Entering the rundown warehouse, the first thing I spotted was Oshurkova looking haggard as all hell, a far cry from her appearance during the Dungeon Games.
"Looking at you personally right now, I really want to smack you so hard you fall asleep." I commented, and Oshurkova giggled.
"I want you too. Sadly, my responsibilities forbid me from taking a rest at this time." Oshurkova then looked at the swirling portal right behind her, a blank expression taking up her face. "And this right here is one of my responsibilities. That is why I'm coming with you."
I appreciate the help, but what about the part of me going alone?" I rolled my eyes while Drake beside me whistled.
"Because Odette is my sister, and she it is also partly my fault for not setting her on a leash." Oshurkova sighed before she eyed Drake with a tiny smirk. "And if it isn't Drake, the right-hand man of the Demon King… How's the man doing, by the way?"
"Last I checked, the Demon King was chilling with his family." Drake shrugged with a slight smile. "Although, that could've changed because of our current circumstances."
"Wait, based on your conversation, the Demon King himself is also a Dungeon Master?" I asked the two overpowered beings with a contemplative look. Drake had the audacity to look sheepish, while Oshurkova chuckled at my lack of knowledge.
"Yes, he is." Oshurkova glanced at Drake for a moment, before she looked back at me after a brief nod from Drake. "He is the Dungeon Master with a Dungeon that has at least a hundred floors. For all we know, it could've expanded by now, because that statistic was about a century ago."
"… Well… Remind me to never antagonize him then." I nodded my head sagely while Drake barked out a laugh.
"Don't worry. The Demon King is mostly harmless, unless you have the intention of harming his family, then all gloves are off."
"As much as I would like to continue this lighthearted conversation," Oshurkova faked a cough, which caught our attention, "my sister is still out there causing trouble. And it is imperative we put a stop to her shenanigans lest the damage reach a threshold where the leaders of the country will be unwilling to form a partnership with us."
"Point." I nodded and both Drake and I approached Oshurkova who was already standing right next to the portal. "So, anything to tell us about your sister's Dungeon?"
"Yes, just stick with me, and everything will be alright. Do not, however, and her residents might just pounce on you." I engraved her warning into my heart. Drake, not so much.
I'm pretty sure nothing here on Earth, except for nukes, could harm the OP bastard. Unless Earth has developed technology within the time frame when we were dead, Drake could become the king of the world.
After all, no matter how much society tries to act all civilized and stuff, when they meet something or someone with such great strength, they can do nothing but submit or perish.
The 21st century's society isn't any different.
Entering the portal, the three of us shared no words as our visions distorted. Breathing in and out calmly, I waited for a few seconds before we once again stood on solid ground.
"Lady Oshurkova." A bowing monster greeted us with a neutral face. "This humble lizardman greets the Mad One's sister."
"… Mad One?" I asked out of curiosity, and the lizardman was looking at me as if I was some kind of uninformed savage.
"My sister." Oshurkova scowled as she heard the title. "It's the title she accepted from her residents. Truth be told, I don't like the title, but if my sister is happy with it, who am I to judge?"
"Oh…" I pursed my lips as my brain processed the information.
"Anyway, it's good to see you again, Lushrui." Oshurkova approached the lizardman before she grabbed the lizardman and straightened his posture with a quick tug. "And stop this respectful nonsense. When not in a ceremony or on an important occasion, I don't mind informality."
"… Fine. Anyway, the Mad One's been going on a rampage outside again. I'm afraid she might cause higher powers to strike her down at any moment." Lushrui voiced out his concerns as his tail kept on slapping the ground behind him.
'Lizardmen seldomly slap their tails on the ground when feeling tense... Anxiousness Frustration? Maybe both…'
"Lead us to the entrance then. Jionni over here," Oshurkova pointed at me with her thumb, the lizardman recognizing my presence, "knows this world. He is familiar with the military forces of the countries that reside on...Earth, was it called?"
"Yes, Earth."
"Confusing name aside, the power held by nations here are not to be trifled with." The lizardmen growled as he looked at me with a critical eye.
"Give me a likely scenario in the future if the nations retaliate?"
"That's a tough question, since I was just a civilian back here and most of the military grade stuff were kept hush-hush." I shrugged and hummed. However, their weapons here are sufficient to compete with fireballs thrown by battle mages at a rate no mage could match. That's just their weakest weapon, however."
"… Shit." Lushrui cursed as he turned his back to me. "Quickly, we don't have much time. Follow me."
The three of us ran after the lizardman, who guided us through the winding tunnels of Odette's Dungeon. As we ran, I noticed that the tunnels were mostly barren, save for the occasional monster, human, or demi-human we encountered.
After about a minute of running, we were standing in front of another portal.
"This will lead you to the first floor right next to the entrance." Lushrui gestured to the portal, his eyes mostly focused on me. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll have to prepare the hospital in case the Mad One gets severely injured."
I raised an eyebrow at his statement and was about to ask why, but Oshurkova stopped me from continuing.
"Let's just say our sibling squabble doesn't really turn out well every time." I hummed at her response and was left satisfied. "We should probably head in now."
"Jionni, enough questions. Focus on the task at hand." I looked at Drake, who was gazing at me with serious eyes that weren't anywhere near his default laid-back expression.
"Alright." Nodding, the three of us entered the portal and were sent directly to the first floor, which consisted of something out of a steampunk genre film. "Damn, this place looks dope."
"You could say that again." Chuckling, we ran past the awe-inspiring environment and reached the exit. Outside, we could hear screams, explosions, and other sounds that could be likened to those of a battlefield.
"I hope you know what to do, Kova." Oshurkova looked at me with a smile under her hood, her robes covering her entire body and skin from being exposed to light.
"I'm good at improvisation."
"And you just destroyed my hopes. Thank you." Snarking out a comment, the three of us laugh before stepping into the city of Kaintotsukawa.
Which was like a smoldering mess the moment we stepped on the ground.
Dozens of corpses lie along the pavement as burning buildings topple all around us. Amidst the chaos, a group of monsters did as they pleased with the residents of the area.
That was either helping them escape or outright killing them when Odette was watching.
"Well… It could be worse…" Drake muttered, and I facepalmed.
"Drake, you sonuvabitch." I groaned, and Drake realized what he had done, before facepalming.
"I just jinxed us, didn't I?"
"Yes, yes you did." One look at the sky, and I could see various helicopters coming our way, filled to the brim with soldiers. "We need to find Odette quickly before those soldiers touch down. I'd rather not find out whether the two of you are bulletproof. "
Oshurkova nodded, and we moved as one, marking down the entrance to her Dungeon, which happened to be a damn manhole.
At least it was concealed.
"Oshurkova, if you were your sister, where would she be in the chaos."
"The tallest building." Without skipping a heartbeat, Oshurkova instantly replied, and her eyes locked on to the tallest building nearby. "That one, I think."
"Alright, worth a shot." The three of us sped towards the building that was effectively a skyscraper.
Inside the skyscraper, we saw a bunch of files, papers, and dead bodies scattered around as monsters, humans, and demi-humans patrolled the building.
Looking at Oshurkova, she nodded and I stood up.
'Welp, they don't like stealth mode. Time to go full on HAM, then.' Shrouding myself in shadows and hefting the Blood Weep War Hammer on my shoulder, I approached the nearest patroller and smacked him upside the head. The monster went limp and alerted the others due to the noise he generated when he fell down.
"Hello." Waving at the monsters, humans, and demi-humans, they all roared, and I retreated, with a veritable horde of bodies coming at me with the intent to kill.
'After this, I'm taking a vacation.'