“W-Wait! Do you really think you can just walk out-!”

*Bang*

The door slams open and I just barely manage to avoid a broken nose. Delphie comes marching out with all the righteous anger of a crusader. When she catches sight of me in the hallway, her eyes narrow. The kaleidoscope swirls and her hand goes to her belt where her knife hangs.

“What are you doing here?” She hisses, but seeing my awkward face, she quickly rolls her eyes. Brushing past me, she walks down the corridor with a look that brooks no argument. Damn, busted. Following with just a tad of chagrin on my face, I follow Delphie. As I turn away from the room, I catch sight of another pair of resentful kaleidoscope eyes watching us leave. Real friendly. Delphie takes us back to my room and opens the door. Once I’m inside, she slams it shut and leans against it heavily. “I thought I told you to stay in bed?”

“Got restless.” I find myself saying more to the Nehilim than I normally do. Giving her a nod outside, I reply, “Family problems?”

“Yep.” Delphie goes to a chair after a long moment and sits like the world is pressing her down. “Tea?”

“Please.”

This stuff is addictive.

Sipping on her concoction, I eye my mysterious rescuer. Her mind clearly isn’t on me anymore, though she makes a surprised noise when she sees me staying standing.

“You heal fast.”

“Part of my old job.”

For a while, we just sip on the tea, and I patiently wait for her to rejoin me in the present. By the time I’m ready for a refill, she turns back to me with a swish of her head.

“Sorry, my brother really manages to get under my skin sometimes. I’ve dragged you into this. If you’re feeling up to it, it might be in your best interest to leave the manor.” She sighs while drumming her fingers into the arm of her chair. “I hate dealing with these people.”

“I’d believe it. What did he want you to do?” I continue sitting though it looks like she thinks I should be running. “I need my cleaver back by the way.”

“Oh, right! Sorry, I’ll get it for you when you leave. House rules and all that. Too many assassins lately. Ever since the Overlord disappeared, things have become hectic.” Delphie says something big without much of a change in expression. “Seriously though, my brother is easily angered. He might go after you just to spite me.”

“That seems harsh.”

“You don’t know my brother. Taer has bigger ambitions than his britches. He really thinks he has a shot at the Overlord’s Throne.” Her smirk says it all. “Personally, I believe the day someone from my family sits on that oversized stool is the day the Underworld cracks open and sees sunlight, but that’s Taer for you.”

“Mmm. I don’t understand. Sounded like he wanted you to marry someone? Alexander or something?” When she sees my cup empty, Delphie hurriedly goes to refill it.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just the Alekhines have been hoping to marry off their youngest to another family to form an alliance. Taer still thinks the old rules apply, but I’m not interested in becoming the latest sacrifice for his crusade. I saw what marrying into this crap did for my mother. I’d much rather stay out of it.”

“Mmm…” I fall silent. After finishing a second cup, my stomach growls so loud that it makes the room echo. We both exchange startled looks. “Uhh, know a good place to eat?”

“Pfft. Sorry, where are my manners! I’ll call a servant…ah well the last one quit this week. Um, yea let’s go out then! I know a place! But only if you’re sure you can walk, okay?” Delphie examines me critically, but when I walk to the door smoothly, she seems satisfied. “You surface folk really heal fast.” She leads the way outside and we take a right this time. Down the dim hallway, and to the end, there’s an exit to the city. As we walk, I’m struck by how bizarrely stealthy the Nehilim is in the darkness. Except when she passes through the “starlight” of the windows, then there’s a flash of brilliant violet hair.

*Creak*

The obsidian door opens to reveal a ghostly, haunted city full of Underworld species. Some of them are familiar, I’ve occasionally encountered various versions of them in my previous life, like the imps, ogres, and trolls. However, that was usually as enemies. The tall folk though I don’t have any clue what they are. There are wispish people whose insides seem to be made of some indigo gas. They float around conducting their business and no one gives them a second glance. It’s strange because if anyone is attracting attention it’s me. At first, I think its because I’m from the surface. But when I ask Delphie about it, she smiles.

“No, like I said, we get a fair amount of your kind from time to time. They’re looking at you funny because you’re with me.” She replies cryptically while leading me through shadows and darkness. We dance across the Underworld, occasionally stopping to ogle some thing or another which she has to explain to me. “See that? Those are Yryssels. They’re famous for cultivating the plants we eat in Meteos.”

“Oh…wow.” Staring out through my uncovered eye, I get a good glimpse at my first Yryssel. It reminds me vaguely of some of the strange vegetable-type monsters we occasionally saw in jungle type Dungeons, but in typical Underworld fashion, this variant is different. On the surface the Yryssel looks like a fungi-shaped like a small man, about a meter tall. Its head resembles a neon-green mushroom cap, and its arm are stalks from which leafy fingers extend. As it tends to a stall full of plants potted in extravagantly-shaped obsidian pots, I have to ask, “Wait, isn’t that like…slavery and cannibalism? Like they’re selling their own kind…”

“Heh. Do you feel that way when you cultivate the meat of your surface animals? They’re very similar to humans, no? We have a couple of your animals down here, but they’re hard to come by. As for other sources of meat, it’s a bit tricky…see the larger races are fine with eating imp or goblin at times, but naturally due to the city rules you’d end up offending one race or another depending on how far you take it. So, it’s been pretty much agreed that plants are the way to go. The Yryssels don’t seem to mind. I asked one once and he said something about how it is their duty to provide sustenance as lower lifeforms.” Delphie smirks as I try my best to follow the politics of the Underworld. Nodding at a dark side-alley from which some questionable smells are coming, she shakes her head. Her charming smile slips a bit as her white skin turn a bit violet. “Well, not to say that the Underworld doesn’t have its fair share of people who skirt the rules. You want to try some delicacies? The black market is always open.”

“N-No!” I hurriedly refuse. While I’ve partaken in many animal species corrupted by the System before, I draw the line at eating goblin, imp, or other humanoid species. Maybe if my life was in danger but that’s a bit much…

Following Delphie away from the Yryssel stall, we wander through the crowd to a small shop a few minutes away from her manor. The buildings here are shabbier and smaller, with more of a homey feel. I once saw a village of cave-like houses carved from rock into caves. Though these aren’t really caves but actual houses of ebony brick and stone, it gives a similar feel. Like I’m going back to a simpler time. Tucked in the corner of an intersection, is a small shop with a child-like painting of a black crow fixed atop a faded signpost. A few people wander in and out, and each time the door is opened, a delicious if simple aroma of some herbal fragrance wafts out.

“Heh, this place isn’t too bad. I used to come here all the time back when our family was doing…” Delphie trails off. “Anyways, I know the manager so let’s get some lichen noodles!”

“Cool.”