Since it was almost morning when we arrived, Alice decided that tomorrow was tomorrow and we spent the whole day hidden inside the Guild. Not exactly hidden because everyone knew we were there, it was the day's gossip. Not that anyone talked about it inside the Guild Hall. No, it was one of the least busy days of the year. The reason? Alice was pissed because the army had somehow scried on us and learned that only the two of us survived the expedition. Her "mage pride" was hurt. She probably forgot to defend against divination magic. Because I knew the army had nobody capable enough to scry on her. She swore she was, indeed, protecting us against divination magic all the time.

So, the conundrum of a hidden magic master who could beat a level 500 Archmage on the scrying countermeasures war kept Alice busy all day. That meant we had a whole day to relax, decompress, have… something that rhymes with decompress, clean up, and get some Dwarven beard-restoring balm rubbed on our heads. Burnt beards were very common among dwarves and their concoction worked on other species too. Exporting it to human lands was the hard part. It also made the balm an expensive luxury among other things.

I was worried about Kara's recovery. Her left ear was a molten mess of flesh and most of her left side had burn scars. I was afraid that at least the ear would have to be cut off and then regrown. It was a costly process. The reward money for the Dungeon raid could not cover it even if we pooled our resources. I made sure to shower my affection on her the whole day.

*

*

But as the suns rose on the second day since we returned, it was time to pay the Piper and face the City Lord.

My bonds remained in Alice's apartment on the fourth floor of the Guild Hall. With one arm over each of our shoulders and a couple of birds on her head (don't ask. Her mood was fowl and the birds had a clear purpose, whatever that was), she led us into the temple.

A furious City Lord awaited in front of the door. "Captain Kara! Get over here this very instant!"

Everyone on the temple street stopped to watch, even those doom-saying priests of the God of the Old World. Scores of Guards came out of the alleys to make a show of numbers. The horrors of the day they arrested me resurfaced.

Alice squeezed Kara's shoulder to reassure her.

"Sorry, sir. I am being held captive by the Guild Master." Kara's greatest feat was to say that without laughing out loud. She didn't seem like a hostage. Especially not when tap dancing. Wait, what?

That dwarven hair tonic had something else in it. Maybe that's why the City Lord was breathing fire.

The Lord glared at Alice, who had her trademarked elven smug and demeaning smile. As if she was daring a child to be petulant. Because she was. To Alice, we were all children. That elderly woman who got blocked on her way back from the market by the swarm of Guards and soldiers barely able to hold her grocery basket might be a preteen in the elf's book.

The Lord huffed like a raging bull full of grief and frustration. He grew horns. "Let's get it over with."

Maybe it was time for me to grow a beard.

"Lead on," Alice said.

We entered the temple and reached the same room as before. Once everyone was seated, the priest started.

"Under the System God's eyes, we start this debriefing session as agreed in your contract. Know that the System sees all and will severely punish lies. Fear not. The truth will be revealed."

A pressure settled on us. It felt like we were under the gaze of a mighty entity. A portal opened and an armored man entered. The armor resembled the one the priests wore but was like the skin of a man made of steel, with round curves, and no armor straps. Colorful bands of light across it.

The priest fell to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground.

Wait. Was this the avatar of the System God?

"At ease. From the faithful, I demand only service, never subservience."

"Master," the priest was in tears. "I am honored."

The armored man waved a hand. "Man, don't make it awkward. Here, give me a hug."

Then, Alice and the Lord started to sing.

He's the hero we need,

a cyborg with speed

Fighting for justice,

with power that's supreme!

Everyone, Kara, Alice, Lord, Priest, and the mechanical man, stared at me and whispered, "He's Black Jack Six!"

William entered the room, chewing on some grass. "Wake Ahhhhh-p!"

*

*

I woke up and sat up, breathing heavily. I was drenched in sweat. Looking around me, I was still in Alice's guest room with Kara by my side. Then I noticed I was screaming.

"George?" Kara woke up and rubbed my chest with her hand. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," I laughed to release tension. "I had a weird dream about the System God."

She kissed my cheek, letting the sheets fall down and giving me the best view ever. "Calm down. It was just a dream. Tell me what happened."

I told her. Kara hugged me as we dove under the duvet.

*

*

I thought I had gained the gift of prophecy. Everything up to the priest's warning about lying happened the same way. Except that the Lord didn't grow horns, Kara didn't display her amazing tap dance skills, and Alice didn't have birds on her head. We had three people on our side but the Lord had four advisors with him. The four were City officials and were there only as witnesses. They shouldn't talk during the proceedings.

The priest gave the same warning about not lying during this sacred ceremony, and a portal didn't open.

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On second thought, most of the things that did happen were pretty obvious and easy to predict.

"Let us begin. City Lord, you may ask your questions."

"Where is my son!" He roared and slammed a fist against the table.

I answered that one. "We do not know. The last time I saw Hector, he was hitting the Dungeon Core while we fought the third-floor boss. But the core was about to explode so we fled the room."

"Truth!" The priest proclaimed.

The fun part of this session was that we didn't need to disclose the full truth. The only hard rule was that we couldn't lie in any of our statements. Nor could we use creative wordplay to weave dubious statements. If we tried, the Priest would quickly call on the System's power. It wouldn't be a punishment the first time but it would make the other party very suspicious. If the City Lord could get any more suspicious.

The Lord grumbled and would murder us if he could. "What happened to the core?!?"

I continued answering. "The Core exploded. It severely wounded both me and Kara even though we were in another room. Hector failed to break the Dungeon Core. He even used a dancing sword to no avail."

"Truth!"

More grunts from the bereaved father. He moved on to the next question. "Did either of you break the Core?"

"Neither of us was even close to the core and didn't fire a single attack in its direction. During combat, I was fully focused on the boss.."

"Truth!"

He changed targets. "What about you, Captain Kara?"

"I was tending to the wounded. I never went into the Core room nor used any ranged attacks. I also saw Lord Hector attack the Core."

"Truth!"

The next question was directed at the Priest. "Did any of these two violate the contract?"

"No."

A pause followed the priest's statement.

"Are you satisfied?" Alice said. "I searched for your son down there. I only found his dimensional storage ring, his armor, and the dancing sword."

"Truth!" The priest shouted.

The next part was cruel but the City Lord was an antagonist now. Alice held a hand up to signal she wasn't done.

"Since the contract we signed for the raid expedition didn't address salvage rights, I will use the Guild's guidelines. I had these items appraised by a sworn enchanter, and their ransom is as follows." She spoke a value in platinum that drained the color from my face. Each platinum coin was worth a hundred gold coins. Without waiting for an answer, she pulled a lidless coffin from her satchel and placed it on the table without making a sound. "The armor contained your son's mortal remains, which weren't incinerated in the blast. Here is Hector's corpse."

Kara grabbed my hand underneath the table. A charred and caved ribcage, spine, and pelvis bone was all that remained of Hector. I glanced at Kara and she was weeping. Bloody hell. Hector might not deserve this fate but it was what fate had in store for him. I felt guilty for not being more assertive when things started to derail. I should've taken the mantle of leadership off of him after we defeated the Shambler Requiem. I should've called his hypocrisy still on the first floor and declared him unfit for the raid because of his wound.

The Lord screamed in pain. He pulled the coffin closer and then drew a knife. The Priest didn't react. The man sliced his hand and dripped some blood on the bones. One of the advisors then poured a transparent potion on the blood and the bones and blood glowed golden. Despair settled on the Lord's party as they confirmed that it was indeed Hector.

I felt the urge to throw my breakfast. My jaw was clenched so tightly that my teeth hurt.

Then, the silence was broken by the coldest voice I ever heard Alice use. It was merciless and fearsome, carrying a sense of impending doom. That was the Archmage of Destruction of yore, a frightening villain who killed millions, resurfacing. "Do you have any more questions, Lord? Otherwise, the three of us will leave. You can decide whether to pay the ransom or not at your own convenience."

His will expended, the Lord's persona took a backseat and the father grieved. The most powerful man in the city slumped back on his chair and wept.

Alice stood up in silence. As ruthless as she could be, I couldn't believe she had this much cruelty in her. Kara and I stood up after her but the Lord raised a hand.

"Captain Kara, you will stay."

"She's my hostage," Alice said, the same tone that expected no resistance and promised swift punishment if they did. "You are welcome to try and rescue her."

"Truth!"

Those were all the wrong words. The City Lord was still a Noble with a high level, most likely in the triple digits. It begged the question of why didn't he raid with us but the answer came to me moments later. I remembered the impulse to claim the Core. Could he resist that pull if he was in the room? Seeing how much William's Attributes and Features improved after he broke the Core, I could answer that. If I were in the Lord's shoes, I would a hundred percent steal the Core from my son. The power it offered was ridiculous.

He glared at Kara as if he wanted to kill her. "You are a disgrace to the Guard uniform, woman! You are relieved of your duties!"

"Truth!"

"What?" Kara gasped, indignant. "After all I did to rebuild the Guard garrison, after being used by your son as a puppet to drag George into the Dungeon, after promising me heaps of gold which I still didn't see, after I risked my life in the Dungeon trying to save your military officers from death while your drunk son issued the most ridiculous orders, suffering abuse from your son! You dare DEMOTE ME?"

"Truth!"

The Priest only confirmed the statements.

The grieving Lord found an outlet for his negative feelings and became furious. Getting lip from Kara was the last straw. His hand hammered the table and smashed it to smithereens. His advisors quickly grabbed the coffin to keep it from falling down and desecrating Hector's mortal remains.

"You traitor!" He pointed a fist at her and was about to cross the room to attack Kara.

"Lie!"

A pressure from above descended upon the room, causing Kara and I to fall to our knees, along with the advisors. Alice and the Priest were the only ones unaffected. We felt the strength leave the Lord's body as he fell to his knees clutching over his heart. He gasped and wheezed as foam seeped from the corners of his mouth. A triangle of blue boxes appeared over the ruined table. It was obvious that everyone could see it.

> As a punishment, Lord Tobias has permanently lost twenty percent of all Attributes' Efficiency ratings.

Shitting Hells. That was... Almost as bad as dying. Efficiency didn't grow in trees and it was really hard to gain these points. The System had just crippled the City Lord.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Alice said.

The Priest was about to call truth or lie but shut his mouth before the words escaped his lips.

The Lord pointed at Kara. With trembling lips, he declared. "You are fired!"

"Truth!"

The only two reasons this hadn't yet devolved into violence was that the System would punish the perpetrators instantly and two, Alice had probably enough physical Attributes to kick all these men into submission without even using her magic.

Kara huffed in relief. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared at something from the System. Kara let the tension leave her body. Her next words made me understand why she wanted to be fired so badly. "Finally! I thought you wouldn't discharge me from my job. I didn't want to quit but now that you and your son did all this to me, I would be distraught if I was forced to continue doing my previous duties."

"Truth!"

It didn't make sense. Kara loved her job. What did the System do to trigger this? It was obvious that something happened when she was fired. I would ask her what it was about later. As we met each other's eyes, she mouthed "later" to me.

"You played all your cards," Alice said. Each sentence that followed below increased her menacing aura tenfold. When she finished, even I was scared. "Except for the cards that will bring your House ruin. I suggest you sire more children and, at least this time, don't raise them to be spoiled little bitches. Hector was your failure. Having him try the Dungeon for its Core was throwing good money after bad."

Everyone was frozen in place. Her words felt like hammers banging on our conscience. The guilt for failing. For being the survivors. For benefiting from the tragedy. The effect was worse on the City Lord. He physically flinched with every affirmation. The Lord didn't have the Strength to refute her words. Not even to fight back.

But Alice wasn't done.

"Hear me. You will not besmirch these two valiant delvers who survived your son's folly. Tell the right story or tell no more tales. These two now have immunity in your city. No matter what they do, they will only be prosecuted for anything if I personally authorize it.

She was the City Lord's sword of Damocles. Alice must have a Charisma score in the high hundreds and she was making use of all of it. It didn't compel us to change our minds but allowed us to sense the intent and the truthfulness of her words.

"If you try anything against them, no matter how many proxies you use, I will know. If any of them dies, I will use this city as the first step on my Ascension quest. You will be known forevermore as the fool who provoked the Archmage of Destruction out of retirement."

When she stated her title, something shattered in the Lord's mind. It was the same reaction of a prisoner who learned he was about to be tossed into an arena to wrestle a dragon. Powerless, defeated. The Lord had no moral ground to stand on. And I think he had been smitten by the System when he lied. I hoped it wasn't a permanent debuff. But any anger, defiance, or even disobedience was washed out of his system. His pride was shattered, and his perceptions were humbled.

"Tr-truth…"

Poor priest.