Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 1107: Entering the Dungeon

Milo nearly walked into a suitcase outside Eclipse’s headquarters. Mrs. Weller caught his jacket before he could fall over it.

"Perhaps you could look where you’re going, sweetheart?"

"He’s right there."

Kaiden Grey sat on the roof above the entrance, stroking Bastet’s hair as she rested her head in his lap. Calypso leaned beside him, while the Shadow Monarch stood behind them, watching the arrivals.

Milo knew those faces. He had watched them fight, laugh, save people. Seeing them close enough to hear Calypso laughing made him forget there were things on the ground he could trip over.

A week ago, he had filled out Eclipse’s application without telling Mrs. Weller. He had spent a long time over the part asking about his parents before finally submitting it.

The secret had lasted until Eclipse contacted the shelter. Other children had applied too.

Mrs. Weller had spent the following night lying awake, unable to stop hearing Milo tell her that the danger she feared had already reached his family.

She had called the shelter safe. She could give those children meals, lessons, and a bed, but if monsters reached the school, all she could do was gather them close and pray somebody strong enough arrived in time.

The mana apocalypse was here to stay, and the danger was growing.

Kaiden was offering them a fortified home defended by some of the strongest people in the world, with an army of powerful monsters guarding the approaches. If the dungeon accepted them, the children could develop unique powers of their own.

She had asked Milo to wait and hope he awakened. What if he never did? She kept turning the question over in the dark, thinking of the other children who would face the same gamble if she insisted they stay.

By morning, she had steeled herself enough to contact Eclipse. Becoming Dungeon-Born still frightened her. So did Milo’s determination to fight. But she wanted these children to grow up, and she could no longer convince herself that the shelter gave them their best chance.

Now she offered him a tired, worried smile, with Lucy holding her hand and Ben beside him. Milo smiled back, grateful that she had come with them.

Only these three children had been invited from the shelter so far. Eclipse was arranging visits in batches; there were far too many applicants to receive everyone at once, and the intake would continue long after this first day.

"This group, Miss Park?"

At the receptionist’s question, a young woman approached in Eclipse’s black uniform, dark hair brushing her collar and daggers resting at her waist. Milo forgot to look at the roof.

"Yes, thank you. The transport is ready below."

Yuna Park. Milo read the name on her badge twice, then pretended to be interested in the daggers. She was so pretty that he suddenly wished he had worn a cooler-looking jacket.

Beside him, Ben grinned. Milo tried to straighten his hair, but Yuna was already speaking to the fighter by the doors. She hadn’t looked at him once.

"Could everyone follow me, please?"

He would have followed her considerably farther than the entrance hall.

She led them through headquarters and down the guarded stairs to a reinforced chamber. Beside the gate, the woman in the faded cardigan stood waiting with an Eclipse guard.

"Ms. Harcourt, join this group," Yuna told the wealthy woman. "You’ll be travelling to the settlement together."

Milo recognized her. He and Ben had heard the confrontation while waiting outside, including her demand that somebody explain matters to "these monsters." She had been very certain Bastet and Calypso should get out of her way.

Ben glanced at Milo, then back at Ms. Harcourt with a grin.

"Think she paid extra to come with us?"

"Benjamin."

Mrs. Weller’s voice made him straighten. Milo pressed his lips together, trying to hide his own amusement as the woman joined them, her face flushed beneath her makeup.

Light rippled inside the gate ahead. Lucy pressed against Mrs. Weller’s arm while Yuna turned to address everyone.

"You’re entering as guests. There won’t be any change to you just from stepping through. Our people will meet you on the other side and take you to the settlement."

"Are you coming, miss?" Ben asked.

Milo could have hugged him.

"I’m staying here to help the next group. Enjoy your visit."

Yuna returned toward the stairs. With an absurd pang of disappointment, Milo followed Mrs. Weller and the other children through the gate.

On the other side, Milo found himself in a bare cavern, with a broad stretch of unbroken stone around the gate. Two passages opened beyond the arrival area, one descending steeply while the other continued north.

A crystal guideway led from a platform beside the gate toward the northern passage. A man in bronze armor waited by its hovering carriage, smiling as they approached.

"Welcome to our home. I’m Kanut, one of Commander Taigi’s soldiers. I’ll be taking you to the settlement."

A Dungeon-Born. Milo looked at him with renewed interest while Kanut explained that their lord had extended the transit to the American entrance for the intake. Eclipse received the visitors outside; the people who lived here would look after them inside.

Milo claimed a window beside Ben. Across the aisle, Lucy crowded against Mrs. Weller, watching anxiously as Kanut boarded and the doors closed. The woman in the cardigan took the empty row behind the boys.

Kanut touched a rune beside the door, and a low hum rose beneath their shoes. The carriage glided into the northern passage, leaving the descending route behind.

"Oh..."

The tunnel opened into the Abyssal Cavern, whose ceiling vanished into darkness above pits bristling with spikes. Enormous wings stirred on distant ledges, and Milo tried to see how far the guideway carried them into that vast space.

*Kreeee!*

Lucy ducked against Mrs. Weller at the winged creature’s cry. Milo searched the ledges above them, desperate to see it take flight.

"We’re going through there?" Ben whispered, grinning and shaking at the same time.

The guideway carried their carriage high along the cavern wall, leaving Milo staring straight down between the spikes.

"This is so cool!"

"Mrs. Weller..." Lucy caught her teacher’s sleeve. "What if it falls?"

"The guideway holds us up," Kanut reassured her. "Even on the turns."

Wings swept past Milo’s window. A monster kept pace beside the carriage, its ridged back broad enough to carry a rider, its talons tucked beneath it.

He leaned closer, trying to see its face.

The creature turned toward the glass and opened its mouth.

*KREEEEEE!*

"AAH!"

Milo threw himself backward into Ben, who yelped just as loudly and tried to climb over the seat. Mrs. Weller pulled Lucy against her chest while a shriek from the row behind them ended with the thump of a dropped bag.

Outside, the monster’s throat worked around a rattling series of croaks.

*Krr-krr-krr!*

"It’s laughing at us!" Ben shouted.

Kanut had begun smiling too, until Lucy gave a frightened sob against her teacher’s shoulder.

"I can’t do this!!"

"Oh, you frightened her," he told the creature through the glass.

The monster’s rattling stopped when it saw Lucy hiding her face. It lowered its head and gave a low, uncertain croak.

"He thought we would enjoy that. Monsters have a different definition of fun from teenage girls, I’m afraid," Kanut explained. "Would you give him a moment?"