I AM BACK, BITCHES! NO REVIEWS ARE GONNA BE ANSWERED RN! None of that! Instead, I just wish to thank everyone who stepped forth and showed support for this story, showing me there are those who truly enjoy it among the sea of haters. Thank you. This chapter holds the conclusion to the dungeon we left off at, and I will make this reveal now. Whether it is a good idea or not, ima saying it! The Rating Game against Riser will happen in Chapter 38, along with a bunch of lore-related stuff. I didn't wish to write multiple chapters, depicting each battle, nor change stuff a lot (Minus all of Issei's bits, which he dominated), so what I ended up doing was writing a super chapter of sorts.

Anyhow, enjoy the chapter, ladies, and gents.

Discord: /D2TrzeNSCF


As he continued his way onward to the castle atop the hill, Issei tried to ignore the rain that was falling on him. Ever since he arrived, it seemed to be constantly raining, which couldn't be a coincidence. Even Solomon gave a remark earlier, saying there was something foul with this rain, so Issei decided to assume it was what prevented him from using his magical abilities.

Great, now he has to fight with one hand behind his back. At least this dungeon seems easier than the last few ones. Being at maximum stats and having so many skills helped him, making the dungeon almost seem EASY. Then again, both Youkai were close to his level.

But that made him wonder. Were those Youkai weak or was he just that strong? He knows there exists a difference between level and stats, as he saw with Ingvild. She was an Ultimate Class if you were to look at her level alone, but due to her century-long sleep and likely not enough training to begin with, she didn't have stats that were that high up.

Or could it be that his skills simply worked to counter the Youkai he was fighting that well? In essence, it was like water beating fire, in a way. No matter how hot a fire was, water would always prevail to extinguish it when in sufficient amounts. The first Youkai he fought was purely a brute, to put it simply, and unable to counter his shadow magic at the time, hence the easy victory.

The second was likely reliant on its non-corporeal form, and the fact Issei was not a Youkai, not expecting him to use Youjutsu or even have the affinity that countered it. Wait…That's it! "Fuck me, elemental weaknesses."

"Just like in Pokemon, some beings are weaker against certain types of abilities and/or moves," Ddraig added, coming to the same conclusion. "Fire, Earth, and Water would have been useless against that smoke-like Youkai, and physical stuff wouldn't have been too effective against the ugly one, but we had the right moves to counter them. Now, however, it is bound to get dicey, with this rain suppressing our magic."

"True to that, Ddraig," Solomon said. "This dungeon is unique, given its structure and challenge. Not to mention the enemies. What are those Youkai doing here?"

"I have a feeling we will soon learn," Issei said as they approached the entrance of the palace/castle/fortress thing. Seriously, the architecture was all over the place. At least the entrance was straightforward enough to know where it was. So, with confident steps, he began to walk toward it.

Then promptly proceeded to witness as the entrance caught fire and how the flames literally went STRAIGHT at him! "GAH!" Issei screamed as he was engulfed in fire, yet, he didn't let himself burn for long, and summoned forth his Scale Mail, using his [Aura Flare] to disperse the flames, which sure enough, formed before him, turning into yet another Youkai. This time, it was like a bird made of flames, yet the face of it resembled a dog. "Furaribi…" And Issei knew this Youkai.

The Furaribi are Youkai born from a human spirit who was not given a proper memorial, eventually turning into this kind of creature. They were human once. Yet, now, Issei had another issue. This thing was old, very much so, and very powerful.

[Furaribi]

[HP: 10000/10000]

[Level 39]

It has little HP, true, but then again, why need a lot when you were made of fire and ethereal? How can he punch fire? The answer was he could not. The Furabiri, like the Enenra, was non-physical, and as such, physical attacks did not affect it. Worst yet, if their talk about elemental weaknesses yielded him any WIS, then his wind and fire Youjutsu were useless too. The wind was downright suicide, or just ineffective. He was not willing to risk it.

[Boost!]

But he did have other skills in his arsenal. Increasing his stats to the max, he wanted to take this bird down in one strike, so he began aiming both of his arms forth whilst also summoning forth all magical circles he could summon. Whilst he couldn't use his magic, it seems his magical circles still worked for other purposes.

"Eat this! [Wyvern Shot]!]" Multiple volleys of his skill began to rain down on the Youkai, but to Issei's annoyance, the thing was not just powerful when it came to dealing fire-based damage, but also swift and tricky. It was dodging and evading most of his attacks, all the while it charged right at him again. When it got too close, however, Issei let loose a [Dragon Shot] at point-blank range, right in its face, which saw it blasted back into the door.

The force of the attack alone saw the door turn to splinters, destroyed and open, allowing Issei to walk right in. When he entered, the place reminded him of a traditional Japanese palace, granted, it looked better on the outside. The walls were slowly falling apart, and he could see clear signs of mold here and there.

The Furaribi, however, was not yet dead. It was weakened, that much was obvious. But not yet dead. Issei went to it, and standing above it, he aimed his arm at it for one last time before he fired. The Youkai perished before him. This time, he got 230K EXP, which turned into 379500 after the bonuses were applied.

Still, he took heavy damage from that fire attack. Fuck, his [Fire Resistance - Minor] went from its EXP bar being almost empty to half full! That bird had painful and very hot flames, which led him to believe the strength of the fire he was burned with affected the rate of his resistance's progress. Possible.

Thankfully, he won't end up with permanent burn scars.

"Congratulations, Red Dragon Emperor." A voice spoke from behind Issei, making him swiftly turn around and come face to face with a woman standing atop the stairs. She was awfully pale, and from her face alone, it seemed she had not eaten in potential years. "You got further than the Mistress predicted. Congratulations are in order."

"So, you are not the so-called Dokuhebi no ōjo. You are another Youkai." He activated his skill again to see this one's stats. So far, each time he encountered a Youkai, they were progressively stronger, but the level difference was not that big.

This time, however, he widened his eyes.

[Futakuchi-onna]

[HP: 76000/76000]

[Level 55]

"A High Class?!"

"Yes, indeed, I am a Youkai." Suddenly, the hair on her head came to life, multiple strands wildly grabbing anything in sight and breaking it apart.

"Hungry…So Hungry…Feed me…FEED ME, YOU STUPID WRENCH!" And sure enough, Issei heard it. The woman grabbed her head in pain, yet, when she turned around, Issei saw it. A second mouth, right there on her head. Yet, something was wrong. From the stories he read, the Futakuchi-Onna was a cursed woman, and the mouth a simple extension, but…This was too strong.

Something was changed.

The hair was grabbing anything it could get, from furniture to even the remains of the door, and the mouth ate it all. "More…GIVE ME MORE!" It screeched horribly, and multiple strands of fire launched at Issei, attempting to grab him, but he used his [Power Jump] to dodge and then unfolded his wings to stay in the air.

However, it mattered little as the hairs came toward him again, but this time he was ready and retaliated with his [Fire Ki Stream], setting the hair on fire. The mouth screeched once again as if in pain, as the hair burned, yet, before Issei's eyes, more hair grew to replace what was lost. Shit, this thing could recover this quickly? Something WAS afoot here! "Dragon…Meat!" The hairs came to him again, and once again, he burned them. He couldn't keep doing this, so Issei had to think of a way to take down the Youkai.

His WIS and INT combined worked in full gear as he continued to dodge, burn, and ensure he was not caught and eaten by the freaky mouth. But eventually, he got the answer. "Hey, freaky mouth!" He prepared a [Dragon Grenade] in his hand. "Eat this!" And threw it at the mouth, who predictably, caught it and shove it into itself. That thing was not smart, just hungry! The woman was likely just a hollow host by now as well.

Poor woman…At least this way, she will be free.

The grenade went off within the Youkai, and sure enough, the entire head of the woman exploded from the inside, instantly killing the Youkai. "There. That does it." Issei said, preparing himself to fly upward. The mouth ruined the stairs, so flying was his only option.

The only issue was that he stopped as soon as he took notice of something. He has gotten no EXP. "Son of a-" A tendril of hair wrapped around his ankle, smashing him into the wall and actually going through it, which resulted in Issei finding himself rolling on the ground for a bit in the mud and rain before he managed to get back up, and looked to see just what had happened.

And his jaw fell.

There, exiting the palace, was the woman's headless corpse, yet, instead of a head, a mass of hair was gathering now, and in the center was the mouth. "THAT HURT! It hurt! Hurt! Hurt! Pain makes me hungry! Feed me!"

Okay, this was NOT a normal Youkai! Worst yet, the mutations continued. Hair began to grow over every inch of the corpse it was possessing, creating more of those tendrils, but worst yet, more mouths began to appear as well. Issei took an unconscious step back as this monster sent chills down his spine. How was this creature even possible? What could create such a monster? By this point, this was no longer considered even Youkai, but just a monster born of some kind of madness!

The sickening crunch of bones breaking, likely from the weight of all that hair, echoed through the empty field and the creature collapsed, only for it to generate long, skinny-looking arms made of hair and remains from the corpse to support itself, creating six such appendices. "Feed…"

"Shit!" Issei swore as the creature began to crawl toward him, being deceivingly faster than he suspected at first. Granted, his skill revealed something more shocking. This was still considered the same Youkai from before, albeit with its HP at the halfway point.

[Futakuchi-onna]

[HP: 37950/76000]

[Level 55]

The grenade was CRITICAL, yes, but it didn't fully kill the creature. Just took it off-guard. Still, he doubted it would fall for the same trick twice. Taking flight above, he maxed out his [Boost] and summoned forth all of his circles to fire as many projectiles as possible. A new skill was born when he focused his Ki into them and fired the volleys at the creature, the barrage making the ground erupt as the crimson spheres of Ki hit the ground.

However, he couldn't hit the creature all the time, as it was dodging effectively. Growing frustrated, Issei focused on his newly acquired wind skill and summoned forth a large tornado to swallow the monster, yet the creature dug its members into the ground to anchor itself, then, from below, it launched forth several tendrils at Issei to grab at his feet again to pull him down, but Issei got his sword out and slashed the hair as they were coming at him, then sent forth one of his long-ranged slashes.

Given how the monster anchored itself, it was unable to dodge the slash in time, which resulted in one of its members being cut off, blood dripping off from the stump left behind before Issei saw it regenerate. The HP still dropped, but its body kept recovering by just growing more hair.

Fire would be the most effective measure here, and as his tornado faded, an idea sprung into his head. He grinned widely before he focused again, summoning forth his tornado again, the monster finding itself in the heart of it, but anchored at the ground. Good. That is where he wanted it.

He began to focus his fire Ki into the tornado, and sure enough, the result was as expected.

A new Sub-Skill.

"[Fire Tornado]!" Issei shouted as the whirlwind of fire surrounded the monster, and its screams were heard all the way from up high where Issei was. The monster attempted to escape, but by now, its entire body had caught ablaze, and the smell of burned hair filled the air. By the time the tornado faded, the monster was crawling pathetically on the ground, the flesh of the corpse it had used charred, and the smell so powerful Issei had to cover his nose.

"Food…Feed me…" Even now, the mouth was begging for food to eat. Truly a pathetic being. With one last [Fire Ki Stream] aimed right at it, Issei set the main mouth alight and watched it screech and curse as it died out. This time, he got the EXP, a full 360K to that! After his bonuses were used, the total was 594000.

He almost leveled up from that alone, but he knew he was not done. At the top of the palace was the real boss. And now, he had QUESTIONS! Especially about the obviously mutated Youkai that he just killed. But oh no, he was not about to go back inside that palace and risk falling into another trap. He was done playing it nicely. Charging up another [Dragon Shot], he aimed it right at the palace, maxing out the damage output. Then, he let it lose, his attack striking the side of the large building and doing major damage. Soon after, as the dust rose, Issei saw how the palace began to shift, falling.

A true demolition work. And sure enough, it seemed to work. However, he might have fucked up, big time as well, as his skills were going haywire again. Whoever this witch was, he had to be on guard. He popped a couple of Stamina potions, then he stood his ground as an ear-piercing screech filled the air. He looked onward, at the downed palace, and saw a cloud of blueish and greenish smoke rise above it, heading right for him.

Bracing himself, the smoke crashed right into him, almost lifting him to the ground! However, he managed to stand his ground, and the smoke soon passed by him. Turning around sharply, he saw the smoke gather in one place, letting the real Boss take her true form. Before he stood a woman, seemingly human, with long, silky black hair and a loose, blue, and green kimono. She had very fair skin, and her nails were long, black as tar. Her lips were red as blood, and when he stared into her eyes, he saw a cold blue staring back at him.

[Princess of Vipers]

[130000/130000]

[BOSS]

No level indicator, just HP, name, and the fact this was indeed the Boss. "You have gone too far, Red Dragon." She spoke, facing him with no fear apparent in her voice. She was confident, or cocky. However, he leaned towards confidence. She was no fool. "You come into my realm…KILL MY SERVANTS! And dare to bring ruin to my palace? You may be the Heavenly Dragon of Domination, but even you must know your limits. The world is not your playground…It is mine." And so, she made her move, screeching and waving her arms, sending forth a hail of knives in his direction.

Getting his sword out, he used his [Deflect] on all the knives, seeing them splattered on the ground before him, however, the witch made one motion with her fingers, and suddenly, the knives were up again. Issei was caught off-guard, causing all of the knives to impale themselves into various parts of his body.

"Gah! Fuck!" He shouted, then gripped his sword more tightly and slashed with it, sending forth the long-ranged slash of energy at the witch, but she easily dodged it by jumping high into the air.

"I thought I had sealed away all of your sorcery. I was wrong." She reached into her kimono, bringing out a flower bud of some kind. Then, suddenly, all around Issei, the rain stopped. This alarmed the boy, but it did mean his magic was back. "Seems like fire…" She landed, standing serenely atop one of the stakes. "Has to battle fire."

She threw the bud toward him, and as the knives were coming out as he was recovering HP thanks to his healing magic, the bud took root into the ground. Once again, his skill blared out, and soon enough, the bud erupted with roots and rose, taking the shape of a giant tree-like creature.

Issei took flight upon seeing the creature, then he summoned forth his magical circles, multiples of them, and fired his [Firestream] at the creature. Sure enough, the creature didn't last long and died under the blazing fires. The witch sneered at her minion's failure, and even more so when she noticed Issei's wounds were mostly healed. Healing magic…How bothersome.

However, Issei was not done with her. Redirecting his attention to her, he began to fire his [Meteor Flare - Minor] at the witch, multiple volleys, although not hitting, lighting up the fields around the witch, illuminating the surrounding area. However, several of them did hit her, and one even nailed her in the face. "AHHHHHH! My face!" She took her hand from her face, exposing the burned flesh. "You will pay for that!"

"Make me, bitch!" With that bit, the witch's cool seemed to slip from her for a second as she made several motions with her hands, summoning forth a thick mist that surged toward Issei. The boy, sensing it might be bad news, activated his [Big Tornado], which caught all of the mist in itself before it vanished, along with the mist. Following this attack, Issei went on the offensive, closing the distance between him and the witch, getting right up in her face, and readying his [Dragon's Fist] skill to send her flying.

However, the witch seemed to have seen through his attempt, and once again used her witchcraft to alter her body, turning herself into a snake before his very eyes. His fist connected with air as her now serpentine body dodged his strike, then lunged at him, trying to bite him. However, his armor prevented her dangerous fangs from delivering any dose of venom into his body.

But he was not done. Grabbing her newly acquired tail, he swung her around with strength, smashing her into the muddy ground. However, despite the damage, she turned to smoke again, escaping his grasp and taking distance. Turning herself back, she let out a scream as she slammed her palms into the mud, making multiple of the spirits he killed before rising from the ground.

But he was not fazed. Using his martial, he carved through them, one by one. He got no EXP from those, but his skills sure did. His [Dragon's Fist] reached level five, gaining 2% more damage. A weak evolution, but any increase in his damage output was always welcomed. Luckily, he focused on kicks. And whilst his [Power Kick] has yet to level up, he did manage to carve his way through the spirits, once again reaching the witch. She attempted to evade his strike again, but Issei summoned out his sword once more and stabbed the witch right in the stomach.

"Gah!" The witch was surprised by the swift strike, but still leaped back, removing the blade from her gut. They put some pressure on it, and sure enough, when she removed her hand from the wound, it was already closed. Healing? Regeneration? No, his skill revealed no increase in her HP, only a decrease. The witch gnashed her teeth staring at him, and put her hands forth, sending a swarm of wasps in his way.

She had many tricks. Yet, Issei replied once again with his fire. [Firestream] made short work of the entire swarm, but he didn't stop there. Summoning multiple magical circles aimed at the witch, he began to fire multiple of his different fire-based spells at her, in hopes of striking her and setting her alight. Many of these strikes hit true, earning a smile from the young Emperor.

With his power at max, this was turning out easier than expected. Sure, she caught him off-guard at first, but now he held he had the upper hand. However, that quickly changed.

Alert! The second stage of the Boss is incoming!

"Ah, fuck." Looking at the fiery fields, Issei saw smoke rising from them. The flames were doing nothing now, and as the smoke rose, he saw it form itself into what could only be described as a giant viper. The witch had effectively shapeshifted, and as she charged at him, he launched several more attacks, only for her scales to repel them. Great, she was fireproof now.

Being forced to dodge, and fly away from her, he tried to think of another way to inflict damage to her. However, not only was she immune to fire, but she was also a giant now. She was quick too, trying to catch him in her jaws. Bringing out his blades, both of them, he dived down as she charged at him, sliding along her underbelly and slashing her down. That did some damage and earned a painful hiss from her, but as he landed, he noticed the witch was not deterred by the wounds, and instead looked angrily at him.

She opened her maws wide and sprayed a cloud of venom in the air. There was no defense or dodging against this, and he came to inhale the poisonous cloud. It burned his neck, and he felt his eyes water severely, but worst of all, he felt the taste of blood in his mouth. This was [Fatal Poison] and his HP was draining like crazy already!

Skill Level up! Your [Poison Resistance - Minor] is now level 6!

He needed to pop his Antidote, so that is exactly what he did. Once he drank it, the poison was gone, and he noticed he had a small immunity to the poison now, albeit very temporarily. Flying out of the cloud now that he was cured, he summoned his [Water Whip]. The witch hissed at him again, opening her maws to spray another cloud at him, but this time, he wrapped his water around her fang, repeating this for the other one as well before he dashed behind her head, landing atop, and pulling on the two violently.

The witch's head was pulled back as well as a result, but he continued to pull, harder and harder, trying to achieve a certain effect. And eventually, he felt his right hold give in, but not because he was weakening. No, it was because the witch's fangs were giving in!

With one final powerful tug, he managed to pull the fangs out of her mouth, pulling them to him using his whips as the witch screeched in pain and wrath. Once he had them, he then brought both fangs down right in the right eye of the witch. He would have gotten both eyes, but she made it difficult with her thrashing about.

He jumped off her after that, using another whip and wrapping it around her neck in the process. He brought her head down to the ground, where she hissed again, but was left without her fangs, so no more venomous clouds were to be had. Instead, Issei brought out his sword, the corrupted one he got from Malachi, and impaled her lower jaw with it, pinning her to the ground. He then delivered a powerful [Power Kick] to the side of her head.

The witch managed to free herself, however, despite the sword in her mouth and attempted to strike Issei with her tail, but he managed to catch said tail as she slammed him into the ground with it. She then lifted him, once again trying to slam him into the ground, but Issei caught himself in time and attempted to lift her off the ground.

But unfortunately, he suddenly felt his strength leave him.

"Fuck! The timer on your [Boost] ran out, partner! Quickly, use it again!"

With Ddraig's warning, he did just that, applying his [Boost] again to the max. However, that moment of weakness was all the witch needed to wrestle her tail from his grasp and slap him with it again, sending him flying back into the village. Issei crashed through several buildings in the process, and right now, his entire body was hurting.

He coughed. "Fuck…That hurt."

He was doing well, but that moment in which his stats returned to normal did a number on him. That witch knew how to profit off opportunity. It also confirmed to him he had to maintain himself at full power if he wanted to defeat her. Getting up, Issei looked up at the palace, seeing a mass of smoke flying his way before it formed the witch again atop a building, this time, wielding his sword.

She lifted the blade up. "Shabby craftsmanship, this replica. I can smell the magic used to make it too…Forbidden magic." She pointed it at him. "But honestly? Right now, I think the one whose magic was used for this would wish to say hello."

"What do you mean? I killed- Oh…Oh, fuck me sideways." The witch smirked.

"It seems you catch on quickly enough. Rise…Malachi!" The witch shouted then threw the sword into the ground, a crimson cloud surrounding it and the metal seemed to grow, liquify, twist, bend, and form itself into the very person the witch called. Issei saw a large, mutated leg come from the mist, and with a sweep of his arm, it was revealed. Malachi, in his monstrous second stage, was standing before him once again.

But something was wrong. This…His skill told him it was not him.

[Replica of Malachi]

[10000/10000]

It was not him. It was a mere replica, a clone, if anything, inferior to the original. However, as it stared at Issei, the boy could see it. The hatred, anger, and resentment…Malachi was there, deep within it. And right now, he had to fight it. He had no idea how powerful this replica was, but he won't underestimate it. Instead, he used his [Power Jump] to swiftly close the distance between him and the replica, then tried to kick him in the chest.

Only for it to use one pair of its arms to grab his leg and then swing him around like a ragdoll, smashing him into another wall. However, Issei pointed his arm at it, and fired multiple volleys of his [Wyvern Shot], making it let go of his leg and back down as he managed to nail it right in the face.

After that, he generated two [Dragon Grenades] in his hands and threw them, the explosives breaking apart into 3 each and blowing up all around Malachi. The replica lost its balance, and Issei took the chance to attempt to land a killing blow, yet, as he attempted to punch it, it caught his fist and then punched him right back. But it didn't let go of his arm. Luckily, it seemed to lack any skills, as the original had, but that only helped so much.

It was still crazy strong. It grabbed Issei by the face, and his other arm was also captured, the monster now trying to squeeze his head until it popped like a cherry! Thinking fast, he used his Ring of the Traveler, letting him blink right out of Malachi's grasp, then he took out his sword and stabbed him in the back. The replica screamed in pain as the blade dug into its body, then Issei focused, releasing the energy and then yanking it through the side of Malachi's body, leaving a large gash that was bleeding profoundly.

The replicate took a knee, attempting to put pressure on the bleeding, but that was when Issei slashed once again, taking its head. The mutant fell to the ground, deceased, yet, his sword was not returned to him. Great, he lost his weapon for good. Granted, it was a corrupted version of his average one, so the loss was not that big.

Looking around, he scanned for the witch to attempt to finish this battle, yet he didn't find her right away. What he did find, however, was a horde of those spirits once again surging toward him. "She took the time we used to defeat Malachi to raise an army…" Solomon slowly said, a bead of sweat running down his face. "This witch truly is no enemy to underestimate. She is extremely cunning."

"Doesn't matter," Issei said, dismissing his sword and bringing out all of his magical circles. "She will meet the same fate as all other beings who stood against us!"

Large tendrils made of shadows erupted from the magical circles, striking the spirits. Be they the normal variants or the spear-like ones, they all saw to it that the spirits were taken down. Then, Issei focused and switched his element, choosing fire now and unleashing multiple streams of flames upon the surrounding village. The entire place caught ablaze, and he stood there, in the heart of it all.

Flying up, he once again looked for the witch, eventually catching her, attempting to flee back to the ruins of her castle. He won't allow her. Unleashing an entire rain of his [Meteor Flare - Minor] he managed to cut the way of the witch off, then he flew right at her. Seeing him coming, the witch once again took her serpentine form and Issei struck her right in the neck, sending her crashing into the ground below her.

Jumping off her to take some distance, he grabbed one of the wooden stakes around, then threw it at her, impaling her side with it and causing her to hiss in pain before she turned to him and let loose a new kind of cloud. Not poison this time, at least, not the kind form before. The gas hurt just to be inside of it! It was corrosive, and it was eating through his armor, so he had no choice but to fly up again, but she was waiting for that and slammed him with her tail again.

He crashed into the ground again, but he was not done. Getting up quickly, he went right for the witch, and unleashed an entire volley of his [Wyvern Shot] at her, some missing, others hitting their mark and slowly draining her HP. Then, he summoned several of his [Dragon Grenade] and threw them at the witch's face, watching them explode and making her screech in agony. One second to look at her revealed that her eye, the one which he stabbed with her own fangs, was closed, likely blinded as well.

A blind spot.

Noticing this and taking flight again, he aimed to strike her from there, readying a full [Dragon Shot] to do so, but the witch attempted to slam him with her tail again, making him release the attack. It still struck her, but it didn't do as much damage as he wished it would. She was expecting him to take advantage of that.

Her tail flew backward from the force of the attack, and Issei switched to his magic again, summoning several tendrils and having them wrap around the serpentine body of the witch. However, she switched forms again to her humane one, escaping his grasp. This annoyed him to no end, especially as he nearly lost sight of her again. Almost. He saw her attempt to escape in her smoke-like form again, but he was not about to allow it.

He summoned another [Big Tornado] to catch her, and sure enough, she could not escape in that smoke-like form from the powerful winds, causing her to be sucked in and spun around a bit. Still, unlike the other beings who fell to this, she was able to use her own magic to summon a counter-tornado that canceled Issei's.

Looking up at him, she took out a long string with bones on it and chanted. Shortly after, a large, skeletal being emerged, resembling a tiger of some kind. It ran up to Issei, using the rubble as springboards, and tried to jump at him, which it did. However, Issei caught it by its bony neck and separated its head from its body, throwing the two halves away from one another.

The witch used it to distract him, however, even if for one second. She was chanting something below him, and although he could not understand what she was saying, Issei caught on that it was not good for him if he allowed her to finish. He aimed his [Dragon Shot] at her, and fired, attempting to take her out. His attack hit something, true, but it was not her.

A large, stone-made pillar had erupted from the ground. Now, that was interesting. That was not magic. It was the same as Youkai arts, it was Youjutsu! How she was able to use it, however, he did not know. But the fact she COULD use it brought many questions to his lips. This witch had secrets, and he was willing to bet that whatever experiments she was doing in her palace had to do with this.

But it didn't matter much, oh, it didn't. All he had to do was kill her, and that is what he intended to do. Still, the fact she could use such arts made him question why she didn't so far. Then again, that chant was not natural either, Kuroka never did that. He had to finish this, however. He was running low on Stamina and Mana. Even his Ki took a dip. But not his Demonic Power…

Oh, now he had some ideas. He might not know how this could affect his attacks, but he knew they provided a huge damage increase. So, readying his [Meteor Flare - Minor] again, he generated, then added Demonic Power, which caused the flame to burn with both orange and black flames. "Ohhhh…This is going to be fun." With that said, Issei let it loose on the witch.

It struck true against the stone pillar, and the power of the fire was so great, that the rock melted against it, the resulting liquid rock splashing all over the area behind it. "AHHHHHHHH!" And getting on the witch, burning her body. Issei went to the area, looking around for the witch, and eventually finding her on the ground, trying to crawl away. Her legs had been burned by the molten rock, and it even cooled down a bit, causing it to become solid again.

She was likely out of energy too, too tired to turn into smoke or a snake again, meaning she was at his mercy. Going to her, Issei did not treat her nicely, and grabbed her by her hair, pulling her up. "Gah! Let me go!" She shouted, trying to command him, and even claw at his Scale Mail, but to not use. "I am defeated! I admit it! Let me go, and you will never hear of me again!"

"I highly doubt that," Issei replied, using his other hand to grab her by the throat. "Now, how about you answer some questions first, then I will decide whether or not I will let you go."

"And why should I?" She asked venomously, but Issei just sighed.

"You really do not comprehend your current predicament? You choose silence, I kill you. You answer my questions, I MIGHT kill you. Either way, your odds of dying are high, but the second choice gives you a slim chance of getting out of this alive. So, how about we begin? How can you use Youjutsu?"

"Grrr…Fine. I experimented on Youkai." She admitted. "I harvested organs from several kinds and implanted them in my own body. This allows me to access their powers, albeit briefly, and it takes a lot of energy from me to do so."

"You don't say…" Issei said slowly. "What about this place? The mist, the village, and the Youkai I fought and killed so far?"

"The mist is a Youkai I created." She said again, this time surprising Issei. "My research has allowed him this. The mist swallowed this village, more than a few centuries ago. It created my own domain to rule. The Youkai you fought? They joined me of their own will, wanting to wait for the return of the Gashadokuro."

"The King of Malevolence?" Issei's words struck her as relatively odd.

"You know of them? Then you know Youkai are not 100% good or evil. They can choose which side they take, but the Gashadokuro? They were truly great…Then that bitch ruined everything!" Issei tightened his grip on her neck. "I…Made deals with Izanami, to be able to summon spirits from Yomi."

"I see…You've been hiding here, doing your experiments. That explains the mutated Youkai I fought. One of your works…" He was not even asking her questions anymore, but rather, stating facts. "You also cost me my sword."

"I did my part…Now let me go, Red Dragon-" Her words were cut as a blade was plunged deep into her stomach.

"I said I MIGHT let you go. You really think I'd let you leave here, knowing what you did? The people of this village were killed because of you."

She didn't reply, she simply stared at him.

"This is their vengeance." He took his sword out from her gut, and then, with one quick flick of his wrist, he slashed her throat, decapitating her. Her head rolled on the ground, her body falling limply on the ground. Now, the EXP was coming in. He got a base of 500K from her, which turned into 825000 EXP.

Congratulations! You are now level 37!

Since all of your stats are at maximum value, the SP will be stored for later use.

Congratulations on defeating the dungeon! You are hereby being awarded a total of 1.3M EXP, 1 Mega Dungeon Seed, and 1 Skill Book.

The EXP became 2145000 after his bonuses were applied. Almost another level. However, things were not done yet, as all around him, things seemed to just…ripple. Around him, the mist Youkai the witch mentioned seemed to die as the entire realm was brought back into the material world. And Issei found himself surrounded by a small army of Tengu.

"What the - Red Dragon?!"

"Mososhi?!" Issei gasped in equal surprise seeing the big boss of the Tengu there. "What's with you here?"

"Same question!"

"I just stumbled upon this strange mist, then I fought some kind of witch!" Issei replied, giving the short version of the events.

"You killed the Dokuhebi no ōjo?!" Mososhi asked in a stunned tone of voice, to which Issei just nodded as he dismissed his Balance Breaker. He wobbled on his feet a bit, however, as that fight really took it out of him. However, Mososhi rushed to him, giving him some support. "Easy there, Red Dragon! Come, I will take you to our village and inform the Princess of Ruin of your whereabouts. You need to rest, and then, I wish to ask you some questions."

"As you wish, Mososhi," Issei said, accepting the offer. Not much other to do.


The next day, after being brought to the Tengu's village, Issei was welcomed into the house of Mososhi himself. It was all so…old-style. He found no trace of the modern world inside this village, as it all seemed like he stepped into the last era again. It was peaceful, truly, and beautiful. However, he did have to give answers to Mososhi, after which he had to return to Rias.

"So, Red Dragon. About last night, my men confirmed that they found the body of the Dokuhebi no ōjo. She was decapitated, and I think it is safe to assume this was your doing, correct?" Mososhi asked Issei as the two sat down at a table, cups of tea presented before them.

"Yes. As I said, I stumbled upon that mist as I went out for a stroll, and I got sucked in. I had to fight my way through it, and I eventually fought that witch. She was…Mososhi, what can you tell me about her? I interrogated her, and she told me about her experiments and how she achieved the power to use Youkai arts, but other than that, I know little to nothing."

"Hmmm. It is only fair I share with you the story. You see, Red Dragon, the Dokuhebi no ōjo was an old enemy of mine. She was a witch, who used her power to terrorize humans and Youkai alike, conducting inhumane experiments on both. One day, she dared to kidnap Tengu, so I began to hunt her, at which point she created that mist Youkai through methods unknown to me. She took an entire village with her and went into hiding. That mist moves around the mountains during the night, and during the day it is impossible to find. Last night, however, we located it and attacked it, but the fact you were within and killed her was unexpected. For your deeds, although unwillingly and unknowing, to the betterment of the Tengu and avenging the ones who suffered at her hands, I offer my most sincere thanks."

"There is no need to thank me, Mososhi," Issei replied, trying to be humble.

"No, Red Dragon. There is no need for humility. You have done us a great service, and as such, a reward is also in order. Bring it in!" Mososhi shouted as the door opened, revealing a slightly older Tengu coming in with a box in his hands. "Take this as a token of our gratitude. May it serve you well."

Opening the box, Issei came to see a sight that amazed him.

[Tengu Katana]

[A sacred Katana forged by the Tengu to defend themselves from the malice of other beings. The alloy of this weapon is capable of conducting the user's Ki, allowing them to use Senjutsu and Youjustu through it.]

"Woah…" Issei said as he reached for it, looking at Mososhi before he nodded and took the katana in his hands. "It is light as a feather."

"Us Tengu pride ourselves in the skills of our smiths. You shall find no better katana made on this earthly realm, Red Dragon." Mososhi said. "A weapon fit for an Emperor."

"Truly is, Mososhi. Truly is." He placed the katana back into his inventory. He will see what it could do later. "Thank you for welcoming me to rest for the night as well, Mososhi. If you will allow me, I will now depart back to Rias' mansion. I am expecting to get an earful from her now."

"Then let me not hold you a second longer, Red Dragon. But do allow me to escort you back."

"Then let us be on our way."


Sure enough, Rias scolded him for leaving like that and then getting a call from Mososhi about him apparently getting into trouble with an old witch. But overall, she couldn't say much. She could sense he got stronger again, which worked in her favor. As such, Issei was allowed to rest for the rest of the day, but given how their time was running low, he had to be on top of his game for the upcoming Rating Game.

As such, Rias informed him he would also have to be ready. The last few days he could spend doing whatever he wanted, as long as it was for the betterment of his skills for the upcoming battle. She had no idea.

Reaching into inventory, however, he did take out the skill book he got.

[Skill Book: Earth Affinity]

A new affinity for his Youjustu? Hell yeah! He immediately consumed it, giving him some more EXP. But more importantly, that meant some new Youkai stuff to play with. He really should ask Kuroka to give him some tips on how to use it and whatnot.

Attention! Attention!

"Huh?"

System Recalibration is in progress!

[Youjutsu Elemental Manipulation - Novice] will be removed, and all skills under it combined. The EXP earned by those skills will not be left and merely re-used. All EXP from the [Youjutsu Elemental Manipulation - Novice] skill will be transferred over to [Youjutsu - Novice].

All skills under it shall be combined! Processing. Processing.

Skill Level-up! Your [Youjutsu - Novice] is now level 7!

Skill Level-up! Your [Youjutsu - Novice] is now level 8!

Skill Acquired! [Fire Mastery] was added to your skill list under [Youjustu - Novice]

Skill Level-up! Your [Fire Mastery] is now level 2!

Skill Level-up! Your [Fire Mastery] is now level 3!

Skill Level-up! Your [Fire Mastery] is now level 4!

Skill Level-up! Your [Fire Mastery] is now level 5, and as a result, it has grown!

Skill Level-up! Your [Fire Mastery] is now level 6!

Skill Acquired! [Air Mastery] was added to your skill list under [Youjustu - Novice]

Skill Level-up! Your [Air Mastery] is now level 2!

Skill Level-up! Your [Air Mastery] is now level 3!

Skill Acquired! [Earth Mastery] was added to your skill list under [Youjustu - Novice]

"What the…" Issei said slowly, then he inspected his skill page. Sure enough, the mentioned skills were all…gone, replaced by those mastery skills. However, he wondered what they meant, or what they were used for since he seemed to have lost all the skills he created so far!

Note: Not lost. Simplified. The received skills allow you to use the elements you have an affinity for however you wish, without the need to have a specific skill for them.

"Now this sounds good," Ddraig said, and sure enough, Issei agreed. This did sound extremely good. And things would only get better and better.