Dungeon Raider System

After the fruitless exploration of the Alamo fort, the way back was mostly uneventful. Safe for a few encounter with beast rank cryptids that were easily taken care of, there wasn't much worth mentioning. If anything, the only thing to note was that, contrary to Uriel's expectations, Mark behaved properly and didn't try to pull any of his usual crap.

Uriel was the first one to reach the west gate as he was still running in front of everyone. Though the long distance they traversed on foot had made everyone of them sweat profusely, even Mark who was a heavenly rank was exhausted.

The guards at the gate let them in through the pedestrian entrance as usual. The sight of a familiar place made them feel safe. The long hall, the electric lights hanging high from the ceiling and the buzzing sounds of a high transit area also made them feel home.

Stay tuned to empire

Just when Uriel was about to enter the Cryptid hunting agency to receive his well deserved compensation, he was stopped by a couple of guards, though they didn't look like they worked for the city or the army. They were both tall and bulky, and Uriel immediately recognized them as Mapple corp. employees, though instead of the well known long coat, they wore black business suits.

"Mister Uriel, You need to accompany us." One of them said.

"What if I refuse?"

"Then we would have to insist." Said the other man as he cracked his knuckles.

"Well then, what are you waiting for?"

Uriel and company had black cloth bags put into their heads and they were lead inside an armored vehicle.

"Hey! Let me out of here! Can you hear me!? I'm Mark from the Jacobs company, you can't treat me like this!" Mark shouted.

"It's useless... those pricks from the Mapple corp. have no regards for people like us." Sam sighed after making peace with his own fate.

"Don't put me in the same boat as the likes of you." Mark scoffed. "Just wait until Flanagan hears about this, when he finds out he'll kick your asses to oblivion." He spat a mouthful of threats to the guards, yet they didn't react and performed their job flawlessly.

"Calm down guys, you'll upset Luna." Uriel said in a calm and collected manner.

"No... uhm... I'm fine. This bag is... very comfortable." Luna was actually enjoying the experience as the bag provided her a much needed respite from all the excitement of the incursion they just finished. In fact, she was so comfortable she almost dozed off even before the vehicle started moving.

"What's up with these weirdos." One of the ascended that escorted the prisoners in the back of the vehicle asked. It wasn't just the fact that they weren't scared in that situation that most people would consider unpleasant to say the least. What actually surprised him the most was that they were completely relaxed as though they had just got into a cab they called.

The armored vehicle took a few detours in an attempt to throw off their sense of direction, but Uriel snickered as he already knew where they were taking them.

"I don't know, should we rough them up a bit before turning them in?" Another guard asked making Mark cower in fear.

"No, the higher ups insisted on not touching them. I think they're only interested in the skinny one, who knows, maybe the dude that's crying does have a connection with Flanagan after all." The driver said, though Uriel disagreed with them.

"Didn't you guys hear the news? Flanagan is dead."

"Oh yeah? And how could you possibly know that?" The man guarding Uriel asked.

"Take this stupid bag from my head and I'll tell you." Said Uriel who didn't share Luna's appreciation for the blindfold.

"Nice try, but we're taking you to a secret place and you aren't allowed know the location."

"You're taking us to the Mapple corp. headquarters. Do you want me say the address out loud? I'm telling you, there's no need for all this drama."

The guard's eyes widened in surprise as he didn't expect someone like Uriel to have ever set foot inside the Mapple corp. headquarters. He then asked his superior for permission to do as Uriel asked in the off chance that he was telling the truth and willing to cooperate with them.

If they somehow managed to extract any information from him before arriving, they could all benefit from a boost to their reputation.

The superior then nodded, but he remained on high alert as he didn't know what kind of trait Uriel possessed. When the bag was removed, Uriel was finally able to breathe normally again as he was tired of breathing his own warm breath over and over.

"Tell us now, how do you supposedly know about Flanagan's death?" The man asked impatiently.

"It's because I killed him." Uriel replied with a cold glint on his eyes, making the guards hesitate for a second, thinking on whether he activated a trait or not. One of them even went as far as grabbing the gun from his holster.

Uriel also didn't miss how the guard in front of him shifted his skin into a stone- like material and was getting ready to receive an attack, but Uriel did nothing and remained silent which prompted the guards to calm down.

Then, as if on queue everyone started laughing at him, even Mark. The only ones who remained silent were Luna and Sam.

The reason why Luna didn't laugh wasn't because she didn't find the situation amusing, but because she sleeping comfortably on her seat and she was actually snoring But Sam's case was different.

Before meeting Uriel Sam had seen some of the 'funny' videos Mark shared with everyone on the college forums. He still remembered how he too made fun of Uriel during their first incursion, but Uriel never acted aggressive or as cold as he acted now. He didn't know anything about Flanagan, but if what he said was true, If Uriel actually killed a man that would explain his sudden change of character.

That's why, of everyone present, Sam was the only one who believed him.