Swirling lights of every colour and snippets of sound hammered Elelth's senses as her vision uncontrollably spun. The last thing she remembered clearly was Ru painfully kicking her to the centre of his hastily created magical array before the world seemed to violently lurch.

Not able to make anything recognisable out in the swirling vortex, Elelth started to panic. Thoughts that she had died, furthered by the fact that she couldn't breathe, hindered her ability to think clearly.

All of a sudden, as she flailed in the unknown, Elelth felt her fingers brush against soft skin and instantly reached out, her fingers curling around something cold and metallic.

Not wanting to let go of the only sensation she recognised, even to the point of subconsciously using her ability to try and distort the mana that was repelling her hand, Elelth held on as if her life depends on it. For all she knew, it did.

Her determination somewhat worked. However, the weight of the object disappeared when she used her ability, and all she was left with was a circular, cold metal object.

After what felt like days, what first appeared to be an ordinary scene appeared in front of Elelth as she fell heavily to the stone floor and rolled down over a dozen or so steps before landing in soft, fragrant grass.

Panting for breath, the dark elf shakily rose to her knees and looked back, wondering what had just happened, before her jaw dropped. "A...a...a transportation portal."

Located at the top of marble steps, a swirling vortex of vivid colours, faint, unrecognisable sounds leaking from its edges, stood at around ten feet wide and five feet across giving off a sinister, otherworldly vibe.

It was not the portal itself that shocked Elelth so much. Even if they were extremely rare and considered a lost technology, only to be found in dungeon safe zones or ancient citadels, what portals looked like and what they did was common knowledge and with recent developments in luxury transportation, not that impressive.

What had shocked Elelth was that they were previously in the centre of a town, Ru fighting for both his and her lives, as he carved runes into the stone floor beneath them.

The only explanation was that Ru knew the secret behind portals, the right rune combination to connect to their destination and had, the most terrifyingly, he had the mana to transport them.

To her knowledge each of those facts should be impossible but, she once again reminded herself that, Ru was anything but normal. He was not from this world. He had fought in a brutal war that was still spoken about centuries later, killed demigods and... had turned into something else. If she had not spent over three weeks interacting with him, she would laugh at those statements, putting them down to myths that had outrageously grown over time.

Even after travelling with the man, she wasn't certain all of it was true, sometimes thinking he was either an exceptional liar or, more likely, that he had one or two screws missing. However, after witnessing the fight against the Alliance troops, she had little doubt now. She was travelling with one of the most feared and hated creatures in the world. The Devil.

A chill ran down Elelth's spin, and she quickly surveyed her surroundings. Thinking about Ru reminded her of the first lesson he had taught her, rather painfully. Mind your surroundings.

Multiple light stones were embedded into a cave-like ceiling, shining in, what felt like, natural light, as a gentle fog hung about a foot above the short, green grass.

Dark stone walls could be seen in the distance, of at least two hundred metres away, from where she stood. Small torches hanging every couple of feet as bushes and vines attempted to climb the walls.

Realisation hit Elelth like a train as she backed away towards the portal. This was not a fortress or palace. "I'm in a dungeon."

"Well, I knew you were pretty green when you spectacularly messed up your landing, but I guess I can't even ask you why you are here."

A cheerful voice resonated around her as the air distorted a couple of metres away and a handsome, blonde haired man with blue eyes appeared in front of her, his clothes fitting tightly around his impressive muscles.

Elelth shook her head as she forced herself to look into the man's eyes, which was almost as painful as staring at his body. "I won't fall for your charms, dungeon core."

"Please. You know us dungeons only do this so we are not attacked on sight," responding the Dungeon, holding his hands up in a gesture to indicate that he meant to harm.

Elelth painfully bit the inside of her cheek. As a dark elf, she was still in the puberty stage of her growth, and her hormones were hard to control at times, especially when presented with, at least to her, was a feast for the eyes. "And to put people off guard and manipulate them. I may be young, but you won't trick me out of the safe zone. Now stop looking into my mind."

"We can't help it that all you mortals think with your genitalia. Though your 'ideal' partner is a little... bland. You must be pretty young for an elf to still believe in Knights in shining armour," shrugged the dungeon, becoming bored with the back and forth. "And I have no intention of tricking you out of the safe zone. It's not my style, and I have an agreement with the mortals on the surface. I only want to know why you are here but I guess it's pointless asking you. I will have to question your companion instead."

"RU!" Elelth span around, feeling slightly guilty that it had taken this long to think about Ru's safety, but her mind jarred as the figure, sitting a couple of meters away, came into view.

Everything had happened too fast at the end, and although she knew they had been under attack, Elelth had not been able to see any of the perpetrators, but she felt she could assume anyone, not Ru was a potential enemy and immediately put up her guard.

With a stunned look on her face, as if she couldn't believe what was going on, sat a red-skinned demoness, continuously rubbing her neck as if desperately looking for something.

Brown leather armour creaked at she moved, barely concealing her well-endowed chest or curvy hips as she examined herself, pinching herself on the cheeks a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Finally noticing the other person's gaze, the woman's deep red eyes locked onto Elelth's before travelling to the collar the elf still held in her hand, hope raging in her eyes.

"Fuck the Alliance." The woman flinched as if she was expecting to be stuck by lightening, her eyes momentarily squeezed shut.

"Fuck the Alliance," repeated the woman, her voice almost breathless. After a few moments, she shouted at the top of her lungs. "The Demon Lord will reclaim his rightful place."

Small horns poked out of her forehead, no more than little brown lumps, as a thin, black tail whipped back and forth as she shook with joy.

Elelth frowned as she muttered. "Great, Demon nobility. Nothing but zealots and madmen."

"I'm free~" The woman stood up, her height reaching a little over six foot before her eyes once again locked onto Elelth. It was only at this point that the elf remembered that the demoness had been with the ones that wanted her dead, and in the sudden panic, ignored that the woman had a slave collar on or that every action she made so far, indicated she had been acting under duress.

A beautiful smile bloomed upon the woman's face as her figure turned into a blur before slamming into Elelth, picking her up and spinning in circles as she laughed. "You freed me. You freed~ me~."

Letting out a sigh, the dungeon shook his head. "First company in an age and they are immature brats. Looks like I will need to wait for the one who opened the portal to get some answers. He is lucky this portal is in a safe zone. We dungeons do not like unknowns."

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." The demoness completely ignored the man, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she kissed Elelth's before hugging her into her well-endowed chest, refusing to let go as the dark elf struggled to free herself, dropping the collar.

A loud screech stopped the woman's celebration, giving Elelth a momentary reprieve, while the demoness, still hugging the teenage-looking girl, moved the elf between her and the portal, backing away slowly.

With a flash of light, the portal collapsed as a figure appeared, black and blue flames swirling around it's massive, eight-foot frame.

To most, including the ancient dungeon, the sight would be horrifying, but to Elelth, she only felt a confusing sense of relief knowing that the man that had stood by her, for no gain of his own, was OK.

"What in the dungeon mother's name-" The dungeon's exclamation ended the silence as Ru shook his head and tried to get his bearings.

"RU!" Elelth shouted, trying to break free from the Demoness's grasp.

"YOU!" bellowed Ru, his glowing blue eyes pulsing as his mana embed voice shook the ground, causing Elelth's ears to sink as she stopped struggling and, against expectations, pushed back into the demoness's embrace.

"You used your ability in the portal. You nearly killed me," roared Ru as he took a step forward, cracking the stone under his foot.

"I will have to remind you that damaging a safe zone will get you expelled. This is you first and only warning," interrupted the dungeon with a matter of fact tone.

"Cut the crap May. I am not in the mood for your shit," growled Ru though he stopped moving forward and took a deep breath to calm himself. He knew it wasn't the manaless's fault. He hadn't given her any warning before throwing her in the portal.

Remember his first portal jump, Ru shook his head again, pushing down the urge to destroy everything in his sight. He wasn't really angry at Elelth, more that, despite everything the Alliance tried to do, the only near death experience he had was when she activated her ability, nearly destroying the portal and his body in the process.

"May?" The figure almost instantly recovered, a testament to its logical nature. "I haven't been called that for some time. In fact, there are only eleven people who called me that, and they are long dead. Who are you?"

Ru's body started to shrink, the flames seeping into his pitch black skin. After a few seconds, he was around five and a half foot, he stopped shrinking, and his body returned to the form Elelth was most familiar with, only with a noticeable difference.

His skin was almost entirely black, only a few patches of flesh remained, with tiny blue lines crisscrossing its surface, like veins running across his body, while large red rune-like markings that glowed ominously sat on top of them.

Elelth took a deep breath, no longer struggling in her captor's arms. "Ru, I-"

"El, not now. I know it's not your fault. Let me calm down, and we will speak." Ru waved her off as he momentarily closed the eyes, a dull but relentless heading thumping in his ears. The alliance had pushed him to the edge, and upon feeling the power of the weapon they used at the end, it was evident to that Ru could not win a straight up fight.

His body may be resilient, but it depended on mana. When it was low, the divine spears that imprisoned his body would activate, if it runs out, his body will disintegrate, and he didn't know what would happen next.

Elelth's ears were flat against her head as she stared at the floor. It had been a long time since she had been reprimanded like a child and it reminded her of her father.

"Demon Lord~" whispered the Demoness, her eyes widened as they filled with awe as she analysed the red markings.

Looking at his arm and sighing when he saw the red runes, Ru sighed again. "Shut up. Not one word from you."

With Ru's enhanced perception, he noticed that those that attacked at the end were slaves. Most likely ordered to disrupt the circle at the cost of their lives yet he held little sympathy for them. A slave, a zealot or a reluctant warrior, each were just as deadly when their weapons hit.

The demoness's mouth slammed shut, but her tail was almost a blur as it waved around behind her, excitement danced in her eyes as her heart beat furiously.

Elelth could only let out a depressed breath. At least the newly freed demoness wasn't being treated any better than her.

Little did they know that, if Ru had the energy, he would kill the demoness without a second thought. As it stood, right now, it was taking all of his energy to remain to stand and, he hoped, to find a place to rest.

He didn't have long, and he needed to make sure May wasn't going to turn hostile. The demoness wasn't a threat, and as they should be pretty deep in the dungeon, it was almost impossible for her to escape or notify others of their position, so he pushed that problem to the back of his mind.

Looking at May, Ru stumbled down the steps before turning left and heading towards the nearest wall. "Not all of them are dead, just forgotten. You still keeping the camp in good order?"

"Ah," understanding appeared in the dungeon's eyes as his body warped into a female with long, silver hair that had the points of elf-like ears sticking out at the sides.

Even though the dungeons new avatar was undoubtedly a beauty, if a little thin, the woman's face was set in a scowl. "So you are the shadow in my memory? I think you better explain things before I do something you will regret. A dungeon's memory is it's most precious treasure. You or someone you know has tampered with something they shouldn't have."

"What can you do? You can't hurt people in the safe zone or change it while there are sentient beings inside," said Ru, irritation heavy in his voice. The portal had nearly drained him, Elelth activating her ability nearly bled him dry. If he wanted to recover anytime soon, he would need to return to his dormant state.

"You are a monster, and thus, I can move you to anywhere in my domain," responded May as she folded her arms, her almost none existent cleavage bulging from the action.

Ru looked over his shoulder, "May, did you fear the hero's?"

May's eyes turned hard. "I did, but I do not know the reason why. Maybe you can enlighten me before I move you into the midst of a horde of undead. My patience is growing thin."

Ru smiled, his dry lips cracked. "Maybe it wasn't the ones that you remember that you were afraid of?"

His smile vanished. "Do not threaten me again or I will...re-educate you on the reasons why you hated me. I would like to think that, as one of the few beings that I have something history with, that we will be able to get along this time. Though after the last attempt, I am debating whether it's a good idea."

May's face hardened. "Oh, and what makes you think I believe you? You're a monster, not a summoned hero. Maybe the shadow isn't missing memories but those that have been inserted."

Ru slowly turned around, his gaze settling on May as his face twisted into a terrifying grin. "I have had a very long, irritating day and I have pretty much used up all of my reserves. If you don't want me to feast on your core, instead of absorbing the ambient mana in the air, I would kindly suggest you stop provoking me."

"Or wha-" Mays words stopped as her eyes widened, fear etched on her face.

Blue lines snaked through the air, starting off no more than a thread of silk thick before rapidly growing as they approached Ru, disappearing into his body though, unlike when he absorbed mana before, the black patches of his skin did not retreat.

"What are you?" May's voice was one of shock and disbelief. There was no creature known to mortal or god that could absorb and process raw mana. The closest entities were dungeons, and they could only do it by letting monsters and adventures slowly absorb it first, purifying it with their glands or cores before consuming the refined mana when they used spells or died inside their area of influence.

The streams of mana increased in intensity, creating gusts of the wind as a bead of sweat ran down May's face. Unlike town spirits, dungeon cores could replicate a complete and functioning body and with enough experience in their puppets bodies, started to display natural emotions.

Realising that the creature in front of her could probably absorb what would take decades to gather before she could take him down, May shouted to be heard above the raging wind. "Stop. I apologise."

Almost instantly the air returned to normal, yet Ru's expression did not soften in the slightest.

Elelth, still in the demonesses arms, nervously looked between Ru and the dungeon. She had never heard of one being intimidated without a magical weapon being held above their crystal. Dungeons were well known for only making deals that benefited them.

"What do you want?" May glared at Ru with hatred, causing her former hero to wince as he realised, that he was once again, making enemies with the dungeon.

"Fucking promises and honour," Letting out a deep breath, Ru's shoulders sagged. "Look May. I apologise. Zed was what I consider my best friend in this world, and he would be spinning in his grave, if he had one, knowing that I have threatened you. I promised him that if anything happened to him, I would look out for you."

Ru's eyes turned cold as May displayed a shocked expression. "Don't get me wrong. If it weren't for that promise, I would have sucked every bit of mana from your before consuming your core. As long as you don't attack me, " Ru nodded his head towards Elelth. ", or El, you are safe. Breach those conditions, and we are going to settle a very, very old score. Promises and honour be damned."

May watched Ru, conflicting emotions flittering across her face, as he turns and after reaching the wall, like kick a stone and what appeared to be a rustic camp shimmered into existence.

Twelve tents circled the remains of a campfire with logs for seats at its edges. At one side, a board was staked into the ground next to a chest.

Twelve tankards hung from the board, weird markings next to each. Ru took the silver tankard that had a laughing skull carved into its side.

A bitter smile came to Ru's lips as he turned to face May who had followed him at a distance. "Don't suppose I can get some mana wine, I haven't had a decent drink in centuries. Every town I enter ends up turning into a war zone. Totally not my fault by the way."

May didn't understand why he added the bit on end, why would she care, before responding to a question. The entity in front of her was incredibly dangerous, mysterious and from his actions, fearless. She needed more information before coming to a decision on what to do. "Three hundred and fifty-four years, eight months and twelve days?"

"So that's how long it's been," sighed Ru as his tankard filled up with a light blue liquid. Without pausing or even sniffing it, he downed the drink.

Even though he knew he was overreacting, Ru couldn't help but let his eyes roll as he let out an almost sensual groan. "Oh my god. That is heavenly. If I wasn't so sick of enclosed spaces and you weren't Zed's woman... dungeon... thing, I might be tempted to marry you and live here forever."

May responded in a dry tone,"Dungeons don't marry, and even if we did, we have standards."

Ru realised that, even though it had been so long, due to the environment, he had slipped back into the old, joking ways his team enjoyed. Almost instantly, his mood turned sombre.

Noticing his change in attitude, May walked into the camp, followed at a distance by the Demoness carrying Elelth, which looked ridiculous as Elelth seemed like a late teenager, not a child that needed carrying.

"So, oh great hero turned monster, who is foolish enough to barge into a dungeon's safe zone, threaten it and then asks for favours. What do you want?" Even though she liked the hero called Zed, she had got over his death a long time ago and no longer felt much towards the man.

Seeing her almost emotionless face, Ru held his tankard out, waiting for it to be refilled. "Time heals all wounds I suppose. Though I thought he would mean more to you. You will have to teach me how."

"It has been a long time mora- what do I call you?"

"Call me Ru, and in answer to your previous question, all I want is a place to lie low for a few months and prepare. As you can see," Ru tapped his neck," I am free of the burden that was forced on the Summoned and in doing so, have made enemies of the Alliance. How often do their raid groups come here?"

"They don't," An ornate, wooden chair appeared, and May sat on it feeling relief that the monster in front of her wasn't an enemy. She could tell he was wounded, but instead of seeing an advantage, she saw a desperate animal that would do anything and everything to survive. "Ever since the mortals worked out how to make the most of the resources in the upper levels. they only travel to the tenth floor or rarely the twentieth. It has been over two hundred years since anyone ever bothered coming to the eighty-seventh or even attempted taking on my boss monster in my chamber.

Ru chuckled, "You still kept to that huh. I would have thought with the memory wipe, you would have ignored it and kept growing floors."

May's eyes turned into slits. "So you are the reason why I go against my nature and limit my growth."

"Kinda. Eight is my lucky number, and so I refused to participate in the clearing of floors eight, eighteen and eighty-eight. Mike always said I had it backwards, that those should be the floors I cleared but I never liked that logic," mused Ru.

"That way, I would clear every level regardless. Anyway, I was also the one to gift you the cores from the wild dungeons to enhance your chamber."

"Then again, even if you expanded downwards, you couldn't move them down, and so it would be weaker. Particularly since you need a safe room on the floor above, that people who have reached it can use the transportation array."

May nodded her head. Even though her instincts drove her to dig deeper into the earth, she knew it was a foolish thing to do. At the moment, her chamber was easily equal to a level 200 dungeon and almost double secure due to the wards so creating extra floors would actually weaken her. "Why?"

"Because of the agreement," responded Ru, knowing what she meant.

"All to avoid your handlers huh?" May didn't know about the man in front of her, but her memories of the other heroes indicated that they hated the alliance and their handlers with a passion.

After more than a dozen had fallen in the dungeon, normally to the summoned purposefully misinterpreting an order, the dungeon had approached them and offered two deals.

One that was public knowledge, aimed at benefits for the Alliance so its safety would be secured, the other to the heroes providing a refuge in exchange for great stones, crystals and cores. Her power would be stifled by the first, but the second would more than make up for it.

"Yep, though I can't complete my end of the agreement this time, I won't forget that you helped."

May remembered a phrase that the group of heroes always used. "A summoned always pays their debts?"

"Ahh, that brings back memories. Not knowing how that ended destroyed Zed for the first five years," chuckled Ru, though it was evident he wasn't feeling happy. "I will. I would like to say you know me but, you don't. I will just have to prove that I am a man of my worst."

"Monster," May smiled. "I trust them more than the 'higher races' anyway. Speaking of Zed, I really did enjoy him. He was one of the few mortals that truly saw the world for what it was."

"I know, that's why you chose that female avatar that he always pinned after when he had a few drinks." Ru pointed to the dungeon.

"By the way, I always wanted to know. Did you to bump uglies," In the past, Ru kept himself to himself, not really bothering with people's personal lives however he was feeling nostalgic.

"Though it doesn't feel as good as absorbing a mana core, it wasn't entirely unenjoyable. Why? Fancy having a 'roll in the hay' as Zed called it?" responded May without a hint of embarrassment. She was a dungeon after all and, even though she didn't understand why mortals were so obsessed with procreation, she knew it was a quick, easy way to earn their trust.

"Alas, even with my great age, I am a bit of a prude. No offence indented," replied Ru. "Then again, beggars shouldn't be picky. I wasn't exactly popular before, and now I am a bonafide monster, core and all, I am not exactly partner material? What woman would want me?"

"Lots of female monsters find strength attractive and unlike those silly 'higher races', they would probably fall head over heals to be your mate, Strong offspring and a partner that could scare a dragon's scales off." May didn't know why, but for the first time since the Heroes died, she felt comfortable to sit and talk with, what she considered a mortal. A smile appeared on her lips.

Ru staired at May before they both started laughing.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Ru stared into the fire. "Never thought I would say this, but it's good to see you May. I am glad you're still about."

May laughed, genuinely happy about the encounter even though the man kept hinting that they had a negative past. "The more you speak, the more my memories start to make sense which is relieving. I began to think that my core was faulty. Did you bed the elf in the end? There was a running bet between the heroes if you would 'man' up. Couldn't work out who they were talking about until now."

Ru's face soured. "Thank fuck no. That bitch set us up and got the rest killed. All I can say is she is one of the luckiest people to have ever lived. If she were still alive, now I am free, not even her soul would be left after I was done with it."

May stood, though her memories of their visits were a mess, mainly due to the 'shadow', she knew that the other always avoided the blurred figure when the mood turned sour. "Rest up. I have refrained from asking too many questions as you don't seem to be in the mood, but my curiosity can only be repressed for a small period of time."

Just before she turned, she raised an eyebrow" Also, Do you want to serve me? I think you could get my boss a run for his money even in your state."

Ru shook his head, a smile on his lips. "Do you really want to put me on a leash? Remember what happened to the handlers?"

May chuckled. "Maybe not, but it's not every day an unaffiliated monster wanders into a dungeon and asks for sanctuary. Can't blame a girl for trying."

"You're not a girl," responded Ru with a raised eyebrow. "You have no gender."

"Tsk, pedantics. When you can make anybody you envision, you can be whatever you want," answered May with a coy smile. "Why don't you stop resisting and let me scan your memories? I could be your dream gi- monster."

Her lips twitched as she refrained from laughing at Ru's reaction.

Shaking his head, Ru could only sigh. "You haven't changed. Why are you the only dungeon who, instead of running from danger, throws themselves at it? You know you nearly gave Zed a heart attack when you tried to tame that wandering dragon."

"Life gets boring after a while, seeing as you have lived this long, I am sure you will understand in time," shrugged May

Ru watched the woman dissolve into mana and looked around the camp before letting out a deep sigh, ignoring Elelth and the Demoness standing nervously to the side, as his eyes unfocused. The site triggering memories and emotions from a long time ago.

After no more than five minutes, he stood, telling the pair to stay where they were as he started walking towards an empty space nearby, small black stumps forming on his body before growing in length. "Time to pay the piper."