Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 616: Kind stranger

Uriel woke up to the clanking sound of cutlery and the familiar smell of the ship's cafeteria. To say he was hungry would have been the understatement of the century, not that it was strange since he fainted due to exerting too much flux energy yet he didn't dare to open his eyes and pretended to be asleep for a few moments to make sense of the situation.

Last thing he knew he not only fought against a holy rank hunter and survived, but he also managed to best him by wrapping him with the invisible thread from his dagger. For most onlookers it seemed as though Uriel was clasping at straws and fighting like a wild beast, but as usual there was a method to his madness.

Uriel didn't care if Allegro dodged of blocked his many attacks and took laps around him taking every chance to strike while slowly weaving the invisible flux thread around him until he deemed it was strong enough that not even a holy rank hunter could move, let alone someone who had been weakened thanks to having his life essence stolen.

All would have been well if not for the fact that he failed to land the finishing blow which meant Allegro was still alive and probably angry.

However, Uriel realized that he didn't feel any pain and apart from the sounds made by people avidly eating their meals there weren't any clues as to what happened.

'Was I taken prisoner?' He asked himself, then realized his movements were unhindered and he was comfortable, too comfortable in fact. The unmistakable feeling of his head resting on someone's lap filled Uriel with dread when he noticed it was a man's lap which prompted Uriel to jump away and bristle like a cat.

"Dude!" Uriel shouted after taking enough distance from Soulfire, then turned to look at his friends as though they had betrayed him. "Why did you let him do that?"

"We couldn't stop him, he was too worried about you." Medusa chuckled.

"Your friend said it would help you recover faster." Soulfire said apologetically while looking at Luna who seemed unfazed. No one could have guessed her thoughts if not for her blushing cheeks and the picture she held with trembling hands. It was the photographic evidence of Uriel sleeping on the lap of the stupidly handsome Soulfire, but Uriel had more pressing matters to worry about.

"What the hell is going on?" A dumbfounded Uriel asked.

"I... uhm... shipped you two." Luna shamelessly replied.

"Let me rephrase my question. Where is the holy rank bastard that killed my jaguar?" Uriel could feel a splitting headache at the same time a vein almost popped in his forehead.

"First, no one killed your jaguar. I already checked your museum and the statue it's still there," Nika explained without bothering to stop eating. She needed to make up for the energy she couldn't get from Uriel since he spent most of his flux energy. "and second, everything's fine. Their story checks up, they really did come here to help."

"Nika, you can't discuss anything related to my trait in front of strangers!" Uriel scolded, but only after checking that she was telling the truth. The jaguar figurine remained at the same spot in the ancient exhibition and despite it reverting to its former appearance, like it was made of clay instead of gold, it seemed to be completely fine.

"What? He said you were good friends." Nika shrugged and Luna added.

"I have evidence."

"Do you remember Ethan? That's his brother!" Uriel attempted to snarl, but his voice came coarse instead.

"I apologize for the troubles my brother caused you in the past, but I think he already paid for his mistake and we should let him rest in peace." Soulfire's eyes lost its luster for a second and his look seemed lost in memory.

"Doesn't that mean he's also that moron's brother?" Nika gasped at the realization that she might have let an enemy inside the ship. "So that's why he felt so familiar!"

"Yes, we met at the governor's office." Soulfire replied.

"No, I met your shadow before, at the nightclub. I have to say, your shadow doesn't make you any justice, you look way better in person." Nika's voice could have been mistaken for a predatory growl and Uriel hurried to cut their conversation short before she continued hitting on the stupidly handsome man.

"Last time we worked together I had enough of you for a lifetime. There better be a reason why you came looking for us."

"Yes, I want you to help my brother in rebuilding our city." Soulfire nodded with an expression that would have seemed serious if not for the food crumbs on his cheeks.

"And why on the seven circles of hell would I do something like that!? Your brother swore to back us up against Sam, then turned against us in the last moment. Who knows, if it wasn't for his eclipses darkening the city perhaps the city would have survived!

Now that we were cornered you even brought a powerful enemy to us, and a holy rank hunter at that!" Uriel was outraged, but due to his almost non existent flux reserve his presence lacked the strength his voice conveyed.

"He didn't betray us. He was forced to use the eclipses by his side to keep people from killing each other. Doppelgangers and skinwalkers caused such a mess that neighbors turned against neighbors, siblings against siblings and the only way to prevent unnecessary deaths was to cover everything in darkness." Soulfire explained, then continued.

"About Allegro, he was supposed to help you but you attacked him out of the blue. He only fought to defend himself."

Uriel couldn't deny that Soulfire's claims sounded reasonable, but they were also too convenient.

"Just give him a chance to explain. If they wanted to harm us, we would be dead already." Medusa said in a soft voice. Of all those present, she was the one that wanted to believe Soulfire's words the most.

"I'm sorry but even if I could trust him, there's nothing in it for us." Uriel shook his head.

"That is not correct," Soulfire activated his trait and summoned several candles on top of the table. They all looked different from each other, but what stood out the most was the difference in the intensity and color of their flames. "If you remember my trait you must know where I'm going with this, but I'll explain it anyway. When I arrived at this city I tried to get Allegro to help me.

He's a nice guy but he's been grief stricken ever since our city fell since he lost his sister..."

Soulfire proceeded to explain everyone present the chain of events that led to things developing the way they did. In order to get Allegro's cooperation, Soulfire made a deal with him and went back to Texas to search for his sister promising not to return without information about her.

Finding her wasn't difficult and it wasn't long until she told Soulfire about the hunter who saved her who just happened to be Uriel.

She refused to go back to her brother and there was nothing he could do about it since she wasn't a naive runaway schoolgirl anymore but a survivor from a cataclysmic event. Thankfully to Soulfire, his trait allowed him to prove Allegro his sister was still alive, but by the time he did it Lister was already on the move against the Dungeon Raiders.

"I felt guilty, because if it wasn't for me asking for the governor's help in rebuilding the city he would have never attempted to seize your ship and that's why I brought Allegro."

"That was a needlessly long explanation about something that doesn't answer any of the questions I had." Uriel said, actually impressed by Soulfire's ability to speak so much without actually saying anything.

"Shut up, let him continue." Nika waved her hands at Uriel, making him realize that except for him everybody else was enthralled in Soulfire's story.

"I don't need to hear any more of it. He's been lobbying to get help to rebuild the city to make money, I don't have anything against it and actually respect that idea, but there's nothing in that place left for us and no amount of money can change that."

"I'm not here to offer you any money," Soulfire awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "my company is pretty much broke and this isn't actually about the money. But before you turn me down I can offer you something far more valuable, information. Last time I didn't know why you asked me about the Quill, but now I know he's your friend and I thought you would like to know this."

Uriel's eyes widened at the sight of a candle. It was plain looking and there was nothing out of the ordinary in it except for the meaning behind the healthy flame topping it.

"Mister Scofield is alive!?"