Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 217 (Patreon)

Chapter 217 – Sea Dragon

Miguel Sanchez, Grandmaster of the American Adventurers’ Guild, frowned as he looked out towards the sea from the rooftop of the Miami guild, using every visual enhancement spell to gaze further out to sea. He’d been in a meeting just two minutes ago, when the eastern sky blazed with light. By the time he’d rushed to the rooftop along with Bethany, the current head of the Miami Guild, that light had dissipated, but the dragon was still there, hanging in the air.

And there was no doubt that it was a dragon. The only people who would say otherwise were ignorant fools who thought that the only dragons were like those in Eastern mythology. Long and sinewy, the dragon was a mix between an eastern dragon and a sea serpent, with finned hands on four small legs, a ribbed fin running along her spine, and replicated at the end of her tail. The mouth full of big, sharp teeth was another clear indication that the creature deserved to be called a dragon.

Of course, what the creature was actually called, no one knew, because, so far, no one had gotten close enough to analyze it. After all, you had to be fairly close to the creature for something like that. The actual range seemed to vary based on the relative strengths of the people involved, but twenty feet was the longest distance anyone had pulled off, that he knew of.

And anyone who got within twenty feet of that monster was probably already dead, or would be soon.

The sound of a portal opening next to him pulled his attention away from the sight. The Ambassador Prime stepped through the portal, a worried expression on her face. “Ambassador Zygrash, thank you for coming. I’m afraid we have a bit of a situation on our hands.”

The Ambassador nodded. “Yes, I am afraid you do, and more than you know. That is a Sea Dragon. At its current size, it should be roughly half-way through Tier 2, in terms of levels, but it started as a Tier 4 monster.”

Miguel nodded. “I was afraid of something like that. If the difference between Tiers 1 and 2 are so great, I can barely imagine what the difference between Tiers 1 and 4 are like.”

Zygrash sighed. “It is like you said, and far worse than you know. The only weapons capable of destroying that creature, that should be present on this world would be the orbital bombardment weapons of the Pofmisian fleet that was recently handed over to your United Nations. Obviously that would cause tremendous damage, especially since your militaries are not used to dealing with the types of weapons the ships would have.”

“Any suggestions?”

“Destroying it is impossible for you, unless you would wish to risk losing this city. Waiting is an option, to see if the dragon returns to the depths on its own, but since something drew it to the surface, it isn’t likely to go back down anytime soon, not with all the people here. You could try to appease it, buy it off, but that would likely involve giving it a regular tribute of lives, as food, since a sea dragon typically claims the riches of all the sunken ships in their territory as their hoard, so giving it material wealth is not likely to work. Finally…”

The way the Amabassador trailed off told Miguel that he really wasn’t going to like this option, but he needed every option at his disposal, unfortunately, especially since the previous ones were terrible. “Lay it on me, Ambassador. We’re in desperate times, here, so we might as well have all the options available to us.”

“Very well. In that case, the final option would be to find a way to force it into submission. Enslavement magic could force the beast to become tame, but collars that can work on Tier 4 creatures are extremely expensive, and getting them close enough to get the collar on would be a nightmare. A Slave Master would be able to do it, with their [Slave Brand] ability, but there’s still the issue of them getting that close.”

Miguel winced. “Oh, the courts are NOT going to like that. Slave magic is definitely against the law, unless it is applied consensually, and even that is a loophole that people are considering closing.”

“The legalities aside, there is also the fact that, whoever gains the dragon as their slave would, well, have a dragon as a slave. That would severely destabilize the local balance of power, as I’m sure you can imagine. Even in the wider galaxy, having a dragon at your beck and call is not something that any but the most powerful of beings can lay claim to. In fact, most of those that could lay claim to such feats would be considered gods by the System.”

That left a pit in his stomach. After all, there was only one Slave Master he knew of, who would have a chance of getting close enough to that beast without dying to apply the brand. And that man had far too much power already. In fact, he was already on his way to becoming a god, and the latest deals he made with the countries getting the ships only added to his influence. He did not need a dragon added to that.

“But we don’t have much choice, do we? Realistically, it is either risk burning Miami from the skies, sell our people as food, or try and get the Demon to enslave the beast. There are no good options, here.”

Bethany cut in. “With respect, Grandmaster, Lord Kuronoth is probably the best choice, out of those three. At the very least, we know that he would keep the dragon contained, unless threatened, because the new normal we’ve settled into profits him more than having a dragon go on a rampage. I’m sure we’ll see the dragon as a boss in the dungeon, or something similar, but compared to it flying around, threatening everyone by the coast?”

Miguel sighed, and looked over to the Ambassador. She just nodded. “From my limited interactions with the Demon, that is a likely outcome. And, if anyone in this area could pull off that feat, especially considering everything else going on, then it would be him.”

“Right. So, we’ll call the Demon, and see if he can help us with this dragon problem.” He shook his head. “Of course, there’s the whole issue of how to get him to help. I don’t think he’ll do it for free, even if he’s getting a dragon out of the deal.”

Bethany shook her head. “There’s also the fact that, other than acting through his worshippers, it is unclear just how much Lord Kuronoth can affect the world outside of the Dungeon’s influence. The dungeon’s influence has grown, of late, but it is still not wide enough to reach Miami, not by a long shot. It hasn’t even touched the dungeon in the Keys, yet.”

“Which means that we will either need to find some way to extend the Dungeon’s influence, potentially putting hundreds of thousands of people within his reach, or find a way to lure a Sea Dragon into the swamp, away from its presumed source of power.”

Zygrash frowned. “From what I know of Sea Dragons, they are strongest by the sea, but they are also proud creatures, and territorial. If we could find what caused the Sea Dragon to emerge, then there might be a way to taunt it into following to the dungeon. Of course, that would probably result in severe damage to everything in the dragon’s path, and it would be best to count the group leading the dragon as dead before they set out.”

KY-RAAAA!!

The Sea Dragon unleashed another screeching roar that echoed across the city, despite the distance it still was from shore. Except the distance was getting shorter, now, as the dragon began flying towards the beach. It was still almost two miles off-shore, but at the leisurely it was flying, it would be over sand in twenty minutes.

“Lord Kuronoth protect us.” Bethany murmured, rubbing the symbol hanging around her neck. Miguel didn’t approve, but trying to discriminate against someone’s religion was a great way to destroy an organization. And the worship of the Demon had spread continually, ever since his shrines and books started popping up.

Zygrash shook her head. “I doubt he’ll do much good, unless we can find a way to get the dragon to his territory. From what I’ve seen, while the Demon is most certainly on the path to godhood, he has not yet transcended to full god status. So, outside of his realm, he will be weaker, if he is able to act directly at all.”

“Then it is a good thing I am a resourceful man.”

Miguel’s head turned so quickly he thought his neck would snap as his gaze fixated on Bethany. The woman was standing in a more cocksure, confident pose than she had been, and her eyes were glowing with black light. While the voice that spoke was hers, it also clearly wasn’t, as magic was infused into the speaking.

Zygrash watched the scene in amusement. “Oh, fascinating.” When she saw Miguel’s expression, she shrugged. “It appears that the Demon is piggy-backing on the ability dungeons have to speak through their monsters, if they have the right intelligence and vocal parts, and applying that to those who have joined his faith. That is an ability that gods get, but usually only after they’ve fully ascended. Which means the Demon found a ‘bug’ or ‘loophole’ in the System powers.”

“To be fair, I’m certain that it is not designed to be used in this way, but it is more how my nature, and my changing status, is affecting things, that is making my situation and abilities somewhat unique.”

“Ah, yes, that would make sense. The System is many things, but when confronted with unusual capabilities, it typically defaults to the closest relative concept in the System already to base a response off of. Which means that, as a dungeon reaching out to one of your followers as a god, the System freaked out a bit, and treated it as you communicating with your dungeon minions. Simply remarkable!”

Miguel cleared his throat. “Yes, but does this mean that you are listening in to all your followers, or can possess any of them, at will?”

“Of course not. Even if I could, with the number of worshippers I’m getting, all around the world, do you really think that I can bother listening in on every one of them, all the time? Especially when I already do my best to ignore most of what goes on in Swamptown, which is essentially my front yard?”

Bethany’s face split in a smirk, before the Demon laughed through her. “No, I don’t go around spying on my people, unless they are on my business. However, I am on the path to godhood, as the Ambassador Prime said, which means that I do hear the prayers of those who call out to me by name. And I was getting quite a few prayers from a bunch of my followers, all at once, so I decided to take a look for myself.”

“And Bethany, will she be fine?”

“Relax. I’ve really gotten much better at this whole thing. So long as I don’t try to fit my consciousness inside her, and just operate her like a puppet, she should have no ill effects from this, except for being a bit tired. Certainly, no lasting effects.

“And, before you ask, I did request permission from her, via the System, to begin a possession. If she were one of my creatures, bound with enslavement magics, then I would not have needed her permission, but casting a possession on someone who doesn’t consent, even just for a short time period, can lead to the ‘meat suit’ being unwilling to be piloted, which can be problematic, to say the least. So, anyone I possess is usually possessed by choice.”

Bethany smiled again, and said, “Now that’s out of the way, how can I help you with your dragon problem?”