[Illsyore’s point of view]

 An hour or so before I summoned Ayuseya back to the academy, I woke up from my sleep.

NO! Ayuseya! I screamed and reached out for her, but she wasn’t there anymore.

Everywhere I looked, all I could see was the darkness of my Inner Mind, but Shanteya wasn’t there to greet me as usual, causing me to be confused and scared for a moment.

Was it all just a nightmare? I wondered as I tried to settle down my breath and fast beating heart.

It felt too real to be a dream even if the last part was incredibly hazy. The only way I could be certain of this was to look for Ayuseya inside the darkness of my Inner Mind. My fear and worry came from the last thing I said before I fainted. Those words I spoke were strongly imprinted in my memory.

Ayuseya? Are you here? I shouted, but no reply was returned.

The light in the distance that normally appeared when I checked to see where she wasn't there.

Ayuseya wasn’t inside my Inner Mind…

No! No! No! It can’t be! I said shaking my head.

I tried to deny the possibility that I had failed and now Dankyun took her away, so I stepped out into the real world.

Indeed, it wasn’t a dream.

My room was a mess. The signs of my struggle and battle with Dankyun were visible everywhere. The remains of the AGLMC Lasers I used as a last means of defense were scattered on the floor, shards of power crystals were mixed up with pieces of the steel cases and cut Inconel walls. Wear no boots and you were bound to get one stuck in your foot.

Looking up, I saw the big hole in the wall through which the draconian Supreme made his way inside, letting the light of the sun flood my room, reflecting on all the shards scattered on the floor.

Despite all of this destruction, despite remembering that last moment before I fainted when Dankyun was about to slay me, I was still alive and without a single scratch on my Crystal Body.

Ayuseya stopped him… I thought, but knowing this only made me angry.

In the end, I wasn’t able to keep my promise. I gave Ayuseya to that monster and even if I was to blame it on the fatigue and lack of focus, that was nothing but a simple and pathetic excuse. I was the one who released her in the end, right in front of the lion’s jaws.

But what if I died? I asked myself.

I shook my head. I didn’t even want to think about that possibility.

Opening my status window, I looked at my Magic Energy pool. It was full, but there were still traces of mental fatigue left, although not as bad. There was another thing I noticed: my divine auras.

Why didn’t they affect Dankyun? I wondered.

 

[Divine Protection] <As a Godlike entity, you are protected by most magical and physical attacks. Elementary Attacks deal 95% less damage. Intermediary Attacks deal 90% less damage. Advanced Attacks deal 80% less damage. Master Attacks deal 70% less damage. Heroic Attacks deal 60% less damage. Godly attacks and weapons deal 50% less damage>

 

What do Heroic and Godly attacks even mean? Emperor and Godlike? I thought and then looked at the other.

 

[Divine Aura] <You are shrouded in a Divine Healing Aura with a 10 meter radius around your body for everyone you perceive as an Ally or Neutral. You are shrouded in a Divine Damage Aura with a 5 meter radius around your body for anyone you perceive as an Enemy. Induced Damage is determined by the amount of Magic Energy poured into the aura and the desire of the Godlike or God entity.>

 

When Dankyun entered, I was focused more on my defense than I was on infusing the [Divine Aura] with Magic Energy… It was probably so weak that he didn’t even feel it. I thought as I tried to remember the whole battle, but there were only bits and pieces there. My memory was hazy, only the last moment before I fainted was as clear as day.

With so little Magic Energy left, there was no way for me to hope this ability would do any sort of significant damage to him. I probably made a terrible mistake by fighting him here, but he took us unprepared, both me and Nanya. Guess this proved to show the difference between real life and the countless games I played where the hero always managed to find some way to win.

It was then when I remembered how badly injured my teenage-looking wife might have been, and here I was lamenting about being a poor excuse for a hero and losing my first fight.

“So what? I’m going to win the next one!” I told myself as I flew away.

Even if it was really hard to believe in those words, I tried to remember a good advice my parents gave me: ‘Whenever you face a problem in your life, no matter how big or small it is, always tackle it with the mentality that you will be able to solve it or get over it in the end. Believing the opposite will only weigh you down and push you further away from success.’

In other words, it was more efficient to think you would win in the end than worry about losing before the battle even started. That was how I had to think and keep thinking, but it was easier said than done. Inner fears were hard to get over even when you had the power of a Godlike Dungeon.

As I flew through the academy towards where I sensed Nanya’s life force, I didn’t even pay attention to the state the students and teachers were in. Maybe I also didn’t desire to witness the aftermath of the battle just yet, so I simply flew past, ignoring everything except that pulse of light I knew was my wife.

“Nanya!” I shouted when I entered the classroom.

This place was also wrecked. The windows were barricaded with the desks and chairs in an attempt to keep the soldiers out. There were no signs of any of them being broken though, meaning they never did try to get in through here. This classroom was on the opposite side of the academy's back entrance where the soldiers attacked.

In that entire room, there was only one desk standing like before, the teacher’s desk, and next to it was the Godlike Ranked woman.

“Illsy?” she asked surprised and quickly turned around.

Her armor looked terrible, and her blood stained the spots where she got injured by that bastard, Dankyun. It looked like a nasty cut, but she didn’t seem to be bleeding, however, I had to check. I was worried.

“Nanya! You’re alive! I’m so glad! Are you alright? Are you bleeding? Anything broken? Are your panties still on?” I asked worried while flying around her like a pesky firefly.

She showed me a soft smile and said “Hehe! I don’t think that last question was needed, but I’m alright, Illsy. Tuberculus left me a healing crystal, and I’m back to 100%. Unfortunately, I took quite the beating…” she let out a sigh.

“Tuberculus?” I stopped in front of her.

“Yes. Hm? You just woke up, didn’t you?” she asked looking at me and tilting her head a bit to the left.

“Yes”

“I see…” her eyes looked down at the floor, holding a bit of sadness in them “Then you don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” I asked surprised and then a chill ran down my spine.

Oh no! Did something happen to Ayuseya? Did Dankyun kill her? I thought.

“Dankyun and his army of jerks took Ayuseya and left one hour or so after the battle with you was over. For some reason, he thought you took direct orders from Tuberculus, that you are under his control or something, so he took him as well just to make sure we didn’t try anything stupid. After they reach Therion city, he’s going to let him get back to the academy…” she looked up at me. “As for Ayuseya, I don’t think she's coming back… ever.”

Hearing that was a bit of a shock. I was glad to know Dankyun left, but hearing that he took both Tuberculus and Ayuseya with him was a bit too much. I wanted to somehow get my draconian wife back, and I could easily do that by going over there and absorbing her, but then they would kill the old man.

“I can’t do anything, can I?” I asked.

“No…” she shook her head and then looked back at the desk.

There were two crystals there, one was white and the other was brown. They were the same as the ones Dankyun used to recover his strength from our battle. If it wasn’t for those crystals, I could have won.

“What are those?” I asked.

“These go by a lot of names… Magic Crystals, Spell Crystals, and Spell Containers are the most commonly used.” she picked up the brown one “Tuberculus left them here for me. Apparently, I need to use them in case anything happens…” she told me.

“What do you mean?” I asked, but I had the feeling I wasn’t going to like the answer.

“He left me a note saying that in case Dankyun changes his mind about letting him go, he’s giving these two to me. One contains [Rejuvenation] and the other [Teleportation], but there’s too little Magic Energy in it, and I don’t know where it can take us.” she explained.

“So, if he dies…” I said.

“It could be Dankyun’s way of ‘thanking us’ for his stay here. Maybe he believes that if he kills him, you will go berserk and kill us.” she picked up the crystals and placed them in her pockets.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“Let’s get back to your room… Where’s Shanteya?” she asked me.

Spreading my focus towards her life force, I found out that she was inside the academy, standing guard in front of the door leading to my room. Paladinus, Angius, and Rufus were there as well.

“She’s already there…” I said and then followed Nanya.

Did I fly past Shanteya without realizing? I asked myself.

As we walked back there, we saw the devastation left behind by Dankyun’s soldiers. Many of the students showed signs of injury and bleeding. Those who could stand were trying to fix the academy to the best of their abilities, basically they moved the rubble out of the way and cleared the furniture blockades.

Some of the regular teachers were injured as well. They were barely Master Rank adventurers. One was a Beginner, but they all had a role here at the academy. The weakest of them were the cooks. There were two of them. It was hard to admit, but during the time of my battle with Dankyun, a few other students died as well, killed by the soldiers who managed to slip in or by stray shots. Dankyun’s commanders were probably stronger than initially believed and took the old adventurers by surprise.

Real life wasn’t like an anime where the strong could easily jump in front of a bullet and stop it with their teeth. It was possible that those students were simply unlucky. Even friendly fire was a possibility, but I had no doubt the teachers did their best to keep all 420 of them alive.

“Nanya! Finally! Tell this mad woman to get out of the way, or I’ll make her!” warned Angius as he pointed his sword at Shanteya, but she wasn’t even flinching.

“You won’t even be able to touch her. I guarantee it.” said Nanya with a sigh.

“How do you know that?” I asked curiously.

“You told me the reason.” she replied calmly without giving any insight on my [Bond of Trust] skill.

“Oh!”

“I doubt it! This girl is barely a Master Rank! You were the one who tested her!” shouted Angius.

“Maybe you should calm down a bit?” asked Paladinus.

“Calm down? The academy is a mess! One of my students died, and it’s all this Dungeon Lord’s FAULT!” he shouted.

“Master is not to blame for the destruction caused to your academy. He defended it.” Shanteya declared.

“No! He took in that draconian princess and put all of us in danger! Ever since you and your buddies tried to assassinate her, everything’s gone wrong! I knew it! I simply knew we shouldn’t have gone along with Tuberculus’ idea! Now look at us!”

“I agree. None of this would have happened if the Dungeon Lord wasn’t here.” said Rufus.

“You too, huh?” said Nanya as she squinted her eyes at them.

“There’s no doubt about it! The Dungeon Lord is to blame for this mess, that’s why… erm… that’s why…” Paladinus was trying to say something, but he was hesitating.

“That’s why what?” asked Nanya raising an eyebrow.

“That’s why we decided to destroy his core!” shouted Angius, but as soon as he said that, Shanteya moved in.

With a kick faster than he could react to, she sent him flying into my Inconel wall. He coughed, but she got in close and punched him in the chest, shattering his Magic Armor with one blow. Before he had a chance to recover, Angius had a knife pressing against his neck.

“I dare you to say that again.” said Shanteya calmly, but her killing intent was so strong I could practically feel it, and Angius could as well.

“Calm down, Shanteya, he’s not going to do it.” said Nanya.

The el’doraw didn’t retreat.

“Indeed.” I said. “A Supreme can barely cut through my walls, and if they wanted, they could have used the back door. I mean there’s a big hole in the wall right over there!” I said, but I forgot I was invisible.

“Nyahaha! True!” Nanya seemed amused by this.

“Even so… we don’t want the Dungeon Lord as part of our academy. It’s wrong. He’s a Dungeon after all. Nanya, you of all people should understand what I'm trying to say here!” Paladinus tried to convince her.

“I understand, alright… I understand that Dankyun scared all of you so much that you are all running away with your tails between your legs! Illsy didn’t do anything wrong! He actually protected all of us from day one of his birth! He didn’t attack us nor showed the tiniest bit of killing intent towards us! Even now when you are blabbering like fools that you want to get rid of him, he still hasn’t raised his black fog! He saved two poor girls from a fate more horrible than death, and instead of acknowledging all of his effort and kindness, you are thinking about killing him off? Now here’s a question. Why in the name of all of your PATHETIC gods would you think that I would ever LET YOU harm Illsy?” she shouted back at them, showing that even though I wasn’t raising my killing intent, she had no problems in displaying it.

Shanteya didn’t move away from her target either, and the teachers looked at each other for a moment. Rufus appeared to be ashamed of what they were trying to do, but he still felt like it was my fault. Angius was glaring back at Shanteya, and Paladinus was clenching his fists.

“Even so, I still don’t believe it’s right for a Dungeon of ANY kind to be part of a Magic Academy! It’s not natural! It’s not normal… he’s a Dungeon, Nanya, you have to understand this! He’s not like us…” he tried to appeal to her.

“Then get out of here before I slash your throats open and drain you of your cowardly blood!” she growled in reply.

“Nanya, you can’t just…” Rufus tried to say.

“GET OUT!” she shouted.

“Nanya…” I said as I stepped in front of her. “Calm down, please.” I smiled.

She blinked a bit surprised. With an audible groan, she rubbed her forehead with two fingers.

“Illsy, they are being jerks for nothing.” she said.

“I know, but stuff like this doesn’t go away overnight.” I said, speaking of what I knew from the way humans on Earth saw other people who were in one way or another different from them.

“Still…” she shook her head and gave up.

“Now then, gentlemen, if you wish to live on my Dungeon Territory, I have no qualms with it, and I promise I will help you however I can. However, if you desire to harm me or my friends, I’ll deep fry you in lava and send you to Mars with a kick in your behind. I may not have been able to beat Dankyun now, but you three are no threat to me.” I said with a smile.

“What? Are you joking with us, Dungeon Lord? What makes you think we will listen to you?” asked Paladinus.

“Mars?” asked Nanya a bit surprised, but I didn’t bother explaining now.

If she was going to ask about it later, I saw no reason in not telling her.

“Because I’m a Godlike Dungeon Lord and you three are merely Emperor Rank Adventurers who weren’t even strong enough to protect the students while I was fighting with the Supreme Rank adventurer Dankyun. Because until now, I played along with your whims thanks to Nanya, Shanteya, Ayuseya, and a bit of thanks to Tuberculus as well. Because I showed you I have no ill intention towards any of you and when I let you into my dungeon, I could have killed you with extreme ease if I desired to, but I didn’t.” I told them calmly.

“G-Godlike?” said Rufus in a trembling tone of voice.

“Yes. He’s a Godlike.” confirmed Nanya.

“I don’t believe it!” shouted Angius from under Shanteya’s dagger.

“Too bad, but that’s the truth. Now, if you want to leave this place, there’s an escape tunnel under this building. It will take you to the edge of my territory, which is over 17 km in radius around my Crystal Core. You have two options. Take that path and reach a nearby city or risk meeting with Dankyun again. What will it be?” I asked.

The teachers looked at each other for a moment and then replied.

“Is it safe?” asked Rufus.

“I guarantee it.” said Nanya lifting a hand up.

“Then, we’ll take the escape tunnel, and we’ll bring the students with us. This isn’t a Magic Academy anymore… this is a dungeon.” said Paladinus clenching his fists.

“Very well. I’ll open the path for you.” I said with a smile.

Shanteya moved off Angius, but she didn’t take them out of her sight. With the two women defending my core from them, I flew a level below and created a path to the escape tunnel. Some of the students were surprised by the sudden ramp that appeared in the middle of the hallway, but Paladinus, Rufus, and Angius calmed down the spirits and led all of them through.

The moving process took about half an hour. Surprisingly, Zertan followed them as well, but he didn’t have his dryad with him. When I approached him about it, he told me this:

“Illsyore, despite what my friends said, they mean no harm. They are just frightened. I for one have no problems with you. You helped me a lot with the materials you collected. You helped my classes, and you never showed any ill intent towards me or my… friend. After I saw Dankyun, I sent her away just in case anything like this happened. She should be out of your territory by now, she also told me to tell you that she thanks you for your help. If you by any chance think of rebuilding this place, I would love to return and teach here. Until then, so long, Dungeon Lord Illsyore.”

“Likewise. Take care of her and yourself, Zertan.” I told him.

That was one farewell that didn’t make me feel like I was standing on needles. Now, with the academy building empty, I returned to my room, where Nanya and Shanteya were waiting for me.

“Sigh! This is bad! ARGH! When he returns, Tuberculus is going to go bananas!” said Nanya.

“I say good riddance!” Shanteya spoke calmly, but she still held her guard up.

“They say humans will show their true nature only in a time of crisis… They simply showed theirs…” I said with a sigh at the end.

“And I don’t like it!” Nanya lifted her hands up in protest.

“There’s nothing we can do about it now…”

I thought back at Ayuseya. I felt so bad about losing her. Although I was relieved for having those teachers and students leave my territory, knowing she was about to be gone as well made my heart ache. It was a bit weird, but what else could be done now?

Opening my skill list, I looked around it and saw this little one:

 

[Summon Ally]: <Adventurers who formed a contract with the Dungeon Lord can be summoned at the discretion of the Lord as long as they are within the dungeon or in a 1 km radius of the Dungeon’s Exit. Magic Energy Cost 250 Points. Current Contracts: 3. Voice Command: Azer Nef Yer>

 

I wonder… I thought.

“Hey, Nanya?”

“What?” she asked looking back at me.

“I may have a way to steal Ayuseya from Dankyun now, but… but…”

“But what?” she raised an eyebrow.

“I can’t bring Tuberculus…” I said.

A moment of silence followed as Nanya thought about this, while I was feeling like I was standing on the edge of a cliff.

I wanted to use the spell. I wanted to call Ayuseya. I had to!

There was something inside me telling me to do it already, to open my mouth and speak those words. To infuse my magic into the spell and call out to the one I lost, but what about Dankyun? What about Tuberculus?

“If you do that, then Dankyun…” Nanya said and then smirked. “You know what? I didn’t get to fight against him with my power at max. He didn’t get to meet Shanteya, and he didn’t get a taste of your dungeon either! I’m sure Tuberculus will figure out something, he’s a sneaky old man! Let’s do it!” she then laughed.

“Are you sure about this, Master?” asked Shanteya.

“Honestly speaking, Dankyun scares me, but losing one of you three scares me even more.” I confessed.

“If the gods want us to live, we’ll live through this, if not, then that’s it! Nyahaha!” laughed Nanya.

“You seem eager about another encounter.” I pointed out.

“Of course! I ran away from him for too long and trust me when I say this, Illsy, but it’s not pleasant at all! If we run, that bastard will hunt us down and keep torturing us until we give up!” she said clenching her fists.

“Do we stand a chance?” I asked.

“Hm, maybe with your dungeon. It will definitely destroy his army, but tell me… What do YOU want to do right now?” she asked with a big smirk on her face.

I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about what I really wanted to do. Was Ayuseya worth the risk? Was it right to do something like this?

Funny though, but the first thing that came to my mind were some scenes from an old anime about a pirate with a straw hat who never gave up and just like an unsettling hurricane, he sailed across the sea, stopping anything he deemed wrong and unjust even if the chances of winning were slim to none.

Heh… So funny to remember about something like this now. Well, he was right. I guess what I really want is to see Ayuseya smile and be safe. I want to see Nanya safe as well, and Shanteya too… I want to protect my nakama too, but if I do this, I’m putting all of our lives in danger… Should I? I thought and then opened my eyes.

I saw Nanya waiting for my reply with an eager look on her face, and Shanteya standing calm, but clenching the hilt of her daggers. She was ready to follow me everywhere. So in the end, I was going to be the one who decided.

Another crazy choice? No, this time I’m fighting together with all of them, and I’m pulling Dankyun inside my dungeon! I took a deep breath in. If we die, I hope God reincarnates us all in a more peaceful environment, or at least I hope He grants me the strength to take Dankyun down and win this! I thought and then I said “Azer Nef Yer!”

250 Magic Points were spent, and the spell was cast.

One last battle… I thought and looked at the bright shape of light forming in front of us.

 

[One of Dankyun’s soldiers’ point of view]

 Milord was just about to bring down his wrath upon the foolish princess. None of us held any loyalty towards the royal family. It was weak and pathetic. They didn’t deserve our loyalty, but Dankyun was strong, and I at least saw the true values of a draconian man in him!

Just then, however, there was this bright light coming from the princess, and she vanished altogether! I have never seen anything like this in my entire life! The wretched harlot did something and disappeared before Milord could land the death strike on her!

“AYUUUSEYAAA!” shouted Milord Dankyun before taking out a strange-looking red crystal necklace.

He looked at it for a moment and then pointed it back towards the human magic academy. Milord chanted something for a few seconds and then a red beam of light flew up into the sky. The crystal turned transparent and the skies darkened.

As we all looked up, we saw big fireballs falling from the sky. A big grin appeared on my face as I knew what this meant. Milord Dankyun used his Supreme Ranked skill to crush the human academy.

“Look well, lads! This is the reason why we follow Milord! All hail Milord Dankyun!” I cheered, and the others followed.