Chapter 42: 42. The Final Floor (1)
The Floor 10 portal dropped them into a cathedral of violence.
The arena was a perfect circle of black obsidian, its surface polished to a mirror sheen that reflected the swirling veil above. The ceiling opened to a void of churning mist... silver and grey, shot through with veins of darker something that moved like living things. The veil here was not gas or fog but nearly liquid, dense enough that Nathan felt it pressing against his skin, cold and faintly electric.
At the center stood the Veil Tyrant... twenty feet tall, a colossus of silver light and shadow. It had two faces (one facing each party) and four arms, each with a different
weapon: a fiery sword, a mist spear, a star-like hammer, and a chain dripping molten silver. It breathed, and the veil breathed with it.
[Ding! Floor 10: Final Chamber.]
[Each party: choose two combatants. Others in support zones.]
[Defeat the Tyrant before party vs party combat.]
Support zones appeared at the arena’s edges... raised platforms with barriers. Garrett and Dillon headed to theirs without hesitation. On the far side, Tyler and Reid scrambled into theirs, visibly relieved.
Derek Stone stepped forward, his Salamander wreathing him in heat. "Kade. You and me."
Marcus Kade nodded. He hadn’t drawn his greatsword yet. He watched Nathan.
"Your turn, Cross," Derek called. "Who’s it gonna be? The Knight-bunny and the ice princess? Or are you actually going to fight? You’re not that foolish right?"
Nathan stepped forward. Beside him, Elise moved, her Frost Golem at her back.
"That’s my answer," Nathan said.
Derek stared, then laughed. "You? An F-Grade Archer with a bunny summon? Against Kade?" He shook his head. "You arrogant prick. I thought you’d send Winterhart and that Samurai. But you’re coming yourself? This’ll be easier than I thought."
Nathan didn’t respond. He ran calculations... the Tyrant’s reach, timing, attack gaps. Mirko shifted to humanoid form beside him, sword gleaming, [Impenetrable Fortress] humming within.
On his shoulder, small and black, Kuro sat motionless. Her white markings caught the light. Her eyes tracked everything.
Marcus Kade raised a hand.
"Hold up."
The Tyrant paused. Kade turned to Nathan, his face unreadable. "I’ve been climbing eight years. Seen a lot of Climbers. Most are nothing. You’re not. That Knight-bunny is special... humanoid. Rare." He nodded toward Mirko. "Sell her. Name your price. Derek’s father will pay. You walk away rich. No more climbing, no more risk."
Derek’s confusion turned smug. "Kade’s right. My family will pay. Sell the bunny. Go back to being summonless. It’s what you were meant to be."
Nathan felt Mirko’s trust through the link. She didn’t speak. She knew his answer.
"She’s not for sale," Nathan said. "And neither am I."
Kade held his gaze, then shrugged. "Your funeral, boy"
He raised his hand and a summoning circle erupted below and a figure dark brown and massive emerged from it. From it came a C-Grade Steel Fang Bear, its fur bristling with metal spines, claws like blades, eyes molten gold. It roared, and the veil shuddered.
"Meet Ursa," Kade said. "We’ve climbed together for eight years." He drew his greatsword... a dark iron that drank the silver light. "Let’s see what your bunny knight is made of."
The Veil Tyrant activated and all four arms struck at once.
Sword swept toward Nathan’s party. Spear thrust at Kade. Hammer rose, charging light. Chain lashed in a wide spiral.
Nathan’s [Hunter’s Insight] mapped everything.
"Mirko, left... sword. Elise, chain on your flank. Hammer charges... eight seconds."
Mirko moved. [Quick Reflex] let her pivot under the sword, fire singeing her hair. She drove her shoulder into the sword-wrist with [Headbutt] 10% crit triggered, and the Tyrant’s grip faltered.
Elise layered a [Mana Shield] around Mirko, redirecting the chain. "[Glacial Lance]"... her new spear of frost pierced the chain-arm’s joint, freezing it solid. Her Frost Golem smashed the frozen chain to pieces.
Nathan charged a [Focus Shot]... fifteen seconds. He aimed at the Tyrant’s left face and released. The shot cracked the silver mask, and the Tyrant recoiled.
Kuro moved.
Still a bunny, she used [Shadow Meld] to slip under the hammer-arm. [Silent Step] made her soundless. She marked the hammer’s weak points with [Weak Point Sense] and struck... a tiny Headbutt that cracked the weapon’s core
The Top of the hammer shattered along with it’s core, causing the Veil Tyrant’s power to diminish.
[Ding! XP Gained!]
The weapon’s core acted like a monster on its own.
[Kuro: Level 10 Reached!]
’It is time, Summoner.’
---
The arena went dark.
Not normal darkness... a visible negation of light. All shadows stretched toward the small black bunny. The silver veil recoiled from her like fire.
The Tyrant froze. Kade stopped mid-swing. Derek’s jaw dropped.
"What... what is that?! What’s happening?!"
The evolution began.
Kuro rose from the floor, suspended in a cocoon of writhing darkness. Every shadow in the arena pooled into it. Her bunny form dissolved as the cocoon pulsed.
Then it shattered.
A woman stood in her place.
Tall, lean, built for speed. Hair black as ink, cut to her jaw. White mask-markings white bangs from her hair. Her eyes were deep black, sharper now. A charcoal-grey bodysuit formed around her... minimal, functional.
[Ding! Evolution Complete!]
[Kuro evolved to E-Rank!]
[Humanoid Form Unlocked!]
[Class: Shadow Assassin (Special Class)]
[New Skills:]
· [Invisibility] : Full invisibility, short duration, breaks on attack. (Keeps [Shadow Meld] as utility.)
· [Assassinate] : Devastating crit from stealth/behind with weapon of choice shrouded in darkness, scales with target’s missing health.
· [Dome of Silence] : Zone of magical silence, prevents enemy skill activation.
[Retained: Shadow Meld, Silent Step, Weak Point Sense.]
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Then Derek’s voice cracked. "A SECOND ONE?! He has TWO humanoids?! That’s impossible! F-Grade doesn’t get TWO summons! Even Kade doesn’t have a second! This is...!"
Tyler and Reid were frozen, jaws slack. Tyler’s Rock Hound whined and flattened. Reid’s Sky Fairy flickered.
"She’s... she’s hot too," Tyler mumbled. "How is she... why are they all..."
"This can’t be happening," Reid whispered. "F-Grade. Two humanoid summons. Both... hot" He gestured uselessly. "What are we even fighting?"
Marcus Kade was silent. The smirk was gone. He studied Kuro with a focused intensity... reassessing everything. Ursa growled low.
"Two summons," Kade said quietly. "Both humanoid. Both evolved... in three weeks since your graduation?" He shook his head. "Cross, what the hell are you?"
Derek kept shouting. "Dark magic! The TCA—my father—you can’t have two humanoid summons! You’re F-GRADE! You’re NOTHING!"
Nathan didn’t look at Derek. He met Kuro’s eyes across the arena... steady, certain.
"Ready?"
’I have been ready since you summoned me, Summoner.’
---
The Veil Tyrant, wounded and desperate, rallied for a final assault.
All four arms struck... The shattered sword’s remnant toward Nathan’s party, spear toward Kade, hammer’s remnant and broken chain in wild arcs.
Mirko caught the sword on [Impenetrable Fortress], sliding back but holding. She twisted from the chain, then [Headbutt] the sword-wrist, cracking it.
Elise’s [Glacial Lance] pierced the Tyrant’s shoulder. Her [Mana Shield] wrapped the Frost Golem as it charged, absorbing the remnant hammer’s blow before shattering the weapon completely.
Kuro activated [Invisibility] and vanished. No trace. She reappeared behind the Tyrant’s left face... daggers raised, gotten from Nathan’s inventory, weak points glowing in [Weak Point Sense]. Then [Assassinate] triggered, critical strike through every crack Mirko had opened.
Simultaneously, Mirko’s tenth [Unstoppable Force] strike landed. The accumulated force detonated, shattering the left face.
Across the arena, Kade’s greatsword cleaved through the right shoulder. Ursa’s claws tore the torso.
The Veil Tyrant collapsed.
[Ding! The Veil Tyrant Defeated!]
[Direct party combat now permitted.]
There was silence as the veil stilled. Mist hung motionless.
Nathan stood at the combat zone’s edge, bow raised, breathing steady. Mirko’s [Impenetrable Fortress] faded. Kuro stood nearby, daggers drawn, eyes fixed on the enemy. Elise lowered her staff, cold still radiating.
Across the fallen boss, Derek’s party stared. Derek’s face was of fury and denial. Tyler and Reid hadn’t moved from their support zone.
Marcus Kade met Nathan’s eyes. His greatsword rested on his shoulder. Ursa growled. The smirk was gone... replaced by calculation and reassessment.
’Now the real fight begins,’ Kuro sent.
Nathan drew a fresh arrow. "Yes," he said. "It does."
