Two giant metal doors swinged wide open, revealing a huge and dusty place with multiple rooms. Entering the place were Maxon, Rena, and a team of specialists; all of them were advanced to elite-level Knights, Brawlers, Mages, and Assassins. They continued further, seeing along the way rows of ancient paintings, old and rusted-out weapons, dusty books, the skeletons of fallen warriors, and in some areas, torture devices soaked in blood.

Despite all of these somewhat grisly discoveries, the group pressed forward. Sooner or later, they came across a door that looks like a steel grate and of course, it's rather rusty and weathered down; it also has a padlock, impeding the progress of the team. However, this didn’t stop them in any way shape or form, as a mage walked up to the door and unlocked it using high-grade magic.

But with the opening of the door, a sinister and otherworldly purple mist emanated from the door. The average person would tremble and fall on their knees in sheer fear, but due to the fact that this team of specialists were highly trained and experienced, the fog had very little to no effect on them. As for Maxon and Rena, the foot soldier instantly raised his guard, ready to take on anything; the cat-girl tightened her grip on her staff. She was somewhat shaking due to the overall atmosphere, but noticed a person scooting up to her in a slight manner.

Rena turned her head around to see who’s that person; to her surprise, it’s none other than Maxon.

“Don’t worry sweetie, I got you.” Maxon assured, with a light smile.

Then suddenly, that fear Rena felt quickly went away. The witch now has a stronger sense of confidence to take on the dungeon. With her partner on her side, she has the power to practically do anything her mind has set on.

The team proceeded to go through the dungeon. They fought numerous undead warriors and even some zombie lords that regenerate and even augment the physical capabilities of their minions. Thankfully, those lords were quickly neutralized by Assassins who were wielding holy weapons, which in particular were highly effective against the undead.

After taking out the riff-raff, they continued their dungeon crawl; the team managed to evade a lot of dangerous traps and gathered tons of rare and valuable treasures, old books, and some ancient and powerful weapons that had the potential to be useful in many future endeavors. Moving on, the team find themselves in a giant and expansive room; there’s a giant statue of a kneeling one-eyed demon guarding a huge door and four smaller statues of ogres were at both sides.

“Everyone, heads up; there’s something fishy about this room.” the leader of the group, who was wearing a suit of heavy armor, cautioned.

Then suddenly, the ogre statues instantly came alive; they were ready to start smashing things. Maxon and Rena, along with the strike team, quickly engaged with the monstrous statues. They proved to be quite a challenge and in some scenarios, one of them almost seriously injured a member; thankfully, an elite cleric was around to heal the injuries of said member. After some fierce fighting, all that remained was several large piles of dust and a group of somewhat worn out soldiers. Fortunately, they had a bunch of recovery potions that got them back up and running.

After that, the demon statue that was kneeling in front of the door immediately came to life; it stood up. The team instantly raised their guard and prepared themselves for another fight, however, the creature itself didn’t raise a hand let alone do anything that was threatening. It just stood there, impassive and emotionless.

Finally, it opened its mouth to speak.

“Well done, you’ve made it this far.” the living object congratulated. It had a deep and haunting voice.

The thing turned around; the door before it magically opened.

“If you wish to know and even understand the truth, follow me.” the stone creature implored, before heading inside the room.

With no other choice, the strike team decided to follow the living statue.

After walking through a long corridor, another huge door appeared. The statue opened the door, revealing what appeared to be an ancient throne room with two adorned coffins on a platform in the middle of it all. Suddenly, two ghostly apparitions of an imposing demon with multiple horns and a beautiful vampire appeared. They were essentially the ghosts of Demon King Oranius and Vampire Princess Mel’zae.

Maxon, Rena, and the team of specialists were astounded by the sight.

“It seems we have a lot to explain.” Oranius said.

“We sure do!” Mel’zae agreed in a giggly manner.

------------------------

The rays of the morning sun lit up the land; it peered over Menda Village and its outskirts. Exiting the Covenant of the Dragon’s base of operations were Jason and Lilly. After a goodnight’s rest and some very light breakfast, They proceeded to head on towards Menda Village.

10 Minutes Later...

The duo arrived at a one-floor condominium where Antonio and Emanuel used as a backup place to live in, but now is their primary place of residence. Jason knocked on their door to summon them.

“For the last time, we’re not interested in buying a subscription for your shitty magazine!” shouted a man with a familiar voice.

“No Tony, it’s me, your boss,” the Knight demystified, “It’s time for work.” he declared.

“Oh, sorry about that.” he quickly apologized.

The sound of footsteps can be heard, along with the tumbling of many objects. Soon after, the door opened revealing the physical presence of Antonio; not only that, a bunch of empty beer cans came rolling out.

“Umm...” Jason uttered, reacting with slight concern.

“Man, you guys are slobs.” Lilly unapologetically remarked.

“Come on, we’re pretty busy and the both of us don’t really know how to clean.” Tony said, attempting to excuse himself, while sweeping the cans back into the condo.

“Sure, whatever you say,” dismissed Jason, “Anyways, do you want to go to a diner and discuss our plan of action?” he asked.

“Totally, I’m kind of starving to be honest.” the former racketeer admitted.

“No pork products for me please; I’ll break out in hives and my throat will close up.” Emanuel informed.

“Noted.” the knight confirmed.

The four proceeded to head towards a local diner; the name of this place was simply called Raymack’s Diner and Bakery. To put a long story short, they had their breakfast while discussing their plan of action; Jason pulled out a map crystal his teacher gave him recently and activated it by pressing a button. A holographic display of a 3D map materialized before them, with numerous points of interest dotted throughout. Antonio and Emanuel were blown away by the object and what it can do; they were also excited by the amount of places they can visit.

“All in all, I would like to visit this place called the Lost Temple of Geoise,” Jace suggested, “Who knows what kind of rare and priceless treasures this place could hold?” he wondered.

The group finished their breakfast and went on their way, but not before Jason left behind a reasonably generous tip for their waitress. Along on their journey, the four made sure to gather up many important items and equipment, like lamps, lamp oil, sharpening stones, welding jars to repair armor, health and mana potions, a cart to carry the stuff they find in dungeons and a whole suit of other things.

After that, they proceeded traveling towards the dungeon and fortunately, the place is not too far away to the point it would take them a few days just to get there; it’s only a 1 to 2 hour journey. While making the rounds through a forest, they notice a loud commotion happening somewhere in the distance.

“Does anyone want to check it out?” Jason suggested.

“I don’t know about that,” Emanuel expressed hesitation, “Unless given specific reasons, we don't meddle in the affairs of others too often.” he stated.

“I’ll give you two a bonus in addition to your payments. Now come on, we don’t want a preventable tragedy on our hands.” their boss ordered.

They parked their wagon at an area nearby and proceeded to investigate; Lilly pinpointed the source to a heavily wooded area with an unpaved road. When they arrived at the scene, they saw a little girl with wolf ears running towards them desperate for help; Emanuel was the first to give aid to her.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Antonio asked.

“Bad people...” the wolf child uttered, “They came to our village... took mommy, daddy, and big bro... everyone I know is being held up in a prison in a cave somewhere.” she revealed with horror in her voice.

“Who are these bad people?” Lilly queried.

The group was about to find out real quick, let me tell you that.

“HALT!” shouted a man.

Jason and his group were alerted from the sudden entourage. A team of warriors and wizards arrived at the scene; what makes them stand out is the occultic garbs they’re wearing underneath the equipment that was usual for their roles. They emanate a sort of demonic aura from their mere presence; as such, it placed Lilly on high alert from not only the energy they’re radiating, but the symbols their clothing possessed.

“Everyone, be careful,” Lilly warned, “These guys are part of a cult that worships an Archdemon.” she said.

“Not just some archdemon, but the one that stands above all else; his name is Archdemon Uruzel and we are his loyal servants.” a cultist revealed.

“We’re on the way to gather souls to resurrect our ruler,” a mage with demonic robes said, “If we gather the essence of innocents and enough of them, sooner or later his return will be inevitable... our dark lord shall rise again and claim this world as his throne!”

“As for the four of you and that child over there, you would make excellent sacrifices to the stone we’re making,” another cultist gleefully stated, “The vigor of strong individuals, combined with the purity of a little girl, have a strong tendency to be potent for any demon summoning ritual.” he spoke, presenting a creepy and malicious smile.

From that statement alone put the group on high alert, causing them to draw their weapons; the wolf-girl shrieked in terror and unable to take the horror from what’s going on, was about to break out in tears. However, she’s consoled by Jason who didn’t bring out his weapons. The knight took out an invisibility charm and gave it to the young child.

“Kiddo, take this and run, but not too far where we can’t find you okay?” Jace asked her.

The wolf-child nodded. She activated the item and turned invisible, unable to be seen. She then fled to a safe distance.

“And as for you people: are you willing to throw away your own lives and individuality for some creature that honestly doesn’t care about you and a cult that just sees you as a means of an end?” Jason queried.

“Oh, go fuck yourself, we’re not interested in any sort of bullshit dialogue!” one of the cultists chided.

The knight sighed, “I understand; there are some who are so far gone, that trying to have any sort of conversation is practically impossible,” he said with a regretful tone, “Alright, if it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you get.”

After that declaration of battle, Jason drew his sword and shield. Quickly thereafter, a red aura surrounded his entire body; he was more than ready to take on whatever was thrown at him.