Episode 360: The Jet Black Hole
A nature preserve in southern Canberra.
A massive, white dome suddenly appears in the lush landscape. It is more massive and far larger than the Tokyo Dome.
Yuma, looking down from the sky with Akito, held his breath at the dome, which he found strangely eerie.
“That’s the entrance to the Black Dungeon—’Tartarus’. Rui is waiting inside. We’ll descend immediately.”
“Yeah.”
Gae Bolg, carrying the two, slowly descended and landed in front of the dome.
They approached the automatic door at the entrance, but it seemed the power was already out. Akito manually opened the door and strode inside.
Yuma followed. They walked down a pure white corridor to a thick iron door.
Akito pushed the door open with a “Hmph!” and stepped inside. Yuma followed, and a magnificent sight unfolded before him.
“This is…”
He peered down from the deck. A massive hole yawned open.
Its size was among the largest of any dungeon he had seen. More than anything, he felt an indescribable pressure.
“Yuma!”
Rui, standing before the hole, looked up and shouted.
He immediately ran towards them, climbing the stairs. His shoulders heaved as he grabbed Yuma’s arm with a beaming smile.
“I’m so glad… I’m really glad. You’re safe. I was so worried.”
“Yeah, sorry. It took me a while to get here. I wish I could have come sooner.”
“No, it’s enough that you came. Akito kept saying that if this was the destination, you would definitely come, but I was skeptical.”
Yuma looked at Akito, who was standing beside him. Akito averted his gaze and scratched his cheek.
“You believed I would come… Thanks, Akito.”
“Ugh, that’s disgusting. This is the destination, so it’s obvious. If you hadn’t come, I would have punched you!”
Akito crossed his arms and spouted nonsense while looking in the opposite direction. Yuma and Rui exchanged wry smiles.
“Still, how did you know I was there?”
At Yuma’s words, Akito snorted.
“You were emitting so much Magical Power that it was obvious! I knew it was you right away. I left Rui behind and flew off.”
“Ah, I see.”
Yuma nodded in understanding. Among the three, Akito had the highest Magical Power detection ability. It was amazing that he could sense it from such a distance, but thanks to that, they were able to reunite.
“So… what about the others who were on the Submarine? What about Alicia-san?”
Rui smiled at Yuma’s concern.
“They’re fine. Alicia-san and the captain are safe, and most of the crew were rescued. It’s all thanks to you protecting the Submarine with your life.”
“Even if you say that… I really don’t remember anything. Akito also says I protected the Submarine, but I don’t feel it at all.”
“Is that so?”
Rui replied, sounding surprised.
“When the Submarine was about to break, you instantly underwent Liquid Metallization and covered the damaged inner and outer hulls. Thanks to that, the flooding stopped, and we managed to reach the shore.”
Even after hearing the story, Yuma couldn’t remember anything.
“The crew members are being protected at a facility in Sydney. That’s where we learned that the Seekers had started a rebellion and the government had collapsed.”
“I see… Well, I’m glad everyone is safe for now. All that’s left is to conquer this ‘Black Dungeon’.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Akito, Yuma, and Rui peered down into the large hole from the deck.
A jet-black hole that seemed to exude a dark miasma. In order to defeat the Yellow King, they had to conquer this place and become stronger themselves.
Yuma had heard that from Rui and the others, and he felt the same way.
–It reminds me of the ‘Black Dungeon’ in Yokohama. It was because I entered that place that I was able to gain so much. This time too, I will definitely…
With determination in his heart, Yuma descended the stairs next to the deck.
“By the way, Yuma, how is your body? You seem to be much better than before…”
Asked by Rui, who was walking behind him, Yuma replied, “Yeah, well…”
“It’s not 100% yet, but I have no problem walking normally. All that’s left is to be able to fight in ‘Metal Armor’.”
“What!?”
Akito furrowed his brow.
“You can’t fight in that form? Then, how are you going to fight!?”
“I can use magic. And I can also turn into a Slime, so I can still fight.”
“Is that so… Well, we’ll support you, so maybe it’ll work out…”
Akito looked somewhat uneasy but seemed convinced. Rui overtook the two, who were talking, and jogged to where the luggage was.
“Anyway, I’ve prepared what we need to conquer the Dungeon. Most of it is food, though. I brought this too.”
Rui took out a long, rod-like object from the luggage and threw it to Yuma.
Yuma caught it with a slight fluster, “Whoa,” but he immediately knew what it was. It fit snugly in his hand, his own personal weapon.
“The Pickel! You brought it?”
“It would be lonely without it, right?”
Yuma grinned and said, “Yeah,” putting the Pickel on his shoulder.
Akito, seeing that, rubbed his nose and opened his mouth.
“Now we’re ready. For now, the goal is to defeat the Monsters in this Dungeon and power up, but there’s a limit to the food. We’ll prioritize defeating the Lord of the Labyrinth at the lowest level.”
“Do you know what kind of Monsters are there?”
When Yuma asked, Akito chuckled.
“I don’t know, I don’t know. It’s the lowest level of Tartarus, which no one has ever been to, okay? There’s no way I’d know what kind of Monsters are there. But it’s such a deep Dungeon. It must have amazing Monsters. If we defeat them, we might get powerful Demon Ore, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Yuma’s Water Magic can secure drinking water, but I don’t want to stay in a place like this for long. Let’s conquer it quickly and beat up the Yellow King in America!”
Carrying their luggage with the fired-up Akito, they stood before the stairs leading into the large hole. A sound like the whistling of wind could be heard from the Jet Black Hole.
Yuma swallowed hard.
Unless he conquered this place and obtained the power to surpass the Yellow King, he couldn’t move forward. Yuma steeled himself once more.
“Alright, let’s go.”
With Akito in the lead, Yuma and the others descended the endless stairs, one step at a time.