342 Monster, you know you are
Yunan did not know what to say, he did not have all the answers but didn't want to sound like he was hiding something or being condescending or hostile, so he sighed before saying "as far as i know your race does not exist in the world where the sentient races live, in the main continental mass of Burkan, however, i can not speak of one place, the awakened island, there things are beyond my knowledge, but i can bring out someone who can answer your questions, would you mind if i teleported an awakened to answer your question?".
Hostility flashed in the eyes of the boss as a warning for Yunan, who just shrugged it off, after a tense session of staring the boss agreed by saying "you may, but any sign of treachery will be punishable by death". Yunan just nodded his head and sent a message for Sapphira to prepare herself before he teleported the cat to his lap, Sapphira stood on attention but could not help but relax a little bit when Yunan started rubbing her head, a few moments later the Yuki repeated her question to Sapphira as well, she probably did not think that the cat already knew what she was about to ask.
"The Yuki are not dead, there are a few dozen of them living in an iceberg as big as an island, they do come around to awakened island in their iceberg for all sorts of things, i heard that there was no more awakened able to arrive there because someone was too stubborn and wallowed in self-pity, now even if the Yuki are ready they have to wait for the person to leave the dungeon so the next one could awaken"
There was a hint of contempt in Sapphira's words, her target was to make the Yuki feel sadness and guilt, she was at fault here, thanks to her staying in the dungeon, her species halted its advance and could no longer gain new awakened. Sapphira continued talking "thanks to the decline in population and the lack of any new awakened, the Yuki out there are trying to breed awakened with the help of the snowman tribe, their mortal enemies, unfortunately they only successfully bred more monsters for the dungeon". "WE ARE NOT MONSTERS!" wailed the Yuki, the tent was suddenly frozen and the cold turned bitter immediately. "then what do you call something that refuses to adhere to reason? Even beasts can be reasonable, now tell me, monster who is bringing shame and indignation upon her own species, is it worth your self-pity to let your entire race suffer?".
Sapphira did not wait for the answer and returned to enjoying her grooming, she was seriously banking on the protection of Yunan, otherwise she would not talk to a boss like she just did, Yunan himself was speechless, the cold was not too bothersome for Yunan, it was only the rage that was filling the tent with murderous intent, both he and the Yuki knew the one who starts this fight would be at a great disadvantage, therefore, Yunan sent his cat back home and waited for a little bit, he did wait until the raging monster calmed down a notch.
"You had your answers, maybe a bit more than you wanted, but truth is truth, is there something else you require of me? my rest time is ending" the boss turned petrified as Yunan started to release his battle intent, it was an indication that the moment his rest time ends. He would attack anything in sight, even her, and she did not know how to respond, before the tension between the two broke the Black Fate flashed a message "dad wants to talk, leave her be and go home".
The battle intent diffused like it was not there in the first place, Yunan started packing the tent with the intention of returning home, before he left he said to the Yuki "the kind old man seems to not want you to die anymore, you should be thankful and stop being a monster, otherwise i am coming back for you". Yunan returned home to see Hephaestus looking through some paperwork and looking like he needed a drink, Yunan sat beside the man with the newest ice type lava wine and poured for the two of them, Hephaestus drank deeply before putting down his cup and paperwork.
"She killed the man who was thawing her heart, that got her to awaken, she was not born awakened like she was supposed to, it has been too long and she is very angry and paranoid, your cat did a good job giving her cause for self blame, stay away for a few days, push forward if you wish to, return later after giving her some time to read some memories from the new ones and understand what her actions entail, poor creature, she really messed up and can now only feel much more misery, she betrayed her race unknowingly, but she killed her man knowing she would have to be a monster for a very long time."
"So what if she doesn't want to listen to reason?" Yunan asked now so that he would be able to get an idea of what Hephaestus was thinking "kill her if you can, she will not be able to respawn, the awakened, lose that ability upon being born, if they die, their memories are transferred to all the monsters of the same species and her soul would dissipate, after her death there will be a few awakened spawning in the boss room, try not to fight them, once the last awakened spawns i will come by to give them the choice, after they all leave a normal boss will spawn so you can proceed with the usual".
"I will, hopefully those in the surface will not blame her too much for holding back the race, hatred for one's own species is really bad for their community, especially with the new arrivals, i will ask Sapphira to intervene to prevent something like a civil war happening". Hephaestus looked at Yunan with gratitude, this little friend of his was a little bit too much for the old man.