Digitize: Rebirth of the Silver Death God

Ding!

[Congratulations, you have defeated Crooked, master of the Labyrinth of Horrors! A large amount of e-e-e-e-e-error, error... ring union malfunction...]

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Nero, Elly, and everyone else within the Palace of Horrors, initially had looks of excitement on their faces, even more so when they heard the first part of the notification. However, that look didn't last long as the last words echoed within the depths of their minds.

'W-what the hell was that notification? Ring Union? It couldn't be that, right?'

Nero inwardly exclaimed with a confused look on his face; he wasn't even angry that he didn't get his experience, nor any items from Crooked anymore, but rather what could have happened to the governing system.

Having heard the system notification, Red Rain had a strange look on her face as she lifted her head while showing a contemplative expression.

'It's happening already; it looks like I'll have to save that inspection for another time...'

Following her thoughts, her figure distorted before she vanished from the area. Her actions were unnoticeable to anyone else except for Adult Nero, who at this time had a thoughtful look on his face as if pondering something deeply.

"Brother, what's this all about?" Ivy asked Mikan with a worried look, but as Mikan had no clue, he could only shake his head and reply, "No idea; it said something about ring union, but I'm not sure. Well, I might have a hunch, but I don't want to think of such a consequence..."

Ivy felt her heart turned cold as she looked at her brother; she trembled a bit while asking once more, "What's your assessment?"

Mikan sighed as he stared at her before lifting his head with a deep look, not replying in the slightest. Much like Mikan, Ivy also seemed to have shared his thoughts as her eyes shifted upwards at the ceiling.

"N-Nero, that announcement, do you know what it means?"

Elly, who had hurried over to Nero's side, tugged his cloak as she asked with a look of unease on her face; everyone already knew that she wasn't a fan of places like this, now with the addition of some known change, it made her feel insecure.

Nero sighed as he heard her words as he had no clue; he stared at her, seeing the slightly trembling arms, he couldn't help but sigh to himself. The truth was just like Mikan, he had an assumption, but he decided to ask his older self for answers before giving her a reassuring reply.

'Hey, is that notification actually about the Universe Ring? If it is that the Universe Ring has somehow lost its connections, what does that mean for us?'

Adult Nero had a serious look on his face, his previously laid-back manner now stern as he peered from Nero's consciousness towards the ceiling, almost as if staring towards the outside scene.

After a brief moment, he took a deep breath as he replied with a sharp glint in his eyes, "It's precisely what you and those other brats must have guessed, I had noticed something strange when we first arrived here, but I wasn't certain, now that I've heard this, I am sure that the moon that loomed over this world is a peculiar type of treasure. A treasure found only in rare and extremely high-class dungeons in the upper zones - known as World Artifacts."

Nero had a serious look as he said nothing; he calmly kept a pondering expression to keep Elly from assuming he had lost his mind as he listened to his other's self's words.

Adult Nero paid no heed to anything else as he continued speaking, "Judging by the aura I felt from when we got here. The World Artifact is likely of a grade higher than even my previous ultimate level. Hence, this means that the master of this dungeon is a being beyond the standing of my past life. Of course, he currently wouldn't have his full strength, for if he did, he would have already annihilated us instantly. The Universe Ring has likely given him a severe backlash upon connecting with this world, which means that he should currently be at his weakest state. As such, the best time to defeat him is before he finishes sealing the effects of the Universe Ring."

As he heard the last bits of his older self's words, Nero's face had turned dark, but he clenched his fists tightly with a contemplative look on his face before he inwardly asked again.

'Then if it's as you say, we don't have time to be standing around here, do we?'

"Precisely, you must hurry and find his chamber and destroy him before he seals the ring and regains his complete strength. Hurry now and forget any more pointless questions! If push comes to shove, then I'll have to take drastic measures..."

Nero's face sunk even further; he didn't even bother to curse at his older self for not being more direct and mentioning this earlier. Knowing time was tight, he decided to act quickly before the worst happened.

"Nero, a-are you okay? Your face seems a bit pale. Are our current circumstances that bad?"

Elly asked with a gulping sound, she didn't like the look on Nero's face, which was much like that of a man trying to hide his fear.

Soon after, Nero regained his usual self as he fixed his mood and spoke, "Elly, I would love to say that nothing is wrong, but we frankly don't have the time. Right now, we must hurry and put a stop to that boss character of this dungeon. If not, we'll be in bigger trouble if he succeeds in what he's doing."

Elly's face turned pale at Nero's words; she looked him in the eyes and asked, "What's he doing?"

Nero shook his head as he pointed towards the ceiling and reply, "He's trying to break the Universe Ring, and if that happens, we're all doomed."

Elly's mouth opened wide in shock as she didn't expect it to be so bad. She wanted to ask a lot more, but knowing of the dangers that could happen because of such a thing, she didn't dare to dally, slapping her cheeks together to pep herself up as she quickly brought herself into a combat-ready mood.

"T-t-then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Elly said with a shout as she arranged her gear and hurried towards the entrance; Nero shook his head as he charged along with her, quickly pushing towards the pathway.

"Wait for us, we can't let that happen; there's no way I'm letting my sister, or anyone else die here!" Mikan shouted as he hurried over with Ivy and Lily, the two girls though shocked by the discovery showing no signs of backing down.

Nero nodded at this as their group pushed onwards, but as they finally arrived at the entrance, his eyes flickered as he just noticed something.

In front of them were the indistinct figures of a few familiar silhouettes, rushing ahead with incredible speeds as if they recognized the situation. His eyes flashed with a hint of confidence as he thought to himself.

'Good, they made it here; since it's so, then we might have a better chance.'

With his mind at ease, Nero continued with his party into the depths Palace of Horrors' depths. All parties now rushing towards the core source of its dangers, aiming to bring a final stand and an end to its nightmare.