Return of the S-class Young Master

Tempted Away From Malice?

SECOND FLOOR – GENBU

Water. This was the first thought that came up into Cielo’s mind right after stepping out from the portal.

Now standing a meter away from the portal, the second exit from the second floor of the dungeon vanished right away. What was left was the door in between the waterfalls which he reckoned to be the door that would lead him to the third floor.

Having been surrounded by clear water, Cielo looked beneath his feet and saw a handful of koi fish. Like on the first floor, the sky was bright. The only thing that changed was the environment.

Gone was the maze, replaced by a vast water surface with no hint of land around.

Gone was the three-tailed white tiger and her cubs, replaced by an eerie silence—it was as if a pair of predatory eyes were fixated on him from all directions.

Standing on the water's surface without sinking, Cielo took a step forward. Both hands in his pockets, his gaze was now fixated on the gleaming portal in between two waterfalls.

“It has been four hundred years since I saw a living human.” A deep murky voice resonated. It echoed within the trenches of the deep, extending above the watery surface.

On cue, the God’s Eyes resurfaced.

Cielo’s gaze shifted from one direction to another.

“There you are.”

Cielo vanished from his spot. The next moment he appeared, he crouched and pulled ‘something’ big from beneath the floor made of water.

Splash!

A gigantic turtle was pulled out from the depths of the water. Blue wisps of azure aura sparked like raindrops around Cielo’s aura, spreading from his gleaming eyes.

Turning the monster turtle upside down, weeds with the head of the sea snake spouted from its green shell. Cielo was forced to throw the enemy away to dodge the onslaught of attacks that were aiming at his vital spots.

“Ha! Hahaha! You are the chosen seed of that black snake!” The voice, which seemingly came from the deepest part of the watery surface, boomed.

Cielo landed a few meters in front of the colossal monster turtle. Eyeing his enemy, a grin appeared on his lips. “You talk as if you know Rito.”

Its shell was made of granite and snake-like weeds protruded from its cracks. Its serpent-like head had a mouth decorated with shells and all living sea creatures that dwelled on the bottom of the ocean floor. Only a pair of curious-laden eyes was the only telltale sign that this was the head of the monster turtle.

“Rito? Hmmm… Is that his name this time? Aah. I only remember him as an old fool who is on the brink of self-destruction.”

Cielo did not like how the monster turtle’s floor did not give any sense of danger. It was as if this floor was a haven for peace and harmony. His chaotic mind was tempted to prolong his stay here, making him want to stay here… forever.

“I don’t care about your story. I am here to pass by that door.”

“How? Like what you did to Byaku?”

For a good second, Cielo was taken aback. But he immediately pulled himself together and smiled. “Then you know what is next.”

“Ha! I, Genbu, will not fall for such a petty trick. You are lucky to deceive a desperate mother, but I am no mother. Empathy and sympathy do not bind me.”

Boom!

Two whales jumped from the depths of the watery surface. They floated right next to the gigantic monster turtle.

“You are in my territory. Everything you see is my domain, your enemy.”

‘This is a domain? The second floor is Genbu’s domain?’ Cielo remembered what Rito had said to him before: a domain was a person’s heart then the domain itself was a weakness with the best security. ‘All I need to do is find the weakest spot in this domain before the water devours me.’

Roar!

The whales jumped at him. Its gigantic bodies aimed to crush her into a pile of meat. Cielo was about to dodge to his right when the water surface he was standing on shifted. A slime-like extension of the water surface wrapped around his legs, effectively stopping him from moving.

“!!!”

“As I said, this is my domain. Your small human life is within my grasp, easy to play with, easy to crush.”

The sound of the whales’ cries grew nearer as their shadows cast over Cielo.

Veins bulged around his neck and forehead. “Bring it on. Crush me before I turn you into a pile of minced meat.”

A pair of azure eyes gleamed as soon as Cielo met the first whale’s gaze. It was close to hitting him had it not been for his effort to twist his upper torso before freefalling onto the water's surface. Before the slime could catch his body, he immediately got up and fixated his gaze on the wailing whale’s gaze.

“Boom,” whispered Cielo.

Crimson ink splashed his face.

The gigantic whale’s body shrunk to some extent before it exploded in a matter of minutes. This action of his earned him a burst of laughter from the monster turtle. “Indeed! There is no other befitting contractor for that Black Serpent, but you!”

“Be gone.”

The second time he uttered his death command, the remaining whale that was lurking around a big lump of meat suddenly turned into nothing but a rain of crimson ink. Gone was the clear blue water surface around Cielo, replaced by the color of death—red.

On cue, five more hammerhead sharks surrounded him. They sprung from the red-dyed water surface. With hostile gazes, they lunged toward Cielo from all directions.

Roar!

With the number of his enemies doubled, Cielo could not eliminate them by simply staring at their eyes. He needed to utter the ultimate command: ‘die’.

But Cielo planned to use this for the turtle monster before him in close proximity. He wanted to prove his theory—that the closer he was to the target the more effective it was to eliminate his enemy. Cielo was able to compare it by simultaneously using the ultimate command with the smaller monsters.

While the smaller monsters immediately died, the brutality of their death varied. The closer he was to the target, there would be no meat or bone left. The farther he was from the enemy, there would be the proportions of remains left like a lump of flesh or a pile of bones.

On the other hand, the usage of other destructive words as a death command also varied in effects. Though the enemy still ended up dead one way or another, the first whale that received the death command of a ‘destructive noise’ like ‘boom’ had some pile of minced meat left. While the second whale that received the death command of ‘be gone’ which was quite similar to the ultimate command ‘die’ had nothing left but a downpour of blood.

A glint of malediction flashed in his eyes. “Thank you for volunteering as my test subjects.”

Two meters before impact with the sharks’ sharp set of jaws, a pair of gleaming azure eyes shone more. He opened his right palm before him and—“Destroy,”—clenched it as he uttered his death command.

Splash!

Bathing in red from his hair to his shoes, his throbbing eyes did not lose their gleam amid the coat of red and death.

“You! You are far more twisted than that old bastard!” Genbu roared.

A cruel grin appeared on a bloody face. In front of the boss of the dungeon’s second floor, Cielo vanished…

…only to appear right in front of the startled turtle monster.

On instinct, Genbu summoned all creatures of the sea. They floated around the smirking Cielo with ill intent to destroy him in one go, leaving no room for failure–or so they thought.

“Try again in your second life, human,” said Genbu. Arrogance laced his words after seeing Cielo surrounded by his subjects. With him at the center, there was no room for him for any retreat.

“Second life?” A hostile gaze pinned on Genbu as Cielo spat the two words. Cocking his head, he spread his arms wide, as if he was inviting them to attack him now. This was a clear provocation that was immediately answered by a series of wails and roars. “Come! I dare you all to attack me at once… you included Genbu. Or, are you going to hide behind your army and shell?”

“Impudent!”

A glowing sphere formed within the open mouth of the colossal monster turtle. This was the cue for the sharks, sting rays, whales, seals, and sea snakes to attack Cielo from all directions. The gigantic squids gave off their black ink, tinting the surrounding, and dropping the visibility to zero.

‘Fool.’

Cielo took this chance to close his eyes and rest his throbbing God’s Eyes. Feeling the shaking of the air, he waited for the right moment.

The breath of the enemies hovered over Cielo. Covering his silhouette, they flocked around him, suffocating him with a pressure that was crushing enough to make him take a breath or two.

“Farewell, human! Surrender away from the god’s malice and embrace eternal space!” The sphere of turbulent energy grew larger in Genbu’s mouth.

Genbu was a second away from releasing his deadly beam.

The sea beasts were a hairbreadth away from clawing their way onto Cielo.

A pair of gleaming blue eyes snapped open. “Die!”