CHAPTER 99: CHAPTER 99: JUGGERNAUT FROM THE DEEP FLOORS OF THE DUNGEON!

The sense of weightlessness came suddenly—but disappeared just as fast.

In the span of a single breath—

Whoosh!

The moment their feet touched solid ground again, the entire group was already standing on the first floor of the Dungeon.

Finn jerked his head up, scanning the surroundings. After confirming he was completely unharmed, he tapped his temple with a dazed expression.

"...This is ridiculous."

This wasn’t a small group of two or three—it was an entire squad of the Familia’s core combat force.

And yet they had just been carried—yes, carried—like groceries in a basket, straight from Twilight Manor into the Dungeon by Ryota.

If he hadn’t experienced it himself, he would’ve bet his life that such a thing was impossible.

Next to him, Riveria, Gareth, and the others stood in stunned silence, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Only Ais and Lefiya, who had already experienced the strange sensation of flying before, looked relatively calm.

While they were still dazed, a few adventurers nearby were also startled by the sudden commotion.

"Wait, wait, did a whole group of people just appear out of thin air?!"

"No... no way, that’s the Loki Familia!!"

"You’re kidding, right? Is this an illusion?!"

"There’s no way the entire Loki Familia just materialized on the first floor. Are you messing with me?"

"But look at their faces... They look so confused... Don’t tell me it’s their first time on the first floor?"

"..."

As they watched the imposing, visibly shaken members of the Loki Familia, the other adventurers around them collectively questioned their reality.

Meanwhile, Ryota simply lifted his gaze forward and quickly scanned the chakra flow within his body.

No fatigue, no weakness, not even the slightest discomfort.

It seemed his previous concerns had been unfounded.

He’d assumed that transporting an entire team via space-time ninjutsu—even with the support of Hashirama’s cells and Sage Chakra—would incur some kind of burden.

Just in case, he had chosen the first floor for testing.

After all, even Second Hokage Tobirama had rarely, if ever, used the Flying Raijin Jutsu on such a scale or frequency.

But now—

The sensation was nearly identical to when he’d only brought Ais and Lefiya.

This must be the power of cheats!

"Ryota, are you... really okay?" Lefiya couldn’t help but speak up. She’d been watching him closely, afraid he was just putting up a strong front.

"Me?" Ryota smiled.

"I’m great—feeling as fresh as ever."

As he spoke, he gestured for everyone to regroup.

"Come on, gather up. We’re jumping straight to the thirty-sixth floor."

The moment the words left his mouth, everyone turned to him in unison.

"Ryota, don’t you think you’re rushing it a bit?" Finn reached out to stop him, concern in his voice.

"Even if this Flying Raijin Jutsu of yours is some kind of magic, it still counts as magic, right? The mental toll must be huge."

"I was already stunned you could jump from the surface to the first floor. And now you want to go straight to the thirty-sixth? Are you sure your body can handle that? Don’t push yourself."

Riveria chimed in, nodding along like a worried mother.

"Casting high-intensity magic consecutively could lead to a Mind Down. If you collapse—"

Before she could finish, everyone else joined in to try and stop him.

Even Ais had a rare flicker of concern in her eyes.

Ryota stood there, looking at all the worried faces around him. He raised a hand and gave an "OK" sign.

"For me, this kind of strain is nothing."

"I really am fine."

Finn opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. He just gave a wry smile and lowered his hand.

"...You’re the only person in this team whose abilities I just can’t wrap my head around."

Ryota shrugged, turned to face the others, and grinned even wider.

"So—everyone, hold on tight."

Just like before, the first to dive into his arms was Ais.

Hot on her heels was the classic tsundere elf girl.

Lefiya muttered "For the expedition, for the expedition..." under her breath, like she was trying to justify her actions as she slipped in beside him.

Just as Ryota was about to say "Alright, that’s enough," two more shadows pounced from either side.

"Coming in hot!"

"Ryota~ I wanna try this teleport thing too!"

Tione and Tiona squeezed in on either side, giggling as they playfully jostled for space—each trying to get even closer.

Feeling the overwhelming pressure of multiple "deep valleys" smashing against his chest, Ryota nearly forgot how to say the words "Flying Raijin."

Only after everyone else had stepped in and placed a hand on him did he finally murmur the familiar incantation:

"Flying Raijin!"

Whoosh!—

Golden light tore through space again, and in a burst of softness and embarrassment, the entire group vanished from the first floor of the Dungeon.

...

Dungeon, Thirty-Seventh Floor.

This layer, classified as part of the Deep Floors, was completely unlike the damp, dim atmosphere of the middle floors.

The walls, floors, and ceiling were all made of smooth white crystal, giving the illusion of some divine labyrinth rather than a cavernous underground.

Towering archways, crisscrossing maze-like corridors, and staircases that seemed to stretch into infinity.

From above, the central chamber was composed of five massive concentric circular walls, spiraling inward like a fortress within a fortress.

These were numbered from the outermost to innermost: Walls Five through One.

Inside the First Wall lay the deepest point of this floor—the Throne Room.

Radiating outward were the Beast Room, Soldier Room, Warrior Room, and Knight Room.

The farther from the throne, the wider and simpler the corridors became.

But the closer one drew to the throne, the more complex and disorienting the labyrinth became—as if designed to wear down challengers’ minds and bodies until they were deemed "worthy" to face the king.

And sleeping within that Throne Room was this floor’s boss—Udaeus.

In the original timeline, Ais had slain Udaeus solo as a Level 5, marking her breakthrough to Level 6.

But now, thanks to Ryota’s help, the golden-haired girl had already reached Level 6 in advance.

At this moment, atop the tall outer walls of the Thirty-Seventh Floor, the Big Three stood with Ryota, gazing down at the battlefield below, which was lit with fire and streaked with flashes of light.

Inside the Throne Room, Ais’s figure danced around her opponent, each strike aimed with precision at Udaeus’s weak points.

Lefiya stood a safe distance behind her, chanting continuously to provide uninterrupted support.

Their coordination was seamless—as if they saw this infamous floor boss as little more than a training dummy.

Ryota turned to Finn with a smile.

"Sure you don’t want me to step in?"

Finn shook his head without hesitation.

"You’re our secret weapon for this expedition."

"No way we let you waste that now."

After a short pause, he added, "A Level 6 and a Level 4 are more than enough to handle this brute."

"And once we’ve placed the mark, we’ll move on just like you said."

Ryota nodded. No objections.

As Finn—and the rest of the Loki Familia—saw it, the "main quest" of this expedition was to reach the Fifty-Eighth Floor.

And the "side quest" was to help Ryota place teleportation marks on each floor.

The ultimate goal: transform the Dungeon into a network of instant transport hubs for the Loki Familia.

Though the battle below looked intense, that was mostly for show.

In truth, Udaeus had been on the defensive since the fight began.

Lefiya pushed off with both feet and leapt backward, raising her wand—Forest’s Teardrop—as she began a new chant:

"O proud warriors, O snipers of the forest..."

As her chant ended, Lefiya unleashed her area-of-effect fire magic, Fusillade Fallarica.

Countless lances of flame rained down from the sky, covering every inch of Udaeus’s territory!

Boom! Boom! Boom—!

Even as the explosions echoed, a golden streak shot through the firelight.

Ais darted into Udaeus’s blind spot. With a clear ring, her sword Feather’s Echo came down hard on the back of his neck!

CRACK!!

A heavy shudder shook the entire Throne Room.

Udaeus froze mid-motion.

The next second, the hulking figure collapsed in a heap, a cloud of dust billowing up.

The mighty floor boss finally disintegrated into black ash.

"Tch, that dumb elf is getting good."

Ever since Ryota helped her overcome her inner demons, the "Thousand Elf" had been growing rapidly into one of the strongest mages.

As the battle ended, Finn gave Bete a subtle glance. The werewolf immediately understood, stomped once, and vanished in a blur.

Moments later, he reappeared near a rocky outcropping, jamming a kunai glowing with golden light into the wall.

Flash!

Another Flying Raijin mark was set.

Finn looked at the black ash drifting in the air and the now-silent Throne Room before turning and waving down to the girls below.

"Ais, Lefiya! Over here!"

The two girls came bounding over, excitement still lingering on their faces.

Finn smiled and turned to Ryota.

"Let’s move on to the Thirty-Eighth Floor."

"Thirty-Ninth is a safe zone—we can rest up there."

"What do you think, Ryota?"

Ryota nodded. No objections.

In his mind, expeditions like this—high risk, low reward, but strategically necessary—were old news for the Loki Familia.

But just as Ais, Lefiya, and Bete rejoined the group—

BOOM—!!

The ground suddenly trembled with a deafening roar, like something crying out from the depths.

Rocks crumbled, dust exploded outward, and from the rear of the now-silent Throne Room came a hideous grinding noise.

"...!"

Finn jerked his head up, eyes filled with confusion.

"What was that—?"

Before he could speak, Riveria’s face paled as she instantly raised her staff.

"This is bad. Irregular!"

She reflexively began chanting a large-scale defensive spell.

"Wait, isn’t that a bit much? This kind of tremor—this is the first time we’ve ever—"

Before Tiona could finish, a sharp crack echoed out.

The floor of the Throne Room split open!

"Hiss..."

Dark energy surged out like a tide.

A massive black form began slithering out from the crack.

Thick limbs. Razor-sharp claws. Eyes glowing red.

Ryota’s eyes snapped into Mangekyō Sharingan, locking onto the emerging shape.

His brow twitched. His voice was calm but probing.

"...Hmm? A Juggernaut?"

The Irregular Juggernaut—Dungeon’s automatic defense response to catastrophic damage.

Everyone knew: the Dungeon in DanMachi wasn’t just a place. It was alive.

After battles, it would repair itself rapidly and pause monster spawning in that zone.

But if the destruction was too great—dense, excessive, beyond the limit—

Then the Dungeon would "create" a Juggernaut.

A living embodiment of its will, with only one goal:

To hunt down and kill every adventurer responsible for "excessive damage."

The deeper the floor where it appeared, the stronger the Juggernaut.

In the source material, a Juggernaut had once spawned on Floor 27 and chased down Liliruca and Ryuu.

But this one...

They were now on Floor Thirty-Seven—a Deep Floor.

This Juggernaut was a Deep Floor Enhanced Variant.

Far stronger than the one Ryuu had faced—by several orders of magnitude.

"Wait a minute..."

Ryota recalled Lefiya’s earlier spell. Though large-scale, it hadn’t been destructive enough to trigger a Juggernaut.

There was no way her attack alone could’ve provoked this kind of response.

"Then what the hell caused it...?"

His gaze drifted to the kunai lodged in the wall, glowing faintly with golden light.

The spatial fluctuation from the Flying Raijin Jutsu mark shimmered with each chakra pulse—gently warping the structure of the surrounding space.

And in that moment, Ryota realized—

"Shit. It’s not Lefiya. It’s me..."

Images flashed through his mind—every kunai he’d embedded across the floors:

First floor. Tenth. Twentieth. Thirty-seventh.

Each one marked.

Each one laced with the Flying Raijin formula.

He’d been so proud of his wealthy man’s strategy, thinking it was the safest method.

But now—

He finally understood: he’d been unknowingly treating the Dungeon like a giant magic circuit board.

Like hammering a nail into someone’s back every few steps.

And now, that "someone" was pissed.

"The Dungeon is conscious... and it’s rejecting me."

"The Juggernaut is its immune response."

And the kunai Bete had just planted?

That was the final straw that tripped the Dungeon’s "rage switch" and triggered the unprecedented awakening of this Deep Floor Juggernaut.

Beside him, Finn’s face tightened as his mind raced to plot an escape route. He shouted:

"Everyone! Evacuate the combat zone!"

"Keep moving—don’t get stuck fighting it head-on!"

As the others prepared to retreat, Ryota shook his head, flipped his wrist, and summoned the Kusanagi Sword.

He spoke quietly.

"Captain Finn, you all wait here."

"What?!"

Finn froze. "Ryota, that thing is a Juggernaut. You should—"

Ryota cut him off.

"I dug this hole. I’ll be the one to fill it."