Dungeon Raider System

"Treason!? This is preposterous, I didn't do anything wrong!" Uriel growled in reply.

"You'll have to come with us nonetheless." The soldier insisted.

"He just saved all of us from a cryptid, why would you want to arrest him?" One of the survivors who followed Uriel snapped out of his reverie.

"It doesn't matter, he's responsible for a terrorist attack downtown. We have many witnesses and already captured some of his accomplices," The soldier sternly replied and then turned his attention back at Uriel. "I promise you'll have a fair trial, but if you don't come with us it'll be the same as admitting guilt."

"There's no need for a trial, If it's about blowing up that jerk's night club I did it. So what? It was a vampire nest anyway." Uriel said with a dismissive gesture which took everyone by surprise. Either by the revelation that Mark's club was a vampire nest or by his careless admission of guilt.

"May I remind you anything you say can be held against you in..."

"If you want to arrest me so badly, then come handcuff me yourself and see how you fare." Uriel interrupted the soldier's speech knowing that among hunters, justice was just a facade for the will of those who held the power. His money and power may have seemed like a lot in comparison to other independent heavenly rank hunters, but it didn't amount to much against the powers at play in the city.

Especially with Water warlock pulling the threads behind Sam.

Judging from Uriel's attitude it was clear that he wouldn't come without a fight, but contrary to what the soldier was told to expect, Uriel didn't look hurt of tired after emerging from the sewers. Even his clothes looked brand new, which didn't make any sense and he was left with no choice but to make a call.

"Sir, he's not cooperating. Yes, I tried that. I tried that too. Yes, I'll hand him the phone," The soldier spoke respectfully to the phone and he even gestured apologetically at it as though he was being watched, then he handed over the phone to Uriel. "You need to take this call."

"Tell Sam I'm not interested."

"Sam? This isn't Sam, kid. It's the Quill, and I don't think it's a great idea to leave him waiting."

"The Quill?" Uriel's eyes lit up brightly in joy as he was curious to know what happened to him after he returned to the city and it was also his first chance to speak with him. "Hello, Mister Scofield?"

"Young bookworm, I would ask you how are you doing these days, but it's evident you're in a pinch." The voice at the other end of the line said with an amused tone and Uriel took the chance to scan his surroundings.

There were several hunters armed with all sorts of weaponry pointed directly at him while others formed a defensive line with alloy shields and melee weapons. Things didn't look great for him, but after defeating the nosferatu Uriel had no doubts he could take all of them on and run away unscathed. "A little, perhaps, but nothing I can't handle."

"It's not a good idea, you should turn yourself in."

"Are you truly Mister Scofield? Because you're not sounding like the one I know at all." Uriel asked with suspicion.

"I'm not saying you can't defeat them, what I'm saying is you shouldn't. Don't forget we're on the same side, whether you kill them or they kill you, we all lose in the end."

"So, what you're saying is I should sacrifice myself for the greater good? Is that it?" Every word that came from the phone made Uriel suspect more and more he wasn't speaking to his friend but with a cryptid instead.

"It's not a sacrifice, there's a lot to explain. Just come to the Fallen corporation's office in the Celes tower and you'll understand everything. Your friends are already here."

"My friends?" Uriel echoed.

"Yes, the Pegasus arrived this morning and they're waiting for you. The arrest is just to keep appearances, they're not even allowed to put you in handcuffs." No amount of words could possibly convince Uriel that it was actually Mister Scofield the one recommending him to turn himself in, but it was easy to confirm if what he said was the truth.

He quickly checked his phone looking for new messages and when he found none, he proceeded to text Medusa, Luna and Nika, though only Luna replied.

Luna: We're safe with Sam.

Luna's statement was contradictory in more than one sense and it left Uriel wondering if there could possibly be a hidden meaning behind her words, but he knew Luna was incapable of sending a coded message. The only question was whether she was safe or if they took her phone and used it to text him.

Whatever the answer, it made no difference since Uriel was left with no choice but to do as Mister Scofield said and he turned himself in.

***

Later that day, Uriel made his entrance in a spacious conference room set up for that specific occasion. In front of him were the heads of the city: Samuel Song, representing the government; The businesswoman who represented the cryptid hunting agency; The cowboy, head of the rangers and finally, Piero Celes, representing not only the Celes company but also the other companies present in the city.

But they weren't the only attendants, the place was crowded with people and Uriel quickly scanned the room looking for his friends.

Finding Medusa was easy since she was taller than the average and was also wearing a black blindfold that stood out from the crowd, but spotting the tiny Luna in a room filled with people taller than her was a difficult feat, especially since she wasn't by Medusa's side as he expected.

His first instinct was to run towards Medusa and speak to her, but everyone carried serious expressions and the atmosphere seemed ominous.

"Uriel Sage, you are accused of a terrorist attack of which we already know you are guilty of. We require you to state the truth in front of everyone, but this is a mere formality and we can continue even without your testimony." The one who spoke was Samuel Song, the most respected authority in the whole city and someone that helped Uriel before in more than one occasion.

But Uriel didn't forget he was also Sam's father.

"If it's about the attack on the nightclub..."

"It has nothing to do with that, you are accused of killing the horror rank cryptid known as 'Nosferatu' without permission." Samuel explained, taking Uriel by surprise. He quickly turned to see his friends, but Medusa showed no reaction and Luna limited herself to look him in the eye and give him two thumbs up.

"Since when does a hunter need permission to kill a cryptid?" Uriel replied, taking care not to incriminate himself.

"You don't deny killing it?" Samuel insisted and Uriel didn't know how to respond.

In one hand, as far as he knew killing a cryptid was supposedly a good thing, but on the other, they made it seem as though it was a crime. Not just that, they already said he was known to be guilty and it was a formality, which prompted him to think that no matter his answer, the sentence had already been passed on.

It was only after Uriel spotted Mister Scofield in the crowd that he felt confident enough to say the truth.

"I did, I killed that creature." Uriel finally let out.

"Nonsense! You can't believe that a mere ascended like him could possibly kill a horror level cryptid." Piero Celes slammed the table with anger.

"I don't doubt it for a second, I saw him kill an entity rank skinwalker. It actually make me pity the poor thing." The head of the rangers added.

"Then it's settled, by the power conferred to me by the world government I hereby declare you guilty of the charge of..."

"This is bollocks!" A loud voice in a British accent interrupted.

"Mister Hunter, please refrain from participating. You're only allowed here as a witness on behalf of the Mapple corporation. This doesn't concern you." Samuel Song replied coldly to the holy rank hunter without showing a hint of fear in his eyes. It was the kind of stare only a proper government bureaucrat could muster.

"The kid didn't know what he was doing, just tell him he did wrong and let him go with a warning." Jon insisted, only this time with a much softer voice due not only to Samuel's stern gaze but also to Mister Scofield's presence in the room. It was the kind of scene Uriel would have loved to see, if not for the fact that so far, Jon was the only one defending him.

"Can someone tell me what is going on?" Uriel finally let out.

"Mister Sage, while on any regular circumstances your actions would have been worthy of a reward. You are the one responsible for creating a militia within the army led by the former Captain Silvermane, a terrorist faction calling themselves the Dungeon Raiders and you also killed our only hope of surviving. That's correct, you sentenced our city to die and now we're doing the same with you."