Pandora's Box

Lucian let out a sigh as he smacked the stone head off another of the approaching Gargoyles, moving at a speed that the creature could not even comprehend before it crumpled to bits as it died. 

"You know, I am glad that you guys finally grew some ball's and started attacking me... But like can't you at least put up a fight?" He murmured, looking down at the stone ash that now lay before his feet. 

It had been what had felt like a few hours since he was abruptly thrown into this world before jumping into the abyss of the Great Orcus Labyrinth. Yet his experience was not that eventful, if anything he would have to categorize it as boring. 

The monsters were cowards and did not even want to face him, choosing to run away most of the time. And even when he met the occasional creature that did have the courage, they were just entirely too weak!

Though that did not stop Lucian from ruthlessly slaughtering any and all monsters who had approached him, and even some who ran away just for fun.

He continued his unbiased massacre until he reached the 50th floor of the abyss, his first checkpoint in his scavenging trip. 

"Is this what Saitama feels like?" he muttered as he stepped over the dust of the dead creature, moving past it and towards the large blue metal gates a small distance away from him.

'Pandora's Box, huh?' Lucian mused as he remembered what Hajime had called the doors in the anime. 'That does not seem entirely accurate, but I suppose it fit the situation for him at the time.' 

"Alright, waky waky boys, I need your balls to open the door." Lucian said, his voice one of calm amusement as he stared up at the two large stone statues that stood next to the giant blue gates of the entrance. 

Lucian let out a sigh when he received no response to his provocation, "Hey! I said wake up!" He yelled, throwing the divinity stone that he still held in his right hand at the statue on the right. 

BOOOM!!

A loud thundering boom sounded out as the crystalline ball of the divinity stone flew straight threw the stone crust of the monster, leaving a large circular hole in its chest that began to spew out a yellow liquid. 

"RAAA!"

A roar rang out from the second monster that was accompanied by another bang as the body of first monster dropped to the ground.

"Oh, are you finally awake." Lucian asked, turning his gaze to face the newly awoken monster, its stone crust having just crackled off of its form as it began to walk towards him. 

"RAA!" 

"Ha, sleeping on the job is grounds for termination," he said, a small chuckle escaping him as he flicked the air before him.

The gesture caused a small burst of air pressure that shot toward the large blue minotaur, blowing it back into the hard stone wall it had just woken up from.

"RAAAR!" The monster roared as it began to get back up, it's tough skin barely even wounded from the attack thrown at it. 

Lucian blinked, "Oh, nice." He commented, stopping as he was about to go and collect one the orbs needed to unlock the door.

"RAAAAAA!" It once again roared as it began to charge towards Lucian. 

"I guess you guys are stronger than those mobs from before huh?" He muttered, not particularly caring that it had survived, nor that it was charging at him.

After all, he had barely even put any force into that attack, careful not to destroy whatever magic he knew was holding the prison together. 

Without paying the monster any mind, he casually swept his arm to the side, unleashing an unimaginable amount of pressure. The force blasted forth, striking the charging minotaur and reducing it to a bloody paste. The stone wall behind the monster was also crushed and painted with its insides.

"You shouldn't have moved away from the gates if you wanted to live." Lucian commented amusedly, knowing full well that he would have killed them either way.

Thrusting his fist deep into the chest cavity of the minotaur before him, Lucian began to look for the mana stones to unlock the gates of the vampire queen's prison. 

After a few moments Lucian finally stood before the large gates of Pandora's box, two large red balls in each hand. 

"Ugh, finally. I did not think I would be knuckles deep in so many guys in one day..." Lucian muttered with a dark chuckle as he swung his hands to the side, attempting to sling off the yellow blood that had already begun to dry over the already dried red blood that stained them. 

"You better be worth my time," Lucian murmured, placing the two round balls he had pulled from the chest of one of the minotaur's along with the remains of the other into the round magnetic keyhole.

The magic on the door seemed to come alive as the two balls were placed into the holes. A blue glow illuminated the door, spreading into a double-layered circular pattern that transitioned to red, forming a complex magical circle.

Whoosh!

A strong gust of wind blew out as a large amount of mana poured into the door, quickly dissipating as the large stone doors slowly began to open.

"Well... It's certainly not as eye-catching as the view of the void, but I'd give it an eight out of ten," Lucian said, nodding in approval as he took in the mesmerizing sight of the inside of the gates.

Golden stars dotted a world as dark as the night sky, arranged in a manner that created an illusion of true nighttime. The stone walkway from the entrance led to a large platform. On this platform sat a giant, swirling golden square, emitting a brilliant golden hue.

"Who's there?" Lucian heard a high-pitched feminine voice echo throughout the room. The golden stars that dotted the darkness in the sky seemed to fade, replaced by green tendrils that snaked their way over to the golden square at her words, lighting up and revealing her appearance.

Long, golden blonde hair cascaded over her stunning yet downcast face, barely allowing a glimpse of her captivating ruby eyes. The faint glow emitted by the square in which she was confined lent her an almost ethereal, holy aura, while revealing only her upper bare torso.

Altogether, she resembled a princess from a fairy tale, enchanting and otherworldly.

"Hello there, Princess," Lucian said casually, a wry smile playing on his lips as he greeted her, choosing the title that best suited her in the moment.

The girl seemed to groggily raise her head as she looked towards the entrance where Lucian stood.

"Please, help me!" She cried out, her voice pleading.

Lucian nodded as he stepped into the room, walking between the large pillars surrounding the walkway, adorned with glowing purple stones.

"Sure Princess, it is one of the main reasons I came down here." Lucian said, a small chuckle escaping him at the end of his sentence. 

Like he would ever come down to this boring place if not for the pretty vampire girl and the ancient magic.

He just hopes that Kaiaos is really as chill as she demonstrated before, or well... 

The girl seemed to widen her eyes at Lucian's statement as she spoke, "R-Really!?" She exclaimed, her eyes full of hope as she leaned forward. 

The soft sound of Lucian's bare feet echoed on the stone as he ascended the steps leading to the platform where she rested.

"Yeah Princess, I have no reason to lie." He said amusedly. 

And that he did not, he had decided the moment people started calling him a demon in this world that he would take it upon himself to assert himself in that identity. 

'Who would have thought that the residents of this world would have given me an identity themselves.' He thought amusedly, almost wanting to chuckle at the thought. 

"Who are you?" She asked just as Lucian reached the top of the stairs and stood before the large floating square, in which she was encapsulated.

Lucian gave a short hum in thought before replying, "Lucian." He said simply.

She seemed to murmur something a few times, but Lucian interrupted her thoughts as he spoke, "And you? What's your name?" He asked, already knowing the answer, as he placed one of his hands on the side of the square. 

Her blood red eyes scanned his actions for a moment as she seemed to think about his words before finally, she spoke, "Give me one." She said, her gaze one of expectation. 

If there was one thing Lucian could not judge Hajime on was the name he had given to the Loli vampire, so when he spoke, "Yue." He truly meant it. 

"Yue?" she murmured, a mixture of curiosity and a desire to hear the words spoken aloud.

Lucian gave a serine nod, as if reminiscing about something, "Yes." He affirmed, letting out a short sigh before continuing.

"I once knew a place where 'Yue' meant the moon. And you remind me a lot of it." Lucian said simply, he had never been one for words. 

But that seemed to be enough for the vampire, who had been imprisoned for nearly her entire life. Even through her stoic expression, he could see her happiness as she spoke, "From this day forward, I'm Yue..." She said, her eyes filled with emotion.