-------------A week earlier.
Ken felt his whole body being wrapped by something warm and soft. It was a very nostalgic feeling. This is the feeling of a bed. A cushion was gently catching his head and back. The softness of feathers wrapped his body. His dozing consciousness was thrown into confusion.
'What is this? This is supposed to be the dungeon…Why is a bed…'
'...why is it hard to open my eyes..?'
He was fumbling around as his consciousness was not fully awake yet. However, he couldn't move his right hand. It was wrapped in a soft feeling that was different from the bed. His palm was also wedged into something warm and soft.
'What's this?'
Ken moves his hand while he was still blank. He felt a certain elasticity between his hands and it was squishy when he touched it. Just keen on the feel somehow and it becomes a habit to keep touching…
"…Ahn.."
!!?
For some reason a seductive gasp could be heard. At that moment, the first visage of his consciousness came back to him.
Ken noticed as he raised himself in panic, that he really was in a bed. The bed had a pure-white sheet and it felt luxurious and it even had a canopy. It seems the bed was on a stone pavement in a terrace atrium. A refreshing breeze blew by Ken's cheeks and the canopy. His perimeter was surrounded by pillars and a thin curtain. Can you imagine a bed in the center of a Parthenon shrine? The whole space was filled with a warm light that he hasn't seen in a long time.
He was little confused, just a while ago he was in a desperate struggle fighting against the Hydra in the dungeon.
'Right, sigh. This must be Orcus' house and I was brought here after my last attack. That last move really did make me an anime character. *chuckle* Am so embarrassed shouting the attack like that but it felt weirdly refreshing'
He looked to his side to find Yue sleeping with a smile which causes him to smile also as he rubs his finger on her angelic face.
"....Ken?....Ken!! *sniffles* I'm so sorry...I..."
"it's okay Yue.My bad, it looks like I worried you as much as you did me"
"...Yes I was worried.."
It seems she didn't want to stop clinging for a while. He let her do it until she was satisfied because she did take care of him. Ken continued to stroke her head gently.
When Yue calmed down after a few minutes, Ken asked about what happened.
"So.... how long has it been and what happened after that?"
"....Well..."
She said that after she became aware, she found him on the floor with the dragon dead. She was dead worried thinking he has died but Nagumo reassured her that he will be fine. The door at the end of the hall opened abruptly which scares them at the thought of reinforcements since they're not in good fighting shape.
After a few minutes being on guard, Nagumo volunteers to scout it out as she guards his body. He returns after a few minutes to proclaim that it's might be the traitor's abode and it's safe. They carried him inside and into this place which was more safe than the house and it has been a few hours before he woke up.
"...So you guarded me even without fully recovering. Thank you very much Yue"
When Ken conveyed his words of thanks, Yue's eyes brighten up joyfully from the bottom of her heart. She was expressionless but her eyes said all.
"...so where is Nagumo?"
"He started exploring the abode after gathering the monster's meat "
Ken stopped questioning and rouse from the bed to explore the abode himself with Yue following along. They were still in their normal clothes they used to explore the dungeon.
Leaving the bedroom, he was amazed at the sights around him.
'The anime didn't do this place justice'
First, sunlight had entered his eye. It wasn't real because they were underground. There was a globe that had its cone-shaped body connected to the ceiling, and it was floating there shining. He felt slightly warm because it didn't feel artificial like a fluorescent lights. Hajime unintentionally called it "Sun".
"…It might become like a moon when its night."
"Seriously…"
Next, the pleasing sounds of water entered his ears. To the back of the room was a door that lead to a small sized stadium. In the back wall of this room was a waterfall. A large quantity of water ran down that wall from the ceiling and joined the river to flow into the back cave. The cool wind full of negative ions that blew from the waterfall provided a good feeling. When he took a closer look at the water, there were fish swimming there. Possible the fish flowed in from a terrestrial river.
Some distance from the river, there was a big field. Nothing seems to be planted there right now…it spread throughout the surrounding. It could be an animal pen. There was no sign of animals, but there was resources here to be self sufficient. Lots of varieties of plants grew around here too.
Ken was on the opposite side of the river and field. He was encouraged to walk towards the adjacent building to the bedroom. The construction felt like processed rocks. Ken then sees Nagumo looking at the construction with intrigue and commented.
"...why do you look so refreshed even in your dirty clothes?"
"Oh?!. You've awaken fairly early, glad you're alive. This place has an opened air bath and I couldn't stop the urge and stay calm. I'm a failure as a hybrid but I did my people proud"
Yue and Ken chuckle at the statement as they proceed inside the house.
The stone house was white and it texture was like lime; All of it felt so clean. In the entrance, there was a light sphere that was at the tip of a pedestal projecting from the ceiling. The group were dazzled with it because they had been in the dark for so long. There seemed to be 3 stories, and there seemed to be an atrium at the top.
"Don't even bother since it any of the closed doors won't open" said Nagumo.
First, they wanted to look at the ground floor. They discovered a fireplace, soft carpet, living area with a sofa, a kitchen, and restroom. No signs pointed to the idea that these items had been neglected for years. There was no sign of life…but it had the feeling of return home after a trip. Ken thought it had an air that told him it hadn't been used in a while. People did not live here, but it was still being maintained…
The three continued their exploration with caution. When they went into the interior they were outdoors again. There was a hole in this huge place, and a sculpture of a lion was enshrined in deep water there. Next to the sculpture was a magic formation. When he poured magic into the formation, warm water jumped out of the lion's open mouth. The lion seemed to be able to arrange water from anywhere in the world.
"A bath. So this is where you betrayed us?. This is good. How many months has it been since I had a bath?" said Ken who resisted the urge with a his willpower as now was not the time.
They soon discovered a study room and workshop on the second floor. However, there seemed to be seals that prevent the opening of the doors in those rooms. With no other choice, they continued their search.
The three headed to the third floor's back room. There was only one room on the third floor. When they opened the door into the interior, there was a 8m wide exquisite and delicate magic formation engraved on the floor in the center of the room; the design was something they had never seen before. A rather splendid geometrical patterned formation and it looked like art.
However, something else was more noteworthy. On the other side of the magic formation was a figure sitting in a regal chair. The figure was a corpse. It was already been skeletonized and there was a stunning black robe embroidered with gold on its body. There was not a single stain on it and it seemed to be an object from a haunted house.
The corpse hung its head, while leaning on the chair. It had been decayed in that posture. What did this person think of in this room with only a magic formation? Why did it choose this place, instead of the bedroom or living room?
"…Suspicious…What do you want to do?"
Yue was also wondering about the corpse. This person was probably one of the traitors. No signs of suffering could be seen on the figure that rested on the chair. It seemed like the figure was waiting for someone.
"..Well ladies and hybrid, I present you Liberator Orcus and our hope of getting stronger and returning home. Here we will find our answers and quest for our journey!!"
"... Liberator?...Home?. what are you talking about?"
"Well Nagumo, all be answered soon. Soo~ by the count of 3, let's all step inside and be enlightened. Shall we?" said Ken in an exaggerated manner as they step forward by the end of his count.
They're soon assaulted with pain as their brain receives a large amount of information about everything Ken already knew.