"Master Azrael!" Kaya exclaimed as Azrael entered the living room.
Gone was the passion he'd had for her. He only stared, calm, and his desire to make her his woman had completely waned.
Behind him, Mary floated with her umbrella hugged to her chest, clearly curious where this would go.
With a small nod, Azrael laid it out. "I'll expand my dungeon before taking it to my domain. Your role is to guide me in your world and help me grow it. First, I need monsters, and someone qualified to become the boss of the 1st floor."
To Kaya, the idea was more terrifying than Azrael expected. Continents had fallen to dungeons, and now someone wanted to deliberately make one bigger, turning it into an even worse menace.
Crazy as it sounded, it was real.
"Will you not use that dungeon to take over my clan and the others?" Kaya asked. A glimpse of that serpentine smile flickered across her face, so wild it had turned Azrael on before.
Without even pausing, Azrael answered, "I will not."
Becoming a Lord of the fallen world is not what I want to be.
That alone didn't persuade Kaya. Doubt still lingered, but it didn't last long with Azrael acting so nonchalant and uninterested. He didn't look like the type to sign contracts or swear oaths.
And Kaya had no leverage to force one out of him.
"I'll be your spear, Master Azrael," she said. It was all she could offer.
"Yeah. I'm counting on you. Let's get straight to business," Azrael said, opening the door to the Death Seesaws Dungeon.
Already geared up, Kaya stepped forward and entered first.
A moment later, the vortex spit Azrael out in the usual unsightly way. He cursed at the skill, then hauled himself back onto his feet.
With a thought, he animated the seesaws into a bridge and strode toward the far end with a much more fitting Dungeon Owner swagger.
A simple prompt hovered in front of him.
[Would you like to leave the Death Seesaws Dungeon?]
He nodded.
A new vortex opened at his feet and carried him to the dungeon's entrance in the Acqtine World.
It spit him out onto grass.
Overhead, a dense canopy of branches and leaves swallowed the light.
Azrael stood and looked back.
Half-buried like some old monument, the entrance looked like a coffin fused to a seesaw. One touch was enough to trigger the prompt to enter.
A treasure vault and a curse.
Getting a skill from it was one thing. Letting it grow by feeding on the lives of weak humans would turn it into a real threat later.
So that's why she smiled when she went in.
Kaya followed shortly after. She knew the forest far better than he did. Years of solo expeditions meant she spotted the danger first.
"Master Azrael… the 1st monster is sneaking up on us. I can hear it," Kaya said.
From the shadows, a thick black snake launched itself at Azrael, fangs bared.
It hit the invisible wall and bounced off.
Kaya was on it instantly. She drove her spear into its body, throwing her full weight and lethal force behind the thrust.
The snake hissed.
She hissed back.
Seconds later, the monster died.
"It's dead!" Kaya exclaimed proudly.
With a tired sigh, Azrael asked, "We're supposed to catch them and throw them into my dungeon. Did you forget that?"
"Ah, yeah, I did! Sorry, Master Azrael," Kaya said, raising her hands in apology.
Mary chuckled. "Her real self is showing more now that we're in the wilderness. It's pretty cute how she can't keep up the formality. What about you?"
"I stared at her tits," Azrael replied.
Mary nodded, half relieved and half shocked at herself. "Yes, you're back to yourself as well. Kaya, could you tell us more about the species and how you caught it so fast?"
"Yep! A Shadow Forest Snake," Kaya said. "They came from a crumbled continent. They're made for the dark. They're deadliest at night.
"I can pick them up with my tongue. I have beast blood in my veins. It blessed me with a snake-like tongue. One flick is…""
"WHAT?!" Azrael howled. "So I wrestled a non-human tongue?!"
"T-That you did!" Kaya's cheeks flushed with shame, and she snapped back at him.
"I thought it was normal because I'd never kissed a woman before! But now I'm inspired. I need more servants like you. Different tongues. More experience. Before the real, worthy woman enters my life. Now I'm hyped!"
Mary rolled her eyes while Kaya's face went even redder.
Genuinely sincere, Mary said, "I'm relieved you're fully back to yourself. You weren't gone long, and you bounced back fast, but I'm still relieved."
Azrael clenched his hands. "This side-quest is all I need, since I have you, Mary! Now I'm damn optimistic. So, this corpse can still be used to feed the chasm. Throw it through my door!"
He opened the door to the Death Seesaws Dungeon.
Without hesitation, Kaya tossed the snake's corpse inside.
Afterward, Azrael rubbed his hands together. "I've been yearning for a good monster hunt. Kaya, find me more of those snakes, and I'll test my new combos on them. Let's get this shit going!"
Invigorated, Azrael took his 1st steps into the forest… and immediately stepped on another snake.
Oh shit.
The monster bit into his calf!