- The Black Serpent - Part 1 -

Taro and Akari stood before the gates of the Black Serpent’s Dungeon.. Akari’s “human” form had reverted in the 6 hours she slept and the pair had left before first light. He traded a diet coke for three more vials of the elixir, which gave the quirky healer no end to her delight. The short travel to the dungeon itself was uneventful, due to the marshes' clear weather that remained during their travel.

“We’re here,” Taro reiterates,

“Mh,” Akari agrees,

With that she pushes open one of the large doors of the domain. It groans heavily under its massive size.

Inside, the dungeon had masoned stone floors and walls. A few torches were lit within it. Long halls with notches and crevices at each corner. Quite frankly it dwarves Shion’s dungeon by several metrics.

The pair walks slowly through its halls, carefully hugging the walls and stepping lightly. Taro makes various mental notes of where he could apply some techniques to their dungeon back home. Soon they find themselves in an open room with a slime of a slightly pinkish color. It turns to Taro.

*Gyruu!!

The slime makes a gurgly hiss and poises itself to attack.

“Careful Taro!” Akari steps between it and him,

Just then a small teal ball leaps from Taro’s sack! It then pounces onto the pink slime resulting in a tussle between the two rotund masses!

“Little Shion!” Akari realized! “How’d you get in there!”

“(You wanted to give me a big stink for my naming sense?)” Taro thinks,

“The little guy must’ve stowed away in my sack before we left!” Taro says,

“Careful! Guys!” Akari shouts seeing the altercation, “Hey! Hey! Play nice!”

It's like watching cats fight.

“That’s it!” Akari says, having enough, “ I’m coming over there!”

Akari grabs the two slimes by the equivalent of the scruff of their necks and pulls them apart. It seems to have neutralized their aggression in them.

“If you don’t stop fighting, Lil’ Shion, I'm not giving you anymore cooked meat!” she starts, “And you! I don’t know your deal but I’ll get really angry!”

The pink slime shivers. With a sigh Akari then puts them down. The slimes side eye each other ready to pounce again, but the immense pressure that Akari produces keeps them in line.

“What the-?!”

Taro seems to have heard a faint gasp of confusion during the kerfuffle.

“Now!” Akari sternly points at the pink slime, “Where are your masters?”

**Byurruu

The slime gurgles with a sour puss and meekly rolls over to a nondescript wall.

“Hey-!” the voice stammers again “Don’t -”

The slime then hops to a hidden pressure brick, and the wall opens to reveal the unseen halls. There a person stands in an odd position as she wasn’t ready to be unveiled.

“Gah!! Slime! What’re you doing?!” The figure angrily shouts,

The pink slime rolls its eyes and waddles away,

“Hey! Come back here! You little -!” she continues,

“Sister.” Akari says with a dour look on her face,

“Huh? Sister?!” Taro says in a shock,

“Haah… Sister.” the figure responds with an equally austere expression.

The person was a blue one horned oni. She wore her hair loose to her midriff and shared a similar silver color to Akari’s. Though she had a horn on the left side of her head unlike Akari, who had hers on the right. Her clothes were a far more fancier classic maid's dress.

“So, this is where you ended up. Aoi.” Akari continues, “I didn’t take you for a dungeon goon.”

“And what's this?” Aoi shoots back with venom, “Are you a traveling circus troupe with this kappa?"

There was an unspoken tension that the two wouldn’t openly speak on.

“It doesn’t matter, we're not here for you,” Akari attempts to get back on track, “Take us to the Black Serpent.”

Aoi wordlessly turns and walks away. The group follows suit.

From the unseen halls, Taro could see all manner of beasts and traps. A legion of skeletons await adventurers in one, cerberuses in another. A boulder sits on a door on a sloped surface ready to pancake any unsuspecting lock pick happy thief, and various spring loaded crossbows/flame throwers lie in wait. It made Taro glad they were going through the unconventional way.

Finally the party makes it to two large ornate doors. Similarly when Aoi opens them, a familiar atrium is laid inside. The group cautiously enters. Taro felt a shiver run down his spine as he senses a large mass moving just out of sight in the dark corners of the room.

“Asmodeus!” Aoi yells into the dark room, “We have guests… or a snack if you prefer.”

Aoi wryly grins at Akari.

Just then, a large horned snake, slightly larger than Shion’s mother descends from the ceiling just above the altar at the center of the room. It was jet black, and its eyes were a blood curdling red. The great serpent flicks its tongue.

“I can see that, oni.” The booming words reverberated throughout the chamber as though telepathically delivered without the snake moving its mouth.

“Another oni?” He asks,

“My sister.” Aoi says matter of factly.

“And this…” the serpent squints his eyes, “Human.”

The voice hisses with considerably more venom.

Akari moves in front of Taro preemptively.

Taro would be overjoyed if he wasn’t absolutely terrified.

“We-… We need your help!” Akari fearlessly asks,

“You would make demands of me?” The snake indignantly says,

“No!” Akari pleads, “We request!”

Taro also moves to ask. He bows to the great beast, almost groveling.

“Please!” Taro begs, “We need a Serpent’s Tear! Our master: Shion Orochi is gravely injured!”

Akari follows suit in the pose.

“Please! We beg of you!”

“Orochi…” The snake remains still. It ruminates for some time.

“It is true I possess the Serpent’s Tear, it is an artifact of our time in the Divine Realm. Few exist…”

“Then that means...!” Akari looks up.

“But I refuse.” the serpent shuts her down.

“But why?!” Taro gets up,

“You forget your place, human!” Aoi hisses as she brandishes her enormous cleaver at him,

“Back off!” Akari barks as she quickly gets between the two,

“Orochi, was once a beautiful thing,” the snake continues undeterred from the squabbling sisters, “Majestic as she was strong, but befell the trap of mortals,”

“Despite all her strength and wisdom, she chose to love a mortal. She escaped from the Divine Realm to be with them. Forsaking eternity for fleeting passion.” Asmodeus hisses, “I will not suffer fools and products of them…”

“Shion is the product of that foolishness.” He continues, “The bastard child of divinity,”

“How dare you!” Akari screams,

“You forget where you are, this is my domain.” Amodeus reminds, “Get rid of them Aoi.”

The black serpent rises to retreat into the chamber.

“With pleasure,” she abides,