Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

Upon reaching the end of the passage, Johan pushed against a stone door that looked like a dead end, assisted by Sheila. Once the hidden door slid open, Johan turned back to face Dion, Luna, Aria, Cleo, Sheila, and Mei, who was holding Gina.

"I’ll guide you this far. Once you step out, take a left. When you reach the fork in the mining cavern, take the left path again to reach the ruins’ entrance. But stay sharp, it’s crawling with monsters in there," Johan warned.

"Got it. Thanks a lot, Johan. If you want... you can come with..."

"Right... thanks! Hope you finish your mission quickly," Cleo interrupted, clapping her hand firmly over Dion’s mouth to cut him off.

"Oh... thank you, Cleo," Johan replied.

"Alright, we’re heading out then. Thanks again for helping us," Luna said, bowing her head in gratitude.

"You’re welcome," Johan replied, nudging his glasses up as a faint blush crossed his face.

Everyone filed out, turning around to wave goodbye to Johan. Blam! The passage door sealed shut behind them, blending seamlessly into the cavern wall. They took in their surroundings. The walls, floor, and ceiling sparkled with countless white crystals, shimmering like stars. The glowing clusters lit up the tunnel alongside the magical wall torches, proving they were deep within the heart of the mine.

"So this is a crystal mine. First time I’ve ever seen one inside. How about we dig around for a bit? I need crystals of all sizes," Dion suggested, his eyes sparkling at the sight of the magic crystals embedded in the rock.

"Hmm... great idea," Aria agreed, opening her dimensional storage to pull out a pickaxe.

"What is wrong with you two? We’re trying to go home!" Cleo scolded.

"Yeah... please keep a lid on your impulses for now... especially you, airhead princess," Luna added.

"Ha! Why just me, you dumb blonde princess?" Aria fired right back.

"Enough, both of you... let me walk up front. The longer we linger here, the more dangerous it gets if miners wander in," Mei said.

"Let me lead," Sheila offered, stepping ahead into the corridor.

"Kyuuu," Gina squirmed out of Mei’s arms and floated over to land gently on Sheila’s shoulder.

The group fell into line behind Sheila as she led them deeper. Aside from Dion, everyone drew their weapons, fully aware that stray monsters often prowled these mining shafts. As they walked at a steady pace, Sheila suddenly halted. She unslung her axe from her back while Gina hovered right beside her.

"What’s up?" Mei asked, stepping up.

"A swarm of C-rank Blood Bats. Just listen to those wings," Sheila answered.

Sheila was dead-on. The faint, rustling sound of countless flapping wings grew louder by the second, rushing straight toward their position.

"Here they come!" Mei warned, dropping into a low stance.

Moments later, a dense, dark cloud of red-and-black bats, easily numbering in the hundreds, flooded the corridor, blotting out the light.

"Yaaaaah!"

Sheila stomped her foot and let out her Paralyze Shout skill. The sonic shockwave slammed into the front of the swarm, freezing the bats mid-air and sending them dropping like stones. Cleo fired a stream of flame like a flamethrower toward the fallen swarm. Kieeek! The bats burst into flames on contact. Mei darted forward to intercept the bats still swooping toward them.

"Infinite Sword Dance!"

Mei’s body blurred into speed lines. Moving with incredible grace, she thrust, slashed, and cleaves through the air with fluid, dance-like precision using her dual blades, leaving behind a hundred afterimages that sliced down any bat attempting to slip past.

Meanwhile, Aria raised her hand.

"Dimensional Transfer!"

A massive vortex opened like a black hole, swallowing the bats that managed to bypass Mei, only to dump them right back in front of Mei’s flashing blades. Luna raised a yellow light barrier to cover the group, blocking stray bats from reaching them. Sheila swung her axe, cutting through bats with a bright smile on her face, while Gina spat tiny bursts of flame whenever a bat strayed too close.

"Wind Cutter Tornado!"

Cleo unleashed a sharp, whirling tornado of wind magic that sliced through the remaining cluster of bats. Within fifteen minutes, only a handful of bats remained, scattering helplessly in every direction. Sigh. Luna, Aria, Cleo, Sheila, Mei, and Gina exhaled in relief. They turned around to find Dion crouching on the floor, holding his head with both hands. Sensing their eyes on him, Dion lowered his hands and looked up at the girls.

"All done?" Dion asked nonchalantly.

"All taken care of," Aria boasted, resting her hands on her hips with pride.

"Just enough for a light warmup, right Mei?" Sheila asked, clapping Mei on the back.

"Ugh... yeah. At least we moved around so our legs don’t get stiff from just walking," Mei replied, flicking the blood off her blades before sheathing them.

"Individually they’re nothing, but the sheer numbers make it exhausting," Cleo noted, brushing off her clothes.

"Relax, it’s clear now. Let me help you up, let’s keep moving," Luna said, extending a hand to Dion.

"Kyuuu!" Gina raised her tiny paws cheerfully before alighting back onto Sheila’s shoulder.

"Right... sorry I couldn’t be of much help," Dion apologized, feeling a bit awkward.

"Don’t worry about it. It’s better if you stay idle," Luna, Aria, Mei, Cleo, and Sheila replied in unison, flashing satisfied smiles.

"Oh... alright," Dion conceded. They really are reliable, Dion thought to himself, smiling softly.

They resumed their trek, carefully stepping around the mounds of dead, partially singed bat carcasses cluttering the pathway. Pausing occasionally to pick up small magic crystals that dropped from the bats, they settled back into a steady stride down the long tunnel. After about thirty minutes of walking, they finally arrived at a fork in the path.

"This is the split Johan mentioned. We need to head left," Dion noted.

"Yep, that’s right," Sheila confirmed.

"Alright... should we take a quick break here? Feels deep enough and safe enough that miners rarely venture down this far," Mei suggested.

"Hmm... sounds like a good idea. We don’t know what’s waiting ahead," Cleo agreed, deep in thought.

"I’m in. Let me pull out a mat and some food from my dimensional storage," Aria offered, opening her storage space.

"Works for me. Are you fine with taking a short breather here? Fighting off that many bats was pretty draining," Luna asked Dion.

"Sure... no problem. I get it, let’s rest up first," Dion agreed.

"Kyuuu," Gina chirped in agreement.

They sat down on the mat spread out by Aria and began snacking on fruits stored inside her dimensional pocket. While eating, Dion glanced toward the dark tunnel on the left, which looked noticeably gloomier than the right path.

For some reason, I feel like there’s something waiting at the end of that tunnel... is it just my imagination? Johan mentioned ancient ruins... let me check my personas real quick, Dion thought to himself.

Dion summoned his Recall interface, and a red holographic screen instantly hovered before his face. He scanned the options.

****************************************

Change Soul Persona:

1. Dion von Oswald [current]

2. Black Knight rank SSSS [activate?] [yes] [no] (cooldown 1 day)

3. Shadow Assassin rank SSSS (cooldown 19:49:22)

4. Berserk Monk rank SSSS [activate?] [yes] [no] (cooldown 1 day)

5. Mechanical Crafter and Gunner rank SSSS [activate?] [yes] [no] (cooldown 3 days)

6. Ancient One rank SSSS (cooldown 88:12:55)

7. ???

8. ???

****************************************

He felt an immediate wave of relief seeing that Black Knight and Berserk Monk were ready to use. But then, he noticed a blinking question mark right below the Ancient One persona. Curiosity piqued, he tapped it, bringing up a small sub-screen over the main interface.

[Unseal to unlock Calamity Supreme Monarch rank SSSS persona.]

"Huh... a seal? The seal back in my domain?" Dion wondered, surprised to see a unlock condition suddenly pop up for his next persona.

He glanced toward the left passage once more, racking his brain until something clicked. He usually unlocked personas whenever he encountered specific conditions or visited specific places back during his academy days when he was sent on random errands.

"Hmm... right, maybe it’s not the seal in my domain... there’s likely a seal sitting right inside those ruins Johan mentioned ahead," Dion reasoned silently, keeping his eyes locked on the dark tunnel.

"Dion, why do you keep staring down that path?" Luna asked.

"Oh... it’s nothing, don’t worry about it," Dion blurted out, taken aback as he took another bite of his apple.

Dion turned to see Luna already back to chatting with Sheila, Mei, Cleo, and Aria. Apparently, she had only asked because he looked lost in thought. Dion then glanced over at Gina, who was happily devouring her food on the mat, before fixing his eyes sharply on the dark tunnel once more. A subtle smile crept across his face.

"I wonder what that next persona is gonna be like... man, my heart is actually racing," Dion thought in his head.