Floor 10,000—-
Kōichi woke up in a pile of leaves, rubbing his head.
"Man, I think it's about time I take a vacay. The Bahamas sound nice."
He looked around, and fire, destruction, and screams became evident. As he gathered himself, he saw Gakuto next to him, taking in the sights.
"Oh. You, ya big oaf."
Gakuto turned around. "Kōichi? When did you get down here?"
"Like, just now."
Gakuto pointed around. "Look at this mess, I hope the kids are okay…"
Kōichi scratched his head. "Probably our job to go find them. After all, this hellhole sounds like a slaughterhouse."
"Then let us move, Kōichi!"
They ran through the trees, searching for any sign of survivors, as feral roars could be heard nearby.
Along the path was a trail of blood, and the two followed it, coming across a scared rookie holding his arm and hiding behind a tree.
"Hey, kid," Gakuto called out. "You're safe. Can you tell us what happened here?"
"K—Kaidanchō! Oh, thank goodness!"
The boy quickly ran in between them. "The Hunters! They killed everyone! Their leader, she's going after the survivors! She—-!"
"Calm down, kid," Kōichi ordered. "What do you mean by 'everyone?'"
The boy pointed to a bush filled with bodies, and then a tree where various rookies had been hung. "There's more across the entire jungle. Anyone they spared got taken to that big mansion in the center."
He gestured to it.
Gakuto clenched a fist. "Damn it. We got here too late!"
Kōichi sighed. "Look. Let's just do a sweep of the jungle. Find any stragglers like this one. Once they're safe, we can storm in."
He narrowed his eyes. "Though I'm not particularly excited about getting my ass kicked by that woman again."
"Well, it's our job! Let's save who we can!"
Gakuto motioned to the young boy. "Come with us, kid! We'll keep you safe!"
"O—okay!"
They took off deeper into the jungle, as jungle beasts began prowling the area. Everywhere around they could see bodies, which were either ripped apart or covered in slime.
Gakuto merely shook his head, a grim look on his face. The group continued running forward, where they eventually bumped into Mizuki and Kaoru, the latter of whom was crying over a pile of bodies, while the former comforted her.
"I'm sorry…I'm so…so…sorry…!"
Once the guys approached, Kaoru lifted her head.
"The hell happened here?" Gakuto questioned.
"All my rookies! They've been…they've been killed!"
"They haven't been dead for long," Mizuki pointed out. "We unfortunately took far too long to arrive here than we should have."
Karou reached a hand out. "It's…too late to heal them."
"Then we must avenge them!" Gakuto declared. "We shall capture this Huntress and make her face justice for her crimes!"
"No Sunahara, no Natori, no Nyugawa," Kōichi pointed out. "Well, shit. I guess that's life."
As they all prepared to leave, the boy behind them immediately stopped them. "Kaidanchō, look out!"
A large white tiger burst through the trees, sending all of the Kaidanchō flying back. As the boy tried to run, the tiger swallowed him whole.
"No!" Gakuto exclaimed. "Damn it!"
Atop the tiger was Kagetō, who was surrounded by an army of armed hunters. The four Kaidanchō slowly got up as the tiger paced around them.
"The little huntress's errand boy," Kōichi scoffed. "You picked the wrong day, pal."
"Agreed!" Kaoru nodded.
Kagetō pointed a crossbow at the group. "The greatest Kaitansha in the world, hmm? The Huntress was right, you all are very disappointing."
Gakuto cracked his knuckles. "Enough talk! Jugen-Tōshi: Shakunetsu Kabuto Nage!"
He formed his helmet and tossed it at Kagetō, and the ensuing explosion knocked the hunter off the tiger.
"So, we're skipping the formalities. Good. Attack, Hunters! Attack!"
The first wave of hunters stepped forward and aimed their bows at the Kadianchō, but as they fired, Mizuki's body quickly moved.
"Jugen-Sōunsha: Dōryoku Kyūshū!"
With a surge of energy, the arrows quickly slowed down, allowing Mizuki to grab them one by one and send them flying back into their owners.
"Gah!"
"Ouch!"
"My arm!"
With even greater speed, she lunged and kicked them all to the ground, narrowly avoiding the white tiger's teeth.
Kagetō pointed to the Kaidanchō, and the tiger immediately charged at them, but Gakuto met it head-on, slamming his head into the tiger's.
"Is this thing made of steel?" Gakuto questioned. "Thing's got a helluva hard head!"
"She's a daughter of the Huntress," Kagetō explained. "Made specifically by her half-Jōi power."
"Jōi?" Gakuto recalled. "She's part Jōi?"
"What's a Jōi?" Kaoru wondered.
"Come and find out."
The tiger's claws slashed at Gakuto, who reformed his helmet and used it to block, before charging into the beast and tackling it through a wave of trees.
"Well," Kōichi noted. "There goes the muscle."
"Yes. And your lives as well."
From the trees, a legion of hunters emerged, jumping toward the others with blades in hand.
"Tsk. Jugen-Kōbisha: Fūin no Ami!"
A large black web emerged from Kōichi, trapping all of the hunters in place. As they struggled against their bindings, more hunters continued the attack, with axes, maces, and even javelins in their hands.
One stabbed at Kaoru, who ducked. "Hey! Watch my hair, you psycho!"
Before he could follow up, she touched his forehead. "Jugen-Kaiseisha: Shinkei Fūji!"
He immediately collapsed to the ground, unable to move. Another took his place, swinging his axe at Kaoru's head and nearly taking it off. "Ahh!"
Instinctively, she touched him, rendering him immobile as well. Behind her, Kōichi restrained more hunters in webs, while Mizuki confronted Kagetō.
"You deserve punishment," she declared. "This act will not be forgiven."
"Hush your mouth, girl. There is no punishment in the world of a hunter. There is only the strong, and the weak. You get what you deserve!"
He fired a barrage of arrows at her, but she dodged them all, kicking him in the face with a powerful back kick.
Kagetō shrugged it off, pulling out a whistle that emitted a deafening noise. As Mizuki stepped back, covering her ears, three large serpents slithered out of the bushes, surrounding the girl.
"This isn't optimal," she thought. "If he can summon beasts at will, surely my stamina will run out."
One of the serpents snapped at her, but she avoided and used her speed to kick it off balance. "I must end this fast."
The other two serpents bit at her repeatedly, their venomous fangs dripping with every bite. Mizuki flipped over one, while the other two grabbed her with their tails, wrapping around tightly.
Kōichi ensnared one with his net, allowing Mizuki to punch the other one repeatedly, dropping it to the ground.
"No thank you?" Kōichi remarked. "Tsk."
"Now is not the time," she shot back.
More hunters came out of the woodworks, and all three Kaidanchō dueled against them, dropping them one by one.
Meanwhile, deeper within the jungle, Gakuto and the White Tiger were busy clashing hard enough to knock down entire trees, with the tiger picking one up with its teeth and swinging it like a baseball bat.
"You ain't a nice kitty, are ya?"
Once the tree trunk came for his head, Gakuto headbutted it in two, before delivering an upward head smash into the tiger's jaw.
The tiger hissed at Gakuto, before running full speed at him, preparing to swallow him whole.
"So this is what we're doing, then? Come at me!"
As they prepared to strike each other, a powerful force crashed into the tiger, blinding Gakuto.
BOOM.
When Gakuto looked up, he noticed Atsushi's golem form towering over the tiger, which was now out cold. Atsushi exited the golem, which crumbled into pieces.
"Saving you at this age is a shame, Miyama," Atsushi commented. "How beneath you."
"I was alright!" Gakuto grumbled. "You interrupted a perfectly good bout!"
"Where are the others?"
"Back there. Fighting the Huntress's second in command."
"Then let's waste no time. My daughter and her allies are in trouble."
Base—-
Inside the mansion, Han watched as the group gathered, all getting into fighting stances, while Kohaku flew above, flames coating her wings.
"We got this, guys!" Zaria assured. "Let's kick her ass and drag her to Mr. Nyugawa!"
"You're a funny one, girl," Kohau chuckled.
Right before she swooped down, claws clashing with Zaria's blade. As the two exchanged blows, Kohaku pushed Zaria back with a powerful downward slash.
"Jugen-Mahōshi: Mujin no Yoru no Mikazuki!"
A large moon crest blade formed, and Rei swung it toward Kohaku's wings, but the Huntress used her claws to block, the blade scraping off. Shino fired vectors from her fingers, but Kohaku evaded.
"Nothing's working!" Shino groaned.
"Ugh, hold on, everyone!" Nonoka shouted. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Noroi no Sukiru Kyōka!"
〈200% Buff to *All* Party Members.〉
All of their bodies began to glow. "Now! Hit that bitch hard!"
Sōshin grabbed Zaria and spun her around rapidly, tossing her at Kohaku. Using her blades, she managed to slice off her right arm and wing.
"Got her!"
Kohaku looked at the wound before regenerating.
"Or not…"
"We need to slow her regeneration down long enough to knock her out!" Rika pointed out. "What do we do?"
"Just keep applying pressure!" Nonoka told her. "She can't go six against one for long!"
"Try me."
Kohaku appeared behind Nonoka, who ducked, touching her body. "Jugen-Sōunsha: Ningensei Tōki!"
〈Humanity *Discarded.* Buff Timer: 1:30〉
She began to pummel Kohaku, who shook off the attacks. Rei added to the fray by firing moon beams, which Kohaku stopped with one hand.
"You can make sigils, right?" Shino asked Rika.
Rika nodded.
"Can't you make one that slows down regeneration?"
"I don't know! I've only made a few! Like Health Boost, Vitality, and Siphon!"
"Why don't you give it a shot?"
"Now?"
"No time like the present!"
Kohaku fired flames from her wings at the two girls, but Sōshin sped them to safety. "Don't worry, Big Sis Rika and new Friend! I will keep you safe!"
"Phew, thanks, Sōshin!"
Rika looked at her hands. "Okay. I can make two more. Focus, Rika. Something that can affect regeneration…"
She clasped her hands together.
〈Sigil Created: Life Steal. Description: Allows the *user* to steal lifeforce from an intended target. Charges: *3*〉
"No, that's not it!"
"That can still work!" Shino insisted. "Drain her bit by bit!"
Kohaku and Nonoka traded blows, with the Huntress delivering a powerful kick to Nonoka's chest, causing her to slide back and shift to normal.
Zaria caught her.
"You good?"
"You're asking?"
"Well, you're part of the team, no?"
Nonoka got up, clutching her chest. "Well, since I almost died for you bastards, I guess."
She leaned against a pillar. "Can't move for a while, though. We've gotta finish this."
Zaria's vision began to blur. "Yeah, I agree."
On the other side of the room, Rei blasted Kohaku with a barrage of moonlight blasts, while Shino followed with fingertip vectors.
Sōshin carried Rika and sped off as she crushed the Sigil.
〈Sigil: Activated.〉
She pointed it at Kohaku, and a ray of light blasted her, dropping her to one knee.
"Madness!" she hissed.
Zaria threw a sword into her shoulder, impaling it. Once Kohaku ripped it out, she noticed the wound began to heal much more slowly.
"Her defense is dropping!" Zaria realized. "Now's our chance!"
Zaria quickly rushed Kohaku, attacking the Huntress with an array of slashes, with Rei assaulting the other side with her moon blades.
"I tire of this."
With a powerful flap of her wings, Kohaku sent both of them flying back, with the resulting force shattering every pillar in the room.
The rubble trapped the rookies underneath, and Kohaku turned to Han. "Now, my child. Come and show your *mother* your loyalty."
Han slowly advanced, forming his watches.
"Han…please…" Zaria begged. "Don't do this to your friends…"
He continued walking, stopping next to Kohaku, who pointed at Zaria. "Eliminate Takeno first. I grow tired of her mouth."
A jagged wire formed from Han's wrist, and he prepared to strike Zaria with it.
"Han…"
As he fired it at Zaria, a golden arrow appeared, splitting it in two. All the kids, and even Kohaku, gasped as the golden light filled the room, almost blinding.
"Kids done well. Kids prove worth."
In the blink of an eye, Omariro appeared, clad in black and gold armor. Zaria's eyes widened. "Sir!"
Omariro landed in front of Kohaku. "Woman took student. Woman hurt students. Woman played game. Woman gets played."
His eyes began to glow golden.
"Come, woman. Come."
——-