Location: The Uptown Sinkhole (Perimeter)
Time: 8:45 PM
The sinkhole in the middle of the Uptown District had grown. It wasn't just a hole anymore; it was a wound in the earth, pulsing with a faint, sickly green light.
The D.P.S. had set up a massive perimeter. Floodlights cut through the night.
Squad 1 was already there, standing near the edge like they were posing for a movie poster. Kai was giving an interview to a D.P.S. media liaison. Roxy was sitting on a concrete barrier, checking her nails.
Squad 4 rolled up in their beige minivan. It backfired loudly as Benji parked it next to Squad 1's sleek, armored transport.
"Embarrassing," GiGi muttered, kicking the door open.
Dante stepped out, adjusting his vest. He looked at the sinkhole. He could smell it from here—rotting fruit, old meat, and expensive perfume.
"Smells like a dumpster behind a fancy restaurant," Dante noted.
"That's Gluttony," Sora said, walking up behind them. He was eating a bag of shrimp chips. "He has refined taste. He doesn't just eat people; he marinates them in their own desires."
Commander Vane (Squad 1's Mentor) marched over. She looked at Sora with pure disdain.
"Higashiyama," Vane barked. "You're late. My squad has already mapped the upper tunnels. We detected massive biological mass moving in the sewers below Sector 4."
"Good job, Vane," Sora smiled, offering her a chip. "You guys handle the press. We'll handle the plumbing."
Vane slapped the bag away. "This is a joint operation. Squad 1 will take the main tunnel. Squad 4 will take the... maintenance shaft."
"Of course," Dante sighed. "We get the sewer."
"Don't worry, Crow," Roxy shouted from the barrier. She winked at him. "I'll save you a piece of the boss! Unless I eat it all first! Zap Zap!"
Dante pulled his hood up. "Let's just go."
Location: The Sector 4 Maintenance Shaft
Time: 9:15 PM
The maintenance shaft was tight, dark, and wet.
Benji was hyperventilating. "I'm claustrophobic! And germophobic! And dark-ophobic! Why are we here?!"
"Because we're the rats," GiGi said, crawling on the ceiling pipes to avoid the sludge. "Rats go where the lions can't fit."
"That's actually... surprisingly deep," Dante said, shining his flashlight down the tunnel.
The tunnel opened up into a massive, underground cistern. The water here wasn't brown. It was glowing neon green.
And floating in the water were... things.
"Are those..." Benji squinted through his orange sunglasses. "...Waiters?"
They were Ghouls, but dressed in tattered tuxedos and aprons. They were wading through the sludge, carrying silver platters piled high with glowing red meat.
"Service Ghouls," Sora whispered. "Gluttony's staff. They're feeding something."
"Feeding what?" GiGi asked.
The water rippled. A massive shape rose from the green sludge. It looked like a blobfish the size of a bus, with tiny, human-like hands protruding from its back. It opened a mouth that was far too wide for its body.
The Service Ghouls began throwing the meat into its mouth.
"More..." the creature gurgled. "More... joy..."
"That's a Sub-Boss," Sora noted calmly. "A Gastric Guardian. It blocks the path to the main nest."
"It looks squishy," GiGi said, drawing her knife.
"It's highly acidic," Sora warned. "If you touch it, you melt. Benji, analysis?"
Benji tapped furiously on his rugged laptop. "It has a core! In the center of its chest! But it's protected by layers of... blubber? And cursed fat?"
"Gross," Dante said.
"Squad 1 is engaging the main force upstairs," Sora said. "We need to clear this blockage so they don't get flanked. Dante, you're up."
"Why me?" Dante asked.
"Because you have the umbrella," Sora said. "And because I just finished eating."
Dante sighed. He stepped to the edge of the walkway.
"Hey! Ugly!" Dante yelled.
The Gastric Guardian turned its massive, wobble-eyes toward him.
"I need to see the manager," Dante deadpanned. "This soup is cold."
The creature roared, spitting a glob of neon acid at him.
Dante opened his umbrella. The acid hit the black fabric and hissed, absorbed instantly into the void.
"Spicy," Dante muttered. His piercings began to glow green.
"GiGi! Now!" Dante shouted.
GiGi dropped from the ceiling. She didn't touch the monster. She threw a coil of wire around a heavy steam pipe above the creature's head.
"Order up!" she screamed.
She yanked the wire. The steam pipe burst.
High-pressure steam blasted the creature, boiling its skin. It shrieked, flailing its tiny arms.
"Benji! The core!" Dante yelled.
"Target locked!" Benji pressed a key.
A drone zoomed out of his backpack. It flew straight into the steam cloud, scanning for the heat signature of the core.
"Got it!" Benji yelled. "Dante, three degrees left! Aim for the glowing bit!"
Dante closed his umbrella. He channeled the absorbed acid energy into the tip.
"Refund declined," Dante whispered.
He thrust the umbrella forward. A beam of concentrated, pressurized acid shot out, piercing the steam and striking the creature dead center in its chest.
SQUELCH.
The creature froze. Then, it exploded into a shower of green goo.
"Ew," GiGi said, dodging the splash.
"Clean up on Aisle... Sewer," Dante panted, wiping slime off his vest.
Sora clapped slowly from the back. "Nice teamwork. messy execution. 6/10."
"We killed it!" Benji protested.
"You got slime on my shoes," Sora pointed out. "Docking points for style."
Suddenly, the entire cavern shook. Dust fell from the ceiling.
"That wasn't us," Dante said, looking up.
"That came from upstairs," Sora said, his eyes narrowing behind his sleep mask. "Squad 1 found the main course."
"We should help them," Benji said.
"No," Sora said. "We let them soften it up. We're the cleanup crew, remember? Let the heroes take the hits. We take the credit."
He started walking toward the exit.
"Come on," Sora said. "I know a shortcut to the VIP lounge. And I'm still hungry."
Dante looked at the exploding monster guts. He looked at his ruined vest.
"I need a raise," Dante whispered.