Liam Jones's Story

Liam Jones looked upon the papers on his desk, holding his head as he tried to rub the headache away.

"Seriously, of all the times, why now?"

He was looking at the reports about the Pillars of Light, and how they signaled the return of an old Demon King, or the appearance of a new one. Furthermore, Hayslem City had two pillars of light shoot up, one from the Hero's Sword which made sense, and the other was from Demon King Millen's Crypt. Now, it could just be that the crypt was also set up to alert everyone to the appearance of any Demon King...or it meant Millen had returned to the world.

He was not sure which it was, but they had to learn if Millen's Crypt had been disturbed in any way. Even though the Adventurers and the Adventurer's Guild didn't seem to play as active of a role as the military of the city, there were a number of adventurers that decided to fight despite what was said, believing in the hero. And many of them ended up dead.

"If it's Millen...we might all be screwed. And if its a new one, we still might all be screwed. It really depends on how this plays out".

However, one thing was certain. A reaction from Demon King Millen's Crypt meant something was likely active there, which meant they had to investigate it. And what was why the Adventurer's Guild HQ was recruiting adventurers capable of needed for the delve into the Dungeon that formed from Demon King Millen's Corpse in the Crypt, named the exact same thing as the Crypt, Demon King Millen's Crypt.

"How the hell did those people allow a dungeon to get created under the capital in the first place...whatever, soon we will have the forces we need".

As Liam Jones said this, he walked into the main room, full of tables, chairs, waitresses and waiters, and a bar, where adventurers could drink, eat, and plan adventurers. Additionally, there was also lodging upstairs for anyone who needed it. He looked around to see who might have gathered for the emergency high priority quest.

"Alright...Some emergency request...Danger...And high chance of treasure..." A woman pondered to herself as she was reading an emergency bulletin. Now danger was one thing, getting hurt and the possibility of death was never a good thought, however with the good chance at getting loot, especially when you have two sisters that you care about.

Of course what helped her chances was that she knew how to fight...with plenty of equipment. Of course instead of standing around, she might as well go inside and register for the guild.

Once she walked inside, she walked through the rather crowed room of adventurers and stepped up to the registration. "Hello, I'm here to resister for the Emergency Quest. My name is Minsu." The woman introduced herself as she gathered the papers and began to sign her details on the paper to become an adventurer.

Well, she was going to put her skills to the test no doubt.

"We are approaching your drop-site, love ♥" The hologram smiled at him and blew him a kiss,
"We'll be waiting just outside of town my sweetest," The AI quickly decelerated Bleeding Heart, and the auto-doors opened as he let himself fall backwards out of his only home. "La Plume," the words were torn from his mouth by the air as he fell but it was the thought that counted, and he began to fall lightly and slowly, like a feather. His boots touched the ground outside the Guild with a light click. He'd been here a couple times looking for work, but nothing had caught his interest.

The sun beat down on his back, it hadn't been so warm thousands of feet up and he was almost tempted to shrug off the overcoat. He made note of a Neko taking particular interest in a dangerous job. Gonna get yourself killed for the temptation of a little money? He tried to dispel the dark thought from his mind by reassuring himself that she wasn't that crazy, and made his way to the bar. "Bourbon on the rocks, the good stuff. Make it a double"

He had just started taking a second long drink when the Neko made him choke and start coughing. Now Integra,
you can't jump to the aid of every stray you see. Just a month ago, the stray dog he picked up had ended up being biologically modified and when he cast a "fetch spell" it got so excited it began to breath fire, all over him. "My, my, Captain do you hear the grit on this kitten setting out to slay the Demon King? A veritable Akechi in this dirty old bar!" Integra was about to reprimand his AI for interrupting him in the middle of a good drink when what she had said registered on him. "No doubt here for this high priority Emergency Quest that was posted ~" He could almost imagine her knowing smirk smiling at him back home.

Blackheart ordered another quick bourbon, shooting it down in a flat second, before heading over to the Quest Counter "My good man! I would also like an order of Demon King. Dread Pirate Captain Integra Blackheart, swashbuckler extraordinaire, powerful mage, deadly gunslinger, and luckily enough for the fate of this world looking for work." He tried his best to flash a cheesy grin, while producing the identification Origin officials had given him when he migrated here.

It’s been...Quite a wait for this request...She was about to head out when her scanners picked up a familiar signal was when she noticed a man, who declared himself as the Dread Captain Integra Blackheart...She was either looking at a regular pirate or a space pirate. Her gut was leaning to the space pirate variety.

His personality reminded her a bit of her adoptive father. A little boastful, but something she heard enough times to get used to. Still, she did not have any more business around here most likely. If he was really here then she should get a move on. She was certain other people were already send ahead on the quest or something...And a loss of time is a loss of free time to build some dream machine she thinks of. Always improve your skills as her adoptive father once said.

With a nod, she got up from her seat and stretched out a bit...Perhaps a small talk with the pirate before she left would be nice. “Hey Pirate, Careful you don’t sink out there. So good luck.” She waved at him.

It had taken a bit longer to get even a handful of people to gather for the quest then Liam would have liked, but he just shrugged it off and moved forward. He hoped others would join them afterwards, but he wanted...or rather, he felt he had to start now. He was expecting at least another person along with them, and there were a few other adventurers who had joined as well but no one who looked notable or stood out really other then a couple.

"Alright, well. It looks like one of the people personally hired by the guild is late. I wish I could go on the quest myself, but it would be bad for the Guildmaster to leave in case some sort of Crisis level event happens so I cant. That said, I would want to wait for this person but..."

"Sorry! I am here!"

Suddenly, a young voice called out as a girl with white hair and red eyes came running out of the crowd. The Guildmaster raised his eyebrows with surprise.

"Ohhh, I was told you were a boy..."

"I am a boy!"

"Oh...oh! Sorry!"

Correction: Suddenly, a young voice called out as a boy with white hair and red eyes came running out of the crowd.

"So then, you are..."

"Rivian Rixy, reporting for the quest! That reward though, you were serious right?"

"Yeah".

"Then yes!"

Somehow, the Guildmaster had a strange feeling this would be a strange party, but he decided to shrug it off for now as he looked at the others.

"Basically, some time ago we confirmed thanks to those pillars of light shooting into the sky that a Demon King either Awakened or Revived. Therefore, I want to assemble a talented group of adventurers to delve into Demon King Millen's Crypt, which has become a Magical Dungeon, get to the innermost chamber, and confirm that Demon King Millen is still dead and not alive at all. Even in this age, he would pose a significant threat, and this Dungeon seemed to be created from his magical energies or Demon King Essence. In addition, I would request that you get a sample of the Demon King Blood for analysis if possible. If you are all interested, then I shall go further into details. Please feel free to ask any questions".

A young white-haired girl appeared out of the crowd, joining the small suicidal party bound for what was certain doom for most involved. The Dread Pirate Captain Blackheart's head lit up with pain and Bezalel screeched, thrashing at the cage that held it and demanding tribute. This boy.... he must die Blackheart raised a hand to his hand as inconspicuously as possible, rubbing the bridge of his nose. It's a girl you fucking retard. He did his best to dismiss his thought and listen to the Guild Master's explanation. The girl was a boy, much to the chagrin of Integra. He tried to occupy himself with thoughts on how this pre-teen was cleared for this Quest. "Rivian 'Sparks' Rixy! There's precious little on him on the official roster. Say doesn't Rixy sound familiar..." Flense his tiny little body, keep the bones for later... Yes, yes, yes, that will do! Bezalel's constant screeching in his head was proving taxing.

"What was that dear?" He pressed a hand to his ear, trying to emphasize the ear-piece that connected him to Omnia. "Rixy, doesn't that sound familar." Doesn't that sound familar. A wave of nausea overtook Blackheart and his face grew pale as he fought to keep it down. He managed to re-center himself in time to hear the Guild master explain that they needed a sample of Demon King Blood and that he would now answer any questions.

"Ah yes of course, he's a biomass. Part of that illegal child slavery bounty we picked up some time ago... What a coincidence ~" The AI chirping in his ear made him stare at the little boy. True he doesn't look normal... "Yes, hi, devilishly handsome demon-slayer Captain Blackheart here. Um.... I get this is a Emergency mission and all but isn't there like, a line you draw at sending would-be adventurers to their deaths?" He couldn't help but think about losing control and attacking Rivian in the middle of the dungeon, dooming the entire expedition. "I checked everyone here's public Quest Record, and honestly I'm not feeling comfortable trusting them with my life."

He produced a sky-blue metal flask, made of an off-world metal and damn near indestructible, the flask was the only thing he trusted with his life. He unclasped the top with a flick of his thumb and took another long pull of bourbon. Cut your losses and walk away Blackheart, no magic is worth dying in another man's crypt. "Unless you tell me that Rivian here can pull a katana out of his ass, slay dragons, and move faster than the speed of sound, I might have to walk!" The man proclaimed, rubbing his index finger and thumb together, while pretending to carefully examine his gloved other hand.

"Here we are! An encrypted test file on the Rixy brothers! Oh la la, Rivian specializes in moving like electricity and creating weapons at will. Hmm, electricity moves at about one million times the speed of sound. Looks like the biomass meets all your qualifications! Good luck dearest, I'm rooting for you!" Color drained from Blackheart's face as he hoped no one could hear Omnia relaying her findings to him via ear-piece. It might have just been Blackheart's imagination but for a moment he felt a massive shadow fall over him, oppressing the usually chipper Captain. "I mean... Devilishly handsome demon-slayer Dread Pirate Captain Blackheart ready to ship out" He told the Guildmaster lamely while beginning to double-check his weaponry.

D-Did she just get ignored? Did she Minsu, trying to be friendly get absolutely ignored?...Well it was no big deal really. She was not going to yell at him or engage in some sort of fight just for being brushed off like a speck of dust trying to talk to someone. With a sigh, she dug into her shorts and pulled out some sort of small hand-held device.

With a few twists, the device unfurled into some sort of holographic screen which hovered by itself allowing her to drag some floating icons as she got a sudden notification. A small video feed came up as she saw some sort of massive mech dropping in from orbit. She let out a surprised yelp as she saw this. Yep there was no doubt!

Her adoptive father! The self proclaimed number one mercenary with one of the largest bounties on his head in the universe! The man simply called Russian. She put a fist in her hand as she gave a nod. "Alright!...He is actually on this planet! Time to say hi I guess." She shrugged to herself as she closed the device and put it back in her pockets.

As one of them went on to be ignored and then distracted themselves, while the other seemed to get objective about Rivian and then seemed to get even more interested in them. Liam figured he should probably have everything resolved, but the question was how. Well, he also had to resolve the issue with Rivian, who was absolutely vital to this.

Of course, as the Guildmaster he was used to this kind of stuff. And he also saw a suitable person to help with this situation.

"Well, Rivian is both a vital member as someone who can get us in, and is fully capable. By the way, to the bounty hunter sixty feet behind him, you should just give up the act".

As Liam said those words, suddenly a man who had been wearing sunglasses and a dark heavy jacket reacted by quickly pulling out a large sword and rushed towards Rivian in the hopes of getting him, collecting the body, and running out before anyone could react to the situation. From what he had seen, Rivian was a nervous type and would be easy to startle and throw off balance.

And yet, the Rivian in front of him turned towards him with cold, focused eyes as blood shot out of his hand and formed a katana, which hardened and refined itself into a form where it looked like it was made of steel shaded to be the color blood red, and swung around without any hesitation which immediately cut the man's head off. In fact, not a single movement had any hesitation or wasted movement. Rivian looked around and confirmed there was other hostiles, before he turned back towards the others. That cold, focused state lingered for a moment before...

"Oh...oh! I am really sorry! I got blood all over your floors!"

He said that as he bowed in apology.

"Its fine its fine, this is not the first time something like this happened. Anyways..."

He then went over to Minsu and smiled at her.

"Minsu, you have been pretty silent so far. What do you think of our guest?"

Liam gave her the time to respond to his question, before he backed up and looked at all three of them as well as any others that might join.

"You see, the Demon King's Crypt is also sealed by a powerful barrier that requires a certain key to open. We managed to get authorization to use the key after a lot of pressure, but a second issue exists. A second barrier is around the entrance, that will prevent anyone who is not in the possession of the Demon King Blood from entering. Now, we could attempt methods to go around that, but Rivian makes it a lot easier. Due to one of his powers, his body will adapt to give the genetic sequence needed to open it without him needing actual Demon King Blood, which is either only obtained from whatever samples are said not to exist in any known location, or from an actual Demon King or some artifact that had been related to him. In other words, he is essentially our lockpick from an otherwise annoying lock we would have to find an alternate method to get around or break".

As Liam explained that, he also looked to Minsu.

"And between him, you, and our other friend here, I am already confident this quest can be done. Though, if we could get any more people that would make it even better. It should not be too hard either, since there should be quite a number of valuable rewards and such".

The once King of pirates let loose a low and impressed whistle, the young boys mastery of the blade having impressed. He shrugged his loose shoulders casually before reaching for his flask yet another time, his nimble fingers unscrewing the flask while talking, "What can I say, the boy's got potential. Eyes of a... uh, what was the word again..." punctuating the sentence, the man pressed the flask to his lips and taking a long swig before finishing. "A killer." He said while clearing his throat harshly to avoid the burn.

YYeeeeeesss, he's a killer, a delicious white-blooded killer. I want, nay MUST have him! The demon tore at Blackheart's very soul, screaming and violently raging against it's master. Not now fucker, he sneered in his mind, attempting to dull the sensation and compose himself. The sell-blade smiled, as the ample poison began to effect him. "I mean, treasure and a dive into the crypt of a demon king? What's not to like," with greed and envy, the man's mind swam vaguely at the thought of treasure before coming to his senses.

"I'm uncertain how I feel about you getting involved with Surely this is a problem that can be solved by blasting it from low altitude, my dear?" The AI had a, not terrible idea that the Captain pondered for more than a few moments before dispelling the thought. "That sounds violent..." the man uttered to no one in particular. "Say Minsu, who's the russian?" trying not to let it slip that he had an AI looking up and feeding him information while he put an arm around her shoulders, the sliding of metal on metal from his hidden weapons adjusting within his coat made an eerie. Maybe we can do this after all

While Minsu was busy in though, hearing someone call her name out got her attention. The boy had asked her what she thought of the pirate. Well she was not much of first impressions but she would reply. This was what she thought of him at face value of course. “Well, I only met him for only a short while of course. I guess...He seems like a rather confident person. But that’s what I can tell from what I have seen so far.” She replied taking a glance at the man.

Once she was done, she listened to how in order to get to the so called demon king they needed some sort of key, and that key was the blood of said demon king. Well of course they did not have his blood, however Rivian the boy could get them in thanks to him able to adapt and unlock the barrier. She was more technical than her other sisters, so she was not much for biology. But she understood the gist of it. She simply nodded as Liam said that he had confidence they can get this job done, and that more people would be much better...Now that she thought of it, Russian could use more money...Knowing him as his hobby, he needs all the money he can get before he gets reduced to eating noodle cups.

Speaking of Russian, Blackheart put an arm around her shoulders as he asked her who the man she was looking at through her holographic display was. “Well...Please Don’t get to cozy around me. We only just met, but...As for who that man is. You can say he is my adoptive father. He taught me all I know about machines and helped raise me and my sisters. He is a great Mercanary, confident as well...But for all he knows he can skip on the small things...Honestly...Noodle cups...Anyways, I live with my sisters now and we are all doing good for ourselves. I am thankful for him but I’ll show him that we can one up him one day.” She replied with a nostalgic smile.

Liam sighed as he looked through all the information about the Crypt turned dungeon they wanted to have investigated. He then called over to Rivian and had him come over and sit down next to Minsu and near the pirate. As Rivian sat down, he looked over to Minsu again. He seemed a bit nervous because of what happened earlier.

"Nice to meet you. As mentioned, my name is Rivian. Rivian Rixy. It will be a pleasure to work with you".

Rivian managed to introduce himself while clearly a bit nervous.

"Sorry if I seem a bit weird...its just, I have gone through a lot".

And then Liam came in and began to speak to help break the ice.

"Rivian might seem nervous and shy, but as you can see you can rely on her...err, him. Basically Rivian was trained and designed to hunt and kill, so although he has the sort of personality to worry about things, in front of the enemy he will be merciless and someone you can depend on".

"Don't just give out all my details like this!"

"...you know, its this behavior that causes a lot of people to mistake you as a girl..."

As Liam said that, he then brought up the data in front of them to be reviewed.

"Since its a dungeon, even though the space it takes up has not changed, we should expect the interior of the dungeon to be much more massive then what it takes place on the outside. In other words, there could be ten floors, or there could be fifty. Now, its only one thousand years old, but it went unmaintained and unnoticed this whole time somehow, so it should be assumed to be dangerous. This will be a long mission, and you will likely have to sleep inside the dungeon for several days at least before you can conquer it. However....in exchange, because it went unmaintained, and because the Demon King's treasures should still be in there, if you conquer it you will not only be legends, not only can you lord this over your friends and family, but you could gain fantastic powers and unimaginable boons. Plus, you will be gaining information and details that could be critical to the survival of thousands or even millions. So, is there anything you want to know specifically? If there is, and I can answer it, I will".

The ex-pirate watched with slight bemusement at young Rivian's protesting. He had also assumed the boy was a girl, but evidently it was a relatively common mistake. Bezalel had quieted down, through sheer force of will and Blackheart was beginning to feel a bit more lucid. I'm not one for sleeping in a crypt, but if the Demon King's body is still there.... The man's shadow darkened slightly at the thought. With a thought, and the help of his neural up-link he relayed a command to his AI on the ship and she chirped back an acknowledging "Aye aye, Captain ♥"

Minsu told him about the man named Russian, and how he raised her and her sisters, and imparted his skills. Would that make her and her sisters a litter of cats? He wanted to ask, but contented himself with a different question. "Machines...? Define machines. Like, an armored personnel carrier, or like... Androids?" Integra sneered the last word, the last run in with androids had almost cost him his life and he couldn't help but feel a tinge of loathing for them since.

"Okay, extra-dimensional dungeon, potential crypt of a demon king, I'm liking this so far. Three quick questions. Um, first information on the crypt, is it all publicly accessible or do you have something classified you're holding out on me with? Second, Rivian can get past the lock but can he disable the barrier to let Minsu and myself in?" The man took his arm off Minsu's shoulders to cross his arms, "And last but, probably so important it should have been first, wouldn't a giant pillar of light have attracted many potential dungeon-divers? What exactly are we looking at here in terms of competition..?" The man's thought trailed off as he realized he was probably going to have to drag a cask of rum through a demon king's crypt.

"Ah, I see the crypt isn't far from here. Prepping the servitors for combat." His AI had finished collecting data and streaming it to the Captain, but it would take time to sift through. The AI, of course, processed information faster than humanly possible and Integra trusted her assessment.

When the talk came about machines, a spark shined in Minsu’s eyes as she heard the question. “Well, I guess just machines is too broad of a term. I don’t make androids, too worrisome really...Sometimes people just use them like rejects with a personality...Anyways that’s besides the point, robots and androids are not my specialty...Now weapons, equipment and vehicles on the other hand...Now those are what I specialize in, I mean when you make giant rocket gauntlets and watch someone else who specializes in boxing use them to full power is a very cool thing. You can also make any dream machine like cool tanks or a cool weapon like a giant quad barreled rocket launcher that fires gravitational warheads...Ahem...Sorry, I’m a little passionate when I can make things to help the people I care about...” She scratched the back of her head with a small smile.

“Anyways...I’ll bring some heavy weapons with us. I don’t have much questions here, but just give me some orders or recommendations on what to bring.” She added.

At the talk of technology, Rivian also got surprisingly involved. Even though he had only shown electrical and blood based powers so far, his eyes sparked...in fact, his entire body began to emit sparks...as he got excited. He immediately jumped into all of it.

"Technology is really great though! Especially computers, but all sorts of other things as well! And the programming involved, oh it gets more detailed and more beautiful with each advancement! I have designed some stuff as well though I never got to impliment it, but I once thought up a gun that shoots rapid fire multi-oscillating energy bursts, but is only the size of like a pistol, because I found a way to shrink the coding into a smaller drive!"

Although Rivian clearly held a passion for technology that did not lose to Minsu, it appeared that he was slightly more focused on the coding aspect. However, normal people would talk about robots, buildings, or ships when they mentioned stuff like that, but Rivian clearly showed an interest in weapons, armor, and such as well.

"Actually, I am wearing a prototype I made. These clothes have a bunch of nano-sensors inside them, and linked through microdrives and field projectors that deploy at a nano level right above the clothes themselves, creating a protective barrier. I will still take the hit, but it will reduce damage done to me and prevent clothes from getting damaged in a heated fight".

"Right, well, if you girls...I mean, you two don't mind, I will get to the questions now".

At this excited sputtering from Minsu and Rivian, Liam finally interjected as he continued and answered Blackheart's questions, as well as Minsu's.

"First off, in terms of information, I am telling you all I have. If there is classified information, the royal family is keeping it from me. And strangely enough, even though I heard First Prince Zakar was quite an adventurer, he claimed he was 'busy' and unable to attend. But, its not really something I can go and easily speculate on. As for the next question, once Rivian opens the barrier, anyone will be able to get in or out. Well, eventually the doors might seal themselves again, but that will only happen if you all die so...you should be fine. There is a chance of other barriers further in, which is why Rivian is coming with you. But as you have seen, he has combat ability so it should be fine. And as for the third, you shouldn't expect any competition. Anyone who wants to delve into it should be here right now. The reason there are so few of us is...Demon King Millen is that feared, even after one thousand years passed after his death. That was just how dangerous he was. Rumor has it he even created several species of monsters".

And once he answered all of Blackheart's questions, he turned to Minsu.

"As for recommendations of what you should bring, I would recommend every single heavy weapon you can carry that will not weight you down. However, I think you should bring some sort of perimeter and defense gear. Rivian, you are bringing some too right? Well, you all should prepare spares just in case. Since you will have to camp inside that dungeon, you will need to create a safe zone...also, Rivian, any chance any of your brothers will show up?"

Rivian shook his head.

"Its unlikely. We usually try to avoid being in the same place since it would increase the chances of being targeted. I mean, if any of you want me to try, I could...but, it seems doubtful. Oh, and yes! My brother, Rivyan, gave me various warding stones and magic tools since he knows I work better with technology then magic".

"Well, I suppose someone who can transfer through the internet would lean more towards technology then magic".

The Captain hadn't expected the two to hit it off so readily over technology. "Remind me to have the both of you take a look at my ship once this is all over." There was always room for minor improvements aboard the Bleeding Heart, and the two seemed adept enough with machinery. Rivian's use of nano-technology was surprising to the man, even though he himself had nanometre sized machinery running through his blood. That's why I love Origin I suppose....

Liam satisfied the Captain's curiosity, and he was eager to get the dungeon-dive started before his buzz wore off. Liam's mention of heavy machinery reminded Integra and he turned away slightly. Omnia darling, outfit the servitors with extra gear. Load one of them up to capacity with nanofluid, another with rum, set ten up as Kamikazes, load the quadrupedal up wi- "We lost the quadrupedal in the last job, Bison ripped it into six separate pieces and, made a show of chewing it's head off." The AI could've also made use of the neural link, but her Captain much preferred to actually hear her voice.

R-right... How could I forget... In truth, he was thoroughly marinated that night and remembers little of the last job. Integra eyed Rivian for a moment darkly, Hey do you think nanofluid could potentially clone the Rixy's superpowers via a polymerase chain reaction if we targeted the right strip of DNA? Or Demon King blood, for that matter...

"I'm afraid I lack the computational power to asses that situation, and thus don't feel fully comfortable giving you an answer without first wresting control of all nearby processors and off-loading my personality to them ~" Her voice practically sang with thinly veiled pleading.

"No! What's with you and world domination! You don't need that much processing power!" The Captain chided his AI, forgetting to make use of the uplink in his outburst. After a moment he remembered himself and turned to address his newfound party. "Well then! Rivian, and Minsu should we be going? The crypt isn't far from here. We can get anything else we need on the way."

In the end the AI had sent out a total of fifteen out of the ship's twenty available servitors. Every servitor had once been wanted dead or alive, and after Integra collected the bounty for their death he bought their bodies, if no family came forth to claim it. Bezalel had taught him much about necromancy, and he found that by modifying bodies, sometimes even assembling many bodies into one, he could create useful crew members that required little to no upkeep. The typical servitor had at least two energy weapons and two ballistic weapons grafted into their body, though each was a unique creation indicative of what Integra had on hand at the time, how he felt about the bounty, and what he needed most to round out his crew. The quadrupedal had been a load-bearing bodyguard he had grown to almost love, it had been made out of an intelligent bear almost eight feet tall and over 12 feet long that Omnia had managed to reinforce the muscles and tendons of using sky-metals and nanites.

The mindless drones couldn't think for themselves, but obeyed most commands pretty well and more often than not they were the only company Integra had. The small platoon of undead monstrosities sat out front of the crypt with their various gear, deathly still. They all looked at least mostly humanoid in form, and had been dressed in layers of loose flowing robes, bandages, and protective armor as to obscure their frightening visage from passer-bys; though five of them had too many arms.

Minsu nodded at Rivian as he expressed his fondness for machines as he told the two what he liked about them. The more in depth of the programs and weapons as well. She was no hacking genius like her mentor, but at least she knew the in's and out's of machines and how they operated. Still, it was good to know there was another fan of the power of technology!

Of course before the two could go off on a technical tirade, Liam got their attention once again to answer Blackheart's questions. First, there seemed to be no other persons who would interfere in the mission. That was good, no need to worry about friendly fire hopefully...The second was when her question was answered and that was bring plenty of heavy weapons. Well it is a demon king...Logic states if its a king its gotta be powerful.

"I got that covered, I may not look like it but I'm a walking armory. I'll get all the good weapons for this, probably going to be very worth it for the payoff." She replied until Blackheart got their attention as unknown to her at the time, he was communicating with someone else. World domination? Processing power?...Sounded like something like an artificial intelligence if she heard any. Man...They really love their world domination schemes...The movies were correct...Along with a history with rouge A.I's and machines...

"A-Anyways...I'll get my equipment ready..." Minsu spoke as she dug into her pockets and knelt to the ground before placing some sort of small mechanical disk on the floor. Once set, she gave the device a little tap and it began to unfurl into a large metal circle on the ground like some sort of platform...Which is was...Of course...

Once set up, Minsu pulled out a small device from yet another pocket from her shorts and pulled out another small screen and turned it on. Customized to her own tastes, it was almost like a shopping screen...If you were buying weapons or vehicles with colorful backgrounds and jazz music in the background. It was of course her own way of choosing what weapons to warp in at a moments notice...Or in this case leisurely browse.

"Lets see...Going to need some hefty defense...And maybe a heavy anti-tank railgun...Oh!...There's also that Vortex Grenade...Or maybe some rocket gauntlets...Oh forget it, all of it!" She pondered for a bit until she just shrugged and just swiped her finger across the screen collecting lots of little icons and shoving it into a small box. Once her little shopping was complete a second later like a bolt of lightning, a small box suddenly appeared that could sit nicely in someone's palm.

Minsu scooped up the tiny crate and stuffed it into her pocket. "That should do it, I got everything I need. Very handy if I say so myself." She winked at being able to lug so many weapons in just the palm of her hands...Or in this case pockets. She learned from the best as they say.

*Double post*

"Uwwaaaaaa".

Rivian had a variety of things to say, but once he saw Minsu's device his eyes lit up faster then a christmas tree and he made grabby hands if only for a moment...

"Is that...some sort of Dimensional container? No, perhaps...a Matter Digitizer and Materializer? Or maybe, a Nano-Scaler?! Ooooh, which is it, which is it?! Is it something else entirely?! Ahhh, machinery is so amazing...so much better then Bio-Science..."

Rivian expressed his admiration and desire at Minsu's tech very clearly, though he muttered that last part in a voice that would be hard to hear. As expected, Rivian and his brothers did not really like Bio-Science, being Bio-Science subjects themselves after all.

"Right, anyways you three...."

Liam tried to get some control and authority back.

"So anyways, I would like for you three to depart immediately. Luckily, the Crypt is below Millenium Plaza, which has a market that contains things from enchanted ammo to repair kits to runes, so you should be able to get everything you need there that you don't have already. Anyways, I am counting on you guys! Remember to get that blood sample, and any other information you can acquire!"

And so, unless any of them had something else to mention or do, they would immediately begin heading towards Millenium Plaza at once.

Fresh from looking at the academy she'd found she'd need something to pay for her training. It was different back home. Left to her own devices here without being a Mada to call for resources the locals talked about an adventurers guild they thought she was from. Seeking out umbralkind as she explored was just something comfortable when the newness of the bright world of Origin was too much. Pyroclast infested umbralkind with a cancerous combustion the more she struck them. Her mother's engram design not her own and she'd had problems confining one or two of the blazes. Umbralkind of size she wasn't sure she could take on she just wrote in her ingress so Myrkul knew of them eventually. Actually she was getting tired reaching out this far to Myrkul's Vein on the regular. Looking in a nearby river she could see the veins under her rose and spike choker turning black. She'd need to hold off for a while. The Guild she'd heard off probably would offer somewhere nice to sleep if she signed up.

Entering through the doors the heavily armored redhead nearly six foot said little moving aside for them. Full brigandine dress with faint silvery-purple metal weaving through some deep rose colored substance. It shed fading ash even while she stood there. An inch thick gauntlet of moving cables was on one arm up to the shoulder a clear sheathed weapon to those with the eye. The thick metal gauntlet followed a very muscular arm than the looser brigandine on the other. She eyed them returning any inspection in turn, molten red eyes with a cobalt core, inspecting their shadows for unwanted guests.

Uncle Jinhai said to her once, 'This is your purpose.' It seemed like the smaller ones were so soft in comparison. Just plant material for armor. Unsuited to learn power from her Mother or Myrkul she found it rather empty but practical. Comfortable now, yeah, but empty. Mother got her a weapon and training with it as a matter of continued survival. The Black Storm was not kind. This plane didn't spawn umbralkind out of the walls when you weren't looking.

"I guess the same...well wait, what is the dif..."

Iviri's words were cut off as the some of the females activated all sorts of magic, which suddenly had an interesting affect. In addition to their own hands, countless tentacles emerged from the table and wrapped around, and only around, them. Some to hold them in place during the massage, but others...they also assisted with the massage.

BUt of course, if one looked at it objectively, it was a perfectly reasonable idea. As they were boneless, they could adapt to the physiology of any species that came to the table, and to the characteristics of that individual. They also had the strength to dig into the really tough areas with a lot of stress was built up, and make themselves shape in the perfect way to deal with them.

"What the...eh...ahh...."

Iviri was taken totally off guard, having never gotten a massage before, and was a bit surprised by all this. Of course, having been raised in a lab, this was actually the first time he had seen any tentacles at all. However, the massage worked into each and every one of his stressed up areas, and relieved all the tension and soreness he had been feeling. As a result, he could not help but release a sigh of pure bliss.

And then, as an added bonus, the women themselves gave a personal touch. They used their precision and experience to get into the most problematic areas personally, and provided extreme relief to those areas. Their touch was practically comparable to divine beings themselves.

The combo of these two forces was what made the Ultimate Massage truly ultimate. By the time they would be done, Iviri and Demor would probably be more relaxed and relieved then they had ever felt before.

That said, Demor's words did not escape him.

"F-fans?" he questioned with a blush. However, all that tension immediately got re-released during the massage. "...okaay~".

He was still embarrassed, but in the middle of this massage, it was impossible for him to really have a reaction due to the overwhelming feeling of bliss he had, occasionally letting out a sigh or other noise that indicated such. Some people might have questioned why he made those noises, if they didn't see him getting a perfectly normal(?) massage.

"Eh, so thats what an ultimate massage looks like?" another boy questioned, sitting across from a man at a table. Jaune had just come here by chance, but had run into someone rather major, although it looked like few others had noticed. Then again, no one would really expect the leader of the Adventurer's Guild to show up at a bathhouse, now would they?

"You have not had one yet, Jaune?"

"Nah, I always end up getting pulled into playing a game of basketball or soccer while I am here by others. You?"

"A few times...they truly are divine".

As for what the two they were playing, it was not just the water and massage tables, or the food, that was available. There were also games, such as chess. There was also a room for video games. Baths were not just meant for getting clean on Origin, they were also a social gathering place where you could meet all kinds of people.

The girls continued their conversation as Iviri and Demor experienced the massage, though the arrival of another lady who seemed rather reluctant and unhappy caught their interest. Okora, being the type to make comments, was first to go, calling Amelia out in the process.

Oh, a novice! Heh. Hey! Why so shy!?

Sesame joined in with a giggle, diverting the conversation back to their group.

Tee hee hee! Her expression tells me she's actually upset, Okora!

I see!

Okora chuckled, covering her mouth a bit as she did so. It wasn't a particularly haughty laugh, but a more condescending one. She continued,

Well, I guess when compared to you...it's likely she's just jealous of your cooking skills. Clearly, boys like their muffins large and firm, yes? I'd say compared to all of us, you have the best muffins around.

Um, I believe we're forgetting someone.

Etaass had a pout on her face as she held her towel up around her body. Okora shook her head and shrugged.

Well, you're a deity figure, so you don't count. You're not limited to the conventions we mortals are. So of course your recipes will produce top notch results.

The girls all giggled again, sans one of them, the ever stoic Shakaurduraug.

A face of strife itself is in our presence. The ugliness that is conflict may soon follow. Perhaps we should watch our own mouths and hearts.

The lithe and flat Nyst looked over to Amelia.

Shakaurduraug, you've been serious this entire time. What are you sensing?

She seemed worried when Shakaurduraug continued.

To speak ill of someone invites aggression. True peace comes when such a circumstance is avoided.

Okora then interjected.

Oh, lighten up! She's clearly uncomfortable, yet she's in a place where this sort of thing is normal. If you get that self-conscious in such a location, then perhaps you don't visit! If you're going to visit new locations, you need to be ready to participate in whatever local customs are a thing. Practically a rule of thumb!

Okora spoke with all the confidence of a regular space traveler.

Okora~! Don't be too mean!

Sesame replied, almost appearing concerned for a moment, though it seemed to be more of a mocking concern. With a smirk and entirely too much pointed jabbing in her tone, Okora called out to Amelia a second time.

Hey! Greenhorn! You lost? The beach is outside the city!

The girls all giggled at this, even Shakauduraug had a small smile at the remark.

The woman was entirely within her own thoughts, staring down at the water as it lapped at her feet. She scowled, there was some kind of magical infusion, and the Aschen could practically sense it. Disgust welled up in her gut as years of Aschen propaganda against magic washed across her psyche.

Her own internal monologue was broken however, by the words of another. Amelia's blue eyes moved quickly towards the one called Okora. A brief scowl crossed Montrose's face. The disgusting creature dared to address her? And in an insulting manner such as this? Montrose scoffed slightly, the Aschen Empire burned entire worlds to glass for less of an insult.

She noticed every one of them lacked clothes, was that what the Xenos was alluding to? The bathing suit the Admiral was wearing?

"Excuse me?" Amelia asked with a slight Caprican accent.

She was going to make it a personal note, to discipline Colonel Decurion when she returned to the Pride of Langara, to place herself in such a humiliating position, to be humiliated by xenos no less.

"Do you have a problem!?" The woman retorted. "Where I come from, disgusting creatures like yourselves would forfeit their lives for addressing their betters like that." Montrose quipped.

"I am an Admiral within the Aschen Fleet; I don't sample the local fare, I don't visit new locations to experience them... I visit locations to assess their strategic strengths, and weaknesses so that they can be conquered for the glory of our Empire. Fewer things make me more uncomfortable than the thought of disgusting Xenos like yourselves gazing upon a genetically pure, unclothed Aschen body. It rolls my stomach in ways that only the sewer recycling systems of a Reverence II can." The Aschen woman was in the water at this point, making her way slowly towards the group, committing each of their faces to memory.

The Aschen people had long memories.

"I'll ask again, do we have a problem?" Montrose was clearly unhappy.

"Oh-ho-ho-oh~ That's divine...." Demor growled happily as the massage began. If the Draconian man could purr, he'd be doing it now. The tentacles were certainly something new compared to other massages he'd had in the past, but they didn't detract from his relaxation and pleasure while they and the ladies worked away at his muscles. They'd find a particularly harsh bit of tenseness in his shoulders and back, mainly from supporting that tail of his, and from years of work for his previous Guild. He would object to having his tail touched, and the long appendage would lightly smack away any prying hands to dissuade them, and to reinforce his point. The girls were understanding, and he didn't have to do much but relax and enjoy himself while he ate and had his muscles worked on.

Once the Massage had passed, and they were done, Demor lay limp on the table for a moment, sighing softly before rolling himself up onto his butt so he could stand, not bothering to cover up with his towel, merely tossing it onto his shoulder as he reached over, and chowed down on the last bit of food he had left, licking his lips with a satisfied grunt, patting his rippling abs heartily as he then stretched, a few of his now relaxed joints popping very loudly, allowing him to grunt out in pleasure once more as his body further relaxed.

Next on his agenda were the girls, and the water. Smiling, he strolled on over to them, pausing at the edge of what could be assumed to be their social space, waiting for Iviri to join him, casting him a side-long glance and a nod towards the women to get him to follow.

His nostrils flared and he turned his head towards the hostilities raising, and he raised his eyebrows and hands in a dismissive, calming motion. "Hey now, Ladies! Ladies... please... let's not be hostile! This is a bath house! We're to relax! Unwind! Not get riled up over someone deciding to wear something or not, though if you want my opinion I prefer you without clothes...." he smirked as he managed to slide himself into the water between the group of females and the aschen woman, his tail gliding along the surface of the water before submersing itself. His body naturally shuddered as the water passed his hips, and he took in a deep breath, closing his eyes slightly.

"Besides... we wouldn't want to fight in front of Iviri, would we?" he smiled, opening an eye towards the group of females who had previously been fawning over the boy, a sly smirk on his face. "Although.... truth be told, Anger does not fit any of your fair faces... no I'd rather see you all smiling and laughing."

Well, Demor was a forward man, that's for sure. Not afraid to speak his mind despite being surrounded by members of the opposite sex, wearing very little or no clothing to speak of, and while they all were not in perhaps the best moods. It was a part of his charm, he figured, and he turned, choosing to face the Aschen woman as he did his one-eighty, and continued to stand there, hoping things would calm down before they got out of hand. Better to face the bigger threat in this situation.

"So... what's say we just... relax?" he opened both eyes now. And despite the smile stretching his lips, his eyes were stern, and held a predatory strength to them. He wasn't one to try and cross, even if he was merely trying to relax for now.

Once it was finally over, Iviri could not help but be in a mood of absolute pleasure. Once it was done, he felt more relaxed then he ever felt before, literally. He had no memories of being more relaxed then he did right now, so much so that as Demor got up, he ended up following him immediately. He had already finished the food he had anyways, although....anyone who had been paying attention might have noticed he ate more food then he should be able to physically fit inside his body.

However, the moment that there seemed to be conflict, Iviri suddenly focused in on it and...

"Uwah?"

He suddenly felt a smack on his behind that snapped him out of focus for a moment, while the culprit Jaune passed by him. Unlike Iviri who always seemed embarrassed and shy even in this place, Jaune seemed to have no issue, at least in a bathhouse, to rush in naked in the middle of a bunch of girls, having left his towel behind.

"Now now. No reason to get tense is there?" he asked, the boy having a smile on his face. He then looked back towards Iviri. "By the way, I think you forgot your towel back there".

Iviri immediately turned red with embarrassment and covered himself, not realizing it. That said, suddenly a burst of wind seemed to toss it over to him. The culprit being Jaune, who now had a yellow fox that appeared by his side out of nowhere also.

"Anyways, there is a no fighting rule here. This is a place to relax and converse with people, a gathering place not just to bathe, but relax, have fun, and catch up with people. To be honest, its really fun to have a dodgeball game inbetween baths..."

Someone might question if dodgeball could be called relaxing, but that was besides the point. It served as a good icebreaker.

"But needless to say, although personally I do think its odd to wear something in this sort of place, but is this really something to cause any tension or fights over? By the way, if you cause too much of a disturbance, they will throw you out for disturbing the other guests, with your belongings of course, but not the time to change into them".

On that note, Jaune and also Liam decided to come over. Liam just gave a nod towards Jaune, indicating he was happy about his good work.

Whew. Thankfully Jaune noticed first and acted so quickly, otherwise who knows what might have happened.

Indeed, none of Jaune's actions were by accident. He had rushed over so fast, he had even forgotten his towel that Liam had to carry over. However, it was because he rushed to stop an incident before it started. Not between the women, but the tension...and state of mind...that suddenly appeared in Iviri.

Iviri possessed a Spirit Guardian, and Jaune possessed something called an Armor Spirit. Because of that, Jaune had immediately noticed from spiritual waves that because there were powerful forces "fighting" in front of him, a switch was almost flipped, and jumped in before Iviri even had the notion of doing something. Although, Jaune had no idea what Iviri had to experience to panic from conflict like that, though granted between people that seemed very dangerous.

"Pl...please do...I don't really like conflict like this..." Iviri said meekly, still embarrassed about earlier as he entered the water with Demor. Meanwhile, Liam addressed the group in a calming voice, his behavior and body language making it clear he is an experienced leader.

"I must agree with Demor though, people as beautiful as you all should not make such faces, at least not here. After all, heritage or geneology does not make anyone superior, only their efforts, hard work, and spirit can determine that, regardless on if they are Aschen, Terran, or from here. Everyone has equal potential and rights, so let us just accept this, settle down, and relax".

With that, and hoping this matter was settled, he joined everyone in the baths.

Notably, although Jaune and Liam let out a sigh of relief as they entered the water, while Iviri did enjoy it he seemed to handle temperature change better then them, indicating some level of resistance.

Okora just waved Amelia off dismissively, a smug smile crossing her face.

Oh no. Whatever shall I do? The big, bad, "pure" Aschen thinks she's scary! Look, lady, you can't even hold a candle to me, so cool it before you become the problem.

Okora then lifted a hand out of the water, a green sphere already resting underneath it. Turning her hand over, she let the sphere roll off her open palm and onto the water, a small ripple effect flowing away from its position as it floated on the water before Okora.

Sesame inhaled deeply, the force of her inhale pulling the sphere of energy toward her location, causing the sphere to float into her hands. As she cupped the sphere, she pressed her palms together, smothering the sphere into dissolving.

She's posturing, Okora. I can't sense any power coming from her that's worth a look.

I see,

Okora responded,

Great! So she's trying to threaten us without being able to back it up? Well, whatever floats her boat.

The half machine woman switched the pair of arms that was being used to hold the towel up as she motioned with the now free pair as she gave her take.

She is an Aschen. They're quite proud of themselves, and are very widespread. I've been watching them closely, and I'm impressed by what I observe of their society as far as their hardiness goes. They do seem to be in a decline though. It is quite worrisome at times.

They fight others too often. They even fight each other. Ever the foe of prosperity, strife never ceases to bring ruin to all.

Shakaurduraug spoke with a cryptic tone, prompting Nyst to reply once again.

So they feel everything is a big injustice toward themselves? I mean, there are few other justified reasons to fight others.

They're just pompous. I've worked for a few Aschen, as an anonymous contractor. They're ridiculously paranoid. It's almost as if they feel some inquisition is out to get each and every one of them at all times.

With a mocking tone and a faux serious look, Okora continued.

After all, "Nobody expects the Xeno Inquisition!"

The girls all giggled again at Amelia after Okora's mocking comment, however, they stopped when Demor, Jaune, Liam and Iviri, all entered the water with their own monologues, to which the girls listened quietly. It seemed none of them were taking the Aschen lady seriously, and likely weren't going to take Demor seriously either until his poor attempt at throwing compliments opened him up to potential mockery. Thankfully, Jaune's commentary spared Demor for now.

Okora focused her attention on Iviri from where she sat. Narrowing her eyes, she took a mental note as a small smirk crossed her face. She turned her attention back to Jaune's riveting commentary as the other girls had done. Once the conversation was finished, the girls went back to their idle small talk, though they kept sharp for any moves the men tried.