Red Sun's outburst was not unfounded, and even the thoughts of Meg, Moraine, Spawn, and Tina resonated with his.
Things were still fathomable up to the level of the 9th Floor of the Primordial Tower.
However, the moment one ascended to the 4th Set, they became ridiculous.
It wasn't just a qualitative change anymore, but a status of extreme power.
Only those who were the cream of the crop on the 9th Floor stood a fleeting chance of ascending to the 10th Floor.
Even then, there were high chances of meeting absolute failure, unless one had some extraordinary means.
Take Nexus, the former Top-level 9th Floor Contestant from Order, whom Kai had met during his Side Mission in the Pirates of the Caribbean timeline.
Nexus had possessed the Helmet of Fate from DC Bubble as an Inheritance, having absolute command over the five elements through it.
No Contestant existed on either side of the Tower who would dare to call Nexus a weakling.
Even if some Contestants would dare to claim that out of spite, the Systems were still impartial, as proven by Nexus getting conscripted as the Supreme Protector of the Shadow Lord, Pirate Lord Henry Morgan.
Yet, despite all his strength and despite the Inheritance, Nexus had failed to ascend to the 4th Set… in time.
Things were so ridiculous, in fact, that there was as much of a gap between a 10th Floor and a 9th Floor Contestant as there was between a 9th Floor and a 4th Floor one.
And the more one went up, the gap and scale kept widening.
Red Sun, despite being a Top-level 11th Floor Contestant, had absolutely no chance against a similar level 12th Floor Contestant.
If it weren't for his lucky encounter, who was named Kai D. Stormborn, he would have barely made it to the 10th Floor himself… perhaps in the next decade or so.
So, when Kai claimed Herpo the Foul's projection was a mere 12th Floor Contestant, it was like looking at an ant colony with a hawk's gaze.
"Master…" Spawn asked. "… can you kill a 12th Floor Contestant?"
All hearts thumped together, the redness vanishing from Red Sun's face.
A row of words appeared in their minds as they remembered the last sentence of the rumors.
That rumor said that Red… had defeated a 12th Floor Glitched Contestant from Order.
Kai had never revealed the matter of his having a Glitch to anyone but Morning Mist and Spawn. However, Stark Blue and Red Sun had a doubt… the doubt that had almost become truth over time.
But even if Kai had a Glitch, was his Glitch strong enough to contend directly against another Glitched Contestant… of the 12th fucking floor?!
Red Sun gulped, hoping the monster in front of him would shake his head.
To his utter terror, Black leaned back in the throne and stared at the gray sky. "Hmm…" he hummed, already sending a chill running down their spines. "It depends on the Glitch… Maybe, I guess."
Dumbstruck, the pirates looked at their Captain as if he had gone insane.
And they would have lost their minds if they had known that Black was only talking about himself, without pairing up with Kai.
"… How are you still a 9th Floor Contestant?" Tina blurted before suddenly putting a hand over her mouth. "PLEASE FORGIVE ME, YOUR MAJESTY!"
Black smirked as he saw the little girl slamming her head into the shallow blood ocean.
Taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh, Meg asked, "What now, Master? Herpo the Foul wouldn't stop coming after us. Also… we lost so much…"
"Lost what?" Black asked, pressing his brows.
"Labs…" Meg reminded. "So many puppets…"
"You mean…" Black pointed behind them. "… that pile of garbage over there…"
As heads snapped in that direction, their eyes landed on a hill of corpses, King Ghidorah alone constituting half of it.
"Luckily," Black said, "my Reality Marble was in a semi-activated state at that time. So, I pulled as much as I could before the extended texture exploded…"
Tina's eyes blurred, and she immediately began crying.
Each Zombie Pokemon was days of hard work, imbuing them with artificial Magic Circuits. It was especially so for King Ghidorah. Even after so much time, she had only imbued Magic Circuits in one of three heads. With all its body holding the same, its potential wouldn't be less than a Mega-level Digimon, or higher.
"… Thank you," Tina stuttered, looking at Black. "Grandmaster."
Black smiled. "Alright," he said, noticing the insane consumption of Mana. "There are two choices in front of you all now."
Here it is… Meg's jaw tightened.
The same was true for the rest of them, forcing them to steel their resolve.
"First," Black said, lifting his finger, "I will send you all to the Verse Fusion. There, you can look over the Demon Slayers and watch out for the Demon King… Second, I will assign you the Main Missions and send you on your individual paths. Choose."
The pirates looked at each other.
The first path was the safest, giving them ample time to work upon their Abilities. Also, the Demon Slayers in the Verse Fusion could easily help them grow stronger.
The second…
It would mean a Floor Ascension Mission for Spawn and Meg, a Set Ascension for Stark Blue and Old Sage, and… the Mission to ascend to the 12th Floor for Red Sun.
As their fingers balled into fists, they all together said, "Second."
Black beamed. "Good," he nodded. "If you had chosen the first, I would have killed you."
"…"
Black saw colors abandoning all faces and chuckled. "Just joking…" he said. "Where do you want to go?"
He… They thought together. ... was not joking…
Even if it was impossible to tell, the five Contestants just knew that they had just survived true death.
Herpo the Foul had at least given them a chance to fight.
What about this?!
Tina had just raised her hand, making her choice, when Black shook his head.
"Not you…" He said, smiling, remembering the Crest Worms. "I… have some great work for you…"
*****************
AN: Up to 60 more chapters are available in advance across three Tiers. [Use the link in my Webnovel profile to access all options.]
You can even subscribe to the Trial Tier for just 1 dollar to have an experience of exclusive chapters for an entire month. I hope a few of you will consider supporting the work.
100 Power Stones/day: +1 Bonus Chapter next day