Dungeon Predator (WN)
chapter-583-30041322

Once Eder left the underworld, he immediately returned home.

"Welcome back." The cute maid smiled at him.

"I'll have to go out soon."

Eder went to his personal laboratory and took all of the medicine there. He also packed his medical equipment too just in case Valan's condition took a turn for the worse.

This would be Eder's first time using the Resurrection Stone. He couldn't help but feel nervous about it.

However, Kunta had instructed him on the proper way of using the Resurrection Stone. That took some pressure off his shoulders.

"I'm leaving."

"Have a safe trip."

Eder headed for the Holiseum. On the way there, he took a detour to Burkan's new matrimonial home.

"I found a way to treat Lord Valan."

"Really? Oh, thank you so much." Burkan grabbed Eder's hand, looking completely moved. 'Finally!'

"Honey, I'll be back."

"Take care." Dora smiled and saw her husband off.

Darion lived in the Holiseum, so there was no need to go looking for him.

Eder, Burkan, and Darion headed for Valan's residence together.

Sip.

Valan was drinking tea.

His chest wound was the same as ever. He was still missing one of his arms too.

Plus...

Eder could see the slight creases in Valan's forehead.

Even now, Valan was in excruciating pain. He was, however, extremely good at hiding it.

"Lord Valan."

"Welcome, Doctor," Valan said happily.

"I found a way to heal you."

"Is that so? I'm curious. What kind of magic will you use to treat me?" Valan grinned.

"Please trust me. I'll release you from your pain. No matter what."

The word 'pain' made Valan's lips slightly tremble.

"You knew?"

"I figured it out just a little while ago."

"I hid it well, didn't I?" Valan sported a mischievous expression, like that of a prankster.

Eder wanted to chide him. 'You should've told me that it hurt!'

However, he decided not to nag at him, since he thought it might hurt his pride. Instead, he played along.

"You could've been an actor."

"If I had, I would've been the best. Don't you agree?" Valan asked.

"The way of the sword is your calling, Master. So please get better and hold a sword again," Burkan replied earnestly.

"Yeah, you're right."

"As we discussed, we'll turn the council chamber into an infirmary. Mr. Darion will assist me, and when I call, please bring Lord Valan with you."

"Understood."

Eder and Darion left the room, leaving only Burkan and Valan there.

"Master."

"What is it?"

"When you're all better, let's have a duel."

Burkan missed when Valan was at his strongest, despite how ill-tempered and impetuous he was. He truly did!

"You sure?"

"Of course."

"Alright. It's been a while since we last sparred." Valan beamed. Burkan also smiled back at him.

Sometime later...

Darion returned to the room.

"We're all ready for you. Let's go."

Darion and Burkan wanted to support him, but Valan refused their help.

"I'll be fine on my own."

For some reason, the magic lights that lined the ceiling of the Holiseum's familiar hallways seemed to be a lot brighter than usual.

"Hoo."

Valan took a deep breath, and slowly walked into the light.

* * *

Palacio was a general that defended the large city of Lonk. Following his death, he was transported to the underworld.

He was a soldier that'd trained all his life, so his soul was incredibly strong. His soul didn't flow through the river of souls; it instead entered the gravity-less space outside of its pull.

"Is this the underworld? It's quite a mysterious place." Palacio looked around, surveying his surroundings.

"What is that?"

He saw the hemispherical world of Noah. There were all sorts of buildings on top of its surface.

"Is that a city?"

Palacio was drawn to the city.

Although he couldn't move that well yet, it wasn't like he couldn't move at all.

Palacio headed for Noah.

However, he wasn't able to reach it. It was because of the black-robed man that stood before him.

"W-Who are you?"

"Me?" The man smiled.

Palacio had unknowingly readied himself for battle, sensing the man's malicious intent.

"A villain." The man pulled out a black sphere, which was larger than a watermelon.

Crack!

The sphere cracked and a black tongue popped out, devouring Palacio's soul whole.

"Grow quickly."

Then, the man left.

There was no one that knew that Palacio's soul had made it to the underworld, nor did anyone know that his soul had been devoured.

* * *

It had been one week since Eder had left the underworld.

Had Valan's treatment gone well?

Probably.

Kang Oh trusted Eder.

Then...

Sephiro broke him out of his stupor.

"Really?" Sephiro asked.

The Soul Guardians and his companions were sitting around a round table, sporting grave expressions.

"I saw it with my own two eyes." Kunta pointed at his eyes.

"The Mamonas has returned... Didn't we destroy all of them back then?" Sephiro looked at him in disbelief.

"We did."

"Do you think we missed one?" Nile asked.

Javen shook his head. "No. We completely destroyed it back then."

"Then it must be a Mamonas that wasn't there," Asu said.

"That's what's strange. When the Resurrection Stone appears, the Soul Eaters instinctively head towards it like moths to a flame," Howlka said.

"That's also one of the Resurrection Stone's functions. It serves as bait to lure out all of the Soul Eaters," Loxia added.

"When the Resurrection Stone appears, all of the Soul Eaters show up... And we completely annihilated the Mamonas. Yet, a new Mamonas has appeared?" Kang Oh muttered, locked in thought. Something smelled off.

"There's only one explanation," Javen said.

The Soul Guardians nodded their heads.

"Which is?" Sephiro asked.

"Someone is creating the Mamonas," Kang Oh answered.

"Yeah. Someone here is growing the Mamonas," Loxia said.

Asu furrowed her brow. "Who would do such a thing?"

"That's what we have to find out," Javen said coldly.

'Whoever it is, I'll find them and kill them no matter what.'

* * *

The guardians and Kang Oh's party divided into groups of two or three, and set off to find the source of the Mamonas.

Kang Oh followed Javen.

"Do you have any guesses?" Kang Oh asked.

"I do. But the problem is that there's more than a few of them."

The underworld, or Noah, contained all sorts of people. There were heroes, villains, dragons, legendary beasts, etc.

Thus, if they didn't have concrete evidence, then they wouldn't be able to find the culprit. There were too many people here that were capable of growing the Mamonas.

"Did something like this ever happen before?" Kang Oh asked.

"It did."

"How did you deal with it then?"

"There were people who used the Soul Eaters to procure the Resurrection Stone. They controlled the Soul Eaters to attack us guardians."

"Then what happened?"

"They were punished accordingly." Javen smiled brutally. "The same will happen to whoever did this," he added.

"How should we find them?"

"Let's go see Acasus."

"Why him?"

"You'll see."

The midget, Acasus, was sitting on a rocking chair. There was a black cat on his lap, and there were a ton of cats and dogs around him.

"Have you been well?"

"Yes."

"I'd like to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"So..." Javen briefly explained why he was here.

"Is there any way to find the culprit?"

"So the culprit has a piece of the Mamonas with him?" Acasus asked.

"Probably."

"Hmm." Acasus stroked the cat's head, locked in thought.

"Do you have anything that smells like the Mamonas? This one here has a keen sense of smell." Acasus pointed at the spotted dog.

"No. Any other options?"

"I'm not sure..." Acasus shook his head. Then, he looked at Kang Oh and it seemed like a light bulb had gone off in his head.

"Was Ubist present when you were fighting the Mamonas?" Acasus asked.

"Ubist? Yes, it was," Kang Oh replied.

"Did it eat the Mamonas?"

"Yes."

'A ton of it, in fact.'

"Then you just need to ask Ubist for help."

"What do you mean?"

"Ubist has the ability to track whatever it's eaten. It's probably an ability it gained to keep it from losing its prey."

"Really?"

'My dog had such a useful ability?'

"It's true. I saw it, after all." Acasus pointed at his eyes. His eyes were different from most other's eyes.

God's Eyes.

He could instantly 'see' an animal's emotions, strengths, abilities, characteristics, etc.

"That's good," Javen said.

"Yeah." Kang Oh pulled out Demon Sword Ubist and used Demon's Descent.

The demon sword transformed into a jet-black beast.

Its body, which had greatly increased after eating the Mamonas, had reduced to its original size. It had finished digesting the monster.

Grr.

Ubist bared its teeth at Kang Oh. However, it didn't charge at him.

Then...

Acasus put the cat down and stood up.

"Looks like it's angry." Acasus pulled out a small bottle from his chest and opened it, permeating the room with a delicate scent.

Ubist sniffed it and slowly lied down!

Acasus pulled out a comb, and carefully brushed Ubist's 'fur'.

Purr.

Ubist purred happily.

Kang Oh decided to learn how to properly interact with Ubist while he was here.

"Could you tell us where the whale you ate is?" Acasus asked softly.

Ubist turned its head to the side.

"That way? Where?"

Grr.

Ubist stood up and led them away. Acasus, Kang Oh, and Javen followed after it.

* * *

Ubist led them to a small mountain. There was also a gate in front of it, which was supported by a thick, round pillar.

It was like the entrance to a grave or even a nest.

"This place is..." Javen's expression turned severe. Acasus looked like he didn't know what to do.

"Where is this?" Kang Oh asked.

"This is Zepharius's Nest," Javen replied.

"Zepharius... A dragon's nest?"

Kang Oh recalled the man with red hair and red eyebrows that he'd met at the Alain Restaurant. He was a dragon, and his name was definitely Zepharius.

"Yeah."

"..."

Kang Oh and Javen remained silent.

'This isn't a dragon's doing, is it?' Kang Oh couldn't dare utter those words.

After all, dragons were undoubtedly the most powerful beings in the world. They were powerful enough that they even made the Soul Guardians feel on edge.

If it were truly a dragon's doing, then things would become a lot more complicated.

"Is this the right place?" Kang Oh asked.

Grr!

Ubist angrily bared its teeth.

"He's saying it's the place," Acasus said.

"How shall we... proceed?" Kang Oh asked carefully.

Javen didn't say anything. Eventually, he said, "No matter how I think about it, it can't be a dragon. Especially if it's Zepharius we're talking about."

It wasn't Zepharius's style to do something so shady.

"I see."

Kang Oh really only had two views on dragons. On one hand, you had the Divine Dragon, Gainus, and on the other, the Evil Dragon, Inarius. Good versus evil. An angel and a demon.

Thus, he didn't feel like it'd be strange if it were a dragon. After all, there were evil dragons like Inarius.

"First off, don't let anyone know what we've learned today. I trust you won't tell anyone either."

"Understood," Acasus immediately replied.

"What's your plan?"

"We have to find more information. Secretly."

"Understood." Kang Oh nodded his head. Then, he clasped his hands together and desperately prayed.

'Please don't let the culprit be a dragon!'

He already had his hands full with Inarius.

'So please no more dragons!'