Fukuoka, Japan——
Omariro and Sōshin were busy walking around the mall, with various visitors taking pictures of Omariro. Sōshin gleefully clung to his arm. "Sir, you're famous!"
"Fame irrelevant."
Omariro quickly hurried past admirers and children begging for autographs until they reached the plaza. Behind them, Omariro noticed Nonoka, Zaria, and Rika wearing dresses and sandals.
"Ooh!" Sōshin noticed. "Friends have dressed up!"
Rika nodded. "The Director told us to blend in, so we took his advice! Do you like it, sir?"
Omariro gave them a brief stare. "Children look the same."
They all began to sulk, disappointed, as Omariro looked around. "Eyes sharp. Kaidanchō nearby."
As he began walking, Nonoka put a hand on her hip. "I told you girls we should've gone more flashy."
Zaria slapped her forehead. "Let's just get moving."
They followed behind Omariro, who pushed past the crowd as they attempted to grab onto him, nearly swallowing him whole.
"Mr. Nyugawa!"
"My son went missing! Can you help?"
"How close are the monsters, Mr. Nyugawa?"
"Are the other Kaidanchō really done for good?"
The group finally made it to a quieter lounge, where they noticed a mall clerk tidying up. Omariro pointed to him. "Clerk. Ask."
Zaria quickly volunteered. "Leave this to me, sir!"
She walked up to the clerk. "Hey, have you seen two Kaidanchō? The short one with purple hair and the edgy one with black hair?"
"You mean Kaidanchō Kamishiro and Saionji? Yes. They were here not too long ago. I believe they're going to attend the gala we're hosting tonight."
Zaria paused. "Gala?"
"Yes. It's a bit of a political affair. We seek to transition into a new era, where we don't have to rely on Kaidanchō, but on our own personal strength!"
"So like, democracy," Zaria noted.
"Something of the sort. We hope this will move the government to disband the Kaitansha for good. We don't need an organization. We need it to be like old times. One Legend, and the people doing what they can."
He noticed Omariro. "Whoa! No way! I didn't know he'd actually show up!"
He immediately rushed over. "Sir Nyugawa, is it really you?"
"Hmm."
"Please, you've got to come to tonight's gala! Imagine the publicity! If you tell the world how you feel, you can easily have the Kaitansha shut down!"
"No," Omariro spat.
"Wha—-? But Sir—-!"
"I come only for Kaidanchō. If Kaidanchō at gala, I come to gala."
"Kaidanchō?" the clerk questioned. "There's others here?"
Omariro closed his eyes. "Hmm."
He disappeared, surprising the clerk. "Wait! Where'd he go?"
"He does that a lot," Rika admitted.
"But it's super cool every time!" Zaria gawked. "Also. How much is it to get into this gala?"
"Well, if Sir Nyugawa is there with you, we can give you all a pass for free."
"Really?" Rika wondered. "Will there be dancing?"
"You really can't help yourself, can you?" Nonoka scoffed.
"Of course there'll be dancing! Everything a high-status party needs to draw in a large crowd! Doors open at 8!"
"As bratty as they acted about the whole situation, I wouldn't be surprised if they showed up," Nonoka mused.
"But those two are like…the antisocial ones," Rika pointed out. "Would they really show up to a major event like this, where everyone will know they're Kaidanchō?"
"People can mask their true selves!" Sōshin explained. "Look at Friend Kaoru!"
"You do have a point…okay! Well, I wanna go, so let's ask Mr. Nyugawa about it!"
"Where are we gonna find him?" Nonoka questioned.
"Guess we start looking."
Meanwhile—-
Han, Rei, and Shino were being led down some stairs, blindfolds covering their eyes. Shino tried to pull it off, but various hands kept her restrained. "Get off me, you dogs!"
"Quiet," a voice ordered. "You're not allowed to see the Underground."
They walked down more stairs until they heard the click of a door open. Han, Shino, and Rei got shoved to the ground as the door locked behind them.
"Great," Han muttered. "They just dumped us into a trap."
With their hands now free, they pulled off their blindfolds and surveyed the area. Han noticed they were inside an old maintenance tunnel chamber, which branched into a parking garage with two motorbikes.
"Ahem!" Shino called out. "What kinda crap is this?"
Zeku's voice rang out through a nearby speaker. "If you wanna join, you've gotta learn to ride the wave. Take the bikes and make it to the other side of the tunnel. Do that, and you're in."
The garage door lowered, revealing a long, weathered tunnel behind it. Rei looked at the bikes. "Oh! There's only two!"
"Yep. We kinda didn't expect three of you, so you'll have to make do."
Shino got on one, and Rei got on the other, while Han looked between them. Shino motioned to him. "You getting on?"
"Uh. You look like you drive crazy, so I'll go with Rei. She's safer."
"Pff, suit yourself."
The speaker rang once again. "You've got fifteen minutes. Make haste. Time starts…now!"
A bell rang, and both Rei and Shino revved up their engines and took off down the tunnel. Shino gripped the bars tightly. "These things pack hella horsepower! I wonder how much they cost?"
"Make sure you're looking for traps!" Han warned them. "They didn't send us down this tunnel for no reason!"
"What?"
Sure enough, Shino raced through a tripwire, and plumes of flames shot from cannons inside the tunnel, nearly scorching them.
"Ahh, shit," Han realized.
Rei hit the gas, zooming the bike past the cannons before they could fire. Shino was right on her hip. With the fire dying down, Han pulled out his cube and stood on the back of the bike.
"Don't drive too fast! I gotta scan the area! Cube! Scan!"
[Scanning…]
It highlighted a strange object on the ceiling in front of them, and Han immediately realized what it was. "Lasers! Now you can hit the gas!"
The girls did so, as a laser cannon emerged from the ceiling, firing white lasers at them. Rei swerved and dodged, while Shino took one hand off the handle and flicked her fingers. "Jugen-Metsusha: Yubisaki Mekken!"
The cannon disappeared as Han sat back down, relieved. "Where did even they get the resources for laser cannons?"
A thought flashed in his mind, with Mirei's eerie voice ringing through his head. "Wait. Could she be more than just a nurse?"
"Han! Watch out!"
Shino's voice snapped him back to reality as swinging blades emerged from the walls, forcing Rei, Shino, and Han to duck.
They raced past a flag, and the nearby speaker turned on. "Nice work. You made it to the halfway point. Unfortunately halfway isn't good enough for Dokkōdan, so we'll have to speed up the process. Good luck!"
The floor beneath them suddenly began to pull them forward like an escalator, causing Rei and Shino to lose control of the bikes. Shino fell off her bike, but Han grabbed her arm and pulled her onto Rei's.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, thanks!"
She climbed behind Han as Rei tried to keep the bike steady. Shino pointed up to a spike trap hanging from the ceiling. "Rei, think fast!"
The spikes fired at them, but Rei formed her shield, blocking the damage. Rei used one hand to maintain her shield, while she used the other to steer.
"Keep driving! I'll cover you!"
Rei dropped her shield, and Shino readied herself as the next wave of traps came, barbed wires that blocked the path ahead. "Both of you, watch your heads!"
They ducked, allowing Shino to erase most of the wires. She missed a few, and they scratched at their arms and the bike's exterior. "Sorry! Still need work on that!"
"It's fine!" Han assured her. "We're almost to the end!"
More traps emerged, this time from the ground. "We've got mines! What do we do?"
Han formed his watches and fired wires into the wall, allowing Rei to drive the bike safely across it. Rei sped up further as Zeku's voice echoed through the tunnel. "Four minutes left!"
Rei continued driving along the wall as oil slicks fired onto the ground below, with flamethrowers setting them ablaze. Han fired more wires, propelling the bike even faster.
"Now who's driving crazy?" Shino blurted out, holding on for dear life.
Up ahead, they could see a spiked gate beginning to close over the entrance, and Rei caught wind of it. "Ooh! They're locking us out!"
"Not for long!" Han insisted. "Time to kick this thing into overdrive!"
"Wait," Shino realized. "What are you—-?"
"Jugen-Kōbisha: Tekubi Sōchaku Kyūbu—-Electric Gate!"
He formed an electric gate next to them, and the electricity charged up the bike, causing it to fly at uncontrollable speeds.
"AHHHHH!"
The bike flew past flamethrowers and spikes, sliding under the spiked gate just as it closed.
The kids passed the flag, hitting the wall with a hard CRACK.
When they awoke, they noticed Zan and Zeku standing over them with approval, nodding.
"Impressive," Zan commended. "Survived a gauntlet that claimed the lives of 74% of participants."
Han cracked his arm. "And you just willingly allow kids into it?"
"But of course. A kid's gotta become a man one day, no? At least that's what an old friend of mine told me."
He helped them up. "Follow us. We'll take you to the crew. The real crew."
They escorted them through a nearby hallway as the kids rubbed their sore bones. After walking for about ten minutes, they finally entered a large hotel, where various Dokkōdan members were lounging around.
"So this whole time, you guys had your base in an abandoned hotel?" Han questioned. "Seriously?"
"What better place?" Zan replied. "Comfort and utility. Perfect for an underground crew of newcomers."
Zan wrapped an arm around Rei. "Should I show you around?"
"Erm, sure!"
He led them upstairs, while Han hung back a little, tapping Zeku. "Why do you guys seem so interested in Rei?"
"Why else? She's got guts, she's strong, and she's hot. What's not to love?"
"Uh."
Zeku pulled Han aside as Shino followed Zan and Rei up. "You've got some hot teammates, kid. You never thought about taking a chance on them?"
"Well, no. They like Mr. Nyugawa. Plus they see me more as their annoying brother."
"But what if you could be the man? You become the Legend?" The Abyss took hold of you for a reason. Don't you want to be someone better?"
Han stepped back, deep in thought. "No. I'll never betray Mr. Nyugawa again…but…if this could help the plan…"
Zeku put an arm around Han. "So, what do you say?"
"If I said I was interested, then what?"
"Then Zan and I can send you on the path to power. Come, Han. We will show you greatness."
Zan brought Shino and Rei into a planning room upstairs, where various Dokkōdan members were busy drawing on an outline. Shino immediately clocked what it was.
"Is that Kaitansha HQ?"
Zan nodded. "They've got resources we need. Since you guys proved yourselves, I chose to send you on this mission."
"Mission to do what?"
"Break into the HQ, and steal the files labeled *Dungeon.* With their schematics and classified information, we're gonna become an unstoppable force."
Rei looked around. "Wait, where's Han?"
Zan broke into an evil grin. "Don't worry, girlie. Han will be with you soon."
He turned back to the board. "Very soon."
In the armory nearby, Zeku was busy showing Han a bunch of leather outfits and weapons. "So. It's time to turn you from soft beta male into badass alpha."
"How do we do that?"
Zeku guided Han toward a secret room behind the armory, which had canisters of a glowing purple liquid. "What is that?"
"Jugen-Daraku," Zeku explained. "It's what grants us our modified powers. Harvested from the source—-our progenitor. You may know him by the name…Lord Tsuihō-Ō."
"The Abyss Lord."
"Yes. Now then, Han."
He held a canister up to Han's face. "What will you do?"
——