Danmachi, Ch 106-110

Chapter 106 – The Flow of Time

When their foreheads parted, the image in Loki’s mind shattered like glass.

So it really does require a strong enough connection with Tsuna to pass through the World Bubble… even if it’s only a fleeting thought.

Loki finally understood—if she ever wanted to escape this world, she’d need Tsunayoshi Sawada’s help.

“How was it?”

“Clearer than I expected,” Loki replied, eyes still sharp with curiosity. “A high mountain plateau… a half-petrified tent… and a mark you can barely see with the naked eye.”

“Huh?”

As Loki summarized what she saw, Tsuna frowned slightly.

“Miss Loki, other than the tent—didn’t you notice anything else?”

“You mean signs? Like… traces of people?”

“Exactly. Were there any?”

At his prompt, Loki’s eyes widened in realization. “No. None at all.”

“The surroundings were… pristine. No footprints, no signs of anyone being there. Completely untouched.”

“That’s weird.”

Tsuna didn’t buy it—not for a second. There was no way his old man wouldn’t have checked that place out.

He’d been gone for nearly a month. There had to have been an investigation—his last location should’ve been torn apart for clues. So why was there nothing?

“My old man’s the tenth-generation boss of a mafia family. No matter what, he’d be keeping tabs on me.”

“But for me to have vanished this long, and for there to be no signs of a search? That’s just not normal.”

“Then it’s a matter of time,” Loki said immediately.

“Time?”

“Worlds don’t just differ in structure. Their flow of time can vary too.”

“Some worlds move faster, while in comparison, others are practically frozen. What you’re dealing with is most likely a difference in time flow.”

Time flow disparity…

Tsuna understood that concept all too well.

After all, he’d just created something similar to the Room of Spirit and Time.

Given how complex the relationships between worlds were, the explanation made perfect sense.

“In that case,” Loki said with a grin, “you don’t have to worry about having been gone too long.”

That reassurance actually eased Tsuna’s tension a little—but it raised a new worry instead.

“Then I just hope time here runs slower. Otherwise, if I suddenly come back taller by a couple of heads, my mom won’t even recognize me.”

Loki laughed. “That’s something normal people might worry about—but not you.”

“I still don’t fully understand the secret behind you, but I’m sure your lifespan won’t be as short as an ordinary person’s.”

“You can’t tell now, but in a few years, you’ll see it.”

“Huh?”

Tsuna blinked, stunned. Immortality had crossed his mind before, but hearing Loki say it out loud hit differently.

He hadn’t changed races. He hadn’t cultivated divine power. He was just an adventurer with a bit of help from his ‘system’.

“You’re spacing out again.” Loki smirked. “Don’t overthink it.”

“With your abilities, you can already do plenty. But before you try to break the world’s rules, make sure you’ve got the strength to back it up.”

“You know what I mean.”

Loki didn’t need to spell it out. Tsuna understood perfectly—it was the same warning she once gave Bete.

“Don’t worry, Miss Loki,” Tsuna said seriously. “I know that better than anyone.”

“Good.”

Loki wasn’t worried about him losing control. Tsuna wasn’t the kind to recklessly reach beyond his grasp.

“So stop stressing over everything. Just focus on growing stronger.”

She gave him a look that was both stern and maternal.

“But you really should tone it down a little. Your body hasn’t even finished developing yet, and you’re already using such brutal training methods. At least consider whether you can handle it physically.”

For Tsuna’s current condition, pushing himself in the densest part of the pressure barrier was way too much.

Loki hadn’t stopped him before because she’d wanted him to experience his hunger for strength firsthand—but there wouldn’t be a second time.

She had no intention of forcing Tsuna’s growth. She’d already seen what happened when someone like Ais pushed too far, too fast.

And she wouldn’t let that happen again.

Tsuna listened silently, nodding. Truthfully, he’d already realized his mistake the moment he stepped into that space.

He’d only trained his body for seven years—he wasn’t anywhere near the level of a Level 3 or 4 Adventurer. The high-pressure environment had nearly crushed him, both physically and mentally.

“…I understand.”

Tsuna took a deep breath. “My body’s not ready for that kind of strain. From now on, I’ll stick to using the Gravity Bracelet for steady, timed training outside.”

“That’s better.”

Loki nodded, satisfied. At least he wouldn’t become another Ais.

One prodigy like her was enough. This special boy of hers needed to walk his own path.

“Good. Now, let’s move on—there are three more things we need to discuss.”

“First, after your Level Up, I helped pick your Development Ability. When that happened, your magic—previously unreadable—finally revealed itself.”

“My Development Ability?” Tsuna blinked. “Miss Loki, you never mentioned that before.”

“That’s because your Development Ability was unique. If there had been options, I would’ve asked for your input.”

“Unique?” He frowned. “I only got one?”

Loki grinned. “And it fits you perfectly. It’s basically a key that unlocked your magic. After your Level Up and that choice, your magic finally showed its true form—just like its name.”

“The Dying Will Flame.”

Chapter 107 – The Power of the Sky Flames

“Dying Will Flame?”

Loki noticed the look on Tsuna’s face—not confusion, but surprise.

“So you do know about the Dying Will Flame.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Recovering from his initial shock, Tsuna started explaining.

“The Dying Will Flame is a kind of energy that comes from within the body—a wave that reacts to a person’s inner qualities and manifests as a flame-like power.”

“My dad’s an important member of a mafia family in another country. The Dying Will Flame is the power passed down through that organization.”

“No wonder you said your father would always be watching over you,” Loki said with a knowing smirk.

If Tsuna came from that kind of world, it wasn’t strange at all that he’d notice something off about the untouched tent. With a background like his, there was no way he didn’t have people guarding him.

So… his arrival in this world wasn’t an accident?

Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.

Loki had known from the beginning that Tsuna wasn’t ordinary.

After all, how else could a “normal” person know about the potential future of this world?

Her guess was that he’d once encountered people—or beings—from another dimension, seen glimpses of other worlds. But to him, it probably just seemed like an ordinary story.

“You’re familiar with the Dying Will Flames, then? So you’ve seen their forms before, right?”

“Yeah,” Tsuna nodded. “I have.”

That confirmed Loki’s suspicions.

So he really had been pulled in from another world. And for some reason—maybe even by his own hand—he’d opened a gate and ended up right in front of her.

So this is fate’s choice.

Sorry, shorty—this time fate chose me, not you.

Loki could barely contain her excitement.

“Alright then,” she said eagerly. “Show me how this Dying Will Flame works. Let me see it with my own eyes.”

“Okay.”

Truth be told, Tsuna had never consciously used the Dying Will Flame before. Instinctively, he followed the same method he used to summon through Annihilation Maker.

He opened his hand.

A soft, orange flame bloomed in the center of his palm.

Then came a crimson one, followed by a calm blue, a deep violet, a brilliant gold, a lightning-green, and finally, a dark indigo.

Seven flames—each representing a different aspect of the sky—floated around his hand in a perfect ring.

“Seven?” Tsuna stared, stunned.

“What’s wrong?” Loki asked, intrigued.

“Normally, I should only be able to use one—the orange one. The others shouldn’t even be possible for me.”

There were rare cases of people wielding multiple flame types, but Tsuna? He was the Sky. He wasn’t supposed to control all seven.

“Try them,” Loki urged. “If you can use all of them, that’s not a bad thing, is it?”

“…Guess not. Miss Loki, can I borrow your desk for a moment?”

“Go ahead.”

Loki stepped back, watching curiously as Tsuna walked over to her desk.

He raised a hand and lightly tapped the surface with one finger.

In an instant, the desk turned to stone, spreading outward from the point of contact.

No—not just stone. It was full petrification, completed in less than a heartbeat.

So that’s the Petrification Flame?

Loki’s eyes gleamed as she observed.

No… that’s not true petrification. It’s destabilizing the molecular structure and realigning it into a completely new substance.

How frightening.

It was a brutal ability—nearly identical in nature to Balor’s deadly Death Gaze. Once it targeted you, there was no escape.

Unless you severed the affected area before the process completed, there was nothing left to save.

Then the crimson flame wrapped around Tsuna’s fingertip. He tapped the petrified desk again.

The stone shattered instantly, crumbling into fine dust that spilled toward the floor—

—but before it touched the ground, a soft blue flame coated the falling powder, slowing its descent to a near standstill.

The indigo flame surrounded the drifting dust, drawing it back together until it reshaped into the original desk form.

Then purple light rippled across the surface, followed by golden fire reinforcing it. Finally, green lightning crackled along the edges, locking everything into place.

When the process ended, the desk looked exactly as it had before.

Loki’s eyes went wide. She hurried over, knocking on the surface with her knuckles.

A deep, solid thud echoed. She tried lifting it—only to find it far heavier than before.

“It’s heavier,” she muttered, astonished.

“More precisely,” Tsuna said calmly, “the desk’s molecular composition has changed. It’s made from an entirely different material now.”

Loki’s expression shifted from shock to delight. She’d seen—and understood—more than she expected.

“The orange flame alters the molecular structure, turning matter to stone. The red one breaks it down completely into dust.”

“The blue flame slowed the falling motion, while the indigo one reassembled the fragments into a solid shape.”

“As for the purple and gold flames, I’m not sure yet—but the green, the lightning one, definitely hardened the surface.”

“Did I get that right?”

“Yes,” Tsuna nodded. “Your analysis is spot-on, Miss Loki.”

Even Tsuna was impressed. Aside from the Sky and Sun attributes, Loki had perfectly identified the roles of each flame after just one demonstration.

She really did have an incredible eye for detail.

“The purple flame represents Propagation, the gold one is Activation.”

“I used Propagation to multiply the dust particles, then the gold flame to speed up their reaction. I also infused them with Tranquility—that’s why, even when they multiplied beyond normal limits, they stayed within the structure.”

“The green lightning flame then performed Hardening, reinforcing the whole thing and increasing its density.”

“By accelerating the propagation and compression, the desk became far denser—and that’s why it’s heavier now.”

Chapter 108 – You Can Come Visit Me Anytime

“In terms of pure magic, your ability isn’t inferior to any spell—honestly, it’s almost too perfect.”

“Especially when you can control it with such precision.”

In just a few short moments, Tsuna had manipulated magic to its absolute limit. That kind of flawless control was something most mages couldn’t even dream of achieving.

Chanting was essential for every mage.

No matter how skilled they were, that step couldn’t simply be skipped.

And yet, Tsunayoshi Sawada was the exception—someone who could freely command powers of the same origin but entirely different elements and attributes.

Loki’s opinion of him, already high, rose even further.

Before this, she’d thought of him as a prodigy in terms of talent and innate ability. Now, it was clear he was just as extraordinary with magic and elemental control.

“But how did you do it?” she asked, brows raised.

“You just awakened that ability. How can you control it so perfectly already?”

Tsuna’s reply was simple.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure.”

It wasn’t humility. He genuinely didn’t know how he’d managed it.

“I just… think about what I want it to do, and the power moves accordingly,” he said. “It’s like Annihilation Maker.”

That answer surprised Loki at first, but realization soon dawned on her. She recalled something buried deep beneath her divine throne.

“I think I understand now,” she said, smiling faintly. “When you leveled up, I helped you select your Development Ability—it was Dying Will Flame. I’d wager that’s what’s letting you control it so effortlessly.”

“It’s specialized in a field you already excel in.”

“You already had that power within you, but you’d never truly mastered it. The Development Ability simply brought out that latent control.”

Tsuna found that explanation perfectly reasonable.

It made sense—he’d never fully grasped his Dying Will Flames back then.

He’d tried, over and over, but no matter how hard he worked, there had been no results.

Yet, looking at things now, maybe all that effort hadn’t been wasted. Otherwise, seven years of struggle wouldn’t have bloomed into this.

Everything had been waiting for the right Development Ability to unlock it.

Perhaps it really was fate—just like the Dying Will Flame, the spark that rewrote his story.

Loki quietly watched him as he sank into thought. When she saw him finally accept her explanation, she stepped closer and gently wrapped her arms around him. Her voice was soft by his ear.

“You don’t need to think about complicated things right now,” she whispered.

“For you, what matters is mastering more power and moving forward steadily. That’s your goal—and your path.”

“When you’ve gathered enough strength, you’ll start to understand the secrets hidden within you.”

“And honestly,” she added with a mischievous grin, “I can’t wait to see what those secrets are.”

At that moment, Tsuna heard nothing but Loki’s voice. His mind, usually active and restless, was unusually calm.

“Yeah,” he murmured.

Such a simple kid, Loki thought, smiling to herself.

Sometimes, it wasn’t a bad thing to stop overthinking and just move forward. Still, that single-mindedness could be a bit of a headache too.

“From now on,” Loki said, “try to spend more time with others. You can drop by here anytime. Tiona and Tione would love the company.”

“As for Ais…” She hesitated, tapping her chin. “Yeah, maybe don’t hang around that girl too much. Spend too much time with her and you might end up getting… influenced.”

She genuinely encouraged Tsuna to interact with others—everyone except Ais.

Ais Wallenstein was, in Loki’s mind, a walking disaster trigger.

And Tsuna? He was a universal wish-granting machine.

If Tsuna ever started indulging Ais’s whims, Loki could already imagine the chaos that would follow.

Better to limit their contact before something strange happened.

“Last time, that girl pushed herself too hard with the Gravity Bracelet,” Loki went on. “She ended up with sore muscles all over and couldn’t get out of bed for a whole day.”

“Ais’s body can take that kind of punishment. Yours can’t—not yet.”

Listening to Loki’s concern—and remembering what Ais had done—Tsuna couldn’t help defending himself.

“Miss Loki, I wouldn’t go that far just for strength.”

“She actually slept with the Gravity Bracelet still on! Who trains while sleeping? She kept her body tense all night just so she wouldn’t relax for even a moment!”

“I’m not that insane.”

Tsuna admitted he wanted to grow stronger. But not to the point of self-destruction.

He knew his power required steady progress.

He’d faced almost no obstacles along this path so far—why force things unnecessarily?

And now that the issue of time had been resolved, he didn’t have to worry about reaching new heights too quickly.

Slow and steady—that was his way. Increase the strain gradually, draw out his body’s potential bit by bit, never recklessly push past his limits.

Loki nodded in approval. “If you’d said that before, I wouldn’t have believed you. But now? I think you’re fine.”

“That anxious energy you used to have—it’s mostly gone now that you understand how time flows between worlds. I see what was bothering you before.”

Tsuna scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed. “Yeah… I was worried that if I stayed away too long, they wouldn’t recognize me when I got back.”

“But now that’s not an issue, I’d rather slow down and focus on solid progress.”

Loki understood completely. After all, Tsuna had been thrown into this world without any mental preparation—it was natural for him to have that kind of fear.

“Then there’s nothing to worry about anymore, right?”

“Right.”

“Good. Then come visit me often,” Loki said with a grin. “With your perception, I can sense what’s happening in your world through you. If you’re ever uneasy, you can always drop by and check in.”

“Got it,” Tsuna said softly.

And this time, he really meant it.

Chapter 109 – Everyone Desires to Grow Stronger

The restaurant buzzed softly that night. It wasn’t a formal dinner but a special gathering—one Finn Deimne himself had organized. Every single member of the Loki Familia was present.

“Since everyone’s here,” Finn said, stepping to the front of the room, “let’s begin.”

As both the host and the captain, he naturally stood in the center where all could see him. The adventurers turned their eyes toward him, curious about why he had called this meeting.

“The main purpose of tonight’s gathering,” Finn began, his tone calm but deliberate, “is to address one question—not for our high-ranking adventurers, but for those of you still struggling near the bottom.”

He paused, scanning the faces in the crowd.

“Do you still have the desire to move forward?”

The question made many adventurers frown. Some lowered their gazes, unsure how to respond. Finn’s words struck right where it hurt most.

“I’m not here to mock you,” Finn continued evenly. “I simply want to know your answer.”

“What you lack isn’t talent, or potential. What you lack is pressure—something that forces your abilities to grow.”

“What I want to know,” he said, his voice rising just slightly, “is whether you still have the will to keep moving forward. Do you still carry that longing you once had—to stand among the high-level adventurers?”

Everyone in the room could hear the undertone behind his words, even if Finn didn’t say it outright. His speech wasn’t an accusation; it was a test—a probe to see whether their flames still burned.

Did they still want to move forward?

Of course they did. But what could they do about it?

They had tried—again and again—but reality was merciless. No matter how hard they trained, their Status refused to improve. They had earned Excellia, completed Expeditions, shed blood and sweat, yet their numbers barely moved.

Their dreams had dulled. Their hope had faded to gray.

Even if they wanted to keep climbing, how could they?

Then suddenly—like a spark flickering to life—they all thought of the same thing.

That “irregular.”

The one who had shattered the limits of logic and done countless impossible things in recent days.

And now, hearing their captain’s question, it clicked. Everything made sense.

Chairs scraped against the floor as several of them stood up at once. Faces flushed with excitement, voices rang out, trembling with newfound determination.

“Captain, of course we do!”

“We all want to keep going! It’s just… our talent’s limited. No matter how much we train, our Status barely rises. Even those who’ve earned plenty of Excellia can’t level up if their stats don’t meet the standard!”

“But we’ve never given up on effort!”

Yes. No one in the Loki Familia had ever stopped trying.

They were, after all, an exploration-type Familia—constantly diving into the Dungeon and taking on Expeditions. Reaching Level 2 should’ve been relatively simple for them.

The true wall wasn’t Excellia—it was their Status itself.

Even outside Expeditions, they trained tirelessly every day, hoping to push their stats just enough to trigger that long-awaited Level Up.

But fate was cruel.

No matter how hard they worked, their growth would eventually slow to a crawl. After a certain point, no amount of training yielded progress. The numbers simply stopped moving.

That was why they had started losing hope—not because they didn’t want to advance, but because they couldn’t.

Working endlessly with no results… it crushed the soul.

The Falna gave them power, yes—but it couldn’t break their limits.

And so, outside their training, they turned to alcohol to dull the pain—to forget that their progress had frozen.

But tonight, it felt different.

Tonight, they sensed something—like a lost opportunity had returned, brighter than ever.

How could they not be fired up? To sit still now would be an insult to all the effort and dreams they’d once held.

Off to the side, Loki nearly burst out laughing. She leaned over to whisper to Tsuna, barely containing her grin.

“These guys… they’re all the same—so predictable,” she snickered. “The moment Finn brought it up, their faces looked like someone had stepped on their pride. Now they’re standing up like they’re pledging eternal loyalty.”

“But,” she added with a smirk, “their reaction time’s way better than that idiot Raul’s.”

Despite her teasing, there was genuine satisfaction in her tone.

“Like they said, they’ve been working hard all this time, even if the results weren’t showing,” Loki murmured. “The fact that they picked up on Finn’s hidden message so fast means they’re still sharp.”

“If they didn’t care anymore, they wouldn’t have reacted that quickly.”

“Of course,” she added with a grin, “I bet part of it’s thanks to Bete yelling ‘small fry, small fry!’ all the time. Keeps them fired up and ready to prove him wrong.”

Tsuna tilted his head. “Miss Loki, I thought most people hated Bete?”

“That was at the start,” Loki chuckled. “Back when he first joined, that mutt’s mouth was downright toxic. Every word out of him could stab you straight in the heart.”

“But after a few Expeditions, everyone figured him out. He’s got a foul mouth, sure—but he’s reliable where it counts.”

She rubbed her temples, remembering those early, chaotic days. That wolf had caused no end of trouble back then.

But now? He’d become their loudmouthed motivator—the tsundere wolf of the Familia.

“‘Hey! I can do that too!’—that’s what all of them want to yell at Bete right now,” Loki said, laughing quietly.

Tsuna blinked. “Wow… didn’t see that coming.”

Loki just grinned wider, her crimson eyes gleaming with amusement—and something like pride.

The spark of joy spreading through the room was impossible to miss.

Chapter 110 – Test Week

“Looks like everyone’s caught on,” Finn said with a satisfied nod.

“This gathering is mainly for adventurers between Level 1 and Level 3. It’s a test—to see whether, under sufficient pressure, you can force out your hidden potential.”

“If your resolve holds strong, then you might just achieve the kind of breakthrough you’ve only dreamed about.”

A quiet ripple ran through the room as the lower-ranked adventurers swallowed hard.

A breakthrough beyond imagination—if that was truly possible, then no matter how brutal the test turned out to be, they’d endure it to the end.

“As for whether the test actually yields results,” Finn continued, “that’s already been confirmed.”

"We, along with Alise and the others, have already undergone the same trial. The results far exceeded anything we expected."

“This round of testing is simply to see whether, with the difficulty lowered, the lower-level adventurers can endure long enough to reach the same results.”

Finn’s words hit like a thunderclap. At the same time, they were the strongest dose of motivation the room had ever felt.

Their fear had never been about whether they could endure—Loki Familia’s members were never short on willpower.

What they lacked was opportunity. A guarantee that their struggle could actually lead to progress.

Now that their captain had spoken so clearly—and that others had already proven it was possible—they couldn’t help but believe.

This test was their long-awaited chance.

"However," Finn went on, "remember this is just a test. We can't have too many people vanishing from the Familia for long periods."

"If the outside world notices, it'll cause Tsuna a lot of trouble."

That drew nods from around the room.

The Loki Familia was always under watch. If too many members disappeared at once, the Guild and other Familias would start asking questions.

This test was clearly tied to their new recruit. And no one wanted to draw outside attention to the rookie who had given them this opportunity in the first place.

“Captain, how many participants are we starting with?” someone asked.

“Based on our current numbers,” Finn replied, “we’ll begin with twenty.”

“Considering we just returned from an Expedition, this period’s meant for recovery. We can’t have too many people gone again so soon.”

“So, twenty participants to start. The test will last one week. Each day will consist of half a day of training and half a day of rest.”

“Once the week’s over, we’ll reconvene here to update everyone’s data. The results will be shared internally.”

Everything—the duration, the scale, the schedule—was made perfectly clear.

Everyone also understood the unspoken implication: this entire experiment existed thanks to the Familia’s newest member.

That meant secrecy was vital.

If word got out before the system was ready, the real opportunity might slip away from them.

“Tonight’s meeting,” Finn concluded, “is also to finalize the details. We’ll be selecting the first group of participants.”

The moment he said it, the air shifted. Excitement flared like wildfire.

Thus began the Loki Familia’s grand Low-Level Reformation Project.

Twenty participants wasn’t a large number—barely a tenth of their total force—but it was enough to make waves.

Since the Expedition had just ended, not everyone was eager to dive back into the Dungeon. Some wanted a brief rest, a rare stretch of peace before the next mission.

So if a few faces went unseen for a week or two, no one outside would think twice.

Besides, not every adventurer in the Familia was constantly under scrutiny.

That margin of anonymity gave the test all the cover it needed.

“Tch… the Dark Faction really pulled off something impressive this time,” Hermes muttered.

He’d received the full report from the Dungeon. The incident on the 18th floor—the monster surge—was already crystal clear. The creatures hadn’t just flooded up from the 17th floor; even the 19th had spawned aberrations.

“Causing this much chaos in the Dungeon…”

“First, the mutated sirens… then the premature birth of the Amphisbaena. Those bastards hid in the shadows for years, and now they resurface—again.”

“And this time, they targeted Astraea’s children.”

Hermes wasn’t surprised that the Dark Faction bore hatred toward Astraea, or that they’d go after her Familia. What intrigued him was how Loki had learned about it so quickly.

“You’re sure we still can’t determine how Loki got the information?” he asked.

“Not yet,” Asfi replied with a shake of her head. She’d already conducted a full investigation across Rivira, but the conclusion was definitive.

“There’s no intelligence network transmitting information upward from Rivira.”

“Even if one existed, it was completely down during that time frame.”

“Besides, transferring written reports takes time.”

“Based on the Loki Familia’s travel timeline through Rivira, the moment Lady Loki went to the Guild and contacted Lady Astraea, we can confirm something important.”

“Loki learned about the incident less than three hours after it happened.”

Hermes raised a brow.

“As fast as that?”

“Yes. Based on our testing, even the quickest written dispatch from the lower floors to the surface would take at least four hours.”

“And that’s under stable conditions. During the monster surge, the route would’ve been unstable—it could’ve taken half a day.”

“So,” Asfi said decisively, “we can only conclude that Lady Loki used an alternative channel to obtain the intel.”

“At present,” she continued, “the only possible source would be the Loki Familia’s newest member.”

“The summoner… huh?” Hermes murmured.

Asfi didn’t need to elaborate further. The pieces were already in place.

The information hadn’t come through conventional means—it had bypassed them entirely.

And given what the “supernatural division” had reported—that Loki’s new recruit was on par with the Sword Princess herself—Hermes didn’t have to think twice.

He knew exactly where Loki’s mysterious intelligence network truly lay.