Leon spread his detection magic, his Veins of Light screaming with warnings.
Two words escaped his lips, heavy with realization. "Black Dragon."
The moment those words were uttered, the Corrupted Spirit on the 79th floor, who had been locked in a stalemate with Ais, suddenly abandoned the fight. It didn't retreat in fear. Instead, it roared with a manic, obsessive joy that chilled the blood of anyone who heard it.
"Finally... the Black Dragon King has arrived!" The Corrupted Spirit shrieked.
It transformed into a streak of emerald light and plunged headfirst into the newly opened crack leading to the 80th floor.
"Wait!" Ais cried out, struggling to regain her balance after being blasted back by the Corrupted Spirit's previous spell.
She moved to give chase, her sword raised to strike the Corrupted Spirit's retreating back.
"Ais, don't go over there!!!" Leon's voice boomed from above, amplified by his magic.
Ais paused mid-air, her wind swirling around her in a confused gust. She looked down at the dark, pulsating breach and realized the horror of the situation.
There were now two Level 10 monsters converging in the abyss. Even with her current buffs, she was an ant compared to their combined might. If she entered that hole, she would be surrounded and annihilated in seconds.
She looked back toward Leon, but she couldn't see him. Between them lay floors filled with thousands of high-level monsters that were now surging toward the 77th floor like a tidal wave.
"What on earth is happening?" She murmured, her golden eyes darting between the chaos above and the darkness below.
...
Leon, despite his confusion, understood the tactical necessity of the moment. "Ais, retreat! Get back to the upper platform now!"
He was currently submerged in a sea of nearly a thousand Level 7 and 8 monsters. It was a mystery where the Dungeon was pulling this much energy from, but it was clear that it was desperate.
What Leon and the gods did not yet know was the long-standing history of this specific Black Dragon. This Level 10 monster was the Dungeon's "hidden child," a project it had been cultivating for centuries in the silence of the 80th floor.
The Dungeon intended to eventually send this "King" to the surface to merge with the One-Eyed Black Dragon, creating an unstoppable god of destruction.
However, the Corrupted Spirit had discovered this secret long ago when both she and the hidden dragon were merely Level 9. Since then, the Corrupted Spirit had been obsessed with the black dragon king, wanting to devour and merge with it to complete her evolution.
The Dungeon, recognizing the Corrupted Spirit as a parasite that would steal its greatest weapon, had sealed the 80th floor entirely to keep her out.
Unable to breach the seal, the Corrupted Spirit had occupied the surrounding floors (75-79), absorbing the dissipating energy of the lower levels to grow into the Level 10 terror it was today.
The subterranean ecosystem of the lower floors had devolved into a silent, bitter war of attrition long before the Loki Familia ever set foot in the deep.
As the Level 10 Black Dragon gestured within the 80th floor, the Dungeon had been playing a dangerous game of shadows, secretly competing with the Corrupted Spirit for the vast reserves of energy flowing between the 76th and 79th floors.
The massive swarm of monsters currently besieging Leon was not a random occurrence, it represented the total sum of energy the Dungeon had painstakingly accumulated over the centuries.
Originally, this biological battery was intended to keep the Corrupted Spirit at bay or eventually be fed to the "King," but Leon's sudden appearance necessitated a change in strategy.
Even the lesser Black Dragon Leon had slain earlier was merely a pawn in the Dungeon's grand design—a high-level lure meant to distract the Corrupted Spirit and keep its hunger focused on the upper-deep layers.
However, the Dungeon's ancient plans could not keep pace with the anomalies of the present. Leon and his companions had grown at a rate that defied the logic of the Falna system, progressing from the 59th floor to the 80th in a mere matter of months. This pace forced the dungeon to abandon its long-term schemes and play its hand early.
...
Upon hearing Leon's sharp command, Ais did not hesitate. She abandoned her position at the breach and flew upward with the speed of a localized gale.
"I'll help you!" She shouted as she reached the 77th floor, seeing the staggering wall of monsters closing in on Leon.
Her sword hummed with the resonance of her wind, ready to carve a path through the sea of flesh.
"No need, Ais! Go back to the 75th floor and keep an eye on everyone!" Leon countered.
His voice was calm despite the pressure surrounding him. He appreciated her intent, but his tactical intuition warned him that the situation was fracturing.
"Something isn't right here! It's best to ensure the safety of the main group first!"
Ais hesitated, her eyes scanning the chaos. Seeing that Leon was not in any immediate danger—his movements still fluid and precise—she gave a firm nod.
She continued her ascent, noticing that the monsters did not attempt to intercept her. They seemed solely fixated on Leon, creating a localized cage that allowed her to pass through the ceiling of the 76th floor and return to the 75th floor.
Once there, she didn't stop to rest. She began a relentless killing spree, her blade flashing as she thinned the ranks of the monsters threatening Finn and the others.
While the battle raged above, Leon's consciousness remained tethered to the 80th floor via his Veins of Light. He watched with a strange, contemplative expression as the Corrupted Spirit abandoned its pursuit of Ais to dive into the molten hole.
Its obsession was singular: the Level 10 Black Dragon.
'That Corrupted Spirit has haunted the 79th floor for ages. Was it guarding the dragon, or was it a prisoner of its own hunger?'
He found it baffling that two new iterations of the Calamity had been manifested, especially one that touched the limit of Level 10.
He speculated that the Corrupted Spirit's long residency on the 79th floor was likely an extended ambush, a waiting game played against the hidden King of the 80th floor.
The reason it had never descended further was surely the work of the Dungeon itself. The Labyrinth clearly treasured this Level 10 monster, shielding it behind layers of bedrock and seals that the Corrupted Spirit couldn't breach.
The Corrupted Spirit had set its sights on the dragon's magic stone, sensing a power that could elevate its existence to godhood, but the Dungeon had secretly blocked its path.
Now that the seal was broken by the dragon's own roar, the "guest" had finally been invited to the feast.
One thing was certain in Leon's mind: he could absolutely not allow the Corrupted Spirit and the Black Dragon to reach a state of synchronization or alliance.
If they joined forces, the resulting disaster would be beyond the capacity of any mortal to stop. With the dragon's unique buffs and Leon himself pinned down by wave after wave of expendable monsters, the risk was astronomical.
"If things become truly hopeless, I'll have no choice but to go all out." Leon murmured to himself.
He knew that if the Level 10 dragon turned its attention toward the upper floors, Finn and his crew would be wiped out instantly.
Fels' magical artifacts were designed to combat fear, not a physical force that could reshape the floor's geography.
Only Ais, in her current enhanced state, stood a slim chance at surviving a direct exchange.
Leon knew he could end the siege around him in seconds if he chose to. It wouldn't require Haruhime's level boost or any amplification, it would simply require him to unleash his latent divine power. A single pulse of godhood would incinerate every monster on the floor, but it would also strip away his mask. He refused to expose his true nature to the world unless there was no other path to survival.