Every computer system has a defense mechanism against overheating.
When a processor is overclocked—operating beyond its factory specifications to achieve unnatural performance—the fans spin at maximum speed and the system throttles performance to prevent the silicon from melting.
The multiverse, in its infinite complexity, operated under the same principle.
The universe did not tolerate anomalies.
Whenever an avatar of the Architect forced the local laws of physics, reality itself attempted to throttle the process, sending antibodies.
In Orario, the Dungeon was the most aggressive immune system of all.
Delta and Ryuu Lion were on the 15th floor.
They had descended far beyond the levels recommended for Level 1 adventurers, but Delta's abnormal survival rate combined with the elf's lethal skill had kept them alive.
However, the Dungeon had not forgotten the syntax error Delta introduced on the 13th floor when he disabled a monster-generation wall.
The labyrinth was furious.
The phosphorescent rock walls pulsed with a feverish red glow, and the air smelled of sulfur and stagnant blood.
System Alert – Wise Core
Geomagnetic and magical activity exceeding normal parameters by 600%.
The local server has detected your unauthorized patch, Delta.
It is compiling a boss-level executable to purge you.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
—Fall back, Delta! —Ryuu shouted, drawing her wooden sword.
—The Dungeon is crying!
The main wall of the cavern did not crack to spawn ordinary monsters.
It melted.
A boiling mass of rock and black magic crystal fused at the center of the chamber, forming an Irregular Minotaur.
But it was neither red nor brown.
Its skin was made of black volcanic crystal, and it wielded a raw obsidian axe the size of a carriage.
Delta evaluated the creature.
Target Lexical Analysis
Classification: Irregular. Estimated Level: 3.
Skin density: Equivalent to tempered steel.
Destructive capability: A direct hit will destroy your organic hardware.
Recommendation: Immediate evacuation.
Delta glanced at Ryuu.
The path to the upper stairs had been blocked by falling debris.
I can't run.
If he retreated, Ryuu would have to cover him.
Delta refused to sacrifice allies.
He drew his twin daggers.
It was time to test the true integration of the multiversal network.
The Minotaur roared.
The sound created a visible shockwave in the humid air.
Then it charged like a derailed train.
—Lumina Wind! —Ryuu cast her magic without hesitation.
Spheres of cutting wind struck the monster's chest.
Green explosions illuminated the cavern.
When the dust cleared…
The Minotaur had barely moved.
Its black crystal skin had absorbed the magic.
It raised its massive axe.
And brought it down toward the elf.
Ryuu tried to dodge.
But the inertia of the weapon generated a wind suction that threw her off balance.
Before the axe could strike the ground—
Delta moved.
Overclock the processor.
Warning: Activating Lightning Synaptic Bridge – Epsilon
Activating Doctrine of Instinct – Alpha
Time stopped.
Pale blue static surged through Delta's nervous system.
He emptied his mind.
Fear.
Calculation.
Concern.
Gone.
Only the pressure of the air remained.
Delta moved.
Not a jump.
Not a sprint.
A blink.
He appeared beneath the Minotaur's guard and pushed Ryuu out of the impact zone one millisecond before the obsidian axe split the cavern floor in half.
Rock fragments exploded outward like shrapnel.
Ryuu rolled across the ground in shock.
She hadn't seen him move.
Only a gust of air heavy with ozone.
The Minotaur spun in rage, sweeping its axe horizontally to cut Delta in half.
Delta did not retreat.
He knew his daggers would shatter against the monster's crystal armor.
Then he remembered Gamma's lesson.
Black Syntax.
He channeled Armament Haki and Ten, compressing his will into the blades.
The cheap steel turned black like the void.
The Minotaur's axe collided with Delta's crossed daggers.
The sound was deafening.
A Level 1 had blocked a Level 3 strike.
The shockwave shattered the ground beneath Delta's boots, sinking him to the ankles.
Capillaries in his arms burst from the pressure.
But Black Syntax kept the blades intact.
—Delta! —Ryuu shouted.
—Attack the joints! —Delta roared, his voice strained under the immense force.
—The crystal can't cover the friction points of its elbows!
Ryuu didn't hesitate.
Trusting the boy's impossible resilience, she ran along the monster's flank.
With a graceful and lethal motion, she drove her wind-reinforced wooden sword into the back of the Minotaur's knee, where the crystal armor segmented.
The monster bellowed and dropped one leg.
The pressure on Delta decreased.
Just enough.
He redirected the axe using Beta's Jujutsu, guiding the monster's inertia against itself.
With the Minotaur off balance, Delta activated Total Concentration Breathing.
His lungs burned.
He released one dagger.
Then placed his open palm on the Minotaur's crystal chest.
He remembered the technique Zeta used against Vulcan in Magnolia.
—Clean execution. Internal discharge.
This wasn't magic.
It was pressurized Ki combined with stagnant Lightning Chakra.
He injected the energy through the micropores of the monster's skin, bypassing the outer armor.
A blinding white flash illuminated the crystal veins inside the Minotaur.
The creature froze.
Its glassy eyes shattered.
Its massive body collapsed forward.
Disintegrating into thick ash.
Leaving behind a magic crystal the size of a melon.
Delta stood for one second.
Then the Overclock ended.
The physiological damage struck him instantly.
He coughed up dark blood and collapsed to his knees, black spots filling his vision.
Ryuu ran to him and caught him before his face hit the floor.
—Delta!
His pulse was erratic.
Like a dying bird.
—What did you do?! —she said, panic breaking through her usual composure.
—Your body is tearing itself apart!
Delta tried to focus on her face.
Her blue eyes were full of genuine fear.
He smiled faintly.
—Memory… overload…
He coughed weakly.
—But we won… Ryuu.
Ryuu gritted her teeth.
She quickly uncorked a high-grade potion and forced the blue liquid into his mouth.
—Don't talk.
She lifted his arm over her shoulders.
—You're the most terrifying and stupid adventurer I've ever met.
As she carried him through the tunnels toward the surface, Delta's blood soaked slightly into her clothes.
The warmth of his body against hers created a silent anchor.
Ryuu, who had sworn never to grow attached again after the massacre of the Astraea Familia, looked at Delta's unconscious face and realized something.
Somehow…
This mysterious boy had pierced her emotional armor.
But the Dungeon was not the only observer in Orario.
At the top of the Tower of Babel, the goddess Freya stood before vast crystal windows overlooking the city.
Her silver eyes—capable of seeing the color of human souls—were fixed on the earth below.
Suddenly—
Her wine glass slipped from her hand.
It shattered on the marble floor.
—My lady? —asked Ottar, the massive Level 7 Boaz.
Freya was trembling.
Her breathing shallow.
Her cheeks flushed with a dangerous ecstasy.
She had been watching the soul of Bell Cranel.
Pure.
White.
Beautiful.
But a moment ago—
Another soul had flashed.
Not pure.
Not simple.
It was a massive architectural structure.
An algorithm of lightning, darkness, will, and vitality.
Eight stars igniting at once.
For a moment…
Freya felt that human soul rivaled the majesty of the gods themselves.
—Ottar… —she whispered, clutching her chest.
—Yes, my lady?
—Find him.
—The white-haired boy?
Freya smiled.
A hypnotic, predatory smile.
—No.
—The shadow.
Her silver eyes gleamed with obsession.
—There is a child in this city whose soul looks like an encrypted universe.
—Bring him to me.
—It doesn't matter which god he belongs to.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
—He will be mine.