Fortunately, the situation in the abyss took an unexpected turn. The Corrupted Spirit did not offer an alliance to the dragon. Instead, upon entering the 80th level, it launched a fierce, predatory attack.
Massive magical strikes of every attribute—fire, ice, and raw kinetic energy—were unleashed with a ferocity that far surpassed its fight with Ais. It was as if it was trying to tenderize its prey before the final consumption.
The Level 10 Black Dragon, however, was not one to be bullied. It let out a roar that shattered the incoming spells and swept its massive tail across the cavern. The impact caught the flying Corrupted Spirit mid-incantation, blasting its weakened frame across the chamber and slamming it into the cliffside.
Having established its dominance, the Black Dragon showed no interest in pursuing the wounded Corrupted Spirit. With a thunderous flap of its wings, it ignored it and began to soar upward.
A dark blur rushed through several floors, arriving at the 77th floor where Leon was stationed.
Leon, locked in the heat of combat, noticed the shift immediately. His attention snapped toward the shadow—the Level 10 Black Dragon that had finally emerged from the 80th floor.
In that fleeting moment, he saw the dragon's scarlet eyes tracking him as well. Whether it was his imagination or instinct, he sensed a flicker of wariness in those red pupils.
However, it was only a glance. The black dragon vanished in the next second, moving with a speed that defied its massive frame.
Leon's pupils shrank. He surged forward to intercept it, but he was immediately walled off by a relentless tide of monsters. Even as he unleashed every ounce of his strength—short of his divine power—he could not break free from the encirclement.
These monsters hadn't just spawned, they had appeared specifically to pin him down and keep him away from the stairs.
Yet, Leon wasn't truly worried. Ais was still positioned above.
To Leon's surprise, the Black Dragon ignored Ais and the rest of the vanguard. Reaching the 75th floor, it used sheer brute force to smash through the ceiling, bypassing the stairs entirely and continuing its frantic ascent to the next level. Even Ais, with her enhanced speed, didn't have time to stop it.
Furthermore, as soon as it transitioned from the 75th to the 74th floor, the jagged hole in the ceiling healed in the blink of an eye.
"The Black Dragon has moved to the next level!" Finn shouted, his voice thick with shock as he watched the ceiling knit itself back together.
"The Dungeon itself has made a move!"
Finn's eyes narrowed at the abnormal recovery speed of the architecture. It was a mirror image of the other black dragon's escape on the 59th floor—a deliberate act of protection by the sentient dungeon.
Ais rushed forward, Desperate howling with immense power as she struck the ceiling, but the stone remained unyielding.
It was the law of the deep floors: starting from the 65th floor, monsters could breach the floors to move freely, but adventurers were bound by the dungeon's design. They were forced to play by the rules and search for the key.
"Leon! The Black Dragon has gone up!"
Unable to break the ceiling, Ais flew back down to the 77th floor as quickly as possible, shouting to Leon through the swarm of monsters.
"Don't worry about it, Ais! Go deal with the Corrupted Spirit!" Leon shouted, his voice steady despite being buried under a mountain of enemies.
Through Veins of Light, he had already seen the dragon's trajectory. He didn't panic, instead issuing a new order.
Ais was taken aback. The dragon looked as if it intended to rush all the way to the surface. If it reached the surface, the consequences would be catastrophic.
However, seeing Leon's absolute confidence, she chose to trust him.
With a powerful flap of her wings, she dove toward the 80th floor to hunt the Corrupted Spirit.
Meanwhile, within the crushing weight of the encirclement, Leon whispered a silent instruction to his familiar, "Ellie, leave one clone with Hestia. Go to June, merge, and temporarily hold off the Black Dragon. Go."
—
Above ground, within the dim light of the underground altar, the gods watched the dragon's ascent with growing dread.
They had seen the dungeon intervene to block Ais's pursuit. The gravity of the situation was clear: if that monster broke through to the surface, Orario would be erased from the map.
"What is the Sword Princess doing? Why is she abandoning the chase to go after the Corrupted Spirit?" One god questioned.
"It must be Leon's order. Look at her reaction, she only turned back after he spoke to her."
"What is Leon thinking? Is he just going to let the dragon go?"
The deities argued fervently, their eyes glued to the magical projection.
Suddenly, the hair ornament nestled in Hestia's hair began to glow with a brilliant, ethereal light. A tiny, luminous figure flew out, manifesting in front of Hestia's startled face.
It was Ellie, the elemental fairy.
The surrounding gods gasped, drawn to the sudden appearance of a being they had never seen before. A few stepped forward to question Hestia, but she was already locked in communication with Ellie.
"Eh? Ellie? What brings you out now?" Hestia asked, a small smile appearing on her lips as she reached out.
Ellie hummed, enjoying the attention. However, in the next heartbeat, she tilted her head, looking deep into Hestia's eyes, conveying a message.
Hestia was taken aback for a brief second. Then, she smiled and nodded firmly. "Go, Ellie."
Upon receiving Hestia's response, Ellie offered a small nod. With a flicker of her power, she created a miniature clone that attached itself to Hestia's hair ornament before her main form dissolved into a brilliant streak of light and vanished.
"Hestia, where did Ellie go?" Hephaestus asked, her eyes searching the empty space where the fairy had been.
Hephaestus was one of the few who wasn't shocked by Ellie's existence. Like everyone else who shared a close bond with Leon, she carried a shard of the fairy—a protective clone that acted as a silent guardian.
Leon's emergency command had been issued to the two elemental fairies at his disposal: Ellie, the fairy of light, and June, the fairy of darkness.
Demeter, standing nearby, leaned in with a look of intense curiosity.
Hestia didn't keep her fellow deities in suspense and stated plainly, "Leon sent Ellie and June to intercept the Black Dragon."
Hephaestus's voice was tinged with concern. "Can they actually manage that?That monster is Level 10. Ellie and June are only Level 9, aren't they?"
She knew their strength was formidable, but stopping a Level 10 disaster—especially one protected by the Dungeon's "buffs"—was a tall order for two fairies.
However, the surrounding gods interpreted the conversation quite differently. A massive uproar erupted as the deities processed what they had just overheard.
"Wait, what did you just say?"
"Who are 'Ellie' and 'June'?"
"Is Ellie that little being from a moment ago? You're telling me that tiny thing is Level 9?!"
"And there's another one? What exactly is going on here?"
"Hestia! Hephaestus! You two better start explaining yourselves right now!"
As the gods descended into a barrage of frantic questions, the two elemental fairies were already moving. Utilizing their unique abilities, Ellie and June teleported their true forms to the 50th floor, manifesting through the clones attached to Lyra.
***
New Book
One Piece: Shinigami Template
MC has a Bleach status panel, where he can upgrade Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, Kidō and also unlock Zanpakuto, Shunko, etc and even acquire Bleach world items. The skills consume stamina, as he has no Reiryoku.