Vale leaned back in the stone chair and looked up at the ceiling while drowning in ambivalence.

They'd done it…

They'd actually done it.

They won.

Of course, Vale had to take account of all the losses… but whatever losses they suffered were insanely diminutive when compared to their profit.

Well… there was one loss that hurt. Yet, in spite of that loss, Vale held a bleak smile on his face. That was because he'd kept something precious he was sure was gone. Larry, his most promising worker, had somehow lived.

However, Sizzy, his other artisan, had died.

Vale had no idea what actually happened in the other fights, but he knew the result: two warriors, one archer, and five workers died.

All of his Champions, plus Larry, Aster, Two, and Stacy, had survived.

After all things considered, this was a near total victory.

Vale craned his neck a little, then summoned the status page to look at the exact number of Aether he gained…

As he read the glowing letters and numbers, he couldn't help but shoot up from his seat and yell:

"Holy shit!"

***

Even if the Legion were weakened, Salome should have directed everyone splendidly enough to keep them in a defensible state.

Though even if she trusted in Vale's will and Ximena's terrible ability, Salome shouldn't stay gone too long, as the Aether concentration from the chameleon sitting outside their doorstep was palpable. It wouldn't be long before the area around the entrance was flooded with rogue beasts.

Salome and Toy swiftly made their way through the rocky terrain and toward where they'd been ambushed. Once there, Salome looked around and found it…

The entrance hidden within the illusory rock.

Wasting no time, Salome, with a Dawn's Eye in hand, stepped into the rock only to walk right through it.

Just like her own home, she stood at the precipice of a rocky ramp while looking down into a dark gray cave.

"Stay sharp…"

Salome descended the slope with Toy right behind her. When she reached the bottom, it flattened out into an expansive open room.

Salome could sense she was being watched, but even she was unaware of where from; however, she could also measure the level of Aether particles floating around the area…

A level which was much below the force that attacked their dungeon. Showing that Vale was correct in assuming that to be their main force. Meaning, there was nobody left to contest Salome.

Salome cared not for her hidden onlookers and kept advancing through the dungeon at an even pace.

Toy, on the other hand, was freaked out to all hell and jumping at the echoes of her own footsteps.

Finally, when they reached the center of the grand room, a torrent of lights surged and lit the entire dungeon.

"Ah!"

Toy screamed, but Salome remained calm as she looked around.

The dungeon, now lit, was insanely huge, but open and straightforward. It was just one massive room that housed everything they owned.

There was a little training ground to her left, along with weapon storage, to her right was food preserves, and in the corner was extra storage. And, in the middle along the back of the wall, was a throne made of bones tied together by strands of muscle.

On it sat a defeated king.

All around the king, hundreds of literal chameleons scampered. These were bereft of the special climbing ability the humanoid ones seemed to possess, and the typical size — no longer than her forearm.

As for Champions and warriors…

It was clear the king wasn't foolish enough to leave his entire dungeon undefended; however, the force remaining here was nowhere near enough to stop Salome.

The king's bulging eyes also told that he knew that truth as well, having already witnessed Salome's dreadful power.

Unimpeded, Salome walked forward until she stood before the king. Toy lagged a little behind while constantly shaking.

Salome addressed it by the name Vale had revealed:

"Calumma… I present you with a chance. Fight a one-on-one battle with my servant. If you win, we shall spare you."

A glimmer of hope spawned in the chameleon king's eyes, but it quickly shivered and faded as if even if it accepted the challenge and won, death was coming anyway.

And it didn't look to be a matter of disbelief, but more so a fear of a greater power…

In any case, the king didn't have a reason to decline, really.

While it didn't entirely understand what Salome had offered, it got the gist of it.

"O.K…"

Toy's face contorted in surprise and fear as the Chameleon King dragged itself from its throne and took up its arms — a spear. Then it flicked its color rapidly, sending a message to its kin as if to say, "stand down," and walked forward.

Toy's gaze snapped to Salome.

"Masth-wuh!"

Only for her to see the winged demoness jumping away, leaving Toy alone to face the Chameleon King.

The little goblin was not made aware of any of this…

As for Salome…

She wasn't going to help at all unless the onlookers tried to join. And, even if Toy lost, Salome had no intention of letting these fuckers live.

Seemingly one with a flair for the dramatic, the king threw the bone crown on the floor in front of the empty throne, then uncoiled its tail and whipped it against the floor twice, challenging the shaky goblin as if it were a simple warrior instead of a Dungeon Master.

At that gesture, Salome couldn't help but wonder if the battle would have gone a different direction if the chameleons had their commander. After all, quantity becomes quite fierce under the touch of a singular quality entity… But there was no use in thinking about it now.

The remaining chameleons watching from around chipped and bellowed before all taking a knee; perhaps the final swear of fealty in their life to their king.

Toy eventually got the memo and took a stance as well, lifting her rusted and chipped sword and pointing it up toward her foe.

The king struck its first, opening its mouth slightly and shooting out its thick tongue in an attempt to snatch up the tiny Toy. Toy expertly controlled her Aether to empower her legs just enough to boost her out of the attack's path. Then, she reinforced her ankle as she kicked off the ground and shot toward the Chameleon King.

The Chameleon King sucked its tongue back in and steadied its grip on the spear as Toy rapidly approached. When Toy entered his range, he thrust the spear at her gut.

Toy sidestepped the pierce, but a sudden force crashed into her knees and sent her tumbling to the ground.

It turned out the king's strike was just a feint, and its real attack was a tail swipe…

Though the tail swipe was relatively weak, as they were more designed for holding onto something rather than left and right movement, either way, Toy was on the ground, and the king was striking with its spear and aiming for her heart.

Toy used all the strength she could muster and punched the tip of the spear just in time to divert the strike to land just under her armpit.

A little blood rolled down her knuckle, but that was a small price to pay for life.

As the king swiped its spear trying to cut into Toy's side, the goblin dropped her weapon and sprang off the ground with her hands and landed atop the Goblin King's shoulders.

Toy put her hands on either side of its chin, ready to snap its neck, but a weird juttering sound warded her off.

"Crkckkck."

Toy's choice to retreat soon proved to be the right one as bones shot out from underneath the king's skin like a porcupine right where Toy's arms were.

With a weird, slimy, and ratchety sound, the bones slid back under its skin, and the king took its stance once again after kicking Toy's weapon toward her.

The blade skidded across the smooth stone and stopped right at Toy's feet. The goblin took a deep breath, finally calming down, then bent over and picked up the blade.

All while Salome watched with a delighted expression.

But as Salome watched… she couldn't help but feel something was off.

Not with the king, but the king's followers…

As Toy engaged the king again, Salome kept one eye on her and the other on the surrounding Legion.

As Toy sprinted, the flickering green in her eyes danced and cackled like lightning.

When she reached the king, she jumped up in the air and sent an overhead strike, an obviously idiotic move — but that had been the intent.

The king did the only logical move and sent a piercing strike toward Toy before her attack reached him. Toy smiled as she let go of the blade she should have already lost, and grabbed onto the top of the king's spear with one hand and the top of the shaft with the other.

Then, in a swift, acrobatic move, Toy gripped hard and yanked herself like a torpedo, allowing herself to send a devastating kick into the king's chest.

The king initially held a firm grip, but Toy's kick carried just enough force to disarm. The king tried to summon a bone from his chest to at least wound Toy, but she was already flying away with the spear in her clutches.

The moment her toes touched the ground, she shot forth and drove the spear through the chest of the chameleon king. Once she did, she pushed it in further until it poked through the beast's back, then jumped away.

Calumma, the Chameleon King, clutched at his chest while stumbling around and coughing up blood. As he fumbled about, he fell backward and landed in the seat of his throne.

The chameleons around all began to hiss and chirp.

Then, the king bellowed one last time:

"Crraaagh!"

All attention fell on him.

Then, he changed his color and sent a message to his chameleon subjects…

While Salome didn't have the best grasp of their communication method, she could easily translate the two light-blue flashes.

It had simply relayed: 'I'm sorry…'

Then, the lights went out, and the clinking of a spear dropping to the ground sounded, followed by a mass of fading hisses.

The subjects were following their master to the grave…

At least most were.

'What's going on?'

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