Dungeon Builder's Harem Book 01 Ch. 19

Chapter Nineteen

Stop! I shouted at my monster girls. Fall back. Hide. Let them pass.

Lord Leo! rang through my mind from all twelve of my monster girls.

"What are they doing?" asked Lana. "Why are the monster girls retreating down the side passages? They're letting the adventurers get in."

"I know," I said. "I'm going to parley with them. I want to talk with them. Find out what they are doing. Maybe get the adventurers to stop targeting my place."

"What?" gasped Lana.

"Big bro!" Garnet stared at me in shock. "That's insane."

"Yep," I said. Usiku, come to the throne room.

Yes, Lord Leo, came her answer.

I drew in a deep breath as I watched the adventurers moving forward. I couldn't do anything about the traps, but one of their dots appeared skilled at disabling them after they triggered the first one. They moved through the labyrinth, my monster girls hiding like I commanded. The party approached the lightning room.

"This is so stupid," muttered Garnet.

"Probably," I answered. "But I don't want to kill them. Maybe they can be reasoned with. Show them I'm not like the other dungeon builders. I don't want to cause problems."

"It's noble," Lana said.

Garnet puffed out her cheeks and her tail swished back and forth. "You're risking your life, big bro. You're the only one of us that can't come back. You die, and it's over for all of us."

"I'm not going to die," I said. "If they fight, it'll be the four of us against the three of them. We have the advantage."

The adventurers reached the lightning room. Would they die in there? I didn't know. They moved into the room. The nearest pillar flickered on the map. One of the red dots blinked, taking damage. The other characters scattered. The lightning pillar pulsed again. A red dot moved to it. Then the pillar winked out.

They disabled their way through the room. My fingers clenched about the armrests on the throne. Was I making a mistake? Maybe. But I had to show the world that I wasn't a bad guy. That I didn't need to be their enemy. I could be an ally to them.

There was no need for us to be enemies. For my existence to promote such animosity.

The adventurers began searching the lightning room. Would they find the false door or go down one of the two decoy tunnels? Maybe they wouldn't find us and retreat.

Well, at least they would be alive. They could tell the others that this wasn't a real dungeon. That would be nice.

They headed down the south decoy route. It was nothing but a small maze full of traps. It went nowhere. Garnet started pacing more and more, shaking her head. She stared at me with this fear in her eyes.

She was worried for me.

Lana was getting antsy, too, but she tried to hide it. Usiku had found this stoic calm. She stood almost like a statue, hardly moving. I flexed my fingers. Then I sent a command to one of the wildhounds.

Du was the closest. She raced to the lightning room. While the adventurers were moving through the southern maze, Du reached the lightning room and opened the concealed door before she darted back out of the room.

"Big bro!" Garnet gasped. She shook her head in exasperation at me, her red hair dancing about her features. "Really?"

"Really," I said. "We're here to make friends today."

The trio took about a quarter hour to explore the offshoot and then headed back to the lightning room. They stepped out into the room and froze. They huddled up for several minutes. They had to be talking about the open door.

"Great, they see it as a trap," I said, shaking my head.

"It was our best defense," groaned Garnet. "And you just turned it off. Why not just march to the entrance and be a greeter! Just shake their hands like you work at Walmart or something, big bro?"

"Yeah, I'll do that next time," I said with a big smile.

My little sister shot me an irritated look. She puffed out her cheeks again, her demon wings fluttering. "Big bro, you are so maddening!"

"They're moving," said Usiku. "They're coming here."

The adventuring party cautiously moved to the door. One appeared to search it then led the way. That dot must be a rogue-type character. He kept disabling all the traps that lined the way. They reached Usiku's guard room and the door that led here.

"Okay, places," I said, the tension growing. I stood up, holding my lightning spear. I drew in a deep breath, hoping this wasn't the greatest mistake of my life.

The three figures moved down the corridor and then reached the throne room. I looked at the doors. They were just on the other side. My heart pounded so fast in my chest. Garnet stood on my right, Lana on my left. Usiku to the side, arms folded across her chest.

"Okay, this is--" I started to say.

The doors flung open and the trio rushed in.

A woman led the way. She wore armor straight out of a cheesy fantasy movie from the Eighties. A breastplate bikini that cradled her tits and a matching pair of steel panties. She had pauldrons covering her shoulders and thigh-high boots with greaves strapped over them to protect her ankles. Her black hair streamed behind her in a braid. She held a sword in her hand, the blade bright silver, that seemed to be vibrating. I could hear a hum coming from it.

Behind her came two men. One was clearly the rogue, a slim man in black leather with a knife in hand. The other looked to be a mage or a priest, it was hard to say, wearing yellow robes with a white accent to them. He didn't have a staff or wand, but his hand clutched at an amulet about his neck. A wide disc of gold.

Like a holy symbol. A priest?

"Welcome, welcome," I said, trying to sound friendly as I stepped forward. The trio stared at me suspiciously. The woman advanced, the rogue and cleric following behind her. They formed a triangle aimed at me. "I'm Leo. Leo Baldwin. And I would like to talk. To parley!"

The woman at the lead stopped. She had reached the map. Her brow furrowed. She was young and beautiful. Blue eyes that held an intensity. Red lips that pursed tight. She glanced back at the cleric. He clutched even tighter at his holy symbol.

"Dungeon builders never want to parley," he said. "It's a trap."

"Yep," the rogue said.

"It's not a trap," I said, stepping forward. I reached the other side of the map. "I want to talk. I don't want to have to fight you. I am not a threat to anyone. I just want to build my dungeon and live in peace. No one has to die. You can help spread the word. Tell the others that I'm not a threat."

"I'm sure you would love that, monster!" the woman spat. She aimed her sword at me. The tip of the blade fuzzed to a blur as it was humming. When she moved it, the buzzing sound cleaved through the air. "A chance to build up your monsters. To spread the reach of your foul labyrinth. You think we are stupid to give you the chance to swell your power? To siphon off more of the mana of this world and leave it drained."

"That's not what I'm doing," I said. "This is a big misunderstanding. I don't want to attack anyone. I'm not going to drain this world to a husk. I just want--"

"LIAR!" she screamed and charged forward.

I gaped as she rushed across the map, her boots thudding on the glass covering. Her sword hummed as it aimed right at my guts. My training paid off. I was stunned by the sudden rush, but my body reacted out of instinct. My lips moved, chanting the words to a spell.

"Lightning crackle and hiss, gird me in the love of Lady Uttu!" I cried out.

A web of crackling lightning burst around me. The sword struck the currents. They caught the weapon, folding the field of static electricity around me. The fighter's face twisted with fury as she pressed the sword in.

"DIE!" she screamed.

"You bitch!" gasped Garnet.

Lana Fulmine spread her wings wide and pointed her finger. She fired lightning at the other two. The rogue dove beneath the bolt, rolling across the ground. The priest clutched his holy symbol and began chanting a spell.

Usiku summoned her weapon and rushed toward me, a sword dripping of shadows held in her hand. Garnet's wings flapped. She hissed then darted from me, her tail swishing behind her. This wasn't what I wanted.

"Wait, please," I said, staring at the woman trying to press her sword through my static aura. "We can still talk. We don't have to be enemies."

"Of course we do!" she hissed. "This monstrosity you have carved out of the World is a blight upon it. A cancer that must be cut out before you kill it. You think I will let you do that? I have sworn to save it. I won't let you destroy it!"

Fury twisted on her face. She drew back her sword and slammed the blade into my static aura. Lightning flickered across the web. I stared in shock at her. She hated me. We had never met. I had never done anything to her. Anything to anyone who didn't come here first. And she despised me with such intensity.

She wanted to kill me.

How could I convince her?

* * / *

Garnet was so mad at her big brother.

She loved him--loved him so much that she felt like she would explode--so this big dumb plan scared her. She didn't want him to die. The fighter was swinging weapons at him while the cleric was casting some spell.

"Lady Sherida, I beseech thee, use thy light to eradicate my foe's magic!" he called out.

Garnet shuddered as she realized he was trying to dispel her brother's protection. The amulet the cleric wore flared with light. Her wings flapped as she rushed faster at him. Her tail swished behind her. He turned to her.

"Demon!" he snarled and held up his amulet.

It flared with a golden light that hurt Garnet's eyes. She winced against it, flinching back from it. He stood resolute in his faith. So secure in his belief. The radiance hurt. She wanted to flee from it. To go hide in the corner from it.

"Lady Sherida's light will consume you, succubus!" he declared, marching at the succubus. "You shall blaze in incandescent holiness until only greasy ash remains."

"You're uptight!" she shouted, feeling the backed up lust in his balls. The way his eyes trailed over her body even as he bathed her in radiance. "When was the last time you even whipped out your cock and masturbated it? You must be so full of brimming lust that you want to kill someone as cute as me." She turned around and smacked her naked ass at him.

"Do you seek to tempt me, harlot?" he roared.

"I'm just saying," she said, the shadows in the room swirling, responded to her powers. "How long has it been since you got your dick wet? You got that incel rage burning. You think I'm a THOT, right? One of those guys who don't like titty streamers and rail against girls and their OnlyFans accounts."

"What foul, diseased nonsense are you spouting, demon?"

The light burned. Garnet's wings flapped. She whirled around, her pigtails flying, and swept her hand in an arc before her, shadows trailing from her fingertips. "Just that you need to get off. Relax."

His light flared brighter, but her shadows soared through them and splashed across his face. They spilled over his features and then melted into his brain. He shook his head. He stumbled to his right. The light in his hand faltered.

"Kweh, heh, heh!" Garnet chortled and advanced on him as the radiance died, her hips swaying from side to side.

His eyes fell on her little tits. He groaned.

"That's it," she cooed, stroking her small boobies. "Don't be shy. It's okay. You haven't gotten off in a while. You're backed up. Been following around Sir Tits in that armor bikini of hers. Got you a big case of blue balls. She doesn't give you any relief, does she?"

"No," he groaned, his hand sliding down the front of his robes. His eyes grew unfocused as her sensual magic worked on him. The shadows coated his mind. "You're... You're..."

"Cute?" she suggested. "Adorable?" She rested her chin on her hands and fluttered her eyes. "Sexy?"

"Yes," he groaned and shoved his hands into his robe. He started fondling himself. Just stroking his cock hard beneath his robes.

Ugh, he's so small, thought the succubus as she kept up her sultry smile. Not like my big brother. "That's it. Ooh, you're so big. All the ladies deserve you. Yes, yes."

A foolish smile crossed his lips.

* * / *

Lana Fulmine fired her blast of lightning at the rogue. He dodged beneath it and came up with a pair of throwing daggers that flew out at the movie starlet.

They flashed through the air. She folded her lightning wings before her and then swept them wide, knocking them back. They clattered across the floor. He sprang up into a sprint, rushing right at her. She formed the charge for another lightning blast.

He vanished in a puff of smoke. She gasped, freezing in shock. He had been rushing at her, and now he was gone. Light flared from the cleric as Lana Fulmine studied the throne room. Where is he? she thought, utterly confused about where he could have gone. It made no sense to her.

She glanced over at the map set in the floor. Her brow furrowed. She could see the various dots. The white dot that represented Leo with a red dot before him. Usiku's blue dot headed for him while Garnet's gold dot advanced on the cleric's red.

One more red dot was standing by Lana's own gold. It was...

Behind her.

She whirled around only for a knife to bury into her stomach. The rogue melted into view, a grin on his face as pain lanced through her body. She gasped at the agony and stumbled back. His dagger hit a vital spot, dealing a massive amount of damage.

He ripped his dagger out and then slashed it up at her throat. It ripped across the right side. Blood spurted. She staggered back, the world spinning around her. Legs growing weak, she collapsed onto the ground. The world faded black.

"Le... o..." she croaked. Her number one fan had to save her, but...

Everything grew darker. The world faded away. Then she was sleeping. A voice sang a lullaby to her. A familiar voice. Souleen. She felt those comforting arms around her like she had when she was summoned to this world.

* * / *

My lightning aura ended. Dispelled by the cleric.

"Fuck!" I gasped as the fighter's sword hurtled in at me.

I thrust my spear up and caught her sword. Her blade struck it and sheared through it. I gasped as my silver weapon split in half. The lightning imbued in it burst out as a few sparks, impotent as they fizzled out. She drew back her sword to strike at me.

Usiku rushed in from the side, swinging a shadowy sword at the warrior. The attacking woman cursed and whirled to meet this new attack. Their weapons clashed right before me. Usiku's umbral blade fared better against her humming weapon. They traded blows.

This was not going right.

Lana screamed in pain, wrenching my attention to her.

"Lana!" I gasped as she fell to the ground in a spurt of blood. The rogue glanced at me and smirked. Then he vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I snarled, my stomach tightening.

I couldn't see him. He had taken out Lana. He had skill. Danger. Weapons clashed to my right as my stomach tightened. Panic threatened to overwhelm me. I had to think. Focus. What to do. I needed to get my protection up.

"Lightning crackle and hiss, gird--"

Pain burst in my back. I grunted and spun around to find the rogue behind me. Blood dripped from his dagger. My blood. This was going horribly wrong. I felt liquid spilling down my back, but I stood somehow. He slashed at me, going for my throat, blood trailing from the edge of the weapon.