His eyes looked around the new changing room; the knowledge in his mind told him that merely wishing to return would send him to the dungeon entrance, sadly because of the nature of this place, he could only enter it when inside a dungeon and somehow, the class Dread Knight was intrinsically linked to the dungeon.

He had no idea how or why, so right now, all Raven knew was what happened next:

His soul left his body behind as he fell into darkness once more—and then suddenly found himself standing at the top of an endless staircase leading down from a massive stone archway, which seemed to be made entirely out of bloodstone rock. The light here came not by any sun or moonlight but from thousands upon tens of torches hanging along both sides.

This was the new look of that disgusting blood river that led him here.

'I never want to see that sight again... even if it's a damn illusion... to see my beloved people tortured and in such horrid states.' He whispered.

'But I will go further than that; we must destroy those responsible for their suffering!'

His face hardened, knowing that 12 other dread knights or more might cause him just as much suffering.

He knew from the inherited memories alone that it wasn't Griswald who used those sights but rather the lord who ruled over them.

"A dread lord, huh..."

"Just wait for the day I crush your skull under my foot."

Raven wasn't violent, but only if you didn't break his line or limit.

The stairs continued downwards, deeper and darker, until they eventually ended up at the bottom of a cavernous hall where the ceiling stretched far above, its walls covered in countless runes etched deep within the wall.

Hundreds upon thousands of doors lined every inch of space between each door, stretching into the distance.

'To think each of these links to a dungeon... Oh!? One for the Wailing Caverns... and the Burning Cove!'

Because he confirmed the existence of this room, he now felt relieved to return to his cute manticore, that must be waiting with a snotty nose and tears running down her face.

"Ah, but the time difference means it's been two hours here but only 30 minutes there... so she shouldn't be so dramatic."

Raven lifted his arm, and a strange runic pattern formed on the back of his hand, glowing a purple colour as he began to vanish, slowly the desolate world began to fill his vision as a cute little caramel-skinned beauty was squatting near the exit and crying her eyes out.

As Raven appeared beside her, he gently tapped her shoulder, his large hands stroking her smooth skin as she whimpered before sniffing and looking at him; her snotty nose, little puffy eyes and smeared lipgloss were funny before she instantly leapt into his arms and clung around his neck.

"Raven... Raven... RAVEN! You're okay... Do you didn't get hurt?

Oh, thank god!" She kissed his cheek repeatedly as he held onto her tight.

"You scared me... I was so scared. You tossed me into the life... it went boom, you saved me... but... oh please don't leave like last time—"

She hugged him tighter as he rubbed his chin against hers, smiling at her cuteness, not caring that her tears, snot and sticky lipgloss were being smeared against his face; the tight grip of her hands made him realise just how worried and caring this little manticore was.

"'Course I'm safe," he said, holding his finger over her lips as she placed one of her small fingers on his mouth and bit down lightly.

Slowly they leaned forward, softly kissing each other, it was a salty and horrible kiss, but he felt the reassurance she felt as her hands and claws stopped digging into his flesh; instead, she began to rub against his body.

?α?dαs ηθνε| Then, he pulled away from the kiss, wiping his tongue with the palm of his free hand, making sure he got all the remnants of her sweet saliva off.

Her cheeks turned red as she giggled nervously.

"Y-you are fine?" Her words trembled slightly.

"Nothing can harm me anymore, especially after seeing your cute face... Shall we go get a coffee and ice cream?"

He wrapped his arm around her waist and started walking towards the exit.

Once outside, he noticed that the sky had changed, too; it was still night, but stars shone brightly in the heavens. It was almost as though the planet itself was greeting their return from the dungeon as he replied to several messages.

Emily asked if he wanted to visit her place tomorrow for a meal, and he gladly accepted, wondering if Lilith could come, but thankfully Emily asked him to bring her too.

Zestria sent him a slightly racy image, and a "Thinking of You" gif, with her blowing a kiss.

He replied and asked if she had any time off work in the next few days apart from tomorrow.

Raven wanted to build a romantic and non-sexual relationship with her; as they crossed the line, his heart couldn't cut her away or treat her like just some fun.

When Raven stepped out of the building, he saw several figures standing nearby watching him; some wore robes while others had armour. All of them were men except for the woman wearing a white dress, whose hair was braided tightly behind her head.

But before he could see her face, only noticing the red eyes and white hair, their group vanished as a crowd of businessmen passed by.

'Strange...' He thought.

"Raven... Can I have strawberry and banana ice cream with a caramel latte?"

Her little hand stroked the back of his fingers, refusing to let go as they walked towards a small cafe overlooking where they entered the dungeon.

It was strange to be in the same place where they signed up for the dungeon, but Raven was glad; although filled with energy and power, his body was slightly sore from the long day.

This cute manticore is the only thing helping to soothe his heart and mind.

They ordered, taking turns ordering food and drinks as they waited patiently for the waitress to finish serving everyone else.

"Hehe~ they gave me free chocolate syrup fufu!"

Raven felt a strange feeling in his chest, this kind of weird happiness as he watched her so happy, able to pay with her own pocket money.

The face she made when her little phone tapped the payment pad, her mouth making a big circle as it was accepted, despite being 11 credits.

Then she looked at him, with her purple eyes shining brightly, as if she had just won the lottery or something.

"Raven, do you want a spoon!?"

Lilith held up the pink and yellow scoop in her deep spoon, as her face looked as if she didn't want to share, but her hand moved towards his lips.

As he took a bite, he tasted melted milk and vanilla ice cream, then the tangy strawberry and soothing banana, topped off by drizzles of rich caramel sauce and whipped cream; it was heaven to his taste buds.

After finishing, he offered the rest to her and smiled, pulling his chair closer to sit beside her.

For the first time since his mother died and arrived in the city, he felt completely relaxed and calm without worrying about anything, only enjoying the sweet icy cold dessert with Lilith. At the same time, he drank his heavy black coffee, watching her little tail sway and dance as she ate each bite.

"I love you." Raven couldn't help but let the words slip out, watching her with narrow but affectionate eyes as the spoon slipped from her fingers, her beady purple eyes looking at him with her mouth open in a wide circle.

"???" She blinked twice.

"...what did you say?" His question caused her to smile shyly and blush deeply, causing the tips of his ears to turn bright red. But he was also curious; she wanted to hear that soft word again...

"Lilith," Raven leaned across the table, taking her soft hand in his, stroking it gently as her eyes were fixated on his. "I hope you never leave my side."

The little manticore blushed scarlet as she shook her head quickly. "I won't... How could I leave you now... Idiot... I shouldn't be an orcs woman... but I can't stop loving you..."

She buried her head into his chest, sobbing silently as he cradled her tiny frame. After five minutes, he finally removed his hand, sitting upright again and rubbing her shoulders gently.

"Hahaha!" He couldn't help laughing at her mouth covered in dried sticky ice cream as she looked at him with puffy eyes.

And yet, she still managed to flash him a mischievous grin.

Somehow their atmosphere became more harmonious as she ate the ice cream with even more delight, as her tail stayed wrapped around his tight, gently squeezing each time she swallowed a bite of ice cream.

'How can my little manticore be this damn cute!?'

Not long after, he helped clean her mouth with a wet wipe and tissues; before they left the store.

Behind them, the waitresses spoke about how cute their little date was, causing Lilith's face to turn bright red as her tail wrapped around Raven's, making the waitresses swoon more about their cute romance.

"Do you want to go home, or shall we see that movie about the lost dog you wanted to see?"

Raven asked Lilith, trying to help soothe her embarrassment, as she suddenly perked up and looked at him excitedly before looking confused.

"But you said it seemed stupid and the dog would be put down..."

"Haha... Forgive me..."

"Watching any movie with you is worth it."

"Hehe~ then, let's get sweet popcorn... and hotdog!" historical

"You'll get fat..."

"Fufu, not if we visit the dungeon!" She protested as their fingers interlocked, the moon slowly shining down on them as the night began to fill the skies.

'I need to treasure all the women around me, especially this little manticore.'