The very first thing I felt after waking up was a sense of incongruence. I went through many things during that 'short' span of time. The memories of my ninth iteration aren't that bad, but the sensation of using Galahad's body as a medium to interfere in that iteration greatly affected my senses.
That moment, I felt how it was to be at the top—to be in the position of the people who I previously looked up to. It felt vastly different after I returned to this body. The mixed-up senses from those two occurrences jumbled everything.
Hence, I decided to adjust everything through battles. To be precise—
I need to find a strong enemy.
However, where would I be able to find one? Just from my memories, only those from the seventieth floors are strong enough to pose a threat.
Pssshk-!
In the midst of this burning land, dozens of spheres of dry ice shot down the surrounding enemies. The goats with red wool dropped down to the ground lifelessly, blood pooling out from the holes on their heads
"Forty-ninth floor… Roughly level five to six."
I could recall the dungeon's information from that iteration. Aside from Zeus and Hera Familia twelve years ago, I was the only adventurer who could reach the seventy-ninth floor. At that point, I developed many autonomously deployed artillery that served as my mobile army. This is my true fighting style whenever I fought in a battle I knew beforehand.
Me, an equivalent of a level nine, and hundreds of mechs overturned one floor after another with great difficulty. Although, it was able to provide me with a lot of valuable information.
At this moment, more than thirty-three monsters spawned around me. Their spawn rate became higher as I cleared many floors with ease.
"Set Ordinance One's spell to Nivalis Trusus (Snow Drive)."
[Understood.]
Behind the combat suit, a compartment opened. An elongated diamond-shape came out of it. The object floated above my head.
Suddenly, it unveiled itself from all sides—they separated before mana started gathering towards it. A small sphere of light was formed from it before turning into a dark-blue magic circle.
Hum-!
Fizzle-!
Only a low sound was heard before the spell exploded. The surroundings were instantaneously filled with clear ice. The hot temperature caused by the dungeon's surroundings are replaced with chilling cold.
All of the monsters were enclosed in a clear-white coffin.
"Calefactus Candidus Lux Esse Numquam Finalitas." (The warmth of this white light shall know no end.)
Crack-!
Shatter-!
The ending sequence was recited. The coffins that enclosed the monsters crumbled to pieces. It is the capability of the ice magicka. The spell system I created allowed a greater scope for it. Basically, ice magicka and flame magicka are combined to create heat magicka that allows for manipulation of temperatures.
It formed the concept for the Thermodynamics Branch on my "Akasaka System".
(A/N: Heat is the energy stored that makes something "hot" while temperatures are simply a byproduct of it. The less heat, it becomes colder; the more heat, it becomes hotter.)
Nivalis Trusus simply 'contains' the heat present on things and makes them drop to near absolute zero before injecting it again, thus breaking them into frozen pieces.
It is merely one of the spells I improved in the ninth iteration.
Click-!
The elongated diamond returned to its back compartment.
After picking up their magic stones, I headed to the monster rex on this floor. Since nobody had reached this floor yet—not even Loki Familia—it should be alive.
"Should be" since there is someone strong enough here to kill it.
It took a while to leave the area influenced by my magicka. Once I did, the temperature detected by my suit shot up.
Tap.
Tap.
Beep-!
[A strong hostile force has been detected.]
[Comparison check…]
[It is approximately twenty times weaker than the special-grade curse Jogo at the very least.]
"Yes, there's no mistaking it. That's Balor."
If the sea terrain had Amphisbaena and the white palace had Udaeus, the volcanic terrain had Balor as its ruler.
The sight of a more than thirty-meters tall skinny spider-like creature greeted my eyes. It uses its two arms to crawl on the ground. Its gray skin is a mutation caused by this terrain, turning him extremely tough against high temperatures.
A heavy pressure bore on me. Its sole red eye stared at my direction.
"Take our Ordinances One to Five. Load Exodus." I said. "Ordinance Six will be set to [Militaris Fortilitia].
[Understood.]
ROAR-!
The monster rex greeted its new challenger with a roar. Its red eyes glowed fiercely before a beam of red light headed to my direction.
Immediately, the sixth ordinance opened up from its tip before a magic circle emerged. It became the [Militaris Fortilitia] I was familiar with.
Fizzle-!
Bzzzt-!
The first and second layers were broken, but it was severely slowed down on the third layer. It is inevitable as I've only used my current capacity as a level five. I wanted to see the limits of myself in this state.
Clearly, it wouldn't hold up enough for this monster rex.
Shatter-!
"I see. It is comparable to a level seven monster…"
If I do this…
"Fidelis canis major."
A moment later, I felt the familiar sensation in my body. The semi-opened dream organs started filling me up with heaps of mana. An intangible sensation wrapped around me—the power of mysteries.
I could clearly feel such things after I attained the upgraded dream organs. Even though I shouldn't be supposed to receive any drastic physical changes, my [Mana Furnace] keeps on evolving every iteration. It could be an instinctive pattern formed after I received all the reflexes in those memories. It could also be a result of Galahad's gift when he accessed the thing inside me.
Anyways, it saved me the time required to operate on myself.
Perhaps, it is the biggest reward I gained during the ninth iteration.
Flop.
My tail swayed slightly as I empowered the defense magicka. At that moment, the fourth layer held up strongly. It wasn't as fragile as before.
Miku received the parameters from my [Sirius] state. With that, it'll be easier to gauge my current capabilities. The further refinement could be done during the simulations processed through [Alice's Wonderland].
This is it, then.
"Mana Archiatius, Overload." (Mana Furnace, Maximum Output.)
A moment of stillness occurred on this dungeon floor. My altered sense of perception helped me process the necessary data for this grand magicka. I didn't say a word about it, but unsurprisingly, Miku could keep up with my thought process.
My tail and ears were dispersed as golden motes of light. It is my final form that rid [Sirius]'s need to have a spirit form.
[Connection established.]
[The main magic circle is ready to be deployed.]
[General Perimeters set.]
After a second, I exited from my hyperactive state.
Crack-!
Crack-!
The igneous rocks started cracking merely by the pressure emitted by my fully-unleashed dream organs. The pressure brought by my existence couldn't be held by this floor.
Unfortunately for the dungeon, this isn't everything yet.
Shiing-!
I let the five Ordinances float all around me. Five bright red magic circles appeared on their opened tips before the sixth magic circle manifested beneath my feet.
The mysteries became more and more noticeable in my eyes. They are these unknowns that are theoretically present in all worlds.
"Numquam defuit columna nubis per diem nec columna ignis per noctem coram populo." (There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before the people.)
Swoosh-!
The seventh magic circle appeared on top of Balor. Consequently, a thick pillar mixed with flames and fog struck Balor down. It completely engulfed it for a moment before everything returned to normal.
"Fu…"
I felt my beating heart.
'Was this excitement..?'
In the past and now, I longed for power to protect those whom I hold dear. The amount of frustrations, despair, and sorrow I felt along the way clouded myself several times. There were times I felt insecure despite the cheat being on my side.
Only now, when I held tangible power, did I feel liberated from them.
'Really...'
I noticed the pile of ash in which Balor turned into. That single attack turned the level seven Monster Rex to ashes. It is a testament of how strong I became since the day I accidentally fell to Gekai.
If that didn't happen…
I might still be struggling in my world to have a larger influence against the impending calamities.
Rumble-!
Just as I was thinking, the dungeon shook. Instinctively, I saw the huge destruction I caused on this floor. The walls are crystalized—if not melted—by the attack that originated from the Biblical source.
A hole dozens of meters deep existed on where Balor used to stand.
The dungeons' walls began being enveloped by a black fog. It formed a huge silhouette that couldn't be more than familiar in my eyes.
"Yeah… It's just about time."
I fought this abomination twice in my ninth iteration. Possessing an extremely high magic resistance, it was able to thrash many monsters above its floor. Its version on the sixty-fifth floor is nothing short of terrifying. If it didn't have a weakness to physical attacks, which I spotted with Miku, it would've been a hard battle.
The only reason behind its appearance could only be due to excessive destruction inside the dungeon.
It is a monster that couldn't be more than familiar to Ryuu-san.
"Juggernaut."
Screech-!
It made a high-pitched scream before its tentacles headed straight to me.
Bam-!
It was blocked by a newly-cast Militaris Fortilitia. The spell under my current state became nigh-unbreakable to most lower-leveled monsters.
I have been waiting for its appearance. I wanted to try something out. It is a work-around to my inability to properly use sword techniques imbued with mystery.
"Ordinance One to Ten. Load [Mystery Distortion]."
[Understood.]
[Distortion initiation…]
[Confirmation of the necessary variables…]
Miku and I worked together to manifest the said workaround. Unsheathing [Sora] on my waist, I took a vertical sword stance. The juggernaut's charge seemed extremely slow in my eyes. Both my processing and reaction speed went off the charts with [Mana Furnace]. The same goes for my body—it became extremely fast.
Many things ran over my mind. It felt disorienting at first but I was able to handle it after referencing my previous experiences.
'Does levels affect dream organs..?'
I had a random thought.
'Everyone was using [Mana Furnace] at that time. It serves that my dream organs are almost completed, but I could feel that Bell Cranell is still stronger than me. The same went for Ottar and the school district's principal…'
If it was not about dream organs… perhaps there is something that could be achieved once they reach the maximum level—the state where one's potential is fully unlocked by falna…
That was an interesting thought. I'll keep it for later.
For now…
"Veritas Lux." (The Truth Enlightens Me.)
Sou-!
Cut-!
The sound of wind being cut into two resounded in my ears. An intangible force left the katana's tip before severing the Juggernaut into two.
Psshk-!
Crack-!
It was only a few meters away from me when it was split into two.
Thud-!
Its black bones made a rattling sound while its tentacles sounded like pure flesh. With that, the monster who brought nightmares to both the Astraea and Rudra Familia was felled… with one blow.
I turned to look at one direction before speaking:
"I believe it is time for a proper introduction, isn't it?"
The coat worn by the woman has its concealment function worn off. It revealed a beautiful yet mature face under the hood—which I saw with my enhanced eyesight.
Her heterochromatic eyes met with mine.
Before she could speak, I took the initiative to introduce myself.
"Greetings, Lady Alfia."
"..!"
"You may call me Sirius… or Akasaka Nobu."
"How..?"
Facing her shocked and inquiring look, I nodded with a smile. I don't want our first meeting to repeat. She tested my strength due to her curiosity on my magicka. I was a level five at that time with less developed dream organs. I could barely match her with the suit.
A level eight seemed formidable at that time.
However, things have become different now.
I showed an overwhelming strength—one that shouldn't have existed right now. Her familia captain was on the same level as the current me. That's what I could tell with all the stories she told me.
During those six months, I assisted her in increasing Orario's overall combat effectiveness. She was the one who gave me the idea to empower the select responsible people who would fight the said dragon.
"Atropos-san… You should know about her, no?"
"...You're telling..?"
"Yes."
I nodded.
"I am the same as her."