326 Queen Anemona & The Pride Dungeon 1

The dark elf queen was without a doubt a very inexperienced leader, based on what I've learnt, she grew up quite sheltered but was taught well by her parents, and also was quite loved by her people for he kind heart and simple mind. By no means was she a fool, the fact that her people has survived long enough to make it to out doorstep was a testament to her capabilities as a leader, she was smart but very inexperienced.

But I understood her situation better than anybody , after all, once upon a time I once find myself wearing the same shoes she now has to wear, heck because I lost my memories I had to wear the shoe twice. She had lost her parents in the current conflict with the Toroth, and that was just over a year and a half ago, being the only child at a mature age, with her younger brother being on six, she's had to step up her game and fulfill her duties as queen.

All her life she has been taught about the duties of a queen, after all the dark elf society has always been a matriarchy regardless of which planet they originate from. But everything her parents and teachers taught her from her infancy all the way up to her fifteenth birthday when she lost her parents, has been all about the peaceful and responsible side of ruling, she was so sheltered that she never knew anything about the dark side of power and having to be responsible for an entire civilization until it was suddenly thrust upon her lap. It was safe to say that her tranquil and carefree life ended in a flash.

While the hardened eyes that stared right back at me would give most people chills, causing enemies to conceded even before a battle line has been drawn. They would know they weren't dealing with a mere sixteen year old, but for me, all I could see was a girl who was forced to grow quickly, way too quickly. So rather than do what's expected of me, as a leader about to annex another civilization, I just followed my heart as usual, no doubt that would give someone a lot of grief.

"Did you have any pets growing up?" I suddenly asked her, shocking her and every other person in the grand hall.

"Excuse me?" she asked confused by my sudden question.

"Pets? Did you or do you have any?" I asked again.

It was obvious that she was confused by the question, or the reason for it. We were supposed to be discussing how she and her people would assimilate into the rest of Ethernalia Leonis, becoming one with them, but all of a sudden I'm asking questions about pets, she must think I'm insane, crazy, weird and irresponsible.

"I did, but that's in the past now. There's no place for pets in a war, not when they're weak and incapable of adding anything to the war effort." She answered with a cold and simple voice.

"Yeesh seriously, anyway I don't agree with that, but I guess different circumstances calls for different reactions. Anyway this throne, as majestic as it looks, and quite comfortable too I might add, makes me feel nervous. So queen Anemona Regalia Eventide III,why don't you takea walk with me, I would like to show you my dungeon!" I said while spreading my hands with a flourish.

Everyone started looking at me like I had grown a second head, even Asha had to slap her palm on her forehead in exasperation at what I just said. And it wasn't until I saw how guarded the young queen and her entourage were, that I realized what I had said wrong.

"I'm sorry that came out wrong, what I'm showing you is a dungeon, but not a prison dungeon or a sex dungeon, just a dungeon....now I realize I shouldn't have said sex dungeon…..please just take a walk with me, come with your guards if you want."

And then I marched forward blushing furiously with embarrassment, it was at times like this that I'm so grateful for the fact that as Kael Cor, I'm black. So there was no need for my skin to turn various shades of red to show my embarrassment, plus I'm a lot more handsome this way, there was a certain charm and divinity to this plane looking face of mine. Every time I smile or frown, I look so damn hot!But I should focus on the task at hand.

There was an elevator at the edge of the grand hall of the palace, a little ways to the left from the seat of the council members. It was large enough to hold every single person in the hall, which should be about three or so dozen people. The dark elves stuck to one side of the elevator, fiercely protecting their queen, while I whistled a jaunty tune, much to the annoyance of Xaseah and Asha, and I got a pinch on the side from both of them that brought tears to me eye.

I was sure a grenade would explode in my hands and I would feel nothing, but when Asha and Xaseah decide to hurt me, I feel every single smidge of it. Being a vampire doesn't make sense, not one bit, or maybe it's being a husband that doesn't makes sense.

The elevator continued it's descent for almost fifteen minutes before it came to a stop and opened up into a long hallway. The hallway was over three dozen meters wide and two hundred meters long. At the end of it was a massive gate made of shimmering gold and silver metal, with emblazoned figures of a dragon and a lion circling each other.

On both sides of the hallway, there were numerous statues of different sizes, each depicting monsters, and creatures of every kind. There dog like beats, wolves, lions, bats, snakes, humanoids, birds, even what seems like a ghost. And each of these statues were so lifeline, other was almost as if the Monsters themselves were there.

There was a lot of surprised looks going around, but it was mostly from me and the dark elves, it seems every other person has been down here. And based on the fact that I could see people walking through the hallway, most of them children, it let me understand that this dungeon was open to everyone in Ethernalia Leonis, it was like a tourist attraction, and the king and owner of said dungeon was not aware of it.

I felt ashamed, I haven't been here in quite a very long time, and since Soren was always with me, with control over the dungeon's functions handed over to Nefisat, there was no reason for me to use coming to see him as an excuse to know how the dungeon was doing.And by God was it doing fine.

The statues were numerous, there were thousands of them, and not two statues were the same. They stretched upwards towards the brightly lit ceiling that was two hundred meters away, and all the way to the gate. Those stature represented every species of monster within the dungeon, which is to say if on statue represented a thousand monsters of the same species, and there were already thousands of statues here, without a doubt the monsters in the dungeon could very well be reaching millions, it would be a whole other world in it.

We moved forward where the guide that was leading the children waited for us, on a closer look, I realized that said guide was actually Nefisat, the one who was probably responsible for everything here. And just a few feet behind her, was a hunk of a man completely made from gold, but based on the lion head, the tail and the sparks of electricity running through his golden mane, I knew I was looking at Soren.

"While I expect a long and detailed explanation from you two, that can wait.We have a guest, and Nefisat if you don't mind, we would like to join you and the kids for a tour of the dungeon." I said to her as I gave the wide eyedchildren behind a bright smile.

"As you wish master." Nefisat replied, and Soren the loyal lion that he was, came to stand by my side, looking as fierce as possible. I guess I've found the Commander of the royal guards, or at the very least one of them.

"Alright everyone pay attention to me. Now this dungeon is home to 11,237 different species of monsters. Some of them have been extinct from Shearath and even the universe for thousands if not millions of years.As of this moment the dungeon has 230 floors, each floor simulating a different environment and ecosystem to improve the life of the monsters, of course since majority of these monster are wild and carnivorous, keeping them in enclosed spaces would not be a good idea, which is why this dungeon as a whole employee a unique magical array, made by the best ward masters and mages in the city, plus with a little help from yours truly, the dungeon exist in a separate dimension that allows it to expand infinitely.

Which is to say that each floor is a kingdom and a world all of it's own. Now on each floors a specific area has been set aside where visitors like you could interact with the more social monsters, however guides exist on every floor that would lead you through the dungeon itself to see and experience the lifestyle of the more wild and ferocious monsters.

But be warned the dungeon is not just a place for fun and relaxation, it is also a place for training and research. Soldiers, mages, doctors and inventors all come here everyday to study not just the unique monsters and their biology, but also every other unique lifeform here, which includes the plants themselves, the water and even the earth. And as most of you know, your soul beast can also be chosen from amongst the monsters, based on the monster you make a connection to. This option are open for those who want to embark on the path of a beast tamer, or soul beast warrior, or in normal cases if you just want a pet you can come get one here. Of course you would have to go through some tests.

The dungeon and the city are connected, just like me and my friend Soren over there who's the dungeon master, King of all the monsters. But of course the both of us belong to our Majesty King Kael who built the dungeon and city so that everyone can have fun so don't forget to say thanks to him little one."

What the heck was she saying, I built that bloody dungeon so that I could drown my enemies under waves of ferocious and dangerous monsters. So how in the hell did it turn into a theme park, it's like Jurassic park or something, which means it was equally still as dangerous. But none the less at least it was a tool that's been incredibly helpful to my people, all I want is for them to be okay.

"The dungeon is only open to the public on Fridays to Sundays, however we're working on making the dungeon more hospitable as lots of people have expressed interests in living down here, so maybe in the future you all can visit the dungeon everyday. But for now, Mondays to Thursdays, the army and the police train here, along with students from the academy. So be sure to go to school and learn really hard, then you'll have a chance to come over here and see a lot of cute monsters.

I hope everyone remember what they've learnt today, because I'm going to ask questions later. But none the less, everyone, your Majesty King Kael and your Highnesses Queen Asha and Xaseah, along with our visitors the Dark elves andher Highness Queen Anemona. It's with great pride and joy and my extreme pleasure to welcome you all to...The Pride Dungeon!"

And then the gates swung open, and for the second time today, my breath was completely taken away.