The next day arrived and I finally woke up, looking around the room, noticing Raven wasn't beside me. I stretched and grunted softly, standing up and took my Z-System out of my pocket, noticing I had missed calls from Nagini. I rubbed the back of my head then walked out of the study, planning to call her later.
I traversed down the hall to find Raven, searching every room. Soon, I encountered a maid and asked her where Raven was. She pointed me to the direction where Raven was, and I nodded toward her, thanking her.
I began to go into the direction that the maid pointed to, knocking on the door of the playroom and hearing giggling and gleeful laughing. Soon the door swung open, seeing Raven with disheveled hair and face paint all over her face.
"Well hello, Artemis..~" I chuckled softly, gently using my thumb to wipe off the face paint off her face.
"It's like a daycare in here...I didn't expect them to be up so early," Raven sighed, leaning forward and placing her forehead against my shoulder.
I chuckled softly and looked down at her, gently patting her head and rubbing her hair. "I can help you if you'd like, Raven. You don't need to get ran over by the children alone..."
Raven mumbled against my shoulder, her words muffled due to her face being placed against my shoulder.
"What was that?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.
"I said I would appreciate you helped me out... taking care of seven children alone is tiring. I already want to go back to sleep...I need to get the children ready for their study hours today, but they seemed to want to play all day..." Raven muttered, standing up straight and looking at me, sighing softly.
"Let me try to get them settled down..~ You just relax and watch a Prince work his magic," I said softly, gently holding her at arms length.
Raven nodded and a soft smile tugging at her lips. "Alright.."
I made my way into the playroom, noticing Hikari and her friends playing around and laughing. I clapped my hands together, catching everyone's attention and they turned to look at me. "Alright everyone, let's settle down and give Mama Raven an easier time alright?"
Raven grunted heavily, a large blush forming on her cheeks. "W-Wha— August—"
"Mama...Raven? But that's big sister!~" Hikari giggled, bouncing upon and down, holding her robotic bunny in her arms.
"They seem to show signs of having a Sugar Rush...no wonder they are so active this morning," Leona chuckled softly, glancing at each child.
"Oh dear...a sugar rush this early in the morning is not good. The maids must've given them a rather sweet breakfast like sugary oatmeal or pancakes," Sephora sighed softly, holding her arms and let out a soft chuckle as well.
I took what Leona and Sephora said into consideration then crossed my arms and smiled. "Alright...listen up, kiddos. Who wants to play Heroes and Villains?"
"Me! Me! I wanna play!" Hikari exclaimed, her excitement bubbling to the surface.
"I wanna play too!" Her friend said, stepping forward with excitement.
"Alright, there's seven of you so that's seven heroes and I'll be the...Dark Lord. Yeah, the Dark Lord of Pride," I chuckled softly then let out a soft grunt as I got down onto my knees to meet their gazes.
"Okay! We will take you down, Dark Lord of Pride!" Hikari giggled and hurried toward the toy chest to grab her plastic sword.
'Dark Lord of Pride..? What an interesting choice...' Raven thought, sitting in a chair at the table and watched me play with the kids, resting her elbow on the table and her cheek against the palm of her hand.
I began to play with the children, enjoying playing with Hikari and her friends and letting them win their bouts. Raven watched as the children all laugher and had fun pretending to be heroes, her heart swelling with warmth and pride.
As she watched me play with the children, she noticed the children reaching the end of their sugar rush, each one starting to settle down. Her gaze lingered onto me, a soft smile settling on her face. She enjoyed seeing the children now all gathered around me as I began telling them a story about one of my small skirmishes around Zodiac Square.
A soft blush began to form on her cheeks as her gaze lingered onto me, a mix of appreciation and admiration playing on her face. 'He's surprisingly good with children...they already like him...'
As the time passed, Raven finally stepped in when the children were finally calmed and got them ready to go into their study room for a few hours while she got ready to handle her royal duties. While she was getting the children ready, I decided to give Nagini a call to see why she was blowing my device up.
Stepping outside into the main hall, I called Nagini, a holographic screen appearing in front of me. "Hey, Nagini. 7 missed calls huh? What's going on?"
"For the love of Henosis, you finally pick up, my Lab Rat! Listen, there's not much time to explain. A Dungeon has been formed at your location! Mariella is in the St. Meishi District as we speak! Drop whatever you're doing and gather up some allies and stop whatever she's planning to do!" Nagini said, sending me information about where Mariella's exact coordinates were.
{Mission Description: Find the Dungeon and Defeat Mariella.}
{Location: St. Meishi District}
{Distance: 5 meters away.}
'Five meters..? That's literally inside the Jungle behind the citadel where the Sagittarius Temple is...she's that close by?!' I thought, turning my heels then ran toward the back exit of the castle.
"Do you know what she's been doing? Has she caused any havoc while she's been here?" I asked, running toward the location of the Dungeon.
"No, she hasn't been causing any destruction... surprisingly. A group of heroes have already been going into the dungeon, but none of them have come out. I'm currently headed that way from the academy as we speak," Nagini answered, hurrying to the Teal Tanzanite Kingdom.
I ran out into the courtyard then hurried toward the gates leading into the jungle area of the kingdom. I rushed through the vast jungles, following the holographic arrows pointing me toward the path of the Dungeon. I made sure to stay mindful of my surroundings and look out for any traps Mariella might've sent.
"Alright, I'm here. What's the layout of the Dungeon?" I asked, standing in front of the entrance of the Jungle Dungeon.
"The same as the underground dungeon under the St. Garnet Citadel. Nine rooms, one main Boss Room. Tread carefully while I make my way to you. I don't need you dying on me," Nagini said, hanging up.
I put my Z-System away then stepped forward, taking a deep breath then exhaled softly as I entered the dungeon. 'Here we go...'
Raven looked around for me inside the palace, curious to where I ran off to. She approached one of the maids and gently tapped her shoulder. "Hey, do you know where August went?"
The maid looked at Raven with a smile. "He seemed to be in a hurried state earlier. She went outside toward the Jungle Area of the kingdom. He sounded urgent.."
Raven began to ponder on why I would be rushing toward Orion Jungle, nodding toward the maid then hurried off to see what was going on in the jungle. 'Tch..! No one better be trying to take the Psychic Tanzanite! Not after I just got it back!'
She rushed outside and toward the gate that led into the jungles. She summoned her Teal Tanzanite and began to use her Zodiac Energy to track me down, awakening her Hunter's Instincts.
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I ran through a wave of Lizardmen and evaded the ice shards being launched from traps around me, my eyes darting everywhere to constantly scan my surroundings. A lizardman rushed behind me to land a slice on my back with his sword, but I used my Demonic Presence to cause him to freeze up.
I turned around, grabbing him by his neck then used his body as a shield from the ice shards, his body falling limp. The other monsters noticed they were outmatched and began to temporarily retreat. I tossed the monster's body in my hands aside then took out my Z-System and scanned the room for Nagini.
{Dungeon Room Type: Trap Room}
{Room Name: Ice Barrage}
{Room Level: 6}
'Level..? So this dungeon can grow stronger huh? I wonder how that can happen..' I thought, sending the information to Nagini and hurrying off deeper into the Dungeon.
'That Trap Room was the first room by the entrance and there's only one, so that must be a factor on how the heroes are dying when entering here to defeat the Dark Lord. Mariella is smarter than I hoped, but I must keep pushing..' I thought, continuing forward.
As I ran forward, I stepped into another room then noticed I was back at the beginning of the Dungeon. I halted for a moment, looking around to see if it was just a trick. It was no trick, I was actually back at the beginning of the Dungeon.
"How—" I questioned softly, still a but surprised by the sudden warp back to the entrance. "No one warped reality...I was warped back to the entrance.."
I took a careful step forward and ran through the Ice Barrage room, dodging each trap then rushed forward, looking ahead and noticed my footprints leading to the room I was in before getting warped back to the beginning. I stopped and took out my Z-System, scanning the room ahead.
{Dungeon Room Type: Trap Room}
{Room Name: Return}
{Room Level: 10}
'Figures...a Room that warps you back to the beginning. Can't go down this path... alright, let's try another path then,' I thought, stepping backwards then hurrying off along another path within the Dungeon.
I hurried upon the left path of the dungeon and traversed around the dark jungles, using my Absolute Senses to stay keen upon my surroundings. Suddenly as I was traversing, a group of Goblin Girls ambushed me from all directions, slightly catching me off guard.
I quickly acted, letting out a roar and a pillar of flames surrounded my body, blocking the attacks of the Goblin Girls and pushing them back. I looked around and noticed the monsters returning back to the shadows. I looked for the exit but walls of energy blocked my escape points until I've cleared the room.
Subtly, I took out my Z-System, scanning the room I was in and looked at the holographic display that appeared in front of me.
{Dungeon Room Type: Battle Room}
{Room Name: Silent Ambush}
{Room Level: 30}
'Level 30..?! That is a massive jump!' I thought and put away my Z-System, looking around the dungeon room I was in. 'I think I understand how the Levels work now within the dungeon. Some rooms gain reserve experience depending on adjacent rooms like the Return trap room...'
'But rooms like these and Ice Barrage...the more people that die here, the stronger these rooms become..and the stronger the Monsters become and the more aggressive they are,' I thought, sensing a killing strike behind me.
I dodged the attack and grabbed the wrist of the Goblin Girl, noticing her gasp in shock. I tossed her up and delivered a Critical Lion Fist to her midsection, blowing her away. I began to dodge the Stealth Strikes the Goblin Girls dished out around me.
I stomped my foot down, red lightning crackling around my body then I summoned my Origin Blade blade. I bellowed as I slashed in a circle, slicing each monster around me in half and red lightning circling around me. I exhaled softly, noticing the walls of energy lowering.
A laugh was heard throughout the Dungeon, catching my attention. I looked around and noticed Mariella leaving against a tree and her gaze meeting mine with a smirk. I stared at Mariella and readied my sword, bracing myself for battle.
"Calm down...I am not here to fight you. Not yet anyway. Can't a Dark Lord just have a simple conversation with a fellow Hero?" Mariella asked, crossing her eyes and watching me closely.
I stared at her for a moment, exhaling softly and relaxed for a moment. I lowered my sword and decided to hear her out. "Why are you here in St. Meishi? You don't seem to be working with The Fallen. What is your end goal?"
"Curious little lion aren't we?~ I suppose I can tell you my plans. Listen closely, I am only going to say this once," Mariella began, closing her eyes and tapped her finger against her arm. "I am planning to revive all of my sisters and strengthen and expand my Dungeon."
"You see, us Dark Lords are more than Apostles to Chaos. We were created by the Sovereign of Absolute Destruction aka Ragnarok. We all have a role to play within the Five Realms. It's that Chaos used our power for the wrong reasons which inherently caused our ultimate demise, being sealed away," Mariella continued, opening her eyes to look at me.
I listened to her and crossed my arms, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "I'm not sure I believe you... exactly what role do you play in the Realms?"
"Population Control. We play within the cycle of Destruction while Goddesses like Sephora play in the cycle of Creation. The worlds we destroy become created anew and when worlds begin to take up too much space, I and my fellow Dark Lord sisters destroy them," Mariella answered, her gaze lingering onto mine.
"Why do you think the stars explode and Black Holes exist? Why do you think people die of old age? Why do you think Space Vacuums exist? Destruction is needed to create new life," Mariella continued.
"But why Earth? Why do you all need to destroy Earth? The one planet keeping the Underworld and the Sacred Realm at bay? The Central Grounds of the Human Realm?" I asked, watching her got off the tree.
Mariella closed her eyes, trailing around me and placed a hand on her hip. "Well, you all technically have the strongest Heroes with the Zodiacs and the Infinity Council...us Dark Lords gravitate to the strongest worlds first, but in this case, we are trapped here. We can't do our intended job for as long as the barrier around Earth exists."
I watched her closely then grunted softly. I tried to find the right words to convince her otherwise to not destroy Earth, but none came out.
"See? You have nothing to say. It isn't like we wanted to be here, we were wronged just as much as the others were in the Ancient Era. We were taken from our domain, forced to fight an unwinnable battle because Chaos wanted us to. Now we have to destroy Earth... because it's in our nature to Destroy," Mariella said, stopping in front of me.
I shook my head, my gaze meeting hers with a resolute and determined expression. "I'm not letting you destroy my home. I can't not allow that to happen, so if I must force a Rebirth upon you by killing you to prevent you from destroying my planet then I will.."
Mariella stared at me with a smirk, a soft giggle escaping her parted lips. "Is that so..? You will be the one to stop us huh? All nine of us?"
"Every one of you. I won't let you continue to harm the innocent people of this planet not let you keep killing and corrupting our heroes and leaders!" I declared, readying my sword.
Mariella hummed at my resolution, a twinkle forming in her eyes. "I like you, Hero..~ You have a certain determination that I love...a sense of Justice like no other that allows you to stand up against Dark Lords like me. The spirit of a True Hero."
"If you really mean what you say, my Boss Room is nearby...we shall have our second bout there. Until then, enjoy the rest of the dungeon~" Mariella laughed, a pillar of water surrounding her body then she warped away.
I lowered my sword and grunted softly, closing my eyes and exhaling softly. I began to process what happened and even began to think about her words and what it really meant to be a Dark Lord.
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Raven arrived at the dungeon and noticed my trail of Zodiac Energy within the dungeon. She looked ahead, shuddering lightly and felt extremely dark energy within the dungeon. "What is this place..?"
Before Raven could step forward, a hand grabbed her shoulder stopping her, causing her to squeak and whip her head back to see who grabbed her. She noticed it was Nagini who stopped her, her nerves slightly calming.
"Don't just recklessly enter a dungeon. Once you go in, you can't escape unless you actually beat the dungeon or the Dark Lord let's you out. There's no possible way of one knowing how a Dungeon us laid out since the layout of the dungeon is always random with each creation," Nagini warned, gently pulling Raven behind her and looked at her device, seeing the full layout of the dungeon based on the information I sent her.
Raven poked her head over Nagini's shoulder, glancing at the device, curious about the map she was seeing. "Is that a map of the Dungeon?"
"Yeah. There are three Trap Rooms, two Battle Rooms, two Facilities, and one Altar, and one empty room. Seems like this Dungeon is just not used to collect prisoners meaning every hero who came in here has died..." Nagini said with a soft sigh, rubbing the nape of her neck.
"Foolish adventurers thinking this is just a normal dungeon they can just crawl through...My Lab Rat is in there but taken he sent me information regarding the entire Dungeon layout, he's still alive," Nagini said in a relieved tone, happy that I was still alive.
"What is going on? How is there a Dungeon here and so close to my nation?" Raven asked, looking at Nagini and demanding answers.
"Follow me, I'll explain as we traverse," Nagini said, walking into the Dungeon.
Raven followed behind Nagini, looking back and noticing a wall of energy forming, preventing her escape. She and Nagini traversed the dungeon together, Nagini using her Snake Eyes to see through the Trap Rooms, leading Raven carefully.
"So to explain what's going on, there is a Dark Lord within this District. The Dark Lord of The Seas, Mariella, to be exact. Her plans are currently unknown on why she's here, but you'll know when she has arrived when Dungeons are formed," Nagini explained, looking around her surroundings carefully.
"Dungeons are the Dark Lords' innate Domain Creation and the only type of Domain that can actually Expand or Shrink based on what the Dark Lord wants. The smallest Domain has nine rooms while the largest has 30," Nagini continued.
Raven nodded, following close behind Nagini and kept her bow ready at all times. "Okay...so what does this have to do with her being in my Kingdom?"
"Well, based on her movements, it seems like she's looking for three Relics that are needed to unseal the Dark Lord within St. Meishi, The Gaian Dark Lord, Floria. Here she's most likely looking for the Earth's Gaian Bow, Floria's secondary weapon," Nagini answered.
Raven was still a bit confused, but had an idea of what was going on now. She looked ahead then heard a loud howl, freezing a bit and noticed frost covering the ground. Nagini stopped as well, looking ahead and noticed Ylva blocking their path forward.
"Humans no interfere with Master's battle with Lion!" Ylva growled lowly, readying her icy axe.
"Who the hell is she..?" Raven asked, grunting softly as she stared at Ylva. "It's like she's a Beast Hybrid..!"
"She's Mariella's signature Monster. Ylva the White Fang, the Frozen White Wolf," Nagini answered, summoning her Cross. "Better get ready, because we have a fight ahead of us.."
Raven nodded, readying her bow and teal lightning crackled around her body. Ylva activated the Battle Room, red energy surging around her body then she let out a battle howl.