Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Lucius still hated riding in carriages. Since it was only him and one other person entering the Demon's Stomach, they were able to skip the boring ride and travel to the dungeon on foot. Sure, horses and carriages were faster, but he wanted to stretch his legs once again.

Of course, he asked his sister if it would be fine if he and his party member traveled slower than by carriage. Whatever sense of urgency there was to her warning, was something she only knew. Thankfully she smiled at him and said "Please enjoy your walk, brother dearest."

Leaving Penelope, Rena, and Kalliope was hard. Harder than he expected really. Even Jade's sad, yet understanding gaze was burned into his mind and pulled at his heart. It had been only a short amount of time since Grimm released his hold on Lucius's emotions, so it was only natural for these things to feel new to him. But he had hoped that by this point he would have some better control.

"Lord Kane." A soft voice, barely a whisper, reached his ears. "I assure you that your family will be safe. Princess Lefae has guaranteed that she would stay with them in their own quarters. Snow and Desmond are also present. Let us not forget Princess Corva. If I understand she put up quite the fight against yourself in Aedrider."

He turned to face the owner of the voice. The woman's white hair and ice-blue eyes greeted him. Her face had a plain, yet gentle expression. Instead of her typical maid attire, she wore normal adventurer's attire that mirrored his own. Though the quality was certainly higher than most adventurers would wear.

"You're right, Natali." He sighed. "I worry excessively it seems. I would feel slightly more comfortable if you were there. Of all our close relations, you are the only one to truly injure me." His hands rubbed his upper thigh in roughly the location she managed to pierce him with a dagger. Her Dagger Arts combined with her Mark of Recall were truly terrifying.

The trip to the dungeon town outside of the Demon's Stomach scarcely took a few days. It was halfway to Pelith so the landscape had already started to become familiar. From the top of a large hill, it would be easy to see the expansive forest outside of his hometown. The deadly home of the legendary Fenrir. Lucius and Natali stood at the crest of one of those hills. Below them was their destination. It was a decently sized village that seemed to be on the rebound.

Craftsmen toiled about the town below reviving abandoned buildings. They had already been informed that the dungeon had reopened after being mysteriously sealed. It happened sometime while Lucius was in Aedrider and even Wally had been unable to tell why it closed in the first place or what happened to make it open once more.

Either way, having it open again brought back the dwindling commerce of the town. Magical items and alchemical ingredients mysteriously found in the dungeon's depths served as a majority of the place's income. Adventurers from all around visited and either made a permanent home of the place or stopped by for some challenging delves in between quests.

"Natali," Lucius turned to his companion. "Please don't refer to me as Lord Kane. Remember, I don't see you as a servant. You are my equal. If that is not enough to persuade you to use my name, then at least do so for the purposes of blending in a little easier."

"Blending in?"

"Well, more. Adventurers are a rowdy lot. Its not uncommon at all for nobility to join their ranks. Rena is still registered herself. As were her cousins." Lucius nearly spit out the last word. "Anyway, they'll know my station, but as long as I don't use or ask others to use honorifics, then we will be treated like any other."

"I understand."

"Less formal, Natali. Please."

"O-okay." She let out a small sigh, followed up by a nervous smile. There was a lot of work to be done to relax some of her stiffness. A lot of it was practice. She had been reminded of her station numerous times in the castle. But no longer. He had a promise to keep to his wife… and to Natali herself.

Their first stop after they entered town was the guild hall. A requirement for entering the dungeon was to find a guide. Not only that, they needed to gather party members. Both would be found in the guild hall with ease.

Out of most of the buildings, which were constructed out of logs, the Adventurer's Guild stood out as the only one constructed of stone. No matter what city, town, nation, or region; the Adventurer's Guild followed the same design always. It was a landmark in any city where one was installed. People flowed in and out of the doors like a flood. A bustling location surpassing any other building in the town.

Inside looked exactly like the guild in Pelith with almost exactly the same positioning of the furniture. At the reception desks were a number of beautiful women who each had lines of adventurers waiting to submit quests and items for processing. Registration was nearly as full, so they got into line.

"Why are we at registration? Aren't you already registered?"

"I am, but you aren't. Also, I haven't renewed myself or taken quests in…quite some time. I want to ensure their aren't any issues. In addition, registration also serves as an information desk. I don't know how one finds a dungeon guide, but they will."

It took nearly an hour to make their way to the front of the line, but when they did, they were met with a tired smile of someone who clearly needed a break. Unfortunately for her, they were not here to give her a reprieve.

"Thank you for visiting, how might I assist you?"

"Lucius Kane. I would like to renew my registration. Also, I need to register my companion. And if you could help us locate a dungeon guide, that would be helpful."

"Of course!" The woman put on a friendly smile and fetched a special item meant for reading someone's Rank, Compatibilities, and if Marked, their Mark. Assuming it was already catalogued.

Lucius was surprised as in Pelith all of this was done manually, but he got used to it rather quickly. It was more efficient this way anyway. He directed for Natali to touch the small crystal first. It projected a semi-transparent sheet of information into the air.

"I see. Natali, no last name. Advance-Rank. Compatibilities: Ice Magic, Dagger Arts. Mark: Mark of Recall." The woman copied the information onto a sheet of paper. "Impressive! We will have no problem registering you for the guild and for dungeon exploration. Though your fresh registration leaves your requisite quest completion insufficient, your Rank exceeds our minimum standards. Sir, if you would please?"

When he touched the crystal, the projected list changed. The receptionist looked to it. "Lets see…Lucius Kane. Intermediate Rank. Compatibilities…" the receptionist's voice quieted down as she read off the information. A number of other adventurers naturally watched the information. Curious about their new comrades.

"Continue. I have nothing to hide." Lucius advised.

"Compatibilities: Forsaken Arts, Lightning Magic…two errors? That's strange… okay, Mark…also two errors… are your Mark abilities not registered?"

"I registered them in Lelvern several years ago. I would be shocked if they did not file the information."

"Ah, well a few years ago there was a mishap that resulted in the loss of a small selection of documents. We chalked it up to loss due to preparation for the Alorek War… oh, you have registered titles?"

The receptionist's eyes grew wide. Her panic-filled voice continued. "T-titan of Eroa…wait… You are THAT Lucius Kane? Son of Kalivas? You single-handedly destroyed Alvora!"

"Yes. I also destroyed Seteste, a number of unknown villages in Aedrider. Assisted Queen Aedrider in squashing her rebellious sister's forces. And conquered the city of Varris. You'll likely receive those updates in time."

The murmurs around the guild ceased. A dropped pin could have been heard in the silence. No one moved or spoke anything after hearing his proclamations.

That was until someone near the entrance to the guild spoke up. "An Intermediate-Ranker thinks he's that strong? Ha, I doubt even one ounce of that bullshit about the infamous 'Titan' is true. Prove it." Lucius's gaze turned cold. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Natali shiver, though her facial expression was surprisingly…heated.

The person facing him was a mountain of a woman. Half elf and something else. Other than her massive form and muscles the other thing making the woman stand out was the fact that every inch of her arms were covered in strange tattoos depicting fights with monsters at sea and on land. Next to her was a small woman with a bow and a hood over her head. On the other side was a man wearing ranger-like clothing.

"The name's Mar'Eeyen. I challenge you to a duel. 'Titan'."