~~~Lee~~~

Zynthar has requested Parley to discuss the terms of the Invaders' Surrender.

If accepted, all hostilities must cease until terms are agreed upon or if the Defenders cancel the Parley.

Violation of the Parley by the surrendering party will result in immediate death for the surrendering party.

Violation by the other party will remove the Parley restrictions.

Lee hesitated as the entire notification flooded into his mind instantly. Even knowing what it said, he still hesitated. This fucking bastard was trying to save itself! It didn't care before! Only now, when it faced its own death, did it give a fucking damn!

"I accept!" Lee screamed it out while mentally telling Three to stand down.

Parley accepted.

Despite his absolute desire to see these monsters die for what they almost did... Lee took the high road. He had to.

He couldn't risk that the D-grade in his bubble might get off a lucky strike. It was moving in there. Slowly, but it was moving. What if it had other tricks he didn't know about? Was satisfying his bloodlust worth the risk that someone he cared about might die?

Everything went silent, and he realized everyone must have gotten the notification when he saw the abrupt end to the violence.

Lee swept the quiet battlefield with his Mana Mind and was rather shocked to find no human corpses. But then, the fighters on the walls had barely thrown a few spells before everything went to shit.

He wasn't complaining. No one had died for him. That was as good as it gets. But it had been way too close...

"What the fuck was that!?"

The sudden shout made Lee flinch, and he only then noticed Harold's group standing behind him on the ramp. They'd been there for the entire fight... hadn't they? It all felt so...

Lee swayed as the adrenaline finally drained away. Not just adrenaline. There'd been so much fear at the end there... as he watched his family getting carved apart in front of his eyes.

Amy wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Stabilizing and grounding him with the physical touch. "It's all good, Lee. We won... didn't we?"

"Amy..." Lee leaned into her support. "Why didn't you go help them?" His gaze went distant as his mind looked over the wounded and almost dead... plus all the other surrounding people staring back his way.

Many of the crafters were there... including Trak. The anubi had handed that potion to Maria during the fight... but at least he'd had the sense not to rush out there and get killed.

"Can't, boss," Amy said, and Lee looked up... Blood ran down her face from her eyes, nose, and grinning mouth. "Told you I picked a class to protect you, but it's only to protect you."

She turned slightly, and Lee felt a sudden, terrible understanding upon seeing her right arm melted almost to the bone.

His own right arm hadn't melted from the mana beam when he'd thought it should have. His using Mana Mind to slow the sword... "You... was that why..."

She smiled. "Still not telling you my class!"

Saira chose that moment to stride down the ramp into the garage, one arm supporting Mar while the other dragged a carpet of red vines behind her with an unconscious but whole Bradley lying atop them. "I could use... a potion... Trak."

Lee felt a wave of fresh guilt upon seeing them, but more so after seeing her. She looked... bad. Shriveled and drained. But she was alive, and deep inside her was a bright bundle of life still untouched despite her own state.

Bradley was alive. They were all alive!

Seeing Bradley like that... or Mar. I should have insisted on enchanting their bones! The man was unconscious now. Lee could stick the rune on before he woke up... Mar, too! But... no, as much as he wanted to, he wouldn't force it on anyone. But he damn well wanted to! Hopefully, they would both be more open to the idea after this...

Jackson staggered down the ramp behind her with a haunted look on his face. How many times had he... almost died? Lee had lost count amid the madness.

His gaze moved away from the wounded and his blood boiled as he laid eyes on the armored alien kneeling outside his building. This is all your fault! These fucking monsters think they can come in here and hunt us!

Lee knew he could kill the monster. Both of them! He still had the other trapped in his room, and it was not in good shape. He could bubble the one outside and have Three finish the first. Rinse and repeat. Dead and done!

Instead, he looked at the notification to see just what he'd agreed to. From the little he'd picked up already, he knew the power was almost entirely in his hands. The invaders would die instantly if they tried anything, and all that would happen if he attacked them first was that they could fight back.

Bradley had mentioned nothing about parley when the anubi invaded... Was it because anubi were a monster race? Were these fucks an actual civilized race!? Did they get better options?

He understood it a moment later.

They did get better options. But it wasn't free... Lee could demand a price for sparing their lives. Quite a lot. Hell, he could demand almost everything...

Of course, they had to agree to the deal... Of course, if they didn't, he could kill them. So, was it actually any better than surrendering outright?

Lee stopped himself from doing anything too rash and only took a deep breath as he placed a hand gently on Jeremy's shoulder. The man was on his knees and still trembling... "Thank you, Jeremy. You came through in a big way, so... thank you."

The man didn't respond, and Lee didn't blame him. That entire fight happened so fast... but it felt like an eternity.

He wanted to take a minute himself, but that wouldn't happen just yet. Not when he saw the small army approaching outside.

It wasn't too worrying. They were all E-grade and would die if they attacked... but one of them stood out. Particularly, its soul stood out as the only one not nervous or terrified. It was angry.

The aliens marched through the open wall and directly to the D-grade, which was still sitting on its heels out there. Then the angry soul'd individual walked out from within the army and said something to the D-grade. Presumably. It all sounded like gibberish.

Lee watched on, though most of his attention was on the nervous humans outside, who were not at all pleased to see these things walking freely inside the walls. They must have understood the notification well enough, because no one attacked the invaders. Even when the angry one grew tired of yelling at the D-grade and stalked over toward Three.

It removed its helmet. But not by taking it off. It placed a hand against its head and the helmet simply... vanished. Something happened in the mana when it did, a twisting that reminded Lee of Jeremy's space swapping ability... A twisting that centered on a ring beneath the creature's gauntlet.

The next oddity was that it looked completely different from the D-grade trapped inside Three. Like a completely different species. They were both bipedal, with two arms and legs, but this one was... less ugly. It had yellow skin over a relatively smooth face. There was a mouth, what looked like a nose above it, and all white eyes above that. Except it had three eyes... with one on its forehead.

It was hard to tell where it was looking with those eyes, but Lee felt the gaze land on him as he took a step closer. Then he almost attacked when the invader cast a spell. Something he only knew from seeing the mana moving inside the creature.

He resisted the impulse to attack or disrupt the spell when he saw how the mana moved. Partially because he was curious about what would happen if it attacked, but also because he had a feeling of what the spell was for... the pattern looked familiar.

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"You will release us this instant!" the invader said.

As expected, it was the translation spell. The words weren't quite what he'd expected to hear, but it was nice to know he could recognize a spell by its mana.

"Did you hear me, monster?" it said, taking a step forward. "I am Prince Cotex and you will cease this charade at once, or..."

Lee held up a hand even as Amy moved halfway in front of him. "Stop. If you come in here, I will have to kill you."

It stopped. But not for long. Its soul burst with anger, and its face twisted, presumably with the same emotion as it took another step forward. "You dare speak to..."

The D-grade moved from where it sat, moving in a blur so fast that Lee couldn't help himself. He dropped a slow bubble around it right as it reached the other alien. Including both of them within.

He finished flinching as Amy dragged him deeper inside, and only then did he see that it hadn't come for him. Rather, it was standing with one hand up to hold back the so-called prince... and neither of them was moving inside the bubble.

Lee canceled the skill, surprised but glad to see his action somehow hadn't counted as hostile... maybe because he wasn't actually attacking? Technically, he wasn't doing anything to them directly... only slowing down time right where they just happened to be standing.

Either way, he got his first closeup look at the D-grade when it pulled its own helmet off. The normal way. Under the helmet, it looked identical to the other D-grade. The lumpy purple skin was even more unpleasant up close, but the large black eyes were worse. It was also a lot bigger, perhaps seven feet tall, and talking.

Talking gibberish.

Whatever it was saying didn't go over well with the smaller invader. "My father will have your head for this failure!"

Mana flashed through the D-grade in a familiar pattern, though way faster this time. "Perhaps," it said. "Perhaps not. You live. Haven't failed orders yet."

"You surrendered to these damn monsters! How is that not a failure!? And how in the hell did your useless other half even have the authority to do that!? I am in charge here!"

"Yes. Until life threatened. Then authority is ours. Only following orders. Best way to protect was surrender." It talked fast and with very clipped sentences. Then it looked inside the garage at Lee. Or he thought it did. Those black eyes were just as bad as the white ones. "Leader?"

Lee looked around the garage as Alejandro stepped up to his side. The man had blood drying down his chest, but his neck was fine when he nodded silently at Lee.

Saira came behind him, looking better than she had, but not nearly back to one hundred percent. Vines trailed from her back, and mana ran outward along some of them to her tree. A few of them flowed the other way, bringing in that life-rich red mana from the tree to her. She immediately put her hands on Amy and started channeling life into the woman, all without once taking her gaze from the invaders outside.

Maria had left upstairs, and Lee could see her checking on the kids in his Mana Mind.

Bradley was still unconscious, and Mar sat tucked in a corner with his head in her lap.

Trak waited nearby, watching Lee as his hands brushed repeatedly over the potions strapped to his body.

"It's fine," Lee said to Amy as he pulled away from her and approached closer to the entrance. Alien eyes watched him, three of them hostile, and the other two... reserved?

Lee stopped at the threshold, only a couple of meters away from the monsters. Aliens? Whatever they were, it didn't feel right to be standing so close to a D-grade that might actually be fast enough to kill him before he could react.

He didn't think it could kill him outright, since a headshot wouldn't get through and Saira could heal anything else. Plus, the system would kill it if it tried... though he wondered how that part worked. Would it kill the monster the moment it tried, or only after it hit him?

"I am the leader," Lee said. "Why are you here?"

"The absolute gall of..." the yellow invader exclaimed, only to be cut off by the D-grade.

"Bodyguards. Protection for Lord Cotex. Escort to ensure his survival."

That explained the dungeon's name. Probably. But not why there were two damn D-grades attacking the fort. "Why here? Why'd you attack us?"

"Random. Expected greater raid. Direct keys are too expensive. Lord Cotex not favored enough."

Lee watched him, assuming it was a him, and didn't detect any deceit in its soul. A very focused soul. He wasn't sure what would happen to these creatures yet, and he didn't want to give anything away. Just in case. "Why are two D-grades allowed to attack us?"

Surprise appeared in its soul, followed by confusion. "Bodyguards. Different rules. Great System will punish if we fight, but worth it to protect charge in emergency. You attacked. Lifted some restrictions."

Fuck. Lee cursed silently, then remembered the bastard jumping in front of his attack... "You jumped in front of my attack! How does that count!?"

Sure, he'd been aiming at the D-grade; he'd just missed...

"Some restrictions. Still punished. No rewards. Will lose levels on departure. If you don't kill us. Had to be done. Our orders. Our purpose."

"Are you..." Lee felt some of his seething hatred dissipate. "Are you slaves?" He also felt slightly guilty about the other D-grade still trapped in his elevator room. It was alive, but still hurting from the dozens of holes burned into its flesh and armor. He knew it wouldn't die; he could see its wounds regenerating. Albeit slowly.

"Not slaves. Contracted."

Lee stopped feeling guilty. Let the bastard suffer. "That sounds like some bullshit. It also doesn't sound like a very good contract."

"Rewards worth it. Earn more if successful."

"So you only attacked us by coincidence?"

"Yes. Random key."

"And you gave up once you started losing?"

"Yes. Had to. Couldn't risk death of charge. Would mean contract failure."

Lee frowned and looked at the lord they were supposed to protect. "You surrendered. What's to stop me from killing him now?"

Cotex—what a ridiculous name—glared and opened his mouth angrily. The D-grade spoke first. "Not surrendered. Parley. Bargain."

There it was. "So, what will you give me for your lives?"

"Not our lives. Lord Cotex must go free. Rest is negotiable."

Lee looked at the lord. "And if I don't want him to?"

"We fight."

"You'll lose."

It nodded. "Failure likely. Death likely. Bargain preferable."

Lee eyed the D-grade, the lord it was willing to die protecting, and the little army waiting back at the walls. Then he turned to Alejandro. "Can you go check on our people? I can see some of them getting restless up there, and I'd like to avoid breaking the parley by accident."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Alejandro hesitated with a look at Amy.

"Don't worry, General. I'll keep him alive."

Both invaders watched Alejandro go by. One warily, and the other openly sneering.

Lee drew their attention back to himself. "I think we can agree to spare your lord. The question is, What is his life worth to you?"

"Everything."

Lee smiled. "You're not much of a negotiator, are you?"

"Primary directive. All else secondary."

"Okay, but what does everything mean?"

"Equipment. Skill Shards."

"You have skills?" Lee asked, suddenly more interested.

"Our skills. We sacrifice ranks. Great system creates shard."

"So, pretty much just the same thing I'd get for killing you?" Though that reminded him, he could get two D-grade cores from them... That might be huge.

"Choose skill this way. Not random. Better."

Oh, really? That was a very interesting tidbit, and it made him feel much better about potentially accepting their surrender. He summoned a plate and stuck a hovering rune on it for a seat. "Can someone get me some paper? I think we'll need a list for this."

Trak dashed away, and Lee looked up at the two aliens. "Also, I'm taking all your equipment. Strip."

It felt reminiscent of his deal with Nicholas, only this time Lee had a feeling the deal would go much more in his favor.

Unfortunately, Cotex had other ideas. "I refuse. I will not take orders from a... a damned animal!"

"I also want that ring," Lee said, pointing at the guy's hand. "Take it off. All of it."

The prince's yellow face went dark, turning brown, as his anger boiled over. "Maybe you don't understand, you filthy mongrel! Your primitive mind is too feeble to even conceive of the true power of an actual king. You won't so much as touch me! My father could burn your pathetic excuse for a world to ashes with a mere flick of his finger!"

Lee froze. He was an idiot! There was no way he could let this moron go home.

"I've put up with this farce long enough. You should grovel before me and beg for forgiveness! If you're convincing enough, then maybe I won't tell my father. Maybe I won't come back to..."

The D-grade moved faster than his eyes could track, but Lee only needed to think faster. He dropped a bubble back over the pair of aliens.

Lee was about to tell Three to keep killing the other one when he saw what was happening inside the bubble. The D-grade hadn't attacked him... It had struck the prince in the head and now held up its other hand in a warding gesture toward Lee.

It was a slightly bigger bubble since he hadn't wanted to miss the speedy bastard, so Lee could see the prince falling sideways in slow motion, and his soul did some funny things as the alien very slowly lost consciousness on his way to the ground.

Lee waited and didn't give the order to Three. He waited the entire time while the prince made his slow journey down to the dirt. All the while, the much faster and more powerful D-grade made no hostile movement. In fact, it didn't move at all.

He listened to both its soul and the soul of its trapped fellow. Neither of them felt hostile.

Despite that, he still hesitated. That threat—the prince didn't know about the source. At least Lee was fairly certain he couldn't know. But if he could come back later for revenge...

It might be better to just kill them all now. They'd still get the skill shards, just maybe not the ones they'd wanted.