Chapter 78 - Night 79

We honestly sat around and watched the battle for hours, and it didn't seem likely to end… At some point, it stopped feeling like a contest… And more like a concert. We're simply here to have a good time, okay? It wasn't until a particular performance began that I decided. Listen up… Everyone~ It's time! I said it. It's happening. Right meow. Honestly though… I don't really know what we're doing. Somehow… Somehow, my favorite Bat… Benji, ended up convincing us all to get up and dance along to his performance. Well, he convinced me… And I convinced my other Clansmen, but many of the others joined in as well. It was a moshpit. The 'Bloodsuckers' are performing the 'Thr*ller', and genuinely… The Vampires were just making percussion by slapping their hands on the ground as if this were a game of 'Patty C*ke'... But Benji was going off, okay?! He had us all enthralled by his ridiculous entrance of soaring through the skies along to the beat of the Vampires before he finally landed and began his verse. It was magical, and so… When the time came, the dancing commenced momentarily. Many of us joined in. His actual second verse, was also going spectacularly… The Banshees were helping him with singing background effects, there were light flames sprinkled everywhere from a bunch of really weak [Pumpkin Bomb]s that I spontaneously whipped out while I danced and everything! It was around halfway through the verse, when a particular Teacher and her Students… Mike and Ike, stormed on in and caught us right in the midst of our shaky legs. It was a moment, and a half. I didn't stop. I don't think anyone else did, either. We're still going... To the end. The show must go on! [Pumpkin Bomb]!

"What madness is this?!" [Teacher Sama] exclaimed as she held a ruthless expression against the ensemble.

"Woahh…" [Brother #1] exclaimed as he glared at the spectacle.

"Hey, why is Elly in there?!" [Brother #2] shouted frantically.

"Eh?! Where?!" [Brother #1] asked excitedly.

"Right… Over there!" [Brother #2] exclaimed as he pointed to his sister… Masterfully dancing along to the song with a pompous look on her face.

"That's enough! Elly! Get over here, this instant!" [Teacher Sama] screamed as she finally noticed her rogue student.

"No!" [Elly] shouted back as she finished the dance. To which, the Teacher visibly fumed for all to see. Smoke out her ears, and eyes wreaking fear. To which, the young Girl shuddered... Somewhat.

"Alright, Lady… I vaguely know who you are, but I'm Nero Miki. I'm the True Allwe Halloween Cat." [Nero] introduced himself with a smile as he got atop of his Broom and began to float somewhat above the crowd.

"My name is not Lady. I am Melissa Paislie, the Professor of this Manor. Who are the others?" [Melissa Paislie] exclaimed with a calculating expression, and suddenly calm demeanor.

"My name is Cetilla Vellisroi. I'm a Halloween Catkin Sorceress… The first member to Nero's Cat Crew." [Cetilla] introduced herself with a smirk as her hair flowed violently in the definitely not windy room.

"I am Hobgoblin Samurai Punk. I'm a Halloween Hobgoblin Berserker… The fourth member to Nero's Cat Crew." [Hobgoblin Samurai Punk] introduced himself with an award winning smile while puffing out his chest and flexing his absurd muscles.

"I am Budget Shark. I'm a Halloween Drarke Runner… The fifth member to Nero's Cat Crew." [Budget Shark] introduced himself before snapping down on a piece of Waffle which definitely was not there a moment ago.

"My name is Luna Pratz. I'm a Halloween Human Vampire Unholy Priestess in service to Nero. These are my followers… The three Vampire Knights… Steve, Mick, and Andy." [Luna Pratz] exclaimed with a smile.

"I am Molag Dregora. I'm a Halloween Lich Necromancer in service to Nero. These are my followers… The seven Skeleton Sword Masters, the six Banshee Wraiths, and the eight Phantasm Wraiths." [Molag Dregora] introduced himself and many of the Clansmen.

"Excuse me… I'm Betty. Also, we're following Nero… He just so happened to be the one who created us." [Betty] interjected with a look of indifference.

"I'm White Beef Lady, a Werewolf Brawler in service to Nero. Can we get to fighting already?" [White Beef Lady] exclaimed with a sigh.

"I'm Conrad. I'm a Crowli Aerial Reaper in service to Nero. These are Connor and Con. They're Crow Scouts." [Conrad] declared with a calculating expression.

"I'm Mr Scarecrow." [Mr Scarecrow] introduced himself with a flat expression.

"Mrs Scarecrow." [Mrs Scarecrow] affirmed his statement with a nod.

"I'm Fred, this is Daphne. We're Scarecrows." [Fred] introduced himself and his partner.

"I'm Wanda. This is Cosmo, and we're all Berserkers. All the Scarecrows follow Nero." [Wanda] explained with an exasperated expression.

"I'm Benji, a Bat Phantom. All of the Bats are Phantoms, and we all follow Nero. These are Vivian, Edward, and Robert." [Benji] explained with a happy expression.

"I'm Penny, the Pixie Songweaver... And this is Christina. We're following Nero." [Penny] sang out with a smile.

"I'm a Corocdae Barbarian." [Christina] explained bluntly.

"I'm Wendel, the Weeping Angel Siren following Nero!" [Wendel] wailed dramatically as if begging for help.

"She's La Ciguapa…" [Hobgoblin Samurai Punk] whispered to a particular Halloween Cat whilst the others were introducing themselves.

"I'm Leoric Eldinheim... A Dark Elf Shadowdancer following Nero. Everyone here is of Halloween..." [Leoric Eldinheim] introduced himself with a humble attitude before he approached the Teacher while he continued…

"Lasiwhat now?" [Nero] muttered under his voice.

"One way or another, officially or not… We all follow Nero, and we're not here to cause trouble." [Leoric Eldinheim] concluded admirably as he got on his knees, took the Teacher's hand and gently kissed it.

"La Ciguapa." [Melissa Paislie] exclaimed with a sharp expression.

"...Leoric was being honest… We carry no ill intent towards you." [Nero] declared while trying to avoid showing his nervousness.

"Even so… You threaten the intellect of my students!" [Melissa Paislie] screamed hysterically.

"What do you mean?! Elly said that she was your best student!" [Nero] slammed back exasperatedly.

"That CHILD?! She hands in work faster than I can grade it, and it's ALL trash!" [Melissa Paislie] mercilessly cleared the room of all sound.

"...Elly?" [Nero] slowly turned to ask the child, who had suddenly disappeared.

Oi! What's with the disappearing act?! First, the Chef… Now the Daughter?!

"She does it every single time…" [Melissa Paislie] muttered with an exhausted expression as she hysterically glared at the Halloween Cat before continuing.

"She always escapes…" [Melissa Paislie] mumbled before she screamed at the top of her lungs…

"Elly Von Hanschmite! Get the hell back here before I come and find you myself, you damned dalcop!" [Melissa Paislie] screamed… To which, shining red light emit from her mouth… Tracing along through the sky, until it finally found her… The young girl stealthily heading towards the exit leading back into the Dining Hall.

After being hit by the word attack, Elly seriously fell over… I saw a light bulb above her head, before it exploded… And she fainted. It was intense. Turning to face the Teacher once more…

"What's a dalcop?" [Nero] begged the question with a tired look on his face. To which, the Teacher dramatically sighed before making her explanation.

"It's a foolish person… Now that I've captured my lost student… I'll permit all of you cumberworlds to vacate my presence." [Melissa Paislie] explained while looking exhausted.

"...Insulting the child was one thing, but insulting us… A mistake you shan't live to learn." [Cetilla Vellisroi, the Dutchess of Doom] declared with a sharp expression after her hair stopped wildly floating for a split moment.

...What are cumberworlds?! Excuse me… Did I somehow get stupid all of a sudden?! Was it always this way?! Oh my…

"I don't make mistakes. I am the Giver of Truth. I only bestow genuine, cold, hard… Facts." [Melissa Paislie] retorted with a determined look on her face.

"Well… I don't align myself with cumberworlds, and I know very well that I am not one." [Cetilla Vellisroi] shot back with a snide expression.

"You know not of those you align yourself with, you know only of what you seek." [Melissa Paislie] enlightened the Halloween Catkin Sorceress with a sigh.

"...What the hell is a cumberworld?!" [Nero] interjected with a distraught look on his face.

"...A useless person." [Melissa Paislie & Cetilla Vellisroi] explained in harmony as the two continued to glance at each-other.

"...Huh…" [Nero] sighed while rubbing his chin.

"I believe you need new friends." [Melissa Paislie] declared with a flamboyant expression as she continued to glance at the Dutchess.

"...These friends will grant me what I seek." [Cetilla Vellisroi] confessed with a sigh.

"In the end, you shall grieve." [Melissa Paislie] mumbled.

"Then I shall grieve." [Cetilla Vellisroi] replied while seemingly unfazed.

"It will not be easy..." [Melissa Paislie] shot back while squinting.

"But when it has passed, I will feel relieved." [Cetilla Vellisroi] declared brazenly while looking off into the distance.

"Very well… The path you have chosen, you have chosen of your own accord… Moving along, is you… Hobgoblin Samurai Punk, I believe it was?" [Melissa Paislie] accepted the Sorceress' resolve before turning to the Hobgoblin.

"...That is correct." [Hobgoblin Samurai Punk] replied with a smile.

"To follow your current path… Will only bring pain to you in the end." [Melissa Paislie] explained while seeming somewhat dejected.

"...But I'm having a good time?" [Hobgoblin Samurai Punk] asked while seeming confused.

"For now~ But you will soon desire more, and there's no telling if you'll ever be granted your true desires." [Melissa Paislie] flamboyantly continued on.

"...But you only speak of truth?" [Hobgoblin Samurai Punk] asked while seeming even more confused than before.

"...Fate is fickle… It tends to bend for some of the more iron-willed…" [Melissa Paislie] mumbled before continuing…

"I regret to inform you that you are not one of those individuals. Fate will not bend for you… But it may still bend in your favor." [Melissa Paislie] declared before giving off a pained expression as she glared at the still smiling Hobgoblin.

"What about me? Am I going to have my fortune told?" [Budget Shark] asked with excitement.

"You… You poor creature…" [Melissa Paislie] muttered under her breath after taking one look at the Land Shark.

"Alright… Listen here, Lady… I do NOT appreciate you walking around and shaming my friends for their questionable choice in accompanying me! I worked hard for this, god damn it! Don't ruin this for me!" [Nero] slammed back at the Teacher with an angered expression as he assumed his largest form.

"Hmph! You… Challenge ME?!" [Melissa Paislie] burst out laughing.

"...So what if I do?!" [Nero] shot back while squinting with one eye as he bent forward to take a closer look at the Teacher.

"You may be capable of bending fate time and time again… But it will never change the fact that you are a self righteous whiffle-whaffle!" [Melissa Paislie] screamed... To which, that same shining red light emit from her mouth… Tracing along through the sky, towards the Halloween Cat…

After being hit by the word attack which genuinely chased me as if it were a missile... I noticed a light bulb above my own head… And I also noticed it explode right in my face. What a silly ability… It dealt around 300 MP, and I can imagine it being a big deal for someone if they took it on without armor… Even so, I'm fully clothed from the best of the Cat's Costumery! I'm not your typical Cat, anymore... I'm the True Allwe Halloween Cat, Lady. The Master of Time! I will bend that fate to fiction if I must! Also… What the hell is a whiffle-whaffle?! I'm done with this Lady… She's too much for me, and it's only been like five minutes... Flat.

"Hmph… Don't shout at me… You lose all credibility when you scream~" [Nero] nonchalantly commanded of La Ciguapa while appearing absolutely unfazed by the attack as he crossed his arms and shook his head.

"You lose all credibility to retort the statement when you require such an obnoxious amount of time to think." [Melissa Paislie] shot back while already seeming exhausted.

"...What is your problem, anyways?" [Nero] begged the question while seeming fed up with the conversation.

"My… Problem?" [Melissa Paislie] asked while appearing shocked. To which, the Halloween Cat only nodded.

"I've had this wicked... Recurring pain in the back of my neck, it feels as though someone is stabbing me… I have three incompetent brats to teach, one of which never listens while another spends most of his time sleeping… The last spends most of her time running amok in the Mansion…. I'm piled up to my head in paperwork due to her shenanigans and my own duty as her Teacher, I can't find my treasured Broach, Randal hasn't been returning my calls, and now... You lot came appearing, threatening to harm our way of living!" [Melissa Paislie] let out, losing all composure as dozens of lines began to emit from her body… Reaching out, and stabbing all of those within the room.

Welp… That dealt a whole 473 damage… It killed many of my weaker Clansmen. I'm still standing, strongly; if I may... But this Woman… She's dangerous to spend time talking to. I should try and wrap this up quickly. I don't desire to kill everyone we come across, especially if they can speak… But just speaking seems to be problematic for her, regardless of how fluent she is in doing so. She mentioned having a pained neck… So I guess, to appease her… That may be the best place to start?

"Luna… Please try to heal Melissa." [Nero] asked the Vampire with a weak smile.

"Okay~" [Luna Pratz] replied with a sigh while rolling her eyes before beginning to cast [Unholy Healing] on La Ciguapa.

Moments later, rays of orange light began to surround the Teacher… Shining fantastically as they burned brightly around her body. I love the Halloween abilities. I'll be the first to admit it. It's blood, wind, orange, or purple. There's hardly ever an ability that does not follow under those specific guidelines for aesthetic… Except Melissa's abilities… Her abilities seem strange. They're special, or something. Her abilities didn't seem to follow much of a color palette. They were unique, and seemed to have less of a visual effect budget going for them. It was like that. I say that as though it's all said and done… But even with a less sore neck, La Ciguapa was still not pleased. She wants her Broach, and she wants someone else to handle grading Elly's work. It's a whole thing. She even went so far as to walk us into her wing of the Mansion while we help her. We're good Samaritans. Cetilla and Budget Shark both appear to regret accepting to help her… But we're going through with it. The way I see it, if we can manage to stay on the Teacher's good side… Then we have attained a very safe place to reside while here. The Teacher's wing can't be touched by anyone but the Students… The Butler can come close to it, but that's irrelevant.

Cetilla claimed that attacking the Father while he's nearby the Slime Pool would be absolute suicide, so there's very little reason for us to actually venture north of the Library. Well… We could also use it to gain access to the Arachne Courtyard, which potentially even leads us to an encounter with the Mother… But if she doesn't show up, we could very easily become trapped out there. The Teacher can get us out to the Slime Pool, but she's unlikely to come back and check up on us. We'd be locked out, with only two options. Wait for the Butler and pray that he does not have the Maids and Father in tow… Or wait for the Mother to dramatically glare out of the balcony for her literal Closet ROOM! It requires a certain level of ego to do that even once, let alone on a nightly basis. And so, we're meow getting a tour of the Piano Room directly west of the Foyer… The Classroom north of it, the Teacher's Quarters south of it, and the Library west of it. After having our short little tour, we decided to spend our time in the Piano Room. Luna Pratz happened to be quite versatile while wielding the Piano, but the Teacher was better than any of the others. We had a grandiose time, throwing Elly's work into the trash… And deciding to force her to take her time while completing future work. She would simply need to redo all of the previously ungraded work. It is what it is. She lied to us, and she's ruthless. We tried to grade her work, genuinely… At first, that is.

Eventually, we realized that every single document was a failing grade… So we trashed it all. If I must say, burning her papers was the most satisfying experience of my new life... So far. We spent our time performing dramatically to piano versions of our previously favored songs instead. I was sort of just watching, but I danced as well. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew... The Cat Crew was dancing. We had a fabulous time. The two brothers didn't really know what to do with themselves… So they sat in a corner the entire time, missing dinner while we partied through the night with Melissa. She's fine once you get to know her… But her truth bomb attacks are ridiculous. I needed to heal several Clansmen over the course of the night, but I had a good time. It certainly wasn't as costly as it may have been had I been venturing through various Hallways. We found the boy, so I'd say… We're more or less winning for this adventure. We don't NEED to kill the damned Father. He might not even revive… We never lost our Key to the Pharoahdin's area… So it might actually be a bad thing if we kill the Father.

Think about it… Killing that guy and stealing his loot might just cause this entire Dungeon to never be rewarding forevermore. Every night, his inventory and his existence is copied… At least to a fraction of its original being. It allows other adventurers to make a living. We really can't haphazardly go and destroy too much of this Dungeon. We've already removed the Pharoahdin from this Dungeon. Who knows what kind of effect that will have several years down the line when our mishap actually comes to the front-line?! I haven't done the math on exactly when our timeline of this Dungeon will reach the front-line… But I think it's going to be in a long while. This Dungeon's rules of time are weird, okay?! I can't be held accountable if I don't fully understand how they work! We're going to gain a lot of enemies if we poorly mishandle this Dungeon. That's all I know. We can't go off and kill all the main stars of the show, which attract individuals to even face it in the first place. We need to be careful. We can't kill the Father. After explaining as much to Cetilla, she sighed and was visibly irritated… But it can't be helped. The Father is the genuine star of this Dungeon, in the eyes of adventurers… Anyways. In my eyes, it's that Great Grandfather. He's amazing. He single-handedly stands against the Sphinx, even while being locked in confinement. He's one of, if not… The only individual who genuinely resides here and is not brutally attacked by the Clock of Coincidences. He's the most valuable player in this damned, fabulous Mansion~

We can theoretically capture the Grandfather under one condition. He needs to genuinely believe that we stand a chance against the Sphinx, and that Clock. Currently, clearly… He does not believe in us. We need more strength. It won't happen in a single night, so we're probably going to be better off trying to avoid this nightmare of a Mansion. We should honestly just lay low… Until we can leave. We found the Bearkin… We can escape, and even turn a ridiculous profit. He's trapped in time, so even if he's in immense pain… He can not die until after we escape. That is, if we can avoid having him take any more damage. When put like that, I can't help but be confused about how the mutations even work. It's very clear to see that many of those imprisoned in this moment are being slowly mutated into Halloween Clansmen. It's ridiculous. It's nasty. It's seductive for yours truly, but it's still genuinely undesirable for the general public. Most would not agree with me, that many should be Halloween Clansmen. It's an unpopular opinion, one that is hilariously biased beyond belief… But I myself… Believe that Halloween is the clan for you. It is what it is. Halloween is the most important time of the year. Prove me wrong... You can't. I rest my case. Mwah~

Honestly though? I just wish that Ivand would shut up. He's been mercilessly moaning the entire time that I have met him… Which MUST have been hours at this point. He's persistently obnoxious. He won't stop. He can't stop. He's in JUST enough pain to relentlessly groan all over the place. Not even the Piano can drown him out, regardless of my own naive hopes and dreams. I wished that the Piano could do it, but alas… We hath failed. He won't stop, and we probably need to sleep in separate rooms. It's like that. I don't actually NEED sleep, but I definitely need to be away from… Him. He's the greatest reason as to why this Mansion is such an absolute nightmare. He's the problem. He's not even supposed to be here, and he's the problem. That's it. I'm not sorry. I don't apologize. Ivand Bernardi, you, my friend; are the weakest link. I was thinking such things as I ruthlessly tossed the Bearkin into the Slime Pool. He can make it. We painstakingly made our way through a hallway in order to drop him off… But it happened. There were 70 rooms in the hallway. It wasn't massive, but it wasn't tiny. We needed to deal with it twice. Not to mention, the hallway leading from the Piano Room to the Library also had 70 rooms. The Cat Crew took most of the glory, if I'm being honest. Hobgoblin Samurai Punk, and Budget Shark have both gotten it into their heads that the hallways are their only chance at gaining vast amounts of experience points. It's probably because Cetilla has been acting seriously cocky since she held her little horizontal tornado fiasco. She was spouting some nonsense about having gained over a hundred levels already. We're badasses or something. Nyah~

After ditching the groaning Bearkin worth 5000 freaking Gold Coins… We, being the dedicated, respectable individuals that you all know and love… Decided it would be for the best if we spent our time carousing the Library all night. We had a study session, on no subject in particular… We simply… Learned. We were all reading, but Budget Shark totally had one of the dozens of Scarecrows help him with turning pages. It was a moment, I'd say... After we had learned something new, we would toss it around to the table. We were all sitting around a long table, and we all had piles of books in-front of us by the time that the night had ended. I learned a great many things on that fine night… Especially things regarding my personal, favored continent of Melchiadore. For example, the 'Crevice of Cries', the 'Hell's Tower', the 'Sinister Sewers', the 'Mountain of Nightmares', the 'Peak of Doom', the 'Gruesome Graveyard', and the 'Mummy Mansion' are all Dungeons of the Halloween Clan. They also, are all located within this very continent. Even though most of the monsters roaming the lands of this continent are of the Easter or Valentine Clans... A very large portion of the Dungeons here are Halloween themed. Apparently, it's due to the longevity of Halloween. Halloween is known for Time Magic. We're prime real estate for long-term investments when it comes to Dungeon Masters, or something. Our Dungeons last longer… It may even be plausible to say that our Clan Leaders survive longer. It would certainly explain why I can never seem to gain any knowledge as to previous Halloween Cats on this continent. It might just be… That because of how long Halloween Cats generally live, we don't appear as often? I don't know. I'm perpetually unaware, it seems. Even in a ridiculously large library, I can't seem to find all of the answers that I crave.

There are supposedly 20 freaking Dungeons plaguing this continent. One may say that… But I have a different theory. These Dungeons... They generate a whole lot of MP. It doesn't really make sense, the way that they endlessly spew out monsters. They're most likely… The prime reason as to why Melchiadore is ranked in the top 50 of the most magical locales. If I hope to have my bloodline rule Halloween, I really can't go along and destroy Melchiadore's prime way of attaining more Mana. If my offspring hope to claim even more power than I did, they'll need the efficiency of Dungeons. It might honestly be a bad idea to actually slay a Dungeon Master to reset a Dungeon. These Dungeons are carefully designed architectures that only the Dungeon Masters hold the blueprints for... They're built to last centuries, endlessly streamlining more energy into these realms. If we recklessly destroy them all… Then all of our funnel abilities will be exposed, and we might even end up with a world having absolutely no mana... Whatsoever. No Dungeons, no mana. It's as simple as that. Honestly… We can't slay the Sphinx. We simply need the neuter the Sphinx.

Take some power away, do some damage… Not too much, but just enough to make him think twice about expanding to try and increase his reach out into Melchiadore. So far, it would appear that all Dungeons are their own realms. They all have two things in common. They want to invade Melchiadore, and they have latched themselves on to Melchiadore. I've only explored two Dungeons… But it seems to be the case. I've already drawn the connection. It was too simple, really… These other realms… They all carry needlessly large amounts of energy. They all have relatively low amounts of monsters, but they've all reached the state of vast power. They're overly developed realms, seeking to sink their teeth into Melchiadore… The realm with tens of thousands of Tier 1 to Tier 3 monsters, and only thousands of monsters above Tier 4. Melchiadore seems juicy. It appears, to have plenty of excessively weak civilians… But it also has heroes amidst them. It has individuals like Cetilla, hellbent on defending it. These few needlessly strong individuals are the backbone of Melchiadore. They keep it going, against all odds. I just happened to drop in with the potential to change everything, which is probably why Melissa insulted me. When it comes to wish fulfillment, in these scenarios… I'm almost as good as it gets. I'm at least a 'B Minus'. I'm above a passing grade, but I'm not exceptional. At the very least, many of my followers are devoted to an actual Angel. An Angel of kindness, nonetheless. Mwuahahaha~! I'm kind or something. Allegedly...

I was mulling over such things as we learned… I probably ignored a whole lot of what we were supposed to have all learned as a team… But it's fine. I'm not too bothered. I managed to listen in on a few topics, which is good enough. Apparently, among the Halloween Clan… There are five predominant factors which usually come into play when designating whether a type of creature is of the Clan. They are Undead, Shapeshifters, Spirits, Puppets, or Abominations. In addition to that, the Dark, Fire, and Wind elements also tend to correlate towards Halloween. Be that as it may, the Fire element also tends to correlate to Valentines, while the Wind element also tends to correlate to the Christmas. It explains why Cetilla was able to easily swap Clans on a whim, at the very least. I think that Budget Shark may have always been an Abomination… But meow, he's a real Abomination… Hobgoblin Samurai Punk? As it turns out, he's a Fire elemental. It took considerable digging into his history to figure it out, because honestly… None of his abilities seem very showboaty of his affinity… But it's true. Apparently, Hobgoblin Samurai Punk was originally of the Valentine Clan, but swapped over. Most of the Goblins, generally speaking… Are of the Easter Clan. Hobgoblin Samurai Punk was already sticking out, before he even became a Hobgoblin. Sadly, it's the reason why he was so uptight and hostile towards new faces when I had first met him. He had outgrown that aspect of feeling conspicuous ever since then… But it was a real problem for him. I'm proud of him, for overcoming such a feat. I told him so, myself~ After I said so… I was brutally halted by a particular Sorceress.

"Nero… I need to speak to you about something." [Cetilla Vellisroi] declared abruptly, silencing the room.

"Eh?!" [Nero] let out, while being dragged around towards the edge of the room, away from the crowd.

"Nero… Ever since she died… Rei hasn't been the same!" [Cetilla] frantically exclaimed as she shook the shoulders of the Halloween Cat.

"...What do you mean?" [Nero] asked with a troubled expression as he was continuously shaken.

"...I didn't want to mention it at first… Until I knew for a fact that she wouldn't hear me say it… I don't know why I waited so long… But Rei changed. She's not the same girl that I grew up with anymore..." [Cetilla Vellisroi] confessed while looking down and seeming hesitant.

"Cetilla… I'm sorry. I wasn't sure how becoming a Banshee may have affected her… I shouldn't have allowed her to change…" [Nero] sincerely apologized.

"No… Nero… She's… She's better now." [Cetilla, the Dutchess of Doom] declared slowly while seeming absolutely determined.

"...Eh?" [Nero & Hobgoblin Samurai Punk] let out while seeming confused.

"Nero… Before she became a Banshee, she was always going off about wanting to be the biggest in the gambling industry... Regardless of her poor LUK, and she constantly begged of me to play Safari Cards with her… As a means of keeping her from going rusty." [Cetilla Vellisroi] confessed with a sigh before continuing…

"Now, all that she cares about is power. If I must say, I don't mind." [Cetilla] exclaimed with a carefree expression.

"You know… All I want is a good sausage." [Budget Shark] chimed in after eating another piece of the mystery waffles that he had obviously gone to great lengths in order to conceal having possessed.

"...We can't go and face the Chef." [Nero] shot back with an exasperated expression as he glared at the waffles being ruthlessly devoured by the Land Shark.

"Can we at least befriend him?!" [Budget Shark] retorted as he slung back another waffle. To which, everyone present groaned.

And so, we are meow on our way back. We're going to the Foyer, and then to the Dining Hall. First, we're going to retrieve our Bearkin… But nyah~ It's no big deal. My favorite Land Shark and Hobgoblin are in fighting spirits. They're determined to handle the entire hallway leading up to the Bearkin. It was honestly reckless of us to leave him all the way down there, but his moaning was top notch. He was beyond being painstaking to have around. He was the devil incarnate. I wholeheartedly understand why he ended up challenging this Dungeon solo. He was simply THAT difficult to have around. Nyah~ I was thinking such things as I followed the pair along, with Cetilla and Melissa at my side, and the Bandsmen performing behind me. They're getting better with acapella. They're not perfect… But they're on their way. I believe in them. I have faith. By the time that we had finally procured the Bearkin, we found him to be wallowing around amidst the Slimes… And we needed to slay quite a few in order to rescue him. The good news? He was saved. The bad news? Many of my Clansmen were doused in slime. It couldn't be helped. We made our way back to the Library while laughing at those slipping all over their slimy selves. I won't speak on behalf of anyone else… But I was having a time.