Five seconds after 20L :

"Did she just-"

"Just- shut up, nod and welcome her."

It took me a while to recover from that realisation, but eventually, I got up, aching all over. The ruckus in the building had ceased, somewhat, but I did not doubt they were still looking for me. And worse, with Warechu knowing where I was, I knew it was only a matter of time until I got found, surrounded, and attacked. And in my state, I doubt I'd be able to come out of that on top.

So I got up, and limped my way to the exit. With some luck, I'd be able to avoid encountering anyone hostile.

I kept walking, keeping a steady hand on the cave's wall to keep myself stable, and dimly noted that there was no more noise coming out of the Basilicom. Just in time for me to arrive at a dead-end; fortunately, Chika had explained to me that the wall was an illusion. Or, well, something something, hard light construct, one-way exit point, I didn't really understand that part very well. Finally, I could stretch a bit, breathe in a gulp of fresh air, and-

"There you are," a monotone voice said, cutting my inner moologue off and stopping me dead on my tracks.

With a gasp, I turned around, shouting, "MOTHER OF-" Before I cut myself off, coughing a bit, before I take a look at the woman who had managed to stealthily get behind me.

"Touhou lady? Wait, uh, Cave, right?" I asked, unsure of myself.

She nodded once, before tilting her head. "What is a Touhou, if I may ask?"

I didn't answer for a moment, trying to find a way to explain it, before shrugging. "Forget about it, nothing important. Why are you here?" I asked, tightening my grip on my weapon a bit.

"I have contacted Chika, and she has a plan to retake Leanbox," she said, marking a pause. "As I also have a contact with the Candidates, I need another party to handle the... Less glamorous matters."

I frowned. "What kind of 'matter' are we talking about, here? I hope it's nothing too illegal, I'm already on a tight rope as it stands," I replied, shuddering a bit. "Fairly sure I'll never be able to show my face in Lastation, and I kind of disappeared like a thief in Lowee once all was said and done." I pause, before sighing. "Also, as I'm sure you've heard, I haven't had the most smooth-sailing quest so far. If anything, asking me anything will end in disaster."

"Mayhaps." she replied, emotionless. "Yet, you are a ressourceful one. Consequences aside, our spies have told us of how you accomplished your mission in Lastation. If all goes well, your part in our plan will be easier than what you've accomplished there."

Neither of us said anything, after that, letting me some time to gather my thoughts. Finally, I let out a sigh, and just motionned for her to keep talking.

"It is fairly simple," she started, "ASIC has captured something of great importance to both Leanbox, and the whole of Gamindustri. It is in the form of a disk, and to know more might bring trouble to you, so that is all I will tell you. They hid it away, but our spies have finally managed to get its location."

I held back a sigh, as well as several different objections, and ended up giving a shrug. "Sure, alright, okay whatever. Can't be that bad, right? One last mission before I can rest up and find something to do that doesn't involve risking my life. There's no way I'm gonna be sent to some dumb place like... I dunno, a volcano."

Cave's face betrayed nothing.

I looked at the entrance of the location. The entrance did not look back at me, for it was nothing more than a hole in the side of a volcano.

"Why am I even surprised."

I swiftly entered the location. The Underverse, it was called- a foreboding name for something that had no historical relevance from what I could gather. It wasn't a pit from whence demons came to lay waste to the region, it wasn't the stage of some revolution or another. It was just named that because some dude, Alexander something or another, felt "it looked cool".

Immediately, I was hit by a wave of heat that I knew was going to be trouble. Already I was beginning to sweat, and it was only going to worsen with time, I knew it. Luckily, I have Cave's, and the Guild's, word that nobody ever died in that dungeon from something other than the monsters. The lava is, theoretically, capable of burning someone up, but as with a lot of natural dungeons, there's some kind of forcefield around the area to stop us from falling in. Something that would have been great back in the World Labyrinth.

I look around, trying to analyse the situation. The place was filled by monsters of all kind, from fiery red ghosts to those weird pink circle things, to... Blue pipes? And there was even a giant wolf in the distance! But all around the place, I could also see sneaky and not-so-sneaky cameras covering the entire area. And even worse, I could notice a bunch of people 'hunting monsters'. Hah, I can't be fooled! They're patrolling the area! They're ASIC grunts, and they can't hide from my new true ninja skills!

I take a step into the field proper, and am hit by an even more blazing heat. Holy hell, I don't know if it's because it's a dungeon or anything, but this place is scalding hot! I'm burning up, and I've only been here for a minute or two! I mean, sure, there's lava flowing everywhere, and the place is enclosed with no way out and no ventilation, and- hmm, yeah it kind of makes sense, huh.

Of course, my task isn't an easy one. I'd love for it to have been something like, 'Hey, here's the location! Go there pretty please with a strawberry on top, grab the Disk, and hopefully leave in one piece!' but no, I am not that lucky. We only know the Disk is around the place because, apparently, one of ASIC's big bosses was seen hanging around. So, low and behold, because they couldn't hold onto their super rare and world-critical item, I have to scout the entire volcano. Yes, I'm angry about it.

I start exploring the area, idly avoiding some monsters and killing the ones that looks kinda weak. I am fairly sure I have seen a second floor to this dungeon during my planning, so if anything, I need to find an entrance or a stairway, or something. The 'adventurers' are looking at me warily, but they don't dare to approach me, probably just in case they're being paranoid and seeing an enemy where there isn't one (joke on them, I totally am their enemy! Probably. Maybe I'm the paranoid one.), and I don't want to approach them either way.

After a short while, I am stopped on my tracks for two reasons. The first is that there's the giant wolf in front of me, looking at me with bared fangs, flames growing bigger on his mane. The second is that I just lied and the wold wasn't looking at me but behind me, at the massive robot that I somehow failed to notice during all that time, that's standing in front of a huge gate. I take two steps to the right, letting the huge wolf jump on the robot, and the two start to fight each others. The wolf has the advantage, at first, especially because of its power over fire, but quickly the robot takes the lead by pounding the wolf on the ground, before trying to use its sword-like hands to cut it in half.

It doesn't take long for me to realise that, as far as the wolf is concerned, this robot's presence is much worse than mine. Probably because it's not native to the dungeon? It's not important, and I quickly decide to help the wolf in its fight. I wait for an opening, axe held firmly in my hands, and as the robot brings its sword-arms down once more on the wolf, I act swiftly, knocking it away as it gets stuck on the floor. The wolf gets up, before exploding in a mass of fire and pounding the robot hard.

From then on, the fight becomes a ridiculous beatdown. With one arm incapacitated, and a flaming wolf whacking its body, the robot doesn't last long, and coupled with the relentless hacking and slashing of my axe, it is destroyed in no time.

The wolf grunts, before looking at me with a glare. But it turns away, before leaving me be, in front of the gate.

I take a sharp breath, and wipe the sweat off my face. Fighting in the volcano is a pain, and drains my stamina like nothing else. Fortunately, with how well it was guarded, I can be assured that if there's anything hidden here, it's behind that gate.

I take another breath, and put my hands on the gate, pushing it, and then pushing it some more- but it's closed. I pull it for good measures, but still, nothing happens.

I look at my axe, and then at the gate. And then back at my axe. Oh well, either it belong to ASIC and it's not a crime, or it's a crime and it's like adding jaywalking to murder- unimportant.

I slam my axe on the gate.

Twenty minutes later, and there's a hole big enough for me to go through. The adventurers all around haven't bothered me at all, which makes my 'they're all ASIC plants' theory kinda not work, and after a quick look I noticed that some of the cameras looked deactivated. Not all of them, unfortunately, though. So finally, I step forward, bypassing the gate, and am hit by an even deadlier wave of heat. I stumble a bit at that, before gathering my footing, and trying to convince myself to go on.

I take a few steps forward, before stopping. I start looking around my bag, before groaning- I forgot to restock on pretty much everything! I don't have anything to heal me, and I have no eject button left, which means I'll have to go back to Leanbox by foot. Bah, it doesn't matter. I'll just take it slow and easy, then.

I start looking around the room. There's cute ninja bombs, walking around without a care in the world, and some weird blue flower, too, which isn't really thematically working in my honest opinion. There are a few stone golems, another huge wolf, and...

... A massive, armored dude. Armor looks like he came straight from Transformers, with a lion mask and airplane-looking wings. He's holding a huge sword, and more importantly? He's looking directly at me.

I take a few steps forward, and his blade comes to life, roaring as a massive burst of flame engulfrs it. In response, I tighten the hold on my axe, even though I desperately try not to flee from the sheer terror this evokes in me. Another few steps and he looks at me with something akin to... Approval? Respect?

I stop, five meters from him, and begin to really look at him. His stance is that of a true warrior, clearly experienced in the handling of a sword. His size is nothing to scoff at, and his sword is clearly tailor-made for him. And with that armor on, it's clear to me that the guy has the advantage in strength, skill, defense, reach, and with armor like that he's definitely got more stamina that me. The only saving grace I have is probably gonna be my speed.

And then, he speaks, a low, baritone voice echoing in the area.

"Wildcard. My name is CFW Brave. You are brave, coming here alone, and it is to be commended. And so, I shall offer you this one opportunity to leave, unharmed, and unbothered", he says, and at his words, most of the monsters quickly begin to liberate the area, making a rough circle around us.

I gulp.

I need to take the bait, and leave. There's no doubting that I'm not winning that one, and there isn't gonna be a Deus Ex Machina to save my sorry hide.

I reaffirm my hold on my axe.

It's not like I'd have to lie, either. Just tell Cave, or Chika, or both, that there was a foe way too strong for me to defeat in the volcano. Just tell them I couldn't lay down my life for a country, a world that isn't mine.

I wipe the sweat off my face once more, idly taking a battle stance.

I need to flee, for fuck's sake! His sword is still on fire! He's twice my size! He's... He's...

Something snaps inside of me.

Softly, I whisper, "I'm tired of fighting. But it's not like they'd allow me to stop, now, is it?"

CFW Brave doesn't move, but he scoffs. "You think too little of the Goddesses' party. Even had your crimes be worse than what they were, they'd happily allow you to retire without much trouble."

I don't answer, and he continues, with a derisive snort. "There is a gaping chasm that separate your strength to mine. Fighting here will bring you nothing but pain and sorrow, and you'd be a fool to thing otherwise." He waves his sword around, and a glint catch my attention, almost making me miss his next words.

"It's fitting, for a wild card such as yourself. This is my last warning. Drop that pitiful display you call a battle stance, and go back. Find something to do that suits your abilities more than fighting ever will."

A rainbow glimmer, coming from a white stone attached to the hilt of his sword. And just like that, I can't afford to leave.

I wimper. And then I scowl. And with a growl, I shout, "Make me."