Chapter 35 It's Only a Matter of Time Before Something Catches Fire

Fiona stood where Dorian had been, her fist still extended, her body trembling with fury. Her staff had clattered to the ground behind her; she hadn't even used it.

"Don't call my Takumi trash. You scum."

The knights stood frozen, their hands on their weapons, but none of them moved. None of them dared.

Then Sir Compensatealot stepped forward. He walked past the frozen knights and stopped in front of Fiona. He bowed, a deep, formal bow with his hand pressed to his chest.

"Lady Fiona, I must say, that was a most impressive display of righteous fury. Commander has indeed gone too far with his words. It is not right to speak to a lady in such a manner."

He turned to me.

"And you, young Takumi! Well done! If you had not encouraged Lady Fiona to deliver that well-deserved slap across the cheek, I would have been forced to do it myself!"

 "You... you would have punched him?"

"I would have delivered a most chivalrous rebuke! A knight does not merely stand by when a lady is being insulted! It is our sacred duty to defend honor, even if it means—" He paused, glancing at Dorian, who was now pulling himself out of the crater. "—temporarily inconveniencing one's superior officer."

He turned back to Fiona.

 "My dear lady, I am a knight of the Order, but I am also a man of honor. And honor dictates that when a man speaks such foul words to a lady, he must be corrected. Whether by my fist or yours, the result is the same."

Dorian emerged from the crater; his face was blazing with rage.

"Sir Knight! As Commander of the Knight Order, I am ordering you to arrest these two criminals! Fiona Darkly and her slave have assaulted a ranking officer of the Order! They will face justice!"

"Commander! It was a splendid punch indeed, if I may say so. You should consider yourself fortunate that she held back. If she had used her full strength, you would be wearing that crater as a permanent residence."

"Compensatealot! Not a time and place for jokes! I gave you an order!"

"And I heard you, Commander. But I find myself in a bit of a quandary. You see, I took an oath to protect the innocent. To defend the helpless. To uphold honor and chivalry in all things. And I find it rather difficult to reconcile that oath with arresting a lady who was merely defending herself, and her companion, from a man who was hurling insults and threats."

"Fine! If you won't do it, Sir Knight, then I will do it myself!"

His claymore was in his hand before anyone could react. He lunged forward, his eyes locked on Fiona, his weapon raised for a killing blow.

But this time, Fiona didn't hold back.

She raised her staff, her eyes blazing with the same cold fire I had seen earlier, and she spoke a single word.

"Fireball."

Wait, what?! A Fireball? That's it? That's the spell she's going to use? What the hell Fiona! Don't you have like meteor shower or something! What is she thinking? What could that possibly do against a man like Dorian?

I had seen fireballs before, in games, in stories. It was the most basic, common, almost mundane magical attack in existence. A simple orb of flame that any novice mage could conjure. 

But then I saw Dorian's reaction. The color drained from his face so quickly that he looked like a ghost. 

"You damn witch! Have you gone mad?! You'll kill us all!"

Dorian barely managed to deflect it, his claymore swinging in a desperate arc that sent the fireball spiraling away from him, directly toward me.

Pff! What did I say, he swatted it away like it was a fly. I can swat it away too. It's just a fireball. I've seen worse. I've—

Before I could finish the thought, Sir Compensatealot appeared in front of me, his shield raised.

"There's no need to cover for me. I can swat away this tiny ball of fire, no problem—"

The fireball hit Sir Compensatealot's shield. And everything went white.

There was no sound, only a blinding, searing light that consumed everything in my field of vision. I felt myself being lifted off my feet, tumbling through empty space, the world spinning around me as I fell into darkness.

And then nothing.

---

I woke to the sound of rubble falling, the taste of dust in my mouth, and a dull ache spreading through my entire body. I was lying on a pile of broken stone.

Sir Compensatealot was standing beside me. His shield was gone, reduced to a crumbling pile of metal shards at his feet but he was standing tall, his expression as calm and unbothered as ever.

"Ah, young man. You're awake. I must say, Lady Fiona hasn't lost her touch. Just as strong as I remember."

 "What the... what happened? Last thing I remember was taking flashbang to my face. Did I black out!?"

"Indeed, you did. That explosion took us from floor 39 all the way to floor 42. Quite the journey, wouldn't you say?"

WHAT!? 42. We fell 3 floors. 3 floors. From a single fireball?

 "I must say, I'm getting a bit rusty myself. I managed to get my fellow knights to safety, but I failed to get you out of harm's way. A knight's duty is to protect the innocent, and I let you take a tumble. Forgive me, young man."

"What the hell happened?! How did that simple fireball blow up several floors?!"

"My dear boy, that fireball was far from simple. It was Lady Fiona's Fireball, and that spell was a true manifestation of her power. She held back just enough to avoid killing us, but even then, you see the result."

"That was her holding back?"

"Oh, indeed. If she had unleashed her full strength, we wouldn't be having this conversation. We would be scattered across the dungeon like dust in the wind."

Then the realization hit me like a second explosion.

Forget the fireball, I'm alone with a knight. One of the Knight Order. The same Knight Order that hunts otherworlders. The same Knight Order that would either kill me or turn me into a mindless puppet. And Sir Compensatealot is standing right in front of me. What is he going to do? Is he going to arrest me? Drag me back to the Order to face whatever horror they have planned for otherworlders?

Or is he just going to dispose of me right here, in this dark corner of the dungeon, where no one will ever know what happened?

I looked up at Sir Compensatealot. 

He kind of saved me from that blast. He looks like a nice guy. But appearances can be deceiving. I've learned that lesson the hard way. Fiona smiled at me too and look where that got me. I can't trust him. I can't trust any of them. I need to get out of here. I need to find Fiona. I need to—

"Young man." Sir Compensatealot's voice interrupted my panicked thoughts.

 "Are you alright? You look rather pale. Did you hit your head during the fall?"

 "I... I'm fine. Just wondering what you're going to do with me?"

"Do with you? Whatever do you mean?"

"You're a knight. I'm an otherworlder. Your Order hunts otherworlders. You're supposed to capture me. Or... Or worse."

"Young man, I will do nothing. Because I am following the law of my beloved kingdom. You see, the laws of this kingdom are quite clear on the matter of property ownership. And as it stands, you are Lady Fiona's property. Now, I know what you must be thinking. You are an otherworlder. You have no legal rights in this kingdom. That is true. But let me explain the nuance of the law to you, young man.

 The law states that all otherworlders who appear in this kingdom are to be taken in by the Knight Order. That is the duty we have been given. However, the law also states that once an otherworlder has been claimed by a citizen of this kingdom through a legal contract, that otherworlder becomes the property of that citizen. They are no longer an 'otherworlder' in the eyes of the law. They are a possession. An asset. A piece of property with a legal owner."

 "So, I'm just... property?"

"To the law, yes. And as property, you cannot be taken from your owner without just cause. Lady Fiona has a legal contract binding you to her. She is your owner. And as long as that contract remains unbroken, no one, not even the Knight Order, can take you from her. And as a knight of this kingdom, I am bound to uphold it."

 "So, you're saying... you can't do anything to me?"

"I cannot, at least not as long as you're under a contract. The law protects you as Lady Fiona's property. Unless she terminates the contract herself, you are under her protection."

"But Dorian—"

"Commander Dorian is a man who often lets his emotions override his judgment. He is a powerful and ambitious man, but he is not always wise. He may threaten you. He may try to intimidate you. But legally, he cannot take you from Lady Fiona without her consent.

So, rest easy, young man. I will not arrest you. I will not harm you. And I will not hand you over to anyone as long as you're under the protection of the law. You have my word as a knight and as a man of honor."

"I... I don't know what to say. Umm... thanks?"

 "You don't need to say anything, young man. Well then, we should be going before monsters starts showing up. There's nothing quite like a massive explosion to pique their interest, and I would rather not keep them waiting."

 "Where are we going? This whole floor is a mess."

"First, we need to meet with Commander Dorian and Lady Fiona before they manage to make an even larger mess of things. Those two have always been like oil and water. Put them in a room together, and it's only a matter of time before something catches fire."

"You're not worried about them?"

"Oh, I'm sure they're fine. They've been at this for years, neither of them will do anything truly foolish. Commander is many things, but he's not a fool. He knows better than to engage Lady Fiona in a direct confrontation when she's properly motivated."

"So, how in the world will we get back to them, the whole place is a mess."

Sir Compensatealot looked around the cave, he looked at the walls, the ceiling, the rubble that lay scattered across the floor. 

"No worries. Dungeon has already begun restoring itself. In a few hours, no one will even know we were here. It's one of the more fascinating properties of the dungeon."

"Is it because of the Dungeon core?"

"Indeed, it is. At the heart of every dungeon lies a core, a concentrated mass of mana so powerful it can sustain an entire ecosystem. It's the core that spawns monsters, creates treasures, and repairs the damage done to the dungeon's structure. As long as the core remains intact, the dungeon will continue to heal itself." 

I looked at the crack, watching as the stone mended itself before my eyes. It was eerie, almost unsettling, but also strangely fascinating.

"So that's how it works. It's like... a living machine."

"A rather apt description, young man. The dungeon core is the heart of this place. It's what makes the dungeon a dungeon. Without it, monsters would stop spawning, no treasures would appear, and walls would crumble into dust. The entire place would collapse."