A crystal chandelier hung from the lair’s ceiling. The room wasn’t large, but the ceiling was high enough to fit an indoor balcony: built of wood with silver railings. The balcony circled around the room on all sides. Bookshelves and storage—barrels, chests, as well as haphazard items—were stacked on top of each other and visible from between the railings.

The lower floor had tables, couches, weapon racks. The parlor was cramped, but the arrangements made sense. One half of the room was separated into a hangout space, while the other had papers and maps, as well as weapons and more practical items. Two closed doors stood on both sides of the room.

The chandelier was clearly expensive. The rest of the furniture was more ordinary but comfortable nonetheless. The lair felt like a home. There was even artwork. Wood paintings had been hung on the walls, depicting monsters and scenery. The artist used a carving knife and black ink to draw on wooden boards.

Then there were the demons.

A horned woman, wearing barely any clothing, was passed out on one of the couches. Next to her, an old man was calculating something with a math-board. Neither gave any sort of reaction as Rohan entered.

A younger man glanced down from the balcony. He saw Vivi, and his eyebrows rose in surprise.

The man was Ven. The same guy from Aang’s gang that had tried to recruit Vivi.

“Vivi?” Ven exclaimed. “Rohan, what is this human doing here?”

“She’s the one that’s been killing monsters,” Rohan said. “This is Vivi. Everyone, say hello.”

The old man gave Vivi a nod before going back to his work. The woman groggily woke up. “Welcome…” she said. She rubbed her eyes and turned to Vivi.

The woman’s eyes lit up. “Ohh! Emmy’s back! Hey little friend!”

Eem climbed down from Vivi’s shoulder and ran to the woman’s arms. “Awwy!” Eem said.

“That’s Alisa,” Rohan said. “Our assassin, shield breaker… she does pretty much everything.”

Alisa had pretty eyes and smooth dark skin. Her horns were tiny, barely poking out beneath her messy long hair. “Welcome,” Alisa said, giving Vivi a smile.

“Next to her is our mathematician, Henry,” Rohan said. “And that idiot is Ven.”

“Hello…” Vivi said quietly.

Ven sighed. He climbed down a ladder from the balcony. “I should have known it was Vivi. Of course it’s her. The weirdo who everyone has a grudge on, and who’s been causing trouble while fifteen thousand ether in debt.”

“Ivwi!” Eem said, hugging Vivi again. Eem seemed to be familiar with this place, treating it like home.

“What’s with the wound, Rohan?” Alisa asked. “It’s not like you to lose to monsters these days.”

Rohan gave an awkward smile. “Uh, there were a few complications. Through an honored battle, Vivi has defeated me and granted me this wound.”

The room fell silent. “You fought?” Alisa asked.

“Rohan challenged me to a duel when I entered your territory,” Vivi said. “We fought. Then he kindly offered to bring me here.”

“That does sound like something Rohan would do,” Ven said. “Attacking strangers, that is. Sorry about that.”

“He said there’s something your boss wanted to tell me,” Vivi said. “I’ve broken rules, and I would have gotten caught by the guards without Rohan’s help. I came here to hear what your boss has to say. I don’t know if I can become your ally, but I would like to know how to avoid guard patrols.”

“Aang should be free in a minute,” Ven said. “He’s been waiting for his new sword for a while now.”

Aang? Vivi thought. New sword?

Suddenly, Vivi’s senses flared a warning. Footsteps approached from behind one of the closed doors. The presence was strong. At least as strong as Serena Goldbridge, and the owner wasn’t hiding the aura.

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The door opened, and a large six-foot tall demon stepped in. His scorched upper body was lined with patterned white tattoos, depicting blades and flowers. He carried a two-runed greatsword with mass and sharpness runes. A misty aura slowly escaped from the veins.

Vivi recognized the demon from collection day. Aang. The leader of the union.

Ether oozed out of Aang’s eyes as he took a step forward, runesword out. His figure seemed to cast a shadow all across the room. His presence was enormous, wielding at least four thousand pure ether. Vivi and Lucius wouldn’t stand a chance fighting him.

His posture and aura didn’t seem to be hostile. He grinned, proudly standing with his runesword.

“Holy wisp of Ingfried,” Ven gushed. Everyone was staring at the blade in awe. “That sword is insane.”

“Rensfig went all in,” Aang said. “We’ll be paying debts for a long time.”

“What’s its name?” Rohan asked.

“The smith himself has named it, ‘I don’t fucking know, I’m going to sleep,’” Aang said. He sheathed the sword. “Maybe it’ll receive a proper name tomorrow. Who said Emmy is back?”

“Aann!” Eem said, excitedly jumping up and down.

Aang grinned. “Welcome home, Emmy. I see you’ve made new friends.”

“Ivwi!” Eem said.

Vivi stood stiff throughout the conversation. Aang’s presence filled the entire room. Vivi knew she had no chance in winning a fight.

“Who might you be?” Aang asked.

“Vivi, sir,” she said. The respectful tone came out on its own. “I’m the one who killed the fanglings. Sorry about that.”

“Any skills?” Aang asked.

“What?”

“You defeated the boss,” Aang said. “Did it drop anything?”

“No skills,” Vivi said. “Just ether.”

“Shame,” Aang said. “That boss had been brewing for a while.”

Vivi didn’t know what to say. She struggled to read the room. These people appeared nice. Their presences were incredibly powerful. But Rohan had said their boss was annoyed with Vivi. He was looking for the culprit of the fangling massacre.

Aang poked Eem in the cheek. The fiend seemed to be losing all remaining intelligence. She made incoherent noises while pulling on Aang’s loose pants.

“You’ve caused us a lot of trouble, Vivi,” Aang said. “Your immediate thought upon finding the hidden dungeon was to take advantage of the stronger monsters. To become a breaker and grow rich.”

“Yes,” Vivi admitted.

“That was naive and stupid,” Aang said. “All dreamful idiots have a swift falling in Zand. Clearing this part of the dungeon is enticing, but it’s a mistake. You will not grow strong enough to defeat the Stewards even if you clear the main boss. Conversely, the risks are enormous. If the guards as much as sniff signs of nimrod life here, suddenly, the dungeon won’t be as lonely anymore.”

Aang spoke to her as if she was a child. Vivi couldn’t argue back. Now that Aang had said it like that, her actions were reckless. “Yes. I see that now.”

“Are you familiar with my union?” Aang asked.

“They call you one of the big three,” Vivi said. “You’re a protector of the nimrods.”

“The union is my main occupation,” Aang said. “It’s still active, but it’s not nearly as grand as it was ten years ago. My focus has moved to the operation here. This lair is all hand-made. Took five years, but it’s done. All without the Stewards knowing.”

“He’s telling you a lot,” Lucius said. “I don’t think he intends to let us go.”

Yes… Vivi thought. We’re in trouble.

All of Aang’s followers were listening. Their light-hearted jokes came to a pause. Alisa slid into a rogue’s vest, then began cleaning Rohan’s wound.

Vivi doubted the crew would kill her. Yet, her wariness remained. Everyone in Zand was a possible threat. Vivi couldn’t feel comfortable with Aang’s aura in the air.

“Truth is,” Aang said, “now that you’re in the lair, I’m forced to deal with you one way or another. I hope we can reach a peaceful agreement.”

“Vivi is a huge opportunity,” Rohan said. “She defeated me in battle. Snapped my blade with her own. She is a strong fighter, who has spared my life after defeating me. I promised to vouch for her kindness, and that’s what I will do. As your Knight, I am ashamed to have lost a battle defending our home, but as a result, I have invited this wonderful young fighter. I will vouch again for her, and I ask you to consider appointing her as my replacement!”

“Who let Rohan in charge of defense duty?” Aang asked.

“Nobody,” Ven said. “We told him to stay inside.”

Rohan bowed as an apology.

Aang sighed. “And which sword was he wielding?”

“Black Rose,” Rohan said. “I would have defeated her if I wielded more ether. Three hundred was not enough.”

Aang blinked, surprised. “Black Rose snapped? Rensfig spent six weeks carving that sword. How is that possible?”

Six weeks carving? Vivi thought. Do they have a runesmith?

“Rohan…” Ven said. “You challenged someone to a duel while wielding three hundred ether? Have you lost your mind?”

Rohan placed the two halves of his sword on a table. “Black Rose was a work of art. I loved swinging this sword more than anything. Vivi’s sword, however, was stronger.”

“How is that possible?” Aang asked. “That was an asmite blade?”

Rohan kept his head low, not answering.

Aang sighed. “Rensfig will be mad. He’s passed out. You better prepare a good excuse.”

“This Rensfig,” Vivi asked. “Is he a runesmith?”

“A runesmith indeed,” Aang said. “The only runesmith in all of Zand. It’s a dangerous profession. Being caught smithing runeswords for nimrods is enough to earn death.”

A real runesmith? Vivi thought. I’m not alone? Aang has his own runesmith?

“Vivi,” Aang said. “My men seem to like you. You are Eem’s friend, and you’re strong enough to defeat a fang tanker. You’re naive and ambitious, but it’s clear you aren’t evil. There’s a lot you need to know about this dungeon, and about the inner operations of Zand. You can’t be allowed into the secret dungeon alone.”

He took a step forward, looming over Vivi. “Until you learn the rules of the dungeon, you will hunt under my gang’s strict supervision. This is not a request or an invitation. It is a command. For the next two weeks, you will become a member of the Hollow Phantoms. By then, you will learn to defy the most powerful beings keeping our freedom. The Stewards.”