A hole in the center of the world was spewing out mana.
This hole had been sealed with a rock known as the Eidos Keystone since days of yore; at least, that’s what they determined after studying the native writings left on stone slabs on the now-deserted island.
It was standard icon worship—indigenous beliefs common in isolated locales. In the eyes of the world at large, it was nothing beyond a bit of folklore from a tribe with little outside contact… That was what the world at large thought.
But ships and planes often went missing in the area. Rumors started flying—was this a new triangle, like the ones in Bermuda and the Devil’s Sea? It created quite a stir in the usual occult circles.
But it never went beyond that core crowd; time passed without any serious academics inclined to assess the veracity of the claims. The zeitgeist was fading out—when word reached the ears of Eve’s old self, the fortune teller Eva.
“An unknown power that can grant any wish.”
Eva knew her occult lore and thought it would be fun to visit the island in question. She discovered the keystone, realized it was generating energy, and founded a new country around it.
It was the world’s greatest black box, a global-scale untapped resource, containing everything and nothing.
In time, they started referring to the keystone and the hole beneath as “the device” to obscure the truth. Only a handful of people even knew it existed.
Had it always led to another world? Or had it only connected to one because they believed it did?
The truth was uncertain, but they proved this mana could be used via the same principle as ancient beliefs in words of power. For that reason, the project designed to make this functionally applicable was called the New World Runes.
The native writings said opening the keystone alone would take you to the far side of the world. Moving it released a ton of mana—but at the cost of what this world offered.
Rocks, buildings, people—even ideals and memories would be lost. It was an equivalent exchange.
In time, President Eva grew sick.
She knew the risks, but in her haste, she urged Eug to move the keystone a little harder…resulting in the accident that sent the lab and the scientists within to the world where we find ourselves today.
The area around the keystone was a singularity, a portal to subspace, and a seal—and thus, it was dubbed the Last Dungeon.
This was the first time Satan had laid eyes on it after regaining Naruhiko Seta’s memories. It struck him as so inherently unnatural that he was sweating with anxiety.
“To think that I was trapped in here each time I was defeated… With mana this powerful, I totally understand how it would turn ordinary humans into immortal creatures,” he muttered.
“We’re not that different from runemen, really,” Eve responded. “Birthed by mana, our characters are expressed in a web of writings. When I alone control this power, how sweet that will be.”
Just the thought made her vibrate with pleasure.
But that soon gave way to a vicious glare directed at the uninvited guest—Lloyd.
“You just can’t take a hint! You keep putting your oar in! Can’t you even let me get one last victory that’s cool?”
Lloyd was undaunted. “I know you’re up to no good! No idea what, exactly, but I know I’ve got to stop you!”
“I think I was pretty clear?! At least try to understand before you get in my way! This just makes it worse!”
She glared at Satan.
“Seta… Oh, right, Satan! This is on you! It’s your job to explain things to him!”
She’d been his boss once, and she still played the part.
Satan looked just as put-upon, scratching his lion’s mane. “Cut me some slack, Eve. We’ve all got our failings.” The mane was getting quite mussed. “Meanwhile, there’s no one better than him at yanking the rug out from under people like you. He’s the greatest hero around. I want him to stay pure of heart.”
“Pure? Please,” Lloyd said, twisting bashfully. (This was very pure.)
Eve shot him an unimpressed glare.
“This is the culmination of my life, and you’re here getting twitterpated. Fine! Already inserted the Holy Sword, just gotta make Anzy move the thing—”
Smiling, she turned to do just that.
“Owww… Hmm? I’m in control?” Anzu murmured.
“Huh?”
You may be wondering, What just happened? Well, when Lloyd had smashed through the wall, the impact knocked the mind-control hairpin off Anzu’s head.
“That hair ornament was the source of her control? What a stroke of luck! Well done, Lloyd.”
Eve refused to accept this twist. “You…just…got luckyyyyyy!”
Satan chuckled. “That’s karma for you. And our miracle boy.”
Eve must not have liked his triumphant grin. Her lips twisted into a truly hideous expression.
“Hngg… Tch, so be it!”
She forced her face back to a neutral position, muttering to herself, “Ending with a big fight where I totally dominate isn’t the worst way to wrap things up. That’s what I’ll go with.”
Eve had always been good at improvising.
Hostility filled the Last Dungeon depths, and Lloyd, Satan, and Anzu all braced themselves for the fight.
“First—” Eve glared at Lloyd.
Assuming she was after him, he got ready to fight—but she went after Anzu instead.
“Yup, that was a feint.”
“Wha—?”
Eve fired a rune cannon light beam from her fingers.
Anzu was a seasoned warrior, but against a foe this fearsome, she was off her game. With Eve’s gaze turned away, she’d left herself exposed.
And this simplistic feint got her good.
Pshaaaa!
The shot went through her legs. The smell of burning cloth filled the air, followed by the smell of blood.
“Sh-shit!”
“At times like these, normal people just get in the way, Anzy. What should I shoot next?”
She made a show of aiming for Anzu’s heart. She was baiting an obvious trap, but Lloyd was hardly going to stand around and watch someone die.
“Anzu—”
“Lloyd! It’s a trap!”
Satan knew Eve’s craftiness and Lloyd’s kindness well.
Satan moved before Lloyd could, waving the boy back, and putting himself in Eve’s sights.
Pshaaaa!
“Gah!”
“S-Satan?!”
He’d smoothly placed that lion’s bulk in front of Anzu.
The shot tore open a hole in him, and blood gushed out.
As if his power was draining away, he shifted from lion form back to the sleepy-eyed man he once was.
Satan toppled over, bleeding from the side.
“Oh, goody!” Eve shrieked. “I didn’t think I’d bait you.”
Satan clutched his wound, and Anzu bowed her head. “Th-that’s on me, Satan. You shouldn’t have covered me.”
“Never mind that, Anzu,” he said, comforting her. Then he fixed Eve with a withering glare. “You certainly live up to your reputation. No one can match you for devious, underhanded tricks.”
“Appreciate that compliment,” Eve said, eyeing the gushing blood with her impish flair.
“Well, at least you’re having fun.”
“Naturally! I’ve already subdued the toughest foe here!”
Hannyatou allowed her to take out any Kunlun villager with ease.
Shouma, Alka, and even Pyrid had all been rendered helpless before that absolute weapon.
For that reason, she’d deemed Satan her one real threat.
But since he’d tried to protect Anzu—he was critically injured.
“But you didn’t even hesitate! Is today Anzy’s lucky day?”
“Sure doesn’t feel like it.”
He didn’t deny it, and Eve smirked.
“In terms of raw strength, I might be the strongest here,” Satan said.
“……” Eve said nothing, and Satan kept talking.
“But that boy’s bottomless. He’s got something worth gambling on, here at the end.”
He glanced at Lloyd.
Eve stuck a pinky in her ear. “I’ve heard that one before! From your buddy Shouma.”
“Shouma said that?” Lloyd whispered.
“And I know exactly how dangerous he is,” Eve said, glaring at Lloyd. “Asako fell in love with him and started breaking free of my possession. If he’d meant for that to happen, that would be a threat. But it was entirely accidental. Made me sweat harder than I ever have since crossing worlds! Still—”
Her confidence remained unshaken.
“I’ve already got him handled.”
She had the power of hannyatou.
How long till the spray took hold? How much more effective was it near the face?
She’d tested that with Shouma and Alka and had the measure of it now—and she was sure of herself.
“I’ll give him little spritz to stop any progress, then give him a nice direct shot. Gosh, that sounds like a hemorrhoid medication. I regret saying anything.”
Eve was so relaxed, she was even telling jokes. She glanced at Satan and Anzu.
“Just got to knock you out and then regain control of Anzy… Okay, victory is mine.”
Spray, mop up, done.
Bottomless? Miraculous? He was still from Kunlun and could not escape hannyatou’s effects.
She’d proven that three times over.
In her mind, victory was every bit as certain as if she were an exterminator with the bug spray.
But while she preened—
Lloyd was taking her smile to heart for this final battle.
Anzu was down. Satan was gravely wounded. Lloyd was the only one left. It was all up to him.
Excitement, tension, purpose—all of those emotions mingled together into just one.
Conviction.
Whether he could win or not—he had to.
It didn’t matter how strong he was. He had to move; he had to struggle.
Efforts always paid off, and his efforts had to pay off here. After living through everything he had, he had faith in this.
His hands went up, relaxed, as he stood before Eve.
“Oh?”
She sensed his emotion and paused to blink at him.
“You’re looking rather handsome! I supposed you always were, but you look positively resolute! My, my.”
She couldn’t wait to demolish that. Her vicious streak was tugging at the leash, but she raised her hands, trying to slow herself down.
“Thank you. I need to pay you back for my brother and the others—and I wasn’t planning on letting you go.”
“I can take you out in a single punch.”
“You can throw as many as you want. I won’t stop.”
Lloyd breathed out. Then his eyes snapped open, and he lunged forward. “You’re going down, Eve Profen!”
“Just you try, Lloyd Belladonna!”
Lloyd ran, closing the distance and swinging with the full momentum. “Rahhhh!”
And as he threw that energy into it—
“Whoops, hannyatou.”
All it took was a little spritz to the face, like she was using liquid cleaner.
Despite all her talk about punches, she’d never even intended to engage in fisticuffs.
It went so well, she couldn’t help but cackle.
“Mwa-ha-ha-ha!”
Satan was sick and tired of her attitude. “Can you not mock people for one second?”
Lloyd was taking this seriously, and she wasn’t.
“Oh, I’m serious—seriously enjoying making a fool of you.”
She meant every word; she wasn’t hiding anything.
She was the ultimate hedonist, using runes, magic, and her new toys to their maximum entertainment potential. She was an aggravating antagonist, who loved tripping up a boy just as he was risking his life.
The matter was done. Eve turned her back on Lloyd, her attention on Satan and Anzu.
A satisfied smile.
“With that taken care of, it’s time to go home!”