5. Previous Residents

"If I sum it up correctly, you're an young Adventurer, who joined a group of bandits by mistake, is that right?"

"Yes, Jack-sama."

After returning to the Dungeon, Jack inquired about Dan's past, before accepting him like Servant.

When Kate and Jul heard Dan, and saw him begging in tears, for a chance to change himself and right his wrongs, they just couldn't keep him responsible for the village raid, like the others dead bandits.

"You three must be hungry, cold and tired, right? Come on, follow me."

Using one of the teleport devices called "Floor Gate" by Jack, the group are teleported to a Floor looking like a big house's hall. It's designed like nothing Dan has seen before, not mentioning Kate and Jul's family. The entry is on a stone platform like those of the Altar's room, placed in the center of a room. Once you leave the platform, you can climb several different stairs, each leading to different Floor Gates. A sign before each stairs threshold, and next to the Floor Gate, indicates their respective destinations. Baths, Kitchens, Bedrooms, Training Rooms, Workshops, even Libraries. The signs are drawings, which allows everyone to understand where they're going. After all, letters and numbers are just drawings in the end. Drawings made to minimize the time to understand an information.

"Tonight, I let you rest. But once tomorrow will come, your training will begin."

"Training?"

"Of course. You don't really think I will tolerate having some Servants who don't know anything about writing, reading, counting, magic, and fighting, at least, do you?"

"Th-that's-"

"Don't worry, it will be faster than you think. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time for us. We will give you just one little push."

"Why do you say "us", Jack-sama?"

Dan finds it strange how Jack chooses to say "I", then "us" sometimes. He doesn't seem fond of talking like a noble. Jack, conscious of that , answers him.

"Us. For me, and Venus."

Venus. The voice they have heard since the Dungeon's entry. She seems see and hear everything.

"Will we meet her too?"

"Later."

Following Jack, the three Humans climb the stairs leading to the Baths' Floor. Just the precedent Floor, the design is unfamiliar. Instead of buckets of water drawn from a well, the water flows out of a magic circle, in a smooth stone-made small pool. After listening to Jack's instructions, the three people went to take a bath, in a room for each of them. When they will come out, new clothes will be prepared for them to wear.

Waiting for them to come out of the bath, Jack was talking with Venus alone.

"Now we have three Servants, Venus."

Unlike previous times Venus spoke, this voice has a touch of intimacy, and does not call Jack "Master".

["Yes, Darling. But you don't seem happy about it. Is that a problem?"]

"Not really. I planned to get some Servants. The thing is I don't know how much time we have before stronger people come here. Some with ill intentions."

Despite having Evolved, Jack has become much weaker than before. Leaving the Demonic Empire only marginally increased his and Venus' chances of survival.

Even if Jack took thirteen years to Evolve, it is important to know that among the Mamonos, those belonging to the female gender, have more chances to accomplish such a great thing.

The Mamonos are essentially a perfect mix between a mortal species, a "machine", and a paranormal being. Since the mortal part is more pronounced in low-level Mamonos, the male gender of different species behaves in a predominantly primal way. The very nature of Nefarious Maryoku amplifies their lowest instincts, and unless born smarter than average, they will be very predictable in their actions.

But if the Mamono is born into the Demonic Beast Class, his urges can be controlled to some degree. But repelling his urges makes the Mamono suffer, in proportion to the time he spends doing so. Only by becoming a Demon one can escape the majority of instincts related to its original breed.

The first four years of Jack, aka Dren Kurg Valastar, and better known as an Orc by the nickname Barokuga, went relatively well. But the next nine years took him considerably to the limits of what he could bear. And all this without succumbing to the temptation to fall into the customs of his species.

That is the first reason he Chimerified himself.

From its birth to its Evolution, he has acquired a track record of skills and abilities out of the ordinary. Including Soul Armor and Soul Weapon, despite his lack of Mana to fully utilize them.

Now, among the few abilities he can still use effectively is Purgatory Dark Flame. Today, the rest of what he's learned only exhibits enough strength, to defeat lower level Demonic Beast Class Mamonos.

To block Dai Maou Akasuma's attack, or defeat the Maou Defanny when he was still an Orc, he had to get Mana from Venus. Which was very risky. That two Maou Class Demon girls are the true reason why Jack chose to leave the Demonic Empire. Because of their actions, too many Demons are going to pay attention to him. Like in "Real Attention" ; and Akasuma and Defanny are way too sensitive to a person's Mana. They will find him too easily if he just stayed in the Empire.

"...Tch. Battle freaks."

["Darling?"]

"Nothing. I was thinking about the past events, from some weeks ago. How much time do you need before we can travel somewhere else?"

"We won't be able to leave our current location before about three months, unfortunately."

"Right. Well as long as no Mana or Aura User comes here, we should be fine." 

Despite the horrific power of Purgatory Dark Flame, there are downsides to it. First, the one who uses it must have no grudge against the target. Second, the dark flame kills the target only if it's a humanoid one, who did very evil deeds for long enough. Third, because it's a Dark attribute spell, it's weak against Light attribute spells. So if his opponents are too high level for him, he won't be able to defend the Dungeon.

While Jack is thinking about his future actions, the three newcomers have finished their baths. They have found new clothes to wear, who are as simple as Jack's clothes. Gray shirts and black pants for Dan and Jul, gray dress and black pants for Kate. All three are wearing gray boots.

The thing they were intrigued by, was the underwear. Made in a stretchable and soft material, those are more comfortable than everything they wear until now. Looking at them, Jack can't help thinking he needs to improve the range of clothes colors.

"Thank for giving us these clothes, Jack-sama."

"Thank Venus for that, not me. She's the one who made every clothe I wear since I am in this form."

"Oh, um, thank you Miss Venus for the clothes."

["You're welcome."]

*RUMBLING STOMACH*

At this very moment, everyone heard a sound coming from Jul's stomach.

"S-sorry." 

"Well, let's go get you a snack before you go to rest."

About half a hour later, the three newcomers were seated in a large dining room, where hundreds of chairs and tables were arranged on several mezzanines. The dining hall is built like a coliseum, but with a smaller area as the central arena. It is in this area that the Floor Gates are placed.

While Jul and Kate enjoy a soup rich in vegetables and cuts of meat, Dan becomes more and more intrigued by the place. At the very top of the room is a long circular counter. Behind it, there is enough space to put large kitchen furniture. Yet there is no storage unit, nor even a hearth for the cooking fire, just magic circles of different sizes set at regular intervals on the walls, through which fountains of water of different sizes flow. to end up in a sink, before flowing into a basin. The same basin that Jack threw in all the waste from his preparation of cooking ingredients.

("Is this how the Demons prepare their meals? He uses almost no traditional means.")

Apart from the tableware needed for the meal itself, such as the pot of soup, the spoons and bowls to pour their portions into, as well as the baskets containing berries and portions of bread respectively, Jack only used a small cauldron and transition pots for the different ingredients that were peeled, cut or sliced, and seasoned with a few spices. Most notable is that no kitchen knives or even ladles were used in the preparation.

After cleaning and drying the utensils, Jack puts them back into the strange hole that he has already made to take out everything needed for the meal of his three Servants. Coming back towards them, he asks Dan with a smile.

"I assume you have a lot of questions, Dan?"

"Huh?! Um, th-that's -! "

"Ha ha ha, relax. It's not like it's a bad thing to have questions. On the contrary, I consider the absence of questions in a person's life to be very... . bleak in itself."

"Y-yes."

"Well, ask me. What interests you so much? So much that you forget your hunger?"

"... Why are there so many chairs and tables here? Even for the baths,...I mean you and Miss Venus seem to be the only ones in this Dungeon."

Kate and Jul who heard Dan, stopped to eat because they can tell that's a bit strange. Normally, you don't need to have so many rooms or items, when you're supposed to be only two people, even if the three newcomers didn't meet Venus yet.

Understanding their curiosity, the young Guardian with blazing eyes was in fact already expecting this question.

"Well, to be honest, just a few weeks ago, before Venus and I started our journey here, we had been taking in people temporarily. Like 'refugees,' you could say."

"Refugees?"

"These people were not Mamono, although some might have been considered as such."

Hearing that, Dan thinks about a possibility, as he heard some things in bars some nights, in the city where he lived. 

"W-were they… women?"

"Yes."

"So the place you came from is –"

"The Demonic Empire."

"!!!"

The Demonic Empire, one of the thirteen largest territories in the world of Argom, is like a forbidden zone for Humans, due to the high concentration of Mamonos and Nefarious Maryoku Areas. Despite the many attempts of its nemesis, the Saint Empire, to sponsor a crusade for "peace in the world", the Demonic Empire has always known how to make any definitive conquest of its lands impossible.

The large number of Dungeons contributes to this task, the older ones providing a large number of Monsters or Demonic Beasts.

Nevertheless, the Empire of the Church of the Seven Virtues has the means to either form a Hero and a Saint parties, or Evoke Otherworlders groups, with the only objective of defeating the Dai Maou. Just by completing this quest, the Champions of the Saint Empire will render the Demons unable to thrive or possibly "threaten the peace".

The strong-worshiping Mamonos, without a leader to direct them, will mind their own business or quarrel each other. Both on a small and larger scale.

"What happened to the women you took in?"

"I released them in an area outside the Demonic Empire, somewhere where they are not too likely to suffer the fate reserved for most of them. Unlike those who came before them."

"But why didn't they stay here? Weren't they safer here?"

"Not really. They're... it's complicated."

"???"

"You, Kate and Jul in particular, are too young to learn about these women's circumstances."

"Aren't you young too, Jack-sama?"

"Jul!"

"Ah! Sorry, I meant-"

"Ha ha ha, it's okay. Jul, I'm a lot older than I look. I'm a Mamono, remember? A Demon, at that."

"But I heard that Demons have horns on their heads?"

"That's because, unlike other Mamonos Evolving in Demons, my Evolution is an Immature one."

"Immature?"

"A Mamono needs his body, his soul and his Mana to be in perfect balance to Evolve. Let's say that was not the case for me. Otherwise, I would have obtained horns after my Evolution. And an older body ."

"I see."

Hearing this, Dan understands why he seems almost human-like. Apart from the color of his hair, and that of his eyes.

Kate, still intrigued about the women previously "refugees" in this Dungeon, asks Jack.

"How many were there?"

"How many? Um, I think they were around two thousand four hundred, two thousand five hundred maybe..."

--"!!!"--

["Two thousand four hundred and seventy seven, precisely."]

--"!!!"--

"There you go, precisely. If you really want to get an idea of how many, you just need to know that there was a chair for every one of them in that dining room."

For Kate and Jul, such a large number of people is difficult to visualize, as their village, even before being attacked, had less than a twentieth in population. Not to mention that their education in arithmetic is limited.

"Let's stop the questions for tonight. Finish your soup bowls, and I'll take you to your respective rooms."

"Y-yes."

Some time later, the three Servants were allocated two rooms. Kate and Jul share a room containing two beds.

But probably due to the terrible experience they experienced, Kate and Jul fell asleep in the same bed.

Upon arriving at his own room, Dan had a lost look on his face, memories of his time in the bandit group returning to his mind.

But strangely, Jack comforts him about this subject. Without even needing to ask him the cause of his torment.

"Dan."

"Y-yes, Jack-sama?"

"Try to get some rest."

"Eh?"

"All the other bandits died from Purgatory Dark Flame. This is a clear proof that what you did was fundamentally different from what they did."

"!"

"I'm going to tell you something about Mamonos: they are sensitive to negative emotions."

"Huh? You mean you can feel other people's emotions?"

"Only negative emotions that are particularly strong. Hatred, Madness, Terror, Despair.... in short, everything that can be felt in the face of pain."

"..."

"You told me you want to change, but I think what you really want is to be forgiven."

"..."

Purgatory Dark Flame is a spell that burns thanks to a person's Bad Karma. Dan understands that he shouldn't be feeling so guilty, yet he can't help it.

"As I said, get plenty of rest. You will have plenty of time to think about how you will decide to atone for your crimes. Good night."

With these words, Jack leaves Dan at the entrance to the room. The young man stays in front of his new room for a moment, before finally entering it. Tomorrow will be the first day for him as he begins a difficult journey to achieve his redemption.

 *********

In a dimly lit room, a man with a bloodied body, tied to a torture chair, struggles to breathe. Each of his nails, both those of his hands and those of his feet, were recently pulled out and placed in a container which contains several dozen others. And every one of them comes from this same man.

A few meters from him, his torturer is busy organizing different torture tools. He is dressed in an apron and gloves which protected his long white priest's robe with golden ornaments. His slightly gray hair and beard indicate advanced age, and despite his smiling face, his voice suggests an irritated impatience.

"You are really persistent, you know? No one can save you from your current situation, yet you persist in refusing to realize the nobility of my mission, and that of the Holy Church of the Seven Virtues."

"*pant*...*pant*...*pant*."

"Come on, how many times do I have to ask? Where is the Oracle of Destruction?"

"*pant*,...*pant*,...ha ha ha ha h- *cough*"

"What's so funny?"

"Now I hear it clearly in your voice."

"?"

"Your fear."