Frederica giggled. “The naming thing was the same for Emelia.”
“Absolutus” was very much an idealized name, so Rodem’s explanation struck a chord in Frederica. After all, Absolutus was no more absolute than Unlimited Sword Glint was unlimited. Yet there was no denying that they were incredibly powerful abilities, so much so that no one would have protested the exaggeration if Sol had never appeared and completely overturned the world. The members of the bloodlines that possessed them took enormous pride in them, and the abilities were so respected that they determined who would inherit the throne.
If those who possessed the abilities had been against Sol, they might have presented an interesting challenge. However, they were not. They were now on his side. It wasn’t quite the same trope as powerful boss enemies turning weak when joining one’s party, but with the All Dragon and her overwhelming attack power in the picture, it couldn’t be helped that unique skills ended up being less important. Cutting a target up with a thousand slashes just wasn’t as impressive when a single strike from a dragon could pulverize everything.
From that perspective, Absolutus seemed more useful. But only slightly, as even Reen possessed more defensive capabilities in her Numbers armament, never mind the All Dragon and Elven Queen.
“Can’t deny that they both seem really cool to use, though.” For Sol, whose specialty was in giving other people power, Unlimited Sword Glint and Absolutus were both attractive enough that he couldn’t help wanting to wield them himself.
“I think they would suit you wonderfully, my lord!” Luna nodded emphatically while slightly out of it from visualizing her beloved liege dashingly deploying said abilities in battle. Aina’noa agreed with an excited warble.
“Does he really need them, though?” Little Alshunna replied. “When he already has the three of us?”
Unlike the other two, the Demon Lord had not been with Sol long and therefore remained unfamiliar with the kinds of things that got normal boys excited. The way she saw it, her liege already possessed far greater strength and had three legendary monsters at his beck and call, so his desire for the unique skills seemed pointless. There was nothing those skills could do that wasn’t already possible for the trio.
“That’s not the point, is it, Sol?” Julia grinned, not to tease him but because she understood how his mind worked, having known him for practically all her life. Unbeknownst to her, there also was a dash of longing in her face, a pining for an alternate reality where Sol had only received a talent on the level of Absolutus or Unlimited Sword Glint and the other members of Black Tiger had received talents matching their respective roles, such that they would still be together today.
Being attuned with her, Sol simply laughed in reply. He, too, had entertained the thought.
“I would love to see it as well,” said Frederica.
“Me too!” Eliza agreed.
These two were clearly on Luna’s side. They had no intention of denying their newly discovered joy at having their abilities fully understood and employed to maximum effect, but they also very much wanted to see the boy they liked openly playing the part of a hero. Before, they wouldn’t have said this out loud no matter how much they thought it, worried that they would be hitting a sore spot. But after learning he could join with Luna and “equip” her Astral—and her Augoeides, when it was eventually fully released—they no longer had any qualms about expressing their desire to see him take center stage. No unique skill even came close to being a match for using the All Dragon as god regalia. And it certainly didn’t hurt that it pleased said dragon to hear about her liege being imagined in such a light.
“Whaaat? I think being a commander suits Sol best, though.” Reen, who had longed to be a tank since childhood, was deeply attached to the idea of being the one to protect her commander and lover. She had offered to quit as an adventurer when Black Tiger disbanded solely because she didn’t want to be a burden to him as he chased his dream, but if she had the ability to keep up, she wanted to remain his shield to the very end. She still felt that way. The fact that her abilities had been given to her by the one she loved more than fulfilled her maiden heart, leaving her little interest in being a damsel who needed to be protected in battle.
Moreover, she was feeling very content with all the time she had been spending with Sol day and night lately. At heart, Reen was a girl who would much rather have the boy she loved say, “I’m counting on you” and trust her to watch his back rather than standing before her saying, “I won’t let you get hurt!” She already had her fill of being treated like a girl by Sol at night—so much so that she sometimes wanted him to get a little rougher, but she was definitely never telling him that.
“A girl’s heart is a complicated thing indeed,” said Julia sagely, gleaning the intricacies of her friend’s emotions. Despite her serious tone, however, she sneaked up on Reen from behind and lightly bit her neck where she had asked for healing just this morning.
Reen jumped with a yelp at suddenly being attacked where she was weakest when her guard was completely down. She had thought Sol was the only person who knew, and it had completely slipped her mind that she had revealed it to Julia when asking her to get rid of the mark.
Knowing that a counterattack was coming, Julia was already dashing ahead into the darkness, and Reen promptly gave chase without saying a word. This behavior would normally be unthinkable in a dungeon, especially on a triple-digit floor, but Sol and Luna’s silence provided reassurance that the immediate area was safe.
Instead, Sol simply chuckled at the shenanigans he was getting used to and noted, “It really is just a straight path, looks like.”
The braziers ahead were lighting up in response to Julia and Reen shooting past at superhuman speeds in their game of chase, showing that the ceiling was not angling down nor were there any branches opening to the side.
From her position half a step behind, Frederica suggested, “Maybe this really is the lowest floor.”
“I think it likely too. I’ve never seen a floor like it. But...” Sol lowered his gaze to Luna, who was holding his left hand and cheerily swinging it.
Luna smiled up at him. “I don’t sense my organa anywhere near.”
“And there you have it,” said Sol, shrugging.
It was unthinkable that the All Dragon was wrong. After all, she was the one who had insisted that one of the organas stolen from her—her wings—lay at the very bottom of Abyss. Since she was sure that it remained in this dungeon but wasn’t on this floor, it seemed safe to conclude they had not reached the end yet.
Then again, it wasn’t as though Sol or Frederica cared all that much whether it was the lowest floor or not. There was no time limit on their search, so if there were more floors, they simply would keep going. They were running out of restaurants to try out at night, but there were a few they certainly wouldn’t mind visiting again. They could cycle through them until settling on a favorite.
As Sol and Frederica agreed through eye contact that they were in no hurry, a decidedly un-maidenly cry that sounded like “Gwahhh!” rang out, suggesting that Julia had been caught by Reen. There was no telling who had built such a massive and stately dungeon, but they surely never imagined such a lighthearted shriek reverberating through these halls.
Just in case, Sol sent a wholehearted apology to the creator of this world, just in case He existed.