The group walked down a narrow set of stairs, torches on the wall the only source of light as they descended into darkness.
"Hey, while we have a minute of peace, what do you think the treasures at the end are going to be?" Eddy asked.
"Beats me." Mayumi said. "It would be nice if it was some anti-demon equipment, but… I think we're good on that right now."
"Somehow I doubt we'll get anti-demon equipment in a universe mainly populated by demons." Theo said.
"Well at the very least, let's hope it's worth all these challenges." Emo said as the group came to a stop in front of another door.
My brethren in the Malebolge, we flounder in sewage and waste.
Reach the end of the sewer without being dragged down.
"You kidding? We gotta go through the sewers again?" Luke asked.
"It doesn't really seem so bad." Rayleigh said.
"Easy for you to say. You're a crocodile. Sewers are like a second home to your kind." Crusadermon said.
"Wait, what did Luke mean by again? Did you have to go through the sewers before, Cheetah? Ugh, I know. Nasty." David said.
"Yeah, we had to go through them in a part of the Hero Universe to free imprisoned mutants and get to Apocalypse's tower." Ace said. "But we had to deal with a certain merc with the mouth for the latter."
"Well the sooner we start the sooner we finish." Scarlet said as he pushed the door open, revealing a 10-feet long sewer, a door on the other side, the only sources of light once again being torches. "...Let's get this over with."
The group waded into the waist-deep water and started making their way across.
"Ohhh, I am definitely taking a shower after this." Aya said.
"I think we all will." Cheetah said.
"This is truly a challenge worthy of hell…" Sir Saiyan said. "And yet, we must press on!"
"Yeah, just keep looking at the exit and everything should be fi-" Steven started before he suddenly stopped in place.
"Something wrong, Steven?" Mark asked.
"Uh, I think my leg's caught on something…" Steven said, grunting as he attempted to break free.
"Hang on, I got you." Alkal said as he got behind Steven grabbed him, and with a grunt, pulled him up out of the water. "There we go, free from the-"
The words died as the two saw just what was keeping Steven stuck: an arm, which was now graping at the air.
"Uh… everyone? I think we should pick up the pace!" Alkal warned.
"What did you think that description even meant?" David asked.
Just then, dozens of arms emerged from the water, attempting to grab at the group's ankles as whispers filled the tunnel.
"Okay, no thank you!" Scarlet said, activating a Ki Blade at slashing at an arm reaching for him. "Cut the arms!"
"Again, kind of picking up on this already." Guy said as he slashed at the arms reaching for them.
"Hands off!" Kaibara said, spinning his legs and arms as the arms let go of him.
"Come on, just a little bit further!" Lei said, shooting more of the arms.
"Go, go, go!" DJ said as the group made it to the exit door and raced through it, slamming the door behind them.
"Whew… That was close." Omnimon said.
"Jeeze, that was grade-A nightmare fuel right there." Ultra said after he caught his breath.
"I'm never going back there again." Mari said, slumped on the floor.
"By the way… Just to reiterate, this merc with a mouth that Ace mentioned… It wouldn't happen to be Deadpool, would it?" Sachiko asked.
"Unfortunately, yes." Cheetah said.
"Man, now I really felt sorry for you guys for going through that." David said.
"Don't be. Pretty sure you guys didn't really miss him anyway." Zamazenta said.
"At least we got a good butt kicking out of it." Duran said.
"Glad to hear it." Undyne said. "Is everybody ready to go on?
"Everyone is present and accounted for. I think we're good." Rhatla said.
With that, the group pressed on until, descending down more stairs until they reached another door.
Sellers of favors, crimes against the Church. They are trapped in baptismal baths, their feet eternally in flames.
Obtain the key to the exit through a chain of deals.
"Obtain the key through a chain of deals?" Amethyst said. "That doesn't sound hard, why would this be a challenge here?"
"Hmm…" Gohan mused before he opened the door to a room with water ankle deep, heat radiating off from it. "Oh, this room has boiling water in it, that's why."
"So this means we have to get the key from a bunch of deals, and contend with boiling water scalding our legs." Hope said. "Whoever takes this trial should probably have a good resistance to heat or pain."
"That's...a few of us, actually." Kokoro said. "Mind if I take this one?"
"Sure, go ahead." Sans said.
Kokoro stepped into the water. "Don't worry. This is nothing."
Kokoro walked through the room, not being bothered by the flames, approaching a man who seemed locked in place, who looked up to meet her.
"Ah, another to join our eternal torment… is what I would say if you were actually being tormented." the man said. "You weren't sentenced here like the rest of us, were you girl?"
"Sentenced? Uh… No, not really." Kokoro said.
"Hmm… then you must be here for this, then." the man said, pulling out a black key. "Well, if your intention is to take this item, then you'll need to pass this… challenge. I've been told that I must give this key in exchange for a coin someone else in this room has. They will give you the coin in exchange for an item found on someone else, and so on, so forth. You'll have to find someone who will give you something in exchange for something you already have. An odd challenge, in my opinion, but a fitting one, I guess."
"And a pretty taxing one at that." Kokoro said.
"Well, yes… But you look like a dragonic figure. So, I'm sure you can handle it. And you'll find the time to be worth it." the man said. "Still, let me offer one piece of advice: the one with least to give may take the most. Heh, just like us in life." he chuckled bitterly.
"I've got a lot of work to do." Kokoro said.
And so, the dragoness went to work, finding the items required and learning what had to be given: a coin, a dagger, a lump of iron, a feather, and a bag of dirt. At last, she approached a man holding a bag who stood in a corner.
"You… you came for this?" the man said, holding up the bag, the sounds of shifting grains coming from the movement. "I'm not sure you can afford it, it's best to turn back."
"Depends on the price." Kokoro said.
"...I'm sorry, I'm sorry, they told me the price." the man said. "The only thing I can exchange for this bag… is the horn of a dragon. Do you understand? They want you to give a part of yourself."
"Are you serious? These horns can't exactly grow back." Kokoro said.
"I know, and I'm sorry." the man said, looking guilty. "That's what they said: no horn, no bag. I'm sorry. They want us both to suffer. I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
"Hold on. No one has to suffer here." Kokoro said.
"But… you'll have to give up one of your horns…" the man started.
"The only criteria is a dragon's horn, right? No one said it has to be mine." Kokoro said.
"...You know where to find another one?" the man asked, curious and, surprisingly, hopeful.
"Only if there's another dragon lurking somewhere. Not sure where, but they wouldn't have asked for a dragon's horn otherwise." Kokoro said.
"...Wait… the far wall, they kept us away from it." the man said, pointing at the wall opposite of him.
"Probably because there's something there they're not wanting anyone to see. Might be worth checking out." Kokoro said.
Kokoro then walked over to the wall and started feeling around it, until she pushed a hidden panel. Part of the wall opened up, into a small chamber in which the skeleton of a dragon lay, it's skull intact on the ground.
"Oh, I feel really bad for doing this, but...it's your horn or mine. And you won't be needing yours where you are now." Kokoro said as she started breaking off the horn. Once it was off, the dragoness walked over to the man and offered him the horn.
The man looked shocked for a moment, then smiled. "To think there was an alternative… well, a deal is a deal." he said, handing her the bag of dirt. "May your wisdom continue to aid you, child."
"Thanks. Hope you get out of this place soon." Kokoro said.
And so, the items were all traded up, until Kokoro unlocked the door with the black key.
"All right, Kokoro!" Eddy cheered as the rest of the group (quickly) crossed the room into the exit door. "Now that was awesome! You took a sadistic choice like that and turned it on its head!"
"It's what my group and I are best at, after all." Kokoro said wringling her mane.
"Well, that's three down." Lancer said. "Strange how the first two levels had combat, but this one had a puzzle."
"Eh, I think it's a rather nice change of pace." SE said. "The last few dungeons were good, but we really haven't seen puzzles before this dungeon. It's welcome, in my book."
"I bet you had to go through a lot of these puzzles in your day, didn't you Barbara?" Kokoro asked.
"You have no idea. Just shows that brute strength only solves so much." Cheetah said.
"Alright, let's keep this momentum going. This may be hell we're in, but we're gonna blast through the fires like there's no stopping us." Hope said.