Dungeon Raider System

"I'm so mad at him right now!" Medusa growled through her teeth.

"Really? I didn't notice." Replied the clueless Luna as they walked down the hallway.

"If I didn't know you, I would think you're being sarcastic. Of course I'm mad, I can't believe he said that!"

"What exactly?" Asked Luna in a genuine attempt to understand Medusa's feelings. After Uriel told her that he could still feel his bond with Nika, Luna was so happy there wasn't any space for other emotions inside her heart and she wondered what caused Medusa to become so upset.

"Of all the things, he had to mention her... you know." Medusa blushed up like a tomato.

"I don't, you'll have to be more specific."

"He didn't care that I'm blind now, he didn't even stop to think about the kind of trouble I went through to look my best for him today. I was expecting his jaw to drop and for him to ask me out, but did he? No, he went and mentioned Nika's ass in front of me."

"I get it now. So, you're feeling insecure because he misses her more than he missed you?"

"Her butt! I ranked up, my skin, my hair, my whole appearance changed and he didn't say a thing about it. All he could think about was of Nika." Medusa felt that speaking to Luna was the same as speaking to a wall, but explaining her insecurities out loud did help making her feel better. Unfortunately, that only lasted until Luna spoke again.

"He complimented me as soon as he saw me." Luna spoke with her aloof expression, but her words were like gasoline to a wildfire and Medusa erupted in anger. Ever since she became a heavenly rank, she became unable to control her flux energy and they reacted solely to her emotions, which she couldn't control either.

She wished she could simply storm off, but it was impossible for her to move freely with the blindfold covering her eyes. There were so many mixed emotions inside her heart she couldn't keep the tears inside her anymore and began sobbing.

"You don't know what it's like to be trapped inside your own body, to know that you can hurt the people you love and you can't control it. And you know what's the worst part? It's that I thought at least now I was more beautiful and he'll fall for me again." Medusa cried and stopped walking, accidentally pulling Luna who guided her across the building by holding her hand.

"It's rude for you to assume I don't know what it's like. You know exactly what I am and what I'm capable of doing if I lose control. You complain that the one thing that came with becoming a heavenly rank was your physical appearance, but you forget that it made you stronger. Did you ever stop to think about how I feel?" Luna spoke calmly and soft as usual.

Had Medusa not been blindfolded, though, she would have seen Luna's usually blank expression turning into a heart sinking upside down smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that being the last remaining ascended of our group affected you so much." Medusa apologized and attempted to hug Luna, but she was stopped by Luna's tiny hand.

"I know, I also know it's my fault for being unable to show my emotions properly, but it doesn't mean they're not there. You have the right to be upset, but..." Luna's words were cut short when something strange happened. A sudden wave of flux energy followed by an explosion shook the entire building and finished their conversation. "This was definitely someone's trait."

"It's not just someone's trait... it's uncle Jon's. We need to hurry!" Medusa squeezed Luna's hand and they hurried their pace towards the stairs.

***

Uriel remained in the Starborgs thinking profoundly about their situation. He needed to make the decision about whether he wanted to participate or not in the offensive planned by Sam, but he didn't know if his presence would even make a difference.

He was aware that his skills in combat had grown exponentially since he became a heavenly rank hunter and killing a horror level cryptid was also a confidence boost, but he needed to weight the danger against the possible rewards.

No one would hold it against him if he decided not to participate, after all, on paper he was just another heavenly rank hunter. But that also meant that he wouldn't get any kind of reward if they succeeded, which seemed pretty likely considering Sam's preparations and the presence of two holy rank hunters on the city.

"What should I do?" He asked himself for the umpteenth time. "Even if I participate, I don't think they'll be gracious enough to let me keep the titan rank orb, but what if I was the one who killed it?"

"And how exactly do you plan to do that? Huh?" Asked a familiar voice.

"Emma! You're here! How are you doing?" Uriel smiled at her.

"I was pretty good until they kicked me out of the room, then I stumbled upon a madman saying some dangerous stuff while making a strange face." She scoffed.

"A madman? Tell me where he is and I'll kick his ass."

"I'm talking about you, dumbass. What were you muttering about killing the mist titan?"

"Mist titan?"

"That's what they're calling it for the time being. Now they're discussing their plan to kill it and since you and the girls aren't there, they kicked me out."

"Yeah, they went back to the Pegasus to get it ready."

"So you're not going to participate." Emma sighed as she took a seat next to Uriel.

"I'm not sure yet, but I like to keep my options open." Uriel replied.

"From what I heard, I don't think it's a great idea to go."

"Really? I think their chances of defeating the titan are pretty good."

"I know, but that guy gives me the chills."

"Sam always had that effect on girls." Uriel chuckled.

"I'm not talking about Sam, I'm talking about..."

"Hold that thought!" Uriel cut Emma short and rushed outside as his mystical sense warned him of an immense flux energy signature coming from the meeting room. Even with his Dash skill active he barely managed to reach the door in time to see Jon Hunter throwing Mister Scofield out the window.

Uriel darted across the room amidst the flabbergasted gaze of those present, yet not even those who were able to follow his speed with their eyes bothered to look at him since they were too focused on the holy rank hunters.

Knowing that stopping to ask people about what happened was useless, Uriel followed after the two holy rank hunters who were entangled on a mid air fight worthy of their rank. Every hit was followed with an ear piercing sonic boom that broke the windows as they passed.

The power was so immense, Uriel realized the only reason why they didn't fly out of the city was that they were holding on to each other, but that also made them incapable of dodging which gave the advantage to Jon who was younger than Mister Scofield and Uriel could do nothing but watch helplessly as they destroyed each other.

Due to the speed of his descent, the glass shards became a dangerous shrapnel that forced Uriel to shut his eyes and continue falling blindly, unsure of what was even his intention when he decided to follow them or what to do to avoid dying once he reached the ground.

Thankfully, by the time he opened his eyes both hunters had already noticed his presence and stopped fighting to catch him mid air.

"What a reckless move, young bookworm. I don't think a heavenly rank hunter like yourself can survive a fall like that." Mister Scofield said after helping Uriel land safely on the ground.

"Why are you two fighting? I thought you were teaming up to defeat the titan." Uriel asked, ignoring Mister Scofield's justified concern for his behavior.

"It's that old man's fault." Jon said after wiping the blood that tricked from his mouth.

"I simply stated the obvious, we can't allow the first titan rank flux orb in history to fall into the hands of the Mapple corporation. Especially when their support to this operation is so... 'limited'." Mister Scofield directed a scornful gaze at Jon.

"See!? There he goes again!" Jon pouted.

"Uncle Jon! I can't believe you did something like this!" Medusa shouted as she rushed in accompanied by Luna who remained by Uriel's side.

"How did you get here before us?" Luna asked with Medusa's nagging voice in the background.

"I took a shortcut." Uriel shrugged without taking his eyes from the fierce Medusa who continued scolding Jon like he was an unruly child. Seeing Jon who was a holy rank hunter cornered by Medusa brought great joy to Uriel, at least until he pictured himself on Jon's shoes and shivered in fear.