In the end, their discussion about the Dungeon's "malice" went nowhere. Not for lack of trying—without a single clue to go on, even Sherlock Holmes wouldn't have been able to figure it out.
They couldn't reach a conclusion, but at least they agreed on a plan: keep exploring the lower floors and look for anything unusual. That was the only actionable outcome of the meeting.
One by one, everyone returned to their rooms. Tsuna was no exception.
Just as he drifted into sleep, a strange voice echoed faintly by his ear.
"Please… save my… child…"
"!?"
Tsuna's eyes snapped open. He sat up quietly, listening.
"Please… save…"
Confirmed. Not auditory hallucination.
He took a deep breath. The moment he tried to focus on the sound—"Nine hundred…"—the whisper vanished completely.
Huh? It's gone already?
He frowned slightly. The voice belonged to a woman. In a world full of gods and goddesses, only a deity would have the power to transmit her voice like that. But how did her voice reach me specifically?
He couldn't tell. With no leads, there was nothing to analyze.
Still, there was one thing he did know—if a goddess's voice reached him, it was probably because of his unique nature… and because her children were somewhere nearby.
Could this goddess's plea for help be connected to the Dungeon's current abnormalities?
Looks like I'll have to investigate before jumping to conclusions.
Should I bring Finn and the others?
After a brief moment of thought, Tsuna shook his head.
No. I can't be sure whether that voice was a genuine cry for help or a lure. If this plea is a trap, dragging Finn and the others into it would be reckless.
Besides, my abilities make solo scouting far more efficient. As long as I'm hidden in the Alternate Dimension, I won't become a target.
Still, to be safe, I'll use my "eyes" to gather intel first. Once I confirm the situation, I'll let Finn and the others step in.
He raised a hand, and one of his puppets appeared just outside his resting area. With a light touch to the medal on its chest, the puppet vanished into thin air.
The 29th floor—Jungle Ravine.
It resembled a tropical rainforest, humid and hot, far from ideal for human habitation—but perfect for all sorts of "small creatures."
The puppet stood at the entrance, peering down. The thick jungle trembled slightly, the shifting canopy alone enough to hint at the danger below.
And not just danger—the sheer size of the space was overwhelming. It stretched so far that you couldn't even see the end of it.
Tsuna rested his chin on his hand.
Just reaching the lower floors, and it's already this vast. Seriously, how did Finn and the others even find a route to the 50th floor?
He couldn't help but feel impressed by their skill.
Well, if I don't want to rely on them for guidance, I'll just have to cheat a little.
The best pathfinder among monsters… Wind Sprite.
A tiny, winged creature appeared beside the puppet—a being barely palm-sized, delicate like a fairy.
The Wind Sprite spread her arms, and countless streams of air bent to her will, sweeping rapidly through the entire floor. Everything those winds touched projected directly into Tsuna's vision. Within moments, the path to the next floor was revealed.
"Found it."
The puppet immediately started moving at high speed. The Wind Sprite raised her hand again, conjuring a pair of wind-forged wings on the puppet's back, allowing it to take to the air.
Instead of struggling through the dense forest, it simply flew straight over it—a method both unreasonable and incredibly efficient.
But when it reached the stairway leading to the 30th floor, the puppet came to a halt.
"…The entrance to the 30th floor has been buried?"
Tsuna took a deep breath.
"It's artificial. Someone deliberately collapsed it—to trap whoever's inside."
So that goddess's voice wasn't a trap after all. If it were, there'd be no reason to seal off the 30th floor like this.
The possibility of the plea being a ruse dropped to zero.
In that case, the question is—who's behind this, stirring up such chaos that even the Dungeon itself is reacting violently?
A dark ripple spread behind the puppet, and a massive black hand emerged from it, slamming into the sealed passage with a single devastating Blast Punch.
The boulders blocking the path were obliterated instantly, and the entrance reopened.
The puppet stepped through—and was met with a sea of crimson.
The once-lush forest was engulfed in flames, thick black smoke gathering against the ceiling. No one knew how long the fire had been burning, but the damage was catastrophic.
"…This floor's been completely wrecked."
Without making assumptions, Tsuna immediately had the Wind Sprite send gusts through the area, scanning for movement. Without her help, it would've been nearly impossible to identify anything in this inferno.
But the fire had heated the air to an extreme, making wind control difficult. Still, after several moments—
"Got them!"
A group of figures appeared in the Sprite's sight—dressed entirely in black, cloaked and hooded, each with red, crystal-like objects hanging from their belts.
At the front stood a cat person wielding a whip, his face twisted into a deranged grin. The madness in his eyes was enough to tell Tsuna he wasn't sane—though his body confirmed one thing: he was still human.
Adventurers in the Dungeon… all in black… a crazed cat-man with a whip… and nearby, a group of brutally injured female adventurers…
"The Dark Faction, huh?"
Looks like my guess was right. Either a god entered the Dungeon, or Evilus is stirring up trouble down here again.
"The Dark Faction never does anything decent," Tsuna muttered, shaking his head. But as he measured the distance between both groups, he paused.
"…Wait. There's space between them. The Dark Faction isn't attacking the women—they're keeping their distance. Then who hurt those adventurers so badly?"
The answer revealed itself a heartbeat later.
A creature crawled out from behind the flames—a withered, skeletal dragon. Its limbs were thin and brittle, its body almost entirely bones.
Tsuna blinked in surprise, then let out a quiet breath.
"So it's you."