Asgard—-
Fenrir transported the group back to Asgard, where the stunned gods were waiting for them.
"You actually freed the wolf," Odin realized.
"They surely did, Father," Loki replied. "It seems no task is too great for our legend here."
"Well," Odin pointed out. "He's got one more test before we can truly give him that praise. Come inside and gather your bearings."
Fenrir lowered the three down, and they followed Odin inside. Once they were in, Odin pointed to Baldur. "Alright, son. Once the others finish their respective trials, you shall guide Nyugawa through Helheim itself."
Baldur suddenly clutched his head, his face turning pale. "Father, it appears some…complications have occurred with the other trials."
"What do you mean?"
"It's unclear. I can't get a read on the other admins."
Odin put a finger to his chin. "Could it be…? No. Impossible. Even she could not—-"
He shook his head. "Nevermind. Quick, Baldur. Lead Nyugawa and his chosen companion to Hel."
Yuka got up, coughing. "I'm not too knowledgeable about your myths, but I hope this *challenge* of yours won't take up too much of our time."
"It won't," Baldur assured. "As long as you don't fall victim to Hel."
"Wait!" Emeru begged. "Don't leave me here—-!"
With a tap of Odin's spear, the three disappeared, leaving Sōshin and Emeru alone with the gods. Sōshin picked Emeru up.
"Hey! Wanna be friends?"
"No! Put me down!"
"Aww! You're a cute friend!"
"Ugh! Go away!"
Helheim—-
The trio landed in a cold wasteland coated with mist and snow, with many broken fortress-like structures all around them.
"Watch your step," Baldur warned. "It's easy to get trapped here. My nephew doesn't really like…outsiders."
"Nephew?" Yuka questioned.
"Yes. Hel. She's Loki's daughter."
"So first, a wolf. And then, a death goddess? The father must be a strange one indeed."
"We…don't talk about that."
"I can see why."
Baldur began following a faint path in the middle, while the fog slowly parted as he walked. Omariro and Yuka did the same, and the temperature dropped even further.
The whispers of souls could be heard all around, and so could the sound of sobbing.
"Pay them no mind," Baldur informed them. "They've been here too long."
A frigid wind swept past, coating Yuka's arm in ice. With a touch of her hand, it shattered and disappeared. "Well. Let's not suffer the same fate."
As they continued walking, a large, visibly broken castle appeared at the end of the path. Shadows emerged from the door leading into the castle.
Baldur pointed to it. "I will meet you inside. Pass through the gate. Then, if you survive, the reward shall be yours."
In the midst of the fog, Baldur vanished. Omariro ignored it and kept moving. "Come, woman. Gate waits."
"You can use my name, you know."
He approached the gate, which emitted a dangerously unstable aura. Yuka caught up to him, briefly reaching out to touch it.
"Ouch," she commented. "Painful."
"Gate only way."
Without another word, he hopped into the gate. Yuka sighed before following him in.
And then, the world around them disappeared.
???—-
〈Rule: Do Not Let *Death* Claim You.〉
Omariro landed on the streets of Tokyo, noticing they were peaceful and pristine. Nearby, a young woman with white hair was busy selling cookies from a stall.
"Cookies! Cheap cookies here!"
Omariro immediately recognized her. "Ichika…?"
As soon as she noticed him, she quickly rushed over, wrapping him in a hug. "There you are, Master! You've been gone so long, you had me worried!"
"Why is girl here…?"
She looked at him with a confused expression before laughing. "Oh, Master, you're so funny! Here, do you want some cookies? I made them, just for you!"
She handed him a tray of cookies, and he stared at them before shifting his attention back to her.
"Girl not real."
She giggled. "Again with the jokes! What am I, a toy? Hehe! Here. What you need is some rest and relaxation. Follow me! Everyone else is waiting!"
She took his arm and led him away, and before he even knew it, Omariro had ended up on the beach.
"Hmm…"
Various young adults in swimwear lounged in the water, while Ichika waved Omariro over to where a table was set up. "Here, Master! This way!"
As Omariro approached the table, the corners of his vision slowly began to fill with black mist. Once he reached Ichika, she pulled a chair out for him. "Happy anniversary!"
"Girl unclear."
"Silly Master, it's the 10th anniversary of you taking us in! We decided to throw you a beach party as a sign of our appreciation!"
Suddenly, the group all emerged from the water: Kaito, Naoya, Daigo, Mirei, Rin, Shion, and Itsuki.
"It's great to see you in good health, Master," Itsuki greeted. "How was your journey?"
"Hmm?"
"The journey where you went to slay the Endless. All the dungeons disappeared, and now we don't have any more reason to become Kaitansha."
Rin leaned up to Omariro, nestling her head on his shoulder. "That gives us plenty of free time to do whatever you want, Sir."
The mist slowly expanded through Omariro's vision.
Itsuki picked up a cake and placed it on the table, which had ten candles on it. All at once, the students began to sing. "Happy anniversary to you! Happy anniversary to you!"
Omariro tried to get up, but his body was stuck to the chair. Rin began to rub his shoulders as he closed his eyes, thinking.
"No more dungeon…"
Meanwhile—-
Yuka woke up in her mansion's bedroom, quickly jumping up and forming an ice eagle. "Omariro? Hello?"
No one responded.
"How peculiar. I'm back home."
She exited the room, heading downstairs. To her shock, she found an older couple waiting for her, offering her flowers.
"Hey, dear!" the woman greeted. "It's good to see you doing well!"
Yuka narrowed her eyes as she reached the end of the steps. "Mother. Father. Why are you here?"
Her father held up the flowers. "We decided to visit our babygirl! Can't parents greet their children every once in a while?"
Yuka gritted her teeth. "You two are no parents. Leave. I'm busy."
They both hung their heads.
"Please, dear," her mother begged. "Let us get a chance to explain ourselves—-!"
Yuka held up a hand. "You chose this vile man over me, Mother. There is nothing left to explain."
Her father's face turned red. "I know we haven't been on the…best of terms, but we can be a family again! You and us! Wouldn't you like that? No more collecting students in an attempt to fill the void in your heart?"
Before Yuka could respond, the scene around them began to shift.
"We want to show you something, daughter," her mom announced.
Yuka blinked a few times, and they were suddenly in an entirely different house, one with pictures of a young Yuka decorating the walls.
As Yuka took it in, the black mist began to creep into her vision. "What is all this?"
"It's what we look at every day," her father explained. "Our pride and joy."
"No…this is a lie…"
"It isn't. You can come home, Yuka…"
Yuka's head began to ache.
"…you can come home."
Yuka collapsed, and both of her parents caught her, taking their daughter's hands in their own.
Once Yuka regained consciousness, she noticed she was at a playground, and her parents were sitting on a bench alongside her. They pointed to the slide, where a tiny Yuka was playing.
"Do you remember these times?" her mother asked. "Back when you were so little…"
A younger version of her mother handed a stick of cotton candy to her, and the little girl took it, smiling.
"You could have had such an easy life…but you chose to become a Kaitansha and risk death every single time you set foot into a dungeon. Why not come back with us, Yuka?"
Her father nodded. "Come back with us…"
Yuka remained still as her parents wrapped their arms around her, soaking in the sunlight.
"…"
A flash of a memory came to her. One of a belt, blood, and her own screams, and just as the black mist shrouded her entire vision, she stood up.
"What are you—-?"
"Jugen-Mahōshi: Shimotsuki Raisan no Washi!"
A large ice eagle slammed into the bench, causing Yuka's parents to shriek and disappear.
"I know what my life is," Yuka declared. "I won't be fooled by lies so easily."
Shadows formed from the ground, creating large revenants of death that chased Yuka as she formed another ice eagle, which carried the revenants into the air before shattering.
"Time to find Omariro."
She fled the playground, heading for the streets.
Beach—-
On the beach, Omariro attempted to stand up as all of his students sat at the table, taking a slice of cake.
"Want some, Master?" Mirei offered.
Omariro didn't speak.
"I think he's mad again…" Kaito murmured. "Someone angered the Master…"
Ichika slapped his arm. "Don't say that! He's happy! Of course he's happy! Look at him!"
She pushed over a slice of cake. "Here. We love you, Master!"
The other repeated the same words. "We love you, Master!"
Omariro picked up the cake, eying it intensely. The students eagerly watched as he brought it closer to his face.
"Students…"
His eyes passed over each one of them.
"Are gone."
He chucked the cake into the water, and his students all hissed, their bodies shifting and becoming dark revenants.
"Kill him!"
The black mist disappeared from Omariro's eyes, and he clapped his hands together. "Obliterate!"
The table, the chair he was stuck to, and half of the revenants disappeared. The others lunged at him, but he teleported away, sending the nearest one flying with his staff.
Omariro got up, watching as more revenants surrounded him. A revenant wearing the face of Itsuki tried to grab at him.
"Don't you want to join us…Master?"
Omariro dodged as it tried to lunge at him, forming his bow and piercing its body. "Voices fake."
As more and more formed, Omariro erased a wave of them before hearing a voice calling to him in the distance.
"Omariro! Over here!"
At the end of the beach was Yuka, who pointed to an exit gate across the waves. "There's our exit!"
She ran over to him, blasting the revenants chasing her from behind as Omariro quickly teleported next to her.
"We need to cross the waters!" she pointed.
Omariro grabbed her and quickly teleported across the ocean, but as he attempted to reach the gate, dozens of remnants grabbed onto the duo's legs with all their strength.
Yuka lashed at them with her ice spider legs. "Unhand us!"
With every remnant that disappeared, more took their places, pulling the two toward the water, which had now turned black.
"It's…not enough!"
As they got closer to the water, a shadowy portal opened.
"Not just yet."
WHOOSH.
With a streak of black and purple, all of the remnants got shredded into pieces, allowing Omariro and Yuka the window to escape.
As they went through the gate, Omariro briefly caught a glimpse of a glowing purple eye staring at him.
And then…
〈Well. It seems you've survived.〉
The two appeared inside a flesh-like throne room, where Baldur and a woman with half her skin missing were waiting.
"This is my nephew, Hel," Baldur introduced. "She isn't usually fond of introductions."
Hel stepped forward, examining the two. "Not many can resist the temptation. You are Omariro Nyugawa, I presume?"
"Woman correct."
"And the lady next to you?"
"A known woman."
"What he means to say is we're comrades," Yuka corrected. "Now that we've completed these trials, what's next?"
"Take this sigil."
She gave them a glowing black sigil. "It will guide you to the lower floors. That is where you wish to go, correct?"
"Yes," Omariro confirmed.
"Then it shall be so—-"
A dark flame rose from the center of the room, and both Baldur and Hel's eyes widened.
"No…"
"What is it?" Yuka questioned.
The flame showed an image of Asgard, laid in ruin, with the bodies of various gods scattered across.
"Asgard is in trouble!" Baldur exclaimed. "That Huntress, what has she done?"
"Sōshin," Omariro realized. "Boy in trouble."
"Then we must hurry, quickly!"
With a tap of his staff, Omariro teleported them all away.
——