Dungeon Raider System

The city of Madrid was previously known for its varied gastronomy, rich culture and ancient history that eventually spread around the world after their so called 'discovery' of America. This claim remained to date as one of Uriel's biggest gripes against historians. As an archaeologist, the idea of someone claiming to 'discover' an entire continent that was previously inhabited by different civilizations with a culture of their own was not just wrong, but also incredibly offensive.

This, however, didn't take anything from the amazing sight revealed in front of his eyes. Some of the buildings of the old times remained on foot while others had been restored, which meant whoever the governor of Madrid was, he or she was bound to be a history enthusiast.

It wasn't usual for megacities to spare credits on preserving culture, but Madrid went even further. They turned it into their trade by restoring old buildings and even opening museums that Uriel couldn't wait to see.

"You look like a tourist." Nika nudged Uriel on the ribs to get him to close his gaping mouth at every old building he saw.

"Isn't that precisely what we are?"

"Uhm... no. The clerk at the gate said we should head straight to the governor's office and that is what we should do." Luna said.

"Not to mention the friendly escorts they provided us with," Nika glared daggers at the armed men that followed them as though they were herding cattle to their slaughter. "doesn't this bother you in the slightest?"

"Not really. I thought they would try to arrest us on the spot, anything above that I take as a win and they're letting us walk on our own two feet. Maybe you should relax a little." Uriel said without taking his eyes out from a seemingly ordinary building he recognized as one he had seen before in one of his books.

"How can I relax when they have someone with a trait related to shadows! I can't hide in the shadows anymore!" Nika pouted feeling as though something precious had been taken from her. She didn't know which one of the guards that followed them had a trait akin to hers, but that was the only explanation for her current inability to activate her trait.

"We're getting close." Uriel announced after a short while and both Nika and Luna almost tripped when they saw the building in front of them.

"Is that a castle!? Please tell me that's a castle!" Nika said.

"It's not, you've seen a castle already. Don't you remember the Moorish castle? Anyway, this is a palace."

"A pa-pa- a palace? Will we meet the king? Can I become a princess?" Luna stuttered so much Uriel could barely understand her.

"To my understanding, Spain hasn't had any royalty for a long time and since every country is now ruled by the world government, it's fair to assume there won't be any king." Uriel answered honestly, but the answer seemed to go over Luna's head.

"But can I?"

"The only way you can become a princess is if you either marry a prince or if you get adopted by the king. I'm not so sure about the latter, though," Uriel explained. "before you get your hopes up, bear in mind they're taking us to meet the governor, not a king." Uriel snorted.

The group was led inside the palace and Uriel basked in the sight of ancient paintings, luxurious decorations that were so old they even emitted a flux signal and the architecture of the place that almost neared the level of magnificence of the museum inside his trait.

They walked the long hall until they eventually made it to an office that didn't look like much, except for the bronze placard that read 'Governor's office'. One of the guards knocked on the door before entering, performing a salute and then retreating to the hallway prompting Uriel and friends to walk inside the office.

"Saint fucking Germain!" Uriel's shock left him stupefied and the man in question stood up to greet his guests.

"It's governor Ponce for you." He said after dismissing the guards.

"Are you the king?" Luna tilted her head, then lost all interest when Saint Germain awkwardly shook his head.

"I've been waiting for you, but didn't expect you so soon. I take it you didn't meet the Coco, but did you go through the giants or the Culebre?" Saint Germain asked, yet the one to reply was actually Nika.

"The Coco is real!?"

"Of course he is. If he wasn't that would mean I've wasted centuries teaching that song to misbehaved children." Saint Germain nodded.

"I knew it existed, but why did you assume we didn't meet it?" Luna asked.

"Because if you did, you wouldn't be here." Saint Germain shrugged, then shook his head. "is it the usual for you to just barge in into a governor's office and perform an interrogation?"

"Sort of, yes," Uriel shrugged. "is it the usual for you to ambush honest hunters when they first come to your city?"

"Well, I guess I should apologize for that. Or I could give you a piece of the information you're looking for." Saint Germain carefully gauged Uriel's interest, then continued. "I will answer to any one question you have, but just one."

"It's just as I thought, the only way to get anything worthwhile out of you is with violence." Uriel grabbed the Red thread of fate from his trait and readied to strike. In response, Saint Germain grabbed a glass dagger of his own, though instead of pointing it towards Uriel he handed it to him by the handle.

"What is this?" He asked before touching it and the system promptly answered.

[System notice] Elite Spanish Royal soldier glass dagger: An old dagger realized from a single block of crystal. Its rough craftsmanship has been deemed to the fact that it consumed the life of its creator during the process.

[Active] Single use: Instant kill.

"Instant... kill? Is this for real!? What are the limitations? Where did you find it? Are there any more of these?" Uriel asked in rapid fire, all the previous anger he displayed shifting into curiosity.

"Is any of those questions the one you want to ask me?" Saint Germain probed.

"No, not really." Uriel calmed himself down and activated Dash to think at a faster pace, though he noticed Saint Germain didn't seem affected by his ability as he moved in normal speed.

"Before you ask, this is kind of my normal speed. I'm an angel after all." Saint Germain chuckled.

"You have got to be shitting me..." Uriel fumbled to himself, though even if his words were to reach either Luna or Nika they would only hear an unintelligible sound due to the speed he spoke.

"I will be clear, the answer I will provide you is just a freebie. You can choose to get your answer and walk out like nothing happened, then we likely won't ever meet again. You can also choose to cooperate with me, then you won't just get another answer from me, but you will also be able to keep that dagger. Whatever the case, trust me, we are on the same side."

"I don't believe that for a second. You knew we were coming and you knew about the giants, that means you could have helped me and decided not to." Uriel grunted.

"Sure, that is true. Now tell me, are you helping each and every person that you like and you consider to be your friend in this exact moment? Of course you are not, you are just one person." Saint Germain rebuked.

"But you are more powerful than I am. Do you even know how many hunters died? Not that I care, but they were good people... mostly." Uriel snarled.

"And what was the outcome of that? Those who survived became stronger thanks to the sacrifice of their companions and you even got a horror level flux orb as a bonus. By the way, where is it?" Saint German asked and although Uriel felt tempted to ask how did he know exactly what happened, he decided to ask the one question that drove him to travel all the way to Europe.

"How can I release the soul from this book?" Uriel said after cancelling Dash and taking the book of the dead from his trait.

"That wasn't the question I was expecting and unfortunately, I don't have the answer to that." Saint Germain shrugged.

"Then my question is..." Uriel attempted to speak, but Saint Germain ignored him and continued.

"I'm old, but that book is way older. It's said it is as old as death itself and the only one who could possibly answer that question is the one who created it."

"And who exactly was that?" Uriel lifted an eyebrow.

"The god of Death, Thanatos." Knowing Saint Germain identified as an angel had indeed opened the possibility for Uriel to believe there were higher beings, but of all the countless gods he ever read about, Thanatos was ranked pretty high in the ones he wished didn't exist.