"Honey, it's time to wake up."
"..."
"Cal, come on. Kyle is here with the others."
"Mmm… stop moving."
Caelum remained in the comfort of the darkness. The bundle of light in his arms was all that was keeping him warm, but it was struggling to get out, so he tightened his hold on it to prevent it from escaping.
"Cal, no! The others are watching! We can do that at home. Come on, get up."
"Just let them watch… sleep some more."
"Honey, if I kiss you, will you wake up?"
Caelum did not answer. His consciousness was drifting between awake and asleep for a while now. Erta's warmth pressed against him helped him rest quite deeply, but Erta felt uncomfortable from the gazes of the people on the other side of the room.
She squirmed a bit and found the perfect position to do as she planned. Her lips touched Caelum's cheeks several times, moving slowly until she reached right next to his lips. The softness was electrifying and it woke Caelum up right away.
"Alright, I'm awake."
"You didn't even let me finish!"
Caelum quickly released the pouting Erta from his embrace and got out of the bed. They were still in Kyle's private room, but he could see some people on the other side.
He remembered some of their faces from the news. He walked toward them with Erta following behind him while casting a simple spell that cleaned their bodies. Though it was convenient, they still much preferred a proper bath.
"How long was I asleep?"
"About ten hours. We've just arrived, don't worry. I hope you liked my bed."
"Damn, that's too long. Erta, your body is too soft. It's making me sleep too long."
"Thank you? That's a compliment, right? I'll take it as a compliment."
"Is this really the Angel of Slaughter? He's very… different from what I thought he'd be."
The four Chosen who gathered in Kyle's room all looked at Caelum weirdly. They were excited to have the help of a strong Chosen, but the moment they entered the room, all they saw was a couple shamelessly flirting in bed.
Although they could not deny that Caelum and Erta were strong, they doubted whether they were reliable. Perhaps it was as they said, never meet your heroes. Caelum did not mind their initial impression of him and began with an introduction.
"Okay. Before anything else, let's introduce ourselves. My name is Caelum Grace, so stop calling me Angel of Slaughter. This is my wife, Erta Ki'ana. I'm sure Kyle has already told you about our unique circumstances in this dungeon which is why we don't have roles. But for you please, include your roles in your introduction."
The four Chosen became more serious as they introduced themselves. A female archer from the Knights of the Round was given the role of Tristan. A swordsman from the Bracer Guild introduced himself as Galahad. And the two from Red Tower, a spearman and a female mage, were Lancelot and Merlin respectively.
It was clear that, unlike Kyle, they were less enthused by their current predicament. Even Tristan, who belonged to the Knights of the Round, was getting annoyed at Kyle's excitement, glaring at him with a disapproving gaze.
"This idiot hasn't been here long enough that's why he's like that. We've had to fight quite a few skirmishes already over the past three weeks. What's worse is that we don't know if and when these human-like monsters would attack us instead. For now, they seem to see us as one of them, but who knows if that will last."
"It's good to know that you're all taking this seriously. I was worried that everyone would be as giddy as Kyle. Tristan, what's your name again?"
"It's Santana. Remember it already unless you want me to call you Angel of Slaughter forever."
"Right. Then let's begin with what we know. Camelot is at war with the barbarians and the fairies. You've had a number of skirmishes so far, so it's highly likely that a large-scale battle will happen soon. Anything to add?"
"We were in a meeting with the other knights yesterday. It seems that the barbarians have already reached the forest to the east of Camelot. And a large amount of mana could be felt from the north. They're getting closer. It won't be surprising if we have to fight them within the week."
Lancelot unfolded a map of the dungeon on Kyle's desk then pointed at the locations that the enemies were coming from. Caelum narrowed his eyes at their estimates and realised that something was wrong.
"Hey, we fought a pack of large black dogs less than a day's walk from here. That was about two days ago. If what you said is true about the enemy being fairies, then those weren't just normal monsters. Those were barghests."
"What?! How could they be so close already?!"
Everyone looked at the spot on the map that Caelum pointed to. It was even closer than barbarians who were slowly making their way through the forest in the east. Lancelot was starting to panic while Santana and Kyle began talking about what they should do to slow down the enemies' advance.
Galahad was just listening to them with a worried expression. It was understandable since his two friends were in each of the enemies' factions. And in the midst of their confusion, Merlin spoke.
"Excuse me! I don't know if this is the right time to say this, but I think I know the identity of the enemy. At least, the fairies that is."
"Have you not spoken about this to the other knights during your meeting?"
"No, because I only just thought of it now. Back in my hometown, we have stories dating back to the middle ages. One of them is about an army of ghosts or elves or fairies that ride across the land throughout the night accompanied by their hunting dogs. We call it the Wild Hunt."
The room fell silent at her words. Everyone present, except Erta, should have heard of the Wild Hunt at least once. Caelum easily accepted her idea since it did not change what they were supposed to do. In fact, it only made more sense to him.
"Well, that explains the exhumed barrow we came across in the forest."
If the enemy was indeed the Wild Hunt, then it was safe to say that there would be undead among them. Caelum inspected the map, still unable to clearly identify where he and Erta first appeared in the dungeon. While following the dragon vein, they had lost the orientation they had and the giant tree could not be seen outside the fog that veiled the forest.
Meanwhile, the others looked at each other with a slightly strange atmosphere. When Caelum was about to ask them what they were all thinking about, Galahad explained.
"We haven't told you the roles of the other two, have we? The one with the fairies... the Wild Hunt is a Dökkálfar, a dark elf from Norse mythology. The other one who's with the barbarians is a Valkyrie."
"Ah… well damn. We've got two Wild Hunts as enemies then."
"I don't understand, Cal."
"There's another version of the Wild Hunt where rather than fairies, ghosts or elves, they're full of Valkyries and Einherjar from Norse mythology. They are led by Odin. There's even a painting of it called 'The Wild Hunt of Odin'."
Caelum sighed at how ridiculous the dungeon was. Not only was it mixing together the various legends and myths, it even included different versions. As if the modern buildings all over Camelot were not enough of a distraction. Caelum looked at the people gathered and began planning.
"Gawain, interrogate your fan regarding their battle with the barghests. While you're at it, punish him for not reporting anything."
"Like I said, I don't know who that man is! But yeah, I'll get to it right away."
"Who's leading the Knights of the Round Table?"
"It's Lancelot. He's the first one to enter the dungeon as well. The ones in charge are basically everyone in this room."
"Good. Then we'll be able to move quickly. I need you all to prepare to intercept the… let's just call it the Fairies' Wild Hunt. They're much closer and therefore pose a greater threat. Meanwhile, I'll head to the east and try to hold down Odin's Wild Hunt. It would be a disaster if they joined while we're fighting the fairies."
They all stared at Caelum when they realised what he was saying. Lancelot, who had been robbed of the role of leader, asked in a frantic voice.
"But wait! Wouldn't we be able to beat them faster with you around?"
"No. There's something I want to look into so I can't. Erta will be helping you since her power is better suited to fighting the fairies than mine. Plus, if I can get your friend back from the enemy, then we'll have one less worry."
With his explanation, everyone nodded. They did not know what he wanted to investigate, but they did not dwell on it. There was enough for them to worry about as is. At least, their mission was the same as always. Fight against the two Wild Hunts and kill their leaders. That way, they could escape the dungeon.
While they were eager to move at the thought of finally being able to leave the dungeon, Caelum could only shake his head at the bad premonition he was having.