for a while before muttering with a twitching mouth, "It seems that Byakko likes the new house..."
"Well... That was easy... I mean, good for him..." Kisuke was already expecting that something big would happen, but he was also thankful that his expectation didn't occur.
Kisuke wanted to say more, but a sudden sensation came to him, "Hmmm?"
"What's wrong?" Yoruichi asked.
"Aika released her Zanpakuto," Kisuke answered.
"Then they're probably around the 52nd floor and below."
"Right, so everyone should get ready. I'll prepare everything in the meantime."
================================================================================================================================================================================================
Brainwashing Corner
Alexander: Are you serious, Tsubaki? Have you never heard about the Swiss Army Zanpakuto? It is a very popular tool from Kisuke's hometown and comes with many features. There is even a corkscrew hidden in the handle. Very handy indeed.
28th00: They come with clothing creation, repair, and strengthening functions! All soul-powered and eco-friendly! You won't ever have to worry about going naked into battle because you'll probably be dead by the time your shihakusho is destroyed! Usually!
Goyya: And they're always clean!