A spiral staircase vanished down the maw of darkness that was the crater on the ground.

They were supposed to go down there.

"Father wants to know," Seline's heels clicked until she was next to him, "The 24 hours you've been given are almost up."

Evelyn shot a wary glance her way, but she was ignored.

"I thought he already knew," Jered didn't take his eyes off the hole, "We could have escaped, you know."

"Doubtful," Seline tilted her head, as if she was genuinely confused why he'd do such a foolish thing, "Inside his domain, he can see everything. He can see you."

"Yes, yes, of course he can."

If a Royal Tier wasn't capable of that, he would have been less motivated to reach that level. He wondered if the Lord could hear them too.

"So?"

"We agree with his terms," Jered said, expanding his 'Mana Sense' 50 meters down the staircase, "I do hope he'll stay true to his promise, though."

Seline's lips went up into a saleswoman-like smile, "He has many faults, but he's a good man."

"You're avoiding my words, Seline."

Her smile didn't falter.

"Yes, Jered, he will stay true to his promise."

He mirrored her smile with one of his own, "That's lovely to hear. He does sound like a respectable man indeed. You must be very proud of your father."

"Very."

The smile wasn't there anymore. Jered acted like he didn't see that, "You should treasure your relationship with him then. My father died when I was younger. I used to look up to him a lot, to the point that I still thrive to become exactly like how he was. I just wish we had more time together. He understood me as no one did."

Seline's face was an emotionless mask, "I'll keep your words in mind."

He turned around, walking past her, "We'll go back to our room. Do call us when the expedition is about to begin."

The rain stopped somewhere in the middle of the night, leaving behind an earthy scent in the air.

"I wonder if her strained relationship with her father is going to cause problems," Evelyn wondered out loud, sitting on the window sill, "The Lord did allude at something that happened between them."

Jered rolled his eyes, "Her daddy issues are of no concern to us," he stroked his chin, deep in thought, "Do you know anything about those... strays?"

She shook her head, "I wish I did. I hope they're not ghost-like entities, or my spells would have no use in the battle ahead."

His 'Soul Eater' would have a field day if they were.

"I'm curious about the Ginnungs' fighting style," he admitted, "And if we could learn anything from them."

"I don't think they'd be willing to teach us anything. Especially us, humans," Evelyn said with a bitter laugh, "Though they might teach you something."

At his arched eyebrow, she continued in a softer tone, "The Lord was very interested in you. I couldn't detect a hint of anger in his voice, which is kinda surprising, isn't it? After what he said, you'd think he would have wiped us off, but no. He's actually agreed to help us. He's either a great actor, or he's being sincere. And if it's the latter, then he probably has a hidden agenda."

"Anyone powerful usually has one."

She laughed at that. It was not untrue.

"Shouldn't you be worried?"

Jered huffed a chuckle, "Maybe... I'm going to keep my guard up, but there's no reason to be overly paranoid. What's bound to happen, is going to happen. We're not powerful enough to avoid that, so let's face whatever awaits us with bared teeth. Be it those strays or the Lord himself. He not only can see us, but I also bet he can hear too."

"Wait... he can?"

"Didn't Seline tell us not to lie to him? It must have been because of that. However, don't worry. It should be limited only to his throne room, which is why I never saw him going out. A Royal Tier shouldn't be anywhere near as strong as that, so he probably enhanced the room to the point he could achieve a watered-down effect similar to omniscience. He feels safer there. Oh, this is all a conjecture, for all we know he could be hearing us now and cackling evilly."

The thought put an amused smile on his face.

"That's not funny!"

He walked up to her, his fingers brushing a few strands of hair off her face, "I like the way your expression scrunches up into a pout. Makes me want to take a bite of your lips."

"Don't you dare..." she said despite the blush, "I-I said it was only a one-time thing..."

"Uh-huh."

Jered inched his lips closer to her, and she unconsciously opened hers. Her previous words must have been a lie if her body was so responsive to his touch.

Evelyn waited with bated breath, her heart pounding in her ears.

Then he pulled back, without ever making contact.

"You're right... it was only a one-time thing."

"..."

"Right?"

"Right..." she said weakly, not sure what was the truth anymore.

Jered's 'Mana Sense' captured a response from outside the door.

"Seline is here."

As if on cue, a knock rang out.

"Come in," he prompted, and with a wave of his hand, the door opened by itself.

Seline didn't come in, however. She stared at them from the threshold, "Father is arranging the expedition team. You should join us."

And then she left.

"How cold," Jered commented with a smile, "What do you think, Evelyn? Should we go meet our teammates?"

She was still in a thoughtful trance, but managed a nod.

After changing their clothes to something more presentable—aka a black cape over their former, now-fixed attire—they navigated their way through the mansion's halls, before a surprisingly polite Ginnung welcomed them inside the throne room. Seline was there too, along with a gang of Ginnungs. Jered couldn't see them properly due to the encompassing darkness, but he evaluated their mana somewhere between Neophyte-Tier and Elder-Tier.

"Just in time," Seline said, sidling over to them, "The gate is about to open. No time to dilly-dally. We'll skip the informalities and we introduce you right away to the rest of the team."

A cough rang out, interrupting Seline, "I'm glad you decided to help us," the Lord continued jovially, "Your participation will surely reduce the casualty toll."

Jered gave him a non-committal nod, "It's the least we could do."

"Of course, I won't go back to my promise. Alas, as much as I would like to entertain you with stories of the past, my daughter is right. We shouldn't waste time with pleasantries."

Then he clapped his hands, and suddenly, the darkness was replaced by a burst of blinding light.

Evelyn had to momentarily shield her eyes. And once the light tapered off into a more modest brightness, both she and Jered could finally see the Lord. The man who seemingly never left his throne had stood up. He was tall, not freakishly so, but still tall enough to dwarf anyone in the room by a couple of heads. He wore sturdy, black armor that looked like a beetle's carapace. His head was protected by a barbute helmet. A black cloak was draped over his shoulders, billowing slightly due to the wisps of mana he was unconsciously emitting.

"It's been quite a while since I last got my hands dirty," the Lord made a quick headcount of the Ginnungs chosen for the expedition, "Looks like everyone is here. Ah, the nostalgia. The last time a hell breakout happened, your fathers were there, by my side, as we forced those strays back in hell. It's been half a century since then, and now their sons are doing what they can't anymore."

Jered sneaked a glimpse at the team he'd be working in. There were a dozen of them, respectfully bowing at the man. They were nowhere as tall as the Lord, which made him think he was a special occurrence. They were all dressed the same—a black cape, and light armor underneath. He couldn't figure out whether they were melee fighters or not.

The ground quaked slightly. Evelyn stuck closer to Jered. Out of everyone there, he was the only one she could trust with her life.

"We should not tarry, father," Seline reminded him.

The Lord nodded, his voice rumbling out, "To the dungeon!"

A thick upsurge of mana flooded the room, followed by a purple magic pattern that swirled underneath everyone.

It spun faster and faster, until space was twisted and warped.

A light went off.

And then they were all gone.

When Jered opened his eyes, it was to see an enormous stone gate with carved depictions of monsters torturing humans. The dungeon was illuminated by a row of sconces attached to the walls. The air was stale, humid, and cold. A thumping against the gate sounded out, followed by another, and then another. The dungeon trembled, dust raining down from the ceiling.

Evelyn coughed, and with a wave of her hand, the cloud of dust was swept away, "This place could really use a cleaning spell."

"I don't think this is the right time for that, but I appreciate your misplaced humor," Jered chuckled.

"Oh, whatever."

The squad of Ginnungs spread out in a fan-shaped formation, their hands clutching daggers within their capes. Seline, however, had a grimoire in her hands. Well, it was floating atop her hands, the pages flipping at a maddening speed. The thumping grew in intensity, each strike stronger than the last. The gate wouldn't hold for long, that was obvious.

"You can't hold onto me during the fight, you know that, right?" Jered quipped.

Evelyn narrowed her eyes, conjuring an elastic to bundle up her hair with, "I have no intention to cower. Besides," she continued in a lower tone, "I know that if I need it, you'll be there to save me."

He smiled, flaring his mana.

"Don't let them catch you unprepared," the Lord's voice thundered out as he walked to the frontline, "The gate is about to open. Don't fucking hold back!" he roared encouragingly.

Then with one last thump, the gate was broken open.

A wave of miasma flowed out like black tentacles.

Seline was ready. She chanted the last word on the page, and the pouring miasma was suddenly pushed back by a golden gust of wind. It glimmered in the air, holding back the eldritch horrors that wanted to crawl out of the gate.

Jered conjured a few globes of 'Fireball', and then shot them at the gaping hole of miasma. Wails of pain rang out. Usually, he would have smiled at that. But the sound reminded him of nails scratching a chalkboard. He was almost tempted to stop the onset of spells. The Lord spread his hands wide apart, and in-between them, a flurry of lights materialized into a broadsword.

That was definitely some fancy magic.

Eventually, Seline's spell was broken through by the miasma, and the strays leaped out of the gate. Evelyn was rather horrified of their appearance, while Jered was excited. The strays were gaunt, skeletal corpses that walked on all fours. They closely resembled zombies, but unlike them, they didn't have injuries on their bodies. Some of them had tufts of hair on their heads, some other were bald.

A putrid stench of decay permeated the dungeon.

The Lord casually swung his broadsword in a downward arc. A crescent wave of mana flew out of the sword's tip, instantly slashing through the first horde of strays.

Evelyn cast her lightning whip, and lashed it at the second wave of strays. Electricity zapped across them. They were barely fazed by her attack, so she switched spells. She held her hands aloft, and behind her, a slew of arrows came into being, "Almighty and everlasting God, I humbly implore Thee, in Thy immeasurable kindness and love, to bless and sanctify this spell, and may Thee rid whatever it touches and protect us from every assault of evil spirits."

The arrows glowed with holy light.

"Amen."

And then they darted forward, penetrating through the strays' skulls, and exploding in a burst of light upon impact.

Jered followed up with 'Giza's Gaze'. Thanks to his unlocked third vein, he could cast three of them at the same time. The beams of heat easily decimated the pouring swarm of strays. Of course, there were so many of them that it barely made a difference. Seline's grimoire flipped the pages again, until a new, more potent spell was found. She quickly chanted it.

The surrounding area of the gate began to freeze, the misty cold cracking its way on the ground, walls, and on the strays.

"Well done, Seline!" the Lord grinned, holding his broadsword above his head with both hands, "Go back to your hell hole!" he infused the blade with copious amounts of mana. Jered, Evelyn, Seline, and the squad of Ginnungs retreated behind the man. He brought the broadsword down.

A massive pillar of light streamed out, swallowing the crying creatures within its merciless grip.

For a moment, Jered—and not only him—thought that the attack would have brought the whole dungeon down. Fortunately, it did not. The pillar of light disappeared inside the gate, cleaning it of the outpouring of strays. Only a ten meters wide fissure on the ground was left behind in the wake of the Lord's slash.

Seline drew a sigh of relief, "Is it over, father?"

It was also her first time participating in an underground expedition.

The Lord shook his head, "Ay, unfortunately, it's far from over."

"Far from over, indeed."

A raspy cackle flowed out of the depths of the gate.