"Alright, halfway there, let's keep up the pace." Moltar said as the group was walking down the next set of stairs.
"By the way Vergil, how did you and Dante end up here when you went to the Underworld?" Simon asked.
"Heck if we know. We just ended up here for no reason." Dante said.
"Or perhaps we accidentally stumbled upon this place while fighting hordes of demons." Vergil said.
"Either way, it is really good to see the two of you here. Things in this universe just haven't been the same without you." Mayumi said.
"Yeah, Dante, Vergil, Nero, David, Sectonia and Cheetah? It feels like we assembled the dream team right here." Jesse said.
"Don't jump the gun just yet, Jesse. We have no idea what the rest of this place has to offer." David said.
"We're approaching the 6th level." Cobalt said as they got close as strange robes appeared on them. "Hmm?"
"These robes...are heavy as heck." Theo said as writing appeared over a tall door.
The cloaks of the hypocrites appeared regal and noble and yet worn as punishment, each lined with crippling lead.
Travel the length of the hall with the weighted robes
"So it's a repeat of the second challenge, but with robes instead of sewer water?" Eddy asked incredulously.
"At least we won't smell like half-eaten casserole afterwards." Bassam said.
"That's a good thing at least." Ajna said, slightly unfazed by the robe's weight.
"Yeah, and there won't be any arms trying to grab us either." Emo said, shuddering at the memory.
"Well, might as well take this challenge head on." Mark said, opening the door to a long hallway. The group began to make their way across the hall, some of them falling behind due to the robes.
"*Whew* Man, these robes must weigh at least a ton!" ZS breathed.
"Don't worry...we already crossed the halfway mark. Not that much farther to go." Jexi said.
"Enemies approaching." Bloodless said.
"Our mobility is restricted by these robes. We're gonna have to use ranged attacks to deal with them." David said.
Then, several demons appeared in front of them, their eyes burning.
"So, you defeated Malacoda." one of the demons said. "It does not matter. Those robes will make it easy to take you down. Restrain them, and bring them to Discordiae!"
With that order, most of the demons charged while the one who gave the order conjured a fireball in its hand.
"Just because we're slower doesn't make us defenseless!" Krillin said, forming a Destructo Disk and throwing it at one of the demons, cutting them down.
"Tis Rozaïn!" Miriam called, holding her hand out as she unleashed a beam of holy light at another group.
"Don't leave me out of the fun." Angelo said as he and Rhatla fired a myriad of arrows from their bows.
"Fall to the Inferno!" the lead demon declared as he launched the fireball at the group.
"These demons...are nothing but maggots." Naberal said. "I think we've played with them long enough." she said as lightning passed through each demon before electrocuting them. "Chain Dragon Lightning!"
"Whoa…" most of the group said as they continued to the end of the hall. As soon as they passed through the door, their robes vanished as they were able to move normally.
"Well...we managed to get through that without any problems." Yang said.
"Those robes were a good workout." Hope said. "I'm really liking the aspect of these trials."
"Yeah, but it just seemed like a repeat of the second one, only cleaner." Undyne said. "Guess demons aren't that good at making puzzles."
"A lot of us actually liked this one better." Rhatla said.
"Yeah...but from here on, I doubt it's gonna get any easier." Meowth said as they approached the next floor.
The thieves are held and bitten by the serpents. The venom burns them to ash only so they may reform and suffer again.
Step inside to receive challenge
"That does not sound good." David said.
"Oh please. I bet they're trying to scare us. Let's just…" Meowth said, stepping in before falling over as his face turned purple as he foamed at the mouth.
"Uh… That's not exactly how you want to make an impression." Aoesia said.
"Wait a second… I knew that description was a cryptic clue. He's been poisoned." Poison Ivy said.
"Very astute of you." a voice said as a centaur-like demon appeared with a few other demons. The centaur himself had a scorpion tail instead on his horse body, and two dragons on his shoulders. "Welcome to the Thieves section of the Circle of Fraud. I am the Demon Centaur, Cacus. Don't fear, your friend is in no danger of dying; the poison he is afflicted with is only a lesser version of my poison."
"So, it's not gonna kill him?" Hope asked.
"No, it's only a diluted Neurotoxin. Although he is in no mortal danger, he will be unable to go on like this. If you wish to heal him and move on, you will need to complete the challenge I present to you." Caucus explained.
With a wave of his hand, several ragged humans appeared, looking miserable, yet there was a glimmer of hope in their eyes.
"One of the thieves you see before you holds the antidote to the cat's poison. If you catch the one holding the antidote, you pass the challenge. However, there is a catch: if the thief holding the antidote can escape you for 10 minutes, he will be given a chance to redeem himself in Purgatorio. If those 10 minutes expire, and you don't have the antidote, you all will be returned to the entrance of the Circle of Fraud." Caucus explained.
"You mean we have to do the whole thing over again? Screw that! I'm not putting us all through that a second time." David said.
"Then you'll have to win the challenge. It shouldn't be too hard for you and your group, considering your reputation." Caucus replied. "As a courtesy, I will give you time to prepare. Let me know when you are ready to begin."
"Hmm, if the thief does have the chance to retreat into Purgatorio, I can chase after them." Simon said.
"That's a good idea, Simon, but you heard Caucus. We only have 10 minutes to catch the thief before he is sent to Purgatorio. And when that happens, we all get sent back to the start of the dungeon." Hope said. "Entering Purgatorio afterwards to chase him will seem like cheating, and be unfair to the thief who was running from us. Because to him, redemption is his reward."
"Yeah, Simon. I don't think he's going to allow loopholes. We may as well leave it to someone that actually CAN catch him." David said. "That means you're up, Veevee."
"Leave it to me!" UlforceVeedramon said.
"In that case… we're ready to start!" Amethyst called out to the demonic centaur.
"Very well." Caucus confirmed. "Thieves, start running!"
Two different doorways opened up in the two side walls, the thieves running through them.
"You may begin!" Caucus declared, his two shoulder dragons breathing fire up like a starter pistol.
"Okay, think… Which way could he have gone?" UlforceVeedramon pondered. "Let's check the left side."
The Royal Knight raced through the left doorway and down the hall, soon spotting one of the thieves running ahead.
"Found one." UlforceVeedramon said. He quickly dashed the thief to the ground before checking its belongings. "Nope. Didn't have the antidote."
"Just calm down, Veevee. You've got this!" Sachiko called out.
"Right. Just keep calm… There are still four more to search through." UlforceVeedramon said.
And so, the Digimon knight raced through the halls, tracking down three of the thieves in rapid succession. After a few minutes, he was on the heels of the fifth and final thief.
"You won't get away!" he called out as he cut the thief down as a bottle was dropped. "That's gotta be it!"
"Wait, no!" the thief said as he tried to crawl to the bottle, only to see UlforceVeedramon pick it up. "Please, no, no! Don't take this chance from me! I… I need this chance…"
"You really think….I'll buy such a bold faced lie?" UlforceVeedramon said before finishing the thief. "Sorry, but we need this more than you do."
UlforceVeedramon rushed back to Meowth and applied the antidote to him.
"And...time! 7 minutes, 21 seconds." David said.
"So it is." Caucus observed. "Well done, the challenge is complete, as expected of one of your talents. You may proceed to the next section. But take heed, Discordiae is preparing for you."
"Huh, there's that name again." Mark remarked. "Who's Discordiae?"
"They are one of the ten Demon Kings of Fraud, representing the ninth section." Caucus explained. "They seek to become one of the new Demon Lords. They believe defeating one of their greatest thorns will earn them the position. A foolish idea, in my opinion."
"Yeah, I mean… There has got to be a more surefire way to fit that kind of criteria." David said.
"There are, but alas, Discordiae is one to take the foolhardy path." Caucus said. "Continue on with your challenges and hopefully, the fool will get what they deserve. Farewell." he bowed as the group made their way out of the room.
"Huh...he was oddly polite." Vergil said.
"Yeah, he was even a man… Er, demon of his word, too." David said. "I guess it proves that not all demons are a bunch of bloodthirsty savages. Er, no offense, Cheetah."
"None taken, I'm used to it by now." Cheetah said.
"There's actually more proof to that point, David." Hope said. "I mean, look at Nezuko. In all the time she's been a demon, not once has she given into the temptation to eat human flesh."
"I know. But the way the Hashira treated her at her supposed execution kind of got to me a little bit. It made me really think about what it meant to be a Demon Hunter." David said.
"To be fair, most of the Hashira were cool with Nezuko after Ubayashiki sanctioned and reassured them." Gemini said. "It was only that Shinazugawa guy that was really harsh to her."
"Yeah, the guy's got a few issues." Saki said. "Come to think of it, he kinda reminded me of that guy we saw at the end of the Final Selections."
"Oh yeah… I remember him. The one with the scar, right?" Sectonia asked. "I almost broke his arm when he got up at the twins' faces about these blades."
"We need to keep going. We're only 3 floors away from clearing this thing." Theo said.
"And likely 2 floors away from dealing with this Discordiae." Mirror Match added. "We'd best prepare ourselves for that."