Dungeon Raider System

The sight of their home city in the horizon brought all those who were born or raised there to a window and even Uriel held a nostalgic semblance as the city approached. But although the city looked familiar, there was also an alien feel to it. The Celes tower stood tall and vigilant in the middle of the city like usual, but there were many more skyscrapers that would almost reach the same height. A city growing was proof of economic success and also the consequence of time passing, but Uriel wondered if it was the same city he knew at all.

Soon after landing, the Dungeon Raiders headed out to their headquarters, though this time Uriel warned everyone about the traps he put in place since, unlike Nika who was able to survive the poisoned bolt, most people would pay the ultimate price for barging in without being warned.

Medusa looked at the improvised devices Uriel called traps and made a frown considering them to be ingenious but rather inefficient and she started making plans to improve 'home security' as she called it.

Being back home felt incredible to everyone, but that lasted only until they realized that although the building was the same, it was completely empty which turned the nostalgic feeling into one of sadness. It wasn't the furniture what they missed, but the company of their friends. Most of which had left the company for one reason or the other.

Uriel, though, had other concerns in mind. Like the fact that wherever he went a dark cloud followed him around like a puppy. He knew that, had it not been for the walls he would have likely gotten struck by lightning several times just in the span it took him to go from the ship to the airport and there was no chance he would have ever made it to the headquarters.

"So, about my request..." Soulfire muttered.

"In a minute, we all have business to attend here." Uriel said. Thanks to their economic success, they had more than enough resources to stock up the headquarters and having a branch office in place was the smartest move they could make. The problem with that was choosing who would stay behind and put in the work.

It had to be someone who had their entire trust while not being essential to the ship's functioning or to their business which left Miss Dragonfang as the perfect candidate, but...

"No way I'm staying behind. I'm a part of this company and want to see it grow, but the only way I survived this long is thanks to Phlox. She's my lucky charm." She said.

"And we can't leave Phlox behind, because that would leave us without a pilot." Nika commented.

"I could be the pilot." Emma said.

"No way you're touching the rudder ever again. Each time you do it, it ends up with scratches and bumps. I could pilot it, after all, I made it myself and I'm the one who knows it best." Medusa proposed.

"That would leave our hunting party lacking an engineer," Uriel sighed trying to find a better alternative, but there was nobody else he trusted. "not that it matters since we can't go hunting until this idiot lifts my curse."

"I'm right here." Soulfire commented, though it was clear Uriel was aware of his presence.

Soulfire's house was located in the wealthy residential area and while it was not that far, they still needed a vehicle to get there and the only one left in the headquarters was Nika's motorbike which was unfortunate for Soulfire as the trip was uncomfortable, but even more so to Uriel since he was the one driving it.

"Get your hands off of me." He grunted when Soulfire latched on to him.

"What should I hold on to then?" The stupidly handsome man asked.

"You can fall and die for all I care." Uriel fumbled before revving the bike to silence him.

Although the city changed by leaps and bounds to the point of making Uriel feel like an outsider, the streets remained the same and he knew the way to Soulfire's place like the back of his hand. It was something he memorized out of precaution, or maybe paranoia, since he still distrusted Soulfire based on his last name alone.

Piloting the bike with such an awkward passenger was enough motivation for Uriel to speed up across the streets like a madman. He reached the bike top speed and then pushed it some more despite the engine crying for him to stop.

A feat like that was likely impossible for most people, but not for a heavenly rank hunter whose reflexes were quicker than a cat's. Not even old school professional pilots could compare to the competence of a heavenly rank hunter when driving, even though Uriel did not have much experience.

To him, it felt as though the other vehicles were at a standstill giving off a the same feeling he had whenever he activated Dash. He crossed red lights like they didn't exist and while it sounded dangerous, nothing could be further away from the truth since Uriel was completely aware of the incoming traffic. But even if they crashed, they were both likely to survive it with only minor injuries if any at all.

Driving a bike turned out to be much more convenient than a car, since Uriel was able to navigate in between cars and at some point he even tilted the bike to make a 90 degree angle when the road ahead was blocked.

"So this is why Nika likes bikes so much." Uriel said as he took off the helmet.

"I don't see the appeal." Said Soulfire with a disheveled appearance and a stiff expression in his face. Although he too was a heavenly rank hunter, he felt helpless all the way since he had nowhere to hold on to and Uriel did not even give him a helmet.

Entering the house Soulfire had made up his mind to take revenge on Uriel by baking him chocolate chip cookies with only half the amount of chocolate chips, a punishment he deemed fitting for someone so reckless.

But those thoughts were cut short the moment he turned the key and noticed the place that should have been spotless was a mess. It should have been natural for it to be dirty if not for Soulfire asking one of his employees to housesit for him. Also, it wasn't a bit of dust here and there and the stale air what he encountered, but the place ransacked and the foul stench of death.

"Is this someone you knew?" Uriel pointed at a decomposing corpse laying around by the livingroom, though even that man's mother would have had trouble recognizing his body due to its state.

"Oh my..." Soulfire gasped and tears trickled down his face.

"They probably tortured him and extracted the information about this place and judging by the state of the corpse, I'd say he was either a strong ascended or a heavenly rank hunter, because few people can endure as much as this fellow did. I guess he was really loyal to you." Uriel said and for the first time since he knew Soulfire, he actually snapped at him.

"Shut up! He was my friend! Do you have no respect for what others feel!? Can't I at least get to mourn the dead of someone I loved and trusted without you adding salt to the injury?" Soulfire was appalled.

"I'm just saying, because if you had anything valuable it must be gone by now." Uriel continued, uncaring of his feelings and more focused on what needed to be done.

At that moment Soulfire's emotions took a backseat as he rushed in to the kitchen and found his furniture moved and the entrance to his sanctuary breached. "It's really gone! My artifacts! My candles! Even my books and decorations! It's all gone!" Soulfire paled.

"Then this is more serious than I thought. This is not the work of a cryptid or natural causes, you were targeted." Uriel remained composed and started dialing a number to call the only ones who could help Soulfire. His first choice would have been to use his own company, but they were just arriving at the city and lacked the necessary means to conduct the investigation.

"Who are you calling?" Soulfire asked with bloodshot eyes.

"The cryptid hunting agency, the army, the mafia and the rangers." Uriel's reply made Soulfire realize something. While Uriel may have not been the most touchy feely person, he was certainly the friend he needed at that moment. He could mourn the loss of his employee at a later time, but every minute his artifacts were missing was a minute too long.

"I appreciate the thought, but I don't think they'll send people. It's not like the murder of a single hunter and a house robbed is a big deal to them."

"Trust me, they'll come." Was all Uriel replied.