Dungeon from the Void - Book 5 - Chapter 8 - Another Tier 10 (Patreon)

                                                                           Leon

I let out a sigh of relief after the Prince and I separate, heading back to our own ships. And once I make it to my flagship, I immediately find Damien standing there waiting.

“What happened?” he asks with more than a little urgency.

A tired smile stretches across my face and I answer, “We got a month to prepare before they make their assault.”

Everyone around us looks absolutely shocked by my words, most likely not having expected anything like that. Then questions begin coming from all of the officers and mercenaries around me.

“How?!” “What did you do?!” “Why are the Fallen listening to you?!”

It takes a bit to calm everyone down before I answer them all, “I’m not entirely sure what happened, but I do know that our gambit paid off. Also, I think my being a Hybrid affected his judgement a little as well.”

Damien frowns at the before turning to look at the retreating Fallen while rubbing his chin and muttering, “They respect strength and bloodline, and Hybrids are always special regardless of what bloodlines they have.” He then turns back to me. “But even that shouldn’t have been enough for an entire month. Maybe a week at most. So there has to be something else that affected their decision.”

I frown as I remember our conversation, but the only thing that stands out…

“There was a Kitsune standing with him, and the Kitsune walked up to him and whispered something I couldn’t hear into his ear,” I answer, remembering the Kitsune with its telltale fox ears and tail of its human form.

The guildmaster frowns at the mention of a Kitsune before he asks, “What did the kitsune look like, and how strong were they? Did it look like they were having fun?”

That question has me frowning in return as I try to remember. But all I remember is the sight of the Kitsune’s emotionless face returning my gaze.

Come to think of it, kitsune are generally known for being tricksters. So why would it look so serious?

And its cultivation level…

I blink at the realization that I don’t know what its cultivation level is. For some reason it never even occurred to me to check.

The hell?

“You didn’t check what their cultivation level was, right?” Damien asks, somehow knowing what I’m thinking. But he answers the how right away as he continues, “Most Kitsune are tricksters and can’t keep a straight face if you paid them, but there is one group of Kitsune who is dead serious all the time, doing nothing but obeying their mistress’s playful whims. And they all practice a magic that allows them to put an illusion over themselves that make others subconsciously ignore them depending on how powerful they are.”

I narrow my eyes.

“You mean…” I mutter, not liking the sound of this.

Damien nods his head, “Yes, it would appear that the Fallen are working with the Labyrinth of Illusions.”

The Labyrinth of Illusions? I feel like I’ve heard of it before, but… why does my head feel so foggy?

“Don’t try too hard to think about it,” Damien says while shaking his head slightly. “Only Mid-Knights and above can clearly think about the Labyrinth of Illusions. Anyone weaker than that simply feels a fog covering their minds the entire time they’re trying to remember it.”

“The hell?” I mutter, finding it hard to believe that someone would have the power to cover everyone in the world with a permanent spell like that.

Unless…

“Looks like you’ve already figured it out,” Damien says, his jaw tensing up slightly as he glances over at the Fallen ships. “The Labyrinth of Illusions is under the power of the Goddess of Illusions, a Tier 10 Kitsune known as Inari.”

But… I can’t help but ask, “Why would the Fallen be working with the Goddess of Illusions?”

The Fallen are usually too arrogant and prideful to work with other species, much less an Angelic one like the Kitsune. Although that title doesn’t really fit those tricksters much.

“The most likely reason is because the Goddess threatened them or is using them as her playthings,” Damien says with a light shrug, making me gape for a second in surprise before closing my mouth. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Goddess of Illusions was just using this war as a source of entertainment, and the Kitsune under her just follow her commands without question.”

That’s… not good.

“If our enemy is really a Tier 10 being…” I mutter looking down and rubbing my chin as I walk to the edge of the ship.

“I highly doubt Inari would care about who wins this war,” Damien adds, making my head shoot up to look at him. “The Goddess is known to be a whimsical person who simply exacerbates any conflict she finds without choosing a side. So it’s likely that she doesn’t care who wins as long as she’s entertained.”

Sounds like a pain. But it does explain why the Kitsune most likely helped us back there.

And I’m pretty sure that’s what happened. That the Kitsune told the Fallen Prince something that made him decide on the month-long wait.

It honestly makes me wonder what she told him, but whatever it was, I’m grateful. Although if they were just doing it for his Goddess’s entertainment then I don’t feel I owe them anything in return.

Then again, this war is probably all they want in return anyways.

I am getting a little nervous about the number of Tier 10 beings paying attention to my nation though. First it was Nosferatu and now it’s Inari?

Not a good sign. Even if it’s a little expected considering the uniqueness of Fenrir.

Now if only Fenrir would actually care about my nation, then things would be okay.

Guess it’s too much to ask of a Dungeon Core to care about mortal affairs though. People are entering their dungeons and dying, and that’s all they really care about. Not politics and warfare amongst mortals.

I sigh at that thought before turning to the captain of the flagship and saying, “Take us home.”

We have a month now, so let’s use it.

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