A Peacock Husband of Five Princesses by day, a Noble Assassin by Night

With the Infernal Pegasus now bound to Kael, the dungeon has lost its master.

The exit portal had appeared in the location, signaling that the dungeon's final collapse would begin in twenty-four hours.

Shiera then announced. "Let's find anything useful before this place comes down. Let's split up. Look everywhere in the dungeon. If this is a tomb, the treasures are there. If it is the work of a dungeon master, there will be secret rooms and treasure chests. As for how to split, we follow the old rules: whatever you find, it's yours."

They split up in different directions.

Kael walked along, summoning Cleo, which sat on its shoulder, the vampire trailing behind with ghost-like grace. The corridors were dim, lit only by the occasional flicker of magical lanterns embedded in the walls.

He was in the middle of nowhere, just walking between random corridors between the chamber where they slew the Emberwood Golem, and in a space with lava puddles where they faced those exploding golems.

Suddenly, Cleo sniffed the air. "Wait... I smell something."

Kael's eyes lit up. "Where?" He knew that every time Cleo smelled something, it was going to be a treasure.

Cleo turned, her sharp eyes scanning the stone walls before she pointed toward the right wall of the corridor. "There. Behind this."

Kael stepped forward, brushing his fingers across the old stone. He pressed and knocked on each brick, looking for the switch. The vampire was floating around, helping him do the same, but at the heights he couldn't reach.

Ten minutes into the knocking and pressing, Shiera is seen passing by. "What are you doing? She asked." Kael glanced to the side, "Nothing. Just following my guts to see if there is any secret treasure room around."

"Yeah, try your luck." Shiera snorted. She continued, bragging about her findings. "I found the treasure by the way. It has like hundreds of gold bars and… Hmm…" She saw that Kael wasn't interested and was busy doing it.

"Tch…" She clicked her tongue and walked away, not paying attention to him.

Kael continued, frequently looking for the switch.

And 15 more minutes into his search, he knocked on a brick that gave a hollow sound. "Hmm?"

*knock* knock* knock.

"Yup, found it." Kael's face lit up as his efforts finally paid off.

He pressed it, but nothing happened. It didn't go inside.

"How to open this switch?" As he wondered, Cleo licked its paws and replied. "I don't know? Why don't you try punching it out and destroying it? I can enter it and see if there is a hidden switch from the inside."

Kael blinked. "Alright."

He raised his head to look at the vampire. "Sith, come down."

As the vampire landed beside, Kael stepped aside. "Go on and destroy that brick."

Vampire's scarlet eyes glowed as she clenched her fist, and she threw the punch at the brick, intending to crack or destroy it.

However, as soon as she punched, a huge hole was made in the wall, the secret room appearing in Kael's eyes.

Kael: "…"

As he stared at the dimly lit chamber, it felt like an invisible crow passed over his head while laughing. "Caw Caw Caw."

"So, it can be just punched? What in the hell was I doing for the past 25 minutes?"

Cleo blinked her eyes twice and replied. "I guess since the dungeon is basically cleared, the laws were also lifted. So, the walls no longer have any reinforced magic or laws applied to them. I guess it's just slipped out of my mind. How come you didn't know?"

Kael never went to a dungeon once. How would he know it?

Letting out a heavy breath, Kael muttered. "Forget it."

He walked inside, accompanied by Cleo and Sith. The passage opened into a small chamber, and at the far end, resting atop a dais of black stone, sat a single treasure chest. Just one ornate box adorned with fiery crimson patterns and old runes.

Kael opened it without hesitation, wondering what it was going to be.

But then, a pulse of black-red energy shot out the moment the lid creaked. A curse slammed into him like a wave.

"Oh, heavens. It is the curse of the wicked. Hurry, Master. Eliminate it."

Kael didn't flinch, feeling the cursed energy invading his system.

"Hmpf, this kind of thing…"

His body shimmered with dark light as he released his demonic form. Horns curled from his head, and his eyes blazed.

Within seconds, it dissipated into nothing, swallowed by his demonic energy.

Turning back to human, Kael then looked in the ornate box.

Inside the chest were two items: a sealed parchment and a slender vial filled with glowing orange-red liquid, pulsing as though it were alive.

Kael picked up the note and read aloud:

"To the warrior who managed to survive the curse, this elixir holds the dormant bloodline of the ancient god of fire, Zhu Rong. The bearer of this blood may awaken the flame in all things. Turn a blade into a dragon's fang, a lizard into a wyrm. But beware, the fire devours as much as it gives. The backlash will be as hellish as the curse you just dispelled. Choose wisely."

"Zhu Rong? What a weird name." Kael muttered. "Hey, Ignis. Have you heard of this name before?"

The horse in his mindscape neighed in response. "It's my late master."

"Hmm? Late master?" Kael couldn't help but ponder it for a moment. "You are here, and your late master's bloodline is also here. That means the dungeon master is someone who actually trapped you here in order to pass this bloodline to someone?"

Then a moment later, Kael shrugged. "Anyway, let's think about it later and get this over already. Besides, I'm already a demon. What else is there to be afraid of? No need to turn back now because of some pain and risks."

Without hesitation, he popped the cork and drank the potion in a single swallow.

The moment the potion slid down his throat, Kael's body felt as though it were being torn apart from the inside.

"Uck…" He grabbed his throat as his legs trembled to stay balanced.

An ancient raw power burned through his bloodstream, threatening to ignite him from within.

But Kael didn't scream. He gritted his teeth, forced his will to dominate the sensation. The demonic heart pulsed, releasing its primordial dark energy instead of its demonic energy to contain the wild flame. The pain vanished in a few seconds.

He stood up slowly, chest heaving but steady. His eyes shimmered with a flicker of fire behind the red hue. His hands trembled from power.

He could feel it. The flames now danced in his blood. The world around him seemed warmer, and he felt like he could burn the world with a touch.

Cleo, watching it on the side, mumbled with widened eyes. "It's Primordial Fire."

Kael reached behind his back and summoned his prized twin daggers as if his guts told him to do it. He focused on them, channeled the new flame energy through the hilts, and watched.

Black flames, darker than night, edged with crimson, burst into existence along the blades, flickering like hungry tongues of infernal fire.

The Elerium daggers didn't melt or crack. Instead, they pulsed with eerie synergy, as if reborn.

Kael grinned, twirling them once before dismissing them. "Perfect."

Then he looked up at the ceiling of the ancient chamber and muttered to himself, "Hmm… if I can just tame a beast that can protect me in waters too, I can proudly return home."

At the thought of home, he couldn't help but close his eyes for a moment and remember his wives. "I wonder what they were doing."

Later that evening, thirty kilometers away from their location;

At the iron gate of the graveyard, two hooded figures appeared.

One was tall, draped in a dark, tattered cloak, face obscured beneath a deep hood. The other was a striking woman, clad in tight crimson leather armor, with silver hair tied back in a braided ponytail.

They moved quietly through the graveyard, each step deliberate, until they reached the statue of a Reaper.

"Here we are."

Staring at the statue, the woman summoned what looked like a small vase. She muttered an ancient incantation while releasing the lid. Thousands of souls flew out from the vase and flew into the statue.

However, nothing happened. She furrowed her brows. "The gathered souls aren't enough to wake it."

The cloaked figure replied in a guttural voice. "We can collect more."

She turned and stared at the sleeping town. She gives a nod. "Alright. We had better finish this off before those adventurers come and cause a problem, then."

The cloaked figure knelt, placing one pale hand upon the mossy soil. "Alright."

A whisper then escaped his lips, ancient, guttural, and unnatural.

"By blood unclaimed and flesh returned, Rise again, the oath unlearned.

Bones of silence, heed my cry, Return once more and do not die."

A tremor rolled through the graveyard.

Then another.

The soil cracked.

And with a deafening crunch, bony fingers pierced through the dirt.

One by one, the dead rose. Skeletal hands dragged shattered bodies from their rest. Hollow eye sockets glowed faint green as life, if it could be called that, returned. Rusted weapons, splintered shields, and decayed armor clung to their skeletal forms as they gathered in silence.

The cloaked man stood, lowering his hand. The undead stood still, awaiting command.

The woman beside him laughed softly, and a bit sensually. "Not bad, indeed."