Sinner System-Chapter 547: Final Dungeon - Final Floor (Part 1)
As the others gathered around, our surroundings changed abruptly as we presumably got teleported up to the final floor of the Dungeon.
Uneven stone slabs were laid on the ground, with large, tall pillars evenly spread out across the space, the air cold and stagnant.
Here we are, the site of the final battle of this long, long war. No one’s saying a word, there’s a grim, solemn atmosphere around the party.
"We...we should take a moment to rest and clear our heads," I spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Yeah...I agree, we shouldn’t rush. We’ve come this far, we can’t afford to fail now," Responded Jaden, before I took out a couple of blankets from Treasury and set them over the floor.
"Hey, maybe get some snacks and drinks too, Kai, something light and refreshing," Suggested Aria, a few of the others perking up slightly.
"Sounds good to me," Spoke up Ciel, as I picked out fruit salad bowls, various flavored yogurts, and popsicles, along with some chips, just to have a savory option.
"<May I try some of that, my King>?" Inquired Gula, peering over my shoulder.
"Yeah, sure. Hm, you’ve all worked pretty hard today, so I’d say you’ve more than earned some treats," I nodded, as I glanced back at the other Apostles, before generating more copies of the snacks.
I also took out a couple of pitchers of mixed fruit juices, plus enough glasses for everyone.
Okay, they’re all looking pretty eager. This should hopefully lift their spirits a bit, because there is still more we need to discuss.
Particularly regarding the two available Personalis Arma I’ve got in my possession, the one wielded by Deino, and the one that had briefly belonged to Aarav.
The only ones in the party who don’t have Personalis Arma are Brid and Jax, so there’s no need to deliberate on who gets them.
We also need to decide on who’ll fight the Demon Lord. With his new Personalis Arma, Petrus should be able to take several of us into the shadows, so we can negate the roulette and only have one of us taken into account.
And, of course, it should be me. I’m the most powerful, and the range of my arsenal is second only to Cleo, so-...
"Hey, um...," She suddenly spoke up, interrupting my train of thought.
Huh, speak of the devil.
"What’s up?" Aria prompted her with a smile.
"Well, um...ever since we entered the Final Dungeon, I’ve felt a bit strange. At first, I thought it was just nerves, but that sensation didn’t fade at any point. In fact, it kept getting stronger with each subsequent floor. It’s hard to put into words, but something just felt...off. Also, it seemed like my System was glitching, which was definitely weird, but now-..."
"Hm? System? What do you mean?" Chimed in Jaden curiously, Cleo’s eyes widening slightly in alarm.
"I-It’s, um...," She trailed off hesitantly, briefly glancing at me and Aria, before letting out a slow exhale to compose herself and continuing, "W-Well, it’s, like, where m-my powers come from. I-I can see my abilities o-organized in a display that o-only I can see. I-It just appeared after m-my Tabulization."
Unlike me, the Tabulization process actually worked on her. She said that her System briefly disrupted the stability of her Mana, the Tabulization then stabilized it, before her System undid the effect of the Tabulization and then reverted her Mana back to its initial state.
I guess the Goddess Samsara, who gave us our Systems, decided to add that feature to Cleo’s System after what happened to me.
"Cool, I’ve never heard of anything like that before. At least, not in real life, I have seen it in those old fantasy anime, though," Remarked Brid in fascination.
"A-Anyway, um...shortly after we got teleported to this floor, that sensation swelled and surged, and it looks like the dense concentration of powerful Monster Mana in this Dungeon unlocked a Hidden Skill of sorts. I-I don’t know how long this’ll take, but it’ll make me stronger, so..."
"Go for it. If it takes a while, so be it...we need all the power we can get, it’ll be too late for regrets if we rush ahead and things go south," I pointed out, after taking a moment to mull it over.
"Mhm, he’s right. Go for it," Nodded Aria in agreement.
"Yeah, we’ll cover you if it comes to it," Added Jaden with a thumbs up.
"Hm...hey, how long has it actually been since we entered the Final Dungeon?" Ciel asked me.
"Let’s see...oh, just over ten hours now. The barriers they put up around the Sanctuaries are supposed to last twelve hours, so we’re not doing too bad on time," I replied thoughtfully, before adding as the others were nearly done polishing off the refreshments, "Alright, as soon as we’re done eating, Cleo, go ahead and activate your Hidden Skill. In the meantime, I’ll hand over the two Personalis Arma to Brid and Jax. After that, we’ll discuss our strategy and head on. Oh, unless anyone wants any more snacks?"
"Uh, maybe just a little more, I’d like some more chips," Grinned Jaden sheepishly.
"Yeah, I could go for a few more sweet treats myself," Added Ciel with a wry smile.
Hm...maybe the snacks eased their nerves a bit too much.
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Point-of-View: Lachlan Bollinger
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"This is frustrating. We have no way of knowing how far the team has progressed through the Final Dungeon. For all we know, they could all be dead already," Remarked one of the other HUC members grimly.
"I know it’s tough, but we need to be optimistic here. There’s still time...we have a little under two hours before the barriers reach their limit," I pointed out.
"Yeah, I suppose that’s true. Still, though, I can’t help but feel concerned."
That’s only natural, considering that our very existence is at stake here. If we lose this final battle, it’ll be the end of humanity, our extinction.
That’s exactly why we must be optimistic, we have to hope beyond hope that-...
"U-Uh, we have a problem! Several of the barriers are starting to destabilize, they’re reaching their limit!"
Huh?
"This is bad, they’re all showing signs of malfunctioning, to varying degrees. We probably have about half an hour left with most of them...but the ones around Sanctuary Beta and Zeta look likely to reach their limit within fifteen minutes, at most!"
Well...shit. Our extinction might already be at hand, after all...
