The Illicitous Dungeon

As Styx and Aura stepped out of the front entrance of the dungeon, several pairs of eyes secretly watching things from deep within the Abyssal Forest focused upon the wolf eared woman and especially the dungeon avatar whom she walked beside on equal grounds.

Even the spider Monster Lord whom had a vendetta against the wolf girl watched from a hidden location beyond the horizon and refused to come closer, knowing how dangerous the situation could become and refusing to become embroiled within it.

All of the Monster Lords of the Abyssal Forest knew of this young dungeon and its rapid yet odd growth since not long after the wolf Monster Lord made it her new home. The relationship between Fifth Step existences and gods however kept them at bay. They gazed upon the situation with either disinterest or in wariness.

Although the duke was a very powerful Third Step raker and held a powerful reputation on the battlefield, he saw Styx and evaluated him as a weak First Step existence. He was well attuned to mana as his body had evolved again and again whilst reaching his current power. Aura's presence washed over him and left him feeling like a small boat on the stormy ocean in the middle of a hurricane.

Everyone's face turned pale at her intimidating aura and their nerves were taut. All the torches and mana lights that lit up the night time forest seemed to dim in her presence and an eerie wind blew through the leaves.

The messenger who stood in front of the army shook in fear. He was only a Second Step ranker and felt like he was trapped in between a powerful army and an unstoppable Monster Lord.

"Well, you have called and I have come. I must say, this is quite the welcoming party."

Styx held his arms wide open while laughing, turning his head to look across the army who were ready to attack at as soon as the order was given.

Some didn't wait as spears of golden light shot towards him, but Aura's tail grew and extended until it was nearly ten meters long before swatting them out of the air alongside crushing space itself and causing a shockwave to burst out across the army.

"Hold!" Duke Ashburn shouted with a steely expression.

The duke, alongside Duchess Euklid, the High Priest of the Temple of Eve and Earl Housen, stepped forth from the army and approached the duo.

They wouldn't dare do this when confronting the Neth'rite Demon Kingdoms forces as they were likely to suffer an assassination attempt, but they evaluated the current circumstance as safe to do so.

"Why have you kidnapped my daughter?" Duchess Euklid glared at Aura, disregarding Styx as some messenger or negotiator.

Aura merely looked at her and didn't respond, heeding Styx's earlier commands to not speak unless he told her to.

The High Priest of Eve glanced as Styx through ice blue squinted eyes, a faint sense of divine intimidation within them that made others more likely to feel inferior.

"And you are?"

The words were without emotion as he glared at the seemingly weak individual.

"You can call me Styx."

"Are you the representative of the dungeon?"

Styx's smile grew broader as he shamelessly nodded his head and stated, "I am."

"So why have you kidnapped Duchess Euklid's daughter?"

Styx was assuming they were simply guessing he took her and didn't bother denying their accusation based on a lack of evidence. For him to put himself into a position for negotiations, he needed to hold onto the daughter and have them know that.

"Well, let's just say her natural assets caught our attention?"

Everyone had dark expressions of rage. The duke and high priest thought of Rebecca Euklid's very generous bust size and the dungeon's proclivity of breeding monsters. Duchess Euklid however was the only one privy to the fact that he daughter had natural inborn mana sight and knew what Styx was actually hinting at.

If a member of the nobility was kidnapped and raped too, it would be an enormous stain on the kingdom's reputation that they would be forced to seek justice for, even if it spelt their deaths. The duke and high priest thought of this and were ready to send an emergency report to the capital right before declaring an attack.

Earl Housen was the only one who kept his cool and looked down his nose at Styx right after glancing at Aura.

"You and anyone related to this dungeon are currently in violation of the Treaty of Gods and the Ancient Accordance."

"I have not signed any treaty nor agreed to anything."

Styx was adamant in his position, especially as he knew nothing about them other than Aura's apprehensions towards them. He had asked her on what they were before, but she didn't even understand the terms in the first place, only what she was and wasn't allowed to do, and the potential consequence of the goddess intervening should she breach that.

Earl Housen snorted in contempt towards the dungeon avatar.

"The treaty covers all living beings, especially Fifth Step existences, whether they are aware of it or not."

"That is preposterous!"

"Would you prefer if it didn't exist in the first place? Do you not understand the consequences of that?"

"I don't know what they are in the first place."

"Where did an uneducated savage such as you hail from?"

"…"

The earl curled the corner of his lip as he explained the two agreements.

"The Treaty of Gods, as can be found in the scriptures of every Temple of Eve, is the restriction imposed on all the gods in order to protect those in the mortal plane. The first clause forbids gods from descending unless a kingdom they hold a position in is in fatal peril of extinction or an opposing god has descended for that reason. They still send their blessings onto their devout worshippers and whomever they choose, but they cannot directly intervene until that condition is met."

"The second clause states the Fifth Step existences are forbidden from directly threatening or attacking the authority and power of the gods. This power comes from their believers and prevents them from being recklessly slaughtered."

"The third clause prevents the gods from targeting Fifth Step existences before and immediately after they ascend. This is to ensure that the divine realm constantly gains fresh blood and stop gods from assassinating opposing potential gods. The counter to this clause is that if the Fifth Step existence becomes a fatal danger to the kingdom."

"There are other clauses and sub clauses, but they are the main three. The second and third clause work in tandem to provide a safety net for both sides."

"The Ancient Accordance, which you are in violation of, is the ancient agreement between the Goddess and all Fifth Step Monster Lords within the Maple Dragon Kingdom. The goddess will not view them as a fatal threat, and they must remain in their homes and not interfere with the kingdom. Their homes are classified as forbidden areas at the same time, and any citizen entering them are no longer protected by this clause. You directly kidnapped the duchess' daughter from the city, a clear violation of this."

Styx immediately grasped onto the crux of the problem and where the danger lay. The Treat of Gods was important and seemed very fair to those on the mortal plane, but there was one fact which was not explicitly stated within it.

This treaty was made by the gods, it was enforced by the gods, and whether someone was in violation of it, was determined by the gods.

If the goddess unilaterally declared Aura to be in breach of the treaty, neither Styx nor herself would have any means of appealing that declaration. It wasn't a poor treaty as it did provide some protection, but all the power laid with the gods.

Whilst kidnapping some citizens, killing those who entered the Abyssal Forest, even enticing them to enter were okay, holding a member of the nobility hostage was a direct attack on the kingdom and definitely crossing the bottom line.

Duchess Euklid looked at Styx and the Monster Lord beside him before speaking in an ice-cold tone, "Now that you are definitely aware of what you have caused, return my daughter to me immediately and your punishment will be much lighter."

Without a goddess backing him, Styx was essentially backed into a corner. He considered threatening them in that by entering the Abyssal Forest, they had admitted to no longer being protected under the Ancient Accordance, but that would not bring him any benefit.

Rapidly thinking through all the possible scenarios, Styx eventually threw up his hands in a sign of defeat.

"Well, it looks like we've gone too far with this one. My bad," Styx spoke in a helpless tone but didn't show any kind of apologetic expression. "But, if you are expecting to hand down a punishment, then let's go all in."

Styx held his hand in the posture of getting ready to snap his fingers as a crazed grin surfaced on his face.

"The moment I snap my fingers. Your daughter's head rolls off her shoulders."

Everyone immediately tensed up while an expression of pure wrath covered the duchess' face. She was about to attack, disregarding her own safety, when Duke Ashburn stopped her by immediately holding his gold leaf trimmed spear, currently crackling with sparks of lightning, in her path.

The duke had his own considerations and found this to be a prime opportunity to secure them

"What do you want?"

Earl Housen watched all of this from the side with an amused expression. Despite the tensions and anger within the confrontation, he felt like he was watching a play.

Styx had already considered several demands which were within the range of what would be acceptable for the return of one member of the kingdom's nobility.

"Just two insignificant things. First, I want diplomatic immunity for anything that occurs within the dungeon and areas within the Abyssal Forest."

"…Very well. It is already a forbidden zone, I can request an exemption from the capital, but I cannot guarantee they will grant it. What is the second demand?"

"I want a trade route connecting the city to here. Not just a path, but an officiated trade route with endorsements by the local cities."

"You want bring merchants into your dungeon?"

"No," Styx indicated to the several pillars being constructed outside the dungeon. "I will be constructing a town here shortly, just outside the dungeon. It will be an enforced peace zone."

"…Very well, I can grant that. It will take time to construct a road here though."

Styx felt that this negotiation was going far too smoothly, as did the duchess, earl, and high priest. Everyone looked the duke with curious and somewhat enraged emotions.

"However, you must fulfil a requirement of my own."

"What is your demand?"

"My son."

"…What?"

"Gabralter Ashburn, who your elf has been getting far too close to recently."

"I seem to recall that he was the one chasing after her."

"I don't know what spell you cast on him, but it is obvious you are manipulating things somehow."

"I'm afraid I am completely lost on what you are insinuating. I am just as curious on how I am doing that as you are. Regardless, what do you want?"

"I want your guarantee that you will keep your elf away from him, stop whatever manipulation you are doing, and make a vow that you will never target nor take his life."

Styx didn't see any issue with this and immediately nodded.

"Very well, consider it done. Until my demands are met though, the duchess' daughter stays with me," Styx said while once again making the hand gesture of preparing to snap his fingers.

Duchess Euklid was once more stopped by Duke Ashburn, the former sending the latter a look of pure wrath that bordered insanity.

~~~~~

⠀

With the situation seemingly on the way to being diffused, the army began to retreat while the duchess berated the duke with every kind of insult she could imagine.

"Calm yourself, Duchess Euklid," Duke Ashburn placated the enraged noblewoman. "Her safety is assured and we will have her returned soon enough."

"We should have just killed them and be done with it."

"That Monster Lord would have killed us all, and we both know that the goddess most likely won't descend to save a couple nobles. To enact retribution maybe, but you wouldn't get your daughter back that way."

"I know, but…" The duchess took out her anger and frustration on a passing tree as she backhanded it, causing it to explode in a shower of splinters and leaves.

None of the soldiers who were covered in the wood fragments dared complain and continued marching in a uniform formation.

Earl Vermonte bon Housen, whom had remained silent for most of the journey, finally spoke up while pinching his chin in thought.

"I think you all are missing some more crucial information points. From the words that man called Styx said, he isn't just some representative, but the dungeon lord himself."

The High Priest of Eve rolled his eyes and responded, "I think we all understood that, or it could be a deliberate deflection for the dungeon lord to keep themselves safe."

"I am confident in my judgement, old fogy. What I am pointing out though, is that he is only at the First Step. Forget everything else, how does one who is so week make a Monster Lord act so docilely before them? That female monster didn't say so much as a peep, and I would think she was mute if she were an ordinary woman."

"Not just that, but a devil bee swarm and hordes of monsters. How and why do they all follow his orders?"

Everyone fell deep in thought over these questions, especially the questioner, the earl, himself.

~~~~~

⠀

Deep inside of the dungeon, Kale and Klair were sitting with Rebecca while enjoying large plates of mana rich food.

"You're quite lucky, you know," Kale jovially said to the duchess' daughter while giggling.

"Eh, what? Why?"

Completely confused as to why she received a sudden compliment from the dark elf, she looked between the two of them as if to discover the answer. Kale merely cut off a fresh slice of meat, covered in gravy, with a long curved dagger and happily shoved it in her mouth.

"Oh, no reason~"