Gods?

"You can call me Samael," The blond angel introduced himself, a name which caused Styx to raise a brow as it was a biblical name, not just some ordinary god.

Unwilling to be outdone, the violet haired beauty smiled and stated, "You can call me Polaris."

Styx didn't recognize the name, but he figured she should be at least equal to Samael considering how they interacted.

Loreley and Ygralea were both subservient before their respective gods, following behind them silently in case they requested anything. Both of the envoy's Monster Lords also carried along.

Neither of the two had expected such grand figures to descend when they requested support from their respective forces

They sat at a grand table with Styx at the head, the gods in the highest seats of honor just next to him, followed by Aura and Therina.

Beatrice and Rhea waited on the table while Fiore and several of the dungeon's finest chefs cooked meals.

Just like Aura, the gods were highly appreciative towards the incredibly mana rich honey produced from the mana eater flowers.

Samael looked at Dragon, the Monster Lord who was to join Heaven upon ascension, and Peacock, the other Monster Lord.

"Not bad at all," He commented with a warm smile toward Dragon.

Polaris also glanced between the two of them and snorted in annoyance, the disparity between the two obvious to the eyes of gods. Dragon was superior to Peacock in almost every way, so Samael was naturally proud of his side's acquisition while her mood was soured.

Instead, she turned and focused on Aura, the Monster Lord who miraculously broke through her limit.

"Aura, right? How would you like to join The Void, I will promise you the best of resources and conditions."

She felt as if getting this Monster Lord would offset the disadvantage The Void had against Heaven had in this backwater kingdom, but Styx was the one who responded in a resolute voice.

"She is mine."

"Oh, you can join too. Whilst it is rare for a dungeon to join a force, you are a rare dungeon."

Polaris didn't see any value in Styx outside of his rarity, but him joining alongside Aura was inconsequential to her.

Samael, who had received far more information from Heaven than what The Void had, looked at Styx with appreciative eyes and valued him even more than Aura. It was also the main reason why he personally descended to intervene, rather than Heaven just using some divine weapon or having a Fifth Step angel arrive.

"Styx, how would you like to join heaven? Not only do we have an enormous number of treasures, magitech, and knowledge, but all our angels are beauties."

Everyone was surprised by the strange yet uncharacteristic offer coming from the high level god, especially Polaris who looked toward her envoy who also had a quizzical expression.

Styx however, was truly enticed. He almost immediately jumped on the offer, but managed to restrain himself at the last moment. It was a response clearly seen by the gods, and Samael especially knew how effective his tactic was.

The dungeon lord, who could expand someone's potential, was like an extremely rare treasure that never ran out. He was priceless, but Samael knew just how to 'buy' him.

"I can only apologize."

Styx shook his head and rejected them. If anything, he felt the gods were too surreal, almost fake.

This wasn't because of any particular feeling they gave off, but what they didn't give off. He had been in the presence of Anthea, the goddess of the harvest, as well as the goddess of the earth. There was a particular aura about her which these gods simply didn't have.

It was something intangible that couldn't be expressed in mere words.

"It matters not, you did promise to bring our relations closer though."

"Of course. As long as your demands are acceptable, I will do my best to accomplish them."

"I will have Heaven establish temples here."

"We will also create Void Temples."

Styx sighed and didn't know how to respond. It wasn't an unreasonable request, but he had hoped to build a temple for Aura when it was time for her to ascend, while two superpowers for competition would be like some unknown brand going up against Microsoft and Apple at the same time.

"You must provide your own resources, and can only build it in a location I decide on. If there are any specific location restrictions, we can negotiate on that."

Samael nonchalantly waved his hand, signalling it was of no concern. He did make a brief comment however.

"We will have some angels serve as priestesses. You are also free to touch any of them as you choose."

"That seems a little too good to be true."

"I am sure they will be very receptive of your services."

Styx understood that he meant the ability to help people increase their mana network, while Polaris was getting irritated by not understanding.

"Further discussions can be made with our priestesses."

The group shared more small talk before the feast ended. Getting what he wanted, Samael ascended straight back into the Divine Realm, while Polaris vanished alongside her force's envoy and Peacock.

Styx knew gods and these giant forces worked on their own schedules, and it could be years before said temples were even arranged to be built, so he went back to his daily routines and placed it at the back of his mind.

Once they established their temples, despite the downsides, it would form a strong repulsion towards any invading forces.

~~~~~

⠀

In the Maple Dragon Capital, the royal palace.

The Royal Military Advisor, Julius, was looking over a report that was transmitted to him with the highest priority.

He frowned while looking over the information which recorded a giant battleship descending from the sky, before two gods also descended and annihilated it. One of those gods was identified to belong to Heaven, a force so frightening he got cold shivers just thinking about it.

Nobody had ever gone to all out war with Heaven and won. Angels were known to be fanatical about Heaven, and even the children would fight tooth and nail to protect it. Disregarding each individual's enormous strength, the angels had a form of devotion that had never been replicated elsewhere.

Not long after, a priestess bearing the will of Goddess Eve arrived under urgent news.

An oracle had been passed down onto the devout followers of the goddess.

"The dungeon located in the southern region of the Abyssal Forest is a breeding pit of sodomy and death, soon to become a portal for other empires to invade. It, and the Monster Lord residing within, must be eradicated as soon as possible."

The king and queen were convened with all the military and state advisors to discuss the news.

Three hours later, the doors of the war room were swung open and orders for a call to arms was sent out.

40,000 Third Step soldiers were convened, 10,000 of those being very extravagantly paid adventurers and mercenaries. There were also 2,000 portable war cannons ready to be immediately deployed and fired.

This was the greatest force the kingdom could summon, and it was truly pitting all against the dungeon, or more specifically, Fifth Step Monster Lord.

Goddess Eve's orders were absolute within the kingdom, so the king immediately put everything he could afford into this campaign.

In the Royal Academy of Research and Technology, Earl Vermonte bon Housen looked at the report with a gloomy expression. A force of this magnitude was incredibly powerful, but he held his doubts.

"Even if we win, it would be crippling to our army. There are plenty of better methods, so why would Goddess Eve order the kingdom to attack in such a way? What is she thinking?"

No matter how he tried to figure out her thought process, he came to a single conclusion.

Either way, he had to rapidly focus on his research of being able to stimulate people to be able to reach the Third Step faster. This was imperative to producing new soldiers for the kingdom.

~~~~~

⠀

Styx lay on his back beside a stream running underground, flower spread out over the small hills all around.

The sound of bugs could be heard within the dungeon now, these small creatures adapting to underground life and living in the mana rich area. Along with bugs, were several spiders to prey on them.

The dungeon lord marvelled at how despite not building this part of the ecosystem, it developed by itself.

His dungeon wives also lay on the ground among the flowers next to him except for Therina who sat on her knees just above his head.

"What are you thinking about?" Therina asked with tenderness in her voice, her fingers massaging his temples while her tails curled around and formed a pillow for him.

"A hundred things, yet nothing in particular. The recent events have just been very intensive. I am just relaxing now that things seem to be calming down."

Fiore, who had been laying to his right, calmly said with her eyes closed, "I want to do the Class Up procedure."

Irie had also recently reached <Lv. 19>, so she also said she wanted to as well.

"Well," Styx said with a grin, "I always sleep best after sharing my seed."