The moment Finn's words fell, the entire party fell silent.
Riveria was the first to instinctively speak up in rebuttal:
"Impossible! That can't be the Black Dragon!"
"It's supposed to be on the hundredth floor!"
The Black Dragon—every adventurer in Orario carried its shadow deep in their hearts.
It was the ultimate nightmare, the one quest out of the Three Great Quests that had never been completed.
One by one, all eyes turned toward the man at the very front—Ryota.
No one said another word. They were all waiting for him to speak.
Ryota's gaze was fixed ahead, into that dense darkness—so thick it was almost tangible. His Rinnegan glimmered with a violet light.
After a moment, he finally spoke:
"…No mistake."
"It's that thing."
The air froze again.
Everyone's expression darkened. Even with all the mental preparation in the world, the moment Ryota actually said "it's that thing," the oppressive weight of staring down the end itself sent a violent shiver through every one of them.
After all, the Black Dragon was the ultimate calamity—one even the combined might of the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia had failed to slay.
But unlike the others, whose faces had paled and whose hearts were shaken, Ryota's expression was unnervingly calm. He was deep in thought.
The Black Dragon, showing up on the sixty-second floor?
That made no sense.
Its true body was sealed away in the Dragon's Valley on the hundredth floor. That place had been locked away by the ancient great spirit Aria herself, burning both her life and soul to weave the spatial seal with her own hands.
It was, in every way, the Dungeon's end point.
A being like that had no reason to appear on the sixty-second floor.
Unless—there was only one explanation—the seal had failed again.
And this time, the failure was far more catastrophic than any in the past.
Ryota's mind spun rapidly, piecing together fragments and details.
When he'd led the Loki Familia and Freya Familia on that deep-floor expedition… below the fifty-ninth floor, they'd first stepped into the zone called Ice Garden.
In fulfilling Ouranos's commission, he'd driven back the Valgang Dragon swarm and then slammed shut the suddenly exposed seal.
It had solved the immediate crisis… but it had also stirred up a far greater commotion.
Aria's seal had already been weakened by time.
And it had only been a week since their last descent into the Dungeon.
Ryota glanced sideways at the silent figure standing beside him—Uchiha Madara.
A man with the Rinnegan, whose chakra density surpassed even the deep-floor magic—an "otherworldly god-tier combatant."
And Ryota himself, fused with the Chakra Fruit, Sage Jutsu chakra, and Hashirama's cells, carried within him a power beyond this world.
Together, they were like a living fuse dropped into the Abyss.
It was inevitable: the long-faltering seal had shattered the moment they set foot there again.
And what split wasn't just the space—it was the wrath that had been suppressed for countless years.
The Black Dragon, master of calamity, buried beneath the hundredth floor—sealed away by the combined might of heroes, gods, and an entire era—had finally broken free.
It had ripped through its bindings, twisted its way upward from the hundredth floor, and emerged on the sixty-second.
This boundless dark domain—without borders, without light, without warmth—was the purest expression of its rage.
Ryota's gaze shifted to Ais.
Around her, a faint black gale was rising.
It wasn't ordinary magic fluctuation.
It was resonance—born of a Skill.
Avenger.
Ais's unique skill—massively increasing her damage against all monsters, and overwhelmingly so against dragons.
The cost, however, was steep: her mind would be corroded by hatred.
Now, with the Black Dragon's arrival, that buried hatred in her was stirring, threatening to slip beyond her control.
Ryota frowned, stepping toward her.
He reached out, and gently rested his hand on her head.
The simple gesture was enough to still the gale.
Ais blinked, looking up at him.
The searing anger in her eyes seemed to be pressed down by something warm, subsiding rapidly.
The black wind swirling around her dissipated.
"Ais. Leave it to me."
She was silent for a few seconds, then gave a small nod.
She stepped back, entrusting the hatred she'd carried for years to the one person she trusted most.
Ryota tilted his head slightly, then stepped forward.
He walked straight into that tidal darkness, the Rinnegan pulsing faintly with each step, locking onto the Black Dragon deep within.
Madara followed without a word, like a shadow.
Then Finn bit down hard and called out:
"Ryota! Let's go together—"
"After all, that's—"
He was cut off.
"It's fine."
Everyone froze.
This was the Black Dragon—the ultimate calamity that had annihilated the united Zeus and Hera Familias.
The one existence deemed "should not exist," the deepest fear in the world of DanMachi.
And Ryota… was going to solo it?
No—he was going in with only Madara, into the nightmare's heart?
The thought was madness.
"You… you're going to fight the Black Dragon alone?"
Finn gave voice to what everyone was thinking.
Ryota didn't stop walking. He glanced back at them with a grin.
"Not alone. I've got Madara, don't I?"
They all blinked, still processing the words—
BOOM—!!
A deep, drawn-out dragon's roar rolled from the depths of the darkness.
Fury. Contempt. The primal instinct of a higher lifeform looking down from above.
Every hair stood on end. Hearts clenched tight.
Then—
From that solid wall of darkness, a colossal head emerged.
Black scales like forged meteorite, cracked and scorched.
From between the plates seeped red firelight, the air around it burning like the flames of Hell.
And one of its eyes… was an empty socket.
The very one Ais's father, the hero, had pierced in their final battle.
That old wound was a brand upon its face, a testament to the slaughter and hatred of the past.
It didn't attack immediately.
Instead, its single blood-red eye swept over the group.
And then—stopped.
It locked on Ais.
That single glance was enough to make them all step back several paces.
The pressure was suffocating.
Like the weight of the heavens pressing down… like the gaze of Death itself.
It was an overwhelming, irresistible pressure—something one could no more defy than a natural disaster or divine judgment.
Not an enemy… but the hand of fate itself.
The air thickened; magic felt frozen and heavy.
Everyone stood rooted in place, barely daring to breathe.
The Black Dragon's lone pupil lingered on Ais for a long time.
It was as if it were remembering… or confirming.
Suddenly, a low rumble rose from deep in its throat.
It moved—not hesitating, not testing—charging straight ahead.
Its target was clear. Ais.
No matter the cost, it would erase this familiar, hated bloodline from the world.
The sheer force of its pounce felt like it could tear the very fabric of space.
"Ais!!"
Finn's shout tore out of him as he stepped forward—
—Boom!!!
A flash of blue light appeared.
The Black Dragon jerked to a halt and looked down—
At some point, a massive blue Chakra hand had reached in from the side, fingers splayed wide, clamping tightly around its body.
Crack… crack… crack!
Bone-shattering cracks mixed with the hum of Chakra. That indomitable body of calamity was… pinned in place.
The dragon's blood-red eye shrank to a slit.
It tried to thrash forward—but it couldn't move an inch.
That body, which could crush anything, was now locked as if in the grip of an invisible giant.
The more it struggled, the tighter the blue hand squeezed.
Crack! Crack! Crack!!
The sound was like rock breaking apart. The dragon's massive frame let out a guttural roar of pain.
It had never imagined being overpowered.
"…Ignoring me, are you?"
Standing inside the fully manifested Susanoo, Madara Uchiha looked down on the beast and snorted.
"Just an insect."
Everyone froze, still reeling from the sight—how could Madara summon a gigantic skeletal warrior identical to Ryota's?
From the darkness in the distance, a familiar voice rang out:
"Madara. Toss it here."
Madara gave a small nod. Susanoo's massive arm swung, hurling the Black Dragon like a ragdoll into the distance.
Its enormous body tumbled and spun through the air, the force of tens of tons flinging it hundreds of meters.
Its single eye blazed with fury and confusion—it had no time to react to what came next.
Because the next instant, it stopped midair—caught again.
This time, the grip was even stronger. The pressure even greater.
So great the bones across its entire body popped and groaned.
With all its might, the Black Dragon forced its head up—
To see an even larger, brighter Chakra hand holding it effortlessly aloft.
A Susanoo—bigger, brighter, and far more oppressive than Madara's.
Its pupil shrank sharply. A furious roar escaped its throat,
But before it could struggle, the ground trembled again.
Thoom!
Beside Ryota's Susanoo, a godlike figure wrought from the pure essence of nature rose from the earth.
Wood Style: Wood Human Jutsu!
Suspended in the air, Ryota guided the colossal arm of his full-body Susanoo, infused with Sage Chakra and Nine-Tails Chakra, staring at the dragon still thrashing in his grip.
"Stay put."
With a flick of his arm, he hurled the Black Dragon straight toward the Wood Human!
The beast tumbled through the air a few times, barely processing what was happening, before the wooden giant caught it neatly.
The Wood Human tilted its head slightly, as if thinking—
Then—
Smack!
It mimicked Ryota's motion, throwing the Black Dragon right back toward Madara.
Madara caught it one-handed without even flinching—then promptly flung it back.
And so it went—
A calamity once feared as the ultimate end of the world was now being tossed back and forth between three titans like a ragdoll!
Ryota to Wood Human. Wood Human to Madara. Madara back to Ryota.
Everyone: "???"
The entire party had gone rigid, like they'd been hit with a mass Paralysis spell.
The Big Three, Lefiya, Ais, Ryuu…
One by one, their faces were locked in a blend of triple-layered confusion, heavy shock, and far too many question marks.
"…What are they doing?"
"Playing… ball?"
"No, that's… the Black Dragon."
Finn could feel his temple throbbing.
"They're… using the Black Dragon as a ball?"
Even after everything they'd seen of Ryota and Madara's strength,
Watching them play catch with the Black Dragon like it was a toy sent a shiver through their souls.
That was the Black Dragon!
And now it was being used for a game of toss?!
The Black Dragon itself was utterly stunned.
It had forgotten to roar, its single eye flickering with disbelief, rage, and utter confusion.
It hadn't even gotten to attack once.
Hadn't unleashed its legendary Dungeon-piercing breath even once and it had already been tossed around several times!
This wasn't combat.
This was humiliation.
Catching the beast one last time, Ryota looked down at its thrashing form and his expression… was almost bored.
"Mm… no fun."
The next second—
He twisted his wrist and gave a sharp throw—
Hurling the Black Dragon high into the air.
"Madara."
At his word, the violet-blue Susanoo raised both arms, its colossal Chakra blades gleaming high overhead.
At the same moment, Madara's blue Susanoo mirrored him, already charged to strike.
The Wood Human, too, followed suit.
All three moved in unison, Striking from three directions at once.
The Black Dragon barely registered what was happening, its pupil shrinking in panic as it tried to dodge but
Too late.
Their combined assault sealed every escape.
No evasion. No resistance. No breath.
BOOM!!!
The heavens shook. The entire 62nd floor quaked violently.
Three titanic forces converged in midair, weaving into a storm of pure destruction—Tearing the Black Dragon's body apart.
RUMMMMMMMBLE—!!!
The world itself seemed to collapse. That vast, terrifying body.
Shredded into fragments under the joint strike of three godlike powers.
Everyone stood slack-jawed, forgetting to breathe.
They… what had they just seen?
The Black Dragon—shattered into pieces?
Not wounded. Not driven off.
Shredded Into Pieces.
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