"Really?!"
Shio's voice was filled with excitement and hope.
He certainly didn't want Arima to leave them in just a few years.
"..."
Arima found it hard to believe Byakuya's words.
Solving the lifespan problem was equivalent to controlling life and death.
Byakuya's strength was certainly incredible, but controlling life and death seemed impossible...
Compared to Arima, Eto was more optimistic.
She knew Byakuya far better than any of them. In her experience, there hadn't been anything Byakuya claimed he could do but couldn't.
If Byakuya was saying this, he could probably do it. His serious expression suggested this wasn't a joke.
"Of course it's true. Beneath Ward 24 lies an underground world, and down there is an Underground King—the One-Eyed King who appeared in the Washuu Clan over a century ago. The Dragon's body he left behind is the key to solving the half-human lifespan problem."
Byakuya directly revealed the existence of Dragon.
"Wait! Byakuya, that's too much information at once—underground world, Underground King, Dragon... what's all this about?"
Marude's head was spinning.
None of it made any sense to him.
It wasn't just Marude—almost no one else understood what Byakuya was talking about, except for Eto, Arima, and a few others who had some context.
"My apologies. I should explain properly first."
Byakuya then gave a detailed account of the underground world, the Underground King, and Dragon's history.
...
"Now I understand. No wonder Bureau Director Washuu and the General Chairman were so obsessed with the One-Eyed Owl. Not only did they fear a repeat of what happened a century ago, but they also wanted to cultivate such a half-ghoul to help the Washuu Clan blend perfectly into human society..."
Marude nodded slowly.
"Correct."
Eto's confirmation as the actual One-Eyed Owl was quite convincing.
"But it's been over a hundred years. Is the One-Eyed King really still alive?"
Ui asked doubtfully.
"He did die of old age. But his Dragon body remains, and there's still a chance to awaken it."
Byakuya replied. "Once Dragon is awakened, the toxins it releases can restore half-human lifespans to normal human levels."
"If that's the case, let's go wake it up right away!"
Shio looked eager to get started.
Rikai and Yusa were also ready to go.
"That kind of thing surely won't be easy. We shouldn't be too hasty."
Ui cautioned.
"Actually, it's manageable. We can go right now."
Byakuya wanted to test whether he could currently awaken Dragon in the underground world.
"Is that so? Alright then..."
Ui nodded awkwardly.
Then Byakuya's left Rinnegan suddenly transformed into the Mangekyo Sharingan—Kamui.
Seeing this, Marude and the others showed slight alarm.
At first glance, it almost looked like a kakugan. But on closer inspection, it was different—kakugan didn't have that kind of pattern...
"By the way, Byakuya, are you actually human or ghoul...?"
Marude couldn't help but ask.
"Human."
Byakuya answered truthfully, without any mystery.
"How should I put this... It's not that I don't want to believe you, but I really can't imagine you being the same kind of human as us."
Marude sighed.
Same species, yet such an enormous gap?
"Be that as it may, I am indeed human."
Byakuya smiled wryly. He couldn't explain too much.
"Let's set that aside for now. Arima, all of you, prepare to come with me."
As he spoke, Byakuya used Kamui to open a spatial portal in front of him.
"Just step through here."
Under Byakuya's guidance, Arima stepped through the portal first.
They watched Arima vanish into thin air, their faces showing astonishment.
The spatial portal was actually invisible to the naked eye—at most, one could vaguely sense a distortion in space.
Though Shio and the others were puzzled, their trust in Byakuya led them to follow Arima through the portal.
"The rest of you shouldn't come. It's too dangerous there—ordinary humans exposed to the Dragon toxins will be transformed into ghouls."
Byakuya told the others. "And Eto, try to get along with everyone while I'm gone."
"What?! Humans can become ghouls?!"
Marude was shocked.
"No problem."
Eto replied with a smile.
"That's right. I won't explain now—I need to go."
With that, Byakuya entered the spatial portal.
...
Arima, Hairu, Shio, Rikai, and Yusa found themselves transferred into the Kamui dimension one after another.
They were immediately awed by this alternate space.
"...Where is this? Is this still Japan?"
"It looks like another world entirely. Could this be the underground world Byakuya-san mentioned?"
"Maybe. I can't believe we got here instantly."
As they marveled at their surroundings, Byakuya appeared.
"This isn't the underground world yet. This is my personal dimension."
Byakuya corrected them. "Enough talk—I'll take you to the underground world now."
He immediately opened another spatial portal within the Kamui dimension and transported everyone to the underground world together.
...
"This is the true underground world. Those bizarre, massive limbs are Dragon's body."
Byakuya pointed ahead.
"So this really is the bottom of Ward 24? We've been conducting operations in Ward 24 all this time and never discovered another world down here..."
Hairu couldn't help but exclaim.
"Are we really going to awaken it...?"
Arima gazed at the Dragon's body—so vast its edges couldn't be seen—and asked Byakuya.
He didn't doubt Byakuya's ability to awaken the One-Eyed King (the Underground King). His concern was what would happen once the King was awakened...
...
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