- The Dungeon -

This time a dark ceiling met Taro’s vision. Far from the posh furnishing of the chamber of judgement just moments before. It was a cave instead. Stalagtites hung from the ceiling, and a general musty humidity hung through the air. Below, the cold floor was almost soothing to the touch. However the short lived tranquility was interrupted however by the presence of the two story tall horned snake.

It was a great pale serpent, capable of swallowing a car whole. Adorned with horns that protrude to its front and twist upwards like a bull. Its amber eyes being a distinct feature of its otherwise spotless length of lucent scales. A beautiful sight if it didn’t ultimately mean becoming a midday snack. The snake’s piercing gaze turned to Taro.

“Oh god. I’m dead - *Again*!” He thought to himself. The snake flicked its tongue a few times. Eyes locked onto the young boy, the serpent encroached closer. Her slit pupils narrowed as she reached a point far beyond comfortable for the young man. It tilts its head. Following a couple more flicks of its tongue, the snake receded into a hole beyond sight. However Taro felt far from relieved. He felt an ominous pressure from the aforementioned direction, he sits up and peers into the dark tunnel from which the serpent disappeared to. Taro, still fraught with fear, stayed frozen, feeling out any signs of movement or sound.

…

Faint footsteps were heard from the tunnel.
It steadily increased in volume as it got closer.

Taro still felt the piercing eyes of the beast on him. Only getting stronger as the sound gets louder. The intensity of anticipation grew unbearable. He couldn’t fathom facing his death in such an anticlimactic way. He could only plead with all his might.

“Please! I’ve only just started! Don’t eat me yet! I haven't even met my first love interest yet!” Taro explained, not even looking anymore. He’d already curled up into a fetal position and covered his face with hands. The entity was before him now.

After a brief moment, he felt a firm nudge from the stranger, flipping Taro from his side like a pill bug laid upside down.

“Hah… get up.” A woman’s voice sighed.

Taro made a crack through his fingers to take a peak at the speaker. It was a rather disappointed looking woman with a hand on her hip. She wore what appeared to be a layered dress, almost translucent in color though almost indiscernible from her pallid skin. Quite beautiful in fact. She had sharp features, long wispy white hair that would flow like silk down to her ankles... Though two distinct horns crown her temples, and her characteristic piercing amber gaze gave her away; despite her appearance.
Undeniably, she was the monstrous snake from a moment's past.

“Pft…” She made a light scoff covering her mouth. Taro had only realized that he had adopted a pose not unlike a dog showing its belly to display subservience. He’d embarrassingly scrambled to sit on his knees to not further anger his - so far: generous master. She’d glare at him.

“I’m not going to eat you…” She became indignant.

“Y-Yes ma’am. Y-You’re correct ma’am. I forget myself ma’am.” Taro further groveled.

“In truth, it’s quite the bother. Humans oft wear armor and wear such trinkets that'd adore getting stuck in between the crevices of my teeth. I'd prefer a fresh boar in all honesty.”

Taro was shaking like a leaf now.

“Yes ma’am. How inconsiderate!”

Upon closer inspection he noticed that the ground beneath him had inscriptions. Taro had been in the middle of some form of ritual. "Y-You summoned me?"

“ 'You?!' " She spat with a venom, "I am Shion Orochi, Dungeon Lord! Yes! I summoned you, mortal! Do you think I would use the profane arts for a paltry offering?!”

“Ahhh!?” He yelped,

She continued in her own form of assurance. “Serve me mortal, and I give you my word that you will draw breath while you still serve…”

Looking at Taro, her eyes narrow...

“... Though I wasn’t expecting a kappa…”

“KAPPA?! I’M A HUMAN OBVIOUSLY! ARE THOSE LAMPS JUST FOR SHOW?!” Taro couldn’t help but get irritated at the recent personal attacks on his character.

“... Do I need to reconsider my offer?”

“O-Of course not!! How may I serve you my Lord!”

“...…”

The serpent lowered herself to his eyeline.

“W-What?...”

She lifted a finger underneath Taro’s chin, guiding his face to meet her terrifying gaze.

“You’re going to help me defend this dungeon.”

...

Taro was toured around to come to grips with his task. The serpent’s domain spanned through a few floors of dungeon, a handful of rooms, and chasms. She would explain it’s possible to rearrange its floorplan if needed. The necessity of its maintenance was paramount to her survival. She explained:

“Best case scenario is that the adventurers die. That way, their corpses and materials they bring to the dungeon are repossessed towards the dungeon ecosystem.”

A chill ran down Taro’s spine.

“Regrettably, they never stay dead. They always come back.” She adds.

A flicker of relief momentarily fluttered in his heart.

“And that’s the crux of the problem. Despite the vastness of my power, humans are far more plentiful than they once were. If they so decided they could overwhelm my domain with sheer numbers…” She spat out in disgust.

“Sometimes I throw a treasure or two I’ve accumulated from past travelers so they may leave satiated and investigate no further.”

Albeit questions weigh heavy on Taro’s mind. The dead come back? Is this a self sustaining ecosystem? Am I going to have to harm my fellow man? The boy’s brain rushed to find a solution.

“If it’s so dangerous, why don’t you just make the dungeon a series of dead ends? Make it so that there is nothing worth traveling into a dungeon for?”

“They’d start tunneling through the walls. Human avarice is a far more insidious than the fear of death or pain.”

She sat on a rock. Taro asked gingerly.

“So, what is it you’re asking of me exactly?”

“The end goal…” Shion narrows her eyes. “Keep them away from me. I sustain this domain, its inhabitants. If I go… -ah”

As she was explaining, a round creature hopped onto her lap. It was a rotund teal ball of what looked like jelly. Two nubs sat atop its head. Their noseless faces were simplistic as they were expressive. This one was beaming.

“Too often humans circumvent all my defenses. I need council. - specifically your outsider knowledge gives me an edge.” She continued, petting the orb while he nuzzled her with a relaxed face, not unlike a cat. “This little guy is one of them... Hm. It may be a good time to take stock of our resources. Come along Taro.”

“Mhm…” Taro followed.

Shion took her new protégé to a large atrium. With a whistle, the slime she was holding jumped from her arms and took a position in front of the two. Shion snuck a peak at Taro.

From there, two more slimes hopped their way to the line formation. Slimes made cute 'hyup! hyup!' as they hopped. And finally a red one horned girl stumbles out from one of the halls. It was obvious she had just woken up and was yawning. The oni was scratching her stomach as she approached the roll call.

“And this is my brigade!” Shion said triumphantly with an exhale from the nostrils.

...

“(WHAT ARE LOOKING SMUG FOR?!)” Taro screamed internally.
“(AFTER ALL THOSE AIRS YOU PUT UP-
DOMAIN THIS -
HUMAN AVARICE THAT -
YOUR DEFENSE FORCE CONSIST OF FOUR LOW LEVEL MOBS??!!)”

He mustered a confirmation query“...Uhm… This is every-?...”

The red girl interrupts rudely “Shioon, why’d you call everyone? Are there intruders?”

“Ah, no. Actually -” Shion responded, still pleased with herself.

“And what’s up with the kappa?” - This comment set ablaze in Taro’s maiden heart.

“KAPPA?! YOU BRAT! IS YOUR BRAIN STILL ASLEEP?! I'M OBVIOUSLY A HUMANN!!! CANNON FODDER!!!”

“Uwahh! It got mad?!” The red oni said startled.

“Now, now let’s calm down!” Shion attempts at a feeble attempt to deescalate. Taro, erstwhile was bearing teeth to intimidate.

“S-Shut up! Idiot! Stupiid! Idiot!” The oni ran off hurling insults at the supposed kappa.

“Only stupid people call other people stupid! Stuupid!” Taro shot back, interestingly this felt like the first argument he’d “won” since post mortem. He felt some strange sense of pride in besting a child in a verbal argument.

Though he suddenly felt an immense pressure from behind, ending his short lived victory.

”...Servant…”

“Y-Yes ma’am…”

Thus Taro’s first task as dungeon manager was to apologize.

Approaching the oni’s room. Taro recites the apology template that he uses with his mom when he gets into trouble.

- Sorry (Even though it was your fault)
- I won’t do it again (I got into trouble because of you)
- Let’s get along(Know your place from now on okay?)

“Alright! I think I got it down! This’ll be a cinch!” With overwhelming and unfounded confidence Taro opens the door to the girls’ room.

“Hello, I’m here to apologize.”

“Haah?...” The oni lazily turned to barely acknowledge the young man.

She was laying down on her stomach. Her hair was done up in two twin tails, it was a cool silver parted in the middle or as much as it could with her one horn. And she wore simple rags. The oni’s chin rests on one of the slimes that was in the line formation at the atrium. She pouts returning to her activity(which consists of looking at the wall).

“Good. It was your fault.”

“H-Haha… Yeah, it won’t happen again…”

“Yeah. Yeah. It better not. I could’ve gotten in trouble if you kept it up.”

Taro had veins growing on his temples.

“… I hope we can s-still be friends.”

“...” The oni girl remained silent for a moment.

“Well…” She suddenly stood up. “I am your senior after all… I’m Akai,”

Taro’s eyes were bulging out from their sockets now.

“I may have overreacted… I should’ve set an example for my underlings after all.” She proudly proclaimed. “Are you ok? You’re breathing a bit weird...”

“Pay it no mind… Your reverence may address me as Taro.”

Surprisingly the peace offering had lifted the mood in the young girl. She pulled an arm around Taro.

“If you’ve ANY questions don’t hesitate ka- er, human! Big sister will guide you!” She was grinning pointy ear to pointy ear to the prospect of having an underling.

Taro just gritted his teeth. “Haha…”  

“How old are you anyways, Taro?” She continued

“17.”

For some reason this gave her pause.

“Haha… I must’ve heard that wrong.”

“… Anyways! As your senior in this dungeon! So feel free to rely on -!”

She suddenly released Taro. Her expression became stiff.
“Let’s go, Taro.” 

“?!”

“Adventurers are here.”