“Hello soldiers, I take that you want to raid the home of the scientist that lives here? I can guide you there~ just promise me one thing, don’t wreck the place~”
I did say that but… I forgot to ask Jaul where the dungeon entrance was… and…
Iko looked at the soldiers, they all had a strong aura, probably around level 50, and the man in the center was even stronger, his aura comparable to the one of Folkur, so he must probably is Leo Ironheart, the general of the Empire, Empire who is just too late for everything.
“State your business, stranger!” Iko thought of the incompetent empire stopped as she looked at the general.
Wait… Emilia has the same last name as he does!
“I already told you, general, I want to guide you over to the scientist you are all looking for!” Iko said trying to look as innocent as possible.
“We don’t know what you’re talking abo-“ The general was cut mid lie by an old man that was wearing a whitecoat and had a nasty energy around him, holy energy.
“You are covered in a filthy energy child” the old man said, he didn’t feel as strong but sure felt nasty.
“For your information this “filthy energy” is a lot warmer than your filthy holy powers” Iko answered almost in instinct.
Shit! I should not have said that!
The old man looked at her with a piercing eye that felt as he was looking at her soul, well technically everybody was looking at her soul as she was using it as clothing, but deeper.
“Beware how you talk to the representative of the church, Iko” Leo was suddenly behind her, his sword in her neck.
This fucking people higher than level 100… should I let him behead me and then regenerate? Wait, how did he know my name?!
“I can see it in your eyes, you can hide your appearance but not your name from the system, but the only thing we got was your name, what are you hiding?” the old man said getting near Iko.
“Stay away from me, you filthy god slave” The words came out of Iko mouth again without her wanting too, but she just got mad just feeling that energy come closer.
Then next thing she knew she was seeing upside down as her head fell to the ground.
So, this is how it feels to be beheaded? Normally they just straight up eat my head so I wasn’t able to see it like this, well better regenerate and destroy this head quickly before they see the horns.
Iko vision disappeared and when she opened her eyes again her head had regenerated, so she quickly covered herself again and squashed her old head with a big stomp.
When she looked at the soldiers they were all horrified, except Leo and the old man.
“What? First time seeing someone with regeneration?” Iko asked trying to annoy them.
“Not first I’m seeing someone who regenerates, but first time they regenerate from being beheaded” said Leo, the old man looked like he just saw a ghost,
“Whatever not my first time losing my head, I take your daughter is Emilia Ironheart?” Iko asked.
“What did you just say?” Leo presence became ten times stronger, it was becoming harder to breath, good thing she didn’t need to, but his soldiers did, and if they died then who would raid the dungeon?!
The old man seemed to get back to his senses and casted some kind of shield around the other soldiers, impressive since they are at least a hundred.
“Calm down, I just met her once earlier. yesterday? Today? I don’t really remember how much time it has been, but whatever, she was with the man you are looking for” Iko said with no care in the world, whatever Emilia went through couldn’t be worse than what she had been through.
“You think I would believe someone who destroyed their own head into smoke?” Iko got surprised by his words, since she had just crushed her head with her feet, she didn’t turn it into smoke, and Emilia had also said that she looked like a smoke beast before.
I should ask Jaul when I come back if he knows anything.
“I’m just telling you what I know, she seemed to have a condition that disintegrated whatever she touched, poor girl, gods know where she ended up after the creation of the dungeon” Iko said with a teasing smile.
“What did you say?!” The pressure suddenly increased to twice as strong as it was before, the shield the old man had summoned started to crack before he reinforced it, summoning more of that filthy energy that Iko just wanted to destroy.
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“What? I thought that god of yours told you about the dungeon?” Iko said while trying her best to control her tail and wings that kept trying to rebel against the pression.
“I don’t care about the dungeon! You said my daughter was trapped in the creation of one?!” Leo started to walk towards her, the ground shaking from his every move.
“Yes, do I need to repeat myself?” Iko said while walking towards the old man, just for Leo blade to press against her neck.
“I’m not done with you. You will guide me to this dungeon you say this instant” Leo voice was loud and even the trees seemed to understand his anger, or was it a desperate hope for Emilia’s safety? What ever it was, it would help her in making them come with her, she just needed to know where the fuck the dungeon entrance was.
“That was my plan from the start, but now I got 2 conditions” She said turning her head to look at Leo “First, stop putting your blade on my neck, it’s annoying, second” She pointed to the old man “He must stop using holy magic, I hate that energy”
“That’s ridiculous! I must use holy magic! I’m the one sent by our god to kill that bastard!” The old man screamed, he did seem pretty mad, but he used holy magic, so Iko couldn’t care less.
“I bet your god won’t get mad if you don’t use your magic for a while, stop crying” Iko said annoyed, she turned to Leo to see his reaction, and he seemed deep in thought.
“Fine, I will take your deal” He said, and the old man and his soldiers, who Iko had honestly forgotten about, looked surprised.
“B-but sir! What if it is a trap?!” one of the soldiers screamed.
“She is leading us to a dungeon, if there it is a trap, she already mentioned it” Leo said while turning his head towards Iko after putting down his sword back to its sheath.
“So. When do we leave?” He asked.
As if I know! I have yet to ask where the fuck the dungeon entrance is!
“What about tomorrow, it is getting late” Iko said while looking at the sky, the pressure that was almost killing the soldiers disappeared.
“Fine, you can rest on my tent, as it’s the only one that isn’t covered in holy magic, since it looks like you truly hate it…” Leo said while pointing to the biggest tent in the camp.
“Ok, mister lion, hope you’ll keep your promise of not putting that blade on my neck again” Iko said while leaving for the tent, but she looked back just once to see the old man face, and as she expected, he was absolutely furious.
Suffer little bitch.
When night came, Iko got up from the mattress that could barely be called a bed, but it was still more comfortable than the cave she used to sleep in the… how would she call it? Fake world? Well, that place.
As she got up, she tried listening to the tent that was next to hers, well Leo’s tent.
“Ironheart! Why in the 10 gods would you do that?!” screamed the old man, really not trying to hide his anger.
The ten gods? Which were does again?
“Kilon, don’t be so loud, some soldiers are sleeping, and they need that rest” Leo said with a firm voice.
So his name is Kilon? What a boring name!
“What you did today was stupid, how can you let someone who regenerates from smoke, tried hiding their identity from us, and that hates HOLY magic into the camp?! People should feel warm and comfortable around holy magic! Not despise it!” The old man, Iko decided that name was cooler for him, screamed, most probably Iko wouldn’t even need her dragon senses to listen to him.
“She’s my only chance to find Emilia” Leo said quietly, clearly not enough for Iko to no hear him.
“And by doing so you are putting everyone else in danger! Do you not realize that?! What if we are taken to a trap?! You may be hard to kill, but you can still be sealed, we don’t even know her level!” The old man said, and Iko had to give it to him, he was kind of right, but why can’t people see her level sometimes and they can other times? Like Jaul knew what her level was, but Leo and Rakikas had problems with it, and even a priest with holy magic couldn’t see it, what were the conditions?
But… do I really care?
“And for a tiny chance of seeing her again, you are going to take your whole army to a trap?!” The old man screamed, and Iko didn’t really like that he was right.
“You think I’m not able to protect my own men? Kilon” Leo said with the same tone that he used when Iko talked about his daughter.
“That’s not what I mean and you know it, I’m worried about her! How would she know we are looking for that man, only the royals and the church knew what this mission true intention was! Everybody else thought we are a party to investigate the tower!”
What tower?
“Well, we already accepted her deal, so you just have hang on for a while” Leo answered with a calm voice.
This guy is changing tones every sentence, what’s up with him?
Then they started to talk about useless stuff Iko didn’t care about.
Well, time to ask Jaul where the fuck is the dungeon entrance cause my stupid brain forgot to ask before.
Iko looked at her human hand and the ring.
I don’t have mana, I’m pretty sure, so I just fill it with corruption?
Iko then filled the ring with corruption, and it was exhausting, it was really hard to move the corruption without the system help.
Then she heard Jaul voice coming from the ring.
“Didn’t expect you to call me this soon. Found someone?” the ring said with Jaul voice.
“An entire army that was looking to kill you with a priest, that amount works?” Iko answered while looking at all the parts of the ring to know how it works.
“An… army? You know what, I won’t ask, anything else you wanted me to know?” Jaul asked and he sounded tired of her for some reason Iko was too lazy to try to understand.
“So where is the dungeon entrance? You just teleported me outside of it but not at the entrance, and I’m guiding them to the dungeon tomorrow so I need to know where it is” Iko said while taking her cloak off, since it was starting to become annoying having her dragon parts trapped like that.
“let me ask the system because I’m busy with another thing, and before you ask is the now half tiger trying to break down the door, she’s been at it the last hours and I’m tired of it” Jaul said with a heavy sigh.
Understandable I suppose.
“The system said it’s a couple kilometers north from your location, the ruins of what used to be my laboratory should be there, a hole in the center should be the entrance” Jaul said in a very calm tone, and that was strange.
“Sure, thanks! And I hope Rakikas bites your arm off!” she said before taking the corruption back from the ring, even if she didn’t hate him, she still found him annoying.
She then heard footsteps coming towards the tent she was in, so she quickly covered herself once again in the cloak as the person entered the tent.
“You’re awake?” It was a random soldier that had talked to her, and he didn’t feel so strong.
“And you are?” Iko said while moving her tail in the dark to stab him in the neck if he tried anything.
“You said you would take us to the scientist?” He asked shyly.
“Yup, why you asking?” Iko said with an innocent smile.
“My name is Ruby, do you know if someone named Sapphire is in the dungeon?”

