Dungeon Raider System
Chapter 677 - 677: Closing time

Uriel returned to the megacity of Hollywood along with Nika after confirming they weren't on the most wanted list like he suspected.

It was hard for him to believe Mark didn't give the story a spin to make Uriel or his company look like they were the culprits as Uriel knew Mark to be a snake in the grass, but there was nothing incriminating in June's live transmission as it was cut right after Mark rescued Mason out of the crater.

"Great, now people think he's a hero." Uriel bit his thumbnail as he grumbled.

"What do you care? It's not like it will affect us in any way, not after today." Nika said her eyes red from crying, yet she dutifully followed Uriel across the streets acting as his bodyguard.

"Don't be sad, this wasn't a failure, just a small setback. If Medusa's plan works we'll make it big." Uriel tried to comfort Nika thinking she was sad about their failure, but his suspicions were cleared when Nika started ugly crying.

"My Nikola! Why did we have to park it in the open!? I should have set it to return to the city after using it." Losing the car didn't just meant losing a means of transportation, it was so expensive that now the company was in red numbers again meaning she would have to work extra hard to get the company back on its feet. And she really hated working.

Uriel ignored Nika's wails all the way to Lister's office where they were greeted by Halstead and let in immediately as they were hurting for answers, but not as much as Uriel who needed the monetary compensation he would receive for turning in said answers.

At first Lister didn't show any emotion in his face and listened in silence which led Uriel to understand that the youthful governor was in the know about the comings and goings of the society. He also seemed unfazed when he mentioned the fabled city of Cibola, but that lasted only until Uriel mentioned it being made with gold.

No amount of gold would save their city, at least not until the blockade caused by Sam ended and the zeppelins resumed their trade routes, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to get as much of it as they could extract.

Lister's enthusiasm died when Uriel informed him all the gold was missing and he made a face much similar to the one Uriel was making at the same time. It wasn't a poker face so much as a neutral face so fake it was a poor mask to their emotions.

Uriel mentioned the nameless creature in passing since that kind of data was best sold at the Cryptid hunting agency and that was Luna's job.

At the same time Uriel walked out with a suitcase filled with money, Luna found herself entering the Cryptid hunting agency to fulfill her duty. This time, instead of hiding away the head of the Hollywood branch of the agency let her in and immediately offered her pastries which Luna promptly accepted after dropping a folder on the desk.

It contained all the data she had collected about the cryptids that inhabited the dungeon, some of which was thanks to Uriel's experience in the abyss, some were recounts from sightings made by other hunters and the most detailed one came directly from Luna herself.

Luna doodled some sketches of the nameless creature while Alioth examined the contents of the folder, expressing her worry more than once about creatures such as the light seekers being released in the wilderness as they posed a threat to any and all hunters no matter their rank.

As if that wasn't enough, little was known about their appearance, only that they were capable of flying and attacked in swarms.

Creatures that would attack any source of light were already bad enough, but when she saw Luna's drawing Alioth fell speechless until Luna explained the creature had already been taken care of.

"Unfortunately, I can't offer you a reward for the alleged killing of this nameless creature you claim you saw." Alioth explained.

"But... It was there. You don't believe me?" Luna insisted.

"It's not that, the intel you provided us with has been incredibly helpful to the hunters of this city and I'm very grateful. There's no telling on how many lives you saved by sharing that information when we needed it the most. I do believe you saw that creature, but nobody placed a bounty on its head.

I could pay you for the drawings and the information you have about it in case something similar appears on the future."

"Uhm... okay." Luna extended her hand towards Alioth who instead of taking it nodded at her assistant.

From the moment Alioth saw Luna for the first time she vowed to make things right for the tiny huntress who found herself caught in a small company that worked her to the bone and used her sizeable resources and the hunters at her disposal to do so.

"There's something I'd like you to know, we found your family. If you want, you're free to go with them now." Alioth spoke somberly as the door creaked open behind Luna.

"I don't care where my Cassandra is, she's an adult. Please... uhm... sneeze up the money." Luna's poor attempt at using an idiom prompted the woman who had just entered the room chuckle as she wiped off a tear from her eye.

"Luna, is that really you?" The woman asked but didn't wait for an answer as she immediately leaned in for a hug.

"Mother?" Luna's eyes became sharp slits for the first time in her life, but that lasted only until the reassuring smell of a hybrid reached her nostrils and she let herself be soothed by the familiar smell as she threw off board all any plans or promises she made.

Meanwhile the Pegasus neared the city of Texas, hovering at a low altitude to stay under the radar so to speak. Medusa knew about Sam's trait and was aware that he was unable to see through solid matter which meant that they could use the curvature of the earth to cover their movements.

The megacity of Texas remained in complete disarray, but as soon as they were within radio communication range they were hailed by the city which meant the wall had been repaired and efforts to rebuild it hadn't been in vain.

Instead of asking permission to land inside the city, though, Phlox stopped the ship mid air as the person they were searching for lit up a flare from the wall and jumped off like it was nothing, only to board the ship before it even touched ground.

"Goodness gracious, don't you know this is a no fly zone? If that idiot spots you..." Jon scolded Medusa first thing upon entering the ship, but she quickly rebuked him.

"I'm not a child anymore, uncle." She said as she embraced Jon Hunter.

"I know, but you can't ask me to not worry about you," Jon replied with a fatherly smile at the huntress that was now taller than him. They weren't related, but on Jon's eyes, Winona Works would always remain the shy girl that turned his life for the better with a simple gesture of kindness. She was the daughter Jon never had which only made what he wanted to say more difficult.

"Did you hear he news?" He asked hoping for a positive answer.

"I know about the explosion and I also know what caused it, you won't believe it!" Medusa exclaimed blissfully unaware of Jon's pained grimace.

"It's not about the explosions, it's about your grandfather. I'm so sorry to tell you this but... he's in critical care."

"No! It can't be!" Medusa's face distorted before Jon had the chance to finish speaking and she tightened the embrace. Had Jon not been a holy rank hunter it would have been painful, deadly even. She bawled her eyes out, but only for a few seconds until she became eerily silent.

Medusa's family was numerous to say the least, yet the only two people she considered her own family were Jon and her grampa. To her, losing either of them meant losing half of her family and she couldn't bear the thought of her grampa passing away without saying goodbye.

Sadness gave way to determination as Medusa broke the hug and shook her head. She just said it and she couldn't take her words back, she wasn't a child anymore. As an adult, she needed to take control of her own decisions and that was precisely what she intended to do as she ran to the ship's bridge.

"Phlox, set the course east full throttle." With Jon by her side, Medusa knew Sam wouldn't dare to appear nearby.

"Are you sure?" Phlox hesitantly asked for confirmation.

"We're crossing the ocean." Was all she replied with an uncharacteristic cold voice that left to space for further questioning.

The promise the group of friends made to never get separated was the only light in the cold dark world filled with nasty creatures and selfish people Uriel lived in. And now the promise was broken that light was lost forever.

It would have crushed Uriel if not for one slight but meaningful detail, he was now a millionaire.