Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 633: In the army Part 3

Mayhem grabbed the document and skimmed through it, though unlike Lister who had done something similar she didn't understand or care about its content. All she saw was the thin line at the bottom that called for her signature and she mindlessly signed it, just like the piles of documents she signed on a daily basis.

By signing the contract Mayhem, on behalf of the army, was admitting the Dungeon Raiders as equal partners in whatever joined endeavor they took. With just the government acknowledgement, the Dungeon Raiders ere already one step above most companies, but with the army backing them they held a power equal to an international conglomerate.

"Excuse us, colonel, there's something we need to discuss in private." Medusa spoke with a melodious tone of voice.

"Sure, you may use any meeting room you like," Mayhem watched everyone but Lister and his secretary leave the room and spoke with an annoyed tone of voice. "Did you need something else?"

"Are you sure that signing that paper was the right thing to do?" Lister didn't know if he was shocked or impressed by the colonel's decisiveness.

"Did I get scammed? Is this contract rigged against the army or something?"

"No, not really. If anything, it's just a failsafe to make sure no party takes advantage of the other." Lister shook his head. He wanted to explain her that he only signed it out of desperation and because Uriel left him with no choice after defeating his detectives and even Allegro, but he feared that the colonel might not care even if he did.

"Then I don't care. I don't know Lieutenant Sage for a long time, but the short time we spent together was more than enough to convince me he's the one who'll lead the army to victory one day." She looked at her naked hand that now boasted something similar to star shaped freckles.

Before meeting Uriel she could only cause sparkles to appear in her vicinity, but after surviving the perils of the Louisiana wetlands and enduring Cassandra's training her trait had evolved into something way more powerful than she ever imagined.

It allowed her to quickly climb up the army ranks and even evolve into a heavenly rank hunter, but none of that would have been possible if not for that moody lieutenant that was now getting nagged at by Medusa on a contiguous meeting room.

"I can't believe you extorted the army too! Taking advantage of a city at their weakest is absolutely despicable."

"Why are you making such a fuss over this? Things went our way, we get to help everyone and get compensated properly. This way, even if the government pulls something on us, our company won't be dissolved so easily.

As long as we have a good standing with the army, the government won't be able to banish us from a city." Uriel explained inwardly wondering if the sound of Medusa's voice had always been so annoying.

"Citizens are dying as we speak fighting against cryptids and the army has lost contact with the headquarters, yet your first thought is to coerce the army into a shady deal. We should be be helping save this city!" No matter how loud she was or how shrill her voice became, she felt her words weren't reaching him.

"If a city is so weak it depends on a small company to save them, then maybe it's not worth saving in the first place. You've seen what is out there and you know it's far worse than whatever we may find inside a city."

"You've changed, Uriel." Medusa dejectedly replied.

"No, he hasn't." Luna rebuked.

"Why am I not surprised you agree with him." Medusa scoffed.

"I... agree with his perspective, I can't oppose his decision, but it doesn't mean I'm going to take part in it. Whatever the army asks of us as a company won't change anything because I'm planning on staying in the city."

"See Uriel? Even Luna wants to save the city." Medusa said moved by her friend's intention to stay back.

"I'd say it's time for you to stop looking at life through your pink colored glasses. Luna is staying because she wants to further her research about cryptids and what I did today was nothing different to what the Mapple corp. has been doing even before the arrival. Do you think they made their fortune selling rainbows and puppies?

Did you forget how the company owned by Sam's family was taken down by your family's company?" Uriel replied with a voice too cold for Medusa to bear, yet her tears were veiled by the blindfold the same as her sight.

"I'm not justifying my family's company's actions, but there is a better way."

"Actually, there isn't." Nika who up until that moment had remained silent decided it was her time to settle things with an impromptu speech, but was cut short by a knocking on the door and Mayhem barging in without waiting for a reply.

She was wearing her full uniform, even a long cape with shoulder pads that made her look even more imposing if not even pompous. She carried a stern expression on her face and moved around with the air of authority her provisional military rank gave her.

"Get ready, we're setting off in ten." She retreated as suddenly as she barged in, leaving everyone but Uriel puzzled about her intentions.

"She wants us to take her to Texas." Uriel explained.

"How can you tell?" Asked Nika after completely forgetting what she wanted to say a minute ago.

"The same way I knew Lister was going to ask us to eradicate the cryptids from the city. By removing the cryptids from the city, Allegro will become stronger which will allow him to investigate what happened to the zeppelins. Mayhem, instead, wants to find out the reason why she can't communicate with the headquarters which would be easy if it was safe to fly, but it isn't.

The easiest way to investigate what's going on is by going to another city in person and asking for information." Uriel explained.

"I thought Texas was considered a lost city already." Medusa asked, glad that the subject changed before everyone ganged up on her for not wanting to see reason.

"Not according to Soulfire. He said they want to rebuild the city, which means the rangers are probably keeping looters away. For all we know, the army could be helping them too."

Ten minutes were already too short a time to prepare after getting up and it barely gave them enough time reach an agreement. Although Luna and Nika were fine with Uriel taking the chance to offer their services as mercenaries, neither of them wanted to participate on a days long incursion which meant the only member of the Dungeon Raiders that would participate was Uriel.

Medusa already voiced out her feelings and intentions to defend the citizens, Luna wanted to stay back and research what she referred to as urban cryptids but Nika's case was different. She decided it was best for the company to perform her duties in the absence of Uriel, keeping everyone safe and the business going.

Up until that moment Uriel had been confident that no matter what, he would be able to overcome any danger or at least to run away, but when he learned he would be completely on his own he finally realized that things wouldn't be so easy.

Without the physical boost granted to him by the Red thread of fate he was just as strong as a regular heavenly rank hunter. He had a few tricks up his sleeve, like the powerful jaguar spirit that inhabited the clay figurine in his museum or the ability to summon Nika at a distance, but he would be nowhere near a holy rank hunter's level.

By the time Uriel wanted to take notice, he was already on the back of an ATV filled with soldiers. Mayhem in front of him, Halstead on his left and to his right a bulky man with an appearance that stood out way too much for his rank.

"Tate? What are you doing here?" Uriel asked, feeling grateful for the presence of a familiar face but also uncomfortable due to Tate's huge frame overstepping into his personal space.

"I volunteered, Sir." He replied.

"I can see that, I just wanted to know if you'll be taking some time to visit your family." Uriel asked.

"I don't follow." Tate's confused expression was the first hint Uriel got that things weren't going according to plan. The second, was that he noticed they were exiting the city like he expected, but not through the east gate but through the west.

"Huh... Mayhem, I think we're going the wrong way. The city of Texas is that way." Uriel pointed behind.

"Why would we go to that junkyard? We're going west, to the communication outpost." Mayhem made the face Uriel recognized as the one she made all the time before a fight broke out and it wasn't long until he found out the reason why.