DD 301 Ch 2

In Neko City, deep within the dungeon, the Nekorian City filled several safe zones and spilled out into the surrounding areas.

Lucian sat in the healing chambers, his grandmother's body covered once again. It had been brought here to their tribe’s home months after the incident because the new routes within the dungeon were still being explored. He had grown tired of seeing her ravaged form laid out before him, yet he wasn't ready to leave his sister lay unconscious several beds over.

Somehow, leaving would be the same as admitting that she was truly dead. Among the Leomatis, few were close to him due to his father’s position. She had been an exception. Then again, she was another shaman in his direct line.

Who could be a better mentor than her? But now she was dead, and his sister was still in a coma, even after everything the healers had done. 

His sister groaned in bed, and Lucian practically fled from his own skin as he jumped to his feet and came to her side. "Sister, how are you?" He grabbed her hands as she weakly turned her head.

Even after all the healing she hadn’t woken up, even though she was physically in peak condition.

"I'm fine. It's a good thing that Grandma was there to get us all out." She mumbled. 

Lucian grimaced, unable to bring himself to tell her that the grandmother she had such high hopes for lay dead, not several beds over. "Focus on your recovery," Lucian said. "When that's done, we'll settle our debt. And not in the way the arbiters determine." Lucian couldn't contain the growl in his throat as he thought about the orkai bean pushers coming and declaring that they owed money for the fight that killed his grandmother. 

"Brother," his sister's weak voice pulled him from his musings of revenge. "I'll be okay. The dungeon is a dangerous place," she tried to reassure him. 

"It is a terribly dangerous place," Lucian agreed, keeping the venom from his voice and the heat from his gaze.

She deserved her loving brother. Others deserved the anger in his heart if he couldn’t keep that from her now it would be best for him to be elsewhere.

"Rest well. I will be back," he promised, realizing he couldn't stay with her, not while trying to keep his anger in check. He stepped out of the room to find his parents in the hall. 

His anger spiked once more. Of course they would show up now after being nowhere near his grandmother. They had practically sent her off to that low-level safe zone as an outcast, despite being such a powerful shaman. 

"Ah, son," his father stepped up, a full, rich mane flowing from his head and fine clothes that couldn’t be less than level ninety decorated his form. "How is she?"

It was a small mercy his father even had the sense to ask about his sister. His parents had been far from nurturing.

"I've been getting reports about what exactly happened." His father continued.

Lucian glared at his father for not even waiting for news of his daughter. Despite how much he hated the man, Lucian knew to keep his tongue in check. His father had information about who killed his grandmother and injured his sister. He waited, anxious for the answer.

"Fortunately, it was an incubus who has several pet humans," his father answered. And Lucian frowned. He did not recognize the second species.

“Human.” Lucian tried the word himself.

"At least that's how I'm told it's spoken," his father shrugged. "They're apparently a new race that's come into contact with the Orkai, and apparently this incubus has a penchant for taming them." 

Lucian nodded, processing the information as he worked through his next steps. "An incubus did this?"

Even with strong pets, it would have taken a lot to kill his grandmother. She might have been kind, but she wasn’t weak.

Lucian pushed for more. "How strong is the incubus?” If this incubus was too strong, it would be hard to move against them at present. 

"That part is quite interesting." His father rubbed his chin. "The human himself wasn't that strong, according to the reports. In fact, you are close to its level.”

Lucian perked up, his fangs showing at the news. "Demons are cowards. Of course they'd use someone stronger than them to win a fight. I bet they used underhanded tricks against grandmother." 

"There there, son," his father, in an odd show, actually comforted him. Perhaps his heart wasn't completely made of stone. "I know it is a hard thing to come to terms with, but the Orkai arbiters have come through and made their decision. We must simply accept that their pain, the fine, is punishment enough.”

“We must ignore our family's deaths and let some stupid incubus walk upon the Leomatis' honor without any reaction?" Lucian’s words turned into a deep growl the more he spoke. 

"I wish it weren't so just as much as you, son," his father shook his head. "But the Orkai are not easily persuaded into shedding blood, especially for a conflict where they have deemed both sides to have held fault." 

Lucian threw his hands in the air. "Fault? Fault? What fault? How many of theirs died?" Lucian demanded. 

"None," his father said somberly, and Lucian had to turn away as he ground his teeth in anger and very nearly lashed out at his father, which would have been a lethal mistake.

While his father was being kind now, the man was a powerful shaman. His entire life, any lashing out had been met with heavy reprisal. Lician knew this would be no different.

He worked to school his features, but his father had already caught the look.

"Calm yourself. You know that this is how situations are handled in Star City. Our clan isn't large enough to take on the city itself. We must swallow our anger," his father said, shaking his head sadly. It was the first time Lucian had ever seen the proud Nicorian so defeated. He would have savored the moment had it not been tied up with so much of his own pain.

"I cannot believe you won't seek revenge for your own daughter," Lucian spat at his father, trying to get a stronger reaction. 

"I understand your anger, Lucian, but you must also consider how many eyes are watching me after this incident. Should I make a move directly, there would be people ready and waiting to strike me down and take that for their own advantage." His father answered.

"Are people watching me the same?" Lucian asked, a sudden tinge of hope in his voice. 

"Well, no, but son, it is simply too dangerous for you to lash out at this demon. We have very little information about him at the moment. We don't know if he has any substantial backers in Hell." His father was watching him carefully.

"And since when have those old farts in Hell ever been a concern for you before, father?" Lucine ground out. 

"My hands are tied," his father said, holding both wrists in front of him, as if they really were bound.

"You've said it before, father. Incubi are a plague upon the dungeon." Lucian pushed, trying to get his father to see the situation differently.

"That is true," his father said, musing to himself. "They have ended more than one shaman line, having led even our most devout women astray." His father shook his head, sadly. "Well, here's another one causing problems for us.”

“Is this not an opportunity to act, father?" Lucian probed.

"As I said, my hands are bound. Of course," a slight smile slid across his father's face showing off his fangs, "you are my son. And should anyone come after you, I of course could step in to make sure someone of my own level, either amongst the Orkai or the demons, doesn't cause you too many issues."

A grin split across Lucian's face as he narrowed his eyes at his old man, realizing the scheme that was playing out. "That's fine, father. And perhaps I don't even need to act myself. There are always plenty of unscrupulous individuals even amongst those righteous green bastards." Lucian puffed himself up. The very thought that he could reach out and strike a deadly blow against this incubus bolstered his spirit considerably. 

"Ah, that might be for the best," his father said. "Of course, I am being watched too closely for me to do anything. I will just have to content myself with sitting and waiting for good news. Who knows, maybe the boy will fall over dead. Or fail to pay the arbiter."

Lucian's eyes flashed with sudden understanding. He could even make the incubus unable to pay the arbiter, certainly the Orkai would take care of the situation, and it would be all done within their justice system. Multiple opportunities blossomed in Lucian’s mind as he understood the wisdom his father was imparting. 

"Thank you, father. I once again find talks with you to be so incredibly enlightening." Lucian answered.

"Of course you find them helpful. I am, after all, the chief shaman of our clan. Perhaps it's about time for you to go roam. It has been some time since you last dove the dungeon, has it not?" His father pressed.

"Quite some time," Lucian agreed. Having a solution in mind significantly bolstered his mentality he hurried out of the building unable to wait.

“You push him too hard.” His mother, Sarsha spoke after Lucian had left.

“No.” Lash growled. “He is too soft. I’m happy my mother has passed, perhaps he’ll stop being coddled and we can use his love for my mother to hone his claws and wet his fangs.”

“Do not take your anger out on me.” Sarsha narrowed her eyes. “I have two of my cubs mourning.”

“Only the weak would spend so much time to get their feet back underneath them. The Leomatis have been struck hard, the other tribes will see nothing but our unguarded necks if that incubus lives.” Lash raised himself tall with a grin spreading across his face. “Yes, we can use this to our advantage. My son needs to show more ruthlessness. He needs to show the rest of our people that to strike the Leomatis and not kill us all will only lead to your own slaughter. Power is what rules the dungeon and it must be shown for other too often forget.”

Sarsha shook her head moving into the room to check on their daughter who was awake and wide eyed hearing his words. “It’s fine. Your brother will be fine because your father will send a guard to look over him in secret.” She glared over her shoulder at Lash.

He snorted. “I’ll be back. Someone will need to shadow him before he goes too far.”

***

"Ken, you shouldn't get too tangled up with the orkai," Crimson said. We had packed up while drying off from our shower, but then we’d needed a second shower after we had a little too much fun.

"What do you mean?" I asked. 

"I mean, while using the orkai as a measuring stick or a whetstone is fine from time to time, bogging yourself down with people like the Frothy Axe Heads is not something you want to reoccur long term." She told me.

"Don't worry, I don't intend to go fighting every single orkai to put myself in a pecking order. It's just a little pressure, you know?" I shrugged.

"Good. Keep it to just a little pressure. If it becomes more than that, I'm happy to step in. I'm going to be focusing on leveling and training." There was a touch of annoyance in Crimson’s tone, like she was getting impatient for me to catch up. 

"You just never know with their type" Crimson continued. "A lot of times, they're more trouble in the long run than they're worth. It's too easy for a fight between you and Karnak to suddenly turn into a rivalry between your party and his. Karnak is one that can drag in elements that will eventually make it hard for you to dive the dungeon as comfortably as you have been. The longer you can go without making those sorts of enemies, the better."

I gave Crimson a long look. "I'm going to treat that as if I heard it from anyone but you." I rolled my eyes. Crimson was practically the queen of making enemies. 

"In some ways, it's better to listen to what I say than look at what I do." Crimson flashed me a cheeky smile before it faded. "The higher the level, the higher the ego. Not just for the Orkai, but even the humans can get fairly catty."

“How high of a level are you, Crimson?” I asked, unable to keep the smile off my face.

“Not the point.” She gave me a look that dared me to press on the issue.

"Anyway, this sort of thing is why I have allies, is it not?" I tried to reassure her. "Speaking of, it's about time we find our way back home, don't you think?" 

Crimson shrugged. "Either we head home, or you tie me up in bed for a few hours." She bopped her eyebrows, and I let out a grunt, suddenly torn between what I should do and what I wanted to do.

A smile of victory spread across Crimson’s face as she moved past me, knowingly brushing her body against me as she gave me a brief kiss. “Unfortunately we don’t have time. Come on, get dressed, and be quick. You don't want me to open the portal in front of Sakura while your pants are still down, do you?" 

Knowing just how real that threat likely was, I found myself dressed in a flash, even going as far as to activate [Sprint] to speed myself up. Crimson at least was polite enough to wait, seeing that I was indeed hurrying. Too often Crimson just did whatever she wanted for her own amusement. 

As soon as I was done, she waved a hand in the air, activating a portal and ripping open a magical opening that led outside the dungeon. This was an ability that not many possessed. I had gained the ability and been able to share it with my harem through my Emperor class’ traits.