[Dungeon] Chapter 62 – Battle of Wits

On Floor 2-1, there were two groups of challengers in different parts of the dungeon.

First was Sirzechs, Rias, Akeno, and Grayfia. They had advanced 3/4 of the floor. The second group were Naruto, Jiraiya, Temari, Shikamaru, Gaara, and Kankuro. They were slower because they were a bigger group.

But, they had arrived at the last part of the floor.

Both groups were close to the gate leading to the last part of the floor, the main room that connected all entrances.

"Is this it?" Sirzechs asked.

"Yes. I believe so." Rias answered. "After we enter this cave, we will enter that monster wave room. The boss is Dullahan, and it can regenerate itself using the undead using its trait. To defeat it, we need to kill all the undead in the surrounding area first."

"I see. Then, what's our strategy?" Sirzechs asked, testing his sister.

"We will deal with the monster wave first. Last time, we got dozens of Dungeon Coins from all the monsters. There are monsters inside the doors too, we need to kill them if we want to stop Dullahan's regeneration." Rias explained.

"Good. I am satisfied with your answer. Let's go."

Rias took the lead and the other followed. Unlike the other areas of the cave, the cave they went through was a short tunnel that led straight to the main area of the floor. There was no enemy in their path, making their journey easier.

"Here we are." Rias muttered, stopping her steps.

A large room greeted them with doors scattered around. It was like a plaza or a hall where people would gather to go to their own destination.

"This place..." Sirzechs narrowed his eyes.

He looked around at the empty space. There were a lot of doors leading to unknown destinations. The walls were made of stone, and the ceiling was high. The whole area seemed like it was carved out of a mountain.

"This is the main floor. I believe you've seen it in my report." Rias said.

"Yes. I have read your report. This place is quite impressive." The man nodded. "When will the monsters appear?"

"Should be soon."

As soon as she said that, six lights appeared on the other side of the room, revealing the ninja group.

"Whoa, that was a strange sensation. Is that a teleportation? It's a bit similar to body flicker technique but different. Hahaha! I didn't expect something like that." Jiraiya laughed, surprised by the sudden change in their environment.

Then, he noticed the Devils' group and smirked.

"It seems that we meet again."

Sirzechs smiled back and nodded. "Greetings, traveler."

Then, both groups stood across from each other. Each side observed the other, and the atmosphere was tense.

"I thought you were going to another dungeon? Elemental Tower, was it?" The Sannin asked in curiosity.

"Well, we decided to come here first." The Devil responded calmly. "This is an interesting place, isn't it? A bit too much like the battlefield during the Great War. I wonder who the creator of this place is..."

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows, "Great War? So your world was also in a war?"

"Hahaha, that was hundred of years ago when I was still young." Sirzechs laughed. "How about you? How was yours?"

The Sannin took note of what the other party said and shrugged his shoulders. "Still going on, I guess. War never really ended."

"I see. Your world must be a lot different than ours. Interesting, indeed. Oh, how about we chat a bit in the chat room after this?"

The Sannin nodded his head. "Sure. It'd be a good chance to learn more about each other."

Suddenly, the sound of bells echoed through the hall, and the ground started to shake.

"The monsters." Rias muttered.

The doors around them started to open, revealing hundreds of undead. They walked slowly but steadily, their footsteps sounding heavy as they approached.

"Let's do it!"

Naruto shouted and moved faster than anyone else. He made a hand sign and multiplied into four people, his clones attacking the enemies in front of them.

The real Naruto jumped high and threw several kunais at the skeletons, breaking their bones with ease.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru watched the situation from afar. The Devil's group was composed of four people, two girls and two guys. He quickly realized that the red-haired man was their leader.

'He looks strong and sly.'

Unexpectedly, they didn't make any move even when monsters ran out of the doors, leaving everything to Naruto who jumped first. From what Shikamaru heard from the boy, he met the red-haired girl and black-haired girl from the other sides in the first expedition.

The way Naruto described their power was simply a one-sided massacre. Especially the red-haired girl.

'Kekkei Genkai? And the black-haired girl has Lightning release that's stronger than Kakashi-sensei's chidori. What a troublesome bunch.' Shikamaru clicked his tongue. "Temari, Gaara, Kankurou! We will support Naruto. Let's get rid of the small fries first!"

"Hey! Who are you to order us around?!" Temari shouted, but her words fell deaf ears.

Gaara was already moving. He controlled his sand to attack the monsters that came out of the doors. His sand was sharp and hard, easily cutting through flesh and bone.

Kankuro summoned his puppet and attacked the monsters too. He was using his Black Ant puppet, the perfect weapon to fight against multiple enemies. With its long arms, sharp claws and a poison that could paralyze the target, the puppet was a formidable foe.

Jiraiya only watched as he stood next to Sirzechs, ready for anything.

"Are you guys not going to join the fight?" He asked the Devil's leader.

Looking at the ninja, Sirzechs smiled, "You're right. Rias, show your brother your power. Help them."

"Yes. You can do it, Rias-sama." Grayfia nodded.

"Of course." Rias responded.

Then, she turned her attention to Akeno and gave her an order. "Akeno, support me."

"Understood."

And then, she walked toward the battlefield. With a wave of her hand, she summoned her Power of Destruction and shot it at the approaching zombies. The blast obliterated everything in its path, leaving nothing behind.

Seeing the destruction, the Suna's ninjas were surprised.

"Is that a Kekkei Genkai?" Kankuro asked in surprise.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "No. That's definitely a different technique. But it's powerful nonetheless."

Gaara remained silent, his eyes fixed on Rias' figure. He could feel her power even from this distance.

Naruto, on the other hand, was amazed by her strength. He knew she was strong when he saw her the first time, but her power was beyond what he had imagined.

"Whoa, you're truly strong!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Thanks. Your clones are quite useful too. I remember seeing them in the first dungeon run." She replied with a smile.

"Yeah! As someone who would become a Hokage, this is nothing!" Naruto grinned.

While Rias was talking to Naruto, the rest of the team watched from afar.

"Her power is incredible..." Temari murmured.

"Indeed." Shikamaru agreed. "She's not even sweating."

"Akeno."

"Yes, President."

Ignoring the ninja, the two devils began to move.