“This is Miki’s inner dungeon… um… a soul dungeon, I guess.” I explained.
“A… soul dungeon? I thought she ate the dungeon?” Alysia inquired as she stood up.
I looked around the area we were currently in. This place resembled a world. It reminded me a bit of the Maid’s Lament, but I had a feeling I was locked to invisible walls. We appeared to be in an open grassy meadow with a bright sun beating down on us. For a dungeon formed from Lady Death, this place was surprisingly filled with life. I could hear birds tweeting and bugs chirping.
“She used the energy, lore, and power of that dungeon to create her own curse inside her soul. It’s kind of like what Maid’s Lament did to my dungeon, and then I subsequently did back to Maid’s Lament. Although, rule-wise, this place would be closer to The Illusory Sword Dungeon.”
I realized by now that dungeons came in so many sizes and types that they did need classifications. There would need to be something much more thorough than labeling them by size or difficulty like some countries did. If there was ever a point in my life where I retired, maybe I’d write a book about dungeons that could serve to assist future generations. Better yet, maybe I could make a dungeon that held historical lore, like a living museum. Maybe something like that already existed?
“This inner world, do you think Miki created it to protect everyone?” Alysia offered. “If everyone who gets sucked in ends up in this world… are they really dead?”
“If they’re alive, then…”
While the pair of us were having an easy conversation, there was a monstrous roar behind us. We spun around to see some towering behemoth shrouded in shadows. It took a swipe, sending a powerful attack that rippled through the air. I grabbed Alysia and leaped back, narrowly dodging the weapon.
“If she brought them in here, they’re probably destroyed!” I cursed. “Alysia, sword now.”
“Yes, Master!” Alysia declared, closing her eyes.
The shadow monster seemed to grow enraged that its first strike failed. It started charging for a second, but the blade that was supposed to appear in my hand felt different. Instead, I still had Alysia in my arms.
“M-master! I don’t know! I’m supposed to change!”
Alysia was in her normal Osterian form. I had thought that she would still be able to turn into a sword, but when she arrived she was in her human form. It was possible that she still saw herself as human more than a sword. Either way, we didn’t have time to troubleshoot this. The monster was storming toward us.
I reached into my Inventory to pull out a weapon, but just as I did, a man leaped between us. The shadow monster leaped up, but the man raised his blade, striking the creature in a precision attack. His weapon struck, and a powerful wave of energy flew out, bisecting the shadow in an instant. He landed on the ground, and then stood up, turning to us, a big smile on his face.
The guy was extremely attractive. It wasn’t like he was feminine like Octius. He was clearly a guy, but just a very attractive man who seemed filled with charm. He was about as tall as me, with a certain goodness to him that was difficult to explain. He just gave off an aura like he was trustworthy. However, he had a bushy tail and fox ears. In short, he was a foxkin, like Miki.
“Who are you?” I demanded cautiously.
“Me?” He asked, laughing merrily. “I’m just a passing hero. I’m here to save the day!”
It stood to reason that if every soul that died ended up here, then certain strong souls might have been able to hold out. It looked like I had run into one of Dioshin’s heroes.