From his pocket, Azrael pulled a small orb and tossed it at his feet. In seconds, it expanded into an invisible sphere that easily enveloped him, Kaya, and Mary. Gravity, borrowed from the Death Seesaws Dungeon, ruled inside.
Once the sphere stabilized, Azrael sat and motioned for the others to do the same. On his right, Mary held onto his arm, her umbrella wedged between her forearm and waist.
To his left, Kaya pressed in close and scanned the drop below.
Around them, people stared with wary, curious looks. For a moment, it made Kaya uneasy, especially since she was clinging to Azrael. This wasn't her usual self, the one that picked fights with confidence and bluntness.
Then the reminder hit: Azrael wasn't just strong, he had potential, and he'd already used his skills to save her world. It straightened her spine. She met the stares with her trademark serpentine smile, leaned in even more, and pressed her tits against him like she owned the spot.
Like Master Azrael said, it's about time people started seeing him and his potential!
A whistle slipped out of Azrael at the feeling, and he nudged the sphere with an extra dose of excitement. Under a strange gravitational tug, it rolled forward and sent them into the yawning chasm. To the outsiders, it looked like an invisible force shoved Azrael and his group straight down.
Once they realized the trio was floating, gliding down, smooth and easy, gasps and shouts followed.
"How are they doing this?!"
"Is that a new curse from Rising Dynasty?!"
"But can they defend themselves in this static state?"
From somewhere above, someone asked a fair question.
Hearing that, Azrael sneered. He rubbed his hands and practically begged for monsters to take a swing at him.
Sure enough, they did.
Below, shadows tangled beneath thick roots spat dark streaks toward the conquerors still on the way down. Some clipped bodies, some burst on impact, and all of it left nasty slashes and black splatter.
Most of the people on ropes were ready. With lines tied to their waists, they could wield weapons with both hands and swat away the attacks, which turned out to be Shadow Bats. The ones that burst died instantly but still dealt damage, and the ones that sliced past someone would loop back in from a new angle.
Both were a pain, and both punished mistakes differently.
Not for Azrael, though.
Inside his floating sphere, he watched the creatures slam into the invisible barrier and explode into dark, ink-like goo. A few managed to cut the shell, leaving only thin, harmless scratches. Azrael just smirked. He didn't have to lift a finger as he drifted through the barrage.
"Law of Control is simply the best, baby!" he hollered.
"It is indeed an amazing skill," Mary said, her eyes on the barrier as the creatures did their best to break through and kill him.
Meanwhile, Kaya stared with wide eyes, seemingly lost in admiration.
After Mr. Amon's briefing, Azrael had applied a few rule-breaking tweaks to some of his Grand Ammo. Deep down, he'd known he wouldn't go down the normal way.
That was why he rigged his Conditional Sphere to drift with the gravity pull.
No oxygen source sat inside the sphere, but that wasn't a problem.
Eventually, the Shadow Bats cut through parts of the barrier, leaving holes just big enough to let fresh air seep in.
Reclining inside the Conditional Sphere, Azrael asked, "Honestly, if the Third Lord knew about my genius, do you think she'd fall for me?"
Mary shot him a glance. "Of course not."
"But doesn't it sound hot? Romance between a Lord and her student!"
"Does it?" Mary asked, her voice flat.
"She's wounded. She should get a taste of normal life… at least in my opinion." Azrael sounded unusually sincere as he said it. "I wonder if I could somehow save her… that would pay her back for everything she did for me."
Mary stole a few furtive glances at him. He didn't want to save her creator to make her owe him or fall in love with him.
He wanted to repay her.
"Win and prove yourself. That's more than enough you can do for my creator," Mary said.
As soon as her words rang out, the Conditional Sphere hit solid ground and came to a stop.
Stepping out would have been easy, except there was a problem. The ink-like substance still clung to the invisible barrier.
If Azrael pushed through, he'd end up covered in it.
"And yet again, my mastermind comes in clutch!" Azrael chuckled.
Without missing a beat, Mary pulled out a blanket from her spatial inventory and draped it over them. Soon, they were at the bottom of the S-Rank Dungeon, with several corridor entrances yawning open like doorways to a challenge. The passageways ran between thick roots, looking oddly ancient.
All at once, the roots moved like worms and sealed every entrance but one.
Azrael narrowed his eyes. "It's like someone or something wants us to go there. If I'm right, this side has been taken by Beastblood Clan. Hmmm."
Rather than fuss over the mechanics, he took the bait.
Mary and Kaya followed behind him.
Ahead, the corridor stretched on forever. There was no light at all, but Azrael had a flashlight from Mary's spatial inventory, and it worked well enough.
Every so often, the darkness snuffed the beam so completely that even the flashlight didn't help, but Azrael only chuckled and pressed on.
Behind him, Kaya kept flicking her tongue, tasting the air for threats.
Suddenly, she shouted, "Someone's ahead of us!"
Azrael tensed. "I can smell blood."
Ahead, the dark kept killing the light, then letting it return, like someone was flicking a switch. A heartbeat later, Azrael's flashlight caught a man in Beastblood Clan clothes, standing still, his gear and face splattered with blood.
A gasp caught in Azrael's throat. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a slender hand slick with blood.
"Isn't that… a girl?!" he shouted.
Kaya exclaimed, "Marmo! What has gotten into you?! Why'd you hurt your harem?!"
Azrael raised his hand. "Wait."
Sure enough, Marmo stood amid the corpses of his harem. His sword dripped with so much blood you'd think the steel was forged from it. He'd done it. No doubt.
"You don't turn on your loved ones! He's either being controlled or he's gone!" Azrael barked. "Fucking loser! You were supposed to kill me to make your harem proud and happy! Why the hell did you kill them instead?!"
"Is that what you're mad about?!" Mary blurted.
Azrael ignored her. "Getting controlled like some loser is so damn funny, now that I think about it! It means your harem could be stolen that easily! Not like I'd swoop in after you! I'm not that kind of man."
He smirked.
"What are you smirking at?!" Mary snapped.
Marmo turned and looked at Azrael. "You're in my head… you… you're looking at my women!"
Azrael nodded. "He wasn't that bad of a man, now that I see it. He's gone, but he still thinks of his women. I gotta give him that."
"I'm tired already." Mary sighed.
"Marmo!" Azrael called. "I will put you out of your misery and make you rest eternally in hell for hurting your harem! Kaya, lend me your spear. We're going in together for this bastard."
"Yeah!"
"…at least you're paying more attention to Kaya now." Mary forced a faint smile.