A fairly large building covered in white banners with crosses near the wall waited for us at the end of our journey. A great deal of imposing demons roamed around the entrance. However, the large presence of Grigori kept the atmosphere civil.

“This is where you will apply to join the Raid,” Kowal informed as he stopped near the doorway.

“I wasn’t expecting the entrance to be within the city walls,” Yoshitsune remarked.

“The city was expanded to trap the entrance to the Dungeon fully within the grasp of the Church,” Kowal explained. “Now, the only way is to play nice and pretend to be right with Jesus. But, be prepared for them to squeeze another 5000 XP out of you so you can participate in the first place. Donations to keep the city operational, you know.”

I grumbled in annoyance. Governments really knew how to nickel and dime you for every little fucking thing. Pay tax on a car, pay to register it, pay to have a card that allows you to drive, pay to use the roads, and then, you don’t have any money for gas. I wondered how many more hidden fees I would have to be robbed over. Maybe I’d even have to pay for the privilege to fight the boss.

“I’ve wasted enough time on the two of you,” Kowal said dismissively. “It’s time I get back to my own business. If you make it big, pay me a visit so I can have it instead.”

“Thank you, Kowal,” Yoshitsune said with a bow. “It was very kind of you to show us around.”

“Yes, I suppose I am a charitable soul,” Kowal agreed with a chuckle.

I rolled my eyes as the boar’s ego was unnecessarily stroked. Without any other words, Kowal walked off back in the direction of the shops we first visited.

“What a ghoul,” I said with a sigh. “Come on, Yoshitsune, let’s get the registration over with before some other bullshit happens.”

We stepped through the entrance of the building to be engulfed in noise. Loud conversations and activity broke out in all directions. For a moment, I dearly missed the Corpse-Watcher and the solitude of the wilderness.

“There are many applicants,” Yoshitsune commented.

“Lots of rivals, you mean,” I corrected. “Out of all of these demons, only one is going to get the top reward.”

In front of us, some demons were arguing at a Rooster-headed demon sitting behind the reception table. The bird-person’s head bobbed and titled as they screeched out in response to the group standing before them.

“I have told you already,” the rooster reiterated with the same tired tone of an aged government clerk only a couple months away from retirement. “It does not matter if you didn’t win on your last attempt or it’s been, I quote ‘a long time’ since you last attempted. You are only allowed to attempt the Inverted Tower once. Blame your poor choice of allies or your own weakness for your current position.”

The center demon, a mass of tentacle-like vines, slapped one of their innumerable thorny appendages atop the table and caused some stray looks to drift their way. However, the clerk remained placid in the face of the displayed aggression.

“That was over a century ago,” the thorny beast seethed with a wispy voice. “Before they built a wall around this place, you could try it as often as you wanted. The Church is being tyrannical with their control over the local Dungeons.”

“That is not my concern,” the rooster clerk replied with a sharp cluck. “Now, will you leave of your own accord, or will you need to be removed?”

Eyes drifted back and forth between the clerk and the two imposing looking guards that flanked the table. Like a trigger happy cop, the expressions on the faces of the guards almost pleaded for the demons to try something to justify some action. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the trio of demons turned and left the building entirely; grumbling words under their breath condemning the Church Leader.

Then, the rooster’s eyes moved our way as though nothing had happened at all. I similarly tried to discard the memory of the last interaction and stepped up to the table.

“We are here to apply to challenge the Inverted Tower,” I said.

“Where is your third?” the rooster clerk asked after leaning slightly to the side to see nobody else stood with us.

“Third?” I asked in response. That damned Kowal didn’t tell us anything important.

“Yes, a third member,” the rooster repeated. “A rule for entering the Inverted Tower is that you must go in Parties of three. If you do not have one, you can either find one from the back or be assigned one at random. I sincerely hope that I don’t have to repeat myself as to how many attempts you get in a lifetime.”

I clicked my tongue. I knew that the smart thing would be to leave the building now until I found a third comrade worthy of bringing back with me. But, who knows if a person like that even exists. I had Yoshitsune but I could not be certain if she will remain with me after the terms of our deal are finished.

“How many slots are left?” I asked.

“There are twenty one slots left,” the rooster informed. “And, going by the line behind you, it will shrink shortly.”

There was no need for useless thought. This would just be like recess football; there were only so many talented kids so you would always get a few fat kids and dweebs. As long as this mystery member wasn’t an anchor that would drown us, it didn’t really matter who the last person was.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Assign us one now,” I requested.

“Very well, your final teammate signed up by themselves and you now make Group 6. Please find the placard with your team number and wait until all slots are filled. Once inside, you will be able to look at information gathered by previous raids.”

After being robbed of another 5000 XP, Yoshitsune and I were finally able to leave the reception area and enter the staging area. The noise that I heard when I walked in only escalated in volume once we reached the room itself. While some groups sat at tables and discussed amongst themselves, other groups were chaotically trying to negotiate with each other. A large number hung in the air like a projector. It went down from “21” to “18” and only served to ratchet up the intensity of the discussion.

I was glad that I elected to ignore that clusterfuck and could sit down at the table with the appropriate placard.

A Labrador-headed demon in white robes dozed peacefully on one of the chairs at the table despite the war that was waging in the room they slept in. However, as soon as Yoshitsune shifted one of the chairs to sit down, they immediately sprung to attention.

“Ah, are you my comrades in this upcoming test of bravery and skill?”

“If you are a member of Group 6, then yes,” Yoshitsune answered as she reached out her hand. “Yoshitsune.”

“Herzblatt,” the dog demon answered with an extension of his furry fingers. I could see their tail wagging slightly under their robes. They looked my way. “And you are?”

“Ishmael,” I answered quickly and took a seat. “Why weren’t you seeking out other party members?”

“Because I prayed to the Holy One that I would receive strong and dutiful partners to help see me through the trials of the Inverted Tower,” Herzblatt explained with shimmering eyes. “And, through their grace and goodness, you have been delivered to me with hardly any time left to spare. You may not look the most pure, but the warping nature of Hell will do that even to the best of us.”

“Right,” I responded.

I was going to be dealing with one of these people then. The type who would say God is good after a house fire because the Bible survived. The kind that would knock on your door to try to recruit you into their bizarre denomination. It was folks like these that made me doubt whether or not my belief was ever genuine. The way that they uphold themselves and praise His name made me feel that there was never a time where I was saved.

“So are you all trying to join the Grigori as well?” Herzblatt asked with great enthusiasm like a kid asking if you wanted to play.

“I’m not sure,” Yoshitsune answered diplomatically. A bad habit of hers, encouraging pointless small talk like this. “We have only just arrived in the city and headed here after seeing that ceremony in the square.”

“You listened to Lord Armaros’ speech?” Herzblatt inquired eagerly. “No wonder you immediately arrived here to prove your worth to this noble cause to allow us to get to Heaven.”

“Alright, well let’s see what we’re getting out of this then,” I muttered as I opened up the panel, trying to get as far away as I could from this conversation.

It seemed that, although the Dungeon changed often, there were always similarities that could be relied on. The tower was one long section overfilled with enemies and chokepoints and challenges intended to whittle down the groups to one where they would face the boss of the Dungeon.

The Inverted Tower was special for the reason that nobody knew what boss would be waiting at the bottom and it took around five-hundred days for the dungeon to be available for reopening. There were six different entities that could appear with different degrees of rarity and radically different levels of difficulty. Additionally, all members of the party receive the same boon. Through all of the raids during the time the Church conquered the region, there were numbers by how many times that a specific boss was encountered at what boons they offered.

image [https://i.imgur.com/Q7xRnOn.jpeg]

Earned Skills

Flesh in the Service of Flesh -Active

Soul of the Slave Knight (Rewarded 38 Times):Damage that would go to an ally can be absorbed by the user instead. If damage to the user would be fatal, set HP to 1 instead. +25 Strength, Body.

Urgent News - Active

Soul of the Messenger (Rewarded 35 Times): User can send messages to the entire party regardless of size or distance. +40 Agility.

Sanctuary - Active

Soul of the Hearth Keeper (Rewarded 26 Times): Forms a temporary zone of Invincibility. Ability lasts until ability is deactivated or mana is depleted. +25 Agility, Magic.

Embezzler - Passive

Soul of the Eunuch (Rewarded 18 Times): 20% increase to all earned XP. +10 All Stats.

Rule of Knowledge - Active

Soul of the Vizier (Rewarded 7 Times): User can copy a spell and use it once without a mana cost. +50 Magic. +20% damage to all spells.

Divine Dynasty - Passive

Soul of the God-King (Rewarded 1 Time): User can choose from a selection of Divine gifts. +40 All Stats.

“There aren’t really any bad ones,” I muttered as I read through them.

I noticed that my teammates and the room at large had grown silent. The negotiations had ceased and the floating number now read “0”. I looked their way to see that the pair were shooting furtive glances to either side.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Ishmael-san,” Yoshitsune said in a near whisper. “I think we are being watched.”

Now that Yoshitsune had been mentioned, I felt it as well. Like the prickling on your neck our ancestors left us whenever a beast in the forest was watching us.

“We are just being sized up like everyone else,” I rationalized.

“I’m not sure, it feels malicious,” Herzblatt argued.

“We’re in Hell, everyone is malicious,” I contested. “It doesn’t matter, does it? There is a possibility that we have to kill everyone in this room.”

Before Herzblatt could contest that last sentence, a dinging sound emanated from the floating number in the center of the room. A massive runic circle appeared beneath it and swallowed up the floor. A droll voice like a dystopian newscaster tolled out from the projection to give us instructions.

“Raid is full. I repeat, the raid is full. When your number is called, please step into the circle,” the voice informed. “Group 1…”

An eagle-headed demon wearing a helmet fashioned like a bird cage rose from their seat. They were flanked by, what I could only describe as, a blue scorpion-centaur and a musclebound cyclops. They dominated the center of attention; stoically basking in the fact that they were first to enter the Dungeon. It was an opportunity they would not miss.

“Group 2…Group 3…Group 4…Group 5…”

More groups hustled towards the entrance now that the first group had strolled their way in. Each of these groups felt strong in their own way. Some had clever looks in their eyes while others had imposing physiques or beautiful equipment that signified their total wealth.

“Group 6.”

Appearance-wise, I felt that we looked somewhat of a downgrade compared to the ones that preceded us. Now that I generated my own heat again, I ditched the overcoat and scarf and only wore linen pants while Yoshitsune wore her damaged armor and Herzblatt wore only his robes.

We looked like an easy mark and it was clear that the rest of the room concurred. Free XP to any who encountered us.

I was eager to see their faces when I turned such assumptions around on them.

“Let’s try our best,” Herzblatt encouraged as a red light enveloped us.