" So we're leaving, then? " Raiden asks to Kara after he wakes up, as he immediately tells the others to go straight to the Top Floor and just obliterate.
" No, we shouldn't! " Battle Maiden says after she prepared.
" It would be foolish since the enemy will immediately predict what to do against us," she says while showing Libra's judgment about the plan.
[ Libra's Judgment for the plan: Left Scale (Foolish) / Right Scale (Acceptable) ]
[ Libra's Judgment: Left Scale (Foolish) ]
" Does your 'Divine Zodiac Item' get out of its mind? " Raiden doubts it for he tells them that since he's Adrian's and the 'Dark Brotherhood Sect's ex-enforcer, he knows that Adrian won't be expecting them to go up, for he and the others had still been on the expectation of 100% success guarantee.
" I don't know about that, but still... " Kara says as she tries to think about it while Aphrodite behind her is still healing Galen.
" Thank you, goddess... " Galen says as he still feels awkward about this.
"( To think a goddess would actually participate and help us in here? )" he says inside his mind, never thinking that this will happen.
"( Guess I should 'trust' Ragna more regarding this, most of his 'visions' he told me are true. )" Galen says as he remembers what other future Ragna had just given him.
"( So there is a god who inhabits one of us... )" Galen says to himself while seeing Aphrodite who then looks at him and says.
"( Indeed, boy... )" she says telepathically, making Galen feel more awkward.
"( Be rejoiced that I am with you right now, just like 'he' said. )" Aphrodite says as she completely heals him.
After healing Galen, the one they spoke of finally came out from the System Space, filled with bruises and cuts, hair longer than before, as he returns to meet them after doing some work out with his other Selves inside there.
" Finally, the 'First Awakener' has returned! " Raiden says as he greets Ragna while recounting what Ragna Twelve had told him.
" I never thought that the 'First' would be so young... " he says, while can take it that the awakener before him was just a teenager.
" So what? does my age, really matter? " Ragna asks with his death stare, for it somehow begins to look scarier than before.
Seeing his stare, Raiden's emotions got clicked for he begins to approach Ragna, realizing the potential battle between the two, Kara immediately intervenes as she tries to prevent them.
" Okay hold it, Raiden! " she tells him.
" Don't start a fight here, he just returned from his training. " Kara says which made Raiden pissed even more as he sees Ragna's eyes.
" Oh, so he's training, huh? "
" Right, after being freed from your restraints, it seems the first thing to do for you is to upgrade yourself and come back to us different than before, right? " Raiden says as he still somehow felt offended by Ragna's eyes that look at him so sharply based on his thoughts, for Raiden quite have a seniority attitude actually, he doesn't like when juniors dared to see him without any humble expression and looked at him like he's just some random guy.
" Just look at you, you know that your 'Divine Curse' costs us a lot of energy, just to free you, and here you are... "
" Go away to 'train' without even giving us or even leaving us and thank you! "
" And just return here as if all of it were just yesterday, for our Divine Sake! "
" Raiden! " Kara shouts at him, trying to stop Raiden's emotion, but.
" It's alright, Inquisitor... " Ragna says as he holds her hand, telling her to step aside.
" Ragna... "
" It's on me..., you may step aside. " Ragna tells her as he places her aside, making him face-to-face with Raiden.
" So, you wanted a 'thank you', huh? " Ragna says to Raiden which Raiden responds by staring, and using some domination posture using his height for his age is doubled Ragna's.
" Yeah, at least show me some response, brat! " Raiden says asking Ragna to at least respond to what he says using his dominating aura to scare Ragna, seeing him like a junior that needs to be given a lesson.
" 'Response', huh? " Ragna says as he then did the unthinkable, for he immediately punched Raiden in the *epigastrium before he could even react.
" The... hell... " Raiden faints as Ragna leaves him.
" There, happy now... "
" Senior... " Ragna says to Raiden.
" Don't ever think of provoking me, senior Raiden, okay? "
" Don't you ever... " Ragna says as he then asks Inquisitor Kara to treat him while he looks at the Battle Maiden.
"( He's changed, something had changed him but even Libra didn't know exactly what. )"
"( Should I see his mind? )" Battle Maiden asks while she was also met with Ragna's death stare she then senses that Aphrodite is looking at her, shaking her head, telling to not to do whatever she's gonna do right now.
"( Don't do it, woman, I just screwed him yesterday... )" Aphrodite says while Ragna then sighs and just tells.
" We're going to wait, for now! " Ragna says while his 'Twelve Eye' activates.
" Wait!? " Galen asks Ragna, wondering what he meant by that.
" I said, we will wait for the good time to strike the guys on the top Floor. "
" And that, Galen, that good time is not now. " Ragna says as he sees the 'Twelve Eye's vision.
" I've seen it, they've already prepared for us. "
" So that's why... " Ragna says which made them look at him more as he says.
" Instead of us who come there. "
" It'll be better to have someone still with us to go there first. " Ragna says while looking at the Battle Maiden.
" Who? " Battle Maiden asks as she points herself, asking if Ragna meant her to be the one who goes up first.
" No, but you know who I'm talking about right now, right? "
" Isn't he still alive, the last time you saw him, Battle Maiden? " Ragna asks as the Twelve Eye lets him see the visions of the past.
< Twelve Eye of Time uses the [Past Vision] skill to foresee the past. >
< The Player will see what happened yesterday. >
" Who did you mean by that? " Battle Maiden asks.
" The one you chose to abandon in order to deal with me first, battle Maiden. " Ragna tells her which immediately made her shocked.
" You mean A Rank Hunter, Park Ignis? " she asked which shocks the others, not knowing that the guy is still alive.
" He's alive? " Kara asks which Battle Maiden says yes as she sees him that he's fighting the giant fire monster on the 11th Floor. As they know that, they began to look at Ragna, wondering what he thinks about it, still skeptical about his ability to foresee using his left eye that has the 'Twelve Eye of Time'.
" Yes, he's very much alive. "
" For that renowned fire Hunter is known to be 'The Survivest of them all', remember? " Ragna asks, as he knows about Hunter Ignis even before entering this Tower.
" But, as you said earlier, he's fighting a large monster, shouldn't we help him? " Galen asks after being silent for so long.
" No..., let him be. " Ragna responds.
" What, you serious? " Galen replied, wondering why should they let him be, like that.
" Because that man is a 'Wild Fire', that will burn anything if we're not careful. "
" Just look at him, do you guys know or see the news that Hunter Ignis was called 'The Survivest' for being able to survive in the Dungeon alone? " Ragna asks them which made them shocked and Inquisitor Kara immediately gets it.
" I think I've heard that story before," she says as an Inquisitor Inspector assigned to the Hunter Association.
" It is said that Hunter Ignis once survive the 'Nightmare Dungeon' in District N, it is said that even the S Rankers died there, making the S Rank have to go a 'great shift' at the time. "
" Oh yes, I've heard that one... " Galen adds.
" It is said that despite the S Rankers back then dying, Hunter Ignis survives as he eats the monster's fire body as the 'Nightmare Dungeon' are all filled with fire-body monsters. "
" So he's that strong? " Battle Maiden asks as she never thought that Hunter Ignis would be that strong, no wonder the [Judgment Libra] told her to go to Ragna's problem first instead of helping him.
" Technically, by considering those stories, he should've been an S-Rank immediately but... " Galen stops and Kara continues.
" Because he's not a team player, not even one guild wants him to join them. "
" For he always does what he wants first and lets the others take the karma of what he did. "
" Often making the others with him dead, since he doesn't care about the others at all. "
" His power is also the same, as it is said that his fire can beat other's fire for his fire said to able to 'consume' other's fire. " Kara says which made the other curious.
" You mean, his fire eats other's fire? " Aphrodite asks in her confusion.
" I can still understand if a water ability can consume other water attacks, I can still take the logic, but. "
" 'Fire'..., " she asks as she wonders which god that gave him such a Gift ability.
" This is getting more interesting, to think such a person will exist in our arsenal. "
" We should get him now! " Aphrodite orders but was objected.
" No, don't come near him right now! " Ragna tells her as he sees it.
" I can see it, he's not going to be able to work with us. "
" For what he had become, after being left with the Balrog for hours or days long. " Ragna says as he sees what happens on the 11th Floor.
[ 11th Floor ]
The A Rank Hunter Park Ignis, still fighting the Balrog, fighting in one on one the Eleventh Floor. Fighting alone with the Balrog as if he doesn't need any help despite him being at Tier IV only.
" Ahahahaha! "
" Foolish monster, you're not the only one that rules over the fire! " Ignis yells at the Balrog while punching him with his fists, no weapons, and no skills are needed outside his Gift Ability from the gods, the Diviners, for his body was already overpowered, and his abnormal and abomination strong body is already made him very formidable enough to fight heavy hitters such as the Balrog for he seemed to also had much stamina inside of him.
In that battle, Balrog growls for Ignis punched its face while sitting it, unfazed by his fire for his body could easily consume it too.
[ Fire Eater. ]
" You know, monster... "
" Back then, when I was a child before the Hunters were created. "
" I've always been asked if I want to be a firefighter, you know why!? " Ignis says as he decides to feast again the Balrog's fire while it tries to prevent its fire from being taken.
" Because my ability here makes me rule the very fire itself, thanks to my god! "
" The fire god... " Ignis says as he then opens the Balrog's mouth, aiming to eat the fire from within he did just that, entering its body, consuming it, making him more powerful than ever before as the flames changed him, turning his body monstrous for he and the balrog are one through the forge of their own fire.
_________________________________________________________
Extra:
I know you must be asking why Ragna didn't just straight up go up to Adrian and use his upgrade to defeat him because Ragna knew that it wouldn't be that easy, he needs to prepare more, using everything available if he had to.
By the way, you guys need to see Chapter 94: Fiery Justice & Chapter 112: Thunder Curse Part 3
*Punch the epigastrium: after reading L**kism from the first chapters again, I find kinda fitting for Ragna to know such things as well since he also loves Webtoons.